Some of the worry in my chest eased. Of course, it was immediately filled with an ache for my sadora that nothing could or would ever ease.
“The Cillades contacted Quill. They said they attacked us because they believed we were going to attack them. That they believed the Emirans had asked for our assistance in the war again.”
“Tell me Quill did not believe them.”
“Of course not. But us being out there has not improved relations between us and the Cillades. The other three provinces have already messaged Quill about it. Eastolf, in particular, was livid and acted like Quill had started a war with the Cillades.”
“Krono,” I said. “What a mess.”
“It is. The good news is – the Cillades and Emirans peace treaty is over and they’re back to war.”
“How is that good news?” I said.
“For your female,” Krey said. “Not that Iron Gate is great for her, but it is better than the Earth prison. The longer the war lasts, the longer she will live.”
“Yes,” I said. My face darkened and I prayed to Krono I could keep the guilt from showing on my face. Ellis dying was the least of my concerns. Because I had no intention of letting her be returned to Earth.
I turned away and took my time putting the sparring sword back with the other ones. I had reacted badly to Ellis trying to escape. It was because of fear for her safety but it was no excuse for how I had spoken to her. I’d realized within hours of her being taken to Iron Gate that living without her was not an option.
I should never have been angry with her about trying to escape without talking to me. I’d never given her any indication that I loved her and, in fact, had told her that this was nothing more than sex between us. Why would she have confided in me or asked me to help her? I’d been a damn froden, but Krono help me, I would make it up to her. I loved her and needed her and no one, not the humans, not even my king, would keep me from her.
I had already begun to make discreet inquiries about land for sale. Once I had something suitable for us, I would use my position as head of the King’s Guard to take Ellis from Iron Gate and escape with her. No one would question me at Iron Gate about why I was taking Ellis, especially if I said our king demanded it.
Once Ellis was safe with me, we would disappear. Our province was large, and a small piece of farmland far away from the city would keep Ellis safe from discovery. I would never see Quill or Krey or my mother again, but I would have my sadora with me and that’s what mattered. I was barely hanging on now with her being in Iron Gate, but at least I knew she was safe there. The thought of her suffering and dying in an Earth prison made me nearly mad with fear and anger.
I loved Ellis and I would not allow her to be taken from me.
If she’ll even have you. You hurt her. You said terrible things to her.
She would forgive me. She had to. I loved her and would spend the rest of my life trying to repair the damage I had done. I would show her that I loved her, explain to her that it was fear that had made me speak so cruelly to her.
“Galan?”
“Yes?” I refused to turn around.
“Look at me.”
I glanced at Krey. “What is it?”
“What are you planning?”
“Nothing,” I said as guilt made my tail thump on the floor. “What are you talking about, Krey?”
He studied me, his blue eyes burning into me. “Do you love her?”
“Yes.” I wouldn’t lie about that.
“She will die in the Earth prison.”
“I know.”
He scrubbed his hand through his dark hair. “Let me know when you are planning the prison break and I will help.”
“Krey, I – I am planning no such thing.”
He laughed and slung an arm around my shoulders before kissing the side of my head roughly. “Brother, when will you learn you can keep nothing from me? Your face betrays your emotions easily and have since we were children. For Krono’s sake, try to avoid Quill as much as you can. He will see your plan as easily as I have.”
“That will not be a problem. He is avoiding me.”
“He will not admit it, but nearly losing both of us reminded him too much of the loss of his brother. He is struggling with processing what happened.”
“He told you this?”
“Sabrina did,” Krey said. “She is worried about you as well, you know. She said she asked you to come see her, and you have been making every excuse not to.”
I sighed. “Our queen is very clever. I worry she will…”
“Figure out that you are going to break your little female out of prison and live in the wilds with her?”
Krono, Krey really was good at reading me.
“I meant what I said, brother. When you need me, I will be there.”
I shook my head. There was no way I was letting Krey be involved in any of my plan. When I quit my position as head of the King’s Guard, Krey would take my place and he would do well. “I appreciate your support, but I am not planning on any type of prison break. You speak foolishly.”
“I often do,” Krey said. “Do you think the redheaded female would fuck me?”
I blinked at him. “What?”
“The redheaded female we rescued with your female. She is very pretty, and her breasts are incredible. Do you think she would be so grateful to me for rescuing her, that she’d spread those smooth thighs of hers and allow me to pleasure her?”
“I do not know,” I said. “She is still injured, is she not?”
“I ran into Sigan earlier this morning. She is starting to wake, he said. I would not be surprised if she is completely awake now.”
I immediately pulled away from Krey and headed toward the door of the training room.
“Where are you going, Galan?”
“To shower and eat,” I said. “I will see you later, brother.”
Instead of returning to my quarters, I headed to the infirmary. It was lunch and the corridors of the castle were mostly empty. It took me less than ten minutes to walk to the infirmary. I opened the door, stumbling to a stop.
Inara’s bed was closest to the door and I stared in surprise at Melu who was standing beside her bed. As I watched, he took a step back, the usual scowl on his face replaced by a look of utter shock.
“Please, will you consider it?” Inara was sitting up in the bed, her face flushed pink and her hands clasped between her breasts. “I promise I won’t back out of our agreement. Once she’s safe, I’ll have sex -”
“What you ask is… I mean, it is not…I cannot…” Melu’s face went dark green and he took another step back before glancing at the door. Guilt crossed his face when he saw me, and without saying a word, he pushed past me and left the infirmary.
Inara started to cry, and I hurried over and sat on the side of her hospital bed. “Human, what is wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said before scrubbing the tears from her face. “Um, hey, do you know where your friend Krey is? I need to speak to him.”
“About what?” I said.
“None of your business.” She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. That was rude. Do you know where Sigan is?” She looked around the infirmary. “I need to leave.”
“You are not well enough to leave yet, human. I told you that.” Sigan had stuck his head out the door of his lab at the back of the infirmary.
“I feel fine. Please, I need to talk with Krey,” Inara said. “Sigan said I’ve been unconscious for two days and it’s almost too late and…”
“Almost too late for what?” I said.
Inara pressed her lips together. “Is Ellis okay? Did they heal her head?”
“Yes,” I said as Sigan disappeared into his lab again.
“Thank God. Can you, um, can you ask her to come see me?”
“She is at Iron Gate until the war ends and then she will be returned to Earth,” I said.
“What? She’s in prison? Why aren’t you just keeping her locked in her room here
?”
“Because she stole a ship and convinced you to go with her. She endangered your life and as a breeding compatible female, you are incredibly precious and -”
“Oh my God.” Inara’s face had lost all its colour. “It wasn’t her idea, Galan. It was mine.”
“What do you mean?” I said.
She grasped my hand, her fingers ice cold. ‘You have to help her. She can’t sit in a Draax prison when she was only trying to help me. It isn’t right. If anyone should be in prison, it should be me. Please, find Krey for me. As soon as I talk to him and he agrees to help me, I will go to the king and tell him it was all me and ask him to bring Ellis back to the castle. Once I fulfill my agreement with Krey, I’ll go to the Draax prison for life if that’s what the king says, okay?”
“You want to go to Iron Gate?” What in Krono’s name was the human talking about?
“All that matters is saving my sister and telling the truth about what happened with Ellis. Please, Galan, I have to find Krey.”
She tried to rip out her IV and I grabbed her hands, holding them tight. “Inara, tell me what is happening.”
“I can’t,” she whispered. “You’ll send me straight to Iron Gate and I must speak to Krey first.”
Her panic was so thick I could practically taste it in the air. I squeezed her hands and said the only thing I could think of to get her to trust me. “I love her, Inara. I love Ellis and if you know of anything that could help me convince the king to free her, then you must tell me.”
She stared at me and I squeezed her hands again. “I love her. I swear to Krono I do.”
She sucked in a huge breath of air and released it. “My parents were arrested, and my sister is in danger. A lot of danger.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“Jesus, Quill, we need to help Inara’s sister.” Sabrina paced back and forth, rubbing Jota’s back as he slept against her chest.
“I know, sadora,” Quill said. “I will have Teo contact Earth’s authorities immediately and ask them to remove her from this man’s home.”
Jovie climbed into my lap and patted my cheek. “Uda, sad?”
“No, meena,” I said.
She frowned at me, looking so much like our queen, that I couldn’t help but smile. “Uda sad, Mama.”
“I know, baby,” Sabrina said. “But we’re helping him not be sad. Can you call Teo right away, Quill? And what do we do if the cops refuse to help? They don’t really care about the lowers. I’m not even sure a request from you will guarantee they’ll help her.”
“The uncle lives in the state of California,” I said. “Neani and Venta are in California and I thought perhaps…”
“Oh my God, Galan! That’s brilliant!” Sabrina turned to Quill. “Message Neani and ask him to go to that godawful uncle’s place and get Wendy. California’s a large state, but they’ve got their ship so it shouldn’t take them long to get to her. She can stay with them until the war ends and they can bring her to Draax to be with Inara. We’ll have them hologram Inara when they pick her up so Wendy knows she can trust them.”
A small smile crossed Quill’s face and Sabrina blushed. “If you agree, my king.”
“It is a wise plan, my queen,” Quill said.
“What if the uncle tries to stop them?” Sabrina said.
Quill shrugged carelessly. “He will not. You know the human males are nervous around us.” He picked up his vertex to call Teo.
I pressed a kiss against Jovie’s head, listening silently as Quill instructed Teo. When he was finished, he smiled at Sabrina. “Teo will let me know as soon as they have the female’s sister.”
“Thank you, honey.” Sabrina said.
I set Jovie on the couch and stood. “I will tell Inara.”
“No, I will.” Sabrina handed the baby to Quill. “You and Quill need to talk. Jovie, do you want to go for a walk with mama?”
Jovie’s tail flicked with excitement. She slid off the couch and skipped across the room to take Sabrina’s hand. Sabrina kissed Quill on the mouth. “I love you, Quill.”
“I love you, sadora.”
Silence descended when Sabrina and Jovie left. After a moment, I bowed and said, “Thank you, my king, for helping Inara.”
Quill rolled his eyes before shifting the baby in his arms. “For Krono’s sake, Galan, knock it off with this formal my king shit.”
I couldn’t stop my smile. “Sorry.”
“You are my best friend and my brother. I hate that there is tension between us.”
“There is no tension,” I said.
Irritation flickered across Quill’s face. “So, you have avoided me these past two days because?”
“You are avoiding me,” I said.
Quill kissed the top of Jota’s head. “Let us both agree we have been avoiding each other and move on.”
“All right,” I said. “With your permission, I will ask Teo to return Ellis to the castle until the war ends. She only tried to escape because she was trying to help Inara.”
“She almost got you and Krey killed. You were lucky that Krey outmaneuvered their ship,” Quill said.
“She did not know that would happen. None of us did. She should not be punished because the Cillades are dickheads,” I said.
Quill laughed and Jota made a soft snort, his tiny tail flicking back and forth in his sleep before he settled against Quill’s chest again. “The Earth’s curse words are always amusing, are they not, Galan?”
“Yes. Will you allow Ellis to return to the castle until the war ends?”
Quill studied me for a moment. “I suppose it would make it easier for you to escape into the wilds with her if she is at the castle, rather than locked away in Iron Gate.”
“For Krono’s sake,” I said, “can I keep nothing from you and Krey?”
“No,” Quill said. “Hiding your emotions has never been an easy task for you, old friend. Although, I will admit that in this particular case, I simply asked myself what I would do if I was in your place, and your plan came easily enough to me.”
“I have no plan. You are my king and I have pledged my life to protecting you and your family,” I said.
He laughed again. “Galan, you are one of the bravest and most loyal Draax I have ever known, but you cannot lie.”
I rubbed at my forehead as my tail waved in the air. “I love her, Quill. I love her and I cannot be without her. Being separated from her is driving me mad. She will not survive more than a couple of days in the Earth’s prison. I will not give her up. Not even for you.”
I hated that I was about to ruin my friendship with Quill, but I was left with no choice. I needed Ellis like I needed air to breathe.
Quill walked across the room and squeezed my shoulder. The look on his face was a mixture of humour and sympathy. “Old friend, do you forget that at one point I was ready to give up my throne for the woman I loved? I would have done whatever necessary to be with Sabrina. Believe me, I understand what you go through.”
Tears pricked the back of my eyes and my throat went tight. I did not deserve Quill’s love or loyalty.
“Which is why I informed Earth’s authorities this morning that we were forgiving Ellis of her crimes and she would remain on Draax,” Quill said.
My mouth dropped open and my tail whipped back and forth. “I – what did you say?”
“The little female is yours, if she will have you,” Quill said. “You may bring her home from Iron Gate immediately.”
“Quill,” I was struggling to understand the enormity of what he’d done, “you have broken the treaty? Even before you knew that Ellis did this to help Inara?”
“I have,” Quill said. “Old Teo nearly fell out of his chair when I told him.”
“What did the humans say?”
“Do not worry about it,” Quill said.
“Tell me, Quill.”
“The authorities in Iowa are lodging a formal complaint with the Earth’s United Nations, and I imagine I will be required to
speak to them about why I have broken the treaty at some point in the future.”
“You would risk our partnership with Earth for me?” I said. “Quill, I am not worth -”
Quill reached out and gripped the back of my neck, resting his forehead against mine. “You are my brother, Galan. I wish for your happiness as much as I wish for my own. You are worth it. Never believe differently.”
My voice hoarse, I said, “I can never repay you, Quill.”
“Of course you can,” he said. “You can mate with your small, strange, sarcastic female and live a happy life.”
“Thank you, brother,” I said.
“You are welcome,” Quill said. “Now, go retrieve your female from Iron Gate.”
* * *
Ellis
All things considered, Iron Gate wasn’t that terrible. Sure, I was stuck in a small windowless room with nothing but a cot, a toilet, and a sink, but compared to some places I’d slept, it was nice. It was clean and bug free and that was probably more than I deserved.
Boredom was my biggest enemy. That and, I tugged at the giant shirt I was wearing, ill fitting prison clothes. The prison had given me their smallest size of prison uniform, but it was still miles too big. I wore the shirt like a dress and had given up completely on the pants.
It wasn’t like I needed to wear pants anyway. I saw no one but the guard who delivered my meals the last two days. I was given an hour to shower and exercise in the afternoon, but I saw no one else during my walk from my cell to the showers or in the exercise room.
If I didn’t know better, I would think I was the only prisoner in the entire damn place.
I stood up from the bed and paced the tiny room. Fifteen steps from one wall to the other, touch the chipped stone just above the sink, turn, fifteen steps to the other wall. If the war went on for too much longer, I’d wear a path in the floor of my cell.
Solitary confinement was better than death, I supposed, but it did give me entirely too much time to think about Galan. To remember the betrayal on his face and the anger in his voice. To relive the moment over and over when he said I was a selfish human incapable of loving anyone but myself.
Rebel (The Draax Series Book 3) Page 28
