Chapter 14
SUSANNA
“How much longer?” Mara whined, picking her way on the cobblestone path with her stiletto sandals.
One would think she would’ve learned her lesson by now and switched to more practical footwear. Aldraians sure loved their cobblestones. Unlike in Xavran’s home, the paths between the hedges of the Diria homes were laid with harder stones. Mara’s heels clicked and slipped on them as all seven of us walked to the town hall.
“Why couldn’t we just fly?” she complained.
Xavran stoically kept quiet.
“Because it’s not that far.” I held Illal’s hand, keeping an eye on Ene, who skipped ahead of us with the boys.
As I had promised Illal, I hadn’t spoken to anyone about the hair cutting incident. I felt like I had just started building trust with the children, and I didn’t want to spoil that. But the situation worried me.
I watched Ene carefully when the kids came home from school every day. After our hair styling game, she’d asked me to braid her hair the next morning. I’d made her two French braids, then questioned Illal after school. Apparently, no one teased Ene that day. Some girls came up to take a closer look at her unusual hair arrangement. And one or two even asked if Ene’s nanny could braid their hair that way too.
“Ugh, these stupid things!” Mara cursed under her breath as her heel slid off again, jerking her ankle.
“You’re risking breaking your leg,” I warned. “Take your shoes off, at least for now.”
Xavran turned to face her.
“It’s not that far now. I can carry you.” He stepped closer, opening his arms with the clear intention of lifting her up.
“Oh no!” She backed away. “Don’t you dare touch me.” She quickly slid the sandals off her feet and marched ahead barefoot.
Personally, I saw nothing wrong with accepting his offer. The memory of how comforting his big arms felt around me the night I’d run, terrified of the fish in the tub, almost made me regret my choice of the sensible, flat-soled shoes I was wearing tonight.
Mara yanked down the skirt of her animal-print minidress. “I’ll walk on my own, thank you very much.”
“Suit yourself.” He shrugged.
“Simply repulsive,” she muttered under her breath, stomping ahead.
I snapped my gaze to his face, hoping he didn’t hear that. By the way his jaw muscles flexed, I feared he had.
Illal let go of my hand, running to him. “Me, Daddy! Can you carry me?”
A corner of his mouth lifted in one of his half-smiles. “Sure.”
I knew it was best for me not to stare at him as he bent over to pick up his daughter. I shouldn’t be admiring how the thick ropes of muscles in his thighs pushed against the fabric of his pants. But there I was, watching his hard butt cheeks flex and trying to make out the outline of his tail between them.
“Me too!” Ivex bounced to Xavran.
His brother followed him. “And me!”
Xavran chuckled. “I only have two arms. So, two at a time.”
He scooped Illal and Ivex up, fitting one kid on each arm.
I caught up with Ene, matching my step with hers.
“How about you?” I asked her. “Don’t you want your dad to carry you, too?”
She rolled her eyes. “I have my own two feet, don’t I? I can walk.”
“All right then. Can I walk with you?”
She gave me a sideway glance but didn’t move away. “Sure. It’s a wide path. There’s space for both of us.”
A short while later, the lights of the town hall came up between the hedges in front of us. Upbeat music reached us.
“Party!” The kids rushed ahead, all four of them.
The rest of us reached the town hall a minute later.
There was no actual building, but a giant gazebo style roof stretched between at least a dozen trunks of live trees growing in no particular pattern.
The ground was covered with thick grass and a mesh of stone paths that intertwined artistically. Under the roof, strings of lights competed with the swarms of glowing insects in illuminating the space.
Aldraians of all ages mingled under the roof. Most congregated around the long tables laden with food.
A man hurried to us the moment we entered under the gazebo.
“Mara! I’m so glad you made it.” He stretched his hand palm up, and she placed hers on top in the Aldraian greeting.
She tilted her head, smiling at him pleasantly. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Thank you for the invitation.”
I guessed the man must be the assistant from the mayor’s office Mara had spoken about.
“The invitation was public. All of Diria are welcome. It’s a town celebration.” He turned to Xavran and me. “Welcome, Captain Rax and...Susanna, I believe? I’m Khezan, Assistant to the Mayor of Diria.”
I gave him my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“I’ve heard about you from my sister, Yurie,” he said, smiling. “Her children go to the same school as yours... I mean the captain’s children. Not yours.”
“Right.” I remembered the name as that of one of the mothers I’d met at the kids’ school. “Yurie is such a nice woman. She’s been incredibly helpful with information. I have so much to learn, being in a new place and stuff.”
“And who is that?” Mara murmured, pointing with her gaze at a person I recognized as a Ravil, from planet Tragul. “Is that the ambassador?”
Back on Earth, Mara had called Ravils handsome. And I certainly agreed with her on that. Tall and muscular, the man wasn’t wearing a shirt. Short, golden-brown fur covered his entire body, shimmering in the lights. Sandy-blond hair curled around his ears and down his neck in thick waves like a lion’s mane.
“Yes. That’s Ambassador Zeigan Ussai from the country Ravi on planet Tragul,” Khezan explained. “His country is recovering after a twenty-year-long war. He’s the first ambassador sent to Aldrai in decades.”
As if sensing the attention, the Ravil turned to us. His long tail with a tuft of fur on the end swayed behind him.