Page 22

Chapter Twenty-One

LEX

Stopping right outside our door, I lean my head against the wall. Most of my life I have dreamed of a mate of my own, only to find myself running from her instead of pulling her to me. Lord of Light , how I want to devour her. Heaven knows I wish I could walk back into that room, strip her clothes off and explore her more thoroughly. But I cannot, it is wrong on so many levels.

I thought I would have to prove my worth, my love, my devotion, but we have jumped straight to the encore, and I feel like this turn of events has cheated us both. Do I worship her? Absolutely ! Do I know without a shadow of a doubt that she is all I will ever need or want, yes. But no one gave her those choices and I feel like I am straddling an abyss.

Part of me says dive in and hope for the best, yet the more rational side says to proceed with caution. I can see the hurt in her eyes when she feels like I am pushing her aside. She has no way of knowing that I am only doing it out of worry for her. What if I say or do something that makes her regress, or even worse … remember?

Forcing my feet forward, I take the lift down to the dock and head for the Explorer . My thoughts are everywhere but where they should be right now. Just as I step onto the ship, the sound of a small cry jerks my head up and out of my own concerns.

“ ViN , what are you doing here? You should still be in bed resting.”

“ I am sore and slightly uncomfortable brother, but I felt like it was wrong to enjoy Ami without her mother. So , I had the Destroyer have one of the med bots roll me down here in this chair. Thankfully , no one witnessed me in such a weakened state.”

“ May I ?” Holding my arms out, ViN hesitates for a moment before handing the youngling to me. “ Oh my, what a heartbreaker you are going to be; you are quite beautiful little one.” She coos sweetly, a small smile on her face as I bounce her gently. ViN takes a minute to stand up and stretch his arms where he has been holding her for so long.

“ Medic LeX , I did a complete scan of the youngling while you were taking a slight break, and she is in perfect health. She does seem to run slightly warmer than other young humans, but I believe that is normal for her since that has not changed since her birth. Master ViN’s natural healing is coming along nicely as well.”

“ Thank you, Destiny .”

“ My pleasure.”

“ ViN , look at all this hair. I didn’t notice this when she was born, it’s so light it blends right in with her skin. From the initial scans, I thought she would have her mother’s coloring, but it appears she is taking on her own features.”

“ I am pleased that she is so striking. I would not make a very pleasant looking female, so I would have hated to kill anyone who told her she was unattractive.

My sudden laughter makes her jerk, and I swear for a second her eyes turn red. Blinking , they are back to bright blue, and I wonder if my own are playing tricks on me. “ Where is Tordan ?”

“ You just missed him and Luna . They stayed until the med chamber started shutting down. If this screen is right and that is a countdown, it should be opening any time now.” And sure enough, not a tic later the system beeps and the med chamber’s top starts to slide upwards. ViN immediately has his arms around Ember , lifting her out gently.

“ Frack ViN , give her a moment to awaken.”

“ She will be more at ease in my arms. I will carry her anywhere she needs to go.”

“ What about this one, she can’t exactly get around on her own yet. If you are carrying her mother, what is she going to do?”

“ I will hold them both so that she never feels neglected.”

“ There is no need for that. I will keep her with me while your mate breaks her sleep, ViN .” A huge set of arms comes around me, swiftly snatching little Ami out of my embrace. “ Frack SoL , how did you sneak up on me like that?” He completely ignores me as he talks to Ami lovingly.

“ Look who is happy to see Unka SoL ! That’s right, pretty girl knows who loves her, don’t you? Ohh , what a pretty smile, just for Unka SoL .”

“ Damnit SoL , I just got her and you are already stealing her away.” The big goof just shrugs his shoulders like… try to take her back. While I stand here shaking my head, Alana peeks around his large form.

“ Sorry LeX , it’s my fault. I couldn’t stay away any longer. Gimme , gimme, SoL . I’m determined to be the favorite aunt. OHHH my heavens, you were right, she is stunning! Lord , the boys’ hearts you are gonna break when you get older. She is precious ViN , you guys did so well.”

“ Thank you, I too think she is exceptional.”

“ She better be, after all I went through to get her here!” Ember’s voice is weak, but her smile is huge as she looks over at Alana . “ ViN find us a seat, babe. I want to hold my daughter before she forgets who I am.”

SoL grabs a big lounger, effortlessly maneuvering it into the middle of the floor with one arm, something that would have taken ViN and I both to move together. ViN sits down, settling Ember on his lap and the moment she holds her hands out, Alana bends down giving her Ami .

I stand back, feeling like I am intruding as tears flow from Ember’s eyes as she looks lovingly down at little Ami . Alana pats my arm gently, motioning for me to move, and we all three sneak out of the room to give ViN and Ember some private alone time. Alana is practically jumping with joy.

“ Guys , wasn’t she absolutely precious? I will say I was shocked at how human she appears. If no one was told differently, you would have no idea ViN was even her father.”

“ I completely agree, Alana . Even though getting her here was quite unconventional, she appears to be thriving.”

SoL’s large horns pull Alana closer as he bends down to kiss the top of her head. Her excitement is making all of us smile as she bounces around with a huge smile on her face. His voice is full of love as he animatedly talks about helping with Ami . “ I thought she would be larger as well. When Rylie first handed her to me in the med lab, I was scared I was going to break her accidentally. She is barely a handful; even our Keida was bigger than that when she was born.”

Alana reaches out, touching my arm. “ I can’t wait to hold my own baby in my arms. Thank you LeX , for finally making SoL see reason when it comes to us having a child of our own.”

“ You two will be wonderful parents and even though it may not occur as quickly as you wish, remember all things happen when they are supposed to. The enjoyable part is all the practice in the interim.

The moment those words are out of my mouth, SoL grabs a giggling Alana up in his arms.

“ Where are you two running off to?”

“ We need practice, doctor’s orders!” Alana waves as SoL’s large footsteps walk down the corridor. I stand there thankful and scared all at the same time. The Lord of Light has blessed our family beyond measure.

My comm unit dings and I head back up to my quarters. Walking in, I notice that the lights are dim, so Rylie must still be resting. Approaching the bed, I just stand there looking down at her, so very thankful that she is here with me even if it is not going as I had planned. For a moment I am terrified that she might not wake up again. But she must have sensed my presence because she suddenly reaches across the bed for the stand beside it, her hand searching for something.

“ Can I help, sleeping Angel ?”

“ I can’t find my glasses.” Just as I step forward, I stop.

She sits up, a frown on her face. “ Sorry , I have no idea why I was looking for something I don’t even wear.” Rubbing her temples, she shakes her head before swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

“ Is your head hurting?”

“ No , I just feel as weird as I’m acting. If this doesn’t stop, I might have you scan me later just to see if I may have picked up a bug or something. What time is it? Why are none of the electronics working in this room? I could have sworn there was a clock on that stand over there. Destiny , have you turned off things in this room for a reason?”

“ Forgive me Mistress Rylie , I will reinstate everything as quickly as possible.” I hear LeX’s comm unit go off and he rapidly types something in. The room immediately comes to life, monitors and holo pads start powering on right afterward.

“ Did she just ask you for permission to turn things on? LeX , aren’t these my rooms as well? Why are my commands not enough to make her comply? And why do you suddenly look guilty?”

“ Ahh , I just asked her to turn everything off when I knew you were going to take a nap. You know the monitors and the holo pads go off and on randomly, and you needed your rest.”

“ Good save, but I don’t believe a word of it. If I didn’t have to get dressed for this dinner, me and you would be having a heart to heart right about now. How is Ember ?”

“ She was doing well. I didn’t do a secondary scan on her because she was consumed with little Ami , but I will in the next few risings.”

“ You know the med chambers are very thorough. I’m sure she’s fully healed, or it wouldn’t have opened.”

Her new scaling catches in the room’s lights as she runs her hands up and down her arms. “ I need a lotion treatment. I’m itching all over; you would think these scales were new with as sensitive as they are right now.”

“ Maybe when we get back if the world isn’t ending, I can run you a nice hot, soothing bath.”

“ World ending? Let’s hope that’s not on the agenda for today, I’ve already lived through that once. Sorry , that didn’t come out right, … I swear LeX , I’m tripping over my own words today. Maybe I should apologize to everyone in advance when we get to dinner. At this rate, it’s a guarantee I am going to say something wrong.”

“ Rylie , we have all been under so much stress on this trip. You need to stop pushing yourself and just relax. I know we don’t have much practice with it, but we need to take more down time just for us. So , get up, get dressed, and let’s go enjoy some well-needed family time.”