Pax Imperia (The Redemption Trilogy) (48 page)

At a nod from the Major a large body of marines peeled away from the shuttles, heading towards the various entrances and exits of the compound.

So engrossed with the departing marines and the heavy weaponry they were toting, Miranda almost didn’t notice Jon striding forward, coming to a halt a few steps away from Robert Calis. The two men eyed each other warily.

“Take me to her,” Jon insisted, breaking the silent battle of wills.

“I don’t remember saying anything about allowing you to bring all these troops?” Robert replied angrily, pointedly ignoring his edict.

“I don’t remember you saying that I couldn’t.” Jon responded dismissively, fingering the sword at this side suggestively. “Shall we go?” He stepped around the younger man, heading into the complex, the marines fanning out, forming an impenetrable barrier around him.

“I
really
hate that guy,” Robert swore, as Miranda fell in step besides him.

“Don’t be silly,” she disagreed. “Jon likes you—after all, you’re still alive aren't you?”

*****

“Through there,” Robert said bitterly, motioning down the corridor, past the door he had just opened. “My personal quarters. You will find her there.”

“Very well,” Jon acknowledged, taking a step forward, frowning as Robert Calis, along with the rest of their entourage, moved to follow him. Turning to face Major Thompson Jon ordered, “Major, you and your team will remain here with Mr Calis and Miss Sun. I want to speak with my wife. Alone.” At the outraged expression on the Major’s face, Jon insisted. “That is an order. Wait here and guard the entrance. I’ll call if I need you.”

As Jon stepped through the portal, the door slid shut behind him, he was unable to hear as Robert pounded on the wall in frustration. “That’s the
second time
I have been kicked out my own home.”

Walking cautiously down the corridor, fingering the sword at his waist, not really expecting any trouble but remaining vigilant nonetheless, he stepped into a wide enclosed atrium. It was brightly lit with the golden rays of the late afternoon sun streaming through the transparent overhead panels. Glancing quickly around he observed a number of statues on illuminated pedestals; quickly dismissing them as unimportant, he stepped around them before coming to a sudden halt.

Cocking his head slightly to one side, he could just about hear the quiet gurgling of flowing water, but it was not that which had drawn his attention, but the soft singing coming from ahead. A voice and melody he was intimately familiar with. The last time he had heard that song his head had been resting in her lap, as her soft fingers trailed through his hair, soothing away a headache that had developed from trailing her father around for most of the day.

Moving quietly so as not to disturb her, he stepped around the pillar, and the breath caught in his throat at the sight of her. For Sofia, his wife, alive and well was sitting next to a bubbling fountain. Her hair had grown much longer during his absence and the strands were now reaching down most of her back, spreading across the edge of the fountain, almost touching the surface of the flowing water. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, and she was sheathed in some flimsy white silk slip, which had risen up almost to her thighs. She was trailing one hand idly through the water in the fountain, while she continued singing softly, obviously having failed to notice his arrival. The late afternoon sun shone down upon her, illuminating her, making her auburn hair glow a fiery red. She looked like an angel in her white dress, a halo surrounding her glowing brightly, and Jon had to suck in a deep breath, reminded once again of her beauty, both inside and out.

Leaning against a pillar to help support his weight, he felt like he had stepped into a dream. He never thought that he would see her again and yet, here she was, sitting but a few feet away from him.

As if feeling another’s presence her voice fell silent, and the hand that she had been trailing through the water stilled. Her eyes flickering open, glancing around and then stopping as their gazes met across the length of the room.

As if pulled by some invisible force, the two of them slowly gravitated towards one another, until they stood face to face, only a hair’s breadth separating them. With a trembling hand Sofia reached up, gently pushing back the dark hood from his face, the cloak slipping from his shoulders until it fell to the floor, pooling at his feet. Her other hand trailed down his chest, pausing to stroke reverently the white uniform, before reversing direction, heading upwards along his shoulder, skimming his throat and jaw, until it finally came to a rest hovering millimetres above his cheek, as if unsure whether to proceed.

He reached up, catching hold of her hand in a firm grasp, pressing it against his rough cheek, leaning into her touch.

“Jon is it really you?” she whispered, not wanting to break the magic of the moment, but desperately seeking his reassurance, needing to know he was real.

“Yes, it’s me, love. I’m really here.” He gave her the reassurance she needed, his other hand snaking out to reach around her narrow waist, pulling her closer, into his embrace.

Sofia leaned into him, but hesitantly, as if still unsure. “But how do I know that this is real? Not just another dream?”

Leaning forward until his lips hovered just above hers, he replied, “Like this love, with a kiss.” With those words he let his lips brush gently against hers, warm, soft and reassuring. Sofia’s eyes fluttered shut, her arms instinctively encircled his neck, pulling him closer, almost desperately, not wanting to ever let him go.

Time seemed to stand still, as the two of them stood together, entwined. As the late afternoon sun shone down on them, it seemed to encompass them both, glowing a bright golden colour. The two were so closely melded together that it was impossible to see where one ended and the other began.

Eventually the two had to separate, if only for oxygen, but even then they did not move far apart, as Sofia rested her cheek on Jon’s chest, reassured by the regular beating of his heart. She didn’t even realise she was crying until the first tears started to stain his white uniform. “My father,” she cried. “Jon, my father is dead.”

Lending her his strength, he effortlessly picked her up into his arms and was surprised at how light she felt, as she seemed practically ethereal. Looking around but unable to find anywhere to sit, he carried her to the edge of the fountain where she had been seated earlier, lowering them both to the side, with his arms still firmly wrapped around her, as if he could protect her from all the ills of the world with his touch alone.

Rocking her in his arms, as one might do a baby, until he started to feel her tremors subside, he then tenderly touched her cheek until she looked up into his eyes. “I am so sorry, my love. I tried everything to reach him, but there was just not enough time. There is never enough time.” His own eyes were dark with shared pain. For he had spent hours questioning his own actions on that day, but each and every time, whatever different course of action he took the outcome was still the same. There was nothing that he could have done.

“When I finally reached his side,” Jon continued on softly, “I found the most amazing sight, as far from an expression of fear or horror on his face, instead I found the most wondrous smile. I would like to think that in the last few seconds of his life, when he realised that he was dying, he finally found peace. For he realised that very shortly he was going to be reunited with his wife, your mother. He spent many hours telling me how much he missed her and longed for the day they would be reunited, for he loved you both so very much. So don’t grieve for him love, for they are both together now, at peace.”

“How can you be so sure?” Sofia asked, amazed at the strength of conviction in his voice.

“Because I felt the same,” Jon said. “In those days, weeks, months apart from you, when I thought that you were dead, it was the only thing that kept me sane. The knowledge that one day, no matter how long it might take, we would be finally reunited, together once again, forever.”

“How did you become so wise?” she asked in wonder.

“I had the most amazing teacher. Your father,” he said with a sad smile. “I will never forget him, as he gave me a chance when nobody else would. He took me in and gave me a home when I had no other, but, more than that, he gave me you, and for that alone I will thank him until the end of my days.”

“As will I,” she replied with tears in her eyes, but this time they were of joy. For while she had now lost both her parents she would never be alone, as she still had Jon, her father’s parting gift to her. Not wanting to spend the time that they had alone together discussing such melancholy topics, Sofia leaned forward, pressing her lips firmly against his. But unlike their first kiss, this was not a tentative one, filled with hope, but full of months of pent up longing and desire. Jon’s mouth opened beneath her questing tongue, and she swept into his mouth, igniting a mounting passion between the two of them.

Dazed at the intensity of their kiss, Jon shifted backwards to put some space between the two of them, as he felt as if he were about to spontaneously combust, but remembered they had an audience waiting for them, on just the other side of the door. Unfortunately, with his brain consumed with longing for her, he completely lost track of his surroundings and, with a cry, stumbled backwards. Hands flapping frantically, he desperately tried to catch hold of something, anything, to stop his fall, but nothing was forthcoming. With a cry of shock at the impact, and the sudden cold, he disappeared into the fountain, quickly sinking beneath the surface.

Sitting up, squirting water from his mouth, Jon shook his head to dislodge the water from his face and stared up into Sofia’s eyes, which were full of laughter. “You’re the second person that has gone for a swim in there today. I’m starting to wonder what the attraction is.”

“You are welcome to come in and join me to find out?” he shivered.

“I don’t think so,” she laughed, shaking her head. “It looks far too cold, and I think the fish are hungry, as they keep nipping at my toes. Anyway I don’t want to get my clothes wet.”

“As Commander of the Praetorian Guard, I can personally guarantee your safety from any fish with hostile intent and, as for the cold, I promise to keep you warm,” Jon said with a laugh, for the first time in many months feeling carefree and happy. Looking up, he was surprised to see the heated look in her eyes, and the fact that she seemed to actually be considering his suggestion.

With lips curling up in a wicked smile, she reached for one of the straps of her silky slip. “Well I cannot let my dress get wet, as it’s one of the few that I’ve got. Therefore, I guess that I’ll have to take it off first.” With that she let the strap slide from her shoulder, followed soon after by the second. The slip glided from her body to pool at her feet, leaving her naked and glowing in the late afternoon sun.

Jon took in a sudden indrawn breath, as she stepped into the fountain and approached him, like a tigress stalking its next meal.

“Your clothes are soaked,” she insisted. “I’d better help you out of them.”

Jon thought briefly about informing her about all those currently waiting outside upon their arrival, before promptly forgetting about them. Let them wait. After all, was he not now the Imperial Emperor? He should abuse that authority—at least a little—while he still had the chance.

*****

“Where are they?” Robert growled in frustration. “What is it they’re doing that is taking so long?”

Everybody else just looked at him in astonishment. Realising how that question sounded, he flushed bright red with embarrassment. “Okay, I can guess
what
they are doing—but do they really have to take so
long
?”

“I heard that Commander Radec is well known for his stamina,” one of the marines quipped. The others sniggered, before being silenced by an angry glare from Major Thompson.

Miranda supressed a smile of her own. Then, as the door suddenly slid open, her mouth dropping open in surprise as she observed the couple. “By the Maker, what happened to you two?”

“We went swimming, unexpectedly, in a fountain,” Jon groused, trying to wring the excess water from his hair, frowning at his still-damp uniform. While he had hung it across a couple of statues to drip dry, it was still extremely damp, and exceedingly uncomfortable. At least his dark cloak managed to remain dry, and hence afforded some warmth. With Sofia on his arm, he turned to face Robert Calis, informing him smugly, “We’ll be departing. Immediately.”

“With all your hired guns?” Robert demanded, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“With all my hired guns,” Jon confirmed. “You and I are going to have a long talk in the near future. My wife,” Jon cast Sofia a fond look, “Has managed to persuade me not to kill you. Again.” He sighed. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t be keeping a close eye on you.” He turned to leave, but was stopped by Sofia tugging on his arm.

“Before we leave, I would like to talk to Jason. I owe him our thanks,” she explained. “Where is he, for I have not seen him in several hours?” The question seemed to hang in the air, resonating amongst the group, as Robert Calis turned pale and stopped, while Miranda shot a worried glance first in his direction, and then at Jon. A nervous silence descended on the group, the still before the storm.

Looking first at Robert, then Miranda, Jon felt his jaw tighten with tension, as he immediately felt something was very, very wrong. “Where is Lieutenant Edgar?” he repeated the question, but with a hard edge to his voice. “If you have imprisoned him for his actions, you will release him immediately. If he has been hurt in any way—” He let the threat linger in the air.

“It was an accident,” Miranda hurriedly explained, trying to defuse the sudden tension, before things spiralled out of control. “There has been at least one attempt on Robert’s life, hence his security forces were on alert to any possible assassin, and when they found Jason trying to contact you, they just assumed the worst—”

“Where is he?” Jon growled taking a step towards Robert and Miranda, Sofia’s hand falling to the wayside due to the sudden distance between the two of them.