The Ilia's Lovers - Chapter Thirty-Two

Radiin Yitia sat on a plump coach in an extravagant room in a rather expensive beach front property. It wasn’t that Radiin wasn’t used to luxury, or even against it. It was that the Zenin didn’t really believe in over extravagance so despite being the member of a prominent Zenin family, he only experienced this kind of luxury when he was making unofficial diplomatic visits to members of other worlds. Over extravagance made Radiin feel uncomfortable.

If he matched with the Ilan’s lover, it wouldn’t really matter how he felt about displays of wealth. Amaran’s were over extravagant by nature and Radiin had seen the palace of light before, in images and videos.

The Ilan and his Adalan lover sat side by side on the coach across from Radiin. They were very close, intimate. Zenin didn’t really do public displays of affection, so their intimacy made him uncomfortable.

Radiin knew he would have to be intimate with the human to some degree. He shuddered. It wasn’t disgust, exactly. Humans were soft where Zenin females were firm. Radiin had never vrokked a human female, had never even considered it because most of them were slaves or traumatised by slavery, including the Ilan’s lover. Radiin imagined it would be hard for one of them to tolerate an alien, so had always avoided them. Not that it was hard, they were very rare. His feelings weren’t targeted at humans either, Radiin was the same with all the slave races.

Still, skin that soft. What Zenin could enjoy such a thing?

For Zen.

Radiin wondered if he would ever get used to it.

“You understand that Elaine will have several lovers. More if we can convince her. You will spend a lot of your time in their company, in our company. It is tradition for the lovers of the ruling trio to become a family. We look after each other. Protect each other. Love each other.”

They weren’t expecting him to vrok them, were they?

“I understand…. With, limits.”

The Ilan nodded.

“Everything on Amara is about consent. No one will ever ask you to do something you don’t want to do.”

Radiin nodded, feeling a little relieved.

If only he could talk to another Zenin who’d gone through this.

“Are you sure I can’t get you a drink?” the adalan asked.

Radiin shook his head again. “Thank you, no.”

“Elaine should be back soon. I got a message they were on their way a short while ago.”

Radiin nodded.

He overheard the conversation. There seemed to be an issue, though the person speaking said nothing of it. It was a tone.

“I think I hear the akoras now,” the adalan said.

Radiin turned towards the same landing platforms where an automated akora dropped him an hacri earlier. Closing his eyes, he concentrated.

“Several akoras. Lots of voices.” Radiin frowned. “Panic. They seem to be running.”

His scales tensed across his skin, a burning sting, then numb. His body prepared to protect itself.

“Running?”

The Ilan stood as he asked the question, the adalan following his lead, before they ran also.

Radiin followed and saw guards appear, seemingly melting from the walls as suddenly everyone in the house was running to the door.

Radiin exited after everyone else, hanging back so as not to be in the way. He descended the steps past the rock pool, down the small path and onto the beach. In front of him, the guards ran towards another group of guards. He paused, no, two sets of guards. Amarans and Adosians. Among them, two human females were almost completely surrounded, so Radiin got no sight of the female the Ilan wanted him to meet.

“Dahnus.”

Lavender silks and golden hair broke away from the guards.

She was small. So incredibly small and vulnerable.

Again, the burning sting of Radiin’s scales as they tried to harden his skin.

Protect.

The Ilan met her, swallowing her in a hug.

There was a vigorous debate before suddenly all the Amaran guards were heading to the akoras.

“Radiin.”

And so he was summoned.

Radiin broke into a run, across the sand and down the long pier to the several landing pads that floated like leaves on the water.

“The Ilan wants you in the same akora as him.” An Adosian shouted at him from another akora.

Radiin nodded. Seeing the red headed female and the small child as he passed.

So soft. How could a Zenin bear it.

Could he do this?

He didn’t mind the idea of sharing a mate. He was sure he wouldn’t care. Couldn’t comprehend that he would ever love a female like this, even if he was mated to her.

He climbed into the akora, a guard shutting the door behind him and settled in his seat.

Across from him, The Ilan sat on one side of the female, the adalan on the other.

So small.

She stared at him with dark blue eyes rimmed in red from crying. He felt a tug. Something passed between them.

“Dahnus?” she looked up at the Ilan and Radiin felt the loss of her eyes on him.

“Radiin Yitia. The Lady Elaine Franklin. Along with Lord Hadith Efari, she is one of my personal lovers.”

There was that tug again. It felt ugly this time. Angry, possessive.

Mine.

“May I ask what is troubling you, Lady Franklin?”

Radiin regretted the question as soon as her beautiful face crumpled.

“Lady Franklin, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine. There’s a Kuyon male. His prebond died. He recognised Elaine as the female who would have closed the bond.” It was the adalan that answered.

“Oh… Uh… I’m… so…”

Conflicted? Angry? Jealous?

“… sorry.”

“Yerim, I don’t have time for niceties. I need you to call Deshaia Medical Centre in Ba’hiim on Ket’Kitara and tell them to put Paydin Keldar in cryo.” The Ilan went quiet for a few sicri, listening. The Ilan wasn’t holding a device, so Radiin wasn’t sure how he was talking to anyone. “His prebond died, but his other prebond is my lover, Lady Franklin. Yes, I understand that. I have the resources to do that. I understand. Please let them know we are on the way and will need to be brought to Keldar to oversee the procedure. Yes. Thank you, Yerim, I owe you a personal favour for this.”

Ilan Dahnus tapped the bone behind his ear. Radiin realised his translator was also a comm. He’d never seen that before.

“Who was that?” Elaine asked, hope on her face, it broke Radiin’s heart to see it.

“Veshin Yerim Quedera. The ruler of Kuyon,” Radiin answered for her.

When she smiled, her whole face glowed.

Radiin sat back.

Her being human was no longer an issue, though he still wasn’t comfortable with the idea of soft skin. Instead, Radiin knew, he didn’t want to share her. Not a conversation, not a smile, not a look and not a moment.

More than ever, Radiin wasn’t sure if he could do this.

Ba’hiim wasn’t a large city, and the villa where the Ilan and his entourage were staying was set directly between Ba’hiim, the capital city, and Tayce, the resort where delegates from over fifty worlds were meeting to discuss humans, Earth and support or in the case of neutral worlds like Zen, if they should be supporting them at all.

Because of its size, it took a few metri to get to the hospital.

“My Ilan, we’ve been given special clearance to land,” the driver said.

“Thank you, Deamus,’ Dahnus responded.

“The hospital manager is coming to meet you,” Deamus replied.

Dragging his eyes from the small human tucked between the larger adalan and larger still male Amaran, Radiin looked out of the window to see they were landing on a spot on the building roof. As he watched, a door opened, and a Kuyon male surrounded by several other Kuyon walked out.

Radiin was struck by the differences between the Kuyon warriors, who were famed for their skills in battle and Kuyon who chose not to go through the warrior trials, or those who failed them. It was like they were two different cultures; it was apparent even in the way Kuyon dressed, acted and moved.

The akora set down on the roof landing pad, with several others getting close enough for the Ilan’s and his lovers security teams to drop to the roof, then rising to hover over the med facility. Some of the guards ran inside the building, pulling one of the Kuyon with them, obviously to secure the building for the Ilan and his lovers to enter while the Ilan walked forward to greet the hospital manager.

Radiin hovered to the rear, watching Lady Franklin taking support from Lord Efari.

A torrent of emotion raged through him.

He didn’t want this.

He wanted all of it.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

This was supposed to be a strictly diplomatic arrangement.

What was happening to him?

On a word, the entire party moved forward, heading to the doors, Radiin following.

They entered the building and went down two flights of stairs before bursting through the doors and onto a ward.

“The cryo team are already here, Lady Franklin. We’re waiting for you to give the word.”

“Me?” she replied.

“Yes, my lady. Even though you aren’t mated to him, he is your mate. We are recognising that legally, which means what happens next is your decision. Whether or not you want Cotti Paydin put into cryo, or if you will leave him to pass, naturally.”

“Pass… Dahnus?”

Lady Franklin’s voice was filled with panic. Radiin’s stomach lurched and a part of him wanted to take the decision for her, protect her.

“There is a possibility we can find a new mate for Cotti Paydin,” the Ilan reassured her. “If his body accepts him, then he won’t pass. But we need time to find a candidate, Elaine. Say the word, I will put in a formal request for a candidate immediately.”

The group went through a set of automatic doors and onto a ward. They walked past open wards, the entrances to which were blacked out for privacy by a security screen and down to the end where the director pushed through into a larger room than Radiin would have expected.

There was a large balcony outside filled with plants. The sound of the ocean filled the room, and there were totori, flying mammals, hopping from branch to branch outside. The room felt calm and peaceful.

A large Kuyon male, obviously a warrior, lay on a bed unconscious. His appearance shook Radiin. He’d seen Kuyon warriors. He had friends who were Kuyon warriors and had even lost a couple of friends after one of their prebond died, taking the other with him. There was no sign Gorni was sick. He simply shut down over the course of a few days, his body refusing to live without his prebond.

This male looked sick. Not just sick, he looked… abused. It was the only word Radiin could find when he tried to define it.

The male had dark rings under his eyes; his cheeks were gaunt. He was obviously a warrior, his short hair cut in the military style, but his muscles were much smaller than they should be. Radiin took a step closer and stifled a gasp. There were bruises. Subtle, fading, but there all the same.

Radiin felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. He turned and saw the Ilan watching him. They exchanged a knowing look.

If this male had experienced abuse at the hands of his prebond, then it would be much more difficult to find a new prebond for him.

“What happened to his prebond?” the Ilan asked.

The director looked at one of his doctors who stepped forward.

“Cotti Paydin killed him. We believe in self-defence. Though it’s still being looked into.”

“What happens if he did it?” Lady Franklin asked. She looked from face to face, her own fearful. “And why? Why would he do that?”

“There is no prosecution on Kuyon for a prebond who kills his or her prebond or bonded mate. Most times, the death of one member of a Kuyon triad is the death of them all. If the perpetrator survives, then it depends on the circumstances. Cotti Paydin’s superiors have sent his files. There was a long history of abuse from his mate. Cotti Paydin was in the process of distancing himself to break the bond.” The director ushered in two males guiding a cryo chamber into the room.

“They can do that?”

Lady Franklin broke away from Lord Efari and stepped to the side of the bed. She laid her hand on the Kuyon’s. Her light golden cream over his dark blue and stroked up his arm.

Radiin shut his eyes, struggling with the sight of his mate touching another male.

“It is difficult, but it can be done. It’s believed his mate resented the distance and hunted him down. Cotti Paydin was forced to kill him in self-defence.”

There was a sniff, then her shoulders began to shake. Lord Efari closed the distance and put his arms around her.

Radiin took a step back, even though every fibre in his being wanted to cross the distance and hold her, soothe her. Soothe her for grieving over the pain of another male. Her other mate.

How could he do this? A life of jealousy? A life of sharing what was his by right?

“Lady Franklin, I need a decision. You should know. The abuse he suffered means he will struggle to bond again. Not to mention his mental state,” The doctor said, shaking his head.

Lady Franklin looked down at the Kuyon, she was still touching him, still stroking his arm.

“Do it,” she said.

“Are you sure, Lady Franklin? It’s likely he will not thank you for this action.”

The human took in a breath and let it out slowly.

“Maybe not. But we’ll find a new mate.” She looked at the Ilan, a look of utter faith in her eyes. “We will find a new mate, and we’ll make him happy.”

The Ilan smiled.

“Happy like he has never experienced, Silla. I promise.”

Lady Franklin seemed to gain strength from the Ilan’s words.

“Do it.”

Everyone backed away and watched as the Kuyon was transferred into the cryo chamber and hooked up to it.

“A shuttle from my ship is arriving to pick him up now. I’ll have it land next to my akora.”

The director nodded, though it was obvious from the look in his eyes he was not happy with anything happening here.

As they left the room, guards appeared from the balcony. They were surrounded once again, the cryo pod gliding along on personal repulsors, Lady Franklin walking next to it, her hand on the cryo, her eyes moving back and forth from their path back to the roof, to the face of the male inside.

The shuttle was already waiting when they emerged back into daylight. Medical staff from the Ilan’s private cruiser stood to receive the cryo pod.

The director and his staff disappeared, while they stood on the roof watching the cryo be loaded, then as the shuttle lifted off.

Paydin Kelder had not asked for help. He would awaken on a totally different planet, having passed out, expecting never to wake again. Radiin couldn’t help but think the Kuyon would be furious when he awoke. Especially when they started shoving a new prospective mate under his nose.

They headed back to the akora. Around them, their personal security climbed into hovering akoras before they all lifted off.

The Amaran Ilan had a lot of weight to throw around and Radiin had just seen it happening for himself. He wasn’t sure of the morals at play and if he agreed with everything happening. From the look of self-doubt on Lady Franklin’s face, he could see she was asking herself the same questions.

At this point, it was done. They could only wait and see what the consequences were. Radiin still didn’t know if he would be there to see them.