Chapter Twenty-Three
Kael
I leaned down and swept her into my arms, not content with her walking beside me. I didn’t ask if she wanted me to, because I wouldn’t have been able to accept a denial.
She couldn’t hide the tremble in her limbs as I stormed through the Market level. I could scent the blood on her skin, and each breath of it only wound my rage tighter.
I was one moment away from a rampage. I shouldn’t have let her wander out of sight, so the attack was my fault.
My teeth ached as I clenched my jaw, trying to ground myself with the sound of her breath and the pulsing amber light of her kethra. She’d managed to dull them a fraction, but they still shone bright enough to draw eyes.
At least she wasn’t in shock or screaming to leave.
But I needed her seen, and there was only one creature on Morrakan who I could trust with her care.
Saed’s quarters were deep in the tunnels of the High Ledge. The Qy’shaeuhl were sensitive to heat, and while he may have preferred the civilian quarters on the third level where there was more moisture and cooler temperatures, it would have been rude to assign him there when he was a guest.
I dragged the tip of my tail across the datapad on the wall, requesting entry. It would have opened since all of them recognized my biometrics, but Serenya wasn’t hurt enough to validate entering without waiting for permission.
“Kael?”
Saed’s voice was calm and lyrical when the door slid open, his head tipping to the side as he looked at Serenya in my arms. He blinked twice before stepping back and gesturing for me to enter.
“Put her down there.”
I followed the direction of his outstretched hand to a padded surface built out from the wall, lined with layered blankets. Serenya stirred as I placed her down, her brows furrowing as she tried to sit up, but I held her down with pressure on her uninjured shoulder.
“Stay still, veyrari.”
My voice was too rough, and I dug my claws into my palms, trying to summon a purr for her, but it remained out of reach.
The brightness of her kethra was fading, her breathing slowed from the panicked gasps in the Market. She trusted Saed, and having another familiar face helped her relax.
Saed came to her side, his gaze sharp as he tipped his head back and forth, staring at the blood on her top.
“May I assess your wounds, Serenya?”
While I appreciated him asking her permission before touching her, the delay in taking care of her had my tail lashing behind me. I sent a cup from a nearby table crashing into the wall, and it was only the way Serenya jumped and her scent grew more bitter that let me get control of it.
She dipped her head and pulled the fabric aside, the three oozing punctures coming into view, and then it was the table that crashed into the wall, the sturdy Vezhakk horn it was made of splintering with the force.
“What happened?”
“She was attacked in the Market. Three alphas. They fled once I confronted them, but one got his claws into her.”
Saed pressed around the wounds, making little trills under his breath
“These are only small punctures. There may be bruising, but the injuries are no concern.”
I snarled, tail lashing again, but it was out of things to launch.
“It is a concern. She was attacked. In public.”
Saed glanced at me, then reached into a drawer. Passing Serenya a cloth to hold over the wounds, he turned and stalked to another storage container, then began doing something at the table.
“It is natural for some to resist change. They fear the unknown. Most of your people trust you to do what is best.”
He didn’t look at me when he spoke, but it didn’t matter. His tone was enough to convey his feelings on the matter, and I was reminded of one of the reasons dealing with the Qy’shaeuhl was hard.
“None should dare raising a hand toward my korravalryn.”
Saed looked up at me, his cheek feathers fluffed.
“They will learn. Or they won’t.”
He looked down at what he was stirring in a bowl before glancing at the things he’d placed on the table.
“Tavrin, can you bring the Luhvaraen from the second container. Brown jar, second row.”
I spotted the beta assistant Saed had been assigned coming from another room, his head down, eyes kept carefully away from me and Serenya.
“Thank you. I will also need the white bottle from the third container. First row, fourth column.”
He dipped his head lower and turned to scurry back to the other room, but I wasn’t concerned with the beta.
“What are you doing?”
I watched as Saed opened the jar and used a tiny utensil to sprinkle a few grains of neon green powder into the bowl. It seemed too negligible an amount to bother with, but when he carried the bowl towards us I could see the entire contents were the same neon green.
“It is a healing salve. It will cleanse the punctures of any bacteria that could fester, clot the blood, and seal the skin so there is no risk of more bacteria entering.”
He turned from me to Serenya, holding up the bowl.
“Do you consent to having this applied to your wounds? I assure you, no harm will come of it.”
She’d remained silent since leaving the Market, and I clenched my fists tighter, feeling blood well on my palms. The sharp spots of pain kept me from storming out of the room to hunt down the traitors who’d attacked her.
“Yes.”
Her voice was a bare whisper. Her kethra throbbed the slow pattern of her continued distress and I wanted to comfort her, but every reminder of what had happened brought my rage to the front again.
“Did you know Vorrashan is the star your people labeled Wolf 1061? As a red dwarf, while Morrakan is close enough to it for heat, it doesn’t produce as much ultra-violet radiation as your sun. You will need to take a vitamin D supplement and be sure to eat plenty dakrethin while here.”
He chatted as if nothing was wrong while he used the utensil he’d stirred the thick concoction with to scoop a tiny amount and then smear it over the wounds. She let out a tiny whimper and I reached for her, gripping her fingers.
“I’m here, veyrari.”
Her eyes lifted to mine and she finally smiled. It was a bare curve of her lips, but her eyes softened too, and the lines around her mouth eased.
Tavrin returned with a bottle that rattled, placing it on the counter along with an open jar and lid. He disappeared back into the other room as fast as he’d appeared.
Saed walked to the table, scooping the salve he’d created into the empty jar and placing the lid on it. Returning to us, he handed the jar and bottle to me.
“The salve can be used for any wound thinner than the width of your finger, and no deeper than your claw tip to your second knuckle. The sooner it is applied, the better.”
He leaned closer to Serenya, studying where he’d smeared the neon goo.
“There. See? All better.”
Serenya’s eyes widened as she looked down at where the bleeding punctures had been. Beneath the thin smear of green, her skin looked whole, and her lips parted as she poked the flesh beside it.
“It doesn’t hurt or anything.”
Saed’s feathered face ruffled, looking round instead of lean like usual. Swallowing my pride, I dipped my head when he turned to me.
“Thank you.”
He kept the same pleased expression as he reached out and tapped the white bottle.
“Vitamin D supplement. One, daily. Every Human here longer than a vhelar needs to take it.”
I wasn’t surprised he knew Morraki terms, and I filed the information away for the future. His head bobbed as he looked between us, then he spoke to me again.
“Her heat’s approaching. Not today, but soon. The concentration of pheromones in her blood has increased a bit faster than we’d expected, but it shouldn’t be an issue.”
I tensed, the relaxation I’d begun to feel dashed away by his words. I looked at Serenya and she met my gaze with eyes filled by a new worry, so I had to calm myself to reassure her.
“I will notify the Karzhari and my Veyrakk to be ready.”
She shifted on the bench, her fingers tightening on mine before she turned her attention to the Qy’shaeuhl.
“Thank you, Saed. I’d like to go home now.”
“Rest while you can. The light within endures.”
There was a little crease between her brows as if she didn’t quite understand what he meant, but she smiled politely.
I walked her out of his quarters, keeping my pace slow for her, taking less traveled tunnels so we wouldn’t run into anyone. I was still agitated, and everyone had become a threat.
“I’m okay.”
My tail lashed behind us before I forced it to curl around her waist.
“You are not.”
She turned toward me, her brows drawn together. Her face was still pale beneath her natural tan, but that defiant light I had come to crave was back in her eyes.
“You’re angry.”
I huffed, once again digging my claws into the palm she didn’t hold. She had been caused pain because I had been lacking in watching over her, so I deserved similar pain.
“Of course I’m angry.”
There was a pause as we turned a corner, then she asked a question I hadn’t expected.
“At me?”
My chest ached like she’d stabbed me.
I pulled her to a stop, placing my free hand on her cheek. She tilted her head into my palm, and I couldn’t believe that I had ever believed she would be my enemy.
“Never at you.”
Her gaze moved to my mouth. Before I could guess what she was doing, she curled her fingers over my shoulder and pulled me down as she rose on tiptoe, pressing her lips to mine.
I froze, holding my breath.
Her lips were as soft as I’d imagined them being. Her mouth warm and pliant, opening against mine so her tongue could slip out and lick at me.
I didn’t know what to do. I had imagined tasting her lips, but it wasn’t something Morraki did.
My tail was stiff behind me and my kethra glowed crimson like the blood staining Serenya’s clothing. On instinct I let my jaw relax, and Serenya’s tongue swept into my mouth, sweet and soft and delicious.