So I filled her in on the details of the evening's raid. At least, most of the details. I left out the part about being ambushed by one of the rebels in hiding. I downplayed it as simply getting hit during the firefight. I tried to assure her that it wasn't a big deal. Because truthfully, it wasn't. When I was done speaking, I took a sip of my wine and could see the look of shock on her face.
“So, you're telling me that you got shot?” she asked. “Going on some stupid raid you didn't tell me about?”
I shrugged. “To be honest, I did not think it a big deal, Riley,” I said. “Most of the time, nothing happens. The rebels give up without a single shot fired.”
“Most of the time?” she pressed. “And how many of these things have you gone on?”
I shrugged again. “I do not know. A few.”
She shook her head and her face darkened with anger. “And you never once thought to tell me that you were running around out there in the middle of the night, putting yourself in harm's way?”
I sighed. “What good would telling you serve?” I asked. “You would only worry.”
“And apparently with good reason,” she said, her voice rising. “Don't you think I have a right to know?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but then closed it again. I didn't know what to say to that. I was a soldier and I did my job. I wasn't somebody who was used to relationships and having to be answerable to somebody.
“If we're going to be together and I'm going to be your queen, Jendrish,” she said, “you can't shut me out. You can't make decisions like these on your own. And you certainly can't go running off and throw yourself into the middle of a battle. Not only do I need you, but you're a king and your people need you.”
I set my wine glass back down. “As I told Vink, I am a king, yes. But I have no desire to be a king who thinks himself above the common soldier,” I said. “I refuse to be a king who is unwilling to make the same sacrifices I would ask of others.”
“That's not the way this works, Jendrish,” she said. “As the king of Optorio, you have an obligation to your people. And that obligation can only be met if, you know, you're alive.”
I stood up and walked away from the table, standing at the railing of our chamber's balcony with my back to Riley. I felt myself growing upset and I needed to calm down. I did not like it when Vink questioned my reasoning for participating in the raids and I did not like it now that Riley was doing it as well. I did not enjoy the feeling of being told what to do or how to rule.
In my brief time on the throne, far too many people thought to impose their views upon me. Far too many people thought they knew better and wanted to have their say in how I ruled. It didn't sit well with me at all. I was young and inexperienced, yes, but I had a vision and my own thoughts on what was best for Optorio.
“You need not lecture me on my obligations,” I said, my voice cold. “I know all too well what my obligations are.”
I didn't hear her move, but she was suddenly standing behind me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and buried her face in my neck. I winced as she squeezed me and she let me go with a quickly murmured word of apology. Instead, she leaned against the railing next to me. I looked at her and saw that there really was nothing but love and concern in her eyes.
She reached out and took my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I'm sorry, Jendrish,” she said softly. “I know it's not my place. I'm just worried about you. You're all I have here and if something ever happened to you – ”
Hoping it wasn't too awkward, I pulled her into a tight embrace – I was still getting used to the human concept of physical expressions of affection.
“Nothing is going to happen to me,” I said. “You need not worry.”
“You can't promise that,” she said.
She was right, I couldn't. “I am taking every precaution. At Vink's insistence, I am wearing a state of the art body armor. I am the last one through the door and I am very well protected.”
“Fat lot of good that did you tonight,” she said. “You got yourself shot, Jendrish.”
“And yet, here I stand,” he replied. “As you say, none the worse for wear.”
Her laughter was soft, but I could tell that the icy demeanor she'd had earlier was melting. She wasn't happy with the fact that I was going out on the raids, but I thought that she was at least beginning to accept my need to do so. At least, I hoped she was beginning to accept it.
“I am sorry I did not tell you before,” I said. “I honestly did not think about it. I was trained to be a soldier and to do my job. But I understand now that I have to take you into account as well. And I will do my best to be more conscious of that fact.”
“Thank you,” she said and looked up at me. “And I'm sorry for yelling at you about it. I was just so worried. When I saw you in pain, I – ”
I leaned down and kissed her. The last of her anger melted away as I felt her body begin to heat up. Her hands ran up and down my body as we kissed and I pulled her tighter to me – wincing as I did so. We broke our embrace and laughed. This was going to be difficult. But she stirred that fire within me and I felt my need for her rising.
“We just need to go a little – slower,” I said, grinning from ear to ear.
“We can do that.”
She stepped forward and kissed me again, her hands working at my belt. I felt myself growing stiff as she reached down and took hold of me, drawing out a soft moan of pleasure. She moved her hand up and down, squeezing me tight. Being with her was so different than being with an Optorion woman. Unlike humans, we weren't quite as focused on the sensual pleasures of the body. It was more – businesslike, I supposed you could say.
Mating was for procreation, not for recreation. But Riley was teaching me something entirely new – something entirely different. And I had to admit, I was enjoying it immensely.
“I fear dinner is going to get cold,” I said, my breath somewhat ragged.
“Then we'll eat it cold,” she purred. “Later.”
I leaned down and kissed her again. She melted into my arms, so I picked her up and carried her back across the balcony and into our bed chambers. I was suddenly perfectly content with eating dinner cold.
Chapter Four
Veshna
“It pains me to see you in this – place – father,” I said.
He sighed and shook his head, looking grim. It wasn't an expression I was accustomed to seeing on his face. My father, Varnu Morkata, had been an important man. A powerful man. As the Premier of Optorio's Regent Council, he was in essence, the de facto king. All decisions ran through him. Oh, they took a vote on matters for the sake of appearances, but the Council easily bent to his wishes.
But then Jendrish and his soldiers had arrived and upset everything. Worst of all, he'd upset my own plans.
“It pains me to be here, son,” my father replied.
In the months he'd been in prison, he'd withered. He had always been a large, vibrant, and vital man. But now, he was shrunken. Smaller. Weaker. That vibrancy that marked who he was had dissipated. And it made me sick to look at. He wasn't fit to lead our House, let alone lead Optorio.
Most who didn't know him defined him by his seemingly good nature and compassion. Those who knew him though, knew a very different Varnu. He was am ambitious man with a dark, cruel side. He was marked by his greed as well as his unusual taste in foods – and women.
It had been his idea to begin importing women from offworld to force into the sex trade. Personally, I'd been skeptical of it at first. After all, what Optorion man desired alien women? Other than Bazarok, the former king who abdicated his throne, that was. Though, I supposed he'd piqued the interests and desires of other Optorion men. He'd made them wonder what it would be like to be with an alien women. My father had simply taken advantage of that interest.
And it had proved to be one of the most lucrative businesses my family had ever engaged in. My father had accrued a fortune. And fortunately for him, I'd been smart en
ough to think ahead and hide that fortune in various financial institutions on Optorio and offworld. Though Jendrish and his goons had seized the assets of my family – and those of the other Regents – the bulk of the Morkata fortune was still intact.
And would be put to good use.
“I've spoken with your defender,” I said. “He is not – optimistic about your chances of release.”
He gave me a rueful grin. “I would be far more surprised to hear him say there was a chance of it, to be honest.”
I looked around the small, windowless room. It was white. Everything was white. The walls, chairs, tables, bed – it was all a bright white. Brighter, given that the walls seemed to glow with an inner light. It was nearly blinding.
This was where my father spent all day, every day. He – and the other Regents – had been denied access to the outside world. In his decree, Jendrish had declared them all a danger to Optorio. Enemies of the state. He expressed his belief that confederates of the Regents would seek to free them. And for those reasons, he was confining them to these solitary isolation cells within the capitol's prison building.
Personally, I thought it was unnecessarily cruel. To deny them access to fresh air. The nighttime sky. The nourishment the ocean provided – I thought it was just another way of punishing the Regents even more harshly.
Still, having my father locked away for the rest of his life served my purposes. And it saved me from having to develop a convoluted plan to assassinate him and put the blame on somebody else. I was a man who appreciated simplicity. With my father being kept in the capitol prison, he was locked away and out of my hair.
I would have to deal with him once and for all eventually. The last thing I wanted or needed was for him to find his way out of the prison and upset my plans all over again. He was going to have to die in time. But that time could wait.
For now, I wanted to placate him, make him believe I was still on his side, and that I was working for his release. For now, I had to play the part of the dutiful son who was working hard to restore honor and dignity to the family name. I had to appear contrite, willing to bend the knee to Jendrish and do whatever I could to ingratiate myself to him.
House Morkata had been removed from all official government offices, but I was working hard to retain a place in the new Optorion Congress that Jendrish was attempting to build. He was the king and would have final say in all matters, but as a member of the Congress, I could do what I did best – work behind the scenes, accrue power and influence, and bide my time.
Though my family might be barred from the upper echelons of government functions under Jendrish's rule, kings came and went. If my work behind the scenes paid the dividends I was trying to cultivate, once Jendrish's reign came to an end, I would find a far friendlier face upon the throne.
And when the time came and the conditions were right, that friendlier face would be replaced with another face on the throne – mine.
When I was king, I would disband the Congress and go back to having a royal family ruling Optorio. The way it had always been. The way it should always be. The way it would be again. There was no need for a Congress. No need for a Council. One man could – and should – keep order on this planet. And I would see that Optorio returned to the way it should be.
“Have you spoken with any of the others?” he asked.
I looked around the room, aware that the authorities could be monitoring our conversation. Ordinarily, prisoners were offered a measure of privacy – especially when they were with their family – but with a rebellion in full swing, and Jendrish clearly intent to wipe it out, one could never be too safe. I knew I had to take care with my words.
“I have, yes,” I said. “The festivities are all going ahead as planned.”
He nodded. “I'm pleased to hear that.”
The festivities of course, was a reference to our attacks on Jendrish's troops. I allowed my father to believe that he was still in charge of coordinating our attacks. He sent me regular vid-messages – one of the privileges still allowed to prisoners – that were actually coded messages. Battle plans. Directions on where to attack and how to deploy our fighters.
Most of this vid-messages, I ignored altogether. He wasn't in charge. He never would be in charge again. All of the planning for our rebellion went through me.
“There have been some difficulties with the preparations,” I said. “Vendors not able to meet their obligations. But it's nothing I am unable to handle. The party will go as planned.”
He smiled, but it was one that did not reach his eyes. “I am saddened I will not be able to attend. I would love to see the look on your uncle's face when our plans are revealed to him. I'm sure it will be a joyous occasion.”
“It will be,” I said. “I can guarantee that. It will be something he never forgets.”
I was growing weary of these cloak and dagger games. I was not one who enjoyed the type of subterfuge and coded messages my father was engaging in. I preferred to speak plainly. And I preferred to speak to those who would do as I said rather than those who believed they could issue me orders. If I were to boil down the essence of my weariness, I supposed it would be fair to say that I was growing weary of dealing with my father.
I did it though, because I had to keep up appearances. If I suddenly stopped coming to visit him, some might think something was amiss. Jendrish and his men were a lot of things, but I did not believe that stupid was one of them. They suspected all of the children of the Regents of being involved with the rebellion and I knew that they were watching us all closely.
Because of that, I had to play my role. Had to keep to my usual schedule and manner of doing things. If that meant having a what seemed like a banal conversation with my father about planning a party for some unnamed uncle, so be it.
If there was one thing my father taught me that I valued, it was patience.
“Mother sends her love,” I said. “She wanted me to tell you that she misses you.”
He smiled. My mother genuinely cared for him – despite the fact that she knew of his many indiscretions. She reasoned that these alien woman were able to provide him with something she was not. And for some reason, she was okay with that. Loved him in spite of it.
“She is a good woman, your mother,” he said. “I hope that you are looking after her. And your sister.”
“Of course I am.”
He reached out and put a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I know you are. You are a good boy, Veshna. I don't believe I have told you that enough.”
No, he hadn't. But I wasn't going to pick a fight. There were bigger things in play than simply needing my father's approval and validation.
“You are a good father,” I lied. “I have had a happy life. But I must go now. There is much work to be done.”
He nodded. “Of course, of course,” he said. “Please, come back soon. I want to hear all about the preparations for the festivities.”
“Of course, father.”
I stood up and gave him a small smile before turning and walking to the doorway. The guard on the outside pressed a button on the wall and the electro-wall came down with a hiss. After I'd passed, the hiss sounded again as the guard re-activated it.
I left the prison complex and headed for a more important meeting.
Chapter Five
“How is your father holding up?” Kalmor asked.
I shrugged. “He is irrelevant.”
Kalmor was my second in command and my most trusted ally. It would be him by my side when all of my plans came to fruition and I seized the throne of Optorio. He shared my vision and believed, as I did, that Optorio should be a world for Optorions only. He was as offended as I was that Jendrish had chosen an alien – a human – to be the queen of our world.
“That seems rather cold,” he said. “Even coming from you.”
We stood in one of the hidden underground rooms that dotted my family's home. My father had these rooms installed discretel
y so that he could indulge in some of his rather tasteless hobbies, believing that nobody knew of their existence. But I knew from a young age that knowledge was power and I had endeavored to learn my father's secrets – as well as the secrets of those in positions of power. It was a skill I'd honed and refined, and a skill that had paid off handsomely many times over.
Now that my father was in prison and – if I had anything to say about it – was never coming home, I had begun using the rooms for my own purposes. Which, at the moment, was mapping out my path to the throne.
“For such an ambitious man,” I said, “he thought rather small. He was unwilling to do what is required to achieve the ultimate victory.”
“I don't disagree with that.”
“At heart, my father is a coward,” I said. “And he is unwilling to get his hands dirty. He doesn't have the ruthlessness necessary to rule this world.”
Kalmor nodded, but looked guarded. “Ruthlessness does not seem to be something you're lacking, old friend.”
I grinned at him. “No, it's not,” I said. “But my ruthlessness is only matched by my loyalty. Rest easy, old friend. You are coming to the pinnacle with me.”
He seemed to be somewhat relieved by my words. Though, I did not know why he would have cause for concern in the first place. Kalmor had been my friend since we were children. We were closer than brothers and shared just about everything with one another. If there was one person I wanted by my side, it would be him.
Kalmor eyed me as if he could read my thoughts – and given how long we'd known one another, perhaps we could.
“You've changed, Veshna,” he said. “You've become harder. More – ruthless.”
“I do what is required,” I said. “I become what is necessary. If we are going to reclaim our world from this usurper and his alien whore, there is no other choice.”
Kalmor looked at me evenly. “Are you sure you're doing this for Optorio? For the right reasons?”
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