It was more than unlikely that an orphan raised in the poorest part of the city would have studied the languages of another sector.
Aura stroked the hair she always wore down so that it cascaded over her shoulders and hid the small scar from where the translation unit had been implanted.
Forcing herself to ignore the rapid beat of her heart, Aura replied with an easy smile. “I’ve always had a head for languages and plenty of time on my hands, since coming to the palace. I appreciate the opportunity to practice with you.”
“You’re quite extraordinary, aren’t you? I’ll be sure to ask the King where he acquired someone so unique.”
“You flatter me. And I don’t mean to be rude, but I should return to the pavilion.”
“Of course.” Faseer backed up just far enough to allow her to pass and gave a bow that seemed mocking. “I’m sure we’ll have an opportunity to speak again soon.”
Aura hurried past him and out of the library, as fast as she could go without actually running. It was probably rude to leave without bidding farewell to Sirena, but she was entirely focused on keeping herself on shaking legs and getting as far away from Faseer as possible.
It had not escaped her notice that the Vigilians were the only civilization on the planet capable of space travel. Could they be the ones responsible for what had happened to her on the Citadel? If that was the case then Faseer was even more of a danger to her than she’d initially assumed.
Perhaps he had even been there himself.
She didn’t know what would happen if he ever discovered that she had come from the Citadel, but she knew that it would be nothing good.
And the only man capable of protecting her had also become her greatest torment.
Chapter Nine
But when Aura rushed back to her rooms, making it difficult for the confused guard to keep up with her, she was surprised to find that Ianthe was in her room waiting for her.
“What are you doing here?” Aura snapped, then immediately realized that was probably too harsh of a tone to take. “I mean, I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
Ianthe raised her eyebrows. “I told you it would take some time for me to get the information that you want. It’s a delicate thing.”
Aura slumped down onto the bed with a heavy sigh. “I assumed you’d changed your mind about helping me. You didn’t seem exactly eager the last time that we spoke.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to help you. In fact, of everyone here I’m the one who probably understands best what you’re going through even if my experience isn’t precisely the same. I just want you to be careful.”
“It doesn’t really matter, anyway.”
“What do you mean, it doesn’t matter? The last time that we spoke, you were desperate to escape the palace, no matter what it cost you.”
“And go where?” Her encounter with Sirena and Faseer had only confirmed for her that this world was a dangerous place. What would the advisor had done if she was not under the protection of the Crown, with a guard right outside the door? “I won’t be safe anywhere else but here.”
“I thought you were determined to return to your family?”
The reminder hit Aura like a stab to the heart. There wasn’t a day that went by in which she did not think about Auntie Nona and the twins, wondering if they were still safe or even alive. But the chance of seeing them again seemed so remote at this point that she forced herself not to think about it, if just as a form of self-protection. Because if she thought about the fact that she spent her days lounging and eating sumptuous food, the guilt would be enough to destroy her completely.
Better not to think of it all.
Aura looked up to find the other woman watching her with a considering gaze.
“This room is full of the scent of Alpha,” Ianthe noted. “Castor?”
A pink blush rose in Aura’s cheeks. “Yes. He comes every night.”
“Really?”
“Ever since the evening of the banquet. At first, I wanted to fight him. He just makes me so angry with his high-handedness and possession. But…”
“You can’t,” Ianthe finished, tone solemn. She seemed to consider her next words before speaking again. “Did I ever tell you that I ran from my mate, after he’d claimed me.”
Aura’s gaze flew up to meet hers. “You did?”
“I struggled with many of the same things that you do, my desire for freedom in a world that wanted to rob me of it. All of us have the right to choose.”
“But you returned to him, what changed your mind?”
“He claimed me,” Ianthe replied simply, as if that explained everything. At the confused look on Aura’s face, she continued. “He was in my head, always, even when miles separated us. Eventually he ended up in my heart, as well. I can’t say if it’s biology or fate, or something else entirely but whatever it is can’t be denied.”
“I don’t want to feel that way.”
Ianthe shrugged. “Sometimes it feels like I have no choice in it and at other times that I’ve made the only choice that has ever made sense. I’ve come to terms with it. Just be happy that he hasn’t marked you, that would only make your decision harder.”
Unable to name the emotion that drove her, Aura pulled at the collar of her gown so hard that it tore the fabric. The mangled flesh stood out in stark relief from the smooth skin surrounding it. Even though it had healed, the skin was still puckered and reddened.
“Castor did this?”
“It happened while we were trapped together in the Forbidden Zone. I don’t think he could control himself and now he regrets ever doing it.”
“It’s a little late for regrets now. That absolute hypocrite.” For the first time, Ianthe seemed genuinely upset although it was difficult to understand the reason for her sudden anger. “This is so much more than an Alpha claiming an Omega. No wonder he’s kept you hidden away.”
Aura gathered her legs underneath her as she sat up on the bed, cold apprehension sent a shiver down her spine. “What do you mean?”
“He’s gained political favor among the lower classes by advocating for the rights of Omegas. Too many Beta families have been forced to turn their Omega daughters over for forced unions to high-ranking Alphas. And the Alphas who rule Pandora keep everyone beneath them subjugated. Castor has promised to fix the broken system. But if people discovered that, despite all his talk of fairness, he has taken an Omega mate, the tide would turn against him. He’d risk being overthrown by the common people and he’ll have no support from the Alphas on the council that he’s spent a lifetime openly challenging.”
“So he can’t acknowledge me, but he also can’t let me go.” Saying it out loud made the reality of her situation seem that much more stark and unsolvable. “Which puts both of us at risk.”
“He comes to you every night. And he’s preparing to marry the Beta Princess from Vigil, a union that was arranged when both of them were still children.”
That was a thing that Aura had been forcing herself not to think about. Part other imagined there was a chance the marriage would not take place at all. She didn’t want to think about the alternative.
“Do you think he plans to keep me here forever?”
Ianthe scoffed. “It doesn’t seem as if he has much of a plan at all. But you have to ask yourself if this is a life that you can stand, trapped here while he lives a life of appearances. Eventually, he will be King and the public scrutiny will be even greater.”
“So you’re saying that I should leave?”
“He’s marked you,” Ianthe reminded her, voice solemn. “You’ll spend the rest of your life running from him, even if it’s only in your own mind. The only way to break the bond is through death. I can’t make that decision for you.”
Aura hesitated a moment before revealing more, concerned that sharing what she had just learned might only make her situation worse. But ultimately, she needed a true confidante, if just to share the terrible burden. “I’ve
discovered something else.”
“What is it?”
“I met Princess Sirena and her advisor, Faseer, in the library. We were talking, and he revealed that Vigil has gained the capability to travel to space, the only people on the planet that have done so.”
“And you think they’re the ones who discovered your station and have been attempting to create Omegas from the population.” A moue of distaste twisted Ianthe’s lips before she regained control of her expression. “The whole idea of it makes me a little sick. These dynamics have caused enough problems in society without using science to knock it even more off-balance.”
“Castor must know they have the capability,” Aura reasoned, the bits of information in her head like pieces of a puzzle that wouldn’t fit together. “How could he not make the connection?”
“Why do you assume he didn’t?”
Aura’s mouth opened and closed it again as she searched for a response. Castor had been high-handed and imperious since the moment she’d met him, but this was so much more than that. “He wouldn’t.”
“The first thing you need to understand about Alphas is that they are practically incapable of realizing when they’re wrong. If I had a credit for every time Legion has hid information for my own good, I’d probably have enough to buy my own spaceship. They can’t help themselves.”
“You don’t make it sound easy to live with him.”
“I never said it was,” Ianthe replied, voice droll. “But there are other benefits.”
And Aura was well aware of what benefits those might be. “I have to talk to him.”
“Tread carefully. You don’t want to see what happens when you back an Alpha into the corner.” Ianthe stood to leave, expression somber. “We have someone prepared to aid you in escaping the palace, if that’s what you’ve decided. Should I make the arrangements?”
Aura stared down at her hands, willing the universe to illuminate a path for her. “I need more time to think and I have to speak to Castor.”
“Let me know if you change your mind. Legion and I are staying in the palace while the negotiations are going on with Vigil. You can send word to me through the servants.”
Ianthe left her alone then, closing the door gently behind her.
Aura’s mind remained in turmoil throughout the rest of day as she anxiously waited for night to fall and Castor to return to her. She imagined this as her life for the rest of her days and felt an emptiness so profound that it nearly left her gasping. Would he give her children to raise in the harem, practically slaves themselves, or would he grow tired of her and leave her to rot like the rest of the women here?
But if she could successfully escape, what then? Even if she were able to find the resistance group that Ianthe had told her about and they offered her shelter, that did not come close to solving her problems. As far as she knew, the Vigilians were the only ones with any capability to leave the planet and potentially reach the Citadel. If she ran, any chance she had of reuniting with her family would be lost.
It was an impossible choice.
And when she finally confronted Castor with all that she had learned, his response was a solemn shrug.
“Of course, I knew.”
Her surprise quickly turned to anger as she regarded the neutral expression on his face. “Why wouldn’t you tell me?”
“The information would have done you no good, and I did not want you to inadvertently let something slip in front of the Vigilians and reveal yourself.”
“That practically happened anyway, no thanks to you and your secrets,” Aura snapped as she paced back and forth across the carpet. “My translation unit had me speaking in their language. Faseer was more than suspicious.”
“He is no danger to you.”
“Eventually he will figure it out.”
“No harm will come to you. I will make sure of it.”
“By keeping me locked up in a cage?”
For his part, Castor reclined on the bed and simply watched her angry display with a heated gaze. “You should lower your voice before the entire harem comes running.”
She glared at him. “I’d hate for you to be embarrassed by being seen with me.”
His head tipped to the side. “You think I’m embarrassed of you.”
“What else could it be?”
“It’s not embarrassment.” Castor rose smoothly from the bed, like a predator uncoiling in preparation to strike. He stalked closer as she took an involuntarily step backward, stopping only when her back hit the bolted door. “It’s obsession. You infect my thoughts and haunt my dreams. Every night I come here and hope that tomorrow is when I’ll finally have the strength to resist. I have never been more out of control than since I met you.”
She stared up into his face, vision blurry with unshed tears. “Then why not just let me go?”
He looked away and glared at the air above her head, expression brooding. “I tell myself that you wouldn’t last a day on your own, which is likely an accurate assessment. But the truth is simpler than that, I can’t let you go. I won’t.”
“Then why are you marrying Princess Sirena?”
“Our marriage was arranged years ago. We need their technology and they need our military force. If I set her aside, the Council will use it as an excuse to take concerted efforts against me and seek an alliance in some other way. It was no accident that sent me crashing into the Forbidden Zone. My skycar was sabotaged. I’ve already executed one traitor, but I’m certain there are more. Vigil is involved somehow and until I figure out precisely how, these negotiations have to continue.”
“So you’re going to keep entertaining that awful man, knowing what he’s likely done.”
“Yes.” He made a sound of frustration. “Otherwise, I risk a war.”
“War! How—”
“I suspect that whoever is plotting to overthrow the Crown has received support from Vigil, it has to have something to do with the promise of Omegas. Vigil has none to spare so they must be planning to continue their experiments on unwitting people, starting with those on your station.”
She stared at him, askance. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this before?”
“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry unnecessarily.”
“I spend every moment of every day worried. Stop keeping secrets from me.”
But he shook his head. “You have no idea what is brewing under the surface here. I can’t promise to share everything with you, if it’s not safe.
The overbearing concern for her safety might just be the thing about him that she hated most. What was safe about ignorance? Frustrated, Aura tried another tactic. “If you already knew all of this, why haven’t you done anything about it yet?”
“Because I have no proof. I can’t take crack pot theories to the Council and just hope they will act on them. And I have to uncover who is plotting against me before taking any action at all. These negotiations are a convenient cover while I wait for the truth to reveal itself.”
“Even if you end up married to their Princess?”
He closed his eyes, but when he opened them, his gaze was full of flinty determination. “I will do what I have to do.”
“And what happens when you’ve married Sirena and rule a kingdom? Will these four walls be all that I ever have while you keep me locked away in the shadows?”
“Enough,” he snapped. “We’re not discussing this right now.
“You claimed me. Whether or not it shames you, it’s the truth.”
“It isn’t shame.” To her surprise he backed off and returned to the bed. He shifted to the far side so that his back rested against the wall, legs slightly bent. “Come here.”
Aura went to him because she had no other choice, to resist him when he was so close and commanding was impossible. And once his hands were on her skin and urging her onto the bed with him, it was much too easy to forget the deep well of her discontent.
He stripped her dress off her deliberatel
y slowly, undoing the long tie at her waist and lifting it over her head until Aura was completely nude. The purposeful way that his gaze traced the hem of her dress as it lifted over her body and was tossed away sent a shiver of anticipation up her spine.
“You do not understand the danger that you’re in outside these walls.” His large hands skimmed up her sides with just enough pressure to tease along the skin. Small flutters moved through the pit of her belly. “I would lock you away completely before I let any harm come to you.”
His words should have spurred her to resist, triggered more of the fight she waged for her freedom. But they had the opposite effect, her body went limp beneath him and it was only his hands on her waist keeping her upright.
“Castor…”
He kissed her hard, swallowing his own name and pressing her body hard against his still-clothed form. The room was dimly lit, but enough that she could see the tension on his face when she looked up at him. Despite the hurt and the fear, she couldn’t imagine herself in any other place but his arms.
If only she could make him understand her suffering.
But more serious things fled from her mind when he laid her back on the silken sheets and loomed over her. The look on his face was one that she had not seen since their days trapped together in the cabin. It was all possession and dangerous intent that set her body to shaking.
When he kissed her, his tongue invaded her mouth without hesitation or restraint. Her hand rose to fist in the fabric of his shirt, as stroking fingers smoothed along her thighs. She panted against his lips as those same fingers found her saturated center.
There had been no growl, nothing to prepare her aside from his presence. She simply wanted him, more than she had ever wanted anything in her life.
He broke their kiss to lay a scorching trail along her chin and to her neck, biting and licking but not with enough force to break the skin. His teeth closed around the mark in her shoulder, mimicking the pattern that was permanently scarred into her skin. The effort it took him not to bite down was obvious as his groan sent a wave of moist heat tickling along her flesh.
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