Out of the Ashes Read online

  Mikoh is impressed by me?

  He laughed gruffly. “I’m always asking for you to attack me.”

  “You’re being improper.”

  “I’d say my thoughts for you are surely proper, my intended.”

  “Step aside, you insufferable male.”

  Mikoh laughed merrily but did as requested. Surkah entered the room, wearing the same navy uniform she wore the last time I saw her. She smiled when she saw I was awake, and she crossed the room to the side of my bed.

  “Your colour has returned to your face.”

  Memories flashed through my mind.

  I felt my cheeks stain with heat. “Yeah, um, sorry about the whole fainting thing.”

  Normally, I prided myself on how tough I was, but even I could relent to my body shutting down in the situation I was in. Stress could do crazy things to a person, but to me, it rendered me unconscious.

  “Do not apologise; it is my brother, and Mikoh, who should apologise to you for fighting in front of you when they know you are not accustomed to the Maji way… and weak from blood loss.”

  I waved my hand. “It’s okay.”

  It wasn’t okay at all. It still totally freaked me out, but I wasn’t about to tell the Maji that.

  “It’s not,” Surkah said with a huff. “We want humans to feel safe with us, and their behaviour did the opposite of that.”

  I looked at Mikoh when he sighed from the doorway.

  “Surkah’s right. I apologise.”

  Surkah spun to face him. “What did you just say?”

  “You heard me,” Mikoh said with a roll of his eyes.

  “I did.” Surkah nodded. “But I want to hear you say it again.”

  “Aggravating female,” he grumbled before he turned and left the room.

  Surkah turned back to me as the door closed, and she had a big smile on her face.

  “That felt good. He has never once admitted that I am right about something.”

  I snorted.

  “How are you feeling physically?” she asked as her eyes scanned over me.

  “Great,” I replied. “I feel well rested for the first time in a long time.”

  “Are you hungry?”

  As if on cue, my stomach rumbled in response, and Surkah chuckled.

  “I wanted to have food brought to this room, but the shipmaster would like for you to be immersed into the population aboard the Ebony, so you aren’t confined. And as you’re not wounded any longer, you will no longer need to stay in the medical bay.”

  My heart jumped, but I made sure to keep my expression worried instead of eager. I didn’t need Surkah suspecting that I was planning to escape the second I got a weapon and the chance presented itself. Getting out of the medical room would surely open me up to many chances.

  “Um,” I said unsurely. “I don’t know.”

  Being in a room full of humans was not something I ever wanted to be a part of, but being in a room full of humans and Maji even more so. There was no way I could escape if there were eyes all around me. Especially Maji eyes. They didn’t seem to miss a thing, and I hated that.

  Surkah placed her hand on my shoulder. “I will not let anyone harm you, Nova.”

  I didn’t trust Surkah. I knew she and the other Maji were up to something, but I felt conflicted because she didn’t seem to be malicious. My gut told me she was the genuine female she appeared to be, but I couldn’t overlook that she and the other Maji were keeping something from me.

  “Okay,” I said softly.

  “Oh, and I want you to know that I disagree with what Mikoh said yesterday. Your name is beautiful.”

  My lips twitched. “You’re very sweet, thank you.”

  “He can be very… difficult to deal with.”

  “I’m sure you’re putting that mildly,” I deadpanned.

  “Maji is a male dominant race, so it’s ingrained in them to be stubborn I guess.”

  “I kind of feel bad for you since you have to marry him.”

  “Do not feel bad. Mikoh is a dominant male, but a male’s mate is really the Maji who is in charge. When Mikoh and I mate, he will do everything in his power to see that I am happy and he will grovel when I am not. If he makes a decision I am not happy with, he would only do it once it’s for our family’s best interest.”

  That drew a surprised laugh out of me. “That sounds like human men, the grovelling part anyway.”

  Surkah smirked. “Males will use mating as a way to make us forgive them. We love touching one another and need sex often, so when a female is upset with her mate, he will go to great lengths to be close to her and be sweet and gentle. Females have so much power over her mate; she is his heart, so he will do just about anything for her.”

  My heart fluttered.

  “That’s romantic,” I said. “In a weird, sexy kind of way.”

  Surkah giggled. “I was once told a story by my eldest brother, Ryla, that I think you would enjoy. Around forty-two years ago, my father greatly upset my mother because he missed a planned meal with her. It was the four-hundredth year since their mating, and he missed it. Ryla told me she cried a lot, and it distraught him and my other brothers who wanted to beat my father for bringing her pain. When he got home, and he realised the day, he went almost as white as your skin. He tried to make it right, but Mother refused to talk to him for three whole weeks. She withheld sex from him—even though she needed sex for release so she wouldn’t feel discomfort, she somehow stayed strong. My father took it as a respected male and waited for her permission to touch her, but still, she refused. The final straw for my father was when my mother smiled at other males during the monthly banquet meal between the royals and the Guard. He dropped to his knees before her in the great hall, in front of everyone, and begged her forgiveness because her smiles were only meant for him, and he hated that another could receive them. He poured out his heart to her and told her there was no other female he would rather spend all his days with. They conceived me that very night.”

  I smiled widely. “I like that story.”

  “Me too; it reminds me that when I want to throttle Mikoh, he will treat me like that too. Soon enough, I will become his whole life, and he will become mine.”

  I eyed Surkah. “I know he is your intended and has been forever, but do you want him to be?”

  She didn’t reply to me with words, but instead, she blushed, and that was a clear answer to me.

  “You do!” I gasped. “You like him.”

  Her blush darkened.

  “Do not tell him,” she pleaded in a hushed whisper. “He would never let me forget it.”

  “I won’t say a word.” I beamed.

  “Do you think he is attractive?” she asked then quickly added, “I will not be angry with your answer.”

  The thought of the Maji being attractive never crossed my mind, but I didn’t think of Mikoh when I thought of what I found attractive in a Maji. I was thinking of Kol with his tall, muscular body, his strong jaw, high cheekbones, plump lips, and his large hypnotising violet eyes. Yeah, the Maji was an attractive species, and Kol was hotter in ways I never knew were possible.

  “I think he is very attractive,” I said to Surkah, switching my thoughts to Mikoh, “but his attitude needs a lot of work.”

  Surkah laughed merrily. “I tell him that often. He is too serious.”

  “And sarcastic.”

  Surkah nodded, smiling wide.

  “I really like this,” she told me. “I have been waiting for my brothers to mate so I could have a sister-in-mate to talk to. It can get very tiresome in a family full of males.”

  “I haven’t had anyone to really talk to since my father died, but before my family passed away, I was surrounded by men, so I understand how you feel.”

  Conversation with my father had only been short and sweet after Zee died, but for the two extra days I had with him before the sickness claimed him, I talked to him all the time, even though I knew he probably couldn’t hear me. Him
just being there was enough.

  Surkah reached over and pressed her hand on top of mine, startling me from my thoughts.

  “I hurt for you, Nova.” She frowned. “I feel pain just thinking about my father passing. I cannot fathom my life after him, so I truly hurt for you.”

  Don’t cry.

  I cleared my throat. “Thanks, Surkah, but I’m okay. I’ll see him again someday.”

  “How?” she quizzed.

  “In Heaven,” I said.

  “I’ve never heard of a planet called Heaven. Is it recently discovered?

  “It’s not a planet, but my father is there.”

  “Is he not dead?”

  “He is.”

  “Then how will you see him again on a planet that does not exist? I am very confused.”

  I laughed.

  “Heaven is a belief,” I informed Surkah. “I believe my father is with the Almighty in Heaven. It is a very old belief on Earth and—”

  “Oh!” Surkah cut me off excitedly. “Your Almighty is to you what my Thanas is to me. He is the keeper and protector of Maji. When our bodies die, our spirit goes to be with Thanas to assist him in protecting the people.”

  I smiled widely. “Yes, that is exactly it.”

  “Then I agree that you will see your father again someday.” She patted my leg. “Come. I will show you to the cleansing unit and how to work it. I’m sure you wish to get clean before we go and eat breakfast.”

  I tried not to appear too eager at the possibility of getting clean.

  I winced. “I bet I smell bad.”

  Surkah shook her head. “You smell better than when I first met you. I had to really scrub you down with rags.”

  The female widened her eyes the second the words left her mouth, and purple stained her sculpted cheeks. I laughed loudly at her slip of the tongue.

  “Don’t be embarrassed,” I told her. “I know I smell bad, and trust me, I’ve smelled this way for a long time. It is hard to come across a working cleansing unit back on Earth. The ones that do work require payment to use them, and I have no credits to my name nor did I want to sell my body to be clean because I wouldn’t feel clean no matter how hard I scrubbed my skin if I had to do that.”

  Surkah stared at me with wide eyes.

  “You’ve… You’ve had a hard life, Nova.”

  I didn’t think my life was hard, just certain aspects of it.

  “I’ve had it hard on most days, but I’m still alive and kicking. That’s got to count for something, right?”

  “Right.”

  Surkah got me to my feet from the bed and walked across the room with me to the far side of the room. I had no idea what she was doing until we came a few steps away from the dead end, when out of nowhere the wall automatically opened. I jumped, and Surkah laughed at me. I entered the room with her and found it looked nothing like a cleansing unit on Earth. First of all, there was no knobs, buttons, or even a showerhead. It was just an empty corner.

  I looked at Surkah. “Where is the cleansing unit?”

  She laughed once more and stepped into the space that looked to be where the unit would usually be. As soon as she stood still, the ceiling opened above her and a huge chrome showerhead lowered. I looked at Surkah when she said, “Put your hand on any part of the wall, and it will automatically start the unit. The temperature of your body will be scanned as soon as your hand touches the wall, and the unit will adjust the water temperature to your perfect setting. For hair and body wash, you say ‘cleanse,’ and a small amount of it falls with the water but provides a huge amount of product when cleaning. When you’re finished, press your hand against the wall again, and it will turn the unit off.”

  “That’s … amazing.”

  Surkah didn’t look like she thought it was amazing, but she humoured me by smiling widely.

  “The wash gel has restorative properties in it,” she mentioned. “It will aid your broken skin in healing. We made that adjustment when we brought you humans aboard; many of you have really bad skin conditions, and tiny pests that live in your hair, but one use of this medicated wash gel will aid your skin greatly, and it will kill the pests.”

  “That’s even more amazing!”

  When Surkah left the room, I stripped down and stepped into the unit. I followed her instructions and pressed my hand against the wall. I jumped when water began to fall onto my head. It reminded me of the time I stood under a waterfall; only the water was perfectly heated. I groaned as my ideal setting of heated water matted my hair to my head. I spoke the verbal command for some hair and body wash, and I smelled it the second it fell. It reminded me of a mixture of fruits that used to grow on Earth.

  Surkah mentioned she had cleaned me when I arrived aboard the craft, but she barely got off a couple of layers of grime because the dirt was still matted into the creases of my skin, and I still stank to the high heavens. My hair was tangled in clumps, and where my fingernails and toenails weren’t chipped or broken, dirt was packed under them. Sections of skin were dry and flaky while others had open sores from the dirt. I was so grateful for the healing properties of the wash gel because my skin was an awful mess.

  On a personal mission to be clean for the first time in a long time, I lathered my skin and hair with the suds and used a rough version of a sponge that was on the floor to scrub my body clean. It took a long time, and that was mainly because I was using my fingers to detangle my hair. When I was grime free, and my skin was raw from scrubbing, I turned the unit off then stepped out and yelped when hot air began to blow down on me from above. I was surprised by the automatic dryer, but I stood still until my hair and body were free of water droplets. It took less than a minute to fully dry me, and it didn’t even burn my skin!

  When the dryer stopped, a small section of the wall opened to reveal a mirror and a cabinet. I stared at my reflection for a few minutes, shocked at how different I looked. I looked younger, fresher… healthier. Focusing on the cabinet, I opened it and found a bunch of items. I opened a few bottles, but I had no idea what the products inside did, so I steered clear of them. I did gasp with delight when I spotted a small pair of scissors. It was the first weapon I had come across, and I was thankful for it.

  Finally, I won’t be helpless if I need to defend myself.

  Next to the scissors was a large hairbrush. Looking almost brand new with all its bristles, it aided greatly in my effort to detangle my long brown hair. It took a further ten minutes, and a lot of my hair had to be cut from my head with the small scissors when certain clumps couldn’t be detangled. My scalp burned like a bitch from the scrubbing and detangling, but I was so pleased when the brush eventually slid through my hair from root to tip with ease.

  It was the first time in a very long time I was able to achieve that.

  The surprises didn’t stop there either. I spotted funny looking nail clippers, and I took my time to clip all my finger and toenails. I picked up a small jar that had little sticks with soft blue padding on the end of them; the padding smelled nice, but I didn’t know what they were supposed to be used for. I tried to use a small cloth to clean out the water in my ears, but when I couldn’t get inside, I used the little sticks, and they worked like a charm. I was positively giddy with excitement when I spotted a brand-new toothbrush. Like everything else, it was bigger and looked weirdly shaped, but it was perfect. I didn’t need any paste on it to clean my teeth, when it was wet, the tops of the bristles glistened with a mint scented gel. It was a strong possibility that I spent longer brushing my teeth, gums, and tongue than I did showering.

  When I wrapped myself in a gigantic towel that was softer than any fabric I had ever felt before in my life and gripped my scissors, I re-entered the room I slept in and blinked when I saw a small bundle of clothes placed on my bed.

  I changed into the clothes provided for me, though I wondered where the Maji got them in my size when they just arrived here two days ago. It amused me that I was wearing a similar uniform to the male Maji�
�only mine was dark grey, and I had no armour plating like theirs did. It was soft and easy to move around in. It had pockets in the pants too, so I safely tucked my scissors inside a pocket and patted it. There was no underwear, no shoes, or socks, so with a shrug, I walked over to the doorway. When it opened, I hesitantly stepped into the white hallway and straight away noticed the silver and black pipes that ran along the ceiling. I knew they had an important purpose, but I couldn’t help but marvel at how pretty they looked against the white background that surrounded them.

  Sudden growling gained my attention. I turned my head and blinked at Mikoh and Surkah who were facing off just outside the med bay room. It looked like she would rip his throat out if she was given the chance.

  “Uh… hi.”

  Surkah looked at me and beamed, but Mikoh continued to stare her down.

  “Thanas, you look excellent, Nova,” she practically sang with joy. “So… clean! You smell wonderful! And your hair is so beautiful. I have never seen such a pretty shade of brown before. Your clothes fit you perfectly, too.”

  I blushed something fierce as I looked down at myself then at Surkah and said, “Thanks. I’ve never had clothes without mending patches on the worn sections. I love them.”

  She beamed at me and then looked back at Mikoh. “Excuse us. We’re going to break our fast alone—”

  “I’m accompanying you both.”

  Surkah stomped her foot on the ground after Mikoh cut her off, and it caused my lips to twitch. She might be almost forty years old, but her action just made her appear like the teenager she looked.

  “I want to go on my own with Nova. I never get to spend time alone with another female.”

  “I won’t speak or engage in anything you both do, but I’m accompanying you both. Your safety is my number one priority.”

  “Please.”

  “This is not up for discussion, female.”

  “Mikoh.”

  “Surkah.”

  “My intended,” she growled softly and stepped closer to him, putting her back to me. “I will be very thankful if you grant me this.”

  Mikoh sucked in a deep breath, and I momentarily wondered where Surkah’s right hand went to until I heard Mikoh’s struggle for breath. I grinned and looked down as I scuffed my toes against the heated floor, trying to give them as much privacy as I could without walking away.