by Shae Mills
She padded out into the Command Center and took a long look around. She wanted to talk to Lethiason, but she had no idea how to contact him. She stepped down to the inert controls and ran her fingers along them absently as she walked the length of the panels.
Then she froze, remembering the hidden compartment below. She stole a look toward the main doors and then back to the compartment. Holding her breath, she began to tap out a long-forgotten sequence. She knew it should operate even when the Center was down, and it did: after several tries, the compartment finally opened. It was empty, but it would soon contain the knives and uniform Fremma had given her so long ago.
She closed the compartment, trying hard to contain her excitement. Now she really wanted to find Lethiason. Moving to the lone segment of the Command Center that would respond to her, she called up a plan of the Palace. She studied it closely, paying particular attention to the officers’ quarters. If Lethiason was Talon’s right-hand man, he would occupy an area of importance.
Chelan made her choice, and then her blood chilled. Talon had given Lethiason permission to work with her. What if Lethiason had decided to forgo the officers’ quarters for something closer? What if he had chosen Fremma’s suite? Chelan’s muscles tightened, her anger surfacing. She did not want Fremma’s possessions violated by the presence of anyone from the new Empire, just as she detested Talon’s use of Korba’s pool. Fremma’s quarters were Fremma’s—and his alone.
Suddenly, she found herself in flight up the stairs and through the doors. The guards jumped at her abrupt exit, but she ignored them and strode straight for the second set of doors. They opened. Chelan stepped through them, and then she stood very still. She panned over the quarters warily, her ears struggling to catch even the smallest of sounds. Finally, she tiptoed toward the bed, her senses assaulted by painful and unwelcome memories, and by the loss of the man she had loved so hard.
“It is good to see you again, Chelan.”
Chelan whirled about. There, at the entrance to the en suite, stood Lethiason. She festered with ire as she scanned his naked upper torso, his long, blue-black hair still dripping with moisture from his shower. His left arm hung at his side, his hand firmly clenching a throwing blade.
Lethiason took a small step forward, watching the rigid woman warily. “I wondered how long it would take you to find me,” he stated softly. Then he glanced down at the knife. “I am sorry, but you took me by surprise.” And he let it drop into the sheath of his boot.
Chelan’s eyes flared. “I don’t want you here,” she seethed.
“He is gone, Chelan.”
“This is his room!” she shouted. “It is a memorial to him. I want you out!”
Lethiason straightened his massive body, his bronze flesh stretching tight over concrete muscles. “You do not have the status to give me orders. Besides, it is my wish to stay here.”
“By remaining here, you fail to abide by my wishes; therefore, you fail to respect me. That is not the basis for a burgeoning friendship.”
Lethiason’s eyes widened, and then he smiled. “Congratulations, Chelan. You assert yourself as I knew you could and as you should. I commend you.”
Chelan approached him with the controlled stealth of a wildcat stalking her prey. “I don’t want to be commended. If what you say is true, that I occupy a position of importance to Talon, for whatever insane reason, I want someone to listen to my wishes for once.”
Lethiason stared at the alien beauty before him, her looks disrupting his train of thought. When she was within his grasp, he jarred himself back to the issue at hand. “It is only practical that I stay here. It is for your convenience.”
“Firstly,” Chelan began, “I will ask for your help when I am good and ready to accept it. And secondly, I can page you from anywhere within the Empire if need be. You needn’t desecrate the possessions of one of the greatest Commanders of the old Empire, a man I loved deeply, under the guise of convenience!”
“Firstly, if you don’t lower your voice with me, young woman, I will teach you a lesson you will never forget. And secondly, I will stay where I damn well please, including in your bed, if I so desire!”
Chelan lashed out at him, attempting to strike his handsome face, but Lethiason caught her wrist easily and spun her around. Chelan gasped as he clutched her in his powerful arms and pinned her back to his chest. She shut her eyes and ground her teeth. Then she held very still. His fingers gently removed her hair from her face, and she could feel his hot breath on the nape of her neck. She tried to dislodge him, but with a single arm, he held her immobile.
“Now,” he said firmly, “you will accept my help when I have the time and the inclination to offer it.”
Chelan tried to catch her breath and finally sagged into him, his hard body nearly bruising her back.
His voice softened. His finger traced down her neck to her shoulder. “And most importantly, I do not disrespect Fremma’s quarters or his memory in any way. He was a great man and a mighty warrior. Though his time in the capacity of Warlord was short, he filled the role with an ability equaled only by Dar and Korba. His performance, and that of his crew in the Balatesian system, was gallant, their potent deadliness beyond imagination. But he was simply out-gunned. No one in his position could have won the battle that he fought to the end.”
Chelan felt her eyes sting, and she held onto his arm. “You were there?” she whispered.
Lethiason hesitated. “Yes,” he uttered almost sorrowfully.
Chelan felt her eyes fill. “Did you kill him?”
Lethiason’s grip on loosened slightly. “No, I didn’t. He died with the ship.”
Chelan’s knees seem to liquefy, but Lethiason supported her. She turned in his arms and looked up at him. “He was there for me always,” she said, “even when Dar and Korba could not be.”
Lethiason stroked her long hair. “I know,” he whispered. He held her away from him and looked deeply into her troubled eyes. “I want to aid you as you adjust, Chelan. I know how helpless you must feel. I also know that I can never substitute for Fremma, and I would never aspire to do so. But let me be with you as a friend and as a confidant. Let me train and take care of you as he did.”
Chelan studied his azure eyes. “Why?”
“Because I want to.”
“I can give you nothing in return.”
“I ask for nothing.”
Chelan hesitated. “You offer me so much. You offer me your time and commitment. Essentially, you offer yourself, for all my needs, yet you tell me to accept Talon.”
“I offer myself to you, and I suggest what is best.”
“But why?” she implored. “You do not even know me.”
“I do not know you. But I knew and respected the men who were my enemies. I honored their abilities in life, and I honor them in death. Korba and Dar were my mentors. We defeated them in battle, but our edge was superior technology and surprise, not skill. And now, in the aftermath of blood and death, a white flower of peace has been saved and must blossom once again. You were their life, you were their mate, you were everything to them, and out of respect for them, I respect you.” He held her face and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. “No, I do not know you, Chelan. But I valued all that they did and loved, and they valued you above all else. I would be a fool to turn my back on you.”
Chelan swallowed hard. “But though I will take from you, I still can be nothing to you.”
“I understand that. And I have told you that I expect no payment from you, in any form. All I ask for is your friendship and your trust. Grant me the opportunity to know you.”
Chelan pulled back from him. She studied him a long time, curiosity combined with wariness. Then suddenly, she was hit with a force that stopped her heart. She thought of the trunk in Dar’s quarters and her eyes widened. “Were you ever around me before?”
Lethiason hesitated. “To when do you refer?”
“You said you infiltrated the old Empire. Maybe you wer
e a part of it all along.” She waited, but he did not react. “Were you ever in my service?”
Lethiason was still for a moment, his face serious. “Not directly,” he whispered guardedly.
Chelan watched him carefully. “Did I ever know you?”
“No.”
Chelan felt her heart thud. She tried to tame her raging thoughts while being careful not to ask too much. She looked at him hard. “Do you profess allegiance to me or perhaps even love?”
The question took Lethiason by surprise. He suddenly became rigid. He went to speak and then stopped. He took his time to word his response accurately. “No man in your service was immune to your stunning beauty and your gentle ways. I admired you from afar,” he admitted. “But I could ill afford falling into the powerful emotion of love.”
“Why?”
“Because, my Lady, my mission was clear. If I allowed love, I could not destroy your world, as I was ordered to do.”
Chelan’s mind tumbled. “Ordered to do…” she repeated. She stared at him. “You are avoiding the topic of allegiance.”
Lethiason stepped back and turned away. “I have revealed too much already.”
Chelan faltered, his use of her formal title doing cartwheels through her addled mind. Something did not fit, and her thoughts raged. She bounded in front of him, impeding his retreat to the en suite. She raised her hand to his jaw, her soft touch causing his azure eyes to close. She studied the Commander—his strong features, his smooth skin, and his thick, blue-black mane. “I grant you my trust.”
His eyes snapped open. He raised his hand to hers, pressing her fingers to his cheek. “Thank you,” he whispered.
Chelan stepped back from him, still perplexed by the whole exchange. Then she looked about her. For reasons she could not hope to understand, she suddenly felt that it was imperative that he be near her. “You may stay here,” she said. “In fact, I now want you here.”
Lethiason remained still. Chelan tried to clear her mind. She took another step back and regarded him carefully. “This conversation never took place, did it?”
Lethiason shook his head slowly. “No, my Lady. It did not.”
Chelan felt a tremor run through her, and then she flew from the room, seeking the safety of the Command Center.
Lethiason took a deep breath and watched as the doors closed behind her. “Trust me you must, my Lady. I am your only hope.”
Chapter 12
Chelan paced the Command Center relentlessly. Over and over, she went through the conversation with Lethiason. “Damn,” she mumbled to herself. She ran her hands through her hair, her fingers shaking. Then she stopped and took a deep, calming breath. If the men of the Empire desired to keep her in the dark or to twist her thoughts, they could do it easily and indefinitely. Lethiason wanted her to trust him and to learn from him. If he sought to hide information from her or to make her privy to it, she doubted she had any choice in the matter. Her best course was to relax and take things as they came. But she had to be careful, no matter what transpired.
Suddenly, the main doors parted, and Chelan jumped.
“Good day, little one. I see you remain here most of the time, despite your freedom.” Talon shook his head at her. “At least, you are predictable.”
Chelan glared at him. “Better here than under the scrutiny of your vultures.”
Talon grinned but ignored her jab. He entered the workout area and disappeared into the inky blackness. Chelan approached slowly, feeling for the light sensors. She raised the cavernous room’s lights ever so slightly. Talon turned to face her, his eyes riveted to her as he disrobed.
Chelan folded her arms across her chest and stared at him. “For your information, I have been out and about. But I have noticed a curious thing about your people.”
“Oh, and what may that be?”
“They seem oddly aloof.”
Talon grinned again. “Have you tried to speak to any of them?”
“To be honest, everyone seems to be in a rush. No one save the guards out front has stood still long enough to talk to.”
“Perhaps you have not run into anyone idle enough for casual conversation. We are a warrior nation, with a new Empire to run.”
“And that is the full extent of it?”
Talon frowned. “The men and women in this Palace are my elite. They are fully occupied at all times.”
Chelan had no doubt he spoke the truth, but she also knew there was much more to it. He had always said he wanted her to come to him for everything. Ordering his people to ignore her would undoubtedly enforce that edict. She opened her mouth to confront him, but he interrupted her.
“You should come for a swim,” he said.
Chelan huffed at him. “Oh, right. You would like that. I would do well, wouldn’t I.”
Talon finished stripping and then stopped, his face becoming serious. “Would you like to swim?”
Chelan glanced at the huge expanse of water and then back into Talon’s expectant eyes. “Are you serious?” He stepped up to her, but she recoiled, rendered uneasy by the proximity of his naked body.
“Yes, I am serious. You do not use it, and I wondered why.”
Chelan shuddered. “Are you daft? You know how damn cold that stuff is to me.”
Talon glanced at the pool. “Why did Korba not warm it for you?”
“He did, but then he left and so did I. I guess at some point the staff shut off the heat.”
Talon looked deep into her eyes. “So, do you want to swim?”
Chelan glanced around nervously. “I love swimming,” she whispered.
Talon nodded. “See! That was easy. It is done.” And he strode away.
Chelan watched as he moved to the wall just beyond the shower area. There, with the wave of his hand, a hidden control panel emerged. He made some adjustments, and then the panel disappeared. Suddenly, Chelan felt the whole floor vibrate, the entire pool erupting into a churning sea of blue. Her eyes snapped back to him as he returned.
He smiled, stepping up close to her. “In a few moments, we will see if you like to swim.”
Chelan blanched. “I…”
Talon looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “You what?”
Chelan wavered. “I have nothing to wear.”
Talon smirked. “Neither do I. Now, come on.” And he headed toward the pool.
But Chelan stood her ground. Talon stopped and glared at her. “Come on, little one. I have raised the temperature for your comfort, not mine.”
Chelan shook her head at him. “I prefer to swim alone,” she said.
“Well, I do not,” he countered. “Either you come willingly, or I will strip you and throw you in.” And he pivoted away from her and headed back toward the pool.
Chelan was flustered. “If a man on Earth stripped a woman against her will, he would be charged with assault!”
Talon stopped and turned slowly, his blue eyes ablaze. “Need I remind you that this is not Earth? No one is going to charge me with assault, least of all you. In addition, I have in the past attended you off and on, day and night, no matter your state. I know every inch of your body, and your prudish ways are beginning to try my patience!”
Chelan watched as the bubbling subsided, and Talon knifed into the depths. She fidgeted with her dress, her cheeks pink. “Damn you!” she shouted at his back. She took several deep breaths and then realized she really had no choice. She moved to the edge of the pool and cautiously touched the water with her toes. It was cool but certainly tolerable. She watched as Talon reached the far end and then rolled for the return lap.
Chelan squatted at the edge and waited for his return. As he reached the end, he rose up and peered at her. “I am waiting,” he reminded her, and he pushed off with his legs and submerged himself again.
Chelan rolled her eyes and quickly shed her gown. Then she slithered into the water. Immediately, she moved sideways out of his path. “With my luck, your damn eyes see as well underwater as they do in
the dark,” she mumbled to herself. But suddenly, her mood softened. She did love the water, and she felt like a seal pup in its fluid embrace.
She kicked off and dove down, rolling several times before surfacing. Then she cleared her hair from her face and searched for Talon, but he maintained his course, seemingly unaffected by her entry. She smiled. This was beautiful—not only the water but swimming naked, the unfettered freedom intoxicating.
Chelan dove to the bottom, her ears squeaking as they cleared in response to the pressure change. There she felt her way along, twisting and turning until her burning lungs forced her to the surface. This time, she did not look for Talon. She took in a deep lungful of air and dove again.
Talon diverted his course and skimmed along the bottom of the pool. There he lay and watched as Chelan began her descent, her sinuous body moving through the liquid world as if she were born to it. He watched her graceful movements, her feminine beauty fully displayed and caressed by the water’s soft touch. As she rolled, long silken strands of her hair curled about her body like fine filaments of gold encasing a precious gift.
Suddenly, the Emperor found his lungs straining, and he was forced to surface far sooner than he had expected. He gasped for air, his chest burning nearly as fiercely as his loins. But he could not help himself. Taking a large gulp of air, he dove back down, just in time to see her surface. He watched her tread water, and he knew she was searching for him, but her efforts would be fruitless. Finally, she dove again, heading for the bottom and away from him.
