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  This sudden act of mercy surprised Azar as much as it did Theron. Truly, Azar would not have been capable of this a day ago. Something about Theryssa, her warm beauty, the hope she held in her arms was making him see the world differently.

  “Theron,” Nyssa prompted, her voice possessing more than a little authority, “take the man’s hand.”

  Theron’s handshake was firm, bordering on painful.

  “Now, Theron,” Nyssa instructed, “I want you to stop playing the warrior for a few minutes and tell Azar what you really feel.”

  Theron looked as though he would rather slit open a Narthian bug and eat its insides raw. “It was my idea,” he confessed. “I thought that you were…right for my daughter. Our daughter. You’re the only man, after all these years…”

  Azar came around the table to embrace him. “We are brothers,” he whispered, “we owe each other our lives.”

  And yet Azar could not marry Theryssa. All the more so for how much he loved and respected Theron, and now Nyssa.

  “Theron, listen to me. We can settle everything between us. If you can forgive me for leaving the Guardians. If you can understand that I could not accept the death of Solania. If you will recognize my subsequent actions had to do with Council policy.”

  “I do. Things in those days were…not so clear. Malthusalus was a dire threat. He nearly killed Nyssa.”

  “I know, Theron, and I understand why you stayed a Guardian. And why you are one today. And why you kill pirates like me. We are outsiders, threats to your way of life. Which is why you must take Theryssa away from me. Forever.”

  “Is that what you really want?” Nyssa asked. “If this is about Council policy, you should know things are changing. Theryssa is only the beginning. We now see there is wisdom in letting people have more choices. We are actively seeking to vary the possibilities of humanity.”

  “The future is wide open,” said Theron, “but we need good men like you to help us.”

  Azar’s heart was aching. He did not want to abandon the human race, even more, he could not imagine never seeing or holding Theryssa again, never seeing what new adventure another hour with her might hold. And yet, he could not take the next step. “It’s what’s best for me personally,” he insisted.

  “Damn you, man,” thundered Theron, “she opened herself to you. The transponder readings show passion deeper than anything ever seen on a woman, next to her mother.”

  “I’m sorry Theron, but you can’t just manipulate people’s hearts. We aren’t pawns to be played with. That’s the problem I had with the Council’s way of doing things in the first place and now I wonder if you’re really capable of change at all.”

  Theron’s goodwill was threatening to go up in flames. It was typical of the men’s relationship. Love and hate. “And your problem is an inability to accept authority,” he pointed out accusingly.

  “I have one authority, Theron, and that is my own conscience,” Azar declared. “And I will thank you not to raise your voice. In case you haven’t noticed, we are out of your jurisdiction.”

  “Well, it’s going to be Narthian jurisdiction if you don’t stop being so blasted selfish and start cooperating with your fellow human beings,” Theron exclaimed.

  “What are you talking about?” Azar demanded. “There are no Narthians within a dozen systems. They won’t be back for generations.”

  Theron threw up his hands. “You see,” he said to Nyssa, “the man knows everything. Far be it from us to try to enlighten him.”

  “Honey, you need to calm down,” said Nyssa. “This is getting us nowhere. And Azar, you need to hear what Theron has to say. Just because the Narthians are not on our doorstep does not mean they aren’t a threat. We have intelligence, credible information, that they are growing new nests. A super strong variety which we’ve faced only once before. And it didn’t go well. If not for the bravery of my sister’s husband Raylar, we would have lost an entire company. We had hoped that was an isolated strain, but we are seeing birth nest heat traces all along the rim area.”

  Azar turned to Theron, the wind momentarily taken from his sails.

  “We give them six months, a year tops, before they hit us straight across the galaxy arm. From the Centon System all the way to Devalos,” Theron elaborated. “In the meantime we have to build a larger fighting force.”

  “A fighting force of Guardians,” Nyssa said. “And pirates.”

  “Pirates…under my command, I assume?” Azar guessed the rest of their plan.

  “Yes,” said Nyssa.

  “And you want it kept in the family,” said Azar to Theron. “You want me as your son-in-law before you will go back into battle with me. Is that the real reason I’m supposed to marry Theryssa?”

  “Of course not,” Theron snapped. “I already told you why I chose you. It’s a matter of your character. At least the character I thought you had.”

  Azar laughed without humor. “You pick the strangest ways to flatter a man, Theron. With that approach, I wish you luck giving Theryssa away.”

  “Don’t you take that tone with me, Azar. You will marry her, and that is final!”

  Azar was about to retort when he was preempted by a new voice. Very female and very angry.

  “What the hell is going on?” demanded the tousle-haired, freshly escaped Theryssa, her body deliciously clad in one of Azar’s tunics. “Mom, Dad, what are you doing here?”

  Nyssa ran to embrace her daughter, who was not very interested in a hug. “We came to check on you, baby.”

  “Like hell you did. I could hear you in the corridor. You’re in here planning my life. Dad, you’re trying to make me marry Azar?”

  “This isn’t the time to talk about this, Theryssa.”

  “What do you mean it isn’t the time? When would be a good time? During the mating ceremony?”

  “You know I don’t like it when you raise your voice,” said Theron.

  “And I don’t like it when you try to make me marry a man against my will.”

  “You’re being melodramatic, Theryssa—”

  “I’m being what? Dad, have you lost your mind? I feel like I have woken up in some bizarre nightmare, except it’s my real life.”

  “Sweetie, it’s not as bad as it seems,” Nyssa attempted to calm her down.

  “It’s not? By all means, Mom, enlighten me. I’m all ears.” Theryssa thrust her arms in the air, employing the very same gesture Theron had a few moments ago.

  “We wanted you to get to know Azar,” explained Theron, “and this seemed the most logical way.”

  She whirled on her father. “By sending me halfway across the galaxy to spy on him while posing as a courier? You couldn’t have introduced us at a dinner party? ‘Theryssa, this is our sworn enemy I’ve been trying to kill for twenty years. I hope you two will be very happy.’ That has a real ring to it, doesn’t it?”

  “You are being sarcastic, young lady,” her father disapproved. “But you are owed an explanation, nonetheless. There are things in my history that I’ve not been able to reveal up to this point, Theryssa. Azar and I were once allies. He was a Guardian too, a few years younger than me, not that it mattered. Much happened between us. He saved my life, and I returned the favor. We were as close as men can be. But then political circumstances intervened. An unfortunate…situation with a woman. We parted ways. Each of us acted in good faith, but there was nothing we could do to prevent our becoming adversaries. That was a very long time ago. Circumstances have changed and we must reunite to fight the Narthians. This new alliance allows me to renew my relationship with Azar and to express my long-standing hope that the two of you might somehow be mated. I always thought he would be the best man for you, Theryssa, and now there is nothing standing in the way.”

  Theryssa turned to Azar, a mixture of emotions on her face. “Azar…this is true? You served with my father?”

  “We were comrades,” Azar confirmed. “Your father was the finest soldier I ever served with, though h
e had a tendency to ignore orders. It was a habit that nearly cost his life on more than one occasion.”

  “I ignored orders?” Theron defended himself. “What about that little stunt of yours on Teranium?”

  “How else was I supposed to save your miserable neck?”

  Theron shook his head. “You see what I had to deal with,” he said to Nyssa.

  Azar smiled thinly. “We muddled through, somehow, didn’t we? It’s a wonder either of us made it.”

  Theryssa’s eyes narrowed. “So you knew all about this?” she asked Azar. “You were in on my father’s scheme?”

  Azar shook his head. “I had no idea, Theryssa. I did not know who you were. Your parent’s arrival here is as big a shock to me as it is to you.”

  There was so much more he wanted to say to her. But he couldn’t form the thoughts clearly in his head. There were too many questions. For one thing, he had yet to figure out how she had managed to escape.

  That metal in her cuffs was strong enough to hold a full-grown Mongro beast.

  “Oh, I doubt that,” Theryssa countered. “Shocked doesn’t even begin to cover what I’m feeling.”

  “Baby, I’m so sorry.” Nyssa stroked her hair. “You know the last thing in the world we would ever do is hurt you. We wanted you to be happy, that’s all.”

  Theryssa shook her head. She looked at a total loss. He would give anything to be able to hold her in his arms right now.

  “Mom…I know you mean well…but, damn, you guys are just…you’re just not normal.”

  “You’ll think about it,” Theron predicted. “It will all make sense soon enough. To both of you.”

  “Dad, I’m sorry, but you can’t just snap your fingers and make it all fall into place. I know you see it in your head, and you love me, but life just isn’t like one of your strategy games.”

  “You liked my games just fine when you were younger. You even beat me once or twice.”

  Azar could picture the two of them, intently concentrating, on opposite sides of a holoscreen. He would give anything to have known her then, to have watched her grow up. Every second of her life was so very precious, just as was everything about her now. Just seeing her parents made him feel more alive, more a part of her. If only this could have happened differently. If only it were not about to come to an end. Abrupt and bitter.

  “Theron,” Azar interjected, making a valiant effort at defending the woman who had worn his chains and turned his world on its ear in a matter of hours, “Theryssa is right. Emotions cannot be manipulated. Nor can loyalties be manufactured. I cannot, in good conscience, join my forces with yours. Should the Narthians come, I will meet them as best I am able, fighting to my last breath. I do appreciate the offer, but I think it is best we part ways. As friends.”

  Theron’s face showed no emotion. “Very well,” he said stiffly. “Nyssa, Theryssa. We are leaving.”

  “I will see to it the three of you are escorted safely back to your ship,” said Azar.

  “You’ve been very kind,” Nyssa said. “And we wish you the best.”

  Azar gave a small bow. Let this be done quickly, he prayed, while I still have the strength to let her go.

  “Wait just a minute,” demanded Theryssa. “I’m not just a suitcase here. No one is telling me to go anywhere.”

  Blast it. She was asserting that firebrand will of hers. He should have known she wouldn’t be pushed around.

  “Theryssa, you can’t stay,” said Theron curtly.

  She gave it right back to him. “It’s not your ship, Dad. You can’t tell me to leave it.”

  “Theryssa, please don’t talk to your father that way,” Nyssa said.

  Azar felt for Nyssa. He had a feeling the woman was used to running interference like this.

  “This is what I get,” Theron complained to his wife, “for loving my daughter.”

  “You have strange ways of showing it,” said Theryssa.

  “Theryssa, please…” Nyssa’s voice sounded strained for the first time.

  The sound of it touched off something in Azar. “Theryssa, your mother’s right. This isn’t doing you any good.”

  Theryssa’s displeasure shifted with a vengeance. Azar might as well have had a magnet on his head. “Excuse me,” she blasted him, “am I wrong, or is this none of your fucking business? Because I thought you made it pretty clear I don’t mean a fucking thing to you.”

  “Theryssa, I never said that.”

  “No,” she agreed, “you didn’t say anything. Not even goodbye.”

  “Theron,” said Nyssa, “I think we need to give them some time alone.”

  Theryssa wasted no time gainsaying that idea. “Over my dead body Mom. I have nothing to say to this…this man.”

  “Theryssa, I think your mother is right. I would like a chance to talk.”

  “Well I wouldn’t, Azar,” she shot him down. “And seeing as how you don’t fucking own me, I guess you’re out of luck.”

  “Theryssa, don’t be unreasonable.”

  “I’ll be whatever I want to be.”

  Azar clenched his fists. His every inclination was to seize her in his arms, to settle this matter sexually, resolving the tension in the only way he knew…by pinning her body down, hot and hard.

  If only her parents weren’t here.

  “Theryssa, we really need to talk…” His voice had more punch this time. Not strident, but…potent.

  Theryssa scowled, but offered no immediate reply. Was Azar imagining things or was she conflicted…a part of her wanting to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her?

  Nyssa seized the opportunity for a graceful exit. “Azar, I think it would be best for Theron and me to go. If someone could take us back to the hangar bay?”

  “I’ll send for my best men to escort you,” assured Azar.

  “Mom, you’re not going anywhere without me,” Theryssa insisted, in a sudden about-face.

  “You just said you weren’t coming with us,” Theron reminded, slight exasperation in his voice.

  “Stop arguing with me, Dad. I’ll just take my own ship, then.”

  “Are you sure?” asked Nyssa.

  “Yes!”

  “Theryssa,” said her father. “Do not raise your voice to your mother.”

  “I am sorry,” she said.

  “It’s all right, darling.” Nyssa smiled. “We just want to be sure you’re going to be okay. It’s been so much already for you.”

  “I’m okay.” She forced a smile. “Really.”

  “We will meet you back home, then,” Nyssa kissed her daughter’s forehead. “We love you very much.”

  Theron turned to Azar. “Do I have your permission to dispatch a military patrol to the area? To escort Theryssa back to Earth in her own ship?”

  Azar nodded. “Of course. I insist upon it.”

  “I don’t need babysitters,” Theryssa snapped at both men.

  “Why not?” Theron showed his thinning patience. “You’re acting childish enough.”

  Nyssa touched his arm, silencing him.

  Azar pressed the intercom button on the wall. “Squad One to the war room. On the double,” he summoned the escorts.

  “That won’t be necessary. We will go on our own,” said Theron, straightening himself to his full, proud height. “Theryssa, you may kiss me goodbye.”

  Theryssa had a most delicious look of defiance on her face, but she went to her father nonetheless.

  “Someday you will understand,” Theron whispered, hugging his daughter tightly.

  Theryssa hugged her mother, too. This was followed by embraces by both of them with Azar. A moment later, the pair left.

  His pulse quickened as the servo door slid shut, closing them in the gray, metal room. They were alone at last.

  “I have nothing to say,” Theryssa announced. “And I really have no intention of listening, either. So how about we make it easy on ourselves? You leave me alone and as soon as my folks are gone, I will head off on my ow
n.”

  He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Theryssa, but we have unfinished business.”

  She glared. “What business?”

  “There was the matter of your punishment,” he reminded. “Which must now be compounded as a result of your attempted escape.”

  “You can’t be serious? Not after what’s happened.”

  “I’ve never been more serious in my life.”

  Her jaw gaped slightly, ovaling her pretty lips. “But…I’m not your prisoner,” she reminded. “I never was. You heard what my parents said. This was all a trap. A bizarre matchmaking ploy.”

  “I am not interested in the motives of your parents, Theryssa. You came here of your own accord and you subsequently submitted to me. You cannot renege now. You are a grown woman, responsible for your own actions.”

  She took a step backward. “My father will destroy you if you harm a hair on my head.”

  “I do not intend to harm you, little one. Only punish you.”

  “Don’t call me that!”

  “You’re wearing my tunic,” Azar pointed out. “I would like it back.”

  Her eyes flashed. “I’m naked underneath, Azar.”

  “That’s a good way for a slave to be.”

  “I’m not a slave,” she insisted.

  “Aren’t you?”

  Theryssa backed up again, then ran from the room as soon as her ass impacted the heavy metal table, the one used for planning battles. In short order, it would be used for a conquest of a different kind.

  “If you touch me, I’ll fight,” she vowed.

  “You can. But you will lose.”

  “Maybe, but I will take the fun out of your victory.”

  “Oh, I think it will be quite enjoyable for both of us.” He smiled.

  She tried to dart past as he approached, but he was too quick. Grabbing her arm, he pinned her between the table and his rock-hard torso.

  Her breathing was hard. Her chest rose and fell furiously, her breasts pressed to his pectorals. “I’m warning you,” she hissed. “Get the fuck off me.”

  “Not until I’ve straightened a few things out.”

  Like his cock, which was pointed directly at the apex of her thighs. Theryssa grunted, more out of desperation than actual power. Her attempted knee to his groin was easily anticipated and fended off with a turn of his hip.