Release (13 page)

Ariana wasn’t sure she wanted him to find a ship. Once they were in space, Keirth was going to take her back to the sector, wasn’t he? She didn’t want to go.

The thought cast a pall over the rest of the meal. She did her best to be polite and winsome with the Triothians, but retired early to the bedchamber she was sharing with Keirth.

Keirth stayed to talk to the chief for a while, so when he came back to the room, she was already in bed. She’d put up the cushion wall again, but she hadn’t been able to sleep. Keirth seemed to assume she was sleeping, though, as he pulled off his shoes and climbed into the other side of the bed. She felt his weight settle next to her.

She had a mad thought. What if she pulled all the cushions off the bed and slid close to him? What would he do? Would he want her? Would his honor stop him from taking her? If he did, would his honor keep him from abandoning her?

She scolded herself. She couldn’t trap Keirth and force him to let her come along with him. She’d only make him resent her in the end. Still, it was infuriating, lying next to him, knowing she felt something for him, and knowing that he was planning on getting rid of her as soon as he could.

“So, we’ll leave tomorrow?” she said.

“You’re awake,” said Keirth.

“I can’t sleep.”

“I was afraid you’d left for bed because I’d done something that made you angry. I seem to do that a lot,” he said.

“No,” she said. “I suppose I was realizing that once we had a ship, you were going to send me back to the sector. And I don’t want to go.”

“I did make you angry,” said Keirth. “I knew it.”

“Not you, exactly. The situation,” she said.

“I can’t take you with me back to Kush,” said Keirth. “I can’t let you help me find Risciter. It’s too dangerous. It wouldn’t be right.”

She sighed heavily. Was there no way he’d change his mind?

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t like thinking about you getting hurt. I really don’t like it.”

“I haven’t been hurt so far,” she said.

“Drugged, tied up, nearly raped, almost eaten by gellococcus... Yeah, it’s been a very safe little expedition.”

“Well, what do you care anyway? You can’t take me back there. You just can’t.”

“We’ll talk about this in the morning,” he said.

“Are you going to change your mind in the morning?”

“I doubt it.”

“Then what’s the point?”

There was a muffled sort of banging noise. She was pretty sure that Keirth had just punched a cushion. His head appeared over the cushion barrier, staring down at her. “Before we came here, I had no idea that you were so...” He looked away, searching for words. “So beautiful and poised. More than ever, I can’t let Risciter get his hands on you. So I will make sure you’re safe. I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you. Do you understand?”

He thought she was beautiful? Really?

There was a knock at the door.

Ariana sat up. Who could be knocking? Why would they knock?

“It’s Freetha,” said a voice from outside the door. “Let me in. It’s important.”

Both Ariana and Keirth got out of bed. Keirth lit a lamp. Ariana hurled the cushions onto the floor. She couldn’t let Freetha see they were sleeping with a barrier between them. Ariana ran to the door and opened it. “Freetha?”

Freetha looked anxiously up and down the hallway, checking to see if anyone was watching before scurrying inside the room. “I’m sorry to disturb you.”

Keirth was sitting on the edge of the bed. He’d removed his shirt to sleep, apparently. His chest was bare. Ariana gaped at him. He was so...strong. His shoulders were wide, and his muscles seemed to bulge conspicuously. She swallowed and tore her eyes away from him.

“What’s wrong, Freetha?” she asked.

Freetha looked from Keirth to Ariana and back again. “You two are married, aren’t you?”

Keirth looked at the floor.

“Of course,” said Ariana. What was this about?

“But you haven’t been married for a year,” said Freetha. She looked sad.

“What are you talking about?” said Ariana.

Freetha took a net tablet out of one of her pockets. She switched it on and handed it to Ariana. “My Father saw it. We don’t spend much time here concerning ourselves with what goes on in the sector or even on the colony planets, but we do try to stay informed. So, when my Father checked the nets, he saw this. And he said he knew that someone like Keirth couldn’t actually be married to someone like you.”

Ariana sat down on the bed next to Keirth, staring at the tablet. It was a news item. The headline read, “Daughter of Duke Captured and Terrorized.” There was a huge picture of her. She scanned the article and then handed it to Keirth, her heart racing. Risciter was alive. She’d thought she killed him, but he was alive. She was both relieved and horrified at the same time.

“I don’t believe it,” said Freetha. “Keirth isn’t the kind of person they describe there. He doesn’t have you here against your will. He isn’t—”

“‘Viciously raped’?!” Keirth read from the article. He stood up. “How dare Risciter accuse me of that?”

“They’ve got his story now,” said Ariana. “They won’t believe mine.”

“He didn’t really kidnap you, did he?” said Freetha. “You two eloped, right? You were so in love, and they wouldn’t let you get married that you took matters into your own hands.”

Ariana tried to catch Keirth’s eye, but he was still seething over the news article.

“Freetha...” How should she explain?

“But you are in love,” said Freetha. “I can tell you are.”

Ariana nodded, looking into Freetha’s eyes.

But Keirth said, “I’m sorry we lied to you. What’s your father planning on doing with this information?”

Freetha looked crushed. She shook her head slowly. “I was sure from the way you looked at each other...”

“You kidding?” said Keirth. “Was there any man on this planet that didn’t look at her like that when we got off our ship? Now, what’s your father planning on doing with this information?”

“He wants to keep you here,” said Freetha. “He’s going to try to turn you into the sector and claim a reward. He’s haggling over the price right now.”

“Damn it,” said Keirth. “That’s why he’s been dragging his feet on this trade with me.”

Freetha nodded. “My father’s asleep now. I came to you to tell you that you should leave now, before he wakes up. I don’t want...anything to happen to you.” She looked at Keirth. “Ariana says you’re a good man, and I believe her. I don’t believe you hurt her. If you’d done what the article said, I don’t think she’d be happy with you.”

Risciter was alive. He was alive and telling lies to the press.

Keirth looked back at the article. “‘Above all,’” he read, “‘the Duke of Risciter wants to see Miss Gilit again.’” He looked at Ariana. “I’m sure that’s true. I’m sure he does want to see you again. I guess you got your wish. It’s not really safe now to send you back there. You’re coming with me.”

Ariana’s heart leapt. At least something was going right.

Keirth turned to Freetha. “You’re not going to mind if I steal one of your father’s ships?”

“I want to help,” said Freetha.

“Thank you,” said Keirth. “You didn’t have to tell us this.”

A thought occurred to Ariana. “Will this get you in trouble? With your father?”

Freetha shrugged. “What could be worse than being in a black veil for a year, not able to speak to anyone?”

Suddenly, Ariana wished they could take Freetha away as well. Maybe this planet was simply too backward. But she knew that was out of the question. She went to Freetha and hugged her. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Keirth was yanking on his shirt. “We can’t waste a lot of time,” he said, heading for the door.

Ariana looked down at her nightgown. “Well, can I get dressed?”

“Hurry up,” said Keirth.

* * *

Freetha watched the ship until it disappeared into the clouds of the night sky, then she hurried back to her room. She sat down on her bed and got out her net tablet. A few key strokes tethered it to her comm, and then she keyed in a few more numbers.

A man’s face filled the screen. “It’s done?”

She nodded. “The ship just took off, and I put the tracking device inside that you told me about.”

He smiled. “Good job. Thank you for contacting me. I might never have found them otherwise.”

“I recognized them immediately when I saw the news on the net,” she said. And to think they’d believed that her father could possibly be plotting against them. Her father was a ridiculous old fool, ignoring the universe around them in favor of their tiny planet. He paid no attention to what happened elsewhere, but Freetha did. There was a reason she’d tried to marry a man on a ship. She wanted to leave Trioth. “I’d like the rest of my credits, please. That was the deal. Half before, half after it’s done.”

“But of course,” said the man. “I believe if you check your account, you’ll see that it’s all there.”

Freetha tapped her screen and looked at her account. He was right. She smiled. This would be quite useful. She had nearly the amount of money that she needed. She’d be off Trioth in no time. “Mr. Risciter,” she said.

“It’s Lord Risciter,” said the man on the screen.

“Lord Risciter, can I ask you one question?”

“What’s that?”

“What are you going to do with them when you find them?”

The man’s lips curled. “Feeling guilty about selling them out, are you?”

Freetha snorted. “Quite the opposite. I hope they suffer.” Ariana had stolen Keirth from her, and she’d wanted him badly. She’d lied and said they were married when they weren’t. By all rights, Keirth should still be hers. Of course, Keirth had abandoned her in robes of waiting for a year, and, if he hadn’t needed something, never would have come back. No, she had no sympathy for either of them.

Laughter came from her tablet. “Well, then, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”

Chapter Ten

Four hours in the cramped ship and Ariana was questioning why she’d ever thought she was falling for Keirth Transman. Once they were cooped up together, he was incomprehensibly rude. The ship they’d taken from Trioth was much smaller than her own ship. It didn’t have a dining room, just a small kitchen—which wasn’t stocked with any food, of course, meaning Ariana was starving—and the bedchambers were hardly big enough to contain single beds. The ship rattled and made strange noises in hyperspace, which Keirth said were nothing to worry about. Ariana had managed to bring along her blaster, but she’d had to leave her trunk on Trioth, so she was stuck in a jumpsuit again.

Keirth had spent the entire trip pacing around the bridge, muttering to himself. When she tried to ask him questions, he ignored her for half of the trip, but then finally snapped at her to shut up and let him think. Then he went on a tirade about everything being harder with her around and really wishing he could send her back home.

During all this, Ariana was dealing with the fact that at random moments, she’d realize again that Risciter was still alive. He’d given his embellished story to the sector. They thought she’d been ravaged by a kidnapper, and Risciter looked like a hero who’d tried to save her. He’d made everything horrible.

And he was
still alive
.

Which meant she wasn’t safe. She couldn’t stop thinking about the maniacal way he’d smiled at her, how his face had been twisted like an insane man. And she couldn’t help but remember how much he’d seemed excited at the prospect of killing her. Would he give up now?

The news story had plainly said that Risciter was looking for leads on their whereabouts.

And that was another thing Keirth had yelled at her. He said that the galaxy was on high alert looking for the both of them. Her picture was everywhere. She was conspicuous. Everyone would recognize her already, given that she was a duke’s daughter. But now, with the news story flying around, they’d be looking even more closely for her. If it weren’t for Risciter, Keirth told her, he’d pack her up and send her on the first transport back to Wendo.

To which Ariana had retorted that she didn’t have anything to pack, since she hadn’t been able to take her trunk.

After that, they hadn’t done much talking. Ariana had been too angry to speak to him, and he hadn’t seemed interested in talking to her either. So now that the ship had landed, she had no idea where they were.

As she followed Keirth off the landing ramp, she surveyed their surroundings. They’d landed in a spacedock, but not one of the big public ones like they had in major cities in the sector. Instead, it was little more than an open space with the capability to tether one’s ship to ports. There was no shelter from the elements for the ships. Around the flat slab of concrete that constituting the dock was a field of scraggly, overgrown grass. And in the distance, Ariana could see a group of makeshift buildings, constructed of stone and wood. There was a dirt walkway leading from the spacedock to the buildings.

A woman was coming up it. She waved one hand at the two of them.

“Come on,” said Keirth, heading to meet the woman. Ariana didn’t have any choice. She followed.

As they got closer, Ariana could see that the woman was middle-aged, probably near the same age as Ariana’s mother. She was somewhat plump, but she wore a form-fitting tunic that gaped low, showing off her ample cleavage, and a skirt that hit her around mid-thigh.

“We welcome walk-ins,” called the woman, “but you’d get much prompter service if you had an appointment.”

“Lilla, it’s me,” said Keirth, doubling his speed to cross the distance between them and the woman.

When they were a few feet from each other, the woman burst into a huge smile. “Keirth Transman?” She opened her arms wide.

Keirth grinned back and trundled over to her, embracing her warmly.

She held him at arms’ length. “Well, I don’t believe it. I haven’t seen you in nearly five years. I do believe you grew.” She squeezed his upper arm. “Your muscles sure did.”

Keirth laughed. “You look exactly the same. Haven’t aged a day.”