"Was she a bad parent?"
"No. Not in that sense, no."
"But they didn't see their real mother when they should have. Gardevik feels inadequate, I think, and he passed the anger he felt in your direction. He wanted to make you suffer, perhaps, for doing what he wasn't capable of doing alone. I think he was a loner for a very long time. Kept to himself for a very long time."
"I had nothing to do with that," I pointed out.
"I know. I'm just trying to sort out why he is the way he is."
"Good luck on that," I said.
"Reah, he has made you suffer. I want to get to the bottom of that. I'm hoping to put a stop to it."
"Then you're more of an optimist than I am."
"I think you've seen too much of the terrible side of life. You haven't had many of the good things. Why don't you come with me for a little while this afternoon? We can get into the pool at the villa. You can sleep there if you're tired. I know you are," he said. "I can feel it. How about a massage? I think Rik is available."
"Rik. He has such nice hands." I smiled at the memory of one other time when the tall Falchani had given me a massage.
"You've gotten one from him before?"
"Yeah. It was wonderful."
"Then we'll get another. We can set it up on a regular basis, if you want. It'll be good for you. He even has a special pillow so we won't squash Garwin Wyatt."
"We can't squash Wyatt," I agreed. "We love him."
"We do," Kevis grinned.
* * *
"Just relax," Rik told me later as I lay face down on a table. What little belly I had was encased in a special pillow, hollowed out to surround Garwin Wyatt. Rik's hands moved gently over my body. Kevis had undressed me using the power he inherited from his parents and he watched as Rik put his hands on me. When he finished with the back and turned me over, I felt like softened clay. Rik paid such special attention to the baby when he rubbed my belly, I fell asleep.
* * *
I'll take her. Kevis lifted Reah from Rik's arms. He'd carefully wrapped the sheet around Reah without waking her.
She's like a bird with hollow, fragile bones, Rik sighed. She needs to eat more.
I know. Kevis floated Reah onto the bed to keep from waking her. His and Rik's conversation had been mindspeech only. I'm warming the air around her. I hope she doesn't wake up.
Later, Kevis sat in the kitchen, having a cup of tea with Rik when his mother walked in.
"How are you, Gracie?" Rik gave her a smile.
"I'm good. How's Reah?" She looked at Kevis.
"Sleeping."
"Ren says she's exhausted but refuses to just sit down and rest most of the time."
"Kifirin," Kevis said. "She only had a few workers and half of those were disabled, so she pushed herself for years. I think she's afraid that if she stops completely, something terrible will happen."
"If she had stopped on Kifirin, they'd be bankrupt," Dragon wandered in with his twin brother, Crane. "Lissa says that they made the last payment on their loans a few days ago. They're in the clear unless they go into debt again. If they can manage those gishi fruit groves as well as Reah did, then they're on their way toward industrialization."
"They certainly need to get away from that feudal system they have," Crane agreed, setting about making tea for himself and his brother. "Falchan doesn't have much in the way of technology, but the people are allowed to own land and open their own shops and restaurants. On Kifirin, the Crown owns nearly everything."
"They certainly owned Reah," Kevis leaned his head into his arms. "I don't think they'll see this baby unless they come to her."
"What have Jayd and Glinda done for her? Anything?" Devin asked. She and Grace shared eleven mates, including Dragon, Crane and Karzac.
"I don't know that they've offered anything. Certainly not money," Kevis muttered. "But Lendill says that the ASD is very close to confiscating all the funds the pirates and their cronies put together. Reah will have half of that."
"How much is it?" Dragon asked, accepting a cup of tea from Crane.
"The last I heard, trillions," Kevis said. "Reah will never have to depend upon another male for money. Ever."
"Is Reah asleep?" Lok, Aurelius and Renegar folded in.
"Yes. Is anything wrong?""Someone is asking to see her," Aurelius said. Kiarra, Adam, Merrill and Pheligar folded in. Someone, likely Dragon, had sent mindspeech.
"Why are they asking to speak with Reah?" Kiarra was puzzled.
"I do not know," Renegar replied. "But they are requesting an audience with her. This is mystifying."
"Who is asking to see Reah?" Kevis rose from his seat at the island.
"The Copper Ra'Ak Prince," Renegar replied.
Chapter 11
"When?" Kevis was upset and he didn't normally react to anything that way. "Have the others been told? What do they want?"
"They want to talk peace," Nefrigar appeared, with two of his sons. "They want Reah to act as the broker for that peace. The Copper Ra'Ak that she took down not long ago were among the rogues that this Prince has been chasing. A few rogues are still out there, but these wish to ally with the Saa Thalarr and the Black Ra'Ak to hunt them down. These Copper Ra'Ak want things as they were in the beginning. They want their old world back."
"Has Kifirin been notified?" Kiarra asked, staring up at the Larentii Archivist.
"Messages have been sent," Connegar folded in. "We are waiting for a reply."
"He knows," Belen appeared, accompanied by Thurlow.
"We are here," Teeki and Neeki appeared. "But we have not good news. The rogue Ra'Ak that remain have allied with those two bad brothers of Lendill Schaff. They are all hunting Reah. The bad brothers want her dead. They blame her for Lendill becoming Prince-Heir. They seek her death. The rogue Ra'Ak want her dead, too, for killing those they sent after the Saa Thalarr. The bad elf brothers have promised these rogue Ra'Ak joint rule of Gaelar N'Seith and other worlds, if they help to kill Reah and the Saa Thalarr. Things do not look good," Teeki shook his head.
"I don't believe this," Kiarra rubbed her forehead.
"Were the elves the ones who shot her?" Lok asked.
"Yes. With an old weapon they should not have. One outlawed by the Alliance long ago. They still have that and others—they are collecting them. Now, they seek to harm the Lifegiver."
"Are you calling her that because she is pregnant?" Nefrigar asked calmly.
"No. Reah is the Lifegiver."
"What does that mean?" Grace asked.
"It means that Reah can heal more than cores," Kifirin folded in. "She can bring those dead and dying worlds back to what they were before they were drained. Much faster than you might believe. She has not yet discovered this particular talent, however."
"It will be similar to what we can do when we manipulate atoms," Pheligar nodded, "only Reah can do it with living things. She will be able to import the building blocks of life and accelerate the process. Several records on this prophecy are stored in our Archives," Pheligar smiled at Nefrigar.
"I had not realized you'd read them," Nefrigar nodded to Pheligar.
"It interested me early on," he said. "We might manipulate those things, but we do not have a specific talent for it."
"You were a curious child," Nefrigar smiled. "If our father were still alive, he would be very proud."
"I still can't believe you didn't tell me you had a brother," Kiarra stared at Pheligar and then at Nefrigar. "For centuries I believed my Larentii was an only child."
"Yes, we are brothers, although he is much younger. He comes when he will, and we talk. His nephews show him what is new in the Archives," Nefrigar offered Kiarra a smile.
"I can't believe Pheligar didn't just sprout from the ground," Merrill laughed.
"That would be quite difficult. Larentii have never accomplished that feat," Pheligar huffed, causing several snickers around the kitchen.
"Father, I love you," Renegar embraced Pheligar. Pheligar grinned and hugged his son.
* * *
"Reah, my love, we have a meeting." Nefrigar was using power to dress me. Was that strange? In the strangest of ways. Clothing slithered over my body and fastened itself swiftly, and my hair was braiding itself.
"Who are we meeting?" I asked as my Larentii lifted me off the bed.
"You will see. Do not fear; you will be in no danger. They hold no power over you, and even if they did, I would separate their particles. You look very nice. We will go."
* * *
Ra'Ak in humanoid shapes. Six of them waited upon a deserted world not far from Kifirin, as it turned out. This world was not dead like those Zellar and his trainees killed. This one held plant and animal life in abundance. Trasindelim, Nefrigar's voice whispered in my mind. Their ancient world.
"Reah Nilvas," one of them stepped forward and bowed. I nodded politely in return. Nefrigar stood at my back, as witness and protection, I think.
"I do not know your name," I said to the one who'd addressed me.
"I am Maldak, Copper Prince," he introduced himself. "And I requested this meeting with you. Except for the rogues still among the worlds, the Copper Race wishes to sue for peace. We want you to broker that peace. We have watched you, Ms. Nilvas. You are the best candidate to act as liaison between the Saa Thalarr, our dark cousins, the Black Ra'Ak and us. We wish for things to go back as they were in the beginning, with a few exceptions. Then, we were subjected to the Black Ra'Ak and compelled to do their bidding. We wish to be a separate and equal people and recognized as such. We will police our own, as our dark cousins do. We will gladly accept help from them and the Saa Thalarr to hunt down any rogues or criminals among us. In the meantime, we will follow the rules that the Black Ra'Ak set for themselves. We will draft a treaty with representatives from the others, and if there are disagreements, we will work through those to the benefit of all."