Chapter Six
Once the happy couple had been congratulated, Yna headed over to Li. She was pretty much alone in the room aside from her family occasionally stopping by.
“Okay, tell me why you are being shunned.”
Li looked around and sighed. “This isn’t the place.”
Yna grinned and giggled, hunching her shoulders. “If you do it right, this is exactly the place.”
“Groven is a highly desired mate by a few ladies who are higher ranking than myself. He insisted on me, and now, there is a whole faction of nobles who would like to see me dead.” Li smiled brightly.
“Ah. I did wonder. Some of the ladies are looking daggers at you.” She chuckled and nudged Li with her arm.
“Yes, three of the would-be suitors were with us in the procession.”
“Gotcha. Well, if you need help or just want a buddy to go to the lav with, let me know.”
Li sighed. “Since you mentioned it...”
Yna looked to her fiancée and made a quick hand gesture. He nodded, and she turned back to Li. “Let’s go.”
“What was that?”
“It was a hand signal for relieving oneself. It is easier to do that than announce it on alien worlds. Some folks have taboos about it.”
She linked arms with her soon-to-be sister-in-law and paused. “You have to lead. I have no idea where I am going.”
Li laughed and led the way.
They were returning to the party when hands grabbed them and pulled them into a hallway. Yna fought free for a moment, but a cloth that smelled funny covered her mouth. She held her breath as long as she could, but eventually, she inhaled, and everything went dark.
“What the hell are we supposed to do with an alien? They will be looking for her.” The masculine voice was agitated.
Yna didn’t open her eyes. She kept listening.
“She wasn’t going to leave the target alone. We had to take her. She might have seen us.”
“Why were you worried about that? She is an alien. Who would believe her?”
“The princess. Folks have said that she speaks highly of her after knowing her for only one day. If the princess got involved, we would be screwed.”
“What do you think is going to happen now, genius? We need to dump her before she wakes up.”
Yna opened her eyes a fraction and took in the bound and gagged Li across from her. She looked around carefully and tested her bonds. Standard rope, nothing on her ankles, they were in a skimmer with a canopy on it and cruising over some kind of crop. The sweet scent of summer growth was unmistakable. They must have the screens open.
The men continued to argue about what to do with her, but she was sure about what they were going to do to Li. They were taking her to a lab and getting her pregnant. The pregnancy would nullify the engagement and Groven would be fair game once again.
Yna waited until the skimmer was down before she took action. Her gown shifted into a bodysuit with a blade down the spine. She sawed the ropes through in two slices.
The moment that the cargo area opened, she kicked the first man in the face before using the locking rod from the interior of the skimmer on the other. She spilled out of the skimmer and went on the attack with her suit sporting blades on all extremities. They had nowhere to grab.
Blood flowed, and their green skin yielded blood in a deep, dark shade. She kept at them until they were both lying prone on the ground. She dismissed the blades, climbed back in the skimmer and untied Li.
“Okay, I have gotten us transport, but I don’t know how to get back to the city.”
Li blinked and tears welled in her eyes. “It is all my fault.”
“No, it is the fault of the bitch who hired them. Come on now; let’s get back to the party.”
Li sniffled and nodded. She followed Yna to the controls.
“Thank goodness that this facility was a good distance from the landing site.”
She took the controls, thankful that they were standard and pulled them away from the squat building with all speed.
“Yna, you are bleeding.”
Yna glanced down and shook her head. “Not mine. The kidnappers. They are down for the count.”
Li grabbed the com unit and changed the channel. She sought a signal and nearly sobbed when a voice came through.
“This is the party.”
Li swallowed. “I had to step out.”
The gruff, growly voice whispered, “Are you all right?”
“I am safe for now, but I think we are being pursued and we don’t know where we are.”
“You are giving me all the right signals.”
Yna took the hint and banked right.
Li continued to chat with the gruff voice, and in an hour, they could see the city.
Yna muttered, “Can we get clearance?”
“I am afraid that this party is jammed. You would be lucky to find a spot in the city at all. Unless you were willing to park illegally.”
Yna grinned. “You know, I am thinking that two honour attendants who got drunk and landed a skimmer on the imperial grounds would be something the family wanted to keep quiet.”
“Li, I really like your friend.”
Li chuckled. “Me too. See you in five.”
They stopped communications, and Li changed it to an open channel.
She muttered quickly. “So, drive like you are drunk.”
Yna giggled loudly and shouted, “Wheee.”
They dipped, wheeled and twisted.
When the palace grounds appeared, the shouting on the coms was deafening. Li and Yna just laughed louder and hoped that no one shot down the ladies missing from the party.
As she skidded the skimmer across the stone, she changed back into the gown she had worn for the ceremony.
The guards wrenched open the doors, and Yna grinned vaguely. “Hiya. I made a wrong turn on the way from the restroom.”
He recoiled as she stood, and he took aim at her while she laughed and raised her hands.
“We have them.” Ahlgos’s tone was grim. “Thank you for your help.”
Yna lunged up and threw her arms around his neck. “Ahlgy!”
He grunted and wrapped his arms around her. “Where have you been?”
“Flying. The countryside is so pretty, or so the ladies were saying when we got dressed, so I went to look for myself. We won’t be here long, after all.” She leaned back and beamed at him.
“What have you been drinking?”
“I don’t know. Purple stuff, blue stuff. You know that nothing works right when I drink it away from home.” She nuzzled his chin.
He sighed. “If you would like to file a report, I am sure that my family will be happy to compensate the palace for any damages that my fiancée has incurred.”
“Of course, Guardsman.” The guard walked around and frowned. “The Lafui family might lodge a complaint. This is one of their skimmers.”
“They can contact us directly.” His words were clipped.
A man on the other side of the skimmer had Li in his arms. He smoothed her hair and comforted her. He was huge. His arms were massive, his neck was thick, but he handled Li as if she was the stem of a flower.
Ahlgos put an arm around her shoulder, and she leaned against him as if for support. Groven did the same with Li, and they all headed into the palace.
Instead of returning to the party, they found a secure room, and Ahlgos crushed her to his chest. “We were worried.”
She muttered, “You had a right to be.”
Li was sobbing wildly, and Yna looked at her with pity. “This is going to keep happening.”
Ahlgos sighed. “Yes, but our hands are tied.”
“Not anymore. I cut myself loose.”
They all sat in the study, and Li explained what she knew before Yna added her input to events.
Before they were finished, all the Ikato family had arrived, including the newlyweds.
Nialloa shrugged. “There is an answer to this.”
Yna nodded. “Yup. We get married so that they can.”
Nialloa grinned. “I even have a bouquet you can use.”
Ahlgos shook his head. “No one will do it on such short notice.”
Nialloa laughed and went to a com unit on the desk. She called and spoke calmly, ordering a magistrate, witnesses and contracts for two couples.
Yna blinked as she listened; she used that tone when she was ordering food in hotels while on vacation.
Li looked stunned. “Just like that?”
Nialloa looked to Groven. “Do you have an objection?”
He shook his head. “I think it is an amazing idea. I am joining the Ikato clan anyway. Witnesses from my family are not required.”
“Excellent. They will meet us in the chapel in seven minutes. I am not giving anyone time to stage a problem.” Nialloa scowled. “Not on my wedding day.”
They sat together and laughed about speedy weddings for four minutes before walking to the chapel a few minutes away.
Ahlgos whispered, “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Yna nodded. “It is fine. I am sure that it will make everything a little more manageable.”
“Are you including yourself in that package?”
“No. I am definitely not manageable.” She smiled. “I am guessing that it is a trait that your family looks for.”
“You are probably correct in that conclusion.” He wrapped his arm around her and squeezed.
Once in the chapel, it took only a few minutes to hammer out the contract between Ahlgos and Yna. She didn’t want money or property, just her occupation and the right to name any children that they had, though given that they were different species, children were unlikely.
Ahlgos wanted any children to have the Ikato name and his share of the family property if he predeceased her.
She signed, he signed, and both contracts were witnessed, and the seals were set.
As attendant, Nialloa handed her the ivy in between each clause of the contract. It was for effect, but after an hour had passed, it was a welcome distraction.
The moment that the final seal was set, Ahlgos turned to her and kissed her. Yna went up on her toes, and her gown changed from the black lace to a brilliant aqua silk that flowed around her, hugging her curves.
She held tight when he would have pulled back, and their kiss grew savage. He tried to bend her back, but she wrapped her leg around his hips, and his distraction was complete.
The ladies cheered, and she finally drew back. “Happy wedding day, Ahlgos.”
“Do you have an exit strategy for this as well?” His eyes were dazed.
She chuckled. “I don’t think I am going to need it; now, let’s let Li get married so we can begin wrecking her enemies.”