Destined (3 page)

Rhoda’s lips were blue, her hands were white. “Great. I will take the ride, and the chip. And your friend can go to hell.”

“I have already banned her from my properties, and she will have to find another to leech off of.”

Her teeth were literally chattering as she took the hand he extended to her to help her into his vehicle.

He snapped the door into place and walked around, settling in the driver’s seat and turning on the heat. “You lose body heat quickly.”

“Yes.” She huddled in on herself and shivered. She looked like a small animal he had once fished out of a stream.

He sighed and engaged the engine.

“Where are we going?”

She rattled off the address, and he programmed it into the transport. Seconds later, he lifted her into his lap and rubbed her arms while murmuring in a low tone.

Her shivers ceased, and she looked up at him in amazement. “How did you do that?”

He quirked a smile at her. “All part of my charm.”

Chapter Four

Rhoda woke up and quickly grabbed a shower before heading off to meet her art class. She only got to teach once a month, but it was worth the extra effort.

Prince Drehl had simply dropped her off at her home after he had made sure that she was warm. She now had her pay chip back, and her shoes hadn’t been completely trashed.

Rhoda grabbed a breakfast bar, two bottles of water, a flashlight, her sketch kit and started to hike down the hill. The morning was glorious, and at the base of the hill was her little group, all assembled and ready.

She smiled and explained the day’s task, to sketch crystals in their natural environment. The guide to the caverns took them inside, and after half an hour of walking, they settled in the interior of a giant geode with lights flaring up from the floor, to try and capture light fractured by stone.

Everything was going fine until there was a rumble from the tunnel by which they had entered and everything went dark.

* * * *

Charm stood outside the cavern with his team and watched Under bury the villain up to his neck.

The man had thought to blackmail the families of those inside but that was not going to happen today.

Hawk tilted her head. “Do you hear that?”

A rhythmic thudding was coming from a few hundred metres away. Charm nodded, and when he made eye contact with Under, his captain jerked his head in agreement.

Charm and Hawk followed the sound, and at chest height, a hole opened in the rock face large enough for a citizen to slip out. One pair of feet at a time emerged, as those trapped inside slithered out.

Wealthy art students appeared out of the rock, and all Charm and Hawk had to do were catch them as they emerged.

Hawk grinned. “Someone did our work for us.”

One of the escapees sat against the rock face and smiled. “We have a very determined instructor.”

Charm straightened. “Is her name Rhoda?”

The student nodded. “It is. Do you know her?”

He chuckled, though they couldn’t see his grin through his mask. “I have met her. She
is
a very determined woman.”

Hawk looked over at him with surprise on her lips. “You have? You just got here this week.”

He shrugged. “I get around.”

A dozen students dropped to the ground, and the guide to the caverns followed. He was shaking and pale, but he stepped aside to allow the final escapee to wriggle her way out of the hole.

Charm watched with interest as Rhoda’s legs appeared, the skirt she was wearing rucked up against her thighs and stopped just short of being lewd. Once her legs were out, the skirt draped back into a more concealing formation, and Charm sighed in disappointment. He gripped her hips and heard her yelp as he pulled her out of the hole and into his arms.

Light seemed to blind her for a moment, and she pushed at his armour, trying to get free. The inputs on his suit registered blood, and he set her down, catching her hands in his. “What happened?”

“The crystal was sharp enough to cut rock, but it also cut right through my jacket.” Rhoda Evergreen was trembling, and her eyes displayed her shock.

Charm sighed and wished he could kiss that trembling lower lip. Instead, he cupped her hands in his and murmured softly, coaxing her skin to heal itself.

Hawk mentioned, “Her arm as well, Charm.”

He turned her forearm and winced at the foot-long gouge into her soft flesh. “Damn.”

Rhoda whimpered as he pressed the skin together with his fingers before he cast his spell again.

When she was healed, she slumped against him for a moment before backing away to lean against the stone. “What happened?”

He tilted his head. “You don’t know?”

“There was a cave in, and we were stuck, so I grabbed the nearest crystal and went to work on the softest part of the wall I could find.” She clenched her hands.

Charm nodded, and his respect for this little alien went up another notch. She had been in charge, and she had made sure that her people got out in one piece. “How did you know that the surface was so close?”

“I have been in those caverns before. They are constantly repairing the cracks that let daylight in. It had to be fairly close.” She shivered and looked at her grime-stained clothing.

“Well, there was a plot to hold your students for ransom. We took care of the criminal, and you took care of the escape. Thank you, citizen.” He inclined his head.

She laughed. “I am not a citizen. I am a legal alien. But you are welcome.”

Hawk came over and made the introductions. “I am Hawk, and I believe that you already know Charm.”

Charm watched as Rhoda blinked rapidly. “Yes, we have met, but I didn’t get his name.”

Under came forward and looked at the smudged rescuer, smiling with satisfaction. “Well done, you two.”

One of the students perked up at that. “Oh, this wasn’t the work of a Guardian. Our art teacher broke us out.”

Under smiled. “He should be commended.”

“She.”

“What?”

“Our art instructor is a female. She is the one standing in front of Charm.” The Duchess of Cahniata smiled.

Charm watched Under take in the small woman with the white hair and peculiar eyes. “Thank you, citizen.”

Charm stifled a smile as Rhoda took a breath to correct Under but then thought better of it. “Thank you for being here when we got out. I am not sure what would have happened if he had come face to face with his victims.”

He watched as she stood and extended her arm for the hand Under held out to her.

Charm frowned. “Are you injured beyond the cuts?”

She winced and turned to face the featureless mask that he wore. “No. Well, some falling rocks hit me. I am sure that a quick check in a medical facility will set me right. Oh look, there are the emergency responders now.”

Under released her hand, and Charm took both her hands in his. This would involve more contact than he normally engaged in with a free woman, but Charm whispered and his power trickled along his limbs, into her palms and throughout her body, fixing every anomaly he found.

She had cracked bones, internal bleeding and quite a bit of bruising. Charm’s lips tightened as he continued to control the nanites that he was sending through her system.

Her eyes widened, her pupils dilated and she collapsed in his arms as he completed the healing.

Hawk asked, “What did you do?”

“I stopped her pain. She was far more injured than she appeared. She would not have made it into the city for treatment.” He lifted her in his arms. “I will take her to her home if that is all right, Under?”

Under cocked his head. “You know her?”

“We have met while I was out of uniform. I will see her settled and comfortable before returning to the base. If you need anything of me, contact me.” The suit answered his demands, and it lifted off, sending him through the sky and toward the home and studio of the slight woman in his arms.

It seemed that while destiny was in the wings, fate was determined to throw them together, and looking down at the small bundle of curves he carried, he had no objection.

Chapter Five

The lack of aches and pains was the first thing Rhoda noticed. The second thing was the huge armoured figure standing next to her wardrobe going through her evening wear.

“Excuse me, Charm. What are you doing?” She sat up and was relieved to see that she was wearing the same grubby clothing she had crawled out of the cave in.

“I was taking an inventory of your possessions. Despite the outward appearance of affluence, you have little to no funds and are living one shopping day away from disaster. I have heard of your portraits on every portion of this world. Where is your money going?”

She blinked at his very direct question. “You asked me a straight question, so here is the straight answer. Bribes.”

“What?”

“I am a legal alien here as long as the government decides that I am. There have been a few that have needed persuading to allow me to remain on Yacaro. Jemyalli deals with that and tells me how much they are demanding. I only live on the fine edge of what I can afford to and save the rest so I can stay.”

He cocked the featureless faceplate. “How does that explain the very expensive gowns? The one you were wearing at the gala cost more than most folks make in a month.”

“They are gifts from patrons that I have done portraits for, usually men. They are familiar with my situation, so they don’t send me anything that can be misconstrued for currency. I also get food and wine frequently.”

“So this is common knowledge? That you have to bribe the government to stay here, I mean.”

She nodded and got out of bed. “Of course. Apparently, it is standard protocol for those born outside Nyal space.”

Rhoda carefully moved past him and closed the closet doors. “I am fine now. Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”

He inclined his head, and she saw her own pale features reflected in his faceplate. “I do indeed. I merely wanted to make sure that you were not suffering a side effect of my healing. Not all species respond favourably to it.”

She frowned and shifted her body. “I feel fine. Better than normal actually. All the aches and pains are gone. How did you do that?”

She heard him laugh behind the mask. “It is part of my charm. Now, have a good afternoon and stay away from tunnels.”

Without another word, he walked out of her home, and he lifted off, flying north before his silhouette flickered and disappeared. Charm had left the building.

She rubbed her hair and locked her doors. It wouldn’t do much good against one of the Guardians, but it would make her feel dramatically better while she took a shower. At least she would hear it when the wood and glass were forced.

She looked at her face in the mirror and stuck her tongue out like she always did. No matter what she was wearing, she always reminded herself that she was the woman from Terra who had never fit in, even in her own home. Reminding herself of who she was was an important ritual. Delving into the destinies of others cut her out of her own life in sections and left very little of Rhoda behind if she didn’t put herself in her place.

She slid the shirt off her shoulders and turned to look at the place where a bruise should have been covering her skin. There was nothing. She couldn’t feel any hint of the damage that she knew she had suffered.

Smiling, she stripped and stepped into her shower. Water was the one luxury she allowed herself on a regular basis. She had a solar shower, but water was what she wanted on her skin.

Scrubbed and clean, she brushed her hair and braided it then got dressed and went to work.

She had half a dozen canvases in progress, and it was time to get them finished.

Rhoda waved farewell to the courier who dropped off the enormous box at her doorstep and had brought it inside to help her unpack it. The card on the box simply said,
These are my favourites.

Shrugging, she set the snacks in her chiller and cupboards. She was about to return to her work when her com alerted her to an incoming message. She turned the vid link on and smiled politely. “Your Highness. Good afternoon.”

Prince Drehl smiled in return. “And good afternoon to you as well, artist. I was wondering if today would be a good day for the initial consult.”

“Um, there are only two good hours left for this kind of work. I am not sure that you could make it here in time.”

He chuckled. “I am outside your door.”

The link cut off, and there was a knock at her door. Rhoda absently cut her side of the link down and moved to unlock the barrier to her guest.

Etiquette kicked in. “Please, come in. Can I offer you a beverage?”