by Keri Kruspe
Qay sat back with a narrow-eyed gaze. “Oh?” He glanced at Aimee, who put down her eReader.
Her strange single-colored hazel eyes had widened at the mention of the Chancellor. Her attention darted between him and Qay.
Her panicked expression was justified. She’d been a “guest” of the Chancellor who not only threatened her but her unborn child. It would make anyone uneasy.
With a determined frown, Qay got up and went over to his TrueBond. He scooped her up in his arms before going back to his large chair and sitting with her snuggled on his lap.
“Qay!” Aimee protested. She covered her face with her hands briefly before she pushed at Qay’s chest. “What in the world are you doing?” Her cute little face colored a light shade of pink.
Ahhh, how adorable. D’zia squelched a slight stab of envy as he watched his cousin interact with his TrueBond. Not for the first time, D’zia was impatient to find his own TrueBond. Without warning, an image of a blonde-haired human woman haunted him. He’d seen her aboard the StarChance when he snuck out of Aimee’s cabin after putting a pair of VDU glasses in there for her. He’d intended to give Aimee a chance to learn about Qay, after watching the unusual interaction between them. He suspected the mating TrueBond connection had started between the two. So when Qay had denounced that possibility, D’zia stepped in to help his uptight cousin. Whether he liked it or not. He congratulated himself he’d been right about the two.
At first, D’zia hadn’t given the light-haired human any further consideration. But at inopportune times, he’d obsess about her. He’d find himself lost in a daydream of her soft blonde hair, single iris gray eyes, and her glorious full, feminine figure. It took conscious effort not to research who she was so he could learn everything about her. When she’d smiled at him, deep dimples peeked out at the sides of her full lips. As a male cursed with his own dimples, it was a surprise how hers had captivated him.
He later wondered how she came on board without him interacting with her. She must have been processed by one of the other operatives in charge of welcoming the humans to the StarChance. He tugged at the bottom of an earlobe as a pang of remorse filled him. That woman was long gone. Another male at the Exchange had undoubtedly claimed her. His jaw clenched.
No matter, it was time to discover what was going on with Chancellor U’unk. D’zia suspected for some time things were worse than anyone believed about the leader of the Federation Consortium. He was sure the “Warriors of Light” terrorist group and their gain in popularity was connected to the Chancellor’s office. He just knew it. Now all he had to do was prove it.
“Hush, Ahyoka,” Qay crooned as he wrapped his arms around his female. “I need to hold you.”
“Hmm.” Aimee’s noncommittal answer said volumes as she settled her head on Qay’s chest.
D’zia resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Like Qay’s actions would protect his female from an unpleasant topic. Good thing he was smart enough to know when to roll his eyes and when not to since it might irritate Qay. Something to avoid until his cousin heard what he had to say.
Qay gave his TrueBond a light kiss over the center of her MalDerVon scroll. Hers had the same intricate color and detail as his, but was on the opposite temple. Qay leaned back, focused his attention on D’zia, and sighed. “I’m sorry we haven’t had a chance to get together, but time has been running away from me.”
D’zia had to give his cousin credit for not looking at Aimee when he made that statement. He didn’t doubt Qay had a lot to catch up on, but the main reason he’d been inaccessible for the last couple of weeks sat on his lap. Being a new TrueBond couple was a time-consuming event. But when your mate is from an alien species, it probably took a little extra effort from both parties. Besides, no one knew how the dynamics of their unusual relationship would work. Huh, hard to tell if he was jealous or grateful he didn’t have the same problem.
Qay waved for him to continue.
Clearing his throat, D’zia put both feet flat on the floor and rested his forearms on his thighs. “After what happened at the Chancellor’s palace, it’s imperative we find out what U’unk has planned. He wouldn’t take the chance to ask you to be his toady unless he had something big in the works.”
Qay frowned. “What in the nine systems is a toady?”
Aimee exploded in laughter. “Holy cow, D’zia…quit teasing him already.” She tilted her head at her TrueBond. “A toady is a sycophant who would completely fawn over the Chancellor and do his bidding without question.” Her exotic single-colored eyes glanced at D’zia. “Now, D’zia, if I have to translate for you, this is going to take a long time. My advice is to stick to the basics.” She smiled before a frown creased her full lips. “Wait, I don’t understand something,” she twined her fingers with Qay’s.
It was fascinating how Aimee’s strange four-fingered hand easily clasped Qay’s normal three fingers.
“Why can’t we arrest him for murdering Aja? I mean, he did it right in front of me!”
Qay shook his head before she finished. “I’m afraid Chancellor U’unk was smart enough to get rid of any evidence. Her autopsy came back as “undetermined” with no clear cause of death and has been classified as an accident.”
Aimee’s mouth twisted in shock. “What do you mean ‘accident’? I saw him break her freakin’ neck!”
Qay shrugged. “Unfortunately, without evidence that the broken neck was deliberate, we can’t bring any charges against him.”
“I saw him do it. I’m the evidence!”
“Ahyoka”—he leaned down to give a quick kiss on her forehead—“Chancellor U’unk created an airtight alibi that matches her time of death. While your testimony would go a long way, without tangible, physical proof, Zerin law does not allow us to file charges against him. Especially since a sitting Chancellor cannot be indicted while in office.”
“That’s ridiculous.” She crossed her arms with a pout on her face. “I couldn’t stand the bitch, but Aja still deserves justice for getting killed by that asshat.”
“I agree, my love,” Qay murmured as he nuzzled the top of her head.
His cousin’s tenderness soothed his agitated female. The stiffness throughout her body deflated.
D’zia wiped the goofy smile off his face before his cousin could see it. “Anyway, we need to find out what he has planned.” He grabbed the bottom of his slim warrior braid and rubbed it between his fingers. “I want to go undercover as one of his guards to spy on him and find out what he’s up to. I guarantee you, whatever he has planned, it’s not good.”
Qay glared. “Excuse me? You want to spy on the Chancellor?”
“Sure, why not? Someone has to.”
“It’s been a long time since you’ve done anything like that.” Qay’s frown stayed in place, as the lines deepened around his mouth. “Besides, don’t you think everyone knows you’re part of the royal family?”
D’zia leaned back and crossed a knee over his opposite thigh. “Not really. The guards wear those helmets all the time. I doubt if any of the lower ranks have any idea who I am since we’ve been gone from Zerin for so long. And like you said, I’ve done this before and it’s not something I’d forget how to do.” Here was the tricky part. “All I need from you is help getting in.” He picked up his thin braid again to stroke between his fingers. “You know, you never told me how you and Ki got into the Chancellor’s palace. Whenever I’d ask either of you, you’d refuse to answer. Why is that?”
Qay’s lips thinned as he ignored D’zia’s question. “What kind of help?”
Aimee traced a finger over the crease alongside his lips.
Qay’s features smoothed under her touch and he gave her a tender smile.
D’zia swallowed a growl of frustration. It was infuriating when Qay played stupid. “You damn well know what kind of help I’m asking for.” He shifted his foot to the floor and leaned in to emphasize his point, resting his forearms on his thighs and clasping his fingers together. “Look,
somehow the Chancellor is involved in the civil unrest plaguing our people. I believe he’s doing it through those assholes that call themselves ‘Warriors of Light’ who promote a xenophobic agenda. I don’t have to tell you we’re running out of time.”
Agitated and impatient, D’zia jumped off the chair and rubbed the back of his neck as he paced. “We don’t know who to trust in the Imperial Forces so it’s up to us to get someone inside and gather proof.”
Qay settled into his chair and enfolded Aimee further. “How about we call Ki in to handle this.”
D’zia gasped. “Holy maggoty hell, you’re treating me like an untried youngling. Why not tell me to run home like a good little boy while you’re at it? Sending in Ki would be like a rutting male eztli running through a glass house. This mission calls for cognitive thinking, not brute force.”
“I’m going to tell him you said that,” Qay quipped.
“Goddess, save me from idiots who don’t know when they’re stupid.” D’zia stopped pacing to face his cousin. “I’m serious, Qay. You got someone inside before and now it’s time to do it again before it’s too late.” He flopped in the chair, bounced a knee in frustration, and calmed himself by stroking the end of his warrior braid. “I’m sure you can see that.”
Qay’s nod softened the tension between D’zia’s shoulders and his body settled.
“All right, I admit I agree with you,” Qay told him. “But there’s only one problem.”
D’zia raised his left eyebrow and let go of his hair. “Oh? And what would that be?”
“I’m not the one who set everything up. Ki did—with the help of someone he knew on Hiigar.”
“Hayami?” Aimee asked. She brought her attention back to Qay. “How did she help you?”
This Hayami must be someone on Hiigar who had helped Aimee when she’d been stranded there.
Qay picked up their joined hands and kissed her knuckles. “I hate to tell you this, but there is more to your friend than running a pub in that backwater planetoid.”
The loud snort coming out of such a small female was surprising. “Duh, I could have told you that. Back home we’d have called her one scary mo’fo.”
Ah, gotta love the pained expression on his cousin’s face. Good to know Aimee would keep up with the Earth slang to annoy the crap out of his too-serious cousin. If he was lucky, Aimee didn’t know how much Earth slang irritated her TrueBond. Yep, D’zia could definitely leave his stoic cousin with a clear conscience. “So let’s get in touch with this Hayami and ask for her help.”
If the smirk on Qay’s face was anything to go by, it wouldn’t be as easy as D’zia assumed.
“You do realize she is a Merkaba female, right?”
D’zia’s gut dropped with a thud. Danka shit. “Are you serious?”
Qay’s ornery smile only grew. “When am I not?”
“What?” Aimee gave a puzzled frown to Qay before she focused those unique hazel eyes in D’zia’s direction. “What am I missing?”
“The Merkaba race is all but gone because of their bloodthirsty tendencies to war with just about anyone, included each other,” D’zia answered. He pulled on his collar because his damn shirt was too tight. “How did you pull off getting help from one of them?”
Qay stroked his jaw. “I didn’t have anything to do with it. Ki worked with her before and they were still on good terms.” His lips softened as he spoke to his TrueBond on his lap. “Plus, she was adamant we get her “Pretty” back for her.”
Aimee’s human face flushed a nice shade of milky pink. “I don’t know why she called me that. It’s not like she didn’t know my name or anything.”
“She should have called you gorgeous instead,” Qay gushed. His tone was indulgent and mushy as his face disappeared behind her ear.
D’zia had no trouble hearing his cousin’s response…in nauseating detail.
Annnnd…the nibbling began. Holy maggoty hell, time to put a stop to this. D’zia loudly cleared his throat. No such luck, his cousin closed his eyes as he continued his caress. Sacred Goddess, why did they have to do that in front of him? It’s not as if he wanted to watch his cousin doing…what was that human saying? Getting busy? Yes, he was sure that was it. He had no desire to witness his cousin doing that or anything remotely like it. If he didn’t stop them, they’d forget they had an audience and concentrate only on each other.
Goddess save him from new TrueBond couples.
“Yo, Qay! Dude…stop already. You’re going to make me blind!”
“D’zia, you’re resorting to Earth slang again.”
Aimee’s giggle should have made D’zia smile, but he was too irritated to let their play charm him. Watching them interact together triggered the urge to find his own TrueBond. “Don’t care. Please…just stop.”
Qay lifted his head and shot a quizzical stare in his direction. “What’s crawled up your nose?”
“Crawled up my nose?” D’zia begged Aimee for help.
She scrunched up her face before the furrows between her eyes straightened. “I think he means, ‘What’s crawled up your ass?’” She tilted her head toward Qay. “Alien man, you’re getting better! I’m so proud of you.” Once more, the nuzzling began.
“Guys, focus here,” D’zia grumbled. He had no problem with his cousin finding happiness, but right now, there was something more important to focus on. The two of them could smooch later…long after he was gone. “I swear to the Goddess, if you grab her boob in front of me, I’m going to vid it and put it on a planet-wide communication.” D’zia’s threat was credible. Qay was a very private person and he damn well knew D’zia would do it too.
Qay’s dark complexion burned into a bright sheen of burnt sienna.
Good. Point made.
“Fine,” his cousin conceded with ill grace. Qay moved his caressing nose away from his female’s cheek. “I’ll see what I can do.” He narrowed his eyes and glared at D’zia. “In the meantime, talk to your father about what you plan to do. He should know whom to trust in the Imperial Forces and get whatever intelligence they have on Chancellor U’unk.”
A huge weight slid away. D’zia got up to leave but Qay stopped him with a raised hand.
“Wait, I’ll go with you so we can talk.” He stood and placed Aimee back on the chair. “I’ll only be a click so don’t go anywhere.”
Aimee blinked twice at his stern command.
D’zia doubted Qay fell for her innocent act.
“I mean it, Aimee. Stay here, I won’t be gone long. When I get back we’ll get something to eat.” His hand rested on the small bump where their child lay. “I know our little warrior must be hungry by now, so be patient.”
Aimee folded her arms across her chest. “Fine, but hurry. We’re starving.” Her petulant pout was as fake as her innocent guise. No doubt about it, his cousin had his hands full with this one.
There were rumors of Aimee wandering all over the palace alone and evading her guards as she left the royal chambers. Usually, that wasn’t a problem, but the voices of unrest were getting louder about the crown prince having an alien TrueBond. The xenophobic section of their race had no trouble making their voices heard, and the underground cult of the “Warriors of Light” was leading the way. They were the same faction that shot and almost killed Qay. The unknown leaders of the group were still at large, which made D’zia believe Chancellor U’unk had to be involved. They protested not only in physical marches but also through pirated planet-wide communications. Their propaganda was loud, persistent, and sometimes violent.
Stupid idiots.
Just to be safe, D’zia would arrange for extra “eyes” to follow Aimee around and help protect her. No need for Qay to know. His cousin had enough stress being under the constant scrutiny as a reinstated prince, not to mention the changes in his personal life. Even though D’zia had to go offworld to accomplish his goal, he wasn’t about to leave Qay to his own devices. He’d been in charge of protecting his cousin for a long time and did
n’t intend for that to change now.
D’zia followed his cousin into the spacious dining hall. He passed several palace staff members preparing the room for the evening meal that was still several hours away. Murmurs of conversations and soothing pipe music drifted in the air. A long wooden table boasted elegant place settings that could easily seat twenty. Graceful imitation candles were placed down the center of the table and gave a warm glow to the room. The royal E’etu emerald green table runner and napkins contrasted nicely with the white plates rimmed in shining silver. The comforting smell of food and home had D’zia breathing deeply in appreciation.
His stomach tightened as he followed his cousin to a small alcove next to the massive fireplace with its merry blue-green flame flickering. What could Qay possibly need to say to him privately? The self-sustaining fireplace gave off warmth, but no reassurance that D’zia would like what the crown prince had to say.
When the other male stopped, D’zia faced him. “Why did you want to see me alone?”
“I need to understand why you have to do this.” His cousin placed a comforting hand on D’zia’s shoulder. “I don’t like the idea of you getting into something you won’t be able to control.”
D’zia smiled in shared camaraderie and patted the back of his cousin’s hand before Qay let it fall to his side. “Look, Qay, please don’t take this the wrong way”—hopefully his steady eye contact would ensure Qay understood him—“but it’s something I have to do. I have to start making my own decisions about my life, good or bad.” The other male’s perplexed expression meant he wasn’t making his point.
