Page 19 of DaR (Darverius, House of DaR #1)
Chapter Nineteen
KIRA
The feeling of something moving underneath me wakes me up. I open my eyes to the sight of gray skin, lots of gray skin. I’m apparently laying on my belly and my body is stretched all the way down DaR’s . His steady breathing slowly lifts me up and down.
No matter how many times I see him, his appearance is startling.
DaR’s features are so strong they’re almost evasive.
He has human characteristics, but they are sharp and angled; like they took the best-looking man on Earth and made him just a little bit more.
He’s gruff, fussy, and as grouchy as they get, but he also has this soft side I don’t believe many have seen.
Horrified at how intimate the position he has me in is, I start to raise up, hoping if I move slowly enough, he won’t wake.
How in the world did I end up on top of him?
Just as I start to move, the hand on my back moves up and through my hair, pushing my head back down on his chest. The skin under my face feels like velvety suede.
I catch myself as I start to rub my face on the softness beneath me. “ DaR ?”
“ Hush , Kira . Relax and lay back down; you can fight me some other time.”
I take a deep breath and try to make myself relax because it feels wrong lying here with him like this.
But I didn’t realize how badly I needed the comfort of his arms. No matter how I got here, DaR has never given me a reason to fear him.
He has gone out of his way to heal me, to figure out where I come from, and has done everything he can to understand what I’m saying.
Though watching him talk is still disturbing because the words don’t match his lips most of the time.
It’s like I’m watching an old Godzilla movie.
There are times I can tell he doesn’t understand a word I’m saying, but we seem to keep struggling forward.
I know I’ve interrupted his perfectly ordered world, and neither one of us knows what to do with the other.
The one thing I’m thankful for is that he’s never once tried or said anything sexual toward me.
I’ve come to the realization that I need his friendship, and now apparently his hugs too.
Because I truly need a friend in this new world that has been forced upon me, and he seems to genuinely care about me.
I feel something tingling across my fingers and I watch, half asleep as the little dark things on his skin play and wrap around my fingers.
It’s the first time I’ve actually seen his hand as it lays draped casually over the arm of the chair.
I thought up until now that he had long black claws, but that must be part of the things under his skin.
I raise one finger up, and a little black string separates from the others and circles my finger from top to bottom.
“ My Symbots must like you to leave me like that. I have never seen them engage with anyone but me before, not even with one of my sons. They can be dangerous if provoked or if they feel like I am in danger. That little sliver playing with your finger has enough venom in it to put down a huge male of any species.”
“ Can you feel what they’re doing?”
“ It is hard to explain, but yes. It feels like we are two different entities living in the same body. They react to my emotions as I do to theirs. They pick up on energies … How do I explain this? They feel emotions and I do not mean just everyday things, but extreme emotions like anger, grief, and pain. They are very in tune with the world around us. I got them and the Runes on my chest from my mother’s lineage.
If I am upset or in a highly emotional state, the Runes change colors. ”
I smile when the little black piece of Symbot starts to wrap around my wrist. “ I could have used some of your Superman powers a few times in my life here lately. DaR , I don’t know how to move on … As much as I’m enjoying the comfort of your arms, I’m torn because it’s the wrong set of arms. ”
He squeezes me tight for a second, then lifts me off him, holding onto me until my feet are on the floor next to the chair. Even with me standing, he is still taller than I am.
“ Kira , stop pushing yourself so hard, you have all the time in the world. Just take one step at a time. Sooner or later, you will not feel so lost.”
“ Lost … I believe that word says it all. I’m so lost that my mind can’t fathom what to focus on first. Should it be my kids?
Just thinking about them hurts because my mind can’t comprehend all that I’ve lost; all the experiences, the heartaches, the accomplishments, the tears, and the smiles I’ll never get to have with them again.
Then there’s Rick and every time I think of him, all I see is the light leaving his eyes as he fought for me.
” Biting my lip to keep from crying, I push myself to say the rest. “ My friends, family, hopes, and dreams all L - O - S - T . My heart is so fractured that I feel like the slightest breeze will sweep me away, and I don’t know how to deal with it all.
” I look around the plain room I’ve been staying in. “ Everything is just so unfamiliar!”
DaR reaches for my hand and pulls me back closer to him and whispers, “ Then build your familiar if that is what you need to ease the pain of what has been taken from you. Make all of this into what you want it to be until it becomes yours. We did not build Darverius in a day, and you will not heal overnight either. Give yourself the time you need to mend. You will have hundreds of rotations to make new hopes and memories once you do. ”
Just as I start to say something, SAGE interrupts, “ Master DaR , I believe you are telling Kira a falsehood. Human life spans are substantially shorter than yours or any others on Darverius .”
“ Is what she is saying true, Kira ?” He looks at me, truly horrified.
“ Well , if we’re in extremely good health, some of us can live to be a hundred or so, but most humans don’t make it to their eighties, DaR . Just before I was taken, I turned forty-six.”
“ That is completely unacceptable! That is not enough time.”
As inappropriate as it is, I can’t help but laugh at the look on his face. “ Honey , unless you have some magical powers I don’t know about, unfortunately, what SAGE is saying is true.”
“ We will see about that!” He stands up, pacing the floor in front of me. I can tell he’s genuinely upset, but what was I supposed to do, lie? He stops and turns his head like he’s listening to something. Then , he turns back to me and reaches down for one of my hands.
“ I have a meeting I cannot miss this morning, but I will return before dusk. I would enjoy using the new eating table with you at that time if that is agreeable?”
“ I’ll look forward to it and … thank you … for all you’ve done for me, DaR . I know I may seem ungrateful, but I really do appreciate you saving me, and for taking the time to comfort me when I need it the most.”
He smiles back at me as he walks out of my room, the door closing behind him. That smile sure packed a punch and I could have sworn I saw a glimpse of fangs. My room suddenly feels colder and a whole lot smaller without him in it.
As I stand there looking around, something dawns on me. “ SAGE , if you can move the walls around at will, why is my room so small? Or are you only allowed to move certain rooms in the house?”
“ The actual reasoning for this small space was because I had no idea what kind of atmosphere or environment you would like to rest in, Kira .”
“ So , we can change it?”
“ Yes , Mistress Kira ! I was given full permission to grant any changes you request as long as I remain structurally safe. What is the first thing you want to incorporate into your space?”
“ Pants … I would love to have a pair of pants. I’m tired of my hind end being out in the wind, and maybe a blanket.”
Once again, I hear a door shut and the house seems more empty with his presence gone. I rub at my wrist unconsciously, not even seeing the small black sliver-like string wrapped securely around it.