“I suppose I can be a bit – overbearing – at times?”
Ynora nodded. “Indeed.”
“I am just trying to feel my way through this, Ynora,” I said. “I do not really know what I am doing.”
“Then don't try to do everything,” she said. “Trust those around you to do the jobs you can't. Give them more responsibilities. Empower them to have a say. If you truly want Optorio to flourish, let the people you surround yourself with help you.”
She was not much older than I was, but she had a wisdom that was well beyond her years. I had not spent much time talking to Ynora, and now I was sorry that I had not. She was very intelligent, very well spoken, and had a fiery spirit. I could see why she and Riley had bonded the way they had.
“Perhaps, I need to start doing that,” I said.
“One thing I can tell you with certainty, is that she loves you,” Ynora said. “Very truly and very deeply. The love she carries for you is something I hope to find one day for myself. And she was looking forward to the future with you.”
The stabbing pain of guilt cut through me. I knew she cared for me as I cared for her. Sending her away had been one of the most difficult things I'd ever done. But it had to be done.
“I was faced with a difficult choice,” I said. “I made what I believed was the best decision.”
She stood silent for a moment and I could tell that there was something on her mind. Something she wanted to say or a question she wanted an answer to.
“What is it?” I asked. “What is on your mind?”
“I – I would just like to know why you sent Riley away,” she asked. “It's obvious to me that you cared for her every bit as much as she cared about you. I just don't understand why you sent her away.”
I debated with myself about how honest to be with her. After all, it was my personal business. It was a decision I had to make and that fell upon my shoulders – nobody else's. Still, Riley and Ynora were close and there was a small voice whispering in the back of my mind that argued she deserved the respect of some answers – which gave me the answer I needed.
“It's not because I did not love her,” I said. “I did. I still do. It's because I love her that I sent her away.”
“Forgive me for being thick, but that doesn't make sense to me.”
“I just watched my oldest and dearest friend nearly die,” I said. “I was wounded myself. I watched several other people murdered right before my very eyes. And that was at my own coronation. If I couldn't keep order, keep people safe there, how could I expect that I could keep them safe elsewhere? I sent Riley away because I don't want anything to happen to her. I don't want her being hurt or killed on my account. If somebody is going to attempt to take my life again – and I have every suspicion that they will – I don't want Riley in the way of that.”
Ynora nodded, but I could tell she wasn't satisfied. “But shouldn't she have had some say in that? I don't mean to speak out of turn, but it seems to me that if you two love each other, have thrown your lots in together, then she should have had some say in the decision. If she felt like risking her life by being with you was worth it, shouldn't that have been her right? I imagine that you would expect the same consideration, right?”
I leaned back and ran my hand through my hair. I hadn't considered things in quite that light before. It was an angle I hadn't seen. Ultimately, she was probably right. And in an ideal world, I would have asked Riley how she felt about things. But we weren't living in an ideal world. We were living in a world where people were trying to kill me. And until that threat was over, the decisions about how to best handle it fell to me. That was my duty. My responsibility.
“Vink almost died on my account,” I said, my voice soft. “I could not bear it if Riley had been hurt or killed because of me.”
Ynora opened her mouth to argue, but I raised my hand to stop her from speaking.
“I understand your argument. And I don't disagree with it. You've given me a lot to think about as I hadn't considered that viewpoint before,” I said. “But like I said earlier, I am still just figuring this out as I go along. And that seemed to be the best – and only – way I could ensure that Riley remained safe.”
Ynora looked at me a long moment before nodding. I knew she didn't like my answer, but it was all I had to offer her at the moment. She excused herself and left my chambers. I looked down at the tray and suddenly didn't feel very hungry anymore.
Standing up, I walked to the railing and looked out at the ocean. Perhaps, when this was all settled and we had a true peace on Optorio, I would travel to Earth and find Riley. Explain myself to her – and hope that she was willing to take me back. Maybe one day, we could be together again.
But until that day, I made the best decisions I could. And I deemed it best to keep her safe by removing her from the equation. It pained me terribly, but I cared for her too much to watch her die. It was the best decision I could have made. And I intended to keep telling myself that until I believed it.
Chapter Two
Veshna
I was a cautious man. I considered things carefully and thoroughly and rarely left anything to chance. I had known going into our assassination attempt that there was a possibility – if not a probability – of failure. But, it was a chance I'd had to take. It would have been ideal for us to be done with Jendrish with one, clean shot.
But life, very seldom, was ideal.
Which was why I'd had a backup plan in mind. If I couldn't kill Jendrish and be done with it at the coronation, I knew I would need a secondary plan. If he survived the assassination attempt, getting close to him again was going to be all but impossible. He would be on guard for it. Even worse, the Royal Guard would be watching for another attack. Waiting for it.
Which meant that I would have to find another avenue of attack. One that would hurt him every bit as much as I wanted him to be hurt – except that it wouldn't require a drop of his blood to be spilled.
I looked back at the human woman I had bound in the back of the transport ship. Riley, they said her name was. Jendrish's human whore. I supposed that physically, she was an attractive woman. I had seen a number of human women that my father had imported and had always been surprised by their physical similarities to Optorions. They were similar and yet different in the many ways that mattered.
Still, it wasn't entirely difficult to see why an attractive human woman like this one might tempt men like my father, Jendrish, and even Bazarok, to indulge themselves in what I considered to be a rather – peculiar taste. Though, for me, I would never find alien women attractive enough to forgo the sheer beauty and grace of an Optorion woman. I believed in keeping ourselves – and our bloodlines – pure. Clean. Optorion.
I had heard plenty of rumors that scientists, working under the orders of Jendrish himself, had been developing a way that he and this human could produce a child. A child of mixed blood. Impure blood. An heir to Jendrish's throne.
It was an idea that had made my blood boil. It disgusted me thoroughly and completely. The idea that a child not of pure Optorion blood – a mutant – could one day sit upon the throne of our world, had enraged me. I had vowed that I would never allow that to happen – or I would die trying to prevent it. Optorio should be ruled by Optorions only. Our bloodlines should be pure. Clean. Untainted.
As I looked at the woman in the back of the transport, I felt nothing but disgust and contempt for her. She glared at me with hatred in her eyes. But lurking just beneath the surface of that rage, I could see something else – fear. The woman was putting on a brave face, but deep down she was terrified. I could see it. I could smell it. And it was intoxicating.
It was going to give me great pleasure to kill her. Though, it was going to give me even greater pleasure to force Jendrish to watch me kill her – right before I killed him.
With our assassination attempt a failure, I would never get another shot at him. But given that I had his whore, I could force him to come to me – o
n my terms, in my place of choosing. At which point, I would kill him and enact my own plans.
It wasn't perfect and it wasn't ideal. But again, life was seldom ideal and you had to take what you were handed and make something of it.
“Who are you?” she demanded.
I gave her a small smile. “I am the man who is going to force Jendrish to watch me kill you right before I kill him.”
“Why are you doing this?”
I turned and looked at the pilot. “Why are we doing this, Pykor?”
“We are doing this to make Optorio great again,” he said. “For Optorions.”
His expression was grim. Earnest. He was a true believer in our cause. I appreciated men like him. And honestly, wish I had more like him. Many more. Too many people were willing to embrace change. Diversity. Too many people had been poisoned with the idea that accepting aliens within our society was a good thing.
But I was a student of history – not just on Optorio, but the history of many other planets in our system. I had seen all too well what embracing change and diversity did to a society. I had seen the effect aliens had on a society and their culture. Violence. Death. A complete whitewashing of the native culture in the name of acceptance and tolerance.
I would not let that happen to Optorio. Not so long as I drew breath.
I turned and looked at the woman. “Did you really think I would allow you to taint my world? That I would allow you to sully the Optorion throne?”
She shook her head. “I have no idea who you are or what you want,” she said. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”
I shrugged. “It matters not,” I said. “All you really need to know is that you are providing me with a very powerful chip to use against Jendrish. That, and you are going to die. As will he.”
She struggled against her bonds, but the sonic shackles held her fast. She wasn't going anywhere. Unlike Optorion women, this one was feisty. Fierce. I had no doubts that if she'd been able to, she would have attacked me. Optorion women were above that. They had an elegance and charm no human woman could ever hope to achieve.
“We'll be touching down in a moment, sir,” Pykor said.
I nodded. Good. Now that I had her, I was anxious to figure out what to do with her. The opportunity to snatch her had come suddenly and without warning. I knew that having her in my possession would prove incredibly beneficial and important, but I hadn't yet developed a thorough plan about how best to use her.
But I would figure it out. I was good at seeing the bigger picture, figuring things out and putting together devastating strategies. That was my gift. It always had been.
“Jendrish is going to find me,” she said. “And he's going to kill you.”
I shrugged. “Perhaps,” I replied. “I cannot see the future and do not know how it will all play out. But one thing I do know is that he will never intentionally put you in harm's way, Riley. He will hesitate if your life is in danger – like say, if I am holding a blade to your throat. I will not hesitate, Riley. When he does, when he gives me an opening, I will seize the opportunity and kill him. I promise you that.”
Chapter Three
“Why did you not tell me?” Kalmor asked.
We were walking down the corridor toward one of the underground rooms my father had built in secret. He'd used them to indulge his strange – and disturbingly twisted – fantasies and desires and keep them from the family. He never counted on my persistence or ingenuity when it came to gathering information.
The more I learned about my father though – about who he really was – the more disgusted I became. That he could not only condone – but actively participate – in mating with aliens was something I could not understand. Something I did not want to understand. It was filthy. Disgusting. And not the way of a true Optorion man.
But for now, the underground rooms served a purpose. They were actually quite helpful. I'd had Pykor take the human to one and lock her in. There she would stay until the rest of the details of my plan could be worked out.
Kalmor was angry. I had no doubt that he felt slighted by being left out of the planning. It was as if he felt entitled to know everything I was planning or doing. Eventually, I was going to have to disabuse him of the notion that he was privy to all of my plans. But that time was not now.
“This opportunity came up suddenly,” I said. “I had to act quickly.”
“What opportunity do you see in this?” he asked. “Our goal is to take the usurper off the throne once and for all.”
We entered the room I used for our strategy meetings. I'd had a table and chairs set up along with our computers, communication, and surveillance equipment. It was my war room. And I had no illusions – I felt that we were at war. We were fighting for our way of life. For the very soul of our world. There was no way I would let somebody like Jendrish come in and change everything that made Optorio exceptional.
“And the human will help us accomplish our goals, Kalmor.”
“I fail to see how.”
We sat down across from each other at the table. He was not happy. Like my father, I feared that Kalmor thought too small. Didn't have the vision to think big and think unconventionally. Sometimes, you had to have the adaptability to do that. It was a quality I needed in my second in command and I was beginning to fear that Kalmor simply did not possess it.
I sighed. “Because according to our agents in the palace, Jendrish is very fond of the human,” I couldn't keep the look of distaste from crossing my face. “They say he – loves her.”
An inscrutable expression crossed Kalmor's face and he nodded. I thought he was finally starting to get it. To see the bigger picture. I loathed the fact that it took us a while to get there, however. I did not enjoy being questioned – especially by my subordinates.
“So, you're thinking that you can use her to force him to abdicate the throne, yes?”
I shook my head. Clearly, he wasn't seeing the bigger picture. “No, I am thinking that we can use her to force him to do exactly as we wish – including giving his life to save her. Given that our assassination attempt failed, I highly doubt we are going to get another chance to get so close to him. We must adjust and adapt. We must alter our tactics.”
Kalmor leaned back in his seat and nodded. “Do you believe he would?” he asked. “Do you believe the reports that he loves the human?”
“I have no reason not to,” I replied. “But either way, whether he does or does not, we have lost nothing by taking her. If he does not choose to comply, we dispose of her. If he does, then we have him right where we want him.”
“And so, what are you thinking then?” Kalmor asked. “What are your plans?”
I shook my head. “I have not worked that out yet,” I said. “As I said before, this opportunity came up suddenly and I had to act.”
Kalmor cocked his head, an expression crossing his face like a thought had just occurred to him. “Why was she on an interstellar transport? Where was he sending her?”
“From what I've been told, he was sending her home,” I replied. “Back to Earth.”
“If he loves her, why would he do that?”
I shook my head. “I am not certain of that,” I admitted. “If I were forced to guess, I would say it was to protect her.”
“From what?” he asked. “Given the failed attempt on his life, he will double the guards around himself. And if he feels for her the way your agents suggest he does, he will triple them. Sending her away does not make sense to me.”
It was something I had given some thought to since I first learned that he was sending her away. It did not make much sense to me at first either. But the more thought I gave it, the more I came to one inescapable conclusion.
“Because he is going to war,” I said. “He has terrible things planned. I believe he is going to make it his mission to hunt those of us who had a hand in the attempt on his life down and destroy us. He wants to keep her away from all of that. Keep her safe.”
A dark look crossed Kalmor's face. It was as if he hadn't considered the backlash of what we'd done before. Surely, he had to know we would face Jendrish's retribution for what we'd done. If he hadn't, he lacked even more vision than I had previously thought. Which was disturbing.
“Taking the human gives us a cushion,” I said. “It protects us from the worst of his wrath. He is not going to want to declare all out war with her caught in the middle.”
Kalmor nodded. “That makes sense.”
“It will also give us the leverage we need to lure him out,” I said. “Away from his guards.”
“Surely, they will not allow him to leave, unprotected,” he replied. “He will know it is a trap.”
“I'm sure he will. Which is why I need a little time to think this through. I must determine the best use of this chip we are now holding.”
I leaned back in my seat and sighed. I was tired and was not thinking clearly. I needed to get some food and some rest. And to immerse myself in the sea. Once I was functioning normally, I would be able to decide what to do with what I believed, was our good fortune.
The human was a valuable asset. And she was going to help us bring down the usurper – whether she wanted to or not.
Chapter Four
Riley
The man shoved me roughly into the cell and slammed the door. I rushed over and reached for the handle when I heard a beeping noise followed by what sounded like locks slamming into place. I was surprised they had such low-tech locks when everything else on this planet was so technologically advanced.
The room was stark white and had walls that seemed to glow with a dim light within. It chased away most of the shadows, but the room was still murky. A blanket and a couple of pillows had been tossed into one corner – presumably so I could make myself at home. Which meant that I was likely going to be there a while.
I sat down in the corner and pulled the blanket up and over me, covering myself with it like a cloak so that only my face stuck out. It was a childish gesture, but I wasn't feeling much like an adult at the moment. I felt weak. Powerless. I had no idea what I was going to do or how I was going to get out of this.
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