“Ha, Nikolai, you have the biggest job of all.” He waited a beat, watching his brother’s confused expression. “You keep me grounded.”
“Oh, good God, you haven’t seen the ground in ten years. You live in the clouds, my brother.” Nikolai leaned over the desk, bringing his face close. “But the people love you for it.” He stood straight, his expression growing soft, which was a rarity. “And in truth, brother, I love you for it. Wouldn’t it be awful if we were both skeptic bastards?”
Nikolai’s words touched his heart deeply. It wasn’t often he heard his brother declare affection for anything, and after all, what little brother didn’t live for his older brother’s approval?
“You have served me well, Nikolai. I could not have asked for a better brother.”
Antares got up, stepped around the desk, and wrapped his brother in a rare embrace, so happy when Nikolai returned the gesture. He stepped away, knowing Nikolai would balk at any further show of affection.
“So it is settled. I will seduce the human. And no worries, brother, I will treat her well.”
“I never had any doubt about that. Just perhaps your lack of focus.”
He smiled and went back behind the desk. “Come. Let me show you the plans.” He didn’t know if Nikolai would acquiesce, but hoped that he would. “I know you don’t plan to stick around, but I have accommodations for you in the plans as well.”
“Antares, I…”
“Just come look.”
Nikolai rolled his eyes but came beside him and glanced at the plans. “Very ambitious. But then, ambition was not something you ever shied away from.”
Antares pointed to the inner courtyard. “I had this added for Mother. I think she would have loved this.”
“She would.”
Silence settled on them, as Antares proudly viewed the details of his planned legacy.
Finally Nikolai sighed. “I must leave.” He hugged Antares, grazing his cheek with a kiss. “I will see you in a few days.”
“You could come to the build site tomorrow.” Antares knew he was wearing his heart on his sleeve with that request, but felt such a rare closeness with his brother at this moment, and he did not wish for it to end. He had utter and complete confidence in himself for completing this reformation of Vaturia. He knew the castle would be built and his people would adjust to the simpler life he planned for them. He even had faith that the human females would bear them children. The only thing he was not certain of, and the thing he wanted most of all, was that his brother would be at his side through all of it.
“No. I will leave you and the female to get to know one another, but, Antares, don’t forget about her clothing. She’s naked in there now.”
Antares was taken aback by this information, and confused. “Did she not arrive with clothes?”
Nikolai shrugged. “I took them from her.”
Before Antares could question that further, Nikolai turned and waved behind him as he exited the room, leaving Antares entirely bewildered.
Chapter Seven
Nikolai bent low over his Cyetta, buzzing through the forest, his head barely missing a low branch as he leaned to the side. He’d left the horse in the care of a family he knew living at the edge of the woods and traded vehicles, so to speak. He loved the speed he achieved on the Cyetta, but more, where he was going, if he’d left the horse tied up, only bone and muscle would have remained to greet his return.
The forest was so thick that the sun did not shine through to the ground, covered in mud and pine needles, making it difficult to walk. Violent, voracious creatures with very big, very sharp teeth lived here, and no one ever came to this part of the forest, making it perfect for his people.
He slowed the Cyetta as he neared the enormous petrified redwood tree. He unsheathed his short sword while he hid the cyetta in the shrubbery, using all his senses around him, never letting his guard down. It was just as dangerous for someone like him to be in that part of the forest as it would be for anyone else, but he had no choice but to come here.
He rounded the redwood. The large scarred area on the back laid bare to him, he raised his dagger above his head and plunged into the wounded area. The opening would only appear for a few seconds and would not reopen for another twelve hours if he missed it. He ducked inside quickly. A torch was placed into the thick, stone-like lining of the tree, lighting his path down a circular staircase. At the bottom, the granite walls dripped with moisture, and a row of similar torches lined one side, giving light to the muddied floor.
Nikolai traveled along the narrow path for a time until he came to what would appear to most as a dead end with an ash-filled altar. Nikolai lit the flames of the altar, bowed his head, and recited an ancient chant. The entire south wall of the chamber slid open to reveal a whole new world. He stepped inside. The wall slid shut behind him.
* * * *
Antares tried to steady himself as he reached the door of the female’s chamber. Strange sensations tied his stomach in knots. He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, tugged at his thigh-length coat, and brushed his fingers through his hair before knocking on the door. Totally uncertain as to how he would win her favor. He acknowledged the necessity of such a thing and decided the only course to success would be to lay aside all prejudices and find something about her to bond with.
He’d won a planet—he could certainly win a female.
She pulled open the door, standing before him in what must be the clothing he had arranged for. He approved of the sensible choice, a yellow gown of a thick material that would withstand the thorns and brambles should they choose to walk through the woods. The yellow fabric really set off her unusually pale complexion and her strange hair color.
“You look lovely.”
She smiled, then immediately averted her gaze. “Thank you.”
He decided they should leave before things got too awkward. “Can you ride a horse?”
“Yes.”
She wasn’t as loquacious as she had been at the camp and it suddenly occurred to him that Earth females might not be as intelligent as his race. She seemed now to only be able to respond in the simplest of ways. This could present a problem, but then he supposed the actual act of mating required no words. “Good. We have vehicles that can make the trip, but I prefer the horse. Something more organic about it. Plus, I enjoy the company.”
“Okay.”
He swallowed, wondering if it was too late to get Nikolai to take his place after all. “Well, we should go, then.”
He stood back and signaled her to go ahead of him. A community now blossomed in the old hotel, and as they made their way through it, the looks people gave Naveenah seriously displeased him. On at least one occasion, he overheard a very unkind comment at her expense. He made a note to speak to his council about it. Only the most callous man could imagine that any of this was easy for her, and as he needed something so great from her, the least he could do was make sure her feelings were considered.
She said nothing on the trip to the makeshift barn or while the groom saddled her horse. Once they were mounted, he stayed by her side as they navigated the difficult streets of the city. “She’s not much to look at now, but once she was a proud city.”
The female only gave him a tense smile in return. He tried to view the city as she must be seeing it now, with buildings falling to the ground either in disrepair or by apparent previous attack. Many of the buildings had scars from the fires, blackened, but still stretched into the sky. The streets were littered with debris—pieces of structures, vehicles, garbage—and it made many of the pathways impassible.
“Many of the buildings are inhabited by people with nowhere else to go now. They huddle in the remains, struggling to stay alive, but they are the bravest and most resilient of all of Vaturians. Our culture was once one of many thinkers, builders, artists, inventors, and though these people still exist, they have found their way of life taken from them, and each day, rather than one of creating and fulfillment,
it is a day of challenge and survival.”
Watching her look around, he wondered if she felt anything for his people. Most days he had to keep his focus, and he could not be distracted by the sounds of fighting, or whaling. He knew how bad it was, but the only thing he knew to do was build something better. He could spend his lifetime trying to restore what had been here and never accomplish it. His way was better. His people would have life again.
As they reached the limits of the burned-out city, nothing but green stretched out before them, the divergence in landscape was so stark to be nearly unbelievable if he had not seen it with his own eyes. For him, life on Vaturia had been completely contained within the city. He hadn’t even realized there was anything outside the tall city gates until the day the pain of life had become greater than the fear of the unknown and he’d dared leave. That was the day his entire world changed.
“I’m going to take him to a gallop. Can you keep up?”
She nodded that she could. Antares was becoming more convinced than ever that he would have to find some way of connecting with her other than verbally. He debated briefly the pros and cons of letting her horse go ahead of his. On the one hand, if he didn’t, what if she tried to escape? If he let her ride behind him, he might fail to notice her escape attempt until it was too late. On the other hand, if he put her in front, she had no idea where they were going.
It was little problems like these that had him dreading this entire experience. He didn’t want to constantly be worried about where she was, but her trying to run off was about more than his pride or the future of his race. There were many dangers in the outlying wooded areas that she would have no way of dealing with, and he did not want her death on his conscience.
“Stay just ahead of me. We are going straight toward those cliffs in the distance.”
She nodded agreement then kicked her horse to a gallop. Both the way she sat her mount and her obvious riding skill impressed him. Her hair, tied in a blue ribbon at the base of her neck, had started to unravel, and strands of it blew around her as she leaned low over the horse’s neck.
For a moment Antares became so captivated by watching her, he forgot to kick his horse to a gallop and she started to pull away from him. He quickly corrected the situation, and they rode side by side for a time. It was a long way to the site, and though he knew he could make it in one stretch, he wasn’t certain how the female might fair, so after a time, he signaled her to slow, and he helped her dismount.
“I thought you might want a break.”
“I’m all right.”
He stood quietly, waiting to see if she would add anything else. When she did not speak again, he grabbed a satchel from his horse and guided her toward an ancient tree in the shape of an umbrella.
“We’ll just have a quick bite, then finish our journey.” He waited for a response, but still none came, so he sat.
She remained standing, so he tried to signal to her with hand gestures that she should do the same. Eventually, he succeeded and she sat beside him. He handed her the simple sandwich he had brought along and a hard round fruit. He hoped she would find the simple fair enjoyable and waited to see how she would react.
She looked everywhere but at him and ate like she hadn’t seen food in ages, which left him wondering how she had spent her years on his planet. While he’d been warring with his own people, who had been looking out for these females?
“Have you been treated badly?”
She stopped mid-bite into the fruit but continued holding it to her lips. “I’m fine.”
She went back to eating, but he was not satisfied by that answer. Suddenly, knowing the truth was the most important thing in the world to him, and if he had to develop a new language to bridge the communication issue, he was going to find out the truth.
“Fine is not what I asked. You have been on my planet four years now. I won’t entirely excuse myself for only getting around to asking this question now, but I want to know how you have been treated.”
She blinked at him like he was a lunatic, then looked over her shoulder into the meadow beyond. The breeze picked up several strands of her hair, blowing them across her face. He felt so stupid because he really wanted the answer to this question, but he wasn’t even certain if she’d understood him. At the camp she seemed to communicate just fine, but she had been furious then. She hadn’t been responding to things asked her, so much as expressing that fury. Perhaps humans needed strong emotion to spur communication, but God knew, he didn’t want her angry again.
He reached across and captured her chin in his fingers, turning her head so she was forced to look at him. He didn’t want to frighten her, but he needed her to hear him somehow.
He spoke slowly and deliberately, emphasizing each syllable. “Were. You. Hurt. In. The. Camp?” Then he waited, hoping she’d understand. He really should have done more research into this before taking on such a monumentally important task.
She pulled back. He dropped his hand to his lap. Feeling disheartened, he began seeking pathways to a solution.
“I am not stupid. I just have very little to say to you.”
“Excuse me, you said what?” He curled his fingers into his thighs, attempting to stay calm as he realized she’d been toying with him all this time.
“I said, I. Understand. You. Just. Fine.” She mimicked the same slow pronunciation he had used earlier, infuriating him more.
“You dare to mock me?” He stood up, fully prepared to go back to the hotel and leave her there. “This is never going to work. I told Nikolai this would never work!”
“Why? You don’t like women?”
Fury boiling through his blood, he reached down and grabbed her up by one arm. “You dare to doubt my virility?”
“You’re hurting me.” She wriggled, trying to free her arm, but he pushed her back against the tree, his body pressed against hers. Only then did he loosen his hold on her arm.
“I adore females. Vaturian females. Females with the right sized breasts and the right scent and the right color of hair—and the right attitude of submission!”
She wriggled against him, causing a very unwanted physical reaction. He was not at all pleased.
“So you like your women submissive, huh, king-ie? Or is it Your Majesty? Or His Royal Highness? I don’t come from a monarch-driven society, but we do have them in Earth’s history, so I get that you’re the boss and no one gets a word in but you! You say build a castle, they build you a damn castle. You say ‘Get the female some clothing...’” He listened to her best impersonation of him, getting the accent pretty close, but her voice would never be deep enough. “…and suddenly I have an entire wardrobe. You say ‘kidnap me some submissive women for my harem,’ and bam, I’m suddenly living in a broken-down fort in the woods trying to keep a hoard of terrified girls calm and safe. Well fuck you, Your Majesty. Fuck you!”
In the face of her fury, Antares actually felt amused, although he thought he might have preferred the one-word answers. Still, he tried to hold back the burst of laughter he felt because he knew that would most likely only anger her more.
“Yes, I believe you’ve said that before, now that I think about it.”
She struggled to get away from him, but he held her firm against the tree. “Let me go!”
“And you’ll do what? Run away? I can’t let you do that. There are dangers in these forests and I won’t put your safety at risk.”
She pushed against him again, then completely surrendered. “Yeah, you’d hate to lose your broodmare, wouldn’t you?”
“I am unfamiliar with that term.”
She blew a breath up into her hair—the strand that hung across her face—then fell back. He tenderly brushed it away. He really wasn’t being fair to her. He said her feelings mattered, but then he barely paid any attention to what she expressed.
“You have horses. What do you call the breeders?”
“Just that. Breeders.”
“You disgust me.”
He got the distinct impression she was about to spit in his face, so he covered her mouth with his hand. She screamed into it, flailing again with her entire body in a violent eruption of fury.
“Now please, just calm down.”
“I won’t calm down!” Her words came out muffled from behind his hand, still placed firmly across her lips.
She thrashed in his arms, and then it happened, a sharp bolt of pain so mind-numbing it literally brought him to his knees.
“Johoree!”
It was the most derogatory thing a man could call a female on Vaturia, and ordinarily he would not use such language, but she’d just smashed her knee into his crotch and left him writhing on the ground.
She took off running. Antares knew he couldn’t let her go, and his mind wasn’t on the future of Vaturia or his own wrath in that moment, but solely for her. If she ran into the forest—the only place for her to go—her fate was sealed.
I will not let her die.
He stood and limped at a brisk pace after her. She was petite, and even with his injury, his long strides enabled him to catch up with her rather quickly. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back against his chest. She wailed like her soul had been torn to shreds, then dropped her head back against his shoulder and began to sob in the most horrifying, guttural way he’d ever heard a person weep.
He lightened his grip on her, turning the once fierce hold of a captor into more of an embrace. He smoothed her hair and hushed her in the ancient language no one really heard anymore, except for in folklore and lullabies.
As he held her, she cried her heart out. Much of what she said was unintelligible, but he would forever remember the moment he heard her cry, “My mother will never know what happened to me. I was all she had.”
That was the moment where he truly realized what he had done. Not just to her, but all the females. The families that would have been destroyed because of something he had put his seal of approval on. His conscience pained him unlike anything he had felt before. In his ardent struggle to restore his home, he had unjustly taken these females from theirs. Worst of all, though he now saw the grievous harm he had inflicted, he could see no real way to make amends. In essence, he had stolen time from them—something he could not restore.
To Love a King [The Reformation 1] (Siren Publishing PolyAmour) Page 7