The Stubborn Lord (16 page)

Alek touched her arm. “Everything that can be done will be done.”

“She’s been asleep since the wedding ceremony. I can’t wake her up. I brought her here to receive medical attention. The stasis unit is to keep her comfortable while she sleeps. We don’t know if she is in pain. The doctors have never seen anything like it. At best, they think she might have had an allergic reaction to something on the planet.”

“And at worst?” Alek asked.

“That she carries a plague. Don’t worry. I have been tested and no one who has been around her is sick. She is stable, but for now it is best if she breathes filtered air. I called in several favors to have this stasis pod delivered.” Mirek caressed the transparent lid, as if tracing his wife’s face. Kendall studied him, noting the openness of his raw expression. There was longing in him, and frustration, and concern. The emotions radiated from his features. “The builders will start construction on a special isolation room for her just as soon as the supplies can be delivered. I have sent for more doctors and a new medic unit with all the upgraded technology. I’m not hopeful it will do much, as the medical booths we currently have are not that old and they are not helping her.”

Kendall glanced to her husband. His face was always so guarded compared to the emotion Mirek showed for his sleeping wife. The two of them couldn’t have known each other long since Riona had arrived on the Galaxy Bride ship and, by the sounds of it, was passed out by the following morning. Kendall wondered what it was about her own husband that made him so stubborn, so shielded.

She wanted to reach out and touch Alek’s face so she could search deep in his eyes. Maybe the answers she sought would be there. Or perhaps it was better not to know since she was leaving. Alek met her searching gaze and nodded. As if resigned, he said to Mirek, “I know the timing is unfortunate, but my wife needs a ride to…” He glanced at her expectantly.

“X Quadrant,” she supplied. “Roaming Fueling Station at the X’s Deep Space Port registered to lot X-65J.”

Mirek gave her a strange look. “Roaming Fueling Station?”

“My family is there,” she answered.

He nodded. “If you don’t mind parting with some of your personal ore supply, there is a vessel that will make the trip. It’s an older ship I added to the fleet about ten years ago in trade. It’s been reconditioned, but I have to warn you the luxury leaves a little to be desired. It’s pretty fast, but takes a lot of fuel to run the long trips.”

“What about the newer ships?” Alek asked.

“None of the pilots currently certified for those vessels are nearby. Don’t look so worried, brother, the ship is older but sturdy.” Mirek slapped his brother’s arm. “It’ll fly you straight, and the pilot might be new but he’s well trained.”

Alek didn’t look comforted.

“You’re lucky we even have a pilot who is free to take you. The other pilots are scattered about the mountains with their families. Since we had the Breeding Festival I did not have any scheduled ambassadorial trips. I’ll have it readied for you both by morning.”

“Both?” Kendall asked, curious.

“I assume you would want your family to meet your husband,” Mirek said. “I trust the men manning the flight, but I don’t trust the port stops along the way should something happen. Some aliens do not respect a female who travels alone. As my sister, I cannot allow you to go unescorted.”

It was an old-fashioned concept of chivalry, but she found herself not protesting. If it would give her a few more days with Alek, she would take them. She wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet.

“If he wants to come,” Kendall answered.

Mirek nodded as if Alek’s travel plans were a foregone conclusion. “Then it is settled.”

Alek didn’t answer.

Chapter Eleven

Alek led the way through Mirek’s hall. Not going the way they had come, as evidenced by the new tapestries Kendall saw hanging on the walls, but rather through a long maze of hallways and doors. He opened the doors with a hand scanner. She watched the doors slide closed behind them, trapping her with Alek deep in the mountain’s core. Though she wasn’t really worried by the fact. She trusted Alek as a man of his word. If he was going to harm her, he would have done it already.

“I didn’t realize you would have to travel with me. I’m sorry if I put you in an awkward position with your family,” Kendall said, trying to fill the silence. In truth, she wasn’t sorry. She wanted him to go with her.

“It is what is expected,” he answered, not sounding surprised or put out by the notion of leaving his planet. Then again, he was always so serious. There were glimpses of emotion, but nothing like the display Mirek had shown. Come to think of it, nothing like Bron had shown either. She wondered why her husband had become so guarded with himself. Perhaps if she had more time she would learn his secrets.

“Have you ever been off planet?” she asked.

“Yes. As children we were expected to go into orbit to get a feel for it, and I have joined Mirek a handful of times over the years on his ambassadorial missions. Though, those trips were only to take a shuttle up to meet an alien ship in our airspace.” He kept walking. She wanted to touch him, to make him stop. More than that, she wanted to kiss him, to have him press her up against the wall and make love to her like he had next to the cabin.

“Have you ever left orbit? Have you been to deep space?”

He stopped walking and turned to her. “No. There has never been a need.”

The very idea seemed foreign to her. Never seeing deep space? Living on one planet…forever?

“Open,” Alek commanded. She stopped in surprise before realizing he spoke to the central computer hidden in the stone. A door opened and he moved aside so she could step into the room first. “This is my home,
our
home for the brief time you are here. Relax. Eat. Look about. I have nothing to hide.” He didn’t follow her in. “I will be back later. I must speak to my brother about the arrangements for our trip.”

Before Kendall could answer, the door slid shut and he was gone. Alek’s home was nothing like Mirek’s. The layout was different, as was the décor. Though for the most part clean, piles of clutter were strewn over tables and chairs. A row of stairs disappeared into an upper level.

Leather straps connected to pieces of metal were placed over the back of a thickly stuffed couch. She’d seen similar items hanging in the stables at the palace. The couch faced a barren fire pit.

A wood table was inset into the wall with bench seats. Stacks of papers and electronic devices lined its top. On the walls hung a dragon standard much like the wall at Mirek’s. However, there were also woven tapestries depicting birds and forest creatures—some large and fierce, others gentle and small. She slowly made her way toward the table. A door led to a bathing room. Another opened to a wide space with weapons on the wall and little else. Yet another led to a kitchen set up similar to the cabin home. She stopped at the table and looked down.

Electronic clipboards were turned off and labeled with the Qurilixen language. She didn’t have the necessary upload to be able to translate what the labels said. Rolled parchments were stacked in the corner and flat parchments were stretched out before one of the seats. When she sat on the bench, she pulled the flat parchment toward her and lifted a blank piece. Beneath the paper were several drawings. The sketches had been done by hand with a primitive drawing instrument. The black lines were bold with delicate degrees of shading to fill in the contours. Almost all of the drawings were of nature—trees and forest paths, ceffyl mothers with their babies, the mountains, birds and forest creatures much like the ones on his tapestries. There were a few pictures of children playing, one of Cenek, some of Alek’s brothers. If these belonged to Alek, the man had a great talent for detail.

Kendall traced one of the lines with her finger. Alek did not draw himself into his pictures. Then, coming to the very last page, she found the ceremonial valley of tents from the Breeding Ceremony as if seen from a high angle. The layout was different than she remembered seeing, but the wilted leaves on the trees and the darker shading gave the hint of one night of darkness on the planet.

In a surreal way, the images painted a story of Alek’s life. They were serene yet isolated, powerful yet sad in their solitary lines. They were images she would never get to see with him, the secrets of the planet that would be left behind in the morning.

Alek let loose a long breath as he strode away from his wing back to his brother’s home. Being near Kendall was hard. He wanted to touch her, but to do so would only cause him more pain. One kiss and he would be begging her to stay with him when she had made it very clear she’d never wanted to be on his planet.

“Are you going to come inside, or are you going to stand by my door brooding,” Mirek said from within his home.

Alek commanded the door to open and stepped in.

Mirek sat by his wife’s stasis unit, his hand on top of her plastic crate—the only way he could hold her in her condition. “I see you chose to come inside and brood.”

“I don’t want our brothers to know I’ve left,” Alek said. “They have enough to worry about without thinking of me in deep space.”

Mirek arched a brow.

“Bron’s marriage should be settled, but it is not settled well.” Alek sighed. “And mine…”

“The trip isn’t so you can meet her family, is it?” Mirek absently traced circles over his wife’s still form. “I suspected as much by the look on your bride’s face when I suggested you go with her.” He gave a short, humorless laugh. “You are welcome for that by the way. Whatever is happening between you, this should give you more time with her.”

“If you wanted to give me more time you could have been a little less accommodating with the ship.”

“You asked for a ride so I granted it. Without knowing the details I did not think it best to delay her departure in case it was an emergency, but the least I could do is to give you a chance to fix whatever is broken by sending you along.”

“I am afraid our marriages are cursed,” Alek said. “Bron was unable to resist his bride and consummated the marriage early.” He quickly told Mirek about Bron’s capture, the possible alien threat, the possible dissatisfaction of the gods. “And I did not follow ceremony as I should have and now my bride is set to leave me. You did not find your bride in the receiving line and she lies here like this. Perhaps this is a sign that our bloodline is to die. Vladan, as our adopted brother, will continue the family name and traditions.”

“The Tyoe are aggressive in their dealings,” Mirek said. “They tried to buy our mines and offered an insulting price because they assumed we were barbaric and stupid. I refused as I always do. They are not the only aliens to covet our ore. That is the price to pay for such a profitable industry. Though, honestly, their offer was better than those who try to get us to do all the labor while they reap the profits. I doubt there is anything worth finding, but if Bron’s bride suspects them to be a threat, I will look into it. There are ways of tracking whether or not ships have been in our airspace. Most crafts leave behind a residual energy that can be detected. That should tell us whether Bron’s capture was alien or local.”

“Var, aliens or the gods. I’m not sure which option is the worst fate,” Alek said.

Mirek studied his wife’s still face. Riona didn’t move. Alek had a hard time looking at the poor woman with the tube sticking in her side.

“I cannot believe all hope is lost. We aren’t bad people, Alek. We don’t deserve this. I must believe that the gods test us, nothing more, and that all will be well if we are strong.” Mirek leaned over and placed a kiss on the transparent lid before standing. “Come, let us find a drink.”

“Always the optimist.”

“Hardly.” Mirek went to his wall and opened a hidden latch. The panel revealed a supply of rum. Taking a bottle and two goblets, he poured the thick liquid and sat down at the rounded table. He took a long drink before refilling his goblet.

Alek joined him but didn’t touch the liquor. “I promised Kendall I would get her home if she agreed to marry me.”

Mirek froze. “I can only imagine how hard it is for you to admit that to me.”

“I will honor my word and take her home.”

“Why does she want to go home?” Mirek asked. “What is there for her?”

“She…” Alek paused. He’d never actually asked her specifically why. She kept insisting that she needed to go home and so he was taking her home.

“She did not tell you and you did not ask.” Mirek shook his head. “There is a reason you are not the diplomat in the family, my brother. You think everything can be said in silence and gestures. I am your blood and I sometimes cannot guess what you are thinking.”

“I am not so closed,” he protested.

“You are not so open. Your stubbornness keeps you from saying anything resembling emotions. There are years I think you say more to your ceffyls than you do to your brothers. Women are not like beasts, Alek, and they are not like us. Your wife has not known you as long as we have.”

“I do not treat my wife as a ceffyl.” Alek lowered his tone in warning. He did not like his brother implying otherwise.

“Maybe you should.” Mirek was tired, that much was obvious, but he was also unconcerned with Alek’s temper. “A little softness in her direction wouldn’t hurt the situation. You stood by her like a statue, barely looking at her, while she could barely keep her eyes off you. The gods would not have sent you a woman who was incapable of dealing with that stubborn streak of yours in the long term, but you have got to give the woman a chance to know you before it’s too late and she is gone forever.”

Alek clenched his hands around the goblet of rum. He had shown her more emotion than he had anyone else in his life. He had married her, which had to speak volumes about what he felt. His crystal had glowed for her. He showed her he wanted her with his kisses and touch. How could there be doubt as to what he wanted, what he felt?

“If you continue to be stubborn, you will lose her. Your bride is before you, breathing and alive. If you don’t fight for her with every weapon you have, and that includes making yourself vulnerable, you don’t deserve to keep her and the gods will be right in taking her from you.” Mirek took Alek’s full goblet from him and helped himself to the liquor. Then, setting the empty goblet down, he said, “I will not tell the others of your journey unless it becomes necessary. I’m surprised Bron gave you direct orders to repair the communications. Of all things for him to use his title on, that seems an odd choice. If he wanted you at the cabin, he should have just ordered you to stay at the cabin. He must have realized it was an impossible task. You didn’t have the supplies or the training necessary to do the job. Bron knows you’re better suited to nature than electronics. I wonder what he was thinking.”