The Parvac Emperor's Daughter (The Space Merchants Book 3)

by Wendie Nordgren

  “Princess,” Eli said as he activated the vid-screen for an incoming message. Kane walked over to stand in front of me and held his large hand out. I took it and together we went to stand with Eli. This time, we were not greeted with a recorded message. Dr. Stanley Crispus stood before us.

  “Teagan, I assume you have recalled your brothers. Once you have collected all of them, you will proceed together to Amphictyon. There, you will receive instructions for obtaining the cure. The Parvac ships will leave for Ephors once the cure is in their possession. I will have a ship waiting for you and your brothers to board. Remotely, I will enter the destination to insure you are not followed.” Dr. Crispus appeared smug.

  I smiled at him. “I am not going to Amphictyon at the current time. I may visit in a few weeks. I haven’t decided.” Heavy lines appeared in Dr. Crispus’ forehead. “Give me the cure to your so called plague now.” I stared at him, and Thunderdrop chittered from my shoulder.

  “Do you want the responsibility of countless deaths on your conscience?”

  “Oh, I’ve counted them, but no, only yours. You could have saved my mother. All you had to do was make one call to the Enforcers.”

  Dr. Crispus flew into a rage. “Stupid girl! I couldn’t contact the authorities. I would have been taken into custody for my research. I couldn’t risk years of work for some unknown female and her whelp. You should be grateful. I made your mind strong enough to survive. What would you be without me?” The veins in his neck were showing, and his eyes were black holes.

  “You are a coward. Your sons share nothing with you but a physical resemblance. Give the cure to me now, and I may spare your life.”

  Dr. Crispus laughed at me. Then, he turned angry. “The deaths will continue to rise because of a foolish dim-witted stubborn girl.”

  “If you are refusing to cooperate with me, I see no further reason for our continued communication.” I reached out and ended the call.

  Immediately, he called back. I answered.

  “How dare you behave in this manner, impudent child!” Spit flew from his lips as he yelled.

  “Forgive me, was there something left for us to discuss?” Izaac came to my right side. All of Dr. Crispus’ attention went to him.

  “My boy, how you’ve grown.”

  I could feel Izaac’s terror. I reached down and took his hand into mine. I sent safety, acceptance, and love to Izaac through our clasped hands. As sclera began to appear around Izaac’s eyes, Dr. Crispus’ face grew pale. Protectiveness and loyalty from Izaac encompassed me.

  “It would be much better for you, if you were to comply,” I said with a smile. Dr. Crispus made the screen go blank. “Lieutenant Dalus, please begin transmitting our message.”

  “Yes, your highness.”

  I kissed Izaac on the cheek. I knew what being afraid of a father was like. “Have you ever visited Arachne, brother?” Izaac told me that he had, but this would be his first time to be able to visit public places openly.

  “He will be desperate now. Desperate men make mistakes,” Kane said.

  “Yes, such as failure to encrypt his location when he placed his second call. Add this to the message Lieutenant Dalus,” Nico ordered.

  We watched on the large vid-screen as my message began to run. “I look like a short fat version of Kane with long hair wearing a dress.” I scowled.

  “Lady wife, you are a beautiful expectant princess wearing a color to match the purity of your soul in company of a loyal Arachnean Silk spider, who protects you, as you plea for justice for your people.”

  Yukihyo’s eyes contained steaks of pink and gold which surprised me. He gave me a naughty grin and sent me an image of his hand slowly pushing the hem of my dress up my thigh. “Yukihyo!” Izaac had a grin on his face which made me blush.

  “Learn not to listen,” Yukihyo growled at Izaac. Izaac kept grinning.

  My vid-screen beeped. Hesitantly, I checked Yukihyo, Nico, and Kane’s positions in the room before answering. “Well, well, well, Cupcake. That was impressive. I’m sure that’s got every hunter from here to Daphoene all riled up. I’m sure the credits have something to do with it, too.” I could hear Hiroshi’s grunt in the background. “Gary froze a frame of it, magnified your image, and already has a poster of you up in his quarters.” I could almost count all of Phillip’s teeth. He was grinning from ear to ear and gave me a wink.

  “Thanks for trying to make me feel better, Phillip. If Gary is so attracted to huge white things, maybe we should get him a life-sized stuffed ice bear.” I rubbed my hands over Niklos.

  Phillip began laughing. Then, he split the screen and put up a frame of me from my video message on half of it. Then, he magnified my picture, circled my chest, and drew an arrow.

  “Oh, no! Dalus, get in here!”

  Phillip doubled over with laughter. I heard Hiroshi howling right along with him. Then, Simon started laughing from somewhere on the bridge. Eli and Nico appeared shocked.

  “I swear. I didn’t notice,” Nico said.

  Dalus appeared and stood at attention. “Dalus, why didn’t you tell me my dress wasn’t opaque enough? This went out all over the universes! One of my nipples is showing,” I whispered the last with a red face. Luckily, my hair hid the other one. “Thanks for insisting on sheer white underthings, Lorca. This is freaking horrible!” I threw pillows from the couch at Dalus and Lorca, but missed.

  Phillip laughed harder. He wiped at his eyes. Either Hiroshi or Simon handed him a silk square.

  “Please, help us,” Phillip said in imitation of me.

  “Phillip, just wait until I get my hands on you. Oh, but why wait? Isidora….” Phillip ended the call. I turned to a nervous Dalus. “Can you fix it?”

  Dalus blinked and swallowed.

  “Teagan, it’s not that bad. If Gary and those Laconian crewmen of his weren’t such perverts, no one would have noticed. It just looks like a darker section beneath the lace pattern. Maybe it will make us less frightening to the general populations if they even notice,” Kane said.

  “Laconian males will feel more protective toward a pregnant female even if she is a Parvac,” Yukihyo said.

  “Great.”

  “You’re crankier than you might otherwise be because you haven’t yet had dinner,” Kaoti observed.

  Chef began setting the table. After we had eaten, I apologized to Lieutenant Dalus for attempting to assault him with the couch pillows. Lorca noisily cleared his throat. “Sorry, Lorca.”

  That night as I curled up in bed between Yukihyo and Nico, we listened with Nico as his Lieutenant General reported to him. The ecological domes were secure, and the people had plenty of food, water, and supplies. My memory took me back to see the faces of the deceased. Yukihyo pulled my hair over my shoulder and began twisting it into a rope. He kissed my temple.

  “Have you heard from any of the other hybrids?” Yukihyo asked.

  I thought of Jazon and Zared. “No, not a word or a thought.”

  “A dock worker on Amphictyon contacted us with information about a small interstellar ship that isn’t registered with the Militia. Local enforcers are investigating. We will have to wait for the enforcers to report to the Militia, and for the Militia to share the knowledge with us. There is nothing more we can hope to accomplish today.” Nico shut down his vid-screen and put it aside.

  I felt Yukihyo helping me to push away my heartbreak for the men and women of Ephors. I had spoken to all of the ladies from Malta who had assured me that they were well and safe. Yukihyo reinforced that knowledge until sleep claimed me.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  My boots made no sounds on the boards that had been used to construct the porch. A slight breeze cooled me. A couple of hundred yards off to my left, a few leaves fell from trees to the grass that bent slightly in the wind. The wooden door I approached was in need of a fresh coat of paint. Brown weathered wood showed through the chipped blue paint. The door knob had once been shiny and golden, but now the plating had worn
off in spots. My mind found no rest. It hadn’t for weeks. Thoughts and worries spun through my brain even in dreams. The solution to my current mental state wasn’t an option. When my mind had been calm, maybe a month ago, my emotions had raged out of control. I had flown into a rage over the snores that had awakened me one night. The strenuous activity and meditation that had once made my existence bearable were as helpful to me now as trying to put out a raging inferno with spit.

  I gave the door a soft knock. I saw the door knob turn, and the door opened a crack. I gazed down into solid black eyes. “Come inside before somebody sees you. If anyone finds out I was with one of you, I’ll be lucky to get half the credits I usually charge.”

  She opened the door widely enough for me to enter and quickly closed it. She wore a faded blue gown to match her door. Heavy white eyeliner rimmed her eyes making them appear even blacker. She placed a bar across her door to secure it. Her hair was brown and fell in a straight horizontal line between her shoulder blades. I reached out and let it fall between my fingers. It was soft.

  She turned to me. I placed my palms against her shoulders and ran them down her arms enjoying the delicate feel of her skin. She looped her thumbs under the straps of her gown and let it fall. Her breasts were softer under my hands than her hair had been. All of my thoughts and emotions became attuned to her. Spiraling pleasure through her until she moaned, I pushed her gently down to her bed. I took control of her mind and feelings driving everything from her but her desire for me. Tearing out of my clothing, so hard I felt I would break, I placed myself between her legs and pushed inside. Her warmth surrounded me making me harder. I sent pleasure through her until she began to scream with it. Then, I took away her ability to form sounds. She tossed her head on her pillow from side to side as I drove forward again and again.

  The rage left me as I watched the way my movements caused her breasts to jiggle. I captured one with my hand and lowered my mouth over it. I sucked and pulled the softness into my mouth. Through my toes and out the top of my head, pleasure ripped and exploded from me. I became as soft as the breast I released from my mouth. My heart hammered in my chest. Small lines radiated from the corners of her eyes. More lines had started to form to the sides of her mouth. Had her beauty not begun to fade, she would not have sold to me an hour of her time. I tried to memorize the feel of her body pressed to mine for those times that would come upon me when I yearned for any form of tenderness.

  Camaraderie, understanding, and friendship were things for which I had an abundance. My brothers and I did our best to compensate for being shunned by all society. However, the bond and love shared by brothers didn’t take away the longing to be touched and cherished even if it was for a few minutes of paid pretending.

  As her eyes returned to normal, being desensitized to pleasure as she was, her feelings of revulsion doused me like ice water. She asked herself how she could have lowered her standards for her clientele so much as to take a thing to her bed. He felt wrong. A male shouldn’t be able to sense both thoughts and feelings. It was dangerous. He couldn’t be trusted.

  I stood and reached for my shirt. The fabric billowed and changed into white silk. When it floated down to rest, green and gold eyes dimmed by fear stared into mine. The fear wasn’t of me but for her family. Her thoughts and feelings fell against me like cool clean rain after a long hot day. Calm and control were mine at last, and she wanted nothing in return but my loyalty. Her touch was confusion. I didn’t know if she was my lover, mother, or sister never having experienced any such relationship, but she fulfilled the needs I had for each with a brush of her fingers to mine. I relaxed into her cradle of kindness and acceptance and slept like a child being held for the first time.

  My painfully full bladder woke me from a deep sleep of bizarre dreams, dreams belonging to a man. Yukihyo slept soundly beside me, but Nico’s side was vacant. Careful not to wake him, I scooted off the unusually cold side of the bed and went into the bathroom. Once I was relieved, I washed and dried my hands. I tapped the bathroom mirror for the time. It was three in the morning. In our room, Neema slept as soundly as her daddy. Nico was close. Something consumed his concentration.

  I left our room and followed the bond I had formed with my Parvac husband. My search led me into Papa’s room. Nico wore the common black shirt and pants of Parvac soldiers. He sat in front of a console with at least nine programs running simultaneously. One window held the visage of Nico’s Lieutenant General. Another featured Uncle Kagan. Numbers scrolled past in another window. They were meteor trajectories. Uncle Kagan looked up from whatever he had been viewing from wherever he was and met my eyes.

  “I didn’t mean to wake you,” Nico said as he took my hand and swiveled his chair toward me. Sitting, his face was at a level with my chin.

  “Your child woke me. Then, I noticed the unnatural quiet and coldness of our bed.”

  Nico’s hands found my stomach. He bent and placed a kiss on the gown covering our baby. I felt a few kicks. Nico felt them through his palms and gazed up at me with his huge proud grin. “Here. Sit down,” he said as he eased me onto his lap. I tried to stifle a yawn.

  “Did something else happen?”

  “No, sweetheart. We’re simply planning for every imaginable contingency.”

  I put my hands over Nico’s arms. The warmth of him and feel of the soft hairs under my fingers calmed me. “Uncle Kagan, is Grandmother alright?”

  Uncle Kagan’s green and gold eyes met mine. “She is fine but eager for your return. Mother won’t be letting you out of her sight once you return to Parvac soil.”

  “Good. I’m ready to come home and tired of adventure. I dread this Dr. Crispus. Have you found him yet?”

  An angry look entered my uncle’s eyes. “The bastard is like a tick on a fox. He’s got decades of experience remaining unseen. I think he’ll make a move for you either on Arachne or Amphictyon.” I watched his jaw as it clenched.

  “What’s the best way to catch a fox?”

  Uncle Kagan stared at me a moment before answering. “I would set a trap, hide it, and conceal my scent. I wouldn’t place my bait in the trap right away. I would put bait near the trap and let him take it. Each day I would put the bait closer to the trap. Then, I would bait the trap and catch the fox.”

  “Well, it’s clear that I’m the bait. What are we going to use as the trap?”

  “Teagan, I don’t trust these mind readers. How can I even be sure of their loyalty to you? They could pluck our plans from your mind and betray us. For that matter, they could steal intelligence from anyone with whom they are in contact. What if they do not wish to live as your loyal servants? Perhaps they plan to take you into hiding. We will catch this fox. However, no one with whom they have contact will be privy to my strategy.”

  “Seriously? How am I supposed to know if I am safe or about to be attacked?”

  “You will need to trust Yukihyo and me to keep you safe,” Nico said. “Admiral, can we conclude our discussion until morning? My wife needs her sleep.”

  Uncle Kagan said, “Teagan, I love you. No one is going to hurt my sister’s little girl.” I nodded. Uncle Kagan closed four of the windows. Nico shut down the others. Then, he pressed a button sealing all of the screens and controls behind a retractable wall. Nico helped me up from his lap. Standing, he replaced a pillow he had moved back onto the chair.

  “I can’t even tell anything was here. Do we have all of these screens and consoles in our room?”

  “No,” Nico said as he pulled my hair away from my neck and placed kisses across my throat. He took off his shirt.

  “What are you doing?”

  “My wife.”

  “We can’t do that in here,” I whispered.

  Scandalously, Nico dropped his pants and kicked them aside. “If that’s what you think, I need to spend more time on your connubial education.” All of his rigid attention was fixed on me.

  “You know what I mean. Shame on you. This is my Papa’s room,
and you know it.” I moved toward the door.

  Nico grinned. “If you prefer the couch in the sitting room or the dining table, I’m fine with it.”

  Shocked speechless, I froze with my hand near the wall panel. Nico seized me and carried me to the bed where he made love to me until all of our worries and tensions were in the past replaced with new memories of love and tender passion.

  A terribly loud noise startled me awake. I had been asleep with my head on Nico’s arm. The hair under his arm tickled my shoulder. The noise came again. I realized at that moment how very similar Nico’s snores were to the sound my reclamation unit made after I had filled it back on Earth. I couldn’t figure out what Nico’s nose was trying to do to the air. It kind of sounded like he was trying to compact metal. Curiously, I continued to listen.

  The door to Papa’s room opened. With eyes focused on his palm vid-screen, Eli failed to notice us until I pulled the blanket up to my chin. Eli’s mouth opened and closed. His eyes darted around to our scattered clothing across the floor as he backed out of the room.

  I kissed Nico’s jaw, crawled from bed, and pulled my gown over my head.

  “Get back here, woman.”

  “Eli just saw us, and I think he went into shock.”

  “Eli can form expressions? Are you certain you weren’t dreaming?”

  I threw his shirt toward his head. Nico laughed and sprang from bed. “You’re so cute,” he said as his hands grabbed me.

  “Hey! Are you related to Sue? Get off!”

  “I’m trying to, but my wife insists on clothing herself.”

  “Nico!”

  “You can step from this room and into ours sans clothing.”

  “No, I can’t.”

  “Teagan, our people are not concerned with nudity. Earth’s citizens have crippled themselves socially with archaic norms. I swear. Their fascination with clothing is a deep rooted capitalistic scheme of fabric production companies. It seeped into Arachnean culture as well. It isn’t healthy to be constantly swaddled in fabric.” I put my nightgown on and tried to adjust it. “It’s on backwards,” Nico whispered. I growled. Nico pulled it off of me and turned it around. My face was red as I took the few short steps into my room.