Honour Read online

  One by one, the screens came on, each with a Freyalki facing out. It was time to immerse herself in her new job.

  Introductions were quick, and as they told Acuar about the alien queries for plant and animal life, Honour paid close attention.

  After two hours of standing and listening to the representatives from the different worlds in the Yalki system and the space station, Honour had a pretty good idea what was going on. She needed to do some research and have a long conversation with Acuar.

  When the representatives had nodded farewell and the screens had gone blank, Honour stretched. “Damn. I haven’t held still that long in a while.”

  Acuar pulled her against him, stroking her lower back and buttocks with his hands. “You did very well. You have excellent posture for a pale, little alien.”

  She wanted to say she wasn’t little, but he was a foot and a half taller than she was. She was also pale compared to a Freyalki and there was no getting around that.

  Not one of the people she had spoken to had mentioned her rose. It was as if they had expected it to be there all along.

  She snuggled against Acuar. “What is next on the agenda?”

  “A tour of the city. You might want to put some shoes on for this.” He chuckled.

  Idly, she stuck her left foot out and wiggled it. “Huh. I didn’t notice.”

  “I did. Your toes are adorable.”

  She punched him lightly in the shoulder.

  A throat cleared in the open doorway. “Lady, your shoes.”

  Nayin brought them forward, and when Acuar released her, Honour took them with a smile. She stepped into them, and they tightened around her feet until they were perfect.

  “Ready when you are, Ace.”

  He sighed and offered her his arm. “We can get dinner in the city if you like, after you have finished your tour.”

  She slid her palm along the sleeve of his tunic. “Show me what I have gotten into and I will let you know.”

  “That is an offer I cannot refuse.” He smiled and led her out into the largest city on her new world. It was an exceptionally fun way to spend an afternoon.

  Chapter Eight

  While out learning the ins and outs of the city, she had been thinking about all the things she needed to do the research spurred by the conference call. When Honour returned home, there was a second desk in the corner of the bedroom, brimming with records and stacks of biological samples.

  Acuar stopped in his tracks when he saw it. “When did you request this?”

  She grinned and settled into her new territory. “During our outing. It seems that every time I had a thought, the forest put it into action.”

  “You didn’t make a direct request?”

  “Not really, just a mental list of requirements for me to start work on some of those negotiations. That is why I am here, right? I do the research and you make the final declarations?”

  He blinked. “That is the general idea, but the bride has always been a companion first.”

  She snickered. “Fine, keep me company. I will ask you questions and you will help me codify the answers. I have enough of an operating knowledge of the social behaviours in the Nyal Imperium to pick up on how any biologicals will be treated and what their odds of survival are.”

  She pulled files down in front of the window, and at her mental request, it opened. Floor to ceiling air and light.

  “You work on the floor?”

  She laughed at his surprise. “I would work up a tree if I could see to do it. I have never really enjoyed sitting at a desk.”

  With an amused smirk, Acuar grabbed the pillows from their bed and dropped them on the floor. He lay on his belly next to her, and she propped a pillow under her breasts while she looked over the first proposal. The Thwicks were requesting edible grasses, and the forest had supplied twelve different species.

  She asked him about the fibres in the different species, the amount of sunlight and the necessary water needed to grow them, as well as their sentience out of the Yalki system. Honour made several notes and nodded when Acuar gave her a moving account of how grasses were pleased to be of use to those who needed to eat them provided that the end process put them back where they could receive nutrients from the tail end of the digestive process.

  “Manure must be returned to the soil or must be provided to fallow fields. The processing of the waste is up to the species provided that the requisite base nutrients are still in play.”

  She could not believe that she was writing a contract stipulation about poop, but there it was. She sighed and kept working on the treatment of the seeds as Acuar gave the details to her.

  She did learn that all seeds were kept in a storage facility under the surface of Yalki. No one was getting to them unless they went through the entire population first. The seed vaults were sacred.

  “So, what is a fair price for the seeds?” Acuar nudged her with his elbow, looking at the files.

  “Current rates for a controllable food supply are the price of a moon, right now. When you add that the Thwicks are dangerous and few people will deal with them, you can set your own pricing. So, do you want currency or tech?”

  He grinned. “You can ask for either? Most races only offer currency.”

  “It is a bright new day. So, currency or tech?”

  She tried not to wriggle. He was stroking one hand up and down her back; her light clothing was no barrier to his touch.

  “Tech. We need some upgrades to the station and some personal conveyances on Yalki 6.”

  “That is not a very creative planet name.”

  He chuckled, “Its local name is the Sighing Bride. Is that better?” He shifted, and his fingers trailed over her shoulders.

  “It is a little better. If she is the Sighing Bride, who is the host?”

  “Her host is the primary moon in her orbit. He is faithful and dedicated, but he is the first stop for all visitors.”

  She chuckled and noted that they were reading by the light of her skin. “How long am I going to glow?”

  “Until you decide that you no longer need to read those files.”

  She snorted. “We have only made a decision on one out of eleven files.”

  “They have waited for a year, they can wait for a night longer.” He moved toward her and slid his hand up the back of her thigh.

  She turned on one hip and piled the files and data pads up neatly. She didn’t want to trip over them in the morning.

  Honour used her own fingertips to trail over his shoulder and arm. “What can’t wait for a night?”

  “Me.” He rolled her to her back and they made a mess of the files.

  Distracted, she decided that she could fix it in the morning.

  Honour woke in the bed in his arms. “Morning, Acuar.”

  He nuzzled her neck. “Your scent is sweeter than the rose you call your own.”

  Blushing was the natural response.

  He stroked his fingers along her cheek, “And this colour rivals the petals of that same flower.”

  She squirmed. “Thank you?”

  Acuar laughed and rolled with her across the bedding again. “You are most welcome.”

  They were wrapped in her hair and his. She was pinned in place. “That was sneaky.”

  “It was. I am very proud of myself.” He nuzzled his way down her body, her arms tangled with his.

  A knock at the door brought his head up. “You didn’t.”

  She laughed. “I can’t help it. It has been a long time since dinner.”

  He sighed and their hair untangled, allowing her to sit up and pull the sheets over her. “Come in.”

  She chuckled at the surprised expressions of the folk delivering their meal, but when they were alone again, she made a beeline for the food.

  He grabbed her by the waist and twirled her around.

  She shrieked and kicked. She hadn’t felt tiny since she was a toddler.
He kept her tucked under his arm and took a seat, settling her in his lap.

  He took it upon himself to feed her, so since her hands were free, she clasped his shaft and slowly worked the satiny skin up and down. Her meal was disrupted while he turned her to face him and slid into her slick heat.

  “Heh. I wondered how long you would last.” She rose on her knees and dropped onto him with precision.

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “I am beginning to see that you have an evil streak.”

  “It comes and goes.” Honour rode him slowly and nipped at his fingers with her extended canines when he dared to put a bite of food between her lips.

  Her release surprised her, and she gripped his shoulders, holding tight as her body shuddered. She bit his chest gently, leaving two small punctures.

  His bite was considerably more violent than hers had been but aftershocks woke in her body and her channel clasped his shaft as he shuddered against her.

  Their bodies were gleaming with sweat while they finished their meals, one feeding the other.

  Honour smiled internally, this was as close to a honeymoon as she was going to get.

  Four days later, they were preparing for her first trip to the space station. The clothing she was wearing delighted her.

  Head to toe, she was wrapped in a living suit that breathed as she did and provided her with an oxygen boost. Nayin had put her hair up in a sturdy coronet with tufts sticking out that resembled flower petals. It was quite pretty when it was combined with her blue and black suit.

  When Acuar finished getting into his suit, she put her hands on her hips and smiled at him. “Well, I am definitely prettier, but I enjoy looking at you in that tight suit more.”

  He grinned. “I am flattered, but you are far more suited to that suit than I had imagined.”

  “Excellent. Where do we go to get a ship?”

  He smiled, “Through the forest. Our shuttle pad is in the centre of the forest so that it is the first place we come to when we return home. Trust me, you will need to be there as quickly as you can be.”

  “How do you know all this? I thought you were only de-podded a few weeks before I was.” She snorted as they headed out through the glass doors that led into the forest.

  “I carry the knowledge of all the hosts that have gone before me. Therefore, I am smarter than you.” He smirked and patted her butt.

  He was very physically affectionate, always touching, kissing and distracting her anytime she tried to look up the brides who had gone before. She wanted to know if any of their descendants had made it through the population. He hadn’t let her at the records yet, and the forest was keeping her from focusing with its own educational regimen. Every moment that she had alone, the forest gave her horticultural information in brightly coloured panoramas. It was rather fun.

  Walking through the forest was like going to a family gathering, but one in which everyone around you was glad to see you.

  The path to the shuttle took them an hour, but it was an hour that made Honour’s soul sing. Trees that were older than the country she had been born in sang their greetings to her and told her of their love. It was a heady welcome.

  When they settled into the shuttle, their pilot was waiting. Honour was relieved that she didn’t have to fly. She could do it; she just didn’t like it.

  It seemed that Acuar didn’t like flying either. He held her hand and his fingers clenched the moment they lifted off.

  She decided to distract him. “Do you remember it all?”

  “Every moment we have been together.”

  She laughed. “Nice, but I meant which negotiations go with which species.”

  “Oh, that.” He lifted her hand and kissed it. “I remember it all, and I am sure that you will remind me if necessary.”

  “I am sure of it.” She leaned her head against his shoulder and watched Yalki fall away beneath them.

  Chapter Nine

  Honour was sick. Four days of negotiations had taken their toll on her, and she was exhausted and suffering but not because of her own withdrawal from the planet.

  Acuar was drawing on her energy, pulling strength and balance from her body every time they touched. It wasn’t malicious; he simply was far more attached to Yalki than she was.

  They were both relieved when they completed their negotiations and arrangements had been ratified with all parties. The Yalki system was going to be receiving a wave of new tech and had enough funds to sponsor defensive-weapons systems. It had been a productive few days, but it was a good thing that they were heading home.

  The moment they sat in the shuttle and their pilot took off, Acuar slumped against her.

  “Easy, Ace. We will be home soon.” She held his hand and tried to give him more. He fought her, but his body overrode his impulses, and she was a little weaker when she finished giving.

  “Thank you. I had never heard of a new bride lasting as long as you did. You are an exceptional woman, Rose.”

  She grinned. “I am aware of that, Ace. Now, hold tight and we will be home before you know it.”

  Honour looked at his chalky complexion and tried to hide her worry. There had been jokes by a few of the species that they should just kidnap the host and hold him for ransom. It was only after the second day that she realised that the host would simply die if he were away from Yalki for too long. That was what the bride was, a subtle battery pack that allowed him to travel. It wasn’t flattering, but it was the situation she was in.

  Acuar was breathing shallowly by the time they landed. Their pilot looked appalled at the idea of touching the host, so Honour used her remaining strength to pull him out of the ship and walked with him dazed and disoriented to the nearest copse of trees.

  She flopped him onto his back and dragged him until he was leaning against one of the oldest trees. His breathing eased and colour began to return to his face.

  Honour knelt next to her mate and watched him recover. The forest touched her and the nodes on her arms warmed as it replenished her lost energy.

  Her body was humming with power, and she understood not just that the forest had to be the first thing they touched, they needed it to be the last thing that they touched. The forest had not given her quite enough power for four days, but it had not anticipated the time and energy that she would expend. Trees did not measure time like animals did.

  She laughed as her skin glowed through the suit. Aside from being a little tired from travel, she was back to normal.

  Acuar reached out for her. “Hello, my Rose.”

  She crawled forward and snuggled against his side. “You sound better.”

  “I feel better. How did you get me out of the shuttle?”

  “I am stronger than I look.” She stroked his chest, feeling the beat of his heart. “Where were you born?”

  “I was born in a tree ten kilometres from here. The tree lowered the flower pod to the forest floor, and I walked out as you see me today, more or less.”

  She laughed. “I think you might have been wearing less.”

  “I believe I was wearing the same thing you were in the tank.” He chuckled. “I was somewhat dryer than you were. The plant material was absorbed into my skin.”

  Honour yawned and wrapped her arm across his chest, holding him as she drowsed. It was a good safe place to rest, so she did.

  She was moving, but she wasn’t walking. She opened her eyes a slit and saw Acuar above her. “You are ruining my nap.” She felt a kiss on her forehead.

  “You will sleep better in our bed.”

  She smiled and rubbed her cheek against his chest. “I don’t care where I sleep as long as you are there.”

  “Yes, my bride, now go to sleep, and when you wake, I will be there.”

  Honour felt the truth in the forest and in her connection to Acuar. They would all be together. There was no other option. They were bound now and until Honour passed on. If they wanted a negotiator then, they woul
d have to find another bride.

  “Nayin, where are the archives pertaining to the brides?”

  Her new friend froze and then swallowed. “They are in the seed vault.”

  Honour fought the urge to look directly in Nayin’s eyes. For some reason, whenever she did that, Nayin locked in place until Honour broke the eye contact.

  “That is a weird ass place to put them.”

  “It is where the brides and their records have always been stored.”

  That brought Honour’s head around. “They store the brides?”

  Acuar cleared his throat from the doorway. “Let me field this, Nayin. You are dismissed.”

  Nayin made a run for it.

  “You are lucky she was finished, or I would be ticked, Ace. Now, I want to see where the brides and their records are stored.”

  “You will not like it.”

  “Why are they not with the hosts?”

  “The hosts return to the land. The Freyalki return to the land. The brides remain intact for posterity.”

  “Creepy, but I still want to see them.” Honour got to her feet and stared at her mate. “Now. We have no appointments today, and I have wanted to try out that skimmer. Let’s go.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “I do not like this.”

  She reached up to pat his cheek. “I know, but this is something I need to know. You have the knowledge of the hosts who have gone before you. I don’t know anything about the women who were chosen and why. I need to know who they were so that I know my place in the lineup.”

  He nodded and put his arm around her waist as he escorted her to the skimmer launch on the roof. She put her hands on the controls, and he stood behind her, hanging on to the rails surrounding the panel.

  He gave her the coordinates, and she powered up the skimmer, launching them into the air just above the tree line. The seed vault was an hour away from the city, and the guards looked shocked to see her when they entered the security gates at the entrance.

  “Lady. I…we…a bride has never walked these halls.” The captain of the guard came running and skidded to a halt in front of her.