Determinant, a YA Paranormal Romance (Book 3 of The Guardians of Vesturon)

by A. M. Hargrove

  “Mmmm, you smell so wonderful,” he said as he bent to nuzzle my neck.

  “So do you,” I replied as I laid my forehead against his chest. We swayed to the sounds of Adele as she sang, “One and Only.”

  He moved with the grace and rhythm as if he had been born to dance. When he bent his head and began whispering words to me, I didn’t initially recognize them. I lifted my head and our eyes met and then I realized he was whispering the lyrics of the song.

  You’ve been on my mind I grow fonder every day

  Lose myself in time just thinking of your face

  God only knows why it’s taken me so long to let my doubts go

  You’re the only one that I want

  I don’t know why I’m scared, I’ve been here before

  Every feeling, every word, I’ve imagined it all

  You’ll never know if you never try

  To forget your past and simply be mine

  I dare you to let me be your, your one and only

  Promise I’m worthy to hold in your arms

  So come on and give me a chance

  To prove I am the one who can walk that mile

  Until the end starts...

  I know it ain’t easy giving up your heart

  I know it ain’t easy giving up your heart

  Nobody’s perfect

  Trust me I’ve learned it

  Nobody’s perfect

  Trust me I’ve learned it...

  Come on and give me a chance

  To prove I am the one who can walk that mile

  Until the end starts...

  My eyes widened at the realization of what he was saying as the song came to an end. This man, who looked like a Ralph Lauren model, was telling me that he wanted me to be with him always. He, who could have anyone in the universe, wanted me. I bit my lip and tasted blood as I struggled with the emotions rolling through me.

  We still swayed together as if the music were still playing and a sad smile tugged at his lips.

  “Don’t be sad,” I whispered.

  “I am not sad January for the reason you may think. I am sad for the life you have led until now. It grieves me to think of you as a small child with no one to love you. My heart swells when I am near you and I cannot fathom how anyone can be near you and not feel the good that emanates from you. You are a very special person, my dear sweet girl and as long as there is breath in this body of mine, you will never feel as such again! My most fervent desire is for you to ‘forget your past and simply be mine.’” His voice was filled with so much emotion I felt my eyes tearing up.

  My heart sang when he said those words. I knew deep in my heart I was lost to him then only I wasn’t quite ready to admit it.

  “I did not intend for my words to make you cry, love.”

  “Oh Rykerian, they are not sad tears, but happy ones. You’ve touched my heart with your sweet words.” I placed my palm on his cheek and smiled. He placed his hand over mine and turned his face into my palm to place a kiss on it.

  Right at that moment, as we stood in each other’s arms, Maddie bounded down the stairs of the back entrance.

  “Rowan is on his way to give us an update on the status of things. He’s asked for you to join us January.”

  “Me? Why me?” I asked. Maddie shrugged and Rykerian shook his head indicating he didn’t know either. He grasped my hand and gave me a gentle tug and we followed Maddie down to the Compound.

  Chapter 6

  The Command Center was massive—like an underground city. We went through corridor after corridor and ended up in an area that looked like a loading dock of sorts. It was filled with all sorts of crazy looking things, including what I believed to be space ships. The last time I was down here was such a blur. We were in a hurry to get our plans underway that it wasn’t possible to take all this in. Now, I didn’t know if I should laugh or scream.

  “It is quite a bit to comprehend and yes, you are correct in your assumptions, January.”

  Rykerian spoke to me through telepathy.

  “Depending on their size and function, they are known by several names: Space Transporters, Space Travelers, Star Fighters and Star Freighters. We normally use them for long-term visits or when we need to get large amounts of supplies somewhere. Please do not be afraid.”

  He looked at me and grasped my shaking, sweaty hand, lacing his fingers with mine. I immediately felt comforted. I gave him a tentative smile in return and I watched his eyes soften as he stared back at me.

  “Why do you think they want me down here?”

  “That I cannot answer but I think it will be to thank you for helping us. Please do not worry.”

  I kept thinking how unsuitably dressed I was.

  “Do not be concerned about that. It is unimportant.”

  “I suppose I’m not doing such a great job of blocking my thoughts, am I?”

  He winked at me and Maddie turned to me and said, “Isn’t this place unreal? I can remember the first time I came down here. I was shocked because I had been living in the house for months and never knew any of this existed!”

  We finally came to a room with a set of double doors and we went inside. Seated at the table were Rayn, Rowan, who was an older version of Rayn and Tesslar.

  Rowan rose to his feet and hugged Maddie, and next approached me. He was tall, like Rykerian and Rayn, had those unbelievable emerald eyes so like Rayn’s and was wearing a full-length white robe belted with a gold rope.

  The last time I was down here, I didn’t pay as much attention to Rowan, but now I was immediately aware of the man’s power and commanding presence. He bowed to me and held out his hand. I rubbed my palm on my pants before placing it in his and smiled.

  “Ms. St. Davis, it is nice to see you again. I would like to thank you for assisting us in getting the vaccine transported to the proper locations. We owe you a huge debt of gratitude for what you have done for us in our attempts to curtail this pandemic we are facing on Earth. Consider the Guardians at your service for all time. If there is anything at all that we can do for you, please let me know,” he said with a flourish.

  “I was glad I could be of help, sir. And please call me January. May I ask you something?”

  “By all means,” he responded.

  “Will I be able to travel to Vesturon?”

  “Certainly and anytime you wish, our Space Transporters or teleporters are at the ready. Have you an interest in going to Vesturon?”

  “Someday I think I would like to see it,” I said.

  “Then I hope it will be sooner rather than later,” he said as his eyes lit up.

  I turned to Rykerian and he had a goofy little grin on his face. When I saw it, I couldn’t stop a tiny bubble of laughter from escaping.

  “What is so humorous?” he wanted to know.

  “Rykerian, you’re an open book for all to see,” I whispered as I leaned into him. His smile grew even bigger.

  As we sat around the conference table, Rowan explained the decision he and the Council of Elders, the governing force of Vesturon, made regarding the Guardians on Xanthus. Apparently the situation had become critical and it had escalated to the point where everyone’s safety was at stake.

  “We are underway with our evacuations as we speak,” he concluded.

  Maddie jumped to her feet all but screaming, “Are Therron, Xarrid and Saylan okay?”

  Rowan calmed her by saying all was fine and that by the month’s end, everyone should be safely back on Vesturon.

  “Whew, I’ve been so worried about them,” Maddie exclaimed.

  “As are we which is why we made this decision,” Rowan concluded.

  Rykerian had leaned toward me and explained that Therron and Xarrid were his brothers and that Saylan was a Guardian that gone through the Academy with Maddie and was one of her closest friends.

  “Father, what will happen on Xanthus if no one is there to establish a new government?” Rayn asked.

  “The rebels have caused such e
xtreme chaos we fear that this will advance to another war,” his voice edged with dread.

  Rykerian was shaking his head as he further explained to me how the Xanthians had been attempting to raid other planets for fuel resources. They were a species of ruthless abusers for not only did they abuse each other, they had also stripped their own planet of most of its natural resources, leaving Xanthus at the mercy of other planets. But instead of trading fairly, they would invade other planets and cause great annihilation in order to obtain what they wanted.

  Maddie looked toward me and said, “January, they are a disgusting bunch of creeps and I wish we could blow them into oblivion!”

  I was mortified by her vehemence. “Maddie, I’ve never heard you spout such hatred before.”

  “Yeah, well I have good reason. They abducted Rayn and tortured him and I don’t take kindly to them for that. But even before that happened, I served as an ambassador to Xanthus. They are nothing but a bunch of lying, cheating scoundrels. Rowan, I told you we needed to get rid of them all!”

  By this time Rayn had walked over to Maddie and placed his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. They looked at each other, Maddie stood up and Rayn turned to his father and said, “Please excuse us, my lord,” and they left the room.

  “Neither of them have any use for the Xanthians,” Rykerian said. “I am talking out of turn here, but this is a very difficult subject for them.”

  “I can understand why!”

  Rowan shifted in his seat and rubbed the back of his neck.

  “We are heading into very difficult times I am afraid. This pestilence on Earth, the gartha situation on Brutyn, and now the rebels on Xanthus just to name a few. I fear our safety during space travel. I have ordered all travel, other than teleporting, to be closely scrutinized,” he concluded. Rowan’s brow was furrowed and his eyes had darkened with worry.

  He turned to Rykerian saying, “I am pulling everyone out of here other than you, Kennar and the rest of your team. I need Maddie and Rayn, as well as Tesslar back on Vesturon. You are to remain in charge here. Keep close tabs on the pandemic and I expect daily reports on the progress. Watch for any shifts. The vaccine is in the proper hands and we must leave it to the humans to take care of the rest...restoring order and so forth. Step in where and when you need to, but only if necessary.”

  Rowan rose to his feet, looking worn and weary, and we all followed. “Be safe my son and take care of January.” He smiled before continuing, “But I do not think I need to tell you that do I?”

  “No, my liege, you do not,” Rykerian answered with a smile. “Please give Mother my love.”

  “I always do, my son.” They embraced and Rykerian led me out of the room and back up to the house.

  Chapter 7

  I needed to speak to Maddie before she left. I excused myself from Rykerian telling him I wanted to find her. I searched everywhere except her bedroom. I didn’t dare go up there for I had a feeling she was locked inside with Rayn.

  My feet carried me to the large den and I plopped down on one of the many cushy sofas that dotted the room. I couldn’t help but think how incredible this house was. It was comfortable yet elegant but had that mountain feel at the same time. The vaulted ceiling in the den was made of gigantic timbers and the massive rock fireplace only emphasized the height of the ceiling even more.

  I was sitting there, lost in my thoughts when Rayn flew down the stairs with Maddie on his heels.

  “You can’t go alone Rayn. Please listen to me!” she begged.

  “It is just a routine mission Maddie. I am only staying here—no intergalactic travel. I must check out that rogue space traveler they’ve tagged.”

  “But that’s what you did last time and they captured you! Please... I’m begging you. Don’t go out there alone,” she urged in a tearful voice.

  Maddie was visibly upset, wringing her hands and her voice was constricted with fear. I sucked in my breath when I saw her face and they must have heard me as they both looked my way.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help it.”

  “January, where is Rykerian?” Maddie wanted to know.

  “I don’t know but he is around somewhere.”

  As soon as I was on my feet, Rykerian was walking across the room.

  “Rykerian, please talk some sense into Rayn. He wants to go out alone to investigate a rogue star traveler and I want him to take someone.” Maddie was trembling and still wringing her hands.

  After a brief discussion, Rykerian agreed with Maddie so he gave the order that Kennar would accompany Rayn.

  When they left, Maddie ran to Rykerian to hug and thank him. “I couldn’t bear for anything to happen to him again. I owe you Rykerian.”

  “No Maddie. I couldn’t agree with you more. He should know better than to charge off without discussing this with anyone.”

  After Maddie left, I wondered why Rayn would even think of doing anything like that.

  “Because he is Rayn and that is what he does. He doesn’t want anyone else to take unnecessary risks yet he thinks nothing of putting himself in harm’s way,” Rykerian answered.

  “How long will he be gone?”

  “Maybe a couple of hours or so.”

  I had a million questions about how everything worked and Rykerian started to fill me in little by little. The biggest question I had was how they could go into space undetected by radar. He explained that they used a system that shielded them, making them invisible to radar or other detection devices.

  “We have the capability of putting up a veil or a power shield of sorts. It is an invisible form of protection that rearranges the radio waves and other detecting devices and deflects them, making it seem like nothing is there. It is somewhat like your Stealth technology here, only better. A lot better,” he said smiling.

  It made me wonder about all the cool things that Vesturon had. Would I ever travel there? And what would that be like?

  “As soon as it is safe to do so, I will take you there myself in a Star Transporter. I think you would enjoy the ride. We also have the option of teleporting there if you’d like. You could even go with Maddie and Rayn later today,” he suggested.

  “Oh no... I don’t think I’m ready to go just yet. But I do want to someday.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Maddie heading toward the back of the house. I needed to speak with her...I needed to confide in someone about my confused feelings concerning Rykerian, I mused. Again, I had forgotten about his ability to hear my thoughts.

  “I urge you to speak with her January if it will make you feel better.”

  I felt my face flaming and I was stricken with a severe case of shyness. I would have to practice shielding my thoughts, as it was a huge embarrassment for me when he heard my deepest darkest secrets.

  He was at my side before I could blink. He tilted my head back and our eyes locked.

  “Please don’t ever be embarrassed about your thoughts of me, no matter what they are,” he whispered. “There is nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about.”

  I could only shake my head in response before he claimed my lips for the briefest of kisses. Then he said, “Go and speak with Maddie. I believe you need each other right now.”

  Rykerian had such a tenderness about him and he always seemed to say the right thing. I made my way to the back terrace in search of Maddie. She was sitting in my favorite spot looking up at the sky. “I pray for his safe return,” she said as she heard my approach.

  “I know you are going crazy right now.”

  “Oh January, if you could have seen him when I pulled him out of the Xanthian prison, you would have a better understanding. It was a horrible time for us. I had done some incredibly stupid things, like going to the Academy for Guardians behind his back. I was afraid to tell him for fear he would pitch a fit. Then I had a run-in with another student there who was insanely jealous of me and intent on getting rid of me. She abducted me and left m
e for dead. It’s a long story, but if it hadn’t been for Saylan, and then Xarrid who found me, I wouldn’t be here right now. When Rayn found out about that, he totally flipped out. We didn’t speak for a long, long time. It was his capture by the Xanthians that brought us back together. He went to investigate a rogue Star Fighter and it was a trap. They took him to Xanthus and it was weeks before anyone told me. I was serving as an ambassador at the time and was stationed in the farthest sector of the universe. Anyway, it was an awful time and I just worry to death about him in times like these,” she concluded.

  “Well, it’s not like you don’t have good reason to.”

  “So tell me...you and Rykerian, huh?” she said with a conspiratorial smile.

  I could feel my cheeks flushing. Why did this always happen to me, I pondered?

  “Yeah, and I’d kind of like to talk to you about that,” I mumbled.

  “Sure thing, but let me say this first. Rykerian is top-notch January. He is also the most sensitive guy I’ve ever been around. I mean, he is so tenderhearted, I sometimes feel sorry for him.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you can see how easily he blushes. Sometimes he’s so quiet and introspective. He’s told me he feels like people are constantly judging him. I also think he gets tired of all the girls that try to smother him. It’s obvious why, but he honestly hates all that attention. When I first came here, he was so shy...painfully so. I thought he didn’t like me. But he’s extremely loyal and would never do anything dishonorable. He is true January. And so attractive, don’t you think?”

  “You’re kidding, right? Attractive is an understatement. I mean look at him! That hair, those eyes, that smile, and that body...gah! He couldn’t be more perfect. But I don’t know...I’m really scared by all of this. It’s happened so fast. And I have zero experience with boys. Maddie, I’ve never even been on a stupid date! I’m a total dork.”

  “January, I was exactly the same way. I guess I had dated a few boys, but nothing major. Then this unbelievable guy comes barreling into my life, sweeping me off my feet and nothing’s been the same since. But I wouldn’t change it for anything. If you only knew...” she said as a far-away look came into her eyes.