Raines, Elizabeth - Marooned [Wicked Missions 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Elizabeth Raines Page A

all.
    That , she could not allow.
    Popping her seat belt, Betinsa hurried to the ramp ahead of everyone else. She ducked to scoot down it before the hatch had even opened all the way. She would present herself as the one who committed the offense, confess what had happened had been all her doing, and then plead for mercy for her friends. Surely they wouldn’t execute three humans and an Odiran when it had been all her fault they’d set foot on Katenya.
    Three Fraiquans—two dressed in long, flowing, red velvet robes that marked them as members of parliament and one shaman in teal vestments—waited at the entrance to the docking area. As the sounds of footsteps coming down the ramp rang behind her, Betinsa hurried to the Fraiquans. Just as soon as she stood before them, she dropped to her knees and bowed her head. “I’m here to beg your mercy,” she said in her own language. “Not for myself, but for my friends. They have done nothing wrong. The sin of violating the sanctity of Katenya falls solely on my shoulders. Punish me. I am ready to face a righteous death. But spare the others. Please. And spare my family shame. Let them keep their name.”
    A blue hand reached out to cup her chin and force her to look up. The shaman smiled down at her. “My child, you should not kneel before us.”
    “But, sir, I—”
    His hands grasped her upper arms as he forced her to stand. “Do you not see that we are the ones who should kneel before you?”
    She blinked, not trusting her eyes as the senators and the shaman doffed their hats, each dropping to one knee and bowing his head. She didn’t even have to look over her shoulder to know that Drake and Matt had come to stand behind her. “I…I don’t understand…”
    “You saved the lives of the Charhocks,” the shaman said, his eyes rising to find hers. “And in saving the Charhocks, you saved your world. You’re now exalted, an oracle to your people. We kneel to give you our admiration and our love.”
    “But… I don’t want this... I don’t wish anyone to kneel before me.” She tried to grab the shaman’s hand from where it rested against his heart. He reluctantly let her have it, and she tried to tug him to stand. “Please. Please don’t do this.”
    The three Fraiquans got back to their feet, smiling and staring at her with such wonder in their eyes, she felt tears brimming her own. Two strong hands settled on her shoulders and the scents of her mates comforted her. Her heart pounded as she tried to take in all that was happening. Her mind refused to believe it.
    The shaman bowed to them all. “Oracle Betinsa Nungio,” he said, still in Fraiqui, “we welcome your mates and your friends. We have a feast prepared for the formal joining ceremony between you and your mates tonight. Your family has arrived, your mother ready even now to help you don the robe she wore to join with your fathers.”
    None of this was happening. She was supposed to have been slapped in chains by now as they dragged her away to await execution. Her mind simply couldn’t absorb all that the shaman had just said.
    Oracle?
    Joining ceremony?
    That finally registered. The shaman obviously knew of her comchi , probably because he was spiritually attuned to everything that happened on Katenya. But there could be no joining ceremony, it simply couldn’t happen. So as to not embarrass Matt and Drake and force them to tell the shaman that they wouldn’t marry her, she continued in her own tongue. “There can’t be a joining ceremony. I haven’t asked these men to stay with me, nor have they asked me to share their lives with them. They’re humans and don’t follow our customs. They didn’t understand the importance of claiming me as their mate.”
    An angry spark flashed in the shaman’s eyes, his frown as fierce as Earth’s winter wind. His fingers brushed the small scars on each side of her neck. “You bear the marks of your mates! And they dare refuse you the joining?”
    She