Atone By Treaty

by Kayla Stonor

  “Your father’s here.”

  She nodded and joined him. “Have you heard from the Thrak ‘Katar?”

  “Yes. The Thrak ‘Katar finally departed Dralexi with over one thousand human souls on board. I spoke with Cale. He said not to worry.”

  “You believe him?”

  Saracen shrugged. “Hard to say.”

  The colonel bade her farewell at the conference room where her father worked at a desk. The UR president rose from his seat to greet her.

  “Colonel Saracen told me the news,” Gabrielle said, hugging him. “Can’t believe so many agreed to stay on Dralexi. I thought they’d all jump at the chance to come home.”

  Rooster grunted. “Saiorse has transformed their conditions, offered contracts and good earnings. People had built lives, families. K’rista advanced enough danuble to cover the cost of constructing a new town and machinery to do the bulk of the dangerous work. Oltu’s designs apparently. Seems K’rista intends to honor Oltu’s debt until he’s recovered.”

  “How’s Ben?”

  Her father sighed. “Angry. Bitter. Thinks I betrayed Earth. That we signed up to be a Qui puppet, and it’s only going to get worse. I expect many on the Thrak ‘Katar feel the same way. When they get out into the population, spread their stories, anger and resentment will grow, especially as humans return from other worlds in the Qui Empire. We have a hard road ahead of us to maintain unity as a species and hold onto our independence in the Qui Empire. Sometimes I fear I am not up to the task…”

  Gabrielle’s heart sank. With the Surashan infiltration on Earth classified from public knowledge and General Jaden the official tribute holding the Qui Treaty in place, humanity could not appreciate the full extent of the Earth-Qui Alliance. Few understood the intertwined politics of multiple worlds and opposing tribes of arrogant shapeshifter aliens. Surashan were genetic brothers to the Qui, a superior race of noble warriors—cold, cut-throat reptilian warriors—hard to know if the United Regions had picked the right side.

  “You can’t hide the truth forever, Dad. Even with Oltu’s new stealth cloak, someone’s bound to detect a Qui fleet within our solar system.”

  “Politically, outright war might be easier to sell. Resistance grabs the spirit. Anything that isn’t human is the enemy, which brings me to my visit here. Gaby, I need to ask you something. Your feelings for Oltu?”

  She frowned.

  “Do you love him? Does he love you?”

  “God, Dad, I don’t know.”

  “I warned you off him, tried to stop this from the moment you two met, then you went missing and it was Oltu who found you.”

  “Dad, what are you saying?”

  “I’ve begun to understand that a Qui’s love is very intense, very powerful. I’ve seen it with Jaden and Sonestra, and the others. If Oltu loves you, he’ll protect you. And that gives you an ‘in,’ a measure of influence.”

  His words threatened to choke off her breathing. Her father twisted her personal life for political gain. “No, Dad, stop. Don’t do this.”

  “You’re the president’s daughter. A relationship with a Qui will get ugly, but neither of us can deny the truth, regardless of how ugly it may be. Our world balances on the whims of these narcissistic creatures, a fragile peace treaty held together by nothing more than the love shared between Jaden and Sonestra. If Jaden dies, if the Empress tires of him, if any one of a hundred variables incites Qui hatred or distrust towards humanity, your relationship with the First Lord of Katar could be the only thing standing between peace and war.”

  Panic extended tendrils around her throat. “What are you saying? You keep jumping around in circles! Do you approve? Do you want me to forget my feelings for him?”

  “Gabrielle, it’s impossible to separate the President from your father. I can’t help but see both perspectives, consider our position from all angles, no matter how unfair that seems.”

  “Then you’re no better than the Qui, playing sick games of tribute for political favor!”

  “Perhaps. Look at every ruler in human history: kings, emperors, pharaohs. Thousands upon thousands of marriages have been arranged for military alliance, wealth, and political gain. Maybe we aren’t so different from the Qui.”

  Gabrielle shook her head, unwilling to hear more, wanting an end to this horrid discussion.

  “Besides, if whatever you share with Oltu is real—call it love—could you end it, Gabrielle? Is that what you want?”

  She wanted to run, to run and never stop. “I don’t know!”

  “Because if this thing is real, and it’s what you want, I won’t stop you. You’ll have my full support… but know this, out there, no one will understand. Not your brother, not my government, and definitely not the human public. If you choose Oltu, I don’t think you can stay on Earth.”

  Her mouth dropped open.

  “Look at the bigger picture, Gabrielle. Jaden’s not political, that’s not his job, and I need someone fighting for Earth inside the Qui Empire, someone who can reach the First Lord of Katar, who can influence the Royal Court. I need an ambassador to the Qui Empire, and I can’t imagine anyone more qualified than you. If I could save you from this, if I thought there was any other way, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I can see no alternative, Gaby. Please understand. Please forgive me.” The President of the United Regions of Earth stood before his daughter, tears brightening his eyes.

  Gabrielle backed away. “You’re using me? You’re using my feelings? And then you’d exile me for it!”

  Her dad grimaced, moved to embrace her, but she jumped out of reach, hot with anger.

  “I’m facing reality, Gabrielle. Our war with the Qui may be over, but we’re still fighting for the survival of the human race. Honey, if you want Oltu, this is how I protect you. Can you imagine the security risks once word leaks of your intimacy with the Empress’ brother? Every lunatic from here to the Fringes will be hunting you down with a bomb to their back!”

  “While you’re president, I’m a target anyway. I’ll never be free! You’ve protected me my entire life, Dad, you suffocate me. I can’t breathe. I don’t want to live under your protection, under Oltu’s protection! I want to be free! I want to experience life, make a difference, like with the Salhi.” Her father was shaking his head and her blood boiled over. “I believed in the work I was doing in the Fringes—”

  “Dammit, Gaby, don’t you get it? The Qui Empire is the Fringes! Just way bigger! I’m making sure you understand the full ramifications of your decisions. This is so much bigger than you and me, than you and Oltu. This will be the most difficult choice of your life, and the most important decision you ever make. But it will be your decision. Search your soul and see if you have what it takes to make the ultimate sacrifice for your species… or do it for love, whatever reasons suit you. Decide what you want!”

  *****

  Gabrielle’s mind whirled. She paced Oltu’s room, the walls closing in, trying to shut out the rhythmic beep of his monitors growing in volume, louder and louder until medical staff burst in and rushed to Oltu’s bedside.

  Startled she looked over, saw Oltu’s finger twitch.

  He’d been taken off life support a few days ago, Gotnas advising that Oltu would emerge from hibernation when his body had recovered. They hadn’t expected it so soon. Gabrielle moved to the end of the bed, eyes wide, lips compressed together, letting the doctors check Oltu’s vitals. One peeled back an eyelid and then jumped back in alarm. Oltu flung out a hand, shoving two nurses into the wall. The men looked startled but leapt back to their feet.

  Gabrielle rushed forward. “Oltu. You’re safe, I’m here.”

  His head turned towards her and he relaxed, resting back on his pillow. “I sensed your distress. You are usually much calmer.”

  “You knew I was here?”

  “Yes, always.” He looked down at his chest, the black raw burn faded to blue-gray skin and hard blue scales down his left side. She watched those scales disappear, the ridge
d scaling on his face seeping into his skin until he looked human except for his eyes and a faint blue hue to his skin.

  “How’s your shoulder?” she asked as a nurse reset the IV.

  “Painful. I won’t be shooting any wings today.”

  A doctor moved into Oltu’s range of vision. She offered a polite smile. “Sir, if you’ll permit, I’d liked to scan that shoulder.”

  The nurses vacated the room leaving only Gabrielle and the doctor.

  Oltu leaned forward, twisting to rest on his right elbow.

  “Incredible,” the doctor said after a while. “The bone grafts are almost completely absorbed.”

  Oltu ignored her. “Where is Gotnas?”

  Gabrielle frowned; cross at his rudeness. “On the Thrak ‘Yla. You’re at Central Command. You can stay here or return to your ship.”

  Oltu frowned at her frown, and then glanced at the doctor. “I appreciate the service, Healer, but I should return to my ship.”

  Gabrielle lifted her eyebrows at the woman in a mute question. Inside she thrilled at the idea Oltu had guessed the reason for her displeasure and made amends. Her opinion held value to him.

  The doctor smiled. “I’ll advise Colonel Saracen.”

  “Thank you.” Oltu reached for Gabrielle’s hand. “You’ve hardly left my side.”

  “How did you know?”

  His fingers sparked nerve ends, an electric connection to her core. She watched his eyes glow with an inner fire as a sensual aroma reminded her of nut spice.

  “You talk a lot, and I can scent the moment you arrive. Your touch is like the caress of silk. I believed you hated me, that my past mistakes prevented any chance of reconciliation between us. Knowing you were with me, that you care—”

  “I’m struggling with my feelings, Oltu. Nothing’s resolved.”

  The light in his eyes dimmed. He fell silent for several long seconds. A heartfelt sigh escaped him. “I understand. Can I assume your brother is unharmed?”

  She nodded. Oltu’s sacrifice, his unremitting concern for her feelings, her happiness, even as he lay mortally wounded, overwhelmed her. “I can’t thank you enough. You saved his life. What Ben did...”

  “The circumstances were complex. I own responsibility for your brother’s actions.”

  “Yes. You do.” She couldn’t deny it. Ben was the product of Oltu’s decisions, his indifference to another’s suffering.

  “Skal. When you look at me that way... is there no hope?”

  She’d been here before, this circular dilemma with no escape, and yet the thought of ending Oltu’s dreams created turmoil inside her. “There shouldn’t be hope,” she whispered, long pent-up tears brimming over, “and yet, I can’t walk away.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Seven days.

  Oltu cursed his wandering mind and stripped the outer skin off a section of hull; certain he’d located the structural defect that had been eluding him.

  Seven days without Gabrielle—stupid idea.

  He regretted the suggestion the moment he opened his mouth, but his presence was causing Gabrielle stress, he could see that. She needed a break, time to think.

  Killed him to make the offer, and as before, he carried the memory of her scent with him. Distance did not reduce his urge to mate. Returning to his fleet by the Sura K’la offered a modicum of distraction while he recovered. Like this unfinished project to improve hull integrity under stress, engineering work that could become a deciding factor in the Qui Empire’s survival.

  Countering Surashan technology was his unique contribution to the war effort and the enemy’s superior cloaking systems justified him indulging his engineering passion, but even that palled set against his hunger for Gabrielle.

  His cock hardened at the thought of her, and since using Yulla for sexual relief was unconscionable, relieving the sexual build up by his own hand was the only and unsatisfactory option left.

  He growled, his concentration slipped, and a soldering wire burned his finger.

  Oltu flinched. Skal!

  Each day his craving discovered new heights. His body demanded satisfaction.

  He had every right to use his tribute, but for the wall of objection his mind threw up, a wall he didn’t want to cross. He’d resisted Yulla for years, her terror too acute for even his tastes and his belief in the tribute tradition struggled before Gabrielle’s condemnation. Then Saiorse had opened his mind to the difference between blind willing duty and true free will. He had harmed her, Saiorse. Her final words to him as Dralexi’s sovereign made that plain. None of that came close to the real reason he had no interest in using his tribute to relieve his tensions.

  He wanted Gabrielle, and only Gabrielle.

  The last time Saiorse offered him release, in the aftermath of Gabrielle’s rejection, he had come away dissatisfied, empty, his rampant lust only more urgent, focused on the female he could not have.

  Skal! He punched metal hull and pain sliced his knuckles, a sharp metal edge that tore through scales to bone. He watched the wound congeal, flexing his hand, disturbed by his lack of control, and resolved to address the problem once and for all.

  He needed to court Gabrielle, seduce her.

  Descending on her unexpectedly would startle her, upset her further.

  He spoke to the ship’s internal comms. “Inform Commander Jsut I require my transport... and set up a private link with Colonel Saracen at Central Command.”

  Back in his chambers, he changed.

  His desk chimed. He selected audio only. “I request a private meeting with Gabrielle, at a place of her choosing.”

  “Lord Oltu, you may contact Ms. Rooster directly.” Saracen sounded amused. “In future, contact Central Command and they will connect you to her voice com. She will either accept your comms link, or not, like this...”

  The line hummed for ages and then, just as Oltu’s heart sank with the realization Gabrielle refused his call, the line clicked.

  “Oltu?”

  The sound of her voice dropped him into a seat. “Gabrielle.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  He leaned forward, frowned, trying to paraphrase the purpose of his contact. A meeting sounded officious and formal.

  “I miss you,” she said.

  He straightened, her soft words a jolt to the heart. “I need to see you, Gabrielle.” Skal! Too direct. He stifled a groan.

  Gabrielle did not respond and Oltu leaned closer to the desk speaker, terrified he’d scared her away.

  Then she spoke. “I’m at my father’s mountain residence. Do you remember?”

  She referred to the location of their first meeting. “I remember.”

  “Nineteen hundred, Earth time. Security will expect you. I’ll inform Central Command.”

  “I will see you then.”

  A click told him she’d terminated the contact. He stared at his console, idly noting that nineteen hundred Earth time was three hours away. She’d given him just enough time to reach Earth.

  *****

  Gabrielle pulled on a cozy wrap, checked her make up a final time, and was outside waiting just before seven. The less contact Oltu had with Security the better. Dusk was falling, the setting sun reflecting pink and gold off a mountain peak to the west. She shivered, searched the sky for a sign of Oltu’s transport. She heard its low whine first, and then a cooling wind fluffed out her freshly washed hair.

  Excitement stirred in her stomach. She hadn’t expected Oltu to last this long and his call, the way he spoke her name with such longing reminded her he had deep feelings for her. When they first met, sexual attraction driven by pheromones drew them together, blasting common sense into the stratosphere. She’d succumbed to temptation—twice—and each time Oltu had been a thrilling lover, giving, not taking, and so unlike his fearsome reputation.

  He cared, for her. Her opinion mattered. She made a difference, Oltu no longer the Qui she’d first met, and that excited her, but more than that, spurning Oltu to salve her
conscience didn’t quench her thirst or satisfy her hunger. He made a difference to her. She needed this man walking towards her with his imperfect human form shifting in the sun’s last rays, a mix of blue-gray skin and gleaming scales, a sign his Qui struggled for control.

  Moisture dampened her panties, a physical longing she could not contain.

  They needed each other.

  Oltu stopped two feet before her, his eyes a fiery emerald, thick brown hair tumbling onto his brow. He studied her, his eyes softer than she remembered. “I’ve missed you, too, Gabrielle. I should have said—”

  “It’s okay. I know. Please don’t say anything yet. I want to show you what I need from you first. Then we can talk.” Gabrielle took his hand, enjoying the rough touch of his scaling. She pulled him closer, turned and led the way through the little shack hiding the entrance to a cave-like home designed by an eccentric architect and donated to the early resistance as a secret base. Later the base was converted to a secret presidential retreat, but Qui surveillance had rendered that function obsolete. It did grant her and Oltu the privacy she needed.

  “You remember the safe word I mentioned.”

  “Red. Gabrielle, I could never harm you.”

  “The safe word is for you to use.”

  His eyebrows rose high. “You wish to harm me?”

  She grinned, squeezed his hand, drawing him closer to her side as they walked a carpeted hall to her bedroom. “No, I do not wish to harm you. What I have in mind is gentle, enjoyable, but if I ask too much, tell me and I’ll stop.”

  She opened her door. Her father had given her the master suite and she needed little more than the original furniture that included a sturdy iron four-poster bed. Oltu walked inside, scanned the room, his gaze returning to Gabrielle with a quizzical look in his eye.

  “How is your shoulder?” she asked.

  He rotated it by way of reply. “Stronger than ever.”

  “Would you like a drink? Water? Or something stronger.” Walking over to a cabinet, she picked up an unlabeled bottle of clear liquid. “This is a locally sourced brew we call moonshine. It doesn’t smoke, but—” She poured a small thimble into a metal saucer and lit a match. A blue flame flared, slowly burning out. “It has a similar effect, less sophisticated.”