Part 14 (1/2)
”She is not sanctioned to murder you,” Dtimun chuckled.
”For which, I thank providence,” the alien commander said.
Lyceria walked out onto the balcony that overlooked the city, where Chacon stood quietly contemplating the neon lights that seemed to stretch forever toward the black horizon.
He turned at her approach. ”You cannot sleep, either,” he mused.
She shrugged, smiling. ”I do not sleep well in strange places.”
He leaned back against the balcony and studied her with eyes that appreciated her long, flowing black hair, the way the soft blue robes clung to her slender figure. She was quite beautiful.
She was also admiring him. He was tall and powerfully built. In his close fitting, black military uniform, he seemed larger than life. He was regal, in his way, a respected and envied commander whose strategies, like Dtimun's, were taught in many cadet academies in the three galaxies.
”We are unalike,” Chacon said abruptly as he studied her. ”Much as Dtimun and Madeline.”
She smiled. ”Their differences are far greater. Our species are both Cularian.”
He nodded. ”It is a shame, about their child,” he remarked quietly. ”I sense that they both want it very much.” He turned away. ”I feel responsible. They took a great risk to save me.”
”One they were quite willing to take,” she replied. ”And there are things we are not permitted to know,”
she added in a faintly amused tone.
He glanced at her with mischievous eyes. ”You can read minds,” he said suggestively.
She nodded. ”A great gift. But I will not trespa.s.s in Commander Dtimun's thoughts to learn them.
Telepathy can be abused.”
”Not by you, my lady,” he replied gently.
She stiffened. ”Please do not address me so,” she pleaded. ”I am not your superior.”
”The daughter of an emperor,” he began.
She reached up and put her soft fingers against his hard, chiseled mouth. ”A female,” she whispered. ”Just a female.”
His whole body tautened at her touch. Since his first glimpse of her, on Enmehkmehk, his home planet, he had been consumed by his feelings for her. They seemed to intensify over the years. It had touched and flattered him that she returned them. In defiance of protocol and law, they had maintained contact throughout the war, covertly, managing to avoid detection even by the kehmatemer.
”You are wondering how I escaped the scrutiny of the kehmatemer to come here,” she teased. She stepped closer. ”You are also thinking that I am very desirable, and you wish I were not the child of an emperor.”
”Stop,” he muttered, catching the hand that was smoothing over his dusky face. ”You will tempt me into indiscretion, with witnesses in the next room.”
She laughed, the sound of silver bells in the darkness. ”They are too busy working on holographic weapon prototypes to notice us. Her competence as a military officer still fascinates me.”
He laughed, too. ”Ruszel is unique,” he mused. ”He will fight to keep her, I think.”
She traced a pattern on the black fabric that covered his broad chest. ”Indeed he will.” She stared at his chest instead of his face. ”As you fought your government, your emperor, to save my life at Ahkmau.”
He recalled those early days with anger. Mangus Lo, the Rojok tyrant leader, had sent Lyceria to Ahkmau with instructions to torture her to death. When he knew her fate, Chacon took his personal bodyguard and decimated Mangus Lo's personal guard to save her. In the process, he had saved Dtimun and Ruszel and the Holconcom.
”Madeline was willing to sacrifice her life, to save Dtimun's,” Lyceria murmured. ”She almost died. Her feelings for him are intense.”
”I think his are equally intense, for her,” he replied. ”A shame that your government will put him to death if her condition becomes known.”
Lyceria pursed her lips. ”Our emperor is quite fascinated by Ruszel. I do not think he would permit her to be harmed.”
He c.o.c.ked his head. ”How does he know her?”
”The kehmatemer made her acquaintance on Ondar, under unusual circ.u.mstances. They talk about her constantly, especially Captain Rhemun, who leads the kehmatemer.” She laughed. ”Rhemun's heart is soft for her, which causes a hot and noticeable reaction on the part of the Holconcom commander.”
”Cehn-Tahr mating behaviors are quite different from those of my race. Ours are less brutal,” he pointed out.
Her eyes met his. ”And I am like the rest of my race, intensely strong and resilient,” she said. ”Ruszel had to be genetically modified to breed with my...with Dtimun,” she corrected quickly. ”Otherwise, she would certainly have died.”
He frowned. ”These genetic modifications are disturbing, even to my race. I wish that we had not tampered with our genome.”
”Yes, I feel the same. An attempt to improve our race has caused great pain and suffering to generations of us.” She stared at him with gentle eyes. ”At least you would not require genetic modification to breed with me,” she said boldly, and laughed at his expression.
He did not smile. He looked away. ”You are the child of an emperor. I am a soldier. One of my antecedents was a minor royal, but I have no claim to the aristocracy...why are you laughing?” he snapped, offended.
She moved closer and placed both hands over his chest. She could feel the hard, heavy beat of his heart in anger. ”I mean no offense,” she said softly. ”But you are too modest about your standing in your society.
You are the most famous Rojok military leader in the history of the three galaxies. Your strategies are studied by cadets of every race, even those who are enemies of your people. You are respected, even admired, by leaders of opposing armies. Your reputation for even-handedness and fairness in battle is far-reaching.” She looked him in the eye. ”You are the equivalent of Rojok royalty, even if you do not realize it. And my father is one of those who has great respect for you.”
”Your father?” he asked, surprised.
She nodded. She smiled. ”You risked your life to go to Akaashe to bargain with the Nagaashe for Madeline's release, as a negotiator. The emperor was quite impressed.”
”Ruszel is human, not Cehn-Tahr,” he began.
”Ruszel is being given Cehn-Tahr citizens.h.i.+p and a high military rank,” she said surprisingly. ”She made possible a treaty with the Nagaashe which our greatest negotiators have never managed to obtain. This is why your part in her rescue has gained the emperor's favor.” She lowered her eyes to his chest. ”I think he would not object if you wished to bond with me. Once the war is ended,” she added sadly. ”Whenever that may be.”
He was struck dumb by the remarks. He had not realized that the emperor even knew of him, except through battle vids. There had been no real contact between them except for a modified vid link which distorted both the voice and the features of the imperial leader when Tnurat has asked him to go to Akaashe to negotiate for the release of Ruszel and her crew.
She looked up again. She felt very insecure, despite her a.s.surance of his affection. ”That is, if you wished to bond with me, one day.”
He felt her vulnerability, and smiled with pure affection. He touched her cheek with his fingertips and bent to press his forehead against hers. ”There is nothing I wish more,” he whispered. ”Except that I could wish you were only an aristocrat and not an emperor's child. I am not ambitious of political power, but it would be intimated that power prompted my interest in you.”
She slid her arms around him, shyly, and pressed close. ”Those who know you would not think that, and the opinion of enemies is never important.”
He laughed. He held her close and rocked her against him. He laid his cheek against her dark hair and closed his eyes, drinking in the floral fragrance that clung to her body.
”I envy Madeline,” she said softly. ”It must be poignant, to carry the child of a beloved mate.”