by Nia Mars
“Do any of the senators present have a close link to any of the kreks, beyond the connection between Senator Delza and Krek Koah?” I ask.
“No, Madam.”
“What else do you know about them?”
As it turns out, Nilo knows quite a lot. He’s been at Koah’s side for over a decade, and he’s paid attention. His insights are deep and valuable.
I stop asking questions only when we reach the staff lounge.
There are two young women in the cheerful, pale green room. I recognize both from when they helped Taly with my dresses during my first days at the palace. Their matching dark hair and blue eyes mark them as sisters.
They dip their heads. “Oath Forger.”
Since they look worried, I make sure to smile. “Pera and Sirille. Would you mind telling me about Taly a little?”
They do, speaking freely, mostly about Taly’s work at the palace and their jaunts into the city on their days off, but I learn nothing that would give me a clue as to why Taly had been killed.
“So she wasn’t seeing anyone?”
Pera and Sirille shake their heads. “No, Madam.”
“Did she have an enemy maybe? Someone on the staff who hated her?”
“No, Madam!”
“Trouble with money?”
“Oh no, Madam,” Pera tells me. “Taly was frugal. She was saving to start a small fashion business.”
Taly would have been great at that. Moisture floods my eyes. I’m going to treasure the fabrics she designed for me, forever.
I spend an hour chatting with the two women, but all I find out is that they loved my murdered assistant. By the time we’re done, we’re all talking through tears.
As my guards escort me back to my rooms, my heart is heavy. I stop in the hallway, a few feet from my quarters to look at them. “I hope to meet her family.”
Koah promised to set it up.
“A meeting has been arranged,” Nilo says. “Her family is on its way to Merim to claim her body for her funeral. They’ll be here at the end of next week. They live on the edge of the Federation, so the trip is a long one.” He clears his throat. “If I may...”
“Yes, please.”
“Their culture places a big importance on remembering their kin who passed. They name things after their loved ones. If you were to name something here in Merim after Taly... Anything, no matter how insignificant. One of your transport pods or a path in the garden... It would be the biggest honor you could bestow on her and her family.”
Yes. Absolutely, yes.
“Thank you, Nilo.” He’s a strong man, a military man, with sharp eyes and an honest face that’s lined with the memories of too many battles. I keep my gaze on him as an idea hits me. He knows an incredible amount about Federation affairs. “Is it your wish to serve in security long-term?”
“It’s an honor to serve you, Oath Forger,” he says without hesitation.
“Have you ever thought about trying something different?”
His back stiffens. “Are you not satisfied with my work, Madam?”
“I think you’re capable of more than standing outside my door.”
“It’s the highest honor.”
“Nilo, would you be willing to help me with my Oath Forger duties? As my office assistant?”
His craggy face lights up. You’d think I’d just given him the palace. But, after a brief moment, he sobers.
“I don’t have the training for the position, Madam.” He says the words as if it hurts to utter them.
“I hadn’t had much training for mine.” I shrug. “You know the people, the palace, the politics. I would love to have your help.”
He drops to one knee and bows his head. “I will do anything you ask, Oath Forger.”
“It’s settled then. Please stand up. Kneeling makes me uncomfortable.”
He’s immediately on his feet, beaming. “Thank you, Oath Forger.”
“You’ll start tomorrow morning in your new capacity. I have to catch up. My to-do list has grown endless.”
“Thank you. I will do my best to help.”
As I resume my walk, from the corner of my eye I see Valed punching Nilo in the shoulder with a grin, his silent congratulations. I keep looking straight ahead and smile.
As I step up to my door, Nilo pauses with his hand on the doorknob before opening it for me. “Will the kreks approve?”
I pull my spine straight and look at him sideways. I don’t have to ask permission. “I’m the Oath Forger.”
He tries to hide his doubts, and almost manages. “Of course, Madam.”
I walk in and head to my private office with a sense of accomplishment. Assistant—check.
Tiam is waiting. He’s on his feet as soon as I step inside, looking me over as if checking for injury. “Where have you been?”
Where have you been? I want to ask in turn, but I don’t, because a little while ago he’d been inside me. And what if he responds with that?
I’d lost all my inhibitions in the heat of passion, but now I’m embarrassed by how easily I abandoned myself to pleasure, how I raked my nails down his back while moaning for him to thrust deeper. In my public office!
Thank the stars I don’t have appointments scheduled yet.
I clear my throat. “I went to talk with some of Taly’s friends. I took two guards with me,” I add, to head off any admonishments.
“I saw. That’s why I didn’t track you down. That and because security told me you didn’t leave the palace. Have you learned anything useful?”
I shake my head. “Nothing that explains why she was poisoned. Everyone on the staff seems to have liked her.”
“I think I have something,” he tells me. “The hacks into your display system were on a schedule. The word LEAVE was programmed to flash on at regular times. When we removed the worm, that shut the schedule off.”
“Does that tell you who did it?”
“No.” He frowns. “But it tells me that Taly’s death and the hacking are not necessarily connected. Whoever scheduled the flashing message wouldn’t have known that you would call Taly to your room at that specific time. She wasn’t there for regular service like breakfast delivery.”
“So there are two people who hate my guts? One who left the message, and one who poisoned Taly?”
“I’m not saying there are two criminals. I’m saying there could be.” He pauses. “We assumed the message and the poisoning were done by the same person because they happened at the same time. But now we know that timing was coincidental.”
I stare at him, trying to work through the implications.
“But...two separate enemies are likely.” He pauses and runs his hand through his silvery hair. “Paying off or blackmailing someone with access to the palace’s computer system is one thing,” he tells me. “A palace employee might be forced or bribed into an act that he or she could justify as harmless. But murder?” He shakes his head. “I’ve talked to everyone who could possibly have put that message on your display. I would swear that none of them could murder a person in cold blood.”
When I shiver, he walks to me and pulls me into his arms. I burrow into the warm comfort he offers.
Several seconds pass before I realize he’s not relaxing along with me. His muscles are stiff. I look up into the still pools of his gray eyes. “Is there more?”
“I checked with security at the Onyx Tower. I still don’t like how the first message popped up on the day the committee arrived. Too much of a coincidence.” He holds my gaze. “On the day of their arrival, they had a meeting, then all but one senator went to their rooms to rest and prepare.”
“Senator Delza?” Maybe she wants me gone so she can get Koah back.
“Senator Seke. She left the premises.”
She likes walking around, doesn’t she? “I swear the woman hated me on sight. What does she have against me?”
Her pale eyes rise in my imagination to stare at me. They blink and focus sharper, as if she’s
trying to erase me through sheer will.
I shiver.
“Do you know if Roax has been able to turn up anything on her yet?” I ask Tiam. “Or on any of the other members of the committee?” He’d had me delay their departure.
“Nothing,” Tiam tells me. “We’ve been listening in on their rooms, but it’s all unrelated chatter.”
And they’ll be leaving after the masquerade ball. Frustration has me clenching my teeth.
Chapter Five
BECAUSE I HAVE NOT REPLACED Taly yet, Roax decides that the kreks will dress me for the benefit masquerade ball.
The level of tension in my bedroom is at an all-time high. There are warlords lounging on every surface, and all five are looking at me as if they want to eat me for dinner.
I can feel my face flush. I look down at my bare toes. I already kicked off my shoes, but I have trouble with taking off the rest.
Roax stalks to me first. He flashes me an evil grin and draws his index finger along the edge of my neckline. “We can’t help you dress if you don’t undress first.”
He’s torturing me, and he knows it. More, he likes it.
I don’t know why I’m so embarrassed. I know these men. Other than Dason, they’ve all seen me naked, and Dason saw me next to naked, only in my wet, see-through underwear.
I need to take control of this situation. Show Roax that I can handle him.
I look up into his eyes. I hold his gaze and reach to the front of the dress, then work the snaps open and let the material pool at my feet.
There are some appreciative masculine grunts around the room.
Roax’s eyes burns with hunger and admiration.
“Our Queen,” he says, as if introducing me to the others. Then he addresses me next. “For the ball gown, Ava Mine, you’re going to need different underwear.”
While he strips me completely as I stand there stunned, the other four are picking up items of clothing from the bed and bringing them over.
Roax holds out a hand, and I take it to brace myself because I have to lift my feet, one after the other, so Koah can slip on the weird, stretchy alien panties, the exact color of my skin. He gets them to my upper thighs, then pauses to kiss me there.
I hold my breath, partially because heat floods me at the feel of his hot mouth on me, and partially because I’m not sure if this is a challenge to Roax, if the men will murder each other before I’m fully dressed.
Roax’s fingers tighten on my hand, then relax. His gaze holds mine. I can share when I choose to share.
Koah pulls my underwear all the way up and flashes me a heated, satisfied smile before he steps back.
Tiam helps with my bra, kissing both nipples before covering them with the scrap of lace.
The men work together smoothly, without looking at each other, reserving their full attention for me. Full, heated attention. If the looks they’re shooting me were any hotter, I’d have scorch marks on my ass.
My skin is tingling with arousal by the time Roax and Uthan pull the soft white silk of my dress over my head. As soon as my face is clear, Uthan takes my lips in a brief but thorough kiss. Which does nothing to cool me off.
Ball. Public appearance. Focus.
I definitely need to pick a new personal assistant to help me with my clothes. Maybe Pera or Sirille? If I keep letting The Five dress me, I’ll be late for every appearance.
As Roax smoothes the soft fabric over my curves, caressing me in the process, my gaze drops to his hands.
I can see why I needed new underwear. The simple, sleek dress has an unusual, low neckline, and the new bra matches the lines completely. The skirt of the dress is slit on the side, and the high-cut panties allow for that.
Once again, Dason puts on my shoes, but not before he pulls the material of the dress aside at the slit and lays a slow, tantalizing line of kisses from the inside of my thigh to the inside of my ankle.
Waves of need and want wash over me. And not just from the feel of Dason’s hot lips on my naked skin. Added to that is the boiling heat in the eyes of the other four as they watch me. As if it’d take only a word, maybe less than a word, maybe just a slight nod, to have them joining in.
Stars. I’m on my way to my first official social event, and I’m sopping wet.
Roax leans in to whisper in my ear, his voice dripping with dark amusement. “It could be worse. I could have denied you underwear.”
I swear my knees buckle.
I catch myself and draw a steadying breath. Then another. I look from man to man. There’s something I need to tell them. I clear my throat, even as my face flushes. I want to drop my gaze to my shoes, but I force myself to meet their eyes instead.
“I’ve accepted Tiam.”
Tiam is nothing if not triumphant. He’s already the tallest among them, but now he looks another foot taller. His smile is ridiculously large. He widens his stance, as if to say, Yes, I’m all that. Deal with it.
I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
Koah’s gaze fills with hot jealousy. Uthan and Dason look at Tiam with envy. Roax... Roax always looks like he’s ready to kill. I meet his gaze head-on. He has nothing to complain about. He sent Tiam to me.
He leads me to a chair then moves behind me, and while the others watch—their expressions slowly morphing into a mix of lust and adoration—Roax separates my hair into a dozen partitions, braids them, then manipulates the braids into an elaborate design that resembles the arches of the palace. When he’s finished, he turns the nearest display screen into a mirror with a command.
Wow. The dress is... The style makes me look sleek and sophisticated. The shoes are, of course, a perfect match; white with some heel, decorated with pearls and feathers, fit for a fairytale princess. I barely recognize myself. And my normally unruly red hair...
Roax is even better with hair than Taly was.
“Where did you learn the art of braiding?”
He winks at my reflection as he bends to my ear to whisper, “I excel with ropes, Ava Mine.”
Before I can recover, we’re off to the masquerade.
Then I can’t recover at all, because the ball is overwhelming, completely beyond anything I might have imagined.
The event is held at the Museum of Merim, the museum’s enormous foyer converted to a gilded ballroom for the occasion. I’ve never seen anything this extravagant.
The ceiling is about forty feet high. Twin curving staircases lead to a gallery halfway up. The people up there looking down at us are like actors in a period drama. Silk, exotic feathers and jewels flash in the light of the chandeliers that float suspended in the air.
A murmur rises as we enter. The words Oath Forger are whispered.
I feel as if I’d been sucked into some old movie or one of my sister’s Regency romances.
Most people wear either full or half masks. Mine is silver and only covers my eyes—a gift from Tiam.
I’m dazed throughout the introductions, and then, before I can tell him I can’t dance, Roax leads me in an intricate, sensual...alien waltzy kind of thing.
Perhaps more sensual than it needs to be. The way he moves and twirls me, his muscled thigh keeps ending up between my legs. That can’t be right, can it? I notice people looking at us. Several women stare with envy.
I’m pressed against Roax’s sinuous body. I have his full attention, as if no one else in the room exists. One of his hands cradles my waist, pulling me possessively to him, the other is pressed against the middle of my back. He leads so well that I don’t look as if I have two left feet.
That’s Roax. Hard and commanding, but with a soft lining of care that he tries to hide. He’ll drag me onto the dance floor without asking first, but then he’ll make sure to make me look good when so many eyes are on me.
I forget all those eyes when he says in a low, sensuous tone, “I’m not sure how much longer I will be able to wait, Ava Mine.”
I swear I can feel those words under my dress, on my naked skin. A shiver
of anticipation runs through me. Judging by the flare of heat in his eyes, he doesn’t miss it.
Ava Mine.
When the others call me ‘my Ava,’ they seem to mean that we belong together, belong with each other. But when Roax says Ava Mine, I’m pretty sure he means I belong to him. Utterly and completely.
Because I need to catch my breath, and to stop myself from doing something like telling him that I do belong to him, want to belong to him; I turn my gaze to the other dancers.
The scene around me is so far out of my realm of experience, it’s surreal. Some of the costumes are utterly outrageous. One lady wears what looks like a stuffed two-headed swan on her head. The gentleman she dances with has a bushy black tail attached to the seat of his pants, swinging down to the back of his knees. At least, I think it’s only attached. He’s an alien. For all I know, the tail might be real. I keep watching it for movement, but I can’t tell, since it’s in motion from the dancing.
Another woman has two-inch-long eyelashes with mini Christmas-ornament-like decorations hanging off them. That has to be distracting. It’d drive me nuts.
The music ends, and a new song begins. Koah, handsome in blue with rank upon rank of gold medals and stars across his chest, steps up to ask me for a dance. I’m grateful for the break from the unrelenting sexual tension that inevitably always builds between Roax and me.
“Are you enjoying the ball?” Koah asks once we are gliding over the dance floor.
“Yes.”
Maybe I should feel out of place and intimidated by all the strangeness, the newness, but I have my five kreks with me. Everything they do is to make sure I enjoy myself. I could have them at my back with a look.
I glance around the room, not the least surprised to find their gazes on me, filled with love and pride. Then I catch sight of some of the committee members standing in a group and see the same look in Senator Seke’s eyes. She is not looking at me, of course. She’s looking at Senator Delza, Koah’s ex-girlfriend.
There’s love and longing in Seke’s pale gaze.