The Melier: Home World (Women of Dor Nye Book 2) (3 page)

Upon closer inspection, a particularly prominent species of tree along the road kept
changing color
. One moment its foliage would be green, the next it would turn pink or pale purple, seemingly doing so for no apparent reason.

All around her, the calls of wildlife broke the silence, giving no peace to anyone; it was comforting.

It really is fucking hot.

The creases of her limbs were beginning to grow slick with sweat as the heat and humidity worked on her body. She wasn’t even exerting herself by walking and she was turning into a mess. Her curls were getting heavy on her head, becoming an unruly jumble.

Another swipe of her hand over her forehead smeared the beads of moisture away, and that’s when she noticed the palace looming in the distance and the two yellow suns far in the sky.

No wonder I’m roasting.

Lucia turned her head to glare over at Zun. His eyes were trained ahead, but as if he had a sixth sense, he eventually turned to look at her. His hairless brow rose.

“You didn’t tell me there were
two
suns on this oven of a planet,” she whisper yelled. “I’m literally
melting
.” Again, she wiped at sweat, this time along her jaw.

“Yes, I am aware,” he returned his attention ahead. “Your scent is very potent.”

Soren’s chest rumbled amusement at her back. Lu elbowed him with her arm that wasn’t holding Lenny and was satisfied with his grunt.

“Her pheromones are all I can smell.”

“It is worse when she sweats,” Soren agreed.

“It’s rude to talk about people like they aren’t there,” she waved a hand. They’d been doing that a lot lately.

A large bird squawked from overhead and Lucia nearly jumped out of her hot skin. Her gaze lifted to the canopy above them and saw an extremely
huge
red and yellow bird soaring above the tree tops. Her eyes widened and she
hoped
it wasn’t a people eater. “How dangerous
is
this planet?”

“Do not worry,” Soren kissed the top of her head again. “You will not be harmed.”

Lucia stared at the beauty of the palace as they got ever closer. It was made of a blue and white stone that reflected the suns in certain spots, with dark blue multiple domed tops which sprung from an enormous, square foundation. The sandy yellow road they were traveling led straight to it.

The trees all around the path thinned and changed species as the forest fell behind them. They were tall, skinny and barely had any foliage except above in the canopy. Low laying flora could be seen for stretches among the roots of the trees ranging from bright, vibrant yellow to dark orange and broken up by bits of dawn blue flowers that reminded her of Lenny’s skin.

By the time they were dismounting, Lucia nearly needed to be
peeled
from the orana. She was in desperate need of a bath and cool air.

The beasts were led away by the guards and Lucia turned a pleading gaze up to Soren.

“I need
time
before the banquet,” she whispered as she invaded his
bubble
, breaking her neck to look up at him. “I can’t be around all these sensitive noses
smelling
like I do.” Her panic began to rise at the thought of more embarrassing comments from a people who already thought she was a
creature
. She really didn’t want to give them fuel for their fire.

To her relief, Soren cupped her face and kissed her forehead, nodding. “You will have time then.”

As they neared the large, arched double doors of the palace entry, they were opened by two guards on the inside. When they finally entered through the doors and freezing cold air hit her skin, she yelped, and sighed in relief. She swept her hair off her neck and was tempted to stand there and moan in delight if she wasn’t so acutely aware of how sweaty she was.

Lucia let her eyes take in her surroundings, noticing the floor was polished to a high shine and it was
amazing
. The mosaic of blue, red, and green shards of color were hypnotizing. Tall arches partitioned the hall they were in from the rooms on either side. They were large, open and in the midst of being setup by a team of Melier.

Tables were being positioned, cushions were fluffed about the many pieces of furniture, and the scents of cooking food wafted to her nose. Her stomach growled loudly and her cheeks reddened once more.

Please let me survive this day, please, please.

“We will join you soon,” Soren told his parents. They began to protest but a loud crashing sounded from what she assumed was the kitchen, pulling their attention long enough for Soren to guide Lucia away.

They traveled a long, empty hallway and then entered another set of blue glassed double doors, this set with intricate silver branches sprouting up through it. Lucia might appreciate the art of it, if she wasn’t dying to get cleaned up.

Zun and Ren opened the doors and they entered a narrower, shorter hallway that opened into a large room from a corner.

The middle of the room was sunken with lavish rugs, and plush furniture that sat low to the floor or directly on it. Large cushions, pillows, and poufs strung about for lazing around in all sorts of colors and fabrics. An enormous opaque white crystal solar chandelier hung from the domed ceiling and threw shards of light everywhere. The atmosphere was intimate, quiet, and luxurious.

Each side of the room was adorned with yet more sets of doors, and upon the walls were small sculptures on shelves and portraits of various male Melier.

“What is this place?”

“The princes’ suite,” Gi’Ren said, pointing out which doors led to whose sleeping quarters. They all went about heading to their own doors as Soren took her to his.

“They have left it as I did the last time I was here,” he mused as he walked around his room, touching a shelf of books and rubbing his fingers together. “It seems they have kept it clean though.”

Lu’s heart strings tugged as she watched him get reacquainted with pieces of his life.

The floor was made of the same mosaic stone that seemed to stretch all over the very few parts of the palace she had seen. The walls were marbled white and grey, the same material that made up the platform a very large bed sat atop. It could fit her entire family in it, she guessed.

The golden colored sheets looked smooth and comfortable, topped with more pillows than any two people could use. She figured at least half of those would be shoved to the floor before she could get comfortable each night.

Solar lights pocketed the ceiling, lighting the room with a yellow-white tinge of color. There were no windows, just as she had noticed there were no windows at all in the princes’ suite it seemed.

Security reasons, maybe?

“Where’s the cleansing room?”

Soren turned from the desk he was examining, looking at her as if he only just remembered he wasn’t alone. Walking to the side of the room, he swept one of his right hands over the wall and a doorway materialized. Lucia scowled dubiously. She knew the Melier had higher tech than Dor Nye, she had read about it.

“Am I going to be able to get back out?”

Soren smiled and ushered her in. “You will tomorrow. We will get you the palace implant with proper clearance so you may venture where you wish.”

“Where does this implant go?” She walked through the doorway, Soren not bothering to answer her, and the sensor laden lights illuminating the cleansing room once she stepped past the threshold distracted her.

More of the gray and white marble made up the walls and the floor. The bathing pool, much larger than hers back on Dor Nye, was in the middle of the room, swirling with cloudy turquoise water. Steam curled from its surface, which made Lucia wonder
who
ran the bath. At her confused look, Soren explained.

“It is self-cleaning,” he removed Lenny from her arms and gestured for her to go about her business. “The water never drains, unless you tell it to. It will continue to circulate and be heated and cleansed by the filters.”

Lucia nibbled on her bottom lip at the strangeness of it all and when she turned to say something, Soren was gone.

Sighing, she unclasped her robe and let it drop to the floor at her feet. Her eyes continued to survey the room, landing on a large, open shower, a countertop with a sink and many bottles, which struck her funny. Usually only women had a lot of bottles clouding their counter space.

The smirk fell from her lips.

Maybe the bottles
did
belong to women. Val’Zun
did
say princes had concubines. In fact, he’d said the females took
lovers
.

Lucia carefully took the steps into the pool and shivered at the warmth swirling around her. She was careful not to leave the last step, else she’d actually be swimming and she wasn’t sure how deep the pool went. Instead, she sat down on the steps and soaked for a moment, thinking.

I’ve got to talk to Soren about this.

Lucia had offhandedly thought about the concubine situation a few times on the journey, but she’d always been distracted by something else. She’d never gotten the chance to dissect it or speak to Soren about it.

She sighed.

She knew it was their
culture
to be sexually open, but she wasn’t sure she could share Soren with another woman. Even one she didn’t know about or never met.

“Your eye twitches when you think too hard.”

Lu startled, her hand flying to the base of her throat. Soren slid into the pool from the side and made his way to her. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“What is bothering you, Loo-Sha?” His golden eyes sucked her in and then he was planting soft kisses along her jaw and throat, purring loudly. Lucia sighed again, shivering when his bumpy, long tongue licked at the pulse in her neck. He always licked her there, like her scent was most potent in that spot and he
needed
to taste it. His many hands moved about her body under the water; sliding up her thighs, tracing the curve of her breasts, gliding along her sides.

“Do you have a concubine?” Lu blurted.

Soren stopped his ministrations and pulled back to look down at her. He licked his lips and pulled back a little more. “I used to.”

“And now?”

“Now there is only you,” he said this and sunk down to his knees before her. It was Lucia’s turn to look down at him, though not by much. “Only you.”

Her hands lifted from the water and she laid them on his shoulders, another sigh escaping her, but one of relief. “Good,” she gave him her
‘I mean business’
look. “Because I will
cut
you.”

Soren grinned for a moment and then it fell away.

“What?”

“Has Val’Zun asked you anything yet?” His gaze was curious and his hands rubbed along her sides and legs once more.

“Asked me what?”

“To pair with you.”

“
Excuse me
?” she exclaimed, her eyes widened and she looked at Soren like he’d just belched in her face.

“He wants you.” Soren said this simply, as if to say
‘the sky is blue’
or
‘the weather is hot’
.

“Good for him,” Lucia scowled, incredulous at Soren’s confused expression. “Quin wanted me too, so what?” At that, Soren jerked back from her like she’d slapped him.

“Val’Zun is
not
Quinton.”

That was low.

Bad Lucia.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she took a few deep breaths and collected herself. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. But,” she opened her eyes once more and looked at him skeptically. “I feel like this is a trap. As if whatever my answer is, it’s going to give you permission to go fuck a concubine, and like I said, I
will
cut you.”

“I have said there is only you for me,” Soren was the incredulous one now. “Is my word not enough?”

Lucia shrunk back onto the step and crossed her arms over her chest. She nibbled on her bottom lip as she went over everything in her head.

What the hell is going on?

Val’Zun hates you.

I know!

But apparently he
wants
you.

This doesn’t make any sense. None at all.

Preach, sister.

“But Val’Zun and I--!” she tossed her hands in the air, water flying as she struggled for words. “No. Just, no.” Lu thought about all the times she’d interacted with Zun; throwing a bowl of mash over his head, flipping food at his face, his grousing and grumping about her
pheromones
, calling her
creature
. To be fair, he hadn’t called her that since before the trial. Still, most of their interactions, whenever he could stand her long enough, turned sour quickly.