Fighting Syndrome (Stand Alone Tales Book 13) Read online

  Ebra laughed until she snorted.

  “Sir, please just show us the way.” Her shoulders were shaking as she was led through the ship, past a variety of species that she had only heard about before.

  He stopped in front of a sealed door, and he said, “Your sister will have to remain outside.”

  Weller folded her hands in her sleeves and took up a position next to the door. “I can do that.”

  Ebra nodded to the Sandman, and he opened the door, pressing her lower back until she was through, and then, he sealed it again. The captain’s quarters of this vessel were quite spacious, and the captain, himself, was sitting at his desk with his clean profile to her.

  She folded her hands in her sleeves and waited.

  “Come here, Ebra.” He didn’t look up.

  She stepped toward him and stopped just out of arm’s reach. His lips turned in a smile. “So, you have been taught to avoid being grabbed.”

  “It has been the only lesson that stuck. Captain Tonos. I am not a very quick study.”

  He turned his head to glance at her, and he shook his head. “I had such plans for our first meeting.”

  She cocked her head. “Why?”

  He grinned. “Because you proposed, and I take that offer seriously. Now, you are wearing an all-covering habit, and I have no doubt of the fact that you are armed to the teeth.”

  “No, sir. My teeth are not armed.”

  He got to his feet, and it took all of her focus to not step back. “Really?”

  He caught her chin between his index finger and thumb, opening her mouth as he kissed her.

  Her eyes went wide at the contact. His lips were smooth, and the small, soft motions weren’t threatening at all. When he stroked his tongue along her lips, she blinked in surprise, tilting her head and parting her lips to let him in.

  At the first proper taste of him, bolts of heat ran through her. She dug her nails into her forearms to keep her from grinding against him. Oh, this was not good.

  His tongue slid along hers, and she was shivering when he finally stepped back. He ran his thumb under his lower lip, and then, he licked it off. “Oh my. You are exceedingly responsive. I would not have guessed based on our first meeting.”

  “You would have been a pervert if you had guessed. I was a child.”

  “And yet you ran up to a seventeen-year-old me and proposed. What drove you to do that?”

  She made a face. “It felt like the right thing at the time.”

  “It has taken me fourteen months to find you.” He walked back to his seat and sat down.

  “Did you call the abbey? They normally knew where I was, and my presence there was not a secret.”

  “It was more of a secret than your parents told you. They would not have handed you over to Urnet if it wasn’t due to an ancient treaty.”

  She grimaced. “Yeah. That twit prince that I really want to dismember. He didn’t even have enough class to meet me himself before I was butchered.”

  He paused. “Butchered?”

  “Yeah. There is no treatment for my condition except what my parents sent me for. I have been taught self-awareness and keep my invasive insights to a minimum. The rest is up to the stars.” She tried to channel mother superior’s serenity, but she just ended up feeling like she was a bad mimic.

  “What do you mean, butchered?”

  She cocked her head. “Dr. Rejis has created a treatment. He makes a Jenven blank, copies my DNA without the effects of the Storner Syndrome, and transfers the part of my consciousness that makes me a suitable mate and leaves the rest behind. Then, they destroy the original. This option was offered to my parents when I was a toddler. They refused, so I know they weren’t behind it.”

  His fist was clenched on the table. He spoke softly. “They were going to kill you.”

  “Oh. Yeah. And they were going to pass along a flesh blow-up doll as me. Since my parents are worlds away, the copy would have popped out a few heirs and then died gracefully in childbirth by the time they found out. Now...” She grinned, and it was not a nice grin.

  “What?”

  “Well, they either admit that they tried to copy me, or they can claim I was kidnapped, but they have a copy with my DNA that they can use to state I was killed. If they do that to reap the benefits of my dowry, they will have to provide the body, and that will get them in trouble.” She wanted to rub her hands together at the thought of what them presenting the blank would do, but she wasn’t going to be there to find out.

  That gave her an idea. “Oh. Can I make a call?”

  He looked at her like she was insane. “No. Not until we have locked in your status here.”

  “Status?”

  “You are a high-ranking member of the fey court of Natha. Your grandfather is partially drake member of the Kadoran council, and your father is half Other and half Kadoran. Your mother is half fey and half Kiidar. You are an exotic mix that the Urnets would be a fool to pass up. However, we are not on Urnet. We are landing on Fathos. You will need to act and dress like a lady.”

  She groaned. “Fine. But, I am still going to curse and work out in private.”

  “You seem very amenable to your change in state.”

  Ebra wrinkled her nose. “It is part of the joyous conflict caused by all those genes. You grow up knowing that your future is up in the air, and then, you just have to deal with it when you land. This is a landing. I will deal with it.”

  Tonos smiled. “You had the same determined expression when facing the dessert table.”

  She blushed. “And you lifted me up and helped me to get my favourite, hidden at the back of the table.”

  “Yeah. I caught hell for that. My mother was outraged. One of your little shoes dropped in the sherbet bowl.” His bright green eyes were soft, and then, they hardened as he fought his way free of the memory. “I have clothing for you in the bathing chamber. We don’t have time to get all the weapons out of your habit, so please just keep any transferred defenses to a minimum in the clothing I have brought you.”

  She made a face. “But I have so many favourites here.”

  “Transfer what you can without ruining the clothing.” He chuckled. “Now go. We are transferring to shuttles in thirty minutes.”

  Chapter Three

  Weller looked at the Sandman. “Well, your kind don’t part from their kind much.”

  “Captain Tonos is a good man and easy to follow. I am fascinated by the scenarios that he enters.”

  “Hmm. I am Sister Weller.” She turned and extended her hand.

  He didn’t respond. “I know.”

  She snorted. “Your name would be...”

  “What my friends call me.”

  She looked serenely into the hall. “Asshat.”

  He turned his head toward her in astonishment. “What did you call me?”

  “I called you an asshat. Since you won’t tell me what your friends call you and I need a designation, you are Asshat until I am told otherwise.”

  He stepped toward her and loomed over her. “You are incredibly cocky for someone so tiny.”

  “I am only tiny because you spent your formative years eating everything and everyone in sight. Now, shoo, Asshat. Get back to your side of the door.”

  He remained next to her, and she waited. When he gripped her arm, she moved quickly, and with several precise blows, she knocked him to his knees. He still had a grip on her, but he looked surprised. She cracked him in the nose with her fist. He rocked back and then straightened, still on his knees.

  She lifted her arm and cocked her fist at him. “You are still touching me.”

  He looked at the hand, and then, he nodded. “Yes, I am.”

  The door opened, and Weller stared at her charge. Ebra was wearing a lovely and delicate gown that highlighted her feminine attributes to a ridiculous degree. “You are right. I look like an inflatable date.”

  * * * *

&nbs
p; Ebra looked at Sister Weller and the Sandman, and she smiled. “Is there something going on here? Did he touch your veil or something? Or, did he grab your arm to make a point, and you pounced on him?”

  Sister Weller frowned. “His hand is on my arm.”

  “Sir, will you please release the sister? She is a Makora, and her skin is sensitive. You are hurting her.”

  He let Weller go with an apology. Sister Weller snorted. “You didn’t have to tell him.”

  “Of course, I did. I need you around to guard me, not flipped over his shoulder because he was feeling frisky.” Ebra grinned. “At least not right away. Now, come on and help me with my hair. Tonos said I had to look cute and feminine, and with my efforts, it always slides straight into slutty.”

  Sister Weller nodded and followed her into the captain’s quarters.

  Ebra watched her friend try and recover her equilibrium over the light contact with the Sandman. It was rough for Makorans. Just about everything in the world aroused them, and it got very intense very quickly. If they actually were attracted to the person, things could go from first meeting to bonding with only a heartbeat and a kiss to set the focus. After that, only their target would be able to arouse them, so it was a double-edged sword. If they chose wrong, they were forever keyed to someone who would walk away. It was serious stuff.

  Sister Weller asked Tonos, “How cute do you want her to be?”

  Tonos scowled. “I want her to be seen as adorable and innocent. It will work to the visual we are after.”

  She snorted. “You should have gone for a different outfit at that point. Nothing looks innocent on Ebra. Even the habit had curves.”

  Ebra smacked her friend’s thigh. “Funny.”

  Weller quickly made a cascade of braids, curls, and tendrils that made Ebra’s blue-green hair into a mass that covered her upper back and upper chest.

  The puffy sleeves of the dress were tugged to cover her shoulders, the bodice was already snug under Ebra’s breasts, and a few small relief cuts stopped her cleavage from straining out the neckline. The shoes were fine.

  All of the makeup was skipped except the lip gloss. Ebra rubbed a tiny dab on her lips, and then, she made a face at the mirror. “Right. That is enough of that.”

  She stood up and turned to look at Tonos, but he had crept up behind her, avoiding the mirror. “Oh. Well, what do you think?”

  He looked at her, and his hands were balled into fists. “Good. It will be fine. Come on.”

  He turned and walked toward the door. When it opened, he held out his hand to her. Bemused, she took the offered hand and let him lead her out into the ship. A quick glance showed that Sister Weller was walking next to a very unsettled Sandman.

  Ebra asked calmly. “Where are we going?”

  “You are going to be presented to my parents. Try and appear enthusiastic about the prospect.”

  “What are you declaring me to be?”

  “My fiancée.” He glanced down at her. “I do have a claim far older than the current engagement.”

  She swallowed. “I suppose you could say that.”

  “Fortunately, your mother’s people believe in a person’s ability to select their own mate.”

  She exhaled and nodded. “There is that regulation. We are told that our mate is up to us, and we need to choose carefully.”

  He grinned. “Careful or not, you chose. I am using that as my defense for your kidnapping.”

  “Kidnapping?”

  “From the prince of Urnet.”

  “Oh. That. Right.” She chuckled. “I am pretty sure he is going to be pissed because I broke his toy before he could play with it.”

  “How do they grow them?”

  They were inside a shuttle, and he kept hold of her hand while they sat and waited for the drop shuttle to drop.

  “Same way they grow artificial meat. They add basic building blocks of a being together and make the shape, add the bones, muscle tissue, etc. Then, they wrap it in a skin and do the final tweaks.” She glanced down at her breasts and then sighed. “After that, it is a process of a few days to sync everything to the original donor, and then, the original body has to be killed as soon as the replacement is mobile and has passed cognitive checks.”

  “Why are you so aware of them?”

  She smiled and looked over at him. “It is the only cure for Storner Syndrome, remove the genetics that cause the syndrome. It is a matter of removing all the things that cause the species-specific traits to rise. My parents told me about it when the doctors got specific with their diagnosis and told them that with their funds, there was a treatment. They made sure that there was no way I would be fooled when it came to folk offering me treatment. I needed to know what the only cure was and what treatment would entail.”

  “How did you treat it?”

  She smiled, and behind her, Sister Weller snorted. “I got beat up a lot. The nuns kicked the crap out of me on a regular basis. I was forced to focus on my studies, was forced to learn how to survive in adverse situations, and I needed to know how to control my impulses and determine what my senses were actually telling me. Once I understood that I could hear better, feel lighter touches, and taste the scents of people, things got easier.”

  He nodded. “That I understand.”

  She looked at him and tried to picture his parents. She remembered a woman with long black hair and golden skin. His father was pale with dark brown hair and soft grey eyes. They had been a softly spoken couple, and her parents had gotten along with them very well.

  “Who are your parents, Tonos? I know I met them, I just can’t remember who they are.”

  The dropship slowed its descent, and then, it settled and glided toward a cliff-top landing area.

  “You will meet them in a few minutes.”

  “Really? Why?”

  He stood and offered her his hand. “It’s our wedding.”

  She stared at him and the hand that she had put in his in reflex. Before she could gather her thoughts, he had walked her out of the shuttle and down the ramp toward the crowd gathered at the end of the tarmac.

  As they approached the gathered folk wearing elegant and embroidered clothing. She finally squeaked out, “Wedding?”

  “Yes. It is him or me.”

  She looked at him. “You.”

  He smiled slowly, and she saw the flash of something, and then, she remembered something. His grandmother was a vampire.

  Her stomach flipped a little. If she ran his species specs, he was strong, fast, and would take blood from his mate during sex. Her. He would take blood from her.

  She shivered at the thought and was glad that her hair was covering the suddenly erecting nipples. That wasn’t something she was particularly proud of. Ebra brought herself back to the moment with the thought that the teeth might just be for show. He might not use them.

  Sister Weller was still behind her, just at the edge of her peripheral vision. The sister was ready for action.

  She noted the coronets that his family was wearing and looked at him in consternation.

  His mother spoke in her soft voice. “She looks irritated, Tonos.”

  He bowed to his parents and straightened. “She has a right to, Mother. I have neglected to brief her as to today’s purpose.”

  Ebra looked at the older woman, and she was grinned at in return. “You must be confused, my dear.”

  Ebra cocked her head. “No. I know that I have to marry someone. It may as well be him.” She poked her finger toward Tonos. “At least he doesn’t creep me out.”

  Tonos’s father snickered. “Give it time.”

  Tonos’s mother smacked her husband on the arm, and then, the man cleared his throat, beckoning for a document to be brought forward.

  “I, King Aberhen, do hereby authorize the marriage of my son, Tonos Aberhen Altuin, born to Elvinia Altuin, to the heir of Arthun. Ebra Liadoran. They join today of their own free will in sight
of these assembled and witnessed by their companions.”

  A desk was brought out, and the contract was signed. There were no stipulations about heirs, dowry, or anything other than the life-pledge between them. It was highly unusual to have such a simple contract if he was heir to a throne.

  Tonos signed the page with a flourish, and then, after confirming his signature was actually his name, Ebra signed her own name, and then, she looked for a knife to prick her thumb for the confirmation of identity mark. Tonos raised his hand to his lips and bit his thumb, pressing the blood to the box under his name on the page. He licked his wound closed, and then, he extended his hand to her. She extended her hand and barely felt the slight sting of her thumb being pierced. When she smelled her own blood, she pressed the thumb to the page, and then, she was going to bring her thumb to her lips, but he caught her and licked the blood free of her skin, leaving no small puncture behind.

  She felt the thudding of her pulse, and she deliberately pulled her hand away while Sister Weller signed as witness. The Sandman did the same. Ebra looked at the contract and smiled. His name was not Asshat.

  The king and queen signed the contract, and then, she heard the words, “You may now kiss your bride.”

  Tonos looked at his father and shook his head. “I would rather not. I have no intention of stopping once I start.”

  There were amused giggles from those assembled, and Tonos took her by the hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. “Welcome to my world, Ebra.”

  Chapter Four

  There was a manor house that they were dropped off at. Sister Weller and Asshat were with them as attendants and guards.

  The skimmer pilot took off the moment that they were clear, and Tonos led her into the manor. He still had possession of her hand, so she followed where he was leading.

  His body was nearly vibrating with tension. Ebra didn’t quite know how to start a conversation. When they were inside a large room with a fireplace and a huge bed, she cleared her throat and asked, “So, do you have any hobbies?”