Page 17 of Into The Rift

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Jago

Lying next to Rakkur in the dim cell and holding tightly to his hand, I could feel my hands trembling a little. We had argued for over an hour, but I had come no closer to changing his mind. He was adamant that he wouldn’t leave me behind. But he had no choice in the matter. Soon we would be taken to the bridge to meet with Lord Dominiko, and we’d contact Colonel Tariq to learn his decision. Both Rakkur and Tariq had to stop being so stubborn.

I was still ready and willing to offer myself instead of Rakkur, though I was beginning to waver a little. Not that this wasn’t the only viable choice, but I was unsure if I’d be all right. Pton sounded like a fearsome place. And though I was attracted to Dominiko despite the fact he was my enemy, I wasn’t sure he would or could keep me safe. I was afraid that if I went through with this, my life would be essentially over, and I’d never get home again.

Rakkur had argued with me bitterly before he’d dozed off, and he didn’t even know what really awaited me on the Pton planet. For him, it was the unknown factor, while I knew what was waiting, and I was about to lose my mind over it. The idea of being confined to this dula, and never being allowed freedom again? That was awful.

Dominiko said he’d work out a trade for me, but would he really do it? Captivity was a fate worse than death to me. If it happened, then I’d find a way to end it, one way or the other, and not just meekly accept my fate. And if that emperor ever touched me, I’d find a way to kill him.

Rakkur still hadn’t agreed to go along with this, but I knew he could be overruled by the colonel. Once Tariq saw him, and once he learned what would happen to Rakkur if he didn’t go through with this, I thought the decision might be made for all of us, and at a much higher level. Having one of us back was better than nothing.

Not that it would be an easy decision for anyone in our family to make. I couldn’t even imagine the “discussion” that would happen with the king and Blake, not to mention with my omak, Anarr, and the General. It came down to my life measured against Rakkur’s but with one, important difference—Rakkur was expecting a baby, and that made it two lives against one. It made all the difference. At least it did to me.

It was still a dreadful decision, though, and that was why I’d taken it out of their hands. I admit that I’d had second and even third thoughts after what Dominiko told me about the emperor and his so-called dula, with his multiple wives and male concubines. What if Dominiko couldn’t keep me safe from that horrible emperor?

Add in the fact that I might never see my world again, and it became a terrifying prospect. I only hoped I could go through with it.

As if I’d been broadcasting my unease, the door suddenly opened and Dominiko beckoned to me. I got to my feet and went to meet him, hoping I didn’t wake Rakkur. He had been so upset when we finally stopped talking about it all out of sheer exhaustion. He needed to sleep as long as he could.

“Is it time yet?”

“Why else would I be here?”

Why indeed? Yet he made no effort to take me or beckon me to come out. As usual, he sounded irritated, but his eyes were dark, instead of glittering like they usually were, and he sounded almost irritated.

I waited for him to give me an order or grab my arm, but he just looked at me and then he did something I didn’t expect. He stepped inside, closed the door behind him and pulled me into his arms.

He looked down at me, his extraordinary eyes gleaming in the dim light. He groaned and then leaned in and without another word, his mouth came down not on my lips, but on my throat. He brushed his lush lips over the side of my throat again and again, and I felt his tongue gently licking at my skin.

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Dominiko

I could feel the hot blood rushing through his veins. What had brought me here to him like this? I wasn’t sure. I’d been brooding in my room over the Tygerians and how annoying they were. I dreaded talking to them again, but it would be necessary soon. My thoughts turned to Jago and what I’d told him about claiming him as my bounty. Why had I decided so precipitously to do something that was sure to infuriate the emperor and set us at odds again?

Other, that is, than the fact I despised Linnius and would do whatever I could to irritate him. And taking the hostage as my own bounty would surely do the trick. It was undoubtedly my right as the one leading this expedition, however, and the council would back me on that. He could rage all he wanted to, but there wasn’t much he could do about it, except kill me, of course. But not if I killed him first.

As much as I’d enjoy that, Jago would be an enormous amount of trouble to me, and I spent my days avoiding trouble when I could. I was biding my time and waiting for a good opportunity to seek my revenge against Linnius. Or so I’d been telling myself.

The passion of the Tygerian colonel had lit a fire in my blood. Or at least a small flame had sparked that still seemed to be burning and becoming more intense. What the hell was I waiting for? What if the opportunity had finally come and the time to act was now?

The emperor had murdered my father years ago and I owed him a bad death. It was past time I gave it to him.

Along with this rising conviction, thoughts of Jago kept filling my mind. The minute I saw him at the door, blood lust, jolting in its intensity, swept over me, exciting my slight arousal at Jago’s nearness to a full-blown erection and almost taking me to my knees. It took everything in my power to hold myself back from taking him in my arms and biting him. Gods, he would taste so sweet. I licked over his throat again, probing his skin over the spot where I’d bite him.

We all knew about blood lust for our enemies, but we were also aware that there could be something similar for our lovers too. People spoke of the bloodlust hitting them unexpectedly and without warning. It could happen in moments, at the touch of a hand or a single glance across a room.

There had been examples in my own family. My grandmother was one.

Itaka had been a young princess from a far distant, conquered planet in our galaxy named Touzia. She was renowned even as a child for her great beauty, charm and wit. Yet when she was first taken as hostage to live in the court by the old emperor, she was extremely young. She had faced a great deal of jealousy from the older, more established wives and concubines. Her enemies were legion, as she told the story, until one by one, they all mysteriously began to die, sometimes quite quickly and painfully.

A few others disappeared—simply vanished into thin air—all of whom had been seen visiting Itaka shortly before the disappearances occurred. Before long, this brought little Princess Itaka to the attention of the emperor. He requested that she be brought before him, and when she entered, her blonde hair long to her waist and her big, green eyes in her beautiful face sparkling at him, the blood lust struck the emperor hard and without warning.

The emperor began to lavish gifts on her and make her extravagant promises. But more significantly, he fed on her within minutes of meeting her. She was so tiny, her servants feared he would drain her, but he made himself stop and he fed her his own precious blood to restore her. He never left her side for three days, and when he finally did, he arranged for her room to be moved next door to his.

And though she was suspected in the numerous deaths of some of his favorite wives and concubines, the court’s suspicions were never allowed to be mentioned in his hearing again. The emperor had become utterly charmed by her. He shielded and protected her, refusing to let anyone lay a hand on her or even speak a word against her. She became his overwhelming favorite, and he even eventually built her a special wing in the palace, an addition adjoining his own.

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