Page 22 of All You Need is Alien Love (Tentacular Tales #4)
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Vardox found it quite satisfying to torment his Katnu adversary, who was steadily losing ground in their vicious battle.
Khamos had always been arrogantly overconfident in his abilities and tended to underestimate his opponents. That’s how he’d lost one of his eyes to Vardox previously.
Vardox had considered the gesture a polite but clear warning.
He could have easily taken the space pirate’s life but instead gave him a chance to redeem himself.
So much for showing mercy. Men like Khamos didn’t change their colors so easily.
Vardox had witnessed it time and time again.
Most of those whom he dealt with failed to learn from their mistakes.
He’d only shown leniency to Khamos before because his precious Starblade valued that. His handsome captain was purehearted but far too na?ve for this universe.
Cold fury building, Vardox wielded different blades with four of his tentacles and one in his hand. He delighted in slashing and stabbing at Khamos, turning him into a bloody, disgraceful mess.
“Death by a thousand cuts seems only fair and appropriate for you, Khamos,” he explained icily. “Are you ready for the pain?”
— The Tentacular Tales of Captain Starblade , Ch. 161
Kai
Apparently, sleep becomes elusive when you can’t stop thinking about your husband pleasuring himself with a tentacle-shaped dildo because he’s missing you.
After a cold shower at the crack of dawn, I down a pot of coffee and get ready for Day Two of the Sanctioning Ceremony.
On the one hand, I’m grateful that this day of the ceremony is for close friends and family only because it involves baring all. Emotionally, that is. But on the other hand, I’m a ball of nerves since I don’t fully know what to expect from today’s trial.
When I arrive at the Valley of Fire base, it’s much quieter than yesterday. More than half the crowd from the first day is gone and just our nearest and dearest are part of the event.
Instead of using the enormous hangar space, we move to the largest conference room. All the furniture has been removed, and the room is lit by a rainbow variety of luminescent stones from the Iyaran home world that my grandparents brought with them. They lend a soft glow to the dark room.
My family covered the walls with a variety of tapestries depicting iconic myths that are part of Iyaran culture, including the Great Tentacle with an all-seeing eye wide open in the center of it.
When River walks into the room and sees it, he comes to a complete stop, gaping openly.
“Holy creepy eyeball, Batman. What the hell is that?”
“It’s a depiction of the Great Tentacle, a prophetic god among our people who sees and knows all,” my grandmother explains.
River shudders. “Do you all have this Great Tentacle on the walls at home? Is that a requirement?”
I snicker with amusement. “Fear not. We only bring it out for spiritual ceremonies and other events like this one.”
“Thank fuck. That eye seems to follow you no matter where you move, like some pervy Peeping Tom watching you.”
I kind of share the sentiment but I won’t ever tell my family that.
River and I take our seats on plush pillows on the floor in the center of the room. Our guests take spots on pillows in a circle around us.
It actually reminds me a bit of the time River insisted on building a pillow fort in our living room for us to snuggle in together while eating popcorn and watching a movie. That recollection makes me smile and I find myself relaxing.
I know what’s to come, but I’m not worried. After all, I have nothing to hide from River and I don’t believe he has anything worrying to hide from me either.
Once we settle into our spots, we get to hold hands.
River winces at me, apologetically. “Sorry if my palms are kind of sweaty. I’m a little nervous about this part of the ceremony.”
I want nothing more than to wrap my adorable mate in my tentacles and hold him close to me, but I draw on my years of training to stay where I am. Being able to touch him today gives me a lot of comfort and relief. The warmth of River’s skin is familiar and reassuring.
Galactic gods but I’ve missed not being able to hold him in my arms while I sleep.
“Whoa. This room is totally trippy,” Benji says from where he’s seated next to Mal and behind River. “The vibe kind of reminds me of a rave I went to out in the desert in the ’90s. Now that was one wild, psychedelic weekend, man.”
My brother just stares at him like a lovestruck fool.
It’s been fun to watch Mal lose his cool around River’s uncle.
My smooth, playboy brother is an entirely different person around Benji—and that’s how I know he’s found his mate.
The same thing happened when I met River.
He brought out a hidden side of me I’d never realized I had, let alone shown to anyone else before.
“Welcome to the second day of the Sanctioning Ceremony,” my mother says, having taken over emcee duties from my grandmother.
“We refer to it as the Testimonials of Truth. This sacred part of the ceremony is confined to close friends and family for a reason. What may be divulged by the two participants in the ceremony must be kept secret. By being here today, you agree to keep these sacred confidences private and never use them against either of the participants.”
Everyone signs the official and legally binding ceremonial forms they’re given that record their agreement to abide by the ceremony’s rules.
My mother turns on the traditional instrumental music to start things, and it plays softly in the background.
River smiles. “Ellie, this reminds me of the music my yoga teacher likes to play while we’re doing Savasana. It’s very soothing.”
I squeeze his hand.
My mother brings forward the ceremonial porcelain bottle and two matching cups that are reminiscent of those used to drink Japanese sake.
She deftly pours each of us a serving of the iridescent swirling liquid.
“The Testimonials of Truth follow imbibing the sacred ceremonial elixir of the Iyaran people, which will allow the grooms to share their innermost thoughts and feelings freely.”
River’s eyes sparkle as he stares at his cup in awe. “It’s like an alien truth serum. So freaking cool.”
I fight back a laugh. He’s not entirely wrong about that. The ceremonial elixir we’re about to consume has psychedelic properties not unlike Uncle Benji’s magic brownies. It allows those who drink it to feel comfortable in revealing truths they might otherwise hold back.
“I must verify that you both consent to drinking the elixir,” Mom says. She turns to River first. “Do you willingly agree to this?”
River grins. “Hell yeah. Bring it on. I have nothing to hide.”
She shifts her attention to me and repeats the question.
“I do.”
She nods in satisfaction. “Then we are ready to begin.”
With deep solemnity, she pours the servings and hands them to us.
I then watch in amusement as River announces, “Let’s get this party started! Down the hatch,” before he tosses back the drink like it’s a shot of tequila at the bar.
I wince and sip mine more slowly.
“Oh, good god! Bad decision,” River rasps, followed by a wheezing noise. “Fucking hell. I swear, I think this stuff’s stronger than Nirblob’s ship moonshine.”
“Ooh,” Benji muses from the audience, studying the bottle. “I definitely want to try some of this.”
Mal leans closer to him. “Well, you never know. You might get a chance someday.”
Benji doesn’t seem to grasp what my brother’s hinting at. I want to tease my brother about it, but I’m starting to feel too mellow to bother. It seems like too much work when I just want to chill …
River clumsily sets down his empty cup and then takes hold of both of my hands. He sways where he sits on his pillow, and I start to sway with him.
Two of my tentacles decide to come out and join in the swaying.
River stares at me dreamily and then giggles. “I love you. My feels are overflowing. Not in a gross way, but in a magical way.” He nods sagely to himself.
I grin back at him so hard my cheeks hurt. “I love you, too. More than anyone or anything else.”
How did I get so lucky? I still can’t quite figure that part out.
“You’re soooo handsome. Have I ever told you that?” River’s pupils are huge now.
I nod and my head feels oddly heavy.
“Oh, good,” he says, relief washing over his face. “I was worried maybe I hadn’t told you. That would be majorly sucky because I think you are the hottest man I’ve ever seen.”
I let go of one of his hands so I can tug on a golden curl. “You’re far more attractive than me. I could play with your beautiful hair all day.” I hear myself sigh dreamily.
River snort-laughs and I find it utterly endearing.
“You can touch my hair anytime you want, boo.”
I surprise myself when I let out a playful growl and say, “I want to touch all of you right now.”
River’s eyes go comically wide, and his voice comes out exaggerated and breathy. “Oh, my stars!”
“None of that,” my mom interjects, ruining the mood a little. “The elixir is starting to work its magic.”
I scowl at her for interrupting our vibe but she just smirks.
When I stick my tongue out in response, River giggles again before his eyes start to roam around the room. “These glowing rocks are so fucking cool. Where’d you get ’em?”
“They’re from my home world. My grandparents brought them.”
“We totally need to visit the Iyaran home world together one day.”
“We will,” I promise.
“Do you think we could nab a few of the glowing rocks on the way out? I think they’d be pretty awesome in our bedroom.” He waggles his eyebrows at me, then gasps, and his eyes widen. He points an unsteady finger at the green one. “It’s kryptonite! I never thought I’d see the real deal.”
I can’t help it. I start to laugh, only it sounds oddly like a giggle.
Hold on a second. I’m Kai Genaro. Captain Kai Genaro. I do not giggle. Yet it sounds strangely like a giggle coming out of my mouth. I decide to ignore that.