Hotbloods 6: Allies

“I know… We got carried away, I guess.”

“Hey, if you want to blame someone, blame me,” Navan interjected. “I was the one who coaxed her into a slapdash ceremony. She wanted to wait until the war was over, when there could be a proper wedding, but I just couldn’t bear another moment without having her as my wife.”

“Aww! If that wasn’t so freaking adorable, I’d beat the crap out of you for marrying our girl without us,” Angie said, a lingering hint of disappointment in her voice.

“You are going to have a party when all of this is over, though, right?” Lauren’s voice was so hopeful that I couldn’t let her down. Besides, I knew Jean would want to see me get married, and Roger had often talked about walking me down the aisle. I couldn’t disappoint them any more than I could disappoint my closest friends.

I nodded reluctantly. “Of course we are. It wouldn’t be right if all of you weren’t there to celebrate this with us.”

“Sounds good to me,” Navan agreed. “I imagine Kaido and Sarrask will want to come along, though I may have to leave dear old Mom and Dad out of this one, if that’s okay with you.” He flashed me a cheeky glance.

“Perfectly fine with me. They’ll only start pointing out everyone’s inferiority.”

As Angie and Lauren launched their affections at Navan, enveloping him in a tight hug and calling him “brother,” Bashrik took the opportunity to wander up shyly. He’d remained silent while Angie and Lauren had gotten their excitement out, but now he seemed emboldened by their actions. He was smiling like a maniac, and the expression was frankly startling.

Without warning, he lunged toward me and pulled me into a tight bearhug. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d hugged Bashrik, but I definitely hadn’t received this kind of hug from him. His coldblood strength was immense as he squeezed tighter, to the point where I thought he might crush me to death with his happiness.

“Bashrik… I can’t… breathe…”

He released me immediately. “I’m so sorry, Riley. I’m just—I’m so happy for you both!” he sobbed, tears pouring from his eyes. As he attempted to brush away some of the streaming tears, he reached for some of the paper towels on the counter and blew his nose hard, the sound reverberating in my ears like an elephant’s trumpet.

“Thank you, Bashrik. We’re pretty happy about it, too,” I said, patting him gently on the back as though he were a small child. It seemed to calm him down, anyway.

“You are such beautiful creatures, and here you are, married! You’ve found your missing piece, your other half, your better part… I just think it’s so beautiful.” He collapsed in a fit of tears again, his chest heaving. I didn’t know whether to keep rubbing his back or start laughing out loud at the state of him. I’d never expected Bashrik, of all people, to act like this. Saying that, there was something undeniably touching about his reaction.

Free from the grip of Angie and Lauren, Navan moved over to give his brother a warm hug, releasing me from my responsibility as back-rubber extraordinaire. The sight of the two of them clutching one another, while Bashrik repeated his congratulations, was remarkably sweet. It warmed my heart even more, confirming my suspicions that today was going to be a very good day.

“Congratulations, Riley,” Ronad said, skirting around the emotional brothers. He grinned at me and opened out his arms before pulling me into a hug, swinging me from side to side.

“Thank you for keeping his secret,” I whispered. “He still managed to surprise me.”

Ronad laughed quietly. “I knew he would. He’s a crafty devil, our Navan.”

“Hey, hey, hey, what’s a scavenger gotta do to get a slice o’ the action? Massive congrats, compadres. Wish you’d woken us; I’d have played a jig for ye while ye danced toward yer husb-to-be,” Stone whooped, muscling in on Ronad’s hug. Even though we didn’t know each other very well, I was happy to have his congratulations. There was something so genuine about Stone that it was impossible not to like him. More and more, I was beginning to see what Lauren saw.

“Must you always rally about in such an uncouth manner, Mr. Stone?” Xiphio chided, his curt tone a stark contrast to the tears of joy running down his face. “This is a delightful occasion, not one that requires your pirate jigs or your unrefined traditions.”

“A party’s a party, Xiphio. Just offerin’ the gift o’ music, that’s all.” The ambaka chuckled merrily as he released me and wandered over to Navan, where he patted my husband on the back with wild enthusiasm. “Congrats, man. Damn excited to see me brother and me sister so happy!”

I grimaced. “Please don’t call us that, Stone. The thought is nice, but it really doesn’t sound right.”

“See yer point, won’t do it again.”

Alfa and Dio were the next to congratulate us, both mirroring Stone’s attitude. I barely knew the two of them, but they had the same charm as Stone. Alfa was the flirtier of the three scavengers, while Dio seemed to be the sensible one, and Stone was somewhere in between. It was nice to watch the way they interacted with one another, treating each other like actual brothers despite being vastly different species.

Without warning, Alfa scooped me up in a fireman’s lift and threw me in the air with frightening strength. Every time he threw me up again, he spoke, though it was hard to catch everything he said with the air rushing in my ears and my brain jangling in my skull. “I love a wedding… I bet you were a beautiful bride, Captain Ri… Shame we couldn’t have seen it… I hope we’re invited to the big party.” I hadn’t eaten anything yet, but I was about to lose whatever I had left in my stomach.

“Stop throwing her up like that, Alf. It ain’t ladylike,” Dio barked.

To my relief, Alfa stopped, catching me deftly and setting me back on my feet. “Sorry, Ri. I got a bit carried away. I love a wedding; it puts everyone in a good mood, don’t you think?”

I stumbled, and Navan’s hand reached out to steady me. “It does… but please don’t… throw me again.”

A small smile played upon Navan’s lips. “Yeah, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t break my wife on our first day of marriage.”

Alfa laughed heartily. “I promise I’ll restrain myself.”

“Forgive his enthusiasm, Riley. It comes from a good place,” Dio said. “Congratulations on your marriage. I wish you both a long and happy life together.”

“Thank you, Dio, and thank you for getting him to stop.” I laughed. Dio bared his teeth in a fanged smile. “Now, let’s see if this machine can conjure us up a wedding cake, shall we?”

“Did ye say cake?” Stone lifted his head eagerly. “I’ll help ye.”

As I made my way to the food-printing machine, Stone met me on the other side. He seemed to be in good spirits, though his eyes kept drifting toward Lauren, who was mid-conversation with Xiphio. Meanwhile, Navan was pouring drinks for everyone, his chest puffed out proudly.

“How’d ye do it, Ri?” Stone sighed, leaning his chin on his hand.

“Do what?”

“Make this romance bollocks look so easy.”

I chuckled. “Well, for a start, I wouldn’t go around calling it ‘bollocks.’”

“Ye got me wrong, Ri. I love a bit o’ romance, but it makes a bumblin’ moron outta me. Me mouth gets in knots and I can’t speak proper,” he lamented, gazing at Lauren. “I try and do what our pal Xiphio does, but his tongue is made o’ pure silver and mine is a jumble o’ nonsense.”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “Take this mornin’. I was bringin’ her breakfast in bed, as a bit o’ a treat like, but walked in on her in the niff. She screamed, I dropped me tray, and she hasn’t spoken to me since.”