Nico and Eli entered. Seeing Consul Bosh, Nico smiled and said, “Consul Bosh, it is so good to see you. Oh, but it appears something has upset my wife.” Nico had the look he got when he became General Cassian. “I don’t like it when the Princess Teagan is troubled. For that matter, neither do the people of the Parvac Empire. Her people adore her. A slight, such as the one she suffered at the hands of Arlo Dano, had to be addressed. The Princess possesses a kind and forgiving heart. She has chosen to forgive Dano’s paid puppet soldiers. She wishes to keep them. Our people can relate to duty and following orders, so she can rescue and forgive them. Her people will love her even more for her generosity. However, with those outside of the Empire, I must be clear. Obviously, my message was received by the entire sector and is the reason for your call. I once told my wife that I would destroy worlds to keep her safe. I never exaggerate. Please, don’t be alarmed. Parvac and the Galaxic Government are allies, and we will protect your citizens with our forces should such a time come. No one was harmed or will suffer any ill effects from my demonstration.”
I knew my face had gone white, and my eyes were twin moons. Consul Bosh said, “The location of the destruction is a message even the most dull minded can understand. It requires no explanation. Clarification to the public might lead to mass hysteria. Our citizens might fear the destruction of their home worlds for offenses for which they took no part.”
“Put their minds at ease. The destruction I caused was done with nothing more than a simple mining tool that underwent a few modifications. It could only have such devastating results on an iron core where the atoms are arranged in a tight hexagonal pattern.” Nico’s admission was somehow more chilling. “The citizens of the Galaxic Government simply need to remember the reason they have peace with the Parvac Empire. It would be foolish if that reason was to come to harm.”
The image of millions of Parvac soldiers seeking revenge filled my mind. I hadn’t grasped how truly angry my abduction had made Nico, Papa, and the Valens.
“You, Consul Bosh, however, are family. Surly, you feel for Teagan, your daughter-in-law, as we do?”
I didn’t know what to do. Nico had hidden the cold fury he felt from me. Consul Bosh appeared angry, cowed, and resigned all at once. Between the two of them, I realized my loyalty must be to my husband. Rather spitefully, I was glad Nico had destroyed the moon. However, that Nico had the power to destroy a moon with a mining tool frightened me. That he made no apologies and no excuses for his actions was attractive to me. It aroused feelings in me such as those Yukihyo had stirred when he had thrown Devon, a miner on Malta, from me at Ms. Laura’s brothel. Yukihyo had broken Devon’s skull against the stone wall. Nico had shattered a moon with the force of his anger. Nico’s anger was different. He didn’t act immediately. He waited and planned his retaliation. I felt vindicated and afraid at once just as I had after Uncle Kagan had seen to Nathan Green’s execution by reverse nanite technology. I wondered if the Bosh family had access to the same technology. I opened my mouth to speak as I met my father-in-law’s eyes. He was my only father-in-law. Yukihyo and Nico had both lost their fathers. Not knowing what to say, I closed it again.
“It is alright, daughter. I might have done much worse had our positions been reversed. I’ll figure out something.” He ended the call.
Nico kneeled before me and placed his head to my stomach. I combed through his short blonde hair with my fingers. “I don’t know whether to be afraid of you, or tear your clothes from you.”
Dark brown eyes looked up into mine. “Never be afraid of me. I am yours.”
“I know. I’m not afraid of you. I love you. This news does trouble me. How will Eric and Quaid react?”
Nico continued to stare into my eyes. “They once came onto his ship and took you. Eric helped me plan it.” My jaw dropped. “We didn’t include Quaid in our plans. There was no need to put him into an uncomfortable situation. He would have been loyal to you and our family, and it would have hurt his relationship with his father. Did you think only Parvac desired retribution? We were cheated of our punishment of Arlo Dano.”
I remembered once on Arachne when I had been saying goodbye to Simon that a fierce look had changed his eyes, and he had told me the only reason the families were allowing me off world was so that my heart didn’t break. If my sweet Simon could become so fierce, I could only assume there to be aspects of the natures of my other family members of which I had no knowledge. I had seen Papa strike fear into both Nico and Yukihyo with a glance. However, I had never witnessed his anger. He was my sweet Papa.
“Do you fear me?”
Shaking my head, I said, “No, I know how much you love me.”
Kaoti entered with Izaac following behind him as Eli took a seat across from us. Both men were freshly showered and wore the black off-duty clothing of Parvac soldiers. Nico kissed my stomach and stood. “Chef, ice cream for my wife.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Izaac, do you want something to eat or drink?” I asked. He shook his head. “Okay, please sit with me. I need your help with some personal information.” I picked up my vid-screen and found new items in my menu that had been entered by Director Sapor. There were seventeen new items, and nine of them had names. I selected the one for Izaac. A picture of him wearing a black shirt appeared by his name. His physical description and medical information had been entered. All of the areas that needed to be filled in were highlighted. The first area followed his name. “Izaac, what is your last name?”
Izaac held out his hand for my vid-screen. When I gave it to him, he began to enter information. I took my ice cream from Chef. Thunderdrop and Cass sat before Sue’s tank and watched as Lorca dropped in a crab. Nico sat in a chair beside Eli. I peeked over Izaac’s shoulder as he quickly filled out the forms. Chef took away my empty bowl. Neema had woken up and was fussy. She didn’t want me or her daddy. She wanted Kaoti. However, Kaoti was intent on remaining at attention as a menacing deterrent to anything Izaac might attempt. Frustrated that he wasn’t playing with her, she crawled to him.
“Give up, Kaoti. You spoiled her. Deal with it,” Yukihyo told him. Neema looked up at him with her jade green eyes from his feet.
“She’s about to cry from hurt feelings,” I scolded Kaoti. “Seriously, we’re all here. Relax and take off those boots and anything sharp.”
Kaoti bent down and picked Neema up. Her soft dove grey hair curled a little around her ears and at the nape of her neck. Neema grabbed his face and gave him a wet baby kiss. Kaoti laughed. I thought Eli would have a stroke. Pierce helped Kaoti with his boots. Whatever weapons he had were hidden and secure. Pierce removed the blocks that had for the time being lost her interest and returned with her stuffed bears. Kaoti sat with her. Neema crawled from him, picked up a pink bear, and crawled back to him where she threw it in his lap. After a few minutes, all of her bears were on Kaoti. After she was satisfied, she joined the bears in his lap. Thunderdrop and Cass decided to play ball. Nico, Yukihyo, and Eli had begun a conversation. Izaac handed me my vid-screen. I read his biographical information.
“Izaac, you’re supposed to put your last name here. You put a number.” Izaac had typed zero one nine in the space.
In my mind, I heard him say, “We do not have last names. We have batch numbers.”
Meeting his black eyes with mine, I asked, “Batch numbers? What are those?”
“It is the number representing our removal from our amniotic chambers. Rozz, Zam, Traviz, and I were created on our father’s nineteenth attempt. Jezzie is the only one remaining of batch twenty-one.”
I remembered the dead men at my feet in the market as Yukihyo, Kaoti, and Nico fought furiously to protect Neema and me. “Had they left us alone, they would still be alive.”
“I am pleased to be sworn to the service of a lady with better judgement than our former employer,” Izaac communicated.
Thinking of the brilliant, but insane Arlo, I said, “That’s not saying much. Anyway, a number can�
�t be your last name. Don’t you want to use your father’s last name? Would you like to make one up? What do you want to do?”
Izaac shrugged. He seemed hurt. “Lady wife, give our new brothers the Ponidi name. Perhaps some of them will find females willing to mate with them. Izaac might be able to attract a blind woman. Eventually, he might figure out how to produce sons. We have several large homes to fill. While it would be enjoyable, I can’t expect you to produce a new clan on your own.”
“Gee, thanks. Izaac isn’t ugly. He’s very handsome. The reason I decided to like him is because he looks like you.” I started backspacing over the number nineteen. Then, I admonished myself for jumping to the conclusion that it was okay with Izaac. “Izaac?” Waves of surprise, gratitude, and fierce loyalty rolled over us from Izaac. He stared into Yukihyo’s eyes. I typed Ponidi in for his last name. “Izaac, will you contact the others and ask them if they want to join the Ponidi clan and use our last name? Well, one of our names. We need to get these citizenship documents completed for Director Sapor.”
I handed my vid-screen back to him and went to my bathroom. While I was there, I washed my face, brushed my hair, and braided it. My face looked fat. I shouldn’t have had the ice cream. The onyx bracelet on my left wrist winked at me in the light. I thought the black pearls Eliot had given me would look nice with it. Then, I remembered the pretty black silk dress that Simon had made for me. I smoothed the dress I wore over Niklos and wondered if I would ever be able to fit into any of my pretty dresses again or if I would be fat forever. Then, I sat on the closed lid of the waste unit and cried. I blew my nose on some waste paper.
“Lady wife, what is wrong?” Yukihyo asked as he barged inside.
Sniffling, I said, “I’m fat.” Yukihyo began to laugh. “Get out!” I shoved him out and closed the door. I sat back down. The door opened again, and I threw my brush at it.
“Teagan, I’m coming in no matter what you throw,” Nico said as he opened the door all of the way. He picked me up and turned sideways to get me through the door. At least he hadn’t groaned when lifting me. He carried me into the sitting room and sat on the couch with me in his lap. Thunderdrop chittered at me. Cass showed me images of small female spiders, river fish, and rain. Then, he showed me huge female spiders, rats, and sunshine.
“Gee, thanks, Cass.”
“Clack!”
The spiders went with Lorca to be fed.
“What did he communicate to you?” Eli asked.
“He likes big female spiders. He thinks I look better fat.” I pinched Nico. He took my guilty fingers and kissed them.
“If you were fat, it wouldn’t be so very easy for me to lift you.”
“Oh, yes it would. You’re strong. I’ve even seen Yukihyo lift men and throw them. Just forget it. How’d it go, Izaac?” He showed me the completed forms for nine of my new brothers. After affixing my palm scan to each document, I sent them to Director Sapor. With the exception of Jazon and Zared, I had six new brothers who I had never met since they were chasing after their father. Neema and Kaoti were making the bears walk. I looked from them to Izaac and sent him an “I told you so” thought. A few hours later, Director Sapor contacted me with news of our official new citizens. “Eli, will you please transmit the documentation to Zeth so they can create identity chips for themselves before we arrive on Sinope?”
“Yes, your highness.”
“Teagan, Eli,” I reminded him. He bowed to me, and I handed him my vid-screen. “Zeth, Vawn, Xander, Zergio, Rozz, Izaac, Zam, Traviz, and Jezzie Ponidi. What will your mother and sisters think?”
“They will be pleased that Ponidi’s are again in the Laconian Sector. Teagan, I laughed because it is absurd for you to consider yourself to be fat.”
“Whatever.” Yukihyo sighed. “This is uncomfortable,” I complained to Nico. He lifted me up and carried me to our room. Yukihyo followed.
“You are cranky and need a nap,” Nico stated.
“I am not cranky.” Soon, I was in a gown and in the middle of the bed. Nico and Yukihyo changed into pajamas and got in on either side of me. Neema began wailing in the sitting room. Yukihyo darted to her.
“Mommy is right here,” he said to her.
“What’s wrong with Mommy’s baby?” I asked. Pierce had followed with a tissue for her nose.
Yukihyo said, “She noticed you were gone.”
Pierce said, “This is normal. Neema may cry every time you are out of her sight.”
I took her from Yukihyo, and she clung to my neck, so I kissed her hair and rubbed her back. Thunderdrop and Cass climbed up onto the end of the bed and blinked at us. “It’s okay, boys. You can go play. We’re taking a nap.” They blinked and crawled off of the bed. Pierce followed them out. Nico helped me recline against the pillows. Neema had one tiny hand fisted in my hair and the thumb of her other hand in her mouth. She was sprawled across my chest and had no intentions of leaving. Yukihyo and Nico formed a protective barrier to either side of us. I pulled off her socks and tossed them toward the bathroom door. Then, I rubbed her soft feet. I yawned. Niklos kicked, and Neema laughed at him around her thumb.
“Why didn’t you tell me about your plan,” Yukihyo asked.
“You are a civilian. I’m a general. They can’t do anything about me, but with your dual citizenship and Teagan’s dependency on you, I couldn’t take the risk of you becoming a fall guy.”
“What about Eric?”
“There is no proof to be obtained of his involvement. Consul Bosh will issue a statement of explanation to sooth the public.”
The sounds of their voices, combined with my baby’s softness, warmth, and weight put me to sleep. When I awoke, I was on my side with Nico at my back. Neema slept next to me on her back. Yukihyo sat up next to her quietly tapping away at his vid-screen with Tora’s crew about their plans for silk sales on Sinope. I turned to look at Nico who did basically the same thing. However, he was going over reports from his Lieutenant General, who he had left in command on Apellan. Niklos began kicking me. I pulled Nico’s hand from his vid-screen and placed it over the spot.
“Aww! There’s my boy. Tell your mother not to worry about how your father destroyed a worthless moon. It must be clear that Parvac refuses to tolerate any insults to the Imperial family.”
“Tell your father that your mommy can’t wait to hear what Ambassador Stine has to say about it.” I stretched. Carefully, I got out of bed and went to the restroom. Then, I changed into a shirt, pair of soft pants, and my exercise shoes. “I’m going to see if a treadmill is free on the exercise deck.” I gave Nico and Yukihyo kisses. At some point, the spiders had returned. Thunderdrop and Cass crawled up to cling to my shoulders and upper arms.
Kaoti and Eli were in the sitting room. I got a glass of fizzy water, had a few sips, and invited them to come with me. We took the lift down to the exercise deck in silence. Against the far left wall, a row of treadmills was unused. I went toward them and stepped up onto one in the middle. “I’m sorry that I was fussy earlier. Eli, I am grateful to you for traveling all the way here to help me. Kaoti, I think I’ve figured out the lengths to which you will go to protect me. However, I don’t like for you to place yourself into dangerous situations. What if Zeth had been the one to slice you open?” I cringed at the thought. Turning on the machine, I set it to a normal sedate pace.
“The hybrids posed a threat to you,” Kaoti responded as he began a slow jog on the machine next to me. I knew he was done talking.
“Posed a threat? Are you both convinced that they have given their loyalty to us?”
Eli said, “I am convinced they have given their loyalty to you.”
“It is better to have them with us than against us,” Kaoti said.
“What do you suggest we do with them?”
Eli walked at a faster pace to the other side of me on my right. “With their telepathic and empathic abilities, they could be of great use to the Empire.”
“How?”
Eli
turned his head to look at me. He wasn’t holding onto the handrails. Cass climbed from me to sit on the front of my machine. He laid a few lines of silk across the top of it so he wouldn’t slip. Cass blinked his black eyes at me. Arachnean Silk spiders could hide in plain sight, observe everything, and report back. Thunderdrop had done that for me on Naxa. “They could be useful as spies. They can blend in throughout the Laconian Sector.”
“I would like for you and Kaoti to divide our new men between yourselves. You may have your spies, and Kaoti can train the others as he thinks best to serve as security. Militant anti-Parvac factions won’t be able to slip past them.”
“What of the eight we haven’t yet seen bend their knees to you?” Eli asked.
“I’m open to ideas.”
“I’ll think about it. Izaac is useless to me with that grey hair of his. I only want men who won’t attract attention. With the scar across his throat, Jezzie would be too memorable.”
“Kaoti, if you have no objections, I would like to keep Vawn close. I trust him.”
Kaoti nodded, and said, “I will keep Vawn, Izaac, and Jezzie.
“Zam, Rozz, Xander, and Zergio would work well,” Eli decided.
Kaoti said, “I like Traviz. The kid has a good personality.”
I looked at Kaoti in shock and almost stumbled. “Seriously? I think he’s an asshole.”
Kaoti nodded in agreement. “That’s what I like about him. He doesn’t gaze at you with rapt adoration. He won’t coddle you.” I snorted. “We should keep Zeth near the Princess.”
“Agreed,” Eli said.
“Um, do you think the two of you will be able to work together after what happened?”
Kaoti looked at me with emotionless eyes. “Why wouldn’t we?”
Eli said, “Zeth has demonstrated that he will place your safety above his own.” Thinking of my boob bruise, I blushed.
“Okay. I guess that’s settled. Thank you for your help, gentlemen. Now, I don’t have to worry about them. Will you each see to your new teams’ work designations?”
The Parvac Emperor's Daughter (The Space Merchants Book 3) Page 34
