The Impatient Lord (12 page)

“
Lady Riona, forgive me, I almost didn’t see you there,” Bron said, causing Mirek to turn his attention back around. “I am pleased to see you awake. I am Bron, married to your sister.” He smiled at her. Riona nodded and drew her arms close to her body in a protective gesture. Bron continued, “I didn’t have a chance to wish you many blessings on your marriage, but I offer them now.”

Riona nodded again. “
Is my sister…?” She frowned. “Is she…?”

“
Are you worried about her condition? I promise you, she is healthy. The baby is well. I have ensured she has the best medical care. Alliance doctors come monthly to check all of our wives.” Bron slowly continued to move away. “Have Mirek bring you by our home later. Aeron has been very anxious for you to wake up. She’s been by your side almost every day and she has terrorized your doctors to figure out what was going on with you.” Bron nodded at Mirek. “As has your husband. Between the two of them, I’m surprised the Medical Alliance will even agree to come back here.”

When
Riona merely stood not really answering him, Bron left them alone in the corridor. Riona moved toward Mirek.

“
You should have just asked him what you really wanted to know,” Mirek said. “You’re worried you hurt Aeron’s feelings.”

Riona didn
’t meet his eyes.

“
Would you like me to take you to her?” he offered. “I can show you which hall is hers, though maybe you already know? I’ve been meaning to ask, how did you make it outside? Most people are confused by our corridors if they don’t know their way around.”

“
No one showed me,” she said. “I got lucky the first time and have a knack for memorizing my way around new locations. Today I just followed the same path and then heard you talking. I followed the voices.”

“
You are very resourceful, wife.” Mirek reached for her cheek. His stomach might be sore and his body drained, but if she asked it of him, he’d go to her and make love to her again—anything to please her.

“
What’s this about the Var?” She changed the subject. “The Galaxy Brides uploads said something about territorial skirmishes, but the way you were talking about peace treaties makes it sound like you are at war.”

“
We call it war because we do not get along and fight whenever our paths cross, but the fighting has been more covert as of late. They try to invade us. We defend ourselves. They try to kidnap and kill our princesses, we kill their king.” Mirek motioned that Riona should walk with him. Instead of leading her deeper into the mountain fortress, he took her toward the home’s entrance. The corridor led to a larger one. “While we’re here, I should point out these five hallways—you know the way to our home, this center hall we came from leads to the common rooms. The first hall was Bron’s, but now that he is married he took the tower rooms so you go down that hall and then take the stairs up to see your sister. Second hall is Alek and Kendall. Vlad and Clara are on the end. If you take side halls they’ll lead to dead ends and mazes, so be careful.”

Riona nodded.

“And this way is outside,” Mirek said, before picking up the conversation where it had left off. “The Var have a new king. He claims to want peace, but we will see. Not many Draig will believe the cat shifters capable of honor.”

“
So dragon shifter and cat shifters? Are there any other kinds on your planet?” she asked.

“
Just beautiful women.” He gave her a playful look, grinning.

“
So cat shifting enemies on the planet. Tyoe attacking from offworld. A plant that puts me into a coma. It doesn’t seem very safe here. Especially for me, since you can add killer dragon boys with rocks to my list of worries.”

“
They meant no harm.”

Riona rubbed her scalp. “
Tell that to my head.”

“
You have nothing to worry about regarding the Tyoe. That threat has been taken care of.”

“
So I guess Aeron was wrong. We didn’t really need to come here after all.” Riona paused as they reached the entrance. She looked around the yard, taking in the nearby forest and open sprawl of the valley. In the mountains, the trees were skinny and tall, not like the fat round trunks of the forest near the festival grounds. Noise carried better here. The mountain home blended with nature to create what Mirek thought of as the perfect balance of convenience and beauty. The shout of a young boy sounded from the far end of the valley and she stiffened.

“
The gods brought you to me,” Mirek stated. In his heart he felt it to be true. To put her at ease, he tried to dismiss her fears. “As to other threats, I will give my life to protect you. Even the Var know women are special and to be protected. King Attor was a madman, but he is gone now. They won’t harm you. As for the yellow, you just need to avoid the forest by the palace where it grows. If you find yourself near it, don’t put your face on the ground.”

* * *

Riona eyed the part-reptilian, part-mammal creatures locked behind the wooden bars of the stalls. “So this is a ceffyl.” She glanced at Mirek. The bright sunlight from outside shone in the stable doors to frame his body. It obscured his face and distorted his figure.

“
It is.” He tilted his head and yelled, “Out, boy!”

Riona jolted in surprise. A young boy popped out from behind a post and kicked at the ground as he walked out of the stables
, making a wide arc around her. She automatically eyed his hands for rocks. He carried none.

“
Like the mines, the ceffyls are a family responsibility. Alek manages the herds and breeding. Until recently, they’ve only had about a fifty percent live birth rate. If we lose a herd, it is not easy to repopulate since the beasts have a three year gestation period.” Mirek came next to her and lifted his hand toward the animal that had caught her attention. The animal slithered its long, narrow tongue in response. “You’ll want to move slowly until they know you better.”

“
What happened recently?” Riona found the creature’s reptilian eyes fascinating.

“
Clara has a form of telepathy and can communicate with the animals. She learned why they are obsessed with solarflowers—a native plant that normally makes them sick. However, it appears they need the flower for healthy pregnancies. So far, results of the new diet had been promising. Alek raised the birthrate to about seventy-five percent in less than a year just by changing their diet.”

“
I know Kendall from the ship, but I don’t think she likes me very much. I don’t remember Clara. I’m usually very good with faces and names.” Riona lifted her hand toward the beast. Apparently, she didn’t do it slowly enough, because it tamped the ground with its large hooves and swung its head side-to-side while backing away from her.

“
She is from Redde and did not come by way of the same ship you arrived on,” Mirek answered. He slipped his hand under hers to hold it steady. The warmth of his body invaded her fingers, traveling down her arm to her side. She took a deep breath, smelling his familiar scent. Her body responded.

The ceffyl licked her fingers, ticki
ng them. Riona pulled her hand back. “I think I can ride it.”

“
You want to ride it? Have you ridden creatures like this before?” Mirek stroked the animal’s face.

“
I’ll admit, the giant horn coming out of its head is daunting, but what’s a little danger?” Her heart beat in the familiar call of excitement. “Besides, when will I get another chance?”

Mirek dropped his hand. “
What do you mean? There are always ceffyls here.”

Riona looked at the ground before forcing herself to meet his eyes. “
Mirek, I know you want to be married. I get that. Your culture is very traditional and geared toward family. There is nothing wrong with that. You have good hearts. I can see that. Any fool could see that. But this isn’t my life. You said it yourself, every bride has a purpose here. Aeron is fixing communications. Clara is a ceffyl talker. Kendall is cleaning mines. I’m not really useful to onworld living. I can fly ships, but I really don’t want a job as a pilot. And I doubt you have use for a professional vagabond.”

“
But the gods—”

“
Mirek, please, listen. I really do like you. You’re a good man. I see that. This is nothing you did. I think the gods sent me to bring my sister and that’s it.” Riona still wasn’t sure she believed in gods and fate, but Mirek did with such conviction it was hard not to acknowledge the possibility. “If this is what Aeron wants, then I won’t interfere. I heard your conversation with your brothers. I know he cares for Aeron. She deserves to be happy.”

“
And you don’t?”

“
What I need is not necessarily happiness.” Riona thought of the fifty-thousand space credits. The reminder sat like a weight on her chest and gathered stress in her stomach. “And my staying is not necessarily what is best for your people. Think about it. If the gods did arrange all this, then why did you not meet me when you were supposed to? By your own people’s logic, we would have met during the ceremony at the right time.”

He said nothing. She hated the stormy look in his eyes. There was so much passion
in him, and perhaps anger or frustration, yet he held it in.

“
I am not my sister. We live very different lives. You know I’m Jagranst, so you know what happened to my world.”

“
Aeron has told me some of the story,” Mirek acknowledged. “And just the stories I’ve heard over the years from other dignitaries.”

“
An alien race called the Gregori wanted to test a weapon they’d developed. My planet was located near enough to make the trip short for them but far enough out that no one would see the blast. We were simple people. My parents were strict but loving. We obeyed our god. We had our traditions. We didn’t make noise in the universe. We were just another planet of people trying to live the way we were raised to live.” Riona took a deep breath.

“
You don’t have to tell me if you are uncomfortable with my knowing,” he said.

“
No, it’s not that. I just have never had cause to tell this actual story. It’s strange saying it out loud.” She let loose a long sigh. “The weapon ship never even landed. I doubt the people on my world even knew it was coming. We didn’t fight with other aliens. We didn’t have special fuel ore like you do here. I was in space when it happened. We had an offworld chaperone who took us to the Zonar District for a social learning exercise my parents had signed us up for. I was so irritated that they’d made me go with my sister. Even then she was such a know-it-all and we didn’t really get along. I was always in trouble and she was always lecturing me about it.” Riona gave a small laugh. Some things never changed.

“
You two were the sole survivors,” Mirek concluded.

“
Yes. The weapon detached a land drill, made a hole on the surface and then followed it with a laser blast. I suppose you could say fate got our revenge as the weapon ship was situated over an energy factory. When the factory blew, the resulting blast hit the Gregori ship. It was over in a moment. The chaperone did his best by us. Lantos made sure Aeron got into a Federation prep school, and he would show up when I called to be bailed out of some planetary detainment. I found out he died a few years after the explosion. He’d been trying to help some orphan kids and they ended up stabbing him for his trouble and his money book.”

“
That could not have been easy for you.” Mirek tried to pull her into his arms.

The comfort would have been nice and warm and safe, but she kept back. At the moment, she felt too vulnerable.
“Aeron will be a good fit here.”

“
And we welcome you as we do her.”

“
I told you that I am not proud of everything I’ve done, but neither am I ashamed. I am a survivor. It’s all I know how to be. If I need money, I challenge someone to a game of chance. Most times they pay, sometimes they don’t. When you’re stuck on some fuel dock without space credit, the only acceptable way to earn is to win. If I need a ride, I work on a crew—sometimes the ships are luxury crafts, sometimes they’re more piratical. When I was a lot younger and desperate, I stole food to keep from starving, but I never steal high-credit items. I never cheat. I sometimes fight. I sometimes run from the law when I get myself into a bit of trouble.”

“
You live honorably in a tough circumstance,” he concluded.

Riona looked at him in amazement. He was so ready to believe the best in her. The confidence in her honor was strange. “
And I never go back on a bet. If I lose, I pay my debts.”

“
Range,” Mirek concluded.

“
I owe him money,” Riona said.

“
If that is why you tell me this, then consider it done. Tell me where to send the money and I will pay this debt for you.” Mirek smiled as if this took care of the problem.

“
I
,” she emphasized, “owe him money.”