Release

by V. J. Chambers

  He didn’t really want that to be true. He wanted to kill Risciter himself. It was his reason for living. But if Risciter were really gone, then... “I guess I’d still be in trouble for kidnapping you wouldn’t I?”

  “If you weren’t in trouble with the law,” she said. “Would you want to be with a woman then?”

  He laughed. “Not in trouble with the law? That’s never going to happen.”

  * * *

  Ariana lay in the darkness, listening to Keirth’s even breaths beside her. He was asleep now. And she was probably going insane.

  Back in the sector, Ariana had spent time amongst circles of women. Sometimes, she’d listened to her maids giggling as they dressed her and her sister for an event. Sometimes, she and the other women at a dinner party spoke of things in giggling whispers while the men had rejoined to the study for brandy and cigars. So she knew things about falling in love or lusting after a man. And throughout her courtship with Risciter, she’d sometimes recalled those conversations and wondered if something was wrong.

  While she admired Risciter and found him very pleasant to look at (everyone in the sector thought he was gorgeous for that matter), she’d never experienced the sort of draw the women had spoken about, whether they were maids or noblewomen. She’d never felt as if she wanted to spend every second in his company or as if she were interested in every facet of his being. She’d liked him. Sometimes, before seeing him she got a nervous feeling in her stomach. And yes, occasionally, the sight of Risciter made her heart patter.

  But she’d sometimes wondered if she was missing something.

  She’d told herself not to worry about it back then. Now she realized that there was something very wrong with Risciter, and perhaps she’d noticed an emptiness about him that she’d dismissed. Back then, however, she thought that Risciter was a good match and that marrying him was wise. Since he was so very pretty, she thought that was a bonus. For a man to be good looking, of high social standing, and quite polite was really extraordinary. She was grateful to have found him, even if there was no undercurrent pulling her to him.

  But now she’d felt it. The thing that the women were always talking about. The draw.

  To Keirth Transman.

  Which was insane. He’d kidnapped her. He’d dragged her across the galaxy. He was rude to her constantly. What was more, he didn’t even like being around her. He wanted to take her back home and wash his hands of her.

  She should hate him. She should want to be free of him. But something about him made that impossible, and she wasn’t sure what it was. Maybe it was only that he was so noble. He had high standards that he held himself to. Maybe it was because her heart broke for him when he spoke about his mother. Or maybe she simply shared his anger against the monster Risciter for every horrible thing he’d done.

  But there was no denying the signs. There couldn’t be any mistake that she must have had ulterior motives when she decided to style herself as Keirth’s wife. And now she was lying next to him in a bed. He was so close, she could reach out and touch him.

  She couldn’t be developing feelings for this man. It was madness. It was utterly inappropriate.

  She shook her head against the pillow. No. Perhaps this was more trauma thinking. After everything she’d been through in the past few days, certainly she couldn’t be feeling normal emotions. She and Keirth had been in two near-death situations—one with Risciter and one with the gellococcus. Maybe some kind of adrenaline had surged through her and made her lose her head. Maybe if she waited, the strange feelings would pass.

  Or maybe, said a darker part of her brain, she was developing these feelings because she saw Keirth as an escape. Now that she was socially ruined, her prospects for marriage gone, with nowhere to go except back to her life as a spinster, the idea of being with Keirth Transman seemed appealing. Wouldn’t it solve all her problems if he would fall in love with her and whisk her about through space having adventures? Wouldn’t that make everything easier?

  She wasn’t a woman falling for a man, but a calculating mercenary, trying to worm her way into his life.

  And hadn’t he made it clear he had no interest in forming bonds with a woman?

  She corrected herself. He hadn’t said he wasn’t interested. But he’d said he wouldn’t do it.

  Still...

  Oh. No. She couldn’t keep thinking about this. It was ludicrous and offensive. She was Miss Ariana Gilit. She was not some common woman who could throw away everything to travel around the galaxy.

  Why not? whispered a voice in her head. Why couldn’t she leave behind the rules and strictures of the sector? Why couldn’t she be free? Because, with the exception of being nearly raped and killed by Risciter, these had been the best days of her life. She felt like life actually meant something, suddenly, having come so close to losing it. She didn’t want to waste it away at balls and dinner parties. She wanted to live, really live. Like this. Going from one breathless encounter to the next.

  And Keirth...

  She sighed. Maybe he only intrigued her, with his relentless search for revenge and the pain in his voice when he talked about his dead mother. Maybe he was nothing more than a distraction, something new and different.

  Or maybe she was losing her mind.

  Slowly, careful not to disturb him, she propped herself up on the cushions again so that she could look down at his sleeping face. His long lashes were closed against his cheeks. Sleeping, he looked peaceful. He looked...

  Beautiful?

  How could this be happening to her? And what was she going to do?

  Chapter Nine

  Freetha had a needle in her hand, her head bent over a tapestry she was embroidering. “He’s certainly something,” she said.

  Ariana nodded. She had nothing to do except watch Freetha sew. It was mid afternoon, and Keirth had been off with the chief bargaining over a new ship all day. She’d thought they’d be leaving Trioth soon, but apparently bargaining took time. “Keirth isn’t like other men.”

  Freetha laughed. “I’ve been angry at him for a year, but there was a reason I wanted to marry him when I saw him before. I have to admit I’m a little disappointed that he’s taken. You’re lucky.”

  She wasn’t lucky at all. The whole thing was a ruse. And she found herself wishing it weren’t. Which she hated. “I’ve never met anyone like him,” she said. “He’s so honorable, you know.”

  Freetha mused over her needlework. “He is. When I came to him in his chamber last year, he could have taken me anyway, you know. I offered myself to him as his wife. He could have had me and then run away in his spaceship the next day. But he didn’t. And I believed that he felt awful about it. That it had all been a misunderstanding. Of course, that made me sort of want him more.” She laughed a little. “Overall, I’m glad to be released from my betrothal. Those black robes were really getting to me.”

  “That seems like Keirth,” said Ariana. “He wouldn’t have wanted to hurt you or destroy your honor. He would have done the noble thing.”

  “And he wouldn’t have been unfaithful to you, I don’t suppose,” said Freetha. “A woman like you... A man wouldn’t stray from that.”

  “I’m nothing special,” said Ariana.

  “That’s not what Father says,” said Freetha. “He almost seemed suspicious of it. Said a man like Keirth could never marry someone like you. I didn’t agree, of course. Father can’t see Keirth’s virtues.” She set the tapestry down in her lap. “Once I saw the two of you dancing together, gazing into each other’s eyes like that, I knew it was real. I told Father myself.”

  Ariana blushed. She had enjoyed dancing with Keirth, clumsy as he might have been. There was something about the way he’d held her. There was strength in his arms, and when they’d been whirling around on the floor, so close, she’d felt like she belonged in his arms, like he was claiming her. But that had all been in her head, of course. And the whole thing was stupid. Certainly, all Freetha had seen was the way she�
��d been looking at Keirth, her adoration. Something she needed to squelch. Keirth absolutely did not feel the same way. “He has beautiful eyes, you know? I feel like I could get lost in them.”

  Freetha giggled. “You’re so in love. It’s really adorable.”

  No. It was really tragic. But Ariana only smiled at Freetha, trying to play along.

  * * *

  They had dinner with the chief again that night. Not another elaborate feast, but still a substantial meal. Keirth told her that he was having a little bit of trouble getting the chief to agree to a trade. He was haggling him to death, Keirth said. The chief apparently wanted a night to sleep on it, so Keirth and Ariana would be on Trioth one more night. Keirth was confident that they’d be able to leave in the morning, however. He said that he’d found a ship that would work just fine.

  Ariana wasn’t sure she wanted him to find a ship. Once they were in space, Keirth was going to take her back to the sector, wasn’t he? She didn’t want to go.

  The thought cast a pall over the rest of the meal. She did her best to be polite and winsome with the Triothians, but retired early to the bedchamber she was sharing with Keirth.

  Keirth stayed to talk to the chief for a while, so when he came back to the room, she was already in bed. She’d put up the cushion wall again, but she hadn’t been able to sleep. Keirth seemed to assume she was sleeping, though, as he pulled off his shoes and climbed into the other side of the bed. She felt his weight settle next to her.

  She had a mad thought. What if she pulled all the cushions off the bed and slid close to him? What would he do? Would he want her? Would his honor stop him from taking her? If he did, would his honor keep him from abandoning her?

  She scolded herself. She couldn’t trap Keirth and force him to let her come along with him. She’d only make him resent her in the end. Still, it was infuriating, lying next to him, knowing she felt something for him, and knowing that he was planning on getting rid of her as soon as he could.

  “So, we’ll leave tomorrow?” she said.

  “You’re awake,” said Keirth.

  “I can’t sleep.”

  “I was afraid you’d left for bed because I’d done something that made you angry. I seem to do that a lot,” he said.

  “No,” she said. “I suppose I was realizing that once we had a ship, you were going to send me back to the sector. And I don’t want to go.”

  “I did make you angry,” said Keirth. “I knew it.”

  “Not you, exactly. The situation,” she said.

  “I can’t take you with me back to Kush,” said Keirth. “I can’t let you help me find Risciter. It’s too dangerous. It wouldn’t be right.”

  She sighed heavily. Was there no way he’d change his mind?

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t like thinking about you getting hurt. I really don’t like it.”

  “I haven’t been hurt so far,” she said.

  “Drugged, tied up, nearly raped, almost eaten by gellococcus... Yeah, it’s been a very safe little expedition.”

  “Well, what do you care anyway? You can’t take me back there. You just can’t.”

  “We’ll talk about this in the morning,” he said.

  “Are you going to change your mind in the morning?”

  “I doubt it.”

  “Then what’s the point?”

  There was a muffled sort of banging noise. She was pretty sure that Keirth had just punched a cushion. His head appeared over the cushion barrier, staring down at her. “Before we came here, I had no idea that you were so...” He looked away, searching for words. “So beautiful and poised. More than ever, I can’t let Risciter get his hands on you. So I will make sure you’re safe. I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you. Do you understand?”

  He thought she was beautiful? Really?

  There was a knock at the door.

  Ariana sat up. Who could be knocking? Why would they knock?

  “It’s Freetha,” said a voice from outside the door. “Let me in. It’s important.”

  Both Ariana and Keirth got out of bed. Keirth lit a lamp. Ariana hurled the cushions onto the floor. She couldn’t let Freetha see they were sleeping with a barrier between them. Ariana ran to the door and opened it. “Freetha?”

  Freetha looked anxiously up and down the hallway, checking to see if anyone was watching before scurrying inside the room. “I’m sorry to disturb you.”

  Keirth was sitting on the edge of the bed. He’d removed his shirt to sleep, apparently. His chest was bare. Ariana gaped at him. He was so...strong. His shoulders were wide, and his muscles seemed to bulge conspicuously. She swallowed and tore her eyes away from him.

  “What’s wrong, Freetha?” she asked.

  Freetha looked from Keirth to Ariana and back again. “You two are married, aren’t you?”

  Keirth looked at the floor.

  “Of course,” said Ariana. What was this about?

  “But you haven’t been married for a year,” said Freetha. She looked sad.

  “What are you talking about?” said Ariana.

  Freetha took a net tablet out of one of her pockets. She switched it on and handed it to Ariana. “My Father saw it. We don’t spend much time here concerning ourselves with what goes on in the sector or even on the colony planets, but we do try to stay informed. So, when my Father checked the nets, he saw this. And he said he knew that someone like Keirth couldn’t actually be married to someone like you.”

  Ariana sat down on the bed next to Keirth, staring at the tablet. It was a news item. The headline read, “Daughter of Duke Captured and Terrorized.” There was a huge picture of her. She scanned the article and then handed it to Keirth, her heart racing. Risciter was alive. She’d thought she killed him, but he was alive. She was both relieved and horrified at the same time.

  “I don’t believe it,” said Freetha. “Keirth isn’t the kind of person they describe there. He doesn’t have you here against your will. He isn’t—”

  “‘Viciously raped’?!” Keirth read from the article. He stood up. “How dare Risciter accuse me of that?”

  “They’ve got his story now,” said Ariana. “They won’t believe mine.”

  “He didn’t really kidnap you, did he?” said Freetha. “You two eloped, right? You were so in love, and they wouldn’t let you get married that you took matters into your own hands.”

  Ariana tried to catch Keirth’s eye, but he was still seething over the news article.

  “Freetha...” How should she explain?

  “But you are in love,” said Freetha. “I can tell you are.”

  Ariana nodded, looking into Freetha’s eyes.

  But Keirth said, “I’m sorry we lied to you. What’s your father planning on doing with this information?”

  Freetha looked crushed. She shook her head slowly. “I was sure from the way you looked at each other...”

  “You kidding?” said Keirth. “Was there any man on this planet that didn’t look at her like that when we got off our ship? Now, what’s your father planning on doing with this information?”

  “He wants to keep you here,” said Freetha. “He’s going to try to turn you into the sector and claim a reward. He’s haggling over the price right now.”

  “Damn it,” said Keirth. “That’s why he’s been dragging his feet on this trade with me.”

  Freetha nodded. “My father’s asleep now. I came to you to tell you that you should leave now, before he wakes up. I don’t want...anything to happen to you.” She looked at Keirth. “Ariana says you’re a good man, and I believe her. I don’t believe you hurt her. If you’d done what the article said, I don’t think she’d be happy with you.”

  Risciter was alive. He was alive and telling lies to the press.

  Keirth looked back at the article. “‘Above all,’” he read, “‘the Duke of Risciter wants to see Miss Gilit again.’” He looked at Ariana. “I’m sure that’s true. I’m sure he does want to see you again. I guess you
got your wish. It’s not really safe now to send you back there. You’re coming with me.”

  Ariana’s heart leapt. At least something was going right.

  Keirth turned to Freetha. “You’re not going to mind if I steal one of your father’s ships?”

  “I want to help,” said Freetha.

  “Thank you,” said Keirth. “You didn’t have to tell us this.”

  A thought occurred to Ariana. “Will this get you in trouble? With your father?”

  Freetha shrugged. “What could be worse than being in a black veil for a year, not able to speak to anyone?”

  Suddenly, Ariana wished they could take Freetha away as well. Maybe this planet was simply too backward. But she knew that was out of the question. She went to Freetha and hugged her. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

  Keirth was yanking on his shirt. “We can’t waste a lot of time,” he said, heading for the door.

  Ariana looked down at her nightgown. “Well, can I get dressed?”

  “Hurry up,” said Keirth.

  * * *

  Freetha watched the ship until it disappeared into the clouds of the night sky, then she hurried back to her room. She sat down on her bed and got out her net tablet. A few key strokes tethered it to her comm, and then she keyed in a few more numbers.

  A man’s face filled the screen. “It’s done?”

  She nodded. “The ship just took off, and I put the tracking device inside that you told me about.”

  He smiled. “Good job. Thank you for contacting me. I might never have found them otherwise.”

  “I recognized them immediately when I saw the news on the net,” she said. And to think they’d believed that her father could possibly be plotting against them. Her father was a ridiculous old fool, ignoring the universe around them in favor of their tiny planet. He paid no attention to what happened elsewhere, but Freetha did. There was a reason she’d tried to marry a man on a ship. She wanted to leave Trioth. “I’d like the rest of my credits, please. That was the deal. Half before, half after it’s done.”