The Emperor's Bride (Belles & Bullets Book 6)

by Caylen McQueen

  “I can't leave you alone, Jun,” Nicky said as he chased her across the dirt road, narrowly avoiding a collision with a honking motocarriage. “It's dangerous to be by yourself, don't you think? Someone's got to keep an eye on you.”

  “That's very... chivalrous of you, Nicky.” Though she tried to sound polite, Jun wasn't sure she wanted him around for her family reunion. She liked Nicky, but he had a tendency to be loud and obnoxious, and she didn't want her uncle to think she was anything like him.

  When they reached Weng's, Nicky paused in front of the store window and licked his lips. Several eye-popping sweets were on display, everything from chocolates to cinnamon sticks to bits of toffee. Nicky wanted it all. And because his pockets were overflowing with the Hershalls' money, he decided to treat himself to a shopping spree.

  While Nicky browsed the buffet of confectionaries, Jun studied her uncle. Shuchun Weng was in his fifties, with deep frown lines and wise eyes. His balding pate clashed against his shoulder-length hair, which was pulled back in a small ponytail. When Jun approached, he was serving another customer, so she grabbed a stick of jerky and waited until it was her turn.

  Less than a minute later, the customer in front of her was gone. Jun's stomach gurgled uncomfortably as she approached the counter. What if he wasn't friendly? What if he didn't remember her? What if he wasn't willing to help? Gut-wrenching questions plagued her mind as she closed the distance between them.

  “How may I help you, dear?” Weng asked. He didn't recognize her, which was hardly surprising. The last time they met, she was a little girl.

  “I... um...” Jun gently laid her jerky on the counter and took a deep breath. “My name is Shuchun Jun... and I think you're my uncle.”

  Weng's eyes lit up at her words. “Jun? Am I dreaming right now, or is that really you?”

  “It's really me,” she answered shyly. “Hello.”

  Weng crossed over to Jun's side of the counter and greeted with her a hug. “I haven't seen you in ages! How have you been? How is your mother?”

  “She's... fine.” Even though her mother was hardly her favorite person in the world, Jun missed her. She missed her depressingly ordinary life.

  “What are you doing in Columbigo, Jun? And in Santo Feo, no less!”

  Jun decided to give him the abbreviated version of her tale. Later, if they had more time, she would divulge more details. “I was taken to Columbigo against my will by a man who wanted me as his wife. It was dangerous, but I managed to escape, and now here I am. I was hoping you might help me find a way back home... or, at the very least, give me a place to stay?”

  “Of course, of course! Don't worry about anything, Jun. Your uncle will take care of you!” When Weng hugged her again, Jun's tense shoulders were deflated by relief. So far, Weng was the epitome of kindness, and she was grateful for it. After the trials of the previous week, a break from stress was sorely needed.

  “Thanks for being so nice.”

  “Why wouldn't I be nice, dear? You're my blood. You're family. And I'll do anything I can to make you feel welcome. Are you hungry? Do you need a bed? Would you like to lie down?”

  Before Jun could answer any of his questions, Nicky approached the counter with two armsful of candy. When he released his sweets, they scattered across the countertop, and one wrapped lemon ball rolled out of sight. “Whoo!” he exclaimed, wiping sweat from his brow. “That was a lot to carry, but it's gonna be worth it when I overdose on sugar in my room tonight. So... how'd it go, Junebug? Is the uncle a good guy or am I gonna hafta throttle him?”

  “He's good. He's been very kind to me so far,” Jun was happy to report.

  “Um, is this him?” Nicky suddenly thrust a slightly sticky hand in Weng's direction. “Hi. I'm Nicky... Amberley.” He wanted to make a good impression on Jun's uncle, so he decided to go with his real name.

  Weng reluctantly shook the younger man's hand. “Hello there. I assume you're a friend of my niece?”

  “He is,” Jun confirmed. “Nicky saved me. He and his friends were the ones who escorted me to Santo Feo. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him.”

  “In that case, you have my gratitude.” Weng respectfully bowed to his niece's escort. “Any friend of Jun's is welcome here. In fact, I should probably thank you properly.” Weng waved a hand at the candy on the counter. “All of this is free.”

  “Seriously?” Nicky's eyes swelled to a comical size. “Damn! If I would've known that, I would've gotten more. Hey, do you think I could go back there and grab a few--” His sentence abruptly ended when he felt Jun's finger jabbing his waist. “Er, never mind. That's awfully generous of you, Mister... Jun's uncle.”

  “Weng,” the uncle introduced himself. “Shuchun Weng.”

  Nicky chuckled under his breath. To him, the uncle's name sounded similar to a naughty word, but he kept the thought to himself.

  “Well, I won't want to overstay my welcome, and you probably want a moment with Uncle Weng, so I think I'll wait outside and start eating some of this candy.” As he spoke, Nicky raked his free sweets into a brown paper bag. “When you're done talking, meet me out there. I'll be right outside the door, Jun.”

  “Okay, Nicky. Thanks.”

  When Jun smiled at him, Nicky clasped a hand to his heart and pretended to swoon. “Good gracious... there's that deadly smile of yours!” Nicky turned around and winked as he passed through the store's double doors. “You need to be careful where you flash that thing, Junebug. You're gonna kill a man with that smile one day, I swear.”

  In front of the general store, Nicky sat at one of its benches and busied himself with his candy. He ate a licorice stick, a butterscotch round, and a piece of nougat covered in caramel and pecan. When he got to his chocolates, his stomach was already overloaded with sweets, but he couldn't stop himself. Six chocolate chunks and five maple creams later, sickness set in.

  After a ten minute candy binge, Jun exited the general store and joined him on the bench. Unbeknownst to Nicky, he had chocolate on his lips, and Jun didn't tell him.

  “Oh... hey, Jun!” Nicky licked his chocolate fingers as he greeted her. “Your uncle seems nice.”

  “He does. And I'm really grateful for that.”

  “So... is he going to let you stay with him?” Nicky offered her a butterscotch, which she declined with a polite shake of her head.

  “I think so. It's odd. I feel like I'm starting a new life.” Sighing, Jun folded her hands in her lap. “I really appreciate everything you've done for me, Nicky. I appreciate everyone's help. I really wish there was something I could do to repay you.”

  “Nah.” Nicky gave her arm a light, friendly pat. “There's no need. Your company and this candy was a good enough reward.”

  “I'm... going to miss everyone.” Jun's head sank between her shoulders. “I think the general consensus is that everyone's leaving tomorrow. I really enjoyed traveling with everyone, so... it's kind of sad.”

  “W-well... what if everyone didn't have to leave? What if someone wanted to... stay?”

  “I don't know.” Jun's eyes went wide at the thought. “Does someone want to stay?”

  “I do.” Nicky swept his hat from his head and held it in his lap. In doing so, he unveiled a cowlick of staggering proportions. “I've been thinking, Jun... and I, uh... what if I stayed in Santo Feo for awhile? Now that you're safe, I'd like to take you out sometime. I could court you properly. I could even ask your uncle for permission! I--”

  “Nicky...” Jun reached for his hand, but she only held it for a few seconds. Even so, it was long enough to realize his hands were shaking and slick with sweat. “Nicky, I... I really like you, and really don't want to hurt your feelings, but... I... I don't think that's something I could consider.”

  His lower lip pitifully jutted out. “Why not?”

  “Because it wouldn't be right.” Jun looked down at her hands, where her fingers were fidgeting wildly. “I think I might be in love with Josiah.”

  Nicky
felt her confession like a punch in the gut. His jaw dropped, his eyelashes fluttered, and the air was sucked from his lungs. It took him a moment to respond. “You're in love with... with Josiah Cole?”

  “I'm sorry, Nicky. I'm really, really sorry.”

  “No. Don't apologize.” Nicky rose from the bench, slammed his hat on his head, and collected his bag of sweets. “If you apologize, that'll just make me feel like a damn fool.”

  “Nicky, don't be upset. I just--”

  “I'm gonna go now, if that's alright with you.” Nicky spun on his heel, facing away from her before she saw his quivering lip. “If Josiah makes you happy, Junebug, I wish you all the best. Take care.”

  He didn't want to see Josiah's face again. He didn't want to see Jun's face again. As he stormed away from the general store, Nicky decided to leave Santo Feo for good.

  Twenty Six

  “Are you guys really leaving?” Jun's doleful eyes scanned the faces of her traveling companions—the people she had come to think of as friends. “So soon?”

  “I think we better,” Josiah answered. “Nicky left me with the eighty dollars I need to get my friend out of jail, so we're going down to Gravestone. Besides, it's about time for Gwen to go home, so--”

  “Wait,” Jun abruptly interrupted him. “Where's Nicky? Is he gone?”

  “He is. He left last night, as a matter of fact. He didn't even stay the night.” Josiah indifferently hitched a shoulder, as if Nicky's exodus meant little to him. More often than not, Nicky Gunn was a headache he didn't need.

  “That's a shame. I would've liked to say goodbye to him.” Jun's heart was pierced by a sting of guilt. When Nicky asked to court her, maybe she shouldn't have dismissed him so soon? After all, Josiah Cole was unlikely to feel the same way about her as she felt for him. If Nicky was her only option, he wasn't a bad option.

  Jun's pursuit of Josiah Cole was doubly doomed by her crippling shyness. If she could never tell him how she felt, how could they ever move forward? Not to mention, Josiah was on the verge of leaving Santo Feo. In a few minutes, Jun would be utterly alone. If she was smart, she would have begged Nicky to stay before everyone disappeared forever. By the time she realized her error, it was far too late to make a difference.

  “Josiah... um...” Jun couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze. Staring into Josiah's bright blue eyes was nearly as impossible as staring into the sun. “Will you write to me?”

  “Oh, honey!” Carol, who was standing behind Josiah, erupted with a snicker. “If you think a boy's going to write a letter, you've got another thing coming. Men are hopeless at that kind of thing.”

  Josiah didn't disagree, so Jun asked, “W-well... do you think you'll ever come back to visit me?”

  “Sure. If I've ever got some free time, I'll swing by to check on you.”

  In the background, Flynn was shaking his head at his brother's apathetic reply. He looked like he wanted to say something, but as always, Flynn's tongue was a useless organ.

  When it was time to let them go, Jun doled out hugs to everyone—except for Gwen, who never really liked her. Her hug for Josiah was slightly lengthier than the others, but she hoped no one would notice. As she watched him mount his horse, Jun could feel her heart dying in her chest.

  “Good... goodbye, Jun,” muttered Flynn, who handed her a poppy before retreating with blushing cheeks. Saying farewell to the prettiest girl in the world was nearly impossible for him, but he was proud of himself for getting the words out. “I'll miss you.”

  “I'll miss you too, Flynn.” Jun tried to send them off with a smile, but her lips wouldn't allow it. In a whisper, she added, “I'll miss all of you...”

  * * *

  “You know, I think we make a pretty good team, Josiah Cole,” Carol said as they trotted through the desert on horseback. “I know you disagree, so you don't have to say anything, but... honestly, I think I've been a pretty good partner for you. And I'm putting that in the past tense on purpose, because I think Gravestone will be my last stop. I think the novelty of the cowboy life is finally starting to wear off. It's been fun, but I swear to god, if I have to ride another horse, my ass might explode.”

  Josiah's thoughts kept drifting to Jun, so he missed a large portion of Carol's speech. Sighing, he forced himself to focus on the woman who rode beside him. “Well... I'll be sad to see you go, Miss Cassady.”

  “Oh puh-lease! You will not!” As Carol leaned over to punch his arm, she nearly slipped from her saddle. “As soon as I'm gone, you're going to party hearty, and don't even try to deny it!”

  “I won't be partying, girl. I don't hate you as much as you think.”

  “Awww!” Carol clapped a hand to her heart in feigned appreciation. “That's so sweet, Josiah. You don't hate me as much as I think, but you do hate me. You know, it really sounds like we're one step away from being the very best of friends!”

  “I didn't mean it like that. You... you are my friend, Carol,” Josiah sheepishly admitted. “And you won't be leaving my company anytime soon, because it'll probably take us another two days to get to Gravestone. We'll have to make a couple of stops along the way... first, in River Ranch, and then in Gold City. With any luck, we won't have to sleep on the open road this time.” Josiah glanced over his shoulder to check on his brother and Gwen. They were riding some distance behind him, somber and silent.

  When they were halfway to River Ranch, something unusual happened. They heard the propellers first, and then the airship came into view. Elongated and dark, its shadow expanded across the desolate desert earth like something out of a discomfiting dream. It was flying atypically low to the ground, which made Josiah raise an eyebrow.

  “An airship? All the way out here?” Josiah scratched his bearded chin as the low-flying vehicle passed over their perplexed heads. “That's odd. You don't see a lot of airships all the way out here.”

  In her saddle, Carol shifted uncomfortably. “Where do you think it's heading? Santo Feo? Maybe? Because if it is, I have a weird feeling about it.”

  “I wouldn't worry about it too much,” Josiah said, trying to dispel Carol's fears. “It's probably nothing. Airships fly between the big cities sometimes. Maybe this one lost its way.”

  “If you say so, Jojo.”

  “Jojo...” he repeated her nickname with a roll of his eyes. “I don't know if I could ever learn to love that.”

  “If you think that's bad,” Flynn suddenly spoke up, which was a rarity, especially around Gwen, “how do you think I feel about Flynny-kin-kins?”

  “Awww! Flynn! You disappoint me! I thought you liked Flynny-kin-kins!” Carol turned toward him, exaggerating a pout. “This knowledge is going to break my heart!”

  Ten minutes later, they trotted into the market town of River Ranch. Despite being a much smaller city than Santo Feo, it was bustling. Its close proximity to its densely populated neighbor made it a common stop for tourists and travelers. Josiah and his companions hadn't been on the road too long, so he thought about passing through town and heading for the next one. But for the last few days, they had been traveling almost nonstop. His horses needed a rest, as did his companions.

  “We got here pretty fast,” Carol noted as she climbed down from her horse. “We weren't riding that long at all... not that I'm complaining”

  “We got here fast because we didn't have a Nicky and a Buckles slowing us down,” Josiah claimed. “Maybe Nicky's departure was a blessing in disguise.”

  “Awww... don't be mean!” As she lectured him, Carol made her way to the town's wall of wanted posters. “I'm worried about Nicky! And regardless of what you say, I know you're worried too, so don't be an asshole.”

  “I'm not being an asshole, I'm being realistic. Nicky's a thorn in my side.” While Carol browsed the bulletin of wanted posters, Josiah stood beside her, rolling his eyes. “Why are you so obsessed with these things? These posters?”

  “Because I want to be on one! Duh! Haven't you been listening?” Carol tore another pos
ter of Josiah from the board.

  “Are you actually serious about that, Carol?” Josiah asked. “Really? Have you really thought about what it means to have your face on a wanted poster? Do you really want one?”

  “Kind of. Sort of. Maybe? Oh, I don't know!” Carol's shoulders exasperatedly hopped into a shrug. “Alright, fine! Maybe I don't want to be on one! But if I did have my own wanted poster, I guess it would be kind of interesting.” She folded her new poster of Josiah and slipped it into the pocket of her bell-bottom trousers.

  “What are you doing?” he dared to ask.

  “Don't mind me. I'm just adding it to my little collection of Josiah Cole wanted posters.”

  “And why, might I ask, do you have a collection of Josiah Cole wanted posters?” He groaned his way through the question. “Do I even want to know?”

  “I kiss your posters every night before bed, Jojo. Sometimes... I even use tongue. And then I pin you to my pillow and pretend I'm sleeping beside you.”

  Josiah's blonde eyebrows twitched with amusement. “Really?”

  “No!” Carol gave his arm a merciless punch. “They're just a memento, silly. Someday, I'm going to look back on the days I traveled with you, and I'm going to remember them fondly. Nothing stirs up the old fond memories like a face on a wanted poster, right?” Carol thrust a thumb at Gwen, who was hovering silently behind them. In the lowest whisper she could manage, Carol added, “To be honest, I probably gave that girl an idea. If she really did kiss your wanted posters at night, I would be zero percent surprised.”

  Josiah didn't quite know how to respond, so he simply said, “You're a really odd girl, Miss Cassady.”

  “Aww. Thanks.” Carol leaned back and scanned the wall of posters for Flynn's face. “I need to find one of your brother too. The price on his head might not be as big as yours, but in his heart, I'm sure he's just as much of a badass as his bossy big brother.”

  “Josiah...” Gwen tugged on the sleeve of the bossy big brother. “Josiah... look.”