Page 29 of Into The Rift

Strikers were small, sleek cruisers with only two to four seats that could move incredibly fast either in space or in a planet’s atmosphere. Used primarily as fighting aircraft, they were capable of traveling immense distances in a very short amount of time. Often the highest officials had them onboard in case they needed to use them to travel elsewhere in a hurry.

Blake had no doubt insisted they use theirs to get to Rakkur as quickly as possible. I took a deep breath and got ready to face them both.

Chapter Nine

Blake came in like a force of nature, no doubt intending to sweep aside everything in his path, but he hit a snag when he got to the door of Rakkur’s room. I could almost hear his conflicted thoughts. Should he rush immediately to the babies, who were sound asleep, or should he lunge for Rakkur first? Then he saw me and realized there was a third option, and I think his brain may have short circuited for a second. He just stood there, frozen in the doorway, his eyes wide, until the king and Mikol both pushed past him. Davos reached me first and pulled me in for a hug.

Davos gave the best hugs—they were rare but always worth it—so I went willingly into his arms to be mauled by him. I was tackled from the side by Blake, then, who came in fast once he got unstuck. Blake ripped me away from Davos and kissed my cheeks, then held me out to examine my face.

“Oh my god, what happened to your face? Tell me everything.”

“Blake,” Davos said, “I told you Jago was injured in a fight with the Pton guards. He was trying to protect Rakkur. I’m so proud of him for stepping up that way.”

“Oh no, honey, you’re too little to fight. You could have been badly hurt or even killed. Promise me you won’t do that again.”

I laughed nervously, used to being called “little,” as he put an arm around me and moved me away from Mikol and the king like he wanted to conspire with me. “Tell me, honey, where exactly are these Pton guards who hit you? Would they happen to be here on this ship?”

“No, Blake,” Davos said, overhearing him. “You’re not going down there to yell at the prisoners and threaten them. Not yet anyway.”

Mikol nodded. “I have a meeting set up soon to speak to their commander. You can sit in if you like. His grandmother will be there.”

“Wait a minute,” Blake said. “His what?”

“Grandmother. It’s a long story.”

“I look forward to hearing that one.”

By this time, Davos had both the babies, one in each arm. Blake took them right away from Davos after a brief tug of war and sat down with them beside the bed, marveling over their blond hair and unwrapping them from their blankets to look at their fingers and toes. “Mikol,” he said, “You and Kalen need one of these.”

“Jago,” Mikol said, quickly pivoting quickly to change the subject. “I’ve heard from your parents. Some kind of emergency meeting came up last minute for Renard, so they won’t be coming here after all. They want you to go to Tygeria with Blake and Davos, and they’ll come for you there as soon as they can.”

“There’s no need for them to come at all, because I’m not going to Earth with them,” I said, trying not to sound defiant, but I guess it didn’t work too well. Davos frowned at me.

“I’m sorry, Grandfather, but I mean it.”

“This running away is childish business, Jago. It has to stop. Your fathers are right to be upset.”

“No, they aren’t,” Blake said, blithely interrupting. I’d only thought that all his attention was on the babies. “Jago is almost twenty-one and he can choose the person he wants to marry. Renard is too overbearing—always has been—and I don’t know what Anarr is thinking.”

“My omak agrees with me that I don’t have to marry anyone I don’t want to,” I told them. “But he says he wants me to ‘get to know’ this Lycan first before I make a final decision. The thing is, I already know him, and I’ve decided he’s a waste of my time. Father can’t tell me what to do any longer, and it’s about time he realized it. I was only meeting with them out of courtesy, but it will save everyone a lot of time and trouble to cancel the whole thing now. I’m sorry, but I won’t do it. I’ll go back to Loros with Mikol, if he’ll allow it.”

Mikol and Davos exchanged a long look, and I suddenly didn’t feel that great about my chances. Maybe I really should think about making a new plan.

Blake sighed and shook his head. “I don’t understand these parents who always try to interfere in their children’s lives. What can they be thinking?”

The amazing thing about that statement was that he made it with absolutely no irony whatsoever.

Mikol actually started to smile, but at the last minute managed to wipe it off his face. Rakkur pulled Blake toward him and leaned over to give him a big hug. “I love you, Omak. I’m so glad you’re here.” He glanced over at Tariq. “Oh. Tell them the names we’ve chosen for the babies.”

Tariq, who seemed to hate being the center of attention when the king was in the room, blushed a bit, looking uncomfortable. “Rakkur has decided that one of them will be called Kaden, which was my human omak’s name.”

“Oh, I love that,” Blake said. “A lot like Mikol’s mate’s name, though....Kaden, Kalen…pretty similar names.”

“It was his omak’s name,” Rakkur insisted. “We had the right to it first.”

“Okay, yes, of course, I get it,” Blake said. “Though Kalen has every right to his own birth name too. But it’s a lovely name and a good choice,” Blake said. “And the other one?”

“The other one…uh…”

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