The Spider Queen (The Space Merchants Book 5) Read online

  “Princess, dinner is ready,” Chef said.

  “Dinner?” I was shocked that so much time had passed.

  Fitz stood and offered me his hand. Standing, I went to a console and suggested to Nico that he join us.

  “What will happen next?” I asked Nico as the table was cleared for dessert.

  “We study those mines and deactivate them. Our inquisitors along with the Militia investigators are disseminating the intelligence Eli and his team gathered. So far, we know how to scramble their sensors and communications. Fighters will be deployed to the surface at set intervals to share what we have learned with our ships and relay information.”

  “Why don’t we just call them?” I asked.

  Nico smiled at me. “We still have the element of surprise. Come to daddy, Niklos,” he said as he lifted him from my lap. I used the opportunity to eat my chocolate cake.

  “I’m going with them,” Phillip declared.

  Drawing in a shocked breath during mid-chew, I choked. Phillip came over to help me.

  “You will fly down with a pilot carrying intel. The risk will be detection by the enemy or triggering an explosive,” Nico said.

  “You knew I would want to go,” Phillip said.

  “Of course, the sooner you find your parents, the better. Be prepared to leave in four hours,” Nico said.

  Phillip kissed the top of my head. “Mind Dr. Savelli while I’m gone,” Phillip said before rushing to his room.

  The children were asleep when Zared, Eli, Xavier, Jazon, and Izaac returned. I ran to Zared and threw my arms around him. “I was so worried.”

  “When will you teach your female to stop stating the obvious?” Jazon asked.

  I peeked around Zared to scowl at Jazon. He grinned at me. His reaction confused me. Zared began stroking my hair which brought my attention back to him. Feeling the comfort in which he wrapped me, I snuggled against his chest and closed my eyes.

  “We all felt your fear for our safety. Jazon was moved by your concern,” Zared explained.

  Opening my eyes, I raised an eyebrow and turned my head to look at Knife.

  “My name is Jazon. Will you ever forgive me?” A tired pain laced his words.

  “I just don’t understand how you could have hurt Phillip.” When I had first met the hybrids, they had poisoned Yukihyo, Nico, and Kaoti during a fight while my men were trying to protect me. Before abducting me, Knife, also known as Jazon, had slashed through Phillip’s leg almost making him bleed to death.

  Jazon clasped his hands behind his back. “Now that I know him, I don’t know how I was capable of it either.”

  Yukihyo and I were stunned by the admission.

  “Aww, isn’t that just sugary sweet? Jazon has gone and developed feelings for me. Did that hard dried-out husk of a heart get some moisture in it and start rehydrating?” Phillip asked as he batted his eyelashes at Jazon.

  Laughing, I went to him and threw my arms around his chest. “I love you, Phillip. Please. Promise me you will be careful.”

  “Don’t you dare cry. I’ll be fine. I’ll find Momma, and she’ll keep both eyes on me. Promise.”

  I smiled up at Phillip’s blue eyes.

  “I’m surprised he doesn’t call her mommy,” Jazon said snidely.

  “I’m surprised you haven’t tried to cuddle up to Sue’s tank,” Phillip said just as snottily.

  “Phillip!” I said shocked that he had said something so mean. Jazon and the others had spent their gestational periods in amniotic chambers in a lab. Not having a mother hurt. However, the comment had gotten a chuckle out of Jazon which confused me again.

  Phillip kissed my forehead. “Thanks for getting me out here so I can find her, Cupcake.”

  “I’d do anything for you, brother.”

  One of my fighter pilots came for Phillip. After he had gone, I approached Jazon, stared up into his solid black eyes, and struggled not to cry. He finally understood the pain he had and the others had caused. He understood because now, if something were to happen to Phillip or someone else I loved, it would hurt him, too. I hugged Jazon around his chest and gave into a hard, messy cry. The agonizing rift between the two of us was finally mended. Jazon held me tightly. When my runny nose forced me to put distance between us, I quickly kissed his cheek.

  Then, I rushed off to my bathroom. I was blowing my nose for the second time when Yukihyo and Zared entered the bathroom. After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I felt better.

  “Are you alright, lady wife?”

  I nodded, changed into a gown, and walked up the steps at the foot of the bed until I could crawl over to Yukihyo. He helped me get underneath the covers. Resting with my ear against his chest, I splayed my left hand across his chest. Unable to close my eyes, I began smoothing down his dove-grey chest hairs with my index finger.

  “All you do is worry,” I heard Rozz say into my thoughts.

  Out loud, I said, “Well, what am I supposed to do? Now, they fly fighters through enemy territory to deliver intelligence reports. What if they are caught? What if the aliens fire upon them? What if our people who are trapped on the surface are injured or worse? What if….”

  “Teagan, enough. We sense the awareness of many Parvac, Human, and Laconian minds. Our primary objective at this particular moment is to sleep.”

  “Zared is correct, lady wife. However, I fear your tumultuous emotions will prevent the sleep of everyone with whom you are bonded.”

  “Thunderdrop is asleep and so are the children,” I said sulkily. “Nico isn’t here to sleep.”

  “You know he never sleeps at times when danger is near you,” Yukihyo said as he gently stroked his fingers along my arm to my hand and back again.

  “I can go get him and make him rest,” I said.

  “You aren’t going anywhere. General Cassian isn’t the only male on this ship who is capable of strategic planning,” Zared said.

  “That is true. First, we must learn weaknesses,” Yukihyo said as he lifted my hand from his chest and pressed his beautiful warm lips to my wrist. His dove-grey hair fell forward obscuring his face as he kissed my inner elbow.

  While he distracted me, Zared had reached beneath the covers and now lightly trailed his fingertips from my ankles slowly up the backs of my legs making me shiver.

  “Then, we will maneuver their ships until we have the advantage,” Yukihyo said as he lifted his right shoulder, tightened his abdominal muscles, and reversed our positions.

  “When we have them at our mercy, we will attack,” Zared said as his strong hands closed over my knees and then slid up my thighs. “I made you a promise before I left, female,” Zared said before finding me with his mouth.

  I moaned and arched my back. Yukihyo slipped my gown from me. My husbands made certain that I was too tired to do anything afterwards but sleep.

  Chapter Five

  When I woke up, it was to hideously loud snores. Raising up on my elbows, I pushed my hair out of my face and looked at Nico in consternation. We were alone. Looking out of the viewport spanning the wall behind our bed, I stared at unfamiliar stars.

  In my mind, Zared whispered, “Nico stayed up all night with Eli, Captain Ricimer, our xenobiologist, and a linguist.”

  Careful not to wake my blonde giant, I slipped from bed and into the bathroom. After dressing in black silk pants and a top to match, I left our room. Zared handed a cup of coffee to me before I had walked three steps. I yawned and had a sip. Neema was awake and sat on a blanket with a few toy warships. She crossed her little arms over her chest and scowled at me. I started laughing.

  “Oh, Yukihyo!”

  He looked at her and laughed with me.

  “No,” Neema said. I snorted. “Mommy!” Neema said in a cute little angry voice.

  Fitz chuckled at her, too.

  “What?” I asked her.

  “Mommy, walk.”

  “Oh, I see. What about your brother? Where’s Niklos?”

  Neema scanned the room wi
th her jade green, pupil less eyes for her brother. She got a faraway look as she sensed him in their nursery, got to her feet, and ran to their room. “Nik! Nik!” Neema yelled before we could grab her.

  We all braced ourselves for his loud, angry screams, but they never came. Panicked, I put down my cup and ran. I found Neema standing in front of Niklos’ crib. My children were holding hands through the slats and smiling adoringly at each other.

  “Nik’s awake!”

  Stepping over to Neema, I kneeled down and kissed her fat little cheek. Then, I picked Niklos up.

  “My goodness! That’s a wet diaper. Let’s get you all cleaned up.” Neema wandered over to her dolls. “Did my little prince have sweet dreams?”

  Niklos grinned at me and farted.

  “Well, alrighty then.”

  After Niklos was clean, fed, and dressed, Thunderdrop and I took the babies on our morning walk. Twenty minutes into our walk, Jazon and Izaac appeared so suddenly that it was as if they had deactivated visual displacement shielding. The two telepaths felt uneasy to me.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I swear on my very life that I will make everything right for you,” Jazon swore.

  When fear halted my steps, Izaac took the stroller from me and kept walking. Thunderdrop blinked at me from on top of the stroller as they moved farther down the corridor. I watched as Izaac’s strong back and head of dove-grey hair cut in a military style became more distant as he pushed the children along.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked Jazon.

  “I don’t want you to know. I want to make everything right before you ever learn of it, but they will tell you.” Jazon opened and closed his hands at his sides.

  Reaching down with my left hand, I took his right hand and held it. Taking a deep breath, I calmed and centered myself. Once Jazon and I both felt the emotional control I had learned to reach, I said, “Tell me. We will deal with whatever it is together.”

  I could feel Jazon’s heart breaking.

  “You don’t want to hurt me. I know. I’ve broken. I have mended. In some cases, I mended wrong, and Phillip has fixed me. All of my breaks and hurts have been mended with stronger stuff. Even my heart can no longer be broken. After all, it’s the finest heart that Parvac credits can buy. However, if ever something is too much for me to bear, I have you and the others with whom to share it. Right?”

  Solid black eyes full of sorrow gazed into mine. “Always,” Jazon said as he squeezed my hand.

  “Tell me,” I whispered into his mind.

  He took two breaths before managing to say, “The fighter ship carrying Phillip was captured. The aliens are trying to figure out how to communicate with us. They know that we are hiding and that they are outnumbered.”

  “How do they treat prisoners?” I asked as terrified thoughts raced through my mind.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Is there a plan to rescue our men?” I asked.

  “Let us go in and get them. It’s what we do.”

  “Does Nico know about this?” I asked.

  Jazon shook his head in the negative. “We sensed it shortly after he, Eli, and the Captain shut their eyes for a few hours of sleep. We reported to Commander Genso.” Jazon shook his head. “He just wanted to find his mother and was captured before he got the chance.”

  “It’s not too late, is it?” I asked fearing Phillip would be executed.

  “No, but I need to get over there to protect him.” There was an urgency to his words that escalated my fear.

  I nodded.

  “Princess Probus,” Captain Ricimer said as he approached. He came to attention and saluted. “I must speak to you on an important matter,” he said as he offered me his arm.

  I took it. “Jazon has told me that my brother and my pilot have been forced to board and alien vessel. What can you add to it?”

  My captain had to force himself to take shorter strides to stay at my side. “The aliens seem to be insisting on speaking to our leader. They hiss at Vice Admiral Valen, Captain Alaric, and Captain Espanoza. We have dispensed with radio silence. For the sake of our men, we have not destroyed the alien scout ships investigating our location.”

  Captain Ricimer led me up to the bridge where Eli waited.

  “Open communications!” I ordered.

  “Don’t you wish to prepare?” Captain Ricimer asked.

  “How?”

  Captain Ricimer nodded to Commander Genso. A poor-quality image inside of one of the alien ships filled our vid-screen. Every bridge crew in our fleets watched our exchange.

  “Where are my men?” I asked in a voice imbued with slow-boiling righteous indignation.

  The creature made some odd noises, pressed a few buttons, and my view changed to some sort of throne room with copper colored walls and metal components throughout. One of the aliens sat on a wooden bench. He wore a jumper that was similar to the ones worn by his subordinates, but his was red and had a little caplet attached to it.

  The alien raised its head and hissed. Then, it gestured with its clawed hand showing us the loose flesh between its arm and side that had been tattooed with strange designs.

  Phillip and my pilot came into view. They had been forced to kneel, were bleeding from various cuts, and had been bound.

  Enraged, I hissed and let forth a blood curdling scream of my own. “How dare you, you, obnoxious little bastard? Our people saved the planet below with our resources, but you seek to reap the rewards of our humanitarian efforts? You abduct, imprison, and….”

  The alien hissed, screeched, and lifted his chin up at me. One of the aliens slashed a clawed hand down slashing open my pilot’s back. The alien ruler appeared smug.

  Consumed by rage and fear, I let out a long low hiss of my own. Phillip and my pilot could be murdered at this alien’s whim, and he wanted me to know it. “Captain Ricimer, destroy ten of the alien scout ships,” I ordered.

  “Princess?”

  “Do it. Make sure he can see it.”

  “Captain Alaric is hailing,” Commander Glous reported.

  “Fire,” I ordered.

  The Parvac warships around me obliterated ten of the alien fighter ships while I watched their leader’s face. I pointed at Phillip and my pilot, who had regained his seat on his knees even though he was pale and shaking. I pounded on my chest. “Mine. Hurt my men, and I will destroy yours. Kill one of my men, and I will destroy one of your life ships. I am coming for my men, even if I have to blast my way through your hull. End communication.”

  When the screen went black, I said, “Prepare the ship you used earlier. I want Dr. Savelli with us.”

  Jazon saluted and hurried to obey.

  “Captain, how many of our fighters would it take to destroy one of their ships?”

  “Three, your majesty.”

  “Order the fleet to surround our stealth ship with twenty fighters. If Phillip is killed, I will destroy them.”

  “Yes, your highness.”

  “Put Eric through.”

  Eric’s blue eyes were dangerous. The pale blue looked like ice shards that were sharp enough to cut. He said, “Teagan, you just ordered ten deaths.”

  “Yes, you may wish to distance your ships. The Empire has suffered insult.”

  “Give us time to learn to communicate with them.”

  “Their leader and I have decided to communicate with our actions. I will consider your suggestion once I have Phillip and my pilot onboard. However, falsely imprisoning Parvac ships is reason enough to retaliate. Teagan out.” Turning to Eli, I said, “I want your sharpest knives visible like claws. I want each of you wearing full battle gear. We leave in ten minutes. Captain Ricimer, take us within visible range of the alien fleet.”

  I left the bridge and went down to my deck.

  Yukihyo looked at me in shock. “I’m coming with you.”

  “No, you are not. You, Nico, and Fitz will remain onboard my ship with my children by Imperial decree.”

  Yukihyo follo
wed me into our bedroom.

  Nico sat up in bed. “What’s going on?” he asked tiredly.

  I went into the closet and stripped. Their ruler thought he was fancy in his little red jumper. I could communicate symbolically. Rifling through my dresses, I found one that Gina had made for me. It was made of bright-red Arachnean silk, had long sleeves, a V-neck, and pooled on the floor around me with its oval train. I wore my mother’s necklace with its spherical diamond surrounded by the platinum upturned wings of Parvac. Then, I belted on my blaster.

  The mood in the bedroom was strained. I stared first into Yukihyo’s eyes and then into Nico’s. To Nico, I said, “I’m going to get our men. If Phillip dies, annihilate them.”

  In the sitting room, Thunderdrop jumped to my shoulder from the couch. I took the lift down to Deck Five where my Omnes Videntes waited for me. Each of them wore solid black from their helmets down to their boots. Wicked knives were at their sides and strapped to their chests. In addition, each of them were armed with blasters.

  I stepped inside of the stealth ship, took a seat, and fastened my harness. Soon, we streaked from the Empress and toward the enemy vessel. As I had ordered, twenty fighters served as my escort.

  “Good, we don’t have to blast our way inside,” I said when I spotted the open cargo doors.

  Jazon flew us inside with two of the fighters joining us. The other fighters surrounded the alien ship, prepared to attack.

  “Are you ready for this?” Eli asked.

  Surprised that he couldn’t feel the fury seething within me, I stood with Thunderdrop on my shoulder. Turning to Jazon, I ordered, “Take me to Phillip.”

  After checking that the hold had re-pressurized and had oxygen, Rozz opened the hatch. Jazon and Xavier preceded me, Zared and Izaac were to either side of me, and Eli was at my back. The others formed ranks behind him. Rozz sealed the hatch and remained to guard our vessel. If there was trouble, he had orders to tear his way through the alien ship after us.