Reign: A Space Fantasy Romance (Strands of Starfire Book 1)

by May Sage

  “The boy and his caretaker,” he said, rather than pronouncing her name; again, acting like he didn’t know her. Nalini knew it wouldn’t last. “Take them to Clera before assigning them a residence in the upper deck.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He went back on his way, cape floating behind him, not sparing her a glance.

  Her heart rate slowly returned to a more appropriate rhythm.

  “This way,” one enforcer indicated, pointing to the opposite way from the direction Kai had just gone.

  “Where are we heading?”

  “To Clera, ma’am. The veterinarian on board.”

  An unexpected rush of grateful surprise seized her. Kai had prioritized the neko’s health to whatever showdown he’d planned between them, which was not what she’d expected at all.

  The vet was stationed at the forefront of the medical bay, in an elegant office with translucent walls. She welcomed them with open arms and a ready smile.

  “I haven’t gotten to treat a feline in a long time.” She seemed enthusiastic at the thought. “And never one of these. Is it truly a nekoderian? I don’t think anyone I know is crazy enough to get close to their den.”

  “I can’t say I know much about the race at all,” Nalini admitted.

  The vet’s careful hands found the neko’s neck and spiked it with a tranquilizer before she started to work on his wound, cleaning it and then sealing it with a machine that neatly sewed him up in an instant. As she worked, she talked, bringing Nalini up to speed.

  “This’s one of the old races our ancients revered back on Tejen; so they brought some with them once they started exploring space. The same way our people used to bond with dragons, some mages formed a bond with these creatures. But then mages were slaughtered, and the nekos’ descendants were born in the wild. There’s a few of them on most planets in the Belt, less in the Empire. You’re fortunate to have found one so young; but, regardless, once he heals, you’ll have to let him go back to the wild.” She smiled sadly, not unkindly. “Only mages can hope to control these beasts.”

  The female was assuming that she was a regular. Nalini smiled. “I just want him to get better.”

  The stars knew, if he didn’t, his mother would hunt her down and kill her—slowly.

  “Great. Well, I’m done here. He’ll be grumpy when he wakes up, and I want to check his vitals. Leave him with me. I’ll comm you when he’s ready to be picked up.”

  Nalini frowned. “I don’t have any comm device on me.”

  Clera smiled kindly. “You’ll get one on debriefing. Search for me and dump your ID number in my messages.”

  The enforcers led them out of the medical bay. As they did, Nalini had to point out, “Your orders were to take us to our residence, not to debriefing.”

  Under their exosuits, the men were so nervous, they sweated. Probing a little deeper, Nalini felt their anxiety. Nothing had gone according to plan since they’d landed on Nimeria. Kai had gone off script. And he never did. That confused and frightened the daylights out of both of them.

  The male on the right, Park, was Kai’s best guard. On the left, Ollis was the second best. That both of them had been dispatched to take care of her shocked them, and they took this job seriously. Very, very seriously.

  Nalini wanted to tell them to chill out. She simply was a valuable asset Kai didn’t mean to lose. Enlil had also set his best troops on her.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Park replied formally. “We’re taking you up to your quarters right now.”

  Another detail that made them uncomfortable: everyone went through debrief, not just newcomers. Even Kai had his own debrief meeting with his cabinet after every mission. The very first meeting strangers passed was crucial; it determined who was a potential spy, for one.

  She and Kronos were spared the hour-long ordeal, although they’d been with loyalists. Park and Ollis were sweating. The whole thing stressed them out.

  Again, she wanted to pat the males on their shoulders and tell them to chill. Kai was simply planning to make her squirm in a meeting himself.

  They took her to the upper deck, where officers were stationed. Ollis and Park’s own places weren’t far. Each apartment had large rooms, equipped with entertainment and little kitchens, lounges, and individual showers. Below, the rooms were only slightly larger than broom closets, and the common folk had to deal with communal bathrooms.

  Nalini shuddered and blessed her stars. Communal bathrooms. She would have jumped in the void of space without a suit within one week, tops.

  They never commented upon it, professional to a tee.

  “You’ll find the apartment fully functional. Should you wish for anything, a domestic android will be at your service. If that fails, you can call to maintenance or housekeeping through the comm situated next to the door,” Park said, opening their door.

  Both enforcers froze right there.

  When they entered the dark room, she felt him immediately; only Kronos displayed any surprised when he turned the lights on to find Kai standing next to their main window, arms crossed behind his back, looking at the skies.

  Twenty-Six

  Behind the mask

  Is there anywhere Kronos can hang out?” she asked the stunned guards still behind her.

  They hesitated for half a beat.

  “Yeah. Yeah, sure. We’ll take him down to training. My lord?” Ollis checked it was all right.

  Kai finally turned.

  He’d removed the mask and the pieces of armor, yet it felt like he was even more imposing now.

  “Thank you, Ollis.”

  The enforcers practically ran out of there, urging the boy to follow.

  “You terrorize them,” was the first thing Nalini said.

  Kai’s dark eyes set on hers, and a slow smile spread on his face.

  “Actually, both Park and Ollis are friends of mine. You’ll find that it’s you they aren’t sure about.”

  He paced like a wolf, deliberately slow, walking in circles, occupying the entire space.

  Nalini sat on an ergonomic chair next to a mini bar. Hiding her anxiety as best she could, she investigated the contents of the cold compartments. She wasn’t much for spirits, but well, it had been one of those days.

  “Drink?” she offered.

  “I don’t drink.”

  “Not even today?” she asked. Then she laughed; how silly of her. Today might fuck with her mind and her nerves, but it was just another day for him, no doubt. “Well, more for me.”

  She poured herself a couple of fingers of a clear, sweet liqueur. Kai observed her every motion before closing the distance between them, coming to stand right next to where she’d sat.

  Breathe, she admonished herself, in vain.

  His fingers brushed hers as he seized the glass she’d just poured.

  “Very wise of you.”

  He took the glass and moved to sit on the armchair right in front of her as she poured herself another one.

  Even then, his imposing stature dwarfed hers.

  “Hardly.”

  Watching him was too unsettling, so she looked around. The spaceship’s cabins had been designed to look homey; this one, in any case.

  “Not what I expected,” she admitted.

  “No, I’d wager not. You thought I’d cage you. Bind your wrists. Torture you, no doubt. Keep you locked in a barren room and hit you when I cared to.”

  She shrugged unapologetically. “You might have learned by now. If you go prying through people’s minds, you might not like what you see.”

  He lifted a brow. “I’m not trying, Nalini. You broadcast your every thought.” That teasing smile flashed again. “I would have expected so proficient a psychic to be better at keeping her shields up.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “Sixteen years,” he mused, “since we were last in the same room. Fourteen since you saved my life for the second time. And two since one of my men killed your child.”

  She looked away. Eve
n just thinking of that day still felt like plunging a sword through her beating heart.

  “It’s been a long time.” He downed his drink in one go. “Tell me.”

  Nalini frowned. “What?”

  “Everything.”

  Those eyes. That look. She couldn’t take it, and couldn’t look away, either. If she hadn’t known better, she would have thought he was sending some compulsion to bend her to his will, but she would have felt it. This was no order. He was… asking her to share her life. Why, she didn’t know.

  “I watched it all,” he said. “My men made a short cut through your life to give me an idea, but I pulled all the recordings and fast-forwarded through them. Sometimes, when I have time, I pull some of them out. I watch you getting shocked in your cage. Then I remember why I'm doing this. I've seen it, I don't need information. But tell me what it was like for you, back then. What you’ve done with your life since. You went off radar. How? What was that place I saw last year? Tell me.”

  He made it sound like he was simply curious about her. She knew better than to think that was all. He was a warlord. He wanted—

  “Stop assuming.” An order. He softened it, by adding, “Everything you guess about my intentions is entirely erroneous. Look for answers if you must.”

  Was he truly inviting her into his mind?

  “Yes. Yes, I am, Nalini.”

  “Will you stop reading my mind? Ever heard of the word private?”

  This time, his smile showed white, white teeth. “I told you. I’m not looking. You’re broadcasting.”

  She wasn’t. Right?

  “Go on, look.” His words were a caress. “I dare you.”

  That was unfair, and showed how well he understood her. He shouldn’t have; as he’d pointed out, they’d met less than a handful of times. But already, he knew she couldn’t resist bets.

  Sighing, and bracing herself for the upcoming battle, she concentrated on him, both her eyes gold. They returned to blue almost immediately, finding his shields down. Open.

  Her hand, that had instinctively moved to reach toward him, lowered, dropping at her side.

  His mind was peaceful. Quiet.

  Loving.

  He thought of nothing else than caring for others. He’d been right. Nothing she saw computed with her vision of him.

  Traveling through his thoughts, she saw him looking for her through time, searching, always keeping his ear on the ground about her location. And she saw his goal. His intention.

  Protecting her, the child he owed everything to. She’d earned peace. She’d earned safety.

  Then, there was that day, the day when he finally found information about her. Seen the recordings, and realized—

  She hit a wall for the first time.

  He was done sharing.

  Nalini almost protested, tried to hit against the wall, but she stopped herself. Already, she’d pried more than she was entitled to—if anyone was entitled to a glimpse through someone else’s mind at all.

  “I’m not the monster you think I am,” he said softly.

  He really, really wasn’t.

  Feeling the need to justify herself, she stated, “I saw that you were Darkness. And you can mold Starfire, Kai. I…” She stopped, realizing she was making a bigger mess of things. “I’m sorry. You’re no monster at all. I just saw so many visions of destruction.”

  “Oh, I am a monster, little lady. Just not one you should fear.”

  He got up and made them a second drink.

  “You saw me bring ruin and fire. To protect those who can’t fight for themselves, I have, for years now. Wars aren’t pretty.”

  She accepted the drink he handed her. He then remained standing and started slowly pacing again.

  “You talk of your visions. Have you ever seen my wife?” he asked. “My children?”

  Nalini was shocked. She shouldn’t have been; back in the day, whenever a guard had managed to get her alone for a minute, they would ask the very same question. Would they be married someday, have sons or daughters? But it didn’t seem like the sort of concern she would have anticipated, coming from him.

  She shook her head. “Sorry, no. It doesn’t mean you never find anyone; I don’t see everything.”

  Kai laughed. “Of course you don’t.”

  She could have offered to look for him. Give him answers if she could find them. She remained silent.

  Back at the spot where he’d been when she’d entered the room, in front of the window, he asked again, “Tell me. I’d like to get to know you.”

  Nalini bit her lip. Her life hadn’t been pretty at first, and then it became boring before taking a turn for the weird. She’d never spoken of it. Why would she? There was no one she trusted, save for Krane and Kronos, and the kid had followed her every step along the way since they met. As for Krane, the old male had seemed to know most things about her; and if there was anything he didn’t know, he hadn’t bothered to ask.

  But she talked; she owed him that much. And, wordlessly, with a rapt attention, never interrupting her, he listened.

  Finally, she was done. After a long silence, Kai laughed. “Krane is a Wise. I should have known.”

  She would have thought that he’d ask after his brother first, expecting either hatred or curiosity about him, but on that subject he remained silent. She got it. She wouldn’t have had much to ask about her family, either.

  She had to point out, “I realized that right away.”

  “Yeah, well, not all of us are seers. Besides, I met him when I was very young.” He added, “Glad to know Nox is well.”

  “You know his wolf?”

  Kai nodded slowly. “Left Haimo with me a long, long time ago.”

  This time, it was her turn to ask, “Tell me?”

  And to her surprise, he ran through the thirty-five years of his life, baring them to her with little to no filter, gruesome details and all. Unapologetic. True.

  She wondered how long they’d been talking by the time he stiffened, touching the comm device fitted along his jaw. “Got it. I’ll be on the bridge shortly.”

  “Sorry for keeping you. I guess you have a lot to do. Worlds to run and all that.”

  How laughable it was to her, when she didn’t always remember to pay her comm bill on time.

  Kai remained in his place of choice for a few moments. “I keep my word. Should you wish to, we’ll drop you off in a safe system. But you have a place here.” She made no immediate answer, and he didn’t seem to expect her to. “You’ll have clearance on all levels. I’ll get someone to take your fingerprints later, to let you access restricted areas. And they’ll drop a comm. Go as you please.”

  On that note, the warlord retrieved the mask he’d left on an empty shelf and left her apartment.

  She took a long, hot shower, running through the latest developments in her crazy life, half wishing she hadn’t been such a coward and run to him as she’d longed to at seventeen, half knowing everything had occurred exactly as it should have.

  Twenty-Seven

  The Bridge

  She woke up early again. Finding the space that the neko had claimed at the foot of her bed empty and cold, she frowned. Rather than attempting to catch a few more hours of sleep, she dragged her ass out of bed and slowly pulled her gray slacks up her limbs in silence to avoid waking Kronos up.

  The silly feline could get into some trouble. And if he felt threatened, he could hurt himself again trying to get away. Kai had allowed him to be brought on board because she’d pouted and made a little scene right in front of everyone; he was her responsibility now, even though the adorable creature was potentially an evil fiend in disguise.

  Nalini knew what his presence felt like; tracking it through the maze of high- tech, lit -up corridors wasn’t hard. She tensed as her steps inexorably took her to the front of the ship on the highest level. No. Surely not even he was that freaking evil, right?

  But indeed. Nalini drew her breath, standing right in front of th
e large, tall doors that couldn’t be mistaken as anything but the command platform of the vessel. The neko was right through these doors, she knew it.

  She remained planted on her feet, horrified and frozen. What now?

  Before she could make up her mind, the two large doors parted. Five Evris stared at her from the platform. A beautiful female in a small pink top and a tight suit that didn’t cover much of her athletic frame; a large, goofy, smiling male her age; two elegantly dressed people who looked very much alike, although one of them was male and the other female; and him. Kai Lor of Hora. An impossibly tall wolf at his side, bigger than Nox.

  And Kai had the damn neko in his arms.

  He faced away from her, observing space through a large panoramic screen. Windows were apparently his thing.

  “Come on in, Nalini,” he said, without so much as turning her way. “Unless you’d like one of those regular, loyalist friends of yours to find you here.”

  She stayed put another second, finding it impossible to move; then his words sank in.

  Shit. What if she was found here in the early hours of the morning?

  Her simple life down on one of these planets they passed by depended on her discretion. If anyone learned that she was a mage, or simply that she was associated with Kai at all, that would be it.

  She rushed forward, entering the command bridge. The doors closed behind her, and only then did Kai turn. He took her breath away again; her memory never did him justice. He truly was the most painfully striking male she’d ever seen.

  Even when his arm was getting savagely scratched by a neko kitten. Nalini couldn’t help a chuckle.

  “Funny, is it?” he challenged, glaring. “This beast stormed in here, terrorized Sky, and tricked me into pulling him away. Now he’s attached himself to my arm, only to bite, draw blood, and spit at me. Many have been destroyed for less.”

  The four people in the room had a hard time containing their laughter.

  “Evi,” the female in pink introduced herself, holding her hand out. Nalini went to shake it. “I’m the general of the fleet. This is Wench, our engineer in chief, and the twins—Star and Hart. They’re both Coats.” Nalini’s confusion must have been visible, because Evi clarified, “Politicians. They belong to opposite parties.”