Ascension Saga (Interstellar Brides): Book 8

Could she not see past the blood on my hands? Hive blood. Prillon blood. I’d killed every race for a hundred different reasons. But I’d done it all to protect my people, for the Coalition Fleet, to win the war. For her. For the promise of her.

I killed, but I wasn’t a monster.

Yet, how could she see me as a worthy mate? The first time she’d ever seen me, I had burst through a penthouse window pretending to be an assassin. She’d believed I was there to kill her.

Fuck. Would she never completely trust me? Had I ruined my future with her?

Enough. I tore my gaze from my female and focused on the conversation, not sure how

much the Captain had been told. “Crayden was Elder Amandine’s most trusted guard,” I said. “Just a few hours before he was murdered, she gave him orders to investigate a prisoner held by the Optimus Unit. Apparently, there is a very secret, unauthorized prisoner being held on Optimus Cell Level C. She was not happy about it.”

“That was where Wyse wanted to take you,” Thor said to Faith. “This Optimus Cell Level C. Is it possible the queen was there then?”

Destiny shook her head. “I heard of a special prisoner arriving there well after that. Days after you made your formal announcement as princess to the planet.”

Captain Turaya glanced across the table at his son, then back at me. “So, Elder Amandine ordered Crayden to investigate, and he was dead within a matter of hours.”

I nodded. “It appears that way. Yes.”

“And I was the one to discover the body, so I was questioned for it,” Destiny added. She shivered as she stared off, probably remembering what the poor male had looked like. I knew, by all the blood that had been on Destiny afterward, and what she’d told me, that he’d had his throat slit brutally.

“Which is how you were talking to Elder Amandine, right?” Trinity asked.

“You spoke with her?” the captain asked. Clearly, he knew the kind elder as well.

“Yes. I found Crayden’s body, was standing over him, covered in his blood when the other guards found me. They took me directly to her. Not because I wanted to talk with her, the other way around in fact.”

“And?” Faith asked, waving her hands in the air in a motion for Destiny to talk faster.

“We talked. But not before I found a transmitter hidden on her desk.”

“Someone bugged her office?” Trinity asked.

“Exactly. I have no idea how long it had been in place, but they… the bad guys, would have known anything and everything Elder Amandine discussed, including the conversation she’d had with Crayden. His orders to investigate and search.”

Again, my mate’s glance slid to me, and I realized she was thinking about us, talking, fucking all the while the transmitter had been there. In that room. I’d called out her name. Told her mine. Told her to return to the palace. They… whoever the fuck they were, knew Destiny was a princess, knew she was in hiding and snooping at the fortress. Fuck! I’d placed her in danger without knowing it.

I didn’t dwell on that for long, because the captain stood and began to pace behind the table. “He’s not the only one. Two of the queen’s guard have been killed in the last two days. I have reports of three dead members of the Optimus Unit, plus Crayden and two clerics from the fortress in Corseran.”

“I’m so glad you’re safe, Destiny,” Faith said, grabbing her twin’s hand again. She gave it a squeeze, which was accompanied by a watery smile. Thor put his hand around Faith’s shoulder, but I doubted she needed his comfort as much as her sister’s. I had to agree with her, for I’d spent the past two days touching, holding and fucking Destiny to assure myself she was whole, well and safe.

“Eight dead in two days? Why wasn’t I told?” Leo asked.

“I didn’t realize they were connected, son.”

Trinity shook her head and tossed up her hands. “Why? Why now?”

“Maybe they were all looking for Mom and someone didn’t like it,” Faith said.

“In Corseran?” Trinity asked. “The secret prisoner is here. In Cell Level C. Not a continent away.”

“Amandine and Crayden said that’s where your father was from, Trin.” Destiny said.

“Yes. I remember the name of his homeland,” Trinity replied. “Mom told me about him. She said she only went there with him once. But he’s dead and that was so long ago.”

“Well, maybe these dead clerics in Corseran knew something, and the people who have Mom are trying to cover their tracks. Maybe these clerics are the ones who were there the night of the coup?” Faith spoke and my respect for her went up another notch. She was a confusing female, appearing soft and kind, but fighting like a trained killer. And with this suggestion, I realized she was also intuitive and highly intelligent.

But then, she was Destiny’s twin, so I should not have been surprised. My mate was all of those things. And more.