by Susan Hayes
“What’s changed for me? Everything!” I didn’t think I had a mate. I’d come to accept that I was going to be the last of my line. That I would never rule. That’s all changed now. Everything will be different when I get back, and while I am grateful to the Gods for gifting me with a mate, I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with the rest of it. This isn’t easy for me, either, Maggie.”
“You don’t want to be king someday? I thought that’s what this whole thing was about? Why else did your people only send the rich and powerful to claim mates? If this wasn’t about you, then why aren’t Keth and Tarjen even in your precious database of potential matches? They came all this way, and they don’t even have a chance of being matched.”
“They weren’t supposed to mention that to you. It was something I wanted to discuss with you on our way back to Pyros.”
“What if I don’t want to go back with you?”
Her words sliced through him like an assassin’s blade. “We’re mated. I know you can feel the bond between us. That’s never going to fade, Maggie. We’re linked for life.”
“But no one ever asked me if this is what I wanted. You talk about the Gods, and fate, and mating bonds, but you keep forgetting that none of that means anything to me.”
“Sacrifice is our birthright.” It was one of the first lessons his father had ever taught him, and now he needed to explain it to his mate. “I was born to rule Pyros, and you were destined to rule at my side. This is what must happen, Maggie. It’s the will of the Gods.”
She sliced through the air with the edge of her hand. “Enough. It might be their will, but it’s not mine. Take me home, Joran. I’d have left already, but apparently, we’re in the middle of a damned forest, and your men won’t let me outside for fear that their future queen will be devoured by the local wildlife.”
“I’ll have them fly us closer to your home, and we can teleport back.”
“Or you can set me down somewhere, and I’ll call a cab. Once we’re close enough to civilization, I can call my friends. I haven’t spoken to them since I left messages letting them know I was fine and spending some time with you. They have to be out of their minds with worry. At least, Gwen will be. Since Lisa was matched with your traveling buddy, Vadir, I can only assume she’s deep in the thrall of the Scorching by now.”
“Did you say your friend was matched to Vadir?” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He’d only left for a short time. How had everything fallen apart so flaming fast? And how had the link between Maggie and Lisa been missed? This mission was getting messier by the moment.
“Yes, my friend Lisa signed up for the same site I did. In fact, she’s the one who talked both Gwen and I into doing it at all. With everything that happened, I forgot about her, which is something I’m not proud of. I need to find out if she’s okay. Please? Let me go, Joran.”
“I will accompany you home. There is still much we need to discuss.”
“Just once, do you think you could try asking me what I want instead of telling me what’s going to happen next?”
He started to argue but cut himself off before he added more fuel to the fire of her temper. “I will leave you alone while I arrange for our return.”
He paused and softened his tone before asking, “Would you like the guards to accompany us as well, or would you prefer it if I went with you alone?”
“I’d prefer it if I was going home by myself, but since that doesn’t seem to be an option, I’d rather not drag the others along. I already owe them both an apology for my temper.”
“You do not need to apologize—“
“Oh yes, I do. And if you think that being royalty means never having to acknowledge your mistakes, then that explains a whole hell of a lot. Please let me know when it’s time to go.”
He ached to go to her, wrap her in his arms and kiss her until she had forgotten her upset, but something told him that wouldn’t work. As he left, it occurred to him that she had dismissed him with the regality of a born queen. He accepted that the Gods had chosen the perfect female for him. Now, he needed to somehow convince Maggie that her destiny wasn’t to stay on Earth, but to accompany him to Pyros and rule at his side.
6
It didn’t take long for Keth to pilot the ship back within teleportation range of Maggie’s home. It took a little more time for Joran to convince his guards to stay behind. Keth and Tarjen were still irked with him for ditching them the last time he’d left the ship. In the end, they only agreed to it because Maggie preferred to return home alone. They might not have known her very long, but she had apparently made an impression.
He knew exactly how they felt.
Maggie didn’t say anything when he returned to his quarters to tell her they had arrived. She rose from the bed and joined him in the corridor with nothing more than a slight nod to indicate she was ready to go. Her expression was guarded, and her movements were slow and listless. As if the fire in her soul had been snuffed out.
When they got to the airlock, he held out his hand, but she didn’t move to take it.
“We’ll need to be in contact when we teleport,” he reminded her.
“We have to do that again? Can’t we just leave the ship?” She gestured to the barren space of the airlock. “Why do we have to come into the airlock to teleport, anyway?”
“The device on my wrist is only one small part of the equipment required to make even a short jump. The rest of it is set up inside the walls of this room. It acts as an amplifier of sorts. The airlock is the safest place to transfer in and out of because it’s completely empty. That ensures there’s nothing present that we could uh, get tangled up with.”
Maggie went pale. “You mean if we materialized into the same space as something else, we could end up merged with whatever it was on a molecular level? And you still use this insane method of transport?”
“There are many safeguards in place to make sure that does not happen. It does limit where we can materialize, however. It has to be somewhere clear of debris, and out of sight. Which is why we’re not going to walk off this ship. We’re cloaked right now, but if someone saw two people suddenly materialize out of thin air, there would be questions.”
“I think you’re underestimating humanity’s ability to willfully ignore anything they don’t want to know about, but I concede your point.” She sighed and took his hand. “Is this going to suck as much as it did last time?”
“This time, you’ll know what’s happening. We’ll appear less than a block from your home. It’s a safe landing site, I promise.”
She furrowed her brows and tightened her grip on his hand. “If I end up merged with a tree or something, I’m going to be really pissed at you.”
“I would never let anything happen to you, Maggie. Whatever else you might think of me, you can trust in that.”
He threaded his fingers through hers and then lifted both their hands to activate the device on his wrist. He braced himself for the mind-shredding sonic assault that heralded the beginning of their journey, followed by the stomach-twisting transition into the void. No matter how many times he endured it, he would never get used to the soul-crushing emptiness.
This time, the journey was different. He wasn’t alone. He could sense Maggie through their bond. In the eternal darkness of this place, she was a beacon of light and life. He focused on that, on her, and the loneliness faded. In this space between spaces, there could be no words. They had no bodies to touch with, no senses to distract them. There were only the two of them, reaching for each other across the infinite void.
In that moment, he could feel what she felt. There was grief, resentment, and confusion, but there was something else mixed in with her pain. There was hope.
When he returned to the world, the connection grew weaker, but he knew what he’d felt. Senses scrambled, eyes still closed, he instinctively drew her into his arms. She leaned into him, her head on his chest and her body trembling as he held her.
“I f
elt you,” she whispered, her voice tinged with awe.
“I could feel you, too. The bond between us is strong.” He bowed his head to brush a kiss to the crown of her hair, buying himself a few more seconds before he offered her the choice she’d been denied until now.
“I think it’s strong enough to let us stay in contact no matter how far apart we are. Even if there was a galaxy between us.”
“A galaxy? You mean…?”
The thought of leaving his seska behind made his heart ache, but she was right. She hadn’t been given a choice in anything that had happened since the moment they’d met. He kept promising to make things up to her, but how could he make amends for ripping her out of her life here on Earth? She deserved to have a say in her future, even if it cost him dearly. “If you wish to stay here, Maggie, then I will respect your choice. I want you with me, but not at the cost of your happiness.”
“Thank you.” Tipping her head up to look at him for the first time, she smiled. “I don’t know what I wish. Not yet. I need to understand all of this better. And I need to talk to my friends. Please? I know this is supposed to be a secret, but Lisa knows about Vadir by now, and Gwen… Shit. Lisa and I were the only ones matched from this city. Gwen wasn’t. I can’t leave her here alone. She’s like a sister to me.”
“Let’s go inside.” He brushed his fingers over her soft cheek and wondered where he’d find the strength to leave her if she decided to stay.
She looked around, her eyes widening as she recognized where they were standing. “I’m almost home. It just occurred to me that means you knew where I lived when we first met and you asked if you could escort me home. You knew where I worked, too, didn’t you? You lied to me from the moment we met.”
“I wasn’t supposed to be there at all,” he confessed as he finally let her go.
“You weren’t?”
“You can ask Keth and Tarjen about it sometime. I ditched them and came to the coffee shop to see you. I was supposed to wait until we made contact on the site. I couldn’t wait. Everything that happened after that was my fault. The Spark, the Scorching, taking you to my ship before you knew what was going on, none of that was part of the plan. I put you through so much. I am sorry, Maggie.”
She took a step, then reached back to take his hand. It was a small gesture, but as far as he was concerned, it was a major victory.
“I know you’re sorry. That’s a good start, but you still lied to me, Joran. If we have any chance of making this work, that has to stop.”
“After what we experienced in the void, I don’t think we can lie to each other anymore. Our link is too strong. You’d know if I was keeping something from you.”
Her fingers tightened around his. “Then this is going to be a fascinating conversation. You can start by telling me how you ended up in my coffee shop ahead of schedule, and then we’re going to talk about why only the rich and powerful men of your planet are being sent to find mates.”
“This is going to be a long conversation.”
“I’ll make coffee.” She started walking. “And if there’s no such thing as coffee on your planet, then you better figure out a way to import it if you want me to live there. Coffee is life.”
“If that’s what it takes to convince you to come back to Pyros with me, I’ll find a way.” Flames, he’d rearrange the stars to spell out her name if he thought it would help. He needed her at his side, challenging him, pushing him to be better. When his parents had told him about this plan, he’d been more concerned about how it would affect his people, and himself. He’d simply assumed he would be able to convince Maggie and the others to come to Pyros because that was what was needed.
When Maggie had pointed that out, Joran responded the same way his father had done. He was ashamed to realize that after all his protests against taking a mate against her will, that was what he’d been trying to do. The Scorching had clouded his thinking, but that was no excuse for what he’d said and done. It had to be her choice.
To save his people, they needed human females. To ensure that happened, he needed Maggie. She held the fate of his people in one hand and his heart in the other.
Maggie couldn’t hang onto her anger anymore. Not after what she’d experienced in the void. The first time she’d gone through that ordeal, it had terrified her. The infinite expanse of silent nothingness was the stuff of nightmares. It reminded her of the long, lonely nights she’d spent in foster care feeling lost and invisible. This time, everything was different. She hadn’t been alone. She didn’t understand how the link worked, but somehow, Joran had been with her in the darkness.
How many times as a girl had she prayed for someone to ease her loneliness? How many tear-soaked wishes had she made over the years? He’d been there for her, offering her comfort even as he’d given her a glimpse into who he really was. There was pride, but also worry and regret. There was courage, too, and determination, but the strongest of all, was the love in his heart. Love for his home. For his people. His family…and for her.
After experiencing all of that, she’d have to be a fool to turn her back and let him leave without her. He was the embodiment of every wish she’d ever made. The universe, or maybe Joran’s Gods, had actually sent her a handsome prince straight out of a fairy tale. Life with him wouldn’t be perfect, but it would be more of a life than she was living now.
“Fortune favors the bold,” she muttered, recalling one of her father’s favorite sayings.
“What was that?” Joran asked.
“I was remembering something my dad used to say. I haven’t thought about him in a long time.”
She glanced back at Joran as they crossed the street and headed towards her front door. “I think he would have liked you. He liked to push his luck, too.”
He grinned at her, and his golden eyes gleamed in the sunlight. “If that phrase means what I think it does, then I suspect I would have liked your father, too. My people are known for testing limits and challenging Fate itself. It is a trait we value, and one that my family is known for. My mother tempers that quality in my father. If I am truly blessed, I hope you’ll be able to do the same for me.”
“You mean, like stopping you from charging into a coffee shop and initiating the Scorching with a woman you’ve never met?”
“Exactly like that.” He tugged on her hand, drawing her close enough that he could slant a brief but sizzling kiss across her lips.
Joy and lust zinged through her veins in a heady cocktail that made her head spin and her heart pound. She wasn’t ready to say yes, yet. There were things she still needed to know, and friends she had to talk to.
“Let’s get inside before someone stops looking at your hot body long enough to notice your eyes are an impossible shade of gold.”
He reached out to gently tap his forefinger beside her right eye. “If you stay here, you’re going to have to hide those beautiful eyes of yours, too. Or had you forgotten that the Scorching changed us both?”
Her hand flew up to touch his. “Damn it! I did forget. So much for playing it cool with Gwen. She’s going to notice the difference right away.” She took a deep breath and headed up the stairs with Joran falling in behind her.
Once she was inside, she called out for Gwen and Lisa, though she didn’t expect Lisa to be back yet. It was Gwen’s day off, though, which meant she should be home.
No one answered her greeting. She even knocked on Gwen’s door, but there was no response.
“I’ll call Gwen and let her know I’m alright. She’s probably worried sick by now, and there wasn’t any cell service in the middle of the forest.” A thought occurred, and she flicked Joran an annoyed glance. “Was that part of the reason you moved the ship so far away?”
“No. Tarjen and Keth insisted we move to make it easier to avoid detection. Actually, that was the first thing that went according to plan. I didn’t even remember they were going to do it until I walked into the cockpit of the ship to talk to my parents this morning and
noticed the change in scenery.”
“I guess we were both a little distracted. One sec, let me make this call.”
She pulled out her phone and groaned. The last time she’d looked, there had still been a little juice left, but after two days without recharging, the battery had finally died. “Good thing we have a landline.” She jogged down the hall a little way to where an old fashioned, wall-mounted phone sat. She’d never used it, but Gwen insisted on paying for a line in case they ever needed it.
There was no answer on Gwen or Lisa’s cell phones. It went straight through to voicemail for them both so she left messages and tried not to worry. Much.
“Come on. My place is this way.” She led Joran to her suite downstairs. Lisa had the attic since it had the best light for her painting, and they had given Gwen the main floor because it was the one with the biggest kitchen, and Gwen loved to cook.
“Remember when I called your quarters opulent?” She asked as she unlocked the door and stepped inside. “This is what I was comparing it to.”
Lisa often joked that Maggie must have been a troll in a previous life, which was why she didn’t mind living in a cave. Caves didn’t have windows, though, and Maggie’s suite did have one. Granted, it was only two feet high, had a view of the weeds that choked the flower bed outside, and was partially obscured by the heavy steel security bars, but it was still a window.
He followed her inside, and she felt a pang of embarrassment. She’d worked hard to buy what little she had, but seeing it now, it all looked shabby and plain. Her few furnishings were mismatched and threadbare, the carpet was worn, and the only thing of any real value was a painting of a gull soaring over an expanse of sunlit ocean. Lisa had painted it and given it to her for her thirtieth birthday. She said it was to make sure that there was always a bit of sunshine in Maggie’s life.
“Not everyone lives like I do. I’m not going to judge your worth based on the value of the things you own. We’re far from a perfect species, but we have learned at least that much.” He grinned. “There are members of the Inter-Planetary Council who would say that’s all we’ve learned.”