“No disrespect, Councilor, but your offspring was a crazy bitch,” I said.
“Stay behind me Sava,” Nedan said, moving smoothly into a fighting stance.
“Not this time, Nedan.”
I patted his shoulder and stood up. I wasn't sure what I was going to do next, but I had no thought of backing down or letting Shan leave this room alive. I’d spent too much time feeling like a hunted animal. Now I was going to be the predator. I didn’t want anybody dying for me.
“You should speak with respect for the dead.” Councilor Shan’s face crumpled.
“Did you even like her? I mean, did you know her well? Or are you just mad that your precious offspring is dead?”
“You are hoping to bait me into an emotional outburst. I am not the foolish King—it won’t be that easy,” he said, lifting the plasma rifle.
“I’m not baiting you. I’m honestly curious. Are you fighting to avenge her because you loved her, or are you avenging your family honor?”
“What you call love is nothing more than an irrational response to hormones and familiarity. It’s a weakness that we have carefully bred out of our species.”
“So, this is about you and me. Not Oda the Psycho.”
His withered face began to cloud over.
“This isn’t about you or me. It’s about order. That warrior was one of the best our people had to offer. Even without his spectacular ability, he was special. He should have been honored to sire young with Oda.”
“What’s the play here?” I crossed my arms. “’You didn’t like my kid, so I’m going to kill your mate as punishment?’”
“You truly are an astute specimen. It is a shame that I must kill you. But for the good of the empire, we must all make sacrifices.”
Councilor Shan’s eyes shifted to a target behind me, and I knew what he planned to do. Without thinking I stepped to the side. I saw him pull the trigger. When I say that I saw it, I meant that I watched it as if it were in slow motion. I saw the plasma beam begin as a glow in the head of the rifle. I saw the trajectory of the beam and pulled Nedan out of the way. I watched it as it grazed his cheek, leaving a trail of singed skin, but doing no real harm.
I saw the look of surprise on Councilor Shan’s face and the horror of what I had become. I was glowing brighter than I ever had before. I could feel the heat radiating off my body. It felt like I’d been pulled out of sync with the universe, and as if I were watching everything happen at half speed. It took what felt like several minutes for me to realign with the rest of the world. Still gripping my blade, I advanced on him.
“How? What? What are you?” The Councilor brandished his blade like a scared child, waving it wildly in front of himself.
“Come now, Councilor. Don’t tell me you haven’t heard the rumors? You know exactly who I am,” I said, smiling innocently.
He took several steps back, but I kept walking forward. Nedan followed close behind, his blades at the ready.
“Get away from me! You’re an abomination!” The Councilor’s panic was palpable. I almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
He retreated into the hallway where the walls were stained with blood and singe marks. Bodies laid on the floors at the junctures where one corridor met another. All the death and destruction made me want to weep. This could have been so much easier, if only men like him hadn’t interfered.
A cold rage began to build in my chest. To satisfy the ego of one mad King, all these warriors had to die. How many of them had been friends and allies before this? How many of them had fought and trained together? How many of them had been brothers? To satisfy the imagined slight to his honor, this male had put a blade in the hand of the mad King. This Councilor had whispered poison into the ears of a fool. There was only one thing left to do, now that the King was dead.
I ran after the Councilor, following him as he made his way through the maze of corridors and passageways. No matter how fast he moved, I was still on his heels. This madness would end this rising. I wouldn’t leave him alive to create more problems in my absence.
Finally, we found ourselves in a passageway along the anterior wall. There was nowhere to run.
Behind him stood a large, locked door. To the right was stone and to the left was a window.
“You can jump if you’d like,” I said, shifting into a fighting stance.
“Dishonorable,” he spat.
“I would tell everybody that we fought, and I threw you from the window.”
“Defeated by one such as you?” His disgust was clear on his face.
“That is an inevitability.”
He growled low in his throat, and I smiled. Even as he faced defeat, he couldn’t bring himself to admit it.
He roared and then charged at me. Once again, the scene shifted for me, and I could see his moves the moment he went to execute them. I deflected his blades easily and slid in under his outstretched arms, plunging my own weapon into his chest cavity.
He groaned as the light went out in his eyes. Grasping at the blade buried in his chest, Councilor Shan slid down the wall and died. I felt, rather than saw, the moment when he breathed his last. It was as if a knot in my spine had suddenly loosened up. I was free. I felt giddy with relief, despite the ugliness of the moment.
“Sava, we must get out of here.” Nedan stood with an outstretched hand. I suddenly felt self-conscious. What must I look like to him?
“I didn’t... I had to do it, Nedan,” I stammered, while yanking my blade from the Councilor’s chest.
“You did the right thing, Sava. But we must get out of the palace, now!”
I nodded and accepted his outstretched hand. We ran back down the passageway. Nedan stopped then and closed his eyes.
“We are trapped,” he said calmly.
It took a second before I heard what he was hearing. Footsteps. Not just footsteps, but marching. No doubt they were troops moving through the halls, disposing of the dead and detaining the living. If they were the Queen’s men, we might have a chance, but that wasn’t enough to count on. They could very well be the King’s loyalists.
He stood in front of me and gripped his blades tightly. Blood coated his arms and shirt. I wondered why I hadn’t noticed it before, and how many of the fallen had died by his hands.
“Looks like we are going to have to fight our way out of this one, too. Why doesn’t this place have any windows?” I chuckled.
“It has been my life’s greatest honor to serve you, Sava.”
Alarm bells went off in my head. He wasn’t planning on living through this.
“Hey,” I grabbed his arm. “No more casualties today. If anybody must die, make sure it’s them. That’s an order!”
He nodded once, but I didn’t believe him. I knew what he was planning. He was my personal guard. In his mind, my life was more important than his. He was going to take wild risks to get me out alive, and I couldn’t accept that.
“Let’s go back,” I said, pulling him.
“You go, Sava. I saw the window. You can make it. I wouldn’t even survive the fall. I will hold them off here for as long as I can.”
“No. We go together, or not at all,” I insisted.
“Sava, you must leave. The Et’em need you. The Commander needs you. The Kearney need you. This is the least I can do for my people and my goddess,” he said softly.
“I don’t accept that.”
I picked up my blades and stood beside him, shoulder to shoulder.
“What are you doing?”
“Facing our enemies,” I said.
“Diem Sava, please,” he begged.
“You aren’t the only one who wants to live and die with honor.” I lifted my blades and stood at the ready. The sound of the marching soldiers drew closer. There was no more time for conversation.
A group of warriors with the Council’s sigil on their chests turned the corner.
“Take them alive,” grunted one of them, and the rest began to rush down the h
all towards us.
I ran out to meet them. I saw the plasma rifles fire at me and felt the impact, but barely acknowledged the damage, I moved faster, running along the wall. Nedan did the same on the other side of the passageway, drawing some of the fire away from me.
I used a burst of speed to catch them off guard, slicing through the arm of one of the firing warriors. It spun away from his body so quickly that his hand didn’t release the weapon. The weapon flew, hitting several of his comrades before clattering to the ground. I didn’t allow them a moment to recover. I slid in, sliced through the limbs of two more, sending them to the ground, groaning in pain.
I kept moving, delivering crippling blows to each of them. I didn’t want to be responsible for more death and distraction. They would all need weeks to recover, but they would live. That was what I wanted most.
“More will come,” Nedan said. He flung blood from his blade with a flick of his wrist. His tail dripped ominously behind him as he slumped against the wall. Fatigue was etched into his face. It was my turn to do something reckless.
“We won’t be here by then.”
I grabbed his wrist and pulled him along behind me. I ran back to the window and climbed up into the window sill.
“Sava!”
“Nedan, I have trusted you with my life all of the time. Trust me with yours now. If you are going to die either way, die while trusting me,” I argued.
He hesitated at first, but finally accepted the hand I held out to him. I made the mistake of looking down. We were so high up that I could barely make out the ground through the clouds.
“Trust me,” I said, wrapping my arms around Nedan’s waist. I closed my eyes and let myself fall. The first few seconds were terrifying. The feeling of being in a free fall was not one I will ever get used to. But after a few seconds, I could feel the resistance, as if I was tethered to an invisible kite, struggling to adjust to the weight of both Nedan and me.
“Let me go, Sava, we won’t make it like this,” Nedan begged.
“No. Together or not at all,” I screamed, clinging tighter to him as we burst through the clouds.
I watched the ground racing up to meet us. It was slower than it should have been, but faster than I expected. I would probably survive, but he wouldn’t. I looked around. There was no soft place to land. No vegetation to drop him in upon the final descent.
I switched tactics, leaning to the left so that we began to make wide concentric circles like airplanes circling the runway. We slowed even more, but not enough.
“Sava, please,” he begged.
“No! You can’t give up, Nedan. We can make it!” Tears stung my eyes as I spoke.
“I’m not giving up, Sava. I am fighting in my way,” he said with a content smile. I felt a lancing pain in my wrists and felt the strength in my hands falter. It took a moment before I was forced to let go. Nedan smiled as he fell away from my grasp and disappeared through a purple cloud. He didn’t make a sound.
I looked at my wrists and watched as the flesh knit itself back together. I felt the air travel along my body and catch under invisible wings. I landed as soft as a bird. Puva and the Queen met me on the ground, taking off in the tiny transport vehicle that the rebels had turned into a formidable fighting machine. I felt a low buzzing in my veins and knew that Rakesh was near. As we escaped the confines of the palace gates, Rakesh’s shadow passed over us, breathing down fire upon all those who dared to endanger his mate. I was safe. Nedan was gone.
We won and lost everything.
Chapter Ten
It all happened so fast. One minute we were rebels, and the next, we had done meritorious service to the Crown, deserving of pardon and full recognition by the Empire. For the first time, the people who were once pariahs were free to leave our strongholds and join the proud citizens of the Empire. Most of the Et’em remained suspicious of the Crown and opted to stay on Thano and preserve their way of life. As for the Kearney, they were Troitek, after all. For all its flaws, the Empire was their home, and they felt obligated to help make it better, not bigger.
As for me, I could barely bring myself to get out of bed. I was exhausted and heartbroken. I was granted the Governorship of Earth and would be sent to oversee its integration into the Empire as a full member state, not a colony. The humans would have full rights under the law, and autonomy. It wasn’t perfect, but it was all that I could hope for.
And Rakesh was tasked with rounding up the Council loyalists. It was a job he was relishing.
Still, my time on Troiken was growing short, and the loss of Nedan felt like a deeper betrayal. I think I went through all the stages of grief several times a day.
“He’s pretty resourceful. He may still be alive,” P’tah said, trying to cheer me up.
“If he were alive, he would be here by now. He would never leave my side for this long.”
“That’s all the more reason why you should be sure to attend today’s trial.”
She handed me my cloak. The swirling blue and green were now accompanied by a streak of gold and shimmering silver. An homage to the image of me falling from the tower and landing safely, like a true falling star. I slipped into it with a heavy heart, running my hands along the embroidery. I wondered if this was the world that Nedan dreamed about. He should’ve been here to see it to the end. If I hadn’t let go…
“Luckily there weren’t more casualties. My brother trained his teams well. And the Et’em impressed me with their fighting spirit.”
Footage of Rakesh’s fledglings calling upon their inner dragons and attacking the Council’s soldiers had spread throughout the empire. Though they were only able to shift forms for a few seconds at a time, and only partially, it was enough to impress the common people.
What began as a robbery ended as a mission to save the Queen and the Empire itself. In all the fighting, only three warriors died.
“If it weren’t for the Et’em refusing to stay behind, it would have been much worse.”
“What did you expect? Their goddess and her mate were in trouble,” P’tah teased.
Rakesh, Puva, Meck, Detack and I met an official transport vehicle and rode through the mountains, into the city. People stopped and stared as they saw us pass. Meck preened as we passed, proud to be recognized by his people for his service. Detack was slightly less giddy but treated the occasion like a joyous one. Only Puva and I seemed to remember what we were here to do.
Today was Mora’s trial. And in all likelihood, she would be sentenced to death for her part in all of this.
I couldn’t imagine the pain Puva was hiding behind her vacant stare. But I couldn't find it in my heart to forgive Mora. Even though I understood why she did what she did, even if I sympathized with her, I couldn’t seem to forgive her. Nedan and so many others were dead because of her. I couldn’t seem to let it go.
“Are you going to be alright?” I asked Puva.
She nodded.
“You don’t have to be here today,” I added.
“She made her choice. I have to make mine,” she said.
The proceedings brought a whole new meaning to the term “show trial.” There was a long ceremony lauding the fairness and honor of the Queen and Empire, and then a litany of testimonies given by people surrounding Mora talking about her character and her shortcomings. The rumors that she had lovers and even unsanctioned breeding were also addressed. Finally, Mora was dragged into the court with her offspring in tow. The little female looked like she was no more than ten years old. The little boy couldn’t have been more than two.
I knew she had children but seeing them in person made it seem even more real. If I had been her, would I have done the same to protect my children?
Her distress was obvious. Though she tried to remain stoic, she snatched her daughter behind her, as if to shield her from the stares and condemnation of the court.
“Mora of the house of Knarr, you have heard the charges against you. Do you have anything you would like to say to th
e court?”
“I admit my crimes. I ask nothing of the court except that it grants leniency to my offspring.”
A murmur spread through the court as she spoke.
“You know, as a courtesan, both you and your children are wards of the palace. I cannot simply send them out,” the Queen said. “Is there no house among the royal courts that would take them in?”
The room fell silent.
“I am sorry, but unless somebody is willing to take them in, they must share your fate.” The Queen’s voice was strong, but it was clear that her reluctance to execute the children was real.
For the first time, I saw fear and pain on Mora’s face. It was the first sign of remorse I’d seen from her, but she didn’t beg. That wasn't the Troitek way.
“I will take them.” I stood to my feet. “Your Highness, if it pleases the court, I will take the young ones to Earth with me. I am not from a royal house, but perhaps that is best. Nobody wants to be associated with Mora’s shameful past. On Earth, there is the hope for a new, better life.”
“I will accompany her,” said Puva. Her delicate features and light coloring told what nobody could say. She too was from a royal house, though she had somehow escaped her fate.
“Will you sully the name of Rakesh with the children of a traitor?
“No, I will add them to my family line. They will be Kearney and they will live far from here.”
Once again, the room burst into an ocean of murmurs. It was highly irregular to have any back and forth between the Queen and the court. It was even more so irregular to have a well-known person volunteer to take in the offspring of a criminal.
“Is there nobody willing to complain?”
The room fell silent.
“Then it shall be as you say.”
Puva got up and walked over to Mora. She took the small male from Mora’s arms and turned to leave. Mora reached into her pocket and held out the small tablet that she’d received from the King. The tablet that declared her son to be the son of the King. Puva looked at it with disdain and pushed her hand away.
A Pet For The Commander: The Complete Series Page 27