Balancing Karma

Balancing Karma ID Locke Chapter 1 ~Kijika~ I was struggling through the text in the ancient book. The hand writing looked like a three-year old had written it in the middle of a sneezing fit. I frowned and shoved my glasses back up my nose and re-read the line of scrawled letters that was supposed to be handwriting. I was close to figuring out what the author was saying. A shadow moved across the page of the book making it even harder for me to make out what was written. My frown became a scowl as I moved my face closer to the page. “Kijika.” I grunted at the voice. The text was written in a style of Vylfian used almost a thousand years ago. Letters were added or subtracted randomly, it seemed. I almost had the rhythm the author was using. The dialect was giving me further trouble. Some words I’d never even heard of and had no idea what they referred to. “Kijika,” the voice called again, demanding my attention. “Just leave your request on the desk. I’ll take a look at it later,” I muttered with a distracted air. Why did people always bother me when I was obviously busy? Where the hell was that damn assistant of mine? Why wasn’t she assisting me by fielding these requests for me? Wasn’t that what she was paid to do? “Kijika Par-Delseur,” growled a deep voice. Only one person said my name that way in that tone of voice. I jerked my head up to find my father standing in front of my desk. He had his arms crossed over his broad chest and there was a determined look in his eye. He swept his gaze over me and I had to resist the urge to squirm. I’d had a sudden moment of inspiration and raced to my office wearing clothes that had definitely seen better days. Strands of hair had come loose from the sloppy ponytail I’d tied at the nape of my neck. Ink and dirt were on my fingers from the old book. I probably had some on my face as well. He sighed and shook his head. “Your mother sent me to haul your ass home so you could dress and possibly bathe before the party.” I felt a blush crawl across my cheeks. Most times I felt annoyed when my mother treated me like a wilful six year old but this time, she’d been right to send my father to come get me. I’d lost track of time again while working. I hadn’t forgotten about the party. I’d simply been struck with a possible solution to the translation problem and wanted to see if my new line of thought was right.

“I was going to come home as soon as I finished this page. I almost have the translation key. I can taste it, Dad. It’s right there. This is really interesting and it took me months to track down this book…” I trailed off when I realized he wasn’t the least bit interested in hearing my reasoning. My father looked at me patiently, still as a statue. He had the uncanny ability to remain motionless like that for hours at a time. Trying to outstare him was a pointless exercise that I’d learned fairly early in childhood. He’d stand there until I closed the book and decided to leave. I’d only tried once to test his death-like patience. Four hours later, I’d given up and done what he wanted. I’d been six at the time and four hours of remaining nearly motionless had seemed like forever then. A smile twitched his lips when I sighed and closed the book before standing. He waited for me to come around the desk before running a finger down my nose. I wasn’t very surprised when he showed me the streak of dirt on his pale skin. The book wasn’t only old and falling apart, it was filthy. “You’re definitely going to have to bathe before the party, Kijika. Your mother has laid out some clothes for you and I’m sure you wouldn’t want to get them dirty.” I sighed. Not because my mother didn’t have taste but because she was very aware of what would look best on me and seemed determined to find me someone who would make sure I ate and slept and didn’t have my nose constantly buried in a musty old book. She wanted to show off her pride and joy to potential suitors so I was sure I’d be decked out to the height of fashion. “Do you think she’d let me wear my uniform? Everybody loves a man in uniform,” I said in a hopeful tone as we left my office. “I had to fight to wear mine and I have more right to wear one at this kind of party than you do,” my father said as he reached behind my head and pulled the mostly useless tie from my hair. Another heavy sigh left me. My father wasn’t calling my martial abilities into question. He was simply entitled to wear his dress uniform because he wasn’t a Vylfian like my mother. He was a Naemo and they valued martial prowess over hereditary titles. He’d earned the right to wear a military uniform and no matter how much he loved my mother, and how much it would please her for him to dress as a Vylfian, for every formal occasion he wore his uniform. While I’d earned the right to wear a uniform as well, the party we were going to tonight was for my grandfather on my mother’s side of the family. Since I was half Vylfian and half Naemo, whichever side of the border the formal occasion was on dictated the clothes I wore. Tonight was about extravagant jewels, elaborate hairstyles, decadent clothes and looking more beautiful than the person you were standing next to at any given moment. God, but I hated court functions. It wasn’t really the clothes I minded. Even the amount of jewellery a person was expected to wear was okay, if a little over the top for my tastes. What I didn’t like was curious stares. Because of my mixed

heritage and my position in the court, I almost always ended up feeling like a newly discovered bug under a microscope. My mother was the youngest child of the ruling king and queen. My father was the leader of the Armies of the Dead of our closest neighbouring nation. I was a rarity of breeding between Vylfian and Naemo. I was the only half-breed royal in several hundred years. I was taller than Vylfian males but slightly shorter than Naemo males. My eyes were a strange combination of my mixed heritage. I wore my hair long for a Naemo but short for a Vylfian. I was not martial enough for the military minded Naemo but I wasn’t as carefree as the typical Vylfian. My wings were unique for both sides of my family. How I dressed was the least of my concerns with regards to standing out in a crowd. I did that no matter what I wore. I parted ways with my father when we reached the wing of rooms that was for our use when we lived in the castle. Most of the time, my mother lived with my father in his house as his duties were more pressing than the ones she assumed as a healer. My mother wasn’t next in line for the throne and she’d been the primary healer for my father and his living men for twenty-seven years. Where she chose to live was her own business as far as her doting father thought. I lived in the castle only because it was close to my job. And I never had to worry about cooking or cleaning. I’d tried to live in my own house for a while. My mother had bustled me out of the place and installed me back in my suite of rooms at the palace when she visited me once at home and was nearly crushed to death by a pile of dirty laundry. I was a little embarrassed to admit that I hadn’t noticed how much had piled up. Shortly after that incident, she’d taken to the idea that I needed a special someone in my life to keep me fed and safe from death by an avalanche of dirty shirts. I washed up quickly. I’d honestly lost track of time while working on translating the ancient text. If my father hadn’t come and dragged me from my office, I’d have probably still been there, pouring over that book. Stepping from the bathroom, I moved to the bed to see what my mother had laid out for me. The clothes were in the royal colours of my family and the jewels piled next to them were probably worth more than even some well off families made in an entire year. Mother was really pulling out all the stops this time. I shed the towel and pawed through the jewels. I wouldn’t wear all of the things my mother left for me but she knew that. I’d wear the minimum that I could get away with. Even the minimum was a lot. The first things that went on were the heavy, gold link anklets with glittering gems and tiny bells that made a soft chiming sound whenever I moved. A heavy gold chain with more of the tiny bells and gems circled my waist. Solid gold filigree arm bands wrapped around my biceps with matching bracelets for each wrist. A collar of beaten gold, inset with precious gems was around my throat. Long earrings studded with gems swung from my ears, almost brushing my shoulders. A small crown made of faceted crystal sat on my head. The only thing from my father’s side of the family was a heavy ring made of black metal with a scrolling design of his family flag etched on it. I looked at the still large pile of jewels on the bed and sighed. I wasn’t quite finished with the jewellery yet.

I picked out a delicate set of jewelled drops that matched the earrings I wore. The drops weren’t made to be worn on the ears, although I suppose a person could if they wanted to. I pinched my nipples until they hardened and attached the clips. A little thrill shot to my groin at the sensation of the drops tugging on my nipples. I turned away from the pile of jewellery and headed for my dresser and the simple wooden box that rested there. I had one more piece of jewellery to put on and I wanted to wear not only my favourite but one my grandfather had given me. I ended up dumping the contents of the box on my dresser as I looked for the missing piece. There were several similar ones in the pile my mother left for me that I could have worn but I wanted a specific one. I gave up with a frustrated noise and was turning away from my dresser when I suddenly remembered where the piece in question was. My mother had borrowed it and likely forgotten to give it back. I quickly tied the short, gauzy skirt around my hips and pulled the matching vest over my head. I winced as the edge of my vest caught the crown, knocking it askew and pulling several hairs out of my head. That was one of the reasons I never bothered to wear the damn crown. It never failed to get knocked or pushed lopsided and pull some of my hair out. I hurried from my room and down the hall to my parent’s suite. I knocked on the door and shifted impatiently from foot to foot as I waited for one of them to answer the door. My father opened the door, looked me over from head to toe and gestured me inside with a tiny smile. My mother was seated in front of a mirror having her hair styled by a servant. I caught her eyes in the mirror and she smiled at me before gesturing me over. “See, Del? I told you Kijika would look beautiful in the pale blue. You really should trust my judgement on these things. You’d look stunning in the deep purple outfit I chose,” she said as she pursed her lips in disappointment at my father wearing his uniform. “Sweetheart, what were you trying to do with your hair? Whatever it was, it didn’t work,” she said as she cast a critical gaze over me. I glanced in the mirror and rolled my eyes. The side that had hair pulled from it was sticking up while the other side lay flat. I opened my mouth to explain only to have my mother shoo her servant away from her hair to fuss with mine. I heard my father snicker softly and narrowed my eyes at him. My mother organized the hell out of both our lives so I didn’t think he was in any position to find amusement with my situation. “I came to get back the ring grandpa gave me that you borrowed. I’m not going to lend you things if you don’t return them,” I said as I tried to give her a stern look that was completely ruined when the servant blocked my view as she styled my hair. “I left you several rings to choose from, Kijika,” she said dismissively as she added multiple bangles onto her wrist. “But I want that one,” I insisted stubbornly. “That stubborn streak is your fault, Delseur,” my mother said with a sniff as she slipped numerous rings onto her fingers.

“For pity’s sake, just give Kijika his ring, Olanthe. You got your way in the clothes he’s wearing and almost all the jewels he has on,” my father reasoned. “But it’s plain. He should be entirely dressed the part of a prince tonight. He might meet someone nice tonight.” My mother was overlooking the fact that while not as flashy as the jewels she’d left for me; the ring my grandfather gave me wasn’t ordinary. Precious stones were set in the band and it had little tassels made up of more rare stones. It simply wasn’t as showy as what she’d set out for me earlier. While I had nowhere near the patience of my father, I had more than most people. I stared at her and waited for her to cave. It wasn’t a real contest of wills so I figured she’d give in after a few minutes. “Fine. It’s in the top drawer,” my mother said with a put upon sigh. “Try to present your only off-spring in the best light possible so they can find a good partner and this is the thanks you get.” Both my father and I rolled our eyes at that statement. My mother, like most Vylfian’s, had a flair for the dramatic. I kissed her on the cheek before getting the ring back. Ring in hand, I left their rooms and went back to mine. Once inside, I sat on the edge of my bed and lifted the skirt out of the way. The ring was slipped over my cock and around my balls. A small chain snugged it in place and kept it from slipping off. I stood and moved to look at myself in the full length mirror. My shoulder length blue-black hair was pulled back from my face. When I tilted my head, I could see the tiny, glittery combs the servant used to hold it back. The small crystal crown was sitting perfectly on my head in a way that I could never seem to get it to stay when I put it on myself. The earrings brushed my shoulders and the clips on my nipples peeked out from the edges of the vest. The chain around my waist chimed softly when I twisted and light flashed off the gems hanging from the chain. The pale blue skirt rode low on my hips and high on my thighs as was the current fashion. The hazy outline of my cock and balls could be seen through the material. The bells on my ankles jingled as I turned. I slipped my feet into the sandals that went with my outfit and gave my reflection a sharp nod. I was as ready as I was going to get. I just hoped the party wasn’t going to be as boring for me as these things tended to be. Chapter 2 ~Moswen~ Finally, I was allowed out on my own in the big wide world. My training was complete and I had the full blessings of my teachers. Not that they’re really been able to teach me anything new for the past few years. I think they kept hoping that I’d out grow that troublesome stage I seemed to be permanently stuck in. It really wasn’t my fault most of the time. I never intended for things to work out the way they did. Trouble just seemed to find me. I thought it was like a trade off for some of the things I could do that others couldn’t. It sorta seemed fair in a bizarre universal karma kinda way.

I hopped from dream to dream, moving further out into the universe. I wasn’t just coasting through the dream world. I was physically moving through it. I wanted a little fun and adventure. I wanted to see what was out there. I wanted to be really, really far away from my sister, Mahira when she figured out it was me that set off the explosion in the lab. That was a total accident and I shouldn’t be the one that shouldered all the blame. I’d been minding my own business experimenting with some of the chemicals in the lab. It wasn’t my fault that Toski and Alnaba decided that the lab I was in would be the perfect place for a quick screw when they were supposed to be on duty. We’d all been surprised to see each other since none of us were supposed to be there in the first place. Toski recognized me as Mahira’s brother and quickly offered to let me join them if I kept my mouth shut. I would have kept my lips sealed regardless. Mahira knew I’d been almost dying of curiosity to get my ass in the lab and play with the really cool shit they had there. I’d certainly bugged her enough about it. She’d have known right away that I’d snuck into the lab if I said anything about Toski and Alnaba being there. But, if Toski thought he could buy my silence with a little three-way action, who was I to argue? It’d been Alnaba’s idea for us to screw on the lab table. It hadn’t even been me that knocked the first flask over. Alnaba did that when her arm swept back to pull me into a kiss. Okay, I had hit the gas valve with my foot when Toski flipped me to my stomach to start nailing my ass from behind, but turning on the gas wasn’t intentional. They were just as responsible as me for not noticing that the gas was on before we left. Although, I suppose that volatile mix of chemicals that I’d left cooking on another burner when I jumped into the sexual action hadn’t helped make the explosion smaller either. Yeah, it was probably shitty of me to take off and leave Toski and Alnaba to face Mahira all by themselves but they could at least hold their own with her. I may have been Mahira’s favourite brood mate but that wouldn’t stop her from beating my ass seven ways from Sunday for levelling the small building and destroying almost six months worth of research her and her team were supposed to be guarding. I liked a good fight just as much as the next Awh’anise but I knew when I was totally out classed. Fighting Mahira when she was pissed at me and I didn’t intend to try and get in her pants just wasn’t smart or healthy. I was a lot of things but stupid with a death wish wasn’t one of them. And not even I liked pain that much. I had no worries though about Mahira finding me before she cooled off. I was Dream-Stepping. I was moving through the dreams of people without needing to be asleep myself. I was the only living Shalhazal Spirit that could do that. Because I wasn’t asleep and dreaming, I wasn’t leaving any trace of where I was going or what I was doing in the dream world. Another Shal-hazal Spirit couldn’t find me. Not even a Shal-hazal Warrior would be able to trace me through the dream world when I DreamStepped. See? Universal karma at work keeping my cute little ass in one piece.

I passed through the dreams of a very pretty woman and the phrase ‘party’ jumped out at me. I paused and prodded the dreamer to tell me what party it was that had her so excited. Flashes of gorgeous, barely dressed people flashed through her mind. Food was extravagant and the drinks flowed like water. Music and laughter weaved through her dream. Memories of the last big party like this tangled with the woman’s expectations of the party to come. My interest was further perked when the phrase ‘royal bash’ zipped past. I wondered where I could find some kick-ass party clothes to wear before I crashed the royal bash. ********* I’d never seen anything like the party I’d crashed. The woman’s dream that alerted me to the party hadn’t been an exaggeration or dream induced fantasy. The people around me really were gorgeous and half dressed. They were also the first winged people I’d ever seen. I wasn’t sure at first if the wings were real or just some sort of costume that was required for the party. When I saw a lady leap into the air and fly up toward the high ceiling of the ball room shrieking with laughter as a man chased her, I knew they were real. I was the only non-winged person in the huge room. Some people had commented on my appearance but seemed to accept my explanation of being a dignitary from another world. That wasn’t a lie. As a member of the small, elite class called Shal-hazal, I did have the power to broker deals with other planets for Awh’an if I thought they had something of value. I was sort of an ambassador for my planet. I just wasn’t on this planet for that reason but these people didn’t need to know that. I’d be gone come morning anyway. I’d learned that the people with the insect-like wings were called Vylfian. The few people I saw with feathered or membrane-like wings were called Naemo and were from a neighbouring country. The Vylfian were the partiers of the two and out numbered the Naemo at the party. They were also the ones decked out in the nearly see-through clothes and more jewels than even the gaudiest Shal-hazal formal robe and that was saying a lot. The party was in honour of the Vylfian king’s birthday and all the stops were being pulled out. I stayed out of the orbit of the royal family. I was technically a party crasher and I really didn’t want to know what the punishment might be for doing something like that. Not that they could really hold me if I didn’t want to stay. I’d just Dream-Step away but I tried not to cause trouble where I went. Trouble always seemed to find me without my having to actively start any. The Vylfian’s I did mingle with seemed fascinated by me and while it’d been cool at first to have so much of the skin on skin contact every Awh’anise craved, having my tail fondled and stroked every few minutes and the markings on my skin traced curiously, wore thin. Not to mention the tail fondling was also arousing the hell out of me as it was an Awh’anise’s prime erogenous zone in a species that was highly sexual. If I didn’t get away soon, I was going to end up grabbing the next person who laid hands on me and fuck them in the middle of the ball room. I didn’t have a problem with sex in front of an

audience. It added a certain kick to an encounter. Hell, I’d had sex in the middle of the street back on Awh’an without even thinking twice about it. But I didn’t want to start some kind of incident. I could behave myself perfectly well when out among polite society. I smiled and flashed a little more fang than would be polite among the Awh’anise, made some excuse and headed for the balcony doors I’d spotted earlier. I snagged a drink as I passed a servant and wove my way to the doors. I slipped through, closing them behind me and leaning against the glass. A little sigh of relief left me. I was just bringing the glass to my lips when I caught the scent of another person. I let my mouth open slightly as I inhaled deeply. I turned my head to the side and caught a flash of light in the corner of the balcony. Damn. I thought I’d be alone out here. “You don’t mind sharing the balcony, do you?” I asked before taking a sip of my drink. The male standing in the darkened corner of the balcony gave a little sigh that I probably wouldn’t have heard if my sense of hearing hadn’t been so sharp. He moved out of the shadows and into the light coming from the crowded ball room and I could only stare at him in surprise. He was taller than me. I guessed he probably hit the seven foot mark. His hair was shoulder length and looked black in the diffused light coming through the glass doors I leaned against. His eyes were a gorgeous shade of aqua and didn’t seem to have any pupils. His cheekbones were high and sharply defined. His mouth looked like it was made to do sensual, wicked things to a lover. His face had a pretty, almost delicate look but you’d never mistake him for a woman. He had fantastic muscle definition that was shown off to its very best advantage in the gauzy vest and skirt outfit he was wearing. I could almost make out his cock through the material and automatically licked my lips. He was not a good person for me to run into when I was already horny. “Who are you? You’re not from any country I’m familiar with,” he said as he stopped a few feet away from me. “I’m a dignitary from another planet.” He raised an eyebrow and said nothing. He seemed to be waiting for me to add more information. I sipped my drink and stared at him. I wasn’t about to give out any more information than I had to. Before long, I’d finished my drink. He still stood in front of me, waiting. My tail began to swish behind me in impatience. Only his eyes moved to follow the motion of my tail. They widened slightly and he started to lean forward as if for a closer look before he caught himself. “I’m Moswen,” I finally said after another ten minutes of silent staring. He had the patience of a friggen statue. “And just where do you come from, Moswen?” he asked curiously as he checked me over from head to toe.

“Uh… here and there. Just… uh… around,” I stumbled. I sucked at lying. “You weren’t invited to this party, were you?” Shit. Busted. “Not exactly. I heard about it and a party sounded like fun. Free food and drinks and all the pretty people you could stare at. What’s not to like?” I heard him mutter something about having better things to do and research. My curiosity alarm went off. I was almost obsessive about learning new things. My teachers said I’d absorbed information like a sponge. I saw no harm in asking what he was researching. The worst he could do was tell me it wasn’t any of my business. “What’re you researching?” He looked startled that I’d heard him but answered me anyway. “I found an obscure reference to a way of using magic to move a person from one location to another in an instant. It took me months to hunt down other books to support this idea and I was working on translating one of them when I had to get ready for the party.” “Really?” I asked as my interest was piqued. Since I could do that sort of thing by Dream-Stepping, I was curious to find out what he knew. Maybe some of what he knew could help explain how I did what I did. “You don’t have to pretend interest. I realize you are only being polite in asking me what could possibly be of more importance to me than the party going on just inside that room.” “I’m not just being polite. I’d really like to know what you know. If you can tell me that is. It’s not some big government military kinda secret or something is it?” He laughed and the breath caught in my throat. He was gorgeous. I thought he was the best looking guy I’d seen all night and there was a banquet of beautiful men at the party. There was just something about him that pulled on my senses in a way nobody else I’d seen that night had. “Why would you, a dignitary from another world, want to know about some alleged ability that I can’t even prove is real?” “Because I can do something like that but I don’t know how I do it. It’s always bugged the shit out of me that I can Dream-Step yet I have no idea how it is that I do it. None of the other Shal-hazal’s know how either. I’m the only living one that can do it and the records from the handful of Shal-hazal Spirits who could do it are rare to non-existent.” His gorgeous eyes widened before narrowing. He frowned at me and crossed his arms over his chest. I caught faint movement behind him and realized that his wings were fractionally opening and closing like someone clenching and unclenching a fist. I think I’d somehow annoyed him.

“I don’t appreciate the joke,” he said tightly. “No joke. I really can do it,” I replied, slightly offended that he was calling my honesty into question. “I can take people with me when I do it too. I’m part of a small group of people on my home world that has this ability. We’re called Shal-hazal. It translates to something like dream walkers. I’m a Spirit class. I can use the dreams of people to physically move from one place to another. I can also make the dreams be whatever I want them to be.” “Prove it.” I shrugged my shoulders. I could do that. “Sure. But I want to know your name first,” I countered. He seemed surprised that I’d asked his name and I wondered why. “Kijika.” “Hello, Kijika,” I said as I held out my hand to shake his. He tentatively took my hand in his. His grip was firm, his skin warm. I could feel calluses on his palm and wondered what he did to get them. The skin on skin contact felt good and I wanted more which was a little surprising considering how I’d wanted none not that long ago. His scent teased my nose and I found myself breathing deeper in pleasure. He stared at me, looking a little surprised. I think he was enjoying the contact between us too. The realization that I wanted him hit me hard. The instinct to try and dominate Kijika started to come to life in me and I hastily broke contact with him. I didn’t think my getting into an Awh’anise dominance fight with him would go over well. Starting an incident like that was even bigger trouble than I usually got myself into. “So… um, where do you want to go?” I asked as I tried to push aside the desire I was feeling. “My office,” he said with a little huskiness to his voice that hadn’t been there a few minutes ago. “Okay. Picture what it looks like in your head. I’ve never been there so make it as detailed as you can. You’d better close your eyes too. Lots of people barf when I do this.” He raised an eyebrow at me again before closing his eyes. I gave him a few minutes to get the mental picture in his head before asking if he was ready. He gave a short nod that set his earrings swaying. I had to clench my teeth together to keep from leaning into him and trying to lick his throat. He was pushing my desire buttons hard and he wasn’t even trying. I reached for his hand, lacing my fingers with his. He opened one eye and gave me a questioning look. I could have taken him with me by just resting my hand on his arm but I wanted the more intimate contact of holding his hand. I probably wouldn’t be so hungry to touch him if I hadn’t spent the better part of the night being fondled and groped by everybody earlier. I waited until he closed his eye again before moving out into the dream world and pulling him along with me.

I paused in a neutral dream and delicately picked the mental image Kijika created from his mind. I really only meant to take that image so I could bring us to his office but once I’d stepped onto the edges of his mind I couldn’t just leave without taking a quick peek around. The first thing I encountered was desire. He wanted me, too. A low rumble of pleasure left my throat. Maybe after I’d proved to him that I really could move people from one location to another and he showed me the information he had on doing that kind of thing, we could get a little more personal. I was all kinds of pleased that he found me attractive. He’d wanted to touch me but good manners hadn’t allowed him to do that. I wondered why he thought that when almost every other person at the party seemed to have no problem with almost petting me. I pressed a little deeper and was surprised to find that Kijika wasn’t just some beautiful guy I’d stumbled upon. He was one of the royals I’d been trying to avoid. Fuck, but trouble just loved to rain on my parade. In all fairness, the crown on his head should have tipped me off that he wasn’t an average party goer. My only excuse was that he’d looked so damn good; I hadn’t really been paying attention to the little details like that. Mahira would chew me a new one if she ever learned about it. She always harped on the fact that I needed to pay more attention to my surroundings or I’d end up getting my cute little ass killed. I backed away from his mind and took us to the place he’d pictured in his head. “Holy crap! I’ve never seen this many books in such a small space,” I said as I turned and sent a stack toppling to the floor. Kijika snapped his eyes open. His mouth fell into a rounded ‘oh’ of surprise. He reached out to touch a dirty book on the desk but snatched his hand back at the last second as if he expected the book to jump up and bite him. The surprise on his face was quickly replaced by excitement in his gaze and he grabbed my upper arms in a strong grip. “How did you do this? This is real and not some illusion, right? Tell me how you learned to do this?” he demanded. I’d have been okay with just the questions. I’d have probably even been okay with his hands on my arms. But, the combination of his demanding tone of voice, the feel of his skin against mine and the aggressive way he’d grabbed me made instincts kick in that I could have done without right at that moment. Desire was still running strong through my veins. I grabbed his forearms and shoved him hard. He stumbled backwards at the unexpected move, tripped over some books on the floor and went down with a startled cry. I landed on top of him, my legs straddling his thighs, pinning his lower body. He’d let go of my arms when he started to fall and I quickly switched my grip so I now held his wrists in my hands, controlling his upper body as well. An aggressive growl trickled from my throat as I leaned down and licked a line up his chest.

Gods, but he tasted good. “Moswen?” Kijika said in a breathy voice that just aroused me more. I pressed my groin against his, growling again when I felt him starting to harden against me. I nipped his chest, enjoying the little gasp of pain he made. I could smell arousal starting to come from him, mixing with the scent of my own. He strained against my hold on him but I was a lot stronger than I looked. The thrill of pinning Kijika down combined with his struggles and both our arousals made me more aggressive. I was beginning to slide into the possibly dangerous territory of instigating a dominance mating fight with Kijika. I couldn’t seem to help myself and leaned against his wrists as I bit his throat before licking him again. “Stop it,” Kijika hissed as he struggled harder against me. I froze over him as I fought against my desire to dominate him. I let go of his wrists slowly and backed off his body. A little whimper left my throat at letting him go when it really wasn’t what I wanted to do. But, Kijika said to stop and an Awh’anise never took an unwilling partner. To force someone into sex was a crime among the Awh’anise as serious as murder. I sat against the wall as far away from Kijika as I could get without leaving the small office. I still wanted him with an almost painful intensity but I wouldn’t make any further sexual advances on him unless he invited me. Chapter 3 ~Kijika~ I pushed myself up to a seated position and stared at Moswen in confusion. I’m not sure what happened to trigger his sudden aggression towards me. One minute I was demanding answers from him for doing what he’d said he could do and the next, I was flat on my back with him holding me down as he licked and bit me in a very sexual, arousing way. The change in him had been startling in its swiftness. “What just happened?” I asked as I tried to calm my breathing. I hoped he didn’t decide to look at my groin. The gauzy skirt did nothing to hide the erection I had. I wasn’t surprised to find that being held down in a submissive position aroused me. I preferred to bottom for my partners. I loved the feel of a hard cock up my ass. But, I was taken aback at the level of attraction I felt for Moswen. I’d just met the man yet I wanted to invite him to lift my skirt, spread my legs and fuck me hard. As I watched, Moswen closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. I took the opportunity to look my fill. I’d never seen anyone who looked like him. He wasn’t as tall as me. More along the height of the average Vylfian at a little over six feet tall. He was well muscled but not bulky as a Naemo would be. I probably had about sixty pounds on him but he’d been able to hold me down without too much trouble. A thrill of excitement shot through me at that and I squashed the notion down.

He wore his wavy, white blonde hair loose to his waist. His eyes were an amazing shade of purple with elliptical pupils. His skin was a rich brown with pale gold stripes that reminded me of an animal pelt. He had a tail tipped with a puffy brush of hair the same colour as what was on his head. I’d noticed fangs in his mouth when he spoke and felt them when he’d bitten me. He had talons on the ends of his fingers and I was a little surprised he hadn’t broken my skin with them when he’d been holding me down. He looked young but since I’d never seen someone like him before, I had no idea what his age might actually be. “Moswen, what just happened?” I asked again. I was almost proud of myself that my voice evened out and didn’t sound so husky. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… I usually have better control than that. You have my deepest apologies,” Moswen said as he clenched his fists against his thighs. “But what happened? It was like a switch was flipped,” I said as curiosity began to get the better of me. I was the head librarian for the royal library and adding knowledge to it was one of my primary functions. Moswen sighed and opened his eyes. He seemed to study me for several minutes before deciding to answer my question. “At the party, people were touching my skin, almost petting me and playing with my tail. I don’t think they were doing it to be rude and in all fairness, I let them do it, but they were arousing the hell out of me by doing that. That’s why I escaped to the balcony. If I hadn’t, I’d have probably jumped the next person who touched me.” “I’m Awh’anise. My people are very sexually charged. We crave skin on skin contact and our tails are probably the biggest erogenous zone we have. The arousal I felt at the party was mostly my own fault. I really do know better than to act that way in public around non-Awh’anise,” Moswen said with what sounded like sheepishness in his voice. “Then why did you stop? You had the upper hand,” I pointed out as I wondered if I’d just been the next available person he’d come into contact with. Disappointment was strong in me. “Because you said to stop,” Moswen said with exaggerated patience as if I was a slow child. “And?” I questioned. “And an Awh’anise never takes a partner against their will. There’s always someone willing to fuck so if your first choice doesn’t work out, you find somebody else. To force a person, that’s a crime as serious as murder among my people. You said stop, and even though it was a very difficult thing for me to do, I did.” “But you didn’t want to,” I persisted trying to clarify what happened in my mind.

“No, I didn’t want to stop. I find you very attractive and very arousing. But what I wanted didn’t matter because you didn’t want me to continue. As hard as it’ll be, I won’t make any advances toward you unless you invite them. That’s just the way my people are,” Moswen said with a shrug of his shoulders and a resigned sigh. I stared at Moswen. He seemed serious. I was torn between being pleased he’d listened to me and stopped when I’d said to and annoyed that he was able to resist me. A little laugh at my own contrariness escaped me and made Moswen look at me sharply. “If you’re gonna laugh, I’ll just be on my way,” Moswen said with a hint of temper in his voice as he pushed himself up to stand. I stood as well. I didn’t want him to leave. I wanted to find out how he’d been able to move both of us to my office in the span of several heart beats. He was also the first person in longer than I cared to think about that captured my sexual interest so fast and so hard. It was definitely instant attraction on my part. His too from what he’d said and done. “Wait! I wasn’t laughing at you. I just found it funny that I liked that you stopped when I told you too yet it bugged me that you were able to stop.” “Oh,” Moswen said with a broad smile. “Can we try this over again? Hello, I’m Shal-hazal Spirit Eag’res Moswen, a representative of the planet Awh’an. I understand you’re researching the ability to move from place to place in the blink of an eye through the use of magic and or metaphysics. I have some information which might be useful to you. In exchange, I would expect you to share whatever findings you may have with me. Is this trade acceptable or do you wish to negotiate further, Your Radiance Prince Nas-Drey Kijika of the Bodeyhan Nemii of Celamun? Or did you wish to be addressed with your Naemo title, Des Anate Delseur Kijika? Or do you simply prefer Fourth Shade Necromancer Kijika ParDelseur?” I stared at Moswen in surprise. How he’d come up with not just one of my titles but all of them, I had no idea. I hadn’t told him and I doubted he’d have heard my full Vylfian title at the party never mind any of the others. Then there was the whole change in his demeanour. He’d gone from young and casual to mature and formal in the blink of an eye. “How did you know those were my titles?” I asked. A look of consternation passed over his face. His tail started to swish back and forth in what I was beginning to recognize as agitation. He flicked his eyes away from mine briefly before looking back at me and squaring his shoulders. “Lucky guess?” I snorted at that and Moswen dropped the formal stance. He grinned at me; suddenly back to the young almost playful man I’d first seen on the balcony. I inhaled sharply. Moswen was a very beautiful man when he smiled like that.

“You’re not buying that, are you? Let’s just say I took a little side trip in your head when I picked up the mental image of where you wanted me to bring us. I wasn’t trying to pry but I was curious and… should I be sorry?” I tried to frown at him but the idea that he’d been able to traipse around my head without me even being aware of it was fascinating. I wanted to learn more about Moswen and his people. Knowledge was a highly prized thing for the Vylfian's and I did my level best to add to the stores we had. Considering how attracted I was to Moswen, spending time with him while I picked his brain sounded like fun. “So, you wanna talk about moving the physical body from one location to another using pockets of time and differential space with the power of your mind?” Moswen said with a cheeky grin. “Or have you changed your mind about relieving a little sexual tension?” Laughter bubbled from my throat. Moswen was interesting and sexy with a playful attitude that I normally found annoying. I wasn’t sure why it didn’t irritate me coming from him. “Research first and I’ll think about the other,” I said as I cleared books off a chair for Moswen. “Fantastic. I knew coming to the party was a good idea,” Moswen said with a smug grin as he dropped into the seat I’d cleared. Chapter 4 ~Moswen~ I yawned and rubbed my eyes against the early morning light coming in through the windows. Kijika and I talked for the rest of the night about every subject under the sun. The stuff he knew was incredible and down right fascinating. He was the kind of person I really enjoyed spending time with. He was a complete knowledge geek, like me. He didn’t have the same level of curiosity that I did about how things worked. His drive was more the gathering of information and sharing it with others. I thought that we complimented one another nicely. I loved to figure out how stuff worked and he liked to record and share that knowledge. He’d taken off the small crown and several pounds worth of jewellery at some point during our talk. I liked the look of him even better without all the glittery adornment. He didn’t need them to look good. Kijika had scraped back his hair into a ponytail, tying it with a ratty ribbon he’d found in a drawer. A small pair of glasses was perched on his nose. He was pouring over a book at the moment, looking for a fact to back up something he’d been telling me about the way voids in normal space behaved and how that might relate to how voids in the dream world behaved. I picked up the crown Kijika had been wearing earlier. It was a pretty, delicate thing and heavier than I would have guessed from looking at it. Impulse made me put it on. I wished for a mirror so I could see what it looked like. Kijika finally glanced up from the book, already starting to tell me that he’d remembered the fact correctly. He paused mid-word and just stared at me.

“What’d you think?” I asked as I turned my head back and forth. “My mother would have conniptions if she saw you wearing that. She’s very much a princess of the realm. Looks good on you though,” Kijika said with a smile. “You think so? I’ll just have to make sure she doesn’t see me wearing it then. It’s heavy. I didn’t think it would be. Kinda jabs you, too. How do you stand wearing this all the time?” “I don’t. I only have to wear it when I attend a court function. The rest of the time, it sits in a velvet lined box in a vault. Keep it on your head for more than twenty minutes and you’ll want to rip it off and throw it against the wall. It’s made to be pretty and expensive not comfortable.” I was about to reply when my stomach growled loudly. I gave Kijika a lop-sided grin before taking the crown off and placing it carefully on the edge of the desk. I noticed that several of my white blond hairs were tangled in the stones of the crown. I mentally shrugged. There were probably servants whose only job was to keep things like Kijika’s crown spit polished shiny. “Is there someplace we can get some food? And a bathroom,” I said as my body decided to remind me that I hadn’t moved from the chair for several hours and had several glasses of some of the local alcohol at the party. “Sure, there’s a little bakery shop not far from here. They make the most amazing pastries. I’d send my assistant but I gave her the day off today because I wasn’t supposed to be in,” Kijika said as he stood. “You weren’t? Shit, have I gotten you in trouble?” I asked with a frown. Kijika laughed and stretched his arms over his head. I licked my lips as I watched the muscles under his skin shift when he moved. I really enjoyed his brain but his body was just as beautiful. When he unfurled his wings and spread them as well, my mouth opened in stunned surprise. Sunlight shone through delicate membranes stretched between the ribs. Kijika’s wings were bat-like in shape but instead of thick skin, transparent membranes with the jewel-bright patterns of a butterfly’s wings were imprinted on them. Kijika’s wings had the appearance of lacy, coloured glass. I’d never seen anything so beautiful. I wanted to touch them but if I did that, I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t try and touch other parts of him. His wings scraped the walls on both sides of the room and I guessed he probably had at least a sixteen foot span. Kijika paused mid-stretch and looked at me curiously. “What’s wrong, Moswen?” “I hadn’t seen your wings open like that before. They’re gorgeous. You know, I’m not sure what I like best about you. Your killer body, those beautiful wings or that absolutely spectacular brain in your head. Fuck it. I like the whole package. You’ll tell me the instant you change your mind about having sex with me, right?”

Kijika blinked several times as a blush coloured his cheeks. He dropped his arms and folded his wings back as he looked down at his desk. An awful thought occurred to me at the reaction Kijika had to my statement. “Does that reaction mean you don’t fuck men, you wouldn’t have sex with a different species, that you’re not allowed to dick somebody who’s not a royal or all of the above?” The blush on Kijika’s cheeks deepened but he looked up at me. “I only do male dominants. Considering I’m a cross-breeding of two species, I have no problems with bedding a species other than mine and because I’m a royal, I can take anyone I want to my bed,” he said with a touch of offended royal haughtiness. I thought it was cute. My mind latched on to the first phrase Kijika had used. Excitement rushed through me. While I more often than not end up bottoming for my partners, it wasn’t for lack of trying to top. I seemed to have the damnedest luck in picking dominance fights with men that routinely handed my ass to me… and then had my ass. I enjoyed cock as much as the next Awh’anise but I wanted to be the one nailing somebody for a change. My stunning loosing streak in dominance fights was a long running joke in my family. “I’d be very happy to top you, Kijika. I’ll bet you’re an absolutely beautiful fuck,” I said as I ran my gaze over his barely covered body. Kijika was saved from responding by the door to his office opening. I turned to see a man slightly taller than Kijika standing there. He screamed military and controlled power. I wondered if I was about to be carted away for crashing a royal party. The man’s gaze swept the office taking note of the pile of jewels, the open books on Kijika’s desk, Kijika and finally me. “Your mother said I’d find you here, Kijika. I didn’t believe her. When you said you were going to take the day off to spend it with your family, I assumed you meant what you said,” the tone of voice the man used was very disappointed. From the expression on the man’s face, he looked like he was prepared to drag Kijika from the office by his hair if Kijika protested. Awh’anise mating instincts kicked in and I assumed an aggressive, protective stance in front of Kijika. I was a shitty fighter when compared to somebody like my sister, Mahira but she was top military and very few Awh’anise could take her in a fight. In a regular dust-up, I was a decent fighter for an Awh’anise and there were very few species that were better at fighting than us. Kijika had dropped his gaze to the desk again and my over-active instinct to protect what was mine climbed. I hadn’t won any dominance fight for him but I wanted him. That was enough to trigger my protection of him. He could always tell me to fuck off after I’d saved his ass from this guy. “It’s my fault Kijika is here. If he wants to be with his family, I’m sure he can get there on his own. He doesn’t need some military goon dragging his ass back to his family.”

Kijika made a strangled noise in his throat and the man standing in the doorway stared at me for several seconds before a smile quirked up one side of his mouth. He leaned against the door jamb and gave me a more thorough look over. I frowned and narrowed my eyes at him. There was something familiar about the look of his face. His hair was close cropped and navy blue in colour. He had a very pale complexion and metallic silver eyes without pupils. He was heavily muscled and had the dark, bat-like wings of a Naemo. There was a still quality to him that was a little un-nerving. I was starting to wonder if I really would be able to take the guy. As a last resort, I could always Dream-Step me and Kijika away. “You were at the party last night. You caused quite the stir. Several Vylfian nobles were looking for you later in the evening but you’d disappeared. The buzz was something about seeing just how much like a third hand that tail of yours is.” I smirked at the man and flashed some unfriendly fang at him. While it was true that I’d mentioned in passing my tail was prehensile, I never said I’d show any of the people just what I could do with it. I’d show Kijika if he asked, but that was an entirely different matter. I wanted to get in his pants… or skirt or whatever. “Your tail is prehensile?” Kijika asked in surprise. I didn’t bother responding verbally. I was close enough to Kijika so that I could wrap my tail around his wrist and give him a gentle squeeze. I never took my eyes off the man blocking the doorway. I wasn’t the best fighter but I wasn’t an idiot either. He’d be in for one hell of a surprise if he did take a poke at me. The Awh’anise are wicked fast and much stronger than we looked. If I really applied myself, I could put my fist through half an inch of steel. I’d break my hand but we healed at an accelerated rate and had a phenomenal tolerance for pain. Until I was knocked out cold, I’d keep getting back up. There was a reason one of the biggest exports to other planets was Awh’anise warriors. “Moswen, I’d like you to meet Delseur Par-Tordem, my dad,” Kijika said in a low voice. Fuck, but trouble found me no matter where I went. “Did you have to tell him, Kijika? I think he was getting ready to attack me. It could have been interesting. The palace guards won’t spar with me and I missed my morning workout,” said Delseur. I relaxed my stance slightly. Kijika’s dad was no threat to my claim on Kijika. Although, I was a little curious about the morning workout comment. Fighting among the Awh’anise wasn’t just for dominance. It was a form of entertainment as well. I wondered if Kijika would mind if I went toe-to-toe with his dad. I wouldn’t hurt him… much. I just needed to vent a little of the frustration I was feeling with holding myself in check and not jumping Kijika.

“Breakfast is in an hour, Kijika. Your grandfather wants you to be there. Don’t forget to change your clothes before you show up. And, Kijika, bring along your new friend. Your mother would have my nuts in a vice if she knew I’d found the man half the court is buzzing about and didn’t drag him along,” Delseur said before he turned and walked away. I stared at the open doorway and wondered if I’d just escaped being unpleasantly detained or if I was about to be put through a gruelling experience in royal etiquette. Kijika must have seen something in my expression because he started to snicker. I shot him a narrowed look. “Why do I get the feeling that a fight with your dad would be a walk in the park compared to meeting your mom?” Kijika threw back his head and laughed. He moved out from behind the desk and guided me out of his office. My tail was still wrapped around his wrist and I found myself pleased that he allowed the small contact. The tip began swishing back and forth over the back of his hand and he inhaled softly at the light contact. Kijika was gonna be tons of fun to entice into bed. I said I wouldn’t make advances on him, and I wouldn’t. But I never said anything about not serving up myself to him. An Awh’anise focusing all their considerable sensuality on one person was a force to be reckoned with. Chapter 5 ~Kijika~ I more nervous than I wanted to admit as I approached the door to the private breakfast room the royal family used. My mother could be vicious when she thought she was protecting her baby boy from the big bad world. She conveniently let it slip her mind that I was an adult and perfectly capable of making my own decisions. I wasn’t worried about myself. I was worried about Moswen. We entered the breakfast room and heads turned to watch us. Seated on an ornate chair at the head of the table was my grandfather, King Sakima. To his right was my grandmother, Queen Numa and on his left was his heir to the throne, my aunt, Panya. Payna’s husband, Holub sat next to her. Their children, Enli and Leska were further down the table. Next to my grandmother were my uncle Garai and his wife Bohdana. Their daughter Tasida sat next to them. My mother and father sat next to Tasida and there were two empty chairs directly across from them for Moswen and me. I approached my grandfather and gave him a short head dip. He smiled at me and reached for my hand, pulling me into a hug. I stepped back when he released me. I gave my grandmother a warm smile and head dip as well before turning slightly to motion Moswen forward. He’d told me he knew how to act around royalty. I hoped like mad he did. My grandfather could be… crusty if he took a dislike to a person. Moswen pressed his palms together, touching his lips with his fingertips before bowing with only his upper body. He moved his hands apart, palms up and remained motionless, his eyes focused on the

floor. I worked hard to hide my surprise. The bow was one a noble gave to the king. I hadn’t told him what to do. Moswen was just full of surprises. He straightened when the king gestured and commanded him to rise. “I’m Shal-hazal Spirit Eag’res Moswen from Awh’an at your service. It is a pleasure and an honour to met you, your Majesty and be included in this private family gathering,” Moswen said with formality. Only years of training kept me from staring at him in shock. The formality in his tone of voice and the utterly neutral expression on his face was classic court. I knew nobles who’d been in the court all their lives who couldn’t do it that well. He’d even managed to make my father raise an eyebrow in surprise and my father had one of the best expressionless court faces I’d ever seen. My grandfather pursed his lips before speaking. He was a harder man to impress than my father. “You’re the young man who caused the stir at my party last night, aren’t you?” “It was unintentional, your Majesty. I didn’t realize that I would be seen as such a unique guest. It did guarantee that your party was a very memorable one,” Moswen pointed out calmly. My grandfather eyed Moswen and harrumphed. Moswen returned his gaze without flinching and I found my respect for him going up a notch. Not many could hold King Sakima’s eyes and not squirm. I barely managed it when he looked at me like he was now looking at Moswen and I knew he loved me and wouldn’t ever think of doing anything to harm me. “You’ll do. Take a seat, boy and dig in. The chef has done wonderful things with some seasonal fruit,” Sakima said as he waved towards the empty seats waiting for us. I walked to the chairs across from my parents and sat down. Moswen followed, sitting on my left. My mother had a gleam in her eye and I began to fear Sakima and his possible displeasure was the least of Moswen’s worries. After nearly twenty minutes of nothing more stressful than conversation about the weather and the gifts Sakima received, I started to relax. Naturally, I’d forgotten my father wasn’t the only one who could be patient and strike at the perfect moment to knock an opponent off balance. “How did you come to be here… Moswen, was it? I’m sure I would have remembered seeing your name on the guest list, yet I have no recollection of it at all,” My mother asked as she speared a slice of fruit. “I was passing by and heard of the party. It was a last minute decision to attend,” Moswen replied politely as he continued to eat. “Passing by? How odd. I don’t remember hearing about a shuttle landing.” “I never said I came by shuttle,” Moswen answered carefully as he shifted ever so slightly in his seat. “Then how did you get here?” she pressed. The table had gone quiet as my mother drilled Moswen. He carefully laid his cutlery down and gave my mother a very direct look. I could feel disaster looming. I moved my hand under the table to squeeze

Moswen’s thigh in warning. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. The barest hint of a smile graced his face. The sense of calamity grew and I wondered if I’d be able to drag him from the table and away without causing a scene. Probably not. “That’s not the question you want to ask me, is it? You want to know what I’m doing with Kijika. What my intentions are. Shall I tell you?” I squeezed Moswen’s thigh hard enough to bruise. The tiniest of growls left his throat and he licked his lips as he sent me a heated glance. That he seemed to enjoy the harsh hold surprised me a little. I started to move my hand away but Moswen covered mine with his, pressing my palm flat on his thigh. I could almost feel the catastrophe shimmering in the air now. Aside from slapping my hand over his mouth, I didn’t think I was going to be able to stop Moswen from saying whatever he had planned. “Do go on,” my mother said with a dangerous glitter to her eyes. “Kijika has come across some research that maybe of use to both of us. I’ll tell him what I know and he’ll tell me what he knows. It’ll be a sharing of knowledge between species to create a bond between our two worlds.” My mother gave a very un-princess like snort. “You don’t seriously expect me to believe that do you? What are you really trying for?” “It was worth a try,” Moswen grinned as he dropped all his formal airs. His hand left mine as he rested his elbows on the table and his chin on his hand. A debacle was in the making. I could feel it. I pleaded with my eyes for Moswen to shut his mouth and say nothing. He either didn’t understand my look or chose to ignore it. There was nothing I could do that wouldn’t result in a scene. I decided to keep quiet and let Moswen bear the brunt of whatever he was going to say. How bad could it be, anyway? “Kijika really does have some information that we want to share between us. I’d also like to get into his pants but he put the brakes on that for now. I can be patient when the pay off is big enough and I think he’ll be fantastic in the sack. Is that plain enough for you?” For the first time in my life, I saw my mother speechless. Her mouth was open in a little shocked ‘oh’. My father was trying to hide a laugh behind a cough. My two youngest cousins, Leska and Tasida started giggling like the young girls they were. Enli choked on his drink. My aunts and uncles stared in horrified amazement at Moswen. My grandmother Numa turned pink and joined in the giggles coming from my cousins. I was starting to wonder if there would be much of a planetary incident if I strangled Moswen at the table. I jumped when Sakima’s booming laugh rolled out into the room.

“I like you, Moswen. First time I’ve ever seen Olanthe rendered speechless. You almost deserve a royal proclamation for that trick.” “Thank you. I like you too, your Majesty. You smell interesting,” Moswen said with a grin. Sakima’s brow furrowed as he tried to puzzle out what Moswen meant by that. I had no idea. Then again, I barely knew the man. I was beginning to think that Moswen was a handful of trouble just waiting to happen. Despite that, I was finding I liked him. “I smell interesting? Is that a compliment or a comment on my personal habits?” Sakima asked with a warning in his voice. “Compliment. An Awh’anise’s nose is pretty sensitive. Actually, there’s a couple of you in this room that smell interesting to me. I can’t figure it out and it’s bugging the hell out of me. My mom says that I’m curious enough for a dozen Awh’anise. She says my curiosity is how I end up in trouble most of the time.” That I could completely believe. Moswen and trouble probably walked hand in hand. “What is it you can smell, then?” Sakima asked as he leaned forward in his seat. “Aside from the soap you used this morning and some kind of citrus based perfume or aftershave, I smell female on you. Not like the smell of having been near a female or of having sex with a female. That’s different. You smell like man and woman at the same time and I don’t get it,” Moswen said as he frowned and stared at Sakima. I looked at Moswen in surprise as did most of the other people at the table. Leska and Tasida broke out into giggles again earning them a puzzled look from Moswen. “You know what’s even stranger? I get the same kind of confusing scent from Kijika’s mom and that guy. I don’t get it. You either smell like a guy or you smell like a girl. You don’t smell like both,” Moswen said. All eyes were on Moswen. When my family started laughing, he looked confused. Sakima actually had tears tailing down his face as he laughed. Moswen fidgeted in his seat as his brow wrinkled and he tried to figure out what he’d said that was causing so much laughter. Sakima was the first to get himself under control. “Since you identified Olanthe and Enli as also having this strange scent, I’ll have to assume you really can smell a difference. That’s a quite an interesting talent, Moswen. Your nose isn’t lying to you.” “It’s not? But…” Moswen trailed off as he thought. We all watched with interest as he tried to make the mental connection. I think Moswen was the most interesting person the court had seen in a long time. You could almost see the wheels turning in his

head. He looked carefully at each family member as if attempting to work out the mechanics of it. He shook his head in denial and frowned. “But you really look like a guy. A very pretty guy, but a guy. And Kijika’s mom, she’s a beautiful woman. I’m not entirely sure but I think he’s a guy, although, really, you could kinda go either way,” Moswen said as he pointed at Enli. Another round of laughter started. Moswen frowned intensified and he leaned close to me. “What the hell am I saying that’s so damn funny?” he whispered. “Just be glad you’re entertaining them,” I whispered back with humour in my voice. “You are a treat, Moswen. No wonder half my court was talking about you. I wonder what would have happened if some of the nobles asking after you had been able to get you alone in a darkened alcove,” Sakima said with a smile as he tried to hold more laughter back. I could see the interest developing in Moswen’s eyes. Oddly, that irritated me. I’m not sure why. “Sakima, stop teasing the poor boy,” said my grandmother Numa. My grandfather grumbled good naturedly. He waved at Numa in permission to tell Moswen what was causing so much mirth among my family. It wasn’t like it was a big secret or something that Moswen wouldn’t find out if he mingled with Vylfian’s. “You seem young, Moswen. If I may ask, how old are you?” “Eighteen, why?” “You haven’t seen a lot of the universe, have you?” Numa asked. “I wasn’t allowed to leave Awh’an until my Shal-hazal training was complete. That’s typically on your eighteenth birthday, so no, I haven’t really had much chance to bum around the galaxy.” “I thought as much. Vylfian’s have evolved as a three-sexed species. Male, female and dual. King Sakima is a male dominant dual. Princess Olanthe is a female dominant dual. Prince Enli is a neutral dual,” Numa explained. “Dual? So you’re saying that some of your people have both sexes? At the same time? How does that work?” Moswen asked curiously. “We have all the working parts of both male and female,” answered Sakima. “I have a more male look so I’m identified as a male dominant dual. Olanthe looks very feminine so she is identified as a female dominant dual. Enli can be mistaken for either male or female so he is identified as neutral dominant dual.”

Moswen was now leaning forward in his seat with interest. His gaze moved between the three dual members of my family as if he couldn’t quite believe what he’d just been told. His gaze settled on my parents and the feeling of doom, or at least deep embarrassment returned. “That is so freaking cool. A guy and a girl in one body. Almost every single Awh’anise I know would just about kill to have a partner like that. How do you pick what you want? Flip a coin? Or do you have like some schedule or something?” Moswen asked curiously. I was going to strangle Moswen. Or die of mortification myself. My father was flushed deep red, never a good sign. My mother had a brittle court smile on her face. Even my grandfather had a shocked look on his face at Moswen’s questions. I stood suddenly and hauled Moswen up with me. He protested as I mumbled some excuse or other to my family and nearly dragged him from the breakfast room. I pulled him along to my rooms, relieved when I managed to get the door safely closed behind us. “I’m guessing I over stepped myself a little back there, right?” Moswen asked as he faced me. “You think? What in the name of all the gods possessed you to say that? You told me you knew how to behave in a court situation. That wasn’t behaving,” I said in a tight voice. “I… they… he…” Moswen started before sighing and running his hand over his face. “Would it help if I said I’m sorry? I didn’t mean to embarrass anyone. They were the ones who started talking about being dual sexed. I was curious. I’ve never met anyone like that. Is sex like a big taboo topic or something for your people? I wouldn’t think so considering the way all of you dress and your family did bring it up first, but I guess you never know.” “No, it’s not a taboo subject. But really, Moswen. You generally don’t go commenting on the sex life of a princess or the king when they’re sitting right there.” “But everybody seemed okay when I said I wanted to fuck you. What’s the difference?” “If you want to discuss your sex life in front of total strangers, that’s your prerogative. But you don’t go discussing other people’s sex lives right in front of them and asking how they decide to carry on in the bedroom. It’s… bad form,” I tried to explain. “Oh. Sorry. My people are pretty open about sex. We’ll screw each other in the middle of a busy street if the mood takes us. I… uh… don’t have a lot of experience in dealing with other species yet. From the way the conversation was going, the behaviour of the people at the party last night and they way you guys dress in damn near see through clothes, I kinda thought talking about sex like that was okay. I know different now and won’t make the same mistake again. Should I go apologise and humbly beg forgiveness?” Moswen asked as he looked down at the floor. “No, just leave it alone for now. At least they’ll take into consideration you’re not from here and you’re young. My mom and her family should be over what you said in a few days. Vylfian’s typically don’t hold grudges long. They’ll eventually see the humour of the situation. My dad… he’ll be offended for a little

longer. Naemo’s like to hold grudges and they’re not as open about their sexuality as Vylfian’s. They’ve got grudge holding and revenge to nearly an art form.” Moswen looked down at the floor for several minutes. His tail swished back and forth and he seemed to come to some kind of decision when he looked back up at me. “Are you pissed about what I said?” “No, I’m not pissed. I’m not very happy you told my entire family that you’d like to sleep with me but it’s not the first time somebody has expressed an interest in getting me in bed. They usually aren’t so… blunt about it. Just… you really need to polish up your court skills if you intend to stay here for a while, Moswen.” “Well, this is the first time I’ve met real, honest to god royalty. And this is the first time I’ve actually had interaction with another species in the real world. I’m a fast learner, though. I’ve just learned not to have that kind of conversation again with royalty. Or should I apply that new lesson to all Vylfian’s I meet?” I couldn’t help it. I laughed. I should have been all offended royalty on behalf of my mom, cousin and king, but Moswen was correct in that they had started the conversation first. He was funny and smart and very attractive. He was also damn hard to stay mad at. I got the weirdest sensation that my life was never going to be the same, quiet existence I was use to. I wasn’t sure whether to be excited or scared shitless. Chapter 6

~Moswen~

Kijika found a place for me to crash that was close to the palace. He resisted all my subtle… well… maybe not so subtle attempts to get him to let me stay in his rooms with him. How was I supposed to throw myself at him if he wouldn’t let me sleep in the same room as him? That was okay though. I liked a challenge.

I mostly hung out with him in his office. For the first few days, he’d asked me on a fairly regular basis if I was bored. He finally stopped doing that when I threatened to throw the book I was reading at him. That I genuinely liked to read and learn seemed to be baffling him. I think he may have thought I was just humouring him that first night when we’d stayed up talking about every subject that came to mind.

I was out of interesting reading material now though. At least, the stuff I could read. I’d swiped the entire Vylfian language, written and spoken, from a dreamer before crashing the king’s birthday party and did a data dump into my own head. I’d say at least seventy-five percent of the books Kijika had access to that I would find interesting were in other languages or some kind of dialect of his native tongue. I could have probably gone into his mind and filched the languages from his head while he slept, but that would have been dangerous.

I wanted him too much to keep my hands to myself and I was damn near a god in the dream world.

I knew myself enough to know that I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from playing with him in the dream world. Sure, I could make it so that Kijika would have no memory of my being in his dreams or of me fucking him in his dreams but I’d know. I liked him too much to pull a dirty trick like that.

So, I settled for taking apart virtually every electronic and mechanical device he had.

Kijika had nearly burst a vein when he walked in after lunch one day to find one of the machines in his office in pieces on the floor. He didn’t seem very confident in my abilities to put it back together and ended up watching me for nearly an hour as I’d examined the various parts. He was utterly silent until I started to put things back together. He asked only once if I knew what I was doing. I grunted at him as I put the parts together and he seemed to take that for a yes.

In reality, I didn’t know what I was doing.

I seemed to have a flair for mechanical/electrical things. I usually got them back together and working just as good if not better than before I took them apart. The times that I didn’t… running was usually the best option involved.

I was on my way back to Kijika’s office with some pastries from the bakery he’d finally brought me too a couple of days ago when I saw one of the few people I actually knew. Kijika’s dad, Delseur, was crossing the street ahead of me. He was easy to pick out. He stood at least a head taller than most of the Vylfian’s on the street. His wings were also dark and leathery where every Vylfian had wings like

butterflies of moths or some type of insect. I debated with myself for exactly three seconds before raising my hand and shouting after him. Kijika had said to give his dad a little time to get over his mad. I figured more than a week was enough time.

“Delseur! Delseur Par-Tordem! Hey!”

Delseur looked over his shoulder at me. I saw his jaw clench and wondered if maybe a week wasn’t enough time to get over what I’d said during that breakfast with Kijika’s family. It was too late to do anything about it now. He’d seen me and stopped, waiting for me to come to him. I jogged up to Delseur, stopping just a little out of his reach. I wanted to apologise but I wasn’t quite dumb enough to get into grabbing distance with a guy who probably still wanted to punch my lights out. Not that a fight with him wouldn’t be fun. I just didn’t think scrapping it out on a busy street was something Kijika’s dad would do.

“Umm, I just wanted to apologise. For what I said at breakfast. I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” I began.

“Fine. Now leave me alone,” Delseur said curtly as he turned to walk away.

This was going well. I knew I should have probably left it alone but once I’d decided on a course of action, I was almost impossible to sway off course. That usually resulted in my getting into trouble and more often than not, my ass getting ploughed by the guy I’d picked for a dominance fight. I bulled ahead anyway. The worst that could happen was that Delseur would take a swing at me. I could deal with that. It might make Delseur feel better, too.

“Look, I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to say stuff like. Kijika explained it to me later. I’ve already apologised to his mom and she seemed cool with me.”

“Good for her. Olanthe is more forgiving than me. I have some place to be. Some people do have a job to do,” Delseur said with frost in his voice as he looked me up and down.

That stung a little. I had a job. I was a Shal-hazal Spirit. I was the only Shal-hazal Spirit alive that could Dream-Step. I’d worked my tail off to earn the military rank of Eag’res by the time I was eighteen and my training was complete. That was pretty damn good for a Shal-hazal Spirit class. Most of us started official Shal-hazal duties with the rank of Roal. I was two entire ranks above that. I was allowed one full year of bumming around the galaxy before my real duties kicked in as a Shal-hazal Spirit. I wasn’t slacking off.

“I have a job. I’m just on a little… vacation time right now. How I choose to spend that time is up to me,” I said as I raised my chin to stare into Delseur’s eyes.

“Kijika has a job to do as well. I’d better not hear that you’ve been interfering with his work,” Delseur warned.

What the hell was with Kijika’s parents? Were all parents on this planet this protective of their children? Stars, but it was a wonder anybody ever left home. Awh’anise children could fend for themselves by the time they were six years old. Not that it happened a lot, but the ability was there. I suppose, in Kijika’s case, he was still kinda living at home. I smirked a little at that. I’d have to make sure to tease him about it when I saw him next. He was gorgeous when he got all flustered. I was so distracted by thoughts of teasing Kijika; I never even saw Delseur’s hand move until his fist was firmly caught in my shirt. He yanked me to him and glared down into my face.

“You’re either very stupid or very brave. Maybe both. Has nobody told you that Naemo hold grudges for a very long time?” Delseur said in a low voice.

A few people turned to look at us as they passed. No one stopped or offered to step between us, which was fine by me. Delseur was spoiling to beat the snot out of me. Now that I was this close to him, I could feel the anger coming off him in waves. Not that his expression gave a damn thing away. I’d hate to play cards against him. You’d never know if he was bluffing or not.

“I was trying to apologise. I don’t know why you’ve got your tail in a knot. Your wife is beautiful. That you get to enjoy the best of both worlds with her is awesome. I don’t get what your problem is. So what if you like cock every now and again? Who doesn’t?”

I was honestly confused. If dual sexes were fairly common, and Kijika assured me they were, what was Delseur’s problem? Was I missing some information? Had I just stuck my tail in my mouth again? Knowing the way karma liked to screw with me, probably.

“I don’t know what it’s like where you’re from, but a man enjoying cock isn’t very common among the Naemo. That Olanthe looks very much a woman and that no Naemo would dare to ask such a personal question, is the only thing that stops tongues from wagging among my people,” Delseur ground out lowly as he lifted me until just the very tips of my toes were touching the ground.

Well, that explained a hell of a lot. Why hadn’t Kijika told me that? I was going to have to have a talk with him when I got back to his office. First things first though. I needed to get Delseur to let me go. We were starting to attract attention and it wasn’t my fault this time. Well, not my fault alone.

“We’re attracting a crowd, Delseur. You wanna let me go and we can both go our separate ways? I need to have a few words with Kijika.”

“Give me one good reason I should let you go without beating the living daylights out of you?” he asked as he gave me a little shake.

“Because I’d think that was fun and under the right circumstances, foreplay. You’re pretty hot looking for an older guy. I’d do you if I hadn’t spotted Kijika first,” I said before I could stop myself. My mom always told me I needed to work on my impulse control.

Delseur blinked slowly as a flush coloured his cheeks. I saw the fist coming at my face and knew I wouldn’t be able to wriggle free of the hold Delseur had on me before he connected. That didn’t mean I was about to take the punch. I waited until the last possible moment and snapped my head forward, catching Delseur in the chin with my head. His fist skimmed the back of my skull. I heard his teeth snap together and his grip on my shirt loosened enough for me to slip out of his grasp. I backed a little away from him and dropped into a loose fighter’s stance as I waited to see what he’d do. I couldn’t help the grin on my face. Delseur was gonna work out some aggression and I’d get to play. Win/win situation.

Delseur looked at me as he spit blood onto the sidewalk. Score one for the little guy, I’d bloodied him first. Delseur had almost a foot in height and roughly one hundred pounds on me. His face was once

again expressionless and a little shiver of unease moved through me. A dangerous gleam entered Delseur’s eyes and he dropped into his own fighter’s stance. People passing by now stopped and formed a loose circle around us. I tossed the bag of pastries to the side, silently moaning the loss of the fruit and sugar delicacies. Nothing to do now but brazen this out. My tail swished from side to side. I flexed my talons and flashed some challenging fang at Delseur. This was probably gonna be a good bit of fun.

He lunged at me and I darted to the side. He wasn’t prepared for me to be so fast. I wasn’t prepared for the wing that snapped out and caught me in the chest. I grunted as I was spun around from the force of the blow. Damn, those wings were hard. I kept my feet, more from natural agility than any planning on my part. I balanced on the balls of my feet and using the blistering natural speed of the Awh’anise, shot straight at Delseur. He twisted to the side but not fast enough to avoid the rake of my talons across his belly. The wound wasn’t serious as I wasn’t trying to injure him critically. It did make him hiss softly in pain though.

We circled each other for a few minutes before Delseur spread his wings. I gaped at the span he had. He caught me totally off-guard when he rapidly beat his wings, buffeting me with strong wind and stirring up dust and debris from the street. Several of the people who’d stopped to watch the fight cried out in surprise at the mini wind storm. I blinked rapidly to clear the grit from my eyes only to have Delseur’s fist connect with my jaw when I could see again. I went down like a bag of rocks and tasted blood in my mouth. I looked up at Delseur and grinned at him.

I knew it would be fun to tangle with him.

I surged up from the ground, driving both my fists into his stomach. The breath left him in a whoosh and he stumbled back. I followed, intending to land another blow. Delseur spun and kicked me in the ribs. I felt one crack and grunted at the pain as I continued with my attack. My fist drove into his thigh slightly off my original mark but still hard enough to make him stagger. We backed away and regarded each other. I hoped Delseur was working out some of his aggression. I was having a hell of a good time.

I charged Delseur when I got impatient with the waiting game. He moved out of the way just before my talons connected with him again. I was yanked off my feet by an iron grip on my extended arm. I ended up kneeling at Delseur’s feet with one of my arms stretched above my head. He looked down at me with a tiny smile, obviously thinking he had the upper hand. I grinned up at him, wound my tail around his ankle and yanked as hard as I could.

The look of surprise on Delseur’s face as he fell onto his ass was well worth my dislocated elbow.

I scrambled away from Delseur, keeping an eye on him as I moved. Delseur surged back to his feet and frowned as he took in my limp arm. He shook his head at me and put his hands on his hips. I grinned back at him and motioned him at me with the arm that still worked. Now, we were really having fun, Awh’anise style.

“You’re injured,” Delseur said.

“It’s just dislocated. No biggie. The rib is worse. Here, if it bothers you,” I said as grasped my wrist and jerked and twisted my arm at the same time.

There was an audible pop as my elbow was pushed back into place. I grunted at the fiery pain and flexed my fingers rapidly before dropping back into a fighter’s pose. My elbow was tender but it was a minor pain. I’d gotten hurt worse tussling with my siblings. I was good to go for more. Someone in the crowd watching us shrieked when I put my elbow back into place. Delseur raised an eyebrow at my actions. When he made no move to assume a fighting stance again, I stood back up. My tail swished behind me impatiently.

“What? I thought we were playing and getting some of that anger at me out of your system?”

“Play? I let my temper get the better of me. I punched you,” Delseur said bemused at his own actions.

“So? You weren’t trying to kill me. I know the difference. This is playing to an Awh’anise. You didn’t break any bones. Well, just the one rib but those break easy any way. We’re not doing anything serious. This was just for fun, wasn’t it?”

Delseur shook his head and a baffled look appeared on his face. The crowd, sensing that the excitement was over, melted away. Apparently, my little bit of fun was over with Delseur. I sighed softly in disappointment.

“You’re one strange man, Moswen,” Delseur said as if he couldn’t quite figure me out.

“Does that mean you accept my apology? I honestly didn’t mean to upset you or make you mad.”

Delseur stared at me for several minutes, holding himself completely still. He finally approached me and held out his hand. I stared at his hand for a second or two before extending my own. He grasped my forearm firmly with his hand and gave it a quick jerk. I was glad that it was my uninjured one that I’d offered. Even though Awh’anise healed fast, my elbow would need at least twenty-four hours before it was back to normal.

“Apology accepted, Moswen,” Delseur said as he nodded his head at me.

I grinned at Delseur and tugged on his arm to bring him down to my level. He leaned down enough for me to rub my cheek against his in an Awh’anise greeting. He pulled away from the contact slightly faster than was strictly polite but he’d allowed the touch.

“We… uh… don’t have to mention this to Kijika, do we? He told me to mind my manners and leave you alone until you cooled down. I didn’t know you’d still be pissed off or I never would have shouted at you.”

Delseur looked at me for several seconds and I had to work at not squirming under his gaze. It was as bad as getting The Look from my sho, my sha and my sha-ter’al all rolled into one. Gods, how did Kijika deal with that? The barest of smiles graced his face before he nodded.

“It matters to you what Kijika thinks of you, doesn’t it?”

“Well, yeah. I want his body but I like his brain even better. He’s smart but doesn’t shove it in your face. I think that half the people who see him under-estimate him as just a pretty face. I think he’s fascinating on a mental level and can’t wait to have that proved on a physical level too. Oh crap. Are you gonna get mad at me again because I just said I want to screw your son?”

Delseur’s lips quirked up in a smile as a chuckle escaped him.

“No. If you want to talk about who you want to bed, that’s fine. Even though it’s my son who is the object of your interest, Kijika is old enough to make his own choices about who he decides to sleep with. The problem was in you discussing my sex life with my wife when we’d only just met.”

I blushed and looked down at the ground. Kijika had told me that was rude and, I guess, if you weren’t as open about sex as my people were, it was damn rude. Fuck, but socializing with other species could be difficult. I wondered why they didn’t teach this kind of stuff as part of the standard Shal-hazal training. Or maybe that’s what the year to bum around the galaxy before starting official Shal-hazal work was for? Talk about being shoved into the deep water of the ocean.

I said my good-byes to Delseur and headed back to the bakery shop. My original purchases were gone and I’d promised Kijika I’d bring him back something. It was my good fortune that the girl at the shop thought I was cute and had seen the entire fight from the window. She thought I’d been very brave to take on a Naemo and not just any Naemo but Delseur Par-Tordem. She fussed over my injuries and gave me replacements free of charge. I smiled and flirted with her, giving the back of her hand a quick lick that sent her into a fit of blushing giggles and earning me a hard look from the older woman working the counter. A little brush of my tail tip on the older woman’s calf had her blushing, too and an extra pastry added to my bag. I left the shop with a bounce in my step as I headed for Kijika’s office. Chapter 7

~Kijika~

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt lips press softly against the side of my neck.

The snicker and flash of white blonde hair glimpsed out of the corner of my eye told me it was Moswen. I tried to work up some righteous indignation but gave up when I realized that’s not exactly what I felt. Moswen had been true to his word and hadn’t made any overt moves on me. I was surprisingly disappointed.

He was waging a gentle war on my senses though.

He touched me numerous times every day. Not in a sexual way. More like in a “just letting you know I’m here” kind of way. The firm press of his hand on my arm. The ticklish touch of his tail tip on my bare leg. Lately, he’d started to add the little kisses that I sometimes thought I’d imagined. When I’d asked him why he was always touching me, he told me his species craved skin-on-skin contact and if it bothered me, he’d stop doing it. I could have put a stop to him right then and there.

I didn’t because I liked the contact.

Naturally, this encouraged Moswen to push things a little further. That was when the more noticeable kisses began. I was still a little leery of just jumping into bed with him. Not that I didn’t find Moswen desirable. I did. To a rather startling degree bearing in mind I’d known him for just a little over a week. He wasn’t trying for any special considerations. He didn’t seem to care that I was a prince and had more personal wealth than I really knew what to do with. He wasn’t after royal favour either. He didn’t care that I had the king’s ear if I wanted it or that I had the respect of one of the most feared Ralne of the Naemo military. I even honestly thought that Moswen liked me more for my brains than my looks.

That was all very heady stuff to me.

“Got you some of those puffy, flaky things you like. I wanna know how you can eat them without making a mess. I tried and I think I got more on me than in me. And you wouldn’t even help me clean up that one time,” Moswen said with a mock pout.

“You wanted me to lick the crumbs off you,” I pointed out dryly as I tried to keep my brain from creating a mental image to go with the words.

“Well, yeah. Why do you think I made such a mess in the first place? They are hard to eat without getting crumbs all over, but really, Kijika. I do have passable table manners,” Moswen said with exasperation.

I blushed a little when I realized Moswen had been playing a game with me and I hadn’t gone along with it. Granted, I’d been only been paying half attention to him at the time. I’d been cross-referencing something and only glanced up when he’d complained about the mess the things made when you ate them. I frowned as I realized that he hadn’t gotten mad at me for basically ignoring him in favour of the book I was looking at. That had never happened before.

I knew I tended to get lost in my work. Several of my previous lovers had vanished because of that. Some had left when it became apparent that there would be no nightly parties and fashion concerns were somewhere on my list of importance between dirty laundry and the changing of the seasons. None of them had ever stayed with me in my office like Moswen did.

I had thought he was just humouring me and trying to get into my bed when he’d simply talked with me for the entire night we first met. I was swiftly disabused of that notion several days after we first met when he lost his temper with me asking him if he was bored. He’d told me that it was very difficult to grasp the complex details of how Naemo magic worked in connection with an individual’s reserve of personal energy when I kept interrupting him every couple of minutes.

I’d let him be after that.

I did watch him surreptitiously as he read some of my books. He was obviously smart. The conversations we had proved that. He wasn’t just reading things and regurgitating them back to me. He was offering alternate theories on how things worked and posing questions that only somebody who had a good, solid grasp of the problems would ask. Which made me wonder something.

How was Moswen able to speak and read Vylfian when he’d said this was the first time he’d ever been here and stopping for the party was an impulse for him?

“Moswen, tell me about yourself,” I demanded as I put my pen down and closed the book in front of me.

He raised an eyebrow at my closing my book. I only did that when I was done for the day.

“Why? I’m not all that interesting. I’m just a regular guy.”

“Well, for starters, how can you speak and read Vylfian when this is the first time you’ve been here?”

“I copied the entire language from a dreamer and dumped it into my own head. That’s one of the things a Shal-hazal Spirit can do. Languages are easy as long as I can find somebody who speaks what I need to learn.”

I was both excited and impressed. That would be a very valuable learning tool. I wondered if he could do that sort of information dump into somebody else. I curbed my tongue from asking. I wanted to know more about Moswen, the man. I’d have time to ask him more questions about his Shal-hazal skills later.

“I still don’t know much of anything about you. I won’t just jump into bed with someone unless I know a little something about them.”

A little flash of excitement came and went quickly in Moswen’s eyes. I put my best court face in place to keep from smirking. I was sure I’d get all kinds of information from Moswen now that I’d dangled that little bit of enticement in front of him.

“You know I’m a Shal-hazal Spirit. You know I have the military rank of Eag’res. You know I’m Awh’anise and that I’d like to screw you silly. Really, what else is there to know?”

“You have a military rank?” I asked in surprise.

“The Awh’anise are a warrior species. Shal-hazal are like… the specialists in the military. We’re divided into four classes; Warrior, Spirit, Litch and Healer. The Warriors are the muscle. The grunt soldiers if you want. Spirits are information gatherers and transporters. At least, the few of us that can physically move through dreams do that too. Not all Spirit class can. I’m the only one in the last few hundred years that can enter the dream world without needing to be asleep. Healers are… well healers. They can speed healing up by utilizing the dream world. Litches are special, rare and quite frankly, dangerous as all hell.

They are the ultimate assassin and information specialists,” Moswen said as he settled into a chair across from me.

“So there’s a lot of Shal-hazal on Awh’an then?”

“No. Less than one percent of the population actually. We do have regular warriors and a regular military but to be a Shal-hazal is an elite thing.”

“Why did you want to be a Shal-hazal?”

“I didn’t. You’re either born one of the Blood, or you’re not. There’s a lot of Shal-hazal in my family. I have a brother who’s a Litch and my sha-ter’al… my shared father’s other mate is a Healer and I have twin sister’s through my sha-ter’al that are going through their Shal-hazal training.”

I was intrigued by the idea of siblings. I was an only child and would likely remain so. Cross-breeds weren’t that common between Vylfian and Naemo.

“How many siblings do you have?” I asked curiously.

“There’s six of us in my brood. I have identical twin brothers, identical twin sisters and another sister. Through my sha, my father, I have three half brothers. Through my sha-ter’al I have another set of identical twin half sisters.”

I know my mouth was open in a little ‘oh’ of surprise. Eleven children was a lot. I didn’t know of any people who had that many.

“Wait, you said half brothers. Are your parents no longer together?”

“Mine are. Monogamy isn’t a big thing for Awh’anise. Parents will stay together for the first six years of their children’s lives. Both people are free to choose another partner after that time. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. My father had a brood with Huyana first and after the boys turned six, they parted ways and he eventually hooked up with my mom.”

“Don’t people get… mad at being dumped with kids?”

Moswen laughed and I was struck again by how handsome he was.

“I think I gave you the wrong idea. My dad didn’t take off or something. Family is very important to the Awh’anise. He was still involved with the boys and saw them and Huyana every day. He just didn’t live with them. I’m not too sure that he wasn’t still screwing Huyana but they didn’t have any more children together. They’re friends to this day. Family relationships among the Awh’anise are kinda complicated to non-Awh’anise. I’ve heard that quite a number of our customs seem weird to other species,” Moswen said with a shrug.

“I don’t get it, but I’ll take what you say as truth. So, what’s a brood?”

“We’re a multiple birth species. Average is four to six kits with more or less on either side of the scale. Our families tend to get large and complicated fast.”

My fingers were itching to pick up my pen and start writing this all down. But, I didn’t want Moswen to think I was pumping him for information to add to the library. I honestly wanted to know more about him as a person. He was a fascinating man and seeing as how I’d decided I would sleep with him somewhere among the days he’d spent with me, I needed to know more about him. That I probably would add the things he was telling me about his species to the library later on was beside the point.

“Are all Awh’anise… uh… patterned like you or are the markings on your skin something different with every individual?”

“Actually, I’m a Throw-back. Every million births or so, somebody ends up with their skin patterned like mine. About one in every four Throw-back has a physical defect and the kit ends up stillborn. Throwbacks are rare and we never breed true, which is probably a good thing considering some of the less desirable traits we have when compared to regular Awh’anise. Hey, now that I’ve answered a bunch of your questions, how about you answer some of mine?”

Regardless of how much I wanted to follow the topic of Throw-backs, it did seem to be only fair since Moswen had been so forth coming. I spread my hands wide and indicated for Moswen to ask away.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters? I didn’t see any unaccounted for people at the breakfast, but I suppose they could have been unable to attend.”

“I’m an only child. Cross-breeding between Vylfian and Naemo doesn’t happen often. Not because it’s not allowed or anything. Only a dual Vylfian and a Naemo can produce children and even then, it doesn’t happen much. Our healers aren’t sure why that is. Probably something to do with the physical make-up of a dual.”

“Vylfian’s and Naemo seem to be really different species to be sharing a planet. Are you both native to it?”

It was questions like this that proved Moswen was a very bright person. It was also a hotly contested topic among the scholars on both sides of the species fence.

“Depending on who you asked, you’d get different answers. Vylfian’s say they were here first. Naemo say they were here and the Vylfian’s migrated to the planet from somewhere else. According to the records we have available, we both seemed to appear at roughly the same time. It’s a possibility that we both came from elsewhere.”

“I know you’re a prince here. You have a Naemo title too. And something else as well. What are all those titles?”

“Des Anate is my rank in the Naemo military. I’m part of my father’s living men,” I answered with just a little pride in my voice. Rank was not hereditary among the Naemo, it was earned.

“His living men? I don’t understand,” Moswen said with a frown.

“My father is Ralne Tordem Delseur. He leads the Naemo Armies of the Dead.”

“Armies of the Dead? Is that like a unit name or something?”

“No. About three quarters of his men are corpses. He animates them and they do his bidding. They’re primarily for the first initial rush against an enemy. How do you kill someone who’s already dead? They’re also used for holding positions in a line or guarding prisoners. The dead don’t sleep and you can’t bribe them either.”

Moswen’s mouth was hanging open and I smiled at the utter shock on his face. I was proud of my father and his accomplishments. It took a very powerful and controlled individual to do what he did in his service to his nation.

“So that last title you have, was that earned or given to you because of who your dad is?”

“The Naemo give no titles away. Fourth Shade Necromancer was earned. I’m nowhere near as powerful as my dad but I do okay.”

“You can raise the dead? Can you talk to them? Can you raise specific people? What about people long dead? Can you raise them too? Show me,” Moswen said in excitement. He nearly vibrated in his seat.

Moswen was really something when he got excited over a topic. His whole being became animated. Frankly, it made him even more attractive than he already was. I shifted a little in my seat and silently thanked the gods that I was behind a desk. Vylfian clothes did nothing to hide your body’s reaction to a person you found enticing.

“Yes, I can raise the dead. No, they don’t talk. I’ve never tried to raise specific people and that’s just creepy, Moswen. As long as I’ve got something left of the physical body, I can raise them. And I’m not raising the dead just for your amusement, Moswen. It takes energy to do that.”

Moswen pouted a little in disappointment. He inhaled deeply and let it out in a put upon sigh. I was startled when he suddenly leaned forward across my desk until his nose was almost touching mine and inhaled again. A soft little growl trickled from his throat and his whole demeanour changed. I froze in my seat as my mind flashed back to the first night when he’d pinned me to the floor. My cock hardened further at the memory.

“You’re aroused,” Moswen said in surprise. “I can smell it. I can taste it on my tongue. You want me. You can have me. I’m very willing, Kijika,” Moswen said in a low voice before he closed the scant inches that separated us and claimed my lips in a kiss.

I was too surprised at first to protest the kiss. Then I started to enjoy the feel of his mouth on mine. No other part of his body touched me but his lips. It didn’t take long before I wanted that to change. I made a soft little sound of capitulation in my throat. Moswen growled lowly again and I felt that sound against my lips. I was completely shocked when he broke the very enjoyable kiss and moved slightly away from me.

“Gods, I’m sorry, Kijika. I know I said I wouldn’t make any advances on you but you’ve got no idea how hard this is for me. I’m trying to keep my hands to myself, honest. But when you look at me like that and I can smell your desire…. I only have so much control. I… I’ll leave you to your work,” Moswen said as he carefully backed away.

I didn’t want him to go.

I rose from my seat and stopped him at the door with a hand on his arm. He hissed softly and jerked his arm away from the contact. I let my hand fall to my side. I felt my cheeks heat with embarrassment at his rejecting my touch.

“Moswen,” I began only to have him cut me off.

“I’m not pushing you away, Kijika. I… uh… hurt my elbow earlier when I went out to get the pastries. It’ll be fine by tomorrow. I’m leaving because if I stay, I might be tempted to do something that we’ll both regret. I want to do more than kiss you. I want to strip you naked and lick your entire body. I want to rub my skin against yours so that you’ll have my scent all over you. I want to take your cock into my mouth and suck you off while I play with your balls. I want to shove my cock up your ass and make you scream when you come. I want to give you all that pleasure and, right now, I can’t. You have absolutely no idea the amount of restraint I’m exercising.”

My blush deepened. I’d never had a lover say anything like that to me before. I’d been complimented on my looks and had lovers tell me they’d had a pleasurable time in my bed but I’d never had someone who wasn’t even my lover yet describe to me what they wanted to do to me and sound so… desperate to have me. All that Moswen described had been about giving me pleasure. He almost made it sound like my enjoyment was more important than his.

I reached out and cupped his cheek. He flinched and I noticed a slight swelling under my fingers. I frowned at him and stepped back while eying him critically. With his dark colouring, it was nearly impossible to tell if he was getting a bruise on his face. I wondered just what kind of accident he could have had that would hurt his elbow and his face. I pursed my lips and called up a little power and sent it over Moswen.

His eyes widened before closing and he made a funny noise in his throat. His head thunked back against the door and his mouth opened as he started to pant ever so lightly. I was almost distracted from what I was doing by the reaction Moswen was having to my doing a little magical poking to see what damage had been done to him. I heard a creaking noise and looked down to see two very surprising things. Moswen’s talons were buried in the wood of the door and digging deeper with every breath he was taking. He was also very, very aroused.

“I can’t believe I’m going to ask you this but, Kijika, please stop whatever you’re doing to me that feels so fucking good. You’re making it even harder for me to resist jumping you when I’m already having one hell of a time not doing that,” Moswen said in a voice lower in tone than I’d ever heard from him.

Through my mother, I had a minor talent with healing magic. I could detect injuries and as long as they weren’t serious, I could heal them. Moswen had dislocated his elbow, cracked his cheek bone and broken a rib. He hadn’t gotten into an accident. He’d been in a fight. There was only one person I knew who wanted to take a swing at Moswen. I let the gentle healing magic fade away and folded my arms as I fixed my best glare on Moswen.

“I thought I told you to leave my father alone, Moswen. He could have really hurt you,” I said sternly when all I could think of was how very wrong a fight between my dad and Moswen could have gone.

Moswen opened his eyes and stared up at me. Heat and desire was plain in his gaze as well a little guilt at being found out. I frowned when I realized that there had been no hint of pain in his eyes until I’d accidentally grabbed his injured arm and touched his broken cheek.

“I may not be as big as your dad but size doesn’t always count in a brawl. I am a decent fighter, Kijika. Fighting is a way of life on Awh’an. I’ve been hurt worse playing with my siblings. Hell, I once had my arm busted in a dominance fight and still got my ass ploughed before it was set. We’re a violent people, Kijika and often a little pain goes with our pleasure.”

Every time Moswen told me something new about his people, I wanted to write it down. As a species, the Awh’anise were fascinating. As a man, I was becoming more and more entranced with Moswen. I liked his exotic looks. His mind was simply brilliant. His playfulness was something I was enjoying progressively each day. I’d come to expect the gentle touches he gave me whenever he was close. I’d taken great pleasure in the all too brief kiss we shared earlier.

For once, I let impulse rule my actions and leaned down to kiss Moswen. The heavy, wanting moan that left his throat thrilled me. I’d never had a lover react that way to just a kiss from me. I didn’t doubt that his reaction was genuine either. After knowing him for little more than a week, I knew Moswen was a terrible liar. His body wasn’t lying in its reaction to me either. His cock was erect and pressed against my thigh.

I teased the seam of his lips with my tongue. They tasted sweet from the sugar crystals on the pastry he’d eaten. When he opened his mouth and allowed my tongue in to play with his, a shudder traveled through his body. I heard the creaking of wood again and glided my hands down his arms to find his fingers buried even deeper into the door he leaned against. His body was wound tight as a drum and a

deep purring noise was coming from his throat. His tail was lashing wildly from side to side. I made a little noise of protest when he suddenly turned his head to the side, breaking the kiss.

“Kijika, I can’t do this. I can’t play this kind of game with you right now,” Moswen said between harsh, panting breaths. He kept his fingers buried in the wood of the door.

“What game? I’m kissing you.”

“And doing a hell of a fantastic job, too. My problem is that I’ve never gone this long without sex. I find you utterly desirable yet I gave my word I wouldn’t pounce on you like I want to,” Moswen said in what sounded like a pained voice.

I stared at Moswen in surprise. He considered a week a long time to go without sex? I’d lost track of the last time I’d had a regular partner. Or even the last time I’d simply gotten laid. I think I might have eased my needs a month or so ago with one of the court nobles I’d known since we were children. Maybe. I’d been busy lately and masturbation was a faster way to get off than having to find a partner.

“A week isn’t long, Moswen,” I teased as I fingered some strands of his hair. He had beautiful hair. I was surprised at the silky texture.

“It is when you’re used to getting some every couple of days, if not every day. Sex is more than just a way to feel pleasure and reproduce for my people, Kijika. We use it to strengthen bonds between family and friends as well,” Moswen said as his breathing began to even out and some of the tension seeped out of him.

He really was trying to hold himself in check on my behalf. A perverse part of me wanted to push against that restraint he was showing just to see how much he did want me. That wasn’t fair and was wrong but a little corner of my soul wanted Moswen to just over-ride my saying no and take what he wanted. I loved the sensation of a lover dominating me. I just knew Moswen would do that if I let him.

“I’d like to hear about that part of your culture some other time, Moswen. Right now though, I’d like you to kiss me again,” I said as I brought my mouth close to his again.

Moswen finally removed his fingers from the door and framed my face with his hands. I could feel his talons pricking the soft skin on the underside of my jaw and realized then just how hard Moswen was working to keep his desire leashed. It was positively heady to know I was affecting someone so strongly.

“I’m reaching my limit, Kijika. If you want me to stop at any time, say ‘tay’ to me and I’ll stop immediately. Repeat it,” Moswen demanded as his fingers tightened painfully and his talons nearly broke my skin.

Moswen’s sudden, harsh grip on me was unexpected and a little thrilling, if I was being honest with myself. I grunted and tried to jerk my head free of the hold Moswen had on me. He growled and sharply nipped the skin on my chest, his fangs coming close but not quite piercing the skin. His tail wrapped around my waist and jerked my body flush with his.

“Tay, Moswen,” I hissed as I tried to break free but couldn’t. I wondered just how strong Moswen was.

The effect of that one word on Moswen was startling. He moaned low in his throat and snatched his hands back as if burned. His tail uncurled just as quickly from around my waist and he almost shot across the room to get as far away from me as possible. His eyes were wild and he nearly vibrated with tension. I moved towards him and he actually whimpered and held his hands up to stop me.

“No closer, Kijika. I can’t explain how it works but hearing your partner say that to you is almost a physical pain. And not the fun, kinky kind. Until you tell me that you want me to touch you again, I can’t come near you in a sexual way. Will you let me touch you, Kijika? Do you want me?” Moswen asked in a low voice.

“Yes, I want you, Moswen,” I answered him honestly. Lying would have been pointless. All he had to do was look down and he’d see that I did want him.

The smile of relief on Moswen’s face was breath taking. He moved from being exotically handsome into heart stopping beautiful. He pushed off from the wall and stalked towards me. My belly fluttered in excitement at the aggressive body language Moswen was displaying. He was behaving in exactly the way I liked my lovers to act. Aggressive and dominant. When he reached me, I was expecting something rough. Instead, he threaded his fingers through my hair and pulled my head down for a kiss that was gentle but forceful and demanding. It was over before I wanted it to be.

“You’re going to love the things I do to you, Kijika. Let’s go someplace a little more comfortable so I can start loving you like I’ve been dreaming about for the past week. You’re a wonderful mental image to jerk off too, but I want to have the real deal.”

A blush coloured my cheeks at the news that Moswen had been masturbating to thoughts of me. It shouldn’t have pleased me as much as it did. I knew it was crazy to want to jump into bed with somebody I’d only known for a week but I was starting to figure out that strange things just seemed to happen around Moswen. Chapter 8

~Moswen~

I followed Kijika as he led the way to his rooms in the palace. I’d only been there the one time before and I was excited to be going back as this time, I’d get to tumble him onto the big bed I’d seen in his room. Palace guards looked at me curiously as we passed. I got the idea that Kijika bringing somebody back to his rooms wasn’t exactly a common event. Or maybe it was just me that was causing a stir. Even after over a week, I still got curious stares from people. A guard standing at a set of doors opened them for us when he saw Kijika approaching. I heard Kijika tell the guard that we weren’t to be disturbed.

I could’ve danced with joy.

I’d told Kijika the god’s honest truth. I’d never gone more than a few days without a partner since I became sexually active. There was always someone willing to do you or be done on Awh’an. I probably could have bedded a Vylfian besides Kijika. I’d had offers, but I wanted Kijika. Now that Kijika was going to allow me in his bed, I’d make sure I sexed him up so damn good; he wouldn’t want to go without

either. Once the door clicked shut, I turned to Kijika, looked him up and down and smiled wickedly at him. I had just one thing to ask him.

“You wanna fight or flip a coin or something to pick who gets to top?”

Kijika looked startled for a moment before he smiled slowly. “If you’re giving me the choice, I prefer to bottom.”

“Really?” I asked in surprise. This couldn’t possibly be real.

While I enjoyed the feel of a cock stroking in and out of my ass, if I was given the choice, I wanted to be the one doing the stroking. That Kijika appealed to me on both a sexual level as well as a mental one was fantastic. That he actually wanted to be the one who took the pleasure instead of giving it…. This was the kind of thing that made up for all the troubling karma I seemed to attract.

“You have so totally made my week, Kijika. I love being able to top,” I said as I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him hard.

He seemed surprised that such a simple thing made me happy. He brought his arms around me and hugged me back. I felt the subtle shift in his demeanour from self-assured man to submissive partner. I couldn’t help the happy little purr that left my throat at that action as well as the physical closeness we were sharing. Close contact of another person was something vital to an Awh’anise. While Kijika had been allowing me to touch him, the light, casual caresses weren’t quite the same as hugging and nuzzling someone. I’d never realized how much my people really touched one another until I left Awh’an. And how much I’d miss that contact.

My nose was pressed to his chest and I inhaled deeply. I could smell his arousal mixing with my own as well as the soap he’d used and some kind of subtle aftershave. I rubbed my cheek against his skin and let a rumble of pleasure sound. I adored the clothes the Vylfian’s wore. They were the next best thing to going naked. Little open vests and short skirts for the men and tiny halter tops and even shorter skirts for the women. I wondered how shocked Kijika would be if I started to wear the same kind of clothes, too. I had a very nice, toned body. I’d probably look great. As much as I liked the clothes on Kijika, I wanted them off him.

I stepped back from him and cocked my head to the side. Getting the skirt off him was a no-brainer. I wasn’t so sure about the vest. I didn’t want to hurt or damage his wings because I had no idea how to get his vest off. I didn’t want to scare him by just ripping it off him, no matter how much that little mental image appealed to me. I knew his dad’s wings were pretty hard from when I’d been hit with one. But, Kijika’s wings looked so fragile I was almost afraid to touch them.

“I don’t know how to get your vest off you without maybe damaging your wings, Kijika. I want you naked.”

Kijika gave me a shy smile and tugged on the sides of his vest. A little series of pops opened the sides before he drew the material over his head and dropped it to the floor. He stood there unmoving until I clued in and yanked my own shirt over my head. While I had seen most of his chest before, there was something a little different about seeing it completely bare. I let him see my desire for him in my eyes.

“The skirt too, Kijika,” I said softly as I stared at him.

A faint pink tinged his cheeks. I thought he looked adorable when he blushed. His hands hovered on the low waistband of his skirt. He looked at me with a little uncertainty. Even though the skirt he wore now wasn’t much, he seemed suddenly reluctant to lose the piece of cloth that hid him from my eyes. I didn’t think that it mattered that the outfit I’d first seem him in was much more revealing. I grinned at him, toed off the sandals I was wearing and shoved my pants down my legs before kicking free of them.

Kijika’s eyes widened slightly. Being nude didn’t bother me. Not even being nude with an erection bothered me. I could be naked and aroused in a roomful of strangers and not be embarrassed. The Awh’anise were not body conscious like most species seemed to be and had very little shame. Truthfully, we were probably all exhibitionists and enjoyed having an audience watch us screw.

“Take the skirt off, Kijika,” I said with a little command in my voice.

His blush deepened but he finally removed his skirt and let it fall to the floor. My eyes trail over his body. He was utterly gorgeous. Smooth, golden skin stretched over firm muscles. He wasn’t as heavily muscled

as his father but he was bulkier than his almost delicate looking male relatives on the Vylfian side. His cock was erect and I licked my lips at finally seeing him in all his glory. He was perfectly proportioned for a man his height but he was bigger than anyone I’d ever seen or been with. I knew at one point I’d have to ask him to do me just so I could experience the feel of something that big inside me. My nipples tightened from the idea of how it might feel.

“Spread your wings for me, Kijika.”

He raised an eyebrow but did what I asked. He opened his wings fully and held them like that for me. His span was almost as great as Delseur’s but Kijika’s wings were far prettier. Sunlight spilled through the transparent membranes making them glow like jewels. I started to reach out to touch them but stopped and looked up at Kijika.

“Can I touch them? I won’t break them or something, will I?” I asked with uncertainty in my voice.

Kijika laughed softly. “Our wings are actually pretty tough, Moswen. You’d have to make an effort to damage them. Go ahead and touch them.”

I retracted my talons as much as I could, not quite believing Kijika. Nothing that beautiful could be tough too. I stroked a finger over an emerald green section and was startled to find the skin warm to the touch. It felt like heated satin. I pressed my palm gently against it and was surprised to feel the faint pulse of Kijika’s heartbeat. I skimmed my hand over Kijika’s wing and heard the little shuddery sigh of pleasure that escaped him.

“Are your wings a turn on spot for you like my tail is for me?” I asked as I continued the light sweeps of my hand.

“No more than any other part of my body. Generally though, to do what you’re doing now, you have to be pretty close to that person to be allowed such a liberty. It’s like… running your fingers through a person’s hair to relax them. It can be an erotic gesture too. I’m sure you’ll figure that out on your own,” Kijika said with a small smile.

I circled around Kijika and just stared. The man had an exceptionally fine ass. It was gong to be my absolute pleasure to pump in and out of it. I noticed that closer to the place where his wings joined his body, the darker the colours on his wings became. I lightly touched the spot where they merged into his back and felt short, downy soft hair. I rubbed my fingers over it, enjoying the sensation against my skin. Kijika made a sound of enjoyment that went straight to my groin.

I moved close behind him and pressed my lips to his spine as I brought my hands around and slid them up his ribs. He smelled great and when I licked him, I thought he tasted even better. This was going to be so worth waiting like I had. I’d told him I wanted to lick his entire body. I still did and there was no time like the present.

I set to work with soft kisses and nibbling bites between long swipes with my tongue. I’d only managed to work my way down his back to his waist when I noticed his wings were shaking slightly. I watched them from the corner of my eye as I placed nipping kisses and lazy licks over his fantastic ass. The shaking got worse. Kijika was also moaning softly and breathing in almost panting gasps. I stopped what I was doing and stroked his thighs gently.

“You can relax your wings if you want, Kijika,” I said as I rubbed my cheek against his hip and inhaled the musky scent of his arousal.

Kijika dropped his wings down so that they half-dragged on the floor. The shaking lessened but didn’t stop. I cupped his ass and licked the perfect globes. He groaned as a shiver travelled through his body. I smiled in wicked delight before spreading his cheeks apart and started to tongue fuck him. The first push of my tongue into him wrenched a startled cry from him. I barely had time for more than a few quick thrusts of my tongue before he twisted to look at me crouched behind him. There was a flush in his cheeks and a confused expression on his face.

“Moswen? What are you doing? I thought you were going to top me.”

“I will. Eventually. I want to explore your body. You don’t like this? I’ll stop if you want me to. Tell me if I do something you don’t like or if hurts or is uncomfortable. Sex is about pleasure, Kijika and I want you to enjoy what I do to you.”

“But…” Kijika trailed off. Confusion was in his face.

I stood and moved back around to face him. I touched his cheek gently. I wasn’t sure why he seemed confused. Maybe I’d done something I wasn’t supposed to. Did his people consider what I’d started to do disgusting? Was it taboo? You’d think sex would be the one universal constant no matter the species.

“Didn’t you like what I was doing? Or is it some kinda taboo for your people to rim someone?”

“It… no. It’s just that the person who is going to be receiving is the one who does that. Its like… a submissive gesture. I’m the one who should be doing that to you,” Kijika explained as his blush deepened.

I knew my eyes widened at what Kijika’d said. I’d never seen any kind of foreplay as either a dominant or submissive move… unless I was playing a kinky game with my partner. It’d honestly never occurred to me that he’d see my giving him pleasure as a submissive thing. He was going to be in for one hell of a surprise.

“Sex is about making each other feel good, Kijika. Did you like the way it felt?”

“Yes, but…”

“Then there’s nothing wrong with my doing it to you and still getting to slide my cock up your ass later, is there? Unless you didn’t like it, there’s no reason you shouldn’t enjoy having someone do that to you. What about my going down on you or that a submissive thing too?”

Kijika looked at the floor and gave the barest nod of his head. I shook mine and sighed softly. If this was the way things worked among Kijika’s partners, no wonder he hadn’t been very concerned with getting laid on a regular basis. If he was always the one giving the pleasure, I’d think it would start to seem like more effort than it was worth.

“Do you like to suck cock, Kijika? I do. I’m looking forward to getting my mouth on you.”

“You are?” Kijika asked in surprise.

“You bet. Every part of you is damn gorgeous and I want to taste everything I can,” I said as I took his hand and pulled him towards his bed. “Get comfortable, Kijika. I want to play with you.”

He looked a little nervous when I said that. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was a virgin. Then again, if he didn’t get to have somebody worship his body like he deserved, he was sort of a virgin. I smiled in anticipation of being able to give him pleasure. I gave him a gentle push towards the bed and waited for him to get comfortable. I wasn’t sure how he’d position himself considering he had huge wings on his back. I watched as he made himself comfortable, moving onto the bed when he seemed to have settled.

“If I do anything at all that you don’t like or makes you feel uncomfortable, tell me and I’ll stop, okay?” I waited until Kijika nodded before gently pushing his legs apart and crouching between them.

I was so going to rock his world. Chapter 9

~Kijika~

I was a little uncertain what Moswen had in mind. I mean, I knew what he was going to be doing between my legs but it wasn’t something I was very used to. Yes, I’d had lovers give me head but since I was usually the bottom, it didn’t happen often. Generally speaking, I was the one who sucked cock in order to get my partner ready to penetrate me. For all their love of showing off flesh and flirty way, Vylfian’s had some rigid rules about who got to do what during sex. Moswen had surprised me when he’d started to not only lick my hole but push his tongue inside me.

I could count on one hand the number of times I’d topped someone and I’d still have a finger or two left over. I didn’t mind that as I really did prefer to feel a cock inside me as opposed to pushing mine into someone else. I’d been tongue fucked a grand total of twice before Moswen started to do it. I hadn’t

meant to make him stop because it’d felt unbelievably good. He had simply shocked me by doing it. I’d like him to do it again but I wasn’t sure how to ask since I was the submissive.

I watched as Moswen began to lightly stroke my thighs. He didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry. He’d seemed very eager while we were in my office. I took the opportunity to run my eyes over Moswen.

The pattern of gold stripes continued over his entire body, even his cock. I raised an eyebrow at the bush of white blonde hair around his cock. I’d never seen anyone who had hair there. Vylfian’s and Naemo’s only had hair on their heads and some downy fuzz where our wings joined our bodies. I wondered if the hair around Moswen’s cock was as soft as the hair on his head or on the puffy tip of his tail. I wanted to touch it but didn’t know if he’d welcome my hand on him and was just a little too shy to actually ask him. I’d know what I was allowed if he was one of my people but just the fact that he’d done something seen as a submissive’s role and considered that normal, threw me.

“You know, I’ve never had a lover as big as you. I don’t think I’ll be able to take all of you in my mouth but I’m gonna give it one hell of a try,” Moswen said as he stroked his fingers gently over my erect cock.

The blush that had started to fade returned. The very idea that somebody would want to take an entire cock into their mouth was surprising to me. And arousing. The excitement in Moswen’s voice was contagious and I felt my heart speed up in anticipation. Moswen leaned forward and his hair slid over his shoulders to pool around my legs. I could feel his warm breath on my cock and bit my lip to hold back the little whimper I wanted to give voice to. His lips were soft as he started to press kisses up and down the length of my cock.

I said his name on a shuddery breath when he started to lick my cock as if it was a treat. Pleasure began to build in me as he swiped his tongue back and forth and swirled it over the head. Moswen was making his own noises of delight as he worked his tongue. His fingers were busy rolling my balls and tugging on them gently. I couldn’t see what he was doing because his hair was in the way. Moswen seemed to be getting a lot of pleasure from what he was doing and I wanted to see his face. I gathered his hair up in one hand and pushed it away from his face. He looked up, smiled at me, gripped my cock at the base and closed his mouth over the head.

I couldn’t help the cry of pleasure that left me. Moswen purred his approval and began to work his mouth over my cock. Watching him suck on me and take such obvious pleasure was incredibly erotic to

me. That he was doing it because he wanted to and not because he was supposed to was thrilling. The delicate scrape of his fangs against my sensitive skin combined with the wet heat of his tongue was heavenly. When Moswen backed off I wanted to protest.

“You have something we can use as lube, demsho?” Moswen asked as he slowly slid his fist up and down my spit slicked cock.

“Demsho?” I asked as I tried not to groan at how good his hand felt on me.

“Lover in Awh’anise,” Moswen said as he added a firm squeeze to what he was doing.

I sucked in a shaky breath at the feel of his hand caressing me. I turned slightly and groped through a drawer in the bedside table. I found the bottle of oil I kept for just that purpose and passed it to Moswen. He uncapped it and sniffed the contents, giving a little nod of his head at the clean, herbal smell. Excitement rose even higher through me. Moswen lightly capped the bottle again and took me back into his mouth. My hips jerked up at the unexpected move. I’d thought Moswen was going to slick his cock and fill my ass when he’d asked for and taken the oil from me.

Even though I wanted to watch Moswen suck my cock, the pleasure was too intense. I closed my eyes as I sank into the enjoyment of what Moswen was doing to me. I smelled the oil again but ignored it as I revelled in the sensations of filling Moswen’s mouth with my cock and his nimble fingers teasing my balls. I moaned softly when I felt an oil covered finger begin rubbing circles around my hole. After several minutes of his finger sliding over my hole but not pushing inside and his mouth sucking on me almost greedily, I was ready to scream with frustration.

“Moswen, please,” I begged softly as I tried to push down onto his finger.

He purred again with my cock half-way down his throat. I started to groan in pleasure when I felt something bigger than his finger press against my ass for entrance. Finally, he was going to push into me. I relaxed my muscles to make it easier for him to enter me and opened my eyes. Moswen still had his lips wrapped around my cock and his body position was wrong for him to be sliding his dick into me unless he was exceptionally flexible. He looked up at me and smiled around my cock. My eyes widened when I realized what he was doing.

A drawn out groan of pleasure left me as Moswen pushed his tail into my body. If I wasn’t experiencing it first hand, I never would have believed it was something he’d do. It was sinfully good and he stopped pushing his tail in just before it became too much. He rested for a moment, letting me adjust before he began slowly stroking in and out of my ass to the same rhythm of sucking my cock.

Lust and the need to come grew rapidly inside me. I tugged on Moswen’s hair, warning him that he was pushing me close to the edge. He growled at me and I gasped as the vibrations travelled along the length of my cock. It felt so damn good to have his mouth on me and his tail inside. I tried to push my desire back down. Moswen hadn’t entered me yet and for me, the submissive, to orgasm before he did was wrong.

“Moswen. Moswen stop. I’m going to come if you keep doing that,” I panted as I tugged on his hair again.

“That’s the idea, demsho,” he chuckled as he backed off my cock. “Come for me, Ki. Let me taste you. Please.”

How in the name of all the gods was I supposed to refuse a request like that even if it was wrong for me to find release first? Moswen closed his lips around my cock again and began sucking strongly as the thrusts of his tail became more forceful. I tried to fight back the need to come but what Moswen was doing to me felt so damn good, I knew I didn’t have a prayer of holding out. With a little moan of defeat, I gave myself over to the wonderful sensations Moswen was piling on me. Before long, I had both hands buried in his hair and my hips were undulating. Groans of pleasure were leaving me between each panting breath I was taking. My balls drew tight to my body and I knew my release was only seconds away.

“Moswen, I’m coming,” I panted as I tried to pull him off my cock. He couldn’t possibly mean to keep his mouth wrapped around me as I came, could he?

Moswen growled low in his throat and refused to back off my cock. That vibration was the last little push that sent me tumbling over the edge. My back bowed and my wings shook as I filled Moswen’s mouth with my seed. A sharp cry of pleasure left me as I felt Moswen’s throat work to swallow what I

gave him. Colour flooded my cheeks at the same time satisfaction filled my mind from the very intimate act. I’d never had a lover swallow my seed before. I’d never swallowed a lover’s seed either. It just wasn’t something done among the Vylfian’s.

I lay limply on the bed, breathing hard, my heart pounding. A light film of sweat coated my skin. My mind spun with the pleasure Moswen had given me and he hadn’t even fucked me. At least, not with his cock. A silly grin appeared on my face. Deciding to take Moswen as my lover was probably one of the best decisions I’d ever made.

I dimly heard a commotion outside my door but felt too sated to care. Somebody was yelling and I thought I heard my name but I pushed those concerns away. I’d given the guard orders that I wasn’t to be disturbed and, barring the palace burning down around my ears or a summons from King Sakima, I wouldn’t be.

Moswen slowly let my cock slip from his mouth. He stretched his body out over mine and kissed me on the lips. I could taste myself and thought I should have been put off by that, but wasn’t. He was still hard and his cock pressed against my belly. His tail was still buried in my ass and every now and again, he’d twitch it and make me gasp in pleasure.

“Stars, but you’re beautiful when you come, demsho. I can’t wait to see that again. I’ll give you a few minutes to calm down a little before getting you all hot and bothered again. You feel terrific on my tail. You’re going to feel fantastic when I get my cock into you, aren’t you,” Moswen said with a satisfied grin.

Both of us started when the door to my room crashed open and my name was bellowed in a commanding tone.

The change that came over Moswen was lightening swift. A dangerous mask of aggression slipped over his face. His lips pulled back into a snarl as he whipped his head around to stare at the intruder. He levered himself off of me and a little cry of protest left me as he withdrew his tail from my body.

“Xa’ demsho,” he snarled as he moved off the bed to stand in front of me.

I pushed myself up and looked past Moswen only to wish I hadn’t. My father stood there, staring at us. He wouldn’t barge into my rooms if it wasn’t something important. The man who’d been guarding the door was also looking his fill at the obvious scene of interrupted sex. Moswen was still erect but showing no embarrassment at having complete strangers ogle him. If anything, he seemed ready to defend me. As if he expected either my father or my guard to try and take me away from him. I thought it was a rather strange reaction but virtually everything Moswen had done with me in bed so far was different from what I was use to.

“Kijika, the army is on the move. Meet me in the courtyard. We leave in ten minutes,” my father said before he turned and started to walk out of my room. He completely ignored Moswen standing naked and aggressive in front of me.

I swore softly under my breath. This had to be the worst timing possible. We’d been waiting weeks for the army to make a move. Couldn’t they have waited one more day? This was going to seriously screw up my suddenly great sex life. Moswen swung his gaze between my father and me, his brow wrinkling. His hostile, protective stance drained away slowly.

“Ki and I aren’t done.”

My father stopped and turned slowly. The expression on his face was one of patent disbelief both from what Moswen said and, I’m sure, the shortening of my name. Nobody shortened my name. My mother wouldn’t stand for it. I was probably wearing a similar look. The guard was standing there with his mouth hanging open.

“What?” Moswen said with a puzzled look on his face as he glanced at us. “Well, we’re not. I really liked sucking you off, demsho. You taste as good as I knew you would, but I am going to have that fantastic ass of yours before I let you go anywhere.”

Colour rushed into my cheeks. My father’s eyes widened. The guard looked like he’d just heard the juiciest state secret of the century. I knew the news that Moswen not only gave me head, but allowed me to come in his mouth and still expected to have my ass was going to make the rounds of the rumour

mill. I wondered, not for the first time, if I could get away with strangling Moswen in front of witnesses. There had to be some perks to being a royal, right?

“I don’t particularly care if you think you’re done or not. Kijika has military obligations. As far as I’m concerned, he’s done. What you do and how you handle your needs after he’s gone is your own business,” my father said as he turned sharply on his heel and left my room. The guard backed out of the room when I glared at him.

“At least give us twenty minutes,” Moswen shouted after my dad just before the door closed.

I really was going to kill Moswen.

I grabbed the closest available body part, which happened to be his tail, and yanked hard. Moswen stumbled back and fell across me with a growl. He twisted and had a hand wrapped around my throat before I realized he’d moved. I could breathe easily enough and recognized it was a dominating move. Excitement made my heart race and a tiny noise of capitulation escaped my throat. The oil covered end of his tail fluttered madly in my hand before it slipped out of my grip. Moswen was between my thighs, shoving his cock inside me between one breath and the next. I gasped in surprise at the delight that gave me. I liked strong, forceful partners and Moswen was now fulfilling that role to the utmost. The desire I’d thought sated surged back to life and I bit my lip against the need to beg Moswen to start moving.

He growled at me again and pumped his hips quickly, wringing a deep sound of pleasure from me. He nipped my chest hard enough to draw blood, making me hiss and squirm under him at the unexpected roughness. He let go of my throat and fisted the hair at the back of my head before pulling me forward and kissing me hard. I tasted the coppery tang of blood and felt the slight sting as one of Moswen’s fangs cut my lip. With every aggressive move he made, Moswen pushed my arousal higher.

The velvety softness of his tail snaked over my belly and wound around my hardening cock. I sucked in a sharp breath when Moswen pulled back from the rough kiss. His eyes had became a purple so dark with passion, they seemed black. I felt his talons break the skin on my hip and hissed at the sharp pain. I brought my hands to his chest intending to shove him away and accidentally brushed against a nipple. Moswen groaned and thrust hard into me pressing on my sweet spot and making pleasure explode through me.

“Come, demsho. Now,” Moswen demanded in a deep voice.

The command in his voice, the utter dominance in his actions, his velvety tail rhythmically squeezing my, once again, erect dick and his cock rubbing hard over my prostate with every stroke shoved me over the edge again before I was ready for it. I yelled as my back arched and I spurted my seed over my own belly and chest. Moswen threw back his head and howled as he snapped his hips hard into me and found his own release.

My wings trembled and a moan left me at the feel of Moswen’s cock throbbing in my ass. He held himself still for several minutes, panting heavily and allowing both of us to enjoy the tiny shivers and after shocks of our frantic sex. When he looked at me, there was a possessive glint in his eye that probably should have worried me. I was feeling too satisfied to care… again. He shifted, slipping free of my body, earning a soft sound of protest from me. I sucked in a startled breath when he began licking up the seed smeared over my skin. I’d never had a lover do that. I was getting the feeling that I’d be thinking that quite often with regards to Moswen.

“I guess ten minutes was plenty of time,” Moswen said with a cheeky grin before crawling up my body to kiss me.

I blushed at the reminder of my dad bursting into my room and seeing me and my lover in the afterglow of really good sex. I was blushing a hell of a lot around Moswen. He was just so… open about everything and full of life.

“So, what army is on the move and where are we going?” Moswen asked as he nuzzled my neck and ran his fingers through my hair.

I thought I could hear a quiet purring coming from him but I was almost positive I was imagining that. People didn’t purr. Or maybe the Awh’anise did. Whatever the sound was, it was a contented noise and made me want to stroke Moswen’s skin. I let my fingers brush over his back and the purring got louder. A pleased smile turned up the corners of my mouth. I liked the sound. I’d have to see what else made Moswen purr when I had more time.

“Some dissatisfied noble has managed to raise a rag-tag army and support from a neighbouring country and is poking at the Vylfian borders. Because my dad is considered something like my mom’s consort, he’s obligated by family honour to lend a hand in defending our land. We aren’t going anywhere, by the way. I am going to assume my post in the Army of the Dead. You can’t come with me.”

“Why not? I can fight. I’ve had military training,” Moswen said as he stroked a finger over my chest. “Besides, now that I’ve gotten your amazing ass, I want it again. That really wasn’t my best effort. But, you grabbed my tail and pulled on it when I was sexually charged and… well… I usually have better control than that. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

I shook my head. If he thought he could do better than what just happened, I was all for it. I wanted to let Moswen have my ass again. That wasn’t the problem. I had a sworn duty to uphold in the Naemo military. Civilians weren’t allowed to tag along. Visiting aliens most certainly weren’t allowed to join an army mobilizing.

“No, Moswen,” I said with finality in my voice. “You can’t come with me. I shouldn’t be gone very long. Two, maybe three weeks if the information we have about the size of the army we’ll be facing is right.”

“Three weeks? What the hell am I…” Moswen began.

He frowned suddenly and swore under his breath. He scowled fiercely and muttered something about karma just loving to screw with him. Moswen sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. He sighed and swore softly again. I sat up and laid a hand on his back. He seemed genuinely upset. More upset than he should have been.

“I won’t be here in three weeks, demsho. I have to be on Awh’an then for roughly two weeks. Man, this has got to be the crappiest timing in the universe.”

“I thought you told me you were on personal time before you assumed your full Shal-hazal duties.”

“I am but… I can’t be here in three weeks. I want to be. Really, really want to be but if you aren’t here, things could get…ugly. Hell, even if you were here, things could still get difficult.”

“Why? What happens in three weeks time?” I asked curious and confused at the same time.

“I enter my quarterly breeding cycle and I don’t think you’re ready for an Awh’anise in cycle. Not many species are. We usually need sturdy partners for the two weeks or so of our cycles. I won’t do much else but eat, sleep and fuck and the first two things are almost optional.”

On a scholarly level, I was intrigued to see this cycle and record it. On a sexual level, I was curious about why Moswen said a sturdy partner was necessary. I was about to ask why he needed a sturdy partner when I heard my father shout that I had two minutes left. I swore and scrambled from the bed. My feet barely touched the floor when Moswen’s hand grabbed my wrist, stopping me.

“I wouldn’t leave if I didn’t have to, Kijika. Can I come back and see you when my cycle is done?” Moswen asked me almost shyly.

I leaned down and kissed Moswen. I pushed my tongue into his mouth, tasting myself on his lips and finding it one of the biggest surprising turn-on’s of my life. I’d have been very disappointed if he’d just said good bye and I never saw him again.

“I’d like that very much. I’ll be looking forward to seeing your best effort,” I said as I pulled back from the kiss and tugged my wrist free from Moswen’s hold.

I hurried to dress and couldn’t seem to help myself when I kissed Moswen one last time before rushing out the door to meet my dad in the courtyard. The last image I had of Moswen was of him reclining nude on my bed, smiling in pleasure at being allowed to come back to me. That was a hell of a good mental image to carry with me into battle. Chapter 10

~Moswen~

I basically couldn’t believe the timing I had. It simply wasn’t fair. I’d been patient. I’d kept my hands to myself, mostly. I’d waited until Kijika made a move. Granted, it was worth the wait to finally get into his pants or skirt or whatever, but that wasn’t the point. We’d only just started when his dad interrupted. Then, to hear that he was going to unavailable for two or three weeks and that his unavailable time was going to overlap with my cycle. I’d wanted to put my fist through something. On the bright side, I did at least get to have Kijika’s sweet ass before he had to go. And he did say he’d like to see me again.

Kijika had been adorable in bed. He was so different from how I was used to seeing him. His submissive side was like every wet dream I had all rolled into one man. I knew with him in bed, I could tell him to do anything I wanted and he’d do it because I was his dominant. I was half way to hardness from the mental idea.

Not that I’d do things to him that he didn’t want me to. Or that I’d hurt him just because I could. For me, it was simply the knowledge that I could do those things that worked my kink buttons so hard. As long as he shared his bed with me, he’d get nothing but pleasure from me.

Kijika did seem to have some strange ideas about sex though. I smirked a little as I thought about how shocked he was when I not only let him come in my mouth but swallowed too. He’d been surprised when I tongue fucked him. Gods, but I was going to have so much fun playing with him and undoing all those weird ideas he had about who was allowed to do what during sex.

I stepped from the dream world into my rooms in a Shal-hazal house on Awh’an. I looked around cautiously but everything seemed to be the way I left it. I wouldn’t have put it past Mahira to rig a booby trap to get even with me for the little lab incident. She should have calmed down by now but I knew when she found me, she’d still lay a beating on my ass on principal alone.

I sighed softly.

It would almost be worth cutting the suspense and looking for her myself. Probably would be best in the long run as well since I didn’t want to be injured when my cycle started. Dealing with that was challenging enough when I was at the top of my game. I sighed again and decided the best person to ask

for Mahira’s whereabouts was our sho. She, like ever Awh’anise female, seemed to know exactly were her children were and what trouble they were getting themselves into at any given time.

I left my rooms and jogged through the corridors. I greeted the few Shal-hazal I knew by sight but didn’t stop to talk. A few of the trainees nodded and saluted me and one of the older Shal-hazal tried to flag me down saying he needed to discuss something with me. I fluffed him off, telling him to ask one of the other Wills of the House. I wasn’t shirking my duties as a Will. I was officially on leave and didn’t have to show up for anything but the regular Council meetings once a month. I was starting to get a little twitchy though and it was all because of my active imagination and Mahira.

Mahira had a network of spies that was scary in its complexity. She had contacts in virtually ever sect of Awh’anise society. I knew she had some in the various Shal-hazal houses around not only our home town but in other cities around Awh’an as well. High charisma and a totally harmless, cute as a bug look guaranteed her friends and confidants in the most unlikely places. It was also the perfect disguise for one of the most methodical, deadly soldiers the Awh’anise military ever produced.

Since it was nearing supper time, Mahira might be at our parent’s home. She could, realistically, be off on a mission but I didn’t trust things that far. I could just send a note to my mom to meet me in the Shalhazal house but I knew Mahira could drag my ass out of there just as easily and probably with a higher embarrassment factor, as at home only family would watch my sister kick my ass. I was home and stepping through the door before I was ready, my feet working on autopilot to get me there.

“Sho, I’m home. What’s for supper?” I called.

“Moswen? I wasn’t expecting you. I thought you’d be gone a bit longer,” my mom said as she came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a towel before rubbing her cheek against mine.

“Is Mahira here?” I found myself asking as I returned the greeting.

“Not yet. I’m sure she will be though. What or should I say who have you been up to shay-shon? You smell of sex. Go wash up and tell that lazy brother of yours I said not to leave mud all over the bath again,” she said with a laugh and a little push towards the bath house.

I snickered and hugged my mom before heading for the bath. If my brother Makis was home, there was a good chance Mered was as well. When you saw one, the other was usually within shouting distance. I stepped into the bath just in time to see Mered shove Makis into the deep pool. I grinned and sprinted across the short distance, tackling Mered and sending us both into the pool. Mered came up swinging.

I ducked the punch and dove under water. I grabbed Mered’s ankles and yanked. He sank below the surface of the water. His tail snaked around my arm and held me under. I opened my eyes to see Mered looking at me with laughter in his amber eyes. A hand tangled in my hair and pulled me above the surface. I stared into a face identical to the one I’d just been looking at underwater.

Makis and Mered were the identical male twins of my brood. They were both a few inches shorter than me and probably twenty pounds lighter. They had dark red hair, although Makis now wore his cut short while Mered’s hair brushed his shoulders. They were lucky enough to inherit the amber coloured eyes of our father.

“Hey, baby bro, when’d you get home?” Makis asked as he rubbed his cheek against mine.

“Just now. Have you seen Mahira lately?” I asked as I returned the greeting.

“Yeah. She’s been waiting for your striped ass to show up again. She’s going to pound the shit out of you.”

“She’s not still mad, is she?” I asked as greeted Makis when he surfaced.

“No, but it’s more the principal of the matter now. You know how Mahira is. That was incredibly stupid by the way. You should have stayed and let her break something. I haven’t seen her that mad in years,” said Makis.

I sighed. That probably would’ve been the smartest thing to do. But, if I’d done that, I never would have met Kijika. Even getting tromped now by Mahira was worth meeting Kijika. I smiled to myself as I

thought of how he would react to my family if he ever met them. They’d probably shock the living daylights out of him.

My mom would be all over him like a wet shirt once she found out he was royalty. Ever the merchant, she’d be trying to set up exclusive contracts with the royal house to deal only with her firm. My dad, an engineer, would want to know how his wings worked and probably ask for a demonstration. My sister, Meriwa, would want to know if there were special aerial dances for his people and if he would show her. Makis would want to discuss how Kijika’s species evolved with wings and Mered would probably want Kijika to talk to his students as part of a social study class. Muna would be polite and ask him about what kind of food his people ate and how things were prepared. Mahira would probably drill him for military knowledge.

And that was just my immediate family and didn’t include any aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, halfsiblings or their parents. Meeting everyone at once would probably make Kijika run screaming never mind all the touchy-feeling that would be going on with meeting somebody new. I was startled out of my musings by a face full of water.

“What’s with the silly grin, Moswen?” Mered asked.

“I met someone really fascinating. I’ll tell everybody at supper about him so I don’t tell the story twice.”

“An alien? From where? What’s he look like?” Makis asked with interest.

“I said I’d tell you about him at supper. Oh, Sho said not to leave mud all over the bath again, Makis. She said you’re worse than a two year old, playing in the dirt like you do,” I goaded before pushing away from my brothers.

Makis hollered and dove after me. We all knew our mother would never accuse Makis of such a thing. She was very proud of him and the work he did as an anthropologist. I was just yanking his tail. Mered joined his identical twin in chasing me around the pool. Not a whole lot of cleaning happened but we had fun rough housing until our sister, Meriwa stuck her head into the room and yelled over our noise that supper was ready. She just shook her head when I got out of the pool and saw that I’d had my clothes on when I went in.

“If you idiots are done screwing around, Muna is serving supper now. She made that puff pastry meat thing we all liked last time, so, snooze and you lose.”

Water sloshed over the floor as Makis and Mered hurried to get out of the pool. I struggled to get out of my wet clothes as I watched my brothers towel off quickly. I gave a frustrated growl and ripped my shirt to get it off. Mered snickered and threw his wet towel at me, hitting me in the face. They were already dry and dressing in clean clothes and I had just barely gotten my soaked pants off.

“See you at the table, Moswen. We might save you some if we remember,” Mered said as he grabbed Makis’ hand and took off for the promised food.

I grabbed a dry towel and got most of the water off me. My hair was a lost cause unless I wanted to take more time than I thought I had. I clutched the towel in my fist and ran after my brothers. Nobody would be offended if I showed up to the table nude. It wouldn’t have been the first time somebody did that. I smiled when I though it might even give me a few seconds worth of distraction to grab an extra helping.

*********

“An honest to gods prince? How the hell do you get so lucky?” asked Meriwa as she licked gravy off her fingers.

Just as I started to answer, fingers like iron gripped the back of my neck and pulled me from my seat. Not one of my ever-loving family had seen fit to warn me that I was being snuck up on. I didn’t need to see who had their hand on my neck in a death grip. I knew it was Mahira.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t break your neck, Moswen,” Mahira hissed in my ear.

“Because Sho would get mad and Sha would never finish working on that super secret project for you out of respect for his dead son.”

Mahira threw me against the wall and I grunted with the impact. I looked into pale violet eyes and was relieved to see that there was only annoyance there not real anger. She was going to hurt me but not too badly.

“Children, outside to play. I will not have more dishes or furniture broken in this house,” my mom said with steel in her voice.

“Okay, Sho,” Mahira said as she grabbed my hand and pressed on a pressure point before dragging me unresisting out the door into the backyard.

I heard chairs scrape backwards as my family rose to follow. Like they would give up the chance to watch a fight. We all knew Mahira would kick my ass. It was just a matter of how long it took and how badly she pounded me into the ground. Mahira let go of my hand and shoved me away from her. I ducked and rolled away, narrowly missing the kick to the head. I stood, yanked the towel I was still wearing off and tossed it aside. Mahira smiled at me and I felt my stomach tense up.

It was never good when Mahira smiled like that.

We circled each other slowly. To look at her, you’d never know what she was capable of. At just five foot two and one hundred pounds, her physical form was nothing to alert you to the danger. Pale skin, long black hair and big, pale violet eyes in a very pretty, innocent looking face threw a person even more off guard. She could affect a shy, helpless air that completely suckered you in. You never knew you were in danger until you felt the first twinge and heard the initial pop in your neck that let you know if she moved her fingers just a fraction more, you’d be dead. Mahira was also fast, even for an Awh’anise.

I dodged the first slash of her talons but didn’t notice her tail moving until it wrapped around my waist and she flung me against the wall of the house with it. I managed to jerk my head to the side in time to avoid the follow up fist to the face. Unfortunately, that shifted my body into direct line with the kick to my thigh. I grunted and scrambled away. My family spread out and cheered us on.

I waited for Mahira to move again. This time, I let her fist connect with my face and used her own previous move against her. I wrapped my tail around her waist, yanked her to me and punched her in the ribs. I heard a crack and smiled in satisfaction before throwing her into one of the large trees in the yard. She hit with a solid crash and slid to the ground. She hissed in anger and narrowed her eyes at me. I wasn’t ready for her to still move so fast with broken ribs or for her heel to connect with my knee. I ended up on my ass with a fiery pain radiating out from my knee. She was on me before I could move away and a flick of her hand opened up four, deep parallel wounds across my chest and over one hip.

I bucked her off, rolled and stood, keeping my weight off the knee she’d kicked. I didn’t think it was broken but it was probably a close thing. She’d limited my mobility but I could still fight. I waited for her next charge and extended my talons. I jerked away from the punch aimed at my sternum and caught her down the back with my talons as she moved past me, making her stumble.

I was just starting to turn to face Mahira when stars exploded in front of my eyes and pain radiated out from the side of my head. Everything slowed down and preservation instincts kicked in. I automatically Dream-Stepped away to the first safe place my scrambled brain could think of; my old room in my parent’s house. I thought I might have heard a startled cry before my world went dark.

*********

I woke up to a pounding headache. I was in my old room in my parent’s house. Mahira sat in a chair next to my bed watching me. I caught her worried expression before she replaced it with an annoyed scowl.

“You weren’t supposed to turn that fast, Moswen,” Mahira scolded.

“I’ve been practicing. How long was I out?” I asked as I shifted around and found that things that should have hurt didn’t. I’d been out for a while then.

“A day and a half. I didn’t mean to hit you in the temple, Moswen. That was an accident and I’m sorry.”

“You feel better now, though?” I asked with a lop-sided grin.

An impish smile came and went quickly on Mahira’s face showing a dimple on her cheek. “Yeah.”

“Are we good? You don’t still want to take a poke at me, do you?”

“We’re good, you dumb shit. What the hell were you thinking to Dream-Step like that? You damn near gave Sho a heart attack. You scared all of us half to death. One minute you were there and the next you’d vanished. We had no idea where you went and I knew I hit you wrong.”

“I didn’t mean to Dream-Step, Mahira. I just… I was in danger and knew I had to get away and someplace safe. It was automatic. Kinda neat fail-safe. I’ll have to let the Council know about that and make sure the information gets added to the stuff on Spirit classes.”

Mahira sighed and leaned over to kiss me. “You’re such an idiot. Sometimes I can’t believe we’re even part of the same brood.”

I kissed Mahira back and pulled her down to lay beside me on the bed. Out of the five brothers and sisters in my brood, Mahira was my favourite, ass kicking not withstanding. We were the only nonidentical twins in the brood so we’d naturally stuck together against Makis and Mered and Meriwa and Muna. Mahira snuggled against me, stroking my skin in a comforting gesture. I dozed off and woke when I felt the bed dip as somebody else joined us.

I opened my eyes to find the rest of my brood piling onto the bed. Hands stroked over my skin in comforting gestures as everybody squeezed together around me. I must have really scared the crap out of my family by Dream-Stepping away when I was injured. We hadn’t slept in a tangle since we were kids. The bed was just barely big enough for all of us to fit. I let a contented sigh escape me as I was surrounded by people who loved me and fell back asleep. Chapter 11

~Kijika~

My dad said nothing about walking in and interrupting Moswen and I during sex. He knew I only welcomed male dominates in my bed. He couldn’t exactly deride my choice of partners when, I assumed, because my mother was a dual, he liked cock every now and again himself. Not that I’d ever ask or want to know. He gave me a pointed look when I showed up out of breath and sloppily dressed. I’m guessing he knew Moswen and I had made good use of those ten minutes.

Once at the encampment, I headed for my tent and changed into my uniform. Naemo clothing was far more practical and less revealing than Vylfian clothing. There were no short skirts and little vests adorned with jewels and pretty embroidery. Sturdy pants, knee-high boots, vests that covered a person from throat to hip and arm guards from shoulder to wrist were the norm. Metal plates and studs were the only real decoration on the uniforms. They were form fitting but only so that it was more difficult for an enemy to grab hold of loose cloth.

I removed my sword from the case I kept it in when I wasn’t wearing it. The sword was of standard Naemo design with a four foot long blade serrated along the top edge and razor sharp on the slashing edge. Elaborate scroll work wound down the blade and a large aqua jewel decorated the pommel. The Naemo may not go in for all manner of flashy jewels or clothing but they did love to make their weapons works of deadly beauty. I fastened the sword on my right hip before opening a velvet bag.

I upended the bag, letting a whip slither out to lie on my cot. This weapon was the more deadly of the two I wore. My whip had been mistaken more than once for the skeleton of a deadly eel-like creature native to the far shores of Naemo territory. It was bleached white in colour and measured nearly twenty feet long. Each bone segment of the whip had hooks and spurs attached. The end of the whip had a stinger that could deliver a necrotizing poison. The handle was the upper part of the creature. The skull was the pommel with another large aqua jewel trapped behind a row of double teeth.

I grasped the handle and spoke a soft word in Naemo. The whip twitched to life, the end sliding up to gently touch the back of my hand. It coiled upon itself with the tip flicking back and forth occasionally. I hooked the whip to my left hip, caressing the rough texture of the whip in a soothing gesture that made the tip lie still.

The whip was a family heirloom passed only to those with the gift to raise the dead. The whip, called Arek, was actually an ancestor of mine who’d had the power to raise the dead. He’d allowed his soul to be bound to the jewel in the mouth of the skull whip for a set period of time to aid his family even after his death. Honour and duty were very powerful motivators for the Naemo.

Arek could move on its own for a limited time but it required the touch of a living necromancer to wake it and sustain it. I hadn’t chosen Arek. It had chosen me when it became apparent to my father that I’d inherited a measure of his power. My father carried a similar whip called Falda.

Dressed now in my uniform, I left my tent for my father’s. He was holding a briefing of his commanding officers, of which, I was one. I had a battalion of three hundred under my command, not all of them living men. The guards at the entrance to my father’s tent ignored me as I passed. The dead recognized both a necromancer and me personally. I was the last man to show up. My dad had changed to his uniform before we left King Sakima’s palace. He gave me a brief, hard look as I saluted him and the few superior officers in the tent with us. I was no longer his son, Kijika Par-Delseur or Prince Nas-Drey Kijika.

I was now Des Anate Delseur Kijika, one of his men and a commanding officer. Tardiness was strictly frowned upon. Tardiness because I’d been getting all my sexual circuits tripped was very much a no-no. I offered my apologies and took my place at the table.

“Intelligence reports that there are several companies and battalions spread out along the Vylfian border. They are highly organized but operate independent of each other. While each company and battalion has experienced men leading them, the soldiers themselves are so green it’s a miracle they know which end of the weapon to hold,” Delseur said.

“So, if we cut off the head, the body will die,” I said as I studied the map in the folder.

Delseur nodded, “Unfortunately, the soldiers will protect their commanding officer with their lives. They’re fanatical about it from all reports. Sending in the dead would only cause unnecessary deaths and I’d like to avoid that as much as possible. This is just a border skirmish, not a serious war effort and I don’t want it to turn into one. The commanders of the units also know that with out them, this effort will fall apart.”

“This report states that the exact locations of the commanding officers is difficult to pin down. Why?” asked one of the men.

“There is a small contingent of experienced men around the commanders at all times. They move around the encampments randomly so our efforts to quietly assassinate the leaders have failed,” Delseur said with a frustrated sigh.

“We need to hit them fast and hard. A co-ordinated precision strike,” I said as I looked up from the information I’d just finished reading.

“Yes, but we don’t have enough men trained for that kind of operation. Discounting the dead, which are useless for this type of work, we have fifty thousand men. Of that number there are probably only five thousand that have sufficient training to make a precision strike work. The enemy on the border has almost one hundred thousand men stretched along a fifty mile line. Even if we were sure where the leaders were, there’s no way for us to get our men into position for a strike. All the surrounding cover has been removed from where they’re entrenched. They’d spot us coming a mile away.”

Several of the officers at the table swore softly. The situation was delicate because it was a Naemo army defending Vylfian lands without formalized consent from the ruling Naemo military. This act of Naemo aggression on behalf of the Vylfian was being officially ignored because of family honour and duty. But, if the actions of the Army of the Dead pushed the border skirmish into a genuine war, the Naemo military would either have to formally recall the Army of the Dead and publicly reprimand my father, which would cause one of their top commanders to lose family honour or allow the war to involve the Naemo on the side of the Vylfian’s and lead to political problems.

And people wondered why I was glad I’d never inherit the throne and be spared these kinds of decisions.

Delseur instructed us to try and come up with some viable plans of action before dismissing us. Another meeting was scheduled for the next day provided no more incursions into Vylfian territory occurred. Delseur instructed me to stay as the other officers filed out.

“Sir?” I asked as I stood ram-rod straight in front of my commanding officer.

“I hope you made it clear to your new… friend that civilians are not welcomed on the battlefields or in the camps.”

“Yes, sir. I explained that even though he did have a military ranking of his own, he was considered a visiting dignitary and was still unable to accompany me on the field. He had some commitments on his homeworld and has left. He will return in about five weeks.”

The news that Moswen had left seemed to surprise my dad. Since I’d never found out why Moswen said he needed a sturdy partner for a breeding cycle, I couldn’t exactly enlighten my dad. Not that I thought he’d want to know about it in the first place. My dad wasn’t worried so much about having a civilian in the camp as he was about having Moswen in camp.

Aside from Moswen seeming to attract trouble with very little effort, there was also the extremely open attitude he had about sex. Same sex relationships weren’t exactly frowned upon by the Naemo but neither were they encouraged. Some of my subordinate officers might believe that I only took male lovers but they’d never ask such a rude question and there’d never been any proof to verify or discount who I slept with.

Nobody would have to ask Moswen what his relationship with me was. He’d give it away just from his normal behaviour. Since I’d allowed him to touch me whenever he wanted to, trying to stop him from doing that now would likely be seen as some kind of rejection by me. Gods forbid he was ever asked directly what we shared. I shuddered from the mental image of Moswen telling my men that he was with me because he only got to fuck me once and wanted to do it again.

Delseur dismissed me and I went back to my own tent and called my officers in to give them a brief overview of the meeting. I asked for possible solutions to the problem and told them to report back to me. Once all the men filed out of my tent, I removed the sword and hung it up on a peg. Arek was placed in a basket on the floor so that, if need be, it could move on its own.

I lay back on my cot and couldn’t help the smile on my face as I thought about Moswen and what he had done to me. I was very glad he’d asked if he could come back and visit. I’d enjoyed his company and the pleasure of him in my bed was beyond anything I’d been expecting. I was looking forward to seeing him again and I hoped like hell that the time went quickly.

*********

I snapped a harsh order out in irritation at one of my men. When he glared at me angrily, I spread my wings in an intimidation move that I could see he wanted to copy. He was bigger than me by a few inches and outweighed me by a good forty pounds. He was also a decade older than me and, right now, was resenting the fact that I was his commanding officer and had just shot down what he thought was a good plan.

Age didn’t necessarily equal experience or that what you thought was the right course of action actually was what needed to happen.

“I’m telling you, Des Anate, the only thing we can do at this point is rush the remaining battalion and kill everyone who moves. Intelligence puts the size at six hundred men. With both the living and dead men of our battalion, we could easily overtake them. We may have only half that number, but all our men are seasoned soldiers.”

“And be the ones to start a war? I don’t think so. Ralne Delseur has a very good reason for not making such a move. I am not going to go against the orders of my commander,” I said with finality in my voice.

“Then we’ll be here for several months pissing around and chasing bogus sightings of the commanding officers,” he said in a frustrated tone.

“Then that’s what we’ll do. You are dismissed Desna Powa.”

I got a venomous glare and a sloppy salute before my subordinate spun on his heel and left my tent. I was glad that I hadn’t needed to order some type of discipline. I would do what was necessary to keep order among my men but I understood their growing frustration with our current situation. We were all getting tired of chasing rumours and shadows. An action that was supposed to take a few weeks had dragged on and on. I was now very glad that Moswen had gone back to his homeworld when he did. I would have felt terrible to have kept him waiting for me to return.

“What are we going to do about this, Des Anate? The men are starting to get frustrated and tempers are running short,” said one of my other officers.

“There is nothing for us to do but wait. I have every confidence that there is a way to get to the officers. We just haven’t stumbled on it yet,” I said before dismissing the rest of my men.

I poured over the latest intelligence reports hoping something would jump out at me. Nothing did. They said the exact same thing to me as the first time I’d read them. I sighed and removed my glasses so I could rub the heel of my hands against my eyes. Something had to be done soon. My dad couldn’t afford to let this go on very much longer without it starting to appear like an actual war effort not a simply border skirmish. I put the report away and shed my uniform before crawling between the sheets of my cot. Maybe there’d be a new report in the morning that would have some information we could actually use to end this.

*********

Pieces of erotic dreams floated through my mind as I slowly woke. I’d dreamed of Moswen again. I’d felt pleasures I’d never imagined. I couldn’t remember exactly what I’d done with him in my dreams but I knew I wanted to experience them for real. As more of my brain woke up, I became aware of several things at once.

My cock was erect.

I could hear a contented purring near my ear.

There was the warm weight of another body squeezed into my cot with me.

I opened my eyes, almost hoping I was still dreaming. Moswen was curled next to me, arms and legs thrown over my chest and thighs. His tail twitched with a lazy rhythm against my leg, the puffy tip brushing across the top of my foot.

“Moswen? What are you doing here?” I asked quietly as if afraid someone would hear me.

“I popped into your dreams tracking your very cute physical self down. I thought you’d be back in your rooms at the palace by now. You did say that you’d be done with this in like three weeks. Once I saw you were still on the battle front, I was going to leave since you said I couldn’t be here with you but you’d already started to wake up. I figured a little early morning snuggle and maybe a quick fuck would be nice for both of us.”

As appealing as the idea was, I knew it wasn’t something that I could let happen. On the off chance that one of my men might come into my tent with some important information, I’d rather not have them find me in a very compromising position. For all intents and purposes, Moswen was a civilian and being on the front lines was not some place he was allowed to be. That he was also my lover wouldn’t be looked upon very well either among some of the Naemo men under my command.

“What are you still doing here? Can you tell me? Something not going according to plan?” Moswen asked as he began to glide his hands over my chest lightly.

There was no harm in telling Moswen what was holding me and my men along the small stretch of Vylfian border we currently occupied. I explained the situation about the commanding officers and our inability to pin them down and take them out. I told him of how my dad was confident that without the leaders, the regular soldiers would be left in confusion and unable to act.

“Do you want these officers dead or taken prisoner, do you have pictures and how much longer can you wait to take them out?” Moswen asked in a business like tone as he stopped touching me in an arousing way. I didn’t want him to stop touching me like he was.

“Why?” I asked puzzled.

“You tell me I can’t be here with you. You can’t leave this battle line until the problem is resolved. You haven’t been able to resolve the problem. I can. I’m offering you my skills as a Shal-hazal Spirit, Ki, to end this sooner rather than later.”

“Why?” Now I was completely confused. Why would Moswen want to involve himself in something that had nothing to do with him? Something that could very likely involve injury or even death.

“Because I came back to spend some time with you. I can’t do that if you’re here and I’m not allowed to be; which, by the way, is a dumb rule. I can help, I swear it. I’m very good at what I do.”

“My dad won’t agree to it. You’re not family or Vylfian or one of his men.”

“I’m sleeping with you, aren’t I? That’s almost family, isn’t it?” Moswen asked with a cheeky grin.

“You can’t say that kind of thing among the Naemo. They’re not as accepting about same sex relationships as Vylfian’s. Some men are already a little resentful that I’m only twenty-two yet hold the rank of Des Anate when they’re older than I am. I don’t need to add any fuel to the fire, Moswen.”

“Well that’s just retarded. You can’t change who you’re sexually attracted to. So what if you’d rather suck cock than lick a chick? It doesn’t change the kind of person you are. Gods but shit like this just pisses me off. These Naemo would probably think my entire species was perverted by their standards,” Moswen said with a little disgust in his voice.

I raised my eyebrow at Moswen. I doubted that. While Moswen was very open about his desires, there really couldn’t be an entire species like that… could there? I was almost afraid to ask but now that he’d tossed that tid-bit of information at me, I just had to know.

“Why do you say that, Moswen?”

“The Awh’anise are generally bi-sexual as a species. When I told you before that we did whoever struck our fancy whenever we wanted, I meant from either sex. There are some Awh’anise who will only have sex with either males or females but they’re a minority.”

I stared at Moswen in surprise. That was the last thing I’d expected to hear from him. He was quiet as he lay next to me. He seemed to be thinking about something and I’d come to know him enough in just the short time I’d been around him that I should be worried. Moswen was brilliant but he attracted trouble more than anyone I’d ever met.

“You said the Naemo are driven by honour and duty, right?”

“Yes,” I answered cautiously.

“In the context of Naemo hierarchy, how does a visiting dignitary rank against, oh, say, dear old dad?” Moswen asked slyly.

“Well, my dad does hold a high position but a dignitary would get preferential treatment. Effort would be made to accommodate the dignitary’s needs and wishes.”

Moswen smiled slowly.

“Do you have pictures of the men you need removed? Do you want them dead or taken prisoner? What is the timeline I’d have to work with here?”

The determination in Moswen’s voice was surprising. I was wary but I saw no harm in answering him. What could one person do that hundreds of trained soldiers and military intelligence hadn’t been able to accomplish in nearly a month and a half?

“Intelligence has pictures of the men we’d like eliminated. Prisoner would be a good way to negotiate for cessation of these border hostilities but, at this point, dead probably works just as well too. For actual time, you’d have to ask my dad that and I wouldn’t recommend it. He’ll be pretty mad you’re here.”

“Leave everything to me, demsho. Get dressed and be ready for a grand entrance in about an hour. Trust me on this, Ki. I’m damn good at what I do. That’s not bragging. That’s fact,” Moswen said as he pressed his lips to mine in a toe curling kiss.

I was just starting to really get into the kiss when he simply vanished. A soft protest left my throat before I could stop myself. Moswen was gone and there was nothing I could do to stop him or call him back. I just hoped he didn’t piss my dad off, embarrass me or do something incredibly stupid. I’d learned with Moswen, all three things were not only possible but probable no matter what he’d originally intended to happen. Chapter 12

~Moswen~

It didn’t take me long to pop back to the place I’d been staying at before Kijika had to leave for the border skirmish he was currently stationed at. Being able to Dream-Step was damn handy for travelling little distances like I’d just done. Hell, it was great for almost eliminating the time it took to travel anywhere. Kijika had been good enough to pay up the rent or whatever it was he did that allowed me the use of some very nice rooms in a classy hotel. I’d stopped there first when I came back to visit, expecting to have to fork over something that would get me a room. I couldn’t just assume that I’d be able to stay with Kijika in his rooms at the palace. One time sex didn’t make me an automatic room mate, as much as I might want that. I’d dumped a small bag of stuff in the room earlier before I set out to find Kijika.

I pulled out the formal robes of a Shal-hazal from the bag and gave a little shudder. I swear the damn thing was designed to be as hideous as possible and heavier than any piece of clothing had a right to be. The colour, an iridescent silver/white, wasn’t bad. The fabric was soft and of good quality. It was the several pounds worth of gem stones scattered over the robe that made it utterly gaudy. It looked more like it’d been caught in a craft aisle explosion than something that should be taken seriously as robes of office. Not even the Vylfian’s, with their apparent love of tons of jewels, could appreciate the garish thing. But, if I wanted to pull off what I had planned, I needed to look the part of a Shal-hazal and that meant wearing the tacky robe.

Before putting anything on, I braided my hair and coiled it back on itself until it was a small knot on the back of my head. I liked my hair long but for work, I needed to tie it out of the way. I took the Neksha

from my bag and fastened the chain around my neck. The Neksha was both a symbol of my status as a Shal-hazal as well as a fairly deadly weapon. I wasn’t used to wearing it all the time yet, since only a full Shal-hazal was allowed to wear it on a constant basis. Half the time I forgot to wear it. I thought it was a little much, jewellery wise, considering it was a circular hunk of gold metal the size of my fist. At least it was simple in design and spared the unnecessary decoration of gems.

I dressed in comfortable clothes before shrugging into the god-awful robe. Often, after the official, showy duties were completed, a Shal-hazal would remove the robe; usually gratefully before starting on the actual work to be done. I pulled on the plain gloves that went with the robe before flipping up the deep hood that threw my face into nearly impenetrable shadows. A small grin turned up one corner of my mouth. This was gonna be so much fun. I took a steadying breath and Dream-Stepped back to the battle line Kijika was at.

I appeared in the middle of the camp. Several seconds went by before somebody took notice. Nice crack bunch of soldiers there. How the hell you couldn’t notice somebody over six feet tall dressed like a jeweller’s bag had barfed all over them, I didn’t know. I resisted the urge to snicker and began walking towards the big, fancy tent that likely held the man in charge, namely Kijika’s dad.

“Stop where you are,” demanded a man easily a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier than me.

I ignored him and kept walking. He reached for me and I Dream-Stepped a dozen feet away from him. I heard his startled yell and really had to work to keep from laughing. Gods, but I loved to play this game of keep away. More men were alerted to my presence by the yells of the first man. I started to have fun with my little game of avoidance as I Dream-Stepped away from the hands that tried to grab me. I reluctantly reined myself in after several minutes of harmless fun on my part so I could get on with what I intended. I stopped at the entrance to Delseur’s tent and looked at the guards standing rigidly in front of the doorway. There was something off about them but I wasn’t quite sure what it was.

The men who’d been pursuing me stopped a short distance away and watched to see what was going to happen. Why they thought two lone guards would be able to stop me when over two dozen soldier hadn’t been able to was beyond me. Sure, you usually had really good men guarding the head guy but the confidence of the regular soldiers in these two guards was strange.

The guards were completely motionless and stared blankly ahead. They didn’t show any reaction to the commotion behind me and they only moved to block my path when I attempted to pass them and go into the tent. My eyes widened when I realized what it was that seemed off to me. There was nothing in their eyes. Their bodies moved but nobody was actually home in those bodies. They were likely part of the dead component of the army Kijika had told me about. I didn’t expect the dead to look so… normal. I’d had visions of rotting flesh, torn clothes, empty eye sockets, hideous wounds and all kinds of stuff my fertile imagination could come up with when Kijika first told me about the dead being part of the army. I saw Kijika hurrying towards me, drawn like all the rest of the soldiers by the commotion I was causing. He cut a damn fine figure all decked out in a uniform. I wondered if it’d take much convincing to have him keep the uniform on the next time I got him wanting and willing under me.

“Ralne Tordem Delseur,” I called in a clear voice.

I heard Kijika’s surprised little gasp and my name hissed in an undertone he probably didn’t know I could hear. From the corner of my eye, I saw him stepping next to me. Perfect. My little speech would be all the more effective with Kijika standing next to me. He moved into place beside me just seconds before I heard the rustling of fabric as the tent flap was pulled back and Delseur appeared in the doorway. Delseur scowled at me, not recognizing my voice and unable to see my face in the deep shadows of the hood. He started to raise his hand, ready to signal his men to grab me.

“I am Shal-hazal Spirit Eag’res Moswen, Ambassador of Awh’an. In honour of my friendship with Des Anate Delseur Kijika, I am offering my services to assist you in ending this military difficulty and further strengthen the ties between our people. It would be my deepest honour to work with you and your men to help you end this conflict,” I said in a loud, carrying voice. I hoped I wasn’t laying it on too thick. I didn’t want Delseur thinking I was mocking him or his army’s ability to get the job done.

I saw Delseur’s jaw clench briefly but that was the only outward response to what I’d just said. He looked between Kijika and me but there was no reaction on his face to what he might be thinking or planning. I hoped that his Naemo sense of honour was as strong as Kijika had told me. Otherwise, my ass, and probably Kijika’s, was gonna be in a sling.

“It’s a great surprise to see you again, Shal-hazal Spirit Eag’res Moswen. I’d been told you returned home. Come into my tent and we can discuss this very generous offer you’ve made,” Delseur said with cool politeness in his voice and a pointed look at Kijika.

Kijika stiffened slightly at my side but said nothing. So far, so good.

“I did go home to take care of some personal business but I did expect to return. My first visit among the Vylfian’s was such a rewarding experience that I felt I simply had to come back,” I said with a neutral voice. I was glad of the concealing hood because there was no way I’d have been able to keep the amusement out of my eyes. Rewarding experience was one way to describe finally getting into Kijika’s bed.

Delseur stepped out of the doorway and gestured me inside. Kijika followed. Several other men moved forward as well, likely officers who thought they were going to be included in the discussion. I figured if Delseur got Kijika and me alone in his tent, he’d chew us both a new hole. That wasn’t fair to Kijika since this was totally my idea. I half turned to look at the officers and motioned for them to precede me into the tent. A tic developed in Delseur’s jaw but he stood back to let his officers into the tent with us. He couldn’t tell them to leave when I’d just indicated they were to join us. Once inside the tent with the flaps closed against the curious eyes of the other soldiers, I pushed the hood from my head.

There were a few surprised noises from the half dozen men in the tent with us. None of them had been at the king’s birthday party and there were precious few Naemo living in the Vylfian capitol. This was the first time they were getting a look at an Awh’anise. I removed my gloves and flexed my talons a few times, extending and retracting them purely for effect. I stepped up to Delseur, rested my hands on his shoulders and subtly pulled him towards me. He resisted for half a heart beat before giving a small, irritated sigh only I heard and leaning down. I rubbed my cheek briefly against his in an Awh’anise greeting.

“Greetings, Ralne Tordem Delseur,” I said before stepping back and moving to Kijika.

“Greetings, Des Anate Delseur Kijika,” I said as I pulled his head down.

I rubbed my cheek against Kijika’s and added a quick little flick of my tongue to his earlobe. The cheek rub was a casual greeting. The little tongue flick wasn’t. That was a gesture reserved for a lover. None of the other people in the tent had seen me do it but judging by Kijika’s quietly indrawn breath and the barest hint of pink in his cheeks, he didn’t know that.

“Moswen,” Kijika hissed in annoyance in my ear.

I let a soft little purr for his ears alone sound in my throat. The pink colour in his cheeks deepened as I pulled away. Gods, but he was tasty when he blushed like that. He looked damn fine in a uniform too. I had to wrestle my brain away from the naughty ideas that sprung to life. Now was not the time to be thinking of playing a game of Captured Behind Enemy Lines With The Wickedly Gorgeous Officer. I had a job to do for Kijika.

“If you can provide me with pictures of the people you need to take out of the scene, I can do it. Naturally, I’ll need to know what condition you want these people in. Alive and prisoner is easy. Dead will take more time but the target will be incapacitated until the body dies. You’ll also lose valuable information if you want them dead but it’s your choice,” I said as I looked into Delseur’s eyes.

“What makes you think you can do what we haven’t been able too in weeks?” asked a man even taller than Delseur’s seven foot two.

I waited for Delseur to say something to his officer about speaking for him but Delseur just stood there still as a statue and said nothing. Either he wanted to ask the question himself but his man beat him to it or he didn’t want to look like he had no idea how I’d accomplish what I said I could when it appeared that we already knew one another.

“Because it’s what I do. I’m a Shal-hazal Spirit. I manipulate the dream world to be whatever I want it to be and can transport people through it in the blink of an eye.”

Several men made noises of disbelief at that statement. Interest and scepticism warred in Delseur’s eyes and made me wonder what, if anything, Kijika had told his dad about me. The tall officer snorted in disbelief and folded his arms across his chest. He looked me up and down with a critical eye before dismissing me as not worth his time. That just pissed me off. Sure I was young and I know I looked it, but I was only telling the gods honest truth about what I could do. I could’ve said that I was the Will of a House, but they wouldn’t understand what that was and I didn’t feel like explaining it at the moment.

“May I?” I asked Delseur as I gestured at tall and belligerent. I was gonna fuck him up big time.

Delseur gave the barest nod of his head. I smiled in a rude Awh’anise gesture with plenty of fang showing and was beside the big Naemo before he’d even registered I’d moved. I clamped my hand around his wrist and Dream-Stepped us away to the room I had in the Vylfian city a few hundred miles away. I let go of his wrist and stepped quickly away from him as he dropped to hands and knees and made gagging sounds. He’d insulted me by calling my talents into question so I saw no reason to tell him to close his eyes to keep from puking when I’d Dream-Stepped with him.

“You barf on the floor and you’re gonna be cleaning it up before we go back,” I warned as I stood a little ways away from him.

He shot me a nasty look before swallowing back the bile I knew was in his mouth and pushing himself to his feet. I had to mentally give him points for not puking when I knew that’s what he wanted to do. His eyes darted around the room as he took in the décor. Knowledge hit him hard when he understood that we weren’t in Delseur’s tent anymore. I smirked at him and leaned against the wall. He swayed slightly for a few seconds before getting a hold of himself and moving to the window. He pressed his hands to the glass and stared out.

“Is this real? Not some illusion or vision you’re making me see?” he asked in a shocked voice as he quickly realized where I’d taken him.

“Nope. This is real. I can take you anywhere I want to go as long as I have a good mental image of either a place or a person to work with. I can even take you anywhere in the galaxy using the dreams of others. That’s how I came to be on this planet in the first place. Do you understand now why I asked for pictures of the people you need taken out?”

The man turned away from the window and nodded slowly in understanding. He stared intensely at me before taking a deep breath.

“Could you take me to my parent’s home, just for a few minutes, if you knew what the place looked like?”

“Sure. But, why would I do that? You were pretty snotty back in Delseur’s tent,” I said as I pretended to examine my talons.

The man had the grace to look embarrassed. He held his head high though and met my eyes evenly.

“I’ve never heard of this kind of ability among either the Naemo or the Vylfians. I didn’t want you to make a fool of my commander by promising something and not being able to deliver on that promise.”

“Fair enough. I never make promises I don’t believe I can keep. Why do you wanna go home?”

“My mother was expecting a baby any day when we were first deployed to the border. I’d like to see my parents and the new brother or sister I’ve now got. We’ve been cut off from communication with both Naemo and Vylfian because of the delicate political situation with this skirmish.”

Well, push my buttons. I had to take him for a fast visit now. Family were of utmost importance to the Awh’anise. That he wanted to go home to see a new family member and not for a quick bang with a steady partner bumped him up a little in my estimation.

“Close your eyes and get a really good, detailed image of where you want to be in your head. Keep your eyes closed and you probably won’t want to barf when we get where we’re going,” I said as I rested my hand on his arm.

I'd also like to announce that I am the Guest of Honour at YaoiNorth (a subdivision of AnimeNorth) this year. This is a con that is held in Toronto every year. It runs May 28-30 this year. I will be doing a panel talking about writing fanfic to original fic and about getting published. I plan on doing a reading as well. In addition to that, I'll also be on three other panels at the con. As a bonus, I'll also be bringing my doll, Moswen (and possibly Kijika) with me as well. It's a fun con and I'd love to see people there. Chapter 13

~Kijika~

I wondered what was taking Moswen so long. He’d been gone wherever it was he went for nearly twenty minutes. My father looked at me with a question in his eyes. I shrugged my shoulders. I had no idea where Moswen was, what he was doing or when he’d be back. The other men in the tent with us were also starting to look a little impatient although they had been impressed with Moswen just disappearing into thin air with one of their fellow officers.

There was no warning when Moswen appeared again with the officer he’d taken along for the ride. One moment the space was empty, the next it was occupied. The officer was wearing a broad smile and gave Moswen a lose salute. I frowned as I wondered what Moswen had done to earn a sign of respect so quickly.

“Ralne Tordem Delseur, he can do what he says. This is an unexpected bonus we should use to its fullest. The military applications are staggering. He took me to the Vylfian capitol in less time than it takes to tell you he did it. He then took me to my family’s home in the country in a handful of heartbeats. A trip that would have taken hours to fly was over before I would have reached a decent flying altitude.”

My father pursed his lips as he thought. He wanted this military action over just as quickly as the rest of us. I thought he was hesitating only because he wasn’t sure what Moswen wanted for doing this. People didn’t offer to put themselves in danger without expecting some kind of pay out. He thanked the officer for his input and gave a brisk command for the men to leave but had me remain. Once we were alone in the tent, he pinned Moswen with a hard stare.

“Why are you offering to do this? What are you really after?”

“The truth?” Moswen asked as he moved a little closer to me.

My dad nodded his head. Moswen gave me a heated look before swinging his gaze to my father. From that one look, I knew what he was going to say and I knew it was impossible to stop him, barring stuffing a gag in his mouth, which was fast becoming an attractive option where Moswen was concerned.

“You say I can’t be here, which, I suppose I can live with since it’s your party and all. Kijika can’t leave here until this little brush fire is put out and I do understand that it is his duty to be here. I want Kijika in my bed. I want to fuck him until he’s too tired to move. I also want to talk to him. I want to pick his brain as badly as I want to play with his body.”

I was sure my entire body was experiencing one big blush.

“Moswen,” I said in a low voice as I grabbed his arm.

He looked at me with a wicked little smile, hooked his hand behind my head and pulled me down for an intense kiss. He was forceful and dominant. His lips were firm yet soft. He caught my bottom lip between his fangs and pulled slightly away. I couldn’t help the little moan of pleasure that escaped me. How could he affect me so strongly when he was barely doing anything to me? I was startled from the wonderful sensations Moswen was creating in me by a not so subtle cough. Moswen was just as reluctant as I was to break the kiss.

“I do believe you’ve made your point that you do want Kijika. You’ve also managed to get a ringing endorsement from one of my harder to impress officers. You really believe you can end this, don’t you?”

“You provide me the details of who you need gone and I’ll do it. I’ve got a really strong motivation to do this,” Moswen said as he slid his hand down my chest in a possessive gesture I’m sure wasn’t lost on my father.

My father actually laughed before gesturing for Moswen to sit at the table. He held a folder in his hands that I knew contained the latest intelligence we had on the men we needed eliminated. Before he placed the folder in front of Moswen, his expression became very serious.

“If something goes wrong, we won’t bail your ass out. We’ll deny even knowing who the hell you are,” Delseur warned.

“And this is different from the kind of stuff I regularly do, how? Have a chat with Kijika while I’m gone. I’ve told him a little about my people and it might put your mind to rest to know something of who you’re dealing with. I do have a military rank that I worked damn hard to earn and being a Shal-hazal takes brutally hard mental training,” Moswen said as he waited more patiently for the file than I would have given him credit for.

My father raised an eyebrow but handed over the file. I was a little surprised at the ease he did that until I thought of why. Both my parents were crazy protective of me at the oddest moments. Probably came from being the only child they had despite, I’m sure, efforts for more. Yet, Delseur was barely even fazed at walking in on Moswen and I having sex. I frowned as the thought occurred to me that there might have been more to the fight between Moswen and my dad than I’d initially thought. I wondered if he’d tell me if I asked him.

*********

Moswen insisted on going alone. He said he couldn’t be responsible for other men and needed to be in physical contact with someone to Dream-Step them away. If one of the men lost contact with him while they were trying to get the leader away from his protective guards, that man could end up a prisoner and Moswen didn’t want anything to tip the enemy off to our sudden advantage his abilities gave us. It made sense in a purely tactical vein but I didn’t like sending Moswen in alone with nobody to watch his back. I tried to convince Moswen to let me go with him but he was even more adamant about that than some random men from the army joining him. He said he didn’t want to be watching out for me while he was supposed to be doing a job.

I was just a little pissed off that he thought I couldn’t handle myself and would need to be watched or saved from danger.

Fine, he’d really only seen me in my office behind a desk. I suppose, seeing me in a short skirt with glasses on and a ratty ponytail for over a week wasn’t exactly the image a competent officer would have. I could even concede the point that in the bedroom, I was the least likely to inspire strong commanding officer images.

But I was a good officer and soldier. I hadn’t gotten a free pass into the military because of who my dad was.

I stalked to the training area, my bad mood radiating from me and making any potential sparring partners suddenly find someplace else they needed to be. I glared around and still finding no one willing to step into the grassy area with me, cursed lowly. I unhooked Arek from my hip and gave it a little snap with a flick of my wrist. Seeing Arek out, the few men training with each other quickly backed away to the edges of the field. I ignored them and called up a little power as I raised some partners to spar with.

Raising the dead just so I could beat the snot out of them was a waste of power but I was feeling a little frustrated. I justified it in my mind by using the excuse of Arek not getting a work out recently either. In truth, Arek had no feelings on how much or how little it was used. It existed to serve me. That was its purpose and that was enough for it.

The ground in front of me rippled as if giant worms moved under a thin layer of soil. The dead broke through the surface as if coming up through water. Three men and a woman answered my call. Two of the men were Naemo. The other two dead were Vylfian. They waited for my command to act. A simple gesture had them move to circle me. One of the Naemo men was dressed in a very old uniform and had a sword. The Vylfian woman had a heavy walking stick. The other two dead were unarmed but no less dangerous.

The unarmed Vylfian charged me first. I sent Arek snapping out. It wrapped around the man’s throat and the stinger on the end of the whip plunged into the eye. The dead man didn’t even flinch or make a sound from the injury or the necrotizing poison that pumped into his eye socket. I jerked hard on Arek, pulling the man forward, off balance. A quick, twisting snap made the hooks and spines along Arek’s length dig into the corpse’s throat. A hard wrench on Arek snapped the dead man’s neck and tore the head from his shoulders. The body fell to the ground and began crawling blindly towards me, intent on attacking me as I’d commanded. If I’d been fighting a live person, the decapitation would have been the end of the fight. The animated dead man would keep coming at me until it couldn’t move any more or until I let the power sustaining it go. I let the magic fade and the corpse melted back into the ground.

I let go of Arek and commanded it to stay. It coiled upon itself and would remain motionless until I called it back to me or ordered it to move. The woman with the walking stick swung at me. I ducked and drove

the heel of my boot into her knee. There was a sickening pop as the joint moved in a direction it was never intended to go. She fell silently to hands and knees, dropping her weapon. She was back up and lurching drunkenly at me almost as fast as she’d gone to her knees. The walking stick was back in her hands and I grunted as it made unexpected contact with my hip.

There was no noise or expression on her face as she attacked me. The person she’d been in life was long departed from the remains I’d raised. I hissed as the taloned wing tip of one of the Naemo males ripped a small furrow in my arm. I’d been sloppy in my irritation and let him get behind me without noticing. I dodged the next swing of the stick and heard the satisfying thud of it connecting with the man behind me.

I saw movement from the corner of my eye. I grabbed the woman and whirled her in front of me just before the sword of the uniform wearing Naemo would have sliced my belly open. I shoved the woman at the Naemo, tangling his sword up with the woman before drawing my own sword. Seeing the Naemo with the sword caught temporarily with the woman, I spun around to face the unarmed Naemo behind me.

A short, powerful movement of my sword arm sent the head of the unarmed Naemo spinning from his shoulders. The body took several more steps until I let the power fade from the corpse. The dead man sank into the ground. There was a heavy, plop and when I turned, I saw the woman had been cut raggedly in two. She was pulling her upper half towards me by digging her hands into the earth. Her lower body was trying to follow but the knee I’d broken threw her off balance and crawling without using your hands is very difficult. I let the power fade from her and she flowed back into the earth I’d pulled her from.

The Naemo hefted his sword and moved slowly with me. He’d been a soldier before he died. Some things stayed with a body no matter how long they’d been dead and basic martial skills were one of those things. When he finally moved to attack me, I had to shift to the side faster than I anticipated to block him. We traded blows that made our heavy swords ring and the vibrations travel up my arm.

For a body that hadn’t seen combat in probably several hundred years, the Naemo was surprisingly good. Sweat was dripping from me and I had several small cuts from where I hadn’t been fast enough to avoid a blow. My undead sparring partner was looking a little worse for wear. I’d managed to gouge a few chunks out of him as well as land some nasty slashes. When the opportunity came for me to finish him off, I almost missed it.

He made a sweeping motion with his sword, leaving his underarm exposed as he over extended himself. I drove the heavy blade of my sword into his ribs and through his heart. If he’d been alive, it would have killed him in a matter of seconds. Instead, he remained standing, pinned on my sword and unable to swing his until I yanked my sword free, taking a good sized portion of his chest with my sword. He stumbled before righting himself and facing me again. I stepped back and touched the flat of my blade to my forehead in a gesture of respect before withdrawing my power from him. He collapsed gracefully to the ground where he was swallowed with no trace to show he’d ever been called from the soil.

There was a smattering of applause and I looked up in surprise. I’d forgotten about the men watching me fight. Not a good slip in combat as you should always be aware of the people around you but, considering I was only working out a little frustration, I excused my lapse. I leaned against my sword and wiped the sweat from my face. I waved at the men in acknowledgement of their praise and called Arek to me. I heard a few men gasp as the whip slithered through the short grass in a macabre imitation of a live creature. Arek rose up in front of me, allowing me to grasp the handle and coil it up before hooking it back on my hip. I felt better after my little work out but I was still mildly annoyed with Moswen’s attitude towards me and a little worried that I hadn’t heard from him since he left to start his mission for us.

I left the training field and headed for the bathing tent. I was sticky and sweaty and needed to clean the wounds I’d received before I could heal them. There were a few other men in the bathing tent when I entered but I ignored them. I was only interested in getting cleaned and healed. I stripped off my uniform, frowning when I realized that I’d have to have somebody repair the rips and tears in the fabric.

I stood in front of a large mirror and checked the wounds I’d gotten. None of them were serious enough to warrant going to see a professional healer for. I was grateful for that as the healers tended to talk amongst themselves about the people they healed. Since my mother was the head healer for my father and his living men, I’d catch more hell than I wanted to deal with if she found out I’d been hurt, no matter how minor that hurt actually was. Naturally, there’d be the trickle down effect onto my dad of her chewing me out for senseless fighting. I didn’t want to have to endure a lecture from my mom, my dad and ultimately, my dad as my commanding officer all in one day.

I showered and cleaned the slashes I’d received, wincing only a little at the sting of the soap in them. I let my healing magic flow over me, closing my eyes in pleasure at the soft, relaxing feel. Finished with cleaning and healing, I dried off, snagged a spare robe from a neatly folded stack, gathered up my weapons and damaged uniform and headed back to my tent. I dressed in a clean uniform before going

to my dad’s tent. I wanted to know how things were going with Moswen’s mission to capture the commanding officers.

I also wanted to assure myself that he was okay.

I’d been a little surprised at the professional air Moswen assumed once my dad handed him the folder with the pictures of the commanding officers we hadn’t been able to capture or kill. He studied each picture intently and quickly read all the information we’d managed to gather. He asked pointed questions about the men as well as wanting to know about any information we had on the soldiers guarding them. When he was done with the folders and asking questions, he’d stood, removed the hideous robe he was wearing to reveal form fitting clothes underneath and said he thought he’d need several days to get all the men with the least amount of trouble. He’d offered to do it quicker but said there was a better chance of failure. He left the decision of how to proceed with Delseur.

My dad told him several days to put an end to our border occupation was more than he’d hoped for. Moswen had touched his forehead with his fingertips and gave a little head dip that I assumed was an Awh’anise salute. He’d turned to me and given me the same salute before reaching for me and pulling me into a kiss that promised of things to come once he’d finished his job and got me alone. He’s stepped away from me and was gone in the blink of an eye.

I hadn’t seen or heard from him in four days and I was starting to worry that something had gone wrong.

“Have you heard from Moswen?” I asked as I entered the tent my dad used as his headquarters.

“No. Nothing since he just vanished. Some of the commanders we’d been after have disappeared according to intelligence. One or two of the soldiers guarding some of the officers have stepped into the void and continued to lead the other men. That’s something we didn’t foresee. But, it’s only happened in two divisions so if Moswen can actually pull this off, we may still come out the winner in this,” Delseur said as he handed me the latest intelligence report.

I scanned through the details of the report. The branch that was gathering the information had no knowledge of the deal with Moswen so only reported on the sudden strange disappearance of the officers. A few theories were given but none of them were even close to what was actually happening.

I was just handing the report back to Delseur when Moswen appeared next to me. He swayed slightly before stiffening. There were dark circles under his eyes and his hair had come half undone from the neat braid it’d been in when he left to begin the mission. I absently noticed that his ears were pointed at the top and one of them had a silver metal hoop through the point.

“Mission mostly accomplished,” Moswen said with a tired grin. “I need to know where you want these guys. I’m holding their physical forms in the dream world but I can only do that for a few days and six people is the max I can Dream-Step at a time.”

Delseur moved from behind his desk and motioned Moswen to follow him. I fell into step beside Moswen and thought that a lot of the energy I usually saw in Moswen was gone. I narrowed my eyes at him. He seemed to be running on willpower alone. I wanted to touch him and lend an arm to support him but I wasn’t sure he’d want or take the support I could offer him. We stopped in front one of the few wooden structures in camp. Dead guards stood at the only entrance to the building. Inside, more dead guards stood near the wall. A row of empty cages waited to be filled. The metal used to make the cages made my skin want to crawl off my bones.

Because of the magic using abilities of both the Naemo and Vylfians, trying to hold a person without constantly expending magical power presented a unique challenge. The problem was solved by using an ore mined deep in the mountains and refined by a race of people who had no magic skills but excelled in technology. The Faud kept mostly to themselves but did a lively trade in the ore and technology with the Naemo and Vylfians.

“Can you put them directly into these cages?” Delseur asked.

“I don’t see why not. I’ll have to do it one by one though,” Moswen answered as he approached one of the cages and gripped the bar as if to test its sturdiness.

“It doesn’t bother you to touch that?” I asked Moswen in surprise.

“No. Should it? It’s just metal. A little weird feeling, like there’s a charge running through the bars but not enough to shock me or anything.”

I wanted a pen, paper and an hour to question Moswen about his lack of a reaction to the metal so badly, my fingers nearly itched. I mentally added it to the list of things I wanted to know about Moswen. He was far more fascinating than I ever would have thought upon first meeting him.

“Okay, I’ll start bringing them here. It shouldn’t take long but you might want to have somebody standing by when I pop into reality with them. I’ve got them unresponsive in the dream world but they’ll be pissed and probably pretty feisty when we appear here. As far as they’ll be concerned, no time will have passed between my snatching them and now.”

Delseur nodded and several of the dead moved into ready positions. I unhooked Arek and watched my father do the same with his whip, Falda. He nodded at Moswen and we watched him take a deep breath and simply vanish. Several minutes went by when he suddenly appeared in one of the cages with a large Naemo in a submission hold. He let go of the man and vanished.

The Naemo staggered slightly and a shudder moved through him as he felt the effects of being so close to the metal that blocked all his magic abilities. He stood in the center of the cage and glared at us. Moswen appeared in the next cage with another man, a Vylfian this time. He released the man and disappeared. The Vylfian cursed loudly when he saw he was trapped. He, too, moved to the center of the cage and shot dirty looks at me, my dad and the guards. Moswen repeated the process until six men stood in the cages. He appeared next to me and hooked an arm around my waist.

“Moswen,” I hissed, startled at the sudden, personal contact.

“I’m done like dinner for now. I need real sleep. Bring me to bed and keep me safe, Ki,” Moswen said as his legs gave way and he began to slide down my body.

I grabbed Moswen, just barely managing to keep him from hitting the floor. His eyes closed and his body went limp. My heart jumped into my throat until I heard very soft snoring coming from Moswen. He’d fallen asleep. I was surprised at the strength of relief I felt. I dropped Arek and scooped Moswen into my

arms. He didn’t even twitch in response to my less than gentle handling and simply snuggled closer to me.

“I’ll take him to my tent. He can sleep undisturbed there,” I said to my dad as I gave Arek a silent command to follow me.

“Are you sure you don’t want to put him in a tent of his own, Kijika? You do understand there’ll be talk among the men if you bring him to your tent. I thought you wanted to avoid that kind of thing,” Delseur said as he watched my face.

“Moswen has done a great service for us at, what appears to be, some cost to himself. He asked me to bring him to bed and keep him safe. It wouldn’t matter where I brought him, I’d stay with him until he woke up. If the men talk, they talk.”

Delseur looked a little surprised by that statement but said nothing. He was aware that I’d tried to keep my private life private but rumours persisted about me and who I took to my bed. There was even a betting pool going on whether or not I had a mistress stashed somewhere or if I was more like a Vylfian than a Naemo and had a male lover. Through an anonymous numbered betting system, I’d placed a tidy sum on the male lover idea. I knew my father had done the same thing. The idea that I’d have a nice payout if the rumour was confirmed made me smile. While I didn’t want to reveal my private life to anyone, I was starting to get sick of having to be so careful not to reveal to the men under my command where my preferences fell. The fact that I had no interest in women had no bearing on how well I could command troops.

That I hadn’t minded keeping my predilections to myself before meeting Moswen was interesting and I wondered if his open views were rubbing off on me or if he’d simply been the catalyst for me to want to stop hiding a part of myself. If my men didn’t want to follow my orders because I enjoyed cock, then I would simply transfer them from my unit to another. I left the building with the prisoners Moswen had brought us and headed for my own tent.

Once inside I debated for all of five seconds on whether or not to undress Moswen. I never realized how difficult it was to undress someone when they weren’t helping you. Moswen didn’t even wake up once despite of my rough handling in getting him out of his clothes. I checked him quickly for injuries and breathed a small sigh of relief when the worst I found were a few scrapes and bruises. I sent a gentle

wave of healing over him to take care of those and smiled when Moswen groaned quietly in his sleep. I tucked Moswen into my cot and rose to leave him sleep in peace when his hand shot out snake quick to grab my wrist.

“Stay, Ki,” Moswen said in a sleep heavy voice as he forced his eyes open.

“I’m not going far. Go back to sleep, Moswen,” I said as I tugged on the hold he had on me.

“Sleep with me, Ki. Please,” Moswen begged as he struggled against sleep and tightened his grip on me until it was almost painful.

I tried frowning at him but didn’t have it in me. Truthfully, I wanted to lie next to him and hold him. I liked the way he felt in my arms. I sighed softly in defeat and nudged him to move over.

“Naked. I want you naked too,” Moswen mumbled as his eyes closed.

“Don’t push it, Moswen,” I warned although I would have loved to be naked next to him.

He grumbled about my remaining clothed but didn’t protest, seeming content that he’d managed to get me into bed with him. I pulled him against my chest and dragged the covers over both of us. I knew I was taking a chance that one of my men might come into my tent to get me for something but I was finding I cared less and less about the repercussions of being found in bed with a naked man the more I was around Moswen. I wondered why and promised myself that I’d examine my sudden about face while I held my lover as he slept. Chapter 14

~Moswen~

I woke slowly to the sound of a heart under my ear, the warm weight of an arm across my back and the smell of Kijika in my nose. I smiled as I remembered hanging onto his wrist and demanding that he stay and sleep with me. I’d been surprised when he agreed. I’d expected him to say no and jerk away. I wouldn’t have been able to stop him. Four days of not sleeping pushed the body hard even for a Shalhazal. I probably would have been fine and could have gone for several days longer if it weren’t for the fact that I was holding several people in a pocket I created in the dream world while popping between reality and the dream world. As powerful as I was, that still took a hell of a lot of mental effort.

I tilted my head up to look at Kijika. He appeared to be asleep. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been out but I wouldn’t have been surprised to find that an entire day had passed. I wondered if Kijika had stayed with me the entire time. I shifted slightly to rest my chin on his chest. His arm tightened briefly and his eyes opened to stare into mine. Stars but he had beautiful eyes.

“Hello, gorgeous,” I said with a smile.

“Moswen,” Kijika said softly as he returned the smile.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“A little more than twenty-four hours. Are you okay now? You sort of just passed out in my arms,” Kijika said as he began to rub his hand over my back in soothing circles.

I let my eyes half-close in pleasure. Kijika’s memory was excellent. He’d remembered that I’d told him my people craved touch and that I, in particular, liked to be almost petted. The leading theory among Awh’anise scientists was that Throw-backs like myself were more closely connected to our animal ancestors than the average Awh’anise. A quiet purr started in my throat and my tail tip slowly twitched back and forth. I needed to concentrate not to start flexing my talons into Kijika’s chest because I was enjoying his hands on me so much.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just majorly tired. Thanks for staying with me, Ki. I was able to sleep really heavily because you did,” I said as I wriggled up his body and gave him a fast kiss.

Now that I’d had a good sleep, I felt great. I also had to use the bathroom in the worst way possible. And I had one hell of a morning hard on. The bathroom was my most pressing problem at the moment. Once I’d taken care of that, I could always see if Kijika was interested in helping me take care of my other urgent need.

“You didn’t leave me much choice about staying or going, Moswen. You’re stronger than you look and you had a hold of my wrist and weren’t letting go,” Kijika said as he pushed the hair away from my face and traced one of my ears.

I wanted to wriggle against him from the simple pleasure of his touch. I had it bad if I was getting so excited from him just touching me as he was. I settled for kissing his throat and nipping his jaw line, making him hiss at the sting before I licked the spot.

“Really? Should I apologise for that? You didn’t have to stay if you didn’t want to, Ki. I’d never force you to be with me if you didn’t want to be.”

“No, its fine, Moswen. I enjoyed having you beside me as you slept.”

I smiled, pleased with myself. Kijika seemed to be loosening up some in just the few days I’d been busy Dream-Stepping. I wondered what’d happened to bring about the change. Not that I was complaining but I wanted to know who I had to thank for it.

“I gotta use the bathroom, Ki. Where is it?” I asked as I sat up, shoved the covers off and swung my feet off the edge of the cot. The sooner I used the can, I sooner I could get into his pants.

I stood and stretched, watching Kijika from the corner of my eye. An adorable blush coloured his cheeks as his eyes travelled over my nude body. I noticed that although he was shirtless, he did have some kind of loose pants on. Given time, I was sure I could break him of the completely unnecessary habit of wearing anything to bed. I’d taken two steps towards the chair that had my clothes draped over the back when a snake-like skeleton rose up in front of me. I froze with my hand outstretched. I knew something dangerous when I saw it.

“Ki, there’s a bunch of snake bones in front of me,” I said with a calm I didn’t feel as I held perfectly still. Danger alarms were ringing like mad in my head from the snake thing in front of me.

I heard Kijika get up from the bed and approach me. He placed his hands on my shoulders and kissed my cheek. The skeleton swayed back and forth. The absurd thought that the aqua jewel in its mouth was the exact same shade of Kijika’s eyes zipped through my head.

“That is Arek. It’s one of my weapons,” Kijika said as he gripped my chin, turning my head for a deep kiss that caught me totally off guard.

I tried to divide my attention between the potentially deadly thing in front of me and the brain melting kiss Kijika was delivering. The kiss won hands down. Kijika was damn good when he gave his attention to something.

“Arek won’t hurt you now. It knows you’re with me. It’ll protect you, too, if it sees you’re in danger and I can’t get to you,” Kijika said in a low voice when he broke off the kiss.

“Uh… okay,” I replied slightly confused over the change in Kijika’s attitude that was becoming more and more noticeable.

When I’d first appeared in his bed here among the army, he’d been worried about someone finding us together. He’d said that the Naemo weren’t as accepting about same sex relationships as the Vylfians. Now, he was kissing me in front of a weird weapon of his to show it that I was with him. I didn’t get it. I almost didn’t want to spook Kijika by mentioning the change but, at the same time, I didn’t understand what’d brought about such a radical view shift. The bathroom could wait a few minutes. I wanted answers.

“Ki, did something happen to you while I was working on getting those men?”

“No, nothing. Why?”

“You don’t seem to mind now if somebody sees us together in what’s obviously a sexual situation when before you did. I just wanted to know who I should be offering to blow in thanks for the attitude change.”

Kijika laughed and gave me a little push towards my clothes. The weapon, Arek, had slithered off to a basket once Kijika finished kissing me nearly senseless. He grabbed a sleeveless shirt and pulled it over his head. I watched as he added some metal studded armguards and settled a cap with something embossed on the front on his head. He gave me an amused look when I simply stood there, naked, watching him.

“Ask me later when we have more time and I’ll tell you. Now that you’re awake, I’m sure my father wants to debrief you. Get dressed, Moswen. As good as you look naked, let’s try not to shock the locals too much.”

I pulled clothes on automatically. Kijika had me reeling at the change in his view among the Naemo. I was going to go mental having to wait until we could be alone to question him. I hoped like hell Delseur wasn’t going to want too much detail about how I’d accomplished what I did. Even if he did want the minutiae of it, not much would make sense to anyone except another Shal-hazal Spirit.

We left the tent together and headed for Delseur’s tent. There were a few curious stares but nobody said anything. Granted, we weren’t holding hands or sucking face but I would have expected some kind of reaction going by what little Kijika had told me about the Naemo’s views and the fact that I’d just spent an entire day and night in Kijika’s tent with him. Not that I’d been in any shape to do anything, but that wasn’t the point. We made a brief detour so I could use the can before we entered Delseur’s tent and I prepared myself for the most mind numbing ordeal ever created.

Military debriefing.

*********

I was impressed with the way Delseur ran his army. He’d asked me questions about how I accomplished my mission and told me to keep it simple enough for a six year old to understand. He didn’t ask me to explain how I did the things I did in the dream world. He accepted that it was a special skill and left it

alone. I was more or less ordered to keep my trap shut about what I’d done and dismissed. The entire debriefing had taken under two hours. I’d never had one that short.

As we were walking back to Kijika’s tent, I heard Kijika’s name muttered in a disgusted tone of voice. I stopped and scanned the men moving around the camp. A larger than average Naemo glared at us briefly before turning his eyes away. I heard Kijika’s name again and the word unnatural. I frowned and probably would have ignored it if the guy had kept his big mouth shut and not said anything further. My temper and Awh’anise protective instincts flared to life when he mumbled about the unit being better off if something unfortunate were to happen to Kijika.

Wanting to shock him and get the advantage, I Dream-Stepped the twenty or so feet from Kijika’s side to the Naemo with the big mouth. I flashed some fang at him and assumed an aggressive stance. I couldn’t help the nasty, very unfriendly smile that appeared when he jumped at my suddenly appearing next to him like I had.

“Think what you want about me, but don’t even joke about an ‘accident’ happening to Kijika,” I said in a low voice.

“I didn’t say anything,” he blustered as he narrowed his eyes at me.

“I heard you. You really don’t want to piss me off any more than I am by lying about it. I’m just warning you. If so much as one hair on his head is hurt, I’ll find you and you won’t like what I do to you. The Awh’anise stopped eating our fallen enemies a few hundred years ago but I’m a Throw-back and we still do it if we’re mad enough. You are making me mad enough.”

“Like a little boy could actually take me down,” the Naemo snorted dismissively.

I heard Kijika come up behind me but ignored him. Awh’anise instincts to protect and defend my claim on Kijika roared to full bloom in me. I snarled at the man and snapped out a fist lightening quick. I caught him in the chin and bared my teeth in satisfaction when he stumbled back and fell on his ass. I was straddling his thighs, my fingers around his thick throat, talons breaking the skin before the dust even settled around him. I shoved my face close to his and smiled evilly.

“Let’s take a little trip,” I said as I Dream-Stepped us. I felt Kijika’s hand on my shoulder a fraction of a second to late to stop him from coming with us to the dream world.

Once in the dream world, I gestured and the Naemo that had pissed me off was held immobile because I willed it. I turned to face Kijika only to have him looking around curiously. There was nothing to see as it was simply a pocket I’d created with the intent of beating the hell out of the Naemo.

“Where are we?” Kijika asked.

“A pocket of reality of my own making. You’re not supposed to be here, Kijika.”

“You can do this at will? Can any Shal-hazal Spirit do this or just the ones that can move people?” Kijika asked as he stepped around me and looked curiously at the Naemo I’d trapped.

“Whatever I want in dreams is a reality. All Spirit class can create pockets but I’m the only one who can maintain them when awake since I don’t need to be asleep to move between dreams and reality. But I didn’t want you here for this Kijika. Let me take you back,” I said as I went to touch him.

“You really shouldn’t have hit him, Moswen. I’d already transferred him from my unit. He wasn’t thrilled with the news that I took male lovers so out he went,” Kijika said as he sidestepped me.

I knew I was staring at Kijika in surprise. What the hell happened while I was out capturing the enemy? Chapter 15

~Kijika~

The one time Moswen had taken me through the dream world, I’d had my eyes closed. I was interested in seeing what it was like and was just a little disappointed that the place we were in was so… plain. I

hadn’t meant to tag along with Moswen. I’d only been trying to stop him from doing something stupid; which seemed to be a full time occupation with him.

I’d been startled when Moswen blinked out of existence from my side only to reappear next to one of the men I’d had reassigned from my battalion. I hadn’t spent the entire time Moswen had been asleep with him in bed. I’d spent several hours hugging him close to me, enjoying the feel of him as I thought about how I wanted to continue my professional and personal life. I’d had some personal revelations that I’d set in motion while Moswen slept.

“Moswen, bring us all back to reality. I said I’d explain things to you and now seems like as good a time as any. I can talk while you eat. I’m sure you’re hungry, aren’t you?”

Moswen had a look of consternation on his face and I had to work hard to suppress the urge to laugh. He wanted to teach some kind of lesson to the Naemo; what and why, I had no idea. He also wanted to know why my attitude towards openly preferring male partners suddenly changed. He was cute when he was torn.

“Fine. But only because you want me too. Otherwise, I be having a little surreal fun with that pinhead,” Moswen grumbled.

He took my hand and gestured with his other. The Naemo floated over to him and Moswen clamped a hand over his wrist. The Naemo’s eyes were wide with terror and he was obviously struggling to get free. That he couldn’t when Moswen wasn’t doing anything visible to him only made his terror stronger. Moswen looked at me and I heard his voice in my head tell me to close my eyes. I did what he said and only took a half step to steady myself when I found myself back in the real world. I opened my eyes and turned my head at the sound of retching. The big Naemo was on hands and knees as he threw up a truly impressive amount of food and drink. Moswen was smirking at him.

“And I could have had so much fun screwing with your head for what would have seemed like days to you but was only seconds in reality. I could have stolen your sanity through some very creative means. You owe your intact mind to Kijika. Don’t forget that,” Moswen said before he walked away.

I looked at Moswen in surprise. I wasn’t sure what he’d planned to do to the Naemo but I didn’t doubt his words. Moswen didn’t brag and was a lousy liar. If he said he was going to steal the man’s sanity, he probably would have done it. I was really curious to hear what the man said to piss Moswen off so badly. I wasn’t sure that he’d tell me though. When he wanted to be, Moswen could be silent as the dead and no amount of questioning would get him to answer. He had a stubborn streak miles wide.

Moswen followed me back to my tent. He sat at the table I gestured him to as I had a young soldier get something for Moswen to eat. I sat opposite Moswen. Now that the time to explain my changed attitude was here, I didn’t know where to start. I didn’t want Moswen to think I was doing this for him because I wasn’t. This was completely for me and my own mental peace.

“Just start at the beginning, Ki,” Moswen said softly.

I gave him a startled look. I didn’t realise my floundering around was so obvious. I thought I had a better court face than that. He waited patiently for me to start talking.

“While you were sleeping I thought about my reasons for keeping my sexual orientation such a deep secret from the Naemo men I commanded. There really weren’t any good ones and it wasn’t so much a secret as a wide spread rumour. What was the worst that would happen? A few men would refuse to follow my command. Big fucking deal. I could transfer them out of my battalion. Most of the men I’d had in my battalion had been with me since I assumed command. Some of them knew me as I moved up the ranks.”

“So what happened to make you even think about this?” Moswen interrupted me.

“Well, I guess you were partly to blame for that. You’re just so… open about what you want and who you feel attracted to. Quite frankly, I was envious about the easy acceptance you have of yourself and your desires. It made me realize that I was trying to hide half of who and what I was when I didn’t need to. I’m half Vylfian and same sex partners are nothing very unusual given that we’re a three sexed species. To be honest, most of my men didn’t give a damn when I informed them although a few were disappointed with regards to the betting pool going on.”

“Told you so,” Moswen said smugly.

I was spared answering him when his meal arrived. The young soldier was staring at Moswen while trying to look like he wasn’t. My men knew that I’d taken a man into my tent yet there hadn’t been a good description of what Moswen looked like. Rumours had been flying around among my men over why I would have a strange man in my tent and what I could possibly be doing with him. The talk among my men probably wouldn’t have been so open if I hadn’t made my little announcement a few short hours after taking Moswen to my tent. By deciding to stop hiding my nature I was also looking forward to claiming a tidy bundle on that betting pool.

“Are you really sleeping with Des Anate Kijika and did you really just beat up Hersh for saying something about him?” the young soldier asked in a rush before looking horrified that he’d actually asked such a personal question of a virtual stranger.

Moswen slanted a look at me and waited for my subtle nod before answering.

“Yeah, I have the honour of sharing a bed with Kijika. I didn’t beat up what’s-his-name. Kijika stopped me before it could get interesting. But I won’t stand for threats against Kijika. I protect what’s mine, plain and simple. You might want to spread that around. Kijika is mine,” Moswen said before digging into the food in front of him.

I blinked in surprise at that statement. While it was true that I’d taken Moswen as a lover, I wasn’t sure where the intense, possessive nature came from. Going by what Moswen told me during his first visit, his people were pretty casual about their partners. I did recall the possessive light that’d been in his eyes after that first time we’d had sex. He’d also said something to my dad in his own language that I never got a full translation of.

“Des Anate Kijika doesn’t need protecting. He’s an excellent fighter,” the soldier said loyally as a blush coloured his face at the bald confirmation that Moswen was indeed my lover.

“Haven’t seen him fight so I can’t really say one way or the other. Actually, if Kijika can fight as good as his dad, that could be a hella good time,” Moswen said as he shot me a considering look.

The young soldier goggled at the news that Moswen fought my dad. I didn’t blame him. Ralne Tordem Delseur was a tough opponent and even some of his men who’d been with him for decades were leery of stepping into the training ring with him. I dismissed the soldier and waited for Moswen to finish eating before I started drilling him with questions about the place he’d brought me and one of my former men to. The more I was around Moswen, the more I wanted to know about him.

*********

“Enough, Ki. I can’t explain it any more than I have already. I think you need to be a Shal-hazal to get how the dream world works and how to manipulate it. There’s something different in the way our brains work and process information. Even our REM sleep is different from the average person’s.”

“But,” I started to protest.

“No, demsho. Even if I did a data dump into your head, you still wouldn’t get it. It’s not that you’re not smart enough. Gods, you’re a fucking genius to have understood as much as you have. But, this is just going to have to be one of those things that you know about but don’t understand.”

I gave a sulky look to Moswen. He just smiled at me and rose from his seat. He pulled me from my chair, turned me around and pushed until my butt was pressed against the edge of the table. He moved an arm’s length away from me and stared, licking his lips as his tail swished back and forth.

“Stars, but you look great in a uniform. Positively cock stirring. I gotta do this, Ki. I can’t help myself,” Moswen said as he moved close to me again.

I didn’t even get a word out before he was sinking to his knees in front of me and nuzzling my crotch. I looked down to see him move his hands behind his back and wrap his tail around his wrists. A puzzled little frown wrinkled my brow. What the hell was he up to now?

Moswen rubbed his face against my crotch in an erotic gesture that had blood rushing to my groin. His pleased hum and deep breaths made me tightly grip the edge of the table I leaned against.

“Moswen, what are you doing?” I asked in a voice gone just a little breathy.

“What? You’ve never played prisoner of war when you look so damn fine in uniform?” Moswen asked as he looked up at me through long lashes.

I was at a loss for words. Understanding dawned in Moswen’s eyes. He looked stunned.

“Nobody’s ever played games with you in the bedroom? Oh, Ki, you’ve been done a huge disservice. I can fix that though,” Moswen said with a leer.

“I… what am I supposed to do?”

“Be a commanding officer questioning a very stubborn prisoner. You’ve run out of the traditional things to make me talk aside from torture so you’ve gone to plan ‘B’. I’m on my knees, my hands tied behind me and you’re frustrated and hard. Put my mouth to use,” Moswen instructed in a low voice as he licked his lips and flicked his eyes between my face and my groin.

I blushed at what Moswen was telling me to do. It was a wicked idea but it caused a little thrill to shoot through my body. I nodded at Moswen, agreeing to try this game of his and closed my eyes. I marshalled my thoughts and put myself firmly into the head space I normally occupied when commanding my men. I opened my eyes with a soft exhalation and looked down at Moswen.

Although he knelt at my feet, there was nothing subservient about him. I saw lust in his eyes as well as excitement that I’d agreed to play along with him. I fisted my hand in his hair and tilted his face up to me. A soft growl of pleasure left his throat but he said nothing at the almost rough treatment. In fact, he seemed to like it. I filed away that interesting bit of information to ask him about later.

“Not going to answer my questions, are you? Fine. I have another use for your mouth,” I said as I flicked open the fly of my pants.

I was nervous about how he’d react to what I’d said but none of that showed in my face or tone of voice. I shouldn’t have been worried. The lust in Moswen’s eyes increased and I saw him clench his hands into fists as if trying to restrain himself. He looked up once at me as if encouraging me to continue before his eyes fixed firmly on my cock peeking out of my pants.

I drew my cock out and pressed it against his lips. The pleasure that zipped through me at feeling his soft lips and warm breath against my sensitive skin almost made me gasp. I expected him to open his mouth and take me in since this kinky little game had been his idea to start with. Instead, he kept his lips pressed together even though I could see that’s not what he wanted to do. I gave a little tug on his hair, earning a growl from him. I almost let go and apologised when I felt the barest brush of his tongue against the head of my cock.

Apparently I was supposed to use a little force in this game of his.

I could do that for him. As long as I kept my mind firmly in a military mode, I could continue along with what he wanted. I grabbed hold of his jaw and squeezed until he had to open his mouth. I called silently to Arek as I held Moswen’s face in my hand. I ordered Arek to rise up next to Moswen and felt my mouth twitch into a smile when he caught the movement and realized what was next to him.

“You will suck my cock and not try to bite me or I’ll let Arek dig chunks of flesh out of you. Do we understand each other?”

Moswen moaned softly and moved his head in a ‘yes’ motion fractionally in the tight grip I had on him. I was surprised to see the need in his eyes climb. Even more startling, my own arousal rose higher, almost feeding off his. I pressed my cock to his partly open mouth and had to bite back a groan at how good it felt when his lips closed around my erection.

I let go of Moswen’s jaw but kept my hand tangled in his hair as he started to suck on my cock. I was starting to breathe faster in pleasure. Moswen was very good at giving head. I watched him as he bobbed his head, finding the sight of my cock slipping in and out of his mouth incredibly erotic. The noises of delight he was making only served to arouse me more. When he pulled back so that only the

head was in his mouth, I almost protested until he teased the slit with his tongue, pushing the tip in and wiggling it back and forth.

I groaned and tightened my grip in his hair. That seemed to spur Moswen on. He slid his mouth down my cock even further than he had before, gagging a little as he tried to take too much in. As good as it felt to be so deeply in his mouth, I pulled him a little off my cock. I wasn’t about to actually force Moswen to do anything he didn’t want to.

I made an inarticulate noise in my throat when Moswen began to purr as he sucked me. My hips moved automatically, pushing more of my cock into Moswen. His purr faltered for a second and he jerked his head back slightly before resuming the purring and utterly delightful vibrations it caused on my cock. I moaned softly as I felt my nipples tighten into hard points and my balls pull tight to my body.

“Coming, Moswen,” I panted as I tried to pull him from my cock.

He growled at me and took as much of me into his mouth as he could. My head fell back and my wings half opened as I orgasmed. I groaned as Moswen sucked on me, letting my seed fill his mouth. I unclenched my fist from his hair and braced my hands on the table as I tried to catch my breath. My whole body tingled with the pleasure of the release Moswen had given me. A little protest left me when Moswen’s mouth left my spent cock.

I was caught completely unaware when Moswen gripped my shoulder and yanked me around.

I uttered a startled cry as he shoved me hard between my wings, pushing my chest flat to the table. With one hand, he hooked one of my wings near the base and held it in a position that guaranteed I wouldn’t be moving. He pressed his groin against my ass and I felt his erection nestle against my cheeks. A thrill shot through my body at the dominating move.

“Tell your toy to back off or I snap this pretty wing of yours, soldier boy,” Moswen growled.

The hash words were completely opposite to the gentle stroking of his thumb against the downy hair at the join of my wing to my back. I realized then that Moswen was using a hold to immobilize me, not cause me pain. He was being very careful not to hurt me when it would have been very easy for him to do so. I wondered when he’d learned the wing hold as I silently ordered Arek back to its basket.

“Payback’s a bitch, ain’t it, commander,” Moswen said in a low voice as he jerked my pants down to my knees before stepping on the crotch to push them to my feet.

I was effectively hobbled by Moswen stepping on my pants around my ankles and the hold he had on my wing. I was bent over a table with my now bare ass exposed. Nerves and excitement made my belly flutter. I watched as Moswen used his tail to curl around a small bowl of butter and bring it close to him. I jerked against Moswen’s hold when I felt a butter slicked finger circle my hole. I relaxed my body even as I felt anticipation build in me. Moswen was playing a rough power game with me but he was being very careful to cause me no pain.

I gasped and squirmed when Moswen pushed a finger inside me. He started to stroke me slowly, just missing my sweet spot every time. It took me an embarrassing number of minutes of futile hip wriggling to realize his missing that one spot every time he pushed his finger inside me was deliberate. I made a small noise of frustration and was rewarded with two fingers now stroking my insides yet still just barely skimming over what I wanted him to touch.

I was getting an erection again yet the position Moswen had me in didn’t give me any friction. My hips were pressed against the edge of the table, my half-erect cock swinging free. Moswen pressed his thumb against the skin just behind my balls and a little moan of pleasure left my throat. Another finger joined the two already working my ass and my breath hitched in delight in my throat. Moswen pushed his fingers into me as far as he could and gave my prostate a firm stroke.

I yelled in startled gratification before I could stop the sound from leaving my throat. I heard Moswen chuckle before he did it again. I bit my lip but a noise of deep satisfaction still sounded from me. My cock was fully erect again and nearly aching to be touched. I hissed then groaned when Moswen nipped the skin between my wings before licking the slight sting. Something that was a wordless plea for more and a sign of enjoyment escaped me and made me twist under Moswen when he licked the membrane of the wing he held immobile.

Moswen pushed his fingers firmly into me and pressed hard on my sweet spot. I gasped and whimpered when those teasing fingers were quickly withdrawn. I actually shrieked and shuddered with relief when he slid his cock into my well prepared hole in one smooth thrust. My eyes widened in disbelief as I felt my orgasm roll through me, catching me completely by surprise. I panted harshly as Moswen held himself still inside me.

He let go of my wing and braced his hands on either side of my body before beginning to thrust powerfully into me. Soft whimpers of pleasure were forced from me between panting breaths. I felt Moswen’s fangs nip the skin of my back again and a low growl trickle past his lips as he jerked his hips tight to my ass. An eerie howl sounded from him and I heard wood give way as he dug furrows into the top of the table from the strength of his orgasm. He held himself rigid for several seconds as his cock spurted in my ass before pressing his chest to my back and panting heavily.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I, Ki?” Moswen asked softly as he stroked a hand lightly along the edge of a wing.

“No, you didn’t. You were very careful. Where did you learn that wing hold?” I asked as I shifted under Moswen.

“When I was busy getting the prisoners, I did a little detour and checked out some of the fighting moves. Thought it might come in handy.”

He seemed to take my movement as a sign that he was supposed to move off me when I was actually quite content with him where he was. I managed not to protest as he slipped free of my body. He knelt behind me and worked my pants free of my boots before letting me up from my bent over position. He turned me to face him and drew my head down for a warm kiss. When he released me, he looked at me seriously before speaking.

“Did you enjoy playing with me, Ki? Be honest. If you didn’t, we won’t do it again. You only get pleasure when you’re in bed with me.”

I blushed but nodded my head.

“I liked when you pushed me down on the table better than trying to dominate you. I really enjoyed feeling you take control of me like that. But having you on your knees and sucking me off like I was making you do it was… thrilling,” I said as I cupped Moswen’s cheek.

“Stars, demsho. Are you trying to arouse me again? ‘Cause words like that will push my buttons and the next thing you know, we’ll be grunting and panting against each other and I’ll have my cock stuffed up your ass trying to give you enough pleasure to make you scream again.”

I knew I was blushing like mad. I could feel the heat of it in my cheeks. I wasn’t sure if it was the words Moswen used, the mental image those words caused or the reminder that I had pretty much screamed when I came the second time. I’d never had a lover make me scream with pleasure until Moswen. He noticed my blush and pulled me in for another quick kiss before letting me go.

“Let’s get cleaned up and go to bed, Ki. I want to snuggle up to you and feel your skin against mine. I do get to sleep with you, don’t I?” Moswen asked as his brow furrowed as the thought that he might not be welcome to share my bed to actually sleep in it occurred to him.

I laughed. I liked being with Moswen for more than just the fantastic sex. I’d liked him and his mind before we’d fucked. That he was a considerate lover and exactly the type of man I favoured in bed was simply a bonus as far as I was concerned.

“Yes, you get to sleep with me, Moswen. I think I’d like that, too. The snuggling part, I mean. You know, I’ve never really done that with another lover. Either I left their bed and went back to my own or they left mine in an attempt to be discrete almost as soon as we finished having sex.”

“I’m not so good with the discrete thing. And if you’ve never had a lover hold you or snuggle next to you, regardless of whether or not you just had sex… you’ve been really missing out on one of life’s simpler pleasures, Ki. I’m gonna help you fix that and you’ll wonder how you could have gone without it all this time,” Moswen said as he shucked the clothes he was wearing and helped me out of my shirt.

I had to work at holding back a snicker. I didn’t doubt Moswen wasn’t very discrete. He had too much of a zest of life and seemed to take such joy in everything he did. I think Moswen was rubbing off on me.

I’d found it very comforting to have Moswen sleep in my arms. I was also looking forward to feeling his skin against mine.

I got into bed first, arranging myself comfortably. Moswen joined me as soon as I stopped moving, dragging the covers up over us. He curled up in my arms; legs tangled with mine, tail somehow wrapped loosely around my calf, long hair spreading over my chest and belly. I rubbed a hand over his back and smiled when a contented purr started to come from him. Deciding to stop fighting to hide my nature was probably one of the most freeing things I’d ever done and I had Moswen to thank for giving me a subtle push. Chapter 16

~Moswen~

The change in Kijika was startling but I thought it was something that had been overdue. A person would slowly die on the inside if they constantly had to hide who they were. He wasn’t suddenly sweeping me into a dip kiss in front of his men or anything. But, he seemed more relaxed around the Naemo than the little bit of him that I’d seen before I started on my mission.

I didn’t quite understand why the men I’d gone to get were both Naemo and Vylfian. Delseur said something about a disowned member of the Vylfian court that felt they were owed land or titles or some crap like that. Why the skirmish started, wasn’t really my business. I just wanted to end this conflict so I could have Kijika all to myself, selfish prick that I was.

The kinky little game we’d played while he’d been dressed in his uniform had been mountains of fun and I never would have thought of it if I hadn’t seen him all decked out in his combat clothes. I still couldn’t get over the fact that Kijika had never played any bedroom games. Or the fact that none of the lovers he’d had before ever bothered to just hold him and run their hands over his skin. Gods, but cuddling up with your lover was almost as good as the actual sex.

Kijika was great to snuggle with.

At least, I thought so. Probably because he had a good nine inches in height on me and my entire body could be in contact with his. He let me drape myself over him and he’d automatically start petting my skin when I did that. My brain went on a warm, fuzzy holiday when he petted me. It felt so good to lie on top of him and listen to his heart beat under my ear as he stroked my back or arms or whatever part of me he could reach. He didn’t seem to mind me stretched out on him and he even said he found the sound of my purring soothing.

I was a little embarrassed at first when I started purring from his touch. The sound was completely involuntary. I did it because I liked it when Kijika touched me even if it wasn’t sexual in nature. I could have stopped the purring but I would have had to concentrate fairly hard on not doing it. Actually, when I thought about it, Kijika didn’t seem to mind a lot of the things that I did that even some Awh’anise got annoyed with me over.

He didn’t say shit when I purred even if he was doing nothing more than sitting and reading with me. He didn’t seem to mind my sometimes almost obsessive need to touch him or my nearly constant desire to be touched by him. I knew my reaction wouldn’t have been so extreme if I wasn’t sleeping with him and found so much pleasure with him both in and out of bed. He only raised an eyebrow at the possessive attitude I had towards him, although I knew he wanted to ask me about it. I was going to sound like a total idiot when I tried to explain myself. I was waiting for him to ask me about my behaviour since it was different from what I’d told him about Awh’anise in general. I wasn’t looking forward to that conversation.

As I walked back towards Kijika’s tent, I noted that the army was finally starting to pack it in. It’d taken another week of chasing down the last few soldiers loyal to the disowned royal before the annexation attempt was put down. I hadn’t known it at the time, but one of the Vylfian’s I’d bagged had been the guy behind the whole thing. Apparently, King Sakima was very pleased with the guy being captured alive and wanted to reward me for my efforts. I hadn’t done it for any royal reward or proclamation or medal or whatever the king wanted to give me.

I’d just wanted to get into Kijika’s pants again.

Delseur laughed when I said that during a meal with him and Kijika’s mom. Olanthe, on the other hand, was less than amused. Not about my discussing getting her pride and joy between the sheets and rocking his world. No, she’d given me a frosty look as if I couldn’t possibly understand what an honour was being showered on me by her father, King Sakima. Granted, the ice princess look completely melted

when I’d said that just having Kijika to myself was more reward than I deserved. I was very proud of myself for not smirking at the obvious maternal pride Olanthe had in Kijika.

I was slightly relieved to find out that Delseur and Olanthe wouldn’t be staying at the palace after the little ceremony King Sakima was planning. They were going to be heading to their home on Naemo lands. Delseur seemed cool with me being with Kijika. Olanthe thought her baby boy could do better. I wasn’t offended by her attitude. I was an alien from another world and not royalty, while Kijika was. While I was a person of high status among the Awh’anise, my title meant dick-squat to her, a princess of the world I was currently visiting and I cold totally understand that.

I entered Kijika’s tent to find him bent over, putting something away in a trunk. I stopped to stare at the absolutely fine ass it was now my pleasure to be ploughing on a regular basis. Kijika glanced over his shoulder at me and smiled before turning back to what he was doing.

“Moswen, you said I could ask you anything I wanted and you’d do your best to answer me. Does that still stand?” he asked with his back to me.

A little burst of nerves made me draw in a sharp breath. He was going to ask me about my weird behaviour. I could feel it. Damn. These conversations never went well for me. I almost always came off sounding like I had mental issues and should be under a doctor’s care. That he’d waited as long as he did… I was impressed. Gods knows I’d have never been able to wait as long as he did before the curiosity would have driven me insane.

“Yeah. Knock yourself out, Ki,” I said as I ran several versions of how to explain myself through my head.

“You told me that sex is a pretty casual thing among the Awh’anise. Why then, do you act so possessive towards me? I’m not complaining, understand. I’d simply like to know why.”

Looks like my time to sound like a nut job was here. I gestured for Kijika to take a seat and was all kinds of pleased when he chose the more intimate location of the bed and waited for me to join him. As tempting as sitting next to him would have been, I sat opposite him so I could watch his face. He’d asked for an explanation and I’d give him one.

“You know how I said I was a Throw-back among my people?” I asked. At his nod, I continued.

“Well, the same genetic twist that gives me the nifty pattern on my skin does weird things with my head and how I perceive people as well. Our scientists believe that those of us who are Throw-backs are more closely connected with our animal ancestors. This makes us more territorial and family or group orientated and in the case of sexual partners, more possessive. It doesn’t mean I’m going to try and take over your life,” I hastened to explain before he got the wrong idea.

“It just means that because I’m involved with you for more than a fast screw or to scratch the breeding cycle itch, some part of my brain sees you as mine. I’m not asking for you to commit yourself to me or anything. I’d like it very much if I was your only lover but part of that is my genetic twist talking and the need to fight off any rivals for your amazing ass.”

Kijika blushed at the compliment but remained silent as if he knew I had more to tell him. He was a smart cookie and I adored the fact that there was a beautiful, sharp mind inside the delicious package in front of me. I was beginning to think that if I hung around him long enough, I could get seriously attached to him.

“My genetic twist is why I’ll jump to defend you without a thought of my own safety. It’s why I purr when I’m near you and am happy and content. It’s even part of the reason I touch you so much. I want my scent on you to warn off other possible partners. I know that sounds incredibly dumb or like a cheesy pick up line and like I’m making this crap up, but I swear I’m not.”

Kijika stared at me for several minutes. I almost wanted to squirm from the intensity of his look. I’d had to explain myself a few times to fellow Awh’anise when they complained of my touchy-feely nature and even they’d had a bit of difficulty understanding what drove me to be even more touch addicted than the typical Awh’anise. The only ones who really understood and let me be me was my family, something I was very, very grateful for.

“So, because you like being with me and you’re sleeping with me on a regular basis, you react to me like I’m… part of your pack or family or something?”

I wanted to kiss Kijika for understanding so easily what was I was trying to explain. Nobody had gotten the concept this fast before except for my brother Tyhlian, but he was a special case all on his own. I somehow restrained myself from jumping Kijika in gratitude and nodded, relief plain on my face that he hadn’t taken what I’d said the wrong way.

It’d happened before, and rejection from someone I saw as mine in the animal part of my brain hurt a hell of a lot. This possessive leaning of mine was why most of my sexual relationships never lasted more than a few days or quick screws. I was actually a little surprised with myself and the desire to be with Kijika. The thought of only enjoying him for a few lusty times between the sheets never even occurred to me after that first week I’d spent just being with him.

“If we hadn’t started sleeping together, would you still be reacting like this?” Kijika asked curiously.

I frowned as I thought about it. I really did enjoy Kijika’s brains as much as I enjoyed his body. Even when he touched me in a non-sexual way, I liked it. I’d probably be kinda hard pressed to say what I liked more. There was something about Kijika that drew me to him. Not like the calling of a Lor’fei that would draw a Shal-hazal to their other half. There was no driving compulsion for me to be with him like there would be if he was my Lor’fei, and for that little mercy, I was grateful. A Throw-back Shal-hazal under the influence of the Lor’fei was the way to insanity. Kijika was simply fascinating to me.

“I think I would. I really like spending time with you in and out of bed. I like you for more than just your fantastic ass and all the dominating buttons of mine that you push. Debating stuff with you is energizing. Sitting quietly and reading is relaxing. Curling up on you and just being myself and you not minding that is fucking fantastic.”

Kijika blushed with pleasure. He looked so damn cute when he did that. I couldn’t help myself. I leaned forward and kissed him. He returned my kiss with enthusiasm and before long, we were both breathing hard. I gave him a push that had him semi-reclining on the bed and attacked the fly of his pants, spreading the edges apart to look at him.

He was a gorgeous man. I thought he was beautiful all over, a comment that never failed to make him blush. I stroked my fingers over his cock, grinning when my light touch made it twitch to life. The desire to feel him inside me stirred in my head again. I knew he preferred to have me do him but I didn’t think

he’d object to doing me just once if I asked real nice and promised I’d ride him hard, as he liked it, the next time.

I snickered at the thought of the surprise he’d get when I did manage to talk him into fucking me. There were still a few things about Awh’anise physiology that I hadn’t shared with him. Among them, the fact that anal sex with an Awh’anise was intensely pleasurable due to several rings of muscles in our ass that produced a rippling, squeezing sensation on the cock penetrating us. A little laugh did escape me when I thought that he was gonna love discovering that.

I stroked a hand over his taut belly, following with kisses and licks that I knew drove him crazy, making him wriggle and eventually plead with me for more. I worked my way to his groin, rubbing my cheek against his now erect cock. The skin was as soft as a baby’s and I hummed my approval. I’d initially asked Kijika if he shaved the hair around his dick. When he told me that the only hair on his body was on his head, I’d had to check for myself.

Kijika had laughed as I’d proceeded to lick his entire body as I told him I’d wanted to do. He’d been telling me the truth. There’d been no hair anywhere on him except for on his head and the downy fuzz at the join of wing and body. I’d also discovered that I could make him shake and beg if I licked the underside of his wings where they joined his body.

Not any more sensitive than any other part of him, my ass.

As I nuzzled and licked his cock, my eyes were drawn to a thin, dark ridge of skin just above his pubic bone. It was only about three inches long and I’d noticed it before but, at the time, I was more interested in pleasuring Kijika than asking about old injuries. It looked like a scar, possibly a knife wound, and I wondered how it’d happened. I traced spit-slick fingers over it lightly and was surprised when Kijika sucked in a sharp breath and made a choking noise. I looked up to find his eyes almost glowing with lust, the slightly darker aqua colour in the center of his eyes almost eclipsing the lighter colour.

Ah, he liked that, did he? An Awh’anise always aimed to please their lovers.

I looked down at the scar and smiled wickedly before licking and nibbling it gently. I wasn’t expecting Kijika’s hand to fist tightly in my hair and pull me quickly away from it. His eyes were wild and there was now a fine sheen of sweat on his skin. He was breathing hard and his entire body was suddenly tense.

“Moswen, don’t,” Kijika said in a strained voice.

I didn’t know what I’d done, but I’d obviously done something very wrong. I abandoned my teasing licks and touches and pulled Kijika into my arms. I stroked his hair and murmured words of comfort in Awh’anise to him. He remained tense for a few minutes before relaxing against me and wrapping his arms around me. Now, I was upset over whatever I’d done to make Kijika react like that.

“I’m sorry, Ki. I won’t do that again. I swear it. I didn’t know I’d upset you by touching the scar. The Awh’anise see scars as signs of bravery, not something to be ashamed of or something that’s ugly,” I said softly into his hair as I kissed his temple.

Kijika just nodded his head as his breathing evened out. We stayed wrapped in each others arms for a long time. When Kijika finally pushed away from me to get up, there was wariness in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. I felt a sharp pain in my chest when I realized I was the cause of that wariness. He said he needed to go talk with his mom before leaving for the palace and left the tent quickly.

I sat on the bed and wracked my brains to try and figure out just what the hell I’d done to upset Kijika so badly. I’d apologised right away but he’d seemed shaken and hadn’t said he forgave me. Did that mean he didn’t forgive me? Had I breached some weird sexual taboo he wasn’t willing to step past? Had it hurt instead of felt good, like I’d assumed his first reaction meant? I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to touch him there. I felt awful for making him uncomfortable in bed with me. I’d make it up to him though. Somehow. I just wasn’t sure how. Chapter 17

~Kijika~

I paced at the edge of the camp.

I hadn’t gone to see my mom. I really didn’t want to be discussing this new development with her. She’d either be very happy for me or Moswen was going to have to leave before she tried to kill him. I wondered if Moswen’s talent in attracting trouble was contagious. The situation was still under control though. Just because I’d felt something when Moswen licked my ridge didn’t mean I’d have to act on it. I was an adult. I was in control of what I did.

I punched a tree in a mixture of anger, frustration and utter disbelief. It made me feel marginally better and a little less shell shocked so I did it again. My dad found me standing in front of the tree, my knuckles bleeding, my wings half spread and a very large portion of said tree pulverized.

“At least you didn’t raise the dead simply to beat the hell out of them this time,” said my dad as he stood next to me. “Something you need to talk about, Kijika?”

As well intentioned as my dad was, I wasn’t about to talk to him about this either. I wasn’t going to tell anybody about it.

“No. I just felt a little frustrated about something. I’m fine now. I’ll meet you and mom back at the palace.”

“Did you have a fight with Moswen?”

“No, why?” I asked as I examined my bloodied and bruised knuckles before spreading a little healing magic over them.

“He stuck his head in my tent and asked me to tell you he had some stuff to do and he’d met you at the palace. Are you sure you didn’t have a fight? He looked a little upset and then I get one of your men telling me you’re out here beating the hell out of a tree.”

Moswen was gone? He was upset? I stared in surprise at my dad until I thought about how that whole little incident probably looked to Moswen. I cursed softly and wanted to punch the tree again. He’d even apologised to me but I’d been too rattled at the time to say anything.

“I have to go find him. He might think I’m mad at him or something. I’ll see you and mom later tonight,” I said as I spread my wings and leapt for the sky.

It would take me a couple of hours to fly back to the capitol but it wasn’t like I had much choice. I wasn’t exactly sure where Moswen would have gone or if I’d even find him but I was assuming that he wouldn’t just leave without saying goodbye.

At least I hoped he wouldn’t.

*********

I’d looked everywhere I could think of for Moswen. People in the palace had seen him but had no idea where he’d gone. He wasn’t in the room I’d kept for him at the hotel. Checking in all the local shops seemed like a waste of time considering that he’d been in the capitol hours longer than I had. I could have sent some guards out to look for him but I didn’t want people getting the idea that he’d done something wrong.

I sighed heavily as I dressed.

I was wearing my Naemo uniform since the reason for the award ceremony was for something that happened while I was fulfilling my duties as part of the Army of the Dead. My dad had decided that for the sake of military formality, Moswen was a special attaché under my command. King Sakima didn’t care one way or another. The troublesome disowned royal had been captured alive, the border skirmish put down with surprisingly few casualties and he got to throw a party again. It was a win/win situation for the party loving Vylfian.

I was announced with all manner of pomp and circumstance. I made my way to the throne and gave King Sakima the short bow of one royal to another and took up my position next to my dad along the runner leading up to the throne. Several more people joined the line along the carpet before Moswen’s name was announced. I let a small sigh of relief escape me when I saw him enter.

He was wearing that hideous robe again and nothing of him was visible. As I watched him approach, he seemed to be gliding along the floor. He stopped in front of king Sakima and gave a noble style bow, straightening only when Sakima indicated. He pushed the hood from his head and I was struck again by how handsome he was. His hair was once again pulled back from his face and braided. This time, the braid was loose and slithered out of the hood to hang almost to his waist. I caught the glint of metal again in the tip of his left ear.

King Sakima launched into a long, flowery speech about how Moswen had done a great service for the Vylfian’s because of his friendship with me and saved countless lives through his help with the troubling matter on the border. Through it all, Moswen remained standing still and never fidgeted once. After half an hour, Sakima finally wound down and presented Moswen with a medal and a large aqua jewel hung on a chain with tiny rainbow coloured stones dripping from it. Sakima pinned the medal on Moswen’s robe before picking up the chain with the jewel. Moswen bent his head and Sakima draped the chain over Moswen’s head. I saw Moswen’s puzzled look when it didn’t slip down to his neck but sat on his head instead with the jewel resting on his forehead.

There was a quiet murmur among the crowd in the throne room and I frowned at my grandfather. The wily old man had effectively curtailed any of the nobles who may have still had an interest in Moswen from trying to get him in a compromising position by placing the jewelled chain on his head. I’m certain Moswen didn’t realize he’d been marked as a royal concubine. Sakima winked at me before announcing that it was time to feast and dancing would take place later. He helped Queen Numa to rise from her throne and led the way to the dining hall.

Moswen was seated next to me at the table but because there were so many people around, I couldn’t really talk to him and accept the apology he’d made earlier. During the course of the meal, a steady stream of nobles passed by the table to have a few words with Moswen and, more likely get a better look at him. They often glanced at the jewel on Moswen’s head, slid their gazes to me and then politely excused themselves and moved away.

“Alright, what the hell is with the jewel thing the king gave me? He said it was a personal thank you gift when he mentioned it before the ceremony,” Moswen whispered to me.

“It tells the nobles of the court that you’re off limits. You’ve been given the status of concubine,” I whispered back.

Moswen turned fully in his seat to stare at me with his mouth open. The complete shock on his face was priceless. He glanced over his shoulder at King Sakima before looking back at me with consternation and a little panic.

“King Sakima is a very beautiful man and I’d love to see someone naked who’s a dual but I don’t want to be his concubine. I’m not attracted to him. I’m attracted to you. You’re the one I want to fuck until you can’t walk,” Moswen said just as a lull in the conversations around the room occurred.

I sighed softly. I was blushing again. I should simply get use to the idea of Moswen having the worst timing in the universe to open his mouth and speak. All eyes were on us now. Moswen didn’t seem bothered but I’d yet to actually find something that would embarrass him.

“King Sakima has Queen Numa as his wife, Moswen. He wouldn’t dishonour her by taking a concubine, no matter how handsome the man in question was,” I said in a low voice as I prayed conversations would just go back to normal. Naturally, my prayers went unanswered.

“Well, who’s concubine am I supposed to be? You think I’m handsome?” Moswen asked as he watched the expressions on my face.

For a guy with such a brilliant mind, Moswen could be slow on the up-take some times.

“Mine. And you know you’re handsome, Moswen. Don’t go fishing for compliments.”

“Yours? Really? I’m totally cool with that. I kinda like the idea of being your sex toy. Are you still mad at me? I really am sorry if I did something to hurt you or make you uncomfortable, Ki. I didn’t mean to, honest,” Moswen said with an earnest expression on his face.

“I wasn’t mad at you, Moswen. I just… I’m not going to explain something private that happened between us in front of the entire court. You didn’t do anything wrong, Moswen. I was surprised is all.”

Moswen smiled at me in pleasure. He went beyond handsome into beautiful when he smiled like that. He took my hand in his and laced our fingers together. Sensing that the show was over, the nobles turned back to their conversations and the level of chatter in the room rose back to what it was before. Moswen leaned close to me and whispered in my ear.

“I still feel bad about making you uncomfortable earlier. I’m going to make that up to you later. Trust me on this, demsho, you’re gonna love what I show you.”

I saw desire and laughter in Moswen’s eyes. I probably should have been nervous about what he had planned. I did take a rather healthy swallow of my wine. Moswen saw and chuckled. His tail tip snaked over my thigh and pressed against my groin. I was suddenly doubly glad I was wearing my Naemo uniform instead of Vylfian fashion. Otherwise, knowing Moswen, he’d have wrapped his tail around my cock and stroked me under cover of the table linens.

For the briefest of moments, I couldn’t remember why that would be a bad thing.

*********

I flopped onto my back on my bed and giggled as I watched Moswen clumsily hop on one foot as he tried to take off his pants. He looked like he was having a full on fight with them. He lost the battle and his balance and ended up on his ass on the floor with a confused expression on his face.

“Ki, your floor’s movin,” Moswen said as he glared at the floor.

I laughed but nodded agreement. It did seem to be dipping and swaying a little. Moswen managed to kick free of his pants and stood, weaving slightly. I snickered. Moswen was hilarious and seriously cute when drunk. I thought we might have had too much of the potent local alcohol during supper and later while dancing. I also noticed that while both of us were in no real shape to attempt sex, our bodies didn’t quite agree.

“Gonna make it up… for… y’know… before,” Moswen said as he climbed onto the bed with me nearly falling into my lap.

His hands were busy opening my pants and freeing my erection while he kissed me with skills a drunken person shouldn’t have. He had my pants off between one blink and the next. I helped as much as I could but my own fingers were clumsy.

“Little help, Ki,” Moswen grunted as he fought with my shirt.

I frowned and held my hand up to my face. Yep, those were my fingers. Why weren’t they doing what I wanted? They must be drunk. I nodded and started to giggle again. I didn’t know fingers could get drunk.

“I have drunk fingers,” I declared to Moswen, waving my fingers in his face.

Moswen growled and batted my hand away, yanking at my shirt and ignoring my great scientific discovery. I pouted at him. He didn’t seem to have drunk fingers. Maybe Awh’anise didn’t get drunk fingers? I grabbed Moswen’s hand, closed my lips around his fingers and sucked hard. They didn’t taste like booze. They tasted like Moswen. I liked that flavour better so I sucked harder. I’d be fucking richer than I already was if I could bottle it.

Moswen muttered something in Awh’anise and hooked a hand in the neck of my shirt and pulled. Fabric tore but didn’t give a damn. I was a fucking prince of the realm. I could afford a new shirt if it got me naked with Moswen. I gave a little sigh of pleasure to feel his skin against mine. He reached for the oil from the bedside table, missing it twice and knocking a book to the floor. I snorted with laughter and his fingers slipped from my mouth. He sat back on his haunches as he stared at me. I closed my eyes in delight when Moswen dumped the contents of the bottle of oil over my cock and started to stoke me.

“Fuckin’ sexy, Ki,” Moswen said in a low, desire filled voice.

I hummed my approval as I began to move my hips along with the motion of Moswen’s hand. He straddled my thighs and wrapped both our cocks with his tail, jerking us off together. I managed to open my eyes to slits to watch the desire build in Moswen’s face.

My eyes opened wide in surprise as Moswen shifted and suddenly pushed himself down onto me. He bared his fangs and hissed at the sting of my entering him unprepared. Even through my alcohol fuzzed thoughts, I didn’t want to cause him any pain. I grabbed his hips, intending to stop him from forcing my cock into him. His ass clenched tight and instead I gasped and jerked my hips up and sliding completely inside him. Moswen whined and his talons dug into my forearms, breaking the skin. A guttural noise sounded from him as he inhaled. I started to say something when a strong rippling of muscle in Moswen’s ass made me yell and arch into him in unexpected pleasure.

“S’good. S’full,” Moswen moaned as he ground his ass into my lap.

I made pleasurable noises at the feel of Moswen’s ass squeezing my cock in waves. He didn’t even need to move, it felt so good. Really, the room was moving enough as it was. I watched him circle his hips as he stroked his cock with his tail and moaned. My control wasn’t the best from the effects of the alcohol and Moswen’s ass nearly milking my cock; making my mind even fuzzier with desire. When the backs of his fingers brushed over the ridge of skin above my pubic bone, I was lost.

“Moswen, again,” I gasped as I gripped his hips hard.

His touch felt so damn good. There was something I was supposed to remember. Something important. Something I wasn’t supposed to do.

Leave the party before the king?

No, we’d done that already.

Talk with food in my mouth during a formal dinner?

Disgusting, but that wasn’t it either.

Leave my boots on when we fucked?

That could be kinky sexy if it was the pair of thigh-highs I had.

Whatever it was, it’d come to me later if it was important.

The rush of ecstasy that shot through my groin from Moswen’s fingers stroking over the ridge of skin made me yell hoarsely. It felt better than anything I’d experienced before. I grabbed Moswen’s hand and pushed his fingers over what he thought was a scar. A little concentration had the muscles under his fingers relax and I pressed on them, needing, wanting more.

The thought that I was supposed to explain something to Moswen came and went quickly. But his touch felt so good I couldn’t do anything but gasp my pleasure when his fingers slid into my pouch. Something this good couldn’t be wrong. I’d fingered myself before but had never allowed anyone else that pleasure.

“Wha…” Moswen began in hazy confusion as two of his fingers slipped into the opening.

My back bowed again, shoving my cock deeper into Moswen. He growled and stroked himself faster. I clamped my hand around his wrist, keeping his fingers where they were, making my head spin with the pleasure. It was a completely different sensation from having something in my ass but no less arousing. Moswen panted and stared into my eyes as he continued to jerk himself off.

“Ki… now. I want… come inside,” Moswen moaned brokenly.

I wrapped an arm around Moswen’s waist before rolling us over. I was close to release. The unique feel of Moswen’s ass rippling over my cock, the fingers he had buried inside my pouch and the obvious pleasure he was enjoying from having my cock in him pushed me over the edge. My wings spread as I rapidly thrust into Moswen, making him moan and thrash under me. He stiffened and the fingers he had inside me curled as he yelled when orgasm slammed through him.

His seed hit both our bellies and smeared as I ground my hips into him and let my own release rush through me. I screamed as I came. Moswen growled before biting me hard. I felt a burning sensation across my lower back where one of Moswen’s hands held me to him. My head spun from the alcohol and pleasure. I collapsed to the side of Moswen, refusing to let him go. His fingers slipped from me and I shuddered and groaned softly at the loss. If his fingers had felt that good, getting him to push his cock into my pouch might make me die from pleasure.

We so needed to try that at some point.

I closed my eyes as my head spun and my heart continued to race. Despite how good I felt, there was something I needed to check. Something that nagged at the back of my head. Moswen sighed in disappointment when my cock slipped free of his body and snuggled into me. I mentally shrugged. I’d check for whatever it was in the morning.

If I couldn’t remember it right now, it couldn’t be all that important. Chapter 18

~Moswen~

I groaned as I pried my eyes open. My head felt heavy and I’d swear my mouth had been filled with dirty sand during the night. Kijika sprawled on his back. I was laying half on, half off his chest. My hair was a disaster of tangles and when I moved, my ass let me know I’d done something fun with Kijika the previous night.

Problem was I had no idea what we’d done. My mind was a complete blank and that had to be a fucking crime.

I pushed myself up and scratched at my belly. Dried come flaked off along with dried blood from under my talons. A little flutter of nerves at seeing the blood made my pulse speed up. I quickly looked over Kijika for wounds. I saw some droplets of blood on the sheet near Kijika’s hip and rolled him towards me. He mumbled a protest and started to come awake groggily.

Four parallel, shallow furrows were dug into his skin low on his back. I’d seen and made enough claw marks to know I was responsible. Guilt hit me hard. I never wanted to hurt Kijika like I’d apparently done the previous night. While it did prove that I’d enjoyed myself immensely, I’d been trying to keep my sometimes violent nature under tight control. Generally speaking, only another Awh’anise would enjoy the clawing that sometimes accompanied deep sexual pleasure. I touched the claw marks gently making Kijika hiss and come fully awake at what I was sure must have stung like hell.

“Stars, Ki. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to claw you like that. I’d promise never to do it again, but it’s not a promise I think I could keep if you really worked me up like you must have last night,” I said as I pushed Kijika to his back.

It was then that I saw the neat teeth marks on his shoulder I’d made. He must have really pushed my buttons hard to make me claw and bite him. I made a sound of distress in my throat and licked the bite gently. I wasn’t sure what I was more upset over. Hurting Kijika or the fact that I couldn’t remember a damn thing about what had to have been a fantastic time in bed. Kijika grunted at me and slit his eyes open. I felt the barest warmth pass over Kijika skin where I touched him. The bite mark on his shoulder faded away to almost nothing between one blink and the next. That healing magic of his was damn handy.

“I am never drinking that much again. Ever. Gods, but I feel like I could drink an ocean,” Kijika said as he sat up. He made a noise of disgust in his throat. “What the hell did we do last night? My groin is covered in oil and so are the bed sheets.”

“I think I rode your cock. My ass is sore, but in a good way. Damn. I can’t remember. What the hell was that shit we were drinking? Why didn’t you warn me it was so strong?”

I felt Kijika’s healing magic flow over me and let out a slow breath of pleasure. That skill of his could be foreplay as far as I was concerned. I was like having my cock sucked, my ass played with and my tail stroked all at once while getting the most brain drugging kiss of my life. I wondered how long it would take him to make me come just from using his healing magic on me. I murmured a protest when he stopped but my ass wasn’t hurting anymore and the killer headache was down to an annoying background throb instead of bass drum. Not that a little pain like that really meant anything. Actually, I’d liked the feel of the sting to my ass.

“I’d say it’s time for a shower. We’ll see about getting some breakfast after,” Kijika said as he drew me in for a quick kiss.

I followed Kijika to the adjoining bath, admiring his ass as he walked. Kijika adjusted the water in the large shower and absently scratched at his belly while waiting for the right temperature. His hand froze briefly. He frowned, his complexion paling a little as he looked down at his belly before shaking his head and stepping under the hot spray.

“Ki? You okay?” I asked as I joined him, hugging him and rubbing my cheek against his chest.

“Yeah. It’s nothing. Just a random thought.”

I looked into his face and accepted what he said. Whatever had given him a brief start, seemed to have been unimportant. I grinned up at him and pressed my hips against him.

“Next time, I want to be fully aware of how good it feels to have you in my ass. You’re gonna love that, by the way. There’s several rings of muscles in my ass. It’ll feel like waves of pleasure milking your cock when you fuck me. I know you prefer to have cock inside you, Ki, but I like dick in my ass, too. I think I’ll really like having you inside me.”

Kijika laughed softly and trailed his fingers over my face before kissing me gently on the lips. He gave me a little push before reaching for the soap. I gave an exaggerated sigh that I wasn’t going to get that hoped for cock in my ass at that moment. I took the soap from Kijika and began to wash him. Even if I

didn’t have the pleasure of sex with Kijika in a shower, I still had my lover warm, wet and enjoying my touch. Chapter 19

~Kijika~

Moswen was draped half-on, half-off my chest. We were both naked and laying on my bed in my rooms at the palace. He was drowsing and softly purring, his tail tip slowly flicking up and down. His hair spilled over my skin, as soft as the cloth woven for baby garments. I was reading a book aloud, rubbing my free hand over his skin. Every now and again, he’d interrupt me and argue a point or offer his opinion on alternate theories, proving that he wasn’t falling asleep from boredom but listening to me and even enjoying himself.

I’d never had a lover be content to hear me read about innate Naemo magic abilities and the possible genetic sequencing that may lead to why certain abilities were more prevalent in some families and how wild card magics sometimes cropped up as genetic anomalies. Most especially, I’d never had a naked lover actually want to hear me read about that kind of thing in bed with them. Moswen was a very special, rare man.

“Are you sure you want me to keep reading? Most people would say this is pretty dry stuff for lovers in bed, naked,” I said as I marked my place and looked down at Moswen.

“You’re just trying to wriggle out of the corner you backed yourself into with that lame ass argument. Come on, Ki. I’m not an idiot. I’m winning here. Show some of that royal decorum and concede defeat gracefully. You know I’m right,” Moswen said as he turned his face so he could look at me.

“But I’m naked. With you. In bed. Don’t you want to have sex?” I asked a little puzzled.

Moswen always wanted to have sex. At least I thought he did. He’d told me himself that his species was very sexual. He certainly touched me often enough in a sexual way to indicate that. Even the way he was draped over me was suggestive. I could feel his flaccid cock against my hip and knew it would take very little for him to become hard.

“I knew you had brains to go with those killer looks,” Moswen snickered. “Yes, you are naked in a bed with me. That doesn’t always have to be about sex, Ki. Remember, I told you I’m more touch sensitive than the average Awh’anise. I like this kind of thing a whole lot too. Probably as much as I love sex.”

“So you don’t want to have sex?”

“I’m always up for that, especially with you. You’re an absolute treat in bed, Ki. But this…. I need this kind of contact too. Before I left Awh’an to come back here, I got to sleep in a tangle with my entire brood. Man, we hadn’t all slept together like that since we were kids. That was one of the best sleeps I’d had in ages.”

“All of you slept together? Wasn’t that… uncomfortable? I mean, you’re all adults and there’s six of you all together in one bed….” I trailed off.

Moswen laughed and rubbed his face against my belly. I squirmed and a giggle escaped me when he flicked his tongue out to lightly tease my skin.

“It was a little cramped. For all her soft spoken attitude, Muna is a bed-hog and Meriwa does dance steps in her sleep, I think. Mered and Makis sandwiched me between them so I had a cute ass in my lap and a hard cock nestled between my cheeks. They love to tease, but for them to put me between them like to sleep meant I’d probably scared them something fierce after Mahira kicked me in the head.”

My hand stilled as I tried to process all he’d just said. My mind latched on the information that someone named Mahira had kicked him in the head. I wondered why that would scare his family when his people saw fighting as something fun. There had to be more to it than just a kick to the head.

“Who is Mahira, why did they kick you in the head, why would that scare your family and why do all of those people have names starting with the same letter?”

“Mahira is my sister and I kinda was avoiding her when I crashed King Sakima’s party. I… uh… sorta helped to blow up a super top secret lab her and her team were supposed to be protecting. It was an accident and I wasn’t the only one involved. I was the only one she didn’t get to beat the snot out of right away though. She did fight me my first day home. She just didn’t mean to kick me in the head and knock me out for a day and a half. We’re good now though and she apologised for the kick. The fight was more for show than because she was still pissed.”

“Your sister kicked your ass?” I snickered.

“You’ve never fought her. I’m okay as a fighter for an Awh’anise but Mahira is… Mahira. I’m not exaggerating when I say she could probably take your dad with her tail tied behind her back. She’s special ops military, Ki. Trust me; she’d as soon kill you as smile at you and you’d never see it coming.”

I tried to picture a woman going toe-to-toe with my dad and beating the stuffing out of him and couldn’t do it. But if Moswen said she could, he obviously believed that. That Moswen had even had a bit of a fight with my dad and come out of it with as few injuries as he had was amazing. His vouching for his sister had to mean she was pretty good.

“Why did it knock you out for a day and a half?”

“I turned faster than she thought I could. Her heel caught me in the temple. Once they found where I’d Dream-Stepped to, the healer said Mahira’d given me a hairline fracture and I had some bleeding inside my skull,” Moswen said as he nuzzled my chest.

“Your sister almost killed you?” I asked in a horrified voice. Moswen could have died and I’d have never known why he didn’t come back to see me. A sharp little pain made me take a quick breath at that thought.

“Well, it wasn’t on purpose, Ki. Mahira loves me. It’s over and done with,” Moswen said dismissively as he looked up at me.

I wasn’t feeling too charitable towards Moswen’s sister regardless of what Moswen said. His people were definitely strange if they could put somebody nearly killing them behind them so easily. There was also the flash of upset that’d hit me at the thought of not seeing Moswen again. I was going to have to get some information out of him about how I could contact him if I needed to and he was gone home or wherever. I didn’t like the idea that I’d have no idea where he was or how to reach him if I needed too.

“The name thing is just how Awh’anise do things. Every kit from the same brood has the same first letter of their names. Helps to sort out the broods a little. In mine, from first to last born are my brothers Makis and Mered, who’re identical twins. Then Mahira and me and lastly, my other sisters Meriwa and Muna who are also identical twins.”

“And you’re all the same age, right?”

Moswen nodded his head. He wriggled a little on my chest, reminding me that I’d stopped smoothing my hand over his skin. I started petting him again and watched as his eyes closed in pleasure and his soft purring start up again.

“Moswen, will you give me a contact number or somebody that could reach you if I needed to and you were gone… wherever,” I asked a little shyly. I wasn’t sure what Moswen would make of that request but the worst he could do was say no.

“Sure. I’ll write down the name of the Shal-hazal House I’m attached to and give you my parent’s info. Just plug that into any signal relay and you should be able to either reach me or somebody who knows where I am and will get the message to me. You do know that if you call for me in your sleep, I’ll probably hear you if I’m in range.”

“Really? I didn’t know that. How far is your range?” I asked.

“Uh… well, we’re not really sure yet. It’s a little erratic,” Moswen said with some embarrassment in his voice. “Some days, it galaxies wide and other times I’m lucky to catch somebody on the same planet I’m currently on. I’m working on getting a decent range but it seems to be tied to my ability to Dream-Step. Other Shal-hazal don’t have this problem. Best bet is to send out multiple messages. One of them will catch me sooner or later.”

I bit my lip as I tried to curb the impulse to go write down what Moswen had told me. He laughed softly before sitting up and kissing me gently on the lips. Amusement was in his eyes.

“Go write that down, Ki. I know you want too. I’ll wait for you to come back to bed to finish losing your argument to me,” Moswen said with a little push to my shoulder.

I blushed. Either he knew me better than I thought or I was that transparent. I hugged him hard and went to write down all the interesting bits and pieces of information he’d given me. As I quickly wrote down the new knowledge, I was grateful that Moswen didn’t mind my little quirks. I felt luckier than I should be to suddenly have a lover like Moswen who wasn’t offended and even understood my driving need to catalogue every new thing I learned. I was also very happy that he hadn’t questioned why I wanted his contact information or even refused outright to give it to me when I wasn’t even sure of why I wanted it myself. Chapter 20

~Moswen~

Whatever I’d done sexually that upset Kijika, he wasn’t talking about it. All he’d said was that he’d been startled and that it was nothing to worry about. His response to my touching the scar on his belly had been pretty extreme but he refused to talk about it so I let the matter drop. For now. I could always bring it up later when he might be more willing to tell me why he’d behaved as he did. Nearly a week passed since that incident.

I’d managed to talk Kijika out of his office for a few hours each day to take me sightseeing. I liked seeing the city and exploring the shops. My mom would have my tail in a vice if I didn’t explore the local stores and report back to her. But, it was the time that I was spending with Kijika, just enjoying his company that I liked the best. Not to say that sitting with him in his office as we both read or discussed things or, in my case, took things apart wasn’t good, too. It was. But being out with Kijika was better.

As dumb as it sounds, walking around, holding Kijika’s hand made me feel good. Most of the merchants around the palace were use to seeing me but the further away we got, the more of an oddity I was. My uniqueness and the fact that I was obviously with Kijika got us all kinds of special deals and concessions.

There were some pretty kick-ass perks to being a royal. It also got me more than my fair share of interested looks.

I’d taken to wearing the jewel thing King Sakima had given me. I didn’t normally go for stuff like that but after turning down several persistent proposals every day and not being allowed to fight with the Vylfian’s to settle the matter once and for all as I would with a pushy Awh’anise; the jewel seemed the safest way to get people to back the fuck off. Kijika thought it was funny that I needed to resort to wearing the jewel to keep potential partners away.

“My mom would be in heaven over some of this stuff,” I said to Kijika as I fingered a delicate cloth with beautiful embroidery on it.

“Buy it for her, then,” Kijika said as he looked over some musty books in a box.

“I didn’t mean for her personally, although I’m sure she’d love it. My mom’s a merchant. A crafty, successful one at that. She’d want to establish an exclusive trade deal between her and your whole damn planet.”

“You said you were able to broker deals for Awh’an. Why don’t you do that, then?” Kijika asked with a distracted air as he discarded one book and picked up another.

“That wouldn’t be fair, Ki. My mom, like most Awh’anise females, is damn aggressive when it comes to something they want. She’d want the whole ball of wax not just a slice of the pie. And, because I’m her son and the one who’d make the deal, she’d demand the most of the deal and think that was perfectly reasonable.”

Kijika snorted with laughter at that. He probably didn’t think I was serious. I was. A female Awh’anise was much more dangerous than a male. Higher pain threshold in a species that already functioned with an extreme level of tolerance and more vicious in a fight than any male. Absolutely ruthless and deadly when one of her children was threatened. Nope, this boy wasn’t about to go prodding any aggressive streaks in an Awh’anise female. Especially if that female was my mom.

“You could still buy that for her,” Kijika said as he left the box of books and joined me by the fabric I was still looking at.

“Cash, Ki. I only have so much,” I said with a little regretful sigh. Mom would really look great in the in the icy green colour that would compliment her violet eyes and dark skin.

“So, I’ll buy it for you to give to her. I can afford it, Moswen. I am a prince of the realm and have more money than I know what to do with,” Kijika said as he started to reach for the bag hooked on a belt at his waist.

I frowned at Kijika. I didn’t like feeling like I was living off his generosity regardless of how many times he’d assured me that he could easily afford the things he did buy me. It didn’t matter that I was recognized as his concubine either and more or less entitled to spend his money. I was already living in the palace with him and he paid for almost everything whenever we went anywhere. He’d bought me several different outfits after I’d jokingly mentioned how good I’d look in typical Vylfian clothes, which I did. Any time we went out to eat, he paid for the meal. He’d even bought me things that I’d expressed only a passing interest in. I had some pride and wasn’t about to let him start buying gifts for my family for me. I wasn’t about to mooch off my haeko’no. I froze when what I’d just mentally called Kijika caught up with the rest of my brain.

I’d called Kijika, haeko’no. Shit.

When the hell did I get so attached to him? To use that word, even if it was only to myself and silently in my head meant that I’d moved him from the casual lover/fuck buddy category in my head to something more. Kijika wasn’t only my lover now. He held a place of significance in my little world.

I was equal parts scared and excited.

I had no idea how Kijika would take this news. He might freak out and kick me from his bed. He might be cool with the idea and want to continue with our relationship. He might think it was some kind of ploy on my part to get money or special concessions from him and send my cute little butt packing with the warning to never show my striped ass again anywhere near him. My mind chased itself in circles as I tried to figure out what to do. Did I tell him? Would he care? Would I sound like a stalker?

“Moswen? Moswen, are you okay?” Kijika asked with a little concern as he cupped my face. I think he might have been calling my name more than the two times I’d just heard.

I stared into his eyes. I saw concern there and, possibly it was my imagination, but tenderness as well. Oh, man, I was in trouble.

I tended to form friendships quickly and tried to keep intimate relationships casual. That Kijika had become important to me so fast wasn’t a big surprise. I’d never spent as much time with any former lovers as I had been with Kijika. None of them caught my interest as much as he did. I would likely come to love him very much if I stayed around him for any length of time. That was my nature.

But, how did he see me? Was I just an interesting alien that gave him a good roll in the sheets? Would or could he even be able to have a long-term relationship with me? Was there some noble Vylfian he was expected to settle down with? Possessive instincts flared to life at that thought. I grabbed Kijika’s hand and pulled him from the shop and into one of the small parkettes that seemed to dot the city. I pushed Kijika to sit on a stone bench and stood in front of him. My tail flicked back and forth in agitation. I had to tell him something.

“Moswen, what the hell is wrong,” Kijika asked as he reached for me and pulled me to sit next to him.

How the hell did I explain this one without sounding like a clingy lover seeking reassurance? Or that I was flighty as a butterfly? Or sounding like I was nuts?

“I… there’s… you…” I tried before snapping my mouth shut. Everything I thought of saying to try and explain sounded stupid.

“Tell me what’s wrong, Moswen. I know you’re upset over something,” Kijika said patiently as he laced his fingers with mine.

“I’m not upset,” I said as I stared at our hands.

I really liked Kijika. I liked him in and out of bed. I had fun with him. He seemed to understand me when I could count on one hand the people I knew who did who weren’t family. He barely raised an eyebrow at the trouble and weirdness that I swore followed me around. When I’d been on Awh’an, even under the pressure of my breeding cycle, I’d been wishing I had him with me instead of the really good friend who’d agreed to help me through nearly two weeks of constant fucking.

“Agitated then. Your tail swishes back and forth like that when you’re upset. The more upset you are, the faster it moves.”

I wrapped my traitorous tail around my leg and was annoyed when I couldn’t seem to stop the tip from waving back and forth. I glanced at Kijika and saw that determined look in his eyes. He could be just as stubborn as me when he was after answers. I didn’t know how best to tell him that I saw him as more than a fuck buddy without him maybe seeing it as a declaration of love. I didn’t love him. At least, not yet I didn’t. I’d need a little more time with him before that happened. I wasn’t opposed to the idea. I just didn’t know if he was ready for that kind of a relationship. I didn’t know if I was ready for that kind of relationship.

God damn it all to hell and back for the way karma screwed with my life.

“I don’t know how else to say this but straight forward. I don’t see you as a casual lover anymore. You’re more important than that to me. I… I called you something in my head when I was thinking of you. It’s not a word that’s casual like ‘demsho’ is,” I said as I stared at our hands. So far, so good. He hadn’t jerked away from me.

“What did you call me?” Kijika asked softly.

“Haeko’no. The loose translation is heartbeat. The full phrase it comes from is something like, ‘To see you makes my heart beat with happiness’. It’s something that’s usually said with deep affection. I’m not trying to sneak a confession of love or anything out of you, Ki. I just… I really like being with you,” I finished lamely.

“You’re much too straight forward to be anything other than honest, Moswen. I’m flattered that you see me as more than just somebody to pass the time and fool around with. I like you quite a bit, too. And, Moswen, I don’t let casual lovers live with me. I’ve never actually let any lover live with me. You’re special,” Kijika said as he leaned in and kissed me.

I let go of his hand and held his face as I kissed him back. I felt stupidly happy Kijika told me I wasn’t just an interesting diversion. I wasn’t exactly sure where this relationship with him was going to take me, but I adored adventure. I hadn’t been disappointed by anything to do with Kijika yet, in or out of bed.

We got along with each other amazingly well and shared a number of similar interests. Hell, we didn’t even fight. Heated discussions, sure, but about philosophical points of view or silly things like which side of the bed we each got. That last one was pointless and Kijika always won the argument because I usually ended up sleeping draped over his chest anyway.

We were startled apart from our kiss by the sharp cry of someone close by in the park. I scanned the area and saw a man sink to his knees, clutching a rather large belly. No one was near enough to him to have hurt him although several people turned to look for where the yell came from. Kijika surprised me by jumping up from the bench and running towards the man. I wondered if he knew the man now doubled over on his knees in obvious pain. I took off after Kijika, ready to offer my help, if he needed it, with the man. Kijika knelt next to the man and was speaking softly, yet urgently to him. A crowd started to gather around the man.

“Where is your partner? Can we send someone for him or her?”

“At work. I’m early. I had another week to go. I wanted to get some errands done,” the man said as he gasped and fisted his hands.

“Ki, what’s wrong with him? Is he hurt?” I asked as more people started to gather.

“He’s gone into labour a little early. We need to get him to a birther. I doubt he can fly right now. Moswen, would it be safe for you to Dream-Step him if I show you where to go? It wouldn’t hurt the baby or anything, would it?” Kijika asked as he helped the man to stand.

I stared stupidly at Kijika and the man leaning against him.

“Labour? A baby? He’s having a baby? He can do that?”

Kijika’s lips twitched into a smile. Even the man he was holding up gave me a wan smile before it turned into a grimace and a little groan of pain escaped him.

“Yes, he can. I’ll explain later. Can you Dream-Step him without hurting him or the baby? I need to know now, Moswen,” Kijika said with authority in his voice.

“Yeah. Sure. Not an issue. Put the place in your head and close your eyes,” I said as I dropped into official Shal-hazal mode and clamped my hand on Kijika’s arm.

I Dream-Stepped the three of us and plucked the place we needed to be from Kijika’s mind. He gave me exceedingly detailed images to work with, so going where we needed to be was a snap. I’d moved to the man’s other side while in the dream world and helped support him. While I had him in the dream world, I got the name, location and a mental image of his partner from his head.

I also couldn’t resist trying to see if he really was having a baby. I’d never heard of a guy having a baby before. Although, I suppose, it made sense for a dual to be able to have a baby if they had all the working parts of both sexes. I got muddled impressions that I recognized as thoughts and dreams of an infant. Holy fuck! He really was having a baby. I backed carefully out of the baby girl’s mind, for it was a girl. As a parting gift, I soothed the distress of the baby and sent some calm over the man. There were some startled shouts as we appeared out of thin air but several people jumped into motion when they saw the man in obvious pain and took him from us.

“Back in a few, Ki,” I said as I let go of him and Dream-Stepped again.

Less than five minutes later, I was steadying a very pretty, bemused woman as I appeared again beside Kijika. She had a shell-shocked expression on her face that I was nearly certain had almost nothing to do

with my suddenly appearing in front of her and whisking her away. I smirked a little as a woman bustled over and pulled her down the hall talking about how they had to hurry because the baby was almost here. I turned to Kijika and folded my arms across my chest.

“I think there’s some things you’ve forgotten to tell me about Vylfian’s.”

Kijika fidgeted a little under my stare.

“I didn’t forget anything. The subject simply never came up. I didn’t see a need to mention it. Are you… angry?” Kijika asked warily.

I laughed and looped my arm with Kijika’s. “No. Shocked is more like it. And curious. I guess I could see how it might be a little rough to introduce guys having babies into a regular conversation.”

Kijika breathed a small sigh of relief as he started to walk out of the building with me. I was surprised to find we were in a part of the city I’d never been in. I turned my head to ask Kijika where we were only to have him bend swiftly and scoop me into his arms. He spread his wings and leapt for the sky. I gave a surprised gasp and froze in his arms. The last thing I wanted to do was squirm around and make Kijika drop me.

I turned my head and knew my eyes widened. We were already a good twenty feet in the air and still climbing. I wrapped my arms around Kijika’s neck and my tail around his waist. Yeah, it was a wussy move but we were pretty fucking high in the sky. I could feel his muscles moving as he beat his wings steadily. I’d never seen him fly. I was going to have to ask him to do that for me at some point so I could watch him. I’d bet he looked spectacular. We stopped gaining altitude and I looked down.

We were roughly a hundred feet above the city and I was surprised at how beautiful it looked from the air until I realized that the Vylfian’s probably planned it that way considering they could often view their city from the sky. The different coloured roofs of the houses, the many parks and green spaces and the random pattern of the streets made it look like gems had been tossed out on dark green velvet. From the air, the palace looked like faceted crystal set in multi-coloured metal.

“Wow, Ki. This is…wow,” I said as I tried to take in the beauty of the city all at once.

Kijika smiled at me and beat his wings strongly as he headed in the direction of the palace. I was a little disappointed when the short flight was over. I wanted to continue flying with Kijika so I could see the city from the air once more. I also realized that even though most Vylfian’s seemed to fly when they needed to go any distance, Kijika always walked with me. I was all kinds of pleased he’d made an effort to accommodate me by walking. Although, if I got to be held snugly against Kijika’s chest as he flew, I was totally willing to fly where ever we needed to go.

Annnnnd as a reminder to people, I will be at AnimeNorth (May 28-30, Toronto) and doing 3 panels in addition to one where I speak about my writing (fanfic and original). I will be doing a reading from a chapter of Karma that hasn't been posted yet, so if you want a sneak peek or to ask questions, come on over. Chapter 21

~Kijika~

I brought Moswen back to my rooms for our little talk about Vylfians. I had the feeling he’d want detailed explanations and my rooms were simply more comfortable than my office in the library. We’d also be less likely to be interrupted. I had some books in my room that would probably help explain the unique physiology of a dual Vylfian.

“Before you start peppering me with questions, read this. Ask what you want after. I’ll be back in a little bit,” I said after handing Moswen a slim book.

“Where’re you going, Ki?”

“Knowing you, you’ll want to actually see and talk to a man who’s either had a baby or is going to have one. I know of someone who is due in another month or so. I’m going to go see if he’d be willing to talk to you about it.”

“You know me better than anyone, Ki. That includes my family. You have no idea how fan-freaking-tastic that is to me. I think you deserve a reward for that,” Moswen grinned at me, dropping the book and tugging my head down for a kiss.

I quickly lost myself in the pleasure of his mouth on mine. A kiss was almost never something simple from Moswen. His lips were soft yet firm against mine. When he teased his tongue against the seam of my mouth, I automatically opened to him and was more disappointed than I wanted to admit when he didn’t slip his tongue into my mouth. Instead, he drew back a little so he could lightly lick my lips before catching my bottom lip with his teeth and pulling gently. A soft moan left me at the aggressive move. Moswen let a quiet growl trickle from his throat before he released my lip, licking it quickly.

Moswen’s hands slid over my ribs. His talons scratched me lightly, making me shiver in delight, as he knew it would. It had taken him a very short period of time to figure out what I liked. He rubbed the pads of his fingers over my nipples, teasing them erect and making my breath stutter in my throat. His tail curled around my leg, sliding up my thigh until the puffy tip brushed back and forth across my balls. With Moswen, I was definitely appreciating the Vylfian fashion sense of short skirts with nothing underneath. He pressed his cheek against my chest and rubbed his face against my skin. I tunnelled my fingers through Moswen’s hair, enjoying the way it felt in my hands and holding him against me. I liked his way of rewarding me.

“Do you need to go find that guy right now, Ki?” Moswen asked as he began licking lazy patterns across my chest.

“Uh… no. It can… wait. If… you want,” I stuttered tongue-tied from the pleasure Moswen was giving me by simply licking my skin.

“Good. ‘Cause I like the way you smell right now. You smell like arousal and, faintly, me,” Moswen said as he looked up into my face.

I brushed my thumb over Moswen’s cheek, following the line of one of the pale gold stripes. His eyelids fell to half-mast and I heard the quiet purr Moswen made whenever I did something he liked. I sucked in a surprised breath when he curled his tail around my rapidly hardening cock and began squeezing me rhythmically.

“I’m gonna have to remember to start carrying lube with me. Don’t move, Ki,” Moswen said as he left me with a speed I still wasn’t used to seeing to grab the oil from my bedside table.

He was back in front of me by the time I’d taken four shallow breaths. He opened the bottle and poured some oil into his hand. He stood frozen in consternation for several seconds as he realized that one hand was now covered in oil and the other holding the bottle yet his pants were still on and done up. The annoyance on his face at not having thought out his plan of attack was priceless. I laughed softly as I reached for the fly of his pants and freed his erection, stroking him lightly.

“A little planning never hurt, Moswen.” I said with warmth in my voice as he looked up at me with relief, arousal and humour in his eyes that I’d solved his dilemma.

“Nah, that’s why I hang out with you. You’ll take care of all those pesky details for me,” Moswen grinned as he began subtly walking me backwards until my wings pressed against the wall.

He ran his oil slick hand over his cock. I licked my lips as I watched him fist his erection. It somehow seemed all the more erotic because he didn’t appear to be taking his pants off, only spreading them open. Moswen let the bottle fall from his hand. A rational part of my mind was grateful that we were standing on a rug that kept the crystal from shattering. The practical part of me bemoaned ever getting the oil stain out of the finely woven fibres. All thoughts of stained carpets or crystal bottles fled my head when I felt Moswen’s slick fingers begin teasing the sensitive skin behind my balls. A little moan of pleasure left me as I spread my legs to give him better access.

“Open your wings, Ki. I don’t want to damage them,” Moswen ordered quietly as he spread oil over my hole.

No matter how many times I told Moswen he’d have to make an effort to hurt my wings, he didn’t believe me. I didn’t bother correcting him anymore. I spread my wings wide and watched the desire in Moswen’s eyes climb. He seemed to love seeing them open and it was a simple enough thing for me to do. I didn’t understand why it gave him such pleasure to see my wings open, but I was more than willing to do it for him in return for the vast amounts of delight he gave me.

“Put your arms on my shoulders and hook your leg around my waist,” Moswen said in a husky voice as he stepped closer to me and lifted my skirt.

My heart hammered in my chest with excitement. Was he was actually going to fuck me without undressing either one of us? Were we going to have sex while we were standing up? Doing that seemed so… erotically indecent. My arousal climbed higher at the thought. He seemed to take a great amount of delight in surprising me with positions and games and unusual places to have sex. I wasn’t complaining. I’d never been so sexually satisfied in my life.

“What are you up to, Moswen?” I asked as I struggled not to groan in delight when two of his fingers slipped inside me.

“I somehow doubt you’ve had wall sex. I’m trying to fix a bunch of those gaps in your education. Lean your back against the wall and hook your other leg around my waist. I won’t drop you, Ki,” Moswen said as he looked up into my eyes.

“I’m too heavy for you to lift up, Moswen,” I protested as I bit my lip from the pleasure of his fingers pressing firmly on my prostate and his tail giving my cock a hard squeeze.

“I’m stronger than I look. Trust me on this, I won’t let you fall. Wrap your legs around my waist, Kijika,” Moswen demanded as he proceeded to rapidly stroke his fingers in and out of my ass and press his body firmly to mine.

I had to work hard not to whimper when he withdrew his fingers from me, waiting for me to do what he’d demanded. The tone of voice Moswen used pushed all my submissive buttons. Trusting Moswen to know what he could or couldn’t do, I did what he told me too. A low, pleasure filled sound left my throat as I slid a little down the wall and directly onto Moswen’s cock. I immediately decided that I liked this position a lot as I’d never felt a cock pushed into me at this angle before. It pressed and rubbed inside me in new and very delightful ways. Moswen wrapped his arms around my waist and began to slowly thrust in and out of me. His tail remained wrapped around my cock, stroking me in time to his relaxed pace.

“Told you I could hold you,” Moswen said in a low voice before he bent his head and licked my chest, teasing one of my nipples with a broad swipe of his tongue.

I didn’t even bother to try and reply. The slow, measured tempo Moswen was using was pushing me steadily towards orgasm. I loved the feel of him supporting me, the muscles in his arms and thighs flexing with every thrust. Shivers of delight travelled over my skin and a needy moan worked its way free of me when Moswen began to speed up the motion of his hips. I moved my hands to cup his face, bent my head and kissed him.

A soft growl of arousal trickled past Moswen’s lips. His tongue slipped into my mouth, tasting and teasing the inside. My thighs squeezed his waist as I realized his tongue and cock were keeping the same rhythm. As I tried to tangle my tongue with his, his thrusts became faster and less restrained. His tail squeezed my cock almost painfully hard while the puffy tip teased the sensitive head. My wordless noise of denial was swallowed by Moswen as I felt my balls draw up and orgasm rush through me before I wanted the pleasure of Moswen fucking me hard against a wall to stop. He pushed into me roughly, holding himself still as I broke the kiss and groaned my pleasure. My wings twitched with every spurt of my cock.

I found the warmth of my seed on my chest and belly erotic. I could feel the leashed need in Moswen that he held back so I could focus on my pleasure. Moswen was panting lightly and a fine tremor shook his limbs. He liked to wait until I calmed just a little before beginning his own climb towards release. That way, he said, I would be focused on feeling everything he did to me once my needs were met. I wasn’t about to argue with something that felt so good.

Moswen’s tail unwrapped from my spent cock and I made a noise of disappointment at that. A devilish smile appeared on his face as he wriggled his hips, making me gasp in pleasure. I felt his pants slide lower down his legs until I guessed they were near his knees. He shifted positions slightly, making me groan again. He gave a tiny grunt before a pleased hum sounded from his throat.

“Moswen?” I asked as he shuddered.

“ ‘Member when I said I liked cock in my ass?” he waited for me to nod my head. “I can’t have my cock up your ass at the same time as I have your cock in my ass so I’m going with the next best thing. An Awh’anise tail is all kinds of useful,” Moswen said with a soft laugh that turned into a breathy moan.

I knew I was staring at him wide-eyed. He’d pushed his tail into me before but it’d never occurred to me that he’d do something like that to himself. I felt my cheeks pinken at the… naughtiness of the act. Moswen chuckled and began to move. Little aftershocks of pleasure shot through me at feeling him stroke in and out of my sensitized ass. Knowing he was also driving his tail into his own ass to increase his pleasure made me pant with excitement.

“I’m close, Ki. Grab hold of the base of my tail and squeeze hard,” Moswen panted.

I did as he instructed and was startled by the snarl of pleasure that left his lips. He slammed his hips into me and his entire body shuddered as I felt his cock start spurting in my ass. I gasped with pleasure at feeling his release. I still wasn’t used to the idea of my reaching orgasm before he did. He growled low in his throat and I felt his fangs scrape across my chest. His talons stopped just shy of breaking my skin. His chest heaved and he drew in huge, gasping breaths. Moswen remained still for several minutes, allowing us to enjoy the shivers that moved through us.

“You can put your legs down now, Ki,” Moswen said in a satisfied tone as he nuzzled into my neck.

I heard Moswen start purring softly and every now and again, his tongue would flick out to lick my skin. When I unhooked my legs from Moswen’s waist, his softening cock slipped from my body. Both of us sighed in protest. I pulled my wings closed and hugged Moswen to me.

“So, you like wall sex?” Moswen asked with a grin.

“Oh, yeah. I didn’t think you were that strong, Moswen. To hold me like that, I mean,” I said as I rubbed my lips against the top of his head.

“We’re good for short bursts of strength. I can lift about twice what I weigh and hold it for roughly ten minutes or so. I can even clean and jerk my own body weight with my tail. If I’m motivated enough, I can put my fist through about a half inch of steel. I’ll break my hand doing it, but my fist will go through,” Moswen said matter of factly as his hands glided up my back to stroke through the soft down where my wings joined my body.

I pulled a little back from Moswen and stared in surprise at him. He really didn’t look that strong. He wasn’t a wall of muscle but neither was he skinny. My fingers twitched with the need to write this down. I smiled slowly when the thought occurred to me that Moswen wouldn’t mind and would even laugh if I suddenly pushed away from him to scribble this new information down. I’d never had a lover who understood and accepted my almost obsessive need to note new and fascinating information. I startled Moswen by kissing him thoroughly and deeply and whispering a little thank you against his lips.

“We both need to get cleaned up, Moswen. If I can convince this guy to come and talk to you, it’d probably be best if it didn’t look like we’d just had wild sex against a wall.”

“You think that was wild? Oh, haeko’no, that wasn’t wild sex. That was just a bit of mid-afternoon fun. I’ve got a few things to show you about sex with an Awh’anise that’ll blow your circuits,” Moswen said with a laugh before grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the bath.

I followed him but my mind was jumping around trying to come up with what kind of things Moswen could possibly be talking about. He’d already introduced me to new positions and even places to have sex. He’d been working at bringing down the rigid rules I was used to following about sex as well. For that alone, I thought he deserved a royal proclamation. Sex was much more fun when both parties were giving and receiving the pleasure.

“Since I’ve already broadened your horizons today, we’ll save the shower sex for another day, okay, Ki?” Moswen asked with a wicked grin.

I smirked at Moswen, “I’ve done that before. You’ll have to do better than that to try and show me new things.”

The little blink of surprise from Moswen was hilarious. He actually looked completely shocked that I’d had shower sex. I couldn’t help the snicker that escaped me. I’d have to show him the Vylfian cleaning ritual some time. He wasn’t the only one who could have their horizons broadened. Chapter 22

~Kijika~

I left Moswen reading the book I’d given him. I had a good idea where I’d find the man I was looking for but I wasn’t positive he’d be there. I hurried through the twists and turns of the palace corridors until I reached a set of doors that led outside. The greenhouse was close to the palace and I couldn’t help smiling in pleasure when I stepped inside and inhaled the rich scent of growing things. I had many good memories of days spent in the greenhouse sketching flowers while talking with the head gardener.

“Harith?” I called when I didn’t immediately see any one.

“Over here,” a warm voice called.

“Here where?” I asked with humour in my voice.

I caught movement in a far corner of the greenhouse and saw Harith stand and stretch. He was very pregnant and rubbed a hand over his belly in an absent gesture. He waved, a smile appearing on his face when he saw it was me. Harith was the head gardener for the palace and a man I considered a very good friend. I was fairly certain once I explained what I wanted, he’d agree.

“Prince Kijika, I haven’t seen you in ages. Did you hear about the new flower I’ve finally managed to cultivate? That book you found for me was beyond price in helping me solve the pollination problem. King Sakima loved it. He’s insisting that I name it after myself.”

I clasped Harith’s forearm and gave it a firm shake. He was already off and running with his favourite topic, plants. If I didn’t head him off, I’d end up sitting down and taking notes while he described how he managed to grow a new species of flower. Not that I didn’t want to hear about how he did it, but I didn’t think leaving Moswen alone for long would be a good idea. He’d eventually come looking for me and I knew he’d somehow say or do something to get into trouble along the way. I was coming to realize that keeping Moswen out of trouble was a full time job.

“Harith, I have a favour to ask,” I interrupted when he paused for breath.

“You’re my prince. You can command me to do anything you wish,” Harith chided me gently with a smile.

“You know I’d never do that. This is a personal favour and you might think it’s intrusive.”

“You’ve never asked a favour of me before, personal or otherwise. Well, nothing that I consider a favour. What do you need, Kijika?” Harith asked as he motioned towards a bench. His dropping the formality of my title meant that he was speaking to me as a friend now instead of a subject.

“You don’t need to do what I ask. I want to make that absolutely clear,” I started as I took a seat.

“Now I’m curious and wary,” said Harith as he lowered himself to the bench with a little sigh of relief.

“Are you supposed to be working like this? I thought my grandfather said you were to do only light work when you refused to stop all together,” I said as I narrowed my eyes at him. I had no qualms about ratting him out to King Sakima if he was doing things he wasn’t supposed to do.

“I’m fine. I swear, Kijika, you’re an even worse mother hen than Bavol and he’s supposed to be that way since this is his baby too. This isn’t my first baby. I’m not doing any lifting. The king only lets me putter with my plants and order around my workers. He said if he caught me lifting or moving anything heavy again, he’d send me home until after the baby was born and Bavol, traitor that he is, agreed,” Harith grumbled.

I frowned at the mother hen term. I was just concerned about my friend. I was glad my grandfather had told him he’d be sent home if he did any kind of strenuous work and that Harith’s partner, Bavol agreed. I knew Harith wouldn’t do anything to endanger the baby but he sometimes did things without thinking about asking for help if he was intent on something.

“The favour I’d like to ask you about concerns your baby. Or rather, you being pregnant. I’m sure you’ve heard about Moswen and King Sakima making him my concubine,” I waited for him to nod.

“I’ve seen him a few times. He’s very handsome and exotic looking. Polite, too, from what some of the servants say. He’s very full of life. Virile, I’d say. It almost pours off him.”

A blush gave heat to my cheeks. If Harith said Moswen was full of life, he wasn’t stating that Moswen was energetic, although he certainly was. Harith’s magic involved growing and living things. He could find the weakest spark of life in a plant and coax it into full bloom. He could see the potential for life in people as well. I liked to tease him that he must have had a fertility god in his family tree as he had four children already with this baby being number five. Vylfian’s rarely had that many children.

“Moswen saw his first pregnant male today. Or, at least the first one that he found out wasn’t just a fat man. A man at the park we were in went into labour early. Moswen’s never seen that and I’m sure he has a million questions. I can only tell him what I know from books and from the people I know who’ve had babies. I thought it would be better if he could actually talk to a man who was pregnant.”

“That’s hardly a favour, Kijika. Here I was worried that you were going to ask me to do something difficult. I’d be happy to speak to Moswen,” Harith said with a laugh.

“Moswen’s very… tactile. He’ll probably ask if he can touch you. And he’ll ask questions that will probably be embarrassing but he won’t mean them that way. He’s very open about everything and he still hasn’t quite grasped all the etiquette rules of Vylfian’s.”

“Its fine, Kijika. He’ll be asking out of genuine curiosity, won’t he? You said he won’t be trying to embarrass me.”

“No, he won’t try to do that. It’ll just happen. He may ask you how you got pregnant or why or… he just has a way of finding the most embarrassing or culturally impolite things to ask. He needs a keeper,” I said with a fond sigh.

Harith stared at me intently before he laughed and stood. “He has you, doesn’t he?”

I wasn’t quite sure what to make of that comment so I said nothing. I suppose I was sort of Moswen’s keeper. Not that I found it a terrible hardship. Moswen was more interesting than anyone I’d ever met and he didn’t seem to mind some of my quirks as other lovers had. I left the bench and started to walk from the greenhouse with Harith at my side.

“I appreciate you doing this, Harith. He’ll probably drill you with more questions than you thought possible about a male pregnancy and possibly even your sex life. You don’t have to answer anything you don’t want to. Just tell him you don’t want to discuss that and he’ll drop the subject.”

Harith nodded. “Does Moswen like children?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never asked. Probably. He has a very large family from what I understand. Why?”

Harith smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “Just curious as to how much experience he has with babies and children.”

I found myself smiling at the mental image of Moswen with a group of children. He’d probably have a blast, getting right into whatever children’s games were being played. Knowing Moswen as I did, I guessed that he’d likely be the chief ring leader. Kids probably thought Moswen was a barrel of fun. I certainly thought he was even if the games I’d played with Moswen were of a decidedly adult nature.

*********

“Moswen, this is a good friend of mine and the head gardener for the palace, Harith. He’s agreed to talk to you about male pregnancy. I’ve told him that if you ask a question he’s not comfortable answering he doesn’t have to answer and you’ll move on.”

Moswen rose from the chair he’d been sitting on when we entered the room. He stopped in front of Harith and drew in a deep breath, his mouth opening slightly as if tasting the air. He smiled and offered his hand although I knew he was restraining himself from offering the Awh’anise greeting of rubbing his cheek against Harith’s. I’d had to tell him that kind of close, personal contact when first meeting

someone was considered impolite among Vylfian’s. He’d remarked that there didn’t seem to be any kind of problem with close personal contact at King Sakima’s party. I’d pointed out that he’d been the one who’d allowed the Vylfian’s to touch and pet him first that night.

“Thank you for agreeing to talk to me. I’m going to try and not be rude but, after reading the book Kijika gave me before he left to get you, I’m very curious. I’ve never seen a guy pregnant before, not counting earlier today, that is.”

Harith laughed and walked over to a small group of chairs and lowered himself to sit. He waited for Moswen and me to join him. I could almost see the curiosity and excitement rise in Moswen.

“When are you due? Is this your first baby? Why do you want to have a baby like this? Can I touch your belly?” Moswen began as soon as his butt touched the seat.

“Moswen,” I said in exasperation.

“No, its fine, Kijika. He’s curious. I’m due in another three weeks. This will be my fifth child but my third birth. For a Vylfian male, having a baby is perfectly natural. I have a little boy with my current partner and two teenage boys with my wife, who’s passed on. I also have a girl the same age as Kijika from a previous relationship. And yes, you can touch my belly if you want to.”

Moswen was out of his seat almost before Harith finished giving him permission. He knelt on the floor in front of Harith and placed his hand on Harith’s belly. Harith covered Moswen’s hand with his and moved it to the side. Moswen stared intently for several seconds before he grinned and looked at me.

“Come here, Ki. This is so cool. The baby’s moving. Come feel this, Ki,” Moswen said as he gestured me over.

Harith laughed at Moswen’s enthusiasm and signalled for me to come over as well. Knowing Moswen would drag me over if I didn’t join him under my own steam, I sighed softly and joined Moswen. Harith smiled and caught my hand, bringing it to his belly. I’d never touched the belly of someone who was

pregnant. It was considered a very intimate thing to do. I was a little surprised Harith allowed Moswen, and me, to do it. I felt the soft thump of the baby kicking against my hand and found myself smiling.

“Do you like children, Moswen?” Harith asked after a few minutes. He gently removed Moswen’s hand from his belly. I followed the subtle hint and went back to my seat next to Moswen’s.

“Yeah. They’re fun. None of my brood has any yet but Telek, one of my sha-ter’bil, a shared father’s siblings, has a brood of five and I’ve got cousins out the wazoo. Awh’anise families are usually big. There’s almost always a baby or toddler in the family at any given time. No matter how many times I feel a baby move like that, it’s just… awesome,” Moswen said as he sat in the chair next to me.

“So, what is it you want to know, Moswen?” Harith asked with a smile. Chapter 23

~Moswen~

I was surprised at the open attitude Harith had. Given what I knew of the Vylfian’s, I’d expected him to be more… abrupt and to deny me the chance to touch him. I knew that was bordering on rude but it was almost like I had to feel proof that he really was having a baby. Not that I didn’t believe him. I was simply still trying to wrap my head around the idea of males having babies. That he was enjoying being pregnant was obvious. He had that kinda glow to him that I’d seen Awh’anise females get when they were expecting a brood. Feeling the baby move around was very cool. I’d asked that on impulse, not thinking he’d let me touch him like that.

Now that I knew males could be pregnant, I wondered how many of the guys I’d seen were actually having a baby as opposed to being fat as I’d first thought.

“So, how does this all work? I mean, I was told and I just read that duals have all the working plumbing of both sexes but… doesn’t it kinda feel weird to be a guy and having a baby? How do you give birth? Is it dangerous?”

“No, it doesn’t feel weird to have a baby. Well, no more that it would for anyone to have a life growing inside them. You have to get used to your moods swinging up and down and not seeing your feet or other things for a few months. Some people throw up every day while others sail through with no problems. Except for my first child, my pregnancies have been planned. Birth for me works the same way as it would for a female and it’s no more dangerous for me than it is for a woman.”

“Do you have to do anything different? Like eat special foods or take medication or not have sex? How long are you pregnant for? Is that different from women?”

Harith blushed and laughed. “No, there’s nothing special we need to do. Eating a healthy diet and taking vitamins is a good plan though. And as a general rule, you can have sex until it’s uncomfortable for you. Gestation is five months and that’s the same for women as it is for men. A baby born from a dual will be slightly smaller, initially, than a baby born to a female but they catch up fast and there’s no difference in how big they’ll grow up to be. Honest, Moswen, whatever you know about women having babies applies to male Vylfian’s having them.”

“No big mystery, huh?” Moswen said with a grin.

“No, no big mystery,” Harith agreed with a laugh.

“Do you know what you’re having? And isn’t it a little unusual to have five children? I mean, from what I’ve read and what Kijika’s told me, Vylfian’s don’t have big families.”

“I’m having girl and yes, it’s a little unusual for me to have so many children. I believe it’s connected to my magic abilities. I grow things. Apparently, not just plants either,” Harith chuckled. “After that first surprise pregnancy, I’ve had to be careful not to have a whole herd of children. Don’t get me wrong, I love all my children but I don’t think it would take much effort on my part to stay pregnant or impregnate my partner. Considering my age, this should be my last baby but I’m not counting on that.”

“What do you mean, Harith?” Kijika asked. He had that curious, intent look on his face and I knew as soon as Harith left, Kijika would be scribbling down notes about this conversation.

“I’m forty-five. This should be my last period of fertility but I don’t think it will be,” Harith answered Kijika before turning his eyes to me.

“Vylfian’s have small families because our overall period of fertility is fairly short. Males and females have roughly the same time of child bearing, about twenty years. Dual’s have a slightly longer period to bear children. Maybe five years more. I’m right on the bubble, average wise, yet it only took Bavol and I two tries to conceive.”

“Wait a minute. You’re only fertile for twenty years? Both men and women? That kinda sucks. Awh’anise males and females can have children at about twelve and stay fertile until they’re into their sixties. Sometimes even longer.”

“Vylfian’s age slowly. We’re able to have children when we’re sexually mature. Usually around twenty or so although, if we want, we can obviously have sex before that time. We generally have only one child at a time as well,” Harith said as he stifled a yawn.

I wanted to ask more questions but seeing Harith yawn as he had reminded me that every Awh’anise female I knew that had been expecting tired easy in the last few weeks. It was sorta like the body was getting itself geared up for the frenzy of looking after so many children once they were born.

“You’ll have to excuse me. I didn’t realize the time when Kijika came and got me. I usually try and catch a nap right about now. If you’d like, we can talk later. I’m guessing that you still have questions. I can see it in your eyes,” Harith said with a warm smile.

“I’m sure more stuff will occur to me. I’ll take you up on that offer some time. Thank you again for agreeing to talk to me, Harith. Good luck with the baby. After she’s born, could I visit?”

“Certainly,” Harith said as he held out a hand, silently asking for assistance to rise from the chair.

I beat Kijika to Harith and pulled him up. He stared at me intensely before smiling and nodding in satisfaction. He allowed me to walk him to the door, waving Kijika off when he started to follow before reaching for the knob.

“Take care of Kijika, Moswen,” Harith said with a smile as he grasped my forearm and shook it lightly. He was out the door and gone before I could reply. For a very pregnant man, he could move quickly.

“So, did Harith help to answer some of your questions, Moswen?” Kijika asked as he came to stand behind me.

“The book did a pretty good job of telling me what I needed to know but it was great to actually talk to someone who was having a baby. Kinda put a personal spin on things.”

“You ever think of having children, Moswen?” Kijika asked me as I turned to face him and impulsively hugged him.

“Sure, but not for a while yet. Stars, Ki, I’m only eighteen. I’ve got loads of time to have me a brood. Hell, the first time I do have a brood of my own, I could have six kids. Possibly even more. Considering the way karma loves to screw with me, it’d be just the kind of thing for me to hit the upper end of the scale and have more than six kids,” I said with a laugh as I nuzzled Kijika’s chest.

I inhaled Kijika’s scent. He smelled faintly of Harith but I didn’t mind that because Harith smelled liked… life. Kijika smelled more strongly of me and naturally, there was his own scent over-riding everything else. I closed my eyes and let my mouth fall open a little so I could actually taste his scent on my tongue. Kijika smelled like… home to me. I felt happy with the smell of him in my nose. A smile twitched my lips when the wicked idea of showing Kijika something unique about Awh’anise physiology came to me.

“Hey, Ki, since you kinda showed me something new about your people; do you want to learn something new about mine?”

“Do you really need to ask me if I want to learn something new, Moswen?” Kijika asked with a laugh.

“I guess not,” I smirked. “We never know how another species will respond to the Sliaru but I can pretty much guarantee you’ll enjoy it a hell of a lot.”

Kijika cupped my chin, forcing my face up. I know amusement was in my eyes. I was gonna rock his world… again. I didn’t think he’d have ever seen anything like what I was going to show and do to him.

“Sliaru? What’s that?” Kijika asked as he ran his fingers through my hair. I leaned into the caress and had to work at not starting to purr from his touch.

“One hell of a fun thing, for both of us. I’ve been holding out on you, Ki. Nothing serious. Just a little something that Awh’anise males can do to give more pleasure to their partners.”

Kijika raised an eyebrow at me. I could tell from the expression on his face he didn’t believe me. I laughed and scooped him into my arms. It wasn’t easy but I only needed to carry him to the bed. It was totally worth it to see the shocked and pleased expression on his face. I don’t think Kijika got carried anywhere and definitely not by someone shorter and lighter than he was.

Introducing Kijika to the pearls and the Sliaru was going to be so much fun for both of us. Chapter 24

~Kijika~

I was now officially curious about this Sliaru that Moswen mentioned. He refused to say anything more about it. He said it’d be better to experience it first hand. He did relent a little and told me it was something that typically came into play during a breeding cycle and helped to impregnate females. I really couldn’t see how that was going to be any fun for me. I was a little nervous with him saying he didn’t know how another species would react to this Sliaru until they experienced it.

“Moswen, come on, tell me what it is,” I demanded as I squirmed in his arms. He grinned at me, shook his head and kissed me quickly.

That Moswen was able to pick me up and carry me shocked me. He had supported my weight the other day when we’d had sex but he had the wall helping him. At least that’s what I’d thought. It was an oddly thrilling sensation to have someone carry me. Gods help me, but I was such a bottom when it came to bedroom activities. I grunted in surprise when he dropped me on the bed.

“Get naked, Ki,” Moswen said before turning and walking over to a desk across the room.

I frowned when Moswen came back with a pad of paper and a pen and put them on the table next to the bed. I looked up at him, a question plain on my face. He gave me a fond smile and stroked my cheek.

“You’re gonna want to write down what I show you. I’m saving time by bringing you the paper and pen now,” Moswen said as he started to strip.

I blinked in surprise before grabbing Moswen’s arm and yanking him into me. He squawked in surprise, falling heavily against my chest, his feet still tangled in his pants. He was just opening his mouth to protest when I kissed him. I held his head still and let the affection I felt for him pour out into the kiss. Never had anyone done something like that for me. No one understood my almost obsessive need to catalogue new things I learned except Moswen. When I ended the kiss, I hugged Moswen tightly to me.

“Thank you,” I whispered into his ear. His understanding and thoughtfulness made me feel all giddy inside.

“You don’t need to thank me, Ki. It’s who you are. I think it’s cute,” Moswen said softly as he nuzzled into my hair.

Moswen let me hug him for several minutes before he pushed against my hold. I let him go and watched him shuck his pants. He stood next to the bed and stared down at me with his hands on his hips. His tail

began to swish lazily back and forth behind him. A quick glance down his body showed me that he was looking forward to whatever it was he wanted to show me.

“You know, this works a much better, not to mention is a whole lot more fun, when you’re naked too, Ki. If I have to wrestle the clothes off you again, I swear, I’m not going explain nicely this time to your staff why you need them fixed,” Moswen said with laughter in his voice.

A blush climbed up my throat. I’d thought it’d been embarrassing enough to have Moswen ‘explain’ once to the staff why my vest and skirt as well as one sandal needed to be repaired. Servants had sent me appraising looks for days. I shed my clothes and knelt on the bed, waiting for Moswen to join me.

“I told you once before that an Awh’anise enters a breeding cycle, right?” Moswen seemed to be waiting for a response so I nodded.

When he still didn’t continue but glanced at the note pad and pen, I leaned forward and licked his throat before getting what he’d been thoughtful enough to provide for me. The smile Moswen turned on me for that quick lick that I knew he’d enjoy made my heart speed up. He was a very handsome man when he smiled like that. I settled myself cross-legged on the bed with my wings spread out a little and waited for him, pen poised, to continue.

“Obviously, the point of a breeding cycle is to breed. But, just because, say, I’m in a breeding cycle, doesn’t mean the partner I choose is. Actually, unless you’re trying to have a brood, you generally find someone who isn’t in a cycle as well. Female Awh’anise can only get pregnant four times a year during their cycle. But even so, not every breeding cycle guarantees a brood.”

I wrote down every word Moswen was saying. I was having a bit of a hard time concentrating because I could see Moswen slowly stroking himself from the corner of my eye as he spoke. There were very few things I found more erotic than Moswen trying to seduce me. I was turning into a real push over when it came to him.

“Sliaru helps to make a female more likely to get pregnant by triggering her body to release more eggs. It’s also one hell of an aphrodisiac for both partners.”

“So why haven’t I felt the effects of this Sliaru before? Or have I and not realized it? You said you weren’t sure how I’d react only that I’d enjoy it. I really enjoy having you in my bed, Moswen. Are you sure I haven’t… uh… tried it already without you knowing?”

“Nope, you haven’t had the pleasure yet,” Moswen said with a devilish grin.

“How can you be sure? Is it because it’s something you have to give me like a drink or something to eat? It can’t be something only connected to your cycle or you wouldn’t be able to show me now,” I said as I looked at Moswen while trying to work out the mystery of the Sliaru in my head.

“Because, I haven’t pearled your ass yet, haeko’no,” Moswen said as he stopped stroking himself and spread his legs slightly so I had a clear view of his erect cock.

“What?” I asked as I stared at the very tempting distraction of Moswen’s cock and licked my lips. Anticipation made blood surge into my own dick, bringing my erection to life.

“When I’m not in a breeding cycle, I can control the appearance of ‘pearls’ on my cock. If I’m in a cycle, the pearls appear regardless. When the pearls are stimulated, Sliaru is released. This gives pleasure to me as well as whoever I’m fucking. Wanna see?”

Did I want to see? What kind of stupid question was that? Of course I wanted to see. I blushed a little when I realized Moswen was teasing me and that he’d show me regardless. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Watch,” Moswen instructed softly.

I leaned in closer to see what was happening. I’m not sure what I expected to see. I most definitely wasn’t prepared to see a line of small bumps appear along the length of his cock. The bumps grew until they were about the same size as peas.

“Does it hurt?” I asked as I reached out hesitantly to touch to Moswen. My hand hovered over his cock, unsure if I could touch him or not.

“No,” Moswen chuckled softly. “It actually feels damn good to let go of my control. And, when I do slide my cock into your ass, it’s gonna feel fantastic for both of us. What is it, Ki? You want to ask me something. I can tell.”

“Can I sketch it? I’ll be really fast. Then you can do whatever you want with me,” I said with a bit of a blush.

Moswen burst out laughing and tackled me. He kissed me hard and rubbed his cheek against my face. When he pulled back to look at me, laughter was still in his eyes. I noticed that he’d been very careful to keep his cock from touching me and wondered why.

“Stars, but you’re adorable, Ki. Yeah, you can sketch it. And I’ll hold you to that promise of doing whatever I want with you,” Moswen said with a grin as he sat back on his heels and spread his legs to give me an unobstructed view.

I stared for several seconds at his erection before Moswen’s snickers at my obvious distraction made me blush and grab the paper and pen again. Moswen aroused was entirely too distracting for my own good. I worked quickly and, true to my word, had a sketch done up in just a few minutes. I was fairly certain that I wouldn’t forget what a pearled cock looked like when I went to fill in the details later and if I did, I knew I could just ask Moswen to show me again. I highly doubted he’d complain or say no. Moswen motioned for me to hand him the sketch and after a moment of sudden shyness, I passed him the paper. I’d shown very few people the drawings and sketches I did. I didn’t think I was all that good. It was just a hobby. He traced his finger over the drawing and looked up at me in surprise.

“Wow. This is really good, Ki. It looks real and you only did it in a few minutes. I think I’d like to see other drawings you’ve done. But later on. I get to pearl your ass now,” Moswen said as he placed the drawing carefully on the floor beside the bed before giving me a hard push to the chest.

The unexpected move had me sprawled on my back. It was also very thrilling to that side of me that loved to be dominated in the bedroom. Moswen put his hands on my bent knees and ran them down my thighs. He spread my legs apart and moved between them. He pressed his nose close to my groin and inhaled deeply. A soft little growl trickled out of his throat. The look in Moswen’s eyes when he glanced up at me was intense and a little bit wild. If I didn’t know him as I did, I might have been just the tiniest bit afraid of what he was going to do with me. He brought his hand up and flexed his fingers, letting me see the wicked length he could extend his claws. He touched his index finger to my breastbone, pressing just hard enough for me to feel the sharp prick of his talon. He dragged his claw down the center of my chest; drawing a thin line of blood in its wake and making me squirm under the stinging sensation. What the hell was he doing?

“Moswen,” I hissed as I grabbed his wrist and halted the path of his talon. I had to use a good bit of strength to stop him. “That hurts, Moswen.”

His pupils were huge, almost eclipsing the purple colour of his iris. His lip curled back and a quiet growl of warning escaped him. He pulled on the wrist I’d caught, trying to get free of the hold I had on him. I tightened my grip and jerked him towards me. I liked a commanding lover but I didn’t like whatever violent game Moswen seemed intent on playing.

“Moswen,” I snapped out in my best commanding officer voice. The one that got my men to immediately do what I wanted. “Stop it. Now.”

Moswen stared at me for a few seconds before he blinked slowly. I could almost feel violence simmering in him. A muscle twitched in his jaw and he seemed to be struggling for control. He shuddered and closed his eyes. I watched him breathe slowly several times before he looked at me again. His talons retracted so that I felt just the pad of his finger against my skin.

“I’m sorry, Ki. I didn’t mean to do that, honest. It’s just, I really want you and I can smell how much you want me and…. I’m not making excuses. I… I’ve… uh… never been with anyone who wasn’t Awh’anise when I relaxed my control. Guess I’m not very good at it, huh? Allowing the pearls to appear makes us more aggressive. I forgot about that. It’s not really an issue with another Awh’anise. We generally like the rough stuff. Do you want to stop? I will if you want me too, I swear it,” Moswen said in a low, anxious voice.

Moswen was obviously upset over what he’d almost done. Oddly, I never once thought I’d have to use the word tay on him. I felt sure that he’d stop when I told him too. I didn’t think he noticed that he was stroking his thumb across my skin in soothing motions. Or that his tail wrapped around my ankle like he was afraid I’d leave the bed and him.

“As long as you don’t forget again, Moswen. I don’t think I’m quite ready to try something like I think you may be used to.”

Moswen shook his head no and moved out from between my legs. He kissed me gently on the lips before rubbing his cheek against mine and licking my ear lobe.

“It won’t happen again, Kijika. I promise. I don’t want to hurt you, ever. At least not in a way you wouldn’t find kinky fun.”

I could hear the upset and resolve in Moswen’s voice. I knew he’d do his damnedest to keep his word. I ran my fingers through his hair and pulled his head around for a kiss telling him without words that he was forgiven for the little slip. He hadn’t hurt me. Not really. I could feel the slight sting of a scratch on my chest but I’d gotten worse sparring with some of my men. A little healing magic took care of the tiny wound in less time than it took to exhale.

Moswen pulled away from the kiss and curled up next to me with his head resting on my stomach. His hair covered my groin and I made sounds of approval in my throat at the feel of the silky strands sliding over my erection. He rubbed his cheek against my skin and sighed in pleasure.

“I’ve got myself under control, I swear it, Ki. Let me start over again,” Moswen said softly.

I took Moswen at his word. If he said he had himself under control, then I believed him. I sighed with delight when he started to lightly run his fingers back and forth over my skin. His tail unwound from my ankle and wrapped around my forearm instead, the puffy tip swishing back and forth against my ribs and over my nipple.

“Touch me wherever you want, Ki. Just remember that petting my tail is very erotic to me and I’m trying really hard not to get over-excited again just from being with you.”

A thrill moved through me at hearing Moswen say that. I’d never had a lover warn me that by just being me, I was making them lose control. Moswen turned his head towards my groin and rubbed his lips against my cock. My belly fluttered in anticipation. I enjoyed the feel of his mouth on me a lot. The fact that he seemed to take a good deal of pleasure from sucking me off probably had more than a little to do with it. A blow job wasn’t something I’d gotten very often from previous bed partners.

I propped myself up on my elbows and watched Moswen as he began to lick and nibble on my cock. He cupped my balls in one hand, rolling and tugging gently on them while the fingers of his other hand circled the base of my cock. His tongue flicked out over the head before Moswen pushed the tip into the slit and wriggled it. I groaned at the unique feel. My breath left me in a long exhale when Moswen closed his mouth over my cock and slowly slid his lips down as far as he could before pulling back just as slowly.

He set up an unhurried rhythm, keeping the suction of his mouth strong but the touch of his teeth and fingers light. I could feel spit leaking from his mouth and running down the length of my cock. He used the spit to glide his fingers up and down my dick with the motion of his mouth. I stroked my hand over his leg next to me and heard him start to purr in pleasure from my touch. Every time the head of my cock hit the back of his throat, a shiver would travel through me at the vibrations I’d feel.

The head of Moswen’s cock brushed against my side. I glided my fingers over his hip aiming to touch him more intimately. Moswen’s tail, which was still wrapped around my arm, gently pulled my hand away and rested it on his thigh. He let my cock fall from his mouth and gave me a desire heavy look.

“I should have said don’t touch my cock right now either. I’m working very hard on controlling myself, Ki. If I feel your hands on me there, I know I’ll lose it again. I’d rather not have sex with you than hurt you again,” Moswen said.

“As long as I do get to touch you later, I can wait to see what those pearls of yours feel like under my fingers,” I said with a smile.

“You’re gonna feel the pearls in the best place possible, Ki. Right about now, actually. I thought I had better restraint than this but I guess I was wrong. You have any objections to that?”

I laughed. Did I have objections to enjoying Moswen sliding his cock into my ass? Not likely. If, as Moswen said, this was going to feel more arousing that what I’d already experienced with him, why would I object?

“No objections, Moswen,” I said as I twisted to snatch the oil that had taken up permanent residence on the bedside table and passed it to Moswen.

Moswen gave one long lick to my cock before sitting up and accepting the oil. He moved back between my spread legs before drizzling it over his fingers and smearing it around my hole. I was waiting for him to press his fingers inside me and gave a frustrated whine when all he seemed interested in doing was teasing me by sliding his fingers around but not in me.

“You ready, Ki?” Moswen asked as he continued to tease me by slipping just the tip of his finger into me.

I groaned and wriggled my hips. It was almost embarrassing how easily I responded to Moswen. How eager I was to feel his cock inside me. Moswen took the low groan I made for the yes that it was and pressed the head of his cock against my hole. A little push of his hips and the head slipped inside.

“You’re so gonna love this, Ki,” Moswen said with a slow smile.

Moswen pushed his cock steadily into me. The first pearls to slip past the tight ring of muscle made me inhale sharply at the unique sensation. Each pearl on Moswen’s cock sent little jolts of pleasure through me as they rubbed against my insides. When Moswen was finally seated all the way, a shiver travelled over my skin.

Moswen began to slowly work his hips back and forth. Every slide of his cock was a new pleasure unlike anything else I’d ever experienced. Soft little moans started to escape me with every firm thrust of his

cock. I was about to take my cock in hand when an intense rush of pleasure swamped me, making me shout in surprise.

My back bowed and my wings stretched out to as far as they would go. My hands fisted in the bed sheets and I instinctively wrapped my legs around Moswen’s waist. My balls were suddenly heavy and my cock ached. I was shocked to find that I was only a few breaths away from orgasm yet neither Moswen nor I had touched my cock.

“Moswen,” I gasped as my hips seemed to have developed a mind of their own, rolling and grinding into Moswen.

“That’s Sliaru, Ki. Feels good, doesn’t it?” Moswen said in a low voice as he leaned forward and licked my nipple, the position pressing his cock even harder into me.

I panted out something as I tried to hold back my release to enjoy the feel of the Sliaru and the pearls on Moswen’s cock longer. I could hear a faint rushing noise in my head and my heart was racing. Moswen picked up the speed of his thrusts making me moan and thrash under him.

“Come, xi’ haeko’no,” Moswen demanded as he snapped his hips hard into mine.

The command in his voice pushed all my buttons hard. My balls drew up tight and orgasm rushed at me. My wings beat furiously as if I was trying to fly and I ground my hips into Moswen’s. I spurted my release across my chest in long ropes that only served to boost the ecstasy I was feeling. Moswen snarled and I dimly heard fabric tearing as I felt his cock pulse in my ass. The roaring noise in my head got louder and I cried out as waves of ecstasy swamped me. My vision narrowed down to a pinprick before my eyes rolled back in my head. The last thing I saw was Moswen’s head thrown back in gratification, his mouth open in a primal roar before everything went dark. Chapter 25

~Moswen~

I was panting heavily as I supported myself on shaky arms over Kijika. There was nothing like the euphoric rush of an orgasm boosted by Sliaru. My skin tingled and I felt warmer than normal. Desire still moved through my system and would continue to do so unless I had Kijika again. Kijika would be just as aroused as me until the Sliaru was worked out of his system, too. Usually another quick screw or jerking off would dissipate the remainder. A fight could do it too but fucking was the preferred way for obvious reasons. I smirked when I thought that I could probably convince Kijika to go another round.

Kijika had been glorious when he came under the influence of Sliaru. His big body shook and the sounds of pleasure that escaped his throat had been pure music to my ears. He’d stretched his wings out as far as they’d go and I think if we’d been standing, he’d have flown us both up in the air, he’d been beating them so hard. It’d been incredible to see.

I finally noticed that my claws seemed to be buried in the bed along side Kijika. When I saw the shredded mess that was the mattress, I was relieved that I hadn’t been holding Kijika. Another Awh’anise would’ve shrugged off the deep gouges and taken it as a sign of deep pleasure, which it was. I didn’t even want to think about how Kijika would have reacted to being slashed up like I was capable of doing in the throes of passion.

“Sorry about the bed, Ki. I don’t know how you want to explain this one to your servants,” I said with a little groan as my cock slipped free of his body.

When Kijika didn’t respond to my teasing, I moved to lie next to him and touched his face. His eyes were closed and his breathing was erratic. His skin felt hot to the touch like he had a fever but there wasn’t a drop of sweat on him. I called his name several times, getting louder each time until I was almost shouting in his ear. Fear started to coil in my belly when he didn’t react.

“Kijika, wake up. Come on, haeko’no, please wake up,” I begged as I slapped his cheeks lightly.

Kijika lay motionless. I sat up and slapped his cheek hard enough to leave a handprint and still got no response. Warnings from my teachers about the possible negative effects of Sliaru on other species stormed through my brain.

“Come on, Ki, wake up. You’re scaring the shit out of me here,” I said as I slapped Kijika’s cheek hard again and still got no reaction.

I was getting desperate enough to go hunt up Kijika’s mom to try and heal him of whatever the Sliaru had done to him when his eyes suddenly opened. I breathed a small sigh of relief. I reached out to touch his face, intending to apologise for slapping him. Kijika’s hand shot up and grabbed my wrist in a strong grip. I looked into his eyes and saw that the darker aqua in the center of his eyes had shrunk down to nearly pin-pricks. He was awake but didn’t seem to be aware. That was not a good sign.

“Ki? You okay?”

Kijika raised a hand to the livid mark of my handprint on his face. He narrowed his eyes at me and his grip on my wrist tightened. He jerked me towards him and I was reminded that no matter how submissive Kijika acted in bed, he was a physically powerful man. The Sliaru boosted desire in my system surged at the aggressive move from him. Although I enjoyed the rush of desire his aggression produced in me, Kijika’s lack of recognition was something that had me worried.

Fuck. I think introducing Kijika to Sliaru was about to be a bad idea.

Kijika kissed me hard enough to split my lip. I growled at him in warning at the same time that I pressed myself against him. I liked aggressive, violence-tinged sex as much as the next Awh’anise and what Kijika was doing was pushing all my buttons whether he meant to or not. I knew I should try and figure out what was wrong with Kijika but this side of him was arousing and fascinating. I jerked my wrist against Kijika’s hold, wanting to have both my hands free to run over his skin.

Kijika tightened his grip on my wrist until I felt the bones grind together. He sat up and pressed his free hand against my back, pushing until our chests were touching. His wings curled around us, cocooning us. His tongue stabbed into my mouth, trying to dominate me. I battled my tongue against his, fighting for control of the kiss. Just because I liked the aggression he was showing me didn’t mean that I’d roll over and play the submissive for him; as fun as that would probably be. Kijika surprised me by pulling my arm behind my back and jerking it up. I hissed at the unexpected burn in my shoulder and wrenched my head to the side, breaking the rough kiss.

“You sure you want to go this route with me, Ki?” I panted as I shifted so that I was kneeling between his legs. I rubbed my erection against his belly and started to purr at the friction.

“I want…” Kijika said in a low voice as he gripped my chin hard enough to bruise and brought my mouth back towards his, nipping at my bottom lip.

“I know you do, Ki. That’s still the effects of Sliaru. I want too, but you said you weren’t ready for a little roughness,” I reminded him as I struggled not to simply react to what his body was telling me it wanted.

I probably deserved a freaking medal for even asking him when I’d like nothing better than some rough play with him. I wanted to be able to really let myself go with Kijika and not have to worry about hurting him in an un-fun way. His cock was hard against my thigh and I was starting to seriously consider the option of having him do me. I could take a lot of damage and get pleasure out of it, something I didn’t think Kijika could appreciate. With the strange way Kijika was behaving, having him fuck me would probably be really rough but something I’d like. I didn’t remember the first time he’d fucked me, but I’m sure it’d been fun. Sex with Kijika was always fun.

“I changed my mind,” Kijika said before tangling his hand in my hair and pulling my head to the side to bite my shoulder hard enough to draw blood.

The sharp sting of his teeth on my shoulder, the smell of fresh blood in the air and the Sliaru running through my system triggered dominance fight instincts in me. I reacted without thinking and dug my claws into Kijika’s ribs as I struggled against his hold on me. Kijika hissed at the sudden pain and jerked my arm up instinctively. I heard the pop and felt my shoulder dislocate at the same time. I growled and my claws dug deeper into Kijika’s side. He cursed and flung me from him.

I twisted and landed couched on the balls of my feet on the floor. My tail lashed from side to side and despite the hot throb of pain in my shoulder, I grinned at Kijika. He glared back at me and murmured a few words. The deep gouges from my claws in his side melted away under the power of his healing magic. I stood, spun and rammed my shoulder into the nearest wall. I hissed as the bone popped back into the joint. Kijika left the bed and stalked towards me. I smiled at him as he approached. He looked utterly fuckable to me with blood trailing down his side and an impressive erection. His wings were half open and I was nearly mesmerized by the shift and play of his muscles as he moved. I sometimes forgot just how powerful a man he was when he was so submissive in bed. This was going to be fun. Never in

my wildest dreams had I thought I’d get to have a dominance fight with Kijika. I knew something wasn’t quite right about Kijika’s actions but I wanted to play with him like this.

Kijika aimed a punch at me once he was close enough. I ducked the fist but was caught unprepared by the foot sweep. I landed hard on my ass with a grunt and rolled out of range. I’d never seen him fight but if his dad was anything to go by, I might get a decent go-to with him. Kijika advanced on me and I waited until he was reaching down for me. My fist made contact with his thigh and he staggered, off balance from the sudden blow. I launched myself at him, using my weight to knock him to the floor. I grinned down at him as I pinned both his hands with one of mine and pressed the claws of my free hand into his chest a little before licking his throat. If the fight went on too long, both of us would lose the desire to fuck and I didn’t want to let that chance slip past me. I also didn’t want to really hurt Kijika like I knew I could if he pushed me just a little too hard into a true dominance fight.

“Xa’ madna, xi’ haeko’no,” I said with a little triumph in my voice.

Kijika grunted at the small pain of my claws. There was something still not quite right about his behaviour but I was enjoying the little bit of erotic violence too much to question it. He smirked at me and managed to jerk one of his hands free. He grabbed me by the shoulder he’d already dislocated making me growl softly at the harsh grip. I dug my claws a little deeper into Kijika’s chest and nipped at his throat. I’d play as rough as he wanted.

“Xa’ madna, Kijika. I won our little dominance fight. Surrender and say ‘Ony madna’ back to me and I’ll let you up and do you as hard as you want,” I demanded.

“What makes you think you won, Moswen?” Kijika asked in a low voice with a smirk as I felt a sharp, stabbing pain in my already injured shoulder.

I snarled at the sudden jagged pain. I looked at my shoulder to see the tip of the curved talon on the top joint of Kijika’s wing had been shoved through me from back to front. I’d had no idea he could do that. I blinked in surprise at Kijika before smiling slowly at him. He was playing really rough. I liked it. I ground my hips into him and bared my fangs at him. I was damn near painfully hard now but so was he. He probably didn’t realize how arousing I found this violent struggle. I was still trying to use some control though. The last thing I wanted to do was seriously hurt Kijika. But, if this was the effect of Sliaru on Kijika, I was going to have to consider doing it to him more often.

I shoved myself back against the wing impaling me, pulling a startled shout from Kijika. I thought I heard a snapping sound before I jerked my shoulder forward, pulling myself off the wickedly sharp talon. Kijika paled and muscles in his jaw twitched. I could feel blood running down my chest, arm and back and smell it, thick and coppery in the air, mixing with the musk of sex and arousal. I tangled my hand in Kijika’s hair and pulled his head to the side as he’d done to me earlier. I bit his throat hard enough to make him bleed and hiss in pain.

“Xa’ madna, Ki,” I growled into his ear. I had him pinned under me. I’d forced his head back to expose his throat. I’d closed my mouth over his neck and drawn blood. By all Awh’anise rules, I won. I just needed to hear him submit to me. The dominance fight wasn’t technically over until he said ‘Ony madna’ to me.

I was expecting to hear Kijika surrender. I was not expecting to hear him mutter words in Naemo. I was about to remind him what to say back to my demand of surrender when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head a little to be able to see what the movement was as well as keep an eye on Kijika.

A dozen feet away from us, the stone floor shifted and parted. A hand came out of the newly created gap in the floor and braced itself on the stones. A body followed, wriggling out of the crack in the floor. Shock held me immobile for a few precious seconds as I watched a man in full battle gear stand and sweep the room with a flat gaze. His eyes stopped on me and he advanced, drawing a long sword from its sheath at his hip. Another hand appeared from the crack at the same time that I heard a growl from the opposite direction. I turned my head to see a large animal heaving itself out of another crack in the floor.

Holy fuck!

I scrambled off Kijika, standing in front of him, my instincts to defend him rushing through my brain. I was wounded but not badly. I was still very capable of defending my mate from this new threat. Worse case scenario, I’d Dream-step us away to safety. I snarled at the things advancing on us as Kijika pushed himself up to stand beside me. I glanced at him and noted he looked a little pale but there was a gleam of triumph in his eyes. I grunted when Kijika closed his hand over my abused shoulder. I tried to shrug his hand off. How was I supposed to fight and defend him if he was hampering my movements?

“Are still sure you won, Moswen?” Kijika asked as his hand tightened on my shoulder and two of his fingers pressed into the wound making me hiss in pain.

When the meaning of Kijika’s words penetrated my brain, my eyes widened. I’d been so surprised by the dead appearing, I hadn’t thought how they’d appeared in Kijika’s rooms. Kijika had raised the dead to distract me and give himself the advantage to win our little dominance fight. Yeah, technically it was cheating, but it was a brilliant move and I couldn’t help but feel a little proud of him for thinking of it. I wouldn’t concede defeat so easily but my respect of his fighting abilities just went up a notch or three. I was about to reply to his question with a fast elbow to his gut and a possible heel to his instep when the door crashed open. Both of us jerked our heads to the door to see Delseur standing there taking in me, Kijika and the dead closing in on us. Servants crowded behind Delseur, staring in shock at us.

“Nas-Drey Delseur Kijika, what in the name of all the gods is going on here?” Delseur shouted.

The dead stopped their forward movement but seemed to be struggling to continue. Kijika muttered something in Naemo and his grip on my shoulder tightened. I grunted and reached back to dig my claws into his thigh. Kijika sucked in a quick breath and dug his fingers even deeper into my shoulder wound. The dead started towards us again but slower and with jerky moves. Delseur pursed his lips and sliced his arm through the air. My ears popped from the sudden increase of pressure and the dead wavered as they tried to keep obeying Kijika commands. Delseur grimaced and spoke a harsh word. Kijika gasped and the dead collapsed into heaps. They almost seemed to flow through the cracks between the stones of the floor, leaving no trace they’d been there. Kijika started to shake behind me and I turned my head just in time to see him turn ashen. He slumped forward, making me stagger under his sudden weight. Delseur leaned against the wall. A bead of sweat ran down the side of his face. He passed a hand over his face before fixing me with a hard stare.

“Do I even want to know what you did this time to cause this?” Delseur asked in a weary voice as he gestured vaguely.

“It was an accident. I didn’t mean for this to happen,” I said as I looked at Delseur, willing him to believe me.

Delseur must have seen something in my expression. He sighed softly and sent servants for Olanthe. I opened my mouth to protest. I was mostly fine. A few days of rest and the wound in my shoulder would

be healed. The claw marks on Kijika weren’t deep. He’d be able to heal those himself between one breath and the next. I’d already seen him do it before. Delseur must have known what I was going to say.

“Olanthe will need to heal him, Moswen. Kijika’s skills are minor in that area. He can’t heal broken bones. Even if he could, healing a broken wing so he’d still be able to fly takes a skilled healer and Olanthe is one of the best,” Delseur said.

My breath caught in my throat. I vaguely remembered hearing a snapping sound when I’d freed myself from Kijika’s wing talon. Servants stepped forward at Delseur’s command and helped me lay Kijika on his bed without hurting him more than I already had. His wing was bent at an unnatural angle and I made noises of distress when I saw that. I knelt beside him and took his hand into mine, rubbing my cheek across the back of his hand.

He was unconscious and I wasn’t sure if it was because the Sliaru had been worked out of his system, his wing injury or whatever happened between him and Delseur over control of the dead. I hadn’t meant to hurt Kijika like that. I hadn’t meant to really hurt him at all. We’d just been playing a little harder than I thought I’d ever get to play with him. Olanthe rushed into the room, took one look at Kijika covered in my blood and his, his wing obviously broken and glared at me before ordering me out in a voice that dripped venom. I thought her anger at me was deserved. I’d let my excitement over getting to play rough with Kijika over-ride my judgement. I wasn’t going anywhere though. Not until I knew Kijika was going to be okay.

“I’m not leaving. Kijika is xi’ haeko’no to me; my heartbeat. You can try and have me thrown out but I’ll keep coming back. You can’t keep me from him. Heal him with me here or I’ll Dream-step us both away to Awh’an and have my people’s healers do it.”

Olanthe opened her mouth to chew me out but was stopped by Delseur’s words.

“Heal him, Olanthe. What happened was an accident. I’m sure we can get the full story from Kijika and Moswen once Kijika recovers.”

I shot a grateful look at Delseur. Why he’d decided to take my side… at that moment I didn’t really care. Olanthe narrowed her eyes and muttered under her breath but set to work on healing Kijika. I knew as soon as Kijika woke up, we were going to have some serious explaining to do. I was so not looking forward to that conversation.

And a reminder for those of you in the Toronto area the weekend of the 28th (that's next Friday), I will be at AnimeNorth and have a little time slot to speak and everything as the Guest of Honour for YaoiNorth. I'll also be on 2 panels (one on NaNo and one on kink). My time slot is Saturday at 3:00pm. I will be reading something from Karma that hasn't be posted yet, so those who attend get a sneak peak at a future chapter. You also get to ask me questions and the like *grins*. Moswen will be coming with me for sure. Kijika is not so certain as he's in transit. If he doesn't get home in time, I'll likely be bringing Jaiseki with me. And probably Haniel as he's a tiny doll (about 6" tall) and easily transportable. Chapter 26

~Kijika~

I’d slept for nearly an entire day and night after my mother finished healing me. Moswen had stayed beside me the entire time according to my father. Apparently, he’d refused to leave and when Olanthe’d ordered him from the room, he’d said he’d Dream-Step us to Awh’an and have his people heal me. My mother had backed down at that. She knew the difference between a threat and a promise.

Oddly, even though I’d slept so long, I still felt tired. If I could have gotten away with postponing this conversation with my parents, I would have. To never have it period would have been terrific. But, Moswen had received a message from Awh’an while I was unconscious and needed to leave soon. He’d refused to let me to talk to my parents alone.

I fidgeted in my seat. Moswen was sitting beside me, holding my hand. Both of us were looking at the floor and avoiding my mom’s eyes. She’d been ranting at Moswen for the past ten minutes about his careless behaviour and how he could have crippled me if she wasn’t as good a healer as she was. She was completely ignoring the fact that I’d injured Moswen.

I wanted to jump to Moswen’s defence but his firm grip on my hand and the subtle shake of his head kept me from doing that. He was of the belief that he deserved the chew out from Olanthe. I didn’t think he did. I’d agreed to let him show me the pearls on his cock and the Sliaru even after he’d told me he wasn’t sure how I’d react to it. The way my mom was carrying on, you’d think I’d been at death’s door and that Moswen had gotten off without a scratch.

He hadn’t.

I was caught between proud and ashamed that Moswen had some serious wounds courtesy of me. The worst had been a through and through puncture from the talon on my wing in his shoulder that I’d also dislocated. He’d also had a few minor bruises and bloody bite wounds. I only vaguely recalled giving him those injuries.

I’d also, apparently, called the dead up. I’m not exactly sure why I’d done that. If my father hadn’t felt the dead stirring and come running to see why, I wasn’t sure what would have happened to Moswen. Even if I’d only called up the dead to threaten Moswen into playing the submissive to me, that was still very wrong. I didn’t want to think about what other reason I might have called forth the dead for.

I remember feeling more aroused than I’d ever been in my life. A surprising surge of aggression had taken me over when I’d opened my eyes after passing out from the force of the orgasm I’d initially experienced because of the pearls and Sliaru. Aside from remembering that I wanted Moswen with stunning strength, I didn’t have clear memories of anything after my orgasm.

My mother was in a fury over my broken wing. Moswen had accidentally broken one of the big struts in my wing when he’d freed himself from the talon that I’d driven through his shoulder. My mom was carrying on like Moswen had done it on purpose. He’d never do something like that. He’d been cautious enough with my wings before. Now, he was going to be afraid to touch them at all for fear of damaging them. I sighed a little. I enjoyed the feel of Moswen running his hands over my wings, tracing the patterns of colour with his fingertips. He hadn’t even known he’d broken my wing until my dad pointed it out. Moswen had apologised to me profusely once I’d regained consciousness from the healing my mother did. He was still upset over hurting me as badly as he did. I think that’s why he was letting my mom chew him a new hole.

He was still feeling guilty for hurting me even though it hadn’t been intentional.

“Olanthe, I think you’ve made your point. Moswen explained that it was an accident and that he’s apologised to Kijika. Kijika says he doesn’t blame Moswen and that he agreed to what led up to the whole incident,” Delseur said from his position on a couch opposite from Moswen and me.

“Delseur, he could have crippled Kijika. Healing a wing is tricky business,” Olanthe started with heat in her voice.

“Enough, mom. What happened was between Moswen and me. You healed my wing good as new. Let it go,” I said firmly as I looked at my parents.

My mom looked like she wanted to continue brow-beating Moswen. My dad squeezed her hand, earning himself a nasty look of his own. Moswen’s tail wound around my leg and he pressed close to my side. I knew he was miserable with guilt even though I’d told him I didn’t blame him for anything. I’d also apologised to Moswen for wounding him as I had. He’d brushed aside my apology as if his wound was nothing.

“I want to promise that I’d never hurt Kijika again but that would be a lie. The Awh’anise are a violent people. As much as I adore Kijika, I can’t change that aspect of myself. I know now what kind of reaction Kijika has to Sliaru. I simply won’t allow that to happen again,” Moswen said in a firm voice.

“Moswen,” I protested turning to face him. He hadn’t said anything about that to me. I’d enjoyed the sensations of the pearls and Sliaru immensely. I couldn’t have the pearls without the Sliaru and thought it was unfair that he’d made this decision without talking to me first.

“No, haeko’no, I’m not going to put you at risk again. I protect what’s mine even if I have to protect you from my own nature,” Moswen said softly.

“Then leave. If you really want to keep Kijika safe from harm, go back wherever it was you came from,” Olanthe said with a hint of triumph in her voice.

I glared at my mother. She was taking this whole protective parent thing to far. I’d never seen her get so worked up over who I chose to spend my time with. Granted, she saw most people I developed a relationship with as unsuitable but that was mostly due to their lack of social standing compared to mine. Something about Moswen had her defences on high alert. My dad, on the other hand, seemed more relaxed about my relationship with Moswen. Moswen shifted uncomfortably beside me. No matter what he thought, he didn’t deserve the harsh words from my mother.

“Actually, I got a message calling me back to Awh’an. I need to appear before a military inquest into an explosion at a lab. I’ll be leaving shortly but as long as Kijika wants me to come back, I will. I am, after all, his concubine as decreed by your father, King Sakima. Kijika’s word is final when it comes to me,” Moswen said with a little edge in his voice.

My mom scowled at Moswen but kept her mouth shut. Moswen had asked me for information on the position and duties of a royal concubine. He’d read everything I gave him and, amazingly enough, retained every word. He could literally recite back everything he’d read word for word. He knew that if I said he was welcome to come back to me, then nobody could step in and say he couldn’t. Not even King Sakima. Knowing that she’d just been outmanoeuvred, my mom rose from her seat, gave Moswen her best ice princess glare, which was pretty damn scary, and left the room. My dad sighed and followed her. He paused at the door and looked at us intently.

“Don’t make me regret backing you two against Olanthe. You seem happy with Moswen, Kijika, and he appears to only have your best interests at heart. I’ll work on your mother, Kijika. She’ll come around eventually. She doesn’t want to let her baby go is all.”

Delseur closed the door behind him. Moswen stroked his thumb over the back of my hand. I knew he didn’t want to leave but he’d explained that he had no choice. He’d been one of the people responsible for the lab blowing up and now had to answer for his part in the fiasco. He’d asked if I wanted to come with him as he didn’t know how long he was going to be. Military proceedings could be notoriously slow no matter what species was involved. As much as I wanted to go with him and see his planet and meet the family he’d talked about, I’d had to turn him down as I had previous commitments in the court as well as my work in the library.

“When do you need to leave, Moswen?”

“Early tomorrow morning at the very latest. I’ve been ordered to appear at nine in the morning for swearing in. You have the information I gave you on how to reach me if you need too, right? Send multiple messages just to make sure they get to me. You can always call to me in your dreams, too. If I hear you, I’ll visit you in the dream world.”

“Are you in trouble, Moswen? They wouldn’t put you in jail or anything, would they?” I asked as I hugged him. I really didn’t want him to leave and I didn’t like the thought that he could be held prisoner for gods knew how long.

“Nah. Well, not much trouble. I was somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be but Mahira’s team screwed up when they didn’t report finding me there right away. Mahira is pretty much in the clear ‘cause she didn’t even know I’d been involved until after the fact and she had nothing to do with my getting into the lab in the first place. They can’t hold me, Ki. How do you hold someone who can move through dreams as easy as breathing? Worst case scenario would have me demoted and maybe some physical punishment but I doubt that’ll happen.”

“Physical punishment?” I asked with a little unease in my voice.

“It’s the most effective way to deal with a Shal-hazal when punishment is required. Especially a Shalhazal Spirit. It’s no big deal, Ki. I’m pretty sure they’ll chew my ass out and maybe suspend my pay for a bit. Relax. You said you wanted me to come back to you so, I will,” Moswen said as he stood and tugged on my hand.

I wasn’t as confident as Moswen that nothing would happen to him but maybe his people’s military operated differently than the Naemo military did. A Naemo officer would be stripped of his rank and tossed into a cell for smearing the honour of his position as well as disobeying an order. He’d never be able to hold his head high again. Suicide wasn’t an uncommon choice for disgraced Naemo soldiers.

“Come on, Ki. I want to curl up next to you for a while. These military things can take a while and I’d like to store up all the good feelings I get when I’m with you until I can come back.”

I let Moswen lead me to the bed. I wanted to store up some good feelings too. I’d grown used to having Moswen sleep with me and I was going to miss that when he was gone. I’d also miss his company when I

was in my office working. Not that we talked a lot. Most often it was just the fact that he was there with me and I could talk to him if I wanted to. He didn’t mind if an entire day went by and we never said more than a dozen words. Moswen was just as likely as me to end up lost in whatever he was doing.

Moswen didn’t even have to remind me to get naked when I was standing next to the bed. I knew he liked skin on skin contact with me and it’d become second nature for me to go to bed nude. Moswen waited for me to settle myself before shedding his clothes and joining me. He moved carefully around me and seemed a little confused about where to lie. I opened my arms to him.

“Come here, Moswen,” I said softly.

“But, I’ll be lying partially on your wing,” Moswen protested as he eyed the wing in question like it would impale him again. Or like he’d break it.

“So? I’m laying on them and it doesn’t bother me.”

“I’ve already broken your wing once, Ki. What if I hurt you again? Your mom was telling the truth when she said that I could’ve crippled you. I’m really sorry, Ki.”

I sighed. My mother should learn to keep her mouth shut sometimes.

“Moswen, you’ve already apologised and I accepted that apology. It was an accident pure and simple. I don’t want to hear another word about it. Our wings are tough. You won’t hurt me. Now, come here,” I demanded.

Moswen moved stiffly into my arms. He shifted restless against me for several minutes, not seeming to be able to get comfortable. I pulled him more firmly across my chest and brought my wings around us both. He went utterly still in my arms as if afraid to move. I stroked my hands over his back, something I knew he enjoyed. Eventually he relaxed against me and I heard the soft rumble of his purr. I’m not sure what it was about that sound that I found so soothing.

Soon enough, the relaxing content I felt holding Moswen changed. He still purred under my hands but he’d started to lazily stroke his fingers across my chest. His tail tip flicked back and forth against my calf. Whether it was deliberate or not, Moswen was exhaling directly onto one of my nipples and that was slowly fanning arousal to life in me. Not that it took much for that to happen when I was with Moswen. He wriggled in my arms until I reluctantly opened my wings and let him up.

“You never did answer me, Ki,” Moswen said as he drew random patterns over my belly with his finger.

“Answer you what?” I asked confused when I didn’t remember him asking me any question.

“I asked you before if you liked to suck cock. You never said if you did or not. Do you?”

I raised an eyebrow at Moswen. Where did that line of thought come from? I didn’t remember him asking me any such thing. At least, not recently. I frowned a little as I thought about it. Most of the time I’d blown someone, I hadn’t done it because I wanted to; I’d done it because it was expected of me as the submissive one in the pairing. I suppose the question was whether or not I wanted to do that for Moswen.

“I’d do it for you, if you wanted me to,” I said as I sat up and rubbed my thumb over the stripes on Moswen’s cheek.

“That’s not what I asked, Kijika. You do whatever you feel comfortable doing in bed with me. If you don’t want to or don’t like having a cock in your mouth, then tell me. I’ll never make you do something you don’t want to. I really like having a cock in my mouth. I also really like having my cock in somebody else’s mouth, often at the same time. But that won’t happen if it’s something you dislike.”

I still wasn’t very used to the idea of not having any rigid rules about sex with Moswen or the frank and unashamed way he would discuss sex so openly. At least I didn’t blush quiet so much any more when he talked about sex with me. Whatever I wanted was fine with him. If I just wanted to touch and pet him and not have sex, he was happy to oblige me. If I wanted him to skip foreplay and just get on with the fucking, Moswen took me on a wild ride. If I wanted to spend hours on kissing and stroking each other, he let me do that too. Moswen seemed to get a ridiculous amount of pleasure from making sure that I was getting as much enjoyment as possible out of our time together.

“Would you like me to suck you off, Moswen?”

“Stars, yes. But that’s not what I asked. Don’t do it because I want you to do it. Do it because you want to do it. Because you like the feel of a cock in your mouth. Do it because you find it erotic not because I happen to like it,” Moswen said with a little frustration in his voice.

“Well, I don’t know if I’ll like sucking your cock, Moswen. I’ve never tasted it so I can’t really say if I’ll like it or not.”

Moswen gaped at me. I was able to hold the serious expression on my face for a full ten seconds before the snicker escaped me. The shocked expression on his face was priceless when he realized I was teasing him and I’d just said that I’d like to try sucking him off. Moswen grinned at me and kissed me hard.

“We’ll have a little mutual action then. Although, I’m not sure how well that’ll work when you’re like nine inches taller than me. Be one hell of a good time finding out though,” Moswen said with a smile full of heat and promise.

Moswen had me move to lie on my side. He waited until I was comfortable before lying next to me, his head at my groin. He propped a leg up, exposing his cock. I couldn’t help the smile that teased my lips when I saw he was already hard. Moswen ran his hands over my hip and thigh before urging me to mimic his position. He nuzzled my rapidly hardening dick and gave me a quick lick.

“Do only what you feel comfortable doing, Ki. If you decide you don’t like my cock in your mouth, then jerk me off. I like your hands on me, too.”

I nodded and watched as Moswen started to lick and nibble on my cock. That he liked having his mouth on me was obvious. I stared for a few seconds at Moswen’s dick before brushing my lips over the length and flicking my tongue quickly back and forth over the head. The breath whooshed out of Moswen and I felt the sharp prick of his talons before he retracted them.

“Fuck, Ki, warn a guy,” Moswen said in a husky voice.

I smiled at him and closed my lips over the head, swirling my tongue around as I sucked steadily. Moswen’s talons dug into my thigh again and he groaned before copying what I was doing to him. Just because blowing someone was expected of me as a show of submission, didn’t mean I wasn’t good at it. I’d had people compliment me on my oral skills and they hadn’t been talking about my abilities in public speaking.

I closed my eyes as I concentrated on feeling what Moswen was doing to me as well as what I was doing to him. Moswen was nicely hung but not as large as some of the partners I’d had. For that, in this instance, I was glad. It made taking his entire length in my mouth easier. When I slid my mouth all the way down to the base of his cock, Moswen moaned around the dick in his mouth and his tail tip fluttered madly against my wing.

I began bobbing my head slowly up and down his length. My hands caressed his thighs and gently cupped his ass. Moswen picked up on the rhythm I was using and began flexing his hips to match me. He scraped his fangs over my cock as he worked his mouth on me. I was surprised at the surge of lust that bare hint of roughness brought forth in me. Moswen was purring even louder, the vibrations making my cock twitch in his mouth. I almost protested when Moswen let my dick fall from his mouth.

“I need your fingers in my ass, Ki,” Moswen said in a low voice.

I was a little surprised when Moswen asked me to do that but I could hear how aroused he was by what I was doing to him. I wanted to please him and give him as much pleasure as he always made sure to give me. I backed off his cock only long enough to slick two fingers with spit. I took him back into my mouth and rested a finger against his hole. Moswen moaned and flexed his hips, silently asking me for more. I pushed slowly into him, not wanting to hurt him.

“Stars, Ki, that feels good,” Moswen breathed as he licked my cock from root to tip and back. “More, Ki.”

I pulled my finger out and pressed back in with two. Moswen shuddered and exhaled loudly before taking my cock back into his mouth. One hand travelled lightly over my legs, ass and back, stroking me in a surprisingly sensual way. His other hand rolled and teased my balls. He sucked strongly on me, a

contrast to the gentle touch of his hands. A groan escaped me at the erotic act Moswen had pulled me into.

I watched my fingers slide in and out of Moswen’s ass while I swallowed down his cock and pumped my own into his mouth. The sounds of his pleasure pushed my own arousal higher until I was making needy noises of my own. I’d never really enjoyed the sensation of having a cock in my mouth as much as I did with Moswen’s. This was something I was going to do again with him. When Moswen backed off my cock again, I protested.

“I know you prefer my cock in your ass, Ki, but I want your cock this time,” Moswen panted lightly. “You’re fucking fantastic with your mouth and if I don’t ask you this now, in another couple of minutes you’re gonna have me shooting my load. I give good head but you should teach classes in it.”

I almost choked with laughter around Moswen’s cock. I let him fall from my mouth with a broad grin on my face. Yes, I’d been told I was good before but, coming from Moswen, the compliment had more meaning for me. I pushed my fingers hard into his ass just to hear him gasp in pleasure.

“Ki,” Moswen groaned as he pressed his forehead to my thigh.

I withdrew my fingers and gave him a little push. He turned around to face me and seemed to study my face before smiling and kissing me. He rubbed his cheek against mine and licked my earlobe. Moswen grabbed the oil from the night table and stared at me again. A wicked smile appeared on his face. He poured oil into the palm of his hand before slicking my cock and bringing his fingers to his ass to rub some around his hole.

“Sit up for me, Ki. I think we’ll both like that position best. You liked the pearls, right? I think you’re going to like this almost as much.”

I frowned at Moswen. What in god’s name did he mean by that?

He straddled my hips and rubbed the head of my cock back and forth over his hole. I watched his eyes, fascinated at the way his pupils widened then contracted when the head of my cock slid inside him. His eyes half closed and a little growl escaped his throat. A groan of pleasure escaped me at feeling his tight heat on my cock. Moswen pushed steadily down until I felt resistance.

“Moswen?”

He pulled my head down for a kiss as he moved his hips up until just the head of my cock was inside him. I was caught off guard when he impaled himself fully on me. He growled into my mouth and nipped my lip hard enough to make it bleed. He broke the kiss and squeezed his eyes closed as he panted harshly. He seemed to be trying to control himself and a pleased feeling washed through me that I was able to have that kind of effect on him. I was about to ask him if he was okay when the most amazing, wave-like ripple of pleasure travelled over my cock. A startled gasp left me.

“You like? Wait until I start moving. I’m gonna rock your socks off. I think you’ll want to do this more often, which’ll be fine by me. I love the feel of you in my ass,” Moswen said a little breathlessly as he wrapped his tail around his dick and his arms around my neck.

When Moswen started to ride me, every rational thought flew out of my head. I couldn’t have spoken a coherent thought if my life had depended on it. His body was tight on my cock, the muscles of his ass squeezing me, making lust rush through me. My wings spread open before closing around us. Moswen faltered a little in his rhythm at the feel of my wings touching his back until I moaned softly.

I tangled my fingers in Moswen’s hair and kissed him, pressing my tongue into his mouth. He returned the kiss, tangling his tongue with mine as he continued to pump his hips. Soft little growls of pleasure left his throat. The rough velvet of his tail brushed against my belly as he stroked himself. The musk of sex was thick in the air. Moswen pulled back fractionally from the kiss.

“Xi’ vree’coo, Kijika. Come for me. I’m close,” Moswen breathed against my lips.

“Then let go, Moswen. Let me feel you come first,” I demanded as my mind spun from the delight Moswen was giving me.

Moswen made a little noise of protest but his body stiffened and his back arched as release stormed through him. He ground his hips down into my lap as his cock spurted his seed between us. His head tipped back and a howl of ecstasy left his throat. Fierce desire slid down my spine at having caused Moswen to feel such joy. The muscles in his ass rippled over my cock, drawing a groan from me. I switched my hands from his head to his hips and forcefully began moving him over my cock. Moswen was moaning my name over and over between licks and bites to my throat. My balls drew up tight to my body and I roughly jerked Moswen down. Orgasm hit me hard, forcing the breath from me in a long groan. Moswen whined and panted as shivers wracked his body.

I don’t know how long we stayed in that position waiting for our hearts to slow back to normal and our breathing to even out. When Moswen unwound his arms from around my neck, it was with a little hiss of pain. I opened my wings so he could move off me even though I would’ve been more than happy to keep him where he was. When I saw Moswen’s arms, I sucked in a startled breath. Chapter 27

~Moswen~

“Moswen, what happened?” Kijika asked as he looked at the deep gouges before spreading healing magic over them.

In a matter of minutes, the deep claw marks were gone as if they’d never been. Kijika frowned at me when I licked lazily at the drying blood from my own arm. I gave him a satisfied smile and started to purr softly again. He only needed to look at me and I found pleasure. I officially had it bad for Kijika.

I still felt light headed from the pleasure Kijika had given me. Having him take my ass was even better than I’d imagined and I had a fantastic imagination. I’d never felt so full. Having that much cock in my ass bordered on painful but in a way that I really liked. I’d even managed to keep my claws to myself, proof of that in the furrows I’d dug into my own arms when I orgasmed. I was so relaxed and satisfied I wanted to curl up on Kijika and go to sleep. Naturally, Kijika wasn’t about to let the self-inflicted wounds go.

“Moswen, what did you do to yourself?”

I forced my sex-fuzzed brain to focus on Kijika and what he was saying instead of the pleasant rumble of his voice. He sounded upset. After that fantastic bout of love making, I wasn’t about to let him think something was wrong when everything was so very right.

“That felt unbelievably good, Ki. We are so doing that again sometime. Because it did feel so fucking good, some of my control slipped. I clawed my arms to keep from clawing you. It happens when you really push the sexual buttons of an Awh’anise. It’s… an involuntary reaction. You’ve made me do it twice now. You’re incredible, Kijika,” I said with banked heat in my voice as I licked his throat.

Kijika blushed. He seemed to want to chew me out for injuring myself at the same time that he wanted to thank me for the compliment. I laughed and kissed him softly. My ass was sore and I could feel Kijika’s seed trickling out of me. I protested when Kijika left the bed. He returned shortly with a warm, wet cloth and cleaned me up, pushing me to get under the blankets when he was done. He climbed in after me, pulling me into the position I favoured with him that should have been uncomfortable for both of us but wasn’t.

I was sprawled half-on, half-off his chest, my head pillowed on his very nice pectorals. I closed my eyes as I let the steady beat of his heart under my ear and the slow sweeping motion of his hand over my back lull me. My mind drifted in pleasure from the heady release with Kijika, the caring I could feel in his touch and the smell of him in my nose.

I didn’t want to go back to Awh’an.

Not because of the military tribunal. I was pretty confident the worst I’d get was a few lashes and docked pay. I could deal with that. I didn’t want to leave Kijika. While I’d always love my homeworld and my family there, Kijika was home now. Not his world or his rooms at the palace. The man himself felt like home. He was important to me. He was more than just someone in my family group. He was mine; animal instincts were telling me it was so. But, was that really what my heart was telling me?

I know Kijika enjoyed being with me and he’d told me I was more than just a convenient bed partner. I didn’t want to push him for how he really felt about me. Not when I couldn’t really tell him how I felt. I needed more time to be sure of my feelings. My screwy genetic impulses made figuring out how I

honestly felt about people hard. I sighed softly. Maybe this time apart would clear up things in my head. If I wasn’t distracted by his scent and taste, maybe my head and my heart could figure out if I really was falling in love with Kijika as I suspected I was.

The comforting motion of Kijika’s hands on me had me drifting off into true sleep. I didn’t Dream-Walk but just dreamed, something a little unusual for me. What, exactly, I dreamed, I couldn’t say come morning. I only remembered feeling happy and content and that it was because of Kijika.

*********

“Remember, Ki, if you need to get a hold of me, send messages to the Shal-hazal House and my parent’s house. Call to me in your dreams too, if you can. If I hear you, I’ll come to you in dreams. I probably won’t be allowed to leave Awh’an while the tribunal is going on but I’ll still be able to talk to you.”

Kijika watched me dress in my god-awful formal Shal-hazal robes. The ghost of a smile passed over his lips when he heard me mutter about the gaudy thing. I thought he looked a little tired even though we’d both slept through the night. I picked up the jewel King Sakima had given me signifying I was Kijika’s concubine and put it on my head. Kijika raised an eyebrow at that. I didn’t need to wear it if I wasn’t going to be wandering around outside of the palace. Nobody on Awh’an would understand the significance of it.

“Moswen, why are you wearing that?” Kijika asked as he approached me and gently traced his fingers over the stripes on my cheeks.

I leaned into the caress. Kijika made an effort to touch me often because he knew I craved it. He seemed to enjoy the contact too which made me ridiculously happy. I hugged him and pressed my face to his chest and inhaled his scent for several minutes in silence. My brow furrowed a little. There was something a little different about his scent. Something I hadn’t really noticed before. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was and, unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to try and figure out what was different.

“It says I’m yours, doesn’t it?” I asked as I looked up into his eyes.

“Well, yeah, to any Vylfian and probably some Naemo familiar with court protocol. But, it has no meaning to your people beyond a pretty piece of jewellery.”

“But I know what it means. I’ll explain to anyone who asks.”

“What’re you going to say, Moswen?” Kijika asked me softly.

“That I have somebody and I’m not interested in anyone else. I’ll try to push the tribunal to be brief but it is the military and they can be slower than frozen spit in getting to the point. I may be gone two weeks or more,” I said as I hugged Kijika hard and pressed my nose to his skin.

What the hell was that subtle difference I was smelling on Kijika’s skin? It was going to drive me bonkers until I figured it out and just didn’t have the time right now to let my nose and brain work it out. I gave a soft snort to clear my nose of the distracting scent.

“I expect you to come back as soon as you can, Moswen,” Kijika said in a serious voice. “I’ve gotten to like having you with me in my office and I don’t think I’m used to sleeping alone anymore.”

“You want me to come back, so I’ll come back. Simple as that, Kijika. I have to go or I’ll be late. Stay out of trouble, xi’ vree’coo,” I said stepping back from Kijika.

Kijika laughed and gave me a fast kiss on the forehead before moving away. I sighed a little. Everything in me was telling me to stay with Kijika. I stepped into the dream world and started hopping my way back to Awh’an through other’s dreams. The faster I got this tribunal thing over with, the faster I’d be back with Kijika. Chapter 28

~Kijika~

“Your Radiance? Prince Kijika?” a female voice called me.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, shaking me gently. I blinked blearily and raised my head. I was in my office and I’d apparently fallen asleep. Again. A huge yawn caught me by surprise. How could I be tired if I’d just woken up?

“Prince Kijika, are you feeling okay? This is the second time in three days I’ve woken you up. Are you not getting enough sleep at home?”

I scrubbed a hand over my face and tried to concentrate on what my assistant was saying. I felt dead tired even though I’d gotten a full night’s sleep. I wasn’t sick. At least I didn’t think I was. There was no way in hell I would go to a healer to make sure when I didn’t feel sick. My mom would hear about my visit and come check me out for herself. An over protective mother hovering around me was something I didn’t want to deal with at the moment.

“I really think you should get yourself checked out, Prince Kijika,” Adelis said as she brushed stray hairs from my face.

“I’m fine, Adelis. I have work that needs to be finished,” I grumbled waving her away from me. She was hovering over me almost as bad as my mom did.

“Yes, you do. But your health is more important than translating a musty old book that nobody cares about anyway. Your mother would have my wings if you took ill and I hadn’t done anything.”

That comment along with Adelis’ fussing over me washed away the last of my sleepiness. I rose from my seat, planted my hands on my desk and pinned Adelis with my best commanding officer glare. She paled slightly and dropped her gaze to the floor. I narrowed my eyes at her, finding her behaviour suspect. Adelis was close to my mother’s age and the sneaking suspicion that Olanthe was the one responsible for Adelis getting the position as my assistant occurred to me.

“And why would my mother have your wings, Adelis?” I asked in a voice that never failed to make the men under my command start to sweat with nervousness. “Is there something you need to tell me?”

“Olanthe only wants you to be safe and happy,” Adelis said as she risked a glance at my face.

“Olanthe is it? Not Princess Olanthe? You do my mother’s bidding, don’t you? Keeping tabs on me? Monitoring me? You’re probably one of her former ladies-in-waiting, aren’t you? I won’t be requiring your services any longer, Adelis. Clean out your desk and be gone within the hour. Do not let me find you when that hour is up,” I said with cold finality.

Adelis snapped her head up, eyes wide in disbelief. I’d never spoken to her as I just had. I knew I was over-reacting but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. Rationally, I knew my mother did have my best interests at heart. For whatever reason, this latest meddling of my mother in my life made my temper snap. When Adelis simply stared at me in surprise, I muttered a few words in Naemo and watched with malicious satisfaction when she took a few involuntary steps back. Arek rose from the basket near my feet and swayed towards her. The spines and barbs on Arek scrapped across the stone floor towards her. Adelis backed towards the door, fear plain on her face.

“Tell my mother not to send anyone else or I will have Arek do more than just intimidate whomever she sends next. Get. Out.”

Adelis scrabbled for the door knob at her back, her eyes never leaving Arek. She managed to yank the door open and fled. Frightened sobs trailed after her. A cruel smile graced my face for several minutes before what I’d just done hit me. I sat abruptly in my seat and cradled my head in my hands.

What the hell was going on with me?

I was short tempered with nearly everybody who crossed my path. The urge to resort to violence over the smallest matter was nearly unstoppable. Sleep caught me at the strangest moments. My appetite dropped off to nearly nothing. I felt all out of sorts and I missed Moswen. He’d been gone nearly two weeks and I was surprised at how badly I wanted to see him again. More than the sex, which was better than anything I’d experienced before, I just wanted to talk to him and touch him. I wanted to fall asleep with him draped across my chest and wake up with him snuggled against my back. Thinking of Moswen

and how much I missed having him with me made my throat tight. I muttered to myself in disgust as I swiped at my eyes. The sudden bouts of teary emotion for no damn good reason were also become common place for me.

Arek responded to my change in mood and returned to the basket. The empty eye sockets of the huge eel skull stared at me offering nothing. A small sound of distress escaped me and I ground the heels of my hands against my eyes to try and scrub away the hot prickle of tears. A chiming sound indicated I had a call on my private line. Only my immediate family had the number and I knew it was my mom calling to chew me out over my harsh treatment of Adelis. Apparently, Adelis wasn’t wasting any time in tattling to my mom. I didn’t need my mom seeing me crying over something I couldn’t explain. Or to have to apologise to her later for snapping her head off in anger.

I ignored the ringing and tried to think and rationalize my problem. While missing Moswen could explain my poor sleep and possibly my lack of interest in food, it didn’t explain the wild mood swings I was having. I didn’t feel sick. I wasn’t coughing or sneezing or nauseated. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, running the past few weeks through my mind.

Nothing unusual jumped out at me to explain my behaviour.

An annoyed growl left my throat. I shoved back from my desk and scooped Arek from the basket. As I attached it to my hip, I realized that even bringing Arek with me to work was highly unusual. I’d never done that before meeting Moswen and I hadn’t done it while he was with me. Was I unconsciously thinking of protecting myself and if I was, why did I think I needed the additional protection of Arek?

I left my office and headed for my rooms at the palace. Fortunately for my peace of mind, my mother and father were at their estate in Naemo territory. It would take her a couple of hours to fly to the palace and harass me in person. I snapped at the friendly greeting of the guard at my bedroom door, cowing him into silence before ordering that absolutely nothing and no one disturb me. The door slammed behind me and I scowled at my room in general. I was already regretting my behaviour towards the guard but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. Several deep breathes were needed before I felt calm enough to try and find out what was wrong with me physically. I possessed enough healing skills to check myself out for minor problems. If nothing came of that, I might just have to break down and visit a healer to pin the problem down, over-protective mother or not.

I sent Arek to the basket in the corner of my rooms and stripped along the way to the bathroom. I didn’t need to be naked to run a minor physical on myself but I intended to shower and go to bed once I was done. Even though Moswen wasn’t with me, I’d gotten used to sleeping nude.

Once in the bathroom, I ran the shower, wanting hot pounding water to ease tense muscles. I pressed my hands against the cool tiles, closed my eyes and turned my senses inward. Starting at the top of my head, I slowly worked my way down my body. Everything seemed normal until I reached my belly. My eyes flew open in shock and denial as I sucked in a sharp breath. I had to be wrong. I couldn’t be right. I fumbled with the faucets to turn off the water, my fingers suddenly clumsy.

I stepped from the shower and glanced down my body. There was a gentle rounding to my belly I hadn’t really noticed. My brow furrowed as I concentrated on relaxing the muscles around what Moswen had incorrectly assumed was a scar. No matter how hard I tried, the muscles refused to obey. Even more than my unprofessional exam, that was proof enough of what my brief check had shown me. Shaking fingers traced the thin, dark ridge low on my abdomen. Flashes of memory came to me as I did that.

Heavenly pleasure from the feel of Moswen’s fingers slipping into the abdominal pouch as he rocked his body on mine.

Moswen’s howl of release as his warm seed splattered on my belly and the ticklish sensation over the lips of the pouch when some of his seed slid inside.

Scratching my belly the next morning and finding dried come.

Harith smiling gently at me and asking if Moswen liked children.

I sank to my knees on the bathroom floor as a wave of dizziness suddenly swept over me. My breath was coming in harsh pants and I squeezed my eyes closed as I struggled to come to terms with this new discovery. Apparently Moswen’s bizarre karma was contagious. Excitement and panic warred inside me.

I was having Moswen’s baby.

How long I knelt on the bathroom floor and tried to absorb the news, I couldn’t have said. I only moved when I started to shiver in reaction from not drying off when I stepped hurriedly from the shower. I moved in a daze to the bed, crawling under the covers and staring blankly at the ceiling. My mind whirled. My first thought was to tell Moswen closely followed by the thought that he might not take this news very well. After all, as far as Moswen knew, only male duals could become pregnant.

Moswen was going to be shocked.

I chewed on my lip as I tried to think of the best way to tell him. In person for certain. This wasn’t the type of news that you delivered over a video console or through a third party. But, I wasn’t sure how to tell him. Just baldly stating I was pregnant seemed wrong but I really couldn’t think of how else to say it. My hand drifted down to my belly. This was going to change everything.

My mom was going to be furious.

Probably not with me, although the blame rested squarely on my shoulders. She’d see this as some kind of ploy by Moswen even though I knew it wasn’t. We’d both been very drunk that night and it was ultimately my responsibility to control whether or not I conceived a child.

I’d known the massively erotic sensations I felt when Moswen had first rubbed spit-slicked fingers over my pouch ridge meant I was going through one of the irregular fertile cycles male Vylfian’s had. I’d even known that meant there would be a very good chance Moswen could get me pregnant if I opened the lips of my pouch and some of his seed entered.

But….

A non-dual male had to consciously will the pouch open to accept a lover’s seed. There generally weren’t any accidental male pregnancies. Naturally, Moswen helped to make me an exception to that statement. A wiry grin came and went quickly as I silently swore off that particular type of alcohol we’d drunk the night of the party to celebrate Moswen getting the medal and being declared my concubine. I didn’t remember willing the pouch open but I’d obviously done it.

I needed to send some messages to try and reach Moswen. I hoped it wouldn’t take long to get hold of him. Since I knew when I’d conceived down to the exact night, I counted mentally and found myself to be just over a month along. Doing that made a shaky breath leave me and my heart speed up.

In slightly less than four months, I was going to be a dad and so was Moswen.

*********

I left a recorded message for Moswen at his Shal-hazal House and his parent’s house. It wasn’t until I sent the messages that I realized there might be a problem with communication. My message was in Vylfian. As far as I knew, Moswen was the only person on Awh’an who spoke my native tongue. That wasn’t an issue when he was here with me but it could create a problem in getting my message to him. I hoped that my message wouldn’t be erased out of hand. I’d left my name, complete with titles and how to respond. With any luck, Moswen told his parents that I might try and contact him and they’d recognize my name if not my physical description. All I could do now was wait for Moswen to contact me.

I sat on the bed, staring down at my belly for a long time. Now that I was paying attention, I could see a gentle swell although other people probably wouldn’t notice yet. In another week or two, I’d really start showing. A cold sweat broke out on my skin at the thought of having to tell my mom she was going to be a grandmother. I wanted Moswen with me when that little conversation happened.

My dad still had me a little puzzled. I hadn’t been able to get out of him whatever it was him and Moswen discussed that day they fought each other. Naturally, I heard the stories about the fight in the middle of the street. No two stories were alike except in the fact that Moswen had held his own against my dad. No matter who I asked, what was said between Moswen and Delseur after the fight remained a mystery. Exactly how my dad would react to the news of his impending grandfatherhood… I’d no idea.

I rose from the bed and dressed in a loose pair of Naemo pants and shirt. No point in alerting people to my new status of expectant father before I was ready for that to become public knowledge. I left my rooms with a simple goal in mind. I wanted to be away from the palace when my mother showed up to

harass me about my treatment of Adelis. The guard at my door stopped me before I’d taken two steps from my room.

“Prince Kijika, your mother was here earlier. She demanded to be let into your rooms and was quite angry when I turned her away on your orders. She said to make sure you knew she’d be waiting for you in the blue sitting room and if you didn’t show up there by noon, she’d come back here and drag you out by the wings if she had to.”

“Thank you. You never saw me leave. Matter of fact, you have the rest of the day off. Go be somewhere else,” I said as I fished around in my money pouch for some coins.

I pressed several high value coins into his hand and waited for him to leave. His eyes widened in surprised at the amount I gave him before he grinned at me, gave me a sketchy salute and jogged off down the hallway. My mom was going to blow her top when I didn’t show up in the blue sitting room and when she couldn’t find the guard who’d been on duty at my door. My plan was to avoid her as long as possible. Not a very good or detailed plan but, at the moment, it was the best I could come up with.

Leaving the palace undetected stretched my nerves thin. I kept expecting my mom to pop up around every corner. A sigh of relief left me once I was outside and leaping for the sky. I didn’t have any clear destination in mind. Going to work was out of the question. That’d be the first place my mom would look for me when I didn’t show up. I flew in lazy circuits of the city as I tried to think of someplace safe to hide out until I was ready to face Olanthe. On my third pass of the city, something triggered in my head and a grin appeared on my face. I landed lightly on the roof of the hotel Moswen stayed in before I invited him to stay in my rooms at the palace. His room was booked indefinitely for him under his name. I didn’t think it would occur to my mother to check the local hotels for a room in Moswen’s name.

At least I hoped it wouldn’t occur to her.

*********

Five days passed and still no word from Moswen. I left another series of messages at both places Moswen told me to. I tried to call to him through dreams but the exact method of that wasn’t

something Moswen explained before he left. I didn’t know if I was doing it right or if I was even doing anything at all. I was starting to get a little anxious.

My mom had finally given up on finding me. I heard through some servants that she’d nearly torn the palace down in an effort to find me. Olanthe on a mission was damn scary. She’d left the palace in a temper and sent my dad to finish the job of looking for me. Where five days of searching by Olanthe produced nothing but frustration on her part and tension on mine, Delseur found me within two hours.

“Your mother is just worried about you, Kijika. I have to admit, you don’t look very good. Are you ill?” Delseur asked with concern.

“No, I’m fine. I’m just a little frazzled. I… lost my temper when I found out mom set one of her people in place as my assistant at the library. I threatened Adelis with Arek.”

Delseur leaned back in his chair and studied me. I wanted to squirm but held myself still. The last thing I wanted was for my dad to really take a good look at me. The gentle swell I’d had nearly a week ago was now a rather noticeable bump.

“You brought Arek to work with you in the library? That’s rather unusual. Are you sure you’re feeling all right, Kijika?”

“I said I was fine, didn’t I?” I snapped before I could stop myself.

Delseur raised an eyebrow at my tone and I rubbed a hand over my face as I tried to get my emotions under control. I did not need my dad seeing me loose it. He’d only report back to my mom. I was hoping that I’d be able to convince him to say nothing to Olanthe about finding me.

“Kijika Par Delseur,” my dad said in warning when I didn’t apologise for my earlier tone.

“Look, dad, I love you and mom very much but I’m dealing with a few issues between me and Moswen right now. It’s making me a little short tempered. I’d rather not talk about it until Moswen and I sit down and discuss them.”

That was the understatement of the century.

“Your mother is going to ask if I found you. She’s not going to believe I didn’t. I don’t like lying to her, Kijika. That’s not what people in a committed, loving relationship do.”

I closed my eyes and wanted to either hit something in frustration or burst into tears. Neither was an option for me at this point. My mom was very heavy handed when it came to wanting to protect me and laying a guilt trip down. But, she had absolutely nothing on my dad. He was gifted in the subtle art of guilt.

“I’m not suggesting you lie to her. I am still pissed off that she set somebody to keep tabs on me. Feel free to tell her that’s one of the reasons I’m going out of my way to avoid her. When is she going to see that I’m a grown man capable of making my own decisions? I command a battalion of men, not all of whom are alive. I’ve been involved in several battles for both Naemo and Vylfian sides of the border. What the hell does it take to make her realize I’m not her little boy anymore?” I almost shouted in frustration.

“Kijika, you’ll always be her baby boy. Nothing in this world will ever change that. You’ll understand some day when you have children of your own.”

My heart climbed into my throat at those words until I realized my father wasn’t guessing what my real problem was but stating how a parent viewed their child.

“Could you just keep mom out of my business until I talk with Moswen? I need to talk to him and I’m having a hard time reaching him,” I pleaded.

Delseur stood and approached me. He brushed the hair from my face with a soft smile and ran a hand down the outside strut of my wing in a soothing gesture from my childhood. The action startled me and I found myself biting my lip as I tried not to cry. This hormonal business sucked.

“I’ll do what I can, Kijika. What’s between you and Moswen…. He values your opinion of him and wants to protect you. He genuinely likes and respects you. Not Prince Nas-Drey Kijika; not Des Anate Kijika Par Delseur; but just Kijika. He wants nothing from you but yourself. I understand that even if your mother doesn’t,” Delseur said leaning down and brushing a kiss on my forehead.

Only years of training in the Vylfian court kept me from bawling like a baby. My dad had basically just given me his blessing for my relationship with Moswen. Delseur said good-bye and let himself out of the suite of rooms. My head dropped into my hands and I drew in several deep breaths that did nothing to stop the tears tracking down my cheeks. I guess I now knew, more or less, what Moswen and my dad talked about after the street fight. Generally, I wouldn’t cry over something that made me feel so very good. I rarely cried at all.

Damn, but this hormonal thing sucked.

I now wanted to talk to Moswen even more than before. A quick trip to the bathroom to splash some water on my face and blow my nose was in order before I tried to reach Moswen again. I didn’t want to worry him by looking like I’d been upset before calling him. Going through this pregnancy without Moswen wasn’t something I wanted to do. I wanted him to share this experience with me. I frowned a little as I tried to figure out when he’d become so important to me.

Moswen was fun and full of life. He was also one of the most intelligent people I’d ever met. He was genuine in his enjoyment of my company. He was completely un-phased by my little quirks that drove other lovers away. Moswen had even called them cute. He was a careful and considerate lover, always putting my pleasure over his own. He’d told me he saw me as his. The rush of warmth that thought caused gave me pause.

Was I feeling more than affection for a new and interesting lover? Or, was what I felt the result of carrying his child and the extra hormones in my system? I’d never been in love before. With the previous lovers I’d had, they’d wanted me to change my routine or curb parts of my personality. Moswen liked

me the way I was. My parents set a great example of a loving couple for me. I wanted something like that of my own. Would Moswen be able to give that to me? Did he want to give that to me?

I sat in front of the video console for a long time, thinking, before I punched in the code to connect me to the Shal-hazal House. I was somewhat startled when instead of being shunted off to record a message as I had before, two pairs of hazel eyes framed by loose black hair, stared back at me. I blinked and rubbed my eyes but the two identical faces remained.

I’d never seen two people who looked exactly alike before. It was a little unsettling.

“May I speak with Moswen, please?” I asked politely. They probably couldn’t understand anything I’d just said but they should at least recognize Moswen’s name. And, maybe if I was very lucky, Moswen’s description of me.

The young girls stared at me and whispered to each other but didn’t answer.

“Moswen,” I repeated frustrated once again that I hadn’t thought to have Moswen teach me some basic phrases in his native tongue.

One of the girls finally responded. She spoke in the melodic Awh’anise language but the only word I understood was Moswen’s name. I assumed the vigorous head shaking of both the girls meant Moswen wasn’t around. I frowned at the screen while the girls went back to whispering to each other as they flicked curious looks at me. A little smile appeared on my face when I realized that Moswen had unintentionally taught me a few Awh’anise words. I hoped they would be enough to get the idea across to the girls so they’d go get Moswen for me. Or at least pass on the message I’d called for him.

“Kijika,” I said as I pointed to myself.

“Chinua,” one of the girls said as she pointed to her own chest. She then pointed to the other girl, “Chike. Ummm, Moswen tal-bil.”

I nodded. They were sisters from the same brood. I would have guessed as much anyway since they were identical. I wasn’t sure of their exact family relationship to Moswen but it didn’t matter. They just needed to let Moswen know I’d called for him.

“Moswen… xi’ vree’coo,” I said, carefully repeating the last phrase Moswen had used before he said goodbye to me. I hoped I said it right and didn’t mangle the words too badly with an atrocious accent. I wasn’t entirely sure what the phrase meant but since Moswen had used it on me, it was likely another pet name for lover in Awh’anise.

The girls eyes widened and they burst into rapid fire Awh’anise, none of which made any sense to me. They slowly stopped speaking when they realized I wasn’t replying to the questioning tone in their voices.

“Moswen,” I repeated again and made shooing motions with my hands hoping that they’d get the idea to go get Moswen for me.

Chinua and Chike stared at me for several seconds before understanding dawned. They nodded as one, said Moswen’s name along with something else and cut the connection before I could protest. I hurriedly punched in the numbers to connect again and made a frustrated noise when I was shunted off to leave a recording. I cut the connection after leaving yet another message for Moswen to contact me and waited for the girls return with Moswen in tow. After nearly two hours passed and no return call, I wanted to hit something and make it bleed to vent a little frustration.

I tried calling Moswen’s parents house. There was no answer there either. I left another message for Moswen, adding the words that seemed to provoke such an excited reaction in the two girls who’d answered my first call. With any luck, that would get somebody to find Moswen and have him call me back. I went to sit on the bed, picking up a book to read as I waited for Moswen’s call.

The soft chiming of the video console jerked me out of the light doze I’d been in. I nearly tripped over my own feet in my haste to answer. I slapped the receive button in relief. Finally! Moswen got one of my messages. My excitement plummeted when I saw the face on the screen. It wasn’t Moswen.

“Hello. You’re Kijika, right?”

I blinked in surprise. The man on the screen was speaking Vylfian.

He shared some of Moswen’s facial features but had dark red hair and amber eyes instead of Moswen’s white blond hair and purple eyes. There were no pale gold stripes on his skin either. I knew my years of court training failed me when the smile faded from the man’s face. My expression was probably highly disappointed.

“Moswen can’t come right now. He’s not finished with his testimony and the tribunal won’t let him leave. They’ve been keeping him sequestered. Only because you left a message calling him your xi’ vree’coo was I able to get in to see him and have him dump your language into my head so I could talk to you on his behalf. I’m his brood mate, Mered.”

Ingrained politeness kicked in, “How do you do? I appreciate you wanting to pass on messages to Moswen for me but I really need to speak with Moswen as soon as possible. It’s a rather personal matter.”

“You sounded a little frantic. Are you okay? Moswen wanted me to ask. He said he’d come to you in your dreams. You’ll be able to talk to him there.”

“I’m… I’m not hurt or anything. But…” I trailed off. I really need to talk to Moswen. Face to face. “It’s about us. Our relationship. I’m sorry, I know you’re family but this isn’t something I can tell him through another person. It’s not something I’ll tell him through dreams either. It’s urgent and I need to see him as soon as possible.”

“I don’t know how much longer the tribunal is going to be with him. He’s pushing to get everything over with as soon as possible but, well; he said you’re familiar with how the military moves. Or doesn’t move as the case may be,” Mered said with a small smile.

I sighed. I did know how the military dragged its feet over the smallest, most unimportant details. Moswen’s wants or my needs carried very little weight with the slow grind of military proceedings. The low level annoyance I felt was quickly becoming true anger at the whole situation. The impulse to react

to that anger by driving my fist through something was surprisingly strong. I dragged a hand through my hair instead, taking a moment to gather my thoughts. Mered waited patiently.

“Can you please tell Moswen that I have to talk to him in person as soon as possible but that he’s not to leave the tribunal until they’re done with him? I don’t want him getting himself into more trouble by doing something rash. I appreciate you taking the time to have Moswen teach you my language to tell me what’s going on.”

“Not a problem. Moswen can be a walking disaster but he’s my brood mate and I love the troublesome idiot,” Mered said grinning fondly. “He’s also pretty attached to you. I’m assuming he called you “vree’coo” at some point,” Mered said in a not so subtle hint for more information.

“Yes. Before he left for the tribunal, actually. He’s also called me haeko’no. He’s told me what that is but he didn’t say what vree’coo meant,” I offered.

Mered’s eyebrows rose at that statement. He gave me a considering look before speaking, “Vree’coo means ‘the soul keeper of mine’ and it’s a term of deep affection between lovers. But, it was word before it that caused such a stir and had Chinua and Chike running over to my parents house to say that Moswen needed to contact Kijika right away.”

I felt a blush colour my cheeks. Damn. I’d screwed up the pronunciation. “I thought I said it just the way Moswen did. How bad did I mangle your language?”

“Moswen said “xi’ vree’coo”? Are you sure you didn’t hear him say “xa’ vree’coo”?”

“I’m sure he said “xi’ vree’coo. He’s said both xi’ and xa’ actually, although he’s used xi’ the most recently. Why? What’s the difference?”

My curiosity surged at the possibility of learning something new. I knew I could simply ask Moswen to add the Awh’anise language to my mind as he’d add Vylfian to his own head. But, he’d have to visit me

in my dreams to do that and I was worried that I’d let slip about his approaching fatherhood if I saw him. If Moswen’s brother was willing to tell me a little about the Awh’anise language….

“Xa’ is ‘mine’ or ‘my’ and is used casually. Xi’ is also ‘mine’ or ‘my’ but it is a possessive form and is never used in connection with a casual partner. To use xi’ along with a word that carries deep affection… Moswen sees you as his, doesn’t he?” Mered asked.

I nodded my head. Vylfian didn’t have anything similar. Mine was mine. The word was possessive no matter how you used it. I got the feeling that if I were to learn the Awh’anise language by memorizing words and phrases, I’d miss out on the subtle meanings of half of it and probably misuse another third.

“I’ll tell Moswen he needs to motivate the tribunal to finish up. He can be quite persuasive when he needs to be. If you want, you can call here at our parent’s house again. Our mom and dad know now to pass on messages right away.”

“Thank you. I suppose all I can do is wait,” I said with a little sigh. Waiting wasn’t what I wanted to do.

I said good-bye to Mered, thanking him once more for telling me what was going on. There was no telling how long the tribunal would drag on. My only hope was that once Moswen was finished being questioned, that would be the end of the whole affair and he could accept whatever punishment was due and come back to me. A heavy sigh left me. I was normally a patient man but this was pushing my limits. If Moswen didn’t come back soon, all it would take is one look at me and he’d know what needed to be discussed between us.

*********

The gentle hand on my shoulder shaking me from the light sleep I’d fallen into made me mumble a protest. A soft groan escaped me when I moved my head and the crick in my neck let me know dozing off in a chair wasn’t the smartest thing I’d done lately. I was annoyed with myself for falling asleep yet again. I felt like the moment I sat down and stayed still long enough, I was off to dream land. Which probably wouldn’t be half bad if Moswen was there with me.

“Kijika. Haeko’no, what’s wrong,” came a voice I’d been nearly frantic to hear. Moswen.

My eyes flew open and I stared into Moswen’s worried face. Physically, he looked fine and no worse for wear. Regardless of what Moswen had said, I was worried about what kind of punishment he’d get once he told me it would likely be physical for his part in the lab explosion. I wondered briefly if I was still asleep and dreaming, my need to see Moswen so strong in my head. Another three days had passed since my conversation with his brother Mered. I reached up to touch his face and a relieved sigh left me. If I could feel him under my fingers, he had to be real.

“You’re really here. This isn’t a dream, is it?”

“No dream. Ki, what the fuck is wrong? I saw the messages you left for me. You were nearly frantic. I came as soon as I could. What’re you doing here in a hotel room instead of your rooms at the palace? Mered told me you said you needed to speak to me in person and that it was something personal. Something about our relationship,” his voice was guarded and my stomach suddenly felt like a ball of ice was lodged in it.

I could see the tension and an unexpected distance in Moswen. He wanted to touch me but something was holding him in check. His wary caution worried me a little. Did his time away mean that however he viewed me changed? Was I back into the category of casual bed partner? If he developed strong feels quickly, did he shed them just as fast?

I was glad that I’d dragged a blanket off the bed before I’d sat down to read in the chair. Otherwise, Moswen would have noticed right away that something was different about me physically. At coming close to two months along, I would be seen as either paunchy or pregnant. Somehow, I didn’t think Moswen would buy paunchy. Given his less than warm demeanour, I was suddenly more nervous than when I’d been waiting for him to contact me.

“Sit down, Moswen. I have something to tell you and yes, it will affect our relationship in a big way. I want you to know that I never intended for things to happen as they have. I’m not sorry, understand, but what I have to tell you will change things between us.”

Moswen sat heavily at my feet. He swallowed hard and dropped his gaze to his lap. He wasn’t meeting my eyes. Not a good sign but I did notice that he still wore the jewel marking him as my concubine. That had to mean he still felt the same way about me as when he left. Chapter 29

~Moswen~

Time apart hadn’t made my feelings for Kijika lessen. They’d actually gotten stronger. Seeing Kijika’s messages for me and how obviously upset he was made me upset. Then, having Mered pass on the message that Kijika would only talk to me in person and that it had to do with our relationship… a sinking sensation filled my stomach. In my experience, nothing good ever happened when somebody said they wanted to discuss the relationship. Especially when it came to me.

I’d pushed the tribunal as hard as I could and finally threatened to just leave whether they were done with me or not. My playing the last message Kijika had left for me at my Shal-hazal House when he’d called me “xi’ vree’coo” was what tipped the scales in my favour and allowed me to go to him. To see Kijika now and hear him say that he’d never intended for things to happen as they did; I got the bad feeling Kijika was about to give me my walking papers. Because I thought Kijika might be telling me to get lost, I was trying my damnedest not to let my instincts take over, wrap him in a tight hug and declare he was mine.

While waiting for my turn with the tribunal, I’d had the opportunity to really think about how I felt about Kijika. My Throw-back genetics made me view Kijika as mine but there was more to what I felt for him than that. The quirky twists in my head didn’t automatically make me feel things that I normally wouldn’t. Genetics made my feelings stronger and made me react fast than normal but, whatever I felt was real.

I’d missed Kijika more than I expected. More than the sex, I just missed being with him. I missed our debates. I missed the quiet time together reading. I really missed the feel of his hands stroking my skin. Not in a sexual way, although that was absolutely fantastic, but in a close, lover kinda way.

I was in love with him

That revelation hadn’t come to me like a bolt of lightening or a flash of light or whatever people often compared that sort of thing to. I’d been minding my own business, letting my mind wander during some of the endlessly boring testimony of the tribunal and thinking of Kijika. Thinking of him, not even in a sexual way, warmed me and made me happy. I’d realized then that because I loved Kijika, I felt a warm, almost giddy rush whenever I thought about him.

And now, going by his attitude, I was nearly positive that he was about to tell me it’d been fun but that he had to get back to his princely duties or whatever. I wasn’t about to try and stay if he didn’t want me to. I’d make him uncomfortable and be hurting myself with something I couldn’t have that I wanted very badly. I never wanted to make him uncomfortable with my presence so, if he was going to tell me it was over between us, I’d leave without a protest and keep my feelings to myself. There was no point in making him feel bad because I loved him and he didn’t feel the same way about me and wanted to call it quits.

But I wanted to touch him.

I wanted to feel the silky texture of his hair against my skin. I wanted to run my hands over the buttery soft skin of his beautiful wings. I needed to inhale the scent of him that aroused and soothed me at the same time. I needed to hear him laugh and sigh and make all those delicious moans and groans of pleasure when I played with his body. I needed to hear his heartbeat and feel his skin against mine when I draped myself over him and he stroked my skin and made me purr from sheer delight in his touch.

Kijika startled me from my thoughts when he touched my face again. “Moswen, I’m not really sure how to tell you this,” Kijika began softly.

My insides clenched. He was going to tell me it’s over. This was it. “Just say it, Kijika. I’m a big boy. I can handle it.”

“I… I’m having a baby, Moswen,” he said in a low voice.

Nope. I lied. That wasn’t something I could handle. I felt like I’d just been sucker punched in the gut. Kijika had never said I’d be his only lover. I knew there was a possibility of him taking somebody else to his bed. What person in their right mind would refuse him? He probably had people chasing after him all

the time. He was a walking wet dream. My wet dream. I’d wanted to be his only lover. Except for the two weeks of my breeding cycle, which had been unavoidable and incredibly bad timing, Kijika was the only lover I’d been with in the few months we’d been together.

Stars, but this hurt more than anything I’d ever felt before.

“I see. Congratulations,” I said in a tight voice. I tried to keep a lid on my impulses. Instinct was urging me to find the person carrying his baby do very violent things to them. That was wrong and I wouldn’t actually attack a pregnant person but I wanted to erase anybody else’s claim on Kijika. I wanted him to be only mine.

“Damn it, I knew you were going to be upset about this. This is why I wanted to talk to you in person. I couldn’t think of any other way to tell you than bluntly,” Kijika said in a pained voice.

“I appreciate that, Kijika. You didn’t have to tell me anything.”

I wanted to punch something to deal with the pain I was feeling. Going completely feral and ripping something to shreds with my bare hands sounded like a fantastic idea at the moment. Nothing would be solved by that but it was the best thing I could think of.

“I think it would have become pretty obvious shortly. A pregnancy isn’t exactly something you can easily hide, Moswen,” Kijika said with a hint of exasperation.

If Kijika wanted to keep a pregnancy from me, it’d be dead easy for him to do it. I hadn’t even known he was sleeping with somebody else. Unless that was something he’d started doing once I left. He’d never promised me an exclusive relationship but it hurt like hell to find out I wasn’t the only lucky bastard in his bed.

“I knew you had… duties being a royal and all. I just… I didn’t expect this. I’m happy for you, Kijika. Really, I am. I hope you don’t think I’m being an asshole but it’s probably best if I go,” I said as I stood. My tail lashed the air behind me showing how agitated I was but I couldn’t be bothered to wrap it

around my leg to stop its movement. Kijika already knew I was upset at this news. What would be the point in trying to hide it from him?

“Royal duties?” Kijika said with a frown as he sat up straighter in his seat.

“Yeah. You know. Carrying on the royal line or whatever.”

“Moswen, I’m not in line for the Vylfian throne because I’m only half Vylfian. Any children I have are also ineligible for the throne,” Kijika sounded a little confused.

“Then why are you having a baby with somebody?” I growled in mounting anger. If Kijika didn’t need to have a child to continue the royal lineage, why was he having a baby with somebody? I was even more hurt now. I wanted to go back to Awh’an and lick my wounds before I did something stupid.

“What…? Wait. You think I’m having a baby with someone else? You honestly think I was sleeping with somebody else while I was sleeping with you? You think I’d do that?” Kijika growled as he shoved himself from the chair.

I never saw the punch coming that rocked my head back and made me stumble. I tried to keep my balance but backed into a footstool and landed on my ass. Kijika stomped over to where I sat on the floor rubbing my jaw. He had a wicked left hook. He glared at me hard enough to reduce me to ash. I absently noted that Kijika wasn’t wearing Vylfian clothes and he seemed to have put on weight since I left. He was flexing his fists and his wings were jerking open and closed. Whatever I’d said, I’d really pissed Kijika off. I’d never seen him loose his cool like this. Except for when he reacted to the Sliaru but there was no chance of him having that in his system this time. As inappropriate as it was, I found his aggressive behaviour erotic. I really needed to get my striped ass out of Kijika’s room before I did something utterly retarded. Like grab him and demand he give up any other partners while I fucked him senseless.

Kijika reached down, grabbed a fistful of my shirt and yanked me up to his eye level using only one hand. My eyes widened a little at his blatant display of strength. My feet no longer touched the ground and instinct made me wrap my tail around his waist. I noted with a little curiosity that there was definitely extra flesh at his middle and wondered briefly how he’d managed to put on so much weight so fast.

I was guilty of forgetting Kijika was a physically powerful man when he was such a submissive personality in the bedroom. The thought that some of this strength would be very welcome on my part in our bedroom play flashed through my head. I couldn’t help my soft little moan at the way Kijika was easily holding me with only one hand. I weighed two hundred pounds yet he was holding me like I weighed nothing. There wasn’t even a tremor in his arm. I was impressed and aroused at the same time.

“I’m the one who’s pregnant. The baby is yours, you fucking idiot!” Kijika snarled as he shook me hard before dropping me like I’d burned him.

I landed on my ass again and stared at Kijika with my mouth hanging open in shock as my poor little brain tried to make sense of what Kijika had just said. I tried to say something, anything, but nothing came out. I ended up opening and closing my mouth like a landed fish. Kijika glared at me and folded his arms across his chest. He moved his wings forward, hooking the talons together, wrapping himself in his wings. He looked angry and hurt and I wanted to hug him and apologise for whatever stupid thing I’d said to put that wounded look in his eyes. His angry glare wavered after a few minutes and tears suddenly welled in his eyes.

“Say something, damn it,” Kijika said as he opened his wings so he could scrub at his eyes with the back of his hand.

“You’re really pregnant? With my baby? How? I mean, you aren’t a dual. I’d have noticed something like that,” Not the most intelligent thing to say but my mind spun at Kijika’s revelation as I stood and looked at the small bulge of Kijika’s belly. I wanted to touch him. I wanted to press my hand over what Kijika was telling me was my child but I wasn’t sure he’d welcome my touch. He was still acting stand-offish and I wasn’t sure why if he was having my baby. Unless he didn’t want to have a baby.

My baby.

A sick sensation washed through me. Family was of utmost importance to an Awh’anise. Children were always welcome and adored from the get-go. Obviously, if Kijika didn’t want to continue with the pregnancy, there was nothing I could do to stop him from terminating it.

“Sit down, Moswen, and I’ll try and explain,” Kijika said in a weary sounding voice. Chapter 30

~Kijika~

Moswen looked shell shocked. I’d expected that. I hadn’t expected him to jump to the conclusion that I’d been sharing my bed with somebody else and having a baby with that person. Then again, I’d never bothered to correct his assumption that only male duals could have babies. I hadn’t been trying to keep information from him. Whether or not I could conceive and would allow him to impregnate me seemed like a mote point at the time. I never intended to get pregnant. I should have known things would never be that easy with Moswen and his crazy karma.

“How did this happen, Ki? Why didn’t you tell me you could get pregnant? We could have used protection if you didn’t want to have a baby. I’ve gotta be honest here, Ki, knocking up a male partner has never, ever, occurred to me,” Moswen said as he dragged the footstool close to the chair I’d sat back in.

“Every male Vylfian can become pregnant. Obviously, with a dual, you already know how that works after your talk with Harith and the book I gave you to read. For a male like myself, it’s a little different,” I said as I shifted in my seat. I owed Moswen as full an explanation as I could give him. “For a male to conceive, several things have to be just right. For one, we tend to go through irregular fertile periods. We may be fertile for as short as a few days to as long as a month. The times when these periods happen are also irregular. Sometimes, up to an entire year can pass between these fertile times.”

Moswen frowned at me, “How in the hell can you plan to have kids, then? Do you know when you’re fertile? And if you knew you were fertile, why didn’t you tell me? Stars, Ki, I would’ve had you do me. I can’t get pregnant. It’s not like I don’t like having you take my ass. Gods, Ki, you feel amazing inside me.”

Warmth touched my cheeks at Moswen’s compliment. But, I didn’t like the way Moswen was focusing on how we could have prevented the pregnancy. Yes, having a baby was completely unplanned. Nerves attacked me again. Maybe Moswen didn’t want to be a father right now. Maybe he didn’t want to have a baby with someone who wasn’t Awh’anise. I swallowed hard. I’d have to address that issue later. I

needed to tell Moswen just how all this happened so he’d understand my getting pregnant had been completely accidental.

“You remember that day you nibbled and licked the ridge low on my abdomen and the reaction I had?”

“Yeah. I didn’t mean to hurt or remind you of something bad, Ki. I told you I wouldn’t touch that scar again and I won’t, I swear. You never said if you forgave me for that, by the way. I am sorry, Kijika,” Moswen said as he hesitantly touched my knee.

The light touch of Moswen’s hand settled my nerves. If he was touching me, then he wasn’t trying to distance himself. Maybe he was just as nervous as me about all this and that’s why he was hesitating in touching me. Maybe he thought I was mad about being pregnant and that’s why he was unsure about any kind of physical gesture. Moswen always touched me and I’d missed that more than I thought I would. I placed my hand over his and gave it a gentle squeeze. Some of the wariness left Moswen’s eyes and a subtle tension in his shoulders lessened.

“There’s nothing to apologise for Moswen. You didn’t do anything wrong. I guess you could go so far as to say you did everything right.”

“I did? Then, why’d you freak out? I thought I’d hurt you. You wouldn’t tell me what was wrong and then you just took off,” Moswen said as his tail curled around my ankle in a possessive gesture I don’t think he was aware he was making.

“That isn’t a scar you touched. It’s the opening for a pouch that allows a male Vylfian to carry a baby. When you licked it, I felt… I guess a strong tingling is the best description, letting me know that not only was I in a fertile period but there was a very good chance you could impregnate me. What you did felt very, very good, Moswen and caught me completely off guard. I’ve never had that strong a reaction before. I’m sorry if I made you think you did something wrong.”

Moswen, surprisingly, remain quiet. He rubbed his cheek against my knee and brushed his lips over my fingertips. He quietly exhaled and his tail gave my ankle a squeeze. I’d expected him to ask questions or demand explanations but he appeared to be waiting for me to tell him everything. Not to say he didn’t have things he wanted to ask. I could see in his face that he did.

“Just because I felt a reaction doesn’t mean I have to act on it. It’s not like what you’ve told me of the breeding cycle you go through where you’re a slave to the need for sex. I need to consciously will the lips of the pouch open to accept a lover’s seed. Accidental male pregnancies are pretty rare. But, once conception occurs, the pouch will remain closed until labour starts,” I turned my hand over to lace my fingers with Moswen’s.

Moswen couldn’t remain silent any longer. He stared at our clasped hand and spoke quietly, “So, if you need to will this pouch open and you didn’t plan on having a baby, why’d you do it, Ki?”

“Remember the night of the party when you got the medal from King Sakima and he made you my concubine?” I waited for Moswen to nod before continuing. “Remember how drunk we both were that night and how you said your ass was sore the next day?” Moswen nodded again. “I have random bits of memory of you riding me and me pushing your fingers into my pouch because it felt so good for you to do that. There was dried come on my belly the next morning but, at the time, I thought it was mine. It was yours.”

“So this pregnancy really was an accident? How do you feel about it, Ki? Do you want to have a baby?” Moswen asked in a low voice.

“You want an honest answer, Moswen? Yes, this pregnancy was an accident. I’m scared half to death and excited beyond words. I hadn’t really thought about having a baby.”

“But do you want this baby?” Moswen asked with an intense tone.

I opened my mouth to answer him when it suddenly hit me what he was really asking. He wasn’t asking me if I wanted to have a baby. He was asking me if I wanted to have his baby. My throat tightened and my eyes prickled. I clenched my jaw and closed my eyes, willing myself not to cry. I sick of this weepy crap and I still had a little more than three months worth of it. I fought against the tears and needed several deep breaths before I thought I could look at Moswen without blubbering like an idiot. Moswen waited for me to answer and I could feel his rising tension. For whatever reason, his tension triggered my temper.

“You want to know if I want your baby, don’t you, Moswen? Are you sure it’s even yours?” I snapped my mouth shut as soon as the words left me. Just when I’d got the tears under control, my normally calm temper flashed over and I wasn’t even sure why. I felt my cheeks heat in a combination of anger and embarrassment at my wild mood swings.

Moswen jerked his head up and started to answer. He didn’t even get anything out before he narrowed his eyes at me. He gave me a slow smile and slid from the footstool he’d been sitting on to kneel between my legs. He untangled his fingers from mine and placed his hands high on my thighs. My heart rate easily doubled and my sudden anger turned to arousal. These rapid mood swings were going to drive me and probably everybody around me, mental.

“You say it’s mine, so, it’s mine. I don’t believe you’d lie to me, Ki. You never have before and there’s absolutely no reason for you to now. And, you’re suddenly quick to anger when you’ve never even shown the slightest hint of that in the months I’ve been with you. You’re carrying an Awh’anise baby all right. Awh’anise females get the same way. Sometimes I think it’s a wonder they don’t kill their partner with the way they go from being perfectly fine to a towering rage in the blink of an eye,” Moswen snickered as he leaned in and rubbed his nose against my chest.

I opened and closed my mouth several times but nothing came out. I hadn’t expected Moswen to just take my word that he was the father. He was full of surprises. Moswen’s explanation that my irrational bouts of anger and aggression were because I was having an Awh’anise baby never even occurred to me. When I stopped to think about it, it did sort of make sense. From everything Moswen had told me about his people, they were a species used to violence and aggression under normal circumstances. Pregnancy would stress the body and additional hormones in their systems would probably push normal behaviour into extremes.

My fingers itched to write this information down.

Moswen laughed softly and stroked his fingers down my cheek in a tender gesture, “I’ll let you write that down in a minute, Ki. There’s something I need to do first though, if you’ll let me,” he said in a warm but serious voice.

I was pleased Moswen knew I wanted to write down what I’d just learned at the same time that I was annoyed I was so transparent. A snort of self disgust escaped me at my new contrary nature. I hoped

this part of the pregnancy passed quickly. Moswen might think it was funny or cute but I was getting on my own last nerve with these mood swings.

“What do you need to do, Moswen?” I asked a little bit warily.

Moswen frowned and chewed on his bottom lip for a moment. The playful quality I usually saw in him was replaced with a serious expression. A little flutter of nerves made my stomach jitter. I’d only seen him look so serious once before when he’d used his Shal-hazal skills to put an end to the border skirmish. A serious Moswen was strange for me to see.

“I’ve told you Awh’anise go through a breeding cycle four times a year. There is an exception to that though. When we have children, that cycle is temporarily suspended so we can focus on caring for our children. That suspension applies to both males and females as we raise our children together until they’re six when they could fend for themselves, if necessary. After that, both parents are free to go their separate ways if they want.”

My fingers were now almost twitching to write this stuff down. I was sure Moswen knew it, too. I narrowed my eyes at him. I was nearly certain he was leading up to an explanation of what he needed to do and not just trying to torture me by making me wait to put pen to paper.

“Because we’re a species that likes to fuck a lot of different partners, nature saw fit to give us males a… tool to help us know when we were the fathers of a brood. Basically a male’s cycle won’t be interrupted until he confirms the brood in question is his. I believe you when you said the baby is mine. But I don’t want to end up going through another cycle without you and I’d deserve to be strung up by my balls if I took someone who was pregnant as my partner. An Awh’anise in cycle is just too violent and unpredictable and I won’t risk hurting you or our baby.”

“If you’ll let me, I want my body to confirm that this is my baby. You don’t have to do anything but stay still and quiet for a couple of minutes. I swear, I won’t hurt you and you won’t feel a damn thing. Well, it might tickle. Maybe arouse you too if you’re already dealing with the increased anger and aggression of a pregnant Awh’anise female. Actually, I’m not really sure what your reaction will be.”

“What’re you going to do, Moswen?” I asked curiously, the need to write this new information down temporarily outweighed by the desire to see what Moswen was going to do to me.

“I’m going to taste your scent. Lift your shirt up, Ki. I need bare skin for this. And your… uh… pouch ridge. I need to be able to touch it. That won’t hurt you or anything, will it?”

“No, it won’t hurt for you to touch it. It’ll probably feel pretty good. What, exactly, are you going to do, Moswen?” I asked as I unbuttoned my shirt and shrugged out of it. Just the idea of Moswen touching my bare skin was sending little tendrils of desire through me.

“Taste your scent. I can’t explain it much better than that. I’ve never done this before but I’ve had every male family member who’s had a brood describe it to me once I had my first cycle. They’ve told me what to do and they said I’d know if a brood was mine or not by the scent,” Moswen shrugged his shoulders. “I’m gonna assume telling if a baby is mine or not works the same regardless of the sex or species of the one carrying the baby.”

Moswen grinned confidently at me and placed his hands on the sides of my gently rounded belly. He brought his face close to my stomach and closed his eyes. I watched him as he slowly breathed in and out over my skin. His whole body seemed to still and I think if I’d called his name at that moment, he wouldn’t have heard me. All his attention was focused on what he was doing and whatever information his nose was giving him. I watched Moswen intently, knowing I’d later add this… scent tasting to my notes on the Awh’anise. I was a little startled to find that my breathing had fallen into the same rhythm as his. Moswen’s mouth opened slightly and his breaths became even deeper. Every now and again, his tongue would flick out and touch my skin. I wanted to squirm at the delicate touch of his tongue that wavered between ticklish and arousing.

The deep breaths and light tongue touches went on for several minutes before Moswen moved lower down my belly. His mouth hovered over my pouch ridge and I had to bite my tongue to keep from asking him to press his lips to it. He drew in a deep breath and held it for several seconds before releasing it softly. Moswen repeated the deep, even breaths several times, his thumbs stroking my skin near the pouch ridge gently. I made a small noise of pleasure when I felt his tongue touch the ridge.

Gods, but that felt fantastic. Even better than I’d expected.

My hands crept up to tangle in Moswen’s silky hair. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to touch him or not. When I heard Moswen start to purr softly as he moved closer to me, I wondered if he’d been waiting for me to touch him. He hadn’t said anything but I think Moswen sometimes forgot not everybody was as addicted to touch as he was. He licked the length of my pouch ridge pulling a low moan from me as arousal spiked sharply. He drew in another deep breath and held it for several seconds longer than before. A soft growl trickled from his throat. When he looked up at me and opened his eyes, his pupils were huge, almost eclipsing the purple irises. His face was flushed, the pale gold stripes on his face standing out sharply in contrast to his dark skin. I became aware of the faint prickle of his sharp talons although he was careful not to break my skin.

“Xi’ shal-demsho,” Moswen whispered before placing a kiss on my belly and pressing his cheek lightly against me. His purring got louder and I could feel the vibration against my skin.

There was an intensity in Moswen’s voice and a look in his eyes I hadn’t seen before. Where I’d gotten hints of Moswen’s possessive attitude towards me, this was blatant. I felt like he was staking a claim. Part of my mind shouted that I wasn’t something to be owned. An equally loud section gave a mental wriggle of pleasure at being wanted so deeply.

“This is our baby. Mine and yours. You’re mine now,” Moswen said in a rough voice. Chapter 31

~Moswen~

I didn’t know what to expect when I’d tried to taste Kijika’s scent. None of my male relatives had been able to explain what I’d smell. All they’d said was I’d know if the brood was mine or not. They told me I’d either smell something… wrong or I’d smell something… right. Kijika smelled right. His scent was home and understanding and companionship. His scent stirred me to be protective and aggressive. Under his scent was another more delicate smell that was Kijika but not. It was like a mix of my scent and his and something else. I think I could have stayed on my knees half the day just breathing in that scent.

The baby was most definitely mine.

I was now officially scared shitless and thrilled. I loved Kijika. I’d called him “xi’ shal-demsho” and I meant it. He wasn’t my Lor’fei but he may as well have been. He was everything I wanted in a partner. The fact that I could actually have children with him was staggering and totally made up for every crappy karmic thing that’d ever happened to me. Even if we’d been unable to have kids of our own, I’d have still viewed him the same. Kijika owned me heart and soul and I was perfectly happy with that.

“So when are you due, Ki?” I asked as I stroked my fingers over his belly. I could barely believe he was having our baby.

“A little less than four months. How does doing what you did tell you if the baby is yours or not?”

I shrugged. I couldn’t explain it any better than my relatives had to me. “You smell right, like home. There’s another smell to you under your scent. One that’s you and me and something else. That scent smells right. If you’d smelled wrong, then the baby wouldn’t have been mine.”

Kijika snorted. “That’s not an explanation, Moswen.”

“It’s all I got, Ki. You know the baby is mine. I know the baby is mine. End of discussion. My mom is gonna be over the moon with this. Her first grandchild. She’s gonna spoil our kid rotten, you know.”

Kijika sucked in a sharp breath. I looked up to see a little panic in his eyes. My instincts to protect my new family kicked into high gear. Nothing and nobody was allowed to hurt or threaten Kijika or our baby.

“Ki, what’s wrong?”

“I haven’t told my parents yet. My mom is going to kill you. I think my dad will be okay with being a grandfather but my mom is going to want your head on a pole,” Kijika said in a quiet voice.

I stared at Kijika for several seconds before I started to laugh. He clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes at me. I could see anger building in his face and my body responded by sending arousal through my system. I struggled to get my laughter under control. Kijika probably wouldn’t see the same humour in what he’d just said as I did. I wondered briefly if, since he was experiencing typical pregnant Awh’anise bursts of anger, was he also feeling increased arousal? Judging by the pissed off look on his face, I wasn’t quite stupid enough to actually ask him, at least not right now.

As arousing as I’d find a physical fight with him at the moment.

“Your mom is free to take a poke at me if it’ll make her feel better and I won’t even hit back. She’ll just have to get used to the idea and get over it. If Olanthe wants to hate me for the rest of her life, I don’t care. You and our baby are the only things that matter to me now. But, and I’m totally serious about this, Kijika, if she hurts you or our baby in any way, she’s going to pay for it. You and the baby are mine and nobody hurts what’s mine and gets away with it. Nobody.”

Kijika’s eyes widened as I spoke. I realized how I sounded but I couldn’t help myself. My job was to protect Kijika and our baby and love them both within an inch of their lives. I knew Kijika was perfectly capable of protecting himself and our baby. I had our previous fight when he was under the influence of the Sliaru to prove that. In a serious rumble between us, I wasn’t sure which one of us would come out the winner. And, as arousing as that little thought was and even knowing he could hold his own, I still felt like I needed to protect him.

“I’ll be with you, Ki. I’m sorry I was away when you found out and I’m sorry it took me so long to come to you. It won’t happen again, Ki. Family is of utmost importance to the Awh’anise. The welfare of family overrules almost everything for us. Whatever you need, whatever you want, I’ll do. You’re mine but I’m also yours, Ki,” I said leaning in to kiss him on the lips like I’d been dying to do since I first saw him.

Kijika returned my kiss with surprising passion. He gripped my head in his hands as if trying to prevent me from moving away. Fat chance of that happening. I’d been denied the pleasure of the one I loved for weeks. I wasn’t going anywhere except maybe to move us to the nearest horizontal surface. I reluctantly broke the kiss when a horrible thought occurred to me.

“Is it okay for us to have sex, Ki? It’s not gonna…hurt you or the baby, is it?” I asked. It would be rough to have to curb my desire for Kijika, but I wouldn’t do anything that might hurt him or put our baby in

danger. I knew it was fine for an Awh’anise female to continue having sex for as long as she wanted or was comfortable. But, Kijika was a bit of a different case and I wasn’t sure if the regular rules applied.

Kijika looked at me impatiently. “I’m having a baby, Moswen. I’m not suddenly made of glass. I’m still me and still a guy. You’d better not be changing your mind about what that kiss of yours was telling me you wanted,” he said as he fisted a hand in my hair and drew my head down for a kiss that went straight to my groin.

The smile I gave Kijika when he released me was brilliant. Gods, if this is what being pregnant with my baby did to him, I might need to consider getting him knocked up again. I loved him when he was submissive but this forceful bedroom personality of his was damn heady.

“Nothing would change my mind about taking you to bed, Ki. You were all I could think about while I was on Awh’an. Come to bed, Ki. Let me love you like I’ve wanted to from the moment I left.”

Kijika’s smile was breathtaking. He rose from his seat and pulled me to my feet. His arms wrapped around me and he gave me a fierce hug. His hands tunnelled through my hair and he tilted my head up for a kiss filled with pent up passion. His tongue pressed for entrance into my mouth and I gladly let him in. His tongue played with mine and when I sucked lightly on it, he moaned and clutched me tighter to him.

“Bed. Naked. Now,” I gasped as I pulled back from the kiss. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to seriously embarrass myself and short change Kijika on the welcome-back-sex front.

Kijika smirked at me and let me go. I had to curl my fingers into fists to keep from reaching for him. He walked towards the bed slowly. My eyes followed the sexy little sway of his hips. Like I needed more incentive to jump his sweet ass. He shot me a glance over his shoulder and slowly pushed the pants he was wearing down. He bent at the waist, giving me a spectacular view of his tight hole. Only the knowledge that he was carrying my baby prevented me from tackling him to the bed and taking him hard and fast.

“I thought you wanted me naked. Are you waiting for something, Moswen?” Kijika asked as he stood next to the bed and partially opened his wings. He was teasing me. He knew how much I loved to see his wings open.

“Just admiring the view, Ki,” I said with a grin as I stalked towards him. Kijika blushed and closed his wings. “Lay on the bed on your side.”

Kijika looked at me in surprise but did what I told him to. He watched me as I shed my clothes and a slow smile stretched across his face when he saw I was fully erect. I knelt on the floor next to the bed and gently rubbed my hand over his slightly rounded belly. I was still floored that he was having our baby.

“I’d wanted to have wild, animal-like sex with you when I got here but I’ve changed my mind.”

Kijika’s face darkened and he scowled at me. “You just said you hadn’t changed your mind about having sex with me. Don’t fuck with my head, Moswen.”

I smothered a giggle at Kijika’s quick change to from arousal to irritation. He was most definitely having an Awh’anise baby. “I’m not, Ki. I’m gonna love you slow and tender,” I said as I leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his belly. I couldn’t seem to help but touch him and inhale his scent. I was hungry for the feel of his skin under my hands and lips.

I crawled up on the bed and moved behind Kijika, settling myself behind him, draping my arm over his waist and throwing a leg over his. The join of his wings was right at the level of my mouth and a little smile graced my face as I leaned in and blew a soft breath out over the baby fine, short hairs. Kijika shivered and pressed his ass back into my lap. Encouraged, I rubbed my cheek against the warm velvet of his folded wing. A soft purr started to rumble from my chest and my eyes half closed in delight. A small moan of pleasure escaped Kijika and he wriggled his ass firmly against my cock when I delicately licked the transparent membrane of his wing.

My tail snaked over his hip and the puffy tip brushed back and forth over his thighs, teasing him a little but not touching his cock or balls. My hand swept back and forth over his chest and I placed teasing kisses back and forth between his wings. When I brushed my fingers over his nipple, his big body jerked

and the breath rushed from him in a drawn out moan. His nipple stiffened under my hand and his wings twitched as they tried to open and close.

“Moswen,” Kijika panted lightly. There was a world of desire in the way he said my name, making it one of the most erotic things I’d heard in a while. “I want… I need…”

I hadn’t counted on Kijika getting aroused so quickly from almost nothing. He was reacting like I’d spent hours teasing and playing with his body when I’d barely touched him. Sure, I knew the place where his wing joined his body was sensitive but not this sensitive. Our time apart shouldn’t be making him feel as desperate as his body was telling me he was. I frowned a little as I thought, keeping up the slow glide of my hands over his skin. When the reason for his reactions occurred to me, I could have kicked myself.

“I’m sorry, Ki. I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted to show you how happy I was to be back here with you. How much I’d missed having you in my arms,” I said as I placed a kiss between his wings and moved out from behind him. “Roll to your back shal-demsho, I’m not going to tease you more than I have.”

“What the hell is going on with me, Moswen? I feel so…” Kijika trailed off with a blush appearing across his cheek bones.

“Aroused? Yeah, I know. My fault in more ways than one. Pregnant Awh’anise are very sexual and you’re already suffering from the wild mood swings so it follows that you’d get the high sex drive as well, which I adore by the way. But, I should have thought about that and not started to tease you like I did. At least not the first time we’re together after our time apart. Slow and gentle teasing can come after we’ve had each other a few times and the need isn’t so strong. Think of this as kinda like experiencing a mini Awh’anise cycle.”

Kijika raised an eyebrow at that but eagerly moved as I’d told him too. He was twisting to reach for the drawer in the bedside table before I even started to ask him about lube. He tossed a small tube at me and spread his legs before bending his knees and grabbing hold of his ankles to pull them tight to his thighs. I’d been in the process of opening the lube but had to stop and just stare at the utterly erotic picture my love was giving me.

“You’re beautiful; you know that, don’t you?” I asked in a husky voice my hands working on autopilot to open the lube and slick my cock.

Kijika rolled his eyes at me. I don’t think he believed me. I leaned forward and placed a kiss on his belly. He’d eventually believe me. I inhaled slowly letting the scent of Kijika’s body fill my nose. My eyes slid to half-mast and my purr settled into a quiet rumble. The tip of Kijika’s cock brushed the underside of my chin when I moved and I couldn’t help but rub my cheek against it. Kijika made a noise of pleasure at the touch and the scent of arousal coming from him increased. I wanted to take him into my mouth but figured that would be too much for him at this point.

Hell, I wasn’t even sure if it would be too much for me given how much I wanted him and how long I’d been without him.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to tease me,” Kijika panted lightly with the beginnings a frown.

“I’m not trying to, Ki. I’d love to take you into my mouth and suck on you until you lost all control but at the same time, I want to feel your ass squeezing my cock. Masturbation just isn’t the same as sex and it sure as hell isn’t anywhere near as good as sex with you,” I said as I rubbed lube slicked fingers over his hole while stroking my cock.

Kijika’s eyes closed and his hips rolled. He made sounds of arousal and encouragement and his breath left him in a shuddery rush when I pushed a finger gently inside him. A blush of excitement touched his cheeks and slowly travelled over his skin. He had a white-knuckled grip on his own ankles and his wings shivered every now and again as they tried to open and close.

“Moswen, please. Enough with the teasing. I need you, now,” Kijika pleaded, his eyes opening to watch me.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Ki,” I’d barely started to stretch him.

“You won’t. Moswen, now. You’re not the only one who’s been feeling the separation. I want your cock inside me now. So help me god, if you don’t do what I need in the next thirty seconds, I’m going to take matters into my own hands, push you onto your back and ride you,” Kijika panted letting go of his ankles and reaching for me.

I grinned at Kijika. I loved him as a submissive in bed but this new facet of a pushy bottom was erotic as all get out. Far be it from me to withhold something we both wanted. Although, the idea of Kijika riding me was definitely something we’d have to do later. I slipped my finger from his ass making him groan and rubbed my cock against his hole. Kijika squirmed under me and reached for my hips. He caught me by surprise when he suddenly jerked me to him. My cock slid into him in one smooth thrust and my breath rushed from me in a low growl. Kijika’s back arched sharply, his wings opened with an audible snap and a groan of deep pleasure was torn from him as he orgasmed.

My head spun at the delicious sensations assaulting my senses. The intense heat and tight grip as Kijika’s ass rhythmically squeezed my dick. The scent and sight of his come across his chest and gently rounded belly. The sounds of pleasure and harsh breathing from Kijika as he rode out the tremors of his orgasm. Arousal thick in the air from both of us. Pride that just feeling me enter him was enough to trigger his orgasm. The taste of Kijika’s scent on my tongue and the subtle addition of the scent of the life we’d created.

My tail lashed the air behind me and I pressed my hands to the mattress beside Kijika. My talons extended and I felt the material of the mattress shred under my fingers. A shiver of intense pleasure travelled from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. I alternated between purring and growling and I began a rough series of thrusts that made Kijika gasp and clutch my arms in a grip hard enough to bruise. His rough hold only aroused me more and my balls pulled tight to my body as my own release closed in on me. Kijika beat his wings and he writhed under me, urging me on in a raspy voice that pushed every erotic button I had.

I dug my talons into the mattress and slammed my hips tight to Kijika. “Xi’,” I snarled as orgasm rushed through me.

Kijika groaned and tilted his hips, pushing my cock even deeper into him. My head dropped forward and I closed my eyes as I tried to get my shaky breathing back to normal. Shivers travelled up and down my spine. Fine tremors made my arms shake from the euphoria I felt. I reluctantly slipped free from Kijika’s body before my arms gave out and I collapsed onto him. He protested my leaving with a little whimper. I

sat back on my heels, breathing hard and wondering how in gods name I’d gotten so lucky to have Kijika in my life.

“Oh gods, Moswen, that felt good,” Kijika said in a satisfied voice.

Pleased warmth spread through me. I’d made my love feel good and obviously very satisfied. I opened my eyes to find Kijika staring at me with lazy heat in his gaze. From the look on his face, if I thought we were done, I was sadly mistaken. My eyebrows rose slightly. I guess I’d been more right than I knew when I’d compared Kijika’s increased arousal to a mini-cycle.

“You want more don’t you, Shal-demsho?” I asked as I ran a talon lightly up his thigh making him shiver. I could still smell arousal coming from him and it was a damn heady thing.

“Yes I do. And you’ll give me more, won’t you, Moswen?” Kijika asked with smug certainty in his voice.

“Anything for you, Ki. Whatever you want that I can give you is yours. I’m yours, Ki,” I said as I leaned over him and kissed him on the lips.

Kijika tunnelled his fingers through my hair and kissed me back with passion. Happiness filled me. I had the one I loved more than my own life in my arms. I’d created a child with him. We’d just had intense, welcome home sex and he wanted me to do it again. Kijika had missed me and was glad I was back. Sometimes life was unbelievably good to me. Chapter 32

~Kijika~

Moswen sat cross-legged on the bed. He was making an intricate set of tiny braids at his left temple. I’d never seen him do something like that before. His concentration was intense as he worked his hair. I watched him for several minutes before I couldn’t help myself and asked him what he was doing.

“Letting other Awh’anise know that I’m taken,” Moswen said tying off the last braid.

“But you’re the only Awh’anise here,” I pointed reaching out and fingering a silky braid that was slightly thinner than my finger.

Moswen snorted at me. “I know that, Ki. It’s a cultural thing,” He looked at me, smiled and gave me a quick kiss on the nose. He rose from the bed, padded across the room, scooped up paper and pen and came back to the bed. He dropped them into my lap and settled himself next to me. His tail curled over my thighs and the tip brushed back and forth over my belly. I’d thought Moswen liked to touch and be touched before. Now, it was almost like he couldn’t stand to not be touching me somewhere. I didn’t mind at all. After being without Moswen for a few weeks, I now found I needed to touch him often, too. Almost like I wanted to reassure myself that he really was next to me and wasn’t going anywhere. Maybe that was another side effect of having an Awh’anise baby. I’d have to ask him about that later.

“The two braids on the left side represent me and you. Braids on the right side are for our children. Depending on how many kids we have, that’s how many braids will end up on the right side. By the way, you’ve said you’re having a baby. Why do you think it’s just one? Awh’anise are a multiple birth species. You could be having more than one.”

I smiled at Moswen. “Because when I checked myself out and discovered I was pregnant, there was only the one life growing inside me.”

“Oh,” Moswen looked a little disappointed and I wondered why before he perked up. “So you know what we’re having? Tell me!”

I laughed and pulled Moswen into my arms. Apparently, I’d worried for nothing. He’d been shocked at first to find out I was pregnant but he was obviously delighted that he was going to be a father.

“No, I don’t know what we’re having. I’d rather it was a surprise. You seem a little disappointed it’s just the one baby, Moswen. Isn’t one enough?” I teased.

“I’m thrilled to pieces that we’re having a baby, Ki. It’ll just take me a little getting used to that I’m only going to have the one kid to spoil,” Moswen said as he stroked his hand over my belly. “When can we feel the baby move, Ki?”

I really hadn’t expected Moswen to take to the idea so whole-heartedly. He’d said family was of utmost importance to the Awh’anise but I suppose I didn’t realize just how important. He touched my belly every chance he got, which, considering we’d both been naked since going to bed the previous evening, was quite often. I’d almost feel jealous if Moswen wasn’t touching me elsewhere just as much.

“Probably in another few weeks we’ll be able to feel the baby move,” I said as I placed my hand over Moswen’s. “Are you really okay with this, Moswen? It’s a big change for you and we still haven’t even talked about… well everything.”

“What’s there to talk about, Ki? I think kids are a treasure and I’d always planned on having some one day. That day is just closer than I thought it would be. We get on great together in or out of bed. Because of who I am and what I do, I don’t need to constantly be on Awh’an to do my job as Shal-hazal. Even if my Shal-hazal House or the council needs me for something, I can be there in a matter of minutes by Dream-Stepping. As long as you don’t mind having me underfoot, I’ll stay here with you since my responsibilities are more flexable than yours. You and the baby are my life now, Ki. I won’t abandon either one of you,” Moswen said touching my cheek gently.

I stared into Moswen’s purple eyes and saw the sincerity of his words there. My own eyes prickled with tears and I pulled him into a tight hug, burying my face in the softness of his hair as I started to cry. I was happy but I was crying. That made absolutely no sense and annoyed me which made me cry harder. Moswen’s surprise at the abrupt hug and sudden burst of tears lasted for only a few seconds before he tried to pull out of my arms.

“Ki, what did I do to make you cry? Tell me, shal-demsho and I’ll fix it. Please don’t cry, Kijika,” Moswen said with growing upset in his voice.

He tried to get me to look at him but I refused to let him go until I had myself and my embarrassing emotions under control. Sensing I wasn’t going to let go until I wanted to, Moswen stopped trying to get free and leaned into my arms, stroking his hand over my hair and making shushing noises. His tail

wrapped around us and he rubbed his cheek against my hair in a comforting gesture. The outburst of tears stopped as suddenly as they started but I still clutched Moswen tight to me.

“Ki, talk to me. What did I do wrong?” Moswen whispered against my hair.

“Nothing,” I said with a sniffle. Gods, I was ready for these weird mood swings to end. “I was crying because I was happy to hear that you really wanted the baby and wanted to stay with me and… stuff,” that sounded so lame, I cringed on the inside.

Moswen surprised me by moving his head back and gently licking the tear tracks on my face. It was a startling intimate thing to do and I know I was staring at him with wide eyes. The smile Moswen gave me was warm and made me feel – cherished. It was an odd choice of words but nothing else seemed to fit.

“I purr almost constantly when I’m around you. I don’t think you can hear it most of the time or you would’ve said something to me but… here,” Moswen said taking my hand and pressing my fingers to the hollow of his throat. I could feel faint but steady vibrations against my fingers even though I couldn’t hear anything. “Being with you makes me feel good and that makes me purr for you even if all we’re doing is sitting together. The only way you’d get rid of me now is if you tell me you want me to leave and never come back. I wouldn’t want to do that but if that was what you wanted, then that’s what I’d do. I respect you and your wishes, shal-demsho. Whatever you want, I’ll do my damnedest to do for you. I want you to be happy, Ki.”

I kissed Moswen on the lips. I wasn’t sure how I’d gotten so lucky to have someone like him fall into my lap. As I kissed Moswen, I felt desire come to life in me. That was one side effect of carrying an Awh’anise baby I was finding I liked very much. Sensations felt sharper and I felt like I went from zero to fully aroused in seconds. I knew with absolute certainty that I could have Moswen moving over and in me in a matter of minutes. I was just about to tell him what I wanted when the door to the suite was flung open.

“Kijika Par-Delseur! I want to know why you’re hiding from me.”

Moswen and I both jerked our eyes to the door. Olanthe stood framed in the doorway with a nervous looking hotel staffer behind her. My mom had the look of a thoroughly pissed off princess to her, which

is probably what got her the room number and one of the hotel staff to unlock the door for her despite my express orders to the hotel staff to let no one know I was staying there. It was very small consolation that she’d barged into the room before Moswen and I got started with another round of bed play. To have my mom see that… it would have been hideously embarrassing. Far worse than my dad catching us in the middle of the act.

Olanthe barely paid any attention to the poor clerk who’d opened the door for her. The girl was lucky she didn’t get her nose broken from the force my mom used to slam the door behind her. She stalked to the bed where Moswen and I lay and folded her arms across her chest. I was very grateful that the sheet was covering me from the waist down. Moswen wasn’t bothered in the slightest by his nudity in front of Olanthe although he did tense fractionally. The look my mom gave me was one I recognized from my childhood and made me feel all of eight years old again and like I’d broken some priceless artefact.

Gods, but I hated that look.

Moswen’s arm went around my waist in a protective gesture. I felt a small measure of security at having the sheet covering me. Not that my mom didn’t know what I looked like naked or hadn’t seen me in some very revealing clothes. But, there was a subtle difference between seeing me dressed in the height of Vylfian fashion that left almost nothing to the imagination and seeing me naked, aroused and with my equally naked and aroused lover. Not to mention that my condition would be glaringly obvious if Olanthe saw me naked.

“I want answers, Kijika and I want them now. Get out of that bed, get dressed and start explaining yourself before I grab you by the wings, drag you from that bed and tan your hide,” Olanthe said, completely ignoring the fact that she’d interrupted an intimate moment between Moswen and me.

Moswen startled me by moving faster than I knew he could to position himself directly between me and my mother. His muscles were now tighter than a spring and a low growl was coming from him. His tail tip flicked back and forth stiffly and was puffed up to twice what I was used to seeing. I had a few seconds to stare at his hands as the talons on his fingers extended to the length of my baby finger. I’d had no idea he could extend his talons like that. Even without checking, I was positive those talons of his were wickedly sharp. The need to do violence oozed from Moswen and it was all directed at Olanthe. I’d never seen Moswen react like that. If I wasn’t absolutely certain Moswen wouldn’t hurt me, I’d have been very nervous if not actually afraid of getting close to him.

“Xi’, Kijika shal-demsho,” Moswen said in a low, almost guttural tone.

“Moswen, relax,” I said as I put a hand on his arm and pulled him closer to me in the hope that I could somehow disperse his sudden aggression.

Moswen allowed me to drag him against my body but his eyes never left Olanthe. Part of me was utterly fascinated at the sudden change in Moswen and wanted to write down a description of his behaviour. The other, more reasonable part of me knew I needed to diffuse the situation as quickly as possible. Moswen previously said he wouldn’t hit Olanthe no matter how she’d provoke him and from what he’d told me about the Awh’anise, I understood the restraint he’d be using. He’d even gone so far as to say he’d allow her to hit him without hitting back. I wasn’t so sure about that at the moment. I could feel the growls vibrating through his body and his muscles straining to take action. My mother didn’t seem to realize the high level of tension and anger in Moswen that was being held in check only because of my grip on him.

“You think you scare me?” Olanthe said with a dismissive sniff. “I’m a princess of the realm. You wouldn’t dare harm me. Just who do you think you are?”

Moswen struggled against my hold on him. I had a moment of stunning clarity to realize that any other time; Moswen would have broken my hold without a second thought with a few well placed elbows. Only the fact that I was carrying our baby kept him from doing anything that might hurt me or the baby. A low growl still rumbled from his throat and his tail jerked back and forth. I held Moswen tighter becoming a little worried about what he might do if I let him go. For whatever reason, I believe he perceived Olanthe as a threat to me and the baby. My mother would never hurt me and she didn’t even know about the baby yet. There were times when I simply didn’t understand Moswen or why he acted the way he did.

“I am Shal-hazal Spirit Eag’res Moswen Fayina-Dukker, Spirit Will of the Shal-hazal House of Hedya. I am an ambassador of Awh’an. I am the Awh’anise equivalent of royalty but beyond those titles and honours, I am Kijika’s lover and protector and that means more to me and is a higher honour than all those titles put together,” Moswen said with a dignity and sense of pride that I’d never suspected him of having. He was on par with Olanthe in the pride department.

My mother snorted and waved her hand as if to dismiss what Moswen just said. “You’re not on… whatever you call your home world. Your titles mean nothing to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were part of the reason Kijika has been avoiding me.”

Olanthe moved closer to Moswen proving she was either fearless or didn’t truly appreciate how agitated he was. The door to the room opened again and Delseur stepped inside. He took one look at the three of us, quickly closed the door behind him and approached my mom.

“I told you Kijika would show up when he worked out whatever was troubling him, Olanthe. You have to stop interfering in his life. Kijika’s a grown man, my love. Let him live his life,” Delseur said wrapping his arms around my mom and backing them both a safe distance away from Moswen. He cast a wary eye over Moswen, recognizing the desire to do violence in my lover.

“Kijika never did things like this before he waltzed into our lives,” Olanthe fumed.

“Kijika didn’t have much of a life before Moswen came, my love. He worked, attended royal functions when he had to and fell into bed when he ran out of energy. Kijika is starting to live now. Isn’t that what you want for our son?” Delseur asked softly.

“But Kijika deserves someone who,” Olanthe began.

“Someone who what? Respects him? Wants him to be happy? Makes him happy?” Delseur interrupted. “Moswen, do you respect Kijika? Do you want him to be happy?”

Some of the tension left Moswen at my dad’s questions. I didn’t let him go. I still wasn’t entirely sure he wouldn’t attack my mom. He nodded his head at my dad’s words and his hands came up to cover my arms. “I only want Kijika to be happy. He’s mine and I’m his. Whatever he wants, I’ll do for him.”

“But he’s not Naemo or Vylfian,” my mom protested. She still wasn’t willing to give up on the idea of my finding one of our people to share my life with.

“It doesn’t matter to me what species Moswen is,” I took a steadying breath and felt Moswen give my arm a reassuring squeeze. He knew what was coming and there was no time like the present to let my parents know they were going to become grandparents soon. “Moswen and I are having a baby.”

“I absolutely forbid that,” Olanthe said, her cheeks flushed with high colour. “You are a prince, Kijika. A prince does not go around having children with whomever they wish. Enjoy taking him to bed but I draw the line at letting you bear some… some… alien’s get. No. That just won’t be allowed.”

“I wasn’t telling you what we were going to do. I’m telling you what is happening,” I said in a firm voice as I nudged Moswen to the side and pushed the sheet to my lap, allowing my parents to see my rounded belly.

I watched the colour drain from Olanthe’s face when her eyes took in my form. I think she only remained standing because my father stood behind her, supporting her. She brought her hand to her mouth and turned her head to look at Delseur. Chapter 33

~Moswen~

I knew I was totally over reacting to Kijika’s mom and her threat to grab Ki by the wings and tan his hide. I doubted she was strong enough to do that but, looks could be deceiving. My mom could still grab me by the scruff of the neck and turn me over her knee if she decided to and I was bigger and stronger than she was. One thing was clear; Olanthe wasn’t a happy camper about my being with Kijika and having a baby with him. I could let the alien comment slide because, technically, I was the alien here. Then again, what she was or wasn’t happy about where Kijika was concerned meant squat to me. As long as Ki was happy with me, I was happy.

“Why, Kijika? Did he force you? Why did you let him do this to you?” Olanthe asked bewilderment plain in her voice and expression.

“Moswen would never force me to do anything. He did nothing wrong, Mom. He didn’t even know I could get pregnant. This wasn’t intentional on either our parts,” Kijika said, lacing his fingers with mine and giving them a squeeze.

“How far along are you, Kijika?” asked Delseur.

“About a month and a half. It happened the night Sakima gave Moswen the medal and made him my concubine. We were both really drunk and… well… things felt really good and I wasn’t thinking about the consequences of what might happen,” Kijika explained with a slight blush to his cheeks.

Olanthe suggesting that I’d forced Kijika to do anything he didn’t want to pissed me off a little. Before I did something truly stupid, I leaned against Kijika and rubbed my cheek on his shoulder, taking several deep, calming breaths. I could now easily tell the difference between his scent and that little something extra that was the child we’d created. A soft purr rumbled in my throat. Regardless of how it’d happened, I was thrilled Kijika and I were having a baby together. I loved him and having a family with him was beyond my wildest imagination. My contented purr got louder.

“What’s that noise?” Delseur asked with a puzzled look.

I smiled and rubbed my cheek against Kijika again. Touching him and inhaling his scent was helping to curb my instincts to do some violence to Olanthe. I was really getting to like Delseur. At least he seemed okay with the idea of me and Ki having a baby. “That’d be me. Kijika makes me purr by just being near me. Awh’anise only do that when we’re very comfortable with people we like or if we’re really happy.”

Delseur raised an eyebrow at that and seemed like he wanted to ask me something else when Olanthe interrupted.

“A month? Then it’s not too late to end it right now, Kijika. I can arrange that for you,” Olanthe offered holding out her hand to Kijika.

My relaxed, contented feelings vanished at Olanthe’s words. I intercepted her outstretched hand, instinct driving me to protect what was mine in the best way I knew how. The hotel room vanished and an empty whiteness replaced it. Olanthe looked around with hostility growing in her eyes. Kijika and Delseur were nowhere to be seen.

“What kind of magic is this? What have you done?” Olanthe demanded. “Where’s Kijika and Delseur?”

“You’re in my world now, Olanthe, and here in the dream world, I’m as close to a god as you’re going to get. Kijika and Delseur are fine and enjoying a lovely day playing in some thermals I’ve created for them. You and me are going to have a little talk and set a few things straight.”

A sound of outrage came from Olanthe and she tried to move towards me. Her brow furrowed when nothing happened. I crossed my arms and watched her struggle for several minutes before approaching her. Given Kijika’s brains, I’d have thought his mom was a smart cookie. Maybe all those smarts came from his dad.

“I don’t know what’s going on here but I demand you release me right this very instant,” Olanthe said in a haughty tone worthy of a princess of the realm.

“I’ve told you before. I’m a Shal-hazal Spirit. What I will to happen in dreams, happens. You are physically inside a dream pocket of my making. If I wanted to, I could leave you here and nobody would ever be able to find you, not even another Shal-hazal Spirit. You’d live on until I decided to let you go or killed you. I could make it like your worst nightmare or the most beautiful dream you’ve ever had. I could do that but I won’t because it would upset Kijika. I’ll do nothing to upset him. He means the world to me.”

“What do you want to go away? Money? Power? Tell me and I’ll get it for you,” Olanthe hissed at me. She really had no idea how I felt about Kijika and the baby we were having together. As reluctant as I was to bare my feeling to somebody who didn’t seem to like me much, I didn’t think I had a choice. I needed to show her exactly what Kijika meant to me.

Everything I felt for Kijika went into the data dump I funnelled into her head. I let Olanthe experience my pleasure when I was finally allowed into Kijika’s bed. She felt my happiness when Kijika told me he

wanted me to come back to him after my little side trip home was done. All my longing for Kijika while I was ruled by my cycle was pushed into her. I gave her the sensation of warm contentment and rightness when I realized I loved him. She tasted my panic and fear when I got Kijika’s message saying we needed to talk and I thought he was going to break things off with me. I pummelled her with the rage I’d felt when I thought somebody else was going to have a life and family with Kijika when that was what I wanted. That was quickly tempered with the joy I’d felt when I found out Kijika was having my baby and that he was excited about it. I let Olanthe feel all the giddy anticipation running through me at having a family with Kijika and how I would do anything to make him happy.

“Do you understand now?” I asked softly releasing Olanthe from the hold I had on her.

Olanthe staggered a few steps before falling on her ass. Her face was pale and tears coursed down her cheeks. Shock was plain on face. She’d obviously thought I’d been having a little fun with Kijika and was going to leave when the novelty of a new lover wore off, baby or no baby.

“You’ll do anything for him,” Olanthe said in a small voice. “You’d give your life for him or the baby. You’d kill to protect him and the baby without a second thought. You love Kijika and the baby more than your own life.”

I nodded. “Kijika and our baby are my world. Awh’anise are devoted parents and should we decide we want to be with just one partner, we’re absolutely faithful to that person. We don’t do things half-way. With us, it’s all or nothing. Because I’m a Throw-back, I’m more instinctual than most. What I feel for Kijika approaches the type of devotion a Shal-hazal has for their Lor’fei and there isn’t a stronger bond than that. I’m utterly his and very happy to feel like this.”

Olanthe sat and stared with unfocused eyes at nothing. She was thinking about what I’d shown her and said. I didn’t believe she was a stupid woman. She just needed to be hit in the head hard to realize things that should have been obvious. I waited for her to work through everything I’d shown her. We had as much time as she needed. In the dream world, the passage of time had no relation to how much time actually passed in the waking world.

“I’m still not happy that you and Kijika are having a baby together. He’s a prince. He should have a family with someone of equal standing,” Olanthe persisted when she looked at me.

I made a frustrated sound. Now I could see where Kijika got that dogged persistence from. I reached for Olanthe’s hand and dragged her along with me as I hopped dreams back to Awh’an. She only seemed to believe what she saw with her own two eyes. That was fine. I had it within my power to actually show her what and who I was. Olanthe staggered a little when I brought us out of the dream world and into the reality of the Shal-hazal House of Hedya.

“Where are we now? Another dream? And why are you naked? What are you up to?” Olanthe asked suspiciously looking around.

“I’m nude because when I Dream-Stepped us, I was in bed with my lover. I’m not up to anything. I’m showing you that I am who I say I am. We’re at the Shal-hazal House of Hedya on Awh’an. I’m the Spirit Will here. I suppose you could say I’m like one of the co-rulers of the territory this House controls,” I said not bothering to offer to get a robe. If Olanthe had a problem with seeing me naked, she’d just have to deal. Casual nudity wouldn’t raise so much as an eyebrow on Awh’an.

Olanthe gave me a considering look, careful to keep her eyes above my shoulders. “Co-ruler? That’s like what, a consort’s position to a king? You’re rather young to have a position like that, if what you say is true.”

I grinned. “I’m young but I’m also very, very good at what I do. I’ve been called gifted. I had to prove my abilities for the position. It wasn’t just handed to me. A Shal-hazal Will is more like one of four kings sharing a kingdom that’s too large to be managed effectively by one person. I share power with three other Wills here and have a seat on the Shal-hazal Council. Local governments run the towns and cities but ultimate power sits with the individual Houses and the Shal-hazal Council. There are thirteen Houses on Awh’an and the territories each House controls are freaking huge.”

“How huge?” Olanthe asked with a speculative gleam in her eyes. She was most definitely a princess of the realm looking to make the most profitable allegiance for her family. I could respect that even if I didn’t totally understand it. Since my own mother was the same way, maybe it was a female thing regardless of species.

“About three million square miles,” I said in an off-hand way. I knew the territory under my House was bigger than the country her father ruled.

Stunned surprise was the best way to describe Olanthe’s expression. I couldn’t help the smirk on my face. And she thought I was some nobody banging her precious baby boy. I wasn’t into pulling rank like this but power and titles seemed to be the only thing that impressed Olanthe and earned her respect.

“How do I know you’re not making this up? This could be another dream thing, couldn’t it? I’ve seen illusions done that are so real, you could taste food that wasn’t even there.”

I hadn’t thought of that. I frowned before motioning over one of the Shal-hazal in training that’d been sweeping the floor of the large audience chamber I’d dropped us into. The girl couldn’t have been more than fourteen and was all wide-eyed at being called over. All Shal-hazal in the House regardless of rank knew the individual Wills by sight. She hurried over and touched her forehead with two fingers in a salute.

“Go get Healer Huyana and Warrior Femi,” I ordered the young girl. She stared at me in surprise for several seconds before hurrying away to do as I’d told her.

“What did you say to her?” Olanthe asked watching the girl almost run from the room.

“I told her to go get the other Wills of this House. They’re relatives of mine. My extended family controls this House. They’ll confirm what I’ve told you about my position here.”

Olanthe gave me a long look. “Why is it important to you that I know your standing among your own people? I told you that your titles mean nothing to me.”

“I want you stop giving Kijika a hard time about me. I don’t care what you think of me but I don’t want Kijika to feel like he has to choose between me and you. That’s unfair to him and would just upset him. I’m not going to allow that to happen.”

Olanthe was stopped from answering when Huyana and Femi entered the audience chamber. Both women were older than me and real pleasure lit their eyes when they spied me. They shot curious glances at Olanthe but greeted me warmly with quick cheek-to-cheek rubs. I quickly explained why I was there in Awh’anise and asked them to speak in Olanthe’s native tongue. They nodded and faced Olanthe.

“So, what has Moswen done this time?” Femi asked with a mischievous smile.

“Femi,” I said with a little exasperation. She just laughed and waited for Olanthe to speak.

“You speak my language?” Olanthe asked in surprise, ignoring Femi’s earlier comment.

“Moswen added it to our minds before he left last time. He wanted to make sure that should Kijika call for him, there would be several others here who could talk to him and get a message to Moswen for him. I’m Huyana, Moswen’s sha-ter’al, his shared father’s other mate. I’m the Shal-hazal Healer Will of the House of Heyda. This is Femi, Moswen’s nebil, his mother’s brood sister, and the Shal-hazal Warrior Will of the House of Heyda.”

“There’s only three of you here. Moswen said there were four Wills to a House. Where’s the last one?” Olanthe asked. Damn, the woman could be sharp when she wanted to be.

“Tyhlian, my son, is the Shal-hazal Litch Will,” said Huyana. “He’s off-world and unavailable right now.”

That was the understatement of the century. Tyhlian was off-world and technically unavailable as nobody but me actually knew where he was. Just the fact that I knew where he was and hadn’t told the Council could cause me some serious trouble. Tyhlian was being hunted by a specially trained Shal-hazal Warrior and if that Warrior found Tyh, he’d be killed. It was the only way we knew how to deal with insane Litches; and every Litch went insane because of what they did as Shal-hazal. There was no way in hell I’d be sharing that little piece of information with Olanthe though. She didn’t need anything else to hold against me and I had the feeling an insane half-brother wouldn’t shed a very good light on her already prejudiced views of me.

Olanthe crossed her arms over her chest and demanded proof that what she was seeing wasn’t a dream. She was eventually satisfied with the answers she got from Femi and Huyana and proceeded to pepper my fellow Wills with questions about me, my family, what Shal-hazal’s were and did, the system of House’s and the Council and the power we wielded as Shal-hazal and members of that Council. I ended up being impressed with the quick grasp Olanthe had on the power structure of the Shal-hazal and Awh’an in general. I eventually had to break up the conversation when Olanthe and Huyana veered off course into an in depth discussion of healing techniques that neither Femi nor I understood.

“If you want, I can bring you back here another time or arrange to have Huyana come visit you but we’ve gotta go now,” I said.

Olanthe shot me an annoyed look. Once she found out I was more or less on par with her, lineage wise, she’d pretty much ignored me in favour of talking with Huyana about healing. My tail was in a knot over that at first until I realized I could use her interest in discussing healing with Huyana to my advantage in future dealings with Olanthe. A little smirk came and went on my face at that thought. Olanthe said good-bye to Huyana and Femi and gestured at me to do whatever I did to take us back to her home world.

“I’m still not very happy that you got Kijika pregnant,” Olanthe started as soon as I started hopping us from dream to dream. “I expected him to find one of our own people to settle down with not some alien who dropped onto our world on a whim. I suppose it can’t be helped now and I do know you love him and the baby. Just remember that I’ll be watching you and if you hurt my baby, I’ll make your life a living hell.”

I nodded my head at Olanthe. “As long as you remember that anyone, and I do mean anyone, who threatens Kijika or my baby has a very good chance of ending up dead. I’m not squeamish about killing. There’s times when I kinda like it. Kijika and the baby are my responsibility and I take that seriously.”

“Good. Then we understand each other. Huyana will contact you shortly to arrange a visit with me. Now, take me home. I’ve wasted enough time as it is and have some new theories to discuss with my fellow healers,” Olanthe demanded.

I made quick work of getting us back to Kijika’s home world. Olanthe said nothing to Kijika or Delseur about what I’d shown her in the dream world of my feelings or about the little side trip to Awh’an. She’d

chastised Kijika about hiding from her and ordered him back to his rooms at the palace. She’d also demanded that he see a healer to make sure everything was fine with the pregnancy and told him he was to let King Sakima know he was going to be a great-grandfather. Olanthe then took Delseur’s hand and dragged him from the room complaining about how she’d wasted her time looking for Kijika when it’d been obvious Delseur knew from the start where their son had been. I barely managed not to laugh at the uncomfortable look on Delseur’s face.

“What in the name of all the stars did you do, Moswen? One minute my mom is talking about terminating my pregnancy and looked ready to have you executed and the next, she’s chewing out my dad and leaving us alone without anything more said about us or the baby. I want answers. Talk,” Kijika demanded

I smiled at Kijika and wrapped him into a tight hug. Things were going to work out. I didn’t exactly have Olanthe won over but at least she wasn’t actively trying to get me to leave Kijika. I could work with that. I pushed Kijika towards the bed and let him get settled before I joined him and gave him an abridged version of events. He didn’t need to know all of the things that’d passed between me and his mom. Some stuff was better left between two people. All Kijika needed to know was that she wasn’t actively trying to keep us apart anymore and was grudgingly okay with me and Kijika having a baby together. Chapter 34

~Kijika~

Moswen stood beside me, clasping my hand tightly in his. I think he was more nervous about this meeting with King Sakima than I was. Truthfully, telling my mom had been much scarier to me than telling my grandfather about the baby. Sakima would only be interested in my happiness and not any useful alliances I might make among the nobility unlike my mother who wanted to see me marry well. I had a burning curiosity to find out what Moswen had said to my mom to get her to change her mind about our relationship and our baby. Moswen wouldn’t tell me and said some things had to remain private between people.

His flippant attitude had pissed me off and I’d punched him without thinking. The sound of him crashing into a dresser from the force of the blow had shocked me out of my sudden irrational anger and I’d been horrified at what I’d done. To add to my distress, I’d burst into tears which made me angry all over again. Moswen had licked the blood off his lip, grinned at me and gently tackled me to the bed. He’d

then proceeded to pin me down and screw me senseless while whispering how arousing he found it when I fought him.

A blush coloured my cheeks and I shifted a little with the memory of how good that bit of bed play had been. I was supremely grateful that I was wearing loose pants instead of the typical Vylfian short skirt. Moswen squeezed my hand lightly and a tiny knowing smile twitched his lips. His eyes drifted to my groin and I heard him inhale sharply. He leaned into me, rubbing his cheek against my arm. I heard the soft sound of his purr start up and found myself relaxing slightly. I don’t know why but that sound instantly calmed me.

“So why did you request a private audience with me and Numa, Kijika?” Sakima asked as he entered the sitting room off his private chambers. Queen Numa walked beside him, her arm resting on Sakima’s.

“I have something important to tell you. It’s about me and Moswen. My mother and father already know and you and Grandmother Numa need to be told before anyone else finds out.”

“That sounds rather ominous, Kijika. You’re not planning on leaving us to run off and explore the universe with Moswen, are you?” Sakima asked with a smile as he and Numa took seats next to each other and gestured for Moswen and me to be seated.

“No, nothing like that. I would be shirking my duties here as head librarian and as part of the Naemo army if I did that.”

“Olanthe did instil quite the responsibility to duty in you,” Sakima said with a nod of his head. “If not that, then what sort of thing do you have to tell me? You’re holding hands with Moswen so I doubt it’s to say that he’s leaving to pursue other interests.”

Moswen squeezed my hand and opened his mouth. I tugged on his hand and when he looked at me, I shook my head slightly. Moswen closed his mouth and waited for me to say what I’d come to say.

“Moswen and I are going to have a baby.”

Sakima’s eyebrows rose. “Are you sure that’s a wise choice, Kijika? Moswen is a very nice man and I did make him your concubine but, you two haven’t really known each other for long. Children are a big responsibility. You’ll have to give up your post with the Naemo army if you have a baby, at least until after you deliver and wean the infant. Doesn’t Moswen have duties of his own? How will the two of you manage that? I am assuming, of course, that Moswen will want to help in the rearing of a child. Have the two of you really thought this out thoroughly?”

I was about to correct Sakima when Numa patted his hand. “No, dear. Kijika is saying that’s what’s happening right now not what they plan on doing. Isn’t that right, Kijika?”

I nodded my head, momentarily surprised by Numa’s perceptiveness. I shouldn’t have been. Numa was a healer like my mother although her healing usually took place in hospitals where my mother routinely worked her healing magic on the battlefield.

“Moswen, you do understand that neither Kijika nor any children he has are eligible for the throne,” Sakima said with a steely look at Moswen.

“Not that it matters but, yeah, I know. I don’t need or want any more leadership responsibility than I already have. Even if Kijika was just a regular guy with a regular job, I’d still want to be with him and our baby. Frankly your majesty, having titles and all the duty attached to them is a pain in the ass half the time.”

Sakima stared at Moswen for several seconds before bursting into laughter. “I really like you, Moswen. You’ll have to tell me someday of how you know that little fact. Kijika, when are you due and how, exactly, did this happy occasion happen?”

I let out a breath I hadn’t been aware I was holding. Sakima was the only person who could have legally forced me to end the pregnancy. As both my king and my grandfather, if he’d decided that no alien blood was to taint the royal lineage, there would have been nothing I could’ve done to protest aside from fleeing the court. Not that I thought he would have done such a thing but I knew it was within his power, as did my mother. I hadn’t told Moswen though. He was protective enough already and the very last thing I wanted was for him to attack the king for deciding something it was his right to as ruler and

head of the royal family. I launched into the explanation of how I became pregnant and by the end of my story; Sakima was trying in vain to hold back his laughter.

“So one night of drunken sex sees you pregnant and Moswen didn’t even know it was possible?” Sakima dissolved into laughter, his wings even shaking with the force of his mirth. “Good lord, Moswen, trouble follows you around like a shadow, doesn’t it?”

“Pretty much,” Moswen said with a grin. “My mom says I’m a trouble magnet. My siblings say I’m a disaster waiting to happen. Usually though, it all works out in the end. My karma is just weird that way. Just so you know, my people are devoted parents and I swear I’ll give my life to protect Ki and our baby from anyone who wants to try and hurt them.”

Sakima nodded, his humour vanishing in the face of Moswen’s serious expression and words. “I’m assuming the two of you have a few things to take care of now. Kijika, you may continue to work as long as you feel able or until Moswen says otherwise.”

I bristled and opened my mouth to protest. I was only pregnant not feeble minded.

“We all know you forget yourself when you get caught up in your work. I’m sure Moswen will be keeping a close eye on you and he’ll probably be a better judge of when you’ve pushed yourself too hard than you yourself are. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I have some audiences I need to attend.”

Sakima rose from his seat and offered his arm to Numa. She stood and they both walked to where Moswen and I now stood. Sakima took my free hand in his and pressed it to his chest over his heart. He pulled my head down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. I felt little puffs of air on my skin when he pulled back and gentle warmth caressed my skin. He repeated the gesture on Moswen, a little smile touching his lips at Moswen’s startled look when he probably felt the same warmth I had. Numa repeated Sakima’s gestures, a tingle accompanying the unheard words I knew she spoke. They left the room without a backward glance.

“What the hell was that, Ki?” Moswen asked with wide eyes, his fingers touching the spot on his forehead that Sakima and Numa had kissed.

“Protection spells from the king and queen,” I said, a little awe in my voice.

I’d been pretty sure Sakima would be fine with the idea of my having a baby but I never expected him to extend his personal protection to me, never mind Moswen as well. To have Numa add hers to his was something that’d never even crossed my mind at all. Tears welled in my eyes and I had to take slow, deep breaths to keep from bawling like a baby. I was more than fucking ready to have these roller coaster emotions go away. Moswen rubbed his hand up and down my back between my wings. He seemed to be catching on fast that I was prone to bursting into tears for no apparent reason and simply waited now for the crying to pass. I cleared my throat and faced him.

“One thing down, two more to go. I’d like to get this exam over with as soon as possible. One of the good things about being a royal is that we have our own healers on call. There shouldn’t be a problem with getting to see one of them today. I still hate being poked and prodded though.”

“Really? You don’t seem to protest too hard when I do it,” Moswen leered at me.

I rolled my eyes at him even as my body responded to the idea of some poking and prodding by Moswen. The one thing I didn’t mind at all with this pregnancy was my increased sex drive. Especially when my lover was more than willing to satisfy my desires. I tugged on Moswen’s hand and pulled him from Sakima’s private sitting room. I had a healer to see and I knew if I didn’t go as soon as possible, I’d end up with the shudder worthy experience of having my mother do the pre-natal exam. No matter how good my mother was as a healer, that was something I’d rather go without ever experiencing.

*********

“I want to be there for this exam, Ki,” Moswen said as he folded his arms across his chest. He got a stubborn look on his face as if daring me to try and keep him from the exam.

“Lately, you get all weird when other people touch me, Moswen. You do know that this exam will involve a healer touching me, right? You’re not going to threaten to break the poor person’s arm like you did to the guard earlier, are you?”

“He didn’t need to touch you and his hand was travelling down your hip to grope your ass,” Moswen nearly growled.

“I tripped and he was helping to steady me,” I said in exasperation.

Moswen muttered something under his breath. His tail twitched back and forth in annoyance. He looked so damn cute when he was being all protective that I grabbed him by his shirt and jerked him to me and kissed him hard. He was still with surprise for less than a second before responding enthusiastically to me. When I pulled back from the kiss, we were both breathing hard. Moswen grinned at me and hugged me.

“So I guess this means I can be there for the exam.”

I sighed. “Fine. Just be on your best behaviour… whatever the hell that is.”

“I can do that. Hey, will this healer tell us what we’re having if we ask?”

“We’re not going to ask. I want it to be a surprise.” Moswen opened his mouth to argue. “Do this for me, Moswen, please.”

“Anything for you, Ki,” Moswen said immediately as he rubbed his cheek against my bicep.

We walked into the small anteroom of the hospital for my family. I was a little surprised to see Harith sitting in a chair holding a baby in his arms. He looked up when the door opened and smiled at seeing us enter. Moswen grinned and pulled me over to Harith. His tail tip fluttered in excitement and he leaned close. His brow furrowed and he stood up straight, his eyes bouncing between Harith, the baby and me.

“Uh… are you doing what I think you’re doing?” Moswen asked.

“What do you think I’m doing, Moswen?” Harith asked with humour in his voice.

I raised an eyebrow at Moswen and wondered what disaster was in the making now. I couldn’t see anything unusual about Harith or what he was doing. As a close friend and part of the staff of the palace, using the medical facilities at the palace was well within his right. He was feeding the baby but we were in a secluded area so there was nothing unusual in that.

“You… you’re… feeding the baby,” Moswen stammered out.

“Arella was hungry.”

“But… you’re feeding the baby.”

Harith laughed softly. “Yes, I do believe you mentioned that, Moswen. I’m going to guess you didn’t get that far into the book Kijika gave you. Along with bearing children, feeding those children is also something that a Vylfian male can do if they choose.”

Moswen turned wide eyes to me. “No shit. Are you gonna do that, Ki?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it. I suppose so. It would be the easiest way to go and much better for the baby than formula. Why?”

Moswen opened and closed his mouth a few times before blowing his breath out and running his hand through his hair. “I never thought about it. How we were gonna feed the baby I mean.”

I laughed and pulled Moswen to me for a hug. He looked a little bemused and followed me into the exam room without protest. It never occurred to me that Moswen wouldn’t know or guess about breast

feeding. He seemed to be thinking deeply and I started to get that creeping feeling of disaster again as I answered the healer’s questions automatically.

“So the father of the baby is Moswen? Are you sure about that, Prince Kijika?”

“Absolutely,” I said grabbing Moswen’s hand and squeezing it hard.

“Then, I need to ask him some questions regarding his people’s physiology. I’ve never had a patient carrying a child that was the result of an entirely alien species. I’ll need to know gestation times and fertility cycles and general physical make-up. Can you provide me with this information, Moswen?”

“I can give you some basics but not the stuff you probably need to know. I can get somebody here for you though. One of our healers. Would that help?” The healer’s eyes brightened with interest and he nodded his head.

“I can go now to ask if you want but I don’t know if I can get the healer here right away. I know you want this thing done as soon as possible, Ki but it might take a day or two for Huyana to clear her schedule to come here.”

“That’s alright by me. I can start the basics without knowing all the finer points,” the healer said.

“But I want to be here for the exam,” Moswen protested.

“How long do you think it’ll take you to contact Huyana, Moswen? If it’s not long, I’m sure the healer here will wait to see if they can come or not.”

“I’m not sure. Maybe ten minutes if Huyana is in the House. Finding her or getting someone to page her will probably only take fifteen minutes. If she’s somewhere else though, it could be a lot longer. Explaining what I need won’t take long and I can’t see Huyana refusing. We’re family, after all. She’ll probably be thrilled to help. All told, I’d be gone maybe an hour at most.”

“I can wait an hour,” said the healer.

I nodded at Moswen and he grinned. He leaned against me, pulled my head down for a kiss and stepped back from me. He winked and vanished. The healer gasped and looked at me with wide eyes.

“I thought he was going to send a message. Did I really just see him disappear into thin air? That wasn’t an illusion was it?”

“No, it wasn’t. That’s one of Moswen’s abilities.”

“Fascinating. I wonder if it’s an inherited trait. You wouldn’t know if it is would you, Prince Kijika?” the healer asked with the light of interest in his eyes. “Genetics is something that fascinates me. I think it’ll be very interesting to see how this will play out with the child the two of you created.”

I smiled at the healer. I didn’t know everything about the Awh’anise but Moswen had told me a good deal. By his own estimate, we had roughly an hour to kill before Moswen came back. I started off giving the healer, Jiveen, a brief history of the Awh’anise and Moswen in particular. Before long, Jiveen had a pen out and was writing busily as I spoke. I made a mental note to send him copies of all the papers I had on the Awh’anise. I was enjoying myself as I told Jiveen what I knew and the last little bit of nerves I’d been dealing with melted away. Chapter 35

~Moswen~

I popped into the main hall of my Shal-hazal House and looked around for one of the novices that seemed to always be sweeping the floors. There wasn’t a single novice or Shal-hazal in the room. I frowned. That wasn’t normal. I headed for Huyana’s office at a brisk walk, noting that even the hallways were deserted. Something was definitely not right. The House was always bustling even on national holidays. I finally saw someone else when I was near Huyana’s office and stopped the novice with a sharp command.

“Where the hell is everybody?” I asked

“Spirit Will Moswen! Oh my god! This is so weird. The Council was going to call for you. They called a special meeting right here in the House! You need to go to the Will chamber right away. Healer Will Huyana and Warrior Will Femi are already there.”

“The Council? The entire Council is here? What’s happened?” I asked with a little impatience and a whole lot of uneasiness in my voice.

For the Council to descend on my House to call a meeting was not a good sign. Any time they called a non-scheduled meeting; somebody either died or wishes they had after the punishment was handed down. This was so not good and I didn’t need this right now.

“The Council has decided to send Litch-Hunter Phaedra after Litch Will Tyhlian.”

I sucked in a startled breath and swore. Litch-Hunter Phaedra was the best at what she did. Her capture and kill record was phenomenal. She caught every single Litch she’d ever been sent after and did it fast, too. I only knew of one Litch-Hunter that was better than her, but she was retired and had trained Phaedra in the first place. My guts twisted and my mind whirled. This was the absolutely worst possible timing for this to happen. If the Council ever found out I not only had contact with Tyhlian but could find him in a matter of minutes and hadn’t told them… my striped ass was going to be flayed.

Literally.

“Spirit Will Moswen? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Fine.”

The novice started to say something else but I was already moving down the hallway at a good clip. I needed to speak with Huyana about the baby, but I also needed to find out exactly why the Council had sent Phaedra after Tyhlian. Yeah he was a Litch who was going insane and he was the Will of this House and wicked strong, but I didn’t think that justified sending someone like Phaedra after him. They only sent her out after a Litch when the Litch was completely gone on a killing spree. Tyh wasn’t that bad off yet. I didn’t doubt that she’d eventually catch up with him. She was just that good and Tyhlian was already losing his shaky grip on sanity. He’d start to make sloppy mistakes and then Phaedra would have him. It really didn’t help anything that he’d found his Lor’fei and wouldn’t be thinking terribly rationally where Dakvir was concerned. I groaned softly as I approached the Will chamber. Maybe my bizarre karma did rub off on people. Fucked if I knew how this could be at all positive though.

*********

“So you didn’t get our summons to appear, Spirit Will Moswen?”

“No, sir. I came here to ask a favour of Huyana. It was pure coincidence that had me showing up today.”

One of the Spirit Wills of another House snorted softly and rolled his eyes at me. I shot him a cocky grin and waited. He’d been one of my teachers and knew about the trouble that followed me around like a dog.

“Nothing with you is ever pure coincidence, Moswen. What did you need from Huyana?”

“It’s rather personal…” I started only to have one of the Warrior Wills from another House cut me off and fix me with a hard stare.

“What is so damn important that you felt it needed the attentions of a Healer Will of a Shal-hazal House? You’re not about to abuse your position as a Will for preferential treatment from a highly skilled Shal-hazal, are you?”

I narrowed my eyes. Cadao had a hate-on for me and really needed to get over it. The guy held a grudge like nobody’s business. So what if he’d blown chunks in front of the other Wills of his House when I’d pounced on him and Dream-Stepped him without warning. It was just a fucking joke and I’d only been fourteen at the time. I’d apologized and hadn’t gone near him again like I promised. And he called me juvenile.

“I’m asking a favour of my Sha-ter’al Huyana, if you must know,” I said stressing the fact that I was asking a favour of my shared father’s other mate, not Healer Will Huyana.

“And no other healer will do? I find that hard to believe,” Cadao said with a grunt.

“No, I need a very skilled healer and Huyana is the best that I know of. That and the matter involves family.”

“Not Litch Will Tyhlian?” Cadao asked with a raised eyebrow.

My guts clenched and I wondered what, if anything, Cadao knew about my little visit with Tyhlian. I’d been Dream-Stepping when I’d finally found Tyhlian. Cadao couldn’t know anything, but it still made me nervous. I needed to distract him from the subject of Tyhlian. I’d wanted to tell my family first about my having a baby with Kijika, but it would work as an excellent diversion.

“No. I need Huyana’s skills and knowledge to speak with a healer about Awh’anise breeding and pregnancies.”

“And why would you need her to do that? You can ask any healer or any female Awh’anise for that matter,” Cadao sneered.

“Because Kijika is going to be having my baby in a few months and the healers on Gi-feoh have never had to deal with an Awh’anise cross-breed. I want the best possible care for him and our baby. Kijika, xi’ vree’coo.”

Confusion slowly stole over the faces of the Council members. They knew from the time I’d given my testimony during the lab explosion Q&A that Kijika was a guy. I waited; sure somebody would say something before long. I was a little surprised it was Huyana who spoke up and not Cadao.

“Moswen, isn’t Kijika a man? How can he be having your baby?”

I smirked. This was going to be one awesome distraction technique. I just hoped there wasn’t a sudden plague of Awh’anise dropping in on Kijika’s world to try and catch themselves a dual lover. I wouldn’t put it past a good number of people I knew. I cleared my throat and started to give the Council an abbreviated version of what the people of Gi-feoh were like.

********

“Thank you, Moswen,” Huyana said with a little relief in her voice as she walked beside me. She didn’t need to say what she was thanking me for. We both knew.

“No problem, Huyana. Family sticks together, right?”

Huyana smiled and some of the tightness eased around her eyes. She’d never asked me if I’d actually had contact with Tyhlian. There were some things it was better that she didn’t know. Where Tyh was and whether I’d seen him or not was one of those things. It was safer all around that way. Even under questioning by a Shal-hazal Litch, she couldn’t tell them what she didn’t know.

I held out my hand to Huyana and Dream-Stepped us back to Kijika. I’d been gone longer than I said I would and wasn’t even sure if he’d still be waiting for me at the healer’s place. I’d expected to have the other Shal-hazal ask a few questions once I told them about duals, but I hadn’t thought they’d drag everything out for more than two hours. I probably should have. I focused on Kijika and dropped back into the waking world.

Kijika was crashed out on a bed in a private room. He’d said he was feeling more tired than normal from the pregnancy. I reached out and brushed some hair from his face and he sighed in his sleep. I called his

name softly, reluctant to wake him up, but knowing he wanted to get this whole exam thing over with as quickly as possible. He frowned before slowly blinking his eyes open.

“Moswen. You’re back,” he said with a soft smile that made my insides turn to mush.

“Yeah. Sorry for the wait. I got roped into a thing with the Council.”

“Are you in trouble again?” Kijika asked as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked at Huyana curiously and gave me a pointed look.

“Oh, sorry. His Radiance Prince Nas-Drey Kijika of the Bodeyhan Nemii of Celamun, this is Shal-hazal Healer Will Huyana of the Heyda House and my Sha-ter’al, my shared father’s other mate.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Shal-hazal Healer Will Huyana,” Kijika said as he stood and inclined his head to Huyana.

Huyana craned her head back to look up at Kijika. She smiled and dipped her head at him. “Huyana is fine. I met your mother recently. Charming woman. I look forward to speaking with her again. Now, there was a healer I was supposed to discuss Awh’anise breeding with? I’d also like the opportunity to sit in on your exam if I may.”

“My mother certainly can be and I’m sure she’d love to talk with you again. Of course you can sit in on the exam. Having an experienced Awh’anise healer can only help to make this pregnancy go smoother,” Kijika said with a smile before he turned his head to look at me and pin me in place with a stare.

Uh oh. Busted. Crap.

I couldn’t lie my way out of a paper bag and Kijika knew that. He was a dog with a bone when he wanted information and I got the idea that he really wanted to know what I’d said, and now done, to get his mom to change her opinion of our relationship. I wasn’t afraid to tell Kijika that I loved him, but I wanted

to do it right. I wanted him to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I loved him whether or not he was having my baby. I just wasn’t sure how to convince him of that. Chapter 36

~Moswen~

“For god’s sake, Moswen, I’m going crazy here. I’m not suggesting you help me invade a country. A little bit of sparring is all I’m asking for. We don’t even need to use any weapons. Unarmed combat will work just fine for me. I’ve got to do something to deal with this increased aggressiveness. Did you see what I did to that poor maid? I had her cowering and in tears after less than five minutes in my presence. That’s not like me, Moswen.”

Kijika was gorgeous under normal circumstances. When he was a little bit pissed off, he was really the most beautiful person I’d ever seen in my entire life. That he was mine was damn near mind boggling. I would’ve given him anything, done anything… except what he was asking of me right now.

“I don’t want to take the chance that I might hurt you or the baby, Ki. I can forget myself in a fight if I get into it and really let loose. Hell, even if I hold back I could still hurt you or the baby. You’d be at a total disadvantage and I don’t see how that’d be any fun for you.”

Kijika crossed his arms over his chest and looked down his nose at me. Uh oh. I think I just stepped in it. While I found Kijika’s heightened aggressiveness sexy as hell, I wasn’t so thrilled when he got really mad at me, which seemed to happen with regular frequency lately. He didn’t stay mad for long, but seeing him get so upset because of something I’d said or done hurt me something fierce and was much more painful than a physical wound.

“Since you seem to forget with stunning regularity, Moswen, I am Des Anate Par-Delseur. I lead a battalion of men, not all of whom are living. I worked my ass off to become Des Anate and you making a remark like that is fucking insulting and makes me very, very angry,” Kijika said with icy cold heat in his voice.

I was an ass for opening my mouth before my brain was engaged. I hadn’t meant to call into question his skills as a soldier or officer. I couldn’t exactly vouch for him on that score having never seen him in action, but I didn’t think Delseur would let his boy slack off and just hand him a position in the military. Delseur didn’t seem to be that kind of guy.

I knew Kijika could fight. We’d had one toe-to-toe and I’d technically won, I think, but I’d also busted his wing in getting that win. I wasn’t about to do something like that ever again and the best way to make sure that never happened was to not fight Kijika, period. As I was trying to think of how to apologize to Kijika without making an even bigger mess, part of what he’d said finally clicked with me and I stared at him with my mouth hanging a little open.

“You lead a battalion? How many men?”

“Total? A thousand give or take. My battalion generally runs about seven hundred and fifty living and another two hundred, maybe two-fifty dead. I can fight, Moswen. I’m damn good at it.”

“Holy shit! Two hundred and fifty dead people? You can really do that? Like all at once? You’re not just yanking my tail?”

Some of the anger drained out of Kijika and he smiled with pride at me. “I really can. I’m not as good as my dad. If he has the raw material, he can call up about two thousand dead, more if he really pushes it. I’m only half Naemo and getting a major ability like raising the dead was an amazing bit of luck for a halfbreed like myself. I’ve trained hard to be able to call up that many.”

I was officially impressed and I didn’t impress easy. I’d also had no freaking clue he could do that. I’d thought when he said he could call up the dead, he meant a few. Like the three or four he’d called up when we’d fought. Seeing him call up a small army would probably be wickedly cool and I wondered if I’d be able to see him do that at some point.

“Come on, Moswen, one little fight. I won’t even use any random magics on you.”

“Random magic? Like… what?” I asked curiously. Kijika hadn’t really mentioned magic before beyond being able to heal. Despite all the talks we had, general magic never came up. Hell, I was still getting used to the idea of healing somebody through magic and not through dreams or just old fashioned letting the body do it at its own pace.

“Fire balls, lightening strikes, illusions. Things like that. Please, Moswen. I want and need this.”

Kijika pissed was damn hard to refuse. Kijika begging… I was lost and found myself agreeing before my brain had the chance to veto the request like the bad idea I was sure it was going to turn out to be. The happy smile Kijika gave me made my insides warm. How the hell had I thought I’d be able to deny him anything when I could make him smile like that by granting his wish?

“Where do you want to do this? I don’t think your rooms are the best place to get into a dust up. There’s all kinds of hard things that you could fall against or land on. I wouldn’t want to break anything either. I think your mom would have my tail in a knot if I did. She freaked that time I knocked over that butt-ugly urn by accident and broke it.”

The fist that came flying out of nowhere caught me in the jaw and sent me stumbling back. I swore and touched my chin, shocked that Kijika had punched me straight out of the blue. Kijika grinned at me and advanced. He faked a shot to my head and when I jerked to the side to avoid it, he snapped out his wing, catching me in the ribs hard. The breath whooshed out of me as I staggered back and I thought he might have just cracked one of my ribs.

Excitement tinged with lust zipped through my system.

Kijika advanced on me, spinning and kicking me in the shoulder with his heel. I grunted at the dull throb and tried not to notice the delicious flash of cock and balls I’d been treated to when he kicked me. Fighting Kijika while he was dressed in the traditional thigh-skimming skirt and short vest of the Vylfian’s added a very nice erotic twist to something that already revved my engine.

Kijika lunged and dropped to one knee, the taloned tip of his wing flicking out and tagging me across the thigh, ripping the fabric of my pants and raising a long, bloodless welt on my skin. A growl twisted out of my throat and I licked my lips, arousal rushing through me. I thought furiously how to pin Kijika without

hurting him or the baby so I could fuck him senseless. As soon as I realized where my brain was heading, I shook my head, trying to clear it from fight induced lust. There was no way in hell I was going to turn this into a dominance fight with him while he was carrying my baby. The chance of seriously hurting him or our child was simply too high.

“Its no fun if you just let me beat the snot out of you, Moswen. Thought you said you were a decent fighter. Quit pissing around and fight,” Kijika ground out as his fist just missed connecting with the back of my head.

I snorted softly and circled Kijika as I tried to figure out where I could hit him that wouldn’t really hurt him or the baby. His legs and arms were probably the best targets. I pulled my claws as much as I could and aimed a soft punch for his upper arm. Kijika barely flinched. He spun on his heel and landed a hard kick to my thigh that made my leg go wobbly. Damn, he hit hard.

I loved it and struggled to tamp down my lust.

We traded blows back and forth, his hard and just this side of serious, mine gentle and something like what I’d use when playing around with a small child. The more punches and kicks I threw, the more pissed Kijika looked. I didn’t get it. I thought he said he needed this fight to get ride of some of that violence, not get himself worked up to more. I was throwing punches and wasn’t making it easy for him to hit me. He was landing some good, solid punches that would probably stagger a non-Awh’anise if not put them down.

How the hell was I ticking him off even more?

“Fuck, Moswen, stop treating me like a child. You’re not even trying and it’s pissing me off. Do you think that I’m so weak that I couldn’t defend myself against you? Do you think that little of me and my skills? Do you think that little of me as a man?”

I snapped my head up at the tone in Kijika’s voice. There was hurt and anger there and when I looked into his eyes, I could see the sheen of tears. God damn it, I was trying to do what he’d asked me to do, but I didn’t want to hurt him. I couldn’t hurt him. Him and our baby were the most important things in my world.

“Ki, no, I’m sorry I don’t…”

One second I was apologising to Kijika and the next had me pinned to the floor by my throat, a triumphant grin on his face as he leaned his considerable weight over me. I gripped his forearm and wriggled under him to see just how strong a hold he had on me. My eyes widened slightly when I realized he’d pinned me pretty damn effectively. Hadn’t taken a whole lot of effort on his part either. Kijika was right. Even though he was head and shoulders taller than me and outweighed me, I forgot just how powerful he was every damn time I got close to him. If it was a sexual situation, it was even worse. I was caught between aroused and annoyed with myself, although arousal was winning.

“I can’t believe you fell for that, Moswen. That’s a variation on the oldest trick in the book. How in gods name did you manage to hold your own with my dad if you’re this easy to drop into submission? Did you cheat?”

My temper flared and I reacted without thought. My fist shot out, catching Kijika in the chin and snapping his head back with a grunt of pain. I mentally gave him points for not letting go of my throat even as I wrapped my tail around his waist, and pressed my hands to his chest. I shoved with my hands and wrenched him away from me with my tail. He cursed as he landed on his ass halfway across the room and was just pushing himself to his feet when I launched myself at him, slipped under the wild punch he threw, straddled his thighs and caught him in a painful wing hold.

“I don’t cheat, Kijika,” I growled in his ear.

I gave a little tug on his wing to let him know I meant business and heard a shivery moan slide past his lips. My temper vanished and I inhaled softly at the sound that went straight to my cock. We were pressed chest to chest and this close to him, I got a nose full of the arousal coming off him. I pulled gently on his wing again and the smell of desire coming from him spiked. Well, well, this was interesting and arousing and there was no way in hell I was going to let the chance to have a little violence tinged sex with Kijika slip past me. Not when he seemed to like the idea.

I looked around quickly and settled on the sturdy desk Kijika had in one corner of his large room. That would do very nicely for what I had in mind. I muscled Kijika into standing without letting go of his wing

and marched him over to the desk, forcing him to bend over with the hold I still had on him. Kijika glanced at me over his shoulder and tried to frown at me. The look was completely ruined by the lust in his eyes.

“What the hell are you doing, Moswen?”

“Well, since you said you wanted to fight, but I can smell that you actually want to fuck, I thought you’d like it if I did what you really wanted because I always aim to please you. I’m not wrong am I, Kijika?” I asked as I used my tail to open one of the drawers and take out the bottle of lube I knew was in there.

Kijika narrowed his eyes at me and tried to shift his body way from mine. He wasn’t making a serious effort and he hadn’t told me to stop, so I knew he was getting into this little power play. The few times we’d tried these kinds of games, he really got into them. Just because he was more aggressive than normal didn’t mean that he still didn’t like to be dominated sexually, something I was eternally grateful for. I bunched the back of the skirt he was wearing over his waist and wondered briefly if he’d intended for our sparring to end this way since he’d been wearing pants more often than not lately. I should’ve known something was up when he’d demanded to fight me while dressed in a skirt. I’d had one hell of a time ignoring the lovely flashes of cock and balls I got every time he’d kicked at me. Talk about your distraction technique.

I tipped the bottle over the crack of his ass and let a generous amount trickle between those very firm ass cheeks of his. Kijika swore as the cool liquid touched his skin at the same time that his free wing trembled the tiniest bit like when I did something sexually he really enjoyed. I opened my pants one handed and struggled to get them down far enough to free my cock. I muttered curses under my breath in Awh’anise as the fabric didn’t want to move down over my raging boner. I was really going to have to take my cues from Kijika and be sure to wear Vylfian clothing when he did. Access to important body parts was so much quicker in that style of clothes.

“You could just let go of my wing,” Kijika offered with barely suppressed laughter in his voice even as he not-so-subtly wiggled his ass.

“Yeah, right. Like you wouldn’t try moving away as soon as you could and maybe start throwing punches at me again. Not that I’d mind, but I’m not falling for that when I got you right where I want you.”

Kijika didn’t say anything to that. He did let a few giggles escape when I finally managed to get my cock free along with the sound of fabric tearing. I swear to god, I’d never needed to get my clothes repaired as often as I did now when I was trying to get at least semi-naked around Kijika.

I pushed on his lower back until his hips touched the desk top. I nestled my cock against the crack of his ass and pressed against him, a sigh of pleasure leaving my throat. The extra oil I’d dumped down the crack of his ass slicked my cock and I smirked a little when I wrapped my tail around it to guide it to Kijika’s hole. I would’ve taken time to play with his tight ass, but Kijika’s patience for everything, including foreplay, was paper thin most days. I wasn’t complaining at the moment, but I was going to get him to let me touch and caress him for longer than five minutes if I had to tie him down to do it. I actually shivered in delight at the mental image of that before I pressed into Kijika.

His sharp cry of pleasure when I entered him went straight to my cock and I growled, my claws extending a little and digging into Kijika’s hip and the joint of wing and shoulder. I held absolutely still and tried for a tiny bit of control so that I didn’t pound his ass like an animal consumed with lust. He moaned my name and pushed back as much as he was able given the position I had him in. His hands gripped the edge of the desk and I swore I heard wood creaking under the strain. He was hot and tight and his muscles squeezed and released my cock in a lust inducing rhythm. If he kept that up, I think I was going to seriously embarrass myself and come in three seconds flat.

“Fucking move, Moswen.”

“Gimme a minute, Ki or this is going to be over before we really start,” I panted.

“Don’t care. I’m nearly there anyway. Move your god damned hips and fuck me like I want you to.”

That was it for me. I loved it when he was submissive in bed, but when he went all demanding pushy bottom, he cranked my desire through the roof. I didn’t like to deny him anything and I saw absolutely no reason to not give him what he wanted; namely me pumping his ass until we both got off. I managed to scrape together some control and started off with slow thrusts, teasing both of us until Kijika threatened to toss my striped ass out of his bed for a week if I didn’t knock it the hell off, get serious, and let him come.

I laughed and picked up the pace. “Anything for you, Ki.”

A half dozen body rocking thrusts later, and Kijika’s big body tensed, a low, drawn out yes hissing out between his teeth. His muscles clenched my cock and I only managed a few more plunges before I snapped my hips tight to his ass and snarled my pleasure. I was covered in a light film of sweat and panting. I pressed my forehead to his back and closed my eyes, inhaling deeply to try and calm my racing heart as well as enjoy the unique scent of Kijika that filled my nose.

“Let go of my wing, Moswen, it’s getting stiff,” Kijika said in a sated voice as he shifted under me.

I quickly let go of his wing and took my weight off him, remembering a little too late that I shouldn’t be pressing him down on his belly like that. I pulled out of him and tugged him to stand next to me. I ran my hands over him, paying particular attention to the gentle rounding of his stomach.

“I didn’t think about… I didn’t hurt the baby by pressing you down like that, did I? You’re okay and the baby is okay, right?”

An annoyed look passed over Kijika’s face, taking away the relaxed air he’d had seconds ago. He slapped my hands away and crossed his arms over his chest. Crap. I’d just ticked him off again. I think it was my special new skill. I didn’t even know what I’d done this time. I was only concerned that I might have hurt him or the baby. He didn’t say anything and just stared at me, the warmth in his eyes slowly fading. Guilt swamped me. I hadn’t meant to get so carried away.

“Gods I’m sorry, Ki. I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t mean to be so rough. I won’t do that again. I swear.”

For the second time in an hour, Kijika’s fist caught me completely by surprise and sent me reeling back. I got tangled up in my pants that were still at my knees and went down on my ass hard. I stared up at Kijika and despite the orgasm I’d had less than five minutes ago, my traitorous body noticed again that he looked damn fine when he was pissed and still flushed from sex.

“Don’t you ever apologise to me for fantastic sex again. Did it look or sound like I was complaining? I seem to remember damn near begging you to do me harder. I am not made of fucking glass, Moswen, and I’d be pissed off at you a lot less if you’d do me the huge favour and fucking remember that.”

“But I don’t want to hurt you or the baby. I only want to protect the two of you and keep you safe. I can’t help it. You and our baby are my world.”

“Save it. I don’t want to hear it right now. I’m angry and frustrated that you don’t see me as anything other than someone who needs protecting and can’t take care of themselves. You don’t look at me the same as before I got pregnant. You don’t look at me as a capable man and that pisses me off so bad, you have no idea. If I don’t leave right this instant, I’m either going to beat the snot out of you or burst into tears, neither of which I want to do. I’m going out to cool off. Don’t follow me or I swear I really will kick you out of my bed and it’ll be a hell of a lot longer than just a night or two.”

Kijika spun on his heel and stomped out of his rooms, slamming the door with enough force to make the windows rattle and the door frame shake. I sighed and closed my eyes. I was trying so hard not to be as protective as I felt I needed to be where Kijika and the baby were concerned and I was still screwing it up. I wanted to chase after him, but I knew Kijika didn’t make idle threats. I needed help to try and figure out how to curb some of these stupid impulses that were tangled up in my being a Throw-back and the only place to do that was Awh’an. I sighed again. It looked like a fast trip home was going to be in order or else I’d find myself booted from Kijika’s bed for god knows how long and I didn’t think I could handle that without doing something monumentally stupid. Like locking him in his rooms to keep him safe until it was time for him to deliver.

Yeah, that’d go over really well. Chapter 37

~Kijika~

Fucking Moswen and his stupid fucking need to protect me. I wasn’t helpless or weak or… or… or whatever was going through his head when he looked at me. Lately, he was pissing me off just by breathing, never mind the insulting views he seemed to have developed regarding my ability to take care of myself. He wasn’t like that before I got pregnant and I wasn’t sure I could handle another three

months worth of that crap. His protectiveness was cute for the first week. After that, I wanted to strangle him whenever he tried to coddle me. I deserved a fucking medal for not actually doing it.

I was bigger than him, outweighed him, was older than him and quite possibly had a higher military rank. I was a skilled soldier with weapons and hand-to-hand combat. I’d been involved in several battles. I raised the dead to fight and commanded a battalion of men. What other information did he need to stop seeing me as something that would crumple at the first stiff breeze?

He’d been fine to play around and get a little rough before the baby. Not much had changed. I was pregnant yes, but not an invalid or delicate thing that needed to be protected every moment of the day. Add to that the fact that he knew carrying an Awh’anise baby was making me more aggressive and I just didn’t get why he was treating me like I’d break the second he touched me.

I yanked a practice sword off the wall of the training room and glared at the guards scattered through the area. Most of them had heard through the palace gossip that I was pregnant and about Moswen’s nearly insane level of protectiveness towards me and our baby. They looked away quickly. My mood turned even blacker when it looked like none of the guards were brave enough to step onto the mat with me and I had the sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t because they knew I was a tough opponent in a fight. I was almost positive it was because of something Moswen said about treating me like I was spun glass or his over the top protective streak. I was spoiling for a fight but the one person I really wanted to go toe-to-toe with wouldn’t do that with me.

I toyed with the idea of raising the dead to spar but reluctantly let the idea go. Doing that in front of the Vylfian’s tended to freak them out and I didn’t need a chew out from my mom about that. She’d, of course, rant at my dad about not following court protocol regarding the dead and then I’d have to suffer through a dressing down by not only my father but my superior officer and commander. I could seriously do without that headache.

My gaze swept the training room again and I found one guard staring at me. He was young and looked barely old enough to be out of training never mind having a position as one of the royal guardsmen. He gave me another once over, his eyes lingering on the noticeable rounding of my belly and a cocky grin spread across his face. He took a practice sword from the wall and stepped onto the mat.

I barely managed not to roll my eyes as beggars couldn’t be very choosey and a sparring partner was a sparring partner.

Sure I wanted to fight, but some kid, who looked like his wings weren’t even past their first growth, wanted to step onto the mats with me when I was in an obviously pissed off mood? I’d mop the floor with him without breaking a sweat. I would’ve told him to fuck off but the little shit had to open his mouth and say something even stupider than the things Moswen had been saying lately.

“I’ll go easy on you. Somebody in your delicate condition shouldn’t be trying to play with the men.”

Hearing crap like that from some wet-behind-the-wings kid set me off. I gave him a tight smile that was anything but friendly, and motioned for him to come at me. He faked a thrust at my side and tried to reverse his blade at the last second. It was a clumsy move and he telegraphed it like mad. Knocking the weapon aside was child’s play. I held back the disappointed sigh. This was hardly going to be the fight I’d wanted. That didn’t mean I couldn’t teach the kid a well deserved lesson about underestimating an opponent though.

I switched my grip on the sword to one hand. The kid narrowed his eyes at me before smirking and attacking me in a flurry of moves. A smile twitched the corner of my mouth when I had to actually work at blocking his slashes. Even a practice sword was heavy and using only one hand for a two-handed weapon made me slower. The kid pressed his attack, possibly thinking he could overwhelm me or that I wasn’t very skilled.

After ten minutes, my arm was sore and the kid was panting, sweat running down his face. The smirk was gone, a frown in its place. I switched hands and barely held in the laugh when I saw the gleam in his eye. The kid lunged at me, overextending himself. His sword slid harmlessly past my ribs and I brought the flat of my sword down on his ass with a resounding crack. He yelped and stumbled, almost falling to his knees.

“Should I stop playing around?” I asked as I rested the tip of the sword against the mat.

“What?” he asked, holding his sword at the ready for an attack.

“I’m not trying. I thought I’d give you the chance to realize you were dealing with somebody who knows how to fight and fight well, but I suppose you’re not that bright if you’re still willing to attack.”

I knew I was being cruel but I couldn’t seem to stop the words coming out of my mouth. Several of the guards watching the fight murmured and I just knew my latest bout of uncharacteristic nastiness was going to make the rounds of the palace. Again.

“I am Des-Anate of the Army of the Dead and I’m in a bad enough mood that I’m seriously thinking of adding you to those ranks.”

The kid’s eyes widened and he barely had time to bring his sword up to block my attack. Up until then, I’d only been defending. Now, I wanted to beat him into the ground and humiliate him in the process. My attacks were relentless. Easily half of them got through the kid’s defences, tagging him on the arms, legs and chest. If we’d been using real weapons, he’d have been dead within the first three strikes. I grinned at him and shifted the sword into a two-handed grip.

“Time to die,” I said softly.

I swung the sword with everything I had. He jerked his up to block and his wooden sword shattered under the force of the blow. My sword continued down, barely slowed. I stopped it just as the wooden blade pressed into the skin of his neck.

“Little boys shouldn’t try and play with the big boys. I’m going to recommend that you go back for more training and whomever trained you should be ashamed at the piss poor job they did.”

Knowing it was just plain mean but wanting to do it anyway, I clipped the kid behind the ear with my sword, sending him stumbling back before he fell to his knees, his hand clapped to his ear. A thin line of blood dripped down his neck and I smiled coldly at him. I doubted he’d underestimate an opponent again.

I turned and walked away, replacing my practice sword on the rack. The sparring hadn’t helped cure my aggression. I still felt wound up. I wondered if I could convince my dad to spar with me. Of all the people around me and aware of my pregnancy, he was one of the few who didn’t treat me as if I would shatter if you breathed on me too hard. Neither Sakima nor Numa treated me like that either. Unfortunately for me, Queen Numa refused to let King Sakima fight after the last incident with his guardsmen when he almost lost a hand. My grandmother had zero fighting abilities so she wasn’t even an option as an opponent. I might’ve been able to convince my cousin Enli to fight but he was an even poorer fighter than the kid I’d just beaten.

One of the guardsmen gave a strangled yell and it was all the warning I got before I felt the swish of air past my ear. I spun and twisted my body, just barely ducking under the backswing of the practice sword the young guardsman I’d just fought was holding. The expression on the kid’s face was one of intense anger.

“I am not a little boy and my father trained me well. You had no right to say what you did, prince or not,” he hissed out between clenched teeth.

“Put the sword down and I’ll forget you did that.” I was surprised he had the balls to attack me when I’d just kicked his ass all over the place.

“No. I’ll show you that I know how to use a sword. I’ll make you take back those words.”

The kid pressed forward, swinging his sword at me, catching me in the arms and legs repeatedly. The blows were hard and I knew I was going to have bruises from them. I glanced at the guardsmen in the training room, wondering why they weren’t coming forward to stop this young hothead when I was unarmed and at an obvious disadvantage. Several of the guardsmen strained in place but didn’t move. My eyes widened at the meaning of that. I focused on the young guardsman and saw sweat running down his face and lines of tension around his mouth and eyes. His skin was pale and he was breathing fast. Now I knew how he’d made it to the level of a royal guardsman. Sword play wasn’t his thing. Restraint magic was. That he’d managed to capture the half dozen guards and hold them….

This was definitely not good.

Until the kid ran out of personal energy, decided to let the guards go or was knocked out, I’d get no help from the guards. Fuck. That he was also keeping me from reaching the wall of practice swords by staying between it and me was worse, but not hopeless. I reached for a low level lightening bolt, fully prepared to roast his ass and got… nothing. Double fuck. The kid smirked at me and swung his sword at my thigh, hitting me hard and making me stagger sideways. Little bastard not only restrained the guards but shackled my magic.

At least he chained my Vylfian abilities. I was hoping he wasn’t strong enough to do the same thing with my Naemo talents. Or wasn’t strong enough to hold the guards, restrain my Vylfian magic and my Naemo abilities all at the same time. My mom was going to give me hell for calling up the dead but I was starting to run out of options. The kid was aiming his slashes at my sides and belly. I wasn’t a delicate flower, but a full sword swing with even a practice sword could make me lose the baby.

That wasn’t going to happen while I had breath left in my body.

I let the power of the dead flow through me even as I twisted and turned to avoid the worst of the blows. There were no dead buried beneath the training room. The closest location was the courtyard and it would take a little time for the dead to make their way to me. I felt them rise to my summons and dodged another blow. All I needed to do was avoid the worst of his attacks until the dead came to me. I could do that. The kid wasn’t saying anything, too focused on keeping his restraint going and attacking me.

The kid landed a brutal strike to my knee and I staggered sideways cursing loudly. It was then that I heard the most bone chilling scream of rage of my life. The kid started to turn at the sound when a blur of white and gold streaked past him. The kid shrieked and the practice sword clattered to the mat. His wrist was bent in a way it was never meant to go, bone showing through the skin, and Moswen stood a short distance away.

Moswen’s tail tip was puffed up bigger than I’d ever seen it before. Sharp claws as long as my baby finger extended from his fingertips. His lips were pulled back into a snarl with more teeth showing than I though Moswen had. Violence almost poured off him.

“Ony mek’dai xi’Shal-demsho. Ih’te,” Moswen snarled before charging the kid and opening up four, deep parallel gouges across the kid’s belly.

Chapter 38

~Moswen~

My fast trip home was useless. Huyana was out on assignment and Femi was busy running some of the trainees through their paces and couldn’t take the time out to “hold my hand through new father jitters”. My mom was out on a buying trip and nobody would tell me where my dad was working because I didn’t have clearance for that information. I was the only Throw-back in my city and I didn’t want to waste god only knows how long looking for another one in another city.

I was back at the palace in less than an hour.

Despite Kijika telling me not to, I went looking for him. I figured that if I grovelled enough, he’d get over his mad at me. Maybe he’d even let me try and explain why I was acting so mental around him. I really couldn’t help it. I loved him more than my own life. I’d do anything for him. Die for him without a second thought. He owned my soul and I was completely happy with that.

Figuring that I should start looking in places where he could get into a fight if he wanted to, I stopped one of the palace guards and asked if there were any training areas in the palace and how to get there. I could’ve just Dream-Stepped right to Kijika, but the last time I’d done that, he’d backhanded me into a wall, demanded that I give him some privacy, burst into tears and then kicked me out of his room for the entire day.

I followed the directions the guard gave me, not really expecting to find Kijika so easily considering the temper he’d been in when he left. The sight that greeted me when I walked through the door of the training room made any thought of apologizing zoom out of my brain and rage took over.

Some snot-nosed kid was beating Kijika with a wooden sword and was aiming right for his belly every chance he got. My first strike took care of the sword and gave Kijika a chance to get out of harms way. The one who dared to attack Kijika and our baby was going to take a long time to die if I had my way.

“Ony mek’dai xi’Shal-demsho. Ih’te.”

I streaked past the kid, opening up four deep wounds across his belly with my claws. He screamed and hunched over, clutching his stomach as blood started to soak into his clothes. I ran at him again, adding another four gouges to his back, muttering to myself when a claw snagged on bone briefly. The kid screamed and dropped to his knees, trying to crawl away. I prowled around him, punching and kicking whatever happened to be closest, grinning when I heard bone snap, but avoiding his head. I wanted the fucker conscious for this.

I heard Kijika calling my name and flicked a quick glance over my shoulder to make sure he was alright. Satisfied that he was fine, I turned my attention back to my prey. I snarled at the feel of hands grabbing my arms and trying to restrain me. I Dream-Stepped away from the guards and reappeared on the other side of the kid to resume my beating on him. They couldn’t stop me if they couldn’t hold me and the kid deserved to die slowly for attacking Kijika like he had.

Nobody was allowed to do anything that might hurt Kijika or our baby or they’d have to deal with me.

I drew back my fist to punch the kid in the lower back, fully intending on breaking his spine so he’d stop trying to crawl away from me. A flash of colour that I’d recognize anywhere covered the kid and had me pulling the punch just enough so that my knuckles only grazed the warm skin of Kijika’s wing. I growled low in my throat, frustrated that my attack was temporarily stopped. I was so enraged, I struggled to remember the Vylfian words I needed to say.

“Move. He needs to die.”

“No. Stand down, Moswen. It’s enough,” Kijika said, command in his voice.

“It’s enough when he’s dead. He attacked you. Hurt you. Nobody does that and lives.”

I paced back and forth, claws flexing, looking for an opening. I wasn’t done playing with my prey by a long shot, but if I could get one killing blow in, I’d have to be satisfied with that. My eyes flicked over

Kijika and my fury edged high. There were red marks and bruises starting to form on his skin and blood trickled from a few cuts. I snarled and seriously thought about eating the kid once I killed him. Kijika’s mouth thinned into a tight line and he extended his hand toward me.

“Bind.”

My eyes widened in surprise at my sudden inability to move and a scream of protest left my throat. I tried to Dream-Step away and couldn’t. A frustrated growl left my throat and I strained against whatever was keeping me in place. Kijika grunted, drew his wing back from the kid and commanded the guards to take my prey away for medical attention.

Watching the little bastard that had hurt Kijika being taken out of my reach infuriated me. I struggled with everything I had to get free, determined to go after the guards carrying the kid, and only stopped when Kijika groaned softly. My eyes snapped to him and I started to struggle harder when I saw him sway slightly and his skin turn pale.

“Stop struggling, damn it. You’re making me use energy I don’t have to hold you still,” Kijika said through gritted teeth.

I froze.

“I’m not letting you go until I have your word that you won’t go after that kid. You’ve done more than enough, Moswen. It’ll be a miracle if they can save his life. He’ll never be able to hold a sword again and will probably walk with a limp for the rest of his life.”

Kijika sounded a little mad and I couldn’t figure out why. I was only doing what I had to to protect him and our baby. The kid who attacked him got nothing more than he deserved. Kijika had to see that.

“He attacked you. He hurt you. He could’ve hurt the baby. That’s not allowed. He needs to die.”

Not moving was the hardest thing I’d done that day. I wanted to chase after the kid and make sure he died at the same time I wanted to grab Kijika and check him over to make sure he or our baby wasn’t seriously hurt. I needed to hold him. Seeing him get beaten like that terrified and enraged me beyond anything I’d ever felt in my life. One part of me knew I wasn’t behaving like a rational person, but I couldn’t stop myself.

“I’m okay. A little bruised and banged up, but otherwise unharmed. I had the dead coming to me. I would’ve been fine without you. This stupidity needs to stop. Now. I’m beyond fed up and tired of you….” Kijika said in a low, angry voice, waving his hand around him before making a frustrated sound in his throat. “Just go. Get out of my sight. I can’t deal with you right now.”

Whatever Kijika had done to hold me in place fell away but I felt frozen. A cold feeling settled in the pit of my stomach at Kijika’s words and all the fight went out of me. He was fine without me. He didn’t need me. He was tired of me. He wanted me gone.

My throat tightened up and my eyes prickled with tears. I knew this would happen. It always did. Not many people could handle the intensity of a Throw-back when we focused on someone. I’d hoped Kijika could and I’d been trying as hard as I could to tone down my impulses, but it wasn’t enough. I swallowed past the lump in my throat. I loved Kijika with everything in my body and I’d do whatever he wanted, even if it felt like I was dying on the inside by leaving him.

“Ve-yul’io, Kijika. Xi’ soi-fu ony-mi,” I said softly before Dream-Stepping away, my heart shattering into a million jagged pieces. Chapter 39

~Kijika~

I stalked down the castle hallway and had staff almost jumping to get out of my way. My normally calm temperament had deserted me ages ago and it now took next to nothing to make me snap. My rotten mood wasn’t being helped any by the sudden disappearance of Moswen. I was equal parts hurt, confused and angry that I hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him since the fiasco of a fight in the training room several weeks ago.

Sure, things had been getting a little hairy then and I had gotten a little banged up, but I’d had the dead coming to me. I’d almost had the situation in hand when Moswen arrived on the scene. Moswen, however, saw the situation very differently. It was also the first time I’d actually seen him fight in a serious, non-playful manner. As bad as it sounded, it also made me want him with an almost painful intensity.

Moswen had taken one look at me and the snot-nosed kid fighting, saw the blood and bruises on me and went ballistic. He’d moved so fast, he seemed to blur into motion. Low snarls and growls trailed after him as he wove in and around the guard, slashing, punching and kicking with a viciousness I’d never have guessed he possessed. The entire time he was beating the poor guard, he was muttering phrases in Awh’anise. I had no idea what he was saying but it certainly didn’t sound the least bit friendly. He only stopped attacking the guard when I stepped in and spread my wing over the man.

Moswen’s eyes had been wild, the pupils nearly eclipsing the irises. A snarl was on his lips, exposing the sharp fangs in his mouth. His claws were a hell of a lot longer than I’d guessed they could be and his tail puff was bigger than I’d ever seen it. Blood decorated his skin and hair, yet I was positive not a drop of it was his. His entire body had been tensed for another attack and I’d known without a shadow of a doubt that he intended to kill the guard the moment I stepped away. I also recognized that he’d been playing with the man, hurting him for the sake of drawing out his death with the most pain possible.

It was a very eye-opening experience for the level of violence Moswen was capable of, yet it didn’t make me worried or afraid of him. I knew with absolute certainty that Moswen wouldn’t hurt me. Not because he’d told me that over and over again, but just something in me said Moswen would rather rip off his own arm than cause me pain.

It was probably wrong that I felt so giddy over that.

In the end, I’d had to try and bind Moswen in place to stop him; something I wasn’t even sure would work on him. I think it did only because he didn’t seem to be in his right mind. There’d been something very animalistic about him. His aggression had been through the roof and I wasn’t positive but it’d looked like he was struggling to remember how to speak Vylfian. While I’d been flattered that he was so protective of me, I’d also been pissed off that he was trying to protect me when I could do that myself.

My frustration with the way he saw me as more delicate than spun sugar had me yelling at him. All the fight had suddenly gone out of him then. He’d said something to me in Awh’anise and, looking back on it later, the expression on his face was as if somebody had torn out his soul and stomped all over it. He’d given me one last look I couldn’t decipher in my anger and vanished. Moswen hadn’t shown up for supper and he didn’t come to bed that night.

That made me mad at him all over again and my irrational anger had carried me through the entire day. Moswen failed to show up again and I’d gone to bed with a little unease starting to churn around in my stomach. The next day, I’d checked the hotel room still in his name, but he hadn’t been there since my mother had burst in on us. I asked around the palace and had guards on the look out for him but he seemed to have well and truly vanished.

After a week with no sign of him, I called his parent’s house and his Shal-hazal House but nobody had seen Moswen and they’d assumed he was with me. His parents said that he might be on an assignment for his House but that he’d likely be back soon and not to worry. Easy for them to say. They weren’t missing him so bad that it was like an ache in their chest. The look on Moswen’s face just before he vanished on me was starting to haunt me, too. Something had been very, very wrong with that look but I couldn’t pin down what it was.

I went to bed anxious every night, missing him so much that I sometimes cried myself to sleep. I wasn’t sure if that was the hormones or fear that I’d have a baby to raise without Moswen. There’d be countless palace staff to help in raising a child not to mention my family, but it wasn’t the same. I wanted Moswen with me. I needed him. He had to be with me when I delivered because I loved him and I didn’t want to do this without him.

I wasn’t sure when I started loving him, but I was positive that’s what I felt. I had no idea what he felt for me beyond his near insane level of protectiveness. I was afraid to say something to him when I did finally see him again in case he didn’t feel the same way. He had said that Awh’anise parents only had to stay together until the children were six years old and maybe that’s what he intended. I knew he enjoyed being with me and that he really liked the sex, but if he felt more than that for me, he hadn’t said a word to me. Moswen said monogamy wasn’t all that common among the Awh’anise. That was all fine and good for the Awh’anise but it wasn’t going to work for me.

I sighed heavily.

I needed to find something to do that would take my mind off Moswen. Working in my office was fast becoming a difficult task as all my brain wanted to focus on was the time we’d spent together there. That was not helping. It was making me upset and weepy, which then made me angry that I was crying and that led to further pissing me off because it was Moswen’s fault and he wasn’t around for me to vent my anger at. That made me tear up all over again because I missed him and had no idea where he was. Wavering between teary and enraged all the time was exhausting. I couldn’t seem to do much about the tears, but I sure as hell could do something to work out a little anger with some willing participants.

That was why I was currently heading for a visit with my battalion.

While I had taken a leave of absence from my duties as Des Anate until I delivered, I was still a member of the Naemo military. Yes, it was likely very wrong that I was about to abuse my position as the commander of my battalion, but I needed a good fight and I knew I’d be able to get one from my men. The only problem I could see with my plan was that my men had no idea why I’d taken leave and once they did find out, they wouldn’t spar with me. That and a few of them may not want to remain under my command once they learned I was pregnant. For some Naemo, just finding out that I had a male lover was enough to have them request transfers. Finding out that I was pregnant....

I tried not to think of Moswen as I flew and the panic he’d likely fall into if he knew I was about to get into what I hoped was a good, hard fight. My mouth thinned and my temper, never far from the surface now a days, sparked. Moswen wasn’t here and he had no say in what I did. I landed at the edges of the base my men were stationed at and walked through the gates, saluting the guards on duty. They gave me a curious look but didn’t stop me from entering, recognizing who I was. Leave of absence or not, I was still allowed on the base.

Although I was dressed in combat fatigues with both my sword and Arek on my hips and my uniform was loose, there was still a rather noticeable bulge at my waist and I had no idea how that would be viewed by the Naemo. I mentally shrugged when I realized I didn’t care. The entire base knew of my relationship with Moswen. I didn’t doubt it wouldn’t take them long to add two and two together and come up with a baby. I entered the building where I had an office and smiled at my startled secretary.

“Des Anate Par-Delseur!” Valerian leapt to his feet and snapped off a crisp salute. “I wasn’t informed you were stopping by.”

“Relax, Valerian. This isn’t a planned visit. I felt the need to get a little aggression out and couldn’t think of a better place to do that than here. Find where my battalion is today and let them know I’m looking for someone to take on in a combat exercise.”

Valerian barely blinked at my reasoning. He sat back at his desk, announced to my replacement that I was here but didn’t need to speak with her and called up the days schedule for my men. While Valerian was busy gathering information on the exact whereabouts of my troops, my replacement, Jyoti, poked her head out the door.

“Kijika, what a pleasure to see you. I thought you were taking some time off for a personal reason. Don’t tell me you’re back already to kick me out of that very comfortable chair you have,” Jyoti said with a laugh.

I smiled back and shook my head. I’d asked Jyoti to take over in my absence because I trusted her to do right by my soldiers and keep a firm grip on them. While she couldn’t raise the dead, there weren’t any officers of a high enough rank who could, that could also lead a battalion. With a little more than forty years of military experience, I felt she was more than capable of handling my duties as well as her own. I also liked her as a friend.

Jyoti cocked her head to one side and gave me an intense stare. I knew the exact instant she realized why I’d taken time off. Her eyebrows rose in surprise and a smile quirked up her mouth. Her husband was a minor court noble who’d born a child from a previous marriage. Undoubtedly, she’d put the need for personal time off, my changed shape and Moswen as my lover together and come up with baby. She sent a pointed look at the back of Valerian’s head and I shrugged. Valerian was young and I and my mother were probably the only Vylfian’s he’d seen up close. Chances were, he’d never seen a pregnant man and possibly never even had the idea pass through his head.

“So when are you due?” Jyoti asked as she rounded Valerian’s desk.

“A little more than two months, give or take. There’s a bit of a time difference between Vylfian and Awh’anise pregnancies. Huyana, an Awh’anise healer, said first time pregnancies are often overdue, but she did caution me to keep an eye out for signs that labour was starting earlier than we expected it to. ”

Valerian made a surprised sound and flushed deep red when I looked at him and smiled. He dropped his gaze and shuffled paperwork around on his desk. I frowned at his reaction. Of all the people under my command, I hadn’t thought Valerian would have any problem with my being pregnant. He almost idolized me. The thought occurred to me that perhaps that was the problem with my being pregnant.

“Naw Wonic Valerian, do you have an issue with my pregnancy?” Any kind of tact I once possessed had deserted me a few weeks back.

“I… no, Des Anate Par-Delseur. It was a shock to hear you say that is all. I’ve… I’ve never seen a pregnant man.”

While Naemo and Vylfian shared a border and interacted with each other, a Naemo would never be so rude as to ask if a man was pregnant as opposed to just fat. I highly doubted that most Naemo would even think to question a larger than average man.

“Should you even be looking for somebody to fight if you’re pregnant? Won’t that endanger the baby? Does your… partner know you’re looking for a fight?” Valerian asked, the tone in his voice setting my teeth on edge and my temper simmering.

Despite Valerian being four inches taller than me and outweighing me by almost one hundred pounds, I grabbed him by the front of his shirt and hauled him half-way across his desk, scattering papers everywhere, until we were almost nose to nose.

“Let me make this very clear, Naw Wonic Valerian. Because I’m carrying Moswen’s baby, I’m feeling unbelievably aggressive. I’ve been advised to work some of that aggression out for my personal health as well as that of the baby. I am not made of fucking glass and I’m getting sick and tired of everybody assuming that I suddenly am; Moswen included. I am not some delicate flower that needs to be protected from every little bump and scrape. I’m a man and perfectly capable of looking out for myself. I

need a good fight, so do your god-damned job, find my fucking battalion and send a message that I’m spoiling to beat the crap out of whoever I find. Are we clear, soldier?”

I threw Valerian back into his seat and had to force myself not to release Arek on him. I could feel energy crawling over my skin but didn’t bother trying to reel it in, my temper having gone from simmering to boiling over in the blink of an eye. I knew Valerian could see droplets of oily, black-green power beading on my skin and I was revelling in the little spurt of fear I could see in his eyes. I was startled out of my intense power rush by the firm press of a hand to my belly.

“Des Anate Par-Delseur! Cease and desist. Valerian is not your enemy and this isn’t the place for you to fight.” Command was in the voice backed by power.

I blinked several times and looked down at my belly. Jyoti had pressed her hand to me, the barest flickers of white light creeping out between her fingers. I felt a strong flutter in my belly that had absolutely nothing to do with nerves or the restrained power of Jyoti’s magic. That fluttering deflated my anger faster than anything to date and I sagged against the edge of Valerian’s desk, tears welling up. I scrubbed my hand over my eyes and took several deep breaths to calm down. I was not going to cry after just telling Valerian that I wasn’t made of glass.

The fluttering in my belly was our baby moving. I was surprised and excited that I’d just felt our baby move for the first time. I was also unhappy that Moswen hadn’t been with me to feel it. He would’ve been entranced with the motion. I ended up being torn between grinning like an idiot, bawling my eyes out and outright rage.

These mood swings really needed to stop before I drove myself mental.

“Kijika, I really don’t think you should get into a fight right now,” Jyoti said softly as she let the white light fade and moved her hand away.

I knew Jyoti was probably right but I still had threads of aggression twisting through me. I needed a fight just to preserve what little sanity I felt I had. I shook my head and straightened. I was perfectly capable of fighting and protecting not only myself but the baby I was carrying. I think I was starting to need to

prove that to everybody around me more than I needed the fight for my mental health. Or maybe the two things were linked more closely than I thought in my head and I needed one because of the other.

“I have to fight. I don’t expect you or anyone to understand, but the urge to pound the crap out of somebody is so strong in me, I’m almost afraid what I’ll do if I don’t do this with someone who can actually take some damage and know how to fight back.”

Jyoti sighed softly. “I suppose you know your body better than anyone. I’m not in favour of this, but I can see in your eyes that if I stand in your way, you’ll just go find a fight who knows where else. Fine. I won’t stop you, but you are going to take a medic with you just in case something happens. That’s not a request, Kijika. That’s an order. And don’t try and tell me that since you’re on leave, you don’t have to follow my orders. You’re still an officer in the Naemo army and I outrank you. I also have no qualms about going over both our heads to your father about this.”

I smirked and snapped off a perfect salute to Jyoti along with a “Sir, yes, sir”. I had no doubts she’d go to my father over this if I didn’t bring a medic. Jyoti didn’t make idle threats. Having my father, and by extension my mother, get in on this was a whole world of trouble I didn’t want to stir up. I wanted a physical fight not a nag fest from my much too protective mother. Valerian cleared his throat nervously.

“The majority of the battalion has some down time today. The new recruits are out on manoeuvres in the north quadrant. Des Anate... they’re learning to incapacitate the dead. Ralne Tordem Delseur is in the area. Without you on active duty, he’s the only other officer who can control the dead to the degree needed to train the men without adding them to the dead ranks.”

Perfect. Just bloody fucking perfect. I was now convinced that Moswen’s bizarre karma really did rub off on people. I muttered to myself, irritation making me say some very uncomplimentary things about Moswen and his role in all this. My father didn’t have to be close to the dead to control them. If there was even a smidgeon of luck on my side, he’d be somewhere a decent distance away from where I was planning to be. I thanked Valerian, said good bye to Jyoti and went in search of one of the medics attached to my battalion.

*********

I’d finally caught a break. The first medic I found was one that I’d stolen from my father’s men. Alund was nearly as old as my grandfather, but you’d never know it to look at him. He’d also had plenty of dealings with the Vylfians, which worked in my favour. He’d taken one look at me, asked me when I was due, warned me against fighting and then asked when we’d be leaving.

He was also a man I knew who’d keep his mouth shut.

While the Vylfian healers talked amongst themselves about cases they worked on, the Naemo medics rarely did. If they did speak of a case, they were very careful to keep out as much identifying information as possible. Asking personal questions of somebody you didn’t know extremely well was considered the height of rudeness among the Naemo. Divulging the intimate details of someone’s health or life brought unbelievable shame to the person speaking out of turn. For once, I was very grateful of the rigid societal rules of the Naemo.

A quick trip through the barracks of my men earned me a two of the newer soldiers and one seasoned man agreeing to come with me for a little sparring match. Contrary to what Moswen thought, my battle skills were well known among the Army of the Dead and I often had men come to me asking to spar to sharpen their skills. Some of the men who’d been with me for years had taken one look at my face, saw the medic standing at my side and declined to join me.

Smart men even if the medic was with me for a completely different reason than what they thought.

Me and three of my men flew to a point at the far end of the northern quadrant and landed. I could’ve gone someplace else, but since my father could be almost anywhere while controlling the dead, I figured if I was right under his nose, more or less, he wouldn’t even notice me. I hoped. I unhooked Arek and ordered it to stay in place. Using Arek in a spar against living men would be grossly unfair and could possibly result in death. Arek was made for real battle and it was hard to use it in a sparring capacity.

“Des Anate Kijika, how do you want us to start? All at once or one at a time?”

I would’ve loved to have taken them on all at the same time and really gotten a work out, but I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to effectively protect my belly if I had three opponents at the same time and I

wasn’t about to take more risk than I thought I could handle. Despite what Moswen seemed to think, I wasn’t reckless or stupid.

“One at a time,” I said as I unsheathed my sword and assumed a classic sword fighter’s pose.

One of the men stepped forward, freeing his weapon as he faced me. We touched blades lightly, nodded at each other and the fight began.

I should’ve known that the man before me was greener than the grass we were standing on just from how eager he seemed to be to take me on. We’d barely gotten our weapons back into position when he lunged at me, his sword extended. Metal rang against metal as I easily parried his attack. Annoyance flashed through me when I stayed my blade several times from what would be a killing blow due to his over-zealous moves. The man had good form but was far to willing to needlessly expose himself in order to try risky moves that had the potential to pay off big if he didn’t get himself killed first. I finally smacked him in the side of the head with the flat of my blade, dropping him to the ground in a daze.

“You have some skills but you’re too impatient to end the fight. If you keep on being this reckless, you’ll still be one of my men, but you’ll be filling out the ranks of the dead instead of the living. I’m going to recommend you get more training to curb those impulses of yours.”

The man looked up at me and nodded. He stayed seated on the ground while Alund checked him over. Alund nodded once to me letting me know the soldier would be fine. I faced the two men remaining and waited. The soldier with the polearm stepped forward and assumed his position across from me. He’d been in my battalion a little less than a year and seemed more cautious than my first opponent.

After five minutes of circling and feints, I was beginning to lose patience with him. I’d been very clear about wanting a fight and this pointless dancing around was not helping me to achieve my goal. I narrowed my eyes, stepped into a strike aimed at my sword arm and took the blow. My sword dropped from my suddenly nerveless fingers and I struck a knife-edge blow to the soldier’s neck, stopping short of completing the move as I didn’t want to crush his throat but bring the fight to a close. The soldier’s eyes were wide as he stumbled back and coughed.

“Being overly cautious will also lose you the fight. You can tire an opponent by staying just out of reach, but you need to add purposeful blows to the feints. Cuts and bruises will wear a man down quicker than just playing keep away. Combine the two and you’ll have a better chance of winning the fight with minimal damage to yourself.”

Alund checked over the soldier and nodded to me again. The man would be fine. His throat might be a little tender for a few days, but no lasting damage had been done. I was starting to wonder if this was going to turn into a pointless exercise since I’d barely broken into a sweat.

The remaining soldier gave me a considering look and dropped his sword to the grass before stepping forward. He was an older man and had been part of my battalion from the day I took it over. A little smile turned up the corner of my mouth. This had the potential to be a good fight. I left my sword where it had fallen and motioned the man to come at me.

We traded faints and blows for several minutes with neither one of us doing anything more than giving the other bruises. The man was quite good and I had to wonder why he wasn’t helping to train some of the newer recruits. I grunted as a particularly hard spinning kick caught me in the hip. The man grinned at me and got a jab in at my ribs before I could block it. I grinned back and raked a shallow, bloody line from bicep to wrist with one of my wing talons. He hissed and narrowed his eyes before launching a spinning attack that had the back of his fist making contact with my cheek.

I stumbled back and spat blood from my mouth even as I smirked at him. Now this was more like it and what I’d been hoping to get from Moswen when I’d damn near begged him to fight with me. The soldier lunged at me aiming a strike at my belly. Fear had my heart jumping into triple time and I twisted at the last second, taking the blow to my back. Like a good soldier, he pressed his advantage and wrapped a beefy arm around my throat from behind, his additional height and weight giving him the advantage over me. He tightened his hold, the pressure on my throat starting to make it hard to breathe and spots dance before my eyes.

He had my wings pinned between us so my talons were useless. I couldn’t draw breath to speak so any spells I wanted to cast were nullified. My sword was laying in the grass somewhere and I wasn’t about to call mentally for Arek. We were in a hand-to-hand fight and that would’ve been unfair and a gross breach of Naemo sparring etiquette. The elbows I was jamming backwards seemed to bounce of rock hard abs and he was shuffling his feet just enough to keep me off-balance and from stomping on his toes or kicking backwards without nearly strangling myself.

I was running out of options damn fast.

While the black spots where getting bigger in front of my eyes, the baby moved again and I made a chocked sound. The gentle flutter from before was nothing compared to the almost painful thump from the baby. I was just bringing my hand up to signal defeat when the soldier holding me uttered a startled yelp and let me go so quickly I fell to my knees in the grass. I blinked several times to clear my vision and turned to look at the soldier.

His eyes darted around and he looked spooked as he continued to back away from me. He saw me looking at him and raised his hand in the sign of defeat to me. I frowned. He’d had me fair and square. Another few seconds and he’d have won. I didn’t understand what prompted him to surrender to me. Alund was giving me a speculative, slightly cautious look. The other soldiers looked just as puzzled as I did.

“I yield, Des Anate Kijika.”

“Accepted,” I said, formally ending the fight. “If I may ask, why? You had the best of me and I was about to yield to you.”

The soldier looked surprised. “Something wrapped around my ankles. I thought at first it was your whip but it stayed where you put it before we started to spar. Whatever it was, it was the coldest thing I’ve ever felt. It… it felt like what I imagine death feels like when it steals over you. I have no desire to join the ranks of the dead, so I yielded to you. I had no idea you could do that to a living person.”

I didn’t have a clue what the man was talking about. I couldn’t turn a living being into someone dead like he was suggesting I could. No necromancer could. I wasn’t about to disabuse him of the idea though because it could be a valuable tool once the rumour spread, but I truly had no idea what he was talking about.

I nodded my thanks to the men for the sparring and to Alund and leapt for the sky. Something weird had just happened and I wanted to know what. I was almost positive Moswen had to be responsible for it in

some way. He was always responsible for bizarre shit happening. If I could just find him, I could ask him about this latest incident. Chapter 40>

~Moswen~

Kijika was still pissed off at me. Seriously pissed off. Like never wants to see my striped ass ever again pissed off. I had no idea how to fix that either. Looking back on what I’d done, I guess it probably seemed extreme, but that was pure Throw-back instincts controlling me. I couldn’t have stopped myself if I’d tried. Not that I’d wanted to try and stop myself from killing the little shit who dared to attack Kijika. Hell, I still toyed with the idea of entering the dreams of the kid and trapping him inside his head in an endless loop of torture. The only thing that stopped me from doing that was the fact that I was sure Kijika would know I’d done something and he’d hate me even more than he already did. I couldn’t handle that, so I stayed well away from the temptation even though that was one of the harder things I’d forced myself to do.

I really should’ve taken Kijika into the dream world to show him what Throw-backs were like even if I was pretty sure he’d be appalled and maybe even disgusted by what he saw. I was better than most at controlling my instincts but I was still a Throw-back and still ruled by those instincts when my emotions ran high. Maybe he would’ve understood a little about Throw-backs and cut me some slack, but it was totally too late to do anything like that now though.

I ghosted through the upper levels of the dream world, moving through the daydreams of the castle staff and sometimes even the daydreams of the royal family. Flitting through daydreams was dangerous as hell not only for me but the daydreamer. One wrong step on my part and I could end up trapping myself and the dreamer in a state that wasn’t quite waking nor sleeping. Both of us would be lost then. The daydreamer would slide into a coma and I’d simply disappear.

Fortunately, I was damn good at what I did.

It would be better if I could visit with Kijika in his dreams but he’d told me to leave and I’d told him that I’d do whatever he wanted me to. Even if it was slowly killing me to not be with him. I never knew I could hurt like I currently was. I’d broken bones, been slashed, gouged, stabbed, shot and even

whipped, but even if I put all those experiences into one moment, it still wouldn’t hurt as much as having Kijika push me away.

It was frustrating to only get second hand information about Kijika, but I was limited to what I was able to do without actually appearing in the palace. Everybody had the same opinion though. Kijika was pissed at me and was best to be avoided if at all possible. His temper was hair-trigger and there was no telling what would set him off from one moment to the next.

I’d accidently popped into Olanthe’s dreams one night and whatever head way I’d made by bringing her to Awh’an was gone. She was mad enough to spit nails at my abandoning Kijika and our baby. Her punishment ideas put some of the more creative military minds I’d come across to shame. Delseur was just as bad except his dreams were all about how I’d dishonoured myself and shamed my family by not living up to my word. He’d thought I was a man of my word and was highly disappointed in me.

I would’ve loved to have told him that Kijika ordered me to leave. That he didn’t want me around him anymore. But I was supposed to be staying away, even if I wasn’t really. I’d honestly thought that Kijika would’ve gotten over his mad in a couple of days, but it’d already been a week and from everything I’d been able to learn from the people around him, he was still ticked at me.

I sighed heavily and moved on to the next dreamer looking for the tiniest scrap of information about Kijika.

*********

I jerked back from Kijika’s dream, cursing myself for my stupidity. That was not where I’d meant to go. I was so tired, I was having trouble focusing on what I was doing and that was dangerous not only for me but whatever dreamer I happened to be visiting. I missed Kijika so much. It was like an open wound that wouldn’t heal. I staggered back into the real world, coming out in the tiny clearing in the forest not far from the city that had become my home base of sorts.

I needed to sleep but my Throw-back instincts weren’t letting me do that. The urge to protect Kijika and our baby were so strong, I could only grab twenty minutes of sleep here and there before I felt

compelled to check in on him again. A slightly hysterical giggle escaped me when I thought that if Kijika knew I was hovering over him this much, he’d be supremely pissed.

I looked around bleary eyed and the world swayed under my feet. My stomach growled and I tried and failed to think about when I’d last eaten. I pulled a bag out from under a log and ate the fruit inside in four bites. I sat with my back against a tree and tried to get some sleep but jerked myself awake when I touched the edges of Kijika’s dreams again.

Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes. I just wanted to be with him. He was home to me. A soft little sob escaped when I thought of having only these slivers of contact with him. Common sense said that I should leave Gi-foeh and never look back. Make a clean break of it. I couldn’t do that though. I’d love Kijika until the day I died and nothing would change that.

I knew I was losing control though and it’d only be a matter of time before I totally fucked up and stayed in Kijika’s dreams. He’d know I was there. There was no way he couldn’t with the way I was so completely focused on him and our baby. There was even the danger that I’d simply stay in his head and not leave and that was a road to insanity for Kijika and I’d never do anything to hurt him.

I looked up at the night sky and couldn’t make sense of what I saw for several minutes. When it did finally click, I groaned and banged my head against the tree. The three moons looked different from the last time I noticed them. I was losing track of time because I was spending too much time in the dream world and not enough in reality. If I kept this up, I was going to be an even bigger danger to Kijika and our baby than anything else. I knew what I had to do but I didn’t want to do it.

I needed to leave Kijika and Gi-foeh for a while and get some real rest. I could always come back and watch over him again after that. Decision made, I dropped back into the dream world once more. I just needed to make sure he was okay and then I’d go.

*********

I blinked in confusion. Why was I in the palace? I wasn’t supposed to be there. I popped back to the dream world and automatically headed for what was home to me only to realize just as I started to step

into Kijika’s dreams that I wasn’t supposed to be there either. I wrenched myself away and stumbled into the clearing again, panting hard and feeling disorientated.

My legs refused to hold me up and I crumpled to my knees. I was breathing heavily and wrinkled my nose at the rank smell coming from somewhere until I realized that smell was me. I looked up at the night sky and saw that the moons were again very different from the last time I’d noticed them. I closed my eyes and hung my head.

I vaguely remembered telling myself to have one last, quick peek on Kijika and then I’d go… away to rest. Obviously that’d worked out real well. I forced myself to my feet and staggered to the small creek nearby hoping that dunking my head in the cold water would clear it and maybe take away some of the pungent smell clinging to me.

The cold water was a shock and did help my head clear a little. I needed to leave now. Not in a few minutes. Not after checking on Kijika one more time, but as soon as I had myself smelling a little better than somebody who’d been living in a sewer for the past ten years. The cold water hurried my spur of the moment bath along and before I gave myself any time to think about it, I jumped to the dream world and away from Gi-foeh.

The only way to avoid the temptation of Kijika was not to be so near him. I needed family that wasn’t Kijika right now. I focused on the closest relative I had and a smile twitched my lips. Tyh was the closest. There was something nagging at me about visiting Tyh but I was so exhausted that I couldn’t think of it. I mentally shrugged. If it was really important, it’d come to me later.

Tyh would understand my need to be with Kijika and the insanely protective urges I had towards him. Tyh had recently found his Lor’fei, Dak, and would totally understand about urges like that. Maybe Dak would have some advice, too. He seemed like a pretty smart guy with a level head. I was willing to listen to anything and anyone to fix what I’d done wrong with Kijika. There had to be a way to fix it.

I prayed there was a way to fix it as I focused on Tyh and dropped into reality onto the bridge of the spaceship he was on. Chapter 41

~Dakvir~

Tyh growled at me and my cock throbbed. I leaned back and moved faster over his cock; shivering and groaning when the angle had him nail my prostate with every thrust. I stroked my cock just as quickly as I moved over his. My balls drew up and I slammed down onto Tyh, forcing a grunt out of him as I hit my peak. My cock spurted, striping his belly and chest with ribbons of iridescent black seed. I panted heavily as my body went lax and I slumped forward, my hair loosening its grip on Tyh. He growled and his hands, finally freed from the trap of my hair, moved to my hips and held me in a near painful grip as he pistoned into me roughly a few times before he stiffened and a howl sounded from him. I groaned as his cock pulsed in my ass, my senses whirling as I enjoyed my orgasm layered with his. It was times like these that I was supremely grateful to be an empath.

“Sex in the dream world was great but this was even better. We are going to be doing this again. Frequently.”

Tyh laughed and the sound was light and happy. It made me feel good that I’d been the one responsible for that. I closed my eyes and kissed his throat, smiling when I felt a vibration against my chest and heard purring again. I wondered what he was thinking and was disappointed when I couldn’t hear his thoughts as I’d been able to while having mind-blowing sex. Thinking that perhaps my personal shields were interfering somehow, I dropped them entirely and instead of being able to hear Tyh’s thoughts, pain unlike anything I’d ever felt crashed through me.

I cried out and jerked away from Tyh, his cock leaving my ass painfully fast for both of us. I scrambled to mentally jerk my shields into place and block out what felt like daggers of glass ripping my soul to shreds. I dragged in huge, gulping breaths that were fast turning into sobs. Tears coursed down my face and my hair wrapped defensively around my body.

“Owww, fuck, Dak. What the hell?” Tyh’s tone of voice turned from slightly pained to concerned, but I could barely draw enough breath between the wracking sobs to answer him.

“Dak? Talk to me, shal-demsho. What’s wrong? Oh god, did I hurt you? Please tell me I didn’t hurt you.”

“Moswen,” I gasped between breaths as I struggled to regain control of my emotions. The level of emotional pain was intense and I’d never had anything hit me so hard that it nearly stole my breath away.

“What?” bewilderment was plain in Tyh’s voice.

“Moswen. He’s… here. He’s… shattered. I… I’ll be okay,” I said as I got my shields back in place and opened myself to the void and let it suck away Moswen’s pain. I gave one last shuddery breath as the deep, heart wrenching agony drained away and felt my emotions settle back down. “I dropped my shields for a moment because I wanted to hear you in my head again and…. He just showed up like a knife through my brain. He has the worst timing in the universe, you know. That’s the second time he’s messed up my being able to enjoy a good post sex glow.”

I knew I sounded petulant but I couldn’t help it. I felt all out of sorts from going from a euphoric post-sex high to soul crushing pain and despair between one breath and the next. Moswen was likely splintered emotionally to be feeling such depth of pain, but I had needs and wants, too, and I was damn tired of always subverting them for everybody else. And he really did have the crappiest timing that it’d ever been my misfortune to see.

“That kind of thing happens a lot around him,” Tyh said with a small smile and a whole lot of relief in his voice. “Are you sure that’s what happened? You’re not trying to make me feel better for hurting you, are you?”

“You didn’t hurt me, Tyh. I’m fine now. Moswen is here on the ship and he’s… broken emotionally. We’d better go see him. Damn. I get no cuddle time. Again. At least he wasn’t actually watching us this time.”

Tyh hugged me and kissed my temple, relief pouring off him at the news that he hadn’t been the one to cause me harm. “All the cuddle time you want later, Dak. I promise. Let’s get dressed and go see what the walking disaster that calls himself my brother got into this time.”

*********

It was worse than I thought.

Moswen looked fine at first glance but you only needed to see his eyes to realize that he was wounded in a way that might never heal. I felt bad for my initial annoyance with him. Even through my excellent shields I could feel his sorrow. I was a little jealous that Moswen was curled up in Tyh’s lap when I wanted to be there after the intimacy I’d shared with Tyh, but Moswen needed it far more than I did. Tyh stroked a hand over Moswen’s hair and used more patience than I thought he had in getting the problem out of him.

“Okay, so you met someone while running from whatever your last disaster was. This Kijika person, and he’s a prince and a librarian and a soldier and he’s going to have your baby, as bizarre as all that sounds, and you love him as if he was your Lor’fei but he called it quits on you and told you to take a hike. And now you’re miserable because you want to do what he wants but you don’t want to be apart from him.”

“Yes,” Moswen said in a watery voice. “I went to the dream world thinking that maybe I could talk to him and apologize and he was still so mad at me. Not like get over it mad in a few days, but I never want to see you again mad. I was trying so hard to not be myself for him but I still fucked everything up.”

Moswen buried his face in Tyh’s neck and the pain and sorrow coming from him jumped. I sucked in a sharp breath and strengthened my shields. I’d never had anybody’s emotions hit me this hard while shielded. The expression on Tyh’s face was stricken when Moswen’s shoulders shook and he made little snuffling sounds. I got the feeling that a crying Moswen wasn’t something that happened often.

I sighed softly and knelt next to Tyh. I was sure there was more to what was wrong than the simplistic words Moswen used. There were always two sides to any story. I knew that better than most because of my job as a negotiator. I touched Moswen’s leg and he turned his face to me. His eyes were bloodshot and there were dark circles under them. His normally tanned skin was sallow, the pale gold stripes on his skin standing out like garish paint. He even looked thinner than the last time I’d seen him. He looked like hell.

“How long ago did all this happen?” I asked gently.

“I don’t know. Two weeks. Maybe three. I’ve lost track of time.”

Tyh sucked in a sharp breath and I had the feeling that was bad for a different reason than I was thinking.

“Moswen, have you been sleeping? Not Dream-Walking or Dream-Stepping, but actually sleeping?”

“I… no? Maybe? I’m not sure. I’m trying to watch over Kijika without him knowing I’m doing it. It’s hard though. I’m hitting the daydreams during the day and real dreams during the night. I don’t go to his though. I know if I were to go to his dreams he’d remember my being there because him and our baby are all I can think about. I told him I’d always do whatever he wanted and I’m not going to make him hate me even more than he does now by seeing him when he doesn’t want to see me. It’s making me crazy to not see him, Tyh. Him and our baby are my world.”

“No, not sleeping is making you crazy. How did you get here? Did you Dream-Walk or Dream-Step? This is important, Moswen. Think.”

“Step. I think. Stars, I don’t know anymore, Tyh. I just want to be with Ki and our baby. What if he doesn’t let me see our baby? What if he hates our baby because it’s mine and gives the baby away? What if I never get to see our baby, ever? I… I couldn’t handle that, Tyh.”

Moswen turned pale as he voiced his fears and tears spilled over his cheeks. I groaned and clutched at my chest, the pain from Moswen spearing under my shields stronger than anything I’d gotten from his previously. My hair wrapped around me tightly as if to protect me from the agony Moswen was feeling. Tyh growled and was out of his seat in a blur, Moswen held tight in his arms. I heard a solid thunk and the pain I was feeling from Moswen abruptly stopped. I blinked through tears and saw Tyh crouched over Moswen. Moswen was laid out on his back on the floor and wasn’t moving.

“Are you okay, Dak?”

I nodded even as I felt a headache start up behind my eyes. Great gods above but Moswen was trouble by the truck load. Tyh turned back to Moswen and ran a hand gently over his hair.

“Bounced his head off the floor. He’s out cold and that should hold for a bit considering how tired he has to be. I need to talk to him in the dream world. Hopefully, I can get him to stay asleep for a while. It’s a risk though. Phaedra might be able to track me there especially if Moswen was just Dream-Walking.”

Unease settled in my stomach. “Do you think he did?”

“Probably not. Moswen always Dream-Steps. He says he needs to think to Dream-Walk. But it won’t hurt anything to be prepared if Phaedra somehow manages to find me while I do this. I’ll be as careful as I can but that’s no guarantee. I have a huge favour to ask of you, Dak, and you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”

Tyh didn’t know it yet, but I loved him and there was very little I wouldn’t do for him. I felt uncertainty coming from him and wondered why. I nodded at him and gestured for him to continue.

“Can Moswen sleep between us? Just for tonight and just sleep. I think it’ll help him rest. He needs contact and closeness. Ideally it would be with people who love him, but it should be enough with just me for that connection and the general closeness of the two of us for right now. I want to convince him to go home to Awh’an and be with his brood for a while where he might be able to overcome a little of his heart break, but I’ll have to do that in the dream world and I don’t know if he’ll go for it. I’ll probably need to mess with his head a little to get him to do that and implanting suggestions isn’t in my job description as a Litch.”

Tyh sighed and rubbed a hand over his face before looking at Moswen with love and affection.

“Moswen is a Throw-back. That’s a rarity among the Awh’anise and they feel things intensely especially when it’s something connected with what they see as theirs. If he’s given his heart to this Kijika guy and is having a baby with him, as fucked up as a guy having a baby sounds, he’ll damn near kill himself to stay close to and protect his family. A Throw-back in love is about as close as a person can come to experiencing the Lor’fei without actually finding one. If he hasn’t been sleeping all that time as he moves through the dream world trying to keep tabs on Kijika, he’s pushing himself close to a mental break down. Logically, he knows that, but his Throw-back instincts are messing with his head and making him

act in ways he knows he shouldn’t. I know I promised you all the cuddle time you wanted tonight, but I wouldn’t ask if this wasn’t really important.”

“He’s… I’ve only felt that kind of despair from suicidal people, Tyh. And it was stronger than anything I’ve ever felt. He got through my shields like it was nothing. That just doesn’t happen. Ever.”

“I’m not surprised. It takes a lot of mental strength to be a Shal-hazal and if you’re a Throw-back on top of that, well, it’s even harder. Moswen is the only Throw-back Shal-hazal right now. The few Throwbacks that are born of the Blood usually don’t make it through the training. They’re too wild and can’t develop the iron will that they need to curb their Throw-back instincts never mind handle what they need to as Shal-hazal.”

“What do they do then? I thought you said you’re born a Shal-hazal and don’t have a choice in the matter. It’s just what you are like being male or female.”

“It is. The ones that don’t make it through training, Throw-back or regular Awh’anise, die. They get lost in the dream world and we either can’t retrieve them or we pull them back and their minds are gone. At least a quarter of the prospective Shal-hazals die in training.”

I stared. I had no idea. The thought that Tyh could have been one of those that didn’t make it through his training had my stomach flip. I laid my hand over Tyh’s and gave it a light squeeze.

“As much as I’d love to snuggle in your arms, Moswen needs the closeness more than I do right now. He’s hurting so bad. It’s staggering and frankly I’m amazed and maybe a little awed that he’s still moving and not huddled into a little ball in the corner of some room waiting to die.”

The relief from Tyh at my agreeing to let Moswen sleep with us was enough to make me smile. I was going to tell Tyh soon how I felt. That was only fair. But now was not that time. I got up from my position on the floor and waited as Tyh stood and slung Moswen over his shoulder. I followed him back to his room, detouring along the way to grab the mattress and blankets from my bed. Tyh shot me a grateful look when I dumped them on the floor and pulled the mattress from his bed, pushing the mattress’ together to make one bed large enough for all of us. I laid out the blankets and watched as Tyh placed Moswen in the center.

Tyh knelt next to Moswen and his hands hovered over the ties to Moswen’s pants. He glanced at me and moved his hands away. Given the casual nudity and craving of skin-on-skin contact of the Awh’anise Tyh had told me about, I was glad he’d decided to keep Moswen dressed. I’d sleep with the man to offer comfort but I would’ve been very uncomfortable to do so with him naked.

Tyh laid down next to Moswen and waited for me join them on the other side of his brother, sandwiching Moswen between us. Tyh draped his arm over Moswen’s chest, his hand searching mine out. I wriggled closer, my hair slithering over Moswen to reach Tyh.

“I’m going to do what I can for him in the dream world. I think that after I send Moswen on his way we might need to have a little talk with this Kijika person and find out just what happened. I know that’s dangerous as hell and leaves a trail Phaedra could follow, but Moswen is family and I know he’d go to the wall for me if our positions were reversed. He’s a good man, Dak, and you can trust him with your life. Whatever happens, he’ll never betray us. He’d rather die.”

I nodded and watched as Tyh closed his eyes and was asleep in seconds, gone to try and help his brother the only way he knew how. I hoped he could help Moswen. Interrupted post sex bliss or not, nobody deserved the soul deep pain that Moswen was feeling. I was tempted to try and siphon off some of Moswen’s pain through my void, but didn’t want to disturb whatever Tyh was doing in the dream world. I sighed softly and closed my eyes hoping that sleep would find me soon. I had the feeling that the next little while was going to make me need as much rest as I could get. Chapter 42

~Tyhlian~

Convincing Moswen that he needed to go home for a little while had been like trying to empty the ocean with a sieve. You could probably do it, but it’d take forever and be more frustrating than anything imaginable. Luck was on my side that he’d been so tired and worn down that I’d been able to mess with his mind a bit so he would go home. I didn’t expect the imprinting to last long and he’d probably be mad as hell when he realized what I’d done, but he needed the rest. I figured he’d stay put for a week if I was really lucky and his sho saw how close to the breaking point he was, but I wasn’t counting on that long. Four days was my best guess before he dragged his striped ass back to watch over Kijika.

I hated exposing myself and Dak to the possibility of being caught, but I needed to chew the hell out of the man who’d toyed with Moswen’s heart. Moswen could be an idiot, but he said he told Kijika about how Throw-backs behaved and the sometimes irrational way they acted. I didn’t give a flying fuck if the man was a prince. You didn’t treat people like shit and you really didn’t do that when you were having a baby with them. It wasn’t right.

I’d gotten the name of the planet out of Moswen along with whatever other information I thought was relevant. The voices in my head had been oddly quiet since the mind-blowing sex with Dak, for which I was very grateful, and it took a good bit of poking and prodding before I managed to drag Zeki, the homicidal pirate, forward and get him to plot the fastest course to Gi-foeh.

The trip to Gi-foeh was uneventful. Zeki was content that he’d gotten to fly a space ship again and he was silent in my head. Everybody else…. They were having a bitchfest of epic proportions because one person got to do something for several days and nobody else got to come out and play. While I did appreciate the skills that I had at my disposal because of all the people living in my head, I could do without the loud internal argument between forty some odd people in a variety of languages. I was getting the headache to end all headaches and I still needed to somehow get a royal audience to speak to Kijika.

Moswen was seven kinds of trouble and I swear to all the gods above and below that he infected people who came into contact with him.

Getting permission to land on Gi-foeh was easy enough. I was almost positive that getting to see a royal wasn’t going to be and sighed heavily when I knew what I needed to do. I hauled out my formal Shalhazal robes and shuddered. They were awful in the extreme but did work when you needed to pull off the whole somebody of importance thing. I’d just finished shrugging the hideous thing on when Dak walked into the room. He recoiled slightly when he saw me and his hair swept behind him as if trying to hide from the garish robes.

“You’re not seriously going to wear that are you?” faint horror tinged Dak’s voice.

“Official Shal-hazal robes and yes I am. I figure the best way to get a royal audience is to go in as an Awh’anise ambassador.”

“But… it’s…”

“Gaudy as hell? Yeah, I know. We keep saying we’ll do something about the robes, but it never happens. Moswen swears that when it’s his turn to serve on the Council, he’ll petition them to change the robes to something less tacky and a whole lot lighter to wear.”

Dak wrinkled his nose. “I was going to ask your opinion on what you thought would be better to wear, but I’ll just go with my first choice.”

“Hey! I had nothing to do with the way the robes look. I just wear them when necessary.”

Dak sniffed in disapproval and tried not to look directly at me. He looked so snotty and offended at the idea of my wearing the hideous robe that I smirked. I had it bad if I thought that was cute. I loved the little quirks that popped up and surprised me with him. He stripped out of the casual shirt and pants he was wearing with his back to me and I licked my lips, forcing myself not to go to him and cup that exceptionally fine ass of his. My breath caught in my throat when he bent over to pull up a pair of cream coloured loose pants. Stars but he had a fantastic ass. He pulled on a matching coat/shirt thing edged with gold trim and turned to face me, humour in his gorgeous multi-coloured eyes. He knew exactly what he was doing to me by dressing in front of me like he had.

“You like?” Dak’s smile told me that he wasn’t asking my opinion on his tasteful ensemble.

“Oh yeah. Very much. Damn, I wish there was time for a quickie.”

Dak laughed and stepped close to me, his arms going around me. He pressed his lips to my ear and dropped his voice to a whisper, his hands stroking the skin at the nape of my neck.

“After hearing some of the things those voices of yours suggested when we had sex, I went and looked up videos on mouth fucking. I want to try that next. I want to be on my knees with you holding my head in place while you shove your cock down my throat. I want you to let the pearls appear on your cock and to taste the Sliaru on my tongue again. I want you to come in my mouth and order me to swallow it. Will you do all that for me, Tyhlian?”

I couldn’t help it. I growled and bit Dak’s neck hard enough to leave teeth marks but not so hard as to break the skin. He hissed in pain at the sharp pinch but his hips bucked against mine. I licked the red mark and grinned. He was hard as a rock. Just how lucky I was to have found Dak even if my life could be measured in weeks hit me and I hugged him hard. He squeaked a protest but hugged me back.

“I love you, Dak.”

He smiled at me, kissed me softly on the lips, gave the base of my tail a squeeze, which almost had me throwing him on the bed and stuffing his cute ass with my cock and wriggled out of my grasp. He smoothed down his shirt/coat thing, drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. I blinked in surprise when the playful, horny man disappeared to be replaced with a cool and controlled individual who looked like he wouldn’t take any bullshit from anybody.

Stars but it would be an arousing challenge to wipe that look off his face with a little sexual torment.

“Let’s go, Ambassador Shal-hazal Litch Will Leu Tyhlian Huyana-Dukker of the House of Heyda. There will be time for that later and it’s not wise to keep a royal waiting.”

“What?” My mind did not want to shift mental gears from a sensual encounter with Dak to a quasibusiness visit with a royal.

“I took the liberty of sending a request through the proper channels that you wished to have a word with Prince Kijika regarding a family matter. He was quite annoyed at first with the interruption and request until I mentioned Moswen’s name. He was rather accommodating once I told him that you were Moswen’s brother and needed to speak to him about Moswen.”

I was staring at Dak with my mouth open.

“I am a professional negotiator, Tyhlian, and I’m very good at what I do. I thought it best to set this up ahead of time rather than simply show up and hope for the best. Close your mouth, love, it gives the impression that you’re simple when you do that especially when combined with those ghastly robes that no one in their right mind would wear voluntarily.”

My teeth clicked together when I snapped my mouth shut. I felt more than a little off-balance by the change in Dakvir. This wasn’t the man I was used to seeing. It was kinda hot that he was all aloof and prissy, but still jarring. He must’ve seen something in my expression because the ice in his pale rainbow coloured eyes melted and he brushed a thumb over my cheek in a tender gesture.

“This is my negotiator persona, Tyh. It wouldn’t do to go into negotiations with my private personality. Nobody would take me seriously. If this Kijika person turns out to be a decent sort, I’ll relax and be more… me. We’ve only heard Moswen’s side of things and I want to judge if that’s really what happened.”

I grabbed Dak’s wrist and placed a kiss on the palm of his hand. Stars but he was amazing. His hair curled around my legs and started to draw me into him. Annoyance flitted over Dak’s face and he started tugging his hair away from me, mumbling things I didn’t quite catch that sounded less than complimentary under his breath in his native language. He finally managed to pull all his hair free and sent a narrow-eyed look at me.

“Don’t do that sweetly romantic stuff when we’re talking to Prince Kijika. I have a hard enough time controlling my hair when you’re just standing there and it really doesn’t need any encouragement from you to behave badly. If it wasn’t so uncomfortable, I’d tie the damn stuff up so it would stop groping you every chance it gets,” Dak huffed out in annoyance.

I laughed and jerked Dak to me for a fast, hard kiss, letting him go as quickly as I’d grabbed him. His hair slithered forward again, reaching for me, and he scowled, batting his hair away from me before punching me hard in the arm. There was enough force behind the punch to bruise, telling me that he was being serious and wanted me to stop screwing around and behave. Awh’anise in general responded best to firm, physical correction and I thanked my lucky stars that Dak was an empath and had known I was being one hundred percent serious when I’d told him that little tid-bit of information.

“Stop that, Tyhlian. Be serious about this. No holding my hand, putting your hand on my waist or the thousand other things that you do to show me how much you love me that I think is wonderful and the sweetest thing ever. You will behave yourself and comport yourself like the ambassador you’re going in there as. Are we clear?”

Dak was back to that negotiator voice again and that, combined with the hard punch told me he meant business. I nodded and resisted the urge to kiss him again. One of the voices in my head made the sound of a whip and I smirked. Dak had me wrapped around his finger and I knew it. I also didn’t care. He was beautiful, smart, sexy, had a kink streak a mile wide I’d have never guessed at and he was all mine.

Dak lead the way from the space port, got us onto something that was the biggest, most colourful bird I’d ever seen. A woman with transparent wings like a kirl’kes controlled the bird and soon had us high above the city. Dak made a soft sound of wonder at the view spread out below us and even I was impressed at the beautiful patterns the streets, parks and houses created. As gorgeous as the view was below, the people flying around us were just as much eye candy. I was developing a serious appreciation of the typical style of dress and the teasing flashes of cock and boob and sometimes both on the same person. I did think it a little weird when several people flew close and saw appreciation in their eyes for what I was almost positive was my robe.

We were dropped off in front of a truly impressive building that could only be the palace. Dak said something to a guard in a language I didn’t know and waited with perfect calm while the guard spoke into what looked like a jewelled microphone. The guard kept eyeing me and I wondered if something was a little off about the man when he seemed to actually appreciate the gaudiness of my formal robes. The guard finally nodded at us and motioned for us to follow him.

“Since when do you speak Vylfian?” I asked in a low voice as we trailed the guard through a maze of corridors.

“I have a universal translator implanted in my ear and throat. I work with all kinds of species and it was the easiest way to allow for communication without having to learn hundreds of languages or hope that the people I was working for spoke Common.”

Well, damn. I hadn’t really thought about a language barrier. I’d had no time to go Dream-Walking to lift the Vylfian language out of somebody’s head while Zeki was flying the ship. Leaving any of the people in my head in control of my body while I Dream-Walked would’ve been a recipe for disaster. All I needed was a few minutes and I could go grab what I needed from anyone but I couldn’t see any way that I could drop into sleep and do that without appearing really rude. I didn’t like the idea of not having a clue what was being said although I was sure Dak would translate everything for me. My frustration with the whole situation mounted as we walked.

“Tyh, love, let me speak to Prince Kijika. You’re doing a wonderful job of holding your anger in, but I can feel you hanging onto your temper by a thread.”

I gave Dak a rueful grin and nodded. I trusted Dak to ask exactly what I wanted to know and to do it in a diplomatic way. The closer we were getting to Kijika, the more my irritation with the man was rising. I kept seeing Moswen’s face and the utter heartbreak in his eyes.

The guard led us through a door and out into a lush garden. It was beautiful, relaxing and very private. We followed a crushed stone path to a large metal structure with a multi-coloured glass roof. A man was sitting on a cushioned bench and my first thought was that Moswen had excellent taste in partners.

He was certainly exotic looking. His wings were gorgeous and he had eyes almost as pretty as Dak’s. When I did stop to really look at his eyes, I saw how tired he looked and I wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but it looked like his eyes might be red and a little puffy. Had he been… crying?

Dak approached Kijika and bowed from the waist. Deciding that following Dak’s lead was probably smart, I copied him. Kijika gestured for us to stand and said something in a sharp tone to the guard. The guard stiffened and seemed to be about to protest when Kijika’s wings partially opened and he repeated what he’d said earlier. The guard snapped off a stiff salute, spun on his heel and marched away. Kijika’s wings folded closed and he turned his gaze back to us.

“Greetings Your Radiance Prince Kijika. I’m Dakvir Nigidvo from Laiok and this is Ambassador Shal-hazal Litch Will Tyhlian Huyana-Dukker. Thank you for agreeing to see us on such short notice. We won’t take up much of your time. Please excuse my using Common, but Ambassador Tyhlian was busy piloting the ship and didn’t have the opportunity to learn your language before we arrived.”

“That’s fine. My Common is decent if a little rusty. Please, have a seat. You have news of Moswen? Do you know where he is? Can you tell me? Is he alright?” tension was in Kijika’s voice along with a barely noticeable thread of anxiety.

Dak flinched the tiniest bit and some of his hair curled tightly around my leg. If I hadn’t been so aware of him I probably would’ve never noticed him flinching. Nothing in his face or voice said anything was wrong but something had obviously happened. Dak’s face softened slightly and he sat on a seat facing Kijika. I sat next to Dak, my hand landing on a hank of his hair. It twisted around my fingers and wrist in a comforting gesture. My eyes were drawn to the motion of Kijika’s hand rubbing circles over his belly and I noticed that he seemed fairly thick through the middle. My eyes widened when I realized what that extra weight was.

Holy shit! Kijika really was having a baby with Moswen.

“Moswen is… may I be blunt with you, Prince Kijika?” Dak asked softly.

Kijika paled but nodded and Dak sucked in a sharp breath and his hair tightened around my fingers and leg. What the hell was going on?

“Moswen is fine. Mostly. He came to us a few days ago. He hasn’t been sleeping and was very distraught. Tyh managed to send him home to Awh’an for a few days to rest, but I’m sure that won’t last long. He said you’re having his baby and that something happened and you sent him away. He believes that you… hate him. You don’t, but he’s very upset that you sent him away and can’t see that through his pain.”

Kijika recoiled as if Dak had punched him. His wings came around his body as if to protect him and tears slid down his cheeks. Dak flinched again and bit his lip. His hair was now in danger of cutting off circulation to my leg and the fingers of my hand weren’t faring much better.

“Dak, loosen your hair,” I said softly.

He glanced at me and apologized quietly as he efficiently untangled his hair from me. Kijika tried to discreetly wipe away his tears and blinked several times as he focused with interest on Dak’s struggle with his hair. Kijika’s mouth quirked up in a smile when Dak swore under his breath as the second he let his hair go, it twisted around my leg and fingers again. Dak glared at his hair and then proceeded to ignore it while muttering under his breath that I’d just have to deal with it.

“Is your hair moving by itself?” Kijika asked.

“Laiokian hair is sentient. Most have better control over it than I do mine, but that’s something related to what I am. I appreciate your interest and would be happy to answer whatever questions you have later. Right now, we need to discuss Moswen and what happened to make him think that you wanted him to go away and that you hated him.”

“I… I don’t hate him. I… it’s the opposite actually. I love him very much. I have no idea why I’m telling you that. I’m usually very private with my relationships and emotions.” Kijika looked a little bewildered by what was coming out of his mouth.

“Dak is an empath. He’s not doing it to intrude. It’s just what he is.”

“I see. That’s a little disconcerting. So you know everything that I’m feeling right now?”

Dak nodded. “You’re relieved that Moswen is okay. Distraught that he’s not here with you. Mad because he’s not here with you. Excited over something that has to do with you, Moswen and the baby. I’m not reading your mind, by the way. Those are my impressions based on the emotions I feel coming from you and what I know of your situation. I can also feel something else but it’s not coming from you.”

Dak frowned and seemed to be concentrating. His eyes widened and he raised startled eyes to Kijika.

“The baby is mirroring your emotions. It’s distressed. We need to get this resolved as soon as possible for the health of the baby as well as yourself and Moswen. Prince Kijika, will you tell us what happened to bring things to this point?”

Kijika nodded and started to tell us the events that lead to the latest Moswen induced cluster fuck. Chapter 43

~Kijika~

I couldn’t have said what I was expecting when I’d gotten the message that people who wanted to talk to me about Moswen were requesting an audience with me, but it certainly hadn’t been anything like the men who sat facing me. I’d agreed immediately, desperate for news of Moswen, and then burst into tears as soon as I cut the call. I wasn’t even sure if I’d been crying because I was relieved that I’d have some news of Moswen or crying because I was mad other people knew where he was and what was going on when I didn’t.

Moswen had told me that Throw-backs were a rarity among his people but for some reason I’d still expected his brother to have the same marks on his skin. I could see some resemblance in the shape of the eyes and the set of the mouth, but that was about all the similarity between Moswen and Tyhlian. There was certainly more of Huyana in Tyhlian and the family resemblance was much stronger there.

Tyhlian was a very handsome man and I was starting to think that the Awh’anise in general were simply good looking people. He had warm chestnut hair that fell to mid-back in almost curls that were tipped honey gold at the ends. His eyes were pale green and there was something about the look in them that made me a little uneasy, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was that bothered me. He wasn’t as tall as Moswen and looked to be slightly lighter. Tyhlian looked a little older as well, but not by a lot.

My mouth quirked just the tiniest bit when I saw his robe. It was almost the same as Moswen’s atrocity except that the fabric of Tyhlian’s robe was black where Moswen’s was a silvery white. I wasn’t sure which was more the eye sore with all the jewels sewn on. The guard who’d escorted Tyhlian and Dakvir was of a different opinion. He thought the robe wonderful and wanted me to ask Tyhlian if he could get one in purple.

Dakvir was, by far, the strangest alien I’d ever seen. He wasn’t ugly or horrifying, but I’d never seen anyone who’s skin was the iridescent black of a moonless night. The irises of his eyes were so light in colour that at first I’d thought they were colourless, which was a little perplexing as he could plainly see. Where I was used to seeing white in a person’s eyes, they were black. When he sat across from me, I saw that his eyes were actually a pale rainbow of colour and really quite pretty. Dakvir was taller than Tyhlian and possibly even a bit taller than Moswen but he was lean to the point of being thin. He looked delicate and like a stiff breeze would snap him in two. However, the tone of voice and the attitude Dakvir had clearly said he was tempered steel and would not break without immense pressure.

His hair was what fascinated me though. It was beautiful. It was pearlescent black shot through with strands of silver and fell in a straight mass to his ankles. I’d never seen anyone with hair that long and I’d certainly never seen anyone’s hair move by itself. I had to clench my fists to keep from either reaching out to touch it or write the information down on the notebook beside my leg. The additional information that Dakvir was an empath was just as fascinating if a little disconcerting and my fingers nearly itched to write that down as well.

I’d been stunned to find out that Moswen thought I hated him. Tears had prickled my eyes and I’d actually been grateful for the royal training my mother had drilled into my head that kept me from bursting into tears at the very idea. The baby had thumped me hard under the ribs then. Apparently it wasn’t very happy with that piece of news any more than I was.

I’d told Tyhlian and Dakvir about Moswen’s behaviour once he learned that I was pregnant, the fight we’d had before I went to the training room, leaving out the sex part, and then the whole fiasco that turned into when Moswen saw the kid beating on me.

“And then Moswen looked at me like his heart was shattered and said something in Awh’anise and vanished. That’s the last time I saw him and I’m going a little crazy not knowing where he is or why he hasn’t come back.” The last bit was said with a quaver I couldn’t keep out of my voice no matter how hard I tried.

“What did Moswen say?” Tyhlian asked curiously.

“Ve-yul’io, Kijika. Xi’ soi-fu ony-mi,” I said carefully hoping I wasn’t screwing up the pronunciation to badly.

Tyhlian’s eyes widened slightly and even Dakvir looked a bit surprised. Obviously whatever Moswen had said in Awh’anise was important and unexpected for him to say. Now more than ever I wished I’d asked Moswen to put the Awh’anise language in my head.

“That’s what he said? You’re sure?” I nodded my head and waited for Tyhlian to tell me what Moswen said. Instead, Tyhlian sighed softly and ran a hand through his hair. “Well, now his behaviour makes a whole lot more sense to me. Prince Kijika, Moswen said he told you about Throw-backs, but did he ever show you?”

“Show me? I’m not sure I understand. I told you he was with me almost constantly. What more could he show me besides being himself? I know he was overly protective, but that really only came to light when he found out I was pregnant. That level of coddling was driving me crazy by the way and we’d argued about it more than once. What did he say to me before he vanished?”

“It was almost the pledge a Shal-hazal gives to their Lor’fei. Moswen can’t have a Lor’fei because he’s a Throw-back, but if they find someone they care about deeply, it’s almost the same thing as having a Lor’fei. Something in their twisted genetics doesn’t allow for them to experience the Lor’fei, which is a damn good thing as they’d likely go completely feral in trying to keep their Lor’fei away from everybody and protect them from everything. Actually, Awh’anise scientists think the Lor’fei is a version of the protective instincts of a Throw-back once they find their true mate. But, I meant show you in the Dreamworld what Throw-backs are actually like.”

“He could do that?” I asked in surprise. I still didn’t really have a very clear idea of what Moswen did as a Shal-hazal.

“Yeah. It’d be easy as breathing for him. Damn. I’ll bet he didn’t because he was afraid of how you’d react to what he’d show you. Throw-backs are looked at with a healthy dose of fear by Awh’anise because they’re generally unpredictable and wild. They get better as they age at controlling themselves, but even then, you never really know what’ll make one suddenly go feral.”

“Feral? That’s the second time you’ve used that word to describe Moswen’s behaviour. Is that what you call what he did to that guard who attacked me?”

“If you hadn’t stopped him, he would’ve killed the guard and probably started eating him. If anybody but you had stepped in between him and the guard, they would’ve died as well and Moswen wouldn’t have given a second thought to killing them. They’d have simply been something getting in his way. He’d have felt really bad about it once he’d come back to himself, but it’s exceptionally dangerous to put yourself in the sight line of a Throw-back unless you hold a very special place in their world. And just so you know, in general, the Awh’anise only stopped eating our fallen enemies a couple of hundred years ago. Throw-backs still do it if they go feral and their victim doesn’t necessarily have to be dead yet either.”

I felt some of the colour drain from my face. I had no idea. I’d thought Moswen was vicious when he’d been attacking the guard but the idea that he’d go so far as to eat the guard… I swallowed hard. It didn’t change a single thing about how I felt about him though. Moswen was… Moswen and I loved him.

“You’re a Shal-hazal. Show me the things about Throw-backs that Moswen should’ve. Please. I want to understand Moswen better. I need to understand him better so stupid things like this don’t happen again. I’ve been so…” I paused to try and get my emotions under control, “I suppose heart sick is the only way to describe it.”

Tyhlian’s expression turned resigned and he shook his head and looked down to where Dakvir’s hair tangled around his fingers.

“Prince Kijika, there are some circumstances right now that….” Dakvir sighed when I scowled and his hair twitched as if in agitation. “I’m not trying to avoid anything and neither is Tyh. We’ve taken a huge risk coming here to talk to you.”

I started to open my mouth when Tyhlian raised his head and looked at me. His expression wasn’t happy and I got the feeling that I wasn’t going to much like what he was about to say.

“I don’t know what, if anything, Moswen told you about me. I’m the Shal-hazal Litch Will for the same House that Moswen belongs to. I’ve been pulled from active duty and a Shal-hazal Litch Hunter has been sent after me. When she catches me, she will kill me because that’s the only way we know how to deal with an insane Litch. And we all go insane because of what we do as Litches.”

I stared at Tyhlian with my mouth open in a surprised little oh. That had been the very last thing I expected to hear. Tyhlian didn’t seem insane. He seemed pretty normal. There had been that brief flash of something in his eyes but…. Huyana hadn’t mentioned that her son was being hunted when Moswen brought her to Gi-foeh for my pre-natal exam. Then again, there wasn’t any smooth way to introduce the information that your son and someone I now had family ties to was crazy. A little bubble of panic rose in me when I thought of my mother’s reaction to that piece of news. She already wanted to string Moswen up by his balls and cut off his dick for leaving me and the baby like he had. There was no way in hell I’d be sharing that piece of information about Tyhlian with her.

Dakvir’s hair flowed around Tyhlian, hugging him close and I felt a surprisingly sharp pang of jealousy at the love and affection on display right in front of me. I wanted that with Moswen, damn it. Dakvir looked at me and a small smile played over his lips as a hank of his hair slithered across the space separating us and curled around my ankle. It was soft as silk and gave me a reassuring squeeze before slipping away. I barely managed not to pick up my notebook to jot my impressions of that down.

“You don’t have anything to be jealous about. Tyh found me when his life is measured in weeks. We’ve already had one run-in with Phaedra and while Tyh is very good and he’s being extremely cautious, it is only a matter of time before she finds us again. She lost her first chance to kill Tyh because she was surprised by me. It won’t happen again. I’m trying to help Tyh get rid of the people in his head but we need time we don’t have to figure out how I banished some of them the first time we met. I have the feeling that it’s something very simple. Possibly that it’s not even the removal of the people but a way to control or police them for him. I feel like the answer is right there in front of me and that I’m just not reading the situation properly.”

Dakvir sighed and frowned. He stared at me intently and seemed to reach a decision. “Prince Kijika, I’d like to beg a favour of you.”

If it had been anyone else, I’d have never nodded my head in agreement. But they’d come to speak to me about Moswen when they really didn’t have to. They’d told me he was safe and home and as much as it hurt to not have Moswen with me, at least I knew where he was, more or less, and that he wasn’t dead or had simply lost interest in me and our baby. I’d have to deal with the issue of him thinking I hated him when I finally saw him again.

“First off, I’m Tyh’s Lor’fei. The short version of that is we’re a… bonded pair. It’s something that only happens to Shal-hazal and even then, very rarely. If Phaedra knew about it, she’d use the bond against

Tyh. If she was desperate enough to kill him, all she’d have to do is kill me. When I draw my last breath, so does Tyh. That’s how deep the connection goes.”

My eyebrows rose at that. Surely Dakvir was exaggerating.

“No, I’m being perfectly honest about the level of commitment. Tyh could die and I would live on, because that’s the way the bond works, but the pain of the separation is great enough that most Lor’fei follow their partners within weeks of their Shal-hazal dying. Tyh has shown me this in dreams and because I’m an empath, regardless of what he creates, I know when he’s being truthful and when he’s being not so honest.”

I chuckled at that. I didn’t envy Tyhlian’s position in that regard. Planning anything to surprise Dakvir would be a bitch.

“She wouldn’t do that, Dak. That’s against the code,” Tyhlian protested his tone turning offended that Dakvir would even suggest such a thing.

“And who would be there to tattle on her for breaking that code? We’d both be dead and from what you’ve said, as long as you’re dead, the Council will be satisfied. Nobody but you, me, Moswen and now Prince Kijika knows that we’re Lor’fei. Moswen can’t say anything because that would reveal he knew how to find you all this time and he’d be in for a world of punishment. Prince Kijika might be believed, but he’s Moswen’s partner so it’s possible they’d view that as something Moswen told him to say.”

“They would dare to question a prince?” I knew I sounded all snotty offended royal, but I couldn’t help it. I was mildly offended. Nobody questioned my word. Nobody.

“You’re not Awh’anise and you’re the lover of the brother of the man sentenced to die. There’s no disrespect intended. Think about it from that point of view for a moment,” Dakvir said.

I scowled. Dakvir had a point. I didn’t like it since my integrity had never come into question before, but he was right. A good case in point was the way my own parents had treated Moswen when he first came

on the scene and especially when we’d told them of the baby on the way. Even Sakima had questioned Moswen’s motives. I grudgingly nodded my head.

“What’s this favour you’d like to ask? I can’t grant asylum here as only the king can do that, but that’s a formality really if I make the request of him. I’m sure King Sakima would agree to it right away. I can also tell him that this Litch Hunter, Phaedra is not to be allowed in our kingdom because she wants to kill Tyhlian.”

Dakvir smiled at me. “Thank you, Prince Kijika. Tyh and I appreciate your offer very much, but I’m afraid it wouldn’t really help. Phaedra is a Shal-hazal, too. If she can find Tyh in the Dream World, she may be able to kill him there, too.”

Tyhlian nodded and looked resigned. “That’s chancy and most of the time doesn’t work, but she only needs it to work once. That’s why I can’t show you what you need to see in the Dream World. I took a huge risk just messing with Moswen’s head to get him to go home and rest, but he needed it more than I needed to hide from Phaedra and I think I was careful enough not to leave any trace of where I was or what I did. But I don’t want to tempt fate.”

I nodded my head in understanding. I was highly disappointed and frustrated. None of this would’ve happened if Moswen had just told me everything. Had he been trying to protect me from himself again? My temper started to rise again and the baby thumped my belly hard enough to make me gasp and press my hand over the spot. Dakvir frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose and his hair curled around him again.

“Dakvir, are you alright?” I asked in concern.

“I’m going to be really rude here, Prince Kijika. Being around you and the baby is exhausting and you’re giving me one killer headache from the way both your emotions are bouncing around like a possessed ball. My shields are very, very good, but you, the baby and Moswen have all gotten under them and that never happens. Maybe it’s something related to Moswen being a Throw-back in so much emotional pain. Whatever it is, I’m going to have to take my leave for a little while if you don’t mind or I’ll embarrass myself by either passing out or throwing up. Possibly both. I will discuss my hair and my empathic abilities with you later but I need a bit of a breather right now. Tyh, if Moswen didn’t give Prince Kijika full disclosure about his Throw-back nature, I think there’s a very good chance he left out

other details about the Awh’anise in general as well. Could you enlighten Prince Kijika while I go take a stroll in the garden to clear my head?”

“I don’t think you should be alone in a strange place, Dak. I’ll go with you. We can talk later with Prince Kijika.”

Dakvir turned a steely-eyed look on Tyhlian. My initial impression of the man was dead on. He was not someone to take lightly. My money was on Dakvir winning the fight.

“We don’t have the time for that, Tyh. Stars only knows where Phaedra is and the last thing we want to do is to lead her here. It wouldn’t take much for her to find out that Moswen was here and come up with the fact that he must have known how to find you if we suddenly made a stop here. Fill Prince Kijika in on what you can about the Awh’anise and I’ll be back in about twenty minutes. I’m not going to leave the garden. Not that I think I could without permission at any rate.”

I watched the argument with some amusement. I could see that Dakvir considered the argument over and done and that he’d won. I thought he’d won, too. Dakvir was perfectly safe in the garden. Nobody would harm or harass him while he was here as my guest. Tyhlian’s jaw developed a stubborn jut that I recognized from Moswen and I wondered how Dakvir was going to deal with the obstinate stance Tyhlian was taking. Gods knew I’d never managed to get Moswen to budge an inch when he set his mind to something.

“Your safety is my job, Dak. Besides, I didn’t like the look that one guard was giving you. I’m sure he’d love to catch you alone so he could get into your pants.”

Dakvir stood abruptly and his hair whipped behind him to writhe like a mass of agitated snakes. He gave Tyhlian a stern, narrow-eyed look and to my utter shock, punched Tyhlian hard in the chest, making the chair Tyhlian was sitting on rock from the impact. Tyhlian growled but remained seated watching Dakvir intently.

“That’s enough, Tyhlian. I’m perfectly safe here. The only people here are me, you, Prince Kijika and the baby. Keep your ass glued to that chair, explain about the Awh’anise in general and Moswen specifically and I’ll be back shortly. Are we clear?”

“Yeah. Fine. I don’t like it though,” Tyhlian muttered.

“You don’t need to like it. You just do it because I’m asking you to,” Dakvir said as he reached out and touched Tyhlian’s cheek in a gesture that was gentle and completely at odds with the bruising punch he’d delivered a minute ago.

I was thoroughly confused. That was some kind of fucked up relationship Tyhlian and Dakvir had if Dakvir could punch his lover and get away with it and not even offer the barest of apologies. I wasn’t opposed to a little rough play in the bedroom or sparring with somebody, but what Dakvir did was beyond bad mannered and downright abusive. I hadn’t taken Dakvir for being such an asshole and I was usually a good judge of character. I was starting to not like him very much. You did not hit the people you cared about.

Dakvir’s head whipped around to stare at me and he sighed heavily, smacking his forehead with his palm.

“Stars, Tyh, Moswen didn’t even tell Prince Kijika how to deal with an aggressive Awh’anise. No wonder the poor man was so frustrated with Moswen. It’s a miracle he didn’t kill Moswen. Your bother is an idiot. I’m going for my walk. Educate the man, please or this sort of thing will happen over and over again.”

Dakvir walked off without a backward glance and I was left feeling even more clueless than before. I looked at Tyhlian and the surprise on his face had me wondering what Moswen inspired disaster was now going to rain down on my head. I smirked a little when I realized that I’d been waiting for something weird to happen because it concerned Moswen.

“He really didn’t tell you how to deal with one of us when we started to get a little too pushy and aggressive?”

“No. I just thought that was… Moswen being Moswen. In my personal life I’m…. I may be an officer in the Naemo military but I don’t always feel the need to be in charge. I… uhhh…” my cheeks heated and I

had to look away from Tyhlian’s very direct stare before I could continue. “I’m content letting Moswen take the lead.”

Tyhlian grinned and chuckled. “And that explains things even more. Okay, since my idiot brother didn’t think to do this himself, I’m going to give you a crash course in Awh’anise behaviour. Understand that I’m not trying to embarrass you with anything, Prince Kijika, but this is stuff Moswen should’ve told you if he’d paid any attention in the class about alien encounters and how their culture was likely to be very different from ours.”

“Please, call me Kijika. After all, we’re almost family now and I get the feeling that this conversation will be one that works best without any formalities.”

Tyhlian smiled. “You can call me Tyh. First off, Awh’anise are an aggressive, violent species. We solve a lot of problems with a fight. Because we can be pushy, sometimes you need to really get our attention with something physical. A good, hard punch to the body works best. A punch to the face will be seen as either a dominance thing or something for a serious fight so I wouldn’t recommend that location unless that was what you were looking for. What you saw Dak do? That was to let me know he’d had enough of my coddling and that he wanted me to listen to him or there would be consequences that I probably wouldn’t like much if I didn’t. Think of… what an older pack animal would do to a younger animal that was bugging the shit out of them. Same principal.”

“But hitting someone like that is just wrong.”

“In most cultures, yes, and I’m guessing yours is one of them. Not for the Awh’anise though. We’re still very connected to our animal roots. The gentle touch after was to let me know that he wasn’t mad at me and just wanted me to stop hovering over him and actually listen to what he was saying. We’re very touch orientated, too, so those after touches are critical. Yelling at an Awh’anise doesn’t really do much in the sense that it sometimes comes off as a posturing thing and we won’t take it seriously unless there was a punch either before or after the yelling. Yelling after the punch with no gentle touches means you fucked up big time and you’d better be prepared to grovel or make up for your mistake somehow. That usually involves sex by the way.”

My cheeks heated again. I wasn’t very comfortable with where this conversation was going, but I’d learned more in just a few minutes of talking with Tyhlian than I had the whole time Moswen was with me. Why hadn’t he told me this himself?

“If you prefer to bottom, and you never actually smacked Moswen down when he was going crazy with the protectiveness, he was probably running all over you and thinking you were fine with that. That’s a dominance thing and if you let us do that, then we’ll keep doing it until you put a stop to the behaviour. Did you ever do anything really physical to Moswen to get his attention when he was being all stupid and not listening?”

“I once picked him up one-handed and shook him like a rag doll before throwing him to the floor when he was busy jumping to the wrong conclusions.”

Tyhlian blinked at me in surprise. “No shit? How did you do that? Moswen’s no light weight.”

I stood up, grabbed Tyhlian by the front of his hideous robe and lifted him from his seat. I used two hands to do it, but I wasn’t being fuelled by anger as I was the time I’d picked up Moswen. His eyes went comically wide and I snickered before lowering him to the floor and letting him go.

“Holy crap, you’re big. Bigger than any of your people I saw.”

“I get that from my father’s side. Most Naemo men are over the seven foot mark and even the women are in around the six and a half foot range. Vylfian’s are generally about a foot shorter than the Naemo. Some scientists speculate that the height difference may have something with the different wing types between our people and that leads into the well worn argument about who was the original species on Gi-foeh or if we were both transplanted here before….” I blushed and snapped my mouth shut when I realized I was spewing information at Tyhlian.

Tyhlian grinned at me and was polite enough not to say anything about my suddenly running off at the mouth.

“Picking me up like that… that was freaking cool by the way. You could probably use that to make sure Moswen was focused on you, too, and whatever you wanted to say. Let me guess, you had his undivided attention after you did that to him.”

I thought about it and slowly nodded my head. I thought about the other times when my temper had gotten the better of me due to the hormones screwing with my system. Every time I’d ended up hitting Moswen out of frustration for hovering over me, he’d backed off and paid close attention to what I was saying. He seemed genuinely upset when I’d sent him away without touching him those times, too. A bad feeling settled in my guts when I put two and two together based on what Tyhlian had recently told me.

“If I hit Moswen and then sent him away without doing that touch thing, what would that be telling him?”

“That you saw him as just an aggressive Awh’anise that needed to stop bothering you. If you still let him be near you, that would’ve meant that you were tolerating him for some reason, probably because you had to. Kind of like when there’s an annoying kid bugging the hell out of you but you can’t really do anything to send him away because you need to make nice with their parents. Why? Did something like…. Oh shit.”

My heart literally hurt. No wonder Moswen thought I hated him. So many times I’d lashed out physically and yelled at him when he pushed me past the little restraint I had and I’d either stormed from the room or kicked him out of it because I was horrified and appalled at what I’d done to someone I loved. Tears welled in my eyes and I couldn’t stop them from sliding down my cheeks. I needed Moswen. I needed to apologize to him and tell him that I didn’t hate him. That everything was a huge misunderstanding.

“Kijika? What’s wrong? Stars, please don’t cry. I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s probably not as bad as you’re thinking it is,” Tyhlian said, concern plain in his voice. He placed his hand over mine and gave it a squeeze.

“I’ll be fine. I need to talk to Moswen,” I said with an embarrassed sniff. “He told me once to call for him in the Dream World but he never explained how I was supposed to do that. Can you tell me how without

needing to go into the Dream World to show me? I need to talk to him and it has to be as soon as possible.”

“He didn’t even tell you that? I swear to all the fucking gods above and below, Moswen needs a god damned keeper. He’s a cluster fuck waiting to happen. Of course I’ll tell you. It’s pretty easy actually and considering how hard he’s working to stay away from you, if you actually call him, he’ll show up faster than anything. He won’t be able to help himself.”

“Good. I have a few words that need saying, an apology first and foremost among them. Does that physical attention thing work in the Dream World?” At Tyhlian’s nod, I smiled. Moswen and I were going to have a long overdue conversation as soon as his striped ass showed up. Chapter 44

~Moswen~

Tyhlian was a low down dirty conniving asshole. I was mostly grateful for what he did, but I was also a little panicked that Kijika and the baby had been left alone without protection for a week. Anything could’ve happened to them. Not that my being there guaranteed their safety, but I felt better about it. I didn’t like that Tyh had messed with my head to get me to go home, but now that I was a little rested, I did see how close to the edge I’d been dancing.

My sho took one look at me and sent me to bed with firm orders to stay there. My sha called my brood home and they’d piled on top of me and kept me in bed for three days. I’d been called stupid more times in three days than I had in the last three years. I think I’d frightened my family with how craptacular I’d looked and I probably wasn’t the most coherent person at that point either. I’d been shocked by my reflection when I finally saw it. Tyh did the right thing in sending me home but I’d still been antsy to get back to Kijika and our baby and the only thing keeping me on Awh’an was the promise I’d made to my sha to stay until I didn’t look quite so much like death had worked me over with a lead pipe.

I’d had time to think as I rested. Logically, I knew I couldn’t go back to doing what I’d been doing. I’d be of no use to Kijika and the baby if I drove myself into exhaustion or even death. I assumed that Kijika still hated me and didn’t want me around and I had told him I’d do whatever he wanted, but the baby was

mine, too, and there was no way in hell that I was going to give up my child. If Kijika didn’t want the baby, I’d take it and leave. It’d be hard as hell, but at least I’d have a little bit of Kijika with me in our baby. If he wouldn’t give the baby up, then I was going to demand to be allowed to see it regularly. I wanted the baby to know that I loved her or him and I wanted to be a part of their life. Kijika would just have to deal with that.

Once I was thinking rationally again, I also realized that I could’ve really put Tyh and Dak in danger. I was pretty sure I’d been Dream-Stepping when I dropped in on them, but I wasn’t one hundred percent sure and that worried me. I knew Phaedra was hunting for Tyh and that she was pretty much the best of the Litch Hunters out there. If I had screwed up and Dream-Walked, she’d be able to follow my trail to Tyh with her tail tied behind her back and Tyh would be a dead man. I’d never forgive myself for that. Karma liked to screw with me and that was fine mostly, but Tyh didn’t deserve anything bad happening because I fucked up.

I sighed softly and moved into the dream world. I didn’t look like death warmed over any more so I’d gotten the all clear from my sha. He wasn’t happy about my going back and said I was torturing myself, but he’d also hugged me hard and kissed me and wished me luck. Sho had looked at me sadly and hugged me hard, too. She’d whispered that she’d say a prayer for me that Kijika and I would work things out. Sho’s best friend was a Throw-back so she knew how hard things were for us when we found somebody we loved who didn’t love us back. Sho’s friend had eventually killed herself because the woman she loved couldn’t return her feelings or put up with the Throw-back nature and I think if I didn’t have a baby on the way, I’d be tempted to do the same thing to make the pain of living without Kijika’s love stop.

I moved out into the dream world and there was no thought involved in going to Kijika. It was like I was being pulled towards him. Staying away was monumentally hard. I desperately tried to put the brakes on going where I wanted to be when I realized that a big part of the pull was the fact that Kijika was calling me. He still sounded frustrated and a little angry, but there was also desperation in his voice. I damn near gave myself whiplash streaking to him. I didn’t care if he was still mad at me and hated me, he was calling me and that meant he wanted to talk to me. I skidded to a halt and watched him turn to face me.

His belly was bigger. Or at least it looked that way to me. He still looked kinda pissed off, but tired and maybe even a little sad, too. His eyes looked bloodshot and there were dark circles under them as if he hadn’t been getting much sleep. I chewed on my bottom lip a little, just barely stopping myself from going to him and asking what was wrong.

He still looked impossibly beautiful to me and I wanted to hug him and never let him go and had to clench my hands into fists to keep from doing that. I saw relief in his eyes when he spotted me and a tiny spark of hope flared to life in my chest. Maybe he didn’t hate me as much as I thought. Maybe he wanted to set up some kind of joint custody thing or tell me that I could take the baby when it was born. I liked the custody idea better because that meant I’d get to see Kijika even if it was only for a little bit. Whatever little crumb of his attention I could get, as pathetic as that was; I’d take and be grateful for it.

Kijika stalked towards me, anger in his every step. Oh shit. He was still pissed at me. This wasn’t going to be pretty. Maybe he hadn’t known he was calling me. Maybe he’d been cursing me and I hadn’t clued into that because I was so happy that he was thinking of me. I held my ground and waited. Kijika stopped so close to me that I could’ve wound my tail around his calf. His wings partially opened and closed, a sure sign that he was ticked off. The little spark of hope that initially flared to life in my chest turned to ash and died. I mentally braced myself for what was coming. This was going to hurt bad.

I never saw the punch that hit me square in the chest and knocked me flat on my back.

Kijika straddled my hips half a second after I landed on my back and his fists clenched in the front of my vest, jerking my upper body towards him. He pushed his face close to mine until our noses were touching and I felt the press of his belly against mine. My eyes widened in shock when I felt a very solid thump from his belly. My throat tightened up. I’d just felt our baby move. I’d never be able to stay away now. Kijika shook me hard and my attention was focused one hundred percent on him.

“Don’t you ever leave me like that again. I damn near went crazy with worry. Nobody knew where you were. I missed you so much and because you took off like that, you missed the first time the baby moved. Dakvir said you thought I hated you. I don’t. I don’t think I could hate you. That was partial my fault for not understanding some things about your culture, but it was partial your fault, too, for not telling me certain things. You can thank Tyhlian for informing me about Awh’anise customs by the way.”

Kijika leaned in and kissed me hard. He didn’t hate me? No, you couldn’t kiss someone the way he was kissing me and hate the person. Shock at Kijika’s words and the brain stealing kiss he was giving me made me stare at him and I didn’t kiss him back right away. Kijika’s mouth softened and he turned hesitant before he pulled back and looked at me with confusion in his eyes.

“Did I do this wrong? Tyh said that I needed to punch you or shake you or something really physical to get you to listen to me and that I was supposed to touch you after to let you know that I wasn’t mad. I thought a kiss would count as a touch. Please tell me I didn’t screw this up.”

Kijika looked uncertain and worried and he let go of my vest, his hands coming to rest on his thighs. I barely caught myself on my elbows when he let go of me and almost ended up onto my back again. I wanted to respond to Kijika, but my brain would only provide the very welcome but unhelpful news that Kijika didn’t hate me and that he’d been worried about me.

“I’m sorry, Moswen. I’m sorry for letting you think that I was only tolerating you and that I hated you and wanted you to go away. None of those things are true. I want you with me, I certainly don’t hate you and I don’t want you to leave me or our baby. Technically, I could have the baby by myself and raise it, but I don’t want to do that. I need you with me. I felt so… abandoned when you left. The baby wasn’t happy either. It’s been kicking the crap out of my ribs since you left and Dakvir said the baby felt distressed. Both of us were massively unhappy that you were gone. Are you listening to what I’m telling you or do I need to hit you again or something to get and hold your attention?”

Relief poured through me making me almost giddy. I knew this was the dream world and anything was possible in it, but I also knew that I wasn’t turning the dream to suit my desires. This was the real deal. Kijika had missed me and wanted me to stay with him and our baby. My eyes prickled with tears.

“Moswen? What’s wrong?” Worry was plain in Kijika’s voice and that had something easing in my chest. He really was concerned about me.

“You missed me and want me to stay with you and the baby? You really want that?” my voice was hoarse and I could feel tears sliding down my cheeks.

Frustration flashed through Kijika’s eyes and the baby thumped me again.

“Yes, damn it. I want you with me and so does the baby. What the hell am I doing wrong here? Why aren’t you getting it? Tyh said the whole hitting thing would work in the dream world just like it does in the real world. Unless…. This is just a dream isn’t it? You’re not really here, are you? I’m dreaming that

you came to me because I want that so bad. Fuck. Tyh said you’d come to me if I called you and he told me how to do it. Why didn’t you come? What am I doing wrong?”

Kijika hung his head and a soft little sob escaped him. Tears slipped down his face and I had the insane urge to laugh because we were both crying. I reached for him with a hand that shook only a little and wiped away his tears.

“No, I’m real, shal-demsho. I heard you calling me and came as quick as I could. I just can’t believe that you really do want me with you. I… I want that with every part of my soul and to hear you say that you want me with you…. It’s a dream I didn’t think would come true.”

Kijika looked at me and smiled slowly. He leaned down and kissed me again and this time I kissed him back with everything I had. My body was extra happy that I was kissing Kijika and proved that with the exceptional hard on that was pressing against Kijika’s ass. I wondered if he’d go for some welcome back sex but I didn’t want to screw anything up by asking. I was pretty sure he’d figure that out by himself as there was no way he could miss my hard cock digging into him. He pulled back before I wanted the kiss to end and fixed me with a stern look.

Oh shit. That stare couldn’t mean anything good. Maybe he didn’t like the idea of welcome back sex and wasn’t all that impressed with my horny ass. I couldn’t help it though. I loved Kijika and just seeing him got me half-way hard.

“Just to be perfectly clear here, that hitting thing worked, right?” Kijika asked.

I nodded my head. I was listening very carefully to him. I didn’t want to fuck this up again.

“Okay. I don’t like hitting you, Moswen. It’s considered abuse in my culture. Both Naemo and Vylfian actually, but if that’s what it takes to get you to stop being an idiot and actually listen to me, then I’ll do that. You should’ve explained that to me and all this heartache on both our parts could’ve been avoided. I want you to stop hovering and trying to coddle me, too. That pisses me off so bad that there were times I could’ve cheerfully fireballed your ass.”

“But….” I started only to have Kijika rap me hard with his knuckles in the breastbone.

“I’m not done. Don’t interrupt.”

I snapped my mouth shut and paid close attention to what Kijika was saying.

“I am a man, a fully trained soldier and a high grade necromancer. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself and defending myself and our baby from most harm. No, I’m not immortal and I know I can be injured or even killed. But so can you. So can everybody. I know my limits and don’t take unreasonable risks. The thing with the guard was unexpected, but the dead were coming to me and while I was bruised up pretty good, I had the situation in hand. I do appreciate you coming to my rescue in the sense that you want to protect me and our baby, but I don’t need you jumping in front of me over every little thing you see as a danger that usually isn’t. You frustrate me and make me feel like less of a man when you treat me like I’ll snap in two at the first stiff breeze. I know you don’t mean for it to come off that way, but it does.”

Kijika rubbed his thumb over one of the stripes on my cheek and smiled softly at me. I was still listening intently to him, but my eyes fell to half-mast in pleasure at the touch. Stars but I’d missed that.

“I’m flattered that you feel the need to be so protective and I’m positive that our child will be well looked after with you as his father. Just… tone it down a little. Please. I don’t like being angry with you and the baby can sense when I am and that causes stress to the baby. And I know you don’t want to stress the baby because that’s harmful to it. We need you to stop being so mental about trying to protect us when it’s not necessary to the level you take it. Can you try and curb some of your instincts?”

Worry bloomed in my chest. I’d been harming the baby by trying to protect it and Kijika? Well, fuck. Karma was a bitch and she had it in for me. If I needed to curb my instincts even more than I was, I’d do it. I had no idea how, but it was what Kijika and the baby needed from me so I’d make it happen. Maybe as long as Kijika knew I was trying he’d cut me a little slack. Even with the pregnancy hormones screwing with him, he was still a reasonable man.

“I have been trying, Ki. Stars, you have no idea how hard I’ve been trying. I told you that Throw-backs have wicked strong instincts and I wasn’t kidding. But if you and the baby need me to try harder to be healthy, then I will.”

“That’s another thing. Tyh said that you should’ve showed me what Throw-backs are like. I would’ve at least tried to be more understanding and tolerant, Moswen. Yeah, the hormones are screwing with my temperament, but you know I’m not usually such a dick. Tyh told me some things about Throw-backs, but he said he couldn’t show me like you could and should’ve because of Phaedra hunting him. I want you to show me, Moswen. Now.”

I swallowed hard. I really didn’t want to show Kijika what Throw-backs were like. I was afraid of what his reaction would be. We weren’t pretty when we went feral. Kijika had seen glimpses of that when I’d beaten that guard, but he hadn’t seen the full extent. I was about to answer when my brain finally picked up on the fact that Kijika had mentioned not only Tyh but Dak as well several times.

“Tyh told you? When and how did you talk to Tyh?”

“Tyh and Dakvir came to Gi-foeh to talk to me. Apparently, you’d really worried Tyh with how you looked and were behaving and he wanted to have a few choice words with me. He said you’re an idiot for not telling me things, by the way. He also said that he thinks you had to be sleeping with the instructor for the class on alien interaction and cultures to have passed it if you didn’t tell me even the basics of dealing with a pushy Awh’anise.”

A blush burned across my cheeks and I scowled a little. I didn’t need to sleep with anyone to get good marks. That class was boring as hell and I’d gone Dream-Stepping half the time just for shits and giggles. I’d never really thought that I’d end up with an alien lover never mind start a family with one. I assumed I’d gotten all the notes from the class from a friend, but apparently I’d missed a few key points or he’d been a crappy note taker. Probably the crappy note taker thing.

“Tyh and Dak shouldn’t have come to Gi-foeh. It’s too dangerous. If Phaedra finds them, it’ll be all my fault,” I said in a stricken voice.

Kijika stroked my cheek again and I turned into the touch. Gods but I’d seriously missed that. Nobody else’s touch was the same. I craved Kijika’s hands on me even if he was doing nothing more than petting me.

“It was their choice. Tyh loves you and he didn’t like seeing you in pain. They told me about Phaedra and why she’s hunting him. I’m so sorry for them. They really love each other very much and it’s just not fair. We had a lovely conversation once we got the issue of whether or not I was being an asshole to you cleared up. I’ve offered them sanctuary through Sakima. I know it doesn’t really help, but it’s there if they want it. Phaedra is also prohibited from coming into Vylfian and Naemo territory. I can’t speak for other areas of Gi-foeh, but they’d be safe with my family and have a place to live if they wanted it.”

I stared at Kijika and felt my throat tighten again. I sat up and hugged him hard, my tail curling around his leg. I kissed his throat, moved beyond words that he’d done such a thing for Tyh and Dak when I could just imagine the kind of things Tyh would’ve said to Kijika.

“Thank you, Ki. That’s… that’s a generous and wonderful thing you did. You’re an incredible man and I can’t believe how lucky I am that you want me in your life.”

Kijika ran his hand over my hair, petting me. I started to purr and pressed my ear against his chest, listening to his heart beat and wishing that I could pull his scent into my lungs. He was probably going to laugh himself silly when we were back in the real world and I just held him and sniffed him. I didn’t care though. Kijika wanted me with him and I was finally where I wanted and needed to be.

“No thanks are necessary. I like Tyh and Dakvir. I think I’m pretty lucky, too. You’re more than I ever thought I’d have in a partner. You don’t complain when I get lost in my work. Hell, you bring me food and pester me to eat it when I’m busy and nobody has ever done that for me. You’re smart and funny and I really enjoy being with you in and out of bed. And even if we hadn’t planned on having a child, I’m thrilled to be having a baby with you. Really, I couldn’t ask for more.”

Damn. If Kijika kept saying stuff like that, I was gonna start bawling because I was so happy. It gave me hope, too, that maybe someday he could even love me. He was never going to be able to get rid of me now even if he changed his mind. Hope was a dangerous thing to give a Throw-back in love.

“Now, you’re going to show me exactly what you should’ve in the first place about Throw-backs before we leave this dream. That is non-negotiable, Moswen. Whatever you show me won’t change the way I feel about you. You are who you are. Tyh has told me some things so I’m a little prepared.”

I mentally cringed. It was easy for Kijika to say that without knowing what a Throw-back was like. Granted, I had better control than most because I was a Shal-hazal, but I was still influenced by my instincts.

“Okay, but….”

“No buts, Moswen,” Kijika said with steel in his voice and an almost painful tug on my hair. “You will do this now or you will not be putting that wonderful erection grinding into my ass to use any time soon with me. Are we clear?”

Wow. That was some talk Tyh had with Kijika. I wasn’t sure whether I was grateful or annoyed. I liked that Kijika was giving me crystal clear direction on what he wanted from me, but I wasn’t so thrilled that he was making me do something I thought might turn him away from me. Being grateful won in the end when I thought about Kijika applying some of his new knowledge about dealing with pushy Awh’anise into our bedroom fun. That would so crank my engine.

“Fine. But I’m doing this under protest just so you know. I’m not trying to hide anything. I just don’t want you to be… disgusted by me or anything. I can’t change what I am, Ki, and what I am isn’t always pretty.”

“Tyh told me you would’ve eaten the guard who’d been beating on me. He also said it wouldn’t have made a difference if the guard had been dead or not. I’ll admit that I wouldn’t have wanted to see you do that, but it still doesn’t make me want to push you away. Show me, Moswen. I want to understand you better.”

I sighed softly in defeat and let Kijika go reluctantly. He wanted to see so I’d show him. I wasn’t going to water anything down either. He’d get full disclosure, too. I just prayed that what I was doing was the right thing. I shifted the dream world to reflect Awh’an and pulled up the standard dream sequence from my mind that was used to educate non-Awh’anise on Throw-backs.

Just because I’d blown off a bunch of classes didn’t mean I hadn’t gotten the necessary information and skills out of it. I had passed the class in the top ten percentile. I was also very good at what I did and there was a little ego involved in showing Kijika what I could do. What I had to show him wasn’t nice and was probably disturbing to non-Awh’anise, but I wanted to make Kijika proud of the skill I had in manipulating the dream world.

And then maybe after that, I could convince Kijika to go for a nice bit of welcome back sex. A guy could dream after all. >Chapter 45

~Kijika~

The dream shifted around us to a lush forest. Two suns burned in a cloudless sky. Strange bird song filled the air and a warm breeze sluggishly pushed around humid air. It was hot but not quite oppressively so. My body felt a little different. Heavier, as if I had more mass. I could probably still fly but I’d have to work harder at it. The air seemed lighter though and like I had to take deeper breaths to get the same amount of oxygen into my lungs.

My fingers itched to write all that information down. I held myself in check though. I knew if I asked one question, that would lead to two and then three and before I knew it, I’d be off on some tangent I was sure Moswen would be only too happy to follow if it meant him not having to show me about Throwbacks.

“Okay, this is generic Awh’an. We’re in late spring/early summer after the rains. It’ll get a lot hotter before cooling off for fall/winter. Most Awh’anise live above and below the equator because living right on it is too fucking hot for any sane person even in the dead of winter. Some people do, but they’re nomads and adapted to the desert environment and maybe a touch crazy to start with. And just because there’s mostly sand and rock there doesn’t mean that there isn’t stuff that will eat you. Some of the biggest and most dangerous predators live in the Awh’anise deserts.”

Moswen’s voice had changed into something I’d never heard from him before. He was in teacher mode and it was fascinating. Everything about him said calm, cool, collected and competent. I’d never thought he was a fool, but I was also used to seeing him playful and just not as serious as this. It was arousing.

“On Awh’an, the basic rule is eat or be eaten. At least half of the things you see will eat you and some of those things don’t look like they could pull it off. If something looks really pretty or cute, it’ll probably tear your throat out the first chance it gets. Even the plant life gets in on the action. There are trees, gesh-ta’ne, that trap you in their hanging vines and take weeks to digest you. It usually takes just as long for you to die unless a friend kills you out of mercy. It doesn’t do any good to pull the person away from a gesh-ta’ne either because once the vines get hold of you; it sends sprouts into a body immediately and the person or animal becomes a walking baby factory for the tree. That’s actually how they reproduce, so if anything is released by a gesh-ta’ne, you know to kill what or whoever that is and burn the body if at all possible.”

A large tree suddenly appeared in front of us. It was beautiful. Silvery leaves rustled in the breeze along with a sound like chimes. Pale blue flowers filled the spaces between the leaves and when a strong breeze blew, they drifted down like snowflakes. Delicate looking, ribbon-like dark pink vines hung from the branches and swayed gently. The grass under the tree was impossibly green and looked as soft as velvet and was sprinkled with the blue flower petals. It looked like the perfect spot to sit and enjoy the day in the shade.

A medium sized animal wandered near the tree. It was muscled and had fierce looking tusks jutting out from its jaws and long curved claws on its feet. It moved closer to the tree and between one blink and the next, vines wrapped around the animal holding it fast. The animal squealed and yanked against the vines, whipping its head around and tearing up chunks of dirt with its tusks. After what seemed like forever, its struggles stopped and it stood there, chest heaving and shaking.

My eyes widened as the suns moved rapidly across the sky, night and day happening at an accelerated rate. I watched the animal seem to shrink in on itself until it was nothing more than bones covered by fur. Time returned to normal. All the vines of the tree suddenly wrapped around the animal and the animal’s mouth opened and closed and its legs kicked feebly. The vines constricted all at once and the animal was crushed, its bones breaking and popping with a sickening sound as it was compacted to a fraction of its former size. Vines burrowed into the ground and pieces of the animal were pushed into the holes until there was nothing left to hint at what had happened. The tree vanished and we were once again looking out over an Awh’anise forest.

“If something looks dangerous on Awh’an, it probably is. If something looks harmless, it probably isn’t.”

Moswen held out his hand and a colourful bird flew onto his finger. He could’ve cupped the tiny bird in his hand easily. It trilled several notes and bobbed its head while hopping back and forth on Moswen’s finger. The bird allowed itself to be petted and even pushed its head against Moswen’s hand for more. It was adorable.

Moswen flung the bird into the air and another animal ambled by. It looked like it could’ve been an ancestor of Moswen’s, but it remained on all fours instead of walking upright and wasn’t quite as big as Moswen. The face was more bestial and it was far more muscled than Moswen. The colourful bird circled the animal and it warbled out a song again. Out of nowhere a massive flock of the birds appeared and descended on the animal obscuring it from view. I heard a scream of pure terror that was abruptly cut off. The cloud of birds roiled over the animal for several minutes before flying off all at once. Bones picked clean were all that was left of a good sized animal.

“Of course, there’s things that look deadly that aren’t, but unless you’re familiar with what is and isn’t dangerous, just assume that everything is dangerous. It’s safer that way.”

A creature with at least a dozen stocky legs and coarse bristles over its entire body walked up to Moswen. It had two pincers at the ends of its foremost legs that were the size of my thigh and mandibles around its mouth easily the span of my hand. Down the backs of its legs were what looked like suckers and it had a heavy club-like tail that swayed from side to side. It easily came to mid-thigh on Moswen and fixed him with an intimidating look from the six eyes on its head. Moswen reached down and scratched the creature behind the eyes and it made a strange coughing sound as its eyes closed in pleasure. Black drool dripped from its mouth and a couple of the legs twitched in what was obviously pleasure.

“This is a cetr’ide. It eats the vines of the gesh-ta’ne I showed you earlier. They’re not very smart and even the wild ones are friendly enough for you to pet. They’re harmless to people. The worst they do is drool on you, which is pretty gross but washes off. People keep them as pets because once they claim a home; they’re really good watch animals. They scream like you wouldn’t believe if somebody they don’t know comes into their home.”

Moswen gave the animal one final scratch and a little push. It ambled on its way, heading for one of the vine trees I could see. I watched as the vine reached for the animal only to recoil quickly just before touching it. One of the creature’s legs caught the vine, holding fast. Drool dripped from its mouth and hit the vine. The vines shook and where the drool touched the vine, it bubbled. There was a tearing sound and the vine ripped away, clear ichor spraying from the torn end. The animal folded its legs under itself, sank down onto the velvet grass and started to eat the vine. All the vines on the tree disappeared into the canopy and I could’ve sworn the leaves were shaking in fear.

“This is just to give you an idea of what Awh’an is like and how and why my people evolved like they did. Awh’an is a dangerous, violent place and we adapted to that as we evolved.”

The scene shifted to a different forest. People who looked a lot like Moswen wandered around what was obviously a village. The patterns on their skin varied but I didn’t see a single one without the markings. Their claws were longer and the fangs in their mouths seemed bigger but I could’ve mistaken them for some long lost kin of Moswen’s easily.

As I watched the domestic scene play out, a male walked into the village with the carcass of a large animal slung over his shoulder. He approached a hut near the middle of the village and called out to the occupant. A woman came out and watched him curiously. He dropped the carcass at her feet and reached out a hand to her.

Without warning, a female streaked across the common area and slashed at the back of the male’s legs hamstringing him in one move. He went down with a bellow of rage and pain. The female that attacked him jumped on his back and viciously clawed, punched and bit the male until he stopped moving. I watched with a queasy stomach as she proceeded to tear large chunks of flesh off him and eat it, growling and glaring at the other Awh’anise watching.

The female that came out of the hut approached the other without fear and ran her hand over the other’s head saying something in a low voice. The attacking female dropped the piece of flesh she’d been about to eat, stood and hugged the other. Their tails twisted together and the non-attacking female seemed to be soothing her partner by gliding her hands over her partner’s back and nuzzling into her neck. The attacking female glared around the village for good measure before allowing herself to be led into the hut.

I was shocked at the sudden violence of the attack. I assumed that the two were a pair and possibly I was seeing what a true Throw-back was like when defending their partner. Obviously, the attacking one didn’t take too kindly to having somebody else try and claim what was theirs. Remembering how Moswen had reacted to the young guard beating on me, I swallowed hard when I realized that if I hadn’t stepped in, he probably would’ve done the same thing. It didn’t change the way I felt about Moswen, but it was a little unnerving to have visual proof.

“We were pretty dangerous as a species back then and one of the nastier things you could encounter on the planet. We were smarter than the average animal, fast and vicious and it took very little to set us off into a violent rage. We lived in small communities for protection from the larger, meaner things than us, but the only loyalty going on was between immediate family like permanently mated pairs, parents and their children. Apparently, we were visited a few times by other species higher up the evolutionary ladder than us, but we were deemed too dangerous for contact and a warning beacon was put into orbit saying that you were taking your life into your hands if you landed here.”

A few more scenes like the one I’d just watched flowed in front of me.

A group of Awh’anise ran whooping and yelling into a still sleeping village and savaged whomever they came into contact with. One female hissed and spat at the invaders, a crowd of children maybe a year old huddling behind her. Another Awh’anise snuck up behind her, grabbed one of the children and tore out its throat. The mother’s enraged scream as she whirled on the attacker made shivers race down my spine. My stomach rolled as she put her fist clean through the male’s chest and out his back. The attack was short lived but by the time it was done, there weren’t many left alive on either side. The attackers grabbed whatever items they could and fled into the forest.

The scene shifted and two males circled each other growling aggressively and flashing fang at each other. A female stood off to the side watching them, her tail flicking back and forth slowly. The males leapt at each other and proceeded to bite and claw each other viciously. There was a sickening crack and one of the males dropped to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. The male left standing tossed his head back and screamed his victory at the sky before he knelt over his opponent and started to eat the other male. The female smiled and joined the male briefly in his gruesome feast before he pushed her down on all fours and mounted her.

I was fascinated at what I was learning at the same time that I felt a little queasy. I sincerely hoped that I never, ever saw Moswen eat someone. I’d still love him deeply, but I knew myself enough that it would

take me a awhile before I’d feel comfortable having his mouth near any body parts of mine regardless of the fact that I was rock solid certain Moswen would never intentionally hurt me.

The cannibalistic act faded away and was replaced by the inside of a darkened hut where a middle-aged Awh’anise sat with her eyes closed and swayed gently. Other Awh’anise sat a respectful distance away, silent and watching. The one with her eyes closed opened them and spoke. The other Awh’anise listened carefully and seemed to set great value by what was said. The other Awh’anise left quickly and the scene pulled back to show the village burst into activity even though it was the dead of night.

The entire village was emptied swiftly, people carrying possessions and hurrying children along. Not long after the village was deserted a rumbling noise started and grew louder until it drowned out all other noises. A wall of dirty water appeared and slammed into the village, obliterating it in seconds.

“We’ve always had Shal-hazal. It was even rarer than it is now, but they did exist. It was usually a closely guarded secret if a village had one because other villages would try and steal the Shal-hazal away. Especially if they were Healer or Spirit class. A good Shal-hazal could speak with the dead sometimes and avoid disaster for their village. As far as we can tell, there were no Warrior or Litch class Shal-hazal then. But that all changed when we were visited again.”

The demolished village disappeared and was replaced by a young Shal-hazal walking with stealth through the forest. He had a bow slung on his back and carried a spear. He appeared to be hunting. He stilled and scented the air. Tension filled his body and he switched his grip on the spear, preparing to use it. He crept onto the edge of a clearing and scanned the area. Something was making him nervous and I didn’t think it was inexperience. He started to cross the clearing and dropped into a crouch, a snarl on his lips when a shape shimmered into being.

It looked somewhat like the eels of the skeleton Arek animated but it was much, much bigger. A conservative guess would put the length of the animal at one hundred and fifty feet long, possibly more. I’d actually never seen anything that big in my entire life and I had access to a vast store of knowledge on Gi-foeh. The creature was covered in scales shaded deep purple with a bronze underbelly. Silvery hair flowed from its chin and upper lip framing teeth that easily looked the length of my leg and at least as big around as my thigh. Horns swept back from its head and it settled itself in giant coils around the young Awh’anise male, trapping him. Curls of smoke rose from the creature’s nose and I would swear that the beast was amused by the growls of the male.

The giant eel-like creature spoke to the male and sighed heavily when all the Awh’anise did was attack it. The spear bounced harmlessly off the scales and when the male attacked with claws and teeth the beast swung the end of its tail into the Awh’anise’s back, knocking him roughly to the ground and pinning him there effortlessly. The massive head lowered and the male turned his head in time to see a maw he could’ve easily stood in open wide. I was sure I wasn’t the only one thinking he was going to be eaten.

Instead, a thin tube-like thing extended from under the tongue and stabbed into the back of the male’s neck. His eyes rolled in his head and after several minutes, the tube withdrew and the tip of the tail pinning the male down moved off and stroked the cheek of the young male. The creature said something to the male, appeared to smile and vanished. The Awh’anise sat up and looked bewildered as he rubbed the back of his neck. There was something different about the way he looked around and I couldn’t put my finger on what that was.

“Shal-hazal history says that we were visited by a species that saw some kind of potential in us. They did something, we’re not sure what, but it kicked us up the evolutionary ladder by a lot. It started to breed the skin patterns and excessive violence out of us and while being a Shal-hazal is still pretty rare, it began happening more often. The Shal-hazal were also a lot stronger than before and Warrior class Shalhazal started popping up all over the freaking place along with the odd Litch class.”

I watched as the giant beasts in a stunning variety of colour landed all over Awh’an. They seemed to be targeting specific individual as they’d sometimes glide on thermals high in the sky as they watched the Awh’anise below before landing to trap and inject their victims with… whatever. I barely stopped myself from fidgeting to write all this down.

“We call them Fire Snakes and they crop up all over the place in the universe. They sometimes visit us and ask us to do things and you really shouldn’t say no to them if you know what’s good for you. It never ends well if you refuse and in the end, you end up doing what they wanted anyway. We have no idea where they came from, where they live or why they did what they did. One thing is certain, if Shal-hazal are near gods of the dream world, the Fire Snakes are the real deals.”

Time moved on fast forward again and the Awh’anise I was being shown started to lose the patterns on their skin. The random level of extreme violence decreased and they started to make progress with

technology that was astounding. I couldn’t be sure of the passage of time, but it didn’t seem to be all that long on an evolutionary scale. The Fire Snakes still visited but the frequency dropped steadily off as if confident that their little experiment was moving along the way they wanted it to.

“We think the skin patterns disappearing was a side effect and not something they were aiming for. Every now and again a Throw-back would be born of the Blood like me and that always has one of the Fire Snakes popping in for a visit and conversation with the Throw-back. Sometimes we’ll hear about a Throw-back that’s not Shal-hazal getting a visit from them, too, but we have no idea why. For all we know, every Throw-back may be visited by the Fire Snakes, but the visits generally happen in the dream world so it’s up to the individual Throw-back to come forward about it.”

“You had a visit from one of these Fire Snakes?” I asked, unable to keep my mouth shut.

“Yeah. Scared the piss out of me. It came to me when I was going through my initiation to see what kind of Shal-hazal I was. It seemed intrigued that I was a Spirit class instead of a Warrior or even a Litch and I’ve never figured out if it being interested in me was a good thing or not. Until you’re right up close and personal with one, you really don’t get a sense of how big and just… there they are. They’re really old, too. The kind of old that you don’t need to be told but just feel when you’re in their presence.”

“What did it talk to you about?” I cringed mentally at asking when I knew I was setting myself on the path to distraction but doing it anyway.

“I can’t tell you, Ki. Not because I don’t want to, but because I literally can’t. I know what happened and what was said and remember it like it happened five minutes ago, but the Fire Snakes do something that completely shuts down that corner of the brain if you try and tell or show anyone. You really don’t want to know what happens if another Shal-hazal tries to access that part of the mind,” Moswen said with a shudder.

The scene around us changed to a military base and as I watched, my military mind took over. I noted the training methods and approved even if they were more brutal that I was used to seeing. After watching the trainees suffer injuries that would’ve put down most soldiers yet they got back up and continue fighting, I decided that an Awh’anise soldier was damn good to have on your side and deadly to be your opposition. I could completely understand why Moswen said one of the biggest exports of Awh’an was soldiers.

The training field disappeared and a full on battle raged with men and women engaging in hand-to-hand combat. A Throw-back with irregular black spots on milk white skin moved into view and the only way I could describe what I saw was her laying waste to anything in her path. To be fair, it was a beautiful, deadly dance she moved in as long as you didn’t dwell on the fact that she was taking what looked like a great deal of pleasure in literally ripping limbs from her enemies and licking the blood from her fingers. I was in shocked awe when she shoved her fist through the underside of a man’s jaw into his skull and used the body like a battering ram on other soldiers coming at her. I was no slouch in the strength department but I doubted I’d be able to pull off a move like that. I cast a speculative look at Moswen.

“Yeah, I could do that if I went feral. Most Awh’anise could probably pull it off if they tried just based on the bursts of strength we’re capable of, but that’s brutal even for an Awh’anise and most would never think of doing that. Throw-backs going feral like this are dangerous as fuck and there are only three ways of stopping us. Kill us. Knock us out cold. Get our mate to calm us the fuck down. Because Throwbacks are a little intense, option one and two are usually what happens, although the knocking out thing is always tried first.”

I watched as the female seemed to run out of enemies and scanned the area. Just as she lunged at another soldier wearing the same uniform as her, a metal bat connected with her head and she dropped to her hands and knees. My eyes widened as she shook her head to try and clear it, growling and gouging furrows in the dirt as she readied herself to spring. Another blow to the head felled her and she lay unmoving. Her hands and feet were quickly bound behind her and she was hefted over a soldier’s shoulder before he took off at a good clip.

“The military encourages Throw-backs to stay beyond compulsory service. Many do because they’re allowed to let their instincts run wild on the battlefield and other soldiers don’t freak out as bad as civilians at the level of violence we commit. A Throw-back soldier always has another soldier shadowing them, ready to step in and beat their head in to get them to stop. Tranquilizers don’t work very well in general on Awh’anise because of our metabolism. They don’t work period on a feral Throw-back. Last resort is a kill shot. The shadow soldier is switched out often because the last thing you want is some kind of serious possessive attachment happening between the Throw-back and their shadow soldier and then the shadow dying on the battlefield. That’s a really ugly scene.”

The battlefield disappeared and we were in a park in a modern, organic feeling city. A man with dark brown skin decorated with gold rosettes was on his knees in front of a woman. The woman was angry and shaking her head, her arms folded across her chest. The man reached for her and the look on his

face when she stepped back from him reminded me uncomfortably of how Moswen had looked when he thought I was sending him away.

Another man walked up to the couple and put his arm around the woman. As quick as a flash, the Throw-back was on the man, growling, hissing and spitting out harsh sounding words. Blood bloomed on the man as he tried to fight off the enraged Throw-back. The woman pushed her way between the two and as if a switch was thrown, the Throw-back froze, his arm caught in mid-arc, claws extended and ready to disembowel.

The woman shoved the Throw-back away from her and the injured male, turning her back on the Throwback to tend to the other man. She glared daggers at the Throw-back and said something to him in rapid Awh’anise before helping the other man to his feet and supporting him as they walked slowly away. The Throw-back looked devastated and stared after the couple long after they were lost from sight.

The park melted away and became a darkened house. Moonlight shone in the windows and touched the gently swinging body of the Throw-back from the park, the creak of the rope against the beam he hung himself from the only sound in the house.

“To have the one we love reject us completely is…. It’s not unusual for a Throw-back to commit suicide to make the pain stop. Sometimes we can’t bring ourselves to do that and we go crazy and need to be put down like a rabid animal. Or we just get lost in our minds and turn into nothing more than a shell,” Moswen said softly as the image of the dead Throw-back faded from sight until we were back in the forest that he’d originally showed me.

“What happens if a Throw-back has a husband or wife and their spouse dies?” I had a good idea of the answer, but I needed to hear it from Moswen.

“Depends. If there are no kids, the Throw-back might choose to end their life. If kids are involved, they can usually pull it together for them. It takes a while to get over the loss of their mate and some never really make it all the way back. It’s an individual thing. Sometimes, you can tell that the Throw-back is just waiting to die and they start to be more of a danger from just not being there mentally for their kids and the family might make the decision to give the Throw-back what they wish for. There’s legal shit involved in doing that, and it’s not easy to get court permission, but it does happen.”

A shiver traced through me at the bald statement that a Throw-back’s family would have them killed as a kindness. I was having a hard time wrapping my mind around that level of devotion. I didn’t doubt Moswen’s word, but I had no reference point for that kind of sorrow. My eyes widened when it mentally clicked with relation to Moswen’s behaviour towards me.

“So… when you thought I wanted you to go away and never come back…” I trailed off almost afraid to ask.

“It hurt, Ki. Like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I felt so lost and alone. I was doing things that I knew better than to do but…” Moswen sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. “I’m not gonna lie. I wondered if it would be better for everybody if I did just end it. I couldn’t do it though. I thought of you and the baby all the time. I wanted to see our baby and be part of its life. After Tyh sent me home and I actually rested, I made up my mind to see you and demand to have visiting rights with the baby.”

A sick feeling settled in my stomach and the baby that had been quiet the entire time Moswen had been showing me things about his people kicked me hard under the ribs. The idea that Moswen had contemplated taking his own life upset me and the baby. The knowledge that I’d have never known what became of Moswen and not having him in my life because of a stupid misunderstanding made me angry. Caught between sad and angry, I hauled Moswen to me and hugged him tightly.

“Ki?” confusion was in Moswen’s voice even as he hugged me back just as tightly.

“I’ve no idea what I would’ve done if you’d just disappeared from my life for good. It makes me unhappy just thinking about it.”

“Ummm… okay. I’m really happy to hear that. But you’re not… disgusted by what I’ve shown you about the Awh’anise in general and Throw-backs specifically? You’re not… afraid or… I dunno, impatient with me being this way?” Moswen’s voice was guarded with tiny threads of hope twisting through them.

“I told you that seeing what you needed to show me wouldn’t change my feelings for you. It’s good to know how violent you can be and I’ll probably get pissed off at you when you get too insanely

protective, but I have a better idea now of why you act the way you do and I’ll cut you some slack because of that. Not to say that’s giving you permission to be an over-protective maniac, but I get it now. I know you’d never hurt me. I knew that even before you showed me all this,” I said as I petted his hair and traced over the delicate tips of his ears.

“Well of course not,” Moswen said sounding almost offended even as a purr rumbled in his chest from my touch. “You are my world. I’d do anything for you.”

“Anything?” I asked with a little smile.

Moswen leaned back in my arms and nodded, his face serious. “Anything for you, Ki.”

My grin got wider. “Good. You’ve been gone a long time and I have some needs that I want looked after and I want you to do that for me.”

Moswen looked confused but determined until I ground against him. His eyes went comically wide briefly before he grinned back at me and the playful, sexy man I was used to seeing showed himself.

“Oh I am so all over that request. Get ready to wake up, Ki, because I’m going to do my damnedest to make you happy.”

I kissed Moswen, letting my tongue slide over his lips briefly before letting him go.

“Good. I expect your best effort, Moswen. If your first try isn’t up to the standards I’m accustomed to, I’m going to make you keep doing it over and over again until you get it right. Are we clear?” I asked with a healthy dose of royal command in my voice.

Moswen moaned and his tail started swishing back and forth in what I recognized as excitement.

“Waking up now, Ki. I hope like hell you kept sleeping in the nude while I was gone because I don’t give two shits how embarrassed you get when I tear your clothes and you need to explain to the palace staff why they need to be repaired.”

“Not an issue this time around, Moswen. I even put lube in the bedside table in the hopes that I’d be able to do the whole dream calling thing right and we’d work stuff out. I seem to remember you telling me once that make up sex was great.”

The dream started to dissolve around us and my consciousness turned fuzzy. Just before the dream completely faded away and my eyes opened to stare up into Moswen’s delighted and lust filled face, I thought I heard Moswen say I love you. Chapter 46

~Moswen~

Kijika slowly opened his eyes and stared at me for a few seconds before a frown drew his brows together. My stomach dropped and I frantically wracked my brains for what I’d done now. I knew the events of the dream were real and not something I’d created. Kijika had called to me and I’d done what he wanted and showed him about Awh’an and Throw-backs. His big hands framed my face and his look was intense.

“What did you say just before the dream dissolved, Moswen?”

“Ummm… that I was going to tear off any clothes you might be wearing and not care how embarrassed that made you when you needed to explain to the castle servants why your stuff had to be fixed?”

“After that.”

I frowned now. I’d hugged Kijika one last time before collapsing the dream and kissed him. I might’ve said I loved him but that was always running through my head so I wasn’t sure if I’d said it in my head or out loud. If I had said it out loud, why was he making such a big deal out of it? It wasn’t like he didn’t

know that already. There had to be something else I’d said that made him go all serious. I wracked my brains and came up blank.

“Moswen, what did you say just before the dream ended and I opened my eyes?” Kijika asked in a stern voice.

“Errr… that I loved you? But you know that already. It’s how I feel and I didn’t say it to sneak some kind of reply out of you. I know you like me a lot and I figure, in time, you might come to love me a little maybe. I can wait, honest. And if it doesn’t happen, well, I’m just thrilled that you want me with you and our baby.”

Kijika’s mouth opened and closed several times without him saying a damn thing. I didn’t often see him at a loss for words and started to feel a little nervous. Did I misread him? I was positive that he’d said he would’ve been unhappy if I wasn’t in his life. I was missing some key point but for the life of me, I had no freaking clue what.

“How the hell would I know that you love me? You’ve never told me that,” Kijika said, exasperation in his voice.

“What? Yes I did.”

“No, you didn’t. I’d have remembered that. Not once have you told me that you love me. You’d told me that I held a place of importance in your world, but never that you love me.”

“I…. When…. It….” I blinked in confusion as tried to remember exactly when I’d told Kijika I loved him and drew a blank. The one time I knew for sure that I had, I’d said it in Awh’anise and Kijika didn’t speak Awh’anise.

I was a fucking idiot.

“Shal-demsho, I’m so very sorry. I… I could’ve sworn that I’d told you. I thought you knew and that’s why when you told me to leave after that fight with the guard…. I thought you were rejecting me and everything I wanted to give you. When I tell you that you are my world, I mean that without you, there is nothing for me. It’s part of a longer Awh’anise phrase and I guess it doesn’t translate the meaning very well. I didn’t think about that when I told you that.”

The look in Kijika’s eyes softened. “What’s the phrase, Moswen?”

“Ony des-ri tha’ab, des-od gre’os un des-laew nasha. Ony xi’ shey-lu des xi’ haeko des xi’ vre’ zo-sen ony.”

“That’s very pretty, but I need a translation. I also want you to add the Awh’anise language to my head sometime in the immediate future. I don’t like not knowing what you’re saying to me and it’s a wonderful chance to add to the knowledge of the Vylfian library. You can do it after our little talk and the welcome back sex you’ve promised me.”

The tightness in my chest eased and I grinned at Kijika. Adding the Awh’anise language to Kijika’s head would be a snap. Some of the cultural references would still probably fly right past him, but at least he’d have a basis for the explanation I was sure he’d demand. I’d have to add the language anyway for when I brought him to Awh’an to meet my parents and brood mates. A giddy, happy feeling swirled through me at the thought of introducing Kijika to my family.

“It means ‘You are the air I breathe, the food I eat and the water I drink. You are my world and my heart and soul rests with you.’ It’s shortened to ‘You are my world’ and it implies that without the one it is said to, the person speaking will have nothing to sustain them and they will die. It’s mostly used by Throwbacks and Lor’fei partners.”

I felt a tiny bit nervous telling Kijika about what the phrase meant because it almost made me sound demented and insanely possessive, but after what I’d showed him about Throw-backs, he’d probably get it. I hoped.

“So, just to be absolutely clear here, I’m everything to you? You’d feel like there was nothing for you to live for if I wasn’t in your life?” he asked and waited for me to answer. When I nodded, he continued. “If I were to die, say in childbirth with the baby, what would you do?” Kijika asked curiously.

I felt the blood drain from my face. I hadn’t even considered something like that. “That can’t happen, right? You’re just what-iffing, right?”

“It could. It doesn’t happen often but sometimes things go wrong. I’m fine and so is the baby and Jiveen doesn’t expect any difficulties but there’s always a chance. You haven’t answered my question, Moswen.”

I threw my arms around Kijika’s neck. “Don’t even go there, Ki. Please. Not even in a worst case scenario thing.”

“But what would you do? I’m trying to understand, Moswen. Help me out here.”

Stars but he was persistent. I sighed softly. It wasn’t like he didn’t already know that I was crazy possessive of him. And he had seemed to take what I’d showed him about Throw-backs in stride. I stayed pressed tight to him and spoke in a low voice almost directly into his ear.

“Without you and the baby, I’d die. I know my nature and how intensely I feel about you and the baby. I’m not strong enough to go on alone. Other Throw-backs might be able to when they lose their loves, but I can’t. I’d probably be able to keep it together if I had our baby, but I’d be useless as a Shal-hazal and likely pretty spacey as a parent.”

Kijika stroked his hands over my back and kissed my neck. He hadn’t called me nuts or a possessive jerk or any of the things I’d been worried he was going to. He actually seemed very calm and accepting. I hugged him tighter.

“I have a hard time understanding that level of devotion, but I’m humbled that you feel that strongly about me and our baby. And since we’re clearing things up between us and how we feel, I have to tell you that you’ve got my feelings about you all wrong. I won’t come to love you in time.”

My guts twisted. Oh fuck no. I did not want to hear this. Not now. I hunched my shoulders and buried my face in Kijika’s neck. I wanted to cling to the possibility that Kijika could come to love me even if it took years. Gods but I was pathetic. Kijika’s lips brushed over my ear as he spoke in a soft voice.

“I already love you. You don’t have to wait for that to happen. I realized it when you were gone and I had no idea where you were or if you were okay. I was nearly frantic with worry and I swear to god my heart ached to not have you with me.”

My breath caught in my throat. I couldn’t have possibly heard him right. Kijika loved me? I pulled back to look at his face and the warmth, affection and arousal in his eyes stunned me. He really meant it. Kijika smiled softly at me.

“Why so shocked, Moswen? You’re a wonderful man. You’re intelligent, funny and one of the most generous lovers I’ve ever had. You only want to make me happy. You don’t mind all the little quirks I have that seems to drive everybody else crazy. Best of all, you don’t give a flying fuck that I’m Prince Kijika or Des Anate Kijika and the things that I could get or give you because of those titles. You’re happy just being with me.”

I hugged Kijika again, burying my face in his hair and hoping like hell I didn’t burst in tears of joy because I’d just been given the one thing in the entire universe that I wanted with all my heart. I felt something press hard against my stomach and heard Kijika grunt softly.

“I think the baby is trying to tell you that he or she loves you, too,” Kijika said with a gentle tug on my hair.

Well, fuck. Now I really was going to bawl because I was so deliriously happy.

“Okay, now that we’re both clear on where we stand emotionally, I seem to remember you promising to do your best on the welcome back sex front. Hop to it, Moswen. My patience isn’t what it used to be.”

I laughed and kissed Kijika. “If you’re not happy, then I’ll just keep trying until I get it right, okay?”

Kijika lay back and gestured down his body. “Good. Just be warned that I probably won’t last long but that doesn’t mean anything since it’s been a while since I had the pleasure of you in my bed.”

I grinned. More than one chance at blowing Kijika’s mind? I was so all over that. I sat back on my heels and just looked at Kijika. His belly was a lot bigger than when I’d last seen him and I couldn’t help but reach out and touch it softly, amazed and awed that our baby was growing so fast. I chuckled and felt almost giddy when something pressed back against my hand. I was beyond excited to hold our baby and watch him or her grow but at the same time I knew how rare quiet, alone moments were going to be once the baby was born. I intended to savour every single moment.

“Moswen?” Kijika asked, the teasing leaving his voice as his hand stroked over my thigh.

“I’m…. I’m just so happy to be with you and know you love me and to see you like this…. Pregnant with my baby and all glowy looking and so damn sexy I think I could come from watching you touch yourself.”

A smile slowly spread across Kijika’s lips. “We might have to test that out sometime. I’d rather you touch me right now though. You did say you’d do whatever I wanted….”

Kijika didn’t need to finish that sentence. I would do whatever he wanted and when what he wanted was exactly what I wanted, well, colour me one ecstatic boy. My hands were on his skin stroking whatever I could reach. He sighed and the hand that’d been rubbing my thigh shifted around and a finger glided over my tail. I sucked in a pleasure filled breath so fast I made myself dizzy.

“Ki, seriously, as much as I love you playing with my tail, that’s not a good idea right now.”

“Why not?” Kijika asked with a little knowing smile as played with my tail and sent my arousal through the roof.

“Because I’ll come,” I said through gritted teeth as I tried to hold off the orgasm I could feel rushing me.

“I thought that was the point,” Kijika said with warm humour in his voice as he teased the underside of my tail right at the base. “I like watching you lose it, too.”

I jerked my hands away from Kijika to avoid accidently clawing him as my orgasm hit me. I growled low in my throat as I decorated his belly with ribbons of come. Oh fuck but that felt good. I panted and stared into Kijika’s very surprised eyes. That wasn’t quite what I’d dreamed of doing if I was ever allowed back into Kijika’s bed, but at least now when I did get my cock inside Kijika I was going to last longer than one or two thrusts.

“I told… you… I… was going to come,” I panted even as I felt my cheeks heat from my serious lack of control.

My cock stayed hard as Kijika continued to rub his finger back and forth on the underside of my tail. At some point I was going to have to see if he’d lick me there. My balls actually tingled with pleasure at the thought. Now I was wishing that he wasn’t pregnant so I could spend the entire night fucking him into the mattress in every position my creative little mind could come up with without hurting him or the baby.

“So you did. Was that because you’re so excited to be here with me or because of my playing with your tail?” Kijika asked curiously as he dragged a finger through the seed on his belly before delicately licking it off. His eyes never left mine as he did that and a low growl twisted from my throat. Stars, but he was sexier than any one person should be allowed to be.

“Both. Tease.”

“Tease? I don’t see how. You’re more than welcome to do whatever you’d like with me; actually, I’m going to insist on it. I do have your word after all that you’re going to pleasure me sexually until I say I’m satisfied. Seeing you come like that was very erotic and I’ll have to remember the tail thing for future reference, but I’m looking for some satisfaction, too. Don’t you want to make me moan and my wings shake with pleasure?”

I was seriously going to have to consider getting Kijika pregnant again if this type of hyper sexual thing was going to be the norm. A teasing, slightly demanding bottom was an erotic development that I really, really loved. Not to mention that the mental picture of him moaning for me and his wings trembling because of what I was doing to him was cock stirring.

“I’d like nothing better. I want you to make sure to tell me if I do something that’s uncomfortable or hurts. I’ve never had sex with somebody who was pregnant and I don’t want to do anything to hurt you or the baby.”

Kijika’s expression softened, he slid a big hand around the back of my neck and pulled me towards him until our noses almost touched. He kissed me gently and everything I’d ever hoped to have from him was in that kiss. Warmth, love, arousal, acceptance, it was all there and it was all for me. My throat tightened and I kissed Kijika back, putting everything I felt for him into it and hoping he could feel just how happy I was to belong to him. Kijika pushed me a little away from him before I was ready for the kiss to end. His free hand cupped my cheek and his thumb brushed over one of my stripes.

“You’ll never intentionally hurt me because you love me with everything in you and I think it’d cause you emotional pain if you did somehow hurt me. I really do get that now, Moswen. I’ve never been loved so completely. You take my breath away. I will do my best to make sure you know that I love you even when you’re being a possessive, coddling dick and I could cheerfully fireball your ass.”

He understood. He honest to fucking gods understood. It was more than I’d ever allowed myself to dream about. I closed my eyes and struggled for control. I wanted to pounce on Kijika, flip him over and fuck him hard, my claws scoring down his sides and back as I laid claim to him. I also wanted to crawl into his arms, take his cock inside me and have his wings close around us as he fucked me into oblivion, claiming me as his. I grinned when I realized that except for taking out the violence I wanted to do, there was nothing stopping me from having both things happen.

I moved off Kijika and knelt next to him. I grabbed the edge of the sheet and wiped haphazardly at my come on his belly. If things went the way I thought they would, both of us were going to need a shower by morning anyway. I leaned over Kijika, bringing my nose close to his skin and inhaled.

He smelled of aroused man, my come, the baby and traces of my scent. He was home and his scent was the headiest thing I’d smelled in ages. I ran my hands over his body, getting used to the bigger shape of his belly and the familiar planes of his arms and legs. His wings were buttery-soft and warm and when I rested my fingertips lightly on the skin, I could feel the faint pulse of his heartbeat. Wherever my hands touched, my nose followed, pulling his scent deep into my lungs and wrapping me more firmly to Kijika.

I started to lick and nibble on him as I re-learned his body. I was so intent on what I was doing that I startled a little when I felt Kijika’s hands run through my hair and stroke over my back and arms. The constant purr that was too low for Kijika to hear changed pitch and I glanced up to see his reaction. He smiled when he heard it rumble from my chest and ran a finger over the point of one of my ears, making my tail thump the mattress in pleasure. I wrapped my tail around Kijika’s calf and he actually giggled when the brush on the end twitched back and forth over the top of his foot.

The touching, licking and nibbling was having a very noticeable effect on Kijika. Not only could I smell his arousal rising, which was in serious danger of making me drool, his utterly gorgeous cock was stiff and leaking pre-come. I rubbed my cheek against it and smirked when his wings flapped the tiniest bit and a shaky little moan escaped him.

“I really love this getting to know my body again thing you’re doing, but I’m going to ask you to do it later. Right now, I need you inside me, Moswen.”

Kijika twisted and swiped a familiar bottle from his bedside table, thrusting it into my hands as he spread his legs. That was an invitation I was more than happy to accept. I thought it was a minor miracle I didn’t drop the bottle when I uncapped it and poured out some oil onto the palm of my hand because I was so anxious. I slicked my cock and then stared at the bottle stupidly for several seconds wondering how I was going to cap it and put it back without dropping it or untangling myself from Kijika. Kijika snickered and took it from me, scooping up the stopper and capping it before putting it back on the table.

“For such a genius, you suck at advance planning, Moswen,” humour was in his voice as he settled himself.

“Little distracted here, Ki. You’re asking for rational thought from me when I have your very naked, utterly fuckable self spread out in front of me. That’s not really fair you know,” I said as I slid a slick finger down the crack of his ass, rubbing it back and forth.

Kijika’s breath caught and he groaned softly, his hips wriggling a little, encouraging more. I slipped a finger inside him, grinning when he hissed out a yes and pushed his hips down. I stroked him, revelling in his heat and the pleasure washing over his face. A second finger joined the first and Kijika shivered and swore. I fully intended to take my time and enjoy stretching him, but Kijika had other ideas.

“Enough, Moswen. I want you now,” Kijika said in a low voice, his eyes intense.

“I don’t want….” I started.

“To hurt me. You won’t. Don’t even think of coddling me right now, or I swear, I will make you regret it. I want you. Now.”

A smile tilted up the corners of my mouth and I pulled my fingers from him. If that was what Kijika wanted, then that was what I’d do. Not like it was a hardship or anything. I needed to learn to trust him when he said he’d be fine and I guess there was no time like the present to start doing that. Considering getting my dick into his ass was something I really, really wanted, too, it was no contest.

I used my tail still wrapped around his calf to pull his leg up, exposing him. He moaned at the move and a shiver travelled over him. Kijika’s wings twitched when the head of my cock nudged his hole and his hands fisted the sheets when I pushed inside. Kijika groaned and his body relaxed, welcoming me. His breath hissed out of him as I slid balls deep in one thrust. He was perfect. Hot and tight and utterly gorgeous. The scent of his arousal spiked and I licked my lips, repeating to myself not to claw him in my pleasure.

“Fuck. Moswen. God I needed this.”

I growled softly. We both needed this. I started an easy rhythm, very glad that I had lost control earlier or I would’ve been done after the first two thrusts into Kijika’s ass. Kijika’s eyes closed and his hand wrapped around his cock, jerking himself quickly as he panted and gasped out words of encouragement. Seeing him take the pleasure I desperately wanted to give him was erotic. Feeling his body under mine and smelling his scent every time I breathed in was mind blowing. His wings spread open as far as they could and tried to flap against the mattress as his hips undulated. He commanded me to do him harder and faster and that thrilled me all the way to my toes and pushed my arousal higher. Kijika’s eyes snapped open and caught mine in a fierce gaze. His shout was hoarse and his back arched, wings extended and quivering as he came.

How I managed to stay perfectly still inside him as he rode out his orgasm, I’ll never know. The rhythmic clenching of his ass over my cock had me gritting my teeth against the need to pump my hips and let my release swamp me. Kijika’s big body finally relaxed and a lazy smile graced his lips as he panted. Taking that as my cue, I finally moved my hips and set a fast pace, chasing the orgasm that wasn’t very far away. One hard thrust had Kijika gasp and then moan as my cock pulsed in his ass. I heard fabric tear and even in the middle of a brain melting orgasm, I wanted to giggle at the thought of Kijika explaining the shredded bed sheets to the servants. I gulped in huge breaths and hung my head, feeling slightly dizzy from the euphoria of sex with Kijika after so long without. My muscles felt like overcooked noodles and I reluctantly moved off him before I collapsed on top of him.

I think I needed a nap to regain some energy.

Kijika protested my cock leaving his ass and that made me grin. I flopped down next to him, my tail still firmly wrapped around his leg although no longer holding it up. I snuggled close to him and rubbed my cheek against his, a quiet, contented purr rumbling from my throat. I was lying on his wing and thought about moving until he curved them around us. I had Kijika’s relaxed body pressed against my chest and his beautiful, warm wing pressing against my back. One of his arms was draped over my waist and his hand was on my ass.

I was deliriously happy.

“That was very good,” Kijika said in a low voice.

“Mhhmm,” I agreed as I pressed tiny kisses to his neck.

“But….”

I looked up to find amusement and arousal in Kijika’s eyes.

“I don’t think that was your best effort, Moswen. As good as it was, it was a little rushed feeling. You’re going to have to try again.”

I laughed and kissed him on the lips. “Anything you say, Ki. Just give me… twenty minutes and I should be good to go.”

“Twenty minutes? What happened to that high Awh’anise sex drive you’re supposed to have?” Kijika teased as he stroked my tail.

I snorted softly. “I came twice in half an hour. I’m good but even I need some recharge time.”

Kijika gave me a sly grin. “Then maybe I should do you. Would that help?”

I stared with my mouth slightly open for several seconds before I claimed his lips in a passionate if sloppy kiss. “Oh, yes fucking please.” Damn but I was really liking this whole bossy bottom thing he had going on now.

Kijika laughed and hugged me tight and the pure happiness in the sound made my insides warm. I was loved by the person I valued more than my own life. I was finally home. Chapter 47

~Kijika~

I was utterly, completely, thoroughly exhausted. I highly doubted I could’ve moved if my life depended on it. Moving didn’t really hold any appeal anyway as I had Moswen snuggled against me, his head pillowed on my chest, his tail wrapped possessively around my leg while he stroked his hand gently over my belly and spoke softly in Awh’anise to our baby. I thought it was the sweetest thing ever and had to blink rapidly to keep the stupid tears at bay.

Laying in bed with Moswen, drained in all manners of the word, I was thinking that it was one of the few times in my life that I was actually grateful to be a royal and could have servants bring me things with just the ring of a bell or the press of a button. Otherwise, I was fairly certain Moswen and I would’ve starved to death considering we hadn’t left my bed except for necessary trips to the washroom for the past three days. I’d been teasing Moswen when I told him he’d have to keep trying to give me the best possible sexual experience of my life until I said he’d gotten it right. I was really going to have to watch my words with him. He could be so literal.

Not that I was complaining. Hell, no. Well, certain parts of me were feeling the effects of our little sex-athon, but it was a good sore and one that made me smile and hug Moswen tighter to me. He sighed and that purr I was always thrilled to hear became audible for a few seconds before dropping back down into a register I couldn’t hear but could feel if I lightly pressed my fingers to his throat or he laid just right with his head on my belly.

The first time he’d done that, the baby had been literally kicking up a fuss. Thank god we’d been resting between bouts of lovemaking because I couldn’t think of a better mood killer than telling Moswen to stop sucking on my cock because the baby was distracting me by booting the shit out of my kidneys. Actually, Moswen’s reaction to something like that would probably be funny as hell. I could just picture his face, concern warring with annoyance and arousal and not sure which should take precedence.

Moswen had laid his head on my belly then and started to purr. I hadn’t heard anything, but I’d felt tiny vibrations against my skin where his throat touched me. The baby settled right down and after a few seconds Moswen’s eye turned the size of dinner plates and awe was in his voice when he said he could hear the baby purring back at him. I’d completely upset the calm Moswen caused by starting to cry at seeing the obvious joy on his face and the fact that the baby was responding positively to Moswen’s purring. Moswen turned almost as distressed at my tears as the baby, who started kicking the crap out

of my ribs again and I’d ended up laughing in the end when he said he needed me to write him a guide or something to let him know what were happy tears and what were not happy tears.

I hugged Moswen to me, earning myself a hug in return, and tried to motivate myself to think about getting my ass up to ring for some food. Moswen had been rather creative with the fruit and thick, sweet sauce that accompanied them the last time I’d ordered food and not a whole lot of eating of said fruit had happened. Come to think of it, clean sheets, again, would probably be a good idea along with another shower as I was pretty sure the wet squishy spot currently under my left butt cheek was crushed fruit and the sticky place along the leading edge of my right wing was congealing sauce. I grinned when I thought that it was a testament to Moswen’s enthusiasm and skills that staying exactly where I was despite lying in mangled fruit and spilled sauce was just fine with me. I was too sated and happy to really give a fuck about getting clean and fed.

A knock sounded at my door and the guardsman posted there called out loudly. A soft growl of annoyance rumbled out of Moswen but he stayed relaxed against me. He really was trying hard to curb his instincts and I appreciated that. I’d probably never get used to the way he could go from relaxed one moment to fiercely protective the next. If I thought I could make any kind of sense out of his Throw-back instincts, I’d write a paper about it. Not that it’d do anybody any good or be of any interest to anyone except me, but it was fascinating to watch happen and should be documented. At least I thought it interesting up to the point of disaster that seemed to be Moswen’s constant companion and generally ended up involving me as well.

“Prince Kijika, I’m very, very sorry for disturbing you when you gave express orders not to be bothered, but King Sakima is demanding to know what is going on with you and your concubine as it’s been three days already,” the guardsman shouted through the heavy door.

I snorted softly. Right. King Sakima was asking what was going on. Sure. More like Princess Olanthe had harassed her poor softy of a father over the last several days to pry me out of my rooms and Moswen’s arms to face her and tell her what happened. I shouted that I’d put in an appearance in an hour in the family study and nudged Moswen to let me up. It was much better to head my mother off than have her come barging in on me and Moswen. I’d had quite enough of that the last time she did it. My cheeks still heated when I thought about her seeing me and Moswen about to make love.

“Are you in trouble, Ki? I mean, as much as I loved having you in bed and all to myself these last couple of days, I never wanted to get you in any shit if you had stuff to do.” The worry in Moswen’s eyes was sweet.

“No, I’m not in any trouble. My mother is behind that not my grandfather. He knows enough that I’d eventually come out and say… whatever to my family. My mom,” I sighed softly, “she was shocked and upset that you left like you did. Because I didn’t know just why you left and didn’t come back or where you’d gone, I didn’t say anything to anyone. Apparently I was hideous to be around with my moods swinging every which way from teary to furious without rhyme or reason.”

Moswen blushed and his tail tip started to flick up and down, a sure sign that he was nervous about something.

“Ummm, yeah, I know she was pissed. Your dad worries me more though. He was really disappointed in me. You said the Naemo hold grudges like crazy and, well, the last time I checked, he thought I’d dishonoured myself and you by abandoning you and the baby without a word. I can probably win your mom over again but I think your dad is gonna hate me or at least be really disgusted by me for a long time and that really bothers me.”

I arched an eyebrow at Moswen as I stood and swiped my hand over my ass. I did have a crushed fruit stuck to my butt. Moswen watched my hand and licked his lips, a hopeful, lustful look moving into his eyes. I struggled extra hard to give Moswen the stern look I needed to to keep him from leaning forward and licking the fruit off me, as fun as that would’ve been. He was great at distraction techniques and I’d really enjoyed myself the countless times I’d let him distract me over the past three days, but I wanted to know exactly how he knew that stuff about my parents. Thank god Tyh had clued me into the finer points of dealing with an Awh’anise. I could be firm and stay on task when I had to regardless of how much I’d love to let Moswen lick the fruit juice off my ass and whatever other interesting places some may have gotten.

“And you know all this how?” I asked as I gestured for him to follow me to the bathroom for a quick shower.

I was not going to show up for a family meeting with fruit and sauce decorating my skin in places that had nothing to do with eating and smelling of sex. It didn’t matter that my family would assume that

Moswen and I had been rolling around in the sheets for the past three days. It would be very bad mannered to show up and confirm their thoughts with scent and appearance. I somehow doubted that would phase the typical Awh’anise, but I was trying to get Moswen used to the idea that not everybody advertized the fact that they’d recently had mind-blowing sex. That was probably an uphill battle with Moswen, but I had to try anyway.

“I… uhhh… might’ve been keeping tabs on you and the baby through dreams and kinda stepped into your mom and dad’s dreams by accident. Let me just say that I wasn’t really in my right mind, Ki, and it was completely unintentional that I hit their dreams, but yeah, I know they’re not happy with me right now.”

“You did that? Even when you thought I never wanted to see you again? I thought you said you’d do whatever I wanted,” I said as I adjusted the water temperature before stepping under the spray.

“Within reason, sure. And to be fair, even hurting like I was and being sloppy as hell, you never knew I was doing that. Shit, Ki, you never picked up on me the couple of times that I remember slipping into your dreams before I backed away,” Moswen said as he joined me in the shower, pressing himself tight to my back, his hands wandering over my chest and belly while he pressed tiny kisses to my wings.

Oh good god that felt good. Better than good really. When he started to lick the join of my wings my nipples tightened and my cock went from soft to halfway hard in seconds. His tail twisted around my leg in what I was pretty sure was a possessive gesture and the rough velvet feel was erotic and arousing. At this rate, we’d never get cleaned and out of my rooms to talk to my family if I didn’t head him and his far too arousing self off. I hated having to be so responsible at times.

“Play later, Moswen. This shower is to get clean not have soapy fun,” I said as I caught his hand before it made it to my very-interested-in-a-hand-job cock. “You know, I don’t think I like the idea of you just randomly popping into my dreams like that without my knowing or giving permission. It seems… rude and like a huge invasion of privacy. I love you very much, but that’s a little bit much.”

The nibbling kisses stopped and his tail unwound from my leg. I was disappointed and relieved at the same time. Moswen pulled on my arm and turned me around to face him. There was a serious look in his eyes and he seemed slightly offended. I had no idea what I could’ve said to put that expression on his face.

“Entering dreams is like breathing for me. I can’t not do it. I take what I do as a Shal-hazal very seriously and I pride myself on treating every dreamer respectfully and making my presence there either barely noticeable or erasing the incident entirely. I rarely stay long in any one dream unless I’m on mission. Most of the time, Shal-hazal walk around the edges of dreams. We might tweak them to stop a nightmare or allow a person better rest, but we rarely interfere with the dream itself because what a person dreams is important in helping them to work shit out mentally.”

Moswen sighed softly and placed a hand on my chest, his voice lowering and his expression gentling.

“With you, it’s different because I love you. As soon as you start to dream, I’m drawn to you because you’re home to me. Yeah, I keep tabs on you when you dream, but you’ll never notice me there. I’ll skirt around the edges of your dreams and make sure that you have a peaceful sleep but I won’t just barge in no matter how much I might want to. Shal-hazal have a strict code they need to stick to and anyone who breaks that code gets punished. Anytime you see me in your dreams it’s because you invited me in. And not every time you see me will it actually be me. Sometimes a dream is just a dream, Ki. I do have other shit to do besides play around with you in your head, as much as I love doing that. I am a Shal-hazal Will and I have duties to fulfill. While you’re dreaming of discovering the Big Book Of Answers To Life, The Universe And Everything while you sleep, I’m asleep and working my tail off.”

I really wasn’t sure what to say to that. On the one hand, I felt relieved that I’d have privacy. On the other, I was put out that I didn’t capture Moswen’s interest entirely and that he could resist joining me in dreams. Not that I wanted him to blow off his job, but…. I snorted softly at my contrary nature and would be glad when that annoying part of the pregnancy was over and done with.

“In theory, I’d be happy to spend every night dreaming with you, Ki. But even for a Throw-back, that’s a little too much contact. Not even Lor’fei partners share that much time together and they’ve got a bond that only ends with death. You can call me to your dreams any time you want and I’ll be there before you can say my name twice. But I won’t step into your dreams to play every single night. Maybe I’m not explaining it right, but it’s better for both of us mentally if we have time that’s just for us without the other being there. Shal-hazal figured this shit out a long time ago, Ki, when it came to our partners. I know I get kinda clingy because of what I am, but I also know more about dreams and sleep than you could ever imagine and I know what I need to do to keep both of us mentally healthy.”

Moswen hugged me and laid his head on my chest briefly before kissing the spot over my heart and backing away to wash up. Having Moswen be all serious was still weird to me. I was used to seeing him playful and bouncy and brimming over with child-like delight at the simplest things. He was adorable when he was like that and his enthusiasm contagious. Moswen serious was intriguing and actually pretty damn hot. On impulse, I grabbed his arm, yanked him to me and kissed him hard, my free hand cupping his ass and pulling him firmly against me.

Moswen’s tail wrapped around my leg again and a soft little growl vibrated in his throat. I’d startled him with the rough kiss for all of half a second before he responded and returned it. His hands slid over my ass and a finger wriggled between my cheeks before pressing inside me and making me moan into his mouth. Moswen pulled back from the kiss, his pupils wide with lust until the purple of his eyes was just a thin rim of colour. I could feel his cock pressing hard into my thigh and wondered if he’d have enough traction on the wet tile floor to do me against the shower wall without either of us falling down.

“Not to be a kill-joy, Ki, but didn’t you say this was supposed to be a get clean shower and not a happyfun-playtime shower? I will so be all over the idea of sex in the shower with you, but I don’t want you mad at me later because of that even if you did start it.”

I blinked water out of my eyes and stared at Moswen. Since getting pregnant, my sex drive had gone up but this latest development of getting aroused at just the stray thought of sex was new. I kind of liked it and it certainly deserved further exploration. I smirked when I thought of how happy Moswen would be to help me investigate that new facet of my pregnancy. But Moswen was right. This was supposed to be a clean up shower and not one where we got our freak on. I sighed softly and tried to convince my dick that it wasn’t going to get any fun for a while.

“No, you’re right. Sorry. It’s just… you looked so hot being all serious like that. I couldn’t help pulling you into a kiss and wanting more.”

Moswen grinned at me, stroked a finger over my prostate and licked one of my nipples before backing away from me and stepping out of the shower. A little groan left my throat and I was pretty sure I was going to need to jerk off to get my erection to go away. I was absolutely sure Moswen would blow me if I asked, but I also knew that would just lead to me begging for his cock up my ass and I was trying to get the heavy smell of sex off me not add to it.

Damn it. I wanted Moswen again and I couldn’t stop thinking of how good it’d be to have him do me in the shower. Moswen licked his lips and growled at me. His cock twitched and his tail lashed the air behind him.

“Fuck. You smell like need. I’m leaving now or I’ll end up doing you hard against the wall and then dragging you off to bed for more. Seems like one of us has to be the responsible one and it’s looking like that’s gonna have to be me. Don’t be long, Ki. I hope like hell your family isn’t going to be offended when I show up with a hard-on.”

I stared at Moswen’s retreating back in shock for several seconds. I never expected him to turn away from what was an obvious invitation to sex. I started to feel all offended until I heard Moswen mutter to himself about drop-dead sexy men tormenting him and him deserving a medal for putting a family meeting ahead of easing his desires. I started to laugh and made quick work of my stiff cock and washing up. I heard Moswen swear softly and looked up just in time to see him jerk off quickly and orgasm as he stood in the doorway watching me do the same.

“Guess that’ll have to do for now, huh, Ki? I love watching you come, but its way better when I’m inside you. Or you’re inside me. Or I’m sucking you off. Oh hell, I just love being with you and enjoying whatever you want to share with me. Really going now or I swear to all the gods above and below, I will get back in that shower and do you like I know we both want.”

I laughed and rinsed off again before turning off the shower. I felt light and happy inside and it was all Moswen’s doing. Good god, but I loved that man. Chapter 48

~Dakvir~

Even if I hadn’t been an empath I would’ve been able to feel the tension in the room. There was a lot of anger directed at Moswen and a good deal of disappointment as well. He seemed to be handling it well though. He sat next to Kijika, their hands clasped tightly together. One of Kijika’s wings was stretched out behind Moswen as if protecting him. I wasn’t all that familiar with the various nuances of Vylfian or Naemo culture, but it appeared to have some significance as Kijika’s parents and grandparents had looked surprised at the gesture and some of the anger I could feel coming from them dropped.

Tyh had insisted on staying on Gi-foeh until Moswen and Kijika worked out the problems they had. I’d tried to reason with Tyh that it wasn’t safe for us to do that, but he dug in his heels and refused to be budged from the idea. He said he needed to make sure his idiot brother did what he was supposed to do to fix things between him and Kijika. I was worried that Phaedra might have a better chance at finding us the longer we stayed in one place, but Tyh said it was a family thing and he needed to do this for Moswen. Knowing how important family was to the Awh’anise, I let the matter lie and hoped like hell that Phaedra was off looking for Tyh at the opposite end of the galaxy.

“I was not pleased with your sudden disappearance, Moswen. Kijika was very upset and I don’t like seeing him that way when it’s something that could’ve been avoided, especially when a simple discussion could have cleared everything up. Jiveen told me that the baby was also stressed because of what you did. Kijika has obviously forgiven you, but I want an explanation,” said King Sakima.

Moswen glanced at Kijika and at the small nod, he faced the people who were more or less his in-laws and spoke. He was nervous, but there was also determination swirling through him.

“I made some mistakes that I regret with all my heart. There were things that I should’ve told Kijika right from the get go and things I should’ve showed him that I didn’t because I was afraid of what his reaction would be. He is my world and I didn’t want to risk scaring him away with something I can’t change,” Moswen said softly. “I’m a Throw-back and there’s things that are instinctual for me and that no matter what I might want or know is the right thing to do… those desires get overridden. Most Awh’anise are wary or downright afraid of Throw-backs because they know what we can be like. I didn’t want the same thing to happen between Kijika and me if I told him all about myself and what he could expect. I didn’t want to screw up what I thought could be something special and I ended up almost doing that anyway.”

Princess Olanthe looked mad enough to spit nails, but under that was emotional pain. She was also listening intently to Moswen. Delseur sat still as stone and I could only get the barest of emotions from him, disappointment being the strongest thing. Sakima and Numa had some anger but curiosity was stronger in both of them.

“I should’ve told Kijika how to deal with a pushy Awh’anise right from the beginning, but I honestly never thought about it. I know now that your people see it as abuse, but you really do need to punch one of us to get our attention and make us listen. I was being a pushy, aggressive, territorial Awh’anise

and if I’d been on Awh’an, I’d have gotten smacked down right away for doing that. Kijika didn’t know what to do to make me understand I was being an overprotective ass and the few times he did punch me out of sheer frustration, he didn’t know to follow up with gentle touches to tell me that he… that he wasn’t just tolerating me.”

Moswen’s voice cracked on the last word and he looked down at his and Kijika joined hands before looking back up at Sakima, determination on his face.

“When Kijika had that sparring match that got out of hand and I saw him hurt, I lost it. I’m a Throw-back and we’re more closely connected to our animal ancestors. We tend to be a lot more violent, aggressive and territorial than regular Awh’anise. A lot of Throw-backs don’t have serious relationships. Not because we don’t want them, but because we can be so intense and utterly focused on the person we love. Most Awh’anise can’t deal with that level of attention. We’re generally not monogamous as a species. If we give our heart to someone and they reject us… suicide is the most common reaction.”

I felt Kijika’s emotions jump a little before settling back down. The wing that was around Moswen pulled him closer and Moswen leaned into Kijika, his tail curling around Kijika’s leg. A little smile twitched the corner of my lip up at how sweet they looked. My hair twisted around Tyh’s arm and his tail wrapped around my leg, mirroring what Moswen was doing.

“So why did you leave Kijika without a word and stay away for weeks?” Olanthe asked, hostility in her voice that was in direct contrast to the confusion and hurt in her emotions.

“I told Moswen to go away,” Kijika answered. “I was frustrated with him and his overprotective attitude and I lost my temper. We’d argued earlier and I’d hit him but didn’t know to follow up the hitting with a gentle touch that would let Moswen know that I angry and needed him to pay close attention to what I was saying, but that I still cared for him. He thought I meant for him to go away and not come back. He thought I’d had enough of him.”

“That sounds like a rather complicated system, Moswen,” Numa said with a smile. “Wouldn’t it have been easier to simply pay attention to what Kijika was telling you?”

I agreed with Numa on that point at first glance. But, having also had experience with how haig’wuh-ani works when I’d used it on Tyh, it was actually a really straight forward thing and left zero confusion for the Awh’anise in question. It took a little getting used to if you weren’t Awh’anise, but it was ultimately very effective.

“Haig’wuh-ani works fine on Awh’an and well, this was my first time off planet and it never occurred to me that things would be different on other planets. I know better now, of course. Kijika understands what he needs to do when I start acting like an overprotective jerk and I’ve given him my word that I’ll work to tone down my Throw-back instincts as much as I can. I love Kijika and our baby with every fibre of my being. I will kill to defend them and die for them without a second thought. They are my world and without them, I can’t go on.”

“So would you do this… whatever you called it on Kijika?” Delseur asked.

“No. At least I wouldn’t now. I don’t need to anyway. Kijika isn’t the one with all the issues, I am,” Moswen said with a little smirk.

“If I can interrupt and maybe explain….” Tyh said.

I looked at Tyh in surprise. I’d thought he just wanted to make sure everything was going to be okay with Moswen and Kijika’s family. Calm swirled around Tyh and he patted my knee. Then again, with all the different species sharing head space with Tyh, he likely had a far better understanding of different alien cultures and how varied that could be than all of us combined. I had broad experiences with numerous species but nothing compared to actually having all those thoughts and memories in your mind as if they were your own.

“I love Moswen. Out of all my siblings, he’s my favourite. It’s probably because we’re both Shal-hazal and we understand each other better because of what we went through in training and what we do as Shal-hazals than the ones who aren’t. I love him, but he’s a trouble magnet and even if he’s a genius, a lot of times, on a personal level, he’s an idiot.”

“Hey.”

Kijika snickered and I felt humour come from all of Kijika’s family. A little chuckle slipped past my lips at the scowl on Moswen’s face and a few choice words muttered under his breath in Awh’anise. Tyh pretended not to hear Moswen but I felt his amusement.

“Because Moswen is a Throw-back, he forms attachments quickly. He was probably halfway in love with Kijika after only two weeks together. Finding out that Kijika was going to have his baby was likely icing on the cake as far as Moswen’s instincts were concerned. When Moswen came to me and Dak, he was a mess because he thought Kijika had rejected everything he was and wanted to give Kijika. He was doing things as a Shal-hazal that he knew were dangerous. But his need to watch over and possibly protect Kijika even when he thought Kijika hated him and never wanted to see him again was so strong; he was willing to lose his mind. That’s how much Kijika and the baby mean to him.”

Kijika’s emotions spiked in surprise and then anger was chased by worry. He fixed Moswen with a stern look. Moswen held his gaze for only a few seconds before he dropped it. He chewed on his lip and the tip of his tail fluttered against Kijika’s ankle. Kijika gripped Moswen’s chin and forced his head up.

“Moswen?”

“It… uhhh… wasn’t as bad as that. Mostly. I left before I got too bad.”

Kijika grunted and let go of Moswen’s chin. I was fairly certain that Kijika was going to have a few words with Moswen once they were alone. I’d have been willing to lay money on the fact that it was not going to be a fun experience for Moswen.

“So what you showed me that time was true?” Olanthe said. “You’ve really loved Kijika even before you knew he was pregnant. It’s not just because of the baby?”

“Yeah. Tyh is pretty much right. When I left the second time for the military thing, I had a lot of time to think and I thought a lot about Kijika and how I felt about him. I realized that I loved him and that I had loved him for quite some time. Kijika is my world. I didn’t find out about the baby until after I came back

and then… I was so happy that I don’t think I even have words to say how that made me feel. I’m still a little awed that somebody as special as Kijika loves me. That won’t ever change either.”

Olanthe sniffed and fixed Moswen with one hell of a scary look. “See that it doesn’t. Kijika has obviously forgiven you for leaving like you did. I suppose if that’s the case, I’ll have to forgive you as well. I will be keeping an eye on you though.”

Sakima laughed and Numa smiled and patted Olanthe’s knee. Delseur was the only one that didn’t seem willing to forgive or at least give Moswen the benefit of the doubt that he was sorry for what he’d done and wouldn’t do it again. Oddly, Delseur seemed to believe that Moswen did love Kijika deeply.

Delseur was the most closed individual emotionally that I’d ever met. I was barely getting any emotions from him. I was sure I could get more if I dropped my shields, but that would open me up to the emotions of everybody in the room. That wasn’t something I was interested in doing. Particularly since I knew the combination of Kijika and the baby’s feelings would hit me like a hammer and give me one hell of a headache.

But I was curious how Delseur could be so… emotionally dead.

Knowing that it was probably a stupid thing to do, I tightened my shields, focused on Delseur and opened a pin hole to appease my curiosity. I got strong feelings of disappointment and mistrust from Delseur and it was all directed at Moswen. I widened the hole in my shield a little more and probed deep at Delseur. I found… nothing. That was highly unusual. I’d never come across something like that before. I frowned and concentrated hard, poking at the nothingness inside Delseur. My eyes widened a little when what that nothingness was clicked in my head.

There was a void inside Delseur. It was different from the void I had inside me. Mine swirled and shifted and had movement. What I felt from Delseur was vastly different. It was as if there was a dead place in him. It wasn’t harmful as far as I could tell. There was actually a feeling of peace about it. I let my shields down a little more, fascinated by this thing inside Delseur that spread calm and acceptance through me. I’d never encountered anyone who had anything even remotely like what I did inside them.

A hard slap to my cheek jerked me back to reality and I looked around in confusion at the faces staring down at me. I was on my back, draped across Tyh’s lap. He was pale and the relief in his face when I blinked up at him made me wonder what happened. He bent over me and hugged me hard enough for a little squeak of protest to be forced out. Tyh loosened his hold slightly and I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head and saw Delseur looking at me with a frown.

“You’re dead inside,” I said, surprised when I slurred my words the tiniest bit.

Delseur visibly startled. All eyes focused on me.

“Excuse me?”

“Dead. Inside. I felt it. Like my void. But dead. It was peaceful. Like falling asleep when you’re all warm and comfortable.”

I felt surprise from Delseur before that was quickly cut off. A pensive look passed through his eyes but he said nothing.

“Whatever you did, don’t ever do that again, Dak,” Tyh’s voice was hoarse with threads of fear and anxiety was coming off him in waves. “You stopped breathing for a couple of minutes and just fell over.”

My eyes widened when all the implications of what that meant hit me and I clutched at Tyh. I could’ve killed us both. What I’d done was beyond stupid. My hair wrapped around us and I had to let some of my void suck away the rising panic I felt. My father always said my curiosity would be the death of me and I’d almost proved him right.

“You could feel the dead in me?” Delseur asked.

I nodded, my face still buried in Tyh’s neck.

“Can you feel them in Kijika? What about the baby? Can you feel anything from it?” Delseur asked. Speculation twisted from him and I wondered why.

I let go of Tyh reluctantly and turned my head to look at Delseur.

“Why would I feel deadness in Kijika? Not that I’ve looked. That would be…” I felt my cheeks heat and my hair gathered close to my body. “I apologize Ralne Delseur. What I did was incredibly bad mannered and intrusive. I don’t know quite what came over me to do that. It’ll never happen again. I promise.”

Amusement trickled from Delseur. “I almost feel like I should be apologizing to you, Dakvir. It seems I nearly killed you. I asked if you felt the same from Kijika because he has the same talent as me. We raise and control the dead. Kijika isn’t as strong as I am, but he has battle class necromantic abilities.”

Tyh and I both looked at Kijika in surprise. He shrugged his shoulders. I’d never gotten even a hint of that from him. Then again, the last time I’d really been in contact with Kijika, the emotions him and the baby had been throwing around had been of worry, anger and pain. Something as quiet and peaceful as death would’ve been buried under all that. My curiosity poked its head out once more and ran away with my tongue before I could stop it.

“When you say raise the dead, what do you mean?”

Sakima sighed softly and rose from his seat. Numa followed his lead.

“If you’re going to get into a conversation about that, I’ll exit the room now. Olanthe, I trust you’ll stop harassing me now to find out what’s going on with Kijika and Moswen.”

Olanthe’s cheeks coloured but she nodded her head in regal princess fashion. Numa kissed her daughter on the cheek and rested her hand on Sakima’s arm. The king and queen headed for the door where Sakima stopped and turned to look at us.

“You have the liveliest things happen around you, Moswen. This is also the happiest I’ve seen Kijika in a long time. Thank you for bringing joy into my grandson’s life.”

Surprise moved over Olanthe’s face. Kijika smiled softly at Moswen and Moswen blushed red to the tips of his ears. Sakima chuckled and lead Numa from the room. Delseur ignored Moswen completely, something that upset Moswen, but that he hid. Delseur waited until the door closed behind Sakima and Numa before speaking. I sat up carefully, a little startled when I didn’t feel any worse for wear from my brief brush with death.

“I’m the highest ranking officer in the Naemo Army of the Dead. Kijika is an officer under my command there. If necessary, I can raise and command several thousand dead at a time. Kijika can do a few hundred. It’s quite interesting to find out that you say there’s a dead space inside me. It makes me wonder if you’d find something similar with some of our other battle disciplines.”

“Other disciplines?”

“There are Bearer of Shadows that control and manipulate shadows, mostly for cover and spying. Elementals can use a specific element to do their bidding. We have healers as well that can see into a body and determine what’s wrong and how to fix it. The talents are random and the magnitude of the ability varies widely. If you say you felt deadness inside me, it wouldn’t be a giant leap of logic to assume that you could feel things from others as well. Having an ability like that would certainly make finding strong talents and training them much easier than the current method. Tell me, Dakvir, can all your people do this like you?”

I gave Delseur a wry smile. “I’m the only one like this. I’m the Void. A thing that should not be. A taboo child of taboo children. There’s the possibility that the Teichle, the taboo children, would be able to do something similar, but there aren’t a lot of them. It’s not uncommon for parents to smother their Teichle baby. It’s illegal to do that, but I can’t recall anybody ever being prosecuted for doing it.”

“That’s horrible. Why would a mother or father do that?” Olanthe asked, horror in her voice.

“Teichle can manipulate the emotions of others to be whatever they want and you’d never have any clue they were doing it. My parents are Teichle. Legally, they’re not allowed to reproduce. Laiokians distrust the Teichle. They hate and fear me.”

Tyh hugged me tight again and my hair squeezed him back. “Dak’s people would rather see him dead than walking around.”

“Really?” Delseur radiated surprise briefly before it disappeared. “The Naemo would be very interested in your talents, Dakvir. Quite possibly the Teichle as well. Not just for the military benefits, although they’d want to monopolize your time and ability, but regular citizens would gain from knowing what, if any, talents their children had instead of waiting for it to manifest itself. Sometimes with deadly consequences. Would you consider meeting with one of our tursheons to discuss this? Or even to set up something with the Teichle. You would be compensated for your time, of course.”

“I wish I could help but….” I trailed off and looked at Tyh. While it did sound like something interesting and that a lot of the Teichle I knew would jump at the chance to do, we didn’t have the luxury of time.

“We’ve already stayed here longer than we should’ve. I wanted to make sure that Moswen and Kijika worked things out between them before we left so I talked Dak into staying a few extra days. I have a Shal-hazal Warrior hunting for me and when she catches me, she’ll kill me.”

“What did you do?” Olanthe asked suspiciously.

I felt panic spike from Moswen and Kijika and a sense of impending doom. I wasn’t sure why.

“Not a damn thing except my job as a Shal-hazal Litch.”

“Well, that’s ridiculous. You seem to be a very nice man and you helped settle things between Kijika and Moswen so that Kijika is happy now. You said her so I assume you know who this person is?” Olanthe asked. At Tyh’s nod she waved a hand dismissively. “You’re perfectly safe here then. I’ll have my father forbid her to set foot in Vylfian territory. There. Problem solved.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Tyh said with a smile. “Kijika made the same offer. But because Phaedra is a Shal-hazal, she doesn’t necessarily need to find me physically to kill me. If she finds me in the dream world, I could be just as dead.”

“I don’t understand. Why would she kill you because of your job? Does she want your job? Is it just a bigger paycheque she’s after? If that’s the reason, give her money to go away.”

Tyh chuckled. “You don’t get to choose what type of Shal-hazal you are. You’re born that way. And nobody wants my job. Can’t blame them either. I wasn’t exactly thrilled to find out I was a Litch class.”

Distress rushed from Moswen and Kijika and they were both starting to look a little worried.

“Hey, ummm… yeah, you guys have been here for a while. I didn’t even think of that. You should really get going. You shouldn’t have stayed as long as you did. It’s not safe. I hear Phaedra is one of the best Litch hunters out there. I’m grateful for everything you did, Tyh, but you and Dak should really leave,” Moswen said in a rush.

Disapproval radiated from Delseur and Olanthe frowned at Moswen.

“Yeah, we need to get going. I just wanted to make sure you stopped being such an idiot and told Kijika everything. You deserve to be happy and I’d have hated to see you miss out on that because you didn’t speak up when you should’ve. I’m sure Kijika will be a lot happier now that he knows how to deal with one of us, too. You really shouldn’t have blown off that class, Moswen.”

“I still don’t understand why this woman is trying to kill you. Or why you do a job you don’t like. Your people are very strange, Tyhlian,” Olanthe said.

“Being a Shal-hazal isn’t something you can stop doing. It’s like… like being royalty. You’re born into it and even if something were to happen and your family loses the throne, you’d still be a princess regardless, right?” Tyh said.

“Of course,” Olanthe answered promptly. She gave a considering look at Tyh and Moswen and tapped her lips thoughtfully. “Alright. I can accept that. I do find it a bit odd that your mother never said a word about you having somebody trying to kill you. As a mother, I’d be enlisting every single person I could to save my child.”

“If my sho, my mother, tried to interfere, she’d be in some serious trouble herself. She knows I wouldn’t want her to do that. She also knew from the moment I was revealed to be a Litch that I’d eventually have an order for my death passed down from the Council and a Warrior would be set to hunt me. It’s honestly the only way we know how to stop an insane Litch and we all go insane because of the nature of our job.”

Kijika breath hissed in sharply and Moswen swore in a low voice. Delseur’s gaze swung to Tyh and he frowned. Moswen and Kijika watched Olanthe as if waiting for an explosion. I got slight annoyance from Olanthe but whatever reaction Moswen and Kijika were expecting wasn’t happening as far as I could tell.

“Yes, yes, I know you’re not mentally stable, but that’s really no reason to have someone killed. There’s many kinds of medication and therapy available. I should speak with your mother again. She’s a fellow healer. She has to realize that death is not a suitable treatment. We can compare notes and I’m certain there’s something that could be done to help you.”

“Mom? You… you know Tyhlian isn’t… well?” shock was in Kijika’s voice and Moswen was staring at Olanthe like she’d suddenly grown a third eye.

“Well of course I do, sweetie. As soon as I found out Tyhlian was Moswen’s half-brother, I checked him out. I do that all the time with family and friends,” Olanthe said with a wave of dismissal. “By the way, Tyhlian, Moswen, you both have highly elevated levels of certain brain chemicals, yet you seem to function normally. You should both be subject to frequent psychotic episodes or dead yet you’re not; Tyhlian’s encroaching insanity notwithstanding. It’s fascinating really. I’d love to study that more in depth.”

“Olanthe, we talked about you randomly scanning people and how rude that was,” Delseur said with a disproving tone.

“You said the Naemo find it rude and invasive, but you’re all rather stuck up as a species anyway. Besides, they’d never know I did it if you’d stop telling them I did and just pass along the suggestion that they get themselves to a healer as soon as possible. Really, Delseur, I’m only taking an interest in the people close to me and helping them to the best of my abilities as I swore to do when I took up the healing arts.”

Delseur sighed and closed his eyes. Irritation and affection warred in him before he sighed again and opened his eyes. The affection won and there was also an undercurrent of humour to him. He took Olanthe’s hand and laced his fingers with hers.

“You… uhhh… are okay with Tyh being kinda crazy?” Moswen asked cautiously.

“Well, it’s not like it’s his fault now, is it?” Olanthe asked in an exasperated tone. “And it’s rude to refer to someone as crazy, Moswen. You should apologize to your brother.”

Moswen stared and disbelief rolled off him. I wanted to giggle at the utter absurdity of it all. When Olanthe looked at Moswen and narrowed her eyes, he hunched his shoulders and muttered out an apology to Tyh. Tyh barely managed to hold back a snicker and the amusement he felt made it even harder for me to keep from giggling.

“Actually, it is,” Tyh said. “The voices in my head that I hear telling me to do all kinds of nasty, evil things? They’re people that I’ve killed as part of my job.”

A wave of compassion rushed from Olanthe. “But they’re not real, Tyhlian. I understand you may feel remorse for what you’ve had to do. Moswen told me once that you’re part of a special unit in the military and you have to know that there’s things that you do as a soldier that you have to for the safety and freedom of your country and people. I’ve been attached to Delseur’s army and his primary healer for twenty-five years. I understand military life quite well and the things it demands of its soldiers.”

“They are real,” Tyh said in a firm voice. “A Shal-hazal Litch absorbs a target’s mind and takes it into their own. The physical body dies, but the person’s consciousness lives on in our minds. They are aware of what happened to them and what goes on in my life. Most are pretty angry and all are what the general population would consider evil. After a while, the amount of people you share head space with gets to be too much and the voices gain control of the Litch. It’s never a pretty sight and actually incredibly dangerous for those around the Litch.”

Olanthe gasped and raised a hand to her mouth. Horror and sorrow battered me. Delseur spiked with shock and interest. I leaned against Tyh, wordlessly offering him comfort. My hair twinned around him, pulling him close to me.

“Dak did something the first time we met that took away some of the voices. We’re not sure what he did or how, but that gives us hope he could do it again. If I don’t have the voices, I don’t need to be killed because I won’t go insane. I could still do my job as a Litch as long as Dak can get rid of the people in my head once I’ve retrieved whatever information I need from them.”

“The voices are rather frightened of me,” I said with a small smile.

“The military implications of this ability of yours, Tyh, is astounding. You can do this… absorption to anyone?”

“Yes. As long as they’re asleep and I can find them in the Dream World, I can pull their mind into mine. Moswen is best for trapping people in the dream world and very good for transporting a small group of people over vast distances in less time than it takes to tell you about him doing it. The Fire Snakes talk to the Spirit classes more than any other type of Shal-hazal. Sometimes the dead talk to him.”

All eyes, mine included, looked at Moswen. He squirmed and the tips of his ears turned red.

“The dead talk to you? Why didn’t you tell me that before? And if you can talk to the dead why the hell did you ask me if I could make the dead speak?” Kijika asked.

“The dead thing happens really, really rarely. I’ve only had it happen about a dozen times to me. And they find me not the other way around. Scared the shit out of me, too, when it happened.”

Interest and amusement trickled from Delseur. Olanthe was giving Moswen a calculating stare and satisfaction twisted through her. Eagerness wound from Kijika and I got the sense that Moswen was going to be peppered with a million questions from his lover.

“I hate to cut things short when the possibility of teasing the hell out of Moswen is right there, but he was right. Dak and I have stayed longer than we should’ve. I have no idea where Phaedra is in relation to us and I can’t check the Dream World to find out as she’d find me just as fast.” Tyh looked at Moswen, seriousness in his face and emotions. “Stay away from me, Moswen. If Phaedra ever finds out you can zero in on me and have known where I was this whole time, she’ll tell the Council and they’ll flay your striped ass. For once in your life, don’t go inviting karma to screw with you any more than normal for you. Please.”

“You’re family,” Moswen said with a shrug.

Tyh smiled and waves of deep affection rolled off him. He nudged me and stood. He bowed to Olanthe, touched his forehead with his fingers and gave a little head dip to Delseur and approached Moswen and Kijika. He rubbed his cheek against each of theirs in turn and hugged Moswen hard. Resignation and sorrow twisted together and I knew that Tyh didn’t think he’d ever see Moswen again. My eyes prickled with tears and I blinked rapidly to keep them from falling.

Tyh was a good man and he didn’t deserve what was happening. We didn’t deserve it. I cracked open my void and sucked away the unhappiness I was feeling as well as what Tyh was dealing with. He gave me a grateful look and took my hand. I bowed to Olanthe and Delseur and hugged Moswen and Kijika. Just before I pulled back from Kijika, I spoke softly for his ears alone, although given the acute nature of Awh’anise hearing, Moswen would probably hear as well.

“The baby is happy and content now. It feels loved and protected and loves you both in return.”

I smiled at the startled expressions on Kijika and Moswen’s faces and followed Tyh from the room. If there was anything even remotely resembling universal fairness, Moswen and Kijika would have a long and happy life together with their child and I’d be able to help Tyh get rid of or control the voices trying to take him over. It would be most excellent if we also managed to avoid Phaedra until we could appear before the council and prove that Tyh wasn’t a danger to anyone anymore. Chapter 49

~Moswen~

I lounged in a chair and watched Kijika with a feeling of contentment I never thought I’d be privileged to experience. Every time I saw him and thought about how he loved me and was having my baby, I grinned like an idiot. Having those two things more than made up for every single time my weird-ass karma had screwed me over. Then again, if I hadn’t been in the lab I wasn’t supposed to have access to and hadn’t gotten caught by the soldiers looking to get a little action and willing to by my silence with a three-way fuck, the explosion would’ve never happened and I wouldn’t have had to high-tail it from Awh’an to avoid having my sister beat my ass into pudding. Most important of all, if none of that had happened, I’d have never met Kijika and I that would’ve been something epically bad.

The end of my tail swished back and forth slowly and I needed to dig my claws into the worn leather of the chair arm to keep from going to Kijika and dropping kisses along the exposed skin of his neck. The last time I’d done that, he’d slapped a big hand hard against my chest, said no in a voice that told me he wasn’t in the mood for fooling around and then trailed that hand down my chest and gave my ass a light squeeze. For a guy that’d been raised to view slapping or punching your partner as abuse, he’d sure picked up on how to do haig’wuh-ani properly damn fast. I was so pleased about that I nearly wriggled.

Because Kijika was trying hard, so was I. Of course, it was a huge helping hand that I knew he loved me. Even weeks after finding that out I was still damn close to euphoric when I thought about how lucky I was. I now only growled a little when guards got closer than I liked to Kijika. I didn’t even growl at all when Jiveen touched Kijika in ways that would’ve gotten anybody else’s arm ripped off and then them beaten with the wet end. Kijika knew I was trying, too and even though I was pretty sure he heard me when I growled lowly at somebody, he pretended he didn’t.

I was deliriously happy and I wanted my family to share in that. It was all fine and dandy to say that I’d found somebody I was going to share my life with and that I was going to have a family with, but it

wasn’t the same as actually meeting them. I was so thrilled and awed to have Kijika as my partner that I wanted to show him off a little. Maybe more than a little.

I wanted to bring Kijika to Awh’an to meet my parents and siblings.

I’d already spoken to Jiveen and he said Kijika seemed to be doing fine and he didn’t anticipate any problem with Kijika going for a little visit. Jiveen had insisted that Kijika and I learn just what would be involved in the birthing process in case, gods forbid, something did go wrong while we were visiting Awh’an. I was all for learning new things, but once I found out what needed to be done, I was excited, horrified and utterly terrified that I’d screw it up somehow and hurt Kijika or the baby or both. I hadn’t felt too charitable with Kijika or Jiveen when they’d both laughed their asses off at me when I asked why I had to be there when the baby was being born. It seemed like a reasonable question to me.

Male Awh’anise were never present when a brood was born. Way back when we were a whole lot more animal, sometimes the females became extremely territorial and protective of their babies and would attack the intruding male, often killing him in her rage. If it was a male that hadn’t fathered the brood that stumbled on the female, they had a nasty habit of killing the newborns and mounting the exhausted female. Usually the female wouldn’t have the strength to fight the male off and fucking a female within hours of her giving birth usually resulted in her getting pregnant again.

Jiveen had looked at me like I’d suddenly grown two heads when I told him that. Kijika’s look had been curious and I’d seen his fingers twitch. He’d grilled me for a solid two hours when we got back to his rooms at the palace about Awh’anise breeding. He was more fascinated than repulsed by what I told him and when I finally was able to ask him why he wasn’t worried that I’d flip out and hurt him or our baby, he’d looked at me like I was stupid and told me that I couldn’t do anything like that regardless of how much closer I was to my animal ancestors than the average Awh’anise.

Kijika’s faith in me was complete and I’d only been able to stare at him with my mouth slightly open in shock for several minutes. Nobody trusted me like that. Not even my brood mates who’d literally known me since before I was even born trusted me that deeply. I hugged Kijika fiercely then and swore to myself that whatever he needed me to do for him; I’d do it no matter how scared spitless I was.

“Out with it, Moswen,” Kijika said with a small sigh.

He put his pen down, folded his hands on top of the old book he’d been working on and looked at me over the tops of his glasses. Gods but he was hot when he did that. I licked my lips and wondered if I could convince him to give a quick desk fuck a go. I thought my chances were pretty good since his sex drive was nice and high because of the pregnancy.

“I was just thinking you’d look pretty damn hot bent over your desk while I had that amazing ass of yours.”

Kijika snorted softly. “Uh huh. I’m sure that did occur to you, but that’s not what was making your tail flick up and down like it had been for the past ten minutes. You want to ask me something and you’re nervous about the answer you might get. And I’m going to have to say no to the bent over the desk and fucked thing. At least until after the baby is born. It’s just uncomfortable right now and that’s a damn shame because I liked that idea.”

“You could do me bent over your desk. I got no problem with that and I aim to please you,” I said with a leer.

“Hmmm, I like that idea, too. Okay, but I want to know what you wanted to ask me first.”

My eyes went wide. I’d been half teasing Kijika. I knew he liked to be the one getting done way more than he liked being the one doing. Having him in my ass was almost a special treat. I loved sliding into his heat, but every now and again I wanted to feel him stretching me almost painfully wide and shooting his load inside me. I licked my lips again, my mouth suddenly gone dry at the unexpected bonus falling into my lap.

“Moswen,” Kijika said sharply. My attention snapped back him. “Ask your question and we’ll see what I can do about giving you the dicking you seem to really want. Fair?”

I nodded my head quickly. Oh yes fucking please. Besides, the worst that could happen was that Kijika would say that he didn’t feel safe about travelling while he was as pregnant as he was. That was fine and I was willing to wait until after the baby was born to travel to Awh’an to show him and our baby off.

“I want to bring you to Awh’an to meet my parents and my siblings. I want to do that as soon as possible. I want the most important people in my life to meet. I already asked Jiveen if he thought you’d be okay to travel and he said he didn’t see a problem with it as long as you took it easy and didn’t do anything really stressful. Will you come with me to Awh’an, Kijika?”

Kijika stared at me and a slow smile tipped up the corners of his mouth. His cheeks flushed a pretty pink and he nodded.

“I have some things to finish before we could leave, but that shouldn’t take more than a few days. Uhhh, you are aware that my mom will probably want to go, to, right? She said she enjoyed her last conversation with Huyana and would like to speak to her again. If my mom goes, and I assume we’d be there for more than just a day or two, my dad would probably want to go as well. Mostly to keep my mom out of trouble, but also because he ends up a little lost when she’s not with him,” Kijika said with a little chuckle.

“I don’t mind if they want to come. There’s lots of space at my parent’s house and if your parents didn’t want to stay there, they can always stay at a hotel. Of course, if you didn’t want to crash at my parents place you could stay at my House with me because you’re my shu’anad, but your parents can’t.”

“Your what? Before we go, you’re going to have to put the Awh’anise language in my head, Moswen. It’d probably be a good idea to do the same for my parents, assuming they’d like to come with us that is.”

“My braid partner.”

Kijika looked at me funny and raised an eyebrow at me. “Again, your what? Are you trying to be obtuse?”

“My husband.”

“Your husband? When, exactly, did that happen? I don’t recall you asking me to marry you and I certainly don’t remember any kind of ceremony or exchanging of vows.”

He didn’t sound pissed off but he didn’t exactly sound thrilled either. I wasn’t sure what to make of Kijika’s tone. I’d thought it was pretty clear the status he had with me when I’d put the tiny braids in my hair. I knew I’d told him that meant I was taken, too. I frowned as I replayed that conversation in my head and groaned softly. Yeah, I had said the braids on the left side meant I was taken and even that once the baby was born, I’d add a braid to the right side, but I hadn’t explained why the braids signified I was taken. I was a moron.

“Are you mad about being my shu’anad?” I asked cautiously.

“No, but it would’ve been nice to have been asked first. Being told right from the start exactly what those braids mean would’ve been a good idea as well. Start explaining, Moswen.”

I breathed a small sigh of relief when I could hear threads amusement in Kijika’s voice. Good. I hadn’t fucked up too big. This whole alien culture interaction thing was way harder than they’d told us in that stupid class. I’d have paid more attention in class if I knew things could get so complicated.

“Okay. You know the braid thing I did?”

“Yes. You said it signified that you were taken to another Awh’anise and that it was a cultural thing. You never once said anything about marriage.”

“Yeah, my fault there. We’re pretty casual about partners even when we stay together with somebody for those first six years of our children’s lives. That person, by the way, is called a phu’aet and that term only applies as long as you’re with that person. When an Awh’anise decides to take a permanent partner, they put two braids on the left side at the temple. The braids stay as long as the couple is together and sometimes, the braids will stay even after one of the pair dies. Usually though, one of the braids is undone when a husband or wife dies. Sometimes, both braids will be cut off and buried with the dead. Untying the braids is like divorcing.”

“So just braiding your hair like that means we’re married. That’s… I don’t think that’s a very good system. What’s to stop somebody from undoing a braid, going out and fucking anything that moves and then re-braiding the hair before going home?”

“What’s to stop somebody from taking off a ring or necklace or bracelet or whatever the symbol of marriage is and doing the same? Nothing but personal honour. And technically, since I’m the only one with the braids, I’m married to you but you’re not married to me.”

“What? Wait a minute. How the hell does that work?”

“I braided my hair for you. I bound myself to you. Under Awh’anise law, since you didn’t do the same, you’re free to sleep with anyone you want and I haven’t got any right to complain or hunt down and kill the bastard you sleep with.”

Kijika just stared at me for several seconds in surprise before he shook his head. “So it would be a good idea for me to braid my hair like yours before we go to Awh’an, wouldn’t it?”

My stomach did a slow, swoopy roll and I swallowed hard. I hadn’t been trying to get anything out of Kijika. I was only explaining as best I could about an Awh’anise tradition. Him suggesting that he braid his hair for me almost made me dizzy with joy. I doubted he really understood how important his doing that was to me. My mouth was in motion before my brain could stop the words.

“Will you let me braid your hair?” I asked softly. I was damn near holding my breath for his answer.

“Only if you do something for me. And don’t think that I haven’t clued into the fact that you putting the braids in has some special meaning. I can hear it in your voice but we can discuss that later.”

I smiled. Kijika was a sharp customer. It was one of the things I liked best about him. I nodded and waited to hear what he wanted from me. Whatever it was, I’d agree to it regardless unless it was dangerous for him or the baby.

“Sakima already made you my concubine and that’s the highest form of official relationship a non-royal can have with a royal. It’s not marriage, but you really do get a hell of a lot of perks,” Kijika said with a chuckle. “While I am a Vylfian prince, I’m also a member of one of the battle clans of the Naemo and they have a ceremony that’s like your braid partner thing. We’re going to go to my parents and request that they witness a ring ceremony between us. This is a very permanent commitment so if you have any reservations about being stuck with me for the rest of your life, say so now.”

Have Kijika as mine for life? What was to decide about that? It was already a done deal in my head. Give him a ring? That was it? Hell, I could that. I wasn’t rich like he was, but I had a little money put away that’d I’d been saving for a house. Giving Kijika the nicest damn ring I could afford was way more important than buying a house any day of the week. My mom could probably help me find something really stunning for him.

“Sure, Ki. Anything you want.”

“My dad will show you what you need to do. You won’t have a lot of time to practice if you want to leave soon for Awh’an, but I want it done before we go and you pick things up pretty quick. Pay close attention to what my dad says and what he shows you to do because it’s going to hurt like fuck no matter how careful you are. A nice clean hole with no tearing minimizes the healing time.”

“Hole? Hurt? What the hell are you talking about? You said I was giving you a ring.”

“You are. You’re going to punch a hole in my wing membrane at the joint, here,” Kijika said as he opened his wing and pointed to a place where several struts came together. “The ring goes through the hole and around the strut and is tightened so it doesn’t move. The membrane will close over the hole after about six months. I’ll be unable to fly for about two weeks because it’ll be really sore and sensitive, so you’ll have to be very careful not to touch the rings then either.”

“Rings? As in more than one? No way. No. Just no. I’m not going to hurt you like that, Ki.” I actually felt a little sick to my stomach at the thought of damaging Kijika’s beautiful wings and hurting him on purpose for some stupid rings. He was my shu’anad and that was more than enough for me.

“This isn’t a request, Moswen,” Kijika said in a tone I’d never heard from him directed at me.

I’d had my superior officers use the same tone when they were about to send me out on a mission that was dirty. I hated that tone because I knew there was nothing I could do about it but grit my teeth, snap off a salute and go do what I’d been ordered to. Fuck. I liked that tone even less from Kijika.

“You will do what I ask, Moswen, or I’ll remove the braids from your hair myself and keep you from putting them back in. Knowing what they mean now, I understand how important they are to you. This is very important to me, too. Having you clamp the rings on my wings shows my trust in you and the sacrifices I’m willing to make for you. It grants you great honour that I’m willing to endure pain and the loss of flight, even if it’s temporary, to always bear something that shows I am your husband. I want to do this, Moswen. This will make me happy.”

Well, shit. When he put it like that, how was I supposed to refuse to hurt him with this ceremony? All I wanted was to make Kijika happy and doing this would make him happy. I sighed in defeat and nodded my head reluctantly.

“I’ll do it. I don’t like the idea of hurting you and I’m absolutely scared spitless that I’m going to fuck it up, but you want it so I’ll do it. Don’t get me wrong, Ki. I know this has meaning to you and I’m not trying to make like its not important, but my stomach actually twists when I think of doing anything to damage your wings or hurt you.”

Kijika smiled at me, rose from his chair and moved to kneel in front of me so our faces were level. He fingered one of my braids and gave it a gentle tug, pulling me slightly closer to him.

“You’ll do fine. I have utter faith in you, Moswen. Besides, the initial pain of making the hole will be over fairly quick and the tightness of the rings eventually fades to something you don’t even notice after a while. At least that’s what my dad says,” Kijika said before leaning in to kiss me.

I kissed Kijika back, my fingers threading through his hair, holding his head still. His tongue played with mine and he made the most arousing noises in his throat. His wings spread open a little and fanned back and forth slowly. Seeing them do that had my mind detouring away from the desire curling through me and focusing on how I’d maybe screw up what I needed to do and hurt him. Maybe even cripple him do he’d never fly again. Panic welled up in me and I broke the kiss.

“Why does your dad have to show me? Why can’t you do that? In case it slipped your mind, I’m not exactly his most favourite person in the world right now. How do you know he’d even agree to show me whatever it is that I’m supposed to do? If he knows what to do, why doesn’t he do it? I’ll stand right beside you and hold your hand or whatever. I’m really worried I’ll screw this up, Ki.”

Kijika sighed softly but there was a little smile on his lips. He brushed his thumb back and forth over one of the stripes on my face. I leaned into the touch and started to purr quietly.

“The ring ceremony is a deep pledge among the Naemo. It’s my commitment to you so you have to be the one to do it. It’s a very old custom and not done a lot any more. My mom didn’t even ring my dad until after I was born and almost a year old. I’m sure my dad will grill you on all the finer points as he’s showing you what to do to make sure you do it right. I’ll give you a book to read and you’ll do fine.”

“How many of these rings do I clamp on you?” I was still nervous as hell about doing this but Kijika seemed really set on the idea. “Ummm, how big are these rings by the way? Something small like the one in my ear?”

“One goes on each wing and they’re about the width of my hand.”

I stared and my stomach rolled again. Kijika had big hands because he was a big guy. He was talking about something a good seven inches across. I wasn’t going to be making a hole in his wing; I’d be ripping his wings apart. I couldn’t do that to him. That would hurt like fuck. Kijika must’ve seen something in my face because he leaned in and kissed me again.

“I’ll be fine, Moswen, and I’m sure it’s not as bad as you’re working yourself up to think. This is important to me and I need you to do this for me. My dad had rings made for me when I was born and I’ll have them sent to me from my grandfather’s estate, but that won’t take all that long. I’ll tell my dad to give you a couple of days to practice and then we can do it. After that, we can go to Awh’an. Now that we’ve settled that, stand up, drop your pants and bend over my desk.”

I blinked and stared at Kijika for several seconds before grinning. I loved that he was a man of his word. I still wasn’t thrilled at having to cut into his wings, especially after finding out how big of a hole I needed to make, but he really wanted me to so I’d do it. I pushed thoughts of what I’d need to do in a few days out of my head and focused on the fucking I was about to get.

I loved the commanding tone in Kijika’s voice and I was hard before my pants hit the floor. Kijika laughed and gave my ass a firm swat. A purr started to rumble loudly in my chest and I braced my hands on Kijika’s desk and wriggled my hips trying to entice him into giving me another slap. My tail flicked back and forth in anticipation. Kijika placed a hand on my back between my shoulder blades and shoved. The unexpected move had me grunting in surprise when my chest hit the surface of the desk hard. The edge of the desk dug into my belly and my cock swung free, touching nothing. A little moan of pleasure escaped me. Oh gods, he wasn’t going to do what I thought he was, was he? My heart jumped into triple time and my purring got louder.

“I’m a firm believer in rewarding people. I know you feel uneasy about doing the ring ceremony for me because you don’t want to hurt me, but you’re doing it anyway because you know it’ll make me happy. Because you’re doing something outside of your comfort zone just for me, I’m going to do something outside of mine just for you.”

My cock twitched and I felt a bead of pre-come slide down the length. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but that only added to my excitement. I heard a soft pop and smelled the clean herbal scent of the oil he liked to use as lube. His hand was still pressed firmly in the middle of my back, pinning me to his desk. I could’ve probably gotten free if I’d tried but I liked where I was and the position I was in just fine. My tail tip fluttered madly and I gave serious consideration to wrapping it around my cock and stroking myself.

“Don’t even think of using your tail to jerk off. Spread yourself open for me and stay like that until I tell you to let go,” Kijika said in a low voice, command very apparent in his tone.

I moaned softly, reached back and spread my cheeks apart. Kijika was pressing my kink buttons extra hard and I loved him for it. I felt the warm, slick trickle of lube over my hole seconds later. The oil slid down my crack and dripped over my balls making me squirm at the ticklish feel. I got another swat on my ass and Kijika ordered me to stop moving. I whimpered at his dominating tone, loving it. I dug my claws into my skin when Kijika started to slide his cock back and forth over my slicked crack, his weight pushing against me and rocking my body a little.

“I know you like it rough sometimes. I can see it in your eyes when you’d like to do something like that with me. But you always stop. For right now, that’s a good thing because I don’t want to endanger the baby just for some kinky fun and I know you don’t either. But after the baby is born, we can play a little rougher sometimes. Until then, this is going to have to do. Xi’modna, Moswen,” Kijika said.

That was all the warning I got before he was pushing his cock into me. I gasped in shock at what he’d said as well as from the painful burn as he forced his way in. I growled and dug my claws deeper into my skin, holding my ass open for Kijika and loving every glorious inch as he stretched me wide. Kijika was relentless in getting his cock into my unprepared hole and I whined in my throat when it seemed like there was no end to how much he was stuffing up my ass.

When I finally felt his thighs touch the backs of my fingers, I was panting and sweating. My cock was so hard it hurt. I could feel tiny rivulets of blood running down the backs of my thighs from where I’d punctured my skin. I was so turned on I had to recite the names of every single Vid’deshron, living and dead, in my head to keep from coming. Kijika leaned over me and his belly pressed against my back. His hand tangled in my hair and he pulled my head back, his lips brushing over the edge of my ear.

“Xi’modna, Moswen,” he repeated in a low voice as he nipped the tip of my ear and ground his hips against my ass.

“Ony modna, Kijika, ony modna,” I moaned as I struggled even harder to keep from coming on the spot. Gods but he was dead sexy when he topped the hell out of me.

I felt a soft thump on my back where Kijika’s belly pressed against me and he gave a breathy chuckle. He let go of my hair, straightened and started fucking me hard. My eyes closed and I panted harshly as Kijika didn’t spare me any gentleness. Pleasure and pain blended into one. I wanted some friction on my cock but knew the second I got that, I’d be coming. Kijika squeezed the base of my tail and my legs started to shake as my balls drew up tight. I was gulping in deep breaths and my claws dug into my flesh even more as I tried to hold off my orgasm just a little bit longer. I hurt so good and didn’t want it to stop.

A snarl of protest was torn from my throat when Kijika’s cock completely left my ass. I was so close. Just a few more body rocking thrusts and I wouldn’t have been able to hold back. Kijika groaned and swore seconds before I felt the warm splash of his come over my stretched hole and the musky scent of his release reached my nose. I howled as I came, the smell of my come mixing with his and making me dizzy with pleasure. The muscles in my ass clenched and released in waves and I moaned softly. Stars, but Kijika was good.

“Fuck, you’re hot like that, Moswen,” Kijika said in a desire heavy voice as he fingered my loose and over-sensitive hole making me groan and clench down on his fingers. “I think I like this look for you. I might just have to draw this sometime so I can always enjoy it.”

I moaned at the thought of Kijika drawing me spread and thoroughly fucked, come decorating my ass. I panted and my muscles twitched, satisfaction humming through me. Sitting for the next couple of hours was not going to be a fun option and my knees felt about as strong as wet paper, but damn that was good. Kijika’s big hands covered mine and gently pried my claws out of my skin. I grunted softly but remained utterly passive where I was. I was pretty sure I’d fall over if I tried to stand at that moment. Kijika muttered something under his breath and I felt the soothing tingle of his healing magic fixing what I’d done to myself as well as what his no mercy fuck had done to me. I didn’t care about the claw marks, but I’d wanted to enjoy the feel of my over-stretched hole a little longer.

Kijika pulled me up, turned me around and supported me. He took two steps back and sat in the chair I’d recently vacated and pulled me into what was left of his lap. My head rested on his chest and I listened to his heart slowly go back into a more normal rhythm. I think I could’ve stayed there snuggled in his lap forever. Gods, but loved him.

“I’ll take a shot in the dark and say you liked that,” Kijika said, humour and traces of arousal in his voice.

“Oh yeah. That was… thank you, Ki. That was just awesome. Saying xi’modna to me, making me hold my ass open for you, coming over my hole… stars but that was beyond anything I ever expected you to do.”

“I know. That’s why I did it.” I could hear a little smugness in Kijika’s voice. “I don’t quite get how being treated like that gets you off, but it obviously does. You’re a little weird, but I love you anyway.”

I smiled and nuzzled Kijika’s chest while rubbing a hand over his belly. That he’d do stuff like that for me when I knew he didn’t like being the aggressive one or understand how the pain and violence of the act could get me off so easily blew my mind. He wouldn’t do it all the time and that was fine because I didn’t want that all the time. I knew he felt uncomfortable with that type of thing and yet he did it because I liked it and it made me happy. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that he really would endure sacrifices and pain for me just like I would for him. I was stunned all over again at the gift of being part of Kijika’s life.

“I’ll do my very best in that ring ceremony, Ki. I’ll make you proud of me and worthy of everything the rings signify,” I said in a soft but firm voice.

The hand that Kijika had been stroking over my hair stopped for a fraction of a heartbeat before resuming. When Kijika did speak, there was pride and satisfaction in his voice.

“I know you will, Moswen. That’s why I wanted to do the ring ceremony in the first place. You’re more than worthy and I’m always proud of you. You have a few more minutes to enjoy your cuddles and then we’re going to go see my mom and dad and you have a shit ton of reading to do about the ceremony after that.”

I grinned and kissed Kijika’s chest as warmth spread through me at his words. I might not like the idea of hurting Kijika, but this was important to him and so it became important to me. I was still nervous as shit, but I felt like I could pull the ceremony off because Kijika believed I could. I could do anything with Kijika at my back. Chapter 50

~Kijika~

“You want me to what?” my father asked, his expression clearly saying that he thought I was out of my mind.

“I want you to teach Moswen what to do for the ring ceremony,” I said firmly.

My father folded his arms across his chest and fixed me with a look I was only used to seeing on the battlefield. His entire body went still and I groaned mentally recognizing the patience of the dead settling around him. There was no way I was going to play this game with him. Not with something that was so important to me. I mimicked his pose and opened my wings part way in an aggressive display. My father’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

“I know you understand the serious and permanent nature of the rings. I think this is a rash decision. He’s already left you once. What’s to say he won’t do it again if something else happens that he can’t deal with?”

I really didn’t want to have to explain myself or my decisions to my father. I thought the talk with my family had cleared things up. Obviously I was wrong and Delseur still had issues with Moswen leaving as he had. I sighed. If I thought Moswen would pay proper attention to me, I’d tell him what he needed to do. But I knew he was still a little reluctant to do what he needed to and would spend half the time trying to talk me out of this.

“Moswen left because he thought that’s what I wanted. He thought I hated him. He thought I hated him so much that I’d give away my own child because it was his, too. He showed me things about Throwbacks that… frankly it terrifies me a little how close I came to losing him. He said the only reason he didn’t take his own life was because he was afraid I’d throw away our baby and he couldn’t let that happen. He was ready to come here, demand the baby and leave with it because he wanted to make sure that our child would always know that he or she was wanted and loved.”

“But you’d never do that,” my father said, shocked out of his stillness.

“I know that, you know that and Moswen knows that now. But at the time, he wasn’t thinking very clearly. I spoke with Dak and he said he’d only felt that level of despair from suicidal people and that he’s never felt it that strongly before. Moswen loves me with a devotion that borders on obsession. When he came back to me, you know what he told me?”

Delseur shook his head but I could already see in his eyes that he was going to do what I’d asked. The last thing he’d expected to hear was that Moswen was willing to take the baby and leave if he thought I

wasn’t going to keep it. I wanted to hammer home the point of Moswen’s feelings for me as I was pretty sure my dad didn’t doubt my feelings for Moswen. I was having his baby after all and that was a pretty clear indication of how I felt about Moswen.

“Moswen told me that he loved me and that he hoped I’d someday love him back, but that if I never did, that was okay, too, because I’d told him that I wanted him in my life. He was willing to settle for my simply liking him as long as he got to stay with me and the baby. He was willing to give up finding somebody who could love him as he should be because to him, I am his entire world and without me, he feels like he has nothing to sustain him. He’s told me that if I were to die, he wouldn’t be able to live and that’s not a throw away phrase for him. He truly believes that.”

“You do realize how obsessive that sounds, don’t you? It doesn’t sound healthy, Kijika.”

“Yeah, I know it does. But that’s Moswen and the way his head works. Just so you know, he’s against the ring ceremony.”

“Why? Did you explain what it means to a Naemo? The level of honour you’re bestowing on him?” Delseur sounded a little offended that Moswen would be against the ceremony when I knew my dad wasn’t exactly in favour of my going through it with Moswen.

“Of course I did. He said the idea of hurting me and making holes in my wings makes his stomach churn. He’s terrified that he’s going to screw something up and really hurt me or cripple me so I can’t fly. He’s almost begged me not to do this.”

“Then why are you making him do it anyway?” confusion was in Delseur’s face and I had the oddest thrill at finally ruffling the calm I always saw in him. “Really, Kijika, this isn’t like you at all.”

“I’m not making him do. I told him it was important to me to show him in the best way I knew how that I loved him and was committed to him. I told him it would make me happy to do this and he’s reluctantly agreed. He’s still worried something will go wrong, but he’ll do it because I’m asking him to. I still expect him to try and talk me out of it.”

Delseur gave me a considering look before nodding his head slowly.

“Alright. I can tell from your voice that I won’t be able to talk you out of this. Do you believe Moswen will be able to do what’s necessary if he has such strong feelings about causing you harm?”

“He’ll do it. He’ll be nervous as hell, but I trust him absolutely to do his part. He said he wants to make me proud of him and he’ll do his best to be worthy of me. Moswen picks things up fast and I’ve given him a book to read about the ceremony. I’m sure once he finishes it, he’ll try and talk me out of the ceremony again,” I said with a little chuckle. “I don’t think he quite gets what it means to me or if he does understand, his need to protect me and keep me from pain is clouding his thought processes.”

Delseur smirked a little. “He is aware that childbirth is not a painless experience, right?’

“I think he’s under the impression that I’ll be drugged out of my head,” I laughed. “Jiveen has spoken with us and told Moswen what he needs to do, but he can be really good at ignoring things he doesn’t want to acknowledge. I know there’s going to be pain involved when the baby is born but I’m sure I can handle it. People have been having babies since the beginning of time and while I know I’m super special in Moswen’s eyes, I’ll still go through everything a normal man goes through when giving birth.”

“I don’t envy you that experience. I was there with your mother when you were born and if I were given the choice of bearing a child or facing a fire Elemental wearing paper armour soaked in oil, I’d take my chances with the fire Elemental. You’re very brave, Kijika, and I’m proud to have you as my son.”

My eyes prickled with tears and I had to blink rapidly to keep from crying. I was so done with that part of the pregnancy, it wasn’t funny. Delseur noticed and changed the subject, for which I was grateful.

“Your mother is not going to be in favour of you doing the ring ceremony with Moswen. Especially with your due date only a month away. The pain involved is brief but intense when the rings are first put on and the dull ache will linger for weeks after,” my dad warned. “I’m actually very surprised you got Moswen to go along with this considering how close you are to delivering.”

“Actually, she thought it was a lovely idea on my part and said that once Moswen does it, he’ll really understand how much I love him and how much he means to me. She also backed me up and said the pain won’t have any effect on the baby. And… ummm… Moswen’s not very good with remembering when I’m due. I think he believes there’s still a good bit of time to go. You’re not to tell him anything different either. I have a hard enough time with his coddling as it is and I know he’ll go into insane overprotective mode the closer the due date gets and I’d rather not deal with that.”

I wanted to laugh at the surprised expression on my father’s face. He’d probably known the exact day I was supposed to be born and had it mentally circled in his head. When the baby was supposed to be born was important to Moswen, but he was still trying to wrap his head around the idea that I not only expected him to be in the room with me, but that he was going to participate in the actual delivery. I would’ve felt sorry for him, but it was too damn funny to see him flounder around with that knowledge.

Having my mother approve of the ceremony was probably the last thing Delseur expected. Truthfully, I’d been a little surprised myself at her ready acceptance. I’d thought I was going to have a very heated discussion with her about why I was doing the ceremony with Moswen. Instead she’d looked at me and gave a little exasperated sigh and said that I obviously loved Moswen very much if I was having his baby and had never given any thought to terminating the pregnancy.

As much as I hated to admit when my mom was right, she was absolutely correct. From the moment I’d found out I was having Moswen’s baby, I’d never once thought about aborting it and not telling Moswen. It would’ve been dead easy to do, too, as Moswen hadn’t even known I could get pregnant and wouldn’t have suspected a damn thing. I’d been a little stunned when the thought occurred to me that I hadn’t considered termination because I’d already been in love with Moswen at that point.

“By the way, Mom said to clear your schedule for about a week after the ceremony. Moswen wants to take me to Awh’an to meet his family and he offered to bring Mom along so she could visit with Huyana and they could talk healer stuff. Mom said she can’t leave you alone or you’ll just mope around the house.”

I snickered at the annoyed look that flickered over Delseur’s face but noticed that he didn’t deny the comment. He sighed and said that he’d teach Moswen what he needed to know. I smiled at him, hugged him and waddled off to see Jiveen. Moswen may have said that it was okay for me to travel, but I wanted to hear it from Jiveen myself. I only had a month or so to go before I delivered and while I felt fine, I wanted to make absolutely sure before we actually left Gi-foeh.

*********

Moswen stood in front of me, an ornate dagger in his hand and a very nervous look on his face. He actually looked a little pale and I was concerned for a moment when I saw that his hands were shaking. Shaking hands and nice clean holes did not go together. I knelt on the floor on a little pillow that he insisted upon being placed under my knees. I held the rings, one in each hand and Moswen swallowed hard when he looked at them. My mom and dad stood a respectful distance from us to witness the ceremony. My mom held my dad’s hand and he had his wing curved around her. I could’ve sworn there was a suspicious wet sheen to her eyes, too.

Delseur said Moswen’s focus on the instruction he was given was impressive and my dad didn’t impress easy. Whatever was said between them during those three days of training and lessons had tempered my dad’s anger and disappointment in Moswen. They weren’t suddenly best friends or anything, but Delseur wasn’t quite so opposed to Moswen anymore.

“Are you really, really sure about this, Ki? I’m fine with waking up with you every day and going to sleep with you every night as a commitment thing.”

“Yes, Moswen, I’m sure about this. My father said you did well in practice on the dead he raised.”

“Yeah, well, they were dead and I didn’t know them so it wasn’t like I was worried about hurting them or what would happen if I fucked up. They didn’t matter, Ki. You matter.”

“I have faith in you, Moswen. You’ll do this just fine.”

“Are you sure it’s okay to do this while you’re pregnant? Jiveen said you should avoid stress. Me slicing big fucking holes in your wings is pretty stressful. We can wait until after the baby is born to do this. If you still want to that is.”

Hope was in Moswen’s voice and eyes. I could see fine tremors in the hand holding the dagger regardless of him having a nearly white knuckled grip on it. I sighed softly. Despite him saying that he knew it was important to me, he still didn’t really get it. Or he wasn’t listening to what I was saying because he was too focused on the hurting/causing me pain aspect of the ceremony. I narrowed my eyes and punched him hard enough in the chest so that he staggered back a few steps. His gaze snapped to me and became intensely focused. I extended my wings out to surround him and pull him back to me. I set the rings on the floor, grasped his braids and tugged his head down until his forehead touched mine. The tips of my baby fingers rubbed the delicate points of his ears and tension eased from his body.

“Just as your braids show your commitment to me, this will show mine to you. Every time you try and talk me out of this, you make me feel like you don’t truly value what I’m trying to offer you. I’ve accepted all that you want to give me because I love you. I’m doing this because I love you and want you to accept all that I want to give you. I don’t expect you to understand my cultural traditions, but I would like you to respect them. Just as you’ve chosen to show your people the level of commitment you feel towards me, I want to show my people how committed I am to you. Will you help me do that by going through the ring ceremony, Moswen?”

I watched understanding dawn in his eyes and breathed a small sigh of relief. Haig’wuh-ani was incredibly handy. I knew that Moswen wouldn’t hesitate now and while I knew he still felt upset at purposefully hurting me, he’d do it without reservation.

“Anything for you, Ki. I’ll do it as quick as I can. I love you,” Moswen said softly as he closed the scant inches that separated us and kissed me.

The kiss was sweet and gentle and filled with so much love that I needed to blink back tears of joy. The baby thumped me gently and I let go of Moswen’s braids to grab his hand and press it to my belly so he could feel the baby, too. I loved the look of wonder that passed over Moswen’s face when he felt the baby move.

“Are you ready, Moswen?” I asked softly.

He nodded and I withdrew my wings from him. I picked up the rings and stretched one of my wings open. I looked up at Moswen and smiled serenely at him. He inhaled slowly and let it out in the same

measured way. His hands didn’t shake and he’d relaxed the tight grip on the dagger. He leaned down and kissed me again.

“I do this for you because you love and honour me and I accept the sacrifice you freely make for me. You are the air I breathe, the food I eat and the water I drink. You are my world and my heart and soul rests with you,” Moswen said in a firm voice.

My eyes widened a little. The first sentence was what he was supposed to say. The rest was pure Moswen and made warmth spread through me. He stroked his hand over the outside struts of my wing in a gentle caress. The pads of his fingers traced over the spot where he was going to cut the membrane and a sudden attack of nerves at what was to come made me clench my fingers tight over the rings I held.

“Ve-yul’io. Xi’ soi-fu ony-mi zo xi’ ih’tes, Kijika,” Moswen said in a quiet voice pitched low and for my ears only.

I started to turn my head to ask him what he’d said when fire burned through my wing. I hissed through my teeth and struggled not to swear at the sharp pain. I wanted to pull my wings closed and curl into myself until the pain went away. Fuck that hurt more than I expected it to. Moswen’s grip on the outside strut was iron-like and I was grateful for it as he kept my wing from visibly shaking or moving. I was supposed to remain utterly still for this. Or as still as I could manage. The less movement on my part, the higher degree of honour I gave Moswen.

Moswen handed the dagger to me and exchanged it for one of the rings. True to his word, Moswen was quick about slipping the ring over the strut. The metal was warm from my hands and felt heavier than I knew it was. Moswen murmured that it was in place and I spoke the Naemo words that activated the ring. I clenched my teeth as the metal warmed further and tightened to the point of being very uncomfortable around my strut.

I felt something slide down the membrane and knew it was blood. There weren’t a lot of veins in the membranes so bleeding was minimal, but the little drops trickling down my wing made the membrane itch and I wanted to twitch my wing to flick them off. I jerked my head to look when I felt the warm, wet swipe of Moswen’s tongue tracing the path of the blood. Moswen grinned at me and shrugged his shoulders.

“Your dad didn’t mention bringing a cloth to wipe up blood and I didn’t think of it either. I could feel your wing trying to twitch under my hand and you’re not supposed to move through this so I figured I’d just lick you clean.”

His voice was still pitched low as he spoke so that I was the only one to hear him. Warmth spread through me when I realized that he was doing everything he possibly could to help me keep my wings motionless without being obvious that’s what he was doing. I’d never doubted for a second that he’d do everything he was supposed to exactly as he was supposed to, but I hadn’t thought he’d take it the one step further that he was. My heart felt full to bursting with pride in him and what he was doing to make the ring ceremony as perfect as he could. I loved him so much, I had to bite my lip to keep from crying because I was so happy.

“You doing okay, Ki? The baby isn’t upset or anything?”

“We’re both fine. You’re doing fantastic. Finish up and we can go back to my rooms and you can coddle the hell out of me and hover to your heart’s content for the rest of the day and I won’t bitch at all.”

“Really?” Surprise and pleasure was in his voice.

I smiled at Moswen, took his hand and kissed his palm. I saw his tail tip flutter like mad and knew I’d said exactly the right thing to him. Sometimes Moswen was dead easy to figure out. I let go of his hand and he moved with purpose to my other side. I opened my wing and Moswen repeated his earlier actions. Even knowing what it would feel like from the previous ring, I still hissed out a breath at the burn of the knife slicing through my wing membrane. Moswen slipped the ring I handed him into place and I activated the ring, a little grunt leaving me when it tightened around the strut.

Moswen stood in front of me and leaned in to kiss me again. Technically, only the first kiss was required by the ceremony, but I wasn’t complaining. I liked kissing Moswen. The baby pressed against my belly and I grabbed Moswen’s hand and placed it over my belly again. Moswen grinned and rubbed his hand in circles before stepping back. I spread my wings as wide as I could and bit back a groan at the pull on the cut membranes and the heavy, tight feel of the rings. I looked at each ring, unsurprised that Moswen

had made the absolute smallest cut he could get away with to fit the rings through and that it was perfectly done. I never for a second doubted that Moswen would mess anything up.

Moswen helped me stand, my ability to get up from a seated or kneeling position severely compromised by the pregnancy. He held my hand as my parents approached, his tail winding around my calf. Delseur looked over the placement of the rings and nodded his approval. Moswen sighed softly in relief.

“You did a very good job, Moswen. I know Kijika is proud of you. We’ll add this to the family register, Kijika. You go rest now and remember to keep an eye on the rings for signs of infection. Moswen, be very gentle when you clean the area for Kijika. It’s going to be very sore for the next few days until Kijika adjusts. Are you sure you want to travel to Awh’an tomorrow, Kijika? I don’t think Moswen would mind waiting a little while,” my mom said as she clenched her hands into fists to keep from reaching for my wings to speed the healing.

Olanthe was well aware that they needed to heal on their own as part of the ceremony, but I was her baby boy and she didn’t like seeing me in pain if she could fix it. I smiled a little when I thought that her and Moswen were rather alike in that regard.

“Tomorrow is perfectly fine. I’ve travelled before with Moswen like we will tomorrow and there’s nothing to worry about. Jiveen gave me the all clear, too. I would like to go lay down though.”

“Of course. Here. Sprinkle some of this on the wounds and it’ll numb the area a little so you can sleep more comfortably. It’s safe to use for the baby and nothing in the rules of the ceremony say you can’t use it. I checked. The first night is always the worst and there are special circumstances involved with you being pregnant. You need your rest, so don’t even think of arguing with me about this. Moswen agrees with me, too, and even your father said that using the powder was acceptable considering that you’re pregnant. It doesn’t speed healing but does have disinfectant properties in addition to the numbing ones and that’s fine as well since you are encouraged to keep the area clean while it heals.”

I was going to take the packet but refuse to use the powder. Moswen snatched it from Olanthe’s hands before I could accept it and promised that he’d apply it like they’d discussed even if he had to pin me down to do it. I scowled and somehow resisted the urge to cuff him in the back of the head. Moswen looked at me and there was a sly, smug look to his face.

“You said I’d get to coddle and hover over you as much as I wanted and not bitch about it after we were done with the ceremony.”

My eyes widened and I opened and closed my mouth without getting anything out. He’d obviously spoken to my mom about this before the ceremony. Possibly he was even the one who’d asked about something to numb the pain. He’d read all the rules about the ring ceremony and had clearly latched onto the fact that there was nothing that prevented me from doing something to ease the tight ache of the rings as long as the natural healing process was followed. It was understood that I’d suffer the pain of the holes being cut and the uncomfortable nature of the tight rings until I adjusted to them, but it was never explicitly stated in the rules that I couldn’t take something for the pain after the ceremony was done.

Sneaky bastard.

My father didn’t seem to have a problem with Moswen skirting the rules and I knew Moswen only wanted to make things easier on me if it was within his power. I gave his hand a little squeeze. I was going to stick by my word and let him coddle and hover over me now matter how much it might drive me nuts. Then again, having Moswen at my beck and call, catering to my every whim could prove fun. My mom kissed both of us and my dad shook our hands. We left the room and headed back to my bedroom, hand-in-hand. Chapter 51

~Moswen~

I still felt horrible about what I’d done to Kijika’s wings, but I had to admit that they did look even prettier than before and my feelings of possession had shot through the roof where he was concerned because I knew those rings meant that he really was mine and anybody who saw them would know he was taken. I think I was doing a good job of toning down those possessive impulses, but I also knew the second we stepped on Awh’anise soil, I was going to be working even harder than I already was to not growl at every single Awh’anise I saw and to hold myself back from getting into fights every thirty seconds when somebody looked at Kijika for longer than two seconds.

Logically, I knew that Kijika was going to create a stir the second people saw him. Aside from the fact that I thought he was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen, he was going to stand out big time on Awh’an because of his size and the fact that he had wings. I was actually hoping that having Delseur and Olanthe along for the ride would deflect a little attention from Kijika.

Delseur was bigger than Kijika by a couple of inches and even Olanthe was taller than pretty much any Awh’anise female I’d ever seen. Hell, she was close to scraping six feet tall and could almost look me in the eye. But it was the wings that would draw every Awh’anise in sight to them. Well, that and the fact that Delseur had dark blue hair, which was kicking, and Olanthe smelled male and female at the same time.

Oh yeah, we were going to be causing a commotion wherever we went.

“Okay, I’m taking us to Awh’an by Dream-Walking. Hold on tight to your bags and me. If you let go of your bags, consider them gone for good because I’m not searching the dream world for some clothes. If you let go of me, I’ll come get you, but it won’t be a pleasant experience for you and it might seem like years pass when it’ll only be minutes. I am your life line. I know what I’m doing and you’re perfectly safe as long as you’re touching me as we travel. It’ll be over in less time than you can imagine. Oh, close your eyes and keep them closed. Seeing the dream world blur past makes people who aren’t Shal-hazal Spirits puke big time. A couple of people have gone crazy, too, from what they see.”

“This sounds rather dangerous, Moswen,” Olanthe said with a little nervous look.

“I’ve trained my whole life to do this. And do you really think I’d risk Kijika and our baby if I didn’t believe this was one hundred percent safe?”

“No, I suppose not. So how long will this take? Awh’an isn’t even in the same galaxy as Gi-foeh. Are we talking several hours?” Olanthe asked.

“Nah. Around five minutes maybe. Ten, tops.”

“You’re going to take us to another galaxy in less than five minutes?” Disbelief was strong in Delseur’s voice. There isn’t a space ship made than can do that. I have a little trouble with what you’re claiming.”

“I’m using my mind and the imagination of dreams of others to get where I want to be. Dreams are boundless and things that should be impossible, aren’t. I could do it faster if it was only me and Ki or even faster if it was just me. I’d short-cut everything if I was travelling alone and in a real hurry. I could do it in about a minute by myself.”

Speculation entered Delseur’s eyes and I grinned. I knew exactly what he was thinking. Delseur was a career soldier like I was and I knew he realized the potential of what I’d just told him.

“Yes, if you wanted to invade a country or hell, even a planet, having some Shal-hazal Spirits would be an advantage like you wouldn’t believe. Not all of us Spirits can physically move through the dream world and take people with us. Those of us that can, have different max outs for how many we can take. Mine is six people aside from myself and as I get older and gain more experience, that number could go up. Or that number could be my ultimate top. It’s hard to say. There’s some Spirits than can do twelve people at a time and I’ve heard of some that have even gone above that. We don’t need to rest between transports either although usually after doing it for a couple of days solid, we do need a break. The older you get, the faster you get, too. Do the math, Delseur.”

I watched the numbers click over in Delseur’s head and tried not to smirk. If only the Shal-hazal Spirits of my House were involved, and moved eight men each, on average, over the distance of a galaxy, they could, in theory, drop a little over eight hundred soldiers anywhere on a planet in an hour. In twentyfour hours, there’d be over nineteen thousand highly trained Awh’anise warriors planetside. If it was actually a serious invasion operation, a hell of a lot more than just the Spirits of my House would be involved. If all the full Shal-hazal Spirits worked at it, we could drop over half a million soldiers on a planet in just twenty-four hours.

“And before you even ask, yes, we do hire out Shal-hazal’s as well as soldiers, but the price of just one Shal-hazal is expensive as hell since the possibility of being used to literally conquer a solar system is there. I could probably swing you a deal if you wanted a few since you’re family. If it involved protecting my family, and that now includes you, Delseur as well as Olanthe and the Vylfian royal family, that’d be a freebie and you’d have all the Shal-hazal of my entire House backing you up.”

“Just how many would that be, Moswen?” Delseur asked. I smirked the tiniest bit when I could practically see the contingency plans taking shape in his head. “I understand that family is very important to your people, but how can you speak for an entire military unit like that?”

“The Wills control their House and I’m the Spirit Will of mine. Tyh is the Litch Will, his mom, Huyana, is the Healer Will and our aunt, Femi, is the Warrior Will. One family controlling a House almost never happens because Shal-hazal are rare, but there’s a lot of Shal-hazal in my family and it just kinda worked out that way. So, if I said I needed the House to go kick some ass, it’d basically be a done deal because we’re all family that run that House. There’s a hundred full Shal-hazal in my House including the four Wills. We’ve got another fifty or so that are confirmed classes but still training and around a hundred more who are of the Blood but haven’t reached the stage of their training where they find out what class they are. Those numbers vary a little as people retire or are killed on mission or die during training, but it’s pretty stable for the most part.”

“Alright, no more of that, boys. This is going to be a nice family vacation and there is going to be no work talk. I forbid it,” Olanthe said giving me and Delseur a look that said we’d better not even think of continuing.

Kijika snickered and turned that into a cough when his mom looked his way. Delseur didn’t say another word even though I was pretty sure he was dying to ask me more questions and I wasn’t dumb enough to pick that conversation back up either. Delseur could always ask me about my House when we were on Awh’an and Olanthe wasn’t around. I held my arms out for Delseur and Olanthe to take hold of. Kijika stood behind me and had his arms around my waist, hugging me. I grinned and felt a little giddy with pleasure that I was going to introduce Kijika to my family. I told everyone to close their eyes and pulled us all into the dream world and to Awh’an.

Just as back up, I covered everybody’s eyes as soon as we hit the dream world. Good thing, too, as I heard a frustrated noise from Olanthe and guessed she’d tried for a peek. Usually I wouldn’t have bothered but I didn’t want the trip off to a bad start and I certainly didn’t want any unnecessary stress on Kijika from worrying about his mom.

The dream world whipped past us, all colour and light and images too fast for the eyes to follow. Unless you were a Shal-hazal. I saw and categorized the contents of every dream we passed and used those dreams as stepping stones to go where I wanted us to. Moving physically through dreams did something weird to your inner balance that didn’t happen when you cruised around mentally and was why even

other Shal-hazal who weren’t Spirit classes barfed if they had their eyes open. People said it was even worse if they travelled with me and the running theory was because I didn’t use the buffer of sleep to gentle the transition, it screwed with that inner balance thing even more.

I saw several places that would’ve been really cool to take Kijika but didn’t stop. I could’ve taken him and left Delseur and Olanthe in a pocket I created and they’d have been none the wiser that we’d done a little detour, but Kijika would know. I’d just have to remember to bring him back to those places some time. While I was navigating to Awh’an, I dumped the Awh’anise language into everybody’s head. I’d meant to do it earlier, but got caught up in pampering Kijika to my little heart’s content. True to his word, he let me hover over him and never said boo about how annoying I was sure he found it after an hour.

Gods, but I loved him.

I zeroed in on Awh’an and dropped us into my rooms at my House. I smirked a little when a fast look around showed the place to be absolutely spotless and nowhere near the hit by a windstorm look it had when I’d left it. Trainee’s were so damn useful and eager to please and I was totally willing to abuse my power as a Will to have them clean my rooms for me.

“Welcome to Awh’an,” I said.

Olanthe and Delseur blinked their eyes open and a look of surprise passed over Delseur’s face. Awh’an had a higher gravity than Gi-foeh and the air was different. I watched him take several really deep breaths and sway a bit. I could feel Kijika’s chest expand against my back as he, too, breathed deeply.

“It feels very odd here,” Delseur said as his wings twitched as if he wanted to open them and test out his flight abilities.

“Stronger gravity. The air mix is different from what you’re used to as well. Still totally breathable though. You’ll get used to it in a couple of hours. We’re in my House right now and I just want to remind you about a few things and maybe warn you, too. You’re on my world and the rules here apply no matter how weird you might think they are. Fights solve everything here. Doesn’t matter the sex of your opponent either. Most will cut you some slack since you’re not from Awh’an, but there’s always those

who’d like to take a poke at you just to see what you can do. Those are play fights and not serious and you’d probably get a thank you at the end of the fight for a good time. If you don’t want to fight for fun, just say no in a firm voice and the person will drop it.”

“I am not going to fight like some… some common street urchin,” Olanthe said, offended royal princess in every word.

“You don’t have to. Your choice to accept or decline. I just wanted to make sure you were aware that some people might want to fight with you but they’re probably just playing. We’re a pretty rough and tumble species and this city is not a space port so we don’t see a lot of aliens here. They mean no harm, but the average person here isn’t all that up on alien interaction.

That being the case, all three of you are going to be the objects of curiosity. Random people will come up to you and touch your wings. They won’t ask first and they’re not doing it to be rude. We’re a very touchy-feely species. They will probably also ask about your sex life and offer to do you or have you do them. Again, that’s not rude here on Awh’an and is pretty normal behaviour. We’re a highly sexual species and no offense is intended. If you don’t want to have sex, don’t bother trying to be polite when you refuse. Say no like you mean it and they’ll shrug, look disappointed and walk away. If you don’t sound like you mean it, they may think it’s a game you want to play and will push for a yes. If all else fails, and you only do it as a last resort, say ‘tay’ and they will back off immediately. It’s… uhhh… kinda like screaming rape, so don’t be using it every time you want to refuse somebody.”

“I’m not so sure coming here was such a good idea,” Olanthe said as she moved closer to Delseur.

“You’ll have a blast once you get over the culture shock. Awh’an is a really cool place and the people are friendly. Huyana set aside a whole day to take you through one of the hospitals and a Shal-hazal healer hall, Olanthe. I’ve also guilted my sister Mahira in taking you for a tour of one of the military bases if you want it, Delseur. She’s got more clearance than I do and while the Shal-hazal are part of the military, we’re sort of apart from the regular soldiers.”

Delseur looked surprised and pleased and I smiled. I knew he’d like that. Kijika looked at me and one of his eyebrows rose when I only smiled back at him. I started to get a little nervous when he frowned at me.

“And what interesting thing did you arrange for me?”

“You’re going to be with me.”

“Mmmhmm. I assumed that. But where are you taking me? You set up very thoughtful things for my mom and dad to do based on what they like. What do you have set up for me?”

I blinked and mentally scrambled. I hadn’t really thought of anything for Kijika. I’d toyed with the idea of bringing him to the Shal-hazal library in my House, but I knew if I did that, I probably wouldn’t be able to pry him out of there for days. Kijika and books several thousand years old that’d he’d never seen was a time sink of an idea. My tail tip started to flick up and down and I turned pleading eyes on Kijika’s parents to help me out.

The gods must love me after all because Olanthe clucked her tongue and gave Kijika the Mom Look.

“Stop teasing him, Kijika. I’m sure Moswen wants you to have a nice relaxing time here and will show you around the city. You should enjoy this last little bit of quiet time together before the baby comes. There won’t be much, if any, of that once you have your child waking you at all hours of the day and night to be fed or changed or even just held. How do we get to your parent’s house, Moswen?”

Kijika sighed and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like she’d ruined his fun. I still hadn’t quite got the hang of telling when Kijika was teasing me and when he was serious. He thought that was funny as hell and he’d gotten me to agree to shit because I was worried I’d upset him or something. He was a devious bastard when he wanted something. Good thing I kinda thought that was hot.

“We could walk to my parent’s house, but it’ll take a bit for you to get used to the higher gravity and lighter air. And I know you don’t usually walk if you’re going any distance so what I think is a short distance is probably more than you’re used to. I have use of the House sledge and driver so you can just sit back and relax.”

I led the way from my rooms and through the House. I held Kijika’s hand as we walked and nodded at the people we passed in the halls. Murmurs followed us and I knew the only reason we didn’t end up with a crowd trailing after us was because I was the Spirit Will and had left express orders that nobody in the House was to do that.

The driver was a retired Shal-hazal missing an arm and an eye and had deep scars down his neck and over his chest. He touched his temple with two fingers in the Shal-hazal salute before gesturing to the sledge. Olanthe gave it an unsure look while Delseur climbed right in and Kijika looked at it curiously but followed his father.

The sledge looked basically like a box with seats inside and a canopy attached. There were no wheels and only a few buttons and a stick at the front of it. I gave Olanthe a little push and climbed in after her. The driver moved in front of the stick to stand on a metal plate before he pushed a button. A low-level hum filled the air and the sledge rose from the ground and moved out of the garage. I answered questions about the sledge, the buildings we passed and one shocked comment from Olanthe about what those people were doing when the sledge had to slow for a crowd watching a couple have sex in the street.

The ride to my parent’s house was short. I thanked our driver and ushered Kijika, Delseur and Olanthe through the gate and into the courtyard. The door opened and people spilled out, laughing and calling greetings. I was used to the noise and crush of people but Kijika, Delseur and Olanthe obviously weren’t and backed up a step as my family rushed forward.

“Everybody shut up and back the hell off! They only just got here and I don’t want you scaring them off by crawling all over them. Can you please just line up for like five minutes so I can introduce everybody properly?”

Mahira stuck her tongue out at me but started to hustle everybody into line, our parents included. She gave me a sloppy salute, blew me a raspberry and stepped into place. I looked at my family and grinned before turning to Kijika.

“I would like to introduce to you His Radiance Prince Nas-drey Kijika of the Bodeyhan Nemii Celamun, Des Anate Kijika Par-Delseur, Fourth Shade Necromancer and the man who does me the great honour of being my shu’anad. This is Her Serenity Princess Nas-drey Olanthe of the Bodeyhan Nemii Celamun, wife

to Ralne Tordem Delseur and mother to Prince Kijika. Beside her is her husband Ralne Tordem Delseur of the Army of the Dead, husband to Princess Olanthe and father to Prince Kijika.”

I didn’t wait for any response knowing my family was just about dying to rush forward and welcome Kijika and his parents with hugs and kisses.

“Starting from left to right, is my sho, Dukker and my sha Fayina. The rest are my brood mates. The two men who look the same with the dark red hair are Makis and Mered. Makis has the short hair and Mered has the long hair. The little woman with the black hair is Mahira. The two ladies that look the same with the auburn hair are Meriwa and Muna. Meriwa is the one with the shoulder length hair and Muna is the one with the chin length hair. I have tons more family, but thought just meeting this many would be enough to take in for one day.”

Mahira was the first to break the line and she rushed at Kijika. I was in front of him before she even got close and growled at her. Her lip curled back on one side to reveal a fang and she swiped at my head just barely missing me. Kijika made a startled noise and scrambled back. I hissed at her and tackled her to the ground. I heard Kijika shout my name in a worried tone and I snarled, my fist smashing into Mahira’s face. I saw the surprise in her eyes seconds before her nose broke and blood sprayed. I was back on my feet and in front of Kijika, my claws extending and retracting their full length before Mahira could retaliate. My tail lashed the air behind me and I growled lowly.

“Xi’ shal-demsho. Xi’,” I said as I glared at my family.

“Moswen!” Kijika’s voice was filled with shock.

“Nice,” Mahira said with a grin as she stood and wiped at the blood dripping from her nose. “I did not see that coming. Guess I don’t need to worry about bailing your ass out of any fights that happen because your shu’anad is smoking hot. For once, I think you actually have the whole winning a dominance fight covered. Miracles do happen.”

I thought Makis and Mered were going to hurt themselves laughing. My other sisters were better behaved and kept their amusement to muffled giggles. My aggression melted away when even my father and mother snickered.

“I am so sorry Moswen punched you like that. I don’t know what he was thinking. We’ve had a talk about him toning down his possessive behaviour and I thought we understood that wasn’t going to be tolerated,” Kijika said in a voice that spelled all kinds of trouble for me. Fuck.

“I don’t know what you think is possessive behaviour, but that’s actually pretty low key for a Throwback. It’s only a busted nose. No biggie. You mean to say that Moswen has been even more mellow than that?” Mahira asked.

“Ummm… yes?” Kijika now sounded confused. “I told him his insane level of possessiveness was getting on my last nerve and he was to stop it.”

“And he did it? Holy shit,” a touch of awe was in Mahira’s voice. “He must love you more than anything to try and curb those instincts. Wow. I knew you were good, little bro, but I had no idea you were that good.”

I felt heat wash into my cheeks and I was sure the tips of my ears were turning red. Yeah, it took a lot of mental effort to tamp down all my instincts, but that’s what Kijika needed me to do so that’s what happened. Olanthe made some kind of noise in her throat and pushed me aside none too gently. She marched up to Mahira, firmly grasped her chin and tilted her head back and forth. Olanthe mumbled under her breath and made an annoyed sound in her throat.

“At least it’s a clean break. Find me a place to sit and a little quiet and I can have this fixed in a short while. I’m a healer and this is a simple thing to set.”

Mahira’s eyes were wide and she shocked the shit out of me by directing Olanthe into the house without protest. My sho laughed and followed saying she was going to find out what magic Olanthe had worked on Mahira to get her to follow without a protest. The rest of my family surrounded me, Kijika and Delseur and the barrage of questions started as hands reached out to touch Kijika and Delseur. Kijika and Delseur looked a little shell shocked but seemed to be holding up well. My family was welcoming them with open arms even if those welcoming arms were sometimes a little grabby and maybe touching where Kijika and Delseur weren’t entirely used to total strangers touching them. I growled softly when I saw the hands sliding over Kijika’s hips or heading to his ass, but managed to keep

from jumping whoever it was. They were only messing with me now to see if they could poke me into a fight just for shits and giggles. I’d never been so happy. Chapter 52

~Delseur~

Even after a week on Awh’an, the air and gravity still felt strange to me. Flying was certainly harder and I’d been almost winded the first time I’d done it. The view was wonderful though. The city had an organic look and from the air, it was even more pronounced. I had been warned by not only Moswen, but by other members of his very large family not to land in the forests and shown pictures of the things to avoid at all costs.

I had to admit that I’d scoffed at the idea of giving the ana-taw’dect, a tiny colourful bird, a wide berth until I saw the video of what a flock of them could do. After that, Moswen had visited me in a dream and showed me the majority of things on Awh’an that could and would eat me if I got caught by any of them. The amount of things that were deadly was staggering. Awh’an was a beautiful, lush planet, but under that beauty was incredibly hostile plant and animal life. I also understood a little better why Moswen, and the other Awh’anise I’d met, were so aggressive. It was a matter of survival for them.

The military base I’d visited earlier in the week with Moswen’s sister, Mahira, was amazing and I could immediately see why the number one export of Awh’an was soldiers. I would be honoured to fight along side such talented warriors. Kijika had told me in passing of the brutality of the Awh’anise soldier, but until I saw it with my own eyes… I had to admit to thinking that Kijika had been exaggerating.

For all that the Awh’anise were the most aggressive people I’d ever met, they were also among the friendliest. Perfect strangers had come up to me and touched my wings and asked me all manner of what I felt were highly personal questions. I’d been taken aback at the contact and it was only the little smirk that I noticed on Moswen’s face that made me stand my ground. For the briefest of moments I’d thought he might’ve asked other Awh’anise to do that to fluster me until I remembered the constant touching that went on in Moswen’s family. I’d also been treated to more personal sexual information than I ever needed to know about my new family by marriage. I don’t think I’d ever get used to the casual attitudes about sex the Awh’anise had, but it did go a long way to explaining that first meal with Moswen on Gi-foeh and the disaster that had become.

Despite Moswen’s warning and hearing and seeing the way his family interacted, I’d still been shocked clear down to my toes when a young man had approached me and baldly asked if I wanted to fuck. He’d wanted to know if we could do it airborne, and while it was possible, if difficult, there was no way that was going to happen with him. I’d followed Moswen’s advise and gave him a firm no. I was even more surprised when the young man had sighed, asked if I was sure and then walked away with one last regretful look when I repeated the no.

I was also intensely curious about this pearling thing I kept hearing about and how pleasurable it was. I knew it involved something a male did during sex, and I wanted to ask, but it seemed like an incredibly personal thing to ask someone even in generalities. Not that I thought any Awh’anise would be bothered by my asking but that wasn’t the point. I was also slightly worried that whatever person I asked would actually show me what it was and I didn’t think I was ready for that.

Olanthe was enjoying herself immensely. She’d spent several days off and on at the hospital and the Shal-hazal Healer halls and was almost brimming over with excitement when she came back from those trips. I didn’t understand half of what she rattled on about, but I hadn’t seen her that animated in a long time. For helping her to have such a good time, I was willing to let some of my grudge against Moswen go.

She was also proving to be a crowd magnet and while I’d never admit it her, I thought it was hilarious that she would get so many Awh’anise of all ages trailing after her, literally sniffing the air and talking in wondering tones. It was probably a good thing that casual space travel seemed to be out of the average Awh’anise budget. Otherwise, I was sure Vylfian cities would’ve seen a massive surge in Awh’anise visitors paying a visit. I’d had the hardest time one evening not snickering when Olanthe stormed into the courtyard and declared that she was going to hang a sign around her neck whenever she left the house that said ‘Yes, I have a dick and no you can’t see it/touch it/play with it.’

I loved my wife dearly, but it was a treat to see her so flustered for any reason.

Kijika was almost as popular as Olanthe because word had spread of him being pregnant. Strangers stopped him on the street and asked if he really was pregnant and if they could touch his belly. I was sure that if people didn’t know that Moswen was his lover, they wouldn’t have bothered to ask. There was a good deal of wariness and sometimes even fear when people looked at Moswen and once I was shown why, I’d understood a little better the relationship Moswen and Kijika had. Spending the amount of time I had with Moswen was a little eye-opening. I knew he loved Kijika, but seeing them together as

they currently were, it was crystal clear that Moswen was utterly devoted to my son. I still couldn’t forgive him entirely for leaving Kijika the way he had and causing my boy so much pain, but eventually I’d let it go. I was sure that it wouldn’t be soon enough for Moswen.

One thing I’d come to appreciate a great deal was the bathing pool I was told was a standard feature in all Awh’anise houses. The size varied from something that could just hold two people comfortably to something that really should’ve been called a swimming pool. The one in Moswen’s parent’s house was large enough for all eight adults to get in at the same time and still have room left over for another four to six people without feeling crowded. I could actually float on my back and partially spread my wings out without touching the sides. Even as tall as I was, I could stand in the middle of the pool and the water was chest high on me. Sitting in a bath and having the water reach my chin and being able to stretch out my wings if I angled myself just right was glorious. I’d already made mental plans to have something similar made for my estate.

It was still early with the sun just peeking over the horizon and I was fresh off a pre-dawn flight and thought a nice soak sounded wonderful. I rinsed off in the little alcove before the pool proper, humming softly to myself. I’d never admit it to Olanthe and certainly never to Moswen, but this trip was proving to be a fantastically relaxing vacation that I was overdue for. I stepped from the alcove and dropped my towel on a bench only to hear a noise from the pool. I looked over, my muscles tensed for a possible fight.

Moswen’s brothers, Makis and Mered were in the pool and it took me several seconds to process what I was seeing. When I did, my mouth dropped open in shock and I must’ve made some noise because they both turned their heads to look at me. Identical expressions of lust and surprise were on their faces but neither stopped what they were doing. Part of my brain was yelling at me to make my apologies and get the hell out of the room. Another part of my brain was encouraging me to stay because I may find out what that pearling was that I was so curious about.

“Morning, Delseur,” Mered said as his hips moved back and forth, pumping his brother’s ass in a steady rhythm.

I stood rooted to the spot watching the brothers fuck.

“You wanna join in, Delseur? We don’t mind,” Mered said, his words ending on a low moan as he ground his hips against Makis’ ass.

I blinked and my mouth opened and closed but nothing came out. Join in? What in the name of all the gods of air and sky made them ask that? My cock chose that precise moment to start to rise to the occasion and I felt heat wash over my cheeks. No, no, no. This was not happening. I wasn’t attracted to men. There was no reason for me to become aroused by watching two men fuck. Fine, I sometimes felt the need for Olanthe’s cock to move in my body and I stroked and sucked her cock when we had sex, but she was a woman and my wife whom I loved dearly. It wasn’t the same thing at all.

“Don’t be an idiot, Mered. Weren’t you listening when Moswen said Delseur’s people are monogamous? He’s married to Olanthe and wouldn’t do that,” Makis panted out between breaths.

“But look at the gorgeous hard-on he’s got,” Mered said as he dragged his claws down his brother’s back and stopped thrusting to grind his hips against his brother.

I never knew I could possibly be this embarrassed and still live. My brain was screaming at me to leave as quickly as possible but my feet refused to listen. The proper thing to do would’ve been to look away, offer apologies and leave. Yet I couldn’t seem to utter a word or tear my eyes away from them.

Makis growled and his eyes fluttered shut. “And he’s watching a hot sex show. Duh. Of course he’s hard. Come on, Mered, quit trying to stretch your turn out or I swear to god I will come right now and you won’t get your ass fucked.”

“Spoilsport,” Mered laughed and started moving his hips quickly.

I was thoroughly mortified that I’d walked in on the brothers having sex and that they’d seen me get an erection from watching them. I was breathing a little faster and just barely managed not to lick my lips as lust started to slither through my veins. What in the name of all the gods was wrong with me? I drew my wings around myself, hiding my cock that refused to not find the sight of them enticing. I still couldn’t seem to make my feet take me from the pool room. Moswen had said that siblings often had sex, but I never thought I’d actually see it. Most especially, I’d never thought that I’d see it while I was also naked. Or that I’d find it erotic.

Mered growled and snapped his hips tight to Makis’ ass. He bit the back of his brother’s neck and Makis moaned low, his eyes opening wide and pinning me in place with the heat and lust in their amber coloured depths. Mered shivered and stayed bent over his brother’s back for several minutes before he let go of his brother’s neck, licking the skin and making contented noises in his throat before pulling away from Makis. Makis looked at me and a devilish little smile kicked up the corner of his mouth. I’d seen Moswen do that and it always meant something shocking and likely sexual was going to come out of his mouth.

“I hear you’re curious about pearling. If you stick around, we’ll show you. You don’t need to do anything but watch either,” Makis said as he straightened. “Moswen said we should do our best to help you understand us and our culture. It’ll be our pleasure to show you.”

Mered moaned, grabbed his brother and kissed him passionately. “I love you,” Mered declared.

“Uh huh. You always say that when I pearl you. I’ll only pearl you if Delseur stays to watch though. Can’t have you expecting it every time or you’ll get spoiled,” Makis said with a snicker.

“Please stay to watch, Delseur. Pretty, pretty please. With sprinkles and whipped cream and sugar on top,” Mered said turning to look at me with pleading in his eyes.

The right thing to do would’ve been to leave them to their fucking and pretend that I’d never seen anything. However, my feet still refused to leave the room and I actually needed to cross my arms over my chest under the cover of my wings to keep from touching myself. I was starting to think there was something in the air of Awh’an that turned everybody who breathed it into a sex obsessed creature. Granted, Olanthe and I had been enjoying that, but my current situation was completely unexpected. Somehow, my head was nodding without my brain giving permission and Mered whooped in delight.

Makis pushed his brother from the pool and followed. My eyes widened a little and I almost took a halfstep back. Seeing them in the pool where the water obscured everything was one thing. Seeing them less than five feet away and obviously aroused was something I hadn’t thought about. Mered grabbed some towels and placed them on the floor almost at my feet before lying on his back on top of them. He bent his knees, braced his feet on the floor and spread his legs. My cock twitched hard and the muscles

in my ass fluttered. Heat washed into my cheeks and I knew that after this, I wasn’t going to bother with a bath and would instead wake Olanthe and ask her to fuck me. I didn’t ask for that very often but something about seeing how eager Mered was to be fucked made me want that pleasure for myself.

“Awh’anise physiology has some wicked perks when it comes to sex. There’s a series of muscled rings in our ass that increase the pleasure for both partners, but the most fun are the pearls that an Awh’anise male has on our cocks. The primary function of those is to help with conception as when a male allows the pearls to appear, sliaru is released from the pearls and through the skin of the cock. Sliaru increases pleasure for both parties and is a stimulant to get a breeding female to ovulate,” Makis said as he stood over his brother and stroked his cock.

“A male is actually sterile for all intents and purposes unless the sliaru is released. We can still get a female pregnant without the pearls and sliaru, but the odds are stacked massively against that,” Mered said as he looked up at me and stroked his cock in time with his brother.

My hands clenched into fists under cover of my wings to keep from reaching for my cock. I would not violate my vows to Olanthe by engaging in a sex act with someone else regardless of how hard desire was curling through my body. Why was I finding this so lust inducing in the first place? It had to be something in the food or water or air of Awh’an. I’d never even entertained the idea of watching men fuck as a way to arousal. This was probably the fault of Moswen’s weird karma in some way.

“Moswen said you’re not into guys and while that’s not the normal way of things for an Awh’anise, I can sort of get it. There are some Awh’anise that are only into the opposite sex and some that are only into the same sex. Whatever gets you off and I’m not judging you,” Makis said with a shrug. “I just want you to know that me and Mered won’t say a damned thing about this to anyone even though it’s no big deal for us. We get that it’s a big deal for you because we’re all guys and you’re married. Ummm… please don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but neither one of us has ever seen a cock as big as yours and… well… we probably won’t ever again and… we’d love it if you were to shoot your load on us. We won’t touch you or anything, but it’d be an awesome experience and we’d really, really like it.”

I was absolutely certain I’d never, ever, been so embarrassed in my entire life. Or so hard and that utterly shocked me into silence. Getting propositioned in the street by a perfect stranger was one thing. Having what was pretty much family ask me to participate in a sex act was mind boggling. The twins must have seen something in my face because they sighed as one.

“We had to ask. I hope we didn’t offend you, Delseur, but you’re one really hot dude. And we can smell how aroused you are. We figured the worst that would happen was you’d say no. You still want to see the pearls? You’re okay with staring at another guy’s cock, right? I mean, I know you’re not lusting after it and just curious and we swear we won’t lay even a finger on you,” Makis said earnestly.

They could smell my arousal? I was sure my face had never been so red although it did explain a lot of the looks I’d gotten after Olanthe and I had a quick heavy petting session before supper one evening. Thank all the gods that none of Moswen’s family had said anything then. Olanthe would’ve been mortified as would I. But the chance to actually find out about this pearl thing was too great an opportunity to miss. I was certain that I could’ve asked Moswen and he would’ve shown me with no embarrassment, but the fact that he was my son by marriage made it seem very, very wrong. When I spoke, I hoped I didn’t sound as lustful as I felt.

“I would like to see these pearls I’ve heard so much about. And I’m not offended. Surprised that you asked, yes. Horrified that your people can smell when I’m aroused, most definitely. But not offended as it was an honest question. I may be a little flattered that you find me appealing.”

Makis and Mered grinned at me and Makis knelt between Mered’s spread legs. He motioned me to kneel and after thinking about how the twins probably didn’t want me looming over them, I did, although I maintained a little distance between us. I had to tuck my wings awkwardly to allow me to kneel while still covering my erection. I knew now that they could smell my arousal, but I wanted at least the illusion that my desire was hidden from them. Thankfully, neither Makis nor Mered said anything about my manoeuvring around or the obvious reasons for doing so.

Makis let out a breath slowly and I stared at his cock, feeling a little odd about looking at another man’s erection. I knew my eyes widened as small bumps appeared in several rows down the length of his cock. They grew until they were the size of peas and one of the twins growled softly. A rainbow-hued sheen soon slicked Makis’ cock and the twins were panting a little with one of them, possibly Mered, making whining noises in his throat. The tip of Mered’s tail flicked up and down and I was surprised to see that he was hard again. Makis’ tail swished back and forth and his lips slowly drew back to expose his fangs. Aggression was in every line of his body and I wondered just how wise I’d been to kneel so close to them when I knew the Awh’anise could turn aggressive as quick as snapping your fingers.

Mered make a strange chuffing sound in his throat and pulled his legs to his chest, exposing himself to his brother. My cock twitched at the erotic position and I licked my lips thinking about how I’d like to be in the same position with Olanthe very shortly. Makis growled and shoved his cock into his brother without warning. I winced at what had to be a substantial burn of entry with no preparation, but Mered moaned in what sounded like pure pleasure and his tail thumped the tiled floor several times. My eyes widened when I saw him snake his tail around Makis’ hip and push a substantial portion into his brother’s ass, much to his brother’s delight if the groan I heard from Makis was any indication. Makis held himself still for a handful of heartbeats, his tail coming forward to wrap around Mered’s cock. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next, but the simultaneous growls of heavy lust and the small puddle of pre-come forming on Mered’s belly were not what I was expecting when they were both still.

Makis began to move his hips in a punishing rhythm, his tail jerking his brother hard. Mered thrashed and growled under his brother, his legs locking around Makis’ waist. I saw talons extend on the fingertips of both men as they clawed each other’s chest and arms leaving deep welts. They snapped their teeth and snarled and hissed at each other. It was rough and violent and gods help me, arousing as hell to watch. They glanced at me at the same time, inhaling deeply through open mouths and growled. I knew they could smell how turned on I was and while I was still embarrassed over that, I was also secretly pleased that my desire seemed to be adding to theirs.

Makis snarled at his brother and Mered darted his head forward and caught the skin of Makis’ shoulder between his teeth. Makis hissed and thrust brutally hard making Mered let go with a grunt. Blood trickled from the wound and seemed to inflame them. Makis grabbed Mered’s hands and laced their fingers together, pinning Mered’s hands over his head. Mered smirked, rolled his hips and Makis’ eyes went wide and he gasped when his brother pushed more of his tail into his ass.

My breath was coming in sharp pants and my balls ached. I could feel pre-come sliding down the length of my cock and I’d never wanted to touch myself so badly. Watching the twins fuck was almost like watching a fight and I always got hard in a good fight. Hell, I’d gotten half-way hard in the little fight I’d had with Moswen and that was without the sexual element added. This… this was pushing buttons I hadn’t really been aware I had.

My wings slowly opened and folded to rest against my back as if they had a mind of their own, exposing my erection and drawing the attention of the twins. They whined deep in their throats, their eyes fixed on my cock. It twitched hard and another bead of pre-come slid down my length. Makis growled and gave a particularly vicious thrust. Mered shouted and his back arched, his cock spurting his seed over his belly and chest. Makis snarled and snapped his hips tight to his brother’s ass, a shudder wracking his

frame. They were beautiful and erotic in their pleasure. A soft cry was forced from my lips as my orgasm caught me by surprise and I shot my load over the heavily panting twins. Dual sounds of delight twisted from their throats and they shivered.

Ecstasy travelled through me and my wings shook slightly as they snapped open and fanned the air. Guilt at breaking my marriage vows was trying to claw through my pleasure as the last few spurts landed on Makis and Mered, but lust was beating the guilt firmly back. The twins were purring loudly as they smeared my seed together with Mered’s and licked each other’s fingers clean. They kissed between licks and murmured soft words of love. As erotic as the sight was, the guilt at what I’d done finally won as my passion receded and I hung my head in shame. Olanthe would forgive me a multitude of sins but unfaithfulness was not one of them. I couldn’t forgive myself either. The idea of keeping what had happened from Olanthe never even occurred to me. It wasn’t honourable.

“Well aren’t you a naughty bunch of boys.”

I startled badly and twisted to see Olanthe standing in the doorway wrapped in a towel. She was wearing her ‘you will obey me this very instant’ royal princess face and that did not bode well for me. Whatever lingering pleasure I had fled. The blood drained from my face and my insides clenched. I dropped my gaze to the floor, ashamed that I’d thrown my honour away so easily just to satisfy a perverse curiosity. Olanthe walked up to where I still knelt and trailed her hand over my wing, her fingers lingering briefly over the rings she’d clamped on me decades ago.

“Makis, Mered, I believe your mother was looking for you two. Run along now. Please let Fayina know that Delseur and I will not be joining everybody for breakfast.”

The twins looked like they were going to protest before ducking their heads and mumbling out some ‘yes ma’ames’. They hurried out the door and I heard it close with a soft click. Olanthe was still behind me, her hand now resting on my shoulder.

“Tell me, Delseur, did you really find watching those boys have sex that exciting?” she asked softly. “I didn’t see you touch yourself yet you reached orgasm.”

“Yes,” I whispered, refusing to compound my dishonourable behaviour with lies. “How long were you standing there?”

“About when Makis really started to try and nail Mered into the floor.” Olanthe said as she moved to stand in front of me.

“I’m sorry, Olanthe. I never intended for that to happen. I was curious about the pearls but once I saw what they were, I should’ve left immediately. I don’t even know why I stayed to watch. I have no excuse and have dishonoured our vows. What would you have me do too atone?”

Deceptively strong fingers gripped my jaw and forced my face up. I was ready for anger or disgust or disappointment. I was not ready for warm humour and arousal. Olanthe kissed me softly on the lips and tugged on the towel she wore, pulling it free. It fell to the floor and I was presented with the enticing sight of the love of my life, naked and very aroused.

“You did nothing dishonourable, love. I’d have thought something was wrong with you if you hadn’t gotten hard watching those very pretty boys fuck each other stupid. They didn’t touch you and you didn’t touch them. You didn’t even touch yourself and yet you found release, which, by the way, I thought was unbelievably arousing. I don’t see that as breaking our vows in any way. I wouldn’t want it to happen again. At least not if I wasn’t there with you. Touching you as you touched me, both of us getting off on the show in front of us.”

I stared at Olanthe in shock. She truly wasn’t angry with me. The relief I felt was immediate and almost strong enough to make me dizzy. She laughed softly and kissed me again.

“I’ve always enjoyed watching others have sex. Why do you think I had all those mirrors installed in our bedroom? You didn’t really think I was that vain, did you?”

I had no answer for that that wouldn’t get me in trouble or be a lie. Considering the wrath of an enraged wife that I’d somehow avoided, I kept my mouth shut.

“You did!” Olanthe lightly slapped my chest and laughed. “Silly man. I like watching us have sex. I especially like watching when you let me fuck you. Actually, thanks to those two boys, I feel like sliding my cock into that beautifully tight hole of yours right now.”

I shot a slightly nervous glance at the door. Regardless of my wanting that five minutes ago and still wanting it now, I didn’t want anyone to see me enjoying being impaled on my wife’s cock. Olanthe sighed and shook her head, her free hand giving her erection a few languid strokes.

“Not in here where anyone could walk in. I like watching, I don’t like being watched. We’re going to go back to our room, you’re going to get on your hands and knees and I’m going to slide balls deep into your ass. I’m going to make love with you until we both come in a hot, sticky, messy heap. And I think we’re going to do that more often than the every few months that you currently let me at your ass because you obviously find anal sex far more arousing than you’ve been telling me the last gods knows how many years. Silly man. We could’ve been enjoying ourselves so much more if you’d only said something or given me hints that it was more than just allowing me to do you because you have such a hard time denying me anything. Good god, you Naemo are really a repressed bunch that need to loosen up.”

Nerves made the muscles in my belly flutter at the statement that we’d be having a lot more anal sex than we currently did. That would take some getting used to, but Olanthe was right that I enjoyed it more than I’d said. She smiled at me and ran a hand through my short hair.

“I never speak to anyone the intimate details of what happens in our bedroom. That’s no one’s business but ours. And while I am a woman and enjoy the pleasures of you inside me, I’m also male and feel those very same sexual urges and pleasures that you do when you’re inside me. No, I don’t find women sexually attractive, but I do like and want to feel my cock inside you because the pleasure is intense and completely different from the other times we have sex. I thought if I was patient you’d realize that on your own, but I guess you needed a hard shove instead of the gentle nudges I was giving you. I suppose I have Makis and Mered to thank for that. We’ll have to get them something nice for doing so before we leave even if it was unintentional on their parts.”

Olanthe scooped up her towel and wrapped it around her body before she reached for my hand and tugged me to stand. I snagged a towel and tied it around my hips before we left the bathing room. I was a little bemused and anxious for what Olanthe said we’d be doing shortly. A smile touched my lips when I thought that Moswen’s bizarre karma was very likely responsible for my getting my ass ploughed more

often from this point forward. That I was actually looking forward to that was surprising but not unwelcome and I wondered briefly if I should give him some kind of thank you gift. Chapter 53

~Moswen~

I was amazed at how fast a week went by. It seemed like only yesterday I’d brought everybody to Awh’an. I was tickled silly that Delseur and Olanthe seemed to really enjoy their time on my homeworld. Olanthe was smiling more and she seemed to get a kick out of just being a regular person instead of princess Olanthe all the time. She’d even stopped getting so pissed over Awh’anise asking her about her dick all the time. Delseur looked more relaxed although I did see him sitting down real careful like a few times and Olanthe smirking at him. Delseur blushing was hilarious but I was smart enough not to say anything. I had a pretty good idea why he looked a little uncomfortable to sit, but he was still touchy about sex and him being mentioned in the same sentence.

Kijika was enjoying Awh’an, too. He’d somehow gotten me to agree to let him into the Shal-hazal library for the day. I still wasn’t totally sure how that happened, but there’d been some fantastic sex afterwards on the roof top garden of my parent’s house under the night sky. That was also when I found out Kijika did not like being rained on. It didn’t matter that it was a warm, light rain either. Kijika turned all sulky, and scurried back into the house just when we were warming up to round two. I did get to have fun licking the rain off him in our room but he really hated to get wet.

To be more accurate, he hated to get wet in the rain. He simply loved the bathing pool in the house and that gave me a great idea.

“Are you sure nobody will come in here, Moswen?” Kijika asked as he stood at the edge of the pool with a towel wrapped around his hips and an uncertain look on his face.

“Yep. The trouble maker who’d try and get in, and I mean Mahira when I say trouble maker, was warned not to upon pain of travelling the dream-world in the most gut wrenching way I could make it. I’ve also barred the door so unless Mahira wants to try and kick the door down, not even she can stick her nosey nose in here.”

“But are you sure your parents are okay with us….” Kijika made a vague hand gesture and pink touched his cheeks.

“Yeah. Why do you think the pool is so damn big? It gets a lot of use for playing and fucking. Relax, Ki. I swear you’ll like this and nobody will bust in on us.”

Kijika gave me one last look before he shed his towel and stepped into the pool. My breath caught in my throat at how utterly beautiful he was. He’d recently grumbled about how fat he was and how he had no idea how I could still find him arousing when he was a giant ball with wings, legs and arms. He’d moaned about how he hadn’t seen his cock in weeks and how moody he was and how his breasts felt tender and how just… done he was with the whole being pregnant thing. Then he’d burst into tears and clung to me saying that he was happy to be having a baby with me and that he loved me for putting up with his wild emotional mood swings.

I didn’t think he was fat. He was the most beautiful person I’d ever seen and because he was carrying my baby made him even more gorgeous to me. Every time he said he loved me, I thought I was going to burst with pleasure. I’d never get tired of hearing that and I’d never get tired of telling him how much I loved him.

I joined Kijika in the pool and urged him to float on his back. Neither Vylfian nor Naemo really swam as their wings typically got in the way but they seemed to like floating on their backs with their wings spread out. Kijika said it was sorta like flying but without the effort. I thought it was a breath stealing look and it was perfect for my plan.

Kijika’s wings fully spread out almost touched opposite edges of the pool and he groaned softly in pleasure as he relaxed and floated in the warm water. I started my assault on him by scooping up handfuls of water and pouring it over his body. Wherever droplets remained, I licked them up. In a lot less time than I thought possible, considering that I hadn’t gone anywhere near his cock, Kijika’s was hard. His wings beat slowly against the water making waves and eddies around us. My lips trailed over his rounded belly and I smiled when I heard a very faint purring. As weird as it made me feel the first couple of times I’d heard it when we had sex, I was getting used to the idea that the baby seemed to like it when we had sex. I thought that it could feel the love between us as well as all those good brain chemicals that probably filtered through.

When my mouth finally made contact with Kijika’s cock, he groaned deeply. He almost dunked himself when he tried to thrust his hips up and I snickered as he flailed a little and squawked in surprise. Kijika glared at me before an evil smile graced his lips and I sputtered when I was almost swamped by a wave courtesy of one of his wings. Kijika laughed and stood, pulling me into a hug that rubbed our bodies together in all kinds of arousing ways. That threw all my plans for a gentle, leisurely fuck to the wind and made me want to jump him and give him a hard pounding. Kijika hummed in pleasure and gave me nipping kisses to my throat that weren’t doing anything to help with the not fucking him roughly thoughts trying to take over my brain.

“One of these days I really have to show you the Vylfian cleaning ritual. After the baby is born would probably best. You’ll like it. I wash your body with mine and use my wings and hands to rub oils into your skin. When you’re all nice and clean and oiled, I go down on my knees, press my chest to the floor, spread my wings out and wait for you to fuck me. I’m not allowed to come unless you say I can either,” Kijika said in a husky whisper into my ear between licks and delicate nibbles on the edge.

I couldn’t help it. I growled and my claws pressed hard into his skin at the utterly erotic mental image his words triggered in my head. His hand slipped between our bodies and wrapped around my cock, stroking me firmly. I looked into his eyes and the raw lust I saw there had me clenching my teeth in an effort not to bite him to mark him as mine. I was pretty sure he knew he was pushing my buttons and I wanted to curse him for teasing me, but I was liking it, too. I was absolutely sure he knew exactly what he was doing to me and that was turning me on as well.

“I need a good, hard fuck, Moswen. Give me what I want,” Kijika demanded as he let go of my cock, draped his arms around my shoulders and wrapped his legs around my waist.

Even with the help of the water I staggered a little at the unexpected weight. Kijika was a big man and while he wasn’t heavily muscled, even before he became pregnant he outweighed me by a good sixty pounds. I locked my knees and supported him my breath starting to come in little excited pants as the head of my cock rubbed between his cheeks and his cock pressed against my belly as he squirmed against me.

“Don’t you dare even think of saying that you could hurt me or the baby either. We’re both fine and the baby is well protected. I heard your brothers Mered and Makis talking one day and they said you’ve got fantastic motion in your hips when you lose yourself in a fuck and let your Throw-back instincts guide

you. While I think it’s pretty weird that you’ve slept with your brothers, I liked what I heard. I want that and I want that now.”

My cock was thrilled with the idea. My brain thought it would be erotic as hell. My heart almost stopped at what he was asking of me and what could happen if I did what he said he wanted. I opened my mouth to protest and saw the look of determination in his eyes under the desire. I was learning to trust him when he said he could handle things. It was hard because I had a driving need to protect him from everything including myself, but I was getting better at the not coddling thing. I also had close to zero will power when it came to denying him anything. I was a push-over most of the time when it came to him and he knew it.

“Okay.”

The surprise and pleasure in Kijika’s eyes made me grin. He’d obviously thought he’d need to threaten me or something to get me to go along with what he wanted. He knew I was afraid of hurting him or the baby if I lost control. He also told me repeatedly that he was absolutely certain that I’d never hurt him or the baby on purpose. Of course I’d never hurt him or the baby on purpose. It was the accidently part that made me nervous as hell.

I’d only recently figured out that when he really wanted something he got a certain look in his eyes and nothing would shake the idea from his head. He was a really stubborn man when he wanted something and it was a whole lot easier to give in because he had buckets more patience than I did. Not to mention that most of the time my giving in had something to do with some kind of kinky sex he’d read about and wanted to try out with me. What wasn’t to like about that?

I inhaled deeply, pulling Kijika’s scent into my nose and relaxed the rigid control I kept on my Throwback instincts. A smile twitched up the corner of my mouth when I thought that Kijika was likely thinking that if I let my Throw-back nature loose, I’d let the pearls appear and he could experience the Sliaru again. That wasn’t going to happen as the Sliaru made Kijika ultra violent, which I really, really liked, but felt wasn’t safe for the baby. He’d have to wait until after the baby was born for us to play like that again.

Kijika wriggled his hips and I growled at him, nipping his shoulder hard. He moaned softly and fisted a hand in my hair, tugging on the wet strands. His wings moved back and forth in the water sending it

swirling around my legs and balls in a surprisingly erotic caress. I had my hand on my cock and was guiding it into his ass between one breath and the next. For the briefest of seconds his body tightened almost painfully on my cock before his muscles relaxed and I slid balls deep.

“Fuck, yes,” Kijika groaned as his legs tightened around me.

My tail snaked between us and wrapped around his cock, the tip of my tail sliding up his chest and just barely brushing back and forth over his nipples. He hissed in pleasure and his ass squeezed my cock firmly making me growl again. I slid my hands up his back and hooked them on his shoulders before I started to snap my hips back and forth.

Kijika’s eyes glittered with lust and he started to pant harshly. While the pregnancy was making him hornier than hell lately, it also crippled his staying power. He was usually lucky to last two dozen thrusts. That annoyed the crap out of him, but his recovery time was like an Awh’anise female in a breeding cycle. If I managed to hold off for another five minutes, he’d be hard again and another two dozen thrusts had him orgasming again. I was very proud of myself for pulling four orgasms out of him in one recent session.

“No, no, no,” Kijika ground out as his body tensed.

I grinned at him and got in three hard thrusts before groaned and swore as his release crashed over him. His ass clenched and unclenched as his cock spurted. I growled and held myself still to enjoy the feel of him on my cock and the pulses of his cock in the grip of my tail. Kijika went limp in my arms, his breath puffing against the skin of my neck. I gave him a minute to enjoy his post-orgasm high, nuzzling and nipping his throat.

“Fuck, I wanted to last longer,” Kijika said with what sounded like a sulky tone.

I laughed and kissed his cheek before pulling all the way out of his body. He protested until I told him to turn around and brace his arms against the floor at the edge of the pool. He kissed me, sliding his tongue into my mouth and giving me a quasi-fuck that I appreciated a hell of a lot. I was just getting into the oral action when he pulled back, tweaked my nipples hard, turned around and rested his forearms on the floor, laying his head on them. His wings stayed open and he swished his ass at me, glancing at

me from the corner of his eye. My tail was still wrapped around his cock and I felt him start to firm up again. If his ass hadn’t been under water, I’d have smacked it just for the thrill of doing that when he seemed in a playfully aggressive mood and would like that kind of thing.

“I’m waiting, Moswen,” Kijika said with laughter and arousal in his voice. “You need an invitation or something?”

That exceptionally fine ass of his swayed back and forth again and I growled low. “Tease.”

“Everybody needs a hobby,” Kijika laughed as his cock twitched against the grip of my tail.

I spread his cheeks apart and thrust into him. His back bowed and he made a startled sound that trailed off into a pleasure filled moan. My hands slid to his hips and I started giving him the hard Throw-back fuck he’d asked me for. My talons dug into his skin and he hissed at the sharp sting, his body tensing and his ass squeezing my cock but he didn’t ask me to ease up or stop. I alternated between growling and purring loudly as I fucked him. I somehow managed to keep from raking my claws down his back. Sweat rolled down my spine as I resisted the urge to relax completely and let the pearls appear. He wriggled under me groaning and demanding that I do him harder and faster. I did what he wanted and bit my lip until it bled to keep the pearls in check and my claws mostly to myself. He started to push his ass back into me, begging me to come inside him between panting breaths. It was his please that ended on a scream as his second orgasm slammed into him that tipped me over the edge. I growled, snapped my hips tight to his ass and bit the spot just under where his wing joined his shoulder as my cock spurted inside him.

One thought screamed in my brain as I rode the waves of intense satisfaction. Mine. Kijika was mine and the bit mark would prove that to anybody who saw it.

There was almost too much sensation running through my body and mind. The feel of his ass milking my cock, the spurting of his cock within the hold of my tail, the smell of him heavy in my nose, the taste of his skin with a little blood on my tongue and the feel of his buttery soft wings brushing against me. I was in a pleasure haze and felt like I could stay exactly where I was until the end of time and be perfectly happy. I let go of his neck and began to lazily lick his skin, cleaning away the drops of blood from where my fangs had punctured his flesh. Kijika made a contended sounding sigh in his throat and his whole body relaxed.

Kijika stayed still for several minutes before he shifted and my soft cock slipped from his ass. He sighed regretfully, closed his wings and shifted around until he was facing me. The smile he gave me was filled with satisfaction and love. He pulled me in for a kiss that ended with me sitting in his lap as his tongue dipped in and out of my mouth. When he pulled back from the kiss he hugged me and pressed his lips to my ear.

“That was amazing. You made me scream. I love when you work me up so much. Parts of me hurt, but it’s that good hard sex hurt that’ll remind me hours later that I had your cock balls deep in my ass. Thank you for doing that for me, Moswen. It was exactly what I wanted and needed right now. I love you.”

I wanted to feel bad about hurting Kijika even if he’d been the one who’d asked for the rough fuck, but it had felt so good to let go and just be me that I couldn’t do it. There was also the fact that Kijika seemed to be really happy so I let it go. A little thought wormed into my head as Kijika held me and stroked my skin and it refused to go away. I chewed on a my lip a little and wondered if I should ask him if he’d like to do this sort of thing again or if I should keep my mouth shut and count my lucky stars that he wanted to experience a Throw-back fuck in the first place.

“What is it, Moswen?” Kijika asked, amusement in his voice.

“What’s what?” I hedged. He was getting scary good at knowing when I wanted to ask him something but was afraid to.

“Ask what you want to ask although I think I might know what it is.”

I looked up at Kijika and saw warmth, acceptance and love in his eyes.

“Ummm… would you be interested in doing something like that again? It’s okay if you don’t. I mean, if being pregnant is making you all horny and wanting a little of the rough stuff now but not… y’know later after the baby is born, I’m cool with that.”

“I don’t typically go for the rougher stuff, but that was pretty hot. Did you know you were growling and purring at the same time? That was so cool. I didn’t even know you could do that. Every time you were shoving your cock into me you were saying mine over and over again. With your tail wrapped around my dick and the sounds you were making, the words you said and the way you had a grip on me…. I felt like you were claiming me and the submissive in me loved that. So, yes, I very much would like to do something similar with you again. I think you letting go and me doing the Vylfian cleaning ritual would be a thrilling experience for both of us and would make us very, very happy.”

I was blessed. Utterly and totally blessed. I had no idea what I’d ever done to have a person as special as Kijika in my life. I was grateful as hell though. I pulled his head down for a kiss, whispering thank you and I love against his lips before throwing everything I felt for him into the kiss. Kijika kissed me back and I knew that wherever he was, that was home for me. I couldn’t experience the Lor’fei, but for all intents and purposes, that’s what he was to me. Kijika broke the kiss and gave me a little push to get off his lap.

“While I’d love to stay here all snuggled up with you, I think my wings are wrinkling. I’m hungry, too. And you said we could go to see the ocean today. I’ve never seen red water.”

I laughed and stole another kiss before levering myself out of the pool and giving Kijika a hand out. Food did sound like a decent plan and I had promised him a trip to the ocean. We towelled off and slipped into clean clothes before making our way to the kitchen hand in hand. I was so happy; I had a hard time not bouncing. Life was treating me incredibly good.

*********

The comm unit strapped to my wrist made annoying chirping noises signalling an incoming call and I debated ignoring it. Only my family knew the number to the comm unit and they wouldn’t call unless it really was an emergency. Kijika was enjoying himself as he strolled along the shoreline picking up shells and stones and I hated the thought of cutting his fun short. The comm stopped making noise only to start up again less than a minute later. I glared at the comm before stabbing the receive button.

“What?” I snarled into the comm.

“Cadao from the Shal-hazal Council is here. He said he needs to speak to you and that it’s urgent Shalhazal business,” my sho said in a worried tone. Her voice lowered, “Huyana and Femi both called just before this Cadao person showed up. They said Phaedra knows you recently saw Tyh and told the Council. Shay-shon, what have you done?”

My insides turned to ice and the blood drained from my head so fast, I felt a little dizzy. I knew I’d taken a risk the first time I popped in on Tyh, but I’d wanted to make sure he was okay. I hadn’t intended to do it again after he told me to stay away, but the second time; I really hadn’t been in my right mind. And then Tyh and Dak had stayed on Gi-foeh when they really shouldn’t have.

Fuck.

This was bad. Really bad. Not only was the Council aware that I’d seen Tyh and not reported it or captured him, Cadao was the happy little bird of vengeance delivering the message on behalf of the Council. Cadao hated me with a passion and was the current head of the Council. He’d go to extreme lengths to make me suffer because he could. If only Phaedra had gone to the Council a little later, somebody else would’ve been heading it up and whatever was going to rain down on my head wouldn’t be nearly as bad as I was sure Cadao was going to make it.

Double fuck.

I couldn’t just leave Awh’an either. Aside from that being incredibly dishonourable, I’d have Hunters sent after me to bring me back. They wouldn’t be able to find me if I Dream-Stepped, but they sure as shit could find Kijika or the baby and they weren’t above taking either one to leverage me into coming back and facing the Council.

“Moswen? Moswen? You need to come home right now, shay-shon. I don’t like the looks of this Cadao person. He makes me feel like I need a bath after being near him,” my sho said with disgust plain in her voice.

I jumped a little, having forgotten that I still had the comm open. I mumbled something in agreement and cut the connection. I shouted for Kijika and that we needed to go back home right away. He moved quickly to my side and frowned.

“What happened?”

“The Council knows I saw Tyh. They probably know that he was on Gi-foeh, too. The Council head is at my parent’s house and is demanding I present myself.”

“Shit. How did this happen?”

“I must’ve missed somebody who saw Tyh and Dak when I went and locked down the memories in everybody’s minds.”

“You what?” Kijika frowned at me and crossed his arms over his chest.

“It was safer that way for everybody. After Tyh and Dak left, I went Dream-Stepping and locked away the memories of Tyh and Dak from everybody I could find. Phaedra can’t probe every dreamer she encounters looking for Tyh. That’d be too time consuming. She’d skim the dreams. I put the memories behind walls in people’s heads and made them look like any other wall to a Shal-hazal casually poking around. Eventually the walls will give way but that would still buy Tyh at least a year. Longer if I go back and repair the walls every now and again.”

“You can do that? Change people’s memories? But I still remember Tyh and Dak. My parents do, too.”

“You remember because I can extend protection directly to you. It’s like… when you sleep, your dreams register as another Shal-hazal and we don’t enter each other’s dreams. Too dangerous. If you think the stuff we can do in other people’s dreams is god-like, in our own dreams, we are God. And your parents remember as I knew we were coming here and the walls wouldn’t have held when faced with others knowing Tyh and possibly seeing pictures of him. It would’ve been a wasted effort on my part.”

“Wow. That’s scary and cool at the same time. My dad is going to want to grill you about this for sure. So is this thing with the Council going to be as bad as I think it will be?”

I thought about lying to Kijika. I didn’t want him to worry when there was nothing that he could do. But I knew it would piss him off and I was pretty sure he’d see it as coddling him by not telling him what might go down.

“It’s gonna be real bad. I broke a big time rule in not reporting that I’d found Tyh. It’s also bad that I didn’t try and capture him, but I can get a little leeway there because he is an insane Litch and I’m a Spirit and there’s no way in hell that I’m on any kind of level to physically fight him. I’m hoping that they don’t know it was me that got him off planet and that they don’t know I can find him any damn time I want.”

“What will the Council do to you?” Kijika asked softly as he pulled me into a tight hug.

“I’ll be whipped. It won’t kill me, but it’ll hurt like fuck and I’ll be a bloody freaking mess. They’ll likely dock my pay and suspend me from Council business. I could get knocked down a few levels of rank, but I’ll remain the Will of my House until I die or retire from active duty. They can’t make me retire as I’m just too damned good and valuable but they could suspend my active duty for a while.”

“Whipped? As in really whipped?” Kijika sounded aghast at the idea.

“Yeah. Physical punishment works the best any Awh’anise. This won’t be pretty, Ki. I don’t want you to see what’s going to happen to me.”

“Tough shit. You’re my husband. The father of my child. My concubine. My shu’anad. My place is beside you for this and any other crap that rolls our way. We do this together, Moswen.”

I hugged Kijika tight. I was scared spitless of what was to come, but thrilled and warmed that Kijika would be there with me. With his support, I could do anything, get through anything. I kissed his chest over his heart and released him. I sighed heavily, took his hand and lead him back to the sledge that I’d borrowed from my parents. I could handle whatever the Council and Cadao wanted to throw at me because I had Kijika and our baby to love and protect and nothing the Council could dream up was going to stop me from making that happen.

Chapter 54

~Kijika~

“For not informing the Council of your ability to find Shal-hazal Litch Will Leu Tyhlian Huyana-Dukker of the House of Hedya and for continuing to refuse to disclose his whereabouts, Shal-hazal Spirit Will Eag’res Moswen Fayina-Dukker of the Shal-hazal House of Hedya, you are hereby sentenced to two hundred lashes. Your sentence will be carried out within the hour. Your pay is also to be suspended for three months and your duties restricted to Council business only. It is against this Council member’s recommendation, but your rank will remain. This proceeding is adjourned.”

A small gong sounded and a murmur rose through the room. Moswen turned to look at me and I noticed some of the colour had left his face. I wasn’t feeling the best either at the news that Moswen would be getting two hundred lashes. He’d explained what that was and I really didn’t like the sound of it. I also knew from what Moswen said that two hundred was more than he thought he’d get for keeping Tyhlian’s whereabouts a secret or how he managed to track him down. It was double what he thought he’d get and he’d been dreading getting a hundred lashes.

“Ki, I need you to go back to my parent’s house. Somebody from my House will bring me there when my punishment is done. I don’t want you to see me go through that. Especially not in your condition.”

I narrowed my eyes at Moswen. He’d gotten better at not treating me like fragile glass, but he still did it sometimes. Usually when he was trying to protect me from something really bad, which was sort of sweet, but still got on my last nerve. I was willing to concede that I’d been told to avoid high stress situations or labour might start early, but there was no way in hell that I’d let Moswen go through his punishment alone.

Granted, I was really pregnant and due any day now, but with that being the case, I didn’t see the point in not attending his punishment since I was just as likely to go into labour now as I was a week from now. Not that I’d shared that little bit of information with Moswen. He was lousy at keeping track of when I was due, which was actually working for me, otherwise he’d have never asked me come to Awh’an when he did in the first place. Thank all the gods that my mother had actually listened to me when I’d told her not to remind Moswen of just when I was due. Punishment aside, I didn’t regret

coming to Awh’an one bit. Moswen’s family was warm and open and welcomed me into their numbers. I looked forward to coming back for another visit.

“No. I’m not some weak flower in need of protection, Moswen. I am a military man. I’ve seen and even given some pretty harsh punishment. I’m not letting you do this alone. Do not argue with me. I’ll be there and that’s final. Understood?”

The barest hint of relief passed through Moswen’s eyes before he nodded and that had me worried. Moswen wasn’t afraid of pain and had an insanely high threshold. If he was nervous about what was to come, it was probably going to be even worse than I thought. I swallowed down acid that rose in the back of my throat and tried not to think of how awful I was pretty sure this was going to be.

“The lashing won’t kill me because that’s not the point of this punishment. I might wish I was dead to make the hurting stop. I’m going to be an ugly mess, Ki. All of the lashes will happen today. Because of the number, which I’m sure is that asshole Cadao’s idea; a Shal-hazal healer will probably do their thing part way through to make sure it won’t kill me to have all of them at once. I’m not gonna lie, Ki. This is gonna hurt like a bitch. It’s supposed too and it’s really the only way to punish a Shal-hazal effectively when we do something as major as what I’ve done, family or not. They’d usually have another Spirit class or two block me from the dream world so I can’t escape through sleep, but since I don’t need to be asleep to do what I do….”

Moswen swallowed hard and looked away. I had the nasty suspicion I wasn’t going to like what he said next.

“Cadao told me they would throw you in a cell and take away our baby if I didn’t stay put for all my punishment. He’s not bluffing either, Ki. He’s a fucking asshole, but he knows his laws backwards and forwards and he’s using a really old one here. The Council is allowed to confine a Shal-hazal’s partner or immediate family member to enforce co-operation. The Council knows I’m devoted to you and our baby so Cadao, the dickwad, is using you and the baby as a hostage.”

I felt rage boil up inside me and the baby kick hard several times, making me gasp at the sharp pain before it settled down. Neither one of us was happy about this little revelation apparently. I rubbed my hand over my belly soothing the baby and trying to calm myself down. As wonderful as Moswen’s

people in general had been, I was seriously starting to hate the Shal-hazal Council and Cadao in particular.

“The Council isn’t usually this bad. The guy running the show? He hates me for something I did when I was in training that was just a dumb kid prank and he’s working his grudge like nobody’s business. It’s just my crappy karma that has him as head of the Council when all this went down. If it’d happened in another couple of months, somebody else would be the head dude and not only would my punishment be less, they never would’ve threatened you and our baby to get me to co-operate. I know it’s not helping right now, but he’s going to be reprimanded for what he did during my proceeding when the next person takes over.”

No, it didn’t help any, but if Moswen’s karma had any sense of fair play, it’d have somebody who liked Moswen be the next in line to head up the Council and the prick who was sentencing Moswen to what was basically torture would get what was coming to him. Moswen glanced to the side at the Shal-hazal moving towards him and held up his hand. They stopped and waited a respectful distance but it was clear they needed to take him somewhere.

“I’ll be alright, Ki. I’d never let anything happen to you or our baby. They’re going to take me to a cell and probably give me the option of lessening my lashes if I just tell them where Tyh is or take them to him. I can’t do that. I love Tyh and he’s got Dak now and I’m absolutely positive that Dak is going to find a way to save not only Tyh but all the Litches. I know it. He loves Tyh too much not to do that.”

“I’d never ask you to betray Tyh or Dak, Moswen. They deserve happiness and if anybody can figure out how to keep Tyh from going insane, I’m sure Dak can.”

“Thank you, Ki,” Moswen said as he reached for me and pulled me into a kiss.

The kiss was sweet and heartfelt and I wanted it to go on, but Moswen pulled back. He looked up at me and his eyes looked suspiciously wet. He touched my cheek softly and rubbed a hand gently over my belly.

“Just in case something goes horribly, horribly wrong, and I’m not saying it will, but if it does, I want you to raise me. I know you can do it, so don’t try and tell me you can’t. Even if I’m not… me anymore and

just a… shell, I’ll feel better going into this knowing that I can still protect you and our baby beyond death. I love you, Kijika. You are my world and nothing will change how I feel about you. Not even death. Never forget that,” Moswen said, his voice becoming rough.

Moswen turned and walked away without a backward glance, the Shal-hazal escorting him from the room. I was sure I had a shell-shocked expression on my face. He had to be more worried about this lashing thing than he was letting on. Just the idea that he wanted me to raise him from the dead if something happened to him was… oddly touching and made my heart ache. I doubted I’d be able to bear it, having his body near me yet knowing the man himself was beyond my reach forever…. Tears welled in my eyes and slipped over my cheeks. The baby shifted and I rubbed a hand over my belly in soothing circles.

“Your Radiance? Are you alright? Should I call someone for you? Besides Shal-hazal Spirit Will Moswen that is,” one of the Shal-hazal in training asked me.

With more effort that I thought I’d need, I pulled myself together and gave the young woman a haughty royal look that would’ve made my mother very proud of me. Moswen had told the Council who I was and I wasn’t above using my position as a royal or Moswen’s shu’anad and the bearer of his child to get what I wanted.

“Take me to the place where Moswen’s punishment is going to happen. It is my right as his shu’anad and the one carrying his child to be with him.”

The cold, demanding look and words just this side of snotty worked beautifully and had the young Shalhazal almost jumping to obey me, leading me through a maze of corridors down into the bowels of the main House the Council used as its headquarters. I couldn’t have said for certain, but I thought the route we took was the long way down and possibly designed to confuse so that if I did get any ideas about fleeing, I wouldn’t know the way out of wherever we were going.

We entered a very large stone chamber and as soon as I set foot into the room, I felt the dead all around me. There were graves behind the walls and under the floor and that helped settle my nerves a tiny bit. I still had a very bad feeling about what was to take place though. The baby moved restlessly, probably responding to my lingering tension and I rubbed a hand over my belly again.

Except for the brightly lit end of the room where Moswen’s arms were being tied to a cross beam, the rest of the area was in shifting shadows from torches that lined the walls. The chamber was primitive in nature but I was almost certain that was intentional. The Awh’anise were technologically advanced enough to have run power to the room if they’d wanted to.

Moswen was naked, his long hair braided and coiled into a pile on top of his head, exposing his back for what was to come. His tail was bound tightly to his thigh and calf with rope, the tip flicking back and forth against his ankle with what I recognized as nerves. His skin glistened slightly and my stomach roiled as my mind made the leap that Moswen was sweating with nerves over his punishment. This was really going to be bad.

Shal-hazal Wills stood against the walls with younger Shal-hazal in training crouched at their feet. All the Wills of all the Houses were present and each had brought one or two candidates they felt were promising for becoming future Wills. I estimated that there were roughly two hundred Shal-hazal in the room, yet the room could’ve easily held double that number. My hands clenched into fists when I saw that the same man who’d pronounced Moswen’s punishment stepped forward and was carrying what I could only assume was what was going to be used on Moswen to punish him.

“This is your last chance for leniency, Shal-hazal Spirit Will Eag’res Moswen. Tell the gathered Shal-hazal Wills where Shal-hazal Litch Will Leu Tyhlian is or how to find him and your punishment will be reduced by half.”

“No. Tyh is family. You want him dead, your Litch Hunter will have to find him herself and do the deed,” Moswen said in a clear voice.

I saw Cadao smile as he uncoiled the long whip he’d been holding. My breath caught. I thought something like a crop or maybe a flog would be used for Moswen’s punishment, which would’ve been bad, but endurable. The length of whip that slithered to the floor was a completely different thing. I knew better than the average person what a whip could do to unprotected flesh. While it didn’t appear to have the barbed spines that Arek did, I knew from experience that simple leather could still slice skin open fairly easily. I saw Huyana standing off to the side, the expression on her face wavering between anger and sorrow. I was willing to bet that she’d volunteered to be the healer who worked on Moswen.

“Then your punishment stands. Two hundred lashes. Shal-hazal Healer Will Huyana will monitor your health. Remember that the well-being of your shu’anad and your child depend on you remaining here to accept the full punishment you’ve been sentenced to.”

Moswen glanced over his shoulder at me and I saw the barest flicker of humour in his eyes. “Yeah, I know. I think it’s a shitty thing to threaten a pregnant person and it really pisses me off that you threatened my lover and my baby to make sure I’d stay for all of it, but gods help you if you make Kijika mad. You have no idea what you’re fucking with there.”

A tiny smile quirked up the corner of my mouth. Yeah, the pregnancy made my temper more volatile than normal and I had a few incidents that I’m sure would be palace gossip for years to come, but I didn’t think I was that bad. Then again, I had nearly unleashed the dead on my secretary that one time for something that was really minor and nowhere near the scope of bad I was sure was about to happen.

Cadao stared at me and obviously dismissed me as not worth worrying about. I muttered a few choice words in Naemo and the baby thumped the side of my stomach hard. A few of the younger Shal-hazal looked at me and one of them whispered something and pointed at me. More whispers followed but I ignored them as I focused on Moswen and what he was about to endure.

It was worse than I thought.

Moswen made no sound for the first five strikes even though it was clear that Cadao wasn’t holding back on the full swing of his arm. The next five had Moswen hissing loudly and swearing. By the time twenty lashes had been administered, Moswen was snarling and straining against the frame they had tied him to. At thirty lashes, Moswen was screaming in pain and his back was covered in blood. Cadao paused at fifty and motioned Huyana forward to see to Moswen.

With the break in punishment, Moswen sagged against the restraints holding him. The room was oddly silent and I could clearly hear Moswen’s ragged breathing. I saw him nod at something Huyana said and watched as her head dropped forward and she swayed slightly were she stood as she slipped into the dream world to speed Moswen’s healing. Moswen’s skin twitched and he shuddered, a little moan working past his throat. At least fifteen minutes passed before Huyana frowned and her eyes opened.

She spoke softly to Moswen, gently wiping the blood from his newly healed skin before moving away from him to stand in her original place on the sidelines.

“Cadao better enjoy this while he can. He’s going to face some serious discipline himself when the next Will takes over as head of the Council,” said one of the older Shal-hazal near me in a low voice.

I looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

“The accelerated healing on wounds like that makes the skin feel tight. It’s uncomfortable, but that’s not the problem. The newly healed skin will be tender. When Cadao next swings the whip, it’ll hurt twice as bad. Him taking a break at fifty was no kindness. He’s doing it to be cruel.”

The anger that’d been simmering inside me bubbled to the surface. The baby kicked extra hard and I clearly saw the outline of a hand press outward against my belly. Apparently I wasn’t the only one getting pissed. I swore in Vylfian and Naemo loud enough for Moswen to hear and turn his head to look at me.

“No, Kijika. I’m not done. Don’t interfere or the whole damn thing will start all over again from zero. I can take whatever this asshole thinks he can dish out.”

Cadao turned an ugly shade of red and flicked the whip impatiently. Huyana glared at him but said nothing. I had an almost overwhelming urge to try and unleash something devastating like a lightning bolt on Cadao and turn him into a crispy husk even though the Vylfian spells I knew didn’t seem to work on Awh’an. Learned magic was a no-go, but innate abilities worked just fine.

The whip descended on Moswen’s back again and there was no silence from Moswen this time. The scream that left Moswen sounded like it was torn from him. It only took five strikes before his skin was split open again. By the time another fifty lashes had landed, Moswen was sagging in the restraints and two of the Shal-hazal standing near him had pinched expressions on their faces. The older Shal-hazal who’d spoken earlier leaned close and spoke in a quiet voice.

“The Shal-hazal near him are keeping him conscious. They don’t like the task, but are required to keep him in the here and now and not let him escape mentally into sleep. Cadao is going to have him healed again. I think he’s trying to kill Moswen and hoping it’ll look like an accident. He’s never forgiven the childish prank that Moswen pulled on him and I’d always suspected that he let it fester inside him. I never thought he’d let it go this far though.”

I whipped my head around to stare at the Shal-hazal. The baby kicked and punched hard and when I rested a hand over my belly, I felt the tiny press of a hand against my own. My emotions roiled through me and I felt the dead shift in response. That surprised me a little and I tried to reel in my emotions. I was not going to do something stupid like lose my temper when Moswen’s well being was at stake. Shadows cast by the flickering torches danced and writhed around us wildly and several of the young Shal-hazal near me jumped and muttered about something grabbing them.

“Why are you telling me this?” I demanded of the Shal-hazal.

“I was one of Moswen’s teachers. He was one of my brightest students. I recommended him for the position of Spirit Will of his House. I’m Shal-hazal Spirit Will Yarin by the way. Moswen can be a handful but he’s truly gifted and a good Will despite his young age. What Cadao is doing is wrong and while I’d love to stop it, I can’t. I have to follow the rules of the Shal-hazal Council at all times not only when it’s convenient for me. You on the other hand….”

The Shal-hazal said nothing more. I watched Huyana repeat the healing on Moswen and Cadao resume his position behind him. The whip rose and fell rhythmically, the sounds Moswen made with each hit had me flinching and beginning to feel like I was going to throw up. Twenty strikes into the latest round of lashes, he couldn’t scream any more, his throat raw. Ten more and I felt the spark of his life waver and almost fell to my knees. I’d never experienced anything like the despair suddenly rushing through me.

Yarin was right. Cadao was trying to kill Moswen and I couldn’t stand by and let that happen.

“Stop!” I shouted as I stepped forward intending to wrestle the whip from Cadao if I had to. “You’re killing him.”

Shal-hazal near me grabbed my arms and held me back. Cadao glanced at me and laid five strikes in quick succession to Moswen’s back. Moswen’s life energy flared brightly at the first hit and then rapidly faded. I felt him moving towards death and my insides turned to ice. The baby kicked so hard, I gasped and my knees wobbled from the pain. I wouldn’t feel Moswen fading from the living if I didn’t share a powerful connection with him.

As a necromancer, I was intimately aware of the feel of the dead near me and approaching death, but I generally didn’t have a sense of the living. In a flash, I realized that the closer I’d grown to Moswen, the more I was able to feel his essence. I could feel our baby in the same way. They were both a part of me and I didn’t want to do without either one. No matter how comfortable I was with death and the dead, the idea of Moswen joining their ranks was distasteful to the point of pain. I struggled against the hold of the Shal-hazal.

“Let go of me and stop this… punishment. You’re killing him. I can feel it. I’m a gods damned necromancer and I can feel Moswen dying,” I said in my best commanding officer voice with a healthy dose of royal order.

“This is Shal-hazal business. You’re here on my grace only. If you can’t remain quiet, I’ll have you removed and perhaps start the punishment over again since you’ve interrupted it,” Cadao said with a smirk.

The temper I’d been barely holding in check broke free at the threat. Moswen repeatedly said that nothing and nobody was allowed to harm me or our baby and I felt the same way about him. Power surged through me and beaded up an oily blue-black on my skin. The Shal-hazal holding me let go with a startled hiss when their hands came in contact with the manifestation of my raw energy. The baby pressed both hands hard against my belly. I could clearly see the outline of tiny hands under my skin and I grunted at the dull pain. The room seemed to get darker, shadows writhing and twisting around the room as I gave my anger free rein.

“You are killing him and I am not going to stand by and let you do that to the man I love and the father of my child. Moswen warned you that you shouldn’t piss me off and he had a very good reason for saying that. I am Kijika Par-Delseur, Fourth Shade Necromancer and Des Anate of the Naemo Army of

the Dead. I have had enough of this and will be taking Moswen with me. You had better pray to whatever gods you have that he recovers from this.”

My wings snapped open, knocking several Shal-hazal off their feet. I muttered harsh words in Naemo and threw every ounce of power I had at the dead I could feel all around me. The stones of the floor and walls began shifting and cries of alarm sounded from around the room. Hands appeared from between the cracks in the stones and the dead rose to my call. Screams and swearing sounded around the room as dead Awh’anise began to pull and push their way free of their graves. A quick glance at the first few dead had a cruel smile forming on my lips.

Holding the punishment in a chamber surrounded by catacombs filled with generations of dead Shalhazal was a wonderful twist courtesy of Moswen’s bizarre karma I was sure.

The shadows in the room seemed to flow with purpose, chasing and wrapping around whatever Shalhazal didn’t move quickly enough out of the way. Shrieks came from some of the Shal-hazal and curses peppered the air as the shadows covered people and appeared to pull the Shal-hazal they surrounded to the floor. Some were dragged away gods only knows where. What happened to them at that point, I didn’t know or care. By the time the stones stopped shifting and disgorging the dead, there was barely room to move in the large chamber.

“The dead are mine to command and if I say I can feel you killing Moswen, then I can feel it. None of the living Shal-hazal can or will stop you, Cadao, but I have no such problem. Huyana, please heal Moswen to the point that we can safely take him home. The dead won’t harm you. Cadao, I can’t say the same thing about you.”

Silence reigned for almost a full minute at my words. The dead moved on my silent commands, flanking me and separating Cadao from Moswen. They formed a protective circle around Huyana and after a few seconds of cautious looks at the dead, she moved to where Moswen hung and began healing him. I started walking towards Moswen, intent on reaching him and taking him home.

The dead surged forward with me, matching me perfectly step for step. Shal-hazal around me broke from their stunned trance of seeing the dead walking and began attacking the dead. They seemed surprised when the dead fought back just as hard and remained standing despite what I knew would’ve been fatal injuries had they been alive. A small phalanx of dead surrounded me and I smiled when I

heard one of the Shal-hazal shout that I had Litches surrounding me for protection. I raised my voice to be heard over the sounds of combat.

“Whoever falls to my dead will join them to fight the living. I am taking Moswen from here and dealing some punishment of my own to Cadao. Anyone who has a problem with that is welcome to try and stop me although I’d highly recommend against it. More dead Shal-hazal will only help me achieve my goal.”

One of the younger Shal-hazal who’d accompanied their Will yelled a battle cry and threw himself at the dead. His shriek was abruptly cut short when two of the dead caught him mid-leap and ripped him in two. The dead dropped the Shal-hazal and silence descended when I flicked a glance at the corpse and extended power to it. The body shuddered, the two halves flowed together and the young Shal-hazal stood, looked around and assumed a defensive stance in my line of the dead. There was a collective murmur of surprise and horror and the living Shal-hazal took a collective step back. Even warriors as vicious as the Awh’anise, had a primal fear of the dead walking among them.

“This is a fraction of what I can do. Do not push me to call more dead forth. I know there are thousands more in the catacombs around this chamber. I can feel them. Hear them calling me to bring them forth to fight one more time. They’re eager to have the chance to fight again even if it is against fellow Shalhazal. If I have to empty every god damn fucking grave to get Moswen safely out of here, then I’ll do that. Moswen has suffered enough and he’s coming with me.”

I was lying through my teeth.

The dead felt nothing, never spoke and only did what I commanded. I was also well past the number of dead I could raise and control at any given moment. I was shocked that I’d found the power to raise nearly three hundred dead. That was fifty more than I’d ever managed. I chalked it up to pregnancy hormones and being more pissed off than I’d ever been in my entire life. But the Shal-hazal believed me and that was the important thing. Wills began gathering the Shal-hazal they’d brought and the order to stand down rippled around the room.

I looked at Cadao and let my rage at what he’d done to Moswen show on my face. I had a truly evil idea I was about to test out on him for what he’d done to Moswen. Sometimes inborn abilities stayed with a Naemo after death if they were raised soon enough. I was hoping like hell the same held true for the

Shal-hazal. I mentally scanned the Litches surrounding me and found a few who’d died in the last couple of weeks. I sent them to Cadao and ordered them to absorb his mind.

Cadao’s eyes widened when he saw the Litches advancing on him. He took a step back before stopping himself and holding his ground. He snapped the whip and took out the eye of one of the Litches and swore when it didn’t even stop. The Litches penned him in and one by one started to sway. Cadao eyed them warily and eventually smirked at me when nothing seemed to happen. I was disappointed, but I was also certain that the dead could tear him into pieces without much trouble.

I started forward again, heading for Moswen, when the Litches reached for Cadao. He barely dodged their hands and I noted the little flicker of fear in his eyes with a malicious smirk. Shadows crawled up his legs making him stamp his feet and curse. He swore viciously and snapped the whip he still held at the shadows to no effect. He tried to move only to find that the shadows held him in place. Fear flashed over his face. He gave a startled yell at the first touch of the dead and his eyes rolled back in his head when the dead Litches put their hands on him.

The dead Litches around him began laughing in the most chilling manner I’d ever heard. The laughter was nothing I’d ordered them to do. I was actually a little surprised as the dead typically didn’t make any sounds at all. Whatever the reason they were laughing, it was unnerving as hell not only to me but to the Shal-hazal in the room, too.

Several dozen Shal-hazal around the room suddenly doubled over and began to retch. A few of the younger ones clutched their heads and screamed. Cadao’s body shook and froth spilled from his lips. His skin turned ashen and without warning, he collapsed to the floor. The dead Litches abruptly stopped their maniacal laughter and swaying. I felt death slide over Cadao and smiled in satisfaction.

“Cadao is dead. The Litches have stolen his mind at my command. Little pieces of his consciousness are in each of the Litches and when I dismiss them, he will be truly dead. Until then, I hope he enjoys his time in the mind of the dead. We’re leaving. Now. I’d advise against trying to stop me.”

I walked to where Moswen still hung from the cross beam. His wounds were partially healed but he was still a mess and my heart ached to see him like that. I pulled a knife from my belt and cut him loose, catching him before he could hit the floor and apologizing softly for touching his abused back. Dead stepped forward at my command and lifted Moswen, carrying him gently facedown as I turned and

headed for the exit. Huyana trailed behind me. The Shal-hazal parted in front of us and I let the dead guide us from the chamber.

We exited the House into the bright day. Awh’anise on the street stopped and stared, several turning and running when they realized what they were seeing. I could’ve let the majority of the dead flow back into the ground, their purpose done, but I wanted to leave a lasting impression on the people of Awh’an. I was not a person to be messed with. Most especially when it came to harming my lover.

The baby thumped my belly hard and I grunted at the pain before rubbing a hand over it. It seemed like our baby was in perfect agreement with me. I commanded the dead forward and stepped out into the street which had fallen eerily silent as the people watched us walk past. The closer we got to Moswen’s parent’s house the weaker I began to feel, my personal energy sustaining as many dead as I was rapidly leaving. Dead began falling and flowing back into the ground. By the time we reached Moswen’s parent’s house, I had only a couple dozen dead with us.

Huyana opened the gate and we filed into the courtyard. Moswen’s parents, my parents and his siblings came running out of the house and skidded to a stop when they saw us. The dead set Moswen gently on the ground and I dismissed them, sinking to my knees with sudden exhaustion. The baby pressed a hand hard against my belly and I gasped softly as I felt warm liquid trickle over the lips of the pouch. I began to laugh as I crawled to where Moswen lay unconscious and face down in the hard packed dirt.

“Huyana, I need you to heal Moswen as quickly as possible. I over exerted myself and I think I might’ve triggered labour to start. I need Moswen awake to help me give birth. He’d be pissed as hell if he missed it, too. We’ve probably got about six hours before true labour starts. Can you heal him in that amount of time?”

Huyana looked at me and snorted softly. “With my tail tied behind my back. I swear, Moswen’s karma infects all those next to him. Are you sure labour is starting?”

“My pouch has started to unseal. It usually takes a couple of hours for that to finish. Although, knowing Moswen’s wonderful Karma, it’ll probably be faster.”

“True enough. Alright, let’s get everybody inside and settled in bed. I doubt Kijika wants to give birth in the dirt out in the middle of the courtyard,” Huyana said as she directed several of Moswen’s siblings to carry him into the house.

My mother looked between me and Moswen before following Huyana into the house with the admonishment for me not to dawdle as I’d need to be settled and calm for birthing seeing as I was so foolish to use as much energy as I had in some male posturing display. Under the harsh words, I could see the worry in my mother’s eyes not only for me, but for Moswen. My throat tightened. If my mother was worried, Moswen had to be much worse than I thought. My father looked at me with a raised eyebrow and flicked a glance at the ground where the dead had settled. I felt a little zing along my senses and watched the dead claw their way back out of the ground.

“I’ll set the dead to guard the house. Huyana can let me know later if I need to keep them there. I assume the dead fell away as you walked here?” At my nod, he looked thoughtful. “I can put them back for you, assuming of course that the Shal-hazal will allow me near their House. How many do I look for?”

“Three hundred give or take a dozen,” I said as I reached for my father, needing his help to stand.

Delseur’s eyes widened and I gave him a tired smile as I leaned against him. I knew we’d have a talk about what I’d done later and I was perfectly fine with that. I felt the dead stirring but was too drained to care. They were under my father’s command now and if he wanted to, he really could do what I’d threatened to in the House. Keeping a few hundred dead in control was nothing for him. He helped me into the house and into a room that was quickly prepared for me. I shed my clothes and sank onto the bed gratefully. I had time to rest before true labour started and Moswen was healed enough to join me. Then the hard part would really start. Chapter 55

~Moswen~

I was floating in a pain-filled haze in the dream world. Not even the unreality of dreams was dulling the sheet of raw fire that was my back and I whimpered. The lashing was far, far worse than what I’d thought it’d be. I’d gotten a few lashes before for an idiot move or three, but the difference between five or six lashes and two hundred lashes was… I didn’t even have words for it. I’m not even sure how I

ended up in the dream world as there were Shal-hazal that were supposed to be keeping me from it until my punishment was done. Maybe it was done. Stars, but I hoped it was done. I could not go through that again.

“Wake up, little one. I need to speak to you and I want your full attention.”

I pried my eyes open and groaned. My back felt like I’d had red-hot knives slashed across it. My vision swam in colours of silver and dark blue with flashes of coppery red. I shook my head and blinked trying to will everything into focus. I heard an amused chuckle that grated on my exposed nerves and grit my teeth as I forced things to clear through sheer will and stubbornness. The large, blurry silver, blue and red blob snapped sharply into a recognizable shape and I gasped, my mouth hanging open in shock.

“It has been a while has it not, little one?”

The Fire Snake that initially visited me on my dream quest to find out what kind of Shal-hazal I’d be was coiled in front of me. At least I thought it was the same one. It was the same colour and I swear it had the same I-know-everything-and–you-don’t smirk. I think it’d visited with me a few other times, but it was hard to say if it was the same one. They didn’t exactly wear name tags and aside from the colour of their scales, they all pretty much looked the same.

It was an immense creature and left me feeling a little awed and a whole lot nervous every time I saw one of them. Their visits were never casual. They only showed up when something important was going to happen. Or was happening. They expected a Shal-hazal to do whatever they asked and gods help you if you didn’t.

The body of the Fire Snake was thicker than I was tall. I had no idea how long it was, but it was coiled upon itself several time with the bottom ring probably a good fifteen feet in diameter. Kijika could’ve probably stood in its closed mouth no problem. Green smoke curled from its nose as it watched me, that little smirk on its lips.

“Errr… what are you doing here? What am I doing here? Is my punishment over?”

It laughed softly. “Yes, your punishment is over. I am ensuring you stay alive. You are unusual and interesting things seem to happen around you. There is something intriguing about your thread of fate, too. Something we did not anticipate.”

“Uhhh… what?”

The Fire Snake chuckled and gold smoke curled from its nose. I sounded like an idiot, but for the life of me, I couldn’t seem to make my brain jump out of neutral. Having a Fire Snake show up out of the blue seriously rattled me. When the ‘ensuring you stay alive’ part of the sentence finally trickled through my head, fear turned my insides to ice. Not for myself, but for Kijika and our baby. How could I keep them safe if I died?

“Are Kijika and the baby okay? Please tell me they’re okay.”

“Calm yourself, little one. Your Lor’fei and child are fine. That is why I am here actually.”

I sagged a little in relief before jerking my head up to stare at the Fire Snake. “Kijika isn’t my Lor’fei. He can’t be. I’m a Throw-back.”

“True enough. But he feels as you would imagine a Lor’fei to feel does he not? It does not matter what you do or do not call him. Your heart and soul has been somehow bound to him. We do not understand how, but strangeness follows you around and touches those you come into contact with.”

“Yeah, it does. I kinda thought you guys were to blame for that,” I said, folding my arms across my chest and giving the Fire Snake an accusing look.

The Fire Snake made a coughing noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh and interconnected smoke rings in pale blue and pink puffed from its nose. The massive head lowered until an eye bigger than my head stared at me.

“No, that was not our doing. I am quite lucky to have the task of watching over you. You are endlessly amusing. Unfortunately, I am not here for my pleasure but to ensure that you heal sufficiently so you may assist your Lor’fei in birthing your son. Your bravery and honour in refusing to disclose the whereabouts of your kin and fellow Shal-hazal are exemplary. His situations bears watching as well, but that is not my task.”

“His name is Kijika and he’s not… wait. My son? We’re having a boy? How the hell do you know that? And what do you mean by Tyh’s situation bears watching? Are him and Dak okay?”

“Your kin and his Lor’fei are fine and remain out of the grasp of the Hunter sent after him. You did not know you were to be gifted with a boy child? Hmmm. Perhaps your Lor’fei wanted it to be a surprise. Apologies.”

Relief at hearing that Tyh and Dak were safe filled me, but I snorted softly at the rest of the Fire Snake’s words. I was willing to bet everything I owned that the last thing the Fire Snake was, was sorry. They loved dropping tid-bits of information on a Shal-hazal and then fucking off to wherever it was they existed and leaving us to deal with the mess. They seemed to love arranging people’s lives, too. Biggest fucking busy-bodies in the universe. I was about to ask the Fire Snake to not poke its snout in my business, like it’d listen to me, when what it said clicked.

“Wait a minute. Kijika is going to give birth soon? How soon? How long have I been out?”

“You have been unconscious for a few hours and a Shal-hazal Healer Will has been working on your wounds as well as your Lor’fei’s mother. You were gravely injured. It would not have taken much more to kill you. Rest assured that your Lor’fei has taken care of your tormentor in a very spectacular display. He was very angry over your treatment. It is a shame you missed that. I doubt you will ever have the opportunity to witness an event like that again. Your Lor’fei is about to give birth shortly. I explained this already. Pay attention, little one. Your Lor’fei needs you healed to help him birth your son. I know you are brighter than average so you should not have trouble grasping this.”

“How long? I was almost dead? He did what? He’s going to give birth now? But he can’t do that now. Can he? Fuck!”

I scrambled mentally to figure out when Kijika was supposed to be due and couldn’t remember the damn date. Jiveen did say the due date was a guess because Vylfian and Awh’anise pregnancy times were a little different. Kijika wouldn’t have let me drag him to Awh’an if he was really close to delivering. I frowned a little as I thought. Kijika had really wanted to see Awh’an and he’d been a little evasive the last time I’d asked when he was due. Son of a bitch.

The Fire Snake made that coughing sound again and I knew it was laughing at me that time. Square shaped rings in purple that glittered drifted from its nose. A forked tongue wider than my body flicked out, the tip gently touching my forehead. The agony that was my back roared into life making me growl and swear. It cooled before I could take another breath and the searing pain I’d felt seconds ago vanished.

“You are healed enough now to help your Lor’fei with the birth. We have seen a future that intrigues us. Your Lor’fei and the children the two of you will have is part of that. We do not understand how We did not see a thread as major as the one tying you to your Lor’fei, but We know that, regrettably, We cannot see all the possibilities.”

I twisted and flexed the muscles of my back feeling nothing but the slightly uncomfortable tightness of newly healed skin. I traced my tail over my back cautiously and couldn’t even feel any scars. I was impressed and awed. I was also less than thrilled with what the Fire Snake had said.

“Awww, crap. This means I’m going to have more visits from you or other Fire Snakes, doesn’t it?”

“Most Shal-hazal would be thrilled with that,” the Fire Snake said, amusement heavy in its voice.

“Yeah, well, I’ve got enough weird crap going on in my life without one of you popping around causing shit whenever the hell you feel like it.”

A snort that almost knocked me off my feet came from the Fire Snake. “Brave and funny. I shall really enjoy my time watching you and your family. It is time for you to wake, little one. Your Lor’fei needs you. He is far stronger than you think, but he needs your support.”

“My name is Moswen, my shu’anad is Kijika,” I said as the dream world started to collapse.

“I am aware of that. Good luck, little one,” the Fire Snake said with what I was pretty sure was a smile before it seemed to explode in a bright light and a shower of blue, silver and copper red gems.

My eyes flew open and I gasped in surprise at what I saw. I recognized the place I was in as my old room that I’d shared with my brood in my parent’s house. I had no idea how I’d gotten there and I fully expected to have woken up in my rooms at my House. I pushed myself up onto my elbows, shocked when I felt nothing but mild twinges and a little tightness in my back. Whatever the Fire Snake had done, I was healed a hell of a lot more than even a team of Shal-hazal Healer Wills could do in a couple of hours. I knew the Fire Snakes were insanely powerful creatures, but I never expected to be on the receiving end of that power. Colour me impressed big time.

“Moswen!”

I rolled to my side and looked at Huyana. She looked like hell. Her hair was plastered to her face and lines of tension were around her mouth and eyes. Olanthe was beside her and looked like she’d had all her energy sucked out of her. Relief was in both their eyes along with amazement.

“Where’s Kijika? I need to go to him,” I said as I sat up.

“How….” Huyana trailed off as her fingers stroked down my back.

“Fire Snake. It said Kijika was having the baby now and I need to go help him. Where is he?”

Huyana’s mouth opened in surprise. At the impatient noise I made, she pointed out the door and said second room on the left. I stood, brushed my cheek over hers in thanks and hurried out. I could hear Olanthe asking what the hell that was about and what kind of answer was Fire Snake, but I didn’t care. I needed to get to Kijika. I opened the door and found him sitting on the floor on cushions and blankets. He had a blanket spread across his lap and sweat made his hair stick to his face in places. He grimaced

and his hands moved over his belly in circles. I thought he was the most beautiful person I’d ever seen and the relief at seeing he was okay almost made my knees weak.

Delseur sat on a chair in the corner and looked up when I opened the door. His gaze ran over me from head to toe and his eyebrows rose. I looked down, saw that I was naked and shrugged. It wasn’t like Delseur hadn’t seen me naked before and it didn’t bother me in the slightest. Kijika’s eyes widened and colour touched his cheeks. Delseur sighed softly and stood, squeezing my shoulder gently before he left the room without a word.

“Moswen. Thank all the gods. Nobody would tell me how you were doing. Only that they were healing you. You could’ve stopped to put clothes on although I’m relieved you’re here.”

The relief in Kijika’s voice made me feel bad for how worried I must’ve made him even if I didn’t mean to. Kijika held out his arms and I was in them in a flash. I heard him take a shuddery breath and sniff and when I pulled back to look at his face, I saw tears sliding down his cheeks.

“I thought I was too late. I could feel you dying. Don’t ever do that to me again, Moswen.”

Kijika hugged me so hard my spine popped and I grunted. I hugged him back and kissed him. He kissed me almost desperately before pushing me a little away from him. He grabbed my hand and pressed it to his belly. It felt tight and when he guided my hand over the edges of his pouch, I felt wetness and the slightly raised ridge seemed almost swollen. Stars, this was really happening. Kijika was having our baby.

“Your timing is amazing. You missed all the boring gross stuff of my pouch unsealing and the fluids discharging. The labour pains started about five minutes ago.”

“A Fire Snake paid me a visit and healed me. It said I needed to help you. I’m really, really sorry, Ki. I want to help, but I don’t remember a damn thing Jiveen told me I’d need to do. My mind is a total blank. I’m scared shitless. Shouldn’t your mom be here instead of me? She’s a healer after all. And a woman. And she had you so she knows what to do.”

Kijika laughed softly and his body relaxed a little. He grabbed the shu’anad braids in my hair and tugged gently on them, pulling my head towards his until we were nose to nose. The worry that had been in his eyes was gone and calm settled over him.

“A Vylfian male birth is something very intimate between the partners. It can be done alone if necessary but that really stresses the baby and the father. Medical staff can help, but that usually ends up feeling like a violation even though it’s not. You’ll do fine, Moswen, and after it’s over, you’ll be glad you did it.”

“But what if I screw this up? What if I hurt you? Or our son? I don’t know if I can do this, Ki,” I knew there was a little panic in my voice but I really couldn’t help it.

“Our son?” Kijika frowned at me. “Moswen, you gave me your word that you wouldn’t go poking around to see what the baby was.”

“Swear to all the gods above and below I didn’t, Ki. The Fire Snake told me. I didn’t ask, honest. It just blabbed and then gave me some kinda half-assed apology for telling me when I said I hadn’t known.”

Kijika sigh turned into a grimace and his belly rippled under my hand. He drew in a sharp breath between his teeth and let it out slowly. He let go of my braids and gave a little push against my chest. I sat back on my heels and rested my hands on his knees.

“Fuck that hurts.”

“A lot or just a little?” I didn’t like knowing Kijika was hurting even though I knew childbirth wasn’t without pain. I wondered if he’d let me Dream-Step him just a little to make it not hurt so much.

“Like a solid kidney punch but to the stomach. The baby is trying to turn into position and push his way out. There’s a net of tissue that feeds and protects the baby in the way. The baby can’t get through it so you’re going to have to tear it away.”

“Me? Why do I have to do that? Can’t you do it? Tearing doesn’t sound good, Ki. Won’t that like… hurt?”

“Because it’d be really awkward if I did it. Yeah, it’ll be uncomfortable but once you do that the pain is supposed to ease.”

I chewed on my lip a little and rubbed Kijika’s knee as I thought. I wouldn’t know if he would let me Dream-Step him if I didn’t ask and he had to know that I only wanted to help. I wasn’t trying to wuss out on anything, but I wanted to spare him any pain I could. My tail tip flicked up and down and Kijika smiled at me.

“Out with it, Moswen. Ask whatever is making you crazy.”

I grinned at Kijika and gave his knee a gentle squeeze. He so had my number. I thought that was too awesome for words.

“Would you let me Dream-Step you a little? I swear I can make it so you barely hurt at all. I can go get your mom and she can do the… thing with the net. I’m sure she knows exactly what to do and I wouldn’t be worried about hurting you or the baby. What if I accidently scratch you or the baby with my claws when I’m trying to tear this net thing away? What if I grab the wrong thing and… disembowel you? Oh god, what if when I’m trying for the net thing and I poke out the baby’s eye or something?”

The nervousness I’d felt earlier was exploding into a full-blown panic attack. I felt a little dizzy and queasy at the thought of hurting either Kijika or our son. I had no idea what I was doing. I could easily maim the baby or slice Kijika open on the inside. Cold sweat broke out on my skin and I started to hyperventilate.

“Moswen, breathe slowly and relax. I absolutely forbid you to pass out on me. You have to do this for me and our baby. You’ll be fine. I have complete faith in you. Just like when you put the rings on my wings. You worked yourself up and in the end, you did everything perfectly.”

Kijika covered my hand with his and squeezed it. The trust in his eyes was humbling. I nodded and made an effort to breathe normally. Kijika believed in me. He needed me. I could do this for him. I swallowed hard, closed my eyes and mentally searched for the rock-solid calm I used when I went on mission. Kijika’s hand tightened painfully on mine and he hissed my name. I concentrated and found that quiet place in my head. Tension eased and I opened my eyes. Kijika looked at me and a smile quirked up his lips even through the obvious pain he was feeling.

“We’re having a baby not going to invade a hostile country with limited soldiers and no weapons.”

“The invasion would be easier and not as piss-my-pants scary as this is. Tell me what you need me to do, Ki.”

Kijika chuckled, slipped his hand to the back of my neck and pulled me into a quick kiss. “You’re amazing, I love you and I’m going to tease the hell out of you for years over this. I’m going to pull the lips of my pouch apart and you’re going to slide your hand inside and gently tear the net open. I can’t pull the lips apart fast and uncomfortable is probably an understatement to how this will feel. But you doing that will allow the baby to be born and it’ll make it easier for the baby to slide from the pouch if you’ve already stretched it first.”

“So… it’s like playing with your ass to loosen you before fucking you silly?”

Kijika laughed and rolled his eyes at me. “I guess it sort of is. Everything is about sex with you, isn’t it?” I shrugged and grinned, dropping my mission face for a few seconds. Kijika snorted softly before grimacing again. “The baby is about as patient as you are. Time to get this moving along. I’ll tell you when to put your hand in.”

“Can I do anything else to help? I really could Dream-Step you just a little to make you more comfortable.” I knew he’d say no, but I had to ask one more time.

“No, Moswen, but I appreciate you wanting to ease my pain. Watch and pay attention. The next time this happens, I don’t want to have to explain everything all over again.”

My eyes widened. Next time? What next time? I wasn’t about to make Kijika go through this again. No fucking way. I started to say something and caught the humour in his eyes. He was teasing me. Fuck. He was incredible if he could tease me at a time like this.

“Normally, you’d sit behind me and I’d lean back against you, but I don’t think that’ll work for us because I’m bigger than you. I’m fine leaning against the wall anyway as long as you’re near me. Kneel or sit beside me. Doesn’t matter which. Just be comfortable because this might take a bit.”

“Can I… can I touch you?” I asked cautiously as I watched Kijika slide his fingers back and forth over his pouch ridge.

“Yes. Part of the intimacy is the body contact,” Kijika said as his fingers slipped into the pouch easily. “I guess it’s actually good that you didn’t get dressed because that gives us more skin on skin contact.”

I watched Kijika dip his fingers in and out of his pouch, pulling the edges apart a little more each time. My cheeks heated when my cock stiffened. Granted, I thought Kijika was hot all the time, but getting hard while he was preparing to give birth was so not cool. I was hoping he wouldn’t notice since he was kinda busy, but my karma had it in for me. Kijika glanced down at my cock and smirked at me. I felt the blush all the way to the tips of my ears.

“Pouch play is very erotic. I never had the chance to show you that before I got pregnant. Remind me about it in a few weeks and we can have some fun. I think you’ll like it. I know I do.”

I blinked in shock. That was the last thing I expected him to say. He chuckled and grabbed my hand, pressing it against the lips of his pouch. I couldn’t help the growl that escaped me at the feel of my fingers sinking into warm, wet heat. Pouch play would probably knock my socks off. Kijika groaned softly and his fingers joined mine. My tail tip fluttered against the floor and as erotic as my body thought what I was doing with Kijika, my brain was screaming how wrong it was to find it sexy right now. That didn’t stop me from sliding my fingers inside his pouch or my dick from getting painfully hard.

Kijika drew in a deep breath and pulled the lips of his pouch apart further than before. It wasn’t much of an opening and there was no way in hell I’d be able to get my hand in there even if my hands were a lot

smaller than his. He suddenly hissed and the muscles of his belly rippled. Kijika swore and ground his teeth together.

“Your son wants out now. I don’t think he’s going to let me do this easily and at a reasonable pace. Fuck. Okay, Plan B. Push your hand in now. Let your fingers follow the curve of my belly. The net will feel sticky and kind of rubbery. The baby’s head should be facing the lips by now and he’ll be face down. Sort of rub your hand over the baby’s head and the net will tangle around your fingers. Pull your hand back slowly, closing your fingers into a fist to hold onto it and the net will tear. After that, the baby should come quickly.”

“Ki, there’s no way in hell my hand will fit into you right now. It’s going to hurt like hell.”

“News flash, Moswen, it already hurts like hell,” Kijika said between clenched teeth as his belly rippled again. “Doing this will make it not hurt so much. I’m not asking you, I’m telling you to do this. Hurry the fuck up and do what I told you to before you piss me off and I boot your ass from our bed for the next six months.”

One look in Kijika’s eyes told me he was serious. Fuck. I blew out a quick breath, pulled my claws in as much as I could and pressed my fingers between the edges of his pouch. They slid in easily to the last knuckle and I looked at Kijika, hesitating about pushing into him.

“Now, Moswen,” steel was in Kijika’s voice. “Quit fucking around and just do it.”

I nodded and pushed steadily. Kijika grunted and swore in several languages. I pushed hard and once I managed to get past the last joint of my thumb, the rest of my hand slid in smoothly. I was terrified I’d hurt him or the baby, but at the same time I was awed that I actually had my hand inside Kijika and that I was the first person to touch our baby. My throat tightened with emotion when I heard the faint purring of our son as soon as my hand touched his head.

“Any fucking time now, Moswen,” Kijika said through clenched teeth.

“He’s purring. Stars, Ki, this is…. This is so cool.”

“Be awed later, Moswen. For the love of god, focus. Tear the gods damned net now or I swear I will punch your fucking lights out in the next ten seconds and do it myself.”

I gave myself a mental shake and nodded. I carefully closed my fingers around the net and pulled. It resisted for a few seconds and I had to use more force than I thought I would’ve needed before it gave. Kijika groaned softly and gripped my forearm, pulling my hand from his pouch steadily and quickly. He let go of my arm and sighed softly, his hands moving to rub his belly. I looked at the hand I’d had inside Kijika and wrinkled my nose.

Clinging to my fingers was a gooey, purple-ish lace-like thing. I shook my hand lightly and none of it came off. I brushed at it with my other hand and only succeeded in transferring some of the sticky stuff to my other hand. I frowned and looked up when I heard Kijika snicker.

“You’ll need to wipe that off on the blanket and even then, good luck at getting it off.”

I dragged my hands over the blanket edge and sure enough, I really had to scrub at it to get it off. Once my hands were mostly clean, Kijika grabbed my wrists and pressed my hands to his belly. He pushed them against his body in a rhythm of hard and soft several times before letting go and placing his hands opposite to mine.

“Okay. The baby needs a little help to get out so we’re going to push gently like I just showed you. You only stop when I tell you to or when the baby is all the way out. Got it?”

“Yeah. This doesn’t hurt you or the baby? Pushing like this I mean?”

Kijika smiled at me. “No, it doesn’t and the pain is a lot less now that the baby doesn’t have anything in his way. I don’t think we’ll have to push much anyway. This baby wants to be born twenty minutes ago.”

I pushed exactly like Kijika showed me, following the rhythm he set. My eyes were glued to the lips of his pouch as they widened steadily. He groaned and his belly tightened as the baby’s head pushed out. Kijika panted lightly but kept massaging and pushing against the sides of his belly. I kept pushing, too, since he didn’t say anything about stopping. I swore when all of a sudden the baby slipped free of his body in a rush.

Awh’anise reflexes kept the baby from face planting between Kijika’s legs and had our son land in my hands on his belly. I stared and wondered if something was wrong with our baby. On his back from just below his shoulders to nearly his waist was a mottled brown… thing that looked like it was attached to his back. Kijika made a surprised noise in his throat when he looked at the baby and I raised worried eyes to Kijika’s face.

Kijika slipped his hand under the baby, covering mine and brought his other hand down in a firm whack to the brown thing on the baby’s back. The baby squirmed, coughed out some fluid and wailed. Kijika flipped the baby over and brilliant blue and green eyes stared back at us. I could hear a faint purring again and awe and love washed over me. It didn’t matter what that thing on our son’s back was as long as he was healthy. Kijika placed the baby on his back on the floor and produced a knife from somewhere. He took my hand, wrapping my fingers around the hilt of the knife with his.

“We need to cut the cord and welcome our new son to the world,” Kijika said softly.

I let Kijika guide me. I was more grateful that I could ever say that he knew what to do. Kijika grabbed some soft clothes and draped them over our son once the cord was cut and tied off. He reached for my hand and brought it to the lips of his pouch.

“You need to put your hand inside my pouch again. Move it around gently and the remainder of the net will cling to it. Pull your hand out and then we’re pretty much finished with the gross stuff. Once that’s done, we can get our boy cleaned up.”

This time, I didn’t hesitate. I pushed my hand in smoothly, did what Kijika told me to and pulled out a sticky, gross mess. Kijika sighed in relief and handed me a cloth to clean off my hand. He laughed softly when I needed more than one and muttered a few choice Awh’anise swear words at trying to get the stuff off my hands. Once I was done, Kijika handed me more clothes and we cleaned our child off. Through it all, the baby was quiet and watched us with wide eyes.

Free of the fluids, I got my first really good look at our child.

He was beautiful and I was absolutely sure that there’d never been a more beautiful child born. Half of his eyes were blue and the other half was green. He had round pupils like Kijika instead of the Awh’anise ones and his ears were rounded at the top like Kijika’s. He had short hair sticking up every which way and it was the most unusual colour I’d ever seen. The front half was pale blue while the other half was pale green. He had a tail like I did and the brush was blue-green. His skin was pale like Kijika’s but he had something on his skin that made my stomach swoop with nerves.

Light grey stripes decorated his skin. Three stripes slashed over his cheeks from near his hairline to his jaw. He had two stripes over each bicep, forearm, thigh and calf as well as three stripes over each side of his ribs. Throw-backs never bred true. My children might carry the gene, but Throw-back characteristics shouldn’t show up for several generations, if at all. I’d also noticed that our child had the Nek-sha on the back of his neck and I wondered if he was going to be a Sha-hazal.

*No, little one, this child of your is neither Throw-back nor Shal-hazal. He is something else entirely. Jaiseki is special and We are curious to see what happens as he grows into his power. Congratulations to you and your Lor’fei on the safe delivery of your son.*

My head jerked up at the voice I heard and would probably recognize anywhere now.

*What?*

I heard that coughing laugh again. *Jaiseki is his name and he has quite a gift. Once again, We did not foresee this but We are pleased.*

*You can’t go naming my kid. That’s… that’s not right. And what the hell kind of name is that anyway?*

*It means walks in soft light. It is the name his heart speaks. You will eventually understand why that is his name, but it is not my place to tell you why right now. I will leave you to your family for now. Move forever swift and kill honourably, Moswen.*

“…swen. Moswen. Moswen!”

I jerked my head up to look at Kijika. Worry was in his face and I wondered how many times he’d called my name before I heard him. Before I could reassure him I was fine, if a little shocked that I’d had another visit from what seemed to be my personal Fire Snake, my mouth was in motion as if I had no control over it.

“His name is Jaiseki and it means walks in soft light and that’s the name his heart speaks. He’s not Shalhazal or Throw-back but something else and he’s supposed to grow into his power. The Fire Snake said we’ll eventually understand why that’s his name but it wouldn’t tell me now. Then it gave me a very old, very formal Awh’anise blessing and… left.”

“Okaaaaaaay. I’m going to take a shot in the dark and say that’s a little unusual judging by the stunned look on your face. I’m fine with the name, by the way. I like the way it sounds and we hadn’t really gotten around to discussing names.”

“Uhhh, yeah. I’ve never heard of something like that happening before. I… I have no idea what the fuck is going on. I’m just glad that our son is fine and seems healthy even if he’s….”

“He’s what?” Kijika asked as he picked the baby up and cradled him against his chest.

I started to answer but stopped and stared with my mouth slightly open as Jaiseki latched onto a nipple and started sucking. I knew Kijika planned on nursing the baby, but I hadn’t really thought about what it’d look like or how possessive that’d make me feel towards not only Kijika but Jaiseki, too. Kijika smiled down at our baby before turning that smile on me, making my breath catch at the love and pride in his eyes.

“He’s what, Moswen?” Kijika repeated in a soft voice as he stroked a finger over our son’s spiky hair.

“Deformed,” I whispered. “It doesn’t matter though. I think he’s beautiful and I love him and maybe when he’s older we can have that thing removed from his back.”

Kijika laughed and reached for me, pulling me to his side. “That’s a wing casing, Moswen. It protects his wings as they finish developing. It’ll crack open and fall off his back about the same time he starts crawling around. Our little boy has wings and I wasn’t expecting that at all since you don’t have any. Then again, I wasn’t expecting the tail either since I don’t have one.”

“Wings? Really? Wow. We make beautiful babies, Kijika,” I said softly as I traced a finger over one of the stripes on Jaiseki’s arm. I was more relieved than I wanted to admit at hearing that my son was really perfectly fine. “Thank you giving me everything that I ever wanted and more than I ever dreamed I’d have. Thank you for loving me as I am and accepting all that I have to give you. Most of all, thank you for allowing me to share your life. Ve-yul’io. Xi’ soi-fu ony-mi zo xi’ ih’tes, Lor’fei. Ony des-ri tha’ab, des-od gre’os un des-laew nasha. Only xi’ shey-lu des xi’ haeko des xi’ vre’ zo-sen ony.”

Kijika looked startled for a moment at my calling him my Lor’fei. He cupped my face and seriousness was in his voice when he spoke.

“Xa’ Shal-hazal d’wal eayda.”

Kijika kissed me softly and laced the fingers of his free hand with mine. I was shocked at what he’d said, but I had no doubts he knew exactly what the phrase meant. I was touched and thrilled but I wondered what prompted him to learn the phrase so I asked.

“It came to me in a dream. Considering who you are and what you do, I figured it was something I should say to you when the time was right and that time is now. I love you, Moswen.”

My eyes were wide and I swore I heard that coughing laugh of the Fire Snake in my head. I ignored it and snuggled against Kijika as we watched our son nurse. If the Fire Snakes wanted to meddle a little in my life and it netted me a man who loved me and a beautiful child, I suppose I could live with that.

Translations:

Xa’ Shal-hazal d’wal eayda.: My Shal-hazal until death.

Ve-yul’io. Xi’ soi-fu ony-mi zo xi’ ih’tes, Lor’fei.: I love you. My life is yours to my dying breath, Lor’fei. Formalized pledge from a Shal-hazal to their Lor’fei.

Ony des-ri tha’ab, des-od gre’os un des-laew nasha. Only xi’ shey-lu des xi’ haeko des xi’ vre’ zo-sen ony.: Literal translation is You are the air I breathe, the food I eat and the water I drink. You are my world and my heart and soul rests with you. Epilogue

~Kijika~

To say that the Shal-hazal in front of us were tense would’ve been a massive understatement. They eyed me warily as if they expected the dead to rise up under their feet if I looked at them cross-eyed. A little smirk graced my lips when I thought that I could probably pull up a few that’d fallen as I’d walked away from the House with Moswen and my little entourage of the dead. My father on the other hand would have absolutely no problem actually emptying the crypts under the House as I’d threatened to do and he was standing right beside me.

Moswen insisted that I hold Jaiseki when we went to the House. He said it’d remind everybody to keep their aggression and violence to themselves. I didn’t see how that worked, but I also didn’t see any real problem with bringing Jaiseki along. On the off chance that something did go down, I was confident that not only could Moswen and I handle it, but my father would be in the thick of it as well.

Jaiseki was only a week old, but he was an exceptional baby and that wasn’t just proud parent talk. He slept well, rarely cried and had already settled into a nice, regular feeding schedule. I hadn’t been sure how much of a participant Moswen would be with things like diaper changes or handling spit ups, but he’d blown me away with how involved he was with everything. I thought it was the sweetest thing ever how gentle and loving he was and the look of utter adoration on his face whenever he held Jaiseki. Moswen was going to be an awesome father and I swore it was residual hormones that made me tear up every time I thought that.

He got up with me every time Jaiseki woke for a feeding and talked to me softly. He was still a little freaked out over my breast feeding Jaiseki, but he was getting used to it. I did have to laugh when he asked me if I was sure that I’d be able to feed our son since my chest wasn’t much bigger than before I’d gotten pregnant. It had taken me, my mother, Moswen’s mother and Huyana to convince him that I didn’t need ‘huge girl boobs’, his words not mine, to feed our son properly.

Feeding Jaiseki was an unexpected bonus with the way Moswen behaved and viewed it. Sometimes he let Jaiseki grip his finger as he fed and it looked almost like they were holding hands which was so damn cute, I needed to draw it and maybe paint it to hold on to the image forever. Sometimes Moswen would lightly rub his tail puff over Jaiseki’s skin and the purring from the two of them would be loud enough for me to hear. Sometimes Moswen ran his hands over my skin as Jaiseki fed or urged me to lean back against him and I could feel that wonderful purr rumble in his chest and through my back even though I heard nothing. Quiet times like that with Moswen and Jaiseki was like a tiny little bubble of serenity and I knew I wasn’t the only one who cherished the time.

As soon as Jaiseki finished eating, Moswen would take him from me, burp him, change him and rock him back to sleep. Jaiseki would drop off like a stone then and it took me a couple of days to figure out that Moswen was purring in various rolling pitches that I couldn’t hear. He said it was something that Awh’anise parents did to sooth their kits when they were fussy and that Jaiseki was purring back when he did that.

Moswen also insisted on Jaiseki sleeping in the bed with us. I wasn’t too keen on the idea, but it seemed to be the norm for the Awh’anise when I’d asked about it. The Awh’anise seemed to think that it was critical in the first few months that the babies be as close as possible to their parents in order to grow up happy and well adjusted. There wasn’t any harm in it as long as it didn’t continue for long as I liked having Moswen all to myself at night.

The nervous clearing of a throat had me jerking my attention away from the sleeping perfection that was my son and to the man who stood on the steps of the House.

“Spirit Will Moswen said you wished to speak to the Council. You’ll excuse us if we don’t invite you inside.”

Only royal training kept me from smirking and snapping back with an I’ll bet you don’t. I was really tempted to call up some dead just to show the Council that I didn’t need to be standing on top of the crypts to bring the dead forth. I caught the barest twitch of my father’s wing and reeled in the childish impulse to scare the Council further just because I could and because they had pissed me off to a huge degree by allowing Cadao to go as far as he did before I stepped in.

“I would like to return the dead to their proper resting places. It is the honourable thing to do. Moswen said that because the Council is still in residence here, he has to defer to the Council in this. My father, Ralne Delseur would be the one to actually lay the dead as my healer would like me to rest further after the strain of childbirth. My father is more skilled than I am and would take even less time to accomplish this than I would. I assure you, the dead will all go back to their proper graves.”

Murmurs moved through the men on the steps and the looks they were giving us were tinged with worry and even fear.

“Ki, I said not to freak them out more,” Moswen hissed at me.

“But it’s true. My father will have it done in half the time it would take me,” I whispered back.

“But they already think you’re scary creepy dead guy who has a power they don’t understand and are kinda afraid of. You saying your dad is even better… fuck, Ki, think.”

A blush stole into my cheeks. Moswen had a point. Maybe I looked a little less scary with a newborn in my arms, but my dad had no such softening prop and he generally looked a little on the scary side to

start with. Crap. Jaiseki wriggled in my arms and blinked his eyes open. I smiled at him and rocked him gently hoping he’d go back to sleep. He looked at me, tracked his eyes to Moswen and turned his head to look at the Council on the steps. To my utter shock, he scrunched up his face and started to cry.

The Council relaxed slightly at the wail and a few of the older Council members smiled. Moswen motioned for me to hand him Jaiseki, which I did. The Council watched and some nodded in approval so I assumed that Moswen was doing that roiling purring thing in an attempt to quiet Jaiseki. It had the opposite effect and Jaiseki screamed even harder. Moswen shifted Jaiseki in his arms and the second Jaiseki’s lips brushed over Moswen’s chest, he started rooting for a nipple.

“Oh hell. He’s hungry. How can he be hungry when he ate not long before we left the house?” Moswen muttered as he shifted Jaiseki away from his nipple.

Jaiseki did not appreciate being thwarted and his little arms and legs flailed as he screamed his outrage. His tail whipped up and smacked Moswen hard across the nose. Moswen swore and his eyes watered. Several of the Council members laughed and even my father snickered. Moswen thrust Jaiseki at me and gingerly rubbed his nose when I took our son. I pulled the edge of my shirt back exposing a nipple and brought Jaiseki close. He latched on greedily and sucked noisily. I watched him nurse for a few moments and could’ve sworn I saw a mischievous twinkle in his two-toned eyes. I mentally shrugged; sure my imagination was playing tricks on me. I curved a wing around Jaiseki to keep the distraction of a nursing baby from the Council members before looking back up at them.

Every last one was looking at me like I’d just grown another head. Several of the men flushed red and looked away while some stared even harder. A few women Council members recovered first and walked down the steps to me. The rest of the Council members continued to stare with their mouths open and I raised an eyebrow at them as if daring them to comment on my breast feeding in public. I couldn’t see that being an issue when people had sex in the streets.

“Ki, what the hell?” Moswen asked in a shocked voice. “Why are you feeding Jaiseki out here in front of everybody?”

“Because he’s hungry,” I said not understanding the reaction of the people around me. Even my father looked confused.

“Don’t mind them,” one of the women said. “Most males, and some females, think breast feeding a baby is an intensely personal act that only immediate family should see. I think it’s just a natural part of having children and nothing to be hidden away. Not to be too rude, but are you actually nursing the baby? Spirit Will Moswen said you were pregnant and that was hard enough to believe, but to nurse the baby, too….”

I smiled and looked down at Jaiseki before moving my wing back so the women could see that I was indeed nursing. There was a surprised gasp from the women when they saw Jaiseki’s face and I barely caught the low words exclaiming over the stripes on his cheeks. The women made soft sounds in their throats as they watched Jaiseki nurse and eventually a few more women came down the steps along with two or three men. Moswen surprised me when he started to growl and his tail tip puffed up to easily twice its normal size. The Council members near me watching me nurse backed up a few steps and gave Moswen wary looks. I cuffed Moswen in the back of the head with my wing even though it made the place where the ring clamped the strut hurt like fuck.

“Knock it off, Moswen.”

Moswen ignored the hit and me. “Ka’neshi-efra’doshal. Kijika xi’ Lor’fei.”

There was a collective gasp from the Council and I had no freaking idea what Moswen just said. Something about me, obviously, but beyond that… I think Moswen forgot to put some of the Awh’anise language in my head because I didn’t catch the first word at all. Moswen moved in front of me, assumed a protective stance and repeated the phrase again. The Council members near us stepped back and a low murmur started. Whatever Moswen said, it was having quite the effect on the Council.

“Draw your wing over Jaiseki, Kijika. I don’t want you to give everybody a free show. They can get their jollies somewhere else,” Moswen practically growled at me.

Left over hormones from the pregnancy was my excuse for grabbing Moswen by the back of his vest and lifting him off the ground one-handed. I gave him a good hard shake before half tossing him to the ground. I was annoyed when instead of him falling on his ass he landed lightly on his feet and growled at me again. If I learned one thing from my trip to Awh’an, it was to make myself perfectly clear, in ways

that Moswen understood instinctually, that I was not happy with his behaviour or needed him to pay extreme attention to what I said.

I still felt bad about doing it, but my hand snapped out and I backhanded him across the face hard. The blow staggered him but focused his entire attention on me. I waited a few seconds and saw the beginnings of apprehension flit through his eyes when I made no immediate move to touch him to reassure him that I wasn’t angry and only wanted his undivided attention. I saw several of the Council shift uneasily as the moment stretched out. I was sure that the other Awh’anise thought I was being cruel to Moswen or possibly even setting up to humiliate him, but when he went into his protective mode, extreme measure were generally necessary. I stretched out my wing and pulled him to me, closing it around him. His relief was almost palatable and he clung to me. I also knew I had his absolute attention now.

“Vylfians nurse their babies openly. It is up to the individual whether they wish to cover up or not. I’m not bothered in the slightest over who sees me feeding our son so you’re just going to have to deal. I will be doing the same thing on Gi-foeh so you’re going to have to get used to it. Stop being such an ass over nothing.”

“I’ll try, but it’s going to be hard as fuck for me. Nursing a baby is something really special and private to most Awh’anise. A female has to really trust a male to let him close when feeding the babies. We... uhhh... sometimes killed nursing babies back in the day. I haven’t heard about that happening in a really long time, but changing an instinctual behaviour is hard. Not that I think you’re a woman or that Iwould hurt Jaiseki, but you get what I mean, right?”

Moswen looked at me so earnestly, I melted. If that was the case, it was no wonder Moswen treated every feeding he was beside me for like it was a gift from the gods. There was no way I’d ever understand all the little nuances of Awh’anise culture and no way in hell I’d know even a fraction of it after only a week of visiting his home planet. I almost wanted to rub my hands together in glee at all the new stuff I could learn and it was all because of Moswen.

I leaned down and kissed Moswen softly on the lips, whispering that I loved him in Vylfian and Naemo. He damn near vibrated, he was so happy. I drew my other wing over Jaiseki to block the view of him nursing from the other Awh’anise. Moswen would have to get used to it on Gi-foeh, but there was no reason I couldn’t bow to the Awh’anise sensibilities while on Awh’an. Moswen stayed glued to my side

in the shelter of my wings and he let Jaiseki grab hold of his finger as he nursed. I was sure that right at that very moment, everything else ceased to exist for Moswen except for me and Jaiseki.

I smiled at the two males who meant everything to me before I switched my attention to the rest of the Council watching us with equal parts shock and awe. I wasn’t sure why they were looking at us like that, but I suddenly had enough. Summoning up some royal command and hoping I didn’t piss my father off for what I was about to do, I spoke firmly.

“Please accept my regrets for not personally laying the dead to rest and allow my father to lay the dead for me. I assure you that he exceeds my skills and it was from him that I learned all that I know. My father commands the Naemo Army of the Dead and I’m an officer serving under him. Laying the nearly three hundred dead that I raised back in their graves will be less than thirty minutes work for him. I believe I can speak for my father in saying that unless provoked, neither one of us will call forth the dead.”

My father nodded at the statement and the majority of the Council members visibly relaxed. Some still looked nervous but they were in the minority.

“I will tell you this much though. I have no regrets or apologies for killing Cadao in the manner that I did. He deserved what he got and he was warned by Moswen not to make me angry. He was trying to kill my husband, my shu’anad, and that was not something I was willing to stand by and watch happen. And neither should any of you have. I am both royalty and a military officer so I do understand intimately about procedure and following rules and orders. However, it should rarely be done blindly when you know of personal motives for the actions of the person in charge that harms one of your own beyond reason.”

A good majority of the Council looked embarrassed over my basically calling them on the shit way they ran their Council. I wanted to believe there would be some changes made to the way the Council was run, but I wasn’t going to hold my breath. It was enough for me that I’d said my piece. I opened the wing around Moswen and nudged him with my free hand to move. As soon as my father finished laying the dead, I was going to ask Moswen to bring us all home. Awh’an was a wonderful place to visit, but I was happy living on Gi-foeh.

“A moment Prince Kijika, Spirit Will Moswen,” said the Council member, Yarin, the Shal-hazal who’d told me what Cadao was during at Moswen’s punishment.

We stopped and faced the Council. Jaiseki finished feeding and his eyes closed, a contented smile on his perfect bow mouth.

“Spirit Will Moswen, I assume there’s a reason you used Ka’neshi-efra’doshal before naming your shu’anad Lor’fei.”

Moswen nodded. “One of the Fire Snakes appeared to me while I was passed out from the whipping. It healed me, said Kijika needed me to help him give birth and dissolved the dream out from under me. It also told me that I was interesting, Kijika was my Lor’fei and that Jaiseki wasn’t a Throw-back despite his stripes but something new and different. It told me that was our baby’s name, too, and that kinda pissed me off. It was amused as fuck and said it would be watching me and my family to see how things played out.”

Surprise and pity flashed over the faces of the Council members. Yarin nodded and came down the steps to stop only a few feet from us. He touched his temple with two fingers in what I’d learned was the Awh’anise military salute and gave a short bow to Moswen and I.

“You attract the strangest things to you, Spirit Will Moswen,” Yarin said with a small smile. “Congratulations on your son and finding a Lor’fei. Condolences on drawing the amused attention of a Ka’neshi-efra’doshal. I’ve been named interim Council head and as such, I’m declaring your punishment suffered in full. You are hereby reinstated to full Shal-hazal status although your pay is still suspended for three months. I’m not even going to bother asking how you found Litch Will Tyhlian as if you were willing to endure the whipping that you did, simply asking won’t make you tell either. However, should the Council find out that you’ve been in contact with Litch Will Tyhlian from this point forward, you will be sentenced to a whipping again although not as severe as what Cadao decreed.”

Yarin faced me and smiled. “Lor’fei Kijika, welcome. The Shal-hazal Houses are open to you.”

Yarin rested his hands on my shoulders and gently pulled me down so that he could rub his cheek against mine in the traditional Awh’anise greeting. While his lips were close to my ear, he whispered

good luck with handling Moswen, making me chuckle. Jaiseki cracked an eye open and his tail flicked over the back of Yarin’s hand. The older Shal-hazal smiled and tugged playfully on Jaiseki’s tail. Jaiseki’s eyes popped open in surprise and he scowled, the very picture of an irate baby. Yarin swore softly and stamped his foot muttering about something cold touching his leg. Jaiseki’s expression evened out and his eyes closed, a serene look settling on his face.

My father nodded at me and waited with that stillness of the dead he was so damn good at for the Shalhazal to allow him to lay the dead. Technically, he could do it standing on the steps and didn’t need to go into the House, but it would be horribly bad mannered to do anything without permission first. Moswen took my hand and smiled at me as he led me away from the Shal-hazal House and I smiled in return.

Life with Moswen would likely be full of challenges but I highly doubted I’d ever lack for love and attention from him. I spread my wing over his back as we walked and warmth settled in my chest when Moswen wrapped his tail around my leg and Jaiseki snuggled into my chest. I felt the contented purring vibrations from Jaiseki and thought life was about as perfect as it got.

“Hey, Ki? Would you be okay with my sucking you off when we get back to my parent’s place? You wouldn’t have to do anything but lay back and enjoy it, I swear. I’m not trying to rush you or anything and I can wait if you’re not healed or rested or whatever enough. But I really miss love making with you and….”

I laughed and kissed Moswen on the cheek. “It’s only my pouch that isn’t up to sex yet, Moswen. Everything else is just fine. As long as Jaiseki keeps sleeping, you can do whatever you’d like with my body as long as you don’t touch my pouch ridge.”

Moswen whooped like a child given the run of a candy shop for the day. His pace picked up and I laughed again at the delight on his face. He suddenly stopped, faced me and drew my head down for a kiss of toe curling intensity. My cock hardened and I was stunningly grateful that childbirth for me didn’t mean putting any restraint on my getting my ass ploughed or me being the one doing the ploughing.

“Stars but I love you. Always and forever, Ki.”

I ran my thumb over one of the stripes on Moswen’s cheek and he leaned into the caress. “And I love you, Moswen. Let’s go home before Jaiseki wakes up. You’re not the only one who’s missed love making.”

Moswen grinned broadly, took my hand and hurried along at a pace that had me stretching out my longer legs to keep up with him. Life was looking very good in my humble opinion.

Translation: Ka’neshi-efra’doshal: Literal translation is fire snake who dreams the world. Very old phrasing rarely used to describe Fire Snakes. Most often used in formal occasions during tellings of ancient encounters by the Vi’deshroon. Has significance/greater impact when used by non-Vi’deshroon to describe an encounter with a Fire Snake than just calling them Fire Snakes. Phrase used when a Shal-hazal trainee comes out of their solo Dream Walking quest to declare what they are as told them by a Fire Snake. Lor’fei Mark - Balancing Karma One shot

“Wow. This is really cool, Ki,” I said as I stared up at the three full moons in the Gi-foeh night sky.

“It only happens twice a year that we can see all three moons full at the same time. The celebrations at the palace and in the streets will go on until dawn, and we can join that later if you want. But I wanted to show you this alone so we could enjoy the beauty together,” Kijika said as he took my hand and laced his fingers with mine.

“How did you manage to convince your mom to watch Jaiseki if there’s a huge party going on?”

Kijika laughed. “I just asked. She really is a pushover for her grandson you know. Spoiling him is more fun to her than any party. Besides, I said we’d be back in an hour or two, so she can still catch all the fun that really gets rolling as the night gets later.”

I grinned at Kijika and kissed him. The light from the three moons was very bright and bathed everything in a silver and gold glow. Kijika hummed his approval at the kiss and stretched his wings out for me

knowing that I loved to look at them and lightly trace the patterns of colour with my fingers, lips and tongue. I pulled back from the pleasure of his mouth and sat back on my heels, my mouth dropping open a little in awe.

“Stars, Ki. You know I think your wings are the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen, but I’ve never seen them look like this. It’s like they’ve been dipped in coloured metal. I swear to god, they fucking glow and shine, and … I have to touch them. I can touch them, right?”

Kijika laughed, fisted his hand in my vest and yanked me close for a kiss that almost made me forget about wanting to touch the utter beauty of his wings in the light of the full moons. Almost.

“Yes, Moswen, you can touch to your little heart’s content. Why the hell do you think I brought you here alone and spread them out in the first place? Making love under the light of the three full moons is very special among the Vylfian and Naemo. It’s supposed to bring lovers good luck and ensure that their relationship is a long and happy one.”

“Really? Well, I guess I better get to it then, huh?” I leered.

“I’d appreciate it,” Kijika smirked as he stood and undid the ties on his shirt and skirt, letting them fall to the blanket we’d been sitting on.

I licked my lips as I stared up at the love of my life. I’d never be able to tell him just how much I loved him. There weren’t enough words in any language for that. The light of the moons painted not only Kijika’s magnificent wings in silver and gold but also shaded his body as well, highlighting the muscles of his stomach, thighs and arms in a way that made me want to lick him. Additionally, it gilded his absolutely perfect cock, and a soft purr rumbled from my throat when I thought of how awesome it would be to have Kijika do me looking like he did in the moonlight. Kijika smiled at me and sank gracefully to his knees in front of me, taking my hands in his and kissing my fingers.

“I know what you’re going to ask, but not this time, Moswen. This first time in the moonlight together, I want you inside me. Will you do that for me?”

“Anything for you, Ki. You are my world.”

Kijika leaned forward and kissed me gently on the lips. His whispered I love you made me want to hold him tight to me and never let him go. I still didn’t think he understood the level of devotion I had towards him, but I was confident that in time, he would get it. He was a smart man, and he loved research, so I was sure that he’d eventually check out just what a Lor’fei was. I wasn’t supposed to be able to have one because I was a Throw-back, but weird shit was the norm in my life. And if one of the Fire Snakes said Kijika was my Lor’fei, then he was, and I wasn’t going to worry about how that was even possible.

Kijika went down on hands and knees and gave me a smouldering look. He didn’t need to say anything because the invitation was crystal clear to me. I was on my feet and had the ties to my pants undone in record time. I’d learned fast that he was not a man to keep waiting. Especially when it came to sex. He still had some strange ideas in that department about who was allowed to do what and when, but I was working on him, and the lessons were awesome fun for both of us.

I knelt behind him running my hands over his spectacular ass and hoped like hell he’d stashed lube somewhere among the fruits and cheeses he’d had me lug along in a basket with us for our moonlight picnic that he’d probably planned to be more than that from the very beginning. The man was a fantastic planner when he had a goal in his head. Kijika looked over his shoulder at me, and I swear that I fell for him all over again at the love and lust I saw in his eyes.

“Lube is in the basket under the napkins. We don’t have a huge amount of time before we need to be back, and I want all of you, Moswen. Tonight is special for the Vylfian and Naemo people and I want it to be special for us, too. This isn’t negotiable either, Moswen. Everything or nothing.”

Oh hell. I swallowed hard, excited and afraid at the same time. I knew exactly what Kijika was asking me for. He wanted me to relax my control and pearl him. The first time I’d done that I’d almost crippled him by accidentally breaking his wing. Even scarier than that, he’d been pregnant with Jaiseki, and I could’ve easily punched or kicked him in the belly, and he might’ve lost the baby. Fine, neither one of us had known that at the time, but that was totally beside the point and still made my blood run cold when I thought about what could’ve happened. Kijika made an impatient sound in his throat and pinned me with a hot look.

“Everything or nothing, Moswen. Don’t disappoint me.”

Fuck. Kijika had my number and he knew it. He knew there was almost nothing I’d refuse him. Technically, what he was asking for wasn’t a big deal, and we’d both enjoy it a hell of a lot. I’d just need to watch myself after pearling him and make sure I didn’t let the excitement of Kijika’s violent reaction to the Sliaru go to my head or my cock. I nodded, and the anticipation that filled Kijika’s eyes told me I’d done the right thing. I needed to trust that Kijika knew what he was asking for and that I’d have enough brains to stop him without hurting him if he really went off on a violent tear.

I reached into the picnic basket and rummaged around until my fingers closed on the bottle of lube. I pulled it out, set it near my leg and tugged off my vest. Kijika wriggled his ass, and his still outstretched wings twitched. I smirked at seeing that. Somebody was impatient. The teasing opportunity was too good for me to pass up, so I didn’t even bother to try and stop myself. I spread Kijika’s cheeks apart and tongued his hole.

Kijika stiffened and swore before a full body shiver travelled over him. He loved it when I rimmed him, and I’d actually made him come from just that, which I was damn proud of. I wouldn’t do that this time because that’s not what he wanted, but I could still make his body sing and tease the fuck out of him before pearling him. I licked him as if I had all the time in the world to play with his body, pushing my tongue into his ass every now and again. My tail snaked between his legs to curl around his cock, squeezing and stroking him. Before long, Kijika was panting and moaning my name, pushing his ass back against my mouth in an attempt for more action. His wings went from twitching to slowly beating the higher I wound him up.

I pulled back to stare for several seconds at how stunning he was before I grabbed the lube and popped the lid, aiming the liquid over his hole. Kijika jerked at the touch of the cool lube against his skin and groaned out a yes. His cock twitched in the grip of my tail, and when I pushed a finger into his ass, we both swore in pleasure. Kijika’s beautiful wings shuddered, and the muscles in his ass rippled over my finger as I worked the lube into him. Fuck, he was gorgeous. The low-level arousal I always had for Kijika jumped into overdrive.

The three full moons bathed my love in gold and silver light, and I suddenly couldn’t wait a second longer to have him. I relaxed my control and let the pearls appear down my cock. I slipped my finger free from him, made a half-assed attempt at lubing myself and slowly pushed my cock into him. Kijika moaned, and his big body shuddered in pleasure as I sank to the hilt in one smooth, controlled move. I

drew back just as slowly, a grin on my face at knowing he’d love the feel of the pearls sliding in his ass. Hell, I loved the feel of the pearls sliding back and forth in his ass, and it always felt better, in my opinion, to be the one getting pearled than the one doing the pearling.

Kijika panted harshly, and his wings flapped quickly a few times as he struggled to keep from coming. He was one of the most responsive lovers I’d ever had. His reactions to our love making thrilled me and made me possessive as hell. That he didn’t seem to mind my attitude, and maybe even thought it was kinda hot, was so erotic to me; I sometimes wondered how I could manage more than a few thrusts before coming.

Kijika ground out a broken no and his wings snapped up sharply as his orgasm rushed through him. His ass squeezed and released my cock, as if trying to milk my pleasure from me. I panted, and growls twisted from my throat as I struggled to keep from blowing my load.

“Fuckfuckfuck,” Kijika groaned as his wings shook, and tiny pleasure shivers travelled over his body. “Moswen, come. For the love of god, come. Now. I need to feel you come inside me.”

I snarled as intense pleasure rushed through my body in response to Kijika’s command. My balls drew up, and I hissed as wave after wave of ecstasy poured though me. My claws pierced the skin of Kijika’s hips, and I leaned over him to lightly bite and scrape my fangs over the skin between his wings. He moaned, and his cock hardened quickly from the combination of the Sliaru hitting his system and my gentle aggression. A satisfied purr rumbled from me, and I rubbed my cheek against the buttery softness of his wing before I licked a line along his spine, inhaling his scent deeply into my lungs. His wings shook with pleasure, and something on his skin caught my eye.

I pulled back a little and tilted my head to the side, not sure what I was seeing. It looked like Kijika had stripes of gold and silver over his back, but that had to be a trick of the moonlight. I straightened, and my softening cock slipped from his ass making us both groan in regret. It looked like the striped pattern continued over his legs and arms, and the stripes on Kijika’s skin looked an awful lot like mine. My heart started to pound in my chest at what I thought I was seeing, and I finally understood why the Fire Snake said Kijika was my Lor’fei even though, as a Throw-back, I shouldn’t have been able to have one.

Kijika had a Lor’fei mark.

After I saw that Tyh and Dak had matching marks on their bodies, I’d gone back to Awh’an and checked the Shal-hazal records about Lor’fei partners. Sure enough, every pair had a matching mark on them somewhere, and it was unique to that pair. I didn’t have anything that I thought could be a mark, and I’d licked every inch of Kijika’s body, so I’d have sworn he didn’t have any mark either.

Or at least I thought he didn’t have any mark.

“Ki, what’s this on your skin? Is it a trick of the moonlight? Why haven’t I seen it before?” I asked as I traced the pattern of stripes over his lower back, fascinated by what I saw.

I had time for a startled oof as Kijika turned under me and pinned my shoulders down with his greater weight. My eyes went wide as I stared up at Kijika. It was like my stripes had been layered over his face. I glanced down and saw that the stripes continued over his chest and belly in a pattern I saw every day of my life. Kijika’s body was striped in silver and gold exactly like mine. He really was my Lor’fei.

“My turn,” Kijika said in a harsh voice. “Don’t fucking move, Moswen, or I’ll shove my wing talons through your shoulders to keep you still.”

The slightly darker aqua of Kijika’s pupils were blown wide with lust and aggression from the Sliaru. I started to pant with excitement at seeing how worked up Kijika was combined with my having proof that he really and truly was my Lor’fei. He groped beside him for the lube, and a needy little moan left my throat when I realized what he was about to do. He thumbed the lube open and squeezed out a generous amount onto his cock, oiling himself.

This was going to be so good.

Kijika told me not to move and given the way he reacted to the Sliaru, I was damn sure he would spear me through my shoulders to make sure I stayed put without a second thought. He was a very different man when under the influence of the Sliaru--one I liked just as much as his usual submissive side. But, I didn’t think he’d mind one bit my spreading my legs for him, giving him easy access to my ass. He gave me a savage grin when I hooked my hands behind my knees and pulled my legs to my chest.

“Very nice. Always eager for a good, rough fuck, aren’t you?” Kijika asked as the slick head of his cock teased back and forth over my hole.

“From you? Absolutely,” I said as I made an effort to relax my muscles.”I adore you any way I can have you.”

Kijika was a big man, and to my absolute delight, he had a big cock, too. I didn’t get to experience it in my ass all that often because Kijika preferred to bottom most of the time except when the Sliaru was running through his system and making him violent and aggressive, something I loved to see and be on the receiving end of.

But, no prep meant it was going to hurt like hell when he first stuffed his dick into me. A tiny submissive whine of pleasure trickled from my throat at the thought. Kijika smirked at me as he pushed the head of his cock firmly against my hole, letting me start to feel the stretch I was in for. My dick went from semisoft to painfully hard between one breath and the next just from anticipation. Kijika dominating my ass was so damn hot I was always amazed I didn’t come on the spot when he did it.

Kijika pushed his cock into me, and I hissed and bared my fangs at him. The burn was intense, and I had to work hard not to squeeze down my muscles. I wanted the rough sex with every fibre of my being but the instinctual urge to try to stop pain still surfaced. I panted through the hot sting, a low growl winding from my throat. Kijika smirked at me and stroked my hard cock, not stopping until his balls rested against my ass. He knew I liked the pain. He ground his hips against me and started to jerk me off. I flashed some fang at him as lust streaked through my body, and my cock gave a hearty twitch in the firm yet slick grip of his hand.

The ache of stretching my unprepared ass to accommodate Kijika shifted quickly into a feeling of incredible fullness. He started to move his hips in a fast rhythm, his hand on my cock mimicking it. My claws dug into my skin, and a purr rumbled in my chest as pleasure built. Kijika wasn’t wasting any time in chasing his orgasm, and my head spun at how much what he was doing reminded me of being fucked senseless during a breeding cycle. I moaned when he leaned into me, the weight of his body pinning me in place so that the only thing I could do was take what he was doing and ride the pleasure wave.

My claws dug into the backs of my thighs, and I felt blood trickle over my skin from the puncture wounds. Kijika spread his wings wide, and they shook as he pounded my ass. I stared up into his gold and silver striped face, as always, awed at the lust and love in his eyes for me. He snapped his hips tight to my ass and leaned down to kiss me hungrily.

“Ve-yu’io xi’ shu’anad,” Kijika said in a passion roughened voice as he drew back from the kiss and gave my cock a nice, slow stroke.

I cried out in surprise as my orgasm rushed through me, Kijika’s words of love thrilling me and making me want to please him. Growls and purrs mixed in my throat as I shot my load over his hand and my belly. Kijika’s pleasured ‘yes’ made even deeper satisfaction run through me, and my head spun. His cock pumped in and out of my ass in a fast rhythm that felt almost too good, and a submissive pleasure whine left my throat. He thrust hard one last time, his wings jerked open and closed, and he tipped his head back as his cock pulsed in release. The moonlight bathed him in silver and gold light, the stripes on his skin standing out in sharp relief. It reflected off the rings that banded the struts of his wings that I’d clamped on him, making me feel more possessive than usual. He was utterly beautiful in his pleasure, and everything I could see on him screamed of my ownership of him --from the rings on his wings to the Lor’fei mark covering his body.

Kijika held his pose for several seconds, his breathing fast and harsh, before he looked at me with dazed eyes and a soft smile formed. He blinked slowly and shook his head a little before his eyes rolled back in his head and his arms suddenly gave out as his big body went limp. He dropped onto me, forcing my breath out with a whoosh. I let go of my legs and wriggled under him, enjoying the feel of my cock rubbing against his belly, until I managed to roll him off me and onto his side. A regretful little hiss left me when his softening cock slipped free of my pleasantly abused ass. I was going to be sitting carefully for a day or so, but it’d been totally worth it in my mind.

Now that the Sliaru was out of Kijika’s system, he crashed hard from the lust high. He’d be passed out for a good ten minutes and would wake up all disorientated and wondering just what the hell he’d done. I spent the ten minutes staring at his stripes in wonder and tracing them with my fingers. They slowly faded away to nothing just as Kijika woke groggily, and I wished they’d stayed.

“Moswen?” Kijika asked in a husky voice.

“Right here, Ki,” I said softly.

Kijika groaned and blinked his eyes open. His eyes were hazy and slightly unfocused. Kijika frowned and rubbed a hand over his face and sighed.

“Damn. I really wish I had a better memory of what happens after the Sliaru hits me. I know what we do is fantastic, but all I have are bits and pieces and….” Kijika’s went wide as he got a good idea of what he’d done, and it wiped the dazed look from his eyes. “Oh gods, Moswen! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean…. Let me heal you.”

I laughed and kissed Kijika, stroking a hand over his now stripeless cheek. “I’m fine, shal-demsho. Better than fine even. I don’t want you to heal me. I love that my ass is sore from that absolutely delicious hard fucking you gave me. You know I love it when you suddenly go all demanding and do me hard.”

Kijika’s cheeks darkened, and I thought it was the cutest thing ever that he got so flustered over suddenly turning into a power top. Stars, but I loved him. I kissed him again and drew back, my expression turning serious.

“Ki, when we were making love, I saw something on your skin I’ve never seen before. You had silver and gold stripes over your entire body, and they looked exactly like mine. Not similar, not a little alike, but like copies of my stripes. And then, after you passed out, they faded away. What gives, Ki?”

Kijika’s eyebrows rose, and I would’ve sworn his fingers twitched against my arm with the need to write down what I’d said. I wasn’t sure if that was because he’d never had that happen before or if it was because I said the stripes looked like mine or even if it was a combination of the two things.

“Really? Interesting.”

“Interesting? Fucking amazing is more like it. What the hell was that, and why haven’t I seen that before?”

“I told you the triple full moons are special to the Vylfian and Naemo people. Under certain circumstances, patterns may appear on the skin of a percentage of the population of either species that are only visible under the combined light of the moons. The appearance of the marks has different meanings to the Vylfian and Naemo, too.”

Kijika pulled me into his arms and spread his wing over us. My low-level purring rose briefly in response to feeling the buttery softness of Kijika’s wing brushing over my skin. He kissed the top of my head, and his voice dropped into what I called his lecture tone, which I thought was pretty damn hot. Then again, I thought everything about Kijika was pretty damn hot.

“For the Naemo, the marks only appear on those who possess some type of innate talent. Like me or my father raising the dead or my uncle Adaene being a Bearer of Shadows. For the Vylfian people, the marks generally only appear on the neutral duals, and they typically shade the person in halves with one side gold and the other side silver. Cross-breeds like me are rare, and the pattern on our skin is unpredictable.”

“So you knew you had stripes? Why didn’t you tell me? And how come they disappeared?”

“I honestly didn’t even think about it when I planned tonight. I’ve only seen the stripes on my skin once before when I entered puberty and my father presented me formally to my family to show that I did have an ability. For the marks to appear, I needed to drink a special mix of herbs since the appearance of the marks is controlled by hormones.”

“So you drank this herb stuff again tonight? Why, if you said you forgot about having them? Is it even safe for you to drink that shit when you’re still breastfeeding Jaiseki? Not that I think you’d do anything to put Jaiseki in danger, but, you’re sure it’s not going to hurt him or anything, right?”

Kijika chuckled and tugged on my braids. “I didn’t drink anything. I said the appearance of the marks is controlled by hormones. The hormones released during sex are also one way to have the marks appear. Pay attention, Moswen,” he said with a soft snort and another tug on my braids. “To make love to someone under the light of the triple full moons is very special and something only couples bonded to each other do. There are married people who’ve never made love to their partner under the full moons because it’s that big of a commitment. I’ve never been intimate with anyone but you under the full moons, Moswen. I’ve never wanted to be intimate with anyone under the triple moons until you.”

My chest felt tight with emotion. Knowing how much meaning the night had for Kijika and that he’d planned it all so that he could share it with me because he loved me and thought I was special was humbling. Every time I thought I couldn’t possibly love him more than I already did, he’d do or say something to prove me wrong, and I was utterly grateful for that.

Finding out that Kijika bore a Lor’fei mark and what that mark was settled me like nothing else possibly could have. I’d felt like my life was tied to his for a long time, and now I knew it for sure. I wouldn’t share that tiny piece of information with him though. I was crazy happy over it, but I knew Kijika well enough that he’d be appalled to find out that when he breathed his last, so would I.

I pulled Kijika into a kiss filled with all the love and devotion I could put into it, which considering that he was my Lor’fei, was a hell of a lot. When I pulled back from the kiss, Kijika’s smile was warm, and he traced his thumb over one of the stripes on my cheek.

“And now that I’ve told you why this night and what we did is special to me, share with me why the appearance of the marks surprised and pleased you so much.”

“You know how the Fire Snake said you were my Lor’fei but that I’m not supposed to be able to have one because I’m a Throw-back?”

Kijika nodded, and I felt his fingers twitch against my arm again. The hint of a smile touched my lips when I realized he was resisting the urge to grab the pen and paper I was sure he’d stashed in the picnic basket.

“All Lor’fei have a mark on their body somewhere that identifies a pair. Sometimes both are born with the mark, or one is born with it and the other acquires it later in life. Sometimes they both acquire it later in life. No matter how the marks happen to be there, they’re always identical but not necessarily in the same place. And every mark is unique to a pair.

“Tyh and Dak have matching marks. Dak has a white one on his lower back. Tyh has a matching one in black on his inner thigh. I thought that was kinda weird freaky, so I went back to Awh’an and checked

the Shal-hazal records about the Lor’fei, and that’s when I found out about the marks. That’s part of the reason that I thought the Fire Snake was out of its fucking mind when it said you were my Lor’fei. I’ve licked every inch of your body and never saw anything that looked even remotely like a mark I had. Until tonight.”

Kijika laughed softly and kissed me. “Moswen, my love, you have the most bizarre karma in all the known and unknown worlds. So this is like a confirmation then that I am your Lor’fei and not just something some strange giant snake in a dream told you?”

I nodded. I debated about keeping my mouth shut about what else that would mean, but I was never intentionally mean to Kijika. Besides, it would probably serve the damn Fire Snake right to be peppered with questions when it paid Kijika a visit in the dream world.

“The Fire Snake will probably visit you in your dreams. I won’t be allowed in while it talks with you, but it won’t hurt you. You won’t be able to talk about whatever it tells you either. That stays strictly between the two of you. That probably applies to you writing down whatever it says, too.”

“Oh really? Well. We’ll just have to see about that now, won’t we?” Kijika said with a determined light in his eyes.

I snickered and hugged Kijika tight. I’d lay down some serious cash to see the argument between Kijika and the Fire Snake. I was almost positive Kijika would win, too. Kijika hugged me back and hummed contentedly when he felt my deep purring against his chest. Everything was right in my world. I had a stunning man in my arms that I loved and who loved me back. We were Lor’fei partners, and we had the most beautiful child ever created as our son.

I was beyond blessed and I knew it.

Translation:

Ve-yu’io xi’ shu’anad: I love you my braid partner

Author Note:

Kijika is chimera-like in a genetic sense in that he does have distinct genetics in certain body parts from each of his parents. For example, his eggs are Naemo, which is why any children he carries will always have Naemo wing types instead of Vylfian. However, if he were to impregnate someone, the off-spring would have the Vylfian wing types as his sperm is Vylfian. The lines/stripes Moswen sees on Kijika’s skin are (in humans) called Blascho’s Lines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaschko%27s_lines) and those lines are usually invisible until hit with UV light.