Alutia Rising, Anniversary Edition (Alutia Rising Series, Book 1) (40 page)

She moved through the door and he followed,
still holding her hand, hers slightly clammy. She sauntered
straight at the men, swaying her hips seductively while Trent tried
to keep the nervous tension from showing on his face. The two men
turned as one when they heard the approaching footsteps.

“Shift change boys,” said the woman with a
half-grin and a wink, “my man and I will take it from here,” she
finished, running a seductive finger down her cleavage. Noticeably
baffled, the two men looked at each other, then back at them.

“Shift change ain't for another hour or so,”
the older of the two men said suspiciously, scratching a striking
scar that cut from chin to ear. Trent tensed, preparing to draw his
laser arc when he felt the woman squeeze hard on his hand.

“You dare question me,” she sounded
incredulous, “I informed the captain that me and my man here wanted
to get some time to ourselves,” she placed a hand on her hip,
leaning forward, “he agreed, but said we would have to take a duty
shift. I have no issue informing him of your disobeying orders...or
your assistance with this most pressing matter,” she winked,
pushing out her chest as she stood straight. Trent’s anger began to
boil forth, clenching his teeth in a desperate attempt to restrain
it, “Easy boy,” she slid her arm around his waist, pressing her
bosoms against his arm, “I haven’t even gotten started with you
yet,” she purred, rubbing her leg against his. A raging lust fought
through the anger, screaming for him to ravage the woman who riled
him like no other. He fought with himself,
one, two, three,
counting slowly, trying to keep control. The two men's expressions
shifted to wide smiles of understanding.

“Ah, My Lady, I had no idea. If you ever want
a real man,” he snorted at Trent, “come find me, Maintenance
Engineer James,” he finished with a wink, pushing the confused
youngster towards the exit. The woman acted intrigued, blowing a
kiss to the two men as they exited into the hanger bay with a wave.
She dragged him into the transport tube, which started moving
before either of them could say a word.

Never before had she acted a paramour, having
only witnessed their behavior when those who followed that
particular traditionalist sect visited Tidelia’s court.
I can’t
believe I pulled it off
, she thought excitedly,
Tiana will
never believe it,
she continued, remembering all the times her
lady-in-waiting had implied Sasha was already an old crow. With a
wide smile, she turned to Trent.

He stood trembling, his expression shifting
between confusion, anger, and another that Sasha decided to
ignore...like she'd been doing with her own.

“What just happened? Why did you act like
that?” Trent questioned.

“I did what needed to be done, Trent. I was
concerned about your plan, and since both were petty crewman, it
was quite obvious they had not been introduced to all the nobles
currently residing in the base,” Trent stared in confusion, having
trouble grasping what she was saying, “Trent, there is a certain
sect of single noble ladies and gentlemen that have a reputation of
openly dallying with many different men and women, and throwing
their weight around to get what they want,” she placed a hand on
his shoulder, “I just provided those two the impression that I am
one of these noble ladies and you are my toy. Then after a little
nudge that I had received permission from the captain for us to be
assigned a post alone, there was no way they would complain,”
Trent's expression shifted to understanding, then quickly became
dubious.

“Is...is this something you do normally?” he
asked, his voice wobbly. Sasha felt her heart throb when she heard
the question.
He'd misunderstood,
and she was horrified by
that fact.

“No, of course not!” she growled, “I do not
dally with any man!” the ferociousness of her words caused him to
shrink back, the dubiousness shifting to concern, mixing with a bit
of hurt.

“I'm sorry,” he squeaked, “I...I didn't mean
to offend you,” his sorrowful look, like a lost puppy, caused her
heart to ache.

Her body moved on its own, embracing him with
her entire being. She panicked when she realized her involuntary
actions, trying to pull away, but found he was embracing her just
as possessively.

“How do you know me?” his breath caressed her
ears, “and why do I feel like I've met you before, that I’ve just
met another part of myself?” his words
penetrated
her very soul.

“My name is Sasha and,” she swallowed, “and I
know you from the enlistment trial record,” he broke free of her
grasp, falling to the floor in his haste and crawling away till his
back touched the tube transport’s wall. The feeling of total loss
returned, but she controlled the urge to rush back to his side.

“Grand Duchess Sasha?” he asked, pushing
himself up the wall to recover his feet.
So he does know me,
her mind cried with bliss. She nodded taking a step towards him.
His skin drained of all color. “How am I supposed to refer to you?”
he asked without emotion. She stormed forward till her nose touched
his.

“You will call me Sasha,” she stamped her
foot, “always!” she pushed closer, pinning him against the wall,
repressing the sudden urge to punch him. Anger beyond anything she
had ever felt swirled within while his skin regained its previous
color, then flushed, eyes going wide with horror, as if something
even more horrible had come to his mind.

“Are you responsible for the enlistment
trial?” he trembled, words sounding more of begging than asking,
like he desperately wanted her to say no.

“No,” she obliged him truthfully, “I did not
know of its existence until recently. Knight Captain Quinn wanted
me to look into the matter with Sir Simwa and his lord, Duke
Zehman, so I needed the record,” Trent sighed dramatically, letting
his forehead rest on hers.

“I'm sorry, Sasha. I...so much has happened,
I just...just don't know heads from tails right now,” he spoke
slowly. “Who can I trust or what is going on,” his voice fell to a
whisper, “I just don't know what to do anymore...I’m sorry,” Sasha
squeezed his cheeks, his lips puckering unnaturally. A single tear
trickled over her knuckle from his eyes, showing sorrow and pain,
both being held back by sheer will.

“I will say this once and only once,” she
drew every ounce of herself, her very being into her next words.
“You can trust me, Trent, I will never betray you,” the words of
her heart burst free, without thought, and she knew them to be
true. Trent reached up, running his fingers down her cheek, looking
deep into her eyes.

“I promised myself I would never trust again,
but,” he closed his eyes, “I will trust you.”

This entire situation is beyond
absurd
, the realization echoed within his rattled mind as he
responded instinctively to Sasha’s declaration. Beyond all reason,
this woman from his dreams who had attracted him like no other
before, turned out to be the one and only Grand Duchess Sasha
Alutia, the ruler of the Alutia Duchy, someone of great importance
within the NHA.

As they continued to embrace, Trent became
acutely aware of her body pressed up against his, and its feminine
shape and aroma. Reluctantly, he released her, but kept hold of her
hand. He knew that his behavior would probably breach some noble
protocol, but she didn't seem to mind, and he found that he felt
much calmer, his mind clearer, when he felt her touch. He allowed
his eyes to come fully open, only to find Sasha’s shining, emerald
green eyes staring back at him with compassion, but also veiled
fascination...
such beautiful eyes
.

“I overheard Sir Simwa,” he blurted, “about
an hour before you arrived,” he paused, but Sasha nodded for him to
go on, “he...he said something about how since the assassination
failed they would just force you to marry him, then,” fury exploded
within as the memory returned, “...kill you. He told it was all
because some duke was upset that his land had been taken?” Sasha's
gaze turned cold as she squeezed Trent's hand, unconsciously
transferring her anxiety through the touch. A seed of
protectiveness sprouted within his heart, “But I...I will never let
that happen. I will protect you, keep him from ever laying a hand
on you,” Sasha stared at him, expression unreadable.

“I accept your protection, and offer my own.
As you protect me from harm, I shall protect you,” she smirked,
Trent sensing a little deviousness in the way she turned his
declaration around. Before he could respond, she placed a finger to
his lips, her expression going distant, like her mind had exited
her body. Trent continued to study her intently, memorizing every
millimeter of her near perfect face, finding only a single
imperfection, a barely perceptible mole on her right eyelid.

“I was using my BC node,” she answered his
unvoiced question. “It appears there really is no way to get a
message out,” she continued absently.

“I'm still getting use to mine,” he tapped
his temple. “It's a really odd feeling and its takes me forever to
do anything with it,” Sasha smirked, her expression again going
distant. Trent felt the now familiar sensation of something
accessing his BC node, but this was different, warm, like he was
being touched by another human, not a machine. His vision blurred
and when it cleared he was not only looking at Sasha through his
eyes, but also with his mind, similar to what happened a few hours
earlier. It lasted only a few seconds before fading. Sasha's
expression turned quizzical.

“That's new,” she whispered, “usually it is
possible to communicate with each other through our BC nodes. It’s
just like talking, but with our minds,” she elaborated, having
probably sensed Trent’s confusion, “but when I tried to link to
you...it felt...strange....like if I held on for more than a few
seconds I would have been drawn deep within, to your very core,”
her voice trembled as her cheeks flushed.

“Have you ever felt anything like it before?”
he asked, curious.

“No...but...” she started to respond, then
fell into her thoughts.

“It’s not identical, but,” he started, seeing
an opportunity, “but the last time you appeared to me it felt
similar, when you were,” he let his voice trail off as he clearly
recalled her appearing before him, completely nude. She tilted her
head, raising one of her thin eyebrows, her eyes telling him to
elaborate.

“Well, um,” he considered staying silent, not
wanting her to think he was crazy.

“Well?” she pushed.

“Ok,” he sighed, folding without debate, “It
all started when I first encountered the TSB. I started seeing a
woman that looked like you in my dreams,” surprisingly, she nodded
understanding, her gaze, trusting. “Then you began to appear to me
even when I was awake. The first time you calmed me down... stopped
me from doing something stupid, something I'd regret,” her eyes
went wide.

“That was when...” she whispered. He stared
at her inquisitively, but she only nodded for him to continue.

“But that was still only in my mind. It was
when...when I was moving through the maintenance tunnels, you
appeared before me...it was so real...” he remembered, then froze
as Sasha reached for his cheek, exactly like during the waking
dream.

“I remember,” she said with awe.

“So I’m not going crazy?” he responded,
relieved.

“No, Trent...unless I am as well,” a bit of
dry humor found its way into her words, “but I think the question
we need to ask is; why?” she finished, the humor vanishing.

“I don’t know. Though it did happen again a
third time,” he started to flush, “but it was different, you looked
ethereal, like a ghost almost, and you were completely nu-,” he
stuttered when her face drained of all color, quickly moving to
cover her exposed cleavage.

“You saw me,” she started to respond but was
interrupted when the tube transport stopped and the door slid
open.

“Proceed through the primary corridor for 100
meters, then take a left, for 250 meters, then a second right for
50 meters, where you will find the seal of the galaxy king,” Trent
looked at the sphere, then at Sasha, who looked away, unable to
hold his gaze. He shrugged, saddened, realizing he'd probably said
too much. But instead of brooding, he decided to listen to the
Program named Vin and started down the wide corridor, a blushing
Sasha in tow.

He saw me,
Sasha’s mind screamed,
terrified. Not of Trent, of course, but at the memories that
flooded back as he mentioned seeing her a third time, which
coincided with when she was in the shower, unconsciously using the
Arm of the Emperor to view him.

She tried not to panic when the memories of
eight years before returned. When the noble teenage boys, taunted
and threatened her as she lay tied to the bed, naked. Their
horrible expressions, contorted with pure wickedness as they
touched her, taking detailed scans of every millimeter of her
flesh. The memory having clung to her like a festering wound that
refused to heal. She'd even sent Sir Seb'Losh on a fool’s errand
for the selfish fact that he may somehow see her unclothed in his
effort to protect her, the fear of being seen naked by a man just
too great. But even while taking every possible precaution, she'd
been seen by the man walking silently before her. She couldn't
comprehend how it possible.

When she first tested the Arm of the Emperor
on Tiana, her friend had been unaware of Sasha's vision floating
directly before her. But Trent had seen her...all of her. Combined
with the fact that they had witnessed each other during dreams and
waking, she knew they shared a mysterious connection, and her
frantic mind told of the need to learn more before something else
occurred.