by Aria Bell
We walked for what seemed like a very long time. Ionas finally stopped in an empty corridor deep within the fortress. He opened the door to a small, windowless room with a low bed not much higher than my shin. There was a desk and some storage and shelving space. A small viewscreen was mounted in the surface of one wall with a sleek holo control panel. Beyond the main room was a lavatory with a washtube shower.
They certainly weren’t rolling out the luxuries for me. It didn’t matter though. This would do well enough.
“These will be your quarters,” Ionas said after he finished uploading my biometrics to the room’s computer that controlled the door lock. “Access the map to find the dining hall and kitchens. You will be summoned when needed.”
He bowed and left us alone. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I’d expected to be shown around the fortress, to meet with some of the prince’s security forces so I could begin acclimating myself to their routine. Something. I hadn’t expected to simply be dumped in a room so far from the Jardan prince that I’d have to pack a meal if I set out to find him.
Qyna touched a finger to her earpiece transmitter. She frowned and turned to me. “The ship is ready to depart.”
I could tell she was unhappy with how this had gone. She gave me a wan smile. “This will not be easy, Melika. I know you’re worried.”
“I’m not afraid, tsora kai. I will do my duty.”
“I know you will. But your duty is also the truth, and you are afraid, despite your words.”
I bowed my head, my cheeks heating. Only my tsora kai could so easily make me abashed. I’d always admired her. She was perhaps twenty or so years older than I, but life at the monastery, training, eating healthy food, had kept her beautiful while lending her an aura of gentle wisdom. She was my mentor, but she was also my friend.
“I am afraid,” I finally admitted. “They didn’t name me blood of the clan. I’m afraid I won’t be close enough to the prince to protect him. I don’t want to fail him…or us.”
She pulled me into a tight hug. “We are Ron-Zishu. And we are women. We are strong. We do what we must.” She drew back enough to look me in the eyes again. “You will do whatever it takes to fulfill your duty. Whatever it takes. If the Jardan balk at making you blood of the clan, find some other way to guard your charge.”
I closed my eyes and nodded. She was right of course. I had a sacred obligation to the prince now. I had to overcome any and all barriers that would stand in the way of fulfilling my duty. Even if one of them was the prince himself.
“Now, on a lighter note,” Qyna said, a mischievous glint in her eye. “I have a special gift for you.” She pulled out a narrow silver box and winked. “I almost kept this for myself. But I have two already.”
I bowed to thank her. “Is it a weapon?”
She laughed. “Not unless pleasure is a weapon. Open it and see. No woman should be without one…if the real thing isn’t ready to hand.”
I opened it carefully. Inside lay a tiny neural enhancer patch and a smooth, polished object very suggestive of a cock. I stared at it, suddenly realizing what this was—and not quite believing my teacher, my tsora kai, had just given me this for my parting gift.
“That is an aranza fantasy stimulator. I bought it just for you. It will help take the edge off if your body starts to distract your mind from your duties.” Her smile turned slightly wicked. “Because I have a feeling there will be much distraction here. It’s better than virtual reality. The fantasies it gives can be very telling, if you open your mind to them and release your inhibitions.”
A blush heated my cheeks. I had never used an aranza stimulator before, but I knew how they worked. They created daydreams in the mind of the user, fantasies so real they might as well be. They were also very expensive. I swallowed hard. My heart felt like it was thudding in my chest. I wasn’t embarrassed by getting a sex toy, not really, but I wasn’t sure why I was blushing either. There had been only a girl-confiding-in-girl tone to Qyna’s words and no judgment on her face. Maybe it was because I’d immediately thought of the stunning Prince Vorgyn and found myself wondering how this would compare to his “real thing.”
I bowed again. “Thank you, tsora kai.” As isolated as I was likely to be here, it was sure to come in handy. Otherwise I would be humping the bedposts to get some relief from all this male Jardan, testosterone-hyped shirtlessness around me.
“That is my final gift to you, Melika. For a long time, anyway. You are always so tense. So focused on being the perfect fighting machine. I hope this helps you relax. To enjoy the other side of your body—as a thing of pleasure, not just battle.” She sighed and gave me a knowing smile. “Besides, the way things are for the Jardan, I have a suspicion you won’t be needing it for very long.”
I gave her a questioning look, but she only shook her head and changed the subject.
“Remember, Melika, what we know of the attempt on the prince’s life. Assassin robots attacked always after sunset, always when the prince was alone in the mountain fortress. You will need to be his shadow. To do that, you will need to prove yourself to him.”
“Yes, tsora kai. I have my work cut out for me.”
She smiled at me once more. “That you do.”
A call from our dropship came over the small communicator set in her ear. Qyna hugged me once more, seeming reluctant to let me go. We would not see each other in person again, possibly for years, maybe never.
“You must win him, Melika.” She drew back but kept her hands on my shoulders, staring me in the eyes. “You must win his trust and his heart. Otherwise you will fail, and he will die.”
I kept a brave face on, but we both knew it was for show. Someone wanted Prince Vorgyn dead, and the prince wanted me—his best weapon—as far away as he could stow me. I had very little time to convince him to trust me, to prove to him that he needed me.
It was an impossible situation.
She drew herself up and gave me a bow. “You are ready for this.” Then she spoke the creed of the Ron-Zishu. “Tesoro infinasa.” Faithful forever.
“Tesoro infinasa,” I said back, bowing low.
Qyna left without a backward glance. I stood alone in my small quarters as the door whooshed shut behind her, wondering how I was ever going to win the trust of the handsome and intimidating Prince Vorgyn Mar’Don. Wondering if I were doomed to be kept out of sight in a windowless room for the rest of my life contract. Shunned from doing the duty I had trained for all my life.
I felt like crying, but a weapon did not cry.
So neither did I.
CHAPTER TWO
Vorgyn Mar’Don
Prince of the Mar’Don Dynasty
I slammed my fist into Gavta’s face. He was one of my elite bodyguards who’d been unlucky enough to spar with me this evening after the court session ended. My blow sent him staggering backward, and I chased him down and followed up with another that sent him sprawling to the ground.
He held up a hand in submission and dipped his head, acknowledging my victory. “Peace, Your Royal Highness,” he panted. “Peace. I’d like to live to spar with you another day.”
I reached a hand down to him and helped him back to his feet. He still looked a little dazed. I slapped him on the back and laughed. “The goal is to avoid my fists, Gavta.”
“Oh, is that the rule?” he said good-naturedly. “For a moment I thought it was to be a punching bag for my prince to take out his frustrations on.”
It was good to be sparring, to be fighting again. Yes, I was taking out my frustrations on the unfortunate Gavta. Although, as my face knew well enough, he was more than capable of giving as good as he got. His words were truth. He had been simply allowing me to burn off the tension coiled inside my body.
All because of that damned human female.
My mother was going to be the death of me. I didn’t need another bodyguard, much less a runty female human pup. And yet my queen mother had sent me this problem, bought and paid for and w
ith her royal blessing. A Ron-Zishu life contract wasn’t something one simply terminated like a subscription to the newswire. As Mother well knew.
I couldn’t refuse the Ron-Zishu guardian any more than I could publicly humiliate my mother by rejecting her gift at court. Although accepting it wasn’t without its problems. Quite a few members of the court, as well as the royal guard, would be whispering to each other and laughing in their cups tonight. The high and mighty Prince Vorgyn, needing the protection of a human female? My mother could have more easily—and much less expensively—achieved the same end by getting me one of those human pets. A cocker spaniel or whatever term the humans had for them.
I rattled off a string of colorful profanities in my head as I clenched my fists and considered another round of techniques to practice with Gavta. Perhaps we’d train with swords this time…
“With your blessing, Your Highness,” Gavta said quickly, “I beg leave to go. The look on your face is making me nervous. I’m not ashamed to admit it.”
I took a deep, calming breath and let it out slowly. I was trying to find the inner peace of my warrior, the battle focus that would keep me from beating too hard on my sparring partners. It was difficult. The tension inside me would not be quelled.
“That’s fine, Gavta,” I said, waving him away. “It has been a long few days. For all of us.”
That was no lie. Three days ago, some enemy had sent two assassin robots to kill me in my chambers. I lost two of my personal bodyguard before I finished destroying them. In my hands, my zerophyte-forged blade was capable of hacking through metal. I had reduced the assassin bots to scrap before reinforcements had even reached me.
The problem had been handled. My enemies would know my strength.
But try telling that to my mother, who as queen was used to getting her way. At first, I meant to keep the attack secret to see if I could lure out the dishonorable scum behind it, but someone in the guard or at court had loose lips. Rumors at court spread faster than a spring fire on the grass plains. Then my mother was calling to find out if I was injured, declaring she was going to take matters into her own hands so her baby would remain safe.
I sighed. I could not blame a mother for her love. It warmed me, though that was not something to admit aloud. I had the image of a hardened warrior to uphold. And that was one of the reasons why I was so frustrated that she’d sent me the human woman. How weak would I seem, cowering behind the small, delicate female? Ron-Zishu or not, I could throw her across the room with one hand.
Gavta had fled my private training area, leaving me alone. I took my blade and worked my way through my favorite sword forms. When I was exhausted, I took to my knees with my blade across my thighs and meditated, clearing my mind of all distractions.
The chime to the training room doors rang softly.
I did not move from my meditation pose. I didn’t even open my eyes. “Enter.”
The doors whooshed open. Footsteps padded over the floor. From the sound of the tread, it was a Jardan, but not a warrior. The steps were too light. I could sense his position in the room as he approached me.
For the merest moment, I became uncomfortable with an unknown presence behind me and almost turned. A result of the recent attack. The goal of the enemy was to make me fearful in my own home. I would not let them succeed.
An instant later I recognized the tread of the footsteps. Ionas, the fortress’s chamberlain. He was the chief administrator and often served me as an informal advisor. He’d been serving the Mar’Don since before I was born. Lately, though, he’d grown tiresome. He was always harping on me to marry some noblewoman or other from Katal Minor and secure the Mar’Don line and the future of Avoloxa.
“Ionas,” I said calmly, not bothering to even open my eyes. “Is anything wrong?”
I sensed him hesitate, no doubt surprised I’d recognized him by his footsteps. “I’m sorry to disturb you, Your Royal Highness. You asked me to check up on the Angmoroh.”
I didn’t answer right away. That would appear too eager. Best to seem as if I could not care less for the little human who was supposed to be my life shield, as amusing as that was.
After a suitable amount of time passed, I stood from my meditation and buckled my sword belt around my waist. “Is she settled?”
“I found suitable quarters for her, my prince. She will not be distracting the guard and she will not be in the way.”
I made a noncommittal noise, though I was pleased. If she was not in the way, then she wouldn’t be in danger. For some reason, I was curious as to where he’d settled her, but I didn’t ask. It was beneath me to care about the situation of Angmoroh. Clearly some enemy of House Mar’Don wanted me dead. I didn’t have time to worry about some fragile human pet my mother had given me, whether she believed herself a warrior or not.
It also annoyed me to no end that I kept thinking about her. All the calm I’d achieved with mediation immediately rushed out the airlock, leaving me agitated again. Tense. Horny.
Yes. I wanted to fuck something well and truly. More accurately, I wanted to drive some willing female to the heights of pleasure and back until she lay panting and conquered before me. The urge had been steadily growing since I’d destroyed the assassin bots. Destroying things got the Jardan blood pumping. It was a simple fact of nature. Since I did not keep a concubine, and since it would be foolish to head down into the capitol for a female with the assassin still at large, it looked as if there would be no satisfaction on that front.
I would just have to find the assassin as soon as possible. Then things could get back to normal.
“Any word on who sent the assassin bots?” I asked Ionas, shifting my thoughts from my over-charged libido.
“No, my prince.” He paused, his amber eyes narrowing suspiciously. “Although one thing occurred to me that might be a concern.”
“What? Speak.”
“The assassin bots you so easily dispatched may have been a ruse. A ploy to get your mother to react. She sent this Ron-Zishu. Perhaps the human is the true assassin.”
“Why would I fear a human?” I snapped. “She has no blaster and no blade.”
“The Ron-Zishu are not like other bodyguards. They are the ultimate weapons. Even a small human must have some value if accepted by the Ron-Zishu. Perhaps you should ask her yourself. But keep your blade ready. If you do not trust her answers, it would be wise to separate her head from her body.”
“I’ll consider your advice,” I said. “But it would be a shame to remove such a pretty head.”
Ionas’s eyes widened in dismay.
“Pretty for a human, that is.”
“Surely you aren’t thinking of bedding this human, my prince? That would be a disaster. You have two outstanding offers of marriage—you have but to choose. Or you could have any Jardan noblewoman in the empire, if you wished. You have proven yourself in war and in personal combat. You have kept Avoloxa in peace and prosperity for ten years. You are of the highest birth.” He shook his head and rubbed his hands in agitation. “If it is only a matter of physical needs, then take a concubine to ease them. Build a harem as the royalty did of old.”
“A harem? I don’t have time to humor the needs of one woman whining and pleading for attention, let alone ten of them all squawking and pecking at each other over me.”
“My prince,” Ionas pleaded, staring at me as if I had started speaking an alien tongue. “Why is it that you hesitate to take a wife? It weakens the royal house. What is it you are looking for?”
“I’m looking for peace and quiet. Women are nothing but trouble. They blunt a man’s edge, and they wheedle and whine and manipulate a man until he loses all reason.”
“I believe your father would disagree. He always said he was a stronger ruler because of your mother.”
“See? The poor man lost all reason.”
Ionas swallowed his frustration and bowed low. I had to give it to him. He was nothing if not the obedient servant.
“
I have taken enough of your time, my prince. Thank you for making your wishes clear to me. I will keep them in mind.”
I waved a casual dismissal to him. When the doors shut behind him, I stood alone in the training room, surrounded by weapons and strike pads and targets.
The only things I still permitted to remain in my life.
My thoughts immediately returned to Melika Gendressa. Was she as cold as she pretended? Did a warrior heart beat in that tempting breast of hers? Her brown eyes were so much darker than the rest of the Jardan. I found them haunting. Irritating. And her body, smaller than a Jardan female but clearly that of a toned fighter. Her strange garb had fitted close against her body, showing the proud shape of those breasts, of the curve of her hips…
My cock started to harden, thinking about her full human lips stretching around my cock as she took me into her mouth—
“Damn. Damn. Damn.” I drew my sword and began to practice sword forms again. If I couldn’t fuck something, I would drive my body to exhaustion another way. I had to. I needed my wits about me if I was going to discover who wanted me dead.
CHAPTER THREE
Melika Gendressa
No one had been to see me since Ionas had dropped me off at the room. I was hesitant to go wandering through the fortress on my own. I had memorized the path to the throne room, but I didn’t know what areas were restricted. Wandering around a fortress full of Jardan warriors might cause me some problems I didn’t need.
