Ristèard Unwilling Empress (7 page)

Sadao nodded, looking at her with a wary expression. Andras had already warned him to watch out for this female, that she wasn’t all she appeared to be. He had a strange feeling about her as well. There was something different. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was definitely something unusual about her.

“Yes,” he replied.

Biting her bottom lip, Ricki looked back toward the medical unit. She didn’t want to go back inside where Ristèard and Andras were, but she wanted to do more research. Making a decision, she looked back at Sadao.

“I need a tablet,” she stated, raising her hand when he started to say something. “Please. I understand your hesitation, but from what I’ve read, your world is on the verge of a major disaster. I’ve been able to find some useful information, but I need to do more research. I’m very good at it. I know there is something I am missing, I can feel it. Please,” she pleaded. “I know I can help.”

She grinned when Sadao released a low curse and gave her a sharp nod. “You better not try anything to harm Ristèard or my people or I swear I’ll cut you down myself,” he growled in a low voice.

Ricki’s smile faded, but she didn’t look away. Instead, she stepped closer and laid her hand on his arm and waited until he looked into her eyes. There was too much riding on her finding some additional information.

“I am very good at what I do,” she promised. “If there is any information that might help save your world, I can find it. I know I can.”

Sadao reached up and gripped her forearm. “Come with me,” he said, looking over his shoulder. “The main computers are faster and easier to use.”

Ricki nodded, turning as he continued to hold her arm and hurried beside him. She refused to think about what would happen if she failed. She had read the reports, seen the numbers, and knew that for once, she was the one who must perform like she had never performed before.

A moment of anguish filled her at the thought of what Ristèard must feel at having such a heavy burden on his shoulders. She had seen how much her father had fretted during some of the leaner times when the circus was still small and struggling to stay alive.

Her dad felt responsible for every member of the cast and crew. She couldn’t fathom what it would be like to have millions of lives and the existence of a planet on her shoulders. It was a weight no one should bear alone.

Ristèard grimaced at Andras before turning back toward the chair he had been sitting in. He sat down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. Closing his eyes, he waited as Karis, who had stepped back into the room as well, picked up the scanner and finished working on healing the slight knot on the back of his head.

A light grunt escaped him as the headache that had been building dissolved as well. He opened his eyes and nodded to Karis. Sitting back in the chair, he waited for the healer to leave again before he directed his attention to Andras.

“What did you find out?” He asked.

Andras’ lips twitched. “About what? The female or Texla and Raomlin?” He asked in return.

Ristèard scowled and stood up, rotating his shoulders. He knew what Andras was referring to. His second-in-command wanted to know how a female as delicate and obviously untrained as Ricki, could put him on his ass. He knew the answer. He couldn’t seem to think straight when he was around her and had underestimated her once again.

“Texla and Raomlin,” he growled.

The grin on Andras’ lips faded. “They are weak. If I had to guess, they are someone’s puppets,” he replied. “The problem is finding out whose. They always keep a large group of warriors around them. There has been an increase in activity within their respective zones.”

Ristèard’s eyes narrowed. “What type of activity? Weapons?”

Andras just nodded. “My sources say they will make a move to discredit you today at the meeting and seek control over the military,” he added.

Ristèard didn’t reply. It was nothing he hadn’t already suspected. There had been one attempt after another over the past several years to take control of the government and eliminate him and those closest to him. It had started to increase six months ago after  the discovery and release of the tablet which contain the image of the Empress of Elipdios along with the prophecy stating that the Empress would bring salvation to their world. Now that he was forging an alliance with the Kassisan Royal House, it would appear those wishing to overthrow him were getting desperate.

“Make preparations for departure,” he ordered, glancing at Andras. “And, Andras…”

“Yes.”

“Whatever happens, your first priority is now to protect Ricki Bailey,” Ristèard said with an intense stare. “Something tells me she will be in extreme danger.”

“You know I’ve sworn to protect you, Ristèard. Elipdios needs you,” Andras interjected with a frown.

Ristèard shook his head. “My gut is telling me that it needs Ricki,” he reluctantly admitted. “Once the council sees her, they will know that the prophecy is coming true. Everyone has seen the image on the tablet that the Rue’s discovered. She brings hope to a dying world. If nothing else, that will cause a reaction.”

“Do you think it is true?” Andras asked in a quiet voice. “Do you really think she is the Empress of Elipdios?”

Ristèard thought for several moments. His mind flashed back to the kiss he had demanded just a few minutes earlier. The intensity of it had shaken him, something that had never happened before. His first thought had been that the emotions were just lust, but he knew he was lying to himself. The pleasure, and his reaction to her touch, had been too intense.

She had shaken him to his core. He had a dozen women willing and ready should he need relief, yet he hadn’t been able to stand the touch of any of them since he met Ricki. He couldn’t help comparing them to her unusual beauty and he felt a wave of distaste at the idea of even touching them. Even his consort, Cherissa, couldn’t entice him and had been shocked when he had immediately dismissed her.

“Ristèard,” Andras repeated. “Do you really think she is the Empress?”

Ristèard jerked back to the present, turning to look back at Andras. “Yes,” he said with an intense expression. “Yes, I not only think she is the prophesied Empress of Elipdios. I think she might just save our world.”

Andras surprised hiss echoed in the room. “Then, I will inform the others that she is to be protected above all else,” he finally agreed. “Even yourself.”

*.*.*

Ristèard paused outside the door to his cabin. Sadao straightened from where he had been leaning back against the wall. He knew that Sadao had something on his mind. When that happened, he generally heard about it.

“She isn’t what she appears,” Sadao stated with a grim, determined look on his face. “There is something about her I can’t put my finger on.”

“She’s human,” Ristèard replied. “How many humans have you ever met?”

Sadao grunted and sighed. “True,” he admitted. “Until we arrived on Kassis, none. I just can’t help but feel there is something else about her.”

“She is the Empress of Elipdios,” Ristèard murmured in a low voice. “I’ve instructed Andras that she is to be protected at all cost.”

Sadao nodded. “I figured as much when I saw her,” he said. “Out of the five of us, I’ve always been the more superstitious. Even so, this has taken me by surprise and…”

Ristèard’s eyebrow rose when Sadao’s voice faded and he glanced uneasily at the door. “And…?” He asked.

Sadao gazed back at him before looking down at the floor. Ristèard could see the confusion on his friend’s face and understood. He was feeling it as well. How was it possible that a two thousand year old tablet could predict the future?

Sadao finally looked back up at him before replying. “And given me hope for our world,” he finished in a quiet voice. “I think she might find the answer we need.”

“I do, too,” Ristèard finally admitted. “I do, too.”

A slow smile creased Sadao’s face. “I’ll protect her,” he promised. “For the first time in my life, I believe there is a chance for a future.”

Ristèard’s throat tightened with emotion. He had never thought about a future. His life had been one about survival. He had devoted his life to finding a way to save his world. In the process, it had meant staying alive long enough to see that happened.

Now… Now even he felt a small ray of hope beginning to blossom deep inside him. He murmured for Sadao check in with Andras and to coordinate with Emyr and Harald on providing continuous coverage for Ricki when he wasn’t with her. He watched as Sadao took off down the corridor before he turned back to the door of his cabin and gave the command for it to open.

What would it be like to have a future?
He wondered before his gaze was captured by the unusual figure sitting on the couch in his cabin.
A future with Ricki.

In that instant, he could see it. He could see a future with Ricki. He could see… Shaking his head, he blinked several times when he suddenly realized that she had said something.

“What?” He asked, a scowl darkening his face at being caught off guard yet again. “How do you do that?”

Ricki frowned at him, setting the tablet in her hands down on the cushion of the couch and stood up. “I asked if you are alright? You had this funny look on your face. And, how do I do what?” She asked in confusion.

Ristèard ran his hand through his hair, grateful that his head didn’t hurt anymore. His lips tightened with resolve. He needed to instruct Ricki on a few things before they left the warship. The crew aboard it had been carefully picked by him and his men. Once they left it, he could not guarantee who could be trusted.

“Whenever I’m around you I can’t think straight,” he confessed. “This has never happened before. What strange powers do you humans have?”

He saw Ricki’s eyes soften with amusement. “I’m afraid the only powers I have are the ability to be very organized and finding out information. Nothing spectacular, I assure you,” she chuckled. “Although, I must admit that no one has ever told me before that they couldn’t think straight around me. I might have to add that to my resume.”

Desire flared inside him again at her teasing admission. He walked toward her, wondering vaguely if he kissed her again if it would be as intense as the last time. Images of the two of them entwined, his dark skin against her fair solidified in his mind. Frustration at not having the time to make the images a reality burned through him.

Tonight,
he thought.

He would claim Ricki as his Empress before the council and the world. It would give him the edge he needed to separate the traitorous members of the council once and for all. There was no doubt in his mind that whoever had been orchestrating the attacks against him would strike out in an effort to stop him.

He would also take care of the persistent, aggravating ache inside him that had been building since he first saw her. It was ridiculous for him to be behaving so irrationally. Surely once he had sated the hunger burning inside him, he would feel more in control.

Of course, then his life would be sealed to Ricki’s forever, but he would deal with that later. Right now, he just wanted to kill the traitors, save his planet, and bury himself as far as he could go inside Ricki Bailey, and not necessarily in that order.

It doesn’t hurt that the more I am around her, the more I want her either,
he thought pausing in front of her.
Once I’ve bedded her, that should take care of all these strange feelings. The first thing I will do is take all of the clips she uses to hold her hair up. I don’t ever want it pinned back again.

The amusement in her eyes turned to wariness as she looked up at him. He refused to release her gaze as he bent down to capture her lips. Surprise gripped him when he found a delicate hand pressed against his mouth.

“One kiss,” Ricki said sternly. “That was all you asked for in return for contacting my parents. There was never a negotiation for a second one.”

Ristèard growled against her palm. A flush rose up over his cheeks when she continued to stare at him with a raised eyebrow. Out of spite, he reached up and pulled the pencil out of her hair, causing her hair to fall in silky waves down her back.

Satisfaction coursed through him when she emitted an exasperated sigh and pulled her hand away to grab the pencil he was holding out to the side. She emitted a low growl of her own when she realized that his arm was longer than hers. Taking advantage of her distraction, he wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her against his body. He wanted her to feel the reaction he had to her.

“Do you see what you do to me?” He asked in a husky voice. “What are you going to do about it?”

Ricki tilted her head back and stared up at him. “Put you back on your butt again?” She suggested.

Ristèard chuckled. “I still need to talk to you about that,” he said before sobering again. “We will be leaving shortly for the planet. I need to instruct you of the dangers.”

“Fine,” Ricki replied. “Instruct me on the dangers, but I would like my pencil back before you do.”

“For a kiss,” he demanded with a savvy grin. “I will return it for a kiss.”

Disappointment flashed through him when he saw the immediate wariness return to her eyes and she shook her head. Gripping the pencil in his fist, he raised his other hand and touched her hair in fascination. The more he stared at it, the more brilliant colors he saw.

“Ristèard,” she whispered in a voice that was barely audible before she cleared her throat. “Grand Ruler, I believe it would be best if we keep a respectful distance between us while we try to solve the problems before you. I’ve been doing additional research….”

“What?” He said, shaking his head wondering what had just happened. “What research?” His eyes flickered to the tablet on the couch. “How did you get access to another device?”

Ricki pulled back and twisted out of his grasp. That was another thing that was going to have to stop. He was normally the one to dismiss a female, not the other way around.

“That isn’t the point,” Ricki replied with sudden excitement. “The point is I’ve found something that is very interesting in the archives.”

“What?” He asked again, sensing a change in her as she picked up the tablet.

Ricki turned and grinned at him in triumph. Her face glowed with excitement. Even her eyes swirled with vivid blue and silver highlights that made them appear to sparkle. Caught up in her excitement, he stepped closer and looked down at the tablet in her hands.

“It’s a map,” she said breathlessly.

Ristèard frowned in confusion as he stared at the detailed map covered with ancient symbols. He could see it was a map, but a map to what? That was the true question. And what did all of the symbols mean?

“I can see it is a map? But, to what? How is this supposed to help Elipdios?” He asked, glancing at her before looking at the map again. “The Blood Stones…,” he whispered, touching the familiar symbol still in use.

“It looks almost like a treasure map,” Ricki said in a low voice. Looking up at Ristèard, she grinned. “Look here,” she continued. “I think the entrance was etched on the tablets. If you turn the map this way, it matches the mountains along the edge of the Eastern desert. If we follow the coordinates it should lead us to it!”

“How did you find this?” He asked in wonder, studying the map. “How could the scientists miss it?”

Anger swept through him that such information hadn’t been shared with him. If Ricki could find it, surely the scientists must have known about it. That they would ignore something of such magnitude and compound the insult by not informing him was a death sentence for treason.