Chapter 35
Alex groaned as she languidly stretched her tired muscles and threw her arm over her face to block out some of the light from a thick cluster of galthie inches from her head.
She did not normally rest in that part of the bed, but she didn’t have the energy to move or even look for one of the many blankets her mate had provided for her.
And she couldn’t exactly ask him to hand her one since Therxian had retreated to prepare another meal after their latest round of mating.
Perhaps she should have gone with him after all.
More than once, following their initial couplings, he had carried her with him, unwilling to be parted from her even the short time that it took him to retreat to the cooking chamber and return.
As the day wore on, however, Alex’s body was practically limp with exhaustion, her muscles protesting the thought of attempting to leave the nest. Following their most recent round, she couldn’t even muster the energy to move to a more comfortable spot.
“So fucking tired,” she mumbled into her arm.
“It has been hard on you, hithana.”
Shifting her arm slightly out of the way, she opened one eye and peeked around the side of it.
Therxian gave her a warm smile before bending to set the bowls of stew on the low table closest to the bed.
Or, at least, it had been stew. After being reheated so frequently over the course of the day, it was now beginning to resemble something more akin to a gray, semi-gelatinous paste that brought back memories of some of the rations she had endured during various missions.
She grimaced a bit, but she couldn’t complain.
She hadn’t exactly been even tasting it.
Their meal breaks had been far more utilitarian in focus, both of them hastily downing their food for their recovery and seeing to their caloric needs before falling back into bed with each other.
Their hunger had been more for each other than the usual sort of appetite.
It seemed that things were finally beginning to cool and return to some semblance of normality, if she was even noticing the condition of their meal now.
Noting the direction of her gaze, Therxian frowned at the bowls. “It is quite unsightly, is it not?” he observed. “I almost did not bring it, but we need the nutrients. Still, I do not recall it being like this. It is very... plain.”
“Plain is definitely a way to describe it,” she agreed.
She sat up to get a better look at the contents.
Yep, it was definitely resembling some kind of pasty gruel.
“I am actually surprised that I didn’t notice before now.
We’ve been eating this off and on all day.
This couldn’t have possibly just happened. ”
Therxian studied it for a moment and flicked his ears non-chalantly. “When mating, the need for each other is far more of interest than what is consumed for energy. I do not think I looked at all, and do not recall tasting it,” he admitted.
That certainly confirmed what she suspected. But it did leave an interesting question unanswered.
“I don’t get it. Why did the palace put so much effort into those feasts then? Wouldn’t that have been a pointless waste of good food?”
His laughter rumbled from him with an amused hiss.
“For the noble families, the show is just as important as the deed. In Seshanamitesh matings in general, providing favored foods is a show of respect that is done for the female’s favor prior to mating.
The point is not whether she even tastes it and savors it, but that the effort is made.
This is just magnified for the females of the noble families so that they are presented with lavish feasts. ”
“I see,” she murmured thoughtfully.
A pained look crossed her mate’s face, and he abandoned the table to make his way toward her. “You must be very disappointed, hithana. I am a male of the royal family, and this is what I bring to my ashlava. Even the humblest male has more to provide at the end of their mating period.”
“Nothing to be sorry for,” Alex assured him, and smiled gratefully when Therxian bent and scooped her up into his arms. She rested her head against his chest, listening to the comforting rhythm of his heartbeat.
Her lips lifted slightly at how utterly alien it was to listen to two hearts beating.
How could she possibly be disappointed in having Therxian for her mate?
She shook her head as he carried her over to the table.
“I was just curious as I couldn’t imagine if anyone genuinely expected any of those feasts to actually be enjoyed.
This is certainly better than an empty stomach, so I have no complaints. ”
Her mate chuckled as he bent and placed her on one of the benches within the dug-out dining area.
“You never cease to surprise me, hithana. I will most certainly make this up to you and prepare an evening of lavish feasts.” His cheek brushed the top of her head affectionately. “You are worth every effort.”
Alex had never considered herself one for sentimental words and mush, but she couldn’t stop the big, silly smile that stretched across her face. Unfortunately, reality intruded far too quickly, and her smile vanished as she realized exactly what it meant.
“I guess that means you will soon be returning to the palace.”
Therxian’s smile faded, and he dipped his head solemnly.
“Jathella has undoubtedly been fending off the staff and making excuses to keep the servants from entering my nest. Because it also aligns with my mother’s orders to make certain than none of the females from the noble families find a way to access my nest, she can reasonably do this to a point, but I must make myself seen in some fashion, regardless of how much I would rather remain here. ”
That made sense, even if it gave her an odd pang in her chest in the vicinity of her heart.
It seemed that there were some psychosomatic aspects of their mating that she hadn’t been entirely prepared for.
That didn’t bode well for what the long hours without Therxian around was going to look like now for her.
Awesome.
Alex swallowed a sigh and forced a reluctant smile onto her lips. “Well, I guess on the positive side, it looks like we finally get a break to recover a bit.”
Therxian’s mouth thinned into a flat line. It seemed that her efforts at humor were wasted on him. His eyes narrowed on her, holding her locked within his serpentine gaze. It sent a chill up her spine that was far from fearful.
“I do not desire a break, ashlava,” he hissed. “I desire to remain with my mate to hold that which is dearest to me within my coils, not skulking in shadows—and the council of noble matriarchs is in the way of that. There is no positive here as far as I see it.”
A heaviness grew in her chest with his words. She felt as if she was starring in one of the old dramas her mother loved, where the hero confessed himself to the heroine. She blinked rapidly even as she silently cursed. She didn’t even want to know what it would be like when she was also hormonal.
She cleared her throat. “That actually sounds really great to me,” she replied hoarsely.
Therxian cocked his head, studying her for a long moment before something tender briefly softened the hard lines of his face.
To her surprise, he bent and effortlessly gathered her back up in his arms, drawing her tightly against his chest. His wings curled around her as he turned away from the table.
“Forget the food,” he grumbled. “I have suddenly realized that this is not the hunger I wish to sate.”
She laughed softly in response and pressed a kiss over his hearts. “Didn’t you say that it was important to replenish yourself?”
“Better to replenish my heart and soul in preparation for the long sleeping period ahead and suffer a brief pang of the stomach in exchange.”
Her heart melted, sending a satisfyingly deep feeling of warmth through her chest. “Gods save me because I don’t know if I have the strength,” she teased.
He hummed in response, his gavo rising as he bent a flirtatious look on her. “There are ways,” he rasped.
His song shifted, the notes hitting a response within her that caused a rushing within her blood.
It centered in her belly and from there flooded her with a liquid heat through her body.
Alex shivered in response, her body growing heavy with desire even as a new urgency began to stir to life within her.
Shifting restlessly against him, she wound her arms around her mate, drawing them closer as he lowered her into the bed, his big body following after her.
His song brushed over her sensually as his tail encircled her and his mouth lowered to her throat.
And still he sang to tease her senses and bring them to life in ways she never would have thought possible in her previous experiences.
Shangla and Higthar certainly loved their children to gift them with all of that.