A small sound of distress escaped Alex’s throat. She closed her eyes briefly, pain tightening her features.
Johan stared at her. “You didn’t know.”
She shook her head, her stomach rolling.
This seemed to satisfy Johan. “After that, we arranged to trap your brother.”
“You made the vids of Samuel’s confession.”
Johan shook his head. “Not me, but several men in the rebellion did and we lied to King Darius about how Samuel had died on Teran Five.”
“I’m in your debt two-fold, then,” Tory told him.
They had reached a small house near the Great Hall. “Ena told us she wanted to end the control Pontoon Gregor held over the court. We had no idea she meant to destroy the rest of the planet in the process. We thought she’d release the plague on Teran Four and end the war.” Johan’s tone was bitter. “We helped her set up Commander Zeerah. With the help of the Ardasian, we knew Darius would get his closest relative to deliver the plague vials. We also timed it so you would confront her. Of course, our plan was for Commander Zeerah to be killed.” The man’s gaze met his. “Some of us believed it was your right to kill her, sir.” His chin jutted out. “We didn’t know—” He cleared his throat and opened the door without finishing his thought.
No, his men wouldn’t have known about Tory’s obsession for Alex. And it would have made sense to take revenge on the woman whose brother exiled him. Of course, they didn’t know he’d been slated for death, not exile and that Alex had saved his ass.
The little house wasn’t a house at all. It resembled a command center with computer consoles and vid monitors everywhere. Johan waved them into two chairs and began to click on a keyboard. Several points of the city clicked on the screen, the mill of people scrutinized and studied by those intense silver eyes.
“Does the Ardasian know Jezar is here too?” Alex asked.
Johan nodded. “I’ve sent a woman to intercept them. Hopefully, Jezar will read her and she won’t have to risk being seen.”
“Johan, do you know Celeste? Have you seen her?”
The man squirmed in his seat. “Commander—”
“Please tell me.”
So, Alex hadn’t caught those thoughts from the bridge. The thoughts were there, but she hadn’t gleaned everything yet.
Johan shot him a look. Tory nodded. “Tell her.”
“Celeste is part of Ena’s…entourage. She isn’t a prisoner. She’s Ena’s…”
Alex waited. Johan didn’t go on. Tory told her. “What Jezar got from Pulzer is that Celeste has been promised a mating with Ena and Pulzer and that your sister has watched the couple fuck.” He said it baldly, knowing it was going to hurt no matter how it was packaged.
Her face crumpled. He reached out with his mind to give her comfort and got slapped back. Yes, she was pissed he hadn’t told her, but he wasn’t going to let her keep him out. He pushed and she glared at him. He pushed more and she finally surrendered and let him in. He winced at the pain there. A whirl of emotion slammed into him. Anger that he hadn’t told her, had hidden it from her. Hurt that her sister would betray her, allow her life to be forfeit for a sexual connection with the enemy. And finally, fear that she’d have to watch her only sister die, either by the hand of Ena Solly or, perhaps, Celete’s own hand.
Mental touches weren’t enough. He stood and hauled her to her feet to hold her in his arms. She clung to him, a wave of despair washing through her and over him. He stood firm, reminding her that they were there to save Celeste, even if she didn’t want to be saved.
“We tried to tell her, Commander Zeerah. We all knew Ena wasn’t going to share Pulzer with her. Celeste has been…convinced.”
“The Ardasian?” Tory guessed and Johan nodded.
“He has a lot of power over her.”
Alex frowned at Johan. “Who is this man? How could a full-blooded Ardasian blend in like that and not be spotted?”
Johan’s gaze widened. “You really don’t know?”
“Know what?”
Slowly, the man shook his head. “We thought you knew.”
“Knew what?” Alex shouted at the soldier.
Johan’s silver gaze glittered. “Your mother was full-blooded Ardasian. Before she mated with your father, she had a child with an Ardasian male.”
She blinked. “What?”
“Kyler is your half brother.”
Tory barely caught her when she slumped. White-faced, shaking and completely unnerved, Alex collapsed in a chair. “No. It can’t be.”
Johan stared at her. “I can’t believe you didn’t know.”
“Kyler can’t be that. He can’t be.”
“He is. And believe me, he hates your whole bloodline as much as Ena hates the Gregor and Ingle bloodlines. Between the two of them, they wanted to end the aristocracy.” Johan turned away. “Which, up until she proposed releasing the Old Earth plague, was fine with me.”
“Understandable,” Alex said shortly.
“Saria—”
“I’m fine. Kyler…visited us twice. My mother…I had no idea she was an Ardasian. She said Kyler was a distant cousin.” The last two words were spat out as if they were foul on Alex’s tongue. “He… Let’s just say he didn’t act brotherly.”
Dangerous levels of adrenaline shot through Tory’s blood. “Oh?”
“He never did anything, but…” She shuddered. “If he was full-blooded Ardasian, he knew exactly who he was and what he was to me.” She shook her head. “I thought he was my friend.”
“He never was,” Johan told her.
Alex’s smile was bitter. “I never was much good at family.”
“You are now,” Tory insisted and put his arm around her. “We’re family.”
She shuddered. “What if Celeste doesn’t want to come with us?”
He turned her to face him, his hands gripping her shoulders. “I gave you no choice, remember? I wanted three months. We’ll demand the same from her.”
A faint smile crossed Alex’s face. “I don’t think you can tie her up though.”
“No. But we can keep her contained. She needs us more than ever, Alex. We can’t turn our back on her.”
“Even if she ends up being responsible for the death of millions?”
“Even then. Especially then,” he said earnestly.
One lone tear slid down Alex’s face. “What about Kyler?” A frown wrinkled her brow. “Is he family too?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “He’s your half brother by blood. He has no claim on you unless you want him to. If you do want to save him, we will.” Simple as that. What she wanted, he wanted.
“I just want to stop Ena from releasing that damned plague.” She jerked out of his embrace and paced.
“That will cost you,” Johan said brutally. “It always does.”
Alex stopped abruptly and then sighed. “I know it.”
“There she is.” Johan pointed and a small woman with red hair strode past, approaching an oncoming threesome. The tall figure of Foche towered above the crowd and Jezar followed behind. Tesia was hidden by their bulk, protected by both men. The dark woman glanced up at the camera and then met Jezar’s gaze.
Awareness flared in Jezar’s green eyes. He touched Tesia but said nothing. The red-haired woman nodded and slipped across the street. Foche pushed Pulzer foward and Jezar followed. The dark woman nodded to two men, who grabbed Pulzer and hustled him away. Jezar stopped Foche from lunging after them and whispered something to him. They disappeared down a side street.
“They’re on their way here.” Johan stared at them.
“Where are they taking Pulzer?” Alex asked.
“Somewhere he can’t do any harm to my plan.” His eyes narrowed on them. “I have a plan, but it’s risky.”
Tory shrugged. “Any plan to stop Ena Solly will be risky.”
Johan gave Tory a steady glare. “You’re going to have to leave your mate.”
“No!”
“I said no,” Tory ground out.
Alex laid a hand on his shoulder. “Hear him out.”
Agony ripped through him. “Not again, Alex. Not again.” He didn’t want to be without her.
She cupped his face. “We’re bridged, my Sarat. We will never be apart again.”
I can’t live without you, Alexandra.
Me either, but if we have a chance to win, we should at least hear the plan.
Alex— He couldn’t even put it into thought. The pain, the slicing pain, that tore through him just thinking about being away from her. He couldn’t handle it, couldn’t block it.
She brushed his lips with hers. Emotion flowed from her to him. Warmth, love, hope, need, desire, a flood of everything she felt about him touched him everywhere. He lowered his forehead to meet hers in surrender. What she wanted, he wanted.
And she wanted to win.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Though Alex convinced Tory to listen to the plan, she knew he might still refuse to go through with anything that might take her away.
By the time Jezar, Foche and Tesia showed up, Tory was resigned, but resentful.
His mental touch had been about receiving reassurance and giving comfort. She made sure he didn’t catch some of the thoughts she had about Kyler.
When she’d lost Tory, she threw herself into her work, the military, the missions. Then, she lost her father, her mother and finally her brother. Celeste was all she had left. Kyler had offered to “keep an eye” on her little sister.
When Darius asked her to transport a “dangerous but important” item to Teran Five’s General Costas, she had been aware that she might not come back. She’d turned to Kyler.
As an Ardasian, he must have known her thoughts. He knew she still loved Tory deep in her heart and that her last thoughts as she left on her mission were of the chance she’d missed with him. The rebellion had informed Tory about the shipment because Kyler knew something very important.
She’d never fire on Tory. Ever. Even for Teran One. Even though he was a criminal. And she’d never surrender either. She would have rather died than make the choice between the planet she loved or the man she loved. It was all there for him to read.
Jezar met her gaze. Your love for Tory was clear to anyone who reads you. I’m sorry.
You knew, didn’t you?
I knew. Jezar’s thoughts leaked out and a jolt of surprise shot through her.
He’s your brother too! Holy shit!
His biological father is my father.
She stared at Jezar. That’s why he had signed up. This was what the Ardasian council had meant by Jezar had a personal stake in what happened. It was very personal. His brother broke the code, flaunted the gifts Ardasians hold sacred, used his mental powers to influence human beings.
You knew he was in charge, pulling the strings, and you’re here to stop him.
No! Jezar’s denial was firm. I knew Kyler was on Teran One, but I swear I didn’t know he was behind all this. It wasn’t until we realized there was an Ardasian involved that I considered my brother might be the one. But I didn’t want to believe it.
And now?
Now I have no choice.
Jezar was going to stop Kyler the rogue Ardasian.
“Let’s hear the plan,” Tory said.
Johan clicked a few buttons and the screens showed three different locations. One was the Great Hall, bustling with visitors. The second was an underground maze of tunnels. The third was the shuttle bay.
“I have two hundred of my people lined up for today’s fireworks. Commander Zeerah will still make her appearance at the Shoshani celebration tonight.” He shot her a quick glance. “Gregor will make an attempt. My men will stop it. Unfortunately, Commander Zeerah, we need Jezar and Tory to confront Ena and Kyler.”
“Why?” Tesia demanded.
“Because Jezar can cloud our approach. We might be able to get the vials with a minimum of bloodshed.” He pointed to the shuttle bay. “The underground tunnels end here, Commander Ingle. When you’ve obtained the vials that are in the guarded safe, our men will cover your escape.” He touched each of them with a serious gaze. “If the Gregor family is distracted by Commander Zeerah and my men at the Great Hall, they won’t attack Ena. Right now, Ena plans to begin a civil war.” He held Alex’s gaze. “I plan to stop her.”
“All right,” Tory said. “Let’s discuss the details and synchronize our watches.”
* * * * *
The Great Hall teemed with familiar faces but Alex studied each of them more carefully than she ever had before. All her life, she’d taken so much for granted. The aristocracy had always been the bedrock of their society, but maybe they’d been inflexible. Teran One prejudices had allowed an Ardasian to manipulate them, to create the crisis that now loomed. The rigid adherence to bloodlines, family and nepotism had fermented unrest and resentment. It made Teran One easy pickings for someone like Kyler.
The Hall had been decorated with banners, each family crest represented even if the bloodline had died out or, in Tory’s case, been disgraced. The First Six were the biggest tables. The Stender table, empty and sad, dominated the front of the hall, its eagle crest hanging over the rest of the tables. The Gregor table, moved from previous Shoshani celebrations, now resided directly beside the Stender’s place. Eight older men and one very old woman sat at this table, their eyes shifty and wary. On the opposite side of the Stender table was Alex’s place, the Zeetah on her crest crouching as if ready to spring. An apt position.
She and ten of the rebels resided at the Zeerah table. Her contingent included Foche and Tesia. Alex enjoyed explaining the various rituals to Tesia, who seemed enthralled by the spectacle.
The remaining three of the First bloodlines were lined up below them, the Solly table populated by lesser members of that family. Alex pointed out each name and told stories for each bloodline, a welcome distraction from the tension in the other members of their group.
When she reached the Ingle table she told the story of the first Ingle and Saria contracts. Tesia stared at her. “You mean, it’s not servitude?”
Alex smiled. “Don’t misunderstand me. In barbaric hands it’s…well, barbaric. In some instances, such as Anton Gregor’s various marriages, it’s just a legalized form of rape. But the alternative for some of the families is extinction.” She studied the brutal Gregor, who had just “lost” his fourth wife. “The Gregors have always tended to use bloodshed to gain positions in power. After all, it was their bloodline nearly destroying the Solly line that caused the Saria contracts to be created in the first place.” She stared at the Ingle crest. The comet, a bright orange and red, shot across their banner. “Our people are brutal, Tesia. But we are deeply loyal to our families. It is both our blessing and our curse.” She thought about the Old Earth plague and how her genetics played such a huge role in what was happening.
“Look alive, boys,” one of the rebels murmured. All the Gregors stood and men were weaving their way through the great hall. Violence was one cough away from exploding.
So intent on the Gregors and the men approaching from the back of the Great Hall, Alex didn’t hear the approach of men from behind her until it was too late.
A flash, the familiar agonizing buzz over her skin as the stunner slammed into her and then, nothing.
* * * * *
The entrance to the tunnel yawned like a gaping mouth and its dark recesses made Tory nervous. He didn’t like the turn of events. Alex was too far away. He and Jezar followed Johan into a maze of darkness. And somewhere out there was an Ardasian who had the ability to see the future.
It didn’t look so good for their side.
The men with them were battle-hardened rebels and Jezar seemed fine with all of them. But Tory’s gut churned. He didn’t like it at all.
They crept along the hollowed-out passageways, the sounds of the cit
y above them completely muffled. The darkness grew cold and the glowsticks each man had, cast an eerie shadow over the tunnel walls.
Can you feel the other Ardasian? he asked Jezar.
No. He’s clouding his men too. I don’t like this. For Jezar to be disturbed as well only increased Tory’s discomfort. It had seemed so simple. Distract Ena and the Gregors with Alex. Get the vials. Abduct Celeste.
But somehow, he wasn’t sure it was going to be easy at all.
“It’s in here.” Johan led them to a smaller corridor off the larger tunnel. At the end of the corridor, lit by a single light, was a steel door. Johan stepped forward eagerly and pulled it open.
Too late, Tory realized it was all too easy. Where were the guards? Where was the Ardasian?
As if in answer to his question, a pain in his back ripped through him. A stunner. Cries all around him told Tory they’d been trapped.
And then it all went black.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Cold. It was so fucking cold. Tory tried to move and found his feet and hands bound in metal. He blinked and tried to clear his blurry vision.
Then he wished he hadn’t.
On the floor in front of him, Jezar was slumped in a heap, restrained, possibly dead. Beside him, Johan, also trussed up against the wall, seemed as if he was still unconscious. Across the small room, Tesia and Alex, both completely naked, were bound the same way he was. Despair flooded his soul. He had failed. They had failed. And now Alex would pay the price.
Where were Foche and the other men?
The door opened and a tall man, blond, smiling, with sharp green eyes and a smooth gait, strode into the room. This must be Kyler.
In his hand, he had something Tory recognized and his stomach flipped. Shit, not that thing. He’d seen one on Teran Four up close and personal. A Drav. A long stick that sent shards of pain shooting through one’s body but did no physical damage. Teran Four specialized in causing pain without damaging the victim’s ability to procreate.
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