Vengeance by Amy Miles

silence
begins to grow thick between us, the man holds out his hand to me and
waits for me to shake it.  The invitation surprises me.  It
is not of this world.  “You’re human?”
    “Last
time I checked.”  I smirk and take his hand, shaking it
with a firm grasp.  I have never been one to offer soft
handshakes.  He seems to appreciate this fact.  “The
name’s Bastien.  Bastien Adair.”
    “I know you.”
    He blinks and looks
taken aback.  “You...you do?”
    I bite my lower lip,
realizing my slip.  “Sure.  Kyan told me you would be
coming.”
    I find it amusing
how relieved he appears to be by my answer, though I’m unable
to decipher why this doesn’t sit well with me.  Does he
know me somehow?  Surely Kyan and Bastien have spoken of me in
length, considering he has obviously been chosen as my new guardian
in Kyan’s absence, but there seems to be far more than Bastien
is letting on.  This intrigues me.
    “Ah.  Yes,
well he always has been very thorough.”
    “That he is,”
I muse and draw my hand back from his grasp.  I try not to let
him see me wipe my palm against my dress but the warmth radiating
from him is unsettling.  “I assume that things are quiet
on the outer rim?”
    His lips purse and
he shifts his weight to his right side, further from me.  “How
do you know that I’m from the outer rim?”
    Now
it’s my turn to mentally kick myself.   Way
to go, Illyria!  You have succeeded in hinting that you are a
bit of a whacko!  How is a girl supposed to explain that
she’s been dreaming of a complete stranger for months?
    “My husband
requested your services when we left on our honeymoon.  Kyan
implied at that time that you were too busy protecting that sector to
be my personal escort.  I assume that since you are here now
that things are running smoothly again.”
    If I am not
mistaken, the color has seeped from Bastien’s face.  His
gaze lowers to his boots and remains fixed there.  “I have
men whom I trust leading on my behalf while I am gone. There is
nothing to fear.”
    I take a small step
closer and he jerks his head upright to look at me.  There is an
emotion buried deep in his eyes.  Pain?  Perhaps.  Whatever
it is I can tell that it is raw and consuming.  “I am sure
of that.”
    His
gaze narrows as I take another step closer.  I can feel his
desire to step back, to turn and run and yet he doesn’t move.
 I take another step and his breath hitches.   Why
am I tormenting this poor man?  And for that matter why am I
doing any of this at all?  It is hardly proper for me to be seen
standing in the shadows with a man other than my husband, bodyguard
or not.
    “Are you here
only for the week?” I ask softly.
    He offers me a jerky
nod.  “I still have much work to finish back on Alenida.”
    “I bet you
do.”  I offer him a smile and turn away, heading back
toward the hall beyond the curtain.  I hear a shrill whistle
behind me and turn, ready to inform him that such behavior is not
accepted here when I see him barreling toward me.  I barely have
time to react when he rams full force into me, slamming us to the
floor.
    His arm wraps around
my head to protect it from crashing into the hard stone.  “Bastien,
what are you--”
    “Stay
down!”  The weight of his body rolls on top of mine,
crushing my lungs as I hear a second whistle followed instantly by an
explosion that leaves my ears ringing.  Dirt and splinters of
stone rain down around us.  Bastien grimaces as the debris
strikes him, but he doesn’t move, determined to shield me.
    “How
did you know?” I ask, my voice strained under his weight.  I
feel rattled by my lack of forewarning.  I should have sensed
the attack, seen it coming, but like every other time I have peeked
into the future, all that bounces back at me is nothingness.
    “Can you see
anything?”
    “What?  How
do you--”  
    His gaze hardens as
he ignores my question, cutting me off.  “Can you see who
is