by M. L. Ryan
Sebastian nodded. “And itan added to the end denotes second.”
“Second bed.” I repeated. “The monarch’s second bed?”
“It is an idiomatic term to describe the place where the king’s mistress resides,” Tannis revealed, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Indeed,” Sebastian confirmed. “The tunnel ends beneath an out-of-the-way staircase that leads directly to Ziqua’s private quarters.”
17
Ziqua was Deep Throat? It was difficult for me to wrap my head around that. “Does that mean she is involved with Kyzal’s death?” I asked.
“Perhaps. Perhaps not,” Sebastian replied. “At the very least, she clearly knows a great deal about it. This also clarifies how she entered the palace. We assumed Deep Throat must have found some magical device to sneak in. The tunnel from the storage building to Ziqua’s residence is not the only one; there is another from her residence into the palace that she utilizes for assignations with the king. Once inside the palace, she could render herself temporarily invisible to get to your room without being noticed.”
“How did she get inside? I know I locked the door.”
He shrugged. “The king and queen have master access to all rooms; perhaps Ziqua does as well.”
“So, she made herself invisible again when she disappeared? Is Ziqua skilled enough to do all that?” She’d have to be powerful to render herself undetectable so many times in such a short period of time.
“Ziqua is quite capable of such a feat.”
I was about to ask how he knew so much about Uncle Fry’s mistress, but Sebastian didn’t give me a chance. “There is an aspect of this revelation that troubles me, however.”
Tannis stood, setting her hands defiantly on her hips. “What could bother you more than my uncle’s long-time mistress having inside information about how my brother died?”
“That is precisely the problem,” Sebastian countered. “Difficult as it is for me to believe, that the king is also somehow involved cannot be discounted. I now do not think it is safe for either you or Hailey to remain in Jjestri. You will return to Alenquai first thing in the morning; Myrjix and Swiplij are packing your things even as we speak.”
“I can’t believe Uncle Fry would have anything to do with murdering Kyzal,” Tannis muttered, sinking down onto the ground. I couldn’t really believe it either, and was about to sit down next to her to offer some comfort, but Ulut beat me to it. Tannis rested her head on his shoulder, but shock still registered plainly on her delicate features.
The king’s possible connection aside, another detail bothered me. “Much as I want to get back to Alex, is it any less dangerous for us there?”
“It may not be safer per se,” Sebastian agreed, “but when treachery abounds, it is best to be in familiar surroundings. Plus, I have significantly fewer resources at my disposal here.”
Not having much experience with abounding treachery, I decided to take his word for it. The worst thing that ever happened in my family was when they shunned one of my father’s uncles for a couple of years after he snuck into the kitchen before a party and ate two-thirds of a three-layer cake. The current situation was exponentially more horrible, but in my clan, homemade red velvet with Grandma Alice’s buttercream frosting was sacred.
“Fine, but can’t I stay long enough to be here when you grill Ziqua?” There was no way I’d let him have all the fun.
Sebastian’s lips curved into yet another impish smirk. “Oh, you will not miss out on the inquisition, my dear.”
While elated by his response, I couldn’t quite figure out how he planned to work everything in before my scheduled departure. “Are we going to confront her now?”
“No, just leave the details to me,” he said cryptically, turning his attention to Ulut. “Alexander is sending some Xyzok, but, as an added security precaution, I prefer Tannis and Hailey to travel separately. To facilitate this arrangement, Hailey and I will go together and you shall accompany Tannis back to Alenquai.” Sebastian bent down and placed one hand on Ulut’s shoulder. “I task you with this responsibility to keep her safe. I can think of no one I trust more to keep an eye on the princess.”
Based on Ulut’s fleeting expression of pure joy, he wanted to keep more than just an eye on his charge. Still, he leapt to his feet and vowed to guard her with his life. His jubilation, however momentary, didn’t get by Sebastian, who leaned in and whispered, “You can thank me later.”
They exchanged one of those exclusively male looks, conveying both acceptance of a solemn responsibility along with recognition of the prospect of getting some. Men.
Ulut helped Tannis to her feet and escorted her to our shared quarters. It wasn’t every day you found out your uncle and his paramour might have a hand in your brother’s death, but she appeared less flummoxed then when Sebastian originally dropped the news. Well, at least she’d stopped staring blankly into the shadows of the garden.
When Sebastian and I made our way back a few moments later, the suite was a flurry of activity. Pixie directed Myrjix and Swiplij with military precision, barking orders until the ladies-in-waiting had our stuff packed and ready to go. Fortunately, somewhere along the line, Tannis shook off her tangled emotions, and we spent most of the hour rolling our eyes at both the mayhem and Pixie’s obstreperous commands. While the exact reason for our abrupt departure had been kept from him, the PA approached the task with his usual grating thoroughness.
None of us slept. As dawn broke, nothing pleased me more than when Pixie made his way, with the trunks and the rest of our peripheral entourage, to the marqizobaz across from the palace. They went ahead, just as they had when we arrived, to guarantee our stuff—and there was a lot of it—made it safely through the portal. Seemed odd that the Coursodon dimension was plagued by the same risk of lost luggage during travel as the human one.
As promised, a small platoon of Xyzok operatives materialized in the portal soon after Pixie and the girls had left. Almost half never exited the marqizobaz, returning immediately to Alenquai with Ulut and Tannis. Much to my delight, the remaining ten included two I knew well.
“Hello, heroic human,” the freckle-faced redhead exclaimed, bowing in jest. “Once again, you’re like a magnet for mayhem.”
“Aiden, I’ve got nothing to do with this. I’m just along for the ride.”
“She is essentially correct in her assertion that this is not of her doing,” Sebastian conceded. “However, I agree trouble seems to follow wherever she goes.”
I shrugged. “Hey, everyone needs a claim to fame.” Turning to the latte-skinned hulk standing beside Aiden, I asked, “What’s up?”
Being a man of few words, Cortez responded with a slight nod and hint of a smile. I felt honored; for him, the greeting was exuberant.
“Isn’t Uncle Fry going to be pissed off we didn’t say goodbye?” I wondered.
“Being uncertain if Tannis could effectively disguise her angst, I told the king her mother commanded she return immediately. The ruse was completely believable given Rexa’s penchant for mercurial whims with regard to her children.” Sebastian offered a smug grin. “As I have no doubts about your ability to act as though nothing is amiss, I planned to have you meet with your hosts to offer an apology for the abrupt departure. However, we are leaving so early, both the king and queen are still asleep.”
Frowning, I said, “It seems rude to just up and leave.”
“Indeed. That is why you shall write a note.” He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pants pocket and handed it to me. “I took the liberty of writing an appropriate thank-you note. Copy this and sign it. There should be stationery in the desk drawer.”
Scanning his missive, I couldn’t help but grimace at most of the text. “Who’d believe I’d write this crap? Like this, here,” I argued, pointing at a particularly un-me line. “Your commodious accommodations and lavish hospitality are a credit to your heritage and country?”
Sebastian glanced over my shoulde
r at his work. “Well then, just use it as a prototype. Feel free to use your own style.”
Most of what he’d written was completely unusable, but I thanked him for highlighting the salient points. He meant well, after all.
“I have a few loose ends to tie up before we leave,” he announced, “but I shall require some assistance.” He sized up the available Xyzok, eventually co-opting Aiden and Cortez for his errands. The others were charged with my security.
“I’m not sure if I should be honored or insulted you think I need eight trained enforcers to keep me from harm.”
Sebastian lifted one brow. “Probably both.”
*****
I spent the next forty minutes laboring over each word of my parting note. Getting the right tone was harder than I’d imagined, and while Sebastian’s effort conveyed none of my own sentiments, in the end, I just reverse-thesaurused most of his draft.
I was sealing the Royal House of Jjestri, coat-of-arms engraved, heavy parchment paper into its equally fancy matching envelope when Aiden appeared. He was the only one who made it back to the rooms; Cortez and Sebastian were already at the marqizobaz. The guards, Aiden, and I took a small detour to drop off my note to one of the king’s assistants and then made our way to the portal.
Sebastian and Cortez waited just outside of the marqizobaz, sitting on the large crate Alex used to ship the liquor. Around them lay a few large duffle bags.
“Didn’t we gift all the bottles?” I asked, wending my way through the King’s Guards patrolling the intra-dimensional transporter.
Sebastian rose. “Indeed, but the king reciprocated with a few cases of Jjestri’s finest. Not nearly as satisfying as those from your dimension, but I could hardly refuse to accept it.”
“If I’d known I was coming here to pack and heft mediocre liquor, I might have refused the assignment,” Aiden objected.
Cortez stood, motioning his partner to the opposite side of the crate. “Grab your end,” he ordered. “Mediocre or not, I hope we get our share for playing Sebastian’s Sherpa.”
“You will be recompensed in a manner appropriate for your efforts,” Sebastian responded, slinging two of the duffels over his shoulders. As we watched them tote the crate away, he added, “Cortez is perfectly able to lift that on his own. He recruited Aiden in an attempt to bolster what he believes are flaws in my command.”
“Well, you did steal his girlfriend,” I noted, grabbing the remaining satchel.
Sebastian huffed. “I most certainly did not. Their relationship was dissolved long before Rachel realized her true feelings for me.”
“Yeah, but he might not see it that way.”
“Preposterous,” he huffed. “Even Cortez would not be so bereft of logic.”
Cortez never seemed all that irrational to me, but I wasn’t going to argue the point. What I took as reasonableness might just be a result of his poor communication skills. A person could cover up a crap load of shortcomings with silence.
I followed Sebastian, Aiden, and Cortez into the marqizobaz. Between the four of us, the box of booze, and the bags, there wasn’t much room; once the extra Xyzok squeezed in, there was barely enough room to breathe, much less stand comfortably. When we arrived in Alenquai a few moments later, the guards closest to the door spilled out. They tried to make it look like it was a planned maneuver to establish a secure perimeter, but I knew better. The cramped quarters reminded me of a typical, economy-class airline trip, except the traveler in the row ahead of mine couldb’t reclined their seatback into my lap.
Upon disembarking, the ability to fully inflate my lungs was almost as gratifying as who was there to greet us. Alex, flanked by uniformed Royal Guards, stood a short distance away. Before I’d gone to Jjestri, his hair had been past his shoulders. So long, he often pulled it back to keep it out of his way. Now, he had shorn at least six inches into what I assumed was a more crown prince-appropriate length. To complete his new, more formal guise, he wore a suit. He looked great, albeit a little formal. What hadn’t changed was how his face lit up when he saw me. I’d never tire of watching his already handsome face transform into something even more glorious when he smiled.
I ran into his arms, disregarding the numerous protocol gaffes I likely committed by doing so. Alex seemingly had no qualms concerning my lack of decorum, however. He spun me around and kissed me so thoroughly, generations of past royals blushed in their graves. An exaggeration, perhaps, but some of his security detail averted their eyes.
“Try not to make a spectacle of yourselves,” Sebastian warned as he passed. “If your protocol aid gets wind of this indecorous display, neither of you will ever hear the end of it.”
Sebastian’s admonition had the opposite of its intended purpose, at least for me. Rather than toning down the show, I felt compelled to up the ante by wrapping my legs around Alex’s waist and having my ante upped right then and there. It took an abundance of mental fortitude not to give in to those urges. Problems with authority my ass, I thought triumphantly.
Keeping his arm firmly around my waist, Alex took a moment to dismiss the Xyzok, except for Aiden and Cortez. “Once again, I task you with protecting my love, and you deliver her safe and sound.”
“Except to get here, it was us and eight other dudes,” Cortez griped, arms folded across his chest.
Alex grinned. “The others were just for show. I knew you and Aiden were perfectly capable on your own.”
Cortez’s eyes narrowed with disapproval, but Aiden grinned back. “I, for one, enjoyed having co-command over the contingent. It’s not every day I get to order around my fellow operatives.”
“See, Cortez,” Alex explained. “You should try to be more like Aiden; he always finds the positives in any situation.”
Under his breath, Cortez remarked, “But I get laid more.”
“Who says?” Aiden objected with mock offense. “You have no idea how often I engage in intimacies with women.”
“We’ve been partners for twenty-five years,” Cortez challenged.
Sebastian, who had taken in the exchange while leaning against one of the broad, marble pillars framing the entrance to the portal, straightened and said, “As much as I find talk of your sexual escapades thrilling, I have other, more pressing things to address. Perhaps we can expedite the proceedings?”
I couldn’t tell if Sebastian was bored, or really had something important to do. Whatever the cause, his surliness got everyone moving. Aiden apparently took no offense at Cortez disparaging his ability to score and hoisted his end of the crate. “Where do you want this?” he asked.
“Put that in the southern cellar,” Alex directed. “The cooler temperatures on that level are best for keeping the contents in good condition.”
I’d never ventured into any part of the basement, but it must have been huge if one distinguished sections by cardinal direction. If I remembered correctly, the southern-most part of the understructure included the dungeons, long abandoned once torturing prisoners went out of style. After six centuries, the bad juju of pain and death endured; most steered clear of area.
“You might want to store the stuff some place where it’s more likely to be stolen,” I advised. “From what I heard, Jjestrian spirits aren’t very good.”
Alex nodded. “True, but I wouldn’t want to inflict inferior drink on anyone, even a palace worker with a penchant for thievery. It will be fine there until I decide how best to redistribute it.”
It was nice to know even the Courso believed in re-gifting. Maybe Jjestrian hooch was the equivalent of fruitcake in the human dimension.
As Aiden and Cortez lugged the crate to the bowels of the palace, Alex and I retreated to our suite. Once there, we took up where we’d left off outside the portal. Damn, that man could kiss. I wanted nothing more than a quick shower, followed by an hour or so with Alex engaged in activities culminating in the need for another shower. Instead of advancing past the lip-lock, the focus of my carnal desires disappointed me by announcing
he wouldn’t be staying.
“I have a meeting with someone from the cultural ministry in ten minutes, and it will take me five to walk to my office.”
Five minutes wasn’t nearly enough time for a fully satisfying coupling. “Not that I’m advocating making your appointment wait, but would they really be all that put out if you were a teensy bit tardy?” I tugged at the collar of his shirt to emphasize my meaning, and despite my somewhat awkward attempt at flirty girly/temptress, Alex seemed to be warming to my advances.
“You are making this very hard,” he complained, running his hands down my back and pressing me against him.
“That’s the idea,” I replied, taking a moment to relish the feel of just how hard it was.
He let out a soft groan of frustration and gently pushed me away. “If we don’t stop now, the minister will be waiting until after dinner. While I have little interest in what he has to say, it would be poor form to leave him hanging for an extended period of time.”
“You know, Blondie, your unwavering concern for others is one of your more appealing traits, but in this instance, I wish you weren’t so damn unselfish.”
“See, you’d love me less if I disregarded my responsibilities.”
“Maybe, but right now, I’d be a whole lot less frustrated.”
Alex kissed the top of my head. “The meeting shouldn’t take long; meet me at my office in twenty minutes.” As he moved toward the door, he reached down carefully and adjusted the bulge in his pants. “I might have to walk a bit slower than normal to be completely presentable for the minister,” he conceded, smiling devilishly. “See you in a few.”
Watching him step gingerly away, I gave myself a mental high five. There was something deliciously illicit about going at it in his office. With any luck, in thirty minutes or so, I could be getting lucky all over Alex’s big, fancy desk.