Exit Strategy Read online

  “You see truth?”

  Li sighed. “It is odd, but when someone is pure of heart, I can see it. Groven may have to give into his family, but he loves me with a pure heart. The moment we are clear to marry, we are going to register at the imperial court.”

  “You are content to wait?”

  “Hell, no, but I am a citizen of Remuyan and want my family to be proud of having me as a member. I may go to live with Groven’s family, but I am always an Ikato, as my children will be. We have already drawn up the contract.”

  Li’s smile was blinding as she settled a hand over her belly. Suddenly, she looked around. “Here we are. I honestly don’t know where they are going to get a dress for you.”

  “Oh, do you have yours?”

  “I do.”

  “Can I see it?”

  “Sure. You have a bath, and I will be back within the hour.”

  Yna nodded and headed into the burgundy, gold and brown room. The colours were all wine and autumn. It was a lovely space.

  As she walked into the bathroom, her Masuo retreated into a series of bands down her thighs. She ran the bath with a minimum of fumbling and slid into the water with a happy sigh. Gel showers and sonic scrubs were fine, but nothing beat a good soak.

  She stayed in until she was relaxed and then stood, draining the tub while the Masuo formed a soft robe around her.

  The knock at the door came a moment after she had begun to brush out her hair.

  Li was standing in the hall with a long gown over one arm.

  “Please, come in.” Yna stepped aside to let Li enter.

  “This is what we will be wearing for the first ritual. We will line up in order of skin colour and proceed across the floor of the temple until we reach the end. When we get to the far side, we will line up with the lightest-skinned one being next to the bride. During all of the seal and singing ceremonies, you will hold her wreath and bouquet. It is quite the honour.”

  “Who would have done it if I wasn’t there?”

  “Kimettel Lafui. She is dangerous but stupid.”

  “Can you hold up the gown?”

  “Sure. If Nialloa says she can get you a new gown, she can definitely do it.”

  The gown was black, and the upper portion was delicate and intricate lace that would cover what was necessary and let the other portions of skin glow through. The scars would definitely show if she wore it. The skirt was flowing silk and very dramatic, starting low on the hips to leave nothing else to the imagination. The tight silk would outline over half of her body.

  “Delightful. Well, I think I can manage a good replica if necessary.”

  “Is that your talent?”

  Yna was startled. “Uh, no. I have Masuo.”

  “What?”

  She stood with her hands extended from her body, and the robe turned into a close version of the ritual gown.

  “Can you do that with anything?”

  “Sure.” She had it change to her daily wear then to what she had worn to dinner and finally the robe again.

  “That is amazing. How do you take it off?”

  Yna laughed. “I don’t. It is bonded to me in a symbiotic relationship. It consumes my body heat and skin cells to survive, as well as tapping into my nervous system to a certain extent. In return, I let it travel and see the universe.”

  Li looked appalled. “How smart is it?”

  “Not very. It is a plant. It has just enough reflex to put armour on me during an attack.”

  “Where do you get something like that?”

  “It has to be given to you or grown. I got mine to help me recover from a... surgical procedure.”

  “What kind of procedure?”

  Yna sighed and pulled the robe away from her neck to expose the lines of the suit design that she had been wearing. “Skin graft.”

  “Oh, so that is what the reference to scars was.”

  “Yeah. Well, speaking of scars, I had better get to putting lotion on mine. I will see you tomorrow. Thank you for letting me see the gown. If there are any issues, I am now prepared.”

  Li smiled. “I think that tomorrow will be fun. We just have to get through a few hours of ceremony, and then, we can party.”

  “I will see you tomorrow. Good night, Li.”

  “Good night, sister.” Li winked and left, her deep green hair swaying down to her lower back.

  Yna closed the door and set her wrist alarm. Dawn came early on alien worlds, and weddings seemed to move the clock forward.

  The skimmer trip to the imperial palace the next morning didn’t even come close to waking her. Li kept a flask of caf coming, pouring it into the cup in Yna’s hands every time she took a sip.

  The palace was lovely, but Yna was in no mood to appreciate it.

  They landed in a secure courtyard and were taken by armed escort into the palace, toward the ceremony grounds.

  “I swear, Li. If you get married, don’t invite me.” Yna stifled a yawn.

  Li laughed, and the sound echoed in the halls around them. “Do invite me to yours. I can hardly wait to see the look on Ahlgos’s face when he finally locks in for a lifetime.”

  Yna laughed at the thought and kept her instincts pure. She didn’t respond, but Li gave her a searing look.

  Soon, there was no time to think about anything. The world was a whirr of gowns and makeup with a hairstylist and his army twisting and brushing at their heads.

  The gown that Yna was wedged into was of inferior quality and presented to her by the woman she would be following in the procession. Yna took one look at the gaping stitches that attached the skirt to the bodice and prepared her suit to jump in when the moment came.

  Li was shunned by most of the eighteen other ladies. She shrugged it off and simply prepared for her walk. She was eighth in the skin-tone arrangement and going to be the sister of the bride. They could be rude to her but not do anything to impact Nialloa’s special day.

  Huknos Ikato was Nialloa’s chosen mate, and she was locking herself to him that day. Anyone who interfered with that process would definitely regret it.

  Yna listened to the gossip of the women who feared Nialloa’s wrath. She caught on to an interesting tidbit that had completely escaped Yna in her studies—Nialloa was an imperial princess of Remuyan. She wasn’t the only princess, but she definitely had some pull.

  The chime rang, and the ladies lined up. Nialloa was in a separate room and would only be seen by the last woman in line. It was in the shuffle to take their places that someone stepped on Yna’s skirt, ripping it free of the bodice.

  Yna pretended to fuss quietly as the ladies proceeded down the aisle, one by one. It was only when it was down to Yna and Kimettel that she changed her frantic expression to a calm one, shucked out of the torn gown and had her Masuo make her a copy that was richer and more flattering than the one her counterpart was wearing.

  Kimettel stared in shock, but her turn was up. She whirled and stomped down the aisle. When the coordinator nodded, Yna glided out, winked at Nialloa as she emerged from her own changing room, and she cruised majestically down the aisle to gasps and murmurs from the crowd. The women were wearing enough jewels to ransom whole planets, and the men looked as if they owned those worlds.

  She settled in next to Kimettel and turned to watch Nialloa coming down the aisle. Her gown was the same black lace as their bodices, but it wrapped into a tight gown that loosened enough for her to walk and not much more.

  The ceremony took three hours of contracts read out and stipulated to. Yna held the cascade of vines that had been provided to Nialloa by Huknos’s family. It was a symbol of their wealth and of the summer season.

  When the couple had signed the final document and Yna had put her name down as witness, Huknos grabbed his bride and kissed her, bending her back so far, Yna could hear the fabric creak in protest.

  The Peacekeepers, who represented the groom’s side along with his brothers, broke out into hoots and howls of approval.

&n
bsp; Nialloa smiled when she was set upright, and Yna handed her the vines as she and her husband walked through the crowd and out of the ceremony hall. Yna followed with Ahlgos falling into step beside her.

  The family reception occurred before the public one, and Yna wrapped her arm around Ahlgos’s and went to greet the bride and groom.

  Nialloa grinned and hugged Yna. “Thank you for coming, sister.”

  “Thank you for having me. It was an honour to serve.”

  “I hope that the other ladies didn’t give you too much trouble.”

  “Only one, and I managed to work around it.”

  “Well, the gown looks better on you than it does on the others.”

  Yna blushed, “It must just be the skin tone.”

  Ahlgos laughed. “That must have been it.”

  Chapter Six

  Once the happy couple had been congratulated, Yna headed over to Li. She was pretty much alone in the room aside from her family occasionally stopping by.

  “Okay, tell me why you are being shunned.”

  Li looked around and sighed. “This isn’t the place.”

  Yna grinned and giggled, hunching her shoulders. “If you do it right, this is exactly the place.”

  “Groven is a highly desired mate by a few ladies who are higher ranking than myself. He insisted on me, and now, there is a whole faction of nobles who would like to see me dead.” Li smiled brightly.

  “Ah. I did wonder. Some of the ladies are looking daggers at you.” She chuckled and nudged Li with her arm.

  “Yes, three of the would-be suitors were with us in the procession.”

  “Gotcha. Well, if you need help or just want a buddy to go to the lav with, let me know.”

  Li sighed. “Since you mentioned it...”

  Yna looked to her fiancée and made a quick hand gesture. He nodded, and she turned back to Li. “Let’s go.”

  “What was that?”

  “It was a hand signal for relieving oneself. It is easier to do that than announce it on alien worlds. Some folks have taboos about it.”

  She linked arms with her soon-to-be sister-in-law and paused. “You have to lead. I have no idea where I am going.”

  Li laughed and led the way.

  They were returning to the party when hands grabbed them and pulled them into a hallway. Yna fought free for a moment, but a cloth that smelled funny covered her mouth. She held her breath as long as she could, but eventually, she inhaled, and everything went dark.

  “What the hell are we supposed to do with an alien? They will be looking for her.” The masculine voice was agitated.

  Yna didn’t open her eyes. She kept listening.

  “She wasn’t going to leave the target alone. We had to take her. She might have seen us.”

  “Why were you worried about that? She is an alien. Who would believe her?”

  “The princess. Folks have said that she speaks highly of her after knowing her for only one day. If the princess got involved, we would be screwed.”

  “What do you think is going to happen now, genius? We need to dump her before she wakes up.”

  Yna opened her eyes a fraction and took in the bound and gagged Li across from her. She looked around carefully and tested her bonds. Standard rope, nothing on her ankles, they were in a skimmer with a canopy on it and cruising over some kind of crop. The sweet scent of summer growth was unmistakable. They must have the screens open.

  The men continued to argue about what to do with her, but she was sure about what they were going to do to Li. They were taking her to a lab and getting her pregnant. The pregnancy would nullify the engagement and Groven would be fair game once again.

  Yna waited until the skimmer was down before she took action. Her gown shifted into a bodysuit with a blade down the spine. She sawed the ropes through in two slices.

  The moment that the cargo area opened, she kicked the first man in the face before using the locking rod from the interior of the skimmer on the other. She spilled out of the skimmer and went on the attack with her suit sporting blades on all extremities. They had nowhere to grab.

  Blood flowed, and their green skin yielded blood in a deep, dark shade. She kept at them until they were both lying prone on the ground. She dismissed the blades, climbed back in the skimmer and untied Li.

  “Okay, I have gotten us transport, but I don’t know how to get back to the city.”

  Li blinked and tears welled in her eyes. “It is all my fault.”

  “No, it is the fault of the bitch who hired them. Come on now; let’s get back to the party.”

  Li sniffled and nodded. She followed Yna to the controls.

  “Thank goodness that this facility was a good distance from the landing site.”

  She took the controls, thankful that they were standard and pulled them away from the squat building with all speed.

  “Yna, you are bleeding.”

  Yna glanced down and shook her head. “Not mine. The kidnappers. They are down for the count.”

  Li grabbed the com unit and changed the channel. She sought a signal and nearly sobbed when a voice came through.

  “This is the party.”

  Li swallowed. “I had to step out.”

  The gruff, growly voice whispered, “Are you all right?”

  “I am safe for now, but I think we are being pursued and we don’t know where we are.”

  “You are giving me all the right signals.”

  Yna took the hint and banked right.

  Li continued to chat with the gruff voice, and in an hour, they could see the city.

  Yna muttered, “Can we get clearance?”

  “I am afraid that this party is jammed. You would be lucky to find a spot in the city at all. Unless you were willing to park illegally.”

  Yna grinned. “You know, I am thinking that two honour attendants who got drunk and landed a skimmer on the imperial grounds would be something the family wanted to keep quiet.”

  “Li, I really like your friend.”

  Li chuckled. “Me too. See you in five.”

  They stopped communications, and Li changed it to an open channel.

  She muttered quickly. “So, drive like you are drunk.”

  Yna giggled loudly and shouted, “Wheee.”

  They dipped, wheeled and twisted.

  When the palace grounds appeared, the shouting on the coms was deafening. Li and Yna just laughed louder and hoped that no one shot down the ladies missing from the party.

  As she skidded the skimmer across the stone, she changed back into the gown she had worn for the ceremony.

  The guards wrenched open the doors, and Yna grinned vaguely. “Hiya. I made a wrong turn on the way from the restroom.”

  He recoiled as she stood, and he took aim at her while she laughed and raised her hands.

  “We have them.” Ahlgos’s tone was grim. “Thank you for your help.”

  Yna lunged up and threw her arms around his neck. “Ahlgy!”

  He grunted and wrapped his arms around her. “Where have you been?”

  “Flying. The countryside is so pretty, or so the ladies were saying when we got dressed, so I went to look for myself. We won’t be here long, after all.” She leaned back and beamed at him.

  “What have you been drinking?”

  “I don’t know. Purple stuff, blue stuff. You know that nothing works right when I drink it away from home.” She nuzzled his chin.

  He sighed. “If you would like to file a report, I am sure that my family will be happy to compensate the palace for any damages that my fiancée has incurred.”

  “Of course, Guardsman.” The guard walked around and frowned. “The Lafui family might lodge a complaint. This is one of their skimmers.”

  “They can contact us directly.” His words were clipped.

  A man on the other side of the skimmer had Li in his arms. He smoothed her hair and comforted her. He was huge. His arms were massive, his neck was thick, but he handled Li as if she was the s
tem of a flower.

  Ahlgos put an arm around her shoulder, and she leaned against him as if for support. Groven did the same with Li, and they all headed into the palace.

  Instead of returning to the party, they found a secure room, and Ahlgos crushed her to his chest. “We were worried.”

  She muttered, “You had a right to be.”

  Li was sobbing wildly, and Yna looked at her with pity. “This is going to keep happening.”

  Ahlgos sighed. “Yes, but our hands are tied.”

  “Not anymore. I cut myself loose.”

  They all sat in the study, and Li explained what she knew before Yna added her input to events.

  Before they were finished, all the Ikato family had arrived, including the newlyweds.

  Nialloa shrugged. “There is an answer to this.”

  Yna nodded. “Yup. We get married so that they can.”

  Nialloa grinned. “I even have a bouquet you can use.”

  Ahlgos shook his head. “No one will do it on such short notice.”

  Nialloa laughed and went to a com unit on the desk. She called and spoke calmly, ordering a magistrate, witnesses and contracts for two couples.

  Yna blinked as she listened; she used that tone when she was ordering food in hotels while on vacation.

  Li looked stunned. “Just like that?”

  Nialloa looked to Groven. “Do you have an objection?”

  He shook his head. “I think it is an amazing idea. I am joining the Ikato clan anyway. Witnesses from my family are not required.”

  “Excellent. They will meet us in the chapel in seven minutes. I am not giving anyone time to stage a problem.” Nialloa scowled. “Not on my wedding day.”

  They sat together and laughed about speedy weddings for four minutes before walking to the chapel a few minutes away.

  Ahlgos whispered, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  Yna nodded. “It is fine. I am sure that it will make everything a little more manageable.”

  “Are you including yourself in that package?”

  “No. I am definitely not manageable.” She smiled. “I am guessing that it is a trait that your family looks for.”