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The newcomer—Rem’eb—does not look pleased to see me, either. He straightens, glaring at me up and down. “This is your suitor?”
“What? No!” T’ia makes a face at the back of his head. “Don’t pull that jealous shit. I told you, he’s in the same position I’m in. Everyone’s resonated but us. That doesn’t mean we’re together.” She eyes R’slind with a look of pure confusion. “Not sure where she came from, though.”
I immediately step in front of my mate, not liking the fierceness of this Rem’eb. “R’slind was held captive as I was. We were held in a cage below until we were freed by Set’nef.” I pause, hoping that my words do not upset T’ia. “R’slind is my mate. We have resonated to each other.”
Her eyes widen, but she only nods. “Well, that explains…that.” She flicks a hand at my cock, which remains yet hard and aching. “Can you put some pants on at least?”
“I have no pants.”
“That should have been obvious. Not sure why I asked,” T’ia mutters. She taps on the male’s arm again. “Rem’eb, please. You’re making everyone nervous.” She turns to us, gesturing at him with the club. “Everyone, this is Rem’eb. He helped me escape from the city.”
“Rem’eb the Fist,” the male corrects stiffly. “Now Rem’eb the Betrayer.” He glances at T’ia, his eyes full of emotion. “I have made my choice and I will endure the shame it will bring my house.”
Noj’me pushes forward, a startled expression on her face. “Rem’eb the Fist! Of all those I expected to see here, I am surprised to see you most of all. What will your father think?”
“My father held Tia the Stranger captive,” Rem’eb says in his tight voice. His shoulders are stiff, his posture proud and angry. Even so, I notice he cannot help but step in front of T’ia, as if he seeks to protect her from us. “He thought to hold her against her will, and that she would make strong kits. So he kept her separate, only allowing myself in to see her and bring her food. That way, if she resonated, it would be to me and me alone. I have spent time with her and learned some of her words, and I have come to see that it is wrong to keep her against her will. So I have brought her here to return to her people.” He gives me another sour look. “And her suitor.”
“Oh my god, how many times do I have to say that he’s not my suitor?” T’ia rolls her eyes in frustration. “I can understand everything Rem’eb says but he can’t understand me at all. Do you know what’s up with that?”
“I know not why it is up,” I admit. “I have had difficulty with Set’nef and his brother as well. But we manage to communicate. Noj’me can speak my tongue, though. She can communicate to him for you.”
T’ia brightens, turning to Noj’me. “Oh good. Please tell him that R’jaal is my friend but not my lover.”
Noj’me turns to me, a puzzled look on her face. “This not…oracle tongue.”
“She asks that you tell Rem’eb that she has no mate. Tell him that I resonate to R’slind and my cock is only for her.”
“Oh boy,” R’slind mutters behind me and T’ia snickers.
Rem’eb listens as all of this is conveyed, and he shoots me a look that seems to hold many emotions—one of them relief. I notice that he pushes T’ia behind him again with one hand, the same way I push R’slind behind me with mine, and wonder if he seeks to make her his after all. T’ia does not seem afraid of him, at least. Rem’eb nods at Noj’me’s words. “I am glad she will be safe here with a friend, then. Now I must return.”
“Return?” Tal’nef sounds openly skeptical. “With news of our betrayal as well? Your father will be furious that you did not stop us.”
“And that I have left my post,” Noj’me adds.
“He will not forgive me, either,” Rem’eb agrees, his expression grave. “But he is my father and I must return to him to accept my punishment. I only journeyed this far to ensure that Tia the Stranger was safely returned to her people. Now that you are back, I can leave her in peace.”
T’ia doesn’t look happy about this, though. She touches Rem’eb’s arm again and shakes her head. “Rem’eb, no.”
He gives T’ia a heartfelt look and takes her hand in his. “It has been the joy of my life to get to know you.”
“Don’t go. Please.”
He lifts her hand and brings it to his cheek, smiling at her. Then he releases it and turns away, gazing at Set’nef, Tal’nef and Noj’me. “My father will have sent others to come looking for you as well as for me. I will return and stop them, but I would suggest you not be here in the forbidden garden just in case.”
