Chapter Fifteen
Ezah
“Zeeza, you’re smiling.”
I looked down at my sister when she spoke, and when I saw her wide smile beaming up at me, my own widened.
“I know,” I told her. “I have been for most of the day.”
Surkah’s eyes, which matched my own, suddenly filled with tears, and my smile vanished within an instant.
“No tears,” I pleaded. “I hate them.”
She threw her arms around me just as Mikoh entered the lounge chamber near the palace’s entrance. His eyes sought out Surkah instantly, and the second he saw that she was in my arms and weeping, he crossed the space between them so fast I barely registered his body moving.
“Faya.” He placed a hand on her back. “What is wrong?”
“Ezah is smiling.”
Thanas, she was completely sobbing now.
“Why is my smiling making you cry?” I asked, bewildered. “Surely, it can’t look that bad.”
“Trust me”—Mikoh grinned—“it does, my prince.”
I didn’t growl at him. Surkah was distracting me too much, and when she began to wail, I became more than a little insecure about my smile.
“Stop it,” Mikoh said firmly to my sister. “You’re worrying us.”
Surkah tried her best to calm down. It took several minutes, but eventually, she was reduced to mere sniffles. Her eyes were red, swollen, and she had dark splotches on her face from working herself into such a state.
“Now.” I nudged her. “Explain the tears.”
“I just … I have never seen you smile like that before. You give me little ones here and there, but I’ve never seen you really smile, baja. You’re happy. I have only known you to hold onto sadness, hurt, and anger. Happiness suits you so much. I’m just happy that you’re happy.”
Just when I thought I couldn’t love this female any more than I already did, she went and proved me wrong. I cuddled her to me, kissed the crown of her head, and held her tightly. I had always known I had never been great company for others to keep. I knew that they knew losing my intended had changed me, but I didn’t truly realise until that moment just how much of a changed male I had become.
“Zeeza?”
“Yes, little one?”
“I love you.”
“Ach, Surkah.” I squeezed her. “I love you too, my heart.”
Mikoh watched us with a fond smile. I knew he had experienced moments like these many times. All his siblings were females and younger than him, so I would bet my honour that he had had these special moments dozens of times over.
“Will you tell me what brings you such happiness?” Surkah sat up in my arms. “Oh, please, baja. Please. I will keep asking until you tell me. I swear I will.”
“Pest.” I chuckled. “You’re going to overreact if I tell you.”
“I have never overreacted to anything in my entire life.”
When Mikoh snorted, Surkah punched him in the chest without looking away from me once.
“Tell me why you smile, baja.”
I sighed. “I have found a female. A human female.”
“A new sister!” Surkah screamed, making Mikoh jump from the sheer volume of her voice. “I’m getting a new sister!”
She wasn’t shouting or just being loud. She was screaming each word as if I were a ways away from her. How she looked shocked, elated, and completely confused all at the same time amused me greatly.
“Is this you not overreacting?”
She was too filled with joy to care for my teasing or to answer my question.
“Calm,” I told her. “She is not your sister … not yet.”
There was no point in lying to myself. When I kissed Levi, I was staking my claim. I told her we could move slowly by doing things the human way, and I would do that for her to put her mind and heart at ease, but she would be mine, even if she didn’t know it yet. I wasn’t sure when I made that decision, but everything about me recognised her as mine.
“And why not?” Surkah demanded. “Kol mated Nova just days after meeting her. You should go and mate your female right now.”
Mikoh nodded in full agreement with her.
“My Levi is not Nova. Our sister-in-mate is fierce in a very different way. Levi’s upbringing was different from Nova’s. She was a slave back on Earth. She is very timid and wary and scared of the unknown, so I need to do things slowly with her. Even though it goes against my instincts, I will do this for her.”
Surkah screamed again, and both Mikoh and I ducked our heads to escape the shrill sound.
“You’re such a good male.” Surkah burst into tears once more. “You’re filled with honour!”
When she flung her arms around me this time, I patted her back and rolled my eyes to the ceiling. Females were strange creatures, but I loved them anyway. Mikoh sat next to me and stared at my sister without blinking. His frown deepened and deepened until it was like he could not stop himself from taking her from my arms and into his. I didn’t stop him, and neither did Surkah.