SIX
DEVIX STOOD AT the window in their quarters. His luxiva was still sleeping behind him. He listened to her smooth, even breaths, and the hum of the vessel, the silence of space as they drifted through to their destination…and he let all these sounds calm him.
Because in the distance, he saw Luxiria. His home. Or at least, once, it had been.
He couldn’t count how many times he’d stood just as he was, looking out towards Luxiria, as he came home as a warrior. Luxirian warriors often traveled off planet, to help with wars of battling races, or to aid the Uranian Federation in bringing rogues to heel. They were on different planets, or adrift in space, more than they were on their own. But every single time Devix returned to Luxiria, he would watch her approach, would study her like he was starved, an intense joy filling him at the thought that he would see his family unit soon.
Those spans were gone, however. Now, Devix watched Luxiria like he would an unknown stranger…warily because he knew strangers could be dangerous, even if unprovoked.
Truthfully, he didn’t know how his arrival would be perceived. His race would know an uninvited vessel would be entering their atmosphere soon. Devix would have to seek a connection with their Coms long before he attempted it. Luxirians would never fire upon a strange vessel, in fear that females or offspring were on board, so Devix didn’t have to fear an assault.
His best hope was that his blood brother was on planet, that he could request to speak with him before Vaxa’an, the Prime Leader of their people, could order a capture and imprisonment.
Devix ran a hand over one horn, taking in a deep breath. He feared not for himself, but for his pregnant mate. If she was harmed in any way while on Luxiria…Devix would stop at nothing for vengeance. Dungeons and reinforced chains would not stop him from reaching her.
Devix jolted when he felt her touch. He’d been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t heard Cara’s approach. Dangerous, he thought. He needed to be his best, undistracted.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered, wrapping her arms around his back as she came to stand in front of him, nude. Even with his grim thoughts, he was aroused for her…but he wouldn’t act on it.
“Luxiria,” he told her, voice rough and husky. Cara’s lips parted and she turned in his arms, her back to his front, and she saw the planet they were approaching.
“That’s Luxiria?” she questioned softly, running her fingertips over his forearms.
Devix huffed out a breath of air and dropped his forehead until it was pressed into the back of her skull. The silky strands of her hair tickled his cheek and he said, “Tev.”
“Okay,” she whispered. “How should we do this?”
“We will make a Com connection soon, before we ever enter the atmosphere. I will request to speak to my blood brother. If he is not on planet, then I will speak with Vaxa’an, the Prime Leader. You will be with me, so they see there is a female on board. They will grant us permission to land in the docking bay, regardless, when they see you, when we tell them you are carrying our offspring and that we need aid.”
“And you’re sure about this? Once they see me?”
“Tev,” he said. It was the only thing he was certain of.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s do this then.”
Devix hesitated. “I need you to do a task for me first.”
She turned to look at him. “Anything.”
He swallowed before saying, “I need you to shorn my hair.”
He watched her pupils dilate and she frowned. “I take it back. I won’t do anything. And I certainly won’t do that.”
“You must,” he replied, already mourning the loss of it once more.
It was a requirement of all exiled Luxirians to shorn their hair. These past lunar rotations, Devix had let it grow. He’d begun to give up his past life as a Luxirian warrior, in favor of his fated female, who filled him with more pride and happiness than Luxiria ever had. He was innocent of his accused crime, so on Rozun, he’d let his hair grow freely, as it once had. It brushed just past his shoulders then and Cara had often stroked her fingers through it, being mindful of his horns, late at night, after their mating sessions.
Devix mourned that more than anything, that he wouldn’t feel his female’s hands tangling in his hair, whether it was during the passion of mating, or the calm aftermath.
“I am an exiled Luxirian. Nothing changes that, though I am innocent,” he tried to explain to her.
“But—”
“They would consider it an insult, if it was not shorn.”
Cara swallowed, her feelings as clear as the Rozian sun on her face. Devix found himself relaxing when she finally said, “But, you’ll let it grow back? Once we leave?”
“If I ask my race for help,” he murmured, stroking her cheek, “then no. I will keep it shorn. I will respect the confines placed on me as a Luxirian, not as a Rozian.”
Because he’d let his hair grow as a Rozian. Not as a Luxirian. Returning to his home planet changed everything.
“I don’t like this,” she whispered.
“You must be strong, luxiva,” he murmured. “You will not be harmed. Our deal is still in place, tev?”
“Yes,” she said, closing her eyes briefly, steeling herself. When she opened them, she gave an unsteady nod, but her tone harbored no hesitation, “Do you have a razor?”
Strong female, he thought.
“Tev. Come.”
And when he gave her one in the wash room off the quarters, she ran her fingers through his hair once more. Then, with a steady hand, she cut his hair and then shaved it close to his skull.
* * *
The Coms connected easily, as if the Luxirians on the other end had been anticipating it.
Cara squeezed his hand, sitting next to him at the controls of the vessel. The silver screen in the middle of the console patched in an image connection.
A Luxirian he didn’t recognize appeared on the screen. He was a warrior, it looked like, working at the command center, because Devix recognized the background.
The Luxirian showed no emotion as Devix said, in his own language, which he hadn’t used fully in seemingly rotations, “I need to speak with Ambassador Rixavox, war general to the Prime Leader.”
Again, the Luxirian showed no emotion, even as his gaze shifted to Cara. The Com connection went black and Devix sat back in his seat, running a hand over his horn.
“What happened?” Cara asked, nervously nibbling on her bottom lip.
“We wait,” Devix murmured. “That warrior is, no doubt, alerting Vaxa’an. But I believe that Rixavox will be sent for.”
But how long would that take? Even if he was on the planet, it was highly likely that Rixavox was stationed at the outpost he oversaw, which was the furthest outpost on Luxiria to the Golden City, the capitol. They would be docking in the Golden City if they received permission, but it would take Rixavox the better part of the span to reach them.
They would wait, Devix knew. But he could only hope that his brother was close to the Golden City.
His female was fidgeting beside him and he ran a soothing hand down her back.
“It will all be well, female,” he told her.
Cara looked at him, her brown eyes reading him better than any being had before. But she said nothing. She only tightened her grip on his hand and they waited.
Finally, a beeping sound indicated an incoming connection and his heart raced a little faster as he accepted the line.
There, on the screen, was Vaxa’an, the Prime Leader of his people, friend of his blood brother, and the male who had chosen to exile him instead of executing him.
Devix had always been on good terms with Vaxa’an. He knew that the decision made wasn’t personal, but that Vaxa’an had risked much within his own council by choosing to let him live.
“Prime Leader,” Devix greeted, bowing his head in respect.
“Devix,” Vaxa’an replied. “You are one of the last beings I expected to speak with this span.”
Vaxa’an’s gaze slid over to Cara. His brow bunched slightly, the only tell on the Prime Leader’s face.
In Luxirian, Devix said, “Is my brother on planet?”
“Yes, he has been sent for,” Vaxa’an replied, the golden bands wrapped around his biceps gleaming under the blue light of the command center. Behind Vaxa’an, Devix could make out others, the elder council formed behind him. “What is it that you seek, Devix? You know the laws. You were never to return to Luxiria for your crime, or else you court your own execution. And this time, I will not be able to save you.”
“A crime I never committed. One you know I was never capable of,” Devix replied, gritting his teeth. Vaxa’an’s own jaw set, but the Prime Leader said nothing. “I will wait for my blood brother to arrive. Then I will speak.”
“As you wish. He is in the Golden City, so he will arrive shortly,” Vaxa’an said, his eyes shifting once more to Cara. “But we will keep the connection open.”
Devix bristled. Did Vaxa’an think that he would harm Cara if the connection closed?
His rage threatened to break through, but the only thing that kept him still was his female’s gentle touch.
“As you wish,” Devix repeated, but he was unable to keep the bite from his words. Even after all that time, it seemed Devix still harnessed some bitterness towards his race.
To Cara, in English, even knowing that Vaxa’an and the other Luxirians present behind him could hear, he said, “Rixavox will come soon. But they want to keep the line open so they can ensure I will not harm you, female.”
Cara’s chin raised, her cheek twitching. She regarded the image connection, looked straight at Vaxa’an, and said, “He would never hurt me.”
Her voice was as strong as a Luxirian crystal. She didn’t even know if Vaxa’an understood English or not, but there was no denying the meaning of her words as they carried over the connection.
Devix’s suspicions were confirmed when Vaxa’an said, in practiced English, “Female, my actions are a precaution only. He is an exiled warrior and you are a female under his care. It is—”
Vaxa’an’s head turned in the image and he stopped speaking. In Luxirian, the Prime Leader said, “He is here.”
But whether he was speaking to Devix, or to Rixavox, whose image appeared on screen at that moment, he didn’t know.
“Brother,” Rixavox breathed and Devix huffed out a sharp breath at the sheer weight that word brought down on him. Vaxa’an had stepped away, to allow Rixavox space. And all Devix saw was his blood brother.
“Rixavox,” Devix said, his tone quiet as he leaned towards the screen. “It has been many rotations, brother.”
There was too much that Devix wanted to say. Too much that they’d left unsaid last time they’d seen each other, when Rixavox had come to Petrika, seeking him out. Devix had…not been well at that time. He’d been drunk on Brew, with cuts fresh from the underground fights. He’d been ashamed that his younger brother saw him in that state. He’d been angry and disgusted at himself.
And he’d taken it out on his brother, the one being in the entire universe at that point in his life span that had still fought for him.
Devix had given up on himself then. But seeing Rixavox…it had shaken him up. It had awakened him. It was why he’d accepted Sarkon’s offer, to get off Petrika and try to create a different life for himself. It was why he’d met Cara, his fated mate, in the first place.
He owed much to his brother for that.
“I never believed,” Rixavox started, “that I would see you again.”
Devix said slowly, “I did not wish to disrupt your life.”
“No, you misunderstand. I prayed to the Fates every span that I would see you again, even if I believed I would not. And they have answered,” Rixavox said.
Devix’s chest felt clogged as he processed his brother’s words. Too much, he thought. He felt too much.
Cara’s touch brought him back from his overwhelming thoughts and he looked over at her.
Switching to English, because he had a gut feeling that his blood brother had also received a language implant, he said, “Rixavox, this is Cara, my luxiva.”
Behind Rixavox, he heard startled murmurs from the elders and whoever else was present for their reunion. But Devix only paid mind to his brother, who regarded Cara across the connection.
“Female,” Rixavox said, in her native tongue, “it honors me to meet my blood brother’s mate.”
Cara looked at Devix before returning her gaze to the screen. “I am happy to meet you as well, Rixavox. Devix has told me much about you.”
Devix brushed a strand of hair back from her face, something that didn’t go unnoticed by his brother, as pride filled him. Never did he think he would be able to introduce her to what was left of his family.
But they had things to discuss. Important things. And if everything went well, they would have time to talk.
“There is talk on our home colony,” Devix started in English and Rixavox’s eyes returned to him, “that Luxirians have mated with human females. Is it true?”
Rixavox looked over his shoulder and stepped away from the screen slightly so that Vaxa’an could rejoin him.
“Tev,” Rixavox said, standing next to Vaxa’an. “The Fates blessed me with a luxiva as well.” Devix started, his breath hitching. “She is human.”
“And I,” Vaxa’an stated. “Our lavrix’an is human. She has honored us all with an offspring. A male.”
Devix sucked in a breath and Cara’s lips parted. Softly, she said, “I saw you.”
Vaxa’an regarded her. “Rebax, female?”
“I saw you at the Pit,” Cara continued. “I recognize you. You took the woman who was standing next to me that day, after you won the fight.”
It was quiet in the command center as Vaxa’an processed her words. “You were there?” he murmured.
“Yes.”
Vaxa’an regarded her carefully and Rixavox was unmoving next to the Prime Leader. “Female, I feel shame that I participated in the fights. However, at the time, I believed it was for the continuation of our race. The female you saw me take is my luxiva. I felt the connection with her the moment I saw her and nothing would have stopped me from taking her away from that place. Her name is Kat,” Vaxa’an finished. “And she is well and happy here on Luxiria.”
“Cara is pregnant with our offspring,” Devix said, cutting in. “We have come to Luxiria seeking aid from your healers, so that she is safe and healthy during the gestation. The healers on our home colony do not have the knowledge or resources to help us.”
Vaxa’an’s jaw set. “We will aid your female, Devix. You, however, know the laws. You cannot return to Luxiria.”
“I’m not leaving this spaceship without him,” Cara chimed in, her spine straightening.
“Female—” Vaxa’an started.
“No,” she replied, steeling her voice. “I didn’t want to come here, knowing the way my mate was treated for something he didn’t do. I didn’t want to risk it. But Devix and I made a deal. And that deal was that we would come to seek guidance and help here if Devix would be at my side, or that we would return to our home if you threatened him in any way and take our chances with the pregnancy.”
“Cara,” Devix said, clenching his jaw.
“Dev, no,” she said, looking at him with fire in her eyes. She turned to look back at the screen, never wavering from Vaxa’an’s or Rixavox’s gaze. “Congratulations on your baby boy, Prime Leader. At least I know a pregnancy like this can be successful. I carry a Luxirian-human child right now. Will ours be just as successful without your help?”
“It was a difficult gestation for Kat, female,” Vaxa’an admitted. “Please, you must disembark so that we can help you.”
“You know my terms, Prime Leader,” Cara said in return. “Our terms. Devix stays by my side, unharmed, or we leave right now. What is it going to be?”
Devix didn’t know whether to kiss her for her courage or to spank her backside for it. Luxiria’s best council members had nothing on his luxiva.
Rixavox cut in. “Land into the docking bay, Devix. We can at least speak about this within reach of one another.”
“That is not your decision, Ambassador,” Vaxa’an said, cutting Rixavox a look.
“Are you truly going to turn them away?” Rixavox challenged. “She is carrying an offspring of Luxirian blood. If she says she will not come without Devix, then there is no decision to be made.”
“Careful, Ambassador,” Vaxa’an rasped, eyeing Rixavox. “You seem to forget your place where your blood brother is concerned.”
Devix’s gut clenched. Already, he’d risked his brother’s position during the tribunal all those rotations ago. He didn’t intend to again.
“Prime Leader,” he started, addressing Vaxa’an, “this is your decision. We will respect it. Truthfully, I would have sent Cara down to Luxiria alone without another hesitation if it meant your help, but as you can see, my female is not so easily swayed by what I want.” Cara squeezed his hand. “Her mind is made up and…I agreed to her terms before we ever departed for Luxiria.”
Vaxa’an listened to him speak and then was silent. Devix could feel Rixavox’s restless energy even through the image connection. When Vaxa’an turned to look behind him at the council members, his brother met his eyes and then held them.
There were many reasons why Devix hoped that Vaxa’an would agree to their terms. A reunion with his brother being one of them, but he would give it up if it meant his luxiva’s safety.
Finally, Vaxa’an addressed Devix and Cara. To both of them, he said, “You will dock in the Golden City. Female, you will consult immediately with Privanax, our best healer.”
“And you won’t take Devix away?” Cara asked, needing the confirmation before she agreed, his stubborn little mate. “He will be with me?”
“Tev,” Vaxa’an said. “He will remain at your side.”
“And if we decide to leave, we can?”
Vaxa’an jerked his head in a nod. “Tev, if Privanax determines the health of the offspring is stable. However, we would rather you remain on Luxiria until the birth of the offspring.”
“That will depend,” Cara stated, never backing down, “on the treatment Devix receives.”
Vaxa’an surprised them all by huffing out a short laugh.
“Female,” he started, “it seems that you will not let anyone treat him poorly regardless. You have nothing to fear.”
Her chin lifted again. “He is the best male I have ever met and I will not let anything happen to him.”
Vaxa’an sobered and then he returned his gaze to Devix.
“Dock your vessel, Devix,” Vaxa’an said. “You have permission to land on Luxiria.”