The Royal Mate (Space Wars) (6 page)

Chapter Ten

When the next incoming call came in it was from her mother. Paisley stilled before the screen and looked at her mother’s recorded message, then let out a breath. “She’s saying that it’s clear to come up and we will be met in her offices by guards. I’m not sure who, but they’re people that she trusts. I would imagine that the general will be there, too. Are you ready for all of this?” Her mother’s words had been that there were both Imarian and Craegin there to meet them, to test Markus’s blood themselves.

Rubbing his hands up and down her arms, he nodded. “It’s beyond time. If they had felt the need to keep us in here any longer, I might have decided to start that plan to dig out. I adore you, little one, but I was seriously starting to go a little crazy from the inactivity. It was nice at first, but…” With a smile, he pressed a kiss to her lips. “We should pack up and head for the tramp. The sooner we are topside the sooner we’ll know what has happened and where everyone stands.” In their room, he let her go so she could pack up her things while he did the same for his. She noticed he set a uniform to the side while sorting through his clothing in a methodical manner. “You know, we may need to come back down here to hide if we want time to ourselves.”

“Good thing that you have the key to the place in me, then, huh?” She liked that idea, being able to get away from time to time. “We’ll just have to lure Mom away from her offices so that we can get down here without anyone being the wiser.” Once she was packed, she looked at him and sighed. “Let’s put our bags on the tramp and send it on its way and we’ll take the express elevator up. They will be looking for a tramp but won’t be looking for us to pop up in Mom’s closet at her office.”

“Let me change first. Until I know otherwise, I am still a member of the military and need to dress myself accordingly. It won’t take me long to change.” Markus scooped up his uniform and went into the bathroom. Likely the wisest plan otherwise they would never get out of there. He could distract her quite spectacularly with his naked body and had done it more than once during their stay in the bunker.

She watched him leaving and shook her head. She was laughing and loudly said, “I love you in your uniform. You seriously are so damn hot in it that it makes me ache to touch you. Makes me want to pull off every single one of those buttons so that I can get to the man underneath.”

The door opened and he shot her a disapproving look. “Do not get any ideas about mussing me up. Breaking the news to your mother that we are soul bonded is one thing, but showing up looking like we just had a sexual romp would likely push that woman over the edge.” He tucked the last of his clothing into the bag, then closed it. Hefting it over his shoulder, he collected hers and tipped his chin toward the door, indicating she should precede him.

“There go my dreams of you fucking me on a conference room table,” she said. “I’m not even kidding right now either.”

“Walk, woman,” he ordered in that mock stern tone she loved. Paisley rolled her eyes and made for the tramp. They needed to toss everything headed for the surface in there, then send it on its plotted route back while they went the faster way. It didn’t take long either. Their bags and a couple crates went in. Everything else could remain down in the bunker for the time being. Once the tramp was off, Paisley led Markus to the unique lift that would take them up to her mother’s office.

She wrapped her arms around Markus and looked up at him. “Are you ready to face Mom?”

His arms tightened around her, and he made a face. “Not even a little. Usually I have a vague idea of what I’m walking into. This, though, we are going into blind.” The lift began to slow, warning them they were close to the top. “Are you ready for whatever we might find in her office?” They’d discussed how things would go when they eventually left the bunker, and she had clear instructions to remain close but to make sure she was a half step behind to give him room should it be required. Straightening when the lift eased to a stop, he turned to face the doors. “You ready?” At her nod, he gave her hand a final squeeze before letting his hands fall loosely to his sides. The doors slid open two seconds later.

She hated the loss of his arms around her but knew that it was for the best. For now. Markus didn’t seem any happier than her to have left their cocoon of privacy. He stepped out into the closet and waited until she was next to him, and the lift doors were shut, before he pushed open the closet doors to reveal her mother’s office filled with people all staring out the window. Except her mother, who stood with a bemused, if mildly harried, look on her face.

“Hello, Mother.” Paisley bowed her head, then stepped back when she saw the very, very large men all turn to face them.

“Hello, Paisley,” her mother said, then looked to Markus. “Lieutenant Colonel Rothschild, you are very close to my daughter. Why?”

Markus didn’t get the chance to answer, likely a good thing given what they’d discussed only moments earlier, because one of the large men came up to him and eyed him up and down. “You look to have survived. I want to say that uniform is fitting tighter but even though you look well rested, that would be a lie.”

“The lady can cook but I had a lot of free time to burn off the calories she seemed determined to try packing into me. Paisley, this is General Fintan Daykin. Fin, this is the lovely Paisley Ralston.”

The general turned to look at her and tipped his head. “Miss Ralston, a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for not giving in to any urges to kill him. I value Markus’s outlook on many things.”

“Shut up, Fin,” Markus muttered. He moved slightly to indicate another man who stepped in closer. One who was not Craegin. “Paisley, meet Fleet Admiral Petr van Jahnsen of the Imarian military. Petr is Fintan’s brother-in-law. I still have not figured out who I feel sorrier for in this particular relationship.”

“A pleasure to meet you.” Petr tipped his head, then glared at Markus. “I thought you were supposed to stay out of trouble, not find ways to dig in deeper.”

“Things happen when everyone on both worlds loses their damn minds and decides to lock me up,” Markus said with a smirk. “Keep your voice down about that if you would, Petr. I don’t need her mother deciding to shoot me in front of this many witnesses.”

“Oh no, why do it in front of witnesses. It’s best to wait until she catches you alone,” Petr said, shaking his head.

“It’s really not very nice to tease your friend about who he has soul bonded with.” This came from the marshal herself. “I am not necessarily happy that my daughter has bonded with a military man, even though I am happy that she’s happy. But if you ever make her cry…” The threat was there and left unsaid.

“Okay, Mom, I think he gets it.” Paisley held her hand out to the large man. “I’m Paisley Ralston. It’s very nice to meet you, Fleet Admiral Petr van Jahnsen.” Since she hadn’t had a chance to shake his hand, she might as well do it now. “I would have expected more people, scientists and the like, to test Markus and the claims that he is who he is?”

“We only need two, one from each side that everyone trusts,” the general told her.

Paisley nodded. “So I’m assuming that you have to video the taking of the blood, the test and everything like that? To transmit to your leaders?” she asked the fleet admiral. She knew that between the general and her mother, their people would believe the proof without question. It was the Imarians that would need to be convinced.

“Our so-called leaders are currently residing in a maximum security prison. The military heads who are temporarily ensuring order during the transition need the video proof to show the Imarian people. This blood test will be live-streamed into all homes, businesses, and onto the street screens for everyone to view. This is our way of ensuring that everyone is witness to the genetic testing so that there is no doubt. The fact I’m here is part of that. If we had done this with only Craegins around him, no one would have believed, but with myself and Chevon here, two well-known Imarian admirals, it will be believed. Who could not believe when they see us in the same room as the great villain General Daykin himself?” The admiral grinned then and laughed when the general muttered something under his breath. “You know my sister will never allow you to do that. Get over it, Fin.”

Paisley was laughing her head off. She started to bend at the middle and wiped tears from her eyes. “Please tell me that I will get to see you guys more than this one time together. The way that the two of you bicker, and then you add in Markus, I like it. I think that you two would be a lot of fun to be around.”

“If this all goes according to plan, I think I may move in with my brother-in-law for a while,” the admiral said. The look on Fintan’s face, one of pure horror, had more than a few people bursting out in laughter.

“Could we hold off on making plans to add a guest room onto the general’s quarters until after we do the blood draw and whatever your doctors need to do?” Markus asked. He was smiling but Paisley began to pick up on a bout of nerves hitting him.

“I’m with you in this,” she whispered to him. “I won’t leave you, no matter what.” She held his hand and noticed that there was a medical team coming in as well as a video crew. “Here we go. I’m here for you to lean on, Markus. Always. I promise.”

“I know, little one.” He gave her hand a gentle return squeeze and blew out a breath. Paisley’s mother headed toward the vid crew and waved them into place near the seating area of her office. Then she turned to look at Markus. “Here we go,” he said. Releasing her hand, he moved his palm to her back and walked with her toward the group.

Once Paisley was settled into a chair, Markus undid and removed his uniform jacket, passing it to her. Rolling up his sleeve, he sat down where the medics indicated, waiting while everyone else finished setting up. He didn’t look outwardly nervous but she could feel a hint of his nerves through their bond.

All that Paisley could do was send him her absolute devotion and love through their link. She watched the men and women as they moved around the offices, then frowned. “Wait.” The camera crews were all filming and she knew she was supposed to simply sit there from the glare her mother gave her, but something was wrong. “Why did you just pull out a syringe with liquid already in it?” She was standing now, between the woman holding the syringe and Markus. “There should be nothing inside of the collection tube.”

General Daykin moved to take the syringe from the woman, despite her protests. He lifted the syringe to give it a look, then squeezed the liquid out into his palm. A sniff and he frowned. “Arrest this woman, and put her in a hole until we can deal with her formally.” Shaking his head, he took the kerchief someone handed him and wiped his palm clean. “I can’t say for sure what it is, but the scent is familiar. A poison, if I had a guess. Word of warning to the rest of you—try anything similar and I will shoot you on the spot. No warnings.”

Paisley relaxed once again and watched as the remainder of the collection process continued without incident. She was thankful that she had been watching because if anything had happened to Markus, she would have been lost, fully, without him.

His hand came to rest on her back while they waited near the bank of windows showing off the city’s views from her mother’s office. All the medical staff and scientists were working under careful watch from the general and the fleet admiral, with her mother off to one side. “You are still angry,” he commented under his breath. “I can feel it vibrating between us.”

“They tried to take you from me, Markus. I can’t accept that. I knew that there would be trouble and there would be danger but I never believed it, not really. I didn’t think that they would start trying to take you from me as soon as we got topside.” She was terrified.

“This was their best shot to get to me and discredit the claims that I am this relative of the last royals of both worlds. Makes perfect sense they would try something before the blood work. The individual is in custody, I am fine, and it has provided Fintan an excuse to potentially shoot someone this evening. It was a win all around, in my opinion. Now they will not be able to get close enough to try again. They’ve tipped their hand, little one.” Sliding his arm around her waist, he pulled her in closer and brushed his lips to her temple. “I appreciate your being upset on my behalf, Paisley. But we need to focus on what may yet be coming our way.”

Paisley nodded and took in a deep breath. She would trust him with her life and would never let him go. “Together you and I are a force to be reckoned with, aren’t we?” she asked with a smile. “So how long until we are able to go back to the general’s ship so that we don’t have to look for enemies around every corner?”

He gave her a smile and reached out to squeeze her hand. “No idea, little one. I have a feeling your mother may have something to say on us leaving the planet for the destroyer. Let’s take one moment at a time and go from there.”

Chapter Eleven

Everyone had decided that the kitchen was the best place to gather for the results that the marshal was bringing to them. When the marshal entered the kitchen she looked at each of them, and there was a pause in conversation. “It has been confirmed,” she stated simply. “The results have been publicly broadcast to all of our worlds, Imarian and Craegin alike.” There was a pause as the woman looked to her daughter and the man at her side before turning to Petr. “The claims are of course being refuted but they can’t deny the truth for too long. All data has been transmitted to the Imarian home world as well. Your leaders have accepted the fact that Markus is indeed the lost heir,” she said with a small quirk to the corner of her mouth.

The admiral nodded. “Good,” he said. “They will be wary to begin with but once they see all the other evidence on top of this proof they will come around. There will be citizens who will question it, naturally, and then the elite of our society who will fight it any way they can. Especially given our laws in regards to taxes. With the ruling body, they got off light on the taxes if they
donated
to specific ruling body
charities.
”

“Well, they will be the ones to watch, then. Given they have the money to hire someone desperate enough to try to come at me,” Markus said. He didn’t look too worried, which had Paisley practically twitching. Reaching over, he slipped his hand into hers before turning to look at her mother. “Now what?”

“Now you go back to your ship. The general has orders to take you into Imarian space first. You will meet with their leaders with the fleet admiral and his colleagues at your side. We are sending Bracken Kauller’s cruiser along with so that you have additional support should you need it,” the marshal stated. “First, however, you should pack my daughter up and purchase her some new clothing if you are taking her with you.”

“Damn right she is coming along,” he said firmly. Then he looked over her way. “We will need to get you a few things for whatever hoops we need to jump through there. Maybe we should see if Adira could help since she knows the fashion better than I do.”

“A few new things?” Paisley hated to shop. Her mother knew how much she hated to shop, too, damn her eyes. “And why is it I have the feeling that I’m really not going to enjoy this whole shopping for Imarian clothing thing?” She wasn’t so certain she was ready for this, at all. She wanted to hide away somewhere if that was possible.

Standing up, he tugged her gently to her feet. “We should return to the destroyer with all our things, which I’m assuming have been loaded onto a tramp or shuttled up already?” That question he directed toward her mother.

“It has. I will have Paisley’s things packed and set into storage.” In a move that surprised everyone, Paisley included, her mother moved to her and wrapped her up in a hug. “I will miss you, kiddo. You make sure that big beast of a man that’s yours takes care of you and makes you happy. I would hate to be the one to kill the man for making you cry.”

Paisley laughed, then cried. She couldn’t seem to help it. Hugging her mom back, she nodded. “You got it, Mom, and I don’t think you have to worry about him making me happy. I have a feeling he would do anything to see me smile,” she said as she looked at Markus and got a wink from him.

Pulling back, the marshal nodded and straightened her jacket. “Now, I have a fleet to rearrange so that you are all protected as you leave.” She turned to Markus and with a smirk that Paisley knew well, she heard her mom adding, “Sire.”

“I am sure that was not easy for you to say,” Markus said, smiling. “Paisley, we should get going before I give in to the urge to yell at your mother for making you cry.”

“It’s a good cry.” Paisley moved back into Markus’s arms, however, and gave him a huge squeeze. “I’m as ready to go as I’m going to get.”

With a nod, he ushered her out into the her mother’s office and toward the general, who stood waiting with several security officers. The general gave her a nod, then led the way through the marshal’s building and out to the street, where a series of vehicles awaited them with more security at the ready. “Seems to be a bit much, Fintan.”

The man snorted and shook his head. “Her mother denied me permission to have two squads of tankers covering us from the air. Said it would be too much. I don’t see how it could be, given what is already coming in over the wire.”

“What is coming in over the wire?” Paisley moved closer to the general to ask that question.

“I’ll be fine, little one,” Markus told her quietly. Squeezing her to his side, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. He held her hand to help her into the vehicle Fintan indicated, then followed her inside.

He slipped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her close. “Since it is only you and I in here, I’ll admit to being nervous. Not only about being the only royal heir but about going into Imarian space and down to Imara. I know they are not all like Petr, who is easy to talk to because we have the military in common. These are going to be people who are looking for mistakes, flaws, and will make judgments without ever knowing either of us.”

“We will both learn while we travel. I’m assuming that Petr will be willing to help us both learn what we need to do to get through all of this. Whatever it takes we will do it, right?” They would learn from Petr and from any of the learning disks that they had so that they could—she hoped—get through this without losing face. So to speak.

Markus nodded. “Absolutely. I’ll even refrain from mentioning I actually know all the Imarian history and their language.” At her look, he rolled his eyes and shrugged. “I did mention I was a huge procrastinator when it came to reports, if you recall. When I ran out of books to read I decided I might want to learn some actual details about the Imarian people, and I had some info on a data pad, along with the language program. We all know some key phrases in their language, and the implant chips are obviously programmed to translate it, but it’s nice to know it in case the chips fail.”

“So that’s what you were doing while I was working on swimming and trying to get you naked?” She was grinning when she said it. “I looked a bit up on the data pads but I didn’t go too far into it. To be honest, I was looking at their education system and admiring the way that they had set up for their children to learn in the best environment for them, not just in one forum. It’s actually rather forward thinking and while I don’t approve of all of the males of a certain age being placed into the service of their people, I did like how they treated their children.”

“Aha! I knew you were up to something while I was running on the mat. And yes, I was doing some studying while you were doing laps and looking amazing in the water. It was distracting, but I did manage to restrain myself on most occasions from attacking you.”

“I wish you hadn’t,” she teased, glancing up at him and laughing at the shocked look on his face. “Come on, you know that I would love to have you do me as much as possible.” She leaned in just a smidge closer and added, “In fact, I can’t wait to get to your quarters so that we can figure out if it’s going to be large enough and soundproofed enough.” Okay, so maybe she was pushing it a little, but it was so much fun to tease him and it got her mind off of the possible death that awaited them.

“They are plenty large enough, and they are definitely soundproofed. My quarters are next door to Fintan and Adira along with their two children. Believe me, I was extremely relieved to find out the soundproofing was top notch when Lennox was suffering a bit of colic. That boy can scream. Nothing like his sister, of course. Morgan has some serious lungs on her.”

“I can’t wait to meet them. Do you think that they will allow us to watch over the children from time to time?” She would be all for babysitting if she could. She loved children; it was why she did what she did. “How old are they now?”

“I’m sure Fintan would welcome us taking them for a night. He might even smile and mean it. And they are, uh, five, I think. Four. No, they are five, yeah. Maybe. I know, I am a horrible person, but Adira will tell you right away. Or ask Lennox. He will gladly tell you since he is fine-tuning his counting and alphabet skills.”

“Fabulous. I can’t wait to meet them.” She was excited because the twins were in the age group that she was so good with. The vehicles began to slow and Markus leaned to the side slightly. “We’re approaching the yards now. We’ll be at the tramps soon. You ready?”

“I’m as ready as I’m going to get,” she confessed, moving so that she could grab on to him just a bit tighter.

“I’ll be right beside you the entire time. I have a feeling that I won’t be required to attend to my normal duties during this trip. Good on several fronts, mainly that I can remain with you and not have to do reports. Bad on one front because then I will need to figure out how to fill the time. Beyond finishing learning the Imarian language and buffing up my knowledge of their laws.”

“And good on the front that you’ll be able to help me learn more of the Imarian language as well. Has Adira been teaching the twins both languages so that they would have both cultures?” Although now, if everything worked as planned under Markus, they would once more be one culture.

“She has been. They are much better at it than I will ever be but they did start earlier. They both do not have the implant yet, too young still to have it, so it’s a good thing that they are learning both languages. Last I recall she was also working on teaching them an older dialect of Imarian. It is not used all that often except in their military. Much of their terminology is still the same from back at that point in their history,” he told her. The vehicle rolled to an easy stop and the door lifted automatically. Markus slipped out and took her hand to help her out.

She was shocked by the number of people that surrounded them, although she probably shouldn’t have been.

“You are looking panicky again. Do I need to throw you over my shoulder so that you don’t run?” he asked quietly while they were herded toward the tramps. “I will if you want, might even fondle you a little to get your mind off things if it will help.”

“I won’t run,” she told him. “Then again the idea of having you fondling me makes me all sorts of happy.” She had to lean in closer to him to whisper those words. She was shocked when she heard several chuckles. Oh for the love of it all, she hadn’t expected anyone to hear her.

“We need to work on your whispering skills,” he said in amusement. Hands on her hips, he helped her into the tramp and followed her inside. They settled into seats in the middle and after buckling in he slipped his arm around her shoulders. “Craegin males also have really good hearing, which you should know, my little Craegin female. I’ll warn you now, Imarian males have the same uncanny trait.”

“Oh great,” she muttered. “Well, I should point out that it’s rude to eavesdrop on a very obviously private conversation.” She looked at the men and smiled when most of them, at least, gave a blush or looked away from her. “But you’re right, we do need to work on my whispering skills.”

“Especially around Colonel Kauller,” Markus said. “The man has a mind that never forgets anything. It may take him a while to recall something, but he eventually will, and it’s usually in the most embarrassing moment possible. He is a pain but a great friend.” Hugging her in close, Markus leaned his head back when the engines started. Around her, Paisley noticed the other men doing the same thing, which had her wondering if this was something she should know about and possibly be doing, too.

“Why is everyone napping?” she asked him quietly. “Seriously, everyone has their head back and their eyes closed. Should I do that?” She had never been on a tramp going into space before. She had only lived on the planet’s surface her whole life.

Markus turned his head to look at her. “Habit. We all learn early on to sleep whenever we can. It is actually relaxing to be in such a position when we clear orbit and we are without gravity. The pilots normally don’t bother to turn it on for the short hops from planet to the destroyers or the orbiting platforms. You get to enjoy a few moments where you are weightless, thus why we buckle in so tightly.”

“That makes sense,” she said with a nod. “I will try but please don’t be upset with me if I cry like a little girl when we take off. This is a first for me.”

“You’ll do fine.”

“I don’t feel so good…” She didn’t fly often at all. She took ground transports from place to place on planet but she didn’t fly, so she was afraid that she was going to embarrass herself. “Maybe Mom didn’t take me places because she didn’t want me to be ill all over the tramp. Did I mention that I’m seriously a failure when it comes to anything to do with military, including flying, it seems?” Because she was feeling very ill right now.

“Slow your breathing, little one. Hyperventilating will not help the situation,” he said softly. From under the seat, he pulled out a flat bag he shook out and handed to her. Then he looked to one of the men and pointed behind him. A second later a medical box was passed over. “Any allergies to medication, Paisley? Namely anti-nausea medication.”

“Not that I know of. I’m healthy and if you have something that will help with the nausea, that would be good.” She didn’t look at the other man but she focused on Markus’s words, on his breathing, and tried to make sure that she took the same breaths he did, tried to ensure that she was as calm as he seemed to be.

“Good to know.” Pulling open the box, he dug out an injector, then an ampule he slotted into place before setting the box aside. “I need your hip, please,” he said. He held up the injector and an alcohol swab she hadn’t noticed him grabbing.