Ryan raised his eyebrows and things were much clearer to him now. He turned to his wife. "Honey, anything you want to ask?"
"What's happening out at our farm?" she carefully said, and the murmurs from the nobles up and down the table were respectfully soft.
"That was my idea," Vorjon told her without hesitation, shooting her a smile of acceptance. This put a look of amazement on Myra's lovely face. Nothing to do with the farm and everything to do with Ryan's prompting her to speak. The king was being highly kind to address her directly. "An enemy force torched your home, I didn't care for that. I ordered it to be rebuilt of stone and made twice as big. With your husband's new rank, you'll have no problem hiring servants if you wish it. Anything else, Lady Myra?"
"Oh my," she stated, then grinned. "No, your majesty. Thank you." The amount of favor shown with the king continuing to speak directly to her almost made her swoon. Her people highly favored men over women when it came to official business, at first she was at a loss as to why they would so openly accept her involvement. Other women in the past who dared to speak in men's affairs were escorted out and scorned for a long time, but not here and not now. Could it be they made an exception for her because of her husband? She wasn't sure, but she loved it and hoped such a special status wouldn't end anytime soon.
"Then the day's business is concluded," Vorjon announced and spread his hands before the table in respect. "The army pulls out by the end of the week. We'll be doing heavy patrols along our new border until winter starts and we'll resume them next summer. Let them try to make a fuss of it. They'll quickly wish they never got out of bed that morning. Adjourned."
Everyone rose to leave and Myra grabbed Ryan and hugged him hard. He returned her affection gladly and nobody minded one bit. Their lives changed for the better after almost being taken away from them for good. He had his family and they had him. Life was sweet that day and he couldn't argue. His heart looked forward to loving his sweet wife for the rest of his natural life.
Chapter Thirty Four - Oh Hell No!
The rest of the summer went by without incident from Queen Darya or her people, which was a pleasant bonus after such a traumatic incident. Winter settled in and the large stone house was easily warmed with no chill in the air. Becky and Ruvian started to walk around nine months old, to Myra's amazement, and exclaimed that children never progressed that fast among her people.
Summer arrived and Ryan went out without guards and collected the local taxes for King Vorjon Zast'Hirame, vowing to himself he would never shackle a soul for lack of payment or resources. Nobody had any problem paying that year, the soldiers spending coin from the king's army had boosted the local economy. The heavy patrols never ran into problems from the Sanego and any response from Darya over Ryan's own subterfuge never materialized.
When the second week of summer started and he and Myra finished planting their first crop, thunder sounded in the distance. He stopped in his tracks and looked up at the clear blue sky. Storms weren't popular in this region and most of their water came from underground streams, fueled by the melt off from the winter snow as it filtered down through the soil.
"I don't understand," Myra said out loud, shielding the sunlight from her lovely lavender eyes while gazing at the horizon. "I've never heard thunder last that long before. Now it stopped."
"I can't place it," Ryan admitted, carefully watching the sky as he put his shovel up against their barn. "Somehow it seems familiar, honey, but it doesn't make sense to me either. Let's go in for now and rest up, we've been at it in this heat for too long."
"You're right, dear," Myra agreed. "I can get dinner started a little early and keep the kids entertained for a bit." They loved watching her chop the food up and cook the various vegetables.
Just as they sat down for dinner an hour later, a heavy knock landed. Looking puzzled at each other, it was Ryan who got up and answered the front door. Two tall forms stood there and his mind reeled. Recognition flared. More memory painlessly surged forward, but as before, only what was before him got labeled with new words and names, but no depth to their history.
The man and woman had on silver and blue padded flight suits. They both had raven black hair and they were his height. They had his type of ears. Both of them also had radio communicators attached to those ears and the woman touched the transmit button.
"Alpha leader, we found him," she said, but not in the Elerian language. He understood them easily and suddenly knew they were speaking English. "It looks like Sergeant Ryan has gone native. Repeat, he has gone native."
The man gave Sergeant Ryan a serious frown. "What were you thinking? What's the matter with you?" he demanded in English. He lowered his tracking unit that had been focused on Ryan and switched it off with the flick of his thumb.
"Honey," Myra said quickly as she appeared by Ryan's side. "Who are these people? What are they saying?" Then she recognized their features as his own, and suddenly fearful, Myra clutched his powerful arm possessively. All he could do was stand there, a look of shock and amazement on his face while trying to sort out all the new information that seemed to flow erratically across his thoughts.
The radio beeped and a third voice demanded in angry English from the tiny speaker, "What's the level of contamination?"
Before the woman could transmit a response and while Ryan couldn't get past his current bewildered state, Becky and Ruvian took up a position beside each of their father's leg. Becky held onto his pants pocket while Ruvian sucked his thumb. Both toddlers regarded the strangers with an innocent gaze.
She didn't press the transmit button, but her response was enough for Ryan to understand that something very bad had happened and he had no idea what it meant at the moment. Her voice was startled, filled with dismay as she regarded the kids. "Oh hell no!"
To Be Continued In Passion Of The Same
About The Author
Originally born in Erie, PA with his parents moving to retire in Florida when he was the ripe old age of 7, all along the interstate little Danny would ask pretty waitresses their names and wanted to marry them all. He grew up a natural romantic, his complex code of honor for the opposite sex earning much respect throughout his adult life.
He met his wife Krista on a blind date in 1987, and two years later they were married and awaited the anxious birth of their first daughter. A total of four children (the second child their only boy) and twenty years later and Daniel still hadn't published any of his work. He tried Science Fiction, Fantasy, Westerns and even Horror. Finally putting pen to Romance allowed his personality and respect for the opposite sex to flow unhindered in any universe he decided to create. Passion of the Different is his first Romance novel but not his last. There are two planned sequels, Passion of the Same and Passion of the Unknown.
Now 42, Daniel A. Roberts lives in Bethany, Oklahoma with his wife and still has two teenage daughters at home. He is looking forward to bringing more adventure to readers everywhere and then who knows what else could happen from there on out!
About The Cover Artist
Jeanette Thomas is a medical professional who does 3D art in her leisure time. She lives with her husband and son in Florida. To contact her, or see more of work, please visit www.thesleepyelf.com
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