by Cheree Alsop
“Trust me. It’ll all be worth it,” Briofe assured her as he led the way up. He threw a grin over his shoulder. “You can’t see this when you land. Our righteous Godking made sure of that. He doesn’t need anyone here who might interfere with his plans.” His green gaze darkened. “And unbelievers only slow things down.”
Nova tried to keep her words level when she asked, “And are you a true believer?”
“With all my heart,” her cousin replied without hesitation. He huffed a little bit as they hurried upward. “Once you see it, you will be, too. Just you wait!”
She studied his back as they climbed. “If you feel it will be the thing to sway me, why didn’t you just start by showing me whatever it is you’re about to?”
His steps slowed. “I had to be sure you would give it a chance,” he said. “I told his magnanimous Highness that I would do everything in my power to sway you to our side. I told him you would be an asset to us because of your strength and the influence McKy has in Parliament. He even promised that we could have the Loreandian System back when he is finished with it.”
That made Nova’s blood run cold. “We?” she repeated.
He threw her a smile as he reached the top of the stairs. “Why, of course, Cousin. He has already promised to give me the system when he is finished, and I would be very grateful to have you as my bride.”
Nova almost threw up in her mouth. She fought down another wave of nausea and said the obvious, “But you’re my cousin.”
He grinned. “That’s how we breed a monarchy, my dear. When Malivok is in complete power, he will grant us control of the Accords. Our family will be his right hand and carry out his orders in regard to the fate of the ‘Verse.”
“The fate of the ‘Verse?” Nova repeated. “What are you talking about? Nobody is in control of the entire Universe. That’s madness!”
“So you say,” Lord Briofe replied. He put his hand to the door in front of them. “But wait until I show you the indisputable evidence of why you should let go of your shortsightedness.”
He pushed the door open before Nova could reply. She glanced beyond him and her breath caught in her throat. She took a step forward without realize she had done so. Her cousin withdrew to the side to let her pass. The smile on his face let her know he was enjoying the fruits of his surprise. She was too shocked to hide the fact that he had indeed gotten under her skin.
“What is this?” she asked in a voice just above a whisper.
“Welcome to the Room of Prophecy,” Lord Briofe replied proudly.
Nova’s feet moved of their own accord until she found herself in the middle of what looked like a massive glass dome. Huge depictions etched into the glass rose around her to incredible heights. She walked to one of the walls and put her hand to it. The glass, or whatever it was, felt warm to the touch. She traced one of the etchings and found little, barely perceptible edges.
She looked back at Rishton. “Did someone carve this by hand?”
“Very good,” he said in surprise. “Most people have to be told that.” He waved to indicate the huge room. “This dome was here when the first Blavarians reached the Blavar Star System and named it for themselves.” He swept a hand upward. “This is why the first Malivok decided to claim this system.”
Nova stared. “The first Malivok?”
He glanced at her with the first bit of discomfort showing in his gaze. “Surely you know that our righteous and humble Highness isn’t the first of his line.” He gave a nonchalant smile that appeared forced. “Hence the quest for immortality as shown above.”
Nova followed his gaze to the roof of the dome. Her eyes lit on a carving of a man rising above a pyramid with his arms outstretched. Clouds were carved around him as though he had reached the heavens.
“Watch,” Rishton Briofe said in a reverent tone.
He knelt in the middle of the dome and put his hand to the floor. Immediately, all light went out.
Nova’s skin prickled and she put up her hands in case she was attacked. It was completely dark, a pitch black rivaled only by the furthest depths of space.
“Lord Briofe?” she said, glad that her voice remained firm.
“Wait for it,” he replied.
She was about to demand that he turn the lights back on, then realize she hadn’t really known what the source was. Did it have a switch, a motion detector? She waved her arms in the hopes that the light would come back on.
A single, faint blue light caught her eyes from the far wall. She stared in amazement as it spread into one of the carvings etched into the glass and illuminated it. This one was of a man bent and broken on the ground. He was hunched over, his face twisted in agony.
The blue light left the man trapped in pain and spread to the image of one on a hill with others bowed down before him. He had his hands out as if he was trying to give them something, but she couldn’t make out the object he held. The subjects around him had their faces down and eyes averted as if they feared looking him in the face.
“The subjugation of the Blavarian race,” Rishton said, breaking the silence. “Malivok’s ancestors were heralded like the gods they will become.”
Nova couldn’t think of what to say in reply. Her gaze followed the blue light as it stretched to the next image that towered further above them. She turned to see laborers with massive stones on their backs, in carts, and on animals. The stones themselves glowed in a golden color when the blue light touched it.
Shock filled Nova. “Is that Andenite?”
“Correct again, Countess,” Lord Briofe said. “It took the Malivoks centuries to find out the correct ore from the prophecy.”
She shook her head. “It activates Dark Matter,” she said in confusion. “Why would it be of any use to the Godking? Does he think that Dark Matter is the source of immortality?”
Rishton scoffed.
The sound set Nova’s teeth on edge, but she held her tongue so she could hear more.
“Immortality and Dark Matter have nothing in common,” the Cadonian Lord replied. “It is merely a happy coincidence that has helped him track down the means to reach his greatest form.”
“And what form is that?” Nova asked.
“Watch,” he commanded.
The blue light followed the Andenite, igniting it the way the ground powder activated Dark Matter in the ships’ drives. Nova watched the bricks glow on the backs of the workers as they carried them to the massive pyramid. She realized with a feeling of awe that the entire pyramid was made of the stuff.
“How is there that much Andenite in the entire ‘Verse?” she asked.
Rishton grunted. “Why do you think our magnificent Godking would bother with a star system in the Accords?” he asked.
She stared at him, just making out his form in the darkness. “That’s why he wants Evia?”
Lord Briofe’s smile lifted his lips to show his teeth. “Cousin, you happen to rule the planet with the some of the last deposits of Andenite in known existence. Malivok has exhausted his other resources. You should feel honored to know that the beautiful red rocks of Evia contain the saving grace of our soon-to-be immortal Godking.” He bowed his head in reverence. “Everyone is grateful for your sacrifice.”
Her eyes widened. “What sacrifice?”
His mouth lifted in a half-curl. “In order to reach Evia’s core of Andenite, Evia will be split in half. The preparations have already begun.”
“What?” she gasped. “What about my people?”
He shrugged. “It is a sacrifice the Godking is willing to make to reach his goal more quickly. Mining from the surface is too long of a process. This way, he will reach the source directly.” He smiled at her. “And don’t you worry your pretty little head, dear Countess. Malivok, the most generous of Godkings, will see to it that those lives that are lost in attaining his goal of immortality will be awarded the greatest peace in their next life.”
Nova’s mind whirled as she thought about all she had wrongly assum
ed. “But you said I would be granted the Loreandian System back from Malivok if I married you.” The words tasted acidic when they left her mouth.
Lord Briofe set a hand on her shoulder. “My dear, sweet cousin, the thought makes my heart soar. Though Evia will no longer be an inhabitable part of the system, the Godking has indeed vowed to return the system itself to you if you but promise yourself to me.” He grinned. “If you give me your hand, he will evacuate as many of the Evians as he is able to. Otherwise, they will be casualties whose lives are sacrificed in the name of the greater good.”
Nova stared at him. “If I don’t accept your hand, he’ll let all of my people die?”
Rishton’s eyebrows drew together. “Our people, my dear. And believe me when I say joining me will create the greatest possible future for them.”
“You’re my cousin,” she replied. She knew she sounded like a broken track, but her was shock too great to keep the dismay from her voice.
He gave a sickening smile. “The better to keep our bloodline pure, don’t you think?” He slid his hand down her arm and took her hand. “Think about it, my Countess. Not only do you get to save your people who look to you for their wellbeing and security, you’d make a match with the Godking’s right hand man, the one he has trusted with perhaps the most important duty he could ask.”
She wanted to say that she wished the Godking had asked him to take his life, but words failed her at the enormity of what he had put on her shoulders.
“Don’t worry,” he replied. “When our great Godking has reached immortality, there will still be plenty for you to do. Think of your seat in Parliament. That’s something, isn’t it?”
His condescending tone stayed in Nova’s head as she was led back to the dungeon.
“Think it through, my sweet,” he had said when he left her at the top of the steps to be escorted by his men, “I would make an excellent husband and see to it that all of your needs are cared for. And there’s the minor detail of the entirety of your peoples’ lives depending on you making the right decision.” He winked. “I’ll give you the night to think it over.”
His lingering touch on her arm gave her chills as she followed the guards back down the steps.
Chapter Three
KOVE
I expected the bite of the whip. Instead, Anaya walked around to face me, her eyes on my scars.
“What happened to you?”
There was no inflection in her voice or spark of feeling in her eyes. She had perfected the same impervious mask I wore to hide my thoughts.
“Do you mean currently or in general?” I asked levelly.
Her eyes flickered to the chunk of torn flesh where my neck met my shoulder. It was still healing from my battle in the arena. Emotions showed briefly in her dark eyes that matched my own. They were gone too quickly for me to read, but it made my heart turn over.
This was the girl I had searched for my entire life. She was my only family, the little sister I had failed to protect and watched powerlessly as she was taken out of my life and into one I would never wish on anybody. She was my sister.
“I punched Dad the day he sold you.”
Surprise showed in her gaze, breaking through her controlled calm. “You what?”
I let my memories take me back; my eyes lost focus on the wall past Anaya’s shoulder. “He was mad that day, madder than he had been in a long time. He came home roaring drunk and raging about the rent. When I tried to protect you from him, he locked me in my room.” I didn’t hide the way my voice tightened as the images flooded me. “I had picked the lock by the time he returned. He just walked into the house and sat down in his chair.” I glanced at her. “You know, the one brown one that smelled of—”
“Of the Borshan grug he spilled the night Mom left.” Her voice was soft when she said, “I remember.”
I nodded. “He sat there looking through his flicks like nothing had happened. I asked him where you were. When he didn’t answer, I yelled it in his face.”
I remembered the way my heart had pounded. I had never raised my voice to my father, but when he had returned without Anaya, I knew something was very wrong.
“He finally said he had sold you to the pleasure traders for a year’s worth of rent.” I clenched and unclenched my jaw at the memory. “I hit him square in the face with all the strength I could muster.”
Anaya stared at me. “You did?”
I nodded. “Messed up my wrist pretty bad. Dad backhanded me so hard it sent me into the wall, then he picked me up and threw me back in my room with the chair propped in front of the door.” My voice fell. “The next morning, I found myself sold to the Grand Lord of the Bacarian System.”
“So becoming a gladiator wasn’t your choice.” Her statement was flat as though she didn’t care, but she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from my scars.
“It took some doing,” I admitted. “It wasn’t an easy life.” I realized what I was saying and lowered my gaze. “Though I’m sure it was nothing compared to what you went through. I never gave up searching for you.”
“I kept waiting for you to rescue me.”
Her words hurt far worse than I ever could have imagined. The little sister I lost so long ago ached within them. The guilt I had carried with me my entire life resurfaced with such power I couldn’t breathe for several seconds.
“I let you down, Ny,” I finally said in a whisper.
“Let’s be honest, Ovie. We were children.”
It was the name she used to call me when she was too little to say Kove. Hearing it again made my heart clench.
“I broke out the day they bought me and tried to find a way to get to you. When they tracked me down, they beat to within an inch of my life.” I met her gaze, willing her to understand. “I never gave up looking for you.”
“I stopped waiting for a hero a long time ago,” she said with a spark of hurt in her eyes. She drew back and the emotionless mask returned. “I don’t have a brother anymore.” She walked to the door.
“So, what then?” I asked, caught off-guard by her quick change of attitude. “You’re just going to leave me here and pretend to be Malivok’s lanky even though you’re really a spy for the Accords?” I gripped the chains above the handcuffs. “How’s that working out for you?”
She turned with a dark glare. “I will do whatever I have to. You don’t know where I’ve been or what I’ve done.” Her words choked off and then she waved a hand to indicate the room. “Frankly, being a sergeant for the Godking is a whole lot safer than spying for Lords and Ladies who don’t dare to get their hands dirty.” Her gaze narrowed. “Why are you even here? Word was we were intercepting spies sent to bomb the base even at the cost of their own lives, but you came with my soldiers easily enough.”
I held her gaze. “I told you, we came to rescue you.”
She glared at me and crossed her arms. “How did you know I was here?”
“The House,” I replied.
Her eyebrow rose. It was an expression I had perfected as a mischievous child and she had practiced in front of mirror as a precocious five-year-old until she could imitate me.
“Why are you working for the House?” she asked.
I figured I had been honest to that point. I might as well continue. “I set foot in their precious House twice.”
Her consternation would have been laughable if it wasn’t for the whip she still held. “That’s an offense punishable by death.”
“So they tell me,” I replied. I shrugged, a hard gesture to do when one’s hands are fastened overhead. “Either they send more bounty hunters after me—”
“More?” she cut me off to ask.
“That’s another story with its own set of scars,” I said. “But the House gave me the option of removing the price on my head if I did a task for them.”
Understanding dawned in her eyes. “Bring back their rogue spy.”
I nodded. “Only they don’t know you went rogue. They just know you’ve di
sappeared. They were concerned.”
“I’m sure,” she replied dryly. “Concerned I’m telling Accord secrets more like.”
“Probably,” I acknowledged.
She gave an unladylike snort. “Great job on the bringing me back part.”
I grinned. “I’m not finished here, if that’s what you think.”
She gestured to the handcuffs. “You have a plan to get out of those?”
“Eventually,” I replied. I wasn’t about to admit that my arms were beginning to go numb. “When I’m ready.”
She studied me in silence for a moment. I wished I could read the thoughts behind her impervious gaze. So much depended on her next words. There was so much more I wanted to tell her; we had missed far too many years of each other’s lives. Was she still the little sister who had hung onto my coattails until the day Dad took her away? Was there anything left I could possibly rescue?
Her next words changed everything.
“Well, Kovak, good luck with your life, however short the rest of it may be.” She turned on her heel and walked out of the room. The door shut behind her.
My mind reeled. I had been left by my own flesh and blood to whatever fate the Godking commanded for his unroyal captives. The impartial part of my mind noted that the rumors of bloody, tortured deaths were about to be proven. Yet the partial side of me kept repeating the same thing over and over again; Anaya had never called me Kovak. For our entire young lives, I had been Ovie and she was Ny. I had never heard my full name out of her mouth. The finality of it felt like a loss of its own, a death of sorts.
Gone was my baby sister, gone was the chance to rescue her from danger, gone was the hope that someday we could eat lunch in a ship’s cafeteria and share stories of our adventures the way McKy and Nova did. I had found my sister only to lose her with even more finality than the day Dad walked into the house without her.
I hung my head and mourned for the innocent little girl who had been let down by those who should have been her fiercest protectors.
The door opened and two soldiers entered. The fact that Anaya had taken the whip with her was erased when the soldiers strapped a wired harness across my chest.