Ice and Lightning Ch. 11

CAED

Gabriel had given me his updates. It wasn't great news. His side was going to be much more difficult to manage because they were a bunch of male Yelarians. As Gabriel said over and over again "fucking and fighting" were the only two things that mattered to them. When there was peace, there was not enough of either, since the battle rage is what further fueled the fucking.

I was trying to wrap my head around why they would want to follow the crown. It had never done anything to help them. The council had approved keeping humans for breeding. The council had kept their wars going. The council had kept them housed and fed. All while my parents hosted parties and made political promises they couldn't keep. Gabriel was right; they were winning the propaganda war. That was the only explanation. They truly had nothing else to offer so they were using our daughter as their miracle cure. They had been right; whether or not it had worked as planned, having a new heir had strengthened their position.

Gabriel had been to see our parents twice since we had taken Lyra and Lil there. They were not hearing it. They were not hearing that their nonsense was about to start a civil war. They were not hearing that our daughter was not one of their game pieces. They were not hearing that Lyra was more than just a womb, bought and paid for. He said he was finished talking. They were not going to listen. He knew that before he went in. Gods, why didn't he kill them when he had the opportunity?

LYRA

For gods know what reason, the council wanted me to come there next time Caed and Gabriel went to meet them. I was going anyway, no matter what; my daughter and I would not be home unprotected, while their lunatic family was still alive, but why did the council want me there?

Caed and Gabriel gave their latest reports. The formal meeting had been adjourned and they were all sitting around a table theorizing and strategizing. Lil and I were sitting off to the side. I half listened as I made faces at her and shushed her every once in a while. I was listening to Gabriel go on again about why anyone would follow the crown. "They're bored," I half muttered. "Excuse me?" one of the counsel members asked. As I realized they were actually listening to me, I looked up at them. "They're bored?" I asked, unsure of whether or not I was supposed to be speaking. Both of my mates looked at me thoughtfully. "What are you saying?" Caed asked. "I'm saying that your people are bored. The have food, health, families, anything anyone could ask for, but they're still not happy. They don't want to fuck and fight for political reasons or out of necessity, they do it because they have nothing else to do." I cringed as nine Yelarian males sat looking at me, saying nothing.

GABRIEL

I was the only soldier at that table. I couldn't help but think she was onto something. I spoke up. "She may have a very good point." A few heads turned to me, but several eyes stayed on my mate. I started: "The Yelarian males who are causing the problems are the soldiers, and Yelarian soldiers are only active when they're killing. They do nothing else. They have no responsibilities. Very few of them have family lives or homes at all. There is nothing to distract them. As our society has grown and become more peaceful and educated, words have become more important and Yelarian soldiers do not understand not killing."

I knew that was a simplistic version of the situation and I had no solutions, but it was worth a hard look. I finished my point, but when I looked up, something else was going on.

The council chair was staring very hard at Lyra. I saw a spark in his eye and when she smiled at him, he smiled back. The noise in the room died as everyone was staring at either him or her. He excused himself and went to our mate and sat beside her. He whispered something in her ear and she giggled. I could see that Caed was not comfortable with this, and I was ready to explode. Males did not approach another male's mate. Period. The elder turned to us and met each of our eyes. I felt calmer immediately and Caed had smiled. The elder then took Lil in his arms and bounced her on his knee as she babbled. Lyra laughed and looked at us with delight. I felt a twinge in my heart at seeing her expression. I had not seen that expression on her face in a while. I looked at Caed and saw that he felt the same.

Finally the elder stood and walked back to the table as everyone's gaze followed. He sat back down and said "carry on, then."

As was not uncommon with Lyra, I had no idea what the fuck just happened. I wasn't even sure it had happened until we got home and Caed started questioning her. She said he just asked her how she was enjoying listening to all the old men talking about nothing. Then he asked to hold Lil and that was it.

Caed, being somewhat more in tune with emotions, knew something else had happened but he had no idea what. I was at a total and complete loss. I asked her how it made her feel and she said he reminded her of her father. There it was.

CAED

Lyra was the brightest she had been since we went to my parents'. She wanted wine with dinner. After, she was a little tipsy and flirting with both me and Gabriel. She was giving us quite the show as she sat on our laps and rubbed up against us through our clothes. Every time one of us would try to touch her she would shake a finger in our faces and say "no, no, no" and laugh. She started to do a strip tease in Gabriel's lap. She got her shirt off and he grabbed at her breasts. When she shook her finger in his face, he growled and took her to the floor. He was ripping her clothes off by the time I left the room. Playing with fire, Lyra, playing with fire.

It didn't take long for her to come into my room. Gabriel followed her in and took the baby. She walked into the bathroom and gestured for me to follow. She was already naked and getting into the bath. She was looking devilishly sultry and was dancing for me as she had earlier with her clothes on. I climbed in and she immediately sat in my lap, facing me. I wasn't inside her, but she was rocking her body, sliding back and forth on my cock as it hardened under her. I slipped a finger into her and caught her nipple in my mouth. Milk started flowing from both breasts. I massaged them as it started squirting out onto my chest. She was producing more than enough milk for our daughter, so she enjoyed the relief from the pressure when I milked her. Ever since our exploration with the breast pump, I had a fascination with watching the milk run from her. The wholesome fact that those were all she needed to sustain our daughter and the fact that it was so easy to get it flowing, hit something deeper in me than just seeing them as sex objects. Mommy issues, maybe?

I felt the slickness between her legs and knew I needed to be inside her. I loved bending her over the vanity. I could see her round ass moving back and forth on me, then I could look in the mirror and see those huge breasts hanging down, swinging to the rhythm we set. Gabriel and I had compared notes and were entertained at how easy it was to make her come when we threw our wings out in the mirror. I did just that and she moaned as she clenched down on my cock with her first orgasm. I pulled out and took her to the bed. I slid my fingers into her and she started to fuck my hand. I watched her face as she gasped. It was well past time to fuck her again. I got on top of her and teased her and made her beg for a little while. Gabriel had taught her a few things I was learning were deliciously fun. She finally wrapped her legs around me and I started thrusting into her faster and harder. She screamed as she came and I bit into her as I let myself go.

LYRA

We had been going to brainstorming sessions regularly with the council. Noah, the elder, always made time for me. I enjoyed his company so much. I had recently realized I had spoken to no one but my mates and their horrible mother for over two years. I learned Noah had had a human mate and they had a daughter together. The priestesses had no problems with the first delivery but both his mate and the baby died during the delivery of the second. I told him our story and he said he didn't know if he was sure they had made a good decision in allowing humans to be captured to sustain the race. He and his mate had been very lucky. He was regretful that most humans did not have such pleasant experiences. I thought about how Gabriel had been in the beginning and shuddered. Humans were very adaptable, but those women had to have been broken.

We developed a strong friendship. His gentleness reminded me of my father and I needed that so much in my life. I looked forward to every council meeting. The other council members had warmed up to us as well. The preciousness of a child had been expressed to me time and again and, surprisingly Gabriel and Cade had no problem that the council members had starting passing Lil around to sit on their laps and bounce on their knees as our meetings went on. As I had thought all Yelarians were bad when I came here, I had also thought the council to be evil to have allowed the things they had allowed. I was learning they only directed the chaos of the Yelarians; most of them were going to do what they wanted anyway. The Yelarians trusted the council to be a buffer between them and the royals. They did not want the royals to be making their decisions. The king and queen were too volatile and greedy. They put Yelarians in conditions that caused unrest between the different camps and towns, but with the council, the Yelarians were learning there were better ways of doing things.

GABRIEL

The meetings were surprisingly productive. I thought Lyra would have been a distraction but she and Lil being there relaxed everyone. We all were able to work together instead of it turning into the inevitable shit show that normally transpired when any number of males tried to get anything accomplished in my world. It was possible that my brother and these thinkers were onto something.

There was more at work here though. They listened to Lyra. Yelarian females had never been involved in decisionmaking and human women were absolutely never consulted on anything. The council learned that Lyra was a natural at seeing aspects the rest of us did not, and more shocking than ever, there were emotions in the room I had experienced nowhere else in Yelarian society. My mate had captured their attention, and more shockingly, inspired FEELINGS. Caed's eyes met mine and I knew the realization hit him at the exact same time it did me. Lyra was the key.

NOAH

I watched as the brothers looked at each other and came to the same conclusion I had. Their mate was going to heal all of Yelaria.

I had known the princes their entire lives. Gabriel was a typical Yelarian through and through. I had believed there was no hope for him. Caed however, had always been a thinker, understanding the nuances of politics and the ineptness of his family. We had been trying for centuries to get the Yelarians to be better. It was happening slowly. So damned slowly.

I had known a human was going to be the one. Humans were the only ones who could inspire emotions in our cold society. My mate had taught me. That is why I had gone to the king and queen and planted the seed that told them they needed a new heir. I pursuaded the council to back me up and acquire just one more human. I knew she was the one. The princes looked at me and I met their eyes and nodded.

CAED

She was it. She had won me over, then Gabriel; no one would have ever seen that coming, then a full council of Yelarians.

After the meeting Noah pulled Gabriel and me aside and said "you should take Lyra to see her father." Surprise crossed both our faces. Not once, in the centuries of human women being sold to Yelarians, were they allowed contact with their families. This had been explained to Lyra in the very beginning and, understandibly, had broken her heart. "Why now?" I asked. Noah responded, "because these are unprecedented times, and she is not the key to healing only the Yelarians; she is going to heal the whole continent."

LIAM

Something was going on with those damned Yelarians. A couple had been seen in the area recently and people were planning to head back to the caves before the Yelarians started kidnapping women again. Those winged bastards had left us alone for decades, then they took my sweet daughter. We had not seen nor heard anything of Lyra for almost three years. Our neighbor saw the whole thing. He was getting ready to yell at Lyra to bring the boat back and go around the lake when he saw a winged figure come down and pull her right out of the boat. My remarkable daughter, undoubtedly taken to spend her life as breeding stock to monstrous beings. The grief would never be healed.

I had been working alone, chopping wood, when a Yelarian landed across the clearing from me. My breath caught. He stood there, watching me. He was as huge and intimidating and shining white as we had always been told. He did not say a word, but showed me a piece of paper, then put it under a rock and was gone.

For days I waited where the note told me to. I was armed and ready, but the message said to come alone, so I was. I had turned my back to the clearing when I heard a roar of wings and two thuds on the ground. I whipped my head around to see two Yelarian males directly in front of me. One of them carried a woman, the other a baby. The male carrying the woman put her down gently and she ran toward me. "Daddy!" I blinked and opened my arms, not sure if I was dreaming or this was really happening. She flew into my arms, practically knocking me over. She felt real. I pulled her back and held her at arms length. She was definitely real. I grabbed her in a bear hug and we both started crying. How could this be? How could she be here, back with me?

She finally broke free of our hug and turned and made a "come here" gesture to the smiling Yelarian holding the baby. "Daddy, meet your granddaughter, Liliana." At hearing the name, more tears ran down my face. I stepped back from the Yelarian as he walked toward us and I reflexively pulled Lyra behind me. "Daddy, it's ok. This is my mate...uh, husband, Caed. I looked into the eyes of the giant. They were sparkling as if the smile had reached them. He gave the baby to Lyra and nodded to me in reverance as he stepped back. I couldn't take my eyes off him, but my daughter said "Daddy! I said meet your granddaughter!" I looked to the babe in her arms. She was 100% Yelarian yet, other than my daughters, the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. She smiled at me as Lyra shoved her into my arms. The other male took a step forward, but Lyra put a hand up and he stopped. He was exactly what I expected a Yelarian to look like. His eyes were cold and he looked looked murderous. The other one however, looked like he was beside himself with excitement. I looked back to the smiling baby, sucking on her hand and kicking into the air as she made baby sounds. I couldn't stop crying. Liliana. Named after my sweet wife, gone so long ago. Liliana. It was such a beautiful name. I hugged her against me. She smelled of summer rain and cut grass. Lyra stole her back, holding her under her arms and shaking the blankets off the baby. It was then that I saw the wings. My eyes widened as Lyra laughed at me and handed the baby back to me. I took her and felt the silky softness of them. The baby giggled and squirmed. "That really tickles her." Lyra smiled at me. I was breathless. My heart swelled with love and I hugged the baby against me again.

The second Yelarian, the one who had been carrying Lyra, stepped toward us and she did not stop him this time. "Daddy, this is my other husband, Gabriel." He nodded, but was not friendly like the other one. He reached for the baby with an ominous look. My instinct was to turn away and pull the baby in closer to protect her. This caused the male to let out a growl as Lyra slapped his hands down and said "knock it off." He gave her a look of murder, but did what she told him and stepped back. I looked back at the smiling one. He stepped forward with a hand extended for a handshake. I reached out tentatively and he pulled my hand into his huge one and said "I am very, very happy to meet you. Ignore the other one. He's a sonofabitch." Lyra snorted a laugh and pulled the other one forward to shake my hand. He did so in a way that asserted the dominance that I was sure he was used to throwing around. I said "hello" and he did as well. The friendly one said "we are going to take a look around" and both of them shot into the sky and were so high they were invisible, within seconds.

I breathed out forcefully. I didn't realize I had been holding my breath. I relaxed as soon as the males were gone and started staring back at my granddaughter. She had the sparkling blue eyes of the smiling Yelarian. Her wings were tiny and irredescent and she giggled and wiggled every time I touched them. Lyra led us to the edge of the clearing where we sat in the sunshine. The friendly Yelarian, had also set down a picnic basket, complete with a blanket, food, and drinks. Lyra opened her shirt and started nursing the baby right in front of me. I turned away. She said "It's ok, Daddy. We don't think about bodies the same way humans do. I'm just feeding my daughter." I looked back to her eyes. We? Humans? "So you're Yelarian now?" I asked her, confusedly. She laughed. "No, but being in a family with three of them, I guess I just lump us all together." I had so many questions.

LYRA

Gods, to see my father again and have him meet my family was one of the best moments of my life. I could not stop smiling and crying. He was perplexed and that was understandable, but he was accepting and just as happy to see us as I had hoped. He accepted Lil as if she were 100% human and I could tell he had as much love for her as a grandparent should. I had been nervous he would only see a Yelarian, but he didn't see that at all. He just saw his granddaughter.

My father's eyes had a million questions in them, but all he could ask was "how?" I started by saying "Daddy, these past two years have been the best of my life. I love my mates...um, husbands, more than you can imagine and they have given me my daughter and an extraordinary life." I told him how it all started and how Caed had been lovely from the beginning. I left out a lot about Gabriel but ended with telling him how much I loved them both. I could not figure out how to explain to him that they were both my mates and Lil's fathers but told him that was just something he would have to accept without understanding. It was also hard to explain the mating bond to him so I told him that I would try to refer to them as my husbands around him, but would probably slip up and call them mates. It was hard enough for him to accept that there were two of them. Then we got into the harder questions. He wanted to know how I could love them, knowing what they had done to humans. I told him the mating bond really gave me no choice. I told him Caed was a businessman and politician and would never hurt anyone. I admitted to him that Gabriel had done horrible things, but that stopped when we became mated. Lil finished eating and I held her back toward my father. He happily took her and started baby talking with her. He asked about where we lived and what we did and why I hadn't contacted him before. That was another hard question. "I was not allowed, but things are about to get complicated. The Yelarians are going to war, not against humans this time, but against each other, and Lil and I might need to come stay with you for a while." His horrified look broke my heart. "Are you in danger now?" I answered, "Not right now, but Caed and Gabriel may have to have to be away from us for a while and we decided this is the safest place for us to be. My heart has been broken every day, missing you and Gracia. Before, it was impossible for them to let me see you. The secrets are too many, but now they recognize this is the best place for us, and here we are. Daddy, you have to keep this a secret. My family in particular, is a target. We can trust no one, not even Gracia, right now." "But she is your sister," he admonished me. "She will be able to see us the when the time is right." He held his granddaughter to his chest. "I can surely tell you all love each other and the family you have built is beautiful." He pulled Lil away to look into her eyes. Then blew raspberries on her belly. I laughed. I loved them so much, it broke my heart.