Ghost in Her Heart (11 page)

He gave a tiny shrug. “Is it not the thing
you want most in the world? To go home? What is lying with me to
that? You can be free.”

She didn’t want to be free. Not if it meant
becoming that. “No. And I really wish Dagon were here make you
suffer for that.”

“Do you think he would?” Serious now, there
was nonetheless a mocking look in his eyes.

Not about to be intimidated, she snapped with
growing anger, “The man leaves the door open to prevent us being
alone, or surrounds us with his brothers. Not a woman leaves the
harem alone with a man, and partly by his orders. Yes, I do think
he’d stomp you into a pile of slime if he ever heard you talk like
that to me.”

A wide grin split Kynan’s face as he sat
back. “I’m going to enjoy seeing you become queen. You’re more
loyal to him than he deserves, but I salute you for it. I’ll be
certain to tell him that you passed the test.”

Test? What test? She stared at him
suspiciously, wondering if he was serious, or seriously
calculating. “Did he put you up to this?”

“No.” The way he said it invited her to ask
more questions.

“Would he stop you if he knew?”

His smile got wider. “No.”

“Are you really his friend?”

“Since our youth.”

Hm. Maybe she could trust him, or maybe not.
Though she was still annoyed with him, he was answering her
questions, so maybe she’d be bold while she had the chance. “Ellyn
claimed that women aren’t allowed to practice martial arts here.
Why hasn’t he said anything to me about it?”

Kynan tossed a nut in the air and swallowed
it. “No doubt he expects the nonsense will stop once you get big
with a child.” He laughed at her expression of outrage. “Besides,
did you ever think he’d allow you to get in a situation where you
would have the chance to use your abilities? Meager as they are.
Trust me, you pose no threat to a man who has trained since his
boyhood in the art of war. In truth, he thinks your obsession is
rather cute.”

“Cute,” she said, deadpan.

Baiting her, he said, “And I think he likes
what it does for your body. Why would he forbid your exercise,
given that?”

Grrr…Hostile now, she said through tight
lips, “Since you are so knowing and all-powerful, maybe you’d like
to tell me how you Beasts managed to bring us here. I’ve often
wondered.” Not that he would explain, but she was so angry now that
she was on autopilot, demanding answers, since she didn’t have the
ability to get up and attack him. At least not successfully.

He jumped up. “I’ll do better than that. I’ll
show you. Boys, come here! I have something to show your
mother.”

It was like a dream. Vana couldn’t believe it
as he led them deep into the Bride House, passing them through
armed checkpoints as if he did it all the time. She kept expecting
someone to stop them, to refuse to open the many doors, but it
never happened.

At last they stopped at the head of a set of
steel grate steps leading down to a busy laboratory. Technicians
wandered everywhere, and several fully armored Beasts stood at the
perimeters, guarding the area. More interesting, two stood before a
huge oval frame. It pulsed with blue light, interspersed with white
flashes of lightning.

Vana’s pulse quickened. Kynan didn’t have to
tell her what it was.

Kynan looked at her and smirked, waving her
ahead of him. “Go on. You wanted so badly to see it.”

Adrenaline made her shake as she slowly
descended the stairs, her eyes fixed on the gate. Instinct demanded
that she run and throw herself through it, but good sense kept her
pace slow. They could stop her too easily. It might not even be
pointed to her planet at the moment.

But oh, what if it where? Hope rose up and
choked her.

No longer smiling, Kynan stopped before the
portal and looked at her. Leisurely, he reached out and keyed in a
code on the control panel next to it. The familiar golden arches of
her neighborhood restaurant flashed into view. It stayed there,
taunting her with the longing for the familiar. People came and
went, cars drove by, all unaware of the drama taking place just out
of sight.

Calculating male eyes fixed on her. “You want
it, don’t you? You’re shaking. Step through. Go on. I’ll walk in
there with you. It will only cost you what I asked before.” His
voice was encouraging, softly persuasive. Kind.

Horror sickened the pit of her stomach as her
eyes whipped to his. He still wanted to collect. He offered all
this, and all it would cost her was her honor.

She stared through the portal…and fought to
remind herself of what that world also held. Cheap apartments and
unfulfilling jobs. A slow death of loneliness. And somewhere, a
father who had never loved her.

Slowly, she straightened. Her sight was wavy
with annoying moisture, but her vision had never been clearer. She
glanced at her sons, whom she had forgotten until that moment. They
stared back at her with solemn eyes.

With a hard glance for Kynan, she said with
contempt, “Your price is too high.” Slinging an arm around each
twin, she walked with dignity from the room, ignoring the shards of
glass lodged in the region of her heart.

***

Dagon massaged the tension in his jaw while
his counsel droned on. At times like this it was tempting to chuck
the whole kingship and stalk off into the night. The last thing he
wanted to do was deal with this newest problem.

“With the way you’ve been reassuring them
that they will not come to harm, it’s natural that they would start
to test their limits. Your woman has set a bad example with her
freedom,” Xcallion said grimly. “Now there are others among them
demanding increased rights and protesting the courting process. I
say we skip this foolish testing and let Dagon make her his queen.
Settling that one down will calm the rest of them.”

Dagon perked up. Now this was promising.

“Absolutely not! The girl has not begun to
prove herself. We have yet to receive word on the fidelity test,
and there are other issues.” Roos, another member, protested. He
was usually against doing anything useful or helpful for his Tzar.
It seemed to be his life’s mission to make things difficult for
Dagon, maybe because one of Dagon’s dead brothers was his
offspring. No doubt he resented that his son had not lived to
challenge Dagon for the position.

“Oh, glue your wind-hole shut, you fool,”
Grimlin, the oldest consulate, ordered. “You’re just jiggery
because the young bucks get a shot at the women and you don’t.
Isn’t fair to wave all those ripe young bosoms under the boy’s nose
and expect him to wait forever. The girl’s willing, or willing
enough. Let him get on with things.”

“Here, here!”

“Aye! Let him have her,” another voice
shouted.

Dagon tried to contain his pleasure. If this
kept up he might have to shake Roos’ hand.

The counsel door opened, and the bickering
slowed as everyone turned to see the newcomer. The messenger bowed
and placed a holobox on the table. At the touch of a switch, the
events of the latest testing played for all to see.

“Your price is too high,” Vana said with
queenly distain as she walked away, her arms around her adopted
sons.

The holobox stopped playing, leaving silence
in its wake. Someone coughed.

Dagon stared at the box. No one dared to ask
him what he was thinking. Finally, he rose, one hand on the hilt of
his dagger. “We will wed tomorrow.” It was not negotiable.

“Tzar—” Roos foolishly began.

A killing look silenced the fool. “I have had
enough,” Dagon said with quiet menace. “And so has she. Your tests
have proved what I already knew. We will wed tomorrow. We have
complied long enough.”

No one else was stupid enough to stop
him.

Curses flew through his head as Dagon went in
search of Vana. Kynan had done his job too well. He’d be lucky if
Dagon didn’t eviscerate him for it.

He found Vana alone in the gardens, lying on
a blanket beside a still pool. She was on her stomach, and she
didn’t comment as he sat down beside her.

Dagon stared off into the trees.

“I don’t like your friend,” she said after a
time.

“Presently, neither do I.”

Silence. Then, “You know.” When he didn’t
answer, she asked, pain in her voice, “Did you set him up to
it?”

“Not I, but I put a stop to it. There will be
no more of that kind of testing. Those who started it didn’t
realize how cruel it would become.”

“It…hurt.”

There was so much tension in her voice.
Slowly, he placed his hand on her back. She flinched.

He left his hand where it was. “I know.”
Slowly, he rubbed his thumb gently over her spine while searching
for some way to comfort her, to show her what she had gained
without mentioning himself. He wasn’t certain she would view him as
a great prize just then. “That boy you seem fond of—Roac. He found
himself some trouble this afternoon.”

She rolled over and looked at him.

Dagon grimaced. “He and a friend of his were
caught in the ducts above the women’s bathing chambers, spying on
the women. More accurately, they were caught exiting. Someone had
seen a loose grate and wondered about it.”

Vana laughed softly. “Boys will be boys. What
did you do to them?”

He grinned, liking her reaction. “Had them
stand naked in front of the women who were bathing. It seemed
fair.”

Smiling, she shook her head. “I’ll bet the
girls liked that. There’s a couple near his age.” She looked
intently at him.

“He is too young for a wife.”

“Some might say they are too young to be
wives,” she said softly.

Remembering a song he’d heard while on Earth,
Dagon sang, “Strawberry wine. Seventeen. First taste of love…” and
trailed off meaningfully. “You say one thing in your culture and do
another. Don’t tell me you didn’t feel passion when you were their
age. I saw the way they looked a Roac today—they’re ready.”

Vana looked down and traced the weave of the
blanket. It was obvious that she had no answer to that. When his
big hand covered hers, she looked up, startled.

“
Adajah
mene
, do you feel
passion?” he whispered, raising her hand for his kiss. His lips
grazed over her soft skin, caressing, making her breath come
harder.

“
Adajah
mene
. What does that
mean?” Her voice was breathy, and there was an unconscious
invitation in her eyes.

His tongue flicked over her skin
experimentally, making them both dizzy. “
Adajah
…one whom I
admire, or adore.
Mene
is…more possessive. It intensifies
the meaning, makes it personal,” he murmured, barely aware of what
he was saying. The taste of her was electrifying, better than the
finest adoc.

“It sounds serious,” she breathed. Her lashes
fluttered down as he drew closer.

“It is…” His mouth grazed hers, toyed with
the softness there. So sweet…

A horrific crash made him jerk upright,
ruining the moment.

“Sorry,” Devin said sheepishly, picking up
the tray and dishes he’d dropped. “You didn’t eat any lunch, Vana,
so we thought we’d bring you some.” He nudged Keg, who was
struggling with the cups and insulated ewer he’d brought.

Keg looked at them hopefully, his eyes like
going between the two of them like ping-pongs in a tie-breaking
match.

Dagon’s eyes narrowed. Then he snorted and
gestured for them to set their things down and join them. “Where
are the twins?”

Devin shrugged. “They dropped water bladders
on the head gardener. He’s making them weed his moss-trees.”

Vana rolled her eyes sat up. “It would have
been easier adopting puppies.”

“I tried to warn you,” Dagon said playfully,
opening a package of sour chips that had escaped destruction.
“Daughters are supposed to be easier to rear.”

She nudged him with her foot and stole a
chip. “We’ll see if you say that when they turn into teenagers.”
When he grinned at her, she looked away, coloring as she realized
what she’d just implied.

He liked it, but chose to let the comment
pass. Instead he spent the afternoon stealing kisses when the boys
ran off to investigate this or that. They were flushed from one
such encounter when the children returned from chasing a furry
gojo, a small creature with a croaking chirp who lived in
trees.

Ignoring their mischievous looks and
whispered giggles, Vana gazed lazily at Dagon. “How did you get
your scar? It looks more like sliver paint than a burn.” She
touched it gently, running her fingers over the slightly pitted
surface.

“It’s an acid burn, earned in a skirmish. The
“paint” is the remnants of quick battle doctoring. I’ve never taken
the time to have it corrected with surgery. It would take too much
time, and I’ve already spent too many hours at the medic’s for my
liking.” He looked away, but she must have seen what he tried to
hide.

Vana smirked. “You don’t like that guy
either, do you?”

“When you’ve spent seven weeks as a
quadriplegic, endured multiple, painful surgeries only to spend
months as a paraplegic, barely able sit upright, you’d hate it,
too.” Even the twins had fallen silent at the reminder of that dark
time. He’d come very close to losing his title. At times only fury
at his own weakness had given him the strength to keep trying.

“What happened?” she asked softly, taking his
hand. That soft touch was almost more than he could bear at that
moment.

“My ship was blown apart in a surprise
attack. Ser was injured, too, but he managed to call for help. At
times I wished he’d let me die there, the pain was so bad, but
whenever I gave up he’s shout and curse at me until I did my
exercises just to spite him. The bones are knit now, and my organs
regenerated, but I still feel pain at times. A hard workout almost
always leaves me hurting.” That was an understatement, but she
didn’t need to know that. Not that the pain mattered—he wasn’t
about to let his body degenerate as long as he had the will to
fight. Besides, the medics had assured him that he would regress if
he ever slowed down.