Trapped: Chaos Core Book 1 by Randolph Lalonde Read Free Book Online Page A

both
retire,” the Countess said as she carefully stood and exited using
a special door hidden behind her throne. Her dress was surprisingly
unremarkable, white with blue highlights that flowed down the
extensive length.
    The courtiers didn’t
seem to pay much attention to the Countess’s departure. Larken was
at her side, taking her hand the moment the door sealed behind the
Countess. He led her from the hall into a servant’s corridor.
“Where are we going?” Aspen asked.
    “I’m taking you to
my rooms, I can’t wait to spend time away with you, and to get this
dye off,” he said as he rushed through the narrower corridors with
their scuffed walls and floors. Servants dressed in loose white
tunics and gold leggings let them pass as they held trays piled with
drinks.
    Aspen couldn’t help
but snatch two high, frosty, fruity glasses. The slave, a girl just
old enough to serve, smiled at her, amused by the theft. Larken
stopped and looked back at Aspen when her hand slipped from his and
she gave him one of the stolen drinks.
    “We don’t have much
time,” Larken whispered in a tone that was much more serious than
any he’d used that day.
    She kept up, carrying
the drinks as carefully as she could as they cut through one of the
kitchens, where she was tempted to put them down and trade up for
anything being prepared there. Stealing from the kitchen would be
harder than a drink tray, however, the slaves there took more pride
in their work than the servers, and they had paid chefs as keepers
who might notice.
    A few turns through the
halls later, and they reached the main rooms, where silent attendants
stood at the ready to serve any of the residents in that wing. All
one had to do was use the intercom inside a room and one of the
platinum and gold clad attendants would assist you with whatever you
liked. The rewards for the post were generous, but Aspen heard
stories about what some of them had to deliver, take away or do
inside the rooms to assist some of the more eccentric and demanding
guests. She would rather de-grease an entire space station’s gear
works than take the job of a household attendant.
    Larkin’s room was
lavish, and surprisingly adult. Any artefacts of his childhood were
absent, including the plushie horse he used to sleep with as a child,
or any evidence of fandom. There were no images on the wall, just
their favourite colours – crimson and royal blue – on the walls,
decorating the bed, and in the trimming. The main room had a lavish
bed, an adjacent closet larger than most small shuttle craft, and a
bathroom that was larger than any crew quarters she’d ever seen.
    He took the drinks from
her politely, put them down on an end table, then pulled her into his
arms. “Trust me,” he whispered against her lips before kissing
her and slowly pulling her robe down.
    Aspen found him
irresistible, especially since there seemed to be much more firmness
in his kiss. She didn’t just relent, she joined him vigorously,
letting her robe drop and pulling at the ties holding his up.
    With a sudden jerk that
made her yip and giggle, he picked her up and carried her into the
large shower with him. Warm water sprayed from all angles and a
vibration system forced it to gently scrub their skin. He held her
close after putting her down, and kissed her briefly before smiling
at her. It was a real, open smile, the kind only she could get out of
him. “We can talk here, the listening devices can’t pick anything
up with the vibrating micro-beads running in the shower. The Countess
told me you were killed when the AI’s turned on us. She even showed
me video and had a funeral. I found out you were alive three months
ago, when Master Kort let it slip that he was hunting you. It was so
hard to hide how angry I was, but I had to keep the Countess’
trust,” he said in a rush. He caressed her back and shoulders as he
did so, and she watched him speak. The deluded version of Larken, who
worshipped the Countess