He responded, “I am well and uninjured. Do not be troubled.”
“How can I not be troubled?” My query was met with silence.
Papa asked, “Who ordered your capture?”
“It was not the work of a government, Emperor Probus. It was a personal vendetta.”
Papa steepled his fingers while considering his reply. “That is an answer but not the one to the question I asked.”
Flavian stood silent and still.
Lucius Braga stood, drew his blaster, and aimed it at Flavian.
“No!” I cried out.
“Answer the Emperor or die,” Lucius stated.
Flavian said, “Such things are not for the ears of a delicate princess. I beg to answer in private.” Flavian struggled down to his knees and bowed his head, prepared to die for his insubordination.
“Tell Papa the answer, please!” I begged.
Flavian shook his head. “I would rather die than cause you the slightest upset. My appearance has troubled your kind and forgiving heart enough.”
A chill swept over me. “It was Quaid. Wasn’t it? He did this to you.” Shaking off Eli’s hand, I stood and placed myself between Flavian and Lucius. Afraid of being accidentally shot, my trembling increased. I knelt in front of the battered Inquisitor. He had been beaten and brutally tortured but refused to tell who had done it. However, I knew how to learn the truth. Carefully, I placed my hands on his cheeks and drew on Zared’s abilities. Whispering into Flavian’s mind, I said, “Show me.”
His memories of his mission flew past my eyes at a dizzying speed and then slowed. Flavian and Maxim hadn’t been taken for information. Cold black eyes stared down at him. Then, Quaid’s fist came down like lightning, knocking Flavian’s head back. I remembered how Quaid had broken a transport seat in his anger after I had accidentally bound the hybrids to myself.
“Did you think I would tolerate your treatment of my wife? Did you think touching her and tricking her mind were abuses I would overlook?” Quaid asked.
I was too much of a coward to watch, but I had seen and felt enough to know the truth. Quaid had intended to cut both of the Inquisitors to bits. He had started with the fingers of Flavian’s hand and had worked his way up. He would have slowly tortured Flavian to death if my men hadn’t arrived when they had.
I said, “Cory, answer Papa. I have seen the truth and know your silence is a noble attempt to protect me.”
Flavian said, “He was within his rights and isn’t bound by our laws. If you were mine, I would have reacted with less restraint.”
“Tell him, Cory,” I ordered.
“Commander Bosh ordered my capture. He took us to avenge his wife. I tricked her mind and hurt her. The reasons for it do not matter to him.”
Turning my head, I met Cormac’s eyes. “Quaid will know of your loyalty test the moment we touch.”
“Loyalty test?” Flavian asked.
“Yes, Cormac made me think he was Quaid and that he had come to take me away before it was too late. I kissed him, thinking he was Quaid.”
Flavian said, “Do yourself a favor. Cut your tongue out and send it to him before he beats you to it.”
“Don’t do that,” I said. Eli helped me to my feet.
Then, he helped Flavian. He said, “It’s good you still have a sense of humor.”
“Papa….” My voice was full of pleading.
“Alright. Dismissed.”
Eli and I helped Flavian leave the office.
Flavian said, “Don’t you ever do that again.”
“I must agree,” Eli said.
“What?” I asked with attitude.
“You are not to place yourself between a blaster and a target,” Kaoti said into my ear.
I jumped and whacked him on the arm. “Stop sneaking up on me! Damn it, Kaoti.”
“Did you pee, again?”
“You’re an asshole.”
“You’re careless. What if I hadn’t dropped from the ceiling in time to shield you? This idiot, who got himself caught, isn’t worth injury to your royal person.”
“Kaoti!” I gaped at him. “Stars! Look what Quaid did to him.”
Kaoti did. With professional detachment, he evaluated Flavian as though he imagined being the one who had inflicted each injury. “Yes, I have more respect for him now. I believe Yukihyo and Zared wanted to do much worse. However, they are citizens of the Empire. Quaid has no such loyalties.”
His demeanor frightened me. “He cut off his arm!”
“He started with my fingernails and worked his way up,” Cory said.
The back side of my tongue began to tickle, and saliva filled my mouth in warning. Then, I lost the pastries and bacon all over the white tiles of the Palace floors.
Calmly, Kaoti said, “The Princess carries twins fathered by Vice Admiral Dario Galerius and Fitz Jiri, future praetors. It’s a good thing for you and your team that such males are loyal to the Empire.”
Eli held my hair while Palace servants rushed forward. “I’m so sorry. I’ll clean it up.”
Eli said, “No, you will not.” He picked me up and carried me to my wing. On the way to my bathroom, I noticed Zared speaking quietly to Yukihyo, Drex, and Fitz. Eli didn’t stop. He helped me strip, wash out my mouth, and shower.
We were out of the shower when Fitz tapped at the door. “Teagan, your team is here for you.”
Dumbfounded, I stood there wrapped in a towel. Eli wore only a towel around his hips. Taking over, Fitz handed me undies, a black dress, and a jacket. It wasn’t anything that I had purchased. Momma had already placed tailored cadet uniforms that she and her ladies had designed into my closet. Numbly, I dressed, and Fitz walked with me out to meet my team. He held an arm around my back.
He said to them, “Take care with my lady and walk her to me in her wing when you return. Her stomach has not been agreeable this morning.” Fitz kissed my cheek.
“Yes, Lord Jiri,” Cedrenus replied.
During the drive, visions of Quaid’s torture of Inquisitor Cory Flavian replayed behind my eyes. “Stop!” I pushed open my door, leaned out, and heaved. “I can’t do this. I can’t do this.” My eyes streamed, and saliva was a nasty trickle from my mouth to the side of the road where Cedrenus had managed to pull over.
Ross asked, “Is it making you dizzy? Is that it?”
“No, it’s what I saw. It’s what Quaid did to Flavian because of me.”
Ross asked, “What happened?”
Closing my eyes, I said, “He had mercenaries capture Flavian and Maxim. Then, he took them and….” My stomach heaved.
Kaoti appeared beside the transport and at my side making Ross jump. “Give her some water.” Kaoti patted my back. “Calm down.”
“No, I can’t. He mutilated him. I had forgiven Flavian. He was following orders. Jiri is gone. He can’t hurt us anymore. It was over. What he did was sick. It was vile.”
Kaoti said, “I have done much worse to our enemies. Eli has as well. Did not Yukihyo remove the arm of a male who threatened you? He used restraint in the ring with Flavian, recognizing the purpose behind his actions and the key role he played in ending the traitor once and for all. However, Quaid required retribution. His female was abused. He was helpless to protect you at the time. However, he has wealth, power, and the means to make his displeasure of your treatment known. He made an example of Flavian and sent a clear message.”
“Kaoti, Quaid destroyed his life for serving the Imperial family. The traitor would have kept coming after us had Eli’s team not put a stop to him. What is there for Cory, now?” Kaoti looked as though he didn’t understand my question. “His arm is gone.”
Kaoti nodded. “He will heal. A new arm will be cloned and attached. He will get a few months of vacation time. Perhaps, he will teach at the Academy until he receives clearance to return to the field.”
As I stared into Kaoti’s dispassionate brown eyes, my stomach heaved again. He was fast enough to avoid the splatters, but Ross wasn’t.
“I’m so sorry….”
Eventually, we arrived at the Academy. Rovek was waiting. “You’re late.”
I ran past him and into the restroom, barely making it to the sink in time. While rinsing out my mouth, I realized that I had gone into the wrong restroom. “I’m sorry. Crap. It was an emergency.” Quickly, I finished rinsing out my mouth and the sink.
Out in the hall, Rovek, Kaoti, and my team members were speaking of all that had transpired. The five of them each had a deadly, stoic grace. Each of them had a cold dispassion which I lacked. Eli and Drex had it, too. They were assassins, spies, trained to infiltrate, kill, survive, and punish. I wasn’t one of them. I wasn’t a killer. I was a mommy. I was a princess and a wife.
“Teagan?” Kaoti asked.
I couldn’t breathe, my heart pounded, and my vision narrowed. Kaoti lifted me into his arms and strode with me to the infirmary. He said, “Panic attack,” to the doctor.
An oxygen mask was placed over my face. “Breathe in, nice and slow. There you go. You’re alright. I’ll run a few scans.”
While the doctor worked, Rovek asked, “Are you done with your theatrics?”
I shook my head. “What was I thinking? I can’t do this?”
Rovek raised an eyebrow at me. “You can. You fail to take into consideration one key issue. You will never be sent out to complete fieldwork. You are here to prove that you can complete a goal. Correct?”
I nodded.
He said, “The uniform which you are wearing is an improvement. It suits you.” Reaching out as though contact with me might burn him, he patted my back. “There, there.” He gave me a nod of his head, clasped his hands behind his back, and left.
“What the fuck?” I whispered.
Kaoti said, “He likes you. I’ve never before seen him so demonstrative in his affections.”
I snorted. “He wants to be demonstrative with Tracy.”
Kaoti nodded.
A few minutes later, I was seated at my desk in our classroom. I did my best to make up for lost time and complete as many assignments as I could. I tried even harder not to think of the events of the morning. After a few hours of study, all cadets and ensigns in levels nine through twelve were called to an assembly. We sat in the gym where our award ceremony had been held and were shown footage of the fleet being dispersed to their non-wartime assignments and duty locations. I wondered if Dario would return to me soon. We were shown images of the probe which had caused so much trouble.
It was stressed to us our importance as the future record keepers and holders of all secrets. Then, we learned something new. While studying the probe, a team of Inquisitors, and I knew whose team that had been, had discovered something. It had been set to specifically target starship emissions. The video image froze.
An officer took the stage, and I became annoyed when I recognized Cormac. He said, “Cadets, your assignment is to form a theory explaining who would have the most to gain from interstellar war. You will work in cooperative groups assigned by your instructors. The group submitting the best theory and documentation will be granted the honor of shadowing a field team on assignment.”
I could feel the excitement from the young men around me which was an unusual experience. They didn’t tend to be emotional.
“Dismissed,” Cormac said.
Forgetting to sit on the edge on my chair before standing, I dizzily sat right back down. Cedrenus held out his hand. Taking it, I was more careful. I said, “Let’s go home. We can work on this assignment in my sitting room and have something to eat.”
Rovek said, “Not so fast.” Ensigns Flavian, Stayton, Levi, and Tyler were behind him.
“Oh, no,” I whispered as the blood drained from my face. Cedrenus squeezed my hand.
Rovek said, “Your teams will form a group for this assignment. Dismissed.”
I couldn’t look at Clark, not after what Quaid had done to his father.
Stayton asked, “Do you want to work in your classroom or ours?”
Binder said, “Neither. Teagan invited us to work at the Palace.”
Cedrenus pulled my arm through his and started walking from the building and out to our parking space.
Kaoti deliberately made some noise so as not to frighten me. He said, “Wipe that look off of your face, Ensign. What happened between two males, even if it was over you, has nothing to do with you. You had no control over the situation, and it was unavoidable.”
“Of course, it is my fault.” All of us got inside of the transport, and I sat by a door just in case.
“No, Captain Aegisthus is right,” Clark said. “My father knew the risks when he took the assignment. Lord Bosh’s retaliation was honorable. Teagan, he’ll be good as new in a few weeks.”
“You’re all demented. You’re all sick, demented little fuckers,” I said as I shook my head.
Kaoti said, “And, we’re all yours.”
“Kaoti, Violet needs to smack you.”
“She will. She’ll smack me on the cheek with her sweet, soft lips as soon as she sees me.”
“Her lips are sweet because she ate all of the fudge with which Cormac tried to bribe me into forgiving him.” I frowned. Why had I been angry with him? “Why was I mad at Cormac?”
Kaoti whispered loudly to everyone, “The Princess is having symptoms of forgetfulness due to her pregnancy. She is also prone to irrational behavior.” To me, he said, “He appeared to you as Quaid during your loyalty test. During that time, you stuck your tongue down his throat and caused him to become even more sexually fixated on you.”
“Oh, yeah, Thanks. I remember now.”
Cedrenus said, “What I wouldn’t give to have been Inquisitor Gordian.”
Kaoti chuckled. “You won’t be saying that when Commander Bosh finds out about it.”
I cringed, imagining another violent maiming. However, they all laughed, even Clark.
“So, don’t tell him,” Cedrenus suggested.
“He will know my mind the moment we touch.”
“The solution is simple. Do not touch Bosh,” Ross suggested.
It was my turn to laugh. “I won’t be keeping my hands or any of my other parts away from him. I can’t wait to run my fingers through his chest hair. Have you seen him?”
“Yes, he doesn’t do anything for me,” Kaoti said.
After parking at the Palace, Cedrenus hopped out and gave me his arm. He said, “I promised Lord Jiri that I would escort you to him.
The moment we stepped inside of the Palace, I sniffed the air, and my mouth started watering. I followed the smell, dragging Cedrenus along with me. Then, I bumped into Violet who stood at the entrance to the kitchens, transfixed. Izaac, Yukihyo, Zared, Xavier, and Jazon had taken over a section of the Palace kitchens. They were cooking. The smell of seared ice bear consumed me.
“Oh, stars. Is it really?” I asked.
“Yes,” Violet answered. She was close to tears.
Fitz said, “Ladies, please be seated.” He led us over to a table and pulled out my chair while Kaoti did the same for Violet. “Boys, have a seat. There is enough for everyone.”
Izaac placed plates of seared bits of meat, bowls of grilled ceshoosh, which were Laconian sweet potatoes, and dolajees, mushrooms, in front of us. Violet and I cried tears of satisfaction while we ate.
“Why are they crying?” Clark asked.
“Pregnant females get cravings for foods. Their thoughts become consumed with their needs and do not abate until those cravings are satisfied. My brother, Izaac, managed to get a few pounds of ice bear to appease our females. However, we require much more. Now that the prefabricated crisis has been averted, we will revert to our original plan,” Zared explained.
“What plan?” I asked while I chewed.
Yukihyo said, “We will visit our home on Chione. You and your ladies can knit blankets for our young while we hunt.” His white eyes were full of mischief.
I snorted at him. “Our babies want ice bear rugs. They deserve not
hing less,” I said.
He said, “Our babes will want for nothing.” He placed tall glasses in front of us.
“Milkshakes!” Violet exclaimed. Tears streamed down her face as she sucked it down.
Kaoti saluted him.
Sparrow, Tracy, Terre, and Phillip joined us and were presented with their own platters. My ladies and I ate like ravenous beasts. Then, Tracy let out a loud burp and blushed crimson.
Her pause had Terre asking, “Are you going to eat that?”
“Yes, I am,” she said as she guarded her plate.
“Ladies, we’ve got all the meat you can eat,” Phillip said with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows while adding food to our plates.
Around a mouthful of food, Terre said, “No one gets your meat but me, Phillip Svenson.”
“You want it, you’ve got it, goddess.”
We ate ourselves into food comas and were carried off to our beds. “Boys, come back around five. You can work with Teagan before dinner,” Fitz said.
“Yes, she needs a nap,” Yukihyo agreed.
“Way to go, Izaac. They enjoyed their surprise,” Xavier complimented.
After sleeping for a few hours, I woke up in the nude cuddled between Yukihyo and Fitz. “What time is it?” I asked.
“Almost four,” Fitz answered.
“I have neglected the children all day.”
“Teagan, the children are with Neema, Ettie, Seyla, Lillith, and my mother,” Yukihyo said.
“Oh.” They were being given lots of attention.
“Yes, oh. They are out enjoying the playground their Gapa had built for them. Only their need for sustenance will draw them away from it,” Yukihyo said.
Fitz said, “Farowyn called while you slept.”
“Is he okay?”
“He is. We let him watch you while you slept. Dario and Nico begin their return trip to Parvac this evening and send their regards as well.”
Yukihyo said, “There are urgent matters requiring your attention.”
“What?” I asked, suddenly worried.
Taking my hand, he placed it on his shaft. I laughed. “We don’t have much time, Lady Wife.” His lips found my neck.
Materfamilias Page 13