Page 13 of Whispers of the Void (Voidborn Chronicles #1)

CHAPTER 13

RAIZ

* * *

N eev’s eyes flutter open seconds after mine. Her body is tense as she looks around the room, but then her gaze lands on me and her body melts into the bed. The beat of her heart slows back down to a more normal tempo.

“That’s never happened before.”

“What?”

“The man that was there. He, it didn’t feel right.”

“Did he threaten you?” I fight my talons' natural instinct to emerge at the thought.

She starts to sit up, but Hyva sets his hand on her arm. “Lie down for a while longer.”

“No, he didn’t threaten me, at least I don’t think he did. When did you get here? How long was I out?”

“We came as soon as Vynia called me.” I pull my hand from her hair. “We were already on our way back.”

I look over at Hyva and speak into his mind. “ Can humans mind walk?”

“Not that I’m aware of from my research.” He frowns. “ But if they possess that gift, it could be something they keep hidden.”

“Don’t do that.” Neev pushes herself up into a sitting position further away from both of us. “Don’t have conversations in your minds about me when I’m right here.”

“Apologies,” I say, immediately chagrined.

Hyva’s eyes meet mine. “ This female is feisty.”

“You’re right,” he tells her. “We were just trying to figure out if humans could mind walk.”

“Clearly they can if he was able to be there.”

“Are you sure you weren’t in distress and that caused you to believe he was there?” Hyva asks.

“Yes. He touched me. I felt his presence just as I felt Raiz.”

Her eyes widen as a snarl rips from my chest at the thought of another male in her mind, touching her. Shame follows in its wake for scaring her, but before I can apologize again, she scoots forward and puts her hand over mine. It’s so soft and small in comparison to mine.

“It’s okay. I know how you feel about entering others’ minds. Thank you for scaring him away.”

Truthfully, I’m not sure if that snarl was about him being in her mind so much as it was putting his hands on her. It came from an inner, primal place I’ve never explored within myself. From the look on Hyva’s face, I can tell he’s thinking the same thing.

“I’m going to leave you with this.” He sets a bottle on the bedside table. “It’s a medication that should help with the pain from these episodes, perhaps even stop them. Though, I think we can all acknowledge that these aren’t regular headaches.”

“Probably not headaches at all,” she agrees.

“I’m staying in the guest quarters for the time being. Let Raiz know if you need anything from me, otherwise I’ll come check on you in the morning.”

She nods. “Thank you, Hyva.”

He grabs his scanner and exits with a look in my direction that I don’t have to be inside his mind to decipher. We’ll be discussing the snarl as soon as I get her settled.

“Will you show me how to use the bathtub? I couldn’t figure it out earlier.” The sound of her voice pulls me from my spiraling thoughts.

“Of course.”

I watch her closely as she scoots to the edge of the bed. Because it’s made for Zeahirians, it’s tall enough that her feet don't touch the ground, so she has to slide off. It’s probably her size that makes me feel so protective and nothing else. How can a good male not want to protect a creature he’s bigger than?

I follow her into the bathing room and tap the lip of the tub. I lift the lid containing the pad with buttons for all the options for salts and temperature. She can read the language, but I explain the differences in the salts and why we bathe with them. Once she settles on a relaxation blend and tells me how hot she wants the water I turn it on. Water pours from the ceiling above.

“Oh.” She smiles as she looks up. “That explains why I didn’t see a faucet.” She gives my arm another casual squeeze. “Thank you.”

“Will you be okay getting in and out?”

“Yes. I feel much better now.”

I leave her and close the door behind me. We’re supposed to get hit by strong flares tonight, so I cross the bedroom to the balcony doors and pull them firmly shut. Once the locking mechanism is engaged and the screen that blocks radiation is closed, I leave. The sound of water sloshing gently in the tub is all I hear from her.

Instead of walking down the guest wing to find Hyva, I slink off to my own room. I can’t deal with the lecture I’m sure I have coming my way from him. My room is dark and empty as I close the door behind me.

“We need to talk about that mating snarl.” Hyva’s voice comes from behind me as soon as I light the sconce.

“Why are you hiding in the dark?” So much for time and space to sort my thoughts.

“Because I knew you weren’t going to come to me so we could talk about this. Instead, you were going to lay in bed and brood. Probably spin a bunch of lies to yourself about the snarl not meaning what it means.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bullshit.”

This is the problem with surrounding yourself with those that have known you your whole life. I can’t lie to them; they see straight through it. Stars, they won’t even let me lie to myself.

I busy myself locking up my room the same way I did Neev’s. He sits in the chair beside my desk and crosses his leg, content to wait me out. His foot swings back and forth patiently as he watches me.

“What?” I growl in his direction as his quiet presence grates on my nerves.

“Nothing.” He grins.

“I’ll remove you from the medical team.”

“You could, but you won’t. And you know you can’t get rid of me that easily, regardless. It’s not a bad thing to be pulled to the female. I think she returns the feelings.”

“Humans don’t have mates.”

He taps his chest. “This doesn’t care.”

“The timing is terrible.”

“It is.” He sits there, swinging his foot and watching me. “Fate doesn’t care about the timing.”

“How long have you known?”

“Since you lunged at Mydax. Your scent changed. It was subtle, but having experienced a life of your odors , I immediately knew.”

“Do you think Altis and Vynia know?”

“Probably not. Like I said, it was subtle.”

“They’ve known me as long as you have.”

“They don’t have the same training as me.”

I grunt in acknowledgement. His sense of smell is the strongest of us all due to his medical training. I sit down in the chair opposite him and brace my elbows on my knees, bending to run my hands through my hair.

The problem with us being mates is that the harder I fight it, the more intense it will be for me. The drive to claim her will make me irrational. I don’t want to force this bond on her, but I don’t want to fall into insanity, either.

“Do you think if she leaves me after this is all done, I’ll be able to maintain my life as is? Could you find some sort of antidote for the bond?”

“Do you really want that?” He frowns and leans forward. “What if the feelings are returned on her end?”

“What if they’re not, but she feels guilty? I don’t want her to feel obligated because some stupid, primal piece of me decided she was meant to be mine.”

My fangs drip with need as the words she was meant to be mine fall from my mouth. I swallow, erasing the taste of the toxin that would bind us forever if I were to mark her. My cock thickens at the thought of my fangs sinking into her flesh while I rut into her. What sounds would she make underneath me?

“That’s not how it works, and you know it. Let’s at least be honest with ourselves.”

I’m done with this topic. “Who do you think was in her mind?”

Hyva gives me a look that he clocks the reason for my abrupt change of subject but doesn’t push me. “I don’t know. There are few species that resemble humans throughout the galaxy but none that look identical.”

“And that’s even if he showed up in his true form. What if he was able to change what he looks like?”

“That would be serious power.”

A frightening amount of power. My gifts are among the strongest of Zeahiri. To think there could be beings out there with powers that make mine seem like a child’s is unnerving.

Hyva sits with me in silence, both of our minds whirling with thoughts and plans. After he takes his leave, I strip out of my clothes and get in bed, fighting the desire to go check on her at least once. But that’s the mate bond talking. She’s fine, I’ll know if she’s not.

I force my eyes closed and hope there’s enough going on to distract myself from the nightmares that plague me when I’m home.

* * *

Xarloc, my twin stands over me, talons out and fangs extended. His eyes, a mirror of mine, narrow with rage as I kick his stomach to dislodge him. All around us adults watch from the safety of outside the ring. He races toward me, and I sidestep but not fast enough as his talons scrape along my ribs.

Blood oozes from the wound. The metallic scent of it fuels the bloodlust of the crowd. Even our father has fallen as a feral victim to it. Only our mother watches on in horror as her only two children battle to the death in order to take over the family line.

The last thing I want to do is kill my brother, regardless of how evil he is. He’s half of me, but I have no choice. It’s him or I, and I know what I want to do to make sure this horrific custom ends.

I let him get me back onto the ground, acting as though he’s gained the upper hand again and right as his talons sink into my abdomen, I arch my neck and bite his throat. The rip of skin, muscle, and tendons reverberates down my spine as his hot blood splashes onto my face.

When his body collapses lifeless on top of mine, I feel nothing but soul-crushing guilt. I never liked him, but I never wanted him dead. This is wrong. I want to throw up, and when my head falls to the side, I lock eyes with Neev.

Her violet eyes are big and round as her jaw drops. Tears pour from them as her hand covers her mouth. She’s horrified. She looks at me like I’m a monster. I am a monster.

I reach for her, crawling across the blood-soaked sand, but she takes off running. I can’t speak, my mouth and throat too full of gore. My father hauls me to my feet, a disgusting pride shining brightly through his eyes as he claps me on the back.

“I always knew it would be you.”

* * *

“Raiz.” Gentle hands nudge my shoulder. “Raiz, wake up. You’re having a bad dream.” A firmer push. “Raiz.”

I shoot into a sitting position, reaching for the dagger I keep hidden beside my bed. When I turn my head, I see Neev sitting on her knees beside me. My heart slows as I drop the dagger back into its place.

“I’m sorry.” My hand drops onto her leg. Stars, she’s warm and her skin is so soft. “Are you okay?”

“I’m not the one who was having a nightmare.”

“You are the one who I almost stabbed my dagger into, though.”

“You wouldn't have.” She says the words quietly but firmly, like she knows I’d never be capable of hurting her. “You’re not that kind of male.”

If she only knew the horrific things I’ve done. She only sees the Commander and the Lord. She hasn’t seen how hard and vicious I had to be to get here. I don’t want her to see it.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asks.

“No,” I rasp. “You’re brave to come in here and wake me.”

“Figured I’d return the favor when you save me from my own mind.”

Her hair is pulled up and piled on top of her head with a few strands of hair loose. It’s the first time I’ve seen it like that. The graceful column of her neck is exposed and the desire to pull her toward me and bury my face against it is so strong I have to dig my fingertips into the mattress on my other side.

I should say something. But all I can do is stare at her.

“I should probably go back to my room.” She catches her lower lip with her teeth.

“It would probably be best.” My hand is still on her leg. I should move it, but I can’t bring myself to.

With a quick smile she shifts her body from my touch and slides off my bed. “Lay down,” she directs me.

“Why?”

“I’m going to do what humans do for each other when they need comfort.”

My mind goes places it has no business going.

“Not like that,” she laughs. Stars, her laughter kills me. “Just trust me.”

“Do you trust me?” I ask as I follow her orders and lie down.

“Probably more than I should.”

She lifts the covers up and over my torso, tucking them around me. Then she wraps her arms around me in an embrace. Her head fits perfectly between my jaw and shoulder, like this is where she belongs. My blood roars with the need to claim her, heat and desire battling with all the control I can muster.

“Your heart is still racing.” She puts a hand over where it beats against the cage of bone protecting it. After too short a time, she sits back up. “I used to have a small toy bear, which is an animal on earth, that was fuzzy and soft. I’d sleep with it every night, and it always brought me comfort. Too bad I don’t have anything like that for you with me.”

“Too bad,” I manage to say. The words I actually want to share are that she brings me all the comfort I need. Especially the thought of her curled beside me in my bed. “How’d you get the bear?”

“My father left it with me when he dropped me off on Oculus Nine.” She opens my bedroom door. “Sleep well, Raiz.”

“Sleep well,” I reply.

I don’t move, too afraid to displace her scent hovering in the air around me. Fuck, she smells good. I drag in greedy breath after greedy breath, hoping it’ll sate my ever-growing appetite for her.