Run!
They barely made it to the trees before the hovercraft came in. It hesitated over the remains of their pod for several minutes as if the occupants were photographing the area or conducting some kind of test or evaluation.
Caillen scowled as he tried to figure out what they were doing. Normally, they'd be out and scanning the ground on foot. But these...
They had a separate protocol that deviated from the norm, which meant he had no idea what to expect. Damn.
"Can you tell anything about them?" Desideria whispered.
"They're Andarions."
"How do you know?"
He pulled his FVG out of his pack and held it to his eyes so that he could see the pilots in the cockpit who were scanning the ground and talking to each other. "Style of the craft. It's an older Andarion model S10-B60. Most humans are too short to pilot it. And now that I can see them, they're definitely NHL." Non Human Life forms.
"Is that good or bad for us?"
Caillen sighed. "Depends on their intentions."
"You're not funny."
"Not trying to be."
The craft descended until it was on the ground. As the door opened, Caillen motioned for her to be quiet while he shoved an amplifier into his ear so that he could hear their conversation even from this distance. Luckily it only amplified voices and not ambient noises, otherwise his hearing would have been blown out by their hovercraft's engines.
Two officers came out of the back to investigate the crash site while the two pilots remained inside.
Desideria opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off with a fierce head shake. One thing about the Andarions, those bastards could hear for miles even without an amplifier. They'd be lucky if the soldiers didnnt hear them breathing.
And what they were talking about was making his stomach shrink.
No, they hadn't landed on a penal colony. This one was worse.
Much worse.
12
Caillen grabbed Desideria's arm and pulled her back, deeper into the woods. Every time she opened her mouth to speak, he motioned for her to be quiet. Something that was beginning to really annoy her. He made other gestures that she couldn't even begin to identify in a way that said he thought she should understand them too. She only hoped they weren't obscene because if they were, he was going to be limping even worse than he already was.
It wasn't until he found a cave that he allowed her to stop moving. He sent her in deeper before he set the pack on the ground and pulled out two devices she couldn't identify. Frowning, she watched as he attached one to each side of the small opening, then turned them on. A low-frequency hum started and the devices caused the light in the cave to darken even more. She could barely see in front of her.
Without breaking stride, he pulled a light stick from the bag and snapped it, then shook it hard before tossing it on the floor so that it landed not far from her. Everything was bathed in a dull purple glow as he picked up the pack and moved toward the back of the cave where she was waiting beside a monstrous black stalagmite that shimmered from the light.
Only then did he let out an elongated, audible breath.
Can I speak? She mouthed the words.
"Yeah, but keep your tone low," he whispered.
"Why?"
He wiped his chin against the back of his hand in a gesture that was an odd mixture of little boy and all-sexy, rugged male. "Andarions have supersonic hearing and I'm not completely sure my dampeners will work against it, especially if they're using any kind of amp." He gestured with his thumb over his shoulder to the opening of the cave. "Those guys out there... they're not your usual crew. You and I hit the mother lode of bad luck. We didn't just land on an Andarion planet. We landed on one of their colonies." He pulled a small device out of his pocket and put it in his ear.
Call her stupid, but she didn't see what the big deal was. The Andarions were members of the council, subject to the same laws as anyone else. Why was he freaking out? "Meaning what?"
"Their colonists are under martial law. Any offworlders caught without proper papers, visitation passes and authorizations are automatically marked as spies, especially human ones. And prosecuted as such. Standard practice is to lock us up and leave us there to die without ever notifying anyone that we've been taken. In fact, if ever asked, they'll deny all charges. Bastards are good at that."
She lifted her chin at his ridiculous far. "We're royalty, they can't do--"
"They can do anything they want," he said, interrupting her. "Someone has to prove we were here, and since the only person who knows our whereabouts is an assassin out to kill us, I don't think he or she's going to be real chatty trying to save us should we be captured."
"Can't we explain or even offer them a reward?"
He laughed out loud. "Have you ever been around an Andarion?"
"Well... no."
"Then take my word on this. They can't be bribed. I have several Andarion friends. One of them was born their crowned prince, but because he has some human features, his own biological grandmother sent him to a human work home where he was kept beaten, chained and declawed and raised like an animal. You don't ever want to know what was done to him. Suffice it to say, if they won't protect their own prince, you and I are, pardon the pun, royally screwed. They won't care about us and if it means war? What the hell? Again, they make your people look like pacifists. A war to them is the bonus fun round they live for." He raked his hand through his hair. "This is why you pray to the gods you never get stranded on foreign soil. One wrong battle, one foul landing and your entire life is forever screwed up or ended."
Like her father.
He'd been a pilot who'd crash-landed on Qilla. Taken as a war prize, he'd never been allowed to contact his people or family. His only shot at freedom had been one battle, which he'd been forced to fight while wounded. After that, her mother had never allowed him another chance to let his family know what had happened to him.
For the first time in her life, she understood the real horror that had been her father's existence.
"There's a whole universe out there, Daria, where your mother doesn't rule. A universe of diverse people and experiences. Promise me when you grow up, you'll take time to visit them and learn that though we might be different on the outside, inside we all want the same things. Safety. Love. Family. And peace."
As a child, she'd thought the peace part made him weak. But now she understood what he meant. He wasn't talking about peace from war. He was talking about the inner calm that she'd never known. That comfort that came with understanding who and what you were, accepting your limitations. With being comfortable in your own skin.
Instead all she heard internally was the constant criticisms of her mother, aunt and sisters. If there was one thing in life she knew, it was every shortcoming she possessed.
What was strange to her was that Caillen had the same inner peace her father had always held. That ability to be calm under duress and chaos.
Not wanting to think about those uncomfortable comparisons, she turned her attention back to their current situation. "So what do we do?"
Caillen paused as he considered his options. None of them were stellar.
< was taheight="0em" width="27">They couldn't stay here too long or they'd be found. Since there weren't any bodies in the wreckage, the Andarions would comb this area until they found them. Andarions were, unfortunately, a tenacious species who would be itching for a fight. Not to mention, they had to get off this rock and let his father know what was going on. And as much as he hated to admit it, the Qill queen needed to know too.
Maniacal bitch.
Desideria's dark eyes burned into him. Thank the gods she didn't look anything like her mother. Her features were much softer and kinder. Far more attractive. If she'd been a ringer for her mother, he might have left her in the pod to burn.
"We have to get out of here. Now," Desideria insisted.
"I know, Princess. I know." But first, he had to get them out of the
cross hairs. "We have to find whatever civilization they have."
She scowled at him. "You said we couldn't do that."
He dropped his pack on the ground beside her. "I said we couldn't do it as humans."
Desideria was now completely confused. Had he inhaled too many fumes before she rescued him? "Apparently I'm missing something. How do we not look human when, last time I checked, we're humans?" Grubby, bloody and beat up, but still undeniable in their species. "You have a secret you need to impart to me?"
Caillen dug through his pack and pulled out several items.
Bemused, she watched him open a bottle of water and a foil packet. The packet contained a small pink tablet.
I knew it!
He was on drugs.
"What's that?" she asked suspiciously.
He popped the pill into his mouth and used the water to wash it down. "In about twenty hours, it'll grow my hair to my shoulders and turn it black."
They had such things? Her father had told her of many marvels, but this was a new one on her. "Is that safe?"
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before he secured the top on the bottle. "God, I hope so. I've never had to use it before, but unfortunately I don't have a wig in my magic bag. Not that I'd use one even if I did. Learned the hard way a long time ago that those things have a nasty tendency to come off at the worst possible moment." He opened a small vial that contained two contact lenses.
Intrigued and confused, she watched as he put them in. Oh yeah, they were odd. It made his pupils red and his irises white with a red rim. "Can you see with those?"
He blinked three times, then widened his eyes as if allowing them to settle into place. "Not as well as I can normally, but enough to get by. So long as no one gets too frisky from my pereral I'll be fine." Next, he pulled out a small round case and opened it to show what appeared to be two elongated teeth. He took them out and covered his canines with them to give him a fanged smile.
She hated to admit it, but he was actually attractive in a freakish sort of way. "What are you supposed to be?"
He unzipped an outside pocket to reveal a mirror he used to examine his handiwork. "An Andarion. Once my hair grows and darkens, I'll be able to pass as a native. The shorter hair will be a bitch since their males wear theirs longer than yours, but I can make something up as to why I had to cut it. Hopefully they'll buy it without bloodshed." He gave her a thorough once-over. "You on the other hand..."
She held her hands up and backed away in fear of what that look on his face meant for her. "I'm not taking that pill and sprouting another arm."
"I doubt you'd grow another arm... Might lose one though." He flashed an evil grin at her that was even more sinister given his fangs. "Don't worry. I'm not going to offer you one. You're too short and your features are wrong. No one would ever believe you're one of them. Not to mention I don't have another pair of fangs or contacts." He jerked a hooded cloak out of his pack and tossed it to her. "We'll keep you covered and I'll tell them you're my daughter. Just make sure no one sees you uncovered."
"If they do?"
"Then we should have just laid down and let the assassins on the ship have our throats. Believe me, that would have been a lot less painful."
Desideria grimaced at the cloak. "Well, I'll say one thing. Hanging around you isn't boring."
He laughed. "Don't I know it. My first name should have been Catastrophe and I swear in some language, somewhere, that is what Caillen means. Now come over here and let me check out your head wound. Last thing we need is for you to have brain damage."
"I already have brain damage. Why else would I be here?"
He snorted. "Yeah, I resemble that remark."
Desideria sat down beside him while he rooted through his pack. She half expected him to pull a ship out of it. He hadn't been joking when he called it a survival pack. He appeared to have some of everything in it.
Except for a black wig...
As he dug, his hair fell forward over his bruised forehead. His leg looked bloodied and painful through the torn fabric, but he ignored the pain as if he were one of her people. Right now, dressed in those worn-out boots and leather jacket, there was nothing about him that reminded her of royalty. He was more like one of the rogue pirates her mother hired to cause trouble for her enemies.
And a part of her that scared her was actually attracted to that darker side of his personality. More than that, it reminded her of how yummy his stomach had been while exposed and that led her to wonder at the rest of him...
What would he look like naked?
Don't be stupid. Men are not on your menu. At least not for a year, until the anniversary of her adulthood.
But she couldn't help it. He was compelling. Resourceful. Strong. Intelligent.
Insane.
A heady concoction no matter how hard she tried to not think about it.
He returned to her side, carrying medical supplies that he set down next to her before he handed her a bottle of water and knelt. Resting on his good knee, he gently pulled the hair back from her face to examine her injury. His nearness disturbed her and made her heartbeat quicken. More than that, the scent of his skin filled her head with the most pleasant masculine scent. She'd never been this close to a man before except for her father and her mother's consorts. While those consorts were attractive, they'd never enticed her.
Not like this.
Was this the hunger she'd overheard her sisters talking about? While she'd studied and done as she was told, they'd snuck online and collected photos of naked men during their study hours. Late at night, once everyone else had gone to bed, they'd get together and giggle about what they would do once they were able to have consorts of their own.
That had never been her dream. She didn't want a kept pet enslaved to her. Her father had told her stories of how men and women were a team on his world. How they worked together as equals. She didn't know why that appealed to her, but it did. She wanted a partner at her back not someone who resented her power over them and who would have sullen fits like her mother's consorts. They'd always seemed more like children to her than men she'd want to father her offspring.
Caillen looked up and caught her gaze. He arched a brow as a sly, knowing half smile curled his lips. "You imagining me naked, Princess?"
Heat scalded her cheeks at his teasing arrogance--and the fact that he had caught her doing just that. Caillen was definitely not the kind of man a woman with a brain would put at her back or anywhere else in a five-thousand-mile radius. "Hardly. You look really creepy like that."
He laughed good-naturedly. "I've been called worse and that by people who claim they love me."
"You have people who actually love you?"
His smile widened. "Hard to believe, ain't it? But yeah, I do. At least that's what they say when I'm in the room."
She couldn't understand how he took an insult with such grace and humor. In her world, people had killed over less. "Do you ever get angry?"
"Of course I do."
She winced as he wiped the disinfectant along the marks on her neck. "Over what?"
He lowered the linen pad to redampen it. "My sisters and cruelty. And cruelty to my sisters is double-ass beating to anyone dumb enough to try it."
She pulled back to look at him. "I thought Emperor Evzen only had one child. You."
"He does."
When he didn't elaborate, she prodded him. "Are they from your mother, then?"
"Why do you care?"
Her temper ignited, but she held it back. There was no need to get angry over a simple question. That was something her mother would do. His tone had been inquisitive, not confrontational. So when she spoke, she forced herself to be pleasant. "I'm just curious. When you mentioned them, there was so much emotion in that one word that I can tell they mean a lot to you. In my experience it's unusual for someone to feel that way toward half siblings."
He licked his lips before he continued treating her neck. "Where I com
e from, family's defined as those who don't screw you over a paycheck. Blood makes no difference. If you can trust them with your life and know that they'll be there come whatever hell rains down, then they're your family."
In her world, family meant they had the good grace to stab you while looking you in the eyes. She couldn't imagine her sisters standing by her side for any reason.
Unwilling to go there, she changed the subject to something a little less painful. "You really think you can fool the Andarions into believing you're one of them?"
"I know I can. Like I said, I have friends who are Andarion."
And that meant nothing. She had a father who was Gondarion and she knew nothing about his people or their culture. "You speak their language fluently?"
"All nineteen dialects."
That was unexpected. While most princes were well educated, most relied on their advisors or electronics for translations. "Impressive."
"Not really. I've spent a lot of time making runs through their system. Since they don't like outsiders, I've learned to fake it, hence the fangs and contacts in my bag. When I was making heavy runs, I even grew my hair out and dyed it to blend in with them. But I'm not a fan of long hair on me."
"Why not?"
"Gets in the way when I'm having sex."
That unexpected answer actually made her laugh out loud.
Caillen paused at the sound of the first real laugh he'd heard from her. It was a pure, light sound that made his cock twitch. Combine that with the way her eyes sparkled and he wished he could keep her laughing. It relaxed her features and made her absolutely irresistible. Damn, she was attractive and he hated that most of all. He didn't want to feel anything for a woman. Especially not one from a world where men were considered beneath them and whose mother wanted him horsewhipped in the worst sort of way.
She wiped at her eyes. "I'm sure that's not the real reason."
"I promise you, it is."
She shook her head. "You're terrible."
"Again, I've been called worse." He brushed his hand over her head, checking for swelling. She winced as he touched the lump where she was bleeding. "Sorry." He reached into his bag and dug out a chemical ice pack. He broke the seal, shook it and then handed it to her to put on the swelling. "The cut doesn't appear to need stitches. Let's get the swelling down and then I'll put a coagulant on it."
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