Space Invaders (13 page)

A blush covered Niafe’s cheeks. “We’ve spoken a few times.”

“Setting up your brother?” Kres asked.

“Possibly. Niafe, if you were connected to the throne through my brother, do you think your mother would lose her supporters?”

“What?” Kres sat up straight. “She’ll have you assassinated and let her daughter take over.”

“No.” Niafe shook her head. “Not if we sell it to the people that I’m also an advisor. That would buy us time to figure out what to do about my mother. She must be controlled.”

“Can she be re-mated?” Vohne wondered if Lady Nelb could be saved if they found her another mate.

“I doubt it.” Niafe frowned. “Who would mate with a madwoman?”

“Good point,” Vohne agreed.

“Mating with Bleine might work,” Niafe said. “I’ve always thought we had a spark, but as he was bonded, I didn’t pursue him.”

Vohne turned to look at his mate, who sat quietly beside him, not commenting on the plan.

“What are you planning?”

Kres gave him a sweet smile. “Nothing, dear.”

“Uh-huh.” Why did his mate’s innocent look not reassure him at all?

They spent the next hour discussing how to counteract an invasion, with Niafe filling in the details of her mother’s plan.

“My mother will change everything if she finds out I talked to you. You must be prepared for anything. Keep your most trusted men close around you. You and your mate’s lives are in danger.”

“I’ve been through this more than once. I know how to quell an uprising. I’ll try to save your mother, but make no mistake, if the only way to end this is to kill her, I won’t hesitate to do what is right for my people. Having them led by an unbalanced, power-hungry Thresl isn’t in anyone’s best interests.” Vohne didn’t want there to be any misunderstanding about his position.

“Understood,” Niafe said.

Kres watched the pair interact and wondered what Vohne’s brother was like. If he was anything like Kres’ mate, Niafe would be a good match.

“Don’t you think, love?” Vohne asked.

“Huh?” He’d been so busy watching his lover he hadn’t paid attention to what he had said.

Vohne laughed. “You weren’t listening, were you?”

Kres shrugged. “I figure you’ll tell me anything I need to know, and since I don’t know any of the people you’re talking about, it doesn’t make any sense to me.” All he really understood was Lady Nelb needed to die. He could take care of that while Vohne dealt with the intricacies of court life. Kres was a soldier. He saw things more black and white than his surprisingly complex-thinking lover. Who could have known when he first met the man-cat that Vohne would turn out to be a reincarnated king and Kres’ soul mate?

“If you paid attention, you would know who your enemies are,” Vohne scolded.

“I’m sure he was paying attention,” Niafe interjected. Poor girl thought she could head off a fight.

Kres decided to try out their link.
“You can explain it to me later. Use little words and lots of lube,”
he sent telepathically to his mate with what he hoped was a sultry look.

Vohne gave Kres the smile he thought of as his. The one that crinkled his nose and brought out the sparkle in his eyes. Vohne leaned over, pressing a hot, hard kiss on Kres’ lips.

“It’s a date, my treasure,” he said in a low voice.

Niafe cleared her throat, pulling them back to the present.

Time passed in a dull flipping of his knife as papers came out to write down plans and discuss possible enemies.

“I still don’t trust Hellbur,” Kres commented. “Even if Niafe’s mother is behind all this, there’s nothing to say Hellbur isn’t helping her.”

Vohne broke off his conversation with Niafe to face his mate. “True, but I didn’t get a sense of deception when I spoke to him.”

Kres disagreed. “There’s something oily about him. I didn’t like how he looked at you.”

“Hellbur has always had a crush on the king,” Niafe offered.

“How do you know?” Kres asked.

“I read it in a courtier’s diary I found in the archives. He apparently wanted to bind your houses years ago, but you turned him down,” Niafe replied.

“It’s unnatural for two Thresls to match even for a monarchy. I would still need my soul mate, and Kres, even in his mildest incarnation, wouldn’t tolerate sharing me.”

“True.” Kres didn’t know what his previous forms had been like. Some of his memories were returning—just in flashes and bits, not enough to form more than a brief idea of what he’d been like before. But he could pretty much guarantee that no incarnation of him would have allowed for sharing. “I can promise if Hellbur wants the same thing now, it’s not going to happen.”

Vohne laughed. “I’m sure he knows that after meeting you. If not, I’ll be happy to inform him.”

It was late when the meeting finally finished. They ate a light dinner and went to bed. Their lovemaking was slow and sweet, and when it was over, Kres fell asleep in the arms of the man he loved more than life.

* * * *

Kres awoke to people banging on the door.

“Go away!” he shouted. Blinking, it took him a moment to realise he was alone in bed.

Where the hell had his lover gone?

The door slammed open and a dozen soldiers entered.

“King-Mate, we’re here to arrest you for the murder of Lady Nelb,” an unfamiliar soldier announced in a voice ringing with authority.

“What?” The sleepy fog clouding his mind blew away, leaving him awake but confused.

Nelrin approached the bed, crouching beside it until they were at eye level. “Your knife was found next to Lady Nelb’s body.”

“Nonsense, it’s right there.” Kres pointed towards the bedside table where he’d set it the night before. He sat straight up, staring at the bare spot. “Shit.” His knife was gone.

“We don’t blame you for killing her. Arresting you is only for show. Please get dressed and come with us,” Nelrin said in a soothing tone.

Looking at the guards, he saw that not one of them looked upset over his supposed murder.

“Um, all right.” Dressing quickly, he let them lead him away. Now he had to figure out who’d killed Lady Nelb and had framed him for it. The bigger question was where the hell was Vohne?

Kres followed the soldiers, mentally preparing for the rigors of a jail cell. What he wasn’t prepared for was the luxurious office he was shown into. Lush carpet sank beneath his booted feet and a soft couch with a wide padded seat dominated the room.

“We thought you’d be more comfortable here, Your Highness,” Nelrin said in an apologetic tone, as if expressing regrets for the lack of proper accommodations.

“I’m not the official king-mate yet,” Kres reminded him.

“Trust me, after this, you will be more than accepted by the populace,” Nelrin said with a smile. “Anyone who had doubts before won’t now. You will be seen as the enforcer, the king’s right hand.”

He watched in astonishment as the soldiers all gave him a respectful salute before leaving the room. Nelrin was the last man out.

“We’ll make sure no one bothers you while we wait to find out what the king’s reaction will be.”

“Don’t I get to defend myself?” What kind of bullshit court was Vohne running?

Nelrin shook his head. “Heroes don’t need to defend themselves. It will likely be a slap on the wrist or community service. It will be decided by the victim’s closest family and confirmed by the king.”

Kres was still mulling that over when the soldiers left. Wasn’t it convenient that he’d met Niafe last night and her mother had ended up stabbed with his knife? Kres didn’t believe in coincidences. Beautiful Niafe was up to her pretty little neck in all this. A neck he imagined throttling when he got out of this place.

Where the hell was his mate? Wasn’t he supposed to sense when Kres was upset? Maybe he wasn’t worried enough. The entire situation felt unreal, like he was still dreaming—although the calm way the soldiers had brought him here had taken away some of his worries. Plopping down on the comfortable couch, he propped his feet up on the cushioned ottoman and wondered how to prove that Niafe had set him up for murder.

Chapter Nine

Vohne sat at his desk, flipping through the hundredth piece of paperwork. A lot of the information was on the machine on his desk, but the really old stuff was still on paper. He’d sneaked out of their bed early to get some work done, hoping to return to his mate before Kres awoke. Looking at the bright sun outside, he was pretty sure he’d failed.

Rubbing his eyes, he tried to focus on the paper again.

A knock at the door had him lifting his head. “Enter.”

Nelrin walked into the room, a wide smile on his face. His mate Friln followed behind.

“We’ve got your mate in lockdown if you’d like to go see him.”

Vohne jumped to his feet. “Why would you arrest Kres?”

“His knife was found by Lady Nelb’s body. Lady Niafe demanded we take your king-mate into protective custody. When you weren’t in your room with your bonded, we moved his location in case one of Lady Nelb’s supporters went looking for him.”

“Were anyone else’s fingerprints found on the knife?”

Nelrin shrugged. “We didn’t bother looking. It’s not like it matters anyway. You’re not going to have your mate put in the dungeon. Besides, Lady Niafe hates her mother, and I doubt she’s even going to press charges. She merely demanded we protect your mate against repercussions, not charge him with anything.”

Niafe
. For the first time Vohne wondered if maybe he’d had his attention on the wrong family member.

After Nelrin left, Vohne concentrated on his lover. His first instinct was to go free him, but protective custody meant Kres was out of danger. It would do him good to stay put for a bit until Vohne found out what really happened.

“You all right, love?”
He sent the question down their shared link. Their bond felt stronger than ever before.

“I hate your planet!”

Vohne laughed.
“Did you kill Lady Nelb?”
He didn’t really think Kres had. Not that his lover wasn’t capable of murdering anyone—because he was—but more than that, he hadn’t had the opportunity. New to the planet, he wouldn’t even know where to find Lady Nelb.

“No. But everyone is too busy congratulating me to listen.”

“Ahh. Sit tight, love. I’ll come check on you in a bit.”

“Take your time. I’ll let you know before I die of boredom.”

“Thank you. I’d appreciate that.”

He could feel annoyance more than anything along their connection before he broke off communication. It wouldn’t do for him to rush to his lover’s defence. If Kres was going to prove himself as a true king-mate, he needed to take care of his own problems. Vohne would only step in if absolutely necessary. He couldn’t let anyone harm his mate, but Kres wasn’t made of glass either.

A soft knock at the door drew his attention.

“Enter.”

Niafe sauntered into the room, triumph glowing on her face.

Vohne examined her carefully. The woman was dressed as befitted a lady of the court, in sheer layers of locally woven fabric, but the look in her eyes had him shifting uneasily in his seat.

“Good morning, Your Highness. I hear your mate has taken care of our little problem.”

Gone was the sincerity of yesterday. The girl who’d reluctantly plotted against her mother and helped him strategise his defence had vanished behind this confident, conniving woman.

“You don’t look upset about her death,” Vohne said.

Niafe shrugged. “I’ve lived under my mother’s thumb for enough years. This is more of a relief than a moment of mourning.”

Vohne propped his elbow on the desk and rested his chin on his hand as he examined her. “Have a seat.”

With a brilliant smile, she sat in the chair before his desk.

“Why did you frame my mate for your mother’s death?” No point tiptoeing around the fact she had murdered her mother. Vohne had no doubt in his mind she’d done the deed.

Niafe’s jaw dropped open for a second, but she quickly recovered. “Why would you think I killed my mother?”

Vohne stared at her for a long moment—waiting.

Niafe jumped to her feet. “Fine! You want to hear that I killed the psychopath who tried to ruin my life and unbalance the monarchy? Then you’re right.” She pointed a finger towards the door. “But everyone thinks your mate is a hero. He can ride this out with the backing of the entire kingdom in his pocket. Do you think they’d do the same thing with a woman who kills her own mother?”

“Perhaps not, but how can I trust you with my brother if you don’t think anything about framing my love?” Her deception bothered Vohne more than anything. If she could easily dispose of her mother, what would she do when Bleine became inconvenient?

“You forget one thing, Your Highness. I don’t need your permission to bond with your brother. I just need your brother’s. Hell, we might not even be mates, but I was willing to bet my mother’s life on it.” With a cold look at Vohne, she stormed out of the room.