Looking at me with a solid black eye and a white eye laced with pink, gold, orange, and grey, Xavier said, “Yes, Princess Probus. We are all on board. While our feelings for our father range from mixtures of intense anger, pity, betrayal, and love, we all agree that the Parvac Empire has demonstrated considerable compassion and understanding. We are grateful.”
I blushed. “Dr. Stanley Crispus is a difficult man with whom to empathize, but my family helped me to see him more clearly. I just can’t understand or forgive him for not saving my mother.” Wondering what it might have been like to grow up basking in the love of my parents caused a deep ache within me that I feared would never go away. “How can we truly understand a man motivated by his own delusional madness?” Not knowing the answer to my own question, I shrugged and lost another game.
“Alright, Cupcake. You’ve played with your new little friend long enough. It’s time for your nap,” Phillip said.
Traces of blue and red entered Xavier’s white eye. Recognizing the signs of rage when I saw them, I laughed and covered Xavier’s hand with mine. “Phillip is bossy because he is my big brother and loves me. Be nice.” Through my touch, I tried to send my feelings of love and trust for Phillip to Xavier. When the red and blue vanished from his eye and his black eye began to lighten around the edges, I laughed and silently congratulated myself for my success. I squeezed Xavier’s hand. “I’m happy you’re here. I hope you and all of my new brothers will be happy with me in the Parvac Empire.” I pictured Xavier finding himself a cute Thalassan wife and having cute babies with eyes like his.
“Teagan,” Phillip scolded.
“Alright.”
Xavier stood, bowed to me, and excused himself. Nico stood, picked me up, and carried me into our room. After I had changed into a gown and been tucked into bed, Phillip ran his scanner over me. Then, he pulled an injector from his pocket and pressed it to my arm.
“Phillip, all of those times you stuck me with an injector, it wasn’t always vitamins, was it?”
Phillip’s blonde head lifted from his attention on my arm, and I caught a flash of his blue eyes. “No, Cupcake. It wasn’t. I want you to try to rest for a while. Alright?”
I nodded. “Phillip, am I dying?”
He froze, turned, and sat on the bed beside me. “I won’t let anything happen to you. We are prepared for the worst.”
“What’s the worst?”
Phillip took my hand in his and rubbed his thumb over the top of my hand. He stared at my hand and not my eyes. I stared at his eyelashes. “Should your heart fail, we have an artificial one prepared.” I watched Phillip’s eyes as they went to my stomach and quickly returned to our hands.
“My baby?”
“This is serious, Teagan.”
My throat began to ache. “Phillip, you have to swear to me right now that you won’t let anything happen to my baby.”
Phillip’s eyes locked onto mine. “No, Teagan. You mean too much. We can’t lose you. He’s far enough along to have a fighting chance.”
“Phillip, I can’t lose my baby. I’ve survived a lot but not that. You have to promise me that if it comes down to a choice between saving me or my baby, you will save my baby.”
“Teagan, you can have more children,” Phillip said quietly as he wiped at his eyes. He held the fingers of his hand at the base of his nose with his eyes squeezed shut.
I whispered, “Promise me, Phillip.”
Phillip made a choked noise, but nodded and said, “I promise. Teagan, damn it. You will do every single thing I tell you to do. Do you understand me? Everything. You will not argue or get into a snit about it.” Phillip looked at me now with red eyes, but used his index finger to wipe my tears away.
“If I die, try to keep my family together. They’ll need each other.”
“No more of this talk, Teagan.” Phillip stood and kicked his shoes off. Then, he removed his belt and climbed into bed beside me.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to hold you while you sleep. Do you have a problem with that?”
“No, Yukihyo and Nico might.”
“They went to the exercise deck to let off some steam.”
“They are afraid, aren’t they?”
“We all love you.”
“I love all of you, too.”
Phillip stroked my hair until I fell asleep.
On the exercise deck, sweat dripped from the shirtless chests of Yukihyo, Nico, Eli, and Xavier as they deflected each other’s punches and kicks. Nico landed a fierce blow to Yukihyo’s thigh but failed to defend himself from contact in his jaw from Eli’s fist.
“I feel her giving up. She expects to die,” Yukihyo said with eyes that appeared more orange than white in his despair.
Xavier swept Eli’s legs out from under him and leapt away.
“Have you spoken to Quaid?” Nico asked as he glided to a spot out of Yukihyo’s reach.
“He has submitted to his captain a request for a leave of absence,” Yukihyo said as his foot sailed over the space Eli’s head had just occupied.
Across the deck, Yukihyo’s new clan members engaged in similar battles. Their fear of losing Teagan was just as real and painful as his own.
“I have a plan to put the fight back into her,” Nico said.
“How?” Eli asked moments before Yukihyo’s knee struck him in the side.
“I will exploit a subheading in our marriage contract. In times of war, I control her movements. When I take matters to the extreme and forbid her to set foot off of the Palace grounds, she will be furious. She will fight to hold onto her life while fighting against my tyranny.”
Yukihyo stopped moving. “She will be livid. Do you mean to prevent her visits even to the Valens?” Yukihyo asked.
“Yes, nothing could anger her more,” Nico answered grimly.
“She will hate you and refer to you with unsavory language,” Yukihyo warned.
Nico grinned. “I don’t mind. I’ll get her to forgive me later.”
Yukihyo snorted. “How will you manage that?”
“With my mouth between her legs,” Nico wickedly answered.
Chapter Two
The four starships arrived and docked at Ephor’s land port creating a flurry of organized chaos. Two additional Parvac deep space warships stood ready as per Vice Admiral Valen’s orders. Kane’s ship along with the Hadrian and the Constantine, captained by Teagan’s hero, Captain Espanoza, were being refueled, stocked, and prepped for immediate departure. Kane, his two captains, Captain Alaric, and Captain Espanoza had already been debriefed by Emperor Probus, Admiral Valen, and several high-ranking intelligence, research, science, and communications specialists who were joining his command for the mission to Sector 45320B. Privately, Kane and Eric had agreed that having something exciting on which to concentrate was preferable to watching helplessly their cousin’s rapid decline. They both needed to find balance in what they could control. Frankly, neither of them could bear watching as Teagan faded away.
“Eli, where is the bag of jewelry I purchased on Arachne?” I wrung my hands together. I was about to say goodbye to Quaid for what could be the last time. I needed to place the wedding band I had bought for him on his finger to give him something to remember me by.
“I think it must be in your transport, Princess. I will check at once.” Eli bowed to me and left.
Pierce handed Neema to me to nurse. I smiled down at her sweet face. I wondered if she was old enough to remember me. I pushed those thoughts away and watched Sue as she moved slowly across a rock in her tank. Eli returned as I finished feeding my daughter. Eli didn’t come back alone. Quaid was with him.
“Quaid, I’m so glad to see you!”
Neema screeched at Quaid and held her hands out for him. Quaid took her from me, kissed her cheeks, and hugged her to his chest. “I have missed you, Neema,” he said.
“Give to me my beautiful daughter. Our lady wife wishes a private word with you,” Yukihyo said.
“Let’s go for a walk,” Nico suggested to Yukihyo leaving Quaid, Phillip, and me behind.
“I’ll be in my room,” Phillip said.
Quaid sat beside me on the couch. “I have requested a leave of absence so that I might assist in your back and foot rubs.” Quaid’s eyes were as black as I had ever seen them. “Never before have I regretted my commission with the Militia as I do now. I await Captain Alaric’s response.”
I pulled Quaid to me and kissed him with all of the love, passion, and tenderness I felt for him. “Don’t say that, Quaid. Do you have any idea how proud I am to be your wife? I’m married to the amazing Commander Bosh, first officer of the Hadrian. You are about to go on a first contact mission with the intent to save untold lives. How could any woman be more proud of a man than I am of you?” I took the small box from the table beside me. “I got you something while we were on Arachne. I was angry with all of you. I thought you had all forgotten about me and were unconcerned about the threat to me. I felt so stupid when I finally understood what you had all really been doing. I didn’t figure it out until I saw Rafe in the hired transport.”
I opened the box and took out the bright gold band with its arrangement of light blue diamonds. Taking Quaid’s hand, I pushed the ring onto the third finger of his left hand. Then, I raised his hand to my lips and kissed his knuckles. “I love you, Quaid Bosh. You are brilliant sunlight and cool clear water. If anything should happen to me, I want you, Yukihyo, Nico, Neema, Niklos, and Phillip to remain a family. Will you do that for me?”
Quaid’s eyes grew even darker, but he didn’t answer.
“Don’t. I’m not giving up. In fact, I have completely surrendered myself to Phillip’s orders. I’m scared, though. I’m scared for you, too. After seeing what happened to Dr. Crispus….”
Quaid silenced me as he slipped his fingers through my hair and held my head against his chest. We remained that way until Niklos’ kicks had me laughing and pulling away.
“Teagan, I love you more than I ever imagined possible. I can’t lose you.”
“Then, you won’t. You’re going to go on an incredible mission with my cousin, save a civilization, and then come back to me on Parvac. We’ll go on vacation to Thalassa. Maybe you’ll be back in time for when my Parvac hormones go crazy, as long as you can manage to find a fat wife with a disgustingly stretched out stomach attractive.”
“Teagan, it is you with whom I have fallen so completely in love, not your pretty packaging.” Quaid pulled me onto his lap and held me.
“Quaid, I want you to see if Jazon will go with you and maybe one of the others. I would feel better knowing that you, Eric, and Kane had one more advantage out there.”
“Teagan the thought of leaving you rips me apart. I can’t. I don’t have the strength for it.”
I buried my face in his neck and closed my eyes. “Husband, I know you well enough to realize that you will be better off having work with which to occupy your mind. Just remember that when next I have you in the same room with me, I will rip your clothes from you with my teeth.” I thought to flood his senses with pleasure to soothe him, but he stopped me.
“No, don’t strain yourself. I plan to hold you to your word, Lady Bosh.”
“Be safe and protect yourself and my cousins. Will you call me twice a day until you’re out of range?”
“I will.”
I ran my fingers through Quaid’s short blonde hair. “Make me proud.”
“Survive for me. You are everything to me now.” Quaid’s lips met mine once more before the door to the Imperial quarters opened. When no sound ensued, I turned to look.
“Papa!”
Quaid lifted me in his arms as he stood and gently placed me on my feet. Emperor Tavere Probus had already strode to me before I had taken two steps. My Papa’s warm strong arms surrounded me, and I pressed my face into his chest as I slipped my arms around him under his jacket.
“Oh, Papa. I’ve missed you so much.”
“I am sure that I have missed you to a far greater extent. Quaid, how are you?”
“Concerned, Emperor Probus.”
“You don’t need to be. I won’t let anything happen to my little girl. You have my vow.”
Quaid saluted Papa. Papa saluted back. Quaid bowed over my hand and kissed it as he stared up into my eyes. I could feel his love and cherished it. “Make me proud, husband.” Quaid left before I could cry.
Soldiers came and began to transfer our belongings to Papa’s ship. “Be very careful with Sue,” I warned two of Papa’s personal guards.
“Daughter, your hybrid mercenaries wish to say goodbye to you. They await you on board my ship.” I frowned. “They agreed to undergo training programs here at Ephors’ military base as a condition of serving you and of being deserving of their citizenship.”
“I don’t want to leave them all here. I want Jazon at least to accompany Quaid, Eric, and Kane. Jazon is brutal, but I trust him to keep them safe. An extra advantage couldn’t hurt. I really want Zared, Xavier, Zeth, and Izaac to come home with us.”
Papa kissed my forehead. “All will be as you wish. Now, come along.” Papa gave me his arm and escorted me past rows of Parvac soldiers who stood at attention as we entered the transport bay. Thunderdrop blinked at me from within the back of the large land transport carrying our belongings. He was perched protectively above Sue’s tank cover. Lorca waved to me from a seat next to the octopus and spider. I waved back. “In you go, my darling,” Papa said as he walked me over to another transport and handed me inside to Nico who waited with Yukihyo and Neema.
I jumped when Phillip climbed in after Papa simply because he had been so quiet that I hadn’t noticed him. The surprise made the beeping of my monitor audible. Their eyes all locked onto me. I took a deep breath and lowered my gaze to Neema’s feet. Ignoring the scanner that Phillip waved over me, I rubbed her tiny feet through her socks. Papa’s driver took us from Kane’s ship directly across the very busy but well-organized land port and into the docking bay of a smaller Parvac starship. It looked sleek and fast.
“This is nice, Papa. Is she new?”
“Yes, she is. This is her maiden flight. Let’s get you settled. Nico, carry your bride to the Imperial quarters. She seems tired.”
I began to argue with Papa, but stopped myself not seeing a point to it. After getting out of the transport, I placed my arms around Nico’s neck when he bent down to pick me up. We entered the lift, and Papa selected the second deck. There appeared to be only five.
“What’s on each deck?” I asked.
“I will allow you to explore the ship tomorrow if Phillip agrees. For now, be content to know that deck one is the command deck, deck two contains two Imperial suites, sixteen guest quarters, living, and dining areas. Deck three is the location of the medical bay, cafeteria, gym, and entertainment room. The fourth deck has forty crew quarters, laundry and storage facilities, and weapons lockers. The fifth deck as you have seen is for cargo, transports, and fighter ships. The Captain and his bridge crew have their quarters on the command deck.” Papa gestured for us to leave the lift.
I gazed at the white wall panels and the plush white, black, and grey marbled carpet of the magnificent room in front of us. “Oh, it’s beautiful. Neema, look! Oh, there’s Thunderdrop’s new sculpture.” The tall sculpture had been carved from the trunk of an Arachnean tree. Smoothed out circles provided a spiraling honeycomb throughout the tall trunk making it a perfect plaything for a young Silk spider. “I love the carpet.”
Nico carried me to one of the couches in the central space. It was grey and scattered with pillows of vibrant yellow and purple. Smiling, I picked one up and ran my finger along the decorative piping of its edges. Yukihyo sat with Neema on the floor in a clearly defined play area.
“This is so nice,” I said as I looked around at the doors lining the walls.
A lift was located at each end of the deck. Sue, Thunderdrop, Lorca, and two soldiers entered. The men placed the
tank where Papa suggested against a white partition in the living area. I could see the tank from where I sat. Thunderdrop stared into the tank waiting for Sue to come out of hiding.
“So, how many crewmembers are on board?” I asked.
“There are a total of forty-eight crew members. This deck is private,” Papa said.
“Well, it’s a beautiful ship,” I said.
“I am pleased to hear your approval because the Empress is my gift to you. I can’t have my beautiful princess always relying on Captain Lee or her cousin to take her where she wishes to go. In this starship, you will have plenty of room, safety, advanced weaponry, and should you have need, the ability to outrun any enemy.” I stared at Papa. “Yes, there is plenty of room in the cargo hold for your future merchant activities, not that you need to earn any credits.” Papa made a scoffing noise as he sat down on a couch across from me.
Violet entered on Kaoti’s arm from the lift and stared around just as I had done.
“Hey, Violet. Make yourself at home.” I smiled at her.
“I don’t mind if I do, Teagan.” She and Kaoti selected their quarters and then came back out. “Can we go and look around?” Violet asked.
“Yes, however, please remain on board. We will leave for Parvac soon,” Papa said.
I watched as Violet smiled happily at Kaoti’s stoic expression as the lift doors closed. Moments later, the doors opened again admitting seventeen men into the room. The youngest was Jezzie who I thought was a year or two my junior. The scar across his throat had become a thin white line thanks to nanites. I was relieved that Kaoti had gone with Violet since he had been the one to slice open Jezzie’s throat. The eldest of the men was Xavier who I assumed to be about thirty years old. Each of my new brothers, who Yukihyo had welcomed into the Ponidi Clan, had been created by Dr. Stanley Crispus and developed in amniotic chambers. They each knew less of a mother’s love than I did. I caught sight of solid black eyes and long straight grey hair that had been secured at the base of the neck.
Omnes Videntes (The Space Merchants Book 4) Page 2