I Married Amreth (Prime Mating Agency)

Chapter 18

Ciara

I n the week that followed the capture of the two assassins, many diplomatic discussions dominated most of our interactions with the Kreelars. Now that the cat was out of the bag, the UPO and the Enforcers formally made the offer that Maeve mentioned to Aku and Amreth. They wanted to provide personnel and technological resources to help find either a cure or a treatment and eradicate the strawberries invasion.

Where previously I would have automatically encouraged a primitive species in their situation to accept that assistance, the short amount of time spent here among them truly helped me better understand their reluctance. These people suffered from genuine trauma from their interactions with off-worlders. The genocidal attempt only multiplied their distress a thousandfold.

Furthermore, I wasn’t na?ve enough to believe the offer was purely altruistic. Yes, the UPO and the Enforcers wanted to do right by the Kreelars, but they also sought to ingratiate themselves with them, laying down the foundation for future alliances.

Although my colleagues, Amreth, and I fully earned their trust, the Kreelars weren’t as keen to extend the same to others. At the same time, even with the deployable lab and Amreth dealing with most of the scouting, there were too few of us for the extent of the work to be done. Having a complete team, especially for analyses, running simulations, and preparing the treatments would significantly accelerate our progress. More importantly, access to top-of-the-line technology that was missing in the deployable lab and connectivity to the infinite database of the Galactic Medical Board would make a huge difference.

Although the Kalds initially refused to allow any additional off-worlders to land on their planet, they consented to the permanent placement of a relay satellite in orbit to finally give us the connectivity we required. They also agreed to a team remaining in orbit aboard a scientific vessel to pick up a lot of the slack from us.

By the end of the following week, we developed a serum that coated the prions with a substance that prevented their absorption. It wasn’t an antidote but a treatment for those who were already infected. We still strongly encouraged vaccination, but felt confident that this medication would work.

The biggest debate for them as a people was to decide what they wanted to do about the strawberries. The new powers that these mutations introduced were now a permanent part of their people. Our research actually indicated that this mutation was always intended to occur down the road as part of their species’ natural evolution. The prions only triggered it much sooner than they were ready for.

The question was whether to eradicate the trigger and allow their people to try and get back to their normal timeline to the extent it was possible, or to now take control of that evolution and activate the mutation on their own terms. The reality was that, even if they managed to get rid of every strawberry out there, that psionic ability already existed among their people now. Some children would be born with it, and others might suddenly develop it, while it remained dormant among others. It would create a different class of people in their population that could cause a rift or power imbalance that could derail their entire future.

If they embraced it, they could grow the berries themselves in a controlled environment and deliberately administer it in small quantities to their people before puberty. Combined with the medicine we devised, they could ensure a safe mutation for all.

Whatever their choice, it still required the eradication of the berries in the wild. And that reopened the discussions about allowing off-worlders onto their planet. We’d already been here for a month. With the main crisis now averted and all the people infected stabilized and safely mutating, we could no longer justify holding Amreth here, away from his duties.

In truth, he technically could have left in the couple of days following the arrest of the assassins. But we needed him to play chauffeur with his shuttle. Had Amreth left his shuttle and gone back home with his ship, Mehreen, Ernst, and I would have been too busy with scientific work to do all the taxiing. Anyway, he didn’t want to leave me behind, which secretly made me happy.

In the end, in great part thanks to my mate, the Kalds eventually agreed to allow five small teams vetted by Amreth to come eliminate all the strawberries, as well as track down, treat, or put down any infected animal. Each team consented to be supervised by a couple of Kreelars assigned to them. As it would take many weeks to complete the task, accommodations were provided for them in the inner courtyards of the village they were paired with.

After even more debates, the Kreelars decided that individuals—not their tribe or the Kalds—would choose whether to trigger their mutation. We set up a special greenhouse in each of the three temples where their Adhias—who served as their spiritual leaders—would supervise the growth and administration of the berries. As of the age of ten, had the mutation not occurred on its own, a Kreelar could decide whether to consume the berries, which would be given to them by an Adhia.

I spent my last week on Kestria going over additional training on the Kreelars creating their own detection tests, treating infected patients with supervised cases of people deliberately consuming the berries. Mehreen and Ernst agreed to remain until everything was done, which would likely take at least another three months.

However, I volunteered to take part in the follow-up check-ups which would take place every six months for the first two years, and then once a year for the next three, with a final visit in the tenth year. With the relay satellite, they now had a direct method of contacting us for help should anything go awry in between check-ups. Naturally, Amreth would escort me on those visits. It was less to protect me than to hang out with his new buddy. If I didn’t like Aku and Vala so much, I’d almost be jealous.

The day of our departure wrecked me. I always felt a little emotional when leaving a mission, but this one took it to another level. Vala, the healers, and Adhias I worked with came to see us off. Seeing Muti and his two children blew me away.

The entire village gathered in the square. To my shock, they formed a perfect circle around Amreth and me in multiple concentric rings. Every person held the hand of their neighbor and intertwined their tail with the one from the person in front of them, in the smaller ring. As the inner rings counted less people, one person out of two would have their tail intertwined with two people. Vala, Aku, Enre, and two Adhias surrounded Amreth and me as we stood face-to-face.

I held both of my mate’s hands. While his tail was intertwined with Aku’s, Enre and one of the Adhias wrapped their own tail around each of Amreth’s calves, while Vala and the other Adhia did the same with me. Every single person in the village was fully connected, hands and tail, forming an unbroken circle.

As one, the Kreelars began to sing a haunting melody that had chain goosebumps erupting all over my skin. From time to time, the Adhias would speak words in their language while the people continued to sing. I didn’t know what they were saying, nor did I need to. Aku mentioned they wanted to cast the blessing of a traveler on us. But at a visceral level, I believed it went far deeper than this, that they were making us official members of their tribe.

Amreth had described a somewhat similar scene at the temple when he first flew over there to scan for infected animals. That they would involve us in a ritual that clearly was sacred to them moved me to my very core.

When the singing ended, people dropped their hands and tails but remained in a mostly loose single circle around us. Muti and his offspring approached us. My throat tightened as he handed a beautifully embroidered folded fabric, which turned out to be a blanket with various symbols, including the emblem of the Jaln tribe.

“My beloved and I made this for you. She wanted to be here, but she is still recovering,” Muti said with a voice strained with emotion. “I weaved the blanket, and my Ranae embroidered it with the symbols of life, love, and happiness, because that’s what you gave back to us. Every time you wrap it around you, know that it is our arms and our hearts hugging you.”

“Thank you, to both of you,” I said, my throat almost too constricted to speak. “Helping you is a great blessing in and of itself. I will cherish this gift.”

He placed his palm on his chest and bowed his head. To my surprise, each of his children in turn grabbed my right hand and pressed their foreheads to its back. Simultaneously, they wrapped their tails around my calves. It was brief, and they immediately released me before taking a step back and beaming at me with their adorable little faces.

I returned their smiles, my heart filling to bursting. The family retreated when Vala and Aku moved forward. They each held one of those ornate bead necklaces their people wore, although they weren’t just beads. They resembled sculpted stones with crystals or precious gems trapped inside. I wouldn’t compare them to geodes as their exteriors rivaled the most polished pebble, and the interior crystal or gem was much too clear, smooth, and iridescent.

The necklaces also seemed far more elaborate and luxurious than the ones the tribemates commonly adorned themselves with on the daily.

“This is an ondishae ,” Vala said, holding the necklace before me, while Aku did the same with his before Amreth. “It is both an important identity symbol and community bond. Every Kreelar receives one the day they are weaned from their mother or wet nurses, around the ages of seven or eight. In the years that follow, as they form close relationships with others and carve their place among the tribe, so will their ondishae grow.”

“Grow?” I echoed with curiosity.

“It has two parts. The ondi ,” Aku explained, removing the central part of the necklace, which turned out to be a single chain with a string of seven larger gems. “And the shae ,” he added, showing the other, much larger part, which had four chains, each one adorned with countless small, sculpted stone-gems. “The first stone of the ondi represents the tribe you belong to or were born in, while the others indicate the other tribes that claim you ask kin or friend.”

I pressed a palm to my chest as his meaning sank deep. Seven gems… Seven tribes claimed us.

“The shae are tokens of friendship from people whose loyalty, respect, or love you have earned by some great deeds,” Vala continued. “They’re not given lightly, as the entire family unit must be in agreement before it can be bestowed, which represents on average between four to eight people who must all concur it is warranted. Your shaes each count one hundred and twenty-seven stones.”

“We have no words,” Amreth said, his voice filled with the emotions I felt.

“No words are needed,” Aku said in a slightly teasing tone. “One is not expected to wear their ondishae daily. As it is heavier, the shae is usually displayed in our homes in a place of honor. But it is common to wear the ondi as a necklace, wrapped around our bracers, or integrated into our belts.”

He raised his forearm in an ostentatious fashion. Only then did I notice that he indeed had his ondi nicely secured to his bracer. I previously simply thought he had adorned it with embedded gems.

“This is a present from all the Kalds and their tribes for what you have done for us. You are Kreelars, if not by blood, at least in heart. You will always be welcome here,” Vala said in a solemn voice. I mumbled a thank you as she clasped the necklace around my neck. Although not uncomfortable or painful, it was undeniably heavy, which explained why no one would wear it daily—assuming they received this many tokens. It struck me then that it acted like a charm bracelet, but where good deeds potentially earned you a new one.

To my surprise, Aku placed the shae around Amreth’s neck, but bound the ondi around his wrist. Vala drawing me into her embrace reclaimed my attention. She hugged me in an almost maternal fashion, even though she struck me as potentially being a couple of years younger than me. I returned the gesture with the same affection.

She released me, kissed my forehead, then took a step back. “May the divine lights always shine on you the same way you cast away the darkness that suffocated us. Until we meet again, Sister, may your days with your mate be filled with all the happiness you deserve, and more.”

“Until we meet again, may all darkness always stay at bay, and may you and your people receive every blessing,” I said.

Just as we were readying to leave, Aku pulled out a blowpipe from his weapons belt along with a pouch. Once more, I was stunned by my lack of observation skills. The same way I’d missed his ondi on his bracer, I hadn’t noticed that he was equipped with a second blowpipe and extra dart pouch. He extended both to Amreth, who took them with a raised eyebrow, his air inquisitive.

“You may not call yourself a skilled hunter until you can defeat your prey using nothing more than your blowpipe and your natural physical attributes, excluding psionic powers,” Aku said tauntingly.

Amreth snorted as he accepted the gift from him. “Is that a dare?”

“It is,” Aku confirmed with an almost malicious grin. “When next you visit, we shall see how you fare against a Murthis.”

“Challenge accepted,” Amreth said with a smugness laced with a hint of arrogance. “Make sure to invite plenty of other tribes to join the feast that night. I will bring back enough meat with that little blowpipe to feed at least five of them.”

We all burst out laughing while I shook my head affectionately at Amreth. Both males sobered, then Aku placed his hand on my mate’s shoulder.

“Safe journey, Brother. Until next we meet, may the sun and the stars always light the path you travel,” Aku said.

After a few more goodbyes, and friendly hugs with Mehreen and Ernst, we were off to a new adventure—the biggest and most important one for me—my new life with my soulmate.

As soon as we left the planet, my first order of business was to call my parents. Seeing both of them cry, especially my ever-stoic dad did quite a number on me. Like Amreth previously mentioned, they knew I was fine. But there was still a huge difference between being told something and then seeing it with your own eyes. They weren’t too thrilled to hear I wasn’t coming home but going straight to Molvi. As impressed as they were with my mate, like most people, they had a dreadful image of the prison planet. In their minds, it was a scorched world, festering with demonic creatures, putrid waters, and the air filled with sulfuric toxic fumes.

It wasn’t until Amreth sent them images of his home and of the surrounding landscape that they finally relented a bit. They still pouted about me not coming back to Earth. It actually made me feel guilty. In their shoes, I would likely also want to hold my baby to reassure myself that they were indeed fine. At the same time, I’d been on countless missions and stayed away from Earth for two or three years in a row, only talking to my parents once a week through vidcom. But the promise of us flying them over to either Molvi or Vargos for our wedding in a couple of months further mollified them.

The two-day journey to Molvi ended up being like a mini honeymoon with Amreth going out of his way to pamper me in every way possible. Obviously, we made sure to get creative with every room and surface of the ship. That didn’t stop me from squeezing in a few minutes to check in with Mehreen and Ernst.

The UPO and the Enforcers remained disturbingly quiet. It shouldn’t surprise me considering this type of major case would require some huge investigation and for them to take very careful steps. You didn’t want the culprit to get off on some technicality because you botched things by rushing too much. I didn’t doubt Marilia knew by now that something had gone wrong with her assassins. She would likely try to eliminate as much incriminating evidence as possible, although I suspected she did so over the years in the eventuality of such a turn of events.

I wanted to see her face justice for all the pain and suffering she either provoked, enabled, or perpetuated. But above all, I wanted Aku and the Kreelars to be vindicated. He placed a tremendous amount of trust in us. The brunt of his experience with off-worlders had been beyond negative. If the UPO and the Enforcers failed to deliver on the justice they promised, the damage to the blossoming relationship we were building with them would be irreparable. I just hoped some news or consequences would come soon.

Our arrival on Molvi took my breath away. Despite the beautiful pictures Amreth shared with my parents and him telling me about the beauty of the prison planet, I hadn’t been able to shake the lingering fear that it would be a dreadful and depressing place. But my mate had not been boasting when he compared Molvi’s landscape to the wild and untamed beauty of the Kreelars’ homeword.

Amreth’s house— our home—nearly had my eyes popping out of my head. Again, he’d shown me images, but reality exceeded anything I ever could have imagined. Its sheer size left me speechless. Apparently, as was the case with the mansion—not to say castle—of every Hell Lord, his house was carved directly inside the top of the mountain. It had three stories with expansive terraces on each level, wide enough to accommodate at least two hundred people. An Olympic-size pool took up most of the lower-level terrace. A natural waterfall poured into it. An inner courtyard allowed for more floor to ceiling windows on the inner parts of the house, keeping it from feeling claustrophobic.

Like with his ship, the house was mostly white with some light-beige and dark-brown or black accents. Multiple plants and fragrant flowers gave it the splash of color needed to make it warm instead of clinical. Even more stunning gardens and flora carpeted the ground at the bottom of the steep cliff below the terraces.

“This is gorgeous,” I said, leaning against the railing of the main terrace as I gazed on the garden below and the luxuriant forest that spread endlessly beyond. “This looks like a perfect setting for a picnic.”

To my surprise, Amreth barked with laughter as he looked at me as if I’m lost my mind.

“A picnic for the plants, yes. Definitely not for us,” he said, amused. “Every single plant down there, including the grass, will kill you. Some will take their sweet time doing it, keeping you alive in the worst agony as they slowly devour you, others will kill you instantly, their spores basically making your veins and capillaries bursts like frozen water in a pipe, and then you have those who will either suffocate you before they eat you, or spit the most virulent acid in existence at you so that you get liquefied—including your bones—and they’ll absorb the nutrients through their roots.”

“What the fuck?!” I exclaimed, horrified. “Why would you keep shit like this around?”

“Because it is part of the defense and deterrent systems to prevent prisoners from escaping,” Amreth replied in a factual manner. “For the record, the prisoners are informed in advance of all the lethal defenses set around their Quadrants and throughout the Sector. If they decide to take their chances regardless, it’s on them.”

A shudder coursed through me as I examined the colorful, almost peaceful-looking garden below.

“Why make it so damn pretty and inviting if those freaky things are about to go apeshit on you? Why not make it gnarly vines with thorns the size of daggers, giant mushrooms with the types of neon colors that scream ‘I’m-about-to-fuck-you-up-beyond-recognition’ instead?”

Amreth laughed again and gave me an indulgent smile. “Because I have to look at these plants every day when I relax on my terraces. I would much prefer a pretty view to a gnarly one.”

I pursed my lips, still distraught by it all. “Fair enough, I guess. But now the question is how many times have you ‘enjoyed’ the spectacle of one of your inmates getting slaughtered by flowers?”

He chuckled some more, seemingly amused by my dramatic expression. “Peace, my love. It has never happened. This is the last defense… well, minus the cliff, which is impossible to climb. Nobody has ever survived attempting to cross the forest. There are plenty of nasty things roaming in there, including a river with even nastier critters. Do not fear, my mate. This house is safe, and you will not be subjected to the less savory things that occasionally happen in the Quadrants.”

“Right,” I said, sounding far from convinced.

He smiled. “Don’t be so distraught, my Ciara. You will not find these lethal plants in the rest of Molvi. They’re bioengineered specifically for our Quadrants and strictly contained within them. But come, it’s time for you to meet our Nundars. They’ve prepared a proper feast for us and are impatient to meet you.”

My pulse immediately picked up, and tension stiffened my spine. As curious as I was to meet the elusive familiars that Amreth spoke so fondly of, I couldn’t help but worry that they might not respond well to me. They carefully chose whose house they would join as they were extremely sensitive to people’s emotions. What if they disliked mine? What if my aura was so unbearable to them that they’d considered leaving Amreth rather than being subjected to my mere presence?

Cut it out, woman! You’re Amreth’s soulmate. They are bound to love you!

That slightly appeased me, but sensing my nervousness, my mate soothed me further with his bakaan . I gave him a sheepish smile of gratitude.

“Do not fret. They already love you. I can sense their excitement. Normally, they just hide and wait a few days to formally introduce themselves to give the new partner time to adjust to their new home. But they cannot wait to meet you. Your aura beckoned to them from the moment you stepped out of the ship.”

My stomach fluttering, I let Amreth lead me by the hand inside the house. The humongous floor-to-ceiling glass patio doors parted before us to reveal a large, formal living area. Once again, it had a very Zen feel to it but luxurious enough I wondered if a professional interior decorator had achieved such a marvel.

However, it was the two dozen strange beings who greeted us inside who retained all my attention. They were bipedal with a very long, striped neck topped by a head shaped like a cone. Their faces weren’t quite flat but had a bump of a nose almost shaped like a snout above a pair of very thin lips. A long, fur-like mustache, a paler beige color than their skin, framed their wide mouths. Their feet resembled star-shaped hooves, and a thick tail trailed far behind them. They wore long, embroidered tunics that reminded me of Medieval outfits.

They peered at me with big, curious eyes brimming with kindness.

“Welcome home, Master. Greetings, Mistress,” a voice said in my head as all the Nundars pressed their right hands to their chests.

Only then did I realize that they only had two extremely long fingers in each hand, tipped with two-pronged claws. But I remained focused on their words.

Although I knew I had heard that greeting, it had not been actual words or a real voice, like when a telepath communicated mentally with us. It had been more like a transfer of thoughts that I simply understood. Amreth mentioned in passing that they had a form of hive mind. They didn’t use individual names, and you should always address them as a unit. I didn’t know which one of them had spoken on behalf of the others.

A part of me felt like I should be somewhat freaked out by these strange beings. And yet, I instinctively found myself smiling and feeling at ease. That they were spiritual people shone brightly. There radiated an aura of peace and kindness that you just wanted to wrap yourself in.

“Thank you,” Amreth said affectionately. “Ciara, meet my Nundars.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” I said warmly.

“Nundars prepared a feast. Earth recipes shared by Lady Malaya’s Nundars. We serve when you’re ready.”

That messed with me. I had yet to meet Malaya, the wife of Lord Kronos, Amreth’s best friend. But that our Nundars would go through the trouble of learning human recipes to make me feel welcome moved me to the core.

Amreth puffed out his chest, pride and gratitude oozing out of him in response to his Nundars.

“Thank you, my friends. That’s very thoughtful. We’ll eat once I finish giving my mate the tour of her new home,” Amreth said.

As one, they bowed their heads before scattering. To my surprise, a handful walked past us and exited the house through the large patio doors while the others headed in the opposite direction, deeper in. It then dawned on me that the first group was likely going to retrieve our personal belongings from the ship.

“They’re amazing!” I whispered, my voice filled with awe.

“They are, and they think the same of you. I can’t wait for us to be bonded so that you can see their auras like I do. They shimmered with even more beautiful colors for you than they ever do for me. My feelings are hurt,” he said with a pouty expression.

I burst out laughing. “Don’t be jealous of my irresistible charm! But hey, take heart. Hang around me long enough, and it might rub off you! Then you’ll be as lovely as I am!”

He snorted. “If that’s what it takes, expect plenty of rubbing in the foreseeable future,” he said, his voice filled with promises.

I laughed and let him give me a tour of the new mansion I would now call home.