Chapter Six #3
The djinn raised his brows. “I see. I don’t know what that means, but I think I understand.”
“Tell Kaido what I said. She will explain it.”
He nodded. “Right. Do I have a scroll for you?”
“Nope. I am on the path to a slow recovery. I am not in the mood for anything acrobatic for at least a year. I am also simply human.”
“I do not think so. May I have a single hair to have tested?”
She chuckled. “Sure.” She removed her wig, noting his gasp. “Yeah, the treatment chemicals attack the hair follicles. It will grow back eventually.”
She pulled two fluffy strands and held them out. “There you go.”
He took them carefully and folded them into a piece of parchment he had gotten from somewhere. “Thank you.”
She flipped her wig, straightened the locks, and settled it back on her head.
“Why do you wear that?”
“The pattern of hair loss is definitive. It means I am ill, and that causes folk to shy away from me. That is unpleasant, so I wear the wig until treatment is over and it grows back.”
“How long have you been ill?”
“Off and on about twelve years.”
“It is painful?”
“It is having a weight pressing you down, no matter how you stand or sit. Being unable to breath outside in the open air and sunshine. It is an ache in your bones that wants you flat on the floor. But that being said, I have brain tumours, and they are not painful aside from devastating headaches.”
Emperor Vaayu looked at her. “You were prepared to die?”
“Of course. I was also refusing to let my friends heal me at their own expense. I didn’t want to be tied to something nearly immortal.”
She saw when he understood.
“So, your friend, she gave you the healing without a tie to the caster.”
“Correct.”
“That is interesting. Perhaps she will share the technique.”
Helen chuckled. “I don’t think she has your number.”
“There are means to reach me.”
“Does she know them?”
He sighed. “I will let Myro know.”
She smiled. “See, they say you can’t continue to learn as you get older. You are proving them wrong.”
The shock on his face was extreme, and she laughed. “See? No manners whatsoever. Sorry, not sorry.”
Vaayu chuckled. “You are not remorseful.”
“I am not. There is a group there waiting to speak with you. I am going to go and find Mik and the others. Enjoy your chat, and don’t drop those scrolls and Mik’s energy sample.
” She pushed herself upright and turned toward the loose crowd, where her friends were standing.
“It was an honour to meet you, Emperor Vaayu. I wish you and Kaido all the best.”
He smiled and inclined his head. “It has been an interesting discussion with you. Thank you for speaking with me, Helen.”
She chuckled, nodded, and walked to her friends with the slow and careful step of someone who knows they aren’t stable.
Dina ran over and hugged her, becoming a living brace for her as she took step after step.
The young female alpha did the same on the other side, and Helen laughed as the girls helped her get to her friends.
* * * *
Vaayu turned toward Vemel. “What information do you have?”
“The dragon flight that Kaido engaged in began to open locks all over the world. More of these adaptations are blooming all over the globe. The djinn are astonishing, but when I was in Japan, they had tales of ancient gods mixing with the population. They are probably beings like ours, but there are different caches of them on different continents.”
“So, there are other bloodlines to look for.”
“Yes.”
Vaayu smiled. “This world needed more scouting, but we are here now, and they seem to be adapting well.”
“Your Highness, my mate is a full djinn now.”
“Given what I have seen tonight, that isn’t as extraordinary as it was the last time I was here.”
Vemel laughed. “But they are very interesting.”
“I would have to agree, but so many are related to my Kaido, it is really unsurprising.”
He spoke to all of the dark elves who were present. It was close to a dozen. Each had a tale of a brave and courageous mate found on this world after their long wait.
Vaayu smiled. Kaido was going to be smug about it.
Hours later, Vaayu removed his regalia and walked over to his bed, his mate curled on her side with the curve of her belly held protectively.
He removed the rest of his clothing and crawled into bed next to her, kissing her cheek, her lips, and caressing the belly that carried the heir to the empire.
Her eyes opened slowly. “So, how was it?”
“The ladies are shocking.”
She giggled. “Yes, they are. They have had to be warriors and wrestled with magic that they weren’t trained for. I couldn’t help them at all. They have fought battles you could not imagine. They have no time for bows and measured speech.”
He pulled her against him. “Djinn have begun appearing.”
“Vega? Asel?”
“No. Earth-born djinn. None of our magic is in them. There are also other djinn surfacing, but they usually show up in battle.”
“We have been at war on two fronts.”
He nodded. “I have been given the means to find matches for them.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. There is a wild mage there. She’s... something.”
She laughed. “Yes. I think the magic makes us slightly whimsical.”
“Does it keep you sane?”
“Some would say not, but I raised our family and remained focused doing it.”
He smiled and kissed her. “And if you can raise more, I might forgive you for running from me for that scheme.”
“Yeah, well, I will think about it.” She sighed as his kisses worked down her neck and past the collar that she had to wear.
He chuckled. “Five more months to think about it.”
She caressed his chest and wrapped her hand around his neck. She whispered, “Convince me.”
He smiled and did his best to convince the empress that life in court, with him, was worth the effort of raising a family in the stars.
Emperor Vaayu sat on his throne, and he lifted Kaido’s hand for a kiss.
“Guild representatives, I have three scrolls with three signatures that are available for mates. And mages, I have an energy sample for you to take a look at. Geneticists, I want you to look at these hair samples and run them against known species, identify what you can.”
He looked at the green and red scroll. “See if the Arkenon will send a representative. I have a candidate who will interest them. If they find a match, they will have to relocate.”
Kaido snickered from her throne at his side.
“All of these matches will have to relocate to the new colony world where the empress took her extended vacation. Our family’s arrival has caused a ripple effect, and the world is now producing its own djinn and mages as well as other beings that are astonishing.”
Vaayu tapped a control, and the three women who matched the scrolls were displayed, including the one who changed from green to red to human.
There were startled inhales at the collection of power on display.
The guild masters got ready to go.
Kaido elbowed him, and he said, “Oh, and the red djinn prefers females. Look for a female delta for her. She might accept a second who is male, but the primary must be female.”
Kaido nodded and smiled.
“This world has stringent divides for intimate relationships. If this is the preference, I would not want to guess at how the blood djinn would respond to the wrong mate presenting itself.”
The startled guild masters nodded.
Emperor Vaayu looked at them. “Well, go!”
The men got up and exited the room with stumbled protocol.
Vaayu looked at his wife. “You can laugh now.”
Kaido giggled. “You are right. The court can be fun.”
He reached over and pulled her onto his lap. He kissed her softly, enjoying the sound of her laughter. “Will you sing for me? Dance for me?”
“I am getting more unwieldy by the day.”
“Well, dancing will help you keep your balance longer.”
“What kind of assholery is that?”
He laughed at her outrage. “I see the bluntness of the human women either inspired or contaminated you.”
She grinned. “Let’s go with inspired. My love, do you have an appointment with the Arkenon military?”
“I was hoping for a meeting. Why?”
She whispered, “They are here.”
He turned his head from the delightful curve of her neck. “So, they are. Too bad. We were making such progress.”
She snorted as he set her down in her throne, but he held her hand.
The dark green men looked a little on the ogre side.
Vaayu said, “Welcome to the imperial chamber. I have recently been on a world where I met a woman of astonishing power and grace.”
The men frowned.
Vaayu tapped the arm of his throne, and the image of a woman with pine green skin and white markings on her forehead, collarbone, and wrists. The ogres moved forward and reached to touch her.
The oldest of the detachment pulled his gaze from the woman. “Emperor Vaayu, where is she?”
“That is the tricky issue. She is on a world where we sent a colony starter a few centuries ago. My empress is born of that world, those bloodlines.”
Kaido waved at the green men. “Hello.”
Vaayu looked at the detachment. “The woman in that image has relatives, so she will not leave her world. Anyone considering offering themselves to her will need to accept that they will be leaving their clan, community, and having to deal with elves and other species everywhere.” He paused. “Teyval is still around.”
That made a few of them perk up.
“He’s mated, and there is a baby already.” Kaido smiled. “A little girl. She looks like her mom, but she’s more social.”
The men looked surprised. The leader said, “Teyval had a girl?”
Kaido smiled. “Myrtle had the girl. Teyval had Myrtle.”
Vaayu snorted. “Out of all her choices, she had to pick those genetics.”
The men stiffened and looked at each other, trying to determine whether or not to be insulted.
Vaayu grinned. “If you have any candidates who wouldn’t mind spending one hundred years on a mid-tech world, I have a compatibility test for them.
Oh, and they would have to put on a local seeming.
The skill level of a glamour is necessary.
The dark elves there will help you find work that suits your interests. ”
The men nodded and stared at the image of the woman who had all the marks of a ranking and powerful queen.
Kaido smiled as the men got into a huddle and discussed what they wanted to do. It looked like a football huddle, and they lifted their heads to look at the woman with the fascination of green prairie dogs.
Kaido whispered, “What’s her name?”
“Nyla. Her sister is Nyssa, and her niece is Dina.”
“Who is the white one?”
“Oh, her name is Mik.”
Kaido paused, and then her memory snapped the image into life. “Mikhaela. She was a therapist to a lot of ladies who had suffered at the hands of the Elite or shadow mages.”
He smiled. “It is a better name than Mik.”
Kaido laughed brightly, and Vaayu smiled. He idly wondered how many times she would be willing to bear for him. He had his mind on a dynasty where all the ladies laughed like that. It had been his only solace for centuries, and he wanted it with him for all the centuries to come.