Out of the Ashes (Maji 1)

Surkah bobbed her head.

“My father forbids my aunt-in-mate, his brother’s mate, and my mother from speaking to each other because they always argue no matter what the topic of conversation is. They even once fought, and when my father separated them, he had to roughly pull on my aunt’s arm to stop her from beating on my mother, and it sent my uncle straight to the edge at the sight of his brother not only handling his mate but also handling her roughly, so he attacked my father, and they fought viciously. Ten of my brothers were alive at that point, and it took seven of them to separate them. Since that day, my aunt and mother haven’t spoken. It’s been close to two hundred years, and they live in the same palace and see each other daily but act like the other doesn’t exist.”

I gasped. “Oh, my Almighty!”

Surkah smiled. “You seem shocked.”

“I am.” I nodded. “That is just unbelievable, and it’s just another thing for me to worry about with Kol.”

“Why is it a worry?”

I felt my own cheeks stain with heat.

“I don’t know if you noticed,” I murmured, “but I don’t follow orders all that well.”

Surkah smirked. “I think everyone has noticed.”

I playfully shoved her shoulder, making her giggle.

“I’m serious,” I continued. “What if I mess up all the time? I don’t know the Maji way, and now I’m promised to marry a prince. I don’t think you all understand how low ranked I am in Earth’s society. I just… I don’t want to be a disappointment to Kol or your people.”

“The people,” Surkah corrected. “The moment you agreed to be my brother’s intended, you became one of the people. You’re a Maji, Nova. The funniest looking one I have ever seen.”

Surkah’s teasing caused me to laugh loudly, and it drew the attention of the males on the bridge around us, though they never looked directly at us. I blushed deeper and tried to hide my face, but Surkah wouldn’t let me.

“Don’t be shy.” She chuckled. “Males won’t speak to you or look at you now that you have such a status. You’re going to be a princess of the people, you know?”

I felt like the ground fell away beneath me.

“A princess?” I questioned incredulously. “Me?”

I tried to imagine myself in the best of clothes, in the best of accommodation, spending time with the noblest of people, smiling, being bowed to and fawned over… and I felt sick at the very thought of it. Surkah nodded happily, oblivious to my internal meltdown.

“Kol is a prince,” she stated. “And as his intended, you will become a princess the moment your bond is sealed.”

I lifted my hands to my face and groaned into them.

“This is so much to absorb,” I grumbled. “It’s actually starting to hurt my head a bit.”

“The ache is just a side effect of warp that will pass soon,” Surkah assured me and patted my arm in a gesture of comfort. “You aren’t used to space travel, and though I’m not saying you’re weak, humans just aren’t as resilient as us Maji.”

“You can say that again,” I mumbled, rubbing my fingers in circular motions on my temples.

A few hours ago, after I agreed to be his intended, Kol gathered all the human women aboard and directed them to the sector of the Ebony called the concourse. A section of that room opened into a massive viewing pane that overlooked the Earth. He and the other Maji paid their respects to our soon-to-be fallen planet and the people on the surface that were doomed with it. Kol allowed us humans to grieve our planet with the comfort of other women and gifted us one last look at our home because we all knew we would never see if again.

Not long after that, we set off on course to Ealra, the planet that would soon become our new home world. When warp was activated, I got so lightheaded that I thought I would pass out for the hundredth time in a matter of days. Kol felt it was necessary for me to sit in his lap until I felt better enough to sit with Surkah. He overlooked the piloting from the shipmaster’s chair on the bridge of the Ebony, and when he wasn’t looking, I was overlooking him.

I felt like I was in a dream.

Days ago, I was wandering one of the many barren wastelands of Earth. Half starved and dirty to the bone. I was just trying my best to survive, and now I was under the care of a royal alien who had claimed me as his future wife. I had a tummy full of great food, and there wasn’t a speck of dirt in sight nor a hint of body odour. It was a dramatic upgrade, and despite my behaviour, I was indebted to the Maji for their care of my people and the future they offered us, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t hard to become accustomed to the many changes I was going through.

I suddenly had a family again; people who didn’t even really know me cared for me and treated me like I was someone special. I went from being on my own twenty-four seven and never trusting anyone to giggling with my future sister-in-law, and stealing glances at my future husband when I knew he was distracted. I didn’t know whether to feel incredibly lucky to be blessed with such a change in circumstances or like a complete idiot for considering fairy tales like this happened to a woman like me—a killer—and had a happy ending.

“You’re thinking hard, shiva.”

Goosebumps broke out over my skin the second his voice rolled over me.

“I do that a lot,” I told him.

I shivered when his hand curled around the nape of my neck. Surkah said goodbye to me as she stood, placed her hand on her chest, and bowed her head to her brother before she left with Mikoh as her escort. Everyone, barring Kol, gave her the same respectful bow she showed her brother as she left the bridge.

“Anything you want to ask me?” Kol asked, putting my focus back on him.

To amuse him, and his crew, I said, “Can I fly the craft?”

Everyone went silent around us.

Kol snorted. “No, you cannot pilot the craft.”

“Why not?” I quizzed. “I’d probably be great at it.”

“Or really bad at it.”

I ignored his teasing and the chuckles from his crew.

“We’ll never know until you let me fly it.”

“Then we’ll never know.”

I huffed and folded my arms across my chest.

“I’ll wear you down eventually.”

Kol laughed, and I saw some of his crew members shake their heads with smiles on their faces as they got back to work. I liked that. I liked that they just accepted me as Kol’s intended, and I liked that my teasing could amuse them. They were the people, and I really wanted them to like me.

“Are you ready to retire for the night?” he asked, his fingers softly brushing the sweet spot on my neck.

I gasped from both the action and his words.

“It’s night-time already?”

I was exhausted and had fought for hours to remain awake, but knowing I would be sleeping with Kol kept me on the edge of consciousness. We were going to share a room, and I knew that meant we’d share a bed.

“It is,” Kol replied, a hint of laughter in his tone.

“Oh.” I flushed from head to toe. “I am very tired, and I still have a bit of a headache.”

Kol raised a brow. “It sounds like you need a lot to rest, my little human.”

“Rest.” I repeatedly nodded my head. “So much rest.”

Kol extended his hand to me and waited. I clenched my hands a couple of times before I lifted my shaking hand and placed it in Kol’s steady one.

“Nova,” he murmured as he tugged me to my feet.

“Yes?” I whispered, placing my free hand on his armoured sleeve.

He brushed lose strands of hair from my face. “I won’t touch you intimately without consent. Please do not be afraid because we will share furs. I will be the perfect male. I won’t even sneak a peek when you’re undressing.”

I choked on air, and it caused laughter to rumble from Kol.

“I swear on my honour to not touch you,” he continued.

That’s interesting.

Vorah also swore on his honour when I asked if we could go slow in our forbidden bonding. I was beginning to gather that it was the Maji way of giving your word to someone. On Earth, amongst humans, your word was only as good as the person who spoke it, but to the Maji, it seemed to be a real badge of honour. As if their self-worth was on the line if they went back on their word. I liked it. I liked how much pride was in Kol’s voice when he swore on his honour. I knew a Maji like him had plenty of honour and to swear on it wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

“Okay, Kol,” I said, softly. “I… I trust you.”

I hadn’t spoken those words to another being since my father was alive, and what was more shocking was that I meant them. In many ways, Kol was still a stranger to me. I knew next to nothing about him, but part of me felt safer with him than I ever had in my entire life. My gut told me I could trust him, and I always trusted my gut. It hadn’t steered me wrong yet.

“I value your trust, shiva.”

I smiled up at him, and an expression of shock and… longing crossed his face.

“What is it?” I asked, concerned.

He moved his hand from my neck to cup my cheek.

“You’re beautiful when scowling,” he murmured, rubbing his thumb over my skin. “But when you smile? Thanas. You take my breath away, shiva.”

Never in my entire life had I had the urge to kiss another person, but the need to kiss Kol at that moment flowed like blood through my veins.

“Kol,” I rasped.

He closed his eyes and growled.

“Do not say my name in that needy voice,” he said, his voice almost pleading. “I am only a male, shiva.”

I surprised us both when I giggled.

Kol opened his eyes and stared down at me. “Shall we retire?”

I exhaled a deep breath. “Yes, Shipmaster.”

Kol’s lips twitched. “I think this is the first time you have complied with my request.”

“The second,” I teased. “The first time I complied was when I agreed to be your intended.”

His smile was a thing of beauty.

“My intended,” he murmured.

I heard a noise behind me, and I almost instantly remembered we were on the bridge of the Ebony with the bridge crew all around us. I felt my body flush with embarrassment from head to toe.

Kol laughed. “Come.”

He spoke some last orders to his crew, and I jumped a little when, in unison, the males pressed their right arm to their chests and bowed their head in respect to their shipmaster and prince.