Chapter 28
Romival
The cheerful chirping of Holly’s combot roused him from sleep the next morning.
It was late, far later than he intended on keeping her.
If Atem showed up in a moment to rip her from his bed and beat him bloody for taking his sister without alerting him or claiming her, Romival couldn’t even be mad about it.
But when he woke earlier to get her back in time, Holly was sleeping so peacefully, her head pillowed on his bicep, her body warm and extra soft and practically glowing, he hadn’t been able to bring himself to disturb such a lovely sight for anything.
Glowing was not a change he recognized on her skin, but it was a definite change.
He wanted to stare at it. So, he had done just that and, in the process, had fallen back to sleep.
It was worth it, even if he did end up with a broken tail.
In fact, he fully expected that to be Atem comming to warn her of the incoming fight.
To his surprise when Holly turned with a groan to wave her hand at the device, activating the holovid, it was Peony’s face that appeared in partially transparent light overhead.
“Morning,” she greeted brightly, grinning at the sight of them in his bed.
Holly, yawning, sat up, keeping the blanket over her breasts. Romival’s arm immediately missed her head, so he put it around her waist instead as she leaned back into the pillows.
“Why are you calling me this early?” Holly asked, running her hand over her head.
“Two reasons. First: To tell you to get home because Atem very nearly went after Romival’s head this morning and I only just barely managed to keep him here.”
“Is he there?!” Dominani growled from somewhere beyond the scope of the vid. “Romival! You bring my sister back this instant or challenge me for her!”
Holly frowned even as Romival chuckled. “Peony, please tell your alien husband that I’m a grown woman and whose bed I wake up in is the business of no one but myself and that person.”
“I already did,” Peony laughed as Atem continued to growl in the background. “That’s the only reason he’s still here. But he really doesn’t like it.”
Holly frowned. “I don’t need his permission to go out.”
Peony’s face turned understanding. “I get it, Holly. I do. But you’re thinking like a human.
It’s not a matter of permission. He wouldn’t have told either of you no.
Romival asking to take you out isn’t about them having control over us.
It’s about keeping you safe so your guardian – Atem – knows where you are and knows who is protecting you in his place. ”
“Control you?” Romival repeated, frowning. Even Atem had stopped growling. “Why would you assume that we’re trying to control you?”
“Peony, what are you talking about?” Atem asked at the same time, sounding just as confused.
“Tell you later,” she said distractedly to the male they couldn’t see before focusing back on Holly who finally had the bitter look off her face. “Just let him know next time, okay, Holly? It’s really stressful for him if one of his family just disappears without notice.”
“You’re right. Sorry.” Holly gave her a wan smile. “I am still thinking like a human. Sorry, Atem. I’ll be better in the future. Okay?”
A soft sigh filtered through the comm. “I know you are human and will act like a human, Holly. And I am trying to respect that. But you know better, Romival! You are a domini and you act like a domini, and you know better than to take someone’s clan sister without asking!”
He was growling again and Romival, wisely, kept his silence, only grinning since Atem couldn’t see it as he stroked Holly’s hip with his thumb, eager to pull her back into his arms. Holly just shook her head, amused and not willing to push the subject. Instead, she changed it.
“What was the other reason you called, Peony?”
“Oh! Yeah. You need to get home soon, please. We’re having an intervention.”
Romival frowned at the strange word choice. An intervention? What were they intervening in? Holly seemed to understand what Peony was saying, but not exactly what she was referring to.
“Who needs an intervention?”
“Hattie.”
Holly made a sound of understanding, her mouth making a small ‘o’ shape. Peony nodded her human ‘yes’ with a serious frown.
“I went to eat breakfast with the others this morning. We were having an intervention for Atem, actually. About not going after Romival and breaking his face. How that might be okay by domini standards, but you would definitely not approve.”
“Thank you for that.”
“No problem. Anyway, we had food, right? Like, some pretty good stuff. And Hattie didn’t touch any of it. She didn’t eat at all. It’s not the first time either.”
Holly sighed. “I was afraid of this.”
“Right? Like, I’m scared she’s going to make herself sick!” Peony scowled fiercely, Romival just barely able to see her crossing her arms at the edge of the holo. “I haven’t seen her eat in days. Have you?”
Holly thought about it before shaking her head. “No. We went to the cafeteria at the academy. She got food, but she just kind of pushed it around. I don’t remember her eating any of it.”
Peony sighed sadly. “Yeah, that’s kind of what I thought. I’m really worried for her. So, I’ve ordered a super fabulous brunch made, with all her favorites. I want all of us there so we can make sure she eats and makes sure she knows that she’s perfect and Tuvo is just an ass.”
“What?” Romival finally interjected, sitting up to look at Holly. He heard Atem growling on the other end of the comm as well and knew that it wasn’t about him this time. “Holly? What are you talking about?”
She gave him a sad smile. “You remember when Tuvo made that comment about her size?”
“Yes…?”
“Well, it really hurt. And now Hattie isn’t eating. So, we need to, well, intervene. To make sure she knows she’s loved and he’s the one who’s wrong and not eating is bad for her.”
Romival’s gut dropped in shock and fear.
He had seen his Adassani kill a ratchi with a broken cup while letting out a surprisingly bone chilling battle shriek.
Yet, a single comment had been enough to turn Hattie’s appetite?
Or maybe it was the rejection that came along with it.
Or both together. In any case, the emotional pain hurt her enough to harm herself physically.
Could his Holly be hurt enough to cause her to harm herself too?
She and Peony were making plans for this intervention, and he planned to be there himself.
The human females, despite their soft appearance, could be surprisingly sturdy and resilient.
He needed to know about this emotional damage to Hattie so he could make sure that nothing similar happened to turn his Holly from food.
And no matter what, he was definitely not making another comment on her size, no matter how small he found her in comparison to himself.