Pact by Viola Grace Page B

leaned her head against him and smiled. “It is a lovely view.”
    “Only because you are with me.” He shifted his position and kissed her.
    It was a romantic picnic. Too bad they never made it to the food.
     

Epilogue
     
     
    It was decanting day, and Mila was meeting her heir. She had spent four hours of every day reading to the little one as she grew in the tank.
    The other Brides all had their own gestation rooms and their own heirs to chat to.
    Alveck and the council were here for the decanting. Hrakin’s hands were clenching and releasing with nerves. The other Elders were staying far away from him.
    Lynni had her own heir in a harness against her chest. Tiny Yma was asleep during the tense moment with her pudgy fist against her rosebud lips. Leko had his heir in his own harness, and Keela looked even smaller on him. His tiny daughter looked around with wide eyes, but she was quiet.
    Alveck checked everything and nodded to Mila. “Ready.”
    Mila took the few steps up to the top of the tank, and she decanted her daughter, every slippery inch of her. Alveck stood by with a towel, and the moment that Niika was out of her mother’s arms, she screamed.
    Alveck nearly dropped her. Hrakin stepped in and touched his daughter, easing her into the infant scanner. She went quiet the moment that he touched her.
    Alveck ran the scans, and she didn’t cry on the equipment. The moment that he touched her, she screamed again. It was definitely an angry scream. She turned the same scarlet that Lynni sported.
    Hrakin smiled and lifted her in the towel, handing her to Mila. “It seems your daughter has your temperament.”
    Mila made a face and stroked the perfect and downy cheek. “Shut up, Elder.”
    He sighed and Lynni snickered.
    Niika’s little hands waved around, and Mila slipped her finger into her daughter’s grip. “Wow. You are impressive, little girl.”
    Niika squealed. Yma and Keela shrieked.
    Lynni and Leko went into damage control with their little ones, and the Elders looked at Niika as if she was possessed.
    Mila rocked her daughter and chuckled at the chaos she created. “We have a little disrupter in our midst.”
    Hrakin winced. “Are you sure?”
    “No, but it is a pretty safe guess. She makes the adults uneasy and upsets her peer group. It is the first sign.”
    “Please take that back.”
    Mila chuckled. “Now, why would I want to do that? She is my clone and made to be my closest genetic match on this world. She is me if I had been born pure Lrrko. Why are you surprised that I would be a disrupter?”
    Alveck snorted. “No surprise here.”
    Mila frowned at him. “Hey, you have managed over a hundred eggs out of me in the last year. Quiet or I cut off the supply.”
    Alveck held his hands up. “Right. Sorry, Ma’am.”
    Hrakin snorted. “Come on. Check the scans Alveck. Let us know if she is all right.”
    “Oh. Right.” He went to the scanner and checked the readout. “Wow. If you were born a Lrrko, you would be the scariest female I have ever met.”
    Mila looked at the infant in her arms. “Do you hear that, Niika? You are already scaring people. It is a fun sign. You are going to have your Familiar running for the hills.”
    The baby waved her hands again and let out a kittenish mewl.
    Hrakin snorted. “I think she is already imagining terrorizing him. This is going to be a very long growth period.”
    Mila looked to Alveck. “Can we take her home?”
    “Please. There is another decanting tomorrow. I don’t know what kind of havoc she would wreak with the infant.”
    Mila spoke to Niika. “We are going to get you cleaned up and get you dressed, and then, we are going to the city apartment and, then, we are heading home. You will like it. Plenty of rocks to play with and only me and your father to torture.”
    Hrakin sighed. “Come, my lovelies. We have plenty of time in the air, and then, I have a council vote to attend.”
    Mila wrinkled her nose at the baby and leaned