by Sadie Carter
“Goddess, don’t any of you make noise when you move? You’re going to give me a fucking heart attack. Did I get it right that time?” she asked Rye, who frowned down at her.
“Don’t climb those rocks again.”
She bit back her first response to snap at him. She didn’t know what it was about him that made her react like she was three instead of thirty-one, but she couldn’t seem to control herself in his presence. But she needed to remember Mila and Koran were here.
“Are you ready for this meeting?” Rye asked Koran.
“What meeting?” Mila asked, turning her gaze from Elika’s face to look up at her mate.
She hadn’t thought it possible, but Koran grew even grimmer. “Nothing for you to worry about, my mate.”
“Koran,” Mila said, a light scolding note in her voice. Once more, Elika admired Mila’s bravery. Koran could snap every bone in her body without working up a sweat, but she wasn’t scared of going up against him. “You don’t get to shield me from things I need to know.”
Koran let out a low grumble. “One could wish you were a more pliable, obedient mate.”
“I am a very obedient mate,” she replied. Then she smiled. “When it suits me.”
Koran’s eyes heated as he gazed down at his mate. “Yes, you can be.”
“They’re going to have to know, especially as this could affect the alliance with Earth,” Rye said.
“What? Koran!”
“Fine. I will tell you. But you will not worry. It is not good for you or the little one.” Koran placed his hand lovingly on Mila’s stomach.
“I’ll try not to worry. You know I wouldn’t do anything to harm this baby.” Joy filled Mila’s face as she placed her hand over Koran’s large one.
“There has been a development, and we have new information regarding the Coizils. Dex has called a war council.”
Elika knew there had been meetings between Dex and his chief commanders. But a war council was one step further.
Fear wrapped its way around her insides. She’d known this was coming, and yet she still wasn’t prepared. War. Death. Screams filled with horrifying pain. Fear.
Terror filled her, consumed her. She couldn’t. She couldn’t do it again.
Suddenly, a warm hand cupped the back of her neck. “Breathe, Elika.” Her lungs burned. She opened her mouth, trying to take a breath. Panic filled her as she realized she couldn’t take a breath. What was happening?
Rye moved into her vision, crouching in front her. He clasped hold of her hands in his. In contrast to her painfully cold hands, his were warm, the skin slightly rough.
“You can do it, sweetheart. Just take a breath. You’re having a panic attack. No one can hurt you. I won’t let them. Now take a breath.”
She managed to gulp in some air, then she let it out. Spots danced through her vision. She needed more air.
“Good girl. Now a deeper one. You can do it. In, then out.” Gradually more air entered her lungs. Shallow rapid breaths soon evened out into long, slow even breaths. “In, then out. You’re doing so well.”
The praise was like soothing balm on a sunburn and tears stung her eyes. Goddess, was she so pathetic that just a few encouraging words could bring her control tumbling down? Knowing she needed some distance from his touch, she snatched her hands back. Something flashed across his face, was it disappointment? She couldn’t tell. As soon as she saw it, it was gone, leaving his face impassive and cool.
“I’m so sorry, Elika,” Mila walked over, holding out a glass of water. “We shouldn’t have brought this up in front of you.”
“I’m not fucking fragile,” she muttered then immediately regretted her words as Mila’s eyes widened and she took a step back. The last thing she wanted was to upset Mila. She needed this job; it gave her purpose, a reason to get up in the morning. Without something to occupy her time all she would have is her nightmares.
They didn’t make for pretty company.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. Please forgive me.”
“Of course,” Mila said instantly with a smile. “Totally understandable.”
Sometimes it seemed like she was too nice to be true. But Elika had seen her use that to her advantage. Mila, with her smile and her ability to listen and emphasize, had a way of getting people to open up, to do things they previously would never have done.
She was a master manipulator, but in a nice way.
Embarrassment filled her. Goddess, had she really just had a panic attack in front of Mila, Koran, and Rye? What would they think of her? Would they realize what a mess she was? She couldn’t look at them, knowing they had to have pitying looks on their faces.
“I’ll forgive you this once, as well,” Rye added.
“For what?” She gaped at him where he leaned against Mila’s desk with a smirk on his face.
“For swearing. I believe we have had this conversation. I may not be so forgiving next time.”
What was going on with him?
“Your sister swears all the time!”
“Yes, but she’s not—” Abruptly he stood up. “Let’s go.” He was out the door before she could question him further. His sister wasn’t what?
Koran stared at him in confusion then down at her. “He is eager to get this discussion started. Elika, I, well, feel better,” he said awkwardly. He gave Mila a soft kiss before leaving. “I will see you later, my mate.”
Mila waited until they were both gone before shutting the door. She then sat on the edge of her desk, closest to where Elika sat and swung her legs. “All right, spill.”
“Spill what?” Elika glanced down at the glass of water she held. “You wish me to spill my water?”
That was an odd request.
“Sorry, you look so human that sometimes I forget you don’t always understand our sayings. When I say spill, I mean spill your feelings. I want to know what is going on between you and Rye.”
***
What the hell had he been thinking? Rye sat back in his chair, the chatter of the Zerconian warriors washing over him as he thought over his conversation with Elika.
Had he really been about to tell her that she was his?
He didn’t even like her. He hated witches. They couldn’t be trusted, and he could tell she was hiding something.
So why did he care so much about her? Why had her panic attack nearly made him panic? Why did he care what she did? Why did he keep teasing her about her swearing?
Fuck. He was in deep shit.
“Rye? What do you think?”
Dex’s voice washed over him, bringing him out of his musings. Shit. He was supposed to be paying attention.
“Repeat it back to me, so I can make certain I have all the details.”
His brother, Zuma, grinned at him knowingly. Zuma might act like he didn’t have a care in the universe, but he was very good at reading people.
“We have some new intelligence regarding the Coizils,” Darac told him. “A transporter is getting ready to leave for Mazun. We were discussing whether to take this opportunity to attack it.”
“They are cowards,” Koran muttered. “They killed the Emperor. They could have killed my mate. I think we should attack their home planet. We will hit hard and fast with the element of surprise on our side. When we have them firmly under siege, we can invade and conquer.”
There were murmurs of agreement around the table, although Rye saw a few worried faces, including his brother, Duke. Zerconian warriors were amazing fighters. There was no doubt about their fighting ability or the fact that they had advanced ships and weaponry. But to attack a whole planet? Had they truly thought through the ramifications of such an attack?
“And the civilians?” Rye queried. “Women, children, elderly?”
“They did not think about any civilians when they attacked ours. When they killed our Emperor,” one warrior protested. Rye struggled to think of his name. Arik.
“The Empress still hasn’t awoken from her c
oma,” Macon pointed out.
Dex remained quiet. Rye took that as a cue to continue. “Yes, but they probably didn’t expect the Emperor and Empress to be on that ship. We need to think carefully before taking this next step.”
“They began all of this,” Koran added darkly. Others started nodding in agreement, muttering to each other. The mood in the room was darkening, and he was losing them.
“Quiet. Hear Rye out,” Dex ordered.
“I know they are in the wrong. I’m not saying we let away with what they have done. I’m just saying that we need to think through all the ramifications. Can you live with killing women? Children?”
He stared around at the huge warriors, deliberately appealing to their protective instincts. A large number looked uncomfortable, doubtful.
“And what if something goes wrong?” he added. “What if we can’t seize control? What if they seek revenge and kill our women and children? Are you prepared for all-out war?”
“What do you suggest then?” Dex asked, leaning forward. “Because I cannot let this go. Not after all the destruction their actions have brought, all the lives they have affected. We have waited long enough. The time has come to make our move. This cannot go unanswered.”
“So, why are they sending a ship to Mazun?” Zuma asked.
“They have negotiated a treaty with Mazun for a large supply of Drazum stones.”
“Drazum stones?” Duke asked.
Thor nodded. “They use them as a power source. Reports are their supply is running dangerously low. Mazun has a huge supply. Must have cost the Coizils a great deal to purchase the amount of stones they need. The King of Mazun is smart and powerful. There is no way the Coizils could have intimidated him into a lower price.”
Rye didn’t know where they got their intelligence, but they had to have a spy among the Coizils. Which made him wonder if the Coizils had spies here as well. He looked around him; it was hard to believe that one of these Zerconians could betray their own, but you could never be too careful.
He leaned over to Darac. “I have an idea. Can I speak to you, Dex, and Koran alone?”
Darac gave him a questioning look but thankfully didn’t question him. He moved over to Dex and spoke to him quietly. Dex nodded with a frown.
“Koran, Darac, and Rye come with me for a moment,” Dex ordered.
Rye ignored his brothers’ questioning looks. He wanted Koran and Darac in the meeting because they were both commanders. They knew their warriors well.
“What is wrong?” Koran asked once they were alone in the small office off the war council room.
“I wanted to talk to the three of you alone,” Rye answered. “I’m guessing you have a spy among the Coizils, right?”
Surprisingly, Dex shook his head. “Not a spy. Well, not a breathing one. We bugged their headquarters.”
“What? How?”
“My father never entirely trusted the Coizils. When he visited years ago, he had his people set bugs everywhere. My mother even put some in the female only areas.”
“And they’re still there? After all these years?”
Rye shrugged. “The Coizils are arrogant. They believed my father a gullible fool.”
“Could they have done the same?”
“We do regular checks. There are no listening devices,” Koran stated with a frown. “Did you think one of our warriors might play spy?”
Rye shrugged. Anything was possible. And he trusted very few people.
“None of my warriors are a spy!” Koran roared.
Rye tensed, watching silently. The warrior was bigger than Rye and stronger. But Rye hadn’t survived this long without a few tricks of his own. Koran would find he wasn’t an easy target.
“Easy, Koran,” Dex told him. “Rye is right to be cautious.”
Koran snarled and paced the room, but he no longer had that I’m-going-to-kill-you-and-I’ll-damn- well-enjoy-it look on his face. Koran was usually intense, but lately, he seemed even more volatile. Rye knew it was due to what happened to Mila and his inability to keep his mate safe.
What he was proposing would be tricky, and there was no guarantee that the Coizils wouldn’t retaliate against Zerconia. But if they could somehow do it without them knowing who it was…
“I have an idea.” He quickly laid out his idea.
“All right. Let us go take this back to the war council room to discuss.” Dex turned to lead the way. This was Dex’s show. He made the rules. It wasn’t always easy for Rye to follow someone else’s lead, but he respected Dex.
Koran slapped him across the back, and he stumbled forward a step before catching himself. “I apologize for losing my temper.”
“Yeah, no problem.” He rolled his shoulders, taking a deep breath.
They all took their seats then Dex raised his hands. Everyone fell silent immediately. “Rye has a suggestion.”
Here goes nothing. “Let’s hit them where it will really hurt. In their back pocket.”
“Their back pocket?” Macon asked. “You want to strip them of their clothing?”
“He means let’s hurt them financially,” Zuma interpreted. “You want to steal those stones? Too bad they weren’t transporting gold and riches. I’ve always fancied a gold crown.”
“There isn’t enough gold in the universe to make a crown to fit around your fat head,” Rye said.
Zuma grinned. Crazy idiot.
“We follow them at a distance. When they land to refuel then we steal their shipment of Drazum stones,” Rye explained. “It will hit them financially, weakening them. But hopefully without too many casualties on our side.”
“They will retaliate,” Koran warned.
“Only if they know who to retaliate against.” Rye looked over at Dex, who rubbed his chin. “I know Kyle has been working on his cloaking device. I think we need to talk to him about this.”
Dex nodded. “Yes.”
“I do not like this idea,” Arik protested. “We should not be sneaking around. We are warriors. We should retaliate as warriors.”
Around him, some others nodded.
“Why are we trusting what this human says?” Arik continued.
“This human is my brother-in-law.” Darac leaned forward in his seat, a scowl on his face.
Arik stood. “He is not one of us.”
Darac abruptly rose. Fuck. This was about to end badly. Koran leaned back in his seat beside him and crossed his arms over his chest as Arik pushed Darac. Immediately, Darac let out a roar and attacked. Other warriors jumped up, cheering them on.
“Aren’t you going to do something?” Rye yelled at Koran as they both jumped up and out of the way of the two fighting warriors.
“Do something?” Koran yelled back.
“To stop them.”
“Why would I wish to stop them?” Koran asked, bewildered.
Rye just sighed. Living with the Zerconians was never boring, at least.
***
“I really do not know what you wish me to say,” Elika said to Mila. “There is nothing going on between Rye and myself. He does not even like me.”
“Oh, he likes you. You haven’t seen the way he looks at you.”
“The way he looks at me?” She’d noticed him staring at her a few times. For a moment, she’d wondered if he could see the real her. If he knew this calm façade was just a pretense and inside she was a huge mess of fear and anxiety and anger.
Goddess, she was so angry.
“Like you’re cotton candy, and he has a sweet tooth.”
Um, what? What did his teeth have to do with anything? They were very nice teeth. Straight and white. But they were just teeth.
“He wants you,” Mila gave her a huge grin.
“Wants me to do what?”
“Wants you to fuck him. Ah, excuse my language. He wants you in his bed, Elika.”
She burst into laughter. “No, he doesn’t. He hates me.”
Mila shrugged. “What you might see as him hating you, I see
as him fighting his attraction to you.”
“So you think he is attracted to me but wishes he was not attracted to me?” Somehow, she wasn’t certain that was any better than him hating her. It felt like a rejection.
But was it any different than the way she felt about him? There had to be some basis for those sexy dreams she’d been having. Every time she grew close to him, her body melted, need flooding her. And when he touched her…whoa!
She’d learned that word from the Empress. She quite liked the way it sounded.
“I know that Rye has some sort of mistrust of witches. I don’t know the details, but Willa told me he was betrayed by a witch once. As if that means all witches are bad. Men are stupid. Sometimes they just need a bit of a push in the right direction to figure out what’s best for them.”
“I am not the best thing for Rye.”
Mila frowned. “What do you mean?”
“He deserves much better than me.”
“Oh, honey, that’s not true.”
Elika met Mila’s concerned gaze. “Yes, it is. Believe me, it is.”
Before Mila could answer, her communicator beeped. She glanced down at it then her mouth dropped open. “Holy shit, it’s the leader of the Earth Council.” She stood and brushed a hand over her top. “How do I look?”
Elika didn’t quite know how to answer that. Mila didn’t really dress to flatter her shape.
“Clean,” she replied, happy with that answer.
Mila made a face but then pressed a button on her communicator. A gray-haired older man with a stooped back flickered into view. “Hello, High Councillor. It is lovely to see you again. How can I help?”
Elika knew Mila didn’t have an appointment with the High Councillor to Earth, so there had to be a major reason why he was contacting her. Mila had been growing increasingly frustrated with the Earth Council stalling on its agreement to arrange more social interaction between Zerconia and Earth. The Zerconian race faced extinction unless more of their people found mates. Earth held the key to their survival and to keeping the mating madness at bay. They’d formed an alliance, but each time Mila mentioned arranging for some Earth females visiting Zerconia, the council came up with some excuse.
“Mila. It is good to see you.”
