Chapter Two #2
Orex had always looked so befuddled and lonely, even with Marta at his side. Marta had been fading slowly since week six of their union. It had been uncomfortable to watch, but when she spoke with Marta, she insisted that she was fine.
He pressed against the wall as she scrubbed his back. She chuckled and said, “I am guessing it is a difficult-to-reach spot.” His wings shuddered and flexed on either side as she got the centre and under each base.
He whirled and pinned her to the wall, kissing her savagely. His fingers cupped her hips and lifted her, pressing his thigh between hers as his hands rocked her on him.
She whimpered and moaned against his lips as she went over again, her body pulsing softly. He broke the kiss and pressed his lips against her neck, biting again as she throbbed and twisted.
Zelda gasped and held tight to him, shuddering as he drank from her. When he lifted his head, he crooned softly to her, and she looked him in the eye. She whispered, “So, your wings are ticklish. Got it.”
He frowned. “Was I rough?”
She chuckled. “No, but I need some time to rest and recover. Your eyes are glowing.”
He stroked her cheek. “I have reason to.”
The water shut off, they moved over the drying vent, and he held her as the air dried them off. She smiled and began to feel tired. “I need to be away from you to dry fully.”
He sighed and set her down, holding her while the air jet did its work. When she was dry, she smiled up at him. “Feeling better?”
Orex looked energized and nodded with a grin. “Yes, thank you, Consort Zelda.”
She smiled and yawned sleepily. “I think that I am going to have to process what just happened.”
He nodded. “We won’t land without you, and your daughter and the others won’t wake without you.”
“Please. Make sure. I want my face to be the first thing Aretta sees when she wakes.”
“Your daughter will be safe, and I hope she likes me.” He frowned.
Zelda laughed. “We will see. She doesn’t have to like you; she just needs to respect you.”
“How does that happen?”
She sighed and looked up at him as she walked toward the bed. “Treat me well. Not financial stuff but with respect. I don’t need a lot of things, but I need to be seen as a lady, even if I crawl onto your cock as soon as a door closes.”
He blinked and smiled. “You would do that?”
“I would. I like sex. You need sex. I will enjoy providing it. I also have a nearly teen child who will be learning a new world, just as I am. Family dinners will include you, and after we eat, I can make sure you get what you need.”
He smiled. “That is generous of you.”
“You have a very occupied system. I will also warn you that the Terrans you have with you will despise me, both to my face and behind my back. If they say anything to my daughter, I will destroy them.”
His eyes widened. “I will provide you with a bodyguard. They can destroy your enemies.”
“I am very good at it.” She peeled the bedding down. His bots were fast, and the white sheets were tucked in again.
She crawled into bed and tucked herself in. “That was fun. We should do that again sometime.”
He smoothed her hair off her face and kissed her softly. “We will.”
She smiled and let the nanites do their thing.
Light fingers caressed her cheek and forehead. A soft kiss was pressed to her lips. “Zelda, we have reached Aten.”
She opened her eyes, and Orex was very close. He grinned. “I have chosen an outfit for you that Harwin assures me is appropriate for meeting your daughter on a warm world. They have brought her pod down with the two they have brought for healing.”
She paused. “I am hungry.”
“A meal is waiting. Come on.” He smiled, helped her out of bed, and brought her a dress that was part ancient world and part fairy tale.
She had sleeves attached at the wrist and shoulder, black silk covered the rest of her, and jewelled straps gave the gown shape.
It clung to her lightly but wasn’t obscene.
She ate, and he opened a box, looked at her with narrowed eyes, and pulled out a hair net of gemstones, thick bracelets, and anklets.
The soft slippers were comfortable, and when she finished eating, he had dressed her to his satisfaction.
He picked up a sack and smiled, holding out his hand.
“Come on. We are taking a shuttle down. It is the safest way to arrive on Aten.”
Zelda looked at him. “You are looking better.”
He chucked. “I am feeling strong for the first time since the designers set me loose.” He paused. “You look lovely.”
She smiled. “Thank you. You look stronger.”
“I feel amazing. Ready?”
“Yes. Oh, yes.” She got to her feet and turned from side to side. “I look okay?”
He settled the hair net to confine her hair and nodded. “Perfect.”
He took her hand, and they left his quarters. She saw the guards that formed up around them, and she blinked. “I did not know they were there.”
“There was no reason for you to know. They are to protect you.”
“Oh. Right. Well, if anyone ever gets between me and my daughter, I will bludgeon them with their own stunners, and then I will call their mothers and tell them they failed.”
She saw the shoulders of the guards tense.
“What if she is trying to get into my quarters while we are intimate?”
“They tell her to wait one minute, and we come up with a secret knock so that I can pull a robe on.”
He nodded. “Fair and reasonable. How long were you with her father?”
“Two years. We dated in high school, and then I got pregnant. He graduated, and off he went. He contacted us again when she was six but was not much in her life.”
They left the warship and entered the station. Zelda gasped. “Wow. This is lovely.”
Stores from Ra’s worlds had shops touting their specialties. A few Hmrain were wandering through, some with companions and some not. Zelda was getting a bit of attention, and Orex extended one of his wings behind her. She caught the reference immediately. He had her back.
There were several beings moving in a familiar way, and to her shock, they were humans. She wanted to call out, but it wasn’t appropriate, plus, her daughter was waiting.
Orex said, “We are going to be in the launch bay six. The ship is waiting for us.”
She nodded, and they walked at the predatory pace that the Hmrain favoured. She tried to remain calm, but her skin was getting cool.
Orex said softly, “Are you all right?”
“Yes. They took her away from me at gunpoint. I don’t know what they told her about me while they had her behind the walls.”
She saw the bay number and stopped herself from running. “I don’t know if my daughter is the same girl I remember.”
“You will have to find out. She will be provided for, regardless.”
Zelda smiled at him. “Thanks for that. Whether she likes me or not, she was born of me and is my responsibility. She is my heart, whether or not she reciprocates.”
He lifted her hand to his mouth. “I hope to join her there one day.”
“Continue to acknowledge that I am a person and not a puppet, and you will be there soon. I treat you like a person with needs, wants, and requirements, so I am leading by example.”
Orex smiled. “It is a good idea. I was so stunned and slow by the time I was inside you, I am amazed you could manage things.”
She felt her cheeks heat. “You seem to be smartening up quickly.”
He was smug. “I do, don’t I? I am very pleased with this contract.”
She snorted, and they checked in and entered the hall to the Aten vessel that would take them to the surface.
The shuttle was waiting, their seats were ready, and Orex made sure that she was settled before he got into the Hmrain-shaped seat.
She clenched her hands together as the ship got clearance, and then they fell away from the station.
She exhaled slowly and could hear the communication from the planet as they flew down a corridor selected for safety.
The entry into the atmosphere was turbulent, but each minute brought her closer to her child.
When they evened out for landing, she began to shake. By the time they settled in the landing zone, she was shaking.
Orex got up and unbuckled her harness, lifting her and holding her to him while she tried to get herself under control. He rubbed her back. “Easy. She will want to see you as you were.”
“I was filthy and carved up.”
He sighed. “She will want to remember you at your best.”
She giggled. “Better.”
She looked up at him, and he kissed her forehead.
“I will be flying us to the pyramid so that we can show our respects to Ra and Harwin.”
“Right. Okay.”
He slipped the bag that he carried over one shoulder and walked her to the door of the shuttle. When they were there, the door opened, and it was like someone had opened an oven.
“Holy balls!” She gasped. “Who opened the oven?”
He chuckled and said, “You will be less environmentally sensitive with time.”
He lifted her in his arms, stepped forward, and launched skyward. Once he was higher, the air was cooler.
Zelda looked around and saw sand, greenery, distant cities, and, when she turned her head, a giant pyramid. Orex flew toward the pyramid and landed neatly on the steps. A huge, gold Hmrain was standing there, smiling. “Orex, you are looking well.”
Orex slid her to her feet and smiled. “Honoured Ra, thank you for welcoming my consort Zelda and myself.”
Ra smiled. “Consort Zelda, thank you for taking action. It was just the thing to shove Orex into action. How were the raiders?”
“Can any species breathe in space?”
Ra paused. “Not here.”
“Then, they aren’t doing well.” She smiled and inclined her head.
He laughed. “You Children of Geb have come far. Harwin can kill kilometres away now.”
“Is she nearby?” Zelda asked.
“She is having her afternoon nap. The baby is heavy and demands that she sleep.”
Orex spoke, “Honourable Ra, has the sleep chamber with her daughter arrived?”
Ra smiled. “It has. It is waiting on level five. A bot will take you there.”
Orex said, “I would like to accompany her, if I may. I have not been an adoptive father before and wish to be nearby when they greet each other.”
Ra smiled. “It will be good practice for when your family expands.”
He raised a hand, and a bot appeared, whistling softly.
She smiled. “Thank you, Ra.”
Orex chuckled. “She will get the etiquette eventually.”
Ra sighed. “It is the last thing they learn. Go ahead.”
The bot moved ahead of them, and Zelda followed it, taking Orex’s hand as they followed the bot down into the pyramid.
When they ended up on level five, Zelda saw four multicoloured women helping a raw and burned creature into a healing unit.
She watched the injured woman being eased into the unit with a mouthpiece carefully eased in.
When the eyes fluttered open, she knew who it was, and she remained still so as not to distract those attending her.
The woman was set up, the unit was closed, and fluid began to fill the column.
When it reached a certain fill point, the healing unit tilted upward, and windows slid open, showing the body floating comfortably without resting on its own raw tissue.
She smiled and walked up to the unit, looking at the cloudy eyes that she knew so well. “Hey, Zoey. You look like a peeled shrimp, but you are alive, and you will get better.”
Zoey looked down at her, pressed a palm to the tank, then touched her tufted head.
“Yes, I will see you on the dreamscape. Oh, this is my Hmrain, Orex. Our connection is new, but he got me here as soon as we found out Aretta was being shipped here. So, major points.”
Another voice said, “Zelda? Oh, wow. I haven’t seen you in forever.”
Zelda turned and saw the one of the twins who wasn’t burned to hell and back. “Zani?”
Zaniah pushed her hood back and smiled. Zelda grinned, and they stepped toward each other and hugged.
Orex remained quiet, and then Zelda made the introductions. The multicoloured women pushed the sleep canister in, and one grinned. “Zelda, this is your daughter.”
Zelda looked around the room. “My entire family is here.” She burst into tears, and Orex held her.