by Bevan Greer
Thela didn’t crave power or responsibility, but she had both in the ear of the king. While others in her position would have begged and even reveled in the opportunity to wield control over the kingdom, she thrust the issue aside, wanting only for her people to be left alone.
Yet while Cyka respected her stubbornness and strict adherence to the rights of the Fenturi, he felt she needed to look at things from Zebram’s point of view before his king exploded under the pressures being thrust upon him. Now more than ever Zebram needed a confidant, a special person to care for his welfare as he cared for his people. Though Cyka did all that, he couldn’t give Zebram what Thela could, what Zebram really needed. A woman’s love.
“Thela Fenwi.” Cyka bowed. “I would like you to listen to what I have to say with an open mind. I would remind you that Zedrax often ignored others, as you are doing now with Zebram. Look where that has gotten us.”
She frowned at him before nodding. Good. He’d often found the same with Zebram, that by comparing him to his father he could get the boy to listen to things he’d rather not have heard.
“I understand your refusal to consider a union with the king.”
“How could you?” she asked bitterly.
He continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “For a moment, I would have you stop thinking about yourself and the Fenturi, and consider things from Zebram’s perspective. And no, he doesn’t know I’m here right now, so don’t think this is a plea from him.
“I’ve known the lad from the time he was born. In those years, I’ve watched him grow from an inquisitive young boy into the newly appointed king. But unlike his father, Zebram makes his own decisions without bias, without prejudice. Can you imagine the strength of will and character it took for Zebram to dismiss his father’s notions? That boy grew up hearing all about the evils of the Fenturi, but he befriended Myla and kept her identity a secret, even from me.”
Thela watched him with a thoughtful look on her face.
“Even now, as your brother and the rebels move to take over the palace, Zebram orders them not to be killed. They have injured many of our soldiers, and our warriors thirst for blood. But our king refuses them this.
“Though he longs to unify the kingdom, he cannot just now because an even greater threat than the Fenturi and the Meklen rebellion threatens the System. The Horde is returning. Do you not see that your stubbornness is distracting the man more than he might soon be able to bear?”
Thela seemed troubled at his words. “But what should I do? Reject my people and become a queen in a land that despises and rejects us? I do not even know Zebram. Why would I tie myself to him? Why, for that matter, would he want to tie himself to me?”
“Sometimes we have little choice in what we must do for our people,” Cyka said quietly. “I’m sure if left to Zebram, he’d have passed the kingship to someone else and turned to academics. The lad has always wanted peace and learning around him. But instead he is forced to rule a kingdom fraught with tension and strife. And you, my lady, make things no easier.
“Would it be so hard to try to get to know Zebram? That would not make you a traitor to anyone, but rather a smart woman seeking to learn about your perceived enemy. I think you are afraid of what you will learn about Zebram, that you will find him much different than what you perceive a Bylaran to be. In that you are very much like Zedrax.” He knew his words had penetrated when he saw her flush with shame.
He left her in her chamber, his mission accomplished, and his thoughts turned to another source of Zebram’s worries—his brother Garen. Cyka had disagreed with the notion of sending Garen after a Fenturi, the only person who might be able to save the System. But Zebram had insisted. Cyka could only trust in the king’s faith, praying that Garen had not done more harm than good in bringing the Mari to Bylar.
By the suns, Garen…and a Fenturi?
-12-
“They’d better be here,” Dare growled low at Ren, who rolled his eyes. Again.
Their loveplay had definitely softened the large warrior toward her, but she could tell he still didn’t completely trust her. She walked between him and Castor on Bylar, for protection or to make sure she didn’t bolt, she wasn’t sure which. Mra followed while the twins, Primo and Phin remained on the Eyshan6.
Dare had been eager to reunite with her crew since the day she’d learned they would be waiting unharmed on Bylar. Though she’d rather be on Nine and Dead than on Bylar again, seeing her crew alive and well would do much to make her arrival easier. So she focused on an image of their faces to ward off the panic that had taken hold of her yesterday.
“I told you Dare, they’re fine.” Ren sighed. “But if it will make you more amenable to seeing the king, then we’ll see your friends first.”
Dare felt Castor’s amazement, because she felt it as well. But she wasn’t so sure she liked his smug grin.
“What?” she asked of Ren’s Second, but he only grinned wider and moved with them toward the prison sector.
The prison sector lay in a distant section of Bylaran land away from the population. Set between three large hills, the valley between them housed an elaborate maze of bars and glass that clearly showed those inside.
She looked but did not see her friends, and her distress at being back on Bylar began to take over. Mra growled in her throat, warning Dare to relax, just as Ren’s hold on her arm tightened before gently soothing with a soft caress.
They approached a partitioned area, and to her relief, Dare saw the SpaceStalker sitting a ways from the cell. Inside the cell, Roc and Shea sat on the ground playing with some cards. Jace didn’t seem to be present.
“Roc, Shea!” Dare yelled. They dropped their cards and stood, grinning like felbobs when they saw her.
“Well, it’s about time.” Shea laughed and studied the men on either side of Dare before she turned to Roc and held out a hand.
“I’ll pay up later,” he grumbled then ignored her. “I had ten beks that you’d be in shackles looking a bit less healthy than you do.”
“Yeah. You’re positively glowing,” Shea said knowingly as she eyed Ren, then Dare again. Dare didn’t have to look to see his bright skin. In fact, all those aboard the Eyshan6 with Fenturi blood had been looking the picture of glowing health since she and Ren had shared intimacies last night.
She tried to tamp down her blush but couldn’t, and Roc swore again.
“I said I’ll pay you later,” he said to Shea out of the corner of his mouth.
“I’m glad you guys are okay, but where’s Jace?” Dare asked before they could embroil in an argument. Roc and Shea shrugged and looked to Castor and Ren.
“All three of us arrived on this planet.” Shea shrugged. “Then a guard came for Jace, and neither he nor the guard has been seen since. That was two nights ago.”
Dare turned to Ren to see him frowning. He motioned Castor to stay with Dare and moved to speak with the guards. The others watched with amazement as Mra followed him.
“What can I say?” Dare stared after her traitor of a feline. “She’s taken a liking to him.”
“But she doesn’t even like Jace.” Roc shook his head. “Weird female.”
Shea shoved an elbow in his gut but couldn’t stop the happy grin from lighting up her face.
“I’m just glad to see you again,” she said to Dare.
Ren frowned as he rejoined them. “It’s as she said. Neither Jace nor the guard has been seen in two days. The patrols that have been sent looking for them have been either intercepted by Fenturi rebels or come back empty-handed.”
Dare thought she knew what had happened. Most likely, Jace had used his psionic gifts to convince a guard to set him free. She opened her mind to his and found to her surprise a faint lingering of his presence around the prison.
“I’m sure he’s fine.” She shrugged, not surprised to see the suspicion that showed on Ren’s face.
But he didn’t argue. “Once you’ve seen the king, you and he can discuss their fate,” he said, nodd
ing toward Roc and Shea. He latched on to her arm again, not like a guard, but like a man protecting his female. At least, she liked to think so. “I think it’s time we took you to the palace.”
Dare didn’t like the lack of emotion in his voice, nor the stoicism on his face, but felt in his gentle touch the remembrance of their time spent together. He could try as much as he wanted to pretend nothing existed between them, but she knew better.
She walked with Ren and his crew back to the shuttle. As Castor piloted them to the palace, Ren sat petting Mra, who purred contentedly, all the while staring at Dare with a shuttered expression.
Dare ignored him and stared out the portal, seeing nothing except her memories from last night. She couldn’t explain the dread that had overtaken her at thoughts of returning to Bylar. But she knew that Ren had been exceedingly careful not to hurt her when she had done all that she could to injure him.
Then he’d brought out that herbal bag. He had it even now on his body. She’d seen him attach it to his belt. For some reason the herbs in that pouch had a devastating effect on her senses, and his as well, if she wasn’t mistaken.
One minute she’d been ready to fight him to the death, the next she’d woken up in his quarters in his bed. Then his scent and nearness had overtaken everything and she’d been helpless to stop her need for the warrior.
Caught up in his taste and in the raw feel of his strength, she’d been consumed by the passion he triggered in her, so much so that she’d all but ignored his pleas to stop. She had understood his desire not to take advantage of her, and her heart melted at his honorable intentions.
But he’d been wrong. The drugs had not made her want him more. Oh, they may have lessened her resistance to him, but Dare knew it was only a matter of time before she gave in to her curiosity, to find out why Ren made her burn.
Then he had succumbed to her, ignoring the control he normally walled between them, and magic had happened. She remembered the hard feel of him in her hands, had reveled in her hold over him. She loved the fact that she had made him groan, had made him want her to the point of ignoring his own warnings never to touch her.
And then the things he’d done to her body… She felt herself flush and hoped he couldn’t see her face as she stared out the portal. She had never before felt such heat and satisfaction as she had under his skilled hands and mouth.
She still ached to think of it. How would it feel to have fully joined with him? She knew he meant to do so when they had some time to themselves. She sighed. With this war brewing in the System, she didn’t know if she’d be alive to ever find out.
She and Ren didn’t even really know each other. How then could she want to give herself to him fully? Jace, whom Dare had known for almost half her life and loved deeply, had never made her feel thus. At thoughts of Jace, she prayed to the Goddess that he was alright. Knowing Jace, he’s already made friends with the rebels and even now plotted to free Roc and Shea.
Jace would be fine. She’d sensed his well-being if not his location when she’d sought his mind. But herself? She turned and looked at Ren to see a familiar heat in his gaze, one he made no effort to conceal. Feeling an answering response swell inside her, she turned away and resumed her perusal of the Bylaran grounds.
The shuttle soon docked, and as they stood, she felt Ren approach her. He stood close and whispered, “We’re going to finish things soon, but you need to behave with the king. He won’t hurt you.”
She met his eyes, green and gleaming with hunger. Then he banked that look and rubbed a possessive hand over her shoulder.
“Nesh and Ned.” The twins looked from him to Dare, biting back smiles. “Let his highness know we’ll be there shortly. Castor? If you would, I need a moment with our Mari.”
The twins and Castor left, with Mra following after the twins.
The minute the shuttle emptied, Ren backed Dare against the bulkhead of the shuttle and seared her with a heart-stopping kiss.
His mouth moved over hers with precision, drawing forth the passion that lay just beneath the surface when around him. His tongue stoked her need, and one of his hands moved stealthily around her rib cage to cup a breast with greedy fingers.
“You’re soon going to be mine,” he said thickly, his erection pressing against her. “You’ve set a fire in me that only you can put out, blue Starfire,” he whispered and again took her mouth.
He broke the embrace shortly thereafter, panting with the same desire she felt. He closed his eyes and slowed his heartbeat, controlling his wild energy. Dare could feel him do so, and it startled her. Then she followed suit, toning down her obvious Fenturi nature.
In a calm voice, he said, “You are the Mari. You are Fenturi, and you’re going to meet the king. You’ll find Zebram as unlike Zedrax as one could possibly be.”
In his quiet tone, she recalled his relationship to the king. “He’s your brother.”
“He’s the king.” He didn’t argue the truth; neither did he confirm it. “He’s going to be a good king. Just listen to what he has to say.” Ren blew out a breath and guided her out of the shuttle. “He won’t hurt you,” he said again.
But she couldn’t help feeling stiff and unsafe away from the small craft.
Dare decided to believe him. If things got too bad, she could always blow the whole kingdom into blue dust. Blue Starfire triggered a memory.
“Starfire,” she said softly and turned to stare at Ren. “You were immersed in Starfire.” She remembered her intimacies with her handsome captain. Bathed in the blue flame, he hadn’t burned or been injured but had shared her passion.
“Let’s just keep quiet about that for a while, hmm?” he said, not looking at her. He continued to move them toward the palace, all the while Dare’s mind jumped with questions.
How in the hell had she missed something so vital to her being? She had shared her desire with Ren, and he had seen the Starfire. Everyone else who’d ever come near it had burned. But not Ren. She wondered if his Fenturi blood made him immune to it, or if there was something more.
“Don’t think about it now. There’s enough for you to worry about with the Ragil Horde and the Thrax. We’ll talk about it later,” he ordered, apparently sensing her train of thought. Irritated at his assumption that she would blindly follow his commands, she frowned up at him.
Zebram’s first sight of the Mari was of a beautiful brown-haired woman scowling at his stoic brother. He sighed. What had he expected? That Myla’s prediction of his brother finding himself and finally coming to peace with the Fenturi would so quickly come true?
Zebram stood with Cyka at his side. Koneru had moved closer to him at Garen and the Mari’s entrance. Castor had already informed them that the two would be coming shortly, and the Ham twins seemed to find that amusing. Zebram noted the satisfied smirk on Castor’s face before the large man saw his study and swept his face clean of expression.
Zebram wondered what was amiss when suddenly Myla entered with Thela by her side. Thela stopped upon seeing him, but instead of looking down at him, as she had recently, she watched him curiously as if seeing him for the first time.
Zebram didn’t know what to make of the tense undercurrents he could feel swimming through the room. He motioned for Cyka to have the doors sealed and waved everyone toward a large table to the side of his throne. He watched the Mari curiously.
Garen held her by the arm and practically dragged her to the table. When she would have sat, he sighed loudly and held her upright until Zebram took his seat, then Ren shoved her into her chair.
Her eyes glowed with anger as she stared at his brother, but then something interesting happened. Garen grinned at her.
Zebram could feel his mouth gape in shock at the sight of his taciturn brother smiling. Not wanting to spoil the moment, he turned to find Myla watching the pair intently.
“Welcome to Bylar,” Zebram said.
The woman fixed her bright gaze on him, and he found himself helpless to look away. Fasc
inated by her dazzling eyes and obvious sensuality, he stared at her before he heard a low growl just to the right of him.
“Simmer down, Mra,” Garen said. The noise subsided, and a sudden shimmering alerted Zebram to the cat’s presence. Koneru immediately stepped closer, but Zebram motioned him to stop.
They all watched as the cat sniffed Zebram, her large teeth white and menacing as she neared Zebram’s face. Then she stepped away and walked back to the Mari’s side. By the Goddess, a guidecat!
“Ah, Garen? Perhaps introductions are in order?” Zebram tried to still his pounding heart.
“Sure thing, your highness,” Garen said dryly. “The Mari, as you call her, doesn’t believe she’s the Mari. Her name is Dare.”
“Dare, a pleasure to meet you.” Zebram tried to contain a grin when she looked from him to Garen questioningly. “Yes, he is my brother, though he’d rather cut out his tongue than admit it.”
Castor chuckled but covered the sound as a cough when Garen’s eyes narrowed on him.
“I see you’ve met Castor as well as the rest of Garen’s crew. This is Myla, a Fenturi witch.” Zebram introduced the older woman. “Beside her is Thela, her charge. Cyka is my advisor, Koneru my personal guard.” He pointed everyone out. But his focus remained on the female who’d made his brother smile.
Dare studied the man sitting so calmly across from her. He looked much too young to be king, though she knew he’d assumed the throne upon his father’s death. His dark hair and similar facial features easily proclaimed him kin to Ren. But the king’s eyes were a darker green than Ren’s.
King Zebram had no problem announcing his ties to Ren, and she liked him for it all the more. She wondered how he managed to look so young and yet seem so mature at the same time. Before her sat the leader of the Legion, the most powerful man in the System. He had the capability to sentence her and her friends to immediate death, something she knew old King Zedrax would have had no qualm about doing.
“About my crew,” she began when Ren interrupted her.
