Chapter Three

H arwin jolted awake and slowly sat up. “Oh, shit.” She wasn’t wearing her loose clothing. She looked like she stepped out of a tomb relief. The linen skirt was wrapped and looked to be knee-length. She was wearing a belt, ankle cuffs, and wrist cuffs; the weight on her neck and chest was the part that irritated her. She was dressed as a servant. No fabric over her breasts. She was covered with a wide beaded collar that covered her from shoulder to shoulder, and the wide curve covered her breasts as long as she didn’t move too much.

She sort of liked the golden-wrapped sandals. She flexed her feet and then stood up. She had no idea where she was in the pyramid but was still inside. The stone walls were very familiar.

She walked toward a hallway, and a flying drone stopped, even with her face. “Oh, hello.”

The drone kept her from moving, and then a deep voice spoke in formal Hmrain. “ Follow .”

She nodded, and some hair slipped forward, showing her that her hair had been tightly braided and gold filaments were woven in. Someone had some time on their hands. Probably a bot.

She followed the drone as it descended level after level. Harwin wished she could have spent time memorizing the carvings and paintings, but she kept herself behind the drone as they wound down the pyramid via a wide staircase carved in gleaming stone.

When the drone levelled out, she was surprised. They walked through chambers illuminated with light, but she had no idea where the source was. The drone paused and turned to look at her. She quickly followed it.

She heard voices and moved toward them. She emerged behind a throne and moved around it to see her team with tables and artifacts and their data recorders working feverishly. She cleared her throat. “Hey, guys.”

Heads turned toward her, and she walked slowly down the steps leading from the throne.

Sossos ran up to her and said, “Harwin. He said you were alive, but there was so much blood.”

She held up her fist, and he bumped his into it. He remembered that, at least. “I took a bit of damage, well, a lot of damage, but here I am.”

The professor stared at her. “How did you stop a shuttle?”

“Practice.”

The professor was startled into smiling, and then, his gaze moved behind her, and the smile faded. She wouldn’t have called it terrified, but respectfully wary was close.

“Human, you have taken your time recovering.”

She turned and tried not to look shocked. The only Hmrain she had seen that was close to this guy was Kethen, but the grooves in Kethen’s skin were a complicated maze of designs. Ra had graceful swirls and curves all over him. He was also gold from head to toe, including his wings. Thick lines of black around his black eyes made startling points of attention on his features.

She crossed her arms and bowed from the waist. “Overseer.” She held the bow until he touched her shoulder. She straightened and didn’t make eye contact again.

“Hmm. You have learned how to behave appropriately, handmaid.”

She kept her gaze averted. “Station training and follow-up trainings.”

“Interesting. Well, the livery of my handmaid suits you.”

“About that. I am not a handmaid. I am a free woman. Handmaids were indentured or owned as far as I know.”

He chuckled. “They were. I have spoken with the professor, and he has agreed to hand over the time remaining on your guard contract. You will be at my side until the team leaves Aten.”

“Why? You do not need a handmaid or anything else. Your world is empty, and no traders are allowed.”

He tapped her chin and lifted her head. “I require a handmaid to help me navigate this time as I have been out of circulation for a number of years.”

She kept her eyes lowered.

“Look at me.”

She flicked her gaze to his, saw the stars in the black-gold eyes, and looked away.

“Eyes back to mine until I say otherwise.”

She grimaced, which made him laugh, but she stared into his eyes. The pressure on her mind followed immediately. Harwin deflected the contact away from her memories, and the eyes she was staring into widened.

“Clever little handmaid.”

“Not little.” She continued staring at him. “Above my species standard.”

“Yes, your people used to be smaller.” He kept two fingers under her chin, and he tried again. “Harwin, let me in.”

She gathered her more detailed memories in a safe space and let him see the rest. His molten-gold touch was warm, and it heated her skin, made her toes curl, and had her nipples hard against the beads covering them. She had heard about the effect of the Hmrain from their partners, but this was her first time being close to one that didn’t already have a mate. It was overwhelming, and she had to focus to keep herself together.

She shallowly breathed because he smelled like honey and sunlight.

“Your mind is arranged in an interesting manner. What is this?”

The prod at her safe memories was unmistakable. “It is mine. I have been touched by mental sensitives before, and they enjoy making my mind more malleable. There are memories that no one will change.”

He cocked his head. “I see. What if I want them?”

“You can’t have them. You have your own memories. Leave mine alone.”

“I wish to know more about you.”

“Ask.”

“What?”

“Ask.”

Ra frowned. “It isn’t efficient.”

“This way, it is experience without context. I can give you the context if you ask. If not, respectfully go and fuck yourself.”

His eyes widened in surprise.

“Respectfully, Overseer.”

He nodded and slowly grabbed a handful of her hair, twisting it around his hand. “You are treading on the edge, Harwin.”

“Get out of my mind, Overseer Ra.”

“It’s Overlord. These worlds are mine. Everything in this star system is mine.”

She muttered in English, “Greedy.”

He smiled and replied... in English. “Absolutely. My brothers and I were not created to share. We were created to usher the new populations into flourishing. Giving life to dead worlds is our purpose.”

She leaned into his grip. “You learned my home language.”

“One of my brothers has a mate from your species. She told me you had a crystal that had information about your world.”

Harwin froze. “Where is it?”

“Safe. It was very informative. I am sorry for your loss.”

It was surreal to be having this conversation while he had her by the hair, but he wasn’t crouching, and his grip was comfortable, so she remained standing while he tried to analyze her.

“Thank you. It is appreciated. I am pretty sure that you visited that world.”

He smiled slightly. “I did. I was looking for a mate but found only handmaids.”

“I am sure you looked very hard.”

“Motivated, it can be hard enough.”

She blinked. “Not flirting.”

“I was. My brother is very happy with his mate, and she has created a child with wings, so I was wondering if you were in the same compatibility class.”

“You are talking about Kethen and Janessa.”

“And their child. Yes.”

“They are a cute family. My previous employer took us to them to retrieve an artifact owed to her people.”

“He is one of the other elder Hmrain.”

“I know. He’s a biter.”

Ra tilted his head. “As am I.”

“What? Did the designers think no one would fuck you?”

He jolted and tugged on her hair. “You have a crude manner of speaking.”

“We are speaking in my language, which can be very graceful or very blunt. You are holding me by my hair. Blunt is required.”

He frowned. “I am not hurting you.”

“No, but you are restraining me. It is irritating me.”

“What could you do to me, little handmaid?”

She felt the smirk cross her lips. “More than you would think. Probably not kill you, but trying would be interesting.”

There were gasps from the team in the research zone.

“Did you threaten me?”

“Of course not, Overlord Ra. I was just sharing a fantasy. Wait, how did they know what I said?”

“We all got your language. It is mandatory for anyone hoping to spend more than two days on Aten. That is an overlord thing.”

“Right, well, my little fantasy was just that.”

He relaxed his hand and smoothed the filaments. “This was not meant to be aggressive.”

“We are strangers. It cannot be playful if I have never met you before.”

Ra nodded. “Walk with me, little one.”

She paused and then nodded. “Of course, Overlord.”

He looked at her and walked past her, down the steps to the throne, and she walked with the beads on her body clashing with every step.

She kept pace with him and remained just out of reach of his wings. He walked down more stairs, and she followed. Her body was shaking a little, and she recognized the feeling as low blood sugar. She mentally snorted and kept walking. She had an hour before she was a wreck.

They continued down under the pyramid, with each level having a different purpose. She looked forward to exploring at her leisure. There was so much to learn.

The garden under the pyramid was a shock. It was lush, gorgeous, and humid with a river running through it. The artificial sun that was down below was warm and comforting, not the harsh light of the suns above.

She scurried toward Ra as he took a seat at the edge of the river. There was nowhere for her to sit, so she stood off to the side.

“Harwin, come here.” He held out his hand, and she eased closer.

She stopped, and he sighed. “Closer.”

Harwin walked until her knees touched his calf.

He put his hands on her waist and settled her on his lap. She felt like a puppet.

He touched her jaw with a slow trace of his finger. “You do have fine features.”

“I have heard that.”

“So, how did you acquire your extra skills? No human I ever met had access to telekinesis, and I was there for thousands of years.”

“I didn’t know it was that long, but myself and one other ended up in an accident. We were moving cargo, and the loading shift hadn’t secured it. The vessel was on approach and had to dodge an outgoing ship off course. The load slid and crushed myself and my friend against the wall. They took us to medical, and I was awake enough to authorize the fees for the repairs. The problem was the setting. Instead of Terran, they set the repair unit for Ternaoath.”

“Oh. I understand.”

“Yeah, so our bodies were bulked up, and our brains had sections added. Over time, the secondary skills developed. At that point, Kris and I took on the job of bodyguards. Madam was great to be with, and we met so many races and had so much fun with her. Then, Yasku paid off my bond, and I was able to choose. So I had been approached by the professor and his team two years ago, and they were still interested, so here I am.”

Ra smiled. “So, they don’t hold your bond.”

“No. Definitely not. I am a contractor with security as my only concern.”

“Ah, so, the professor’s offer to sell your contract was a bit of a lie.”

“I am free. There isn’t a bond. Well, not unless I was charged for the repairs that I woke up with. I remember being in rough shape.”

“You had been shot with concussive blasts, and several limbs were broken. There was a punctured lung and internal bleeding.”

“That does sound familiar.”

He stroked her skin idly with his finger, and she blinked. “Overlord Ra?”

“Yes, Harwin?”

“What are you doing?”

“I had forgotten the feel of your species. You are so soft.”

“Uh. We don’t have scales or armoured skin, if that it what you are referring to.” There wasn’t much you could do to distract a horny Hmrain, but she was giving it a shot.

“No. You don’t. You are soft and defenseless. I am amazed that your species progressed as far as it did. It was a shame that your planet met its end.”

She slumped and sighed. “Is there an option to get clothing that covers my breasts?”

He boldly cupped her breast. “But you are so accessible.”

“My nipples are getting chafed.”

He blinked and looked her in the face. “You suspect what I am about to ask of you.”

“More or less. Why are you so sure this is a good idea?”

“I talked to a sibling, and he and his mate look very happy. Their child is also very cute, and it has the potential to grow wings.”

Harwin looked at him. “So, you have been talking to Kethen and Janessa.”

“You knew who I meant.”

“Yeah, plus, he’s also an elder, so it makes sense that he would be one that you spoke to. Janessa’s great. Taller than me.” She smiled. “Glad to hear the little one made its appearance. She was huge. I am guessing delivery was a relief.”

He chuckled. “Harwin, would you sign a contract with me?”

She jolted. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“I have your file, and I know you are the closest thing to a physical match I have ever had. A little adjustment from my nanites and we will make a very striking couple.”

“For whom? This is an empty world. You seem to be content living alone, so why would you need a consort?”

“Is that what we are calling it these days? I was thinking wife. The position is the same, it is only the title that changes.”

“Does the title come with more fabric?”

He sighed. “It could. We would discuss it. There would be more jewellery.”

“As long as my breasts don’t rattle it, I don’t care. I would prefer my armoured bodysuit, but I wasn’t allowed to wear it during the dig.”

“You have no objection to the skirt? It is fine woven and very thin, but this world doesn’t need layers.”

“I am irritated by the beads. I didn’t think they came down this low.”

He shrugged. “It is my own design. Some linen would not help.”

She shrugged. “If I can see actual designs that you would consider acceptable and if I may create a hybrid that suits me, that would be nice.”

“It has to appeal to me, but yes. Come up with some designs, and we will discuss their suitability.”

Harwin nodded. “That seems reasonable. We need to hammer out specifics.”

“First, you know you will have to take in nanites, yes?”

“Uh, yes. Janessa explained that, and then Kethen did. He was very amused.”

“Well, I transfused my blood into you, so that part has begun.”

“What?”

“They are in your bloodstream. I believe I mentioned that you had internal injuries. Time was a factor, so I donated my blood to the cause. They won’t activate to change you without a bite from me, so that should relax you.”

“I am suddenly liking these beads a lot.”

Ra smiled, and his eyes crinkled. “I am at the beginning of an appreciation for modern children of the house of Geb. When I was last there, my handmaids wouldn’t even speak to me, let alone make me laugh.”

“How many did you have at one time?”

“A few hundred. It was necessary for me to get what I needed.”

“Oh. That. Right. Well, we don’t know that I am the right flavour for you. You may need to seek someone else out.”

Ra stared at her, and a slight smile crossed his features. “I can get what I need from you. I tasted your pain. Pleasure is the other side of the coin.”

“Oh. Right. Sorry if it woke you.”

“I was already up. I woke when your blood unlocked the pyramid.”

“Ah. Right. Well, that’s it then.”

His lips twisted, and he leaned in to kiss her.

Harwin froze and felt like a bunny with an approaching predator. His lips looked like solid gold but were warm when pressed against hers.

She hadn’t been kissed in ages. She lifted her chin and focused on relaxing. He was big, but he wouldn’t crush her. He was going to take care of her and give her a home, like a lost puppy. A puppy with no world.

His tongue played gently but determinedly in her mouth, and she felt the first curl of pleasure since the week before the end of the world, and Ra wasn’t stopping.