Chapter Five

The king removed the guards and cancelled the curfew at the artisan village. Neffa spoke to the other foragers and got some vehicles together to bring them to their areas of interest. It was time to use what the world had to offer properly, and for the first time, the Keedon foragers could be themselves in all of their spectacular glory.

Hazar was grinning as she outfitted a skimmer. "Oh, this is going to be fun. There are dozens of beasts I want to make friends with."

Neffa snorted at the woman who was only six months younger than she was. "Of course, that is where your brain goes."

"Where should it be?"

"We have ships full of highly trained men that we can have our pick of. I would think that it was a temptation for part of you."

Hazar paused in her prep and said, "I dunno. It's hard to want something that is rather amorphous in your mind. Plus, the animals have been here for ages, so I want to meet them first."

"Fine. Head for the Dremari Observatory. The mechanism is faster than we thought and might block some of the incoming ships."

Hazar pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "Right. Giving orders already, Your Majesty?"

"Aw, shut it. I want to go by Imperial Commander."

"Fine, Icy it is." Hazar winked. "The scowl on the good duke's face definitely covers it. Definitely icy."

Neffa turned to Morro and he was, indeed, scowling. She frowned. "What is the problem?"

"You are so casually taking your pick from and discarding men."

Neffa looked and nodded. "Right. You want me to pick you?"

"Yes."

She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Fine. I will. You had better make it worth my while. My dad proves that he was worth keeping every single day."

Neffa saw the shock that crossed his face before determination spread.

"Shall we head out with the foragers? I had better start earning my keep." Morro smiled.

Hazar chuckled. "I think he cracked it. We don't just choose the one that smells right; we choose the one that acts right. Right. I am heading to Dremari. Enjoy your courtship. May it be brief."

Hazar got in the skimmer, and it hummed to life. She steered it out of the charging area, got some altitude, and headed for Dremari.

Morro titled his head. "She wants to meet animals?"

"She's beast-minded. It has been a worry for her family. Her kind makes the prey and predators move in predictable patterns and stop rampages or stampedes over inhabited areas."

Morro blinked. "What? That doesn't happen."

"Of course not. We have all been ushered in every evening and kept under lock and key. We haven't been able to do anything like that yet. She's excited. Today is her first day out overnight."

"They are staying out?"

"Sure. Curfew is lifted and samples need to be obtained. There is a huge population to support about to land in drop ships and shuttles. We know where things are and what is safe for Keedon to eat. We have to teach the new arrivals."

Morro frowned, and understanding dawned. "The university."

"Correct. We are the new instructors. The transition from arrival to citizen usually takes less than ten years."

"They aren't citizens automatically?"

"No. If they don't suit, they are returned to their parent colony or sent to another that matches their inclinations."

Morro nodded.

The gathering of foragers with excited grins and extra equipment made her heart soar. This moment was what she had trained for in silence and privacy.

Morro looked over the supplies. "Is there enough for me?"

Neffa nodded. "Yeah, and whatever we don't have, I can find."

She stepped into the troop skimmer and settled in the pilot's seat. "Are you coming?"

He nodded and stepped onto the platform, taking a seat.

The foragers were tense with excitement as Neffa took off. They flew over the treetops and down into a lush valley. Neffa set down, verified that the team had a working com, and then they were off again.

Her heart was happy as she stopped at the other three stops to let the foragers look into the nightlife of plants and wild things.

Morro moved to sit next to her. "Why are they all so happy to be outside all night?"

"Because we trained for this, and the other foragers today trained on another world. They trained for this and were hobbled at every turn. In the last thirty years, this is their first night doing their job."

He nodded. "I am guessing it was a frustrating existence."

"That is putting it mildly."

"Why are the other foragers in pairs?"

"Bonded pairs. They are only able to mate in the wild."

Morro let out a strangled "What?"

"Keedons need to be out and about actually to get pregnant. There is a certain energy exchange that takes place, and you really don't want to be next to a couple when they go off. In the village, we have a tradition of moving away from couples who need that kind of space." She chuckled. "It's amazing my parents managed to create me. There wasn't a lot of privacy back then."

He smiled slightly and asked, "Where are we going?"

"We are going to watch a city rise." She smiled and accelerated. The protective screen generated around the skimmer, and they moved at a blurring pace over the world she was going to rule. Despite being trained for it, it was daunting, and she wasn't sure what her future was going to look like. She glanced at Morro. Maybe she needed a consort.

She smiled and ignored the secondary pulse in her body. This was a familiar feeling, and she wondered if Morro was willing to assist her with it. She geared up and headed for the rising city. It was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Neffa settled the skimmer and hopped out with her tent and her pack. Morro was staring at the enormous city that was rising and the machines that pulled the sod and soil from the surface and cleaned the new streets.

She got camp ready and started a fire, settling down to watch. Morro moved toward her and sat next to her. "The Keedon do this on all their worlds?"

Neffa chuckled. "According to my mother, yes. Over a thousand years ago, the Keedon knew their world was dying, and they sent emissaries to forty systems looking for battered but environmentally suitable worlds. The gravity had to be right, and the building blocks of the environment and atmosphere had to be right. They bid on those empty worlds, and when they won fifteen of them in the auctions, they sent teams to get the process of development started and planted the cities five hundred years later. The original Keedon homeworld is still dying as we speak. The settlers are coming out in waves, with the first one being the ones who will settle in with more of our livestock and familiar predators."

"Why bring predators?" Morro was staring at the city as if he was memorizing the moment. He probably was.

"Because they keep the prey species in check. You can't have a balance if life and death aren't equally represented."

There was silence as the rumbles, groans, and whines came to their ears across the kilometre that separated them from the robots and stone.

Neffa got up and put a small cauldron over the fire, adding the ingredients for a thick stew. When it was ready, she settled it on a pile of embers and returned to the watch party with Morro.

Her mother had told her many things but not how to approach a man the first time.

Neffa sat close to Morro, and her hand was next to his. She could taste him with every breath. His fingers shifted, and he gripped her hand. "This is a spectacular day."

She turned to look at him, and he smiled. "There is no one around. Is this enough space?"

She looked at the empty landscape with the rising city. She swallowed. "It is. Are you interested?"

"I have been since school, but it wasn't until the king unveiled Orvalik as the aggressor that things settled. It had been awkward wanting you and being responsible for keeping you in line at the same time."

Neffa blinked as she stared up at him. "Oh. Well, this place is suitably vacant."

He smiled and leaned in for a kiss. One led to a dozen, and she let her heat take over. He followed her lead.

* * * *

Isar put on a robe and walked out to look toward the city where Neffa was. Kesen followed her and said, "What are you looking for?"

He had no sooner spoken than a heavy wave of energy moved across the sky and through them.

Isar smiled. "It seems Morro is the right one for Neffa."

"So, that was..."

"It was. Give it time, and we will be grandparents, but for now, this world has its ruler, and the ruler has a consort. Just in time to beat out a ship full of horny males."

Kesen shuddered. "I don't even want to think about... wait. Are you interested in your own kind?"

"You are my own kind, beloved. I could have chosen from the settlers, but I chose you. You made my heart sing, and you still do."

He chuckled and kissed her neck. "You took my heart and shame my words. I am always at your side."

Isar nodded. "Yes, Your Imperial Highness."

"Absolutely, Your Majesty. So, now, what are the odds we made another prince or princess?"

Isar chuckled. "About the same as this one having an aunt or uncle on the way."

Kesen paused. "So, our little girl..."

"Is going to start a new phase of life when the ships arrive. We have trained her, educated her, and loved her. Now Morro has to take that over, but I think he is going to do well. Once they settle into a relationship, the future of this world is going to be very bright."

Kesen hugged her. "I am too young to be a grandfather."

Isar patted his arm. "No, you aren't. I am looking forward to being a mother again and a grandparent. Morro will be a good consort. He's a bit easily influenced, but Neffa can stop that from progressing. If he is hers, she will take care of him."

A second burst of energy ran across the landscape. Kesen groaned. "He's definitely hers."

Isar wrapped her arms around his. "The women in our family know what we want, and we don't rest until we find it. We also get lucky quite frequently."

He chuckled. "Would you like to get lucky now?"

"Well, no harm in ensuring the next generation now, is there?" Isar laughed, and they retreated to their home and the heavily shielded bedroom that caught the energy they produced. The shielding had been built into the rooms at the capitol and would keep all that energy focused inward on the couple.

The reason that the Keedon and their partners lived so long was that the energy they produced was focused in on the couple themselves. When you found the mate you resonated with, you kept him.