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The woman, clearly terrified, shook her head wildly, and Kai released her. Coova pulled the woman behind her and stood bravely facing Kai, her eyes sharp and angry.
“Who are you and how dare you burst into my kitchen this way?” she demanded.
Kai took a step closer and pushed back his helmet to expose his forehead. “It’s Kai, Coova. Don’t you recognize me?”
Her hand flying to her throat, Coova took an involuntary step backwards, her mouth flying open. “But…but how? How are you here? Why are you dressed like that? Your hair. Your voice…”
Kai held out a hand to her, palm up. “I know, Coova. It must be shocking. But it’s me—Kai. ”He changed his voice, using the soft falsetto he’d used for the past few years he’d lived in the palace. “Don’t you recognize me?”
“Oh, goddess,” she said, touching her head and then her chin in the sign of the old religion. “It is you. But…”
“No time to explain, Coova, but you have to help me. The Alliance soldiers are coming for my mother. I have to save her, Coova. Please help me. ”
She started and then blinked at him rapidly for a long moment, but seemed to gather herself, straightening her shoulders. She inclined her head. “Of course I’ll help you, Princess. Come with me. ”
Barking orders at her staff to keep quiet and tell no one of what was happening, she motioned for Kai to follow her and led him to the servants’ stairway. She whispered fiercely to him as she led him up the dark, narrow stairs. “Your mother is in Queen Delanon’s chambers. She had her child this morning, and the last I heard they were-they were waiting for the high priestess to arrive. You’d have heard about the child, I suppose. ”
Kai nodded, his face a grim mask. “The priestess hasn’t arrived, though?”
“Not the last I heard. I was preparing tea for the queen to help her regain her strength, and no one indicated the need for an extra service. ” They had come to the hallway outside the queen’s bedchamber, and Coova put a finger to her lips. She motioned for Kai to hide himself in the shadows of the doorway across the corridor and then eased open the door. Kai could hear soft sounds of weeping from inside the room, and watched as Coova motioned to someone inside to come to the door.
Moments later, Merrial’s tear-stained face poked around the edge of the door. “What is it, Coova? This is not a good time. ”
Coova reached around the door and yanked Merrial by the arm. She sputtered and fussed as she was pulled out to the corridor. “Gods, Coova, can’t it wait? What on Scythia do you mean by this interruption…” She glanced up in alarm as Kai moved out from the shadows, backing away, her hand going to her throat.
“It’s me, Merrial. It’s Kai,” he said, pulling off the helmet and stepping out of the shadows.
Merrial’s eyes grew impossibly wide and she put a hand to her heart. “Kai! What are you doing here? How can this be possible?” She stepped closer to pull him in her arms and then held him at arm’s length, staring at him in dismay. “But what has that horrid man done to you? Your beautiful hair!”
Kai pulled away from her. “It’s not important, Merrial. You have to listen to me. Go get my mother and bring her here. Quickly. ”
Before Merrial could move, the door behind her swung wide and Delanon herself stood framed in the doorway, her cruel eyes glittering at him. “That won’t be necessary, I think. Come in, sister. I think you and our mother have some explaining to do. ”
* * * *
Lucas was silent on the way to the palace. The presence of Kyle and Nikolai on either side of him in the transport normally would have been a comfort to him, but he was too firmly focused on holding himself together at the moment.
Someone—his mind shied away from the idea of its being Kai—had warned the Scythians of their intent, and there had already been some minor skirmishes near the primary temple. So far there had been no casualties and resistance had been surprisingly light. Their satellites had picked up signs of a large resistance force gathering near the palace, but from all appearances, it was disorganized and somewhat chaotic. No one had even given the order to raise the planet’s shields, so the remainder of the strike force was already on the ground. The invasion promised to be a complete rout.
In a few minutes, they’d be there and able to engage whatever was left of the Scythia
n forces. Was Kai involving himself in this resistance? Was it possible that he could soon be facing his own mate in battle? The idea of Kai being hurt or even—no, his mind refused to go in that direction, totally shutting out the possibility. He’d given orders to his men to make locating Kai and returning him unharmed a top priority, and he was currently on his way to make sure those orders were carried out.
He was so angry—make that enraged—that Kai had put himself in such a position that his mind could barely hold any other thoughts, especially the idea that he, himself, was mainly responsible for this cluster fuck they now found themselves involved in.
As Nikolai had pointed out earlier, he’d mishandled Kai from the very beginning, certainly not inspiring any trust, let alone love in the boy. At first, he’d let his own fucking pride get in the way. And then, after promising Kai over and over again that he could confide in him and that he’d understand anything Kai told him, he’d callously broken that promise, even as late as the night before. He heard Kai’s voice echoing even now in his head. You hate me, don’t you Lucas? I can see it in your eyes. I’ve really lost everything, haven’t I?
Rather than taking Kai in his arms and making sure he knew he’d never leave him, never stop loving him, Lucas had fucked him and walked out the door, letting his stubborn anger and pride get the better of him once again. He’d even told Kai to bottle up his emotions, like he did, in order to be a real man. Don’t cry. Men don’t cry, Kai, even if their whole world is falling apart.
If anything happened to Kai because of his actions, because of his stupid pride, he wouldn’t be able to live with this crushing guilt he was feeling. He’d die without Kai—worst of all, he’d deserve to.
Kyle leaned over and spoke quietly in his ear. “We’ve arrived. Let me get out and talk to the strike force commander on the ground. See what he knows. ”
Though it was excruciating, Lucas nodded and waited the few minutes it took for Kyle to come back. They had followed the transmission coming from the chip in Kai’s arm, and traced him to this area. He must be inside the palace.
Jumping back on board, Kyle came immediately to Lucas’s side. “So far, there’s been no sign of Kai, but the queen and the dowager are inside the palace. The army on the palace grounds is not as well-organized as we’d feared. The ground commander is negotiating with their leader now for a total surrender. ”
“Any sightings of Kai?”
