by Kay, Frost;
Leave.
For a second, Allie imagined herself just turning and going back to her cell. As much as the room scared her, it was the alien standing near the far window which frightened her more. Sloven hadn’t so much as looked in her direction, but it made her uneasy all the same. What did he want this time?
You won’t find out unless you ask.
Lifting her chin, she feigned confidence and walked into the room like she owned it. Her ankles wobbled a little, and Allie latched onto the back of a couch, barely keeping herself from falling on her face.
So much for confidence.
A snicker sounded from behind her.
Allie glared over her shoulder at the straight-faced Kitterrans. Jerks.
“I’d like to see you walk in these,” she muttered darkly.
She turned around and clung to the piece of furniture to keep herself grounded as she really looked at the wall to her right. What she’d thought to be an art piece depicting space was actually space. Her stomach lurched, and she swallowed hard as the room began to spin. Flying was the worst. Downright unnatural. Allie began to tremble and attempted to count to one hundred to compose herself.
It wasn’t surprising that she was on a ship. If she was the evil mastermind who wanted to get away with kidnapping, Allie would’ve headed to the stars, too. But what had tipped her off originally was the shudder here and there that made her bed groan. Buildings didn’t do that, well, safe buildings at least.
It was a blasted nightmare.
Sweat beaded on the top of her lip and at her temples as she thought of how long they’d already been flying. How in the worlds was she going to be able to get away? Escaping on Sars would have been difficult, but escaping an airship in space?
She was doomed.
Her breathing became more labored, and Sloven turned to face her, his brows furrowed together.
“Something wrong, my dear?” he asked, abandoning his vigil by the far window.
She hid her wince as he approached her and shook her head. “I’m fine,” she whispered a little too breathlessly.
“You still haven’t gotten used to the flying?” Sloven surmised, his tone not unkind.
Allie thought about lying, but what was the use? He’d been studying her for longer than she realized. Ultimately, it was plain ol’ stupid to lie about something so ridiculous.
She shrugged a tight shoulder, her legs quivering beneath her. “I’ve never liked flying. It’s always bothered me, and I suspect it always will. Just another one of my quirks.”
The king nodded and leaned a hip against the arm of the couch across from the one she was currently using as a shield. He continued to study her, and the silence stretched between them. Allie mentally sighed. He’d summoned her there for a reason. She might as well sit down while he monologued again. While her shoes were cute, her toes were starting to ache.
His gaze never left her as she rounded the couch on shaky legs and sat down carefully, not to flash all her important bits, and crossed her legs. Once situated and somewhat calm, she lifted her gaze to the king. She flinched. He was wearing his new younger identity. It was unnerving to glance away and then have a completely different countenance standing in front of her.
Bizarre.
Allie fidgeted and then crossed her arms over her chest. It bothered her that he looked so much like his sons.
“It seems like you have much on your mind.”
A statement, not a question, but she was going to answer it anyway.
Allie thought she was going to ask what he wanted but what came out was completely different. “Was it necessary to dress me like a nightwalker?” she grunted while gesturing to her outfit.
Sloven barked out a laugh and shook his head. He gracefully unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat on the couch across from her, his unnerving face reflecting in the mirrored table between them.
“You’re wearing over 500,000 credits worth of fabric. It’s the best of the best.”
“If you spent so much money on it, you would think there’d be a little more fabric,” she mumbled. “I think you got ripped off.”
“You’re an odd one.”
“One of my charms.”
His eyes darkened, and his expression intensified. “You’re diverting.”
Diverting? It made her sound like a toy.
Her lips puckered in distaste. “If you want someone a little more streamlined, I’m sure there are plenty of women that would come running if you put out a call.” She cocked her head and gestured to the doors. “You could let me go right now. It would be so easy. I promise you it would be better for you in the end.”
Her shoulders drooped when he grinned at her with amusement.
“That was a nice try.”
“It was worth a shot,” Allie sighed and rubbed at her forehead, trying to hide the exhaustion weighing down on her from the last few days. Or what she thought had been days. One couldn’t really tell while in space. “So what do you want?” she asked, fluttering her hand around the room. “You obviously want to speak about something.”
“And if I just wanted the pleasure of your company?”
She rolled her eyes and gave him a smile as fake as her old neighbor’s boobs. “My manners prevent me from calling you a liar, but you and I both know you want something. So why don’t you tell me what it is so I can go back to sleep in my cell?”
Sloven laced his fingers over his taut stomach. “Have you ever been betrayed, Allie?”
His change of subject threw her for a loop.
“I’m sure most people have been hurt by the people closest to them. Betrayal is a part of life.”
“True, but I’m speaking about the kind of betrayal that bites so deeply that you can’t possibly move on.”
“I can’t say that I have.” And she was so thankful that she hadn’t.
“I figured as much. You’re too innocent, and you don’t carry yourself like someone who’s a bit jaded.” He leaned forward as if he was anticipating her reaction to the next thing he’d say. “My sons weren’t always as noble as they now pretend to be.”
She swallowed, not wanting to hear his next words.
“They were once my partners.”
Allie’s stomach twisted. The Av triplets had some serious skills, but she’d just assumed that they gained them legally. How had she managed to stumble into the company of such rats?
“But things must come to an end,” he sighed. “Their betrayal could not be forgiven.” He drew his finger down his chiseled cheek. “So I gave Blade a little present to remember me by. He’ll always carry me around.”
He’d said something similar when he’d been in prison about her cyan lines. Her neck and chest heated at the reminder and the knowledge that it wasn’t even Sloven in the prison.
She lifted her gaze from the small sliver of couch just visible over his right shoulder to his smirking face.
What. A. Bastard.
Allie wanted to slap the smile off Sloven’s weird, young face. How could he do such a thing to his own child? It was disturbing to the max.
“I don’t have children,” she said slowly, barely managing to keep her anger in check. “It must have been painful for your children to hurt you.”
“I’ve sired many children over the years but none were my pride and joy as the triplets were.”
His expression twisted into something so dark, Allie wanted to hide under the couch. Maybe she shouldn’t have engaged him.
“They chose Humans over their own father,” he spat.
Allie remained perfectly still as the air crackled with a danger that sent a tremor of fear down her spine. She was going to die. It might not be at that moment, but if she didn’t get away, he’d kill her. Sloven was the ultimate predator and she was waaaaay over her head. A little girl playing at being a spy.
A pleasant mask fell back into place. He placed his elbows on his knees and rested his square chin on his knuckles. “Blade had the most potential.”
/> “I would have thought Lev, as your first born, would have been your most cherished.”
“He was definitely clever, but he’s not nearly as bloodthirsty as my Blade.” He inhaled deeply and paused. “You’re afraid.”
Stupid sniffing aliens.
Allie woodenly nodded. “A lot of things in life are scary. Fear is a part of life.”
“Only for those who are weak.”
“You’ve never experienced fear?” The question popped out of her mouth without a thought.
Geez, Allie. You’re an idiot. Stop provoking him.
A measure of madness and anger entered his eyes, and Sloven turned to stare out the far window, the veins in his neck sticking out. He frowned, and lines bracketed his mouth in an unattractive way. “Everything that I feared has now passed. Blade killed his mother, and I have nothing left to fear.”
Allie flinched in shock, a gasp escaping from her lips. Blade would never do something like that. She knew him.
Do you really know him?
She shook her head. It couldn’t be true. The evil alien pretending to be emotionally wounded on the couch across from her was an expert liar. Blade had been nothing but kind to her. She knew he had his rough edges, but he wasn’t evil. Allie managed to school her expression into something neutral.
“I’m sorry,” she offered, hoping it was what the king wanted from her.
His shoulders tightened. “Don’t you want to know how it happened?”
“No.”
He turned back to her abruptly, the movement startling Allie. He stood and moved to sit on the other side of her couch. Her heart hammered as he scooted a little closer, one long arm resting on the back of the furniture. He brushed a finger along her bare shoulder, and she shifted out of his reach, disguising the movement as her shifting to face him properly.
His unfamiliar eyes met hers and stayed. “Do you know how long it takes for an Av woman to conceive?”
Allie blinked slowly. She did not expect that question. Sloven would give her whiplash if he kept that up. “I’ve been told they only come into cycle once every seven years.”
“When the sickness was released upon the world, it affected all the females living on our planet, but especially the Av females. My mate and I tried for children for one-hundred-and-fifty years with no success. I almost gave up, but then a miracle happened.” A genuine smile tipped up his lips. “Avs have children in pairs, imagine our surprise when we were blessed with triplets.” His gaze faded as if he was lost in a memory. “It was everything I ever wanted.”
She highly doubted it, but Allie smartly kept her mouth shut.
“When you live as long as my people do, you know you will grieve those who have shorter lifespans. We spent many good years together.” The happiness faded out of his eyes, leaving them cold and emotionless. “She was ripped from my life in the most terrible of ways.”
Allie really, really didn’t want to feel sorry for him, but she found herself reaching out despite her hatred for Sloven, and she slipped her fingers into his, squeezing once before retracting her hand. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“It was a long time ago,” he murmured, staring at his palm. “The pain passed, but the memory is still seared into my mind.” He leaned closer to her, and Allie’s heart picked up speed. Sloven flashed his teeth at her in a blinding smile and cupped her cheek. “Soon, my son will understand my pain, as well as the devastation of having everything he cares about ripped from his grasp.”
Allie caught his meaning immediately and shrugged his hand off her body. “I think you misunderstood the situation. Blade has an interest in me but it’s not reciprocated.”
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
Sloven tsked. “My dear, you understand I’ve lived many years? I’m able to read people, and, well, you’re an open book. You may not admit it to yourself, but you already belong to him, which works well for me.”
“We’re not mated,” she said clearly.
“True. If you were mated, you’d bear his mark, and yet you wear mine.” His gaze pointedly latched onto the cyan lines swirling across her skin. “You ingested the poison and lived to tell the tale. The only other woman to survive that was my prior wife.”
She clasped her shaking hands together. “You poisoned your wife?”
“I had to make sure she was worthy of this life.”
What a nutbag. A total nutter.
“I’ve been without a companion for a long time. You’ll be just what I need,” he said softly and touched the tip of her nose like she was a little girl. “Vengeance will be sweet.”
Allie slapped his hand away, leapt to her feet, and wobbled on her heels, almost pitching face-first into the mirrored table. Sloven grabbed her elbow and pulled her back against his chest. He maneuvered her to his side and looped her hand through his arm like they were a courting couple going on a stroll in the park.
“Let’s move along, dear. There’s something I must show you.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you until you provide me with some practical clothing.” Clothing was the least of her worries, but she needed some time to get her thoughts in order, and having the comfort of modest clothing helped her feel less vulnerable.
Sloven towed her toward the doors that opened as they neared. Both Kitterran guards were waiting outside, impassively staring at them. The guards fell into place either side of them, and the king guided Allie down the sterile hallway. “I’ll tell you what, you please me and I’ll give you whatever garments you desire.”
Please him? No way in hell.
Dirty old creep.
He took in her revolted expression and chuckled. “Darling, I want nothing of the sort.”
Yet.
There was clearly a yet left unsaid.
“In fact, I have something completely different in mind for you.”
Allie didn’t like it. She didn’t like it one bit. His statement was too ominous and vague.
“I’ll do what I can within reason.”
They rounded a corner and another door materialized, revealing her plain room. A pair of pants, a tunic style red top, and a pair of spiky red heels lay on the white comforter. She reached for the pants.
“Not so fast, dearest. You haven’t had time to please me. These are your rewards.”
Allie pulled away and stepped into her room and glanced from the red heels to the silver walker heels she was rocking.
He must have a shoe fetish.
Or he didn’t want her to be able to run from him.
Her lips twitched. If so, she was a better actress than he expected.
He didn’t know how well she could run in heels.
Allie glanced over her shoulder. “What happens next?”
Sloven leaned his shoulder against the door in a lazy movement and rubbed his hands together. “Now we get to the fun part.”
That didn’t sound good.
Seven
Perfecting the art of domesticity
Allie stared at her whitened fingernails.
If she made it out of the flight alive, she was sure there’d forever be nail divots in the plush seat arms of the small puddle jumper airship.
The metal groaned, and the ship shuddered.
“Oh lordy,” she moaned, cracking one eye open. Their small ship approached a planet so gray it looked like a swirling ball of depression.
Was that their destination? The ship lurched downward, and her stomach heaved. On second thought, she didn’t care about where they landed as long as they did land. Allie pulled her feet back underneath her chair and tucked her toes behind the legs that were bolted to the floor.
The image of the bolts breaking loose and her chair tumbling around the small ship like a rubber bouncy ball flashed through her mind.
She really was going to die.
“Entering the atmosphere,” the pilot said into his headpiece. “Requesting to land.” A pause. “Affirmative.” He flipped a red switch and readjusted their course. “A
storm is brewing. The landing will be rough, sir.”
“Very well,” Sloven said from his seat next to her.
“A s-storm?” Allie stuttered, swallowing the saliva flooding her mouth.
“It happens all the time. Don’t worry, my dear.”
Sweat coated her body and dripped between her breasts. “We’re going to die,” she whispered, staring at the two Kitterran guards who faced her in their own seats. The storm would rip them all right from the sky, and they’d die in a ball of fiery glory.
Sloven placed his left hand upon the fingers of her right hand and squeezed. Allie relinquished her death grip on the chair and clung to his hand like a lifeline. The king was creepy on a scale she couldn’t possibly number, but, in that moment, she didn’t care one wit.
“What sort of planet is this?” she forced herself to ask as the airship’s nose dipped down.
“It’s primarily a water-based planet like your Earth, but with much less land. There are only a handful of islands on the entire planet.”
So, drowning it was.
Her teeth began to chatter as she imagined slowly suffocating.
Stop being so morbid, Allie Sai. But she couldn’t help herself.
The ship shuddered again, and she slapped her left hand against the window to brace herself as they fully breached the atmosphere of the drowning planet. This was it.
“I stole my mama’s chocolate from her drawer and blamed it on my brother,” she blurted.
“What?” Sloven asked, confusion on his face.
“I need to confess my sins before I die.”
“You’re not going to die.”
He said it so rationally, like there wasn’t a reason for fear.
Allie glared at him. “If we make it out of this, I’m going to kill you for making me board this airship. It’s not fit to be someone’s trashcan, let alone fly passengers through space.” Stars flickered across her vision. There was only a little flimsy metal between her and the giant void that ensured a horrid death.
