Chapter 25
Atem
Tears welled up in Holly's eyes. The first one hadn't even fallen before Peony and the others descended, holding her tight, cooing and comforting her.
She wasn't sad. She was so relieved that she couldn't breathe.
She might not have known about the malignant cells in her body, but she knew about everything else and to her they were all chronic problems that the most advanced medicine on her home planet couldn't correct completely.
She hadn't dared to hope that they could be fixed here, and hearing that they could made her break down.
Atem approached Donivi's side as the girls all promised to remain with her no matter how long the cellular readjustments took.
“So much?” He asked quietly, looking at the screen.
“Considering her people still perform surgeries so commonly, I'm not surprised their medicine hasn't advanced enough to fix these problems,” he responded, his tone carefully even. “That is especially true if their species is uncontacted. Medical advancements are one of the first things shared.”
Atem didn't need further proof that his females were from an undeveloped species. They clearly had some familiarity with technology, it wasn't like automatic lights surprised them or anything, but their technology wasn't on the same level as Turv's.
Which actually said a great deal. Turv was known for its warriors, and they made their credits on the intergalactic stage by providing physical protection and mercenaries and soldiers for armies of other species.
While they weren't backwards, they certainly weren't the most advanced people.
Even this technology here, in Turv's most advanced hospital, paled in comparison to some other species in the Coalition.
But his females were astounded by all of it.
It took the better part of a mark – two hours according to his females – for Donivi to systemically go through Holly's body and repair all her diseases.
The autoimmune one took the longest as it required filtering her blood and replacing her immune system with fresh, untainted cells that weren't going to attack her own body.
When she did finally sit up, she was crying again and rushed to hug and thank the old healer.
To Atem's surprise, Peony came up to him and repeated the action. She wasn't crying, but her eyes were misty as she fought back the urge to do so.
“Thank you,” she murmured into his chest, squeezing him tight.
Atem smiled, returning the embrace without complaint even as he corrected her. “I did nothing. First Healer Donivi did all the work.”
“Yeah, but you brought us here. These girls mean everything to me, and he probably just saved Holly's life three times over.”
He smiled. “You all saved my life first. It is my honor to do the same in turn.”
“We unlocked your chains. You literally did everything else,” Peony shook her head against his chest, laughing in disbelief. “And the food? And the clothes? Atem, I really think you've paid us back in spades already.”
“I do not know what that phrasing means, but I have not yet begun to repay my debt.” He pushed her hair back from her face, so he could see her beautiful eyes. “Vi Seerin, where are you from? What species are you?”
She cocked her head to the side. “We're humans. From Earth.”
He frowned. Considering he didn't recognize her species on sight, he hadn't really been expecting to know it by name, but it was still a disappointment.
“Can you take us home?” Hattie asked softly, interrupting his musing with a longing voice.
He hesitated. Not because he didn't want to do such a thing for them, but because he didn't know if he even could.
“I do not know this Earth. I have never heard of it before. I've never seen your species. I do not know where your planet is located.”
“Those ratchi who took us knew,” Scarlet pointed out. “They abducted us from our planet. Right off the street. Does their ship have a, er, GPS or something? A way to track where it's been?”
“It did, but the navigational console was destroyed in my efforts to claim the ship. All the data it possessed was destroyed with it.” His heart ached at the drop in their expressions. “If you have your planet's star data, I could still take you there.”
The females all shared a look, but it was a hopeless one.
“Our people haven't gone past our moon, much less to any planets in our own solar system,” Peony finally said, frowning at his chest. “I know we're part of the Milky Way Galaxy, but I know that means nothing to you, and I don't actually know what it looks like or where it is.
Couldn't pick it out of a crowd of galaxies.”
Atem leaned down and kissed her forehead.
“I am sorry, vi Seerin. Without the star data, I cannot locate your system. I could look for a hundred years and never find it. I will try, of course. I have already asked First Scholar Torvii to see if the data in the ratchi ship can be recovered, but I do not want you to get your hopes up. The likelihood of finding anything is quite low.”
None of them responded to him. Their eyes were all downcast, absorbing his words. He would do anything for them, so it pained him that he couldn't do the one thing they asked him for.
Peony recovered first. She forced a smile on her face, lifting her head. “That's okay. We're together. We're free again. That's all we need.”
“That's right,” Scarlet agreed, putting a hand to Holly's shoulder. The anxious girl was crying silent tears, holding onto herself as she shook. “There's a lot to be thankful for.”
“I am sorry I cannot do more for you on this,” Atem said, truly regretful.
“But I have declared you vora vakara, and I claimed you as my sisters.
You are my family. I don't know how family units function on your world, but for the domini, we live in clans. Mine is not big, but I am happy to have you join it. As my sisters, it is my honor to provide for you all. Protect you. I cannot replace what you lost, but I can give you everything anew. You can learn a trade, a skill, or not as you desire. Once your minds have recovered from the neural upload, of course. My home is yours. My wealth is yours. You will want for nothing.”
“You're really willing to take us in? Just like that?” Peony asked, surprised.
“I told you. My debt has not yet begun to be repaid.”
She laughed a bit, breathless. “Atem, really, we didn't do that much.”
“You did everything. All of my people agree that your actions were brave and honorable.
That is why you are Vora Vakara. Your ploy to get the master key?
That was brilliant. And the dedication required to physically count down every second?
That was unmatched. And you did it all while starved and dehydrated.
You say that you only unlocked my chains, but that discounts everything you had to do to accomplish even that.
Not to mention how much bravery it must have taken to put your trust in me when you didn't know me.
You couldn't have known if I was little more than an animal, but your kind heart still aided me, despite the risks.”
“Yeah, but you took down an entire ship of those guys! You fought them single-handedly. I feel like that's way more impressive.”
Atem was grunting in the negative before Peony finished speaking.
“Not so, vi Seerin. They had me under such strict and heavy chains because they knew it would be easy for me to dispatch them the moment I got free. Our deeds are not equable. And not to forget the most important, the most valuable, thing you did for me.”
“What?”
He lifted her hand and brought it to his heart again, holding it there so she could feel it beat. “You gave me water. When you had none. You all gave me water. You gave me food. You did not even have enough for yourselves, but you still shared with me.”
Peony chuckled nervously, her cheeks turning that beautiful pink he enjoyed so much. “Atem, you've given us loads of water and way more food than we ever even ate on that ship.”
“Again, vi Seerin, you think to equate these things by their literal value. You gave me everything, when you had barely more than nothing. Now, I have everything, and I have given you barely anything. My debt will likely never be adequately repaid.”
She stared at him. Those beautiful eyes so depthless and enticing. “You keep calling me that. Vi Seerin. What does it mean?”
Atem chuckled, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing it. The very same hand that he had held last night when giving her the name. The same hand that she had held out to him, offering that precious bowl of water.
“I named you all Vora Vakara, and that is a high honor. But to you, sweet Peony, I have given another name. An honorific to detail what you did for me. You were the first to give me water. When I was injured, when I was weakened, you reached out this hand, giving me your water. That small drink saved me. As you did when you advocated for me to the others. For that, I gave you the name Seerin Siria.”
“And what does Seerin Siria mean?”
“Well, it is a phrase that is actually very difficult to translate. It has a wealth of meaning. But loosely, and very roughly, translated it means, 'water bearer'. My water bearer. Vi Seerin Siria.”