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He locked gazes with me. I held his without flinching. He nodded in concession then cast a worried look at Keran who was removing his shirt. The Magnar looked back at me with a troubled, almost vulnerable glint in his black eyes.
“Take good care of my son,” he said in a soft voice.
“I will. I promise,” I vowed.
He smiled and, to my complete shock, gently caressed my cheek in a paternal fashion before leaving. I closed the door behind him. As soon as it clicked shut, Keran’s shoulders slouched. All his strength and energy appeared to drain out of him.
“Keran!” I whispered, panic filling my voice as I rushed to his side.
Slipping an arm around his back, I helped him sit at the edge of the bed. Palms resting on the mattress on each side of him, Keran struggled to keep himself straight. I kneeled before him to take off his boots then helped him lie down. He crawled up the bed to rest his head on the big, fluffy pillows. His chest vibrated with a growl of relief. As Keran loved sleeping naked, I considered ridding him of his pants but decided against it. It would ask too much effort on his part after the strain he’d already subjected himself to.
As I pulled the blanket over him to tuck him in, he grabbed my hand.
“Stay with me,” he whispered, his voice slightly slurred as if he was fighting to stay awake.
“Of course,” I replied.
I kicked off my shoes and swiftly pulled off my dress before climbing into the bed with him. The searing heat of his bare chest against mine had a delightful shiver run down my spine. It had been too long since I’d felt the warmth of his embrace. I hated that it should happen under such circumstances.
To my dismay, Keran didn’t just let me lie by his side but almost pulled me on top of him. Considering his injuries, I didn’t think it was a good idea, but he tightened his embrace when I tried to pull away. A contented purr rose from his throat.
“Thank you, my Dassa,” Keran whispered, before closing his eyes.
Emotion constricting my throat, I gently kissed the corner of his jaw before resting my head on his chest. Listening to the steady beating of his heart, I thanked the Goddess for safely bringing us back home.
Chapter 30
Dawn
In the days that followed, Keran recovered at a snail’s pace. Despite the effectiveness of the healing nanobots and the surgery he underwent, he still couldn’t resume his combat training or perform any overly strenuous activities. Under different circumstances, I’d be laughing at his restlessness. Having always led an active life, Keran couldn’t sit still for very long. And the truth was that, like most Braxian males, the Prince needed to partake in regular—and preferably violent—physical activities to vent the excess energy he possessed.
The Veredian healer would not be here for some time. After much discussion, it had been agreed that one of their most powerful healers would come here. She happened to be Mercy’s own mother, Maheva. As Prince Zerien had been visiting their home world to strengthen the alliance between their people, he offered to bring her along on his way here to discuss the tragedy that had occurred on Haven.
From all accounts, Zerien was livid. Obviously, he wanted to address the matter in person and reassure the Braxians of his continued commitment to this alliance. However, even at the fastest warp speed, it would still take close to three weeks to complete the journey from Veredia to Braxia. As other Veredian ships were currently even farther away, this remained the best solution.
In the meantime, when not looking after Keran—who was enjoying it despite complaining that I was babying him—I would split the rest of my time between giving testimony to the Council, helping the hybrids settling in, and getting to know the members of Keran’s clan as well as their customs and way of living. It was one thing to read and watch documentaries about a people, and a completely different one to actually live among them. But so far, I was loving every minute of it.
Braxians had indeed come a long way over the nineteen years since Ravik had forbidden the hunting and mistreatment of hybrids. The economic revolution brought about by Mercy finally giving the Braxian females’ underground trade market the visibility it deserved played a non-negligible part in improving women’s place and rights in their society. My mind bubbled with excitement at all the ways I could further help improve their role, education, and opportunities within their clans and society at large.
But before I indulged in that future project, my focus remained on my fellow hybrids. Ravik had not been kidding when he claimed they had been provided proper accommodations. They were more than respectable. Although they called the location the barracks, it was in fact a humongous hotel-like establishment usually reserved for the intergalactic warriors who visited Braxia for their biannual gladiator games.
The gigantic building could house more than two thousand guests. It had a large cafeteria, training room, indoor pool, and entertainment room with everything one could want. It was also located a stone’s throw away from the smaller combat arena behind the Magnar’s fortress. Over time, they had built a far bigger arena right outside the city walls in order to welcome far more guests as their population grew. This smaller arena was now mostly reserved for the training of the Magnar’s royal guard.
I had greatly worried that the men would feel imprisoned in the barracks, gilded cage though it was. Thankfully, they did not. It probably had to do with some of the most respected pureblood Elders visiting them regularly not only to share with them the various opportunities that could open for those among them who chose to remain here, but also to listen to their grievances, the pain they suffered, and their aspirations. It proved quite therapeutic for many of them to feel heard at last.
Like me, they weren’t allowed to freely roam around the compound or even go visit their respective clans—not that too many seemed overly eager to do the latter. The effects of the compulsion still lingered. As we couldn’t be certain that Deimos hadn’t implanted some dormant command that could be triggered at any time, it was safer for everyone concerned to keep us partially quarantined. Once again, the Veredians would save the day, as they had accounted for one of their own mind readers to accompany Maheva here. She would be able to free us of any mind-control and indoctrination we had sustained. Considering how well we were being taken care of, the extra couple of weeks we had to wait for their arrival didn’t faze anyone.
From a selfish point of view, I had to admit that beyond enjoying all that I was also learning from these visiting Elders, they gave me an excuse to hide from my father. I’d never considered myself a coward, but the thought of meeting with him terrified me. My emotions didn’t really make much sense. A part of me wanted to impress him and feared he would find me lacking in some way. The other—despite knowing that the laws had changed, and that he could no longer claim me as property—still dreaded that he might try to do just that. As his clan had finally gotten back into the good graces of Keran’s family, I didn’t want a conflict involving me to create a new rift. But I would never submit to the kind of control their females had endured for so long.
And then a third part of me didn’t want to end up being the one disappointed by who my sire might turn out to be. My entire life, I had always assumed that he was the same type of bigoted and cruel monster that my half-brother Gerwin had been. Keran correcting that misconception had made me wonder if maybe there could be a future where my father could become a part of my life. Watching Ravik and Krygor with their respective daughters had stirred a deep longing I never thought a woman my age could still have. At forty-four, you’d think I’d be over having daddy issues.
On the fifth day, my lucky streak of dodging my father came to an end. Or rather he took away my ability to do so. On my way out of the barracks after spending a few hours with the hybrids, I found him standing by the entrance. My heart skipped a beat, and a wave of panic surged through me. This was too soon. I didn’t feel ready for any of this.
But what are you going to do? Run away like a wuss?
Shame burned my cheeks that I would even contemplate fleeing a mere conversation. Considering what I had just faced on Haven without falling apart, surely I had enough spine to handle whatever would come of a conversation with my sire?
Our gazes locked, a dare shining bright in his. It stung my pride that he would guess at the cowardly thoughts crossing my mind. I lifted my chin defiantly and marched towards him with a confidence I absolutely did not feel. However, the glimmer of approval in his eyes as I approached comforted me in the fact that I was apparently pulling it off well enough.
