King and I (Abducted 1)

Chapter Eight

Tai marched from his quarters, jagged emotions twisting through him. Loyalty to his brother, who was also his king. Knowledge that Aria was to be Zander’s wife, not Tai’s. Compelling need to be with Aria, to

hold her in his arms, to join with her, to have her in his life always.

The memory of her soft, supple body in his arms, responding to his lovemaking, tore through him, ripping at his heart. His feelings for her were stronger than anything he’d ever felt before. Even his feelings for Zander.

He stopped at the door to the bridge and stabbed at the button. The mechanism automatically checked his fingerprint and DNA against the database and the door slid open.

Could it be that Aria really was Tai’s tanash’ae, not Zander?

He remembered when he’d told Aria that what he felt was his brother’s link. How do you know? she’d asked him.

He knew because…Zander had told him.

He marched onto the bridge. Terrien and Baryn glanced up from their stations, smiles tingeing their lips—until they saw Tai’s face. Their smiles faded and both men locked their gazes on their consoles.

Of course, they’d be happy. They’d both found their tanash’ae.

He settled into the command chair and displayed the ship’s status on his monitor, then stared at it with unseeing eyes.

Zander would not claim Aria was his tanash’ae if it wasn’t true. Tai could depend on Zander’s judgment above all else. That had been clear ever since their parents had died, leaving the throne to the older of the two twins. A difficult task for a thirteen-year-old, but Zander had brought Sa’oul to great prosperity and social freedom. Their people were happy and it was because of Zander’s excellent leadership.

Tai stabbed a button on his console and his monitor displayed blackness sprinkled with distant stars. A small, orange ball hung in the center. Sa’oul.

A tinge of guilt crept through him. Zander had sent Tai to fetch Aria, entrusting his greatest treasure to Tai. How could Tai even entertain the thought of keeping Aria for himself? And what sense did that make? This link he felt for Aria was only a reflection of Zander’s link with her. The real link.

He focused on the stats displaying below the picture on his monitor, but a nagging thought kept pushing at his consciousness.

What if Tai’s was the real link? What if what Zander felt was the reflection of Tai’s link with Aria rather than the other way around?

The thought unsettled him more than he cared to admit.

Aria watched out the small portal in the bedroom. A great orange ball of a planet loomed outside.

Several hours had passed since Tai had left her alone. Casey had come by to tell her they would be arriving soon and Aria should get ready.

Aria’s heart sank. Soon she would be transported from this ship and handed over to the king. Tai’s brother. She would be expected to fall in love with him and live happily ever after, just like in a fairy tale. This fairy tale would have no happy ending, however. Tai would disappear into space to pursue whatever mission his brother commanded and forget all about Aria, or at least suppress thoughts of her—probably quite successfully. He seemed very good at it.

She sighed, wiping away a tear. She’d been torn from her family at a young age and thrown into homes with no real connection. She would cope here. She would be a queen, or a concubine, or whatever this planet did with arranged mates for their king. She had no doubt she would be well cared for.

She would certainly learn to cope.

The door slid open and Tai stepped inside. “Are you ready?” he asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She wore her power suit once again. Ironic, since she’d never felt so powerless.

He led her down the corridor to the lounge where she and the other women had first appeared on the ship.

“Where are the others?” she asked.

“They’ve already transported down.”

She nodded. He led her to the door of the elevator—or rather, transporter. The door swooshed open.

He hesitated.

“Aria.”