Chapter Twelve
“Can this heap of junk go any faster?” Morrigan said.
“Uh-oh,” Margot said, as Jhosa gave a low growl in his chest. Margot turned around and said, “I can protect you from many things, Morrigan, but you insult Jhosa’s precious shuttle?” She shook her head and made a clicking noise. “You might find yourself thrown out the airlock.”
Morrigan sighed. “Look, I’m just frustrated. We need to get Brogan.”
Thane sneered at her. “Is she your sweetheart?”
“No, she is not. I owe my friends a debt of honour. It was my brother’s fault that Brogan was thrown into the portal. And it was a billion-to-one shot that it was a realm that I would reach.”
“You don’t even know the meaning of the word ‘honour,’ ” Thane said.
Morrigan was exasperated. “Again, it wasn’t me. If I was queen and your planet was under attack, I would’ve helped you. But I can’t change that.”
“Morrigan, Thane, not another word on the past. What’s done is done.”
There was a loud beep from Margot’s controls. “A coded message from Queen Emaris. Take it in the back again, Morrigan. We can’t have our faces known outside of the rebellion. No disrespect to your mother.”
Morrigan nodded. She completely understood. They were taking a chance by even having an outsider on the mission with them.
“I will.”
She walked back to the sleep and changing area at the back of the shuttle. Morrigan sat and started the communication.
“Hello, Mother.”
Queen Emaris was smiling. “You have what you wanted. Cardo and his Drazani squad have been held up, much to their dissatisfaction. But the law is the law if you want to come through our space. My customs officials checked every panel and fuel rod in their ship. You have an extra day.”
Morrigan let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Mother.”
“I don’t think those words have ever come out of your mouth,” Queen Emaris said.
“Mother, just take the thanks for what it is meant to be.”
“And you keep your promise to come back and see me when this is all over. I’m not getting any younger, and you’re my only child now.”
Morrigan was less than anxious to go home. Too many memories. But she had made a promise, and she would go back, listen to what her mother had to say, and then get out of there.
“We’ve never got on well, and I’m not sure why, but I would like to build some bridges,” Queen Emaris said.
This was astonishing to Morrigan. Her mother never talked to her like this. The woman had ignored her for most of her life.
“I will come back, and when I do, I’d like to know honestly why you didn’t come to the defence of our fellow fae against the Abnobians.”
She saw a flash of sadness, guilt across her mother’s face. Morrigan had never seen that emotion in her mother.
The queen bit her lip and nodded.
“I’ll let you know when this is over, and we can make arrangements then. Goodbye, Mother,” Morrigan said.
“Goodbye, Morrigan.”
Queen Emaris’s virtual image was gone.
Morrigan ran quickly through to the front cabin. “They did it. My mother’s forces held them up for security checks. We’ll arrive at about the same time, or just before if we push it.”
“That’s fantastic, Morrigan,” Margot said, “thank you for thinking of that. You want to save your friend, and we desperately want to rescue the Map Keeper.”
Morrigan looked down to Thane. He looked more annoyed that Morrigan had helped than pleased for the actual mission. He just put his head down and stared at his shoes.
Morrigan laughed internally. That gave her satisfaction.
Jhosa said, “Let’s go to Ziggy’s place, then.”
Brogan was lying staring at the ceiling, hoping against hope that her mind and her wolf would calm down. Her heart, her senses were full of Camber. Her scent, her heartbeat, all of these things were her wolf telling her that Camber was her mate.
“She can’t be,” Brogan whispered. “Camber doesn’t live in my world.”
Does that matter? You follow where your mate’s scent takes you.
Brogan sat up and swung her legs over the side of her bed and rubbed her hands over her face. The taste of Camber’s kiss was something that she would never forget, and it ignited her soul.
Brogan couldn’t stand trying to sleep. Maybe she could get that RR program to work and run off this sexual energy.
She changed into her dressing gown and walked to the RR. She heard mumbling coming from Camber’s room. She must be dreaming.
Brogan tried saying what Camber did. “Computer?”
“Yes, what can I do for you?”
“Could you play the last program you made for us?”
“My pleasure.”
The doors opened, and she was hit with the sound of waves and the smell of the sea in the air. She took off her dressing gown and shifted to pelt.
As she was about to go in, Brogan heard Camber’s murmurs turn to voices and shouting.
“No, no, please stop. It hurts, please.”
Brogan turned around and padded to Camber’s bedroom.
She was thrashing about as though trying to push someone away from her.
Without hesitation Brogan ran into the bedroom and over to Camber’s bed.
She didn’t want to appear creepy. What she really wanted to do was jump onto the bed and snuggle, and make Camber feel safe.
Instead, she licked Camber’s hand, then placed her paw and snout on her arm. She hoped that would help her calm down. Within a few minutes Camber’s limbs stopped jerking around and came to a stop.
Brogan could hear her heart slowing and her breaths calm. She felt angry that the loneliness of this existence was Camber’s to bear alone, when she didn’t ask for it. It was too much for one young person to have.
Now that Camber had calmed, all Brogan wanted to do was guard her. She lay at the side of the bed where Camber slept. Her big wolf body stretched the length of the bed, and no one would get past her.
Ninti was in her palatial bedroom on Abnobia, packing. She was stressed and waiting from communication from Kartog.
“Take these three trunks and come back for the rest,” Ninti said to her servants. Normally Kartog would organize this with the palace servants and keep her life running smoothly.
She didn’t know what she’d be without Kartog. A cruel Abnobian, although Kartog often said not, that Ninti had this goodness in her, and that once she shook off her cultural norms, she would always be good.
Ninti said it was Kartog’s love that saved her. Right now, she would give anything to be with her. There was a beep from her computer. “Kartog.”
The palace servants came back at that moment. “Leave. I’ll call you back shortly.”
Once they left, Ninti swiped her hand over the programmable matter surface. They used a highly encrypted signal to ensure privacy.
Kartog’s image appeared in the room. She walked up to Kartog and stroked where her cheek would be, but her fingers went right through her. “Kartog, I miss you greatly.”
Kartog smiled. “I miss you greatly, my Goddess, but we will be together once more soon.”
“Are they there?”
“Yes. Ziggy confirms it. They aren’t on the bunker floor but in the penthouse. Ziggy has security all around them. I will see them tonight. Ziggy has asked them to dine with her. Then she expects them to leave tomorrow.”
“They might need to. Cardo and some Drazani guards are heading your way,” Ninti said.
“I will keep my eye on them. I expect the rebellion will be around somewhere too.”
Ninti crossed her arms. “Davor is determined to have Camber.”
“The wolf that was travelling with the Map Keeper appears very protective of her, Ziggy says.”
“I’m happy she had people all around her.”
Kartog took a step forwards and looked around at the disarray in her room. “Are you travelling?”
“Davor has ordered me to accompany him to Danus. Vorka and her monks were not giving up any information as to where to find the Map Keeper, and he wants to put pressure on them.”
“You’re stressed, my Goddess,” Kartog said.
“You know what Davor’s methods can be. Vorka is…How can I watch if Vorka or her monks are hurt?”
“You know how important you are, how important Vorka says you are. Be in that moment the Abnobian god your people think you are.”
“I wish you were here. As you can see, the staff have everything everywhere, without your guidance,” Ninti said.
Kartog smiled. “I can see that. I’ll be home soon enough, my love. I better go, but remember to be strong, and keep in your heart what Vorka would want of you.”
“I love you, Kartog.”
“I love you, my Goddess.”
Kartog disappeared and Ninti’s heart hurt. She hated being apart from her. Thank goodness it didn’t happen too often.
Ninti called the palace servants back, and they worked quickly to finish. She walked quickly, with her servants following behind, pushing a hover trolley with her luggage.
At her palace dock, a shuttle waited to take her to the ship. The Abnobian cruiser was exceptionally large, and so she had to take a shuttle just to get her there. She got in and started her journey to the upper atmosphere.
This was going to be hard, Ninti told herself.