Chapter 56 #2
She hadn't had a chance to tell them she was okay last night. They had been informed that she was all right, of course, but it was her first time talking to them face to face.
“Where's Tilii?” She asked, looking around for her friend.
Atem's face hardened catching her eye.
“What? What is it?”
“She's still in her room,” he said, his grip tightening around her. “She was aware of Quvi's treachery. She confessed the crime right before I left to find you, but that doesn't excuse her silence. I have yet to decide her punishment.”
Peony stared, surprised. “Tilii was... in on it? Or did Quvi bully her into being in on it?”
Atem said nothing, confirming to her that it was the second one.
“I want to talk to her first,” she said, some of her strength of will returning. This time, to fight for her friend. “Tilii was terrified of Quvi. And they were sisters. I'm not surprised that she was forced to keep quiet. I don't want you to punish her at all.”
“She must be held accountable, vi adassi,” he said, some regret in his voice. “I cannot allow her silence to go unpunished.”
“Fine. I accept that.” Her eyes flashed in warning. “But I demand the right to approve the punishment.”
Atem grinned, leaning over to kiss her head. “Very well, vi Adassani. I will give you that power. We will determine her punishment together.”
“And I don't want to lose her as my aid and helper.”
He laughed.
“What?” She glared, crossing her arms.
“I believe you've made a liar of me already, vi Peony.” He pulled her into his arms. “I quite love seeing you fierce like this and I'm eager to see it again. Just so long as I don't have to see it in relation to you protecting your own life.”
Peony smiled, a warm flush of pleasure filling her at the confession.
They stayed around in the bright, comfortable room for a few minutes more.
Peony and the others chatted while Atem continued to talk with various people on his combot.
Alerting the citizens that she was about to speak.
Planning some things with the Second Scholar – who was soon to be the new First Scholar – as well as coordinating with the other Firsts.
About half an hour later, it was finally time for the two of them to go out on the balcony.
She swore the crowd that gathered was even bigger than the one that had come to greet Atem when he returned from being kidnapped.
Four massive camera bots floated around in the air – focusing on her and Atem as they approached the railing.
The crowd cheered in excitement at seeing them. Peony smiled, waving from above. She was glad she wasn't afraid of public speaking. She actually felt fine standing in front of everyone, at Atem's side.
She was more prepared to speak this time, but before she had the chance to open her mouth, Atem began-
“My people!” He lifted Peony's hand, the same hand that he always worshiped. They cheered even louder, making her laugh. “Your Adassani is alive and well!”
They roared in approval at his words. Atem allowed them to quiet down before he launched into an explanation about how she was captured leaving the healing center.
When he revealed that the First Scholar was the one who had orchestrated it with the aid of the Third Guardian, the people booed and hissed their anger.
Atem encouraged it. Then, he explained how, working with the Second Scholar, he had tried to track her, but Torvii had laid a false trail to keep her lost and it was only Peony's cleverness that alerted him to her real location.
They stomped and clapped and yelled so loud, birds took flight from the trees.
Notably, he didn't mention her pregnancy while he spoke. She blushed a bit when he glorified her supposed cleverness at guessing dry air plus sand equaled a desert. She was fully ready to insist it wasn't a big deal whenever he asked her to speak, but she didn't get the chance.
“You already know that your Adassani is afflicted with modesty. But I won't allow her to diminish her actions this time!” Atem yelled to an approving cheer. “Instead, I will tell you that, using her direction, Second Scholar Romival used satellites to track and record her in the desert!”
Peony looked at him, surprised and startled. They had satellites that recorded that far down and could be set so quickly? He had recorded all that?! The people were cheering as Atem gestured to the wall of the palace where a large combot was lowering to play the holovid against the golden stone.
“Behold!” Atem yelled as the video began playing.
It started with Peony and Temnavi bursting from the cargo truck.
It showed her stabbing the ratchi, grappling with Torvii, helping Temnavi escape.
Everything. The people yelled and cheered as Atem narrated the whole time.
When she knocked away Torvii's gun and buried it in sand, they about lost their mind.
She wasn't a warrior but seeing her be victorious through cleverness was just as exciting to the domini as her stabbing the ratchi outright.
When Torvii dragged her by the hair back to the truck, they hissed and growled in anger.
Atem joined along with them. It then showed Temnavi running through the desert, being chased by two ratchi.
A part that Peony hadn't seen. When Atem appeared and slayed the two ratchi so effortlessly, the crowd about lost their minds.
But not nearly as much as when the video showed him killing the third ratchi, then Quvi, then toying with Torvii before finally killing him as well.
With each body he dropped, their cheering became louder and wilder.
When he was fighting Torvii, Atem couldn't even add commentary over the sound of them cheering for their Dominani.
“Your Adassani is a true Vora Vakara!” He yelled, raising her hand again, like a victorious boxer at the end of a bout. The people yelled and jumped so loud that she felt the palace shake. She started laughing because she was overwhelmed at the response.
“Vas! VAS!” Atem encouraged eagerly. “And you know what else? Do you want to know?!”
They roared, begging to know.
“Your Adassani was at the healing center because she has done the impossible. She was seeing Donivi to prove that she had done the impossible. And I can tell you now, my people, with absolute certainty: Your Adassani carries my pup! A pup of my own loins!”
The stuttered, mumbled reaction made Peony uneasy. Atem, however, smiled as he brought her into his arms, covering her belly with both hands.
“Vi Seerin Siria has lived up to her name in a way I could never have predicted. These human females are compatible with our seed and now Peony carries my pup! Your Adassani did all of that while carrying a pup and her strong, sturdy body protected the pup without a single injury! Vora Vakara Seerin Siria!”
The reminder that she had fought so hard while carrying a baby made them absolutely insane. They roared and cheered and hissed and booed – so many sounds blending together in a cacophony of joy and pride and fierce condemnation.
A domini female was in a more delicate condition than humans while she carried.
According to Donivi, female domini wombs were thinner, more delicate, less muscular than hers, and it made them more susceptible to trauma.
Peony's thicker uterus that could, and did, bleed once a month and heal without issue had suffered no damage at all and it was a wonder to him and, apparently, to the greater population.
Her face was bright pink – she could feel it burning – but she was smiling as everyone roared their approval at the feat.
“Our pup is a hybrid,” Atem said once everyone had calmed down enough to talk.
It took at least a full minute. “We have no idea how it’s going to grow, what it's going to look like, or even if it will be healthy.
Donivi is watching over her carefully and he tells me that the genome is stable, and the pup is developing normally so far, but anything could happen.
Vi Seerin Siria's womb is strong though, and her body is adapting to the pregnancy well.”
They cheered again. A small cheer this time. Atem smiled, hugging her just a bit tighter before unfolding himself from around her. He still held her hand though.
“Vi adassi is going to give me a pup. She has already proved herself by protecting our first son, Temnavi, so I know she will be a perfect dam and adassi to our family. The failing at her being taken from me is mine.”
The crowd made a sound that wasn't quite a cheer, wasn't quite a boo. They didn't disagree with his taking responsibility for the failing, but they didn't condemn him for it either. Especially not after seeing him slaying her enemies to make up for it.
“I will be better!” Atem declared. “I will be a worthy sire to her pup. I will redeem myself to my mate and son! I will redeem myself as a domin and as a dominani!”
The crowd cheered. Supporting his vow. Peony thought it to be unnecessary.
As far as she was concerned, the only fault fell to Torvii, to Quvi, and they had already paid the price for their treachery and villainy.
But she could sense that his vow meant something more than just misplaced guilt.
His people would and did assign blame to him as a den protector that failed his mate and, in his culture, he did have something to make up for.
Atem brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them before waving goodbye to the crowd and pulling Peony back inside. The girls were still there, having watched the live video feed off of Holly's combot.
“Peony, that was amazing!” Alanna said immediately, clapping her hands as she bounced excitedly in place. “And Atem, you were incredible. So strong and confident. Your aura was so powerful as you were speaking up there.”
“Thanks,” he smiled at her. Peony knew he had no idea what Alanna was talking about with her new age hippie stuff, but he accepted it without comment most days.