Chapter 16
Romival
There was no taste sweeter, in this or any known world, than one’s female on their lips.
The scent of her right in his nose. The flavor of her on his tongue.
It lingered through the day, making him hard enough to use his cock as a hammer as he saw to his duties.
Duties made that much more difficult when his mind kept wandering back to the female he had left thoroughly pleasured in her bed.
So comfortable and adorable, the memory only marred by the knowledge that it wasn’t his bed.
The last of her nesting material was getting delivered tomorrow. He would be able to introduce her to his den soon. See how she made her nest. See how she liked her space. And once he got her comfortable within it, he would challenge Atem for her.
For now, he showed up for another early morning yoga session, already grinning in anticipation of what they were going to do today. Was his little vakara going to be scared off and want to return only to training or would she try her hand at seduction again? He couldn’t wait to find out.
She didn’t say anything to him about yesterday, but she did turn a lovely shade of pink as they laid their mats out side by side. So close, they wouldn’t be able to avoid touching each other while doing the poses. Far earlier than he had scheduled.
They had barely started, however, when his combot began whistling, alerting him to an important, incoming call.
He frowned, lowering himself from the down facing dog as he ordered the comm to connect.
“Romival, to the Council Chamber. Now.”
That was Atem’s voice. Hard and serious. Brokering no argument and disconnecting without even leaving room for questions. It must be important.
Frowning, he looked to his female. She was already smiling, understanding.
“Sounded pretty serious. Better hurry,” she said, sitting back on her heels.
“Forgive me for leaving early.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead, surprising her but making her smile. “I will see you later if I can, tomorrow if I cannot.”
“No problem. Go.”
Romival grunted in thanks as he stood, rushing to grab his robe and hip pouch, throwing them on even as he was crossing the balcony to head down.
The Council Chamber was located just inside the canopy, allowing the glass ceiling to let in light, making it only a level lower than they were now.
However, it was in a completely different tower.
He jogged all the way there, regretting missing his morning with his female, but appreciating how easy it had been for her to let him go.
He had a lot of responsibilities, and they often interrupted other plans during the course of his day.
If she had been the type of female that needed more faultless dedication, it would have been detrimental to his position.
Not that he was unwilling to accept a lower ranking if she preferred more time with him, but he did like his job and would have been sad to relinquish it. Fortunately, his female was understanding. He vowed to make it up to her later.
Inside the Council Chamber, he found that he wasn’t the only one that had been summoned.
Atem was there, at the head of a holo table in the center chamber that was currently displaying a flat map of all of Turv, hundreds of tiny red dots flying over its surface.
Romival instantly recognized the orbital patterns of the starships currently encircling the planet.
Dominani was an impressive individual who didn’t need a great deal of adornment to come off as confident and powerful.
If anything, the fact that he dressed down added to his unspoken authority because there was nothing to take away from him.
His skin was deep green today, matching the long skirt that Adassani wore.
She stood at his side, as usual. Her belly was still softly rounded from her own shape.
It couldn’t be seen yet, but she carried his pup in her belly even now.
Her pregnancy was progressing as a typical domini gestation, and she had separation anxiety from her mate.
She couldn’t be separated from Atem for longer than a mark or two before she began to become uneasy and, if she was still left alone after that, blossoming into outright panic.
A common pregnancy symptom. A carrying adassi would always feel safer with her domin at her side.
It was right and natural. Romival was already accustomed to seeing her lovely human face whenever he needed to speak to his Dominani.
And since Atem had already sworn to keep her womb full, Romival imagined that he was going to only ever see his Dominani with his Adassani.
He didn’t mind that. Especially since he had eyes on his own human mate, he appreciated the sight of her now more than ever. Peony said nothing, just stood at Atem’s side, a worrying crease to the little tufts of hair over her eyes.
By Atem’s other side was First Warrior Tuvo – Atem’s brother by circumstance and his most trusted ally. Sometimes, Romival got the impression he was Atem’s only trusted ally.
Standing nearby, leaning over the large, flat, rectangular table, frowning at the map, was First Guardian Havali. First Guardian couldn’t have been more different from Tuvo. He was incredibly handsome, strong without the bulk, and was a detail-oriented male who was damn good at his job.
With Romival’s addition, that meant First Voice Survii and First Healer Donivi were the only Firsts not gathered.
First Voice’s primary task was speaking to other species in Atem’s stead.
He was almost never on Turv, but he did often comm and that was usually how he attended Council sessions.
Romival had never directly met the male as the last time he was here had been for Atem’s Hortii Kristivar – the final challenge of his rule as Dominani that sealed his position.
Romival had been Second Scholar then and had little to do with the other Firsts.
And First Healer, apparently, was not needed for this particular discussion.
Atem lifted his head from the map and set his sharp eyes on Romival. “Good, you’re here. Havali, tell the others what you told me.”
Havali saluted his Dominani before turning to the others.
“I’ve been watching intersolar traffic, trying to keep watch for the ratchi clavas that is a threat to our Adassani.
Every ship within our orbit is carefully screened for correct serial numbers and crew ID.
This morning, when I was doing the daily check, something was wrong with one of the cleared ships.
It blipped on the tracking screens when I went to highlight it.
So, I looked closer. All the information was correct for a s’skree merchant vessel.
Cleared for orbit but only pod landing, not ship landing.
But when I looked deeper, it blipped again, and I realized that it was fake.
There is no s’skree ship of this serial number currently in orbit.
I had my officers go up to check. There’s nothing where it says it should be. ”
“It was a cover,” Romival finished as Atem growled. “They falsified their clearance and maintained it in orbit as a possible escape route while they landed.”
“Which means they’re already on Turv,” Atem snarled. “Havali, I want you to double protection in the city. Triple it in the palace. No one is to get near my mate or my sisters unless I personally know who they are, or they have my direct permission.”
“As you say, vi Dominani,” Havali said, trying to pitch his voice in a soothing manner.
Atem was in no mood to be soothed, however. “Tuvo, work with Havali. I want your soldiers to help search for that ship. Find those ratchi.”
“Ratchi are native to wetlands,” Romival interjected. “They are adapted to the environment. I’m afraid, with the rainy season here, the flooded forest is exactly the kind of terrain they are built to thrive in.”
“They’re good swimmers?” Tuvo asked.
“Excellent, and they can hold their breath for around three marks at a time, and if they must breathe, only their nose needs to breach the surface. Their body temperature can also lower to hide in cooler waters without being detected by thermal imaging without compromising their metabolic function so long as it is for short periods. I’d say around one or two marks. ”
Tuvo cursed, annoyed, but Havali only grunted in acceptance.
Romival continued. “They have excellent senses of smell and their pack minded thinking allows for flawless teamwork and planning. Even a dishonored clavas can be dangerous in that regard. I don’t think the females should be allowed near the forest floor, or out unattended, until this is settled.”
“Agreed,” Atem snarled, looking at his mate. Doing so immediately softened his features. Even angry, he couldn’t maintain such a severe expression towards his adassi.
Peony did her human nod. “I understand. We’ll be careful. I’ll let the girls know.”
“It is only for a short time, vi Peony. Only until I can find these ratchi and eliminate them.” Atem turned to face them again. “Order your morning meals now. We’re staying here until we have a plan in place to find and capture these ecters.”
“Vas, vi Dominani,” came the immediate, intoned reply.