“Shit,” Ellis said. “He was a part of the black market?”
“Yes. He was caught after nearly a year. Earth military collaborates with Draax military to stop the selling and trading of juice outside of the agencies. My father was caught by our military and sent to Iron Gate. He died six moons later. Killed by another prisoner.”
“Oh my God,” Ellis said. “I’m so sorry.”
“We were left penniless. We lost our home and the gallberry crops. My mother and I had no where to go.”
“What happened?” Ellis said.
“Quill’s father allowed my mother and I to stay in the castle until my mother found a new mate.”
“Right, you said before that she remarried?”
“Yes. His name is Pakla. He is in the military. My mother mated with him three moons after my father went to Iron Gate.”
“Three moons,” Ellis breathed. “Holy, you said she remarried quick but… wow.”
“She had no choice. She was not allowed to work to support us and she did not wish to rely on the king’s charity for long.”
“I’m still kind of surprised she didn’t just pack you up and go back to Earth,” Ellis said.
“She did it for me.” My throat was tight, and my voice was hoarse. “She knew that living on Earth would be very difficult for me and she wanted me to be happy. I owe her a great deal for sacrificing her happiness for mine.”
Ellis rubbed my chest. “Is she not happy with her new husband?”
“She is,” I said. “She loves him, and he loves her. Very much.”
“Is your relationship strained with her because of him?” Ellis said.
I didn’t reply and Ellis stared up at me. “You know that it’s all right not to like the man your mom married, even if she married him to make your life easier, right?”
I swallowed hard. No one had ever said that out loud to me before and it oddly eased the tightness in my chest a little. “He is not a bad man and he is an excellent mate to my mother and father to my half-brothers.”
“But?” Ellis said.
“He did not care for me. I was a reminder that my mother had a mate before him. He was not cruel to me, but there was an obvious difference between how he treated me and how he treated his own two sons. Over time, in an effort to keep the peace, my mother also transferred more of her affection to my brothers.”
“Oh, honey.” Ellis sat up and cupped my face. “I’m really sorry.”
I shrugged. “I understood why she did it.”
“Sure, but understanding and accepting it are two different things,” Ellis said.
“I love my mother, Ellis. Very much.”
“I know you do,” Ellis said. “But it doesn’t mean that you have to pretend you’re not angry or sad that she chose her new husband and kids over you. It’s okay to feel angry or jealous.”
“Were you jealous of your sister?” I said.
She hesitated. “Yes. I loved her, but I was jealous that my parents loved her more than me. Even if it was my fault.”
“It was not your fault,” I said.
“Just like it isn’t your fault that your mother likes your brothers better,” she said.
I paused before smiling at her. “You are my clever sadora, are you not?”
She shrugged. “Clever or maybe just an expert on ways that parents can fuck you up.”
She laid back down with her head against my chest. “Do you think it’s why you don’t want kids, Galan? You’re worried you’ll mess them up like your parents messed you up?”
“A little,” I said. “But I also enjoy my life the way it is. I have never felt the urge for children of my own.”
“Me either,” Ellis said.
“Not even with a human male?” I could hear the tightness in my voice. Even thinking of Ellis being with someone other than me was upsetting.
“No,” she said. “Not that it matters now. Unless I can convince the judge that I didn’t steal the juice, I’ll be in prison for the rest of my life. Not much chance of getting married or having babies in prison.”
She smiled up at me, but I could hear the anxiety in her voice and see it on her face. My vertex was buzzing again but I ignored it.
“Why did you steal the juice?” I said.
“I didn’t. Cheryl, remember?”
I didn’t reply and her teasing smile faded. She traced a path down my chest with the tip of her finger. “I traded juice on the black market.”
I suspected as much, and I hated that she’d been forced to break the law.
“Are you upset with me?” she said.
“No,” I said.
She scanned my face. “I did it because I had no way else to survive. I wasn’t like your dad. I didn’t have a gambling problem or a drinking or drug problem. I was homeless and starving and -”
“Shh, my sadora, I know,” I said. “I am not upset with you.”
“Me and another girl, Bailey, worked together. She loved having sex with the Draax, so I had the translators implanted and I would do the negotiating for the juice and Bailey would sleep with them. We split the profits even. But Bailey did a job for another guy – a really bad guy – and when it went wrong, he blamed Bailey and beat the crap out of her. She was dying so I used the juice I had promised to a guy named Richie Bulchanini to save Bailey’s life.”
“That was kind of you,” I said.
“After Bailey healed, she split for her parents’ place, but I couldn’t go back to mine, even though Richie had put a marker on us for the juice. I’d been gone seven years and my parents had never once tried to find me. They were happy I left.”
I rubbed her back as she stared up at the ceiling. “I needed a lot of juice and I needed it fast but with Bailey gone, I had nothing to trade for the juice. I knew I might get lucky and find a Draax ship delivering juice at the docking bay. Your ship was there, I tried to steal the juice… you know the rest.”
I should have been admonishing her for breaking the law. Instead I was thanking Krono she had. If she hadn’t, I would never have met her, and she would have died. Panic shot through me at the thought of losing her and my tail thumped hard against the bed.
“What’s wrong?” she said.
“Nothing.”
“Your tail says something is wrong.”
I turned to my side to face her, pulling her in even closer and holding her tight. “Nothing is wrong, sweet sadora. I am only -”
The door to my apartment opened and slammed shut. “Galan, are you in here?”
Quill’s voice filled the apartment and Ellis stared wide-eyed at me. “Shit.”
“Stay here,” I said in a low voice as I climbed out of bed and quickly dressed.
“Galan? I hologrammed you, but you did not answer. Krey said you retired to your apartment after training. Are you here?”
“I am here.” I left my bedroom, shutting the door behind me and smiling at Quill. “What is wrong?”
“Nothing.” Quill sat down on the couch and with a quick look at the bedroom, I joined him. He studied me. “Were you sleeping?”
“A short nap,” I said.
“That is odd. Krey said you were injured in training today. Do you need more juice?”
“No. Just tired. Not as young as I once was,” I said.
Quill bellowed laughter before clapping me on the shoulder. “You and me both. Jota had both Sabrina and I up for most of the night. He was a real groden last night. And Jovie was as wild as a lokena this morning.”
“And yet I have never seen you happier. Being a father agrees with you.”
“It does,” Quill said. “How are you? We have not spoke much lately.”
“You are busy with your family,” I said.
Guilt crossed his face. “I am sorry, Galan. I am failing you and Krey.”
“What?” I said. “You are not failing us. You are a king and you have a mate, a newborn and a toddler. We are aware that your life has changed significantly in the last few years.�
�
“But you and Krey remain single,” Quill said. “I wish for you to have what I have, Galan, minus the children, of course.”
I laughed. “The odds of me ever finding a mate are slim. You know that, Quill. Most females are not eager to leave their planet. And with the war going on and our ability to travel to Earth gone, my chances drop to zero.”
“We received word an hour ago that Emira and Cillade have declared a temporary peace treaty.”
“For how long?” I glanced at the bedroom again and willed my tail to stay completely still, but adrenaline had already started to pump through me.
“Only a day,” Quill said. “It is the Emiran’s Celebration of Athos, and the Cillades agreed to the temporary treaty so the Emirans could engage in their rituals. Teo suggested that Laos and Hendren take the thief back to Earth while the peace treaty is on.”
“No.” This time there was no stopping my tail from flicking and thumping. “It is too dangerous.”
“They could return the thief to Earth and be back on Draax with a few hours to spare,” Quill said.
“Unless something goes wrong. A ship malfunction, a delay in leaving the docking bay at Earth. At best, Hendren and Laos would be trapped on Earth like Neani and Venta are. At worst, they would be caught in the middle of the Emira and Cillade war. Is that what you want, Quill? To put them in danger? Laos and Hendren are two of my best men.”
“I am aware of that.” Quill’s voice was calm. “But I wonder if your concern is for Hendren and Laos or for the little thief?”
I glanced at my bedroom again. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I know you are friends with her,” Quill said. “Even as distracted as I am, it has not escaped me that you sit with her in the dining hall and walk in the garden with her on several occasions.”
“So what?” My voice was defensive. “It is not a crime to be friends with the females, Quill.”
“No, it is not,” Quill said. “But this female is not like the others, no matter how much you might wish she is. She is a thief who must return to Earth and answer for her crime. It would not be wise to grow attached to her.”
“Grow attached to her? This is sage advice coming from a Draax who fell in love with a woman who was not his mate,” I said and then immediately winced. “I am sorry, my king. Forgive me. What I said was beyond reproach and I -”
Quill waved off my apology. “You know that I love you as a brother, Galan.”
“I know. I feel the same,” I said.
“Be careful with the little thief. She may seem kind, she may even seem to care about you, but remember that she is also desperate. She behaves now only because we have given her no choice. If she had the opportunity, she would leave this castle and you, without a second thought.”
“You do not know her the way I do, Quill.”
“I suppose not.” Quill squeezed my shoulder. “But trusting her is a mistake, Galan.”
“Will you do what Teo asks and put Laos and Hendren’s lives in danger?” I said.
He shook his head. “I will not. I told Teo it is too risky. Neani and Venta will remain on Earth and the little thief will remain here until the war is ended.”
After a moment, Quill stood. “Come, old friend. Join me for a walk in the garden.”
I didn’t want to. I wanted to return to Ellis and soothe and comfort her. She would have heard our conversation and I needed to reassure her that I trusted her. But I could not turn down my king’s request, so I nodded and stood. “I would like that, Quill.”
Chapter Seventeen
Ellis
“Ellis! Ellis, can you open the door?”
If I’d been asleep, I would never have heard the soft knocking or the low voice. But despite it being almost two in the morning, I wasn’t asleep. I couldn’t sleep. Not after what I’d heard Galan and the king talking about.
I’d dressed and crept back to my own room as soon as Galan left with the king. Part of me assumed Galan would join me when he was finished, but as the hours ticked by and he didn’t show, I’d given up and gone to bed.
I couldn’t sleep though. Not after listening to Galan’s conversation with the king. I’d dodged a very large bullet with this whole peace treaty thing, and it served to remind me that my time here was fleeting, and I needed to figure out how the fuck I was gonna escape.
I suspected Galan hadn’t joined me tonight because he believed I was angry and upset that he didn’t trust me. But it wasn’t that I thought Galan didn’t trust me. I knew he did. That was the problem. He shouldn’t have trusted me. Not one bit. And it was killing me that he did.
Killing me that I was lying to the man I loved.
“Ellis? Are you awake? Please open the door.”
I slid out of bed and padded across the apartment to open the door. Inara stepped inside and I closed the door before turning on the kitchen light. “Inara, what’s wrong?”
Her face was blotchy, and her nose was swollen and when she grabbed my hands, her fingers were ice cold. “Ellis, something bad has happened.”
“What?” I said. “Is it Candy or Roden or -”
“No,” she said. “No, they’re fine. It’s my parents. They’ve been arrested for selling meth.”
“Shit,” I said. “When did you find out?”
“A few hours ago. Wendy messaged me. They raided our house, Ellis. Wendy was so scared. They put my parents in handcuffs and took them to prison and called social services for Wendy.”
“Okay, it’ll be all right,” I said. “At least she’s safe and -”
“No!” Inara clutched at me with her cold hands. “She isn’t safe. Social services called my uncle. Because I’m here, he’s the next of kin, so they called him, and he-he took her.”
“Fuck,” I said.
Inara started to cry again and I led her to the table and made her sit down before grabbing some tissue. She blew her nose and wiped at her cheeks. “He has her at his place and Wendy’s so scared. He told her that she has to do what he says and that in a few days she’s going to meet some very special friends of his and stay with them for a while.”
“Oh Jesus.” My heart kicked up a notch and the adrenaline surging through my veins made my head throb.
“He’s going to sell her for juice,” Inara said. “I know he is.”
“Okay, it’s all right,” I said. “The Draax won’t want her. She’s too young and -”
“He’s not selling her to the Draax,” Inara said. “He’s selling her to some human men who will give him juice for her.”
“How do you know that?” I said.
“Wendy saw him hologramming with the men. She’s freaking out. She hologrammed me and she was crying and so scared.” Tears dripped down Inara’s face. “I told her to call the police, but then my uncle – he showed up and he grabbed her phone and told me to mind my own fucking business. I told him I was calling the cops and he said to go ahead. That the police wouldn’t bother to even show up. Then he ended the hologram and I haven’t been able to get a hold of her since. It just keeps ringing. He probably took her PAR phone.”
“Did you contact the police?” I said.
“Yes,” she said. “They took my information and I gave them my uncle’s address. They said they’d look into it but the woman on the phone was barely interested and …”
I sighed. “You’re a lower and they don’t fucking care about us lowers.”
“They don’t,” Inara whispered before bursting into fresh sobs. “I don’t know what to do, Ellis.”
“We can talk to Sabrina,” I said. “Maybe she can talk to the king and -”
“And what?” Inara said. “They wouldn’t let Tasha leave to see her dying grandmother, remember?”
“Yeah, but your sister is in danger and, plus, there’s a temporary peace treaty happening between Emira and Cillade right now so there’s a window to get to Earth. Maybe they’ll let you go home.”
Inara laughed bitterly. “They won’t. The
king won’t risk his men to take me home.”
“But if you tell them about your sister -”
“They won’t care,” Inara said. “Why would they? I’m just an employee.”
I rubbed at my forehead. I wanted to tell her she was wrong, but the truth was – I didn’t actually believe that Quill would allow her to leave. Not if it put his men at risk.
“I don’t know what to do,” Inara whispered. “They’re going to hurt her and…”
She swallowed convulsively, her face so pale that I thought she might pass out on me.
I stared at my arm before taking a deep breath. Fuck me.
“She’s going to be okay,” I said.
“She won’t be,” Inara said.
“She will. We’re going to rescue her,” I said.
Inara stared at me with her mouth open. “What? How?”
“I have access to the docking bay,” I said. “We’re gonna steal a ship at dawn and fly to Earth. Easy peasy.”
“Have you lost your mind? You have a tracking chip in your arm, and you can’t fly a Draax ship.”
“I’ve flown the vroha battle ships before,” I said.
“In a flight simulator with a ten-year-old,” Inara said.
“So? It’s basically the same thing,” I said. “Look, these things practically fly themselves. All I have to do is fly it out of the Draax atmosphere. Once we’re in space, I can program in the Earth’s coordinates and let auto pilot take over.”
“What about the tracking chip in your arm?” Inara said.
I stood and opened a kitchen drawer, taking out a sharp knife. I pressed it against my skin, and ignoring Inara’s horrified gasp, sliced the flesh open above the tracking chip. Grimacing, biting back my instinct to shout a string of curses at the sharp pain, I pulled the chip out and set it on the counter as Inara rushed over and clamped a dish towel around my bleeding arm.
“Jesus, Ellis, what the hell?”
“It’s fine,” I said. “I’ll drink a few bottles of juice and be healed in no time.”
“This isn’t going to work,” Inara said. “There’s no way we can steal a ship without them noticing.”
“The first workers don’t show up at the bay until seven,” I said. “We leave at dawn and we’re gone two hours before they even know a ship is missing. The king won’t send anyone after us because of the war.”
Rebel (The Draax Series Book 3) Page 24
