Sol, p.19
Sol, page 19
part #3 of Lyqa Planet Lovers Series
Sol shakes his head and goes back to blowing kisses at our daughter. She’s swaddled in his lap. She’s only a week old and can’t really do anything, but that doesn’t stop him from cooing and kissing all over her. I watch them in awe. This isn’t even the same alien I met a month ago.
“You’re going to spoil her.”
He’s pulled one of her feet from the swaddle and is busy kissing her tiny toes. I shake my head at how he places a peck on each little one, but I can’t talk. That baby is delicious.
“What does that mean, to spoil?”
I snort.
“It means to give her everything she wants and never tell her no.”
He stops kissing her and stares pensively forward for a second before giving a resolute nod of his head.
“I am going to do this.”
I laugh and roll my eyes just as a knock sounds out at the door.
Jumping to my feet, I skip over, calling out.
“Come in!”
It opens, and I immediately draw short.
It takes me a second to realize that Fry Guy is holding a gun and not my plate of french fries. Fear immediately registers, but I still can’t help but mentally shake my head.
“It figures.”
He aims the weapon at my face and steps inside.
“Move.”
His usually placid expression is contorted in rage. I take a step back, flinching when his hand wavers.
“Sol, go.”
I send the thought out as I slowly back into the room.
“If he tries to leave with that child, I will kill you.”
“YOU DARE!”
Sol’s bellow echoes through the room so suddenly that I duck and cover my face, sure that Fry Guy is gonna pull the trigger from pure shock. Instead, he lunges and yanks me back against him. He’s just a kid, but he’s big. His thick arm locks around my neck, and I gag as he hoists me off the floor. The hazy feeling of my air supply being cut off rushes over me. I pull at his arm, but it does no good. In front of me, Sol’s eyes widen in panic.
“Release her!”
“Put the child down and step away, or I will end your human, right now.”
My fingers go numb and fall away. It almost feels like that time me and Tee got that dude at the gas station to buy us a bottle of cognac and a bottle of pineapple juice, and we passed out after drinking the whole thing behind the house. A loud rush fills my ears, but I can just make out Sol’s pleading reply.
“I will do as you ask. Please, release her.”
The pressure is gone at once, and I’m dropped back to my feet. I cough, dragging in deep, burning breaths. Fry Guy’s hand clamps my neck, and when I finally feel like I’m no longer about to pass out, he takes a handful of my hair and jerks back. I feel the muscles in his arm give way for a second when I yelp in pain.
“Step away from the child.”
I pull against his hold just enough to see Sol take the smallest step away from the bed where he’s left Tami. I frown and try to shake my head, but he isn’t looking at me. His eyes are locked on Fry Guy.
“I said, step away from the child. She is no longer your concern. She does not belong here anyway.”
Sol’s face goes rigid, and his chest heaves. He’s barely keeping control. When he speaks, his voice quivers with rage.
“You would harm a youngling? A princess of our people?”
“She is not my princess! What will she know of our way? Already you have brought this—this—woman here.” He yanks my head for emphasis, and we both grunt in pain. “She is corrupting our way. She has changed things that should not have been changed!”
“She is your queen! Release her!”
Sol takes a step forward, and Fry Guy brings the gun to my neck. I tense. He’s shaking almost as bad as I am, probably because he’s holding my hair so tight tears squeeze from my eyes. I press my lips closed to keep from screaming like I want to.
“I will kill her! Now step away from the child. Now!”
Sol finally looks at me, and I see that he’s going to do it. I try to shake my head again, but I still can’t move my neck.
“Sol, you better not let him kill our baby. Let him shoot me and then you kick his ass!”
“If you attack me, I will ensure that child dies. The poison did not do its job, but I will not make the same mistake twice. If you do as I say, she will be cared for.”
The door opens, bringing a gust of cool air from the hall. I hope that it’s someone to help us, but a moment later, a form passes across the corner of my eye. When she finally gets into my line of vision, a gasp of painful air fills my lungs.
Kermit’s wife stops between me and Sol with her back to me.
“You know what I desire. I swear to you that I will raise your youngling as my own. I will raise her with care.” The Zefr woman turns from Sol and focuses her milky white eyes on me. “I promise.”
It is a whispered declaration, and if she wasn’t trying to take my kid, I’d say that gargle sounded sincere.
She starts toward the bed, and I jerk against Fry Guy’s hold, not caring if I lose a handful of hair. Sol steps between her and our daughter.
“She is ours. I cannot let you take her. Why do you do this?”
She stops.
“You have branded us traitors. There is nowhere we can go with honor. I will never be able to nest.”
Sol’s face hardens.
“You made this choice when you went against the terms of your asylum. You did this! Your mate did this!”
She shrugs, and I want nothing more than to fly across the room and slap her.
“I want a child. He is going to kill you both anyway. I am saving your daughter from such a fate. I will care for her. This is your only choice.”
Sol’s expression wavers and his gaze flickers to our daughter then back to the Zefr woman. They stare at each other for a long moment, and I realize they must be speaking telepathically.
“Sol—don’t.” His eyes lift to mine, and I know right away what he’s going to do. “No!”
I can only watch in shock as Sol steps out of the way. The Zefr woman goes to the bed and lifts Tami. She cradles her gently to her chest. The warty slit of her mouth curves into a smile. Without a word, she turns and walks back toward the door. As she gets close, I reach out, but Fry Guy jerks me back out of reach, and the woman slips out of the room.
The feeling leaves my body. My legs collapse, forcing Fry Guy to release my hair as he tries to keep me from sliding to the floor. I sink to my knees anyway.
“Why did you do that, Sol?”
Sheh, do not worry. I am here for you. I will protect you.
“Why did you let her take Tami?”
Trust me, Sheh.
Sol’s voice is gentle. I raise my eyes to find him smiling. He holds my gaze for a moment and then winks. My face pulls into a frown.
“Ariyati an Somiiti’un, I would know why you are betraying your people in this way before you kill us.”
I feel rather than see the shock of the boy behind me. He has the gun to the back of my head, and I couldn’t care less. All I can think about is that froggy bitch getting further and further away with my baby.
“You know who I am?”
Sol frowns and tilts his head.
“You do me the honor of serving in my household, and you think I do not know your given name? I am your king.”
He nudges my head sharply with the gun.
“You claim she is my queen, and yet she calls me ‘Fry Guy’.”
I’m whipping around before I know it to glower up at him.
“I’m fucking bad with names!”
That razor-toothed chick is running off with my kid, and it’s all cause I gave this little boy a nickname?
“Is your queen correct? Did you try to poison her and our child, are you betraying us now because she has disrespected you by referring to you as her favorite meal? This I understand. She calls me Big Bird Terminator. Although, I have explained to her many times that I am not a bird.”
“Seriously, dude?” I shoot back.
His eyes flicker lazily down to me before focusing back on—Ari, who is so angry it looks like steam is going to come shooting from his ears. I low key move out the line of fire while his focus is on Sol.
“I am not the one who betrayed you. You betrayed our people, and you betrayed my sister!”
My head swivels back to Sol. Oh snap! My look asks the question I can’t voice out loud. His sister?
“So you are doing this because I dismissed your sister as my companion?”
“Your companion?”
I arch a brow up at Sol, and he surprises me by flicking his eyes quickly back into his head.
“I had not met her. The council selected her for me years ago. It is how these things are usually done.”
“Mm hm.”
“She is Somii. She should be queen. Not this human!”
Ari spits the words down at me and shifts the gun back in line with my head.
“And what will you do when you have killed us? Your sister will still not be queen.”
“Your cousin will ascend. He will need a partner. Masi’ata has already been groomed to be queen. She will be chosen.”
He can’t see the face I make, but Sol catches the subtle shift of my eyes to the side and the twist of my mouth. If this little boy only knew.
“Is anger your first emotion?”
“Sire?”
I can’t see Ari’s face, but I imagine he looks just as confused as I am. Sol does realize that froggy hoe is absconding with our daughter?
“Anger, Ariyati an Somiiti’un. This feeling you are experiencing right now. This thing that is making you want to kill your sovereign and your queen. The thing that made you give a youngling of your own kind to an enemy. Have you only ever felt this?”
“Yes.”
It is a tightly worded admission. Sol nods and takes a step forward.
“I love her.” He nods down at me. “You have never known love, but if you had, you would know that this feeling you have is nothing compared to the power of my love for her. And you would also know that the only thing greater than the love I have for this human is the love we share for our daughter, and,” he smiles down at me, “the love our daughter has for us in return. Take him.”
A short grunt sounds out behind me, and I turn just in time to see Kyr pull a syringe away from Ari’s neck. The boy slumps to the ground beside me.
In an instant, Sol is at my side. He pulls me from the floor and into his arms.
“Oh, my god. How did he know?”
Sol leans over and kisses my forehead.
“Tami, showed me,” Kyr replies as he kicks the gun away from Ari. “She is a very good telepath. Is she unharmed?”
Sol and I both turn to look at him. My heart, which has only just settled, picks up again.
“You don’t have her? The Zefr woman, she took her.”
Kyr’s eyes widen, and he looks from me to Sol.
“I did not see them. I did not know she had been taken.”
I’m pushing past him and out the door before he even finishes. I run down the hall in the direction to leave the castle.
“No, no, no, no.”
The halls seem longer than usual. I run faster as I try to think about how much time has passed since the woman left. It feels like forever, but it’s probably only been five minutes. Is that enough time to get out of the castle? Will anyone stop a strange Zefr if they see her leaving with my kid?
I skid to a halt when I take a right and come to a dead end. I made a wrong turn somewhere.
“Shit!”
I turn back. My slippered feet slap against the stone floor, and the sound echoes loudly off the bare walls of the castle. As I run, I clasp my mental hands together.
“Please, Black Jesus, don’t let this lady take my baby. Tami, baby, where are you?”
My vision blanks. I’m looking up at the ceiling. Whoever’s carrying her is still inside. Above, the sharp points of the chandeliers outside our chambers pass by.
My eyes focus back on the hall. I start running again, returning in the direction of our apartments. She hasn’t left yet. For some reason, the Zefr woman has doubled back. I run as fast as I can. My legs burn, my chest burns, but I keep running. When I finally turn the corner to the hall where I saw them in my head, a sob breaks from my throat and I slow, dropping to my knees in exhaustion.
Oni’at, that jerk, is standing a few feet away holding my daughter and looking like he would rather be doing anything else in the world. He holds her out to me, his thick brows shifting down slightly.
“Our princess is—demanding.”
Sol appears at the other end of the hall and rushes toward us. I’m too tired to do more than hold my hands out, and he takes our swaddled baby from Oni’at and brings her to me.
I pull her against my chest and sob with relief. She looks up at me and her orange eyes are bright. Sol leans forward and presses a kiss to her dark curls and pulls us both against his big body.
“I found the Zefr woman stopped on the steps leading out of the castle. Your youngling would not release her. She has been detained, and she and her mate will be removed from Somii immediately. As long as you agree, my queen.”
I look up in surprise. Oni’at stares patiently as he waits for my response. I finally nod and look back down at my daughter.
“I want them gone today. All of them.”
“My queen.”
He nods and turns away. As he walks past the opening to our rooms, he waves his hand and two large Somii exit into the hall with Ari. Each one holds an arm, although it doesn’t seem like the kid’s putting up much of a fight.
“Hold up. Here.”
I pass Tami to Sol and stand, going over to where they’ve stopped with Ari. He glares down at me.
“It was rude of me to call you Fry Guy, Ariyati an Somiiti’un.” His eyes widen in surprise. I may be bad with names, but I’m not a complete jerk. I try. I really do. So I almost feel bad about what I’m gonna do. But not really, though.
I haul back and punch him in the face.
SOLUANITIAT’TI SOMIITI’UN
“You must try not to harm yourself, Shay.”
She turns from where she’s soaking her hand in a bowl of healing water and frowns.
“Shay? Who the fuck is Shay?”
I shrug.
“My cousin taught me how to pronounce your name correctly.”
She lifts her hand and flicks water at my head with a glare.
“Don’t call me that. I like the way you say it.”
I catch her wrist and pull her toward me, lifting her against my body and walking us to the bed. I toss her onto her back and fall over her, catching my weight with my arms.
“What else do you like, Sheh.”
“Um…” She closes one eye and pretends to think. “I like burgers and french fries with mild sauce. I like Oni’at—surprisingly. I like copulation.”
She wraps her legs around my waist and hoists her middle up against me. I groan and flex my hips down.
“And what do you love, Sheh?”
Her beautiful hazel eyes pierce into mine. She angles her head up and flicks her tongue out, catching my bottom lip.
“I love you, boo.”
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
DEAR READERS,
I hope you enjoyed this third installment of the Lyqa series. A few of you have been waiting for LaShay’s story, and it was a journey writing it. My intended date to have this released was March, but as I always say, creativity is unpredictable. Still, I love this story and these characters, and I hope you do, too!
I’m going to take a Lyqa break as I ponder Ah’dan and how best to tell his story. As many of you have predicted, it’s much more complicated than his brothers’. Until then, I’ll be finishing the first in the Conjure Boys series. Look for it in the next couple of months!
As always, I appreciate every reader I have, and I love to hear your feedback. I am always working to improve the quality of my work, and this includes working within my self-publishing budget to contract proofreaders to help make sure those pesky errors don’t make their way into the finished product. This may mean more time between releases, but it’s worth it for a product that has a lower margin of error and ensures you get your money’s worth.
Please, leave a review if you have time, and share with your friends!
Happy Reading,
Nikki
Say It Like a Lyqa
Kwarq : KwahR-q (Hard R, Q is a click in the throat)
Bati : Pah-tee
Ah’dan : Ah-Dahn (breathy H both times with a noticeable pause between syllables)
Quth : Kooth (K is a soft click in the throat)
Mahdi : Makh-Di (H is a little harsh)
Li'aht : Lee-aut
T’nai : Teh-Nye
Maq’ti : Mock-Tee (CK is soft click in the throat)
Sa’qar : Suh-Kar (K is soft click in the throat)
H’sim : Heh-Sim
T’Nuhr: Teh-Noor
Qim : Keem (K is a soft click in the throat)
Qiton : Kee-tahn
S’wad : Soo-Wad
Qitoni : Kee-tah-ni
Say It Like a Somii
Soluanitiat’ti Somiiti’un : So-lu-ah-ni-ti-ah-ti Soh-my-ti-oon
Somii: Soh-my
Kyristin’ai at Somiiti’un: Keer-ris-tuh-nye aht Soh-my-ti-oon
Tamianatiat’ti Somiiti’un: Tom-mee-ah-nah ti-ah-ti Soh-my-ti-oon
Oni’at: Oh-ni-aut
Nikki Clarke, Sol
