Oath Forger (Book 3)

by Nia Mars

  “Yes.”

  The somber tone of his voice makes my attention snap back to him. He’s taller than Uthan, the tallest of the men. Where Uthan is golden, Tiam is silver. His features are...noble. He is princely, it occurs to me, in a fairy tale kind of way. I’m never going to tell him that. He would lord it over Koah until Koah tackled him.

  Focus! What were we talking about? Punishment.

  I swallow hard. “Like what? Not too bad, right? I could have just made an honest mistake.”

  “You don’t have to worry about any punishment. You are the Oath Forger.”

  His careful avoidance of answering my question tells me that the punishment is bad.

  “But if they don’t think I’m the Oath Forger? If they decide I’m lying?”

  He reaches for my hands. “We wouldn’t let them take you.”

  Okay, he’s scaring me now. “Take me where?”

  He draws me to his chest. “Oath Forger is our highest office, our most sacred position,” he says next to my ear. “Pretending would have severe consequences.”

  I pull back. My throat constricts. “Am I going to be executed?”

  I’m kind of half-joking, but when he doesn’t respond, just looks at me with his fierce gray eyes, cold dread skitters up my spine. “Oh my God. Seriously?”

  My hand flies to my neck.

  He drags me back to his chest. “Not executed.” His tone is pained. “Exiled.”

  I pull back again. I need to see Tiam’s face for this discussion. “Exiled to where?”

  “A distant mining colony.”

  “Sounds unpleasant.” Then again, I’ve lived underground all my life on Earth. “For how long?”

  “Exiling is a life sentence.”

  I’m scared spitless, but I try to make a joke of it. “But you’d still write, right?”

  “People in exile are not allowed off-planet contact.”

  So I’d never see or talk to The Five ever again. Or my sister. There’s a dark pressure on my heart, as if the whole palace had collapsed on it, as if it’s being buried in dust and darkness.

  I’m not going to cry. I draw a ragged breath. “I bet the miners are a fun bunch.”

  “Not all mining planets have miners. Most just have the equipment.”

  “All by myself then?” I can’t imagine the desolate loneliness.

  Tiam rests his forehead against mine. “You’re not going to fail the hearing.”

  I appreciate the comfort of his touch, but I’m too nervous to stand still. I draw him down the nearest path. “Let’s walk.”

  “You are the Oath Forger. They have to confirm you.”

  I wish everyone would stop saying that. It doesn’t help.

  “How do you know?” I challenge him.

  His answering smile is full of warmth. “Because you’re in my heart.”

  My knees buckle. I pretend I tripped on a branch. My crushed heart digs itself out of the rubble and brushes the dust off its shoulders.

  I don’t know how to respond to Tiam’s comment. I hesitate so long, that he begins to talk.

  “I researched the Zebet and Oath Forgers. There are only sixteen Oath Forgers on record in all known history. The Oath Forger and his or her kreks create a ruling unit. They have the most power of any group in the entire Federation.”

  I try to digest all this.

  “When there isn’t an Oath Forger in office, each krek governs his own Alliance. Inter-Alliance governance is left to the Zebet. They have the power to resolve disputes between Alliances and kreks.”

  “So, if there is no Oath Forger, then the Zebet is more powerful than when there is an Oath Forger?”

  He nods.

  “So, if I’m really an Oath Forger, then the Zebet loses at least some power? So it’s in their best interest to decide that I’m not the Oath Forger.”

  “They’re not going to falsify your existence.”

  “Why not?”

  “For one, they all swear an oath to their office. They swear to uphold justice. They swear to yield power to the Oath Forger should one appear.”

  I think about that as we walk. “Maybe you’re right. I can see some people in the Zebet turning power-hungry and dishonest, but some have to be moral and ethical. There were hundreds of them when I went into that pirate hearing thing where I met Koah.”

  Tiam’s fingers tighten around my hand. “The entire Zebet is not coming. Only an evaluation committee of six.”

  Actually, that sounds almost manageable. I relax a little. “And how do they come to a decision?”

  “There’s a protocol. It begins with an informal introduction tomorrow. Three days later, there’s a formal hearing where they ask you questions. The kreks are allowed to attend, but we are not allowed to speak at this hearing. We can, however, submit supporting statements after the hearing. The committee withdraws, and they discuss their opinions of the hearing, then their opinions on any supporting statements. They deliberate, then vote either for or against officially confirming you as the Oath Forger.”

  “Majority vote wins?” Might as well be optimistic.

  “For confirmation, the vote must be unanimous.”

  Shit. “So...what does one wear on a mining planet?”

  Tiam gives me an exasperated laugh as he stops and puts his long-fingered hands on my shoulders. “The day you go to a mining planet, I’ll become a miner.”

  His heart is in his eyes. He means what he says.

  “And don’t think the others won’t,” he adds. “We’ll all be wielding pickaxes right next to you.”

  I grin. “Roax too?”

  “Probably not Roax,” Tiam concedes and grins back. “He’ll be wielding a whip.”

  He frowns.

  “What?”

  “Freaking Dason,” he says. “He’s the youngest. He probably won’t even get a backache.”

  How I’m suddenly laughing in the middle of a conversation about my possible exile, I have no idea. But I do laugh, collapsing against Tiam’s hard chest.

  When I raise my face to his, kissing him is as natural as breathing.

  I had kissed Uthan just hours ago, yet I feel no conflict, no guilt. I feel that this is right. I want more. I don’t want to have to give this up. I don’t want to go into exile.

  The thought of losing Tiam, losing The Five, brings hot tears into my eyes.

  Tiam must feel the dampness, because his thumbs wipe away the tears. His voice is a broken whisper against my lips. “My Ava, don’t cry.”

  Footsteps crunch on gravel behind us, and when I half-turn, I see Uthan coming up the path. He takes us in, me in Tiam’s arms, but he doesn’t look angry, doesn’t stop. He comes up to us and puts his arms around me from behind.

  I’m held between two strong, warm bodies, and feel instantly comforted.

  Tiam shoots a questioning look at Uthan over my shoulder.

  “I felt her distress,” Uthan says behind me.

  Tiam draws his eyebrows up.

  I feel Uthan shrug. His hands come up to caress my arms. I sigh in pleasure and lay my head against Tiam’s chest. The three of us fit perfectly together.

  I’m relieved and happy that at least two of the five kreks can be together with me without going at each other’s throats. I appreciate it so much, that I raise my head and brush my lips over Tiam’s, then turn to Uthan and brush my lips over his.

  “Well, isn’t this a pretty picture?” The words come in a lazy, mocking drawl.

  Roax stands at the turn in the path, watching us with sparkling obsidian eyes.

  I jump from between Tiam and Uthan’s embrace. Then I flinch and stop moving. I shouldn’t let Roax dictate what I do or don’t do.

  He reads my emotions and laughs.

  Tiam and Uthan pull up close behind me, as if they’re my bodyguards.

  Roax doesn’t bother to look at them. He keeps his dark gazed fused to mine. “Grown adventurous since I saw you this morning, have you, Ava Mine?”

  “It’
s none of your business.”

  “Isn’t it?”

  “Go away.”

  “I was rather hoping you’d ask me to join in.”

  The heat in his eyes could melt glass. I’m so not equipped to deal with Roax.

  “She has some difficult days ahead of her,” Uthan tells him, stepping forward. “Don’t upset her.”

  “Or what?” Roax challenges.

  Tiam moves next to me. “You’re stressing her out for nothing but your own amusement.”

  “I can think of other ways for her to amuse me.”

  Tiam and Uthan bristle, bodies shifting, shoulders tensing. I think I’m about to witness a fist fight.

  I hold up my hands to keep them back, then I march right up to Roax, stopping only when our shoes nearly touch. I look into the swirling dark depths of his eyes. Don’t let him see you scared.

  “What do you want from me, Roax?”

  His arm whips out, and suddenly my body is held flush against his. “For starters, I want what you’ve already freely given to the others, little bird. It’s only fair.”

  His hard lips swoop down to seal over mine. And then they soften. And then I soften, right into his arms.

  How does this even make sense? I don’t even like this man. Yet his bold masculinity calls to everything feminine in me.

  As his body pushes to conquer, mine begs to capitulate. He tastes like the pure, crisp water that we bring up from the depths of the earth at Dallas Colony. I can’t imagine ever becoming tired of drinking him in.

  I feel Tiam’s hand on one arm and Uthan’s on the other as they tug to pull me away without hurting me, working to rescue me. But then a helpless moan of pleasure tears free from my throat, and the next second those hands turn caressing, followed by masculine sounds of arousal.

  While Roax’s lips ravage my mouth, a different pair of hands caress my hip and breast. Uthan. Heat and moisture rush to the V of my thighs in response.

  This is... I shouldn’t...

  A hard body presses against my back. Tiam.

  My knees buckle. Roax reaches under my thighs, lifts me up, and wraps my legs around his waist. The hard heat of his cock between us lights a fire inside me.

  I started my morning lying in bed with Koah at the med center, then moved on to kissing and touching Uthan on his island, then kissing and touching Tiam just minutes ago. My body is primed and moves to take what it needs. I can’t believe this is happening. But, at the same time, I can’t stop. I shift against Roax’s hard cock, then again and again. The friction drives me reckless. So does his deep growl of approval.

  Behind me, Tiam rubs his iron rod of a cock against the cleft of my butt. When I turn my head to the side to breathe, Uthan captures my mouth almost immediately, and his tongue sweeps inside.

  Roax moves against me, increasing the pressure.

  A million times, yes! my body screams.

  Too late, I realize that there’d been an edge somewhere, and I’d been pushed over.

  I barely realize that I’m ripping open Roax’s shirt with one hand and Uthan’s with the other. Tiam’s fingers clench and unclench around my hips to the same rhythm as he rubs his cock against me.

  Evidently, someone unsnapped my uniform top because Tiam is kissing my bare shoulder, while Roax dips his head to sink his teeth into the other side of my neck. His hands hold me up, squeezing my ass.

  A tsunami of sensations lifts me up. I’m almost there, almost on the very edge of some deep, yawning precipice. I’m gasping for air against Uthan’s mouth. And then I’m drawing back from his mouth so I can scream my release to the trees.

  Wave after wave of intense pleasure washes over me, wrecks me, leaves me wrung out in the circle of three pairs of strong, warrior arms.

  That... That was...

  Screw it. I’m brainless.

  But, eventually, a coherent thought does surface. What I’ve just done with these men... It’s sooo not the Ava I’d been on Earth.

  Roax offers a satisfied chuckle. “Not quite as innocent as you let everyone believe, Ava Mine?”

  I stare at him, drowning in that bottomless dark gaze. I’m certain that he is the one who somehow brought out all this limitless wildness in me.

  I can’t decide if I hate him for it.

  Chapter Six

  ON THE MORNING OF the Zebet’s informal introduction, Taly lays out no fewer than six dresses on the bed. They’re all floor-length, some low-cut, others demure. I’ve never seen so much gleaming, brand new fabric in one place. I’ve been looking at them for twenty minutes, and I still can’t decide which one to wear.

  At least my hair is done already. Taly coaxed the red mess into an elegant, professional bun at the back of my nape. It speaks of confidence. Just what I need.

  I pop a dul into my mouth from the bowlful that Taly brought me earlier. Dul is a smallish fruit, like green grapes, with a slightly bitter but refreshing taste.

  “Gray?” Taly suggests. “It’s a power color.”

  Is it? I suppose gray is strong. The color of titanium. The dress has tiny silver flowers embroidered on the bodice. They remind me of Tiam’s eyes.

  “Or the red,” Taly says next, reaching for the crimson gown. “Red is feminine power.”

  The dress is definitely feminine, cut so it’d show enough side boob to give all my kreks heart attacks. It’s a dress that could start a fight. Or an orgy.

  I’ve never worn or even seen clothes like this before coming here. I feel like I’m playing costume party. The great pretender.

  What if the committee members sense that I’m faking it?

  I want to keep things as real as I can. And I want to be comfortable. I want to be me when I face them.

  I walk to the wall to the right of the bathroom, touch my hand to it and a panel pops out and slides to the right. I walk into my wardrobe and grab exactly what I’m looking for. It’s the simple uniform made up of the colors of all the kreks: blue, black, gold, silver, and green.

  Taly tries not to look horrified and fails. My choice definitely doesn’t look like the gowns she prepared. “Are you sure, Madam?”

  I smile at her. “I’m sure.”

  Since I don’t need help with the uniform, I pull it on myself. It’s a little snug on top, stretching across my breasts. Have I gained weight? Probably. Food is available around the clock at the palace.

  “Do you live nearby?” I ask Taly. She’s always here when I need her.

  “At the palace, Madam. Staff quarters.”

  “And your family?”

  “Ferl,” she says, then at my blank look she adds, “Different solar system.”

  “That’d be a long commute, then.”

  She grins. “Yes, Madam.”

  “Do you miss them?”

  “To serve at the Oath Forger’s palace is a privilege.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “I go home for every holiday.” She sighs, then finally admits. “I miss my mother.”

  “I miss my sister.”

  “Except, when she used to drive me crazy.” Taly grins wider.

  I grin with her. “Yes!”

  There’s a moment of connection, when we both realize that people really are the same, in every corner of the universe.

  One by one, Taly carries my gowns back into the walk-in wardrobe, then hangs them. By the time she’s done, I have my boots on, and I’m heading out the door.

  I pause as I reach for the doorknob. “Thank you for your help. And thank you for breakfast.”

  “My pleasure, Madam.”

  As soon as I open the door, I’m faced with The Five.

  My breath catches. They outdid themselves this morning. Their uniforms are crisp and a little more elaborate than usual, displaying more markings on the arms. Dress uniforms? Ceremonial uniforms? I’m not sure.

  Stars, but the kreks are a formidable force in a group like this, all together.

  “Good morning, my Ava,” comes from Koah, Tiam, and Uthan, and then they gla
re at each other.

  “Good morning, Ava Mine,” says Roax.

  Dason simply takes my hand.

  But we’re not moving. Why are we not moving?

  Oh, because I’m staring at all those wide shoulders and mesmerizing chests.

  No, wait, they’re staring right back. Their gazes keep sliding over my formfitting uniform, catching on the curve of my hips, on the curve of my breasts.

  Koah’s gaze is the first one to finally reach mine. Is that what you’re wearing?

  Uncertain now, I shift back, toward the door behind me.

  “She’s not changing,” Roax says in that voice of ultimate command he’s perfected.

  Nobody protests.

  Although, Tiam does ask in a mild tone, “But how do we stop from killing everyone who looks at her?”

  They draw closer. I’m surrounded. I don’t see how anyone else is even going to see me if The Five keep sticking to me like this.

  “You’re wearing our colors.” In addition to heat, Uthan’s voice also holds a fierce pleasure.

  The tension eases, replaced by undisguised masculine satisfaction.

  Finally, we move down the hallway. The introductory meeting is in the formal dining room at the palace, while the hearing, three days from now, will be at the Onyx Tower. I suppose the committee doesn’t want to give me home-court advantage for the latter.

  I’m as nervous as I’ve ever been, my stomach flip-flopping, but having The Five around me, helps. I’m glad they’re back with me, even if I kicked them out of the bedroom last night.

  They had broken our agreement. I’d asked for a morning of solitude in exchange for a night of co-sleeping, and they’d barged in when that message appeared on the wall. Then they’d argued that their intrusion shouldn’t count, because they were responding to an emergency. I didn’t relent.

  I was still embarrassed over losing control in the garden with Roax, Uthan, and Tiam. I was afraid that things might escalate further, if I didn’t insist on some space. And also, I think part of me needed to know that if I said no to the kreks, if I drew a line, they would respect it and wouldn’t pressure me to change my mind.

  They hadn’t. Not even Roax.

  And then, of course, I tossed and turned all night because it felt strange sleeping alone in the enormous bed.