Exile & Return

Daughters of Persephone Exile Return

By Julia Barrett

Resplendence Publishing, LLC http://www.resplendencepublishing.com

Resplendence Publishing, LLC 2665 S Atlantic Avenue, #349 Daytona Beach, FL 32176 Daughters of Persephone: Exile and Return Copyright © 2010, Julia Barrett Edited by Chantal Depp Cover art by Les Byerley www.les3photo8.com Electronic format ISBN: 978-1-60735-174-0 Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Electronic release: July 2010 This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.

This book is dedicated to my teacher, Mrs. Alter, who instilled in me an abiding love for both ancient mythology and futuristic science fiction.

Glossary

Beacon star — A star that gives off a regular energy pulse and can be used to navigate by. Bisha beast — A large member of the cat family. The females have multiple sexual partners and come into heat monthly. Bramah — An antelope type horned creature. They travel in large herds. Their hide is quite soft. Brill — An animal like a cow, provides milk. Cabba — An hallucinogenic herb that can be smoked or soaked in oil and eaten with bread. Calen — A rich agricultural planet, very Earth-like, with fertile soil, large herds of livestock and many horses, which are generally not allowed by the Coalition. All Calen-men traditionally wear their hair long and braided. Cavitt – A stimulating beverage similar to black tea. Chigalla — A tribe of primitives living in isolation on the edges of the galaxy who murder and torture for the sheer pleasure of it. They are not allowed off their home world—a curse word among civilized men. Chitta whore — Prostitutes drawn from the ranks of the poor, the desperate, the abandoned, the widows—women who have no other options open to them. They live in a brothel managed by a madam who is herself merely assigned by the Coalition.

Darrok — Oaf, fool. Dryebread — Enriched bread baked hard and packed for space travel. A nutritiously complete food. Eir-Edan — A lawless planet on the margin of the galaxy. Even the authorities avoid it whenever possible. Gack — An animal that grazes in marshland, somewhat like a moose, and has very odiferous excrement. Gona Desert — Primitive world where the Coalition’s corporal punishment consists of staking criminals and Resistance fighters out in the desert sands for the sun and insects to kill them. Iga beast — A lumbering cattle-type animal that is considered stupid and useless as its meat is very tough and tasteless, valued only for its thick coat in cold climates. Ishat — A kept woman, a courtesan trained in the finer arts of sex play. Has a much higher social standing than a whore. Khalia dancer — A beautiful woman specially trained to dance for wealthy male patrons. Khalia dancers existed before the coup, they have become fewer in number and their dancing is restricted to only upper level members of the Coalition. Kesa — Captain Aram’s base of operations, a moon on the edge of a sparsely populated solar system. Kig — A measurement of distance, approximately a kilometer. Matsu — The planet Matsu is the Imperial Capital, the Imperial city itself is also named Matsu.

Sauran Asteroid Belt — Home in exile of the Royal Family. Stunner pilot — A crazy, fearless, accurate, second-to-none pilot. It is very rare that a male pilot possesses these characteristics. Most stunner pilots (males) die young. The Pikes — An enormous asteroid belt male pilots avoid; too many large rocks with gravitational forces and gravitational currents and eddies. The Plains of Sithia — The site of the deciding battle between the Resistance forces supporting the Empress Aja and the forces of the Coalition. Lies two kigs outside the capitol city of Matsu and was originally used as communal grazing land. Now left in its natural state as a memorial to the men and women who died during the overthrow of the Coalition. Tionay Nebula — A vast nebula filled with intense electronic storms and vortexes, although it is the shortest route to the Galactic Core or center, most pilots avoid it. Women pilots used to fly through. Tisa — A hard liquor made from the fireflower, a spicy orchid-like flower native to the tropics. The flower is an epiphyte. It grows on a host tree and derives its nutrition from the air. It was originally discovered growing wild in the jungles of Ephan, but the plant is now cultivated throughout the Empire. Veercat — A large feline predator that hunts on the tall grass prairies of Calen.

Exile

Chapter One

“Seven bloody hells, the gravity plating on this deck’s shot. It’ll take two weeks to make these repairs.” Disgusted, the Chief engineer tossed his scanner back into his tool pack. “If we can even buy the materials on this Gods forsaken rock. We don’t have the time.” Aja and the first mate, Davi Fedd, followed his gaze. That section of the exterior hull reflected bright in the desert sun, appearing almost wet, like a child who had fallen down and skinned his knees. Their entry and emergency landing had been rough. “We passed over a trading zone,” said Mr. Fedd. “We may find some gravity plating there, maybe off an old junker.” Aja watched the Chief roll his eyes. It was obvious to her that he had no respect for the man who’d taken the helm. “Until Captain Aram recovers, you’ll follow my orders, Chief, whether you like it or not, and you have two days to make these repairs.” Aja knew the man wanted to add, you fucking asshole, but he didn’t. “Roll out the bird,” ordered Mr. Fedd, “and let’s scout a bit. Aja, you stay with the ship. Check on the captain. Might be he’s feeling well enough to eat something.” Aja nodded. She’d do whatever she could to help out. They’d crash-landed because of her. Because of her, they were running from the Coalition. Captain Aram was ill because of her. Because he’d been exposed to the lethal virus intended for her. It was only due to the fact that she’d managed to steal two vials of the antidote he was recovering. The Chief flat out hated her. If he could off load her or even kill her and get away with it, he would. Of that she had no doubt. Even if Aja hadn’t been a Seer, born and bred of the Blood,

the man’s thoughts were as plain as the nose on his face. He was very poor at disguising his feelings. Fortunately for her, he didn’t know who she was, he only understood she was valuable cargo and that a third party was paying them well to deliver her safe and sound. If he knew with any certainty who and what she was, Aja suspected she’d already be dead. Aja returned to the ship, stopping by the galley to fill a jug with fresh water. After his high fever, Captain Aram would be thirsty. Although the fever had broken this morning, he hadn’t been able to swallow until a few hours ago. Strapped in as they fled the Coalition cruiser, Aja hadn’t been able to get to his cabin to help him. The captain knew who she was and he knew what she was. Despite his fever and the hallucinations the virus caused, he’d managed to keep the information to himself. Aja felt both grateful and guilty at the same time. The man had risked his life to save hers and now her presence risked his ship and his crew. It was small comfort that it was a barebones crew, only the Second in Command, Davi Fedd, and the ship’s engineer, Crew Chief Wyer. With the captain sick, Davi had acted as pilot, engaging the auto-nav, although Aja was capable of piloting the craft if worse came to worse. She would risk taking the helm if absolutely necessary, but Chief Wyer was paranoid enough. Only women of the Blood were trained as pilots. It was a tradition even the Coalition dare not break. They had to continue the myth they’d created, at least until the generation that remembered passed away. Their propaganda machine promulgated the idea that the Coalition ruled with the Empress’ blessing. Of course, Aja had never been allowed to fly beyond the confines of the asteroid belt that served as their Court in Exile. Smart of the Coalition in one way, very stupid in another, she thought. It was hard to get anything larger than a small supply ship into the Sauran Asteroid Field, so any chance of rescue and return to their home world was almost nil. But learning to fly solo within the belt helped make Aja and her two younger sisters daring pilots. Even their Coalition-assigned instructors had been more than a little in awe of their abilities. Of course, Aja and her sisters had the benefit of generations of genetic engineering and adaptation. Women of the Blood possessed quick reflexes, perfect vision and an unusually forgiving vestibular system. No motion sickness for her. It didn’t hurt that Aja see the path ahead of her with her eyes closed. Aja slid the plexi-door aside, entering the captain’s spartan quarters. He lay on his side, facing her, eyes open. His face pale, drawn. “Everyone all right?” Aram rasped.

“Yes,” Aja replied. “It was a rough landing, but no injuries, at least not to us. The gravity skin got torn up a bit. Davi and the Chief took the bird to the nearest settlement to see if they can scrounge some magnetite for repairs.” She lifted the jug. “Here, let me help you.” She assisted the captain to a sitting position and held the jug for him. He drank like a man dying of thirst. “Not too much at once,” she warned, “You don’t want it to come back up.” “By the Gods, I’m not sure I’d care. I feel like I’ve been staked out in the Gona Desert for a week.” “Close,” commented Aja with a grin. “You came very close.” Closing his eyes, Captain Aram lay back down. He’d never been so weak in his life, but at least he felt better than he had the day before, when he had prayed for death. If this was how the virus behaved even after Aja had given him the antidote, he could only imagine the suffering this disease would cause before it killed its victims. Without the antidote, it was fatal, according to Aja, one hundred percent of the time. He hoped she’d managed to smuggle enough of the antidote out that the rebel medics could replicate it. Pray the Gods. His eyes flew open. “Why didn’t you and Davi…? Why aren’t you ill? I must have been contagious. Do we have enough of the antidote for the rest of you?” “It’s all right.” Aja patted his arm. “The strain you were injected with isn’t contagious. It’s a test strain only. It dies when you die. But you didn’t die. So in a sense, you are now immune. Think of it as a vaccination, like the medics give to children. The strain that infected you will confer lifetime immunity.” “Because I lived.” “Yes, because you lived. Do you think you can eat something, Captain? I can heat up a mug of broth.” Captain Aram didn’t answer. He attempted to sit up again. Aja leaned closer to help him, but he waved her away. “What I’d really like,” he said, “is to take a piss in the head and not in a jar. You mind? I know I was pretty far gone, but I assume you’ve seen everything I have. I suspect we’ve already passed the point of embarrassment.” He gave her a weak grin. He watched a blush spread over her face. Yes, apparently she had seen everything he had. “I’ll help you,” she offered. “You can lean on me. I’ll close my eyes if you like.”

“Thanks,” Captain Aram replied, “It’s not necessary.” Despite his nakedness, he tossed the coverlet aside. Aja helped him to the edge of the bunk. Getting his bearings, he sat there for a few moments. The woman held his arm, her grip firm, as he rose on shaky legs. “Let’s go,” he said, feeling winded already, “before I change my mind.” Aram rested his weight on Aja. He was a head taller than she was, but leaner than he’d been a week ago for certain. They walked side by side to the small room directly across from the bed. When they reached the door, Aja had to duck in first then maneuver him inside after her. He braced himself with both hands against the wall for a second as Aja wriggled around until she stood behind him. Resting his back against her, after a few moments, he relaxed. Aja had little experience with men. She’d never seen a grown man naked. It would be unthinkable in her cloistered world. A Princess of the Blood was expected to remain pure and unsullied by the touch of any man until her marriage. Prior to the coup, her mother would have arranged a match. Now any royal marriages would be arranged by the ruling Junta. Aja was the eldest. She knew without being told that the Coalition had intended to marry her off to a traitorous pig, a man who would keep her under lock and key for the rest of her life. Of course, that was before the Junta decided to eliminate the problem of the royal family altogether. It made perfect sense from their perspective. If you want the body dead, cut of the head. The Resistance rallied around the restoration of the monarchy. Without an Empress and her family, there was no longer anything to fight for. There was merely the day-to-day struggle for survival. The captain had finished and Aja assisted him back to his bunk. He practically fell onto the cot. “Water, please.” She helped him to drink. “So where did Davi set her down?” “In a deep ravine. All power is off and he’s activated the shields. A scan won’t show anything unusual.” “It was a rough landing.” “Yes. We skipped off the atmosphere like a pebble on a pond, letting the warships think we’d caught fire and burned up on entry. Davi cut power and glided in. He’s a good pilot.”

“Yes.” Aja watched Aram close his weary eyes. “I’ll get you some broth. You really should try to eat something.” She hesitated. “Captain, I didn’t get a chance to thank you properly. You nearly died for me.” She watched him lick his dry lips. “It was duty. My duty to you, to your family, to the Resistance, to the citizens of this corner of the galaxy. I would do it again in a heartbeat. When we got word of what they planned to do…” his voice trailed off. “You took a needle for me.” Eyes still closed, Aram grinned. “I would say better than a bullet, but I’m not entirely sure that would be true.” “My family, have they been moved out of harm’s way?” “That was the plan,” the man answered, “but I have no way of knowing for sure. Davi’s kept com silence, I assume.” “Yes.” “If everything went well, your family will be waiting for you at our destination.” “Thank you. I pray to the Gods they are safe. And I pray for the safety of all the men who risked their lives to help them.” As Aja turned to leave the room, the captain reached for her hand. “My Lady, thank you for the antidote, and for playing the part of nursemaid.” Aja smiled at the man. “Duty, Captain. I would do it again in a heartbeat.” “Is there enough left for our medics to replicate it?” “Oh yes, and then there’s you, Captain. Your serum will be quite useful in making a vaccine.” Captain Aram chuckled. “I’m glad my serum is good for something.” Aja warmed to the sound of his laughter. The man had courage to spare. “Oh, Captain Aram, don’t sell yourself short. I’m quite sure that you are good for many things. You are a very brave man. I owe you my life. There is no way I can repay you for that.” “I think you already have, My Lady. I doubt that helping a sick man to piss in a jar is the standard for a Princess of the Blood.”

“Maybe not,” laughed Aja, “But I enjoyed the experience immensely. Please, you must call me Aja, especially in front of Chief Wyer.” She grinned at him, “Besides, after all this, I see no need for formality between us.” Captain Aram’s face turned red as a beetroot. Aja patted his hand. “I’ll be back in a few moments,” she said, still laughing. “I imagine you’ll wait here.” The captain waved her away with a weak grin. Is she what they claim? Kyr Aram wondered. The one who will lead us? Is that why she was specifically chosen to carry death back to her family? Can she truly read my mind and tell my future? Kyr folded his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling of his compact cabin. The woman hadn’t acted as if she’d read his mind. If she had, she’d probably have run screaming. Imagine, a ship’s captain, a sick one at that, mentally undressing a Princess of the Blood. Perhaps she was simply a myth, something to rally the Resistance… and yet, if she was a myth, why was her death so important to the Coalition? Because even a myth has great power, he thought. A myth can rally the masses and start a revolution. She was important to the Resistance for the very same reason the Coalition wanted her dead. The Coalition would have been smarter to leave well enough alone. To simply keep her isolated with the rest of her family. Once the Resistance learned she’d been smuggled off the asteroid to which her family had been exiled, they did everything in their power to discover her whereabouts and get her for themselves. It was a bold plan and Kyr happened to be close by. When his brother, Karna, contacted him, he’d volunteered without hesitation. The head of one of the largest, most profitable trading companies, Tanne Macob, sat on the ruling Junta’s Civilian Advisory Council. He arranged for the supply ships that brought food and clothing to the Royal Family. It was known to only a few, a very few trusted individuals, including Kyr’s brother and the Empress, that the man led a double life. He’d provided the Resistance with the Princess’ location and if all had gone as planned, the Royal Family had been secreted aboard a small vessel and they were on their way to the rendezvous. Of course, this act was political and literal suicide for Tanne Macob. He now had to disappear, along with the Royal family.

Since the name Kyr Aram wasn’t known to the authorities, if they managed to escape this planet, Kyr might still be able to continue his smuggling operation. Because Davi and Chief Wyer had managed to shut down power to the security vids in the laboratory where the Coalition had been holding the Lady Aja, there would be no record of his face. The Resistance fighters and his crew depended upon the coin small-scale smuggling operations like his brought in. Of all the men under his command, only Davi knew the truth and Kyr trusted him with his life. He couldn’t say the same for Wyer, but the man was irreplaceable, a genius at keeping their vessel in the air, scrounging parts out of nothing and nowhere. When you spent most of your time on the run, you had to make do with whatever you could find, buy or steal from others who lived beyond the reach of the Coalition’s long arms. Kyr hoped the Royal Family had managed to escape. Removing the Empress from Coalition control would breathe life into the entire galaxy. Word would spread through the underground channels like wild fire and the ruling Junta would have no way to stop it. For all Kyr knew, the embers that had smoldered for thirty long years had already burst into flame. He heard the Princess, Aja, rummaging through the pantry. Joints aching, he pulled himself into a sitting position, making sure to drag the coverlet over his lower body, waiting for her to return. She was such a lovely woman, with the rich mahogany hair of all women of the pure Blood, the distinct gray eyes and the creamy, flawless skin. Davi was closer to her size and he’d loaned her some clothing. She wore loose, dark green trousers that hung low on her flaring hips, rolling the bottoms up so they wouldn’t drag beneath her bare feet. None of them had shoes to fit her. Davi had provided her with a soft, well-worn sweater of winat wool. Its shapelessness couldn’t disguise the appealing contours of her high, round breasts. She’d been naked and tied to a metal table when Kyr had found her. Despite that, she’d jumped to her feet as soon as he’d slashed her bonds, reaching for a handful of wicked looking surgical knives. On their return to the ship, she’d managed to dispatch two guards by herself. Kyr had heard rumors about the inbred fighting ability of those of the Blood, and now he’d learned for himself the rumors were true. To say that Kyr had been caught off guard was an understatement. A woman who knew how to fight like a man was a rarity these days, especially since the Empress had been exiled. Women raised the children. They were midwives, healers and whores. They managed the

planting and the harvesting, the weaving and the sewing. They watched over the herds of winat and brill and the few remaining horses the Junta allowed them. One of the first laws the Coalition passed was a law that forbade women from serving with the local militias. Perhaps it was done to punish the women for supporting the Empress, a ruler who had led her troops, both men and women, into the battle herself during the time of the coup. Kyr wondered if it had bothered her, the Princess, to kill those guards. She hadn’t uttered a single word about the fight since, but they’d had other things to worry about, like escaping their pursuers, and then he’d fallen ill. Aja returned, carrying a ceramic bowl, steam rising from the hot liquid within. She’d covered her hands with the sleeves of her sweater to protect them from the heat. “Sorry,” she said, “I’m not used to cooking with a flame. Let me cool the broth for you.” Sitting on a small stool next to the bed, Aja blew over the surface of the amber-colored liquid. “You cook?” asked Kyr, surprised. “When I’m allowed.” A corner of her mouth turned up in an appealing half-smile. “Here, take it slow.” She held the bowl to his mouth. Kyr took a sip. He tasted salt, heavenly salt. The broth came from some sort of fowl, but right now, Kyr couldn’t remember what supplies he’d brought on board, nor did he care. He sipped again, and again, until the broth was gone. “Would you like another bowl?” she asked. The captain shook his head no. With Aja’s assistance, he lay back down and closed his eyes. He felt himself drifting off to sleep. “Wake me,” he murmured, “When they return.” “I will,” he heard her say. Aja waited until the man had fallen into a sound sleep. She reached into a pocket, easing out one of the surgical knives. She touched the blade to the captain’s palm, watching his face, but he didn’t stir. With a delicate motion, she pressed the scalpel along the side of his hand, making a long, narrow incision, drawing blood. She did the same thing to her palm, squeezing until the cut bled freely. She pressed her palm against the incision she’d made on the captain’s hand and

closed her eyes. Her mouth moved, although she made no sound as their blood mingled, binding them together in the manner a Woman of the Blood bound herself to her mate. For a few silent moments, blood dripped red onto the coverlet. When Aja released the captain’s hand, pulling her palm from his, both cuts had closed and the bleeding had stopped. The man would heal fast now. He should be up within twenty-four hours, stronger than ever. She would have given him her blood before, but this was the first time she’d been alone on the ship with Captain Aram. She didn’t dare take the risk when Wyer was about. He’d have gutted her. At least, he’d have tried. Even Davi would have been nervous had he seen her do something so barbaric. The old ones told their children and grandchildren fairytales claiming that the Blood could heal wounded warriors and cure poisoned maidens. There was truth to the old tales, if death was not already immanent, that is, and sometimes, even then the Blood could save a life. According to her family’s chronicles, in ancient days, one of the Blood was sacrificed from time to time and his or her blood shared to appease the people. Fortunately for her family, that custom had died out long ago and the Coalition dismissed the stories of healing as superstitious nonsense. Praise the Gods, or the Coalition would use them like brills and milk them dry. She’d hoped for an opportunity to talk to the captain about Chief Wyer, but it could wait until later. She’d stopped in the Chief’s room before going to the galley, touching some of his personal items to take a reading of the man’s heart. He would have to be dealt with, either left behind or killed. Killing him would ensure their safety. Her mother had a saying: If your enemy is coming to kill you at eight, arise at seven and kill him first. Aja had seen the Chief’s treachery. He would betray the captain. Not today, not tomorrow, but very soon. She’d seen that he’d be offered a great deal of coin to give up the entire crew to the military police. She would not let that happen to the honorable man who had saved her life, or to the rest of his crew. Taking time to study the entire ship, she had not encountered any other evidence of treachery. She hoped Captain Aram would forgive her. As he’d said, Wyer’s talents kept his ship in one piece. It appeared he would have to find himself another talented engineer. She hoped the captain would forgive her too, for the Blood. He was irrevocably bound to her now, whether he willed it or no.

Chapter Two

Captain Aram scooted to the edge of his bed to eat the meal Aja had left for him. He was feeling much more like himself, wondering if he dared a shower. He didn’t want to use the sonic shower as that would leave a power signature, but the ship was built to hold backup water tanks. The thought of water pouring over his body was inviting, even if the water was the same temperature as the outside air. Ravenous, the man tore the cover off the bowl, finding a stew of meat and reconstituted freeze-dried root vegetables within. He reached for the hunk of dryebread she’d brought, crumbling it into the bowl. He used a spoon to shovel the lukewarm mess into his mouth. It tasted like heaven. She’d prepared the stew with some herbs he’d never eaten before and he wondered for a moment where she’d found them, but he quickly forgot, feeling his strength return with each spoonful. She’d left him two jugs of water and he downed both. Reaching for the cup of snowberries she’d set on his table, he poured them into his mouth, appreciating their sweet tang as never before. He knew he hadn’t brought any aboard so she must have found some in the canyon. Had she said they’d landed in a canyon? She’d said ravine. No matter. At last the captain lay back, sated. But he stunk like a man who’d been sick and he needed to scrub the stink off. He climbed out of bed, surprised at the steadiness of his legs. Just yesterday, he’d felt like death warmed over. Had that been yesterday? His first stop was the head, where he found himself almost giddy to be able to piss without any help. He used the toothpowder and toothbrush to clean his teeth, the taste of a clean mouth delighting him. He retrieved fresh clothing from a set of drawers built into the wall of his cabin, dropped the items on his bunk, and

strode through the door, a cloth wrapped around his waist, a cake of soap in his hand, heading for the decontamination unit beneath the ship. He could shower there. Kyr found Davi Fedd and Chief Wyer busy with repairs. He stopped to assess the damage. “Could have been worse,” said the captain. “I heard that you had a nasty bit of flying, Mr. Fedd.” “Yeah, tore some skin off, but we got her down in one piece. You look a new man.” “Seems like I’ll live,” grinned the captain. “Right now I need to wash the stink of that sickness off me. I’ll be under the shower in the decontamination unit. Wyer, how long do you speculate before we can leave this rock?” “Another day or two, Captain. This is a makeshift job. We’ll have to get her re-skinned once we reach home.” “Will she make it that far?” “Should hold up, barring another encounter with the military.” “Mr. Fedd, any sign that they’ve sent scouting parties down to search for wreckage?” “Not so far, but I’m being careful about scans. Don’t want to set off any alarms. I’m hoping they think we fried and there’s no wreckage to find.” “They may be waiting for us when we pull out. We’ll have to open the channels to listen in before we leave. I want to make sure there’s not an entire fleet just outside the atmosphere. Where’d you find the gravity skin?” Davi and Wyer glanced at each other. “Borrowed some from a transport last night. Didn’t want to take a chance that someone in the settlement might call the authorities about two strangers looking to buy parts,” said Wyer. The captain nodded his agreement. The crew of the transport would assume some settlers had helped themselves, a common occurrence on these distant outposts. “Where’s Aja?” “Off on one of her damn hikes,” said Wyer, scorn in his voice. “Let’s hope the stupid ishat knows enough to keep her head down. I don’t like a woman on a ship, Captain. You know that. Bad luck.” Kyr saw Davi shoot him a quick glance. The captain knew Davi must have caught the flash of anger on his face, but Wyer hadn’t bothered to turn around.

“Superstitious nonsense, Chief. We’ve ferried women before.” “Whores and healers. This one makes me nervous. I’d just as soon off-load her here. Especially if there might be a battleship waiting for us.” Kyr frowned, but he kept his voice light. “And lose the coin? Your case of nerves will vanish when you’re paid.” “When’s that?” the man asked. “I thought I’d have half the coin by now.” “You want it, come to my cabin later. You’ll get it,” Captain Aram replied brusquely. He strode off wondering why the man was so touchy. The engineer was making him touchy. Wyer had been with him two years. He’d picked him up from a trading vessel after his own engineer had been killed during a raid by interstellar pirates. As the ancient saying went, the man could spin gold from straw, but still, Wyer’s loyalty would always be to the coin he received, not to his captain and not to the crew. Knowing that, Kyr had always paid the man promptly. It hadn’t seemed like a big issue before, but then, this mission wasn’t one of their usual smuggling operations. The outcome of this mission had consequences for the entire galaxy. Wyer didn’t realize their cargo was more precious than any amount of coin, and Kyr knew with crystal clarity that the man had better not find out. Maybe he should have left Wyer behind on Kesa with the rest of the crew, but if he had, then they could be stranded here for weeks. He and Davi could make the repairs themselves, but not with the same speed and skill. Wyer’s repair would hold until they could get home. Kyr ducked beneath the ship, keeping his head down until he reached the decontamination unit. He could stand upright there; they’d built it big enough for two large men. Two shower heads. In Kyr’s view, chemical decontaminates were a waste of money. His crew made do with recycled water. Tossing the cloth onto a rock where it would stay dry, he loosened the knot he assumed Aja had put in his waist-length braids to keep them from tangling, and he pulled the switch. The captain leaned back, closing his eyes with pleasure as tepid water poured over his body. He scrubbed vigorously with the cake of soap he’d brought, washing every body part twice, including his hair. Gods in heaven, the water felt good. Finally, having cleansed every pore of viral stink, Kyr stepped out from beneath the hull, dripping, carrying the cloth in his wet hand. He shook his long hair, spraying the rocks nearby

with water. As he began to dry off, his skin prickled and he felt eyes on him. He lifted his head. Aja knelt on a flat, rocky outcropping, twenty feet away, watching him with undisguised interest. Kyr hadn’t felt any embarrassment the entire time he was ill and she’d had to help him. She’d seen every damn naked inch of him. Now he blushed. He knew his entire body was turning red and he quickly covered himself with the cloth, although there was no way a threadbare drying cloth could disguise his sudden erection. Fuck. “If I had known you had a decontamination unit, I would have showered,” called Aja, pretending she hadn’t seen what she’d obviously seen, ignoring the evident bulge beneath the cloth. “I didn’t mean to surprise you. I just returned and I… forgive me,” he noticed her pink cheeks. “I couldn’t resist.” Kyr tried to stop his mind from roaming along the curves of her body. A Princess of the Blood was supposed to remain pure until her marriage. At least that’s what he’d been told. He had no business thinking those thoughts of Aja. “I’ll go now,” she said, her voice soft. She picked up a bag and slung it over her shoulder. Still barefoot, she jumped off the ledge with ease. The captain watched her disappear around the side of the ship, hips swaying beneath the loose trousers. He needed to find her some shoes before she cut her feet, he thought, wondering how long it would take his erection to go away and if he should make it go away with his fist. As sick as he’d been, he was a bit surprised that he’d gotten so hard so fast. Kyr picked up the cake of soap and followed her around the ship opposite the side where Davi and Wyer were working. Kyr passed her in the galley as he returned to his quarters to dress. She kept her back to him while he did his best to ignore her. He entered his cabin and locked the door behind him. Yes, he decided, as he realized the hard on wasn’t going to go away on its own, his fist would be necessary. **** Aja brought food to Davi and Chief Wyer. She shielded the best she could, but the engineer’s thoughts were too loud, too persistent, to ignore. It seemed the man had come to a decision. He’d decided upon his future direction. As she handed him a jug of genki juice, Aja listened. He’d take half the coin owed him and wait for her to go off on her own again. Telling the captain he needed to use the bird to scavenge a few more parts, he’d double back and come after her.

She watched the images in his mind as he raped her, beat her to death, and left her for carrion, for whatever scavengers inhabited this rock. He wouldn’t be anywhere nearby when the captain and Davi went to search for her. He’d already be done and off stealing a few loose parts he’d noticed the day before. By the time he returned, they’d have found her body and assumed some local had done the deed. The way Wyer figured it, if the Militia boarded, they’d have nothing to hide. No illegal cargo, no arrest. From his point of view, the captain had acted like a sap accepting this job. Aja could tell that although Wyer didn’t know exactly why, he believed she was dangerous. He thought he could smell it. Now that she’d nursed the captain back to health, he figured they needed to get her gone if they were going to leave this rock in one piece. Davi caught her attention, thanking her for the food and drink and she nodded. Turning on her heel, Aja walked back toward the gangway, trying her best not to gag at the visions she’d seen in the Chief’s head. He was right about two things, getting off the planet was going to be a bitch and she was dangerous. Aja went to look for Captain Aram. She owed it to him to discuss the situation before she killed his engineer. Aja found Captain Aram in the cockpit, meticulously checking and rechecking his control panels. He had the com tuned to the military wavelength. He listened only, making sure his ship wasn’t broadcasting. Aja slid the door to the cockpit shut behind her. “Captain,” she began, “I need to speak with you.” Kyr turned toward her. “If it’s about what happened earlier, I apologize.” Aja smiled. “No,” she replied, “It has nothing whatsoever to do with what happened earlier. Although I must admit, I’m flattered. There’s no need to apologize.” She saw the man blush again and she felt almost giddy. Watching Captain Aram shower, she herself had experienced the same arousal. It was the Blood link. Her mother, the Empress, had warned her about sharing the Blood, but right now, Aja had other, more pressing, concerns. There was no easy way to say what she had to say. “Tomorrow, Chief Engineer Wyer will murder me. I thought you should know.” Kyr burst out laughing. “Are you in the habit of blurting out things like that? Tomorrow Chief Engineer Wyer will murder me? I thought you should know? I assume this is your idea of a joke.” “You assume wrong. He will wait for me to leave the ship. When I’m out of sight, he will suggest that he take the bird to pick up some spare parts he noticed somewhere near the

settlement. He plans to swing around and intercept me. He’ll rape me. He will beat me to death. And he will leave me for you and Davi to find. He believes you’ll assume it was the act of a local. I can kill him today; however, since he appears to be an integral member of your crew, I am reluctant to do so without your permission.” Kyr sat back in the flight seat. “And I should believe this outlandish tale because?” “I speak the truth.” “How do you know this?” “I’ve seen it.” “You mean to say, you’ve had a vision?” “No. I mean to say, I’ve seen his thoughts and I’ve read his heart. This is his plan. He’s willing to accept half the coin and forgo the remainder simply to get out of this predicament alive. I will admit that his reasoning, while unpleasant, is sound.” “So you’ve had a vision about us too? About our capture?” “I did not say that. And it is not a vision that I’m speaking of. I’m speaking only of Chief Wyer. He will murder me tomorrow unless either you or I stop him.” Aja hesitated. “Or, if you so choose, I will allow him to carry out his plan. I must admit I’d prefer to live.” Kyr burst out laughing. “Yes, I imagine you do.” He decided to indulge her. “Tell me then, how do you know this? Are you saying the myths are true? You can read a man’s thoughts? You can see the future? Have you read my mind?” Aja sat in the navigator’s seat. “It’s not quite so simple,” she said. “I read your intentions when you entered the laboratory and I knew I could trust you. I have not looked into your heart or your mind since. It’s not my place. The answer is, yes, I can and will read a man’s mind, or a woman’s mind, if I choose—if I have a reason to do so. It isn’t usually necessary for me as I am an Intuitive and I read feelings. Those are not quite so private. If I feel someone is a threat, or has evil intentions, I will drop my internal barriers and listen to their thoughts.” Aja rubbed her forehead with weary fingers. “Sometimes I see nothing more than pictures. Thoughts are not necessarily coherent. The pictures I saw in the Chief’s head were not particularly pleasant.” “So the stories are true, about the Blood? You can do all they say about you? Read a man’s thoughts, predict the future?” Aja heard the excitement in the captain’s voice. He clearly understood the value she had for the Resistance. “We were talking about the Chief,” Aja replied, trying to redirect him.

“If the myths are true,” Captain Aram rose to his feet, continuing as though he hadn’t heard her. “Then we can win this war. With you, with the Empress, we can destroy the Coalition. We can bring down the military Junta.” “Not if I am dead.” “What?” “I said not if I am dead.” Her words brought Kyr up short. He was an idiot. She’d been talking about her impending rape and murder and he was talking about the revolution. “You’ll stay with me tomorrow,” he said, still not entirely convinced. “He won’t dare touch you if you spend the entire day with me.” Aja sighed. “So sorry, Captain, that won’t solve anything. Chief Wyer will kill me. I’ve seen it. If not tomorrow, then the next day, or the next. And in the end, he will betray you and your men. If he dies, he cannot betray you and we may survive. If I die, you may indeed escape this trap, but he will learn the true nature of your work with the Resistance and he will betray you at the first opportunity. Then you will die, along with all your men. Even if I am dead, your duty to the loyal men who serve with you requires that you kill the man. I tell you all this as a courtesy and because we share… because I owe you a debt of gratitude. I could easily kill him myself and you would be none the wiser, but I felt I should come to you first.” The captain paced in the small space. “Aja, you seem so cold blooded about this. It’s a man’s life we’re talking about.” “It’s my life too,” she replied, rising to her feet. “Think what you will of me, but I am a realist. If you are opposed to his death, there is one other way.” “Oh? What’s that?” “I leave now. Give me enough coin so that I can survive long enough to buy transport off this planet. You have the antidote. Take it to the Resistance. If my family has escaped, they will pay you well and you can recoup your losses.” Aja spun around, and with great dignity, opened the door to the cockpit and disappeared down the companionway.

Kyr heard the plexi-door to her cabin slide shut. He heard her turn the lock. Stubborn woman. No, not just any woman, a Princess of the Blood. What if all the legends and stories were true? The captain sat back down in the flight chair. What other abilities did she possess? She said she could kill Wyer if she chose to do so. What else had she seen? Her words were, regardless of my death, the Chief will betray you. It was no wonder the Coalition wanted them all dead. If she fell into the wrong hands, even into the wrong hands among the Resistance fighters, everything they’d worked for would be at risk. Kyr wondered if her sisters possessed the same powers or if Aja alone was gifted. It was rumored that the power of the Blood passed through the ruling Empress to her daughters, not to her sons, never to her sons. Kyr rubbed his head. Aja had been trying to talk to him about something terrible and all he could think about was how much help her powers would be to the Resistance. He’d been so caught up in his own excitement that it hadn’t occurred to him how frightened she must be. How would it feel to experience your own murder in another person’s mind? How must it feel to be aware of the many ways she could be used by both sides? Her powers could be abused by ambitious men. By the Gods, he was fucking brainless. He walked over to the companionway and stared in the direction she’d gone. He would check on the Chief’s whereabouts and when he was certain they couldn’t be overheard, he’d speak with her. And he’d apologize for behaving like a boorish, insensitive, stupid, heedless darrok. **** She was crying, damn it all to hells. Aja leaned back against her locked door. She refused, absolutely refused, to probe the captain’s mind. She hoped he would help her. If not, then she would kill Wyer and vanish, coin or no coin. She could easily steal whatever she needed to survive. That would be the best solution all around. The captain had recognized her for what she was—power—for whoever controlled her or controlled the people she cared about. He might inadvertently turn her over to something worse than the Coalition. She’d foreseen that very real possibility. Smirking, Aja thought, I may as well be smoking cabba. Living hand to mouth on this rock was not one of her destinies. It made her wonder, not for the first time, exactly how much control she had over the events in her life. She’d seen the many paths before her, but choosing the right path? That had always been the issue. Sometimes events unfolded in such a way that it

seemed as if her path had already been laid out and she had no choice about it. Doors to the future were so numerous that if placed end to end, they would stretch almost to the edges of the universe. Yet regardless of their number, Aja felt like she was destined to open certain doors. She shook her head, trying to alter the direction her thoughts were taking. Her mother had warned that other women like her, ancestors with her power, had been locked away before they died. Not a good way to go. Perhaps death by virus would have been kinder. Well, action was a good way to vanish her doubts. There was no time like the present to kill a man. She could lure Wyer away from the ship with ease. Aja walked to her bunk and pulled the coverlet aside. She reached beneath the pad, into the small slice she’d made in the bottom. Removing the largest surgical knife, she stashed it in the pocket on the front of her trouser leg. Too bad she didn’t have any underclothes. She could stick it in her binder where it would be easier to reach. She rose and headed for the door, but her steps faltered. Wyer needed time to finish the repairs. She couldn’t get rid of the man until he’d completed his work. Aja wanted to smack herself. What a cold, hard bitch she truly was. Ripping the scalpel out of her pocket, she threw it across the room. The blade stuck in the saffawood chest. Fuck it. Her mother had taught her to be patient. Tomorrow would be soon enough. Aja lay down on her bed and closed her eyes. She allowed her mind to drift, tuning out distractions, searching for Coalition ships, for the militia, for a transport, anything. Searching for safe passage off this Gods forsaken place.

Chapter Three

“The woman needs to die,” said the Chief, his words blunt, “Before she gets us killed.” Captain Aram sat behind his desk. He’d already handed the Chief his half-share of the coin. Aram raised his eyebrows, but otherwise kept his face expressionless. “Look, whoever is paying for her, this third party, he has no idea we actually got her. For all he knows, we did fry in the upper atmosphere, if he even knows that much. What is she, anyway? Some rich fucker’s ishat? With the amount he offered, he can buy two or even three women. Just tell him she didn’t survive. She was killed during the escape. Bring the corpse if you like to prove it to him. She’ll get us killed, Captain. I swear it. If you don’t want to finish her, then let me take her out into the desert and drop her. I’ll do it. You can keep your hands clean and nobody’s the wiser.” If the son of a whore doesn’t shut up, I’ll gut him right now, thought Kyr. “She stays and we deliver her as promised.” His voice was even. “How are the repairs coming?” He watched the Chief purse his thin lips in disgust. “Be done by tomorrow, late afternoon or early evening. But, uh, I need a few more parts. I saw a supply depot not too far away, no guards. I can take the bird and pick them up. Isn’t that what Aja had said? That Wyer would claim he needed to take the bird to pick up a few spare parts, but then he would swing back and intercept her? Kyr’s respect for Aja increased by leaps and bounds. “You need Mr. Fedd to go with you? For protection?” “Nah, should be a quick job. I noticed the stuff sitting free and clear the other day when we were scouting for gravity skin. I’ll get Davi started on the repairs and then I’ll take off. Be

back in no time to finish the job and we can get the hells out of here. The sooner that woman is off the ship, the better I’ll feel.” “She’s valuable cargo. Remember that, Mr. Wyer. We’ll make as much money on this one transport as we make in an entire year.” “Ain’t hardly worth it,” Wyer muttered. “Keep it to yourself.” “Yes, Captain.” Chief Wyer turned on his heel and strode from the captain’s quarters, closing the door behind him. Bloody murderous bastard. Aja was correct. The man had to die. And he would have to kill him. Kyr wasn’t about to let a woman do his dirty work, even if she was capable of it, and Kyr suspected Aja was more than capable. He pulled his pistol from under his pillow and looked to see that every chamber was loaded. He hoped the depth of the ravine would muffle the sound. A laze would be silent, but the weapon would leave a power signature. He could use a knife, but that was messy, unpleasant work. Kyr didn’t want the man to suffer. He just wanted him dead as quick and as neat as possible. Fuck Wyer for forcing his hand. Fuck him. Kyr slipped the gun back beneath his pillow and tossed the coverlet over the top. He noticed a dark rust-brown stain on the bedclothes. It appeared to be blood. Kyr ran his fingers over it and then pulled the material to his nose and inhaled, tasting a metallic tang in his mouth. Blood. It was blood; the smell was unmistakable. His? Had he bled when Aja injected the antidote? Yes, from the site on his shoulder, but it had bled for just a moment, no more. And it had only been a drop or two. Kyr lifted his sleeve. No, nothing. The site of the injection had healed over. It wasn’t even red. Besides, he’d been leaning against his desk when she’d given him the antidote and he didn’t crawl into bed until several hours later. Pulling the coverlet off the bed, he checked the sheet for more red stains. A small amount of blood had seeped through and dyed the sheet a pale pink. Kyr tried to remember if he’d sustained an injury during their escape from the laboratory. He couldn’t recall anything other than a few bruises. Well, it wasn’t important. What was important was an overdue conversation with the Princess. And his abject apology. ****

From a great distance, Aja heard a soft tap on her plexi-door. For a moment, she was incapable of responding. Her mind had drifted far and wide, seeking a solution to their predicament. She sensed that although there was doubt within the Coalition forces about their survival, there was indeed a battleship waiting for them in the upper atmosphere. And a search was underway. Fortunately, the militia had begun the search on the far side of the planet and she’d noted with relief that it was nothing more than a half-hearted effort. She could only pick up two infrared signatures. She sensed that the officer commanding the vessel was convinced their ship had burned up on entry. He was trying to appease his superiors. That boded well for their chances of escape. The tapping sound came again and Aja roused herself. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and with great difficulty, pushed herself to a sitting position. She read the heart of the man standing on the other side of the door. “Enter,” she murmured. “You’ve locked the door.” It was the captain. “Oh,” her voice sounded weak to her own ears. It took a great deal of mental, psychic and emotional energy to search beyond the confines of a single solar system. Legs shaking, Aja rose from the bed and wove her way to the door. She flipped the bolt and Captain Aram stood before her. Realizing he wished to enter, she moved aside. He slid the door closed behind him and slipped the bolt into place. “I need to speak with you, Aja. I want to—” suddenly he stopped and stared at her. “What’s wrong with you? Are you sick?” As the man reached for her arm, she collapsed against him. “What the hells? You’re drenched in sweat. Do you have the virus? Did they infect you? What’s wrong with you?” he repeated. The captain helped her to her bed and made her sit. He grabbed a jug of water and held it to her lips. “Just tell me how much antidote to inject. I’ll do whatever needs to be done.” Aja sucked down some water and shook her head. “It’s not, it’s not the virus. I’ve been,” she cleared her throat, “I’ve been…scanning, seeking a path for us. I’m not very experienced at this. I’m not as well trained as I could be and it is, well, it can be exhausting. So sorry, Captain Aram, I’m sorry to…I didn’t mean to alarm you.”

Captain Aram sat in silence by her side, watching her drink. For a few moments, he said nothing. She handed him the empty water jug and he set it aside. “You were right,” he said, “and I owe you an apology. I doubted you and I’m sorry. My only defense is that it’s very hard to believe in a myth come to life. Do you understand?” “Yes.” “I also see your dilemma. Anyone who controls you potentially wields immense power. With such power, it would be difficult to remain an honorable man. I understand that now.” Aja laid her hand over Kyr’s. “Our ancestors said—Absolute power corrupts absolutely. In this, they were very wise. Even the Resistance, for all its lofty goals, could use me for a terrible purpose. You see, Captain Aram,” Aja kept her voice soft, “I am an Abomination.” “You are no Abomination, Aja.” “Yes, Captain, I am. Every thousand years, an Abomination is born. A woman with, as you say, immense power. The power is always neutral, but the woman can be good or she can be evil. And so can those around her. The last Abomination, the Empress Calia, was assassinated by her own consort, to save the human race. A thousand years before that, it was the Empress Lystam, burned at the stake by her own believers. You’ve heard the story. It’s told to little children to frighten them.” “But the Empress Ya? She was no Abomination.” With gentle fingers, Kyr brushed a damp curl away from the side of Aja’s neck. “She saved her people. The stories remind us that we are alive today because she led her followers away from the flames of our ancient home world.” Aja’s eyes filled with tears and they spilled down her cheeks, unchecked. “What if I am not Ya? I have seen myself as both savior and destructor. Both paths are before me and I am not yet certain how to find my way between them.” Without hesitation, Captain Aram wrapped his strong arms around her and pulled her to his chest, acting as if she was just a woman and he was just a man. Caught off guard by this spontaneous act of kindness, Aja’s inner walls crumbled and she clung to him, shaking with sobs. For the first time since she’d been kidnapped, she allowed the anxiety she felt over her family’s safety to surface. She relived the terror she’d experienced in the laboratory, strapped naked and helpless to a cold, steel table, surrounded by strangers who both feared and loathed her, wanting nothing more than to see her dead.

She grieved for her guard, Lieutenant Sharra, who although Coalition, had not been a party to the treachery. The man had been slaughtered before her eyes, fighting to keep her safe. He left behind a wife and three children. And now she was without her own mother’s protection. It felt as if she was being forced to tiptoe her way through a saday minefield. The slightest breath, the weight of a mere feather, could trigger an explosion that would not only destroy her, but everyone and everything in her vicinity. “It will be all right. I won’t let any harm come to you.” Aja felt the man’s mouth beside her ear and she heard his words. She lifted her head. “I don’t believe you.” Aja watched the corner of the captain’s mouth tilt up. His hands were on her cheeks, wiping away her tears. “I promise to keep you safe, Aja.” Aja stared at Kyr’s chiseled face, his deep-set violet eyes. She discovered she was hungry. The captain’s lips looked delicious, full and soft and sensual, inviting. Kiss me, she thought. Kiss me. It wasn’t difficult to read the woman in his arms. She wanted him to kiss her. Her eyes practically begged him. Kyr wanted to kiss the woman, but he hesitated. How did one kiss a Princess of the Blood? Especially when this one possessed the power that was born once every thousand years? Aja didn’t feel like a Princess in his arms. She felt like a woman, warm and soft and very willing. Kyr had seen how desirable she was. He’d wanted her after they’d fought their way out of the Coalition laboratory from the moment he’d removed his weave so she could cover her nakedness. But he’d been disciplined. This one woman was off limits to him. No common man touched a woman of the Blood. But just as before, his body didn’t care that Aja was off limits. He was every inch as hard as he’d been earlier in the day, when he realized she’d watched him in his shower. Hells. It was as if he could hear her thoughts. Kiss me. “I’m damned,” Kyr said, just before his lips touched hers. “Then damn me with you,” murmured Aja, her breath warm and sweet against his mouth.

Chapter Four

Aja lay in his bunk, safe in his cabin, asleep and at peace in his arms. Kyr had left her side only once, to check in with Davi and receive an update on the status of the repairs, and to make absolutely certain Chief Wyer had retired to his own quarters. He’d locked Aja’s door with his own master key when he brought her to his room, so that there would be no mistake. Wyer would assume she slept in her own cabin. Alone. Davi had agreed to take first watch; Kyr would take second in another turn of the clock. The fact that he hadn’t slept didn’t seem to be a problem. Kyr felt wide-awake. It was the Blood, Aja’s Blood. He’d shared it, they’d shared, and now they were irrevocably linked, bound together for the rest of their days. Aja hadn’t forced him. She’d asked and he’d agreed, knowing that it could mean his death. It could mean both their deaths. Taking the innocence of a Princess of the Blood without consent of the Coalition or the Empress was a rash and dangerous act, under the best of circumstances. Aja had simplified things for him. She said that her body was her own, her one true possession, to give to whomever she chose. And she’d chosen him. He’d accepted her gift. It wasn’t that Kyr desired power or position. He’d come to realize he wanted Aja, the woman, not the Princess. And he understood she needed his protection. He meant what he said. He would protect her. He would keep her safe. From everyone, both the Coalition and the Resistance. Kyr stared at his palm. On the outside, there was no sign of what they’d done. The cuts had healed. Inside, he’d sensed a change come over him and he knew now why he’d recovered so rapidly from the virus. She’d given him her blood yesterday, to help him regain his strength. That explained the bloodstain on his bed. He also understood what the Coalition had intended to

do, why they’d broken their own commandment prohibiting genetic tampering. Women of the Blood were immune to any known disease. The Coalition had planned to use illegal recombinant viral DNA to kill them of natural causes. Aja lay curled onto her side, hands folded beneath her, her breathing even and regular. Kyr drew a gentle finger along the side of her face, reaching for a lock of her long, mahogany hair. He pulled the soft curl to his face and inhaled deeply. Aja smelled of blood and musk and dust and something else, something he couldn’t quite define. It was like incense, a rich, deep, dark incense. He remembered the priests burning something that smelled similar when he was a child and his mother took him to worship in The House of the Gods. It was the one thing he’d liked about attending worship, the smell of the incense. Aja’s naked back pressed against his chest and he felt himself stir. He wanted her again. He ached with wanting her. Making love to her had been an experience he would never forget. He’d been concerned about hurting her, it always hurt the woman the first time, but she’d used her knife to mingle their blood and he’d held tight to her hand, pressing their palms together as he entered her. The Blood enabled him to experience her pain, but she could also experience his pleasure. Because of the power, the shared sensation, she was able to climax her first time, with him. Kyr had never felt like this with any other woman… any woman before Aja Bokinan, Princess of the Blood. Tightening his arm around her waist, Kyr pulled her back, hard against him. Aja murmured something. She turned in his arms to face him, eyes half open, and she smiled. “Again?” he asked her, his voice husky. “Yes, Kyr,” she said, “Again, and again, and again.” It was Kyr’s turn to grin. “That’s the first time you’ve called me by my given name,” he said, just before he kissed his woman. **** “The snow berry bushes are two kigs down the ravine,” said Aja. “I remember.” “And there’s a cave just above them where you can conceal yourself.” “Aja,” Kyr kissed her luscious lips. “You’re repeating yourself.” “I’m just… I’m concerned. This man is important to you. He’s been a valuable member of your crew and I’m responsible for his death.”

“He’s not dead yet,” replied Kyr, “And the responsibility will be mine, not yours. It’s precisely because he is a member of my crew that I am responsible for his actions.” “But I’ve seen his death so in a sense, it’s already happened and it’s happened because of me.” “No, love, it’s happened because Wyer is about to do something terrible to you and I intend to prevent that.” Aja looked into her lover’s eyes. “Thank you.” “There is no need to thank me. Your safety comes before everything.” Kyr’s voice sounded very serious. “Our safety,” Aja corrected him. “We face the future together.” Kyr stretched out his hand and Aja pressed her palm against his. “The Blood will improve your intuition, increase your strength. Trust yourself,” she said to him. “Don’t fear the power I’ve given you. Use it.” “You have faith in me, then, not to abuse the power?” Aja leaned close and kissed him. “If I didn’t,” she whispered against his lips, “I’d never have shared myself with you in the first place.” Kyr wrapped his arms around her. “Today we’ll do what needs to be done. Tomorrow we leave. Have you found a way out of this trap yet?” “Yes. Our escape is in the rising sun. If all goes well, we leave tomorrow at dawn. Have you spoken with Mr. Fedd?” Aja tried to pull away, but Kyr held her. “No. The less he knows, the better, for his sake,” he said. “You must warn him, though. There are two Coalition ships scanning for any human signatures outside of the settlements. He must stay within the ship with the shields up. By the time Wyer takes the bird, the repairs should be almost complete. Will you have an opportunity to speak with him, in private?” “Yes.” “Then I must go. Wyer is expecting me to leave the ship. He asked me about more snowberries when I brought him a cup of cavitt this morning. I told him I’d be hiking back to collect another basket full this afternoon, to bring with us on the journey.” Aja headed down the companionway. “Be careful,” Kyr warned. “The future isn’t set in stone. You told me so yourself.”

Aja turned. “But I’ll see him coming, unless he doesn’t come. I’ll be careful.” **** Kyr watched as she grabbed a bag from a shelf near the galley and slung it over her shoulder. She disappeared down the gangway. He took a deep breath and followed. “Mr. Fedd, Chief Wyer,” he heard her call out from where he stood on the far side of the ship. “Do either of you need anything before I leave?” Kyr heard Davi’s muffled voice. He didn’t hear anything from Wyer. “All right,” Aja called, “I’ll be back in a turn or two.” From where he stood, the captain couldn’t see her leave, but he could feel her. An effect of the Blood. Aja had already warned him about it. From now on, he would feel her presence and her absence, and he would sense if she was in trouble or hurting or happy. She would know the same about him. Kyr strode around the ship toward his men. “Chief, I’m well enough to pitch in and help you finish up so we can get out of here first thing tomorrow.” The engineer climbed down from his perch on top the ship. “No, Captain, she’s almost done. Mr. Fedd might like your help with the underside, but I’ve got my repairs up here completed.” “Davi?” “Another turn and she’ll be in one piece. You’re the captain. You want the job, it’s yours.” Davi Fedd straightened up from his crouch and grinned. The captain smiled back at his first mate. “I think a bit of welding would be good for me. We have an extra torch in the supply room. I’ll grab it.” Kyr turned back toward the gangway. “Captain,” came the Chief’s voice, “I’d like permission to take the bird and go after those spare parts I told you about. Shouldn’t be any trouble. They were off at the edge of nowhere and an extra blade and a rotor or two can always come in handy.” The captain pretended to give his request some thought. “When do you expect to be back?” “Two turns at the most. I won’t be gone long. Is there a problem?”

“I just want to know when to come looking for you if your ass isn’t back here when I think it ought to be back. Which way is this dump?” asked Kyr. “South by southeast, around forty kigs. I plan to take it slow so I don’t show nothing on a scanner.” “Permission granted. Let me know when you’re back.” “Right,” said Wyer as he headed off toward the small transport vessel. “Fucking murderous Chigalla,” muttered Kyr. He quickly retrieved a torch from the supply room then returned to assist Davi, watching the Chief warm up the bird. He waved to the man as he flew off, the bird in silent mode. Kyr cut his torch and tossed it to the ground. “Let’s go, Davi. Now.” The two men trotted in the direction Aja had gone not twenty minutes before. “Where the hells we going?” asked Davi, panting. “After I say what I have to say,” replied Kyr, “you’re going back to the ship. Get her ready as quick as you can. Strap everything down and make sure she can take off at a moment’s notice. And Davi, no matter what, stay within the shielding. There are two Coalition search drones scanning for us.” “All right. Tell me what’s up, Kyr.” “Wyer plans to get rid of our guest, and I can’t say he’s got the most pleasant method in mind. I’m going to take care of it.” Davi Fedd ran in silence alongside his captain for a moment. “So we’ll be looking for a new chief engineer, then.” The two men had known each other since childhood. “Yes,” said Kyr. “You need me to back you up?” “Thank you, friend, but no. I’ll handle this. Finishing the repairs is more important. If things go according to plan, we leave at dawn.” “Kyr, what if Wyer returns, but you don’t?” “Keep your pistol with you and shoot him dead on sight. Then come and bury our bodies. Leave the ship and lay low for a while. There’s plenty of coin in the safe in my cabin. And there are two small vials of the antidote Aja used on me. Take them. When you can, get back to the men on Kesa. Most of them will stay with you. Anyone who wants to strike out on his own, don’t stand in his way. I trust them not to betray you. Wyer was always my only question mark.”

“What do I do with the antidote?” “Give it to Karna, only Karna. Tell him everything that’s happened.” Davi grabbed Kyr’s arm and stopped him. “Kill him,” he said. “I’d make a lousy captain.”

Chapter Five

Aja sensed Kyr’s arrival long before she caught the flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. She made an effort not to respond to his presence, deliberately shifting to a patch of snowberries nearer the cave mouth, to make it easier for him to reach her in time. She had no doubt about her ability to defend herself against Wyer, but Kyr had claimed the killing for himself and she intended to respect that. He was a man, after all, and her mother had told her that even the best of men were prideful. She’d learned that lesson last night and this morning. It seemed men did indeed take a great deal of pride in claiming a woman. At least Kyr did. Despite her circumstances, Aja couldn’t help but smile. Kyr had claimed her four times. Each time felt better than the time before. Her blood had dissipated the initial soreness quickly. She’d found the experience of a man moving over her, inside her, heavenly. Beyond a doubt, the free joining of a man and a woman was a gift from the Gods. Her mother had spoken the truth. She’d said this would happen, this overwhelming excitement, this incomparable pleasure, but the man must be the right man, chosen by both the Blood and the heart. Kyr had been unexpected. Aja didn’t always know who or what was coming. She’d had to train surreptitiously and her training was far from complete, her abilities unpredictable, but when she’d lain on the cold table in the laboratory, waiting to become death incarnate, she’d sensed a man coming to her rescue, her man. That knowledge had given her the strength she’d needed to survive. Until the moment she’d felt Kyr, she’d planned to kill herself by any means at her disposal rather than act as the Coalition’s agent of destruction. Aja ignored the stealthy footsteps behind her, fighting against the energy she felt surge from her blood to every muscle fiber, every nerve bundle. She had to play the victim. She’d given Kyr her word. A strong arm wrapped around Aja’s waist and a hand covered her mouth. She was dragged, struggling, from the thicket.

Aja bit down on a stray finger just before she was tossed to the ground on her stomach. The wind went out of her and she felt rough hands on her clothing. She kicked at the man. “Stupid whore,” Wyer hissed, as he tore at her trousers. Now would be nice, Kyr, Aja thought, trembling, before I kill this son of an iga beast with my bare hands. Then the heavy bulk was gone. Aja rolled onto her back and scooted away. She looked up at Kyr. His face was a cold, hard mask as he stared at his chief engineer. The man sputtered for a moment, then shut his mouth. Any attempt to defend his actions was meaningless and Wyer knew it. The knife the man held in his hand showed his true intent. Aja watched her lover lift his pistol to the man’s head. She turned away and shut her eyes before he pulled the trigger, but she heard the report of the gun and she knew Wyer was dead. Kyr moved, putting himself between her and the body. With a rough motion, he pulled her to her feet, holding her close for just a moment. “Let’s go,” he said in a harsh voice, still shielding her from Wyer, as if somehow he could make the dead man disappear. He began to drag her down the trail toward the ship. Aja dug in her heels. “Stop,” she cried, tugging him back toward the body. “We have to get him into the cave.” “Why the hells would we do that?” Kyr protested. “Leave him for the scavengers. That’s what he intended to do to you. It’s better than he deserves.” “The Coalition, the scanners, they’ll be here. The body will leave a heat signature. We have to move it, now.” Kyr stopped and glanced back. “I’ll do it,” he said, and he strode toward the berry patch. Aja followed close on his heels. Kyr was a strong man and as Aja watched, he slung the body of his chief engineer over his shoulder and carried it up the slope to the overhang. He ducked beneath the rocks, disappearing into darkness. Swallowing hard, Aja worked fast to cover the blood and brain matter with sand. Even the warmth of the blood, if left on the surface, could be picked up by a sensitive scanner. Just as Kyr reappeared at the mouth of the cave, Aja stopped what she was doing and stood utterly still, her eyes staring off into the distance. She held a hand up to him, indicating that he should wait where he was.

Darting over to Kyr, Aja grabbed his hand and ducked into the cave, pulling him after her. “They’re coming,” she whispered. “Davi?” “I ordered him to stay within the shields.” “Will he do that?” “Yes.” Aja heard the certainty in Kyr’s voice. She turned her head and closed her eyes, listening hard. “It’s an unmanned craft, a scanner only. They’re keeping it well off the surface and with your shields up; their computer is unlikely to spot the ship.” She tilted her head toward the rear of the cave. “Where did you put him?” “As far from the mouth as I could get him. The roof is too low back there for me to get him in any further.” “It’s far enough,” replied Aja. Kyr’s arms went around her and he drew her close. Aja laid her cheek against his hard chest. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Why? He was your crewman,” Aja shrugged, “It’s not an easy thing to do, to take a man’s life. A man you knew. A man you’d worked with and depended upon. “No, it’s not that. I hesitated because I was so filled with rage when I saw him put his hands on you, that for an instant I couldn’t move. My feet felt glued to the ground.” Aja’s mouth sought his, reassuring him. “I’m fine,” she whispered. “And I’m grateful to you.” Kyr held her very close now. “They could find us,” he said. “They could find us and kill me and take you away.” Aja rested her head on Kyr’s shoulder. “I don’t think so, at least, not today. I think they will pass us by. Kyr,” she murmured, “I can stand on my own two feet you know. I’m not a frail flower.” Despite the fact that a dead man lay not fifty paces from them, Kyr laughed. “Yes, I watched you kill two men, remember? Naked. Armed with nothing more than a scalpel. I have no doubt that you could have killed Wyer if I’d allowed it. But he was my problem and my responsibility. Besides, it’s rough on a man’s ego to know that his woman can kick his ass.” “Then be rough with me,” Aja whispered into his neck. She heard Kyr groan. “Here? Now? The scanner…”

“Eighty, ninety clicks away. We have time.” Kyr slid Aja down the length of his body, keeping her close, forcing her to feel how aroused he was. He heard her sharp intake of breath and he lifted her chin. Her eyes were halfclosed, lids heavy. In the back of his mind, he thought, but there’s a dead man in the corner, and then he shut himself up and lowered his lips to hers. Fierce now, he took her mouth with his so hard their teeth scraped together. She whimpered in response. He swallowed the sound. This woman could kill him, Kyr knew that for certain, yet with one kiss, he could bring her to her knees. Heady stuff. With rough hands, he pulled the sweater over Aja’s head and her braid tore loose, her long, thick hair cascading to her waist. Gods, her breasts were glorious mounds, high and round and pert with taut little nipples that begged for his mouth and his tongue and his teeth. He nibbled his way down her neck and across her throat. With a moan, Aja threw her head back, thrusting her breasts into his hands. He held them, pinching her peaked nipples, holding them tight. He dipped his head and took one hard, round bud into his mouth and sucked her, pressing her nipple against his palate, biting, listening to her cry of pleasure. Her hands reached for his trousers and she began to tug on the leather of his belt with weak hands, unable to release the clasp. When he heard her make a sound of frustration, Kyr pulled his mouth away from her nipple. He stared into her face as he released the clasp on his belt and freed himself. Without hesitation, Aja wrapped both her hands around his thick cock and stroked him, moving her palms up and down his steely length. “Hard as an El-Sardai Sword,” Aja said, her voice low, and she dropped to her knees before him. She slowly licked the swollen head of his cock, her tongue brushing over him as if savoring the taste, before she took him in her mouth. Kyr thrust deep, aware of his size, but aroused almost beyond caring. Aja sucked him like a ripe plum-fruit. He placed his hands against the cold rock wall to brace himself, groaning with both pleasure and pain when she nibbled on him with her teeth. Growling, Kyr withdrew from her mouth and dropped to his knees, joining her on the floor of the cave. Taking Aja’s lips with his, he tore the laces from her trousers and shoved them down her thighs. Pushing her away from him, he turned her around, forcing her onto her hands and knees, spreading her long legs as far apart as the trousers wrapped around her knees would

allow. She would be tight, so wondrously tight and he wanted inside, now. Running the fingers of one hand through her hot, wet flesh, Kyr found her opening. He slid two fingers inside. “Oh… Gods… Yes… ” she cried. Kyr bit her exposed hip, holding her skin between his teeth while his fingers stroked her clit. He began to circle the swollen nub with his thumb, keeping his touch light at first, then increasing his pressure. He heard her weep. “Are you ready, lover,” he said through gritted teeth. “Do you want me now?” “Yes, Kyr,” Aja whispered. “Yes.” “I’m too big for you in this position.” “I don’t care,” she cried, “Take me, Godsdamn it, take me.” “Your ass is so sweet, love.” He heard her moan in response to his words. Kyr ran his cock through the wet honey of her folds and he pressed against her opening. Aja gasped. Fucking hells, his woman was so tight Kyr didn’t know if he could get in. He grasped her hips with both hands and thrust hard, without mercy. He heard Aja scream, whether it was with delight or with pain, he couldn’t tell, but the sound barely registered. Kyr thrust again, beyond caring. Aja’s body gripped him like a hot satin fist. He slid a hand over her ribs, reaching for her breast. His palm held her erect nipple and now he heard her cries of pleasure, of that he was certain. He could tell by the stirring in his blood. His thumb grazed her clit as he pumped into her, watching himself, watching his cock disappear into Aja and then reappear, glistening with her musk. He couldn’t last long, but he wanted her to finish with him. He wanted to finish this together. “Where’s your knife?” he rasped. “I know you brought a knife.” “In my, in the… my pocket,” Aja stuttered. Kyr leaned down and reached his hand into the pocket of her trousers. He felt around, careful to avoid the blade, and grabbed the small handle of the scalpel. He pulled it out and held the knife in his hand as he continued to thrust into her, hearing her cry of anticipation. Kyr placed his palm on her hip. “Here?” he asked, his voice tense, his body straining. “Yes,” whispered Aja. “Yes, there.”

Kyr held himself deep within her while he leaned back and drew the sharp scalpel across his palm. He watched the line of dark blood well up through the cut. He looked down at the perfect flesh of Aja’s round hip and he made a tiny incision, smaller than his, reluctant to hurt his lover, but wanting this, wanting to be connected through the Blood. Kyr dropped the scalpel and thrust into her, hard, pressing his bleeding palm over the cut he’d made on her hip. By the Gods, he’d never known anything like this in his life and judging by the sounds torn from Aja’s throat, she felt exactly the same. They were one person, body and soul. Kyr lost the capacity for speech. For the next few moments, Kyr and Aja became living, breathing sensation, locked in a perfect embrace. Locked in The Little Death the Gods had described in the time before time. Nothing existed for them; nothing except the now. “They’ve passed us by,” said Aja, eyes closed, listening deep inside her mind. She lay sated, naked, wrapped in her lover’s arms. She shut out visions of the dead man in the corner. He had set his own death in motion. There was nothing she could have done. She reminded herself that Wyer hadn’t suffered, except from the certain knowledge that his life was over. “Can you see if Davi is safe? And my ship?” Aja leaned against Kyr, silent for a moment. “Yes, it seems so. Remember, he set the ship down in the narrowest section of the ravine. Even if he’d been out in the open, I don’t think he’d have registered as much more than the possibility of an isolated life form.” “Smart man, my first mate.” “Smart captain, for choosing the first mate.” Kyr kissed the side of her neck and rose to his feet, pulling her with him. He brushed the dirt and pebbles from her skin and helped her on with her clothes, toying with certain appealing parts of her anatomy, before he dressed himself. “We have to find you something to cover your feet,” he commented. “No need. I’ve gone barefoot for years. The Coalition takes great pleasure in keeping my family clothed in rags and on the verge of starvation. I live on a dry rock very much like this, remember?” “Doesn’t it bother you? The isolation? The distance from the galactic center?” Aja shrugged. “They tried keeping us on Matsu for a time, but they feared a revolt. I was a small child when we were sent into exile. The Sauran Asteroid Belt feels like home to me. It’s

an exciting place to fly. You should try it sometime. When the revolution is over, that is,” she teased. Kyr tugged on her long hair and pulled her from the cave. “Damn the revolution, let’s get the hells out of here and back to the ship. Davi must be preparing to search for our dead bodies right about now.” Lucky for them, Wyer had hidden the bird beneath an overhang to avoid detection. Aja and Kyr climbed in, arriving back at the ship within a short time. Davi met them at the head of the gangway, pistol in hand. At the sight of his captain and the woman, the tension in his face melted away. He and Kyr pounded each other on the back for a few moments before they battened down the hatches for the night. As Aja had said, they would leave at dawn.

Chapter Six

Aja sat in the navigator’s chair. Davi acted as co-pilot. Kyr, of course, piloted the ship. Aja kept her eyes closed, navigating by inner vision alone. She explained that it took all her concentration to look ahead and at the same time, relay instructions to Kyr and Davi. Davi had been a bit skeptical at first, but Kyr had complete faith in Aja, and Davi had confidence in his friend and captain. He agreed to set aside his doubts and follow Aja’s instructions. Kyr had no choice but to tell his second in command about Aja’s abilities. It was necessary to trust Davi to keep their secret, as Aja had not yet determined whether it was safe to go directly to the Resistance. She surmised that she might need to stay out of sight for a while. She’d confided to Kyr that it might be preferable to allow the Coalition and the Resistance to sort things out without her. It was clear to Kyr that she would quickly become a powerful tool for idealists and fanatics on both sides. If this was a game of shesh-besh, Kyr thought, Aja would be a valuable trump, most definitely a trump. “Head directly into the sun.” Kyr could hear the strain in her voice. “Stay low and stay fast. Hug the contours of the terrain. Five hundred kigs from here, you’ll see a hauler leaving the planet. Hide in its gravity shadow.” She opened her eyes. “Is that possible without burning us?” “Yes,” replied Kyr, with a glance at Davi. “Now,” said Aja. Kyr fired up the engines and lifted from the surface. He took off fast, reaching top land speed within seconds. He felt himself pressed back into his seat, but the sensation was second nature to him. He took a quick look at Aja. Her eyes were closed again and she seemed to be handling the speed without any problem. Despite the fact that he’d dropped the light screens, the

desert sun was very bright and it was almost as if he flew by feel alone. The land rolled rapidly away beneath the ship, like a vid in fast forward. Red rock outcroppings, sand dunes, ancient eroded mountains, dry riverbeds. The occasional herd of bramah passed beneath them in less than a heartbeat. “Coming up on the hauler,” said Davi. “Can you stay right with him?” asked Aja. “Make like a shadow if anyone tries to get a reading?” “Easy,” answered Kyr. “Watch me.” He brought the nose of the ship up sharply and dove into the larger vessel’s wake. “Brace yourself, Aja,” he warned, as they were buffeted by turbulence from all sides. “Stay with them,” Aja’s voice shook, “Until they reach the first moon. They plan to… ” she concentrated for a moment, “pick up several junked vessels on the far side. They’re dragging them to… to the parts depot orbiting Aria.” “You want us to go with them to Aria?” asked Davi. “No, no,” replied Aja, “Drop off as soon as they reach the dark side. Drop off and lay low while I scan for Coalition signatures. Then we need to power up and flash. We need to flash as fast and as far as we can and hide near the outer settlements. That’s the only way to stay out of their hands. They’re not sure if I’m alive or dead, but those who suspect I may be alive are expecting me to find my way to the Resistance forces near the galactic center. We can’t go there, Kyr, I’m sorry. That way is death for the three of us.” “Well,” Davi’s comment was dry, “I’m all for avoiding death at this time in my young life.” Kyr glanced at Aja’s face and saw her smile despite her closed eyes. “Who are they, Aja?” he asked. “Both,” she said simply. “The Resistance and the Coalition. Both the Resistance Governing Body and the Junta present dangers to us. It would be a mistake to make it known to anyone yet that I live. If my mother is alive, she will know. But she’ll hold her peace.” “But how does your mother…? This is all a bit much for me,” Davi shook his head. “If your mother can sense that you’re alive, why can’t you sense whether or not she’s alive?”

“If she still lives, and that’s a big if,” came Aja’s answer, “she’s shielded herself and my sisters and my brothers. I’ve dropped my shields so she will know. She won’t know where I am, but she will know I’m alive.” “But if no one else can sense her, why? Why shield from you? I don’t understand.” Davi shook his head. “Because there is one other who is bonded to her through the Blood and if she’s not careful, he will find her and he will destroy her and the rest of my family.” Kyr was coming to understand more about the bond. His link with Aja grew stronger with each exchange of blood. “Who?” he asked her. “A man who must die,” she replied. “My true father. My father of the Blood. General Bom.” Kyr turned and stared, speechless. Davi whistled. “The head of the Junta? He’s your father?” “Yes. The man who broke his own law and ordered the virus produced. He, himself, is a descendant of the Blood.” “We’re fucked,” groaned Davi, “We are so fucked.” “But why?” asked Kyr, attempting to wrap his mind around the idea of a man who would murder his own child. “Why would he want his daughter dead?” “Because he believes me to be the Abomination, but he also fears that I am not.” “Aja, explain,” replied Kyr. “What of your father, the Royal Consort? He risked his life to protect the Empress during the coup.” “I call Dua N’ib father. He is the only father I’ve ever known and I love him. He is my mother’s chosen, chosen of the Blood. He is her true mate. But he cannot give her daughters, only sons. The power of the Blood is passed from mother to daughter. Therefore, my mother had to seek out a man of the Blood. The Blood is an autosomal recessive genetic characteristic.” Kyr and Davi exchanged glances. “I’m sorry,” she said. “This isn’t something that is widely discussed. Both parents must carry the gene in order to transmit it to their children. Only descendants of the Blood carry the gene, but the power is passed only to female offspring. Therefore, in order to bear female children, my mother had to mate with a man of the Blood.”

“Your brothers are not like you?” asked Kyr. “My brothers are of the Blood, yes, and they are stronger and faster and more intuitive than the average man, but no, they are not like me.” “And your sisters?” “They have shown some ability. We’re careful not to speak of it. There is almost always someone listening and we all shield our thoughts.” “But why…?” Kyr paused, uncertain how to phrase his question. “Why would your mother mate with this man, knowing what he was, knowing the monster he would become?” “It was not pre-ordained that he would become such a monster,” Aja replied, her voice gentle. “Remember, the future is never set in stone. Ika Bom chose one path from the many that lay before him. The Empress, my mother, had relations with him and shared her royal Blood with him so that I would be born. She must have anticipated a need for one like me.” “This is giving me a headache,” said Kyr, rubbing his temples. Aja grinned at him. “Ah, my love, now you are beginning to see my problem.” **** The ship drifted, dark and silent, as the men held position behind the first moon. The hauler had flashed to its destination several turns before. Kyr and Davi stayed alert, but Aja hadn’t moved since they’d powered down. Kyr watched the irregular rise and fall of her chest, his anxiety for her increasing. Once again, despite the chill of the ship, she was drenched in sweat, her clothing clung to her. Her skin seemed pale in the dim glow of the emergency bulbs. He hadn’t witnessed this before, this searching for a path, for a future. He’d only seen the afterwards. To watch Aja like this made his heart beat fast in his chest. This was one place he couldn’t go with her. Whatever she did on this journey, she had to do alone. Davi fidgeted in the chair next to him. He kept the scanner on low, watching and listening for any sign of pursuit. So far, it seemed they’d gone undetected. Kyr could read his friend well and he could tell that Aja’s trance-like state, in addition to everything else she’d told them, had him disconcerted. Kyr reached across the console to lay a reassuring hand on his friend’s arm. Kyr kept his voice low. “She’ll be all right. She’s done this before. It’s how she found our way off the planet.”

Davi looked directly at Kyr. “Maybe so, but watching her makes me want to jump out of my skin,” he whispered. “Is it magic? Is she touched by the Gods? I thought this was nothing more than myth.” “So did I, until I watched her as we fought our way out of the laboratory. She fights like a trained Aric Assassin. I’d heard the stories of Women of the Blood from my grandmother, but until I saw Aja, I never believed them.” “So you believe all of them? You believe they’re true?” “Yes. I believe they’re true.” Davi remained silent for a few moments. “Then she could be used as a terrible weapon, by either side.” “Yes.” “So what do we do? Do we take her to the Resistance? Gods forbid; we can’t let her fall into Coalition hands.” “For now, we wait. When she comes out of this, she’ll guide us. I think we’ll need to stay on the margins for a bit, in order to keep her safe. If you like, Davi, I’ll find you secure transport at the first opportunity with twice your share of the coin. I won’t leave her, but I won’t ask you to take this risk with me.” Davi searched Kyr’s face. “You’ve had the Blood, haven’t you?” Kyr didn’t answer. “So that part’s true, then?” “Yes.” Davi sighed. Kyr could almost read his friend’s mind as he pondered his options. “For now, I’ll stay with you. You need a Second. But if we discover that it’s easier to hide two rather than three, I’ll make my way back to Kesa and the men. They won’t wait forever, Kyr. They’ll grow restless after a piece.” “I know. They’ll wait a moon, maybe two, no more. They’ll begin to scatter for their own safety.” “And everything we’ve built over the years?” Kyr glanced at Aja. “If it’s there, it’s there. If not… we knew the risks when we began.” “What if they come after you? Not just the Coalition, the Resistance. They’ve paid half the coin for her safe return and they’ll want her. They expect your, our loyalty.”

“Unless they think we failed and they believe her dead. I don’t have any answers for you yet, Davi. Let’s wait and hear what Aja has to say.” “What about this father of the Blood? General Bom? I’m not certain I want to know anything more about that, Kyr.” “She won’t ask you to be involved, Davi. Of that much, I’m sure.” “It’s all right, Mr. Fedd.” The men turned abruptly at the soft sound of Aja’s voice. “You won’t come to any harm.” Aja’s smile was weak. “You have a woman and three children in your future. My path will not interfere with yours.” Davi’s mouth dropped open. Kyr rose from his seat and knelt beside Aja. He placed his warm hands over hers. Her skin felt cold and clammy to his touch. “Aja…” “Kyr, do you know a place called Eir-Edan?” “Yes, but it’s a dangerous place. Not a fit place for you. The planet is lawless.” The corner of Aja’s mouth turned up. “Lawless or not, that’s where we will go. There is a woman there who’ll hide me and she can finish my training. Kyr, I don’t have the control I need. I must go there. I’ve seen it. Once we find her, you will leave me with her and return to your men. They must flee from Kesa. General Bom will be looking for them. Take your men to your brother. He can protect you.” “My brother?” Kyr asked. “Karna. He is your brother, is he not?” “Yes, but Aja, I won’t leave you there. I won’t leave you on Eir-Edan.” Aja lifted her hands and placed one on either side of Kyr’s face. “Blood of my Blood, you have no say in the matter. Eir-Edan is where I must go. I’ve seen it.” “Fuck that. Fuck your Sight.” Kyr hauled Aja to her feet and shook her. “I’m not leaving you on that bloody, murderous, muck-eating rock.” Kyr watched tears fill Aja’s eyes. They spilled onto her lashes. She trembled in his grip. “Then you will die and I will die by your side. I’ve seen it. This is the only way for both of us. The only way we have a chance of reuniting.” “How soon do we have to leave?” “We have time. She will wait for me, whether it is two weeks or two moons. She will be waiting for me.”

Kyr sensed that Aja was close to collapse. He swung her into his arms. “Mr. Fedd, how much fuel do we have?” “Enough.” “Jump toward the Edge, in the general direction of Eir-Edan. Follow our smuggling routes. For the Gods sake, take your sweet time. Call me if you see anything, anything at all.” “Aye, aye, Captain.” Kyr strode from the cockpit, a semi-conscious Aja cradled in his arms.

Chapter Seven

“Feeling better?” Leaned back in the narrow tub filled with hot water, Aja groaned with pleasure. Kyr shampooed her long hair, working out the tangles, cleansing her of dust and sweat and the last vestiges of the medicinal stench of the laboratory. Kyr had pulled the tub out of a cabinet and filled it with water he’d heated in the galley. Aja was very grateful. She hadn’t been able to bathe properly in a week. “I take that as a yes?” “Oh, very much yes. It’s heavenly. Truly, your hands on any part of me feel wonderful. And it’s lovely to be clean, oh so lovely.” Aja sighed and closed her eyes. “It’s exhausting, isn’t it?” “Hmmm?” “Finding your way through the future, seeking a path through the present. It must be exhausting.” “Yes and no.” Aja’s chose her words with care. “Weaving my way at sub-light speed through an asteroid field is exhilarating, not exhausting.” She opened her eyes and smiled up at him. “My flight instructors couldn’t stomach it, the way my sisters and I fly our two-seaters. But when one can see what’s around the next rock without the use of sensors and with one’s eyes closed, there’s nothing to be afraid of. I’m lucky, you know. My mother and my sisters and I are the only women in the entire empire allowed to pilot.” Aja’s eyelids grew heavy again as Kyr used his strong fingers to massage her scalp. “I love the feel of speed,” she murmured. “I love the g-forces pressing on my body. I love the power and the responsiveness of my little ship.

She’s specially built for me, made to turn on a dime. My sisters and I grew up playing tag and seek me among the rocks.” “Did you?” Kyr’s deep voice soothed her. “Yes. It was fun, and it was good training. Our instructors thought we were merely playing games, and we were, but the games helped hone our reflexes, decrease our response time, and increase our confidence.” Aja chuckled. “And they caused Lieutenant Sharra to bite his nails down to the quick.” “Who is Lieutenant Sharra?” Kyr’s hands rubbed the back of her neck. “My personal guard, assigned by the Civilian Advisory Council.” She felt herself stiffen as she remembered his death. Aja willed herself to relax. “My captors murdered him when they took me. He fought with courage, but it was eight against two. Between us, we killed five of them and wounded another, but Mr. Sharra had taken too many sword cuts and he was bleeding out. I couldn’t get to him in time. Then they drugged me and I knew nothing more until I woke up tied to the table where you found me.” “I’m sorry.” Kyr’s hands moved to her shoulders. “Thank you. I’m sorry for his family. He may have been Coalition, but he was a brave and honorable man and he treated me well. He took his responsibility to protect me very seriously. He gave his life for mine.” Silence descended as Kyr’s hands worked their way down her back. Aja leaned forward so he could reach the muscles along her flanks. Despite her exhaustion, she felt herself become aroused, whether that was his intent or not. She knew he wanted to distract her, to give her space and time away from their predicament, and for the moment, beneath his kneading fingers, he was succeeding. Kyr’s hands drifted around her to cup the undersides of her breasts, his thumbs rubbed across her tender nipples. His mouth against her wet hair, he asked, “Shall I help you to my bunk?” “Depends upon whether or not you intend to join me.” “I wouldn’t dream of leaving you alone, at least not until I’ve put you to sleep.” Aja laughed at his words. “I’m a very light sleeper. Might take me a piece to drift off.” “I’m counting on that, love.” ****

Two turns later, Kyr relieved Davi in the cockpit. “Catch anything on the scanners or the com?” he asked. “Nothing. All’s quiet. But I’m a little concerned about the skin. She burned a bit on liftoff. May have to set her down at a repair depot and do a complete skin job on that section.” “How long you think she’ll hold?” “Two weeks. Figured about the time it’d take us to get home.” “So you’re suggesting that either we drop Aja on Eir-Edan as quickly as possible and then get our girl repaired, or we need to find a repair depot that won’t turn us in if warnings have already been issued.” “Yes.” Kyr took some readings. “Jerr isn’t too far off. A week or so. I’m thinking we can depend on him to keep his quiet.” “Can we hide her?” Davi asked. “Maybe in one of the smuggling compartments?” “For three or four days? It’d be damn hard on her.” “You have a better suggestion? You and I can pass. Jerr will assume we’ve been on a run and he won’t ask any questions, especially if we pay him in coin instead of trade. But a woman with us? A woman who looks like this one? He’ll wonder a bit. And all it takes is a bit and we’re scouted. Kyr sat back in his chair. “Anything on the com channels at all about the Royal Family?” Davi shook his head. “That’s a good sign. Then the Coalition doesn’t want anyone to know what they tried and failed to do, and the Resistance is laying low. If our forces are hosting some guests, I suspect they’ll keep them bottled up tight. They won’t let loose any news, other than the usual bluster and propaganda. I think we’ll be safe at Jerr’s, at least for a few days. You’re right about one thing, Aja will stand out. But I don’t think I can squeeze her into a compartment. We designed them for cargo, not humans. I can confine her to my quarters. And I’ll make sure I stay onboard. You can follow your usual pattern,” Kyr said with a wink. “What about Dina?” asked Davi, with a big grin. “She’ll be wondering why you don’t pay her a call. Or two. Or three.” Kyr laughed out loud. “Watch yourself, Fedd, or you won’t be fathering those children.”

Davi’s grin faded. “What about that?” he asked. “She can see these things? You believe her?” “Yes, I do. I can’t explain it. I don’t understand it. But I believe her. I believe in her.” “Like a god, you mean? Like she’s one of the gods?” “No. She’s not a god. And don’t ever say that to her.” Kyr’s voice hardened. “She’s a woman, a special woman, but a woman nonetheless.” “Then, you mean to say she’s been gifted by the Gods?” Kyr sighed. “If you ask, I suspect she’ll tell you it’s more of a curse.” “If she can see these things ahead of time, though, if she knows these things… well, the Resistance… you understand what I’m getting at?” “I do. That’s what I hope to protect her from.” “Protect her from the Resistance?” “Yes, even from the Resistance. Both sides could use her for their own ends and not everyone is... well, let’s just say not everyone can resist such power. Aja fights against it herself.” “What about you?” “What about me?” “How do you figure into this? Pardon me, Captain, but what do you mean to her?” Kyr’s flexed his fist. He reminded himself that Davi was his close friend and the man only asked out of concern, but Kyr didn’t know how to explain his actions or if he even cared to. “Aja is a woman. I’m a man,” he said, “It’s that simple. Go on,” he told Davi, dismissing him. “Grab something to eat and get some sleep. I’ll fly my bird safe.” Davi pushed himself out of his seat. “Well,” he laid his hand on Kyr’s shoulder, “I don’t know the princess like you do, but I gave you my trust when we were six suns. I’m not about to take it back now.” Kyr nodded at his second. His eyes followed Davi as he headed down the companionway. He’d need to stow Davi someplace safe. He didn’t want his friend in danger because his own destiny had taken a sudden turn. **** Eyes closed, a naked Aja rose from Kyr’s bunk. She grabbed the clean garments Kyr had thrown over a stool, stepping into the trousers, automatically rolling the waistband to keep them

up. She threw open the door to the cabin, tugging the sweater over her head as she strode down the companionway. The long sleeves covered her hands, but Aja didn’t notice. “Mr. Fedd,” she called out, passing his cabin, “Strap in.” Eyes still closed, no hesitation in her step, Aja entered the cockpit. She sat down in the co-pilot’s seat and wrapped the harness around her, locking it into place. She punched off the auto-nav. “What that hells…?” Kyr shouted. “They’re on us,” Aja said. “We drop out and we move. Strap in.” “Aja…” “Kyr, strap in. I’m dropping us out of flash.” “You’re flying blind! You’re fucking flying blind. Aja, give me back the controls.” “Not now. Strap in or you’ll be injured.” “Fuck,” came Davi’s voice from behind them. “What the hells is going on?” “Get down, Mr. Fedd. And hold on.” Aja’s voice was even, emotionless. Aja opened her eyes for a brief moment and stared at Kyr. “Listen to me,” she said. “Trust me. This is what I do.” Aja closed her eyes and turned back to her console. Davi dropped into the navigator’s chair and Aja heard the men fasten their safety harnesses. “Dropping out of flash drive. Prepare to come about.” The jarring motion of a rapid drop threw all three forward against their harnesses. “Coming about,” Aja said, her voice still flat. The ship groaned with a sickening sound, skidding sideways through space. “Fuck,” Kyr gritted out against the g-forces, “You can’t come about at this speed. She won’t hold together.” Hearing Davi wretch behind her, Aja knew he had thrown up the meal he’d eaten two turns before. “She’ll hold.” Aja stayed sub-light, heading directly toward an enormous asteroid belt. “The Pikes. Aja…”

Aja concentrated on reaching the belt before the pursuing ship dropped out of flash. The Coalition ship was too large to drop as quickly as they could, giving them a little breathing room. “Aja, who… who is it? Who’s after us?” “Bom. General Bom.” “How?” Aja thrust her left leg in Kyr’s direction. “Your knife,” she said. “Get it.” She heard Kyr’s knife slide from its sheath. “The purple bruise, just above my ankle. I thought I got it struggling against the ropes. It’s a bloody transmitter. The son of a Chigalla planted a bio-mimetic transmitter under my skin. You’ll have to cut it out. Cut the fucker out because I’ll blow this ship to the Seven Hells of Wrath before I’ll let them take us.” Kyr flipped off his harness and knelt on the floor. Grabbing Aja’s leg to hold it still, he sliced directly into the mark above her ankle. “Deeper,” she gasped. “He planted it into the muscle. It’s already attached itself. Gods, Kyr, cut it out. Get it out of me.” Kyr enlarged the incision, digging into her leg until he could feel something hard, something he hoped wasn’t bone. He spread the edges of her skin apart and he saw a tiny, metallic chip, with living tentacles, gripping her muscle fibers. He dared a glance at Aja’s face. Tears lined her cheeks but her eyes remained closed. She’d bitten down on her lip, drawing blood. Hardening himself, he sliced through every grasping strand and used his knife to pry the thing out of her. It flipped onto the floor. Aja sucked in a deep breath. From the navigator’s seat, Kyr head Davi muttering curses. “Hold her steady,” Kyr shouted. “I’m shooting this out the airlock.” He grabbed the blood-smeared chip and headed down the companionway to the galley. “Kyr,” Aja called after him. “If they drop on top of us, I’ll have to come about again. Be ready.” Kyr searched a locker for a container. By the Gods, he didn’t want the thing sticking to his ship. He dropped the bloody piece of metal into a prese jar and screwed on the lid, weaving his way to the back of the ship, to the supply bay. There was a small airlock there. He’d installed it in case they had to jettison any illegal cargo in a hurry.

He heard Aja call, “Prepare to come about,” and he just barely had time to wrap himself in the wall of cargo netting before she yelled, “Coming about!” His feet flew out from under him. The muscles in his arms took the strain as his ship swerved once more and he flew sideways, his legs in the air, his back crashing against the padded cargo wall. He held onto the jar for dear life. When the ship righted herself, Kyr untangled his arms and legs and crawled to the sealed hatch. He flipped the lock and opened the small door, tossed in the jar and closed the door behind it, pulling the handle tight, ensuring he’d made a proper seal. He hit the button and the exterior hatch opened. The jar was sucked into the blackness of space. Kyr closed the exterior door. “Done,” he shouted. “Then get your sweet ass back here and strap in,” he heard Aja yell, “I’m entering The Pikes. Shields up, Mr. Fedd.” “Yes, ma’am,” Kyr heard Davi respond in a weak voice. Kyr threaded his way toward the cockpit, grinning like a madman. What a bloody, fucking wild ride this was turning out to be.

Chapter Eight

“You lost them. You lost them. You blood-sucking whore mongering son of a Chigalla. You lost them.” The captain knelt on the deck. Face to the floor, he began to stammer out his apologies. “Shut up, fool. You should have followed them into The Pikes.” “General, I would have…to commit such a rash act would have destroyed this cruiser.” General Bom placed a booted foot on the back of the man’s neck and mashed his face into the deck. “I told you to shut up.” Ice in his demeanor, the man surveyed the command room, hoping some officer there would meet his eyes, would challenge him. He craved a battle. A bloody death. There were no takers. Cowards. They stared at their boots, at the wall, hoping against hope that they would be spared the captain’s fate, whatever that might be. To be bested by a woman. His own daughter, at that. The Abomination. “Get up,” he ordered the captain. “Scan this quadrant. I want our forces alerted in every system, at every refueling stop, at every single supply depot. Tell them to watch for anything unusual or out of the ordinary. Tell them to report suspicious activity to their commanding officer immediately.” The captain rose to his feet, cautious, keeping his head bowed. He walked, stiff as a board, to his command console. “Yes, General. Mr. Stax, get on the com and send out an alert. Lieutenant Rowd, did we get a reading on that ship?” “No sir. They had some sort of shielding. No reading.” “Any name on the vessel? Any identifying marks?”

“No sir, they were moving too fast for a visual ID.” The captain turned toward General Bom, struggling to keep the fear off his face. Bom wanted to laugh. “General, do you want us to continue to scan the asteroid field? At the very least, there may be some debris. More than likely the ship collided with a rock and broke apart.” “More than likely they’ve flashed to another quadrant, idiot. There won’t be any debris. I’ll be in my quarters. I don’t want to be disturbed unless you have word of that ship.” The command room remained quiet as a tomb until General Bom had disappeared through the doorway. When at last the sound of his footfalls died away, second in command, Lieutenant Rowd approached his captain. “Sir,” he said, keeping his voice low, “Do we know exactly what the general is looking for?” “No,” replied the captain, his own voice nothing more than a whisper. “But sir, how can we be expected to find something if we don’t know what it is we seek?” The captain shrugged. “We do whatever he tells us to do until he leaves this ship. Those are our orders.” “I don’t mean to question the General, sir, but it makes no sense. It’s as if he’s ordering us to chase a phantom.” “Keep these thoughts to yourself, Lieutenant. They won’t do you any good, and they sure as hells won’t do me any good. Until General Bom leaves our ship, we follow his orders.” Unless I find a way to stuff the fucking son of a whore into the airlock. The very small waste airlock. “Aye, aye, Captain.” **** General Bom dismissed his personal guards. He paced the floor of his cabin, deliberately ignoring his hunger, his thirst. If she could set aside the requirements of her body, so could he. He was of the Blood. The power should never have been given to an inferior female. Never. It should have passed to a son, his son. But his sons had died at birth, deformed, mutant, the results of generations of past genetic tampering with his bloodline. All he had left of his line were the three Abominations. Her daughters.

How he hated that bitch. She’d used him, absorbed his blood, allowed him a taste of hers, taken his seed three times, given him more pleasure than any man had a right to experience in this galaxy, and then, when he’d begged her to stay with him, to rule jointly with him, she’d left without a single backward glance, her heart devoted to that ordinary soldier, Dua N’ib. She knew how to hide from him, the Empress. And she’d taken her consort and her children with her. Ah, but not the worst of them, the one who posed the greatest threat to the Coalition. The General allowed himself a smug smile. He’d managed to steal that one from her. He’d almost succeeded in ridding the galaxy of them all. If it hadn’t been for one rogue Resistance fighter and an undermanned laboratory… damn the Gods. He hadn’t been able to risk a full complement of guards. Word would have leaked out—General Bom would have been caught breaking his own laws banning recombinant DNA. She should be in his possession right now, he mused, the one named Aja. She would be if it wasn’t for this cowardly captain and his equally cowardly crew. He could have guided them through The Pikes, but the Blood had worn off. Now his supply was exhausted. He’d used the last of it to track her, to trace the tiny, bio-mimetic diode he’d ordered implanted in her, the diode that contained a few microns of his serum. Ika Bom laughed. He’d made use of his own daughter’s blood, injected directly into the right temporal lobe of his brain, to give himself the Sight, the ability to fly by inner vision, to track his own blood. For too brief a time, he’d tasted the power she possessed and he wanted more. If he controlled her, no one could stand against him. Not the Empress, not the Ruling Council, not the Provincial Governors, no one. He would be unstoppable. If he had her, this daughter of his, he could harness her power for himself and breed her to the men he chose, begin his own genetic program, establish his own ruling dynasty from the sons he would insist she produce. Yes. The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. He’d acted precipitously, in thinking to kill off the Royal Family. Better to use them. And if this one died? Well, didn’t he have two more daughters? Perhaps he should focus on them. They might prove to be easier targets and he might even catch this Aja, if he threatened her sisters. He understood enough about the Blood now to know she would see that. If he held her sisters, she would know and she would come for them.

No, his ancestors made a terrible mistake in giving ultimate power to the weaker sex. Only men were worthy. What the hells were they thinking? “General?” his com buzzed. “Yes, Captain?” “What heading are we ordered to?” The general thought for a moment. He would sell his soul and the soul of every man alive for the Sight right now. “Return to the capital.” “Yes sir.” The com clicked off. Yes sir, indeed, Bom thought, my soul and the soul of every man, woman and child in the Empire for the Sight.

Chapter Nine

From the navigator’s seat, Davi groaned. “Why isn’t he sick?” he asked, pointing a weak hand down the companionway after Kyr. Aja turned around and looked at the poor man, his meal all over him. “Because he’s had my Blood,” she answered. “Don’t feel bad, Mr. Fedd. Most people get sick at these speeds. My vestibular system is different. Motion sickness was bred out of my line long ago. Rapid course changes don’t bother me.” Aja flashed the ship away from The Pikes and clicked on the auto-nav, punching in the coordinates Davi had given her. She unstrapped herself, stood and stretched. “I am sorry,” she said, showing the man that she did care. “Let me help you get cleaned up and I’ll make us something bland to eat. That should settle your stomach.” “Thanks, but no thanks,” replied Davi. “If you don’t mind, I’ll get myself cleaned up and I’ll join you in the galley directly. What about your leg?” He released his safety harness and pushed himself upright onto unsteady legs. Aja glanced down at her bloody foot, she’d forgotten all about it. Kyr had cut deep. She pulled up the leg of her trousers. Now that she saw the gash, it hurt. She’d have to use the ultraviolet unit before she could heal it. Her immune system could handle most bugs, but she didn’t know exactly where Kyr’s knife had been before he’d dug into her leg. “I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.” Aja watched the man weave his way toward his cabin. She hurried to the galley to get cleaning supplies. She wanted to get her leg disinfected and the cockpit washed clean of vomit before Kyr and Davi needed to be back at the controls. She could close her mind to the stench

and pilot for a time, but this wasn’t her ship and she felt responsible for the mess. She found Kyr in the galley, heating up a pot of soup. He’d already rinsed some snowberries and opened a vacuum-sealed container of dryebread and set the rounds on the table. To Aja’s surprise, Kyr was humming a song. Kyr looked up as Aja entered the galley. He shot her a wicked grin, one that he knew damn well she felt all the way to her toes. Surprise showed on her face as he headed straight for her, lifting her by the waist with both hands and setting her down on the end of a heavy wooden countertop. Kyr spread her legs and he stepped between them, pressing his erection against her very center. Aja’s eyes opened wide. She began to make a feeble protest, claiming that she had cleaning to do. “Shut up,” Kyr said, as he dropped his mouth to hers. He nibbled Aja’s lower lip and she opened for him. The instant she did so, he thrust his tongue inside. Aja whimpered and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on tight now, in a way she hadn’t needed to hold on during the wild ride through The Pikes. Kyr kissed the woman like a man who had been starved for weeks on end. One calloused hand traveled beneath her sweater, finding her breast. He took a nipple between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it, his touch gentle at first, and then as she moaned into his mouth, he let his fingers to pinch the erect bud. He slipped his other hand beneath the twisted waistband of her trousers, his fingers dipping into her now wet folds, sliding over her swollen clit and right past it, to pump inside her. One finger, and then two, over and over again until her breathing was ragged and she gasped against his mouth. He wanted her lost in his touch, in his crushing kiss, in his fingers, demanding that she come, now. Kyr tried to hold Aja steady, but he was forced to let go of her mouth when she tore her face away from his and let out a cry. Without a moment’s hesitation, he stripped off her trousers, ripped open his own fasteners and buried his cock in her. Without hesitation, she wrapped her long legs around his waist and pulled him even deeper, though Kyr wondered how that was physically possible. “I’m as hard as one of those fucking rocks out there,” Kyr’s voice sounded harsh in his own ear. “I can’t last long. Come with me, love, Gods, come with me.” “Kyr,” Aja cried, “Oh, Kyr.”

“I’m right here, love.” He took her mouth as he took her body, with deep, hard thrusts of his tongue. Aja climaxed with a violence that shook Kyr to the core. She tried to pull her mouth away again, but he refused to allow it. He swallowed her screams and rode her hard through her orgasm. Gods, he did feel like a rock, solid and heavy. He growled as he came, thrusting deep inside his woman. He could feel himself pressed against the mouth of her womb as his seed spurted hot into her. For the briefest moment, Kyr froze in place. He caught a sudden flash of vision behind his closed eye lids, a young child with his golden hair and violet eyes, standing in a patch of sunlight, and then, as quickly as it had appeared, the vision disappeared. What the hells was that? But in the next click, enveloped in Aja’s sweet warmth, he forgot all about it. Releasing Aja’s mouth, he kept his softening penis inside her, pressing her limp body against his. She rested her head on his shoulder, spent, seemingly content for a moment. In the quiet, Kyr realized how he’d come to treasure her. “If flying through an asteroid field makes you this excited, I’ll be happy to oblige on a daily basis,” Aja whispered. Kyr laughed, his body shaking hers and the counter upon which she sat. “Oh, Gods, you are a wonder,” he declared. “Seven hells!” came Davi Fedd’s voice. “Not in the galley! You have a cabin, Captain, and if you’ll pardon me, fucking use it.” Kyr withdrew from Aja and snatched up her trousers, tossing them to her as he fastened his own. He turned to glance over his shoulder. Davi looked away, but Kyr screened Aja with his body while she attempted to make herself presentable. One look at her red face told him how embarrassed she felt to be caught, literally, with her pants down. “So sorry,” Aja called to Davi. “I don’t blame you,” he said, casting an accusing glance over his shoulder at Kyr. “You manage to get that leg cleaned up yet? Before you were interrupted?” “No, but I’ll take care of it now.” “Let me see it,” ordered Kyr. “No, it’s fine. It’s already healing,” protested Aja.

Kyr grabbed her wrist as she tried to get by him. “I’m the captain and I said, let me see it.” He knelt down on the floor and lifted the leg of her trousers. After a moment, Kyr rose to his feet. “Forgive me,” he said, “I did this to you. I injured you, love.” “There’s nothing to forgive. You did as I asked. You did what was necessary. And it worked, didn’t it? He can’t track us, at least for now.” Aja walked to a storage unit. She removed some cleaning supplies and headed back to the cockpit. Kyr stopped her. “I’ll clean up,” he said, brusquely, taking the rags and the bucket from her hands. “Let Mr. Fedd see to that ankle. He’s had some experience patching up the wounded.” Kyr watched as Davi retrieved the first aid supplies. “Aja.” His lover turned at the sound of her name. “When I’m finished, we need to fill our stomachs and then we’ll talk. The three of us. Do you agree?” She nodded her head, yes. **** “So it’s true, then,” said Davi, “Females of the Blood make stunner pilots.” “Yes,” replied Aja, crumbling her dryebread into the soup Kyr had made for them. “It’s no wonder the Coalition barred women from flying. Their male pilots couldn’t hope to compete,” commented Kyr. “My own grandmother was a pilot and my father did a little piloting for a time, but from what he says, he couldn’t hold a candle to her.” He glanced at Aja, “And neither can I. That was some impressive flying.” Spoon halfway to her mouth, Aja gave a little jerk. “Your grandmother was a pilot?” “A godsdamn good pilot. She traversed the route between Calen and the Galactic Core for thirty years.” “That means you’re of the Blood,” Aja said, staring at her bowl. “Why didn’t I see that?” Davi snorted. “Of the Blood?” laughed Kyr, “I don’t think so. I grew up poor as a field rat on Calen. My father worked the lithium mines. My mother tended a flock of winat goats and spun thread from their wool to sell to the weavers. Of the Blood? Unlikely.” “Kyr, if your grandmother was a pilot, then you are of the Blood. What you think doesn’t matter. Only female descendants of the Blood possess the genetic traits that allow them to be stunner pilots, as you call them. Many people can be trained to pilot, but only women of the Blood can fly blind, so to speak. Could your grandmother fly blind through an ion storm?”

Kyr didn’t answer for a few ticks. “So my father claims,” he admitted. “Did she fly through the Tionay Nebula? It’s the shortest route between Calen and the Galactic Core.” “Yes,” Kyr answered her, reluctance in his voice. “Who flies through the Tionay Nebula since the coup? Who, Kyr? Tell me. Do you? Does any pilot you know? Do the Coalition forces ever risk their ships in those electrically charged ion clouds?” “No.” Kyr and Davi exchanged looks. “I don’t know of anyone who flies through the Tionay Nebula. At least, not for the past thirty years,” Kyr added. “Not since the coup,” said Aja. She spooned up her soup, her expression veiled. Both men followed her example and ate in silence. When they were all three finished, Kyr pushed his bowl away. “What did you mean,” he asked, “When you said, why didn’t I see that? Have you been in my head, Aja?” “No,” she bristled at the implication, “and I don’t intend to be, in your head, as you so succinctly put it. When I first saw you, I read your intentions and your heart, not your mind. If someone has had my blood, as you have, then yes, I know what you are feeling, but no, I don’t read your mind. I already explained this. Your thoughts are your own.” “I’m sorry,” replied Kyr, “but I needed to know. I don’t really understand how you… how you work, for lack of a better way to say it.” Aja’s face reddened. “I work exactly the same way you work, but I’ve been… I’ve been genetically enhanced. I just, it’s hard to explain. There are things the Coalition doesn’t want anyone to know and I’m afraid I might endanger you by discussing these matters.” “But we already know the legends and the myths,” said Davi, “and my mother claimed there is always a core of truth to the old stories. Besides,” he added, “I suspect we’re in more than a bit of danger already.” Kyr rose from his chair and walked to Aja. He knelt beside her, taking both her hands in his. “Do you trust me?” he asked. “You have my heart,” she said simply, “I trust you with my life and everything I hold dear.”

“Then confide in us. Davi and I need to understand how Bom knew to find you, how he tracked us. I need to know why Davi lost his lunch on that ride through The Pikes while I found it exhilarating. Why, Aja? Explain these things. Please.” Aja brought his hands to her lips. She smiled down at him. “I’ll make a bargain with you. You make the cavitt and I’ll tell you a very long story. I like mine sweet,” she added. “And me,” said Davi. “Deal,” Kyr laughed, and he set about grinding the cava nuts and boiling a kettle of water. Ten minutes later, he brought three steaming mugs to the table along with a tiny pot of Akkan honey, the most rare and precious honey in the galaxy. “Contraband?” asked Aja, dipping the tip of her little finger into the thick, clear liquid. “My percentage,” Kyr replied, “One of the perks of smuggling.” Aja closed her eyes and licked the honey from her finger. “Mmm…we aren’t allowed anything so valuable.” Davi raised his eyebrows. “I’m surprised,” he said, “I would think the Royal Family, well, that you would be provided with whatever you wish.” “No,” Aja opened her eyes and smiled as she stirred a small spoon of honey into her cavitt and passed the pot to Davi. “The Ruling Council delights in keeping us hungry and cold. Warm clothing is in short supply and our home rock is quite chilly. Most of the guards, while not overtly cruel, are indifferent. A few of the men are kind. They risk their livelihood, their career, to smuggle in stockings and wool undergarments, even extra rations.” Noticing that both men frowned, she added, “Don’t pity us. It has made us quite resilient. I think the men of the Council were hoping we would die of the elements or deprivation within a year or so, but, well, what’s the old saying? The best laid plans?” “I would like to hear,” began Davi, hesitation in his voice, “how you know my future. Are you like the traveling gypsy women of old? Do you tell fortunes? You claim you didn’t read Kyr’s mind, but did you read mine? I don’t understand how this works.” Aja thought for a moment. “After a generation of rule, the Coalition has been quite successful in making us, my family, I mean, a bit like that magical, mythical creature, the unicorn. They’ve written us out of the history books, but because your parents and grandparents still remember the Royal Blood, we’ve become a mixture of fantasy and reality. The truth is somewhat different. The truth lies in the science of the ancient Earthers, our ancestors. My line,

my own bloodline, was the result of a science experiment. The ancients perpetuated the Blood for a reason, because we can help guide the people through space and time.” “So you do see through time?” asked Kyr. “In a way. We see time as we see space. You see before you a table, six chairs, three cups of cavitt, and a pot of Akkan honey. I see these things too, but I can also see where the honey might be in six hours, or six days, or six months from now. It can be disconcerting. It’s why women of the Blood are meticulously trained to control these visions, to discern from among these pathways to the future. To discriminate between what is real and what is not yet. What is likely and what is unlikely.” Aja smiled, but she knew the smile did not reach her eyes. “It’s complicated, and it’s why so many of my ancestors have, unfortunately, had difficulties.” “But the women pilots?” asked Davi. “Every woman who has an aptitude like mine must be a descendant of the Blood. There is no other way they can navigate so easily and so safely. The Coalition fears us for many reasons. One of which is that they believe we bend time. No one can bend time. We simply have the inbred ability to find our way through the time eddies and currents and we can choose the shortest route between here and there. If there is an ion storm, for instance, we see a safe path through it. It’s why your grandmother, Kyr, could fly through the Tionay Nebula and not fry. But the primary reason the members of the Coalition deposed the Royal Family is because they do not believe in the ascendance of women. They want a male-dominated galactic society, one in which wives are protected and cherished by confinement to their home compound. One in which whores are made available to satisfy the sexual appetites of men. There is no in-between. The Coalition does not believe women are fit to rule, or to lead, or to guide the people.” “Yet Bom is your father,” stated Kyr, “He’s in a position to understand the abilities of the Empress and the Blood better than anyone.” “Yes. I believe my mother chose him because of the purity of his line, among other things.” “Other things?” Kyr asked. “Other things like preventing the coup in the first place if she could see it coming?” Aja sighed. “As I’ve told you, the future is not set in stone and I believe she must have discerned a larger pattern, a path between the lesser of two evils. Perhaps if she’d tried to prevent the coup, it would have been worse. I don’t know. It would appear she chose the middle road,

one that would lead to… would lead to the possibility of me. General Bom couldn’t see that path, but he agreed to the mating because he wanted her, and he wanted to possess her power. He got neither. He got me and my two sisters. In his eyes, we are each an Abomination.” Aja hesitated. “What is it?” asked Kyr. “My father is no longer so certain he wants us dead. I was able to glimpse the new direction he is considering. It would appear he wants to make sons with my abilities.” A look of violence came over Kyr’s face. “He won’t touch you, I swear it.” Aja’s eyebrows flew up when she saw Kyr’s anger. “Oh, he doesn’t want me for himself, thank the Gods, he wouldn’t dare break that taboo. If he did so, he knows he would consign himself to the lowest of the Seven Hells. He wants to breed my sisters and me with other males of the Blood, to try to produce a male dominant bloodline that will have the same power as the female line.” She shook her head. “He should know that’s impossible. He’s already tried and failed twice.” “But that’s genetic tampering and it’s against his own laws,” said Davi, confused. Aja sighed. “The General, in a very large sense, is the law, until he is dead, and then he won’t be the law. It’s very simple, Davi. General Bom and other men like him, rebelled against the Empress because they did not want women to possess any ability that a man didn’t, to know more than a man. In their view, a powerful woman makes a man, how would you describe it, impotent?” Aja suppressed a grin when Kyr choked on his cavitt. “Well, that’s one answer,” she continued, “but perhaps the better answer is he hates us because my mother chose the father of my heart, Dua N’ib, as consort. She chose him out of love. She couldn’t give Dua N’ib daughters, but she wanted to give him sons, my two brothers.” Kyr nursed his bitter cavitt for a moment, remembered the fleeting vision he’d had of a young child, a girl who mirrored his yellow hair and violet eyes. “Why couldn’t she give him daughters?” “Because the man I call father, Dua N’ib, does not possess even a drop of the Royal Blood. She could only give him sons. It’s very complicated. His daughter would not have survived infancy. Just as General Bom’s experimental sons did not survive.” “So, let me get this straight,” said Davi, “You can choose the sex of your child? And if you, pardon me, mate with a man who is not of the Blood, you can only bear sons?”

“Yes, those of us directly descended from the Empress Ya. My mother chose the sex of her children. I suspect I can. Possibly my sisters can. Our line is very pure. If I were to mate with a man not of the Blood, yes, I would make certain to give him only sons.” Both men sat back in their chairs. Aja noted that they seemed to avoid eye contact with each other and with her. It didn’t take much intuition on her part to know that both had to be thinking about the implications of Kyr’s bloodline if his grandmother had indeed possessed the Royal Blood. Aja took a slow sip of her cavitt, giving them a few moments to digest this information. Finally, she asked, “Do you wish for the long version of the story? Or would you prefer the abbreviated version?” “Whichever version you choose,” said Kyr. “I want to understand how this, how you, are possible. How Bom was able to track us, and why you didn’t sense it immediately, and I want to know what the hells we do now.” Aja smiled. “The tracking chip is easily explained. It must have been implanted in the lab before I even regained consciousness, as a safety precaution in the event I managed to escape. It became a part of my own body, more or less, and I didn’t sense anything different until Bom activated it. He used his,” Aja cleared her throat, “he used his own blood, a few microns… not much, but enough to track me. And he took my blood. He must have injected it directly into his right temporal lobe. That’s the only way he could feel me. How do I explain?” Aja thought for a moment while both men waited, fidgeting, impatient. “Kyr, if you were to draw some of my blood and inject it directly into your brain, you would see what I see, at least for a brief period of time. For instance, you would be a better pilot. You would be able to see the myriad paths to the future. Not as clearly, certainly, because you wouldn’t have had the training to interpret what you see, but you would sense at least some of the same things I do.” Kyr tapped his mug. “Then why not use you? He had your family isolated. There was no one to stop him. Why not use you? Any of you? Take your blood and use it to get what he wants? Why kill you?” “I think it wasn’t until he had me in his laboratory and his scientists began to study my blood that they determined something like this might work. I suspect they also warned him that this could kill him. It didn’t kill him, this time. But if he continues down this path, he will discover only insanity and death.”

“Do you think he’ll try it again?” asked Davi. “I have no doubt that he will. He craves power above all else. But if he had more of my blood, he would have used it. Either we would be under pursuit, or you would both be dead and I would be his prisoner. I sensed fury in him, fury that the men beneath him refused his command to enter The Pikes. They were obviously unaware he’d injected himself with my blood, and they didn’t trust their ability to navigate through such a thick asteroid belt. Every man who flies knows the limitations of the auto-nav. As you can imagine, to admit what he’d done would have brought an immediate death sentence upon him.” “By a gack’s shit, I would say so,” muttered Davi. Kyr and Aja burst into laughter. Eventually Davi joined them. When silence descended, Aja asked, “Do you wish to hear my history? Remember, it’s not just my history, it’s your history too.” Kyr closed his eyes. Folding his arms behind his head, he stretched out his long legs. He leaned back in his chair, allowing the soft, melodious tone of Aja’s voice wash over him like a song. “Back in the ancient days of Earth, our place of origin, there was war and famine, murder, rape, pillage, slavery. Brutal men controlled most of the resources, while women, as the weaker sex, acceded to the men. A very secretive cadre of enlightened male and female geneticists launched a program to select specific genetic traits from specially chosen subjects. They sought men and women who possessed unusual physical and psychic abilities such as excellent eyesight and hearing, quick reflexes, strength and stamina and innate good health, intelligence, curiosity, intuition, empathy, passion, patience, discernment, all the qualities we of the Royal Bloodline possess today. “The project was named Eve, after the Earther’s mythical first woman, and it went on for generations. The researchers were able to isolate the genes they sought on the DNA double helix, and once they were able to replicate their results and genetically enhance human embryos, it was decided by all involved that the genetic mutations would be transferred to the female line only. Only females could replicate or reproduce other female children who would carry these genetic mutations.” “Why?” asked Kyr, his voice as soft as Aja’s.

“Because traditionally, historically, and genetically, women are less prone to violence than men and they are more nurturing. It was thought that a genetically enhanced race of females would help to stabilize the very unstable situation on Earth. After all, men had dominated most social structures since Earth’s own ancient times, since the fall of what the Coalition historians have termed, The Dark Period of the Goddess.” “And since you exist, they succeeded.” “After many centuries of careful breeding and continued genetic enhancement, yes. They did succeed, in some places. These female leaders, or rulers, Empresses, as they came to be called, were able to bring stability and peace to a few regions of the Earth. In other regions, the women were simply slaughtered, as were any men who supported them. It was the Empress Ya who was to first to have Full Sight, the first Empress who could see her way through time and space and lead her people from a dying Earth, away from an Earth whose resources had finally been exhausted, whose waters were foul, and whose fertile soil had eroded away. “Oh, men had traveled the ancient solar system. They’d been to the moon and settled on the planet called Mars and the moons of Saturn, but the Empress Ya determined that Earth, the Earth of our origin, was breathing her last. Men and women had been experimenting with intergalactic travel for many centuries, but all the crafts had been unmanned. The Empress Ya could see the way; she could see adjustments that needed to be made to navigation systems, to the flash drive.” “How?” interrupted Davi’s voice. “I assume because she could look ahead and see the interstellar ships humans would build in the future and she brought that knowledge back to the past.” Kyr wondered if Davi felt as confused as he did. He waited for Aja’s explanation. “When one can see, there is very little difference between the past, present and future. It’s a… it’s challenging to sort through it, and it would be very hard for you to understand. Think of this as circular logic, a equals b, b equals c, therefore a equals c. Circular. Today we can travel through space and time because the technology to do so was brought back to the past, yet we possess the technology today because knowing in the past allowed us to build it in the future. Does that help, Davi?” “No.”

Kyr opened his eyes in time to catch the smile on Aja’s face. “Welcome to my inner world,” she said. “Go on,” Kyr insisted. He closed his eyes again. “It took the people nearly forty years to build a fleet large enough for everyone, an entire generation of builders. They provisioned themselves with food, seeds, animals, building materials, evaporators, water purifiers, everything necessary for a new world.” “Like that old children’s story of Noah and his great floating ark,” commented Davi. “Exactly. Eighty thousand people traveled to Alpha Centauri and colonized the planet we know as—” “Persephone,” interjected Kyr. “Yes, Persephone, the ancient goddess of spring, of rebirth. From Persephone, humans set out to explore the rest of the galaxy, with Women of the Blood leading the way. You’ve heard a portion of the true history from your mothers and grandmothers. It’s only over the past thirty years that the Coalition has attempted to rewrite the history books. Their goal is to ultimately minimize the contribution of Women of the Blood. They feel secure in doing so as technology has advanced far enough that intergalactic travel is possible without female pilots.” Kyr stretched and opened his eyes. “But travel is not as sure, and if your flying is any indication, it’s slower,” he commented. “Yes, but as long as it is men doing the piloting and giving the commands, the Coalition doesn’t care,” replied Aja. “But what you still haven’t told me,” said Davi, “is how you know I will find a woman and have three children with her.” “Oh, Davi Fedd,” Aja laughed, “that’s easy. Your future surrounds you like the halo from a beacon star. I see a lovely woman in your future, with coppery hair and freckles, and hips just made for popping out babies, provided we manage to keep you out of Bom’s reach.” Davi tipped his chair back and grinned at her. “I think the larger question,” interrupted Kyr, deliberately catching Aja’s eye, “is how do we manage to keep you out of Bom’s reach?” “Simple. Eir-Edan,” answered Aja, “But with a slight change in my original plans.”

Chapter Ten

Kyr toyed with the long, thick, dark braid that fell between Aja’s bare breasts. Like his own braids, the braids every Calen man wore as was his right and duty, her braid fell to her waist. “Aja,” he whispered, his voice husky after their lovemaking, “How could you not see it before? That I am born of the Blood?” “I don’t know,” she answered. She ran her fingers up and down his arm. “Some things are hidden from me. Perhaps the Gods have a perverted sense of humor. Or perhaps They have Their reasons. I don’t know. I only know that I would feel the same whether or not you were of the Blood.” “How do you feel about me?” “That you are the One, the one man fated for me. I sensed it the instant you entered the laboratory compound. I sensed you, and only you. I would share my blood with you if you were nothing more than a beggar on Islat. I love you, Kyr.” Kyr lifted himself on his elbows to study his woman’s face. She was precious to him. “I love you, Aja. I don’t want to leave you alone on Eir-Edan.” Aja’s smile was vague. “You may be coming with me. I’m not quite certain yet. As I said, my plans, my view of the path, is in flux. I’ve seen someone.” Kyr traced the contours of her cheek with his fingers. “Who have you seen?” “Your brother.” “Karna?”

“Yes. He has something for us, something of significance. I’m not yet sure what it is, but I do know that we need to head directly to his depot. We’ll drop Davi there, possibly this ship. I’m sorry. I wish I could be more precise, but your brother has veiled himself somehow and my way is shrouded.” “Is it a trap? Is there a possibility that my brother is being coerced?” “No. There is no man alive who can hide behind this sort of screen. This veil is of the Blood. I just don’t know whose.” Kyr slid over Aja, loving the feel of her taut body and her satin skin beneath him. “Spread you legs, love, and let me in.” Aja did as he demanded, gasping as he entered her. Kyr closed his eyes in pleasure as her body grasped his in a tight embrace. “How much time do we have, love?” “A few days,” she whispered beneath him, “no more.” “Then let’s make the most of them.” “Yes, my love, oh yes.”

To be continued…

Return

Chapter One

“She’s seen me. She’s coming.” “Is my brother with her? Is Kyr alive?” Ennat kept her eyes closed. “A man who resembles you is with Aja. Yes. I can see him. I can see him because he’s had her blood.” The young woman felt some surprise and unease. “He’s had her blood,” she repeated, not quite believing her own words. “What the hells do you mean he’s had her blood? He’s drunk her blood? Do you Royals do that?” Karna snorted. “Of course not,” replied Ennat, opening her eyes to look at the commander. “I simply mean he’s, uh, he’s… my sister has shared her blood with him. He is Blood of her Blood now. They’ve bonded.” “He’s fucked a Princess of the Blood? Is that what you mean to say? My brother has fucked a Princess of the Blood? He’s mad. Kyr must be mad. Or you are imagining things.” Ennat held her tongue. She was tempted to kick the darrok in the shins. “Commander Aram, my sister would not let a man simply fuck her, as you say. If your brother attempted to force himself upon her, she would be more than capable of killing him. I have no doubt that Aja gave herself to your brother of her own accord.” “My brother is an honorable man. I didn’t say that he forced himself upon a Princess of the Blood, I’m saying that he committed a reckless act. Perhaps a treasonous act.” Ennat shrugged. “My sister obviously didn’t think so. Believe me, Commander, she chose him. Once a Princess of the Blood makes such a choice, it is not treason.” “Do you think your mother, The Empress, will share your liberal views?”

“My mother is not here, is she, Commander? She has abdicated in favor of Aja, and she has taken the other members of my family and gone into hiding, so therefore, my mother no longer has any say in the matter. Besides,” Ennat added, “I imagine she knows.” Ennat folded her hands in her lap, eyes following the movements of the tall man as he paced across the room. His braided hair hung to his waist. She watched the braids sway against his muscular back when he turned. “This complicates matters,” he said. “I need Kyr. I need him by my side, as my second in command. No man alive knows the slipways like my brother, no one. He’s essential for ferrying men and supplies and weapons. And he’s the man I want at my back. There is no one else I trust like my brother.” Commander Aram stopped and stared at her. “Can you see these things? Any of these things? Can you tell me what he’ll do?” “No. I’m sorry.” Ennat sighed. “My sister has shielded herself and those with her exactly as I have done with us.” “But you can see into the future, right? You can foretell what will happen, so you can tell me if we’ll win this war.” “Commander Aram, I’ve already explained that I am not a mystic.” Ennat attempted to control her irritation. “I cannot foretell your future, or the future of the Resistance forces, at least, not in the way you wish. The future is not set in stone. It changes as present events change.” “Riddles,” the commander said, and he resumed his pacing. “You speak in riddles. Is your sister as bad as you?” Ennat had tired of the man’s insults. She rose from her seat, her movements abrupt. “I do not need to ask your permission, but out of courtesy, I’m asking to be excused. I’d like to return to my quarters.” The man stood still and stared at her for a moment, as if assessing her, taking her measure. Ennat stared right back, unafraid. She watched his violet pupils dilate, his nostrils flare, and she knew he liked what he saw, but of course he did. The commander was just a man, and a stubborn one at that. Didn’t men always like what they saw when they looked at a woman? She reminded herself that it didn’t matter whether he found her attractive or whether he detested the sight of her. What mattered was the secure haven he’d provided for her and would provide for her sister. Until her sister could get safely away to Eir-Edan. That is one thing Ennat knew with

certainty. Her sister would go to Eir-Edan, while she would stay with the Resistance, as a deadly decoy. A Blood decoy. If their father, General Bom, came for Aja again, he would have to get past her. And unlike Aja, who would kill only if necessary, Ennat was a weapon, born and bred. If someone deserved death, she was prepared to provide it. Their father of the Blood, General Ika Bom, deserved death and Ennat hoped the honor would fall to her. If she could spare her beloved sister the stigma of patricide, she would. Her distinctive gray eyes continued to challenge the man before her. Finally Commander Aram waved her away, as if she were a common ishat. Ennat turned on her heel without a word and left his sitting room. Men. Ennat was devoted to the man she knew as a father, Dua N’ib, and her two older brothers. She’d been friendly with her personal guards; at least they’d given her the respect due a Princess of the Blood. But this man, this Karna Aram, made her boil inside. Whenever she was in his presence, it took every ounce of control she had not to hit him over the head with the closest blunt object. She’d taken a quick read on him when they’d first met. He was plain-spoken, something she normally appreciated, but he was also a man of little patience. Perhaps it was her task to help him see that this war would not be won with brute force but with patience and stealth. Her mother had indicated something along those lines when they’d parted. Ennat dismissed her guards as she entered her small apartment. After having spent a week with Commander Aram, she believed she understood the man quite well. Patience was not her strength either. Aja, on the other hand, was patient and controlled. Ennat had tried her entire life to emulate her older sister, and to some extent, she’d succeeded, at least to all outward appearances, but she preferred action. When her brothers practiced their sword fighting, she had always been in the middle, begging to be allowed to fight with a real blade. As her skills had improved, she’d eventually bested them both. Her brothers had indulged her and never taken offense. They understood the Blood. Ennat knew other men wouldn’t be quite so forgiving. As her mother always said, men are prideful, especially where women are concerned. Thus the coup. Ennat closed the door behind her. Stripping off her gown, she pulled on her loose trousers and a short tunic. Taking care not to cut herself, she removed her double-bladed sword from its

soft bramah-skin sheath. Her brothers teased her all the time about her temper, saying she needed to work off some steam. They’d been right. She did. **** Karna Aram poured himself a drink. In the week the woman had been here on his station, he’d taken to pouring himself a drink several times a day. Ennat might be a Princess of the Blood, but she was the most exasperating woman he’d ever encountered. He couldn’t get a straight answer out of her to save his own life. She was so secretive, so circumspect, except when she looked at him with those gray eyes of hers and then he swore she could see clear though to the depths of his soul. He hoped not. If she did, she’d see that he wanted to bed her so fiercely that it took every bit of self-control he possessed to keep his hands to himself. One did not presume to touch a Princess of the Blood. And now, to hear her claim that his brother was fucking her sister, the woman who would be Empress? Had shared her Blood? By a gack’s shit, he’d like to know how that came about. And what, in great detail, those words meant. Karna tossed the shot of Tisa down his throat, relishing the burn. He poured himself another one. He needed his brother by his side. The Resistance needed his brother’s cunning and his craft. Kyr could find his way through the shadows almost as well as those legendary women pilots, almost as well as their own grandmother, or so he’d heard his father tell it. But if Kyr was bonded to this Aja, that might change things. What had the woman said? The future changes as the present changes? Or some such nonsense? He sipped his Tisa, considering. There was no option. Kyr would stay with him as they’d planned, regardless of what this Aja wanted, and the Resistance would make damn certain no harm came to their new Empress and her sister, the Princess of the Blood, or by the Gods, heads would roll. Karna locked the door to his quarters and walked to his desk. He set his drink on a nearby table before he knelt onto the floor, feeling beneath the bottom drawer, reaching his fingertips into a nearly invisible compartment. He removed the small, sealed package, the package the Empress had entrusted to him. Now that she’d abdicated, he knew clearly what lay within the box. Her ruby ring upon which was engraved the Royal Seal, a bleeding heart. The ring had been handed down from generation to generation since the time of the Empress Ya, three thousand years ago. The ring conferred power onto the woman who wore it. It possessed no intrinsic power of its own, but where the Empress wearing the Royal Seal led, men and women followed,

even to their deaths. To a new solar system. Across the galaxy. Into battle. Through the long centuries, men and women had lived and died for the bearer of the ring. Karna prayed the Gods that this Aja would be worthy of the ring, and do right by her people. Fuck. He’d forgotten to ask the woman when his brother would arrive. This seeing business of hers set him on edge, especially when he was in her presence. There was something about Ennat that disordered his thinking. Maybe it was the way she smelled, rare and precious, like the entire cargo hold of contraband spices he’d once helped Kyr unload when his ship had returned from a run. Perhaps it was nothing more than his imagination, he thought, or the fact that he hadn’t had a woman in months. Maybe he’d simply grown too superstitious, believing too many of the old tales, tales that claimed women of the Blood held a strange power over certain men. Careful, Karna returned the package to its hiding place and rose to his feet. He straightened the weave around his chest, proud of the particular design worn only by a Calen man, just like the long braids—an age-old tradition. Their planet was first settled two thousand eight hundred years ago, the original settlers arriving directly from Persephone, the very first planet to be inhabited by the human race in this new corner of the galaxy. His own history was almost as rich as Ennat’s. He’d go see her, ask her when Kyr would arrive. That, at least, he expected she could tell him. Karna slid the bolt from his door and stepped into the corridor. As he passed the galley, he stopped in his tracks at the sight of Ennat’s guards, the guards he’d himself posted outside her door. As Karna strode into the room, both men made haste to rise and bow before him. “Sorry, Commander, the Lady dismissed us,” the elder of the two spoke up. “And you did as she ordered?” Karna was incredulous. “Yes sir. The Lady Ennat is of the Blood. Sorry sir, but she outranks you.” Karna forced himself to remain civil. “I’m aware of that,” he said through gritted teeth. “However, our duty is to protect her. You’ve left her unprotected.” “No sir, we’ve kept an eye on the corridor. There is only one room at this end of the corridor and it’s hers. We’ve not gone far, sir. If she’ll give us permission, we’ll gladly return to our post.” Karna waved them back into their seats. “I’ll see to her,” he said, irritation making him hoarse. This woman would be the death of him. She needed a good turn over someone’s knee.

Karna was accustomed to ordering men about. Women, rather, a woman on his station who wasn’t a whore or a healer, was unusual to say the least. Karna reminded himself that his mother and grandmother were respectable women and they remembered the days when women and men had equal standing in the eyes of the Empire. He, however, did not. He’d been born a year after the coup. The Lady Ennat was living proof of his own forgotten history and he told himself he would do well to remember that. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his wayward temper. Karna strode down the corridor toward her room, his worn leather boots making muffled clicks against the metal grating. Nearing Ennat’s quarters, he heard the soft hiss of metal from behind her closed door. Karna recognized the sound of a sword cutting through the air. He looked back down the corridor, hoping to catch the guards, but he realized the men must be sitting just out of his line of sight. Drawing his long knife, he approached her room. Godsdamn, if any harm was to come to her while she was under his protection his soul would be forfeit and he’d draw the knife across his own neck. Karna placed a hand on the latch. He turned it, quick as a flash. Throwing open the door, knife raised in his hand, his eyes swept the room. Ennat stood before him, a heavy double-bladed sword lifted in her hands, her lithe, Khalia dancer’s body drenched in sweat, her gray eyes blazing with inner fire. Karna found himself staring, as if against his will, at the rise and fall of her chest. Ennat had removed her formal garb and donned a pair of loose practice trousers and a short tunic. She was barefoot. He could see her nipples through the thin material covering them. They were pink and beaded like moon pearls. His mouth watering, Karna licked his lips. Ennat’s taut abdomen was exposed by the trousers that hung low on her hips. Karna’s eyes followed a drop of sweat, watching it slide from beneath the tunic, traveling along her perfect skin toward what he knew was beneath those trousers, and he found himself harder than he’d ever been in his life. He tore his gaze away from her body, focusing on Ennat’s face. A corner of her mouth turned up and her stormy eyes issued a challenge. “Fight me,” she said. “What?” “I challenge you, Commander Karna Aram. Fight me.”

“I can’t fight a Princess of the Blood. You’re a woman.” Ennat laughed in his face. “What of it? You’re a coward. You don’t wish to be bested by a woman,” she goaded him. Karna laughed right back. “No, I don’t wish to hurt you.” “You couldn’t if you tried,” Ennat spat. “I challenge you,” she repeated, “to pick up a sword. Or would you prefer,” her eyes traveled to his prominent erection, “to use that sword?” Karna’s cock seemed to grow even larger beneath her gaze, although he didn’t know how in the seven hells that was possible. “Give me a sword,” Karna growled in response, “I know you have another sword, I checked your belongings myself when you arrived.” He decided he would teach the ill-mannered woman a lesson, Princess of the Blood or no. “Gladly,” Ennat laughed, and she turned her back to him, setting her sword on the bunk, showing off the flare of her hips and her rounded bottom as she bent down to retrieve her bag. Karna growled again, wanting to pull that bottom of hers against his rock hard shaft, but instead, he shoved the door closed behind him, sticking his knife in the soft wood of the frame. He kicked off his boots and ripped off his stockings. Barefoot was the best way to spar. He set aside his weave and shook out his braids, baring his strong chest. Let her look, let her get her first good look at a Calen man. Ennat turned, sword in hand, and she perused his sculpted torso. She smiled now, appraising Karna. If her eyes were any indication, she looked as though she might prefer to lick him. Strolling across the small room, she presented the sword with both hands, exactly as a man would present a sword to his sparring partner. Karna accepted and bowed. Ennat bowed in return and fetched her own weapon. Lifting her sword in salute, she stood before him. “Come,” Karna heard the teasing lilt in her voice, “Let’s play.” For the first time since he’d met this Princess of the Blood, a grin split the commander’s face. “Let’s,” he replied. The clang of metal rang out as sword hit sword. Karna was a damned good swordsman, but the woman was better. As the two sparred across the room, his breath came in pants and sweat dripped down his body. He’d begun by making it easy for her, merely countering her

blows, but she gave him no quarter and in very little time, he realized Ennat took her swordplay seriously. After suffering a few painful nicks to his arms and chest, Karna fought back. Ennat in motion was beautiful to behold and Karna could tell she would be deadly in a real fight. The two guards he’d assigned came running and burst in upon hearing the noise of battle, but Ennat warned them away on pain of death, ordering them to leave and shut the door behind them. Karna had never imagined a woman could possess such endurance, such strength, such skill with a sword. His respect for the Blood increased immeasurably as she danced him into a corner time and time again. Only once did Ennat seem to yield, but that had been nothing more than a feint. He’d held the point of his sword to her throat, only to look down and discover she’d unsheathed a razor-sharp stiletto and laid it against his femoral artery. She had him bleeding freely from his wrist, both forearms, his shoulders, and he’d sustained several superficial wounds to his chest. Karna had attempted to avoid cutting Ennat, but the woman wouldn’t allow him to treat her any differently than he would treat a male sparring partner, and she too, was bleeding from numerous small injuries. Gods, how he hated to slice into that perfect, creamy, satin skin of hers. At last, Karna held up his sword in surrender. “Enough,” he panted. “I yield.” “You would yield to a woman?” As Karna watched, Ennat wiped a bead of sweat from her cheek with the side of her arm. Her gray eyes gleamed at him. “The great Resistance fighter, Commander Karna Aram yields? How extraordinary. If I hadn’t heard your words with my own ears, I would never have believed such a tale.” Karna had had enough of her taunts. He tossed his sword onto her bunk. Closing in on Ennat, he reached for the blade in her hands. She relented without a word, turning it over to him. Her sword joined his. Ennat stood still before him, panting, eyes glued to Karna’s mouth. She looked at his lips like a starving man looks at a hunk of dryebread. He swore he heard the woman say, “Kiss me,” but her mouth didn’t move. Karna didn’t care. He gripped Ennat’s shoulders hard with his big hands and he lowered his head. “I’m damned to the seven hells for this,” he murmured, his voice raw, as he slanted his mouth over hers. “Damn me with you,” the woman whispered against his lips.

Chapter Two

Ennat lay exhausted in the arms of the man she’d taken as her lover. The anger she’d experienced when she’d lifted her sword had vanished entirely. For the first time in memory, she felt content to remain in the present and leave the future alone. To share her body and her blood, to allow a man to take possession of her like this, now she understood why Aja had done it. She comprehended what it was she’d sensed deep inside Aja when she’d lifted the veil and allowed her sister to see her. It was happiness, even in the midst of so much despair. Who could imagine such happiness? Karna stirred and drew her back against his muscular chest. He’d grown hard again, thrusting himself along the cleft in her bottom. Ennat sensed that he wanted her in this position and she became wet at the mere thought of him taking her from behind. His lips nuzzled the back of her neck and he murmured low in his throat, the sound vibrating against her sensitive skin. His hand reached beneath her head and turned her face just far enough for his lips to reach hers. Karna kissed her then, and her eyes filled with tears. He stretched her arms above her head and shifted her onto her stomach, kneeing her slender thighs apart as he lay between them. The solid weight of the man pressed against her caused Ennat to gasp in anticipation of the exquisite sensation she knew she would feel the moment he entered her. Gods, how she wanted him, how she wanted that man moving inside her again. His fingers slid through her slick folds, gentle this time, not rough, not like the first time when she’d demanded he ravish her and he’d willingly obliged. Ennat whimpered as he thrust a finger inside her tender body. “Can you take me like this, lover?” he asked. “Can you take me again?”

“Yes, please,” she answered in a soft voice. “You’re sore,” Karna said, his talented finger circling her swollen clit. “I’m going to use your knife so you can share with me again. So I won’t hurt you over much, sweetheart.” Obedient, Ennat lowered her arm and opened her palm to him. He sliced her skin with her razor sharp stiletto and then he slid the knife along his own palm. He pressed his palm to hers, sharing the Blood, and he thrust into her with a deep groan. “Gods, you’re tight,” he rasped. A raw sound tore from Ennat’s throat as she tried to accommodate his length, his thickness, the hardness of the man. It hurt, but as they shared the Blood, she shared his sensation and beyond the pain, she experienced pure pleasure, the sort of mind-altering pleasure she imagined the Gods felt when they joined in such a union. As he gripped her bleeding hand tightly in his, Ennat felt Karna slide his free arm beneath her hips. He lifted her bottom from the bunk as he plunged his cock deep. “By the Gods,” his voice was rough in her ear, “You have the most gorgeous ass in the Empire, lover.” Ennat wasn’t capable of responding to his words. Their mingled sensations of pleasure and pain threatened to overwhelm her, driving every coherent thought from her head. “Feel me, lover. Feel me. Come with me,” Karna urged her, “Come with me.” He pumped into her, seating himself to the hilt and then withdrawing nearly all the way, over and over. Feeling Karna grow impossibly harder inside her, Ennat pictured herself on a precipice, allowing his thrusts to push her over the edge. Her inner muscles quivering, she barely managed to swallow a scream before Karna growled and biting the back of her neck, plunged deep, again and again, his seed pulsing hot against her womb. Spent at last, he hung above her for a moment, resting his weight on his elbows, his breathing every bit as ragged as hers. Despite Ennat’s protests, Karna withdrew from her and flipped onto his back. Wrapping a possessive arm around her waist, he swung her around as if she weighed no more than a feather and pulled her on top of him. She listened to his whispered words of comfort in her ear, words of praise, and yes, words of love. Karna held his woman close, both of his big hands roaming her back, her lovely ass, her sides, kneading her shoulders, cupping the back of her head and stroking her long, silky

mahogany hair. He knew what he’d just done. He understood the dangerous position his reckless behavior had placed them both in. Two hours ago, one hour ago, he might have cared. Now, with his fierce Ennat in his arms, Karna didn’t give a Godsdamn. He hadn’t since the moment she’d allowed him to toss her sword on the bunk and her stormy eyes dared him to take her, right then, right there. She didn’t want finesse, a practiced seduction or any of the tenderness due a woman her first time. No, his Ennat had demanded a claiming, a good, hard fucking. And he’d been strung so tight with lust that he did exactly that, fucked her without remorse. He’d stripped her trousers from her, ripped the flimsy tunic in half, laid her on the floor, spread her legs and practically ravished her, the blood of their many wounds, the blood of her innocence, mingling with their sweat as his body covered hers. It was the smell, Karna thought, her smell. The blood, the sweat, the musky perfume of her arousal. Son of a Chigalla, the power of that Blood of hers. The things it did to him. The things it did to her. Karna held his hand above his face, studying his palm. The slice he’d made had healed clean, leaving no mark, as had the rest of his wounds. He pulled Ennat’s palm towards him, studying her hand, running his fingers over her skin. Other than dried blood, she too showed no sign of any injury. He was relieved. Ennat had perfect skin and he’d hated to nick her during their sparring. “Don’t fret,” she murmured, her breath warm against his neck. “It was the right thing to do. We’re stronger together.” “You’ve seen this?” he rumbled. “This is what you meant when you said my brother shared the Blood? I thought it was just a manner of speech.” “Aja showed me the way, Aja and your brother. When you are like us,” Ennat hesitated, searching for the right words, “When you walk down many roads, when you see multiple pathways before you, it’s difficult to stay in the now. It appears that a Blood bond with a man, a particular man, helps. Of course, my mother, the Empress, shared herself with General Bom in addition to her consort.” Karna lifted his head, not quite believing what he’d just heard. “What did you say?” “That my mother shared the Blood with General Bom.” Karna was incredulous. “Why would she do such a thing? Share herself with the man who betrayed her?”

“Don’t be so quick to judge,” cautioned Ennat, stroking the side of his face with light fingers. “It’s very complicated. When you can see many pathways before you there is always a reason for the things you do. She shared her body three times in order to bear three daughters of the Blood.” Karna remained silent for a moment. “Did you just tell me that General Bom is your father?” “Yes.” “Why in the names of all the Gods did she do such a thing? I don’t understand.” Karna sat up, pulling Ennat with him. She leaned back to look into his eyes. “Because an empress must breed with a man of the Royal Blood in order to produce daughters. General Bom is of the Royal Blood. The powers and abilities the Blood provides, the healing, the strength, the prescience, these gifts are passed to women only. The man I call father, Dua N’ib, is not of the Royal Blood. My mother could only give him sons.” Karna rubbed the side of his head. “Why?” Ennat smiled at him. “You sound like a small boy when you ask why. The genes for our special skills are passed only to females. My mother could not bear a male child with our abilities. Any male child like my sisters and me would have died shortly after birth. General Bom has tried to produce sons with our abilities and failed. His sons died. I think it’s one of the reasons he hates us so much.” “So you’re telling me that your mother, The Empress, and you and your two sisters, can choose the sex of your child?” “Yes.” “Ennat, I don’t understand. I’ve taken your blood. Does that mean something? Does that mean I’m of the Blood? What does that mean?” “It means I’ve gifted you with myself. I am a part of you and you are a part of me. If you are in pain or in danger, or if you are happy, I will know. You will heal faster. You will be stronger. Would you rather I hadn’t? Would you rather undo what we’ve done?” Karna saw the tears in her gray eyes, tears she stoically refused to let fall. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. “No, that’s not what I meant at all,” he said, his voice fierce. “I wouldn’t undo a thing except for the pain I caused you.”

“Ah, but you gave me the sweetest of pleasures and you experienced some of the pain along with me, didn’t you?” He grinned. “Yes I did. Odd as it was, I did indeed feel some of that pain. I guess you’ve taken my virginity, then.” Ennat pinched his arm and he laughed. “So, my love, what do we do about this?” Ennat closed her eyes for a moment and Karna wondered if she was allowing her senses to reach beyond the door. “I think we have time, if you like,” she smiled up at him, “before the guards break in. They know what we’ve done. I believe they heard every sound we made. They’re listening now.” Karna flipped the woman onto her back and took a pearly nipple into his mouth. He tongued the hard bead with persistence, hearing Ennat moan in response. He lifted his mouth from her. “You’re referring to those sounds?” Whimpering, she nodded. “Then I suggest we provide them with more listening pleasure.” **** Karna dismissed the guards. He and Ennat took their meal in his quarters. After the intimacy they’d just shared, he found himself unaccountably uncomfortable, on edge. The woman ate in silence, glancing at him from time to time, her eyes veiled. Karna cleared his throat. “I think we should move your things in here,” he said. “Why?” asked Ennat, her spoon poised halfway to her mouth. “Your safety is my primary concern. You’ll be safer in here.” “I am responsible for my own safety, Commander.” Her voice was cool. Karna stared at the woman. “Commander, is it?” “When you give me orders, yes.” “I didn’t give you an order. I merely made a suggestion.” Ennat raised her eyebrows. “Perhaps we should move your things into my cabin. Where I can protect you,” she replied. He knew she baited him. “Woman, you try my patience!” Karna exclaimed. He watched Ennat suppress a grin. She appeared to chew her stew, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Why is that, do you suppose?”

“Because,” Karna tossed his spoon onto the table, “you fight as fierce as any man I know and you fuck like a wild bisha beast. I don’t know what to make of you.” “You’ve had my blood. You know what I am. Make whatever you will of me as long as you stand by my side when we lead your men into battle.” “We?” It was Karna’s turn to raise his brows. “My men won’t see the battle. They will have died laughing at the mere idea of being led by a woman.” “Didn’t you learn anything growing up on Calen? Surely your mother taught you.” Ennat’s voice rose. “My mother, The Empress, led her forces. They would have followed her to their end if she hadn’t agreed to exile. I am of the Blood,” Ennat spat. “I am an instrument of death, born and bred. Use me. This is my destiny. This is why I came to you. If you won’t use me, then kill me.” “But your sister…” Karna sputtered. “Surely she will lead. As Empress, she’ll stand at the head of her troops, as a symbol.” Ennat rose to her feet. “We are not mere symbols. We are Power. You felt it. Deny me. Deny what you felt when you made love to me, when we shared our blood. I want to hear you deny me.” Karna stood and strode around the table. He took her shaking hands in his. “I can’t,” he replied. “I can’t deny what you are, but neither can I bear the thought of you in battle, of your blood spilled before my very eyes,” he tried to smile, “of your beautiful body broken and lifeless.” He looked into Ennat’s eyes and he watched them soften. “Karna,” she said, keeping her voice low, “Don’t borrow trouble. I’m not the Seer my sister is, but I haven’t seen my death, yet. I didn’t even see you coming. You are a complete surprise. Truly, you are a gift from the Gods. I can’t promise that we’ll both be here when this war ends. I can only promise that I am yours for whatever time is given to me.” Karna took her in his arms and held her close. “I swear to you I will do my damndest to keep you alive.” “My life is nothing,” Ennat said, “Freedom is everything.” “Your life is fast becoming everything to me,” Karna said, sliding a finger beneath her chin to tilt her head up for a kiss. “Will this sister of yours know more?” “Yes. I think so. She has the ability to discern a larger pattern. The only thing I know for sure and for certain is that one of us must kill General Bom, and I hope to spare Aja that horror.”

Karna drew Ennat’s head to his shoulder. “My sister has a kind heart,” she added, “I am not quite so generous.” “You are a brave woman, Ennat, and you’re my woman. For now, that will have to do.”

Chapter Three

Aja sat opposite Kyr in the cockpit of the Glory. “We’ll be there soon. A day.” “Have you seen anything more?” Aja glanced at Kyr. She knew where this conversation was going. “No.” “Eir-Edan?” “Yes, Kyr, and if you ask me in five clicks, the answer will be the same. I’m sorry.” He reached across the console and took her hand. “But you don’t know why.” “As I’ve explained, there is someone there I must meet. I don’t know who or why, but I must trust in my Sight. Do you trust me, Kyr? Do you trust me to make the right decision?” He smiled a sad smile. “Do I have a choice? I have to admit I’m flying blind here.” Aja returned his smile with a brightness she didn’t feel. “As am I, my love, as am I. I think we’ll find the answers there, on Eir-Edan. And I think we’ll be safe. Or I’ll be safe, at least for a time. You cannot stay with me, Kyr.” “You are a very bad liar, my little lady. You don’t have a bloody clue what’s going to happen to you on that rock, do you?” Aja laughed despite her anxiety. “No. No idea whatsoever. I only know that something will happen. And I know that I must be there to allow it to happen to me.” Kyr tugged at her and she rose from her seat. He maneuvered her around the control panel and into his lap. With ease he slid his hands beneath her loose sweater. Aja allowed his fingers to roam free across the bare skin of her belly and hips. “We ought to find you some undergarments,” he murmured in her ear, before his lips moved lower, to nuzzle the curve of her neck.

“Why?” Aja responded in a quiet voice, “You’ll just remove them.” “Yes, I will, won’t I? Davi?” Kyr shouted down the companionway, his voice accompanied by Aja’s laughter. “Yes, Captain?” “Can you take the helm?” “Aye, sir.”

Chapter Four

General Bom was tempted to break the man’s neck. As it was, he had to content himself with watching him wince and cower beneath the lash of his tongue. Idiots. He was surrounded by idiots. His spy network had been utterly ineffective in tracing any member of the Royal Family. It was as if the Empress and her consort had vanished from the galaxy, taking their two halfbreed sons with them. As far as his own three daughters, the three renegade, degenerate, unspeakable Abominations were concerned, the only thing he was certain of was that they’d separated and gone to ground. Even his spies scattered among the Resistance forces hadn’t heard a bloody thing. The Coalition had clamped a lid on communications throughout the entire Empire, but word had still spread about the Royal Family’s escape. Talk of revolution was in the air, even in the capital city of Matsu. He’d returned early this morning only to be informed that members of the Civilian Advisory Council had begun to sneak away to their home planets. Fucking cowards. Where the seven hells was Tanne Macob? Traitorous son of a Chigalla! His aide, Sessa, had greeted him with the additional good news that Macob’s family and all their servants had disappeared from their family compound. Now he had no one to torture for information. Not a single associate of Macob’s left. Sessa had bowed so low when he delivered the news that his head was almost between his legs. Bom stuck a booted foot on the man’s backside and shoved him across the room. “Get out,” he thundered, “Get the hells out of my sight!” Bom slammed the door behind the man. He stalked to his desk and jerked open a drawer. Tossing aside a sheaf of papers, he reached for the bottle of twenty-year-old spirits he’d stuck

beneath. He ripped out the corkwood and tipped the bottle to his lips. The liquor had mellowed with age, but the stuff still burned going down. Bom needed the burn, but what he craved even more was the Blood. More Blood. He’d used all that remained of Aja’s, all that his own doctor had provided. Terrified their crimes would be discovered and they’d be executed, the surviving staff at the secret laboratory had burned the facility to the ground. If there had been any of the Abomination’s blood left in the building, it was gone to smoke and ashes. He took another deep swallow of the liquor, and a third, and a fourth. Betrayal, rebellion, the words were anathema to his ears. He’d worked so fucking hard to restore men to their rightful place in the Empire. He’d be damned by the Gods before he’d see his power given to a lowly woman. A woman who was only raised to power in the first place by genetic trickery devised thousands of years ago, during a time when men were puny, emasculated fools. Bom finished the bottle and tossed it against the wall. It shattered into a hundred sharp shards of clear glass. He dropped heavily into his chair and closed his eyes. Dreamless sleep would be welcome. A solution would be even better. From a distance, he heard a soft, scraping sound, as if someone swept up the broken glass. He tuned it out, too drunk to care. “You are mistaken, father.” “What?” Bom pried his eyes open. “The fight is not over. Not yet.” “Who…?” “Why, father, you don’t know me? The greatest of your three creations? Blood of your Blood?” Bom tried to focus his bleary eyes on the young woman standing beside him. She held something clenched in her hand. Gods, I’m drunker than I thought. The girl smiled at him. The smile held only malice, chilling him to the bone. Ika Bom began to shiver involuntarily and he closed his eyes, trying to shut out the sight of this particular drunken vision. “Open your eyes, father. Open your eyes and your mouth and watch while I feed you. You want Our Blood, yes? Then you shall have Our Blood, the Blood of your true Abomination.” Without success, Bom tried to focus his thoughts. He felt his mouth fall open despite his brain’s order to keep it closed. His eyes widened.

The girl showed him her palm and Bom could see that she held a piece of glass. He watched, helpless, as she sliced deep into her wrist. She grabbed his hair and tilted his head back to let a trickle of her dark red blood drip into his open mouth. Bom gagged, trying to use his tongue to spit it out, but she stopped him with a mere shake of her head and he was forced to swallow it, like an animal, like a cannibal, like a Gods cursed Chigalla. “There, there, father. You’re not finished yet. You have a task ahead of you. And you need my Blood to complete it.” She smiled again, that same chilling smile. “As the ancients said, be careful what you wish for, you might just get it. You wished for this, father. Enjoy the fruits of your labors.” “General,” someone shook him, someone he would kill when he could open his eyes. “General, wake up. You’re injured. Your mouth is bleeding. You must have fallen.” Bom pried his eyes open and rubbed his mouth. With blurred vision, he looked at the back of his hand, seeing bright red blood. He moved his tongue around gingerly, but he didn’t feel any open wound or a sore spot. He tried to focus on the face before him, but his vision was clouded and his head spun in a sickening motion. Ignoring the man leaning over him, Bom forced himself onto his hands and knees and scrambled to his feet on shaking legs. He stumbled towards the doorway. “I’ve been poisoned,” he groaned, “Get me to the infirmary. Someone has poisoned me.” His assistant grabbed him by the shoulders and called for the guards. The three men dragged him to the infirmary, yelling for help as they rushed through the corridor. Bom twisted on the exam table, groaning while the medic in charge looked him over. “You haven’t been poisoned, General,” said the medic, “unless by poisoned you mean that you drank too much too fast.” “I swear someone was in my office. I swear someone poured something down my throat.” “General, your aid found a smashed liquor bottle in your office. It was empty. With all due respect, sir, you poured the contents of that bottle down your throat yourself. Your aid was right outside your office. Nobody came in or went out.”

“No. You’re mistaken. There was somebody with me. A girl, my, my,” he couldn’t bring himself to say the word. “A girl was there. She made me,” Bom swallowed hard and tried not to gag, “she made me drink her blood.” Bom watched the medic hide his grin. If he wasn’t so deathly ill, he would have called the man out then and there and slaughtered him. “No, sir, there was no girl in your office. I’m going to give you something to settle your stomach and then I suggest you sleep it off in the next room. I’ll station two guards outside the door if you wish.” Bom gritted his teeth. “Yes. Fine. Give me some medicine. I’ll sleep it off. No guards. Guards aren’t necessary.” General Bom swallowed the two capsules and retired to the adjoining room. He shut the door behind him and lay on the cot, an arm over his eyes, his stomach roiling. What the seven hells had happened? Had he suffered some sort of alcohol-induced hallucination? He’d drunk much more on many occasions and never experienced anything of the sort. That girl, she was so young. No more than sixteen or seventeen. She resembled the other one, Aja, his older daughter, but the eyes, her eyes were different. Every woman of the Royal Blood had the same gray eyes, every single one. But her eyes, the memory made Bom shiver, had been red. A dark, scarlet red, the color of the blood she’d dripped into his mouth. No, he shook his head hard to clear it, he’d dreamed her. He’d drunk the liquor while he was thinking about the Blood and he’d dreamed the entire episode. That was the only possible explanation. It was the only thing that made any sense. He’d passed out, fallen and hit his mouth against his desk. If she’d walked into his office, she would have had to somehow slip past a hundred handpicked Coalition guards he’d stationed throughout the building, in addition to avoiding his secretary in the outer office. At the very least, she’d have registered on the security vids. It simply wasn’t possible. Women of the Blood possessed certain abilities, but they couldn’t appear out of thin air. They were the result of genetic enhancement and centuries of selective breeding, creatures of science, not magic. No, he was merely drunk, and the girl had been a nightmare brought on by stress, a lack of sleep, space travel, and maybe, just maybe, a side effect of the Blood. Yes, the more he thought of it, the more convinced of that he became. No question about it. The doctors had warned him injecting the Blood directly into his brain could have unexpected side effects. He

would indeed sleep it off and in the morning, he’d call together his military commanders and they’d declare martial law and tighten the screws on the Resistance everywhere.

Chapter Five

“Oh, Gods…” Aja climbed over Kyr’s naked body. Leaping out of his bunk, she barely made it to the head where she dropped to her knees and vomited repeatedly into the bowl. Kyr rushed after her and knelt alongside, supporting her with strong arms as her body was wracked with spasms. “What the hells is going on?” he asked. “Is this the virus? Were you wrong about it? Fuck, Aja, what is this?” Aja moaned in response, clutching her abdomen. For no apparent reason, she’d grown as pale as the snows on the mountains of his home planet. Kyr ran for a blanket and wrapped it around her. He carried her back to bed and yelled for Davi. His first mate came at a run, stopping short in the doorway to Kyr’s cabin. “By the Gods,” he exclaimed. “What the hells happened? Captain? Kyr? She looks like death.” Aja sat up and opened her eyes. For an instant, she stared into the distance, seemingly sightless, then she turned in Kyr’s direction, shifting her empty gaze between one man and the other. As a choking sound escaped Davi’s lips, Kyr held his a breath. Aja’s beautiful gray eyes had changed. The pupils were red—a deep scarlet, blood-red. Then, as fast as it had appeared, the red color vanished and Aja was back. Kyr could tell by her expression that she could see them both. Her body slumped against his. “What has she done?” she mumbled, “My Gods, what has she done?” “Who?” Kyr demanded.

“My sister.” “Ennat? Has something happened to Ennat? Is my brother all right?” No, not Ennat, my other sister, our youngest sister, Tem.” Aja’s breath came in pants. “By the Gods, Kyr, break com silence. Contact your men. Get them off Kesa, now. In six days, the Coalition will impose martial law and they will restrict all interplanetary travel to military vessels only. Anyone attempting to leave the atmosphere of any planet will be shot down on sight. Tell your men to get their families to safety and then meet you at your brother’s station. She’s bought us some time. My sister has bought us time.” “What of my brother?” “He’ll know. Ennat will tell him. She knows. She knows just as I do. General Bom is marked. Tem has marked him and we will know where he goes and what he does. Because of Tem, we can stay one step ahead of him.” Kyr and Davi glanced at each other. “Marked him?” asked Kyr. “How?” “I can’t explain,” Aja replied, her eyes glistening with tears. “If I tell you what she’s done, you’ll fear me. You won’t understand and you’ll hate me. You’ll hate every Woman of the Blood.” Kyr drew Aja close. “I could never hate you and I don’t fear you. What has she done?” “She’s gone forward in time. She’s changed herself, manipulated the Blood. She’s stronger now, more powerful than I could have imagined. She’s made Bom,” Aja looked as if she would be sick again, “She made him drink her blood. Now I will know. Ennat will know what he plans. Tem has marked him so that we can follow him wherever he goes. She’s done it for the Resistance. She’s turned herself into something else, something I don’t ever want to become. Oh Gods!” Aja allowed her tears to fall. “She’s just a child.” “Aja,” Kyr spoke her name, placing his lips against her wet cheeks, “Can you pilot? We need to get to my brother’s station as quick as possible. You can get us there faster than either Davi or I can.” Aja nodded. “Yes. I’ll get us there.” She gazed around the small cabin as if seeing it for the first time. “My clothes? Where are my clothes?” Davi backed out of the room while Kyr helped her to dress. “I don’t know when we can be together like this again,” said Aja.

“I know,” Kyr replied. “I accept that.” He followed Aja down the companionway. They entered the cockpit. Aja took over the controls from Davi, who was already attempting to contact the men on Kesa. “Buckle up, boys,” she said, her mouth set in a grim line, her cheeks still streaked with tears. “It’s going to be a bumpy ride.” **** Karna called after Ennat. In the middle of a conversation, she’d turned on her heels and sprinted from the galley. He found her in his apartment, in the head, vomiting her guts out. “Get the medic on the com, now,” he yelled to the guards, “the Lady Ennat’s been poisoned!” He dropped to his knees beside her and held her trembling body as she wretched again and again until all she could bring up was spit. When at last she collapsed against him, he lifted her from the floor and carried her to his bunk. She lay still, eyes closed, skin clammy, pale as the snows of Calen in the deepest winter. “Ennat, the medic is on his way. Tell me what this is. Do you know? What can I do to help you? Gods, Ennat, tell me. I’ll do anything.” The woman let out a strangled cry and her eyes flew open. Karna nearly jumped off the bed. Her pupils were red, a deep, dark, scarlet-blood red and he could tell she couldn’t see him, couldn’t hear him. It was as if she wasn’t even in the room with him. His heart began to pound and he feared for her life, listening to her gasp for air as if someone had opened the vents and sucked out the oxygen. “Medic!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. He heard the glorious sound of boots on the mesh floor. Grasping Ennat by the shoulders, he gave her a quick shake. “Stay with me,” he ordered her. “You can’t leave me now. Get your sweet ass back here, woman.” As he watched, Ennat’s eyes closed and she went limp in his arms, just as the two guards and the medical team reached the door. “She vomited and then passed out,” he informed them. “And her eyes, there’s something wrong with her eyes, they’re bleeding. I don’t think she can see me.” “I see you, Karna,” he heard Ennat’s weak voice. She opened her eyes. Relieved, he saw that they’d returned to their normal gray color, the same color of the Royal Blood. The chief medical officer held her wrist, feeling for her pulse. “What happened, my Lady? Did you eat something, anything other than what the men ate? Drink anything?”

“No,” Ennat replied, her voice soft. “No, nothing. That’s not it. I’ve not been poisoned. I’m sorry to have frightened everyone.” She looked into Karna’s face, eyes pleading with him for understanding. “Please leave,” she said, “I need to speak with the Commander. Alone.” She pulled her wrist from the medic’s hands. “I’ll be all right.” Karna hesitated, looking her over from head to toe, not certain he believed her. “In truth, I’ll be well in a few moments. It’s not what you think. I’m not sick. Commander, please. I must speak with you.” “All right,” Karna agreed, reluctantly. “Leave us, but stay close. If she becomes ill again, I want you here in a heartbeat.” “Shut the door behind you,” Ennat added. The men left and did as she requested. Karna turned back to Ennat and folded his arms across his chest. “Explain clearly. No riddles. No rhymes. I want to hear the truth from those lips of yours. What just happened?” “My sister has done something terrible. She’s no longer, no longer…” Ennat covered her face with her hands. “Your sister, Aja? With my brother? What has she done?” Karna’s voice rose. “Are they alive? Answer me, Ennat. Do they live?” “Not Aja. My younger sister, Tem. She’s gone ahead.” “Ahead?” “Yes, ahead, into the future. She’s not, Gods, she’s no longer one of us. She’s become something else. Something she shouldn’t be. She’s changed the Blood.” “You can’t do that,” said Karna, rubbing his temple. “You can’t travel through time, like that. Can you?” “No. I can’t. It’s possible Aja can, but she would never do such a thing. Tem did this somehow, and she’s marked General Bom. I can hear his thoughts. I know what he plans to do and when he plans to do it.” “How? Marked him, how?” “She made him,” Ennat gagged, “she made him drink her blood.” Karna grimaced. “You mean, like a Chigalla? Like a cannibal? She made him eat her flesh?”

“No, no not like a cannibal. I don’t entirely understand, but, Karna, the General is sick. He’ll be sick for six days and when those six days are over, he and the Ruling Council will declare martial law and interplanetary travel will be banned as Coalition forces go from system to system, hunting down the Resistance. You must contact the Resistance leaders immediately. The other commanders must organize their men and get everyone to safety, or we lose before we even begin the fight. Karna,” Ennat reached for his hand, “No riddles, my love. No rhymes. This is the Gods’ truth. Please, believe me and get your men out of harm’s way. Tem has paid a terrible price to buy us time. I’m begging you, don’t waste it.”

Chapter Six

Karna grasped his brother’s arm in greeting. Kyr looked good. Despite everything, he looked Godsdamned good. “That was some landing, brother. When did you learn to drop like that?” Kyr laughed. “It wasn’t me. It was Aja. She’s quite the pilot.” Karna stared at his brother. “You allowed her to pilot the Glory? Your pride and joy? You trusted her to a woman?” “Why the hells not? She’s the better flyer. She got us here quick enough. And quick was essential, as I imagine you already know.” “Little brother, I never thought I’d see the day that a woman would come before your ship.” Kyr clapped Karna on the back. “Aja’s not just any woman. Surely you’ve spent enough time with her sister to know that. Besides, I trust her with more than my ship.” Karna looked up the gangway. “Where’s my friend, Davi?” “Ah, in the head, I imagine. He hasn’t managed to accustom himself to Aja’s, uh, quick turns.” “The man was practically raised in space and he’s got the motion sickness?” Karna was incredulous. “Let Aja take you for a ride, or Ennat, see how you manage.” Kyr studied his brother and he grinned. “Or will you manage quite well? You’ve had her, haven’t you? I can smell her on you.” Kry laughed. “It changes a man, you know.” Karna sputtered for a moment.

“Relax, Commander,” said his brother, his voice affable. “Been there myself. Hard to resist once they set their minds to something, or someone, aren’t they?” “Where is she?” asked Karna, changing the subject. “She’s talking to her sister about what happened. Aja said you had word.” “Yes. This younger sister of theirs, this Tem, did something. Marked Bom somehow so they know what he’s planning. I’ve contacted all the Resistance leaders. They’re moving their forces to safe havens as we speak. Your men?” “On their way here,” answered Kyr. “Should be no more than two, three days. If we had more pilots like Aja and her sister, we could flash from system to system in no time. They can fly through the Tionay Nebula.” “Like the stories da used to tell of our grandmother, eh?” “These aren’t stories. Women of the Blood are stunners.” “Gran wasn’t of the Blood,” Karna scoffed. “So you say. Aja will set you straight on that. I’m surprised Ennat hasn’t already said something.” “In truth, the subject hasn’t come up.” “Been busy with weightier matters I take it, big brother?” Karna finally allowed himself a grin. “You might say that.” He glanced over Kyr’s shoulder. His eyes followed the two women with interest. “For some reason, I expected they’d look alike, but aside from the eyes and hair, they’re very different.” Aja, tall and slender, was leaner than the more petite Ennat. Both women moved with a feline grace, but while Aja’s power seemed contained, Ennat’s feminine muscles rippled just beneath her silky skin, and she had that shapely ass Karna couldn’t seem to stop lusting after. Kyr put an arm around Aja. “My Lady, may I present Commander Karna Aram, Resistance leader and my brother. He is sworn to support your family to the death.” Aja bowed. “I am honored, Commander, and I thank you for providing my family sanctuary.” “The honor is mine, My Lady.” Karna bowed and extended his arm as his guards followed his lead and bowed low. “Allow me to escort you inside.” He added in a quiet voice, “We can speak in private. Your sister tells me you will not be staying long.”

Aja nodded. Accepting the commander’s arm, she allowed him to lead her inside. Karna heard his brother instruct the men to send Mr. Fedd along when he felt well enough to make an appearance, and then he followed with the Lady Ennat. **** After arriving, Aja had bathed and changed and, along with Kyr and the Lady Ennat, hosted a formal meal with the commander and his military advisors. Aja played the uncomfortable role of gracious Royal. She hated every minute of it; she was not cut out for politicking. Her mother could play these games; she’d always enjoyed them, while Aja detested them. Her time remaining with Kyr was short and they had only a small window of opportunity to say what had to be said and do what had to be done before she must be on Eir-Edan. Of course, she kept her plans from the military leaders. They assumed she and her sister would remain here, as their honored guests, their protected wards, titular heads of the Resistance forces. If so, they were dipping their bread in cabba oil. If the Resistance forces were to have any chance of success over the Coalition, she and Ennat would have to lead the troops themselves. Men, so prideful, so patronizing, even when attempting to restore a female monarch to the throne. As soon as she could honorably excuse herself, Aja accompanied Karna to his private quarters. Aja watched with interest as Karna knelt down before his desk and reached beneath. He pulled out a small, wrapped box. “No,” said Aja, shaking her head and backing away, “No. I will not do it. How dare she? How dare she abdicate? How dare she ask me to accept this? I am not the Empress nor do I have any desire to take the throne.” Karna rose to his feet. “My Lady,” he said, “Please. Hear me out. She sent a message for you. I am to repeat her words exactly.” Aja knew she was trapped. Her mother wouldn’t have abdicated without a good reason, but she didn’t want this. She’d been born with power, but she hadn’t sought it. Her power, her abilities did not come through the grace of the Gods, her abilities came with their own built-in, self-perpetuating demonic curse and if she could flee her many destinies, she would without hesitation. At last Aja sighed. “Speak your piece.”

Karna closed his eyes. He shaped the words with care. “Aja, Blood of Our Blood, Our eldest daughter, We send you our love and blessings. We beg you to take this ring of power and assume the throne in exile. For the good of the Empire, We must withdraw and leave matters in your hands. We regret this decision, child, but Our destiny lies elsewhere. We know you journey to Eir-Edan. We cannot protect you there. The ring alone gives your mission a chance of success. Tell Our supporters We are with them in spirit and We pray the Gods for victory.” Aja backed up until her thighs hit something. Fortunately, it was a bunk. She sat, holding out her hand, palm up. “Give it over.” “My Lady, surely it should be presented to you before your loyal generals.” “Fuck that, Karna. Give me the ring and if you call me My Lady one more time, I’ll bash you in the nose. My name is Aja and I’m bonded with your brother. And I know you know exactly what that means. So drop the formality and skip the protocol.” Karna approached and set the small box in her open palm. “Please tell my generals to wait in the galley, Commander. I’ll be along presently to speak with them.” Karna bowed and headed toward the door. “Bow again and I’ll kick your ass.” She heard Karna chuckle. “Please send for Kyr. I want to tell him myself.” Aja had changed into battle fatigues and strapped her jeweled knife to her leg. She’d undone her traditional braid and left her long, mahogany hair loose and flowing. Let her men see her as she really was, their warrior queen, born and bred. She headed to the galley, her lover at her side. Let them see him too. Let them see his hand on the hilt of his sword. Her heart took courage knowing that Kyr was prepared to come to her aid in an instant. He would die for her without hesitation. Faces full of curiosity turned in their direction as she entered the room. Her sister Ennat, lethal without even a single weapon on her person, moved to join her, as did Commander Aram, a pistol gripped in his hand, a sword worn openly at his side. All eyes widened as Aja marched straight through the men and leapt, barefoot, onto a table. She held up her left hand and with great dignity, turned completely around, displaying the Royal Ring to all. The enormous uncut ruby in the rough shape of a heart, set in a thick, red-gold

band, could not be mistaken for anything else. The gold had been mined and smelted on their ancient home world, Earth. The ring had been carried, along with the ruby, by the Empress Ya when she led her followers to Persephone. The ruby had been fitted to the band after her death and passed from Empress to Empress over the centuries. Aja surveyed the room. She took a reading of the heart of every man standing before her, those who met her eyes and those who turned their gaze aside. She caught sight of Davi Fedd standing near her sister. His hand, too, rested loosely on the hilt of his long knife. His courage and his loyalty warmed her heart. “Commander Aram,” Aja said, “Please remove Captain Sisil and General Faya and escort them to the brig. They are traitors.” As Karna and his men made their way through the room, angry voices rose in protest. Aja glanced at her sister, who gave a slight nod and moved to stand beside the door. “Gentlemen, forgive me. There is little time so I say to you now, shut the seven hells up.” Aja had no patience for their muttering. This was not the time to show weakness. She glared around the room and one by one, the men fell silent. “I am your Empress. I never lie. If I tell you these men are traitors, then they are traitors and they will bring about our deaths, given half a chance. You have lived too long with the lies of the Coalition to recognize the truth when it stands before you. In thirty years, some of you have forgotten what it means to be led by a Woman of the Blood. Perhaps you were expecting no more than a pretty face. I give each and every one of you much credit, for you’ve remained loyal to a dream. But be careful what you wish for, gentlemen. I am no dream. I read your hearts. I see your futures. I will fight your battles. I will spill my Royal Blood for you without hesitation.” Aja lowered her hand. “But I am no tyrant. Any man here who wishes to leave, who does not like what he sees, who believes the dream he has held onto has become a nightmare in his eyes, that man is free to walk out the door. My sister will not stop you. Commander Aram will not stop you. My consort, Captain Kyr Aram, will not stop you. You will be escorted home and allowed to live your life in peace… in whatever peace the Coalition allows you.” “Then it’s true, you can see the outcome, you can tell us what will happen,” a voice called out. “I am certain there will be a battle,” Aja replied, “I am not yet quite as certain of the outcome. That depends upon you. And gentlemen, know this, there will be a battle whether I am

with you or no. Unfortunately for you,” Aja gave her men a small smile, “I suspect your chances of winning this war are greater under my guidance and the leadership of my sister, the Lady Ennat, than they will be without us. Now, there are things I must do, and the Resistance forces must be readied. You, gentlemen, have very little time to choose. Will you fight alone? Or do you accept Our guidance and Our leadership? I will not make the choice for you. I am not General Bom. The monarchy will end this day if that is your decision.” Aja leapt down, her movements graceful and deadly as a man-eating feline. “Choose,” she demanded. “You have one turn.” She strode from the room followed by Ennat and Kyr. Commander Aram stayed behind. “Ennat,” Aja took her sister’s hand, very aware that Kyr paced right outside her door. “If I fail to return from Eir-Edan, you must lead them, but only if the men are willing to accept you. If not, take Karna and Kyr and their friend, Davi Fedd, and flee. Promise me you will save yourself because there is a danger they won’t leave any of us alive after this. And I think,” she strengthened her resolve, “I think if that happens, after what Tem has done, you will be the last of our line.” “You will return, Aja.” Tears rolled down Ennat’s face. The two sisters were only a year apart in age. “Have you seen this?” Aja asked, her fingers tracing the tears on her sister’s cheeks. “No. I wish it.” Aja smiled at her words. “Don’t let sadness take you, little sister. You have a handsome lover and he can protect you. He is of the Blood and he can give you many children. Have faith. I’ve seen you in old age, surrounded by your family. Remember, there has never been any middle ground for me. Either I will return with what I seek and we will be reunited, or I will be dead.” “You will not be dead,” Ennat said, her voice fierce. “I will find you and resurrect you.” “No.” Aja shook her head. “Promise me you will never do such a thing. I do not want to be a god,” stated Aja, “and neither do you. I fear our Tem has crossed that line. I thought it would be me, but when I saw what she’d done, even though I want him dead as much or more, I was appalled. Did you feel it too, the horror at her act?”

“Yes.” Ennat shuddered. “It should be me who kills him, kills him cleanly in combat. This way is foul.” Aja laughed. “And here I worried I would do the deed. It seems we are all three bent upon killing our father. Tem has already succeeded. General Bom just doesn’t realize it yet.” “Perhaps we should have left it to mother,” Ennat cried, “I think it’s not fair to visit the sins of the parents upon the children.” “You know,” said Aja, “I think the saddest thing of all is that there was love in him once. In his own selfish way, he loved her, but she spurned him for Dua N’ib.” Kyr entered. He spoke to both women, but his eyes looked only at Aja. “We haven’t much time,” he said. Aja glanced at her sister. “Ennat…” “Yes, I’ll go find Karna and leave you two alone, but what did you mean when you said, he’s of the Blood?” Kyr took Aja in his arms. “Ask my brother about our grandmother, what she did before the coup.”

Chapter Seven

Kyr shoved her against the wall. There was very little time and he didn’t want to waste it. He unbuckled the sheath she’d strapped onto her leg, tossing her knife onto the bunk. He reached for her tunic next. Aja lifted her arms and her tunic flew across the room. Kyr’s rough hands palmed her bare breasts, feeling her nipples pebble beneath his touch. It was one of the many things he loved about the woman, her dislike of undergarments. He wrapped his mouth around an erect nipple and sucked, rocking his hard cock against her. He had to have Aja, now. It won’t be for the last time, he swore silently. If necessary, he would hold her himself, hide her away from all political intrigue, from the danger she faced. He would even brave her own strong, stubborn, pig-headed, royal will to keep her safe. Aja groaned and Kyr’s cock swelled even more at the sound, although it seemed near impossible to be any harder than he already was. He needed to bury himself in her. Make her his at least once more. He knew Aja possessed quicker reflexes than he did. He knew she was stronger. He knew she was the better pilot. But Kyr didn’t feel threatened by her. He understood the battle Aja waged every moment to remain in control, and he knew it was only in his arms that she could lose herself. Only when he was holding her could she let go of all that power and simply be. Become a simple woman making love with her man. His fingers deftly unlaced her trousers as his mouth moved from her nipple to her face. Kyr licked Aja’s lips and she opened for him. He wasted no time in thrusting his tongue inside. Gods, she tasted sweet and her mouth was hot, silky and wet. His hands slid down the velvety skin of her belly. His fingers found their way inside her. She was aroused and ready and she

whimpered into his mouth. Kyr felt her legs brush his as she stepped out of her trousers. Her hands were on him, freeing him, touching the weight of him. Her fingers slipped along his length. Her thumb rolled over the head of his cock, spreading a drop of his own moisture around the thick head. Kyr growled and braced her back against the wall, lifting her by her hips. He pressed his cock into her opening and he pushed himself against her, but Aja was tight and tense, so tight he nearly came despite the fact that he was barely inside. “Let me in, lover,” Kyr’s rasped. “Let. Me. In.” Aja gasped and her head lolled back. “Oh, Gods Kyr, you’re too big in this position.” “You can take me,” he replied. Without mercy, he thrust inside her, inch by inch, as she panted and clawed at his back and shoulders. When he had seated himself as far as he could, he rested his forehead against hers, panting. For a moment, Kyr held perfectly still. He wanted to last long enough to share their blood. He shifted her weight, holding her with one arm beneath her bottom while he slid his knife from its sheath with his other hand. “Aja,” he growled, “Cut me. Cut me.” Without hesitation, Aja took the knife from his hand and slid it across her palm. She did the same to his. Kyr heard the knife hit the floor. He kicked it out of the way as Aja held tight to his hand, mingling their blood. Kyr roared as he took her, hard now, thrusting without finesse. A primitive, a warrior claiming the spoils of war. There was no mistake. It was war now, whether war for the survival of the Empire or a fight for their lives. Aja called out his name, over and over again. “Come with me, love,” Kyr gritted out. “I’m waiting for you. I will always wait for you. Come with me.” “Yes. Oh yes. Kyr, I love you, oh Gods, I love you,” Aja cried as she shattered. Kyr bruised her lovely mouth with his punishing kisses. He exploded inside her, falling to his knees, holding her tight, Aja clinging helplessly to him. “I love you, Aja. Gods help me, I fucking love you more than life itself.”

Kyr carried Aja to the bunk and lay down with her still wrapped in his arms. His hands caressed her, gentled her. His lips kissed her. She didn’t want him to stop, she didn’t ever want him to stop, but she could hear their voices as clearly as if they stood in the room, as if they stood at the foot of the bunk. Some of the men had joined the Resistance for the romance, for the romantic, chivalrous notion of saving a helpless woman. What was it the ancients used to cry out? Gods save the Queen? Some had joined out of a sense of righteous anger at the freedoms they and their women folk had lost. Others had joined forces with the Resistance because they smelled a profit to be made. Then there were the old-timers, the men who simply wanted things back the way they were. The way they’d been for thousands of years. She knew now who would prevail. She could see it. Aja sighed and nestled closer to Kyr. “We leave soon,” she said, her voice soft, “Unless you’d prefer to stay here. I can fly alone.” Kyr tightened his embrace. “Then it’s decided?” “More or less.” “Where you go, love, I go. I’ve already made that clear.” “But you must hurry back and help your brother. We have five days left before they marshal their forces.” “Aja…” “No discussion. We talked it to death on the way here.” “Aja…” “Your Empress commands you,” Aja laughed, “no further discussion.” Kyr flipped her over onto her back. “Trying to scare me?” “No, trying to kiss you again because I don’t know when—” “Shut the seven hells up, then,” Kyr’s grin was full of mischief, “and kiss me.” **** Ennat reached over and closed Karna’s mouth. “By a gack’s shit, is that how all you women fly?” “Of course. You’ve never flown with a woman of the Blood. You must try it.”

“I’ve heard stories of my gran, but I didn’t believe them. I thought my father was simply telling tales.” “Your gran?” Ennat’s eyes opened wide. “That was what Kyr meant? She was a pilot?” “Yes. She flew the route between Calen and Matsu.” Ennat closed her eyes and reached out. “How did I miss it?” “Miss what?” “Your smell. I should have smelled it. You are of the Blood. Why didn’t I know this?” Karna laughed. “I should hope I don’t smell like you. You smell too pretty.” “Karna, I’m not teasing. Only a woman of the Blood can fly between Calen and Matsu through the Tionay Nebula. That’s the route she took, isn’t it?” “So says my da.” “Let’s test it,” said Ennat with a grin. “Fly with me and we’ll see if you’re of the Blood. Let’s take the Glory to the repair station. I’ll pilot.” “You’ll pilot?” “Of course. You saw Aja take off in that tiny craft. You watched her flash right above our heads. Exactly who do you think trained with whom? Your brother seems to have no problem with her, with the way we fly.” Karna considered her words for a moment. He wasn’t so certain his stomach would hold up to those turns. He had no desire to appear less than a man in front of his woman. Davi Fedd had described at length how sick he’d been with Aja at the controls. “All right, just let me settle—” “It’s all settled, they’re all settled. They’ll be leaving to gather their troops. Arms shipments won’t arrive until tomorrow. Let’s have a bit of fun together.” Karna raised an eyebrow. “What we do in my bunk isn’t enough fun for you?” Ennat laughed. She reached for his hand. “Oh yes, that is most very fun. But I haven’t flown in weeks and I love flying. It’s so thrilling, so exhilarating. Please. Please, Karna, fly with me.” “Now you sound like a woman begging for a new gown.” “Hah,” scoffed Ennat, “As if a gown matters to me. I’d rather be dressed like you. Your weave is far more comfortable than this clothing. I hate formal garb. I find it so restrictive.”

Karna dragged her against him. “Restrictive? I like the way it restricts certain parts of your anatomy. But I must say, I didn’t notice you putting on any undergarments. All I need do is pull up that skirt…” “Stop trying to distract me.” “But it’s working, isn’t it?” Ennat couldn’t deny that it was indeed working. She felt wet between her legs at the mere idea of Karna lifting her skirt and thrusting inside her. She swallowed hard, seeking Karna’s violet eyes. She found him staring down at her exposed cleavage. Her breathing grew ragged and without thinking, she shoved her breasts forward, giving him a more pronounced view. What is this thing, she wondered as Karna tugged her toward his quarters, that happens between a man and a woman? This unconscious desire, this lust that seems to increase even more once you’ve shared the body and the Blood? All Karna had to do was look at her in a certain way and her knees felt weak. She, whose knees had never been weak in all her born days. Her nipples peaked, her belly clenched deep down, she felt hot and cold at the same time, simply because a man looked at her. Not a man, this one, this very specific, very arrogant, very irritating man. **** They reached his cabin and he kicked the door shut behind them. Karna’s nostrils flared with raw desire. He was blunt. “I can smell your heat. Gods, it smells like you’re on fire for me. Let me feel.” Ennat didn’t protest as his big hands lifted her skirt and his palms slid upward along the inside of her thighs. He heard her gasp as he spread her legs with a knee and slid a finger through her wet folds, penetrating her. First one finger and then two. He watched her head fall back against the wall as though it was too heavy for her to hold upright. Karna brushed his thumb over her clit, rubbing slow, persistent circles around the swollen nub. With their blood connection, he swore he could feel the sparks of electricity his actions were sending through her entire body. He felt Ennat’s legs shake against his. She was becoming boneless, spineless, just as he’d intended. She’d forgotten all about flying.

“Stand up, woman. Don’t you dare fall. I’m not done with you. You’re going to come for me, like this,” he whispered, his voice hoarse with desire. “Then you’re going to come against my mouth. And then I’m going to turn you around and fuck you from behind and you’re going to come with me buried inside you.” Ennat whimpered like a kitten and Karna knew he had her. She was trapped by her own desire for him, exactly the way he’d been trapped by her the moment she’d challenged him to fight. He pictured her, sword raised, drenched in sweat, eyes on fire with sexual tension, the epitome of a mythical warrior woman. “You may be able to best me with a sword or a knife, you may be the better pilot, but woman, you can’t do this. This belongs to me. You belong to me, Ennat. Never forget it. And,” he laid his lips against her ear again, “Remember, always leave off the undergarments.” Ennat managed to groan three words, “Fucking male chauvinist.” “Yes I am,” Karna was unrepentant. “And that’s why you love me. You may be able to slice me six ways to Solsday on the battlefield, but,” he pressed his erection against her, “only I can do this to you.”

Chapter Eight

Aja sat in the co-pilot’s seat, but she flew the small craft Karna had loaned them. She’d specifically requested something faster and more maneuverable than the Glory. Besides, Kyr’s ship needed a skin job. Karna had come through with a Ranger. It was an older model than she had flown back home, but it still had the same power and the same skid. Aja loved the Rangers. As the ancients said, they could turn on a dime, whatever a dime was. She’d wasted no time in getting them to Eir-Edan. A day there, three days back for Kyr. He should make it to his brother’s depot with time to spare. Aja didn’t want him caught out alone in the blackness of interstellar space once martial law was declared. Her Sight told her Bom still hovered near death and the government waited in a state of near-paralysis to see if he would live or die before deciding upon their next move. Her sister, Tem, had committed a great sin for the right reason. She’d bought them time. Time was everything now. Aja couldn’t think about the rest of it. If she survived the next few hours, she’d think about what Tem had become. If she didn’t survive, well then, it wouldn’t matter to her anyhow. As they approached Eir-Edan, Aja asked Kyr to turn off the com and the sensors. He did as she requested, but he sat silent. Aja knew he was afraid for her. She would spare him this ordeal if she could. She didn’t want him with her, but she understood why he’d insisted upon coming. He loved her. She loved him. If she was to die, perhaps it was better that he knew the circumstances of her death and had the opportunity to come to grips with the finality of it.

Aja’s head flew up and she stared out the view screen. A great, all-encompassing blackness approached their small craft at a high rate of speed. She realized Kyr must have seen it too because at that same moment, he moved abruptly to switch on the sensors. “No,” Aja ordered him. “No sensors. Close your eyes. Close them and don’t open them until we land.” “Why the hells should I do that?” “Because everything you’ll see from here on in is an illusion. Do you understand? It’s intended to confuse a pilot, to kill a pilot without the Sight. I’ve never experienced anything like this veil. It’s powerful. Even for me, it will be hard to tell what is real. I will be flying blind. I’ll have to find my way without my eyes.” She turned toward Kyr and reached for his hand. “Trust me again. Please,” she pleaded with him. “You have to trust me once more to drop us safe.” “That seems to be the story of our life together, eh? All right, love. I’m shutting my Godsdamned eyes. Don’t smash us into this fucking piece of shit rock.” Aja’s smile was grim. “I’ll try not to, but it’s going to be rough. Swear to me that you’ll keep your eyes shut.” “No. I won’t swear to that.” “Then swear that whatever you see, you won’t try to wrestle the controls from me. If you do, we die.” Kyr took a deep breath. “I swear I won’t take control of the ship, but I may,” he pointed at the approaching maelstrom, “scream like a little child.” “Shut your eyes now, Kyr. It’s not real. None of this is real.” With those words, Aja shut her own eyes and flew their little craft directly into the massive ion storm looming ahead of them. Aja managed a wobbly orbit around Eir-Edan. Her hands shook. Nothing in her experience had prepared her for flying through such an intense illusion. She had no idea who had the power to generate something like this, and that lack of knowledge not only frightened her, it downright terrified her. A journey through the Seven Hells of Wrath couldn’t be any worse than what she’d just flown through. She leaned back in her chair. “Can you take over for just a moment?” she asked Kyr, her voice shaking as badly as the rest of her. “Keep the scanners and the com off. I’ll scan myself for our landing site.”

Kyr stared at her, his eyes wide in his face pale. “I can’t believe what we… what you did. I cannot believe what we dropped into. My Gods! I thought we’d dropped into the Seven Hells.” “So did I,” Aja admitted. “I thought I told you to keep your eyes shut.” A corner of Kyr’s mouth tilted up. “That’s like telling a horse not to run when a veercat comes after it. Couldn’t help myself.” “Well,” commented Aja, “I didn’t hear you scream.” “Inside, lover, screaming on the inside.” Suddenly Aja held up her hand, every reflex, every sense on alert. “She’s calling me,” she said softly. Kyr looked around. “Who?” Aja looked at him, wondering how much to say. “The woman who drew me here. I know where she is. I know where to land.” Aja rose from her chair and knelt before Kyr in the cramped space. She laid her head on his knee. “We may both be flying to our deaths, my love. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry to have brought this upon you.” Kyr wrapped his arms around her. “You didn’t coerce me. I chose this path. I chose you. Aren’t you the one who’s always telling me that we choose our own way? Besides,” he said with no little bravado, “What is death but the doorway to eternal life? I faced death when I entered that laboratory. I was willing to die for you before I even knew you. Now that I’ve loved you, I’m more than willing.” Aja lifted her head and kissed him. “I am honored to be your woman. Remember these words, I love you. I love you, Kyr Aram. I will fly away from the Empire and the Resistance in a heartbeat if that is your wish. Compared to you, the Empire means nothing.” “You have my heart, my love,” Kyr replied, “But I can’t let you do that. I can’t let you turn away from the millions and millions of people who are depending upon you. The women of the Empire wait near desperation for you to restore their rights. If there’s a chance that you, that we can survive whatever is coming, you need to grasp it. I tell you now, if you die and I should live, then I will fight all the harder to overthrow the Coalition, for your sake, to finish what you’ve begun. So let’s go. Let’s get this bloody, cock sucking ordeal with the magical mystery woman over.” “So you can accept this?”

“Yes, lover, I can accept this. We live or we die. It’s no different than any other day.” Kyr rested his head against Aja’s. Aja pressed her lips to Kyr’s muscular thigh. “Then here we go.” She stood and stretched her cramped muscles. “Prepare to come about,” she said, and she grinned wryly, “You won’t have to hold onto the cargo netting this time.”

Chapter Nine

General Bom couldn’t speak. Even if he’d been able to say something, he knew they’d never believe him. All the fucking doctors thought he was in a coma. Idiopathic, they called it. In other words, they had no explanation for his coma. Idiots was more to the point. He’d been poisoned. His daughter, Tem, she’d called herself, had poisoned him. He’d said that the very first day and the medic had laughed in his face. Now he could hear every single word they said, but he couldn’t respond. He lay in a bed, helpless as a newborn infant. Fuck the Gods that they allowed this to happen. Fuck them and fuck all Women of the Blood. His commanders were a bunch of fools. They should have declared martial law days ago. Their hesitation gave the opposition a chance to stay one step ahead of them. Two steps, three steps. Gods, he was surrounded by darroks. Darroks and indecisive cowards. They would allow everything he’d built to fall and time would turn back on itself, back to the Heresies, back to the Dark Period of the Goddess. Women would rule. Women would be gods once again, as they’d been on ancient Earth, when they’d led man astray. Women were intended to be man’s property and the bearers of children, nothing more. While they nattered about his bed, he lay helpless, paralyzed, dumb, eyes closed, unable to move a single muscle. Yes, he could breathe and over and over again he could taste the Blood, that vile, burning blood she’d forced him to swallow. She, the Abomination he’d helped to create. When he recovered, and Ika Bom knew with great clarity that he would recover, he’d murder the lot of them. Rid the galaxy of his three daughters with his bare hands if necessary, after he bashed in a few heads for the dangerous lapse in judgment, the lapse that allowed the

Resistance forces time, breathing room. Ika Bom would not be bested by a mere woman. As soon as he rose from this bed, he would find her hiding place. **** “We go straight in,” said Aja, “right up to the walls.” Kyr let his eyes sweep across the view of the walled city. The massive clay fortifications appeared red in the desert sun, reminding him of the ominous color of blood. Sand swirled and the wind whipped up dust devils around their small craft as Aja set her down onto the small, paved landing site. Kyr powered off the engines and they sat silent for a moment, gazing at each other, not touching. “Remove your shoes, Kyr. We walk on holy ground. Leave your weapons behind. They will be taken from you in any case.” “And your weapons?” Aja held up the ring. “This will have to do.” Kyr lowered the gangway and they left the ship, walking abreast. Even Kyr, without the benefit of Aja’s Sight, knew that many eyes watched them, none of them friendly. The hair on the back of his neck stood straight up and he could feel his heart pound. He glanced at Aja. How she could appear so composed was a wonder. She seemed to be doing nothing more unusual than taking an afternoon stroll through a forest glen back on his home world. “Keep your eyes ahead,” she whispered. “There’s no use trying to spot them because you won’t see them until they want to be seen. We’re trapped now, no matter what.” Kyr stopped in his tracks. He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. “I don’t give a fuck what they see or what they think or who they are. I love you. I love you, Aja, and Godsdamn them to the Seven Hells if they hurt one hair on your head. Kiss me. Kiss me right now before we do this. Because I know you may never kiss me again.” Aja did stop then, and she looked at him with such love in his eyes that he nearly fell to his knees. “If we meet again…” “When we meet again,” Kyr interrupted. “When we meet again,” she attempted a smile, “I am yours. Nothing more and nothing less. Yours.” He could see the tears shining bright in her eyes.

Kyr pulled Aja hard against him and kissed her. She kissed him back with all her strength before she pushed him away and turned toward the high arch cut into the red wall. The entrance was unguarded. “In we go,” said Kyr. “Straight in,” said Aja. “Look neither to the right nor the left. Show no fear. As you said, we live or we die, no different than any other day.” “Yes, well, I’m full of shit.” Aja grinned, this time for real. “Shut up.” They ducked beneath the archway. Kyr wanted to stop and stare, but Aja kept moving, as she said, looking straight ahead. She lifted her left hand and exposed the Royal Signet Ring. She ignored the red veiled figures that surrounded them, followed behind them in lockstep. Kyr couldn’t tell if they were male or female. He suspected female and he suspected lethal. It was the feet that gave them away. Like Aja and he, they were all barefoot. The feet he observed in his peripheral vision had no hair. Definitely female. Or eunuch. And it was illegal for a man to be castrated, not that such a law mattered on a rock like Eir-Edan. Aja headed for a pale yellow stone dais set in a vast open arena. As she approached, she grabbed for his hand. “On your knees,” she hissed. Dropping into the sand before the dais, she lowered her head. Kyr followed her example. He saw that Aja stared at the ground, so he did the same. “Ye have come, then.” The voice was deep, old, and very powerful. Aja kept her head down. “Yes.” “Ye are not what We expected.” Kyr could feel Aja bristle, though he could tell with his peripheral vision that she didn’t move a muscle. “What were you expecting?” “Death.” As Kyr watched, Aja sat back on her heels and looked up. “Then you’ve summoned the wrong sister, Empress.” Empress? “Perhaps. Perhaps. We shall see. We shall indeed see. Ye have brought thy chosen mate.”

Aja made no response. “He is of the Blood. He will make good breeding stock for Our forces.” Aja rose to her feet. “Over my dead body.” The Empress Ya smiled. “We hoped ye would answer thus.” With a flick of the Empress’ eyes, four women separated themselves from the crowd surrounding them. They tossed their full-length veils aside to reveal powerful warrior women, dressed in fighting fatigues. Aja inhaled the Blood, the rich, spicy smell of her own kind. They were all, each one of them, of the Blood. “Kyr,” she said in a quiet voice, “Go over there, behind the dais.” “No,” he replied, holding his ground. “Captain Aram, ye will stand with Us as ye are the spoils of war. Our people say, to the victor go the spoils.” “There is no victor,” said Kyr, staring with unveiled hatred at the old woman. “Not yet,” the Empress agreed, amusement in her voice. “Not yet. Do ye love this woman, then?” “Yes.” “Then ye may stand with Us and watch her die. It is the least ye can do for her.” “If she dies, I die with her.” Kyr was defiant and Aja feared for him. “No. Ye shall not die. Ye are like a horse. Ye shall breed true and we have need of new blood.” Aja could feel the anger building within her. She knew this was a test. She knew the words were said to bring about the killing change. But knowing didn’t stop the murderous rage she felt toward the Empress, toward the women, toward her own destiny. Aja swallowed hard, forcing aside the fury building within her. “We will leave then and you may take your storm troopers and kill whomever you choose. Conquer the galaxy. I will have no part of you. I know your Earth history as well as you do. I am no Nazi. I am no fanatic.” Spinning around, she reached for Kyr, but it was too late. She saw the sword pressed against her lover’s throat. A dangerous lapse. She’d allowed herself to become distracted. She’d allowed these women, these fanatics, Blood of her Blood, to get the jump on her, to take her man. Aja growled low in her throat, sounding like an animal. “Release him.”

“Prove to Us that ye are worthy and thy man goes free.” “He leaves. Whether I live or die, he leaves. Either you agree to this or you can kill us both now,” Aja spat, “and there goes your war.” She smiled. “I’ve seen it, Empress. Remember, I’ve seen your war. I’ve walked your pathways.” The old woman smiled back. “Ah, so ye say.” “So I say.” “Then choose thy weapon and prove thyself.” Several veiled women came forward and laid wrapped bundles at the Empress’ feet. Heads bowed, they opened the coverings, displaying knives and swords, both single and double bladed. Aja almost laughed. The double-bladed sword was her sister Ennat’s favorite weapon. Aja chose knives. Kyr had no regard for the sword at his throat. Let them cut him. It was far better than the alternative, forcing him to stand by and watch Aja fight four of her own kind. Blood of her Blood. Four men would have been a fair fight, but not this. A space cleared before the old woman, the Empress Ya. How she’d appeared here, in this time, Kyr had no idea, nor did he care. Aja was the only thing that mattered to him. Now he would be forced to watch her die. Sliced to ribbons. He tasted bile in his mouth. The Empress motioned and he was escorted to her side. She looked him over. “Ye are a fine specimen,” she said. “Ye will make strong children.” “Fuck you,” Kyr replied. The woman laughed. She actually had the balls to laugh. “If ye love her, ye will have the courage to watch.” Kyr gritted his teeth. He would watch. And then he would wrap his hands around the old woman’s neck and if he was very lucky, he could at least bruise her before the women ripped him apart. Aja stepped into the circle of women, wearing only a thin battle tunic, her arms and legs bare. Kyr found himself riveted by the sight. She was beautiful, the most beautiful thing he’d ever laid eyes on. His heart clenched and he was appalled that there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to help her.

Aja held a knife in each hand. Her opponents circled her like a pride of veercats moving in for the kill. As Kyr watched, Aja took a deep breath and closed her eyes. He knew what she was doing. Like flying into the veil, she would fight blind, using her inner sight. The first four women came at her and Aja dispatched them quickly. Kyr saw that she merely incapacitated them. She didn’t kill them. Four more came and four more and four more. As each woman fell, she was helped out of the way and another woman took her place. Kyr watched in silence, wondering how much longer Aja would be able to remain upright. Her legs shook and her blood flowed from numerous wounds. While she’d made very attempt to spare her opponents, their clear intent was to kill. A woman stalked out of the crowd, tall and strong as a man. She tossed her veil aside and grabbed a set of bloody knives from the ground. Kyr recognized death when he saw it and he could feel his heart shatter. Aja had to be nearing the end of her strength. The woman went after Aja. Kyr watched his lover weave away from a vicious slash and open a deep cut on the woman’s arm. There was a slight movement in the crowd and a distracting murmur went up. A child of perhaps three or four suns ran into the open space, stumbling between Aja and her opponent just as the woman struck at Aja with both hands. Someone in the crowd screamed and a veiled figure ran forward when the girl fell, blood spurting from a torn jugular. Kyr began to move toward the arena, but the Empress laid a gentle hand on his arm, stopping him. He saw Aja drop to her knees beside the child. She turned her back on her opponent. Discarding one of her knives, she used the other to slice deep into her own palm and she pressed her hand against the child’s neck. Aja’s opponent closed. The woman tested her, stabbing at her side. Kyr watched Aja flinch, but otherwise she made no response. Blood began to flow from the deep wound. He braced himself for the killing blow he knew was coming. The woman would go for the neck. He could already see it. It’s what he would do in the same situation. A quick, hard, jab to the back of the neck and it would all be over, Aja would be gone and his life would mean nothing. Intent upon saving the child, Aja ignored the woman as she moved in for the easy kill. To Kyr’s shock and disbelief, the woman lowered her knife and prostrated herself in the sand beside Aja. As Kyr watched, dumbstruck, every single woman in the crowd did the same. Aja didn’t appear to notice. Eyes closed, she concentrated on healing the child. Silence fell over the square

like a hot, heavy, oppressive blanket. It seemed as if even the insects dare not move. Kyr found himself holding his breath. With a slow, careful motion, Aja removed her hand from the child’s neck. She sat back on her heels, her chest rising and falling, taking in great gulps of desert air. The child stood up and ran into her mother’s arms. Kyr could not see a mark on her. The women rose to their feet and a great cry echoed off the fortress walls. Kyr had never before heard such a dissonant ululation. The women fell upon Aja, touching her, slicing their own hands and pressing them to her open wounds. Losing track of her in the press of bodies, he was anxious to leave the dais, overjoyed and eager to see for himself that she would live. The Empress stopped him. “Let them have their moment with her. She is their Empress. They will heal her. They will follow her now. They will die for her. She is the one they have waited for.” Kyr glanced at the woman. “You sent that child out into the arena.” The Empress nodded. “And you would have let her die. You would have let them both die.” The Empress inclined her head in Kyr’s direction. “But they did not die, young man. Aja Bokinan proved herself worthy. She proved herself worthy of the child she carries. Thy daughter. Ye have seen the child, no? With golden hair and violet eyes?” Kyr felt himself pale. “You are a monster.” The woman sighed. “We do what must be done. Aja is Our chosen descendant. The test was necessary.” “I wish to go to her.” “Go then. They will move aside for ye.” Kyr bowed slightly. “Ye would have killed Us, eh, young man? For her sake?” “If I could have succeeded, yes, I would have killed you.” “Well,” the old woman smiled at him, “ye are an honest man. Go to thy lover.” Hands and blood… hands and blood all over her. Aja could hear them, the deafening sounds of their thoughts, their hopes, their fear, their excitement. She lay still, allowing them to heal her, to take her blood. Knowing she had no choice but to accept this for now. This was the

path she would walk, but not in the way they wished. Not in the way Ya anticipated. She would not become their new goddess. Aja smelled Kyr before she felt his arms lift her from the ground. Exhausted, she rested her head on his shoulder, tuning out all external stimuli. All of it, the heat, the sweat, the blood, the sand, all but Kyr’s warm, familiar, comforting scent. She didn’t know where he was taking her and she didn’t care. Kyr would live and she might live long enough to bear his child. Nothing else mattered. **** “Forgive me,” the Empress Ya bowed to Aja, “Foul times require foul tests. Ye have succeeded. These women are thy troops, thy pilots, thy first wave. They will never abandon ye, even if ye abandon them.” Helping the older woman to recline on a cushion, Aja sat beside her. “Will the women I injured live?” she asked. “Yes. All have been healed,” replied the Empress. “Will you return to your time, then?” “Yes. We shall return as soon as We have finished with thee. There is much to tell.” “You have ships for me?” “Transport ships. Rangers. Fighters. Supply vessels. All equipped with lase cannon and artillery. Well-stocked with foodstuffs, weapons and body armor. Ye can outlast them if it comes to that.” “It will not come to that.” The Empress bowed again. “As ye say.” She turned to Kyr. “Ye will report all this to thy brother and his forces.” Aja watched Kyr nod his agreement. His presence brought her peace. His absence would leave a hole in her heart, but she knew they would not be apart for long and that knowledge gave her comfort. “Where did you get the ships?” Kyr asked the Empress. The Empress deferred to Aja. “My mother left them,” Aja answered him, “Thirty-one years ago.” Kyr raised his eyebrows. “I think I’m beginning to understand more and more about this seeing business. Your mother foresaw the need and she planted them here in advance?”

Aja nodded. “And the women warriors? Did she plant them here too?” Aja reached for his hand. “They have lived her for generations. They are descended from my half-brothers.” “Your half…? Aja, I’m starting to get a headache again.” Aja grinned. “The Empress Ya—” “We borrowed them, young man,” the older woman interrupted. “They dwell in the past with Us now, on Persephone. We needed men of the Blood, of the same Blood as Aja so that these women, her troops, would instinctively recognize her and follow her.” “It’s not a wonder any of you go crazy, it’s a bloody wonder any of you stay sane,” Kyr muttered. Aja and the Empress laughed at his frank observation. Aja squeezed Kyr’s hand. “Come. Let’s look at the ships and you can tell Karna and Ennat what you’ve witnessed. I’m sending a pilot back with you. She can return you to the depot in record time.” she looked into his eyes. “I can’t risk losing you. Not now.” Kyr’s hand gripping hers felt warm and reassuring, just as his body moving within hers had felt barely an hour ago, when he’d carried her into this fortress and they’d been provided a room, a bath and some privacy. Kyr had helped her come back to life. “I can handle myself,” he replied. Aja smiled at her lover. “Of that, I have no doubt. I simply wish to send an emissary with you. She can link with Ennat and that will be of great help to me as we coordinate our plans. We can’t risk any other means of communications.” She watched Kyr consider her words and she knew he understood the wisdom of her decision even if he bristled at the implication that he couldn’t get himself safely back to Karna’s depot. The corner of her mouth turned up. Although the two of them hadn’t spoken of it, she’d experienced the vision too, the little girl with Kyr’s golden hair and violet eyes. The Empress Ya had confirmed it. A new beginning for her line, and an end. About damn time. She drew Kyr’s hand to her mouth and kissed it. “Thank you,” she said. “For what?” “Kyr, the answer is, you’re welcome.” He laughed and Aja watched a world lift from his shoulders. “We’ll live, will we?”

“Well,” Aja grinned, “One can only hope.” She sprang to her feet and stretched out her hand. “Shall we inspect my troops? And then you can get the hells out of here.” “Ah, you mean before the new Empress has her way with me again?” Aja laughed at the twinkle in the old Empress’ eyes. “Yes, love, that’s exactly what I mean.”

Chapter Ten

Two turns later, Aja and the Empress Ya stood side by side in the setting sun and watched as the Ranger carrying Kyr and a very capable woman named Vane, flashed. “Ye are exactly what We expected, and yet, not at all,” noted the Empress. “Yes,” answered Aja. “Ye have no desire for power, for the throne.” “None. I will do my best for the people and then I will let them alone.” Aja sighed. “Since life first arose from the primordial swamps on ancient Earth, creatures have lived and they have died. I have no wish to control the circumstances.” “Ye have already changed the circumstances, with the child ye carry.” Aja pressed a hand to her belly. She made no reply. “And thy sister, Ennat?” “She will gladly do the same.” The Empress studied her hands. “This We had not foreseen, the end of Our line.” “Ah,” Aja placed a gentle hand on the older woman’s arm. “It is not the end. In time, all things are repeated; you know that as well as I do. On your death bed, you will utter the same words an ancient Earther queen spoke before her execution, In my end is my beginning.” Aja hesitated. “There is my other sister, Tem. Her presence through time will ensure that we never die. The Blood will not vanish altogether. Your line will continue, although perhaps not as you anticipated.” “Is it for the good, We wonder?” “I have no idea,” replied Aja, “and I do not intend to seek the answer.”

“Well,” commented the Empress, her voice dry, “Now We know what Our final words shall be.” **** Ennat waited in the shadows near the landing pad. Karna had insisted that Kyr would not return for several days, but she’d awakened with the notion that he would return by nightfall, or what passed for nightfall on this asteroid. She prayed that meant Aja still lived and there would be news, news of her mother and her stepfather and her brothers. She’d been hoping that it was their mother who would meet with Aja on Eir-Edan. The signature she’d detected was definitely of the Blood, but Ennat hadn’t been able to discern anything beyond that. Men, supplies and weapons had begun to arrive this morning and Karna busied himself overseeing their distribution. While the Coalition hesitated, the Resistance moved their own transports into strategic positions. Karna and the other military commanders thought to strike preemptively at the Coalition’s military outposts. Ennat had requested that they wait for Kyr’s return, but the men were impatient. They wanted to strike while the iron was hot. She didn’t blame them. With General Bom still abed, and his advisors either afraid or indecisive, it seemed a good plan. However, Ennat had the nagging feeling that there was something else, some piece of information they were missing. She’d discussed her thoughts with Karna first thing. He’d come to trust in her intuition so thoroughly that he convinced the other commanders to grant her some time. It wasn’t easy for men who had grown to adulthood without a flesh and blood Empress to trust in a woman’s judgment. Their grandmothers, their mothers, their sisters and their daughters lived very circumscribed lives. They’d been banned from receiving anything more than a rudimentary education. They couldn’t travel outside of their home compounds unless a male relative, a husband or father or brother or son, sought and received special permission from the provincial governors. They were allowed to train as midwives, but only because male physicians were not allowed to attend births, even to save the life of the mother or the child, but the midwives weren’t allowed to accept any coin for their services, merely trade goods. The only other occupation open to women was that of whore, either chitta whore or ishat. A chitta whore was the lowest of the low. The women were recruited from the ranks of the poor and the widowed, women who had no man to support them. If they had children, they were either abandoned, or perhaps worse, taken with their mother to house of the madam. Their daughters, if

they had daughters, were often given to men who preferred children. Ennat shuddered at the thought. An ishat, on the other hand, might have an easier life, at least until she lost her beauty and therefore her means of support. If she was lucky, she’d be matched with a male patron who would treat her with kindness and provide for her in old age, perhaps acknowledge any children she bore him. An ishat was chosen at puberty specifically for her beauty. The buyers considered a girl even more valuable if she was possessed of a talent. Perhaps she excelled at music or dance; perhaps she was simply very adept at sexual play. Perhaps she could entertain a man and make him laugh. Poor families with promising daughters brought them to auction in the larger settlements. Buyers could take their pick from all corners of the galaxy and the money an average family earned from selling one child could provide them with enough coin to buy foodstuffs for five suns. Because the men of the Coalition feared a backlash, her own family had been spared such a fate. In comparison, exile had been kind to the three sisters. Ennat wondered how men would react when women resumed their rightful place in the Empire. Even the men of the Resistance might take issue with Aja’s plans. Many of them had no memories of their own to draw upon, only the stories they’d heard from their parents and grandparents, the stories told at night, when all was quiet and families were certain there were no listening ears and prying eyes. Ennat tilted her head back, looking up toward the stars. As she watched, the space above her shifted. She moved out of the way as the Ranger Karna had loaned Aja and Kyr dropped out of flash drive right above her and landed on the shaved rock surface. Who was flying, Ennat wondered. It wasn’t Aja, but neither was Kyr at the controls. Ennat didn’t recognize the female pilot, but she could sense the woman was of the Blood. “Please call Commander Aram,” Ennat instructed one of her guards. “Tell him his brother has returned.” The engines powered down and the gangway was lowered. Kyr exited the craft followed by a tall woman with the telltale mahogany hair and gray eyes. Ennat stared at her, trying to get a read, but her efforts proved unsuccessful. Kyr and the woman headed straight for her. “Lady Ennat,” Kyr inclined his head in a formal fashion, “This is Vane. Your sister has sent her as emissary. Vane,” he turned toward his pilot, “The Lady Ennat, sister to the Empress.”

The woman’s bow was correct. Ennat nodded in return, curious to know more, but concerned about the number of people in earshot. “Then my sister is?” she didn’t need to finish her sentence, Kyr’s face told her everything she needed to know. “Your sister is safe. For now.” The warmth in his voice stood out in contrast to the anxiety in his eyes. “I need to meet with Karna and the other commanders as soon as possible, along with you and Vane.” “Yes, I’ve sent a guard to inform your brother that you’ve returned.” Kyr strode past her, hurrying into the station. The woman, Vane, waited in silence beside her. “Then you are the link?” Ennat asked. “Yes, my Lady.” “Come with me, please. We’ll stop in my cabin before we meet with the men.” “Yes, my Lady.” Ennat took her hand and led her into the building. **** Ennat and the woman called Vane joined Karna and Kyr for the strategy session. Ennat kept her hand firmly in Vane’s. She acted as a conduit to Aja light years away. Both women listened without interruption as Kyr described the situation on Eir-Edan, the pilots, the women warriors, the supplies and armaments. Ennat silently agreed with his decision to twist the truth about the startling appearance of the Empress Ya and the origin of the colony of women. Let the men of the Resistance believe that the women had sought refuge on that planet after the coup. Vane seemed to clearly comprehend what was going on and she held her peace. Karna held up a hand to stop the discussion and he turned to Ennat. “When will Aja arrive with the ships and her troops?” “Within the week,” Ennat replied. “She’d like to load our troops directly onto her transports and,” Ennat stopped and cocked her head, listening to someone unseen. “Commander Aram, may I speak with you in private for a moment?” When Karna nodded his agreement, she said, “Please excuse us, gentlemen, we will return shortly.” Listen to what they say, she sent her thought to Vane. Dropping the woman’s hand, Ennat followed Karna from the room.

Karna stopped just beyond the room, but Ennat pointed to her cabin at the end of the corridor. They entered her room and shut the door behind them. Karna didn’t have to say anything out loud. He asked the question with his eyes. “Aja does not want our plans known until she is ready to act. Word could get out. I heard a sound, but I couldn’t locate it.” “What sound?” asked Karna. “The very small sound of fear. We can’t risk betrayal. Victory is too close. Aja and her pilots and the women warriors will arrive with the ships in three days. We will fill her transports with the best of our men and arms and she plans to lead the armada directly through the Tionay Nebula to Matsu. She will blockade the planet and capture the Imperial capital. But we must force the Coalition to scatter their troops throughout the Empire right now. We must force them to commit before Bom is fully able to command. Do we have enough men and ships to do that?” Karna grinned at her, his exultation evident now that the battle was about to begin. “Yes,” he replied, “More than enough. Three days is just enough time to decoy them away from Matsu. Yes. Perfect.” “I lead them,” Ennat stated. “I coordinate. We attack the farthest outposts. We let them think we’re starting with the areas where they have the fewest patrols. I am in command. Vane and I fly.” Karna shot her a look of doubt. “No. I don’t like it. I should be with you.” “Karna, I’m a Blood decoy. I’ve been a decoy from the beginning. Bom will sense me on the edges and he will deploy his troops. He’ll be forced to scatter them like raindrops. I can clear the way to Matsu. We can minimize bloodshed. That is Aja’s goal, to keep as many alive as possible. You and Kyr must go with her. Bom and his generals will remain holed up on Matsu. You must be there to maintain order, to see that there is not, well, indiscriminate retribution. We don’t want the Resistance to become what we hate. I can handle myself. I swear it.” “My only concern is the men,” said Karna. “I’m afraid that when push comes to shove, they will refuse your orders.” Ennat turned on her heel and headed back to the galley. “Then I suggest we find out right now,” she called over her shoulder.

Chapter Eleven

“Do you have the means to contact my sister, Tem?” Aja asked the Empress Ya. “Thy sister already knows what ye wish of her,” was the older woman’s reply. “Good. Then she can wake him up. It’s time to get moving. Ennat has flashed with six vessels. She and Vane plan to harass the outer bases and blockade the shipping lanes. She’s dropped her veils and she is unprotected. We want to draw much of the Coalition force after her, to the edge. I leave in two days. I want to give this plan time to work.” The Empress nodded her agreement. “Will you stay here or do you plan to return to your own time?” “Once We see thee on thy way, We shall return to Our own people.” “Then I won’t meet with you again,” Aja stated. “Ye will not meet Us again.” “And my mother and her consort? And my brothers? They have not appeared in my future.” “No, so sorry. They shall live out their lives with Us. Thy mother has much practical wisdom to pass onto the next Empress and We think this time has no further need of them, while We,” the Empress gestured toward the women warriors at work, “have much need.” Aja nodded her agreement. She waited for tears to fill her eyes, but they didn’t come. She wondered if she had grown hard or if it was simply that she knew deep in her bones her mother, the man she knew as father and her two brothers had already been dead for nearly three thousand years. “They were mourned on Persephone, then?” she asked.

“Yes, in secret. Vane can show ye their gravesites should ye wish it. Thy mother is very proud of her three daughters. She trained ye well.” “She chose love over power,” Aja said, “And so will Ennat and I. Tem has chosen another path altogether.” “Thy sister is not quite the monster ye think.” Aja stared at the far distant mountains, reddish in the setting sun. “She is an Abomination. She has helped us immeasurably, but she is an Abomination nonetheless.” Aja felt the Empress cool hand in hers. “Yes and no. Ye will see the truth of her in the end. We have considered Our final words since ye spoke of them, and We believe We understand now why We will repeat the Queen Mary’s epitaph.” Aja squeezed the older woman’s hand and smiled at her. “Would you care to share?” The Empress Ya smiled back. Aja saw affection in her gaze. “We think not. It would seem thy sister, Tem, will discuss the matter with ye herself if ye so wish, when the outcome of the battle is decided.” “Well then,” replied Aja, “I had better supervise the loading and finish this great battle quickly. I would not want to keep a goddess waiting, even if she is only sixteen and could stand to learn a bit of self-control.” She winked at the old Empress. The woman raised her thin hand to Aja’s mouth. Aja brushed her lips against the delicate skin. She reached for the Empress’ long braid, still a rich mahogany but streaked with gray. “They chose a lovely shade for us, didn’t they, our makers?” The Empress made no reply. “I will not see it in my own children, and neither will Ennat. But we have served our purpose for thousands of years, yes?” “Yes.” Aja watched the Empress’ gray eyes soften as they filled with tears. “Do not mourn us overmuch,” Aja said, “It would come to this eventually. Besides,” she teased, “From your perspective, it won’t happen for another three thousand years.” “Time is relative,” murmured the Empress. “Ye can still reconsider.” “No,” answered Aja, “I have no wish to walk through time. I’ve come to like where I am.” “Because of thy man and the child ye carry, or because ye fear power?”

“All three.” “Ye could control the power. Ye have the strength and the heart to do right by it.” “But I do not wish it.” “What do ye wish, then?” “I wish to learn to gallop a horse across the grassy plains of Calen. To see the great rivers swollen in the spring thaw and hear them roar. To wake in the morning and look to the distant high mountains, and watch as their snow-covered peaks are painted pink and rose and see the sun set blood red in a sapphire sky. I want to watch my children grow and prosper and I will remain bonded to the man I love until the day I die. I have no wish to muddy the waters with my meddling in time.” “Ye are the One and ye well know it. Ye walk away then, from thy great destiny.” “Oh, no, Lady. I walk into the greatest destiny of all… freedom.” **** How awful, Tem thought, to be trapped inside one’s own body. It was nearly as bad as being trapped in a single time. She knew her father, General Bom, could hear his military advisors talking as they gathered around his bed. Outliers were being attacked. The Resistance had initiated armed skirmishes around the edges of the Empire. His generals discussed a response and they were desperate for his input. They’d already sent two-thirds of their forces to the outer quadrants. It was a mistake, of course. Tem listened to her father’s thoughts. General Bom didn’t know how he knew their action was a mistake, but he knew for sure and for certain that it was definitely an overreaction. He believed this to be a feint, a deliberate attempt to distract the Coalition from the real target of the Resistance, Matsu. Oh, she knew how he wanted to warn his men, but nothing other than air came from his open mouth. Tem laughed, allowing him to feel Ennat, to know her Blood, so that he would recognize his daughter and go after her, regardless of what his military sense told him. Ah, yes, Father, there she is, leading the Resistance forces. Tem taunted him. She gave him a clear vision of Ennat, the long, mahogany braid, the gray eyes, the fighting stance, as she guided the men of the Resistance to very specific targets. They’d already captured four communications arrays. He thought it was Aja. That was even better. Her father, the general, needed to force the issue now, he… himself.

“Father, my dear father, Blood of my Blood, I’ve come to see you. I’ve come to release you from your prison.” With a flick of her finger, Bom’s eyes opened. He looked right through her and sucked in a big breath. “Go after them,” she heard him croak, grimacing as he pushed himself up on his elbows. “Kill them. Burn every fucking one of them, but bring me the Empress’ daughter, the one called Aja. She’s leading the Resistance forces. Now help me out of this hell-hole of a bunk.” Well, so, that’s done. Tem stepped from the room and back through time twelve thousand years. Back to Earth’s past. She would return to finish him. But she had time. Tem laughed. All the time in the universe. Her mother had chosen their father well. His Blood was strong. But duty to her sisters demanded that the man die. Duty was Tem’s strength. Her sister, Aja, was hampered by her kind heart and her desire for justice. Ennat, by her honor and sense of fair play, though she would be hard pressed to admit it. Tem possessed no such scruples. Unlike her sisters, she embraced her destiny. She had a duty to preserve the line. Above all, she had a duty to begin the line. Besides, was there anything more glorious than to be worshipped as a goddess? To be sixteen suns and the shaper of worlds? Her human worshipers bowed low as she reappeared in the temple they’d dedicated to one of her many names. Heady stuff. Nothing her sisters had could compare to this joy.

Chapter Twelve

The troop transports dropped one at a time as Karna’s station couldn’t accommodate more than a single large vessel. Despite their excitement at finally seeing some action, the men quickly and efficiently uploaded their weapons and themselves. The female crew of each ship passed out bags in case of motion sickness and checked to see that every trooper was strapped in before they lifted off the ground and blasted into orbit. Kyr could picture the grins on every pilot’s face as she skidded close to the ground before pulling straight up. He grinned himself, imagining the stomachs of the poor men inside. He knew Aja wouldn’t spare Karna the same treatment, hoping the fact that his brother had bonded with Ennat and taken the Blood would help mitigate the sickness. Davi Fedd would be flying with them. He’d been Kyr’s right hand since childhood and there was no way Kyr was going to the revolution without the man. “Here she comes,” said Karna, approaching from behind. “She’s flying the largest.” Kyr grinned at his brother. “That’s my girl.” “She’s also your Empress. We, all of us, need to remember that fact.” “Don’t fret, brother,” Kyr said with a wink, “I never forget it. I just don’t care. But in front of the men, I will defer to her, just as you do with Ennat.” Karna cleared his throat. Kyr knew that as Commander, his brother was under far more pressure to abide by the strict rules of protocol than he was. But he doubted protocol mattered much in his brother’s bunk. “Aja will have news of her sister. I suspect all is well,” commented Kyr. Karna nodded. “I would feel better if I was with her, but I understand her reasoning.” “You’re needed here in any case.”

“Yes. Someone has to keep these brills in line. They’re anxious to see some action after all the talk.” “They aren’t the only ones. I’m feeling a bit perky myself,” laughed Kyr. Karna snorted. “That’s because your woman touches a ship down as soft and smooth as a baby’s behind.” “Oh, that she does, for certain.” Kyr stepped forward as the gangway was lowered and Aja strode toward him. Her smile wide and white, she broke into a run, women guards keeping pace. Kyr opened his arms. Squealing with delight, Aja jumped into them. Wrapping her legs about his waist, he twirled her around, kicking up dust on the landing site. Kyr kissed her soundly, in front of Karna, Aja’s own guards and the semi-organized squadron of elite fighters loading arms and equipment. “I swear,” he said, lowering her to the hard rock, “this may be the very first time I’ve seen you in boots.” Aja gave him a playful swat. “We’re off to commit revolution and you’re talking about boots.” “They look good on you,” he said, his mouth against her ear, “Wear them in my bunk next time.” “And nothing else?” she whispered back. “The knife,” he kept his voice low, “Wear the knife.” Aja laughed. “Aye, aye, Captain Aram.” She tugged on his hand and Kyr allowed himself to be pulled along. “My sister, the Lady Ennat does well on the edges, Commander, so let’s load ’em up and get the hells out of here.” “Yes, my Lady,” bowed Karna. Kyr suppressed a smile at the look Aja shot his brother. He knew she wanted to kick him, but instead she returned his bow with the correct amount of propriety. “Gentlemen,” Karna called out, “Load up and strap in. Make sure all armaments are locked down, safeties on. We’ll be flashing in thirty clicks. And gentlemen, remember, the Empress commands you. I am her second. Her orders supersede my own. Are we clear?” Kry watched and listened as the troopers called out their agreement and bowed low. He turned and bowed also, to show solidarity with the men and because he understood the necessity. Most everyone knew he was Consort, but still, in this he was no different than any other man. It

was expected that he would bow before her in public, even if he fucked her ten ways to Solsday in private. Aja deliberately stomped on his instep before she headed back to the ship, her arm upraised, displaying the Royal Ring to all assembled. “Time to go,” said a laughing Kyr to his brother, and he followed Aja to the gangway. **** “Open a com channel and a vid feed to all ships,” ordered Aja. She stood on the flight deck of the largest transport, Kyr, Karna, Mr. Fedd and several other military advisors at the ready. “Channels open,” responded a female pilot, “They’re waiting, my Lady.” Aja took a deep breath. She was a woman of few words, but she knew she had to make herself heard. Her people trusted her enough to make this leap of faith. She couldn’t let them down. “Men and women of the Empire, today belongs to you. It is your destiny we fly to reclaim, not mine. The men of the Coalition may have forced the Royal Family to abdicate the throne, but they’ve forced you to abdicate your hopes, your dreams and your civil liberties. We go now to restore what is rightfully yours, the one thing men and women have given their lives to protect since ancient days, freedom. We fly together, as loyal citizens, comrades in arms and friends. I will not waste time with a long speech, but I repeat here the battle cry uttered by the freedom-loving ancient Earther sect known as Cowboys,” Aja stopped speaking for a moment and pumped her fist, “Yee-hah!” She closed her eyes, smiling as an echoed cry returned to her through every com. “Fire ’em up, pilots,” she ordered, “Straight on through to Matsu. Keep coms open, vids off, watch your formation.” She sat in the pilot’s seat and took over control of the ship, grinning at Kyr as she watched him strap himself into the co-pilot’s seat. “Better tell your brother to tie down every moveable part of him. He’s in for the ride of his life.”

Chapter Thirteen

“That one,” Aja pointed at a two-year-old liver chestnut with a blond mane and tail. “That one is mine.” Kyr turned toward his wife. She had never appeared more beautiful. The wind, fresh off the mountains, blew through her unbound mahogany hair, turning her cheeks a pretty pink in the frosty air, and her gray eyes sparkled with joy. This was what she wanted. This was the life she chose to lead, with him. Without hesitation, Kyr’s hand sought out her swollen belly and he heard Aja laugh. He was glad their daughter would be born on Calen, that Aja had turned the day-to-day management of the Empire over to his brother and the newly elected Imperial Senate. She officially held the throne, but agreed to act as advisor only for a period of five years and then she would abdicate, and there would no longer be an Empress. “Why that one?” he asked, looking toward the filly. “I have a fully trained, very gentle eight year old mare ready and waiting for you.” “Uh-uh.” Aja shook her head. “That one. She’s mine. Look at her mane and tail, she’s so beautiful, and her color…” Aja walked over to the horse and ran a hand along her muzzle. The horse responded with a low nicker. Aja turned back to Kyr and grinned. “She is most definitely mine. “All right, all right. Anything to please my Empress,” Kyr said with a deep bow. “Knock it off with that Empress shit,” replied Aja, “or as Davi says, I might have to kick your ass from here to The Pikes.”

Kyr took his woman in his arms. “Promises, promises.” he teased, right before he kissed her. “You know,” he said, lifting his mouth from hers, “It will take me two months to train her and even then, I’m not sure I’ll want you on her.” “Why not?” asked Aja, “I’ll no longer be like this,” she looked down at her belly, “Besides, you’ve been a good teacher and I’ve ridden Maita quite well.” “A twelve year old artillery-proof horse is one thing, riding a two year old is another.” “Ah,” nodded Aja, “I’ll be gentle with her. I swear it. Just as I was with you the first time you flew with me.” “Gentle, eh? I recall many things about our first time, but the word gentle doesn’t come to mind.” Kyr swung Aja off her feet, listening to her squeal with delight. “Did you bring your knife,” Kyr asked. “Always, my love,” Aja replied, “Always.” **** In that day, the Royal Armada flashed from the sky and dropped into the city of Matsu like great birds of prey. All the people who were witness to this holy sight fell to their knees in fear and awe. The ensuing fight was brutal as the forces led by the Empress Aja herself drove the enemy from house to house, street to street, routing the traitors and pushing them outside Matsu to the Plains of Sithia. The Imperial forces sacrificed themselves to protect the innocents during the fierce battle, while the traitors of the Coalition did not. It is said the traitors used innocent men, women and children as human shields in order to make good their escape. At Sithia, they say, justice was meted out, not by the Empress, but by her sister, the Redeyed Demon, Tem. At the Empress’ insistence, the men were spared execution, though to this day, no one is sure and certain of their fate. Some say the men were killed in secret and their bodies burned, but most believe them to be disappeared, along with supporters of the Coalition everywhere who also vanished on that same day from every planet in the Empire. It is believed they were scattered into the past and future by the Demon, all but one, the infamous general known as Ika Bom, leader of the Coalition, Blood father to the Empress and her sisters. Eyewitness accounts claim the general called out the Empress Aja and he challenged her to a fight to the death. Her few words, known by storytellers everywhere, were, You are already dead, my father. She turned her back and did not watch as the Demon took him.

Her sister, The Demon Tem stepped into the center of the grassy field and kissed her father on the lips. As she looked on, blood began to pour from his mouth, his nose, his eyes, and his ears. General Ika Bom fell to the ground and his spirit fled, shrieking in terror, to the lowest of the Seven Hells of Wrath. The Empress’ forces burned his body where he fell. To this day, there remains a spot in the midst of the Plains of Sithia where nothing will grow aside from the red weed known as bloodgrass. It is rumored that a marker once existed at the site. On it were writ the words—Here lies Ika Bom, Father of Worlds, but that marker has long since crumbled to dust and most hearers scoff at the very notion. All know it is the Demon Tem who is the Mother of Worlds. She left her sisters to travel deep into our Earther past, saying, I shall provide our makers with many children from which to choose. I am our beginning. The women pilots who followed the Empress from Eir-Edan journeyed to all corners of the Empire, marrying with men from many worlds. Even now, there remain pockets of women with the telltale mahogany hair and gray eyes of the Blood, but none on one planet. The Empress Aja and her consort, Resistance leader, Captain Kyr Aram, lived out their lives on Calen, as did her sister, the Lady Ennat and her consort, First President Karna Aram. It is on Calen that their children and their children’s children have remained, for over eight hundred years. They have golden hair and violet eyes and they are known to be the finest horsemen and women in the Empire. It is said that one day, there will again come a time of great need, and a girl child will be born on Calen bearing the rich mahogany hair and soft gray eyes of the Blood. On that day, the Empress Aja will return to save her people.

About the Author

Julia Barrett has lived many lives, but the one central theme of each is her writing. She’s written prose and poetry since she was a child. Her grandmother was a playwright, an uncle a noted journalist, another uncle wrote college textbooks, and her father acted as an advisor to the Iowa Supreme Court. She’s had articles published in various medical and nursing magazines and poetry published in various literary journals. Julia has a degree in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa and a second degree in nursing from the University of Utah. She’s been a hospice nurse for ten years. Between the time she graduated from The University of Iowa and became a hospice nurse, Julia has been a bartender, a caterer, a private chef and a restaurateur. Julia and her lovely husband live on the West Coast with an entire food chain of animals and three children who come and go frequently.

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