by Roxie Ray
She saw the blank look on my face, and her eyes widened.
“I'm… so sorry,” she whispered. “I guess I just assumed… I mean, Akzun said he spoke with Zark, and that you two… maybe I misunderstood. In fact, I probably did. You do have feelings for him, though, right?”
“Sure.” My mind was racing, and I could barely hear my own voice.
I did have feelings for Zark. Strong ones. That much was obvious – not just from the fact that we'd had sex, but from the intimate thoughts and emotions we'd shared on our way to Valkred. I'd never met anyone like him, and not just because he was from another planet. He was witty, charming, kind, not to mention incredibly protective of me.
But “mates?” What did that mean, exactly?
I didn't know, but the idea intrigued me. After all, Carly had managed to make a good life for herself with a Valkredian, hadn't she? Could it be possible for me to do the same?
Maybe.
Then again, maybe it was too soon to have these kinds of thoughts. There was still a lot of danger and uncertainty ahead. There was Torqa, not to mention the curse. What if I got close enough to him, only to lose him? For that matter, what if we were both killed while trying to retrieve that damn book?
I shuddered.
“Miranda? Are you cold?” Carly asked. “Here, I can have Dhako bring you a blanket. I know Valkred can get kind of chilly…”
“No, it's okay. I'm fine. Really.”
But in that moment, I didn't feel particularly fine at all.
11
Zark
“So, Torqa recruited Zurum, eh?” Akzun asked pensively, looking up at the stars. We were walking the grounds of the Stronghold together.
“Hardly a surprise, is it? As the head of our security and espionage cadres, she'd have had access to information on the galaxy's most formidable brigands,” I pointed out. “She'd know exactly who to approach, and probably even how much it would cost to lure them to her side. The Sives may have turned her down, but that would still leave plenty of others for her to recruit. Bounty hunters like Skovakk and the G'Nagg Brothers, freelance robot assassins like GP-909, Valkred cultists like the Bloodeater Clan, even renegade Krote raiders like the Ghost Fleet and the Alliance of the Axe. We should be prepared to face them all. Or anyway, I should.”
Akzun stopped, putting a hand on my shoulder. “You're not alone in this, you know. If you want me by your side, as well, you need only ask.”
I shook my head. “A tempting offer, brother. Thank you. But we both know it would be better for the empire if you remained here. If you chose to accompany me, your absence here might make Valkred seem vulnerable… to Torqa, or any number of other threats, some of which we may not even know about.”
“Then at least take reinforcements with you,” he insisted. “Dhimurs and Surge would be perfect for such a mission.”
“Again, tempting. I won't lie… it would have been nice to have a warrior like Surge watching our backs on Egone, especially when Zurum showed up. But remember, this is supposed to be a relatively covert mission. The more people I have with me, the more attention I'm bound to attract, and the harder it'll be for me to get close enough to take Torqa down. Besides, I've already got Miranda – with her clairvoyance, she's the most useful asset I could possibly hope for.”
Akzun raised his eyebrows. “Her abilities are truly that impressive?”
“More so than you can imagine, brother. I've never seen anything like them. When she's in a space and she concentrates, she can see afterimages of the people who were there before, and the events that transpired. Unfortunately, she's a bit limited by how long ago those things happened. I thought she might have a better chance of finding Torqa by coming here, since this was the last place we know she was before she fled.”
“A sensible assumption,” Akzun said with a nod. “Except that there's something you're not telling me, Zark. What is it?”
I was taken aback by his question. “What? Why would I ever hide anything from you?”
A grim smile tugged at the corners of Akzun's thin lips. “Knowing you, I'd say it's probably because you think you're protecting me somehow. But I can see how exhausted and haggard you are, brother. More than that, I can feel whatever information you're hiding wriggling around in your mind, struggling to elude me. You know I'd never try to read your thoughts without your permission…”
“Not that you could anyway, even if you wanted to,” I teased. “I was always good at blocking your telepathic probes, even when we were children.”
“…but whatever you're going through, it's clearly a lot more than just the mission at hand, or even trying to make sense of your feelings for this Miranda woman. You're worried that you'll fail in tracking Torqa down, and not just because you feel such a failure will disappoint me or put the empire at risk. There's something else at stake for you here, something larger, more urgent. I cannot force you to reveal such things to me, but even so, I urge you – in the name of our shared bloodline, and our love for each other – not to keep them to yourself any longer.”
My shoulders slumped. I wanted to protest, to tell him he was imagining things – but the truth was, I simply didn't have such prevarications in me anymore. He was right. I was exhausted by my secret, all the way down to my soul. More than that, I was sick of hiding things from the man I trusted most in the entire universe.
“Very well,” I agreed with a heavy sigh. “The fact of the matter is, even if you hadn't sent me to find Torqa, I would have asked for leave to do so anyway.”
“That's understandable, given your rather… intimate history with her. No doubt you felt her betrayal even more acutely than the rest of us, and felt the need to face her personally. There's no shame in that.”
The thought of my “intimate history” with Torqa sent a shiver of revulsion down my spine. “I wish that were all there was to it. Do you remember our diplomatic mission to Yuluna, Akzun? Do you remember the book?”
Akzun's face darkened. “I'm not likely to forget that. I fully expected them to declare war over that grievance – a war we would never have won, especially while we were still fending off the Mana. To this day, I'm astonished that Respen and the other Lunians were so willing to overlook its disappearance and allow us to leave.”
“Well, that's the thing,” I replied, chuckling uneasily. “They, um… didn't. Not quite.”
He considered this for a moment, then asked through clenched fangs: “Zark, what in the name of the bloody Succubi have you been keeping from me all this time?”
I sighed. “Torqa stole the book. What's more, I knew she'd taken it. When I tried to get it back from her, she told me she didn't have it anymore. As you said, in a conflict against the Lunians, victory would have been impossible, especially with our resources already so divided by war. I didn't want them to blame you. I didn't want them to blame her, either, since she was too valuable to the war effort. So I went to Respen and told him I had stolen it. I agreed to accept whatever punishment he deemed fit.”
“You did that without consulting me?” Akzun roared. “Are you insane? He could have killed you, Zark!”
“I fully expected him to, but I was hoping I'd be able to talk my way out of trouble like I usually do,” I admitted. “Instead, he agreed to keep everything between us, rather than dragging our respective governments into some unholy mess over it. He placed a curse on me.”
“A curse?”
“I'm afraid so.”
“How dare he?” Akzun fumed, his hands curling into fists. “How dare he do such a thing to a member of the ruling family of Valkred? This is an act of war! I'll mobilize every ship in the fleet! I'll force them to reverse this curse, or I'll reduce their planet to a cloud of cinders!”
I grabbed his shoulders, shaking him hard. “Stop and think for a minute, you fool! That was exactly the outcome I was trying to prevent! You've only just pulled Valkred out of one war – which nearly decimated us – and now you want to plunge us into another? You can't aff
ord to waste lives and resources on some family vendetta! Your people, your world, are counting on you to do better than that! I'm counting on you! If you go charging off to battle over this, then everything I've done – everything I've been through – will have been for nothing! You must see reason!”
Akzun took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Still, I could see his eyes were glowing with rage. After a few moments, he said, “I could have you jailed for calling your Blood Ruler a fool, you know.”
“In terms of things you could have me jailed for, calling you a fool seems as though it would be rather low on the list.”
Akzun smiled ruefully. “Very well. Tell me the nature of this curse, then, at least.”
“Respen gave me thirteen moon cycles to locate the book and return it to him, or else I'll die. Unpleasantly.”
“But… by the stars, Zark, it's been over twelve moon cycles since then! And how do you know Torqa even still has the thrice-damned book anyway?”
“I have no doubt that she'd hang onto such a powerful and valuable object as tightly as she could manage, especially now that she's got you for an enemy,” I said. “If I find her, I'll find the book, I'm sure of it.”
“I hope you're sure enough to bet your life on that. And if you succeed? What then? Do you intend to have a mating ceremony with Miranda?”
“That's… somewhat complicated.”
Akzun squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose. “With you, everything always is. Now what?”
“Initially, it took a bit of effort for me to convince her to willingly assist me in this mission. I promised her that if she did, I would return her to Earth.”
Akzun groaned. “Zark, at this rate, I needn't worry about Torqa – you'll kill me long before she has a chance to. How could you make such a ridiculous promise? Returning an abducted human to their own world after they've seen proof of alien civilizations? At best, no one will believe her and she'll be locked away in an asylum for the rest of her life. At worst, she'll create utter pandemonium among the Earthlings and jeopardize our diplomatic relations with their leaders!”
“What else was I supposed to offer that would mean anything to her? It was the only thing I could think of! Besides, it's not as though she's not used to keeping secrets from her fellow humans. She never told anyone about her clairvoyance. If she could hide that, I have no doubt she could hide this.” I paused, and then added, “Not that I don't regret making the offer to her, now that I've found myself feeling so close to her. I really do believe she is my mate. But I could never force her to live out her years with me unwillingly, as a prisoner.”
“Does it seem as though she feels the same way about you, as you do about her?”
“Yes, I believe she does.”
Akzun placed a hand on my shoulder comfortingly. “Then you must trust that all will unfold as it must, Zark. We may choose our own ways, but the universe directs our steps. Especially in matters pertaining to those whom we are meant to be with. When all is said and done, she may even decide that she no longer wishes to return to Earth. Meanwhile, I will send Khim to see you. She may be able to place a hold on the curse somehow, or even reverse it.”
“A Valkredian healer, negate a curse from a Lunian?” I scoffed. “Unlikely.”
“Perhaps,” he admitted. “Still, we have to try.”
After we'd walked a bit farther in the garden, Akzun said, “Zark, why did you hide this from me for so long? We could have faced it together. You didn't have to bear this burden alone.”
“You already had so much to attend to, brother. A new mate, a child on the way, an empire still recovering from a long and costly war. I did intend to tell you, when the moment seemed right – but it never did.”
“Regardless, you must know that whatever happens, whatever you've done, I will always be there for you. You’re my brother.”
I felt so overcome with gratitude that I couldn't think of an adequate response, so instead, we continued to walk in silence.
12
Miranda
After Carly and I were finished eating and catching up, she led me up the marble steps to the bedchamber Zark used whenever he stayed at the Stronghold, so I could relax for a bit until he and Akzun returned from their talk. On our way there, she excused herself and ducked into a side room.
Probably to use the bathroom. She is pregnant, after all – and even on a distant planet, that's still got to press against the bladder something fierce.
When she came out, though, she was holding a small paperback novel. “Here! I thought this might help you pass the time a bit.”
I took it and examined it, amazed. “Anna and the King of Siam. This is from Earth! How did you get this all the way out here?”
“I know, pretty incredible, right?” she said, beaming. “You wouldn't think you'd be able to find books and movies from Earth around here, but actually, they're not that hard to get. Well, not for the consort to the Blood Ruler, anyway,” she added with a chuckle. “See, there's this race called the Svanteians… they're big and scaly, and the males outnumber the females by, like, twenty to one or something. Since they need women to mate with, they've got this whole mail-order bride arrangement set up, which allows them to import human women. Mostly ones from lower classes, like us, who get fed up with living in poverty on Earth and agree to leave the planet.”
“They actually agree to be married off to aliens? Willingly?” I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
“I know! Crazy, right? Still, it probably sounds better to them than being dragged out of The Vein by a space vampire,” she laughed, “and look how well that worked out for both of us! Anyway, the Svanteians tend to import a lot of stuff from Earth to keep their mates comfortable and happy, and one of them gave this to me as a gift during their last diplomatic visit. Have you ever read it?”
“No, I haven't. There was a movie, though, right? A musical?”
“Probably more than one. Anyway, I'll leave you to get some rest. After everything you've been through these past couple days, you could probably use it. I hope you enjoy the book. When you finish it, let me know, and I'll bring you some more. I'm starting to accumulate quite a collection.”
“Thanks so much for making me feel welcome, Carly. I really appreciate it.”
“Hey, no problem! We're about to be mated to brothers, so that basically makes us sisters-in-law, right?”
I didn't know how to answer that, so I just smiled.
When she left, I sat down on the bed with the book, flipping through it. The subject matter did seem weirdly appropriate – a British woman is sent to Asia, deals with extreme culture shock, and ends up falling in love with the country's stern ruler despite their many differences. I could see how that would appeal to Carly, given her recent circumstances.
After a couple of hours, Zark entered, looking serious and grim. “I see you've made yourself at home. I assume Carly gave you that book?”
“She did.” I almost folded the corner of the page down to mark my place, but then thought better of it. It may have just looked like some raggedy novel bought from a second-rate used bookstore, but I had to remind myself that out here in space, it was considered an extremely rare and valuable Earth artifact – not to mention a diplomatic gift.
For all I know, dog-earing the pages could start some kind of intergalactic war.
“Did you have a good talk with your brother?” I asked.
Zark paused for a moment, and then nodded. “Yes. Although when we spoke to our intelligence officers, we learned that Torqa maintained several apartments, all of them secret. I have several allies – all of whom are as skilled as they come in covert investigation – tracking their locations to determine which one she spent the most time in, so we can proceed accordingly. Until then, unfortunately, we have no choice but to wait. Akzun requested that we remain here while the investigation is being run, so that we don’t attract any undue attention before we’re ready to move. And… I chose to confide in Akzun
regarding my curse.”
I put the book aside. “That must be a relief, huh? Not to have to carry that alone anymore?”
“Yes. Although he seems to believe that Khim, the palace healer, will somehow find a way to cure me of the curse – which is highly unlikely, and I'm worried that he'll get his hopes up only to be disappointed. Still, I suppose there's no sense concerning myself with that right now. Did you have fun with Carly?”
“Yeah, it was great to see her again after so long. I mean, finding out that she basically ended up married to a king… wow.”
Zark arched an eyebrow. “Jealous?”
I looked him up and down, admiring his chiseled physique. “Nope, I seem to be doing just fine on my own, ha. There was one thing she mentioned that I wanted to talk to you about, though, since we have time.”
“Oh? What's that?”
I hesitated, thinking about the word she'd used again: mate. Was I his mate? I knew the word had drifted through his mind a few times while we'd been together, and I'd wondered about it, but it hadn't occurred to me to put too much importance on the term until Carly had mentioned the ceremony. I'd assumed “mate” was just their way of saying “girlfriend” or “lover,” but what if it was more than that? What if he wanted me to be his wife?
If he proposed, how would I even respond to that?
I saw the look in his eyes, and realized that it couldn't have been easy for him to talk to Akzun about the curse, or the things he'd done leading up to it. He was already tense and anxious about what would happen if we couldn't find Torqa or the book. Did I really need to subject him to a conversation about the exact nature of our relationship?
No. I didn't need clairvoyance to know that it was the wrong time for that.
“She said you guys had universal translators, to understand other alien languages. Is that true?”
“Oh, absolutely. They come in handy when dealing with other worlds… though Akzun always insisted that Torqa and I take the time to learn English, Manaspeak, and other such dialects ourselves, rather than relying on those devices. He was concerned that using them might be insulting, as though we were saying that putting forth that kind of effort to understand other races was somehow beneath us. Though personally, I happen to think he was just worried that the translators would malfunction at the wrong time and we'd start a war.”
