15. Essa
fifteen
Essa
W hen we get to the palace, I expect to be guided to our rooms or for our guests to attempt to separate us. Haven III can be risky for outsiders to visit since one bite can make them complacent. It can be dangerous for other Havenths if others are plotting against them.
Instead of being separated from my concubines, Ilyna excitedly leads us to the family dining room. It's smaller than the formal dining room where my parents took all of their meals.
Most nights, they wouldn't force Niivi and me to attend with them, but the evenings they did were always dreadful. They would seat us so far apart that we couldn't talk even if we wanted to, and the staff were always tense and waiting to be demeaned or scolded for some perceived wrongdoing my mother deemed fit. Niivi and I always ate in the family dining room with Ilyna. It has good memories, and now they're about to be spoiled.
Adam doesn't release my neck as we walk through the elegantly decorated palace halls. Metallic filagree adorns every single edge of the recessed portions, which are hand-painted to showcase various depictions of the religious lore of how our land was created and the gods that blessed this territory.
I thought they were over the top when I was younger, and now, walking through the hallways with two males who have been through more in their lives than I could ever understand, they seem even more gaudy and unnecessary. Seth's fingers wrap in mine, though he stays a step behind me. Adam's fingers squeeze. I realize, for all I know, Seth is reading my emotions, and he and Adam are talking about them without me even knowing. I would think it's rude if not for the fact that it's helping me relax.
Ilyna motions for us to head inside the family dining room, telling me she needs to get something from her room first, but then she'll join us. I want to beg her to come with me, to act as a buffer between me and the awkwardness of this encounter. Instead, I let her walk away, double-check to make sure Adam and Seth look presentable, and head into the dining room.
Niivi and Iddis are already inside, and they don't hear us enter. They whisper to one another, their tails tangled as their words become more urgent like they're quietly bickering. When they realize they're not alone, Niivi's eyes constrict.
I wish I knew what I've done to make her so volatile when she sees me. We were once close, and I want us to return to that. But that won't happen if she's always so quick with her angry face when she sees me.
"Essa." Niivi gives me a smile that looks more like a grimace as she steps away from Iddis and closer to us. She glances at the males on either side of me, only one of which is behaving.
"I didn't know you'd taken concubines. It would've been good for us to know." Her voice is strained as she says the words, and Iddis places a hand on her lower back, almost in support. It's disgusting.
"This is Adam." I tilt my head in his direction. He doesn't smile, doesn't wave, and, thankfully, doesn't speak. "This is Seth." I tilt my head to the other side, and Seth gives them a bright smile and a quick nod of recognition. "They're humans."
Niivi scoffs, her eyes wide, and then she's shaking her head. I expected some pushback on my concubines not being Haventh, but I didn't expect it from my sister.
She was always the one telling me how she was going to marry for love one day. I made her promise she would since it was my duty to marry for the family. I wanted her to be with someone who cared about her more than anything else in the universe.
"Keyda," Iddis chides my sister with a nickname meaning beloved in our culture. A nickname one does not throw around lightly.
I gnash my teeth at the term of endearment, hating that he's forced himself into my sister's life and is now using nicknames as though she has a say in who she ends up with. No, she does now. I'm back, which means Iddis will have to marry me and not force my sister into something she doesn't want.
"It's not because they're human." Niivi turns back around, her face looking normal or as normal as it can when she clearly doesn't want to have this conversation. "It's that you have concubines at all."
"My taking of concubines means nothing in terms of the mergings of our families," I say.
I'm going to say more, but Adam's hand tenses on the back of my neck so hard I cut him a glower that I hope conveys he's pushing it. It does not convey that to him at all, or if it does, it makes him want to push me even more.
"Let's eat before we start talking about merging families," Adam says with a bite in his words.
I roll my eyes at his dramatics and am going to agree with him when I realize Iddis and Niivi are now privy to just how unorthodox my relationship is with Adam and Seth. Well, mostly just Adam. Seth is being a good male for me.
Niivi has her eyes narrowed on Adam, her hands curling at her sides, and Iddis is forcing himself not to smile. It's not the best reaction to my concubines, but it could be so much worse.
"Yes, let's eat before Niivi decides to fight for your honor." Iddis points his comment at me, which causes both Niivi and me to give him annoyed looks. He only snorts before pulling out one of the chairs around the round dining table.
The food is already set out, including flaky, golden pastries I haven't had in a long time, perfectly roasted and smoked red meat because we always have the best cooks, and my favorite side dish, something Sloane would call cheesy—except human cheese is only slightly like the melted product in this one.
I take a step toward the table, and Adam and Seth follow. I watch Niivi, unsure why she's still standing when it is rude of us to take our seats before her. I stand next to my chair, watching her, waiting to see if I'll need to stop Adam or Seth from sitting because as much as I don't mind them not following all of the rules, I don't want to disrespect my sister in her own home.
Niivi's lips pull back as her fangs elongate.
"Look at her like that, and I will cause a scene." Adam's voice is low and deadly as he steps between my sister and me. "She came back for you, so stop with the hissy fit."
Niivi's fangs lengthen completely. Her pupils are little slits as her hands ball into tight fists.
"Came back for me?" The words sound melodic, but she's angry, more angry than I've ever seen her. "She's here to take over our family home. A home she hasn't been a part of in years, and she brings you. A disrespectful male who doesn't value our way of living." Her voice lowers as she pins Adam with her stare. "Cause a scene, human. See how that works out for you."
I release a long sigh and rub my temples. Adam's itching for a fight, and Niivi will give him one. I just don't want to have to get into a fight with my sister to protect Adam and his terrible decision making skills.
"Essa, you need to sit down," Iddis says, his tone even as he reaches for Niivi and wraps his fingers in hers, trying to calm her down. "You're the head of the house. Niivi can't sit until you do."
My brows furrow at what he's saying, and then it hits me that to my sister, it looks like I'm playing petty games with her by not sitting. I urge Adam back toward his seat and take a seat in mine.
"I'm sorry," I say quickly, looking at my sister in earnest so she can hopefully see that I wasn't trying to make a power play. "I was waiting for you to sit. Like you said, you've been the one here. I didn't even think of myself as the head of the house."
Niivi's features soften when I apologize, but she doesn't say anything to acknowledge it. Instead, she gracefully sits in her seat, and Seth and Iddis do the same. Adam remains standing, his arms awkwardly crossed over his chest but held away so he's not smudging the paint on his torso and arms. Seth and I ignore him, knowing he's just trying to cause issues.
"Are humans all so aggravating?" Niivi asks me, her voice normal as she serves herself food.
Iddis watches her fill her plate, a small smile on his lips. I dislike this immensely. I wish he at least acted how I remember him. When he was younger, he was an insufferable male, and there's no use in him pretending he's not anymore.
"This one is special," I say, giving Adam a soft pat on the ass since he's still standing, and I can't possibly be expected to reach up to pat his back. He doesn't even startle, but he does shoot me a burning glare that tells me I'll regret it later.
"And would you prefer us to call them by their names or address them only as yours?" Iddis asks, his attention moving between us to see our reactions. Seth's face is bright pink at the questions, which I expect since he's an easy man to make flush. I'm more surprised to see the highs of Adam's cheeks are also ruddy. Maybe my males enjoy being known as mine more than I thought.
"Their names are fine," I tell Iddis. It's common for concubines on Haven III to be only addressed by their mate's name, but I don't wish that of my males. "And, of course, they may address you as Iddis and Niivi."
Adam glowers at Iddis as though he didn't know this is the male I've been betrothed to for over ten years. He has known, of course, because it's not like there are just tons of males who want to attend an awkward dinner where I think of ways to kill him so my sister isn't forced to marry him, and neither am I. I doubt I could get away with murder, though. I'd be the prime suspect. They probably have a Sombran here somewhere, checking to see if there's a threat to either of their lives. It would be smart of them.
"I can tell you've only spoken highly of me to your lovers." Iddis beams as he takes a bite of his food. "I would've done the same, but I was under the impression we were waiting to add concubines until after the nuptials."
I frown at him, not liking that I have to interact with him. He's still as annoying as I remember, but he hasn't put a bug in Niivi's hair yet or rigged some sort of contraction to dump water onto her. Unless… I look around the ceiling, making sure there's nothing up there to surprise me later.
"I'm sure you had to fight off females wishing to fill your bed," I say, eyeing a suspicious wet spot in the ceiling. Either a scheme or water damage from a burst pipe, those have happened on occasion, and this isn't a room that the public sees, so my parents wouldn't rush to fix it, but then again, it could also be a scheme.
"Would you believe me if I told you I did?" Iddis shoots me a devilish smile that I frown at. Even better, Adam scowls harder at him. Good. We can join in our efforts to dislike Iddis. I like that I'm not alone in that.
"Enough," my sister says more sharply than I expect.
She's never been one to anger easily, but being around me must put her on edge. I want to tell her she doesn't need to worry, that I'm here to make sure she doesn't do anything she doesn't want to.
I was hoping she might've married by now because then she wouldn't be forced to be with Iddis, but that wasn't in the cards, or my parents refused to let anyone court her on the off chance I ever formally rescinded the engagement.
"I don't know who I'm riling up more, Essa or you," Iddis says with a tease in his voice as he smiles at Niivi. I gnash my teeth at him as she bares hers.
"You've always been good at that," Niivi says, rolling her eyes and returning her focus to me. "I want to discuss why you're back on Haven III."
"Is it not clear?" I ask, tilting my head to the side.
My sister is trying very hard to rein in her emotions, to hide parts of herself from me right now, but I don't know why. We were always close and always told each other everything. Then, I left Haven III without telling her. Or, rather, I left her a note explaining as best as I could why I left. I didn't realize things had grown so hostile between us.
"I need to hear it from your mouth." Niivi takes a deep breath and swallows hard as though she's preparing not to like my answer.
"I'm here to marry Iddis," I say, keeping my tone level so as not to give away that I'd much rather strangle him in his sleep than share a marital bed with him.
Adam's body stiffens beside me, and I can see Seth's brows pull together as the words leave my mouth. It's not me they're focusing on, though. No, it's Niivi.
She pushes away from the table, letting the chair fall backward to the ground with a loud crash. There's no apology or excuse as she runs out of the room, letting the door slam closed behind her on her way out.
Iddis gives me a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Welcome home."