A Grim Baby Read online

  “Yet you disobeyed my orders and followed your manno’s instead?”

  “What?”

  Grim saw the confusion in the young male’s eyes and wanted to sigh. Goddess, had he ever been this young? His gaze traveled over the other trainees, silently standing and watching.

  “Who is training you?” he demanded.

  “You, King Grim!” they immediately replied.

  “Who are you to serve?”

  “You, King Grim.”

  “Then hear me—all of you. When you reside within House Luanda, you will follow my directions and my directions only. Yes, warriors must be able to tolerate pain. They must learn to fight through injuries. But the use of repair units does not make them weak! It restores a warrior’s strength so that he can continue to protect his brothers and his empire. Any injury you receive that endangers either of those things must be treated. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, King Grim.”

  Turning his attention back to Larna, he ordered. “Go to medical. Have Healer Hadar repair your hands.”

  “Yes, my King.”

  “Once completed, return to the training fields. You will be running the obstacle course for the rest of the day.”

  The entire group let out a small gasp, for the obstacle course was only run once a day because of its length and difficulty. To be on it the whole day…

  “I… yes, my King.”

  As Larna walked away, Grim looked at the remaining trainees. “Return to your positions!”

  They all scrambled to follow his order.

  “What was wrong with the repair unit?” Grim asked Alger quietly as the trainees went through their paces.

  “I do not know,” Alger replied just as quietly. “I will have it inspected.”

  “Along with all the others,” Grim told him. “A repair unit is useless if it can’t quickly heal a warrior.”

  Chapter Three

  “Are you okay, Mommy?” Carly asked when Lisa leaned against the large rock they liked to sit on in the middle of the garden.

  Ion and Nairn, the girls’ guards, stood a short distance away, concerned expressions on their faces. It was early summer on Luda, or the beginning of the warm season, as Grim referred to it, and the girls loved being outside running and playing.

  “I’m fine, baby,” Lisa reassured, her hands supporting her stomach as she tried to catch her breath. “I just can’t move as fast as you.”

  “Because of our baby sister?” Miki asked.

  “Yes. She’s getting big, so it’s harder for me to get around.”

  Walking up to her mommy, Miki placed her hands on Lisa’s belly and leaned in close to whisper, “I can’t wait until you’re here so I can be a big sister.”

  “You’re going to be such a good one,” Lisa told Miki, then looked to Carly. “You both are. Have you thought of any new names?”

  She and Grim hadn’t settled on one yet and were including the girls in the decision.

  “Joy.”

  “Star.”

  They threw out their choices.

  “Those are both great names,” Lisa told them. “What made you choose Star?”

  Miki shrugged her little shoulders. “I don’t know. I just like it.”

  “Do you think your sister will?”

  “I don’t know, Mommy. I haven’t met her yet.”

  Lisa huffed out a chuckle. “Good point.”

  “My Queen.”

  Lisa looked up to see Montfort standing next to Agee, the Captain of her Guard. “Yes, Montfort? What is it?”

  “You asked to be informed when your ladies were beginning to gather,” he reminded her.

  “Yes, of course. Thank you, Montfort. I’ll be right there.”

  The warriors of House Luanda had taken to calling the women from Earth their Queen’s Ladies out of respect for them and their queen. Even though Lisa didn’t require the women to serve her as the ladies-in-waiting in Earth’s history did.

  “You have to leave, Mommy?” Miki asked, her disappointment easily seen in her down-turned lips.

  Though it was difficult, Lisa lowered herself to her knees and hugged her daughters. “I do, my babies. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s alright, Mommy,” Carly told her, easing back. “We don’t always get to do what we want. That’s what happens when you’re responsible for the welfare of others.”

  Lisa’s eyes widened at how mature her oldest sounded when she had only just turned six. The words were familiar, and Lisa knew Carly had heard them from Grim when he’d explained why he had to be gone so much of the day.

  She hadn’t believed Carly truly understood what he was saying. Apparently, she’d been wrong.

  “That’s right, Carly.” Lisa pulled her into another hug. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t wish I could spend the time with you instead. Would you two like to come with me?”

  Since the Joining Ceremony, the girls had spent a great deal of time with the females from Earth. Their presence seemed to help the women, especially when they saw how the girls were thriving.

  “Umm,” the girls looked at each other, then back to Lisa.

  “What?” Lisa asked. She knew that look. Her girls were plotting something.

  “We want to go back to our tree,” Carly finally told her.

  Lisa tried to puzzle through their answer. “Your tree?”

  “To see if Prince is there,” Miki supplied, amber eyes sparkling with excitement. “To make sure he’s okay after last night’s storm. We think he might have gone there to rest.”

  “Prince…” Lisa trailed off, thinking about the injured raptor the girls had discovered during the Festival of the Goddess under their favorite tree. They’d nursed the massive bird back to health without either her or Grim knowing.

  The raptor hadn’t harmed either of the girls then, but the next time, they hadn’t been so lucky after the bird had defended Carly, Miki, and Dagan from some unfit trainees.

  Everything had seemed fine when Prince had gifted Carly with one of his feathers, which Grim said was unheard of. Only true protectors were supposed to be able to find and wear them. Then the massive bird had turned his attention to Miki and struck before anyone could react.

  His razor-sharp beak sunk into the tender flesh of Miki’s tiny hand, between her thumb and index finger, leaving behind a mark Grim called the Eye of the Raptor. It was a thing of legend and was believed to give its bearer the ability to sense evil and darkness. Lisa wasn’t sure she would ever forgive the bird for doing that to her daughter.

  “Please, Mommy?” Miki begged.

  “We will remain close, Majesty,” Ion vowed to her, his hand tightening on the hilt of his sword, letting her know he wouldn’t let the bird near them. “No harm will come to the princesses.”

  Looking from Ion to her daughters’ hopeful eyes, Lisa finally nodded her permission but added a warning. “You will listen to Ion and Nairn without question. Do you understand me?”

  There was a pause as the girls glanced at each other, then nodding, looked back to their mother. “Yes, Mommy.”

  “All right,” Lisa told them with a smile. “Off you go then.”

  Lisa watched as her girls took off at a run with Ion and Nairn close behind. As she went to stand, Montfort and Agee were immediately there to assist her.

  “Thank you,” she said to each of them.

  “You’re welcome, Majesty.” Agee stepped back while Montfort kept his arm under Lisa’s, slowly guiding her over the damp ground.

  “So, is there anything I need to be made aware of?” she asked.

  “Just a few items, Majesty. Cook wishes to speak with you about the chocolate that Healer Rebecca brought from Pontus. It seems it is in a different form than previously received, and he wishes to make sure he is using it properly.”

  “Jennifer didn’t send instructions?” That was unusual, as Jennifer loved sharing her recipes, especially now that she was the Supreme Chef of the Kaliszian Empire.

  “I beli
eve she did, but he wants to make sure he understands them.”

  “I’ll stop by and read them after this meeting.”

  Montfort nodded his agreement. “Then, of course, there’s the speculation surrounding Prince Tora’s arrival.”

  Lisa stopped in her tracks and looked at Montfort. She hadn’t yet met Tora, Wray’s oldest male and heir to the Tornian throne, yet. “Wait. What? Tora’s on Luda?”

  Montfort paused to stare down at her from his great height. “Yes. Did King Grim not inform you of this?”

  Lisa thought back to the previous night. Grim had returned late, so late that he hadn’t been able to tell the girls a story before they’d fallen asleep. She’d also been in bed before he returned. “He didn’t, and I don’t remember Tora submitting himself for consideration by any of the remaining females.”

  “Because he hasn’t,” Montfort assured her. “He’s only here because he accompanied Healer Rebecca to ensure she arrived safely. I understand he will be continuing on to Tornian later today.”

  “Oh.” Tora had remained on Vesta to assist Callen with the mess left behind by Reeve, the previous lord of that planet. She had been introduced to him through a visual comm, though, and had been shocked at how much he resembled Wray. Grim, too, for that matter.

  It had given her a glimpse of what Grim’s son might look like if she were ever to give him one. Which was something she hoped to do. She just needed to get through this pregnancy without any complications to prove to Grim she wasn’t at risk. Grimacing, she rubbed her enlarged belly.

  “Are you alright, my Queen?” Montfort asked.

  “I’m fine,” she assured him. “She’s just very active this morning.”

  “Shall I contact Healer Rebecca? Hadar?”

  Lisa heard the panic in his voice and smiled. “No, Montfort. She’s just kicking. It’s something babies do.” Lisa tipped her head to the side, giving him a considering look. “Would you like to feel?”

  For the first time since helping her up, Montfort dropped her arm and stepped away from her, waving his hands in denial. “What?! No, of course not. That would be completely inappropriate.”

  But Lisa could hear the longing in his voice. Taking one of his hands, she placed it where the baby was kicking. His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open in surprise. A smile slowly bloomed across his face. Lisa gave him an understanding one in return. “Amazing, isn’t it?”

  The eyes Montfort raised to her were filled with tears. “Never in my life have I felt anything as extraordinary.”

  Lisa felt her eyes fill. Grim caressed her belly and spoke to their unborn daughter nightly, and their daughter always responded by kicking. The few times she hadn’t, Grim had roared for Rebecca, fearing something was wrong. Tornian males weren’t used to being around their females when they carried offspring. So, this was a new experience for all of them.

  “It really is, isn’t it? She’s so strong.”

  “Like her mother,” Montfort told her as he reluctantly removed his hand and began guiding her through the garden again.

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  Rebecca was startled when Grim suddenly appeared in medical. “King Grim.”

  “Healer Rebecca.” He dipped his head to her slightly. He knew his presence in medical had surprised her, especially as Lisa wasn’t with him, but he couldn’t get his mind to settle. Not with what had happened earlier on the training field and his dream. All his instincts screamed something was wrong.

  “Hadar is the one who treated both of your trainees,” she told him. “They have returned to the training fields.”

  “That’s not why I am here.”

  “Oh.”

  “I wish to discuss your preparations for Lisa’s upcoming presentation.”

  Rebecca didn’t sigh, although she wanted to. She’d dealt with many first-time fathers, but Grim took overprotective to new heights. Even demanding she stay in one of the empty resting chambers in their quarters so she’d be close at night. “I’ll be happy to go over them with you again. Will Lisa be joining us?”

  “No.”

  “All right,” she dragged out. “Well, as I explained before…”

  “When did you last test the energy crystal in your scanner?” he interrupted.

  Rebecca’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “Test?”

  “Yes, test. To verify the crystal is adequately empowered,” he expanded.

  “I wasn’t aware you could do that,” she admitted.

  “You weren’t aware?” he bit out angrily.

  “Hadar did show me how to change the crystal,” she quickly told him. “Which I’ve done on several occasions. I just didn’t know you could test the crystals.”

  Grabbing the comm from inside his jacket, Grim growled into it. “Hadar! Medical! Now!”

  It only took moments before the footsteps of House Luanda’s healer could be heard rushing toward them. Hadar skidded to a halt when he entered medical and found no emergency, just Rebecca and Grim standing there.

  “My King,” he huffed. “What’s wrong? Is it Queen Lisa? Where is she?”

  “No,” Grim told him. “My Queen is fine.”

  “Then what is so urgent?” Hadar demanded through pinched lips.

  “Why haven’t you shown Healer Rebecca how to test the energy crystals in the handheld scanner?”

  “Test the energy crystals?” Hadar frowned at him. “Why would I show her that? All crystals are rigorously tested and then sorted by their power level and size before they arrive.”

  “You don’t verify that before using them?” Grim couldn’t believe it.

  “Why would I?”

  “Get your tester!” Grim all but roared.

  Hadar quickly crossed the room, opened a cabinet, and returned carrying a palm-sized black box.

  “Show Healer Rebecca how to test a crystal.”

  Crossing his arms over his chest, Grim watched as Rebecca removed the thumbnail-sized crystal from the scanner which she kept with her at all times because of Lisa. Once she held it in hand, Hadar showed her where to place it on the testing device.

  When the crystal gave off only a faint glow, Hadar frowned and looked to Rebecca. “That can’t be right. When did you last change out the crystal?”

  “Yesterday. Why?”

  “Who did you use it on?” Hadar demanded.

  “No one.” Her gaze traveled between Hadar and Grim. “What is going on? Isn’t the crystal supposed to glow?”

  “A fully-charged crystal of this size and quality should have a brilliant glow,” Grim told her even though his gaze was locked with Hadar’s. “Test every crystal in every medical device in this House.”

  “At once, Majesty.”

  Chapter Four

  Lisa rubbed at the dull ache that had been growing in her lower back all morning as she moved toward the kitchen of House Luanda. It had been a productive gathering with the women, and Lisa was sure Sabra would be choosing a warrior soon. If she did, there would only be four women remaining who hadn’t committed to a Joining.

  Not counting Rebecca.

  The decision had been made that due to her training as a medical professional, Rebecca wouldn’t have to choose until more healers were available to handle the other women from Earth who had conceived.

  There were grumblings from some of the warriors at how long the women were taking to choose a male. But Lisa refused to force any of them to do so before they were ready. She wanted these Joinings to be successful. Now that the treaty with Earth had been signed and Trisha’s dating website was up and running, she hoped more Joinings would be occurring soon.

  “Good morning, Tagma,” she greeted, taking in all the activity as he and the other warriors worked to prepare the mid-day meal for those within House Luanda.

  Every warrior immediately stopped what they were doing and turned to bow to her, their fist over their chest. She hadn’t been able to convince them that the show of respect wasn’t necessary. She also knew they wou
ldn’t resume what they were doing until she acknowledged them, so she bowed her head, and they returned to their tasks.

  “My Queen, what may I do for you?” Tagma asked, rushing to her side.

  “Montfort said you had a question about the chocolate Jennifer sent back with Rebecca.”

  “Oh, yes. It is in the store room.”

  “Jennifer didn’t include instructions?” she asked.

  “She did, my Queen, but I’m uncertain if what we received is chocolate. It’s the wrong color.”

  “Wrong color?” Lisa’s brows drew together. Chocolate only came in one color, brown. Granted there were different shades. Could there have been a mistake in the shipment? “Let’s go look at it.”

  Tagma led Lisa back to the storeroom where he kept the ‘Earth provisions,’ as he called them. Between what Jennifer sent and the newly established trade agreement with Earth, more and more of the foods Lisa and the girls were familiar with had begun to arrive.

  When he turned back to Lisa, he held a large bag containing white disks. “This is what we received.”

  Lisa immediately understood Tagma’s confusion. Jennifer had sent white chocolate this time instead of the milk or dark chocolate she had before. “Oh, I see.”

  “So, this isn’t the chocolate we were supposed to receive?”

  “Oh, it is,” Lisa told him. “It’s just a different type. This is called white chocolate.”

  His brows furrowed. “White chocolate?”

  Lisa held back a smile at the doubt in his tone. “Yes, it’s just a different form of chocolate.”

  “So, I use it the same way?” His lips pursed on the question.

  “Pretty much, although my favorite recipe for it is white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.”

  Her answer threw him for a loop.

  “White chocolate maca… maca…”

  “Macadamia nut,” Lisa finished for him and chuckled. “It’s a type of nut on Earth with a rich, buttery taste, but crunchy. I really haven’t had anything here to compare it to.”

  Tagma’s expression cleared. “You have never tried the porca nut?”