Chapter 52
Knowing that there was a Seshanamitesh male out there, potentially trying to infiltrate the elder palace, did not make Therxian comfortable leaving his mate alone in the palace.
It was only by retrieving Alex’s weapon and sending Kitanara down to accompany her that he was able to remain patiently waiting to be admitted into his mother’s nest.
His tail curled restlessly around him, his hand flexing on the scroll.
He was anxious, though he had no real reason to be.
It was his mother, but he had no memory of ever going to his mother’s nest without first being invited since reaching his juvenile period.
It simply was not done. Even Jathella had been shocked by his arrival, but she had not argued.
She had dismissed her younger sister to do as he asked and immediately returned to the queen, to announce his presence.
Resting coiled just outside his mother’s nest was disconcerting, and many of the passing palace staff and visitors were openly staring, but this could not wait for the usual procedure.
He needed to see his mother immediately.
“Therxian? Are you waiting for an audience with the queen?”
He privately grimaced at the sound of Dehv’s voice greeting him, but he turned toward the male with a polite nod.
“Dehv. You have returned to the palace? I was not aware that there was another council meeting today.”
A pained look crossed the smaller male’s face, and he snapped his gavo wearily. “Indeed. Not for a council meeting, however. Gareiia has accompanied her mother to discuss a matter with the queen. I have been wandering the corridors while I have waited.”
Therxian’s gavo rose with curiosity. “Discussing something?”
“They are... displeased,” Dehv replied hesitantly. “With several of the mating-age noble females poisoned along with the queen, Zara is quite insistent that those who are still sound of health be permitted to continue in the breeding exchange.”
“Breeding exchange... is that what they are calling it?” Therxian sneered in distaste as the other male lowered his head submissively.
Dehv visibly balked. “I should not have spoken so randomly. Apologies. I am certain that there was no insult meant toward you, my prince,” he mumbled, but Therxian waved the excuse away.
“Do not apologize for speaking plainly,” he replied.
“In truth, it is exactly what it is. There is no need to shield me from the matter. At least they are not trying to fashion it into something else for the sake of appearances.” He huffed quietly.
“I have no doubt that they are displeased. Not a thought to the females who are suffering.”
The male fidgeted awkwardly, his tail curling and uncurling restlessly. “It is not my place to comment on it.”
Therxian sighed, sympathy filling him. Although the male’s loyalty with solely with Gareiia, he could not fault him for it. The fact that the female was scheming, and possibly even more so than any other female if she was truly the daughter of Yilada, was no fault of his.
“I understand. Should you wish to escape this—”
Dehv gave him a look of abject horror. “I could not possibly desert my mate!” he whispered.
He twitched again. “But perhaps a small retreat in peace for a few hours where she cannot watch me—somewhere nearby that she cannot access,” he prompted.
“Do you have any secret retreats accessible from the palace, my prince?”
Drawing back on his coiled tail, Therxian silently studied the other male. Despite the guileless way Dehv returned his gaze, he did not trust it... or him.
Therxian feigned a look of remorse and dipped his chin. As he did so, he watched the male’s expression shift subtly from innocent hopefulness to a very slight, barely perceptible sneer. “Unfortunately, I—"
“The queen will see you,” Jathella announced as she slid from the entrance and made way for the noble matriarch just behind her.
The captain did not speak further, but rather inclined her head respectfully, her eyes downcast, as Zara and Gareiia exited, their passing dismissively over her before landing on him.
“Therxian, this is a surprise,” Gareiia greeted him as she drew up and stopped directly in front of him.
Zara passed by them, her gavo flattening with obvious irritation.
Gareiia’s eyes followed the direction of his gaze, and she gave a small laugh.
“Do not mind, Mother. She had high hopes for our meeting with the queen—and our future alliance together,” she added with a faint hum that thankfully had little to no effect on him now.
Her eyes drifted over him and hardened slightly when she noted his failure to respond, though she continued speaking as if it did not bother her in the least. “I blame it on the elder who she is currently insisting upon keeping by her side. Perhaps she is feeling sentimental now that she is confronted with her own mortality and is seeking comfort, but the crooked tail was far too bold in giving her advice. Those of the lesser noble houses should remember their place.”
“Are the noble houses not meant to be equal in sharing the burdens of the shinara and speaking for the Seshanamitesh who occupy our great shinara?” Therxian inquired. “After all, this male here is from the eighth house, and your mother-line still found him worthy enough.”
She froze, her eyes snapping to the male in question, who remained in place with his head bowed. His gavo flattened under the weight of his scrutiny and hissed in disgust.
“Who gave you permission to idle here?” she demanded.
He shrank visibly, his gavo flattening further.
“I invited him to remain with me while he waited,” Therxian interjected coolly. Dehv’s head lifted slightly with a look of surprise before ducking again, though with far less tension.
Gareiia’s gaze trailed back to him. “How... considerate.” She suddenly smiled, the multiple fans of her gavo rising flirtatiously.
“It is a pity that the queen insists on keeping her orders in effect... and that you are otherwise engaged,” she added as she turned a telling look toward Jathella, who was waiting patiently at the entrance to the queen’s nest.
“Yes,” he replied tonelessly. “But regretfully, I must go and see my mother. I cannot leave her waiting.”
“Naturally,” Gareiia replied. She drew back, her tail flicking, fanning her gavo toward him, sending another thick burst of pheromones cascading everywhere. She smirked and turned to leave. “I will see you very soon, Therxian.”
Therxian silently watched her depart with Dehv hurrying after her before finally turning toward Jathella, his wings expanding and flapping casually as he rolled his shoulders to relieve the tension gathered in his wingbase.
“Ridiculous female,” Jathella grumbled as she peered suspiciously down the empty corridor before turning abruptly back toward the entrance. “We have a crisis on our hands, and she is worried about securing her right for the next breeding rotation.”
“Can you really expect anything else from the greater majority of the noble families?” Therxian murmured as he drew up to her side. “That Mother tolerated their company at all is surprising.”
“Not so surprising if you had been here to witness her contend with the council. She has long suffered them and swallowed her own grievances to be the queen the shinara needed. But I think you know this now,” Jathella concluded, her gaze weighing him thoughtfully.
She shifted the weight of her velkat to her other hand and sighed.
“Your mother’s restraint is admirable as ever.
Speaking of which, she is waiting for you.
Let us not strain her patience any further than necessary. ”
“I am grateful that she was able to make time for me. I had not been aware that she was so occupied,” he grumbled as Jathella slipped into the short corridor that formed the nest’s entrance.
“She was not supposed to be entertaining anyone at all,” Jathella hissed unhappily.
“Healer Zhia was quite displeased, though I thank Mother Shangla that Elder Goyu has refused to leave the queen’s side.
She proved to be a very effective buffer between Zara and Zathexa.
She assisted Zathexa in keeping control of the situation despite her fragile health.
” She glanced back at Therxian, and her expression softened.
“Your mother is eager to see you. It seems that she had already planned to send me out to summon you. So your visit was quite fortuitous.”
“She wished to see me?” Therxian echoed in surprise. “Why?”
Jathella’s ear flicked, and she looked away just as his mother’s weak voice somehow still managed to carry from her sleeping chamber.
“Should a mother have a reason to wish to see her offspring?” Zathexa demanded crossly, and Therxian felt a smile pull at his mouth despite himself as he proceeded to her side.
“Mother, you should have thrown them out rather than let them tire you,” he admonished as she bent down to touch his cheek against hers.
She smiled weakly and huffed a small laugh.
“Do you imagine it would have done much good? They would have just found another excuse to return and sink their teeth into me. Vicious females. It is difficult to believe that they are close relatives of mine. But then again, I never would have believed Yilada was capable of her crimes if I had not witnessed them with my own eyes. Perhaps there is a taint there that Mother and I never saw within our own related mother-lines,” she observed as she sank back into her cushions with a tired sigh.
Elder Goyu smoothed her gavo with one tender hand, an expression of concern on her aged face.
In a rare demonstration of public affection, Zathexa covered the elder female’s hand with her own and tipped her head with appreciation.
A faint, tired smile pulled at her mouth before she refocused on Therxian.
“But let’s set aside why I wished to summon you for a moment.
Since you arrived before I had the opportunity to call you, I am curious...
what was so urgent that you requested an immediate audience?
Especially when you have seldom come to me before now. ”
“I have something for you,” he rasped, lifting the scroll. He hesitated at the last moment and turned toward Healer Zhia. “Or perhaps, more for you,” he amended.
The healer’s gavo rose and his mother struggled partially upright with interest before Elder Goyu managed to coax her back down onto the cushions.
“Where did you get this?” the healer whispered in awe. “I have no access to any of these poisons, but with this framework I can follow with logical substitutions that will better manage the queen’s symptoms.”
“My mate—Alex—she discovered it within the elder palace,” he slowly replied as he looked over and met his mother’s sharp gaze.
Zathexa drew in a sharp breath and silence thickened within the chamber for a terrible moment before she released it with a quiet laugh.
“This human intrigues me more and more. She was the one who found the first clue as to my Vorahna’s fate, and now this.
Truly, the scrolls must seek her out. A mistress of scrolls. ”
“I believe Zhia’s pain tonic has finally kicked in,” Elder Goya observed with a chuckle.
The healer returned to the queen’s side and touched her clawed fingers to her pulse point.
“Good. I was required to up the dosage, but it seems that this is continuing to manage the pain for the time being. I do not know how long that will last, however.” She sighed as she straightened, her attention returning to the scroll.
“These will be impossible to find in the shinara. The Uralial merchant has disappeared. I have, however, committed the list to memory,” she replied as she rolled it back up and gravely returned it to Therxian.
He very gently pressed it back toward her. “It would serve far better use with a healer than with me. Keep it safe.”
The healer’s eyes widened, and she clutched it to her chest. “On my life, my prince.”
He inclined his head. “The others who were poisoned—”
“One fatality so far,” the healer replied quietly.
“Once the noble families heard I was unable to cure their daughters, I was barred from their residences so that they could mourn properly. Tiha was young and delicate. It shatters my hearts, but I hope that the other females have some small chance of holding on until we find the antidote.”
“We will find it,” Zathexa sighed from the bed.
“Or perhaps your Alex will, Therxian. I really do wish to meet her.” Her gaze swept toward Jathella.
“Do not look at me like I am out of my mind. I may be a bit fuzzy around the edges, but I am still lucid, and I am still your queen.” Therxian restrained a smile at the sharp note in his mother’s voice.
Even in her weakened condition, she was formidable.
“Arrange it, Jathella. You know where to assign the guards to keep them out of the way during sleeping hours. Therxian will bring her then.”
“Yes, my queen,” Jathella replied.
His mother’s gaze turned sharply to him with the silent expectation he knew so well. He inclined his head. “Yes, mother,” he replied dutifully as a new sense of excitement stirred to life within his chest.