* * * *

As soon as they arrived on Scythia, Kai used the confusion of landing to cover his escape. Edging toward the end of the column of soldiers as they loaded the land transports, he ducked behind one of the trucks and made his way to the line of shuttle transports that always parked near the docks, hoping to pick up a paying fare from visitors to the planet. He slipped into the back seat of one at the back of the line, and held his weapon to the back of the driver’s head. “Drive me to the palace. Quickly.”

The driver froze in place for a moment, then Kai saw her hand moving toward her communicator device. “Don’t even think about it.” He nudged the gun into the back of the driver’s head. “Take me to the palace, I said. Do it now.”

“All right. Don’t shoot.”

The woman, who didn’t look Scythian—probably an indentured slave—put the vehicle in gear and pulled off rapidly, glancing at him continually through the rear-view mirror. Kai concentrated on the route she was taking, making sure she was taking the shortest possible route. When they arrived at the palace, he directed the driver around to the tradesman’s entrance and waited while she lowered his window. He quickly punched in the code and shoved the barrel of the gun in the back of her head again to get her to move forward.

He directed the driver to the door he sometimes used when he went out hunting with the guards—it was a side entrance that led directly to the kitchens. Often, as a boy, he’d come in from a long day’s hunt ravenously hungry and the palace cook, a friend of Merri’s named Coova, had always given him sandwiches to help hold him off until dinner, clucking her tongue at his huge appetite and warning the princess she would soon get fat if she continued to eat so much.

He shook the old memories aside as they pulled up outside the door and turned to the driver, who was giving him baleful glares through the mirror. Kai leaned over her and jerked out the cord to the communicator on the dash. “Look,” he said to her. “You saw the soldiers landing, so you must know something is happening. Despite what you must think, I’m not here to harm anyone. I don’t want to hurt you, either, but you have to listen to me. I’m here to help the queen. If you raise an alarm, someone will get hurt. More soldiers will be arriving soon, so the best thing you can do is get out of here.” He looked her over carefully and saw that she was listening carefully to him. “I can see that you’re not Scythian, so you probably have little reason to be loyal to them. Go home and help your family. Stay inside until this is over.”

He got out of the transport quickly. There was nothing he could do to stop her from raising an alarm, but he hoped his words had been enough to frighten her into leaving quickly and going home. If not, he had his weapon, and he was prepared to do whatever it took to get him to his mother.

Running to the door, he opened it with the use of another code and ducked inside. For a moment, no one reacted in the bustling kitchen and then a woman cooking something on the big stove next to him gave a start and a little scream. He grabbed her around the neck and pulled her back into him, holding his weapon to her head. The others froze at the sight, giving distressed little whimpers and backing away from him. “No one move. I’m not here to hurt anyone, but I will if I have to. Where’s Coova?”

A surprised grunt from the back of the room and then the tall, portly woman stepped forward, wiping her hands on an apron. “I’m Coova. What do you want here?”

“Come closer.”

She walked closer to Kai, hesitating only a little. “Let her go,” she said, nodding at the woman Kai still held in his arms. “She won’t cause any problems, will you, Hilva?”

The woman, clearly terrified, shook her head wildly, and Kai released her. Coova pulled the woman behind her and stood bravely facing Kai, her eyes sharp and angry.

“Who are you and how dare you burst into my kitchen this way?” she demanded.

Kai took a step closer and pushed back his helmet to expose his forehead. “It’s Kai, Coova. Don’t you recognize me?”

Her hand flying to her throat, Coova took an involuntary step backwards, her mouth flying open. “But…but how? How are you here? Why are you dressed like that? Your hair. Your voice…”

Kai held out a hand to her, palm up. “I know, Coova. It must be shocking. But it’s me—Kai.”He changed his voice, using the soft falsetto he’d used for the past few years he’d lived in the palace. “Don’t you recognize me?”

“Oh, goddess,” she said, touching her head and then her chin in the sign of the old religion. “It is you. But…”

“No time to explain, Coova, but you have to help me. The Alliance soldiers are coming for my mother. I have to save her, Coova. Please help me.”

She started and then blinked at him rapidly for a long moment, but seemed to gather herself, straightening her shoulders. She inclined her head. “Of course I’ll help you, Princess. Come with me.”

Barking orders at her staff to keep quiet and tell no one of what was happening, she motioned for Kai to follow her and led him to the servants’ stairway. She whispered fiercely to him as she led him up the dark, narrow stairs. “Your mother is in Queen Delanon’s chambers. She had her child this morning, and the last I heard they were-they were waiting for the high priestess to arrive. You’d have heard about the child, I suppose.”

Kai nodded, his face a grim mask. “The priestess hasn’t arrived, though?”

“Not the last I heard. I was preparing tea for the queen to help her regain her strength, and no one indicated the need for an extra service.” They had come to the hallway outside the queen’s bedchamber, and Coova put a finger to her lips. She motioned for Kai to hide himself in the shadows of the doorway across the corridor and then eased open the door. Kai could hear soft sounds of weeping from inside the room, and watched as Coova motioned to someone inside to come to the door.

Moments later, Merrial’s tear-stained face poked around the edge of the door. “What is it, Coova? This is not a good time. ”

Coova reached around the door and yanked Merrial by the arm. She sputtered and fussed as she was pulled out to the corridor. “Gods, Coova, can’t it wait? What on Scythia do you mean by this interruption…” She glanced up in alarm as Kai moved out from the shadows, backing away, her hand going to her throat.

“It’s me, Merrial. It’s Kai,” he said, pulling off the helmet and stepping out of the shadows.

Merrial’s eyes grew impossibly wide and she put a hand to her heart. “Kai! What are you doing here? How can this be possible?” She stepped closer to pull him in her arms and then held him at arm’s length, staring at him in dismay. “But what has that horrid man done to you? Your beautiful hair!”

Kai pulled away from her. “It’s not important, Merrial. You have to listen to me. Go get my mother and bring her here. Quickly.”

Before Merrial could move, the door behind her swung wide and Delanon herself stood framed in the doorway, her cruel eyes glittering at him. “That won’t be necessary, I think. Come in, sister. I think you and our mother have some explaining to do.”

* * * *

Lucas was silent on the way to the palace. The presence of Kyle and Nikolai on either side of him in the transport normally would have been a comfort to him, but he was too firmly focused on holding himself together at the moment.

Someone—his mind shied away from the idea of its being Kai—had warned the Scythians of their intent, and there had already been some minor skirmishes near the primary temple. So far there had been no casualties and resistance had been surprisingly light. Their satellites had picked up signs of a large resistance force gathering near the palace, but from all appearances, it was disorganized and somewhat chaotic. No one had even given the order to raise the planet’s shields, so the remainder of the strike force was already on the ground. The invasion promised to be a complete rout.

In a few minutes, they’d be there and able to engage whatever was left of the Scythian forces. Was Kai involving himself in this resistance? Was it possible that he could soon be facing his own mate in battle? The idea of Kai being hurt or even—no, his mind refused to go in that direction, totally shutting out the possibility. He’d given orders to his men to make locating Kai and returning him unharmed a top priority, and he was currently on his way to make sure those orders were carried out.

He was so angry—make that enraged—that Kai had put himself in such a position that his mind could barely hold any other thoughts, especially the idea that he, himself, was mainly responsible for this cluster fuck they now found themselves involved in.

As Nikolai had pointed out earlier, he’d mishandled Kai from the very beginning, certainly not inspiring any trust, let alone love in the boy. At first, he’d let his own fucking pride get in the way. And then, after promising Kai over and over again that he could confide in him and that he’d understand anything Kai told him, he’d callously broken that promise, even as late as the night before. He heard Kai’s voice echoing even now in his head. You hate me, don’t you Lucas? I can see it in your eyes. I’ve really lost everything, haven’t I?

Rather than taking Kai in his arms and making sure he knew he’d never leave him, never stop loving him, Lucas had fucked him and walked out the door, letting his stubborn anger and pride get the better of him once again. He’d even told Kai to bottle up his emotions, like he did, in order to be a real man. Don’t cry. Men don’t cry, Kai, even if their whole world is falling apart.

If anything happened to Kai because of his actions, because of his stupid pride, he wouldn’t be able to live with this crushing guilt he was feeling. He’d die without Kai—worst of all, he’d deserve to.

Kyle leaned over and spoke quietly in his ear. “We’ve arrived. Let me get out and talk to the strike force commander on the ground. See what he knows.”

Though it was excruciating, Lucas nodded and waited the few minutes it took for Kyle to come back. They had followed the transmission coming from the chip in Kai’s arm, and traced him to this area. He must be inside the palace.