by Casey Lea
Wing stepped between them before she could finish. "Serenity,” he said, “I beg leave to introduce my wife, Lady Darsey IceFlight."
Goldown's bored expression vanished. "IceFlight? A new clan?"
"Indeed," Darsey responded and her frond started vibrating with pleasure. "Wing and I have founded a new dynasty. I believe you met our sons."
Goldown closed her eyes and her knuckles stood out like broken shells against the smooth shaft of her spear. She wobbled slightly and Darsey almost felt guilty. However, before she could think of a way to smooth their introduction Goldown's eyes flicked open. She stared insolently at her rival, studying Darsey from head to toe, then raised a delicate hand to cover a yawn.
“What an appropriate costume, Lady Drowsey. That of a peasant, I assume. So simple.”
“Unspoilt, I hope. The lady was called Maid Marion.” Darsey slipped her arm through Wing's. “My husband is dressed as her love, Robin Hood. Together they opposed a wicked ruler who’d stolen the throne.”
There was a moment of deathly silence and then Goldown laughed. “Wonderful. These negotiations will be most entertaining. I must be close to Patri at the time of unmasking.”
“You won't warn him first?” Darsey wondered, which caused more laughter.
“Simple indeed.” Goldown's spear darted forward and Wing's arm tensed to pull Darsey aside, but she stopped him with a frond snap.
Darsey stood quite still while the sharp, obsidian flake parted her hair. It caught, then edged deeper with a flick that sent a dark red strand spiraling to the ground. The spear tip re-emerged with a strand of flowers draped over it.
Goldown studied the garland with pursed lips. “So quaint.” She turned to gaze at Wing. “The future favor is paid. I cut only her hair and no more. Enjoy the dance.”
16
Freedom
Jace ran and didn't look back. Falkyn called after him, but he kept on going. He'd never had a chance like this before. He went to full combat power and swept through the crowd. He darted and weaved without touching anyone, in a dance more exhilarating than any on the ballroom floor. He quickly left that chamber behind, slipping past people in a frenzied rush. His fronds felt their surprise, but he laughed and kept going.
Jace ran until there was no one left to dance past. The crowd thinned with each new corridor and he finally stopped in an empty intersection. He was outside his home and entirely alone for the first time in his life. He ripped off his helmet and whooped with carefree delight. He’d ditched his mother, but hadn't been kidnapped, raped, maimed or killed. It seemed she was wrong about the universe.
An unexpected burst of laughter made Jace spin to face the largest corridor. Mocking voices carried from it and their jeering tone set his teeth on edge. He strode toward them without hesitation.
The hallway opened into a larger space and Jace paused at its edge. A group of costumed males was gathered near the far wall. They were all staring at someone too short to be seen over their massed shoulders. They were dressed alike as a troop of ancient Imperial Guards and one wore the long, purple cloak of a First Leader. Purple-cloak reached toward whoever their circle hid and his cloak was punched backward when his elbow hurtled into it. It looked like someone had pushed his arm away. Hard.
Jace rose onto his toes and the target of the heckling males came into sight. He saw white-blonde hair, tied high in a simple ponytail, before the leader of the group moved again, stepping toward her this time. A solid shove sent him reeling back and he staggered, half turning to show a face like thunder while his friends laughed.
Jace briefly had a clear view of the girl being tormented and one of his brows shot upward. She was kres, but that was scarcely surprising. Neither was the fact that she was undisguised, wearing a simple dress rather than a costume. A server's dress. No wonder the morons felt free to impose on her and no wonder they wanted to. That was the true surprise - her perfect features. She must be the most gorgeous girl in the galaxy.
That pale hair swung low across her back, despite being tied high on her head and her skin looked like honey, not the more common creamed honey, but liquid honey, darker and clearer. It was the perfect contrast for her hair and both would have looked even better next to him. In fact she'd look perfect tucked under his arm, or under some other part of his body. His grin faltered when the girl looked up.
Her expression was demure, but her pale gray eyes sent a very different message. They grew paler still while Jace watched and then began to gleam. The idiots around her kept laughing, but Jace had seen that look before. His mother had made sure he knew it well. Somehow the lovely maid had Beserk genes and she was about to go feral. Things were going to get very nasty, but not in the way those court fools imagined. Blood was going to be spilled and none of it hers.
Jace sighed, but he really had no choice. He was going to have to save the jerks from themselves. He dropped his helmet on the flagstone floor and the crash made the males ahead spin to face him. He straightened his shoulders, before stepping confidently forward. “There you are, sweet. We missed the first dance.”
The leader of the group stepped to meet Jace, opening the semi-circle further. However, Jace ignored him, fixing his smile on the girl, who considered him coolly in return. He hitched the grin higher, until his face ached. Did he look like a moron? A hysterical mass murderer? Hopefully not, because her eyes were fading, returning to a soft grey. That was enough encouragement to keep him closing on her and by the time he reached the other males she was actually smiling back.
“I was delayed,” she murmured in response to his question about their supposed dance.
The court youngsters studied Jace intently. They all had to look up to do so and his confidence became briefly genuine, until their leader moved further to block him. The kres noble dropped a hand to his sword, which looked disturbingly real and started to draw it.
“Do you claim this bit of gossamer as girlfriend?”
Jace kept his eyes locked on his adversary, refusing to be distracted by the blade still appearing from its sheath. “Absolutely.”
The cloaked kres looked back to his friends and then up at Jace again with a laugh. “Go away, boy. I doubt you'd even hold hands with a wild one like this, much less dare more.” He turned his back on Jace and something snapped, but in Jace, not the girl. He strode forward, shouldering his way past the bully, so that the kres stumbled, and staggered into his friends. “Hey. Do you understand who I am?” the noble protested, but Jace ignored him.
His anger carried him forward, right up to the female, despite the fact that her steady gaze was kneading his stomach like dough. He took her in his arms, more roughly than he intended which wasn’t a great start, but bent to kiss her anyway. She stiffened against him, while her fronds flashed outrage, but then unexpectedly her mind and body relaxed. She leaned into him and his anxiety vanished. Her lips were softer than he was expecting and everything else seemed irrelevant.
“Hey, slave girl, you need to ignore the lanky alien and spread that around,” one of the court lackeys needled, but Jace ignored him. This time it was easy. He was in another world. Wow. Had he ever been kissed like this before? It felt as if lightning flashed between them. Literally. He could swear something seared his lips. Something shocking, but very good.
The girl he was holding certainly hadn't felt anything like it, but then she had nothing to compare it to. His arms tightened around her at that realization. This was her first kiss and she wasn't afraid to let him know. She wasn't afraid to let him know anything. Both of her fronds curled around his and one tugged hard, as if she was teasing him, but there was nothing teasing about her mind. All of her thoughts were there and easy to access, her entire life laid bare for him. He didn't try to focus on any of the details, but they were there if he wanted to. Double wow.
Jace's mouth slid free, just enough to let him nibble her lip and any thoughts of holding back mentally vanished. He'd never let anyone straight into his mind before, never even bee
n tempted, but with her it was easy. Welcome, sweet.
It's Misty.
It certainly is. Hi, Misty. I'm Jace. He felt surprise from her and recognition, but was too busy tasting her to notice. She smelt strangely familiar. Like his home planet Blossom, but not the aroma of the great forests, rather the fresher, more subtle scent of wildflowers in the high meadows. Definitely delicious.
Fingers clutched Jace’s shoulder and dug deep to wrench him away from Misty. He turned just in time for his jaw to collide with a mailed fist and the world tipped backward in slow motion. Wall… ceiling… far wall… a bruising collision with the floor… and finally ceiling again. Jace blinked very slowly at the mural above. Ancient creatures seemed to be bursting from jungle vegetation straight at him. That was confusing. He shook his head in an effort to clear it and pain exploded along his jaw, before everything started moving again. Not as quickly as normal, but far faster than his fall. A blur of honey and white passed over him like an avenging angel.
Jace tried to croak “Don’t”, but was far too late. Two silver spotlights swept the room, while the thud of blows landing was followed by cracking and squelching. Jace grimaced and pushed himself up onto his elbows and then his knees. Apart from Misty he was the only person even close to standing. The Court bullies were sprawled across the chamber, most curled around various parts of their anatomies, but two unmoving. Oh no. That was bad.
Jace ignored the fire spreading through his face to rise very slowly. He lifted his hands and curled them around the back of his head, fingers laced together. Misty stood in the middle of her fallen foes, watching them with silver eyes and bristling fronds. Her head snapped toward Jace and he froze. Her gaze was blank, lost in Beserk vision, while her nostrils flared as if trying to scent prey. She took a darting stride toward him and he sank back to his knees. “Mist, it’s me. Jace.”
Misty stopped and her brow furrowed. “Jace?”
“Yep, that’s me. The great kisser.”
She tilted her head to one side as if perplexed by that, but then a small smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “Prove it.” Her eyes softened, their harsh light fading until Jace could see without squinting. Misty sighed, her shoulders slumped and she looked around her. “Oh, drak.”
“Indeed,” Jace agreed. He jumped to his feet to grasp her unresisting hand. “We need to be somewhere else. Anywhere else.”
“Wait.” Misty turned slowly around, swiveling her hand in his, but not trying to break free. She finally covered her eyes with her free hand and shivered. “They went down so easily. I never thought… Maybe we should give them some regen.”
“No, it’s okay. My scan says they’ll be fine.” Jace looked more closely at his wrist and winced. “A few cuts and, ah, breaks, but they’ll heal and look, one’s up already.”
The largest of the young nobles rose to all fours, his face covered in blood and a pulped nose. Misty grabbed Jace and he didn’t resist when she dragged him deeper into the palace. This evening was not going to look good on his ambassador’s resume. “Where are we going?”
“The Imaginary Menagerie. It’s the perfect place to get lost and it’s where I was heading anyway. To meet my father.”
Jace hardly heard the words fluttering past. All of his attention was on Misty as she tugged him forward. This girl had no issues with moving fast. He was all for charging out into the worlds, but he wasn't sure she had any brakes at all. Perhaps running with her wasn’t such a good idea- she stopped so abruptly he overshot, dragging her with him. They piled into a corridor wall and Jace caught Misty, cushioning the collision.
She was in his arms again, but this time frowned up at him. “Make up your mind, Jace. Do you want to walk away or not? You must have noted my life's a cliff-top ride, so are you going to close your eyes and scream like a babe, or grab a spot in the front row? Hide or ride? Because if you want to travel with me we won't be hiding.”
“Ride,” Jace answered at once, without a hint of hesitation. “If they'll let me.”
Misty blinked up at him in surprise. “Your life has constraints too?”
“My life is one great, big, hairy, mother-mammoth tar pit.”
“Mine also.” Their eyes met and Jace felt a different type of communion. Misty's lips parted, before her fronds draped delicately over his and he breathed in sharply. Both her mind and body offered a promise. Nothing concrete, but together they hinted at unexpected freedom. His brow crinkled while his throat constricted.
“I'm not, ah, sure-” Jace managed, before Misty rose on her toes to kiss him again. Her mouth pressed against his, but she left it to him to deepen the kiss. It took less than a second for Jace to shift from not sure to very sure indeed. He thrust his tongue between her lips and that impossible electricity surged between them again. He cupped her face and his thumbs stroked her cheeks, while her hands were busy on his torso. The insanity of such closeness with a girl he'd just met only added to his excitement. He was never going home again.
Jace was too busy making out with Misty to register the clank of ironclad feet along the corridor, or notice the square shadow that fell over them.
“Mistwing.”
Misty pulled back at once, while Jace jumped and nearly bit his tongue. They both looked sideways at a shiny figure, whose metal helm stared blankly back. Jace relaxed when he recognized the armor. “Admiral FarFlight.”
The expressionless helm turned briefly to acknowledge Jace, but then swiveled back to Misty. She dropped a perfect kres curtsy. The sort used at Court between close relatives. “Patri,” she murmured and Jace's mind went as blank as the armor staring at them. Free was her father? Oh God, he was an idiot. Mistwing FeatherFlight. The only child of the house his father's cousin had once founded. His new friend was certainly no servant.
“Thank you for coming,” she continued and Free ducked his head into his hands. He pulled the helm free and his face appeared, looking every bit as unsmiling as the armor.
“For you, sweet, anything.” He looked back to Jace and his gold eyes seemed much fiercer than usual. “Jace. I see you've made acquaintance with my daughter and lost your costume while doing so.”
“Ah, um, yes sar.” Jace looked round vaguely for his helmet and then noticed his bare arms and searched for his chainmail too. When had he lost that?
Misty pointed helpfully behind him, but Free raised a metal hand. “Wait. I wish to have some words with you, young male. Mistwing, why don't you amuse yourself in the Menagerie? I'll join you soon.” Free gestured to a low arch at the end of the corridor and Jace forgot to be nervous.
“The Imaginary Menagerie,” he breathed. “One of the great treasures of Kresynt. Did you know it took the gentik ten years and the BGP another five to create?”
Misty's laugh was low and throaty. “I live here. I've been to the Menagerie before.”
Jace felt his cheeks heat. “Of course. Is it as good as they say? Is it like stepping back in time? Back to Kresynt's last interglacial?”
“Why don't you come see?”
“No.” Free thumped his armored fists together and all of Jace's anxiety returned. “Misty, Menagerie. You, stay.”
Mistwing backed away with a smile. “Don't be long. Patri, play nice.” She turned and slid past waving vines to disappear into the exhibit.
Jace looked back to her father and the Admiral was somehow right beside him. Free smiled and Jace gulped. “This will not be play, boy. I've no doubt your intentions toward my daughter are those of any young male-”
“Sar-”
“Please, Jace. I'm no fool and Mistwing is very beautiful, but she’s not as mature as her age would suggest. Not even close.”
Jace drew himself to attention. “She may not look like Des'ray, sar, but huge curves aren't needed to be female.”
“Indeed not and I don't expect my daughter to look like some human singing star. Sadly, the curves that Misty does have are deceptive. You know what happened to her before she was born?”
“I w
as there, sar. I lost my brother.”
“Of course. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I need to protect my little girl. She was irradiated that day and it destroyed her adult future. Do you understand me?”
Jace paused to consider the question. “She's infertile?”
“Worse. She will never have children and she will never be sexually active. Her body simply won't develop to accommodate such acts.”
“Sar, I don't understand. Misty isn’t tall and her curves are, um, modest, but she looks like a normal adult. A lot like my last girlfriend actually. I don't know what you think of me either. I'm not about to leap on her.”
A thin smile stretched Free's mouth. “I'm pleased to hear such. My mind is now at ease. I do appreciate your friendship for my daughter, but it needs to stop at that. Although Misty is outwardly full grown, she'll never mature internally. The radiation was countered, but it was too late. She may reach average height, but certain-sure no more and she’ll never be truly adult. She’ll never be able to mate. Have I spoken clear enough? Do you understand now? If you try to pursue her you're no more than a pedophile. Is that what you are, Jace? A pedophile?”
Jace stumbled backward shaking his head. “No. Never.”
“That's a relief. I'm most fond of your parents and would hate to be forced to bring charges against you. Do we understand each other?”
“Yes, sar.” Jace could scarcely hear his own voice, but the Admiral seemed satisfied. He nodded and turned away, to clank after Misty.
Jace stood outside the Menagerie, breathing hard. Free’s accusation left him flushed with panic and suddenly aimless, unsure where he wanted to be. The Admiral had to be exaggerating, but he did do rabid father rather well. He’d savage Jace without hesitation, which was scary, but also drakking annoying. Jace stopped hesitating. He should go back to the dance, but that was exactly what all the parentals wanted him to do. A string of soft hoots wafted from the door ahead and he smiled.
Jace walked forward to duck under the curtain of swaying vines. He entered a soft green world of heat and steam. Water trickled past mossy rocks and something scuttled over his foot. The hoots came again and the shadow of an impressive wingspan rippled across the ground in front of him. He looked up sharply, but lost sight of whatever it was in the dappled light. The shadow had looked almost like a starlifter, but weren’t they extinct? Jace pushed further into the tropical jungle and heard voices ahead. They were low and serious, but he forged on anyway to emerge in a glade with a railing around it. The admiral was standing with his daughter on the far side.