Chapter Thirteen #2
“The High Ledge is where all the… you would call them noble families live.”
I filed away the fact that his people also apparently had a caste system I needed to figure out but focused on getting an answer that made sense.
“You need water to live, same as Humans?”
His chin dipped so I pressed on.
“Wouldn’t proximity to the water source be more desirable than the farthest location from it?”
Huffing, his lips tipped up. We came up into level tunnels and he turned us left, hand still on my back although the pressure eased.
“We are creatures who developed on a desert planet, why would we want to live with constant moisture?”
My mouth hung open, pausing as I thought. I was looking at things from a Human perspective, but he was right. Taking animals from a desert and putting them in a humid environment for an extended period caused all kinds of problems.
“So, the rich and powerful live farther from the water because it’s more comfortable? And… because they have others to haul their water to them when they want it.”
Rhydek huffed again but he didn’t deny my statement.
From orbit, to me, Morrakan had looked uninhabitable with its lack of obvious water and plant life, but for him, it was home.
It was what he had evolved to survive. Protection from the sand, bioluminescence and better night vision, he was a predator meant to live in caves and hunt the surface in the dark of night.
The thought lingered as we continued down the corridor.
The Morrak were the top of the food chain due to evolution, but Humans only reached the top due to what we were able to make.
Stripped and dropped in the middle of nowhere without supplies, I could see Rhydek thriving while a Human likely wouldn’t last a week.
The tunnels widened as we moved into ones that had more traffic, and Rhydek slowed as we approached an intersection. There was a door near the corner, and when he stopped in front of it I realized we must have approached his home from a different direction than the first time.
“Do the tunnels have names, or signs, or something to help navigate?”
The door slid open with a quiet hiss when he tapped the control pad beside it. Air slightly cooler than the dusty corridor greeted us as we stepped inside, laced with the familiar scent of leather and pine.
Seeing the interior again was almost as disappointing as the first time. It was so… bland.
How could this become home?
Rhydek crossed the room without hesitation, removing the communicator from his belt and placing it on the table near the wall while I lingered near the door.
I wasn’t sure what to do with myself, too at odds with Rhydek to feel comfortable exploring his space.
He was required to house me, but that didn’t mean he wanted to or was okay with it.
“I will have food brought. You’re still recovering so you need extra rest.”
I nodded, grateful for the suggestion before my stomach could betray me by growling, even if his comment was a bit high-handed.
With the adrenaline of the day fading, exhaustion was beginning to creep in, and I wasn’t going to argue about needing rest. My stomach had settled, but a dull throb still lingered in my joints and pulsed inside my skull.
I moved to the table, trailing my fingers over the surface. It felt like metal, smooth and cool, but it was a deep burgundy.
With a quiet sigh I let myself drop onto the edge of the bench beside it, stretching my legs out in front of me. The throbbing in my hips and knees eased although there was a warmth in the muscles that warned I was going to feel each of those steps up and down to the River Caverns for several days.
Rhydek moved to the wall behind what seemed to be a kitchen island, opening cabinets that had been built into the stone rather than hung on it. I heard water running before he turned with two cups in his hands, coming to deposit one on the table beside me.
Grateful, I wrapped my fingers around it and pulled it closer.
“Thank you.”
He dipped his chin, watching as I brought the cup to my lips and drank.
After my third swallow he seemed satisfied that I was doing what he wanted and finally lifted his own.
The water was room temperature, and the walls of the cup were thicker than I was used to, but I drained it and was tempted to ask for more.
Silence reigned between us. It wasn’t hostile, it was just… uncertain. Besides my family and coworkers, I didn’t spend a lot of time with people, and making small talk had never been my forte.
We were saved from the awkwardness by a chime from the datapad beside the door. Reyla entered a moment later, bowing her head to us as she carried a tray to the kitchen and placed it on the counter. It was the size of a sheet pan and overflowing with clay pots and baskets.
“Zha’len. Vorrash.”
She nodded at Rhydek’s words and left again without speaking.
My stomach twisted with unease over the unfamiliarness of the situation, but I tried to ignore it.
Of all the new things I would have to get used to on Morrakan, it was silly that having a personal assistant was the one that bothered me most.
The food was different than what Rhydek had brought me on the ship, but the scents were tantalizing. I moved to stand, but a sharp glance from him had my weight dropping back onto the bench as he gathered the food and plates and brought them to the table.
I was a bit jealous as I watched him, his tail closing cabinet doors behind him and carrying the covered basket. There were many times I had wished for another hand, and while his tail wasn’t quite that dexterous, it was clearly useful.
He sat across from me once everything was on the table, passing me a plate before uncovering the containers. My mouth watered at the savory scents, but I wasn’t sure where to start or what would be considered proper table manners.
“These are all things Serenya has tried without becoming ill. If anything is unpleasant to you, let me know.”
We didn’t quite look at each other as I followed his lead and scooped a bit of everything onto my plate. Most of it was toppings for something that might as well be called a wrap, although the orange “tortilla” reminded me more of naan despite being thin.
Quiet stretched between us as we ate. I’d always said I enjoyed it, yet I hadn’t realized how much background noise there had been in my life.
Beneath the surface of Morrakan, without electronics or even the hum of appliances, and thick stone walls to block out anything outside the home, there was true silence.
My ears rang, the pressure growing until I couldn’t help speaking just to have noise.
“Is it always this quiet?”
Rhydek glanced up, meeting my stare before looking around as if I could have asked the question of someone else.
“In my quarters?”
Shrugging, I nodded. I didn’t know where else I could have been referring to.
“Yeah.”
Another survey of the space around us before golden orbs landed on me once more. He acted as if he didn’t notice the lack of sound.
“Usually.”
That answer made something twist in my chest. Maybe because I couldn’t imagine living in a home so… empty. I had lived alone, but I’d spent most of my time off with my family, and my apartment hadn’t looked like a place that was barely used.
By the time we finished eating I was tense from the weight of the silence and stone surrounding us, and exhaustion pulled at me. My muscles were sore and a headache throbbed in the center of my forehead, and even sitting upright was starting to feel difficult.
Rhydek stood when I started to sway on the bench. There was still a bit of food on my plate, and plenty left in the containers, but the effort it took to chew was too much to tempt me into eating more.
“You should rest.”
I didn’t argue.
Standing, I followed him through the doorway behind the sitting area, the sight that met me freezing me in place.
It wasn’t the massive, almost circular bed in the center of the room that stopped me, or that there were more weapons on the walls.
It was the glowing crystals embedded in the ceiling, like tiny stars dotting the dark stone.
A curtain of leaves emitting a pale lavender shine hung behind the opposite side of the bed, and teal colored moss grew like a live baseboard around the walls.
While it was still quiet, there was ventilation somewhere in the room, because I could hear the sigh of a breeze and felt it brushing against my skin, easing the tension in my muscles.
My chest hitched at the beauty of it. With how plain his quarters on the ship had been and the utility of the rest of his home, I would have never guessed his bedroom was so beautiful.
“This will be your nest. We will sleep here.”
His tone was neutral but almost seemed as if he was waiting for me to protest. We had shared a room on the ship as well, but I’d been ill the entire time and only remembered waking beside him a time or two. This would be the first time we actually went to sleep together.
I cleared my throat, fidgeting with the hem of my shirt. I’d forgotten about the nudity rule and wanting to change after the long climb back from the River Cavern, but I suddenly felt grungy again.
“Are there… rules about… sleeping?”
Rhydek’s hands were on his belt, but he paused when I asked the question. I had no idea what he’d done with his top, but he’d walked around shirtless on the ship as well, and I had gotten used to it.
His brow furrowed as he stared at me.
“What kind of rules?”
I shrugged and gestured towards the bed, helpless to articulate what I meant.
“Like… sides of the bed? Or… I don’t know, the number of pillows?”
My voice trailed off and Rhydek stared at me for a long moment before the corner of his mouth twitched.
“You are the omega. You are in charge of the nest.”
Somehow that was both reassuring and made things more awkward. Despite the way it might have seemed, I liked rules. I liked having guidelines to follow. Rails to keep me from making mistakes.
Sighing, I looked around for my bags. I preferred sleeping nude, but after the River Caverns, I didn’t think I could handle any more exposed flesh. Especially not while lying in a bed next to eight feet, and more than a couple hundred pounds, of alien male.
With my back to Rhydek, I changed into the top and skirt I’d fashioned for myself. His lip still curled whenever he looked at it, but he hadn’t fought me over it since the first time.
When I crawled onto the bed, I chose the side farthest from the door. The mattress was firm beneath several layers of bedding, and part of me perked up at the feel of the silky sheets. I wanted to dig through them, feel them all, but I was too tired to give in to the odd urge.
The bed dipped a moment later as Rhydek settled beside me. The space between us felt enormous, yet somehow not large enough at the same time.
I wanted to stare at the ceiling, the red glow of the crystals dimming until they were bare pinpricks, but I turned onto my side and faced the wall instead. Behind me I heard the quiet sound of his breaths, and every movement he made sent shivers of awareness along my spine.
It was impossible to ignore the fact that I was in bed with him.
Alone.
Without underwear.
The warmth of his body radiated into my back, the faint glow of his kethra rivaling the light from the plant curtain behind our heads.
I squeezed my eyes shut, telling myself to go to sleep.
I could question the urge to scoot closer to his heat, and the disappointment of not feeling the weight of him over me another day.
And then I could figure out how to live on a planet that wasn’t mine.