Mayra came forward, a beatific smile on her face. Her belly was swollen with his brother Nojan’s child, and she was even more lovely now than she had been when he’d met her. “Welcome to Vartik,” she said softly. “These males take a little getting used to, but once you have the love of a Vartik King, you can rest easy. They will never betray you and will protect you with all the powers at their command.”
“That’s good to know,” Dawn said humbly. “I’m very grateful to be accepted into the fold. You all seem like wonderful people.”
“We are,” Jazmine said with a twinkle in her eye. “Do let me know when you’re ready to plan the wedding. As the queen, I’d like to lend a hand if possible. I’d love the chance to plan a planet-wide party.”
Dawn’s eyes widened with dismay and Zelup enfolded her in his arms.
“Okay, ladies,” he said with chagrin. “That’s about enough for today. Give Dawn a chance to get settled in before we start making plans, all right?”
“Will she be staying in your quarters?” Mayra asked, a grin on her cherubic face.
“Yes, of course,” he replied. “Why?”
“Oh, nothing,” the oracle said as she followed the other women to the door. When she was about to exit, she turned back. “It’s just that you might need a larger space. For the nursery.” Then she was gone.
“Did she just say…” Dawn started, incredulous.
Zelup was equally stunned, but excitement was rushing through his veins. “Yep.”
“And she’s the one you guys call the Oracle, right?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“Right again.”
“Oh boy,” Dawn said, right before her knees gave out.
Zelup swept her up into his arms, planting a kiss on her nose. “Don’t worry, dearest. You’ll make a fantastic mother.”
“But I assumed mating between our species wasn’t possible. I mean, you did say you had to marry one of your own kind to produce offspring.”
Zelup nodded. “Yes, ordinarily, but as you can see, things have a way of changing where the Goddess of Light is concerned.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Me neither,” he replied. “Not entirely. But I think it has something to do with your memory recovery. I prayed to the goddess to help me, explaining that you’d helped her. I used all of my power to force you to remember me, but it didn’t seem to be enough. Suddenly, your body was filled with light, and after that, you remembered.”
“So you think I was touched by… by a goddess?”
He nodded, a smile on his face. “And now we’re to be blessed with a little one.”
Dawn swooned. “This is all too much for me,” she said with a little laugh. “I’m a woman of science, and now I’ve been blessed by a goddess and toyed with by demons. You Vartik Kings don’t mess around.”
Zelup couldn’t hold back his laughter. “You’re more than a match for anything that comes your way,” he said, nuzzling her neck.
“Only if I have you by my side,” she said, placing her soft lips against his.
“And you will, since I’ll never leave it.” Zelup deepened the kiss until he was short of breath.
Dawn squirmed out of his grip, moving away to fan herself. “Okay, lover boy, you’ll have to wait a bit. I need to get down to work.”
Zelup was confused. “But you just said you didn’t feel like working.”
“That was before I found out I’m expecting. That doesn’t give me much time to get things sorted. We’re about to go up against a horde of demons who have stolen my best friend. We’ve got to get Ladee back, by the way. I insist upon it.”
“Of course,” he said, dropping a kiss on her shoulder.
“That means I’ll need a new assistant in the meantime,” she said, starting to go through drawers and cabinets, cataloguing the equipment she found there. “And I have just the idea.”
Zelup watched as she set up her tools, wondering how he’d ever captured her heart. He was glad he did, however, because there was no way he’d ever want to live life without her.
I never thought I’d be attracted to the mad-scientist type,but I can’t imagine not loving her.
They would face whatever came their way, together. She was the perfect partner for the battle that was to come.
