Kingdom Come (5 page)

She was not sure how sh
e was going to clean herself up without any supplies. She smiled. Even her inner voice added quotation marks around the agent’s words.

She wandered around the second floor for almost twenty minutes before she found a bathroom and locked herself inside. After splashing water on her face rearranging a few of her hairpins, she thought she looked presentable. She hurried out of the ladies room and took the closest staircase, her heels clomping loudly on the stairs.

She nearly fell out of the stairwell when she caught sight of Agent Jackson waiting for her.

“You’re late,” he said, looking her over. “Come with me. The ambassador’s party is already here.”

He walked away without waiting for her to respond. She sighed and followed him down the hallway as fast as her shoes allowed. He did not speak to her until they neared the oval office. Then, he turned to her so fast she almost collided with him. He frowned at her.

“You will give the prince’s head of security a tour. You will stay in the tourist approved areas. You will not mention anything you have seen or heard while working here.”

She blinked at him. “Okay?”

“Do you or do you not understand these very simple instructions?”

She nodded. “Got it.”

She waited until he turned away to narrow her eyes at him. So rude. She followed
him down the hall to where the prince’s guards gathered. Her eyes scanned over the assembly, now having names to put with faces. The group turned to face them as they approached. She stepped out from behind Jackson to get a clear view of everyone.

The redhead, Konani, met her gaze. She thought she saw warmth there, before Konani’s blue eyes cut to Agent Jackson and became icy. Abby looked over the group, telling herself she was not looking for a certain pair of aquamarine eyes. When she had searched all the faces, she realized he was not present. She looked down.

“Miss Ashley.”

She fought the urge to shiver pleasantly at the sound of his voice. She turned slowly, keeping her face carefully blank.

“Your Highness. It’s nice to see you, again.” She was able to keep all but a trace of breathiness out of her voice.

Her eyes slowly rose from the front of his perfectly fitted suit to meet his gaze. The full force of his eyes met hers for a fraction of a second before he looked away. It felt like all the air was sucked from her lungs. She forced a smile.

“It is very pleasant to see you, also,” he said.

She licked her lips nervously. When his eyes followed the action, she smiled. His lips immediately curved in response.

“The president is expecting you, Your Highness.” Agent Jackson’s voice had the effect of being dowsed in ice water.

She blinked hard and turned away from the prince, looking at anything but the guards assembled in front of her. She was mortified and she was not completely sure why. Every time she was near the prince it felt intimate, private. As if they were alone in
a separate world. She mentally shook herself.

She felt the prince watching her and tried not to think too much of it.

“Your Majesty?” Agent Jackson said.

She glanced over her shoulder and her gaze met Edric’s for a brief moment before he turned away to follow the agent toward the Oval Office. She could not be sure, but she thought she saw a flash of resignation in his eyes. Frowning, she turned back to the guards.

Konani openly studied her. Her red hair was swept back from her face in a braid that fell over her shoulder. After a moment of eye contact, she looked at the man to her left. Abby’s gaze followed the movement to see Limek and Konani engage in a silent conversation. It ended with Limek raised one eyebrow and nodding.

“Miss Ashley,” Konani said, turning back to her. “Would it be alright if I accompanied the two of you on the tour?” She gestured to her mate.

Abby looked back and forth between the two. Limek’s face showed no expression, his sharp cheekbones and ice blue gaze giving him a severe appearance. She blinked in surprise when his lips suddenly curved up into a small smile, warmth in his gaze. She shrugged.

“Sure.”

She looked over the other guards and saw the same expression. It almost looked like fondness. She mentally shook her head. As if they would like her any more than anyone else.

Konani smiled and glanced over her shoulder at the other guards. She said few words in a language Abby could not understand and the others gave her a sharp nod.
Turning back, Konani’s gaze met her mate’s. Limek raised both eyebrows, before he nodded.

Abby was not sure if she was suspicious of all their nonverbal communication or jealous of their closeness. She sighed to herself. Mostly jealous. Konani, seemingly finished communicating with her mate, headed in her direction. It was not until she stopped in front of her, Abby realized the difference in height.

Her head came to the other woman’s nose. She craned her head back to meet her gaze. Konani cocked her head to the side, simply meeting her gaze. After a moment, she nodded and bowed at the waist.

“It’s a pleasure to formally make your acquaintance, Abigail Ashley,” she said in her deep, scratchy voice.

Abby blinked at the show of respect, before quickly bowing in return. “You, too. And just Abby’s fine. Abigail’s way too formal.”

Amusement filled the other warm’s gaze. “Abby, it is. I would be happy to have you call me Konani.”

“Will do.” She peered around the other woman to see Limek still speaking to the other guards in another language.

“Is that your native language?”

“Ghad,” Konani nodded.

“It’s pretty,” she said before she could stop herself.

Konani smiled. “You are funny. I can see the draw,” she said cryptically.

Limek joined them before Abby could ask her what she meant. He stood close enough to Konani for their shoulders to brush.

“We are ready to begin, Abigail Ashley.”

She nodded and started to turn away. “Oh, right.” She looked back at him. “Feel free to call me Abby. No one calls me Abigail.”

He nodded. “Understood.”

She smiled and turned away. “We’ll start on the bottom floor.”

Even as she said it, she was not entirely sure how to get to the main entrance from where they were. She slipped the White House Tours map from her inner jacket pocket, as she led the two down the hall. At the end, she realized she was going the wrong direction.

“Well, this is the end of the hallway.” She gestured, as if she meant to show them nothing.

From Konani’s mildly amused stare, she was sure they knew more about the layout of the building than she did. Which begged the question of why they would want a tour. She frowned and turned to face them. They watched her expectantly, and her curiosity got the best of her.

“How long have you two been together, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Eighty years,” Konani said.

Abby felt like her eyes were bugged out of her face. “Seriously?”

She looked them over carefully, and noticed they did seem older than Edric. Closer to mid-forties.

“Yes. Limek approached me earlier than is custom.” She sent him a small smile. “Though he was very accomplished.”

Fascinated, Abby could not keep herself from questioning the woman. “So, what kind of offering did he give?”

Konani gave her a smile that could only be called a smirk. “He built me a house.”

Abby’s eyebrows shot up. She glanced at Limek. “Why?”

“She wanted one,” Limek said.

“Wow.” She looked back and forth between Konani’s amused face and Limek’s expressionless one. “That sure beats how we date.”

Konani let out a surprised bark of laughter. “I cannot imagine courting more than once. It seems tiring.”

Abby shrugged. “Can be.”

“Go ahead,” Konani said, rightfully assuming she had far more questions about the topic.

“Really? You don’t mind? I don’t want to be nosey.”

Limek cocked his head to the side, and she wondered if it was a gesture he had picked up from Konani or the other way around.

“There is no shame in curiosity. Please ask your questions,” he said.

She smiled. “So how
did you know she was your arammu?”

She could tell by his expression, he was expecting the question. “I was drawn to her.”

“Oh.” She had expected something a little more mystical. “So, it’s an attraction thing.”

Konani laughed. “If that were true, we would court like humanity.” She shook her head. “No, it is science and math that draws the mates together.”

“Calculations?” The conversation was moving in the opposite direction of romance. Abby sighed.

“Not the kind you are accustomed to,” Konani said. She glanced at Limek and he picked up where she left off.

“We became aware of the arammu bond by accident several millennia ago. We noticed that while all of matter is composed of atoms, they do not all act alike. When the atoms in two people vibrate at the same frequency, we call them arammu.”

Konani nodded. “But, it’s more than that. We noticed the bond between the atomic particles ran far deeper. It affected the personality, making the two complement each other. It even created a system to let the male know when he had found his mate.”

“Not the female?” Abby questioned.

“That is part of the reason our society developed as a matriarchy. He asks, she accepts.” Konani smiled slightly. “I, personally, did not have the time to spend on pursuit. I was pleased to leave it to Limek.”

Abby followed her gaze to the raised eyebrow on Limek’s face. She suppressed a smile and glanced around.

“I should give you that tour, now.” She looked back the way they had come and gestured in that direction. “Shall we?”

The two of them nodded in in unison.

“Lead the way, Abby,” Konani said pleasantly.

Abby lead the way down the hallway, pausing at the doorway to the Roosevelt Room.

“This is one of the conference rooms. It’s named after both Roosevelt’s and was
Theodore Roosevelt’s office in 1903.” She glanced up from her tour guide to see the two Ghadrikans watching her. “He’s my favorite president.”

Konani nodded. “Agreed.”

Abby nodded and lead the way around the corner toward the main residence.

“Do you know a lot about American history?” Abby glanced over her shoulder to look at the other woman.

“Earth history is a hobby of mine, so I know a little,” Konani said.

Limek made a sound in the back of his throat that sounded suspiciously like a suppressed laugh.

“She is being modest,” Limek said with a soft look toward his mate. “She is very knowledgeable about all human history.”

Abby looked at Konani with interest. “Really? What’s your favorite part of history?”

Konani straightened her spine, making the two inch difference between her and her mate a more pronounced four inches. She sent Limek a sly grin.

“I have a certain fondness for the warrior queens of Africa.”

Abby gave her a quick once over, taking in her strong stance and armor clad body. “That makes sense.”

She turned to continue down the hallway, the other two falling in behind her. She stopped at the next doorway on her right.

“This is the Cabinet Room. A meeting room for the president and the members of his cabinet to meet and discuss business.”

She noticed the mildly disgusted look on Konani’s face at the mention of the
president, but she chose to ignore it. She had no great love for the man, but she knew who was signing her paycheck.

“The Rose Garden is just out that window. In fact, we should probably go out that way.” She left out the part about how she had no idea how to navigate the interior hallways to get them to the main residence.

She led them around the long table that dominated the room and out a set of French doors. The weather was warm enough to make the stroll down the open air walkway pleasant instead of horrible. She had noticed the weather in the capital was a mercurial as the politics.

They reentered the building near the kitchen, pausing at the doorway to give the couple a chance to look around. Konani seemed interested in the kitchen’s inner workings, her eyes following the cooks around the large room.

“It is strange to see food being prepared with fire,” Konani murmured.

Abby glanced at her. “How do you cook in Ghadrik?”

Limek’s lips twitched. “She does not cook. Neither the earth way nor our own.”

Konani frowned at him, but her lips curved. “You’ll pay for that later,” she muttered, before turning back to Abby. “The particles are vibrated until they reach the desired temperature.”

“Huh,” Abby commented thoughtfully. Interesting.

She started to lead them from the room, when the same two cooks from breakfast entered the kitchen. They moved to the far wall to put away their jackets. Christian turned first, still fiddling with his apron ties. He smiled when he saw her, before his eyes slid to the couple beside her. He blinked owlishly.