by Liz Craven
Talon cupped her cheek with one hand. Despite the rough callused skin, his touch was gentle, and Lia had an unwelcome urge to rub her cheek against his palm like a satisfied feline. He stared into her eyes for a silent moment before leaning forward to brush his lips against hers. His lips were softer than they looked and warmer than she had imagined.
The brief contact left her lips tingling. Chills crawled up her arms and an unidentified emotion swirled inside her. Lia locked her knees to stop them from turning to water.
Embarrassed by the affectionate gesture and her reaction to it, Lia tucked her chin in and turned her gaze to the floor.
“Goodnight, Lia,” he said stepping aside to allow her to reach the palm print pad.
Though her hand looked steady as she raised it towards the door, it felt as though violent tremors shook it. The door slid open. She slanted her husband a look through her lashes and said, “Goodnight, Talon.”
She walked into the room with as much grace as she could manage, hoping any wobbling in her stride would be attributed to the unaccustomed gravity.
Chapter Five
Lia slept hard and long. She only awakened when Ilexa checked on her after she missed the luncheon meal. After assuring her sister-in-law she was well, Lia stumbled into the lav for morning—or afternoon—ablutions.
The wound looked worse than the day before. The skin surrounding the puncture burned with fever, but Lia refused to consider surrendering to League medical care. That left the tricks she learned in the mine. She filled the sink with extremely hot water and soaked a washcloth in it. Gritting her teeth, she placed the steaming cloth over the wound. Repeating the process several times, she drained the infection as best she could and chose clothing that would not press against her side.
Once dressed, she grabbed a piece of fruit from the refrigeration unit and considered her options. She wanted to avoid Talon, but refused to hide in her room. After tossing the half-eaten fruit into the rubbish canister with a twinge of guilt at the waste, she pulled up a schematic of the ship on the computer panel on the wall of the living area.
Escape remained her first priority. To do that, she needed to get a lay of the land—or ship as the case may be. She decided to take Commander Warrant up on his offer to tour the ship, figuring the man would be less suspicious of her questions than Talon.
—
Talon stood on the bridge with his feet braced apart, watching the blur of stars as the ship sailed past. After years of searching, he had found the Damaia, and he was returning her to her people. He had secured the future of his home world. Only Lia’s unhappiness prevented him from purring with satisfaction. The misery he had seen in her eyes had kept him awake most of the night. Still, Lia would come around. He would see to it she had as much say in her future as possible—not as much as she might like, but more than she’d had in the past.
Despite her unhappiness, Talon smiled grimly. Once she had rested, he would have the answers to the questions that had haunted him since her disappearance.
He surveyed the bridge with a critical eye. The captain ran a tight ship from his command chair in the center of the bridge. The officers at navigation and ops were young but efficient, their hands and eyes never leaving the computer boards before them. The tactical officer stood at attention behind the captain, his eyes watching the data that scrolled across his terminal. Occasionally, subordinate officers and NCOs, the noncommissioned officers, would appear on the bridge to take care of the miscellany that arose.
All in all, Talon was impressed. He’d seen few ships that ran as well as the Wrath of Aegir. It was a fitting vessel to return the Damaia to her rightful place.
A chime sounded, heralding the arrival of the lift. The captain’s eyebrows rose, and Talon realized whoever arrived on the lift had not been summoned by a member of the bridge crew.
Lia stepped from the lift. She looked beautiful in a simple blue tunic that flowed over a pair of loose charcoal trousers. He watched her enter the bridge and noted the careful way she moved. There was a slight hesitancy to her step that she struggled to hide. He attributed it to nerves. It gave her a fragile air and raised his protective instincts.
Genuinely pleased to see her, he crossed the bridge to greet her. Taking her small hand in his, he bowed and placed a kiss on the back of it. Stroking her delicate fingers with his thumb, he enjoyed the simple sensation of holding her hand. When the captain appeared beside him, he reluctantly released her.
Captain Artrane executed a formal salute. “Welcome to the bridge…”
His voice trailed off, and Talon realized the captain was unsure how to address the Damaia before his crew. Talon had insisted her identity remain confidential until their successful return to N’yota.
“I promised Lady Lia a tour of the ship last night,” Talon said.
“Of course.” The captain smiled. “What better place to start than with the command center? If you have any questions, m’lady, please do not hesitate to ask.”
Lia gave a nod and murmured her thanks. The captain returned to his chair, leaving Talon to show her the bridge.
Talon extended his arm to her and felt more than saw her reluctance to take it. Her disinclination bothered him, but he masked his feelings carefully. “This is a Horizon-class starship,” he began, leading her around the deck and pointing out the different stations they passed. “It is the most advanced class of League ship. The Aegir has only been out of space dock two years.”
“Very impressive,” she replied in a neutral tone that told him nothing of her thoughts.
They completed the circuit of the bridge and Talon led her back to the lift. “Did you have any trouble locating me on the bridge? The computer should locate me or any member of your security detail on request.”
Lia shifted slightly away from him. “I was just exploring the ship. It was fortunate you were there.”
“You were just exploring the ship and thought you would start on the bridge?”
She didn’t bat an eye. “I thought I would start at the top of the ship and work my way down.”
He didn’t buy a word of her explanation. He knew she’d been intent on learning the ship while avoiding him. The flash of hurt that accompanied the disappointment she hadn’t sought him out surprised him. Still, he kept his voice even when he said, “I see.”
They walked a great portion of the large ship. Talon took care to point out areas of the ship he thought she might find interesting. During the tour, he kept the conversation light and focused on the places they visited.
“Would you like to see the rec deck—the recreation deck next?”
She made a noncommittal noise he took as agreement, and he showed her the fitness center, theater, hologrid and music room.
“Why don’t we stop for a cup of tea and a snack?” he suggested after a time.
Lia gifted him with a grateful smile. “That sounds good.”
They ducked into a small social café on the deck they were touring. The eatery was virtually deserted and the couple tucked themselves into a private alcove away from the few other patrons. They placed their order on a computer pad that sat in the center of the table.
Talon leaned back in his chair and studied the beautiful woman across from him. Her brilliant eyes focused on the vast vacuum of space out the large portal. He rested a loose fist on the table and considered the best way to begin questioning her. “It took quite a while for the Guild rep to summon you to his office. While I enjoyed the song and dance he performed to stall, I’m curious why it took a long time for you to arrive.”
Lia gave a negligent, one-shouldered shrug. “He probably didn’t want to admit there’d been a cave-in.”
Talon sat forward. “Your mine caved in on you?”
“The tunnels into the mine did.”
“Were you injured?” His heart pounded hard with worry.
“I’m fine.” She fiddled with the napkin dispenser. “I suppose I should thank you. I’d still be in the mine righ
t now, had you not shown up.”
“It usually takes that long for the Guild to mobilize a rescue?”
A genuine smile crossed her face and lit her eyes. The smile pleased him, but he didn’t understand what she found amusing about his question.
“It would take them that long to do the cost-benefit analysis on digging us out. After all, xyreon ore isn’t commanding the market share it used to.”
Talon didn’t know which shocked him more, the Guild’s greed or her casual acceptance of it. “They’ve left miners sealed in a mine before?”
Lia looked at him as though he’d asked if they were sitting down. “The Guild hasn’t cleared a collapse in over a year.”
Talon had been a League soldier—technically he still held rank. He’d seen death on battlefields and knew the need to emotionally distance oneself from the tragedy around you, but he’d never seen such nonchalant recognition of loss of life. Not even in the most hardened soldiers.
Nausea rolled his stomach as he studied his wife. Her fine-boned features gave her an air of delicateness he now knew to be false. She had to have a backbone of steel to have survived the hard life she described with such casualness.
Again, he found himself taking care to school his tone and expression. He seemed to be working harder on his “public face” with his wife than he had over the entire course of the election. “I didn’t know that.”
“Actually, Lynaya predicted we’d be rescued, she will…she would be impossible to live with now.”
“The woman you gave your credits and glassworks to?”
Lia nodded. “She imagines she has ‘the sight’.”
“What do you think?” Talon asked, intentionally keeping the conversation light.
“I think if she had precog abilities, she wouldn’t be working in the mines.”
Talon laughed at that.
A civilian bearing a silver tray appeared and placed their tea and pastries on the table. A beautiful woman in a low-cut blouse and high-cut skirt, she bent further over than necessary to set Talon’s cup before him, giving him a clear view of ample breasts and brown nipples. When he failed to respond to her overt charms, she sniffed and left in a huff.
“What caused the tunnels to collapse?” he asked.
“The retractor exploded.”
“What’s a retractor?”
“It’s a safety device that lowers miners down the side of the cliff, where we hang and dig out the ore. It pulls us back up at the end of shift.”
Talon didn’t like the mental image her description conjured. The idea of his wife hanging off the side of a cliff by a machine that exploded and caused a cave-in made his stomach tighten. How in all the hells did the Damaia wind up living such a nightmare?
It was time to find out. “How did you come to work in the mines? What happened on the Cordoba when you disappeared?”
Lia’s expression closed, and her body tensed. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does,” he said quietly. “It matters to our world and it matters to me.”
“I’m not going to discuss it,” she replied in a near shout. Her temper ignited like someone had flipped a switch and her eyes speared him with daggers of ice.
Her reaction stunned him. She’d spoken with ease about a life of such despair. What could be so terrible in comparison that she wouldn’t even speak of it? “What happened aboard that ship? What happened to you?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she repeated.
“Lia—” he began, letting determination infuse his voice.
“What? Are you going to torture it out of me?”
He spoke gently, hoping to reassure her and coax out an answer. “I’m not a monster, but I need to know what happened.”
“No, you don’t. Suffice it to say I survived.” Clearly rattled, Lia rose to her feet and tossed her napkin on the table.
Talon stood, and appreciating the value of a tactical retreat, temporarily dropped the subject and offered her an escape. “Ilexa was planning to watch a holostory this afternoon. Would you like to join her?”
Lia lifted a negligent shoulder. “I’ve never seen one.”
“You’ve never seen a holostory?”
“It wasn’t part of the Council’s curriculum.”
“We definitely have to remedy that.”
—
Talon took her to the hologrid and excused himself. For her part, Ilexa appeared delighted to have her company.
“What kind of story do you want to watch?” Ilexa asked from her position beside the input screen.
There were kinds of stories?
“Whatever you were planning to see,” Lia hedged.
“You have to have a preference. Romance? Comedy? Drama?”
Lia seized the most innocuous option. “Comedy.”
“Oh, there’s a new one out I haven’t seen by my favorite actress. Let’s watch that one.”
“Let’s,” Lia agreed. For some reason she didn’t want Ilexa to know she’d never seen a holostory before. Likely the result of misplaced pride.
Ilexa selected an option and dimmed the lights before joining Lia on the oversized sofa situated in front of the screen. The story began immediately, but Lia’s mind drifted. Talon’s questions, even though she’d expected them, had raised the ghosts of her past.
She hadn’t thought of that day on the Cordoba in years, but her mind kept the memories as vivid as if the events had occurred yesterday. Anya’s screams echoed in her head and her chest constricted as she remembered the kindly old woman who had overseen her tutelage on long trips.
Fear pulsed in her veins and desperation flooded her mind. The terror from years past encroached on the present, firming her resolve. She had to escape. She had to get away. Life as the Damaia held too much risk, and she had the experience to prove it.
Ilexa laughed beside her, and Lia forced her features to reflect amusement even though she had no idea what occurred on the screen. Satisfied her sister-in-law had immersed herself in the comedic antics, Lia concentrated on her own thoughts.
She had known her two personal guards aboard the Cordoba for more than half her life. The fact one of them had tried to kill her still stunned her. In all those years, he had harbored a hatred based in a bone-deep, familial ferocity that she had never seen. His attempt on her life had taught her a valuable lesson. Never trust anyone.
That had been the reason she hadn’t contacted Talon. In fact, the first person she thought of contacting was him, but sitting at the communications console, she had changed her mind. She’d known the guards better than she had known her husband. For all she knew, he felt the same way the assassins had. For a twelve-year-old with a massive crush on the man, admitting he might not be the hero she dreamed of had been excruciating.
Uncertain who to trust, she’d sat on the ship for two days. Though trapped with the bodies of her assassins and her saviors, for the first time in her life, she’d been completely alone. When rescue came from an unlikely source, she’d believed the gods had finally smiled on her. Even the crash on Tmesis had seemed a blessing despite the tragedy.
Ilexa laughed out loud, and Lia dragged her attention back to the holostory, which she was surprised to see was ending.
“What did you think?” Ilexa asked.
“It was funny,” Lia lied.
“I like her earlier works better. Would you like to see another one?”
The thought of sitting in the dark with her thoughts wasn’t pleasant. “Perhaps later.”
Ilexa stood up and stretched, elongating her long frame to display a figure that would make most men sit up and beg. “Trust me. You don’t want to return to your quarters just yet. I think Talon was going to arrange for some ‘reading material’ to be waiting on you.”
“Reading material?”
“He thinks you need to catch up on events and refresh your knowledge of history and religion,” Ilexa said with a grin. “In other words, incredibly boring tomes guaranteed to knock you unconsci
ous with the first paragraph.”
“I doubt I’ll read them.”
“Be careful, Big Brother likely plans to grill you afterward.”
Lia rolled her eyes. “Great.” The last thing she wanted to do was face more questions.
“Do you play Nitze Squares?”
“Never heard of it, but I’m not used to this much inactivity,” she warned.
“Then Nitze Squares is perfect. It’s a physical competition. There’s a Nitze set in the gym. I should warn you, I’m very competitive.”
“Good,” Lia replied, already looking forward to the game. Anything to occupy her mind would be welcome. “As am I.”
Though it aggravated her side, she enjoyed the physical activity. She’d picked up the game quickly and trounced Ilexa in every match. The workout helped exorcize the ghosts of her past, at least temporarily.
Exhausted and drenched in sweat, she returned to her quarters to prepare for dinner. She wore a slight smile when she stepped into the shower, remembering Ilexa’s demand for a rematch. Lia loved winning.
Now all she had to do was find a way off the ship when they docked at DeKalb Station, then a way off the station while under heavy guard. Her shoulders slumped at the thought, and she hoped the gods might once again smile on her escape.
Chapter Six
Caden continued to apologize from the time she left her cabin until they disembarked via the gangplank and stepped onto the small space station. Apparently, the young man despised seeing the Damaia dressed in common clothes and received as any other tourist. For herself, Lia could not be more pleased with the situation.
Talon had disembarked an hour earlier with all the pomp and fanfare due a visiting dignitary. While holding the highest elected title on N’yota was impressive on its own, the station personnel also recognized his position as husband to a planetary sovereign. Now that he had left, the private bay was as quiet as the grave.
Talon objected to her shopping trip, seeing the excursion as an unnecessary risk, but he’d relented and agreed to allow her to leave the ship as long as she drew no unnecessary attention to herself and stayed with Ilexa and two guards. The guards had been a sticking point that had almost cost her the chance to escape. Talon wanted a minimum of eight guards at her side. No matter her creativity, Lia could never hope to slip eight League soldiers. Fortunately, Ilexa had pointed out if they took that many soldiers, he might as well hang a sign around Lia’s neck announcing her importance. The two had dickered back and forth, much to Lia’s amusement, before agreeing Caden and Thane would act as escorts. Talon wanted Vardin glued to her side, but an Inderian guaranteed unwanted attention.
