Chapter 20

Gracie watched as the two figures on the approaching zepthi grew closer. Wonderful, she thought, all they needed was another pair of zephti to add to their growing collection. When the couple grew closer, Rand came to stand behind her. He laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Relax, sweetheart. It's just Arianna and Stephan. They are here to deliver the vaccine for the babies and me." He whispered in her ear; when she shivered in response, he smiled. Even though she was still recovering from having their children, she still found her husband desirable. Would the deep desires ever dim, she wondered.

"Not if I can help it." he growled before stepping around her to greet the couple.

"Good afternoon, Prince Rand. I see you are well. Your father sends his regards and told me to tell you to hurry your "ass" back to the palace. It seems you have to be present for the joining of Kat and Charlie." Stephan said with a chuckle as he slid off his zephti. Turning, he helped Arianna off of hers. As she slipped down his body, he softly growled in approval.

"Knock it off, Dean." she scolded before turning to greet Gracie. "Princess Gracie. How are you feeling? And where are those babies?"

Gracie laughed at Arianna's eagerness.

"I'm fine, Healer Arianna. And the babies are over in the lean-to. All three are asleep for the moment."

"May I peek in on them?" Arianna asked as she and Gracie walked towards the lean-to.

"Of course. I would like to have you look them over anyway. Philip did a fine job delivering them, but I would like to have a trained healer's opinion." Gracie explained as she ducked into the lean-to. Arianna followed her in.

Rand winced as Dean stepped back and broke the needle tip off the syringe and placed it into the sharps container. He kept pressure on his upper arm as Dean continued to clean up.

"Damn, that stung."

"I know. I had my shot already. It burns like a bitch." Dean agreed as he put away the kit. On the other side of the fire, Philip, too, was rubbing his arm.

"Do you have any idea how much vaccine to give to the babies?" Philip asked.

"Kat called the Center for Disease Control on Earth and they gave us a suggested amount. With Rand and Gracie's permission, we'll give them their shots in the morning before we head back to Kartic." Stephan explained.

"Speaking of Kartic, tell me how are Charles and Katrina doing? When I spoke to him on the link-phone yesterday, he seemed really upset."

"Can you blame him, Prince Rand? He had never planned on marrying again, let alone bonding with a Vindexicis healer." Stephan told him as he finished putting away his supplies and sat down next to the warm fire.

"What Vindexicis healer! He can't have cast Kat aside?"

Stephan laughed when he saw the look of utter disbelief on Rand's face.

"No. You didn't realize that Kat - the healer you brought back from Earth - actually is Master Iason's granddaughter? In fact he has returned to Venus for the ceremony."

"Master Iason has returned?" Rand seemed more dazed than surprised.

"I know it was quite a shock for Charlie and Kat too. I always figured that he would return one day. I just never dreamed it would be to watch his granddaughter be crowned as the Queen of Arseric or to watch her bond with and marry Charles."

Elena watched as her husband stormed around their hotel room. He was so angry. His contact had stood him up. The wizard that had done so must have a death wish, she thought. She remembered back at the beginning of their relationship; she had been upset with him for flirting with another girl so she had stood him up for a date. She still winced as she recalled the ass spanking that she had earned for her petty act of defiance. What would her hot tempered husband do to the wizard that defied him and screwed up his plan for revenge?

"Damnit!" he hissed as he threw the lamp across the room. Elena shrank back. In this mood, she dare not approach him. The last time that she had gotten within his reach when he was in this foul a mood, she had been bruised and sore for weeks. He had exorcised his anger and lust on her soft body. Even now - her pussy clenched at the remembered pain and pleasure.

Aric paused as if he could sense her desire.

"Strip!" he ordered harshly as he yanked his shirt over his head.

"Please, Aric," she whimpered.

"Don't make me ask again, wife! You wanted to be my wife. It's a wife's duty to obey her husband. And I am your husband. We are on Venus and here - wives obey their husbands. We are no longer on your planet. I could beat you and there is nothing that you could do about it." He snarled as he grabbed her by her arm and jerked her towards the bed.

She shrieked as she bounced hard on the bed. She quickly rolled over, attempting to escape him. Would it go easier on her if she let him have her without angering him; or should she set him straight on her orgins. Venus had NO such laws and she knew it.

While she weighed the pros and cons of her decision, Aric removed her choice by using his magic to strip her. She gasped as she felt his calloused hand slap her left butt cheek and leave a stinging red imprint. Then he flipped her over onto his lap.

"Aric, stop!" she cried as he smacked the other cheek. He paused for a moment as if was thinking about it before he smiled wickedly, and began to rain open-handed slaps against her butt. The noise echoed through the room.

"I don't think so, wife. You deserve this." he said as he continued to swat at her red bottom. She moaned as the fire in her ass caused her pussy to moisten even more. Humilation flared high within her. What was wrong with her? Why did she get so wet for him, no matter what horrible things he did to her body?

"No more," she gasped as she skated closer to the edge. He hadn't even entered her yet and she was on the verge of climaxing!

She stiffened as he forced two of his fingers inside her pussy. Shoving them as deep as he could, a smile crossed his devilishly handsome face.

"What a little slut you are, Wife. Already wet. I bet if I smacked this little pussy you would come." He no-so-lightly slapped the inside of her thigh, hard enough to leave a red imprint on her pale skin. Elena moaned softly as she leaned back towards him. She wanted to come.

"Aricccccc!" she pleaded. He brought his hand back and paused for a moment, making her wonder if he was going to actually going to folllow through with his threat. Just when she thought that he was just going to tease her, his hand smacked her bare pussy with enough force to send her over the edge.

"Oh my God!" she screamed loudly as he yanked his fingers out of her clenching sheath and then carelessly slammed them into her tight ass. Using her own juices, he lubricated her ass, preparing her to take him. As she came down from her climax, he pulled her up onto her knees and postioned his large cock against her rosey wet asshole.

"Aric," she panted as she braced herself on her arms. He grabbed her hips for leverage. She screamed again with pain as he yanked her back against him - drilling his cock into her ass. Reaching around with one hand, he savagely pinched and tweaked her clit. He smiled evilly as she screamed shrilly and collapsed as she came again.

As they lay there - there were thunderous bangs on the hotel room door, and very loud voices demanding entrance immediately.

Jason watched his granddaughter walk through the gardens. She was a beloved sight to his old eyes. How many times had he longed to see her in the traditional robes of her gift. He knew that she was a powerful healer if not yet an experienced one. He knew that Healer Arianna would soon change that. She had tried so hard with his daughter. But that pitiful situation wasn't Arianna's fault. His daughter had always been a willful child; he acknowledged that her mother and he had spoiled her terribly. She had been born late in their marriage and cherished deeply - perhaps too deeply in hindsight.

He wondered looking back if all the time he had devoted to molding young warriors could have been better spent on his daughter. Katrina reminded him a great deal of his daughter. Even though she only vaguely resembled her mother, her color had come from her father. He wondered briefly if he should contact him. And then a fact he had not considered was brought to mind. Even though her father had played no active role in her upbringing, the man still deserved to know that his daughter was soon to marry the King of Areseric. He would have to be there and play a definite role in the ceremony.

He walked over to the communications console and pressed a series of buttons on the unit. He continued to watch Kat as he waited for the party to pick up on the other end. She leaned over and gently plucked a flower off the bush closest to her. Pressing it against her nose, she inhaled deeply. It was obvious that she was enjoying the scent of a simple flower. If he had a quarter for every time he saw that particular gentle gesture, he knew that he would indeed be a very rich man.

"Hello?" a tinny voice filled the study.

"Yes. I need to talk to King Agni."

"I'm sorry but the man which you wish to speak to is no longer king." The woman's voice turned curt - even frosty.

"What do you mean he is no longer king?" Jason asked in disbelief.

"He was stripped of his throne almost ten years ago."

"What happened?" he asked as his mind whirled.

"He was found with the body of a dead girl. It was obvious that he had used her vilely. He was tried in front of the council and was stripped of his land and power. He and his sons were exiled and have not set one foot in Sandova. Now I really must go. Goodbye." She hung up abruptly and the dial tone filled the room. Now what the hell was he supposed to do? How did he go about finding a stripped and exiled King?

Kat plucked another blossom and held it to her nose. The delicate smell of vanilla and something foreign teased her. She had never seen this flower before; not even in the extensive gardens at Trila. She would have to ask Charlie about it. Maybe he knew of it. She tucked it behind her ear before heading into the palace where she barely noticed the stares of the servants. She had long become accustomed to people staring at her since she had arrived on Venus; it seemed as if she was an oddity even here.

She walked slowly down the hall towards Charlie's solar. She glanced down at her healer's robes and then at the open window at the end of the hall. Did she really feel like traipsing around on the window ledges today? Not particularly. Maybe if she knocked on his door he would simply let her in. She approached his door and sighed. As she raised her hand to knock, the door flew open - Charlie stared at her in surprise before smiling in welcome.

"Kitty-kat! I was just coming to find you." His deep voice flowed over her senses like warm honey. She shivered in response. These days it didn't take much to stimulate her. He seemed to have an over-powering effect on her.

"Ut-oh. What I do this time?" she asked as he drew her into his solar and closed the door.

"We need to have a discussion of what is going to occur during our bonding ceramony. I don't want you unprepared or taken off guard. The ceremony itself can be rather intense." He guided her over to the plush pillows where he gracefully flopped down on one before tugging on her hand and pulling her onto his lap. He gently removed her slippers and stockings and gathered her into his arms.

Kat sighed as she relaxed in his embrace. Even though the desire to make love was riding her hard, she still could savor the closeness of being held. She was made of much sterner stuff than a normal female - wasn't she? Surely she could control her desires until their wedding day.

"Have you heard anything about our customs, Kitty-kat?"

"Not much. I know that being chosens precludes any chance of being separated from each other. Rand was a mess while he was on Earth until I offered my power as a conduit to contact Gracie."

"You did what?" Charlie scolded and stared down at her.

"What? Was I not supposed to help a friend?" she asked.

"No. It's just a shock is all. I never would have guessed that you could use your healing ability that way.

"She has more than healing abilities Charles. She also has a deep core of magic that she inherited from her father. The ability to heal came from her mother and is paltry in comparission to her father's gift. The question is, will your power be enough to equal it? To meet and bind to hers?" Jason asked as he materialized next to them. It was a trick that only Master Warriors had perfected.

Kat inwardly groaned as Charlie stiffened under her. With those awe-ful words, she knew that her chances at happiness with him had gone from slim to none. She was not a complete idiot. She had recognized the magic that was part of her strong backbone. She would never have survived at ITS without it. But after his experiences with Deanna, she had known that she would never be able to let that part of her power free. She had planned on burying it deep - deep enough that he wouldn't have ever discovered that she possessed magic power that might be stronger than his own.

"Charlie, I..." she started.

"Did you know?"

"Yes- of course. But I never planned on using it..." she quickly explained, trying to convince him.

"Get up, Katrina." he said flatly.

Charlie tried to control his anger. He was mad enough to strike out at both of them. But he knew that doing so would be nothing but sheer stupidity. He knew that he was no match for Master Iason, and he hoped he would never stoop as low to strike any woman, especially his Kat. He gritted his teeth. He had to quit thinking of her as 'his' he realized. He could never - would never - claim her now.

"Katrina, get off me, right now. Before I do something I might regret." he growled between clenched teeth. It was all he could do to restrain himself from dumping her on the floor. Even though they would never bond, she still deserved the protection of her status. He had vowed to never cause harm to any healer. Even if she WAS a coniving little liar, he fumed.