Rebel Princess(26)

"So you ran away."

"Not quite. We came to a compromise. I might apply to the Academy. If  accepted, I could attend. I could serve in Fleet for a year or two, but  marriage always loomed. No matter how much I protested, no matter how  many risks I pointed out, no one budged. Ours was a match ordained by  the goddess, and there was no avoiding it. Either I went through a  formal betrothal ceremony or I would never set foot in the Academy. And  if I didn't come home when the king called, he would make a formal  complaint to Regula, and I would be sent home."

"I take it the sorcerer was willing?"

"Oh, yes. There was a kingdom at stake. But, privately, I made it clear  to him before I left. No marriage, no crown. He would have to settle for  becoming Sorcerer Prime. We were not destined for each other. And then .  . ." Kass heaved a sigh. "It seemed Destiny agreed with me. The  invasion of swept us all into new worlds, which I carefully tracked from  my cubicle in the Archives. Our elderly and much-revered Sorcerer Prime  was considered dangerous, among the first to be killed when Psyclid was  invaded. I assumed Jagan, his heir, had died as well. But tonight . .  ." Kass's voice faltered. She hitched a breath and went on. "Tonight I  learned my affianced husband is alive. Living on Hell Nine."         

     



 

Silence enveloped them. Tal could swear he felt it echoing through the  suddenly empty reaches of his mind, a great hollow booming ending his  fleeting dreams of intimate companionship and love.

He was Tal Rigel, S'sorrokan, and he could never forget it. "Is that  it?" he asked at last. "All the disastrous news you have at the moment?"

"Yes." Half-turned away from him, Kass was fingering a gold tassel on one of sofa cushions.

"So let's start from the top," Tal declared, chagrined to hear the  command voice of Captain Tal Rigel, not the lover he longed to be. "We  have been attracted to each other from the moment we met. We each spent  four years fantasizing, remodeling each other into dream lovers who  never existed. Have I got it right so far?"

"An admirable analysis, Captain."

Pok, but his little Psyclid had a sharp tongue. "So, leaving out your  secondary problem for the moment, what we need to do is forget the  fantasies and discover the two real people who met on Orion so long  ago."

"It is unwise to leave out the Sorcerer Prime. It could be dangerous."

"Your betrothal-was sleeping with him part of the ceremony?"

"No!" Kass's head snappedup. She glared.

Light finally dawned. He was S'sorrokan. It was his job to see things  clearly, to penetrate confusion, tear aside obfuscation, and get to the  heart of the matter. But when it came to his own heart, he'd been blind.  Incredible as it seemed . . .

"Kass, are you a virgin?"

Head bent, hands folded in her lap as prim as an Acolyte, she nodded.

Great Omnovah! Theirs was a relationship with a long way to go.





Chapter 16


"Hey, roommate." Zee-Zee's bright grin lit the room as Kass came through  the door. "Tell me all, every single moment. And I do mean all."

Her mind a sudden blank, Kass dropped her carry-all onto her bed, turned  her back on her roommate, and began to unpack. She'd been so absorbed  in her relationship with Tal and with the looming problem of Jagan  Mondragon that she'd never considered the problem of facing a roommate  full of questions.

"Kass?" Evidently sensing the truth from Kass's silence, Zee-Zee's tone verged on the incredulous.

Kass continued to return the contents of her carry-all to her drawers,  until her fingers paused over a filmy scarlet bedgown that had never  made it out of the bag until now. Soft, slinky, nearly transparent,  inviting a man's touch . . . and never worn. Without raising her gaze  from the shimmering fabric, Kass asked, "Did you choose this?"

"No. The captain gave it to me, told me to sneak it into your case."

Kass crunched the offending garment into a ball and tucked it to the very back of her bottom drawer.

"Kass, tell me you didn't turn him down." Zee-Zee whispered, shock and disbelief in every word.

"You sound like my nurse scolding me for a naughty prank." Kass tried for breezy, and failed.

Zee-Zee's voice rose. "Kiolani, the whole ship knows he's been panting after you for years-"

Kass's chin came up, amber eyes gone cold and hard. "Too bad he didn't give me a hint."

"Kaa-sss." Zee-Zee slumped onto her bunk, staring at her roommate as if  she'd suddenly turned into a Nyx. "He's S'sorrokan. He chose you. He  saved your life." She shook her head, disapproval pouring off her in  waves. "You've really gone Psyclid this time, girl. I mean, besides the  fact the captain's the biggest catch in the quadrant, that man needs  you."

"Biggest catch? Kass echoed. "Don't you mean the man with the biggest price on his head?"

Zee-Zee groaned. "Even a Psyclid can't be that dense."

"If you think I want to conduct an affair under the avid scrutiny of the entire rebellion-"

"That matters? That actually matters? Someone peeks at you and you fold  up, shy as a gilly flower? Come on, girl. Warriors don't give pok what  anybody thinks."

Kass sank onto her own bed, facing her roommate. "It's not just that,"  she murmured, hearing defensiveness in every syllable. "It's far more  complicated."

"Then uncomplicate it," Zee-Zee snapped. "Man. Woman. Man wants woman.  Woman wants man-and don't tell me you don't! Man and woman become one."  Kass's roommate snapped her fingers. "That's what keeps the universe  going. Sex, plain and simple."

"I'm sure you're right." How wonderful to be Zee-Zee Foxx, whose actions  didn't affect planets, empires, possibly the whole Nebulon Sector. "But  sometimes the moment simply isn't right." Kass offered a wan smile.  "Don't worry, we'll work things out. Eventually."         

     



 

Zee-Zee gave her a long searching look, followed by an abrupt nod.  "Evasion and obfuscation will float you only so long, Kiolani, but for  now you've got a pass. And what was that about a nurse? You always did  have the look of someone's pampered darling."

Oh, pok! Why was it her firmly fitted façade seemed to fall apart every  time she indulged in girl talk with Zee-Zee? "Um-my parents both held  positions of responsibility"-an absolute truth-"so a nurse was a  necessity."

"Why is it," her roommate mused, "that you look so fragile, like you've  never faced adversity for so much as a single day, when you've got the  quickest come-backs, and have to be the toughest, most resilient female  I've ever met?"

Kass allowed her lips to curl into an impish grin. "Maybe because you Regs are all so hulking huge?"

"Am not!" Zee-Zee tossed a pillow, catching Kass in the face.

Kass shot the pillow straight back. Without using her hands. "Well," she  drawled, "I guess it doesn't matter since Commander Jorkan likes you  just the way you are."

Zee-Zee actually blushed. "Um . . . do you have any idea where we're going next?"

Kass sent a silent thanks to the goddess for the change of subject. She  really didn't want to quarrel with the only female friend she had.  "Commander Turco heard a rumor that there's a well-armed trader ship on  X-33, captain and crew ready to join the rebellion."

"It could be a trap."

"It could always be a trap, he knows that."

"Sorry. Not the place of a lowly lieutenant to tell S'sorrokan what to do."

"I'm an ensign, and I do it all the time." Kass offered a wry smile, which Zee-Zee returned.

"Ah, but you have special privileges." Her roommate winked, and Kass  began to feel better. "Any idea how many recruits we found on Tat?"

"Fourteen altogether," Kass said, "two of them engineers and one a comp tech. Captain's pleased. If we take on the trader-"

A great pounding on the door interrupted her words. K'kadi's head  appeared, floating in the air above their heads. Kass ran to the door,  threw it open, and tugged her brother into a tight embrace. "Poor  K'kadi," she crooned, "you've been stuck on the ship all this time  alone. We'll eat together tonight, all right? And I'll tell you about  all the strange people I met. Aliens, K'kadi, true aliens. And some of  them were pink!"

When the door closed behind K'kadi, Zee-Zee asked, frowning, "Kass, does the captain know how close you are to that kid?"

Kass took one look at Captain Jordana Tegge and knew coming to Rim  Station X-33 was a mistake. Maybe not for S'sorrokan and the rebellion,  but for Kass Kiolani, a lurking disaster. Captain Tegge was a  reincarnation of a Valkyrie. Distinguished by flowing blonde hair only a  shade darker than Tal's, she was tall enough that her sharp blue eyes  came only a few millimeters short of level with S'sorrokan's own  sky-blue gaze. Hers was a face sculpted for strength and marked by  sorrow, making Captain Tegge the most striking female Kass had ever  seen. With the possible exception of Jalaine, the Psyclid ParaPrime.  Kass's mother.