Honour (7 page)
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 would 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.
“I am aware of that, but I need to be here. The host has not stopped me, nor has the forest. I wish to see where the brides are stored.”
The captain looked at her and then at Acuar. “Host?”
“She has been given no information as to her fate, so she wishes to know. Her mind is filled with curiosity and she will not be denied.” There was amused pride in his tone.
“Will you show her?” It seemed that the captain was afraid of her reaction.
Acuar kept his hand on her back. “I will take her. Thank you, Captain.”
They walked into the paths of tunnels into the soil, veins of pulsing energy lighting their way. The glowing vines held the soil back and provided breathable oxygen.
“This is the seed vault?”
He laughed. “This is the entrance. Just wait.”
She saw what he meant a moment later. Stone was carved into a dry and secure hallway. Glowing quartz created a bright facility.
The seed bank was a wonderful construct going deep into the stone as far as the eye could see.
“Come with me. I will show you where they are.”
“I am not going anywhere without you.”
She looked around at the seeds, seeing several varieties that she had been negotiating for earlier that week. Her smile remained on her features right up until the moment that they saw the arched opening with the security screen.
“That is unusual. The Freyalki don’t use locks, or doors for that matter.”
He nodded. “True, but this is a special case. Come with me.”
She took his hand and walked toward the glowing wall of energy that blocked this area from all the rest.
She stopped just inside the energy field. “Oh. My. God.”
Females from over fifty species were encased in amber and lined up in an organised display.
Acuar tugged her forward. “This is Loari, the most recent bride before you. She was active for three hundred years before her host exhausted himself on a mission and they died.”
He moved to the next woman, “Tabrelo was caught in a radiation blast on the station. With her host unable to survive, they died together on the way home.”
He continued and she listened, but each woman was wearing the crop top and skirt that she had worn her first day. A different flower was depicted on their skin, and Honour recognised each one as symbolizing the parent race of the bride.
In the seventh bride, she noticed something. She stopped Acuar. “What is that?”
“What?”
“The pod off the main stem of the Gelu flower. The plant only does that when it is reproducing and none of the other women here are displaying offshoots in their flowers.”
“Pheela. She became pregnant twice and the children were removed to be incubated in a Freyalki host. The children survived but were sterile and did not continue her line.”
“Removed?” Honour was alarmed. “Why were they removed?”
Acuar put his arm around her waist. “Look at them. Really look. On average, these women lived hundreds of years beyond their species lifespans. They did not age. Their bodies could not make the necessary changes to keep and assist life to flourish. It was found with the twentieth bride that an incubator could be used, but it had to be a living, thinking being.”
Honour pressed her hands to her belly. No changes to her rose yet, but she was suddenly nervous. She needed to distract herself.
“How were they encased in amber?”
“Part of the hosts turned to amber and they preserved the bride for eternity.”
Honour reached out to touch the amber, and she felt the familiar presence. “It wasn’t just the host locking her in place. It was also the forest as you well know.”
“I know. All three together for eternity.”
“Did the brides know what would happen to them in death?”
“Most took no for an answer. Some had traditions to be buried, so this vault was created. They are buried, they are preserved, dressed in their formal clothing; we adhered to as many practices as we could.” He sighed and looked at her. “Are you all right with this?”
She smiled and caressed the amber. “Why not? You can feel the love here. Protection and love all around her. My people dress you up and put you in the ground. There is mourning for those above, and then, it is quiet.”
“The Freyalki mourn for five years when a bride and host die. No aliens are allowed on any world, no transit with any of our space stations. Everything goes quiet while the forest and the people mourn. Do you wish to see where the host seeds are?”
She smiled and nodded. “Please.”
They walked through the secure screen again and down another hall that was unguarded. Seedpods the size of her head were sitting on a table.
“So, the brides are secured, but the host seeds are out here for anyone to take?”
He laughed. “There is no danger. Only the forest can grow a host. The genes of past brides are spliced into every new round of seeds, becoming more complex as time goes on. The hosts began as ordinary Freyalki, and now, look at me.”
“Yes, you are very pretty.” She patted his shoulder.
He sighed. “Can’t I impress you at all?”
She laughed and put her arm around his waist. “You impress me simply by breathing. Now, where do the pods come from?”
“Ah, the most ancient tree grows the pods when it has completed its mourning cycle.”
She nodded. She had met the current ancient tree. They lived for thousands of years, but they eventually died. They measured time differently.
Honour looked around and nodded. “I have seen what I needed to. We can go now.”
He blinked and grinned. “You are a true treasure.”
“Thank you. If you hadn’t had me blackmailed and kidnapped, I would never have joined with you. If another host uses that tactic, I will come back to life, break through the amber and beat the hell out of him.” She smiled brightly.
He looped an arm over her shoulder. “I would expect nothing less, beloved Rose of Honour.”
Together, they walked back into the light and the forest that was eager for their company.
It was the most extensive three-way ever.
Honour
took a weird turn as some of my books tend to. Sorry about that. There is just something about writing a book with tree hugging where the tree can hug back. This is not the end of Honour and Acuar, expect to see them in the next series, here and there.
Well, I have finished the ‘H’s,’ and next release day, I will begin the ‘J’s.’
Jaded
takes us back to the Nyal guardians (sorry, but we never really left; I like ‘em) and a woman who knows all your secrets. How can a man surprise a woman who knows everything about him before he even rounds a corner?
Thanks for reading,
Viola Grace
Viola Grace was born in Manitoba, Canada where she still resides today. She really likes it there. She has no pets and can barely keep sea monkeys alive for a reasonable amount of time. Her line of day job tends to be analytical which leaves her mind hopping to weave stories. No co-worker is safe from her character analysis. In keeping with busy hands are happy hands, her hobbies have included cross-stitch, needlepoint, quilting, costuming, cake decorating, baking, cooking, metal work, beading, sculpting, painting, doll making, henna tattoos, chain mail, and a few others that have been forgotten. It is quite often that these hobbies make their way into her tales.
Viola’s fetishes include boots and corsetry, and her greatest weakness is her uncontrollable blush. Her writing actively pursues the Happily Ever After that so rarely occurs in nature. It is an admirable thing and something that we should all strive for. To find one that we truly like, as well as love.