TEN
“YOU’RE A CHEF?” Cecelia asked, wide-eyed, after she nibbled on a meat called trixava, which was apparently the most widely-used and popular game meat on Luxiria.
Devix certainly seemed to like it. It was the food he’d grown up eating, or so he’d told her. He hadn’t had trixava since his exile and he’d hardly spoken a word during their dinner, too intent on vacuuming down his meal.
It was heavily spiced, but delicious. It reminded her of alligator meat, a little tough, but it sure filled the stomach.
“Yep,” Cara replied, smiling. Cecelia and Rixavox had arrived back at their temporary home with plates and plates of food for dinner a few hours after they’d left. They were sitting around the fire pit, their backs to the plush cushions. Devix’s thigh was pressed into her own. “I worked at a restaurant in Seattle. This Asian fusion place.”
Cecelia groaned. “I miss Asian food. All Asian food. Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese. I would kill for a sushi roll and orange chicken.”
Cara laughed, relaxing. She was already full from the trixava. Cecelia finished hers off as well, but both their mates continued eating. They seemed embroiled in some sort of contest to see who could eat the most meat and drink the most Luxirian Brew that Rixavox had brought along.
“I do miss sushi,” Cara said, sighing. A thought occurred to her. Maybe she could make some. “Is there fish here?”
“Not that I’ve seen,” Cecelia said, shaking her head, which disappointed Cara. “Mostly meat and roots.”
“It’s the same on Rozun, although there’s a lot of edible plant life too,” Cara told her. “We’re starting a restaurant there, in the capitol.”
“Really?” Cecelia asked, visibly perking up.
“She is,” Devix corrected, taking a brief pause with his dinner to chime in. “She has worked hard. I only helped with fixing up her ‘kitchen.’”
“And eating all my food,” she teased.
“Tev,” he purred. “I like your food.”
Cara nudged him in the side, smiling, before returning her gaze to Cecelia and Rixavox, who were seated across the fire pit. The flames reflected in Rixavox’s eyes, so similar to Devix’s. Throughout the evening, she’d caught Rixavox looking at his brother, as if he couldn’t quite believe that he was seeing him. Devix had done the same.
They hadn’t had time alone yet, Cara remembered. And she was sure that there was much to say.
Cecelia seemed to have the same thought, since after a few more moments of conversation about her restaurant on Rozun, and after the two males finished their meal, the brunette asked her, “Would you like to come see our house? It is a little more comfortable than Lihvan and Beks’ but we are here more often in the Golden City than they are.”
With a sideways glance at Devix, who returned her gaze, Cara nodded and slowly stood. “I’d love to.”
“Sessela,” Rixavox said, exchanging a look with his mate, but he didn’t make a move to stand with her.
“We’ll be fine,” Cecelia said, brushing her fingers over her mate’s horns.
“Pivke?” Devix asked her, in Rozian. It was one of the first phrases he’d taught her, essentially asking if she was well, or felt safe.
“Pivke,” she replied, smiling. In English, she said, “Come find us when you’re done.”
Then, they left their two mates behind as they headed out of the dwelling and into the night of Luxiria.
When the door closed behind them, Cecelia gave her a mischievous smile, as if they’d just done something naughty. Cara chuckled at the expression, finding that she quite liked the human woman, that she could see them becoming close friends.
“They needed time alone, didn’t they?” Cara whispered once they were out of earshot of the dwelling. Slowly, they walked the short distance to Cecelia and Rixavox’s home. The terrace was wide and to their left was a vast, open view of Luxiria’s landscape. It was nighttime and the silver moon illuminated the jagged mountain peaks and sparkled off the black sand.
And the temperature felt heavenly, nice and cool, instead of the unbearable heat of the day.
“They definitely did,” Cecelia replied.
They stopped at the terrace wall, leaning their forearms on it so they could look down below. The city was carved from the stone of the mountain and it too shone in the moonlight.
“It’s beautiful here,” Cara commented softly. “Strange, but beautiful.”
“I’m so fascinated that you two live on a different planet,” Cecelia admitted. “Though, to be honest, I’m still fascinated that I live on a different planet. That’s not Earth, I mean.”
Cara understood what she meant. “Sometimes, I’m still wrapping my mind around the fact that this all exists. That we all lived on Earth a very short time ago, but now, we live so far away. And that we have mates that aren’t human.”
“And that we’re both pregnant with their babies,” Cecelia finished for her, sending her a small smile, touching her own round stomach. “I know what you mean. Kate’s been here the longest and sometimes she still says that it doesn’t feel real.”
“Kate,” Cara repeated, her gaze sliding over the various terraces before darting back over the horizon. “I saw her, you know. I was there that day when Vaxa’an took her as his prize.”
Cecelia sucked in a breath. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Cara replied, blowing out a breath. “I never saw you though.”
“They rescued us not too long ago. We were all kept in a dark room, in cages. And they came for us and brought us here,” Cecelia said softly, her voice nothing more than a whisper. “Had you been taken already? From the Pit?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Cara said. “I was kept in another room. Alone. I think they thought I was wild or something. I bit the first alien that tried to take me from the Pit. I did it again, after Kate was taken, and I was never kept with the other women after that. When the Luxirians came, they probably didn’t know I was still there.”
“I’m so sorry, Cara,” Cecelia said. “I couldn’t imagine going through that alone.”
Cara blew out a breath, trying to clear the fog from her mind. “It seems like so long ago now, even though it wasn’t. It led me to Devix anyways. That’s all that matters.”
Cecelia went quiet as they both took in the view, probably remembering their individual experiences in the Pit.
“I had cancer,” Cecelia said suddenly. Cara started, turning to look at her. “I think about this all the time, that if I hadn’t been taken by the Krevorags in the first place, I wouldn’t have met Rixavox. I wouldn’t be pregnant and I would still have cancer.”
“They cured you?”
“Yes,” Cecelia said, smiling. A soft breeze pushed back her dark hair. “They did. I also thought that I’d never have children. The doctors back on Earth told me that it wasn’t possible anymore, after the radiation therapy and the chemo. Yet…here I am. Everything happened for a reason, in the universe’s strange way.”
“I agree,” Cara whispered.
“And now you’re here,” Cecelia added, reaching out to squeeze her hand, which was resting on the terrace’s banister.
“And perhaps there’s a reason why,” Cara said, blowing a breath. She was beginning to feel better about the whole situation, even though she’d been overwhelmed earlier that afternoon. But Cecelia had worked hard throughout dinner, drawing her into easy and comfortable conversation, to put her mind at ease. And Cara appreciated it. “At least Devix and Rixavox can see each other, after all these years.”
“Rixavox told me about the tribunal and his exile,” Cecelia admitted quietly. “Rixavox said he knew Devix never would’ve done what he was accused of. He’s missed him so much. I could tell just by the way he talked about him. It ate him up inside that he couldn’t find Devix.”
“Devix was a victim in all this,” Cara said. “I still can’t believe the injustice of it all sometimes.”
“Luxirians are very set in their ways,” Cecelia told her. “Kate told me that, before the rest of us were rescued, that a few warriors challenged Vaxa’an because they didn’t believe he should take a human mate and sire children with her. The mixing of blood and all that apparently didn’t sit right.”
Cara frowned. “But I thought all their females were infertile. If they couldn’t have children, what would become of their race?”
“Exactly,” Cecelia said, sighing. “But like I said, some are very set in their ways. Not all, thankfully. Change takes time. And us? Being here? That’s a big change.” Cecelia looked over at her. “And hopefully, over time, Luxirians will change the way they see Devix too.”
Cara knew they wouldn’t be there long enough for that change to take place. But she kept that thought silent.
Instead, she admitted, “I think…I think I am glad we came. I had my doubts, especially earlier, as you saw, but if only to meet another woman who actually understands all the words I use,” Cecelia laughed, “and so our two mates can reunite, I’m glad, no matter what happens.”
“And we’re basically sisters now, you know,” Cecelia teased. “I always wanted one.”
Cara chuckled. “Me too.”
* * *
“I searched for you, brother,” Rixavox said suddenly from this place across the fire pit. “After Petrika, I still searched for you. I wish for you to know that.”
Devix’s expression turned grim. He regarded Rixavox, unsure of where to even begin, despite hoping for the past six rotations that he’d have the chance to say what he needed to say, that he’d have the chance to see his brother once more.
And now, there they were. Together again.
The bond of siblings on Luxiria was powerful. They were of the same blood. No one else would share what they already shared. Much like bond of fated mates, the bond between siblings was sacred.
He always knew that was why Arvalla never denied her blood brother’s word. She would have never betrayed Pidixa like that.
“I fought you on Petrika,” Devix started quietly, slipping into Luxirian easily enough though stringing full sentences together in his native language felt strange and almost unnatural. English felt more right to him now than Luxirian. “Not just the fighting we used to partake in, sparing for fun and for skill. I fought you with the intent to hurt you, to drive you away. I said words to you that have haunted me for rotations and I thought those would be the last words I would ever say to you. It sickened me if I thought about it too deeply.”
“Why?” Rixavox asked. “Why did you do it?”
“I was ashamed,” Devix admitted. “I was the first born of our family unit. I was to be the example for you, that is what mother told me from the time I was a youth. I tried so hard to be throughout our life spans. And in such a short amount of time, I became unrecognizable, even to myself. I was disgraced, a fallen Luxirian warrior with shorn hair. I was a drunk on Petrika, living in filth, and allowing myself to. Fighting underground for coins and not for honor or peace. I did not want you to see me that way.”
Rixavox’s shoulders bunched, a sign Devix recognized as anger. “I only wanted to help you, brother. You were not a stranger to me. It was not shame. It was your pride. That mattered more to you than I did.”
“That is not true,” Devix growled.
“If it was not true, then why has it been six rotations since I last saw you or heard from you? You know I never believed what Pidixa claimed. You knew that I would help you. Why turn to Sarkon? Why not turn to me?”
Devix realized that his brother’s anger stemmed from hurt and so he calmed his own.
“Brother…”
“Tell me,” Rixavox growled. “You returned to Luxiria because of your mate, because you worry for her. I understand that. I do not understand why you cut me out, when you were my only family left. You could have opened a Com line to me here, even from Rozun, if only to let me know you were safe. I imagined the worst scenarios every single span about your fate.”
“You know I could not do that, Rixavox.”
“Why not?”
Devix huffed out a sharp breath, feeling the guilt weigh heavy on him, crushing him towards the floor of the dwelling.
“There is nothing to say,” Devix finally murmured after silence. “Nothing that can change what happened.”
“That is all you have to say?” Rixavox asked, his tone sharp like a blade. His brother stood from the fire pit. “Perhaps you are a stranger to me now.”
The words sank into his chest so deeply, they hit bone.
Tell him, his mind urged.
It was the only way his brother would understand.
“Brother,” Devix said, standing when Rixavox stormed towards the door of the dwelling. “Stop.”
“Give me a reason why I should,” he replied, without turning.
Devix lunged for him, catching the top of his shoulder and whirling him around. “You were always stubborn,” Devix rasped in frustration. “That has not changed.”
“Everything else has though,” Rixavox hissed, jerking away. “You have.”
“Of course I have,” Devix bit out. “Did you expect that I would be the same? After Pidixa, after Petrika, after Sarkon, after Cara? I can never be the male I was. I will never be again.”
Though Rixavox didn’t say anything in response, at least he wasn’t trying to leave anymore. They stood, an arm’s length apart, staring at one another as if seeing each other for the first time.
And, in a way, they were.
“I wanted to see you,” Devix admitted quietly. “I wanted to send a message to you. Every span.”
“You could have.”
“No,” Devix said, jerking his head. “I did not contact you because I wanted to protect you.”
“How would that protect me?”
“Protect your position,” Devix emphasized, “on Luxiria…your rank, your reputation.”
“Devix,” Rixavox started, but he cut his brother off before he could say anything.
“I know how much you risked because of me—before, during, and after the tribunal. You were a newly appointed war general, an Ambassador to our Prime Leader, to our people. You had your own outpost to oversee and run. And your association with me risked that all. I knew the council called for your rank to be stripped, even before the tribunal, simply because of our blood ties. I know that you were the one who swayed Vaxa’an’s final decision for exile instead of execution.”
“He asked me if I thought you had committed the crime and I gave him my honest answer,” Rixavox said quietly. “That was it.”
“No,” Devix said. “Vaxa’an turned to you because he trusts you. You spared my life. I know you well, brother, and I know that you would have given up everything if it meant my safety.” He ran a hand over his horn in frustration. “And I could not allow you to do that. Not for me. If the council had found out you came to me on Petrika, or that you continued your search, what do you think would have happened?”
“They never found out,” Rixavox argued.
“They would have,” Devix growled. “If they called for your resignation before the tribunal, you would have been put on trial yourself for association with an exile.”
Rixavox’s jaw ticked, but he said nothing. Because Rixavox knew Devix was right. If the council pushed for something hard enough, not even Vaxa’an could prevent it.
“If I had tried to make contact again, the council would’ve known. You had already risked too much for me, Rixavox. I could not allow you to ruin everything that you have worked so hard for. Not for me. Not when I know how much your position means to you, how much it meant for our family unit,” Devix murmured, looking at his brother. “It was better that we never spoke again, so that I did not drag you down with me.”
Rixavox regarded him for a long time, but neither brother moved.
Finally, Rixavox spoke, “You should have trusted me, Devix. I understand why you chose what you did now. But you should have trusted that I would handle it. I am not the youth that you knew me as. You do not need to protect me anymore. I can protect myself now. I have a mate to protect and our offspring that grows in her belly. It is not your duty anymore and it hasn’t been since even before your exile.”
Hearing his younger brother say those words made his chest twinge and he felt them settle in the pit of his stomach. He’d always taken up the role as protector, had always been proud to protect his family.
But he knew his brother was right.
It wasn’t his responsibility anymore to protect him, not when he had a family unit of his own.
“Forgive me, brother,” Devix said. “I was only doing what I believed was right.”
“I know,” Rixavox replied. His brother hissed out a long breath and stepped forward, reaching out an arm to clasp onto Devix’s shoulder. “I understand now.”
His brother’s touch was acceptance in itself and Devix relaxed, his muscles shifting.
“I don’t know if it can ever be the same, as it once was, between us,” Rixavox murmured quietly, meeting his eyes.
“No, I don’t believe it can,” Devix replied. “We have both changed. But it doesn’t change that you are my blood brother. Our bond cannot even be broken by death, for we will be the same blood even in the blackworld.”
He felt Rixavox’s hand tighten on his shoulder and Devix reached out to pull his brother forward. Their foreheads connected and they closed their eyes, feeling that bond as they once did.
It was just as unbreakable as it was before.
And if it hadn’t been broken by the past eight rotations since Devix’s exile, then he knew that nothing could ever break it.
“I am glad you are here, brother,” Rixavox murmured.
“I am as well.”
“Now, come,” Rixavox said, pulling away. “Shall we return to our mates?”
And just like that, Devix knew that there was hope for their relationship. His brother had never been one to hold grudges. He confronted a problem directly and then moved on, even when they were both youths, still in warrior training. It was why he made a good war general and an even better Ambassador.
“Yes, let us go to our mates.”