Three Suns

by S King

  The thing that made me stop, the one thing that could make me pause every fucking time was the black, royal purple trimmed, open kovčeg at the back of the room. From my stance, I could see the side profile of Xerminara laying peacefully against the royal purple silk pillow and cushioned lining.

  “Are you ok?” Eikko let go of my hand to touch my lower back. The gesture was comforting and settled my nerves for a moment.

  My vision started blurring, “I can’t do this.” I wanted to back away from the crowd of people and run far away.

  Seeing Xerminara just lying there, as if she were sleeping peacefully and out of pain. “Eikko, I can’t do this,” tears threatened to pool over my eyes.

  He kissed my head, looking behind us as he rubbed little circles in my back. “Let’s go,” he started turning us around but an all too irritated voice came from my right.

  “Ostana, she needs you to pull yourself together,” Emric had a guarded expression on his face as he looked at me. His royal purple uniform looked great on him, but the hard set of his mouth and his narrowed eyes made him look lethal in the rising sun light.

  “Emric,” Eikko warned.

  I closed my eyes for a second as Emric ignored Eikko and turned to me with a hard stare, “I will do the ceremonial battle, but you have to pay your respects.”

  Eikko’s hand tightened on my hip as he stepped toe-to-toe with Emric, “why don’t you worry about where my friend is, whom you were supposed to be watching instead of bossing Ostana around?”

  “You really don’t want to start this with me,” Emric whispered as his eyes ignited to a brighter orange.

  “Stop, both of you,” I hissed, pushing out of Eikko’s grasp and held my head high as I closed the distance between myself and Xerminara's peaceful body.

  I gave my respects to her parents and hugged Claud before turning to the kovčeg and took a deep breath. She was dressed in an identical uniform as the one I wore and her long blonde hair formed waves down to her waist; she was gorgeous beyond comprehension, even in death.

  Putting my hand on hers in the kovčeg, I whispered, “you may now rest.”

  For some reason I kept waiting for her to open her eyes and tell me that she didn’t need to rest, she needed to be on the battlefield. But she didn’t and I knew that she was never going to smile at me again.

  Forcing the tears back, I bent to kiss her forehead and whispered, “you did good, Nara…so please, rest easy.”

  Chapter 12 A Missing Assistant and One Hell of a Kiss

  As promised, Emric had completed the ceremonial battle; he did Xerminara proud with his air ability taking out a majority of the Eynos. The rest were handled with his newly, approved weapon that he created and when it was all said and done, he stood proud in the middle of the holographic battlefield with minimal injuries and a salute to the high heavens for our fallen friend and comrade.

  Eikko and I walked in silence back to the domicile; my mind was too jumbled, and my heart was too heavy to speak. He had remained by my side the entire time for the podreb, rubbing my back in small circles as I stared numbly at the kovčeg.

  “I’m getting in the shower. If someone comes by just let them in, ok?” I was already halfway out of my jacket and down the hall before he could say a word.

  With a heavy sigh, I closed my bedroom door and rubbed my forehead. The time for mourning was over with and I had other matters that needed my attention. Like where the hell Somsang disappeared to and who wanted my sister out of the picture. Not to mention the fact that I had yet to tell Eikko who the mastermind behind the wreck was.

  An unfamiliar beep from my communicator made me frown as I pressed the thing on, “yeah?”

  “Ostana!” Theodora's voice was as chipper and happy-go-lucky as the moment that I met her. The sound of her voice brought a smile on my face as I sat down on the bed.

  “I see you got through,” I unlaced my formal boots and kicked the six-inch things off.

  “It wasn’t easy, but I’m glad that I did. What’s been going on?”

  I wasn’t going to tell her that I just sent off my best friend to a better place. She didn’t need to know the depressing workings of my life just yet and I wasn’t going to willingly invite her into the shit show known as my mind.

  “Nothing much, how are things going with you? Staying hidden, I hope?” I hung up my military uniform and grabbed my nakti clothes even though it was still dnevna. The jutro had been too long for my liking and I didn’t want to do anything except catch up on paperwork and maybe sit on the couch with Eikko.

  She sighed, “well, to make a long story short, the public has been missing me something terrible and now there’s a search party out looking for me. They don’t seem to understand why I showed up around the city for shopping and then just disappeared.”

  I nodded, going into the bathroom, and setting my clothes on the counter. “I can imagine that it is difficult for you to stay away from everything that you know.”

  “It really is, but at the same time…” she trailed off as if what she was about to say would somehow offend me, “at the same time, I like the silence. Turning my phone off for hours on end and not being pestered with emails or texts or people pulling at my hair and shoving makeup on my face.” She sighed, “it really is nice to be missing.”

  I had no idea what she was talking about and had to think of some way to still remain a part of the conversation. I didn’t want to sound stupid in front of my sister, but during conversations like this, I couldn’t help it.

  “What are…texts, emails, and makeup?” I knew the last one was something that went on your face, but I didn’t know the purpose or what significance it had in day to day life. Must be a Parlan thing, I concluded.

  “Well, texts are messages sent to your phone and emails are sent through the computer, although you can get those on your phone too. The point is, both are a way of communicating with someone that isn’t able to talk on the phone or to handle business transactions. As far as makeup goes, well that’s a long story within and of itself.”

  I leaned against the counter, picking at the chipping royal purple nail polish, “what’s it supposed to do?” She was already teaching me so much and in truth, I wouldn’t mind going back to the blue sun society to enjoy time with my sister.

  “There’s foundation, concealer, blush, primer, bronzer, contouring, finishing powder, eye shadow—”

  “All of that goes on your face?” I looked up into the mirror at my own face and wondered what I’d look like with all that crap on.

  “It doesn’t have to, but it does make you look even more gorgeous than you already are.” There was a hint of laughter in her voice as she continued on with her list of makeup supplies and techniques. I was able to get in the shower, get dressed and comb out my hair by the time that she was done explaining her daily routine.

  Sitting back down on my bed, I shook my head, “it sounds like a battle of a different kind.”

  “It can be, hey, let me ask you something,” another Parlan statement. It was a wonder that her and Eikko never met.

  “Go ahead,” I cracked my knuckles waiting for her to hit me with a why haven’t you used makeup?

  “Have you and Eikko gotten together?”

  Ok, not what I was expecting. Staring at my bedroom door, I said slowly, “no, why?”

  “I was just hoping that you had because I really could use his help after we find this jerkoff who wants me dead. There’s this new product line that I want to launch, and I couldn’t think of anyone better except for Eikko to do the promoting and advertising.”

  I closed my eyes, a sister from my own rib. Even in the face of danger she’s still working and making decisions for her business. She’d been great in the financial or business district of Padrieg but slowly, I was beginning to understand what my grandmother meant. Theodora was too precious and kind to be in the hard society of the purple sun.

  “I get the feeling that you’re asking something of me, dear si
ster.” I drummed my fingers against my temple.

  “Well…” she let the word draw out before rushing into her request, “if you could get close enough to ask him to help and draw up a contract, then I’d owe the blue and purple sun society a huge favor.”

  “You don’t think he’ll give you his word?” She really was my sister. Everything needed to be in black and white and signatures needed to be legible for the deal to be done.

  “His word is fine and everything, but the problem is, without a contract, the point is mute. I wish we could run our business by promises but a contract solidifies the deal. You know?”

  Nodding, I knew what she meant, “I got it. I’ll work on it, in the meantime do me a favor.”

  “Anything.”

  “Stay safe, ok? I still haven’t got any clue to who is after you and the last thing I need is to worry about trying to break my way through the Parlan society.”

  She laughed softly, “you got it, sis. I’ll talk to you soon, ok?”

  “Sound great,” we disconnected the communication with a promise to talk more often. I had to admit that talking to Theodora did make me feel a little better and knowing that she was still breathing was a load off my shoulders.

  I took a deep breath and got off the bed. It was time to see what Eikko was doing; going into the living room, I found him lounging on the couch, staring out the window lost in thought.

  “What’re you thinking about?” I asked, unsure of how to have a normal conversation with him.

  He glanced at me with his arms held open, “come on.”

  “What?”

  He sat up and before I could do anything, he pulled me down on top of him in a bear hug that was oddly comfortable.

  Listening to his heartbeat was like listening to a lullaby; our heartbeats were on the same rhythm, at the same pace. His was strong and masculine while mine was a subtler version of his own. Together, our hearts sang a song more beautiful than anything that I’d ever heard of. Closing my eyes, I let the soft thump…thump…thump fill my mind and wash away the fear, disappointment, anger, depression, every emotion that I’d ever known, I allowed it to wash away with just the sound of his heart.

  “I wash thinking,” he whispered, the sound low and gruff in his chest, “how beautiful you looked today in your military uniform. Also, why you don’t have a TV?”

  I grunted only hearing half of his words as my subconscious started taking over my thinking.

  “I was also thinking,” he continued as his hand started rubbing my spine softly, “why don’t we have our date soon?”

  My eyes snapped open. Date? I don’t remember agreeing to a date with him. Then again, he could’ve asked when I was drunk off snake venom. Either way, I wasn’t the type of woman to turn my back on an agreement. But damn it, I wanted to go to sleep on his chest.

  “How soon are we talking?” I asked, staring at my gun metal grey wall.

  It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go on the date but in Padrieg the only place to go, other than the training arena was the entertainment district and that was easily six sati on foot. Life would’ve been so much better if we had the Citlail or the Magdolonian, but we didn’t and that was the downfall to any future plans of a date.

  His chuckle made my head jar on his chest before he sobered and started rubbing my spine again. “Well, how soon are you free?”

  Something told me that he had something up his sleeve that I didn’t want to really know about. But knowing my curiosity, I knew what I was going to say before the words even left my mouth.

  Pushing off his chest, I looked down at him, “we have the rest of the dwirnod and the nakti.”

  A crease formed over his brow, “the what and the what?”

  I searched my mind for the Parlan words before snapping my fingers, “the rest of the day and night.”

  I climbed off him, careful not to let my weight crush his legs. I wasn’t doing anything else and by Padrieg law whenever a member of the military was sent off, no business would be discussed until a full day and night passed. With nothing better to do and my mind running wild with the possibilities I went to bedroom to change and met Eikko at the front door.

  He had changed from his suit to a different suit that was more relaxed. Although, the ensemble fit him perfectly, he looked as comfortable as if he were in a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt. I on the other hand was in jeans and a t-shirt. My outfit was comfortable and as long as no one paid too close of attention, I could get away with being cute standing next to him.

  “Ready?” A coy smirk danced on his lips as he held out his arm for me to take.

  Checking my weapons to make sure that they were in place, I nodded, “ready.”

  This was something new for me. I’d never been on a date and didn’t know what to expect. Sure, I had enamorats before and the furthest thing from innocent as could be. But an official date was something new entirely.

  My nerves were on edge and trying to keep myself from falling back into my hard, non-smiling expression while we walked the corridors was harder than I expected. I found myself concentrating more on Eikko’s words than what and who was in front of me.

  “So, tell me something,” Eikko looked at me as we crossed through the entertainment district toward the eateries.

  I glanced at him, unable to stop myself from watching everyone coming and going.

  “How did you get into the military? I mean, in Parlan, you have to volunteer and go through a lot of training before being considered a member of the coveted military.”

  I frowned for a moment; how different would my life be had I been in Parlan with Theodora? More importantly, what would I do with myself? I’d never known anything different other than training, battle, wounds, and following orders. Now, here I was, handing down orders and pushing paperwork through.

  I took a deep breath as I twisted my mouth, “well… depending on the station that your parents held normally determines the position that you will have.”

  “As in it’s already determined before you’re even born?” He held the door open for me to an eatery that offered everything from the standard chicken, rice, and kale meal to a meal that I didn’t even know what it was.

  Gun metal grey walls held pretty gold embellishments of flowers, knives, fruits, and tiny yellow suns. Standard black tables with hard cushioned chairs scattered throughout the room made up for the dining area while double doors hidden behind a black flowing curtain led to the kitchen area. I had never been to the entertainment district other than to see a projection with Xerminara, Emric and Claud; eating at one of the many eateries was out of the question thanks to the strict military code of conduct.

  A happy girl with a light shade of ash blonde hair, motioned for us to follow her, forcing me to tear away my appreciation of the interior of the room. When she motioned for us to take our seats, I nodded, going back to the conversation eikko and I were having.

  “In short,” shrugging at his shocked look I looked around the place again, “both of my parents were brigadier generals. So, when they had me and…” I trailed off, feeling a pang in my chest for Theodora's absence in my life. “Me and Theodora, it was pretty much settled that we would be members of the military district. With two of us, it was almost inevitable.”

  “Which brings me to my next question,” he frowned at the menu that was sitting on the table, “why did they separate the two of you?”

  I wasn’t going to tell him that it was because my parents thought that Theodora wouldn’t have the backbone to endure the battlefield or the tough skin of going head to head with the top officials of the military. Some things were better left in the shadows.

  “I don’t know,” I already knew what I was going to get off the menu and stared out the glass front. “Neither of us will ever know.”

  Eikko sat back in his seat, looking at me with those rose-pink eyes studying my face as if he needed to commit it to memory.

  I shifted uncomfortably under the weight of his g
aze and tucked a chunk of hair behind my ear, “what?”

  He smirked at me, “I can’t just look at you?”

  “No,” I quipped, sipping on the water that was given to us when we first sat down.

  A soft laugh escaped his lips as he told the waitress what he wanted to eat. When she turned to me, I had to force my official tone back as I ordered my usual chicken, rice, and kale with a health drink.

  “Ana, no,” Eikko sat up, snatching the menu from the table, and pointing to something before looking up at the starstruck girl in front of us, “she’ll have this and this.” He pointed to something else before handing her the menu and smiling sweetly at her.

  She stalled for a moment, looking down into his light pink eyes and nodded when I cleared my throat. Turning on her soft sole shoes, she disappeared through the black curtain and allowed me to look at Eikko.