She didn’t think she or anyone else had been laboring under the illusion that the Uti accepted humans just because they’d been around for years.
And truthfully, no one had expected—maybe hadn’t even wanted—to actually open dialogue on becoming allies, friendly or otherwise.
It just made her feel like crying to have to accept that there would be no more time, no more tomorrows to enjoy with him.
Truthfully, she knew there had never been any possibility of it. It had just taken an unpleasant dose of reality to bring it home.
Trying to shake her unhappy thoughts, she got up restlessly after a while and wandered around the king’s apartment, studying his belongings. She found herself tidying up after a while. Shrugging, she finished, straightening his bed since she had no fresh linens to replace those already there.
She went to the window when she could find nothing else to occupy her and checked the light against the time on her communicator. Far in the distance, she could see movement—like a trail of ants. She narrowed her eyes, staring hard, and finally realized that it must be the princess and her entourage.
They must have gotten a very early start to have made that much progress!
Or perhaps they’d just been in a great hurry?
She watched, trying to pick out details of what she was seeing, until she could no longer see them at all.
And she was pretty sure it was just barely mid-morning.
It flickered through her mind that Rama had said something about her staying put when he’d left. She’d been more than half asleep. She’d interpreted it to mean that he planned to do something and come back to bed, but he hadn’t and now she wondered what he’d meant.
Maybe he’d just thought it would be a good idea to stay out of sight until the uproar over Princess Althea’s departure had died down a little?
Maybe.
She didn’t think she could handle being cooped up in his suite all day.
Opening the window, she climbed onto the ledge and pressed the button embedded just below the skin behind her ear. “Drone one to Central Command.”
“Central Command.”
“I’ve retrieved the pad and checked it out. Seems to be in good working condition, but I need to send my equipment and supplies home. I thought it would be good to test the pad out … before I try it on me.”
The male on the other end chuckled. “I know what you mean. Standby. I’ll see if they’re ready for a test.”
WTF? They were planning on beaming her home the next day and they might not be ready for a test? “OH! Don’t spare me. Just tell it like it is! Do I even want to get on this thing?”
“Yes, you do,” said a new voice she recognized as Dr. Lang. “We need all hands on deck, Dr. McCall. It’s fine. They’re just finishing up the calibration. A test will be good, though, to make sure it’s aligned with the launch pad we sent to you. Of course you know the clearer the area the better. Have you found a place that will work?”
“Negative. I have a couple of possibilities in mind. I guess I need to check them out.”
It was a relief, really, to have something to do—something productive.
She considered whether she really wanted to lug everything with her in her search, but really the ramparts of the castle were the best possibility and she knew it. And she hadn’t been forbidden access. She just knew that there were always guards on watch there and hadn’t liked the idea of attracting that sort of attention. Shrugging, she loaded up her belongings and the launch pad, let herself out of Rama’s suite, and headed for the stairway to the roof.
* * * *
The last thing on Rama’s mind when he’d headed downstairs to break his fast was providing an escort for the princess’ return to her homeland. He was not altogether certain of why he had changed his mind and decided to lead the contingent he had had Kilgen select, but he was inclined to trust his instincts—particularly when it concerned danger.
That part created internal conflict. After what Kilgen had told him about the rumors and the mood of the general populous, he would have expected to feel more uneasy about leaving Lauren and going with Althea. But somehow, he felt that Althea bore watching and that that was more urgent than staying to keep watch over Lauren.
Perhaps because he had already ordered Lauren to stay his suite?
Althea’s mood as they headed out was surprisingly light.
Rama was too preoccupied in the beginning with trying to make order of the cumbersome procession to really pay attention—or feel alarmed by it. And by the time he’d arranged the group to his satisfaction—soldiers front, center, and taking up the rear to ensure the safety of the group and also keep watch over the slowest of the group; conveyances in the center and those on foot behind the conveyances—they had made it down the pass and the sun was high enough Rama thought it would be a good time to stop for the mid-day meal.
Althea waved it off. She’d had a basket packed. They could eat while they rode.
Typical, Rama thought in disgust—no thought for all of the people who had nothing packed to eat as they rode—or walked.
Actually, not typical at all, he thought next.
He could not recall once that he had traveled with a female who was not harping constantly about the need to stop every few minutes.
Althea seemed in an uncommon hurry.
That would not have surprised him if she had behaved as if she was frightened and fleeing or furious and anxious to put Proushta behind her for that reason.
Her mood was almost … joyful.
He frowned, dismissing that, struggling to think how to define her behavior.
Gleeful, he decided. Excited.
He might have put that down to a dislike of him and happiness to be going home to her father, but there was something that just rang false about the entire situation and he did not think his conceit was blinding him into thinking that.
The sense that Althea was planning something unpleasant persisted throughout the day. It escalated considerably when he suggested that they should look for a place to camp for the night and finish their journey the following morning when they were fresh.
Althea did not insist upon staying on the trail, but she had a particular spot that she wanted to stop that was just a bit further.
And then a bit further than that.
Dusk had already begun to settle around them before she announced that they had found just the spot, but by that time Rama was so certain he was on the verge of discovering what plot Althea had concocted that he’d already spread the warning through his small troop of men. One by one throughout the day, Rama had, as surreptitiously as possible, gathered his men together at the rear of the column. He’d warned them to stay alert and at the ready.
They were outnumbered three to one, but his men were renowned for their fighting prowess and Al-fred’s men were not.
As it transpired, they were not as outnumbered as appeared to be the case due to the fact that Althea was not as good a general as she apparently believed. As Rama had more than half expected, she was waiting upon dusk, counting upon it to help them escape across the border once they had sprung their trap. She’d moved herself into a better position to ensure her escape by complaining that she was tired of the conveyance and thought she might ride for a bit perhaps a half hour before she decided to spring the trap.
Unfortunately for her, when she screamed ‘now’, all hell broke loose.
The men around the center of the column immediately dropped back and fell upon Rama and his men. Althea plowed past her household and took the lead. The men at the front, instead of falling back to reinforce the first group, kicked their beasts into a gallop and fell in around her. Althea’s driver thrashed the beasts pulling her coach and threw them into a wild gallop that ran down those too slow to leap out of the way and then crashed, creating a ‘dam’ that prevented the remainder of the household from racing after the princess.
Those poor souls realized almost instantly that Althe
a had abandoned them to their own devices and they managed to create all manner of havoc as they screamed and clawed and trampled one another in their mad attempt to escape retribution for whatever it was Althea had done.
Rama and his men made hash of Al-fred’s men within minutes and turned their attention to trying to wade through what was left of Althea’s household to get to her and the men fleeing with her toward the border.
Althea paused as they topped a rise to see what she had wrought. Apparently not happy with the end result, she screamed one last taunt before she and her men burst into an all out run to reach the border before Rama and his men could breach the barrier of fallen servants, broken coaches, and scattered household goods.
“Your whore will be dead before you can get back to her, you bastard!”
In the heat of battle, his mind enflamed with blood lust, it took many moments for the words to translate in his mind to a threat.
Cold horror filled him the moment his mind finally connected the gloating taunt to Lauren.
“Get them!” he bellowed, dragging his beast to such a hard stop, it reared up and pawed the air, trying to unseat him. “Stop them before they reach the border!” He did not wait to see if they followed his orders. He did not have to. If it was possible, they would catch the bitch and her men.
If not … If she had succeeded …. There was no rock that she could crawl under that would save her from his wrath.
Nor the man who had sent her.
Chapter Twelve
Lauren had decided that the best way to handle the situation was just to pretend she was alone. She was fairly certain they’d been warned away from her by Rama, and even if he hadn’t specifically said that, they seemed inclined to keep their distance.
They might take a glance as an invitation.
Or, like a lot of animals, they might take eye contact as a challenge.
In any case, she had a cumbersome load that required her undivided attention to prevent a mishap.
When she reached the ramparts, she looked around and finally decided that dead center, or at least roughly the middle, would be her best bet. The guards seemed to prefer the low walls that ran around the edges, marching back and forth and staring out into the distance—or lounging if no one seemed to be watching them.
She caught their attention as soon as she emerged from the stairwell, unfortunately.
She pretended she hadn’t noticed and the majority went back to their marching and staring out beyond the keep as soon as a man approached them and bellowed at them to keep their minds on their business.
Her heart sank when she realized it was the bastard that had called her a whore.
Well, not straight out, but he’d damned sure referred to her as one.
Struggling now to ignore the fact that he was heading straight for her, she moved to the area she’d decided upon and dropped her bags. Taking the launch pad, she glanced around and finally put it down on the most level area she could see.
Because she would have to stand on it when she was ‘picked up’ and level would be more comfortable for her.
The bastard was standing between her and her bags when she straightened and turned around.
“Here now! What are you about?”
She planted her hands on hips. “I wasn’t told I couldn’t come up here! And I’m getting ready to leave. I need to test this.”
He looked suspicious and confused—and angry because he felt both. “The King did not order you to stay in his apartment today?”
Well, now that he mentioned it ….
She looked away and shrugged. Lifting a hand, she tapped the com link. “Drone one to Central Command. I’ve set the pad up on the ramparts. I’m going to put my bags on it and send them over to you.”
“This is Central Command, Drone One. Confirmed the launch pad has been activated,” said a female voice in response. “Please advice once you have placed the items. I have the system calibrating.”
When she looked up to see if the bastard was still hovering, she discovered he’d retreated all the way back to the wall. He was staring at her. In point of fact they all were now, but there was nothing she could do about that.
She went back to ignoring them while she moved her belongings over to the launch pad and carefully stacked them.
“Drone one, this is Central Command. Do you read?”
“Affirmative Central Command. I’ve loaded the launch.”
“Scanning, Drone One.”
Lauren waited a little impatiently.
“I’m picking up a sleeping bag and a carry bag filled with an assortment of personal items.”
Relief flickered through Lauren. “Affirm. Those are the items I wish to transport.”
There was a moment of silence. “This is purely for the purpose of calibrating the equipment?”
“Negative, Central Command. Well, affirm I’m sending them now for that purpose. I want to be sure everything is working ok for my return tomorrow.”
“Acknowledged. You will transport the items and you will not expect them to be returned.”
“Affirmative.”
“Please stand back two yards and make certain there is no one else within the circle.”
“Oh they’re a long ways from the circle,” Lauren reported with a touch of amusement.
The light was nearly blinding.
And, naturally, unexpected for the onlookers. She heard several screams.
She dismissed them, focusing on trying to see what was happening on the pad.
She’d forgotten how bright it was and she didn’t have any eye gear for protection, damn it!
She shielded her eyes and waited for the light to vanish.
When it did, she moved toward the pad and examined it and the surrounding area.
The roof was a little scorched, but she didn’t see that as a bad thing. It would help her place the pad the next day.
She touched her communicator. “This is Drone One, Central Command. Looks good on my end. How’s it looking over there?”
“Scan complete, Drone One. Perfect transport. We’ll look forward to having you back tomorrow.”
Lauren felt a lump of unhappiness form in her throat. “I’m looking forward to coming home,” she said, because it was expected, not because she felt it.
Surging forward, she retrieved the pad and turned.
Which was when she discovered that her little experiment had completely terrified and demoralized the natives unfortunate enough to have a front row seat.
“Uh oh,” she muttered. After that one quick look, she focused on a brisk retreat.
She had no idea what might be going through their minds, but they looked spooked enough she decided it might be a good idea to remain in Rama’s apartment until he returned for her.
She paced uneasily for a while, pausing to listen intently every time she heard footsteps in the corridor. Finally, she moved to the sitting room and barred the door and then barred the door to Rama’s bedroom.
It was bound to piss him off when he returned, but it made her feel slightly safer so she decided to deal with possible consequences when she had to.
Midday passed with no sign of Rama and no sign of food.
Lauren was sorry she hadn’t gathered up her leftovers that morning and brought them with her so that she had something to stave off hunger pains. By midday, she was hungry enough to leave Rama’s room and find a position from the upper landing where she could see the high table, but when she saw Rama wasn’t at his place, she headed back into the room.
She wasn’t that hungry, she decided.
It had made her uneasy enough that morning to listen to some of the conversations going around about her. She could well imagine the talk was a lot more excited now since the guys had witnessed the transport that had clearly scared the living shit out of them.
Of course, that might mean they were afraid of her—too afraid to get too close or threaten her or possibly to do anything.
But it migh
t also mean they’d been frightened enough to be dangerous.
Nothing made people more dangerous than fear powerful enough to inspire the fight or flight instinct. She saw no reason to doubt the Uti would behave similarly.
Deciding to err on the side of caution, she filled up on the hot spring water in the bath to ease the grumbling of her stomach and then, physically exhausted from the pacing after her trek to the roof and back, and emotionally fatigued from a bizarre combination of fear and boredom, she crawled into Rama’s bed and lay down to nap.
She discovered it was an even better idea that she’d realized. His scent surrounded her when she’d planted her head on his pillow and curled up in his blanket and it made her feel protected, as if she was lying in his arms.
It wasn’t as if she wasn’t well aware that it was just an illusion of safety, but Rama had given her that sense of protection almost from the very first.
Because he was the Warrior Prince, the hero of the weak and downtrodden.
One would almost have expected it if he had turned into a monster after the death of his mother and the murder of his father, when he had been forced by circumstances to assume the weight of rulership while still little more than a child.
But in fact the opposite was true. He’d learned to empathize with the people most in need of it instead of nursing his rage and turning it upon anyone weaker than him.
Not that she thought of herself as a weakling!
But there was no arguing with his physical superiority.
Anymore than there was any point in arguing that that wasn’t one of the things that had drawn her to him.
She just hoped that he would come back so she could see him one last time before she had to leave.
* * * *
It was dark in the room when Lauren woke. Disoriented, she lay still, trying to pierce the gloom enveloping her and decide whether she’d slept through the night or if it was evening. In a moment, the sound that had awakened her came again. She sat up then, listening.
Someone was knocking against … something.
More curious than alarmed, she slipped off the bed and moved to the door to listen. Realizing the sound seemed to be coming from the door in the sitting room, she headed into that room and crossed it to listen again.
The Nine Realms of the Uti I: Warrior Prince Page 11
