The Vampire King's Mate

by T. S. Ryder

  "A worthy gift. May you be bound in spirit." He looked at Taliga now. "Do you swear your body and heart to this woman?"

  "Yes."

  "What will you give to her to prove your devotion?"

  "The black blade I crafted by my own hand. I don't have it with me at the moment, but it's all I possess. I have nothing else."

  "A worthy gift." He touched Taliga's chest and then Vanessa's. "May you be bound in heart. You are married."

  Taliga closed his eyes. It was done. Now he could only hope it was enough. Vanessa was looking at him with wide, uncertain eyes. He smiled gently, then strode towards the door.

  "What are you doing?" Vanessa cried.

  The T'shav struck the door with a closed fist. "I demand to speak with the high priest. The human is my wife and I will invoke my rights as her husband."

  "What rights?" Vanessa stared at him with wide eyes.

  He returned to her, struggling to find the words to tell her the truth.

  "Taliga, what have you done? You said that we needed to—"

  "I lied."

  No sooner had he said the words than the doors burst open. Vanessa clung to him as the high priest strode in. His golden eyes glowed with anger. Taliga's black blade was in his hand, seemingly absorbing the bright light that shone from every angle.

  "You are not married."

  "They are," the Suesue said. He got to his feet. "I just performed their wedding."

  The high priest's face twisted. The blade flashed and stabbed through the Suesue. Vanessa screamed as the alien dropped like a rock.

  "You thought you could escape your rightful fate?" the man screamed, whirling on Taliga and Vanessa.

  The T'shav shielded his new wife with his body. If the priest came at him now, he doubted he'd be able to withstand him. Not weaponless as he was. He could only hope that the man's own customs and belief would protect them. When he came at the two of them, Taliga planted himself more firmly.

  "It is a convention in the Wytsian Order that if a married woman is condemned to die, her husband has the right to fight for the right to take whatever crime she is condemned for on his own head and die in her place," he shouted. "As Vanessa's husband, I claim that right. To fight for the chance that she might live."

  The priest came up short.

  Vanessa cried out. "No! No, you can't!"

  "This is why I lied. You would have fought me if you knew the truth. I'm sorry Vanessa, but it's the only way I can save you," Taliga said. "Well, Priest? Are you going to hold the tenants of your faith or disavow them?"

  The priest's face twisted in fury. "You will face me on Earth's surface. And after I kill you, the false human will die anyway. Space the traitor," he ordered over his shoulder. "He doesn't deserve funerary rites."

  As the other Wytsian's pulled the body from the room, the priest never took his eyes from Taliga. The T'shav didn't back down. He stood straight and tall. Eventually, the man turned and stalked out, leaving the newlywed couple alone. Taliga turned. Vanessa backed away from him, glaring.

  Taliga sighed. As long as I can save her, all of this will be worth it.

  Chapter Nine – Vanessa

  Vanessa wrapped her arms around herself, not looking at Taliga as he knelt beside her. Why? Why was he doing this? Any of this? Why turn against his partner to try to save her from being turned over to these people? Why fight so hard to save her? Why marry her so he could take her place as the sacrifice?

  Why be willing to die for her?

  "Vanessa, I'm sorry I lied to you," Taliga said softly. "But it's the only way I can save you."

  "So the whole possibly-pregnant thing was a complete lie?"

  "Yes."

  She shivered despite how warm the room was.

  "I'm dead either way," the T'shav said gently. "But I have the chance to save you, and I am going to take it. I'm the reason you're in this predicament in the first place. If I hadn't kidnapped you, you would still be safe in Zon's Sanctuary. It's my responsibility to do what I can to get you out of this mess. And I swear, I will give my life to get you home."

  At last Vanessa raised her head. She stared into Taliga's black eyes and made her voice cold when she asked the question that was weighing most heavily on her mind. "When you told the priest that I was your Starmate, was it a lie as well?"

  She knew what Starmates were, of course. Living among the T'shav, it was impossible not to know. The T'shav believed that their souls were born in stars and that these souls were put into physical bodies over and over again until the star learned all it needed. Starmates were two souls born in the same star, destined to always find each other and be together in all their lives. A romantic notion, if ever there was one.

  Taliga opened his mouth, but suddenly Vanessa didn't want to hear the answer. Whatever it was, whether the truth or a lie, it didn't matter. It didn't change the situation. They were still prisoners, and one way or another, he was going to die when they reached Earth.

  And before he died, there was something she wanted to do.

  Before Taliga could say anything, she launched herself at him. Her arms wrapped around his neck. The T'shav barely had enough time to catch her before she kissed him hard. All those feelings she had been trying to suppress were let loose in a flooding torrent, leaving her gasping for breath. Part of her brain said that this wasn't the time or place, but if not here, where? If not now, when?

  Taliga kissed her back, his hands digging into her soft skin as he pulled her closer. He closed his eyes, teasing her mouth open–and abruptly pulled away.

  "Wait," he gasped. "You don't really want this. You were saving yourself—"

  "For marriage. And we're married." Vanessa stroked his black hair from his face and straddled his hips, letting her skirt ride up. "And even if we weren't, I want this. I want to be close to you, to have you fill me. If your plan does work, and I live… you'll die. If that happens, I want this to remember you by. I don't mean to be morbid, I just—"

  He cut her off with another kiss. Maybe he was feeling the same desperation as she was. He pulled her closer, their skin sticking together with the sweat that already covered their bodies. There was no time to explore one another and learn the secrets of each other's bodies. But Vanessa didn't really care. His touch was enough, feeling his strength as she wrapped herself in his arms better than she had ever expected.

  Taliga reached under her skirt, gently removing her underwear while keeping her covered. Their eyes locked on each other as he moved his hand between her thighs, narrowing in on the spot that filled her body with fire. She gasped, arching her back to him while still clinging to his body. Their mouths met, their tongues danced, and Vanessa knew that she wouldn't trade this moment for any other.

  "Take me," she whispered.

  "You're not ready. I'll hurt you."

  "I know." Vanessa dug her fingers into his hair. "But I can't wait any longer. Please, Taliga. I don't care if it hurts."

  The T'shav hesitated. "Give me a little more time to stretch you out a little with my hand."

  He demonstrated, and Vanessa gave in with a groan. Her head fell back as her hips came up. Taliga's face was set in determination, his black eyes almost glowing as he worked on her. The buildup was quick, and Vanessa writhed under his touch, clawing at the floor as she tried to keep herself still. Her lover and husband never took his eyes off her face, even when he shifted his clothing aside and entered slowly.

  It hurt a little as he entered. The sting faded away when he stilled, though it was a little uncomfortable. But as Taliga started a slow, steady rhythm, Vanessa forgot her discomfort. She lifted her hips, trying to encourage him to go faster, but he didn't. He kept that same slow rhythm, wrapping his arms around her and still staring her in the eye.

  Vanessa didn't know how long she could take but knew that she didn't want this to end. Ever. A feeling of connection welled in her, and as she held Taliga and they stared into each other's eyes, she couldn't help but wonder if this was what he
r mother always meant when she meant husband and wife were meant to become one soul.

  She truly felt like she was holding Taliga's soul in her body at that moment.

  Taliga's face twisted in concentration, but all too soon he gasped, body bucking, and his head dropped to her shoulder. He became still, finished. Vanessa didn't mind that she didn't follow him, and only held him tighter when he whispered that he was sorry.

  "Don't be." She ran her fingers over his skin, reveling in their closeness, although she knew it was too hot to last very long. "I still enjoyed it. I never expected my first time to be that good, if I'm honest. I thought it would hurt a lot more."

  Taliga smiled sadly at her. "I could have made it hurt even less if I had taken more time."

  "I didn't want you to take more time."

  It stung a little as he withdrew, and he grabbed one of the scraps of cloth they still had to clean her up a little. Vanessa couldn’t help but smile at him. For a mercenary and kidnapper, he had a surprisingly gentle soul. At least, he did as far as she was concerned. She only wished that she would be able to see more of it. That their time together wasn't going to be cut short by a man who had no right to call himself a priest.

  "Can I answer your question now?" he asked softly when he laid down beside her.

  "What question?"

  "Whether I was telling the truth when I told that priest you were my Starmate." His fingers caressed her neck, making her shiver. "Although I have to admit that I'm curious as to why you would ask me such a question if you didn't want to hear the answer."

  Vanessa shrugged. "I didn't know that I didn't want to hear it until after I asked. I was afraid that no matter what you said, I wouldn't have the guts to do what we just did. But I'm glad we did. I don't want you to think it's just because we might die, even though it is partly that, but there's more to it as well. I just… I wanted to be close to you. Especially now that we're married."

  "That reminds me." He snatched something off the floor and handed it to her.

  Vanessa pushed herself to her elbow and took a closer look. It was her necklace. The symbol of their wedding vows. She shook her head. "I want you to keep it."

  Surprise flitted across Taliga's face. "But it's the last thing you have from Earth."

  "We're heading there right now. Either we're both going to die or you are. I want you to keep it. It's my marriage gift to you. If I take it back, it's like our marriage wasn't real. And I know this is less than ideal circumstances, but I don't want to think of our marriage as fake. Please. Keep it."

  Taliga nodded. He looped the chain over his head. The delicate little cross looked so strange with his broad chest and devil-red skin. "And as for your question… at this point, I don't know. Whether you are my Starmate or not, I mean. I could stay that I've never felt this way about a woman before, and I haven’t felt exactly this way, but I have been in love. Her name was Edala."

  Vanessa was surprised as a surge of jealousy took her. Mutely she nodded for him to continue, not about to break the moment with her petty thoughts.

  "I met her many years ago. I loved her, and I thought that she loved me. We traveled the galaxy together, stealing what we needed to move from place to place, and I had never been happier… until she stabbed me in the back." He touched a long, thin scar just above his heart. "I still don't know exactly why she did it. The best I can figure is that she didn't want to share our earnings with me anymore. She left me for dead. And I would have died, too, except… Well, Kulog found me. He knew my reputation and decided to take a chance on me. He healed me and I was thus upgraded from petty thief to full-on mercenary. I suppose that's why I stopped myself from killing him for so long."

  Taliga's voice sagged with bitterness. Vanessa put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You can't be angry at yourself for not killing your partner."

  "I should have. I knew what he was, I saw what he did. I should have killed him long ago. But I didn't have the strength. Not until I met you."

  Vanessa shifted closer. Taliga cupped her face and they leaned towards each other. Before they could kiss, however, the door was flung open. The priest stood in the doorway, the black blade in his hand. Vanessa's heart dropped and every happy thought she had had turned to ice.

  "We arrived."

  Chapter Ten – Taliga

  The stories of Earth Taliga had heard in his childhood made it sound like a perfect paradise. Lush jungles, deep, sparkling oceans. He had always been taught that humans were a blessed species to live in such a paradise where they were the dominant predator. Of course, that was always followed by stern warnings that they were expelled from that world because of vague sins and that the world had been cursed for it.

  Looking at what the planet had become, Taliga believed it. The ground was hard as a rock. The sun beat down from the sky and an equal amount of heat rose from the solid dirt beneath his feet.

  The Wytsian priests ringed him, looking as cool as space in their heavy robes. They must have some sort of cooling system in there. Vanessa was held at one side, bands of energy holding her arms across her chest. The High priest faced him, naked but for white trousers.

  "To win the right to take your wife's sins on your own head and save her from being sacrificed as she deserves, you must win in a fight against me," the high priest said. He was glaring, not at Taliga, but at Vanessa. "To win you must land a mortal wound, but not kill me. I, however, am free to kill you."

  "How can a wound be mortal and not kill?" Taliga demanded.

  The priest grinned. He raised his stolen black blade, and it was only then that the T'shav realized that he wasn't going to be given a weapon of his own. He cursed as the priest charged towards him, broadsword pointed directly at Taliga's heart. He was swift, his footsteps steady, but it was easy enough to dodge him.

  The priest whirled as Taliga sidestepped him, the blade coming at his head. Taliga dropped, kicking out. The priest jumped, avoiding him. He brought the sword down towards his prey. With a roll, Taliga narrowly missed the sword and rammed instead into the priest's legs. The priest's arms flew out to either side, his grip on the sword loosening, as he lurched backward. He kept his balance in the end, though.

  Taliga jumped back to his feet and immediately stumbled. Though he longed to drive forward and take advantage of the priest's slip, he made himself back away, regaining his own composure. Being held captive in that far-too-hot room with no food or water was catching up to him. He hadn't eaten since before he and Kulog had met with the priests in the first place. His throat was parched and sweat ran down his temple.

  The priest was more cautious with his approach now. He circled the T'shav, inching his way closer. Taliga rested his hands on his knees, panting, trying to make himself look more vulnerable than he actually was. His only hope was to get the sword away from the priest.

  Vanessa made a noise from the sidelines. Taliga couldn't help it; he turned to look at her. She was being dragged to an altar built from stones. Her normally golden tones were pale, eyes wide. One of the priests beside her had a hand over her mouth. The one on her other side had a knife in his hands, turning it over and over in his hands.

  They were so certain he was going to lose that they were already preparing her for the sacrifice.

  Rage boiled through his blood. Taliga turned on the high priest, striking aside the sword that drove at him. The sharp edge bit deep into his arm but he didn't care, punching hard at the Aphrosian's ribs. His knuckles cracked as they made contact. He punched again. Another crack, this time from the ribs. The priest gasped. He brought the sword up, but Taliga rammed his fist into first one shoulder and then the other.

  This animal was not going to harm Vanessa. And Taliga would ensure he never harmed anyone ever again.

  When the sword fell to the ground, Taliga grabbed the priest by the throat. With a roar, he tossed him back. The priest rolled, the jumped to his feet. Taliga picked up his sword and grinned at the man. Despite all of the odds that the Wytsians had
stacked against him, there was no way he could lose now. Not when he had his own sword in his hand.

  A smudge of red streaked the sky. Another ship? Were the priests expecting others to join them?

  Taliga ignored the new ship; he'd deal with the newcomers soon enough. He faced the priest. The man backed away from him, eyes widening. Fear and hatred both played across his features. He knew what was coming as well as Taliga did, but to his credit, he didn't flinch as the T'shav stalked towards him. His chin came up and he glared at Taliga as he came closer.

  When Taliga stabbed at him, he tried to dodge but was too slow. A rush of adrenaline and relief washed over the T'shav as he felt the sword pierce flesh and bone. The priest's mouth opened but nothing came out. Blood oozed out from around the blade.

  "Mortal wound, but not immediately fatal," Taliga whispered. "That means I win."

  The priest grabbed his shoulder in and effort to remain upright. A ghostly red glow turned his blue skin purple as his golden eyes narrowed.

  "No. Kill him!" the priest shouted. "Kill the T'shav and sacrifice the false human!"

  "I beat you!" Taliga shouted. "You have no right to harm her!"

  The priest yanked himself off the sword and thrust himself back onto the blade. Taliga felt it cut through the bone; the priest went limp. Taliga whirled. Vanessa was bound to the altar, blue ropes of energy holding her in place. One of the priests held a book over her and began reading while the others headed towards Taliga.

  Blood poured from the wound in his arm, and the heat made his head swim. Against the high priest, he could not have lost, but there were half a dozen men coming at him now, and another half dozen around the priest that was chanting the rituals to sacrifice Vanessa. There was no way that he could defeat them all, certainly not in time to save Vanessa's life.

  But he had to try.

  The whistle of a ship lowering itself over their heads drowned out his roar as he charged forward. And there were these new Wytsians to deal with. The priests ran at him, all of them drawing small weapons that they brandished towards him.