Chapter 39
Atem
They fell silent, Atem giving her plenty of time to enjoy the phenomena.
He had seen it tens of times in his life, but it seemed completely different when he held Peony in his arms. He wasn't even watching the horizon.
Instead, all three of his eyes were focused on the wonder crossing her face.
The joy, the slight laughter that bubbled up as though her happiness couldn't be contained.
It was impossible, but he could swear that he saw the sparkle reflecting in her beautiful, water green eyes.
The dark red of the sunset tinted her skin like she was capable of camouflage.
“Peony,” he whispered, completely enchanted.
She turned from the horizon and her smile widened, crinkling her eyes, as she looked at him. She reached back, her hand stroking his cheek. The warmth of her tiny fingers sent a tingle down his spine as he leaned into her touch, kissing her palm.
This was the perfect moment. He had to ask her now.
“Vi Peony,” he leaned back a bit, just far enough to look into her eyes. “Do you know what krititori vask seerin ka dinira means?”
She giggled. “That's a big one. No, I don't know. Tell me.”
“Essentially, it translates to 'the one for whom I kill, live, and die'. You know that I told you that loviri tii is a romantic relationship between two people who aren't mates. The krititori relationship is the one between mates. One half is the adassi. The other half is the domin.”
“What do those words translate to?” She asked, her eyes focused forward on the glittering horizon again, though one hand kept caressing his forearm around her waist. Listening intently.
“Adassi translates to 'nest maker'. Domin translates as 'den protector'.”
To his surprise, Peony threw back her head and laughed. “Domin is 'den protector'? So, your species, the domini, are the den protectors of the universe?”
He chuckled, nuzzling her cheek. “You mock me, little human. We are a strong and proud species. Being a den protector is a valiant and honored role that males and females are eager to perform. Not to say the nest maker isn't equally important, but the den protector sees more combat.”
“It's not a gender specific role?”
“Well, females tend to be the adassi. But if she happens to be the better fighter, after she has whelped her young, then she could very well be the domin. Between the two of us, you, Peony, would most certainly be the adassi.” He whispered the last in her ear before nibbling the fascination curve of the shell with his lips, making her giggle and squirm.
She turned abruptly in his grasp, putting her arms around his neck with a grin. “That's interesting. Do tell, Atem, why you're informing me of this now?”
He could see in her eyes. She already knew what he was about to say. About to ask. He could also see, with certainty, what the answer would be. Her excitement, the thrill of what was about to happen, lit her entire face even more than the glittering sunset.
“Peony. Sweet Seerin Siria, will you-”
His combot began beeping, interrupting rudely from his hip pouch. He growled, angered, as Peony broke into laughter.
“Of course,” she said as though the interruption was a given.
“One moment,” he begged, reaching for the combot. He was tempted to ignore it, but he had warned his Firsts not to contact him tonight unless it was important.
It wasn't the voice of one of his Firsts that came through the bot as it hovered over them though. To his surprise, it was Tilii.
“Forgive me, vi Dominani,” she said immediately, her voice haggard and worried.
“What is it?” He asked as Peony leaned into his side.
“Well, it's...” She struggled to find her words. “I just got a notification from the laundry system. Towels with a great deal of blood were detected by the scanners coming from Hattie's room.”
“What?” Peony's head perked up, surprised and confused.
“Blood?” Atem's brow furrowed. “Did you contact her? Ask her what happened? Is she injured?”
“She has been in her room all day, vi Dominani. I went to check on her the moment I got the notification, but she won't let me in. She has begged for me to leave her alone. But she sounds so pained. I'm worried. I'm so sorry to interrupt, vi Dominani, but-”
“No, you did the right thing,” he assured her, moving to the controls. “I'm returning immediately. Contact First Healer. Have him meet us at her room.”
“Er, Atem,” Peony started, frowning with consternation.
“Don't worry, vi Peony,” he gave her a tight smile. “We'll return to this shortly. But I have to make sure Hattie is safe.”
“I don't think that-”
He didn't hear the rest of her sentence over the rush of wind as he threw the hover forward into one of its fastest speeds. Peony, startled, fell onto one of the benches. The short wind shield that remained up protected Atem's face as he raced back to the palace, his heart pounding.
Peony had been targeted while out in the market; it was worryingly possible that Hattie could be targeted as well.
But if she had been attacked in her room, then that was a breakdown of security that was unacceptable.
Blood would flow if Atem found out that his guards had failed so badly that Hattie had been hurt in the middle of his home.
He didn't think that Hattie was afraid of healers the way Peony was, but it was possible that her species instinctively sought privacy and safety when injured. It wasn't an instinct of the domini, but he had heard about it in others, especially softer ones like the humans.
They were back at the palace in moments. He brought down the hover and grabbed Peony's hand, rushing her out of the vehicle and into the halls, running for Hattie's room.
“Er, Atem, this probably isn't a big deal, you know?”
He frowned back at her. “Not a big deal? The laundry only sends alerts of blood stains if it's excessive or if there's tissue included. She could be really hurt.”
“Yeah, or it could be... you know.” She gave him a beseeching look.
But he didn't know, and he was too concerned with Hattie's safety to stop.
He rushed into the suite that the females shared. Tilii was there, standing in the center of the room, wringing her hands worriedly, as Donivi waited by the door. He was frowning and looked up as Atem rushed inside.
“Is she answering?” He asked, dropping Peony's hand, coming forward.
Donivi grunted in affirmative, “She's responding, but she insists that she's fine.”
“Atem,” Peony tried to call to him again, but before she could speak, one of the other doors opened and Scarlet stepped out.
“What's going on?” She asked, looking between them.
Atem ignored the question as he knocked firmly on Hattie's door.
“Really! I'm o-kay!” She yelled immediately. “Please, go away!”
“Hattie, I'm coming inside,” he said firmly, no concession in his voice.
“Er, Atem,” Scarlet tried to speak up in the same odd tone as Peony.
But Hattie could be hurt, and he wasn't going to fail one of his sisters like he had failed Peony. He overrode the lock on the door panel with a simple command and it slid open immediately followed by an outraged cry from Hattie.
She was inside, curled up on her bed, a holovid paused on her combot’s display. Her blanket was pulled up to her waist. She was wearing her a thin, breathable, white shirt. Her hair was a mess, and there was a definite, pained look in her eye.
“Hattie?” He rushed towards her, checking around for danger.
Hattie's face was burning red as the others came inside. “Scarlet! Peony!” She yelled at them, her tone as equally odd and beseeching as theirs had been.
“You okay, sweetie?” Scarlet asked, coming around to her other side, walking ahead of Donivi.
“I'm fine,” she stressed, her arms crossed over her belly, but she quickly unwrapped them to hastily pull up her blanket. Not before Atem noticed that she wasn't wearing anything on her legs.
Ah, she was embarrassed to be caught half naked. That was understandable. But she didn't look injured, and he couldn't see any signs of a struggle.
“Is it...” Peony hesitated, looking quickly between Atem and Donivi before lowering her voice conspiratorially. “You know?”
“Yes!” Hattie hissed. “And I would appreciate some damn privacy!”
“Wait,” Donivi frowned, looking between the girls.
Scarlet and Peony shared a look, a wealth of information passing between them.
“Maybe we should go out in the main room?” Scarlet suggested.
“No.” Atem's voice was hard and unmoving. “We don't leave until I know Hattie is safe. Hattie, the laundry scanners found blood staining some of your towels-”
“Oh. My. God.” She buried her face in her hands, her face, her ears, her entire neck bright red. “I'm on my period, you total jerks! Okay?! Now, go away!”
Atem looked up to see Peony and Scarlet grimacing in shared pain. But he didn't understand. “What's a period?”
All three females froze. Hattie looked up at him through her fingers. Scarlet turned to Donivi, as though expecting him to say something, but he was equally confused.
“Seriously?” Peony asked, staring at him in surprise. “What, your females don't have periods or something?”
Atem ‘s eyes narrowed. “No. What is it? A disease?”
“Someone, please, kill me,” Hattie moaned, making his eyes widen in fear.
“You're in that much agony?” He asked, horrified, putting a hand to her shoulder. “Donivi, we should take her to the healing center immediately-”
“Scarlet!” Hattie begged loudly over him.
“Really, guys, this is so unnecessary,” the blood haired female said calmly. She took in a breath and faced them with a carefully neutral expression. “A period is a completely natural part of the human female reproductive cycle.”
“It has to do with blood?” Donivi asked, frowning deeply.