Ascension Saga, Book 3: Interstellar Brides®: Ascension Saga

by Goodwin, Grace

  Thordis bowed his head. “It has been a long time, my old friend.” The two clasped forearms before the guard returned his gaze to me.

  “I am Guard Zel, a humble warrior serving the Jax family.”

  “I know who you are.” Glad, now, that I didn’t have the drink glass in my hand, I stepped forward and hugged the man. Bear hug. I didn’t care who was watching, or if this was acceptable royal decorum. I just had to hope Leo didn’t come over to clobber the guy. I was going Earth-girl on this one. I couldn’t see his aura, but I didn’t need to. “You saved all of us. You almost died. Thank you.”

  He stood completely frozen, his arms locked to his sides. Probably afraid Leo would cut them off if he dared put his hands on me to hug me back, but I didn’t care. I squeezed him as tightly as I could, then stepped back. He was stiff as a board, his cheeks a dark red with obvious embarrassment. Otherwise, he looked perfectly fine. Not like he’d been shot by an alien blaster. He’d have to deal. I wasn’t taking it back. “You saved my sisters. Thank you.”

  “Sisters, you say?” Lord Jax was suddenly very interested in the conversation. “At long last, the speculation has been confirmed.”

  Oh shit. One glass of wine, one friendly face, and I was spilling secrets. Damn it. I turned on my megawatt smile and played dumb. “Excuse me? What did you say?”

  Lord Jax’s smile was devilishly handsome, and I blinked at the laughter I saw in his blue eyes. It was a good thing I was totally and completely in love with Leo, because damn. He was a hottie. And he knew it. “I would not repeat such gossip for unknowing ears.”

  My smile was real. “You keep the juicy gossip to yourself?”

  “Knowledge is power, Princess. The sooner you learn that, the better. You are in good hands, Princess. I shall take my leave.” He inclined his chin to me, patted Zel on the shoulder and walked away to mingle. No doubt, he’d know every bit of juicy gossip in the room by the end of the night. I watched his retreating back for a moment, studying the difference in culture here. He was gorgeous. Rich. But his cock lay dormant. Well, I assumed it did since there wasn’t a mate clinging to his side. Because of this, I assumed that was why the young ladies left him alone. Rather than young, attractive women pursuing him around the room, it was older men and women both. Not after sex, but after his wealth. Power. Influence.

  The dynamic was completely different than what I’d seen on Earth, and I knew I would need to study the subtle variance. Adapt.

  “May I have a dance, Your Highness?” The guard’s blush was fading, but he still looked very young. Like a hopeful puppy.

  “Of course.” I had no reason not to dance with him. I’d danced a complete circuit with everyone of note, apparently. Except Thordis Jax.

  Zel took my hand and led me to the dancing area as the last bit of the prior song ended. Another group dance began, but as I stumbled with the complicated—and unknown—steps, someone directed the musicians to play something slower. Something their poor, ungraceful princess could actually dance to.

  “Do not worry about the steps. I will lead you,” he murmured, one hand holding mine, the other on my waist. A respectable distance was between us, like a seventh grade dance.

  “Thank you. I’m sorry. I just don’t know these dances yet,” I murmured, glancing down at his feet.

  Radella had tried to teach me a few. I had no doubt Destiny would have moved like water across the floor in a matter of minutes. Faith would have done the wrong steps, thrown back her hair and laughed as she stepped on toes. Seemed I was cursed with the desire to make sure everything was perfect.

  I let him lead. His touch was light. Respectful. He made sure to twirl me past his friends, who all cheered and clapped as we passed. We danced closer and closer to the open wall and the large, outdoor area. I was too busy watching feet instead of figuring out how they’d engineered an entire side of the ballroom to be gone. The fresh air felt wonderful, and I took a deep breath to clear my lungs, and my head. The effects of the wine were fading. Thank god. I hated not knowing whether or not I could trust people. I knew this “gift” the citadel had given me was a form of cheating, but I wasn’t giving it back. Hell, I didn’t know how, even if I wanted to. Which I definitely did not. A girl needed all the help she could get.

  “The fresh air is wonderful. Thank you.” The music ended and Zel held out his arm, facing a stone terrace that overlooked a large garden. I took his elbow and followed him to the railing, looking out over the labyrinth of pathways and tall hedges. It reminded me of an elaborate maze, something I’d seen in a movie. “I had no idea they actually made gardens like this. It’s like Versailles, I think, but I’ve only seen those gardens in pictures.”

  He nodded as if understanding that I spoke of somewhere on Earth. “There are many places to conduct business within the gardens. Every large estate has one.”

  “Really? Every single one?”

  He nodded. “Yes. The plants chosen are designed to muffle noise. Business deals. Secrets. And—” He cleared his throat, cutting himself off mid-thought. “Other things.”

  I could imagine what those other things might be. In fact, now that I had the idea in my head, I wanted to take Leo out there. Tonight. Find a hidden corner and make love under the stars. To get lost for a few hours and just be alone. Away from all these people. The noise. I wasn’t an extrovert by nature. The party had lasted a few hours and I was already exhausted.

  A couple walked arm-in-arm toward one of the tall entrances, flanked on either side by dense foliage twice their height. I felt my shoulders relax a bit when their glow came back. Golden. Pink. With flashes of red. They were in love, whoever they were. And they were sneaking away to do what I wanted to do with Leo.

  Be alone. And have some sexy times.

  But that was not my destiny this night. I had to play dress-up for a while longer. Smile and shake hands and kiss babies. Well—there weren’t any babies here—but it was a thing. Political. I had to be political.

  “Thank you for the dance, Zel, but I really have to get back—” Shit. My gift had returned.

  His aura was dark. Not grumpy dark, or greedy dark. Not envious or angry.

  Evil.

  He must have seen the knowledge in my eyes, because he grabbed my arm in a vise with one hand, and placed the tip of a dagger just under my ribs with the other. Right below my heart. It hurt, cutting through the fabric just enough to nip my skin. One thrust, and I’d be dead.

  “What are you doing?” I hissed.

  “I’m taking you to your mother,” he murmured, deep and deadly. “Be quiet and come with me. One word, one scream, and you’re dead. Understand?”

  “Yes.” I understood all right. He was a liar. He was evil. The one guy we’d saved in battle turned out to be a killer.

  But he knew where my mother was, or at least who had her. That flash of truth had sparked through his aura as he spoke. I’d cooperate, for now. The chance to find her was worth the risk. I’d go with him, find out where my mother had been taken, and trust Leo to find me. I winced at the nick of the knife and allowed him to pull me down the stairs and out into the dark night.

  I didn’t really have any choice.

  6

  Leo

  I was so done dancing with other females. It was as if custom intentionally kept mates apart. I breathed in the perfume of the dozen or more dance partners that clung to me. Goddess, I needed a bathing tube before I even got near Trinity. The same probably went for her as well. The idea of another man’s scent clinging to her—even passing it to her as innocently as a public dance—made me see red, but even that was better than the vision of a naked consort in her fucking bed.

  The final song came to an end and I bowed to my partner. As soon as it was acceptable to leave her, I spun on my heel and searched out my mate. She’d been speaking with someone by the wine table and I’d seen her walking with a guard. A guard who I barely recognized from the ambush the evening of the three sisters’ arrival on Alera. He was
whole and healthy, quite an improvement from that night.

  He would have to get on his knees and thank Faith for saving his life.

  Trinity had been relaxed and smiling at him. Knowing my soft-hearted mate, she wanted to offer her thanks for his bravery. That was all well and good, but I wanted all those smiles, all that attention, on me. Yes, I sounded like a sullen little boy, but where Trinity was concerned, I was greedy. Flaunting what was mine in front of the other males was not something I enjoyed. The dormant males would not understand what they were missing. The mated males had no reason to envy me. The consorts and the rest? They would be made to understand that if they hurt one hair on my mate’s head, I would make them suffer ten-fold before I killed them.

  Trinity was a princess, but I didn’t care about politics. I was a soldier, plain and simple. Rich. Poor. None of them mattered to me unless they were willing to stand next to me on the field of battle. Pretty words meant nothing if one wasn’t willing to bleed for them.

  I had no doubt Trinity would stand next to me against an entire horde of Hive Soldiers, if I asked. Hell, even more likely, she’d refuse to leave a fight even if I ordered her out of danger. Not as a battle-hardened soldier wanting to fight hand-to-hand like Destiny—she was too tenderhearted for that—but leading, organizing, planning.

  She was magnificent. And mine. I had nothing to prove to anyone but her.

  My instincts were screaming at me to find her, but I shook the nerves away. I hated large crowds of pretty people. I would have to learn to deal with events like this, I knew, so I could stand at Trinity’s side and be what she needed. I’d seen images of the events that her mother had hosted. Grand balls. Parties. Events that required smiling, dancing and worst of all… sharing Trinity.

  She deserved a partner. An ally.

  And, when the need arose, her enforcer. Queen Celene’s bloodline was back on the throne, where it belonged. Not officially, since Trinity had refused to take part in an ascension ceremony. But four spires lit the sky.

  The days of noble houses battling over the queen’s table scraps were over.

  After one pass of the room, and no sight of my mate, my instincts kicked up another notch, from the vague feeling that something wasn’t right to full-out alarm. On the exterior terrace, there was less than a handful of guests milling about. The evening was late and many partygoers, especially the elders, had already gone home to seek their beds. The young and ambitious, or just bored, would stay until the dawn, dancing and drinking.

  The consorts in attendance would be busy tonight.

  For myself, I only wanted Trinity. I paced the length of the wall, looking down to see if she’d gone toward the gardens. I didn’t think she’d go there with anyone, for she knew the risk to her life. There was luring out the assassin and then there was being stupid. Trinity was anything but stupid.

  I knew that the music and laughter would not die until the light of dawn rose over the garden. In the past, I’d been one of the silent protectors on the edges of the room, never anyone of note. But I’d watched them all. Learned who could be trusted and who played foul.

  The nobles spoke freely in front of the servants, as if they were nothing more than an inanimate object to be ignored. I knew just how far from the truth that assumption truly was. And I knew exactly who I needed to talk to now.

  A dozen royal guard lined the walls, watching everything. Seeing everything.

  If they were good at their jobs, they would know where I could find my mate.

  I strode to the guard nearest the refreshment table where I’d last seen Trinity with Lord Jax and the guard who’d nearly died in the initial attack. True to form, he looked straight ahead, ignoring me, as if he really were a statue. I had to give my father credit. He had hand-selected every guard watching tonight. I’d told him upon our return from Battleship Karter there had already been an attempt on Trinity’s life. Trapped in that opulent palace, I’d used what resources I could to keep my mate safe. And my father was one of the best resources I had. He’d been a royal guard for decades. Knew every guard by name. Knew their histories. Their families. He’d promised me that every man guarding my mate tonight could be trusted.

  “Stop pretending you don’t see me, soldier, and tell me where to find my mate.”

  He blinked, hard, his gaze darting to me for the briefest moment before returning his attention to his job. But he did answer me. “The princess was escorted onto the terrace by the guard from Jax’s house ten minutes ago.”

  The terrace? I’d already looked out upon the people there. She was not among them. “Are you sure?”

  This did get his attention, and he tilted his head up in a challenging manner. “I belong to the queen’s guard, sir. It is my job to be sure.”

  Fuck. My heart began to pound out in silent alarm. I grabbed the guard by the shoulder and shook him gently until he looked up at me. “What is the queen’s guard?”

  He looked straight ahead at the dancers, once more ignoring my physical presence. “That is a question for your father, my lord.”

  “Listen, your job right now is to keep your head down and find my father as quickly as possible. Do not speak of this to anyone else, do you understand me? Bring my father to me on the terrace. Immediately.”

  “Yes, my lord.” Thank the goddess he didn’t question me or my order, but took off at once across the room, as if he knew exactly where my father might be. Grateful, I watched him for a second and thanked fate that my father’s hand-selected guard had been paying attention.

  Fuck me. I’d failed my mate, because I had been dancing and talking politics like an idiot while Trinity disappeared. Two things I hated.

  I never should have left her side. Appearances be damned. She had insisted we act as if nothing was wrong, that if her first public appearance was as a fearful weakling, it would affect her reputation for years to come. Take her power and respect. I’d respected her wishes. Even Prime Nial had agreed with her. He knew a lot more about ruling than I did. So, too, did my mate, with her mother teaching her what she would need to know since she was born.

  I’d listened. Considered. Gone against my instincts and allowed Trinity to place herself in danger.

  Fuck.

  At least she had a guard with her. I would keep faith in knowing he would protect her with his life.

  If I found the guard dead? Well, that would change things.

  Moving quickly now, I went out to the terrace and responded to the greetings of the few guests, not because I cared, but because I needed information.

  “Have you seen the princess? She was escorted onto the terrace by a guard and she owes me a dance.”

  The two ladies shook their heads. The two males with them looked at one another for confirmation before the elder of what looked like two brothers turned to me. “We have not seen Her Highness, my lord. Apologies.”

  Biting back a growl, I rotated on my heel, looking for something, anything. A flash of blue in the gardens below. A hint of her sweet scent. A glimpse of moonlight on her golden hair in the darkness.

  A sparkle of blue on one of the stairs…

  I stilled as I caught sight of one pale blue shoe. A female’s shoe with sparkles and gems I’d seen before. On Trinity. I grabbed it up, held it. Why the fuck wasn’t it on Trinity’s foot? If it had fallen off, surely she would have paused to put it back on. It was dainty and had a heel that was pointed and unstable—how females moved in such tools of torture I had no idea—so it would be awkward for her to walk in just one.

  Unless… I whipped my head around, frantic. I wanted to shout her name, to make the music stop and everyone to stand still so the space could be searched. She wasn’t here. I knew it. I felt it. She wouldn’t have left a fucking shoe otherwise.

  Was the assassin here? Had he made a move at last?

  Trinity knew she was not supposed to leave the ballroom unattended. The only reason I had agreed to bring her back to Alera and attempt her mad scheme of acting as bait for th
e assassin was because she had given me her word she would be careful. Take no unnecessary risks.

  The gardens. Would she have been taken that way? Into the maze where it was easy to get lost? No, they would be caught within the shrubbery. They needed an escape, perhaps around the sides of the garden to a vehicle? Or out in the city?

  As I headed to the nearest garden entry, I heard commotion. Not from the ballroom, but from a side hallway situated on the lower floor of the palace. The structure was large, with a host of hallways, tunnels and covered drives that led into various areas of the palace. I stormed through the open door and into the hall.

  A gathering of well-dressed servants was murmuring together, no merriment or laughter on their faces, despite the music playing behind them and the array of food and beverage scattered throughout the smaller hall. Seemed the nobles weren’t the only ones celebrating the return of the royal family.

  “The princess,” I said, stopping hastily in front of them.

  “Captain—my lord—apologies, I don’t know how to address you.”

  “Leo will do.”

  “Yes, my lord… Leo,” he bowed slightly and I shifted on my feet. I didn’t give a fuck about titles or status. I just needed to find my mate. Thankfully, he continued before I had to beat the information from him. “The princess was with another guard. She didn’t say anything beyond a simple greeting, but she looked unhappy.”

  An older female spoke. “She was walking strangely, with a large limp, and being pulled along by a very tight grip on her elbow.”

  I held the only clue I had in my hand, the sparkling blue shoe, and they stared at it.

  Another in the group stepped forward and held out his hand. “After she was gone, we found this by the door.” In his grip was the matching shoe.

  I took it from him. My mate was leaving a trail for me to follow, although I didn’t know what she could remove next. “Did she ask for help, or say anything to you as she passed?”

  The first man shook his head. “No, my lord.”