Protected: Alien Mate Index Book 2: (Alien Warrior BBW Paranormal Science fiction Romance) (The Alien Mate Index) (27 page)

The Empress drank gratefully and then breathed deeply.

“Ah…thank you, Kristoff.”

“You are ever welcome, my Lady.” Gently, he eased her back down to the pillows and brushed a shining strand of pure white hair from her eyes before sitting back to regard her. “So you were saying? You feel well?”

“I feel fine,” she insisted, her faded green eyes snapping with some of their old fire. “But the Council doesn’t seem to think I am. They’ve had me moved into this dusty mausoleum of a room when they know I prefer my other sleeping quarters.”

Kristoff knew what she meant. This grand bedchamber was only for show. There was a small, snug chamber behind it with a natural
gilla-
grass carpet and a bed that was just large enough for two which the Empress had shared with her Consort for many years before he passed to the other side.

Kristoff had never known the male who had been privileged to share the Empress’s bed—he had been killed thwarting an assassination attempt the year before Kristoff himself came into service. After he died, the Empress had never taken another Consort—or indeed, another lover of any kind. But she had needed someone to confide in and Kristoff had been there for her then, as he was now.

“Do you want to go back to the small bedchamber, my Lady?” he asked softly, reaching for her frail hand and holding it gently in his own much larger one. “The Council cannot force you to sleep here. I swear by the Goddess of Mercy I’ll slit their throats if they try.”

“Dear Kristoff—always so charmingly bloodthirsty.” The Empress smiled at him tiredly. “No, my dear—they have moved me in here for a reason. My Ascension is near and all of us know it.”

“No.”
The rainbow rings of Kristoff’s eyes blazed. “No, I refuse to accept that!”

“But you must.” The Empress squeezed his hand. “My dear Kristoff—we all must die. Even an immortal goddess like myself.” She spoke the words lightly, mischief dancing in her eyes. “But you do not believe I am a goddess, do you? You never have.”

“No.” The word sounded blunt and rude but he could not lie. “No, my Lady—but I have loved you just the same.” His voice was hoarse in his own ears and he searched her faded green eyes with his own.

“And it is for your love and loyalty and yes, even for your unbelief, that I love you too, my Kristoff.” She smiled at him tiredly. “And it is because of all these qualities that I have called you today—I have a special mission for you, you see.”

“I have no mission but to keep guarding you,” he protested. “To protect your life with my own, my Lady.”

“My life is very nearly done. Soon I must Ascend to the Goddess of Mercy herself.” Her voice sounded soft and far away. “But first I must tell you what I have Seen.”

Kristoff knew well enough what she meant. The Empress was a
La-ti-zal—
a rare female who had been blessed with extra gifts by the Ancient Ones, those who had seeded the galaxy with life millennia ago. She was a Seer and her visions had often kept her subjects from harm—especially in the case of the War of Assimilation.

That famous war, fought against sentient machines who injected themselves into living hosts, had been fought when the Empress was still young and freshly crowned and it had been long before his time. Still, Kristoff knew the Empress had been able to see into the mind of the enemy somehow. Working with the general of her armed forces—who had later become her Consort—she had saved the galaxy from Assimilation.

It was her greatest triumph—he wished he had been there to see it. It had cemented the Empress’s rule and established her as a true Goddess. Her visions were honored and if she said that she had Seen something, it was best to be silent and take note.

“I have seen my next incarnation—the one who will take my place,” the Empress told him now. “Sundalla the 1000
^th
.”

“She will never take your place,” Kristoff said fiercely. “No one can!”

“But she must.” The faraway look left her eyes and the Empress looked at him. “Kristoff—you must go to her. Her life is in grave danger.”

“I don’t understand,” he protested. “You’ve had committees out searching for your successor for years now. Are you saying they finally found her?”

“No.” She shook her head weakly. “Any they find will be imposters—not the true incarnation of the Goddess Empress.
You
will find the true Empress. For only
you
have the Vision.”

“There are some who claim to have it. Morbain—”

“Sees only what the greed in his heart allows,” she said sharply. “He would seek to crown a weak female whom he can control and rule the galaxy through her. But the Empress must be strong—unyielding to any save her Consort. And even then she must yield only in the bedchamber—never in matters of state.” She sighed. “No, Kristoff—you are the only one. And
you
must find her and protect her and raise her to the throne.”

“Who is she?” Kristoff asked.

“A female who looks like I did when I was younger—much younger, my dear.” The Empress sighed longingly. “Hair yellow as sunshine and eyes a deep green.”

“And where is she, this girl?” Kristoff asked. “Did you See that as well? Ma
jor
ah Delta, perhaps? Or Ma
jor
ah Beta?”

“No.” She shook her head weakly. “She is far from here—not even in the Ma
jor
an system at all. I could not See where she was exactly, only that the planet is green and blue and quite small.”

“But…that describes millions of planets in the galaxy,” Kristoff protested. “I could search my whole life and never find it!”

“Hush, Kristoff—there is more to my Seeing.” She patted his hand. “You will find one who can direct you. Here—let me show you.”

She beckoned for him and he put down his head so that she could press her soft fingertips to his temples.

Kristoff closed his eyes and a picture formed in his mind. A curvy girl with pale skin, long, straight brown hair, and large brown eyes was looking back at him. She was unlike any of the Twelve Peoples he had ever seen—unless she was Ma
jor
an and had chosen to change her hair and eye and skin coloring for some reason.

But somehow Kristoff didn’t think that was the case. The girl was a true outsider—maybe even a Pure One from a closed planet where the inhabitants had never interacted with the rest of the galaxy. She had a pale blue aura that spoke of some hidden power—though it was nowhere near as gorgeous as the rainbow aura of the Empress.

“Who is she?” he asked when the Empress released him and he raised his head.

“Someone who knows my new incarnation and loves her well. But…” She raised one withered finger warningly. “She will be in the company of a very dangerous felon. You must be wary and stick to your mission—do not be distracted by her companion although you will be tempted.”

“All right. And where am I to find this female?”

“You must travel to the Lavara system—into the heart of the Spider’s Web. There you will meet the one I have showed you,” the Empress said.

“The Spider’s Web?” Kristoff frowned. “I thought you directed us to stop trying to subdue that region because of the massive casualties?”

“I did.” The Empress’s faded green eyes were sorrowful. “And now I must ask you—my best and bravest Guard—to travel into the heart of danger. Forgive me, Kristoff—I do not want to do this. But the new Sundalla
must
be protected! And you are the only one I trust.”

“I don’t fear to go into danger on your behalf—you know that.” Kristoff looked at her intently. “But I don’t want to leave you—not now. Not when…”

“Not when I’m about to die?” she asked gently. “Don’t worry, my dear—I’ll be gone before you go. I have Seen that too.”

“You won’t die, my Lady!” But the words tasted like ashes and dust on his tongue—he knew they were a lie.

“I will. I will Ascend—I must to make way for she who is to come. My new incarnation—Sundalla the 1000
^th
.” She looked at him earnestly. “She will have such need of your aide and counsel and protection, my dear! You must guide her in her choice of a consort and guard her life with your own, as you have guarded mine.”

“Of course, my Lady,” he said through numb lips.

The Empress pressed his hand.

“Promise me you will love her as you have loved me, Kristoff. Promise me that.”

Kristoff felt a muscle in his jaw work as he tried to say the words—tried to give the promise his Empress asked for.

But at last he had to shake his head.

“I cannot,” he said hoarsely. “I cannot promise to love another as I have loved you, my Lady. For no other is worthy.”

“Ah, Kristoff…come here.” The Empress beckoned to him again.

He bent his neck and she put a hand on his blue-black hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead, just as she had so many years ago.

“When you find her…you will also find her worthy. Worthy of the same love and devotion you have shown to me all these years. Now go, my dear Kristoff—the wisest and bravest of all my Guards. Go and seek her out.”

And then her hand fell away and she spoke no more.

“My Lady—” he began, looking up. But the words he was to speak died on his lips.

The Empress’s eyes were closed and a look of peace was on her old but lovely face. Her withered chest no longer rose and fell and her hands, always so busy and active, were at last at rest. Around her head Kristoff saw nothing.

The rainbow aura was gone.

Leah

“So…what now?” I asked. I was tingling all over, from my fingertips to my toes with residual pleasure and my words came out in a kind of contented purr.

Grav and I were still lounging in bed, though he had excused himself to “clean up” and I had put on a soft green dress which was one of the outfits he’d bought me on the Sincon Delta station.

But even after getting changed, we had somehow gravitated back to the bed, though we were only talking now.

The distance between us seemed to have disappeared. Grav was sitting at the head of the bed and I was leaning back against him, enjoying the feel of his hard, warm chest against my back.

I was also enjoying the deliciously dreamy afterglow state I found myself in. My whole body—which had been tense and on edge for days—was finally at rest. I felt satisfied, the same way I might if I had been starving and someone had finally given me my first taste of food.

Only it was Grav who was doing the tasting,
whispered a little voice in the back of my head.
Over and over and over again.

It made me blush but I couldn’t deny it was true—the big alien had stayed between my legs, tasting me for what felt like hours—making me come again and again. Only when I had at last had enough did he finally let me go. And even now that our encounter was over, he seemed reluctant to stop touching me.

Not that I wanted him too. I loved running my hands over his gray-blue hide, feeling his skin so warm and his muscles so hard under my fingers. It seemed like I couldn’t stop touching him either.

And so we wound up cuddled in bed and talking, for all the world as if we were some kind of lovers, instead of people who had decided they could never be together.

That thought made me sad and I tried to push it away.

“What’s next?” I asked him again, rubbing my cheek against his hard chest.

“Now I’ll be setting a course for Chndra—that moon orbiting Hallux Two that Haenah talked about,” he rumbled, his deep voice vibrating through my body.

“So we’re going to go down there and look for Teeny?” I asked.

Grav frowned. “No, darlin’—you’re not going anywhere. You’re staying right on the ship where it’s safe. In fact, I shouldn’t even take you to Hallux Two at all. Better to stop and leave you someplace safe on the way.”

“
Leave
me somewhere?” I demanded. “What are you talking about?”

“The Safe Haven Bar is located on the far side of the Lavara system where Hallux Two is,” he said. “I was gonna stop there and hire some mercs to come with me anyway—this isn’t a one male job.”

“Which is why
I’m
going with you,” I said but he shook his head.

“The Haven has guaranteed safe rooms that can be rented for however long you want and interstellar boosting signals so I can contact Sarden and Zoe and let them know where you are. That way if I don’t make it out, they can come and pick you up.”

“What? No!” I protested angrily. “I’m not going to stay cooped up in some ‘safe room’ while you go into danger without me!”

“Darlin’, I’m a trained warrior and Protector. You’re not.” I could tell he was trying to make his voice as gentle as he could but I didn’t care.

“I don’t care if you have more training than me,” I said, sitting up. “I
need
to go with you.”

As I said the words, they solidified into a certainty. I don’t know why I felt that way but I did—it was a conviction somewhere in my gut I couldn’t dislodge. I needed to be with him on this mission—no matter how dangerous it was.

“No.” He was still frowning. “I’m sorry, Leah, but you can’t come with me.”

I had been half leaning against his chest and looking up at him as we talked. Now I sat up and turned all the way around to face him head on.

“Now listen to me!” I began, putting my hand on his muscular forearm for emphasis. “You…oh!” I stared down at his skin as a realization suddenly hit me.

“What? What is it?” Grav looked worried.

“Your…your arm. Isn’t this the one that got burned by the warden’s spear?”

I ran my hand up and down the length of his blue skin—which was now perfectly clear, as though he’d never been injured at all.

“Yeah…” His frown deepened as he examined his unmarked arm. “Yeah, it is.”

“And where are the spots where the acid got you?” I looked at the other arm. “This one is clear too and it’s only been a couple of hours. Do Braxians really heal
that
fast?”

“No. Generally it would take at least a few solar days to heal from injuries like those. But my skin—it looks like nothing ever touched it. There aren’t even any scars.” He shook his head, examining both arms with increasing perplexity. “How did this…wait.” He looked up at me, understanding flaring in his white-on-black eyes.