The next day, I sent Farowyn, Zared, Fitz, and Dario to the land port with instructions to buy the best ship they could find. They were glad to leave. Papa was in a mood because Momma was upset with him over me. She didn’t fuss or yell to make her displeasure known, so I wasn’t sure what she had done or was doing to make her point.
From where Terre, Violet, and I sat, I heard her say, “Your company isn’t required. My guards will be with us.”
“Neema, please don’t be cold to me,” Papa said in something I’d consider a whine from anyone but the Emperor.
“Cold? Forgive me, darling. I never intended to be cold. I meant to be absolutely frigid. Now, I am taking our daughter and her friends out for the day. Try to be a good grandfather in our absence, and I may thaw some. Understood?”
“Yes, Neema,” Papa said.
The three of us exchanged glances before joining Momma in the foyer and walking with her out to the transport. “Go,” she ordered Captain Aegisthus.
“What was that about?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” Momma gave me an innocent look.
“Why did Papa call you cold?” I wondered if it had something to do with when she was in stasis and if something was wrong.
“I’m punishing him for your tears.”
“How?” I asked, even more confused.
Terre, Momma, and Violet turned incredulous eyes my way. “You know how,” Violet said.
“No, she doesn’t. Look at her expression,” Terre said.
Sitting more firmly back and turning to pin me with her regard, Momma said, “I haven’t seen to your father’s needs in two days.”
“Ew. Isn’t that punishment for you, too? You only have one husband.”
Violet asked, “Haven’t you ever withheld physical affection to express your anger? All I have to do is threaten Kaoti, and he capitulates.”
“No, not on purpose,” I said.
In exasperation, Momma said, “Oh, Teagan. If a husband angers you, ignite his pheromones and then refuse to give him pleasure.”
“Momma, that’s mean.”
“Well, how do you expect to keep your husbands obedient otherwise?”
The three of them looked serious. I died laughing. Then, I wiped my eyes. “Not one of my husbands can be controlled. They are too smart for that. Anyway, I don’t want their obedience. I like them undomesticated and feral.”
Terre laughed and shook her head.
Momma said, “Yes, I’ve heard of your penchant for hairy males.”
“Are you suggesting that you don’t like a hairy chest?”
“I don’t care for it. I have Tavere’s body hair removed.” She appeared to find the very idea of male body hair extremely distasteful.
“Poor Papa. It sounds like you’ve already punished him enough.” I cringed. Hair removal was something that I personally dreaded.
Momma took my hand. “What they made you believe and feel, I felt it with you.”
Her words made Zared’s to me from the evening before even clearer. All of us had suffered because of Eli’s stupid plan and his team of ruthless Inquisitors. Maybe, they had deserved to be left naked on that mountain.
“So, Violet, how are you feeling?” I asked to change the subject.
With a heavy sigh, she said, “Tired. Tired unlike any other tired.”
“Well, today you will be pampered from head to toe,” Momma assured her.
Momma’s idea of a spa day was extreme, but then when I remembered her title, it made sense. However, watching male attendants feed Momma and Violet their lunches while they lounged was a bit much. I rolled my eyes. When it was time for our massages, I put on a robe and snuck away to the rooftop terrace. The idea of it was too much for me, but I didn’t want the ladies to know. Luca was too much on my mind and would be so even more during a massage. I couldn’t take it. Heaters kept me from freezing while I hid.
“Oh, Luca.”
I looked out over the clean and organized city. The buildings were evenly spaced. Civilians and soldiers went about their business in polite and orderly fashions. It wasn’t at all like the dirty wet alley in a practically lawless excuse for a city where I had lost him. I wiped my eyes on my robe.
“I swore to myself that day that Jiri would never take anyone else from you again.”
I turned to see Eli stepping from the shadows a few feet from me.
“Not Jiri, his clones, his Earth Loyalists, or anything or anyone remotely associated with him will hurt you again.” His black hair gleamed, but his dark eyes were dull.
“But, you let your friend, Flavian, hurt me.” Accusation was thick in my voice.
Eli took a step closer. “He didn’t hurt you. He made you think that he had. A drugged kiss, a few suggestive movements, and your mind was his.”
“You let me believe it. Why?” I clutched at my robe-covered elbows.
“You had to fear Cory so that Jiri would believe he was your enemy. Had Farowyn not involved himself, we would have had Felix in a week on Malta.”
“How do you know?” I asked angrily.
“Because I tortured it out of Lewis Soval before I killed him. The man was one of Jiri’s contacts.” I took a step back. Eli stopped his forward progression. “Do you fear me?” he asked in a barely audible voice.
“I thought he had raped me. He looked like Yukihyo. He was in my wing. Did you let him in? Did you do that?”
“He didn’t need my help. He’s one of the Empire’s best spies. Had he intended you harm or felt any ill will toward you, Zared would have sensed it. Flavian was working to protect you by order of the Emperor. You still haven’t answered my question.”
I continued to ignore it. “What was the contact information that Felix gave to Flavian in the cargo bay of the ship on Arachne?”
Eli remained still. “It was the name of an informant of Jiri’s on Scipio.”
“Scipio? Who?”
“A restaurateur named Soren who has insinuated himself into the life of an associate of yours.” Eli watched me while I thought.
“Felicia mentioned a man named Soren to me. She’s my friend and former business partner.”
Eli nodded. “I have sent an operative with orders to keep him under observation and to take action if required.”
“What do you mean by if required?”
“You know what I mean by it.”
“Right. When Soren learns of Felix’s death, he will become dangerous and unpredictable.”
Eli inclined his head to me. “Clark and his team renounced their houses and swore to you. Will you return them to their houses?”
“Why should I?” I asked snottily.
“Clark is the last of House Flavian, his father’s only child.”
Incredulously, I asked, “You want me to do Flavian a favor? Basically, you’ve confirmed that he mind-fucked me. He made me think he was going to kill my family, but you want me to return his to him? Why the fuck should I?”
Eli took a step closer to me. “It is the right thing to do for both Clark and Cory. Both of them risked their lives in service to House Probus.”
“Maybe, I would be kinder to protect Clark from the monster he calls a father,” I said angrily.
“Cory isn’t a monster. He and I have been friends for most of our lives.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “There are ugly, dirty things that often require attention. These streets are so pristine and her occupants so civilized, but depravity and treasonous intent can’t be disguised here as well as it blends in with the environments of Malta, Amphictyon, or Earth. We are the ones sent to battle dark and hidden evils, to uncover plots, and to protect the innocent while serving harsh justice to the guilty.”
His self-righteous tone ignited my temper. “Protect the innocent? Unless you need to use someone to obtain an objective, right? Weren’t you and your team brilliant enough to come up with another plan?”
“When we calculated your possible responses and Felix’s reactions, the plan we decided upon had the highest possible rate of success.”
I felt my pulse in my ears, throbbing. “I’ve worked so hard to overcome what Nathan Green did to me, and you almost sent me huddling back into myself.” My cheeks began to flush with anger.
“I told you not to let them break you.”
His calm, dispassionate response as though such a suggestion could have saved me from the despair and shame I had felt, made me snap. I slapped Eli hard across the face. He stood still without any reaction or change even in his eyes. I screamed at him and slapped him again and again. Then, I hit him with my fists, but he stood unmoving as though oblivious to my rage.
“What? I’m not good enough to fight? You don’t feel anything? Do you? I can’t hurt you? Is that the point?” I screamed at him as I panted with the exertion of my attack. Blood dripped from Eli’s lip, and my handprints reddened his face.
Quietly, he said, “Yes, you hurt me. You are the only one who hurts me.” Eli grabbed me by the arms and pulled me close. My robe had come open, leaving me exposed before him. “I’m not as unfeeling as you currently believe.”
“Then, you’re one hell of an actor! Shit! For years, you had me believing you were my friend and that you cared about me, but that was only your job! It was only what you manipulated me into thinking!”
A spark of anger appeared in his eyes. “That’s a lie, and you know it.”
“I don’t know anything where you’re concerned!”
“Then you have deceived me as well. I thought you were more intelligent than that.”
My hand shot out to slap him again, but he caught my wrist. Eli’s lips crashed down to mine, and he stepped closer, trapping my naked front to his uniformed body. He kissed me as though it were the final act of his existence. When I took a breath, his tongue invaded my mouth greedily caressing my own. Then, Eli stilled and withdrew his mouth from mine but didn’t relinquish his hold. From his lips, I could taste the metallic flavor of his blood that I had drawn.
“I have loved you since the first time I heard your voice, a girl alone with a family of strangers who didn’t know her true identity, a girl who survived and fought because heredity and breeding couldn’t be beaten out of her no matter how hard Nathan Green tried. I made him suffer for it before I gave him to your father. Everyone who has ever harmed you has suffered. I will protect and avenge you until the day I die. From the moment I first saw your sweet face, I have lived for you alone. Your fists may make me bleed, but for you to believe I do not care for you causes me more pain than anything I have ever before experienced. Hurting you to protect you and being forced to perpetuate the ruse so that your pain was not in vain, scarred my soul. Watching as you accepted Drex, when I am the one who loves you, was the only thing that has ever hurt me worse. When you accepted Dario, your message was clear. You wanted to punish me. Dario was loyal to you while you believed me false. You have shut me out, ignoring my attempts to speak to you. You think I am unfeeling, but where you are concerned, I feel so much that it hurts. Never doubt that I am yours. I am your protector. I am your ally. I am your friend. If I could rip out my soul and lay it at your feet, I would do so.”
I could see something now in Eli’s eyes. It was desperation. My heart felt raw.
Panicked, he asked, “Have I lost what love you once felt for me? Have I lost the only thing that I ever had that I ever truly wanted? Not long ago, you told me that you loved me. I knew you meant it in a familial way, but that was the happiest day of my life. If I have killed your love for me, it will be the most wretched and vile execution I have ever performed.” Reaching up, Eli wiped the tears from my face with his fingertips.
“You haven’t killed my love for you, Eli.” Tears fell from his eyes, and I wiped them away with my fingertips.
“I’ve never wanted anything more than to please you, to keep you safe and happy.”
I wrapped my arms around his chest. Eli lowered his lips to mine, and when I responded kissed me with a slow, hot passion. An instinct to claim Eli drove my hand down to caress him through the fabric of his trousers. When he didn’t object, I unfastened them and dipped my hand inside to grasp his hard length. The strong and stoic Inquisitor Beck broke and crumbled like plaster to the terrace revealing a man of passionate fire in his place. Eli lifted me by my thighs and placed me on a table. Plates and a vase full of winter flowers crashed and clattered to the ground as he cleared the table with a swipe of his muscular forearm.
I lifted my legs and wrapped them around his hips. Free of his pants, I could feel the combination of hot skin and powerful male between my thighs. Without any preamble, Eli pushed forward, burying himself within me as though attempting to forge us into a new being through the heat of our passion. He had me so thoroughly pinned that I could feel his balls tickling my ass as my back hit the table.
Pausing, Eli stared into my eyes. “I love you. I love you with all that I am. I swear that I will never again deceive you. I will never forgive myself for being an instrument to your pain.”
I wiped at the tears on his face and the blood on his lip. “Then, I will forgive you.” I could feel the pulse of his heartbeat through his penis as though his heart were within me, mine. “If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t have been so hurt and angry. I can’t forgive myself for being so brutal to you. I’ve made you bleed. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Eli began driving himself into me, hard and fast. The table legs screeched against the ground beneath us.
“Why?” I gasped as he moved us along with the table.
“I liked it,” he admitted. “The feeling of your hands striking my flesh was the most erotic thing I’ve ever experienced.” Eli grinned at me, and had a mischievous glint in his eyes. Then, they narrowed to slits as he came.
“Teagan? Teagan?” I heard Terre calling.
Quickly, Eli pulled himself from me and hid himself in his pants with one hand while holding the other down to me.
“Oh! Oh! You, brute!” Terre’s beautiful and serene expression transformed into one of fury as she flew at Eli and swatted at him repeatedly with both hands while placing herself protectively between us.
Eli held his hands clasped behind him during the onslaught of her attack. I could only imagine how it looked with blood on his lip and his face reddened by my slaps.
“Terre! It’s not what it looks like! Seriously? Make a fist with your thumb on the outside and put your weight into it,” I suggested with a snicker as I hurried to protect Eli from my furious friend. “Terre,” I said as I fastened my robe and stepped in front of Eli. My head snapped backwards into Eli’s chest, and I saw black ringed with red. “Ow!” I covered my left eye with both hands.
“Teagan! Oh, Teagan! I’m so sorry!”
“Shit, Terre. That actually hurt. Way to go. I’ll unleash you on Clark.”
“Oh, Teagan! I’ve hurt you! My dear precious friend! I only wanted to defend you against this monstrous brute!”
“I’m the one who lost my temper and brutalized him. We were just making up.”
“Making up? There are broken place settings, vases, overturned chairs, and gouges in the flooring from the table legs. He’s even bleeding!”
Through my right eye, I surveyed the damages. “I’ll clean it up.”
“Oh, my! It looks like someone had a wild party,” a rather effeminate male spa attendant said as he stepped over the broken plates. Terre was clutching her wrist to her robed chest. I knew she had hurt herself when she had hit me in the eye. “So, might I suggest an eye mask for you, a hand massage for you, and for this big sexy beast a lip treatment and a calming mask?”
I stared at the man through one eye. Terre was trying to control her labored breathing. I shrugged. “Yeah. Sure. Sounds good. Come on, guys.”
Eli picked me up in one arm, Terre in the other, and carried us over the shards of pottery and glass. It crunched under his boots. The attendant made a sound that was between a purr and a growl at Eli.
“He’s taken,” I said.
The attendant pouted and then winked at me.
A few minutes later, Terre and I were laughing at Eli. He was sporting a pink clay mask on his face, and a purple gel on his lips, while trying to keep himself covered with his spa robe.
“How’s your hand?” I asked.
Wistfully, she said, “It hurts. I wish Phillip were here.”
“Yes, so do I along with Yukihyo.”
“Teagan, did you really just claim a third husband in this month alone?” Terre asked incredulously.
“Um, not officially. Eli just ravaged me and didn’t even make me an offer.”
“Teagan, I offered you my soul, and you took it. You will have everything else once you activate either your vid-screen or mine. I will also give you any gift you will accept from me.”
“Great. Momma and Papa can babysit. You’re taking me to Scipio to rescue Felicia. It’s my fault they targeted her. Contact Jazon. Tora can meet us there.”
Eli asked, “When do you wish to leave?”
“Take me home. I need to kiss my babies, tell Papa where we are going, and pack a few things.”
Eli said, “Dani, will you please help us prepare to leave?”
Dani, the attendant who had continued making sweet faces at Eli said, “Of course, anything for you.”
I kissed Momma and Violet goodbye, and encouraged them to stay and enjoy the spa. Momma asked, “Where are you going?”
“Something came up. I love you. Is it okay if I leave the kids with Gama and Gapa for a few days?”
Momma perked up. “Oh! I’d love nothing more!”
“Great! Thanks, Momma.”
Eli drove Terre and me home. Nico met us at the door. “What happened to you?” he asked Eli before scanning to see if we had been followed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bruise on you. Who the fuck did that?” Then, he saw my eye. It was a light shade of purple in a spot but not very bad.
“Nico, I beat up Eli and then took his virginity. Terre punched me while defending his honor.”
Nico gave me a look. “What really happened?”
“I’ll tell you later. Are you coming with us or staying here? Momma and Papa are babysitting.”
“I’m what? What am I doing?” Papa asked.
“You’ll have Pierce and Lorca to help you,” I said. Then, I quickly explained.
The children were playing in the backyard with bunnies that Walter and Izaac had caught for them. Into my thoughts, Izaac said, “We are coming with you. I will learn all that I can from Soren’s mind once we capture him.”
I nodded. “We are taking Eli’s warship and leaving the Empress for Momma and Papa.” I sent my thoughts to Thunderdrop, sharing with him images of the Lake of Mist and the Singing Rocks. He floated down to me on a line of spider silk. I kissed my babies. They were laughing, playing with bunnies, and well-guarded.
Papa said, “Full report in two hours.” Eli saluted. “Teagan, how long are you planning to be gone?”
I looked at him and started calculating distances in my head. Even with a warship outfitted with photonic film, it might take three weeks to go to Scipio, rescue Felicia, and return home. Could I handle being gone from my babies for that long?
“Teagan?” Papa asked.
“Maybe, three weeks.” Doubt laced my response. Lorca heard me as he came out with two sippy cups and a bottle of juice. “I should take them with me.”
Lorca said, “Teagan, the children have been cooped up on starships for weeks. They need the fresh air, sun, and running space. Let us do our jobs. Pierce and I can take care of them here where they can use their legs, practice their swimming, and learn to appreciate nature. It would be good for you to have some time to yourself.”
“Your mother lives for spoiling her grandchildren. Also, I’m sure that if I were to extend an invitation to Marcos and Abbie, they would join us. What could be better than being spoiled by two sets of grandparents?”
“You’re sure? I don’t want to be a bad mother.”
“Stars, Teagan. Please, don’t ever let your mother hear you say such a thing. She cries at night for how she left you.”
Shocked, I said, “It wasn’t her fault.”
Papa said, “I know, and you know.” He kissed my forehead.
Inside, Ira handed me a satchel containing my vid-screen and took my suitcases out to the transport. That was when my husbands came home. Zared gave me a nod. “We had our things sent over to Eli’s ship from the Empress and are prepared to leave.”
Nodding to him, I asked, “Did you pick out a ship?”
“We found a beauty. She’s only had one owner, a former fleet captain, who downsized to a smaller vessel. He didn’t need that much ship for simple jaunts in the Empire,” Dario said.
I turned to Farowyn. “Is she ready for a trip?”
Farowyn seemed puzzled that I had directed my question to him. “It’s a fine ship and in excellent condition. I’m envious of the engineering involved in its construction. She looks like she will be a worthy addition to your holdings.”
“Oh, she isn’t mine. She is my gift to you, husband. My Eloneave Admiral should have the freedom of the stars. I know it is where you belong.” Farowyn’s brown eyes locked onto mine. “Yukihyo is seeing that you have an account to cover fueling costs and enough to begin merchant activities. It will be up to you to learn from him and increase your credits.”
“With my own ship, I can return to Talpa with supplies for my people whenever I wish.”
“Yes, and return to Peter and me wherever we are and whenever you wish.”
Farowyn grabbed me by the waist and pulled me close. “With this gift, you return me to myself.”
I kissed his cheek. “Follow me in her if you wish. We are leaving for Scipio. A man who was working for Felix insinuated himself into the life of a dear friend of mine. I need to make this right.”
Farowyn nodded. His men followed him up to get their things. They seemed more excited than he did. Nico, Fitz, Drex, Dario, and Zared were grinning at me. “What?”
Nico said, “You have a gift for stealing male hearts right out of their chests.”
“I do?”
Dario said, “Losing a ship is traumatic, I’ve heard. To lose one after having spent a lifetime aboard her would be harrowing. You gave him back a part of himself.”
I blushed.
Fitz said, “A female who spoils a male with extravagant gifts is rather sexy.”
I rolled my eyes at him.
Zared said, “You would know. Nice portrait you got of her.” I blushed a deeper shade, knowing he referred to the nude painting I had posed for on Thalassa at Fitz’s request. Well, I’d been wearing a hat. Zared asked me, “Would you mind calling Sparrow?”
“I’ll call her. What’s wrong?”
Zared said, “She thinks you are angry with her.”
“Why?” That she would think such a thing had me completely baffled.
“You left her and Xavier on Parvac.”
“Well, shit.” I called Sparrow.
She answered from her lab. “Hello, Teagan.”
“Hey. How’s work going?” I tried to appear sweet and precious.
“Good.” She looked distrustful of my attempt.
“Everything alright?” I waited.
Eventually, she asked, “What did I do wrong?”
I feared I might be sporting a deer in headlights expression. “Nothing that I know of. Why?”
“You went off-world without us.”
“I did.” Feelings of what had spurred my departure washed over me.
“Why?” She looked hurt, and it was all my fault.
“I know how hard it is to get used to being around people when you’re accustomed to being alone. You needed time in your lab to decompress. I love you, sister. It gets easier. I needed time to think and didn’t want to do it on Parvac, but I knew you needed to be in your lab. That’s all.”
Sparrow cocked her curly brown head in thought. “Yeah. That makes sense.” She gave me a nod of her head and ended the call.
I snorted. Zared kissed my temple and said, “Xavier thanks you.”
“Zared, am I wrong to leave the children? Will they feel I have abandoned them the way I made Sparrow feel?”
“No, Teagan.”
“Dearest one, would you be more at ease if Dr. Savelli were to reside here at your estate while we are gone?” Drex asked.
“Yes, that would make me feel better.” I watched as he made the arrangements and noticed my spider baby. Thunderdrop sat on the back of a chair and stared at me with sad eyes. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
“Chirp clack chitter clack.” He had only gotten to play outside for a day and a half.
“Oh, I see.” I got up to stroke his back. “Do you want to stay here and play with Neema, Niklos, and Peter while I’m gone?”
Thunderdrop blinked at me sadly. “Chirp chitter.” He wanted us both to stay on Ephors.
“So, do I.” I showed him a mental image of a broken web that needed mending. “May I have a hug before I go?” He crawled to my chest and wrapped his legs around my throat. “I’ll leave you in charge of the babies and Momma. Okay?”
“Chirp clack.”
“I’ll miss you, too.”
He hopped from me and scampered outside.
“Teagan, your mother wants to know about all of the extra charges at the spa,” Papa said absently.
My face turned red. Terre walked over to us with her bags which Drex and Fitz quickly took from her.
“Please, have everything charged to me,” Eli said.
Zared laughed and said, “Teagan and Eli fought before they made up.”
“Teagan, your mother disputed the bill and had Captain Aegisthus review the security footage.”
I kissed his cheek. “Don’t look at it, Papa. Just pay the bill and move on. Everyone ready? Terre, you’re coming?” I was suddenly in a hurry to leave.
“Of course, I am.”
Farowyn kissed me before getting into his transport with his men. There was a swagger to his step that hadn’t been there before.
Zared said, “He’ll be back in his element in a few moments, just as Sparrow is in her lab.”
We loaded ourselves into our transports and drove to the land port.