Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
RUBY
Once again, I find myself standing in front of the medical center doors, but they won’t open. “ Einar , open the frackin door”, Slavic yells out after his palm print won’t open the door.
“ Not right now Slavic , whatever is so important can be relayed to me at a later date.”
“ Ruby wants to see her sister. You can either open the door and allow that, or I will break it down and demand it.”
The door opens slightly as he leans around it, looking through the crack, his face haggard. What in the world could my sister be doing to make a male like Einar look like this? “ Rowan is not handling this well right now, and I am scared you will only set her back further.”
“ Get out of the way, Green Giant , and let me talk to her.”
He hesitates for just a second before opening the door all the way. When I don’t see her anywhere, I’m instantly worried. “ Ok , where is she?”
He points toward the furthest corner in the room and that’s when I spot her, sitting on the floor. Her body is curled up in a ball with her arms wrapped around her legs, her face hidden by a curtain of red hair where it’s buried against her knees. It’s as if she’s trying to make herself as small and unnoticeable as possible. “ Shit , she used to do this when we were kids. You two just hang out, this might take a minute.”
Pulling one of the blankets off the nearest bed, I make my way over to Rowan . Sliding down the wall beside her so that she can feel my presence next to her, I throw the blanket over our heads, hiding us underneath its darkness. Her mouth is moving, repeating the same sounds. So , I know she’s silently chanting something over and over, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t make out what she’s saying. After a few minutes, she starts to relax, slowly unwinding herself. Taking a deep breath, I make my voice as gentle as I can.
“ I know you can hear me Sis , so I want you to listen. We are safe right now. Has life changed? Yeah . Am I scared? Some , just not as bad as I was when I woke up.”
Her head twitches almost imperceptibly and I know my words found their mark. “ We have to hide Ruby , he’ll find us.”
I can barely hear her, but the manic desperation in her voice can’t be missed. “ Sis , no one is going to find us. Robert and all his thugs are dead. Well for that matter, everyone is dead, but we’re not going to get into that right now because none of them count at this moment. Me and you, that’s all that matters right here and now. Do you trust me?”
“ Yes , always.”
“ Are you feeling better?”
She pauses to look down at her body clothed in an attractive, dark green gown. I watch as she delicately rubs the material with the tips of her fingers, an almost reverent look on her face. “ Oddly enough, nothing hurts.”
“ That’s because of the ‘ Not so Jolly Green Giant ’ out there. He has spent day and night hovering over you, trying his best to heal all your new and old wounds.”
“ He’s a monster and the monsters want to do bad things to us. They’re just like Robert .”
Her thoughtless, insensitive words cause a spark of irritation to light up within me, and maybe a hint of guilt as well. It wasn’t that long ago that I was calling Slavic ugly to his face. “ Stop that, no they’re not. Not everything out there wants to hurt us. Yes , I agree most things do, and I think in this world that number just multiplied, but do you know what we have now that we didn’t before?”
She shakes her head causing a lock of hair to fall into her eyes. Reaching up, I gently sweep it behind her ear in a loving caress to get it out of her face before dropping the rest of the truth on her.
“ We have them. The big guy who scared you just now, he’s your safe place. When the world becomes too much, you grab on to the green giant and don’t let go. If things get too loud, he’s the quiet you seek. If you allow it, he’s the one that can make all the pain go away, physically, and mentally. The green giant can and will replace all that hurt with laughter and new dreams, but you’ve got to let him in. Take my word for it, nothing’s going to get through him to hurt you and even though he’s snarly and scary at first glance, he’s a big marshmallow inside and cares more for you than any other ever will, before or after this moment.
We’ve been given a second chance, Rowan . We had to lose everything in order to be reborn into something else. I don’t understand half of what’s happened, where we’re going, or even what’s going to occur next. We’ve got a couple options though. One , we can sit under this blanket in our tent and hope that the world leaves us alone. Two , we can be brave and decide to live this new life to its fullest. Three , well there really isn’t a three that I can think of right now.”
“ I’m not you Ruby .”
My heart breaks just a little when her words crack as she says my name. Thankfully , I know she’s listening to me if she can talk back, even if it’s not as sassy as she used to be.
“ No , you’re not, you’re more. You just let the world scare you for a while, but that world is gone now. So , look at it like this. All those mornings you woke up wishing your life was different, well your wish has come true. And even though he’s a little on the rough side, you might’ve been sent your knight in shining, but a little beat-up, armor. So , what’s it going to be? Life or misery? You don’t have to figure it all out right this moment, but you do have to decide on stepping forward. Sis , you already know what’s behind you, what do you have to lose? Let’s look at the stars with hope in our hearts and minds. Allow the big grouches to hover and let’s live what little life we have left to the fullest.”
I feel like I’ve won a huge battle when her grin grows, and she smiles at me. Grabbing her hand, we both stand up together with the blanket still covering us fully. “ You ready?” With a nod, I lower the blanket down, only to find the guys just a few feet away.
Grabbing Rowan’s hand, I make her stand next to me. While the scowling, not so jolly green giant approaches hesitantly, her hand tightens on mine a bit. But it’s not a death grip telling me she’s about to lose her shit. He’s moving with way more hesitancy than I bet he’s ever done before, and it solidifies everything I just told Rowan . This male, he’s one of the good ones and I’ve no doubt he can fix what that fucker Robert broke.
Einar can bring me my sister back.
He was just about to say something when the door slides open and in walks the rest of the crew, a few I’ve not even seen myself yet. I feel Rowan shrink into herself with the addition of so many bodies as she slowly backs up against the wall. Instead of pulling her forward, I simply step back with her, so that we’re standing side by side.
To my surprise, Einar turns to face the new arrivals but positions himself in front of Rowan . His body is angled so she can still see what’s going on, and she has a direct path to escape if she needs to but is also protected from any threats in front of her. Smart male that Einar . Even if he is a scary as fuck version of my favorite vegetable commercial giant.
Kallen pushes her way through the multiple colors of massive males to stand in the front. “ Finally , all of you in one place.”
Slavic turns from me, walking toward her, the normal snarl on his face. “ Kallen what is so important that it could not wait until a later time?”
“ Oh , I do not know? … The fact that your Mam is alive and you have a youngling sister?”
Absolute chaos breaks out. I realize this is getting out of hand fast, and the last thing I need right now is for Rowan to be terrorized any further. Putting my fingers between my lips, I let out a sharp whistle. All heads instantly turn toward me.
“ Ok , now that I have your attention, all the snarling in the world is not going to answer your questions. So , pick one and go with it, like you guys have some sense.”
Kallen smiles at me, “ Thank you Ruby , I need to learn that trick. I do not believe I have ever witnessed instant obedience from these or any males before.”
Slavic is the first to throw out his opinion. “ Kallen , I hate to interrupt your little speech here, but I watched that Aynar mage slit my Mam’s throat with my own eyes. There is no way she survived such a wound.”
“ You are right, most would have died and if the medics had not been on scene quickly afterwards, she probably would not have made it. You must realize, we also thought you all were dead as well. Slavic , your absence has spanned numerous orbital rotations. I have no idea how you’ve kept your identities hidden all this time. Your Mam even put feelers out to see if any of you had been seen or heard of, but nothing come back.”
The one that favors Slavic the most, Ruarc , and who has hovered over Kallen since they walked in, holds his hand up when one of the others starts to speak. “ I think you need to start from the time we escaped Kallen . Or this conversation is just going to keep going in circles. Later , you and I are going to discuss why you are just now bringing this up.”
“ I was not going to retell this story multiple times Ruarc , and it is not like you have spent enough time with me to talk, she snaps back at him. “ I am not sure if you all were aware of this, but your Sire was one of the males leading the resistance against the Aynar . The others who were planning the attack had been trying to recruit him for several orbital rotations, but until they publicly whipped you Slavic , he would not take the chance. After that, he was determined to free you and your brothers, at any cost.
The Aynar thought they were in complete control and that was what finally defeated them. They spent rotations building the perfect male, with unlimited strengths and stamina. When the confrontation happened, even with their mental strengths they were unprepared for the mass that attacked them all at once. When the main mages were killed, the rest of them fled in the few remaining space worthy ships still planetside.
According to your Mam , the plan was for her to meet your Sire and all of you at the dock a tick after second sun rise. She was on her way there when the primary mage who had taken a personal liking to her, spotted her. She told me that she had no clue he was trailing behind her because the rising mate sickness had fogged her thoughts, and she was just determined to get to her mate one step at a time.
Your Sire was the one who planned the mine collapse and the landing of the Vespira , now the Zenith , to coincide with each other. His primary plan was to get his family on that shuttle while the workers in the mines were being rescued from an alternate entrance that he and a few others had been working on.
Once he got into orbit, he was supposed to bomb the main headquarters. However , we know that is not what happened, and this is how several of the Aynar were able to escape. Your Mam was found when another ship landed close by. While the males in the mines fought the remaining Aynar , all the females were rounded up and put on that ship. Once loaded, that vessel was programmed to head to the outer quadrants to an unpopulated moon called, Deapra .
It took several lunar rotations for any of the males to join us there, so in the meantime, we had to rebuild on our own. Your Mam , even though weak from the attack, only several rotations away from birth, and suffering the loss of her heartbond mate, is who took charge. Without her guidance, we would not have the trade routes or the society we have now. She will be overjoyed to find out that you all are alive and well, as she never believed any of you were dead.”
None of the guys are hiding their emotions well. Some are angry, others seem sad, but I can tell that Slavic is still not convinced.
“ I watched her die, Kallen !”
The conviction of his words and the anguish behind them brings tears to my eyes.
“ Her voice was damaged, and she has a terrible scar on her neck that she shows off proudly. Whether you believe me or not Slavic , she is alive and well, along with your sister Atasha , who is the spitting image of her.”
When Slavic’s eyes turn my way, I find myself releasing Rowan’s hand and walking toward him. I don’t know if it’s the pain in his eyes or the way he’s trying to hold himself apart from the others who are throwing question after question toward Kallen now, but when he opens his arms hesitantly, I walk right into them. I’m hoping after all he’s done for me that I can offer him some comfort at a time when he should be rejoicing. Wrapping my arms around his massive frame, he pulls me close, and I feel a tremble go through his body before he bends slightly, lowering his head on top of mine. Closing my eyes, I concentrate on the beating of his multiple hearts and wonder when I started caring. We couldn’t have been standing there long when an alarm sounds across the ship. Instantly , Slavic releases me. “ Everyone to your stations now!” His bellowing voice makes me jump as they all rush out the door.
When I see that Einar is not leaving the room but heading to a corner with a huge screen overhead, I look back at Rowan who is still standing against the wall, her eyes huge as she takes in the sudden chaos. “ Stay with Einar , do not leave his side, do you hear me?” She nods yes and I run out of the room chasing after the huge footsteps pounding away from me.