EXCERPT Ethram led them to the chamber, and Zalana gazed in stunned silence as she
approached the vision on the pallet. She wore a pale blue caftan with moons and
stars embroidered in silver. Tears filled Zalana’s eyes as she saw the matching
sash she had embroidered for her son’s mate so many centuries before tied to her
wrist and tucked up by her chin. Her golden hair surrounded her with the rays
of the suns, and pale, delicate skin stretched across high cheekbones.
As Zulien approached her, one small hand reached out, searching. Zulien
clasped it gently and brought it back to her side as he knelt, and Ethram
whispered, “Your bond is strong, Zulien. Several times I have had to issue a
wave of peace towards your little mate, yet she continues to search for you.
Are you ready, warrior?”
“Yes, Ethram. I have been waiting centuries for this moment. I never dreamed
it would arrive.”
Ethram pulled Zalana back from the pallet where she stood almost in a trance as
she gazed at Miranda. “Zalana,” he said gently, “this is your son’s time. You
will have a lifetime with her.”
Zalana leaned down and brushed her fingers through her warrior son’s long dark
hair. “I love you, Zulien, and I do not need a vision to know all will be
well.”
“Thank you, mother. I can feel the peace she emits also.”
Ethram brushed his fingers across Miranda’s forehead and she sighed and reached
her other hand over to Zulien’s comforting grasp. Zulien smiled and began
stroking her head as she slowly awoke.
Ethram escorted the parents out of the chambers. “I will, of course, be
remaining here. I will have one of the guards inform the Magistrate of Battle
when the joining has ended.”
Zalana and Terena were hugging each other and crying. Zibula glanced over at
them, then looked back at Ethram and rolled his eyes.
Ethram laughed quietly. “Mothers.” The women turned to him. “I suggest you
get busy. Planning ceremonies for a Celestial Ancient and her bonded friend
will be quite a task.”
Zibula’s mind flashed on the uproar the house would be in while his mate
panicked over the preparations and said, “Thanks a lot. I will be lucky to have
another joining of my own until this is over.”
Zalana and Terena were already discussing the location for the joint
ceremonies, and whether it was a breach of the Ancient’s protocol to even hold
the ceremonies together.
Ethram chuckled, “I thought you wanted them to stop their tears.”
The parents returned to their shuttle and headed back home to begin the
preparations for the ceremonies. In the inner worlds, the son’s mother always
arranged the ceremonies. It was an honor given to welcome the new mate to her
family, and Zalana and Terena were petrified of failing.
Zulien continued to stroke Miranda’s forehead until she gasped a little and her
eyes began to open. They were a crystal blue and watery, and as she focused,
she looked up at him with alarm. “Wake slowly, Miranda. You have been in deep
sleep for a long time,” he said softly.
Zulien was encouraged. At least she had not screamed. He thought of how he
must look to her. He was large, even for a warrior, with dark hair that fell
well below his shoulders in a thick, wild mane. His ebony eyes were completely
the opposite of the light blue pair gazing suspiciously at him, and he wondered
if the people of her planet even had his coloring. The golden bronze skin was
unique to the people of Shallistar, so he was sure she would find that as
unusual as he found her luminescence. He hoped she would be as pleased.
She had not released his hands as she continued to calmly stare at him, and
then she spoke in a soft voice, and said the last thing he expected to hear. “I
know you.”
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Children`s Fiction
Romance Fiction
