The Spider Queen (The Space Merchants Book 5)

by Wendie Nordgren

  “Luca,” I moaned.

  He reached under me, cupping my rear in his hands while grinding himself into me. Shock at his power and control coursed through me moments before an orgasm of terrifying strength left me trembling.

  When I woke, crickets were chirping, owls called out their questions to the night, and Luca stared down at me in the faint illumination of the lamps. A small brown moth had flown into our tent and darted toward and away from the lantern light.

  “I didn’t want to wake you. I want to stay like this with you. However, Pierce keeps Peter calm with a pacifier.”

  Sitting up, I ran my fingers through Luca’s chest hair and kissed his lips. “I have a room made up for you in the house. Will you walk back with me?”

  A slow, sly grin spread across Luca’s face. “Zared and Fitz can’t fight me anymore for touching you.”

  I rolled my eyes at him. “Don’t be so sure.” We dressed and quickly walked through the chill night to the house. Upstairs, I pointed Luca’s room out to him. “Goodnight, Luca.”

  “Goodnight, Teagan.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  For days, Luca strutted around like a puppy who had just gotten a belly rub and a handful of treats. The children and I had gotten back into our routine with Peter, who I carried in a baby sling fastened around my shoulder and waist. One evening, we enjoyed a family dinner with General and Lady Braga along with Victor and Lulu. Having the pleasure of being around Phillip’s parents, I understood why he had such high expectations. They were adorable.

  Lady Braga, on the other hand, made sharks look like adorable pets. She was graceful, well-mannered, and articulate. However, the woman currently had twelve husbands and enjoyed each of them a month at a time. Lucius Braga had been awarded additional time in her company for having given her the son who had joined the Imperial family. She fussed over the necklace Luca had given me and showed me the garish monstrosity it had been set in previously. I assured her that Luca knew me well and had given me something more beautiful than anything I could have imagined. The Lady Fallon Braga had dragged me along to one afternoon party after another for an entire week which cut into my time with Quaid.

  Unfortunately, the time came too fast when I had to say goodbye to Quaid and Eric. The Hadrian’s crewmembers each had their own ports that they called home. Soon, Luca said goodbye to me as well. He was accompanying his troops back to their military instillation on Parvac. Dario was transporting them.

  I sighed in relief to be back to four manageable husbands. However, Fitz was eager to check on his plantation. I had begun to see the beauty of Fallon’s household management. However, months without Yukihyo, Nico, and Zared would make me miserable.

  “Teagan, may I have a word with you, darling?”

  “Yes, Papa,” I said as I went to him.

  “Shall we go for a walk?” Papa and I went out through the main doorway and around the side of the house to my walkway. I smiled brilliantly at him. “What was that for?” he asked.

  “I love that we are out here together, in normal, everyday clothes, taking a mundane walk.”

  “I hope you will remain pleased with me.”

  “Why wouldn’t I?”

  Papa stared off into the trees. We had taken at least forty steps before he spoke. “Teagan, you proved yourself to me and our men in the Talpa Sector. If you can so gracefully maneuver alien races with whom our communication skills are lacking, the Galaxic Militia, and our Parvac forces, you should have no trouble serving as my proxy for a few months.”

  I stumbled to a stop and stared at him.

  Papa said, “You were wrong. Teagan Probus is not viewed as the mentally fragile daughter of the Emperor. She is viewed as a beautiful and intelligent young woman who has managed to thrive where others would have shriveled and died.”

  “Why do you want to leave? Are you talking about a vacation on Thalassa?”

  “No,” he said as he turned to me. “I want to see Talpa for myself. While I am there, I can solidify our arrangements. I will arrive with food and medical supplies. Also, it couldn’t hurt to have video of Peter enjoying his new life with his mother.”

  I was shocked. “I don’t want you going all of the way to Talpa. You could be hurt. Look what happened to Eric. You want to go all alone without me? No, absolutely not.” I knew my face was angry. It matched how I felt.

  Papa looked at me and burst out laughing. I narrowed my eyes at him even further.

  “How do you think I feel?” he asked.

  “Um, bored. I don’t know. Get a surfboard.”

  “No, when you go off in starships to different universes. Have I once forbidden you to go?” Papa asked.

  “No, but that’s different. I have Yukihyo, but I can take care of myself. You need to stay here where it’s safe. We all need you.”

  “Teagan, I am a grown man and have studied under the best warriors since I could run. I’d like the chance to meet these new races and walk upon a new world. May I have your support?”

  Angry tears fell from my eyes. “Yes, but don’t you dare get hurt. I couldn’t take it if I were to lose you.”

  We completed our walk. Then, Papa finalized the preparations that he had already begun for his journey. During his absence, I would follow Papa’s orders via vid-screen chats. The farther he got from Parvac space, the longer our exchanges would take. I offered him the Empress, but he was taking a warship. During his absence, Papa asked that I reside in the Palace, so my household packed up and the next day for the return to Parvac.

  “Why so glum?” Nico asked a few days later as I moped about my wing.

  “It’s just not the same here without Papa. It feels so empty.” I sat on the thick white carpeting and held my hands out to my laughing and smiling baby boy. Nico held him under his arms as he walked him to me. “Yea! Look at Mommy’s big boy!” Niklos laughed and giggled as I caught him and pulled him onto my lap. Then, he crawled to Neema. Niklos was now the one obsessed with blocks. “What?” I asked. Nico had a wary expression. “No, don’t even think it or say it.”

  “I have responsibilities to the Empire, Teagan, just as you do.” I caught Nico’s glance over at Fitz who sat reading something on his vid-screen.

  “No, seriously? Fitz is abandoning me, too? Are you kidding?”

  Fitz gave me a wry smile. “Teagan, I’ve invested blood and copious amounts of sweat into that very profitable farm. Be good, and I’ll bring you lots of pineapple ice cream upon my return.”

  I pouted at both of them.

  “You will have Yukihyo, Hiroshi, Zared, Eli, and Luca to keep you company,” Nico said.

  Yukihyo and Hiroshi entered my wing at that moment. Having heard Nico, Yukihyo crossed his arms over his chest and glared at him. I could feel why.

  “You have got to be fu… kidding me,” I said as I amended myself mid-swear word. “You and Hiroshi are going to make purchases?”

  “My buyers are eager for more exotic purchases from the Parvac Empire.” Hiroshi looked at me sadly, and in a gruff voice said, “It has been many months that I have been without the company of my brothers. To resume our merchant activities for a few weeks would be therapeutic. My hired crewmen just aren’t the same.”

  Feeling guilty, I got up and hugged Hiroshi. “I’m sorry, Hiroshi. We have left you alone too much. Of course, you both should go.”

  “We plan to invite Phillip,” Yukihyo said. I turned my head from Hiroshi’s chest to stare vacantly at Yukihyo.

  “Wow. Whatever. I’ll just stay here and run the Empire. Zared, you won’t leave me, will you?”

  Zared said, “I will never leave you.”

  I gave Zared a kiss on the cheek. Through him, I picked up stray thoughts from my other husbands.

  “Wow. Really? You’re going hunting on Apellan?” I asked. Nico shrugged at me. Hiroshi grinned. “Are you going hunting on Naxa?”

  Yukihyo chuckled. “If we do, you will get Naxan bison steaks.”

  A few days later, the Pa
lace was very empty. Luca moved into the room in which Eric usually stayed. With only Thunderdrop, the babies, Zared, Luca, and me, the rooms in my wing seemed vast. Director Larkin Sapor led me through my duties each day. Uncle Kagan came to the Palace every morning spending hours in Papa’s office assisting with administrative tasks. I spent a few hours each day at social functions or in meetings that required my presence, if not my understanding or attention. Previously, my comprehension of Papa’s duties as emperor had been low. Papa was so practiced and efficient in his role that he made it look easy. It was anything but that. Thankfully, Papa still worked from his ship. Governing a system of seven planets, even with the delegation of responsibility to men such as Praetor Jiri and Viceroy Marcos, was a daunting task. Witnessing the daily work it entailed gave me a new respect for Papa. It was no wonder he wanted a break.

  After a few days, my Military Advisory Committee and I all needed a break. We took it in the Palace pool. Surrendering to my will, my officers wore shorts to go swimming. I could tell from their faces that they detested the way the wet fabric clung to them, but I didn’t relent. I floated around the pool in a swim dress.

  “Luca?”

  “Yes, Teagan?”

  “Why is one of my father-in-laws a praetor and the other a viceroy? Why don’t the men my father appoints to rule other planets have the same titles?”

  “Aw, that’s simple. In ancient times, after our discovery of space travel, brave groups of individuals set out from Parvac to colonize the hospitable planets in our universe. Decades would pass before news from the home world would reach them. Out of necessity, they initiated their own governments. The old ruling families of Cassian, Marcos, and Jiri, to name a few, ruled their planets for generations. Then, once a powerful fleet came into being, those worlds chose to reaffirm and solidify their Houses with Parvac for protection.”

  “Protection against whom?”

  Luca said, “More like what. Look at Talpa. Without our ships, that planetary fragment would have destroyed their world and all life on it. The Eloneave couldn’t have saved them. Their ships were barely holding together as it was.”

  I moved my hands in the water to stay close to him.

  Continuing, he said, “We were capable of space travel long before we had invented planetary defenses and shielding. Soon, families began sending their sons to Parvac to train in the military or the fleet. That was when the most powerful Houses began to form alliances to assure their power and position on their worlds remained with their families.” I knew I look confused. Luca said, “One vote or opinion could mean the difference between say two thousand men getting jobs at a land port or a hundred men learning to decode the humans’ language. Which is better, the economy of a planet or the possible protection of Parvac?”

  It wasn’t a rhetorical question. Luca waited for my answer. “I will always believe that the protection of the entire Empire is more important than any one single planet.”

  Eventually, Tora arrived on Thalassa. From the newsfeeds, it appeared that Fitz, Yukihyo, Nico, Phillip, and Hiroshi were having an excellent time. Currently, they were staying with Fitz at his pineapple plantation. They planned to leave him there when they took Nico to Apellan. A leisurely visit to each planet was on their itinerary.

  “Teagan, did you hear me?” Larkin asked.

  I looked up at him from where I sat in Papa’s office. I refused to sit in Papa’s chair at his desk. Talking with admirals and generals when your feet didn’t touch the floor was annoying. Larkin had bought a small comfortable chair for me. My new chair was beside the decorative side table I was using as a desk.

  “Daydreaming?” Uncle Kagan asked. He looked comfortable in Papa’s chair.

  “I was thinking about them off and having fun without me.”

  “Did you hear anything I just said?” Larkin asked.

  “Um, I heard you say my name.”

  “Then again, let me repeat. The Princess arrives this evening. Will you make an appearance and welcome the tourists? They are wealthy citizens of the Galaxic Expanse and Laconian Sector, who will be spending lots of credits at each port of call.”

  “Whatever,” I grumbled.

  Larkin said, “You grow more like your father each day.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I meant in that he does not enjoy the social obligations he has begun foisting off to you.”

  I sighed. “I’ll do what I can to make things easier for Papa. I want him to be happy.”

  That evening, Zared and Luca escorted me to the Princess. We had dressed up, left the children at the Palace with Pierce and Lorca, and were discretely surrounded by my Omnes Videntes. An hour later, I was done curtsying to everyone who wanted to meet me, and was invited by the Captain to join him at his table for appetizers. Luca was across the room and in his element. Like Phillip, he was a natural flirt. I noticed when Zared, Jazon, and Xavier went on high alert. Thunderdrop noticed, too.

  “Keep smiling,” Zared whispered.

  I continued to engage in mundane small talk. Deadly rage filled my Omnes Videntes. Zared, though no one would be able to tell by looking at him, was ready to defend me with lethal force.

  A human server bent down to me. He held a silver tray filled with appetizers. “My lady, would you care to try one of these?”

  He had nondescript features, black hair, and brown eyes. In his ear was a neural blocker of low quality, disguised as one of the communication pieces used by the wait staff.

  Centering my mind, I prepared to fight. “Yes, give me one,” I said. I was ready to flip the tray, grab a knife, and prove to myself that I wasn’t an easy target.

  However, he placed an appetizer on a small plate, put a napkin under it, handed it to me, and walked away.

  “Where do you want him?” Jazon asked telepathically.

  “Whichever detainment facility you prefer,” I answered silently. “Are there anymore?”

  My Omnes Videntes didn’t answer. They were hunting. Zared moved to stand at my back, and without being noticed began scanning my food.

  “Between the plate and the napkin,” Zared whispered.

  Pushing aside the appetizer, I could see a data chip. “Darling, I can’t eat another bite. Will you take this for me?” I asked. Zared reached over and took the plate from me, pocketing the chip as he did so. “Captain, thank you for having us. I regret that I must leave you and your beautiful ship. It has been lovely.”

  “You are welcome at any time, Princess Probus. Please, allow me to walk you to your transport.”

  I kept my sweetest smile on my face. Once we were clear, I asked, “Did they get him?”

  “Yes, we will learn everything in his heart and mind,” Zared answered.

  After seeing me to my wing, increasing my security, and alerting the Palace guards, Zared left. I didn’t see him again until morning.

  The children, Luca, Pierce, Lorca, and I were enjoying breakfast on the patio. We had enjoyed a walk through the gardens. Thunderdrop was still there, stalking prey. Zared and Eli walked out to us, but they didn’t sit. I waited for either of them to speak.

  “You can talk in front of Pierce and Lorca. They’re practically family.”

  Zared turned his back to me, clasped his hands behind his back, and stared out over the lake.

  “Teagan, may I speak to you privately?” Eli asked.

  Alarmed, I said, “Sure.”

  Eli pulled back my chair and gave me his arm. Luca smiled up at me from Peter who he held in his big strong arms. Eli led me away to a room I had never entered, in a wing of the Palace that I seldom visited. Then, he led me into another room. It was small, painted entirely black, and was completely empty. Eli pulled out a scanner and checked for listening devices.

  “No one can hear a word of what we say in this room.”

  “Eli, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong? Is it Papa?”

  “No, not directly. However, I do not believe it would be in his best interests to discover this intelli
gence.”

  “Why?”

  “Teagan, Xavier and Izaac spent the evening studying the mind of the man we took into custody. Parts of his memory have been wiped.”

  “What parts?”

  “The parts dealing with the identities of anyone he has ever known. All he kept were his orders, his mission, and the individuals he has encountered since joining the crew of the Princess as a server.”

  I waited, but Eli remained silent.

  “What was on the chip?” I asked.

  The dead, emotionless expression that I had grown accustomed to seeing in Kaoti’s eyes looked unnatural in Eli’s.

  “Eli?”

  “It may be prefabrication, lies to lure either you or the Emperor into a trap. Allow me to investigate before I share the information with you.”

  I felt a strong compulsion to do what Eli asked. It came from Zared. “Eli, show it to me. Now,” I whispered. I stared into his eyes.

  He had no choice but to obey. I saw only darkness and shadows on Eli’s vid-screen. Then, I noticed a hooded outline. A garbled, disguised voice began to speak. “Break all ties to the Galaxic Government. Parvac isn’t welcome in the Expanse. Dissolve your alliance. Why? Because it is what we want. We have something to trade for your cooperation. It’s worthless to us, but you might want it.”

  What I saw next made my flesh rise. I gasped and would have fallen had Eli not caught me. I stared transfixed. Within a metal and plasti-glass capsule, like a single passenger escape pod, was a woman. She was completely immersed in a green-tinted fluid. I screamed in torment. I knew her. Clinging to Eli’s uniformed arm, I sobbed in pain. I knew her from her portrait in Papa’s private quarters. I knew her from her melancholy humming of a tune from a music box.

  “Once the announcement has been broadcast to the universes, go to Amphictyon. I’ll find you.” It ended.