Oryon (Tornians Book 3.5) (6 page)

He had watched her interact with Abby, seen the joy in her eyes at having another female in House Rigel, even if it were just through Joining and not one she presented. What would she do if she discovered he had knowingly prevented her from having more offspring after Zev? That he had denied her the chance to have the female she so desired to have and give him?

Would she still stay with him?

“Vali will accompany you today when you speak to Master Kaspar,” Oryon told Isis as they finished their first meal the next morning in their chambers. Leaning back in his chair, he stared at her and knew he had never seen her look more beautiful than she was at this very moment. She was fresh from his bed, wearing a covering in his House color and the glow from their early morning loving was still on her cheeks.

“Why?” Isis asked, leaning back in her own chair and frowned.

“Because I will not risk a male misunderstanding why you are speaking to him.”

“Oryon…” Isis gave him an exasperated look.

“Don’t give me that look Isis. I know Queen Lisa travels freely around House Luanda, but she still has Guards that accompany her, and until you do too, either I or one of our offspring will accompany you.”

Isis silently looked at him for several minutes then realized he was right. While many things had changed in the last weeks, there were still many risks to being female, mainly because of unfit males. She didn’t believe there were any within House Rigel, for Oryon would never tolerate them, but he would still worry, and she wanted to help lighten the burden he carried, not add to it.

“Alright,” she told him and smiled as his eyebrows shot up. “You thought I would argue with you.”

“I… yes,” he admitted.

“Oryon, I am a Tornian female. I know just how dangerous our males can be, especially after what occurred in the Assembly of Lords.”

“I will never forgive myself for leaving you unprotected Isis…”

“Stop! I wasn’t unprotected. You ordered Zev to stay with me and he did.”

“Yes, but…”

“No buts. You did what your honor demanded Oryon. You, Ull, Vali, Ynyr and the rest of our House defended the Emperor. Never have I witnessed such a demonstration of skill, strength and honor against so many unfit males. House Rigel stood tall and proud, showing all that its Lord truly is a fit and worthy male. Even the Emperor was forced to recognize it.”

“Emperor Wray has always shown me respect, Isis.”

“Perhaps, but not enough and not until a
fter
you supported him so strongly, and that is because of me.”

“Isis…”

“You know it is truth Oryon. The Emperor said as much when he dissolved the Joining Ceremony.”

“Perhaps, but I would change
nothing
that has kept you with me Isis, for without you, my life would be meaningless.”

Isis gave him a gentle smile. “Nor would I, but our universe
has
changed Oryon. When we left here, I had not one female that I could call a friend. I was forced to watch my offspring grow from afar and was considered an oddity by my own people. Now, not only do I have female friends, but one is the Empress and the other a Queen. I can now openly speak to not only my offspring but to whomever I need. I realize that is going to take time for some to accept, but I am certain your males eventually will.”

“Our males, Isis,” Oryon told her and she rewarded his words with a brilliant smile.

“Our males,” she agreed then frowned. “What else is bothering you?”

“What?” Oryon looked at her in shock. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. It just seems you are so vehement that you would change nothing. What could you have possibly have changed that you didn’t?”

Oryon was saved from answering by Vali knocking on their chamber door.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Isis smiled up at Vali as he walked beside her through the busy halls of House Rigel. Vali was her second male, barely twenty-four. He wasn’t as broadly built as his manno and brothers, but that in no way meant he was weak. She had actually seen Vali outmaneuver Ull in practice, because with that lack of bulk came greater speed and agility. Vali had never bested Ull, but Isis believed that was because Vali refused to do so, fearing others might then question Ull’s right to be their Lord.

“How are you handling all these changes, Vali?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” Vali replied, giving a hard look to several males that stared at her a little too long.

“Well, Ynyr is now a Lord. I have yet to hear your opinion on that.”

“I will always support my Emperor’s decisions,” he told her stiffly.

Isis couldn’t believe how cold and distant her second male was being. There was a time when she would have allowed it, thinking she had no choice. No longer. Pulling him into a side room, she slammed the door shut before rounding on him.

“What kind of answer is
that
!” she demanded angrily.

“Excuse me?” Vali asked, straightening to his full height.

“Oh no, you won’t ‘excuse me’ in that tone young male. I am your mother, and when I ask you a question, I expect a
real
answer and none of that ‘Tornian male’ attitude you just gave me. I presented you into this world, and I can take you out of it.”

Vali could do nothing but stare at his mother in shock. Who was this female that dared speak to him thusly? Who was standing up to him so fearlessly? He hadn’t believed his manno about her keeping her offspring with her for as long as she could. No female did that, but Ull had said he remembered the scent of ardaighs. Vali didn’t. Why did he have no memory of that early time with her if it had happened? Had his manno been wrong? Had she had not kept
him
with her as long?

“What is troubling you, Vali?” Isis asked, watching as the dark rims around the outside of Vali’s brown eyes thickened ever so slightly, even though his body remained totally relaxed, revealing none of his inner tension.

“Why would you think anything is troubling me?” he asked.

“Because when you are upset your eyes darken. They’ve done this from the moment you were presented.” Isis gave him a small smile as she thought back. “I remember being so worried after your presentation. Your eyes were nearly black, but then you were very upset at being forced into this strange new world. It was only once you were bundled up tight and feeding from my breast that they began to turn the beautiful brown of your manno’s.”

Vali found himself blushing at his mother’s comment. Surely, a mother shouldn’t speak of such things to her offspring. Then what she was saying hit him.

“You remember me? Presenting me?” Vali couldn’t stop himself from asking.

“Of course I do.” Isis frowned at him. “Why would you think I wouldn’t?”

“I…” Vali flushed, not sure if he should continue.

“Vali, please… speak freely.”

“Manno told us on Tornian that you kept each of us with you for as long as you could before the questions grew too loud.”

“Yes I did.” Isis nodded in agreement.

“Ull recalled the scent of ardaighs, and whenever he smells them now, it comforts him.”

“He did?”

“Yes.”

“And this bothers you.” Isis could see that it did.

“Yes, because I don’t have that memory. Manno said that your rooms have always been filled with ardaighs, so if they are, why don’t I remember them?”

“Because you were presented in a different season.” Isis could see that Vali didn’t understand. “Ardaighs only grow in the gardens during the three months of the warmest season. Ull was presented two months before they bloomed and for some reason we had an extremely long warm season that year. The ardaighs bloomed for over six months. You were presented just as the ardaighs finished their last bloom. That year the cold season never seemed to end and the warm… well I’m not sure we had one. It was then that your manno decided to have a warm season house built. He said he did it so we would always have fresh foodstuffs, but if that were true, then why is so much of it restricted for the sole growing of ardaighs
.
Your manno did it for me. So I could have them year round.”

“Like he moved the training grounds,” Vali said.

“He told you about that?” Isis asked, surprised.

“Yes.”

“Your manno is such a good male, Vali, but that is not what you are asking, is it? You want to know why you don’t have a special memory of me, if your manno thought you would.”

“Yes,” Vali choked out.

“May I touch you Vali?” Isis asked, stepping closer to him.

“What?” he asked shocked.

“While I know you are my offspring, you are still an adult male and I have no right to touch you without your permission.”

“Why do you want to touch me?’

“To show you that while Ull had the scent of my ardaighs, there is something you had that he didn’t.”

Nodding stiffly Vali braced himself to not feel anything, but the minute he felt his mother’s fingers touch his temple, felt the back of them run down his face and jaw, felt them reverse and return their journey, as soon as he felt
that
, he was swamped with the memories of love, of safety, and of
mattering
.

“You were always my most difficult offspring, Vali,” Isis said softly. “Not because you were difficult, but because you were my quiet one. You never cried out when you were hungry or when you were wet. You would just look at me with your beautiful, brown eyes and expect me to
know
what you needed.
It drove me crazy, until I finally realized that the rim around your eyes would darken when you were upset. After that things became easier.”

“No one has ever noticed that before.”

“Who have you ever let that close?” Isis asked.

Vali suddenly realized he let no one that close and found his forehead coming to rest on her shoulder as she continued to stroke his cheek.

“Is that all that has been bothering you, my Vali?” Isis asked softly.

“No.” And Vali found himself telling her how concerned he was about Ull, about Ynyr, about their Empire.

“What concerns you most about Ull?”

“That he’ll never come to terms with being over-shadowed by Ynyr.” Vali lifted his head and Isis could see the darkness circling his eyes.

“Is that how he sees it?” Isis asked.

“Yes. First the Emperor chose Ynyr for Etruria and then Abby chose Ynyr because of it.”

“That’s not why Abby chose Ynyr,” Isis corrected him.

“I know this is what has been said, and after meeting Abby I agree, but Ull will never see it that way.”

“Because our females always choose the male by his status and what he has accumulated to give her,” said Isis.

“Yes.”

“Yet Abby chose Ynyr when he literally had nothing to give her, not even a cape.”

“That won’t last long, for Ynyr is now the Lord of the most prosperous and powerful House in the Empire.”

“A House that is in total disarray.”

“Truth, but that too won’t be for long, not with Ynyr in charge,” Vali said confidently.

“You have that much faith in your younger brother.” Isis was surprised at the level of admiration she heard in Vali’s voice.

“Of course, Ynyr was always meant for more than serving Ull. The only thing holding him back was being…” Vali snapped his mouth shut, as he realized what he was about to say.

“A third male,” Isis finished for him. “
My
third offspring.”

“I’m sorry Mother. I should not have said that.”

“Why? It is truth. I know I have been a great burden not only to this House, but also to my offspring. It was never my intention when I refused to leave your manno that you would suffer for
my
decisions. Perhaps I was wrong.”

“No!” Vali instantly denied.

“Vali…”

“You have never caused any of us to suffer and have never been a burden. Yes, others have been critical of our House because you stayed, but their opinions do not matter.”

“Even the Emperor’s?”

“Especially his, especially now when he has come to realize you had it right all along.
You
held onto your beliefs and honor Mother, when no one else supported you.”

“I had your manno,” Isis whispered.

“Yes,” Vali nodded in agreement, “and the two of you are now showing every Tornian male what he could have… if a female were to choose him, even a Tornian one.”

“You make that sound like a bad thing.”

“It is.” Vali’s eyes became thickly rimmed as he looked at her. “Because it is something the majority of us will never have.”

“But you
can
have that Vali. You all can.”

“There aren’t enough females, Mother. Even with the ones from Earth and the new young ones.”

Isis felt her heart break for her offspring. “You do not think one would choose you.”

“I do not think I have the right to ask. Not when there are others who will need offspring more.”

“Others like Ull.”

“Yes. He is a first male. He will one day be Lord of Betelgeuse. He
must
have a female for our family line to continue here.”