Release (31 page)

“I guess I don’t really know what this means,” Keirth said. “My mother couldn’t have been...” He gestured around at the elaborate couches and ornate wallpaper. “I don’t see why she’d run away from all this. You have no idea the way we lived. Why would she...?”

“We don’t really know either,” said Tramet.

“I barely remember what she was like right before she left,” said the prince. “Afterwards, after she was gone, I tried to think of any sign she might have given, anything she might have said, but I couldn’t think of any reason she would have left either.” He leaned back against the couch. “I only found she was pregnant this afternoon. If I’d known, maybe I would have looked harder.”

“We did look hard,” said Tramet. “We combed the sector for her. She didn’t want to be found, Gulien. And when I discovered she was pregnant, I had no idea the prince could possibly be responsible.”

“Did she ever give you any indication of who she was?” asked the prince. “Did she ever mention...anything?”

Keirth shook his head. “No. She didn’t like to talk about anything that had to do with the nobility. She hated it.” He sighed. “I guess, though, it makes certain things make sense. I was pretty young when we left the sector for the first time, maybe four or five, and before that, I’m not sure if she was, you know, working as a prostitute. I think that may have started after we got to Scranth. But when we left, I remember the sector was celebrating the prince’s—I mean your—marriage.” He gestured to the prince.

The prince covered his mouth with his hand. “Then it’s my fault. It’s my fault she died.”

“It’s Risciter’s fault.” Keirth’s voice was harsh.

“Indeed,” said Tramet. He was sitting next to the prince, and he turned to him. “Gulian, what’s done is done. Cecily was distraught over the loss of our family. She must have been sure she was ruined when she became pregnant. She ran because she was confused and frightened. She must not have seen any other way out.”

Ariana cleared her throat. “It’s the sector’s fault. The sector made her think she wasn’t worth anything if her virtue was in question. The sector drove her to it.”

No one said anything, but Keirth took Ariana’s hand.

“You told me your mother said that the sector was a pretty cover for something rotten, didn’t you?” Ariana said.

“She said something like that,” said Keirth.

“Well, it’s true,” said Ariana. “This place treats women like property, something to be traded, something that can get ruined or destroyed, not like people. It’s appalling. It’s why I wanted to leave.” Certainly, they couldn’t go anywhere now, not when Keirth had just found his father. But she didn’t know what would happen anymore. She’d never expected anything like this.

“Well, we will leave,” said Keirth. He stood up. “If we could evade gellococcus, escape from Trioth, get away from Risciter, break out of jail, we can do this.” He tugged her to her feet.

The prince got up as well. “Wait.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You must realize that I loved your mother. I was forced to marry, to produce heirs. It’s my duty. But I’ve never cared about anyone the way I cared about Cecily. And I’ve lost her forever, but you’re all there is left of her, and I beg you not to walk away from me, please.”

“You’re the Tramet heir,” said Tramet. “I have no children. You’re all there is. Please.”

Ariana sat back down.

Keirth looked at her. “Ariana?”

“Keirth, he’s obviously your father. You look just like him. And the Tramet title is going to die with the duke without anyone to inherit it. We can’t simply leave like we thought we could,” she said.

“But this isn’t what you want,” he said. “This isn’t what
we
want. And besides, I’m a convicted murderer.”

“Oh,” said the prince, “considering the evidence that Nigel has compiled, I don’t think that will be an issue for much longer.”

“We agreed,” said Keirth, staring into her eyes, “we didn’t want to be tied down. We wanted to be free, to go from place to place.”

“Nothing’s saying you can’t do that if you assume the title,” said Tramet.

“I couldn’t take care of Cecily,” said the prince. “You must let me at least take care of her child.”

Keirth sighed heavily. He sat back down next to Ariana.

She lifted her chin. “The sector destroyed Cecily. If we stay, we’ll want to use our position to help women like her.”

The prince caught Ariana’s gaze with his own. He nodded slowly. “Yes, absolutely. You couldn’t be more right.”

Epilogue

One year later...

Ariana poked her head into the bridge of the ship. “We getting off the ground soon?”

Keirth looked up from the console. “Yeah, as soon as my father stops sending me messages trying to convince us to take servants along. He doesn’t believe that we can rehydrate food ourselves.”

Ariana plopped into the seat next to him. “But we never take servants.”

“And yet,” said Keirth.

Such were the trials of being the next Duke of Tramet and the son of the prince, even if he wasn’t legitimately recognized by the queen as an heir to the crown of the sector. Being the Tramet heir was responsibility enough.

But the prince had been as good as his word, doing what he could to help the plight of women in the sector. He’d set up a trust for the families of Risciter’s victims. It seemed that the dead women on Hallon were the tip of the iceberg. Risciter had traveled far and wide, leaving bodies in his wake. Ariana and Keirth were the executors of the trust, and they across the galaxy, finding families and giving them what help they could.

When they weren’t hunting down the victims’ families, they spent their time working on ways to keep prostitutes safer, lobbying for quicker responses by police, helping brothels get the funding to hire guards and install security systems.

And they also traveled to numerous speaking engagements throughout the galaxy, appearing on panels and giving talks about the role of women in the sector and the way that current social rules hurt them. When Keirth told the story of his mother, there was never a dry eye in the place.

With the support of the prince, things were changing. It wasn’t happening overnight, but progress was being made. From Ariana’s perspective, it was a long time coming.

They were moving most of the time, which was the important thing. Ariana didn’t know if she could handle staying in one place for long.

But she was eager to get moving on this trip, because it wasn’t business but instead a much needed social trip to visit Gordic and Winda, who’d just had their first baby. Ariana had an entire room of the ship filled up with baby gifts. She couldn’t wait to see them.

“He seems to have gotten the message,” said Keirth, grinning over at Ariana. “At least he hasn’t sent me anything in the last few minutes.”

“Quick,” she said. “Get moving before he does.”

Keirth began to press keys on his console. “Strap in, sweetheart. We’re taking off.”

“Finally,” she said, glorying in the whirs and moans the ship made as it left the ground. She watched on the visual as the world slipped away, as they burst through the clouds, through the blue sky, as it darkened around them and the stars appeared. This was home. And Keirth was here, so everything was perfect.

Keirth punched at the console again. “We’re making the jump to hyperspace,” he told her.

She held her breath as the ship accelerated and watched as everything stretched out in front of her before it exploded into streaming lights.

Keirth switched off the visual.

“I like hyperspace,” she pouted.

“Gives me a headache,” Keirth muttered. He unstrapped and got out of his chair. “Besides, I have better ideas for how we should spend our time besides staring at the visual the whole trip.”

Ariana unstrapped herself, arching an eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”

He pulled her against his hard chest, pressing his lips on her neck.

She sighed as he kissed his way up to her ear.

His whisper was ragged. “I am going to make you come so many times, you won’t be able to move by the time we get to the Pyrneth system.”

She laughed. “You better, boy. You’ve got a lot to make up for.”

He rolled his eyes. “Are you ever going to let that go, sweetheart? It was one time. One time. You didn’t have an orgasm
one time
. The first time, may I add.”

She grabbed him by his belt and tugged him out of the bridge.”We’ll see, won’t we? Maybe I
will
let it go. It all depends on what you do for me now.”

With a growl, he lifted her in his arms and carried her back through the ship. She giggled as he threw her down on the bed and held her arms up for him. “I love you Keirth Transman.”

“I love you,” he said.

Outside, their ship tunneled through hyperspace, and swirls of bright light surrounded them, cradling them. They were moving so fast, ripping through the stars. Together.

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