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Planet Etteria
Issneen, the Royal City
The following morning before the crack of dawn.
Are all Etterians trained in the art of torture?
“Are you insane?” Macy scowled at Nuos, who made her repeat the exercise. She couldn’t wrap her mind or her body around the position he had her do. “I feel like a damned pretzel.” She pulled her leg up until her heel touched her hip while lying on her back.
“Oyaz said you would complain all the time.”
“I did it to irritate him.” She giggled. “Still do.” That the big sun had yet to rise both males ignored, because dammit, she was in the royal gardens pulling a body miracle. “Is this payment for not listening to you?”
Heat burned her cheeks that had nothing to do with the pretzel-move. There’d been no repercussions since yesterday. King Xeus hadn’t summoned her for decapitation, and Myn-ras had commed her as usual. Despite his sensual appeal, her friend was better from a distance. Safer.
“No,” Nuos said, but his brow furrowed as if something bothered him. “Your confidence was lacking. It puzzles me, Macy. What affected your judgment and personality?”
She sucked in a sharp breath, tears stinging her eyes. “Their admiration, as misplaced as it was. I’ve never experienced that.” She changed sides, twisting away from him as she tugged on her ankle. “I’m lonely, Nuos. I have been since my grandmother died.”
“So you will mate with the Lysaran if he meets your stipulations?”
“I don’t know.” She closed her eyes against the temptation of it, to belong to someone. Desperate for a subject change, she glanced at Azan guarding from a distance. “Why doesn’t he join us?”
“Someone must be observant. He listens, though.” Nuos’s grin was cheeky.
She loved it. He wasn’t stick-in-the-mud, which meant her plans to corrupt Nuos were well underway. Sadness uncoiled in her chest. She missed Oyaz, and her bed felt empty without Illan beside her.
“Do you know, this morning I couldn’t feel my backside. Some exercise Oyaz had me do paralyzed the largest muscles in my body.”
“I thought your tongue was the largest muscle,” Nuos teased.
“Very funny, smartass.”
“Keep complaining, and we will finish with sparring,” he managed, his eyes twinkling.
She fell silent, biting her bottom lip to prevent words from escaping. It didn’t work. “Damn gorilla,” she mumbled.
“We have almost completed this morning’s training. Then we can cleanse and have breakfast. A Spanish omelet with a creamy cappuccino?”
“Evil gorilla,” she said, but damn him, he did know her favorites. Did Oyaz keep a dossier on her? “I will do ten more of these stupid pretzel-moves if you try my breakfast.” Since he adored chocolate, she wanted him to try cheese.
“Deal.”
Without further complaint, she did her extra exercises before bouncing on her toes, her usual buoyancy returning. They abandoned her in her chambers to shower and returned fifteen minutes later. Together, like the Three Musketeers, they meandered to the Royal Dining Hall where real food was served. Nothing human yet, but that was only a matter of time if they found more Dar Eths.
She hid her smile and coughed to smother her chuckles when they cleaned their plates. Their appreciation was over-the-top enthusiastic. The idiots, like she couldn’t see they’d tried it before. The flavors and textures of the omelet were enjoyable, which the rehydrator somehow did to perfection. She expected the eggs to be rubbery or too mushy, but no, light and fluffy. While sipping her cappuccino and licking the cream off her lips, she pondered how she was going to ditch them to meet with Zoo.
After her tearful performance yesterday, the sweethearts had agreed to give her about fifteen minutes of quiet unchaperoned time. Nuos had been adamant. She wasn’t to leave the gardens, mumbling something about risking their hair in doing this for her. Whatever that meant. She flashed them a grateful smile and bolted out of the hall.
So, every day, at the first opportunity, she ditched her guards with their permission and disappeared into the extensive royal gardens. It had a surprising lack of green yet was still breathtaking. Such colors and fragrances, all strange yet comforting. If given half a chance, she’d wander it all day until hunger drove her to ‘locate’ her guards or their hunger drove them to ‘locate’ her.
She couldn’t complain. Out of all the warriors, she had Nuos and Azan, two of the sweetest guys. They cared, in their way. Although being Etterians, they never showed intense emotion, only anger. But she was working on that. Not for the last time did she wonder what that must be like. To not feel? So, when she managed to make either of them smile or laugh, she considered it a huge accomplishment. Nuos had a naughty streak. She loved that about him. Azan was too reserved. He hadn’t laughed since the Lysaran incident.
When they collected her, she directed them to her chambers. Time spent on the scarf was in order. Music in the background and quiet without her guards would be lovely. And she should start a new wardrobe at some point. Living with the same sets of leggings and shirts was becoming boring. Maybe something floral with sandals? Or long skirts brushing the floor? Mm. Splashes of color? She giggled at her plans as she whiled away the time.
After a rehydrator chicken, sweet pepper, and lettuce sandwich for lunch, she waited outside the front door. Bouncing on her toes, she did pirouettes like an amateur while splaying out her arms for balance. Nuos and Azan said nothing while they escorted her to the gardens. When they followed her in, her pulse leaped. How could she chase them away without being rude? A shiver skittered down her spine. Having them eavesdrop put a damper on...well, things. She faced them, but they’d stopped and taken up positions a good distance away.
She waved and meandered over to the alcove, a little earlier than the usual time. Every minute counted. She hoped Zoo came earlier too. A memory of her gran’s scowling visage made Macy straighten her spine, as if she was caught slouching. Right, don’t get attached. Men...males didn’t stick around. Truer now than on Earth. If she grew to love Zoo, what would she do if her Eth or Bry-dar fetched her tomorrow? She was fond of Oyaz and Illan, but neither had ‘liked’ her, as evident by their willing abandonment. She was being unfair, considering Oyaz was a soldier and his superiors had commanded he leave. And Illan was elbows-deep in a treasure trove of Durn knowledge he’d believed they’d lost for all time.
Zoo made her feel safe, important, like she mattered. He was Etterian, his choice of endearment wasn’t like Myn-ras’s ‘sali.’ But with the Ethera in play, it meant Zoo could never be more than a friend. Still, she hoped he stayed around. That he’d such a sexy voice didn’t, in any way, sway her affections toward him. His baritone was deep, sometimes hoarse, but gentle. She’d liked it the moment he’d first spoken to her in Sosu. She harumphed then stumbled as she lost her balance. Bry-dar and King Sy-mar had dazzled her senses, but with Zoo, heat coursed along her nerve endings, flooding her with energy that tingled, but she was still herself. That was good, wasn’t it?
When she peeked at Nuos and Azan, they hadn’t moved closer. She didn’t have the words to explain who Zoo was and blushed just thinking about it. Well, they’d find out soon enough.
The exotic chirps of birds, the suns’ warmth on her face, and a cool breeze lifting her hair off her shoulders called forth a smile. She burst into song, her choice melancholic and about seeking love. She hadn’t belted out a song in a while, not since the Phoenix. Perhaps that was why the loneliness was winning. She skipped through the gate to the fountain and grinned at a carafe and glass waiting on the bench. How sweet. Zoo’s rather large shadow darkening the vines was missing, so she seated herself on her side, poured a glass of blue liquid, and carried on singing.
If he couldn’t make it today, she’d be fine with that. He had thought of her, and that was all that mattered.
~*~
Xeus sprinted to the fountain. He was late, cursing every person and task that had led to his delay. He couldn’t understand the need to see her. The urgency pierced him, the pain unbearable. He circled the hedge with his long strides, making certain he didn’t come from the side that would reveal her. When she was ready, he’d vowed.
It was the sound of her sweet birdsong that slowed his approach. Whatever she’d chosen, it was poignant, and as he neared her, the words punched him in the gut. They were riveting, how she asked her lover to help her soar, how she cherished him when she was sorrowful, how he was all she’d ever need for peace to come.
“That is beautiful.” He cleared his throat when awe vibrated in his voice.
She squeaked then laughed. He grinned, basking in the sound of her unrestrained joy.
“I didn’t hear you approach.”
“I hope not. I would not be an Etterian if I did not silence my footsteps.” He lowered his bulk to the stone bench and sighed, as if he’d come home. It was a strange emotion, serenity, when he’d nothing to be content about.
“My guards stomp,” she said.
“To let you know they are approaching.”
“That’s so sweet.” Her smile saturated her voice. “Are you okay?” Her lips were close to the vine, her palm brushing across the leaves as if she meant to offer him comfort.
“Yes, I am well.” And he was.
The darkness that had tormented him had relinquished its barrage. His focus was no longer to exhaust himself to sleep. Now sleep remained elusive because of her, and no amount of training aided. He found himself wondering, throughout the day and at inopportune moments, what she was doing. He had watched the sec vids again, wishing he could see past the filth, to see the suns’ rays play upon her hair, to test the softness of her lips, to stare into her eyes and know their color intimately.
“Any new vegetable peelers this wonderful morning?” She chuckled. “Though, if there were, it wouldn’t be a happy day for them.”
“No, none have tempted me to punish them. For once, I was looking forward to their irritation.” There was truth in his words. He had eyed his councilors with an eagerness he’d, until now, never experienced. “Did you leave any blood-bonds or friends behind?” He wanted to know if she’d someone she valued, someone she might be missing, a male she belonged to. Though he didn’t like the thought of it, he also didn’t like her in pain.
“No, just a hungry dog that will be missing me. Though he probably wouldn’t for long.”
“Dog?” He waited for his O.D.I. to update him.
“An animal kept as a pet. It was a stray I had taken to feeding until I couldn’t afford to anymore.” Her voice faded, drifting off on a breeze.
She was so emotive, his Macera. “And that makes you sad.”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Your dog looked like the wild dogs Oriana killed in the Arena,” he mused aloud.
“Who is Ori-Oriana?”
He frowned. How best to explain? “She is Enyl’s Dar Eth.”
“Prince Enyl?”
Xeus stilled. Alodon’s balls, how was he to know she’d heard of Enyl? And what could he say? Stating Enyl was his son would reveal who Xeus was. And with her fear of meeting King Xeus... He pinched his brow. “Yes.”
“How do you deal with royalty? I assume you’re high up there, having to work with ambassadors, advisors, and visiting dignitaries.” Her breath rushed out of her, though what that meant, he didn’t know.
Was she referring to the Sy-mar incident? Xeus swallowed a chuckle. When Sy-mar had revealed she’d run from him, Xeus had to admit he’d struggled to keep his laughter in check. “A royal is a person, ensa. No more, no less.”
“Yes, but after what happened, I expected to be dismissed, shipped off to some abandoned planet or a prison colony.” She rested her temple on the vine, so close her warmth penetrated the leaves.
Straps cinched around his heart and squeezed. Not once had he considered she might be worried about retribution. “Sy-mar is a close friend. He would not harm a female, ensa. Especially you.”
“Thank you for the beverage.”
“My pleasure,” he said.
“Did you find your Dar Eth? Or is that a rude question?” Her words tumbled over each other. “I’m sorry if I’ve offended you.”
He shook his head before remembering she couldn’t see him. “No, no Dar Eth for me. Some would think I am too old for one.”
“How old are you then?”
“In Earth years, I am forty-two.”
“That’s not old, not at all. Rior’s an older Etterian, and he’s still attractive. You both deserve to find your Dar Eths.” He appreciated the smoky passion in her voice as she defended him. “On Earth, we call the forties naughty.”
“Naughty?” His breath hitched. Did she mean sexually?
“I can’t remember the fifties. Naughty forties, dirty thirties. I turned thirty-one last week.”
“Did you celebrate it?” Silence met his question. “Is that a no?”
“Yes.”
“If you could celebrate it, what would you do?”
“I don’t know. Birthdays sadden me. Something bad happens when it’s my birthday. It’s why I don’t tell anyone. Strangers wish me happy birthday, but they don’t know me.” Her shoulder ruffled the leaves when she shrugged. “Do you celebrate your birthday? Is that an Etterian thing?”
“I do not have a choice. Everyone attends an event held in my honor. As you stated, they do not know me. The celebration is more for them than for me.”
“Shit, that sounds worse than mine. I only have a few insincere well wishes. You have an entire room.” The goblet clinked against the carafe. “Anyway, happy birthday. Hugs and kisses. Hope you have many more.” Her sincerity rang clear.
It was the best felicitation he’d received in a long time, even if it wasn’t his birthday. “Happy birthday to you too, Macera.”
She gasped. “Well done, even with my proper name. So formal.”
He chuckled then frowned when Cales approached him. Was it time?
“Did you have the meet-and-greet canceled?”
“Meet-and-greet?” he echoed, while Cales wiggled his eyebrows at him.
“Yes, with the king and his court?”
“I suggested a private session instead.”
She thrust her hand through a gap to clasp his arm. A bolt of white fire traversed from his arm to his chest and stayed there. “Thank you,” she said, relief making her voice breathless.
He captured her fingers to brush his lips across them, wishing he could do more. “I have to go.”
“Duty calls, I suppose.” Her shadow remained seated when she withdrew her hand. “If anyone gives you attitude, toss them on their ass.” Her laughter was husky sound that twitched his semi-arousal. “It will make you feel better.”
“I may do that. Until tonight, Macera.” He’d taken to comming her every night, just to let her know he was thinking of her. And Maker, was he.
“Goodbye, Zoo.”
He pressed his palm to the thick vine as a farewell. Inhaling one last time to capture her scent in his lungs, he followed Cales.
“What happened now?” He rested a full scowl on his battle-bond.
“Your next appointment. I do question your plan, though. As much as her joy calms you, where do you think this is going?”
“Nowhere,” he said. Where could it go? “I like her company, and the anonymity eases her fears.”
“Did she tell you to toss one of the ambassadors on their asses?” Cales laughed. “I would help.”
“And to be firmer with the idiots, as well.”
“I have said as much over the years.” Cales scowled.
“Yes, but she is an outsider. You hate all the ambassadors, so any violence you recommend, I must temper.”
“True.” Cales smirked.
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