Polaris Rising (Consortium Rebellion, #1)(92)

“I’m going to bed,” I said. “I’ll message Father in the morning. He’s on Universal Time, so if I stay up to do it tonight, he won’t see it until the morning anyway.” I knew I was making excuses, but I really didn’t have the brain capacity to do it justice tonight. Tomorrow would be soon enough.

“How’s the arm?” Loch asked as he followed me upstairs.

“It hurts, but I’ll live. The painkiller is still keeping the worst of it at bay. It only really hurts when I move.” After I’d answered, another reason for the question occurred to me. “I’m going to bed to sleep, I’m afraid. You’re welcome to join me but I might not be good company.”

“I’ll take my chances,” Loch said.

Once we’d made it to the bedroom, I shucked my pants with weary motions. I instinctively reached back for my bra closure and hissed in pain.

“Let me,” Loch said. He reached under my shirt and unhooked it as easily as I would’ve. He helped me ease it off while keeping my shirt on.

“I see you know your way around women’s undergarments,” I said, trying to break the weird tension that gripped me. I felt unaccountably shy considering I’d already slept with him.

“I live to serve,” he murmured against the nape of my neck. I shivered. “Now stop stalling and get in bed.”

I set my com to wake me up in seven hours then climbed into the bed still wearing my shirt and underwear. Loch stripped down to his boxer briefs. All of that warm bronze skin tempted me to play with fire, but I yawned in spite of myself. He climbed into bed and curled around my right side, being careful of my injured left arm.

Sleep hit me like a frigate.



The alarm came too early and too loud. I groaned and tried to burrow deeper into my pillow.

“I don’t think that’s going to work,” Loch said drowsily. His voice rumbled through me. “I’m all for sleeping more, but you have to turn off that racket first.”

“I can’t,” I grumbled. “I have work to do. And Rhys and Veronica will be back soon.” I threw the covers off before I was tempted to stay. I sat up and turned the alarm off. Shower first, then coffee, then maybe I’d feel like facing the rest of the day.

My left arm almost felt normal again. The bandage would have to stay on for another day or two, but it was waterproof, so I enjoyed a long shower. By the time I had gotten dressed, I almost felt human again. Human except for the lack of boots. I’d have to do something about that because I couldn’t return home in socks.

Loch was still sprawled in bed when I came out of the bathroom. He cracked one eye. “I see you were serious about getting up.”

“Yeah, but you don’t have to. I’m going to be writing a message to Father for the next few hours.”

He blinked in surprise. “That long?”

“It’s going to be a legally binding contract, so yeah, that long. I want to make sure there aren’t any loopholes for him to exploit.”

“I’ll be down in a little while,” he said.

I grabbed my com then headed down to the mess hall. After fortifying myself with a tall glass of iced coffee, I went through the complicated ritual necessary to authorize my necklace and cuff. When I didn’t have anything left to prolong my procrastination, I pulled out my com and got to work.

I started with our basic House contract. I added the things I wanted. First up was the ability to pick my own spouse, the freedom to come and go at will and without supervision, and the immediate cancellation of my bounty. All three of those things were hard requirements. I loved my family but I wasn’t returning if it meant a prison sentence or a forced marriage.

I added the ability to choose my own staff and security detail because if I didn’t, I might as well count on having Father’s spies following me everywhere. I also added diplomatic immunity for my staff and five people of my choosing. It probably wouldn’t survive the cuts, but it was worth the ask.

Next, I required the return of Polaris in working order within three months. Father would balk, but I wanted my ship back. Three months would give the scientists and engineers enough time to study the alcubium FTL drive and get started on their research.

Lastly, I asked for Father to vote yes in a clemency hearing of my choice. I doubted the request would survive the negotiations, but it worked as an opening salvo. Father would know I was serious when I later came to him about the Genesis Project.

In return, I would let his people pick over Polaris for three months, hand over all the alcubium I had on board, and submit to no more than a week of debriefings about everything I’d learned about the alcubium FTL and while on XAD Six and the Santa Celestia.

With the rough draft complete, I began revising, tweaking the language until it was ironclad. Loch came down sometime during the first pass, but when I muttered something vaguely intelligible at him after he questioned me for the third time, he laughed and left.

I didn’t make any changes on the fourth pass, so I figured it was as good as it was getting. I’d dealt with enough contracts to at least be familiar with the common pitfalls.

With the contract done, I began working on the accompanying note. It had to strike the right balance between friendly and threatening or he’d gut my contract without a second thought. By the time I was happy with it, my back ached from hunching over the table for so long.