Wray (18 page)

Wray watched his warriors carefully as Kim
stood her ground before them. A Tornian female would have moved
behind her male, hiding herself from so many stares… unless she was
trying to attract a new male to Join with. Wray frowned darkly at
the thought. While
he
knew this was not what Kim was doing,
his warriors did not.

“This is Kim Teel,” he announced loudly, “she
is not trying to attract one of you.” He ignored Kim’s startled
gasp and continued. “She is under my protection and will be treated
as such or the offender will receive my judgment.” Wray gaze
traveled over the group making sure they understood.
“Come
,
Kim,” he put a hand on her lower
back, “let’s get you in the shuttle.”

Kim stiffened at Wray’s touch. She wanted to
step away from him but somehow knew that if she did that it would
shame him in the eyes of his males and even after all his lies she
found she couldn’t do that to him. When they moved forward, the
males parted, each putting a hand across his chest in some kind of
salute as they passed.

Near the shuttle’s entrance, Kim saw four
males standing off to the side, each holding the corner of a
rectangular black bag. Kim stopped in her tracks as she suddenly
realized what… no
,
who, they were
carrying.

Wray frowned down at Kim when she suddenly
stopped, wondering what was wrong. When his eyes followed to where
her gaz
e
had come to rest, he silently
cursed himself. She shouldn’t have seen this. “Kim…”

“That’s your warrior who died.” She said
softly.

“Yes, Warrior Damir.” He informed her.
“Come
,
Kim,” he said, trying to guide her
away, “you don’t need to concern yourself…” he trailed off when Kim
moved away from him, but instead of entering the shuttle she walked
towards the warriors carrying Warrior Damir’s body.

Kim slowly approached the four males, but her
eyes remained on the body of Warrior Damir. Here were the remains
of a male that had given his life to save hers. Whether he had
meant to or not didn’t matter, he died and he deserved her respect.
Placing a reverent hand on the bag, Kim lowered her head and said a
silent prayer for the fallen warrior. “Thank you.” She whispered
quietly.

The four males looked from one another to the
Emperor, unsure how they were to respond as the female approached
them. The Emperor had just stated that she was not looking to Join
with one of them and her gaze was not on them, yet she still
approached. Why?

Then to their shock and the shock of every
male there, she stopped and placed a hand on the bag carrying the
remains of their fellow warrior and bowed her head.

Wray moved with Kim as she approached the
warriors. He saw their confusion as they looked to him for
guidance, his barely discernible head movement told them to remain
where they were.

Wray knew Kim. He knew she was a caring
female, but even he was shocked when she placed a hand on Damir's
body and bowed her head acknowledging Damir’s sacrifice. For a
female to do such a thing was unheard of. She was acknowledging
Damir’s worth, for all to see, his name would now live on, even if
his bloodline did not, in the stories that would be told about this
day. All because of her.

“Kim,” Wray forced out through his suddenly
tight throat. “Let us board.”

“After Warrior Damir.” She said, turning to
Wray and he saw her determination in this. Did she understand the
additional honor she was giving Damir? A male she had never met.
“He died saving us
,
Wray.” She said
quietly. “He deserves our respect.”

Wray just stared into Kim’s solemn green
eyes, not because he didn’t agree with her, but because it was the
first time since they’d left the cave that they had been open to
him. They were not filled with anger or betrayal and he wanted to
keep them that way.

“He does.” Wray finally agreed and with a nod
to the warriors, he put a hand at her waist, drawing her back
against him and allowed Damir to enter before the Emperor and
Empress.

Wray guided Kim through the shuttle stopping
her with a gentle hand on her waist when the warriors carried Damir
to the rear of the shuttle. “They will make sure he is treated with
the respect and honor he deserves Kim.” He told her directing her
in the opposite direction.

Kim hesitated when the corridor opened into
an empty seating area. It wasn't that large, it reminded her of the
first class section of the airplanes that she and her family would
walk through when they'd go on a trip. She'd always wondered what
it would feel like to sit in those wide seats. The gentle pressure
on Wray's hand on her back had her moving, guiding her to the front
row.

"Sit
,
Kim
,
and I will show you how to work the
harness."

Turning to look at the device that was
basically a seat belt
,
Kim was about to
tell him she could handle it when a group of males entered the
cabin room, including Fala and Gyula. She immediately
stiffened.

Wray frowned when Kim stiffened. She had
finally started to soften towards him. She was letting him touch
her again. What had changed that? Whipping his head around, he
found Fala and Gyula moving to take their seats behind them.

"Get out!" He roared.

The Emperor's order along with his roar had
every male freezing. What was going on? Who was he talking to?

"Majesty..." Veron started, only to find
himself shoved aside as Wray advanced on Gyula and Fala.

"You will leave my sight. If I ever see you
near the Empress again, I will end your lives. Law or no law. Do
you understand me?"

"But Majesty
,
we are
part of your Guard!" Fala stupidly protested.

"You are not! Only
fit
and
worthy
males serve the Emperor. Fit and worthy males
never
attack a female, Tornian or not! You will be escorted
from the Searcher the minute we arrive at Vesta. Lord Reeve can
decide how to handle the disgrace you have brought to his House.
Now leave before I end you!
"

The Emperor's deep threatening growl had Fala
and Gyula stumbling over each other as they rushed out of the
cabin. Neither doubted that the Emperor would end their lives if
they hesitated.

Wray waited until the males were gone before
he moved back to Kim. Putting a gentle hand on her cheek, he tipped
her face up to his. "They will never harm you again
,
Kim, my vow."

Kim slowly nodded, unable to speak. She
couldn’t believe what Wray had just done. She didn’t understand it.
Why would he punish them for upsetting her, but not for attacking
her?

"Come
,
Kim. Sit." He
told her and carefully helped her sit, then secured her belt when
he saw her fingers were trembling. "Tell the pilot, we are
ready
,
Captain." Wray ordered Veron then
took his seat.

"Yes
,
Majesty."
Veron responded. He notified the pilot then sat down next to his
Emperor. He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. The
Emperor had just dismissed two of his Guards because
their
presence upset a female. Granted, their previous
actions played into it, but for him to state he considered them
unfit and unworthy of their positions, in front of the other
Guard... to return them to their House in disgrace... they would
forever live in shame and no female would ever Join with them
because of it.

Kim closed her eyes and tightened her fingers
around the armrests as the shuttle’s engines roared. It wasn’t that
different from taking off in an airplane except here you went
straight up before it blasted forward. She found herself wanting to
take Wray’s hand. She knew his touch would comfort her, it always
did and she nearly reached out for him before she remembered she
was angry with him… that he’d lied to her.

What did that mean? That she’d forgotten she
was angry with him. He lied to her. He hadn’t punished Fala and
Gyula for attacking her, but he had sent them away. She was so
confused and suddenly so tired, leaning her head back she closed
her eyes.

Wray knew Veron wanted to speak with him, but
he ignored him as he watched Kim close her eyes and tip her head
back. He knew she’d never been on a shuttle before, at least not
conscious and she had to be scared but she didn’t turn to him. She
didn’t seek him out for comfort as she had in the cave. Could what
that had started out as an innocent deception, destroyed her belief
in him? It was something he hadn't considered before. He deceived
himself
into believing she would be so thrilled at being the
Empress that she would not question the deception. A Tornian female
wouldn’t... Kim was not Tornian.

“Majesty.” Veron tried for the third time to
draw the Emperor’s attention away from the female. What kind of
control did she have over him that he would ignore his Captain?
“Majesty!”

“What
is
it
,
Captain?” Wray demanded his eyes still on Kim.

“I thought you would want to know who
attacked us and what we discovered on the Ganglian ship.”

Knowing he needed to know what had happened
if he was going to protect Kim
,
Wray
pulled his eyes from her. “Tell me.” He demanded.

"The second ship was Zaludian."

"Zaludian? Why in the name of the Goddess
would they come to the aid of the Ganglians?"

“I do not know Majesty, but they did. They
attacked both the Ganglian ship and the Searcher. The Searcher was
able to defend against both while damaging the Zaludian ship. Once
that happened, the Zaludians broke off their attack and fled. We
did not pursue.”

“Why not!” Wray demanded angrily.

“Because of you.” Veron replied honestly. “I
deemed the recovery of the Emperor to be more important than the
Zaluds. I sent a message to Emperor Liron requesting his assistance
in locating the Zaludians while we concentrated on retrieving you.
General Rayner’s ship was one of two that responded to our call. He
came to assist us while the other one went after the
Zaludians.”

“Did they find them?”

“Yes, sire, but they resisted and the ship
was destroyed.”

“There were no survivors?”

“No sire.”

Wray was silent for several minutes thinking
over what Veron had told him. The Zaluds were a race of scavengers
that traveled the known universes looking for discarded resources
they
could
use and sell. They assisted no
one. “Was there any damage to the Searcher?”

“Minor
,
sire. The
only loss of life was Warrior Damir.” Veron paused before
continuing. “The Zaludians seemed to be targeting the shuttle.”

“That makes no sense. They couldn’t have
known I was on it and even if they did, we have no grievance with
them.”

“No
,
sire.”

“Were you able to get anything from the
Ganglian navigational system?”

“Only the last few days. It seems they only
entered Tornian space because they intercepted a distress call sent
out by a Jerboaian ship. It seems their engines had overheated. The
Ganglians jammed their signal, captured the crew and destroyed the
ship. The males stated they had been on the ship less than two
days.”

“Where were they intercepted?”

“Along the outer edge of the Empire sire, not
far from Luda.”

“How many?”

“Less than a dozen
,
sire.”

Wray frowned
.
Jerboaians were a small, timid species who normally lived in tight
knit communities underground. They only traveled when they were
hired by planets with untapped mineral deposits to dig tunnels and
in return, they were allowed to build their communities in the
tunnels left behind.

“You contacted Grim.” When Veron didn’t
immediately answer, Wray gave him a sharp look. “Captain.”

“Not immediately
,
sire.”

“Why not!” Wray demanded.

“Sire… I knew once he was contacted he would
be more concerned about you than the Jerboaian ship and demand
answers I was unable to give him. When it became apparent the storm
was not going to quickly dissipate, I notified him.”

“And his response?”

“He was furious… with me… for putting you in
harm’s way.” Veron told him grudgingly and Wray found himself
smiling.

“He cursed you
,
didn’t he?”

“Yes. He said he hopes I obtain a female that
is as unconcerned with her own protection as I am with the
Emperor's.” Veron said, shaking his head in disgust.

“Yes, I can see him doing that.” Wray said,
chuckling and thought of Kim. She was such a female in many ways.
What he thought she should fear she did not and what she did fear
she had the right to. His smile faded at the thought of those
fears. It was his responsibility to make sure she had none and he
couldn’t do that if she didn’t trust him.

Adana had trusted him to protect her because
he was the
Emperor
, but even he couldn’t protect her from a
bird dropping a poisonous berry on her plate while she was on an
outing. Kim had trusted him because he was
Wray
and the loss
of that trust weighed heavily on him.

Looking to her, he found her eyes on him as
she listened intently to his and Veron’s conversation. The shuttle
shook slightly when it fired its thrusters to land on the Searcher
and Kim’s eyes widened.

“It is alright
,
Kim.” He said putting a gentle hand on her arm. “We are just
landing.”

“Landing?” she asked softly, then stiffened
and pulled her arm away when she realized every male on the shuttle
was staring at her.