Out of the Ashes (Maji 1)

“She… She was crying… and I wanted her to stop.”

Thane stared at Kol, and he waited about two-point-five seconds before he burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

“You’ve… gone… insane.”

My lips twitched as Thane bent forward and whacked his hand against his knee as he laughed. I didn’t mind that I was the source of his laughter. I quickly realised that women… females, have a very long way to go before the males of the Maji race will see them on an equal level. To be honest, I didn’t think the males would ever see the females as something other than gems to protect. And I wasn’t sure that it was a bad thing.

“I am still in my right mind,” Kol growled.

“You’re not,” Thane insisted, still laughing. “You’re letting a female pilot the Ebony because you wanted her to stop crying.”

Kol scowled. “She is my mate; it pains me when she cries.”

“That is why I won’t ever take a mate,” Thane said with an amused chuckle. “The only female I will let rule me is the Ebony.”

Kol tensed. “Nova does not rule me.”

Thane deadpanned, and it only caused Kol to scowl at him harder, and that made me laugh. Thane switched his gaze to me, and he beamed a huge smile. It was a gorgeous smile even if he did have sharper gold-capped teeth than what I was used to.

Kol suddenly growled, and almost instantly, Thane dropped his gaze from me, but he was still smiling.

“You have tamed him, princess.”

Kol grumbled something under his breath that made Thane snicker.

I sighed. “I don’t believe this one will ever be tamed; he is prepared to attack every male I glance at.”

“He won’t be like this forever.” Thane winked. “Your mating is fresh. After a few decades, his instincts will calm, and he won’t be bothered if other males look at you and speak to you… within reason, of course.”

“A few decades?” I spluttered.

Thane laughed. “At least five.”

Normally, that kind of talk would prompt me to say ‘I’ll be dead in five decades’, but Surkah has assured me many times since Kol and I became mates four days ago that the chemical essence of my bond with him would slow my aging dramatically. She had no proof other than a reading her lissa thing projected to her. For Kol and every other Maji, Surkah’s word was as much proof as they needed as she was a healer, but for me, it didn’t hold much promise or make a lot of sense. It made as much sense as being able to hear Kol’s thoughts and feel his emotions. I was either going to be young for very long time or get old and wrinkly sooner than the Maji thought.

Only time would tell.

“It’ll take him that long to calm his ass down? Are you kidding me?”

Kol belly laughed along with Thane.

“I’m not Human, shiva.”

“Yeah, you’ve said that a million times, but how different you are is still baffling. I honestly don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. You’re a complete weirdo, mate.”

Kol stared down at me then lifted his hands to my face, rubbing his thumbs over my cheeks before he lowered his mouth to mine. Almost instantly, I leaned up on my tiptoes and returned his kiss. My arms went around his waist, and my lips moved with his. I hummed when I parted my lips, and his tongue snaked inside. When he pulled back from our kiss, he was making that rough purring sound I loved so much.

Kol chuckled softly. Placing the tip of his nose against the tip of mine, he dragged the tip up the bridge of my nose before he stopped at the point between my eyes. He pulled back slightly and replaced the tip of his nose with his lips as he planted a gentle kiss. My stomach instantly burst into butterflies. Kol had done that very action the morning after our mating. I had woke up, and he did the exact thing with his nose on mine, and when I asked him what he was doing, he told me it was a mate kiss, a sacred gesture between mates and cherished family members. He explained it as an action of deep love between mates.

I was greatly touched by the action, and the meaning and emotion behind it, but I quickly turned the conversation to our being able to hear each other’s thoughts and began to learn all about that part of being a Maji’s mate. I didn’t want to discuss love with Kol because I wasn’t anywhere near that point with him to be able to say it. He hadn’t told me he loved me, but I knew he was very close to doing so. I knew our mating was different for him; it had a completely different effect on him. He didn’t just feel possessive of my body; he felt possessive of my heart, too. Our mating didn’t only ensure he was mine, and I was his, but it gave me his heart without asking if I wanted it. I knew I had to be very careful, or I’d break it.

He regained my attention when he kissed me once more, and it caused me to hum with delight.

His kisses are awesome.

“I’ll be sure to give you plenty of them, my mate.”

I smiled up at him. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

“You’re lucky I have not had lunch; it would be all over your feet right about now if I had.”

I blushed wildly when Thane spoke, reminding me of his presence.

I turned my head towards him. “I’m so sorry; that was incredibly rude of us.”

“Don’t apologise.” Kol snorted. “He has done a lot more than kiss a female in my presence, and Mikoh’s and Nero’s for that matter. I think he even once brought a female to her knees when my father was close by.”

Thane devilishly grinned. “Guilty.”

I snorted, and just as I was about to speak, Kol closed his eyes, and a slow grin spread across his lips.

“Why’re you smiling?” I asked, appreciating how handsome he was.

“I’m being hailed to the bridge.” He looked down and pinned me in place with his violet eyes. “Ealra is within sight.”

After Kol had been hailed to oversee the descent and landing of the Ebony on Ealra, we made it to the bridge within minutes. Along the way, Kol kept projecting his lustful thoughts my way. I not only heard words in my head, but I could also see whatever he projected to me. And right now, I saw a slideshow of being fucked by Kol through his eyes.

It had his desired effect on me that had him grinning from ear to ear as I gnawed on my lower lip and tried to keep my breathing even. I was very aware of my scent, and that my arousal would sting the nostrils of the Maji on the bridge. Kol assured me that every male within sniffing distance wouldn’t breathe if they could help it just to avoid his wrath. He promised they would treat me as if I wasn’t there, but even being ignored by them wouldn’t change the fact that they could smell that I was turned on.

I was mortified.

I made it a point to sit on Kol’s crotch and keep my thighs plastered together to mask my scent with his. I wished that I could avail of our cleansing unit, but until we landed on the new home world, I just had to deal with everyone being able to smell that I was horny.

This is so embarrassing.

Laughter vibrated in Kol’s chest, but he said and thought nothing. Instead, he issued an order to open the viewing panes for the humans in the concourse of the ship so they could see Ealra. Seconds later, the viewing pane on the bridge opened, and instead of staring at a wall, I was staring at a huge planet. I sucked in a startled breath, jumped from Kol’s lap, and rushed around the consoles and males until I was all but pressed up against the viewing pane with my hands and forehead flattened on the glass. I stared wide-eyed at the monster of a planet that we were nearing.

“It’s so big,” I gushed. “And it’s so colourful!”

It must be a least three times bigger than Earth, and through the different shades of green that covered the surface, there were streaks of brown, blue, and red too, and huge portions of vibrant purple. Freaking purple! The size of the planet and the stunning colours

of it aside, the main thing that stood out was the obvious life on the planet. One look and you could see it was thriving. It was a true thing of beauty and something to behold.

“Ealra,” I whispered.

I didn’t jump when I felt hands on my shoulders because I knew only Kol would touch me… unless someone had a death wish. His hands gave me a gentle squeeze, and I felt his delight at seeing his planet. He was happy to be home.

“Isn’t she beautiful?” he murmured.

“Yes.” I nodded. “Stunningly beautiful doesn’t cover it. I’ve never seen something thrive with so much colour and life.”

Kol hummed in agreement.

“How far away from Earth are we?” I asked him.

“Just three light years,” he answered.

Just three light years?

I gasped. “We’re eighteen trillion miles away from Earth?”

I felt the large hands on my shoulders squeeze me once more.

“You know one light year is six trillion lengths?”

I managed a snort. “I’m not stupid, Kol.”

“I know that, but education isn’t available on Earth.”

I shrugged. “It used to be.”

“When you were a child?” he asked, surprised.

“No, not in my time, but it was in my father’s, and he taught me what he knew. He taught me how to read, write, and count numbers. And since he was obsessed with space, he taught me useful things like how many miles were in a light year.”

“He sounds like he was a great male.”

I smiled, my eyes scanning Ealra.

“He was the best,” I agreed.

“He taught you well,” Kol said proudly. “We are eighteen trillion lengths away from Earth.”

“How fast are we travelling?” I asked, amazed. “Shouldn’t my insides be liquidised or my blood boiling from moving so fast?”

Kol chuckled. “No, your anatomy is like ours, so you can space travel easily. All spacecrafts are designed to protect our bodies during warp.”

I figured as much being as I was still alive.

“You never answered my first question,” I said, my eyes flicking to the double moons that were to the far right of Ealra.