Page 80 of I Married Amreth

“Welcome home, Master. Greetings, Mistress,”a voice said in my head as all the Nundars pressed their right hands to their chests.

Only then did I realize that they only had two extremely long fingers in each hand, tipped with two-pronged claws. But I remained focused on their words.

Although I knew I hadheardthat greeting, it had not been actual words or a real voice, like when a telepath communicated mentally with us. It had been more like a transfer of thoughts that I simply understood. Amreth mentioned in passing that they had a form of hive mind. They didn’t use individual names, and you should always address them as a unit. I didn’t know which one of them had spoken on behalf of the others.

A part of me felt like I should be somewhat freaked out by these strange beings. And yet, I instinctively found myself smiling and feeling at ease. That they were spiritual people shone brightly. There radiated an aura of peace and kindness that you just wanted to wrap yourself in.

“Thank you,” Amreth said affectionately. “Ciara, meet my Nundars.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” I said warmly.

“Nundars prepared a feast. Earth recipes shared by Lady Malaya’s Nundars. We serve when you’re ready.”

That messed with me. I had yet to meet Malaya, the wife of Lord Kronos, Amreth’s best friend. But that our Nundars would go through the trouble of learning human recipes to make me feel welcome moved me to the core.

Amreth puffed out his chest, pride and gratitude oozing out of him in response to his Nundars.

“Thank you, my friends. That’s very thoughtful. We’ll eat once I finish giving my mate the tour of her new home,” Amreth said.

As one, they bowed their heads before scattering. To my surprise, a handful walked past us and exited the house through the large patio doors while the others headed in the opposite direction, deeper in. It then dawned on me that the first group was likely going to retrieve our personal belongings from the ship.

“They’re amazing!” I whispered, my voice filled with awe.

“They are, and they think the same of you. I can’t wait for us to be bonded so that you can see their auras like I do. They shimmered with even more beautiful colors for you than they ever do for me. My feelings are hurt,” he said with a pouty expression.

I burst out laughing. “Don’t be jealous of my irresistible charm! But hey, take heart. Hang around me long enough, and it might rub off you! Then you’ll be as lovely as I am!”

He snorted. “If that’s what it takes, expect plenty of rubbing in the foreseeable future,” he said, his voice filled with promises.

I laughed and let him give me a tour of the new mansion I would now call home.

Epilogue

Ciara

The next month on Molvi turned out to be quite the whirlwind. Between strengthening my relationship with Amreth, familiarizing myself with my new homeworld, and sorting my career, time just flew by. But my neighbor and new BFF Malaya was a huge blessing. Having gone through that entire relocation process, she had all the tricks and tips to make everything as painless as possible.

Saying she was an angel couldn’t begin to do her justice. Malaya was funny, witty, and always eager to help. I actually had to chastise her about resting with her huge belly as she drew nearer to delivering her first child. Seeing her going through that pregnancy also alleviated many of my concerns about future babies with Amreth. Women often complained about how their fetus kicked their bladder and kidneys around like they’d stolen their lunch money, but Obosian babies were natural protectors.

From my understanding, they could feel any discomfort they caused their mothers and would instantly police themselves notto negatively affect her. Sure, they were overly massive, but not to a debilitating extent.

As Malaya was the official Reporter of the Conclave andof the Enforcers, she got to write the earth-shattering scoop about the mass arrests of Marilia Hesper, her son Noah Montel, and countless other associates. The downfall of Typhoon Pharma sent shockwaves throughout the industry. The pharmaceutical giant was put under guardianship while justice followed its course. Naturally, Amreth and I gave Malaya an extensive interview going in-depth about the hardships and devastation the Kreelars endured.

Elias Jacobs’s reputation got slapped hard as he was swept up in the legal tsunami. However, he had been preparing for that day for years. Within hours of the first indictments going public, his army of lawyers were already filing motions to dismiss with an impressive amount of supporting documentation and detailed precedents justifying why he should be exonerated from all responsibility due to the coercion and duress Marilia subjected him to for years. And then the statute of limitation also kicked in.

The weasel had been clever enough to have written communications where he expressed his need to go public, which systematically got shot down with less-than-subtle threats. I doubted real moral anguish prompted those requests. He was just cleverly covering his ass.

In the end, he got off with a stern reprimand and substantial fine—which was really nothing considering the wealth SS12 earned him. Although a part of me wished he’d face some more severe consequences, I couldn’t really argue against the outcome. After all, none of this tragedy could be pinned on him specifically. He never encouraged or condoned Noah’s sexcapades which triggered the initial encounter. Noah smuggled the strawberries without his knowledge or consent.And he had no reasonable motive to justify a search of his team’s belongings or for tracking their movements.

This could have happened to any other research team leader with a scumbag teammate.

The entire process would take at least a couple of years before all indictments and trials were completed. But at least, Marilia, her son, and closest acolytes were guaranteed a trip to Molvi. It surprised me that Amreth hoped they wouldn’t end up in Dakon’s Quadrant. I would have expected him to wish the worst fate on them. But they would die too quickly there. In a Sector like his or Kronos’s, they would suffer for years before they died.

Did it make me a monster that I also wished extended pain for them?

All that mattered was that Aku and the Kreelars were more than satisfied with the outcome, especially after confirmation that the investigation revealed more wrongdoings to other primitive species. In fact, the UPO set up the most insane lab on Molvi. They effectively recruited me to perform advanced research in various fields pertaining to primitive species. Most of them concerned the very planets negatively affected by Typhoon Pharma’s mercenary actions. Thankfully, none of the ones discovered so far had suffered something as tragic as the Kreelars. However, one of the most disgusting cases we discovered involved their beauty products division. They had been tampering with the food of wild reptiles in order to modify their skin and scales. Once the creatures finished molting, the pharmaceutical employees would swoop in and gather the skin to be used in absurdly expensive rejuvenating creams.

The tampering negatively affected those animals, causing their shedding to be extremely painful and reducing their life expectancy. It also made those reptiles improper forconsumption by the primitive species that used to hunt them and for whom they were a major dietary source.

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