Page 31 of Whispers of the Void (Voidborn Chronicles #1)

CHAPTER 31

RAIZ

* * *

I ’m awoken by Hyva gently tapping on our mental connection. Neev is still wrapped around me in the same position we fell asleep in last night. Neither of us moved once we fell asleep, which is a first for me. I kiss her forehead softly and extricate myself from her arms.

I wasn’t thinking last night and didn’t bring any clothes into her room. After making sure my cock is tucked away, I stride out into the hall where Hyva is waiting for me with one foot propped on the wall.

He smirks at my lack of clothes and follows me into my bedroom. “The Bak’hura is at nightfall on the Sovereign’s ship.”

I pause halfway through pulling my pants on. “His ship?” Honestly, I’d rather be on his ship than at the palace where my Bak’hura took place. Memories from that terrible day are harder to ignore when I’m standing watching history repeat itself.

“Yeah. Apparently, he’s ill. His medical staff don’t want him on the surface.”

“He announced that publicly?” My brows rise.

“No. I heard the reason from one of my contacts on his team.”

“What are the chances he’ll just die and this fucking rite can go with him?” I mutter as I pull a shirt on.

“Considering who will replace him, not good.”

I grunt in agreement. Honestly, the Sovereign dying wouldn’t help the cause at all. Part of the strength of my plan relies on his weakened state. The next male in line is as cruel as he is cunning. He’d be much harder to defeat.

“I’ll make breakfast. Go wake up Vynia.”

“She’s already left to start getting ready.”

“Right.” That makes sense. Even though she’s a highly decorated pilot in the fleet, at this rite, she can’t wear her official uniform like the rest of us. She has to dress like a lady of nobility, which she obviously hates. They won’t even allow her the dignity of wearing her prosthetic leg.

“Does Neev have a dress for the occasion?”

“Yes. She was given a wardrobe full of clothing for all possible occasions.”

“Have you changed your mind about the mate bond? It could keep her safe.”

“No. I haven’t changed my mind. It still needs to be her choice; I will not make her feel pressured in any way.”

“Even at the cost of her safety and your happiness?”

“I don’t think it will come to a question of her safety. I have a plan to explain her presence.” We start walking toward the kitchen.

“And that plan is?”

“I’m going to tell them that I bought her freedom and have offered her a role on the ship as an interpreter for those who don’t have universal translator chips.”

“What if they know she’s from Oculus Nine?”

“Then I’ll find another explanation. I don’t plan on spending more than a few minutes up there tonight.”

“What are you two plotting?” Neev asks from the doorway of the kitchen.

I hold my hand out to her, my chest expanding when she crosses to me and slips hers inside mine. We fill her in on the plan and what to expect while I make breakfast. She eats and listens, thoughtfully taking in everything we tell her.

“Are you worried about whoever on the crew spilling secrets about who I really am?”

“No. The only people who know about you that will be there are the three of us in this room and Altis and Vynia.”

Hyva excuses himself when we finish to go home and check on his parents.

“Can we go see Kodia and his mate? I haven’t seen them since they saved me.”

“Of course.” I pick up our plates and carry them to the sink. “We can even take them some treats if you want.”

“Oh, that’d be good. What do they like?”

I bite the inside of my cheek because I have a feeling she’s not going to like it. Opening a freezer drawer, I pull out two frozen sea birds and hand one to her.

“These are their favorites.”

“Oh.” Her face takes on a green pallor. “They look like they could be alive.”

“Yes, that’s the idea.”

“Right.” She nods, holding the bird out from her body. “Shall we?”

“After you.”

We get down to the water’s edge, and I tap the water’s surface several times in a specific pattern that Kodia will recognize. I stand back up and walk over to Neev, not knowing how long it will take for them to get here. If they’re far out, it could be a few minutes.

“How will I know if his mate is my soul tie?” Neev asks.

I tap a finger over her heart. “It’s just knowing in here. You’ll feel her, and it’s such a different sensation from anything else. Think of how it feels to mind speak with me. It’s kind of like that but on a level without words.”

She nods at the explanation and looks out to the water. “Do you feel that?”

As soon as the question is out of her mouth, I feel them approaching. The water at the mouth of the cave ripples, and before I know it, both Kodia and his mate are flying out of the water and landing nearly on top of us. Kodia’s mate rubs against Neev so fiercely she knocks her over and begins licking her face.

Neev’s laughter fills the cave as they bond. Kodia takes the bird from me and swallows it in one gulp before turning his attention back to the females. Neev wiggles out from under her and offers the bird, which disappears down her throat in the same manner as Kodia’s did.

“It definitely feels like a soul tie to me. I guess I get to name her now.”

“You do.”

“Lucy.” Neev scratches behind the female’s ear. “She feels like a Lucy.”

“Kodia and Lucy. I like it.”

“I wish we could go for a swim with them,” she says.

“Soon. She’ll always be here for you.”

Just like I will be.

* * *

I stare at my reflection as I put the pins I’ve earned through perfect military service on my uniform. Awards for bravery, for brutality, for serving my planet in the most violent way possible. Patches from the major battles I participated in are sewn onto the sleeves of the stiff black jacket.

I loathe what I see in the mirror.

Quickly taming my unruly hair into submission, I tear my gaze from my reflection and walk out into my bedroom. My cloak is laid out on the bed, along with my boots and swords. The fact there are smudges on the latter is a stark reminder of Uzold’s loss.

Eventually I’ll have to hire a replacement, if such a thing even exists. How do you replace the male who practically raised you and stepped up when your parents died before you reached adulthood? I don’t have the answer. In truth I haven’t had time to grieve his death properly. I haven’t even had time to breathe, let alone plot revenge for his death.

Everything is happening so quickly I can’t keep up. If I could take those I care about and disappear, I would. Find some peaceful planet, ideally uninhabited, and spend my days fucking my mate and laughing with friends. At this point in my life, that’s all that I want. I’m so close to giving up my birthright of House Aste and my position in the military, I can almost taste the freedom.

I finish lacing my boots and slide my swords into the cross sheath on my back. Their ornate handles are carved from the same stone of my family’s mines. The veins of silver crystal that run the black obsidian walls of my family estate are three times as hard as any substance in the system and the most valuable product Zeahiri trades with other planets.

Laughter drifts into the hallway as I walk toward Neev’s room. Vynia came to get ready here with her, so she could help her dress and explain aspects of the night that I haven’t had a chance to yet. The sound of their happiness, even in this tense of a moment, brings a lightness to my soul I didn’t realize I needed.

I lift my hand and knock on the door, waiting to open it until they call out I can. The two of them are standing side by side when I enter, and the sight leaves me breathless. Vynia is arguably one of the most beautiful Zeahirian females on the planet, but my eyes are glued to Neev.

She’s wearing a deep purple dress that dips low in the front, nearly to her belly button. The wide expanse of exposed skin on her chest shows her tattoo and the curves of lush breasts. The swaths of fabric tie around her neck, leaving the soft skin of her shoulders bare. The rest of the dress skims her body, a large slit runs up the front, and as she walks to me, I see the length of the legs I’ve felt wrapped around me.

My fangs ache to descend and sink into the skin, leaving my mark so everyone knows she’s mine. The desire to claim her, to mate her, to spend weeks fucking her until I’ve left my mark on every part of her body roars in my blood until I can think of nothing else. I don’t snap out of my trance until her hands slide up my chest.

Vynia disappeared while I was stuck in my possessive haze. I’ve never been as close to blurting out the truth: that she’s my mate.

Mine.

My. Fucking. Mate.

As her hands wind around my neck and she pulls my head down to her for a kiss, my hands slide up her sides. It’s only then that I realize the sides of her breasts are even more exposed than the center of her chest. I slide my thumbs along the supple curve and under the thin fabric until I feel her nipples pebble beneath my attention.

“Oh.” She practically purrs against me. “Don’t start something you can’t finish.”

“I’ll finish any male who looks at you tonight.”

She tosses her head back and laughs. “I’m sure they won’t give me a passing glance. Did you see Vynia?”

“I’ve seen her every day of her life. She’s beautiful, but you?” I say with a shake of my head. “Your beauty is otherworldly. Every male in your vicinity will wonder if your skin is as soft as it looks. If your breasts will feel as heavenly in their palms as they look.”

She lifts onto her toes, but I still have to bend to put us eye level. “Good thing you’re the only one who will ever know the answer,” she whispers against my lips.

My chest thrums, deep and low and possessive as I crash our mouths together. I gather the soft roots of her hair in my fist and pull, angling her head so I can kiss her so deeply I consume her. Her nails sink into the hair at the nape of my neck and scratch against my scalp, like she’s trying to leave her own mark on me.

She doesn’t need to worry about that. As far as I’m concerned, no other female even exists. She’s the only one I want. Even if she looked at me and told me she wanted to go back to Oculus Nine, I’d go with her. I’d orbit her life from afar. I’ll never touch, never notice, another woman for as long as I live.

Vynia clears her throat from behind us. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but Altis is here with a transport. We should leave if we’re going to make it in time for the rite.”

With a will stronger than any I’ve ever known, I drop my hands from her hair and take a step back. “Where’s your cloak?”

Vynia hands her one the same color as her dress and is lined with fur. I watch as Neev drapes it around her shoulders and pulls her hair loose. She struggles with the clip at the top.

“You’re not to take this off tonight.” I clip the two sides of the cloak together for her.

“Why not? What if I get hot?” She raises a slim brow.

“You won’t, the Sovereign keeps his ship icy cold. But that’s not why you need to keep this on. It’s so I don’t go on murdering spree against any male stupid enough to look too closely at what’s mine.”

Her lips lift slowly into a smile. “And what if any females look too closely at what’s mine?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. As far as I’m concerned, no other female exists.”

“Good.”

My cock thickens at the look of possession in her eyes. For the millionth time the temptation of telling her about our mate bond bubbles up so close to the surface. I feel Vynia’s eyes on me expectantly, and it pulls me back from the edge, much to her irritation. My friends have come to care as deeply for Neev as they do me. I see it when they watch us together, when they interact with her. Truthfully, Vynia might like her more than me at this point.

“Ready?” Hyva asks from the doorway.

When I turn I’m ready to beat him if he looks at Neev wrong, but I find his eyes locked on Vynia. In fact, it feels as though he can’t take his eyes off her. I watch as they do a sweep from her face, down her body, to the crutches aiding her and back up to her eyes.

“You can quit staring,” Vynia says with a hint of venom.

“My apologies.” He smirks, a foreign glint in his eye. “I forgot that you can look like a proper female from time to time.”

“Watch yourself, doctor. I’d hate for one of my crutches to slip and bruise that pretty face of yours.”

“You think I’m pretty?” His smile widens wickedly.

“Not particularly. I prefer a more rugged look on my males, but you don’t seem to lack in female company. They must see something in you.”

I look at Neev, who watches the bantering in fascination. I’m used to their back and forth vitriol. It’s been going on since we were kids, though today seems a bit more pointed than usual, even as it continues as they walk into the hall.

“Do you think Hyva knows her crutches hide two blades? He might not want to antagonize her like that.”

“He knows. He made those especially for her. They’re full of little surprises she could use to defend herself.”

She smiles. “Do you think they know they’re in love with each other?”

“What?” I couldn’t be more surprised if she ran me through with my own sword.

“The flirting?”

We walk down the hall, far enough behind the two bickering back and forth in front of us that they won’t overhear.

“That’s not flirting,” I say. “They’ve been like this since we were kids.”

“And?” She laughs. “It’s funny that I can see it, but you can’t.”

I truly don’t think there’s anything there, but I’m going to keep an eye on it. I’m not sure what Altis would think of his sister and one of his best friends becoming involved. Especially when that friend happens to have a long history with females.

Altis sits in the pilot’s seat of the transport as we board. “Took you long enough.” He begins flipping switches as the doors whoosh closed behind me.

Vynia takes the seat next to him, probably ready to take over the task of flying, but he shakes his head, telling her to just relax. We all know how she feels about watching the Bak’hura and how she always has to subjugate herself while we’re allowed to walk in wearing all of our military decorations.

I take a seat next to Neev while Hyva drops down across from us. The slit in Neev’s dress parts high up on her thigh, and I notice a strap wrapped around it. She notices my gaze and parts the slit further, showing a small blade strapped high on her leg.

“Vynia gave it to me just in case.”

I meet the gaze of my pilot over Neev’s head and incline my head in thanks. I’ve been too distracted thinking about other males just looking and lusting over her to think about her physical safety beyond that threat. Not that she’ll ever be without one of us by her side tonight.

Hyva settles back into the seat. He looks relaxed, but I know he’s anything but. Having been born without a twin, he was spared from the brutality of the blood rite, but he’s been forced to watch it unfold. Having chosen medicine and dedicating his life to healing, this is torturous for him to watch.

Only barbarians treat the Bak’hura as a spectator sport. Unfortunately, that’s who we’ll be surrounded by this evening. Not only that, I’ll have to help Neev navigate the layers of society and meet other Lords tonight on top of witnessing the brutality of the rite.

She must be feeling the pressure because she slides our palms together and interlocks our fingers in the way she likes to do. It’s a human form of connection and affection she told me. It does bring a certain level of warmth to my body as she smiles up at me. I lift her hand and kiss the smooth skin of her knuckles.

“Oh, you’re grotesquely cute.” Hyva rolls his eyes dramatically. “Stop that before I get sick.”

I do it again, giving him a lighthearted smirk. This is what we need to ease tension hanging around our shoulders like a noose. At least we’re together for this.