Rise of the Faire-Amanti (The Ascendant Series Book 3) (14 page)

Gratitude made her eyes sting as she toweled off and dressed in the pretty white blouse, turquoise skirt, and matching vest. She had been so emotional since seeing her parents again. Their love and concern for her was almost overwhelming. Ullah would fuss over her until the moment she and Ty left. It was so different from the apathy shown by her birth mother that Kyr couldn’t even reconcile the two.

Thinking of this, she vowed once again that she would do whatever she had to in order to protect those she loved…and Yen-Ki help anyone who stood in her way.

That vow infused her stride with purpose as she left the bathing chamber and headed to the cooking area. She heard her mother humming and the sound of food sizzling. It made her smile as she rounded the corner and spotted Ullah standing over a pan of breakfast meat.

Her smile faded as the smell of the meat hit her. A wave of nausea had her grasping for the edge of the counter running along the cooking area’s central island. The room spun.

“Kyr, what’s wrong?” her mother asked, pulling the pan from the flames and setting it aside. She hurried over to Kyr and guided her to a nearby chair. “Are you feeling faint? You’re terribly pale.”

Kyr breathed through her mouth as she waited for her stomach to stop swaying. “I don’t know. I feel sick.”

Ullah touched her wrist to Kyr’s forehead, then moved over to the sink to fill a glass of water. She pressed it into Kyr’s hand and instructed her to drink it. Kyr did so without questioning her. After a couple of minutes, everything seemed to settle down.

“Sorry,” Kyr said, taking another sip of the water. “Maybe I’m just really hungry.”

Her mother’s gaze was intent on her face, but her thoughts were strangely blank. “Hmm. Perhaps. Why don’t you eat this biscuit while I’m finishing up the rest of the meal?”

Again, Kyr didn’t argue. She spread some of the burberry jam her mother offered her onto the flaky biscuit and took a bite. Her stomach immediately jumped in delight, telling her the theory of her being hungry was probably correct.

“Ty has checked on you several times this morning,” Ullah said as she turned back to the pan and put it back over the flames. “I can see how much he loves you.”

Kyr smiled at her mother’s back. They had spent a lot of the previous evening talking about her relationship with Ty. It had been wonderful to have another female with whom to talk about such things. Ullah had commiserated with her frustrations over Ty’s protectiveness and had explained that males just looked at such things differently. They often underestimated the fairer sex, which usually put them at a disadvantage. It was Kyr’s job to make him understand that she was stronger than she looked. Both Ullah and Kyr had decided that she was making excellent progress there.

“I know he loves me,” she said. “He really was fated for me.”

Her mother gave her a smile as she turned and began putting breakfast meat onto the plates sitting on the counter. “I’m grateful you two have each other.”

Kyr made a face as the pan got closer to her. “None of that for me, thanks.”

Ullah’s eyebrow lifted. “You used to love this.”

“I don’t think I’m in the mood for it right now.”

“All right.” Ullah turned and set the pan aside. As she poured scrambled eggs into a new pan, she said, “I didn’t get a chance to ask you yesterday. How have you been feeling?”

“I’m fine. If you’re worried about what happened earlier, the biscuit made my stomach settle. I feel great.”

“Mmhmm. Ty mentioned that you’ve been sleeping more lately.”

Kyr blushed, feeling as though she was under close scrutiny. “Well, we’ve been expending a lot of energy. Getting through the protections wasn’t exactly easy, Mom.”

“I know, honey.” She used a flat tool to stir the eggs in the hot pan as they cooked. “I’m just checking on you. We also didn’t really touch on just how involved you are with Ty now.”

“What do you mean? He’s my amanti.”

“You haven’t undergone the Proce-Amanti though,” Ullah pointed out. “I was just wondering if you’d decided to wait to have sex until after the ceremony.”

Kyr’s mouth opened and closed. She had honestly assumed her mother knew she and Ty were romantically involved. Had she actually expected them to wait until a female Mynder performed the Proce-Amanti ritual before having sex?

“Um, no,” she mumbled, drinking the last of her water. “We didn’t wait.”

“I see.” Ullah turned with the eggs and scooped some onto the first plate. “You do realize that you haven’t received your birth control treatment since returning to Alametria, don’t you?”

“Uh…”

“That was more than fifty nightfalls ago,” Ullah said in a gentle voice. “Kyr, I believe you’re pregnant. If I were you, I would stop in the Rowe megai to confirm it.”

Before Kyr even processed that shock, the front door opened with such force that it bounced on its hinges. Ty stood in the doorway. His gaze fell on hers. She immediately knew that he had “heard” every word of the conversation.

Her heart flipped in her chest as she wondered how he’d react. Dear Yen-Ki…
they were going to be parents
.

Ty took five strides into the room and lifted her from the chair, crushing her against his chest in a fierce hug. A sense of euphoria flowed from him into her. Her disbelief couldn’t stand in the face of such undiluted joy.

For that moment, she allowed herself to bask in their mutual happiness. There would be plenty of time to face reality and the knowledge that they now had more to fight for than ever…and something even more precious to possibly lose.

Chapter 16

Before they headed out, Ty and Kyr sat together in the family room and tried once again to connect with Sem. They had both tried periodically since their first attempt in the Wrym megai, but hadn’t succeeded so far. With each failed attempt, the likelihood that Sem was alive grew dimmer in their hearts. Neither of them openly admitted that, though.

After failing again, they connected to Gren. Intense exhaustion accompanied his thoughts loud and clear.

The guards at the mine have caught on to the fact that we’re sneaking people out,
he conveyed.
Things have gotten ugly a few times. The guards have started sending out hunting parties for escapees.

Where are you keeping everyone you manage to get out?
Ty asked.

At an old Peace Keeper bunker. There’s no way it will stay secret for long, though. Too many of the escapees want to be truly free. They keep trying to get out and hack it on their own. They’re clueless imbeciles who have no idea what it’s like outside the mine. The Marauders would eat them alive. They’d be back inside the mine within a day
.

Kyr shook her head in response.
How are the supplies holding up?

Not well. We’re running low on a lot of things. It’s going to be a challenge to house, feed, and protect everyone as the numbers grow.

You need to find the Tinkers I told you about,
Ty told him.
Scarlyt will know where they live. Let Aryn know what’s going on and tell him what you need. You can tell him I sent you. I know he can get you supplies from the Harvesters. Promise him payment from the palace once everything is settled. He has my word on it.

All right,
Gren agreed with a mental shrug.
No harm trying. I don’t suppose you’ve heard from Sem?

Ty’s jaw clenched and released.
No.

I haven’t either. I’m sorry.

None of them had anything more to say, so they closed the connection after planning to connect again soon. Seeing Kyr’s misty eyes and feeling her fear and anguish, Ty pulled her against him. He kissed the top of her head and sent her comforting thoughts. He knew her reaction was heightened by her changing hormones.

The hormones explained a lot, actually. His shock over Ullah’s announcement had been short-lived. The fact was that Lore had already planted the idea of Kyr’s pregnancy in his mind, so this really just cemented it.

Kyr was still absorbing the news, but he knew she believed it. They both did, as firmly as they believed in their love for each other. There wasn’t any need to have a scan done by the Rowe’s equipment. She was carrying their child.

We have to get moving
, he thought after another minute.

She nodded and started to rise from the couch, but he got up first and helped her. He saw the look she gave him and knew she thought that he was going to use the pregnancy to revert back to what she saw as his overprotective ways.

It was nice that they knew each other so well.

I’m not going to break just because I’m pregnant
, she chided.

Not on my watch
, he agreed.

She rolled her eyes, but smiled as he took her hand and led her back to the cooking area where her parents were putting away the breakfast dishes. A basket sat on the counter beside their two satchels and the canister of the Gift. Ty read from Ullah’s thoughts that she had packed them enough food for a few days.

“Guess it’s time,” Ullah said with a smile that belied her sorrow. “I’m so glad you stopped by.”

Kyr held it together during the goodbyes with her parents, but Ty knew it was a hard thing for her. Between her unexpressed fear and sadness and the added melancholy from her parents, he had to dampen his connection to them in order to stay focused.

Eventually, they were on their way with Wyk’s assurance that he and Ullah would be leaving soon. They would use their best judgment in trying to prepare people for a possible battle, and they would stay on the move to avoid Vycor’s forces.

It was the best they could do. Ty just had to pray it was enough.

* * *

The ride to the Luja megai was woefully boring. There was one primary roadway used for travel through the Owar homeland that passed by many clusters of homes. Wyk had given Ty a tip about a less-used route, though, that meandered through uninhabited areas. Ty had chosen the second route in hopes of avoiding any confrontations with Mynders. That meant he had to deal with uninspiring views of barren fields, a few crumbling houses, and sparse clusters of trees.

It was with little surprise that Ty felt Kyr drop into sleep midway through the day. She had spent the beginning of the trip shedding the tears she hadn’t wanted her parents to see. That emotional purging combined with the pregnancy wore her down. She had battled with exhaustion for nearly an hour before succumbing.

He knew she didn’t want him to think of her as weak, which was why she had tried not to nap. She had only to look closely at his thoughts to know that she had nothing to fear, though.
Weak
was the last word that came to mind when he thought of her. He was well aware that she was tired because her body was adjusting to carrying their baby.

Emotion clutched his chest as that thought ran through his mind. It wasn’t the first time the vehement feeling had gripped him, and he knew it wouldn’t be the last.

His thoughts turned back to when he was a young man undergoing the training of the
Dem-Shyr
. It had been a difficult time for him. He had been apart from his family for the first time. He hadn’t been prepared for the intensity of the training he would have to undergo. And nearly every day, Guardian Shaya made sure he knew his place in her home and her life. His future was with Kyr, she reminded him time and again.

But she hadn’t meant it in terms of love. Shaya had expected Ty to remain by Kyr’s side as the
Dem-Shyr
, and that was it.

That had seemed okay at first. For years, he accepted that he was fated to be with Kyr throughout her life solely to keep her safe. He knew he would watch her interact with other males and pair with one of them as the Faire-Amanti. He would remain her protector while she mated with her amanti and bore his children, never having that life for himself.

Back then, he told himself that it was good enough just to have the power and esteem that came from being the
Dem-Shyr
. Now, he could acknowledge that had been far from the truth. He had endured many painful nights wishing for a simpler life like the one his parents had. Although he hadn’t realized it then, what he had been craving was a love like theirs and a family of his own.

Neither he nor Shaya had ever expected him to fall in love with Kyr. He smiled now as he thought about what an insolent little brat she had been. Still, he’d seen the core of her character and knew it had the potential to blossom. She proved that in spades once she started her off-planet lessons.

As he watched her grow into an amazingly bright and caring young woman, he allowed his thoughts to delve into foolish and dangerous areas. Only in his deepest, innermost dreams did he ever envision a life with her that differed from the one Shaya insisted was fated for him. Even now that he had Kyr’s heart, he could hardly believe he had gotten this lucky.

Of course, their love had come with a high price, he mused as he maneuvered the transport around another bend in the road. The strong possibility of a deadly battle loomed. Vycor and Shaya were set on destroying them. Not only were his and Kyr’s futures at stake, but the futures of all Alametrians.

In other words, now that he held everything he had ever dreamed, he faced the possibility of it all slipping through his fingers.

He could admit to being tempted by the cowardly thought of finding the closest intergalactic vessel and taking Kyr and their unborn child as far away from all of this as possible. The idea of settling on a remote planet somewhere and enjoying a quiet and peaceful life with the woman he loved held quite the allure after everything they’d already suffered. But he knew he couldn’t turn away from their people.

That’s right
, Kyr thought, touching his arm and making him realize she was awake.
Our people. We’re partners in this, and we will see things through...even if some peace and quiet sounds divine right now.

He exchanged a smile with her. Her love for him cycled through him. She assured him without words that she understood how he felt.