Viola Grace Read online

  “You have seen them?”

  “Yes. I saw it. Confirmed the memory and smashed the crystal. She didn’t need others to gawk at it. Luon was desperate for a new host, so I understand why. I also know he has tried to make it up to her.”

  Yelfon leaned in. “Were you going to tell me?”

  She pressed herself against him and showed her memory to him, including her surprise. “I can only say most likely. I had no idea. My mind is that of a woman who was finished with all the messiness of youth.”

  He grinned. “I enjoy it when you get messy.”

  She blushed. “So do I, but as I can count six pairs of eyes staring at us right now, I will simply pause that impulse until we have privacy.”

  He swung her into his arms, and she laughed as he carried her for a tour of his masterwork.

  The bathroom had mirrors, the bedroom had mirrors, the receiving room was a wide and open space. It was lovely. He then gave her a more in-depth tour of the cleverness of his design, and as she clung to the delicate chains that still somehow took her weight, she enjoyed his attention to detail.

  He held her through the night, and they began again when she woke. Having him with her had some very obvious benefits.

  * * * *

  Mathla-Luon looked down at the new building, and she tracked the life signs within. Elizabeth didn’t know that she had become the spirit of the Terrans, but she would be safe here. She grinned. Bonding her genes to that of the Dremarai had been a whim, but it had worked out well. She might ask for more in the future. Some of them could use companions. She would have Elizabeth ask. She had a touch for getting to the heart of people and working her way into the thoughts of ancients.

  The child would be fun. It might crack the resistance of the last of the ancients and get them into the mood to remember the worlds they lived on and the lives that they witnessed.

  The project had taken huge strides in the last few months, and it would surge onward in the future. Maybe a few more Terrans would help move things along?

  Epilogue

  Libby was excited. This was the first world she had walked on aside from Luon.

  She was dressed the way she was always dressed, and Yelfon was holding their baby.

  They walked up to the greeting party, and the smaller people bowed. It was then that Libby remembered she was ridiculously tall.

  Yelfon smiled. “Greetings, High Prefect D’hai. Thank you for allowing this visit.”

  “Ancient Yelfon, it is an honour to finally see you.”

  The little one yawned, and he waved his small fists.

  Yelfon smiled. “This is my wife, Elizabeth, and my son Nedoric.”

  The baby’s pale blue fist waved again. Yelfon put his huge finger into the child’s grasp, and there was a huge squeal as the child started pulling.

  “This is my wife, Master Healer Myka.”

  Myka was staring at Elizabeth. “You are...”

  “Call me Libby. I was a custom order.” She smiled and offered her hands to Myka.

  Myka took her hands, and they stood as Libby lightly cruised across her memories until she laughed in surprise.

  Myka blinked. “Pardon?”

  “I got caught by hospitality as well. Well, that was the bait. We just kept going.” She murmured it quietly.

  Myka laughed. “Me too.”

  The men were already talking, and D’hai was reaching out to play with Nedoric.

  The ladies turned and walked through the gardens. They only had an hour before their family journey had to reconvene.

  “So, you are definitely Terran.” Myka nodded.

  “I am. I was reset to the best physical shape I could be in, and then, they added Dremarai genes and enhanced my normal talents for observation.”

  “I just got a booster for the psychic talent for healing and was on my way.”

  “Ah, well, I was a little older than you when the process started.” She explained the Reset Project, and they talked about living with magic and the people who wielded it.

  The hour flew past, and when they rejoined the guys, Yelfon’s mind indicated that he had gotten some good tips on dealing with a Terran.

  Libby smiled and took their son. “Come on, big boy. Time for a snack.”

  As the hour completed, he started to squall. She kissed her husband on the cheek and then went to take care of her son. There were somethings that even a devoted father and nanny couldn’t do.

  She settled in her chair on the shuttle and fed their son. She sighed happily. This visit, short as it was, had made Yelfon so happy. It was good. He was stronger for it, and now, he could stop hovering over Nedoric as if he was the last of his kind. He was the first of his kind, so there should be hope and not fear.

  Libby finished nursing, burped the little prince, and her husband arrived to take him and tidy him up. She covered up and started work on her speech for the Nyal archive, and their shuttle took off precisely when it was scheduled to. Luon was controlling it and enjoying his first time as a remote-control system.

  It was a lovely ancients’ day out, and everyone back home was waiting to see the artifacts and records about ancients that were being hand-copied just for them.

  Taking their son with them hadn’t been ideal, but her pregnancy had stretched into eleven months, and that had run their timeline for this visit to the ragged edge. So, they were taking a baby on a two-week tour of their part of the universe.

  Baby’s first road trip. With no roads. He was a sturdy traveller, just like his mom.

  Author’s Note

  Elizabeth was fun. Traveller and survivor. She reminds me of a lot of older women that I have met who have seen some crap and do not care anymore.

  Next up will be the tale of an injured shift supervisor on an old rig who fights her way away from death but still ends up ordering burly guys around for a living.

  Thanks for reading,

  Viola Grace

  About the Author

  Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.

  An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around, and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.

  In real life, she now is engaged in beekeeping, and her adventures can be found on the YouTube channel, Mystery Bees Apiary. Just look for the cartoon kittens.