Chapter 6
Hove stayed behind with the paperwork while the six of us headed toward the exit. I hadn’t even been able to really look at the building earlier, my nerves had been too frayed for that, but I craned my neck this way and that now.
The stone walls were whitewashed in some areas, but in others the bare masonry showed through.
It had clearly been done with intention, because the whitewashed areas were paired with dark furniture or the technique was used to make corners look rounded so that the metal lamps placed there easily brightened a whole room.
We walked past one room where I just barely spotted lots of carpets and floor seating in the light that washed in from the hallway.
When we were outside again, the two bagua who’d come over to make sure Lissir wasn’t leading me to slaughter whistled and shouted what had to be congratulations. They waved, and I waved back.
“How do I tell them thank you?” I asked Inkiri, whose warm body felt so right against mine. The sky was only just clinging to the lighter shades of a darkening indigo, but ahead, where the festival was picking up steam, lanterns were being lit.
“‘Lesh’ is the right word here.”
He shouted it at them, and so did I. Now that I wasn’t a nervous mess anymore and could pay attention again, I took note of their black clothes. They were just like what my guys wore, except for Nokim. And Vergis, Mr. Fashion Sense himself.
I looked up at Inkiri. “Are they like you? Raiken?”
He nodded. “Raikenga. A member or part of the Raiken. We add the ga to show that.”
I nodded. “They look younger.”
Inkiri said something to them. It ended in “gu” and went up like a question. They said something back.
I leaned in closer—unnecessary, but I liked him close. “They just finished their training this year. We finished seven years ago. Seven years on Aer.”
“Yes, which means we’re not getting any younger,” Lissir said. “I would like to drink to the two of you now before we get any more old.”
Fellisse grunted. “Agreed. Unless it makes Rory so happy he has to cry again. Humans continue to surprise me.” Like Inkiri, Fellisse was wearing shiny new black clothes. Our group looked really fancy, although Vergis and I were definitely the ones who stuck out.
Vergis hummed. “Yeah, humans are quite something. Fellisse, you haven’t even heard that human theory that everyone was talking about before the apocalypse happened, the one about the vestigial uteruses.”
That absolute jackass.
Fellisse spun and dipped his head until we were nose to nose. “Is he joking, or saying the truth?” He narrowed his eyes. “It’s true, isn’t it? I can see how it would make sense.”
For some reason, my bottom lip trembled. “It’s not. He’s being the shittiest hangu of honor ever. Pardon the French.”
“He’s a… Oh, like your bridesmaid?” Inkiri asked. “Is that why he looks so pretty today?”
Which was when I discovered that all it took to shut Vergis up decisively was getting Inkiri to call him pretty.
“Yes, he is very pretty, isn’t he?” Nokim said when he caught up with us. “He turned so many heads on the way here. People were asking whether he’d allow them to treat him to food or drink.”
“Personally, I’m amazed that he’s still wearing knives and things under that robe,” I said, which earned me…a friendly-ish grin from Vergis. Either that, or I was high on the endorphins of having gotten monster married.
Lissir appeared on my other side suddenly and whispered in my ear, “You both will thank me in the end, just wait.” He was looking not at Vergis, but rather at Nokim. It dawned on me what Lissir was getting at. He was trying to set those two up. He probably knew Vergis was jealous of me.
“You know how shameless you are, don’t you?” I said, but Lissir shrugged that off and strutted into the mass of evening partiers, very pleased with himself.
We ended up not quite in the center of the festival, but standing by the side of a road while Nokim and Vergis were off buying a round of drinks or food, I wasn’t exactly sure which.
Along the road, a game of lantern lighting was happening, played by younger bagua.
I had no idea what the rules were, but they were tossing a fist-sized ball to one another, and sometimes they would then dash to a brazier set at the head of the street, then light a long candle and try to bring the light to the next lantern as quickly as they could.
Sometimes the lanterns would be blown out, and the lighting would start over.
Inkiri wrapped his arms around me and pulled my back snug against his front. “Are you happy, Sadir?”
“Yup. Happiness achieved.” I leaned back against his solid form. Fellisse and Lissir were chatting a stone’s throw away, clearly giving us some privacy, or as much as could be had when it seemed to me as if the whole city was out here celebrating.
Seeing so many people this happy, this unburdened, made the sadness of irretrievable loss tug on my heart. Earth had nothing like this now. I pushed back the emotion. I didn’t want to be sad on my wedding day with everyone doing their best to make it special, maybe even Vergis.
“That makes me happy too.” Inkiri bent forward to nuzzle my neck. “You smell so good, Sadir. All mine.”
I reached up and managed to find one of his horns and hold on. His dark growl rumbled through me.
“What if we stay here?” I asked, surprising myself.
He cocked his head. “You want to stay in Esaka?”
“I—maybe not this exact place. I don’t know.
Maybe where you lived before you came to Earth?
I meant here. On Aer. We could…find a nice place to live.
With nice people around, where there’s good food.
” I needed a place where there were no singing stones, no sad reminders of the lives lost, no cults, no people who would shoot at us.
I was reasonably certain I would be able to make it without my cute cat socks and my phone so long as those conditions were met.
Inkiri clicked, and it sounded surprised rather than comforting.
“You would want that, Rory? I meant to talk about it eventually, when you’d gotten more used to me, and I better at understanding what you need, but…
There’s no need to pick now, or to pick Aer.
Vergis’s father hardly ever returns these days, and I do quite enjoy Earth. ”
“Well, sure.” My mood fell at the prospect of returning to Earth, where the monsters were.
“No rush. Just…” I turned around and hugged Inkiri to me, going up on my toes until I was as close to eye level with him as I would ever get, which meant my nose almost reached his chin.
“It’s a lonely place though. Earth, I mean.
And dangerous.” I gave him my bestest damsel eyes. “I really like it here.”
He looked at me with affection softening his expression.
“It must’ve been so hard for you, those two years.
” He clicked. “I wish I’d found you sooner, kept you safe.
Made you happy. Shielded you from all the bad things.
” He rocked us back and forth on the balls of his feet like I’d seen Nokim do.
“But didn’t you say you wanted to meet Donna?
There is your family as well. Also, Sadir, if magic runs inside you, and if it comes from Earth, learning about that will be better than ignoring it. ”
I buried my nose in his chest and inhaled his scent—musky, slightly sweet, already familiar. Why did he have to be so sensible, understanding, and supportive? Why wasn’t he the kind of guy who just accepted that I was going to be accommodating?
Of course I knew he’d never be like that. He was far too nice; had been ever since he’d found me and hadn’t made a single move to eat me. That made me think of him eating me out, which was not the train of thought my mind was supposed to be on.
I rested my chin on his chest. “I really just want a quiet life, you know? If that’s even possible with you being a secret prince and all. But I do like it here on Aer. Everyone’s so friendly, apart from the cola ash people, of course.”
Inkiri chuckled. “Hove was so very excited to improve his English through talking to you, but I’m thinking maybe we should get you to learn some Lugarra if you want to stay here longer.
And don’t call me a secret prince. I’m not.
While I still serve in the Raiken, I cannot take on House responsibilities, in addition to which, I’m not hangu.
In my House, only hangu can hold the very influential titles. ”
Huh. That was surprising. “So you aren’t really a prince after all?”
“Not like the ones you have in your stories. Or maybe, yes. Do you know the one with the sleeping princess in which the prince cuts down the roses and kisses the princess awake?”
“Sleeping Beauty? You’re like Sleeping Beauty?”
Inkiri chuckled and bent down for a kiss.
“You’re like Sleeping Beauty, and I am the prince who does nothing more than garden and kiss the person he adores awake so that person can rouse a kingdom from slumber and give it life.
Though it’s very questionable and not considered even remotely proper behavior here on Aer to kiss anyone you find sleeping.
Especially not random strangers. It’s not something I would do. Ever.”
“Oh, is that a de-hornable offense? Would it get you sakkir-ed?”
Inkiri laughed. “I suppose not quite, but very nearly, and rightly so. Maybe I’m nothing like a human prince at all, although I’m my hangu father’s only child.
He has two hangu spouses, and there are a few siblings who are much more princely than I.
” He clicked. “Perhaps you’ll meet some of them, in time. ”
I shrugged. “You’re my prince. I don’t want one of your brothers.”
His gaze softened. “You were my Sleeping Beauty until this morning. And then you finally woke up again and came back to me.”
We were having another movie moment, clearly, his big hands steady on my back, his warmth keeping the slight chill of the evening at bay. He leaned in, and I tilted my head to meet his lips.
“Oh, look how adorable they are!” Nokim hollered on my left, much too close.
Vergis snorted. “Yes. Saccharine.”
With that, my movie moment with my horned prince was foiled yet again. It was really not right how that kept happening.
Fellisse and Lissir came back over as Nokim and Vergis handed out tankards full of the local booze.
“This is…?” I looked at the milky drink sloshing in my cup.
Vergis smirked at me. “You’re gonna love it. It’s called fennie.”
“Fennie?” I repeated and attempted to put the stress on the second syllable like he had. “Hilarious. Like fanny. So funny. Thanks for that mental image.”
Vergis gave me a flat look. “You forget I walked in on you and your mate. I also saw you drenched in monster guts, so don’t go complaining about mental images to me.”
Inkiri clicked. “Let’s not bring up any innards at all tonight.
Also, Vergis, you hardly walked in on us since we were not really doing anything but sleeping.
Few enjoy pleasure play with a sleeping partner.
” Inkiri’s hand wandered to my butt and he gave my left cheek a possessive squeeze, which made me jump.
“It’s no a secret that my mate likes to scream when I please him.
I don’t think he’d be able to sleep through the pleasure. ”
“Wait, what? Am I…really that loud?”
My cheeks heated, both because of what he was saying and the way he continued to cup my ass.
Although, that wasn’t all that bad. Maybe I liked wandering hands—his in particular.
All over me. As a prelude to him ravishing me.
Ravishing was clearly in order, although maybe not right this second with me having this fanny to drink.
We were married, though, and that wasn’t official without the ravishing. It was even obligatory.
“In pleasure, silence can rarely be found.” Fellisse raised his tankard. “May your bedroom never be silent, Rory and Inki.”
“And may it never be lonely!” Nokim added.
“Nor boring,” said Lissir.
“Nor cold.” Vergis looked right at me, and he was smiling. Well, what passed for a smile with Vergis. It was more a quirking of his lips and me wondering when he’d next threaten to stab me. But I’d take it.
We clinked our fannies together after that unnecessarily explicit toast, and boy, when monsters brewed alcoholic beverages, they made them strong. I was coughing my lungs out after just one sip.
Fellisse’s laughter boomed. “Rory, you sound twice your size when you take your mate, but when you take a drink, you wheeze like a babe!”
Everyone laughed. I’d have told Fellisse I wasn’t made for drinking like a monster, but the stuff was still burning in my throat and making my eyes water.
I didn’t mind any of that though. Today was the best day I’d had in too long. Ever. I had my mate next to me, gently petting my back and finishing most of my drink as the evening went on, and we were surrounded by friends. This was perfect.