Exiled Read online

  “Well.” Lissa took a deep breath. Rising, she shook out her dress and threw back her hair. With hands that trembled only a little, she buckled the shining mirror-mere dagger to her slender waist and then threw Saber a glance. “Let’s go.”

  She made her way to the hatch of the ship and Saber followed, trying to keep his eyes on the ground instead of her luscious ass—a losing battle. He gave an inward sigh. This mission was going to be even more difficult than he’d imagined.

  * * * * *

  Lissa hooked the small purple cube that contained all her supplies and wardrobe over her arm and slapped the button to open the ship’s hatch. The sight of the barren landscape of rocks and raw, churned earth that greeted her was daunting but she didn’t let it stop her from marching down the steps and setting her feet firmly on the ground—ground which she promptly sank into up to her ankles.

  “Oh!” she gasped and took a step back, out of the sucking mud. Unfortunately, it pulled the small, elegant satin slipper she’d been wearing right off her foot, putting her off balance. She pinwheeled her arms and would have fallen backward if Saber hadn’t caught her.

  “Easy!” His strong hands on her bare shoulders felt warm and certain. The forbidden skin-to-skin contact made Lissa’s heart race.

  “Thank you.” She straightened up hurriedly. Was it her imagination or did Saber’s hands linger on her skin before he finally released her? Just my imagination, surely, she told herself, her heart still pounding. He promised he wouldn’t touch me. He only steadied me to keep me from falling—that’s all. Carefully she pulled her other foot out of the sucking mud as well. She lost her other slipper but not her balance. Then she stood there, barefoot on the last step, and looked around.

  “Well this is a Goddess damned mess,” Saber muttered behind her. “Now what?”

  As if in answer to his question, a large male with a bald head and broad, bare shoulders came slogging around the side of the ship to stand in front of them.

  “Oh, hello,” Lissa said uncertainly, taken aback.

  “Little mistress,” he muttered, bowing deeply. “I am Llewelyn, body-slave to Lady Sha’rak the cultural ambassador of Yonnie Six.”

  “Well, it’s very nice to meet you. I—” Lissa began but the slave ignored her and unrolled a long, thin metal parchment, which he held it out in front of him. Just as Lissa was wondering what in the universe he could be doing, the shiny surface of the metal flickered and an image of a beautiful woman who looked to be in her early forties appeared on it. She had silvery blonde hair with blue streaks in every shade from the palest powder blue to deep indigo running through it. The shimmering mass was swept up into an impossible swirl atop her head that looked like it must have taken hours to achieve.

  “Lady R’awr? Can you hear me?” the woman on the parchment asked.

  “I can.” Lissa leaned forward, being careful not to fall in the mud. “Um, thank you for coming to greet us,” she said.

  “Think nothing of it, my dear. I greet all the new arrivals of distinction and rank.” Lady Sha’rak smiled in a friendly way. “So you’ve come all the way from Zetta Prime, have you? Is the purpose of your visit for business or pleasure?”

  “Oh, pleasure of course,” Lissa answered quickly. “We, uh, I mean, I, simply wanted to see the sights of Opulex with my own eyes. I’ve heard how, um, how very beautiful it is all my life.” She hoped her lie wouldn’t be too apparent—honestly, as far as she could tell this was one of the ugliest places in the universe. But maybe the city itself was nicer once you got inside it—she hoped anyway.

  “You have? Really?” The ambassador laughed. “Oh my poor, innocent dear. I’m afraid you have much to learn. But what we lack in beauty in Opulex, we certainly make up for in sensation. I’m sure you know what I mean.” She winked at Lissa who smiled weakly back.

  “Um, of course,” she said uncertainly.

  “I can see you have no idea. But that’s all right—you’ll soon find out.” Lady Sha’rak laughed again and then looked at Lissa more closely. “You know, I had some R’awrs in my own family tree—way back several generations ago. Do you think we might be related?”

  “It’s possible, I suppose,” Lissa said cautiously. “I would certainly be honored if we were.”

  “How sweet.” Lady Sha’rak nodded. “Well then, why don’t you come across the trench so I can greet you in person?”

  “I’d love to,” Lissa said. “But, well…how? I just took a single step in the mud and it sucked off both my shoes. I’m not sure I’ll be fit to be seen if I have to go much farther.”

  “Have your body-slave carry you, of course.” The ambassador sounded a touch impatient. “My man, Llewelyn can provide him with mud-waders. He’ll lead you to the trench crossing and bring you safely to my home. Don’t worry,” she added, perhaps seeing the uncertain look on Lissa’s face. “He’s trustworthy, even without a leash—I’ve had him since I was sixteen.”

  “Oh…of course.” Lissa nodded. “I, uh, wasn’t worried about that.” What she’d been worried about was being carried in Saber’s arms. But there didn’t seem to be much she could do about it at the moment.

  “Well, you should be.” Lady Sha’rak’s indigo eyes widened. “After all, we all know what filthy beasts males can be if not properly trained and controlled.” Her eyes flicked to Saber, standing protectively behind Lissa. “Speaking of which, that brute of yours is positively huge. I assume he’s thoroughly broken?”

  “Of course.” Reaching behind her, Lissa grabbed the black leather leash attached to Saber’s collar. “He’s um, completely in control. I mean,” she went on hastily. “I am in complete control of him. He’s not a threat.”

  “Well…” Ambassador Sha’rak frowned hesitantly. “All right. If you say so. I just can’t have any unbroken males in my house.”

  Behind her, Lissa could hear a faint, barely noticeable growl coming from her kinsman’s throat. She hoped the Yonnite Ambassador couldn’t hear it. “Saber is completely trained, I assure you,” she said, giving a tiny tug on the leash. Abruptly, the growling stopped.

  “Very well.” Lady Sha’rak nodded regally. “You may come. I’ll see you in my house at ten past the hour exactly. Oh, and don’t worry about your shoes, my dear. We can always get you another pair.”

  She nodded once more and the metal parchment went suddenly blank. Lady Sha’rak’s body-slave, Llewelyn, stowed the parchment in the pack on his back and pulled out a pair of oversized, high black boots which he thrust at Saber.

  “Put them on. Next transport leaves in ten,” he grunted.

  Saber took the boots stiffly and pulled them on over his own. When he was finished, he stood up and stepped down into the mud. “Now where?” he asked the body-slave.

  “This way.” Llewelyn jerked his bald, gleaming head. “Bring your mistress and keep up. If we’re late, my lady will give me the pain-taste. I don’t fucking like that.”

  “Of course.” Saber turned to her and held out his arms. “Mistress?” he murmured, gazing up at her.

  Lissa looked at him uncertainly but the taciturn Llewelyn was already slogging through the mud, yards ahead of them. There was no time to be squeamish or embarrassed. Not if they wanted to get to the ambassador’s house on time. Mutely, she leaned forward, allowing Saber to scoop her into his arms.

  He held her carefully, like a baby, as he made his way through the squelching mud. For her part, Lissa tried to stay stiff in his arms and to keep their contact to a minimum. It was exhausting to be so rigid—it would have been much easier to just let herself melt against him and relax but Lissa was afraid to do that. Afraid of what Saber might think of her and afraid of the feelings that might rise and drown her if she allowed herself even the tiniest bit of flexibility. So she did her best impression of a stiff, inflexible stick as he carried her until they reached the side of an enormous trench.

  “Oh,” Lissa murmured in awe. The trench was more like a canyon—its crumbling, lipless mouth gaping hungr