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Chapter Two

Issneen, Royal City of Etteria

Warrior Barracks

N erx blinked at his O.D.I. then roared, “Yes.”

He broke into a sprint along the passages toward the old barracks that housed the human damu .

He veered around anyone in his path and leaped over the pedestrian gate.

Was he grinning like a mad male? He was.

Never had he known this much happiness. He chuckled while dodging noisy children, his gaze searching for Lady Olivia.

“Nerxie,” Lily squealed and barreled toward him.

Her cheeks had fattened and now glowed. Her eyes sparkled, and barely a bit of dirty clung to her shocking pink skirt.

He caught her and tossed her into the air. She laughed, then giggled, crying for him to throw her higher. Instead, he hugged her to him, keeping her safe within his arms.

“I see you got my message?” Lady Olivia arched a brow despite the smile she wore.

“Truth?” He held his breath. His heart thumped, almost deafening him.

“Lily chose you,” Lady Olivia said. “And King Xeus vouched for you. That’s good enough in my book.”

“Are you my daddy now?” Lily asked, cupping his face.

“Yes, minus susa .” He beamed, uncaring who saw him. “And you are my daughter.”

This! This was what he’d been searching for, a purpose, some meaning to his life.

“May I take her now?” He focused on Lady Olivia, not bothering to hide his hope.

She laughed. “Of course. She’s all packed.” She hitched her thumb at the bright-pink bag sitting on the floor.

“Come, let us go. We have so much to do today, like choose a bedroom, fill your closets with toys and garments.” He lowered a wiggling Lily to the ground.

She bolted like a Gika out of its burrow. Although, little Lily couldn’t compare to that species—she wasn’t eight-legged with razor sharp pincers and acidic saliva.

Still, she had the speed and agility of one.

Lady Olivia fake-scolded, “Spoiling her already?”

He jerked back to glance at her. “How so?”

“As orphans, they’re not used to lots of anything and the best of everything.”

“She will have two bedrooms: one here in my quarters on Issneen and another on whatever battleship I serve.”

Lady Olivia gazed at the garden, her attention on the other damu . “Well, she’ll be loved, cared for, and happy.”

Lily lugged her bag over.

Nerx scooped her off the ground, snatching her bag with his other hand. Her cheeks were a brilliant pink like their oceans, and her blue eyes sparkled.

“Thank you,” he said, daring a glance at Lady Olivia. A lump formed at the back of his throat and moisture stung his eyes. He hadn’t cried since…

He pinched his lips and left.

Lily twisted to better see where they were going. She didn’t say anything, but her grip and release of his forearm revealed her nervousness.

On impulse, he veered left, taking her to the food hall. What was he thinking? That she would fit in his quarters? The single room in the barracks wasn’t big enough for two. He would have to requisition something larger.

Wincing at having to message Adviser Kanzo over this, he rolled his shoulders back in determination. Kanzo would expect to be the first point of contact, especially since he’d brought the damu to Etteria.

“What do you feel like, Lily?” Nerx asked when he halted in front of the rehydrator. The kitchen staff had mastered a few Earthian…human meals, but he doubted they could cater to a child.

“A strawberry milkshake and a…hotdog?” She peeked at him as if she asked for too much.

“Just one?” he teased around another lump in his throat. Anger stiffened his body. Her presence didn’t impact the void’s expansion, still he couldn’t afford to relax his guard.

She beamed, squeezing his forearms as she leaned over to better see the foods. “Pizza?”

He laughed. “If you want.”

He hadn’t been hungry, but when the pizza, hotdog, and milkshake materialized, he realized she’d share. A deep well of compassion ran through Lily, something he adored about her. Since meeting her aboard the battleship Kushin , she’d been by his side whenever they were in the same location.

Days into their return journey to Etteria, she’d asked for an O.D.I.

which they didn’t implant in damu until their tenth birthyear.

He’d taken a step back to assess why she wanted one.

‘To talk to you, Captain,’ was what she’d said.

So he’d moved his quarters closer to hers.

Within days, she’d learned the route to there and the comm.

Somehow, she’d sneaked past their security.

He’d set up a playing area for her and any damu she dragged with.

It had become a common enough occurrence that he’d fired off quick messages to Lady Olivia; ‘She is with me.’ He hadn’t wanted the woman to panic like the first time Lily snuck out.

Kanzo’s response was immediate—an officer’s quarters assigned to Nerx. He’d declined such when he’d been promoted to sub-commander, having not needed more space. He was, first and foremost, a warrior, regardless of his rank. Now, with Lily as his daughter, she’d appreciate having her own room.

“Do you…like living here, Lily?” he asked as she slumped over her milkshake.

She shoved it at him then bit into her hotdog. “I’m not scared of Uncle Kanzo anymore.” She raised her gaze at the many males in the hall.

“Are you scared of me?”

She shook her head, her mouth full. “You my daddy,” she said around mashed pizza. Darkness flicked across her eyes. “Not like Bad Daddy.”

“Yes.” He gritted his teeth. The next time he was on Earth, he had a personal task to attend to.

He glanced at the circular scars on Lily’s arms. The med-E.D.

would remove those, but doing so without her permission wasn’t the Etterian way.

Still, he’d have a medic check her. All the damu had undergone medical examinations upon arrival in Issneen.

As her father, he wanted to be certain all was well with his… daughter.

“Ready?” he asked Lily, who’d taken a bite of every remaining slice of pizza and now bounced and fidgeted in her seat.

“Ah-ha,” she said, snatched up her bag and danced around the table to slip her hand in his. “Up?”

He lifted and carried her to their new home. As soon as he stepped into their quarters, he lowered her to her feet. Comfys sat center stage, beyond that against the far wall were the rehydrator and replicator embedded a Fuyra stone counter. To the right was the door to his bedroom.

“What do you think? Where do you want your bedroom? Maybe your own cleansing room?”

She blinked at him, confusion in her blank gaze.

“Where you wash yourself.”

“Bathroom?” she asked.

So simple and easier on the tongue. “Yes,” he said.

“I can have my own bathroom? And bedroom? Just for me?” she whispered.

“Of course. I am too big to share my bed with you. What if I roll over and squash you?” He was being silly. With Lily, she brought out that long-forgotten side of him. Deep in his soul, he believed Kyerx would have approved of him adopting Lily.

He veered right of the entrance to an empty corner. “How about here?” He pointed to his door across the room. Large windows streamed light in. “My bedroom and bath room are there.”

She squealed and threw her arms around his legs for a hug then danced through the space.

Soon, males were entering and leaving as they built the bulkheads for two rooms. In and out they came to fit her bathroom, making sure it was at her height.

Thankfully, Etterians designed modular spaces to allow for easy customizations.

That wasn’t something he had to worry about for now.

While this was happening, he took her to the magnus replicator to choose her bed.

Pillows, linen, toys, garments, and a rug were ordered then delivered to their new…

home. He let her order whatever she wanted.

Anything she later decided she didn’t want could be re-sludged.

What made this all worthwhile was her wide eyes, flushed cheeks, and excitement.

She squealed, danced, and hugged the legs of any male who helped.

He’d never seen his males so happy and gentle, moving around Lily with care.

Their honorable reactions swelled his chest. What truly hit him hard was the way they gazed at him…

with respect. Which he was used to as a supreme commander; this time, it meant more… somehow.

Lily’s eyes drooped, and when he picked her up, she curled against him and drifted off. He contacted Medic Aldur and asked him to come round in the evening.

“L ily, ensa , please let Aldur look at your scars. He will heal them for you.” Nerx gathered her tiny body in his arms.

“Will Uncle Aldur make them go away?” she asked, her blue eyes huge in her adorable face.

“Yes, he makes all scars vanish,” Nerx said.

A little furrow formed on her brow, and she wriggled off his lap to hold his hand. She ran her fingers over the scar that ran from his wrist to his elbow. With her tongue sticking out, she concentrated on being as gentle as possible.

Nerx rolled his lips to hide a smile, even as his heart swelled at her care.

“He missed one,” she said.

The scar had ceased to hurt him physically.

Yet, as per his request, it remained as a reminder.

He’d received it the day Kyerx died, the day Nerx had failed his blood-bond.

When he’d dislocated his shoulder and nearly dropped Kyerx, in grabbing for his wrist, Nerx had scraped his arm across the metal step’s sharp edge.

He hadn’t noticed the wound until Father arrived with a medic.

“This is for me to remember my brother,” Nerx whispered. “He died many years ago.”

Her brow twitched, and she tugged up the left sleeve of her pink garment she called ‘peejays.’

Aldur’s breath hitched at the sight of four circular scars on her forearm.