“I like getting paid,” the first assassin said. “There's so little of that on Optorio as it is, that you need to take advantage of things when you can.”
“And you're part of the problem on Optorio,” I said. “Work with me. I want to bring down the Regents and make it a better world for all of us.”
The two men shared a look and then burst out into laughter. “Now, why would we do that?” the second assassin said. “We like getting paid and the Regents pay a lot more than anybody else.”
“So, let's have you put down your guns,” the first assassin said. “Drop 'em on the ground and then we'll let your girl and the cowardly king here go on about their business.”
“Fine,” I replied. “Just don't hurt them. Either of them.”
“You have my word.”
I was just about to toss the gun away when I saw Riley spring into action. She drove the her elbow back into the midsection of her captor at the same time she brought the heel of her foot down on the top of his. The man screamed and cursed, his hold on her loosening up slightly.
Just enough, actually.
Riley threw herself to the ground and I raised my weapon again, squeezing off a shot without hesitation. The assassin grunted and then fell as my shot took him square in the chest. He dropped immediately, dead before he hit the ground.
The second assassin turned and looked at his dying partner – a big mistake. With the lapse in concentration, Baz reached out and seized the man by the neck, giving it a vicious twist. I heard the snap from where I stood. The man fell to the ground, as lifeless as his partner.
Riley was on her knees, looking at the two bodies and then back at us. Tears stood in her eyes and her lower lip quivered.
“They will keep coming,” Baz said. “This was just the first of them.”
I moved over and dropped to my knees, pulling Riley to me in a tight embrace. She wrapped her arms around me and held on tight, sobbing into my chest. Baz was angry. He looked like he would have relished the chance to kill both men all over again.
“What can I do?” I asked Baz.
“You need to end this,” he said. “One way or another, you need to take the fight to the Regents. Bring them down once and for all.”
“I'm one man.”
“Sometimes, that's enough,” he replied softly. “But I still have friends there. You will have some support. You have my word.”
“Thank you,” I said.
I had no idea what else to say. Or where to start. Or what to do. Yes, I'd been in the military, but I wasn't a tactician. I was a soldier.
“Jendrish, listen to me,” Baz said. “These assassins will keep coming. You have to cut the rot out of the fruit. Take control of Optorio back from the greedy and the corrupt. Give it back to the people.”
I nodded. “I will. I don't know how, but I will.”
I kissed Riley on the top of her head and didn't know how I was going to keep that promise – but was determined to try.
Book 4 – Silver Lining
Chapter One
Jendrish
I knew Baz was right. I really had no other option than to confront the Regent Council with what I knew and find a way to take them down. Or else, I'd always be living in fear of another assassin coming after me. Or worse, coming after Riley. And even worse than that, if I failed to act, I would forever be haunted by the knowledge that I turned my back on a crime against people. That I did nothing while the Regents turned women like Riley into sex slaves.
I would never be able to live with myself if I turned away.
I was quiet, deep in thought while sitting at Riley's place. She was there with me, her head resting in my lap as she stared up at me with eyes that were wide. I idly stroked her hair, not knowing what to do. She was worried. Scared. Not that I blamed her. I was worried too. Going back to Optorio would mean starting an all-out war. In order to get the Regent Council ousted from power, I'd need backup. I'd have to call on former brothers of mine, as well as Baz's supporters, to help fight. It was a fight that would more than likely leading to some deaths. Maybe even a lot of deaths.
Maybe even my own.
“Are you okay?” Riley asked me, staring up at me with eyes that were haunted.
I stroked her face with the tips of my fingers, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, and smiled. She made me happy – even when the weight of the world felt like it had settled down upon my shoulders. Leaving her behind wouldn't be easy and I knew she wouldn't like it. But to guarantee she'd always be safe – as well as other women like her – I had to do this. I had to fight.
“I'm just thinking. Trying to come up with a plan,” I said.
She sat up abruptly, her face darkening with emotion. “So you really are going back?”
She bit her lip and twirled a strand of her dark hair as she waited for an answer.
“I have to, Riley. There really is no other choice. I'm sorry – ”
She cut my words off with a kiss. It was a kiss full of passion. Emotion. Worry.
“Don't ever be sorry for doing the right thing, Jendrish,” she said. “I'm just scared for you, that's all.”
Because she cared about me. How this woman – who'd been abused by so many men in her life – could care this much for me was amazing beyond words to me. I wasn't even sure I was worthy of it. In fact, I knew I probably wasn't. But I couldn't deny the fact that I loved it. Because I felt the same for her.
She got up from the bed and went over to her closet, grabbing a backpack.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I'm packing,” she said calmly.
“Packing?” I cocked my head and asked. “Are you going to be staying with a friend? That is actually probably the best, given all that's happening – ”
She shot me a look that made me stop speaking. “No, I'm going with you, silly,” she said. “I'm not letting you go into this fight alone.”
“Riley,” I said, standing up and going to her, “you need to stay here, where it's safer for you. I don't want anything to happen to you. I don't know how this is all going to play out, but no matter what happens, I want – no, I need – to know that you are safe.”
She dropped the backpack on the bed before taking my hands in hers. She stood across from me, holding my hands and staring deep into my eyes.
“Where you go, I go,” she said. “I know this is crazy given the fact that we haven't known each other long, but our fates are now intertwined. We're bonded together. And I'm not leaving your side, no matter what.”
I wanted to argue and opened my mouth to say so, but Riley wasn't having any of it. She shook her head and gave me a withering look, as if she knew what I was going to say. She probably did. Not much got by her.
The idea of leaving her behind hurt, of course. But the idea of losing her forever if things got bad – and I expected that they would – hurt me even more. It wasn't expected, nor was it even rational, but I was falling for her. She filled my heart with emotions I'd never before experienced. And there was no way I could lose her or risk her being hurt.
I tried to tell her that. Tried to convey what she meant to me and what it would do to me if something happened to her.
“And I feel the same way,” she argued. “I care about you, Jendrish. More than I can possibly explain. More than I even understand myself. But I can't wait here, always wondering what happened to you. I'd rather die beside you than live the rest of my life here without you. Without knowing what happened to you.”
My heart ached to hear those words because I knew I couldn't argue with that. In her shoes, I'd feel the same way. I did feel the same way. And to know she felt that strongly about me was amazing beyond words. But of course, it was bittersweet as well.
“Where you go, I go,” she said one last time, throwing some clothes into a bag. “So let's make a plan and be smart about it, because you're not going to talk me out of it. You're not going to get rid of me, Jendrish, so get that idea out of your head right now.�
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Her strong spirit is what drew me to her in the first place. She had an aura about her that projected strength and fire. And now, it was keeping her with me – even though I fought to make her stay home where it was safe. As humans say, you have to take the good with the bad.
Since I knew there was no way to win this argument, I decided my only course of action was to protect her at all costs. No matter what, I would protect her. And I'd keep protecting her, making sure she would return home safely once more.
I did it once, I would do it again. Perhaps it was foolish to make such a vow, but I made it anyway. Because living a life without Riley, I was learning, was not a life I wanted to live.
“Okay then. If there really is no way to talk you out of this – ”
“There isn't.” she said and gave me a lopsided grin.
“Well, I'm going to reach out to some of my former Royal Guardsmen and ask for their help,” I said. “When we were part of the Guard, our honor and code meant something to us. So I have to believe that many of these men will help me. And there are a lot of them.”
“Enough to overthrow the bad guys?” Riley asked.
I couldn't help but laugh at her use of the word, “Bad guys”. It was such a – human concept.
“I hope so,” I said. “But this is going to be bad, Riley. It will likely come down to an all-out war. The Regent Council, or as you call them “The bad guys” are not going to want to relinquish their power or control. And they very likely will not go down without a fight, I'm afraid. Some of the former Guardsmen have since become the private army of the Regents.”
“I'm not afraid, Jendrish.”
“I never said you were.”
“Good. Because I'm not,” she said. “And while you're doing that, I can free the other women still being held captive.”
“I don't know – ”
She shot me another one of her looks that said I wasn't going to win this argument. I wondered if this was going to be a common theme in our relationship.
“We'll see, Riley. We'll take it step-by-step,” I said, not willing to concede the point entirely. “If it appears safe, you can free the other women.”
But even as I said it, I knew that Riley had her mind made up already. And nothing I said was going to dissuade her. She was going to free those women because like me, she knew she had to do the right thing. Even if it killed her.
I'd just have to make sure that didn't happen.
ooo000ooo
“We'll be ready for your return, Jendrish,” Vink said. “I'll have the army ready to go to battle as well as having the proper procedures in place to arrest those involved.”
“Thank you, Vink. I knew I could count on you,” I said, overcome with a sense of relief about how easy that part had been.
Of course, I knew it was going to be relatively simple. I knew my fellow Guards would be on my side. And like me, they too were sick and tired of seeing our home being destroyed by the greedy and the corrupt. But once they heard about the women being sold into bondage – and talked to Riley – it was just a matter of us getting there and arresting the Regent Council.
Riley was beside me, holding my hand the entire time. I kissed her hand after I disconnected the transmission from Vink, smiling at her.
“Well, so far, so good,” I said.
“Sounds like everything will be just fine.”
Yeah, if only it would all be that easy. I knew it wasn't going to be. But I didn't want to focus on what could go wrong right now. We had to get to the ship and be on our way. Time was of the essence, as they said.
My pulse was racing as I prepared the ship for takeoff, knowing that once we were in the air, we would be an easy target. I had a feeling there were ships in orbit waiting for us. But there was no other way I could get back to Optorio. I glanced over at Riley who sat calmly in the seat next to mine. She seemed to be handling this better than I thought.
“For somebody who doesn't like flying, let alone space travel,” I said, “you seem to be dealing with this all quite well.”
She looked at me and only then did I see the fear in her eyes. “I'm screaming on the inside.”
“Don't worry, Riley,” I said. “This is the simple bit. Once we're in the air, it will be smooth sailing.”
I hoped.
However, as soon as we were in the air again, she was clinging tightly to me while trying to stifle her whimpers.
“I hate flying,” she reminded me.
She knew this and yet she stayed with me anyway. That said a lot. She had courage and strength in abundance. The ship shimmied and shook as we got airborne and seemed to labor a bit as we shot up through the sky, rocketing toward open space. It took a few moments for her to calm down and open her eyes again after takeoff, and even then, she remained quiet.
“Are you scared?” I asked, just to get her talking.
I expected her to lie to me, to say she wasn't. Because my girl liked to act tough. But instead, she turned to me and said, “A little.”
“A little?” I asked, feeling proud that she admitted to even that much.
“Okay,” she said with a shaky laugh, “maybe more than a little. But it's okay. I've been through a lot and I always manage to survive.”
“Let's keep it that way,” I said softly.
“At least, if we explode, it will be quick,” she said. “Silver linings, right?”
Silver linings? I cocked my head and accessed Ozul to give me the meaning.
“Silver linings is a human colloquialism,” Ozul responded. “It means finding the best in a bad situation.”
I wanted to ask her again if she were sure this was the right thing to do – if this was what she really wanted to do – but as I shot her a sideways glance, I saw her smiling at me, giving me an adoring look that said I already had an answer. She wasn't going to leave my side. And I wasn't going to leave hers.
“What?” I said, feeling a bit sheepish after noticing her staring at me.
“Can't I admire you? You're just so – beautiful.”
“As are you,” I said.
“No I'm not. Not like you or your people,” she said. “You all look like works of art. You are all so pretty and chiseled and pale – ”
I looked at her with a gaze that was full of meaning. “Why do you think people from my planet were kidnapping and importing women from your planet?”
She shrugged.
“Because to us, you're the epitome of beauty,” I said. “And to me, you're the most beautiful of them all.”
She blushed. “Good point about the kidnapping, I suppose. I hadn't thought of it like that.”
“And the rest still stands as well. You are an exquisite creature, Riley,” I said. “And I feel so incredibly fortunate to have you by my side.”
Riley was smiling from ear-to-ear, though she also looked away as if she was slightly uncomfortable by the attention, her cheeks turning a vivid shade of red. From what I knew of her past – which was admittedly little – I could see why she might be uncomfortable being the center of attention. But a girl like Riley deserved to hear those things. She deserved to be cherished. Worshipped. And I was going to make sure she heard them – every single day – as long as she was by my side. However long that might be.
One could hope for forever, but that was a silly statement. Nobody lived forever. And considering we were going into a fight that was going to get bad, forever might not be that long anyway. And after we won, I wasn't sure what the future might hold. But for now, I was going to make sure Riley knew just how special she was to me.
Chapter Two
Riley
The attention Jendrish lavished upon me struck me as strange. Weird. Uncomfortable. I'd never had someone look at me the way he did. Never had somebody dote on me the way he did. And given the fact that he was so generous and caring – and that he was utterly gorgeous – it meant the world to me. To know that he saw a beautiful woman – or as he put it, an exquisite creature – when he
looked at me, even though I felt like there was no way I could compare to the women on his home planet meant a lot to me. It meant the world. And that to me, was an amazing feeling.
But it still felt weird, and I had a hard time accepting the compliments. It wasn't something I encountered in my everyday life and I'd probably never get used to them. Of course, I took pains to avoid putting myself in social situations where it might even be possible, but that was beside the point. My own life experience had sort of soured me on things like social settings and boyfriends.
But it wasn't just my dating life that had been so difficult. Unlike many children, I never had doting parents who told me I was perfect or parents who praised me for anything, really. My aunt and uncle only found reasons to nitpick and nag me. They found reasons to tear me down rather than build me up. They only found what was wrong and hurled insults at me in order to try to get me to change. They called it tough love. But looking back on it, I see it for what it was – abuse.
I came out of childhood broken, feeling like I was never good enough. And then, of course, there was Mike. Most would say that Mike was a direct product of my childhood. That if not for the abuse I'd suffered and the damage it had done to my self-esteem, then I never would have been suckered in by somebody like him.
But Jendrish – he was different in so many ways. He was good. Truly good. In a world where nothing ever felt black and white, but we were literally surrounded by shades of gray, Jendrish was the pure good in the world. Perhaps it was just getting caught up in the emotions inherent in the early stages of a relationship. Maybe I had him on a pedestal a bit too high. But after everything he risked to save us – and everything he risked now to save others – I think I had every right to see him as a white knight. As a hero.
And he was my hero.
I reached out and took his hand in mine. He smiled at me.
“You know, I couldn't help but notice that we have the entire ship to ourselves,” he said. “Unlike last time, that is.”
He was right. We were alone. On this big, old ship in the middle of outer space with nothing to do but stare at the stars as they passed us by.
Fawks (Dragons of Kratak Book 4) Page 39
