“I’m talking about me, though,” I said. “What if I kill him before the rite? Will that be enough to satisfy you?”
Madalena stared at me for a few moments. “What do you mean, my lord?”
“Will it mean I am king of your people?”
“You will need to complete the rite,” she said.
“No,” I replied. “No rite. I know you believe I will survive, but I don’t understand your culture or your people enough to understand why the rite matters when I’m married to you and you are already the ruler of your people.”
“You command the Vaish through me,” she said. “The other blood clans will not respect you.”
“Will they respect you?” I asked.
“Yes, and no,” she replied. “I am the Prime Valkyrie, but my husband is not Nordar, and my father is still alive.”
“If he was dead, they would respect you more?” I asked.
“It would increase the chances of them kneeling before me,” she said. “He will need to die, and I made a mistake by letting him go. Even if he is dead, the other clans might resist because I am submitted to a man who is not Nordar.”
“What about when I kill your father?” I asked, and I felt a bit of surprise that none of my friends had jumped into the conversation yet.
She didn’t answer for a few moments, and we stared at each other while the other women in the room were silent.
“I understand your hesitation about the rite,” she finally said.
“But you still want me to do it.” I sighed and rubbed my gloved fingers across my chin.
“I want them to see you as I see you,” she whispered, and her emotions threatened to overwhelm me. I still didn’t understand why she felt so strongly about me, but the woman’s passion for me was undeniable. I guessed it had something to do with her believing that Odin brought us together.
“You don’t seem like the type of person who cares about what others think of you,” I said.
“I worked my entire life to become the Prime Valkyrie,” she said with a shrug. “I know who I am, but you still do not understand me, Adam. Yet you expect me to conform to your wishes.”
“You submitted to me,” I argued. “Blame yourself if you want to.”
“I do not,” she growled. “I wanted you, and now you are mine.”
“So why are you complaining?” I asked.
Madalena looked from me and glanced at the other women in the room. “I wish to discuss this privately with you. They do not need to be a part of our relationship.”
Zea inhaled sharply, and Madalena turned her steel gray eyes to the hacker. I held up my hand before the blonde woman could speak, and I saw Eve’s jaw tense out of the corner of my eye.
“I will not complete your rite, Madalena. I will hunt down your father and end him for trying to kill me. Is that enough to get the Nordar to join us in the fight against the Draugr?”
We stared at each other again, and I felt her conflicting emotions.
“The Jotnar will not kneel to you, but if we destroy them, the other clans will,” she said at last.
“Sounds like we’ve got a plan,” I said.
“No,” she said. “The Jotnar are powerful. We should make them allies instead of destroying them. If you complete the rite, they will complain, and you might need to make a small show of force, but they will fall in line. If you do not, they will resist you until the very end. It will weaken our navy and cost us more time. Completing your rite will save millions of lives.”
Her words gave me pause, and I wondered if they were true.
She believes they are, my love. She cares little for the Jotnar Overlord Clan, but she wants their help to defeat the Draugr.
“What if I die in the rite?” I asked with a heavy sigh. “Will you be able to get the Jotnar to follow you?”
“Yes,” Madalena said with a slow nod, “but--”
“Uhh, I don’t like where this is going,” Zea interrupted the Prime Valkyrie.
“Me either,” Paula said. “You can’t do this rite.”
I turned to Eve and stared into her red eyes for what felt like an hour but was probably only a few seconds.
Was my life worth the lives of millions of people?
“There are three other clans,” Eve said as she turned to Madalena. “Will they follow Adam without the Jotnar?”
“No,” Madalena said. “They will not want to commit their navy to our cause if they fear that Jotnar will attack them.”
“So, it is all or nothing?” Zea asked. “This is so fucking stupid.”
“Madalena, where is your father?” I asked.
“You will hunt him first and then complete your rite?” She raised an eyebrow.
“I’ll hunt him first, and then I will consider the rite,” I answered, and my words caused pleasure to flow from her. I didn’t need Eve to tell me what the Prime Valkyrie was thinking. “Do you know where to find him?”
“I have thought about his location,” she said with a nod. “He still has thousands of followers. If we find him, there will still be a battle.”
“Thousands of followers?” Zea winced. “Do they have their own ships?”
“He will have many ships, but Persephone is faster. We should return to Nordar - 13, and then I can speak with my admirals and gain a better understanding of the situation.”
“Alright,” I said.
“But wait,” Zea said. “No rite?”
“We’ll find Madalena’s father first,” I said, and the Prime Valkyrie nodded.
“I have an idea of where he might go to lick his wounds, but I need to speak to my admirals.”
“Did you mention something about spas and salt baths?” Kasta asked. “I could have sworn you said something about that.”
“Yes,” Madalena answered. “We have many on the battle fortress.”
“Let’s get going then!” the android said as she stood from her chair and laughed.
“Juliette, do you need us on Queen’s Hat?” I asked.
“Well, I would still like dinner,” she huffed at me. “But I can wait until next time. I have a shitload of work to do cleaning up all the fucking bullet holes in my station.” The redhead turned to Kasta, and the android winced a bit.
“Hey, no one got hurt except the bad guys,” Kasta said.
“So, I’m not that angry with you,” Juliette said with a laugh. “Anyways, I’ll send you all the drive info from the Black Heart ships as soon as I get it. Here is your video back.” She handed the drive to Zea and then turned to me. “You’ll visit me soon?”
“Of course,” I said as I stood. The other women in the room followed my example, and they each told Juliette goodbye, except for Madalena, who exited as soon as it was clear we were going to leave.
“Good luck with her,” Juliette said as soon as Madalena left.
“I’ll figure it out,” I said. Then I reached across the table and gave her a hug. She seemed a bit startled by my movement, but then she let out a sigh and wrapped her arms around my armored chest.
“Thanks, Adam. See you soon?” she whispered in my ear.
“You got it,” I said as I pulled away from her. We smiled at each other for another moment, and then I walked out of the office with Eve, Zea, Paula, and Kasta.
Chapter 9
We walked back to Persephone in silence, but I didn’t feel like it was because any of my friends were in a sour mood. We were all occupied with our own thoughts and the sight of the hundreds of workers that were repairing the internal damage to the station.
“Prepare everyone for departure,” I said to Madalena as soon as we walked into Persephone’s hold. “As soon as Juliette gives us the drive info, we’ll leave.”
“Yes, my lord,” Madalena said.
“I’m going to get out of this armor and take a shower. I’ll be back on the bridge in half an hour,” I said to Eve, Zea, Paula, and Kasta as we all walked toward the elevator.
“I’ll review the video a few more times
to see if I find any clues,” Kasta said.
“I need to do some drone repair,” Paula said as she pointed to the massive knight robots secured against the wall of the hold. “I’ll catch up with you all later.”
“I’ll get some navigation models prepped,” Zea said as she looked at the twins. “When I get the stuff from Juliette, can you both look it over with me?”
“Yes,” Paula and Kasta said, and then Paula turned away from us so she could work on the drones.
“I will stay on the bridge with Madalena,” Eve said as the five of us stepped into the elevator.
“You do not need to, Eve,” the Prime Valkyrie said. “I will follow Adam’s orders.”
“I know,” the vampire replied. “I still wish to spend more time with you. We need to work on our relationship.”
“There are some things I do not wish to work on,” Madalena said as the doors closed.
“Oh, loooook! That’s my stop. Byyyyyeeee!” Kasta said as the elevator opened on the second floor. She exited, and then it was just Eve, Zea, Madalena, and me in the elevator.
“The four of us still have much to discuss,” Eve said as soon as the door closed.
“I want to hold off on that for a bit,” I blurted as Zea and Madalena both opened their mouths to speak. “Let’s have dinner once we are in hyperdrive.”
“I have much to do,” the Prime Valkyrie said. “So I will pass on the offer tonight.”
“It isn’t an offer, Madalena,” I corrected.
“Can we speak privately?” she asked.
“I can ask the crew to prepare for us to leave,” Eve said.
Let her speak with you. It will not offend Zea and me.
“I will--” the Prime Valkyrie started to say, but I held up my hand.
“Thanks, Eve. Madalena, come with me.” The door opened, and the four of us exited onto the bridge.
I made a right and walked to the door of my suite. The Prime Valkyrie followed me, and I locked the door behind her once she entered.
“Let’s talk,” I said as I gestured to the couches by the door.
“You said you wished to take a shower. I will help you take off your armor.”
“You said you wanted to talk.”
“We can speak while I take off your armor, my lord.” Madalena set her rifle on one of my coffee tables and then she turned to face me.
“Alright,” I knew we were about to argue, so I didn’t feel like dying on this particular hill. “We’ll talk while you do it.”
“Good,” she said as she reached for the armor on my left arm.
Madalena’s fingers found the seams of the plates, but she pulled the pieces off slower than I would have.
“Talk,” I urged her.
“I have apologized for submitting to you,” she began, “and you accepted my apology.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I did.”
“I am submitted to you, we are bound together in life and death. You are my husband, and I am your wife.” She finished taking off the armor on my forearm and moved to the parts that wrapped around my bicep.
“You call me your husband, but I did not agree to it,” I said.
“Our bond is stronger than a matrimonial oath,” she replied. “We can feel each other. You know I desire to please and honor you.”
“You aren’t making much of an effort to get along with Eve and Zea,” I said as she unbuckled the armor on my arms and then moved to my left shoulder.
“I do not wish to share you with them,” she admitted.
“That is quite a change from what you said before,” I chuckled.
“What I said before?” she asked as her eyes glanced to mine.
“You said I’d forget about them.”
“After you had me in your bed. You have not yet.”
“And I doubt I will,” I said, and her hands stopped pulling at the plates on my shoulders.
“Adam, you are delaying the inevitable.”
“You are confident,” I sighed, and she moved to begin taking the plates from my back.
“I am the Prime Valkyrie,” she said after a few moments.
“Yeah, you’ve told me that a few times.”
“You find me attractive.”
“Is that a question?” I asked.
“No,” she replied. “I know your feelings. I know you desire me.”
“How did the conversations go between you, Eve, and Zea? When I walked in on you three in the kitchen, I hoped you all would have come to an understanding.”
“I will not be subservient to your lovers when I am your wife,” she said, but it might as well have been a scream from the anger boiling off her.
“Eve said you had to obey her?” I asked with surprise.
“She made it clear she did not approve of me,” Madalena answered.
“I find that hard to believe,” I said.
“Do you believe I would lie to you?” Madalena asked, and I could feel her sorrow.
“No,” I replied quickly. “I just think that there was a misunderstanding. I’ve spoken with Eve, and she doesn’t want to alienate you. She understands you are my wife.” The word “wife” was still hard to force out of my mouth, and I was reminded again of how I didn’t agree to any of this.
“Did you speak to Zea?” she asked as she moved to take the armor off my right arm.
“Yeah,” I said as I considered my answer. If Madalena was asking about Zea, it could only mean she cared about my lovers’ opinions more than what she was letting on.
“And?”
“She’s upset, of course,” I replied. “It has less to do with you, and just the circumstances.”
“Explain.”
“It took her awhile to accept Eve and me together. She’s worried about being replaced.”
“She is jealous of me,” Madalena said.
“Is that a statement or a question? It is hard to tell with you sometimes.”
“It is a statement,” the Prime Valkyrie replied. “She feels inferior to me. All of your women do, and it is true. They know I am their better.”
“No, Madalena,” I sighed. “That’s your problem. I know you are arrogant, rightfully so, since you are the most capable warrior out of all of your people, but my friends bring their own unique strengths. We have been through much together, and I value them tremendously. Could you have hacked into the computers like Zea? Could you have watched over the district with the drones like Kasta? Paula is also a genius engineer who can build and tear apart anything. Eve can read minds and can use telekinetic powers. We all work together, none of us are better than each other.
“Adam, besides what Eve does, my crew is skilled with drones, terminal systems, and engineering. I am also your equal in combat.”
“I’d say you are a much better shot than I am.”
“Perhaps, but you did not bring me with you into Queen’s Hat. If you had, we could have gone directly to the police station where your friend was being held and cleared it of hostiles quickly. Your crew has no combat training, and you wasted time protecting them.”
“I don’t believe that is true,” I said.
“Consider it for a few moments,” Madalena said as she moved to my front and began pulling the plates off my chest. “Assume you left your friends on Persephone and brought me instead. You were waylaid at a restaurant?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Combat drones came in, and we had to retreat out the back.”
“Did they fight by your side, or did you defend them?” Madalena’s eyes flashed to my face as she pulled off the last of my chest pieces. Then she knelt before me so she could work on my legs.
“I defended them,” I admitted. “Eve was able to use her powers on some of the mercenaries so I could take them out easier.”
“I am undefeated in combat,” Madalena stated. “Together, you and I would have destroyed those mercenaries with little risk.”
“Probably,” I admitted, “But there were more of them in front of the restaurant. Kasta�
�s drones gave us a visual on them, and we were able to duck into the back of a store so that--”
“The men had riot weapons,” Madalena interrupted me. “The rounds would not have penetrated my armor, or yours. We would have dealt with them. You ran because you were protecting your women.”
“Yeah,” I admitted.
“You were holed up in the apartment; hiding from the patrols. You had no strategy until I came to your rescue,” she said.
“That’s not entirely true,” I argued. “Zea hacked their system, and we saw security footage. The plan was to move Persephone closer and then use the drones. Then that fucker started shooting people, so we had to act.”
“Adam, you understand the point of my words. You did not bring me with you into Queen’s Hat. It created a more difficult scenario for you.”
“It sounds more like you are saying you can replace all of my crew,” I replied.
“Josefinna is skilled with drones and computer systems, as are Milda, Nikki, and Mikhael. You have not met Baki and Arno yet, but they are also talented engineers.”
“We aren’t replacing my crew,” I growled. “They are my friends and my lovers.”
“You do not need to replace them,” she said as she pulled off the last plates on my armor. “Leave them behind when we go on our missions. It is for their own protection, and yours. Having them around distracts you.”
“Thanks for helping me take off my armor,” I said as I tried to fight against the angry beast in my stomach. “You can leave now.”
“I did not wish to make you angry, Adam,” she said.
“Well, you fucking did. Now get out.”
“My thoughts are logical.” Madalena rose from her knees with a graceful movement, and her steel eyes seemed to burn. I could feel her own anger, but it was nothing compared to mine.
“What we are doing isn’t logical,” I hissed as I closed my eyes. “We are fighting these powerful vampire beings that once destroyed all life in our galaxy. Honor isn’t logical, love isn’t logical.”
“You want to protect your friends. This is the best way. Keep them on the ship, or back in my battle fortress while you and I do the work that is required of us.”
King Killer: A Paranormal Space Opera Adventure (Star Justice Book 7) Page 14