Charged: An Otherwordly Reverse Harem (The Otherworlds Series Book 1)

by Gillian Zane

  “When did it happen?” Bobbie asked, searching his face for a difference. For changes. How could this happen? One minute he was only one part of a whole, and now he was this separate being, Roc, but not Roc.

  “When you took me into your mouth, I felt a lessening and a greatening, and I was not aware of what Roc was doing. One minute I was him, then I was aware of him, of the fact that he was here and also in the garden, and then it was only you. Only me. Only us.”

  “Can you still sense Roc? Is he here?”

  “No, he left.”

  “Where did he go?”

  “I don’t know, but I think there has been a launch order processed. He is only him, only Roc. And he left.”

  23

  Four becomes One

  Roc sat in the garden, enjoying the sight of Bobbie and the play on words he was sharing with her, all while being in his favorite place, when something happened. His world condensed and Roc was alone.

  It had been a long time since Roc had felt this alone. Even though his splits were apart of him, in this moment he knew they had always been separate as well, like parts of his personality segmented into different partitions. And now they were all fully on their own. He hadn’t been a single for almost sixty years. Yet, here he stood, alone.

  He could feel Bobbie and his secondary’s union. If he closed his eyes he could feel their joining, the exultation his secondary felt as she pleasured him. It was muted. He could also feel his other two parts as they were aware of the joining of Bobbie with one of him. They stood still, their heads turned toward the bedroom, all of them erect and aware.

  It was a heady feeling, one Roc was unsure about. He didn’t like being unsure. He didn’t like not knowing. He needed to figure this out and he needed to do it fast. He connected with his former part that Bobbie was calling Four and sent him a quick message through their shared connection.

  Bobbie got dressed quickly in the clothes Nia had left for her. Four was waiting in the atrium at the end of the hallway, a worried look on his face.

  “Do you know where he went?” Bobbie asked.

  “He needs time to process. He’s trying to figure things out, you’ve been left in charge,” Four looked at Two. “Since you were the last one to break away.”

  “Is that what happened, are you all now separate?” Bobbie asked, looking from Four to Two.

  “Yes, we are still connected, but it is like someone with a telepathic connection might be linked to a loved one, not like we were,” Four said.

  “Do you have that on this world, telepathy, things like that?”

  “It’s rare, but it does happen. Usually people who possess that ability are revered and placed in great positions of deference,” Two said.

  “We are not like that, though. I can’t connect with you, Bobbie, only my—" He stumbled for a word to call his brethren. “Others,” he finished, but the frown on his face said he did not like the term.

  “Is he mad at me?” Bobbie asked, looking at Two guiltily. She had thought she was with Roc. She didn’t realize what she was doing would set off this chain of events. She had already been with Roc and his second self on a few occasions. Why was it so different now? She had only been in this world a short time, but she didn’t want to hurt Roc. She might not be set on this Charge Mate thing, but she didn’t want to throw it away before it even started. She was willing to give it a try.

  “No,” Four said, his hand extended, and he took hers in his. It was warm and reassuring and she smiled up at him. She felt a spark shoot up her arm, and she sighed with the pleasure of it. Her world had become very confusing. It was one thing to have one man, with a few more attributes than normal, it was another to have four separate men. She had always considered herself open-minded, and was proud of the fact that she wasn’t that judgmental. She had her moments, she had been raised by a conservative grandmother, but as the modern world became less and less traditional, she too had begun to embrace the more open lifestyles of many of her peers. Did it mean she had been fantasizing about polyamorous happily-ever-afters? That would be a big no. Yet, when she looked at Four and Two, her mind thought about all the benefits having these two ridiculously handsome aliens, by her side, in her bed, in her—she shook her head at that last thought which was about to come into existence and she could not allow that. It was too soon for talk of hearts, and love, and especially happily-ever-afters. She had a jealous man on the run, and a new world she was very ignorant about.

  “What do we do?” Bobbie asked.

  “We carry on as usual,” Four said.

  “Roc sent me a communication,” Three said as he entered the atrium, looking a little mussed. “In case you didn’t understand what he needed.”

  “What does it say?” Bobbie asked excitedly.

  “He’s going to find the prophet that prophesied at his birth. He asked for the Healer to be called to our quarters to discuss revealing that we’ve split into three, and then we can make plans to reveal the fourth at a later date.”

  “Why would he do that?” Two asked.

  “He said it was time to stop sneaking around. With the introduction of Bobbie to society, we’ll have a lot more on our plate. He thought it seemed only fitting that we were transparent. The secrecy will be our autonomy.”

  “Introduction into society?” Bobbie gulped.

  “Yes, state dinners, boring charity events,” Two sighed. “I hope I’m not the one that will need to attend those.”

  “I’ll accompany Bobbie to those,” Four said, looking at his hands and then shooting Bobbie a shy smile. She smiled back and saw Three looking at them, his lips turned down in a frown.

  A light flashed in the wall nearest them and Bobbie looked at Two questioningly.

  “The Healer is here.” He tapped the panel on the wall. “We’re in the atrium, Lagara.”

  Sharp footsteps hurried to their location, Bobbie self-consciously tugged at the men’s clothes she wore as she turned around to see a gorgeous female enter the room. Her hair was the color of teak and hung in long, thick waves down her back. She was barely five feet tall, and only because she wore heeled boots that came up to her knees. A tunic dress barely covered her, but she wore a long flowing robe like top that hung in silken swaths around her.

  “Lagara,” Two said, taking the role as the one in charge. Three and Four stepped back and fell quiet. Even though they trusted this Healer with their split, it was obvious they weren’t ready to trust her with their autonomy.

  “My Prince,” she inclined her head in a deferential manner.

  “This is Bobbie, she is our Charge Mate. Bobbie, this is Healer Lagara, the high Healer of Virdan,” Two said. The female’s eyes fell on Bobbie. There was no warmth there, only a clinical assessment.

  “Is it now? Can I see the charge?” She walked over to Bobbie and Two took Bobbie’s hand. He squeezed gently and sparks sizzled between their palms and circled around their fingers. They were a purplish color, which was new, they had been blue up until that moment and Bobbie looked at them with a bit of pride.

  “I have never seen a charged match so perfectly formed. I guess the prophecy was correct.” She stood in front of Bobbie, her eyes barely reaching her chest. Her hand shot out and she touched Bobbie’s hair, wrapping the long strand of rose gold around her bronze finger. “I’ve never seen such coloring either, and her size, I know you’ve always been worried about hurting the women you bedded because you are so big. She should be able to take your size quite well.” Bobbie’s cheeks reddened and she looked over and saw that Three and Four were both making the same expression of exasperation at the Healer’s words.

  The women they bedded. A flash of jealousy pooled in Bobbie’s stomach. And considering Roc was nearly a century old, Bobbie was pretty sure it was a substantial amount, being the Emperor’s son and all, and the fact that no one said no to him. Bobbie wondered if they had bedded this attractive Healer as well. She was good looking and the woman was eyeing Bobbie’s men like they belon
ged to her. A primal urge to claim her territory and show this woman who she was dealing with took root, making Bobbie clench her fists to dispel the urge. The feeling made her slightly nauseous with its intensity.

  “Healer, please mind your words, they are making my Charge Mate uncomfortable,” Two said and he squeezed Bobbie’s hand.

  “Pardon me, sir.” The Healer bowed her head. This time, it wasn’t as deferential as it was supposed to be. She looked up, her eyes assessing Bobbie. “I would like to examine the female, if that is okay, Your Highness?”

  “I don’t think that is necessary,” Three said from his position against the wall and the Healer turned and looked at him oddly. Her brows knit together, confused by Three’s reaction to her request. To cover up Three’s sudden actions, Two pulled something from his pocket that looked like a phone and pretended he was engaged with a task. It would appear that he had used Three to speak, while he did something on the device.

  The Healer glanced at Two and then back to Three, her face showing she bought it, but what other choice did she have? There had been nothing like this before.

  “We are here to discuss you filing the paperwork of the third split, not for you to experiment on our Charge Mate,” Three said.

  “I simply wanted to make sure she does not have any issues with our atmosphere, Your Highness. But if you insist, I shall refrain. About revealing your third split, you are really ready to reveal this? Do you think it’s wise? The Emperor did not split in a third until his second century.”

  “By my size alone, I have proven that I am more than my father,” Three said coldly and Bobbie sensed an underlying tension there.

  “You are right, my Prince, I will file the paperwork and make the announcement. It will cause a media storm.”

  “I expect as much.”

  “Is that all you need of me, sir?” the Healer asked, looking again at Bobbie with a clinical detachment.

  “That is all,” Three said. The Healer bowed at the waist this time, then turned and left as quickly as she had come.

  “What will happen?” Bobbie asked.

  “She’ll file the paperwork with the realm register. As a courtesy, we’ll send a communication to the Emperor, but it will get out, most likely from someone who processes the paperwork. It will be in all the newsfeeds by tomorrow. It will be combined with the news that I have brought a Charge Mate from Earth. We’ll be the topic of conversation for weeks.”

  “That’s quite a lot of news at once,” Bobbie said.

  “Might as well get it all out. There is a brunch being hosted by the Emperor tomorrow where we have to be in attendance,” Four said. “It will probably break while we are there.”

  “You’ll take her to the brunch?” Two asked Four.

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll make an appearance at the training facility then and check on our men. You’ll have to stay here alone, I suggest continuing the research,” Two said to Three this time.

  “Men?” Bobbie asked.

  “As the heir, we are the de facto military leaders, and we take it as a very important responsibility,” Two said. “There are always media waiting around near the base. I’ll try to deflect some of the attention by making an appearance there.”

  “Well, I guess we’re all sorted. So, what kind of outfit do I have to wear to this brunch?”

  Three pairs of eyes met hers. All of which looked rather horrified.

  24

  Transmute this

  “What do you call this contraption, Four?” Bobbie asked when he ushered her onto a platform with a tube jutting from the top of it.

  “Four?” Four asked.

  “Oh, I’ve numbered you guys to keep track of you in my head. I couldn’t very well call you Roc, Roc, Roc, and Roc.”

  “And how did we get our numbers?” he asked with a sly grin that was his and his alone.

  “Order of appearance.”

  “Save the best for last?” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

  “I think I shouldn’t show favoritism,” she winked.

  “No one else is here to know.” She pursed her lips in response and pinched her chin, checking him out from head to toe in mock assessment.

  “Yet to be determined,” she finally said.

  “You wound me, mistress.” He mockingly put a hand over his heart.

  “You’re too sensitive then, but dammit, answer my question, what the hell is this thing?”

  “A tube transport.”

  “Oh, nuh uh, you are not sticking me in there to get sucked up into the ether and spit out on the other side.” She shook her head and made a dramatic negative gesture with her hands.

  “You don’t get sucked up into the ether,” Four laughed.

  “Then what in the blazes does it do?”

  “Transmutation of energy. It coverts your body to light and transports you to the destination of choice.”

  “Um, not that much better. You do know I’m not one of you guys, right? I don’t survive on photons; I’m eighty percent water.” Her eyes had gotten huge; she wasn’t going in that thing. There was no way in hell. Four’s eyes softened.

  “You make a good point, but we are the same. I am made of water as well. We just learned how to access the natural energy in our systems, your people may one day do the same. It is simple physics.”

  “Still, not something I want to chance.”

  “Maybe we should walk then.” Four looked away from the tube toward the small town.

  “I’m all about the walking. Well, how far away is it?”

  “A few breaths, not that long,” he said.

  “And what is a breath?” Bobbie rolled her eyes.

  “One hundred spaces,” he clarified.

  “And a space?” she asked exasperated, not sure if the translation wasn’t coming through. He held his hands as far apart as they could reach.

  “Give or take.”

  “I guess that’s not so bad. I could use the exercise, I could deal with losing a few pounds,” She looked down at the shapeless men’s clothing she wore.

  “Nonsense,” Four said. “Exercise is always good, but I do not wish you to lose any of your delicious shape.” He slipped an arm around her, and Bobbie couldn’t help it, she blushed.

  “Stop, they’ll think you’re with a man; talk about the rumors,” Bobbie laughed, but Four didn’t drop his hand. Four had her tie up her hair and put a hat on her head so it wouldn’t be quite so obvious she was a woman. He had explained that since there were about six men to every one woman there were sometimes issues with kidnapping by desperate men. It was rare, but a man’s standing in the peer class was measured by his ability to procure a wife, which went back to his standing in life. Desperate men did desperate things sometimes. Hence the hat.

  Four took her hand and they set off. Her shoes were a bit tight, but they would do for the mile or so hike they had, if she had done the mental calculation in her head correctly. His arm width was probably a good two meters, meaning a breath was about 600 meters, which was a little over a third of a mile. Four had called ahead to the tailor so they were staying open later than their usual operating hours and expecting her for an emergency session. Four had explained it wasn’t the usual palace tailor so this gentleman was bending over backwards to get in the good graces.

  Must be nice to have that kind of pull.

  Bobbie and Four walked side by side through the alien city. She tried not gape, but she was pretty sure she was doing a bad job at keeping that in check. It was similar to cities on Earth, but then so very alien. The houses grew up from the ground, the same silica-like material everything was made of, in all the colors of the rainbow. Between them, monster trees jutted up, their limbs winding around the buildings, seeming to hold them up. Strings of lights fell from the limbs that cascaded over the streets. There was no yards—the buildings were placed right up against the sidewalks, which were the only mode of passage. Tubes appeared every now and again, and people would appear in them on
occasion, a great light would flash, and a symbol would flash, then someone would be standing in the tube.

  “This is the shopping district,” Four explained. “These are all here because of the proximity to the palace and the tourists and industry it draws. If you travel a little farther out, you’ll get to the wealthier neighborhoods, then the river, and on the other side the normal folks and the businesses that furnish them exist.”

  They were stopped a few times along the route as gushing citizens expressed their love for the Emperor and his son. But for the majority of the walk they were alone. Four had on a hat and dark glasses, and most residents of the area had the same bronze skin and dark hair; he blended into the crowd easily.

  They stopped in front of a store that had a symbol on it Four explained meant tailor. He knocked twice on the opaque part of the entry and a man about an inch shorter than Bobbie came to the door. He bustled them in, murmuring welcomes and well wishes.

  “It is a pleasure to serve you, Your Highness.” He escorted them into a back room, passing yards of colorful material, mannequins, and all sorts of ribbons along the way. “I have a few outfits I could modify to fit the lady, but anything fancier will have to be custom made. Please, can you change into our fitting garment?” The man handed Bobbie a scrap of material and she looked down at it skeptically.

  “I’ll assist,” Four said and nodded for the tailor to leave.

  “I can’t even find a seam,” Bobbie said exasperated.

  “Here, let me see.” Four ran his hand down the side of the fabric and it came apart. “You’ll need to undress and this will wrap around you. It will give exact measurements to the tailor.”

  “Undress?” Bobbie gulped.

  “What, are you shy now? You forget I shared a few memories with Roc before we got-” Bobbie pressed a finger to his lips.

  “Hush, I get it. Can you get my clasps?” She waited patiently while Four painstakingly unbuttoned her pants. They had given her a pair with clasps all up and down the leg for some reason. Four bent down next to her and began to remove her pants. With each piece of skin he revealed, he laid a quick kiss on the exposed area. She shivered and let her hand trail to his hair.