by Bianca D'Arc
“Which is probably why they didn’t tell you,” Star put in.
“Forgive me…” Terva smiled as his gaze swept downward for a moment, “…but it is somewhat…comforting to think that Peregrine is not lost to us forever. Through you—and those who might have been altered as you were, with his DNA—he lives on. He was a great man and I think he would have been proud to contribute to your advancement. Above all, he was a warrior of great renown.”
Julian was silent for a long moment, thinking. The doctor seemed like a pretty good guy, if a bit nerdy.
“I don’t know all the political implications yet, doc, but I’m willing to consider acknowledging the relationship for the sake of your House—as long as it doesn’t cause further problems. Let’s see how this all plays out, and particularly how the current emperor responds. It’s just possible that he might want to disavow the half-human side of the family altogether, in which case it might be more convenient for me to be considered a Tervanian. But whatever happens, I don’t want to cause you, your House, or my royal family any more problems than necessary. Let’s proceed with caution.”
Terva sat back and regarded Julian for a long moment. Finally he spoke, nodding. “A wise precaution. And I thank you for your care in considering what this could mean for my family and my House. Still, I would claim you, regardless of any difficulties such a claiming might engender. Do you not agree, Bisnat?” Terva addressed one of the guards at the door.
The man nodded, speaking for the first time. “From all that I have observed, he would make a good addition to House Tervanian. I would second the claim.”
“And I would third,” Hulgur, the second guard agreed.
“Your two protectors are from House Tervanian,” the doctor explained. “My son, Bisnat, and my nephew, Hulgur.” Dr. Terva introduced them.
Julian stood and went over to the two, holding out his hand to shake in the human way. He wanted to meet these men as equals, not with some kind of royal ennui.
“I’m pleased to meet you both,” Julian said, shaking hands with each of them in turn. The warriors looked a little bemused at first, but gladly returned the handshake. “I’m not very comfortable with the idea that you’re guarding our safety. Frankly, I was more comfortable when I thought you were trying to keep us from doing something.” Julian chuckled and the two jit warriors smiled in return.
“It is our honor to protect you both,” Bisnat answered diplomatically.
“If anything happens, watch over Star first. I can handle myself well enough,” he instructed in a quiet voice, hoping the men would take heed of his wishes.
Bisnat held his gaze for a moment, then nodded quickly. Message received and understood. Good. That made Julian feel a little better about having a guard. More people to keep Star safe. He could handle it on those terms. Julian turned and walked back to the table.
Star had become very important to him in a very short time. She was like no other woman he had ever known. She had at first infuriated him, confounded him and downright blackmailed him. Not an auspicious start. Yet, somehow, over the journey here, their relationship had changed.
If Julian was the kind to think of the future, he might just start thinking about how he wanted her to be in his future. Of course, up ‘til a few hours ago, he didn’t think he had a future. He was willing to sacrifice his life for revenge. How misguided that idea had been, and yet…it had brought him here to a bunch of profound revelations and implications for a future he never would have imagined in his wildest dreams.
Julian paused behind Star’s chair and placed one hand on her shoulder. She covered his hand with hers and the affection in her touch was palpable. Julian moved around to take his seat, placing a light kiss on her cheek on his way. She smiled up at him, and he felt like the sun had come out on a rainy day.
Word came down sometime later that the emperor and High Priest were going to be closeted with Father Theos for several hours more, and that Julian and Star should get some dinner. Dr. Terva accompanied them, apparently intent on convincing Julian to allow House Tervanian to officially acknowledge his relation to them. He told them about the history of House Tervanian and the current state of pretty much every member of the House.
Julian was impressed by how much the warrior, Peregrine, who had unwittingly—and perhaps unwillingly—given his DNA to Enhance Julian’s already half-jit genes, was missed by his family. It seemed Peregrine was some kind of folk hero among the House, and among the jit’suku in general. He’d done many great deeds in this galaxy before being lost in the Milky Way. And Julian was the closest thing he had to a son, since he was lost before he’d found his true mate and had children of his own.
They ate dinner informally, and in private. Dr. Terva made a few calls and every member of House Tervanian who was at the temple—all five of them—came to join them. The two youngest were stationed at the door as guards while Bisnat, Hulgur and an older priest named Jirard, ate at the table with Terva, Star and Julian.
Terva outlined the basics of Julian’s genetic relationship to House Tervanian without revealing too much that might be termed classified information. Without hesitation, the four younger warriors discussed splitting guard duty among themselves while Jirard seemed intent on finding out about Julian’s spiritual beliefs.
After that rather tense meal, Julian needed some time to himself. Unfortunately, that was nearly impossible to get with a set of guards following them around at all times. And he wouldn’t go anywhere without Star. He still didn’t trust that she would be safe among these people. She wasn’t half-jit, after all. Even Julian wasn’t safe—as the presence of the guards attested.
“Where can we go to get some quiet?” Julian asked Jirard with a hint of desperation.
The older man looked at him quietly for a moment, then nodded. “I know just the place. Come with me.”
They left Terva with assurances that Brother Jirard would know where they were, should they be needed. The two younger guards had to go clear their schedules for the next few days, so it was Bisnat and Hulgur that accompanied them.
Brother Jirard brought them to a small chapel that soothed Julian’s nerves the moment he walked in. Star too, seemed to feel the peace of the place as a balm. She smiled at Julian, then the priest and moved past them to kneel at the head of the chapel in front of the symbol of the jit’suku version of the Goddess—a crystal that shone with an ethereal light, placed in a wall hanging depicting a woman wearing robes, watching over a set of children.
“This is the Mother Chapel,” Jirard said in reverent tones. “No one should have need of it for the next few hours.”
“I doubt we’ll need that long, Brother,” Julian assured him. “We just need a quiet place, and a few minutes, to reflect on everything we have learned today.”
“Feel free to take as long as you need,” Brother Jirard backpedaled. “I didn’t mean to imply you needed to rush.”
“Thank you, Brother. As you can see, my lady is already absorbed in her meditations. I should warn you, Star is clairvoyant and may go into a vision. Please don’t be alarmed. I’ll take care of her.” Julian’s hard look conveyed his unspoken order to leave Star’s care to him, and him alone.
“I’ll come back and check on you in an hour.” Jirard nodded before leaving them. Only Bisnat and Hulgur remained, standing like sentinels at the back of the chapel, by the door.
Julian walked nearer to Star, watching her closely. She was sitting in a kneeling pose, one often used in mediation. Her eyes were open and she stared at the glowing crystal with a faint smile on her face.
When Julian sat beside her in the same position, she glanced didn’t move, but he could feel her energy grow calmer. Just as his own body responded in kind to her nearness. There was something about this woman that just…matched him. Like no other woman ever before. Unless he was very much mistaken, she was his mate.
Now that he knew he was more than half jit’suku, that concept took on new meaning. The jits had ver
y specific ideas about true mates and how there was one perfect woman for every man. It was said jit warriors sometimes went their whole life searching for that one perfect mate to complete them.
If there really was any truth to that, maybe Julian had found his true mate in Star. Stranger things had happened.
Julian settled beside her, comforted by her presence at his side, and sought the quiet place inside his mind. He needed time to center himself before he tried to put some order to his racing thoughts.
An hour later, Brother Jirard came through the priest’s entrance to the chapel, which was located behind the representation of the Goddess. Before Julian was consciously aware of moving, he had sprung to his feet in a ready pose. The two warriors at the back door were moving too, taken by surprise.
Brother Jirard, facing three angry warriors, held up his hands to show he was not a threat. Julian didn’t back down, stepping in front of Star, protecting her.
“My apologies.” Brother Jirard’s face reddened with embarrassment. “I did not think before using the hidden entrance.”
Julian stood his ground, but relaxed a fraction. “It would have been nice to know it was there, Brother.” He reminded the priest of the need for security by jerking his chin toward Bisnat and Hulgur.
“Surely the priesthood is above suspicion?” Jirard countered, clearly shocked by the idea that a threat to Julian could come from a priest of his order.
“Sorry, padre,” Star spoke, clearly coming out of some kind of vision. “But things on Moon Malek are wonkier than you think. There’s a priest there…” She fumbled trying to rise, so Julian bent down to help her, liking the fact that she leaned against him when she regained her feet. “He has long, red hair and a warrior’s build. He runs things on that moon and he’s perverting the teachings of the Goddess into something that supports Pater’s treasonous actions. He will be on Pater’s ship and working from the shadows to spread lies about Julian and me.”
Chapter Eight
Julian and Star were left on their own, though they were both scheduled to meet with the emperor the following day for lunch. They went to bed that night, still uncertain of what would come next.
Star had seen turmoil in her vision. Father Theos’s plan to summon Pater to the temple had changed things slightly. There was still room for Julian to prevail, but instead of making the path to that good result easier, bringing Pater here to Solaris Prime did the opposite. Things had gotten worse. Much worse.
Star didn’t really understand it, but sometimes that’s how her gift worked. She could only clearly see how events affected the future possibilities after they had taken place. In this case, making the confrontation happen here on Solaris Prime—where common sense might have dictated Pater had less power than on Malek—had been a bad move for their side. They would have been better off if they had traveled to Malek to do this, but it was too late now.
She woke in the middle of the night, knowing things had changed for the worse. She was in Julian’s arms, there being little room to move around on the small bed. He’d simply tucked her into his embrace, then pulled the blanket over them both. He must have sensed something wrong because his eyes opened.
“What is it?” he whispered.
She didn’t want to tell him the particulars. She didn’t want him thinking there was no way for them to come out of this alive. She didn’t want to hurt his chances with a negative attitude.
But she did want reassurance. The most basic sort would do.
“Make love to me,” she whispered back, the quiet of the night making it easier to say things she would have a hard time saying out loud in the light of day.
Julian stilled. “We could be under surveillance,” he reminded her after pausing a beat.
“We’re also under the covers, and the lights are off. I don’t think they’d be voyeurs,” she reasoned. “It’s probably bot surveillance, if anything, and I don’t really care if a bot sees us moving around under the covers. Not now. I might be embarrassed later, but right now, I need you to hold me and remind me what it’s all about in the end. Life. Freedom live it.” She grasped his shoulders, feeing an urgent need coursing through her body. “Freedom to love.”
Julian ran one hand over her hair, his eyes glistening at her in the dim nighttime glow of the room. The look she could just about see in his eyes made her breath catch. He…cared, if she was reading his expression correctly.
As did she.
She cared about this man so very much. Even if she couldn’t say the words out loud to him, she could show him how she felt with her body. She could feel his care for her in every caress. They didn’t need words. Not now. Maybe not ever.
If this was all she was to have of this man—this caring—she didn’t want to waste a single moment.
“If you’re sure…” he said finally, watching her carefully.
In answer, she reached for the pants he still wore, pushing them away. His chest was already bare and she wore only a soft tunic, which he removed for her. Within minutes, they were naked under the covers, and then they were touching each other everywhere…anywhere…the desperation to be together claiming them both.
This wasn’t a time for slowness or finesse. No, this was a stolen moment out of time, under cover, with as little motion as possible that might dislodge the small blanket on the equally small bed. This was a carefully choreographed movement of two bodies becoming one for a short duration. A coming together to form a new creature born of pleasure that could only last for fleeting minutes—but they would make each one of those seconds last an eternity.
She lifted her leg, wrapping around him, making room for him where she wanted him to go. He seemed to get the idea, sliding gently so that she was under him. She made room for him between her thighs and then he was there, claiming her, joining their bodies in a long, smooth glide of homecoming. A two-way possession where she claimed his body as much as he claimed hers.
He filled her, then stilled, his gaze holding hers. She wasn’t sure exactly what she saw in his eyes in the uncertain darkness of the room, but it felt compelling. She couldn’t look away as he began to move, sliding over her, his rough skin rasping against all her soft places, his cock bringing exquisite sensation on the inside, while his chest rubbed against hers on the outside, making her want to cry out.
She settled for a quiet moan of pleasure, knowing any sharp noises might bring a human watcher to check on their camera feed. As long as they didn’t make much of a ruckus, any surveillance bot would probably just log the movement and note it on its internal log. No need to report back to a human overseer, unless the subjects moved outside of whatever parameters had been programmed.
Star was banking on the discretion of the priesthood. Father Theos and everyone on his staff knew Star and Julian were sharing a single room rather than sleeping separately. She hoped they would have accounted for the fact that they would likely be having sex at some point and programmed any surveillance accordingly.
But even if they hadn’t, there wasn’t much to be seen while they were under the covers. Thermal images might show them outlines, but she didn’t mind that so much. The thing she would mind very much indeed, was if Julian didn’t make love to her. No way could she be with him and not be with him.
He was a need in her blood. A craving in her soul. A desire she hadn’t even known she was capable of before meeting him. He was everything she never knew she wanted in a man…and so much more.
The future was uncertain. Whether or not they would even survive to see the morning was all up in the air.
That thought firmly in mind, she vowed to enjoy what she could of their time together. Take all he would give her and give all she could in return.
She moved with him, the motions starting out slow and then gaining in intensity until they were both breathing much too hard, their passion riding them to new heights. The need to keep quiet somehow heightened the tension and made the ecstasy all that much sweeter when it hit.
She shuddered and shook beneath him as he tensed and strained above her. They hadn’t used protection, but she didn’t mind. Enhanced soldiers were said to be sterile, though she knew that to be untrue. Still, the tinkering that had been done to his DNA made it unlikely that Star would get pregnant.
Even if she did… Star paused as her breathing hitched. Even if she did get pregnant with Julian’s child…she wouldn’t mind. In fact, she wanted his child very much in that moment. It was ridiculous to make such a life-altering decision based on the emotions of the moment, but something about the thought rang true in her soul—in that special place where her gift lived.
She wondered, if they both lived through all this, would she have his child? Would he welcome it? Or would she be left with only memories as he moved on?
The thought brought her back down to terra firma with plummeting speed. Her body was coming back as well, from a glorious orgasm. Now was not the time to speculate on possible futures—especially grim ones. No, this time was for reaffirming life. Living in the moment. Being with Julian to build a memory to hold against time, however long they had left.
Not wanting to be alone. Or scared.
She wasn’t, she realized as she came down from the high, Julian rolling to her side and cuddling her close as his breathing began to slow as well. They were both spent and she felt sleep come out of hiding to reclaim her. He had given her that. He’d calmed her mind and body enough so that she could rest.
And judging by the way he held her, his body relaxed and his breathing settling into a deep, even rhythm, she had done the same for him. Thank the Goddess. They would both rest secure for having shared an intense moment of bonding.
As she sank into sleep, she felt his arms around her and somehow, she knew, everything would be all right.
* * *
Pater’s ship arrived even more quickly than anyone had expected. The ecclesiastical court was convened in a hurry and Julian’s meeting with the emperor was postponed. It was jit’suku tradition that legal matters be attended with all due haste so the accused could face their accusers and try to defend their good name, along with the honor of their House. Jit’suku justice was normally quick, but Pater’s overly-hasty arrival had caught them off guard. Perhaps that had been his intention by arriving so precipitously, Star thought.
