Ascension Saga (Interstellar Brides): Book 4

Was that shock on his face? The guard seemed nice enough. Just a regular guy doing his job. In his late thirties, maybe forty. He probably had a mate and two kids at home. “It’s all right, miss. I’ll be fine. Not a scratch on me.”

“Oh, good. I’m so sorry. I really am.” I smiled at him, a real smile, and he smiled back. Great. He really was going to be okay.

“Who are you?” The voice was deep and slid over my body like melted chocolate. Already, I’d recognize that voice anywhere. Good god, this Ardor stuff was for real.

For. Real.

“Faith. My name is Faith.” I told him the truth but I didn’t look into his eyes. I wasn’t falling into that trap again. And no sense not using my real name since that’s what his father knew, what I’d shared all along. None of these people knew who I was. No one was looking for Faith Jones from Earth. Other than my sisters, no one knew I was here.

Well, they knew Trinity came with two other royals because the spires had begun to glow the moment Destiny and I put our blood on the sacred stone. However, no one but Leo had seen my face.

Take that back, Leo, and the assassin who’d almost killed us.

I had no doubt if people knew who I really was, I’d be in danger, just like Trinity had been in. But Mytikas was a very big city. Millions of people. And I was quite sure whoever had kidnapped Mother and sent the assassins to kill me and my sisters would not even be looking for me here, in the Jax palace. Behind enemy lines, so to speak.

Perhaps, if I weren’t Princess Faith Herakles of Alera, I’d be a bit more worried about being arrested. But the truth was, I knew all I had to do was name drop my sister, Trinity’s identity, and I’d be free faster than I could snap my fingers.

The guards thought they held a prisoner. Lady Jax thought she’d caught a thief. A traitor.

I had no idea what Thor thought, but I really, really wanted to know.

Whatever it was, he was wrong. So wrong. And whatever this hot, kinky sex thing was between us, that wasn’t happening either. I didn’t have time for that. And my stupid pussy was just going to have to simmer down and wait.

Trinity’s Ardor had hit while she was on Earth and she’d lasted months. Months! Surely, I could last a few weeks.

Lord Jax, the elder, a man I thought of as a friendly acquaintance, if not a brother at heart for the way he treated his pets, moved away from his frigid mate and came toward me. Thor took a step back out of respect, and I noticed the small movement with approval. His mother was a real piece of work, but his father? His father reminded me of Dad back home. Solid. Warm. No pretenses and no bullshit. Lord Jax wasn’t as smart as my dad—the brilliant lawyer—but he was kind, eccentric even. I liked him. Which made this moment a lot harder than I’d imagined something like this might be.

“I’m surprised by this, Faith. I am. Even my pets liked you, and they don’t care for anyone but me.”

That brought my chin up with a snap and I realized I’d dropped it in shame, just like when my dad had come to give me a stern talking to. Usually well-deserved, but still, not fun. “They did? How could you tell?”

“They don’t normally appear for others.”

“She’s seen those precious animals of yours?” Thor’s shocked voice barely registered as Lord Jax and I were sharing a smile that felt like a secret handshake, like I’d just been granted membership to a secret club.

“They don’t?” I asked. I’d spent hours in their presence. More than once, they’d actually looked at me, nearly come close enough to pet. The only reason I hadn’t touched one was because I didn’t want to ask permission, and I was afraid to anger Lord Jax.

“They do not. They are very selective, young lady. But I trust their judgment. So, tell me, who are you really and why were you snooping around in my home?”

“My love, she refuses to talk, so let the police take her away,” Lady Jax intervened. “Lord Wyse and his team will get the truth out of her, which will certainly get the media attention off of us. The Jax family name can now be vindicated.” She was as severe and uptight as I’d thought her before. I had to respect the one thing she had in spades, absolute love and loyalty to her family. I’d fucked with them and she disliked me for it. I couldn’t really fault her for that. I’d watched her, listened to her conversations. She was like a lioness when it came to her son and her mate. No one fucked with them. No one undermined their position or their power. I respected her, for that alone.

But I’d also learned that the Jax family was more closely allied with the Wyse family, my cousins, as my mother had told me. Lord Wyse himself was the head of the Royal Guards’ Optimus unit—which, as far as I could tell, was like the head of the FBI back home. The Inspector Optimi were detectives and district attorneys all rolled into one. They investigated crimes, examined the evidence, and prosecuted the guilty in the Aleran courts.

He was old, but sharp as a tack. He’d been to the house for dinner twice already in the short time I’d been here, spending long hours holed up in either the living area or library with either Lord or Lady Jax, or both. I’d learned that Lady Jax had once been an inspector herself, and a damn good one. The other servants told me that she was brilliant and was often consulted on cases now that she was retired.

So, basically, I’d just been caught snooping around in an FBI agent’s bedroom.

Dumb. Unlike her distracted husband, she was too clever and too aware of everything going on around her. I should have waited for her to go to the market, or to a meeting. I should have waited until she was out of the house, not having a quickie with her mate just down the hall.

Oh well. Faith zero, Ardor one. I had a hard time waiting for anything the last few days. My patience was, well, non-existent.

“I’m sorry. I’m not your enemy. I promise you that.” The words were for Thor, but I spoke to Lord Jax, whose disappointment was palpable, like a heavy fog pressing down on me, making it hard to breathe.

So much like my dad. I hoped he was okay, back on Earth. Giving those stupid alien chasers a run for their money.

“We will discover the truth. Have no doubt of that.” Lady Jax stepped forward and slid her arm through her mate’s to stand in solidarity with him. In that moment, she reminded me of my mother. “Take her away and

be careful with her. She’s obviously more dangerous than she lets on. Not only spying, but resisting arrest. I’ll contact Lord Wyse at once.”