Materfamilias Read online

  Materfamilias

  A Space Merchants Novel

  By Wendie Nordgren

  Copyright © 2018 by Wendie Nordgren

  www.wendienordgren.com

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, places, and events are fictional and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Design by Victoria Cooper Art

  Also by Wendie Nordgren

  The Space Merchants Series

  The Space Merchants Book One

  The Space Merchants of Arachne Book Two

  The Parvac Emperor’s Daughter Book Three

  Omnes Videntes Book Four

  The Spider Queen Book Five

  The Inquisitors Book Six

  Omnes Videntes Series

  Xavier

  Jazon

  Thunderdrop

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter One

  Sighing in contentment, I stroked Thunderdrop’s back and watched the butterflies as they performed aerial dances in their blue-winged magnificence. Other than the gentle breeze rustling the leaves and the slight creaking of the hammock upon which I reclined, it was blissfully quiet. We were residing currently on the property of Vice Admiral Dario Galerius on Daphoene. I was enjoying a shaded spot a few yards away from the pool.

  A few days had elapsed since Terre, Tracy, Sparrow, and I had forfeited participation in Inquisitor Rovek’s survival challenge. If we all hadn’t been brought down by morning sickness, we would have succeeded. It hadn’t been much of a challenge.

  Dario, his father, Praetor Galerius, and Fitz Jiri had gone to the land port to welcome my mother, Empress Neema of Parvac, and Terre’s mother, the Lady Dacia of Naxa, to Daphoene. Our mothers had left Parvac as soon as word had reached them that their daughters were expecting. How our mothers would behave, I had no idea. I dreaded being bossed around and controlled. While escape in my warship, the Empress, would be easily accomplished, hurting my mother’s feelings would negate the benefits. I was determined to accept her ministrations with the grace of a martyr.

  Even though Thunderdrop and I enjoyed the illusion of solitude, it wasn’t the reality. Inquisitors Drex Licinius and Eli Beck were near, and my Omnes Videntes, hybrid telepathic and empathic warriors, guarded the property, but I would take what I could get.

  The loss of both General Luca Braga and our unborn child weighed heavily upon me and was a pain which I knew I would always carry. I wouldn’t take any foolish risks with the child I now carried within my womb. Every order given to me by Dr. Phillip Svenson, my adopted brother-in-law, I intended to follow as though it was a decree passed by Emperor Tavere Probus, my sweet Papa. However, I didn’t necessarily want Phillip to know it.

  Since Yukihyo and Zared, two of my gorgeous Laconian husbands, had decided to amuse themselves by not telling me if the child I carried was Laconian, Parvacian, or Eloneave, I had no idea if my healthy lifestyle would be for the next nine or eleven months. It would be a few weeks before medical scans could make the determination for me. The point they were making was clear. It didn’t matter who had fathered my child.

  My husbands, Yukihyo Lee, General Nico Cassian, Commander Quaid Bosh, Fitz Jiri, Zared Ponidi, Inquisitor Drex Licinius, Vice Admiral Dario Galerius, Inquisitor Eli Beck, and Admiral Farowyn, would each love and protect my child as if he or she was their own. The knowledge reinforced the sense of safety I had been developing since Yukihyo had come into my life.

  With another stroke of Thunderdrop’s back, I said, “Let’s go see what kind of snacks are in the kitchen.”

  “Chirp!”

  My best friend, an Arachnean Silk spider of the finest breeding, hopped down from my stomach to the ground and watched me with eyes like the most expensive black pearls.

  I had only managed to sit up and shift my weight to my left hip in preparation of getting up when I heard, “Dearest one, allow me to help you.” Drex offered me his hand.

  Sighing, I gazed up at his average brown hair and eyes. As an Inquisitor, he had mastered the ability of blending in and going unnoticed. It was a strength for spies of the Parvac Empire to possess.

  Eli stood nearby. He had been doing less to blend in and more to show off his sexy muscles. He knew I had a weakness for powerful male physiques and masculine chest hair. Combined, those two attributes could easily distract me from reason.

  “Drex, I’m fine. I can get up from a hammock without help.” To prove my point, I sat up in preparation to stand and was overcome with dizziness. Luckily, I had taken Drex’s hand when he had offered it to me. I put my head on his shoulder, closed my eyes, and breathed through it.

  “Chitter! Chitter!” Thunderdrop admonished.

  “Okay. You’re right. I do need help. Maybe, this is Farowyn’s baby. I don’t remember ever being this dizzy, tired, and sick with Neema or Niklos.”

  With his free hand, Drex stroked my back. “It’s alright, my love. I am eager to assist you with the most insignificant of tasks. Being in your company is my reward.”

  Lifting my head weakly from his shoulder, I kissed his cheek. I caught sight of Eli scanning with his eyes for dangers. His hand shot out and seized a mosquito before it could attack. I bit my lip to keep from laughing at him. Drex decided that walking was too dangerous and carried me to the house.

  In the kitchen, Dario’s chef asked, “How may I be of service?”

  I frowned. “I don’t know. I’ll just look around and see.”

  He bowed and began setting a place for me.

  Opening the cold storage, I searched the shelves. I ended up with a cheese dip and crackers. Moments later, I gazed sadly at the empty container.

  Eli said, “I will get you more. Is there anything else you would like?”

  Violet joined us in the kitchen. “I want ice cream,” she volunteered.

  “What flavor?” Eli asked.

  Meeting his eyes, she said, “Yes.”

  Turning my attention to the chef, I asked, “Can you make orange chicken?”

  Violet said, “Oh, and those crab wontons?”

  “Don’t forget crackers, Eli. Get the Naxan bison flavored ones,” I said.

  Violet nodded.

  He vanished, intent on his mission.

  “Chirp!” Thunderdrop jumped to the counter.

  “Drex, be a dear and feed him. I can’t handle his food.”

  While Violet and I had appetites, Tracy, Terre, and Sparrow wanted nothing to do with food or smells.

  Violet asked, “What’s got your forehead all scrunched up in concern?”

  “Shouldn’t I still be feeling sick like them?”

  She shrugged. “Each pregnancy is different.”

  “She’s right, Cupcake. Be grateful you had such a short bout of sickness.” Phillip made a glass of fizzy water and stuck a straw in it.

  “She had a dizzy spell,” Drex tattled.

  Phillip scanned me. “She’s fine. Stick to her like glue. Don’t let her fall. Be prepared.”

  Drex nodded. His face was a mask of seriousness
and conviction while he filled Thunderdrop’s bowl. I was so concerned with my baby’s safety that I didn’t even flip Phillip off. He was trying to piss me off by putting ideas into Drex’s head, but I actually wanted my husbands to keep me under constant surveillance.

  “Hey. Don’t be afraid,” Violet whispered as she covered my hand with hers. “It wasn’t anything you did, and nothing could have prevented it.”

  “Is my face so easy for you to read?” Intellectually, I knew she spoke the truth, but a part of me would always wonder if things could have been different. She patted my hand and shifted her weight to a more comfortable position. A brilliant idea came to me as the chef was placing a platter of fried wontons between us. “Can you make ice cubes out of milk and put them in pineapple juice?”

  Smiling, he said, “Of course, one moment please.”

  Violet looked at me like I was a genius. We turned our combined attention to the wontons. Eli had returned by the time they had disappeared.

  “Mommy! Mommy!” Neema yelled as she ran to me and climbed onto my lap. “I want crackers.”

  “Here you go,” Eli said as he arranged a few on a plate for us.

  She took one in each hand and made them walk across the table. Yes, I was an adult, but my favorite crackers of the moment were seasoned with Naxan bison flavoring and shaped like them as well.

  “Oof!” Niklos exclaimed as he ran to me and bumped against my thigh, making Neema break one of her crackers.

  With a sigh, she ate the broken pieces and took another one.

  “Oh, my goodness. You are sweaty,” I said to my son. His blonde hair was stuck to his head.

  “Rory and I play tag,” Niklos told me.

  Rory Galerius was a new cousin to my children through marriage and had quickly become Niklos’ best friend.

  “Mommy,” Niklos stated as though beginning a preamble.

  I gave him my attention and a cracker. “Yes, darling?”

  “How come I don’t get training? Rory gets to. I want to.” His green and gold eyes were fierce.

  Having no idea as to what my baby was referring, I called out, “Nico?”

  My blonde giant, General Nico Cassian, Niklos’ father, entered and took a couple of cups over to the beverage dispenser which he filled and handed to the children.

  “Training with Rory? What’s that about?”

  Nico said, “Niklos, do we want Mommy feeling worried or upset?”

  Niklos swayed forward and back with one of his hands on my thigh, his other holding onto the table, and big eyes on his daddy. “No, sir.”

  Patting my son’s sweaty back, I said, “You can tell me. I won’t get upset. I promise.” Whatever it was, it was important to my miniature blonde giant.

  Begrudgingly, Nico said, “Niklos’ cousins have begun their training. He wants to be included with the other boys his age.”

  “Training like fighting training?” I looked down at my baby. He still wore a diaper at bedtime to protect against accidents. I felt Zared’s empathic touch as he helped me to remain calm. Telepathically, I begged him, “Please, don’t let me cry.”

  Silently, he responded, “You’re alright. This is a normal activity for Parvacian boys his age. Their training usually begins after learning to walk.”

  Nico said, “It’s not dangerous. At first, they learn how to stand.”

  I scowled.

  To Drex, Nico said, “Help me out here.”

  Standing side by side, the two men grinned at each other and then gracefully went through a series of stances, ending at ease with their hands behind their backs. Niklos tried to mimic them but ended up spinning in a circle before dropping to the floor and making his Naxan bison crackers fight each other.

  Nico said, “That, Princess Probus, is what little boys learn the first year.”

  Niklos looked up at me. “Can I, Mommy?”

  Nervously, I said, “If it’s okay with your father.”

  Nico grinned at me. He said to Niklos, “You can join Rory’s class tomorrow.”

  “Woo! Woo!” Niklos said as he jumped up and down. Then, he stopped to slurp down his cup of juice.

  “Mommy,” Neema said in a serious tone.

  “Yes?”

  “Neema wants to play training, too.”

  “Okay, but we have to make sure it’s okay with Daddy.”

  Nico, Drex, Eli, and even the chef exchanged looks. I pointed at each of them with a cracker. However, the angry tirade on equality into which I was about to launch was interrupted before I could begin.

  “Talk to Daddy about what?” Yukihyo asked as he entered the kitchen.

  Neema pulled my arm to herself and took my cracker. “Can Neema do this?” She slid down to the floor from my lap and mimicked two of the stances previously demonstrated by Nico and Drex.

  “Will I get to watch?”

  Neema nodded her head of soft, dove-grey hair at Yukihyo.

  “Is it alright with Mommy?” he asked.

  Neema spun around to me.

  “Yes, my love,” I answered.

  She grinned at me and made my heart melt.

  “Well, Neema, it appears you may very well be the first little girl to enter Warrior Caste training,” Drex said.

  “Daddy Drex, Neema’s special.” She smiled sweetly at him.

  He looked down into her eyes with a certain look that I had seen before. She had taken his heart, as she had taken others, and mashed it to mush. Drex squatted and held open his arms. Neema went to him and bit the head off of her cracker. Yukihyo was leaning against the counter with a smug look on his face. Daddy Drex picked Neema up and held her on his hip. He was done. The mighty Inquisitor Drex Licinius, who had, with the use of only one hand, battled ice bears and wolves on the planet Chione in order to protect me, had been defeated with his new title.

  Niklos said, “Daddy Drex, we want to go swim.”

  The man was a puddle. He’d fit right in at the pool. He said, “Well, then, that is just what we shall do.”

  Lorca popped into the kitchen from nearby. “Come, children. Let’s get changed.”

  Drex placed Neema on her feet. She skipped along with Niklos to prepare for the pool.

  “Ma! Ma!” Peter cried.

  Smiling, I held my arms open as Pierce brought him to me. Peter and I held our faces close and touched noses. Then, with his little clawed hand, he took his customary hold of my hair.

  “Oh!” Violet said with delight as the chef placed orange chicken in front of us. Word of my favorite recipes had spread, and none of us were complaining.

  “Drex,” I said in a cajoling tone.

  “Yes, dearest one?” he asked as he turned back toward me.

  “Be sure to get Niklos’ hair wet.” I winked at him. The pool had become our quick fix for sweaty little kids.

  He grinned and went to change.

  Yukihyo sat beside me. Violet and I weren’t the only ones who were hungry for Uncle Lee’s recipes. The three of us spent a few moments in companionable silence while we enjoyed the food.

  “Yukihyo….” I was going to ask him yet again if my child was Laconian, but Neema and Niklos ran laughing through the kitchen in their swim suits with Lorca and Drex close behind. Even though Parvacs weren’t fond of wearing swim attire, since I had taken Dario as a husband, I was mistress of the house, and all of my rules applied. He had insisted that everything be as I wished. Personally, I couldn’t wait to make Momma and Lady Dacia wear suits into the pool. I hoped they’d be horrified. At least, it put Tracy and Violet at ease.

  A commotion occurring at the front of the house could be heard throughout it. A procession of transports had arrived. I could hear an overly excited Lady Dacia being led away to Terre and Phillip’s room. Then, Momma was gliding into the kitchen.

  “Oh, my baby! I came as soon as I heard. Oh, I’m so happy for you!” Momma was all over me. Yukihyo took Peter which saved him from my fate. My face was squished into Momma’s boobs, and then she went on a kissing spre
e. “Oh! My sweet!” She let me go enough so that she could place her palm over my stomach. “How are you feeling?” She moved my hair so that it fell down my back and then combed through it with her fingers.

  “I’m okay. I’m tired, hungry, and a little dizzy. I don’t feel sick except with certain smells. Shouldn’t the sickness have lasted longer?”

  “Consider yourself lucky and don’t worry about anything. I intend to make everything perfect for you.”

  “Honestly, at the moment, I think Tracy, Sparrow, and Terre need you more than I do, but when they get sick, it makes me sick.” I felt bad that I wasn’t being more supportive, but when I had tried to hold Sparrow’s hair out of her way while she was sick in the waste unit and had ended up throwing up on her back, we decided I should be supportive from a distance.

  Momma rubbed circles on my back. She kissed the top of my head and whispered, “I’ll go check on them at once.”

  I smiled at her and then watched as her white dress swirled behind her retreating form.

  “You were safe before but are even more so now. Empress Neema has brought with her a contingent of her Imperial Guards led by Captain Aegisthus,” Fitz announced as he walked to stand behind me, put his arms around me, and kissed my cheek.

  “Thank you for collecting everyone from the land port. I don’t even want to think about riding anywhere.”

  Dario said, “I’m glad to hear it. Stay here for as long as you like. I would encourage you to stay forever. If this house isn’t to your satisfaction, or should you become bored with it, I will buy you another.”

  “Oh, Dario, this house as you refer to it, is perfect. I feel very much at home here, and the food is fantastic.” I placed a piece of orange chicken between two crackers and ate it.

  Peter wanted a cracker, so I took him back from Yukihyo and let him play with one. It ended up in his mouth where it became a gooey mess. Not caring, I gave him another. It was a simple thing to rinse off outside and then slip into the pool.

  “Come on, Nanite. Uncle Fip will take you to splash. Why should your brother and sister have all of the fun?” He held out his hands to him, and Peter went to him. The baby was always eager to go and splash.