Cherished (Intergalactic Loyalties) (9 page)

“Uh-uh. None of this Majesty stuff. You call me father.”

Tears gathered in her eyes as she returned his hug.

She was quickly pulled away from the king and into another’s embrace. “And you can call me brother,” said a gruff voice.

“Or you can call him Lyros,” Dryxel said with some humor. “He’s the middle child of the family.”

“I’m Vandir, and it’s a pleasure to meet you,” said the third man. “I’m Dryxel’s youngest brother.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you all,” she said warmly. “I have to admit I was a little nervous.”

“Why?” Vandir asked, his voice full of curiosity.

“Because I thought you would be upset when you saw the extent of my blindness. Now that I’ve heard your voices, I will be able to recognize you should you come into a room and speak. I don’t see well enough to know who you are otherwise though.”

“We’ll make sure to announce ourselves when we’re around you, Lucie,” the king said.

“I’m taking Lucie to meet with the healer. Not only do I want him to check on the baby, I wondered if perhaps the same treatment that worked on Rybolt might work on her sight as well.”

“Now that’s a wonderful idea,” Lyros said. “I’m sure he’ll be able to help her.”

“You really think I’ll be able to see again?” she asked, not daring to hope it might be true.

“Maybe not as well as you once did,” Dryxel said, “but certainly better than you do now. It wouldn’t hurt to try.”

“Can we go now?” she asked.

The king laughed. “Of course. We’ll all go with you. I’m anxious to hear how that baby is doing.”

Dryxel swept her into his arms and she curled her arms around his neck. She’d argued more than once over the last few days that she was more than capable of walking, but he seemed quite content to carry her around. She wondered if he still would when she was the size of a small whale and nearing her due date. Rolling her eyes at her silly thoughts, she realized he would probably be worse closer to her due date. The man treated her like she was made of spun glass, ready to break at any moment.

As they neared what seemed to be a large wall with an open gate, she looked up at him. “Where are we going?”

“The healer’s med center is within the palace walls. We’ll be there shortly.”

True to his word, a few minutes later they were stepping inside a pristine, white chamber. A man came out to greet them, his voice strong and certain.

“Your Majesty. Princes. Who do you have with you?”

“Healer, this is my mate, Lucie,” Dryxel said. “We bonded on our way home and wondered if you might check on the babe for us.”

“Of course! Bring her over to the table and lay her down.” He cleared his throat. “Your Majesty, you and your other sons may want to turn your back. I’ll have to expose the young lady’s stomach to check on the babe.”

She heard feet shuffling and watched the three men move toward the door.

The healer scanned her with something cool, made some tapping noises, then declared the babe perfectly healthy. He assured the prince it was too soon to tell the sex of the child, but promised to tell them if they came back in a few weeks.

“There’s one other thing, Healer,” Dryxel said. “My mate is nearly blind. I wondered… would the treatment you used on Rybolt possibly work on her?”

“Well… I would need to know more about her condition. Have you always been blind, princess?”

“No,” she answered. “There was a blast at the auction house on Keshpa. The heat seared my eyes and blinded me. Through several treatments I was able to regain some of my vision, but I only see blurry shapes and colors.”

“I can’t guarantee complete recovery of sight, but we might be able to improve it a bit. Let me gather some of the solution I used. You’ll need to wash your eyes with it three times a day for a week. By then, we should know if it’s going to work.”

“Thank you, Healer,” she said with a smile.

“You’re most welcome, princess. I’ll do anything for you that I can.”

He moved away, leaving her alone with Dryxel and her new family, who had come closer once more. As they waited for the solution, Dryxel helped her sit up, wrapping an arm around her waist. She loved that he was always so gentle with her, always so careful. It drove her a little mad that he thought she needed help all the time, but maybe that would change when some of her sight returned.

She was determined to think positively. Her sight
would
improve. If it had worked for this Rybolt they mentioned, then surely it would work for her. The healer even seemed optimistic. Just think… she would be able to see what her mate looked like! When she held her child, she might be able to see the baby’s face, to watch his or her expressions. Her heart filled with joy.

After they had the solution in hand, she was escorted into the palace and shown her new room -- Dryxel’s room. It was more of a suite really, having a small connecting room with a sitting area and an attached bathroom. She could easily hide out in here if she didn’t want to face anyone, and still have everything she needed. Well, assuming she could convince someone to bring her something to eat.

“Do you want to try the solution?” Dryxel asked.

“Yes!”

He helped her wash out her eyes, the solution stinging slightly at first. Then the stinging changed to heat and made her eyes water. She hoped that meant it was working. Lucie would gladly go through this several times a day if it meant she would be able to see Dryxel’s face, see his smile, look into his eyes each morning. It would be worth the discomfort.

“Why don’t you rest while I call someone to come measure you for your new clothes?” he asked. “It may take them a while to get here.”

“I don’t think I could sleep if I tried.”

“Then come with me. I’m going to speak with my brothers. The Tarnans were on the right track, as far as repopulating their planet. If we bought slaves, then freed them here on Tourmalane, we could easily increase our female numbers.”

She smiled. “You mean increase it from two already mated and pregnant women?”

He chuckled. “Yes.”

“Are you sure I won’t be in the way?”

He pulled her close and placed a kiss against her lips. “You’re never in the way.”

“Then I’ll come with you. If I were to lie down, I’d probably toss and turn and just make a mess of the bed. I have too much nervous energy buzzing about inside of me to sit still for very long.”

“Still nervous?” he asked, sounding worried.

“No, not really. Not anymore. I know I’m going to like it here, Dryxel. It already feels like home. Your father and your brothers are wonderful.”

He kissed her again. “Come on, sweet. Let’s go see where those brothers of mine are hiding. The sooner I get this discussion out of the way, the sooner I can show off my new mate to my people. I’m sure everyone is looking forward to meeting you.”

***

It was several days later, after settling into something of a routine, that Lucie noticed a difference in her vision. It was subtle, but there was definitely a change. She didn’t just see shapes and colors when she looked at Dryxel that morning. Instead of his whole face being blurred out, she could make out the outline of his nose, the general shape of his eyes, even though they were closed. She leaned forward and kissed his full, sensual lips.

His eyes slowly opened and he smiled at her. Smiled! She could see his smile! All right, so it wasn’t clear, or very crisp or focused, but she could tell that he was smiling at her. Her heart sang with joy as a whole new world opened up to her, a world she’d thought she’d lost forever. No more sitting on the sidelines, wondering what everyone was talking about. No more asking people for descriptions of things so she could “see” them. She could use her own two eyes!

“You’re in a good mood this morning,” he commented, still smiling.

“You have a beautiful smile,” she said softly.

He sat up quickly, pulling her into his arms. “You can see my smile?”

She nodded eagerly. “And your nose. And this stubborn looking chin,” she said, tapping on the chin in question.

He laughed and hugged her tight. “The solution is working! I knew it!”

“It’s only been a few days. Just think how much more improved my sight will be at the end of the week. I may be able to see well enough to recognize faces from far away.”

“I’m so happy for you, Lucie, but even if your eyes didn’t improve any more than they already have, I would still be happy. Just knowing that you were able to see me smile fills me with joy.”

“Should we get dressed and share the news?”

Dryxel looked out the window at the rising sun. “I’m not sure anyone else is awake just yet. But I’d love to watch the sunrise with you. Why don’t you get dressed and we’ll go sit in the garden? I’ll order some breakfast for us.”

Lucie bounced out of the bed and began pulling on clothes. By the time she finished, Dryxel was dressed and waiting on her. She took his hand and they walked together down to the garden. Settling on the ground near the hilltop, she snuggled into his embrace and watched the burning embers of the sun as it slowly crept over the horizon. She’d been surprised there was only one sun, but there were two gorgeous moons. Lucie loved to sit out on the balcony off their suite and look up at the night sky.

“You know I’m sending out men tomorrow to search for potential mates,” he said.

She nodded her head against his shoulder.

“Normally I would go with them, but I don’t want to leave you just yet. I know eventually I’ll have to go for a few days at a time, maybe even a week or two, but my father is being lenient at the moment.”

She snorted. “Your father is leaving you here for my benefit, not your own. He’s worried I won’t last more than a day without you by my side.”

“Oh? Are you saying that you can?”

“Well… I won’t slip into a state of depression, but I would miss you a great deal. I would have our family around me to keep me company and keep me safe. You know they wouldn’t let anything happen to me while you were gone.”

He smiled. “True enough.”

“Dryxel. There’s something I’ve wanted to ask you.”

“Anything.”

“What is it, exactly, that I’m supposed to do? I know I’m your princess, but so far that consists of me sitting on my rear not doing anything all day every day. Isn’t there some way in which I can contribute? I know you have duties that you oversee here at the palace, and of course there are your travels with the other warriors. Your brothers train the guards and your father oversees everything. What is there for me to do?”

“I had hoped you might ask that.”

“Well?”

He laughed. “We’re going to be bringing women to a planet that hasn’t seen a woman’s touch in twenty years, Lucie. I need you to oversee their lodgings and gather whatever you feel is necessary for them to feel welcome here on Tourmalane. It will be you who guides them until they find their destined mates.”

“What if they don’t find their mates?”

“There are some here who do not care if they have children, some who only wish for companionship. The women will be taken care of regardless of whether or not they mate with someone. And if they need to feel useful, I’m sure we can always use more help around the palace and grounds.”

Lucie nodded. “I’ll start gathering things this afternoon.”

He kissed her brow, her cheek, her jaw. “Now that business is out of the way, and the sun is well on its way to showing us what a glorious day it’s going to be, do you think we might do something a little more fun?”

Her eyes widened. “Out here? Anyone could see us!”

“Then at least kiss me. I’ve been too long without your lips on mine.”

She giggled and leaned forward to plant her lips on his, a quick peck and she pulled back. “Satisfied?”

He growled. “Not hardly.”

Pulling her tight against his body, he slanted his mouth over hers, coaxing, demanding, giving as well as taking. As he showed her how much he loved her, needed her, Lucie realized that perhaps he had enchanted her after all that day in the hall on board the Lynten 12. But if this was enchantment, she hoped it never ended.

Jessica lives in a world where warlocks, shapeshifters and fairies exist, and everyone deserves a happy ending -- from tragic vampires finally finding love after centuries of being alone, to super hunky womanizing werewolves finding their destined mate -- it’s all in a day’s work.

Unable to find a werewolf of her very own, she decided to marry someone who thinks he’s one -- minus howling at the full moon, fleas, and a rousing game of chase-the-mailman. Okay, so he
sometimes
howls at the full moon.

When she isn’t writing, Jessica enjoys spending time with her family, reading (mostly romance), or going to the beach. She’s especially fond of bookstores and Starbucks! Jessica loves to hear from her fans! You may email her at
[email protected]
or visit her at her website:
http://www.jessicacoultersmith.com
.

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changelingpress.com/author.php?uid=144
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