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  “And that concludes our exercise for today.” Baengar removed her blindfold and lifted her in his arms.

  “This was a simple exercise?” She was dizzy from the impacts.

  “Not a simple exercise. I wanted to know if you would follow orders and you did, even though putting on the blindfold risked your safety and ability to perform your task. That was stupid. Never put yourself at risk simply because someone tells you to. You are not in the military, there is no unquestioning obedience required of you.”

  Aliiva blinked up at his handsome features. “So that was a personality test?”

  He sat her up on his lap and reached for a bottle of water. “Something like that. You need to know that your duty and sole concern is to retrieve the information and to get it back to the Citadel. You are the important portion of the equation. Your health and safety is paramount. Protect yourself at all times.”

  A small smile ran across her features. “I thought I was here to do some good.”

  The warmth of his lap was comforting and despite the trace on her skin, she was enjoying the contact.

  “You will do some good, I am sure of it. However, to do that good, you will have to remain alive and whole. Consider that your primary duty and for pities sake, don’t accept any physical handicap that I impose. I could have dimmed the lights just as easily without disorienting you.”

  She realized that he was correct and she lightly punched him.

  He chuckled. “That was your one free punch. The next time, I will make you work for it.”

  Staring into his eyes, she realized that he was serious. When he dismissed her for her evening meal, she had been filled with basic techniques on how to disarm an attacker and he was going to quiz her on it the following day.

  To her surprise, she was looking forward to it.

  Kalo was waiting for her when she arrived at the dining hall. He got into line and they made their selections before grabbing a quiet table at the edge of the hall.

  “How did you like Baengar?” Kalo was grinning.

  “He was…different.”

  The chuckle was genuine. “He is the only Oefric in the Citadel as far as I am aware.”

  She smiled and jabbed at her salad. “Not that kind of different. He is not as eager as the others were.”

  “What did his residue tell you?”

  “Nothing. I haven’t examined it yet. And don’t say it like that. It sounds sleazy when you call it residue.”

  The cackle had a few heads turning. “That was the idea. Baengar is truly an amazing man who has been through far too much disappointment and despair in his life. He needs someone like you.”

  “I am merely his student, Kalo. He is only training me so that I won’t get killed the moment I leave the Citadel.” Her lips twitched.

  “Examine the traces and tell me that again over breakfast.” Kalo’s smugness got on Aliiva’s nerves, but since he reminded her so much of her little brother, she let it pass.

  She waved his smirk off. “Next topic. What classes were you in today?”

  He speared a vegetable and mumbled as he munched. “Counselling. Can’t you tell?”

  She laughed and kept a cheerful expression on her face during the entire meal.

  At her room, she waved goodbye and shut the door on his retreating back. The moment she was alone, she gathered all the thoughts that Baengar had left on her and examined them one by one.

  His attraction was obvious, none of the hidden lust that the others had harboured. His interest was clean and open, appreciation of her physical form in a very basic manner.

  She also read the genuine concern that she grasp the ability to defend herself and the fear that she would not guard herself when on assignment.

  To Aliiva’s surprise, it was the concern for her safety that struck the chord and rang through her thoughts and into her heart. Baengar was going to train her and ensure that she could be safe in whatever situation the Citadel put her into. That piece of conviction was sexier than anything that any man had ever said to her in her life.

  Chapter Six

  She shifted, kicked out and tried to sweep Baengar’s feet out from under him. When he leapt out of the way, she quickly changed direction and he went down in a tangled heap of limbs.

  Slow applause came from the sidelines of the sparring area and when Aliiva stunned her instructor, she turned to see her shocked visitor.

  “You just stunned Baengar.” Turnari was shocked.

  “He has told me to never leave an opponent in a position to take me down. Make sure that he is down and then I can continue with my escape.” She wiped her brow and face, wincing at the smear of blood coming from her nose.

  Her weeks of combat training had enabled her to get faster, sneakier and move with grace that even Equilar noticed, though she was not a fan of the bruising.

  “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company, Coordinator Turnari?”

  She towelled off while Baengar got to his feet.

  “Aliiva, I believe that you are ready for your first assignment. We need you to leave tomorrow morning. Equilar will come with you.”

  Baengar was leaning against the wall and he shook his head. “She is not ready.”

  Turnari looked surprised. “She managed to drop you, Baengar. How ready does she have to be?”

  “She isn’t ready to be out there alone. I don’t want her out there alone.” The last was said with a firm tone.

  “She will be with Equilar. She is not alone.”

  Baengar sprouted fangs and snarled at Turnari. “Equilar is the entry excuse for Aliiva. She is not a defence. She is a politician, not a guard.”

  “She has promised to watch over Aliiva.”

  “She will not be enough. I am volunteering to come along and guard my charge on this first mission.”

  Aliiva got Baengar a bottle of water and watched while he drank it.

  Turnari was shocked. “You will pass yourself off as a politician?”

  He crossed his arms. “A bodyguard. Several of the politicians have them, you know. Ask Equilar. I did.”

  Turnari looked between them and his jaw clenched. He dipped his horns a minute amount. “Fine. You can go with her. Aliiva, Equilar and your wardrobes are waiting for you at the Guard base. Baengar, I will give you the details while you pack. You will need clothing fit for a Reshkannic funeral.”

  Aliiva racked her brain for the physical requirements for a Reshkannic funeral and she came up with an article of clothing that exposed a lot of skin and was not suitable for high winds.

  She tried to hide the lascivious speculation that ran across her features, but Baengar caught on and walked over to dwarf her with his height. “You can smirk, Aliiva, but while you are staring at me, I will definitely be staring at you, so keep that in mind.”

  Looking into his bright blue eyes, she winked. “Oh, I will.”

  Turnari just shook his head and left the training area.

  Aliiva smiled up at her combat master. “You are seriously coming with me on my first assignment?”

  He chuckled and patted her lightly on the shoulder. “Of course.”

  “Then, we had best get going. I will meet you on the tarmac.” She smiled and turned away sharply, putting distance between her and the object of her affections.

  A small skimmer took her from the Citadel to the Sector Guard base. Aliiva parked it and then walked toward the unmarked shuttle that Equilar was standing next to.

  Two little girls were holding Equilar’s hands and a younger woman with rainbow hair and the bodysuit of a Guard was standing next to them. As she approached, she could hear Equilar speaking to the little girls.

  “Yes, of course, my dear ones. Gran will bring you presents back. Something sparkly for Mabi and something practical for Isala.”

  The younger woman smiled. “Your Gran is going on a mission, not a holiday. If she doesn’t have time to get you something, you can’t hold it against her.”

  The little girls,
one light, one dark, smiled up at their Gran. “We love you, Gran, whether you bring us something or not.”

  Their speech in unison was a little creepy, but as Aliiva approached, they broke into smiles.

  The younger woman turned around and as she was confronted with her, Aliiva knew Fixer when she saw her.

  “Good afternoon. You are Aliiva, then?” The woman’s eyes were kind and her children immediately left their grandmother and stood beside their mother.

  “I am. Am I addressing Fixer?”

  “Mala, please. Anyone who spends as much time with my Grandmother as I do can be on a first-name basis with me.”

  Mala extended her hand and Aliiva took it in her own in formal greeting.

  “It is an honour to meet you, Mala. Your husband is a Selna?”

  “He is. Isabi is the love of my life and the father of my daughters as well as this new one on the way.” She patted her abdomen lightly and smiled brightly.

  Aliiva bowed low and extended both hands, palms up in Caneer fashion. “Congratulations. Blessings on you and your household.”

  “Thank you.”

  When Aliiva straightened, Mala had tears in her eyes. The woman came forward and hugged her, laughing in a peculiar relief.

  Aliiva whispered, “Why are you crying?”

  “Because I am happy and my hormones are wild. I also never thought to see a Caneer greeting again and I am delighted that you are here and working with the Citadel.”

  “Ah. Pregnancy hormones.”

  “You bet.”

  Chuckling, Aliiva separated from one of the greatest talents of her age, or at least that was what Equilar told her at every etiquette class. “It is still a good thing and as a farm girl, I can tell you that there is nothing like a pregnant female to show those around her what fierce truly is.”

  Grinning, Mala introduced her to her daughters before arcing one brow at something behind Aliiva.

  “Is Baengar behind me, by chance?”

  Mala’s bright eyes twinkled and she winked in the affirmative.

  “I am. Shall we leave?” His voice gave her his location, right behind her and to the left.

  Equilar frowned at him. “I can’t understand why you are coming with us.”

  Mala smiled. “If you can’t figure it out, Gran, then it is a miracle my father ever walked the planet.”

  Baengar took a step forward and Aliiva allowed him to herd her onto the shuttle. She waved farewell to Mala and her daughters and entered the shuttle.

  Equilar jerked her head toward Baengar. “Make yourself useful. Plot a course to Reshkanna and get us underway while I brief Aliiva on her mission.”

  Shrugging, he stowed his bag and took the pilot’s seat.

  Ali took a seat next to Equilar and strapped in while the shuttle powered up. It was going to be a nerve-wracking journey for her and her first assignment as a spy. She was definitely paying attention.

  Chapter Seven

  The light breeze ruffled the skirt of her scarlet dress. The mourning skirt fell to mid-thigh and only the delicate chain at her waist held everything in place. Aliiva kept her face straight as she walked behind Baengar, his own mourning clothes consisted of a ten-inch wrap around his hips in the same scarlet that she was wearing.

  Reshkannic mourning clothes were designed to signal marital status and in doing so, spark the regeneration of the deceased as quickly as possible.

  She muttered quietly, “At least your clothing isn’t endangering your immune system. I think I am catching a cold.”

  Baengar’s shoulders twitched, indicating that he heard her. Equilar shushed her, but then she was wearing a long blue gown as suited her position as grandmother and matron.

  The clothing was also fairly transparent, so Aliiva kept her shoulders straight and tried to act as if she wandered around wearing gauze all the time.

  Her assignment was to mingle, to record and to report anything that was out of the norm.

  They would be here for no less than six hours and considering the two days spent in the shuttle, she had a lot to do in very little time.

  The grieving family was wearing dark green and two of the sons were eyeing her speculatively as she greeted their mother. “Ambassador, I offer my support during this time of mourning.”

  The woman with the icy green skin looked at her curiously. “Do I know you?”

  “I am a representative from Caneer. Your husband will be missed by many.” Keeping her face straight was an effort, but she managed.

  “I thank you for your offering of support. My sons, Evish and Norvish.”

  This was the creepy part.

  With a bland look on her face, Aliiva greeted each of the brothers in turn. The formal kiss of condolence getting a little violent when Norvish used his tongue and she had to be polite and simply wait for him to finish.

  Gagging would have been rude, so she inclined her head and walked away from the grieving family, bowing to the corpse before moving on to the lavatory.

  Gargling would have seemed rude, but she washed her mouth out several times before she felt her stomach settle.

  She dried her hands and checked her reflection in a mirror. Aliiva tugged her gown back into decent lines, the draping between her breasts even and not pulled to one side anymore. The back of the gown didn’t have a handprint, but she could still feel Norvish’s palm on her butt.

  Shivering with distaste, she left the lav and casually made her way to Equilar’s side.

  The older woman was fighting a grin. “Well done. In my younger days, I could not have managed that.”

  “Well, I was to make no note, so I didn’t. But I did have to gargle a little.” She smiled at several men and they smiled in return.

  A wall of heat warmed her and she felt Baengar behind her. She wasn’t supposed to acknowledge him, but her heart started pounding and her skin flushed every time he was near.

  Knowing exactly how he felt made keeping the distance between them difficult. She wanted nothing more than to fling herself at him each day that they were together, but he had his assignments and she would have hers. They would not be assigned to work together and if she jumped him, she would never be able to stand that much time apart.

  Taking in a deep breath, she took a few steps away from her companions and that was all that it took for unattached males to come circling.

  She used the skills Equilar had taught her to memorize the names, descriptions and clothing of the men who introduced themselves. Each male found an excuse to touch her and she stored their readings for later.

  After four and a half hours, the funeral actually began and she kept her expression flat as they proceeded to the outer repository where the body would remain until full moonrise. At full moonrise, the guests of the funeral who had found sexual partners would attend the outer gazebos and copulate with the intention of giving the soul of the departed a new home.

  Aliiva fully intended on being firmly on the shuttle by the time moonrise came. While she had occasionally enjoyed the freedom of a barn on Caneer, sex with complete strangers was out of the question.

  Baengar was subtly discouraging a few of her more direct admirers, to the point that a few of them reappeared after having a short chat with him and they were sporting bruises.

  When Equilar gave the signal that they would leave, Aliiva could not have been more grateful. She had been patted, poked, prodded and pretty sure that a few of the males considered her to be their fiancée by the end of the night.

  Making their goodbyes to the Ambassador was not nearly as awkward as the initial greeting had been. The woman embraced Aliiva as a daughter and pressed a kiss to her forehead in goodbye. “Return at any time, dearest.”

  “You honour me with your invitation.” Aliiva bowed and followed Equilar and Baengar to the shuttle.

  Once she was safe and sound, settled in her seat, she breathed deeply before running to the lav and puking up the food served at the reception. As she knelt and got herself together,
she felt the shuttle lifting off.

  “Oh hell. I am not cut out for this.” Tears of frustration welled in her eyes.

  “You are doing fine, Ali.” Baengar was crouched in the doorway of the lav. She hadn’t shut it when she bolted in.

  “I don’t think so. I felt like running like hell halfway through the service.”

  He leaned against the left side of the doorway and smiled. “Fear is a good reaction. That you were able to control it is a better one. When will you start to go over your intel?”

  She grimaced and stood, weaving slightly. “Better start now. I will need a data pad and a recorder.”

  He reached behind him and handed her the items. She stepped over him and walked to the small galley, folding out the bench and sitting comfortably.

  “Oh. I should do these first.” She got back on her feet and began to remove the traces from her buttocks, one by one.

  Baengar watched her, occasionally smiling and alternately scowling at the areas that she was taking trace from.

  “Senator Ryli is involved in a scandal involving mining rights and contaminated colonies.” She bit her lip as she let that information dissolve. She carefully made a note on the data pad and moved on to the next.

  “Personal, not flattering.”

  “Personal, flattering but very creepy.”

  “Personal, exceptionally disturbing.”

  Baengar twitched every time she mentioned a personal comment.

  “The ambassador’s son, Evish, is involved with illegal slavery. Norvish is simply a lecherous idiot.

  “A plot to blow up the Sector Guard base on Teklan is being spearheaded by Rothwix of Netrial.”

  Baengar tensed but she was not done.

  She ran through another thirty contact points before caressing her forehead. “The Ambassador is involved with the plot to blow Teklan base and she has ties to the Raider community. She thought I would make a good match for one of the talents they have captured. It is why she invited me back.”

  To make sure she had captured all traces, she ran her hands over her body from head to toe. Baengar watched her and swallowed heavily. “You may want to change back into your Citadel robes. The air in here is rather cold.”