Chapter 26
Peyton
I dozed on and off, waking incoherently, hearing whispered words. Some heated. Some shocked. I could have sworn I heard Isin shouting at Tahk. The thought made me smile. He was too tiny to shout effectively. Warm fingers traced the smile on my lips, and I drifted off again.
Myrna’s voice was the one to wake me fully. “Yours is the first true mating in so long, and you have denied me every ceremony.”
“Mam, I understand you're upset, but I would not change a moment.” Tahk rumbled. My body shook. He was under me.
I squirmed against him. I was cold. We must be at the castle. Warmth surrounded me, and I snuggled under the blankets. My body was tingly. I felt funny.
“She wakes,” Myrna whispered. Fingers drifted over my brow. Not Tahk’s, smaller. “Does she know what you have done?” Oh, I remembered everything. Tahk and I exchanged blood in a sexual mating that I would forever think of as our wedding day. I chose it. I chose him. As weird as the whole process was. It felt right. I grinned. Tahk’s chest shook.
“She does.” His fingers traced my lips again. I nipped at them. He chuckled again.
Myrna huffed. “Well daughter, when you wake, I would like to speak with you about your new House. Much must be done. We should fly into Ilynda to see the traders and find anything that suits you.”
That woke me up. “New House?” I rubbed the crust from my eyes. I blinked blearily around the room. We were at the castle, in my room there. Haytu and all of Tahk’s mothers were scattered around the room. I looked for Saysa, smiling when I saw her tucked against her father’s chest.
“Well, she is not aware of all you have done.” Myrna grinned smugly and patted my leg.
“Pey!” Vivian rushed over to the bed and jumped on the edge. Rolling Tahk and me further into the middle. “You are sick girl! You sucked his blood, you little succubus!”
“Vahmpyeer.” I grinned, repeating Tahk’s funny pronunciation.
“Not-uh.” She shook her head. “You were gettin’ your freak on. Total succubus.”
Tahk opened his mouth, silently mouthing the word to himself. I laughed and sat up. Immediately thankful to find I was fully dressed. That would have been awkward.
“Is she going to grow wings? Fangs? Because that would be totally badass.”
“No.”
I looked to see Gryo hovering behind us with one of his scanning machines. He scowled at Vivian. “No physical changes should manifest. Her human aspects will remain the same. She will not be as weak.”
“Hey!” Vivian and I shouted at the same time. Gryo muttered to himself and turned away.
“Why’s everybody here?” I asked her and Tahk quietly.
“You passed out, freaking everybody out. But Grumpy Gryo said it was normal.” Vivian smiled softly. “You look happy, not at all like you just survived another alien attack.”
I shook my head. I’d rather not relive that. “How are you? Hector?”
“Good.” She frowned at her hands, twisting them in the sheets. “He’s still asleep.”
“Still?”
“Probably for a while.” She shrugged. “I keep talking to him. Yilt thinks it will help him remember when he wakes up.”
I grabbed her hands and squeezed. “It will.”
“Yeah.” She sighed. “I told him,” she whispered. “Maybe that will help him come back to me.” She rubbed her belly. I looked around the room. Only Tahk and Yilt watched us. The others talked amongst themselves. “Later, only Gryo knows.” She squeezed my hand. I nodded. I wanted to know all about the baby, but not if front of everyone until she was ready for them to know.
I subtly rubbed a finger along her stomach. “Aunty Peyton.”
She grinned. “Isin’s going mad. He’s so angry at Tahk. Told him he was reckless.” She shook her head. “He was flipping out when Tahk ran in with you.”
“Where is he?”
“Moping around. I think he misses Bobo.” We shared a laugh. He totally loved Bobo.
We chatted about the new House that apparently Tahk told his mam and father to find for us. I didn’t know how I felt about it. I liked our House. But I hadn’t spent a lot of time there. And the dead aliens kind of ruined it for me. Plus, Tahk had shared it with his consorts. On second thought, it was probably for the best. This one would be just ours. As long as I got a kickass cavern for my chickens and goat, I would be happy.
Haytu grinned and ushered everyone out when Tahk grew annoyed. Yilt had to pressure Vivian. She wasn’t ready to go, and I wasn’t ready either. The sadness was still there, but I could tell she was really trying to pull herself out of it. I didn’t know if it was for the baby, or if Yilt’s constant watch was the cause of it, but I was thankful all the same.
Tahk said I had been asleep for two days. He met with Uthyf in the room. Not willing to leave me. He told him about the assassin and all that he had said, before and after the creepy voices took over. Tahk told me about the Shadow Born and how they thought they were long gone. How little they really knew about them. Wohn would still search for him and the Queen, but he would also start searching for any information he could find on the Shadow Born.
I asked Tahk about the Queen, and how the assassin had implied it was her behind the attacks and that maybe she hadn’t been kidnapped, after all. He said he and Uthyf didn’t know how they felt about it. It would be completely out of character for her, but they were caught off guard about her son, Aryx, so they didn’t completely dismiss it.
Xixin were the aliens that had attacked, and Uthyf and Tahk were now on the lookout for a traitor. I didn’t know how to feel about all that was happening around us. I was still mostly concerned with Earth, but Fihk had been strangely silent when they tried to reach out to him. Not even Tahk’s Council returned their comms. It would still be another week before Dyadus, and the others reached them, and I hoped they wouldn’t get there to find a silent Earth as well.
I slept fitfully throughout the night. Nightmares plaguing me, but Tahk was always there to guide me through them. I told him about them, and he listened, saying all the right things to settle me.
The next morning Isin woke us, anxiously tossing things through the room. Vivian was right. He was so mad at Tahk. It was kind of cute. I didn’t feel any different, but Isin wasn’t appeased when I told him. The only thing that I had noticed was how very specific Tahk had been about our heartbeats. They literally beat in tune to each other. It made for some interesting sexy times. Every time I would get a little excited he would feel the same. It made him very frustrated because he refused to touch me how I wanted him to, claiming I needed more rest.
I would be having fun with that little nugget of information in the future. Manipulating him would be so much easier now that he reacted to my excitement in kind.
Things settled down after I emerged from our room. For a whole week, I wandered the castle, always with Borv or Syn, sometimes both. If not them, Tahk was always with me. I wasn’t allowed around any of the Council, and though I saw Hull glare at me from afar from time to time, he avoided getting close. Nonya’s containment and the threat of her punishment had done one thing, and that was scare everyone who came into contact with me. It sucked sometimes. It was hard to get to know new Dahk when they were too afraid to breathe near me, but Tahk said it wouldn’t always be this way, and I trusted him. Right now, it was necessary.
Nonya remained locked away, for now. Tahk wasn’t willing to talk about it, but I suspected he hadn’t gone through with her execution for me. I hoped I could convince him to talk to her. Maybe she could be rehabilitated. Tahk didn’t seem inclined to let her out of her cell, though. But Rome wasn’t built in a day and all that.
Anya showed up around me in a very surprising way. She had joined Uthyf’s consorts. I was not happy about it. But only for stupid girly reasons. Her being in the castle meant she would see Tahk a lot. I struggled with it, but Alyn had never done anything to me, and I trusted Tahk. Still, it smarted every time she was mentioned by someone. I think I always expected her to come after me like Nonya did, but she was polite the one time I saw her in passing. I tried to just be happy she found another Dahk instead of Tahk.
I had heard Filiya was shipped off somewhere far away. I had asked Yilt about it once, not willing to argue with Tahk. He had simply said Tahk wouldn’t take any chances with her. She had shown herself to be far too volatile. Honestly, I was shocked it was ultimately Nonya to freak out, not Filiya. That one had a whole case of anger issues. Maybe it was because Tahk had sent her away before she ever really got a good shot at me.
Somehow, I doubted we had seen the last of her.
Myrna and Haytu came through on the new House. It was closer to theirs and had a lot of the natural formations theirs did. It was just as massive as our old one, and it lacked an open balcony. But I was okay with that. The Xixin and the assassin having such easy access would haunt me for a while.
Untya came to the new House, and Syn and Borv moved in like they had always been living with us. Vivian got her own rooms, and though Hector was moved in with Gryo watching over him, he was still asleep and chained up. He had a guard on him all the time. Tahk said he couldn’t take any chances. We didn’t protest. Yilt came and went. Mostly for Vivian, but the more she came out of her despair, the less and less he stopped by.
Isin eventually forgave Tahk and burrowed into a cavern beneath our rooms. Occasionally popping up in the morning unannounced, annoying Tahk. Isin spent a lot of his time with my animals. They had a cavern just like our old one, if not a little smaller. Isin would light a blue fire-stone around a pile of gold toyl in the morning just for Noodle, so he could crow to his heart's content. I was still amazed Isin had managed to fool him.
Untya even enjoyed the chickens. She used their eggs every morning. I caught her occasionally eyeing one or two chickens, but Tahk said she would never hurt them. Still, I found myself following her down there sometimes to make sure she didn’t get any fried chicken ideas.
Two weeks after my and Tahk’s vampire vows, I was down with my chickens and Frederick. I named the heetbull Simon, after my father. I thought he would have gotten a kick out of it. I was playing in a pile of clay when Isin ran in, shouting for me.
“Come, my lady. My lord has news.”
I grabbed a wad of cloths and wiped at my hands, but it was useless. I would need to scrub them. Chasing after Isin, I ran through the mesmerizing caverns. Tahk was pacing the great hall, his father watching him anxiously. Haytu was here all the time, Myrna and Byda often coming with him, but Wayka and Pyntera didn’t visit often. I didn’t get anything negative from them, and I got the impression Pyntera was just really shy. Kudeyas came a lot, but she mostly was off galivanting through Ilynda. And Vyndor was more of a pain than anything when he came over, so Tahk often got sick of him and sent him on his way.
“What is it?” I asked Tahk anxiously. I couldn’t get a good read on him.
“It is Fihk.” He stopped and watched me guardedly. He took a deep breath, a hesitant grin breaking free. “He believes he found your Mother.”
“What?” I felt my face pale and then immediately flush with heated emotion. “How? What?”
“Would you like to comm her?” Tahk asked, pulling me into his arms just as my knees gave out. I blinked, great sobs caving my chest. Tahk winced and rubbed his own. I nodded fast.
He pulled me through the darker caverns of our House, to a room I didn’t often go in. Tahk used it to communicate with the castle and all his crews out looking for the assassin. Tahk had a little device attached to a large screen. Like the one he used to communicate with his Council on the ship. It was thin, like a projector screen, but when Fihk’s face blinked from the massive screen, it was clearer than any television I had ever known. It was pretty impressive in clarity for how far away they were.
“Fihk.” I gasped, clutching Tahk’s arm close as he wrapped it around me from behind. Cocooning me. “Did you really find her?”
Fihk grinned and looked to his right.
“Peyton?” The most wonderful voice in all the universe shouted from the side.
“Mom?” I stared in disbelief and wonder as her soft face filled the screen.
“Is that your alien mate? He is quite purple, isn’t he?” She squinted, shoving her glasses up her nose. They were cracked in the top left corner.
I choked on an incredulous laugh.
“They all are really.” She glanced at Fihk. “I can see the appeal, though.”
Fihk flushed.
“I am Linda, Peyton’s mother. And you are?”
It took me a ridiculous amount of time to realize she was talking to Tahk. He introduced himself, and I gaped from one to the other.
“Well dear, I had quite the adventure searching for you, only to find your note on the front door. A call would have been more prudent.”
“The phones were down.” I felt my lips moving but barely understood what came out of them.
“Well, mine was not.”
“It wasn’t?”
“No, I nearly lost a leg to one of those vile creatures traipsing through the woods. I would have much rather waited for your call.”
“What?”
She shook her head. “Listen to me. I miss you. When are you coming home?”
“I-I,” I looked to Tahk helplessly.
He frowned and squeezed my hip. “She does not leave my side, Mother Linda.”
“You listen here young man. You return my daughter this instant.”
“Linda,” Fihk sighed and rubbed his face briskly. “I have told you, they cannot return, travel is too dangerous at the moment. When it is possible I will take you to her.”
My mother sighed a long, insufferable sound. She smiled at Fihk affectionately and patted his arm. “This young alien man has been very busy saving the world.”
A feminine snort sounded off-screen. Fihk glared and crossed his arms.
“He wants me to travel to you.” My mother rolled her eyes. “Can you imagine? Me? Zipping through the stars?”
I shook my head. “Mom, I- I can’t leave. I don’t know if I will for a long time.” Tahk stiffened. “And even if I do, which I will to see you, I’m coming right back here. This is my home now.”
“I understand you mated this purple alien. But he did not ask for your hand. Y-you know your f-father would not have approved.” She sighed and blinked rapidly, looking away.
“Mom,” I whispered. “Daddy would have loved him.” Tahk kissed my neck.
“Well, I will decide my feelings for the young alien man on my own. If you cannot come to me, you will call. Is that clear? I will not go so long wondering about you again.”
I nodded dumbly. Who was this woman? My mother had been avoiding me for three years.
“I know I have not been the easiest to have around.” She fidgeted with her surprisingly clean blouse.
Another snort sounded outside of our view. “Linda, like we practiced. The word you're looking for is sorry.”
Fihk growled, studiously glaring at the screen.
“Hush now, young lady. I have had enough of your sass.” My mother’s voice held a whole lot of affectionate annoyance. Very unlike her. I was used to only annoyance.
“Who’s that?” Who got her to look like so, so amused?
“No one.” Fihk scowled after another indelicate snort.
“Mom?” I called her again, but she kept gazing off to the side. Scowling and fighting a smile.
“Bailey, perhaps you may enjoy knowing Olynth is in the great hall avoiding you.” My mother smiled wickedly and winked. It was scary.
“Funny,” said the feminine voice dryly. A small blue-haired girl stepped into view and scowled into the screen. She barely reached Fihk’s chest. He stiffened and shifted away from her. “I’m Bailey, and your moms has been moaning and wailing for the last few days about you. She’s really sorry for being stuck up and ignoring you all these years. You’re welcome.” She kissed my mother on the cheek and stomped out of the room in heavily buckled boots.
Fihk stiffened with each step the girl took.
“This whole business has made me realize what a fool I have been.” My mother chuckled and blinked her watery eyes. Looking around the room anxiously. “Bailey is correct. I am sorry for my recent behavior. I did not handle your father’s passing as I should have.”
“It’s okay, mom.” I couldn’t believe she was admitting any wrongdoing. It was so unlike her. I was just glad she was alive. It was unbelievable and miraculous.
“It is not. I suppose I will make the trip to you when it is possible. I would like to meet your mate in person. I will endeavor to reserve my judgments until then.”
I laughed shakily, Hugging Tahk’s arm tight. There was my mom.
“How is Vivian? I was told she is with you?” Vivian would be thrilled when she heard about my mom. She loved her before my father died. After, she had a hard time accepting her absence.
Fihk shifted and glared behind him.
My mother sighed. “Go on, Fihk.”
He gnashed his teeth but bowed and thumped his chest. “My lord, I will be back to relay the rest of our counterattack details.” He didn’t wait for Tahk to answer. He took off out of the room.
Tahk stiffened and scowled at the screen.
“Where is he going?” I asked my mom when she turned back to me, a goofy smile on her face.
“To retrieve his Pythe, I suppose,” was her shocking answer.