Page 39 of Essa

"Keyda," Iddis chides my sister with a nickname meaning beloved in our culture. A nickname one does not throw around lightly.

I gnash my teeth at the term of endearment, hating that he's forced himself into my sister's life and is now using nicknames as though she has a say in who she ends up with. No, she does now. I'm back, which means Iddis will have to marry me and not force my sister into something she doesn't want.

"It's not because they're human." Niivi turns back around, her face looking normal or as normal as it can when she clearly doesn't want to have this conversation. "It's that you have concubines at all."

"My taking of concubines means nothing in terms of the mergings of our families," I say.

I'm going to say more, but Adam's hand tenses on the back of my neck so hard I cut him a glower that I hope conveys he's pushing it. It does not convey that to him at all, or if it does, it makes him want to push me even more.

"Let's eat before we start talking about merging families," Adam says with a bite in his words.

I roll my eyes at his dramatics and am going to agree with him when I realize Iddis and Niivi are now privy to justhow unorthodox my relationship is with Adam and Seth. Well, mostly just Adam. Seth is being a good male for me.

Niivi has her eyes narrowed on Adam, her hands curling at her sides, and Iddis is forcing himself not to smile. It's not the best reaction to my concubines, but it could be so much worse.

"Yes, let's eat before Niivi decides to fight for your honor." Iddis points his comment at me, which causes both Niivi and me to give him annoyed looks. He only snorts before pulling out one of the chairs around the round dining table.

The food is already set out, including flaky, golden pastries I haven't had in a long time, perfectly roasted and smoked red meat because we always have the best cooks, and my favorite side dish, something Sloane would call cheesy—except human cheese is only slightly like the melted product in this one.

I take a step toward the table, and Adam and Seth follow. I watch Niivi, unsure why she's still standing when it is rude of us to take our seats before her. I stand next to my chair, watching her, waiting to see if I'll need to stop Adam or Seth from sitting because as much as I don't mind them not following all of the rules, I don't want to disrespect my sister in her own home.

Niivi's lips pull back as her fangs elongate.

"Look at her like that, and I will cause a scene." Adam's voice is low and deadly as he steps between my sister and me. "She came back for you, so stop with the hissy fit."

Niivi's fangs lengthen completely. Her pupils are little slits as her hands ball into tight fists.

"Came back for me?" The words sound melodic, but she's angry, more angry than I've ever seen her. "She's here to take over our family home. A home she hasn't been a part of in years, and she brings you. A disrespectful male who doesn't value our way of living." Her voice lowers as she pins Adam with her stare. "Cause a scene, human. See how that works out for you."

I release a long sigh and rub my temples. Adam's itching for a fight, and Niivi will give him one. I just don't want to have to get into a fight with my sister to protect Adam and his terrible decision making skills.

"Essa, you need to sit down," Iddis says, his tone even as he reaches for Niivi and wraps his fingers in hers, trying to calm her down. "You're the head of the house. Niivi can't sit until you do."

My brows furrow at what he's saying, and then it hits me that to my sister, it looks like I'm playing petty games with her by not sitting. I urge Adam back toward his seat and take a seat in mine.

"I'm sorry," I say quickly, looking at my sister in earnest so she can hopefully see that I wasn't trying to make a power play. "I was waiting for you to sit. Like you said, you've been the one here. I didn't even think of myself as the head of the house."

Niivi's features soften when I apologize, but she doesn't say anything to acknowledge it. Instead, she gracefully sits in her seat, and Seth and Iddis do the same. Adam remains standing, his arms awkwardly crossed over his chest but held away so he's not smudging the paint on his torso and arms. Seth and I ignore him, knowing he's just trying to cause issues.

"Are humans all so aggravating?" Niivi asks me, her voice normal as she serves herself food.

Iddis watches her fill her plate, a small smile on his lips. I dislike this immensely. I wish he at least acted how I remember him. When he was younger, he was an insufferable male, and there's no use in him pretending he's not anymore.

"This one is special," I say, giving Adam a soft pat on the ass since he's still standing, and I can't possibly be expected to reach up to pat his back. He doesn't even startle, but he does shoot me a burning glare that tells me I'll regret it later.

"And would you prefer us to call them by their names or address them only as yours?" Iddis asks, his attention moving between us to see our reactions. Seth's face is bright pink at thequestions, which I expect since he's an easy man to make flush. I'm more surprised to see the highs of Adam's cheeks are also ruddy. Maybe my males enjoy being known as mine more than I thought.

"Their names are fine," I tell Iddis. It's common for concubines on Haven III to be only addressed by their mate's name, but I don't wish that of my males. "And, of course, they may address you as Iddis and Niivi."

Adam glowers at Iddis as though he didn't know this is the male I've been betrothed to for over ten years. He has known, of course, because it's not like there are just tons of males who want to attend an awkward dinner where I think of ways to kill him so my sister isn't forced to marry him, and neither am I. I doubt I could get away with murder, though. I'd be the prime suspect. They probably have a Sombran here somewhere, checking to see if there's a threat to either of their lives. It would be smart of them.

"I can tell you've only spoken highly of me to your lovers." Iddis beams as he takes a bite of his food. "I would've done the same, but I was under the impression we were waiting to add concubines until after the nuptials."

I frown at him, not liking that I have to interact with him. He's still as annoying as I remember, but he hasn't put a bug in Niivi's hair yet or rigged some sort of contraction to dump water onto her. Unless… I look around the ceiling, making sure there's nothing up there to surprise me later.

"I'm sure you had to fight off females wishing to fill your bed," I say, eyeing a suspicious wet spot in the ceiling. Either a scheme or water damage from a burst pipe, those have happened on occasion, and this isn't a room that the public sees, so my parents wouldn't rush to fix it, but then again, it could also be a scheme.

"Would you believe me if I told you I did?" Iddis shoots me a devilish smile that I frown at. Even better, Adam scowls harder at him. Good. We can join in our efforts to dislike Iddis. I like that I'm not alone in that.

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