Alien General's Bride: SciFi Alien Romance (Brion Brides) (33 page)

Diego had an idea where he could have gone. It made things… both easier and more complicated.

While he longed to be in pursuit already, the surety of the Elders approving his actions was enough to calm his battle rage. He knew he had been in the right, and while he had failed them, Diego would try to redeem himself by bringing Eren the end he deserved. The only regret he had was that now that there was a war coming, he would constantly have to put Isolde in danger.

He had already decided there was no way his
gesha
could be left behind while he went to war as there would be no safe place and she might as well be near him. Being close to Isolde helped with everything. If Diego had to fight a war for the Brions
and
against them, he was glad to be complete with his
gesha
at his side.

The Elders had been informed of Eren’s treachery, of course, and their rage had been terrible. Diego doubted that Eren had managed to play the fool with them, appearing to only have been misled, not outright treacherous. But they had still expected him to stay true to the Brions.

There had been occasions when some people had dared to question the Elders – the whole Rhea thing was a great example of that – but defying them so blatantly? That was unheard of. The Elders demanded bloody retribution, but first they had to figure out what to do with the Galactic Union.

They had called a meeting with the remaining senators, those who had taken Diego’s side and even a few who had switched sides when the decision had been announced. He wondered how it was for them and if the Elders had decided to be merciful. Eleya was in that meeting and the generals were left to wait.

He had had a moment to talk to Eleya. While it should have been his kill, a part of Diego was glad he didn’t have to put his spear through Aneya’s heart himself. Not out of any pity or remorse, but because of the simple fact that besides avenging Isolde, it would have been beneath him. She was no warrior, no true match.

The woman he had once known, the kind and beautiful companion had been gone for a while. He’d hoped for years they could remain friends, but every time they met it had become more obvious to him it wouldn’t happen. Only hope and memories had kept him from terminating their meetings altogether. It had nearly cost Isolde’s life.

“You got her?” he had asked Eleya, who looked much as he did – furious at Eren, but calm from finally having a clear plan about what to do next.

“I did,” the senator had said, frowning. “Forgive me, Diego. I did not sense the poison.”

“Urenya says it would have been practically impossible even if you had drunk the cup yourself.”

Eleya had nodded at that, accepting it without further comment.

“Did she say anything?” Diego had asked, the last courtesy he ever planned to extend to Aneya. To assume she’d at least died like a Brion.

“Nothing you would want to hear,” Eleya had said and Diego believed her. Presumably she had begged or tried to justify her actions. “I cut her off quickly.”

From her, that was literal. Diego was once again thankful. He could rest easily knowing at least someone would present the situation correctly to the Elders. He had little faith in the other senators right about then.

Sphere
, their intergalactic station, was boiling over. Some ambassadors had fled, others tried to consolidate things, a few were outraged, and another group simply stood by waiting. Only one, the Terran, had descended to the surface and quickly met with Eleya before she went to the Elders. Diego thought it odd, but it made little difference to him. The Elders would give their commands and he would obey.

Beside the
Triumphant
, the
Unbroken
and Faren were waiting patiently. Diego knew that his brother general hungered for the hunt as he did, anxious to put the traitor out of his miserable life at last. Not to mention the generals who had fled with Eren. Faren would take it even more personally than he, Diego knew. The cold general could be trusted to burn furious fast when one of the generals disgraced themselves.

Diego was proud to be a Brion general, but that was all that Faren was. He would cut down the traitors without mercy. Diego was glad to have him by his side.

As for himself, Diego spent the time waiting with Isolde. She was his
gesha
now and deserved to be included in his affairs. He had prepared himself for the eventuality his little human
gesha
would be tired and worn down by the poison, but she seemed to have recovered both in body and in spirit. Maybe even more so in spirit. Being a Brion, Diego understood that. Staring death in the eye for the first time, like Isolde had with Ensha, was a scary experience and took time to come back from.

But the times after that, death – not exactly lost its edge, but it did make one ready to fight it. Isolde hadn’t had the opportunity to fight, which is why the Brions considered poisons a coward’s weapon or fit only to those who didn’t have the martial capability to carry their battles out with a spear. So Diego understood why the second attempt to kill her had made Isolde more alive. When faced with the possibility of one’s existence ending, it’s natural to want to live a whole life.

To his delight, in Isolde’s case it seemed to mean enjoying her life with him among other things. After all the trouble they’d gone through, Diego was infinitely grateful for her finally allowing herself to live as she wanted. As they had nothing very urgent to do before the Elders gave him his marching orders, he didn’t even think of objecting when Isolde came to him, eyes burning and a smirk Diego was growing to love more with each passing day on her lips.

For once, they were uninterrupted. Their fucking was fast and intense and wild. Every time, Diego discovered something new about what Isolde liked, and he used it the next time to drive her out of her mind with pleasure. When they’d finished, she lay exhausted against his arm, her whole body still gently shivering from her orgasm. There were bite marks on Diego’s neck, and Isolde’s lips were red and swollen from all his kisses.

“Do you think we have to go soon?” she asked him.

“Yes,” Diego said, although a part of him wouldn’t have minded staying right there with Isolde in his arms. “We could not stop the war, but we can punish the one who started it.”

“Where do you think he went? How do you even find someone in the whole known universe?” Isolde went on. “I mean, huge Brion warships aren’t the most inconspicuous of things, but still.”

Diego nodded. “They are not, but I think I know where he went. It would be pointless for him to hide. He knows me and Faren and all the others are close behind him as soon as there is a sighting. He cannot run. No, I imagine he is where he believes he can put up a fight. The only place besides Briolina where there are Brions. He is a fool if he thinks they will side with him, but I suppose in his place I would go there too.”

“You mean Rhea,” Isolde said, clearly surprised. “He can’t seriously assume he can win.”

“I do not believe he plays to win any more,” Diego said. “He just wants to cause the most damage now. And by being on Rhea, he can at least hope that the Brions see what they are giving away.”

“It won’t work,” Isolde said, although it sounded like a question.

“No,” Diego agreed. “But the damage is done.”

They spoke of Eren no further. The galaxy was no longer the place where Diego had met Isolde and started to dream of a life with her, then again that was simply the way it was. It wasn’t in Brion nature to keep pondering on how things might have been. Eren had betrayed them, and that was the world they lived in now. Only one thing bothered him.

“We may have to live a dangerous life for a while,” he said. “I want you with me, but the
Triumphant
does not make us immortal, as much as its reputation would have you believe.”

“I know,” Isolde said dreamily, her hand around him. “But you’re here. That’s all that matters.”

Diego smiled. She was right. They were together and that was all that mattered.
 

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Isolde

Isolde was honestly surprised.

Others were usually not allowed on Briolina. The closest they usually came was
Sphere
, the station orbiting the planet. So very few other species had actually seen the Brion Elders. Isolde had assumed from the name they were… well, old. Maybe some were. Probably all were. There was no question the Brions seemed to age pretty much as the Terrans did.

The man standing before them in the
Triumphant
’s main arena definitely wasn’t old. The stasis sleep in which the Elders spent their meditation had kept his body in the moment he entered it, but there was something ancient about him. After a moment Isolde realized what it was. His eyes seemed very old.

Like Faren’s, they gave the impression of seeing straight through her, but unlike Faren’s, the Elder warrior’s eyes weren’t cold. Instead, they burned in a way that reminded Isolde of a sleeping volcano, the fire bubbling so close to the surface you could almost see it.

She wasn’t on the balcony this time, but standing in the midst of the Brions with her guards. Most of the personnel on Diego’s ship had come to meet the Elder warlord, the one who spoke for all the Brion warrior Elders. Even before Deliya told her that, Isolde could see why. Without speaking a single word, the Elder had silenced them all with his presence. That was their way, however he also looked ferocious. Almost as big as Crane, he lacked all the madness, but had all the fire.

His name was unknown. His age too. No one who lived outside the Elder stasis sleep remembered him, so there was no telling how old he really was. There was a limit, of course, the stasis sleep didn’t make a person immortal, but Isolde had no idea how long it could keep someone alive. Long enough to fade from living memory it seemed.

“So you are the one who killed another
grothan
,” the Elder said, looking at her
gerion
, dressed in his general’s battle armor, standing beside Eleya.

“I am,” Diego said.

Isolde had expected some honorary title, or at least something to refer to the revered position the Elders had on Briolina, but no such followed. They were simply two warriors conversing, until the Elder gave an order. Only then would the difference be seen.

“The last I saw you, I gave you that title,” the Elder said.

Isolde could have sworn she saw Diego tense up, but she knew that was what he’d expected. He had failed the Elders, and so their first task would be to take his title from him. Then they’d send him on a penance hunt to make up for his failure.

“You will remain
grothan
,” the huge Elder said. Even Isolde could see Diego’s surprise, which was a wonder, because her general rarely ever displayed any emotion in public. Honestly the only one who didn’t seem to be taken aback was Faren, present with many of his men as well.

“I failed you,” Diego said. It wasn’t even a protest, merely a statement. Isolde saw Eleya frown at him. Clearly even that was considered disobedience.

“You fought for us when our chosen turned traitor to our will,” the Elder said. His voice wasn’t very loud, but somehow it carried through the room easily. It made Isolde think of volcanoes again, the way they rumbled before they burst. “The outcome is secondary to that. We wished Rhea to be shared. It would have been better if the Galactic Union had never known, but we did not have much hope we could keep it from them. We merely thought someone there would expose our secret.”

He seemed to think for a moment. “In fact, the traitor Eren did us a favor. We always prepared for it to come out one day. He has given us a scapegoat. Now we must find the speaker.”

Isolde was confused, and she didn’t seem to be the only one. Then the Elder looked straight at her.

“Come here, human,” he said.

Isolde’s legs started walking of her own volition, merely on the command alone. She met Diego’s eyes. Her general gave her a slight, encouraging nod, though as much as Isolde could tell, he didn’t understand either.

“Your ambassador tells us you were ready to keep our secret,” the Elder said. He was so tall Isolde’s neck hurt to look him in the eye even when she stood a few feet away from him.

“Yes.”

“Why? We are Brion, you are human.”

“I didn’t want there to be a war.”

The Elder nodded. “So he said. The Brions do not fear war, but we do not hold meaningless ones. This would be one of them. We have no dispute with the Galactic Union. Will you fight for us?”

Isolde’s mouth dropped open. “I can’t fight.”

“With spear, no. With words.”

The matter started to slowly dawn on her. “What do you need me to do?” Isolde asked. Somehow the question itself made her hold herself straighter. She was Diego Grothan’s
gesha
. She was not irrelevant. She could fight.