Authors: April Zyon
“
Yes,
I will,” she agreed.
“You’ll enjoy it,” he said.
“You can wander the grounds for days and never discover all the
nooks
it holds. There are a couple spots
that I will have to show you, favorites from my childhood and where I spent a
large amount of time to guarantee I didn’t get dragged into my parents’
fights.”
“Your family won’t give us trouble, right?” She didn’t want
him to have to be pulled into a fight between his parents while they were
there; she would rather they spend time on their ship if they had to.
She realized that he didn’t have a relationship with his parents, but she
didn’t want to be another reason for there to be a wedge between them.
“No, they will not be around to
give either of us any trouble. They live elsewhere on the
planet
and only come into the capital
for certain events that they need to be seen at as a couple. Then they present
a united, loving front before slinking back off to wherever they live. I banned
them from the familial estate because they would focus their fights on me when
I was there. I couldn’t put up with their nastiness any longer. They have twice
attempted to get back onto the property, and both times they were turned away
with a pointed reminder that they were not welcome, thanks to the security team
living there.”
“I don’t understand. How could you have the family estates
instead of them? The only reason that Laurence and I received the estates of
our family was because our parents died. How is it that you have the family
home?” She was curious.
“It was in my grandparents’
names even when I was growing up there. Before grandfather passed
away,
he changed his will to leave it to me
instead of my father. Father attempted several times to have the will
overturned or thrown out. Grandfather was a smart man and had four different
doctors certify that he was of sound mind and four lawyers on the will to make
sure it was above reproach.” He took the tray she’d filled, then carried it to
the table she led him toward. “He passed not long after I had taken my first
position.”
“It sounds to me as if you are better off without them if
all they wanted from you was a position of power inside of society. It also
seems that you take more after your grandfather than your parents. Did your
father ever do any sort of time with the military as you did? And your
grandfather?”
“It is mandatory to serve in
the military for a single term unless there are health issues, or you are the
sole heir. We all have to attend military school for our senior level at a
minimum
and then serve the single
term. Most male children are enrolled in military school from the start, but
some do not come into classes until later due to familial obligations.”
“So you have a brother, then?” That was news to her.
“No, thankfully my parents decided to only have one child to
torture. No siblings. They shuttled me off to military school the moment I was
properly house trained by the nannies and maids. They came to visit whenever it
was required and nothing more. All holidays were spent at the academy or with
Bryerly’s family.”
“I see.”
“Bryerly was always upset by the fact she was not allowed to
join. She could have if her parents had permitted it, but they did not feel it
was right for their daughter.”
“Ah, well that does make sense.
In a
way, however,
didn’t your cousin sidestep her parents?” Which Laura thought was rather
brilliant of the woman. From what Chevon had told
her,
the young woman had made her own way
and was a well-respected nurse.
“To a degree, yes. Bryerly is
quite the rebel when she wants to be. I think she may have picked that up from
me.
At least,
her parents say that she did. I can accept that happily if she did. It led her
to her soul-bond mate and she is happy. I would say it worked out for the
best.”
“I agree. I think that it worked out wonderfully for them. I
don’t know what I will be able to do on your ship but I want to find some
pathway so that I’m not simply sitting around waiting for you to come home to
me each night. I adore you completely, but I really do want to have something
of my own, too.”
“You
’
ll find something you want to do. Whatever it is I am sure
you will be happy with it, and it will fill your days. Don
’
t worry about what you might one
day do, little one. You have plenty of time to decide.”
Epilogue
Four
months later…
Closing the vid call down,
Chevon scrubbed his hands over his face. Things were beginning to break apart
behind the scenes. While the general public would not know what was happening
for a long time yet to
come,
the military was already feeling the first waves. The ruling body of Imara was
pulling in all their supporters from the other worlds in the vain hope they
would survive the war they had started. The war the military would end.
On the other side of the
border,
the Craegins were doing
something similar. While their marshal was not
party
to the behind-the-scenes sneak
attacks, the Craegin military was keeping the woman at arm’s length. Only after
everything was finally settled and the truth revealed to both the Imarian and
Craegin public would the marshal step back into position—with a greatly cleaned
out office, since she was now aware of exactly who had been working against her,
the military, and the Craegin people.
Both sides had to ensure that all the traitors who had
worked hard to bring the war back to a head were removed or controlled before
the announcement was made. No one, on either side of the border, could afford
to blow this whole campaign by allowing their only hope and royal to die. It
was not an option.
After securing the
terminal,
Chevon headed for the command
deck. He did what he needed to do there before going to find Laura. He needed
to bring her up to date on the latest information he had. She would need to
know what was going on, especially since it involved her brother and her former
fiancé. He had to tell her that they were both now in jail and being held on
criminal charges just as they deserved to be. They would need to prepare the
crew for the news that would soon be breaking. Everyone needed to be on
board
and those that were not would be
removed from any position they might be able to cause harm in.
Stepping into the lift, he
leaned a shoulder
against
the
wall. Once he updated his little
mate,
he would need to contact the other cruiser commanders to bring them up to speed
and find out who would need to be removed from command. They couldn’t risk any
trouble from within the ranks. The entire operation would need to run smoothly
and perfectly.
When the lift
stopped,
Chevon stood inside for a
moment and stared out into the corridor. There were crew members moving around
attending to their assigned tasks. Those who saw him paused to
give him a nod
before hurrying off to
complete their work. Striding out of the lift, Chevon quickly headed for Laura.
****
Laura had loved the last four
months spent with Chevon. When they’d returned to his ship the crew had been
switched out and she had been fully accepted by them. She had blended in with
them and had actually found a place in hydroponics of all places. She’d also
been more than happy that Chevon hadn’t been punished for taking her as his
mate.
After her time with Chevon on
Petr’s ship in
hydroponics,
she found she really liked being
around
the plants, the grasses, and everything that was with it. She had enjoyed
learning about everything there was
with
nature.
Now that her shift was over she knew that Chevon would be
heading toward their rooms and she met him halfway there. She knew his rituals
by now, his ways in and out of the corridors when it was time to come back to
their quarters for the night.
“Hey you,” she said from
slightly behind him, sneaking
up on
him
and sliding her hand into his. “How was
…
”
She hesitated. She saw it then. The look on his face.
“So, are we headed to our quarters or were you coming to
find me to take me to eat?”
“I thought we could eat first before heading back to our
rooms. There is so much to share with you, but I need to wait on Petr to give
me one more piece of information. Then we
’
ll know how this is all going to play out. We need to eat,
so we might as well do that while we wait.”
Laura took a deep breath and forced herself to smile. “I
could go for food. I’ve been working all day today. We just put in a new water
feature in hydroponics. I believe that it’s going to be something all of the
crew members will enjoy.”
Tucking his arm through
hers, he
drew her toward the door.
“Let’s get you fed now and then we can chat.”
She leaned into him and nodded at one of the crewmen as they
passed him. His crew had become accustomed to them touching and feeling as they
walked through the halls and didn’t even give them a second look anymore.
Squeezing her closer to his
side,
he led her into the dining hall and to
the food line. He gave her a tray, then followed her through as they collected
their food and made their way to a table.
She made sure that she got more than they needed, so that
they would have enough snacks and drinks for all night in their rooms. Then she
would let him tell her whatever it was that had him so uptight that he was
practically vibrating.
“Sit. Eat,” Chevon said. “I
hope Petr calls sooner than later with
news
.” He nodded to a table full of young
officers who appeared to be finishing up their meal before
shift
.
She placed her hand over his and gave it a light squeeze.
She wanted to make sure that he knew she was there for him, no matter what.
“Help me eat this food and we
’
ll work on heading back to our rooms after. Deal?”
“Deal.” Leaning in, he brushed
a kiss
to
her cheek, then started to eat. They ended up taking most of the food back to
their rooms.
Chevon
still hadn’t heard from Petr when they got there, and he was actually pulled
away before she could get her hands on him. When he came back, he looked grim.
“Petr will be contacting us in
the next two hours. He’s in a meeting and by the end should know how things are
progressing on all fronts. Then it will be our turn to prepare this cruiser
while the commanders do the same on theirs.” He sat down next to
her
and draped one arm around her
shoulders to pull her in closer to him.
“We could put on a vid to watch
while we wait.”
“Sure, put the vid in. Just let me shower and change first.
I won’t be long,” he promised.
In no time at all he was back
dressed in loose pants and one of the shirts she occasionally stole to wear.
Unlike his dress
shirts,
it was longer, a bit looser, and soft from wear. He also came bearing the fuzzy
blanket she liked to cuddle with him under.
Laura shifted so that she could
give him more room on the couch with her. When he had
them
both covered she snuggled up close to
him and looked up. “All right, talk to me, Chevon. We don’t have the crew near,
so what are we waiting for Petr to call us back on?”
After pulling her into his lap
,
Chevon rested his cheek against her
hair. “Everything has been set into motion. The Craegin marshal has already
authorized all those who they know to be working
against
the military be taken into
custody. Your brother and ex are also in custody for a laundry list of charges.
Anyone affiliated will be placed under watch until their innocence or guilt can
be proven. The ruling body will also be taken into custody as soon as the last
of their cohorts make their way to Imara. They’ve called them all in for an
emergency meeting. We leaked enough to worry them but not send them into
hiding. We should have everything wrapped up soon. Once the majority of those
keeping this war going are locked
up,
we will announce to the general public about the arrests, and why. And then the
rest will be up to Markus.” He rubbed a hand up and down her arm. “We’re
waiting for Petr to call us to let us know how things are proceeding with the
Craegin side. Everything is in place on Imara for the ruling body and their
supporters. Now it’s all timing and perhaps a bit of luck if the Great Spirits
might be willing to grant it to us.”
“He must be in a precarious
position if he’s waiting to hear back from Fintan on how things are going on
the Craegin side. Now I understand why we’re near the neutral zone and why you
have your most trusted seconds on the command deck.” She might be in
hydroponics but she still knew when her husband was arranging shift changes.
She had watched him for weeks making slight changes here and there so that no
one really noticed.
“We are all in precarious
positions right now. But we should know what our fate will be soon enough. For
now, grab the control pad and let’s watch something.” With a
smile,
he leaned them both forward to
get her close enough to the table to grab the controller for the vid system.
Halfway through, the video
paused and Chevon tensed under her. She knew then it was Petr calling in.
Chevon
took the controller from her
to switch over to the communications from the video. “Petr, what news do you
have?”
The other man looked exhausted on the screen. “Apologies for
the interruption, Laura. Everything has fallen into place. We are ready to move
ahead with all our plans.”
Chevon shot her a look, and she knew their world was about
to forever change. “What are our next steps?”
“At this time, stay where you
are.” Petr wiped a hand down his face, then rubbed at his jaw. “Markus is on
the move with guards. Only a select few on the Craegin side will know where he
is going to be. The
marshal
and her chosen guards among them. He’ll be in position for the announcement,
but where that is will be anyone’s guess.”
“Understood, keep us updated whenever you can, Petr.”
“You know that I will. Goodnight, you two. Get some rest,”
the other man advised. “We are not yet out of the woods on this. There is much
to do in the days to come. We will talk soon.” The connection ended, and the
video they’d been watching appeared back on screen, paused at the moment it had
been interrupted.
Laura looked up at Chevon and
took another deep breath along with him. “
Well,
all we can hope at this point is that
we are able to actually get through this in one piece. I really hope your plans
work, Chevon.”
Nodding
slowly,
he hugged her closer to him.
For a long moment or
two
he remained silent. Then he loosened his
hold
and turned off the screen. “Off to bed
for us both. We need to get some sleep tonight.”
She moved with him, her hand in his, and let him pull her to
her feet. “I do love you, Chevon von Janus, and I’m happy that you are in my
life. No matter what else happens in this universe and with this fight, know
that I’m here for you for now and for all time.”
“As I love you, Laura Troxell.” Lifting her into his arms,
he carried her into their bedroom, pausing only long enough to secure the outer
door and turn off the lights.
Tomorrow they would face off against the universe again, but
that was then. This was now. This was the time for them to simply enjoy each
other as much as they possibly could. By now the marshal had the royal heir in
protective custody and soon the whole plan of theirs would come to fruition.
That was, if all went well.
The End