Oath Forger (Book 4) Page 8

  Uthan runs his hand over his shaved head. “But there’s a missing link.”

  “Who inside the Federation benefits from the continued free rein of the pirates on the Frontier?” I ask.

  The men look at me as if I’d just said something important.

  “The black markets,” Uthan answers. “The pirates bring an incredible amount of trade goods to the black markets, from rare minerals to slaves.”

  I still know too little about how things work in the Federation, but... “Knowing nothing about nothing, two words keep jumping out at me: trade and merchants.”

  The men go still. Tension fills the air. Gazes harden, as if the kreks are seeing something that I can’t yet.

  “The Trade Alliance,” Roax bites out the words in a tone that has enough menace in it to make me shiver.

  “What exactly is the Trade Alliance?” I ask him, but the answer comes from Tiam.

  “The people who own most of the galaxy. Members come from every territory. They like to think they’re above politics, although they sponsor politicians to make sure laws are written in their favor.”

  “Why would they hook up with the pirates against the Federation?”

  “The Federation makes and enforces regulations. The members of the Trade Alliance, even as rich and powerful as they are, must obey our basic rules. The weaker the Federation, the fewer regulations, the more they can exploit opportunities, whether ethical or unethical.”

  “Like slavery?”

  Roax nods. “Stripping new planets on the frontier, unsafe labor practices for miners on mining planets. The Trade Alliance can control a weak governing body easier than they can control a strong governing body. They essentially own the Separationist Party.”

  “So they killed four Unionist senators in order to replace them with four Separationists.”

  “If the Federation breaks into smaller units, each with its own laws...” Tiam trails off.

  I finish for him. “The Trade Alliance wins.”

  Roax pushes to his feet. He shoves his hands into his pockets. “So there you have it. We have identified the enemy. Now what are we going to do about it?”

  He answers himself the next second. “We are going to run down every single lead, no matter how weak.” He flashes a scary, dark grin that shows an alarming amount of teeth. “And when we find the bastard who ordered the poisoning, I’m going to kill him. Slowly.”

  Chapter Nine

  OLIPHA STOPS IN FOR DINNER with me and The Five. We use the private dining room since it’s easier for her to navigate than the garden. I like the cozy space, the garden scenes painted on the wall, the round table that’s made for a family. It’s homey, as much as anything can be homey in a giant palace.

  “I came to say goodbye.” Olipha beams as she hugs me, vibrating with excitement in her spiffy new uniform that has extra markings on the arms now. “I’m starting combat pilot training on Treab tomorrow. So I’ll be off planet for a while before I have my first leave.”

  I hug her back. “I have no doubt you’ll do well.”

  Judging by the tightness of Tiam’s shoulders, he has serious doubts about letting his little sister go off to be all independent, but to his credit, he doesn’t try to hold Olipha back.

  “Blow them to pieces,” he says. “If anyone gives you grief, you let me know, and I’ll come and kick their asses.”

  I bite back a grin. I like him in big-brother mode, all protective. I like the unabashed love in his solemn gray eyes when he looks at his sister. He’s a good man. And he’s mine. I’m not going to lie, I like that part the best.

  “What’s your training record again?” Olipha asks in a coy tone as the food is served; some kind of roast meat and a million different kinds of vegetables.

  Tiam puffs out his chest. “Three thousand nine-hundred and fifty-six hits out of a possible four thousand.”

  “I’m aiming for four thousand,” Olipha responds, grinning as she takes the first bite.

  “Good luck with that.”

  “I don’t need luck. I have mad skills.”

  Tiam laughs. “And plenty of humility to go with them.”

  “Let’s make a bet. If I beat your record, you let me fight the pirates. Active combat.”

  Tiam hesitates. “And if you can’t beat my record?”

  Olipha makes a face that says even the thought pains her. “I’ll take a peace-keeping assignment in some boring corner of the solar system after I graduate.”

  The time Tiam takes to consider the deal tells me he does not underestimate his sister.

  “All right.” He gives in at the end.

  “Anyone want to take some bets?” Roax asks. The man is shameless.

  Koah quirks an eyebrow. “At what odds?”

  Uthan leans forward, already halfway through his dinner. “I’m in.”

  Dason shoots me a questioning look.

  “I’m in Olipha’s corner,” I tell them. And when Olipha hugs me, I add, “We’re practically sisters. We have to stick together.”

  Then Lily pops into my head, my real sister. She would love Olipha. Lily would love it here.

  I feel a little melancholy as we say goodbye to Olipha and wish her luck. And I feel even worse when Roax, Uthan, Koah, and Tiam leave, each krek ready to spend the night investigating an aspect of the Trade Alliance connection.

  Dason stays with me again.

  “My great grandfather was one of the founding members of the Trade Alliance,” he tells me as we lie in bed with him curled against me, his head resting below my breasts.

  I run my fingers through his short hair, and he nearly purrs.

  “So you have connections among the members?”

  “Not really,” he tells me as if he’s sorry to disappoint me. “He was eventually ousted. The alliance turned out to be a lot more mercenary than he’d imagined. He pictured it as disparate economies working together to strengthen each other—a win-win proposition. But they’re more about exploitation. Grab what you can, while you can.”

  His great-grandfather sounds like an honorable man. Which makes me wonder about the rest of his family. “Uthan said you’ve only recently taken the throne.”

  Dason lifts his head to look at me.

  “I was the third son.” Shadows settle on his face.

  “Was?”

  “My older brothers are dead. They were raised to rule. I was raised to diplomacy.” He pauses. “They fought for the throne and killed each other.” He pauses again, this time longer. “They had beast power.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You know how our ancestors were beast masters? A lot of us inherited the healing powers of the beasts. Some also inherited the tendency toward supreme physical power.”

  And all he got was healing. Which is probably not a good thing in a warrior society. Men would prefer to have both, I guess, especially their rulers.

  “I think you’re perfect,” I tell him.

  The shadows leave his face. He lays his head on top of me again. “Do you, Oath Forger?”

  As he speaks, he draws circles on my stomach with his finger, leaving tingles in his wake.

  “Yes.”

  I love his gentle touch, his warmth, the comfort he’s always ready to offer. I kiss the top of his head. When he looks up again, then moves up a little, I brush a kiss against his lips, too.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he whispers. “I used to think Oath Forgers were a myth. And now you’re here. And you let me touch you.” His gaze heats. “May I?”

  “Kiss me.”

  He responds instantly, kissing me as if I hold the water of life in my mouth.

  Okay, so Dason is an excellent kisser. He worships my lips. He kisses me as if kissing me was the end goal, as if he has no agenda beyond this, as if he’s prepared to kiss me all night.

  He spoils my mouth. I could get used to this.

  I see him in a whole new light by the time he pulls back.

  “May I kiss you somewhere else?�
��

  I bite back a smile. “You have my permission.”

  He slides back down then brushes his warm lips over my nipple, the soft fabric of my nightgown providing friction. Then he does it again and again. When a small moan escapes me, he looks up at me with a smile, as happy as if I’d gifted him the palace.

  He laves me through the wet fabric. His every touch is reverential, but while I’m seriously getting turned on, and he’s obviously enjoying this, I sense that something is off. As I lay there with him bending over me, I think I know what it is.

  I push him over and slide over him in a single, decisive move, straddling him. Then I reach for the hem of my nightgown and pull it over my head, toss it aside. His cheeks are flushed with desire as I grab his wrists and move them over his head, hold them to the mattress.

  I have no idea how I know that this is what I have to do. I want my kreks to be happy. Maybe it’s that, mixed with common sense and instinct. Roax brings out my submissive side, while Dason brings out...this.

  I lean down until my breasts almost touch his face. He’s squirming, but waiting for my order. This is what’s been missing for him. This is what he needs.

  “Kiss them.”

  His pleasure comes on a soft exhalation before his lips close over my nipple.

  Yes, I think we can do this together. I might be able to give Dason what he needs, or at least some of it. I want to. Because he’s giving me something, too, something I didn’t even know I wanted.

  The way his large, hard body stretches under me, completely in my control, feels right in the moment and stokes my desire. A different side of me is awakened. I’d like to explore this side, but I’m not sure if I’m ready just yet.

  I’m not sure where I stand with Dason, in the same way that I’m not entirely sure where I stand with Roax. There’s an undeniable pull, but I also fear the need that pulls me to them, a different kind of need that I’ve never before contemplated.

  On Earth, I expected to have one boyfriend who’d turn into a husband, and we’d be together forever and ever. Adjusting to the idea of five men in my life all at once has been a big leap. I’m not sure if I can make any further leaps at the moment.

  I move down, move my breasts away from Dason’s face, and lower my lips to his instead. I put everything I feel for him into that kiss. I want him to know that I do like him, more than a little, that I do want him, even if I’m not sure what to do with that want right now.

  Then I release him and slide off him. “Turn on your side.”

  He does, and I wrap my arms around his torso from behind, spooning him skin to skin, laying my cheek against his wide, muscled back. “Go to sleep.”

  He gives a happy sigh. “Yes, Oath Forger. Thank you, Oath Forger.”

  “YOU NEED TO PRACTICE YOUR POWER AGAIN,” Roax tells me over a breakfast of purple eggs and green toast the next day.

  He’s returned to the palace along with Koah, Uthan, and Tiam. None of them made a breakthrough in their investigation overnight, so they’re all on edge, frustrated. I like having them back anyway.

  It’s crazy how much better I feel when I have my five with me. I feel as if my world is complete. As if I am complete.

  We’re eating inside, in the small dining room again, because a light rain is washing the garden outside. Drops pitter patter on the windows, a sound I’m unfamiliar with. At Dallas Colony on Earth, I lived in an underground tunnel.

  “Couldn’t I put practice off for a while?” I watch the rain through the glass for another second before I turn back to the men. “Until after we figure out what to do with the Trade Alliance?”

  Roax holds my gaze. “What if the Trade Alliance attacks you again, you get angry, and you level Merim?”

  I hate that he’s right.

  “You are connected to three of us now,” Uthan reminds me. “It should make manipulating your power easier.”

  Roax glances between Dason and me, as if suspecting how close I came last night to forming a fourth connection. Then he moves on. “We’ll go back to the hillside after breakfast.”

  “What if I shoot a spaceship out of the sky?”

  “You need to direct your energy into the woods,” Koah says between two bites. “There’s nothing to the east for fifty miles but trees. You can practice on them.”

  “Practice what, exactly?”

  Uthan shoots me an encouraging smile. “Regulating the strength of the power. You need to learn the difference between taking out a tree as opposed to taking out an entire forest.”

  “And aiming,” Tiam adds. “Taking out the exact tree you want to take out.”

  “I’m the Oath Forger,” I mutter, worried about the practice and wishing I could get out of it. “This discussion makes me feel like I’m some out-of-control lumberjack.”

  The men laugh, and that eases the tension around the table. The rain stops. Now I have zero excuse for not wanting to go outside.

  I sigh. “Fine.”

  Dason keeps smiling at me. Then his gaze dips to my breasts he kissed the night before, and the naked need on his handsome face makes me choke on my eggs.

  “Is there anything you’d like to tell us, Dason?” Roax’s voice is as smooth as silk rope.

  Dason’s gaze flies to him, then back to me. His large, athletic body tenses.

  Does his submissive side respond to Roax’s dominance? I think it does. But he remains silent. His loyalty is clearly all mine.

  I clear my throat and change the subject. “Are you sure you want to sacrifice trees to my practice?” I ask the men.

  On Earth, even a small stand of trees would be considered a miracle, let alone an entire forest. Destroying anything green feels wrong on every level.

  Roax’s smirk says that he sees my evasive maneuver for what it is. And, also, that sometime very soon, he’s going to return to the topic of Dason and me. But he lets it go for now. “We’re sure.”

  WE FLY OUT TO THE HILLSIDE in Roax’s pod, which is the first thing I end up demolishing. I mean, unrecognizable, twisted, smoking metal.

  When I apologize, red-faced, Roax says smoothly, “Don’t worry about it, Ava Mine. I’m keeping track.”

  His words turn my cheeks even redder.

  I try to picture the future, me with The Five, and I’m not sure I’ll survive it. Now that I’ve accepted three, the whole Oath Forger thing is a million times more real. There’s a new awareness among us all, now that sex—including sex as a group—is clearly on the table. Currents of tension run from person to person. It’s intense.

  Roax steps behind me, takes me by the shoulders, and points me firmly toward the forest.

  “Get behind us,” he tells the others.

  The men don’t like taking orders from each other, but this time, nobody protests. Roax’s ruined pod next to us is a good reminder that my powers are pretty unpredictable.

  “Turn your focus inside,” Uthan tells me, stepping closer, his calm voice steadying. “Find the source.”

  But steadying is not what I need. Anger is the emotion that gets me to the power surge the fastest, and I already told them that, but a good flash of fury is difficult to work up at the moment. I’m still too startled from blowing up the pod. I’m not angry at anyone but myself.

  “Before we do this,” Tiam says behind me. “Since we’re together, could we revisit the idea of Nilo as her personal assistant? Now that I’ve had time to think about it, I think we should pick Ava’s staff.”

  Bam. The anger is there. I focus on that anger, how I’m not going to let the kreks dictate my life. Then I focus on a single tree, a hundred feet ahead. And I let loose.

  Crack!

  When the dust clears, I stare at the fifty-foot wide path of destruction I created. I think it goes on for a mile. At least.

  Tiam clears his throat. “I guess you feel strongly about keeping Nilo, then.”

  I whip around to stare at him and see the dazed look on his face, then notice the smile at the corner of his lips. I roll
my eyes at him. He got me angry on purpose.

  “Let’s all try not to piss her off until she gets a handle on this,” Koah recommends.

  “If she gets out of control, I can always tie her up,” Roax offers.

  I should probably be offended, but it makes me laugh.

  He shakes his head and turns me back toward the forest, leaving his hands on my shoulders, his warm body a bulwark behind me. “All right. Try again. Think small.”

  I try. I think of what my power feels like, the heat and the tingling, and try to connect to the source through that. I don’t want anger to be my trigger. I don’t want to accidentally destroy something if I get upset. Also, I want to be able to shut down the power at will.

  Control. Full control is what I need.

  I do better on the second try. My new area of destruction is only the size of a small clearing.

  “Keep going,” Roax orders.

  When I blow a single tree into smithereens, I shout with joy, spin, and throw myself into his arms. Then I stare at him. It’s the first time I ever heard him truly laugh.

  The sound tickles something in my chest. I’m probably staring at him too hard, because he turns me back to the forest. But he stays right there, with his hands on me, as he makes me take out three more trees before he’s satisfied.

  “Do you think the Trade Alliance will try to kill me again?” I ask while we wait for the pod Tiam called up on his comm unit.

  “I think they’ll keep trying until they get what they want,” Koah says in a hard tone.

  The others nod in agreement, except Roax.

  Roax says “Not if I kill them all first.”

  The others don’t protest.

  “The important thing is, Ava,” Tiam tells me after a prolonged moment, “that you keep practicing.”

  “Actually,” Uthan puts in, his expression thoughtful. “I’m beginning to wonder if that’s best.”

  Roax raises a sharp eyebrow. “Ava having control is better than Ava not having control.”

  Uthan doesn’t give in. “What if her power is not endless?”