21. Asher
Chapter Twenty-One
ASHER
Jane glances over at me. “Wow,” she says.
It’s only been two days, and the crush of men jostling to meet the women from Earth has been overwhelming. “I don’t want to put them on display,” she adds.
“Of course not,” I agree.
Given how many women died during the storm, the interest doesn’t surprise me. What surprised me was how many were coming from the other side of our planet. As my parents have said for years, Honnell’s leadership is out of touch with their people.
“How often do you think I need to go down to Earth? I was thinking once a month would be enough,” Jane comments.
I study her for a moment. “It’s your decision.”
“It is?”
“Absolutely,” I say firmly. “You are in charge. You’re my princess. No one here doubts your authority in these matters.”
“But I want your opinion,” she presses.
“I think once a month will be a good start. I think maybe you alternate between bringing women here and bringing men there. We love to travel.”
“But Earth is —”
“Hot and dry,” I interject. “Traveling to other planets only makes me appreciate ours so much more. Unlike Earth, we don’t limit our people from information about other planets. We’re not the only nice planet around.”
When she smiles up at me, my heart thumps hard. She doesn’t have to do much to elicit my body’s reaction. She’s my mate and always will be. “That’s why you’re called space cowboys,” she teases.
I chuckle. “We will mostly stay on our planet here because of our responsibilities to our people. When you feel more settled, and after you’ve had our baby, we should travel some together. You can see other planets.”
Her lips curl. “That would be nice. If I’m pregnant.” She is more cautious than me in this matter. “I’ll know soon.”
“I already know.”
Her cheeks flare with heat.
Later that evening, we have dinner in our courtyard. I’m surprised to discover that I always want more time with Jane. It’s not that I doubt my feelings for her, but I had wondered if I’d be consumed with my work once our marriage and week of pleasure were over. Instead, she’s always feathering along the edge of my thoughts. I want to savor more time with her uninterrupted and away from the demands of helping to lead our planet.
After dinner, I drizzle a sweet honey over her body. I lick her clean before once again filling her again and savoring the way she clenches around me, loving every sound she makes. I carry her to bed, and she curls up soft and warm by my side. This couldn’t have turned out more perfectly. I’ve found her, the only woman for me.
I’ve already become accustomed to her patterns. I know at some point to she will wake in the darkness to go to the bathroom. I come awake and blink in and out of sleep when I feel her roll away from me and slip out of bed.
I don’t know how much time has passed when I hear a muffled scream. I sit up swiftly to discover Jane still hasn’t returned to bed with me.
I scramble out of bed, wrapping the sheet around my waist as I bolt out of the room. When I make it to the living room, I look up to discover the skylight is broken.
Anger and fear course through me. My parents had worried that Honnell and his men would try to interfere when I found a mate. The power struggle between my parents’ generation was settled when my father took on the biggest threat to his crown. There’d been a few skirmishes, but my father had turned public sentiment against them after they threatened some women in our city.
Ever since I reached the age where it was time for me to find a mate, there have been jostling among the other league and calls for the royal leadership to change. I didn’t care about the power so much, yet I did care about Honnell’s men trying to take over. All they wanted was power. The situation on that side of our planet has been unstable ever since Honnell rose to power. They try to limit resources, though there’s no need to whatsoever.
I have faith that Jane is already pregnant, and I know there can be no threats to our union. Yet now I must find her. Aware I can’t get to her instantly, I grab my clothes and tap the communicator embedded into my shirt. “They’ve taken Jane!”
Kayden responds instantly. “We’re already aware. I was just calling you.”
“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath. I shouldn’t have been without my communicator, but I didn’t expect anyone to target our home. The one weakness in our house is through the skylight.
If they transport to the roof undetected, that creates a safety issue even though we have a shield.
“What happened to the shield?” I ask as I reach for my weapons.
“They breached it on the side of the city, undetected. It was only as they were coming back through that we realized what happened,” he replies. “I’m already on my way to you. We’re tracing them.”
This will be a quick fight, and I know we’ll win. But I don’t want Jane to be harmed, and I don’t want her to be afraid. I have fought many battles. During the unrest for months after the storm, we had to fight off their attempts to take over power multiple times.
My fear for Jane and for her safety runs deep, and my anger is a ball of cold fire inside.
Within minutes, Kayden meets me out front. I’m communicating with my father as we leave. “We are leaving to get her now.”
“Let me handle it,” he replies, his tone brooking no argument.
I know why he’s trying to insist on that. He wants to protect me, to protect our new union because we’re the next generation of leadership.
But this is Jane, my princess. I cannot stay out of the fray. “Father, you can help, but I cannot stand back for Jane.”
I hear my father’s sharp inhalation. “Understood,” he replies. “We will meet you at the ship.”
In minutes, we have rendezvoused on the outer side of my home. The house I share with Jane is on the same property protected for our entire family. My parents live in another home nearby.
I glanced between Kayden and my father. “Who else shall we bring?”
“We have already sent out two teams ahead. They won’t be able to keep her. Do not worry,” my father says firmly.
Our local ships are much smaller than what we use to travel off the planet. They move swiftly.
Moments later, we are all on board. The pilot speeds across the planet until we hover over Silver, a town on the other side of the planet. This league descends from the French gardians, cowboys like us. Over time, we have had alliances that have ruptured and repaired. The latest leaders are restless after the storm. They did not choose to go to Earth and mate with more humans. They claim to be purists. I snort to myself as I consider the silly concept. Our species has intermingled with humans for centuries, strengthening our health mutually over the years.
That is why they keep fighting for power, for an alleged purity. We heard about it from Earth as well. That was part of the rupture for their people when the planet began to heat and some refused to make the choices necessary to take care of each other. On multiple planets in history, time and again, the cycles repeat. Some choose to expand and strengthen, whereas others try to build walls and weaken.
Our pilot hovers above, and I see two other ships in the sky above the shield for the city. It’s technologically weaker than ours. Despite the challenges on Earth, they have excellent technology and have protected their scientists for centuries. We have benefited from their knowledge, and they have benefited from ours.
While this current generation of gardians has closed out any new information and is relying on older technology.
“Find the weak spots,” I say.
My heart pounds, and my entire being aches for Jane.
“Through!” my father calls as we dive in formation to break through their shields.
It is quiet once we can see the town more clearly. I realize what they want. They want us to be vulnerable, to have to fight on their turf. I will do whatever is necessary to bring Jane back and know we can win.
We land, and my father looks over at me. “I want you to wait here,” he says.
Jane is afraid; I know she is. “I cannot allow Jane to be rescued by someone other than me.”
My father’s nostrils flare as he takes a breath, letting it out swiftly. I glance around as a team of elite soldiers steps out with us. It isn’t just men. Our women are just as strong and powerful.
My mother’s chin lifts as she approaches us. She is leading an elite team of young women trained to fight. “We will find Jane. That is how it will be,” my mother tells me.
I study her for a beat before replying, “I will go with you.”
My mother stares at me and dips her chin. A moment later, we are off, moving quickly through the darkness. I know this town and its landscape well. I have to. We were all of this planet. We slip through a copse of silvery trees. Our silver-gold moon lights the way.
Jane is the very beat of my heart. I want her safe. I want her back in my arms. The men who did this will pay.
Because of our infinity pulse, I know when we’re getting close to where she’s being held. I can feel her. The vibration echoes in my body. I lift a hand in the air, staying silent. We all stop.
I glance at my mother. “She’s there.” I point through the trees at a small square building in a ravine.
I hear it before we see them, but suddenly a group of soldiers is coming out to fight. My mother’s team of soldiers is ruthless. We don’t kill, though. Ever.
A blade drags down the side of my arm, yet my armor protects me. I ignore it, spinning to take down the man fighting. Moments later, we have them all subdued. My mother’s soldiers are binding their hands with our vibrating ropes and ties. Their leader, Honnell, wrestles against his hold, ashamed to be brought down by our female fighters. I don’t even bother to ask where Jane is being held. I keep following the vibration.
I leave my mother to interrogate him, while Kayden and others approach the small home with me. We dispatch the two guards swiftly. My heart aches as we walk into the building.
Jane stands from a wooden chair. Her eyes lock with mine, fear shimmering there.
“Asher!” she cries out.
From behind, another man steps forward, sliding his arm around her and lifting his gun to point directly at her neck. “If you take her, I will kill her,” he says calmly.