Chapter 35 #2
That was ancient Domtri. Holly had no idea what it meant.
But the crowd went wild with approval and Romival smiled with pride, his chest puffed out, the tip of his tail flicking gently.
She already had the name Vakara from the part she played in saving Atem.
All of the human girls did. It was something he had given them when he adopted them into his clan to protect and provide for them since they had nothing at the time.
And while it was a name, it was also a title.
It was given to anyone who performed a warrior’s deed without being a warrior.
At the time, Atem had also given Peony her own personal name. Seerin Siria. It meant something like Water Bearer because she was the one who gave him water while imprisoned. There was more, because ancient Domtri was a very poetic language, but that was the gist of it.
And now, Holly had her own name as well. She had no idea what it meant, but she accepted it with as much grace as possible while she wanted to do nothing more than run back inside.
Luckily, after giving her the new name, the ceremony was over. Romival turned to walk her off the balcony, Atem bringing up the rear. The people were still cheering, chanting her new name.
Holly couldn’t draw in a proper breath until she was inside, gasping, bent over at the waist, hands propped up on her thighs.
“Congrats, Holly!” Alanna declared loudly as Hattie ran forward to hug her.
“I think I died,” Holly gasped, holding onto Hattie, eagerly soaking in the comfort of the best hugs in the world.
“You did well,” Romival praised, petting her hair back. His voice was warm and sent a tremor down her back as she smiled weakly at him. “I have some time now for second meal with you if you like? See if we can’t calm you down a bit.”
Holly nodded, separating herself from Hattie who was grinning at her knowingly. The others had similar looks on their faces and her cheeks heated when she realized that all of them suspected that Romival was going to do something naughty in his calming efforts.
She found herself thinking, even hoping, for that as well, so she just thanked Atem for her new name and bid the others farewell before following Romival back to her room.
He sealed the door behind them-
-and immediately had her face in his hands, kissing her eagerly. Messily. Holly made a soft squeak of surprise, but she didn’t attempt to get away. She clutched onto his wrists as he slowly walked her back towards the bed without breaking the kiss.
The moment her knees hit the mattress, however, unease swept through her.
“Romi,” she panted, breaking from him.
He only turned his attention to her neck, kissing and licking at the skin as he used one hand to pull her head aside and the other to sweep up her back, keeping her in place.
“W-Wait…” she begged, her legs already getting weak and nearly collapsing them onto the bed. Only sheer force of will kept her upright.
Romival kissed her neck, her shoulder, and only after that did he stand upright. The moment he saw her face, he smirked. She could just imagine the breathless expression over her features, and she shivered with the urge to let him push her back.
“Congratulations, Tiriista,” he said, using her new name as he stroked her cheek.
“What does it mean?”
“Tiriista Con Domana? It’s a very fitting name for you. Most literally, it means True of Spirit.”
“Okay.” That wasn’t bad. Better than Water Bearer, anyway. She wasn’t sure exactly what True of Spirit meant, but she did know that wasn’t the only thing that name meant. Not when Peony’s name also meant Life Giver. “What’s the longer interpretation?”
“Complicated.” He caressed her body as he spoke, like he couldn’t keep his hands off her.
“Tiriista con are two words that, together, mean ‘true’, ‘genuine’, ‘honest’. Singularly, tiriista is mostly meaningless. It’s a word that only has meaning when combined with another word.
For example, saying something like, ‘krititori vask seerin ka dinira’, is a declaration of love. ”
“It is?” Had she heard those words before? They sounded familiar.
He nodded once, mimicking her movements with surprising ease.
“It means, you are the one for whom I kill, live, and die. Themselves already powerful words. However, if I were to say, ‘tiriista krititori vask seerin ka dinira’, it makes it more meaningful. More powerful. It’s putting an assurance that the words I speak aren’t just words.
You are the one for whom I will literally kill, live, and die, and I will prove it this very second on your whim. ”
“It’s like an emphasis.”
“Precisely,” he smiled, pleased with her summation. “Con is a word that means ‘embodiment of’. Tiriista Con would then essentially mean, ‘the embodiment of emphasis’. True truth. Absolute certainly beyond words.”
“That is complicated,” she murmured.
He chuckled, playing with the tie on her dress.
The tie was both decorative and contained the seal that kept the garment on.
“Domana, spirit, is a much simpler word. It is exactly what it seems. Though, you might consider it non-applicable to you. The spirit it refers to specifically is that of the domini people as a whole. The spirit that we, as a species, possess. It’s not meant to be exclusive to other species, it’s just a word that was made when domini were alone in the universe. ”
Holly thought for a moment before understanding dawned. “Oh! It’s like saying something is humane. I get it. Although, I’m guessing, what we consider to be the true spirit of our people is different. What does that mean for the domini?”
“It means courageous,” he said immediately, his voice warm with pride. “It means willing to fight to protect others. A warrior for the good of those you love. The truest warrior who fights for those they treasure. Just as I’ve always said you were.”
“But… that’s not…” She stumbled over her words. It was bad enough when people were calling her vora vakara, the new name sounded even worse!
“You are a warrior,” Romival assured her, kissing her cheek. Her forehead. Down her other cheek to her chin that he nibbled on delicately. “My fierce fighter. Always willing to do for others what you’re afraid to do for yourself. So noble and strong.”
“All I did was stop her from eating a cupcake. Anyone would have done the same,” she mumbled, her voice breathless with anticipation as he pressed the seal on her dress. It immediately fell open down the front.
“No, they wouldn’t. You know how I know? You’re the only one that did.”
“That’s not…”
“Hattie was right beside you. She ate the treat the same moment that you did, but she didn’t have the strength to stand. Alanna was right beside Peony, and she couldn’t do it. Scarlet wasn’t even as affected as you and she couldn’t do it.
“You’re the one who did it, vi Vakara. Accept that you are stronger and braver than you give yourself credit for.”
His hands were on her now. Caressing her just as he had before, only now under her clothes. The rough heat of his palms made her shudder in eager anticipation.
But her ardor immediately cooled when she remembered this morning.