She continued with this one-sided conversation and I listened intently, trying to make sense out of it all. But just then, I heard boots scraping outside our cell.
“Rylee, quick!” I exclaimed, grabbing her arm to get her attention. “The guards are coming for us! Tell your guys to try and find the Baron—he’s probably looking for me, too! Maybe they can help each other.”
“Oh, good idea!” Rylee nodded eagerly. “Listen, Drace…Lucian,” she muttered. “I have to go now but be on the look out for a Naggian ship when you get to Tangella Alpha-Prime. My cousin Natalie’s guy is on board—his name is Baron Vik’tor and he’s from O’nagga Nine. Maybe he can help.”
“Tell them to tell him I’m okay,” I said quickly. “And…that I miss him,” I added, wishing I could say that I loved him. But we hadn’t gone that far…hadn’t said that yet—even though every minute I spent away from him I longed for him more.
Rylee nodded and relayed the information. Just as she finished, the cell door creaked open and the Captain of the Guards came in.
“Gotta go—they’re bringing us before the Emperor again,” Rylee muttered. Then she opened her eyes and looked up. She gave me a wink and then the cell door was grating open.
“Come,” the Captain rumbled, glaring down at us. “It is time you came before the Emperor once more. And this time, there will be no more excuses or delays—he wants answers. If you wish to keep your heads, you will provide them.”
FORTY-NINE
VIK’TOR
Iwas in my ship and orbiting around the male side of the planet when I saw a new ship come into view—a sleek Majoran vessel with the Goddess Empress’s own sigil painted on the side.
I stared at it in surprise—what the fuck was an emissary from the Court of Femme One doing here? Then, to my further surprise, it hailed me.
Warily, I opened a line of communications on my viewscreen. It wasn’t wise to ignore the servants of the Goddess Empress, but I had no idea what they might want with me. I’m scrupulously honest when it comes to paying my Imperial taxes.
But instead of the Imperial Guard, which is made up exclusively of Majorans, I saw a couple of Denarins staring back at me. One had blue skin and the other had olive-green skin tones and both of them looked worried.
“Yes?” I asked. “What do you want?” Which was about as polite as I was prepared to be, even to someone from the Goddess Empress’s Court. I was in a fucking hurry to get to Natalie and I didn’t have time to mess around with government agents.
“Are you Baron Vik’tor from O’nagga Nine?” the green-skinned one asked me.
“Yeah, that’s me but I’ve already paid my Imperial taxes this year,” I snapped. “Now if you’ll excuse me, my female is in trouble and I need to get to her.”
“It’s because of your female—and ours—that we’re fucking calling you,” the blue skinned Denarin snapped.
“What?” I was shocked. “What are you talking about?” I demanded.
“Listen carefully, we are bonded to a La-ti-zal by the name of Rylee,” the green-skinned Denarin told me. “I am Lucian and this is my Bond-mate, Drace,” he added, introducing the two of them. “Rylee was taken from us a little while ago and we have been searching for her ever since. We are told that a merchant named Gumpas took her using the same kind of device the Commercians use to extract females from Earth.”
“Gumpas?” I demanded. “That’s the same son of a bitch that tookmyfemale, Natalie!”
“We fuckingknow,” the blue-skinned one—Drace—snapped.
“Rylee finally contacted us just now,” the green-skinned one—Lucian—told me. “She told us that she and Natalie are both being held—”
“In the Court of Shadout the Twenty-second and one half over on the male side of Tangella Alpha-Prime,” I finished for him. “Yes, I know—I’m trying to figure out how to get to Natalie right now but you can’t get clearance to land on the male side unless you’ve set up a prior appointment.”
“I say we just fucking land anyway,” Drace growled. “We have to get to Rylee!”
“It’s too late.” Lucian put a hand to his head, frowning intensely.
“What? What’s too late?” I exclaimed, feeling panic spread through me.
“They’re entering the throne room now,” Drace said. He also had a hand to his head and a look of intense concentration on his face. “I can see it through our Bond with Rylee.”
“Well, is Natalie with her? What’s going on?” I demanded, feeling a mixture of fear, irritation, and envy that the two of them had been able to Bond with the female they loved while I had been unable to Bond with Natalie.
“She’s there—Rylee’s got our mental link wide open. They’re going before the Emperor now,” Lucian told me. “Just keep your channel open and we’ll keep you informed,” he added. “All we can do now is wait and send a prayer to the Goddess of Mercy that our females will be all right.”
Though I hated to admit it, I knew he was correct. Events had gone beyond our control—it was up to Natalie and Rylee now.