Chapter Twenty-Seven

I awoke with a jolt, my shoulder searing with pain and my pulse roaring in my ears. My hand instinctively came up to my wound, yet a quick prod made it obvious I was fine. A low whine drew my attention to the massive furry head laying on my lap. I blinked at Sal’aphel for a moment, then glanced a little to his side. Both Rel and Jysel were propped up against his ribs, fast asleep.

This is…? I looked around the room a moment. Their ‘sanctuary,’ right? How did I get here?

I rubbed Sal’aphel’s head as I pieced together what happened. Capture, Y’serdyn’s ship, an attack, falling through the sky, Y’serdyn diving after me, power…darkness.

Loss of blood, or kuhir-dal? I frowned, before shifting to get out of bed. Gently, I attempted to nudge Sal’aphel’s head off my lap, opened my mouth to speak, then winced. Fuck my throat is scratchy…

Sal’aphel started whining more as I went to get up, then promptly leapt to his feet and caught me against his fluffy chest when I stumbled from dizziness.

“Sal’aphel, ow…” Jysel groaned. Then, there was a sharp intake of breath. “Wait. Where is Elara?”

The fluffy creature promptly levitated me onto his back, then turned to face his masters, tail swishing and ears perked forward.

“You’re awake!” The twins exclaimed, before Jysel smiled and scratched both sides of Sal’aphel’s jaw. “Good boy, you caught her.”

“Where were you going?” Rel demanded, his brow creased with worry. “You shouldn’t be up yet.”

Pouting, I pointed at my throat and thought at them, I need a drink and didn’t want to wake you two up. You looked too cute snuggled up with Sal’aphel.

Rel flushed and strode over, putting a hand on Sal’aphel’s shoulder. “Sal’aphel…show Elara to the restroom and see to it she doesn’t wander. Bring her back here when she’s done. I’ll go make breakfast. Jysel, come with me—I’m going to make her a drink, and you will bring it to her.”

After I’d washed up, splashing my face with cold water in an attempt to regain alertness, I let Sal’aphel guide me over to a seating area. However, the moment the giant creature laid down, he used his psychokinesis to rest me against his ribcage instead of any of the available seats. His fluffy tail whipped around to cover my lap as he curled around me, his nose a few inches to my right. I sighed, giving the creature a lopsided smile, before resigning myself to scratching his head.

“You had us worried,” Jysel stated, returning, his tone harsh. A look of discomfort crossed his face, and he glanced away. “That didn’t come out right. We… uh…”

“Your concern is noted.” I raised an eyebrow at him as he continued to struggle with himself. “Do us both a favor and just…be you? I don’t need coddling. We’ve been over this.”

Jysel pouted at that, his eyes fiery. “Coddling you and treating you with respect are different things. I know that with the wrong use of tone I can come off…how would the humans say it…like… Like an asshole? I know I’m hotheaded, at times, but I don’t want you to feel hurt by anything I say or how I say it. That’s all.”

Respect? I blinked at him. That wasn’t exactly something I’d given conscious thought to until that moment. Thinking about it, I realized that I wasn’t sure how many people treated me with respect, let alone if it was genuine. “…anyway, can you fill me in on what happened? The last thing I remember is falling from the sky.”

“Maybe Rel would be better at that…” Jysel hesitated, before hastily handing me my drink and moving out of range. He continued to fidget with his hands and clothes, his tail flicking in nervousness.

I studied him for a moment, not sure what to make of his behavior. “Did I…do something bad while I was unconscious? You seem…”

“Uh… No, not…bad.” Darker blue crept up his neck, his face, and ears as his glow wavered between bright blue, pink, then settled on silver. “We discovered your nightmares go away if you experience physical touch. But, how do I say this…”

“What my overly bashful brother is trying to say, is that your hands wander, Elara,” Rel declared as he rolled a trolley of food into the room. He shot a triumphant smirk at his blushing twin, then turned his attention to me. “Thus, we decided to let Sal’aphel comfort you instead. There was no rest to be had for either of us otherwise.”

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“Oh… Sorry?” I offered, not entirely sure if they wanted or needed an apology.

“You can make it up to me, or us, later,” Rel suggested, his smirk broadening. “For now, eat. We’ll brief you while we have our breakfast.”

Briefing me over breakfast turned into over an hour of explaining the Y’serdyn, what happened to his ship, what the Syldrari Sector was—namely, a cityship, of all things— and the steps Citomy was taking. Then, there was the matter of Zafir, my team, Sarah, Amara, and Erik’s squadron.

By the time they were done, I’d lost track of anything specific I wanted to know or wanted an expanded explanation of. The important bits were that I was in one piece, as were those important to me. Even if it seemed…odd.

“So… You said you’re working on a plan to get offworld?” I finally asked.

Rel raised a finger to his lips and winked. “A plan we can’t share with you as of yet. Consider yourself…a luxury guest at the moment. We will make sure you’re comfortable, satisfied…but most of the sector is off limits. Including our plans.”

“We should at least let her see where we are,” Jysel pointed out. “I can’t risk showing my face yet, but you can show her…right?”

Rel sighed and rose to his feet. “If Elara is feeling up to it. You’ll wait here with Sal’aphel, I take it?”

“Yes. I need to gather my thoughts,” Jysel grumbled, his gaze averted.

Rel smirked but said nothing more on the matter. Instead, he offered me a hand up and pulled me into his chest. He rested his hand questionably low down my back before looking to his brother. “Would you mind checking in with Casair and Aldiner while we’re out? They should have finished their tasks by now.”

Jysel gave him a begrudging nod, then Rel led me into an adjacent room. Instead of continuing onward, Rel slowed to a stop and glanced down at me. “It would be best if you were dressed.”

“Hmm…? Oh.” I looked at myself, then to Rel. “Who undressed me?”

“The doctors, this time,” Rel answered dryly, his hand drifting down to cup one of my ass cheeks, a self-satisfied smile spreading across his lips. “Dress. Otherwise, there are only so many activities we can do.”

“Are you trying to convince or discourage me?” I raised an eyebrow, skeptical, even as I conjured a sleek ruby red body suit from my wardrobe module. Rel’s gaze drifted briefly, before snapping up to my face.

“A little of both. Shall we?” Rel mused, motioning with his free hand toward a pattern of glowing markings on the floor.

I nodded, letting him guide me over to the ‘transport array.’ Once through it, I found myself in a familiar part of the Syldrari Sector, near Rel’s cafe. People bustled everywhere, wearing what looked to be some form of uniform. Very few people wore casual attire, and most who did appeared to be children or teens.

Rel led me down a few streets to what I knew as the ‘sector gap’ between the Syldrari Sector and its neighboring sector. However, instead of Lucdra’s repetitive buildings, there was the wing of a ship sloping downward from the edge of the sector, separated from us by some clear material I could feel but not see. The open sky filled most of my vision, but looking a little more to the west, I spotted the ruins of Grand Anldu. For a moment, I simply stared, unsure what to feel about what I was seeing. My head swarmed with questions, until I eventually settled on one.

My eyes narrowed, a small frown came to my lips. “Why are we this far…?”

“If Citomy’s court can’t calm her, there’s no telling how much damage her resonance weapon will do. We haven’t been able to acquire the schematics,” Rel spoke in soft, calming tones, stroking my hip with his thumb as he did so. “We need a few weeks to put our plan into action. I need you to be patient and cooperative.”

“No promises. Even over here, we’re going to have problems with the Creshe Empire, Citomy, the ‘cult,’ and these pirates…right?” I eyed him. There was no way in hell it was as easy as he made it sound.

“Speaking of which, the Y’serdyn wants to speak with you. Something about ‘apologizing for his forward behavior?’”

I arched an eyebrow at that. “I assume he means the whole kissing me and shoving his tongue down my throat to keep up appearances thing.”

The corner of Rel’s eye twitched. “That…would do it, yes. Such intimacy is…” he sighed and rubbed his temples with his free hand. “A sign of dominance, never to be done with a queen. I understand why he chose that but honestly…”

“…there’s rules for ‘how’ to kiss a queen? Oh, for fuck’s sake!” I rolled my eyes, rounding on Rel. “Next, you’re going to tell me there’s rules for ‘other’ things too.”

“Well…” Rel cleared his throat and shook his head. “That is a discussion for later. For now, why don’t we go see how the others are doing? Zafir and your team are worried about you.”

I’d rather… I let the thought go as I studied Rel. He looked a little too exhausted for any of the things I had on my mind. I gave him a small smile. “Fine, I suppose I shouldn’t sequester myself away. But first, where will I be staying?”

“Where you awoke, preferably. If you require company…hmmm…” Rel rubbed his chin. “Both Jysel and I would be more than happy to stay with you, especially if it helps ease your nightmares. We will need to discuss your boundaries first given your ‘wandering hands’ problem.”

“Fair enough,” I remarked. “Okay then, lead the way. Let’s see if we can ease everyone’s worries a bit.”

“You’re sure you’re alright?” Rel asked quietly, keeping me stationary when I tried to start walking.

I looked up at him again, inquisitive. “Yes? I feel like I slept too long, but that’s my only real complaint. There’s no lingering pain in my shoulder, and the attack pissed me off more than anything.”

“Yes…the Y’serdyn did mention something about you being more furious than your kuhir-dal…” Rel murmured curiously. After a moment, he shook his head and gave me a smile. “Very well. I won’t pry, for now. However, if you find yourself mentally struggling, I want you to come to us with it. I’m more than happy to help you through whatever struggles you might come across—including those which are ongoing.”

I gave him a crooked smile in return. “Thank you, Rel. I’ll keep that in mind.”