Chapter Eleven
Serenya
“I’m staying with you?”
I knew my brain wasn’t working correctly. Blame it on fever, hormones, panic… take your pick, but I had to have heard him wrong.
The fever wasn’t as intense as it had been, but the aches and cramps had increased and were stealing my focus. I was emotionally unbalanced from leaving my home behind on top of everything happening to my body, but despite being aware of it, I couldn’t control my reactions.
Kael’s brow arched, his silver eyes flashing in the dim golden light. The room we’d entered was spacious, resembling a living room with a dining nook in one corner, and a desk in the other. The wall to my left had a large round opening in the center revealing a second room with a bed.
A.
One.
A single large bed, that I was apparently expected to share with the massive alien staring at me as if to say, “What else did you expect?”
I might have questioned his motives with the dim lighting if the entire ship hadn’t been even darker. It had been a good thing that the corridors had been clear, otherwise I might have tripped over anything blocking my path.
The red tint of the lighting had made sense once I remembered Morrakan circled a red dwarf sun, so the fact that Kael’s quarters were brighter with a neutral tone, meant he had to have adjusted it for me.
It was also several degrees cooler and didn’t feel as dry as the air in the rest of the Zeydrassk.
My chest tightened even as I struggled with whether I should be offended by the assumption that I’d be fine sharing his bed so soon.
“You are my responsibility now, Serenya. I cannot take care of you if you are not with me, and placing you in another room would be seen by other Morraki as rejection. I thought Human pairs cohabited as well?”
I sucked in a breath, trying to calm myself, but the scent that filled my lungs had my emotions swinging in another direction. The whole room smelled of spice and campfire smoke, with a hint of something that made me automatically register that this was the space of a male.
My belly cramped and I winced. I stood barely beyond the door that had slid shut with a quiet hiss once we’d entered, and after walking through the massive ship to reach the commander’s quarters, I felt like I couldn’t even make it the few more steps to the couch-looking thing in front of me.
My brain scrambled to hold onto what I’d been saying before, and I tried to voice the concern that no longer seemed to matter.
“That usually comes later. I had thought you’d have a guest room, or—”
He strode back to me, slow and deliberate, and the rest of the sentence got caught in my throat the way I was caught in his gaze. Warmth spread from my belly up through my chest and down into my thighs, and for some reason I wanted to squirm and look away.
“But you are not a guest.”
I hated how the way he looked at me made me feel like he could peel back my flesh and see inside me. Read the very thoughts in my head.
Was this how it would always be?
Was this what the bond they spoke of was like?
I shivered as he reached for me, but his hand stopped before our skin touched, hovering. Waiting. Giving me the chance to accept his touch, or deny it.
“Nor do we have time for later.”
Swallowing, I lowered my arm to place my hand in his.
When I’d been feverish he had felt slightly cool to me, but the heat of his touch had returned to what it had been at the gala.
It made me shiver again, and I watched as his pupils flexed, the markings that peeked from beneath his uniform and traveled up his face rippling.
“I just didn’t think I’d be sharing your room so soon.”
My words came out a whisper as he drew me away from the door. Something shifted across his face, perhaps disappointment, but all he did was nod.
“You will sleep on the bed. I can rest out here.”
My eyes widened as I turned back towards him. I’d looked away to watch where I was walking, but my surprise at his willingness to compromise broke my concentration on my footing.
I swallowed again, torn between the desire to accept and the automatic need to not cause trouble. It was his room, his bed, and the furniture he was leading me to didn’t look large enough for him to sleep comfortably.
He had to be able to read my thoughts, because as he turned me so I could take a seat, his lips quirked the tiniest bit.
“It’s not a request. You can have this time to adjust to us sharing quarters, and we can revisit any concerns once we reach my home in Korvashan.”
With him so close, the scent of spice and smoke was stronger when I sucked in another breath. Holding it, I nodded.
He released my hand and stepped back, giving me space to think.
I glanced around the room as he walked over to a rectangular opening in the wall near what seemed to be a dining table, surprised at how warm and comfortable the space was considering we were in a metal bottle floating in space.
The smooth walls were a deep reddish-brown, the furnishings glossy black, but there were enough spots of color and lighter tones to keep it from feeling like a cave.
I couldn’t call what I was sitting on anything but a couch since it was similar in shape and function, but it was firm, and it was two separate pieces connected by what looked like black antlers, with a gap between the cushion and the back.
The space made sense for a species with a tail, and it was clearly made with someone Kael’s size in mind, leaving me feeling like a child perched on the edge, unable to keep my feet on the floor if I scooted back far enough to lean against the back without slouching.
What drew my attention the most was the carved base of the glass table in front of me.
There was a slight tint to the glass, making the carving look pink, but a glance under the edge showed it was actually white.
The main part of the carving was what looked like a serpent, although its head was different than any from Earth, and it was coiled around a cluster of something that I didn’t think was eggs, unless the spiky edges came out soft.
Just imagining something that shape trying to come out of the birth canal of anything made me shudder.
“That’s Zaryth.”
I looked up at Kael as he returned, offering me a cup. I took it cautiously, but the liquid inside was clear and without a scent, and a sip confirmed it was water. Crisp and fresh-tasting, I could almost ignore the fact that it was room temperature as I turned my attention back to the carving.
“The serpent? Is it one from Morrakan?”
I knew the Morrak had visited more worlds than just Earth. They had a history of war, which usually meant fighting others, even if Humans had more history of fighting themselves.
“Yes, and no.”
I raised a brow as he settled beside me and tried to ignore the way my whole body seemed pulled towards him. Luckily, his story caught my attention.
“Zaryth was the first to enter the Zeyd. What the Morrak calls space, although it more accurately means void. In our oldest stories, even before ships and space travel, when the Morrak were just emerging on the surface of Morrakan, Zaryth was already a massive serpent, too large to remain bound to a planet. He was covetous, and hungry, and decided to enter the Zeyd in search of what called to him. He is said to be born of flame, sand, and the Eternal Winds. No one controls him. He forged the paths that we follow between the stars.”
I cocked my head, studying the carving.
“He sounds like what we would have called a god.”
Kael’s silver eyes were watching me when I turned my head.
“Only if gods are warnings.”
Surprised, my brows rose, but he continued before I could ask.
“Zaryth traveled through Kethrion, our solar system, devouring everything he found beautiful. Stars, moons, even souls. He was drawn to what shone brightest, and ate it so others couldn’t have it.”
I huffed. It seemed like all myths told a similar story.
“So what stopped him?”
For the first time, Kael’s lips actually lifted into something I could call a smile, but the look in his eyes was anything but pleasant.
“Nothing. He still travels the Zeyd, searching for something that burns bright enough to be worth swallowing.”
He tilted his head.
“It’s not a story for luthra. It’s to remind us we are always within the reach of something greater.”
“Luthra?”
It was a word I hadn’t heard before, and it didn’t sound like Common.
“Hmm. The not-yet mature.”
The sound of his hum made me shiver again, my nipples tightening into points despite the warmth of the room, but I tried to focus on the conversation.
“Oh, children. And you said Zeyd was space. Your ship is named Zeyd… Rask? Space…?”
His lips lifted enough for the points of his teeth to show. My belly clenched, and I squeezed my thighs together, gulping more water to hide my reaction.
“Rassk. Serpent.”
The way he said the word had me shuddering, my core fluttering as heat bloomed in my belly. My lips parted as what he said sank in, and I gave another huff.
“Space serpent. You named your ship after him.”
The crimson markings on Kael’s flesh pulsed brighter as his smile melted, but he dipped his chin in acknowledgment. Of course he had named his ship after the devourer of worlds.
“He is not worshipped, but he is respected.”
We fell quiet, but it wasn’t awkward. I sipped the water, and he watched me. It felt natural somehow, as if this was how it was supposed to be.
I didn’t realize I was dozing off until I lost my balance and jerked upright again.
“You are tired. Rest.”
My stomach chose that moment to give another painful clench, and wetness suddenly soaked into my underwear. Grimacing, I bolted upright, Kael tensing and surging to his feet beside me, scanning the room before his eyes landed on me again.
I could see the question on his face and tried to come up with an excuse. We might be sharing a living space, but I wasn’t ready to share bodily functions.
“I’d like to clean up first. Where’s your bathroom?”
He’d brought my bag with him when he led me to his quarters, and I edged towards it while remaining facing him.
His brows had drawn together, a frown on his lips as he stared at me.
He probably thought I was acting strange, but I wasn’t sure if Morraki females had periods, or if he was familiar with Human reproductive cycles.
“We do not have bath… rooms the way you are familiar with. There is a cleansing basin for your hands and face, or there is a bathing chamber on the third level.”
My jaw hung open and I was sure I looked like I’d been hit upside the head, but I didn’t have time to process the fact that a ship this advanced didn’t have individual bathrooms in each suite.
“Where do you, umm…”
His stance softened and his brow arched.
“Eliminate waste?”
I needed to fan my face with the way my cheeks were burning, but I cleared my throat and nodded. We were both adults, and had similar digestive processes.
“Yes. Please.”
I followed when he walked over to a section of the wall between the dining area and the desk, pulling my suitcase behind me.
He pressed a darker colored spot about chest height for me, and part of the wall slid back, revealing what could almost be called a half-bath.
There was something similar enough to a toilet sticking out from one side, and a sink with a tiny spout on the other.
Kael stepped back and I focused on the floor as I shuffled past him, dragging my suitcase into the small space with me. He still had an odd look on his face, but I was dealing with enough. I wasn’t ready for that conversation just yet.
“Thank you.”
He nodded, his eyes locked on me as the door slid shut between us.
Sagging against the wall, I blew out a breath before bending over to rifle through my bag, thankful I’d been taught to always keep a spare change of clothes with me when traveling.
I knew the rest of my things were here somewhere, I suspected they were in the stack of black crates I’d seen strapped in the corner behind the table, but I didn’t have time to search them for clean underwear.
It wasn’t until I was half undressed, perched on a seat that seemed too small and far too high, that I realized the fluid that had soaked into my underwear wasn’t blood. I should have known since it wasn’t time for my period, but I’d never had that sensation at any other time.
I stared at the glossy sheen on the fabric, a sweet scent tickling the back of my throat, as part of what the doctor had said prior to the injection replayed in my head.
Increased secretions.
I hadn’t known what she meant, and I’d had larger concerns at the time, so it hadn’t registered. But now?
Now I needed to know what exactly an omega was, and what was going on with my body.