Vengeance (3 page)

I feel safe knowing
that I have the best advisors and friends surrounding me, and yet
something feels off.  Perhaps it’s the dreams that
continue to plague me.  Dreams of a man whose eyes are capable
of piercing through the veil of sleep to find me each night.  

I cast my gaze away
as Eamon draws me into his embrace.  My head nestles perfectly
in the hollow of his throat as he rests his chin atop my head.  I
cannot bear to look at him as I think upon the pain that I felt while
trapped within my dream.  I felt the man’s anguish as he
leapt from his window and spiraled down into darkness.  That is
when I always wake, not knowing if he survives the plunge.  

Even
as the light of a new dawn calls me forth from the dream world, I
know that this man is a real person.  A man with a name.
 
Bastien.
 But why do I know this?  Why does he come to me every
night?

Eamon raises his
hands from my waist to my upper arms as he draws back to look at me.
 “You’re still having the dreams, aren’t you?”

For
a moment I consider lying, changing the subject or evading his
question with a sultry kiss, but that will not allay his questions
fully.  Eamon will know something is wrong.  He always
does.  “Yes,” I admit in a whisper.

He sighs and tucks
me into his arms, inserting himself into my world both physically as
well as emotionally.  “You know, a less secure guy would
be worried that his wife is dreaming about strange men.”

“No!  They
aren’t like that!”  I blink as I wrench back from
his grasp, flabbergasted that he would even insinuate that my dreams
are anything more than what they are.  Then I notice the smirk
forming along his lips and I smack him on the shoulder.   “You’re
evil.”

Eamon places a
gentle kiss against my forehead and releases me.  “And yet
for some reason you still love me.”

His bare feet
whisper back across the tile floor as he makes a beeline straight for
the bed.  The covers are rumpled, twisted and hanging from the
side onto the floor.  The sight of Eamon’s bare back calls
to me and yet I remain near the window, soaking in the cool breeze
that drifts off the water beyond. I can hear the lapping of waves and
sigh.  

From
Calisted this moon reflects a deep, pure blue.  Now that I have
come to this place and seen the vast oceans, I understand why.  Only
ten percent of this moon has land.  The rest is filled with
waters teeming with life.  I could spend hours staring out the
window, marveling at the sea life, though Eamon hardly ever allows me
the opportunity.

With a less than
graceful leap, Eamon flops onto the bed.  He bounces twice
before settling onto the enormous circular mattress.  His bronze
skin seems darker against the pristine white covers as he rolls over
to cuddle a pillow and gives me a rather appealing view of his
backside.

“Hard to
resist, huh?”

Smirking
behind my hand, I nod but turn and stare out over the ocean.  I
have grown so accustomed to the lavender waves of Calisted that the
brilliant sapphire blues of this moon steal my breath away, making me
long for a trip back to Earth.  Although Calisted is my home
now, a part of me remained behind on Earth.  It will always be
my first love.  

The
floor-length sheer curtains billow around my legs, caressing them
with each breath of air.  Casting a final glance back at Eamon,
I step out onto the balcony, musing for the hundredth time how
freeing it is to be completely alone, exposed to the elements without
fear of being seen.  The morning air feels cool in my lungs as I
breathe in deep, savoring the slightly sweet taste on the breeze from
the bunches of fruit dangling on vines near the ground below.  They
appear almost like apples but instead of a shiny red exterior, they
are deep purple and juicy.  One bite will leave you racing for
the waves to wash off.

The
stunning panoramic views of Alenida, the emerald jungle moon hanging
in the sky before me, does little to ease the growing fear that has
taken root in my soul.  I can feel something coming, though I
don’t know what.  I have questioned Eamon as discreetly as
I can to look into the future for any sign of danger, but each time I
do the thought of anything happening to me upsets him too greatly,
and I draw back from my questioning.  I too have searched
through the future but have seen nothing.

Seeing nothing
bothers me.  It is as if my future has been wiped clean.  I
spoke to Kyan about this very fact but he brushed it off, saying that
it must have had something to do with my altering time.  Although
I want to believe his counsel I can’t shake the feeling that
there is something more going on.

I rest my hands upon
the sweeping white stone banister before me and watch as a herd of
Pentrade graze on the grasses that grow along the beach dunes.  They
closely resemble the deer that I used to hunt on Earth, apart from
the miniature charcoal wings that sweep out from their sides as they
walk and tuck completely against their hides when they run. They are
graceful as they move, almost as if they are of one mind.  Their
hooved feet sink deep into the dunes as they begin to move out of
sight.

I
sigh and shift my gaze north.  Calisted is illuminated brightly
in the early morning sky.  It glows a brilliant turquoise.  The
mists that cling to the planet cast a soft glow, almost like a ring
around the beautiful water orb.  I can spy strips of thick cloud
cover and storms building along the horizon.  It is rainy season
now on the eastern side of the planet.  Soon, the streams will
rise and new life will spring forth.  

It
has been difficult to really capture the rhyme and reason to the
seasons on Calisted.  They seem to be a perpetual spring or
fall. No winter.  No snow.  No ice.  Only warmth, as
invigorating as it is painfully predictable.  

I never thought I
would say this, but I will miss winter, miss the delicate white
flakes that drift from the sky and land upon your nose or tongue.
 Although living in the wilderness during winter was a
treacherous and laborious endeavor, it felt right.  It felt
normal.

Too many things
about my move to Calisted still feel completely foreign.  Months
of living at the palace has yet to give me a true feeling of the
vastness of the building.  There are more rooms than I would
care to count and more hallways than should ever reside in a single
building.

Kyan knows those
halls like the hairs on the back of his hand.  Someday I hope to
be able to say the same, but that will be a near impossibility with
the numerous meetings I am ushered back and forth between.

Up to this point I
have refused to use the throne room.  It is too vast, too
impersonal, and the recent events that transpired there have left a
sour taste in my mouth.  Eamon and I will never sit on thrones
on a platform perched high above everyone else.  There is no
part of me that wants to be looked upon as someone to worship or bow
down to.  

Now, staring out at
Calisted, I am reminded of how precious this time away is.  A
gift skillfully plotted out by my friends Aminah and Zahra, with
Eamon and Kyan well within their loop of secrecy.  While I was
trapped in meetings, they secretly contracted to have this old ruin
turned into a palace fit for a queen, or at least someone really
lavish and with impeccable taste.  I blame Zahra for that
extravagance.

I have no doubt that
Kyan personally inspected every inch of this retreat before giving
his final approval for our visit.  Thinking back, I can remember
the ugly battle that broke out between Eamon and Kyan just before our
honeymoon concerning Eamon’s request to have Kyan’s best
soldier stand as body guard during our honeymoon.  To be honest,
I was a little surprised myself with Kyan’s flat refusal. He
has never refused me before.  

There
was no room to budge on the subject.  No amount of fretting,
shouting or pleading on Eamon’s part had been able to sway
Kyan.  This made me suspicious.  Kyan’s sole purpose
is to protect me with every resource on both of our planets, not to
mention a ton of outlying worlds that I am only just now beginning to
learn the names of.  Why would he choose to refuse Eamon this
one simple request?  It is not as if he was asking too much.

When I pressed the
issue, the only response Kyan would give was that his man’s
skills would best serve the people by remaining at his post on the
outer rim.  I chose to trust Kyan’s judgment.  My
life has become a whirlwind of juggling politics and putting out
fires.  He knows his men far better than I do so I left the
decision in his capable hands, though I’m not so sure Eamon
will let the matter drop so easily upon our return.

Lifting my gaze, I
stare out at the moons, marveling how each one has a distinctly
different hue.  The scarlet moon called Murilian, a planet
plagued by violent storms, endless blood red oceans with predators to
rival any in Earth’s waters and tidal waves capable of
destroying entire cities if one actually existed there.  To my
knowledge, there is only one man living on this moon: the prophetess
Sariana’s brother Kaladan.  

With Aloysius
overthrown and the threat of danger passed, word was sent to Kaladan
that he was free to return home, but he refused.  In the years
of hiding out from the King he learned new ways…the ways of a
recluse.

I can’t say
that I blame him.  Some days I would gladly join him there
myself just to escape, though I know that one day soon I will journey
to this moon to seek his counsel.  

The
next nearest moon is a beautiful emerald shade, its surface every
changing under a thin layer of wispy clouds that appear to
encircle the entire moon.  Although nearly double the size of
Murilian, and with a decidedly different climate, this swirling
sphere acts as the first line of defense against any who might live
among the stars: the outer rim.

Staring
up at the moon, I feel an odd longing to go there.  I have heard
the jungles are an amazing sight to behold, but the heat is
atrocious.  The animal life on this planet is a shade more tame
than that of Murilian, but I have heard the plant life has grown a
few sets of teeth.

Beyond
these two moons a blanket of stars twinkle brightly in the sky.
 Despite the many years lying on a hilltop on warm summer
nights, cuddled up against Eamon’s chest creating names for all
of the stars, I have never seen them look so big or bright.  It
feels as if I could stretch out my hand and pluck one from the sky.

With
a weighted sigh, I turn away from the view.  My stomach clenches
as I turn to see Eamon sitting on the edge of the bed, clothed only
in a wisp of white linen sheet.  His hair is heavily tousled,
evidence of my growing affection for running my fingers through his
golden strands.

Leaning against the
archway to our room, I can’t help but think of how surreal all
of this is.  A year ago I was just a girl who loved to hunt and
break all of the rules.  Now I am not only a queen of an entire
race of people, but I am a wife as well.  This newest role seems
the most daunting to me by far.  

Eamon rises and
plods back toward me, his hands outstretched to accept mine.  His
grip is firm yet loving as he draws me close.  I nestle eagerly
into his chest, savoring the scent of his bare skin, a musk that is
distinctly his.

“Do you want
to return home?” He asks over the top of my head.

When in his arms I
find myself hating the weight of the responsibility that I feel.
 Although I realize the world will continue to revolve without
my immediate help, I do know that certain things need to be done in a
specific order and timeframe.  The longer we linger here,
despite the fact that it is entirely within our rights to do so, I
know the workload will only mount. Aminah, Zahra and Toren will be
doing their best to keep everything running smoothly, but there is
only so far their official authority can stretch without my presence.

I place my lips
against his chest in a gentle kiss, just over his heart.  “You
know me too well,” I whisper.

His arms tighten
around me for a quick squeeze.  He lingers, seeming to be
unwilling to step away.   “I’m going to miss
this.”

“You’ll
be near me at all times,” I laugh.

“Not like
this,” he murmurs into my hair.  “I don’t like
to share.”

“I know.”
 The past week has been a blur, filled with happiness, laughter
and the near constant union of our love.  It has been perfect.

“Just promise
me we can come back again soon.”  Eamon reaches down to
lift my chin so he can brush his lips against mine.  

I
instantly feel my resolve waver as my knees grow weak.  
Am
I crazy to want to leave early?  To give up these precious few
moments we can have without tripping over well-meaning guards or
fighting to snatch a kiss in a vacant room before I’m whisked
off to another meeting?

“I
can’t,” I whisper, hating the way the light in his eyes
dulls with regret.  I reach up and lock my arms around his neck,
holding him close.  “Right now is a precarious time for
us.  We need to firmly establish the new order before I
disappear again.  I hear Rome wasn’t built in a day, and
I’m pretty sure its leaders didn’t trot off for a
vacation when things got hectic.”

Eamon’s upper
lip tucks behind his lower one, creating an endearing pout.  “I’m
beginning to think you don’t enjoy spending time with me.”

“Hardly.”
I trail off as the sobering feeling that has been plaguing my dreams
seeps back in.  “I just feel like we need to be home right
now.  Something is coming and whether you or Kyan agree with me,
I know it’s something big.”

“Big and bad
no doubt,” he mutters, lowering his hands to lace them behind
my back.  “That usually seems to be the way of things for
us.”