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Planet Etteria
Issneen, the Royal City
The following morning before the crack of dawn.
“What are you wearing?” The horror in Nuos’s voice spread to his face, twisting it.
Feeling self-conscious, his stunned question made Macy more so. She wore a white semi-transparent sarong over a vintage-style swimsuit. The one-piece was a navy-blue halter top with low-cut legs. She looked good in it, and it was comfortable. On her feet were dark blue sandals, and she held a wide-brimmed straw hat in her left hand.
“I’m dressed for the beach,” she said, aware both males stared at her bare legs where the sarong ended mid-thigh.
“You cannot swim,” Azan said, his gaze on her toes. She fought the urge to wiggle them or tuck a foot behind the other. “There are omeika in the waters.”
Her disappointment slumped her shoulders, and she thumped her hat on her thigh. “What’s omeika?”
“They’re carnivorous fish. They leak a red ink which stains the waters.”
Like a piranha meets squid? She scowled. Shit, so no swimming at all? “Is that why the oceans are crimson?” At Azan’s nod, she messaged Zoo. Remember when you said you’d take me to a beach? Are there carnivorous fish?
The omeika? No, ensa, the Galaza beaches are free of them.
She bounced on her toes. So going to the beach wasn’t a complete hell-no. Oh? What color are the waves then?
Still red.
Nuos leaned closer to sniff her, ending her chat with Zoo.
He stumbled back, his nose wrinkling, as if she’d slapped him. “What is that stench?”
“Stench?” She frowned, anger stiffening her shoulders. Lifting her arm to her nose, she smelled nothing but coconut lotion. “It’s sunblock so I don’t burn.”
With a harumph, she slammed her hat on and grabbed the new beach bag, ignoring them as she hurried to the royal gardens. There had to be a path that led down to the beach. And if this was the way her guards reacted to her outfit, she shuddered to think how the males walking by might act.
At the audacity of it all, she slowed her pace and strolled in the direction of the beach. She greeted every male she passed, ignoring their gawking at her state of ‘undress.’ Like it damn well mattered? A plain girl with fat legs was an anomaly? The velvet texture of a hahyt petal tempted her to stroke it, causing Azan and Nuos to bump into her. She snorted, wondering why they thought hovering close to her could diminish the effect of a human woman in a swimsuit.
“Do you never go to the beach?” She lowered the bag to the ground to undo the sarong and rewrap it under their watchful gazes.
“No,” Azan said, anger hardening his features before he surveyed their surroundings.
“Etteria has reserved the eastern beaches for visitors. Those waters are too warm. The Omeika do not gather there, so it is safe to venture in,” Nuos said, his gaze meeting hers and not dipping lower.
He was super pissed with her if she judged the ticking at the base of his jaw. She grinned at him without a smidge of remorse. What does he have to be furious about? He’s acting as if I’m walking around naked. Dammit, you’d swear I’m irresistible.
“Your loss.” She shrugged, scooped up the bag, and strolled in the general direction of the beach. “Please direct me, or else I will remain in the gardens as is. Hell, I might even eat dinner in the hall.”
Nuos grumbled but did as she asked.
The ocean breeze greeted her as she took the stone steps to the gray sand. She removed her sandals, left them on the steps, and stepped onto the soft heated sand, moaning as her toes sank. She drew in a deep breath, savoring the almost-familiar fragrances of the sea before she trudged to the middle of the beach. She dug into the bag and whipped out a beach blanket, spreading it on the sand. She then pulled out a small bucket and spade. With those items in hand, excitement coursed through her, tightening her grip. For once, she looked forward to something, even an afternoon spent on the beach.
“Can I dip my toes in?” She shielded her eyes as she peered up the wall where both males had chosen to stand guard.
“Up to your ankles and no more, Macy. I am serious,” Nuos said.
She hid a giggle. He is serious? I couldn’t tell.
Unwrapping her sarong, she tossed it onto the blanket. She grabbed the bucket and spade and raced to the waves crashing on the beach, her braided hair swinging out behind her. The water was cool and refreshing on her bare feet. With a squeal of delight, she scooped up water and threw it a meter or two away from where the waves ended. Once she’d a sizeable section of damp sand, she dropped into the middle of it and began to compact it into the little bucket. This was turning out to be the best damn afternoon she’d had on this silly pink planet.
~*~
“What is the meaning of this?” Xeus strode toward Macera’s guards. Cales was close on his heels and not looking too pleased either. Every male Macera had encountered had informed Xeus of her attire and her destination. And after her brief comm about Galaza, he believed every report.
Nuos and Azan stood at the stone wall, vigilant yet minus the presence of a tiny human woman.
“We are standing guard, my king.” Nuos gestured behind him but didn’t turn to indicate her precise location.
Xeus scowled and marched to the wall. He pressed his hands on the top to lean over it, searching the beach. He hadn’t expected a semi-naked Macera digging in the sand. Not that he could see her as well as he would’ve liked. Her back was to him, and her hat shielded her face from him. But her bare skin glowed in the sunlight, upon which her thick braid rested. The vision of her was a thousand times better than the sec vids. And yet, he couldn’t see all of her. Just like the vines, he caught glimpses of her.
She filled and emptied a container.
“Alodon’s balls, what is she doing?”
She jumped out of the hole she’d dug as a wave ventured closer than anticipated. She squealed with laughter, stamping the water as if admonishing it for its intrusion. Her joy was infectious, delightful to hear, twitching his lips in response. Her profile was exquisite. His breath hitched as white heat flooded his chest and lower, hardening him. He raised his nose to scent her but wrinkled it instead.
“Potion. She has applied it to her skin to protect it from the suns,” Nuos said, who must have noticed Xeus’s reaction.
He growled when she dipped her feet in the water, just deep enough to fill her tiny container. He zeroed in on her bare legs, all the way up to her backside. Maker. His eyes stuttered shut at the sight of her.
“I have made her aware of the omeika, my king.”
At Nuos’s statement, Xeus spared him a glance. This he knew already. When she’d asked about the color of the waves, he’d chuckled. “What is she wearing?”
He fixed his gaze on her dark blue-encased backside, unable to resist the urge. His bloodline color on her made his heart leap into his throat with an intensity that snatched his breath.
“She did not say, my king,” Azan said, still facing away from her.
Cales drew alongside Xeus, watching as Macy scrambled to her blanket. Xeus wished she’d raise her gaze to him. But she did not. Instead, she laughed as she kicked at the sand before collapsing onto the blanket. For a few minutes, she lay on her back, staring at the sky. She twisted to grab a beverage out of the bag, took a few sips, then jogged back to the hole.
“She packs the container full of sand then extracts it to build a wall,” Nuos said.
“And she finds this enjoyable?” Cales frowned, arching a brow at Nuos.
“Yes, Advisor,” Azan said. “She has laughed and talked to herself throughout the afternoon. She speaks to us, knowing we can hear her.”
“My king, Advisor Cales, good afternoon.”
Xeus faced the female and frowned. She shouldn’t have surprised him. Humans didn’t move on silent feet.
Lady Cyndi wore a loose flowing dress, her feet sandaled, a hat in one hand, and a bag in the other. “Macy said she’d be here this afternoon, so I thought I’d join her.”
“Lady Cyndi, please do not venture into the water—”
She waved her hand at Nuos, smiling as she silenced him. “Stow it, warrior. Iddan has given me the lecture.” With a quick curtsey at Xeus, she strode down the path and the stone steps to spread her blanket beside the other. She stripped off her dress revealing a skin-tight outfit similar to Macera’s but in pink.
“Cyndi, I need your help. It’s the ugliest castle I’ve ever built.” Macera chased the waves to scoop and toss more water.
“Here, give me the bucket, while you rinse off. You have sand all down your back, it’s even in your hair.”
“I do not.” Macera tossed the container and her hat at Cyndi before laying down in the shallow water, across the flow of the waves. She threw her hands back to support her as she arched to dip her long braid in the water. But when a wave hit her, she giggled and collapsed, allowing the water to flow over her. “I’m swapping sand for more sand.”
Her wet body caressed by the ocean’s waves had Xeus riveted. Please, look up, my Macera. Let me see all of you.
Cales cleared his throat. “King Xeus, your next appointment—”
“Is canceled,” he growled.
“Warriors, stand guard on the beach,” Cales commanded, and the moment they were alone, he gripped Xeus’s shoulder. “You cannot go down there. She trusted you not to see her until she was ready to reveal herself.”
Xeus frowned at Cales for the reminder. Yes, I did decide in her time. But the need to see her, for her to see me, is driving me.
“You are an honorable male,” Cales said.
With a scowl at those words, Xeus threw one last glance at Macera and stormed off.
~*~
“Nuos?” Macy whispered in a worried voice as she opened the chamber door.
Nuos stiffened but refused to look at her. After the day he’d been through... He wanted to cleanse and climb into bed. The quicker he ended this day, the better. Since she’d yet to attend dinner, they remained on duty.
Sighing, he peeked when she didn’t close the door. Her skin glowed red, and even from this distance, heat poured off her.
“Yes?” He faced forward, still furious with her for making him lose his boots and build the sandcastle with her and Lady Cyndi. For the hours after that...torture, she had sprawled on her stomach or back, reading a...book made of paper. Time had dragged on when they’d lunched on the beach before Lady Cyndi had ended the day.
“Do you have a medic I can call?”
At Macy’s words, Nuos frowned and studied her.
“I don’t think your suns like me.” She forced a smile before dropping it.
“Why is your skin red? Is this normal for a human?” Azan’s eyes were wide.
“Yes, when exposed to too much sun.” She shrugged then whimpered.
Azan typed on his O.D.I. “Medic Aldur, the king’s medic, will attend to you,” he said.
“You’re not burned?” Her gaze traveled over Nuos’s face and parts of his upper body. “Dammit.” She twisted her lips. “I’ll be under a cold shower. You can send him in. I’ll be in my swimsuit, so decent.” The door closed behind her and in Nuos’s scowling face.
“Decent?” he growled. “There was nothing decent about her attire.”
“At least we now know that she calls it a swimsuit,” Azan said.
“Good, knowing its name is so beneficial.”
At Nuos’s tone, Azan’s brow hitched. “You sound like her.”
“You did not have to—” He bit his tongue.
Playing in the sand like a damu hadn’t been terrible. But he was still finding sand in strange places on his body. He commed the king, regarding the name of Lady Macy’s garment. He violated protocol, but he suspected that Advisor Cales wouldn’t forward this information. It wasn’t critical to Etteria, but judging by the king’s expression, it had been important to him.
Medic Aldur ran toward them, his eyes narrowed in concern. “What is it?” he asked, drawing to a halt in front of them. He wasn’t out of breath, still in excellent shape for a male his age.
“Lady Macy spent the afternoon in the suns, and they have burned her,” Nuos said.
“Burned?” Aldur jerked back.
“Her word, Medic Aldur,” Nuos said.
“She awaits you in the cleansing room and wears a revealing garment, so prepare yourself,” Azan said. “She considers herself well-covered.”
“In the cleansing room?” Aldur frowned.
“Please proceed,” Nuos said, opening the door for him.
Aldur entered, striding to the cleansing room.
Nuos trailed him and assumed guard outside that door the moment it closed behind Medic Aldur. He was able to listen in on the conversation despite it violating protocol. He did so for her safety, not that he expected Aldur to harm her, but he did expect to give King Xeus a full report.
“Milady?” Aldur said. “I am Medic Aldur.”
“Oh, thank the Lord, you’re here,” she said with a moan. “Please, help me. I hoped the icy water would stop the burning.”
“Burning? Please, step out of the water so that I may scan you, milady.”
Her sigh of relief penetrated the walls. “Thank you, Aldur. That feels amazing,” she said, her gratitude clear. “Can you recommend a sunblock so this doesn’t happen again?”
“Sunblock? We do not have such a potion.”
“You don’t?” she gasped.
“Are you still in pain, milady?”
“No, thank you so much. In the past, I usually spend a few miserable days in agony while my skin heals. I assume I won’t peel?”
“Peel?”
Nuos smothered a chuckle at Aldur’s spiked voice.
“Yes, when we burn, some of us peel. I’m one of those lucky few who do.”
To Nuos, it didn’t sound like a good thing.
“You should not peel. The med-gun has healed you.”
“Thank you, Aldur, for hurrying over. I appreciate it.”
“I am pleased to aid you, milady,” Aldur said, as the cleansing door opened.
Nuos remained where he stood while she escorted the medic to the door.
“Guys, I’m calling it a night. I’ll eat something from the rehydrator if I’m hungry,” she said, standing there as if she wore more than a thin...swimsuit.
“Are you well?” Nuos ran his gaze over her normal skin tone. She was wet, with water droplets running down her body. Satisfied that she was no longer suffering, he slid through the door to stand beside Azan.
“Yes, Aldur worked a miracle. Thank you for calling him for me, Azan.” She smiled. “Still angry with me, Nuos? Was it that bad?”
“No,” he said with a frown before grumbling, “...I have sand everywhere.”
“Yes, but was it fun?”
“It was...interesting.” He couldn’t bring himself to remove her smile.
“Next time, Azan can help me.” She winked at Nuos.
“Agreed. Goodnight, Macy.” After she closed the door, he nodded at Azan. “Never a dull moment.”
“The barracks is this way,” Azan called.
Nuos ignored him, heading instead to the royal chambers. With the way the king had reacted to Macy, Nuos expected a summons at any moment.
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