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  As I said the last words, a mighty surge ran between us—a rush of electrifying power—of a vow given and received. It was a sign that the Goddess of Mercy had heard and acknowledged my oath to my new mistress.

  Charlotte must have felt it too because her eyes got wide and she tried to pull her hands out of mine.

  “What was that?” she whispered in an awed voice.

  “That was me tying myself to your service for life,” I said simply.

  Although I still wasn’t certain why I had added the “Unending Love” part, which was not actually supposed to be part of the vow. I had added it when I gave my oath to my old mistress, Sundalla the 999th because I felt very strongly for her.

  I never expected to have such strong feelings for my new mistress—my heart was in the grave with the last Goddess-Empress and though my loyalty was the new Empress’s to command, my love was dead. Yet somehow the words had come to my lips and I had uttered them anyway. Why?

  Before I could answer the question, Charlotte was yanking her hands out of mine and edging away from me.

  “This can’t be right—I mean, you don’t think you’re going to stay here, do you?”

  “Of course not,” I said. “We will be going to Femme One as soon as I can get my armor back and call my ship to come to us.”

  “What? I’m not going anywhere with you!” she exclaimed. She got up and started pacing back and forth. “I never met you before last night! I have a life here—an internship! Do you know how hard it is to get into one of these programs? And…and I have sick people depending on me. I can’t just leave them!”

  I considered rising to go to her but I could feel her fear and trepidation—though I was careful not to let my skin display those emotions. Instead I stayed on my knees, motionless, to avoid causing her more distress.

  “You want to devote yourself to the service of others,” I said calmly. “That is the defining characteristic of the Goddess-Empress. But if you stay here you can help what—hundreds? Perhaps thousands? If you come with me, you will be able to help trillions. My Lady-Goddess, so many will be touched by your divine hand—”

  “Stop calling me that! I’m not a goddess!” she exclaimed. “And…and get up off the floor. Stop kneeling to me like that—it’s crazy!”

  “It is a sign of respect,” I said gravely, staying where I was.

  “Well, it’s freaking me out.” She ran a hand through her hair distractedly. “This whole conversation is insane. I can’t believe I’m even talking to you instead of just telling you to leave. None of what you’re saying can possibly be true.”

  “Are you calling me a liar, my Lady?” I asked, my voice deepening towards a growl. “After what you have seen?” I nodded at the sleek, silver form of the assassin-droid, jumbled in a heap on her floor.

  “I…I can’t…It’s just, this is the first I’m hearing about any of this.” She put a hand on her hip and glared at me. “You can’t blame me for saying it sounds crazy!”

  This time, I did rise to stand before her.

  “I know you come from a closed planet which has no knowledge of the outside universe,” I said. “But did the Commercians tell you nothing when they gave you the message from your friend, the Lady Leah?”

  “What message? She shook her head. “What are you talking about? Leah called me a couple of times but I was too busy to talk.”

  “No, the message should have come through the Commercians,” I said, frowning. “Char’noth the head of the Alien Mate Index took payment in exchange for reaching you to tell you the details of your friend’s disappearance and ask you to relay the information to her family.”

  “Who is Char’noth?” she demanded. “And Leah hasn’t disappeared—she just moved to Virginia with that asshole fiancé of hers.”

  I felt a surge of anger.

  “So you never heard from the Commercians? Those little blue bastards! Gravex told me they took payment from him in full. They’re avaricious but it’s not like them to defraud a paying customer.”

  “Wait…” Her face had gone pale. “Did you say…blue?”

  “Yes, blue. They are long and thin with eyes on stalks. They stand about so high…” I showed a measurement with my hand not too far from the ground. “They make contact through shiny objects such as viewers or…”

  I trailed off because Charlotte had sunk back down to the padded seating area with her head in her hands.

  “Oh my God,” she was murmuring. “Oh my God…Oh my God!”

  “Mistress?” I knelt before her, feeling her distress so clearly it roused my protective instincts. But there was no outside foe to fight for her—the source of her suffering was internal.

  “The worm,” she said at last, looking up at me, her eyes filled with a strange mixture of relief and regret. “That damn blue worm! He’s been trying to talk to me for weeks. Every time I looked in the mirror or the side of the toaster or even a metal spoon…I mean, I couldn’t even use the bathroom without him yelling at me from the reflective water in the toilet!”

  So the Commercians had tried to contact her.

  “You never listened to what he had to say?” I asked, frowning.

  “You don’t understand—I’m a practical person. I don’t believe in things like ghost stories or fairy tales or aliens. I…” She put her face in her hands, her voice coming out muffled. “I thought I was going crazy.”

  At last I understood the source of her tangled emotions—she had feared for her sanity.

  “Mistress,” I said as gently as I could. “You’re not insane and neither am I. There is another world outside your own small planet—a vast one that needs you. Needs you desperately.”

  “I can’t.” She sat up, shaking her head, her lovely face set. “I can’t just pick up and go. I told you—I have a life here. I, uh, appreciate that you came all this way and that you saved my life…” She looked at the remains of the droid and shivered. “But you’ll have to go back to that…that other world without me. I’m staying here.”

  “Then I am staying with you,” I said, though my heart was heavy. “I have pledged myself to you for life, my Lady. I will never leave your side.”

  Charlotte

  “What?” I stared at him blankly. “What are you talking about? You can’t just move in.” I thought about how I had promised my landlady not to have strange men over. And a seven-foot tall, muscular alien with rainbow eyes and skin that could change colors was about as strange as it got.

  But Kristoff had a stubborn look on his chiseled features.

  “My Lady, I have pledged my life to you,” he said, frowning. “My place is at your side. I will not abandon you.”

  “Well then you’ll have to rent your own apartment,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “Because there’s no room for you here. I only have, uh, one bed.” I could feel my cheeks heating as I said it but I went on anyway. “And I’m not letting some strange man sleep with me. Also, you won’t fit on the couch.” I indicated my little loveseat which was barely big enough for one normal sized person to stretch out on—there was no way a seven-foot tall alien would fit.

  He frowned. “I will sleep on the floor at the foot of your bed, if necessary, but I will not leave you alone. That would not be safe.”

  “Why not?” I demanded. “You killed the, uh, assassin-bot thing.” I gestured at the shiny silver jumble on my carpet.

  Kristoff’s strange eyes narrowed.

  “Assassin-droid. And do you really think that is the only attempt your enemies will make on your life? As long as you live, you’re a threat to those who want power—power which should rightfully be yours.”

  “I don’t want that much power!” I exclaimed. “I just want to be left alone!”

  He shook his head. “That is one thing you will never be again. The Goddess-Empress must be warded at all times for her own safety and protection.”

  “Look here,” I said, glaring at him. “You can’t just decide to move into my home and never leav
e!”

  “Which is why you must come with me to Femme One,” he said. “Only there can you be adequately guarded.”

  “I told you, I’m not—”

  Our argument was interrupted by a loud knocking at the door.

  “Wait. Just wait a minute,” I said to Kristoff. “I have to see who this is.”

  “Are you mad?” He stepped in front of me when I would have gone to get the door.

  “No, I’m thinking I have someone at the door,” I said. “Now will you please get out of the way and let me answer it?”

  “Think, my Lady—who was it the last time you opened the door? This could be another droid sent to kill you,” he warned.

  For a moment my heart seemed to stop in my chest. He could be right, whispered a panicked little voice in the back of my head. The whole world—hell, the whole universe—could be out to get you!

  But I couldn’t live like that, couldn’t give in to paranoia. I was still trying to deal with the idea that there was in fact extraterrestrial life out there, let alone the idea that I was supposed to go to some mystical planet and rule over it all from a golden throne. I couldn’t let go of my humanity and my nice, normal world just because some tall, muscular stranger said so.

  The knocking sounded again.

  “Step back,” I said sternly. “I’m going to get the damn door.”

  He frowned. “Then I am coming with you.”

  Chapter Eight

  Charlotte

  I went to the door with a glaring Kristoff right at my back. He was keeping to the shadows, such as they were, but I could tell his big body was coiled tight as a spring, ready to jump into action if he thought I was in danger in any way. God, he really took his job seriously! I had the uneasy feeling it was going to be next to impossible to get rid of him.

  I have to admit, my heart was hammering in my chest as the door swung open. What if Kristoff was right? What if it was another assassin droid coming to attack me?

  What met my eyes was the last person I had expected.

  Dr. Drake Hunter stood there, his brown hair slicked back and a self-satisfied look in his baby-blue eyes. He was dressed in tight jeans and there was a motorcycle helmet under one arm. He was the “cool” doctor at North Florida Regional and he had every nurse, tech, and PA in the place swooning over him.

  “Dr. Hunter?” I said blankly. “What are you doing here?”

  He looked me up and down and gave a long, low whistle.

  “Well, hello there, Charlotte. Aren’t you looking lovely today.”

  I suddenly remembered that I was wearing nothing but the black lace teddy and the robe that went with it. Then again, it wasn’t exactly like I’d had time to change, what with all the craziness that had happened to me in the last half hour.

  “How can I help you?” I said, not bothering to keep the dislike out of my voice. I know lots of women who think that confidence is sexy—and it is, if you think the man being all confident and in your face can turn you on. But one shake of Dr. Drake Hunter’s neatly manicured hand had been enough to let me know he couldn’t do a damn thing for me sexually. Not that anyone could but still—his arrogance was annoying.

  “Now, Charlotte…I think we got off on the wrong foot the other day.” He gave me a blindingly white grin that all the other women at the hospital found completely charming and I just found irritating.

  “You mean when you asked me out and I turned you down?” I said bluntly.

  I’m not usually so rude but my heart was still pounding hard—here was another person from the hospital who shouldn’t know where I lived showing up on my doorstep. Was he an assassin-droid? I didn’t see a glint of silver in his blue eyes and he was a lot more articulate than the Carlos-thing had been but still, maybe whoever it was that wanted me dead was stepping up their game with an upgraded model.

  Dr. Hunter’s grin slipped a little but he clearly wasn’t one to give up.

  “Well yes—I was thinking I just caught you at a bad time,” he remarked. “Your Attending said he sent you home so I thought maybe with a little privacy…”

  “You thought if you cornered me at my home I’d agree to go out with you?” I demanded. “How did you even get my address?”

  “I’m friends with Linda, in Records—she looked it up for me. She was actually pretty jealous when I told her why I wanted to see you. I, uh, think she has a little crush on me.” He winked at me knowingly—damn, would nothing puncture his huge ego?

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “But I just don’t think—”

  “You don’t have to think about it at all, baby.” Before I knew it, he had captured one of my hands and was staring soulfully into my eyes. “Just come with me. I’ll take you for a ride on the back of my Harley and then afterwards we can spread a blanket under the stars…”

  “I don’t think so,” I began but suddenly Kristoff was standing beside me, glaring down at Hunter. His skin had taken on that strange gold sheen again that I had seen the night before in the ER and his eyes were whirling with rage.

  “Hands off,” he growled at the startled Dr. Hunter.

  Hunter dropped my hand abruptly, but held his ground.

  “Who is this?” he asked me, his eyes never leaving Kristoff’s tall form. “Is he, uh, from another hospital?”

  I blessed the fact that Kristoff was wearing the stolen scrubs and lab jacket from the hospital.

  “Yes,” I said quickly. “This is, uh, my brother, Kris.”

  “Your brother?” He raised his eyebrows skeptically. “Forgive me for saying so, but you two look nothing alike. What’s the deal with his skin?”

  “That’s because I was adopted,” I said, which was the one truth in the stew of lies I was telling. I ignored the skin question—there was no plausible explanation as to why my companion suddenly had a golden sheen to his dark tan skin. “Kris is visiting from Minnesota where he’s a resident at St. Paul’s.”

  “St. Paul’s, huh?” Hunter frowned, clearly not buying it. “If he’s here visiting on vacation, why is he dressed in scrubs?”

  “He, uh, thought he might come with me to do afternoon rounds,” I said weakly—I could feel my house of lies collapsing but I wasn’t quite ready to give up on it yet.

  “I thought your Attending sent you home to get some rest,” Hunter said, still frowning.

  “He did but I’m, uh, perfectly well rested now and I was about to go back,” I said.

  “Dressed like that?” He eyed me incredulously.

  “I was about to put on my scrubs,” I said. “You just…caught me at a bad time.”

  Hunter started to ask something else but Kristoff glared down at him.

  “No more questions,” he said in that deep, dark voice of his. “You will leave now. You are not wanted here.”

  “Well aren’t you just fucking rude?” Hunter snapped at him. “Charlotte, I think you’d better rein your extremely tall brother in. If he even is your brother.” He frowned. “Come to think of it, wasn’t there an extremely tall patient who escaped from the psych ward today?”

  “Was there?” I said, trying to sound unconcerned. “That’s strange.”

  “Yes—a patient I heard you were treating in the ER last night.” Hunter’s face grew rigid. “What are you doing, Dr. Walker? You know this kind of thing is a serious breach of ethics.”

  Great, when he wanted to go out with me I was sweet little “Charlotte.” But the minute he thought he’d caught me with another man—and a patient at that—I was suddenly the much more formal “Dr. Walker.”

  “What I do is none of your business,” I said stiffly. “And speaking of a breach of ethics, I think getting a fellow employee’s address so you can harass them at home is pretty unethical. In fact, I’m sure my friend, Marge, in Human Resources would love to hear about it.”

  At last he stepped back, his face dark with anger.

  “Fine. I was trying to do you a favor,” he snarled. “Just trying to brighten up your sad, pathetic little li
fe.”

  “Thanks, but I don’t need it brightened badly enough to go out with you,” I snapped back.

  I could tell from his face that I had gone too far. Dr. Hunter outranked me at the hospital—he was a Resident and I was just a lowly intern. I had just burned a bridge there was no rebuilding and it could have a serious impact on my future career.

  “You’ll pay for that,” Hunter said tightly. “You just flushed your career down the toilet, little girl. Remember that the next time you want in on a surgery and you’re stuck on endless rounds giving enemas and cleaning out stomas.”

  He turned and marched off, leaving me fuming with rage. Okay, so he hadn’t been an assassin-droid after all. But I kind of wished he was—it would have been better than the conversation we’d just had and the inevitable outcome.

  I went back in my apartment and slapped the door closed only to find Kristoff standing there, staring at me appraisingly.

  “What?” I snapped. “I hope you’re satisfied. Now he’s going to go tell everyone at my work that I’m harboring a crazy escaped psych patient in my apartment.”

  “I wouldn’t have been labeled ‘crazy’ or had to escape if you hadn’t ordered me drugged and tied to that metal sleeping platform,” he reminded me, frowning.

  “Well, what was I supposed to do?” I demanded. “You nearly choked my friend Sebastian to death! And he was just joking around with me. I’m surprised you didn’t try strangling Dr. Hunter just now when he got nasty with me.”

  “I didn’t think you needed my help,” he said mildly. “You acquitted yourself very well. I can tell already you’ll make a formidable Empress.”

  “Not that again.” I threw up my hands and went to sit back on the couch. “Look, do you know how tired I am? I’ve been up for well over twenty-four hours and the last hour of that has been running from an assassin-robot and arguing with a seven-foot tall alien who seems to think I’m the queen of the universe. Not to mention flushing my medical career down the toilet by insulting a Resident. It’s crazy.” I felt tears of self-pity pricking behind my eyelids and blinked them away angrily. “I just can’t deal with this right now!” I said, my voice trembling much more than I wanted it to.