Chapter Nineteen
Akkadi awoke alone. He rolled onto his side, surprised to find Mandy gone. His hand lingered on the space she’d occupied before grim reality set in.
It was the day of his official betrothal announcement. She knew the night was to be their last together. Did he blame her for leaving before he was awake?
No.
“Your father wishes to see you.”
Akkadi sighed. He rose quickly and dressed, aware his father was the last person he’d keep waiting. He strode through the corridors to the lift, the scent of Mandy lingering on his skin. Only when he was alone in the tiny elevator did he raise his hands to his face and breathe her in.
His blood heated instantly, his whole body lighting up with need. Focused on her, he didn’t notice the door had opened until someone cleared her throat in the hallway outside.
“Brother,” Akkasha said stiffly in greeting.
“Akkasha,” he replied, bowing his head.
Akkadi left the elevator and strode to his parent’s quarters. He paused, waiting for the guards to indicate he was permitted to enter.
His mother sat in her sitting area, her face glowing. Akkadi suspected his father arrived home earlier than expected and kept her up all night. He dwelled on her declaration from the evening before. Outside the walls, his father was purely Naki. Inside them, he expressed the emotions of humans.
She was telling him there was a way to work out the confusion Akkadi felt towards Mandy, that he could come home to her each night and be at peace. What would that be like? To find a safe haven in her arms and smile?
It was useless to dwell on. He already made an agreement with another woman.
Akkadi bowed to his mother.
“I came to see Father,” he said.
“I am here, Akkadi,” his father replied.
Akkadi faced the windows and bowed deeply to the Naki king. Akkalon was his height and thickly built rather than lean like Akkadi. His hair was blond and his eyes blue, his chiseled features colder than stone.
“You are ready for your announcement?” Akkalon boomed.
“Of course, Father,” Akkadi replied. “I may keep today brief. I am expecting the Kini as well.”
“Duty is important,” his father said. “Family more so.”
Akkadi met his father’s gaze, not expecting the words. Their relationship had long been marked by formality and duty. He didn’t speak to his father the way he did his mother.
“Hichele was called away early this morning. Her mother has taken ill. They have not gone far; her father’s ship is in orbit,” his father continued. “Her father apologized to me personally. They intend to make the official ceremony this evening then return to Hichele’s mother.”
“Understandable,” Akkadi said, completely unconcerned about the family of the woman he was obligated to marry. “Your journey went well?”
“It did. Qiadi has asked to see the energy cells this morning.”
“I’ll have them sent to his laboratory.”
“Very well.” His father exchanged a look with Akkadi’s mother, who rose.
“Your humans are gone,” she started, settling her gaze on him. “They disappeared early this morning.”
“Disappeared,” Akkadi repeated. “Both of them?”
“Urik contacted me to say they’re safe with him,” she continued. “They voluntarily returned to their planet.”
Akkadi’s jaw ticked. Aware of his father’s presence, however, he forced himself not to react. Was he angry or hurt that Mandy had left?
Or relieved not to have to see her every day when they couldn’t be together?
He despised the idea Urik had wanted Mandy since she appeared on the planet. A streak of jealousy went through him, the same he felt when he saw her arm-in-arm with Cesar. He had no right to be jealous, but he was.
“As they wish,” he said coldly. “It might solve our issue of Mandy being known as a purebred.”
“It’s a temporary solution,” his father stated. “She belongs with one of my sons.”
Akkadi didn’t look at his father, sensing which son Akkalon was disappointed in for not knowing his duty with regards to the human. Akkadi knew it was a mistake he didn’t claim Mandy as his mate from the beginning.
“I’ll coordinate with Urik to return them when it’s safe to do so,” Akkadi said. “When Vekko is healed, he can mate with Mandy, and Akkasha with Cesar.”
“An agreeable outcome,” his father agreed.
Akkadi forbade himself from thinking about Mandy in Vekko’s arms. Instead he dwelled on the relief he felt knowing Hichele wouldn’t be on the station tonight to consummate their engagement.
A familiar wail filled the air, emanating from the walls. It was the alarm indicating they were under some kind of threat: an attack or the entering of another alien race’s ships into the solar system. Akkadi’s first thought: the unpredictable Kini were up to some mischief. He saw them attacking just to see what the Naki would do in response, the same way they’d tested him on their planet.
“Akkadi,” his father commanded, striding towards the door.
His mother’s guards entered the room, lining the perimeter. Akkadi trailed his father out and down the nearest lift to the battle deck. The deck was filled with activity with his eldest sister at the command console in the center.
The Naki parted for their king, and Akkadi joined him and Akkasha at the center of the activity. His eyes took in the screens lining the windows expertly.
There was no threat in the solar system, Kini or otherwise.
“What is it?” Akkalon asked his heir, the small woman between them.
“We’ve sealed off the middle deck. A threat was detected by the system,” she replied.
“What kind of threat?” Akkadi asked.
“A toxin of some sort. It’s filled the personal deck belonging to our brothers and sisters.”
“Where are they?” their father demanded.
“Only Subakki was in residence,” she replied crisply. “He’s confined to his quarters with a secondary ventilation system running. I’ve sent a contingency with decontamination equipment to him. We have no casualties yet. Three affected slaves are being conveyed to the royal healing ward from brief exposure.”
Akkadi leaned forward, reading the reports crossing the small screen on her wrist. Though the toxin was contained by emergency barriers, the entire deck had been evacuated as a precaution. A chill went through him. Not only had he just missed whatever happened, but Mandy would’ve been trapped, if she hadn’t left him for the planet.
“Akkadi, accompany a containment and testing team,” his father ordered. “Report what you see and find.”
Akkadi nodded. He left the battle command level for the utility deck of the station. The team was already waiting for him, and he donned the protective gear and secondary breathing apparatus quickly, anxious to check on his cousin and discover more about the toxin.
The team ascended via the back-up elevators to his deck and down the hallway. They were armed and ready, though Akkadi doubted there was any enemy foe to face. A toxin was a cowardly attack, the kind the Naki had outlawed after unleashing the plague upon the planet a thousand years before. He didn’t know who would use such an attack, but it wasn’t the Kini, who didn’t fear death or war.
The toxin was visible the moment he stepped from the elevator, a blue-green gas clinging to the ceiling.
“Get a sample,” he directed one of the team members and then continued down the hallway.
The evacuation team his sister sent for Subakki was outside his cousin’s door, which was open. Akkadi paused, waiting to ensure his cousin was safe. A few minutes later, Subakki exited, dressed in similar gear to Akkadi.
Relieved, Akkadi approached, studying his cousin for signs of illness.
“Are you well?” he asked.
“I am,” Subakki confirmed.
“You will need to report to the healing ward.”
“Of course. My exposure was limited at most. I saw the toxin before it spread, sealed myself in and set off the alarm.”
“You saw where it came from?”
“Your quarters.”
Taken aback, Akkadi didn’t react for a moment. He turned and trotted down the hallway, not waiting for the rest of the containment team. He stopped when he reached his quarters. Thick blue-green smoke poured out of the panels around his room.
A sense of anger and dread filled him. He needed to know what – or who – had tried to hurt him. If not for his father’s summons earlier, he might have been killed.
“Akkadi, wait for –” Subakki called.
Akkadi ignored him and stepped into his room. He swatted smoke out of his way, unable to see more than a few feet in front of him. He was too angry to care if his suit was made for such an environment and instead, tried to find the storage box containing the energy cells.
He made his way towards the sitting area, determined to grab the box and let the containment team take over. The cells were supposed to be stable, but Akkadi wasn’t taking any chances the unexplained toxin might have some effect on the cells or the cube in which they were stored.
They were the sole reason he was marrying Hichele instead of Mandy. He wasn’t about to lose them after what he was going through just to obtain them. If he lost them and Mandy …
He focused on finding his way, not on the emotions that kept surfacing beyond his ability to control.
The smoke was thicker in this part of his quarters, and he struggled to see anything. His shin bumped a table, and he bent over, sweeping his hands across the table’s top. He had left the storage cube here. He knocked it to the ground accidentally and bent to retrieve it.
“Akkadi?” Subakki called.
Smoke poured out of the cube.
Damn. Were the cells unstable, and this was what caused the toxin?
“I’m here,” he replied.
“You are at great risk, cousin.”
“I’m almost done.”
He manipulated the storage cube to open it. Two cells fell out. He shook it then peered into the box, surprised to see it contained nothing else. Akkadi swatted away smoke to grab one of the cells and held it up.
The smoke originated from the cell. It billowed off the tiny marble, making it hard for him to see the cell itself to assess its stability. He tried to study it before giving in to the smoke. He placed the cell in a containment container and closed it, waiting to ensure it stayed closed. Satisfied it wasn’t leaking, he sought out the second cell and likewise trapped it within a second container.
His quarters began to clear, and he straightened.
“I think the energy cells are ruptured,” he said, becoming aware of the magnitude of what he said. At any point, they might’ve burst. What if they had been making love or asleep?
What if Mandy had been here, alone and vulnerable, dying?
Terror gripped him, immobilizing him at the image in his head. It held him captive long enough for him to realize he never wanted to lose Mandy. Ever.
Akkadi forced himself to take a deep breath. His mother was right and had always been right. He belonged with Mandy. Why did it take this for him to realize it?
He focused back on collecting the cells, a new plan forming in his head. He was going to do something no Naki ever had and break off the arrangement with Hichele for a reason other than those stipulated were allowable in the betrothal protocol agreements. He was leaving Hichele for a woman he needed in his life.
Akkadi knelt once more and patted the ground. He didn’t feel any other cells. Had the others vaporized? Exploded?
He sat back, vexed by the puzzle before him.
“Akkadi, you are needed with us,” his father said via the device at the back of Akkadi’s neck.
A second alarm sounded, warning Akkadi more was wrong than the toxin. He stood and joined Subakki at the door to his quarters.
“On my way, father,” he replied.
He held out the two small cubes to his cousin. “Subakki, take these to Qiadi. Tell him to proceed with great caution. Then go to the healers.”
“Very well.”
Akkadi left quickly for the decontamination chamber, unaware of what might have caused the second alarm.
Forefront in his mind was concern he wasn’t able to shake. What if Mandy had been there? What if he had lost her permanently?
Akkadi stood still in the decontamination chamber, ignoring the lights and vibrations outside his suit. His thoughts were only for Mandy.
The same fear he experienced when he thought the Kini had killed his cousin returned. Logically, there was one reason he felt the same level of fear, anger and loss for a woman he just met as the cousin who was raised with him as a brother. It wasn’t blood that bound him to Mandy; it was the emotional attachment he once tried to explain to his mother.
It seemed simple now. Mandy belonged in his bed at night and in his life every minute of every day. He’d had two chances to keep her and traded both for the sake of a duty that no longer made sense, if she wasn’t there to share it with him. He once considered her a distraction to his duty. The real distraction was knowing she was somewhere in the universe and he was unable to be with her.
Even if it meant losing Hichele’s energy sources, setting them back years in energy procurement and putting their war with the Ishta at risk. He’d find another source of energy. There were immense energy stores across the galaxy; he’d go wherever he had to, if it meant he could be with Mandy.
“Father,” he said into the communications device. “I need to speak to you.”
“We are awaiting you on the battle deck,” was the instant reply.
“Alone.”
There was a pause. “I’ll be in the command room.”
Akkadi waited impatiently for the decontamination process to finish. When it was done, he stripped quickly out of the uniform, paused for a scan from a healer then went immediately to the battle deck.
He felt his sister’s gaze on him the moment he entered the command bridge. He strode past her directly to the command room where his father was waiting. Akkadi offered a quick bow his father returned then straightened, uncertain where to start.
“You are well?” his father asked.
“Yes, Father.” Akkadi drew a deep breath. “I am breaking my agreement with Hichele.”
The Naki king was silent, unreadable.
“I understand it means we will be without the energy resources we need, and I am jeopardizing our ability to conduct the necessary operations to protect the planet,” Akkadi continued. “I take that responsibility personally on my shoulders. I will go to any corner of the universe I must to uncover new energy cells.”
“Your mother was right,” his father said. “You believe the energy shortage to be a personal duty. It’s not, Akkadi. It’s a responsibility that sits on the shoulders of every member of our family.”
“Perhaps, but I had the means to resolve it.”
His father shifted, thoughtful.
“I will break the news to Hichele’s family today,” Akkadi replied. “I do not expect you to manage this issue for me.”
“May I ask why you changed your position on Hichele?”
Akkadi cleared his throat, certain he was about to end up disowned, when he admitted the reason was nothing a rational Naki like his father was going to understand.
“I do not wish to disappoint you, Father, or dishonor my family,” he started. “But I cannot live with Hichele when I care for another.”
The gaze of the Naki king grew interested.
“The human, Mandy,” Akkadi said, the truth free at last. “I intend to take her as my mate.” Or ask her at least. He had a feeling she was too angry with him to agree initially.
“I notice you do not seek my approval.”
“I intend to mate with her with or without it,” Akkadi replied firmly. “It seems irrational to request your approval when I am not concerned with you giving it.” He clenched his fists at his side, hating the idea of disappointing his father but hating the idea of living without Mandy even more.
“This is your decision. To break the agreement with Hichele’s family and take Mandy as your mate.”
“It is.”
The Naki king nodded. “You at least have chosen a purebred. I cannot find fault in your logic.”
Akkadi waited, sensing there was more his father wanted to say.
“The energy crisis will continue, but it is not your responsibility to resolve. We will double our efforts to find a secondary source,” Akkalon continued. “You may continue to lead the operations. I have full faith in your ability to execute your duties.”
Akkadi almost breathed a sigh of relief.
“I will inform Hichele’s family that the betrothal is broken. They do not need to know why, when it comes from their king,” his father added. “You will inform your mother and our family of your intent to take Mandy as your mate.” As he spoke, he moved to the communications corner and flicked the device on.
“Of course. Thank you,” Akkadi murmured, surprised his father hadn’t disowned him for being less than dutiful. Breaking the agreement with Hichele was a blemish on the family’s honor. Akkadi planned on taking the backlash as his own and separating himself from the family.
“The reason I called you to the command bridge.” His father motioned him forward.
A hologram of Urik appeared. Akkadi moved forward, at once concerned something had happened. Urik risked much by contacting them via the open communications channel rather than the clandestine one they normally used. He had never contacted Akkalon in all the time Akkadi knew him.
“Akkadi,” Urik said.
“Urik,” Akkadi greeted him. “What has happened?”
Urik wiped blood from his head, glanced at it then focused on Akkadi. His cousin was bloodied and panting, and the sounds of battle were loud behind him.
“Slight problem,” Urik said. “I’m not sure where to start.”
“Tell him what you relayed to me,” Akkalon advised. “Akkadi needs to hear this.” The Naki king crossed his arms in a sign that made Akkadi uneasy.
“Long story short. I told Mandy and Cesar if they brought me energy, I’d open the star gate for them,” Urik began.
“You mean you deceived them,” Akkadi stated.
“No more than you have,” Urik snapped. “Mandy brought me energy cells. Pretty sure she stole them from you.”
Akkadi listened, heat creeping up his neck. A glance at his father revealed this wasn’t new information to him. Why had his father agreed to let Akkadi break off the engagement with Hichele to form one with Mandy?
“Go on,” he managed.
“The cells – or what she thought were cells – were a blood borne pathogen,” Urik continued. “We figured it out and accidentally triggered the release. Half the city is gone, wiped out by whatever toxin this is. We managed to evacuate the Naki hospitals but …” Urik drew a deep breath. “We can’t contain the toxin. What weapons and energy resources we had are covered in toxic fog. The healers tell me we can be reprogrammed, that the toxin is nothing like the shit you all made a thousand years ago. We don’t have the equipment, and the Ishta are either fleeing or picking us off as we flee.”
Akkadi listened, astounded. When Urik ceased speaking, Akkadi shifted, quickly digesting all he’d been told. Mandy had stolen the cells from him, unknowingly removing a poison that might’ve otherwise wiped out the space station on one of the rare days when all the royal family was present.
If two cells had caused an entire deck to be evacuated, forty of them would’ve been unstoppable.
“Why did you need the energy?” he asked warily. “I supply all you’ve ever asked for.”
“We can fight it out another time, Akkadi,” Urik said. “You might be interested to know all the humans are accounted for, except one.”
“Which one is missing?”
“Mandy.”
Fear gripped Akkadi’s heart.
“I’m pretty sure she’s safe, or was. I had a run in with a couple of guards.” Urik touched his head again. “I have reports that she was taken on a ship off the planet but nothing else. You might need to rescue her again. I have no ability to reach her.”
Akkadi glanced at his father again, who was grim.
“We’ll send everything we have to the planet immediately,” Akkadi said, his Naki discipline kicking in. “Containment, supplies, and healers. Send Akkasha a report of where and damage estimates.”
“The Ishta-”
“I’ll take care of them,” Akkadi said firmly. “I need to know more about the ship that took Mandy. Size, description, any markers that might indicate whose it is.”
“She’s got everyone in the galaxy after her. The entire planet knows she’s purebred,” Urik said. “I didn’t see the ship, and my reports only indicate it was a small cargo ship. I’ve got nothing to offer there. Before I was knocked on my ass, I saw the two guards.”
“What colors were their cloaks?” Akkalon asked, nearing the podium.
“Gold or yellow. It was hard to see. I was more focused on getting Mandy away from the toxin and avoiding the Ishta, when they cornered us.”
Akkadi exchanged a look with his father.
“Does that mean anything to you?” Urik grunted.
“Tell Akkasha,” Akkadi’s father directed.
Akkadi left, ignoring the sound of Urik, who continued to talk. He went to his sister, eyes trained on the screens monitoring the movement of anyone into or out of the galaxy. He saw two things that made his urgency double.
The ship belonging to Hichele’s family was headed out of the galaxy, on a course far too close to the incoming Kini ship for Akkadi’s comfort. Quickly, he relayed the orders to Akkasha to support Urik on the planet, eyes never leaving the screen concerning him.
“Lastly, contact the Kini. Get them away from Vinid’s ship,” Akkadi finished. “Issue a command for any Naki ships not involved in the containment mission to Earth to prevent Vinid from leaving our side of the galaxy.” He spoke the last few words in motion, headed towards the door.
He darted through the station to the space bay where his private craft was kept. Always ready for him, the loitering navigator snapped to attention and trotted to the ship. Akkadi beat him on board and sat, waiting with barely contained patience. The navigator had barely stepped on board when Akkadi closed the ramp to the ship and issued an order for the space bay to be opened.
“Akkasha sent the location,” Akkadi said.
“Yes, my prince.” The navigator’s hands flew over the controls.
They took flight. Their pace was slower than Akkadi preferred, but the navigator was faced with weaving through the influx of ships docking and leaving the station caused by the containment mission to support Urik.
When they broke free of the Earth’s orbit, Akkadi leaned forward, apprehensively waiting to see Vinid’s ship come into view.
“Status,” his father’s voice came over the device in his neck.
“On target,” Akkadi replied. Restless, he rose and paced, aware it would take several minutes to reach their destination. He had time to catch up with the thoughts troubling him. “You knew about the energy cells when I came to you about Hichele.”
“I did,” his father confirmed.
“Would you have supported my intent without knowing this?” Akkadi found himself wanting to roll his eyes like Mandy did.
There was a pause Akkadi took to be a negative response. He leaned over and gazed out the windows into space. He never suspected Hichele capable – or willing – to wipe out the family she spent years trying to marry into. What possessed her to do so? She had been on the verge of having everything anyone could ever want: influence, power, a royal bloodline.
He didn’t understand her motivation but sensed it didn’t matter at this point. Her disgraced family would be stripped of its influence and standing in the Naki empire.
“I married your mother because I loved her.” His father’s quiet words jarred him. “Yes, I would’ve supported you, Akkadi.”
Akkadi froze, never expecting to hear any kind of emotional sentiment from his father at all, even one about his mother. He began to think he didn’t know his father, a man his mother claimed had two sides. Akkadi had only ever seen the dutiful, honorable Naki leader. That his father, too, was capable of being human filled Akkadi with a different kind of warmth. One that made him proud.
The sight of Vinid’s ship listing in space wrenched Akkadi’s attention back to his mission. Markings from weapons fire blackened the hull of the large space ship, and the Kini ship continued to fire on them with lasers. The Kini ship appeared untouched, hovering nearby.
“Akkadi, you are five minutes ahead of the rest of the fleet,” Akkasha directed him. “Stand down.”
“Thank you, Akkasha. I can handle this,” he replied.
“Akkadi, you-”
He touched the back of his neck, and her voice was silenced. For a moment, Akkadi assessed how to handle the Kini, who were clearly in charge of the mess in front of him.
“Contact the Kini,” Akkadi directed the navigator. “Tell them Akkadi will blow their ship out of the galaxy if they don’t respond then fire a laser over their bow.”
The navigator gave him a long look, turned and obeyed.
Akkadi waited, fists clenched, praying his hunch about the Kini was accurate. He’d tried diplomacy the first time around and failed miserably. This time, he’d do something purely human, something he hoped would get their attention.
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