by Mara Gan
“So he folded?” Kenzi asked, setting his data pad aside as he studied Perseus’s expression.
I tried not to glance at my Protector, staring intently at the writing in front of me. Seeing him with Rania had been deeply unsettling, and while I told myself it didn’t matter, that he had a right to date or kiss anyone he wanted to….
It did matter. And I was bothered.
But I knew full well I had no right to be bothered or even to act bothered, so I squashed my disappointment ruthlessly and went about my task.
No matter that I could barely see the data in front of me and was essentially organizing nothing.
“Yes. Kind of disappointing, actually.” Perseus took a seat at the far end of the table. “You do a decent good-guy act. Thanks.”
Decent good-guy act? Had Kenzi and Perseus really been good-cop/bad-copping the bounty hunter? I didn’t realize that was actually a thing.
Kenzi shrugged. “Frankly, you were being scary enough that I didn’t have to try too hard.” I almost snorted. Perseus was most definitely scary. Kenzi paused. “You seemed a little unstable. Something happen?”
Perseus propped his feet up on the table, likely just to vex me. “No.”
He had seemed unstable? He was probably annoyed that I had interrupted his moment with Rania.
Kenzi eyed him curiously. “Would you have actually hurt him?”
“A little torture on a guy like that is hardly anything to quibble over.”
“The princess won’t like it.”
“She doesn’t like most of what I do anyway.”
I threw my hands up, exasperated. “I’m sitting right here, you know.”
Kenzi immediately looked contrite and murmured an apology. Perseus merely raised an eyebrow.
Kenzi changed the subject. “So who was after you?”
“A Mathan warlord.” Perseus shrugged. “Hardly a concern, particularly if Lovec was the best he had to offer.”
Synie had watched this exchange with interest. “A Mathan warlord?” she asked, setting down her pad. “Why—” She waved her hand. “Never mind, I don’t need to or want to know why. Do you think more will come after you here?”
Perseus shrugged again. “Probably. I did share all this with Kos when you hired me. It was one of my concerns about being a bodyguard for a high-profile target like the princess.”
Inwardly I grimaced. I was just a target, like a gold statue or something, to be put in a museum and guarded.
“No biggie, Protector,” Clee said. “I’ll poke around for any more hits on you and we’ll take care of it before they get here.”
I frowned at her. “How will you take care of it before they even get here?”
Clee waggled her eyebrows at me and I gave her a look.
“Easy peasy, Princess squeezy. I’ll find the hits and bounties Perseus has on him, then alter them.”
Clee was an excellent hacker, but Rania was even better at that sort of thing. Once Clee found the bounties, Rania would hack into them and make a few easy edits.
“Get Gi and Rania to help you,” Perseus cut in, sounding bored. “They are both good at hacking.” Of course he would know that about Rania. They had probably been dating and talking for weeks.
I was remarkably blind for an empath. I stood. “If you’ll excuse me,” I murmured, touching Synie’s shoulder on my way by. “I’m going down the hall to meet with Kos.”
It was time for my meditation, and boy, did I need it just then.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
I could hear them arguing as I neared their suite.
I felt a little better after practicing with Kos for the past hour; he never asked me what was causing my anxiety—frankly, given my job and personal history, the factors that could cause it were endless—but calmly and easily led me through my daily mental exercises.
Despite my complaints about not progressing, I could tell I was. A year ago, I would not have been able to put up with the kind of telepathic noise I now received. People’s fears, happiness, even random song lyrics floated through my head daily, and I was so much better at constructing walls than I used to be. Now the mental blocks were almost solid after our sessions. It didn’t last, but it was better than nothing.
I just wasn’t good at getting them up or taking them down on a moment’s notice, but Kos promised this would come in time.
My ever-sensitive ears now picked up the Mousai’s boisterous behavior as I neared their chambers on an errand. My hearing was excellent, with the pointed tips and all, but they were not exactly known for being quiet unless they had to be.
The royal guardians shared a large living space on the entrance level of the Royal Habitat Cube. I had been here before, usually to see Cepheus, but passing messages to them was usually more effective and more fun than speaking with my king. They were never short on personality.
Had I not been the Heir and their future subject of protection, we might have been friends.
Rania was yelling at Skore to be patient just before her words were cut off with a shriek. My guess was that Skore had zapped her.
Clee said something in low tones as I opened the door—
To see Clee hanging upside down from a cabinet she’d been lounging on, both of her swords poised Rania and Skore’s throats.
Eyes wide, I shook my head. This was how the crazy women warriors spent their time off? I envied them sometimes; they were so free, so relaxed with one another, it was like they had spent their whole lives together. They argued and interacted like sisters.
Well, if sisters got into regular swordfights and wrestling matches.
Their suite was luxuriously decorated. They shared a massive kitchen and living room, but each had her own lavish bedroom and bathroom branching off from the main living area. The living area was the only place I had been in. It was full of overstuffed couches, floor pillows, throw blankets, and brightly colored curtains and hangings. Frankly, it looked like it was made for a pillow fight.
And, knowing the Mousai, it had probably seen several, and while I’m sure it was fun for the them, I seriously doubted I wanted to be part of any pillow fight that involved the galaxy’s most notorious warriors.
“Now, now,” Clee said calmly. “No fighting. I want to hear what happened. Then you two can fight.”
“Tell her to stop zapping me,” Rania grumbled.
“I believe I just did,” Clee replied cheerfully, replacing her swords and swinging herself back up to her perch. “Continue, Rania.”
Skore glanced warily at Clee before settling back on the couch.
“It was nothing, really,” Rania began, “I asked him out for kebaps on the Esplanade.”
“Well, that’s rather dull,” Clee supplied. “Don’t you think so, Princess?”
I wasn’t stupid. They had been asking Rania about her date with Perseus. Since I really had no desire to discuss that, I feigned ignorance. “I’m afraid I came in late to this conversation.”
Rania, Skore, and Callie had all seemed startled by my appearance, even though Clee had known I was there. She was scattered, true, but somehow, she seemed focused on everything all at once. It was impressive, really.
“Princess,” Skore exclaimed, smiling. “What brings you our way? Would you like to come in?”
I shook my head. “No, thank you,” I said, offering a small smile. “I was just wondering if one of you could deliver a message to Cepheus for me.”
“Certainly, Princess,” Callie said. “What’s the message?”
I handed her a thin white envelope. “It’s just my itinerary for the trip to Kapak,” I explained. “I don’t know if I’ll see him between when he gets back from Velur and when I leave for the NTA meeting, so I wanted to make sure he got this.”
Callie shook her blue hair, now styled in a pixie cut. “What do you have against techmail, Princess?”
“I sent it that way too,” I replied. “But I do prefer handwriting things, and Cepheus has never been, er, comfortable w
ith technology.” Which was a polite way of saying he was completely incompetent with it.
Callie smiled. “Ain’t that the truth.”
“Would you like to join us for a drink, Princess?” Rania asked, gesturing to a big cushion.
I smiled at her, trying to make it clear that I wasn’t upset with her for finding her in an awkward position earlier. She was a lovely and kind person, and part of me was really happy Perseus was seeing her. He deserved someone like her.
But I had a lot of research to do, and to be honest, the Mousai intimidated me. I liked them, but knowing I was going to be their boss soon…. It made me slightly uncomfortable. “No, thank you,” I said again. “I should really be going.”
Clee regarded me from her position upside down on top of the cabinet, her eyes gleaming. “You came here alone, didn’t you?” she accused.
I inwardly cringed as Callie and Skore swung around to stare at me, their brilliant blue eyes reproachful.
“Princess!” Rania scolded. “You know better than that—”
“Indeed she does,” came a deep voice.
Now I cringed inside and out.
My hearing was good, but my Protector was the master at being unheard.
Perseus appeared beside me. “Do I need to put a leash on you?” he asked, his arms folded. His biceps bulged inside his jacket, his collar flipped up as always, making him look as menacing as ever. I tried to hide the fact that I was both attracted to and intimidated by his beefy arms.
I sighed, shoulders slumping. “I know, I know,” I muttered. “I’m heading back to my cage now.”
He scowled at me as I slunk by him on my way out of the room. Sparing a glance back at the Mousai—probably for Rania—he followed.
I chewed my lip, trying to think of how to ask my question. Perseus was clearly about to give me a lecture, and while I really wanted to deflect that, visiting the Mousai had also made me curious about whether or not I was capable of being a fighter.
It was something I had been considering ever since the nighttime encounter with Durga. Or, frankly, even before that, when I had found out I was to receive a bodyguard. I had never had the time to practice fighting, but life would be so much easier, for everyone, if I could just protect myself. I hadn’t tried since Anin had given up me when I was little.
But I’d felt so frustrated watching Perseus fight Lovec, and had thought that if I had even a little training, I might have been able to help him.
Not that he needed my help, but what if someday he did? I didn’t want to be helpless. I could play sports, I could run, and I could aim a blaster than most people, but carrying a blaster wasn’t exactly something a diplomat should be doing. Learning to fight without a weapon, the way Perseus did, would be extraordinarily useful.
“Perseus, do you think you could teach me to fight like you?” I asked, hesitant.
His eyes swung to me in surprise. “You want to learn to fight?”
“I know some self-defense,” I replied. “Although I’m not very good at it. I want to learn your fighting style.”
“My fighting style, as you call it, is largely composed of dirty tricks and misdirection.”
“Then teach me that.”
He shook his head. “You aren’t capable of fighting dirty, Princess. You’re too kindhearted.”
“Can’t nice people learn how to fight?”
“You really want to learn how to fight, little girl?” he asked, amused.
I nodded.
“Then come with me to the training room this evening.” His eyes glinted. “We’ll see what you think.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
“Admit it, Boss. You miss me.”
“I will admit no such thing,” Perseus said. “Your absence makes everything quieter.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Then I guess I didn’t say it right.”
I couldn’t stop the giggle that erupted from my lips, although I did try to cover it. Gi and Perseus turned to look at me.
I managed to sober my features. “It’s like you’re an old married couple,” I observed.
Gi braced his arm on Perseus’s shoulder. “The day he proposed was the happiest of my life.”
Perseus, his arms still folded, leveled an exasperated look at him. “Do you need to be here?”
“No,” Gi said cheerfully.
In a flash Gi was on his back, Perseus standing over him with a boot on his left hand. “I repeat.”
Gi laughed, looking not even remotely dazed. I got the feeling this happened to him often. “Fine, fine,” he remarked, flipping easily to his feet. I stepped back, amazed at his agility and the easy banter between them. “I’ll go make myself useful elsewhere.”
Perseus scowled after Gi’s retreating form, but I could tell that deep down he enjoyed Gi’s ridiculous behavior.
Perseus scanned the training room and, apparently finding the person he wanted, motioned to her. “Clee.”
Clee danced away from her conversation with Skore, her swords strapped to her back. “Yes, Boss?”
Perseus scowled at Gi, still lounging nearby, as I smothered another laugh. “I’m so glad this has caught on,” he growled. Gi was suddenly fascinated by his fingernails and pretended not to hear him. “Clee, I’d like you to demonstrate a fight scenario for the princess.”
Clee bobbed her head. “Certainly. How many?”
Perseus scratched his chin. “Three.”
She made a face. “That’s it?”
He chuckled. “Let’s not overwhelm her.”
Clee looked disappointed but stepped obediently into the training square at the center of the room. I clasped my hands behind my back, standing next to Perseus just outside the square, wondering what she was going to do.
“Alright, Clee,” Perseus said, leaning one shoulder against the wall beside me. “Let loose.”
She looked at him in surprise. “Let loose?” she repeated. “As in, really let loose?”
He raised an eyebrow and gave a slight nod. “Really let loose.”
“No restraint?”
“No restraint.”
A slow smile spread across her face. She moved to the center of the training square and stood, motionless, her eyes half-closed.
Three people, all wearing thin but heavily padded protective gear, surrounded her. I couldn’t tell who they were through the masks.
I held my breath. I had never seen anyone but Perseus really fight before, and even that didn’t seem like it was an accurate demonstration.
According to Perseus, however, Clee was the best of the Mousai.
One of the attackers—a man, I thought—lunged at Clee, and Clee barely shifted to the side and slammed her knee into his midsection. I thought I heard something snap. He fell to his knees while the second man attacked, raising his arm to give her a solid blow across the face. Clee easily deflected with one arm and brought the heel of her other palm to his nose. His head snapped backward as the other man came up behind her and wrapped both arms around her chest. The second attacker recovered and started to come back at Clee, now that she was trapped, but Clee used her captor as a backboard and swung her legs up. She planted one foot in the center of the attacker’s chest, nailing him in the crotch and then the nose with the other foot. I heard a powerful crack. He fell to the ground and was still.
Clee’s captor still had her in a bear hug, but suddenly let go, gasping in pain.
I tilted my head in surprise, not sure what was going on—
Until I saw that Clee held the man’s, er, nether regions in a viselike grip. She swung her other arm wide, slamming her elbow into his ear, then landed a solid blow to his nose. He went down and didn’t get up.
She turned, eyes flashing, toward her first attacker, who had gotten up. He rushed her.
I wanted to cover my eyes, but found I couldn’t. Clee didn’t move as he flew at her—
Suddenly she launched at him, placing one foot on his leg as she leaped to
wrap her other leg around his neck, then swung herself around him and flipped him to the ground, rolling through a somersault to a standing position.
He groaned in pain, not daring to get up.
The whole thing had taken less than a minute. I was pretty sure my jaw was wiping the floor.
Clee turned to Perseus, lacing her fingers together and stretching them. “I wish you’d let me ‘let loose’ more often,” she said cheerfully. “That was fun.”
Perseus smiled and clicked his tongue. “I’m not sure the staff could survive it,” he said, amused. He looked sideways at me as I stared in shock. “See what I mean?”
Clee looked at me, violet eyes quizzical. “What?”
I tried to close my mouth and probably failed. “How did you do that?”
Clee smiled. “Well, a lot of practice, certainly,” she said, stepping out of the training square. “And some knowledge about what points to hit. But to be honest, it’s mostly a lot of instinct.”
“Instinct?” I could feel Perseus’s eyes on me.
“Yep,” Clee said. “Behind this calm, gorgeous exterior, Princess, is a beast clawing to get out.”
I giggled in spite of myself. “So… it’s not just… practice?”
“Goodness, no. Practice just gives me an excuse to let loose. I only started learning specific tricks—as opposed to my own improvisation—when I was chosen for the Mousai.”
She looked up as Thal approached. “Hey, Thal,” she said jovially. “Why don’t you get back in the square with me?”
Thal made a face. “Not ready to have you kick my ass again, Clee.”
Clee laughed and I excused myself, moving away as the two fell into their familiar banter. Perseus followed me.
“Alright, you’ve made your point.” I sighed and faced him. “It takes a lot more practice and strength than I’ve got.”
He folded his arms and looked down at me. “And?”
“And….” I bit my lip. “I don’t have the instinct.”
He nodded. “Much as I wish you did, I’m afraid you’re far too kindhearted to have this sort of”—his lips thinned—“killer instinct.”
