by Sadie Carter
“May I introd—” Mila began.
“Mila, we need your help.” There was a harried note to the High Councillor’s voice, and Elika sat forward.
“Of course. How can I help?” Mila answered smoothly, his interrupting not seeming to concern her.
“Three human females were vacationing on Rolan when armed men kidnapped them. We have just received ransom information. They wish us to release a prisoner being held on the moon colony in return for the women’s safety.”
“What prisoner?” Mila asked, moving around behind her desk.
“Steven Fitzgibbons.”
Mila paled and slumped into her chair. “The butcher?”
“Yes,” the High Councillor replied grimly.
“Butcher?” Elika asked, knowing it probably wasn’t wise to speak up, but her curiosity was getting the better of her.
“Who is this?” the High-Councillor asked sharply. If he hadn’t interrupted Mila earlier, she would have introduced her. But Mila didn’t snap at him.
“This is Elika, my assistant. Steven Fitzgibbons was given the nickname the Butcher because he used to kill people, cut them up, then sell them in his butcher shops that spanned Scotland. He killed around seventy-six people.”
“Actually, we think it’s more like ninety-two,” the High Councillor added. “But we couldn’t prove the other deaths were by his hand. Needless to say, we cannot release him.”
“No, of course not. I’m sorry, sir, but I’m not sure how we can help?”
“One of these women is my granddaughter. She is my only granddaughter. My son produced five boys, but just one sweet girl. I cannot let anything happen to her, but my hands are tied on Fitzgibbons.”
“I understand.”
“Good, then it’s agreed. You will rescue the women and take them back to Zerconia until I can send someone to escort them safely back to Earth.”
“Um.” Mila gaped over at Elika. “Sir, we would love to help. But we have no idea where these women are being held.”
He smiled slightly. “But I do. My granddaughter has a necklace that I gave her on her eighteenth birthday. It has a tracking device in it. She is being held on Pikus. If the Zerconians rescue her and keep her safe for me, then I can guarantee we will be sending a group of women to visit Zerconia within the next month.”
***
“Here are the possibilities of where they will stop to refuel. We need to make the decision on whether to attack while they are on planet or during flight,” Darac stated pointing at the holographic map he’d brought up, charting the path between Coizil and Mazun. Darac, Koran, Thor, Dex, Rye, and Zuma had moved to Dex’s office after the War Council finished to talk about Rye’s idea further. Duke had muttered something about having something to do and left. His brother wasn’t adapting well to life on Zerconia. Kyle had joined them moments later. “They’ll need to stop to refuel at least once, possibly twice.”
“Pikus, Ola, and Qi are all possible places they could stop to refuel. How will we know where they decide to stop?”
“We follow them using Kyle’s cloaking device,” Rye stated. “I don’t think attacking mid-flight is a good choice. They will probably have accompanying fighter ships guarding the transporter.”
“If we use Kyle’s cloaking device they will not be able to see who is attacking them,” Koran pointed out.
“Yes, but attacking mid-flight will make it more difficult to steal their cargo, which is the whole point.”
“You are certain your cloaking device will work?” Koran asked Kyle.
Kyle was his youngest brother and a genius. He was an inventor, often locking himself away for days working on a project. Duke, who lived with him, often had to drag him out of his lab and force him to eat.
“Yes, well, I need a few more days of testing. But I believe I have fixed all the bugs.”
“I still think we should just attack them. It seems more straightforward,” Koran said.
“It is,” Rye admitted. “This takes much more planning. But have you considered your alliance with Earth? Do you think they will want their women coming here while you are in the middle of a bloody war?”
“He has a point,” Thor said. “This plan may not have the same impact we intended, but it brings a lot less risk. Provided the cloaking device works.”
“It will,” Kyle stated positively. “Only problem is that I have just one device. Once it is perfected, I can create others, but that will take more time.”
The door suddenly slid open. In flew Mila, followed by Elika.
“Mila, what is wrong? Is it the baby?” Koran immediately moved to her.
“No, no, I’m fine.” She leaned over, panting heavily. “Just really unfit.”
“You’re not the only one.” Elika sat on a seat, her face flushed, her breathing rapid.
Rye had to force himself not to go to her, not to react. But the nervous energy surrounding the women pulled at him.
Mila stood. “We need to go to Pikus. Now.”
***
“We must rescue them,” Zoey, the Empress of Zerconia, stated firmly.
Elika sat back and watched as everyone argued. Her neck cramped moving back and forth between the growling Zerconian warriors and their human mates. Zoey swayed back and forth with her baby in her arms as she scowled at her mate. The Emperor, Dex—he had told her before to call him by his first name—stood with his hands on his hips, his face implacable. Hard. Elika admired Zoey’s daring, even if she wondered if the woman was missing a few brain cells, because to Elika, Dex looked about as amenable to what she was saying as most people were to having a colonic. The way he just grimaced was similar to the facial expression people probably wore when they were getting their bowels flushed.
Half in pain. Half pissed off. But mostly just wishing he was anywhere but here.
“Zoey, you are not going,” Dex stated firmly. “You have responsibilities now. You are a mother. The Empress. You cannot just run off whenever the whim takes you.”
All the other females, herself included, winced at his words.
Elika had thought he’d had a modicum of intelligence up until that moment. Bad, bad choice of words.
On the rush over here, Mila had called in reinforcements. Soon after they’d stormed into the meeting, Mila’s reinforcements had arrived in the form of Willa, Zoey, and Boris, Zoey’s body-guard. Rastian, who worked for Zoey, soon followed. He was a tall, painfully thin, serious man. Looking hesitant, Lucy followed, giving Elika an encouraging smile.
Elika felt out of place, but Mila had asked her to come, so here she was, watching as the Zerconians and their mates debated who was going retrieve the human women.
Zoey handed off her baby to Rastian, who surprised Elika by smiling down at the baby and hugging her close.
“Run off! Run off!” Zoey poked her finger into Dex’s chest. “You think I don’t know I have responsibilities? Do you think I don’t take the fact that I’m now a mother and an Empress seriously? Are you calling me a bad mom?”
The whole room seemed to collectively hold their breath, waiting for Dex to respond. His face didn’t change from its stony exterior as he clasped his mate’s shoulders in his hands.
“Zoey, you are a very good mother. Loving. Caring. Devoted. Our daughter is lucky to have you.”
“Damn straight.” Zoey turned her head away, but not before Elika saw the glint of tears on her cheeks.
Feeling like an intruder on a private moment, Elika glanced away.
“But that does not give you the right to be disrespectful, mate.”
Then he went and ruined all his nice words.
Zoey stepped back, shoving his hands away from her. “Hope you like sleeping on the couch, buddy,” she muttered. Not everyone would have heard her, but Elika had the unfortunate disadvantage of sitting closest to the fighting couple.
As Zoey turned away from Dex, their gazes met. Elika’s breath caught at the misery present. Zoey was usually upbeat and full of fun.
“I wasn’t suggesting I go,” Zoey stated, moving back to pick up her baby. Children terrified Elika, especially ones as small and fragile as Elodie. But even she had to admit that the infant was adorable. “But one of us has to go. They’re going to be frightened and on edge. They’re not going to want to leave with a bunch of scary-looking, arrogant warriors.”
“We’re heading that way anyway,” Zuma said. “Why not just take a few of the women with us and rescue these women? I’m happy to play knight in shining armor.”
Elika noticed the way the Zerconian warriors glared at Zuma. He didn’t seem to care, just sat back and started to whistle. She wished she could be so carefree.
“You are going to Pikus? Why?” Willa asked.
No one answered, and she sighed. “You’re all being ridiculous. What is it? Some dirty boys weekend away?”
“Well, Pikus is not the cleanest planet,” Darac said.
“That’s not the kind of dirty I’m talking about,” Willa told him.
Elika was just as much in the dark as the warriors seemed to be.
“She means dirty as in sexually dirty,” Zuma explained. “A dirty weekend away would mean picking a woman or two or three, taking them back to your hotel room and getting down and dirty between the sheets.”
“You think we would join with other women?” Darac looked truly appalled.
Willa waved her hand, impatiently pacing the room. “No. But what are you doing?”
“Rye suggests that rather than engage in a fight with the Coizils, we cause them to suffer by stealing from them,” Darac told her. “They will be returning with a supply of Drazum stones, which they use as their main power source. We are going to relieve them of these.”
Willa smiled then grinned at her oldest brother. “Smart move, big bro. And you’re planning on doing this somewhere near Pikus? What makes you think they’ll land there?”
“It is the most logical place to refuel,” Darac explained. “Kyle will ensure that the cloaking device is working properly, so they do not see us coming. We will sneak onto their ship and steal the stones.”
“It will work?” Willa asked Kyle skeptically.
“It will. They won’t even know we are there.”
That seemed to leave a lot to chance. “Is there no way to ensure they will land there?” she asked without thinking first. Suddenly, all eyes were on her. “And how will you get these stones off without them noticing?”
“We have not worked that part of the plan out yet,” Rye told her stiffly.
“It would be easier to take their whole ship,” Kyle mused, looking thoughtful.
“What if you used this cloaking device for their ship? They would not even notice it leaving.” She thought that over. “You need a distraction. A way to get the majority of them off the ship so you can sneak on, put the cloaking device on and fly it away.”
“But what sort of distraction?” Zoey asked.
Should she offer to help? This wasn’t her fight. But she lived here now. Should she risk herself for these people? She looked around at them all. Her gaze fell on Lucy then baby Elodie and finally on Rye. Surprisingly, he was watching her. He didn’t look away, just raised his eyebrows. Almost as though he could tell what she was thinking.
“I can create a distraction. I will need to know more about Coizils. What motivates them?”
“Greed,” Koran replied. “They have a liking for pretty, shiny metals like gold and copper.”
“They want power,” Dex added, tearing his gaze from his mate, the baby now asleep in her arms. “They conquer the weak. They wish to expand their empire.”
“Their hatred of us,” Thor finally said. “They attack us whenever they have the chance.”
“And you would prefer they land on Pikus?” she asked.
“There is no port authority,” Darac explained. “Little policing. It is largely lawless, which will make it much easier for us.”
“Okay, so we want to make certain they land on Pikus, and we want to distract them so we can steal their ship. They like gold, power, and hate Zerconians. So what would draw them to Pikus if they were not planning to go there to refuel? What if we had someone invite them to Pikus? Offer them a trade they could not turn down.”
“That could work,” Koran said. “They are greedy enough to go for a trade that is in their favor. But who could we get to contact them?”
“I know someone,” Rye said. “He owes me a favor.”
“Then once they have landed, I create a distraction.”
“And we sneak on and plant the cloaking device.” Zuma slapped his hands together. “Hot damn, we have a plan. Now, I’m starving. Who wants to eat?”
Rye placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder as he tried to stand. “Not so fast.”
Mila frowned. “What about rescuing the women?”
“The women need to be rescued first,” Dex stated with a nod.
“But if the Coizils find out there are Zerconian warriors on Pikus, they could refuse to land,” Koran said.
“Koran is right,” Dex said tiredly, sending his mate another worried look. “And we have to make the women the first priority. We will have to seek our revenge on the Coizils another way.”
“Unless someone else rescues the women,” she pointed out.
“Think she’s talking about us, big bro,” Zuma said, leaning back in his chair.
Good, she was glad someone understood. “Very good,” she told him approvingly.
His grin widened. “Thank you, headmistress. I may be a simple peasant, but I try.”
“Zuma,” Willa warned her brother. Rye sent him a look. She didn’t understand what he meant but shrugged it off.
“Rye and his team could rescue the women,” Dex said. “Then we have another team waiting on a planet nearby until the Coizils are close. Once they have landed our second team will come in and sneak on-board to steal the Coizils ship, while Rye’s team bring the women back here.”
She nodded. “Yes. Will that not work?”
“It could once we get the details worked out,” Koran said with a nod.
“How will you distract them?” Lucy asked.
She grinned. “Simple. I will make it rain gold.”
They all stared at her.
“You can do that?” Kyle asked.
She shrugged, trying not to look too smug. “It won’t be real gold, but they will not know that. Do you think that will work?”
Zuma smiled. “Yes, mistress. I think it might.”
Rye stepped forward and smacked him across the head.
“That still doesn’t solve who is going to help with the women,” Zoey pointed out. “They may be more comfortable with Rye and his crew, but I still think it would help to have a female presence.”
“I think I should go,” Mila said. “I am the human ambassador, and I should be there to reassure them they are safe.”
“You are also pregnant,” Thor told her.
As if Mila could forget. She seemed to spend half her day throwing up.
“That doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does,” Koran said with a low grumble. “You are not going.”
“Koran—”
“No.”
Mila threw her hands up in the air. “You cannot interfere with my job.”
“The baby comes first.”
Elika knew he’d won as Mila sighed. Then she nodded. “Yes, the baby comes first.”
“So that is Zoey and Mila out. That leaves me.” Willa pointed at herself.
“And me,” Lucy said quietly.
Everyone looked at the quiet blonde who hadn’t said much so far. Lucy might appear fragile, but she had a core of steel.
“You should stay here,” Thor, her mate, said gently.
“Why? Because I’m not a fighter? I know what it’s like to be held prisoner. I can relate to what these poor women are going through. They are going to need someone who can help them.”
She knew what that felt l
ike as well. Maybe she should offer to help with the women? But what did she know about offering sympathy and understanding? She snorted. She was more likely to fuck it all up.
“I think it should be me,” Willa said. “I’ve got the most combat experience, and I can be sympathetic. Sort of. Plus, if Elika is coming to provide a distraction then she can help with these women, right? She knows what they’re going through.”
Feeling the weight of everyone’s gaze on her, she smiled weakly. “Sure, I’ll be happy to help.”
Oh, Goddess help her.
Chapter Four
The cold hit her like a punch to her stomach, making her freeze in place as she tried to catch her breath. Grateful for the thick coat she’d been given, she tugged it closer around her.
“Jesus Christ it's fucking cold!” Willa said, slapping her glove-clad hands together. It had taken five days to travel to Pikus. During that time, Elika had tried to keep to herself as much as possible, only leaving her room to take her meals or for any meetings that needed her input. Thankfully, that hadn’t happened much.
She’d thought it would be easier to spend as little time as possible around Rye, uncertain what to make of her attraction to the human male. She’d fallen for a man before, only to have him betray her horribly.
But she knew Rye was nothing like him. People respected Rye. They trusted him. And he took care of those he cared about. She had noticed how well respected he was by his crew. Besides herself, Willa, and Darac, there was also Deacon, Zuma, Nolan, and Steele.
Five days trapped in a small box of a room had nearly driven her mad. All too soon it had felt like the walls were closing in on her. So when Willa suggested they get some fresh air soon after they landed, she had jumped at the chance to leave the ship.
Now, with her teeth chattering and her toes and fingers growing numb, she wondered if she should have stayed inside.
Willa glanced around. “This place is just depressing.”
There were few people around, just a couple of other ships. The ground was a murky, muddy brown. Elika stepped off the ramp, and her foot sank into the ground. With a yelp, she leaped back and fell flat on her ass against the ramp.
A low chuckle came from behind her. She scowled over her shoulder at Rye who stood behind her.
