“
Orin… sometimes we have to work things out for ourselves.”
“Like me not killing Rekk when I first found him with you
?”
“
Something like that
.”
“
I don’t like this at all
.” Orin cut into his meat and glowered across the table at Rekk, who was conversing with the Oracle. “
I’m going to take a piss.”
After making his excuses, he stomped down the hallway to the swankiest bathroom he’d ever been in. He took his time striving to find his patient side and failed miserably. He walked out into the hallway and immediately collided with someone. His hand flattened on a muscular chest and expensive silk.
“I beg your pardon, Orin, I did not realize…”
Within a second, Orin had his mouth on Rekk’s and his body slammed up against the wall while he kissed him. Not that Rekk seemed to want to get away; he was kissing him back just as enthusiastically.
Orin drew away, panting.
“Just so you don’t forget what you’re missing while you’re doing all this thinking, okay?”
Rekk nodded as if still in a daze as Orin forced himself to peel away from Rekk and return to the dining room. Mya would kill him, but he’d had to take a stand and make the other male notice him. Make Rekk realize that he was still wanted even though he was a goddammned prince.
“Yeah, like he needs me,” Orin muttered even as he acknowledged that if Rekk didn’t want him, he’d be gutted.
Mya glanced up as he sat down. “Everything all right?”
“All good.” His plate had been removed and the table was now covered in dessert, which was his favorite thing. He knew he had it bad when even that couldn’t make him feel better.
“
Mya
,
do you still want Rekk
?”
Mya waited so long to answer him that he thought she never would.
“Yes, but—”
“No buts. This is a simple question.”
“But it isn’t simple, is it? We have to give him some time. I realize that now.”
“I still don’t like it.”
“Neither do I.”
She smiled at him. “
But we’re going to do this right, okay? I can’t deal with establishing a Triad where one member gets coerced into joining. I want it all done by consent and properly sanctified by the Oracle
.”
“
Very wise.”
The Oracle broke into their supposedly private link. “
He is not ready yet. Give him the gift of time and understanding.
”
Mya waited until Rekk returned to his seat opposite her and then leaned forward to talk to him. He looked like something out of an old painting with his golden robes and distant, courteous expression.
“May we speak with you after dinner?”
“Yes, of course.”
His mind was guarded against her, and very little of his immense power flowed through her. Somehow it made it easier for her to recognize the strength of her own yearnings and her own needs.
She still wanted him. The revelation settled over her and she accepted it in her soul. As she’d said to Orin, she would never force Rekk to make a decision about their mating, but she would no longer pretend she didn’t want him in her life and in her Triad.
After the dinner ended, she, Orin, and Rekk were shown into a small private room adjoining the courtyard that looked down over the bulk of the Temple buildings. The smell of incense and flowers rose from the chanting crowds below, giving the space an almost ethereal atmosphere.
None of them sat down, but Orin arranged himself at Mya’s side, his hand on her shoulder, which gave her much needed comfort. She started to speak, but Rekk held up his hand.
“Let me start by apologizing again. I did not behave well when we last met. I was still reeling from all the shocks. I felt betrayed—especially by you—which was unfair.”
“But understandable,” Mya said. “I apologize for keeping things from you.”
“Which she only did because she was under strict orders from her superiors,” Orin chimed in.
“I understand that now.” Rekk nodded. “I cannot believe that someone deliberately sent you to find me. Did you discover who it was?”
“The Oracle said she told someone about her vision—presumably someone whom she believed could make sure I was
sent
on that mission. It wasn’t my immediate boss. He’s looking into it for me.”
Rekk shoved a hand through his hair. “I would rather have stayed in captivity than have them risk your life to save mine. On my honor.”
“Yeah,” Orin said. “I’d probably feel the same.”
“You are too… important to me,” Rekk carried on speaking, his gaze locked with Mya’s.
“I am?” A sudden hope filled her heart. She wanted to make him admit his feelings, to force him to say more, but she held back. “The Oracle said she would not have sent me to find you unless I’d been capable of bringing you safely home.”
“She should not have taken it upon herself to make that decision.” Rekk looked fierce. “She is not infallible and neither are her visions. You still might have been killed.”
Silence fell and Mya waited to hear if Rekk had more to say before she gathered her courage and took Orin’s hand.
“We wanted to tell you that we still wish to have you in our lives, and that we respect your need for time to think through this very difficult episode of your life. If after a period of separation, you decide that you would like to see us again, I’m sure the Oracle would be more than willing to contact us.”
Rekk went still. “You’re both leaving?”
Beside her Orin cleared his throat. “Yeah, we’re giving you some space, okay? Just like you asked.”
Mya gripped his hand so hard she thought she might have broken something. “We want you, but we won’t force you into anything. You don’t deserve that. You deserve to enjoy your new freedom and the ability to make your own decisions for a while.”
“That is very… kind of you both.”
“It’s the only thing we can do.” Mya’s voice trembled. “We wish you nothing but the best, and we will be thinking about you every single day.” She swallowed hard. “If you realize you don’t need us anymore? Then let us know, and we will still wish you all the best in your new life.”
She walked out, dragging Orin with her, and practically ran all the way up the stairs to their shared bedroom. Orin only paused to lock the door before gathering her in his arms and letting her cry.
After a long while she managed to look up at him. “I feel as if I’ve made a terrible mistake.”
“You haven’t. You were incredibly brave.” He kissed her nose. “You’re right. We have to let him choose for all our sakes.”
“But it hurts,” she whispered and pressed a hand to her chest. “Right here.”
“I know, love. Heeze, I know…”
“Thank you for coming, Captain Jong, Lieutenant Mazak.”
Major Esca ushered them both into the office that would soon be Mya’s—if she took the promotion she’d been offered the previous week. She still hadn’t made up her mind. It had been almost a month since they’d left the Temple and returned to the capital city. Orin had returned to work, and Mya’s unit had been settled at their home base doing various boring training courses.
She immediately saluted as she spotted Senator Ash seated at his Second Male’s desk. He still looked tired, his almost white hair tied back from his angular face, but he was no longer in danger from the head wound that had threatened his life.
“Senator Ash.” They both bowed respectfully.
“Please sit down, Captain Jong, and you, too, Lieutenant Mazak. This meeting will be in confidence, off record and confidential.”
“Yes, sir.”
Major Esca took a chair to the side of his desk and nodded at the Senator to go on.
“First of all, the Senate thanks you both for your outstanding work in bringing back Rekk Pavan. We cannot ‘officially’ thank you because the matter is not public, nor do we want it to be. “
Both Mya and Orin nodded.
“Secondly, I wanted to address the accusation that Captain Jong was deliberately selected to go on this mission.” Senator Ash sat forward. “Even though Major Esca was unaware of this, there was some… external pressure applied to ensure you went, Captain.”
“I understand that the Oracle had a vision.” Mya attempted to sound neutral. “Was that pressure applied by her?”
“She did speak to a small group of senators. One of them might have used his influence to make certain you were included in that team.”
“Even though I was intending to send you anyway, because you were the best person for the job,” Major Esca added.
Mya frowned. “They caught me within a few minutes of our landing craft touching down. I did wonder at the time whether someone had known we were coming.”
“And that’s the interesting part. For some time, we’ve had a sense that someone high up in our government is working with the Etruscans to bring us down. The person who informed the Etruscans about your arrival, and your potential impact on their prisoner, must have hoped you would be captured and never heard of again.”
“But we escaped.”
“As the Oracle predicted.” Senator Ash nodded. “And now we know for certain that someone is betraying us, and we have been able to narrow the possibilities down to about five members of the Assembly. So you have done us a double service, Captain.”
“Why would any Pavlovan traitor care about Mya and Rekk?” Orin asked.
“Because Rekk is the last survivor of the original founding families. His grandfather was one of the first to colonize our planet. His family used to rule this world.”
“So?”
“So he could have been used as a rallying point—a true prince of the blood—and if he had stayed in Etruscan hands they could’ve used him against us.”
“Poor Rekk,” Mya murmured.
“But we don’t have a monarchy. We have a senate,” Orin persisted. “Rekk belongs to an outmoded system.”
“True, but there are always those who harken back to the old days and would be willing to use any grievance against the current senate to power a revolution.”
“Especially if the Etruscans were whipping up the flames.” Orin nodded. “I get it now.”
“But does Rekk
want
to take over the senate?” Mya found herself asking the question despite herself.
“If the Etruscans still had him, I don’t think he would have had much of a choice, do you? They were deliberately eroding his defenses and making him forget his true identity. The fact that he fought them for so long truly shows his amazing spirit and loyalty to his nation.”
“And yet he thinks he is worth nothing,” Mya said quietly. “What will happen to him now?”
Major Esca stood up and went to the door. “Maybe you should ask him yourself.”
Rekk came through the door. He wore the jeans and grey T-shirt she’d bought him on their journey to the Temple and had allowed his hair to grow a little longer. Beside her Orin made a purring sound, as though he’d just spotted his favorite dessert.
“Do you wish to take over the planet, Rekk Pavan?” Major Esca asked.
“No, thank you.” Rekk’s gaze swept over Mya and Orin. “I’d much rather live a quiet life somewhere with people I love.”
Senator Ash rose with some difficulty from his chair. “I think that’s our cue to leave, Esca.” He winked at Orin and Mya. “I wish you both well, and congratulations on finding your Third.”
“We haven’t—”
Mya elbowed Orin hard in the ribs. “Thank you for everything, Senator Ash.”
He paused and took a scroll out of his pocket. “I almost forgot. The Oracle asked me to give you this.”
He left with Major Esca, closing the door firmly behind him, leaving a pool of silence.
Rekk moved to sit on the edge of the desk. “What does the Oracle have to say for herself?”
Mya untied the ribbon and released the scroll of paper.
“Shall I read it out loud?”
“Only if it’s good news,” Orin said.
“It’s an official proclamation that Rekk is our Third.” She lifted her gaze to Rekk’s. “Did you know about this?”
“I did.”
“And you accept it?”
He shrugged, his smile half hopeful and half scared. “If you both want me. I’ve had plenty of time to think, and all I could think of was being with you two.” He went down on both knees. “Will you accept me as your Third?”
Joy flooded through Mya, followed by a wave of love that encompassed all three of them. “Yes, please.”
Orin grinned down at Rekk. “Totally. And, while you’re down there…”
Mya slapped his arm. “Behave yourself.”
“I am. If we weren’t in your boss’s office, I’d had stripped him naked by now and fucked his brains out.”
Rekk groaned and rose to his feet. “Don’t say that.”
Mya took his hand. “We do want you, but we will be going to the Temple to have an official ceremony. So you still have one more opportunity to change your mind.”
He brought her fingers to his lips. “Generous of you. I’ve been working hard on my shields. I think I will be able to function normally in society now.”
“Not with us. We want all that power.”
“It is yours, as I am yours.”
Orin wrapped an arm around both of them and drew them in for a group hug.
“I think we should go back home and celebrate—we are allowed to do that before the official ceremony aren’t we?”
Rekk smiled. “I was hoping you would say that—seeing as I didn’t book a hotel room for myself.”
Orin snorted. “Typical royalty, always leeching off the poor.”
Mya smiled at both her males. “Let’s go. Last one to get naked has to watch.” She turned and ran for the door, listening to the howls of outrage behind her as she sprinted down the stairs.
Life was good. Her Triad would be founded on rock and she was one very lucky female...
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The Power of Three
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.
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The Triad series #1
Copyright Kate Pearce 2013
Prologue: