Page 79 of I Married Amreth

We all burst out laughing while I shook my head affectionately at Amreth. Both males sobered, then Aku placed his hand on my mate’s shoulder.

“Safe journey, Brother. Until next we meet, may the sun and the stars always light the path you travel,” Aku said.

After a few more goodbyes, and friendly hugs with Mehreen and Ernst, we were off to a new adventure—the biggest and most important one for me—my new life with my soulmate.

As soon as we left the planet, my first order of business was to call my parents. Seeing both of them cry, especially my ever-stoic dad did quite a number on me. Like Amreth previously mentioned, they knew I was fine. But there was still a huge difference between being told something and then seeing it with your own eyes. They weren’t too thrilled to hear I wasn’t coming home but going straight to Molvi. As impressed as they were with my mate, like most people, they had a dreadful image of the prison planet. In their minds, it was a scorched world, festering with demonic creatures, putrid waters, and the air filled with sulfuric toxic fumes.

It wasn’t until Amreth sent them images of his home and of the surrounding landscape that they finally relented a bit. They still pouted about me not coming back to Earth. It actually made me feel guilty. In their shoes, I would likely also want to hold my baby to reassure myself that they were indeed fine. At the same time, I’d been on countless missions and stayed away from Earth for two or three years in a row, only talking to my parents once a week through vidcom. But the promise of us flying them over to either Molvi or Vargos for our wedding in a couple of months further mollified them.

The two-day journey to Molvi ended up being like a mini honeymoon with Amreth going out of his way to pamper me in every way possible. Obviously, we made sure to get creative withevery room and surface of the ship. That didn’t stop me from squeezing in a few minutes to check in with Mehreen and Ernst.

The UPO and the Enforcers remained disturbingly quiet. It shouldn’t surprise me considering this type of major case would require some huge investigation and for them to take very careful steps. You didn’t want the culprit to get off on some technicality because you botched things by rushing too much. I didn’t doubt Marilia knew by now that something had gone wrong with her assassins. She would likely try to eliminate as much incriminating evidence as possible, although I suspected she did so over the years in the eventuality of such a turn of events.

I wanted to see her face justice for all the pain and suffering she either provoked, enabled, or perpetuated. But above all, I wanted Aku and the Kreelars to be vindicated. He placed a tremendous amount of trust in us. The brunt of his experience with off-worlders had been beyond negative. If the UPO and the Enforcers failed to deliver on the justice they promised, the damage to the blossoming relationship we were building with them would be irreparable. I just hoped some news or consequences would come soon.

Our arrival on Molvi took my breath away. Despite the beautiful pictures Amreth shared with my parents and him telling me about the beauty of the prison planet, I hadn’t been able to shake the lingering fear that it would be a dreadful and depressing place. But my mate had not been boasting when he compared Molvi’s landscape to the wild and untamed beauty of the Kreelars’ homeword.

Amreth’s house—ourhome—nearly had my eyes popping out of my head. Again, he’d shown me images, but reality exceeded anything I ever could have imagined. Its sheer size left me speechless. Apparently, as was the case with the mansion—not to say castle—of every Hell Lord, his house was carveddirectly inside the top of the mountain. It had three stories with expansive terraces on each level, wide enough to accommodate at least two hundred people. An Olympic-size pool took up most of the lower-level terrace. A natural waterfall poured into it. An inner courtyard allowed for more floor to ceiling windows on the inner parts of the house, keeping it from feeling claustrophobic.

Like with his ship, the house was mostly white with some light-beige and dark-brown or black accents. Multiple plants and fragrant flowers gave it the splash of color needed to make it warm instead of clinical. Even more stunning gardens and flora carpeted the ground at the bottom of the steep cliff below the terraces.

“This is gorgeous,” I said, leaning against the railing of the main terrace as I gazed on the garden below and the luxuriant forest that spread endlessly beyond. “This looks like a perfect setting for a picnic.”

To my surprise, Amreth barked with laughter as he looked at me as if I’m lost my mind.

“A picnic for the plants, yes. Definitely not for us,” he said, amused. “Every single plant down there, including the grass,willkill you. Some will take their sweet time doing it, keeping you alive in the worst agony as they slowly devour you, others will kill you instantly, their spores basically making your veins and capillaries bursts like frozen water in a pipe, and then you have those who will either suffocate you before they eat you, or spit the most virulent acid in existence at you so that you get liquefied—including your bones—and they’ll absorb the nutrients through their roots.”

“What the fuck?!” I exclaimed, horrified. “Why would you keep shit like this around?”

“Because it is part of the defense and deterrent systems to prevent prisoners from escaping,” Amreth replied in a factual manner. “For the record, the prisoners are informed in advanceof all the lethal defenses set around their Quadrants and throughout the Sector. If they decide to take their chances regardless, it’s on them.”

A shudder coursed through me as I examined the colorful, almost peaceful-looking garden below.

“Why make it so damn pretty and inviting if those freaky things are about to go apeshit on you? Why not make it gnarly vines with thorns the size of daggers, giant mushrooms with the types of neon colors that scream ‘I’m-about-to-fuck-you-up-beyond-recognition’ instead?”

Amreth laughed again and gave me an indulgent smile. “Because I have to look at these plants every day when I relax on my terraces. I would much prefer a pretty view to a gnarly one.”

I pursed my lips, still distraught by it all. “Fair enough, I guess. But now the question is how many times have you ‘enjoyed’ the spectacle of one of your inmates getting slaughtered by flowers?”

He chuckled some more, seemingly amused by my dramatic expression. “Peace, my love. It has never happened. This is the last defense… well, minus the cliff, which is impossible to climb. Nobody has ever survived attempting to cross the forest. There are plenty of nasty things roaming in there, including a river with even nastier critters. Do not fear, my mate. This house is safe, and you will not be subjected to the less savory things that occasionally happen in the Quadrants.”

“Right,” I said, sounding far from convinced.

He smiled. “Don’t be so distraught, my Ciara. You will not find these lethal plants in the rest of Molvi. They’re bioengineered specifically for our Quadrants and strictly contained within them. But come, it’s time for you to meet our Nundars. They’ve prepared a proper feast for us and are impatient to meet you.”

My pulse immediately picked up, and tension stiffened my spine. As curious as I was to meet the elusive familiars that Amreth spoke so fondly of, I couldn’t help but worry that they might not respond well to me. They carefully chose whose house they would join as they were extremely sensitive to people’s emotions. What if they disliked mine? What if my aura was so unbearable to them that they’d considered leaving Amreth rather than being subjected to my mere presence?

Cut it out, woman! You’re Amreth’s soulmate. They are bound to love you!

That slightly appeased me, but sensing my nervousness, my mate soothed me further with hisbakaan. I gave him a sheepish smile of gratitude.

“Do not fret. They already love you. I can sense their excitement. Normally, they just hide and wait a few days to formally introduce themselves to give the new partner time to adjust to their new home. But they cannot wait to meet you. Your aura beckoned to them from the moment you stepped out of the ship.”

My stomach fluttering, I let Amreth lead me by the hand inside the house. The humongous floor-to-ceiling glass patio doors parted before us to reveal a large, formal living area. Once again, it had a very Zen feel to it but luxurious enough I wondered if a professional interior decorator had achieved such a marvel.

However, it was the two dozen strange beings who greeted us inside who retained all my attention. They were bipedal with a very long, striped neck topped by a head shaped like a cone. Their faces weren’t quite flat but had a bump of a nose almost shaped like a snout above a pair of very thin lips. A long, fur-like mustache, a paler beige color than their skin, framed their wide mouths. Their feet resembled star-shaped hooves, and a thicktail trailed far behind them. They wore long, embroidered tunics that reminded me of Medieval outfits.

They peered at me with big, curious eyes brimming with kindness.

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