Chapter 4 Mah’Keht

I’m not sure how long it takes to get Dai’Ahnah to relax completely by my side. Time is hard to decipher when you’re walking around your own mindscape. But eventually, Dai’Ahnah becomes hyper-focused on the different scenes that Eh’Fi could never hope to offer her. The expansive deserts. The snow-capped mountains. Even the beaches have a vibrant glow that makes Oh’Shun pale in comparison. Every flame of my being wants to hold her close as she marvels at the world but I do my best to keep it to hand-holding. I never expected my little starlight to be such a firecracker. Especially when regarding my attention. Hopefully, I can figure out how to convince her the new status I obtained from the war is strong enough to protect her and her Rehlm. Whatever it takes to keep her safe.

Dai’Ahnah floats in front of the largest waterfall in Seh’Fahrait, those galactic eyes glittering as she takes it all in. “Incredible.”

“Fae outdid herself when she designed the place,” I nod, resting on the opposite side of the wooden bridge. “I used to come here a lot to clear my head.”

“Of?”

“Where to start?” I chuckle. “There’s no shortage of problems for a being like me. I’ve just learned to juggle ‘em well enough so I don’t go insane.”

“Will you make a place like this in your own Rehlm?”

“I left the designing to my court. Let them figure out how to divide things between them. As long as they build my palace at the center of it all, I could care less what they do with the place.”

“Are these court members your Kri’Aeshons?”

I nod. “Four different beings of mischief that live up to their name, although you wouldn’t know it if ya looked at ‘em now.”

“I’d love to meet them one day. If that’s alright.”

I fly over to her, and Dai’Ahnah’s blush grows beyond her neck as I tuck a finger under her chin. “Are you sure? Once they meet you, they’ll grow insanely attached.”

“I doubt they’ll think much of me,” she swallows.

“You underestimate your allure, my Lady.”

Being this close to her is intoxicating. I trace my thumb across her bottom lip and struggle to focus on the illusions of Seh’Fahrait. Dai’Ahnah’s endless galaxies continue to study my horns until she eventually floats a little higher and traces my wisps of smoke with her fingertips. She’s cool. Every caress soothes me down to the core. The illusions fade away slowly but she doesn’t seem to care. She has a look in her eye. The flame of inspiration. And I’m obsessed with it.

A shiver runs through my core as she continues to study me with her fingertips. Her touch slowly ignites me in a way I’ve never felt before. It’s more enticing than Liki Gohld. I want to encourage her to explore beyond my horns but just as quickly she flies away to cake her hands in stardust. Her energy seeps beyond her form, the stardust wrapping around her before finding its place in the inky blackness of the ether.

I lean back and watch her flit around as she outlines the snowy peaks of Seh’Fahrait. Every stroke of her hands is a flash of light across the ether. Her indigo hair billows around her and I’m tempted to pull it away from her face. Pin it back from that slender neck strand by strand. But she doesn’t care. She’s focused with an unstoppable passion. If she asked, I’d live out the rest of my existence right here.

The nagging reminder that my court still awaits me twinges my consciousness, but I can’t find the strength to pull myself away from her. Not yet at least. Besides, time in Dai’Maunt runs slower than Eh’Fi. If a day over there is nearly two weeks here, I have every right to indulge in Dai’Ahnah’s presence. The box I was so eager to present to her sits nearby and I scoop it up with a sigh. She glances down at it before looking at me.

“Does that device take you to other places?” she asks.

“What device?”

“The box you’re holding. You used it to take me to Seh’Fahrait, right?”

I fight against the laughter bubbling in my chest and simply nod. “Nothing gets past you, does it?”

“So, where else can we go?”

“Wherever your heart desires, starlight.”

She motions to her unfinished masterpiece. “Once I’m done with this one, we can go.”

“Take your time. We’ve got all of eternity to explore whatever you desire.”

Dai’Ahnah nods with growing excitement and returns to her constellation. If she keeps this up, I might never return to my Rehlm.

***

“A month!”

I stand at the threshold of what’s supposed to be my castle while my oldest Kri’Aeshon, Behls, continues to scold me.

“I told you. There’s a valid reason for all of this, but I need to speak with all of you together. So if you cou-”

“No,” Behls snaps. “Go back to wherever you came from. This is our Rehlm now!”

“Behls Ihfriht,” I scold. “I’m a patient being, but your tantrum is just-”

The fight slowly extinguishes from me as I take in the gold tears gathering under her long lashes. Her golden horns seem more jagged at their edges, those sunny eyes swirling with bits of darkness.

I let out a loud sigh before bringing her to my chest. “Oh, sweet being of mine. There, there.” My wings engulf her as she mumbles in Kritter Slang and I tap her horns. “Aye, none of that.”

“Sorry,” she mumbles, shimmying out of my grasp and wiping her face. Her edges seem to have smoothed down a little but that darkness still lingers as she bows with a glare. “Enter at your own risk, Master. The others are more unhinged than you found me.”

Delightful. I should expect nothing less. Behls was always a gentle soul. The other three though…

“There he is!”

I immediately dodge a series of ambush attacks from the other court members. They lurk in the shadows but I sense their presence and emotions. Excitement. Abandonment. Pure bloodlust and rage.

“Now is that any way to greet your Master?” I tease, dodging a barrage of poisoned needles from Ridah.

“You left us,” he growls, his fully formed horns jutting from the top of his head. One look and I can tell they’re dripping in toxins. Great. Just great.

“You had Fae build this place to trap us,” Nikah yells from the ceiling. Her bat-like wings flutter as she flies over to me. “You never cared about us in the first place.”

“Alright, these tantrums are starting to get on my nerves,” I snap. “If you all could stop taking turns hitting ya old man, I’d like to plead my case to the court.”

Their hesitation lingers in the air until Markohs crawls out of the shadows and sits on his hind legs. His regal form of a trimmed bearded man with broad shoulders has devolved into the likes of a withered lion.

Behls sits next to Markohs and tucks him under her arm like the family pet. “See, I told you he’d be back.”

The other two land on the ground in an angry thump, simultaneously flanking their siblings before taking a seat.

“You guys are hopeless without me,” I sigh.

“What you say?” Ridah yells, ready to go.

“Easy, Ridah!” Behls tugs at his waist-long locks. “Let’s at least hear him out!”

Ridah sits down in a huff. “If this reason sucks I’m ripping out his throat.”

“I’d like to see you try, little one,” I laugh.

The edges of his being flair in anger but he says nothing as I manifest a throne and take my seat. “Finally. Some peace in this house.”

“Tell us now or we’ll kill you,” Nikah growls.

“I’ve been in the Rehlm of Eh’Fi procuring an empress to match my new emperor status.”

Ridah rocks on his heels like an impatient toddler. “What does that have to do with us?”

“A lot actually,” I say. “You four are precious to me. Hundreds of years from now, you all will fall into a long slumber and I’ll only be left with your descendants until you awake. I don't take that fact lightly. Please. Forgive me for not returning sooner.”

A few court members gasp as I rise from my throne and bow before them. Behls is the first to rush over and lift me by my shoulders.

“What has gotten into you, Master? Kneeling is beneath you.”

“I’ve learned much in the time I’ve been away. One thing is humble compassion. Another is the cost of time.”

“Speak simply before I destroy you,” Nikah yells.

“Yeah!” Ridah raises a fist in the air. “What is your plan?”

“Gaining Dai’Ahnah's trust has taken longer than expected. Even now she questions my motives.”

“How dare she question our Master,” Ridah fumes. “I'll kill her.”

“Easy, Ri,” Behls warns.

Markoh sits up in his corrupted state. “Why not bring her here, Master? Were you too ashamed to introduce us?”

As much of a pain as it is, I explain everything to them. From the moment I met Dai’Ahnah in the wars to the moment I left her forming another constellation across the infinite sky three days ago, her time. And counting.

“Once I have officially asked her to marry me, I promise to bring y’all over to the Dark Moon for a proper introduction.”

“Well, just ask her already,” Nikah snaps, her bat wings dissolving in favor of her regal cherry-blossom kimono.

“Patience, little one,” I chuckle. “First, I was hoping for an exclusive tour of all your hard work. Or have you just been sitting around devolving in my absence?”

Their forms quickly reshape to the purified states I left them in. Any trace of their previous tantrums has been erased as they fight to decide who will show me their part of our Rehlm first. I pat the white box in my pocket with a growing smirk. Soon, I’ll be able to show Dai all of my Rehlm. And then I’ll officially claim her as my own.