Hated. It.
“Princess Nova.” The Revered Father smiled, revealing a small indent of a scar curved around the right side of his mouth. “Welcome to our family.”
I did the arm over chest thing everyone did when they encountered Kol and Surkah, and with my head bowed, I said, “Thank you very much, Revered Father. I am honoured.”
“So respectful,” the Hailed Mother beamed. “I adore her already.”
When I stood upright, the Hailed Mother surprised me by hugging me once more, which made everyone chuckle. When we separated, she came to my side, and to her son, Ezah, she said, “Greet you sister-in-mate.”
Ezah didn’t move a muscle.
Kol’s smile slowly slipped from his face, and a frown replaced it.
“Brother,” he murmured. “What is wrong?”
“You mated outside our species,” Ezah replied. “That is what’s wrong, brother.”
Kol blinked. “You … you have a problem with my mating?”
“Yes,” Ezah quipped. “I do.”
I expected Kol to growl, shout, or at the very least agree with his brother, but he looked so shocked, all he could do was stare at him, unblinking.
“What problem do you have?” Surkah demanded.
“He is royal,” Ezah snarled, looking at me as he answered his sister. “He cannot taint his bloodline with … with … it.”
Fuck you too, buddy.
“Ezah!” the Revered Father suddenly barked. “Cruel words harm females!”
Ezah dropped his head and said, “My apologies, Father.”
I felt Kol’s anger spike, and I just knew he would attack Ezah, so I shot forward, and wrapped my arms around him, hoping to contain him before he exploded with rage.
“Don’t!” I screeched.
He viciously growled, but I didn’t release him.
“Nova,” he snarled. “Move aside.”
I squeezed his waist tighter. “I hate it when you fight. Please!”
“Ezah! Look what you have done!” the Hailed Mother bellowed. “You have ruined our first meeting with our daughter-in-mate. I am very disappointed in you, my son.”
Ezah didn’t reply to his mother, and a peek at him told me he didn’t really care what she had to say, which I knew was a big deal because everyone heeded the Hailed Mother and Revered Father’s words, even their children.
“Apologise!” Kol demanded of his brother. “You have hurt her feelings. I feel her pain as if it were my own!”
Still, Ezah remained mute.
Killi suddenly rounded on me and Kol, coming face to face with Ezah, and growled. I heard them conversing in hushed tones with snarling mixed in-between. Killi grunted when Ezah suddenly shoved him back out of his space. Without a word, the big guy turned and stormed up the steps of the palace entryway, taking the steps three at a time. We all watched him go, and after he had disappeared through the palace doors, all eyes fell on Kol.
“Shiva,” he said to me as he glared up at the palace doors. “Get acquainted with my parents. I must go and speak to my brother.”
I didn’t want him to leave me, but I understood that he wanted to resolve things with his brother as soon as possible. For my sake and for his.
“You go,” I said, giving his arm a squeeze. “I’ll be fine.”
Without another word, Kol took off up the steps, taking them three at a time like Ezah. When he was no longer in sight, I turned to his parents and smiled nervously.
“Well … your home is beautiful.”
“It is your home now too, Nova,” the Hailed Mother exclaimed happily. “Come, we will give you a mini tour while Kol and Ezah converse.”
I smiled when she hooked her arm around mine and led me towards the staircase with a spring in her step. A glance around and the visual of smiles on everyone’s face, even Mikoh’s, told me the bust up like what just happened with Ezah and Kol was a normal occurrence … but in the back of my mind, something told me a quick chat with Ezah wouldn’t change anything.
The male seemed to hate me, and I doubt even Kol could talk him around.
So much for a big happy family.
Fourteen living rooms, sixteen cleansing rooms, six kitchens, six servant quarters, nineteen stairways that led to the second floor, ten stairways that led underground, twelve relaxation rooms, eight sun rooms, six libraries—each were full of textbooks!—and four rooms that were made for pets, but the pets, I did not see. Thank Almighty. What I also didn’t see was the rest of the first floor because my feet began to ache so badly that the ‘mini tour’ had to be halted so my little legs could take a break.
Surkah commented that we had barely made a dent in exploring the palace, and that blew me away.
I didn’t think the palace would ever do anything other than wow me. It was huge. Like, fucking huge. If I ventured off on my own without food and water, I could easily die before I ever found my way to the outside. It seemed to be massively big just for the sake of it. Nearly all the rooms we entered were empty, except for servants who were dusting and cleaning with smiles on their face.
The servants were dressed better than any of the wealthiest people I had ever encountered on Earth, so that told me the Maji looked after their own, and I liked that. I liked that a whole lot. I didn’t get why the palace needed to be so big, but I wasn’t going to question it. I would roll with it and pray to Almighty that I never found myself wandering the hallways alone.
“Nova?”
I flinched and jerked my gaze to the Hailed Mother when she spoke my name.
“Yes, Hailed Mother?”
She smiled, dimples creasing her cheeks. “You may call me Mother.”
I knew better than to politely reject her because I would most likely end up offending her without meaning to, so I simply smiled in response.
“You are very beautiful,” she continued. “My son is very lucky.”
I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. “Thank you … Mother.”
The Hailed Mother, who had my hands in hers and was playing with my fingers, asked, “Do you think you’re pregnant yet?”
I felt my jaw drop at her question, and for once, I was at a loss for words.
“Mother,” Surkah quietly chided. “You cannot ask her questions like that. Humans are not as bold as we are when it comes to such topics.”
The Hailed Mother clicked her tongue. “There is no need to shy away from such topics. What is more natural to converse about than pregnancy?”
Surkah shot me a look that said Sorry, I tried then she shrugged her shoulders at her mother’s question.
“I, um …” I cleared my throat. Twice. “I do not think I am pregnant … Mother. Kol and I … well, we, um … we just had sex one time when we mated.”
“But you mated days ago!” the Hailed Mother exclaimed. “I mated with my mate over one hundred times by our fifth mated day. Why have you not mated my son more? Is the sex bad? Does he not bring you pleasure? I can have my mate talk with him if he needs tips to pleasure a female.”
Almighty.
“Mother!” Surkah scowled. “Look at how red her face is. She is embarrassed.”
The Hailed Mother rolled her orange and silver eyes heavenward. I had found myself staring at them more than a few times since I noticed them. The colour combination was so unlike anything I had ever seen. It was unusual but also absolutely gorgeous. A thick ring of shimmery silver wrapped around the blackened pupil and an ombré effect began as the silver blended into vibrant orange. They were captivating.
I shook myself out of my trance and focused on the Hailed Mother’s words.
“She will adjust and get used to our openness.”
I really doubted that.
“Kol needs no lessons on pleasuring me,” I choked out, the words difficult to speak. “He is very … skilled.”
I couldn’t believe I was telling Kol’s mother that he was a skilled lover. He would be so embarrassed if he ever found out. I never planned on telling him, and neither w
ould Surkah if I had any say in the matter.
“Then why have you not shared sex more?” she asked me, a brow raised.
Even though I was extremely uncomfortable with the topic of choice, I could see that the Hailed Mother was not asking such personal questions because she was teasing me. It was, in fact, quite the opposite. She was genuinely interested in what she was asking. I didn’t know how to feel about that. I mean, it was her son’s sex life she was prying into.
“Well”—I gulped—“after the first time, I was very … tender. I was a virgin, a vilo, before Kol, and he has given me space because of that, but also to adjust to being mated. I have experienced things I never thought possible through our mating, and my body is sometimes overwhelmed since I am not used to the changes. I guess … I guess he is taking it easy on me.”
The Hailed Mother bunched her hands together and leaned them under her chin, smiling wide.
“He is such a caring male.”
“He truly is,” I agreed bashfully. “I am … I am blessed he picked me. I never ever dreamed of having a romantic relationship, but the one I have with your son, though it’s brand new and we have a lot to learn about one another, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the cosmos. I’m coming to love it.”
I’m falling in love with it.
With him.
“I am overjoyed for you both,” the Hailed Mother beamed. “I thought Surkah would be my first child to mate, since none of my sons paid me much attention when I spoke of mates, especially Kol, but his mating to you has given me hope.”
“Hope?” I questioned. “Hope for what?”
“Hope for grand-offspring!” She squealed and clapped her hands too excitedly.
Was this lady already thinking about grandchildren?
I swallowed. “I, uh, I don’t it will happen right away … We haven’t discussed it yet.”
Surkah raised a brow at me. “Humans discuss when they want to have offspring?”
Doesn’t everyone?
I nodded. “Yes.”