“You mean what would he think if he knew you’d let the pleasure blooms fuck you and then had to let a strange Monstrum suck your nipples to help remove the secretions?” the Drake Warrior demanded. “Are you ashamed to let him know?”
“You said it yourself—he’s kind of like a grandsire—er, grandfather,” Iyanna snapped. “I wouldn’t tell my own grandpa what you and I have been up to—I don’t want Stor’kuum to know either.”
“Very well. Then I guess you’re on your own for the rest of your treatment, little girl.”
She felt him withdrawing in the darkness and she wanted to reach for him—wanted to tell him to wait, please wait!
But then she heard the old satyr calling for her again.
“Eee-yaaaa-nie! Where be you?”
“Here!” she called back, after an internal struggle. “I, er, got lost when the path disappeared. I’m in here, Stor’kuum!”
“Just hold tight, Missy Eee-yannie—I’ll come to you,” she heard the old satyr promise.
And in the meantime, the strange Drake Monstrum had withdrawn completely. Though she couldn’t see a thing in the darkness, Iyanna sensed he was gone.
A single thought echoed in her mind.
I don’t even know his name.
THIRTEEN
Luckily, Stor’kuum had excellent night visions—as all Monstrum did, apparently—and he was able to lead Iyanna out of the Dark Forest and back to the Transport station with no problem.
“I’m just so sorry you ended up alone back there, Missy Eee-yannie,” he said apologetically as they waited on the platform for the next carpet wole to arrive. “Don’t know what could have happened to the path of upright glows that’s supposed to guide the way through the Dark Side.”
“I don’t know what happened either,” Iyanna told him. “I just touched one of them and then they all started changing colors and then they seemed to take off—almost like butterflies—and all the blossoms flew off into the night and disappeared. They—”
She stopped talking abruptly because the old satyr had turned around and was staring at her with an amazed expression on his face—his jaw had dropped and his faded green eyes were wide.
“What did you say?” he exclaimed. “Do you mean to tell old Stor’kuum that you caused a mating flight among the upright glows?”
“Uh…I don’t know about that,” Iyanna said quickly. “Like I said, all I did was touch the petals of one flower. Nobody told me I shouldn’t touch them,” she added, a bit defensively.
“No, no—tis not a bad thing! This is wonderful!” He shook his head in amazement, his long gray beard wagging. “If I had any doubts about you being a Viridi Femma, this lays them to rest.”
“Really? So making all the blossoms fly away was a good thing?” Iyanna asked doubtfully.
“Why, Missy Eee-yannie, it’s the best thing!” the old satyr exclaimed. “Do you not know that the whole of the Dark Side of the ship used to be filled with the upright glows? They brought light to the darkness—it was a beautiful place when they were all blooming at once. But little by little, they’ve been dying out. The ones that lined the path were the last that were left and we’ve been mortal afraid they were dying too. If they left, the whole Dark Side would be nothing but endless night—so sad.” He shook his head.
“But…it seems to be all dark now, since all the blossoms, er, flew away,” Iyanna pointed out.
“Yes, but they flew away to mate,” the old satyr said, grinning triumphantly. “And once they do, they’ll populate the entire Dark Side again! Oh, it will be so beautiful to see the Dark Forest all filled with the upright glows once more!” He shook his head. “To think I should live to see the touch of a Viridi Femma revitalize the Mother Ship. Praise be to the Goddess!”
“Er…yes, praise be,” Iyanna agreed doubtfully. She still wasn’t sure if she really was a “Viridi Femma” as Stor’kuum kept insisting, but she was glad that she hadn’t somehow ruined the delicate ecosystem of the upright glows by touching one of them and making them all fly away.
The scientist part of her brain was also fascinated—here was yet another species of plant aboard the Mother Ship that mated like an animal, through sexual reproduction. What a strange universe the Monstrum must have come from! She wanted more than ever to spent time studying the various species of plants aboard.
Though right now, what she wanted most of all was to get back to her suite and try to do something about the swollen ache between her legs.
But what can I do since the only antidote is Monstrum saliva and I don’t have access to any of it? she wondered unhappily. Should she make some excuse to go back to the Dark Side and try to find the mysterious Drake warrior again? But no—she couldn’t do that. What would Stor’kuum think? The old satyr would certainly insist on accompanying her and there was no way she was going to let him watch while the Drake Monstrum went down on her.