He nodded at the remote in her hand and added, “Or will that question just get me another shock?”
Silently, she looked away again. Eventually she said, “To my personal yacht.”
“We’re leaving Centurium?” he asked. He hoped that until he was ready, they would put at least a hundred systems between him and the Black Dragon.
She sent him a hard look. “I’d rather not have to be here if I can help it,” she said.
Before long, they arrived at another landing platform. On it was a luxury yacht, its mirror-like armor plating gleaming in the sunlight like a star in the night sky.
Following Marian out of the transport, Robin turned and saw Balwin’s transport flew past to land on an adjacent platform. Absorbed in watching it land, he barely noticed when people came out of the yacht to greet Marian.
“Welcome back, Princess Marian,” he heard one man say as he came forward with a bow.
Continuing his focus on Balwin’s transport, Robin watched Freya and Tekmet stagger out behind guards, along with a few others, including Hannah and her daughter. All were led toward a slave freighter.
Robin heard the man speak to Marian again. “Who’s this?”
Keeping his attention on Balwin’s group, Robin watched as Freya paused before turning to look right at him. Longing to go to his sister, Robin took a step forward. Could she see the love and hope for her return to his eyes?
Freya was shoved out of sight into the freighter. Shortly, with a roar of the engines, the freighter lifted off. Robin watched it rise higher and higher into the sky. He only lowered his gaze when it disappeared from sight. Then he closed his eyes, trying to bite back the sudden sensations of emptiness and loss.
When Robin was finally able to compose himself, he opened his eyes and looked at Marian. She was standing beside a man, and they were both watching him intently.
“I never did get your name,” Marian said.
Returning their gazes with a hard face, Robin replied, “Do you want my name or the number they assigned me?”
“If I wanted the number I would have asked for it,” Marian said. “So why don’t you give me what I asked for? Your name.”
Robin’s frown deepened. After a moment, he answered, “Ryuu. My name is Ryuu.”
For a beat she just looked at him. Then, nodding, she waved toward the ramp of the yacht.
“Would you accompany me aboard my ship, Ryuu?” she asked.
Hesitating a few beats, he looked at her. Then, without a word, he followed her aboard.
Chapter 11
Friend or Foe
Robin eyed the yacht’s ramp as it closed behind him.
Marian said, “Ryuu? This is Alan.” She indicated the man next to her. “He’ll show you to your quarters.”
Alan nodded.
Marian said, “It’s your choice, but I hope to see you at dinner.” Then she walked away.
After watching her go, Robin turned to look at Alan. The man was standing patiently in his crisp uniform and dark hair just so, as though awaiting instructions.
“Please, this way,” Alan said.
Not sure what to think, Robin eyed him as they walked down the corridor. Is this a trick? Are they trying to soften me up? Trying to turn me?
When Alan stopped outside a door and pressed the release, Robin expected to see a room very much like the one he had stayed in while he was in the slave ship.
However, after the door hissed opened, Robin felt his jaw drop. He stepped into the small but luxurious room.
Attached to the wall to one side was a neatly made bed with various drawers underneath. Opposite the bed was a holo screen projector. On the opposite wall was a computer projector.
Frowning in confusion, Robin turned to Alan, who said, “Like the princess explained, you’re welcome to either eat here or join her in her quarters for dinner. They are right down the hall.” He indicated the way with a wave of his hand.
Then Alan turned and left, closing the door behind him.
For a few seconds, Robin remained where he was, his eyes on the door. Then he scanned the room. He walked to the wall near the holo screen projector and pressed a lit button on the wall. A panel slid open, revealing a food materializer.
“Water, room temperature,” he commanded, and a glass of water appeared.
He sloshed the water around the glass and eyed it carefully. Seeing nothing, he swirled the tip of his finger in. He felt nothing. He lifted his finger to his mouth and sucked the liquid from it.
He tasted nothing out of the ordinary.
Shrugging, he brought the glass to his lips and drank down the contents. He put the empty glass down on the summoner, turned, and walked to the bed. He scanned the emitter with a sharp eye and flicked his finger against it. Then he removed a small black device he flicked from the base, which he immediately recognized as a covert listening bug. He reached under the bed, squatted, and eyed the frame under the hypo adaptive mattress. He removed a second bug, scooted over, and pressed the release on the drawers. They slid out.
He eyed the clothes inside. He ran his fingers around the sides, the front, and under the lip of the slide, discovering another device. He picked up a shirt and eyed it as it unfolded in his hands. In his other hand, he crushed the bugs he had found.
A short while later, escorted by Alan, he walked into the princess’s quarters, dressed in a black overlapping shirt tucked into form-fitting pants and calf-high buckled boots. Still tied around his wrist was the strap of cloth covering his bracelet.
When he entered, Marian looked up from the table where she was sitting. Smiling, she rose to her feet.
“Welcome,” she said warmly. “I was hoping you would take me up on my dinner offer. Please, come sit down.”
“It’s not as if you need to ask,” he said, stepping forward. “After all, many would say I am your property.”
He reached for the chair opposite her and sat down.
She lowered her gaze.
“Yes,” she said in a low voice. Slowly she looked into his eyes. “I am sorry for that.”
Silence fell between them. Then she raised her hands and clapped. At once, the doors opened, and servants came in carrying trays of rare roast beef, roasted chicken, fresh fruit, and steamed vegetables, which they placed on the table. Then they exited the way they’d come, leaving Robin alone with Marian once more.
Robin watched as Marian served herself. She paused when she saw that Robin hadn’t moved.
“I certainly hope that the clothes in your quarters fit you well,” she said, taking a bite. She chewed and swallowed.
Robin said, “Considering they’re made from adaptive memory cloth, it’s not surprising.”
He served himself, and Marian eyed him.
“I see we have the same taste in food,” she said, and his gaze rose to hers. “Or maybe it has something to do with that healthy appetite of mistrust and suspicion you’ve been feeding.”
She selected a piece of food from every platter.
She said, “Now, may we enjoy this meal without further suspicion over one of us drugging or poisoning the other?” She cut a piece a meat on her plate.
For the next few minutes, they ate in silence, save for the clink of silverware on fine china.
Then Robin asked, “Is the purpose of this dinner for me to learn my duties before we return to your home?”
Raising her eyes for a second, she shook her head. “No. This is just a simple meal that I hope might bear the fruit of friendship.”
She reached for her glass but misjudged the distance, accidentally knocking it off the table. In a split second, Robin leaned forward and snatched it in midair, without spilling the contents.
“Great reflexes,” Marian complimented. She dabbed at her lips with her napkin.
“Thanks,” Robin muttered, setting the glass back on the table.
A bell chimed at her door. “Enter,” Marian said.
With a hiss, the door opened, and Alan walked in. “
Sorry for the interruption, your majesty,” he said with a bow, hand over his chest. “But there is an important matter I must discuss with you.”
She waved him off. “Not to worry, Alan,” she said. She turned to Robin. “You may return to your quarters. There’s a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
Nodding, Robin climbed to his feet, turned, and left without a word.
Later that night, as Robin half asleep laid in bed, he heard his door open quietly. He sensed someone watching him briefly; then the door closed again. As it closed, Robin allowed his eyes to snap open.
Throwing back his covers, he quietly crept from the room. He watched as a shadowed figure stopped outside the princess’s quarters and went inside.
He moved silently to the door and closed his eyes, shifting some of his hair from his ear to better hear beyond the door.
“Is he asleep, Alan?” Marian asked.
“Yes, sound asleep,” Alan replied.
“So what do you think of him?”
“I find him very aggressive and insolent, your highness,” Alan replied.
“Yes,” Marian said slowly. “I like him too.”
“I never said I liked him, your highness,” Alan protested.
Marian laughed. “It’s time for my bath. Would you please prepare the water?” she said.
“Of course, your majesty,” Alan replied.
For a few minutes, Robin heard them moving across the room. Then the sound of running water met his ears.
Certain he wasn’t going to get more information, he quietly returned to his quarters to catch up on his sleep.
Chapter 12
Gilded Cage
The next day, Robin woke when the door hissed open. Keeping his eyes closed, he listened to footsteps as someone walked in, and then he heard the swish of clothes. He listened as the person paused for a moment, and then he heard the soft ruffle of something soft being set down.
Eventually, the footsteps retreated and the door closed. He allowed his eyes to snap open.
He sat up and looked around. He saw the clothes he had worn yesterday, neatly folded and waiting for him on his chair.
He slipped out of bed, walked over, and picked them up to examine them. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he dropped the shirt on the chair and turned, rubbing his chin, pondering what he was supposed to do next. Only one thing was certain: he had to get Freya back.
Cursing his pride once more, he leaned against the back of the chair, gripping it hard enough that his knuckles turned white. He had had Freya within his grasp. He could have saved her from the life that had been forced on her. Now she was trapped in the mines of Morhoth, where she would be worked till the day she died.
How am I supposed to get her out of there?
He rubbed his chin in thought. Simple fact is, I need allies. And perhaps Marian just might be my best chance of fixing this.
After washing and dressing, he once more examined the room. Finding no more listening bugs, he left.
Robin walked down the ship’s corridor and passed several servants before he stopped outside Marian’s quarters.
Taking a breath, he pressed the chime button next to the door.
“Enter,” came Marian’s voice.
He pressed the release, and the door hissed open. Marian was sitting in a chair, a holobook in her hands.
“Is there something you need?” she asked.
“Isn’t that what I’m supposed to ask?” he said, standing straight, hands behind his back.
Frowning, she blinked at him. “What do you mean?” She turned her book off and placed it on the table beside her.
“I’m your property,” he said simply, his expression hard. “Awaiting instruction.”
Still frowning, she eyed him more closely. “Apart from preparing for our arrival, there’s really nothing for you to do.”
He nodded and moved toward what he assumed was a closet.
“What are you doing?” She sounded confused.
“What you instructed,” he said. “I’m preparing your things.”
“I meant your own things,” she said, rising to her feet.
Taking a breath, he faced her. “Well, then maybe you should be a little more specific,” he said.
“Or perhaps you could have asked,” she countered. She walked over and put her book on a shelf, her back to him.
“Well, you need to consider that I’m only worth ten thousand starrubbies. Maybe if you had bid more, I might show more insight.”
Slowly, she turned to look at him. “Or maybe you could take some of that unneeded aggression and try turning it into common courtesy,” she replied.
A voice came over the intercom. “Princess.”
“Yes, Captain,” she replied.
“We are about to drop out of hyperspace and will be arriving at Andurian in ten minutes.”
“Thank you, Captain,” she said. She faced Robin. “I suggest you return to your quarters and prepare for landing. And this time, let me be specific. Go back to your quarters. Place what clothes you need in a bag, sit down, and prepare to disembark when we touch down.” She waved toward the door.
For a couple seconds, he remained where he was, just looking at her. Then, with a jerk, he turned and left the room.
In the hall, he walked toward his quarters. He stopped halfway and leaned against the wall, fingering the toothed necklace under his shirt. He cursed himself for a fool and lightly whacked his head against the wall behind him.
When the ship landed on a platform, Robin disembarked behind Marian. Without a word, he followed her, bag slung over his shoulder, discreetly eying his new surroundings.
In many ways, it reminded him of Amal: towering, white-topped mountains in the distance, a vast ocean of grass between the platform and their peaks. He watched a flock of birds riding the winds across the plains before his gaze dropped to the scattered clumps of trees. He looked at a herd of animals roaming across the prairie. Then he turned, feeling eyes on him, to meet Marian’s soft gaze.
A short while later, he was again sitting across from her in a luxury transport.
“So, where are we going?” he asked, looking out the window at the many levels of transporter traffic going in various directions above and below.
“The place I grew up,” she said simply. She rested her chin on two fingers as she looked out the window. “It’s not my ancestral home. That’s on Earth… But it’s close enough. My family’s been thankful for a long time that it’s just a replica.”
Frowning, Robin remained silent.
The rest of the ride passed silently, until Robin caught sight of where they were going: a palace with the sun reflecting off its gilded walls.
It stood on the edge of a cliff face, and a large circular section with tall windows faced the cliff. Just behind it was a tall curved tower that reached for the sky. Another section, connected to the back of the tower, faced the other direction. At various heights, the frame overlapped over view windows.
On either side, waterfalls flowed down rock formations, which the building had been built around. These reflected the lights from various other windows.
Awed at the splendor of the building, Robin looked at Marian. His eyes narrowed at the disdain and emptiness he saw in hers.
They landed before giant front doors with built-in gilded designs. Before Marian could move, the door opened and two people appeared.
“Welcome home, your majesty,” one said with a slight bow.
“John, Ellen.” Marian nodded to each as she passed them, closely followed by Robin and Alan.
“Alan!” Ellen said, and she leaped into Alan’s arms.
Robin glanced at Marian and saw she was also watching, a small smile on her face.
When the pair finally broke apart, Marian said, “Alan, after you show Robin his rooms, you can spend as much time as you want with your wife and your children.”
The couple nodded their thanks, and Alan faced Robin. “This way, if you please,” he said.<
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Robin watched Marian as she spoke with a few people. Then he turned and followed Alan inside.
Walking down the hall, Robin turned his gaze in every direction in an attempt to take in all the splendor around him. Elegant tapestries hung on the wall, and marble statues lined the hall. He saw elegant works of art and furniture.
They went up several grand staircases and down several halls before Alan stopped in front of a pair of double doors.
“These are your rooms,” he said, pushing the doors open.
Robin slowly stepped into a very spacious, extravagantly furnished and decorated room. He walked over to a wooden settee with intricate images and patterns sewn into the cushioning. He ran his hand over the smooth wood and eyed the rest of the furniture.
“If there’s nothing else that you need…” Alan said. He turned to leave.
“Well, maybe you could answer me one question,” Robin said, his back to Alan. “When will this charade end?”
He turned to face the man. “I mean, what is the point of all this? To butter me up and get me to lower my guard to—”
Alan whipped around, a look of rage on his face. He stalked over and drove his fist into Robin’s face. As he threw a second punch, Robin easily caught it in midair.
“Only the first one’s free,” Robin warned, bending Alan’s wrist back, forcing the man to fold.
“Well, maybe the first will have knocked some sense into you!” Alan snapped. He freed his hand and stepped back to clutch his wrist.
“Princess Marian has done nothing but show you kindness and respect! And this is how you repay her! With accusations of deceit?”
Robin arched an eyebrow. “And how else am I supposed to think about all of this?” he asked, waving his hands. “After all, I’m a slave, bought and paid for, and yet you people keep putting me in places like this? What am I supposed to think?”
“Maybe you should think that you’re not the only prisoner here!” Alan hissed. He stepped into the hall but turned back for some final words. “Maybe this place seems like a palace, but it’s nothing more than a gilded prison!”
Blood Calls Page 5
