“She is unattached,” Hunter murmured.
“What?” Destin replied, glancing at Hunter.
“I said she is unattached. I made sure to have a thorough investigation of her completed before she arrived. Razor and I did not want to take a chance of another incident such as the one with Badrick,” Hunter explained. “She is listed as unattached. My sources also say she has not been in a long term relationship.”
Destin scowled. “I’m not looking for a relationship. I have too much to do. Besides, I’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow.” Hunter’s lips twitched at Destin’s heated retort. Destin could feel his face flush and he quickly shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. He stared out over the driveway. His gaze swept over the other guests who had arrived. Compared to what he was used to seeing, they were all so exotic. “I’m serious. I’m not looking for a long-term relationship, especially with an alien.”
“Our world is much different from what you are used to, but it is a good one, Destin. What happened on Earth was unusual. It was not the Alliance’s intention to cause so much distress to your people,” Hunter murmured, resting his hand on Destin’s shoulder.
“How can we be so different, yet so similar?” Destin asked in a low tone. “You have homes, jobs, families – everything that humans do. How can our species have been the only ones to implode when we discovered we aren’t alone in the universe?”
Hunter released a deep, long breath and dropped his hand to his side. “The Alliance did not realize until it was too late that Earth was not as advanced as we had first thought. The messages you sent out gave the impression that Earth was ready for this first contact. Once first contact was made, it was too late. We had no choice but to move forward.”
Destin nodded and looked down at the tips of his boots. He knew that. He remembered the day that the Trivators had arrived. The shock and upheaval weren’t something anyone would be likely to forget. It hadn’t been the Trivators who struck out at the humans. It had been the humans striking out against each other. Fear could be a very, very powerful and destructive emotion.
“You’re right. There was no turning back,” Destin said with a shrug.
“Hunter, the ceremony is about to start,” Jesse said in a slightly breathless voice.
Hunter and Destin turned toward Jesse. She was wearing a long, red and silver laced strapless dress. Her hair was styled in an elegant French twist with tiny silver and red flowers tucked in it. Around her neck, she wore a diamond and ruby pendant that matched her ruby stud earrings.
“Sweet Goddess, Jesse, you are the most beautiful female I have ever seen,” Hunter hissed out in a deep voice.
Destin watched Hunter step toward Jesse and tenderly lift her inner right wrist to his lips, pressing a kiss over the markings encircling it. Destin had learned that was the Trivator equivalent of a wedding ring back on Earth, only far more permanent since it could not be taken off – it was a symbol of a Trivator’s vow to his mate.
Destin started forward when he felt Razor and Ajaska walking up behind him. He entered the interior of the house, once again amazed by both the similarities and the contrasts to Earth. This was a home filled with family and friends.
His gaze softened when he saw Ami grin at him as he walked by. She was the spitting image of Kali except for the tiny row of ridges along her nose and her slightly sharper than human teeth. She was standing next to Lyon, Jesse and Hunter’s oldest son, one hand wrapped around the handle of a tiny basket filled with flower petals and the other holding onto Lyon’s hand.
Destin smiled back at her before crossing through the house to the courtyard out back. Before a long, shallow fountain, chairs were lined up with an aisle in the center. Destin’s gaze immediately focused on Jersula. She was listening to another guest. Her gaze flickered up and locked with his. He watched her lips part, as if she were drawing in a deep breath. His body reacted to the thought of what those lips tasted like. A strong emotion briefly flared in her eyes. It looked like she wasn’t immune to the attraction igniting between them, either.
Destin reluctantly broke the eye contact between them. He turned down the third row, crossed to the end, and sat down. A couple of minutes later, several other members of Hunter and Razor’s extended family sat in the seats beside him. Hunter, Dagger, Razor, and Saber stood near the fountain. A sympathetic smile curved Destin’s lips when he saw the nervous expression on Saber’s face. The Trivator kept glancing back at the house. Dagger pulled at the collar of his shirt while Razor and Hunter quietly talked.
Razor suddenly glanced up when Jesse murmured, and he nodded. He stepped to the front of the group while Hunter and Dagger stood beside Saber. Across from them, Jesse, Jordan, and Kali all stood, waiting for Taylor.
Several minutes later, Destin heard the familiar song played at weddings back on Earth begin, and he turned to watch Scout escort Taylor down the aisle. Destin knew he should be focused on the wedding, but he couldn’t keep his eyes or his mind off the unusual woman sitting a row ahead and across the aisle from him.
“Today we gather to honor the joining of two individuals who are family to me. I am pleased to join my new sister, Taylor, with a man I consider to be a brother, Saber, in both the traditions of her people and ours,” Razor announced, standing in front of everyone. “Let the ceremony begin.”
* * *
*.*.*
* * *
Several dark shadows moved through the thick forest. Their focus was on the house. Another transport flew overhead, and the four men froze. One of the men stepped closer to the heavyset man in the lead.
“The transports are heading in the same direction we’re going. We will be outnumbered,” the man stated with an uneasy glance at the sky as another transport skimmed above the tall trees. “Perhaps we should abort the mission
“I make the decisions,” Kronos growled under his breath and shot the three men a look of warning. He considered their next step now that it was obvious their Intel was missing something as important as half the galaxy coming to visit at the same exact time the assassination was to take place. “We will wait until the gathering has finished. General Achler wants Chancellor Razor’s family eliminated. There will be no aborting of this mission. If we fail, Achler would kill us, no matter what the ‘mitigating circumstances’ were. Once the guests depart, we execute anyone in the dwelling, just like we were ordered to do. I will contact Team One and inform them of the situation, but our orders haven’t changed – there are to be no witnesses and no survivors. Unless you want to end up dead as well, I suggest you remember who ordered this mission.”
The man reluctantly nodded and glanced at the other two men. There were originally six of them on the mission, but two had perished when they encountered one of the savage, six-legged beasts that lived in the forest. They had killed the huge creature, but not before it ripped two of the men apart.
“Understood,” the man finally replied.
Looking up, Kronos glared at the sky when another transport flew overhead. He radioed the other team and warned them of the situation. According to the report they were given by General Prymorus Achler, Chancellor Razor and Lord Hunter were supposed to be off planet.
A sense of unease swept through Kronos. Something told him that not all their information was accurate and he wondered if that included the information about the Trivator warriors being off-world. General Achler was very clear in his orders – take out the family and leave no trace of who did it. The general also stressed that he would be the one to notify Chancellor Razor, personally.
Kronos couldn’t understand why Prymorus Achler would want to enrage the Trivator warrior. There were few in the galaxy who had not heard of the Chancellor’s reputation. Razor was just as brutal as Prymorus when it came to his enemies. Kronos had known when he was assigned this mission that it would probably be a death sentence… yet, at least there was a small chance of surviving.
The Waxian chosen before him declined the mission. General
Achler made Kronos remove the body parts of the man before he turned to him and asked him if he had any objections to the operation. Still covered in the blood of the other man, Kronos had shaken his head and accepted the assignment.
He knew it would only be a matter of time before Chancellor Razor hunted down each of them. Death would not come swiftly or cleanly if the Trivator found them. Still, having a head start against a murderous Trivator would be better than what would have happened if he had said no to the Waxian warlord.
“Move out,” Kronos growled to the others.
The men fell into step, moving forward again. It took them almost an hour to reach the tall barrier surrounding the compound. Kronos motioned for the men to spread out. Through the gate, he could see the large number of transports. He murmured to the men to settle in. They would wait until the transports left before attacking. Turning, he slid down along a tree several meters from the wall. He pulled out a small vidcom with the images of those targeted for termination and studied them while they waited for darkness.
4
“Congratulations, Taylor,” Destin murmured before he grinned at Saber and slapped him on the shoulder. “You made it!”
“No thanks to you and the others. I’m lucky I didn’t break my neck last night doing some of the stunts we did. Thank the Goddess for the brace Taylor engineered for my leg or I would have,” Saber grinned with a wave of his hand.
Destin couldn’t help but notice the new markings around Saber’s wrist. He had never seen tattoos created so fast or with so much intricate detail as the ones done at the ceremony. After Saber and Taylor spoke the vows they had written to each other, Razor pronounced them husband and wife. Then the couple began the Trivator ceremony where they each received the markings showing they were Amates.
“Trust me, that was mild compared to what it would have been like back home. I’ve been to a few bachelor parties that ended with trips to the emergency room, or worse, jail,” Destin promised with another pat to Saber’s shoulder. “You did good. I swear Trivators are a natural when it comes to learning Parkour. You guys do a great job jumping and climbing buildings, and aren’t half bad at bouncing when you miss.”
“We didn’t bounce. We landed on our feet… most of the time,” Dagger said, coming to stand next to them. “How do you get this thing off? Every time I grab one side to pull it free, it chokes me.”
Destin chuckled and quickly untied the red tie from around Dagger’s thick neck. Dagger immediately unbuttoned the top five buttons on his shirt with one hand. Destin noticed the man was more relaxed now than he was earlier. He suspected it had a lot to do with the little girl he was holding in his arms and the woman standing near him.
“Oh, I want to learn how to do Parkour,” Taylor exclaimed, her eyes growing wide with excitement. “It’s a lot like gymnastics. I bet I’d be pretty good at it. I sort of did it when I climbed out of the window at that old castle on Dises V.”
Destin grinned and shook his head when Saber cursed under his breath. He half listened to Taylor, Saber, Dagger, and Jordan discuss the pros and cons of learning how to do Parkour, but his mind was on something – or he should say someone – else. A flash of blue out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and his gaze narrowed on the object of his thoughts. Like a magnetic force was pulling them together, his gaze caught and held Jersula’s light blue one.
“Excuse me,” Destin murmured, not caring if the others heard him or not.
A part of him knew he should be running in the opposite direction. The other part of him was determined to keep on walking toward the frustrating woman who had captivated him. He was fascinated with the fire he knew lay hidden beneath the icy composure she presented to the world. He had not only seen that fire in her eyes, but tasted it on her lips.
“Councilor Ikera,” Destin said, stepping in front of her when she started to turn away toward the house.
“Destin,” Jersula murmured, glancing at him before looking away. “I was hoping to see you before I left.”
“You were?” Destin replied.
“Yes,” she began, lifting a hand as if to brush away an invisible strand of hair. “I found something on the beach this morning, a necklace, near the boulder where you draped your clothing.”
“My medallion,” Destin murmured with relief. “I thought I had lost it along the path when I was returning to the house. Do you have it with you?”
Jersula shook her head. “No, I wasn’t expecting to see you here. I left it in the quarters I was assigned to,” she replied, her voice laced with regret. “I… I could bring it to you later this evening.”
“I would appreciate it,” Destin responded. “The medallion has a lot of sentimental value to me.”
“I thought it might. I saw the images in it.…,” her voice faded and she glanced down. “It was not my intention to pry. I wasn’t sure if it belonged to you, or….”
“Jersula,” Destin murmured, taking a step closer and gently lifting her chin so she would look at him. “The medallion contains the only photo I have left of my mother and a picture of Kali. I’m glad you cared enough to find out who it belonged to. As I said, it has great sentimental value to me.”
“I could see the resemblance between you and your mother. You have her eyes,” she said softly, gazing at him.
“Destin, they are about to cut the cake,” Kali called out. “Ami refuses to let me help her. She wants you, if you don’t mind.”
“I’ll be right there,” Destin replied, not turning away from Jersula. “Meet me later tonight.”
She took a deep breath. “Where?” Jersula asked.
“On the beach, near the boulder,” Destin said, brushing the back of his fingers along her cheek. “… When the second moon rises,” he added, unsure of how to explain in Trivator time when to meet, but knowing that the second moon rose about ten thirty pm if he were to equate it to Earth time.
“I will be there,” Jersula murmured before he started to turn away. “Destin….”
“Yes?”
Destin paused, his gaze moving from her face to her hand on his arm and back again. He could feel the muscle in his jaw tighten. A flicker of uncertainty flashed through her eyes and he forced his body to relax.
“I like to be called Sula,” she said in a quiet voice.
“Sula…,” Destin repeated, rolling her name off his tongue like a caress before he gave her a crooked smile. “I’ll see you later.”
* * *
*.*.*
* * *
Sula stared after Destin. A bemused smile curved her lips at the strange attraction she felt. She watched Destin as he knelt down and talked to the dark-haired little girl. Blinking, she turned back toward her intended destination. She had been in the process of locating Taylor and Saber to congratulate them on their joining before she left. She had spotted them, but she had also seen Destin.
At the moment, it appeared they were cutting a large, decorated dessert. She wavered, unsure of how to proceed. This was only the third joining ceremony that she had ever attended in a professional capacity, but it was the most unusual out of the three. Deciding that no one would notice if she disappeared, she turned back toward the house and quietly retreated to her transport out front.
It wasn’t until she was alone that she released the tight control over her emotions and lifted a trembling hand to her throat. She carefully pulled the thin, leather cord from under her top. The dark metal of the medallion was warm from where it was pressed against her skin. She carefully opened it and stared down at the images inside.
“You should have given it to him when you had the chance, Sula,” she whispered, running her fingers over the textured casing. “You are asking for trouble.”
She swallowed and glanced back at the house. She still had time to go inside and give it to him. Shaking her head, she tucked the necklace back inside her top and started the transport. Within minutes, she was flying back to her living quarters with the memory of his kiss on her
lips and his touch burning against her cheek. She had never been tempted by a man until now. The first time they met, there had been the shadow of Badrick’s deceit hanging over them. This time she saw a different side to Destin Parks – a side that she wanted to explore.
* * *
*.*.*
* * *
“It’s still deserted,” the Waxian warrior named Bracin said, glancing at the screen in his hand.
“We wait,” Zare stated, wiping sand from his laser pistol.
“For what, more of those beasts to eat us? You heard what Kronos said. His team is down two men,” Bracin snorted, glancing warily up the cliff.
“Why do you think we are on the beach?” Zare replied.
“I wonder if they have creatures in the ocean as well,” a third mercenary remarked from where he was leaning back against a rocky outcropping.
Zare grunted and nodded toward the water. “If you had researched the mission first, you’d know they do – same thing for the others on Team Two. If they had listened to me, they’d still have a full team. You should be thankful you are on this team and that we have the transport,” he stated, rising to his feet.
“Are you sure it will only be the woman and child coming home?” the mercenary asked, ignoring his comrade’s sarcastic comment.
“Chancellor Razor is trapped on Dises V. We follow our orders to kill his mate and child and get out of here before the other Trivators find out. If we don’t, we’ll wish we were the ones who were eaten,” Zare said, turning when he heard the sound of a transport.
“The sensor has been triggered,” another mercenary standing a short distance away informed them.