CHAPTER 34
Dakleth
My body was humming with anticipation. After a year, I was finally going to see my mate again. I bounced on my toes, my wings fluttered uncontrollably, and my crest flared then retracted again.
“Stop fidgeting,” my father said. “You are behaving like a fledgling. You are embarrassing yourself. And me.”
He was right, but I could not help it. My stomach felt like I had ingested a nest of live larvae.
The bond was pulling hard. A guard had alerted us that Andrea—Andie—my mate, the love of my life, and owner of my hearts, had arrived at the palace and would join us in the receiving room shortly.
The anticipation was almost more than I could bear.
Kashtinela chortled in amusement, but mercifully said nothing.
The door opened, and a large Granthor walked into the room.
I froze as the great beast’s head swung towards me and fixed me with a baleful stare.
I had been told that my mate was often accompanied by a Granthor, but it had not fully registered.
An angry Granthor could disembowel anyone in this room in seconds.
The only thing that could take out a Granthor was a heavy laser blaster.
Or another Granthor. I could not believe this savage animal was allowed in the room with the three of us, but my father’s face showed no discomfort, and my sister actually cooed at it.
I tried to remain calm as the animal prowled into the room, standing directly between me and the door.
He saw me as a potential threat, evidenced by his low growl and twitching tail.
He had not taken his eyes off me since entering the room.
I was loath to take my eye off this predator, but then she walked in, and everything else fell away.
I could see nothing but her. Her golden hair was longer and glossier than when I had first seen her.
It shone like a waterfall of liquid gold.
Her skin was pale and clear, with a slight pink glow.
Her eyes were bluer than I remembered. At the trial, they were dull and lifeless, but now they were bright and shining.
She did not wear a simple skirt as our people did, but instead wore an emerald green dress with short sleeves, hemmed at the knees.
She was a tiny thing. How could such small, delicate hands have such a large grip on my hearts?
Generally, Ptexari females were as tall as males.
They matched us in size and strength. They lacked the crest of feathers of males, but the hard and lean physique was largely the same as ours.
Their genitalia was different, obviously, and in my opinion they smelled a great deal more pleasant than males, but otherwise male and female Ptexari were fairly indistinguishable.
Despite the muscle tone I could see in her limbs, my human mate was small and lush.
Her hourglass shape fascinated me. Ptexari females did not have breasts, but Andie’s filled out her dress in a way that drew my eye.
She had a tiny waist, and then her body flared to wider hips and a beautifully rounded rump.
When I had first seen her, she was wet and bedraggled, in an ill-fitting jumpsuit.
I thought her beautiful even then. Wrapped in the sheet in the medical bay, I was equally entranced.
But seeing her now, fresh and polished in a dress made to flatter her softness, hair brushed and shining, happy and healthy, she was absolutely breathtaking.
I fell to my knees, her supplicant, if she would have me. Pressing my face to the floor, I bowed before her—vulnerable to her beast—my life in her hands.
“Andrea of Earth, light of my life and holder of my hearts, I beg your forgiveness,” I implored her, eyes closed. “I have done you great harm, and I shall spend the rest of my days attempting to make amends.”
Andie
Well, this was…unexpected. I had been anxious all morning, not at all looking forward to seeing the Prince again.
I couldn’t believe the King expected me to exchange pleasantries with the male who assaulted me.
What do you say to your unintentional rapist?
Was I supposed to act like it never happened?
Apologize for having him sent to prison (not likely)?
Would he apologize for the “cultural misunderstanding,” or were we just going to drink Oonag like old friends catching up?
I didn’t know, and I was dreading having to face him.
But I wasn’t facing him now, because he was face-down on the floor in front of me. M’Pak sniffed him and gave an amused chuff.
“This is the male who gives you nightmares?” he asked. “He is no more threat than our ovinas.”
I had given M’Pak an abbreviated version of what happened to me.
M’Pak understood the harm, but did not grasp why I had nightmares and flashbacks about the ordeal.
“Sometimes even the strongest fighter loses,” he had said.
“You cannot dwell on the loss. You learn from it for the next fight.” He mentally shrugged.
I knew he wasn’t being intentionally dismissive, but it had stung a bit.
I reminded myself that M’Pak was a pragmatic animal.
He remembered his mother’s death, but he didn’t seem to carry that trauma forward.
He lived in the present. I was trying to do the same.
The stretching silence was becoming uncomfortable. “Um, please stand up,” I said to the prostrate Prince.
He pushed himself up on his feet, and I unconsciously moved a step back.
All Ptexari were taller than me, but he was bigger than I remembered.
The first time I saw him, I’d been so taken aback that I hadn’t been able to really study his features.
And honestly, all aliens looked horrible to me that day.
Even in the weeks that followed, the Ptexari all looked the same to me.
It was species-ist, I supposed, but they were all large with dark gray skin, wings, and two large black eyes with no visible sclera.
The colors of the males’ crests were the only thing that varied.
It took a while for me to distinguish the different face, nose, and eye shapes.
Some Ptexari had wider or thinner mouths, although all of them had dangerously sharp teeth.
I could see a strong resemblance between Dakleth and his father, King Akapa.
The Prince was nearly seven feet tall with a strongly muscled chest, shoulders, and torso.
His cheekbones and jaw were so chiseled they could have been made of stone.
His blue and purple crest was a little brighter than his father’s.
I could tell that he would be considered very handsome among the Ptexari.
His face was perfectly symmetrical, and he was a giant, even for them, with an impressive wingspan.
I wasn’t attracted to him—I didn’t really find any of the Ptexari sexually attractive—but I could see that he would be considered an ideal specimen by Ptexari females.
He had apologized—groveled, really—and I found myself unable to speak.
I didn’t know how to proceed from here. I was normally a pretty chatty person.
I knew the King and his daughter loved having me to lunch so I could regale them with tales of my misadventures in Ptexari society.
Camavel told me often that she found me a lovely conversational partner and enjoyed our chats immensely. But here, I was at a loss for words.
Kashtinela saved the day by inviting us to sit.
I quickly grabbed the cushion paired with hers so that I would not have to sit next to the Prince.
She smiled but said nothing. My dash to her side was not exactly subtle, but I needed as much distance as possible.
The Prince sat across from me, openly staring at me as I speared some zana fruit with my two-tined fork.
His eyes roved from my hair to my eyes, then my mouth, and I was starting to become uncomfortable.
I almost blurted out for him to stop staring at me, but looked at the King and held my tongue.
I would do my best not to be rude, even if his pig of a son couldn’t keep his eyes to himself.
Ok, maybe that was unkind. I found it hard to care, though.
“I owe you my freedom, my mate,” Dakleth said. “I know I would not have been released if not for your compassion. I thank you for that.”
“Please don’t call me that,” I said.
“Call you what?”
“Mate. I’m not your mate. Ok, I know according to Ptexari law I am, sort-of, but you know I didn’t consent. So don’t call me that. I am Andie. That’s all.”
Dakleth looked stricken, but swallowed, and said, “I understand…Andie. I do not wish to cause you any distress.”
“A little late for that,” I snorted.
Dakleth cleared his throat. “Yes… that is why I apologized. Would you like me to apologize again?”
“No,” I said. “I think it’s best for us to just pretend the whole thing never happened. We don’t really know each other. We’ll just behave at the celebration as two people who barely know one another. It’s true enough.”
“That is not entirely possible,” the King interjected. “The people demand an explanation. They wish to see evidence that our sacred Lumanela has not been harmed, and that you do not hold any ill will towards the Prince.”
“Well, I was harmed, but I can play along well enough,” I said acidly as I picked at my food.
“Can you?” the King asked harshly. His stare was penetrating. “We need to know.”
I felt like a sulky child scolded by her parents. This wasn’t going well. I had to remind myself that Dakleth never intended to hurt me. Stupid cultural misunderstanding. He wasn’t really a bad guy, according to, well, everyone. I needed to get my shit together.
I sighed and made myself look Dakleth in the eye. “I apologize. I’ve been rude. I know you did not mean to hurt me. I was hurt anyway, and I’ve had a hard time letting go of that. I’m working on it. We’ll start fresh, and I’ll try not to bite your head off at the party.”
“You can bite someone’s head off?” he seemed alarmed, and his eyes went wide.
I barked out a laugh, surprising myself and everyone else in the room. Some of my anxiety and anger melted away. “It’s a figure of speech,” I explained. “A human saying. It means to yell at someone in anger.”
“Ah, I see. Thank you for your explanation. And your apology is unnecessary. I have acknowledged both the injury I did to you and that you graciously agreed to my release. I am in your debt on all counts. I will proceed in whatever manner makes you most comfortable,” he said formally.
I nodded at him, and he nodded back. There. We were both civilized beings.