Chapter Fourteen
Serenya
Awareness seeped into my brain long before I fully woke. It was a slow return to consciousness, as if I pulled myself from a sinkhole that didn’t want to release me.
My body ached faintly, like after a long illness, but my head was clear. For the first time in days, I didn’t feel like I was burning alive from the inside out.
When I opened my eyes, I found Kael sitting on the bed beside me, one leg folded beneath him, his back propped against the pillows. His gaze was fixed on the datapad in his hand, but the moment I shifted, his head turned.
“You live.”
His voice was dry, but I caught the faint flicker of relief in his eyes before he masked it. His kethra seemed to brighten for a moment, but it was gone so fast I couldn’t be sure.
I pushed myself upright slowly, disgusted to find the sheets as well as my clothing soaked with sweat. I wrinkled my nose, and Kael seemed to take that as his cue to rise.
He crossed the room and picked up one of the containers that had been in his outer room the last time I’d seen it. When he removed the lid, my clothing was folded neatly inside.
“I figured you would want to bathe and change. I can take you to the pool when you are ready.”
Grateful, I nodded. My skin felt sticky and gross, and there was a scent in the room I hoped wasn’t me, but feared it was.
I paused as I swung my legs over the side of the bed, wincing at the stiffness in my joints. I had no idea how long I’d slept, only flashes of awareness playing in my memories, and each time, Kael had been there. Offering medicine and water. Cleaning my face. Massaging my arms and hands.
“Kael... Thank you. For taking care of me.”
My eyes wanted to flood with moisture, but I was so dehydrated it was easy to blink it away. I hated to think of how things would have gone if I’d been that ill at home. My father certainly wouldn’t have sat by my side to care for me.
Kael’s brows lifted slightly, and the corner of his mouth curved faintly.
“You are my responsibility. It would dishonor me to do less.”
There was more warmth in his voice than his words suggested, and it made something flutter in my chest. He had seemed so harsh at the gala, and yet the moments I’d spent with him had revealed a warmth I wouldn’t have guessed.
When I moved to stand, a glow caught my eye, and I turned my arm, staring at my wrist. Delicate amber streaks flowed up my forearm, tangling together before weaving apart, pale, but there.
My gasp seemed loud in the quiet room. I brought my other hand over to trace them, a smile stretching my lips.
When I glanced at Kael he nodded.
“They bloomed while you slept. They’ll remain faint until our bond is complete, but you now have kethra of your own.”
I looked down at it again, wondering how far it extended. My best chance to find out was in the shower, so I stood to walk to the container of clothing and dig for something to put on once I was clean.
I’d have loved to slip into a set of sweats to finish recovering, but even if I’d owned a pair, I couldn’t let myself be seen like that.
There had been a standard I had to live up to as my father’s daughter, and the bar had to be even higher as the mate of the Morraki Commander, but I didn’t know if my outfits would be acceptable.
I had to go with the best option I could find that didn’t leave Kael waiting.
“There are some… customs, you need to be aware of.”
Something in his tone made me turn to him.
“What customs?”
His tail flicked once, crimson shining beneath his uniform. His gaze was intense, but his expression seemed to be cautious, as if he expected me to object to what I was about to hear.
“I understand Humans prefer to cover their skin and bathe in private, but the Morrak use communal bathing pools, so it is something you will have to accept. There are separate pools for omegas in Korvashan, but here on the ship, there is only one bathing pool on the guest level.”
My mouth opened, then closed. I didn’t consider myself a prude, but the thought of bathing in public had my stomach twisting.
“Also, when within the meyr'kal, omegas are to be unclothed unless there are visitors. They are expected to be available to their alphas at all times. The servants will think nothing of it, nudity doesn’t bother us the way it does some Humans.”
“Wait. Available?”
His pupils narrowed and I caught a flash of teeth as if he smiled before smoothing his features.
“Yes. Had you been raised among us, you would not be surprised by this.”
I stared at him, trying to picture myself walking around naked in Kael's home.
In front of him.
Available.
Burning heat returned to my cheeks, but for entirely different reasons than the fever that had plagued me since receiving the injection. It was obvious what he meant by available.
“You... expect me to—”
I couldn’t even finish the sentence. I knew that at some point I would have to consummate the union between us, but things were happening too fast. He was still a stranger, and now he wanted me to strip so there was nothing to slow him down if he decided he wanted to—
My brain turned off.
“You may do as you choose while still aboard the Zeydrassk, but once we are on Morrakan, especially in Korvashan, it is important that we are seen as korravalryn. If we do not follow tradition… There are those already opposed to taking Humans as mates, to the alliance with Earth as a whole, and we cannot give them more fodder.”
A weight settled in my stomach. I knew he likely had duties he’d foregone to tend to me while I wasn’t feeling well. All he was asking was for me to accept his culture and follow what people expected of an omega.
But what if it turned out that I wasn’t a very good omega? Would he do like my fiancé had and decide it was too much trouble to be with? What would happen to me if Kael rejected me now, after it was too late to remain Human?
I swallowed hard and dropped my gaze to the floor between us. After my outbursts over the last few days, I was scared I might say something stupid. I was too grateful for everything he’d done to throw his customs in his face, but the idea of being nude in front of anyone, let alone him?
I had no idea how I was going to handle that.
I kept my head down as I gathered everything I needed and then followed Kael down to the third level. The familiar bench and cushion in the hallway brought back memories of my conversation with Saed, but it wasn’t until Kael opened a door with a swirling symbol on it that it hit me.
This was the communal bathing pool for the guest quarters. Meaning, my father could be in there, or could come in while I was washing.
My feet refused to move forward. I stared at the opening, Kael watching me from the other side, but I couldn’t bring myself to enter. I even considered forgetting the bath all together, but I could still smell a cloying sweetness mixed with the scent of sweat, and my hair felt plastered to my head.
“Could… Could you be sure my father isn’t in there?”
My voice shook as I made the request, but seeing my father naked was not something I was willing to risk, even to wash the sweat off.
Kael’s head turned slightly and I saw the tip of one ear shift. I hadn’t realized their ears were mobile, and for a moment I was distracted studying the one I could see and wondering how far it could move.
“I would be able to scent and hear him if he were here. He is not.”
Some of the weight on my shoulders lifted and I sucked in a breath. I made it a step forward before I froze again, staring at the place the door slid into the wall when it opened.
“There’s no way to lock the door?”
Colleges and universities had communal showers, but the girl’s had dividers and curtains to close off a private space. I doubted I would find those here.
“The Qy’shaeuhl do not bathe as we do, and your father is the only other guest. I will remain outside the door to be sure he does not enter.”
I stared into silver eyes that didn’t show who I was learning was behind them. My chest expanded on an easier breath, and my gratitude towards Kael grew.
“Thank you.”
It was all I could say.
“The cleanser for skin and hair will be in a container beside the pool. There are scrapers and files, as well as oils. Drying cloths hang on the wall. Put any you use in the receptacle on the wall by the door.”
He stepped back through the doorway and moved aside for me to pass him. His eyes didn’t leave me until the door shut between us and I was left in the dim, steamy interior, alone.
I washed and changed as fast as I could, forced to brush my hair and hope for the best since there were no mirrors to check what it looked like.
When I pressed the button and the door slid open Kael blocked the view of the hallway, legs spread, arms crossed, as if he were truly guarding the opening.
Clearing my throat, I clutched my dirty clothing tighter.
“I’m done. Thank you, again.”
His expression was unreadable when he looked at me, but he dipped his chin in acknowledgment. We began walking toward the lift, pausing beside one of the other doors along the hall as he turned to me.
“Your father asked to see you while you were ill. I told him I would ask if you wanted to once you were better.”
The question hung in the air between us. No one on Earth would have denied my father, no matter how sick I’d been, and I realized that for once, I could actually say no. We were no longer on Earth, and Kael outranked my father.
“Could I call him? Or do I have to…”
I gestured at the door, losing my train of thought when I realized how I was framing the question. Kael knew what I meant, and he reached for my hand as he answered.
“You do not have to do anything, but if you would like, you can communicate with him from my quarters to assure him you still live.”
He quirked a brow as if he was still teasing me about saying I felt like I was dying, but the hard line of his mouth suggested perhaps my father had made an accusation. I didn’t want him to cause issues, but I also had no desire to be in the same room with him if I didn’t have to.
My stomach chose that moment to growl, and Kael’s brows shot up as he stepped back, looking at my middle.
“Is that—”
Wrapping my arms around myself, cheeks burning, I cut him off.
“Sorry! I guess my appetite is back.”
His eyes rose to mine before dropping to where I hugged myself.
“You haven’t eaten in too long. I will get food for you while you speak with your father.”
He started walking again but he was still watching me from the corner of his eye, as if he suddenly saw me as alien. Considering he’d growled like an actual animal, I wanted to laugh over the way he was reacting to a gurgling stomach.
“That would be great.”
We entered the lift, standing side by side, and were almost to the top level when he finally asked, “Is that sound… normal? When you’re hungry?”
I couldn’t keep my chuckle in anymore. His pupils narrowed and I caught his tail twitching behind us, and it only made me want to laugh harder.
“Yes. It doesn’t always happen, but it’s normal.”
He looked like he was torn between snarling over me laughing at him, and uncertain if I was telling the truth, but he stopped looking at me like he thought I was about to melt and strode to his door.
“Well, let’s get you fed so your father doesn’t hear your stomach through the comm and accuse me of starving you. I have veythra you can start on, and there should still be sahlak in the mess.”
I had no idea what either of those were, but I smothered my laugh and accepted what looked like a piece of bread before settling in the chair at his desk and waiting for him to connect the comm.
There was a lingering dread in the back of my mind, but I blamed it on the coming conversation with my father, hoping I could come to terms with my new life before I made a mistake. Only time would tell if the supposed bond the Morraki had would be enough to keep me from being abandoned once again.