Free The Spacetime Pool by Catherine Asaro Page B

gaze traveled slowly over
her. “Far from it.”
     
    “I’m in the early
stages. The most contagious time.”
     
    He snorted. “Which is
why you were married today, eh?”
     
    “She’s fine,” Aker
said with a laugh. “You should have seen her in the palace. She can scream like
a banshee.”
     
    Screw you, Janelle thought.
     
    “I will tell the
emperor of your offer,” the bearded man told him. Then he continued on to a
cluster of other riders.
     
    Aker dismounted and
helped Janelle down, but he otherwise went out of his way to avoid touching
her. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or even more afraid.
     
    The bearded man soon
reappeared on foot—accompanied by Maximillian. Janelle’s pulse lurched. The
emperor could have been Dominick; he had the same eyes, the same strong
features, the same height. But unlike Dominick, who warmed with his gaze,
Maximillian’s stare was ice. He appraised her as if she were an object for
sale.
     
    The emperor glanced
at the bearded man. “You didn’t exaggerate. She’s lovely. Exotic, with that
yellow hair. Yes, we will keep the bride.” He nodded to Aker. “I will remember
your generosity.”
     
    “Your Highness.” Aker
sounded strained. “Look at her jewels.”
     
    Puzzlement creased
Maximillian’s face. He pushed Janelle’s hair over her shoulder to see her
necklace better. For a long moment he stared at it. When he spoke, his voice
was too quiet, like the calm in the center of a storm. “Are you my brother’s
wife?”
     
    Janelle met his gaze.
“Yes.” She prayed he didn’t find out they had never finished the ceremony.
     
    “It cannot be.
Dominick would never risk his own death to marry some pretty tidbit.” He took
her chin and turned her face to the side. “My God, you do look like her. But
you’re too young.” His voice hardened. “From where do you come?”
     
    “Cambridge.” She had
no idea if it existed here. “Near Boston.”
     
    “Boston? Where is
that?”
     
    “Dominick called it ‘another
sheet.’”
     
    His posture went
rigid. “And your name is Salima?”
     
    She didn’t see any
point in lying now. “No. It’s Janelle.”
     
    “Hai,” Aker murmured.
     
    Maximillian swore. “That’s
impossible.”
     
    The bearded man
spoke. “If she is the one, Your Highness, you have her now instead of your
brother.”
     
    Maximillian answered
with barely controlled fury. “One day earlier. One day, and I would have
been in time.” He reached toward Janelle. When she backed away, Aker stepped
behind her and grasped her upper arms, holding her in place.
     
    The emperor grabbed
strands of Janelle’s hair and yanked them out, making her gasp at the stab of
pain. He thrust the tendrils at the bearded man. “Ride to the palace. Fast. Have her signature checked. And tell Major Artos to prepare the army. Dominick
will soon realize she is gone, if he hasn’t already.”
     
    Maximillian turned
back to Janelle. “You,” he said grimly, “will come with me.”
     
    * * * *
     
    The emperor’s company
rode hard during the day, with stops only to change and rest the biaquines.
They continued into the night, lighting their way with torches. Maximillian had
Janelle sit in front of him on his biaquine. At least he changed his saddle to
an animal skin with fleece against her legs. Smells saturated her senses:
leather, sweat, musky animals. Maximillian’s armor jabbed her back and his
thighs pressed against her hips. Her chafed skin burned.
     
    “You know Dominick
has five children,” Maximillian said when they slowed to rest the horses. “He
loved their mother. He hasn’t touched another woman since. If it wasn’t for
that godforsaken prophecy, he wouldn’t touch you, either.”
     
    If he expected to get
a rise out of her, he would be disappointed. When she didn’t respond, he spoke
tightly. “Dominick will be uncle to your children. Not father.”
     
    She made herself stop
gritting her teeth. “How noble of