The Breeding Prize - Aya Morningstar Page 0,56

doesn't though, it just stands patiently and waits for me to mount it.

I throw my leg over and get on top, behind Annabelle. I don't even need to guide the destrier. It knows where we need to go, and it turns toward the mountains and breaks into a steady trot. We galloped at full speed to reach Annabelle, but now that we have her, it knows that there's no rush to get back the way we came.

I spot Kula in the distance after twenty or thirty minutes. I see the light of his axe before I see him.

When I reach him, he looks up at us. The destrier stops. "I assume it's done?" Kula asks.

I nod. "He's dead, and she's pregnant."

I cover Annabelle’s nakedness with my hands. Kula keeps his eyes down.

Kula grins and puts his axe away. "Welcome to the family, Annabelle. Wait until I tell Ellie that our little one is going to have a cousin."

"Half-cousin," Raiska says.

Kula gives a dismissive wave of his hand. "Come now, after all we've been through, Raiska. We're no longer half-brothers. We are brothers."

Twenty-Five

Annabelle

We reached Kula's house around dawn. I took a shower and collapsed into bed with Raiska. We just held each other, as we were both too exhausted for anything more.

A med bot had taken care of both of us as soon as we reached the border of Thrace, and a car came to take us to Kula's house.

With Philos dead and the Breeding Games over, Kula said that Ellie would be happy to have us stay with them until we got a place of our own.

I wake up with Raiska's hand on my stomach. He's out cold. I slither out of his arms and go to get a drink of water. It's light outside. I check the time and see that it's already late afternoon.

We've slept a long time, but we both must have needed it. I smile at Raiska. It seems like he needs the sleep even more than I do.

I consider staying with him, but I can't sleep anymore. I need to move around. I also feel weird sleeping in Ellie's house without even saying hello to her. I don't at all feel annoyed at her for kicking us out the first time. I'd have done the exact same thing. I put a hand on my belly. I really understand her now.

I get dressed and head out into the kitchen. Ellie and Kula are both in the kitchen. Pots and pans are everywhere, and there are all kinds of fresh and delicious smells wafting through the air.

“What’s this?” I ask.

They both stop and look up at me.

“You’re up!” Ellie says. “Congratulations.”

I smile. “I still feel like I should get a pregnancy test. The Ulkar are not exactly what I want to trust to know I’m pregnant.”

Ellie smiles. “I hear that.”

“You two don’t have to do all of this. I can just eat some synthesized stuff.”

Kula glares at me. “We have a rule in my house. Food may never be synthesized.”

He opens the oven and pulls out a freshly baked loaf of bread.

“That does smell delicious, Kula.”

“Where is my brother?” he asks. “Sleeping in?”

“I didn’t want to wake him.”

“I will wake him,” Kula says.

Kula doesn’t even take his apron off. He marches toward the guest bedroom, disappearing down the hall.

“Are you excited?” Ellie asks me, testing some sauce on her spoon.

I nod. “It’s...overwhelming.”

“I just heard that the Council is making contact with Earth. We’ll be able to go back soon. Apparently when you guys had that battle in the library, it more or less forced their hands. There were too many witnesses. Too many YouTube videos. I think they were going to do it soon anyway, but the Breeding Games accelerated the process.”

“Are you...going to go back?”

Ellie nods, but it’s a cautious nod. “I want to have my baby here. After I do, I’ll go back. For a short trip at least. I need to tell my family and friends that I’m still alive. Once everyone has seen me and the baby, and met Kula, I’ll come back here. Lakria is my home now. What will you do?”

“Umm,” I mutter, “I think Raiska likes it here.”

“Do you?”

“I do. I wouldn’t mind staying here, but would we be able to go to Earth whenever we wanted?”

“Yeah,” she says, “you would. Raiska can teleport, so it would be a very short trip. I’m pretty sure you could even keep working in the library. Work on Earth, live on Lakria.”

“That sounds