Page 35 of Grounded (Convergence #1)

Liria was awakened the very next morning by a pounding on her door.

Thax immediately sat up, bringing her with him. He set her back against the wall as he climbed out of bed, his stare intent on the door. As if there were an enemy outside.

“Thax!” Liria leaned out of bed and grabbed his arm. “Hey, it's just someone at the door. Calm down. It's probably Rinna.”

“No, Liri.” He kept his stare on the door. “That is not Rinna. That is my father.”

Liria looked from him to the door. “Oh, shit. That was fast.” She gathered up her clothes. “Darling, put on some pants before you face your daddy.”

Thax looked down and glowered at his nakedness. With a huff, he called out, “Give us a moment, Father!”

The knocking ceased.

Shit. He was right.

Liria ran into the bathroom with an armful of clothes, peed, splashed water on her face, and got dressed as if she were late for work. Which she probably would be. If she made it in at all that day.

“Fuck.” Liria ran out of the bathroom and over to her vidco.

Clearing her throat, she hit the button to connect her to her boss—the fortress commander.

Then she heard a ring outside her door. An echoing ring.

Her eyes went wide as the Commander's face appeared on her screen against a backdrop of the hallway wall.

Yup, there was the painting of Hintra Falls that hung across from her door and down a little.

“Chief Drask, I assume you're viding to tell me you'll be late this morning?” The Commander grimaced.

“Ah, yes, sir. And I assume you already know that because you're standing outside my room.”

“Open the door, Drask.”

“Yes, sir!” Liria hung up the vidco and cursed under her breath.

Turning toward the door, she saw that Thax was there already. Dressed and grim. Even his wings seemed to sigh. He looked at her askance. Liria nodded and went to stand beside him.

“Together.” He took her hand.

Well, didn't that just make everything endurable? She grinned and said, “Together.”

Thax opened the door.

And there was Commander Havers. He was a large man—broad in the shoulders and tall—but he was dwarfed by the group of Aethari with him. It was the wings. Hard not to look small when muscular men with gigantic wings surround you.

“Commander,” Liria said in greeting.

“Father,” Thax said.

Even if Thax had not spoken to the man directly before him, Liria would have immediately known who the Speaker of Icara was.

He had Thax's eyes, wings, and build, although his hair was blond instead of black.

Despite the striking resemblance, Liria only glanced at the man.

He was staring so sternly at Thax that she couldn't help following his stare back to her lover.

“I felt it, Son,” the Speaker of Icara said. “Did you think you could hide it from me?”

Thax cursed under his breath.

The Speaker shook his head. “You did.”

“I was going to tell you, but before we get into that, I have another report to make.” Thax glanced at his father's escort and then focused on the Commander.

“Good morning, sir.” He inclined his head.

“Chief Drask and I were attacked last night. I would have reported it sooner, but we were recovering.”

The Commander's eyebrows went up. “That would explain why there's a group of soldiers in the med hall who look as if they've just crawled out of a meat grinder. Who else was with you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Who else helped you fight them?”

“No one, sir. It was all me.”

The Aethari shared wary looks.

“You want me to believe that one man did all of that?”

“I injured the woman, sir,” Liria said. “But Private Rennux did most of the fighting. To be honest, he didn't give me a chance to jump in.”

“Impossible. There were five of them.”

“You can verify it with them,” Thax said.

“Sure. Once they wake up.” The Commander rolled his eyes.

“I was not myself, sir.” Thax glanced at his father again before continuing. “I was defending Chief Drask.”

Liria added, “They tried to jump us in Dubar. They restrained Private Rennux while they threatened to beat and rape me. They wanted to teach him a lesson.” She smirked. “Instead, they got taught a few things.”

“What?” the Speaker roared. “Someone dared to attack my son?” He glared at the Commander. “Have you no control of your soldiers? Source-damned surface dwellers!”

Liria grimaced, noting that the Speaker was only concerned about the attack on Thax. Why was she surprised? The brutal rape of a Medean woman wouldn't bother a man like this.

“Father!” Thax growled.

“Silence! I will handle this.” He turned back toward the Commander.

Commander Havers narrowed his eyes at the Speaker. “The soldiers who attacked your son were Aethari!”

Thax's father stared at the Commander, his eyes twitching. Then he turned, very slowly, his wings rustling, and looked at his son.

“If you had taken three seconds to listen to me, I would have told you that!” Thax curled his wing around Liria. “And I would have gone on to tell you that Source came to me to help me defend Liria. That is why I spoke.”

The Speaker glanced at her and made a huffing sound.

“I'm not finished, Father!” Thax pointed at the Speaker. “I spoke, and yes, it was powerful. I'm not surprised that ripples of my words reached you. But my Liri spoke too. After I vanquished our enemies, I offered her a tribute.”

“No,” the Speaker whispered. “You don't mean . . .”

Around him, the Aethari drew back. It was instant and in unison.

“Yes, the old ceremony. I acted on impulse, guided by Source, and so did Liria. She accepted the tribute with the ancient words.” Thax transferred his hold from Liria's hand to her shoulder and pulled her close. “It is done. She accepted me. We are betrothed.”

“She is a Medean!” the Speaker roared.

The sound that came out of the Speaker of Icara echoed through the corridor and in Liria's ears. Powerful, yes, but it didn't have the resonance Thax's voice held when he had spoken. So, it was just him talking, not the Source.

“Enough!” Commander Havers shocked them all by shouting. “I have shown you respect as Speaker of Icara, but this is my fortress, and I will not allow you to come in here and behave like a barbarian from the Sands of Bernu.”

The Speaker gaped at the Commander.

“Now, I understand that this is a trying situation for you.” The Commander cleared his throat and toned things down. “May I suggest that we take this discussion somewhere more private? My office would be best, I think.”

The Speaker of Icara breathed in. Everyone went still. He let out his breath.

“My apologies, Commander. You're right. I have misunderstood and misbehaved. The situation involves my son. As you say, it is delicate.” He looked from Thax to Liria and back at his son. “Come, Thaxvarien. Leave your Medean here. This is a family matter.”

“Sorry, Father, but she comes with us.”

The Speaker had been turning to leave. He froze and looked back at Thax with another horrified expression. “What did you say to me?”

“I told you; we are betrothed. She is my family now.” Thax glared at his father. “And I am hers. This concerns both of us. So, she comes with me.”

“Is that so?” Suddenly, the Speaker spun toward Liria. “What were the words you spoke, Medean?”

“Father!” Thax snarled.

“No! I want to hear the words from her lips. Then I will determine if you are indeed betrothed by the ancient ways.” He narrowed his eyes at Liria. “What did you say to my son after he gave you that tribute?”

“You can't expect Liria to remember. Source gave them to her at the moment—”

Once again, the words rose inside Liria. Impossible to ignore. She couldn't have stopped herself from speaking them even had she wanted to. But she couldn't say them to his father. Those words were for Thax alone.

So, she turned to Thax and interrupted him, laying her hand on his chest to soothe her riled destru.

“Your offering is pleasing to me, warrior. You have proven yourself as a protector and brought honor to me and your family. I accept this token of your prowess and shall proudly display it so that all may know that Thaxvarien Rennux has no equal.”

During the speech, Thax went still, and then he smiled.

He smiled so brightly it was almost as if Source were within him again.

When Liria finished, he cupped her cheek and bent their foreheads together.

“I fought for your honor alone. May my tribute bring you glory, not me. For it is you who now commands my sword. You, who now rules my heart. As you have claimed me, I claim you.”

“Thax,” Liria whispered, her throat closing with emotion.

“I should have said those words to you last night. But I couldn't speak after you claimed me. I was too overjoyed. I'm glad I've been given a second chance to say them.”

“Dear Magic,” someone whispered.

A muttering began among the Aethari.

“Silence!” the Speaker snarled at his entourage. Then he cleared his throat and said, “Commander, if we could move this to your office now?”

“Certainly, Speaker.” The Commander glanced at Liria, his look brief and baffled, and then he marched off, leading the way through the corridors.

The Speaker followed, and Thax drew Liria along with him, still smiling at her tenderly. Behind them, a group of over ten Aethari fell into line. They passed wide-eyed Medeans, one of whom was Rissa.

She mouthed, “What the fuck?” at Liria.

Liria just shrugged and kept going. Nope.

She had no idea what she was walking into.

But Thax was beside her, his wing curved around her, and as much as she had dreaded this very thing, a part of her was eager to face down his father.

Because the future didn't seem so scary anymore.

Not with her destru standing beside her.

Had they really just silenced the Speaker of Icara?