Page 23 of LeX (Darverius, House of DaR #17)
Chapter Twenty-Two
LEX
When Rylie comes walking out of the refreshing chamber, I almost drop the holo pad I have in my hand. She twirls around, a smile on her face as she walks over to me.
“ What do you think?”
“ You are stunning! Forget it, we are staying here because there is no way I am going to allow any others to see you in that … garment.”
Her shoulder length, unruly curls are pinned up in a cute twist with only a few random ones flowing around her face. The dress, I believe it’s called, hugs her small waistline only to flare out just above her knees. But it’s the heart-shaped neckline that accentuates her ample breasts and brings your eyes up to the light blue, greenish scales now outlining her from the top of her head down her arms. Unlike me, her lower extremities have remained untouched by the changes that I inflicted upon her. She must have taken my words literally and I see her smile drop.
“ It’s too much, isn’t it? It was just so pretty I couldn’t resist. I’ll go change.”
She turns to head back into the refreshing chamber. Quickly , I reach out, grabbing her arm lightly. “ You absolutely will not, you look amazing. I am just jealous of all the other eyes that will gaze upon you. But as I am not allowed to keep you locked away, I believe I can share you with the others for a short period of time.”
“ Are you sure? I’m not used to wearing anything this revealing.”
“ Forgive me for my words and the fact that they made you feel insecure, Rylie . You are a beautiful female; you should never hide that. Lord of Light knows I am honored to show the world that you are mine. Come , let us go before I get myself in trouble again.”
I am rewarded with a small smile, but I can’t tell if it’s real or forced. This not knowing is unacceptable to me and without telling her the truth, I have no idea how to proceed without these constant missteps. She is quiet the entire time we are in the lift and for once I am grateful to hear voices as we near the dining chamber.
Walking in the door we stop instantly, both of us taking a moment to appreciate all the work that SAGE has put into welcoming us home as the room has been transformed into a huge Nebula . Colors change all around us as large screens play back some of the more intense moments of our trip.
A group seems to have gathered in the corner. Spotting SoL’s large frame, we make our way over only to find Ember sitting on ViN’s lap, holding little Ami . The moment Ember sees us she reaches her hand out for Rylie’s , taking it in her own as she rocks Ami in her other one.
“ Lex , Rylie , thank you both so much for making it possible for me to be here with you all.”
“ Ember , you did all the hard stuff on your own. The amount of pain and discomfort you were in, and never spoke of, just shows your true character.”
“ I knew better than say anything, LeX . ViN would have flipped out and at the time, I knew there was nothing he could do to help me. He had a job to do, and he didn’t need to be distracted, and I knew he would be, so I kept it to myself. Having her here now was worth it all, though.”
“ How are you feeling?”
“ I’m tired, but other than that I’m fine.”
“ Did you hear that? Momma is tired, so come here to Unka SoL and he will snuggle you while we give your mother a break.”
Ember just laughs as her daughter is snatched out of her arms.
“ Look what I made for you this rising, it’s your first rattle.”
We all stand around watching as SoL shows Ami Lynn how to hold the tiny rattle in her hand, her observant eyes watching him intently. The moment it’s in her hand she waves it back and forth and we all laugh as she hits him on the chin with it several times.
Ember motions for ViN to let her up and I can’t help but grin when he reluctantly does but still doesn’t let her out of arm’s reach as Qwin walks up to hug her. All this time, Ami has been shaking that rattle aggressively and SoL has started pretending to dodge her attempts at hitting his chin, and each time she does get him, she smiles.
“ Papa ViN , I believe we are going to have a little fighter on our hands.”
“ Yes , but let’s wait on the encouragement until she has a little better control.” ViN gently reaches up, stopping her frantic swinging and her cooing stops, and I swear she growls.
The next thing we know, the blanket she is wrapped in is on fire and SoL is slinging it off her in a panic. ViN instantly reaches for his now completely red-scaled daughter as her fingers spark with tiny flames. The rest of her clothes and her diaper fall to the floor in a fiery ball. Before any of us can move, one of the bots swoops in, removing it from the area. Everyone else seems to be freaking out, but ViN calmly bounces her in his arms.
“ Looks like you did get some things from dear old dad, huh? Calm my sweet one, you can beat on Unka SoL all you want. That’s right, show us those beautiful blue eyes. I am sorry I made you stop, yes … he is already your favorite.” Bouncing her gently, she starts to fuss again, and Ember reaches up to take her, but hesitates when ViN shakes his head no. “ Shush , my little queen of fire, momma cannot hold you when you are like this, you will hurt her. Do you understand me? I think you do.”
She hiccups a few times, but her cries settle, and we all watch as her body gradually returns to her human state.
SoL seems more upset than anyone else does as ViN expertly handles this new development.
“ Does someone want to tell me what just happened? One moment I am holding a human angel in my arms, and the next she is what appears to be a baby dragon.”
ViN laughs, a rare thing out of my very serious brother. “ Looks like you just explained it to yourself, brother. It seems like when Ami Lynn here becomes angry, she shifts into something similar, if not more intense than I am. I have not heard of a full shift in my lifetime on Vinzel , or anywhere else, but it seems my daughter is about to change all of that.”
Ember is standing next to them, a worried frown on her face. “ ViN , what are we going to do? Babies tend to be upset more than they are calm.”
“ We are going to fireproof her bedding and all her clothes until she can control the shift. She can already understand us, so it won’t be as bad as you are imagining. Frack , when I was a youngling, I burned up everything. It is very common for my kind until we get slightly older.”
Ember just shakes her head, a playful grin on her face as she looks around at all of us. “ Lord of Light help us all when she gets older, and we have a teenage version of ViN to deal with! We’re going to need more than a few pieces of fireproof clothing; she’s going to be a handful.”
ViN smiles once again, “ That she will love.” Now that Ami is calm again, her tiny legs kick as ViN holds her in his massive hands. “ Destroyer , can you have another blanket, and some garments brought to us for the youngling?”
Before she can respond, ANDI pops up in between all of us. With his over the top, massive hat and small cane in his hand, he bows to all of us. “ If I could have all your attention for a moment. I have been waiting until you gathered in one location to make this introduction.” He holds his hand out and instantly another joins his holographic form. “ I would like to formally introduce … Destiny . I know several of you were already calling her by this name, but from this moment forward, the Destroyer is no longer her given nor hull name. It has been replaced by the name Destiny , a gift from Commander DaR , and Captain EvO for all she has done to protect her crew.”
Destiny curtsies slightly, and is instantly surrounded by the females, who all seem to be talking at once. ANDI of course, is right in the middle of the group, as he loves the females. EvO walks up beside me.
“ I wanted to let you know that after dinner, Qwin and I are going to be gone for several rotations. There are a few places I want to show her before we are sent back out. Are you staying on board or heading planet side?”
I am not sure since things are odd, to say the least. I plan on staying close to ViN and Ember at least for a few rotations, just in case. After that, we will see.”
ViN’s voice rises over everyone for a moment. “ Hey girls, I hate to break up all the chatter, but this youngling needs some clothing before she pees all over me.”
“ Give me a tic to get them treated Master ViN , and I will have one of the bots bring them out.”
Rylie turns from the others to glance back at me with a large smile on her face. Just as I reach out to pull her into me, Qwin joins EvO and none of us know what to say with Rylie’s next words.
“ Qwin dear, I swear you look so familiar to me. I know how odd that sounds because we have been on this ship together for quite some time now. I don’t know if it’s that outfit or what, but I seem to be having a case of déjà vu.”
“ Crazy girl, you’re imagining things. Do you and LeX have any plans for the next few weeks of downtime?”
“ I don’t know. We haven’t really talked about it.”
Never before have I been so thankful as to witness the dining bots start bringing the food out. I practically pick Rylie up as I turn her around to face the tables.
“ Wow , you hungry big guy?”
“ Yes , plus I know how my brothers eat, and if we do not get a seat quickly, all the food will be gone.”
Thank the Lord of Light , the rest of the meal goes by uneventfully. Everyone who takes a moment to stop and talk to us has kept the conversations light and simple, so at least there are no more close calls. Destiny and ANDI strolled around the room, making sure everyone is taken care of and just as we finish and are getting up, ANDI stops in front of me.
“ Medic LeX , your father has scheduled a meeting in a few tics. He is trying to catch everyone before they depart the ship.”
“ Thank you, ANDI , I will be right there. You wouldn’t mind escorting my beautiful mate to our quarters, would you?”
“ I would be honored. Mistress Rylie , would you like to take a stroll with me? “
“ Oh , ANDI I would be delighted, unless you are needed elsewhere?”
“ I am at your service ma’am. Anyway , you will look good on my arm as we parade around the upper deck.”
“ You don’t want to say that too loud, Ms . Destiny might get her feelings hurt.”
“ She knows where my metal heart lies and is willing to share me to a point. Come beautiful one, let us be on our way as I can see the other males heading to the conference room.”
“ I will be along shortly.” Kissing her on the forehead, I watch as she talks animatedly with ANDI as they walk off together.
Rylie
“ ANDI , thank you for escorting me to my rooms. This evening has been a delight even with my muddled thoughts.”
“ It was my honor. I am pleased you are adapting so positively to the changes forced upon you. Things being a little chaotic is normal, considering the circumstances.”
“ Ok , now I’m even more confused. Are you talking about us being back home, or something else?”
“ Oh my, I believe I may have misspoken and opened a can of worms.”
“ That’s enough! Why do I feel like people are walking on eggshells around me? Enough of the cryptic bullshit, what’s going on?”
“ I am not at liberty to tell you straight out, but I would advise you to view some of the past risings on your holo pad; that is all I can tell you right now. But once you have, please call out to me and I will answer any questions you might have.”
“ Are you saying everything I need to know is on that holo pad?”
“ I believe the mental clarification you are searching for is on that device, yes. I just hope I have not caused you more harm than good when this is over and done. If you will excuse me dear, Commander DaR is requesting my presence.”
He leaves me standing in front of our rooms with more questions than answers. So , the first thing I do since the door actually opens this time is head straight for the holo pad that is blinking next to the bed. Not knowing exactly what to look for, I am shocked when it turns on, it’s feed showing back to when the pods were being brought in. Sitting down on the bed, I watch the scenes unfold in front of me. My mind is suddenly a lot clearer.