Born of Shadows

  His face went pale. "What?"

  "I saw and heard everything said between you and my aunt. And you were wrong. The garbage didn't burn. It grew into one seriously pissed-off man who's about to kill you."

  The man started wheezing from his pressure.

  Caillen backed off only a degree. He couldn't kill him yet. Not until he had the intel he needed. "Tell me where she is."

  "They're waiting for me in the east bay."

  "And the Qillaq queen?"

  "She's with them as a hostage."

  "Cai?"

  He looked sideways as Fain joined him. "Perfect timing."

  "For what?"

  Caillen slung the man toward Fain. "Hold him. Watch him. Don't let him make a call or a text."

  "Why?"

  "Because if he's lying to me, I'll be back in a few minutes to kill him."

  Before Fain could speak another word, he left them to head to the hangar. It didn't take long to reach it, mostly because he ran the entire way.

  Until he reached the north bay where they'd landed. It was virtually empty. There were several large cargo ships and a dozen shuttles docked. But it was the craft with diplomatic markings that drew his interest.

  All in all, a dumb choice. However, it fit his aunt's ego nicely.

  Blood surged through his body as he headed for it. But after two steps, he rethought the sanity of charging straight in there and confronting them. Don't let your temper lead you. Because when it did, it always led to the grave.

  He needed to let his battle calm take control. Yet for some reason, it had abandoned him. All he could see was his father dying. See his family struggling to survive with no parents. And why? Because of needless greed.

  Let it go.

  Something much easier said than done. Closing his eyes, he thought of Desideria. The moment he did, his anger dissipated. He found the peace he needed.

  This time, he approached the ship from the back, through the shadows that had birthed and succored him. Even if they were scanning, they wouldn't pick him up. The main hatch was up which would stop most people from getting on board without notifying them. But the beautiful part about being a smuggler was that he knew ships inside and out. Best of all, he knew access points where cargo could be loaded or removed even under the nose of the best-trained Enforcers.

  While this was a diplomatic ship, it still had a small hatch that allowed food to be brought on board so as not to disturb the aristocratic passengers. Located in the rear, under the left wing, it was a perfect place to sneak on board.

  Making sure they couldn't see him, he quickly made his way to it and pried it open. It didn't take long to crawl through it and into the galley. He slid into the ship, then closed the hatch. Pulling his blaster out, he went to the door and listened. The ship was so quiet that all he could hear was the beating of his heart.

  But as he crept further down the corridor, he started picking up on a conversation.

  "We should leave him."

  "Don't you dare start this ship. He'll be here in a minute."

  "Gah, what is wrong with you, Mother? You're supposed to be Qillaq. Why would you risk our safety for a man?"

  "Sit down, you little ingrate. But for me, your father would have married you off years ago for political gain. Just like you did me."

  Obviously that last comment was directed at Desideria's mother, which meant she was still alive.

  That was always a good sign.

  For Desideria anyway.

  "Mother, you're impossible. We need to leave. Now!"

  Caillen veered into the bunk room. As quietly as possible, he went to the crew station and hacked into the onboard computer so that he could use the video system to scout out the bridge.

  His aunt sat in the captain's chair while her daughter was to her left. Two pilots were in the forward seats and Desideria's mother was bound and gagged in the seat behind his aunt.

  The odds were definitely in his favor. But he had a better idea rather than barging in there and knocking their heads together.

  Sealing and locking the bunk door, he opened an audio channel. "Nice move, ladies. But it won't help you."

  Gasping, his aunt and cousin shot to their feet and drew weapons. "Where are you?"

  "Close enough to be your innermost hemorrhoid."

  His aunt motioned for the two pilots to get up and go search for him. Caillen locked down the bridge access doors tightly so that all they could do was pound on the unresponsive portal. The sight of their anger amused him.

  Leran ran to the con to fire the engines only to learn that he had complete control of the ship. Not them. There was nothing they could do to retake it.

  Not unless they were Syn. Which, luckily, they weren't.

  Take that, you bitches.

  His aunt cleared her throat. "Look, we don't have to be enemies. If you want we could split--"

  "The only thing I'll split with you is your skull. I'm not dumb enough to fall for any lie out of your mouth."

  She held her blaster at the queen's head. "Surrender to us or we'll kill her."

  "Then kill her. I really don't care. You're the only one I want and I don't care how many bodies I have to crawl over to get to you."

  His aunt looked around in disbelief. "Am I really the only one you want?"

  "Yes."

  She lowered the blaster. "Then you won't care if I kill my niece, Desideria?"

  His heart stopped. He didn't dare say anything that might betray him.

  She held a remote up in her right hand. "All I have to do is press this button and Desideria's throat will be cut. Stupid chit is surrounded with my people who are more than willing to kill her on my command. Did you really think I planned all of this alone?"

  Caillen scrambled to isolate the trigger's frequency. But he couldn't. Whoever had designed it had skills and it made his temper snap.

  There was nothing he could do.

  His aunt curled her lip in smug satisfaction. "If you're trying to jam my signal, don't bother. You'll never find it. Now be a good boy and surrender yourself or I'll see Desideria dead within the next minute... maybe two."

  Caillen knew she would too. She'd already killed off her family. What was one more niece to her?

  But that niece was everything to him.

  What am I going to do?

  In the end, he knew he had no choice. He couldn't let Desideria die.

  "All right. Don't press it."

  She laughed. "Just like a man. Weak to the end."

  Yeah, he'd like to show her just how weak he was. But he wouldn't kill Desideria for his ego.

  "Unlock the ship, then you'll have ten seconds to get up here. One second more and my niece will be nothing other than a bad memory."

  Even though it galled him, he did exactly what she said. As soon as he'd reprogrammed the computer, he ran to the bridge where his aunt waited with a blaster aimed straight for his head. "Can't you ever die? You have been a pain in my ass since the moment you were born."

  He raked a cold glare over her. "Yeah, well, you haven't exactly been the light of my solar system either, bitch."

  "You pathetic lovesick fool. But that's all right. We can go ahead with our original plan. You killed the Qillaq queen and then we killed you as you were fleeing from the murder scene."

  "No one will ever believe that."

  "Sure they will. People are sheep. They believe whatever lies they're told, especially when it comes from the media. After all, the news never lies."

  Sad thing was, he agreed with her. Most of the time they did.

  "Get on your knees."

  Caillen refused. "I kneel for no one. I'll die exactly how I've lived. On my feet." Defiant to the end.

  "Fine." She flipped the switch from stun to kill an instant before the targeting dot centered on his forehead.

  Caillen glared at her as he waited for the sound that would end his life.

  A second later, another dot appeared over her heart. Frowning, his aunt l
ooked down as puzzled by its appearance as he was.

  "Only I get to shoot him."

  His jaw went slack as he recognized Desideria's voice coming out of the pilot's mouth...

  No, it couldn't be.

  Could it?

  It was obvious the pilot was female, but the suit gave no indication as to the wearer's identity.

  Stunned, his aunt stepped back and aimed for Desideria. Leran started forward to attack her, but the other pilot engaged her.

  His aunt went to shoot, but Caillen rushed her before she could kill Desideria. Something not too bright since the blast hit him hard in his chest. Even so, he refused to go down. He wasn't about to let her hurt Desideria.

  Desideria rushed forward as she saw Caillen fighting her aunt for the blaster. The moment she reached them, she realized her aunt's shot hadn't missed him. Blood covered his chest and abdomen as he fought her with everything he had.

  Anger and terror mingled inside her to form a deadly combination. All the rage of her lifetime built up--the betrayal her aunt had given them both. The fear that Caillen would die as a result of it.

  Before she even knew what she'd done, she grabbed her aunt by the neck and snapped it with a sound that went through her like glycerin on glass.

  For a full minute after Karissa slid to the floor, no one moved.

  Horrified by her actions, Desideria felt dizzy--like something had snatched her out of her body.

  I killed someone.

  No, she'd killed her own aunt...

  "Mom!" Leran's shriek finally broke through their shock as she ran to her mother's side and sank down on the floor. "Mom... please speak to me." She pulled her mother against her as she cried and begged her to be alive.

  Caillen staggered back.

  "Cai?" Desideria went to him while Kara crossed the bridge to release her mother from her ties.

  His handsome features were pale and drawn tight by the pain. "I swore I'd never risk my life for any woman other than my sisters. What is it about you, pun'kin, that makes me stupid whenever someone threatens you?" His legs buckled.

  Desideria grabbed him and helped him sink to the floor so as not to injure him more. She tore open his shirt, then gasped as she saw the damage done. The blast had torn through his left side and left it raw and gaping.

  "You fucking whore!" Leran let her mother go and rushed for Desideria.

  Without a second thought, Desideria was on her feet. She caught her cousin and slammed her down so hard on the ground that it shook the entire vessel. "You killed your own father, you piece of shit. Next time you come at me, you better bring a body bag. You will need it."

  Both her mother's and Kara's eyes widened at her words.

  Desideria cuffed her, then returned to Caillen. "Stay with me, baby."

  He swallowed against his pain while she called for a medic evac.

  She cut the link, then pulled him against her while her cousin screamed for vengeance.

  "Oh shut up, you whiny child." Sarra snatched the blaster from Kara's hand, then switched the setting from kill to stun and shot her.

  Kara looked surprised. "You didn't kill her?"

  "Oh no. I want the pleasure of seeing her in prison, of torturing her until she begs for a mercy I have no intention of giving her."

  Desideria ignored them while she focused on what mattered most. Caillen's blood was all over her as she tried to slow his bleeding. "Where's your backpack?"

  "I was so busy trying to end this before you got here that I forgot it."

  She felt the tears sting her eyes. "I should have told you our plan. But I didn't know who among our troops could be trusted and I was afraid a traitor would warn Karissa." Now she wished she'd chanced it. She'd much rather be the one on the floor. "If I'd only known you were going to do something so stupid..."

  He smiled, then grimaced. "I'm only stupid for you."

  And he'd traded his life to keep her safe. "I love you, Caillen. Don't you dare die on me. So help me, I will chase you to hell to beat you if you do."

  "You're not a bastard and you're not worthless. You are everything to me." She grabbed the link again. "Where the hell are the medics?"

  Caillen cherished the sound of concern in her voice. If he had to die, he was glad it was in her arms. He could think of no better way to go into eternity than staring into the beautiful eyes that had given him his soul back.

  For her, he fought for his life harder than he ever had before. He'd waited too long to find someone like her to give up now.

  She didn't let go of him until the medics arrived. Only then did she pull back and allow them to work on him.

  His gaze never wavered from hers. Not even when they put the oxygen mask over his face.

  Desideria choked on a hidden sob at the sight of Caillen lying on the gurney. He looked so weak and pale.

  Even so, he winked at her. When he spoke his words were muffled by the mask, but still discernible. "I'm not going to die on you, cupcake. I've got too many boo-boos for you to kiss and you owe me a big one for the hole in my chest."

  She laughed through the tears that tightened her throat. "I don't find you amusing." She stepped back to give them more room. "I'll follow you to the hospital and let your sisters and father know."

  The medics took him out. She started forward only to find her way blocked by her mother.

  Some emotion she couldn't name darkened her mother's eyes as she locked gazes. It was like her mother was looking at a stranger and she didn't know what to think of her. "What happened to you?"

  Desideria wasn't sure how to answer that. She'd been chased, beaten, shot at.

  And she'd learned to love in a way she'd never thought possible.

  "I don't have time for this." She brushed past her mother and headed for the door.

  "You don't have my permission to leave."

  Those words and that hostile tone of voice went over her like an acid bomb. Her days of cowering were over. She'd blame it on her hour as queen, but she knew the truth.

  Caillen had given her this gift.

  She turned to meet her mother's glare with one of her own. "I'm no longer a member of your Guard, Mother. Remember? You dismissed me."

  "Let her go, Sarra," Kara said. "She's only half Qillaq anyway."

  Desideria lifted her chin as Kara's words angered her more. "And proud of it." She narrowed her gaze on her aunt. "My father wasn't a traitor. He was a damn good man and I'll cut the throat of anyone who says differently. You should also remember, Kara, that spared your life once and saved it another. I'm not a child anymore and I will not be treated as one by any of you ever again. You don't run my life. I do."

  Her mother pulled on the gold chain that she always wore around her neck, a chain she kept tucked right over her heart. As it came free of her body, Desideria saw that a ring dangled from it. The deep purple stone carved with a coat of arms gleamed in the light. Her mother paused to look at it before she held it out to her.

  Frowning, Desideria wasn't sure she should take it. "What is that?"

  Her mother grabbed her hand, placed the ring in her palm and closed her fingers over it. "That was your father's insignia ring. He was a prince on his world and yet he chose to stay with me even though he knew he'd never be respected again. Even though he knew he'd never see his family." To her complete shock, her mother's eyes teared. "You're right, Desideria, he didn't betray our people, but he did betray me. He swore he'd come back and instead he was killed in a ridiculous accident when the fuel line in his ship ruptured."

  Desideria couldn't breathe as she realized her mother had lied to her about his death. "He wasn't fighting?"

  She shook her head. "My son ran away from his training facility. He was all alone and I was terrified of what would happen to him. Your father went to bring him home to me. He swore he could find him and he was the only one I knew who could, so I let him go."

  "Why did you lie to me all this time?"

  "You were too young to understand and I didn
't want you or anyone else asking me questions when the mere thought of his death was more than I could bear. You were the only one who loved him as much as I did and I didn't want you to hate him for leaving us. I'd rather you hate me and cherish his memory. He deserves that much more than I do."

  She was appalled by her mother's twisted logic. "You allowed everyone to call him a coward. How is that love?"

  Her mother winced as if the question hit her like a blow. "I'm not perfect and I hated him for years afterward. I kept thinking if he'd been stronger he would have lived. I know it doesn't make sense, but I thought if other people insulted him, it would keep me strong."

  That had to be the most screwed-up thing she'd ever heard. And to think, they allowed her mother to lead their planet...

  Part of her felt sorry for her mother, but the other part wanted to slap her for what she'd done to her father, her brother and her.

  "I don't understand why you're telling me this now."

  Her mother glanced at Kara before she spoke. "I was stupid when I was young. I put duty ahead of family. And what did I get for it? One daughter who tried to kill me. A son I'll never see again. Two sisters who despise me, one so much she was planning on blowing my head off, and the only person who ever really loved me died because I lacked the temerity to stand up to a law I knew was stupid and keep my son where he belonged. At my side. Chayden should have never been in harm's way and your father should have been allowed to be the king he was born to be."

  She reached out and cupped Desideria's cheek in her hand. "I've done a lot of thinking since you left and I've worried about you every step of the way. I wanted to see how you would fare on your own and you more than surpassed my expectations. Never have I been prouder of you."

  Her mother sighed heavily. "All my mother ever gave me was the mantle of responsibility. What I want to give you is the freedom you need to not make my mistakes. You are your father's daughter. Only he ever stood up to me. And now you." She dropped her hand. "Go to your prince, daughter. Be with him."

  "She'll be abdicating her place in our line if she does."

  Her mother curled her lip. "So what if she does? Being queen has never brought me anything except misery." She turned back to Desideria. "You stood up for him when I tried to stop you a few minutes ago. Never stop doing that." She stepped away to let her pass. "Consider yourself disinherited."

  Desideria felt the tears start to fall. For the first time in her life, she didn't try to hide them. "I love you, Mother." She took her hand and pulled her toward the door.