Chapter 4

When Ginny opened her eyes and looked at Cheri on the other side of the bed, she saw her head tucked into the side of Rillen’s neck. Reaching out, she stroked Rillen’s cheek, eliciting a twitch of his ears and finally a fluttering of his eyelids. “Shhh,” she said. “You can stay here for a little longer while I put breakfast together.”

He nodded and snuggled back down while she got out of bed, took care of her morning ritual and threw on some clothes before starting breakfast. One of the things that the dizyntk had discovered as they spent more time around humans was a love of thickly sliced bacon, fried but not crunchy. Shortly after it started frying, both Cheri and Rillen followed their noses into the kitchen. She laughed and told them to go get dressed, that breakfast would be ready shortly. While they dressed, she began steeping some of what the dizyntk used for tea, as well as putting on a pot of coffee for herself.

When everyone was seated, Rillen said, “I hope that you all slept as well as I did, because if I had to give this up, I’m not sure what I’d do. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a better night’s sleep.”

“Well, I can’t quite say that,” Cheri said. “It was great, but I’m used to sleeping with another, so it’s probably not as big a change for me.”

“Same here. I think we can say that our first test was a rousing success, so let’s keep on trying it. If it’s still working that well when you have to go back to work, I’m all for asking you to move in with us. What about you, sweetie?”

“Absolutely. Rillen, we have something special developing here. Please tell me that you can feel it, too.”

“I feel something. I’m not sure what name to put to it, but I feel whole when I’m with the two of you. I want to keep feeling that and to keep sleeping that well.” With that, he reached out his hands, one to each of the others. They each took his hand and reached across to finish the triangle.

At that moment, Ginny was reminded of the Goddess smiling at her, a mother loving and comforting her children. That moment echoed in her mind and through her soul, and she simply knew that the Goddess approved. When she glanced up, she saw wonder on Rillen’s face and something similar on Cheri’s. “The Goddess loves us and wants us to be happy. Our happiness, and our love for her and for each other, are the ultimate prayer to her.”

“Uh, sweetie,” Cheri said with good humor. “I’m the one planning to be a priestess. Don’t you think I should be the one explaining her mind?”

“You’ll do great at it, love. In this case, though, the understanding was in my heart.”

Rillen, still wide-eyed, said, “I ... I felt something and, well, what you said fits what I felt, though I might not have said it as well. I don’t want to make any assumptions, but I feel as though the Goddess has blessed us.”

At work later that day, she reported to the cooks that the meal had been a success. They were so pleased that they walked her through how to make it.

After that, Rendilon took her aside and said, “I hope you won’t be surprised if I tell you I can smell the dizyntk you brought by yesterday, Fendirillen, on you. It’s faint, but definitely there.”

Ginny blushed a little, but knew she had no reason to do so. She said, “I believe it. You could smell him yesterday, then?”

“I could, and I almost wept that I couldn’t manage to get past his scent to get closer. If it’s not just my reaction, then he must have a lonely life.”

“It’s not just you. Even his parents had a hard time being close to him. He’s been so lonely, but that might be ending. Last night, we offered to be sleep mates with him.”

Rendilon smiled hugely at that. “I feel blessed to live in a community with the two of you. Most humans wouldn’t understand that, and I’m sure even fewer would act. From your smile, it’s easy to see that it worked. Good for him and for you as well. If it moves all the way to bonding, please invite me to the ceremony.”

“It may, and I definitely will. Thank you!”

After work, she returned home to find Cheri and Rillen laughing and hugging. Cheri let go of Rillen for a moment and picked up her mate, twirling her around.

“Okay, what’s gotten into you.”

“I’m getting my robes.”

Ginny’s eyes went wide. The acolyte period usually lasted years. “What? How? Why would they do that?”

Cheri stopped bouncing long enough to sit and pull the others down. “You know that I somehow just know what a priestess should know and how to do things? Sister Linarti said that the heads of the Orders have decided that the Goddess has chosen me as her priestess and there is no higher authority. I’m still in shock.”

Later, as they were getting ready for bed, Rillen asked Cheri, “Would you like me to sleep in the other room so you two can celebrate? It seems an occasion for celebration to me.”

“No! What I want tonight is to be wrapped up in the arms of both you and Ginny. Please don’t leave me tonight.”

“After last night, it would have been hard for me anyway. I only suggested is because I thought it might be what you want. At the very least, though, feel free to ask me to give you privacy if you two wish to share intimacy.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I think if we want to have sex without you, we’ll make time for it other than bedtime. Now, off to bed.”

By the end of Rillen’s forced convalescence, none of them had any doubts about his future as part of their household and few about his place as part of their family unit. They all went together to help him retrieve his few personal belongings and to let his superiors know of his new address.

Rillen knocked at Captain Thompson’s door, and they all went in together when he replied.

“Captain, I need to change my address of record.”

The captain looked at the three of them and said, “Are congratulations in order?”

“Not yet, sir. We’re pretty sure it will happen, but it’s a very important step and very permanent, so we’re not going to rush into it.”

“That’s good. Too many young people rush into things and end up regretting it later. Still, I think some congratulations are in order, since you look happier than I can ever recall. Are you still planning to stay with the Rangers?”

“Yes, I plan on remaining a Ranger. I think we’ve all seen that having dizyntk and humans working together in the field has advantages. I feel like I’m contributing to something larger, working with everyone else.”

“You are, at that. McClain and Howard had no idea that you’d heard anything when you told them to get down, but they’re grateful that you did. Once the current problems are taken care of, we’re going to be looking more closely at how to take advantages of everyone’s strengths.”

“I like that idea. I take it that the dizyntk are still pulled back?”

The captain nodded and said, “We’re all hitting dead ends. It seems likely there’s someone higher up that’s covering tracks.”

“Captain?” Cheri asked. “You said that the Rangers, police and military are all looking into it, right?”

“That’s correct. We’re pretty sure that the cover-up is happening on the police side.”

“Okay, that was my thought as well. The Rangers, fleet and even ground forces seem to be integrating well. The police, though, still are almost all humans even with the advantages dizyntk could bring to response and investigation. I wonder if there’s something going on in Personnel? It would be interesting to know how many dizyntk have applied and why they were turned down.”

The captain looked thoughtfully at her. “You’re not just a pretty face, are you? Let’s just say that some very bright people from other parts of the empire and some other humans are thinking along the same lines, and let it go at that.”