by Liz Craven
It was his turn to sigh. He took her hands and dropped his forehead against hers. “I never realized what a selfish bastard I was until now. I want to regret finding you and putting your life at risk by bringing you home, but I’m not sure I’d leave you on Tmesis if I had it to do over again. I can’t imagine living my life without you.”
Lia sat in stunned silence at his words as he lifted his head to brush his lips against her forehead. Before she gathered her wits, he used the communicator to order her guards back. She sat on the bed with a stupid grin on her face while her guards planned to transport her home.
—
Talon wanted to sequester Lia away and savor the sound of her heartbeat, but they entered a circus when they returned to the first minister’s residence. His mother swooped down and immediately bustled Lia off, leaving him to face his furious—and loud—brothers with their annoying need to help, and their inability to remain in close quarters without escalating to a quarrel or outright scuffle.
Ilexa arrived as Talon shoved himself between an irate Bastian and belligerent Dante. Huffing in outrage, Ilexa stamped her foot. “Someone just tried to kill Lia—again—and you are fighting with each other! Honestly, you should be ashamed of yourselves.”
To Talon’s amusement, Ilexa dropped into a chair and showed no intention of leaving. After shooting their baby sister sheepish looks, Bastian and Dante moved to opposite corners of the room.
Looking mildly amused, Mal finally spoke. “Does anyone have any ideas about protecting our sister-in-law?”
Talon watched his brothers shift from bristling siblings to concerned warriors. He raked his hands through his hair and tried to force his mind away from his wife and onto her protection. “The best security would be to have off-worlders.”
Mal frowned. “The political machinations of the League would affect the quality of any guard they provide, plus their price would be exorbitant.”
“Not League soldiers. An off-world equivalent of the Home Guard,” Talon clarified.
“The Inderians have been doing a good job. Can we get them to take this on for the long-term?” Tristan asked.
“They have agreed to temporary guard duty based on Vardin’s respect of Lia. To offer payment for continued services would insult their sense of honor,” Talon replied, thwarted. Keeping Inderians on Lia’s detail was his primary goal.
“Honor Vardin’s tribe,” Bastian suggested. “If you give the impression that you view one tribe as having superior warriors, the sting will have the other tribes supplying you with their warriors for the next several years, if not decades.”
Talon narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his only irresponsible brother. Normally he would dismiss Bastian out of hand, but to protect his wife, he was willing to consider any options provided. Still, his tone came out harsh when he asked, “What are you talking about?”
Bastian slouched in the chair, stretching his legs out and crossing them at the ankles. “Paying them would be an insult, but N’yota could send a shipment of trynnium to Inderia to honor the warriors of Vardin’s tribe for their bravery in protecting the Damaia. The other tribes will be jealous and fear we believe them to be less capable than Vardin’s tribe. Likely, they will hold tournaments to determine who will have the honor of defending the Damaia next—until all tribes have taken a turn as her guard.”
Talon contemplated his suggestion. “I’ll run the idea by Vardin.”
“Don’t do that,” Bastian warned, sitting up straight. “He’ll take offense. What’s more, telling Inderians they are easily manipulated would cause tension between our worlds.”
Talon frowned, considering.
“It’s the best plan we’ve got,” Ilexa pointed out.
“It’s the only plan we’ve got,” Tristan said wryly.
Even after agreeing to Bastian’s plan, it took four hours to eject his family from the house. Despite the fact it was only late afternoon, Talon and Lia ate a silent dinner and retired for the night. Talon curled his body around hers, and pulled her back snug against his front.
“We’ll find these fanatics. You will be safe,” he promised her.
“Even if we found all those people and convinced them I deserve to live, it won’t make me safe. There will always be someone or some group that hates me.” The sadness in her tone tugged at his heartstrings.
Dammit. Now he had heartstrings. Still, she was right.
“Maybe you should consider abdicating,” he heard himself say. The shock that assaulted him with those words had nothing to do with his suggestion and everything to do with the fact he meant it, relished it even. His arrogance in believing he could protect her had almost gotten her killed.
“What?” Lia turned to face him, her mouth falling open in shock.
“We can leave the planet. I’ll resign. We can start a life elsewhere. Maybe we’ll go with Thane to the Central Alliance,” he mused, warming to the idea of a life where Lia was safe from assassins. It sounded like bliss, like nirvana.
Lia continued to stare at him as if he’d grown two heads. Her eyes began to glow with blue flame.
“Now?” she shouted. “Now you tell me I can abdicate? That there’s a way for me to forsake the role of Damaia and live my own life elsewhere? Damn you, Talon.”
He blinked in surprise at the virago before him. “I thought this would please you.”
He hadn’t exactly. He hadn’t thought about it at all before he said it, but it should have made her happy.
“If you’d offered this to me on Tmesis, I’d have jumped at it. But you didn’t. You didn’t even offer it to me when we arrived. You waited until now. Now, when I’ve seen N’yota. Started meeting her people. Started caring about her and wanting to make a difference. Hells, I’m even beginning to believe in the thrice-damned Prophecy,” she took a deep shuddering breath. “I’m the only one who can bring these people peace. I was born to do it.”
“I want you to be safe,” he said, not disguising the desperate plea.
“Even if we left, I wouldn’t be safe. I would remain a threat to whomever took over leadership and an abomination to the zealots. Here I have security.”
“That’s true for all who govern,” he pointed out. “Even I have a security detail. Assassination attempts are extremely rare for leaders on most League worlds, and I promise we’ll make you as safe as that.”
“I’d like that.”
“I never again want to see you staring down a lunatic with a blaster,” he growled.
“I never want you to see that either,” Lia’s laugh gave way to a yawn.
“I’m glad you can laugh about it.”
“I was so mad at you today,” she murmured sleepily. “I hated you for making me care about N’yota and plan a future with you.”
“You were?” he asked softly, pleased with her admission, but unwilling to disturb her descent into much needed sleep.
“I certainly didn’t mean to fall in love you,” she breathed, and he felt her tip into sleep.
Talon bolted up in bed, jostling her awake. “What did you say?”
Jolted awake, she stared blankly at him. “Huh?”
“Did you just say you love me?” he demanded.
A scarlet blush stained her cheeks. She gaped at him and he almost laughed as he watched her brain try to engage. The vulnerable look in her eyes tugged at those annoying heartstrings. Her simple words had chased the fear and anxiety he’d felt since seeing her facing a blaster. He knew they would come back, but for now, the joy that blazed through him burned everything else away.
He brushed a tender kiss against her lips and confessed, “I love you too.”
A beaming smile lit her face and made those unusual eyes glow. “You love me?”
“Really.”
He lay back down and pulled her with him to snuggle. He traced his hands along her spine and joy shifted a little to make room for contentment.
“I can’t believe I’m happy to be back on N’yota, much less actually l
ooking forward to a future and family here.”
“Nothing would make me happier than to see you carrying my child,” he told her. “But, I think we should wait until things here are more secure before bringing a baby into our lives.”
She lifted her head from his chest to look at him with surprise. “What about securing N’yota’s future?”
“Seeing our children are protected enough to have a future is more important.”
“I knew there was more to you than duty,” she announced on a yawn.
He pulled her back down against him. The day’s stress had exhausted Lia, who immediately dropped off to sleep. Talon lay awake until late in the night, savoring the feel of his sleeping wife in his arms and the rhythmic deep breathing that proved to him she still lived.
Epilogue
Two years later
Ilexa paused in the doorway and took in the scene before her with a fond smile. One of the large salons in the palace’s private quarters had been dubbed the “family room” sometime in the six months since Talon and Lia had finally taken up residence. At any given time you would always find at least one member of her family there. Today, however, almost the entire horde had gathered for a private celebration. Only Bastian was missing. The majority of the day had been spent publicly celebrating the two-year anniversary of Lia’s ascension. Tonight, the family celebrated casually.
Relaxing, she let her innate skill rise within her and she watched them with her inner eye. A pale gold glow surrounded her sister-in-law. Apparently, she and Talon had done some celebrating of their own. The baby she carried was only a few hours conceived. It would be a while before the parents even knew the child existed.
She wondered when during the celebration they’d found the privacy to make the baby. Scratch that. She didn’t want to know.
Asha rose and lumbered over to lean her body against Ilexa’s legs, knocking her into the doorjamb. The beautiful animal had grown to her full size, but still behaved as a youngling.
Distracted by Lia’s pet, her gift retreated. This time, she kept it suppressed. Her mother’s tinkling laugh drew her attention and she wasn’t surprised to see Captain Brisby flirting outrageously. The man and his crew had mysteriously disappeared from the planet shortly before Caden attempted to murder the Damaia. Since that time, he had somehow managed to sneak back on world several times. Of course, now that his rescue of Lia was public knowledge, N’yota viewed him as a hero.
Since Lia had ascended, everyone seemed to have prospered and found some happiness on N’yota. Everyone except Ilexa.
“Lex,” Dante called. “Come rescue Mal before I’m forced to throttle him.”
Forcing a smile to her lips, she swept into the room to join her family. She didn’t want to dampen the festal mood. Now was not the time to tell them she was leaving.
About the Author
To learn more about Liz Craven, please visit www.lizcraven.com. Send an email to [email protected] or join her Yahoo! group to join in the fun with other readers as well as Liz! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lizcraven_newsletter/
Rianna and Jhaan fight to bring a promise of hope to a world on the edge of extinction.
Promise for Tomorrow
© 2007 Liz Kreger
Jhaan san deCain has only a few days left to find his psi-mate or lose his place as heir to the throne of Dakar. Rescuing Zarian princess Rianna Chartier from an assassination attempt was supposed to be a temporary deviation from his quest. But the moment he lays eyes on Rianna, he realizes he is looking at his salvation. The beautiful alien is his perfect psychic match.
He is driven to wed her quickly, even if it is without her knowledge or consent. For without a psi-mate, he will not only lose the throne, he will be doomed to a life of sexual dormancy. And his people will be pushed closer to the edge of extinction.
Rianna cannot deny her attraction to Jhaan, but she is already betrothed to a Turnisian prince in a politically advantageous match. Dakarians are respected, even feared, for their formidable psychic power, but she is forced to rely on Jhaan’s charity to escort her safely to Turnis.
Rianna is outraged to discover Jhaan has tricked her into marriage. But his deception proves minor when they discover that someone will stop at nothing to see her dead.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Promise for Tomorrow:
“Dakar made the decision to seclude itself from other worlds for two reasons.” Jhaan halted before the wide expanse of windows, staring out over the gardens. Late afternoon was fast approaching. Shadows lengthened over the expanse of lawn. “About the same time that Dakar’s psychic ability was manifesting, there was once another world called Depharia. They were a very populous world and possessed a somewhat similar Talent, although theirs was a more emphatic trait rather than telepathic.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“Few people have. Depharia was utterly destroyed over fifty thousand cycles ago, long before the formation of the Federation of Worlds. All that remains is a barren planet. Fear and prejudice encouraged an alliance of her enemies, which took steps to eliminate what was perceived as a threat. It made little difference that Depharia had never offered any type of threat, nor exhibited any hostilities. Not only did the alliance destroy the people of Depharia, they poisoned both the surface and the atmosphere. Nothing alive remains on that world. Dakar was a sparsely populated world then, but we observed and learned from the example of Depharia. Since that time we have concealed our growing ability, guarding our privacy and discouraging the presence of off-worlders.”
He felt Rianna’s distress for the world that had long ago ceased to exist. Through their link he knew when she understood the necessity of the Dakarian people to isolate themselves. That same prejudice that destroyed Depharia so many millennia ago was still alive and well in the present day.
She stared at him, her eyes damp for a people who were destroyed out of ignorance and intolerance. Standing, she crossed the room to his side.
“I think the caution of your people is well placed, Jhaan. There will always be those who do not understand. What people do not understand, they fear, and what they fear, they destroy.”
Warmth flooded him. He knew he couldn’t ignore the little voice at the back of his mind. He had to confess the truth.
“Rianna, I must tell you something.” He turned away from the windows to face her. “The night of the Lunar Festival…”
“Yes?”
“The ritual the magistrate conducted is also called a Linking Ceremony.”
He hesitated, at a loss of how to continue.
“Does this have something to do with that weird little connection between us?”
“Yes. We of Dakar also consider this a—marriage ceremony.”
“A what?”
Her stunned expression made Jhaan swallow. There was nothing in life that he feared, but at this moment, he would have gladly faced the fiercest creature in the universe than try to explain this to his wife.
“Rianna…”
“You’re trying to tell me you married me without my knowledge or consent?”
“Rianna…”
“You knew I was betrothed. I have a duty to my family and my world.”
“And I have a duty to mine.” Catching her by her arms he stooped until he could stare into her eyes. “I was days from being declared sterile. I didn’t have the luxury of time to woo you, to win you over.”
“Instead, you married me under false pretenses.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“No? Enlighten me.”
“For each male of Dakar, there is only one female who can awaken his sexuality. For me, that woman is you. It never would have occurred to me that someone not of Dakar could be my mate. I was thrown off balance and reacted rashly.”
“So, it’s only my psychic ability that makes me acceptable. It was nothing personal.”
“It is completely personal. Your psi ability is only a part of it.” He willed her to understand
, knowing he should have revealed these facts to her the night of their marriage. Accessing their link, he felt her anger, confusion, a sense of betrayal, and finally, pain. “I never meant to deceive you, Rianna. Time was against me.”
“Did you use your ability to take my free will away?”
“No, never.”
“How do I know that?”
Jhaan was silent for a long moment, staring at her, willing her to believe him. To believe in him. He’d hoped he would have more time to gain her trust. Now, he was at a loss to explain.
“Look deep within yourself. Look inside of me. I cannot lie to you, Rianna. A part of me resides within your mind, just as a part of you is within mine.”
“I don’t know how I can believe you.”
“We’d met under very trying circumstances. How do I go up to a complete stranger—someone who knows nothing of my world or our abilities, who was frankly repulsed by the idea of someone being able to delve her thoughts.” Color mounted Rianna’s cheeks but she didn’t deny the charge. “How do I tell this woman ‘Oh, by the way, psychically we are compatible. We must marry or I am doomed to a life of being half a man’? That she would suffer the same sense of incompleteness?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Jhaan lifted one hand to smooth her hair back behind her ear in a gentle motion. “Your life would have been just as barren as mine, Rianna, maarai. You might have wed the Turnisian heir, shared his bed, bore his children.” His stomach clenched at the thought, but he forced himself to continue. “But you would have been just as unfulfilled, both sexually and mentally.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do know that. Whatever cosmic fluke caused you to be born on Salazar rather than Dakar also ensured you were never, nor would ever be sexually attracted to another man.”
Rianna was silent for a long moment before she raised her eyes to his. The look she gave him was filled with conflicting emotions.
“So, you chose to deceive me. I’m trying very hard to understand, but once again the decision concerning my future has been taken out of my hands.”
Alone on a strange planet, forced to call a mate…
