“Don’t you want to have children?”
Annoyed, I clamped down on my first response—it’s none of your business. But considering the reason I was here... “I do, but not now. And before you give me a lecture on how I should have avoided it, I was shot with an arrow containing starlight. Except I didn’t know it was starlight at the time.”
“Oh my.” She tapped her foot. “I thought I’d heard every excuse, but that’s a new one.”
Lovely.
“If you really don’t want the baby, there are—”
“No.” The word erupted from my throat before my mind even processed it. “I can’t do that. Others can make that choice, but...” I recoiled from the thought. In fact, the entire conversation was uncomfortable, so I changed the subject. “When did you hear I was in Ixia?”
“My assistant told me this morning. He learned from the kitchen staff that Valek asked them to make you sweet cakes.”
The gossips worked faster than Valek’s intelligence network. I remembered how they had bet money on how long it would take me to be captured while I participated in the Commander’s fugitive exercise. Rand, the head chef at the time, had explained it to me: Gambling and gossiping is all we servants do.
Perhaps it might work in my favor for once. “Has the staff been talking about the Commander’s new guests?”
“Oh yes. They’re all abuzz about them.”
“And?”
The medic gave me a shrewd look. “And I don’t spread gossip. How can my patients trust me to keep their health issues confidential if I’m chatting about others?”
“You can’t.”
“Exactly.”
But that wouldn’t stop the kitchen staff or the housekeepers. Perhaps a visit to the kitchens was in my immediate future. After all, I haven’t eaten all day. Too bad, the sound of a drawer rolling open ruined my appetite.
As Medic Mommy dipped her hand into the drawer, a strange mix of apprehension, fear and excitement flushed through me, leaving the tips of my fingers tingling. She grasped the vial between her thumb and index finger and held it up to the lantern light.
I stared at the liquid inside.
It was blue.
11
VALEK
After Yelena left his office, Valek tried to concentrate on the piles of reports. But his thoughts kept returning to his heart mate. Or rather, his wife. Amazed, he touched the bandage under his shirt, recalling the intense emotions that had ripped through him mere hours ago. Amid the maelstrom of confusion and betrayal caused by the Commander, one thing had been crystal clear.
Yelena.
Nothing else mattered. No one except her mattered. It was liberating and terrifying at the same time. If she’d said no... He shied away from that horrible thought. Instead he focused on the joy of her reply and the passion of their union. It still hummed in his blood. Along with the desire to keep her safe, which would be difficult because of the current situation.
Valek needed to evict the trio of unwelcome guests permanently. But how to do it? He agreed with Yelena that Owen would lie low for a while. Which was why he hadn’t insisted that she have an armed guard by her side at all times. Not that she’d allow it, or that the protector would be effective if Owen attacked. Hell, even Valek couldn’t keep her safe, not if a null shield was used against him.
Abandoning the reports, Valek descended to the lower level of the castle. He checked the storeroom that Yelena, Ari, Janco and Maren had used to train back when she had been the Commander’s food taster. Except for a thick layer of dust, nothing had disturbed the space. Valek would borrow a handful of rags to clean it. Hopefully, they could keep her new training sessions a secret.
Then he headed to the Commander’s office as ordered. The room’s entrance was located along the back wall of the throne room. When the Commander had taken control of Ixia, he’d removed all the intricate tapestries, the opulent jeweled throne and expensive decorations. In their place, he brought in desks, chairs and filing cabinets for his officers and advisers. The productive sprawl had no discernible organization or path, but Valek had traversed the expanse so many times, he could navigate it blind.
Onora stood with the Commander’s two personal guards outside the open door.
She hooked a thumb inside. “Food taster just brought his supper.”
“Any problems?”
“Other than being grumped at, no.”
“Good. You’re dismissed. Report back for duty at dawn.”
“Yes, sir.” Onora strode away.