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He laughed humorlessly. “He’s not protecting me; he’s protecting you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“In case I snap and start taking hostages.” Bitterness edged his smooth, deep voice.
“You wouldn’t do that.”
“Nobody can predict what I’ll do—not even me. Until the indoctrination is reversed, I’ll have a guard on me at all times, and I have to wear this.” He tugged his leggings up to reveal the ankle cuff.
I hugged his arm and then slipped my hand into his, wiggling for a comfortable fit. I had five fingers; he had four. I squeezed his hand. “I don’t believe the accusations. You’re a good man. You’re not an insurgent, an anarchist. You’re a prince! You’re second in line to the throne!”
“Am I a good man? We have to accept what is said about me is true. Nadir was there. I threatened to kill him. Your friend Millie Rogers was there.”
Well, I didn’t accept it! Yeah, Millie had filled me in on what had happened on Aurelia. Lomax had supposedly turned into an insurgent in command of a terrorist unit and spouted GJW nonsense. His “participation” had to be a mistake. He wouldn’t have joined the group of his own volition. I was absolutely convinced. “You were forced,” I said. “Coerced. It wasn’t your fault.”
“That means I could be coerced again. But that’s why I was late meeting you—the deprogramming started this morning.”
“That’s great news! You said they couldn’t get anybody for a month.”
“Due to the exigency of the investigation and my royal status, they bumped somebody else. Tomorrow, I have another session.”
“How did it go? How did it work?” Besides wishing him a fast recovery, I was very curious about the whole process.
“All right, I guess. In the first session, Sandria Seeher—she’s the LOP mind-control-reversal specialist—attempted to discover how much I remember of the original indoctrination and my actions on Aurelia. She put a brain scanner on my head and asked a bunch of questions. I got the impression the scanner functions like a lie detector.”
I squeezed his hand, wishing I could speed the process for his peace of mind.
However, the sooner he got back to normal, the sooner the League of Planets could conclude its investigation. When that happened, Jessie Sayles and I would be flown home to New Terra. The only reason we were still on Araset was because Millie had been a witness and had to be available for questioning if necessary.
Ironically, the league’s embargo of New Terra prevented them from interrogating her if she went home, so they’d postponed her repatriation. As Jessie and I were traveling with her, we had to stay as well. However, since that decision had been made, Millie had bond-mated with Nadir, the king’s chief advisor. She wouldn’t be leaving at all now. The LOP could send me and Jessie home anytime; they just hadn’t gotten around to it. They were preoccupied by more important matters.
Jessie chomped at the bit, anxious to go home, but the delay gave me and Lomax more time together. How I wished I’d met him sooner.
Millie Rogers, Jessie Sayles, Giselle Cartier, and I had spent about a month at the palace after we and Holly Winter had been rescued from the Copan-Cerulean Cartel slave ship. We’d accompanied Holly to Araset for her bond-mating to Prince Aeon, Lomax’s older brother.
However, I hadn’t gotten to know Lomax until we boarded the ship that was supposed to ferry Millie, Jessie, and me home. He’d traveled on the same spaceship. After he left the ship for the summit on Aurelia, the shit hit the fan, and our trip home got postponed.
“What will happen in tomorrow’s session?” I asked him.
“Not sure. At some point, Seeher will try to identify and remove the triggers that transform me into an automaton.”
“You mean like a secret code?”
“Yes. Seeher believes the triggers are ordinary words and phrases, but not so common that I could be tripped in casual conversation.”
“Alien species trafficking. Spaceship. League of Planets. Justice. Sentients. Freedom. Revolution. Bond-mates. Royalty. Forbidden love. Danger. Alien abduction. Insurrection.” I watched his face for a reaction.
His lips twitched with amusement.
“What?”
“Are you trying to figure out a trigger? Kat, you’re speaking Terran Universal. They wouldn’t have used words from your language.”
“Oh.” I giggled. “You’re right.”
His amber gaze traveled over me like a caress. “I love hearing you laugh.” His expression lightened, erasing the weariness and worry creasing his face. My heart swelled with happiness that I could ease his spirit. This sweet, gentle man is no violent anarchist, no matter what anybody says.
I gripped his biceps and stared up at him. His amber gaze was warm, his lips full and soft. Kiss me. I made a small noise in my throat.
