by Alyssa Ezra
“Oh – how I hate you right now!”
“Don’t feel that way. If I don’t do that, we will overshoot this valley. And I really wanted to show you this place.” Rayer placed his hand on Coletta’s shoulders as he turned her away from him so that she could look out over the glimmering lagoon. When he heard her gasp, he waited.
“It’s beautiful…”
“This is my place. It is a tiny dot on the surface of Siiger, but it is my favorite place.” He spoke softly. His words feathered against the sensitive skin of her ear.
“You wanted to share this place with me?”
“Very much so.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew that you would like it.”
*
Though she was busy relishing in the beauty of the landscape around her, Cole felt Rayer shift behind her. Suddenly, she found herself stretched out on the soft grass that led up to the bank of the mountain lake. Rayer levered his body over hers and straddled her hips.
“Here?” She asked.
“I want you.”
“I want you too,” were the last coherent words she uttered for a long time.
*
The day that they spent up at the mountain lake had been incredible. But the night they spent there under the stars, wrapped in the blankets on top of the thick furs that Rayer kept in the small flying vehicle for whenever he decided he didn’t want to go back to the High Royal Compound. Once they jetted back to the compound the next day, arriving about midday, reality of position decided to intrude into the romantic bubble that had held them when Rayer was immediately summoned to attend his father.
Cole was working on finding places to put all of her things when she heard his feet on the stairs coming into what he referred to as the ‘lounging level.’ Unfortunately, she could see on his face that he was not pleased.
“What is it?”
“I have to attend the Kaltarian seasonal shift celebratory hunt. It is a male only ritual. I had hoped to receive a pass on attending, but they have apparently sent an emissary to confirm my attendance.”
“This is something that you have to attend?”
“Yes they are my mother’s clan. The Warriors of Siiger. They tend to live apart from the rest of Sii society and keep to a number of ancient traditions, such as this hunt. I wouldn’t be able to take you, even to stay with the few females of the clan that are there, at this point. You would have to bear me an heir, a direct blood connection to the clan, before I could take you.”
“Then you have to go – maybe, if you want, things will be different come the next time.”
“It is a five day hunt.”
“That is unfortunate as I have grown fond of your company; however, I will be fine until you return. When do you leave?”
“Now…”
“Oh, that is soon. Is there anything that you need to gather?”
“No, it has been taken care of. I came to wish you farewell, and to remind you to be careful while I am gone.”
“I will.”
“Lock the door,” he said, gesturing at the main door into the suite.
“I will. I look forward to your return”
Rayer sighed, and turned to leave the tower, but stopped at the door. He spun around and stomped across the room and hauled Cole to her feet and into his arms. Not satisfied with her height, he lifted her off the ground and crushed his mouth against hers.
Cole gasped in surprise; Rayer took advantage and plunged his tongue into her mouth. The man claimed her with a sizzling kiss that went on for several minutes until she had wrapped her arms around his neck and was kissing him as fiercely as he was kissing her.
Finally, he set her back down on now unsteady feet. Instead of making her crumple into a heap on the floor after he had walked out, Rayer turned and sat her into one of the large chairs that was arranged on one side of a low table. Seeming satisfied that she would be safe until she regained feeling in her extremities; Rayer strode back to the door. Before the door closed all the way, Cole would swear that she heard him utter a final farewell, but the ringing in her ears left her a bit unsure.
Oh shit! I think I am falling for him!
*
In an effort to avoid the evening meal, she just wasn’t comfortable facing everyone without Rayer at her side yet, Cole snuck down to the compound’s kitchen and sweet-talked the cook out of a delicious late lunch – or was it an early dinner?
Happily fed, Cole made her way through the quiet hallways of what she still thought of as a massive palace. She had managed to time her sneaking to times when the halls were basically empty. Cole had enlisted Lahla’s assistance in changing how things were set up in the tower – especially when she found workmen opening a new level in the tower. Apparently, Rayer had felt that they – or she – might need more space. Cole was inclined to agree with him. The extra space wouldn’t go amiss for the next year.
At the thought of leaving Cole, she felt certain tightness in her chest – she tried to ignore it. The reality was that while she might not want to leave at the end of her contracted obligation, she knew better than to stay unless Rayer wanted her to remain as well. Lost in thought, Cole turned a corner and was met with a thoroughly unwelcome presence.
Damn it! Graith…
Rayer’s stepsibling smirked down at her. Considering that she was moping about the future, Cole felt that it was unreasonable of the universe to expect her to deal with the more than irritating male in front of her.
“I see that you have come to have your needs seen to while Rayer is gone and neglects you.”
Suddenly, Cole realized just what it was about Graith that rubbed her so raw, he was the same as the young men that had offered to ‘help’ her with the Express Chute in exchange for sexual services. He was entitled. Rayer had been born to an even higher position than his stepbrother, but Cole never have felt that he took anything he had for granted. Instead, her mate took great pleasure in simplicity whenever he had the luxury of simplicity.
Who would have ever thought I would come to think of simplicity as a luxury?
“No,” she finally replied. “I am on my way back to the tower. Excuse me.” Years of hard labor in the service industry was the only reason that Cole was able to toss a smile at Graith as she tried to step around him. Unfortunately, the man decided to mirror her, and remain in her way, sorely trying the temper she had kept buried for years.
“I don’t think you have quite grasped my suggestions. I think that you should know what I am offering before you turn me down. I am sure that you have needs that in his brutish way, Rayer has ignored in his desperate bid to deny me the High Throne. The Kaltar are a bunch of meat-handed warriors, they wouldn’t understand how to treat a female.” To punctuate the suggestion, Graith slid his pampered soft hands up Cole’s arm, under the loosely fitting sleeve to her bare shoulder.
“And you think you do?” She asked tightly – anger rippling through her.
“Of course – I am sure that you will appreciate my touch more that Rayer’s.” Graith seemed to spit every time he spoke the High Prince’s name. “I only ask for one thing in return.”
Here we go. Finally going to show your hand, aren’t you? Weasel – no that would be an insult to weasels and they don’t deserve that.
“You see – my mother, the elegant High Queen has been working to open the doors to the High Throne for a much more suitable successor. Me. As a result, the reality is that Rayer and I are now in a race: whoever provides an heir first wins. And the prize is the High Throne and all that goes with it. If you will provide me with the heir, I will make sure that you receive enough to be able to buy one of those towering buildings on your planet. You will never have to worry about your position in life.”
“That’s it?” Breathe – do not punch him in the nose, even though he deserves it. There are no witnesses to the rest of this bullshit – you do not want him to look good.
“Yes, infinitely more compensation for the exact sam
e work that you would be doing anyways…”
“That is a very generous offer…”
“I am glad you agree. If you come this way, we can get to work on making you an exceedingly wealthy woman.” His interruption pissed Cole off, but she waited until he was finished until she couldn’t be misheard in the quiet hall.
“…But! I have to decline. I believe in honoring commitments that I make – I don’t stab people in the back, as we call it back on Earth. Enjoy your day Graith.” Instead of playing nice with the man, Cole used her shoulder and pushed past the man. She heard him call out as she rounded the corner. Instead of stopping, Cole bolted for the tower stairs for the second time in only a few days, escaping to the safety of Rayer’s domain.
*
Cole managed to find excuses to stay in the safety of the tower for the first evening and all of the second day. She had meticulously locked the door into the suite of chambers and had only admitted trusted, known faces to come in. Unfortunately, when it came time for the midday meal to be delivered, as she had discussed with the cook, via Lahla, the previous morning, it never came. Moody and hungry, it was edging into late afternoon when Cole snuck down from the tower to the Kitchen. When she arrived among the cornucopia of scents, she discovered the reason for the oversight.
She was duly informed by one of the cook’s helpers that the cook’s young son – a genetic replication as opposed to a biologically created offspring had had an accident that required his father’s attention in the city. As a result, the kitchen was in chaos. One of the aides – a young woman, one of the few – had offered to bring a suitable offering to Cole in one of the small rooms off the kitchen.
While she would have preferred to have the tray delivered to the tower, Cole was starving and wasn’t in the mood to argue. She had taken a seat at a small table by the window of one of the private eating rooms off the kitchen when the same young woman came into the room bearing a well laden plate, a glass, and a carafe filled with the some blue-hued liquid.
Cole took her time, lingering over the meal and semi-tart juice. After she finished, she stood and planned to go back to the tower for an early night. Maybe my blood sugar was low – I am now tired! She only made it half-way across the room before the world tilted sharply. Her balance overcome, Cole crashed onto the plush carpet of the room and lay there panting as according to her eyes the room began to spin.
The door into the private dining room opened. In the doorway Cole could see two pairs of feet. One male, one female – neither were the feet she wanted to see.
Rayer! What the hell is going on?
*
Rayer flung himself from the back of the Vithu he was riding during the ceremonial hunts and tackled the charging Gialt, the hunting party’s prey. Using his size and natural abundance of strength, Rayer struggled with the beast, trying to force it into a position for the Rehalt, the leader, of the Kaltar clan to deliver the killing blow per tradition.
The killing blow never came. The Rehalt’s sons, Rayer’s uncles, came from all sides to force the Gialt down – it squealed and attempted to gore the men with its pointed tusks. Finally the eldest of his uncles drove his sword into the felled beast’s heart. Needless suffering was never tolerated. Confused by the failed ritual hunt, Rayer looked around until he spotted the Rehalt.
It was strange, the man was frozen upon the back of his Vithu, his eyes were glazed over, his features were slack. Even the Vithu was frozen midstride. Rayer turned to the closest of his mother’s younger brothers.
“He is having a vision,” his uncle, Pret’al, whispered. As soon as the words escaped Pret’al’s lips the Rehalt and his Vithu returned to normal – sort of. Rehalt’s gaze searched the group and zeroed-in on Rayer.
“Arati’s son,” he called out. “You must return to the High Royal Compound. Go – your mate is in dire need of you. Hurry, lest her honor be taken.”
Rayer didn’t listen for the rest, he jumped onto the nearest Vithu and raced back to the main Kaltar settlement, and the flight-craft that was capable of racing him back to the compound.
*
Cole slowly came through the haze of unconsciousness. She had a murderous headache and wanted to curl into a ball and block out the world until the throbbing behind her eyes stopped. However, when she heard a recognizable voice, she forced her lids to lift.
She was lying on a bed, but for some reason she couldn’t move. Even though she couldn’t move, Cole could see the door into the darkened room. In the doorway stood the young woman that had brought the meal and the blue juice; unfortunately, with her stood Graith. He was in the process of fondling the young woman – one hand groped at her curves of her ass, while the other had a handful of her breast through her clothing. Cole closed her eyes, and forced her ears to focus on their soft conversation.
“I wish that it didn’t have to happen this way too. Sadly we don’t have a choice – she has to provide an heir so that I can take the High Throne. But think of it this way, she is going to have to deal with the discomfort and unpleasantness of bearing my offspring for you. And then, you will have your own child. You will be the mother of the next High Ruler after me.”
Cole listened to Graith talk and felt disgust coil in her stomach like a heavy weight. He had convinced this young woman to betray those that she should protect, all for an empty promise from him.
“And then you will take me as your mate?” The young woman, hardly more than a girl simpered.
“Of course, of course – as soon as I have an heir and the time is right I will claim you.”
Stupid! He doesn’t mean a single word.
“Now go on – you don’t want anyone to come looking for you and ruin this.” Graith ushered the young woman off, pinching a buttock through the fabric of her long skirt, and shut the door. He walked over to the bed, and Cole didn’t bother to hide that she had been awake. “Alone at last,” he smirked down at her.
“You are lying to her.”
“Certainly, she is so easy to lie to. I trust you now realize that you should have accepted my generous offer – now I will have to take what I want from you. Don’t worry, I will still compensate you for your contribution, but I am not going to waste my considerable skills on a woman who wouldn’t appreciate them.”
“You think that you are going to be able to rape me?!”
“Of course – it will be easier if you relax. But if you don’t it will make no difference.” Cole had no intention of doing that. Instead, she fully intended to fight – especially now that she was regaining feeling in her extremities, and could feel the binds on one wrist were loose.
Chapter 10
Rayer could smell the shining finish being stripped off the body of the flight-craft. If he was being dismissed from the ceremonial hunts then the situation was dire. He knew as he heard the mechanical whine that he was getting close to turning the vehicle into a suicide pod. His mate was worth the risk.
Already planning to bale and allow the small craft to rip itself apart in the air, Rayer started the initial emergency sequence – he was still twenty minutes from the royal compound, but the exit had to be precisely timed in order to be able to land within the grounds, hopefully within the compound itself.
*
Cole stared as Graith began to strip off his extensive layers of clothing. She refrained from thrashing even as he reached out to grope at her body in between layers of over preened silk. The man felt the need to pose, to puff himself up as he removed each layer of clothing.
As the silks were peeled away, Cole realized that the man had been padding in certain areas – a mediocre attempt to get his body shape to resemble Rayer’s. Graith was actually built lithe and lean where Rayer was a rippling powerhouse of strength and presence. Once he stood wearing nothing but a pair of clinging leggings, Graith climbed onto the bed and moved to straddle Cole’s thighs.
Even if he wasn’t such an arrogant bastard, if I hadn’t made a commitment, if I didn’t like Rayer so much more
– I would never have been comfortable with Graith. The proportion between us feels so…wrong.
Graith lifted a gleaming blade from the bedside table. He twirled it in between his fingers as little too close to Cole’s neck. Instinctually, she lifted her chin to avoid getting nicked by the blade. Graith grinned cruelly – enjoying the power he held over for the moment. She could see him debating the possible consequences of causing her obvious, malicious injury and apparently decide the risks weren’t worth the momentary thrill.
Turning the blade in his hand, Graith slipped the blade into the collar of the kaftan she wore and dragged it down, slicing the material. While he was distracted with his task, Cole worked her left wrist free of the cord binding it to the bedframe. She felt it slip free, but didn’t move just yet – not until the knife was out of his hand.
*
Rayer pierced the barrier dome over the compound – the signature of his almost finished flight-craft allowing him to pass through without the debilitating zap that it would project otherwise. The vehicle prepared to whiz over the compound when Rayer hit the release and was sent plummeting toward the upper courtyard.
He drew his body into a ball and activated he protective sphere shield. He hoped that there was no one in the dangerous zone surrounding where he was targeted to impact. Blad would be livid over the work he was going to have to do to repair the damage Rayer was about to afflict on the courtyard.
Involuntarily, Rayer shut his eyes as the sphere shield crashed into stone. For a moment, he wasn’t sure that the shield would hold up, but it thankfully did. When he was finally able to focus on something other than the sound of the numbing pound of his heart in his chest, he heard someone yelling.
