Page 54 of Taken to Nobu
“No thanks is required. It pleases me to please you.”
Standing up on my tiptoes — and with him bending down — I manage to reach his ear with my lips. I kiss the lobe, nipping it with my teeth, and say, “Then perhaps I can thank you this lunar, in other more creative ways.”
Kinan clears his throat gruffly and straightens, ridges flaring a dark and dusky purple, much deeper than the color of his skin. “That will be acceptable.”
I laugh. “In the meantime, if it’s a tour of the village they want, let’s begin.”
18
Kinan
I have not seen my Kiki so radiant as this. She flits through the village and with every word spoken to her humans, every introduction made to the Voraxians of our tribe, every explanation of the smallest thing and most subtle nuance I am reminded of a startling truth, one I never thought to hope for: Kiki has claimed this village for her own.She wants to be here.She returns always to my side, her eyes filled with warmth and satisfaction and hope.She wants to be here with me.
I encourage her as she shows Jaxal and one of the other males the armory in the training hall, even if every shared look and glance of their fingers as she hands him various weapons makes me want to skewer him with the helos spear she values so highly.No, something duller. Then it will hurt more.But begrudgingly, I trust her.
I believe her when she calls Jaxal her kin even if the concept ofbrothersandsistersdoes not exist here on Nobu — for females that are able to produce kits, there is only ever one — and even if they are not kin by blood. I believe her.
Raku, Krisxox and I hover near the rear of the group with the contingent of warriors that accompanies this human delegation. Of the twelve humans, eight are females and four are males and though I do not know if they are all considered exceptional beauties on their moon, I do know that they would all be held as rare and treasured prizes here on Nobu.
Despite the threat of the coming icefall, the village has never looked so full and bustling as it does today. Doors are wide open, faces of those old and young and everything in between peering out of them as villagers hope to be introduced or, at the very least, see the humans. My Kiki does her best to make introductions to each villager we come across, but they are too many and there will be other opportunities and the lunar approaches and on this lunar, more than most, Kiki will need her rest.
“Okay okay,” she says as I remind her of this for the fourth time. “Just let me show them our place, okay?”
Floored by the way she saysour, I nod my ascent.A strong Okkari, Kinan is weak and can deny her nothing.She nearly skips up the screa steps to our home, her humans following closely behind. I notice that, while most are curious, there is one female who seems quite frightened, and then there is Jaxal who views all he sees with disgust or revulsion. He makes no effort to hide it.
It is clear his reactions hurt Kiki, even if others may not see the slight tensing of her shoulders or the surreptitious way she watches this male she callsbrotheras we enter our home and she introduces him to her — toour —things.I will need to speak with him if his attitude does not change. Or fight him. He calls himself a warrior, yet I do not doubt I would defeat him in combat in the span of a heartbeat.The thought brings me pure delight.I believe on this trip, I may be able to manufacture a way…
“Oh my and who is this?” Kiki’s mother, Mirella says as Kuana appears in the doorway of the overlook room.
“This is Kuana,” Kiki answers when Kuana does not. “Kuana this is my mom, the Rakukanna, Svera, and other humans from our colony.” She goes through them name-by-name, but Kuana seems distracted, her gaze unfocused, her ridges flashing white and then pink and then gold. “Kuana, are you okay? Is she okay?” She goes to Kuana and places a hand on her shoulder while I push my way to the front of the crowd.
There, Svera joins me, Krisxox stalking her like a shadow. “Alhamdullah,” Svera coos in her light, strange hymn that could not be more opposite Kiki’s deep snarl. Svera’s gaze pans across the humans gathered in the overlook room and I believe we both make the same observation at the same time.
“Guards, please help Jacabo and bring him here,” she says in nearly unaccented Voraxian. Krisxox nearly lunges to arrive at the male in question first. He grabs him gruffly by the collar just as the male buckles. He falls forward with a cry, but Krisxox does not show him reprieve, instead dragging him forward too roughly. Raku issues a stern warning while the Rakukanna orders space to clear.
The human called Jacabo is a burly male with medium brown skin, a broad chest, short-cropped hair on his head and a bewildered look on his face. He wrenches free of Krisxox’s hold when Kiki, behind me, issues a startled curse, “Kuana…comets you’re heavier than you look…” She sinks under Kuana’s weight — Kuana whose colors have suddenly dimmed as her body collapses onto itself, like a dying star.
Miari reaches forward to help, but Raku, ignoring her protests, scoops her up and places them both out of the way in the rear of the room where she cannot be injured in the commotion. It is best, because then Jaxal tries to intercept the meatier human male, but is shoved off of his feet by a palm to the chest. The male continues forward and his stare shifts to me where it burns.
“Don’t touch her,” he snarls, and though I am the closest male to Kuana and my Xiveri mate requires assistance, I am not stupid.
“I will do no such thing, but you will calm yourself before you approach the females. In your haste, you may injure one of them or yourself. My Xiveri mate is a warrior and she will not hesitate to defend herself.”
The thing that is broken in his brain clicks into place. He staggers in his next step and I watch as he slows his approach, my own feet rooted to the ground even though my muscles itch and twitch and flex and burn. The restraint may be the death of me, but I am Okkari and master of my own body. For Krisxox, the same cannot be said.
Impertinent and ever impetuous, he rushes forward. With a terse order to the warriors, I have him blocked so that there is only a wall of warriors on one side, Svera, Kiki and Kuana on the other, and myself and Jaxal flanking the male called Jacabo as he slowly advances. His eyes are wide, his expression tortured.A sensation I know well because I have lived it.
Calm now — at least outwardly — the male drops to one knee at her feet. He reaches out, his hand trembling, and touches the curved edge of her foot. On contact, she starts awake. Blinking, she looks up into Kiki’s face and though her mouth opens, she does not speak.
“You’re okay,” Kiki answers. “I think you just felt the first effect of the Xanaxana. Jacabo, do you feel a burning sensation? A desire to be with Kuana more than anything else in the world?”
The male in question nods, mute, before an expression of pain twists his features. Svera sits up straighter at Kuana’s side, as if pricked by a pin. “So humanscanfeel the full effects of the Xanaxana right away. While Miari felt it’s presence right away, the full effects only occurred for her after some solars.”
Kiki responds, words instinctive and spoken with no great ceremony even though I am deeply humbled by each and every one. “I felt it right away. Took me just a few moments before I was like this. Or worse. We should get them out of here, back to Jacabo’s place. He does have his own place, right?” Svera nods. Kiki grins impishly. “They’re going to need some time alone.”
Kuana looks up, dazed, and holds a hand to her ridges. Her pure white hair spills over her shoulders as she rights herself and finally sees the male she will be bound to for this lifetimeand the next — the male that she has always been bound to. Color intensifies in her ridges, the full effects of the Xanaxana becoming apparent in a way that embarrasses all of the Voraxians in the room and visibly confuses the humans.
Jaxal, in particular, watches the pair on the floor with a contempt shared only by Krisxox who shines a bloody burgundy. With his red skin, white hair, and high breeding, Krisxox carries an even fiercer pride in his Dra’Kesh heritage than most, and views inter-species mixing as an aberration. I feel momentary anger that either male was permitted to join this expedition, however, as neither Krisxox nor this human male who I glibly wish to gut dishonor themselves, I remain rooted and silent.
