by Amy Miles
A shorter cut would really show off the stubble on his jaw. I blink, shocked by the thought. What is wrong with me? I’m married for goodness sake!
I clear my throat and clasp my hands before my stomach, realizing for the first time that it has yet to settle completely. No doubt all of these dreams have begun to stress me out far more than I would like to admit.
When the silence begins to grow thick between us, the man holds out his hand to me and waits for me to shake it. The invitation surprises me. It is not of this world. “You’re human?”
“Last time I checked.” I smirk and take his hand, shaking it with a firm grasp. I have never been one to offer soft handshakes. He seems to appreciate this fact. “The name’s Bastien. Bastien Adair.”
“I know you.”
He blinks and looks taken aback. “You...you do?”
I bite my lower lip, realizing my slip. “Sure. Kyan told me you would be coming.”
I find it amusing how relieved he appears to be by my answer, though I’m unable to decipher why this doesn’t sit well with me. Does he know me somehow? Surely Kyan and Bastien have spoken of me in length, considering he has obviously been chosen as my new guardian in Kyan’s absence, but there seems to be far more than Bastien is letting on. This intrigues me.
“Ah. Yes, well he always has been very thorough.”
“That he is,” I muse and draw my hand back from his grasp. I try not to let him see me wipe my palm against my dress but the warmth radiating from him is unsettling. “I assume that things are quiet on the outer rim?”
His lips purse and he shifts his weight to his right side, further from me. “How do you know that I’m from the outer rim?”
Now it’s my turn to mentally kick myself. Way to go, Illyria! You have succeeded in hinting that you are a bit of a whacko! How is a girl supposed to explain that she’s been dreaming of a complete stranger for months?
“My husband requested your services when we left on our honeymoon. Kyan implied at that time that you were too busy protecting that sector to be my personal escort. I assume that since you are here now that things are running smoothly again.”
If I am not mistaken, the color has seeped from Bastien’s face. His gaze lowers to his boots and remains fixed there. “I have men whom I trust leading on my behalf while I am gone. There is nothing to fear.”
I take a small step closer and he jerks his head upright to look at me. There is an emotion buried deep in his eyes. Pain? Perhaps. Whatever it is I can tell that it is raw and consuming. “I am sure of that.”
His gaze narrows as I take another step closer. I can feel his desire to step back, to turn and run and yet he doesn’t move. I take another step and his breath hitches. Why am I tormenting this poor man? And for that matter why am I doing any of this at all? It is hardly proper for me to be seen standing in the shadows with a man other than my husband, bodyguard or not.
“Are you here only for the week?” I ask softly.
He offers me a jerky nod. “I still have much work to finish back on Alenida.”
“I bet you do.” I offer him a smile and turn away, heading back toward the hall beyond the curtain. I hear a shrill whistle behind me and turn, ready to inform him that such behavior is not accepted here when I see him barreling toward me. I barely have time to react when he rams full force into me, slamming us to the floor.
His arm wraps around my head to protect it from crashing into the hard stone. “Bastien, what are you--”
“Stay down!” The weight of his body rolls on top of mine, crushing my lungs as I hear a second whistle followed instantly by an explosion that leaves my ears ringing. Dirt and splinters of stone rain down around us. Bastien grimaces as the debris strikes him, but he doesn’t move, determined to shield me.
“How did you know?” I ask, my voice strained under his weight. I feel rattled by my lack of forewarning. I should have sensed the attack, seen it coming, but like every other time I have peeked into the future, all that bounces back at me is nothingness.
“Can you see anything?”
“What? How do you--”
His gaze hardens as he ignores my question, cutting me off. “Can you see who is attacking us?”
I shake my head, feeling my scalp press painfully against ground the despite his attempts to cushion my neck. “I see nothing.”
Without another word, Bastien seizes my hand and hauls me to my feet. I hardly have a moment to catch my breath before he yanks me through the curtain and into the hall beyond. People have begun to emerge from their rooms, blurry eyed and yawning.
“What is the meaning of this?” Chancellor Nitaka demands. His weighted jowls tremble as he pats his mouth in a lazy yawn. He is an emissary from the distant Chaldorn province, whose land is plentiful and oceans calm. “Have I overslept?”
“We are under attack.” Bastien’s voice thunders over another explosion. It is followed in quick succession with four more blasts, each one rattling the walls. Cracks begin to form along the roof. The residents of the hall leap aside as stone crumbles and patters to the ground at their feet. “Get everyone out!”
Without waiting to hear the Chancellor’s spluttering response, Bastien twines his fingers through mine and yanks me down the hall.
“My room is in the opposite direction.” I shout, ducking as a pillar less than ten feet behind us explodes. I can feel the shards bury into the back of my arms and neck but I do not slow.
“I’m aware of that.”
He continues to run, dragging me along. My feet don't seem to want to keep up with his rapid pace. I grow winded before we have even reached the end of the hall. Palace life has left me sorely out of shape!
“I insist that you take me to Eamon.”
“Sorry, Illyria, but that’s not going to happen.”
I yank back on his arm and he is forced to stop with me. I can tell by his mounting agitation that he is none too thrilled with my actions. He grits his teeth before responding to my defiant gaze. “Look, Eamon is a big boy. He can handle himself. Right now I have to get you to safety.”
“And where is that, exactly?” I cross my arms over my chest. I fight to keep the wince from my face as another round of blasts rock the palace. I don’t know how much more this unforgiving stone structure can handle. It is being barraged from all directions.
Where are our soldiers? Why have they not begun a counter attack? And what of my people? Has the town been ransacked as well, or is the attack focused solely on the palace?
There are countless men, women and children in the city nearby. My heart goes to them, breaking for the pain they must be suffering. I can feel my anger beginning to simmer in electrical waves along my arms, feel my power begin to well up in my chest.
Bastien grabs me by the arms, pulling me close. I don’t know how he manages to hold on despite the fact that I am obviously shocking him repeatedly, but he doesn’t let go. “Kyan told me that you knew something bad was coming. If I’m not mistaken I would say this pretty much proves you right. Do you really want to stand around out here and debate logistics or would you rather me get you to safety so you can command your men?”
Darn his logic!
“I can fight,” I protest, refusing to let him win.
He nods with a surety that makes me pause. “I know you can, but now is not the time. You are far too valuable for me to let you run headlong into battle like you used to.”
“How did you--”
“Not now, Illyria.” He seizes my hand once more and forces me to keep pace with him. I look back over my shoulder, fighting to see through the unraveling strands of my braid. Eamon is back there somewhere. He will be looking for me. Will he know where to find me?
I glance over at Bastien, realizing the intensity of his grip has increased to painful levels. Can I trust this man with my life? Kyan assured me that I can, but how much do I really know about him? Dreams are hardly enough evidence to judge a man’s character by.
“Where are you ta
king me?”
Bastien grips my hand tighter. “To Aloysius’ personal bunker.”
FIVE
The walls crack all around us as we run, burrowing deeper into the darkened halls of the palace. From somewhere behind us I can hear the pounding of feet echoing among the intermittent blasts. I do not know if these are our soldiers or if our enemy has breached the palace walls.
I feel blind not knowing who our enemy is. On Earth I had only one enemy. Here, among the stars, there are countless inhabited planets that could seek to claim us.
“How much further?” I shout.
My feet stutter across the floor, spilling me against Bastien as the hall behind us explodes. The last of the candlelight flickers out, plunging us into complete darkness. I can hear the hall collapsing, sealing us in. Although I know there is plenty of oxygen in the hall I imagine the strain on my lungs.
“Another minute,” he grunts. His hands flounder along my arm in search of my shoulders. He pushes gently, helping me to right myself so that I am not pinning him against the wall, which at any moment could come tumbling down as well. “Well, a minute if we could actually see something,” he mutters.
I can hear him swearing under his breath about not bringing a laser gun with him. I smirk and hold out my arm, allowing my eyes to close only for a moment before brilliant light flares to life. When I open my eyes I can see Bastien’s widened gaze reflected in the light. “Well, that’s new.”
I grin as his gaze shifts to take in the visible blue-white vines of electricity weaving around my arm. The intensity of it forces him to shield his eyes. “It comes in handy from time to time.”
“I bet.” He reaches out to seize my hand once more but thinks better of it and just motions for me to follow him. Shadows retreat before us as we sprint ahead, winding down hallways and bursting through closed doors before rushing down empty stairwells. I never realized the palace went underground. I suppose I should have assumed that Aloysius would require a safe room in case of attack, but I guess I always thought that he placed too high a confidence in the skills of the slaves he kept at his side at all times. Aloysius was a cocky man. His pride was ultimately his undoing.
“Down here!”
I throw myself through a narrow doorway and cry out as I reach the edge of the path. My arms pinwheel and my breath catches in my throat as the feeling of absolute nothingness rises up to meet me.
Bastien cries out as he latches onto my arm and pulls me back from the drop off. The scent of burning flesh stings my nose as I watch him convulse, his eyes rolling back in his head.
“Bastien!” I grasp his hands, uncurling his fingers and thrust him off me. He bounces against the wall and sinks to the floor. His feet twitch and his lower lip droops to the right a bit. “You fool! You could have killed yourself!”
The white hot glow curling around my arm spirals down to collect in my palm. The white-blue energy shifts into a golden warmth as I press my hand to his chest, letting my healing powers sink into him. Bastien’s eyes widen and he sucks in a great breath. He splutters as his chest releases and he is able to breath normally again.
“I realize it’s in the job description to protect me at all costs but some actions are just plain idiotic.”
“Noted.” His throaty chuckle ends in wracking coughs. I loop my arm under his, dousing the light and thrusting us into complete darkness once more. “Kyan forgot to mention that little drop off when he gave me directions to this place.”
His anger over this small detail does not go unnoticed as I ease him back against the wall. Once I am sure he is able to stand on his own two feet again, I reignite my powers. I turn and look about me, sure that this trap was designed with the sole purpose of surprising any attackers once the power grid went off line. “Aloysius may have been prideful but he was no fool.”
Bastien expels a couple more shaky breaths before pushing off the wall. He runs his hands through his hair and I notice that they tremble. “Are you still hurt?”
He shakes his head, squinting as he turns to look ahead of us. The passage is narrow and dark. “I am well enough. There is no time. We must reach the bunker.”
I long to reach out and draw him back to insist that there is time to heal him completely, but I don’t. I know that he is right. I need to get to safety so that I can discover what the status of my people is.
Bastien starts at a slow jog, his eyes peeled for any more sudden drop offs or traps left behind for us. I keep pace with him, holding my arm aloft to light the way. Less than a minute later we approach a towering set of silver double doors. There is no knob or latch to be seen. The doors appear to open only from the inside.
His brow furrows as he glides his fingers over the edging of the door, searching for a hidden control panel. The sounds of explosions overhead are muffled but still frequent enough to know that the attack is hardly over.
I must get inside, I think, closing my eyes. I envision the door like Kyan has taught me to do. I can see the seamless surface without dent or scratch. I move deeper, through the door mechanisms, mentally prodding everything in hopes it will release. Just as I’m about to withdraw I catch sight of a small wire that runs to the right of the door and straight into the stone.
I open my eyes and press my finger against the invisible button. I grin as the door slides open with a hiss of musty air.
“I’m not even going to ask how you did that.” Bastien places his hand on my lower back and ushers me inside. The lights overhead flicker to life as we enter, as if they are set on a motion detector. A wall of monitors flicker to life, and I am drawn forward while Bastien seals us inside.
Nearly a dozen twenty-inch screens give me a bird’s eye view of the palace, or at least what is left of it. The entire western wing has collapsed. The eastern wing is well on its way. The ceiling of the great hall has collapsed. Rubble dust hanging in the air makes it hard to see in some of the areas. Four of the cameras are down, black and lifeless. Through the video feed I can hear screams and cries of pain but I can only make out a hazy shape here and there.
I frantically search the monitors until I find a camera perched just past my room. Grabbing the controls, I turn the camera and search the hall. There is a great amount of damage here. I can see a few people lying motionless on the floor but I can’t tell if any of them are Eamon. My hands begin to tremble as I pan the camera further and see that the door to our room is open.
“He got out,” Bastien says just behind me. I jump, surprised by his nearness.
“Yes, but how far did he get? The entire front of the palace is gone!”
A hand rests upon my shoulder, squeezing to give comfort. I know that I should tell him this is inappropriate behavior, even with the dire circumstances before us, but I can’t bring myself to tell him to step back. I draw strength from his presence.
“Look there!” Bastien lifts his hand to point to a camera still intact with a live feed to the palace grounds. I can see black clad figures rushing along the streets toward the front gate but they are cut off by the smoke and flames that light the distant sky.
Tears curl down my cheeks. “Calahorra,” I whisper.
“There is nothing you could have done.”
I spin and face him, my anger spiking as I stare at my bodyguard. “I could have stopped this. My people are being slaughtered while I sit here and watch helplessly.”
Bastien raises both hands and place them on my shoulders. His gaze is intense, demanding. “Look at the screen and tell me what you see.”
“I see my city burning.”
“No,” he shakes his head, drawing my gaze back. “You see fires that have been set alight just on this side of the palace gates meant to look as if the city burns. It is a ruse.”
“A ruse for what purpose?” I glance toward the monitors once more, and this time I can see the tiny details that I missed on first glance. The forest tree line has been set alight, blazing with an intensity that would singe a man at a close proximity. I watch t
he smoke rise with the winds and carry over the city, though the only glow of fire that can be seen beyond is what bounces from the walls of the homes. I breathe out a sigh of relief.
“Whoever it is that is attacking us knows that you are here. That you have returned early. They also know that a great number of our soldiers are housed in Calahorra…”
He trails off but I don’t need him to finish that thought. We have been cut off from our soldiers. There won’t be any help getting through until the blaze is put out. I sink down onto a chair and blow out a great breath.
“They must know that I can control the weather,” I whisper. “They know I could easily douse the flames with rain if I were out there.”
Bastien nods and sinks down before me. He places his hands on the armrests on either side of me. “They know far more about you than they should, Illyria. That is why you must stay here.”
“And do what? Nothing? You seem to know me well enough to know that is not an option.”
He nods, gritting his teeth. I can tell just how aware of that fact he is. “Kyan told me that this bunker is impenetrable. This is the only place on this planet that you can be truly safe.”
“Safe?” I snort and roll my eyes, casting my gaze down.
I notice how swiftly Bastien’s hands tense around the chair arms. “Do you care so little about your life that you would throw it all away?”
“No.” I look up at him and am rocked by the depth of pain that I see buried within his sapphire eyes. They are dark and disturbingly intense as he stares me down. “I do not have a death wish, but my family is out there. How can you ask me to sit here and wait for their deaths when I could help them?”
His adam’s apple bobs. “Because I know that if this enemy gets their hands on you they can unleash a power that could destroy everything.”
“How do you know that?” A tremor attacks my voice, making it crack.
I can feel his need to look away, to run and hide. It is the same feeling I discovered only a short while ago when I reached out to him on the ledge. He is terrified, I realize but even as this thought captures me I know that he does not fear me but instead fears for me.