by TylerRose.
“All that just for me. I don’t know whether I should be honored or mortified,” she said too quietly.
“You are loved, Femina. It’s not just because you may develop into the Immaculate, but because you are you. Because you are smart and sweet and the brightest light emanates from you.”
A terse expression and she looked away, uncomfortable to receive compliments, especially when she didn’t feel that way herself.
“Do I have to employ my brother to hold you in position?” he asked over her still bent knees. “Or will you go willingly to the mating? It’s been days since you had an orgasm. You must be dying for it by now.”
“Days? But we did—“ she started counting backwards. “Oh. I guess it has been.”
He pulled her ankles out and leaned in, very much enjoying how easily she opened for him.
“Wife.”
“Husband.”
“I do want you to be happy, Tyler, regardless the circumstances of our marriage.”
“Just fuck me already. The more orgasms I have, the more likely I’ll be happy.”
Words he took to heart as he consummated his first permanent marriage. Dorn stayed only long enough to satisfy the custom and their Father’s need for information, and retired to his own room for the night.
“Why is Dorn so guilty?” Tyler asked afterward, her head resting on Shestna’s chest.
“What do you mean?”
“He feels tremendous guilt every time he thinks of his wife. Why?”
“Ah. That. She did not want the attentions of the family in her last days. She died alone with a Neverseen instead of surrounded by the ones who love her. He did as she wanted but what she wanted denied the family their chance to see her off. When one is expected to die soon, the entire family gathers to speak to her, make amends, say goodbye. Much like your family coming to see your grandmother but without the wailing.”
“You didn’t ask me to come and I didn’t invite myself. Should I have been there?” she asked.
“No. You met her once for two seconds, Femina. It was never expected of you.”
“So. You had never met my grandmother but you came.”
“Tyler, stop. You needed to do exactly as you did. That is the end of it. All is well.”
“Okay then. This is me letting it go. What’s the plan for when we get to Voran?” she asked.
“Plan?”
“Do you expect me to live in your home? Will you live in mine? We both go back and forth? Is my home yours now?”
He chuckled lightly. “Always a need to know every little thing that will happen.”
“Yes.”
“Your home is your home. My home is your home. If I am away from my home, you stay in whichever of the two dwellings you choose. Until Earnol is dealt with, you will have armed escorts wherever you go.”
“Pisod was there and they got past him,” she pointed out.
“They got past the other two men as well. We will be more diligent,” he said. “Go to sleep.”
“You’re suddenly very bossy,” she complained, and turned over the other direction away from him. “Knock it off.”
“You did not mind when it was our first marriage.”
“Because that was temporary. If you think I’m going to be bossed around all the time, you got another thing comin’, hubby.”
He chuckled again, a sound to annoy her further. “Is that what it is? It has been too long since you had a beating. Very well.”
He sat up and grasped her by the arm, hauling her backwards over his lap and flipping her to her belly at the same time. His first spank was so powerful it knocked the breath and fight right out of her. She got an ass wailing like Nails used to give, just as long and unrelenting. Holding herself up on her forearms and braced on her knees, she took it with much yelping and head-rearing.
He grasped her hair at the back of her head and held her down so her cheek was on the bed. There was no fighting his strength unless she wanted to take it bone-breaking levels.
“Let it go already,” he said sternly, increasing his force rather than lessening it.
She exploded into sobs and tears, unable to hold out any longer, and collapsed over his lap. Still he kept on, making her cry harder. He stopped when she started to hiccup. Arm reaching under her near leg and chest, he lifted her to lie atop him and finish her cry. The hard and short, nearly silent hiccups eased slowly over some minutes as she sank into the endorphins and calm of catharsis.
“Thank you,” she whispered, and fell asleep.
He kissed the top of her head. “You are most welcome, my only beloved.”
Fire racing through large buildings, the smell of cooking chicken. Rancid, acrid odor of burning feathers and feces, both of which fueled the blaze. Panic. Dozens of people trying to battle the fast-moving fire.
Hands shook her hard, jerking the images to an end. She was awake on the ship, napping on the sofa. Dorn’s hand was on her arm, his eyes concerned.
“You were having a dream,” he said.
“I was seeing a horrible fire through the eyes of a chicken about to die,” she corrected. “Not a dream at all.”
“A chicken? You’re serious?”
“It’s called remote viewing. I see through someone’s eyes in their moment of mortal panic. I’ve done it since I was a kid.”
“Where did this happen, if it’s real?” he asked.
“Hell if I know. I just see it. Locating who and where has never been my strong point,” she said, pushing him aside so she could freshen up and change clothes for supper.
Chapter Ten
Tyler wasn’t sureif arriving and stepping off the shuttle in front of Shestna’s home was a relief or not. Until Earnol was dealt with, she would have to remain on Voran. She went straight for a long soak in a hot bath. While Shestna made his phone call in the other room, she made hers.
“How is she?”
“She just slugged Saber for walking in on her while she was using the toilet. So she’s doing fine.”
“I’m here on Voran, at Shestna’s home. I’ll be there sometime tomorrow unless he chains me to the bed.”
“It’s been announced that you’re married. That true?”
“It is. Don’t want to discuss it. I’m here if you need to reach me.”
That call ended, she called Julian and had almost exactly the same conversation.
“My father is furious, of course,” he said. “But he did not send a ship after you when they stole you back.”
“I know. I hope his anger burns him to hell. Shestna is working on charges to bring against him.”
“Understood. The less I know the better.”
“You’re right. Have a good night.”
She hung up on him and submerged herself for as long as she could hold her breath. When she surfaced and wiped her face, she saw Pisod sitting in a chair near the door.
“How long have you been there?” she asked.
“I don’t know. How long have you been there? You were under when I got here and stayed under for over seven minutes,” he said. “Are you sure you even need to breathe?”
She made a face at him, opening the towel to block him from seeing her as she stood up. Wrapped around herself, she braced a hand on the curved side to step out. The towel slipped off and fell to the floor.
“Damn it,” she muttered.
“Don’t worry about it on my account,” Pisod said, offering his hand to help her out and giving her the waiting robe. “My main job is dealing with Father’s concubines. They are forever trying to embarrass me by walking by naked. Whether you are clothed or not is irrelevant to me. As they are all my stepmothers, you are my sister.”
“That’s a lot of words to say it doesn’t matter,” she said, tying the robe. “If you are here, where is Shestna?”
“He rushed out to speak with the lawyers. He said to ask if you have a government identification card for Earth.”
She flipped her first two fingers around, a card ap
pearing between them. Her legal California driver’s license, obtained not long after her 18th birthday. He put it in his inner vest pocket. She sat to brush her hair and he took the implement from the table to do it for her.
“Here we are again, with you accidentally married to my brother. How many times are we going to do this?”
“I don’t know. Can I divorce him?” she asked.
“Actually, no. There is no mechanism to end your marriage other than death. If you don’t mind, I’d really rather neither one of you does that just yet. He absorbed the crystal energy from your friend on Earth?”
“He did.”
She sighed hard, remembering the limp and broken heap that had been left behind, Jerome on the ground. Weak…nothing.
“Are you angry at Shestna, that he would do this?” he asked.
“Yes. I’m going to be angry about it forever, Pi. I’m angry for Jerome. Taking his power away was not necessary and nothing is going to convince me that it was. So just leave it lie, all right?”
Words to give him pause.
“You know I am on your side too,” he began. “The power has been used for you. You just didn’t know it. When you are near enough to him, telepaths and energy scans cannot find you. Earnol cannot find you. His security men cannot find you.”
She stopped his hand, turned and took the brush from him, stared him hard in the eye.
“Is that why he sent you to K’Tran? So the crystal you had in your pocket and took energy from would obscure me?”
“Partially, I’m sure. He also knows that I usually have a way of getting difficult women to be not so difficult. At least not with me. I’ve had several years of practice with my stepmothers. I am very sorry that I failed you again, Tyler. The security forces caught me off guard. Ch’Wik managed to injure one of them, as did I, but they got you anyway. I swear that will not happen again.”
“Hell, I didn’t even think about any of that all this time. One second I was asleep and the next these guys were dragging me out of bed and teleported me to the cell,” she said. “I hadn’t even thought about you three. Stop apologizing. Shit happens. You’re permanently assigned to me now, aren’t you?”
“My father has commanded I be your personal escort and guard until the matter is resolved, yes.”
“Fine. I’m going to be bored out of my mind sitting here or at my place. There’s only so many times I can walk the market or sit in the temple. What do you suggest?”
“I can find for you interesting classes or lectures on Voranian law, politics, and history,” he said.
“Nothing I have to commit to from one day to the next,” she said, going to the closet to find something to wear. Shestna say how long he would be gone?”
“He did not. You’ve been stuck on a ship. I suggest we do take a walk through the market to stretch your legs and get you some outside air.”
She chose her outfit accordingly and they went shopping for supper foods. Every person she passed lowered to their knees.
“Can I tell them not to do that?” she asked through her smile.
“No. If they did not, they would be punished by the Emperor for not showing you appropriate respect as the First Wife of the First Prince.”
“They don’t bow to Shestna like this.”
“They did the first time they saw him in public,” Pisod informed her. “After today, these people will only bow heads.”
“They gonna do this all over the planet, aren’t they?” she asked.
“Yes. There will always be people who have not seen you in person, Tyler. It never ends. You have no authority to make them do otherwise.”
“Great,” she said, the smile still pasted on her face.
Anything she wanted to buy that day was given as a wedding gift. She told the stall owners to deliver the goods to Shestna’s house at a particular time.
“What are you up to?” Pisod asked as they went into the bank.
“Nothing.”
“That’s as bold a lie as you’ve ever told me,” he laughed.
“It may be custom to be given these things but I’m not comfortable with it. There’s no law against ‘tipping’ the delivery person, is there?”
“There is not.”
“There you go.”
An account manager approached to greet her and she explained that she needed about five hundred denari in smaller denominations. Nothing larger than a twenty five note. Within ten minutes, Pisod had the money in his pocket and they were on their way.
Arriving at Shestna’s home, Tyler brought a dining chair near the door and sat to wait for the bell to ring with the first delivery, also bringing two Neverseen to stillness with their orders. When the bell rang, one opened the door. The other graciously accepted the item on behalf of the 1st Prince and Princess of Voran. Pisod gave the first Neverseen the amount of money needed plus one denari.
“But…it is given as a gift,” the bewildered owner said.
“A gift we accept with all joy,” Tyler said. “This money is a tip for bringing the item all the way here. There’s no law against tipping, is there? No rules for how much is to be tipped?”
“No, Your Highness. There is not,” said the smiling grocer.
So it went through all six of the deliveries. Tyler sent the Neverseen to put away the groceries and opening the clothes and other things she’d purchased. She and Pisod went out to the yard, to sit at the table. She wrote in her journal, finishing off one book and starting another with the same cover.
“There you are,” Shestna’s voice broke her concentration.
She looked up, pen in one hand, cigarette in the other, to see him approaching the table. “What’s your father have to say about all this?”
“He is pleased beyond measure. Not that you were arrested, of course. He’s furious that you were kidnapped off his planet without due process. The lawyers confirm that was illegal. The Congress did not have the authority to do that. While it’s not something Earnol can himself be arrested for, it and other things like it will be grounds to remove him from office.”
“When?” she asked.
“Soon. They want to be sure they have enough before they confront him in Council,” Shestna replied. He saw the ashtray with six cigarettes next to her empty pipe. “You were so in need of a cigarette after nearly three days without?”
“What of it?”
Shestna looked to his brother. “Father waits for you. I will let you know when I am leaving again.”
Pisod left without a word.
“Would you please put that away for a while?” Shestna asked Tyler.
She closed the book and put the pen down, sending both to the desk in her room. He reached a hand for hers. When she took it and rose from the seat, he took her to the bathing pond. They undressed and stepped into the cool water. He reached into the little box for the fragrant soap he liked best. He spun the small bar between his hands to make suds and took one of her hands in his to very deliberately wash each finger and the palm.
“My dearest beloved,” he said, looking into her eyes with all the softness he could muster. “You have noticed that smoking is not done much here on your new home. I could put laws in your face but I have chosen not to. I will appeal to your vanity instead.”
He released her hand into the water and started on the second.
“Earth tobacco smells horrible. It creates a stink around you that extends four feet in all directions. You know I have liked to kiss your hand. Earth cigarettes cause your fingers to taste terrible.”
He let go the hand and reached to turn her sideways and dunk her hair to get it wet. More soap suds and he stepped behind her.
“It permeates your clean hair the minute you smoke your next cigarette. The cleanness of your bath, finished ten minutes earlier, is replaced by that sickening stench of Earth tobacco.”
He let that hang there while he finished sudsing and used a small pitcher to rinse her hair. When done, he sat on the ledge and held her close to kiss
the top of her head.
“If that is what I think of the smell, can you imagine how much I dislike the taste of it in your mouth? I will make you a compromise. I will not object to your marijuana. I recognize it is beneficial to you. I have not minded its scent as much. I certainly don’t mind how receptive to my advances it makes you. But please, my dearest beloved, stop smoking those hideous cigarettes so that I can taste you when we kiss and not them. If you accept my terms, come to my bed. If you do not accept my terms, go to yours.”
He stood her up and climbed out of the pool to leave her there. She watched him go inside, hating it when he was so damn rational in issuing ultimatums. Not bothering with a towel, she stepped out of the pool and went to the table. She’d left her pipe and lighter there, and stared hard at the cigarettes. She’d smoked since she was fifteen.
Vanity indeed, and the word rankled for a moment. Which was more important? Sucking on coffin nails, or her husband not liking the way she tasted when he kissed her? She made her choice, leaving the pack there. Going in to her room first, she brushed her hair once more and then brushed her teeth and gargled.
Supper would wait.
She went nude in her new wedding beads to her husband’s bedroom. He had opened the wall to let in the warm air, was leaning against the jamb to the right, out into the empty yard where she was not. He startled when she slid an arm around him.
“I thought you’d gone to your room,” he said, turning to put his back against the narrow surface.
“I did. I brushed my hair and my teeth. Now I am here. I dislike being issued ultimatums, Sta. Please stop doing that. One of these times you will get an answer you don’t like.”
“But not this time?”
“Not this time,” she replied. “Fine, I will quit smoking cigarettes. How long before you move against Earnol and I can travel as I please?”
