"That was very… kind," Troy straightened, his surprise evident.
"It's what I do."
Her small smile gave Troy pause. She was as small as he had heard she was and just as damaged. When she smiled, it transformed her face. She was truly beautiful.
"May I proceed?" she asked. "I would hate for the Emperor's meal to get cold."
"Allow her through!" Troy ordered.
Jen felt like she was walking a gauntlet, the way the eyes of the Warriors followed her, scrutinizing her every move. She was infinitely glad Nikhil was leading the way. Finally, they reached the exterior door to Treyvon's office connected to his Command Center. Nikhil knocked.
"Enter."
"Thank you, Nikhil," Jen whispered, then pushed the cart in once the door opened.
Entering the room, she took in everything at once. The furniture had been rearranged, and there was a male sitting behind Treyvon's desk that wasn't Treyvon. She assumed he was the Emperor. As she entered, he ended the comm he was on and slowly rose to face her.
"Jennifer," Treyvon saying her name had her head turning to find him moving toward her. "The meal smells delicious."
"Thank you," she gave him a grateful smile.
"Treyvon, is this the female that has earned the trust of my worthiest Elite Warriors?" Liron asked, walking around the desk.
Treyvon's lips twitched at the humor only he heard in Liron's voice. He put a hand on the small of Jennifer's back, turning her to face Liron.
"Emperor Liron, may I present to you Chef Jennifer Neibaur of the planet Earth. Chef Jennifer, Emperor Liron Kalinin of the Kaliszian Empire."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Emperor Liron. Treyvon…" She blushed slightly at her slip, "I mean General Rayner has spoken highly of you, as have all the Warriors here."
"I see." Liron's gaze glowed a little brighter as he glanced at Treyvon for a moment then returned to her and really looked at her. He'd seen all the transmissions Treyvon and Luol had sent, had read and studied them, but nothing could have prepared him for the reality of her injuries. Her hair was pulled back tight against her head, doing nothing to ease the severity of the scars marring the left side of her face. No female should ever suffer in such a way, especially not in his Empire. He watched her chin tip up slightly, daring him to comment. "It is also a pleasure meeting you, Chef Jennifer, and if what's on that hover cart tastes half as good as it smells then I'm going to be very glad I traveled to the very edge of my Empire to meet you."
"Ahem…" The sound of someone clearing their throat had Jen looking to her right to find a very irritated female sitting at the table. So this was Rachana, Treyvon's former lover. She was everything Jen expected she'd be. Even though she was sitting, Jen could tell she was tall. Several thin black braids with her Ashe, True Mate, and bloodline beads framed her long angular face and glowing brown eyes. The rest of her braids were pulled back similarly to Treyvon's, but with only Elemental beads at their ends.
Jen could see why Treyvon was attracted to her. She was beautiful.
"Is it not time for Last Meal?" she asked in a sickly, sweet voice.
"Yes, of course," Jen said moving back to the cart. "If you would all sit down, I'll set this up and then get out of your way."
Treyvon and Liron went to the table, with Liron sitting along the long side facing Jen, Rachana to his left and Treyvon to his right. Jen pushed the cart up and set one of the cloths she'd brought on the table, then used the other to set the hot crock on it, before removing the lid.
"This is Beast Stew, it's meat, tatws, carrots, and onion all cooked in reduced stock. These are biscuits." She set the bowl on the table. "You can either dip in the stew or just eat them. Would you like me to serve it for you?"
"Please," Liron said.
Jen started with the Emperor, placing a filled bowl along with several biscuits in front of Liron. She then filled the second bowl and turned to face the female she had yet to be introduced to.
"My Goddess! You're hideous looking!" Rachana screeched, shoving her chair back from the table. "Get away from me!"
Jen's eyes widened and the bowl she was holding slipped from her fingers, spilling onto the table as she flinched back from the other female's verbal attack.
"Colleen Klueh!" Liron roared, stunned at her reaction even as Treyvon surged to his feet.
"What?!!" Rachana demanded. "How can you expect me to eat something prepared and served to me by someone who looks like that?!! I am Colleen Rachana Klueh! My manno is Minister Klueh of the planet Imroz! I should never be subjected to that!" She swung her arm out and pointed at Jennifer.
Jen took a stumbling step back and meant to turn and leave. She'd forgotten what it felt like to be judged by the way she looked. How it hurt. She hadn't realized how comfortable she had gotten around Treyvon's Warriors. How they had come to accept her, scars and all. Many of them even looked her in the eye when they talked to her now. To suddenly have it all thrown at her again was like a knife in the heart and she wanted to escape and hide, like she'd done in the cave.
The glint of something around Rachana's neck, when the bowl of power crystals flared behind her, had Jen pausing. It was a gold chain that looked familiar. Her gaze traveled along it until it reached what was suspended from it.
The universe seemed to pause as Jennifer realized what she was seeing. It then exploded as she launched herself at Rachana.
Chapter Nineteen
Treyvon was shocked. He'd known Rachana was a selfish, spoiled female. He also knew she could be rude and self-centered, but he never realized she could be like this. Being injured wasn’t Jennifer’s fault. Jennifer didn't blame others or ask for concessions because of it.
Rachana truly believed she deserved more and demanded it all because of who her manno was.
Jennifer had won the respect of his Warriors with her care and concern for the food stores they had earned.
Rachana treated all Warriors as if they were there only to serve her.
He'd seen how Rachana's words had struck Jennifer, harming her. Had any of his Warriors been in the room to witness it, they would have been as enraged as he was, and he feared they might have attacked Rachana. He'd never for a moment thought Jennifer would.
It took him a moment to react when Jennifer launched herself at Rachana, knocking the larger female out of her chair and taking her to the floor. He shoved the hover cart out of his way, causing it to crash into a wall as he grabbed Jennifer around the waist, pulling her off Rachana as Liron went to assist Rachana. Warriors stormed into the room responding to the screams.
"Let go of me!" Jennifer demanded, her arms and legs striking out as she struggled against Treyvon's grip.
"Jennifer, calm down!" He grunted when one of her elbows connected with his stomach. She was stronger than she appeared.
"No! She has no right!" Jennifer exclaimed.
"She attacked me!" Rachana screeched, jerking away from Liron to order his guards. "Arrest her!"
"Everyone will stay where they are!" Liron ordered when he saw a few of his guards moving.
"Jennifer, I know that Rachana's words have upset you, but that is no reason to attack her."
"Words?!!!" Jennifer twisted her head around giving Treyvon a disbelieving look. "You think I attacked that bitch because of her words?" Her head spun back around to glare at Rachana, and the rage in her gaze had Rachana stepping protectively closer to Liron. "She has something that belongs to me, and I will have it back!"
"What?" Liron and Treyvon asked simultaneously before their glowing eyes zeroed in on Rachana.
"She's crazy!" Rachana exclaimed. "I don't have anything of hers! How could I? She attacked me because I told her truth about how offensive her appearance is to all that are exposed to it!"
Rachana didn't notice how Treyvon's Elite Warriors, who had moved in behind Liron's, stiffened.
"I could care less that my scars offend you, you bitch!" Jen fired back, starting to struggle again. "I want what was taken from
me!"
"Jennifer." Treyvon put her on her feet but maintained his restraining grip as he turned her to face him. "Of what are you speaking? What could Rachana possibly have that is yours?"
"Rings! Todd's and my rings! They are there!" Jen would have stabbed her finger at Rachana except Treyvon held her arms, so she jerked her head towards her instead. "On the chain around her neck!"
"Rings?" Treyvon whispered, his gaze searching Jennifer's. "You speak of the ones your Todd carried? The ones the Zaludians killed him for?"
"Yes," Jen choked out, her throat had tightened as she fought back the tears Treyvon's understanding had caused.
"And you believe Rachana is now in possession of them?"
"I know she is! They are on the chain she wears around her neck!"
Two sets of blue eyes pinned Rachana; one glowing, the other blazing.
"What?!! Why are you looking at me like that? What is she," she spat out, "talking about?"
"Treyvon, what are you speaking of?" Liron asked.
"I informed you of how the Zaludians killed Jennifer's Dasho. Of how she became injured."
"She tried to protect him from an attacking Zaludian," Liron confirmed. And while he knew neither Treyvon nor Jennifer saw the head of every Warrior in the room turn to look at her in shock… and respect… he did. "But you never said why the Zaludian attacked."
"Because of the chain that is now around her neck," Jen was able to point at Rachana this time, as Treyvon had released her arms, allowing her to turn but kept her back flat against his front with a single arm around her waist. "It slipped out of a hole in Todd's pocket. The Zaludian saw it and took it!"
"And you believe what Colleen Klueh has around her neck was once yours?" Liron asked.
"I know it is!" Jen fired back not caring that she was talking to the most powerful male in the Empire. "I can describe them in precise detail! Mine has a two-carat, round-cut diamond in a platinum band that has baguette cut diamonds edging it. The wedding band has more baguettes that frame the center diamond. Todd's ring is also platinum with matching baguette diamonds in them."
"You only know that because you saw it!" Rachana said, wrapping a hand around what hung from her neck, hiding it from all eyes.
"Show me what you are hiding, Colleen Klueh," Liron ordered and saw her bristle.
"I'm not hiding anything," she denied, but her hand tightened.
"Then let me see what hangs around your neck." When she still hesitated, everything about his demeanor hardened. "That was not a request, Colleen Klueh."
Rachana looked to Treyvon and the Warriors standing behind him, and after finally realizing that no one was coming to her aid, lowered her hand.
Liron took a step closer, then hooking a finger under the chain he hadn't noticed before, lifted it, so he touched as little of her as possible. When he did, what hung from the chain twisted and glittered in the light. It was just as Jennifer had described. But Rachana was also not wrong. Jennifer could just be describing what she had seen.
"Where did you get this, Colleen Klueh?" he asked his gaze pinning hers.
"It… it was a gift," Rachana stuttered.
"From who?" Liron demanded.
"I… I can't remember. I received it months ago."
"You've given your friendship to so many males that you don't even remember who gave you what gift?!!" Jen questioned in disbelief. "And you think I'm horrible because of the way I look?"
"How dare you!" It was Rachana's turn to lunge at Jennifer, but Treyvon quickly twisted, putting Jennifer behind him, protecting her as Liron stepped in front of Rachana.
"I dare because I've only ever been with one male in my entire life and he was my Dasho. I committed myself to him, and only him. Nothing any other male could ever offer could make me disloyal to him! Those rings are a symbol of our commitment to each other, and I will have them back!"
Jen was breathing hard by the time she finished speaking, uncaring that her words had silent questions flying from one Warrior to the next, each wondering the same thing. Could a female really be with only one male, be that loyal to him? It didn't happen in their world. As soon as females came of age, they began seeking out a male that would not only benefit them but also their families. While most were not like Rachana, it was rare they only ever offered friendship to a single male.
"I understand what you are saying, Jennifer," Liron said quietly. "But Colleen Klueh is correct in that you could only be stating what you saw as you attacked her."
"Thank you, Majesty," Rachana said, giving Jennifer a smug smile.
"Emperor Liron," Treyvon began. He knew both females, and of the two, Jennifer was the one he trusted. She had never lied to him or tried to use him, but Jennifer's next words stopped him.
"And what about the inscription?"
"Inscription?" Liron asked his eyes widening.
"Yes. It's inside Todd's ring. The one that's just a band with the six baguettes embedded in it." She saw Liron lift the ring and look inside. "It says, 'T, I will love you forever, J. 10-7'.
Liron dropped the rings then ordered Rachana. "Remove the chain from around your neck."
"But, Majesty!" Rachana started.
"Now!" Liron's roar startled everyone in the room and Rachana quickly pulled the chain over her head and handed it to him. "I cannot read what it says."
"That's because it's in English," Jen told him.
"You can't believe her, Emperor!" Rachana cut in. "Who knows what that says! It could be nothing but gibberish. She isn't even Kaliszian and would say anything to gain your favor!"
"My True Mate would know what it said if it were in English, Majesty." Nikhil stepped forward as he spoke.
"She would lie!" Rachana spat at Nikhil before swinging back to the Emperor. "She would say whatever was needed to support one of her own kind."
"You dare slander my True Mate?" Nikhil growled, the threat easily heard in his voice.
"She… she…" Rachana stuttered, paling.
"I never told Mac about the inscription," Jen told them quietly, "and I don't think she's ever actually seen the rings. Not up close. She just knows that they are why the Zaludians killed Todd."
Liron was silent for several moments, looking from Rachana to Nikhil, and then to Jennifer and Treyvon. "If you state as truth that Nikhil's True Mate has never seen these rings, how then do you believe she can claim them as yours?"
"Because we talked about them, when we were hiding from the Zaludians in that smaller cave. There wasn't much for us to do, so we talked to one another. Told each other about our lives, about happier times. It's how we got to be such good friends."
"But you never told her about the inscription?"
"No, it never came up. It was personal, something personal from me to my Dasho."
"Squad Leader, while this is not how I would have preferred to meet your True Mate, I need you to bring her to me, to see if she can clarify this matter for us."
"Yes, Majesty," he said bowing, "but if I feel at any time that anyone," his gaze bored into Rachana, "is insulting to my Mackenzie, then I will enforce the laws of a male defending his True Mate."
"Understood, Squad Leader. Now, please," it shocked some that Liron would use that word, "bring your Ashe and True Mate here and do not tell her why."
With a stiff nod, Nikhil left the room.
"Colleen Klueh, resume your seat." It didn't go unnoticed that the Emperor didn't say please to Rachana. His gaze then turned to Treyvon. "General, please escort Jennifer to the chair behind your desk." He waited until Jennifer was seated before directly addressing her. "You will remain silent when Nikhil's Ashe arrives. I will not have you influencing what she says."
Liron wasn't sure what surprised him more, the way Jennifer's eyes narrowed, and she leaned forward as if to challenge him, or her words.
"You just insinuated that Nikhil's True Mate would speak an untruth. Dishonoring not only her but him. That is something Mac would never do. Not because she is an hones
t and honorable female, but because she loves Nikhil. You also gave him permission to end anyone who did what you have just done."
"Jennifer…" Treyvon growled lowly.
"What?" Her gaze turned to him. "Do the rules of defending one's True Mate not apply when the one insulting them is the Emperor?"
"They do," Liron spoke before Treyvon could and found he was more than impressed with this injured female. She was everything Treyvon had said she was and more. He also saw the care and respect his cousin showed her. There was more going on between these two than he ever thought possible. "I meant no disrespect to Ashe Mackenzie, Jennifer. I only wanted to make sure there would be no question if she identifies these as yours." He lifted the chain he still held and couldn't miss how her eyes filled as she watched it swing from side to side. It made him realize that what Jennifer was saying had to be truth, which meant that something stolen by a Zaludian Captain had ended up around the neck of the daughter of a Kaliszian Minister.
• • • • • •
Jen watched as Mac's eyes quickly travelled over the room taking in everything as Nikhil escorted her in. It was something they both still did as a result of their captivity. They assessed every room they entered, the risk, and the escape routes. She also saw Mac's confusion when she saw Jen sitting stiffly behind Treyvon's desk giving her no indication that she should be concerned. Because of that, she let Nikhil guide her toward the Emperor.
"Emperor Liron, may I present to you my True Mate and Ashe, Mackenzie Wharton-Kozar." The pride in Nikhil's deep voice was easily heard. "Mackenzie, this is Emperor Liron Kalinin."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Emperor Kalinin, but my last name is just Kozar, not Wharton-Kozar." She shot an irritated look up at Nikhil. "It is a common custom on my planet that a female takes her husband's, or in this case, her True Mate's last name. Nikhil has informed me it is not that way for Kaliszians, and he worries I will be offended if he does not include it. I won't be." That comment was directed at Nikhil.
"I see," Liron replied neutrally even though his eyes were sparkling. "Well, Ashe Mackenzie Kozar," he stressed slightly, "it is truly a pleasure to meet you finally. I just wish it were under different circumstances."