Secrets of a Reckless Princess (18 page)

We’re going in, Jay. We’re here
.

Marc’s voice, coming through in her mind…

She sprang forward, dipping down to grab up the small sign by the metal base and swinging it, catching her stalker by surprise, but unfortunately not getting him in the head as she wanted, but just the shoulder. He grunted and staggered back and she tried again, and this time, since he was off balance as he slammed against the wall, the impetus of his weight was more effective than her impromptu weapon.

The illumination device rolled away but the male—he wore the same dark clothing as Lucien Lettrick had—didn’t move, slumped in a sitting position as Jayla cautiously moved to retrieve it.

At that moment, all the lights came on.

* * * *

He wasn’t as powerful as his father but at the moment every nerve ending, every synapses in his brain was firing as adrenalin flowed through his bloodstream and Marc stepped into the foyer, tersely instructing Damon to stay behind him.

Not that giving Le Clerc orders usually worked, and this time was no different. Their strides matched as they walked inside the taken building, both of them immediately noticing a pungent odor in the air.

“Borus.” Damon’s voice was curt. “A drug used to stun troops banned about two decades ago. It’s unreliable and therefore not used any longer. Too many can’t tolerate it. Don’t worry, it fades fast and is odorless. What we smell is the artificial scent introduced to identify it. Where is our greeting committee? I thought there were two of them.”

The entrance was vast, stretching up two full stories, with lots of glass and hanging lights and a magnificent polished floor of some dark blue stone.

The words drifted into his mind.
Marc, Marc…are you there
?
I have a weapon
but I accidentally set off an alarm of some kind
.

Jayla. She was right too, for there was a blinking red light above the main portal leading up to the viewer floors and there was only one of the terrorists standing there waiting for them, his figure tense, a weapon in his hand.

We’re inside but in the lobby. Are you on the main floor
?

I…I don’t know
.
One of them is unconscious and I just stunned another one
…

For the first time since this all started, he smiled. He turned to Damon. “Thanks to Jay, there’s only eight of them now.”

“Better odds,” Damon agreed, his smile taut. “Where is she?”

“That isn’t how this works. If she doesn’t know, I don’t know either.”

“Inconvenient,” he muttered, but inwardly he was elated at the idea Jayla was armed. She’d had a pampered upbringing in some ways, but her mother had insisted she take a training course in the weapons used by their military. He attended it with her and had been surprised at how quickly she’d caught on, but then again, she’d never liked for him to be more proficient at something than she was. He had no idea what kind of weapons this group was using, but if she’d managed to take out two of them, she must have been able to figure it out.

“Lucien?” Marc called out, his voice echoing in the space.

“Leave now. We have no desire to talk.” The lone male shook his head, his weapon half-extended. “Pay or we will destroy the building and the prisoners. That is all we have to say.”

Had there not been an explosion at that moment, maybe Marc would have gotten to test his diplomatic skills, but the building shook, windows shattered, and Damon found himself suddenly face down on the floor.

What the hell
?

Nearly deafened, he sat up, brushing glass off his clothes, heedless of the small cuts to his hands. Similarly Marc was nearby on the floor, but still conscious, his eyelashes fluttering and then his eyes opening. “Jay.”

Above them the building groaned, the reinforcing beams shifting. It sounded like it might all come down…

“Now,” Damon responded hoarsely, leaning down to extend a hand and pull him to his feet. “Let’s find out where she is
now
.”

* * * *

Had that been a mistake?

Jayla wasn’t sure, but truth be told, she hadn’t really had a lot of choice.

The noise had been more than she expected, but then again, she had never anticipated setting off an explosive device either.

The male who had identified himself as Lucien now lay in a loose sprawl at her feet, his blond hair in disarray, one arm out flung. She’d been at the top of the stairwell to the main floor when he’d appeared out of nowhere, and truthfully she’d been so startled and edgy, when he’d smiled at her with the self-satisfied smirk and his hand had lifted, she had fired.

One second later, to her horror, she’d heard the horrendous sound of a bomb exploding.

How could I possibly know he carried a detonator
?

You couldn’t.

Marc. Knees weak, she almost sank to the floor.
I think I killed Lucien…sorry
.

Stay put. I mean it, Jay. Kale is coming in now and we’re on our way. Don’t move, my reckless princess…promise me. Promise us.

There was shouting nearby and she lifted her head, the drift of acrid smoke already filling the air, and she realized that someone was pounding on a door nearby. She found the courage to kneel by Lucien’s prostrate body and begin with shaking hands to search his body, her injured wrist making it a painful process. They had to scan into the rooms somehow…surely he had a device with the codes…

A piece of ceiling crashed down next to her, exploding on the polished floor, the sound making her jump.

Please
…
Find us quickly
.

* * * *

“You’ve finally stopped trembling, my love.”

Ellesandra sat back with a long breath expelled from her lungs. It was true. From the moment she’d heard her only child was trapped in the Royal Museum with a terrorist group an icy calm had seized her, but when the notice of the explosion had come, she’d been unable to stop shaking. “At least I am not accepting well-intentioned sympathy, but instead congratulations on the bravery of my daughter. Seven casualties is still a grave number, but considering how many have been rescued and that we have six of The Power imprisoned, not to mention that Damon and Marc Kartel are still alive, I count this ordeal resolved in as satisfactory a manner as was possible under the circumstances.”

Raphael’s smile was faint and he poured her a glass of pale golden wine. He admitted, “I was not so steady myself. I could not imagine anything but a grim end to the situation. Anasta acquitted itself well in general.”

That was true. The Universal Council had passed down the resolution that none of the affected planets deal with their attackers, and even Minoa had not managed such a violence-free rescue of both the building and the hostages. True, Lucien Lettrick had not survived the eventual collapse of the building, but that death was of his own making.

“I agree.” She took the glass now that she could hold it steadily and took a grateful sip.

“Kale deserves due credit for the ultimate success of the endeavor. Perhaps he can take my place on the Royal Council when Jayla succeeds you. As queen and consort, she and Kartel will have enough to deal with as the new laws begin to pass and fall into place. Kale has a cool head.”

Gazing at her lover, Ellesandra murmured, “Are we really going to leave Anasta?”

“Could you remain here, my love, and not rule?”

He had a point, but then again, Raphael had always known her better than anyone else. After a moment, she shook her head. “I doubt it. But this has all taught me that though they are just beginning, Jayla and Marc can conduct themselves in the best interest of the people. That young male was willing to die for her and she was willing to die for Anasta.”

“As was Damon.”

“Of course he was. Grandiose gestures are his specialty.” Ellesandra couldn’t help an indulgent smile and a raised eyebrow. “It’s odd how he thinks you are his greatest critic when in truth you are his most staunch supporter.”

“It’s odd how he has so managed to irritate me and yet make me a proud father at the same time his entire life.”

She had to laugh at his sardonic tone. Then she sobered, “Jayla loves him. I think she has also come to have deep feelings for Marc…I am so happy for her. The three of them obviously make a formidable force.”

“True.” He relaxed back in his chair, his eyes glimmering. “So then, where shall we go? Someplace warm, comfortable, far from all the strife of Federation politics…someplace the rest of the galaxy ignores…”

“What about Earth?”

“Earth?” He looked perplexed. “It’s so…insignificant.”

“I hear it has warm climes and crystal clear seas in some places. It’s peaceful, and far away.”

“The weather is not controlled there,” he objected. “They’ve never learned how.”

“Please don’t tell me you wish to abandon all sense of adventure,” Ellesandra said serenely. “I know I don’t.”

Epilogue

Anasta, One year later

Warm ripples of sensation moved through her and Jayla stretched under the brush of Marc’s fingers, her back arching. The pleasure was sleek, insidious, consuming, and she all but forgot their argument.

Until Damon reminded her by sliding his hand up her thigh, the caress light but persuasive. “We’ll take care of you, Jay.”

Was it not for the warmth of his mouth on her sex a moment later and the tantalizing tease of his tongue on her clitoris, she would have made a sharp retort, but the luxurious rapture of what he was doing to her body temporarily robbed her of speech.

Damn him for being able to distract her so easily.

Her orgasm was tumultuous and satisfying.

Marc wasted no time, his entry into her body measured, his mouth gentle on hers as he sheathed himself completely. Damon watched them through heavy-lidded eyes, his erection prominent, and when she lay gasping and limp, it was his turn to coax her into erotic bliss once again, his strong body braced over hers, suggestive words whispered wickedly in her ear, until they both climaxed in trembling joy and then lay in the shipwreck of the aftermath.

Once she could catch a breath, she said decisively, “I’m still going. As brilliant as you both think you are, the diversion didn’t work.”

Marc, propped on one elbow next to them, touched her cheek. “Just stay here until the child is born. That’s all we ask.”

I should never have even told you.

Yes, you should have
, he countered in silent communication.
We’re both delighted. My child
or his, it doesn’t matter
.
We both love you
…

“We could take you prisoner,” Damon said cheekily, his grin sinfully attractive. He licked her lower lip, carefully balanced above her. “And keep you for our pleasure…”

“I want to see my mother.” Jayla normally didn’t embrace vulnerability, but ever since she’d discovered that she was pregnant, her world had changed. “I can’t explain it.”

“You don’t need to.” Marc touched her hair, his smile reassuring. “I sense this is important. We’ll arrange it.”

Damon gently slid free of her body and immediately there was a sense of loss. He rolled to his back, large and supine beside her, one arm carelessly curved over his head. “He’s right,” he said, though she sensed it cost him. “Of course you should go. We can keep Anasta safe in your absence. Marc could accompany you.”