Page 11 of Into The Rift

“I see. And I believe Jago said your husband is Tygerian. He mentioned several times that he is a member of the Imperial Guard.”

“Yes, he is a Colonel in the Imperials. He’ll be coming for me soon.”

“So Jago has informed me. Repeatedly and quite loudly.”

“You should listen to him. My husband will never stop coming after me.”

“Yes, yes, I’ve heard all about it. How old is that boy Jago?”

“He’s twenty, I think. Almost twenty-one years. Why do you want to know?”

“He seems younger. And he’s most annoying.”

“That’s no reason to hit him. I saw those bruises on his face.”

“Yes, they’re regrettable. He attacked a guard. Two guards now, I believe.”

“He’s young and excitable. Don’t keep hurting him, please. I told you that my husband will never stop coming after me, and I promise you, it will go hard for you if you hurt either one of us again.”

It was at that precise moment, with extraordinary timing, that one of my lieutenants appeared at the end of the corridor again and came rushing toward me.

“Your Excellency, please excuse the interruption, but a ship has just uncloaked off our port side. It’s Tygerian.”

Behind me, I heard Prince Rakkur gasp. I ignored him and addressed my lieutenant.

“And what is it doing?”

“Doing?” he replied in a puzzled tone. “Uh…nothing so far.”

“I’ll come to the bridge, Lieutenant, but I’m sure our captain is executing the proper maneuvers to handle the situation. Calm down.” The ship lurched suddenly below our feet, and I felt a small hand clutch my elbow. I looked down to see Prince Rakkur steadying himself, and despite the fact that none of my men would ever dare touch me without my express permission, I decided to be lenient and consider Rakkur’s condition. This time.

“There, you see. The captain is taking measures even now to evade the Tygerians.”

“Yes, Your Excellency, but the alien ship keeps asking to open a channel between us. They want to talk. What should I tell them?”

“Tell them? The captain has his orders, but if they insist, you can tell them I’ll be there soon. And Lieutenant, again, calm yourself. We have their prince aboard. Two of their princes, for that matter. They’re not going to be so foolish as to attack us.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.” He turned to scurry off, and I returned my attention back to Rakkur.

“How much does your husband value you, Prince Rakkur?”

“H-how much? He values me greatly, of course. We’re newly wed.”

“And your parents?”

“Yes, of course they ‘value’ me.”

“You’ll bring a good bounty then. What about the pretty Jago? He can be rather annoying, but maybe no one cares as much about him?”

Rakkur flushed a dark pink color and glared up at me. “Yes, of course they do. The family values him highly. His parents and our grandparents and the entire family will do whatever it takes to get him back. Whatever you ask.”

I nodded, thinking over what he said and waved a hand in his direction as I spoke to the guards. “Take this man back inside to join the other one. I suppose it’s time I meet these terrifying Imperials I’ve heard so much about.”

The guards in the corridor scrambled to do my bidding. Rakkur began to squawk about how “I’d see for myself how fierce the Imperials are,” and how his husband would “fix” me and all my men, too, and how we should immediately surrender and let them go…and on and on and on, until the door mercifully closed behind him. They’d both mentioned the “fixing.” I wondered what all that might entail.

I sighed. Both of these little beauties were already proving to be an awful lot of trouble. I wasn’t sure the bounty for either of them would be anywhere near enough.

Chapter Four

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