He caught her chin in his hand. “Do you wish to die?”
She frowned and shook her head, or tried to. He kept a hold of her stubborn chin. “Of course not, but a deal is a deal.”
Zaxe slowly pushed to his feet, blaster in hand. “Step away from him, Sass.”
Now this was an interesting turn of events.
She frowned at her sibling. “What are you doing? Put that down.”
Delphi joined her brother. “I don’t think so. Let her go.”
He shook his head. “I’ll never let her go.”
Both newcomers held their weapons trained on him. Their loyalty to Sass was the only reason he’d allow them to live. Threatening royalty was frowned up in his culture and usually ended in death. But these were extenuating circumstances.
The ship rocked slightly as a laser cannon blast struck and was deflected.
“We’ll talk later.” He released Sass and headed toward the control room with her and the others hot on his heels. He slid into his chair. “Open communications with other ship. Display picture.”
The man released a low whistle while his sister whispered. “Holy shit.”
“You have an image of Artemis.” There was both awe and fear in Sass’s voice. To her, Artemis was the monster from her nightmares, the one who’d controlled her life from the time she was a child. The older woman kept her assassins off-balance, never allowing them to see or know their full power.
Because she feared them. There was no loyalty, no love or respect to temper their abilities.
What Sass failed to understand was that he was the true monster, an assassin without equal. He ate opponents like Artemis for breakfast.
“I’ll kill you,” she began as the image of her faded from the screen to be replaced by reality.
“Computer, please note that the captain of the vessel has threatened a Gravasian ship. Inform Gravasian command.”
Artemis paled but quickly recovered. “I have no quarrel with Gravas. My assassin took these items without my knowledge.” She held up the weapons. “I’m happy to return them. I’ll even take my employee back and dispose of her myself. Call it a goodwill gesture.”
Spear allowed the silence to grow. He knew what kind of image he portrayed, dressed all in black with a helmet and visor disguising every inch of him. Even his hands were covered in thin black gloves.
“Artemis, you have trafficked in Gravasian artifacts. You have been found guilty of your crime.”
“I don’t recognize your authority. Not yours, not anyone’s. Blast them out of the sky,” she ordered.
Spear leaned back in his chair and extended his long legs. The blasts rocked the ship but the shields held.
“Fuck me,” Zaxe muttered.
“I have your tech,” she reminded him.
“Do you?” Was it wrong of him to be enjoying this?
Artemis screeched—there was no other word for the sound—and dumped the items onto her lap.
“What did you do?” Sass stood behind him, her hands gripping the back of the chair.
“Coated a regular knife with a colorant to mimic titansteel and modified a regular blaster.”
“You didn’t trust me.”
He whirled around so fast, his chair almost knocked her over. He clasped her biceps and dragged her down so their noses were almost touching. “I trust you more than I have ever trusted anyone, but I have obligations to my planet, to my king, to my brother.” He lowered his voice. “I could not allow her to have Ivar’s weapons.”
She released a huff of breath and nodded. “I get it.”
Zaxe and Delphi were watching him, their weapons still in their hands.
This conversation would have to wait.
“I’ll kill you.” Artemis was composed now, her eyes glittering with an imagined revenge that would never take place.
Spear turned back around. “Computer, open communication link with Gravasian command and King Agman el Gravaso.”
“Opening links.” The screen split to show Artemis and his father.
“I’ll find a way through your shields and blast you all out of the sky,” she continued.
His father raised a brow. “Making friends, I see.”
His visor hid Spear’s smile. “This woman tried to steal Gravasian tech.”
“Ah, one of the loose ends.”
“Do you know who I am?” she demanded.
The king leaned forward, his gaze fierce, his eyes a promise of death. “Do you know who I am?” Before she could answer, he continued. “I am the king of Gravas. And you are Artemis, born Stefanie Cycero. You were suspected of killing your own sister and ran before you could be arrested. You were sixteen.”
Her face went ashen. “How could you know?”
His father continued as though he’d never been interrupted. “Your father was an assassin, and he trained his children well. You’ve feared him finding you his entire life. We used our tech to age you back in time and put it through the entire Alliance crime databanks and those of other worlds that we’ve compiled. It was child’s play for us to find your roots.”
His father was angrier than Spear had ever seen him. He never explained himself. Never felt the need to show how much power he wielded. Gravasian command had only had the picture of Artemis for minutes and had already found her. Even he was impressed.
“I don’t have the tech. It was fake. She has it. She took it.” Artemis pointed at Sass, who was standing right behind him. Like a cornered rat, she was trying to deflect her crimes onto another.
“You have kept your part of the bargain,” the king informed Sass. “Those are your siblings?” He motioned to Zaxe and Delphi.
“Yes, your highness,” she replied.
“Hmm. You kept your word. I will keep mine.”
Sass’s relief was a palpable thing. It pissed Spear off that she’d believe his father and not him.
“You’re working with them?” Artemis demanded. “I should have left you to rot on Ramos 3.” Her ship’s weapons fired again, rocking them slightly. Before Sass could regain her balance, he locked his arm around her waist and dragged her down onto his lap.
For the first time since their mission began, he relaxed. She was safe and with him.
“It is a crime to threaten Gravasian royalty,” the king announced.
He wouldn’t. Spear shook his head, but his father would not be stopped.
“I wasn’t threatening you,” Artemis informed Agman. I want that girl and the other two. You can keep your guard or warrior or whatever you call him.
“I call him the finest Gravasian assassin in existence.”
The two newcomers gasped and Artemis paled even further. “Surely we can work this out. I have money and connections.”
The king continued, talking over her. “I also call him my son.”
The screen went dark and all communications ended. The viewing screen showed the other ship before the entire world exploded. He planted his feet and gripped Sass as the ship was rocked hard. Several alarms sounded.
“Are you all right?” he demanded. He ran his hand through her hair and cupped her face. “Tell me you’re not hurt.”
She blinked several times as the alarms went silent. The viewing screen showed a vast empty space where the ship had been. Coming hard was a Gravasian warship.
Sass gripped his arm, opened her mouth and then closed it.
“Sass?” He hadn’t wanted her to find out like that.
She swallowed and shook her head, as though to clear it. “Tell me I heard that wrong.”
****
He was a prince. Her assassin, her lover, the man she wanted to spend her life with was a prince. And she was nobody, a street rat with no heritage she could claim.
She wanted to weep with sorrow, to curse the heavens but did neither.
Instead, she focused on her family. “Delphi. Zaxe.” She shoved out of Spear’s arms and ran to her siblings. Weapons secured, they threw their arms around her, hugging her ti
ght.
“I can’t believe you did that. I can’t believe it,” her sister repeated again and again. Zaxe simply held her tight, his heavily muscled arms squeezing them both hard.
“You’re hurt.” Sass touched the knife handle still stuck in his left shoulder.
“I’ve had worse.” He winked at her, but she could see the strain in his eyes and the way the corners of his mouth tightened.
She sensed Spear behind her. “Introduce me.” The order, because it wasn’t a suggestion, made her bristle, but she complied.
“This is Delphi. This is Zaxe.”
Spear studied them long and hard and finally nodded. “She risked everything for you. Don’t disappoint her.” The underlying threat got her back up.
“She’s our sister,” Zaxe shot back. He took her by the arm and slowly eased her behind him.
Wait. What’s going on?
The two men glared at each other. One dark-skinned with narrowed eyes, the promise of future pain written in them. The other, hidden behind a dark visor. She didn’t need to see behind it to know he was glaring at her brother.
Delphi watched both men, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips. What was funny about this situation?
Sass slid between the two of them with a hand on either chest. Spear towered over her, while her brother was only a few inches taller, but she felt small sandwiched between the two men. “Just stop. There’s no need for anyone to get testy.”
Zaxe raised one dark eyebrow. “Testy?”
“Yes.” When she shoved, he took a step back. “Spear saved your life and you’re currently on his ship.”
“And I’m grateful for that, but no one threatens my sisters.” His deep voice grew even deeper with emotion.
“He’s not threatening anyone. Are you?”
Spear simply tilted his head down to look at her, saying nothing.
“The testosterone is suffocating,” she informed them. “Don’t you agree?” she asked her sister.
Delphi nodded. “It’s a bit heavy, almost cloying.”
Zaxe dragged his fingers through his short black hair, spraying sand onto the floor around him. “I’ve been worried.”
“I know.” Being left behind while one of them was out in the world was difficult. They weren’t used to inaction.
Spear went to a cabinet, pulled down a box, and opened it. “Here.” He tossed a packet toward Zaxe, who easily caught it. “Remove the knife and put this on it. The medication will help speed healing.”
Sass winced as Zaxe yanked out the knife, his tight jaw the only outward sign of the pain he must be experiencing. “Let me.” She grabbed the packet and opened it while Delphi removed the sleeve of his shirt. Where had her sister gotten the dagger? Likely she had it when they were taken from Artemis’s ship. She was known to be resourceful.
“See, it’s not bad at all,” Zaxe told her as Delphi used the ripped off sleeve to mop up the flow of blood.
Ignoring him, Sass removed the bandage from the packet and placed it over the wound. “Only hit muscle and not bone.” That was a huge relief. “There should be no lasting damage.”
“Told you it wasn’t bad,” he protested.
While she helped her brother, Spear stood back and watched in silence. She gathered the mess and dumped it all in the recycler. It was cowardly not to look at Spear, but everything was different now.
He’s royalty.
“Ah, that ship is getting mighty close.” Delphi pointed at the viewing screen.
The huge Gravasian warship hovered just beyond them, obscuring all else. Their ship gave a small jerk and then began to move.
Spear sighed. “It seems my father is impatient.”
“Your father? The king?” She still couldn’t quite wrap her head around that one.
He held out this hand. “Give me your weapons. You cannot hold them in the presence of the king or you’ll be killed on sight.”
They both looked to her for direction. There really was no other choice. She nodded. Delphi offered her stolen blaster and the knife. Zaxe complied but much more slowly.
Spear took both weapons and dropped them into a storage unit.
Sass hated to be unarmed. Even as a child, she’d carried a sharp-edged rock in her pocket. But she wasn’t about to put her family’s life in danger after risking everything to save it. Besides, she’d promised the king she’d accept his judgment.
And a deal was a deal.
She pulled out her blaster, but Spear wrapped his hand around hers and pushed it down so her weapon remained in the holster. “You keep yours.”
Her siblings were watching them with undisguised fascination.
“Uh, okay. Won’t the guards shoot me on sight?”
“They’re dead if they do.” Was it wrong that the low, growly threat lightened her heart? It also made other parts of her extremely warm.
There was a change in the ship’s pressure. They’d left space and were in the cargo hold of the huge warship.
“Let’s go. Best not to keep the king waiting.” Spear spun around and headed toward the cargo bay.
She hurried after him with her siblings hot on her heels.
Spear stood before the hatch. The ship settled and seconds later, a green light came on inside. “Computer, open hatch door.”
“Opening door.”
As it slid away, a huge deck came into view. Row upon row of guards stood at attention. All of them wore battlesuits and visors.
“Holy shit,” Delphi whispered.
She longed to give them some of her weapons, but that would be stupid. Sweat seeped from her skin. She took slow, deep breaths to keep from hyperventilating. As a show of force, she’d never seen anything quite this impressive.
Spear strode down the small ramp as though he didn’t have a care in the world. And he didn’t, did he? After all, his father was the king. But would the king be happy with the decisions he’d made?
She followed, not willing to allow him to face his father alone. As she’d known they would, her siblings were right with her, covering her back.
He stopped in front of a man just an inch or so shorter than himself. The man removed his helm to reveal an older male—the king. His hair and beard were laced with gray, but his bearing was straight and proud, and he moved with the ease of a much younger man.
Did she bow? A curtsy was out.
But he wasn’t paying any attention to her. He was totally focused on his son. “Well?”
Spear reached into one of his pockets and removed a blaster and knife, handing them to his sire. Ivar’s weapons.
Relief flooded her. While she was annoyed he’d swapped them without her knowledge, she was glad they were being returned. This wasn’t just stolen tech. This was a tangible link to his missing brother.
Which meant Ivar, the missing Gravasian, was also royalty. Whoever had taken him should start praying. These people would not stop looking until they either found him or his body.
The king took the weapons, held them in his hands, and nodded. There was no outward show of emotion, but grief and pain flashed in his eyes before they were shuttered.
Spear removed his helmet and tucked it under his arm. The two men stared at each other for a long time. Only years of training kept her from fidgeting. She wanted to go to Spear, to stand beside him. Not that he needed her.
Because he didn’t. He was likely one of the best, if not the best assassin in the known universe. And he was royalty.
Yeah, he didn’t need her at all.
Gravasians surely were different. Most cultures protected their royalty, pampering them until they became spoiled and often cruel.
“Introduce us.” The king’s voice filled the space easily.
Her adrenaline pumping, her pulse fluttering, her body primed for fight or flight, she did neither. She stepped up to stand beside Spear, giving the king a short nod. “Your highness.”
Standing before him without flinching was one of the most difficult things she�
��d ever done. Not that she feared him more than any other man. Not when it came to a fight. But this was Spear’s father. He had to know they’d slept together. The man wasn’t stupid by any means.
The weight of Spear’s hand rested on the small of her back, infusing her with calm and confidence. “This is Sass.” Was that pride in his voice? She stood a little straighter.
“Welcome, Sass. And these are the ones you offered your life to save?”
Zaxe stepped forward and bowed, the action graceful and precise. “Your highness. I offer my life in exchange for hers. Her and my sister Delphi.”
The king frowned, not a good sign. “You would have her renege on her pledge?”
“It is not her honor at stake.” Zaxe met the king’s gaze without flinching. Pride filled her, even as she wanted to smack the back of his head and shove him behind her. “It’s is mine, as her brother.”
“You’re not related,” the king needlessly pointed out. “Not to Sass.”
Zaxe’s frown was fierce. “She is my sister.” He threw the words down, as though daring him to disagree.
Spear was watching, appearing as curious as his father. They’d already been through this and knew the three of them were linked for life because of their shared history.
“Zaxe.” Sass went to her brother and placed her hand on the center of his chest. “I gave my word. You need to look out for Delphi.” She couldn’t look at her sister. If she did, she’d lose it. “Do this, for me.” Her voice broke. She swallowed hard and continued. “Please.”
Pure torture filled his black eyes. Tension vibrated through his big body.
“Please,” she whispered. If he didn’t do this, none of them might make it out alive. Even if Spear was on her side, he was only one man against a legion of loyal warriors, his father’s word law.
Zaxe gave a curt nod, glared at Spear, and took a step back.
Sass faced the king. “I accept your judgment. I accept my fate.”
“Do you love my son?”
“What?” What kind of question was that?
“It’s a straightforward question.”
Spear stirred beside her, but his father raised a hand. Beside her, Spear gave a low growl.
What kind of game was the king playing with them? “I don’t see how that is relevant.”
Spear's Search Page 13
