The Tigrens' Glory (41 page)

“I don’t know how things were done on Ugaztun in your time,” she began.  “In the Thousand Worlds there are many different cultures, beliefs, practices, and customs, and though I’m not widely traveled, I once worked in a library, a place filled with books.  I’ve spent years reading about places and cultures I never thought to see for myself, and yet, with all of that, I’ve rarely come across a world quite like Ramouri.

“When we met Glory, just about two weeks ago, she knew nothing whatsoever about sex.  I’m not exaggerating, either.  She knew nothing.  Not how babies were conceived nor how they were born.  For a twenty five year old woman who’d spent the past seven years fighting in the company of men, her utter lack of knowledge seemed bizarre to me.  She asked me if she could use the vid-terminal in our guest house to inform herself on the subject, partly because she had feelings for the three of you that she didn’t understand.  But there’s a lot more to sex than the dry facts offered up by the vid-terminal, and I felt she deserved, and needed, to know that.  That’s why, when we left Jasan, I gave her a reader loaded with stories like the one I just showed you. I wanted her to know enough not to be at a complete disadvantage should she ever actually meet the three of you.  ”

“We thank you, Princess Lariah, for taking such care of Glory when we were unable to do so, and when we should have, but didn’t,” Kyerion said.  He paused for a moment, then decided to hell with it.  He didn’t care if it did make him look foolish.  “Will you tell us, please, why she’s turned away from us now?  Why won’t she see us, or speak with us?”

“I honestly have no idea,” Lariah said.  “I haven’t even spoke to her since she came out of the healing tank.”  The three of them hung their heads, looking so sad and dejected that Lariah couldn’t help herself.  “If you’ll tell me all that happened, what was said and who said it leading up to the moment she became upset, I might be able to help.”

Kyerion looked at Kirk, who recited the relevant portion of their conversation almost word for word.  By the time he reached the part where she went into the bathroom and closed the door, Lariah was rolling her eyes and the Dracons were looking at them as if they’d grown two heads.  Each.  Kirk finished his recitation, but the expressions on the Dracons faces didn’t change.  When he told them what they’d said, and her response, after her evening meal was delivered, Garen actually groaned in what sounded like sympathy.

“From your reactions our error, or errors, are obvious to all of you,” Kyerion said.  “Frankly, I still don’t understand what we did wrong.”

“We’ve had a few years to get used to...I mean, women are…well, to understand the way...,” Trey broke off, frowned, then reached for another helping of eggs.  “Forget it,” he mumbled before shoveling a forkful into his mouth. 

Kyerion, Kirk, and Cade stared at Trey in absolute confusion.  After a long silence, they turned back to Lariah.  “Highness?” Kirk asked.

“Please?” Cade added.

Lariah dragged her attention from Trey and focused on the Tigren again.  “You rescued Glory from horrific nightmares, raced to her room, picked her up, surrounded her, and told her how
indebted
and
grateful
to her you are,” she said, trying hard not to smirk.  It wasn’t easy, though.  Honestly, how dense could three men be?  They stared at her with blank looks on their faces, waiting for her to continue her explanation.  Lariah sighed.  Apparently, they could be
very
dense. 

“Later, when she asked what you were doing outside her room, you told her you were watching over her because it’s your
duty
.”

“Our right and duty,” Kyerion corrected.  Lariah shrugged as she reached for her coffee cup and refilled it.  Maybe all those centuries in a hibernation tank had caused a little brain damage.  Made sense.  Seven thousand years was a
really
long time.

“I don’t understand,” Kirk said. 

Obviously,
Lariah thought, struggling not to roll her eyes.

“I get it,” Cade said.  Lariah cast a hopeful look at the youngest Tigren.  “Glory thinks we feel obligated to her, that our feelings toward her are those of duty and debt.”  Lariah beamed.

“What’s wrong with that?” Kirk asked.  Lariah scowled at Kirk, then narrowed her eyes at Kyerion.  Clueless.  Both of them.  Damn.

“If that’s what you feel for her, there’s nothing wrong with it at all,” she said.  “It does, however, explain why Glory has requested that she be moved to another ship.”  She turned to Garen.  “I believe the
Ala
Lahoi
would be a good choice.  Glory and Aisling enjoy sparring with the
sai
.  She likes to spar with Summer too, since they’re the only two women who use swords, but the Katres take her to visit with Aisling regularly anyway.”

“I agree,” Garen said.  “It’s important to be sure Glory is happy, wherever she goes.  We’ll contact the Gryphons right after breakfast and ask if they’ll have a guest cabin prepared for her.”

“All right, we get it,” Kyerion said.  He glanced at Kirk, then sighed heavily.  “I get it, anyway, and so does Cade.  We need to let Glory know how we really feel about her, not just how much we owe her.”

“It wouldn’t hurt,” Lariah said.  She arched a brow.  “If you really care about her, that is.  If not, it
would
hurt.  A great deal, in fact.  If that’s the case, I think you should stay as far from her as you can get.”

“Of course we care about her, Highness, she’s our Arima,” Kyerion said with a smile, his estimation of Lariah having grown by leaps and bounds over the past half hour.  He had no doubt that if they were to hurt Glory, Princess Nahoa-Arima Lariah Dracon, Soul of the Jasani and first of the Three, would flay the stripes from their hides, and she wouldn’t have to call forth her dracon alter-form to do it.  They might be the only Clan Tigren and High Druids in millennia, but she wasn’t about to give them any slack because of it.  Not when it came to her friend.  He raised his right fist to his heart and bowed solemnly, liking her greatly.  More than that, he admired her, and respected her.  Cade and Kirk followed his lead, and they all waited until she rose to her feet and formally accepted their tribute.

As soon as she sat back down, Kyerion picked up an empty plate and began filling it with a little of every dish on the table.  When the plate was full he handed it to Kirk, then filled a glass with juice while Cade filled a large mug with coffee.  “If you’ll excuse us, we’ll just go take Glory her breakfast.”

“Good luck,” Garen said, smiling as they left the dining room.

“What do you think?” he asked Lariah when the door swung closed.  “Will she let them in long enough to listen, or will they come back wearing that food?”

“I think it’s a toss-up,” she said.  “They know nothing about women, and Glory knows even less about men, so it’s hard to say.”

“Trey, go ahead and make that call to Rand,” Garen said.  “Let them know we aren’t certain whether or not Glory will be leaving us, but that we’ll let them know the moment it’s decided.”

“I’ll reply to Glory’s message,” Lariah said, reaching for her hand terminal.  “I’ll ask her to tell us when she wants to go to the
Ala
Lahoi
.  That will let her know we’re supporting her, and puts the power of her next step in her hands.”

“I’m proud of you,
Sharali
,” Garen said when she finished sending her response to Glory.  “You stood up to us for what you thought was right, and you handled the Tigren firmly, and with skill.”

Lariah smiled at the praise, her eyes widening as she watched Garen stand up and reach for her.  He plucked her out of her chair and pulled her close.  “Wrap your legs around my waist,” he said just before his mouth slanted down over hers, kissing her hard and deep.  Lariah did as he asked, her arms going around his neck as she gave herself up to his mouth.  The next time she opened her eyes they were in their stateroom.  She turned to see Val and Trey on either side of her and smiled when they both began removing as many of her clothes as they could with Garen holding her. 

“Hmmm, what can you possibly have in mind?” she asked as Garen lowered her to her feet before reaching for the buttons on her jeans.

“First, a spanking,” Trey said, his voice dark and hot, sending chills up her spine.

“A spanking?” she asked archly.  “What did I do to deserve that?”

“We’re sure you’ve done something,” Garen said as he stroked her breasts and pinched her nipples while Val and Trey removed her shoes and pants.  “We’ll figure that out later.”

“We just can’t help wanting to spank you,” Val said as he slid his palm up the inside of one leg.  “You’re too damn adorable to resist.”

Lariah’s husky laugh trailed off into a deep moan when Garen’s fingers tightened on her nipples.  “Then what?” she asked, watching Val and Trey strip out of their clothes.

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” Garen growled softly. 

Lariah shivered with anticipation.

Chapter Thirty Three

Glory opened her eyes and sighed.  She’d slept restlessly, awaking often throughout the night to pace her room.  She’d really wanted to go up to the recreation deck to walk, but not enough to face the Tigren outside her door.  She tossed the covers back and got out of bed, wondering if Lariah had received her message yet, and what her response would be.  Her stomach growled hungrily and she paused on the way to the vid-terminal to check the previous night’s dinner tray for something to eat.  She grimaced.  After sitting uncovered all night long it looked the furthest thing from appetizing. 

She spun around, then grabbed onto the table as a wave of dizziness washed through her.  She had no idea how long it had been since she’d last eaten, but it was past time to get some food into herself.  Once the dizziness passed she walked to the vid-terminal and turned it on.  She bit her lip worriedly when Lariah’s response arrived just after she logged in, but she didn’t hesitate before opening it.  Her lips curved into a relieved smile.  Lariah had not let her down.

She turned the vid-terminal off and went to the closet.  Just as she reached up to grab her empty bags from the shelf her stomach growled again.  She’d intended to pack her things, get dressed, let Lariah know she was ready to go to the
Ala Lahoi
, then eat once she got there.  Now, she changed her mind. 

She would get dressed and go to the cafeteria for breakfast as she’d been doing since the beginning of this journey.  If the Tigren wanted to follow along, that was their choice.  She’d come back and pack after breakfast.  Lariah’s support had given her self-confidence the boost she hadn’t even realized she’d needed.

The moment her decision was made, a knock sounded at her door.  She frowned, knowing that it was almost certainly the Tigren.  The knock sounded again and she sighed.  She suspected that they’d stand out there knocking all day long if she didn’t open the door.

She crossed the room and jerked the door open just as Kyerion was preparing to knock again.  She arched a brow but said nothing as she waited for them to tell her what they wanted.  The smell of the food on the plate Kyerion was holding made her mouth water, but at least her stomach remained silent.

“Good morning, Glory,” Kyerion said.

“Good morning,” she replied coolly. 

“We’d like to come in and speak with you,” Kyerion said.  “We brought breakfast, and coffee for you,” he added quickly as she started to shake her head.

“You brought food for me?” she asked, equal parts surprised, pleased, and wary.

“Yes,” he replied.  “We weren’t sure what you liked, so we brought a bit of everything.”

Glory wanted to laugh, but she squashed that dangerous urge immediately.  “What do you want to talk about?”

“Us,” Kyerion said.  She frowned, wondering which
us
he meant.  Did he mean
them
, or did he mean
her
and
them
?   Maybe he meant the Jasani as a whole.  Or, maybe he meant everyone on the
Ugaztun
.  Or….

“The food is getting cold,” Cade said, interrupting her thoughts.  Glory’s eyes shifted to where he stood just behind Kyerion, and her resolve weakened at the undisguised hope she saw there.  Cade had always been kindest to her, and she couldn’t find it within herself to refuse him.  For one brief moment she considered inviting just him in, leaving Kirk and Kyerion in the corridor, but discarded the idea as unfair. 

She stepped back and widened the door.  “Come in.”

“Thank you,” Kyerion said with a little bow before stepping into her room, Kirk and Cade at his heels.  She kept her eyes down as they passed by her, then closed the door, taking a moment to compose herself. 

“You didn’t eat your dinner last night,” Kirk said from the table where they’d all taken seats. 

“I wasn’t hungry,” she replied as she moved to the only empty seat.  She picked up the coffee they’d set next to a glass of juice and the plate piled high with food, sipping it with pleasure. 

“You were hungry until we upset you,” Kyerion said. 

That was true, but Glory had no intention of admitting it.  Instead she picked up the fork and studied the food in front of her.  She stabbed a cube of melon and popped it into her mouth before reaching for the knife so she could cut the ham. 

“We know that you didn’t sleep well last night,” Kyerion said.  She flicked her eyes up at him but said nothing.  “We were out in the hall and heard you pacing.”  Glory decided silence was better than anything she could think of to say, and placed a bite of ham in her mouth. 

“Was it the memories of your past?” Cade asked in a low voice.

That was a surprise.  “No, not at all, why would you think that?”

“We saw a portion of one of your memories,” he replied with a grimace.  “We have an idea of how horrific they are.”

“I was trapped with them for what seemed like a very long time to me,” Glory said, reaching for her coffee again.  “I was terrified of that door for years.  I knew I’d hidden bad memories behind it, and I was afraid of accidentally releasing them.  But, I discovered that seeing the same things over and over again actually caused them to lose some of their bite.  By the time you guys pulled me out, I was far more worried about being trapped than I was the memories themselves.  They’re horrible, that’s true, and they’ve shaped me in ways that I don’t know if I can change.  At the same time, I see no reason to give them any more power over my life than they’ve already had.  That was then.  This is now.”