Chapter Fourteen

Mhavrych was reeling from what Kendra had said to him. What could she possibly have meant that she was his wife? He felt like he was stuck where he was standing, but he forced himself to turn around. As he did he saw Ellora rushing up to him, a near-frantic look on her face.

“Mhavrych, I need your help,” she said.

“I can’t help you right now,” Mhavrych said, trying to walk around her so that he could avoid the conversation and seek out the woman.

Ellora shifted to block his path, forcing him to acknowledge her and look into her face. He could see her anxious, frightened expression and he paused.

“I know that you know how to get to Penthos quickly,” she said. “And I need you to show me.” He did all that he could to withhold the growl of exasperation that he could feel in his chest and tried again to step around her. They would be leaving for Penthos soon enough. She could wait. “This is an emergency. I need to get to Maxim. Ivy needs him.”

There was such intensity in her voice, such desperation, that he couldn’t bring himself to deny her again.

“Where is she?” he asked.

“At Malcolm’s house. Hurry.”

They rushed into the house and Mhavrych saw Ivy sitting on the sofa, her hands grasping her swollen belly. He was surprised by the sight, startled by the realization that this was the need that Ellora had described. He had expected to find Ivy nervous and displeased by being away from Maxim, not in the throes of labor.

“Is the baby coming?” he asked, needing them to tell him exactly what was happening, so he knew what they expected of him.

“Yes,” Ivy said, sounding as though she didn’t want that to be the truth, but that she couldn’t deny it any longer.

“Maxim is the father?” Mhavrych asked.

Though a displeased look flickered across her face, Mhavrych didn’t regret the question. His perspective was something that they would never be able to understand. He had known Aegeus for as long as he had been connected to the Mikana, yet he hadn’t encountered the man’s wife or children until now. Though this gave him some sense of loyalty to them, Mhavrych was still wary and felt the need to clarify everything so he could remain in control. He knew too much of the experiments that Ryan had done and the forced pregnancies that he had caused to feel confident in any assumption that he might make.

“Yes,” she said. “Ivy is Maxim’s partner. This is their first baby. She needs to be with him.”

Mhavrych thought this through, considering the request carefully. He had already put himself at tremendous risk using the portals to get Ellora and Athan out of the Order’s lair and doing it again would only increase the risk. Though he was accustomed to traveling through the portals, having done it throughout his entire life, those outside of his kind had more difficulty with the process and sometimes they were nearly incapacitated after even one leg of travel. If that happened it could lead them being discovered, creating a dangerous situation for all of them. When he looked at Ivy and saw the emotional and physical strain that she was suffering, he knew that he couldn’t just leave her without the assistance she needed. Mhavrych knew that Aegeus would expect him to serve his wife with the same commitment that he served Aegeus, to ensure that she was safe. Though this was not about Ellora’s safety, the baby that Ivy was preparing to deliver was Aegeus’s grandchild, something more precious and treasured than he had even considered. Mhavrych had no choice but to do all that he could to protect this defenseless child and ensure that it was brought into a world. He took a steeling breath and nodded.

“Alright, but there are conditions. I will bring you, but only with the understanding that you cannot tell anybody where I bring you or how we travel. And you are not to ask any questions.”

“Fine,” Ellora said sharply. “Now, please. We need to hurry. We don’t know how much time we have.”

Mhavrych let out a breath as he looked at Ivy and then glanced around the room. Once they left the house there was no way of knowing when they might return. They couldn’t assume that it would be easy or safe for them to return to the kingdom any time soon, which meant that anything they might need, they needed to bring with them. They needed to be prepared for whatever they might encounter when they go away from the kingdom and onto Penthos, including anything they may need for the child who would soon make an appearance.

“Ellora, gather any supplies that you can. Go quickly.”

He watched as the older woman immediately went into action, rushing around the room to gather supplies and pack them in a large bag. She disappeared into the back portion of the house and returned with more. Mhavrych thought that she was ready, but before he could head out of the house, she sat down beside Ivy.

“I will be right back,” she said. “I have to go back to my house. Mhavrych is here with you. I will only be gone for a moment.”

Ellora ran out of the house, leaving Mhavrych alone with Ivy. She had closed her eyes again and he could see her knuckles whiten as she pressed her fingertips into her belly. The baby shifted within her so dramatically that he could see the swell of her belly move. He took a step closer to her.

“Are you alright?” he asked, trying to sound as soothing as he could.

He had never witnessed the birth of a baby before and he didn’t know what he could do to provide any comfort to her.

“I don’t know,” Ivy confessed.

Mhavrych stepped up beside her and crouched down to look at her.

“You are carrying Maxim’s child. You can get through this.”

“Maxim has gone to war,” Ivy said, still not opening her eyes.

“Maxim may be a warrior, but you are among the powerful beings who have the ability to carry the warriors. There is strength in you that you don’t know, but you’ll find it.”

He stayed beside her as she continued to focus her breaths, gradually relaxing as though the pain she was feeling was easing. A few moments later the door to the house opened and he stepped back to allow Ellora to rush in and sit down beside Ivy on the couch.

“Can you walk?” she asked.

“She’s going to have to,” Mhavrych said. “She doesn’t have a choice. There’s no other way.”

Ellora looked angry, but Mhavrych knew that Ivy understood him.

“You’re going to be alright,” Ellora whispered to her. “I’ll be right here with you the whole time. You can trust Mhavrych.”

Ivy nodded.

“All that I care about is that I will be with Maxim soon. This is the closest that I have been to being with him since I came back here to Uoria and right now it doesn’t matter to me what Mhavrych needs to do. I just need him to bring us back together.”

Mhavrych moved as fast as he could as he left the kingdom, not wanting to give himself the time to second guess his agreement to help them. He knew that if he paused, even for a second, that the reality of what he was doing and the danger that he was putting himself and the rest of them in, would stop him. He also knew that if he let himself, he would think too further about Kendra and that would force him back into the kingdom, so he could search for her. There were so many questions that he needed to ask her, so much that he needed to know. Her last words to him before he left wouldn’t leave his ears no matter how much he tried to push them away.

I’m your wife.

He had never seen this woman. He had never even encountered the Eteri. How could she say that she was his wife?

He forced himself to go faster, not bothering to glance over his shoulder to see if the women were close. They would need to keep up with him if they wanted him to help them. As he made his way out of the kingdom and through the training field, thoughts of all the portals that were available on Uoria rolled through his mind. He knew that there was only one direct route that would take him to Penthos. A rarely-used route, this portal hadn’t been touched in countless years when he took his first trip through it. Though this one would bring him right to the planet where Maxim was, it also carried with it potential dangers. This was not one of the portals that were protected by an engraved key, requiring that anyone wanting to use it to know how to utilize the key and move through. Instead, it was designed to transport whoever approached it instantly and without notice. Unlike the portals that required the engraved key, which caused often-sickening physical effects for those moving through them, particularly those who were not familiar with the form of transportation, these portals were smooth and undetectable, sometimes causing those who didn’t know that they were using them to go through them and end up on distant planets without recognizing what had happened. This was dangerous for those who didn’t know that they were moving through them, but also for Mhavrych and the women. There was no way to tell if others had gone through the portal recently and might be waiting for them, or could be lost and frightened, ready to attack whoever they might see.

The particular placement of this portal also made going through it with Ellora and Ivy dangerous. This portal led directly into the caverns beneath one of the quarries of Penthos. This was not only the lair of the Meldor but also where the hybrid army was known to swarm. Moving through these caverns and tunnels was familiar to Mhavrych and he could do it quickly and with little chance of detection. Even if he encountered the Meldor, having the lighted orbs with him meant that he would be able to overcome the creature quickly, just as he had done when he rescued Kyven and Emerie from it. The hybrid army was fairly easy to get away from. They were strict and firm in their maneuvers, and Mhavrych knew them well. All he needed to do was change the path that he took and divert their attention and they wouldn’t know how to respond, confusing them enough for a few moments to allow him to get away.

Having Ellora and Ivy with him, however, slowed him down and made it much more difficult for him to be able to move through the area confidently. This was especially true with Ivy so close to giving birth. Mhavrych had been shocked when he realized she seemed mere moments away from bringing her child into the world. He knew of Maxim, Aegeus’s oldest son and the target of much of Ryan’s horrible focus, but he didn’t know that his mate was in the Mikana kingdom, or that she was preparing to deliver their child. Had he known he would have insisted that they return to Penthos even sooner. Thoughts of Ivy and their child would take Maxim’s focus, even if he didn’t think that it was, and make him a weaker target, while being at such a distance from Maxim, even in the relative protection of the kingdom with the army that they were raising, left her vulnerable. If Ryan found out that that they would be welcoming a child, it would put them at even greater risk. Just as he had with Lysander, he wouldn’t hesitate to use the innocent newborn to further his goals.

They moved through the training fields as quickly as they could and then Mhavrych led them through the woods. Thoughts of the baby had confirmed in his mind that he needed to use the most direct path to Penthos. Though he could have brought them through other portals that would eventually lead them to Penthos, it would require that they go through several other streams and sections of the planet. This would bring them to a safer location on Penthos, but the journey itself would be far more difficult. He didn’t know if Ivy could handle it, and the risk was too high. He needed to get Ivy to Maxim as quickly as possible.

When he arrived at the opening to the cavern he stopped only long enough to make sure that the women were approaching before dropping down into the opening. The fall wasn’t far, but he wanted to be the first to go down to make sure that he was able to help the women down after him. Ellora helped him to guide Ivy into the cavern and then came down after her, seemingly unfazed by the drop. Mhavrych was increasingly more impressed by this woman. Though there were moments when he could see the anxiety in her eyes and knew that she was questioning all that she was doing and even her ability to take the next step, there were others when she seemed nothing short of fearless. Those were the moments when he could see Aegeus in her, as if she lived for her husband, doing as she knew that he would do. On the same token, when he thought back to Aegeus, what he remembered of the Mikana man made Mhavrych realize that he carried a tremendous amount of his wife inside himself as well. Mhavrych could see Ellora’s tenderness and compassion in Aegeus. There was strength and courage in both of them, illustrating them as a unit that would be powerful together, but that continued to carry each other even when apart.

Mhavrych did what he could not to show any sign that there might be danger as he brought them deeper into the underground network of caverns and tunnels. This area of Penthos always reminded him of the Order lair, but it was more rugged, less polished and perfected than even the older portions of the lair. This section led out into a second quarry on the planet, quite a distance from the one where Kyven and Emerie had been, but still connected through the network. Mhavrych didn’t know what he was going to do when he finally got to the surface with them. He didn’t know where Maxim was or how he was going to find him.

Before he could think through his actions any further, Ivy screamed, sinking toward the ground. Though he had wanted to get her out of the tunnels, it was clear now that she wasn’t able to go any further. Knowing that he was leaving them at the mercy of the planet and whatever may lurk there, Mhavrych rushed out of the tunnels and toward the surface to search for Maxim.

The desert was still and quiet when he got out of the quarry and Mhavrych looked around, trying to determine where he should go. He had learned that the group that remained on Penthos when the rest went to Uoria with the ship had moved into the compound near the first quarry, which meant that they were probably there. It would take hours to run get there, though, and Mhavrych knew that Ivy didn’t have the time. The only choice that he had was to use another of the portals, a hidden one that moved from one end of the planet to the other, but that had been blocked off for many years after a tragic event made it so Mhavrych’s father commanded that portal and all areas around it be abandoned. Mhavrych knew, however, that he had never formally sealed it, meaning that he would still be able to use it.

He started to turn to go back into the quarry so that he could make his way to the portal, but the sound of a scream in the distance stopped him. The flat desert and still air meant that sounds were often far-flung, allowing a person standing on the planet to hear things happening far distances away. This seemed like one of those sounds, close enough to have been caught up and brought to Mhavrych’s ears, but far enough away that it was still somewhat muffled. He took off toward it, running through the sand as fast as he could and hoping that Ivy would be able to hold on long enough for him to get back with Maxim.

A deep, painful bruise across his cheekbone from where the creature in the desert struck him still ached and his skin stung from the sand, but the fight was the furthest thing from Mhavrych’s mind as he watched Ivy cradle her newborn daughter in her arms. He had come upon the fray by chance, almost as though something had guided him there, and it seemed he had arrived with no time to waste. The creature had nearly gotten the better of Maxim, and though he was fighting valiantly, without a weapon the Mikana man, seemingly exhausted and drawn, was losing energy and strength. As soon as Mhavrych saw the mask on the creature’s face he knew that it was one of the hybrid soldiers, one who had been trained as an assassin, even more so than the rest, and outfitted with a black mask to conceal his face because he was not like the other hybrids. This was a man who had not been born into the program but instead had offered himself offer to it. Once a human man, this hybrid had given himself willingly to Ryan and allowed him to manipulate his very essence to craft him into the weapon that he wanted him to be. The mask was worn in pride by these men, but it was nothing more than a badge of ownership, a way for Ryan to demean them and bring them to the same degraded level that he perceived all his hybrids. These were the men who Mhavrych knew that they needed to fear the most. Though there were fewer of them and they were rarely used in large-scale battles, they were bloodthirsty and insatiable, fueled into their murderous acts not by what they were taught from birth and tortured into abiding, but by what they desired within themselves. That was the line that made them truly abhorrent, worthless beings. It was not that they killed. It was that they did so without reasons, but with intention and pleasure.

Mhavrych wasn’t thinking about that now, however. Instead, he was watching Ivy and Maxim reveling in the first moments of parenthood.

“She’s the first baby to be born on Penthos,” he pointed out to Ivy, wondering if she had even contemplated the significance of her child’s birth.

Ivy’s eyes snapped to Mhavrych and he could tell that she hadn’t even processed where they were. Moving through the portal was smooth and undetectable, and she had been so focused on the last stages of her labor that she hadn’t even considered that they might have reached their destination. Instead, she thought that he had left Uoria and returned with Maxim.

“Penthos?” she asked. “We’re on Penthos?”

“Yes,” he said, “and your daughter is unique among all living beings. She is the first purposeful blend of human and Mikana, and the first to begin her life on Penthos. Her birth has begun a species.”

He watched as Maxim took the baby from Ivy and wrapped her in a blanket that Ellora had brought from Uoria. His eyes tender and his voice strong, Maxim gazed down at his daughter and spoke not just to her, but to all of existence.

“We have claimed this world. All conflict here has to be resolved. This is her planet now and it has to be at peace.”