“I demand jet packs next time,” she snarked into her earpiece as they began running up the stairs. “Only good sex helps in a case like this but I’d rather be having sex. The next time my heart is beating this fast Lyrek better be going down on me or I’m in labor.” Darn tall apartment buildings.
“Listen, they just entered the stairwell. On each corner of the roof, I have a shield you can use to hide your presence it won’t last long. I need both of you to pick up what looks like a stick. When it’s in your hand, it will change. If you point them at each other, it will cause a beam to come out. When it’s crossed, it will take care of one of your problems. It won’t be pretty, but if they catch you, you’re dead.”
Jade was already indicating to Juliette what to do as she ran to the opposite corner. The corners looked empty until Raja sent a spark to the equipment he hid. They got the shields on just as the door to the roof opened.
It really did look like a stick on the ground she bent to picked it up hoping she wasn’t giving away her location.
“We know you’re up here.” The door to the roof slammed with a finality that shook her to the core.
She slowly crept across the roof getting closer to Juliette who was coming closer to her. They had the sticks in their hand pointed at the other when the shielding failed.
“Those shields never last long.” The male speaking was wearing a space suit along with his friends. According to Lyrek, they didn’t breathe oxygen.
“If you can’t breathe the air maybe that’s a sign you don’t belong.”
“Real shame this is such a primitive planet, I’m sure my people would love to colonize it.”
“As much fun as it would be to watch your people die like drowning rats. We said no to the special colonization package. Come back in a few thousand years we may be interested then.”
“Either way you won’t be here.”
Jade waited until they were almost on top of them before she called “now” to Juliette. They both snapped their wrists. The stick turned into a solid wand in their hands. A beam shot from it connecting to the other wand. They ran at their killers slicing all four of them in half before they realized what was happening.
“They’re dead.” Juliette turned and lost her breakfast on the side of the roof.
“I know,” Jade’s voice held a shade of compassion. “It was us or them. Since we were minding our own business, I thought it was only right it be them.”
Juliette nodded wiping the back of her hand over her mouth.
“Get us down from here Raja.”
“There’s a trans disc in front of you it will take you to the next rooftop.”
“Let’s go.” She took Juliette’s hand, and they stepped on the disc together. Each roof had one until they were safely two blocks away.
“They’ll meet you in one block. Rolun’s says stop having fun without him. Jayton’s upset that he didn’t get to go.”
“If only I knew whether you guys prefer my company or just the death and mayhem that surrounds me.”
“You,” Jayton’s voice came through. “We can find death and mayhem anywhere.”
“Aww I love you too.”
“No one said anything about love.”
They stepped off the last trans disc. They were on the street. She didn’t want to bring attention to themselves by laughing at Jayton like she was crazy.
“Hey baby,” she wrapped her arm around Juliette. “You know I get a little crazy when I’m not close to you.” Several people smiled, and some backed away not that she gave a fuck. One block to go and she knew they weren’t out of the woods.
“I don’t think that’s normal,” Juliette whispered in her ear.
She turned her head to realize that her every wet dream was walking towards her. There was a photo shoot that had to happen. Five men all who appeared black were walking with just enough speed to catch up with them. They looked like they rolled in from the beach. Every muscle was shining bright with a come lick me sign that most females stopped to pay homage too. They looked like brothers and she could feel her fingers ache to touch.
You got a man hussy, stop this.
“It’s for research.”
She loved her byema they were too much alike.
“Too bad they want us dead.”
“Glad your back to your normal self,” Raja huffed. “If you want to live start with the running.”
“Red, act like this is an episode of Bay Watch and start running.” They darted through the crowds as several women suddenly were unable to move as the men chasing them tried to pass. She suddenly wanted to give out a reward to horny handsy women. They created enough diversion to get them to Rolun and his paired-down team.
They surrounded Jade and Red, subtly indicating the weapons at their side. The team chasing her move backed.
“Alright I have a burning need for hot chocolate,” Jade told them.
“I wouldn’t mind some of that myself,” Red grinned at her.
“There will be no more outings without your security team. We can’t protect you if we aren’t here. Juliette—.”
“Call her Red.”
“Red?” Her eyes searched Jade’s.
“It’s the hair. Do you want another nickname?”
“Like Black Widow?”
“If you like it.”
“I like Red.”
“Well, let’s go buy a dress Red.”
Chapter Twenty-two
Jade looked at the dress lying over the back of the couch. It was beautiful and one she wasn’t going to wear. It would look good on Em. A small smile tugged at her lips. Today was her wedding/ coronation. When she became queen, she would also become a wife. She wiped at the tear that slid down her face. Happiness lived within her but there was a sadness that held her down when she wished her friends could be at this moment.
“Jade.”
“Ignore me. I was just thinking a friend of mine would look great in that.”
“That’s why I…”
Screaming sounded in front of the door to her suite. The sound sent nails down her back like chalk on the blackboard.
“What the…?”
The door banged open. Jaydel walked in with Emerald in his arms carry her bridal style. She was screaming at the top of her lungs.
“Help he kidnapped me, help me.”
“Stop it! You know that’s not true.”
“Put me down.” The lights blinked at the shrillness of her voice.
He practically threw her down, but she was never in danger of falling.
“Jade!” Em screamed and ran into her arms. “Help me! He Kidnapped me.” She stood trembling in her friend’s arms.
Jade looked but there weren’t any tears, but anger slithered over her face.
“What is happening?” Lyrek walked into the room.
“You asked me to get Jade’s best friend and bring her here. I did. Never again.”
“He!” Em’s voice went up as her trembling finger pointed at Jaydel. “He kidnapped me.”
“Jaydel, did you ask her to come?” Lyrek said.
“Why would I ask? I knew she wanted to come.”
“Jay, that’s called kidnapping?” Jade placed her hands on her hips.
“So? Humans do it all the time.”
“That doesn’t make it right,” Em screamed at him. She detached from Jade and walked in front of Jaydel. She picked up one foot and kicked him.
“That little hellion kicked me. Aren’t you going to do something about it?” His mouth twitched before he turned and walked out of the room. “See if I help again.”
“He’s getting away.”
“You’ll see him later.”
“Jade!”
“Em! Correct me if I’m wrong. He carried you in here bridal style so he didn’t hurt you. Your hands and feet were not bound. I can’t see anywhere you were hit or hurt. He didn’t knock you out and I swear I caught an almost smile when you kicked him. On top of that you hollered and scream
ed the whole way here but somehow managed not to take out your cell phone or fall out the car door. Should I go on?”
“I was scared in the beginning.”
“That I believe.”
“You’re getting married and becoming queen?”
“It’s like a two for one deal.”
“Do you want to marry him?”
“Yeah, I love him Em. Em, this is Red. She helped me with the dresses.”
“I love your hair, it’s marvelous.”
“Thank you. Yours will be great too after we tame it.”
“It was his fault,” she worked herself back up.
“Then we should show him how beautiful you are so he’s drooling.”
“I like your style Red.”
“She grows on you. Let’s hit the bedroom.”
*~*~*~*~*
They did mani-pedis and facials, then went for a massage. Now they were dressed in their lingerie with beautiful robes covering them that read queen and queen’s attendants.
That was the on-target part of the day. Now they were trying not to laugh as they made their way out to the royal garden.
“We are going to get into trouble,” Red complained.
“What she said,” Em seconded.
“You guys have no spirit of adventure.”
“Not all of us like being shot at,” Red muttered.
“You were shot at?” Em shivered her eyes said she wasn’t sure if she should freak out or not.
“Yeah,” Red’s head bobbed up and down. “It’s not a lot of fun. There is no cool guy like on television that knows exactly what to do.”
“I feel sorry for you. Jade has always been sort of a wild one.” Red nodded her head in agreement.
“I’m going to the garden the two of you stand around talking in the hallway.”
Jade walked out until she found blankets on the ground and a cooler next to them. Lyrek listened even when he acted like his mind was miles away. She sat down and waited for her friends to come out.
“Are you rethinking this?” Em asked her.
They opened the picnic basket to find wine spritzers. Jade smiled and thought of her male, her king.
“No, it’s just real. Everything I did to get to this point seems insignificant now that I’m here. I’m taking a step that will make my government see me and any child I ever have as different. I’ll be a citizen of two worlds, not one.
“I reached the point of no return a long time ago but today I feel it.”
“You’re the first one of us to get married. It doesn’t feel real.”
“I know, I wish they all could be here, but just having you here is dangerous enough for you.”
“Stop it, you know I’m willing to face any danger to be with you.”
She did know that’s what made her feel like she was taking advantage of a friend.
“I know,” she reached over and grabbed her hand.
“What’s wrong?” Em moved until she was in her face. “No more B.S.-ing.”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re scared,” Red told her.
“No, I’m not.”
“Let me tell you what I see.” Jade nodded. “When we went to finalize the details on the dress she would wear, I told Jade to leave her security detail because we were supposed to be covered by another detail. When we got to the building, they weren’t there and someone tried to kill us. Jade jumped into action when I was ready to melt on the street. She made me kick off my heels in order to survive.”
“I feel bad about that. I’ll reimburse you for them. They looked expensive.”
“They were but what I got out of it was more than a hundred pair of shoes would be worth. We ran, we fought together, and we won. Then we went shopping. I quietly came apart but not Jade. Anyone who saw her would have never known what she did to survive. I have my doubts though. I think when she came back here and got behind closed doors with her king that she came apart.”
“I did. His arms are my safety. I can show him my weakness and know he will protect me.”
“I think this is the same. You keep going until there’s a chance for you to set the strong you aside for the one that needs reassurance.”
“Red what did you gain that day?”
“A friend.”
Jade reached out and took her hand. “I gained a friend that day too.”
She laid back and watched the clouds slowly spread across the sky. If she was honest, she was scared. It had nothing to do with the byema that lived within her or the men who wanted her dead. Lyrek made her happy even when he was acting like a typical male.
She was scared because everything she ever wanted was within reach. There was a fear deep inside that if she had the nerve to reach for it, it would wither at her fingertips. Fear was a real thing. Once more she took a deep breath and looked that killer of life in its eyes. She was getting married and nothing or no one was going to stop her.
“Let’s go I have a dress and a crown to wear.”
Em and Red whooped as they challenged her to race.
*~*~*~*~*
“We’re going on a spaceship?” Em sat back in the chair she just stood up from. “Don’t you think you should have told me this earlier?” She glared at Jade her hands sitting on her hips even as she tried not to play with her dress.
“How much earlier Em?”
“Oh I don’t know, maybe fourth grade when we met so I would have time to adjust,” sarcasm flowed from her.
“You look beautiful.” The dress wasn’t Em’s preferred color. It was done in a pastel rose that made her look young, innocent, and vibrant. Jade kept taking peeks at her because she never imagined her friends dressed like princesses.
Red was dressed in a purple creation that set off her hair and her body like she was a diva in waiting.
“We pale in comparison to you.”
“No, you're both just the best.” They stood when Lyrek came in. The smile on his face was everything Jade could ever want. In the hallway stood the king's guard and the queen's guard.
This was going to happen and the trepidation that nipped at her heels all day long melted away. She was committed to her male and both her people.
Lyrek stretched out his hand she took it. He placed a silver cape over her shoulders before they moved into the hallway. They were surrounded by guards as they walked into the royal transportation area.
They used a simple method of molecular transfer that made her head spin. If she hadn’t seen it work more than once, she would never have agreed to this.
The process was painless, and she resisted barely by the shine of her white teeth to keep from sending her hands all over her body to make sure she was all there. Em and Red did not. She was going to be hearing about this for days and it’s what gave her the courage to walk off the platform head held high. She might not be a queen yet, but she took the time to study the real queen. Regal had become her middle name when it was needed. Fortunately, there were only so many formal dinners they could have in a month.
“The reception area has been prepared my king, will you and the queen in waiting go directly there?”
Jade didn’t know the male speaking, but she had been briefed and then debriefed on the formal edict.
“The queen and I will proceed to my quarters; our entourage will go ahead of us.”
“Very good my king.”
Four of Lyrek’s guards and four of hers surrounded them as they were led away. The other guards went with their entourage.
She wasn’t sure what she was expecting from a spaceship, but part of her thought it would be utilitarian gray. That’s not what it was. The color scheme was done in silver and blue showing respect to the colors that Lyrek claimed for himself long before he came to earth. It was more than that it was pleasant.
It was built in a way that gave her more a sense of peace than an oncoming battle.
“Our people may go years or centuries without visiting home. We try to make the ships as comfort
able as possible. To be willing to leave family and planet took a special type of Porcoyan. One of the ways we thanked them was to make them comfortable as possible.”
She spent part of her childhood wishing she could be the one on the starship. Now the thought of leaving everything and everyone she knew left her with a knot in her stomach. Change happened without her realizing it. One day she may have to leave, the earth may decide to reject them. That was a thought for a different day.
“Wow, this is nice.”
“All the rooms are bigger than you think but the biggest is mine.”
There was a viewscreen on one wall that she knew would allow her to see the stars or to talk to others on the ship.
“One day I would like to see the bridge.”
“I’ll give you a personal tour.” She walked across to a small space he set up for entertaining. “It can be easier to have my officers in here than to talk to them in the command room.”
“I think what gets me is that this is all normal. I keep expecting someone to shout out Candid Camera or some other show to tell it’s all unreal.”
“It’s real abraza, more importantly, the way I feel about you is real.” He drew her into his arms and kissed her gently. “Any time you want to stop.”
“I want it all with you.”
A knock at the door startled her.
“It’s time.”
She squared her shoulders smiling. It was time to become a queen.
Chapter Twenty-three
Jade was standing in the back of a large room. She was hidden behind a privacy screen as she watched Lyrek walk through the room on the way to the throne that was set up for him. It was the actual throne that was used to move from ship to ship when the Royals were leaving the planet. This was the last ship they visited. There was a throne room that she would see eventually.
Lyrek was dressed in a royal blue, the suit was a design from his planet that the king in waiting wore to his coronation. She wanted to drool over his muscles as he walked the lined aisle that led to his throne. She watched as his people each bowed as he passed by. The humans had chosen to salute or tilt their head in acknowledgment of this momentous occasion.
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