61

“Give me one of those polo shirts and I'll go wash up,” I say with a smile. “And no, none of ya will go in with me.”
A knock at the door draws my attention from my two boys; Kaseke opens it and freezes.
“Mama,” he says. He gestures with his hand for D'ziko to disappear.
D'ziko stumbles to a stop in front of me, causing me to nearly knock Kaseke over. He kisses my cheek and darts into the closet.
“ya skipped training again today,” Mama says to Kaseke as she enters. “Gods, if only I can find a magic pill that'd knock some sense into ya. Training is important. “
“What?” Kaseke looks defensive. “I know all there is to know about combats. “
Mama snorts. “Doesn't make ya any good at it.” She looks put out.
She preps bandages for my forehead, a bowl, disinfectant and washcloth and begins to work on me. I don't protest.
We'll all have breakfast together, I realise as Kaseke leaves the room and comes back wheeling a tray of food.
When Mama's done, I take a quick bath while they set the table. I find them in the Kitchen part of my bedroom. Mama is slicing the bread and Kaseke is sitting down, eating a slice of cheese behind Mama's back.
“Breakfast is served, dear," she says. I don’t miss her glance toward Kaseke's half empty whiskey bottle. “And I'm hungry.”
"Ya wanna wet yar whistles?" he offers Mama.
She glares at him. "Boy, ya want some whipping?"
She means it. He knows it.
We eat mostly in silence. Mama and I exchange a few words about the weather, about how I'm feeling but none about her lifemate, about the Black Shuck.
“Thank ya,” I tell Kaseke. “Breakfast was wonderful.”
Mama downs the last sip of her freshly squeezed lemon juice, shudders and looks at Kaseke. “I've been sick too, and ya have never fixed me a fancy breakfast.”
kaseke pushes his barely eaten plate away, leans back on his chair and sighs fondly.
When it becomes clear he won't answer, Mama says to me, "yer doctor said ya should go to bed early”.
I stare at her suspiciously. "I don't have one,” I say, feeling vaguely apprehensive.
"Well dear, what do ya suppose I am?"
There's an awkward moment of silence. Then she gets up and does my bed. Kaseke and I stare at her, confused. When she's done she waves me over. “Get into bed, Imy.”
A pause.
“But Mama--”
“Imy!”
Another pause. Then she suddenly reaches forward, and before my fight-or-flight nerves can kick in, she grabs my wrists and tugs me to her.
“Get to bed,” she says, gesturing to the bed.
“Aibo Mama, seriously?”
When Mama continues to watch me dubiously, I drop to the bed and sigh heavily.
Gathering up the dirty dishes, Kaseke leaves an uneaten plate for D'ziko and he quickly tugs Mama out the door.
I lay in bed, tucked warmly under the covers as their boots click away from me down the hall and into the elevator.
D'ziko waits until they're gone to come out.
“yer brother likes me,” he says as he sits in the table and eats. “Getting him to admit that is a mission all on itself.”
I agree.
The air-conditioning kicks on, ruffling the top of our heads.
I cock my head. “So…” I trail off. This is the easiest way to start a conversation that's bound to be awkward.
D’ziko shoves some beacon into his mouth and says, mouth still full, “So what?” An easy question.
"How did ya know I was yer lifemate?"
He hesitates. "When a female starts her very first follicular phase she releases pheromones that draws her mate towards her,” he says after another mouthful of bacon.
"Like anacondas?"
He frowns at me, staring at the walls as though they'll whisper to him what to say next.
Silence.
Then, "It doesn't sound so romantic when ya compare it to snake mating."
"Ja," I confirm with a smile.
D'ziko helps himself to some bread, spreads too much butter in each slice and nods in appreciation as he chews. "These pheromones diffuse into the air. I was always so aware of ya.”
I fight to keep from blushing. Blushing is too telling. Then I realise I started my period way too early. I was twelve. And he was thirteen.
"It's been years," I say. "ya've known for years. I heard the whole process drives men crazy. They can't stay away. But ya stayed away. Why?"
Maybe our “bond” is a bit different than the rest.
D'ziko snatches his plate and dumps the bacon, sausage and egg remains in the trash bin by the counter before dropping his breakfast utensils at the sink.
"Because of who and what I am." He wears his serious gaze. "Who would want to be with a guy they have no idea what he looks like?"
I shrug a anybody. He examines me with an unusual curiosity.
My throat tightens. "What changed yer mind then?" My voice is way harsher than I intended. I tone it down. “It's not like I knew what ya looked like at my shop that day either.”
D'ziko pours himself another cup of herbal tea. "ya stole the Bakantwa sword. That changed everything."
It changed nothing. I push back my shoulders. "Why?"
"I knew how risky it was." He pauses and swings the rest of his tea. "I knew the changes ya'd have to go through. I knew what had to happen with the Tree of life. ya didn’t expect me to just sit and not do anything to make yer transition into a Noddon Goddess smooth, did ya?"
I know what he's not saying: I'd have been caught if he hadn't interfered. I don't know how I feel about that. The only thing that I do know is that I'm grateful.
There's a long pause.
My palms begin to sweat. "In a language that I understand: ya are here to make sure I don't get caught on my lie and Gods forbid, killed?"
He steps closer.
"Imani." And closer. "I'm not gonna stand here and pretend like I'm not attracted to ya. Like I’m not in love with ya."
I pull him to me and he allows me. Once he's perched on the bed, he buries his face in my hair. Seconds turn to minutes. He pulls back to meet my gaze. His intense eyes find mine. His lean fingers trace the length of my stomach. I try to move, to get more of him, but it feel as if my body is tied down by invisible threads. My whole body is on fire.
He kisses my lips, a faint touch. A thrill shoots through me.
He's making it harder to concentrate. What were we talking about again? Oh!
“Is our bond the same as every other life mate's." I gasp at him. He frowns. "Since ya're a God?"
“Ja such." There's a weighty pause. Then he continues, his voice just as uneven as my own, "The mating ritual is the same."
"ya mean ya have the...human urges as well?"
D'ziko pauses for a moment. And then bursts to laughter. "I'm a man. Most importantly I'm human too...well, somewhat."
I notice an opening for the hundred questions exploding like fireworks in my head. By the way he holds me now, I know he knows my train of thought.
I hesitate. "So... it's a possibility for us?"
D'ziko makes a startled choked noise.
My heart stops dead in my chest.
Faithful Gods! Did I just say that aloud?
For some reason his breath comes more quickly against my lips. "I'll never want anyone but ya." He closes his eyes, torn. "Is that possibility enough?"
Deep breaths. Take deep breaths. Don't overthink things. Relax. Relax.
I close my eyes and lift the mask off his face, and for some reason, the feel of his skin against mine makes my breath just as ragged. I trail his face. D'ziko is smiling. I trace his lips, trying to commit his grin to memory.
"Ja," I say. "But, uh, do ya perhaps know how or why they chose me for ya?"