Greetings Fellow Readers.
I hope your week is treating you well and no one is suffering from seasonal affective disease as we near the ever-celebrated Christmas.
I myself have been arguing with a client about their book and once more feel if a client has so many damn requests they should just write the book themselves and save me the effort!
Anyway, I'm posting a longer-than-normal post today as there may be a chance I won't get another opportunity to pose on Friday, but we'll see. Please note, I am horrible at writing romance, so this may come across as cringy but I don't apologise!
If any of you are wondering about the family that Bolx refers to, be patient a little longer. Each one will be introduced, and I don't want to spoil their intros by writing an Introduction Chapter about them quite yet! Enjoy the chapter!
Saita avoided the Saith after that but accepted his offer to travel with him to his home world when it was time for her to travel. Her papers were in order, everything was paid for, and the only thing that was required was the basics of understanding Saith. Something she had started to learn when she was spending time with Bolx but hadn’t practised in her avoidance of him. She had barely managed to scrape through the basic verbal test much to Chaka and Bruno’s relief. The examiner had given her reading material with a frown.
“Read up,” he said as his tail swished in irritation. “And while you are at it try reading a few books on how to greet more politely. You will be the first human allowed on the planet since the war. Don’t embarrass your species more than the previous king did.”
“Yes, sir,” she said as she took the books.
“And do you know what? Good luck, I have seen your fight, you have done well for yourself.”
Then he escorted her and Bolx to the room where they would be staying on the ship that was travelling to Saith planet. The journey would take about two weeks and there would be several more competitors being picked up during this time. Saita felt better knowing that she wasn’t the only one that had been picked up this way. Her joy was replaced by shock when she saw the room. Only one bed was available.
“You’re joking, right?” demanded Saita as she turned to look at the Saith that had escorted them.
The Saith went through the list and chuckled. “Ah. I see the mistake. Not partners.”
“No!” echoed Saita and Bolx.
“I’ll see what I can do to fix this, but I believe that this was the last room available. Push comes to shove the couch is nice.”
He paled as Saita growled at him and pointed at the door. “Out!”
Somehow her Saith improved in her anger and the guide laughed as he left the room. Saita hurled her tog bag across the room in irritation. “Why was that assumption made?”
“We have spent a long time hanging out,” said Bolx with a grin. “Likely your friend Bruno was trying to be funny. Look, I’ll find somewhere else to bed down for the two weeks that we are here.”
“No. Don’t bother. You made an effort to still come after the way I treated you. Stay. I’ll take the couch.” she muttered. “Not that I actually sleep mind you.”
Bolx went to open the curtains and looked down at the people gathering below the ship. He was worried. He was heading home after some time, and he was not sure what to expect. However, there was a letter in his bag that had been sent by his eldest sister that had simply said.
Come home. We have a lot to talk about.
“Hey! Terrestrial being to Bolx, did you hear me?”
Saita’s voice cut through his internal struggle, and he turned to look at her. She must have noticed his face because she looked at him in concern. “I’m sorry I overreacted. You didn’t deserve that.”
“It’s not that.” he set his bag in a cupboard and indicated that she should do the same. “Come, we need to find our seats for take-off.”
She nodded her head and took the key card from the table before leaving the room. Bolx couldn’t help but smile a little. She was not covering her face anymore. He wondered if it was because of the four scars that ran across it now. That she felt that she was unrecognizable. She wasn’t. Bolx smiled at her back. He had inherited one thing from his mother, his love for scars.
Their seats were next to each other, but he let Saita sit next to the small window so that she could enjoy the view. He had seen it too many times to enjoy it.
“Will Edzeeker be there?” asked Saita softly.
Bolx had first thought that he had misheard her as he was paying attention to the safety briefing, so he looked at her in confusion and she had to repeat what she had asked. He shook his head and said. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him in a while. I don’t exactly write to him.”
He saw her clasping her hands and her jaw clenched. He started to reach over to her but stopped and instead said. “I am not reporting to him Saita. Not after I found out what he did. What do I need to do to prove to you I am not in league with him?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered as she turned back to face the window.
Bolx sighed under his breath and continued to listen to the safety briefing. He was irritated and Saita was just getting on his nerves now. He didn’t need to go through this. As soon as they were allowed to return to their room, he would collect his things and find somewhere else to sleep.
“What is your home world like?” she asked suddenly. “And your family?”
The questions startled him, and he sat in silence for a while before he said. “The main home world is very much like Earth but at night we have two moons and a red sky instead of black. The secondary home world is a little drier and has many grasslands. The nights are black with only a single moon.”
She turned to watch him speak. “Which do you prefer?”
“I have travelled so much, in my time and yours, I don’t have a preference.”
“Family? Large or small?”
“I’m one of a set of triplets. I’m the middle child. I have two older sisters and a younger brother. There is an exceptionally large age gap between us and our older sister but that is another story. Our sister is the Queen of the main home world while her youngest son is the King of the other world.”
“And your parents? Are they still both alive?”
“Last time I checked they were only old, no more.”
“Will you be seeing them while on the planet?”
“Likely. Saasha has made it clear that I need to go talk to her.”
“Do you miss them?”
He half chuckled. “In my time most of them had died so coming here to find them all still alive was...it both broke my heart knowing what was coming and knowing that I still had time with them.”
She was silent as she watched the ship take off. She remained silent until the safety briefing officer said it was time for the passengers to collect for supper.
“Do we even have a chance to save this world?”
This had been the first time she had spoken about what he had told her, and he was somewhat taken aback. “I don’t know. The taint is here but none of those that follow the Fell Dragon has shown up yet. We may have time, or we may not.”
“How are we going to fix this?”
“If I knew that I would not be here.” he got to his feet. “I’m going to see about switching to another room.”
Saita grabbed his hand and gripped it tightly. Bolx turned to look at her. “What? Motion sick. It’s strange for a ship like this but not unheard of.”
“Please just give me time,” she said softly, not looking at him. “I have a lot of baggage I can’t unpack without knowing what happened to me.”
He didn’t need to know what she was talking about to understand what she was asking from him. “We’re friends Saita. I’m here for you. Let’s start there and stay there until you want to move forward, okay?”
“Yes.”
Saita had not slept much in the last two weeks, but she had felt more relaxed than she had in years. During the days on the ship, she and Bolx amused themselves with the various activities and even met some of the competitors she would be facing. Overall, the other competitors were nice, even with Saita being human. At night, however, she was left to her dark thoughts while Bolx slept. She would spend hours staring out the window in their room until the lights started to lighten the room naturally, mimicking a sun rising.
In the two weeks that they had been aboard the ship, she had only fallen asleep on the last night, only to be woken by Bolx from a nightmare before it got worse. She had thrown her arms around him and held on for dear life as her heart and breathing slowed down. He didn’t say anything. What could he say? He didn’t know what she had been through. He couldn’t offer her anything but his arms as she shivered in terror. He remembered the pain that his Saita had constantly been in after she had the device put into her body. She had lied and hidden it from him, but he knew. Just like he knew the memories that this Saita carried in her dreams were going to haunt her for the rest of her life. A life he knew was already considerably shorter than it should be.
“Just take the bed,” he said softly. “There are a few more hours before we land, and you need the rest.”
“Can’t sleep. Don’t want the stress of the nightmares.”
“Then come lie with me,” he said as he let go of her. “I’m still tired and no coffee in the world is going to keep me awake if I don’t get another two hours in.”
She shook her head, and he shrugged his shoulders. “Suit yourself.”
He flopped back onto the bed without pulling the bed covers over him. Saita sat watching him in the dark. Remembering the way, it actually felt to have someone hug her like that. She had forgotten how much she had loved it as a kid and how much joy it had brought her son. She wanted that. She needed that. She got to her feet and slowly made her way to the bed. She remembered how a hug had meant safety to her so long ago. She stood next to the side of the bed, unsure of how to ask for what she needed when Bolx rolled to his side and lifted an arm. “Come on.”
She lay down on the bed and faced him as he wrapped his arms around her. He put a chin on top of her head and mumbled something she didn’t hear. She curled her legs in and set her hands against his chest. He sighed and seemed to fall asleep. She lay there, awkwardly, not really comfortable but enjoying the feeling of being close to someone else.
Only for a little while.
She closed her eyes and lay there for a while, but the nightmare was still fresh in her memory. Her eyes snapped open, and she rolled from the Saith’s grip. Yet, the moment her back was turned Bolx grabbed at her shoulder and forced her back against his chest. He then released her shoulder and sought out her hand which he held onto. He curled himself around her and tucked an arm under her head.
“There.” he half muttered. “No nightmares.”
Saita was too startled to move. She lay there and felt what she thought was panic but then something happened. She felt exhausted. She wanted to cry; she was so tired. She quelled the feeling and closed her eyes again. This was safe. A different safe but a safe, nonetheless. She felt Bolx’s fingers interlace her fingers on her left hand, and she gripped them hard. This was real. She felt warm, safe, and so very tired. She closed her eyes and allowed this to happen. To feel safe after the constant stress of the last 18 months felt...she didn’t even have a word for it. The terror of the nightmare slipped away and for the first time since she was taken, she felt that she could sleep without the fear of something terrible happening to her.
She slept, nightmare and pain-free. The only reason she eventually woke was that Bolx stirred behind her, and his hand slipped in under her shirt to grip her belly.
“I’m not okay with that,” she whispered, hoping that he was awake.
He grumbled something and rolled over onto his back, releasing her completely. She slipped from the bed feeling like she had just lost something, but she couldn’t help but have a smile on her face. There had been no nightmares while she was with him. She left him to sleep as she went to get something to eat. She was suddenly famished.
Bolx found her in the cafeteria after about two hours. He seemed a little confused at first to see Saita actively eating.
“It’s been a while since I last saw you eat,” he said as he sat down. “Did the nightmare make you hungry?”
“Not in as many words,” she said as she put her coffee down. “But thank you for what you did last night.”
“What did I do?” he put his hand in the air to attract the attention of the waiter.
“You don’t remember?” she actually felt a little hurt.
“You mean the hug?” he asked as he showed the waiter what he wanted to eat and drink. “It looked like you needed it.”
“Yeah...the hug, that’s exactly what I am talking about,” she said sarcastically.
Bolx grinned and said. “Do you want to talk about the ‘hug’?”
She realised then that he was playing her, and she blushed heavily and tried to hide behind the mug she had in her hand.
“Did you sleep without any fear?” he asked softly.
“I don’t remember having any dreams,” she mumbled.
“Well, if you ever need a place to rest, to close your eyes and not see the horror you have been through I am here. Okay? You make the moves.”
“It wasn’t a move.” she hissed.
She then sighed and said. “Closeness to someone is safety.”
She looked at the confused Saith before she sighed and finally told him how she had come to be with the royals. How she had been welcomed by them and how much it had hurt her to hear the things they had said about her. Bolx listened. This was the first time she had ever made the effort to talk about herself and her feelings. He let her talk to her heart’s content while he ate. He had never realised the immense trauma she had gone through, the trauma she had never had an opportunity to deal with. It was no wonder that she would not trust him.
He put a hand on hers to stop her from talking for a moment. “Hey.”
She paused, realised what she had been saying, blushed deeply and tried to move away but he was still holding onto her hand.
“You know that it is okay to feel? The good and the bad. Have you had the time to really process what happened to you?”
“I am surviving,” she said softly.
“But is that enough?”
“I’m alive, aren’t I?”
“Are you?”
“You make me feel alive again,” she whispered as she pulled her hand back.
Bolx grinned a little and said. “Good. We need to go back to the room.”
“Why?”
“I spied my home world earlier. We will be coming in for a landing soon, and we should probably pack up what is ours before we leave.”
“Oh.”
“What were you thinking?”
“Nothing!”
He laughed at her and got to his feet. “Let’s go. I can’t wait for you to see my planet. Your language has improved enough that I will not be absolutely ashamed to have you at my side.”
And so Saita finally arrives on the Saith planet. What awaits her? Will the Saith treat her as her own person, or will they only see her as the eldest daughter of a mad king who had attacked them with no cause? Guess you'll have to wait and see with the next update.
For those of you just joining us, please note that this the third book in the Fell Dragon series. Follow this link to read the two earlier books:
Fell Dragon Book 1
Fell Dragon Book 2
As the series continues, it will combine with another book series I wrote. To avoid confusion about what is happening, introductory chapters will be introduced separately so that you don't have to be lost. However, these chapters will contain spoilers. You can find these chapters here:
Races Explained
Banishment
Royal Guard
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Haven't read the other parts yet? Follow these handy links:
Part 12>>You are Here>>Part 14