by Liza Probz
Jazmine nodded, catching the concern in Marek's eye before turning and walking toward the golden doors. She paused outside of them and looked at the guards on either side of her. Neither of them acknowledged her standing there.
She glanced at both of them again and finally cleared her throat, realizing that she was going to have to speak first. Typical...
"I'm here to see the king."
The guard to her right lifted his hand and knocked on the door. A male voice called for her to enter. She took a shallow breath and pushed at the door, walking in and lifting her chin. She was the twin girl of light, a half-goddess, and the rest of her inheritance was royalty.
She could do this—it was in her blood.
CHAPTER FIVE
Marek turned from the room and walked with his brother toward the elevator. "Let's not go too far. I want to be here when she comes out."
"All right, well, the results are in the lab. I can bring them to you if you want. I had the processor send me a note when they were done. I just got it." Nojan held up his wrist as if trying to prove his point.
Marek let out a slow breath. "Let's just go together. Tell me about our plans to get the girl's brother back. I assume you've spoken to father about it?"
"I have." Nojan pressed the buttons for the elevator to take them back to the lab. Marek hated moving through the tunnels more than anything, the bumps and jolts from traversing the earth always leaving him slightly ill.
"What did he say? Who all is going with us?"
Nojan glanced over at Marek as the elevator stopped. "You know good and damn well that dad isn't going to let the girl go."
"It's not his call on what she does or doesn’t do."
"Right. Tell him that." Nojan chuckled and walked to the lab door, typing in a few numbers. "He's not letting either of you go, actually."
"Fuck that. I'm going. I promised Jaz that I would find Caleb and I will. I'm not going back on my promise to her, Nojan. That's half the reason she came here."
"And the other half?" Nojan moved to a large printer in the middle of the room, tugging at the film flowing out of it.
"I would assume me, but who knows. When your life's been laser focused, it's hard to change that desire or projection. Maybe it all had to do with her getting a hand up on finding her brother." He shrugged, wanting to know what the results were. Getting back to Jaz was at the top of his list of things to do.
"I get that. I'm hoping my trajectory of seeing titties before I die pans out. Dedication and drive... that's what will get me there."
"Idiot," Marek mumbled and moved to stand beside Nojan as he flew through the images, his eyes seeming to pick up on nothing of interest by the sounds he made. "So who exactly is father thinking of sending after the guy if not me and Jaz?"
"Me, Calabez and Kara."
"What? No fucking way. Kara is not going. She's fragile and way too docile. The worlds outside of here are dangerous. That's too many of us as well. There should be only one of us going."
"Like you?"
"Exactly. Why in the hell would dad send Calabez? I understand you going because of your ability to make anything work, anywhere. But what in the hell is our brother going to offer besides a sardonic attitude and an overactive sex drive?"
"He's ballsy and willing to fight through every demon in hell to retrieve something that he thinks will bring him great wealth. He cares about two things and dad has promised him a whole lot of one of them."
"Power and sex?"
"Right. So he gets to start his harem early if he does this."
"What? That only belongs to the king. He gets a special group of women just for himself?"
"He does and he can bring back one or two from various planets."
"No fucking way. You're lying now. I can't believe I almost fell for that shit. There is no way in hell dad would go for him bringing other species into the country and sticking his dick in them. Maybe the first part for studying them, but sex... no way. Just no."
Nojan laughed. "Dad loves power more than any of us. Just because he's getting old doesn't mean that his love of power has diminished in the slightest. To have the other twin and the stone would be power beyond that of any other ruler in the universe."
"But we don't exist."
"I think he's hoping that this find will bring us into a new era. We were never meant to hide in the shadows, Marek. You know this. We are gods in our own right, and dad just wants to reinstate that."
"So we use Jazmine and Caleb as protection? Hell no. I would never allow that."
Nojan rolled his shoulders. "I'm only speculating here. We were told about the trip to find Jaz's brother this morning before you arrived. Dad finally got Kara to agree. That's the first step, what happens after that, I'm not sure."
"This seems ridiculous. If you send me in there looking like an ass I'm going to beat you senseless," Marek growled at his brother.
"I'm being serious for once. I might be wrong, but you'll have to take that up with dad."
"Fine. I'll talk to the old man."
"Make it quick. We're leaving in two weeks. He's going to talk to Jaz about getting into the library and helping us make a plan of attack. We need to have some clue of who might have taken him. We need to see if she has anything that belongs to her brother."
"What? Why?" Marek reached out and stopped his brother, something catching his eye on the strip of film in front of them.
"Because Kara has been working on her gifting. She can sense someone from a million miles away, as if finding their essence in the farthest reach of space. She just needs a personal item and she will find him. She’s become something like a hound dog on Territh." Nojan smiled and lifted the film to his face, moving away from Marek and toward a large board of light that hung on the wall. The rest of the film drug behind him noisily.
"Wow. This is incredible," Nojan whispered reverently. He turned and smiled. "I want to check it against one other picture the machine took."
"What is it?" Marek walked toward him, but stopped as Nojan held up his hand.
"I'll tell you in a minute. Just let me double-check it." He paused as he moved toward his computer, glancing up. "How do you feel about Jaz? You played it off pretty horribly earlier. I'm your best friend, so no bullshitting me. Open up and be real with me like we always have been to each other."
Marek took a long breath and let it out. The last thing he wanted to do was bare his soul to anyone, especially himself. If he spoke the words out loud it only seemed to make them more solidified and would leave him crippled if something happened to the girl. She didn't seem to feel the same and he couldn't afford to fight for someone that didn't want him nearly as bad as he wanted her.
But... he couldn't lie to his brother anymore either.
"I love her. I want her to be my wife and some part of me wants you to have found life, not an illness, inside of her." Marek ran his fingers through his hair and met his brother's gaze.
"You made love to her?"
"Yes. I mated with her. I know it was stupid, but she's mine through and through, Nojan. I needed to mark every part of her... and I have."
"Fuck. I should have realized that. I just thought you had more sense than that." Nojan shook his head and walked to the machine, pulling out a long strand of cream-colored paper. He turned and held it up, a smile touching his mouth.
"Well, you might be king sooner than you wanted to."
"Why is that?" Marek walked toward his brother, not understanding his cryptic message at all.
"Because dad's likely to keel over when he finds out that you've sired a child through the twin daughter of light." Nojan chuckled and handed the paper to Marek, who stood in stony silence. "She's pregnant. There are two lives inside of her."
"Twins?" Marek choked out as tears filled his eyes. Everything was happening too fast, and yet the rightness that sat on him for the first time in his life was overwhelming.
"Twins, and look, there is a blue ring around both of them
." Nojan let out a long sound of excitement, his eyes brilliantly blue.
"Oh my God."
"You have to tell her. Now." Nojan shoved the evidence toward Marek.
"I can't. Not yet." He took it and held it up to the light, the small blue circles tiny, but prevalent in the sea of darkness.
His offspring—beautiful and gifted. He couldn't be more pleased.
"You have to, Marek..."
"I will. Just not now. I'm not sure she can handle much more."
“I do believe her capable of handling just about anything you throw at her, brother.”
Marek glanced up and nodded, a smile touching his lips. “Perhaps... Guess we shall see?”
Deceived by the Vartik King
Liza Probz
Part 7
CHAPTER ONE
“Come child. No need to hesitate. We’re more than pleased that you’re visiting us.” Marek’s mother reached out and beckoned Jazmine to come into the room fully.
Why hadn’t she forced Marek to come with her? Certainly Nojan’s news, whatever it was, could have waited. Jazmine had been in front of the greatest of kings, and part of the royal crowd on many planets, but this was different. She wasn’t trying to steal a jewel or find a treasure, but earn respect. Her tongue felt like it clung to the roof of her mouth, her words lodged in her throat as she nodded toward the queen and walked into the room.
“Marek tells me that he found you on Vanfia. What on earth were you doing there?” The king moved toward her, his long red robes silky and labeling him as important.
Some part of her wanted to make up a story, as the truth was far from something she would ever share with anyone but Marek. He had treated her rather poorly when finding out she was a thief, or really, assuming correctly that she was. The reasoning behind her decision to take something that wasn’t hers didn’t matter. Most people believed each creature had a choice, and she did as well. Her choice was to find the bronze jewel of Gillum or to let her brother die.
Seemed like an easy answer, no matter the cost or danger involved.
“I was searching for an object that would save my brother, Caleb.”
The king’s eyes widened slightly and he motioned for her to join him at a large ornate table. The top of it was etched from a large sapphire stone from what she could tell. The value of the table alone would feed a small planet for years. She brushed her fingers along the shiny surface and glanced up as Marek’s mother set a small basket of grapes on the table before taking a spot beside her.
“Zuch loves to grow various fruits and vegetables, but my favorite is grapes. They grow up the side of the castle. You can see them there, just out of the window.” The older woman pointed, and Jazmine turned to catch a view of the healthy vine that swayed softly with the wind.
Marek’s mother was pretty in her own way, but her features were much more subtle, nothing about her catching the eye. Her chest was completely flat and she didn’t have a very feminine shape. Perhaps that was the way of the Vartik women. Marek had mentioned it if she wasn’t mistaken.
Jazmine turned her attention back to the king as he began to speak.
“Well, Marek tells me that you’ve lost most of your memories. I think we should be able to help you regain some of those. I know quite a bit of what myth will label as history where you are concerned, but the facts should be substantiated. There are a few volumes in our library on your mother and her people.”
“Her people?” Jazmine tilted her head to the side, not sure she understood his reference. “She’s supposedly a goddess. How does she have people?”
“She wasn’t always a goddess, child. She was once a woman, a Territhian. Through great sacrifice, she was granted the right to become a deity. No one knew that she was with child when the transition happened. It supposedly changed the composition of you and your brother to mimic her ability, but your bloodline will always be that of your father.”
“Interesting.” Jazmine reached for a grape, wiping it off with her fingers and putting it into her mouth. The sweetness burst across her senses as her stomach growled loudly again.
“What were you looking for on Vanfia? Zuch interrupted you, I believe. I’d like to hear the rest of the story. I believe in fate. For Marek to be there at the proper time when you needed someone… well, I think the gods brought you here. I’m eager to learn why.” Marek’s mom leaned back in her chair, her fair skinned hands wrapped together in her lap.
“My brother, Caleb, was taken from me a while back late one night. He wasn’t as good at hiding his blue ring, and I suppose someone knew the myth of the light twins and thought he might be one. I slipped out for a few minutes and when I returned he was gone. I received word a few days later that he would be held captive until I produced a certain trinket.”
“What trinket and who has him? Zuch is sending out a few of our children to find him and bring him to safety here.”
Jazmine glanced down at her hands as sadness rose in her chest. “It’s useless. They need the jewel to approach these creatures. There is no way they would be willing to negotiate his release without it.”
“Who are they?” Marek’s father leaned in.
“I don’t know exactly, but if I had to guess, I would assume the Kanula. They have vocal patterns that sound like a million bees buzzing at once. In all my studies, which aren’t many mind you, they are the only creatures I have found matching that description.”
“You’ve heard them speak?” Silvia, Marek’s mother, reached for a grape, her brow pulling tightly.
“Yes. Just that night in making their demands.” Jazmine glanced between Marek’s parents. A warmth that she hadn’t experienced since being with her brother rolled over her. Her eyes filled with tears and she tried to wipe at them without drawing attention to herself.
“There, there, child.” Marek’s mother handed her a small white cloth and moved closer, rubbing her back softly. “We’ll figure out where your brother is and get him back. We’re the brightest and strongest creatures ever created. My boys will find him and he will be with us by the end of the month.”
“I need to go with them. I can’t stop searching. I can’t give up.” Jazmine glanced toward Marek’s father, trying to get someone to validate the fact that they knew that she wasn’t sitting idle while Caleb was possibly being hurt.
“We’ll see what your test results show, sweetheart. After we know that you are well, we will beckon to your desires. Silvia and I are only here to help you. The gods delivered you to our door and we will honor them, and you, as best we can.”
“Zuch is right. Feel comfort in this place and know you have found an ally in us.” She patted Jazmine’s back before pushing the grapes toward her. “Eat a few more of these and we’ll have Marek come take you to the dining hall for something more filling shortly.”
“Jazmine. Tell me more of this jewel. What is it and why do the creatures want it?” Zuch tapped the table, his eyes scanning Jazmine’s face as if he were trying to pull answers out of her faster than she was willing to divest of them.
“It’s the bronze jewel of Gillum. I honestly don’t know why they want it. I’ve heard theories, but from what Marek tells me… it doesn’t exist.” She glanced down at her hands again before wiping her eyes once more.
“They believe the prophecies to reign true.” Marek’s mother reached over and brushed her hand over Zuch’s clasped fingers. “If the kidnapper wants the stone, they will want Jazmine to be the one to deliver it.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, my dear.” The handsome king stood and reached toward Jazmine, squeezing her shoulder softly. “And what of your feelings toward my son? You know that he is to be the next King of Vartik, correct?”
Jazmine stood as well, the sudden urge to leave without having to explain the complexity of her feelings for Marek sitting heavy on her. She swallowed hard and glanced toward his mother before returning her attention to his father.
“I understand he’s the next ruler
of your people. He saved my life multiple times and I owe him a debt of gratitude. I’d do anything to repay that.” She smiled and felt feminine and small in front of them all of a sudden.
“Do you care for him as a woman does a man?” Silvia stood too, reaching to touch Jazmine’s chin.
“I love him, but I understand his place is with the two of you and his bloodline. I honor that and will leave as soon as I am able. Your hospitality will be rewarded no doubt. I only hope I have the means to pay you both back one day.” She clasped her hands in front of her as her pulse quickened. Had she really just told Marek’s parents that she was in love with him? Was she?
Yes. Completely.
“Our son does have a great responsibility and the Vartiks descend from the gods directly, but you do as well. Your mother gave you a special ability to grant your power to your offspring while giving their paternal donor the right to the bloodline. If you are to be Marek’s bride instead of the woman we’ve chosen, then the gods will make that clear.” The king smiled kindly and glanced at his wife.
“Yes… to all of us.” She smiled at Jazmine and took her by the arm. “Let’s get you something to eat, sweetheart. Then you can rest or do whatever you like. We’ll be pulling together a team to go after your brother. You will be intimately involved in all of the planning whether you go or not.”
“Thank you.” Jazmine walked to the door, the conversation still buzzing around in her skull. Had Marek’s father just opened the door for the two of them to be together if the gods gave proof of it being their plan? Could she be that lucky? To have found someone in one of the hardest times of her life who would support her, protect her and love her?
“Surely not,” she whispered and slipped out into the hall, walking quickly back to the elevator with a new hope and a deep prayer. Forever is what she wanted. Hopefully he did too.
CHAPTER TWO
