Not much privacy, she noted.
The structures were beyond impressive and seemed surprisingly large and spacious.She tried to take everything in as they ascended upwards sharply.Kate was glad that Vaxa was braced behind her or she surely would’ve lost her footing by now.
Vaxa finally slowed the hovercraft at the very top of the mountain, at the lone structure that looked over the city.He landed it on the wide terrace just in front of the house before powering it down.
“Our home,” he murmured to her.“And I am much pleased to show it to you,luxiva.”
Our home.Those words made those treacherous butterflies start up in her stomach again but she told them to cut it out.It would be her home for the month.Onlythe month.
A Luxirian stepped out from the doorway of the house, dressed in flowing blue robes.He was shorter than Vaxa, but still towered over her.There were wrinkles around his eyes, showing perhaps a more advanced age, although he didn’t look elderly by any means.His hair was dark, just like all the other Luxirians she’d encountered, and he had golden bands around his wrists.
He eyed her curiously before he bowed lowly to Vaxa, as they both stepped down from the hovercraft.The terrace felt warm under her feet.The terrace, the house, the whole city looked like it was made out of the same material, like a cross between sandstone and marble.It seemed incredibly strong, sourced from the mountain itself.
Vaxa greeted the Luxirian and tugged Kate forward.“This is Bidan,” he said, although he said it like ‘bee-don.’Finally a name she could pronounce fully.
Kate gave the other Luxirian a small, almost shy smile.“Hello, Bee-don.”
Bidan seemed to startle, casting a gaze at Vaxa.He returned his eyes to her—a yellowish color, so unlike the blue of Vaxa’s.He bowed his head to her.
“Bidan is our…” Vaxa trailed off, as though searching for the right word, before settling on, “servant.”
“Servant?” she repeated, frowning.She eyed the gold bands circling his wrists.“I—I don’t…”The idea made Kate uncomfortable.“You don’t haveslaves, do you?” she burst out, not knowing how to soften a question like that.
“Slaves?” Vaxa asked.“No.Bidan has been serving my family since before I was born.He is the only family I have left.”
Kate’s shoulders relaxed.Still, she needed to ask, “So…he wants to be here?”
Vaxa stared down at her…before throwing his head back and laughing.Kate’s lips parted, her skin tingling, listening to his laugh.It was incredibly attractive, deep and husky.Slightly different from a human laugh since there was a little purr thrown in there for good measure…but still, she wouldn’t mind hearing it often.Very often.
Bidan looked just as surprised as she did and when he caught her looking at him, he immediately turned his gaze away.It was like he didn’t know what to make of her.
“Bidan has a family of his own,luxiva.A Breeding partner.Offspring,” Vaxa finally said, his tone full of amusement.“He did not finish military training when he was a youth and has chosen this life to give him purpose.I do not keep him chained up inside.”It was Vaxa’s attempt at a joke and her cheeks burned bright with embarrassment.
She realized that she had much to learn about his culture.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.“I didn’t…”
He brushed her sticky hair away from her cheek.“Do not apologize,luxiva.”
Bidan’s head jerked to Vaxa.“Luxiva?” he asked, eyeing Kate anew.She shifted under his sudden scrutiny.
“Tev,” Vaxa said.He said more in the Luxirian language but Kate recognized none of the words.Finally, he murmured to her, “Come.Let me show you our dwelling.”
“Does he live here too?” she wondered, giving a hesitant smile to Bidan as Vaxa led her away.
“Nix,” he said.“He lives down thefacevwith his family.But he is here every span.If you ever need anything and you cannot reach me, you will ask him and he will help you.”
She was about to ask what Bidan did there, but they’d stepped into the home and her thoughts trailed off.
The place was massive.
She felt something stir in her breast as she gazed around, wide-eyed, a kind of belonging that made her heart twinge.
Luxirians sure know a thing or two about interior design, she thought.
What struck her first was that it looked like a pleasure den.Rich, sensual reds and varying shades of ruby and maroon were present in tapestries and rugs and materials used to make some of the chairs and cushions.A huge, black fur throw lined what she could only imagine was a living room, with its fluffy cushions on the floor.A fire pit sunk into the ground in the center of the room, blackened coals smearing the insides.It looked well-used and she wondered why on earth they would need it, given how sweltering it was on the planet.
Bidan said Vaxa’s name from behind, the first Luxirian Kate had ever heard address him like that.Although, if what Vaxa said was true, Bidan was like family.
