by M. K. Eidem
“I’m fine.” She told him.
“You need the deep repair unit, Kim. I want to make sure you have properly healed."
“What you want doesn’t really matter, your Majesty.” Kim said stiffly and found herself wanting to flinch at the hurt that filled Wray's eyes before they went blank.
"You will see Yakar, Kim." He ordered unbuckling the harness and standing up, his voice as hard and stiff as his body had become. "Even if I have to carry you there kicking and screaming."
Kim quickly forgot about the other males and unbuckled her own harness to stand and jab a finger in Wray’s chest. "You wouldn't dare." She hissed.
"Try me." Wray growled lowering his head so she could see the determination in his eyes.
Kim's eyes widened as she realized Wray really would carry her out of here if she didn’t go willingly. What had happened to her gentle warrior?
"What had happened to his caring female?” The quiet words whispered through Kim’s mind.
“Fine.” She said quietly. “But he doesn’t touch me.”
“No one touches you, Kim.” He assured her, making sure every male heard him and stepped back, allowing her to pass. “No one but me.” He said for her ears alone.
Chapter Twelve
Kim didn’t like Healer Yakar. Didn’t like him at all. It was in the way he stared at her, as if she were some bug he’d like to dissect before he turned his attention to Wray.
“Majesty, you are injured.” Yakar’s eyes traveled over the scratches that still marred his cheek.
“I am fine. Empress Kim needs the deep repair unit.”
“Kim?” Yakar looked at him questioningly.
“Yes,” Wray gestured to her. “this is my Empress.”
“She appears fine to me, sire.” Yakar said dismissively. “You, on the other hand, need treatment or you may be considered as unworthy as your brother.”
“What did you just say?” Wray demanded in a deceptively quiet voice.
“I… my apologies, sire.” Yakar paled at the rage in the Emperor’s face. “I meant no disrespect to King Grim. I just don’t want you to be scarred also.”
Kim looked from Wray to Yakar and more of what Wray had told her in the cave clicked into place.
Grim.
Wray’s brother.
King Grim.
The King of Luda.
Always a blood relative to the Emperor.
Wray had told her the truth. But only parts of it.
“What’s wrong with your brother?” Kim asked.
“There is nothing wrong with Grim.” Wray growled so angrily that Yakar cringed. Kim did not.
“Then why does he,” she gestured to Yakar, “consider him unworthy?” she said ignoring Yakar’s gasp. “You said Fala and Gyula were unworthy. Is your brother like them?” Kim refused to stop asking her questions, even as Wray’s face darkened with each one.
“Grim is nothing like Fala and Gyula!” Wray ground out through clenched teeth. “He is the fittest, strongest, most worthy male I know! He would never attack or abuse a female.”
“Then why is he considered unfit?” Kim demanded. She wasn’t going to let this drop. She couldn’t just accept Wray’s word anymore, not after everything he’d held back from her.
“Because he’s scarred.” Wray spit out and waited for Kim to say she now understood and agreed with Yakar, instead she frowned.
“So?” she asked.
“Tornian females believe that because he is scarred he will be unable to protect them and refuse to consider him for Joining.”
“Meaning he will have no offspring.”
“Yes.”
“Your females are seriously messed up, Wray.”
“I cannot argue with that, Kim.” Wray said and found his anger leaving at her easy acceptance of Grim.
“Why is he scarred?” Kim asked, looking down at her fingers.
“He was attacked on his way to meet a female. The attackers died and he was severely injured.”
“But if he,” Kim nodded to the Healer. “can heal what I did to you, why does Grim have scars?”
“You did this!” Yakar exclaimed, but Wray ignored him.
“These,” Wray gestured to his face, “and these,” he said, taking her hands, “are easily treated by the deep repair unit. Grim’s injuries were caused by a Tornian blade. It leaves a residue that the repair units cannot remove and therefore it scars.”
“Oh.”
“Let’s get you into the repair unit, Kim.” Wray said softly.
“After your face is healed.”
“Kim…”
“I did that to you, Wray, and I want it healed. I won’t get into the repair unit until it’s done.”
“The Emperor does not need the deep repair unit.” Yakar told her in a cold voice that said he thought she was stupid. “A hand held unit will repair the damage you have caused.”
“Then do it.” Kim shot him an angry look, her voice just as cold as his.
“Get the unit, Yakar.” Wray ordered. “I would have this done so Kim can be treated.”
“Yes, Majesty.”
Kim watched as Yakar slowly ran a strange device over the scratches on Wray’s face for several minutes and they disappeared.
“Done, Majesty.” Yakar said and put the device aside before turning to Kim, his cold eyes running over her. “Remove your coverings.” He ordered.
“That is soooo not happening.” Kim said and took a quick step back when he reached for her.
“Do not touch her, Yakar.” Wray’s low order had the Healer immediately freezing.
“But sire, I need to physically examine her. While she appears to be similar to our females, we don’t know that for sure. A physical examination is the only way to know if she can successfully breed with one of our males.”
“Successfully breed…” Kim hissed.
“That does not matter, Yakar, and you will not touch her!” Wray said, grabbing the Healer when he reached for Kim again.
“But sire!”
“Prepare the deep repair unit, then leave.” Wray ordered.
“But your Majesty…”
“Now, Yakar!”
“Yes, sire.”
Wray silently watched Kim as Yakar prepared the deep repair unit then left. He knew the Healer’s words had upset her. He knew she was going to have questions, questions he was going to have to answer honestly, if he didn’t want to lose her.
“It is not necessary for you to be naked for the deep repair unit to work, Kim.”
“Then why did Yakar demand it?”
“You are a species he has never encountered before. He wished to visually inspect you.”
“He can take his ‘visually inspect me’ and shove it up his ass!” Kim spit out angrily.
“I am sorry, Kim. I should have realized he would consider it necessary.”
“It’s not happening.”
“No, it is not. I will be the only one allowed to see the beauty of your naked form.”
Kim was silent for several seconds, shocked by his words then shook her head. “I don’t understand you, Wray…” Kim took several steps away from him before turning back to face him. “You allow Fala and Gyula to attack me, but you refuse to let a Healer see me.”
“I did not allow it!” Wray vehemently denied.
“You let them go!” Kim fired back. “You said they did nothing wrong!”
“I did not! I said they broke no law! I am the Emperor! I, more than any other, must follow the law!”
“How can it be the law that your males are allowed to rape any female they want! How is that any different than what Lucan did!”
“It is an ancient law that has been corrupted to the point that it is now a farce of what it once was.”
“Then why haven’t you gotten rid of it?”
“Because until now I didn’t realize it was being used in this way.” Wray said running a disheartened hand through his hair. “For any Tornian male, let alone ones f
rom my Guard, to think they have the right to abuse a female… any female is unacceptable.”
“What is this law, Wray?”
“It came into being before Lucan’s reign, when females were plentiful and our males could have offspring with any species. It started out as a law that protected a female and her offspring. It made a male assume responsibility for any female he Joined with that presented him with offspring.”
“That seems like a good thing, a male should be responsible for his offspring and the female that gave them to him.”
“Yes, it was a good law, but then after the great infection non-Tornian females were unable to present fit offspring and the law was changed.”
“What makes offspring ‘fit’?” Kim asked.
“Nearly all offspring presented by non-Tornian females are without life and those that live are most often considered unfit because they are unable to function in our society. They are…” Wray looked to the ceiling searching for the words. “I cannot express it properly, Kim, not in a way you will understand, but a male must have a fit offspring to continue his line. One that can be productive in some way. If his offspring cannot do this he is considered ‘unfit’.”
“And most non-Tornian offspring are not able to do this.”
“No, they are not.”
“What changed the law, Wray?”
“It was changed so a Tornian male was only responsible for a Tornian female and her offspring.”
“Why would they do that?”
“Because we needed fit offspring. It was never intended to allow a male to abuse non-Tornian females. It just made him not responsible for the unfit offspring, allowing him to still Join with a Tornian female.”
“But it does, allow it.”
“Yes and I will work on correcting the law once we return to Tornian.” He put a gentle finger across her lips when she opened her mouth. “I cannot just change a law, Kim. It doesn’t’ work that way. It must go before the Assembly of Lords and a vote must be taken. I do not know if you are used to this…”
“It is like that on most of the Earth, no one person can just change a law.”
“Then you understand. Now, will you let the deep repair unit treat you? My vow that it will cause you no harm.”
“I feel fine.”
“Please, Kim…” Wray begged. “I want to be sure. The portable repair unit I used on the Ganglian ship could only do so much. If anything should happen to you now that I’ve found you, I don’t know what I would do.”
Kim silently looked at Wray for several seconds, then nodded. “Okay.” She saw the instant relief that filled Wray’s face before he led her to what looked like a high bed.
“This is the deep repair unit, Kim.” Wray gestured to the bed. “All you have to do is lie down and the top will close.”
“It closes?” All of a sudden Kim wasn’t sure she wanted to get into it.
“Yes, but not all the way.” Wray quickly reassured her. “You will be able to see me through the lid if you wish and you can speak. Will you let me help you into it?”
“I… yes.” Kim nodded and Wray’s hands quickly encircled her waist and lifted her onto the bed.
“All you need to do is lie back, Kim. The unit will do the rest.”
“You’ll stay with me?” Her eyes silently pleaded with him.
“Of course.” Wray said. “I am not leaving you, Kim.”
Nodding, she laid back.
Kim laid in the unit, looking through the glass cover at Wray, who, true to his word, never moved from her side. The unit hummed softly and she could see different colored lights moving up and down the cover but she felt nothing.
“Is it working?” she asked.
“Yes, Kim.” Wray said, his eyes moving to something she couldn’t see.
“But I don’t feel anything.”
“Trust me, it is.” He told her.
“Can I?” she asked softly and saw his eyes shoot back to her in confusion. “You’ve lied to me, Wray. Repeatedly. How am I supposed to trust you now?”
Wray’s heart drop at Kim’s words. He knew he had damaged her trust by not telling her he was the Emperor and then again for not punishing Fala and Gyula but had he lost it completely?
“You can, Kim, ask me anything and I will answer you honestly.”
“How am I supposed to know what to ask you, Wray? I don’t know your world. I don’t know what you lied to me about. I stupidly believed everything you told me.”
“You are not stupid, Kim.” Wray immediately denied. “You were already dealing with being taken by the Ganglians and knew nothing about the world you’d been thrust into. I took advantage of that by telling you only what I wanted you to know. I will never do that again.”
“You’ll tell me the truth, even if it makes you look bad?”
“Yes.”
“Is Adana really dead?” Kim asked the question that bothered her most. Had her initial gut reaction been correct?
“Of course!” Wray couldn’t believe she would think he would lie about that! “Goddess, Kim! I would not lie to you about that! Adana died nearly fourteen years ago. She was on an outing and ingested a Skua berry. They are poisonous.” Wray told her before she could ask. “She died within minutes.”
“And Van?” She forced herself to ask, refusing to let his obvious pain stop her. She had let him distract her before and hadn’t asked the questions she should have.
“Was also the truth… but not the whole truth.” He admitted.
“What’s the whole truth?”
“Van was not alone when his transport was swept off that bridge. His older brother Tora was with him.”
“You had two male offspring… both from Adana?” Kim whispered.
“Yes. Tora was nearly three years older than Van. They were returning from the Etruria Region when the accident occurred. The Guard traveling with them chose to save Tora first, even though Tora protested, and to come back for Van. The transport was swept away before they could return to him.”
“Tora witnessed this?”
“Yes, and he blames himself for his brother’s death.”
“Why? There was nothing he could have done to prevent it.”
“He blames himself because he is my first male, meaning he is the future Emperor of the Tornian Empire. That is why the Guard rescued him first even though he protested. Tora had always been a stronger swimmer than Van and believes he could have survived if Van had been taken first.”
“Would he have?”
“No. It took three full-grown Tornian males to get Tora to safety, at thirteen Tora would never have survived.”
“And he doesn’t want to believe that.”
“No.”
Kim was about to ask another question when the cover of the unit started to rise, signaling the unit was done. Sitting up, she looked at her hands, the faint scars were gone, replaced with perfectly smooth, pale skin. “Wow.”
“The unit found no other damage, Kim.” Wray told her, relieved at the findings. “Come, let me take you to our rooms so you can cleanse and eat. We can talk more there.” At her slow nod, Wray lifted her off the bed.
Chapter Thirteen
Kim tipped her head back and closed her eyes, letting the water from the cleansing unit flow down her back, soaking her hair. Wray had shown her how to operate it, then left so he could order them a meal.
She’d been surprised at how stark Wray’s chambers were. The main living area, what he called the common area, contained a large couch, several chairs and a table strewn with papers. It contained no color, had no rugs or pillows to soften the sharp edges. It had none of the luxury she would have expected an Emperor’s chamber to have and the resting chamber hadn’t been any different containing only a large bed and a single chair.
So when Wray had led her to the cleansing chamber, she’d been prepared for how austere it was but the water was hot and there was plenty of it and for the moment that was all that mattered to her. She needed time to d
igest everything that had happened.
Her trust in Wray had been severely shaken, something she hadn’t thought possible after the way he’d cared for her, after how gentle and understanding he’d been. But he’d lied to her about who he really was and if he could lie to her about something so basic what else would he lie to her about…
‘Unless you’re going to be perfect, Kimmy, you can’t expect someone else to be.’ She remembered her mother telling her that once after a friend had failed to keep a promise. ‘There might be a reason Sarah couldn’t come.’ her mother had said and there had been, Sarah had fallen off her bike and broken her arm. Could Wray have just as valid a reason for not telling her he was the Emperor?
There was only one way to find out. Stepping out of the cleansing unit, she froze, her eyes traveling to the counter where a clean, royal blue shirt lay. Her eyes went to the closed door. Wray had thought to bring her a clean shirt, knowing she wouldn’t want to wear the one she'd been attacked in. She'd said some very hurtful things to him in that cave, things they both knew were untrue and still he made sure she was cared for.
That had to mean something… didn’t it… she needed to find out.
Wray sat at the desk he’d cleared. Several trays of food before him as he'd ordered a little bit of everything, not knowing what Kim would like and waited. He couldn’t lose her, he couldn’t. Their time in the cave had shown him how different his life could be when he loved the female he would be Joined with, when she loved him. In the harsh conditions of that cave, he’d discovered a happiness he’d never known was possible. He’d learned that something as simple as a touch could convey so much whether it was by a hand or a pair of lips and he knew he didn’t want to live without it now.
Kim was such an amazing creature. She had been terribly abused, but she hadn’t let it break or destroy her, as it would have a Tornian female. She had fought back against the Ganglians, had fought back against her fears and had even fought against him when she thought he was wrong and he had been wrong. He should have immediately told her who he was when she’d woken. He should have admitted to his deceit when she had gotten upset about him not telling her he’d cleansed her but he hadn’t.
