Eventually, he rolled over and lay next to me – I put my head on his chest and trailed my fingertips over his stomach. I looked up at him and smiled – and when he looked back at me, I felt my breath catch in my throat. For in that look we exchanged, I saw something I never expected to see in his eyes – love.
Chapter Six
The next morning, my body was a little bit sore as we found ourselves being escorted out of our chamber and through the palace. Riley had arrived somewhat early to find us still lying in bed together. Her smile was knowing and Byr's face flushed, his eye markings glowing wildly, and he couldn't even meet her eyes. When she looked at me, I gave her a shy smile in return – I knew that this was what she'd wanted for Byr and me, but it wasn't something I actually thought would happen.
Byr looked over his shoulder at the four guards who followed us and then over at me. He cleared his throat.
“So, where are we going?” he asked.
Riley turned and looked over her shoulder at him – and he quickly looked away. She laughed.
“You're meeting with my husband, King Jendrish, this morning,” she said.
I already knew that, of course. I'd had a conversation with Riley while Byr had fumbled around in the bathroom, trying to clean himself up and get dressed. I wasn't sure why, but I felt a certain kinship with the Queen. I was comfortable around her and didn't feel like I needed to hide who I truly was.
I didn't know what to expect when Riley opened a door and ushered us inside. The guards took positions outside the room and Riley escorted us in. It was a beautiful room made from a dark, polished stone. The chamber was softly lit and shelves lined three of the walls and were crammed with what seemed like millions of different books. The fourth wall was made entirely of glass and offered a view of Optorio's rugged coastline and sparkling red ocean. It was a room I thought I could be very happy in for a very long time.
“Are you two hungry?” she asked, her tone turning playful. “I know that I'm always starving after a good workout.”
I thought Byr might pass out from embarrassment right then and there. His face colored, his eye markings glowed, and he sounded like he might choke. I couldn't help but laugh along with Riley. I didn't know what it was, but I felt no shame over what Byr and I had done. It had been beautiful. A loving experience. And I saw no reason to feel bad about it.
Byr, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to just crawl under a rock somewhere and hide. I wasn't sure why he felt so self-conscious about what we'd done. It was a natural act between two people who cared for one another.
Riley seated us at a table that had been laid out with a spread of food that looked every bit as amazing as the feast we'd had the previous night. I sat – with Byr on my left – and leaned back in my seat. We had to wait for the King to arrive before digging in – and I found myself hoping that he would arrive soon. I was absolutely famished.
Following my lead, Byr sat back in his seat and waited along with me. A moment later, a door at the other end of the room and a tall man with very pale skin, eyes a shade of blue I'd never seen, and long, dark hair stepped inside. He smiled wide as he took a seat at the table across from us.
“You must be Hatare and Byr,” he said. “Riley has told me much about you.”
Riley leaned down and gave her husband a kiss. Then she looked at us. “I'm going to leave the three of you now. You have much to discuss.”
And with that, Riley disappeared through the door Jendrish had arrived through. He looked over at us and motioned to the food on the table.
“Please, help yourselves,” he said. “Eat as much as you'd like.”
I grinned over at Byr and we both dug in, sampling from a wide variety of the food on the table.
“Thank you for seeing us, Your Majesty,” I said.
The King waved me away. “Please, call me Jendrish,” he said. “I feel much the same way about formalities as my wife.”
The conversation throughout breakfast was lively and entertaining. Jendrish told us all about himself and how he came to be the King of Optorio. He was a charismatic and engaging man – and yet, he still retained a sense of humility. I knew that some government leaders could be pompous and arrogant – I'd seen enough of them in my day. But Jendrish wasn't like that. He seemed to have more in common with Byr and me than any other government leader I'd ever met.
Eventually though, breakfast ended and we pushed ourselves back from the table. A crew of palace employees immediately swooped in and began cleaning up the plates, hauling everything away, and leaving a bare table in their wake.
Jendrish leaned back in his seat and looked at us, the expression on his face inscrutable. I suddenly felt awkward and afraid. Beneath the table, I reached out and took Byr's hand. He gave my hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze.
“Hatare,” Jendrish began. “Tell me why you fled your home.”
“Honestly, I wanted to be free,” I said. “I could not stomach the thought of being forced into a marriage that I did not want or choose. The thought of being auctioned off to somebody based on what I could earn for my family – just no. The societal norms of Unduth are reprehensible and anathema to who I am as a woman.”
Jendrish nodded and gave me a small smile. “Riley told me that you were a spirited young woman,” he said. “I can respect the fire I see in you.”
He turned his attention to Byr. “I understand that you stand accused of some terrible crimes back home,” he said. “I've been told that you are suspected of being part of a group that is responsible for a series of bombings within Kinray – bombings that have taken the lives of many Unduthians. As you know, we are having problems with our own group of terrorists. It's not an issue I take lightly.”
I felt Byr's body tense and could feel the anger radiating from him like heat from the sun. “I had nothing to do with any of that,” he growled. “I'm not part of some rebel group. All I do is work and take care of my family. My mother is – ”
Jendrish nodded and gave him a sympathetic look. “I understand that your mother is very ill,” he said. “And I'm sorry for that. But why is it they believe you are one of the rebels?”
Byr shook his head. “I don't know,” he replied. “The first I heard about anything like that was when some of the government soldiers showed up at the factory I work at and almost executed me.”
“Where a bomb went off, killing some of those government soldiers,” Jendrish said.
Byr looked down at the table. “Yes,” he replied. “But I had nothing to do with it. I swear it to you.”
Jendrish sighed. “I believe you.”
Byr looked up. “You do?”
The King nodded. “I do,” he said. “I was a soldier for a long time. I know the look of a killer – and you're not it.”
Relief seemed to color Byr's face and he gave the King a small, relieved smile.
“But that doesn't change the fact that the Unduthian government is asking for your return to face trial,” Jendrish said. “And your father is also demanding your return, Hatare.”
Any sense of relief Byr and I were feeling suddenly evaporated. Jendrish seemed torn, but his expression was grave. And it was in that moment I knew he was going to send us home.
“My hands are tied,” Jendrish said. “Unduth is an ally of ours and has been for a long, long time. It's not my place to interfere with their affairs of State. I can't impose my rule upon them.”
“If you send us back, they're going to execute Byr,” I said quickly, my voice rising. “And my father is going to do – I don't even know what to me.”
Jendrish sighed and leaned across the table. “Which is why I'm so conflicted about this whole affair,” he said. “The last thing I want is for anything to happen to either one of you. Riley is very fond of the both of you – and frankly, after spending this morning with you, so am I.”
Byr and I shared a look – one of fear, but one of guarded hope as well. I knew we'd put Jendrish in an impossible situation. Affairs of State are tricky ma
tters on the best of days – but harboring fugitives like Byr and me made things all the more complicated. I did not envy the position we'd put him in. But at the same time, I hoped he would do all he could to save us from the fate that awaited us back on Unduth.
“The Unduthian government is sending an envoy to meet with me,” Jendrish said. “We will discuss matters and see if we can't come to an agreement one way or the other.”
I nodded and gave him a grim smile. It was about the best I could hope for under the circumstances.
“I don't want to give either of you false hope,” Jendrish said. “But just know that I will fight for you. I will do all I can on your behalf. I give you my word.”
“Thank you,” I said softly.
Byr nodded. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Jendrish,” the King gently corrected him. “I will talk to the both of you very soon.”
After giving us one last look, Jendrish stood up and left the room. Byr and I stood up when the doors opened and the guards filed in to escort us back to our room. I recognized the one man as the guard who'd escorted us through the gardens the night before. He gave me a small smile and a nod, as if seeking to reassure me that everything would be okay. I smiled back at him and took Byr by the hand.
As we walked down the hallway, I looked up at him. “Things are going to work out,” I said. “They're going to be okay.”
A cold finger of fear slithered its way down my spine and the knot in my stomach clenched painfully. Byr's smile was small and grim and I knew that my reassurances had fallen on deaf ears. But then, I was having trouble even convincing myself that what I'd said was true.
Chapter Seven
Gravus
I was met at the spaceport by a contingent of Royal Guardsmen. I wasn't expecting the pomp and circumstance a head of state might receive, but I wasn't expecting to be under guard from the moment I touched down, either.
It was obvious to me that King Jendrish was trying to send me a message. Give me a little show of force to make sure he knew that Optorio was strong. Message received.
To show that I was not a threat and was there not to fight, but to have an open and honest discussion, I left my own personal guard on the ship as I was led to the transport that would take me to the palace. It had been against Tok's strongly worded suggestion, but I did not want to create an atmosphere of tension and hostility right off the bat.
I was smarter than that and knew that more times than not, you got what you wanted when you appeared to be reasonable.
Though I was representing the Unduthian government as a whole, in truth, my services had been retained by the girl's father, Minister of Defense Borask. She was his only concern and was paying me good money to secure her safe return to Unduth. As for the boy, the Unduthian government was paying me to bring him back so they could execute him as a terrorist – in public, no doubt. They did like to put on a show.
I liked working jobs like this – doing the same amount of work for double the money.
I was shown not to the formal throne room where I assumed my visit with the King would be held – but to a small library instead. The door was closed behind me and I found myself in a small, intimate room. A table sat in the middle of the room and shelves lined all four walls. Books took up most of the space, but various other interesting objects – things I wasn't familiar with – lay on others.
The room was dimly lit and carried an interesting scent in the air. It was pipe smoke, but of a blend I couldn't quite identify. A door in the far wall slid open with a whoosh and in stepped the man I'd come to see. I gave him a low, formal bow.
“Please rise,” Jendrish said. “And have a seat.”
“Thank you for seeing me, Your Majesty,” I said. “I appreciate your time and attention to this matter.”
“Of course,” the King replied as he sat down at the table. “Unduth has been an ally for a very long time, and their concerns are my concerns.”
The reference to the longstanding alliance between Unduth and Optorio was for my benefit – and to let me know that the stakes in this situation were very high. He was a clever man. Intelligent. I didn't credit most soldiers with an abundance of brains. Most were content to point at what I told them to point at and pull the trigger. But Jendrish was obviously a very clever man. And I could appreciate that.
“The Unduthian Ministers wanted me to express their gratitude for Optorio's continued friendship.”
One of the palace servants bustled into the room carrying a tray filled with refreshments. She was a good looking girl and as I eyed her up and down, taking all of her in and imagining what I'd like to do with her, she seemed to blush and walked quickly from the room without a word. If the King had noticed, he had the good grace to not say anything about it.
“Please, help yourself,” Jendrish said. “The Optorion wine is especially good.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
It had been a long flight and I was hungry, so I piled some of the food onto a plate and poured myself a glass of the wine – and the King was right, it was very good. Unique. So very different from the wines I was accustomed to on Unduth.
“I trust your flight was smooth, General?” Jendrish asked.
“Indeed,” I replied. “And thank you for the refreshments, they are delicious.”
The King raised his glass to me in response. “So, tell me General, where do the Ministers stand on the situation with Hatare and Byr?”
I chewed the delicacy I'd been snacking on and washed it down with a swig of wine before answering.
“They hope that you will honor our – as you noted, longstanding – alliance and turn over citizens of Unduth without delay, of course, so that they may stand trial for their crimes.”
Jendrish nodded and sipped from his glass of wine. “That is an understandable, even reasonable position to take.”
“Is there another position that can be taken, Your Majesty?”
“I'm a little unclear about something,” Jendrish said. “What exactly are their crimes?”
“The boy is facing very serious charges of sedition and terrorism,” I said. “And he needs to answer for those crimes.”
The King looked at me thoughtfully for a moment. “Of course,” he said. “As you know, we have our own troubles with seditionists, and I take those allegations very seriously indeed. I assume you have evidence that supports his ties to these crimes?”
I took a sip of wine and set the glass back down. “It's not my place to adjudicate his particular case, Your Majesty,” I said. “Personally, I have no stake in that game. I'm here merely to oversee the transfer of the prisoner so that he may stand trial.”
“You're here to negotiate for his release,” Jendrish said. “At least, I believe that's what you meant, since it's not a given that I will allow him to be taken yet.”
“Of course,” I replied.
Jendrish was testing my patience. He knew that under terms of the planetary alliance, he was obligated to send a wanted fugitive back to stand trial. And he had to know that I'd been properly briefed on terms of the alliance before setting foot on Optorio. Which meant that he was angling for something.
“We're both soldiers, Your Majesty,” I said. “I'm not particularly well-versed in the language of politics and diplomacy. May we speak freely?”
Jendrish nodded. “It would be preferred.”
“Very well,” I replied. “The terms of your alliance obligate you to send the boy back. You know this of course,” I said. “It's not a matter of you allowing me to take them back. It is your obligation to do so.”
Jendrish looked at me but said nothing. He merely sipped from his glass of wine and waited for me to continue.
“So, what is it you're hoping to gain by playing this game?”
He set his glass down and smiled at me. “It's not what I'm hoping to gain, General,” he said. “It's what I'm hoping to secure for both Hatare and Byr.”
“And what might that be?”
<
br /> “Freedom for the girl,” he said bluntly. “She should not be forced into a marriage she does not want.”
“It is not my place to say otherwise,” I said. “Nor is it yours.”
“True,” he replied. “But I wasn't finished. I also want to ensure fair treatment for the boy. I happen to be convinced of his innocence and I will not send him back to Unduth only to see him executed because his guilt was predetermined.”
I sighed. “With all due respect,” I said, “You have no leg to stand on here. You have no standing to demand these things of the Unduthian Ministry.”
He shrugged. “Actually, I do have standing.”
“And what might that be?”
“Under terms of our planetary alliance,” he said, “Unduthian soldiers are not permitted upon my soil without my prior knowledge and consent.”
“I don't unders – ”
“See, I know for a fact that the Unduthian Ministry has had soldiers on Optorio searching for Hatare and Byr,” he said. “Furthermore, I know for a fact that some Unduthian soldiers – attached to your outfit, coincidentally enough – took part in the battle in the plaza that brought those two to me.”
I felt my face growing warm knowing that he was right. I'd taken measures to hide the identities of my men, but he'd obviously been able to discover it anyway.
I cleared my throat. “I don't know what – ”
“General,” Jendrish interrupted me, “as you noted, we're soldiers. Lying to me is far from honorable, so please do not insult my intelligence. I know it was your men in the plaza that night. They were there to pay the rebels a tremendous amount of money in exchange for Hatare and Byr. So, not only were Unduthian soldiers on Optorion soil – in clear violation of our treaty – but they were helping fund terrorism on my planet. I'd say that gives me plenty of standing to make some demands of my own.”
Jendrish was a shrewd and clever man. He'd grown into his role on the throne far more capably than I thought he would when I'd first learned of his coronation. He had me – and the Unduthian Ministry – dead to rights and he knew it.
“Here is what is going to happen,” Jendrish pressed. “If the Ministry accepts my proposals, I can overlook the very clear and very serious violations of our treaty. Call it a good faith gesture. The last thing I want is to have what has been a very good relationship between our two worlds for a very long time to be – damaged.”
Mated to a Bear (Legends of Black Salmon Falls Book 3) Page 67