And would be put to good use.
“I've spoken with your defender,” I said. “He is not – optimistic about your chances of release.”
He gave me a rueful grin. “I would be far more surprised to hear him say there was a chance of it, to be honest.”
I looked around the small, windowless room. It was white. Everything was white. The walls, chairs, tables, bed – it was all a bright white. Brighter, given that the walls seemed to glow with an inner light. It was nearly blinding.
This was where my father spent all day, every day. He – and the other Regents – had been denied access to the outside world. In his decree, Jendrish had declared them all a danger to Optorio. Enemies of the state. He expressed his belief that confederates of the Regents would seek to free them. And for those reasons, he was confining them to these solitary isolation cells within the capitol's prison building.
Personally, I thought it was unnecessarily cruel. To deny them access to fresh air. The nighttime sky. The nourishment the ocean provided – I thought it was just another way of punishing the Regents even more harshly.
Still, having my father locked away for the rest of his life served my purposes. And it saved me from having to develop a convoluted plan to assassinate him and put the blame on somebody else. I was a man who appreciated simplicity. With my father being kept in the capitol prison, he was locked away and out of my hair.
I would have to deal with him once and for all eventually. The last thing I wanted or needed was for him to find his way out of the prison and upset my plans all over again. He was going to have to die in time. But that time could wait.
For now, I wanted to placate him, make him believe I was still on his side, and that I was working for his release. For now, I had to play the part of the dutiful son who was working hard to restore honor and dignity to the family name. I had to appear contrite, willing to bend the knee to Jendrish and do whatever I could to ingratiate myself to him.
House Morkata had been removed from all official government offices, but I was working hard to retain a place in the new Optorion Congress that Jendrish was attempting to build. He was the king and would have final say in all matters, but as a member of the Congress, I could do what I did best – work behind the scenes, accrue power and influence, and bide my time.
Though my family might be barred from the upper echelons of government functions under Jendrish's rule, kings came and went. If my work behind the scenes paid the dividends I was trying to cultivate, once Jendrish's reign came to an end, I would find a far friendlier face upon the throne.
And when the time came and the conditions were right, that friendlier face would be replaced with another face on the throne – mine.
When I was king, I would disband the Congress and go back to having a royal family ruling Optorio. The way it had always been. The way it should always be. The way it would be again. There was no need for a Congress. No need for a Council. One man could – and should – keep order on this planet. And I would see that Optorio returned to the way it should be.
“Have you spoken with any of the others?” he asked.
I looked around the room, aware that the authorities could be monitoring our conversation. Ordinarily, prisoners were offered a measure of privacy – especially when they were with their family – but with a rebellion in full swing, and Jendrish clearly intent to wipe it out, one could never be too safe. I knew I had to take care with my words.
“I have, yes,” I said. “The festivities are all going ahead as planned.”
He nodded. “I'm pleased to hear that.”
The festivities of course, was a reference to our attacks on Jendrish's troops. I allowed my father to believe that he was still in charge of coordinating our attacks. He sent me regular vid-messages – one of the privileges still allowed to prisoners – that were actually coded messages. Battle plans. Directions on where to attack and how to deploy our fighters.
Most of this vid-messages, I ignored altogether. He wasn't in charge. He never would be in charge again. All of the planning for our rebellion went through me.
“There have been some difficulties with the preparations,” I said. “Vendors not able to meet their obligations. But it's nothing I am unable to handle. The party will go as planned.”
He smiled, but it was one that did not reach his eyes. “I am saddened I will not be able to attend. I would love to see the look on your uncle's face when our plans are revealed to him. I'm sure it will be a joyous occasion.”
“It will be,” I said. “I can guarantee that. It will be something he never forgets.”
I was growing weary of these cloak and dagger games. I was not one who enjoyed the type of subterfuge and coded messages my father was engaging in. I preferred to speak plainly. And I preferred to speak to those who would do as I said rather than those who believed they could issue me orders. If I were to boil down the essence of my weariness, I supposed it would be fair to say that I was growing weary of dealing with my father.
I did it though, because I had to keep up appearances. If I suddenly stopped coming to visit him, some might think something was amiss. Jendrish and his men were a lot of things, but I did not believe that stupid was one of them. They suspected all of the children of the Regents of being involved with the rebellion and I knew that they were watching us all closely.
Because of that, I had to play my role. Had to keep to my usual schedule and manner of doing things. If that meant having a what seemed like a banal conversation with my father about planning a party for some unnamed uncle, so be it.
If there was one thing my father taught me that I valued, it was patience.
“Mother sends her love,” I said. “She wanted me to tell you that she misses you.”
He smiled. My mother genuinely cared for him – despite the fact that she knew of his many indiscretions. She reasoned that these alien woman were able to provide him with something she was not. And for some reason, she was okay with that. Loved him in spite of it.
“She is a good woman, your mother,” he said. “I hope that you are looking after her. And your sister.”
“Of course I am.”
He reached out and put a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I know you are. You are a good boy, Veshna. I don't believe I have told you that enough.”
No, he hadn't. But I wasn't going to pick a fight. There were bigger things in play than simply needing my father's approval and validation.
“You are a good father,” I lied. “I have had a happy life. But I must go now. There is much work to be done.”
He nodded. “Of course, of course,” he said. “Please, come back soon. I want to hear all about the preparations for the festivities.”
“Of course, father.”
I stood up and gave him a small smile before turning and walking to the doorway. The guard on the outside pressed a button on the wall and the electro-wall came down with a hiss. After I'd passed, the hiss sounded again as the guard re-activated it.
I left the prison complex and headed for a more important meeting.
Chapter Five
“How is your father holding up?” Kalmor asked.
I shrugged. “He is irrelevant.”
Kalmor was my second in command and my most trusted ally. It would be him by my side when all of my plans came to fruition and I seized the throne of Optorio. He shared my vision and believed, as I did, that Optorio should be a world for Optorions only. He was as offended as I was that Jendrish had chosen an alien – a human – to be the queen of our world.
“That seems rather cold,” he said. “Even coming from you.”
We stood in one of the hidden underground rooms that dotted my family's home. My father had these rooms installed discretely so that he could indulge in some of his rather tasteless hobbies, believing that nobody knew of their existence. But I knew from a young age that knowledge was power and I had endeavored to learn my father's secrets – as well as the secrets of those
in positions of power. It was a skill I'd honed and refined, and a skill that had paid off handsomely many times over.
Now that my father was in prison and – if I had anything to say about it – was never coming home, I had begun using the rooms for my own purposes. Which, at the moment, was mapping out my path to the throne.
“For such an ambitious man,” I said, “he thought rather small. He was unwilling to do what is required to achieve the ultimate victory.”
“I don't disagree with that.”
“At heart, my father is a coward,” I said. “And he is unwilling to get his hands dirty. He doesn't have the ruthlessness necessary to rule this world.”
Kalmor nodded, but looked guarded. “Ruthlessness does not seem to be something you're lacking, old friend.”
I grinned at him. “No, it's not,” I said. “But my ruthlessness is only matched by my loyalty. Rest easy, old friend. You are coming to the pinnacle with me.”
He seemed to be somewhat relieved by my words. Though, I did not know why he would have cause for concern in the first place. Kalmor had been my friend since we were children. We were closer than brothers and shared just about everything with one another. If there was one person I wanted by my side, it would be him.
Kalmor eyed me as if he could read my thoughts – and given how long we'd known one another, perhaps we could.
“You've changed, Veshna,” he said. “You've become harder. More – ruthless.”
“I do what is required,” I said. “I become what is necessary. If we are going to reclaim our world from this usurper and his alien whore, there is no other choice.”
Kalmor looked at me evenly. “Are you sure you're doing this for Optorio? For the right reasons?”
I felt my anger rising, but I fought to keep it in check. “What other reason would I be doing all of this for? I want to see Optorio returned to glory. Returned to a place of prominence in this planetary system. Right now, we're being laughed at by those on other worlds. That is intolerable to me. I seek to remedy that.”
Kalmor nodded. “Forgive the impertinence of my question,” he said. “It's just that your father lost his way. He sought to glorify himself. Not our world.”
“I am not my father,” I said, my voice cold.
“No, you are not,” he replied. “You have a vision and a drive that he lacked. As you said, he is no longer relevant.”
I looked at him, hoping this conversation was at an end. I did not like being questioned or having my motives scrutinized. What I was doing – what I was going to do – was all for Optorio.
“So, how are our preparations coming?” I asked.
Kalmor cleared his throat. “On your orders, we've told the Regent cells to scale their attacks. We've convinced them to focus on preparations rather than creating havoc.”
“Good,” I said. “And have the leaders of these cells all fallen into line?”
“For the most part,” he replied. “There are two who I believe will be troublesome. They belong to former Regent Calmoq and former Regent Burtek.”
Fewer than I'd anticipated. Which was good. Very good. Part of my plan depended on giving Jendrish's troops the impression that they'd defeated the rebellion. That they had beaten us into submission. If they believed it, they were more apt to ease the pressure they were putting on us. And if they eased the pressure, it would make it easier for us to move about and get ourselves in the right position to strike.
“And what are we doing about those two?” I asked.
“They're being – removed,” he replied. “Discretely.”
Excellent. I wasn't a fan of executing people who were fighting on the same side. But when they were operating according to their own program rather than falling into line behind me, that was a problem that needed to be dealt with.
I nodded but didn't feel very good about it. “Be sure it's kept quiet,” I said. “The last thing we need is dissension within the ranks.”
We needed soldiers, and the fighters who made up these cells who pledged themselves to the Regents were going to make up our army. They would constitute the new Royal Guard when all of this was said and done. I needed them to be willing to fight and die for me. I needed them to be loyal. And having their leaders executed was not a good way of ensuring that loyalty.
Which was yet another reason having Kalmor by my side was an ideal situation. It gave me a layer of insulation between myself and the terrible things we had to do. Kalmor wasn't connected to a political or high profile family as I was. Which allowed him to be seen as the head of the snake and the one in charge of the rebellion. And that allowed me to move unencumbered behind the scenes. And it allowed me to navigate the bumpy roads of Optorion politics.
All of the behind the scenes work allowed me to accrue both political as well as military power. And when the time came, I was going to need both.
“The coronation is in a week,” Kalmor said. “Will we be ready?”
I nodded. “We have to be. It will be our best opportunity to pull off our little coup. Especially if the Royal Guard believes the rebellion is no longer a threat.”
“What is our plan?”
The details were still a little bit murky, but I was trying to sort it all out on the fly. Jendrish was going to die on his coronation day. Of that, there was no question. The only question was – how. We'd considered and dismissed the idea of snipers. The Guard would be on the lookout and with the technology they had available to them, they would find our shooters faster than we could get the shot off.
Which meant that we had little choice but to make it an up close and personal assassination. It was something that was going to make things far more complex and difficult. But not impossible.
“We have allies within the Royal Palace,” I said. “So far, they've just been feeding us information. But it appears that they will have to take a more active role in the proceedings.”
Kalmor's jaw clenched. “I don't like involving non-fighters,” he said. “Too many variables to account for. They're too unpredictable and may screw it up at the most sensitive moment.”
I'd anticipated his hesitance and merely nodded. “I agree with you,” I said. “Unfortunately, we may not have much of a choice. We can't send snipers. A bomb is out of the question. What's left?”
“Perhaps we can disguise some of our fighters,” he said. “Have them blend in with the crowd and they can take the shot.”
“Anybody connected to the Regents – especially family – are likely going to be barred from the coronation,” I said. “The rebellion is being led by Regent sympathizers. Jendrish and his Guard aren't foolish enough to open the gates for everybody. They have a watch list and you can rest assured that you and I are probably on it. As well as the fighters in these cells.”
He sighed. “Perhaps,” he said. “But perhaps there is another way we can use our contacts inside the palace.”
“I am open to suggestions.”
He shook his head. “I do not know just yet,” he said. “But perhaps they can somehow get us into the palace without the Guard being aware. That way we can strike from the inside ourselves. Cut down the uncertainty and be sure about things.”
“Perhaps,” I conceded. “Let me think on it a while.”
“As will I.”
Chapter Six
Riley
“Your coronation is tomorrow,” I murmured.
He sighed. “Don't remind me. That's the last thing I want to be doing. Who needs silly little ceremonies like that anyway?”
We were laying in bed, and I was resting my head upon his hard, sculpted chest. Optorion skin was soft, but had a different texture than human skin. It was a little rougher – almost like their body was covered in scales. Like a fish – except way less gross and slimy. It was a strange observation, but one I'd made long ago. Not that I was complaining, mind you. Jendrish's skin was a beautiful thing to behold and feel against my own. It was just – a bit of a strange sensation until you got used to it.
<
br /> “Your people for one,” I said. “People – be they human or Optorion – have a need for ceremonies. For pomp and circumstance.”
“It seems like a waste of time. There is much more I could do if I did not have to attend to the Court,” he grumbled.
“The people need to see you – their king – being crowned,” I said. “You may find it silly, but your people need to believe in something bigger than all of them. They need a face for this world. A face they can look up to and trust. They need to know there is somebody in charge – and that somebody is you.”
Jendrish stared up at the ceiling, his eyes fixed on nothing I could make out. He was simply zoning out. He was there with me physically, but his mind was obviously elsewhere. It had been that way between us for the last few days, actually. I didn't know if he was distracted with the coronation or what, but he just hadn't been present, in the moment with me for some time. It was like there was this wall between us.
And I had no idea how to get through it or break it down.
The fact that it existed in the first place baffled me. From what he'd told me, the rebellion he and his men had been trying so hard to quash, was dying. If not dead already. They hadn't had to go on a raid since the day he'd come home hurt after getting shot – thankfully. He thought that they'd finally managed to turn the tide on the rebellion and they could begin working on building the peace.
And yet, despite that, he still seemed pensive. And entirely distracted.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Fine,” he replied without even turning to look at me. “Everything is fine.”
Yeah, that was convincing. This sudden distance between us left me feeling uneasy. Uncertain. I had no idea what was going through his head. I was fearful of the idea that our little whirlwind romance, born in the midst of a crisis, was nothing more than a passing fancy for him. I feared that he was beginning to wake up and realize that being with me had been a novelty, had been fun, but he was – well – over it now.
There was only one way I was going to know where I stood with him. And that was to speak up. I'd never been shy about voicing my opinions. Back on Earth, people knew me as a girl who didn't take anybody's shit. And yet, when it came to Jendrish, for some reason, I was hesitant. Maybe a little scared.
Mated to a Bear (Legends of Black Salmon Falls Book 3) Page 46
