The Melier: Home World (Women of Dor Nye Book 2) (9 page)

Soren and Zun told her to
stay
, like a pet, and then went back into the fray.

Oh no.

Chapter 5

The heat of the room was almost stifling with the many swaying, fighting bodies. Lu couldn’t understand how that was possible, since Melier could regulate their body temperatures. Maybe it was too much work to regulate and fight? It seemed plausible, but she would’ve thought the regulation was more second nature. Regardless, she was fanning herself and
not
because Soren looked appetizing.

The arena was large and reminded her more of a small scaled stadium. The floor was covered in a deep layer of white sand, which explained where the sand on Zun’s chest had come from.

Every sparring male was sparsely clothed in red harem style pants that cinched at their ankles. It seemed to be good for their movements and not impede. They wore nothing else, not even boots. She also noticed all of them were calm and focused, their pupils’ normal, and the many vibrant colors of eyes could be seen upon every face there.

Her own eyes trailed to Zun and Soren, flicking back and forth between them. She pulled her feet up to the bench and hugged her knees to her chest, allowing herself to observe without censure, and convinced herself she wasn’t
creeping
since what else were they expecting her to do aside from
watch
.

Zun was sparring with a beefy red male who was twice his size, but that didn’t stop him from
dominating
. This made Lu bite her bottom lip with pride.

He was
lethal
.

The larger male struggled to keep up with the prince. Each lunge, each jab, Zun would deftly avoid and crack a hit. He was almost dancing it seemed, his movements were so fluid, swift, and precise.

Soren on the other hand, was
wild
.

It almost seemed like he remembered
most
of his training but there were parts of him that were primitive and instinctive. Those parts threw off his opponent and made her heart race. It brought back memories of how he’d taken down the lome, and the vid of his vicious fight with Ta’Ra’Enn.

Enslavement
had
changed him. His fight was to protect, to defend, and to maim. It was
raw
. Soren was anything but
weak,
and how the queen couldn’t see that, she would never understand.

Lucia was convinced Soren and Zun would make an imposing pair on any battle field, and her chest swelled with fierce happiness that they were
good
, honorable males.

Her gaze skittered back to Val’Zun and after he twisted, ducked, and buried his elbows into the back of his opponent, he threw a boastful grin her way and then went back to whooping the male.

Lu sucked in her lips to keep herself from smiling like an idiot.

Stop looking at him.

Stop telling me what to do.

“My brothers are fierce warriors, are they not?”

She jumped at the new voice. Gi’Calla sat on the bench beside her at a comfortable distance. Her eyes were the same eerie, pale green of Val’Koy’s, and just as piercing and critical.

Lu’s inspecting observation flitted over her face and body quickly, taking in details. Though they shared third meal every night, she tried to keep her focus on the food, and attract as
little
attention as possible which didn’t allow for much scrutinizing of her in-laws.

Her face was very feminine, very streamlined with pronounced bone structure, and smaller sharp teeth compared to the males, and her long, straight black hair just accentuated those features. Her build was muscular, but distinctly female. If one couldn’t determine her sex from her build, the bared, small, firm breasts that were tipped with very small, softly rounded dark blue nipples would give it away. She thought it was strange how the females had nipples, but the males didn’t.

She wore no top, only a very low, thin skirt and sandals. Her tail curled up beside her, resting on her thigh and flicking lazily like she was patiently waiting on her to finish. When Lu met her eyes again, she only nodded.

“You have mated both of them I have heard,” she went on. “Many are curious why you have not marked them.”

Lucia did a double-take and then shook her head.

“Only Soren. Err, Val’Ja,” she corrected politely. She was just trying to wrap her mind around the fact another Melier was talking directly to her, like a sentient being and not a
creature
. One who wasn’t trying to rile her up, or obligated to take care of Lenny in her absence, or poke her with an implant gun. It was an historic moment only marred by someone trying to pry into her relationships.

Her hand rubbed at her throat absently.

“I’m really just trying to get comfortable with the idea of… scarring him,” she admitted. The idea of puncturing Soren just made her feel sick.

“It is our way,” she said matter-of-factly and then prodded more about Zun. “It is very obvious how Val’Zun enjoys being near you,” Gi’Calla stared at her, tilting her head like she was trying to dissect her, reminding her of Val’Koy.

Lucia felt the blood rising under the skin of her face as her discomfort rose.

“It is quite the news that neither Val’Ja nor Val’Zun has visited the princes’ concubines. Not that Val’Koy is complaining,” she flashed her sharp teeth in a smile.

She honestly hadn’t even thought about concubines since she talked to Soren about it. She had believed him when he said she was the only one for him, but for some reason the news Val’Zun hadn’t visited the concubines made her brows knit together in confusion.

Why would he not visit the concubines?

It doesn’t make sense.

Again her eyes drifted to Zun.

Stop looking at him.

“I have made you uncomfortable,” she mused, a small smile playing at the corner of her mouth. “I meant no offense.”

Yeah, right.

“I would like us to be friends,” Gi’Calla moved along. “I have never known a human.”

It was Lucia’s turn to dissect. She was the first Melier to
approach
her to idly chat, and now she was offering
friendship
? Her fingers strayed to her lips as she rubbed them absently.

This is fishy.

You wanted an in, right?

Yes, but…

Say yes. It’s the sister.

“Why?” Lu asked and then tried to explain herself. “I mean, it just seems strange, since the queen dislikes me so much.”
And
she’d been there for a couple weeks now; why had it taken Gi’Calla this long to approach her if she truly wanted to be friends?

It just seemed
odd
, but she didn’t give voice to that extra thought.

Gi’Calla rolled one of her shoulders. “My mother is traditional. She does not like change. I am not her.”

Hope fluttered in Lucia’s chest before she could stomp it back down. She didn’t want to get excited that
maybe
she could have a friend on Melierun and the next queen, no less. If they were friends, she would see humans were worthy to be equals, and the prejudice could dissolve for future generations. It was exactly why she was there, to make peace and
convince
.

“Okay,” she smiled slowly. “I would like a friend.”

Gi’Calla dipped her chin and returned the smile. Lucia turned her attention back to the arena and noticed Soren was giving her a questioning stare in between deflecting hits. His eyes flicked to his sister, and then back to her.

Lucia twitched her hand, signalling that she was just fine and he went back to his training.

I need to think on this more.

She spotted Gi’Ren coming her way, cradling Lenny who was awake and making little noises that she knew would soon turn into wails of hunger. She put her feet back onto the ground and held out her arms as Ren transferred the babe.

Instantly, her suspicious energy about Gi’Calla’s offer lightened, and she cooed and rocked Re’Len. She was
warm
just like the Melier, and her tail curled around Lucia’s wrist. Her chubby cheeks were lightly blushed with a darker blue and she yawned, big amber eyes blinking slowly. Little fingers fisted and jumped and once Lucia lifted her top and offered
food
, the youngling calmed and relaxed against her skin.

The contrast from Lucia’s darker caramel skin tone to the dawn blue of Lenny was interesting, and she always got lost in the comparison while feeling pride that she’d helped create something so
perfect
. Though every mother must feel that way, she imagined.

When she looked up next, Ren was taking Zun’s place and Zun was heading for her. Her eyes drifted over his lean physique appreciatively, and she imagined he would be an amazing swimmer.

Zun was
looking
at her, even though she was feeding Lenny, and that familiar hope flared that he was becoming less squeamish.

Lu smiled to herself.

He dropped down on the bench beside her. On Dor Nye, it was hard to escape his scowls and glares, and it was almost comical that she found herself
missing
them after a couple weeks of barely seeing him. She looked up and over at him then.

“Hi,” she whispered and a corner of his mouth hitched up.

“Hello,” he whispered back.

****

Val’Zun stared down at Lucia, admiring her amber colored eyes and how they devoured everything around her. The same eyes that could be kind and show so much emotion, and in the next instant be poisoned daggers as they both quarreled.

She was mesmerizing.

And annoying.

The months had been torturous, fighting and trying to understand
why
he felt anything aside from loathing for a
human
. Even now, he would feel that curl of prejudice and ingrained
hate
trying to rear its ugly head in the back of his mind, questioning what he was even thinking.

It was a war he was still battling, but it slowly ebbed away with each day, and his admiration for Lucia was constantly outgrowing everything he’d ever been taught to think about humans.

Val’Zun’s fingers curled, and he brushed down the soft skin of her arm, ignoring the grimace his sister threw in his direction.

It had been hard to keep from touching her.

Every opportunity he got since the execution of Quinton, he touched her in some way when it would be seen as
appropriate
by others around him; a hand up her back for comfort, helping her walk when she’d been round with Re’Len, and a swipe of his knuckles along her face when she was upset.

Touches others would think platonic and not analyze, especially since he wasn’t even sure himself what they meant.

He still hadn’t
asked
her to mate him, as he still wasn’t sure how to approach her about it. Sometimes he thought she might say yes, while other times he was sure she would stab him if given the opportunity.

The weeks of training the new recruits had kept him busy and the work was welcome, since it kept him away from her and the
pull
she had over him. He found himself gravitating toward her, even if they were feuding.

In fact, he wasn’t even sure why he wasn’t avoiding her at that moment.

The
need
he often felt whenever she was nearby was all-consuming and weighty, making his body feel much heavier with each step he took in the other direction once he found the strength to walk away from her. The ache in his stomach, he could feel even now.

It was confusing.

She is annoying
, he thought once more.

Everything she does is irritating, or endearing, sometimes both at the same time.

How is this possible?

When he heard her ear rupturing shrieks earlier, his heart felt like it was seizing in his chest. His sparring opponent had
almost
run him through when Val’Zun staggered.

Instantly his eyes found Val’Ja’s and they had taken off. Val’Zun was faster though. He was swift and agile, more so than all of his siblings and most other warriors. It was what he was known for among his people.

After he spotted the
trowb
beetle, he realized there was a problem. Trowb beetles were not from Xula, the region they were in. Trowbs were from the Er’Tu region on the other side of Melierun, and their pincers were coated with poison. A bite from a trowb was painful for a Melier and its poison could eat through flesh if untreated.

For Lucia, it would have been fatal.

He and Val’Ja knew then that someone put it in their suite on purpose. Someone wanted to
hurt
Lucia. The list of possible suspects was too long to even know where to begin, which made him groan with frustration.