Vareen & Mica (The Alliance Book 2) Page 13

  Rushing through a solar shower, Vareen went to rest in bed. Hopefully, Mica was still asleep and would face tomorrow's trial fully energized. She’d done everything she could to assure Mica that she was safe and to focus on the trials. She just hoped it was enough.

  *****

  “The first trial will force the combatants to face their worst fears.” A large Jataci male was in the middle of the arena announcing. “The participants have drawn numbers and Metari is first.”

  Vareen strained to see Mica around the people standing in front of her. She caught a faint glimpse of him standing tall next to Temloc before the crowd shifted again and blocked her view.

  “Vareen Nas, can you please come with me.”

  When Vareen heard her name she turned instinctively toward the speaker. She was surprised to see two large Metari guards gesturing to her.

  “What do you want with Vareen?” Dani moved to stand in front of her.

  Ignoring Dani and the guards for the moment, Vareen’s mind went into overdrive. The announcer had said the men would face their worst fears. What was Mica’s worst fear?

  She rubbed her head. Think Vareen. What did Mica fear?

  The answer was simple. Mica’s worst fear was losing someone he loved or in his mind failing to protect someone he loved. That could mean his father, sister, her or any of his friends.

  “Vareen Nas, this way please,” the guards were waiting impatiently for her.

  Before Dani could protest Vareen stepped around her to go with them.

  “It’s okay. I’ll go with them.”

  Vareen followed the guards outside of the arena and toward a white tent. She was gestured inside and waited. There was a small chair and a table set with food, water and what smelled like wine. She ignored the offerings and paced instead. After what felt like hours she realized her mouth was extremely dry.

  Vareen took a goblet and filled it with water. Forcing herself to remain calm she tried to think this out. They wouldn’t kill someone just for this trial, so Mica wouldn’t have to face a loved one’s death. It would come down to failing to protect someone he loved.

  Cursing herself she took a sip of the water. She hadn’t heard the order of the challengers so wasn’t sure when Mica’s turn would come. What could she do? Vareen paced the tent, drinking the water and worried the problem of Mica’s trial in her mind out.

  When a strange tingling sensation went over her, she looked at the water. Could it be dosed with something? With a horrified gasp, she put the goblet back on the table.

  Without warning, there was a resounding boom outside her tent. Were they under attack? Just as Vareen went to open the flap one of the guards rushed back in.

  “What’s going on?” Vareen paled at the look of panic on his face.

  “We’re under attack from an unknown assailant.” The guard grabbed her arm and pulled her deeper into the tent. “It’s not safe outside.”

  “Is it the Others? Pirates? A spacecraft of some type?” Vareen tried to pull her arm free. “You have to know something.”

  Screams and yelling were coming from outside the tent.

  “I don’t know,” the guard insisted. “We have to stay inside.”

  “I’m not staying in here,” Vareen snapped. “We need to find the leadership and help in fighting if we can.”

  Another boom sounded and the guards grip tightened. “We’re staying in this tent.”

  Without another word Vareen spun in his arms, forcing him to release his grip. Grabbing him by the arm, she twisted his upper body and he went flying over. The only reason she was able to get him on the ground was due to the element of surprise. Once he was down, Vareen used the heel of her hand at his temple and hit him as hard as she could. Turning she grabbed a goblet off the table and struck him over the head. With his increased ability it wouldn’t keep him down, but it did stun him enough to give her time to run out of the tent.

  Shielding her eyes from the sudden light it dawned on her that she wasn’t outside of the arena anymore. She was inside it. The crowd was still screaming and yelling, and Vareen spun around looking for the danger. She couldn’t find any. What was going on?

  There was another tent across from hers but before she could run to it there was movement behind her and the guard came running out. Vareen dodged him and ran around the tent with the guard following.

  “Come back.”

  “Go away,” Vareen yelled. Trying to keep the male at arm’s length. Another guard joined in the attempt to corral her. She dodged into the tent and broke out the other side.

  The crowd, watching her antics with the guards, went slowly from yelling and screaming to titters of laughter. Soon, the whole arena was shaking with the force of the crowd’s humor.

  Vareen kept dodging into the tent and the poor thing gave up and sort of flopped to the side. Leaving the table and chairs standing open in the arena. Vareen grabbed some of the food as she ran past and threw that at the advancing guards. Then the wine, water, and chair. She even dove under the table and rolled to the other side.

  She was able to stay away from the guards only because they weren’t using their special abilities. When they decided to split up it was only a matter of time before one of them caught her. She put all of her training to use then, disarming the guard and pushing him into the other one.

  Vareen backed away from the tent, using the staff weapon she’d taken to keep them at a distance. When one of them jumped toward her, she used the staff and hit him in the groin.

  The crowd all went “O-o-h” at the same time. The guard hit the ground, holding himself and groaning dramatically.

  The crowd burst into laughter again. She had to admit it was laughable. They were a sorry sight. She was dirty from rolling around on the ground. The one guard was standing warily by his fallen friend looking just as disheveled, with bits of food and wine all over his clothing.

  “Stay back,” Vareen yelled the warning. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Vareen?!” Mica’s panicked cry came from the other tent.

  “Mica?!” She turned to run to him and that was when the guards had her.

  “Let me go,” Vareen struggled against the men holding her.

  She was kicking and clawing at the beefy arm holding her when suddenly a black streak spun her gently out of the way. Mica was engaged with fighting the guards. His eyes flashing blue flames and his body swelling with rage.

  “Cease,” the male who’d been announcing the challenger’s names was in the ring with them and calling for Mica to stop. “Mica, enough.”

  Vareen saw Mica was out of control. When a male was in the true valkie haze any threat to his chosen mate had to be eliminated. He still saw these males as a threat to her and wouldn’t stop.

  “Mica,” she called out running to him. “Stop.” She jumped against his side and held tight. He stilled instantly, his body trembling against hers. “Stop Mica, it’s okay. They aren’t a danger to me.”

  With a shuddering breath, he pulled them both a few feet away. His chest was heaving and his eyes remained blue around the edges.

  Vareen tucked herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. “I don’t think we have long before they separate us. Just hold on until tonight. I’ll visit you again.”

  Mica put his hand against her face and Vareen noticed the marks on his wrists.

  “What happened to you? You’re bleeding,” Vareen turned outraged eyes to the male announcer and other leaders in the arena.

  “Var,” Mica kissed the top of her head. Whispering hurriedly, his lips brushed her ear, “It’s not important. I want you to stay away from my tent. It’s too much of a risk.”

  “I know it’s selfish, but I have to try to see you tonight,” Vareen’s breath was rapid with the fear that Mica would be taken away at any moment.

  “Var. I love you. You must be careful,” Mica warned, his voice deep with worry.

  “I love you too,” Vareen turned her head up to kiss his lips but
was stopped when they were surrounded by guards wearing every color.

  The announcer called for them to separate and Vareen stepped back slowly. Her eyes locked with Mica’s until he was taken out of sight.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “You should’ve seen your face.” Dani was laughing again. “It was so f-funny.”

  “I don’t find it that amusing,” Vareen denied. She might see the humor in the trial when the whole Challenge of Succession was over. If she even made it to the end. Four more trials might be the death of her at this rate.

  “Mica was doing so good too,” Dani sighed. Her humor fled. “He remained calm through the whole fake attack. I think they were almost ready to stop the trial.”

  “Then I burst out of my tent and ruined everything,” Vareen still couldn’t believe it had all been an act. The crowd participating by yelling and screaming in panic. The transporter taking her from outside the arena, to the middle. In hindsight, it was easy to pick apart the trial and see it was fake, but at the time, it felt real.

  “You didn’t ruin everything,” Dani denied but Vareen knew it wasn’t true.

  “Mica lost points because of me,” she whispered. “I caused him to lose control and attack the guard.”

  “There are still the other four trials to go. Then we have the two days of drinking, dancing, and partying,” Dani tried to liven her spirits but Vareen just wanted to see Mica.

  “I’m going to bed,” Vareen went to leave her living room. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Dani didn’t take offense she just hugged her quickly and left the tent.

  Vareen felt bad about lying to get Dani to leave, but it was dark outside and she was supposed to meet Risenal and Nellia.

  Taking her cloak off of the bed she went to check if the coast was clear. Not seeing anyone around her tent, she hurried along the path to the agreed upon meeting place. It was at the back of the gathering, closer to the Metari clan’s section.

  She spotted Risenal right away. It was hard not to see her. She really needed to learn about going undercover. The dress she wore tonight wasn’t as bright, but was glowing enough to draw attention.

  “Vareen, over here.”

  “Cali,” Vareen hugged her friend, surprised to see her. “Isn’t Drake going to miss you?”

  “No. He’s at some meeting. I’m sure I’ll be back to our tent before him. I wanted to see how you are doing.”

  “Yes, Vareen,” Risenal moved forward and kissed both of her cheeks in greeting. “How are you?”

  “I’m fine,” Vareen stiffened. “If you don’t count the fact that I’m a laughing stock. That I ruined Mica’s score for this trial. That I’m the worst chosen mate in the history of mates.”

  “That’s not true,” Nellia protested in her defense. “After the laughter died down, everyone was very impressed by your abilities.”

  “Talk it over with Mica,” Cali advised her calmly. “You’ll feel better after seeing him.”

  “The plan is for me to offer the guards a drink from my special brew. Nellia has already dosed it so she won’t need to be there tonight.” Risenal held up a bottle of some type. “I didn’t want the guards to be suspicious if the same group of us kept going up to Mica’s tent. If they feel it is a special honor having me visit, they won’t be able to deny me.”

  “That sounds like a solid plan. I want to thank you for doing this for me.”

  “Nonsense. I’m having a great time.” Risenal took her arm and they turned to head toward the center of the gathering.

  “Cali, Nellia. I’ll see you both tomorrow,” Vareen called out before they were out of sight.

  “I want to thank you for letting me help,” Risenal spoke with sincerity as they walked.

  “No, I can’t thank you enough. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to see Mica.” Vareen squeezed Risenal’s hand.

  “Without the friendship of Cali, Nellia and you, I wouldn’t have any adventures. Nobody lets me get my hands dirty, so to speak. It’s nice to have friends who let me be myself and have fun.”

  “When we have time, I’ll have to tell you all about the Academy if you like adventures.” Vareen laughed at the memories.

  “That sounds nice.” Risenal motioned for her guards to close in ranks. “We should part here in case we’re seen. Good luck Vareen. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Risenal moved down the path and Vareen hurried to cover herself with the cloak. There were lanterns placed along the path, so Vareen veered into the darkness. When she arrived at Mica’s tent she waited to hear Risenal and it wasn’t long.

  “Gentlemen. I brought you some of my own stock of wine in thanks for helping me last night.” Risenal’s voice rose over the tent.

  “Ambassador, thank you.”

  “It’s nothing.” Risenal denied, and Cali heard the clink of their containers.

  “Won’t you join us?”

  “Yes. Join us.”

  Both guards were pressing Risenal to drink the dosed wine.

  “No, I couldn’t.” Vareen could picture Risenal waving her hands in denial.

  “Please. It would mean so much,” one of the guards begged.

  “If you insist,” Risenal sounded panicked.

  “To the Ambassador of Atheon and The Alliance between our two worlds.” Vareen heard the toast and flinched. How would Risenal avoid drinking?

  “To The Alliance.”

  “To Ambassador Tec’hia.”

  There was a commotion and then Risenal yelled, “What did you do that for? I’ve spilled my drink.”

  Vareen heard, “There was a bug on your majesty. My apologies.”

  One of Risenal’s guards had knocked the drink away? Vareen almost wished she was on the path so she could see what was going on.

  “I’ll pour you more.” One of the guards from Titus offered.

  Vareen wanted to slap her head in frustration. If the guards had sipped the wine, they would be out soon. They needed to sit down to avoid drawing attention to the fact that they were like zombies. Not to mention Risenal needed to get away before someone spotted her.

  “No, thank you for the kind offer but I need to change my dress. You two gentlemen, sit and enjoy your wine. Guards with me.”

  “Ambassador.” Both of Mica’s guards called out.

  “What an amazing woman.”

  “Yes. S-she’s very f-fine.”

  The guard’s words were slurring. The drink had worked. Using the same process, Vareen cut a hole into the tent and hurried inside.

  “Vareen,” Mica’s voice was a hoarse whisper. His arms engulfed her. “I’ve been waiting.”

  Vareen returned Mica’s embrace. “Today was such a nightmare. I’m sorry I ruined your score.”

  “You didn’t ruin anything.” Mica held her more tightly and drew her onto the bed. “You’re perfect and I love you. How long do we have?”

  “The same as last night. About two hours.” Vareen rolled so that she was straddling Mica’s hips. “It’s been eating at me since I last saw you. Why were your wrists bleeding?”

  Vareen touched where the sore spots on his wrists should be but they were healed.

  “I was manacled to a pole. I was told the restraints were unbreakable. I think that was meant to add to my fear of getting to you.” Mica shrugged. “It turns out they weren’t unbreakable after all.”

  During his explanation, Vareen got busy with the buttons on his shirt. When they were done, she moved the material out of the way. “I’m so relieved that you’re not hurt. Do you mind if I try something?”

  “No,” Mica answered instantly.

  Vareen ripped the shirt and left his side to tie a strip to the top of the bedframe. Taking another strip of his shirt she did the same on the other side.

  Smiling wickedly, she asked, “Into the center of the bed, if you wouldn’t mind.”

  Mica rolled until he was in the middle of the bed and Vareen traced her hand up the side of Mica�
��s ribs. The gooseflesh rose on his arm and chest at her touch. Taking his wrist in her hand, she kissed his fingers then gently tied that arm to the bed. With her hand trailing down his body, Vareen made her way around the bed. Taking the time to tickle his feet until she was working her way along his thigh, hip and ribs on the other side.

  When both wrists were tied, Vareen climbed into the bed and stretched out beside Mica. “I just want to taste you.” Vareen let her tongue play along the skin at his neck and lower along his chest.

  “I want to memorize every single inch of your skin.” Vareen played lower, first against one nipple and then the other. “I won’t sneak back after tonight. It’s not fair to risk my friends by asking them to help. I’ve—”

  “I understand. It’s okay sweetheart. After the challenge is over, we’ll be together.”

  Mica groaned when she moved lower along his stomach.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Vareen sat up and grabbed her head. Where was she and why was the ground rocking? Carefully sitting up, she gasped.

  She was in a small boat in the middle of a large river. Turning her head toward the shore, she saw the top peeks of the pavilion showed over the trees to the west.

  With some maneuvering, she managed to pull herself up onto the bench seat. She was glad that the water was calm and her little craft didn’t seem to be moving overly. It must be anchored down with something. Turning to look around her, she saw there were boats dotting the river on either side of her. Over twenty of them, with all manner of people. Young, old, women and men alike.

  How had she gotten here? She remembered leaving Mica’s tent and making it back to hers. She’d gone to bed her mind racing with what might happen in the next trial. Vareen had promised herself that she would stay out of it. No matter what the trial was, she’d remain calmly in her seat. Then she’d fallen asleep and now she was here…in this boat on a giant river.

  “Hello,” Vareen called out. “Does anyone know what’s happening?”

  A willowy blonde with blue streaks and shells in her hair wearing a blue dress waved from a boat on her right. “I’m Delphine. My father is the leader for Metari. I think we’re part of another trial.”