Chapter 7 Dai’Ahnah

Mah’Ket’s palm is warm against mine as we walk in silence, the canopy of the dark forest blocking the sky. I can feel his concern lingering but choose to ignore it. He can probably sense my nerves vibrating between us. His apology was so sincere that I couldn’t stay mad at him after he arrived. Those embers of passion always burn away my doubts that his actions are anything but true. Unlike his sister.

As much as I want to tell Mah’Keht about her visit, I can’t bring myself to spoil the moment. He’s here, showing me his Rehlm. His home. She should be nowhere near this sanctuary. And yet she’s wormed her way into my thoughts and continues to fog my mind with questions. It’s not like I want to keep our encounter a secret. Maybe it’s selfish to desire his undivided attention but I don’t care. If this is the only moment I’m given with Mah’Keht, I will be egocentric till the end.

“Your Rehlm is calming,” I sigh, threading my fingers with his.

“I’m glad you think so. Although your energy seems to say otherwise.”

“Not all of us can control our energies,” I smirk at him. “Master Mah’Keht.”

Mah’Keht’s energy ripples between us and he slips out of my grip. “No one calls me that besides my court. Hearing you say it…” His eyes glaze over a little before refocusing with a slight cough. “I think we should refrain from that phrase.”

“How come?”

His flustered state grows as he searches for the right words. “Master is a term of endearment to me. Innocent. Parental. I’d like to keep it that way.”

I float in front of him. “Then what am I to call you in your Rehlm?”

“Is Lord not enough for you, my Lady?”

“I feel like a being of such power should have a name that separates you from the others. Even me.”

“Never you,” he growls, cupping my chin between his fingers. “Besides, I don't worry about formalities like that.”

“So will you let everyone in your Rehlm call you Master?”

I take pleasure in feeling his energy ripple again from the word and he folds his wings down his back.

“If you’re concerned with these formalities, you can come up with something.”

“Am I making you nervous, my Lord?” I whisper, hovering closer. “Lord. Nait.”

His wings flutter a little, that devious smile growing. The energy between us has become intense. Hot like the entrance to the Sun’s inner atmosphere. But I’m not afraid to get burned. Not by him.

“You had the name already dancing on your tongue, I see,” he says.

“I had plenty of time to fantasize while you were away,” I muse. “A simple name that defines you and stirs the souls of others. After all, most grow weary of the shadows after dark. Don’t you agree, my Lord?”

“Naming holds power you know.” He traces my bottom lip with his thumb. “I guess I’m officially yours now?”

“Do you want to be?”

“More than you know,” he murmurs.

“Oh really?”

“Yes. Really.”

His hand fumbles in his pocket, yanking out the white teleporter box.

“Are we going somewhere?” I muse.

A breathless laugh escapes him. “My love, this box is not what you think it is.”

“Then what is it?”

That look I couldn’t decipher returns as he grips the box with both hands. “I know that we have only known each other for a short time. And every rational part of my being screams that I’ve gone mad. But I am in love with you, Dai’Ahnah. Every moment away from you rips my soul into fragments, and I wish to find a way to release you from your duties so you can always be by my side.”

“But that’s impossible,” I stammer. “You can’t-”

“Nothing is impossible, Dai,” he says. “And I want to prove that to you. If you’ll have me, I promise to show you the whole Universe. Firsthand.”

The box that I was convinced conjured illusions of Rehlms splits in half to reveal a pair of dark metal rings. I can’t help but snatch the one with a large gem in its center, twirling it in the light of Mah’Keht’s flames.

“Is that my stardust?”

“The best crafter in the Universe made these with bits of you embedded into it.” Mah’Keht plucks the other ring out of the box and rubs it tenderly with his thumb. “That way I can have you with me wherever I go.”

“I mean that much to you?”

“Dai’Ahnah you are everything to me.”

I search his gaze. I’ve never seen him so open and vulnerable.

“If you place this on my apparition, it will become a permanent part of my being. LIke these earrings my sister gave me or my crown from Momma Gai’Ah. It’s something even I can’t undo.”

“Good,” he smiles. “Because I’d hate for it to fall off whenever you grow shy of me.”

My form trembles a little as I hold out the ring between us. “Then, yes. I’d live a thousand lifetimes just to be eternally yours.”

Mah’Keht’s touch is warm as he takes the ring from my grasp and slides it onto the second finger of my left hand.

“Does this count as marriage?” I ask.

“Do you want it to?”

“Do you?”

“I asked you first, starlight,” he chuckles, leaning closer. He tenderly presses his ring into the center of my palm. “Would you do me the honor?”

His ring is heavier than mine, but Mah’Keht doesn’t seem to care as I slide it on his finger. “Of course I want this to count. But this moment doesn’t even feel real.”

“Well, it should,” he murmurs against my lips. “My illusions fell away a while ago.”

“I’m afraid I’ve been too distracted to notice.”

All I can feel is his uneven core beat demanding my attention through our thickening heat. I’m drunk on his energy as I lean in, closing the gap between us. His lips burn against mine, but I don’t care. I want more. I’ve never felt this way before. A desire so intense that I can't help but shamelessly wrap my arms around his neck to bring Mah’Keht closer. I relish in his flustered energy as he pulls away slightly.

“My Lady,” He whispers against my neck. “Your powers are overwhelming me.”

“I could say the same of you,” I breathe, my fingertips bathed in his flames.

Our energies continue to swirl together as we sit on the surface of the Dark Moon, staring at each other. This heat is different from before. Magnetic and unstoppable. He dips down to devour me, and I savour his smoky taste until I’m convinced we are one being. Mah’Keht’s flames engulf my soul, and every part of my being seems to be ablaze with his fire.

A flit of laughter chimes in the back of my mind, but I don’t give it any attention, not until it chimes again. I break away from Mah’Ket’s dazed expression and tune into the vast ether. A flit of light bounces around on the other side of Eh’Fi, their aura an innocent blend of mischief and excitement. I can feel them dancing along the Mithri lines surrounding the planet without a care.

Mah’Ket’s fingers graze over the surface of the Darke Moon with tender precision, his red aura vibrant as he calls my attention back to him. “Everything alright?”

“Someone’s in the ether,” I say, struggling to focus as his touch becomes shameless.

“Can’t they wait?”

“I… don’t think so.”

Something about this being seems familiar. Even though Mah’Keht’s intoxicating energy still swirls with mine. I can’t ignore that sound growing closer.

“Don’t you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Mah’Keht glances up as I follow the glowing aura of orange speeding above us. The nearer they get, the more details I can decipher. Edges black as night. Eyes that glow like ice-blue galaxies as they decide which Mithri line to hang off of next. Bits of stardust are caught up in their inky form and their laughter chimes above us, melodic and haunting.

“Hey, get down from there,” Mah’Keht scolds.

Those eyes lock onto him before leaping off a constellation and flying towards us. He doesn’t even flinch from our entangled position as they jump on his horns and curl up in his orange flames with a yawn.

“Do you know this being?” I ask.

“Um.” He glances at me, and a shy grin spreads across his face as he looks away. “Yes and no.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that this little one is a being of our Kri’Aeshon.”

He seems reserved as I take in the creature sleeping in his flames. I’ve never made anything outside of my constellations but the connection is undeniable. They look so tiny that I’m afraid to touch them. My nervous energy stirs them awake and I’m left staring at two glacial galaxies that steal my breath. I coax them into my arms, their black flames curling around my cloak as they nestle into the hollow of my throat.

“This is unreal,” I whisper.

“I fear that this is my fault,” Mah’Keht says. “My being tends to overreact when I haven’t Kri’Aeted something in a while. And with my sights distracted on you…”

Mah’Keht studies me, the rest of his sentence lost to the ether as he tugs on his horn and waits for me to respond. I brush my palm against his cheek, and he leans into my touch.

“We’ll need to name this little one before we report them to Momma Gai’Ah,” I say. “No doubt she and Bai’Yah felt their energy flying around a moment ago.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Why would I be? We made something precious, Mah’Keht. I’m more afraid they might try to take her away.”

He raises an eyebrow at me. “Her?”

I shrug. “She just feels like a her.”

“Any names come to mind?”

I look down at their smoky form staring at me as I smile. “Heh’Kaet.”

“Your names are the most unusual, my love.”

“The word came to mind the moment I looked in her eyes. I feel that she will be an immortal who claims whatever she chooses. Her life is freedom, and it will be one I fear I’ll always watch from afar.”

“Oh, starlight,” Mah’Keht says, his wings engulfing us both in his warmth. “It’s beautiful. I love it.”

“I love you,” I murmur, bringing his lips to mine.

What a shameless being I’ve become. If my sister could see me now.