by I. T. Lucas
Still, despite the constant churning in his gut, Khiann would have not changed anything.
Upon entering the kitchen, he found his parents finishing their breakfast.
“Good morning, Mother, Father.” He dipped his head before joining them at the table.
“Good morning, Khiann.” His mother’s smile looked relaxed and natural, which was a welcome change after weeks of seeing her worry and brood. She did not do well in his father’s absence.
The thing was, Navohn loved to travel. This was what had prompted him to become a merchant in the first place. But for Yaeni’s sake, he should have stayed home more often and let someone else lead the trading expeditions.
Except, if he did that, Khiann would have to take his place, which was the plan until Annani had entered the picture. Now, the last thing Khiann wanted to do was to be without her for weeks at a time.
Mere hours of separation were difficult to endure. Every moment away from his love was painful.
Perhaps they could train Esag to take his place. His squire would be overjoyed to travel extensively and have a legitimate reason to be away from his cantankerous intended.
“Would you like something to eat?” the cook asked.
“Yes, please.”
Khiann turned to his father. “Are you all rested?”
Since Navohn had returned late last evening, and after a quick greeting had retired to his mated bedchamber, they had not had the opportunity to talk yet.
“It is good to be home.”
“How did your expedition go?”
“Exceedingly well. I have found unimaginable treasures. Come to my office after you are done eating, and I will show you.”
Khiann guzzled down the mug of water the cook had put in front of him, stuffed a piece of bread in his mouth and chewed it in record time. “I am done. Let us go.”
Navohn laughed. “I see that you are impatient. And that is even before I hinted at the nature of my marvelous acquisitions.” He rose to his feet and leaned to kiss Yaeni. “I will join you for lunch, my love.”
“I need to talk to you,” Khiann said as they stepped into his father’s office. Even after working there for almost two moon cycles, Khiann still could not think of it as theirs or his. It would always be his father’s office.
“I am sure you do.” Navohn closed the door and cast a soundproofing shroud over the space. “Tell me the news.”
“The courtship went well. Annani and I are ready to announce our engagement. She already talked with her mother who in turn talked to Ahn. He wants to see me the day after tomorrow.”
Navohn sat on one of the chairs facing his desk and motioned for Khiann to take the other. “Then it is fortunate that I came home early.”
“Indeed. I was worried that I would have to talk to Ahn without the benefit of your advice. The Fates were kind to me.”
“More than you know, my boy.” Navohn smirked.
“What do you mean?”
“The treasure I have found. The moment I laid eyes on them I knew they would be the perfect engagement gift for your princess. Even Mortdh with all his riches could not offer anything comparable. He would have to concede defeat, regardless of Annani’s right to choose. You will present your suit with an offer he cannot beat.”
Khiann frowned. “Them? Do not tell me you are referring to slaves. Annani abhors slavery.”
His father’s grin widened. “Then she is going to doubly appreciate this gift.”
“What is it?”
Navohn pushed to his feet. “Come, and I will show you.”
As he followed his father to the stables, Khiann tried to guess what Navohn was going to show him. Perhaps he had acquired some exotic animals, or maybe a rare breed of horses. Both would be considered an adequate gift, but he doubted Annani would be interested in either.
His princess did not show much interest in animals, and she favored more elegant modes of transportation than horses. Annani either traveled by carriage or used her flying vehicle, one of the few in the gods' possession that were still functional. Most of the rockets and airboats were either broken or missing parts, and since the boat of million years had departed eons ago, no effort had been made to fix them.
Besides, if anyone knew how to repair the flying machines, it was Ekin, who knew everything there was to know about the gods’ technology, but he showed no interest in doing so.
Who knew, perhaps he preferred the gods to be earthbound. Without the flying boats, the gods’ fate was tied to that of humans and immortals. There would never be another flood to cull the human population.
As they walked into the furthest stable, Khiann saw seven squat men sitting in a row and sorting through piles of semiprecious stones, separating them by color and size.
Common semiprecious stones? That could not have been the extraordinary gift his father had been referring to. There was nothing special about them. Mountains of those colorful rocks would be needed to impress the heir to the throne.
“Is that it, Father?”
“Are they not extraordinary?” Navohn asked.
“My apologies, but I do not see what is special about these semiprecious stones.”
Navohn laughed. “Not the rocks, Khiann, the Odus.” He waved his hand at the men.
Maybe his father had spent too much time in the scorching sun, and it had affected his brain. “Slaves? I already told you that Annani is against slavery.”
“Even when the slaves are not people but machines?”
Taking a few steps, Khiann got closer and peered at the men, then sniffed. The lingering scent of horses had initially obscured the metallic scent coming off the seven workers, but now that Khiann was paying attention, it was unmistakable. Under the layer of skin and flesh was metal. A lot of it.
Rubbing a hand over his jaw, he looked at his father. “I have never heard of mechanical men.”
“Bio-mechanical servants were quite common on our mother world. Ahn and Ekin would know what these are, and they would also realize their incredible value. The technology of creating them was banned. These seven are the only ones in existence. They are irreplaceable and therefore priceless.”
4
Gulan
“Ouch,” Annani cried out as a strand of her hair got caught on Gulan’s bracelet.”
“I am so sorry, my lady.” Gulan held the strand with the fingers of one hand while gently pulling it out from in between the bracelet’s links with the other. “I should remove my jewelry while styling your hair.” She took off the bracelet and put it on Annani’s vanity table, then resumed her work on her lady’s elaborate up-do.
She wondered why Annani even bothered. From experience, Gulan knew that no trace of her hard work would remain after Khiann’s visit. Annani’s hair would get all tussled and messy from their lovemaking.
It was no longer a secret. By now, everyone knew about her lady’s new suitor.
If not for Mortdh, to whom she was still officially promised, and the fact that she was supposed to remain faithful to him, no one would have made a big fuss about the princess taking a lover. After all, she was of age and was allowed to do as she pleased.
In fact, most of their former classmates were either getting into relationships or finalizing them with engagements or joining ceremonies. Gulan had been to quite a few lately.
Her friends were starting their adult lives while she was stuck in place with no prospects in sight.
Unless she counted Esag, which she did not.
It was not as if he was courting her or anything. He was just teaching her to fight. The hints and inappropriate remarks he threw at her from time to time were meaningless.
On Esag’s part, it was just mindless flirting, but it was so much more on hers.
She had learned to hide it better, though. After that first time she had run off on him, Gulan had forced herself to exercise better control of her emotions, or rather the way she let them manifest.
She was not going to make a fool of her
self again.
Pinning the last strand of red hair on top of the pile she had made, Gulan stepped back and admired her work in the mirror. “Is it to your satisfaction, my lady?” she asked.
“It is beautiful, like all of your creations.” Annani patted the mountain of hair and rose to her feet. “I am ready. Are you?”
Gulan put the bracelet back on. “I am now.”
Annani eyed the piece of jewelry. “Are you going to practice fighting with that on?”
“No, I will take it off before we start. I do not want to accidentally hurt Esag with it.”
She was getting better, which meant that when their sessions were over, Esag often sported bruises. He did not complain. On the contrary, he was so proud and happy every time she managed to land a blow, that Gulan did not feel like she had to hold anything back.
After leaving Annani in the reception chamber her parents had allocated to her meetings with Khiann, or their love room as Annani referred to it, Gulan headed to the palace gardens.
While Annani and Khiann engaged in one form of physical activity, Gulan and Esag engaged in another. It was a less pleasant one but satisfying in its own way.
“Hi, Gulan,” Esag greeted her as she neared the clearing that they had appropriated for their training.
“Hi, yourself. Ready to get beaten?”
“By you, always.” He winked.
Here he goes again with his flirting.
After she had run off when he had called her beautiful, Esag had been trying to refrain from flirtatious comments. Except, it seemed like he could not help himself.
It was in his nature. Esag probably flirted with every female he encountered.
Gulan would be a fool to entertain hopes for anything more, especially after Annani’s forewarning. Her lady had advised her to ignore Esag and his many charms because he was promised to another.
Except promises of that nature could be broken, as Annani herself was proving, and Gulan could not extinguish the tiny spark of hope in her heart.
What if Esag fell in love with her and broke off his engagement?
Do not be a fool. You are not a beautiful princess, and no one is going to break their promises for you.
“What are you waiting for?” Esag taunted from several feet away. “I do not have all day.”
Gulan attacked.
She was freakishly strong, but Esag had years of hard practice on her and the muscles to show for it. He overpowered her in no time, throwing her down to the ground and straddling her. When she tried to grab his hair and pull him off her, he caught her hands and pinned them over her head.
Gulan bucked up, using all of her considerable strength, but Esag held on tight, pressing down even harder.
To her utter bewilderment, she found the submissive pose oddly titillating. Disturbed and embarrassed, Gulan resumed her struggles in an attempt to divert Esag’s attention from her sudden and most inappropriate arousal.
Maybe her desperation might produce a strong enough scent to mask the other subtler one.
Several futile moments later, Gulan ceased her efforts and went limp. “I concede defeat. You win. Now, get off me.”
“Not so fast.”
With no fight left in her, she became aware of Esag’s response to her. His eyes were glowing, his fangs were elongating, and she could feel his erection hardening through his breeches. Apparently, he found the pose as arousing as she did.
It made the situation even worse.
Gulan bucked up again. “Get off me, Esag!”
“I want a kiss.”
Her breath hitched. Gulan had never been kissed. But if she allowed Esag to kiss her, the last of the defenses she had built around her heart would no doubt crumble.
She should not say yes to the kiss. Esag did not want her, not really. He was just playing with her. When the time came for him to join with his intended, Gulan’s heart would shatter.
She would never be able to pick up the pieces and glue them back together.
And yet, she wanted that kiss more than anything.
Maybe it was her only chance to be kissed by an attractive male, and she might end up forever regretting missing that chance.
When she did not answer, he leaned over her, his lips hovering so close to hers that she could feel the heat from his mouth.
“Last chance to say no, Gulan,” he whispered.
When she said nothing at all, he closed the rest of the distance and kissed her.
5
Khiann
A scroll in his hand, Esag walked into the office. “The summons from the palace arrived,” he announced.
“Just in time.” Khiann released a breath. A day earlier would have been too soon, and a day later would have been a day too long to wait.
As Esag placed it in his hand, he broke the royal seal without giving it a second glance. Normally, Khiann would have paused to admire the artwork that went into it, but not today.
“It is a formal invitation,” he said as he finished reading it. “I am to arrive with my parents and present my official suit.”
“When?” Navohn asked.
“Tomorrow evening, right after sunset.”
His father grinned. “I guess it is time to get the Odus cleaned up and dress them in fine garments.”
The seven were still in the stables, working on sifting through the stones. Apparently, they did not require sleep and could eat almost anything, converting it into energy that animated their mechanical inner workings.
Esag scratched the beard he was starting to grow per his intended‘s request. Ashegan thought he would look more distinguished with it. “I do not understand how come no one knew about the Odus. I would think a marvel like that would not easily be forgotten and abandoned.”
Khiann and his father exchanged glances.
Esag had not been privy to their talks about the gods’ history. Other than the original group of gods and very few of their descendants, no one knew the truth about their violent past. It was of vital importance for the humans and their hybrid progeny, the immortals, to believe that the gods were benevolent, peaceful people.
“They were lost,” Navohn said. “I found them quite by chance.”
“Were they enslaved by humans?” Esag asked.
“No, they would not serve anyone who is not a god, not unless their master told them to do so. They wandered searching for their true masters, offering their services for food and clothing. When they saw me, they recognized who and what I was and followed me, claiming me as their master. Until I transfer ownership to the princess, they will answer only to me.”
“I wonder what happened to their original owner,” Esag said.
Navohn lifted his hands in the air. “Who knows? There might have been a sandstorm or an earthquake, and they got separated. Their master might still be buried somewhere in the desert, waiting for someone to revive him. A god or an immortal could survive indefinitely in stasis.”
The explanation might have satisfied someone not as smart as Esag. “I was under the impression that they can talk. Perhaps they can tell you what happened to their master?”
“I thought the same thing. It seems, however, that their memories were wiped. I do not know if it was done deliberately or if it was a malfunction, but the result is the same. The Odus do not know who they are, where they came from, or who their original master was.”
“That is a shame,” Esag said. “Should I take them to get washed?”
“Yes, please. And make sure they wash their hair as well. Think of the Odus as small children. They need to be told exactly what to do and how.”
“Got it.” Esag bowed and turned on his heel.
Khiann waited a few moments before casting a sound barrier around the office. “Did you wipe their memories?”
“No, I was telling the truth about that.”
“I still do not understand how they got here. You said their kind was destroyed.”
Navohn sighed and leaned back in his chair. �
�What I said was that after they had been misused for combat in the big war, their making had been prohibited, the technology to build them had been destroyed, and the Odus had been disposed of.”
“What is the difference between destroying and disposing of them?”
“The Odus are indestructible. To get rid of them, they were ejected into space. I suspect that whoever owned these seven did not have the heart to dispose of them that way and sent them to a habitable planet on purpose.”
“You want to tell me that there are thousands of them floating in space?”
“If the vessels housing them still hold, then yes.”
“But they need to eat and breathe to maintain their biological parts.”
“I am not a scientist, but I guess they can go into stasis the same way we do, and survive eons. We can ask Ekin, he should know.”
Khiann raked his fingers through his hair. “But if at some point in time they were used for warfare, are they not dangerous? I do not want to give Annani a potentially deadly gift.”
“It is all in the programming. The Odus do what their master tells them to do. In fact, they can be programmed to protect her. The princess will be much safer with these seven guarding her at all times. Another bonus is that they will never reveal any of her secrets either. They are the perfect servants.”
“If that is so, maybe we should keep one or two for ourselves.”
Navohn shook his head. “Even though Ahn considers me a friend, he will not allow such dangerous technology to remain in my hands. With Annani as their mistress, he has nothing to worry about. Unless of course she decides to turn on him, but I do not think he has anything to be concerned about in that regard.”
6
Ahn
As he paced the throne room, Ahn debated the wisdom of his decision to ask Areana to take Annani’s place as Mortdh’s intended.
There was no upside to it other than the slight chance of averting war by giving Mortdh a way to save face.
The guilt was eating at him.