Chapter Four
Zephyr laughed at her as she sniffed and examined and palm-weighed each vegetable or fruit. She helped carry the groceries and ice cream as Hemma grabbed some junk food from a selection of kiosks, including some for Ekbert.
They were loading everything into the car when Zephyr felt a familiar presence. A wide masculine hand helped her tuck the food away, and Zephyr turned to face him. “Hey, Trisk.”
He leaned in and kissed her. She felt the crackle of energy against her lips. She enjoyed it for a moment before she leaned back. “What are you doing here?”
“You finally left a trace I could find, so I followed it.”
Hemma’s voice said, “Are you going to introduce us?”
Zephyr smiled. “Trisk, this is my friend Hemma. Hemma, this is Trisk.”
“Cool. Is he going to be in town during the party? I think we could slot them into a spot.”
Zephyr muttered, “Are you pimping me out for a performance?”
“Yes. You want him, you just don’t want to want him because he’s a three-for-one deal.”
“Why are you so glib all of a sudden?”
“Eighteen, Zephyr. Eight-fucking-teen.”
“Oh, right. I guess three isn’t that bad.”
“As long as they save the triple threat for when you have already got acquainted with them individually.”
Trisk looked at Hemma. “That is... reasonable.”
Zephyr blinked. “Seriously? That is all I had to do?”
“Well, your leaving got my attention.”
Zephyr looked at him: blond hair, tanned skin, thick neck, and silver eyes. The rest of him was broad, thick, and really warm for a storm made flesh.
“Did you have to go talk to the prefect to get access to run around?”
He smiled. “Yes. I am cleared for fourteen days.”
“Where are you staying?”
“A hotel. Where are you staying?”
“With Hemma. You can’t stay there. Her employer isn’t in town to okay it.”
“When will he be back?”
“She will be back tomorrow.”
“Then, I will ask her if I may importune her tomorrow.”
Zephyr didn’t know how she felt about that when he kissed her again, and thoughts left her head. Trisk usually had one thing on their mind, and it was generally her. She held onto his arms and returned the kiss.
Hemma whispered, “You can keep going, but my ice cream is going to melt.”
Zephyr smiled and leaned away from Trisk. “This part was never a problem.”
She smiled and patted the hard and warm panel of his chest. Folks were staring at them, and Hemma paused and then said, “Oh, he’s invited to stay in the house. Dang.”
Trisk blinked. “Please thank your lady for me, but I believe I will keep my distance. My control around Zephyr is fluid.”
Zephyr blushed. He was still leaning against her in a lot of fun ways.
He stroked her jaw. “So beautiful, my little giant.”
She wondered how dark her face could get. “You should get going to wherever you are staying.”
“Are you going to hide again?”
She paused. “No. There are resources here that I need to use.”
His smile was gentle, and she saw all of him in his eyes. Rain, storm, and lightning were all there.
She stroked his cheek, and then she heard the whine, “Ice cream.”
She chuckled. “Hemma’s had a rough few days. I should go.”
He nodded and stepped back, disappearing in a shiver of light.
Zephyr sighed and got back in the car. “Thanks for that.”
“The whining or giving you a minute.”
“Yes.”
Hemma got the car moving and headed back to the house. It was time for snacks.
Zephyr smiled at the wreckage of the junk food. They were all stuffed. Ekbert was showing her the different locations he had applied to for research positions in Hyreno.
She looked at the images and grinned. “That looks like fun. Are you going to open your gills for that?”
“Yeah. I have been checked out, and it looks fairly basic. I just have to drown and let my body pull water in.” He seemed calm.
“That would freak me out, but then, I don’t breathe underwater, I just stop.”
“Ah.”
Hemma came out with ice cream. “We are getting more visitors. Litha is coming by in a few to check the maximum height you can reach, Zephyr. She wants to make you some kind of a covering for when you grow.”
“Oh, wow. Why?”
“I think she thinks of it as a challenge. She’s a chemical engineer focusing on textiles.”
A chunk of space appeared in the middle of the yard, and a tall, dark-haired man exited holding a blond woman who gleamed with light.
Hemma smiled. “Hello, Litha. Is this Sergei?”
He smiled and said, “My name is Ser—oh, you got it. That’s rare.”
Zephyr was a few scoops into her bowl, and she set the ice cream down. “I believe you are here for me.”
She was suddenly looking down at Litha and getting quizzed on how her activation worked.
* * * *
Hemma sat back and watched Zephyr get measured at her base form, and then she grinned when she started stripping. Sergei came over and stole Zephyr’s ice cream. “This is pretty good.”
“It should be. It’s from your sister’s shop’s second outlet at the farmers’ market.” She smiled and ate her peach ice cream.
He nodded. “Figures. It felt so weird that the world moved on without me.”
“Well, Sleeping Beauty is your story, with a wall of the canister and hedges of radiation that kept you from rescue until a daring princess with a radiation affiliation came and set you free.”
“That she did. And then, she kept me from the demons that welled up in me nightly.”
“Whatever you want to call it, dude.”
He looked at her and laughed. He sobered. “You are Uraddan?”
“Yes. Your prison was made from the blood of my family mixed in with the metal. It absorbs radiation.”
Ekbert glanced at her and then at Sergei. “Just tell him, Hemma.”
“Fine. They drained the blood from me to make your prison. I was twelve or fourteen, I think, and they took all they could, waited a few weeks and came back again. I am not precisely sure of the process, but you were in a prison lined with the blood of a child. If it gives any comfort, you weren’t alone in there. ”
Sergei paused. “That actually does ease my mind. I was wondering if they had found a mineral that could do it. Are there others?”
“Not as far as I know. Ekbert isn’t a match.” She looked at him with a cocked head. “Do you want to destroy me so that it isn’t an issue again?”
“Uradda has fallen, and I don’t think you are the type to try and kill me.”
“It only worked because you were completely surrounded head to toe. If you need to destroy me, use manual means. You and Litha, I would just absorb the energy.”
“Does your employer know?”
“Yeah, she uses me for radiation exposure when it’s needed. It registers; it just doesn’t damage.” She looked at him.
“You would accept death?”
“After years of humiliation, it doesn’t seem so bad.” Hemma shrugged. “I would still fight on reflex, but I was forced to do terrible things. I should answer for some of them.”
Ekbert stared at her. “Hemma, are you depressed?”
“Probably. It fades a few days after Keska’s heat.” She shrugged.
Sergei paused. “It sounds like you are syncing up.”
“That isn’t possible. I don’t have the infrastructure anymore.”
“Psychosomatic?”
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “As long as I have tasks, I can manage it, but I have run out of tasks. Zephyr’s too good at cleaning.”
Sergei nodded. “Is there more ice cream?”
“Yes. We also have pastry.”
“Both?” He smiled.
“Yup. Back in a minute.”
“I will come with and make tea.”
She nodded, and they went inside while Zephyr was a hundred feet tall and naked. Hemma had seen it before.
The next morning, the family came home, and Khytten and Salat’s brood came with them.
It went from silent to raucous in a moment.
Hemma stayed on her feet, and when she had a moment, she drew Keska aside and explained what was going on with Zera and the governments that had suddenly learned where she was.
Well, the alphas who had learned about where she was.
“How do you feel about this?”
“I want to be whole, and I am terrified of what it means.” Hemma twisted her fingers together.
“You in a down cycle?”
“Yeah.”
“Sorry. I keep forgetting you get set off by it.”
“Yeah. I normally don’t have to socialize like this.”
Keska hugged her. “Take the time. Get the healing. Decide what you want to do after that. You will be a lot stronger and faster.”
She laughed. “That would be new.”
“I didn’t realize how thoroughly they took you apart.”
“Yeah, I heal, but I don’t seal well. Like sticky notes.”
“Which is why they stitched and burned your gills.”
“Yup. Okay. So, tomorrow morning, I will go to Z-Corp, and Zephyr said she will make sure you and the others eat.”
Keska laughed. “Thanks. Do you think you will go on and try dating?”
“I might, but they are making sure that the guys are set to courtship only. And they have to be a physical match.”
Keska nodded, smiling. “Don’t forget the birth control.”
“I didn’t.”
“Good.”
“So, what’s for dinner?”
“We are grilling so that you can watch the kids around the pool. Ekbert is the designated lifeguard. If Zephyr does it, she empties the pool. Oh, she and Trisk have started connecting.”
“The Renovik singer?”
“And band. Yes. He’s already booked for the street party.”
Keska laughed. “I need to see how far you have gotten.”
“Uh, I sort of had friends over yesterday, and we made the arrangements in a few hours.”
“All Uraddan?”
“More or less. Me, Chaos, Zephyr, and Breen, along with Ekbert. We have permits, music, food trucks, portable restrooms, licensed vendors, a huge stage, and a giant screen. We need to get some videos together to broadcast on the screen.”
Keska smiled. “Are you singing?”
“Yeah. I don’t know how long the medical treatment will be, though.”
“If Kritz uses nanites, it should be less than forty-eight hours.”
Hemma nodded. “Okay.”
“Nervous?”
“Yup. I haven’t been in one solid piece for two decades.”
Keska asked, “Do you want a ride to Z-Corp?”
“No, I can call a car. I will go after I get breakfast ready.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“I do. Your cooking is not great, and you three are settling in together.”
Keska laughed. “We will find our way, and I know how to use takeout apps.”