THIRTEEN
Bidan was efficient, Kate would give him that. And he didn’t talk much but that was okay. Kate was still reeling from this alien planet and she didn’t feel like talking much. She’d always been one to observe first to try to get her bearings and then jump in.
As per Vaxa’s orders, Bidan called Keriva. He’d gone over to a silver screen imbedded into the sandstone/marble wall in the corner of the living room. When he touch the screen, it activated and she assumed he sent off a message.
“Keriva will arrive shortly, lavrix’an,” Bidan said, turning to her. He was slow in his speech, as though he didn’t quite know how to form the sounds of her language. “I have sent her to get your language implanted before coming here.”
“Thank you,” she said, because she didn’t know what else to say. “And, um, you can call me Kate.”
Bidan jerked his head in a nod. “Kat.”
She almost smiled. What was it with Luxirians not being able to pronounce hard ‘a’s? Oh well. It was only fair. She was butchering their names too.
Silence descended, but for some reason, it didn’t feel awkward. Bidan studied her, but it was more of a general curiosity, not like he was trying to intimidate her or waiting for her to speak.
“Have you ever seen someone like me before?” she asked him. “A human?”
It was still weird saying that. Human. She had to remind herself that she was the alien on Luxiria.
“No,” he said, his gaze unmoving. “There have been many…species to visit Luxiria. No humans, until you.”
“And…you’ve…” Served? “Worked for Vaxa’s family for a long time?”
“Tev,” he said. “War is not for all. I enjoy serving the Prime Leader. It is a great honor for me and for my family.”
She would have to ask Vaxa about all this war stuff and military training. She wasn’t sure she quite understood what it meant. Were the Luxirians actually at war? Or would they be soon?
She thought of Vaxa. He had a warrior’s body, that was for sure. She’d seen his scars. She’d seen Lihvan’s scars. She’d seen the training pits. And yes, seeing him fight had evoked a primal response from her, but to imagine him actually fighting in a war…
The idea tasted like ash in her mouth.
And that worried her.
Oh no, she thought, please don’t tell me you’re falling for the big guy.
She grew flustered and her belly dropped. She stumbled around for another question to ask Bidan, to distract herself. Except, she found herself asking, “What was Vaxa like as a child?”
“How he is now,” Bidan replied, clasping his hands in front of him. “Serious. Strong-willed. His sire raised Vaxa’an to be a leader.”
For a brief moment, Kate let herself imagine what Vaxa would be like as a father. She imagined a small baby with beautiful mirage-like skin that reflected light, with human green eyes, and tiny black horns.
Stop, she ordered herself. And she cut that thread with a mental snip. She could not afford to be thinking like that. It wouldn’t do her any good. She blamed the serious pheromones her alien gave off. It was giving her loopy daydreams, in addition to her constant state of arousal, even when she was upset with him. It simply wasn’t fair.
Kate grew silent after that, a little unsettled by her imaginings. She felt feverish. Sweat continued to roll down her back in little droplets and she was positive that her hair was stuck to her slick forehead in the most unattractive way possible.
“Have you had your first meal, Kat?” Bidan asked. “I can send a request for sustenance for you.”
“Actually,” she said, “yes, that sounds great.” She realized that she hadn’t eaten since the night before and she’d been awake—and nervous and slightly overwhelmed—for a few hours now. A light breakfast would help settle her and not make her feel so queasy. After all, she’d never been one to skip a meal, judging by the soft curves of her body.
Vaxa loves them, her mind whispered and she blushed, thinking of the way he clenched her hips and palmed her waist whenever they’d been…intimate. He couldn’t get enough of her. And that did majorly good things for her ego. A hot alien warrior leader loved her body.
Take that, Peter, she thought, thinking about all the times her ex had hinted that she could drop a few pounds. She liked her body just the way it was. Looking back now, she wished she’d told him where he could shove those extra pounds.
“Is there anything that humans can not eat?” he asked.
“I eat anything,” she said. “I’m not picky. I ate that meat on the ship…” What had Vaxa called it? “Tricks-ah-va?”
“Trixava?” Bidan clarified, accenting the word properly and doing a little tongue roll.
She nodded, “Yes, but honestly, I usually just have eggs and fruit for breakfast.”
“Eggs?” Bidan questioned, sounding shocked. “You eat the eggs of mammals?”
“Um…” Oh God, had she just offended the poor guy? “Well, like chicken eggs. Bird eggs.” She made a flapping gesture just for good measure, which only served to embarrass her more.
“Humans eat bird young?”
Well, when he put it like that…
“Ya know, on second thought, tricks-ah-va sounds perfect.”
Bidan blinked and said slowly, “Yes, I can get that for you.”
“Great,” she said quietly, wishing that she hadn’t opened her mouth. Note to self…eggs were taboo there. She might as well have told the alien that she ate bug poop by the way his eyes had popped out.
Bidan jerked his head in a nod and returned to the silver screen, his long fingers moving quickly. Vaxa’s house was a perfect blend of technology and the original, slightly rustic architecture. She wondered how old this city was. She wondered when they’d come by such advanced technology. If they could travel from planet-to-planet in three days, they were way ahead of humans.
A few moments later, a hovercraft landed on the terrace outside and a tall figure disembarked, unloading supplies.
A Luxirian woman appeared at the threshold with rolls of beautiful fabric and a small box. She was beautiful, with jet black hair that flowed just past her breasts and eyes a similar shade of blue as Vaxa’s. And she was wearing a beautiful dress that flowed to her ankles. It reminded Kate of a Grecian style dress, all billowy and loose. It was emerald green and cinched around her waist with a thick, black leather band.
Kate wondered why Vaxa would bother claiming her—a human female—when there were Luxirian woman who looked like this.
When the woman saw her, she stared for a brief moment, halting in her path, before she bowed her head and said, “Lavrix’an.”
“It’s Kate,” she said, wondering how many times she would be called lavrix’an during her time there. She didn’t know why the title made her so uncomfortable. Probably because she felt a fraud whenever someone used it to address her. “Please, just Kate.”
“If you wish. I am Keriva, ” the Luxirian said, giving her a soft smile. She had a lovely, lyrical voice that Kate was instantly jealous of. “Greetings, Bidan.”
Bidan smiled at her, a sudden warmth on his features, and then he turned to Kate and said, “I will retrieve your trixava from the meal hall, Kat. I will not be long.”
“Thank you,” Kate said, watching him leave through the door before disappearing. Keriva moved through the house with a familiarity that made her think she’d been there many times before.
Perhaps Vaxa had considered Keriva as a mate, a little voice in her head whispered. Kate cleared her throat, trying to ignore the brief, shocking burnings of jealousy.
Or maybe she’s just a friend of the family, Sensible, Rational Kate reasoned.
Keriva set down her supplies in the living room and turned to face Kat.
“You are very…vellixa,” she said. “Beautiful.”
“Oh,” Kate mumbled. She didn’t remember the last time someone had told her that. “Thank you. As are you.”
“I must look strange to you.”
Kate gave a small laugh, feeling some of her awkwardness drain away. “I must look strange to you.”
“Then we can be strange together,” Keriva replied. She clapped her hands together in a very human-like gesture. “Now, let us get you some coverings created.” She frowned down at Vaxa’s shirt like it was dirt. “A travesty that you had to wear that.”
Kate looked down at the shirt. It was covered in sweat now, so she did feel like getting out of it. It was shapeless, since he was so much bigger than she was, except for across her breasts, where it stretched tighter.
“This,” Keriva said, motioning down her own dress, “is what Luxirian females wear during the span. I will create a formal covering for you too, when you must attend the lunar meals. They are celebrations and you must be dressed for it properly.”
“Oh, well…” Kate trailed off, wondering if she should tell the Luxirian woman that she didn’t plan to be here that long. “I don’t want to waste your time. I will only be here for one…lunar cycle. So you won’t have to make a formal dress.”
Keriva gave her a quizzical look. “One lunar cycle? But I thought you are to perform the ravraxia with the Prime Leader.”
“Yes, we are,” Kate murmured. She had agreed to it after all. “But Vaxa understands that my place is back on Earth. We made a deal. I will stay for one lunar cycle and then he will arrange transport for me back to my planet.”
Keriva’s expression was strange, as if Kate had just sprouted two heads. “Vaxa’an said this?”
“Yeah, he did.”
Keriva went silent, studying Kate. Kate could almost see the cogs in her mind turning, processing. Had she really said something very shocking?
“Well,” Keriva finally said. “I will make the formal covering for you regardless. It will give me something to do.”
“Oh, but there really isn’t any need to.”
“Just in case,” Keriva said, a small smile returning. “That is your human expression, I believe? Let us get started. First, I will size you. Is there a particular color you would like? I will make you many coverings, but let us focus on one this span so you can have something other than that tunic to wear.”
Kate shrugged off their conversation, ignoring the little alarm bells that went off in her head. Why was Keriva so sure that she wouldn’t be leaving Luxiria?
Her eyes strayed to a beautiful peach colored fabric. It was the color of the Luxirian sunrise. She reached out to touch it and it seemed to be made out of the same airy, soft material that Vaxa’s shirt was made out of. It felt like clouds beneath her fingertips.
“That is a good color,” Keriva agreed, jerking her head in a pleased nod. “Very flattering against your skin, you see?” She held it up to her arm and Kate smiled, suddenly getting excited about the dresses. It would be nice not to have to wear Vaxa’s shirts around in public, although she wouldn’t mind stealing them to sleep in.
“It’s beautiful,” Kate agreed.
Keriva got Kate to stand straight while she took her measurements, shooting around her like a hummingbird, incredibly quick. In no time at all, she was starting to drape and trim the fabric over Kate’s body.
“Are you a seamstress?” Kate asked.
“Seamstress,” Keriva said slowly, sounding out the word. “Tev. Yes. I make the best coverings in all of Luxiria,” she replied proudly, smiling. Her smile faded a bit. “It is nice to make female coverings again. There are not many of us left, you understand. It is nice that I can create these for you, to continue our traditions.”
Kate frowned. “What do you mean, what is left of you? Are there not many women living on the planet?”
Keriva paused at her shoulder and cocked her head to the side. “The Prime Leader did not tell you?”
Something made her stomach drop with sudden dread. “No,” she said slowly.
“We were attacked,” Keriva said, as if she were talking about the weather. “Vaxa’an’s sire was still our Prime Leader at the time. Vaxa’an was away at military training when it happened. It was not a violent attack, do not misunderstand me. But the Jetutians released an airborne virus into our atmosphere. It affected only the females.”
“I—I don’t understand,” Kate said, shaking her head.
“The virus killed most of our females,” Keriva admitted softly. Kate stilled, feeling her heart pound in her chest. “My mother and blood sister died. I survived, however. Vaxa’an’s mother also passed into the next life.”
“Oh my God,” Kate whispered, some of the puzzle pieces finally beginning to shift into place.
Keriva was so matter-of-fact about it all as she continued, “A short time after, the females that remained…we discovered that we were no longer able to conceive. You will not see young offspring here on Luxiria. There have been no birthings since the attack. It has been almost ten rotations since then.”
She couldn’t imagine what it must have been like, to see all that death. Keriva had lost members of her family. Vaxa had lost his mother. Kate also knew loss, but not because of death.
“I’m so sorry,” Kate whispered.
Kate’s heart ached because she felt like she finally understood why Vaxa had done what he’d done. Why he’d fought for her. If the virus had killed most of their women and the ones that remained behind couldn’t create new life…then it was the beginning of the end for their entire civilization.
She understood now.
And with that knowledge came a nagging suspicion in the back of her mind.
“No reason for you to be sorry,” Keriva said. “You give us hope.”
Kate’s breath hitched because she knew why Keriva was saying that. “I—I don’t think that Vaxa and I are compatible in that way.” Right? He was an alien species lightyears away from her own planet. There was no way that he would be able to get her pregnant.
Right?
Because if he could…things just became a lot more complicated.
“Oh, but you are,” Keriva said, her tone almost breezy, completely sure. “If you are his luxiva, then you are compatible. The Instinct does not choose a mate that is not compatible on a biological level. Yes, you will bear our Prime Leader offspring, heirs that will continue our species and create a prosperous future for Luxiria. Most are…joyful for this.”
“Most?” was all she could manage, her mind reeling.
Instinct? Pregnancy. What the hell was going on?
Keriva let out a sigh, but she made a chirring sound as she did. “Some, particularly the elders, do not believe in…mixing the Luxirian race with other species.”
Oh God.
“Only some,” Keriva hastily said. “Most believe that this is the only path for the future of our race. This is my belief as well. If we do not adapt and evolve, then we choose death. Our Prime Leader knows this. That is why he sought you out.”
Her presence on this planet was way more involved than Kate had realized. And suddenly, she was hurt that Vaxa had not told her any of this. Obviously, he believed that he could get her pregnant. The question was…would he try to before the month was out? Was that what this mating ceremony was about? Had that been his plan this entire time? Get the human female pregnant so she wouldn’t be able to return home?
Because Kate knew that if she was pregnant, she wouldn’t be able to leave. How would she be able to take care of, not to mention explain, an alien child? What needs would the child have that she wouldn’t be able to provide for on Earth?
Vaxa had lied to her by omitting the complete truth.
And she couldn’t wait until he returned home because she was aching to rip him a new one.