EvO (Darverius, House of DaR #16)

Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

EVO

Her tears and the smell of her sorrow were practically tearing my heart out. It took every ounce of my willpower to remain standing in the shadows as she talked to Ember . I’ve heard bits and pieces of how their world was destroyed, but never taken the time to investigate it further. The Destroyer and my crew seemed to consume all my attention, but that is no excuse for my ignorance. Standing here in the shadows, I regret not looking into their circumstances further. The sadness in both female’s voices sits heavily on my mind, but it also makes me think of Kira and how easily she smiles, but was she always that way? I didn’t know her in the beginning, was she just as sad?

Kira , my father’s mate, is everything a male could ever dream of in a lifelong companion. Not only is she unconventionally beautiful in a very odd way, but she has a huge giving heart. I experienced my first hug from her and it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to walk away from. I could have basked in her affections for all time if I had not heard my father growling behind me. He doesn’t mind her showing affection for all of us males, but he doesn’t share her well for long.

My own mother’s kind is not affectionate at all. As a child, I quickly realized that I was treated differently than other younglings in the household. I don’t know if she was overly cold, because she knew I was going to be sent back to Father , or if I was simply a way for her to increase her status. I never felt the need to ask once I was sent to live with my father. As far as I know Mother resumed her previous life before winning the lottery, enjoying the comforts of being a Mother to one of Commander DaR’s sons. As a youngling I didn’t understand, frack as an adult. I can’t comprehend how you could turn from your own flesh and blood. Nevertheless , it didn’t take me long to realize I was simply nothing more than a ticket out of the life she had been born into.

It’s been so many rotations now that I can barely recall her face, as she had brief interactions with me after I was sent to Father . Who , even stern and quick to reprimand, spent time consistently invested in deep conversations and motivation. Always pushing you to be the best version of yourself, regardless of the circumstances. His love and dedication to all of us was certainly not questioned. Still , many of us males refrain from open affections.

Whereas the human females seem to need touch to survive. Ember is always curled up in my brother’s lap. To say I was shocked to see that type of public display the first time is an understatement. Until recently, I thought it foolish that he would give into his mate’s every want. That these affections should only be shown in private. However , I can tell my views on the matter are going to change quickly, as it’s taking every ounce of my willpower not to pull this little female into my arms. To spend as many rotations as it takes to remove the sadness from her eyes.

I stand here looking down at the now sleeping female. I can hear LeX and Ember talking, but their words jumble together, as this female has captured all of my attention. That is, until I hear Ember cussing on the other side of the glass. Looking up, I can see she seems distraught and I know the danger that holds for all that is around her.

“ Ember , calm yourself before ViN gets here or none of us will be able to restrain him.”

Wiping the tears off her cheeks, I hear her snuffling.

“ I’m so sorry EvO . Despite my attempt to help, I ended up making it worse. Hell , in the mix of all this, I didn’t even ask what her name was. God , …” She sniffles again. “ Here all this time I was sure that simply another human being around when they woke up would make it all better. But I froze, because I didn’t know how to answer her questions. Or maybe I just don’t want to be the one to tell them … Her that everything we ever knew or loved is gone.”

A heavy sob leaves her throat and before LeX can reach her. The door to the med lab is practically ripped off its hinges, and I swear. I can feel the heat coming off ViN from the other side of this glass.

“ Who in the FRACK made you cry?” He roars out before pulling Ember in his arms, and instead of her tears getting better she practically collapses. A puff of smoke comes out his nose and I see his eyes flash red when he turns to face me through the glass.

“ Oh , get a grip ViN , before you melt the high-tech equipment in that room. We didn’t do anything. She got upset when she started talking about Earth with this female and I think it just hit her harder than she thought it would.”

“ You made her cry!” He roars out, as he picks her up in his arms.

“ NO , I - DID - NOT !”

Picking her up gently, I watch him fight the urge to destroy everything around us as he tucks her into his chest. “ We will discuss this later.” He says calmly in a tone that would have terrified most before he walks into the corridor and out of my sight.

“ You could have intervened, LeX .”

“ Hey , I’m not stupid. I wasn’t located safely on the other side of the glass, like you are. I was way too close, and you know how volatile ViN gets when Ember is upset.”

Running my hand through my hair, I plop back down in the chair that is near the female’s bed. “ You would think having a female would have calmed him down, instead of making him worse.”

“ You are talking about ViN here right, the same brother whose idea of fun is setting our blankets on fire as younglings, and showing off to the females we were crushing on by melting swords in his bare hands. Calm is not a word I would have ever associated with his name, violent, unpredictable, and loyal by fault, maybe. ViN is one of the main reasons I went into the healing field. It never fails that one of us gets hurt when he is around.”

“ LeX , I wish someone would have told us when we were younglings that we were living the best rotations of our lives at the time. All the pranks and the scuffles us brothers pulled on one another was simply preparing us for our futures. I can remember the first-time father knocked me on my ass at practice because I was strutting around trying to get a female’s attention. I was humiliated, but I learned quickly to never take my eye off my opponent.”

“ You’re lucky your head is still on your shoulders; you know father was never easy on any of us. We were Commander DaR’s sons and we would all be worthy of that title.”

“ No , father wasn’t easy on any of us, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. He took his job as our mentor and teacher very seriously. He knew the world we would be facing and was simply trying to prepare us the only way he knew how. Frack there were times I wish I could have bested him on the field just once, though. There were rotations I was on my ass more than standing. That male is a brute.”

“ You and every other male in this part of the universe have all had that wish one time or another. Personally , I think we got the better end of the deal. Have you ever looked at it from his point of view? We were allowed to fail because we had him to fall back on. Father , on the other hand, had no one besides himself as a youngling besides Tordan . We had multiple brothers and friends to lean on when we thought the world around us was unfair. The crazy part is, if Father ever gets into a mess, he can’t solve on his own. It will take all twenty-three of us to get him out of it, and the odds still won’t be in our favor. He is the foundation we were all built upon.”

“ I never looked at it that way, my mind isn’t configured the same as yours little brother.”

“ Why do you think you’re the captain and I’m the medic, EvO . You need to take advantage of being stuck in there with her and rest while you can. I have a feeling the calm we are experiencing right now will simply become a want no longer available soon.”

Hesitantly , I lean over and pick up the female’s small hand. Rubbing my fingers gently over the small bones, amazed at all the strength contained inside something so thin-skinned. “ How did anything this fragile make it this far?” I say out loud, but not particularly to anyone.

“ My best guess, brother, is that their god and our own was not done with them yet. I agree, the odds were against them from the moment they were launched into deep space, but here they are. I think the biggest question now is, what do we do with all of them.”

“ You mean if we manage to get out of this Nebula ?”

“ EvO , you realize we found significantly more than we were prepared for. I am not even sure I have the facilities, nor the knowledge of what they’ll need once we start to open the pods. If all humans survive, and my calculations are right, the Destroyer doesn’t even have enough rooms for them and our crew. We are going to have our hands full.”

“ I’ve been so wrapped up in every rising events since we entered into the Nebula . It didn’t occur to me to take a moment and consider what lies ahead of this path. I never dreamed we would find this many, LeX … Destroyer , call Rafe to the med bay, I need updates.”