“No. I gave my word. I will not break it.” Trinity’s voice cracked as she spoke, but it was not sadness I saw in her eyes, but more of that barely suppressed rage. “He tells us where Mom is and then he goes into Prime Nial’s custody. Once we have Mom back, he’ll be free to go.”
I forgot to breathe for a second as her words sank in. “What? When did you contact Prime Nial?”
The lines around her lips and eyes relaxed as she showed the first signs of anything but the intense worry and anger I’d seen since the moment Thor and I walked out of my suite at the palace. “While you two lovebirds were in the shower. Taking your damn time, by the way.”
I blushed. I couldn’t help it. Thor chuckled, the sound wholly masculine and very satisfied. I glanced at him, saw him relaxed for the first time since we left the palace. It reassured me to know I was his comfort—and I didn’t just mean because of the really hot sex.
“I could not allow my mate to go unattended,” he replied. “My new—how do you call it—sister-in-law—was well attended by Leo as well?”
“Uh-huh. That would be a nun-ya.” Trinity was laughing as the guard opened her door. She stepped out onto the sidewalk and was immediately surrounded by five guards.
Thor tugged on my hand and I looked at him as he spoke. “What is a nun-ya?”
I grinned. “It’s Earth slang for ‘none of your business’.”
Trinity took two steps and looked back into the vehicle at me. “Come on, you two. I think you’ve had enough orgasms to last at least a week. And my mate is inside. I’m eager to see him.”
“As if he hasn’t been inside you since you got up this morning,” I murmured.
She turned to me, grinned and winked.
The guards around her remained stoic and stone-faced, as if they hadn’t just heard every word she said.
I slid off the seat and joined her on the sidew
alk, Thor right behind me, his hand settling protectively on my hip. I couldn’t look any of the guards in the eye. Good god, did my sister have to be such a pain in the ass? “You sound like Destiny this morning, talking smack.”
“I never understood her before, all the sarcastic jabs. Now I do.”
“Yeah, she’s not that tough to figure out. She was born pissed off and eager to torture everyone else.”
“Exactly.”
Trinity and I stood toe to toe and I took my opportunity to look at her. Really look. There were lines of worry around her eyes, a thinness to her lips that hadn’t existed back on Earth. But then, I knew I didn’t look the same either. We’d been wide-eyed and innocent when all this started. Blissfully ignorant of anything beyond our little bubble of life. Not outside of our town, our state. Hell, we were on a different planet. Now, I didn’t know what we were. Human. Aleran. Ordinary. Royal.
Whatever we were, we were in this together. That was all that mattered.
“Ready?” I asked.
“You might have to hold me back,” Trinity said, her fists clenching at her sides. “Once I see him. God, I hate him. I already want to scratch his eyes out, rip his balls off and shove them down his throat.”
“But you made the deal,” I reminded her. “He’s going to get away with murder. Literally murder.” I took her hand. “He had your dad killed.”
She frowned, glanced away, but then lifted her chin. So resolute. “Yes, he did. And yes, I made a deal. I did it for Mom. She’s still alive and I want her to stay that way.”
She was so brave, so much stronger than I would ever be. I couldn’t argue with her. She’d lost more than me and yet she was willing to do what she had to in order to get Mom back. I gave her a decisive nod of agreement, for arguing with her would get us nowhere. “For Mom.”
I laced my arm through hers and looked over my shoulder to make sure Thor was with us. Of course, he was. His hand might have fallen away, but he was there, right next to me, whenever I needed him. “I love you, Thor.”
I didn’t wait for him to answer me. The words didn’t require a response. I loved him, knew he suffered so much because of Lord Wyse as well. That was all. I pulled Trinity along and we entered the transport center with Thor guarding my back, as I knew he always would.
Inside, the mood went from fresh air and teasing to a dark quiet that almost tasted bitter on my tongue. The hum of the transport pad could be felt through the soles of my shoes, but I could hear it as well, the faint buzzing making the hair on the back of my neck and arms stand up and pay attention. It was like being in a static-charged clothes dryer.
Trinity pulled her arm from mine seconds before we entered the main transport area where Leo, Nix and the rest of the guards waited with Lord Wyse.
I remembered him vividly from when we were in front of the police station. Things were different, for I was no longer in handcuffs and he was the one in custody. It was obvious now; I knew why he had been so reluctant to release me to Thor’s custody that day. He’d said there was no record of me on Alera and probably assumed I was one of the princesses. He’d been so close. Too close.
Then, he’d worn the uniform of the Inspector Optimi, the formal lines had made him appear stronger, taller, a force to be reckoned with. Now, he wore dull gray pants and a dark green tunic. Simple. Average. His boots were black and well worn. In just a few days, his shoulders had thinned with age, the tunic hanging from his frame outlining the sharp angles and bony bits sticking up on his back and shoulders. His face was overly thin, as if he’d been malnourished or was sick. He looked like hell. Old. Weak.