An Uncommon Whore (2019 Edition)

by Belinda McBride

  And then they’d come back.

  We flew in silence, making the same journey over the ruins of Talis and other smaller cities scattered around the planet. The view was always the same. The wind blew the dirt and ash and the dust of the dead before it.

  Nothing could live there now.

  “The planet is dead,” I said, but we kept flying for hours on end. We flew eastward, remaining in the light, until we came to a region that had once been dotted with pristine blue lakes. I remembered coming here once and sailing in a boat. I’d been little, and remembered my father fishing for the long, scaly blue troff that swam here in massive formations. We slept on the gentle waves, and my mother swam in cool water….

  There was little water left. What remained was muddy and foul. We angled over the water, beginning the ascent to the higher atmosphere, when I caught a glimpse of something metallic and flashing.

  “Did you see that?” Griffin asked.

  I nodded, and Carlotta looped back toward the surface. We skimmed over the water, slowed, and then hovered. Below us, silver-blue flashes rippled from the water.

  “Those are fish.” Carlotta’s voice was strained and tired. She’d been piloting the ship for hours on end. “Troff.”

  “They feed on smaller fish, don’t they?”

  I nodded at her question. “Yes, and on microscopic plant life.” There weren’t many, not like the massive schools I’d seen here as a child, but still, they were alive and thriving. “I wonder what else is adapting?”

  “It all begins with water,” Griffin said. “Water and sun.”

  We hovered there as night fell. The sunset was brilliant. Beautiful and frightening. I’d never seen anything like the display of oranges and reds that faded down into pinks and then gray. When it was dark, we rose to the sky as silently and softly as a prayer. In an hour, we were back in space. In two, we were back in ID, heading inexorably to a strange, hostile planet that bore no resemblance to the planet that had been my home.

  The planet that had died, and now was being reborn in isolation. Nothing was left there for us. For me. Yet I grieved.

  Carlotta left the bridge, disappearing into her cabin, going to bed without pausing to eat. I took her spot in the cockpit, staring at the monitors, seeing nothing but ash and smoke.

  “Lio?”

  Griffin looked at me, the same grief I felt was etched into the lines on his face.

  “You should go to bed, Grif. I don’t think I can sleep.” I didn’t think I’d ever sleep again. He started to speak, then rose, leaving the cockpit. A few minutes later, he returned with a tray of food. He set it on a table that extended from the instrument panel, and then left, silently, leaving me alone with my memories and my guilt. And my fear. I wondered if I’d ever feel anything but fear, ever again.

  Chapter Sixteen

  TWENTY-FOUR HOURS later, chaos reigned. The communications array lit like laser fire.

  Literally every member of the council had something to say about the finances Griffin had withheld from the general funds. I was stunned and infuriated by the casual contempt with which they addressed him. More than one member accused him of everything from carelessness to outright theft. With a curl to his lip, Grif sent a standard, curt reply, informing them that he had news to share… when he returned the following day.

  That message drew even more hysteria, till he simply closed the program.

  “Lio, look at this.” An image played on his monitor. I rested a hand on his shoulder, watching the elderly man on the screen.

  “Captain, I’ve coded this to keep it away from the council and anyone else who might have an interest in your whereabouts.”

  I looked at Griffin, not sure who the man in the image was.

  “General Willis. He’s—well, he was retired about fifteen years ago. He’s now our highest-ranking officer. Over a hundred years old now.” Griffin grinned. “And sharp as a knife. They kept him there, probably afraid he’d lead a military coup if he had actual command of the military.”

  “That might not have been a bad thing.”

  The general continued the message: “Three unknown vessels are orbiting. I know you’re due back soon, just wanted to get your input on what might be happening.” He looked sharply at us, though I knew the message had been delayed. “I reached out to every ship and soldier I could contact. Found they were already on their way home.” He smiled, grim and with a look of dark satisfaction on his craggy face. “Looking forward to seeing you again, son.” Griffin grinned back at the image. I got the feeling my pirate was also looking forward to the following day and whatever mayhem it brought.

  “My cousin also sent a message. The settlements are getting wind of the ships in orbit. No confirmation that they’re really there, but he said the girls are upset. I told him to find Diedre and Alex. They’ll feel better with him around.”

  “Are they close to my son?” I felt a heaviness around my heart. The sensation of loss.

  “Yeah. Initially, they were all housed together. He treats them like his little sisters. And Diedre gives them all a sense of normalcy, I guess. A mother figure.” He stared down at the message console. “I’m greatly in debt to many people.”

  As was I, it seemed.

  On the bridge, Carlotta communicated with her ships, while Griffin began a series of coded messages to the dozens of ships and soldiers he’d recalled. Clearly the loyalty of the military was with Captain Griffin Hawke rather than the council. Again, I felt an angry satisfaction. I wouldn’t be coming home alone. I had Griffin and those loyal to him.

  And now their loyalty was to me. Their king had returned, and they were coming in support of me. That was a humbling realization.

  “The council pretty much crippled the military.”

  “Yeah. They sent us out on missions that separated us. Markus and I were to search for you but also to earn money. Others were dispatched to sell minerals on the black market. More than one good soldier died on that fool’s mission.”

  “What role did General Willis have in all this?” He was an old lion of a soldier, but he’d remained on the planet, the only member of the military in permanent residence.

  “He set up a secret line of communication with us all. Made sure we all knew where everyone was located, even if we didn’t know their missions.” He chewed the inside of his cheek. “He did what he could, but sending us away with no one to secure the planet… utter and total foolishness. He should never have complied with that order.” His cheeks darkened in anger. “He’s old, but damn. We’re needed there. Not out here.” He didn’t like criticizing the general, but the old warrior had his hands tied. It was amazing that he’d been allowed to remain behind, where he could actually keep a finger on the pulse of the citizens. Yet I understood Griffin’s frustration.

  The council had driven the military away, while keeping them tethered to the planet through their families and loved ones. They’d rejected Diedre as their leader. She was the legal and moral leader of our people, with myself and Markus gone.

  “The council conspired against Dayspring rule.” Possibly with the assistance of my cousin. “How the hell am I gonna fix this, Griffin?”

  “I’m not sure,” he said. “But you will. We will.”

  There wasn’t much space to seek privacy on the Aida, so I returned to our cabin, sitting on the bed, staring at the portraits on the dresser. I needed help. I needed someone on the planet to guide us in. To guide me back home.

  There was one person I knew I could believe in, one person on that planet that I had to contact.

  I’d seen her image in Griffin’s holoframe—a tall, flame-haired woman. She’d been holding a baby… my son. Cloris had run from me not long after the birth of Alexander. The Sun Priests had uncovered evidence of her spying, and she’d fled from her eventual trial, killing herself in the process. My sister had been the mother my son had needed so desperately. Her son had been like a brother to Alexander.

  I activated a small, powerf
ul comm device and sent a live request. Communication from ID space was a tricky venture, so I wasn’t sure if it would work. I waited, staring at a gray, static screen where the shield of the Astrum blinked and pulsated. The brilliant sunburst rotated from white to yellow, orange to red, and back to white.

  I remembered the ruins of the city, the sunburst burned and ruined. I sat up straighter.

  The logo faded as a string of code ran across the screen, requesting the secure passwords necessary to begin communication on the channel reserved for the royal family. Diedre and I were the only ones alive who knew those codes. Markus may have known them—

  My thoughts flinched from the memory of my cousin.

  I checked the clock—an hour had passed since I first sent the communication. I sighed, stretched, and grabbed a pad, frowning over a Notification of Agreement between the Astrum and the Somian, regarding the settlement of this tiny, unnamed planet.

  It had a name, but a string of numbers wasn’t particularly conducive to a homecoming.

  The Vash had cosigned the memorandum, which was an agreement regarding mineral rights on the planet. I went chill. The smuggling of the candar could very well be a violation of that agreement. As I read on, the true motives of our rescuers began to take shape, and I had a hard time breathing. “Oh Sun,” I whispered as I realized the true danger we were in.

  “Who is this?”

  I jumped, whipping my gaze back to the comm screen. It was full of static, but I saw a form slowly taking shape.

  “Dee?”

  Silence as the message flew across space to reach a far-off planet. I swallowed, licked my lips. “Dee, it’s me. Helios.”

  More silence. The image on the screen came in stronger, and as it clarified, I saw she was leaning in, probably adjusting the signal. I saw and waited, feeling stiff and rigid as a corpse. My muscles were so tight they hurt. The screen wavered and then snapped into focus, sharp and in full color. I was stunned; I hadn’t realized the technology had advanced so far.

  I thought of the felon we’d left behind on the trashy little rock in space. He’d probably done this, along with the new ID Drives. I shook my head. Such a fusion of brilliance and corruption.

  Then she was there, in front of me, and I knew her. I had memory of her, years and years of memories. I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound came forth. I just sat there gaping, staring into a face so similar to mine, I had to blink.

  “Dee,” I said hoarsely.

  I could see her lips moving; she was saying something. “M…m…Mar—k—” Her breath caught. “Lio?”

  I still couldn’t make proper sounds, so I nodded.

  “Lio?” Her voice was louder. “Lio? Oh my Sun! Lio!” She reached for the screen, bumping it. She stood, then sat back down. “Lio—I thought you were Markus!” She leaned forward, peering closely at the screen. “Your hair… and your….” The meaning of my appearance must have registered then. “Oh, Lio.” Her eyes were filling with tears. She wiped them away with her sleeve. “I need to get Alex—”

  “No. There isn’t time. We might lose the signal.” She wiped her eyes again and nodded. I stared at her greedily, meshing the appearance with the sound of her voice, the rigid posture that had been drilled into her. Into us.

  She looked pale and slightly disheveled. Her hair had been her pride, but now it was pulled back in a simple tail. Her clothing was worn and not particularly clean. The years had been cruel to my sister.

  “I’m on my way. I’ll be there very soon. A day or two.”

  “You’re the reason the council is in a panic.”

  I nodded. “Probably.” I decided to take a leap of faith. “I’ll be arriving with ships. Talisian ships.”

  She stared at me in horror.

  “Dee, Griffin found me. And then we found Carlotta.”

  “Carlotta? She’s alive? She fought for you. I assumed she’d been killed.”

  “She’s alive. We’ll tell you more later.” The image wavered. I knew our time was limited. “I’ll be there soon. Just—don’t be afraid. The Talisian mercenaries are Carlotta’s people, and they’ve sworn fealty to me. Also, Griffin called in the remaining military.”

  “Are you invading?” She sat up straighter. “Because, Lio, the council—” She bit her lip.

  “I know. Griffin told me.” Fury roiled my gut. She was a Dayspring. They’d taken her rightful role as leader from her. They’d built a city on a fucking flood plain. They parted parents from their children in order to prevent an imagined military coup.

  “We’re coming. I’m back, Diedre.”

  Her face crumpled, and she started to cry. Then she stopped and I watched as she rebuilt herself. Once she regained control, we gazed at each other.

  “I have much to tell you, sister.”

  She nodded, and I realized it was a gesture identical to mine. Who’d we learned that from? A parent? The king? Had I learned it from her?

  “For now, say nothing. I’m back. Things will change.”

  “Things will change,” she echoed.

  We continued to gaze at each other. She reached out, touching the screen, caressing my image. My eyes burned with tears. “Alex?”

  “He’s well. Day to day, he asks if I’ve heard from you. His faith is implicit.”

  Now the tears slipped to my cheeks. But I didn’t look away. “Tell him. Then keep him close.”

  “I will—” The screen fragmented, then the image coalesced into her face again. She was still speaking.

  “Tomorrow. Maybe later,” I said. She closed her eyes as though she was giving thanks. Hell, she might have been.

  She touched the screen again. The audio dissolved. And then her image began to disintegrate, sifting away like grains of sand. Finally, there was nothing but static. I sat staring at the screen, finally brushing my fingers over the screen, powering it down.

  My sister. The sound of her voice played through my ears like a whispered song. After our parents had died, we’d been alone together.

  I curled up on the bed, collapsing to my side, feeling sleep wash over me. No sooner did my eyes slip closed, then the memories began, a replay of my life with my sister, childhood merging into teens, and then adulthood.

  So much joy. So much pain. How in the Sun’s name had I forgotten her?

  Finally, exhausted, I went to sleep. I did not dream.

  I WOKE, jerking in shock as I looked around.

  Small lights dotted the room, reminiscent of candles. We couldn’t allow open flame on the ship, but these flickered and floated above every surface. The air was scented with sensual spices, and fine wine sparkled in crystalline flutes. I heard the soft strains of the Farthian lute playing.

  In the midst of this seductive web, Griffin lay on the bed beside me, naked and waiting.

  I fell to the floor. I landed with a crash, and then scrambled to my feet, pushing stray hair out of my eyes.

  Suddenly I wasn’t so weary anymore.

  “Did you do this for me?” I put one knee on the bed, admiring his long, muscular body. It shimmered with oil, and my cock throbbed in time with my heart. “How’d you do this without waking me?”

  He grinned. “I did it for you, but for me as well. When we get home, private time will be hard to come by. And you were out cold.” He casually clasped his cock, and I examined it, reaching out to stroke the distended veins, the ridge that ran up its length. He crooked his leg, sighing as I stroked.

  I licked my lips. I felt nervous but didn’t know why. “I will not keep you a secret from our people. You will be my sworn consort.”

  “I believe that you mean it, Helios.”

  “And you also know what a pigheaded bastard I can be.”

  He grinned at that.

  “We’ve lost too many years. I’ve lost too many years to sacrifice myself on the altar of sovereignty. If need be, I will step down in favor of another.”

  “You will do no such thing.” He sat up, boiling with fury. His erection faded, and that
was far from what I wished right now.

  “Griffin. I promise to do what is best for the kingdom, regardless of what that might be.”

  “You are what is best for the kingdom.”

  “You are what is best for me!”

  He looked stunned at my words. Or perhaps at the tone of my voice.

  For now, it seemed best to let that entire issue go. I was weary; I was horny. What I wanted and needed lay stretched out on a bed before me. When my shirt came off, Griffin’s attention fixed on me fully. He watched, his cock swelling as I slowly stripped. Glancing around, I located the oil he’d used. It glistened as I dribbled it over my skin. He watched it trail from my chest to my belly and then trickle beside my cock.

  He swallowed nervously, and suddenly, the point of this seduction became crystal clear.

  “You don’t need to do this if you aren’t ready, Griffin.”

  “I want it. I’ve thought of little else since that first time you took me.” His skin flushed dark and his cock jerked, proving the truth of his words. He caught my wrist and pulled me slowly to the bed, down to his body.

  He was hot; our skin slid together sensuously. He was aggressive, licking and biting at my nipples, then across my chest to the tender skin under my arms. My eyes dropped closed in bliss; he was clearly demonstrating that while he might be bottom, he’d be dominant in that position.

  “I want to feel your hair when you fuck me, Lio.”

  Obediently I unraveled the braid, watching as the strands surrounded him like a copper-flame curtain. He reached up and buried his hands in my hair, close to my scalp. His thumb dragged over my lips, so I opened and sucked the digit into my mouth, circling the pad with my tongue. I then bobbed, mouth-fucking it as though it were his cock. He groaned. Releasing it, I leaned forward, bringing my lips close to his ear.

  “I love you, Griffin.” I then sucked his lobe, nipping lightly. His hands roamed my body, stroking my ass, pulling our hips together to dry fuck. Of course, with oil slicking our bodies, it wasn’t that dry at all.

  He reached up and pulled my head from his throat, where I’d been leaving little marks, and brought me to look directly into his face. I tried to kiss him, but he held me steady, his hand in my hair.