Thieves In Paradise (14 page)

"I'm sorry,” Charity sobbed the words. “This is my fault."

A'Kosu'an dragged her to her feet and hurried her into one of the exam rooms which was already crowded with woman and children. “An attack on A'Kosu is an attack on Antares, not on you. You are not to blame for this. Stay here and help A'Kosu'li bandage wounds as they come in. Where is Kol?"

"Kol went to the shuttles. He's gone to fight them."

That knowledge morphed A'Kosu'an expression into one of grave concern. “I'll be back shortly with something to ease your pain until he returns.” The Antarean woman ran off then, and Charity heard her barking orders to her staff.

Another impact rocked the compound and everyone in the room hit the floor. Children wailed and mothers tried to comfort them. As she wandered through the anxious crowd, Charity recalled the hymns her mother would sing during the Dedicant raids to keep her quiet. She looked into the frightened eyes of the A'Kosu children and, lacking any other way to help them, she began to sing.

A'Kosu warriors lined the landing field, each ready to mobilize on the orders of the Council.

Kol held himself upright, battling the pain that tore at his gut. He needed to be with Charity to protect her from the Valencians should any of them manage to land, but he couldn't turn his back on the tribe, despite what had happened in the Council chamber that morning.

Hopefully none of the fighters would make planetfall. Antarean air defenses, led by the Va'Nari and O'Mak tribes, had already lifted off. They would protect the A'Kosu compound and the neighboring territories, but that didn't stop every able bodied A'Kosu from preparing for battle.

There was no question that the air strike was unprovoked. All of Antares would rise against the Valencians, but still there would be innocent loss of life.

Just as in his visions, Kol heard the screams of his tribe mates and silently he wished for the chance to exact his revenge. When the signal came, he gladly took his place piloting a small defense ship.
Goddess bless us all
, he thought on Charity's behalf. They would both survive this day, or neither of them would.

"Where is the thief?"

Charity recognized the booming voice of the First Elder, though the man in the dark green robes seemed smaller and less intimidating than he had when she'd faced him on the podium in the Great House at dawn.

Now he looked frightened. His wide face was pinched and his blue eyes narrowed on her instantly when she dashed out of the exam room where she'd been tending to a passel of terrified children.

A'Kosu'an had given her a shot of something that eased her pain, but a stab of fear replaced the hollow ache in her gut when she locked eyes with the angry tribal leader.

"I suppose you mean me?"

"The Valencians have come for you and they will tear our home apart piece by piece until you are turned over to them."

"They probably would rather just have the selenite,” Charity countered. She gulped back her fear and met the older man's accusatory stare. “Give them that and see how fast they turn tail and run back to Valencia."

"Our world is in danger because of you. Our allies have turned against us."

A'Kosu'an appeared behind the Elder then, her expression as hard and unpleasant as his. “True allies don't turn their allegiance so quickly, A'Kosu'ari,” she said, wiping bloody hands on her rumpled uniform. “We've learned the Valencians have no honor, and we should treat them accordingly."

The Elder turned on the Antarean medic, his robes swinging around him like an angry wave. “And perhaps you will fill a vacant seat on the Council, Gia'Kosu, after the death toll has been tallied."

"You're the first of the Elders I've seen since the attack began. I imagine the others are safely hidden, so I have no fear of needing to assume an Elder's duties as well as my own."

"The others are safe. I was chosen to find the criminal and bring her to the air field."

"I would wager you were the only one who wanted to go,” A'Kosu'an muttered. Charity's breath froze in her lungs. If the Antareans turned her over to Gar Gremin now, she'd never escape. Both she and Kol would suffer the pain of separation until the bonding killed them, but if it meant stopping the attack on Antares...

She stepped forward. “I'll go. If you're sure it will stop the attack."

"It will.” The Elder seemed flustered, as if he hadn't expected her cooperation. He reached for her hand, but a tall, solid body stepped between them.

One of A'Kosu'an's medics—Charity didn't know his title—rooted himself in the middle of the corridor. “You will not take her, A'Kosu'ari. She is the bond mate of my tribe brother and I will protect her with my life."

The Elder actually reared back and his face twisted in a sneer. “Step aside, Mogri'Kosu, or you will forfeit your lineage just as your former brother has."

"I will not move,” the brawny medic said. He put his hands on his hips, fists balled, and Charity had to peer around his broad shoulders to catch a glimpse of the indignant Elder.

Before A'Kosu'ari could continue his protest, two more members of A'Kosu'an's staff joined forces in the corridor, forging a barrier between Charity and the old man.

"We will not move,” one of them announced. Two women emerged then from within the crowded exam room. One gently drew Charity away from the door and together they blocked the entrance to the room, creating a second line of defense behind the men.

"You will not take our sister,” one of them said.

Chairity gaped. She didn't know any of these people. Not their names or even their titles. Her presence here had brought the Valencian fighter ships, and had already cost more than a few lives by the look of A'Kosu'an's bloody uniform, and yet they stood in her defense, contrary to the choice their elders had made.

She'd never be able to repay them.

Though she couldn't see over the shoulders of the Antareans who filled the corridor, Charity sensed the standoff coming to an end. With an indignant flash of robes the First Elder stormed out and without missing a beat, A'Kosu'an's firm voice rose above the cries and comments of the women and children.

"Get back to work everyone. We still have wounded to tend."

Charity swiped at her eyes, which stung most likely from the strong scent of antiseptic that permeated the place, and she rejoined the group of children she'd been entertaining with hymns and songs from the fairy tales of Celrax.

She bore no illusions that the fight would end here, or that First Elder A'Kosu'ari would accept the decision of a handful of medical staff over that of the Council.

He'd be back, probably with a phalanx of reinforcements, but for now, Charity was one of the A'Kosu, and she was safe.

An hour into the battle, full planetary defense systems mobilized and an oscillating ion shield closed over A'Kosu airspace.

The last of the Valencian fighters careened off into space and twenty Antarean warships took up battle formation in low orbit to fend off any further air strikes.

The battle ended with the body count on both sides still relatively low.

Kol flew his shuttle low over the compound to survey the damage. A sea of white flags flew from rooftops signifying not surrender, but that all who lived in those houses had survived. His own rooftop was bare, and though he reasoned that Charity would not have known the custom of proclaiming survivors, a dark blot of fear formed over his heart. The pain caused by the mating bond hadn't subsided during battle, but he'd been able to keep his mind off of it while he tracked Valencians through the normally peaceful skies of Antares.

Under the protection of the ion shield, he landed his shuttle and joined in the march toward the infirmary to check on the wounded. Before he'd crossed half the distance, Barok approached him and pulled him out of line. For a moment Kol feared the worst, but excitement danced in Barok's eyes. “In your absence there has been a bit of a coup."

Kol halted, though his anxious gaze followed his fellow pilots. His only concern right now was to find Charity and ease the relentless ache of separation. “Can this wait, Barok? I'll gladly discuss—"

"Your bond mate belongs to the A'Kosu now. They have claimed her."

Kol turned his distracted gaze back to Barok. “What?"

"Your brothers and sisters refused to allow Demnar to hand her over to the Valencians when they demanded her life in exchange for an end to the attack. War has been declared based on the actions of the Valencians, and the Council—with the exception of Demnar—has voted to allow you and her to stay."

"A vote has overridden Demnar?” Kol suppressed a giddy smile. “I must be dead."

"Not yet, but if you don't reunite with your bond mate soon...” Barok nodded toward the infirmary. “There will be a second hearing and a full inquiry into her claims against Magistrate Gremin."

Kol didn't stay to hear the rest of Barok's words. He'd apologize later for his rudeness, but right now he needed Charity by his side before his pain became unbearable.

Gia met him on the steps of the infirmary. Dark blood stained the front of her uniform, just as her vision had shown, and the implications of it chilled his blood. “How many dead?"

"Four A'Kosu. Two O'Mak pilots ... that's all that's been confirmed."

Kol lowered his gaze. “It could have been much worse."

"Some will blame her, you know,” Gia said. “Many have stood for her, but there will be some who will hold her responsible for this day, as Demnar does."

"Do you?"

"No."

Kol pushed past her into the building. “Then I'll worry about it later. Where is she?"

"Tending wounded. She has a gift, passed down from her mother, I believe."

Kol advanced into the dim interior of the infirmary. His instinct led him through the chaos inside and he found Charity sitting by the bedside of a sleeping A'Kosu.

"Kol,” she sobbed when she saw him and flew into his arms. Instantly the twisting pain he'd almost grown accustomed to ceased. He crushed her delicate body against his and smoothed her hair. “They're trying to protect me, but we need to leave here before the Valencians come back. I can't stand watching anyone else get hurt because of me."

Kol rocked her in his arms and hushed her with a gentle kiss. “We're not going anywhere. Barok has told me you have been claimed by the A'Kosu. The Valencians have broken our trust by attacking the compound without warning. You will never be turned over to them now."

She looked stricken at the news. “So I've started a war."

"No, I think you are merely an excuse for the Valencians to attack. Magistrate Gremin believes he has great power, but he had overstepped his place and made an enemy of all the tribes of Antares. According to Barok, you will be counting yourself among their number now."

"But what about you?"

"As your bond mate, I am A'Kosu because you are."

Charity seemed to ruminate on the irony of it. “Who is Barok? Not the Elder who came here to get me?"

"No, that would have been Demnar, First Elder. Barok is Second Elder ... but these are their true names and I'm being rude in using them. You'll need to learn everyone's proper title before the next hearing."

Charity sat back, her eyes wide. “Another hearing? What have I done now?"

Kol smiled and drew her to him. “You've earned a place among the A'Kosu. Now you will get to tell your story of the conditions on Celrax and the laws Gremin has broken. Are you ready to do that?"

"They're going to take the word of a thief?"

"No.” Kol shook his head. “They will take the word of an A'Kosu woman, my bond mate and my wife."

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Ten months later

Charity lifted her hands from above the faint bruise on her patient's lower leg. The child smiled up at her. “It doesn't hurt anymore, A'Kosu'ka."

"Good. Now will you let A'Kosu'an put the salve on to reduce the swelling? I promise you that will not hurt either."

The child nodded and Charity stepped back from her bedside. Her hands still tingled from the flow of energy she'd accessed to dull the little girl's pain. With a contented sigh, she transferred the residual Reiki energy to her lower back, massaging the muscles that strained to hold her distended belly.

A warm hand on her shoulder startled her and she turned to find Kol smiling down at her. “Your shift was over an hour ago. I've been waiting."

Charity laughed and ran her hand over her bond mate's arm. “Sorry. You know time gets away from me."

"Yes, but you need your rest. Any day now you'll be giving birth."

"Hmm.” Charity raised a skeptical brow. “You keep reminding me, as if I could forget. It's not every day a human gives birth to an Antarean baby."

"Not every day, but it could very well be tomorrow."

A sharp kick from within her taut abdomen seemed to punctuate Kol's words. Charity let out a whooshing breath. “It could also be tonight. Maybe I should sit down."

Kol guided her out of the exam room and helped her sit on a low bench in the corridor. “I'll summon Gia.” His tone took on that hint of worry that she'd become accustomed to hearing ever since A'Kosu'an had confirmed her unlikely pregnancy.

"No, no. I'm all right. It was just a kick. Give me a minute to rest and we'll go home."

"Before that, if you're up to it, Barok would like to see you. He has some news."

Chairty stared at her husband. Ever since Antares had won the war with Valencia, every day had brought more encouraging news from the Rim colonies. Charity couldn't imagine what else Barok could need to tell her. “Why can't you tell me?” she pleaded. “I don't think I have the energy to walk all the way to the Great House tonight."

"Barok will be disappointed that he didn't get to tell you himself,” Kol winked at her. “But he'll have to understand, I suppose."

"Just tell me."

"Gar Gremin has been overthrown. He's been jailed on Valencia and his former aides are distributing four metric tons of selenite. The first shipment is slated for Celrax."