Chapter 15
Nearly a week passed since I’d last seen Arrazyl.
When I’d spent the day teaching the children what I could, I’d thought Arrazyl would be present.
But if he was, he didn’t show himself. There had been two warriors there, though, watching me.
I found myself wishing Arrazyl had been there.
He’d been strange on the flight back from checking out the areas I could teach at, and I wondered if I’d made a mistake telling him my thoughts.
Perhaps I’d grown too comfortable with him. He had that effect on me.
Vuldrex and Junyv, who I now knew were the main stewards of the Vorazyr’s house, came almost every day with work or to check on our progress.
We’d gotten along and they’d been kind. They were nothing like the vorpyr who’d refused to provide a drink for me.
It shouldn’t have mattered, but my thoughts drifted to that interaction more than once.
I’d been assigned to study the business culture of an alien species, which was slow going given that they didn’t allow me access to any tech connected to a network, but at least it kept me from going stir crazy.
“You should eat something.” Jaron sat down next to me at the table.
“Don’t you miss a good old-fashioned burger or mac and cheese?” I asked, propping my chin on my fist. “Or hashbrowns. Who thought I’d miss hashbrowns?”
“Don’t forget chocolate.” Tatiana added from the living room floor, where she was putting something together. I couldn’t tell what it was. She’d brought it in the last time she’d been let out by a steward.
“Or ice cream.” I sighed.
“Or chocolate ice cream.” Jaron said dryly. “It sounds like you need some sugar in your diet.”
“Thanks.” I grumbled, rubbing my forehead.
A thunk at the door announced someone before the door slid open, revealing Junyv. She stepped inside gingerly. “Jacqueline? Would you come with me?”
I was glad for the break and got to my feet.
“It seems busier around here lately.” I observed as we made our way to the main house. I’d noticed it when Vuldrex had taken a walk with me through the city yesterday. It still amazed me that I hadn’t stepped foot on the ground once to get around.
“That’s because the city is getting ready for the annual festival.” She led me inside and up a spiral staircase to a large balcony that curved out away from the main structure in a u-shape.
Thyra was sitting at a table and smiled at me, waving me to the seat next to her. “I’m glad to see you.”
I said hello and settled in next to her. Junyv poured me a cup of a drink I could only assume was like tea. In the middle of the blond wood table was a tiered tray with bite sized foods.
“I’m up to my ears in festival plans, so I’m wondering if you would help me with these.
” She gestured at a hologram of pages spread in front of her of some type of agreement in the intergalactic language.
“And when I say if, I mean it.” Her eyes, a deep purple, were gentle when they met mine.
“We have asked you to do quite a lot in the last couple of weeks and if you can’t do both that and this right now, I understand. ”
To say I was taken aback was an understatement.
I studied the pages to give myself a moment to think.
“This looks like an initial agreement to start negotiations.” From what I’d seen so far, there were contracts for everything between species, even contracts allowing them to start speaking about business.
“I know I’ve said it before, but I’m not trained in contracts.
However, if you download information about the species from the network like you did for the other one you had me do, I’ll start researching right away.
” It would be good. I needed to stay busy to keep my thoughts from wandering home, as they’d been doing so much lately.
Heavy bootsteps announced Kyvar as he came onto the balcony. He strode over and plucked a bite off the tray, popping it into his mouth with a moan. “It’s been too long since I last ate.”
“Go get a proper meal before you eat all of my appetizers.” Thyra shooed him.
Instead of leaving, he propped a hip on the table and looked over the documents. “Passing your work on again, huh?” He winked at Thyra who scowled at him, then plucked another morsel up and tossed it into his mouth.
Vuldrex came onto the balcony with another pot of tea and filled our cups.
“And what work have you been up to?” Thyra challenged Kyvar, who still lounged lazily against the table.
“Well, I’ll be leaving tomorrow with some warriors for the cliffs of Shyga.”
“What’s there?” I looked up from the page I was reading.
“Predators. The cliffs swarm with predators during the times of breeding and birthing of the vorilh and it’s important to keep their numbers down and the vorilh safe.” Another bite disappeared into his mouth.
“Are the vorilh like livestock?” I wondered if I’d seen the animal. Oddly, I hadn’t seen anything I could identify as a domestic pet.
“Oh no. We don’t kill or eat them. They are fliers, and when they have their young they produce the richest milk in the galaxy.
We collect milk from them and it sells to luxury skincare chemists, some pharmaceutical companies, and the makers of those galaxy meal replacement bars.
The milk is the reason they taste so good. ”
So that was the reason behind the calculations and alien culture studies specific to business contracts that they’d had us doing. They were expanding.
“That’s amazing.” I said sincerely. “On Earth we have birds, but they’re not classified as mammals. They lay eggs and don’t produce milk. The only thing I can think of that’s remotely close would be a bat. How big are vorilh?”
Thyra tapped a tablet and brought up a hologram of one. It was huge, with orange and yellow ombre feathers and the face of a bird, but a long tail that seemed almost reptilian.
“They’re very docile, and they are loving parents.
They mate for life and you should see the babies.
It’s a long process when the female is birthing so the male brings her food and leaves with dew on them.
He grooms her feathers and cares for her.
And their babies are so precious. They come out tiny, with soft white feathers and the most darling faces.
” Thyra smiled at whatever memory she was speaking of.
“I would love to see that.” I said. What a wonderful experience it would be.
“That won’t be happening.” Arrazyl’s icy voice made me jump. He stepped out onto the balcony with us, his eyes hard. “Most vorpyr are not allowed near them, let alone outsiders.”
I pasted on a blank expression, not wanting him to see the hurt I felt. I shouldn’t have been surprised. A moment of gentleness from him didn’t mean he’d changed how he viewed me. How he viewed my species. My chest ached and I looked away.
“Arrazyl.” Thyra sighed out his name, lips tilted down.
I felt the gazes of Vuldrex and Kyvar. I shifted in my chair, wanting to get away from the uncomfortable atmosphere. “Thyra, can you tell me about your festival?”
“Oh, yes!” She brightened. “We have it every year. Vorpyr come from the other territories for it. There are many different games and competitions and food. Oh, the food is so good. Vendors come from other territories to sell their food, so we get options we rarely have here. And many other things are sold as well, especially since everyone typically gets gifts for Lusadryl during the festival.”
“Lusadryl?”
“It’s a holiday where families celebrate new life and each other and all they have. Gifts are given and time is spent specifically with the ones you love. Do you not have a holiday like it?”
“It sounds like it’s very much like a mix of our Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. It’s not a holiday every single culture on our planets celebrates, though. And it’s in the winter, not summer.”
Her wings rippled. “Ugh, why would anyone celebrate winter?”
I laughed. “You don’t even get winter here.”
“But I’ve been to my brother’s territory and it gets freezing there. There’s a reason I chose to live here with Arrazyl.”
“You have another brother?” I couldn’t help glancing at Arrazyl. He was scowling.
Thyra started to answer, but Arrazyl interrupted, “that’s enough information.”
I refused to drop my gaze to the floor, but I focused on the activity I could see on the other cliff, not able to look at him. Heavy steps came close.
“I’ll take you back to your house.”
I stood without looking at him. I gave Thyra a big smile, hoping she didn’t notice that it didn’t reach my eyes. “As soon as I get the downloaded documents I’ll start looking into that contract.”
“Ok. And I’ll take you with me to help set things up so you can see what I mean about the festival. It should be a nice break from work.” Her expression was apologetic, but it was hardly her fault Arrazyl had suddenly decided to remind me of my place in his world.
“I look forward to it.” If Arrazyl would allow it.
Each step away from the table felt heavy and I couldn’t bring myself to look at Arrazyl as he walked just behind me, distinctly replacing the line that I had thought with hope had become blurred between us.
There was no mistake, I was his captive, his enemy.
A lead weight settled into my chest and refused to budge.
At the door to the house he slid the bar back, but I didn’t step inside. I pushed my hair over my shoulder, forcing myself to look up at him. His gaze was guarded.
“Why were you so kind to me when I injured my hand?” Maybe it was foolish to hope that he would say he liked me, as I now realized I did him.
He was quiet for a long moment, but his expression never changed. “It would be inconvenient to have my source of information get infected.”
My lips parted in disbelief at the harsh words. “That’s it?”
“It’s all it’s ever been. Or will be.”
“I see.” There was nothing left to say, so I stepped inside. I stood there until the bar locked into place.
Jaron walked out of his room and immediately zeroed in on me. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s just been a long day.” I squeezed his arm as I passed to go to the room Tatiana and I shared. I was suddenly very tired.
“Did he do something to you?” his voice was soft and hesitant.
I turned quickly at the insinuation and met his gaze firmly. “No, Jaron. He hurt my feelings, he didn’t do anything else to me.” Besides make my heart flutter and then remind me that I’m nothing more than a prisoner, his captive.
He held my gaze and seemed reassured by what he saw. “Ok.”
I went to the bathroom and stripped off my clothes, submerging myself under the water as though it would help to dissolve my feelings.