Bride of Midnight (2 page)

He smiled. “You are much improved since I last saw you.”

“Well, I am not frozen, in shock or requiring oxygen, so I would have to agree with you.” She inclined her head and swallowed.

“I understand you have been out of the city, running through the sands.”

“You understand correctly, Captain.” She offered him her small plate. “Hungry?”

He reached out and took a tiny sandwich. It looked ridiculous in his huge hand, but he handled it with grace. When he popped it into his mouth, he raised his eyebrows. “This is quite good.”

She laughed. “We have come a long way since you were last in the city.”

“Indeed. The Prothean ability to adapt and thrive makes the Anvin’s growth through the stars look miniscule.”

To her amusement, he began to graze off her plate.

“Well, we came prepared to make a home, we just had no idea that there would be a crash that threw a wrench into things.” She casually replenished her snack tray while he entered her personal space during his raids.

“I am delighted that you made a full recovery.”

She spoke in a clear tone. “I am delighted that you were wearing safety gear while carrying me out of the ship. It didn’t help, but it was a nice thought.”

He blinked, and his black-on-black eyes focussed on her with an intense look. “It didn’t?”

“Nope.”

“Would you define what occurred then?”

“Oh, I synched to you during your rescue, but I was in no shape to let you know about it. I am sure that you are unaffected and that you can make a selection from the ladies who got all dressed up for you tonight.”

“I have made my selection.”

She coughed as a slice of vegetable tried to go down too early. “And who, may I ask, is your bride?”

“Are you really that obtuse, or did your time in cryo freeze your mind?”

She frowned at him and poked him in the chest with two fingers. “I was locked in a personal delusion if you must know.”

He grinned and his teeth were surprisingly white. “Will you come with me to the new city?”

“Are you seriously asking? If I don’t, I void the treaty with your people.” Sobi wanted to make sure he knew that she knew what the stakes were.

“Is that the only reason you would accompany me?”

She smiled softly and put one hand on his rigid jawline. His muscles flexed at the light contact. “No. It is not the only reason. Can I leave the city of my own free will?”

“After we formalize our union, you may, but you may need to travel with an escort.”

She nodded. “Fair enough.”

She had no intention of waiting for an escort. She was going to pack her coveralls and goggles and explore the area around Midnight City every chance she got.

That he had chosen her was not really a surprise. That her captain was the Midnight himself was a little bit of a shock.

“So, why do they call you Midnight?”

“I can hold the deepest shadows over the city and lighten them at will, giving the feeling of an actual rotating day.” He looked a little embarrassed.

“That would be nice. It is hard to tell day from night in the city, and it wreaks havoc on the schools. The children could genuinely say they didn’t know what time it was.” She snickered.

“How are you doing with your late waking compared to the rest of your family?”

She winced. Her family had been in the first group to wake up. Sobi was in the bowels of the ship, near the engines she worked on. The waking program had not jostled her out of cold sleep, and therefore, the engines went a little wild and drained their fuel source. The resulting crash had taken half the five thousand colonists to the grave, their cryo tubes shutting down and suffocating those inside. The tubes became their coffins.

Her family had risen over a year before she had been excavated. The amount of time was not precise, but it could even have been five years. No one told her and there were no physical records of the first years of the colony. They had only begun to chronicle their time in the last six months. The fight to survive on the inhospitable world had taken all priority.

“My family is fine, I believe. My sisters are doing well at the education centre and my parents have adapted to their life with hydroponic gardening underground.” She shrugged. “I don’t speak to them that often. My work keeps me out of the city.”

The captain nodded. “I understand.”

There was sympathy in his gaze, and she tried to turn the conversation. “So, you have been keeping busy?”

“Our city is finally complete. We delayed it to assist your people in setting up their home because their need was greater, but now, we have two cities built and the agreement can be enacted to its fullest. My visit here is the first step.”

“Ah, and after this, there will be more Shadow Bringers coming here to claim brides?” Though the Protheans called them shadow makers, the Shadow Bringers was the Anvin word for them. She felt she should be polite.

“Of course. It was what your people agreed to in order to buy them a place here. Compatible Life Bringers in exchange for our help and protection on our world.”

“I am not surprised that our elders agreed. We always have surplus population.”

He smiled and took another sandwich off her plate. “We know. The Death Bringers report that they have over twelve offspring via their Prothean mates already. As our talents made us sterile to our own kind, it was a relief to find that your race was amenable to blending genes.”

She blushed at the mental image of what that blending would entail. “Right, well world filling is what we do.”

“Would you care to dance?”

To Sobi’s surprise, music was playing and several couples were on the floor, moving in graceful arcs.

“I did not believe that you danced.”

“I learned. I thought it would come in handy when courting you.”

“Is that what this is?” She twisted her lips and set her plate down at the edge of the table.

She sucked in a deep breath that pushed her breasts against her bodice and extended her hand to his. The contact was electric, the same giddy sensation as that first time years ago. She had waited for him this entire time and hadn’t told a soul.

His gaze watched her cleavage and then flicked to meet her waiting features. With a small smile, he led her to the dance floor. They paused and inserted themselves into the couples taking steps, pausing and turning in elaborate figures.

They parted, connected, stepped and turned to the music. Three dances later, Sobi was beyond thirsty. She smiled and moved her head; Captain Wikiar escorted her off the dance floor and to the beverage table.

She started with water, moved on to punch, and when she tasted alcohol, she returned to water. Living on a world covered in light all day, every day was enough to make her appreciate water whenever she came across it.

“You are very thirsty.” He frowned with concern.

“I had just finished my shift in the sands and returned home when the Anvin rep announced my invitation to this event. The grooming bots almost popped their gears while they tried to even my skin tone.”

She chuckled and sipped at a fourth cup of water.

“You really spend your time on the sands?” There was amazement in his tone.

“Of course. We need to track the animals and find out which ones we can eat and which ones we need to try to salvage from our cryo storage. That is the determination that my sisters are learning to make. What can survive here, underground.”

“I must say that the Shadow Bringers are stunned by your adaptation to not only this world, but the requirements for survival. Initially, we had hoped to keep your city nearer to ours, but the current situation seems to be working out.”

She blinked and swayed. Between the light exertion, the food and being out of the sun, she was ready for bed.

The captain caught her elbow and supported her. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, I am just short on sleep. So, what happens next?”

He smiled, “I make the announcement and whisk you away to our city. Your clothing and sundries will be delivered to the new city within a few days. In the meantime, our courtship will continue.”

She blushed again, but when she yawned, she realised that she didn’t particularly care what happened next, she just wanted out of the heavily corseted dress and into a bed.

He took her hand again and walked to the spot where the receiving line had been. “Sobi Nurala has gracefully accepted my proposal. We will be returning to the new city immediately so she can get some sleep.”

Applause and laughter sounded in equal measure as Sobi yawned through the announcement.

The colony head came over and took her hands. “Congratulation and thank you for upholding our treaty, Sobi.”

Sobi smiled. “It is my honour and pleasure. It was always going to be him for me and me for him. We have known it for years.”

Toremani Lock looked at her in shock. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“He wasn’t here and I was busy having a life, a job and experiences on a new world.” Sobi smiled at the older woman politely, but she knew there was steel in her gaze.

“Well…well, you have the full support of our colony. Do you wish to see your family before you leave?”

Sobi shook her head. “That will not be necessary. I have my life, they have theirs.”

The colony head backed away. “Well, good luck then.”

Sobi turned to her bound mate. “Shall we?”

He grinned and offered her his hand once again, escorting her out of the hall and to a very sleek long-distance vehicle.

“Midnight, you may have a problem if you want me to sit up front with you.”

“What?”

“My dress won’t fit.”

He looked down at her skirt, his proximity was already causing it to tilt and ruffle in the evening breeze. The hoop skirt wasn’t designed for ease of relaxation.

He frowned. “How do you sit in that?”

“You have to sneak up on your chair and commit to sitting. So, can I sit in the back?”

“Wherever you are most comfortable.” He slid open the door and she moved to the area that contained benches and made herself at home.

He slid behind the controls and they started moving.

“You don’t have a driver?”

“I like flying.”

That was all the warning she got before the vehicle lifted off and skimmed along the sands. She tipped from side to side until she got the pattern of the flight.

While she was exploring her seat, she found a harness and slipped both arms through the loops. The moment she was relatively stable, she fell asleep.

Hands pulled at her and eased her out of the harness. “We are here, Sobi.”

She opened her eyes and smiled. “Darn. I wanted to see the city on approach.”

“It looks the same as Shadow City. Just a dark black blob.” He helped her to her feet and eased her out of the vehicle.

The dome of darkness was above her but that was the only familiar thing around her. The Anvin city was slick, smooth and had buildings that could support thousands. He walked with her through the streets, and while there were several Shadow Bringers, the thoroughfares were basically empty. The city was waiting for a population.

“Why didn’t the Anvin come?”

“We are not finished with our world-building program. It is only in the beginning stages. It will be one or two centuries before an Anvin ship can land here with Life Bringers in it. By then, we hope to have established a foothold here and a strong hybrid species with the Protheans.”

She was too sleepy to blush. “Right. That is why I am here. Well, that and I couldn’t really accept anyone else.”

“Is that really true?”

Sobi looked up at him and saw insecurity on his face. “Despite the fact that you were the first male of your kind to come in contact with me, my body recognised yours as suitable the moment that we touched. That little fact has given me some stressful moments in the last few years, I can tell you.”

“How so?”

She thought about telling him about all the times she had normally come to him in season, but she got distracted.

They were approaching a building with graceful depictions of women in long, flowing gowns on either side of the doorway. She stared up at the statues and blinked up at them one at a time. “They are me.”

It was Captain Wikiar’s turn to look sheepish. “They asked me what I wanted for the entryway, and I could not think of a better representative for the mated couples’ quarters.”

“I thought no one here had a mate yet.”

He grinned. “They don’t. We have the place to ourselves, including food processors and the serving bots.”

She sighed. “Well, I don’t care, as long as I can get some sleep. I feel like I have been awake for days.”

“Well, you didn’t get much rest on the flight. We hit a sand storm, and I learned a number of colourful Prothean phrases.”

She winced. “I must have been in a semi-awake state. Sorry. I have always been a little free with language.”

“It is fine. Anvin have their own choice references.”

The doors opened for them and they entered the mated quarters. It was eerie. Everything was new and nothing had been touched.

“Everything in Shadow City has been battered to hell and back. This looks so new.” She heard her slippers shushing along the floor.

“No other female has set foot in the building.”

Sobi grinned and swished her skirts through the entryway, and when he nodded at her, she continued to walk up the stairs.

“There is a lift, but a walk is a much more satisfying means of exploring.”

She gave him an evil look and continued to walk up the stairs without being able to see her feet. On the landing of the next floor, he sheepishly showed her where the lift was.

“Since we are the only people here, I can run around naked tomorrow and explore if I need to.” It wasn’t likely; she was wearing twelve pounds of underwear. Something in the layers would be suitable for wearing.

He walked to the northwest and opened a door at the end of the hall. “These are our rooms, unless you would prefer something else.”

Sobi stumbled forward. “I am so tired, as long as the floor is available, I am good with anything.”