Page 22 of Warrior's Captive
Notlikely.Vivian just barely managed to suppress her recoil.
“And here,” Abeyya murmured. “But we don’t have long-term stay facilities. Vivian, I don’t think theAdekhanmeans to imply this is a permanent arrangement, or that your consent is not a factor.” She pitched her voice to a soothing tone. “But at least until the baby is born it may be the most convenient, and not just for safety reasons. His home is quite comfortable, and in a good location.”
Tai’ri finally turned away from his wall, calm exerted over his expression. He watched her silently.
Vivian knew her anger was irrational, so waited until she could speak calmly to reply. What else could she do, in any case? They were right. And she didn’t want to live in the shelter, no matter how clean, well-stocked, and tastefully decorated it was. A shelter was a shelter. She ached for ahome.
And a man,a voice whispered.A family.
But not like this. Not now.
She closed her eyes. If not now, then when? This was the reality she’d been dealt. She could either rail against it, or navigate her way to a compromise she could live with.
The baby shifted, spending a happy, uncomfortable moment stretching little arms and legs before settling back down. Vivian’s back ached. Her feet felt hot and tight and her belly itched. And she had to pee.
“Have I exhausted all my options?” Vivian asked carefully, opening her eyes. “I’m aware of Tai’ri’s generous offer, and I’m grateful to you as well,Bdakhun. I’m only concerned that I haven’t had time to properly reflect on all the avenues that may be available to me.”
“What avenues?” Vykhan’s tone didn’t change from its flat baritone.
Vivian’s shoulders prickled. It was as if he was so certain of her cooperation or capitulation that he couldn’t even be bothered to feel annoyance or anger that she was pushing back.
“You are an alien illegally on this planet,” he continued. “You have gone through none of the required channels to secure permits to remain here. Your situation is unique so there are precedents in place to remedy a breech in procedure. However, because you are carrying a child who is one of us, and you have a well-placed sponsor, such permissions that are required may be expedited.”
He paused, as if to give her time to come to the correct conclusions.
“Furthermore, your presence presents risk to our people. Doubtless the traffickers will attempt to retrieve you again, as you represent a significant investment of time and resources. Attempts to retrieve you might place others in danger. We cannot have you wandering about the planet unsupervised. In short, either you accept Tai’ri’s offer or you must return to Earth where you will no longer be our problem.”
She took several short, ragged breaths. None of the others gainsaid him, which meant they all agreed, even if none of them might have phrased it like that. So, Vykhan was to be the battering ram, then?
The dressing down hurt and forced home the fact that she was here on sufferance and had no real rights. No legal representation. It was the choice of one purgatory or the other, and resentment swelled. They were so certain what she should choose. Vivian opened her mouth, about to inform them she would board the next ship to Earth, when Tai’ri interjected.
“Viv, all I care about is your safety.” He crossed the distance between them and crouched partway down so they were at eye level. “Let me keep you and our baby safe until we have the threat under control and then I swear to you on this child’s life, I will do everything I can to help you build the life that you want. On your terms.”
She held his gaze, observed the tightness of his mouth and how he held himself so contained that he’d even stopped fiddling with the beads. She wondered if this was how he expressed fear. She didn’t doubt he cared—it would have been all too easy for him to walk away from the entire situation. Could she take a child away from its father, a father whowantedit?
She would have to hold her own with these people, have to insist on making her own decisions, but in the circumstances it would be foolish to try to head out into the wilderness of a strange planet just to assuage her need to feel independent.
“Fine, all this discussion is water torture.” She stopped short, feeling her cheeks heat up at her rudeness. “Excuse me, my temper is a little short.”
“Understandably,” Ibukay said. “So it’s settled? Excellent.”
“We have already dispatched backup,” Vykhan said. “ETA one quarter mark.”
Because he had assumed she would comply. For a moment, Vivian hated him. All of them.
9
“It’sfrom the Olathian period that swept the Province about two hundred years ago,” Tai’ri said, placing his palm on the door plate. “The wealthy went through a phase where the higher your status, the more floors you built onto your home. Don’t know why.”
He’d been chattering the entire trip from the center. Like a tourist guide. And now he was discussing, in depth, the architecture of his house.
The door slid open rather than shimmering, and Tai’ri stepped aside and gestured for her to precede him.
It hit her. “Stairs.”
He must have heard the dismay in her voice. “When I renovated it, I had the living quarters all moved to the first two levels. Third and fourth levels are guest suites, offices, and a studio.”
That caught her attention. “A studio? An art studio?”
