Page 59 of I Married A Syllen

“Good. She is an interesting female, and her love of the land is genuine. Shevraya may be our best ally in dealing with whatever future lies ahead with the off-worlders.”

“Agreed,” Drannor said. “The land claimed her. The Goddess brought her here to you. Your bond will help smooth things over.”

“Yes, I believe it is well. However, we will need to awaken a few more of our people, especially our females. The Kalrins will need nurturing,” I said pensively.

“Agreed,” Nym said, echoing Drannor’s previous response. “We will handle it.”

“I will go to the Ungaro Tribe first, and then to Galnir. We will likely be gone for three or four days. Do not hesitate to send a message if anything of importance occurs,” I said.

They both nodded and touched two fingers to their chins in goodbye before making their way to the hibernation chamber. I returned home to my mate, amused to see her trying to dry the moisture out of her hair. A sliver of shame coursed through me when I caught myself being disappointed at how flat and dark it now looked from being so damp. My brain understood that each strand would lighten again and regain that flowy lightness to it once it dried. But I couldn’t help being obsessed by the golden rays of light that cascaded down her head.

More importantly, I was distraught by the extremely tight dark outfit that covered her from head to toe. The Settlers had worn similar coverings before deep diving into the water for long periods of time. As they wore far less coverings when they only swam near the shore, I assumed this more extensive covering served a purpose.

We ate quickly on the patio while I shared with her what information my Osheos had provided. Like me, she was extremely curious as to where that one queen had come from, and what had happened to the others who weren’t accounted for.

“We will do the first part of the journey riding a Nordjarimm,” I explained as we finished our meal. “We’ll complete the second-half riding an Elijinn. It is a sea creature. Normally, we would do so fully underwater as that would be faster. But we can also do it sailing at the surface so that you can breathe easily.”

“Oh! We can go underwater!” Mirella exclaimed. “That’s why I’m wearing this suit. Since humans can’t regulate our body temperature like your people do, we wear this to prevent us from freezing to death at great depths or over long periods of exposure.”

I frowned while assessing her coverings with curiosity.

“How does it prevent that? Is it heated?” I asked.

She smiled and shook her head. “No, but the suit prevents rapid body heat loss, which allows me to maintain a comfortable temperature. It also protects my skin from getting scratched by corals or from being exposed to the sting or venom of certain sea creatures. Your seas are also warmer than those of many other planets. That means I could go even deeper as it would take a lot longer for me to reach the colder parts of your oceans.”

“That’s good to hear,” I said hesitantly. “But that doesn’t resolve your breathing issue.”

“I have a mask for that. Wait, I will show you!” Mirella exclaimed.

She ran into my room… our room… then returned moments later holding a mostly flat object with some sort of sponge around the edges.

“This is a gill mask,” she said, holding it up in front of me. “It’s a gift from the Thalans, your sister species. It allows me to breathe safely underwater.”

My initial instinct to balk at the introduction of more off-world technology instantly died at the mention of the Thalans. It saddened me that I would never get to meet one of them like I did our Edocit kin. As I understood it, their atmosphere differed too much from ours, which made our air unbreathable to them. It made me wonder even more about how we ended up with so many of their traits.

“You worry that the tribe we’re going to visit will be displeased?” she asked carefully.

“They will certainly frown,” I admitted.

“Then maybe I shouldn’t use it,” she offered.

I firmly shook my head.

“This mask will keep you safe during our long journey through the water. Your welfare comes first. So long as that technology isn’t harmful to our world, then all is well,” I said in an imperious tone.

“It’s completely safe,” she replied with confidence.

“Perfect,” I replied.

As we exited the house, we watched Semius gracefully flying towards us then landing a short distance ahead. As I helped my mate onto his back, the wind blew through her hair, which had steadily been drying. A few locks caressed my face, and I couldn’t help a purr. Mirella giggled and glanced at me over her shoulder. Despite the outfit that covered every part of her body, I didn’t miss the subtle scent of her arousal.

Not for the first time, I hated that we should have met like this. I would have wanted to court my mate in a proper and relaxed fashion. Even though it still weirded me out a bit that she was human, I was genuinely attracted to her. And it wasn’t mainly a physical thing. I simply liked her. There was something enthralling about her personality, the way she looked at me and at this world, her passion and dedication towards things she believed in, and her openness when it came to trying to see things from a different perspective than hers.

Yes, I disliked off-worlders, and even more the fact that they were once more messing with our world. But if not for their meddling, I wouldn’t have met Mirella. And that would have been an irreparable loss.

After settling behind my mate on the Nordjarimm, I prompted our mount to take flight. Images of Maeve’s veris flashed before my mind’s eye. Picturing my Mirella with similar vines in her golden strands and pale skin sent another thrill coursing through me. If bonding with me also gave her gills, my mate would be beyond perfect.

I will like her either way…