Chapter Nine
Drazien
She thought she didn’t let her amusement show, but I saw it, and my chest warmed as if we were already bonded.
I’d been skeptical of the validity of the old tales about bonds, but after seeing Kael and then Rhydek establish theirs with their omegas, I’d craved it the way someone thirsts for water on the surface.
“The winds are strong, and they drive sand before them. You need a thavren to protect your flesh and eyes.”
Elaina frowned as she looked from me to the fabric in my hand before her brows rose and she looked almost excited.
“Oh, it’s like a shemagh.”
It was my turn to frown, the odd word not registering even though I knew as much English as I could learn since we’d first started talking of an alliance with the Humans.
“Shh-ma?”
Her eyes had lost the glassy look of her illness although the skin around them was still dark with fatigue, but they lit up at my attempt to say the Human word.
“We have deserts on Earth too. They’ve actually grown a bit due to our stupidity over the years, but the cultures who developed there use different things to protect them from the sand and sun. A shemagh is a lightweight fabric that some of them wrap around their face.”
She took the thavren from me, shaking it out before folding it and then placing it atop her hair. The way she wrapped it around her head was not the way we did, but it looked as if it would accomplish the same task.
Even though I approved of her knowledge and rudimentary ability, I reached out and gave the fabric a tug, a portion of it falling away to expose her mouth and nose.
“The winds here are stronger than on Earth, especially at night. They’re already picking up, and something this loose will be ripped away. If you wrap it like this instead…”
I pulled the other end free and then rewrapped the thavren so it was secure. It was closer to her face, with a narrower opening for her eyes, and tucked tighter.
“It will be more secure.”
She reached up and touched the fabric but didn’t move anything. With her face hidden I couldn’t see her expression, but she was good at controlling it anyway. Her eyes were what gave her away, and they were still lit.
“You’ll have to show me again, but I think I can tell the difference. I learn better by doing things myself with instruction than by watching.”
A pleasant tingling filled my chest, but I ignored it and took hold of her wrist. Kael had warned me the Humans were unprepared for the wind on the surface, and that she would need guidance to the entrance of Korvashan, even with a thavren to save her from the sand.
The airlock released with a sigh, a hiss filling the cabin as our clothing stirred. Elaina’s already fruity scent had deepened and grown sweeter with her change, and it swirled around me, making my cock stir and my kethra flicker with a hint of my interest.
Elaina stumbled the moment we stepped forward and the wind slammed into us, throwing one hand out to catch herself on the edge of the door. The thavren molded to her face, her eyes narrowed into thin slits despite its protection.
“What the—”
Whatever she’d been about to say was ripped away as a gust came from the opposite side of the ship, knocking her into me.
I couldn’t help my amusement as I wrapped my arm and tail around her to hold her there and walked forward.
Even with my support she struggled, and I heard her spitting a string of something in English that sounded like profanity.
The wind tugged on my braid as we crossed to the archway that led down into Korvashan, embedding sand deep enough to make my scalp itch.
Despite the narrowed openings of my ears and nose, I felt the abrasion of it within the cavities, but it was something warriors trained to handle.
There was no stopping in the middle of a fight because your opponent ripped your thavren away, you had to be able to withstand the elements.
We stopped once we were within the shelter of the archway and Elaina looked back at the shuttle resting beside the walls of Veyrdrahl’tharvek.
It was large enough to hold the entire crew of the Zeydvorrash and power through the atmosphere of any planet, and yet the walls towered over it like dark cliffs rising in defiance of Vorrashan.
“Why the hell is the wind that strong?”
Looking down at the little Human, I raised a brow. It was amusing to rile her, so I lifted one shoulder and acted as if the dusk winds were what was usual.
“This is merely the wind. The strong winds come at night, or when they drive a veyr’karin.”
She pulled the fabric around her face loose, sand sliding down to pool at her feet. She stared at it for a moment before meeting my eyes again, and for the first time I thought I saw true concern.
“Why is everything called Blood-something? Veyr-drahl. Veyr-karin. I understand you are warriors, but it’s a bit macabre.”
I let out a laugh, surprised she was so astute.
“Because the stones are soaked in blood. The storm leaves nothing but the blood of those caught in it. Everything revolves around the blood thrumming within our veins.”
She stared at me for another moment, her nose scrunched. The expression drew my attention to the little speckles there, and I reached out to brush a fingertip over them before I could stop myself.
“What are these?”
I’d studied them while she slept, determining they weren’t scars, but my people didn’t have anything similar.
Her eyes crossed as she pulled away from my finger and attempted to look at her own nose before she shook her head.
“They’re freckles. Localized overproduction of dark pigment, caused by sun exposure in those genetically predisposed to them.”
Raising her hand, she rubbed the bridge of her nose before freezing, an alarmed look taking over her features. Moving her fingers across her brow, she pressed her hand to the side of her face and looked back towards the shuttle.
“Where are my glasses?”
There was a deep crease between her brows, but her eyes were wide when she looked at me once more. It was the first time I sensed fear from her, and I stepped closer despite there being no physical threat.
“I removed them while you were ill. They will be with my things and will be delivered to my meyr’kal.”
When she didn’t appear soothed by my assurance and rubbed her face again, I took hold of her hand.
“Do you require them?”
Her gaze moved across my face before she blinked, and the worry shifted to confusion.
“I should… but… I can see.”
The concern that had begun to take root in my chest eased, and I released her hand.
“My people do not suffer sight problems the way Humans do. The serum fixed it.”
I turned away but the noise she made had me looking over my shoulder.
“Fixed it? Just like that, one poke and a fever, and then bam, my eyes are perfect?”
The venom in her voice didn’t make sense, and she must have noticed it from my expression. She pulled in a deep breath and closed her eyes before her shoulders relaxed and she seemed to shake off whatever afflicted her.
“Okay. Let’s move on.”
I hesitated before beginning the descent.
The other Humans had complained about the stairs in Korvashan, acting surprised there were no lifts, but Korvashan predated the technology we used to move between levels within our ships.
It was impractical to carve the stone away to add them when we were able to use the stairs.
Elaina seemed to have no issues with them besides being slow, and her pace decreased further once we reached the High Ledge. I almost urged her to move faster before I spotted Rhydek and his Human omega walking towards us.
“Drazien, Shaevrin meyr’kal.”
Bowing my head in acknowledgment, I watched his mate from the corner of my eye as she moved closer to Elaina.
“Hello! I’m Taryn.”
She held her hand out towards Elaina in the vertical manner Humans used to introduce themselves. It was a habit that would have made sense, if they had used it to test the newcomer’s strength, but the few times I’d shaken their hands, their grip was lax and revolting.
“Elaina Voss.”
Taryn smiled from Elaina to me before stepping back to Rhydek’s side once more. I didn’t miss the way Rhydek subtly relaxed the moment she was out of my reach, and my lips twitched.
His omega was claimed and bonded, and yet he still reacted to her being in the presence of other alphas. It was almost ridiculous.
Until I thought about Elaina stepping forward to touch Rhydek in the Human fashion and I had to swallow back a snarl.
“Welcome to Korvashan. There are a lot of differences here, but as long as you’re open minded, it’s not too hard to adjust. Except to the heat. That…”
Taryn trailed off with a short laugh as she shook her head. She hadn’t been as talkative when I’d met her, but I was also an unknown alpha to her.
I looked at Elaina to see how she was taking meeting one of the other Human omegas.
There was a slight smile on her lips, and her muscles were looser than they had been, but she still held herself in a way that said she wasn’t quite comfortable, and her little glances at the space around us showed she was trying to keep an eye on her surroundings.
“The packet warned about the heat. I’ve spent time in the PanAsian Federation and the African Union, so I think I can handle it.”
Rhydek echoed my huff as Taryn grimaced. Elaina’s head turned to each of us, her brows lowering as her lips tipped down in a frown.
“What?”
I was tempted to leave her wondering, but Rhydek took mercy on her.
“Khavren begins in two drazh. The… You would call it a festival. The Festival of Flame lasts an entire talren and celebrates the coming of summer.”
It took a breath for her brows to rise as her eyes grew round.
“Coming? It’s only Spring?”
I laughed and even stony old Rhydek chuckled. Taryn’s nose curled back as if she smelled something bad as she nodded.
“Yeah, and spring is short. We’re barely out of winter, and it wasn’t any cooler when I arrived as far as I could tell.”
A sound behind me had my tail curling around Elaina to draw her closer to my side. Her lips parted on what was probably a question as to why until a troop of soldiers passed behind us, several alphas shooting glances at the two women.
I flashed my teeth at them over her head, warning them to keep their eyes to themselves. Elaina was already taken, even if she didn’t bear my mark yet.
“You also spend a lot of time on the surface with Zharrek. Where is the varku anyway?”
I looked behind the pair, surprised Taryn’s shadow was missing. I hadn’t seen her without the beast since shortly after she recovered from her attack.
“We thought it best not to overwhelm Elaina. We wanted to welcome her, not scare her.”
Elaina’s eyes sparked with interest at Taryn’s remark, but she didn’t have time to ask for an explanation before Taryn moved on.
“You should have Drazien bring you by for a visit sometime. Or his assistant if he has one. It’s good to talk to someone who understands the weirdness of being the new alien.”
Elaina smiled at Taryn, but Rhydek was already steering her away. They disappeared through one of the tunnels with a wave from the Human, and then I turned to lead Elaina to the next set of stairs.
“She spoke as if I needed to have someone with me if I go anywhere. Is that how it works here?”
Elaina’s voice was controlled, carefully neutral, but I knew enough about her species to know she would find issue with being told that omegas almost never went anywhere alone and were usually escorted by at least one alpha.
Omegas were precious, but they also tended not to do well when alone, on top of the rebel issue we faced towards Humans.
There was no reason to hide the truth from her, and not knowing would make her more vulnerable than she already was. Even if I planned to make sure she was never at risk, she needed to be aware there was a chance.
“Korvashan can be confusing at first. We do not use signs to mark the tunnels the way Humans do their streets, and you will have to learn to navigate the way we do. Plus, there have been a few incidents aimed at the Humans here on Morrakan, so it is safer to make sure you do not go out without me.”
Instead of arguing or asking more questions, Elaina remained silent as she looked out over the railing that ran along the edge of the stairs to keep anyone from falling into the ravine.
With Vorrashan’s light fading, the ravine was already dark, and lights across the gash appeared to float in nothingness, like stars.
The bridges spanning the ravine below us were lit with moss growing along the edges, but they appeared to connect to Zeyd instead of another wall of stone.
We came to the landing outside the Cavern Markets, and the noise and light drew her focus, but when I moved to the next set of stairs to keep going, she followed.
Dusk and dawn were the busiest part of the day since many chose to rest and escape the heat during the afternoon hours, so there continued to be traffic on the stairs until we passed the next landing where most Morraki lived.
“How deep does it go?”
The question drifted from behind me, quiet enough to ignore if I chose, but the way she’d withdrawn when I had expected a barrage of questions had me wanting to encourage her to speak.
“The tunnels and stairs go down farther than is safe to explore now, but the ravine ends at this level. The River Caverns are below us, and no one goes deeper except the Zha’torin.”
“Zha’torin?”
She was good at repeating Morraki words the way I said them. I’d heard the other Humans attempt it, but they typically failed.
“I think Humans call them priests? Acolytes? You seem to have several words that mean the same thing, so I’m not sure which is correct.”
Her quiet huff echoed in the stairwell that had grown narrower, the stone slick with moisture.
“It all depends on the religion, and you’re not the first to be confused.”
Considering that, I glanced back at her. She had fallen behind and was moving slower, and while I’d reduced my pace, she was struggling to keep up.
“Would you rather go rest? We can bathe later.”
Features pinching, she gave me that scowl that she tried to pretend wasn’t a scowl, and my concern lessened.
“I’m dirty, not broken. I can make it down a few flights of stairs.”
Grin splitting my face, I stopped and crossed my arms over my chest, letting her catch up before breaking the bad news.
“But can you make it back up them?”