Free The Royal Mate (Space Wars) by April Zyon

promise.”
    “I know, little one.” He gave her hand a gentle return squeeze and blew out a breath. Paisley’s mother headed toward the vid crew and waved them into place near the seating area of her office. Then she turned to look at Markus. “Here we go,” he said. Releasing her hand, he moved his palm to her back and walked with her toward the group.
    Once Paisley was settled into a chair, Markus undid and removed his uniform jacket, passing it to her. Rolling up his sleeve, he sat down where the medics indicated, waiting while everyone else finished setting up. He didn’t look outwardly nervous but she could feel a hint of his nerves through their bond.
    All that Paisley could do was send him her absolute devotion and love through their link. She watched the men and women as they moved around the offices, then frowned. “Wait.” The camera crews were all filming and she knew she was supposed to simply sit there from the glare her mother gave her, but something was wrong. “Why did you just pull out a syringe with liquid already in it?” She was standing now, between the woman holding the syringe and Markus. “There should be nothing inside of the collection tube.”
    General Daykin moved to take the syringe from the woman, despite her protests. He lifted the syringe to give it a look, then squeezed the liquid out into his palm. A sniff and he frowned. “Arrest this woman, and put her in a hole until we can deal with her formally.” Shaking his head, he took the kerchief someone handed him and wiped his palm clean. “I can’t say for sure what it is, but the scent is familiar. A poison, if I had a guess. Word of warning to the rest of you—try anything similar and I will shoot you on the spot. No warnings.”
    Paisley relaxed once again and watched as the remainder of the collection process continued without incident. She was thankful that she had been watching because if anything had happened to Markus, she would have been lost, fully, without him.
    His hand came to rest on her back while they waited near the bank of windows showing off the city’s views from her mother’s office. All the medical staff and scientists were working under careful watch from the general and the fleet admiral, with her mother off to one side. “You are still angry,” he commented under his breath. “I can feel it vibrating between us.”
    “They tried to take you from me, Markus. I can’t accept that. I knew that there would be trouble and there would be danger but I never believed it, not really. I didn’t think that they would start trying to take you from me as soon as we got topside.” She was terrified.
    “This was their best shot to get to me and discredit the claims that I am this relative of the last royals of both worlds. Makes perfect sense they would try something before the blood work. The individual is in custody, I am fine, and it has provided Fintan an excuse to potentially shoot someone this evening. It was a win all around, in my opinion. Now they will not be able to get close enough to try again. They’ve tipped their hand, little one.” Sliding his arm around her waist, he pulled her in closer and brushed his lips to her temple. “I appreciate your being upset on my behalf, Paisley. But we need to focus on what may yet be coming our way.”
    Paisley nodded and took in a deep breath. She would trust him with her life and would never let him go. “Together you and I are a force to be reckoned with, aren’t we?” she asked with a smile. “So how long until we are able to go back to the general’s ship so that we don’t have to look for enemies around every corner?”
    He gave her a smile and reached out to squeeze her hand. “No idea, little one. I have a feeling your mother may have something to say on us leaving the planet for the destroyer. Let’s take one moment at a time and go from there.”
     
     

Chapter Eleven
     
    Everyone had decided that the kitchen was the best place to gather