Oryon (Tornians Book 3.5) (2 page)

“Oh Goddess, Oryon! Did you see their faces?” she asked gasping, tears streaming down her cheeks. “They really thought… that…” She found she couldn’t go on. Goddess really? They’d known it was just her and Oryon in the room. There was no way she could ever harm him!

“You could you know,” he said putting an arm on either side of her, caging her in between his hard body and the dome.

“Could what?” she asked still laughing, not realizing she’d spoken aloud.

“Harm me. You are the only one that could.” His eyes were serious as they met hers.

“What?” she whispered her humor fading.

“You, Isis, are my one weakness. I would sacrifice everything for you, even my honor.”

Isis’ eyes flickered over the face she’d loved since she’d first seen it at the age of eighteen. He was even more handsome to her now, because now, she really knew him and he was a wonderful male. He was her male and she never wanted him to have to sacrifice anything. Reaching up she gently framed his face. “I would never ask that of you Oryon. I love you too much. I always have.” Stretching up she gently kissed his lips.

“And I love you Isis,” he murmured against her lips, his heart swelling at her words. “Come let us go home.” Pushing off the dome, Isis caught the hint of a devilish smile on his lips, one that told her he was thinking of something particularly naughty.

“What are you thinking?” she asked.

“I’m thinking that we need to travel more, so I can show you Betelgeuse from space every time we return.”

Isis felt her entire body flush at what Oryon was implying. “Next time we’ll make sure we shut the door.”

“And lock it.” Oryon agreed leading her from the observation room, neither noticing the star that twinkled brighter for a moment.

Chapter Two

It was with new eyes that Isis’ gaze traveled over her home, House Rigel. Its exterior was made from massive logs harvested centuries earlier, which formed thick, impenetrable walls. Stone boulders stood like silent sentries before a set of enormous doors. Sometime in the distant past, craftsmen had carved an intricate hunt scene into those doors, announcing to all what was expected of those that passed through them. As the doors opened, the immense fireplace welcomed the weary hunter and drove away the chill during the cold season.

House Rigel wasn’t the magnificently elegant place that House Torino was. It was more relaxed and comfortable in a rough way, exactly what the House of a Hunter’s planet needed to be. Males from across the Empire came here to hone their hunting and tracking skills, to prove they were worthy of being called a Warrior. Through those carved doors, generations of the Empire’s greatest Warriors had passed, and it filled Isis with pride to know that
her
male was its Lord.

Frowning, she looked from the obvious places in the room to those that weren’t so obvious. She had talked in depth to Lisa about what she had done within House Luanda about her openly displaying what King Grim had given her. About
how
she had gone about it, because Isis wanted to do the same thing here. She wanted House Rigel to shine just as brightly as Betelgeuse did in space and she now realized she had her work cut out for her.

This place definitely needed a female to make it shine. There was dirt in the corners, dirty equipment stacked against the walls and the windows weren’t even clean. Her chambers would never be allowed to get in such a condition and neither would Oryon’s. So why wasn’t that same attention being given to the rest of the House? Well, she would make sure it was from now on.

“Isis?” Oryon’s question had her eyes turning to him. She found Oryon along with all the males returning from Tornian with them watching her.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Is something wrong?” They’d been moving through the entrance, toward their Wing as they always did, when she had slowed then stopped.

“Of course not, I was just inspecting the room, making sure it reflected well on its Lord.”

Oryon raised an eyebrow at her words then let his gaze travel around the room. He saw nothing out of place. Warriors gathered here after training or a big hunt, warming themselves before the fire and telling tales. Large chairs and a table were set before the fire for just that reason. House Rigel was not nearly as formal as Torino. It had none of its extravagance or its high shine. House Rigel was a Warrior’s House. Did his Isis wish it were something more?

“I see nothing out of place,” he told her.

“No, not out of place, just not as well kept as it could be.” When Oryon frowned she slipped her arm through his and smiled up at him. “Don’t concern yourself. I will speak with Master Kaspar about it later.”

“You will do what?” Oryon asked in a deceptively soft voice. Did she really think he would let her ‘speak’ to Master Kaspar?

“I said,” Isis repeated, looking up at him sharply. She knew that tone. It was the one he used when he was extremely ‘displeased’ with a male, “that I would speak with Master Kaspar about making sure this room was adequately cleaned in the future. There shouldn’t be dirt in the corners, and the windows need cleaning.”

“You
will not
speak to him,” Oryon growled.

“Excuse me?” Isis demanded, jerking her hand from his arm.

“I said…”

“I heard what you said Oryon,” she snapped letting all hear she was just as angry as he was. She would not be ordered around as if she were one of his Warriors. She was his ‘Lady’, and she demanded the same respect from him that he would demand others give her. “I just can’t believe you said it. Not to
me
.”

With that, she stormed away shocking them all, for none of them had ever heard Lady Isis raise her voice, let alone seen her act this way.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Oryon watched in confusion as Isis stormed away from him. “Follow her!” he ordered two of his warriors. “See that she makes it to our Wing safely.”

“Yes, my Lord.” The males bowed and quickly took off after Isis.

“It seems the time spent with the Earth females has Mother forgetting her place.” Ull’s words had Oryon giving him a sharp look, along with Vali and Zev.

“Her place?” Oryon turned to his first male.

“Yes, she can’t just speak to another male. It insults you.”

“How does it
insult
me Ull?” Oryon asked softly.

“Her thinking to Join with a male from within your own House.” Ull frowned, appearing annoyed that he had to state the obvious.

“And you think that is why your mother wishes to speak to Master Kaspar, to initiate a Joining?” Oryon had to admit that had been his initial kneejerk reaction to Isis’ words. It was why he had spoken to her as he had. Now hearing someone else say it, he realized it was absurd.

His Isis loved him, had loved him from the very beginning. She had chosen him twenty-five years ago, and with her every word, every deed, she had proven she’d never regretted it. Not once in all those years had she looked at another male. She had refused all offers. She wasn’t going to start now.

She had stated for all to hear
why
she wanted to speak with Master Kaspar. Who was the Master of House Rigel, responsible for making sure the day-to-day operations of the House were taken care of. She wanted more attention paid to the Great Hall’s appearance, wanted it to reflect well on
him
. It was something Queen Lisa had done with House Luanda, and obviously, Isis wanted to do the same here.

 “Of course. It is the only reason a female speaks to a male,” Ull continued.

“So that is what the Empress was doing when she addressed the Assembly? She was looking for a new male to Join with?” Oryon demanded, feeling his anger return. “Is that what Queen Lisa was doing when she also spoke there?”

“No, of course not,” Ull said dismissively. “That was different. They are Earth females.”

“So you are saying that our Tornian females should be treated differently than Earth females? That they don’t have the right to speak to whomever they wish, whenever they wish and not have it mean they are interested in Joining with that male?”

“It’s not their way,” Ull said.

“It is
my
Lady’s way,” Oryon growled taking a threatening step toward his first male. He looked to the other males in the room. “And
I
will not have
you
or
anyone
insult
her
by saying otherwise.”

Oryon spun on his heel, finding he needed to leave the room before he did something he’d never done before, strike one of his offspring in anger.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Isis couldn’t believe Oryon had spoken to her like that! As if she were some newly Joined female who needed to be told her place. She knew her place and it was no longer being relegated to her chamber. It was at Oryon’s side, helping and supporting him with
their
House. At least that’s where she wanted it to be. Maybe Oryon didn’t feel the same way.

Storming into Oryon’s resting chamber, she slammed the door in the faces of the two warriors Oryon had sent after her.

Did he think she didn’t know the way?
She fumed as she crossed the room. She’d opened the door open to the stairwell that would lead to
her
chambers. Her step faltered. Looking up, she thought about those upper rooms that took up the entire second level of the Lord’s Wing.

She had spent over half her life in those rooms, had presented four fit and worthy male offspring there and had watched them grow from its windows. If anyone had asked her before this trip if she were happy in those rooms, she would have said yes.

She couldn’t now.

Now she knew there was so much more she could do. So much more she wanted to do. She couldn’t go back to those rooms now. They would feel like a prison.

Turning, she glanced around Oryon’s resting chamber. She had passed through this room many times in the past, for it was the only way to reach her chamber. An ‘extra protection’, Tornian females had always been told, so that unfit males could never reach them. Now she wondered if it wasn’t just another way to control a female.

She had actually spent very little time in
this
room, with the exception of Joinings. Oryon had always preferred to have their ‘discussions’ in her rooms, where they wouldn’t be interrupted. How strange that seemed to her now, for they could have been ‘interrupted’ just as easily here during Joinings. Now she wondered if it were so others weren’t aware of how much Oryon actually
did
discuss with her.

Was he ashamed of her?

Slowly she walked across the room, taking in the sparsely filled room. The fireplace that had always blazed so brightly, heating the room and allowing her to see her way during their Joinings, was now banked, giving off little warmth. In front of it sat a large couch that upon closer inspection, seemed to have seen better days. Looking around the room, she realized most of the furnishings appeared to be in the same condition. All except for the bed. It was covered in rich fabrics, soft sheets and the pillows she had once said she so loved.

Why had the rest been neglected?

Betelgeuse was a prosperous planet. Why wasn’t Oryon using some of that wealth for his own comfort?

Thinking back, she realized most of House Rigel was this way, sparse and… cold… while her rooms never were… Was she to blame for this? Had her staying with Oryon somehow depleted the resources Betelgeuse provided? She had always thought her staying would mean just the opposite, without the need to attract another female, House Rigel would be able to retain more of its wealth. Could she have been wrong?

The sound of the door opening had her turning. Males who served under Master Kaspar, stepped through the threshold, carrying her and Oryon’s luggage. When they saw her, they froze, as if shocked at her presence in their Lord’s resting chamber.

‘Well, they were just going to have to get used to it,’
Isis thought because this is where she was staying. “Set them both right there,” she ordered pointing to the doors she knew led to Oryon’s closet.

“What…” they stuttered, looking at one another in obvious confusion.

“Do as Lady Isis says,” Oryon ordered, his deep voice booming as he strode into the chamber, his eyes boring into the males.

“Y… yes my Lord,” they said, quickly moving to put the luggage where Isis had indicated before quickly escaping, while their Lord and Lady silently stared at each other.

Oryon slowly approached Isis, trying to assess her mood. She had been so angry when she’d stormed away from him, but now she seemed to have settled, returning to the calm female he’d always known. At least that was the way it appeared.

“You wish to do more than to just rest in my Chamber with me?” he asked tentatively, unsure if that was what having her possessions left here meant.

“Yes,” Isis’ eyes searching his to see if that upset him. “If you do not mind.” She found herself adding.

“Mind…” Oryon reached up to caress her cheek with a knuckle. “There is nothing in the universe that would please me more than to know you were
here
waiting for me.”

“I’ve always been here Oryon,” she told him, “but I don’t want to just be
waiting
for you anymore, I want to be
a part
of your life.”

“You want to speak to whomever you wish.” He sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead. “Go wherever you wish inside House Rigel.”

“And on the grounds,” she told him, her gaze traveling over his suddenly tired-looking face.

“You know that will cause problems,” he said, moving away to stand before a window that looked out over the training grounds he had relocated all those years ago so Isis could watch her offspring.

“Why?” she asked coming to stand behind him and placing a gentle hand on his back.

“Because males will think you want to Join with them.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Isis snorted, her eyes looking out to the darkening field. “In all these years I’ve never considered another male, have refused all offers. I am now forty-three years old and have not presented offspring for over fifteen years. No male would consider Joining with me, even if I offered.”

“That is where you are wrong, Isis.” Oryon turned to look at her, his hand covering hers. He settled it over his heart. “Any male would be proud to have you as his. Offspring or not. You are beautiful and kind and loving and when they learn about females resting with a male….”

“You are the only male I want to rest with Oryon, the only male I love.”

“I know this but… you need to know there are those already wondering, one of them being your own offspring, Ull.”