Page 38 of Essa

She was the lady who tended to Niivi and me when we were growing up, and she was more of a mother to me than anyone else. She's also the one who helped me escape the night of my seventeenth birthday when my engagement was announced without my parents even consulting me.

Ilyna hugs me tight, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears when she pulls away. She looks behind me to Seth, who has sat down on one of the bench seats and smiles at the two of us.

He doesn't say anything, but then again, he probably actually read up on Haventh culture and knows he should wait for me to give him permission. Before I can do that, though, Adam and his perpetual scowl are stomping into the transport with a huff.

"These people are all douchebags," Adam says, flopping into the seat next to Seth and handing me the end of his leash to connect back to my belt. When he catches sight of Ilyna, his expression doesn't change. No, he has no qualms about not following my culture, but then again, I think that might be what I like so much about him.

"I see you've been busy since you left," Ilyna says, her smile trying to release a laugh that she keeps contained to the tone of her voice.

My body grows warm at her statement, knowing she's already imagining I've done much more with my concubines than I have. There's no reason for anyone here to know this commitmenthappened earlier today and certainly no reason for me to divulge that information freely. Even though I trust Ilyna with my entire being, there are some things the woman who raised you doesn't need to know.

"Will you be at dinner tonight?" I ask, hoping to get the attention off the fact I now have two concubines when I left this planet a scared young woman.

"I will," Ilyna says, her attention snagging on where Adam has a hand wrapped possessively around the back of my neck. "Iddis and your sister have always invited me to dine with them in the evenings when your parents weren't around."

I snort at that because, yes, my parents didn't like anyone they believed to be of a lower station than them to dine with them. It was petty and ridiculous. Even as a child, I thought it was mean.

What surprises me about her statement is that Iddis and Niivi dine together often. I was under the impression he was living in his family's territories while waiting for my return, but that might not have been the case.

Ilyna can sense all the questions I have for her, which is why she shakes her head before I can ask a single one.

"Keep an open mind at dinner tonight, and before you make any decisions, speak with your sister. Just the two of you."

Adam's hand tightens on the back of my neck at the idea of me being alone with anyone who isn't him. Ilyna sees it but smiles and shakes her head again instead of glowering at the action as many on Haven might since it's a concubine overstepping his bounds.

"I've missed you," she says before closing the space between us again and wrapping me in another hug.

Adam growls at her, but she only laughs. The sound reminds me of my childhood and the family I ran away from.

fifteen

Essa

When we get to the palace, I expect to be guided to our rooms or for our guests to attempt to separate us. Haven III can be risky for outsiders to visit since one bite can make them complacent. It can be dangerous for other Havenths if others are plotting against them.

Instead of being separated from my concubines, Ilyna excitedly leads us to the family dining room. It's smaller than the formal dining room where my parents took all of their meals.

Most nights, they wouldn't force Niivi and me to attend with them, but the evenings they did were always dreadful. They would seat us so far apart that we couldn't talk even if we wanted to, and the staff were always tense and waiting to be demeaned or scolded for some perceived wrongdoing my mother deemed fit. Niivi and I always ate in the family dining room with Ilyna. It has good memories, and now they're about to be spoiled.

Adam doesn't release my neck as we walk through the elegantly decorated palace halls. Metallic filagree adorns everysingle edge of the recessed portions, which are hand-painted to showcase various depictions of the religious lore of how our land was created and the gods that blessed this territory.

I thought they were over the top when I was younger, and now, walking through the hallways with two males who have been through more in their lives than I could ever understand, they seem even more gaudy and unnecessary. Seth's fingers wrap in mine, though he stays a step behind me. Adam's fingers squeeze. I realize, for all I know, Seth is reading my emotions, and he and Adam are talking about them without me even knowing. I would think it's rude if not for the fact that it's helping me relax.

Ilyna motions for us to head inside the family dining room, telling me she needs to get something from her room first, but then she'll join us. I want to beg her to come with me, to act as a buffer between me and the awkwardness of this encounter. Instead, I let her walk away, double-check to make sure Adam and Seth look presentable, and head into the dining room.

Niivi and Iddis are already inside, and they don't hear us enter. They whisper to one another, their tails tangled as their words become more urgent like they're quietly bickering. When they realize they're not alone, Niivi's eyes constrict.

I wish I knew what I've done to make her so volatile when she sees me. We were once close, and I want us to return to that. But that won't happen if she's always so quick with her angry face when she sees me.

"Essa." Niivi gives me a smile that looks more like a grimace as she steps away from Iddis and closer to us. She glances at the males on either side of me, only one of which is behaving.

"I didn't know you'd taken concubines. It would've been good for us to know." Her voice is strained as she says the words, and Iddis places a hand on her lower back, almost in support. It's disgusting.

"This is Adam." I tilt my head in his direction. He doesn't smile, doesn't wave, and, thankfully, doesn't speak. "This is Seth." I tilt my head to the other side, and Seth gives them a bright smile and a quick nod of recognition. "They're humans."

Niivi scoffs, her eyes wide, and then she's shaking her head. I expected some pushback on my concubines not being Haventh, but I didn't expect it from my sister.

She was always the one telling me how she was going to marry for love one day. I made her promise she would since it was my duty to marry for the family. I wanted her to be with someone who cared about her more than anything else in the universe.

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