by T. J. Quinn
Whoever it was, had to be in Asgar’s house, and he was planning to go there as soon as possible.
He gave Asgar several instructions regarding the video, making sure he would be busy for several hours, and left the palace, alleging he had a meeting elsewhere.
Once everyone was paying attention to the shooting, he changed into his Drogon form, allowing his wings to display on his back and flew away. He wanted to arrive at Asgar’s house as quietly as possible, determined to use the surprise factor in his favor.
It didn’t take him much to reach his friend’s house, and he overflew the extensive gardens for a few minutes, until he spotted something strange, next to a bush. The gentle breeze brought the scent to him, and he knew he had found its source.
Quietly, he landed near the entrance and changed to his usual form, before he headed to the place he had spotted.
After eating breakfast, meat, and vegetables once more, and drinking what looked like fruit juice, Eleanor decided to go out and explore the gardens. She had no idea how long the others would be away, but she dreaded the thought of being trapped inside the house. This time, she picked up her cape. She had no intention of freezing out there.
The gardens were a lot bigger than she thought, but with the slider, it was quite easy for her to move around, admiring the flowers and the bushes, stopping here and there to admire a particular flower or even the small animals, similar to the Earthling insects that swarmed the area.
At some point, she found a bush big enough to provide her with shadow and shelter, and she slid out of the chair to the ground. Using the cape as a blanket, she lied down on the ground and took a deep breath. The air there seemed a lot purer than on Earth, or perhaps, the oxygen’s content was higher. Either way, it was a pleasure breathing it.
She must have dozed off because when she finally opened her eyes, a man was standing next to her.
Startled, she rolled away from him.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?” he demanded in a very stern tone.
The closer he got to the person lying under the bushes, the more certain he was, he had found the source of the scent that had been driving him insane.
A few yards away from the still figure, he realized it was a human female, and his whole body responded to that knowledge.
Why she was there and not at the palace was something he would have to find out and soon.
The woman was sleeping, but the moment he reached her side, she opened her eyes startled and rolled away from him, leaning on her elbows, as she looked at him.
Who the hell was he? She stared at the man towering her, noticing his powerful body and his almost white hair. Something in him stirred her guts, but she couldn’t take her eyes away from him.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?” he asked, in a harsher tone than he intended, but the implications of her presence there looked worse by the minute.
She didn’t answer immediately, looking for the best words to explain her presence there, not very successfully. She could sense she was in deep trouble and she couldn’t find a way out.
That gave him time to admire the auburn mane that fell down her back and the greenest eyes he had ever seen. There was no one amongst his people with those colors, and if that wasn’t enough to make her unique, she had a skin so fair it was almost translucent. His heart and soul swirled in an unknown turmoil, as he assessed her whole being, recognizing his other half.
“Answer me.” He urged her, noticing the collar around her neck, confirming her provenance.
“Look, I have no idea who the hell you think you are, but I’m a guest here, so I don’t have to give you any explanation.” She retorted, trying to sound more confident than she was and buying herself time to come up with a convincing story.
“Never mind, I’ll get the explanations from Asgar. Get up, you’re coming with me.” He demanded in a colder tone.
“Have you lost your mind? I’m not going anywhere with you. I don’t even know who the hell you are.” She grumbled, crawling away from him, feeling the drumming of her heart against her chest.
“Get up, or I’ll carry you.” He warned her, closing the distance between them, with a frown adorning his face. Why wasn’t she getting up? She had better chances of escaping him running than crawling.
“Listen, I believe you should call Asgar. He can explain everything to you…” she tried again, still crawling away from him.
“Oh, he will explain this treason, as soon as I find him.” He assured her, with a threatening tone of his voice.
“Treason? What do you mean? There’s no treason here.” She blurted out, all of a sudden very scared. She hadn’t thought of that possibility.
“That’s for me to decide. Now, get up, you’re only delaying the inevitable.” He insisted.
“You really should go talk to Asgar first. I believe he’s at the palace.”
Losing his patience, Brynjar stepped to her side and picked her up in his arms, throwing her over his shoulders.
The minute his hands touched her body, she felt she was on fire. Jolts of energy rushed through her body, and she had big trouble concentrating on what was going on and not on his touch.
“Hey, you can’t do this, let me go.” She protested, struggling to free herself.
“Who’s going to stop me?” he was having trouble focusing on the problem. Taking her in his arms had flared all the passion she had just conjured in him. “Now, stay still, or I’ll use that collar to make you.” He warned her, and she immediately froze in his arms. Apparently, she knew what the collar could do.
He headed directly to the house, planning on using one of Asgar’s vehicles to drive them back to the palace.
Eleanor was desperate. Her worst fears had come to life and Asgar was in deep trouble because of her. This was the last thing she wanted, and she had to find a way to solve it.
“Listen, this is just a misunderstanding. Why don’t you put me down so that we can talk?” she suggested with a trembling voice.
But he ignored her. They reached the house quickly, and he put her inside one of the hovering vehicles parked in some sort of garage.
“Don’t even try to escape.” He warned her, and she scowled.
Even if she could, she wouldn’t. She still remembered clearly the pain Eskol had inflicted on her with the damn collar.
Seconds later, they were leaving the house and heading to a small hill not far from where they were. On top of the hill, there was a construction built with the same material than all the rest, but there ended the similarities. This place looked like some sort of palace, though only three stories high, if her guess was right, and suddenly, she realized the man was taking her to see the king.
“Are you sure this is necessary?” she tried once more.
Brynjar glanced at her, noticing the worry she had written all over her beautiful face and struggled with the need to appease her. “Yes, it’s imperative.” He assured her, driving the vehicle through the palace’s gates.
Driving through a wide avenue, across fabulous gardens, filled with the same bushes and flowers she had admired on Asgar’s place, it took them a few minutes to reach the main door. When he parked the car, Eleanor was a bundle of nerves, frantically trying to find a way out of this situation.
“Please, get out of the car.” He ordered, and she should have told him she couldn’t, but for some reason, she preferred to stay quiet, crossing her arms over her chest, looking straight ahead and blatantly ignoring his order.
He looked at her and held back the chuckle forming in his throat. He had to admit she had guts, ignoring him that way.
This time, he didn’t bother to repeat the order; he simply carried her out of the vehicle and headed to his private office, glad he didn’t meet anyone on his way.
He dropped her on a chair and picked up his communicator. “Asgar, I need to see you in my office at once. Bring Sasha with you.”
Eleanor squirmed on the chair, scolding herself fo
r not having established a believable story with the others to explain the situation.
“Is this really necessary?” she asked him again.
“Yes, I believe it is.” He assured her in a cold tone.
“Why? I mean I’m no one important. My presence here is just temporary, and I promise you it won’t affect anyone on this planet. There’s really no need to make a fuss over something so trivial like this.” She insisted, wriggling her hands over her lap, wishing for the first time Eskol had managed to kill her.
She was about to get a few people in deep trouble over nothing. She ran her hand over her face, trying to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes. She was sure the tears wouldn’t help her get out of this situation.
“I’ll be the judge of that.” He replied, taking a seat behind some sort of desk, which actually looked as if it was made of wood, unlike most of the furniture she had seen so far.
A swishing sound announced the arrival of Asgar and Sasha.
“Is there a problem?” Asgar asked as soon as he stepped in before he noticed Eleanor’s presence in the room.
“Eleanor! What the hell are you doing here?” Sasha asked, in a loud tone, taking a couple of steps in her direction, before Asgar stopped her, holding her by her arm and pulling her behind him.
Brynjar got up and stood in front of his friend. “Well, don’t you have anything to say before I accuse you of treason?”
“Treason? There’s no treason…” Sasha intervened, outraged before Asgar turned around, and silenced her.
“For once, just keep your mouth shut.” He turned to look at his king. “I assure you none of my actions were meant to be treason, but if that’s how you feel them, I shall accept your decision.”
“You can’t do that. I’m not letting you do that.” Eleanor cried out, struggling to stand. She had to stop this man, whoever he was.
Both men ignored her words, as they stared at each other. Behind Asgar, Sasha was paralyzed, with her forehead leaning against his back.
“Please, listen to me.” Eleanor insisted, finally standing up, supported by the chair backrest. “The only thing he did was save my life. If someone is to pay for that, then it should be me, not him. He didn’t do anything wrong.”
Brynjar frown at her words, failing to see what she meant by them.
Feeling the searing pain ran down her spine, Eleanor finally managed to stand between the two men, with shaky legs. “If you want to blame someone, then, blame me, not him, do you hear me?” she finally got his attention even though if he was shaking his head.
Her legs were failing her, and the pain was unbearable, but she made one last effort. “He just saved my life.”
She finally fell to the floor, and both men jumped to grab her.
“Don’t touch her.” Brynjar snarled at Asgar, and he stepped back, with an incredulous look on his face.
He picked her up in his arms and took her back to her chair. Once more, his touch ignited a fire Eleanor couldn’t explain. Even in these dreadful circumstances, her body reacted to him as it had never reacted to anyone.
“You better start explaining what the hell is going on here.” He ordered his friend, standing next to the woman, frowning as he noticed her pain.
“When I got to the auction, the Slythonians presented five human females. As you ordered, I planned on buying them all, but while we were inspecting them, as they expected us to, Sasha mentioned the existence of another human female.” Asgar started explaining, trying to stay calm. He still couldn’t believe what his senses were telling him.
“What did you do then?” Brynjar hurried him.
“I sent the rest of the women to our ship with Egil, and on her way out, Sasha yelled she wouldn’t leave without her friend. Eskol silenced her, but her outburst allowed me to ask the captain for her friend.”
“They were planning on keeping her for themselves?”
“No, I was damaged goods; they couldn’t present me to their elite customers.” Eleanor intervened through gritted teeth, still in a lot of pain. “They were planning on selling me to the first buyer that would take me.”
“Though they warned me of the problem, I decided to buy her.” Asgar continued. “I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with her, but I simply couldn’t leave her behind.” He made a small pause, feeling Sasha’s arms wrapped themselves around his waist. “Eskol went to the dungeon to pick her up, but he tortured her so badly, that when he finally gave her to me, she was unconscious. I took her directly to the infirmary, where she stayed during the whole trip.”
Hearing about her torture almost made Brynjar lose his temper, but he managed to control himself. He would settle scores with the slave master in the near future, that was for sure.
“So, Colborn is involved in this as well.” It was a statement, not a question.
“He only followed my orders,” Asgar assured him.
“You can’t blame them, please,” Eleanor, begged him, squirming in her chair.
Brynjar ignored her. “Why didn’t you bring her to me, like you did with rest of the women?” he asked in a stern tone.
“Because we weren’t sure of your reaction.” He explained.
“Reaction to what? Where’s the difference between her and the other women?” he demanded raising his tone.
“I can’t walk. I’m crippled.” Eleanor answered the question. “That’s why the Slythonians hadn’t planned to abduct me. They only took me because I ran in on them when they were grabbing Sasha. They never leave witnesses behind.” She explained.
There was a shock on Brynjar’s face. He hadn’t noticed her disability.
“Colborn told me there are no crippled people amongst your species, so we weren’t sure how my presence would affect you.” She continued. “If Asgar had left me behind, I’m sure Eskol would have found a way to kill me. He hated me from the beginning. So, all he did was save my life and protect your people’s interests, while we figured a way to solve this whole situation.” She insisted.
Brynjar felt as if a powerful claw squeezed his heart at the possibility of her death. He wanted to kill Eskol, for what he had done to her.
“I should have told you about her immediately,” Asgar admitted.
Brynjar took a look at the shaking figures of both women and decided to take the conversation somewhere else. He needed to speak freely with Asgar.
“Stay here, both of you. Remember you’re still collared.” He ordered as he pushed Asgar out of the room.
The nearest room to his office was the councils’ room, so he pushed him inside, closing the door behind him.
Chapter Seven
Eleanor covered her face with both her hands letting her tears roll down her face. Sasha let out a sob and kneeled in front of her friend.
“I told you this would have consequences.” Eleanor scolded her through her tears.
“He has to understand.” She murmured, hiding her face on Eleanor’s lap.
“He doesn’t have to do anything.” She grumbled, wiping the tears from her face. “Please, promise me you won’t interfere when they come back. I can’t let anyone pay such a price for saving me, do you understand?”
“He has to understand.” She insisted. All her natural cold blood seemed to have disappeared, and she wasn’t able to think clearly.
“Just promise me, please.” Eleanor insisted.
Sasha nodded, unable to utter a word and hugged her friend’s waist.
“Why didn’t you come to me?” Brynjar insisted, as soon as he closed the door behind them.
“I was sure she wouldn’t be anyone’s mate, because of her problem, so I thought I had time to figure out a way to keep her next to Sasha. They love each other as if they were sisters.” He tried to explain.
“You assumed too much.”
“I can see that now, and I’m willing to pay the price for my mistake,” Asgar said, standing tense, in front of his king.
Brynjar remained in silence, analyzing the whole situation.
“How did you find her?” Asgar asked, clearly too intrigued, to keep himself from asking.
“I sensed her scent in Sasha. That confused me since you had already claimed her. Then, I sensed her on you and on Colborn. My instinct kept telling me something was wrong, so took you out of your house and went to your home to investigate.” He explained, somehow absently.
“She’s your soulmate?” Asgar finally dared to make the question.
“I’m sure you know the answer to that question.” He retorted in a cold tone.
Asgar nodded and waited in silence.
“I guess I have to thank you for following your instincts and saving her life.” Brynjar finally said.
Asgar shook his head. “I was only trying to please Sasha.”
Brynjar let out a deep sigh. “This won’t be easy, and I’m sure you’re aware of it.” He said, concerned.
“Yes, I am.”
“So far, no one is to know she’s my soulmate. I’ll announce it when I find a solution for this problem.”
“Yes, I understand. Despite the current situation, you know you can trust me.”
“I should at least, kick your ass for not telling me what was going on, but something tells me that would only double my problems.” He said with a self-deprecating scowl. “Let’s go get the women.”
He opened the door and waited for Asgar to leave.
“What am I supposed to tell Sasha?”
“That I will keep her friend here at the palace until we decide what to do.”
“Very well.” Asgar nodded. “She won’t like it, though.”
“That’s your problem, and perhaps that’s sufficient punishment for you.” He added with a wicked grin.
They entered the room and found both women together waiting. It was evident they had been crying, but none of them dared to comment on that.
“What’s going to happen now?” Eleanor asked, sounding a lot calmer than before. “Will you still accuse Asgar of treason?” she asked, wriggling her hands.
