Purity Read online

  “Apparently she’s disappeared just like she did so many years ago,” the other man who’d helped Boone up said. “The lost and found princess has been lost again.”

  Boone rubbed his face and looked at him. “And you are?”

  “This is Rolf—my new touch partner.” Loki stroked the other man’s muscular bicep. “Isn’t he just a dream? He’s new to the whole gay thing too, so be nice to him.”

  “Didn’t know I could jump the fence until I met Loki.” Rolf batted startlingly long eyelashes at the effete pilot. “It was an eye-opener, and no mistake.”

  “Well I’m happy for you,” Boone said shortly before turning back to Loki. “We have to find K,” he said. “She put back on that damn suit before she left. It could kill her!”

  Loki raised an eyebrow at him. “And how may I ask did she get the suit back in the first place?”

  “I gave it to her,” Boone growled. “When we found out exactly what was involved in the Erian sex cycle. You know how K feels about contamination. She couldn’t bear the thought of…needing what she was going to need.”

  “Ooo, I told you the cycle was a beast.” Loki made a tsking sound. “Especially in royals. I have to tell you, Boone, if I’d known she had the sacred triple rings, I would have been scared to death about her staying in your room every night. You’re really, really lucky that her cycle didn’t start sooner. You wouldn’t have survived it—hell, none of us would.”

  Boone glared at him. “What the hell are you talking about? I know she’s supposed to get a little, uh, feral when her time comes but—”

  “A little feral?” Rolf made a choking noise. “Forgive me, giant, but that’s a huge understatement—especially for a royal.”

  “What is he talking about?” Boone demanded, looking at Loki. “And no more lies or half truths or evasions. Just tell me, damn it.”

  “When a royal enters their cycle, they turn into a kind of mindless beast,” Loki said seriously. “They’re savage and very strong. Of course, it doesn’t help that part of the mating ceremony involves tying down their sexual partners so they can’t defend themselves…”

  “Typically they kill the first two or three males they mate with,” Rolf put in helpfully.

  “What?” Boone stared at Loki in disbelief. “So that’s what K meant when she said she would hurt me?”

  “Hurt you? More like rip you limb from limb.” Loki nodded knowingly. “Believe me, Boone, mating with K during her first cycle would be like trying to get it on with Sweetie. You really dodged a bullet.”

  “I didn’t dodge a bullet—I failed her.” Boone sat heavily on the sleeping platform. “No wonder she put on the suit and left. It wasn’t just about being contaminated, she was afraid for me. Afraid she’d hurt me or kill me.”

  “I thought she promised to kill you—multiple times,” Loki said.

  “Yeah, she mentioned that. But she said she felt…” Boone tried to think how K had put it. “She felt ‘strangely reluctant’ to carry out her threat.” Boone rubbed his aching forehead. “God, how could I be so stupid?”

  “You didn’t know.” Loki looked suddenly contrite. “I should have told you more. Although in my defense, the first cycle of a royal is a lot different than it is for us commoners.”

  “We don’t tear each other apart for one thing,” Rolf said. “And we don’t require multiple partners to get the job done.”

  “Thank goodness.” Loki smiled at the other man. “Just one man is enough for me. As long as he knows how to do the job.”

  “You taught me well,” Rolf murmured, smiling back.

  “All right, enough with the love fest,” Boone growled. He had a feeling if he didn’t stop Loki and his new touch partner they would start going at it like two dogs in heat right in the middle of his room. “We need to find K. That damn skinsuit could make her sick or even kill her.”

  “Well, good luck with that,” Loki said. “Nobody seems to know where she went. In fact, I’m surprised you haven’t had a bunch of palace guards in here questioning you already.”

  “They probably thought he was safely contained,” Rolf said. “After all, there’s a whole squadron right outside his door. They must have known the princess escaped on her own.” He frowned. “But where would she go?”

  “Back to Athena to be with the Purists again, probably.” Loki shrugged.

  “No, she was contaminated,” Boone said. “There’s no way she would go back there unless…” His breath caught in his throat.

  “Unless what?” Loki demanded.

  “Unless she decided to go back and purge herself. God.” Boone put a hand to his eyes. Please don’t let that be it. Don’t let her kill herself. Please.

  “Well, we might not know where K went but I do know where we ought to go,” Loki said.

  “Where?” Boone asked tiredly.

  “Anywhere away from the palace,” Loki said definitively. “You are officially persona non grata around here, Boone. The Empress says she never wants to lay eyes on you again.”

  “What? Why? If she doesn’t think I had anything to do with K’s leaving, then—”

  “It’s best not to question her majesty,” Rolf said quietly. “If she says she wants you out of her sight, it’s best just to go and thank the Goddess you’re leaving in one piece.”

  “Rolf’s right. So come on.” Loki tugged on his arm. “I’ve already got the ship out of dry dock. We need to get going if we’re going to do anything for Shayla.” He frowned. “Although now that we’re minus a Paladin, I’m not sure exactly what we can do.”

  “What?” Boone was surprised all over again. “But the Empress said she’d take care of that.”

  Loki shook his head. “I’m sorry, Boone. Once you lose the royal favor, I’m afraid it’s lost for good. Nobody is going to help us get Shayla back—we’re on our own.”

  “On our own,” Boone muttered, rubbing his head. But how would they get to his little sister without K?

  “Kneel!” shouted a new, angry voice, breaking into his muddled thoughts.

  Looking up, Boone saw a battalion of heavily armed soldiers barging into the room. Their leader was waving a weapon in his face and before he knew it, he and Loki and Rolf were all on their knees in the thick blue carpet with their hands on their heads.

  The soldiers parted and the small, plump figure of the Grand Viceroy appeared.

  “What the hell is this all about?” Boone growled, frowning at the little man.

  The Grand Viceroy unrolled a thick vellum scroll and read from it.

  “By order of her majesty the most high Empress of Eros, you will be detained for a time to determine if you know the whereabouts of the missing princess.”

  “Uh-oh,” Loki muttered from the side of his mouth. “I think we just lost our get out of jail free card, Boone.”

  Boone was afraid he was right but he wasn’t about to go down without a fight.

  “This is ridiculous,” he said, glaring at the Grand Viceroy. “We don’t know where K went. We don’t have any idea where she…”

  He trailed off. Where had K gone? If it wasn’t to purge herself then…

  Suddenly the last words she’d said to him seemed to echo in his head.

  “Don’t worry, Boone—I don’t ever expect to see you again but I keep my promises.”

  But what promise had she been talking about? She’d sworn over and over to kill him but here he was, still alive. So what…

  Shayla! She promised to help me rescue Shayla!

  The realization burst over him along with a wave of relief. He knew where K was headed—at least, he thought he did. If they could only get to their ship to follow her—

  The Grand Viceroy snapped the scroll closed and smiled at Boone most unpleasantly.

  “What you know and do not know is for the Empress to decide, giant.” He nodded at the captain of the guards. “Take them to the throne room. I believe her majesty has a few questions to ask.”

  Chapter Twenty-thre