Chapter Twenty-Four
“What day did you reschedule the ceremony for?” his mother asked. Her weariness was clearly visible on her face as she peered at him from the communication screen.
She’d called him to complain about his behavior. Apparently, no one wanted to be near him because his attitude was less than desirable these past three lunar cycles.
He hadn’t even realized everyone was avoiding him. He’d been too wrapped up in his own thoughts to notice anything else. But the moment she brought up the ceremony, he instantly tuned her out. Apparently, they had now moved the discussion from his behavior to the ceremony.
“Taio! Pay attention to me. It is time for you to snap out of it and move on with your life. You have a beautiful mate-to-be who has been waiting patiently for you to come to your senses. You cannot continue to put her off,” his mother said firmly.
Taio could hear the distress in his mother’s voice. His mother, father and sister had returned home to the main planet awhile ago. When? He wasn’t too certain about that, most of the guests had left when it became apparent there wouldn’t be a bonding ceremony anytime soon. Kiehle left well before his parents—he still had a business to run.
“Taio!” his mother called out again. His eyes snapped back to the communication screen.
“Yes, Mother.”
“Well? What is the new date?”
“I haven’t set it yet.”
“Tsk. That poor girl. What are you planning to do? Keep her hanging around while you mourn the loss of your lover?”
“I am not holding her hostage, she can leave whenever she wants.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be an ass.”
“Mother, you don’t understand. I am still bonding with her. I can’t afford not to, Sonis needs her. I am trying to get some things in order first. I felt rushed into it anyway.”
“Pah. You were more than ready to mate with her. It’s only after you let your little concubine go that you took this downward turn,” she said. “I thought I had it figured out. I am partly to blame as well.”
“You are not the blame for this. It was me. I wasn’t honest with Eva from the beginning.”
“No. I thought I knew what was best for you. I should have supported what I knew in my heart from the beginning.”
“You knew about my feelings for her?”
“Ha! Everyone who has eyes knew how you felt about Eva and how she felt about you,” she said. “And you are correct, I don’t understand. I don’t understand how you let her go so easily. If I had someone who loved me and I loved them back, I would have fought harder to hold onto it.”
“But I’m king here. I have to do what’s right for everyone. I have to think of more than just my needs.”
“Oh I see, so who does it benefit if your staff is too afraid to approach you because you’ll lash out at them? Who benefits if you have not completed one task? Who benefits when your business contacts are requesting not to deal with you? Who benefits if—”
“Mother! I get the idea.”
“My sweet baby, I am just trying to get you to understand that if you are not happy, it does affect everyone. I just want you to be happy.”
“Even if I want her, it could never be more than what it was. She’s not royalty. She has nothing to offer Sonis. What would the other delegates think if I mated with a species that couldn’t defend their own world?” He had been thinking about this ever since she left.
“I thought I raised you better than this,” his mother said. “I wanted so much more for you, Kiehle and Saia. No matter how you were brought into this world, I wanted you all to make your own decisions and choices. To be able to weigh the good and the bad. When you left home and set up on Sonis, I was so proud of you.”
“I know, Mother.”
She raised her hand. “No, you don’t. I wanted to do right by you. Who cares what those stuffy old dignitaries and council members think? You have the best defense system known to us. You have an entity that is as old as this galaxy at your side. And you had a female who loved you.”
Taio hung his head. His mother was right. He had been so caught up in trying to do right by Sonis that he wasn’t doing right by himself. So what if he mated with Eva? No one would dare think him weak, they would find out the hard way he wasn’t.
He pushed back his chair and began to rise.
“Where are you going?”
“I am going to find Eva.” His mother was right. He needed to get Eva back.
His mother smiled and blew a kiss at him. “Send me a new date for the ceremony!”
He found Sa’Mya lounging in the library with Yazmine lying at her side, playing with her long, golden tresses. He guessed Sa’Mya wouldn’t be too heartbroken about what he was about to tell her. She seemed to prefer Yazmine’s company to his anyway.
“Can we go somewhere and talk, alone?” He sent a dismissive glance toward her personal guard, Moira and Yazmine.
Sa’Mya had taken the news better than he could have imagined. “It was clear from the beginning the two of you were in love. We all knew it was a package deal and she was part of the package.”
“I am sorry for making you wait all this time for a ceremony that will not take place.”
Sa’Mya let out a heavy breath. “To be honest, it was a vacation for me. I enjoyed being here.” She gave a sweeping glance around the old library that held millions of data files.
“You are welcome back anytime you want to visit.”
Sa’Mya’s eyes became distant. “Taio, I do have a favor to ask of you.”
“Anything.”
She shook her head. “I don’t need the favor now, just promise you will grant it when I call you.”
“Sa’Mya, I’m on the council, it can’t be anything illegal,” he said, warning her. He didn’t like the idea of promising a favor without knowing what he was promising for.
“No.” She shook her head again. “You have nothing to worry about on that end. I will need a favor and I want to be able to count on a friend.” Something in her eyes compelled him to help her.
“You will be able to count on me.”
Sa’Mya smiled. “Thank you.” Then, as if it was an afterthought. “I will make sure that our previous arrangement is modified.”
Taio had assumed that since there would not be a ceremony, their contract would be voided.
“I will still make sure that you have use of my transport vessels. Mind you, you won’t be part-owner anymore and I want a percentage of the profits made when this little world of yours becomes a thriving attraction,” Sa’Mya said.
“Thank you.” He bowed his head. This was more than generous of her, especially since she wasn’t obligated to him anymore.
“Anything for a friend.” She bowed hers in return.
Taio had the feeling she was endearing herself to him for when she called in her “favor”. He would worry about that later.
Leaving her, he returned to his personal quarters to pack his bag. He needed to go to Holis, praying that he wasn’t too late.
“Ship! Get me Taraj Hazouto from Holis on the—”
He stopped mid-sentence. Ship was gone. He stopped what he was doing and ran to his office. He couldn’t dial the code for Taraj Hazouto quick enough. He let out an extended breath as her face came into view.
“Greetings, Taraj.” He bowed his head to the diplomat.
“Greetings, King Taio. What an honor it is for you to call upon me.”
“The honor is all mine.” He smiled. “I would appreciate it very much if you could let me speak with Eva.”
“Eva?” she asked. “Why would Eva be here?”
“I assumed she was there with Alexion. Is she not?”
“I’m afraid not. We last spoke with her five rotations ago. She was going to Zolaris. She had news her friend, Allysan, was being held there,” Taraj explained.
Taio blanched at the news. She was trekking around the galaxy with only Ship to take care of her.
“I don’t understand, I thought she was with Alexion?”
“Why would she be with Alexion?”
“They shared a mutual attraction. I assumed when she left here she went running to him.” Panic crept across his heart. Where was she? She was a human female, she didn’t know anything about the dangers the universe held.
“You misunderstood, King Taio. Alexion does find her to be quite appealing, exotic even. But Eva did not share his feelings.”
“But I saw them together a lot. There was more to their relationship than you are letting on.”
“They had a friendship. Once Eva told us about her people, we felt compelled to help. Alexion came up with the idea of us setting up safe planets for the other humans. Alexion was planning it and I was using my contacts as a dignitary to find suitable sites. It was no more than a working relationship, I assure you. My brother cannot keep any secrets from me.”
“I can’t believe I let her leave on her own.” He leaned back in his chair. “She could be in so much danger.” He ran a hand through his tangled hair.
“Don’t worry, Ship is taking good care of her. He would never leave her side. Not even for a minute. Especially since she is starting to show.”
“Show what?”
“Her pregnancy, of course. Ship is extremely protective of her. She told me Ship has insisted this was going to be her last attempt to find Allysan before the baby is born.”
Taio’s mind froze. Pregnant? Baby?
Taraj’s eyes widened in response. “King Taio, you did not know that she was pregnant?”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Eva sat slumped at the bar. This was the seventh dead end she had run into in the past six months. And not to mention her ankles were swelling. She looked at them in disgust and curled her lip. It was bad enough that she had been dumped, but dumped and fat? That was just plain wrong.
She was on an Interplanetary System Transport Vessel headed to nowhere. Well, it was going somewhere, but she was drifting. She couldn’t find Ally, the few friends she made on Sonis were gone and, of course, no Taio. The only thing that kept her hopes somewhat up was the chance of finding Ally and reclaiming a little bit of the normalcy she lost. Now, with her belly growing bigger by the day and no Ally, she would need to go somewhere quiet to lick her wounds.
She wanted Ally, she wanted her friend back, but there was another reason that was more pressing. Ship gave her news that Ally had been sold and re-sold to as many as three different brothels throughout the galaxy. She needed to find her friend. Now.
This last lead on Ally had seemed as though it was finally going to be the one. But it turned out to be a bust. Ally had been sold yet again, this time to a private broker who would no doubt turn around and sell her again. Ship could track her, but it would take awhile for Ally to hit the grid again.
Eva thought highly of her fighting skills, but even she knew she wouldn’t be able to launch a one-woman rescue mission this late in her pregnancy. Eva sighed as she thought about the delay. There was no way around it. She would need to resume the search after her son was born.
Ship had made her visit a medical healer on the first planet they visited after leaving Sonis. Although she didn’t appreciate the entity making her do anything, she had relented. The medical healer told her she was carrying a son and so far he was healthy. The baby she carried was her first priority, finding Ally was her second.
On every planet she had been to, she inquired about ideal places to live and raise children. She had a few requirements in mind. The temperature had to be mild and sunny yearlong. The days had to match Earth’s standard days as much as possible. She looked for a place where she and the baby would be safe living alone, and of course, it had to be in a different solar system than Sonis.
Somewhere far away.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a male walking toward her. His blue-tinted lips sported a malicious grin. His translucent gray skin color, pointy ears and long, blond hair identified his species, Uurosolian. Since she was on her own, learning about different species was a requirement. The information she gathered on Uurosolians was that their race was known to be aggressive toward their females and very dangerous.
Shit.
She kept her eyes on him while she let her hand slide to her blaster.
Crap. Crap. Crap.
Transport rules, no weapons onboard. Her blaster was checked with her bag, she wouldn’t be able to have it until they reached their final destination.
The transport lurched forward just slightly, enough to cause the Uurosolian’s steps to falter and her side to bang against the countertop. She looked around to see if anything visible was going on. Nothing. She quickly dismissed the disruption. It was probably an air pocket or authorities scanning the vessel. They did this in hopes of catching fugitives or unapproved cargo.
Eva didn’t linger on it, the transport would continue on its way once the scan was complete. She had bigger worries.
“Hello there.” The Uurosolian slid into the chair next to hers, smiling viciously with a mouth full of pointy teeth.
“Hello yourself.” She smiled back. “My name is Eva.” She extended her hand to him. The last thing she needed was to hurt this guy’s feelings and be entangled in some kind of physical altercation. Kill him with kindness. Kindness and lies.
His confident smile turned somewhat wary. Not the easy prey he suspected she was, Eva thought.
Hand still extended, she looked at his hand, then back at hers.
With a confused look on his face, the Uurosolian took her hand in his and Eva shook vigorously up and down.
“Eva,” she said again. “And your name would be?”
“Losix.” He nervously looked around the room as if she were setting him up.
She was sitting alone, looking depressed and beat down. She was sure he hoped to build her spirits up with sugar-coated words that would lead to an easy lay. She didn’t appear to be the same person he spotted a few moments ago.
She kept a smile on her face and shook his hand vigorously. “Losix. That’s a real strong name. I like strong names. You’re from Uurose, right? I’ve heard of your people.”
She stopped shaking his hand but held it tight in her grip. She stroked it with her free hand and leaned closer to him. “Even saw a few since I’ve been traveling the galaxy.”
“Umm… I mistook you for an old acquaintance. I’m sorry to impose on you,” he replied quickly.
He was trying to free his hand from her grasp when a bloodcurdling war cry erupted behind her.
Eva jumped from her seat and instinctively got behind Losix, shielding herself from whatever was about to happen.
“I. Will. Rip. You. To. Shreds. Uurosolian.” Each word dripped with hate. “Do you
dare
touch my mate?”
Eva slowly recognized the voice behind the madness. Taio?
“I apologize. I was just telling the female that I mistook her for an old acquaintance. I meant no harm.” As he spoke, Losix reached behind his back, trying to grab a hold of her. Eva held the back of his shirt tight in her fist.
“Why does she hide behind you?”
“I am trying to free myself from her. I have been trying to free myself ever since we greeted.”
Eva unclenched her fist, and with nervous energy, began to smooth out the wrinkles of his shirt.
“You let her stroke you!” Taio’s voice bellowed across the room. Eva could feel his boots stomping closer to her direction.
Oh crap.
Losix jumped up and stepped out of the way, exposing her to Taio’s fury. She gave the Uurosolian an annoyed look. He shrugged and made his way to the exit.
Her knees weakened at the sight of him. He seemed taller than she remembered, bigger and a whole lot meaner. He was in need of a shave, and when he stopped in front of her, she smelled the stench coming from his body and clothes and decided he needed a bath too.
“I am not your mate. You made that quite clear,” she said calmly, surprising even herself.
“You are my mate. You carry my child.” His voice was loud, staking his claim.
So he had found out about the baby.
“For your information, that does not make us mates! Where I’m from, we call that a baby mama!” She fumbled for her chair. Her knees were definitely getting weak now. “I’m not your slave anymore.”
She slid into her chair. “You gave me my freedom. I have witnesses.”
Taio stepped closer to her, cradling her face in his hands.
“You are not my slave. You never were, but you are mine. You always will be. This is mine.” He rubbed his hand across her distended belly.
She hung her head low, tears ran down her cheeks. “No, Taio. I’m not yours. I can’t watch you and Princess Sa’Mya together and stay with you. Not even for the baby. You can’t make me do it.”
Taio gathered her off the stool, cradling her in his thick arms. “I would never ask you to do something so foolish. You will be my mate.”
Eva looked at him through tear-soaked eyes.
“How can I be your mate?”
“I love you and you carry my child.”
“You love me?”
“Yes, and if you do not come back with me, Kiehle will drag this entire transport back to Sonis and keep it there until you change your mind.”
“You put a hold on the transport?” She finally looked around. Everyone watched her and Taio with stunned looks on their faces. But aside from that, the transport guards were all being held in headlocks by Taio’s crew.
“I need you back. I came prepared for a fight. I had to first convince Ship to let me board to speak with you. Eva, I want you by my side. Just you, my little one. My queen.”
“Taio, I don’t know if I can trust you again. What you did…it hurt.”
“Eva, please. I would do anything to have you back with me, where you belong.”
“We’ll be mated?”
“Yes. We will sign the bonding contract as soon as we return to Sonis.”
Eva put up her hand. “I want to be able to continue to train with the guards.”
“Eva, that is not a queen’s place.” She turned her back. “But one item that we can add to the contract.”
She wasn’t giving in that easy. She turned back around. “I want a say in our son’s upbringing.”
“Son?” He fumbled for the chair. Her insides instantly melted. He would love their child with all his heart.
“Yes, I’m carrying your son and I want equal say in his upbringing.”
“This is unheard of.” He shook his head. “This is a father’s responsibility.”
Eva’s lips twitched. She knew she would lose that battle. She hoped for it. “Okay. If I can’t have equal say in the raising of our son, then I want an enlightenment ceremony.”
“That is out of the question.”
She held up her finger. “We are negotiating. If I can’t have equal say in the upbringing of our son, I should at least have an enlightenment ceremony.”
He sat back and crossed his arms. “I’ll think about it.”
Eva sat back as well. “When you come to a conclusion, let me know. I’ll have Ship inform you which planet the baby and I settle down on.”
“All right. You can have an enlightenment ceremony.
After
our son is born.”
Eva hauled back and punched him as hard as she could in his muscle-ripped stomach.
“What was that for?”
“That’s for upsetting me and putting me through hell.”
“I’m sorry, little one.”
“Queen,” she corrected.
Eva buried her face in his stomach and held on tight. She would never let him go. Their son would grow up in a loving two-parent household. But most importantly, he would grow up in a family.
Her family.