Chapter 17
Kehtal’s claws sifted through Lori’s green hair as he carefully parted out segments and began to wind them snuggly together in a braid. It was strange using a braiding technique he usually reserved for turning leather into cord on his female’s hair, but she seemed to like it. Her entire body was relaxed against his belly and nestled within his coils, conveying a peacefulness that he seldom experienced from his often-busy mate. From the angle he was reclined at behind her, he could even see the flutter of her eyelashes against her cheek, concealing her gaze behind her languid expression as she stroked her hand over Hashal’s gavo as the little male slumbered draped over her belly and thighs.
“All the washing I’ve done over the last couple of days hasn’t removed even a little bit of that color, has it?” she whispered.
Kehtal paused in his administration, caught in an unexpected dilemma as he searched covertly for his nest brothers. Was he to be honest or tell her a comforting lie? He was never certain which rules to follow and which to bend or break as needed. Daskh was far better at such things as the male always seemed to know the right things to say and how to frame things. Even Slengral, despite his tendency for a blunt delivery, possessed far more self-assurance and was generally unruffled if he incited their mate’s annoyance. As much as Kehtal could draw a smile from their mate whenever she had the tendency to brood, her question left him feeling uncertain and ill at ease enough that his stomach rolled sickly.
His mate’s fingers slid up his wrist and curled around his forearm, sending a warm ripple through him, drawing the tension from his muscles with her gentle touch. His head drooped and his wings quivered with the relief that burrowed deeper into his heart. Without even a word, she understood.
“It’s okay. Just tell me the truth. How bad is it?”
“It is... there is no change,” he reluctantly replied. “It does not look bad, which is a good thing because you may be stuck with it for a long time.”
Lori’s laughter rose in a soft chuckle, and she gave his forearm a pat. “I suspected as much. Thank you, Kehtal.” She sighed, turning her head so that her cheek rested against his chest. She rubbed her skin affectionately against his scales, and a warmth bloomed through his chest, radiating out from his hearts at the loving gesture. “It’s okay. I’m starting to become used to it, though I’m sure I will get plenty of looks when we return to the colony. If we return,” she added with a morose sigh that promptly had him dropping his hands from her hair to wrap his arms snugly around her, dragging her tight against his chest.
“We will return,” he assured her. “Slengral will not tolerate remaining here. But even in the unlikely chance that he capitulated to remain, I would find a way to return to the surface with you. You will not be trapped in the depths of the Aglatha. It is just for a little longer yet.”
His mate’s lips twisted in a grimace, one that he understood all too well for he wore that expression inwardly every day since they arrived within the heart of the shinara. He ran his claws through her hair again, putting light pressure against her scalp in a way that drew tension from her small body.
She groaned softly. “It can’t be soon enough for me.”
He paused in his ministration, his head cocking. “Do you wish to return to the surface now?”
She shook her head, her shoulders lifting with her heavy sigh. “No. I can’t do that. I know I signed on for this when I insisted that we all go. This is pretty close to literal hell for most humans—the feeling of being buried with no natural light outside of what is obtained from the bioluminescence provided. But the point remains that I can’t allow Slengral to face this all alone, especially when my absence can be misconstrued as an opening for the queen matriarch and the council of noble matriarchs to take control.” She gave him a wary glance. “They could, right? If he refused to mate, they could find a way to breed him like what was done to you by Darvel’s scientists?”
Kehtal’s gavo flattened, but he gave it a faint snap and inclined his head. “It is not ideal, but I would not put it past them, in the light of having no other option presented to them and without his mate’s legal protections in place, to have him imprisoned within the palace and restrained for the purpose of forced breeding. It does not typically happen within the shinara, but it is not entirely unheard of either. Once they were satisfied, they would likely release him—but many such males end up broken, and the stronger males seem to suffer the worse for it. It is unlikely he would even venture from the palace willingly at that point.”
A shiver ran through Lori, and she exhaled gruffly. “Fuck. Yeah, we are definitely not going anywhere without him.” She looked over her shoulder at him earnestly and gently eased Hashal off her. Once she was certain that he was resting comfortably in the bed beside them, she rolled herself so that she was suddenly straddling him as she met his gaze. “Look, no matter what happens, should anything at all happen that makes it to where I can’t protect him, I need you and Daskh to get him out of here and return to the colony with Hashal. No matter what—do not remain here.”
Kehtal’s gavo snapped up in alarm, his protest welling up within him. There was only one reason he could think of that his stubborn mate would not be there and it did not bear thinking of. He would never allow anything to happen to his ashlava. None of them would. Furthermore, he could never even consider leaving without his ashlava. It was impossible! His mouth parted, but Lori pressed her finger to its seam and met his eyes sternly.
“This is important to me. I need your word. Daskh will follow your lead if you make it clear that this is what I want.” Her expression gentled and her lips curled into a reluctant smile. “Don’t worry. This is just a precaution. I doubt anyone is out to try to murder me. They may not like me much, but everyone has been respectful... and I am protected by their laws.”
“I would kill anyone who tries to harm you,” he hissed angrily. Leaning forward, he brushed his cheek against the top of her head, his heart seizing with worry. He did not wish to agree but he knew his mate—she would not relent until he agreed. And as much as he hated her request, he understood the reasoning behind it. “Very well, ashlava. If it appears to become that dire, we will all leave,” he rasped vehemently.
Her small body shook against him with her laughter as she looked up at him and planted a kiss against his chest. “Since when have you become so aggressive?”
“For you, I would refashion the Aglatha caverns themselves, no matter what the cost,” he whispered, dragging his cheek against her hair again in silent communication of his adoration and devotion to her. He could not kiss like humans could, but he knew that she understood by the way she pressed another warm, damp kiss to his scales, melting his heart anew. And he meant every word. He would bring the shinara itself to the ground if the noble matriarchs or the queen matriarch even dared to bring harm to her or remove her.
He sighed heavily, shifting his tail so that the end coiled loosely around her waist. “But it will not happen. We are determined to keep you safe... and the safest place is right here in the nest where we can guard against any potential threats.”
Lori thinned her lips at him, and he resisted the urge to chuckle at her indignant expression. The nest was very comfortable, so he did not entirely understand her distaste, but he did understand her displeasure at being confined for days on end. Aside from their one visit to the Daliska Market, they had not ventured out of the nest except to attend the nightly feasts at the order of the queen matriarch.
“So instead of being murdered, I will simply just die of boredom,” Lori replied with a heavy sigh as she dropped against his chest. “I should comm Vi later,” she mumbled against his scales, “just so she can enjoy this misery with me.”
Kehtal chuffed in amusement at her dramatics and nudged her lightly with his tail until she ruined her act of dismay with a soft laugh as she reached up and flicked the edge of his relaxed gavo resting in folds against his neck with her fingertip. A wry smile stretched across his face as he stretched his gavo and flattened it again with a playful snap that had his mate jerking her hand back with a burst of laughter.
“Naughty!” she chided, wagging her offended finger at him. “Speaking of my other two mates, where are they?” Lori asked as she sat up slightly, her weight rocking against his abdomen enticingly. Craning her head, she peered around their dimly lit chamber.
“Out investigating,” Kehtal promptly replied. “They are searching for any more signs of activity from Vekatha that might betray her next move.”
She groaned softly and rolled her eyes. “Vekatha is determined to be a thorn in my side. She shot her shot and failed. If she has any sense at all she will just give up and report to the palace so we can settle matters with her complaint. I can’t imagine what she thinks to accomplish just delaying it.”
“I find it odd as well,” Kehtal admitted, the tip of his tail twisting thoughtfully against his mate’s thigh. “Given the seriousness of her complaint and her claim, I would have expected that Slengral would have received summons to defend himself. But there has been nothing.”
“Maybe this is her plan,” Lori muttered. “Keep me trapped and terrified within the nest until I escape and run away.” She snorted softly. “Jokes on her. I will probably go crazy instead, but I’m not going anywhere without all of my mates. In that case, she can discover personally what being jumped by a crazy human is like.” A wide smile stretched across his mate’s mouth, and she laughed quietly to herself before breaking off with another long groan. “I say that we should foil her plans and go out and do something—anything.”
Kehtal flexed his wings uncertainly. “Truthfully, I do not know how the females and mated males entertain themselves within the shinara. Life in the upper caverns is simple. When we are not fighting for survival, we are resting within our nests or meeting with those males we may have territorial alliances with to share news with each other. Or we might seek some of the cavern pools.”
“Cavern pools?” Lori looked up with interest. “I assume you are speaking of something more than the small bathing chambers found in some of the nests. Slengral’s nest had one.”
He inclined his head, his gavo snapping. “The cavern pools are vast with warm and cool spots that allow for maximum comfort.”
Her brows rose in an expression of interest. “Do you suppose that they have any pools like that near the shinara?”
Kehtal hesitated uncertainly. “I could ask around, but it seems likely that there would be as the pools are often found in the lower caverns of the Aglatha.”
“Perfect! It would be nice to swim about a bit. There certainly aren’t any opportunities on the surface of the planet for that. Even the oases that pop up in the desert tend to be pretty small.”
An indulgent smile pulled at the corners of his mouth but there was still one very important matter that his mate was not taking into account. “There is still Slengral to consider. You may be able to easily sway Daskh into cooperating, but Slengral is very determined once he sets his mind on something.”
“Don’t I know it.” Lori huffed but a small smile of affection curled her lips. “Don’t worry about him for now. Just see if you can find the pool and then I can work on convincing him. I am sure that there will be some sort of argument that will work, even if it is just for a quick visit.”
Kehtal gave her a dubious look but hummed his agreement, his gavo snapping in affirmation.