by Kit Tunstall
As she was fastening the loop on a strange gold and white dress that was similarly fashioned to a cape as well, she had a haunting thought. What if tonight was her wedding night? It seemed unlikely. Surely, he’d want to make it some big state affair, but what if…? What if tonight was the night he expected to claim her as his wife?
Her entire body shuddered at the thought, and without thinking, she lifted her hand to the hair decoration buried firmly in the twist she’d use to confine her hair. She had dipped the blade into the vial of poison before securing it in the base, and now she practiced pulling the decoration from her hair carefully, but smoothly. It stuck for a moment, necessitating she anchor the base with one hand while tugging free the comb and the blade with the other.
It was an awkward system, and if she had time, she would have to practice the maneuver and perhaps find a way to help the hair decoration slide from the base more smoothly. She doubted the Dazon kept WD-40 around, so she might have to improvise.
When she could delay no longer, she deemed herself ready and left the dressing room. She stumbled to a halt and let out a small cry of surprise when she found two Dazon males standing in her bedchambers. She frowned at them. “Don’t you people ever knock?”
They didn’t respond to the snarky comment. Rather than lower themselves to talk to a human, or whatever, they simply inclined their heads and gestured for her to move forward. She got the message, but she wondered why none of them spoke. If she had a chance, she’d have to ask Aryk about that.
The idea of making normal, polite conversation with such a killer made her want to vomit, and she barely hid a grimace. She was going to have to continue to draw on her acting ability, and though she had no formal training, she’d grown up the daughter of an ambitious politician, one who had expected her daughter to project the proper image to support Evelyn’s career. That wasn’t Jordan, but she’d gotten good at playing the role over the years, and she was slipping back into it with surprising ease, even under the circumstances.
The guards escorted her from her chambers, walking side-by-side with her, though they didn’t touch her. It was enough to know they were within easy range of grabbing her should she try to run away to keep her walking steadily between them.
She couldn’t try to run away just yet anyway. She couldn’t attempt to escape this hellhole until she’d completed her assignment and assassinated the emperor. It was a chilling thought, and she wondered briefly if she would be able to follow through with it. Could she take a life, even one as odious as Emperor Aryk’s? Despite her doubts, she’d have to find a way to do so.
Perhaps when the ultimate moment came, she could simply disconnect her emotions from her intellect long enough to perform the act and deal with any repercussions later. That was probably the best way to handle it and not dwell on the actual act to the point where she paralyzed herself and was incapable of following through with any action when she was given an opportunity to do away with him.
They led her into a large dining room, one so ridiculously big that she felt like she would need an intercom system to speak to anyone seated at the opposite end of the table. The guards led her to the end of the table already occupied, and she was certain the one sitting at the head was Emperor Aryk. He bore some resemblance to Prince Ysaak, though she thought Ysaak was far more attractive, and likely that was because of the kindness in his eyes that was completely absent from Aryk’s when he looked at her.
To his left, there was a Dazon male who looked to be in his late thirties, and she instantly recognized him from reports and debriefings. Despite her best intentions to remain composed and not reveal any negative emotions, she couldn’t help scowling at Jorvak Ha as he smirked in her direction, looking pleased with himself, as though he was the architect of the evening, and the reason she was there.
Technically, that was true, and she looked away from him to meet Aryk’s eyes again, struggling to hide any reaction at all, certain it would weaken her position if either man knew how disgusting she found both of them. Without waiting for assistance, which didn’t seem to be forthcoming anyway, she took a seat on the other side of the table from Ha, at Aryk’s side.
Both men eyed her without speaking for a long moment, and she wanted to squirm under their gaze. Ha was looking at her like she was a bug pinned to a board and about to undergo a trip to the microscope, while Aryk looked at her with blatant hunger and clear interest in her physical assets. She would expect nothing less from either one of them, but it was still unsettling to have them so blatantly staring at her and making no attempt to hide that they were doing so or try to shield their thoughts from their faces.
Somehow, she resisted the urge to fidget as she stared back at them coolly before reaching for a goblet of some clear fluid. She smelled experimentally, deciding it was probably some type of wine. Taking a cautious sip, she was surprised at how good it was. It blossomed on her tongue, with a hint of the sweet taste she had come to associate with Sash when she gave him oral. “This is delicious wine.”
“It’s from the dahlia fruit,” said Aryk. “A tree grows on my balcony, so when you’re in my room, you can help yourself freely.”
She barely hid a shudder at the thought and simply nodded, incapable of speech. The arrival of their dinner brought a welcome distraction, and though she didn’t recognize any of the food, nothing was unpleasant, and a purple gelatinous blob was actually delicious. She didn’t bother to ask what it was, deciding it was probably better not to know the answer. It looked like grape Jell-O mixed with snot, but the taste was far better than its appearance.
Conversation was stilted, and she found herself staring pointedly at her plate in an attempt to avoid looking at either one of them, because they were still visually dissecting her with different thoughts visible on their faces. It was the most uncomfortable meal of her life, and she was moderately relieved when Ha pushed back from the table, deciding it would be at least a little easier to deal with only one of them at a time.
“Present yourself in my office in the morning, Ms. Saunders. I need to conduct a full exam and ensure the nanotechnology is functioning properly. We need heirs as quickly as possible.”
She nodded once, stomach churning at the thought of subjecting herself to his examination. She saw no alternative, though she wished she’d had some advance warning.
“I don’t mind bedding her as many times as it takes to get an heir, Jorvak.” Aryk chuckled, though it was more of a lecherous hiss than an actual sound of amusement.
Jorvak looked indulgent as he eyed his friend, clapping the emperor on the back. “You’ll have plenty of opportunity to do just that, Aryk, but we have to ensure she really is your ideal genetic match.”
Aryk flashed her what she supposed was his charming smile. “I need no confirmation, because I felt the mating flare the moment she entered the room.”
That seemed to excite Ha and propelled another five minutes of conversation that reduced her to nothing more than a slab of meat there for the emperor’s amusement. She was steaming with anger by the time they finished speaking and Ha strode away. It was a struggle to contain it, along with the urge to slap Aryk across his leering face. He was an odious toad, and if she’d actually been here to marry him rather than assassinate him, she would have drawn the hair comb from her hair and plunged it through her own brain in that moment just to avoid such a fate.
“I believe I’ll retire too. It’s been a long day.”
As she started to get to her feet, his hand clamped around her wrist, holding her tightly so she couldn’t leave the table. She sat down again, attempting to maintain a calm expression. “Did you require something else, Aryk?” She refused to call him Emperor. Aryk was about as civil as she was going to manage.
“I wanted to tell you the mating ceremony is in five days and make sure you know what to expect.”
“I’ve seen some mating ceremonies. I know there’s a kursti involved, and we’re bound together for thirty-one hours.”
/> “Those are Earth hours. Here, that’s a Dazon day. And night,” he added with a creepy look at her, his voice thick with lust.
She nodded. “And night,” she agreed, doing her best to hide her disgust. “Was there anything else?”
He licked his lips as he tugged on her arm, clearly trying to ease her out of the chair. She pushed her full weight down into the seat, trying to ignore the sharp pain in her arm when he pulled more forcefully. “What are you doing?”
“I’d like a taste of what’s coming.”
She made a production of looking around the room, counting the guards as she did so. Fourteen stood at various points around the room, two just steps away from the emperor. She supposed the large number made sense, because he clearly had many enemies. If he was like this with everyone, she couldn’t imagine there was anyone besides Jorvak Ha who didn’t want to see him dead. “We have an audience.”
He seemed oblivious for a moment until she pointed at one of the sets of guards. Then he laughed. “They’re paid not to see anything, Jordan. They won’t care what we do.”
She tried taking her arm away. “I care. I’m not doing that in front of anyone. You don’t have them in your room at night, do you?”
He frowned. “Of course I do. We must be safe.”
There was no we about it. She shook her head. “I’m not sharing a marital bed with you and an audience.”
He tightened his hand around her wrist hard enough to make her whimper despite her efforts to hide any reaction. “You’re not really in a position to dictate anything, Jordan. You should realize that now.”
She wanted to keep resisting, but she knew it wouldn’t work with him. She didn’t know the emperor very well, but she could tell he was the type who liked imposing his will and feeling like the most powerful person in the situation. She tried softening her expression and her tone, going for different approach. “I would feel more comfortable and less inhibited if we didn’t have an audience. Surely you can understand that? I don’t know how it is for Dazons, but on Earth, husbands and wives keep their intimate business in the bedroom. Alone.”
He seemed to mull it over for a moment, and gradually his hand loosened from her wrist. “Very well. As a wedding gift to you, I’ll dismiss the guards for our wedding night. They can wait in the outer chambers.”
She nodded, allowing her expression to relax into one of gratitude. “Thank you for the concession. It’s such an adjustment, and your kindness makes it easier.” She nearly gagged on the words, but he seemed to eat them up. She wondered if he was as inexperienced as most Dazon males, and if so, could she use that to her advantage?
Either way, it was clear the time to kill him would be on their wedding night, when he finally released some of his guards and had his room empty, except for her. He would underestimate her. She knew that already, because he was made that way. He would and did regard her as nothing more than a weak human female, so he wouldn’t consider her a threat. Their wedding night would be his last night at all if everything went according to plan.
Jordan spent the next two days seeing as much of the planet as possible, though Aryk wasn’t her companion. She was actually relieved about that, much preferring the silent company of the guards who escorted her around, along with the older man who acted as her guide. The second day, she managed to avoid dinner with the emperor and Ha, pleading tiredness from a day of sightseeing, but she wasn’t so lucky the third day.
They were touring the dome city when she received a call on the wrist communicator provided to her the day before. She pressed the button, barely hiding a grimace when she saw Aryk’s face appear in the view screen. “Yes, Aryk?”
He seemed irritated. “Return to the palace immediately.” With that, he ended the connection.
She waited until the screen had gone dark before sticking out her tongue at him, giving in to the childish impulse. She looked up in time to see Stuv Grimm, her guide, smothering a smile. She didn’t think he would betray her lapse of manners to the emperor since he seemed amused by it. She gave him a small smile and shrugged. “I guess we need to cut short our tour.”
When they arrived back at the palace a half hour later, having negotiated traffic in the city rather than folding directly back to the palace, she discovered a familiar face surrounded by guardsmen she entered the throne room. “Damon, what are you doing here?”
Damon Connors nodded his head at her before turning a glare to the Emperor. “The ambassador assigned me to be your personal guard, and I’m here to ensure your safety.”
Her eyes widened in surprise, and she shot an uncertain look at Aryk, who seemed irritated, but not enraged. “How did you get here?”
Damon snorted. “I folded in a ship, Ms. Saunders. I didn’t sneak in, and it’s not an act of aggression or war. I’m simply here to do my job.”
She looked at Aryk. “Is that acceptable, Aryk?”
He seemed to consider the matter for a moment. “Everyone leave us, except for the guards. I need to discuss this with my bride.”
Damon looked like he wanted to argue or struggle as the small group of Dazon surrounding him crowded closer, herding him to the door. She caught his gaze and shook her head slightly, and his stiff posture relaxed slightly. He stopped passively resisting and started walking with the others.
Once the door to the throne room had closed, she turned back to Aryk. “I hope you’ll allow Damon to stay. He’s my guard.”
The emperor crooked his finger at her, his expression unreadable.
The last thing she wanted to do was get closer to him, but she forced her feet to take her forward until she stood just a few inches from his throne. She couldn’t smother the cry of surprise laced with pain when he suddenly reached forward, grabbing her by her upper arms and pulling her onto his lap.
“Is he your guard, or is he your lover?”
His eyes shone with possessive madness, and she knew if she didn’t convince him, he would kill Damon. “Honestly, he’s my guard. He was with Ambassador Williams when she visited your planet. He’s usually her personal guard, but under the circumstances, I guess she thought I would be safer with Damon as my guard.”
He looked petulant. “Do they really think my bride needs to be protected from me?”
Undoubtedly they thought so, because it was true. Of course she had better common sense than to say that. She just shrugged instead. “We don’t know you, and we’re not clear about your intentions. We’re all cautious in the situation.”
He let out a heavy sigh. “I offered peace to your mother. Doesn’t that show my good intentions?”
She stifled the urge to roll her eyes somehow. “Of course it does, but the peace has to last before people will relax and be assured we’ve formed a truce.”
“Very well.” His lower lip protruded slightly, and he truly appeared to be pouting. “I suppose your human guard can stay, though he should surely realize he’s no match for one Dazon, let alone my entire Royal Guard.”
She nodded, conceding that point.
“Of course, a favor this generous requires a token of gratitude.”
Her stomach churned with nausea, and she tried to keep her expression impassive. “What sort of token?”
“A taste of our wedding night to come.”
She followed a lump of moisture in her throat. “You would like a kiss?”
“For starters.” With that, his head descended, and he trapped her against him with one hand buried in her hair. She thought about resisting, but she was afraid the hair comb would be disrupted, and that could prove disastrous. He mustn’t realize it had been turned into a weapon.
Instead, she forced herself to remain relaxed even when his mouth covered hers in an urgent, hungry kiss that made her want to vomit. He tasted wrong, his sweetness so bitter it made her want to choke. When his tongue pushed its way into her mouth, she barely held in the urge to gag. She kept her mouth open, but she couldn’t actively engage in returning the kiss she didn’t want. Fortunate
ly, he didn’t seem to notice the difference, though he was breathing heavily, and his erection poked into her thigh when he lifted his head a moment later.
He licked his lips. “You taste delicious.”
She managed a wan smile. “May I go tell Damon the good news?”
He laughed. “I don’t think you’re done expressing your gratitude yet.” With those words, he took one of her hands in his as he used his other to press the button on his neck, rendering him naked, though he seemed unbothered by the fact there were guards surrounding them, and he was completely nude. She tried to tug her hand away as he brought it closer to his cock, certain she knew what he wanted. “We aren’t even married yet, Aryk.”
He laughed heartily then. “I have seen a few reports about your culture. All your women are whores, and I won’t be denied what you’d give anyone else now that it belongs to me.” He squeezed her hand hard enough to hurt as he brushed her knuckles against his shaft. “You have your choice, my prudish little empress. You can use your hand or your mouth, but you owe me for allowing your guard to live.”
The stark reminder of what was at stake made her nod in compliance, and she no longer resisted when he wrapped her hand around his cock, covering it with his own as he began to stroke himself, showing her how he liked it.
It took everything she had not to reveal how disgusted she was by the whole act as she held onto him, allowing him to do most of the work. It seemed to please him enough, and he was soon coming on her hand and his as well. Like Sash’s, his fluid was thinner and more translucent than human males’ seminal fluid, but that was where the resemblance ended. Mainly because she enjoyed this act with Sash, whereas it was a violation thrust upon her by Aryk.
When his shaft stopped spasming, he released his hand, and she pulled hers away, whimpering again when he caught it in his, bringing her fingers to her own mouth and forcing her to taste him. She nearly threw up, and she couldn’t quite hide her grimace.
He frowned at her. “Don’t you like the way it tastes?”