Nanny For The Alien General by Athena Storm
Keilon
It is well past the children’s bedtime when Serafina and I are finally able to be alone with them.
Staja got word back to them that Serafina was safe, but I expressly commanded him to say nothing else. I thought it would be best if Serafina and I told them ourselves.
When the kids see Serafina they race to her, throwing their arms about her.
“We missed you so much!” Emex declares.
“We were scared for you!” Belanna cries.
“I missed you both, as well,” Serafina says, pulling them away and kneeling to smile into their faces. “But I’m safe now, and I’m here.”
“Did Daddy rescue you?” Emex asks.
“In a way, he did,” Serafina tells him, smiling back at me.
I take that as my cue to come over to them all.
“We have something we need to tell you both,” I say. “Something important.”
“OK,” Belanna says. My children stare up at me, calm and expectant.
I feel my stomach tie itself up in knots.
“Let’s all sit down together,” I say. I scoop up Emex in one arm and take Belanna’s hand in the other. We go into Emex’s room. I accidentally step on one of his toys and nearly trip, but manage to deposit my son safely on the edge of his bed. Then I gesture for Belanna to join him. She sits beside her brother.
They continue to stare at me with the same look on their faces and I realize my maneuver to buy myself time has gotten me nowhere.
Then Serafina is beside me and her hand slides into mine. I feel the perfection of her touch and it reassures me.
“Kids,” I say, my voice only a little tight, “I have news for you. It may shock or surprise you. And I want you to know that we will listen to anything you have to say regarding what I’m about to tell you. It’s OK to be scared or confused by it at first. In fact, I was scared and confused by it for a little while. But the news is that Serafina and I…” I take a deep breath, preparing to plunge into the official announcement.
But that’s when Belanna says, “You’re getting married.”
“Yeah, we know,” Emex says with a shrug.
“But… how do you…?”
“It’s pretty obvious you’re fated mates,” Belanna says, her face beaming. She reaches out a hand to Serafina, who takes it, looking bewildered herself. “Sera, do you think I’ll ever find my fated mate?” my daughter asks.
“Um. Sure. If I did it, how hard can it be?”
“Ugh, I never want a mate,” Emex announces. “But I’m happy we’ll have a mommy again. And I’m happy it’s you, Sera.”
“I’m happy, too,” Serafina says, kissing the top of Emex’s head.
“Are you happy, daddy?” Belanna asks.
“More than you can know,” I say truthfully as I wrap my arms around all three of them. I linger in the group hug a short while, savoring the moment. Then I declare it’s time for sleep. Serafina and I tuck in Emex, then work on Belanna.
“But how can I sleep?” she asks. “I have to start planning what I’ll wear to the wedding.”
“Dream about it, honey,” I suggest. Then the lights are off and Serafina and I make our way back to my quarters.
“Can you ever forgive me for not telling you about the bond sooner?” I ask as we slowly walk arm-in-arm through the quiet halls.
“I already forgive you,” she says, pressing herself against me. “But can you explain exactly what the bond is?”
I chuckle slightly. I forgot that we’d never had time to discuss it, amid the hubbub at the assembly, the rush back to the palace, and talking with the kids.
“For Kiphians, it is a pure physical and psychological response,” I say. “The first time we touched, when you were tending to my wounds, I felt a burning in my spine. A pleasant one. That is a male’s first sign of the bond.”
“I felt something, too. Not quite as dramatic, but…”
“Serafina, you must understand something.” I stop our walk and turn to face her, holding her hands to my chest. “For fated mates, there is nothing that stands between their love. The dedication, the devotion, and the loyalty are absolute. Nothing breaks it. Time only makes it thrive. I love you in a way that I almost fear is unfathomable to humans.”
She falls silent for a moment and I fear I may have overstepped. Will she break away? Will this be too much for her?
No, I realize, as she reaches up and gently touches my cheek.
“How can I show you the depth and fullness of my love for you?” she asks.
“You need not,” I assure her softly. I take the hand she placed on my cheek and kiss its palm. “I know it. And I swear we will spend as much time as we can at Fogfrost Lake.”
“I’m embarrassed to think of you slumming it in my cabin, now that I know you were living here before I found you,” she says, laughing.
“It will be our get-away home,” I insist. “In fact, I was thinking we might even have our wedding back at Tilleli? Lakeside.”
“Do you mean it?”
“The village and its humans no longer have anything to fear from the Lakes Kingdom. A royal wedding could bring it some great business and help kickstart the economy.”
“I love it when you talk politics, My King,” she jokes. But her eyes are alight at my words.
“What conversation would you prefer, My Queen,” I say. Her eyes are sparkling as I kiss her hands, then her wrists. Soft, warm kisses. Her eyelids flutter in response to the touch of my lips. “Shall we discuss the royal bedchamber?”
“Do you think it will be to my liking?” she asks as I move up her arm and to her neck.
“There is only one way to know for sure,” I say, before my lips find her mouth.
It is a kiss that lasts eons or a few seconds. It is hard to tell, for I am lost in the love that surrounds that kiss.
“Take me to bed,” she says, adding, “my love… my eternal love.”
