Scarlet dripped on the steel deck.
Ravnos landed in a crouch two body-lengths away.
Seht snarled and charged him.
Ravnos growled low and deep and ran to meet him.
Lightning fast, live-steel met live-steel in thrust and counterthrust, parry and spark-inducing slide. The bay echoed with the tang of ringing steel from strike after strike, punctuated by the occasional whip crack. Scarlet splotches spattered across the steel decking.
Annoyed at the difficulty he was having getting his sword past Seht’s defense, Ravnos twisted to avoid a stab, his coat flaring out, and lashed out with a hard kick. It landed solidly on Seht’s left side.
Seht gasped but countered with a whip-hand punch aimed for Ravnos’s head.
Ravnos jerked back but still felt a glancing slam to the edge of his jaw. He twisted away and added a long backward flip hard enough and high enough that his hands didn’t need to touch the deck. He landed in a crouch, his coat pooling around him on the deck plates.
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Two body-lengths away, Seht crouched, panting for breath. He frowned. “That fighting style… Where did you learn it?”
Ravnos stood up and spat a small amount of blood. He rubbed his jaw with the heel of his sword hand. “From a cousin.” He couldn’t help the smile lifting his lips. “A very distant cousin.”
Seht snorted. “Ah, an isfeht, a renegade rehkyt.”
Ravnos shrugged slightly. “Well, he did have red hair.”
Seht’s brow lifted. “And fangs, no doubt. No human is capable of fighting in that fashion. Even with augmentations, their spatial sense wouldn’t allow for it.”
Ravnos shrugged again but noted the small rents in Seht’s ship-suit all along his arms and upper thighs. He wasn’t much better. His coat and trousers had almost as many slashes. Scarlet was dotting the plates under both of them. He’d been careful to avoid cutting the arteries under Seht’s neck, arms, or along the inner thighs. He didn’t want to kill him if he could avoid it.
Ravnos did a quick survey of his own wounds and noticed exactly the same pattern of slices along his arms and outer thighs. Seht wasn’t trying to kill him either.
However, with as much blood loss as they’d already suffered came disorientation. He had to stop the fight before one of them accidentally did something fatal.
It was time to fight dirty. He tossed his parrying dagger across the bay. He’d need his hands for this.
Seht lifted his chin and snorted, a smile curving his lips. “If you think I’ll toss my whip aside, you are sorely mistaken.”
Ravnos licked his lips and smiled. Good. He twirled the sword in his hand. “Not feeling honorable?”
Seht’s smile evaporated. “Fuck honor.” He flicked his wrist, making his whip coil at his heels. “I will use any means to get you back!” He lunged toward Ravnos and lashed out with his whip.
Ravnos reached out with his off hand and allowed the whip to wrap around his wrist. It stung like a bitch. Wincing only slightly, he grabbed the wire-laced leather, sidestepped, and yanked hard, throwing his entire weight to the side.
Seht was thrown in the opposite direction, skidding on his heels in an arc.
Ravnos crouched lower and continued his hard turn, making it more of a spin.
Just before Seht could completely lose his balance, he pulled hard and lunged toward Seht, using the tension from the whip for greater speed. At the very last moment, he tossed his sword away and threw his right arm out to catch Seht around the neck.
Seht’s eyes widened; then he fell back under Ravnos’s weight.
With Seht’s off hand caught under his body, Ravnos grabbed his own wrist, putting Seht into a headlock.
Seht released the whip to grab at Ravnos’s hair. “Let go!” He brought up his sword, aiming the pommel for Ravnos’s head.
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Ravnos winced and hissed from the pain of his hair being yanked, but only loosened his hold on Seht’s throat enough to roll onto his back and halfway under Seht to avoid the descending pommel. He tightened his hold around Seht’s throat once more and yanked Seht squarely on top of him. “No.”
Seht choked, grabbed for Ravnos’s arm, and rolled hard to the side.
Ravnos spread his legs wide to keep himself under the silver-haired prince. He growled in Seht’s pointed ear. “Pulling hair? I thought only girls fought that way.”
Gasping, Seht kicked out and struggled to sit upright. “Bastard!” His sword clanged on the steel deck.
Ravnos decided to help him sit up and rolled forward. With a hasty bit of wiggling, he got both knees bent under him and safely away from Seht’s sword. He angled his choking-hold arm high, aiming to stop the blood flow in the arteries on the sides of Seht’s neck to make Seht pass out as quickly as possible.
Seht’s struggles weakened; his sword dropped to the floor with a clang.
Ravnos pressed his cheek against Seht’s. “I have no desire to kill you, Seht. You’re free to go. I just wanted to prove to you, to both of us, that you can’t dominate me. It’s far too late for that. I will never go back with you.”
Seht sucked in a harsh breath. “If you will not come with me”—he gasped in another breath—“then I will not leave.”
“What?” Ravnos stiffened. “Are you insane?”
Seht wheezed in another breath. “I will not…leave you…again.”
A strange dizziness filled Ravnos’s brain. “You’re willing to stay with me here, under my command?”
Seht gasped. “Yes.”
Ravnos growled in his ear. “You are absolutely sure?”
Seht sucked in a deep breath, and his eyes closed. “I am…sure. I will not leave you again. I…I cannot live without you…anymore.” A tear slid from his eye, and his voice faded. “I tried. I cannot—I will not—anymore. You are…my other…half.” His body went limp in Ravnos’s arms.
In complete shock, Ravnos released the silver-haired prince’s throat and let him fall back into the cradle of his arms. He closed his eyes against the searing ache in his heart and in his throat. Wetness burned down his cheeks. Blood and hell… Seht wanted to be with him badly enough to stay? He opened his eyes to look blearily up at the distant struts of the bay, unable to tell if he was thrilled or horrified. He looked over toward the door and smacked his forehead. “Fuck! What do I do with him?”
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Chapter Twentytwo
Tired, sweating, and bleeding from a hundred shallow cuts all over him, Ravnos marched through the passageways, clasping the legs of the unconscious and bleeding Skeldhi prince he’d flung over his shoulder.
His lieutenant met him at the door to the captain’s suite and blinked. “I know I asked you to get us a first officer, Captain, but”—he pulled open the captain’s door and gave him a weak smile—“you really didn’t need to go so far as to kidnap one, sir.”
Ravnos stopped in the doorway and blinked. First officer…? He eyed the unconscious prince, and a slow smile lifted his lips. Perfect. He turned back to his lieutenant and his smile broadened. “I believe the old naval term is ‘pressed,’ as in,
‘press-ganged.’”
His lieutenant’s eyes widened. “Uh, why so it is, sir.”
Ravnos lifted his chin. “I’ll need a full set of uniforms, for both of us.”
The lieutenant followed at his captain’s heels. “Captain, you mean he really is going to be our first officer?”
Ravnos lifted one brow. “Do you have any objections as to how I acquire my officers, Lieutenant?”
The lieutenant hastily shook his head and lifted both hands. “Oh no, sir! Not at all, sir! But, um…” He eyed the both of them, then looked pointedly at the carpet under Ravnos’s boots. “Shall I get someone from medical down here first?”
Ravnos stared down at the blood dripping onto his carpet. “Hmm…
Perhaps you should.” He strode past his neatly made four-poster bed, heading for the bathing facility, and called over his shoulder. “Oh, and ask security to bring up a full set of force cuffs, ankles and wrists.”
The lieutenant tripped on nothing in particular. “Force cuffs, sir?”
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Ravnos opened the door to his private facility. “Your new first officer has a nasty temper.” He set the unconscious prince out on the tile floor and pulled out one of his slender boot-knives.
“Yes, sir! Right away, sir!” The lieutenant turned on his heel to face away from the facility door. He tapped his ear-jack. “Medical, please. Thank you. Medical? I need a first aid medical team in the captain’s quarters, on the double. Yes, first aid only. Good.
Thank you.”
Ravnos yanked off Seht’s boots and began cutting Seht’s bloodstained clothes from his body.
“Acquisitions, please? Yes, I need a full set of uniforms for a first officer. Size?
Um…”
Ravnos focused on the ship’s sentience.
It only took a split second for the ship to assure her captain that she had indeed made a full scan of the Skeldhi prince, including clothing size.
“The ship has his measurements on file.” Ravnos threw the torn and bloody fabric against the wall with a wet splat. “Look under ‘Deshryt, Seht.’” Prince Seht…
The lieutenant nodded. “The ship has the required measurements filed under Deshryt, Seht. Yes? Good. Thank you. Security, please.”
Ravnos rose to soak a towel in the small sink, then went back to Seht to wipe off some of the blood.
“Security? The captain requires a full set of force cuffs, if you please. Yes. Ankles and wrists. Immediately.” The lieutenant tapped his toe. “No, this is not a fucking joke!”
Ravnos turned toward the facility door. “Security! Get me a goddamned set of force cuffs, right the fuck now! That’s an order!”
The lieutenant snorted. “Any more questions? No? Good. Thank you.”
The door chime sounded.
The lieutenant hurried to the door and admitted the medical team.
* * * * *
Patched, cleaned, dressed, and groomed within an inch of his life, Ravnos strode into his ready room. He swept a hand through his shoulder-length red waves, then down the cuffed sleeve of his freshly pressed and cleaned captain’s coat. He took a moment to ask the ship for the current duty roster, then folded his arms and leaned back against his desk, eying the frost-haired prince slumped over in the heavy-duty security chair. He had no doubts about the chair holding Seht firmly. It was designed to hold a marine-class cyborg.
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so despite the fact that Seht had been unconscious, the verbal command to stand had been more than enough to keep him upright.
The yeomen had done an impressive job.
Seht’s long silver mane had been combed back from his brow and tied at the base of his neck with a blue bow that would match the prince’s eyes perfectly. His pale cream silk shirt was impeccably tied at the neck with a starched, lace-trimmed cravat. A neatly pressed brocaded black waistcoat fell to his knees over snug, black-seamed trews. The silver-braided, black velvet long coat was buttoned to the heart and tied with a broad blue sash that matched the ribbon in his hair. They’d even found gleaming black knee-boots that fit over his ankle cuffs.
Ravnos’s brows lifted. Damn. He looks good in that. The white bandages down his arms and legs didn’t even show.
All that was left was to wait until Seht awakened, and present him with an offer he couldn’t refuse. According to the ship’s mind, that would be happening any second…
Seht groaned, winced, and struggled to sit up in the chair. He stared at his cuffed wrists, and his eyes widened. “What…?”
Ravnos drew his sword. It was time to induct his brand-new first officer. He glared down at his captive. “I offer you the position of first officer on my ship, the Hellsbreath. Do you accept?”
Seht’s hands fisted in the cuffs attached to the arms of the chair. “First officer? You wish me as second in command?”
Ravnos nodded. “You will obey no one’s orders but mine, but mine you will obey without question. Do you accept?”
Seht’s gaze narrowed. “This is your condition to remain?”
Ravnos held Seht’s gaze steadily, despite the fact that his heart was beating in his throat. “You may leave anytime you wish.”
Seht curled his lip, showing a long fang. “But if I…serve as your first officer, I may remain?”
Ravnos nodded. “Yes.”
Seht lifted his chin. “I accept.”
“Very well then…” Ravnos knelt at Seht’s side to release his wrists, then stepped away. “Kneel and make your oath.”
Seht rubbed his wrists and stood. He dropped to one knee and placed one hand flat on the deck. The black skirts of his coat flared around him. He looked up at Ravnos.
Ravnos set the edged tip of his sword against Seht’s bare throat. He smiled.
“Swear.”
“I, Deshryt Seht, solemnly swear on my honor to serve”—he curled his lip—
“Captain Aubrey Laslo Ravnos of the mercenary ship Hellsbreath…”
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Ravnos barely held on to his smile. He hadn’t realized that Seht knew his full name.
“…with all due honor, loyalty, and respect.”
Ravnos’s smile widened to a grin. “And obedience.”
Seht clenched his teeth.
Ravnos raised his brow in an open dare to omit his addition. He pressed the blade a little more firmly to Seht’s throat. A trickle of blood dribbled down to stain Seht’s cravat.
“And obedience, until death”—he flashed a smile—“or his capture by Skeldhi hunters.”
Ravnos let the growl in his chest surface. “You were supposed to say ‘or until I remove you from duty.’”
Seht let the smile fade from his lips. “You will have to kill me to remove me from your side. I will not be dismissed. As for the other…” His gaze narrowed. “The hunters still have you on their list. Sooner or later, they will find you. You can only outrun your fate for so long.”
Ravnos curled his lip in a very nasty smile. “I’ve done pretty well so far.”
Seht smiled just as nastily. “Why, so you have.” He cleared his throat. “By the grace of Mother Night and the glory of my queen, may I serve with distinction.”
“I accept.” Ravnos removed the blade from Seht’s throat and stepped away.
“Blood and Night, you’re a stubborn bastard.”
Seht stayed down on his knee but lifted one silver brow. “To quote one of your Terran sayings, it takes one to know one.”
“Why, so it does.” Ravnos tugged a handkerchief from his coat sleeve and wiped the tip of his blade. The white fabric came away stained with red. “You may rise.”
Seht rose to his feet. “Thank you…Captain.” He lifted both hands, letting the lace fall back, revealing the gold titanium cuffs on his wrists. “And these?”
Ravnos narrowed his eyes at Seht and smiled. “I didn’t have a collar.”
Seht’s eyes narrowed, and his jaw tightened. “I see.” He lowered his hands and carefully drew the draping lace down over the gleaming cuffs around his wrists. “So, now what?”
Ravnos sheathed his blade. “Now, we go to an officers’ meeting where we discuss the destruction of the Moribund ships in the eighth quadrant.”
Seht nodded and smiled. “I like the sound of that.”
Ravnos’s smile turned feral. “Afterward, I take you to my personal quarters where I introduce you to my desk.”
Seht’s brows lifted. “Another desk?”
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Ravnos reached for his coat and slid into it. “Actually, it’s the same one.” He turned to smile at Seht. “President Kidd had it delivered, as a…gift in congratulations for taking a first officer.”
Seht frowned. “You told him?”
Ravnos shrugged. “I sent him an update of the ship’s crew log.”
Seht winced. “He must have seen the security tape.”
Ravnos smiled. “That too.” He turned and walked to the door. “This way, if you please.”
Seht followed at his left heel.
Ravnos led his new first officer through the smoked-steel passageways of his ship, introducing him to the key members of his crew from the bowel-deep engineering corps all the way up to the dour nav-pilot and his four subpilots on the bridge.
Seht folded his hands behind him and asked polite but pointed and
knowledgeable questions about everything from the ship’s functions and distribution of duties to astro-mechanics and protocol.
Despite the fact that Seht was clearly not human, the crew appeared to respond quite favorably to their charming first officer, using tones of respect when addressing him.
Ravnos barely noticed. He was too busy absorbing Seht’s hair shimmering frost white against the black velvet of his coat, and the way the cream silk of his collar and cravat warmed his porcelain-pale skin. He found himself distracted by Seht’s movement, gliding lightly on his feet with grace and balance despite the extra weight of his mechanical augmentations. When he spoke, his voice held almost a bell-like tone.
The subtle erotic musk of his scent perfumed the air around him. He’s so damned…beautiful.
And exciting.
His blood began to race until it pounded deep and low, tightening his trousers.
Every smile and gesture became a reminder of how Seht’s tight, hot body had moved under him and around him…the sounds of flesh striking flesh, the scent of blood and semen…
By the end of the tour, Ravnos led Seht into his private office practically breathless with lust.
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