The Akseli, page 25
Minutes crept by. Two? Three? Ten?
She wasn’t sure, too wrapped up in her thoughts.
Kova sighed. “I don’t know how to respond to that.”
“You don’t need to. I’m sorry. I should’ve made my intention to alter your emotions clear before asking your permission. And I shouldn’t have burdened you with the rest.”
He shook his head. “When I was fifteen orbits,” he said slowly as though the words had to be dragged from him, “some older boys ambushed me, held me down, and cut traditional markings into my skin. One of their knives hit a major artery. Srok’a found me and got me to the nearest healing facility before I could bleed out. But the medics there viewed me with the same disgust as the boys who’d marked me. A disgust everyone on my homeworld shared.” His lips turned up in a bitter smile. “The medics didn’t give me blood to replace what I’d lost, leaving me to live or die without it. They just sealed the wounds and—while Srok’a was forced to wait outside, unaware—treated them with a compound that would worsen the scarring instead of reducing it.” Turning his head, he met her gaze. “Does my telling you that burden you?”
“No,” she said, fury burning bright inside her. “It makes me want to hunt down every one of those bastards—both the boys who cut you and the medics who treated you—and feed them to the Dotharian.” She pasted a look of excitement on her face and eyed him eagerly. “Ooh. Do you think Janwar would let me do that after we find my friends?”
He laughed and looked younger despite the scarring and the hard life he’d led. “I suspect he would if Srok’a and I hadn’t already killed them all.”
“Good for you. High five.” She held a hand up, palm-out. When he stared at it blankly, she took his wrist and showed him how to give her a high five. “Earthlings do that to celebrate wins and good news.”
“Ah.” He gave her another high five. “What emotions did you let the Yona feel?” he asked curiously, his features slipping back into their usual somber mien.
“Happiness. Humor. Caring and concern.”
He tossed a few seeds to their furry companions. “Well, I can’t speak for Valok, but I’m glad you showed me happiness. Everyone should experience that at least once in their lifetime.”
Simone hoped fervently that Kova would experience it again without her having to share it with him. It would be far better for him to find it himself.
Taking one of her hands in his, Kova turned her palm up and dropped several seeds into it. “I don’t think Valok would’ve thanked you if he didn’t feel the same.” He met her gaze. “Thank you.”
“Thank you for the sunlight.” One of the rinyas scampered up the rock, seated itself in her lap as if her hand were a banquet table, and helped itself to a snack. “And for the seeds,” she added with a grin.
“That one’s very competitive,” he warned good-naturedly. “He’ll keep stuffing seeds in his mouth until he has as many as Toa and still want more.”
She laughed when the little rinya did just that.
The faint sound of approaching footsteps carried to them.
“That must be Janwar,” she said. “Do you think I could talk him into letting me have one of these as a pet?”
“No,” Janwar answered as he exited the trees.
As always, seeing him lightened her spirits, though she feigned a pout. “Why? They’re so cute.”
“Yes, they are. But we already have a hard time keeping T from interrupting our… private moments. Do you really want one of these running around, tripping us up, and distracting us when I’m trying to get you naked?”
Heat crept into her cheeks as she laughed. “No! And don’t make me blush, damn it.” She dropped her voice to a loud whisper. “You aren’t supposed to talk about that sort of thing in front of others.”
Kova snorted. “You’ll soon realize that there are few secrets with a crew this small.”
She grinned. “It was the same back home. Immortal Guardians and their Seconds are enormous gossips.”
Both men chuckled.
Janwar stopped beside the boulder. When one of the little rinyas scurried up his form and perched on his shoulder, he plucked a seed from Simone’s hand and offered it to the little critter.
“You see,” she said with a smile. “You’re all just great big teddy bears.”
“You’re going to have to draw me a picture of a teddy bear so I can decide whether or not I should feel insulted,” Janwar said with a wry smile.
Simone laughed. “I’d show you a photo of one, but I lost my phone when I was fighting the Gathendiens.” She’d taken several photos of Adira playing with a big fluffy bear the last time she’d seen her.
Kova looked at her with interest. “A phone is a communication device?”
“Yes.”
“How big is it?”
As soon as the rinya finished liberating her of all the seeds in her hand, she pantomimed the size of her cell phone. “It’s flat and about this big. Black on one side, silver on the other.”
“I think I have it,” he said.
She stared at him in surprise. “What?”
“I found something like that on the Gathendien ship when we were cleaning everything up. I thought it might be some new kind of tech but couldn’t get it to activate.”
Excitement filled her. “I shut it down before the big battle. You have to press and hold two buttons for several seconds to turn it on.”
“That explains it. It doesn’t appear to be damaged. I was curious to see what it was and brought it back to examine later.”
“Then you have it here on the Tangata?”
He nodded. “It’s in my lab.”
Simone let out an ecstatic squeal that made every rinya stop and sit up on its haunches, eyes wide. Then she threw her arms around Kova and gave him a hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
After a moment’s surprise, he returned the hug. Amusement and genuine happiness sifted into her where they touched. “All I did was pick up a piece of unfamiliar tech I found on the floor,” he mumbled.
Simone released him and slid off the rock. “Yes, but that phone has everything on it. Pictures and videos of my home on Earth, my friends, and my immortal family. Music. Books. Apps. Movies.” Her eyes widened as she threw her hands out in a hold everything gesture. “Ooh! We are so having a movie night!”
Both smiled, their amusement over her exuberance clear.
“Can I have it now?” she blurted, eager to get her hands on it. She’d thought she’d lost that last link to home.
Kova rose. “Come by my lab after your jog. I’ll give it to you then. If you want me to, I can also transfer a copy of the information on it to a standard datapad.”
Simone cocked her head to one side. “How did you know we were going on a jog?” She didn’t recall mentioning it.
He winked. “No secrets, remember? You two always jog about this time.”
“Right. Do you want to join us?” She glanced at Janwar, who seconded the invitation with an easy nod.
“No. I have to get Toa back to my quarters before he and Baki start squabbling.”
She glanced down. Sure enough, Toa and his chief competitor were standing nose-to-nose, issuing sharp little barks at each other as the hair along their backs rose.
She laughed.
Kova tossed the last seeds onto the grass and scooped up Toa. Giving Simone and Janwar a farewell nod, he transferred the little rinya to his shoulder and headed into the forest.
Toa glared at Baki and released several more barks before he and Kova disappeared.
Simone turned her attention to Janwar. Grabbing his arm, she started jumping up and down and sang, “I’m going to get my phone back. I’m going to get my phone back. Woohoo!”
Laughing, he wrapped her up in a hug. “You are too vuan adorable.”
She winked. “Right back at you, handsome.”
Dipping his head, he pressed a tender kiss to her lips. “I missed you.”
Amusement and affection warmed her as she leaned into him. “It’s only been an hour.”
“I still missed you. I’m used to spending the whole morning together.”
“Yeah. I missed you, too,” she admitted and loved that he was so open regarding his feelings for her. “I like that you didn’t go all Me-Tarzan-You-Jane when I hugged Kova.”
“I have no idea what that means.”
Chuckling, she slid her arms around his waist. “You didn’t turn caveman and get angry.”
His brow furrowed. “Why would I get angry? I’m glad you and Kova are friends. He’s part of my family. And I trust you both.”
Simone narrowed her eyes as she studied him.
“What?”
“I’m trying to figure out what I’m missing.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re too perfect.”
He pretty much guffawed over that, laughing so hard she had to step back and give him room. “The entire Aldebarian Alliance—and the rest of the galaxy—would vociferously object to that description and ask if you were high on fosi.”
Simone grinned. “You see? I even like your laugh and sense of humor. Seriously, I’ve yet to find anything about you that I don’t like, Janwar.”
Still smiling, he looped an arm around her shoulders and began strolling toward the lake. “Give it time. I’m sure you’ll find plenty not to like.”
She made a scoffing sound. “Like what? Name one thing. I dare you.”
He thought about it for a moment, then gave her a sly smile, his eyes dancing with mirth. “You won’t like being in an enclosed space with me after I eat mamitwa.”
She laughed.
When they reached the lake, he halted and turned to face her, keeping her close.
Her heart raced at the expression on his face.
“I hope you won’t find anything you don’t like,” he murmured as he brushed some loose strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail back from her face. “But I fear overlooking the darkness of my past would prove a monumental task.”
Simone took the comment seriously, her gift allowing her to feel both the burgeoning love he felt for her that made her heart beat faster and the worry that it would somehow all be taken away. “My past is dark, too,” she offered softly.
“It isn’t the same.”
“Isn’t it?” she prodded gently. “I’ve slain thousands of men, Janwar. It’s all I did, night after night, for nearly three-quarters of a millennium. Hunt down men infected with a bioengineered virus that ate away at their healthy brains, depriving them of impulse control and all knowledge of right and wrong. Some of those men embraced the madness, thrilled by the power their heightened speed and strength gave them over ordinary humans and relishing the violence they inflicted, the fear they bred. But others fought the madness. They were good men until they turned vampire. They didn’t ask to be infected. They clung to control by their fingertips. And I killed them anyway.”
“No,” he replied. “You spared them. You kept them from turning into the monsters they knew they would become. Your motive was altruistic. Don’t make the mistake of believing my motives have always been the same.”
Gripping the front of his shirt with both hands, she gave him a little shake. “You did what you had to do to survive and keep Krigara fed and clothed and safe from Chancellor Astennuh. You avenged your parents’ murders. And I know you’re fine with the rest of the galaxy thinking you’re a self-serving, narcissistic bastard who’s only in it for the money, but I see you for who you are.” She held his gaze. “I see you, Janwar. You found Taelon’s missing sister when no one else could and after everyone else had given up.”
“For a reward. I found her for a reward.”
She arched a brow. “Did you even ask Taelon what the reward would be before you began searching for her?”
He hesitated. “No.”
“Ha!” she crowed triumphantly and poked him in the chest, wringing a smile from him. “And when you found Taelon, Lisa, Abby, and their Yona guard after the Kandovar was destroyed, did you offer to take them to Lasara for a price? Or did you just bring them on board and do it?”
“Taelon gave us a reward when we reached Lasara.”
“That’s not what I asked. Did you offer to rescue them and take them home for a price, or did you just bring them on board?”
He sighed. “Brought them on board.”
“Then you came out here to look for more of us.” Leaning up, she kissed his bearded chin. “You see? I was right. You’re a teddy bear.” Simone grinned up at him as they reached the lake. “A teddy bear who will eat my dust.” She took off running up the path they’d intended to jog along and called over her shoulder, “Catch me if you can!”
Laughing behind her, Janwar gave chase.
Later that afternoon, Janwar lounged in the commander’s chair on the bridge and stared at the image Simone’s cellphone screen displayed. “A teddy bear is a toy?” In the picture, a beautiful red-haired child of no more than two or three orbits played with a fluffy brown bear twice her size.
Simone grinned from the chair she’d positioned beside his. “Yes. Is there any way we can view this on the big screen?”
“T,” Janwar ordered, “project Simone’s images onto the view screen.”
Simone’s eyes widened as a large, clear screen descended from the bridge’s ceiling. Seconds later it lit up with the image of the child, blocking the view of the stars beyond the windshield.
The rest of the crew glanced at the screen.
“Who’s the little girl?” Krigara asked.
“She reminds me of Abby,” Soval murmured.
“That’s Adira,” Simone said with a smile. “She’s Ami’s daughter.”
“Princess Amiriska’s?” Janwar asked. He could see the resemblance. She looked like a tiny version of Taelon’s sister.
“Yes. I think the Lasarans want to keep that quiet for a while. But I’m not sure how they’ll manage it. Everyone on the Kandovar knew about it, so I’m sure word will spread.”
“Every Lasaran and Yona who serves on a warship commanded by a member of the royal family is completely loyal,” Janwar murmured. “If their sovereigns ask them not to mention that there are two new royal heirs rather than one, no one will disclose it.”
“Why would revealing that Ami has a daughter even be a problem?” she asked, her brow furrowing. “Taelon and Lisa have a daughter. That’s certainly no secret.”
He shrugged. “The king and queen may worry about word of a royal heir residing on Earth spreading.”
“Why?” She swiped her finger across her cell phone, causing the image on the big screen to cycle through more photos of the child.
He smiled. The next photo included Princess Amiriska, and she looked well. Janwar was pleased to have played a role in uncovering her location and dispelling her family’s grief. “Because Earth is so far behind us technologically. It would be too easy for someone to sweep in, take the child, and hold her hostage in exchange for untraceable credits.” Once the words left his lips, he winced inwardly, afraid she might feel insulted.
Instead, she smiled. “I can see how you’d think that—or how the king and queen might—but I guarantee you, that won’t happen.”
He arched a brow. The notion seemed to amuse her. “How can you be so sure?” Plenty of unsavory characters in the galaxy considered the kidnapping and ransoming of important personages a lucrative business. And they would have no qualms about kidnapping children.
Her smile broadened into a grin. “Because these are her bodyguards.”
The next picture displayed a room similar to the lounge here on the Tangata but seemed to be in more of a home or family environment. Boasting high ceilings and a wood floor, it was filled with many plush sofas and chairs. End tables and what Simone called coffee tables were sprinkled throughout. What appeared to be a large viewscreen hung on one wall, but none of the individuals present paid attention to it.
Leaning forward, Janwar stared. At least twenty-five or thirty Earthlings occupied the sofas and chairs. The males were tall and similar in size and bulk to Janwar. The females were Simone’s size or smaller, appearing petite and delicate beside their male counterparts. Almost everyone present had dark hair and was dressed in black, their garb similar to that which Simone preferred: slim-fitting black shirts, coupled with pants that boasted many loops and pockets, and boots.
Even Amiriska wore them.
He stared at the arms he’d never seen the Lasaran princess bare before. She looked positively tiny beside the men, yet utterly fierce.
Daggers, swords, and other weaponry littered every table, as if those present had just disarmed after returning from a mission.
Or a hunt.
All eyes fixed upon the center of the room, where Ami’s daughter Adira—her orange hair standing out like a beacon against so much black—grinned as she played with a dark-haired boy about the same age.
Janwar studied the gathering. Those warriors looked as if they would rip apart anyone who threatened the little ones in their midst. “Who are they?” he asked, curious to know more of Simone’s home and what her life had been like before they’d met.
“My brethren,” she answered, a catch in her voice.
When he glanced at her, his chest tightened.
Tears welled in her eyes as she pointed at the screen. “That one there, the one holding a wooden block out to Adira, is Marcus, Ami’s lifemate. Those two there, the imposing ones seated close to Ami, are Seth and David.”
Recognizing the names, he returned his attention to the screen. The man she identified as Seth was noticeably taller than the others, with tanned skin and black hair that fell to his shoulders. Though his posture was relaxed as he reclined on a sofa, he nevertheless emanated power and an air of command. The one she identified as David was just as big, with skin as dark as deep space and long thick locks that were drawn back at the nape and flowed over his shoulder to pool on the cushion beside him. He, too, emanated power and authority.
