by Stone, Ciana
“I’m going to have a baby,” she whispered, putting both hands over her belly. She’d never even considered having a child. Never had any urge at all in that direction yet now it seemed the most marvelous thing in the world.
“There are complications.”
“With the pregnancy?” Fear stabbed at her.
“No, politically.”
“Is Constantine in danger?”
“Possibly.”
“What does that mean? Exactly.”
“Specifically it means that Constantine’s brother RaJahn has successfully maneuvered into a position of popularity on Shadallah. His campaign to discredit Constantine has met with some measure of success. Enough that the Emperor is now considering RaJahn’s proposal that he be stationed on Earth to oversee the D’Harahn efforts here, to monitor Azarth’s progress and to deal with his brother, who has betrayed the empire by taking a half-breed as a mate.”
Resa felt the fingers of dread tickle her spine and cold sweat break out on her forehead. “Can Constantine stand against him at this point?”
“No. RaJahn has made preemptive moves and has insinuated himself within the major intelligence networks on this world. He has created a clandestine group that is fed from all these networks to act as his eyes and ears on Earth.”
“Does this group have a name?”
“Sirocco.”
“A wind?”
“Far more destructive and powerful. Sirocco is an acronym for the Synaptic Integration of Real-time Robotic Orientation on Corporeal Organisms, and it promises to be the next step in global control.”
Resa suppressed a shudder to ask, “Okay, do this the science for dummies way and explain what that means.”
Pandora repositioned herself in her chair, leaning lightly with one elbow propped on the arm of the seat, her hands clasped in her lap. “Essentially, a nanobot or microscopic robot is introduced into the brain of a human via the sinus cavity. The programming is activated and instructs the nanobot to travel to a preprogrammed location within the brain. Once there it secures itself and begins to grow biomechanical tentacles that branch throughout the central nervous system to form a type of neural net.
“When the net is complete and activated, in theory, every thought, experience and perception can be collected and transmitted as data to a central command center.”
“Which would allow someone to access the knowledge and memories of anyone who had the nanobot inside them.”
“Precisely. But not simply access. The transmission is bi-directional. Commands can also be uploaded to the nanobot, theoretically altering perceptions and memories, or even issuing commands that the host does not realize are originating outside himself.”
“That’s…monstrous,” Resa replied, thinking that the people of V’Kar sure might be more advanced and intelligent but that didn’t make them any less corrupt.
“And brilliant,” Pandora commented with a smile that Resa interpreted as malicious. She wasn’t sure Pandora was to be completely trusted. Used as an ally to protect and defend Constantine? Absolutely. But trusted? Not by a long shot. Her words rang true, but there was a glitter in her eyes that Resa didn’t trust.
“What do you suggest we should do to protect Constantine?”
“Go into seclusion.”
“He’d never do that. He won’t run from a fight with his brother.”
“I think he will.”
“You’re wrong. Nothing would make him turn his back on his people.”
“Except the life you carry within you.”
“What?”
“Constantine seeks to become Aegis to the Sha’Dahn V’Kar.”
“Which translates as?”
“Official guardian of the Firstborn.”
“I’m going to need more than that.”
“The firstborn female of D’Harahn genetics carrying a living Vox Narr and capable of reproduction.”
“Fe— I’m going to have a daughter?”
“Yes.”
The excitement that swelled inside was dampened with concerns. “Are you saying that my child has one of the Vox Narr inside it? How is that possible?”
“The Vox Narr within you underwent asexual reproduction.”
“So this makes my child the Sha’Dahn? Which is what, exactly?”
“If the Vox Narr survives and the child is capable of reproducing with another of full D’Harahn blood, she will be the Sha’Dahn V’Kar. The new mother of our race.”
“Why D’Harahn? Why not someone from Nuria or Valia?”
Pandora laughed at the question, which annoyed Resa. “Because the D’Harahn rule and they are Pureblood.”
“You know you’re starting to sound a little like someone expounding on Aryan purity.”
“That sounded suspiciously like an insult.”
“Take it however you want. But back to Constantine and our child. As the father, he’s already the child’s guardian. Correct?”
“Not entirely. If your child proves to be the Sha’Dahn, then technically, whoever sits on the throne is the Aegis and decides who the child breeds with when the time comes.”
Resa didn’t like that at all. That sounded like some medieval fiefdom who still thought people were property. “Hold the deal, Lucille. No one is going to tell any child of mine who he or she can or can’t have kids with.”
Pandora laughed. “You have much to learn about our ways.”
Resa chose to ignore the comment. The more Pandora said, the more convinced Resa was she didn’t like the V’Karian way. But she did like one V’Karian very much and was going to do everything she could to protect him and help him take his rightful place on the throne because she honestly believed he would make things change for the better.
“I’ll do all I can to convince Constantine to go into seclusion. But to do that I have to be taken back to him.”
“I can arrange that.”
“Then please do. Now.”
Pandora’s eyes narrowed fractionally before she smiled and nodded. “Very well.” She withdrew a device from the deep pocket of her flowing shift and activated it. A well of swirling air that danced with light and color appeared between the two of them.
Resa stood and nodded to Pandora then stepped into the distortion. A dizzying kaleidoscope of light, shapes and colors assaulted her senses. It lasted only moments and suddenly the sight of Constantine’s private chambers met her eyes.
And Constantine. Slumped over in a chair by the window, his journal on his lap and his eyes closed. Resa’s heart nearly broke. She’s never seen him look unkempt, yet that’s exactly how he appeared. His hair was tangled as if from rolling and tossing during sleeplessness and there were shadows marring the skin beneath his eyes.
She ran across the room and knelt down in front of him, putting her hand on the side of his face.
“Constantine?”
His eyelids fluttered.
“Constantine?”
This time his eyes opened. He looked at her and his eyes widened. Then he was on his feet and she was in his arms. And for the moment all was right in her world.
“Resa.” His arms tightened around her. “Resa.”
“I’m here. I’m okay,” she whispered and pulled his face down to cover his lips with hers.
When her lips slanted across his, warm and soft and wet, Constantine’s chest swelled with emotion. He’d never experienced anything as horrible as the fear that she had been killed. Now that she was safe in his arms he felt he could breathe fully again. He wanted to know where she’d been, how she’d escaped and why he could not sense her after her disappearance. But the way her body was moving against him and her tongue caressing his robbed him of speech and stripped away all but the primal man within him. Reaffirming his claim on her was all that mattered.
“I need you, Resa. More than I’ve ever needed anything.”
“Then take me.”
The fire burned far too hot within Constantine to allow for gentleness. Fisting
her hair in both hands, his mouth slanted across hers, his tongue pillaging her mouth. She moaned into his mouth, fueling a hunger that was already out of control. He moved his hands to her breasts then down to her ass to pull her tight against him.
“By the ancients,” he breathed as he pulled back from the kiss to bury his face between her breasts. “I want to be gentle but—” He raised his head to look at her. “Never leave me again.”
Before she had time to respond, his mouth closed on her nipple. A sharp breath came from her as he nipped the taut flesh. A split second later he felt her hands unfastening his belt then his slacks. In moments they were around his feet. He lifted Resa and she wound her legs around his waist, reaching between them to take his cock and rub it against her wet sex.
Constantine thrust his pelvis forward, trying to penetrate the tantalizing warmth of her sex, but she still had hold of him and moved his cock so that instead of sinking inside her it simply slid along the length of her pussy. “Don’t tease me,” he rasped, his voice rough with need.
“Teasing is good,” she replied, and when his eyes locked with hers, gave him a smile sexy enough that he was tempted to lay her on the floor and pound into her that second.
Her eyes drew him in and he responded to the call. The connection of their minds was as erotic as that of their bodies when she eased his hard length inside her. It was almost overwhelming. So strong that he wavered in place. His entire being was her prisoner. Mind and body, she held him hostage, her power so strong that he had no strength to resist. It was something new and unexpected and completely intoxicating.
He groaned and started to pump into her, but she squeezed her strong legs tight around him, stilling his motions. “Don’t move.”
Supporting herself with her hands on his shoulders, she stared into his eyes. The muscles of her vagina began to contract and release, a slow steady pulse that had him fighting to hold back a groan. When her hips joined in the action, swiveling and rolling, he couldn’t stop himself from digging his fingers into the flesh of her ass.
Whatever she was doing was new and unexpected. Arcs of sensation danced through his veins, making his skin feel hyper-sensitive. The feel of her inner muscles squeezing his cock, the taut strong muscles of her legs constricting his waist, even the whisper of her breath on his skin was heightened to the point that it required every ounce of his control not to buck against her.
When it dawned on him that she was asking for an act of surrender, his entire body jerked in surprise. Submission was something foreign to him, something he’d been quite convinced he’d never be capable of. Until this moment.
Resa leaned in, brushing her lips against his. “Say you’re mine, Constantine. Only mine.”
“Yes, Resa. I am yours. Only yours. Always.”
She smiled and moved her lips to his neck, running her tongue along its length from shoulder to earlobe. When he felt the first prick of pain, the dominant male within screamed to be released.
But the wanting was a torture so sublime he kept that part of himself in check. His senses became super-heightened, tuned to every subtle nuance of her. The sound of her breath quickening, the smell of her rising around them, the perspiration that dampened her skin. She’d somehow transformed into a breathing aphrodisiac and he reveled in the feast she provided.
Then she released his neck and whispered into his ear, “Shall I take you higher, my love?”
“If that is possible, then yes.”
She put both hands on his face and looked into his eyes. “Step inside my mind’s eye.” Then she claimed his lips.
Constantine had time to gasp before his mind was sent spiraling into a realm of ecstasy. Pleasure in its most extreme and erotic sizzled through every cell of his body. The sensations washed over him in one pounding wave after another.
If it were possible to have blood turn to fire, then surely his was pure flame. Every nerve in his body became flushed with electricity. His skin tingled, his blood burned and his mind became incapable of coherent thought. He was lost in a sea of sensual bliss.
“Resa,” he groaned.
“Yes,” she whispered against his lips, riding him harder. “Step further if you dare.”
Dare was to the primal male within like the wave of a red cape before an enraged bull. Without hesitation he pushed deeper into her mind.
And his body jerked under the force of sexual energy that coursed through him. Control was stripped from him, leaving him completely vulnerable. Tension streamed through his body. His hands tightened on her and his breath became labored.
He was going to come and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He was poised on the edge of an endless well with nothing to stop his fall. “Ahhh…Resa…I can’t…” His harsh whisper spoke testament to his struggle to hold back.
And suddenly she stilled. His cock throbbed inside her, the need to come so intense that he groaned in protest and clenched his eyes closed against the wave that threatened to carry him over the edge.
When his eyes opened, they locked with Resa’s and he knew without question that she was totally in tune with his need. She knew that all he needed was one small movement, one word, one kiss and he would come.
Resa leaned close enough that he could feel the sweet warmth of her breath on his face. “Now,” she whispered against his lips then pulled back.
He saw it in her eyes at the same moment the word passed her lips. She was going to take him over the edge. And before another thought could register, he plummeted into a sea of pure sensation, his mind splintering into a kaleidoscope of light. His body quaked under the onslaught of an orgasm so powerful that the pleasure bordered on pain.
How he sensed her joining him was a mystery, lost as he was. But suddenly there she was, her mind joined with his in the spiraling dance.
When reality finally returned she dew her head back to look at him, unwinding her legs to slide down his body.
“That was…indescribable,” he whispered.
“And that was just a prelude,” she replied with a smile.
“A prelude?”
“Indeed. The best is yet to come.”
“If you can better that then you are a sorceress.”
Her smile was that of mystery, of magic and of woman. “Then come to bed with me, my love, and I’ll show you magic that will curl your toes.”
Constantine smiled down at her then swept her up into his arms.
Chapter Eleven
Resa watched him sleep, thinking about what she had to tell him. She’d been concerned that she wouldn’t be able to shield her thoughts from him, but the child within her made her stronger, as did the Vox Narr it carried. Her power was greatly magnified and she was grateful she’d been able to put this discussion off and indulge in a night of love with him. But soon it would be dawn and she had no doubt that the moment his eyes opened he would want to know everything.
As if reading that thought, his eyes opened. “I pray to whatever gods exist that I never have to open my eyes again to find you missing from my side,” he said in a voice still rough from sleep.
“Amen,” she said with a smile and reached over to smooth his hair back from his face. “Constantine, we—”
“Yes,” he interrupted. “We must talk. But first there is much you have to say.”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me.”
Resa snuggled up to him, putting her head on his chest. “As I told you last night, after you left and Leonidas safely escaped, I was wounded. Just before I lost consciousness I sensed something out of the ordinary around me. When I came to I was in the Sisterhood’s stronghold, in a medical facility. Pandora, excuse me, SyFeth was there. She told me…”
She raised her head to look at him, a sudden stab of emotion swelling inside her, robbing her of speech and prompting tears.
“What? Did she hurt you?” The concern and anger in Constantine’s voice matched the look on his face.
“No. No, I’m fine. She told me…god, I c
an’t believe I’m about to say this. I didn’t even know how much I wanted it until she told me and now… now it’s like having a wish granted.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I love you, Constantine. More than I ever imagined I was capable of.”
“And I you.”
She smiled and reached up to place her hand on the side of his face. Would their child have his violet eyes and silky dark hair? Would she one day look into the face of their child and see Constantine? She’d never imagined herself as a mother, yet now she wanted to run away from all the ugliness and wallow in the sheer joy of it.
“Pandora gave me some wonderful news. At least it is for me. I’m pregnant.”
“Pregnant?” He rolled her onto her back and looked down at her, a deep scowl on his face. “You carry a child?”
“Your child,” she said softly. “Your daughter.”
The change that came over his face had tears springing from her eyes. She’d never seen such love, such depth of emotion. He searched her eyes and her mind and saw the truth, and at last a smile came to his face. He drew back the bed covers, his eyes leaving hers to travel down her body.
He placed his hand gently on her belly. “My child,” he whispered, then finally looked at her. “You carry my child.”
She smiled and placed her hand on top of his. “The child is well. No harm came to her during the battle. And she host to a Vox Narr. According to Pandora, the Vox Narr within me reproduced and has already taken residence in the baby.”
“The Sha’Dahn?”
That question jolted her out of her lovely rosy glow and forced her back to reality. Her smile faded. “That we won’t know until the child is born. There’s no guarantee that the Vox Narr will survive. But Constantine, there’s something else.”
“What?”
“Your brother, RaJahn.”
“My brother?” Again the dark scowl appeared on his face. “What do you know of my brother?”
“Only what I’m told.”
“And that is?”
“The simplified version is this. RaJahn has been plotting against you and has gained much popularity and support. Not only on your home world but here. He has insinuated himself with the major intelligence networks on Earth and is responsible for the formation of a top-secret group called Sirocco which stands for Synaptic Integration of Real-time Robotic Orientation on Corporeal Organisms.
