Royal Defender: Her Space Guardian (Celestial Mates Book 9)

by Therron, Marla

  Too tired to dwell on it, she headed to her quarters alone. When she stepped into her bedroom however, what she found left her wide-awake.

  Resting on the pillow was a neatly arranged bunch of sparkling tulips, identical to the ones she had spotted, and liked so much, as they had walked to the medicine lodge that morning.

  She looked in bemusement at the flowers trying to figure out what this meant and then noticed the slip of parchment next to them. She picked it up and stared at the single, trans-galactic word written on it in bold, blocky handwriting;

  SORRY

  Chapter 4: Lone Wolf

  “Good morning, Tawn,” Jenna said brightly as she left her quarters to find him standing in place in the passageway, his arms folded across his large chest.

  Tawn’s blue eyes flicked up to her face for just a second and he nodded in response. His face wore its habitual impassive expression, but somehow she could tell he was happy. At least, he was happier than yesterday.

  Jenna was tempted to thank him for the flowers, but decided against it. She had a feeling he would get embarrassed if she brought it up, and she’d rather put that unpleasantness behind them.

  Besides, it might not have been him that had left the flowers, though she severely doubted it was Kromaj.

  “Today Tawn, I’d like to go to the Alchemist Market please, If that’s okay with you?”

  Tawn raised his sleek eyebrows in surprise. “Yes. Though I’m surprised you’d want to go shopping?”

  “I’m not shopping exactly, but I do want to obtain a special herb and I’ve read in my planet guide that the Alchemist Market sells everything,” Jenna replied, putting her straight blonde hair into a ponytail while she talked.

  She felt much better today and had enjoyed a deep, relaxing sleep, leaving the flowers on the pillow next to hers so she could breathe in their pleasing scent.

  She had dreamt of Tawn’s sultry blue eyes and handsome face and felt warm and tingly when she woke up. Tawn looked better as well, she noted.

  His hair had been carefully styled into nice looking waves, and he had replaced his well-worn burgundy outfit for a cobalt blue sleeveless doublet and black leather breeches and polished boots. A golden hilted stingray sword hung at his side and he had a fresh, orangey scent about him that Jenna liked very much.

  He gave her a curious look. “What is the name of the herb you are looking for?”

  “I think it’s called Arunda,” Jenna replied.

  Tawn nodded. “I’ve heard of it, but it is very rare. I’m not sure they’ll stock it in the Market but we can go look. Is it important you obtain some?”

  “I’m not sure, but I was reading through one of my files on Kastran ancient history during my research yesterday and I can across a reference to an outbreak of a plague during the time of the Tigress Shark Empire. It had very similar symptoms that we’re seeing in the Screaming Plague, and they used Arunda to treat it.”

  Tawn’s eyes widened. “You mean we might have a cure right here in the city and we didn’t realise it?”

  “Not exactly,” Jenna replied.

  “The account is pretty fragmentary, but as far as I can gather Arunda helped ease the symptoms but it did not actually cure the sickness. I’d like to get hold of some though and examine it. It might help me find a cure and then develop a vaccine.”

  “We will go then,” Tawn said, “but don’t get into any trouble. The Alchemist Market is in the rougher part of the city and a lot of what is sold there is less than legal.

  “Even with the Screaming Plague rife, there are many pirates and smugglers down there plying their trade despite the quarantine. Stay close to me and keep quiet. It would also help if you tried not to attract attention to yourself, though that might not be easy.”

  Jenna bristled at his tone but fought down the urge to argue with him. Despite the fact that they had a female ruler, Kastra was an extremely patriarchal society, where females took a mostly subservient role. She’d already ruffled Kromaj’s feathers. She didn’t want to get into any more bother, in case it delayed her work.

  “Okay Tawn, you have a deal,” she said brightly. “I promise not to set fire to any buildings or run naked through the streets with my butt painted bright green.”

  Tawn gave her a withering look, and then something that might pass for a smile flitted across his lips. “I’m relieved to hear it,” he said in a deadpan voice. “Come along, then.”

  * * *

  The streets of Kastra Capital were eerily deserted as they made their way on foot to the Alchemist Market. People who had not been struck down by the Screaming Plague only went out on the most necessary of business and moved about swiftly and frightened, before barricading themselves in their homes again.

  Jenna could literally taste the fear that hung over the city like a black cloud. Her chipper mood from earlier had eroded away, and now she was getting anxious as they neared their destination.

  “Are you all right, Jenna?” Tawn suddenly asked, rousing her from her broodings. His voice was gentle and he looked at her with an expression of genuine concern.

  She managed a smile, and pulled back the hood of the long cloak Tawn had insisted she wore to disguise the fact she was not a Kastran. “I’m okay. Just a little nervous, that’s all.”

  He gave her a flash of his crooked smile and the heavy thunderclouds that lowered over his face parted for just an instant. “You’ll be fine,” he said. “Just follow my lead.”

  “I know, stay quiet and don’t cause trouble,” Jenna replied, unable to hide the irritation in her voice. Realising how she must sound, she grimaced.

  “I’m sorry Tawn,” she said quickly. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful or be difficult, it’s just things are different on Earth.”

  “Don’t apologise,” Tawn said.

  “I am painfully aware that our world is not as civilised as your own. That is why I seem so overbearing. I know the dangers that can befall the unwary and I would not forgive myself if anything happened to you.”

  Jenna felt a flush of pleasure at hearing him say that. “Thank you Tawn,” she said, reaching out to touch his bare arm. His skin was like warm marble beneath her fingers. “That means a lot to me.”

  Tawn looked momentarily flustered before his face became unreadable. “If you were killed, you wouldn’t be able to create a cure for the plague,” he clarified, “and I will have failed in my mission to the Queen. That would be unforgivable.”

  Jenna was crestfallen, but she didn’t show it. “Is it much farther to the market?” she asked, drawing away from him and becoming cool and business-like.

  He pointed to an alleyway a few yards away. “Down here.”

  They moved on in silence and Jenna looked around at the run down houses and garbage in the narrow street. Tawn had been right when he said this was the rough part of the city, and she felt herself moving closer to him as they walked.

  At the mouth of the alley, a chill went through her and she had the uncanny sense that eyes were watching her. If she had been alone, she would have turned back the way she came straight away, but Tawn was here and she did not want to appear irrational or fearful in front of him. She had wanted to come to the Alchemist Market after all.

  Her sense of foreboding grew as they walked down the narrow passage made gloomy by the grimy, dilapidated buildings on either side of them, which leaned forward like old drunkards until the sky above had become a narrow slit.

  “This isn’t the most salubrious of neighbourhoods,” Jenna said, feeling a need to break the oppressive silence that had settled over them.

  “I told you, the Alchemist Market is not the most salubrious of places,” Tawn replied dryly. “It’s just at the end of the alley.”

  Jenna felt a sense of relief as the other end of the alley started to get closer. She wrinkled her nose as they passed by a heap of rotting vegetables and suddenly had the sensation of being watched again.

  Her skin prickled, and she glanced in the directio
n of the vegetable mound in time to see two glowing red eyes peering out of it.

  “Tawn!” she shouted, just as a large black shape erupted from the refuse and lunged straight at her.

  The world tumbled around her as she was taken off her feet by the weight of the red-eyed thing. The stench of decaying vegetation mixed with a thick, feral scent hit her senses with all the force of a sledgehammer and slavering jaws hung over her face.

  Frozen with terror, she let out a strangled scream as she stared up at the cruel red eyes glowering down at her. The jaws snapped and swooped for her exposed throat.

  Tawn’s roar of fury split the air, and his muscled body smashed into the creature like a runaway freighter. He dislodged the beast and Jenna saw the flash of his stingray sword as he slashed out it. Jenna scrambled to her feet, her heart pounding.

  “Run!” Tawn shouted at her. “Go! Now!”

  Jenna wanted to, but she couldn’t bear leaving Tawn alone. She backed away and stared in horror at the misshaped wolf-like monster that had nearly taken her life.

  Its grey fur was mottled and missing in places and its exposed skin was horribly blistered. Strange black markings also covered its body, and its red eyes blazed with savage fury. Jenna suddenly remembered the bird that had flown towards her just before her shuttle had been damaged.

  The combatants had parted now and the wolf monster was snarling at Tawn as he circled it with his stingray sword raised. Fear clenched Jenna’s heart as she thought of those jaws tearing through the Tawn’s body.

  “Tawn! Back away! We’ve got to get to safety!” Jenna called out.

  “I told you to run, you little fool!” Tawn hissed.

  “I’m not going anywhere without you!” she yelled back with steely fury.

  The wolf monster swung its grizzly head back at Jenna and it lurched forward again, meaning to attack her a second time.

  Gritting his teeth, Tawn shot forward and slashed at its flank with his sword. Thick black blood oozed from the wound he inflicted and the wolf howled with agony. Froth bubbled from its jaws and it turned back to the warrior.

  Tawn moved in a blur, slashing and parrying with the beast, inflicting more wounds across its body. Despite seeming to gain the upper hand, the wolf did not weaken and kept on with renewed ferociousness.

  Soon, Tawn was on the back foot and being pushed against the wall of the alleyway. At one point, the wolf broke through his defences and its fangs grazed against Tawn’s forearm. Jenna’s heart stuttered in her chest when she saw the bright scarlet rill that split his skin.

  “Run!” Tawn called out, his voice thick and ragged. “You have to go now while I can still keep him off!”

  Jenna stayed where she was. By rights she should have gone for help, but all the buildings were shuttered and there was no sign of life anywhere. She feared if she ran to try and find someone, Tawn would fall to the beast. She had to do something on her own, and her mind wheeled.

  Looking round, she suddenly spotted a rod of rusting, broken metal sticking out of a nearby rubbish pile on her side of the alley. Without missing a beat, she ran and snatched up the rod and drove it with all her strength into the first and deepest wound that Tawn had inflicted on the wolf creature.

  As soon as the metal smashed into the wound, the monster shrieked at the top of its voice and reared up on its hind legs. It barged into Jenna’s shoulder and sent her sprawling into the ground.

  As she went down, she saw Tawn rush forward and drive his blade straight through the creature’s throat.

  Jenna’s breath caught in her throat and her vision blurred as the shock took hold. She drifted into the black oblivion for a fraction of a second and then was suddenly aware of strong arms holding her tight.

  “Jenna! Are you hurt?” Tawn’s deep voice was stark with fear. “Jenna! Speak to me!”

  She looked up into his anxious ridden face and sank further into his granite embrace. Blood was pounding in her ears and she was trembling like a newborn chick, but her fear subsided.

  In Tawn’s iron arms, she felt safe and she sank like jelly against his broad chest. He was breathing hard against her, and his heat and sweat sent a power rush of pleasure through every inch of her aching body.

  Somehow, she found the strength to fling her arms around his sculpted torso and she clutched his back with the last dregs of her strength.

  “I’m. . . I’m okay,” she said in a ragged voice. “That thing . . . it was going to kill you!”

  “Don’t worry about that thing,” Tawn said fiercely, his voice sounding confident and assured again. It thrummed through her, cradling her frightened soul in its arms.

  “It’s dead. I wouldn’t have been able to have gotten that last strike in if you hadn’t have done what you did.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Jenna murmured, feeling light-headed.

  She felt the impulse to laugh hysterically. She clung tighter to him. She was so small against him and he was so large and strong she wanted to hold him forever.

  “Next time though when I tell you to run, you run,” he said in a playful tone.

  “You’re the smart one, remember? I’m the oafish bodyguard with salt rocks for brains.”

  This time Jenna did laugh.

  Chapter 5: Lovers’ Hideaway

  “Double the guard!” Queen Marna thundered. Her windswept face was bright red and she was furiously jamming seaweed tobacco into the bowl of her pipe.

  “Triple the guard! I want her protected every minute of the day and night! This must not happen again!”

  “Better still, we should move her to the frontier garrison in the North Country,” Tawn said.

  “That way, she’ll be surrounded by hundreds of warriors. No one will get close to her.”

  Jenna glared at the both of them and fought down the urge to scream. “She has got a name,” she said scathingly, “and I’m staying right here in the city.”

  Both Marna and Tawn looked at her at once. “What?” they said in unison.

  It was the morning after the day of the terrifying attack by the wolf monster, and the three of them were sitting at the ornate mother of pearl table in Queen Marna’s personal quarters in the highest tower of the palace.

  After they had returned the day before, Jenna had been so exhausted and numb with shock she could barely walk. Tawn had literally carried her to her bedchamber and refused anyone to disturb her, even the Queen herself.

  Jenna had taken a sedative from her med kit and had fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  “I said I’m staying here,” Jenna replied firmly.

  “My work’s too important for me to be traipsing off all over the countryside, and I don’t want extra guards either. I can only just about cope with having Tawn as my shadow.”

  “Jenna, my dear, we must do something. You are too important to risk,” Marna said, lighting up her pipe.

  “The Queen is right,” Tawn said gruffly.

  “You should have told us about the bird that hit your ship as well. If I’d have known, I would never have let you go out into the city.”

  “I had no idea the bird and that . . . that whatever it was, were linked,” Jenna countered.

  “That thing was a mer wolf,” Tawn supplied, “though I’ve never seen one like that before.”

  “I’m not surprised,” said Jenna.

  “It had been heavily mutated, like the bird and I didn’t tell you about that bird because it sounded crazy. Only my repair drone reported that there were traces of explosive on the hull of my ship. It must have been strapped to the bird. If the wolf hadn’t attacked me, I would never have bothered to check the drone’s report. The wolf’s brain was also fitted with a cybernetic implant that controlled it by remote sensor. I’m guessing the bird had the same technology fitted inside it.”

  Marna frowned at her. “How do you know what was in the wolf’s brain?”

  “She woke up in the middle of the night full of energy and made me go back to the alley to haul the vil
e thing all the way to the lab. She’s been playing around with it ever since,” Tawn grumbled.

  He paused and gave Jenna a cowed look. “Sorry, I meant to say Jenna not she.”

  “Forget about it,” Jenna said with a wry smile.

  “But Tawn’s right, and I’m glad I have been playing around with it as he so charmingly puts it. The mutations and the cybernetic technology made the thing a hell of a lot smarter and stronger than it originally was. It’s nothing I’ve ever seen before. Whoever did that to this poor animal has to be a genius . . . and absolutely insane.”

  Marna and Tawn exchanged a meaningful look but said nothing. Jenna narrowed her eyes, now curious. Neither of them were as surprised by her findings as she thought they would be.

  “So, there is a plot against your life,” Queen Marna concluded, “more reason to provide you with more protection or move you to another location. Whoever is behind this knows your movements. They may have spies inside the palace. We can’t leave you vulnerable to another attempt.”

  “No, I’m hoping that this maniac does try again,” Jenna urged. “I haven’t told you the best bit yet!”

  They looked at her like she was crazy, and she couldn’t help but grin.

  “I did some more tests on our wolf friend, and found that its DNA was corrupted by the Screaming Plague. The plague had somehow been accelerated and the mer wolf was in a state of constant agony as a consequence. It’s why it fought so ferociously and why it was easy to control. A painkiller was released into its bloodstream from the implant from time to time to keep it from going completely insane.

  It also seemed to be able to prolong its life and stop it from becoming debilitated by the plague. I think whoever altered the bird and wolf was probably smart enough to create the Screaming Plague. If that’s the case, then they are afraid I might develop a cure. If they try to kill me again we could find out more about who’s behind this and locate them. I’m also guessing he or she has an antidote already prepared. It’s too good an opportunity to miss.”