“Darling,” Blake said, leaning forward. He seemed to use that term so often with his family. It took some getting used to, but I thought it was…nice. I wondered if my human omak had ever used the term with me.
“Let’s not get hung up on individual issues, please. Of course, nothing will happen to anyone not involved in this plot to hurt your consort. We’ll plan to conduct interviews with all of them under your personal direction. And perhaps as Janos gets more familiar with the Imperial Guard, he’ll see how well trained they are and how devoted they are to the Royal family. There have been exceptions but only in rare cases. Anyone assigned toyour palace would be thoroughly vetted, so you can feel perfectly safe. General Vargarra himself will be there on Laltana to ensure it. As for your Guardsmen, they would be assigned other duties.”
“But about my Taran…” He glanced over at me, and I felt my face grow warm. “He’s a member of the Royal Guard. I don’t want him reassigned. I don’t want to lose him.”
That was definitely my cue to speak up. “I’ll make accommodations for Taran personally, and he’ll be there at the palace in Laltana, where he’s always been, if that’s what he chooses. You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll make sure he’s happy about his new title and his…new duties.”
I saw no need to elaborate just yet. Taran would be my business from now on, and I felt sure I could accommodate his needs very well. Though naturally, I couldn’t express that to his father.
Larz looked tired and a bit worn down, but then he’d had a rough couple of days. He sighed and took another stiff gulp of the strong wine. I’d had some with my dinner the evening before, and it was potent stuff.
“All right. How soon do we leave for Tygeria?” Larz asked.
The Consort Blake inhaled sharply and got up to go around the table to hug his son. No one spoke for a few moments, but Davos was the first to break the silence. “I’m pleased, Larz. We’ll go when this weather breaks, which should be later on today.” He glanced down at his wineglass, twirling the stem with his long, elegant fingers.
“Do that mean that you…are you agreeing to our plan? You’ll return with us to Tygeria?”
He seemed to be almost holding his breath until Larz nodded.
“Yes, Father. We’ll go back with you.”
“Good. Will Janos be well enough to travel by morning?”
“Yes, I think so.” He glanced up at his father. “Thank you for asking, though.”
The king nodded, smiling. “Vannos, it’s been a while since you and the boys came for a visit. Would you come with us too?”
“I’ll have to speak to Stefan, but yes, I’d like to come and lend my support to Janos at the council meeting. Perhaps Stefan can find some time to join me. It would give me more chance to spend time with the family too, and it’s been too long since I’ve visited Tygeria.”
“Good. That’s settled then. You should all be ready in the morning, if that gives everyone enough time. I’ll notify the ship’s captain to send the shuttles.”
I needed to go speak to Taran right away. I was thinking he could be invaluable to me as a liaison to the Royal Guard, whose duties the Imperials would soon be assuming. Or perhaps he could be my new aide. He could have whatever damn rank he liked, though his “title” would be that of my mate and my nobyo, with his duties primarily to me. I was pretty sure he was going to give me a great deal of trouble about these plans, however, as he still felt great loyalty to his old unit. I might have to do a little convincing, but I was more than willing to work on that.
I still had no need for a mate, but it seemed as if I had little say in the matter, purely because of biology. I had bonded with him, and that, apparently, was that, as far as my body and mind were concerned. I’d been yearning for him all day, which was just ridiculous. I was hoping it would stop once I’d moved him into my quarters, and I felt sure that would be the case.
I was about to leave and go talk to my men about the return journey, when I felt a small hand on my arm. I turned and was surprised to see the Consort Blake. He was even better looking close up, with his crystal blue eyes, and the blond hair, streaked now with silver strands. He looked nowhere near what his age had to be.
“General Vargarra, I wanted to ask you about your omak, Christopher. I understand he went back to Earth years ago, when you and your brother were just boys. I never got a chance to speak to him before he left.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” I said, barely able to contain my surprise. Especially considering I’d been thinking about my omak earlier.
“Have you heard from him recently? I’d love to get in touch and say hello. He was one of my good friends and a teammate when we formed a team for the Games years ago.”
All of this was news to me.The Games?My omak had once been on the consort’s team? I’d never heard a word about it. My father would have hated that.
“No, Consort Blake. Unfortunately, my brother and I…we lost touch with him when he left. I-I don’t even know where he is now—or if he’s still alive.”
“Oh, my goodness, I’m so sorry,” he said, tightening his grip on my arm. He looked truly concerned. “I had no idea. If you don’t mind, I’m going to look into this and see if I can find him. I won’t bother you about it again, unless…would you like to know what I can find out? Assuming I can? I’ve been thinking about him ever since I saw you again.”
“I…yes, I would like to know what you find out, Your Highness. It’s good of you to ask. It’s been a long time.”
“Leave it to me, honey,” he said. “I won’t bother him if that’s not what he wants, and I promise to be discreet. I just want to make sure he’s all right. If you’re sure it’s okay.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” He gave me a little squeeze on my arm and went back over to join his family, and I turned and practically fled from the room.“Honey?”What did that word even mean? A quick search on my communicator told me it was the term for a thick, sweet, sticky fluid secreted from an insect called a bee, from the nectar of flowers.What?
This was turning out to be a bizarre few days for me, filled with incomprehensible human words and phrases and the messy emotions that I just wasn’t comfortable with and had no need for, damn it. I’d turned my back on them long ago and had been much happier since. I would go ahead with this thing with Taran, because it seemed like I had little choice. Especially since my emotions had been so out of my control that even the royal consort had noticed.
And if the consort was able to learn anything about the long-lost human who had been my omak, then fine. I’d listen to what he had to say. I wouldn’t get pulled into any kind of relationship though. Never again. It didn’t pay to love someone, because things never ended well in the end. Liking someone, admiring them, even feeling attraction to them was fine and probably inevitable. But not so-called love, which was just another word for obsession and ultimate disappointment.
