Queen of Hearts Read online

  “I have no idea what anything you just said means,” I replied as I glanced sideways at Eve, Zea, Madalena, and Sivaha.

  “My kingdom is yours,” Kuroda said as he gestured to the room. “That includes my navy, army, supplies, and staff. Everything, even my wives and harem, are now yours. I am yours also--”

  “Ahhh,” I interrupted him. “That’s okay, Emperor. I don’t need your wives or harem--”

  “I am no longer the emperor,” he said as his smile widened. “I am no longer Kuroda. I have always been Dragon, but have lived with the title of Kuroda for thousands of years. The Dragon is wisdom, cunning, and intelligence. Now the Dragon serves you, Tiger.”

  “Look, uhhh, Dragon,” I said. “I just came here looking for President Yu and my sister. I’ve got both of them now, so I’ll be on my way. I’ve got a lot of shit that I have to--”

  “Our paths are aligned now,” he interrupted me. “We will not part ways. This is what was meant to happen. We were supposed to battle, the winner would take it all and lead the universe against the darkness, but now you have the strength of both. Don’t you see how this is better, Tiger? I will help you in battle. I will give you my cunning and wisdom. I will help sharpen your fangs and claws so that nothing will stand in your way.”

  “Help me out here.” I turned to Eve, but Madalena answered me.

  “I have already spoken to him of the fleet he wishes to give you. It is twenty thousand vessels strong. We can leave four thousand to protect your newly acquired territory here and then send the remaining sixteen to Nordar - 13 to combine with the Vaish and conquered Skyad fleet.”

  “Alright,” I said as I tried to keep my mind from spinning. The Jupiter navy had a few thousand ships, and it was one of the most powerful in the Sol System.

  “Let us discuss our next step,” Kuroda said. “You must build your forces even more. You are Tiger. Speed and strength are your boons. Your wife tells me that you plan on acquiring more power through diplomacy. This is not your strength, but it is mine. I will accompany you on your flagship so that you will have use of my power.”

  I stared at the man for a few moments, and the memory of our battle returned. He didn’t hesitate when we fought, and I knew that if he had won, I wouldn’t be standing here right now. He claimed he wanted to kill me and take my women. Did I really want that guy at my back?

  “I doubt your sincerity,” I said.

  “Then you should have killed me,” he replied. “I have given you my empire and my women.” Kuroda turned to his four wives and then gestured toward me. “Go to your new master, and pleasure him as you have me.”

  The women nodded and then walked toward me.

  “Uhhh. What the fuck?” Zea hissed under her breath as Kuroda’s wives knelt at my feet.

  “No,” I said as I looked down at the four women. “They are your wives.” They should have been upset, but they smiled up at me gratefully. It was weird as fuck, and I couldn’t imagine Zea, Eve, or Madalena acting like these women.

  “Tiger, they are your wives,” Kuroda said. “I serve you now.”

  “Then you can have them back,” I growled as I took one of the woman’s hands and pulled her up so she was standing. “Ladies, get up. I’m happy with my own wives. I don’t need four more. Really, you don’t need to--”

  “You are Tiger,” he interrupted me. “The victor takes the spoils. You can gift them to me again, but you should first enjoy them. It is not in your nature to be forgiving and kind.”

  “I’m not sure we are going to get along, Kuroda,” I said. I felt like we were trading objects instead of talking about women. I didn’t like the conversation, but he seemed completely fine with the topic. Then again, he’d started the battle with me, so he must have realized that he could have lost his women.

  “Dragon,” he corrected me. “You have much to learn of your nature.”

  “Hmmm,” I sighed as I stared at the man. Maybe I should agree. If I was going to punish the yakuza for going back on their deal, I should punish a man who tried to kill me and take my women by making him my servant and taking his wives. Of course, that would piss Zea off, and I didn’t want to hurt the beautiful hacker. I knew she was still upset about Sivaha.

  “I will have my belongings brought to your ship,” he continued. “I advise that you let Baccor and Reeyal govern your empire here. They are loyal men who understand how I have managed the empire so far. The Kuroda Empire is home to twenty billion people, but I will advise you when politics will come into play. I have already made an announcement that you are our new ruler, but it will take a few weeks for it to travel throughout the sectors.”

  “So, I don’t need to do anything?” I asked. A bit of relief came into my stomach since I didn’t want to bother with any administrative stuff.

  “No, Emperor,” Baccor stepped forward and bowed his head so that his white hair swept over his face.

  “We will establish set meeting times in the next few months,” Reeyal said. “If you wish to visit Wobbegong, we can give you updates on your empire. If you do not come, we will just assume you are busy on your quest to stop the darkness from consuming the galaxy.”

  “Can we speak without your wives?” Kuroda asked me as he gestured to the eight women standing around me.

  “Wait, these four aren’t his wives.” Zea nodded at the black-haired women that Kuroda had just sent over. “He gave them back to you.”

  “Hmmm,” Kuroda mused as he stared at Zea. “I appreciate your fire, but a woman’s place is to serve her husband. When men talk, women should be silent unless their opinion is needed.”

  “Are you fucking--”

  “Zea,” I said as I rested my hand on her arm. “I’ll speak with Kuroda alone. It won’t be a big deal. I need you all to get my sister back on Persephone. Then we need to head to Ganymede. Hanekawa is going to need a friend. I don’t know what Yu did to her, but I know she’s going to love you. Can you build some sort of friendship with her? That will help us break whatever spell Yu has over her mind.”

  “Yeah,” Zea said as she shot an icy glare at Kuroda. “I’d love to get to know your sister better. I’ll take care of her.”

  “Good,” I said as I turned to Madalena. “Can you get everything in order? We’ll leave soon.”

  “Yes,” the Prime Valkyrie replied.

  “Good,” I said. “I’m still expecting Yu’s forces to try and take him back, so I’ll join you all soon.” I looked at Eve and the vampire gave me a smile before she gestured for Kuroda’s wives to follow them out of the foyer.

  “I’m not sure this is going to work,” I said to Kuroda once the women had walked a few dozen meters away from us.

  “I am here to guide and protect you,” he said. “The cosmos have put us together for a reason. It is clear that I will complete you. Not as your women complete you, but as a man completes another man.”

  “You speak in riddles, Kuroda,” I said.

  “Please call me Dragon.”

  “Fine, Dragon,” I sighed. “I don’t think I need you or your women on my ship. You can stay here and manage your empire.”

  “Your empire,” he corrected. “And they are your women now.”

  “Fuck, whatever,” I said. “What I am getting at is that you are going to complicate my life.”

  “No,” he said as he shook his head. The handsome man’s smile filled his face, and he reached the distance between us so that he laid his hand on my shoulder. “You need help taming your power, your women, and your empire. You need to comprehend what it means to be Tiger. I can understand your hesitation. Both Tiger and Dragon work alone. Their souls are at odds, but they are two sides of the same coin, and by letting me live, you have shown me the path forward. We are stronger together than apart.”

  “I’m pretty sure I understand what it means to be this tiger thing you keep talking about, since I’ve been living it for the last two years.”

  “No,” he said as he shook his head. “That is your m
istake. Tiger is you. If you take my advice, you will grow in power. Let me ask you, why did you come to this station? Was it to fight me?”

  “No, I already told you that I was looking for Yu and my sister.”

  “I can understand your sister,” he said. “But why the scientist? He is of no importance.”

  “He manipulated my DNA so that I could shift into the shape,” I sighed. “I’m guessing you are going to tell me this was always there inside of me. I don’t believe that shit.”

  “Then I will not attempt to convince you otherwise,” he said. “But why seek him? Did you want revenge?”

  “Yes and no,” I said. “My shifts have been harder to control, and I feel like I am losing control. Fuck, I don’t know why I’m even telling you this.”

  “Because you think I can help you, and I can,” the man chuckled a bit. “I can help you control this. Then you will become more powerful. Are you interested in more power, Tiger?”

  “Yeah…” I said hesitantly. “I’m just not sure what price tag you are attaching to this.”

  “There is no price,” he said. “If anything, I owe you. In the next few days, you will come to appreciate my usefulness to you--”

  A pack of guards entered the room and sprinted across the marble floor toward us. Baccor and Reeyal intercepted the guards and exchanged a few quick words before the two advisors calmly walked toward us.

  “I’m going to guess we have an attack from what’s left of Yu’s forces,” I said.

  “Not quite, Emperor,” Baccor said. “While you were sleeping, your wife Zea gave us a summary of your past exploits. We understand that you are at war with a corporation named Elaka Nota. Four of their ships have just entered our system and are requesting permission to dock.”

  “Deny them,” I said as my stomach dropped. “I don’t want to deal with those assholes.”

  “Tiger,” Kuroda said. “Perhaps it would be best if you did deal with these annoyances personally.”

  “I need to speak with Eve and my crew,” I said. How had they found us again? Had we stayed in a spot for too long? We hadn’t found any sort of tracker on Persephone, but it was obvious that the megacorp knew we were here.

  “Why?” he asked.

  “They experimented on Eve, and I also stole my ship from them. How large are their vessels? We will need to escape.”

  “No, Tiger,” Kuroda said as he shook his head. “You should fight them head on.”

  “Uhhh. No. You don’t understand these fucknuggets. They have advanced military weapons and armor. The only times I’ve beaten them was when I got the jump on them.”

  “Then the opportunity will be ripe,” he said. “If they knew your ship was here, why would they ask permission to dock? They would have just attacked, would they not? Your docking location is in the private facility and not visible to them. They might not know you are here. You can attack them savagely. You can bend them to your will, break them under your boot, or tear them apart with your claws. You will get no better chance than now, in your domain.”

  “Hmmm,” I said as I considered Kuroda’s words. The course of action was another deviation from my plan to unite the Nordar, and the risk seemed high. I was about to tell him that I really didn’t see a payoff, but the man seemed to read my mind.

  “There is little risk. You have an army on this station, and you have your own power combined with mine. Will you let me guide you in this? Afterward, you will find that your power has grown and you will have weakened your enemy. You worry about your sanity. You worry about your humanity. I believe the cure is actually embracing your nature. Let me show you.”

  “I suppose we can let them dock and then set up an ambush for them,” I said after I considered for a few more moments. “We can probably get it done in a few hours. We haven’t been able to capture one of them alive so that Eve can figure out how they are tracking us. It is worth the attempt.”

  “Yes,” he said with a nod. “Then you will have the knowledge, their ships, and navigation systems. All will come in handy during your quest for dominance.”

  “Alright,” I said. “I’ll ask Madalena, Eve, and--”

  “No, Tiger,” Kuroda said as he raised his hand to show me his palm. “You rely too much on your women. You are powerful on your own. Tell them you will join them later in the day.”

  “That’s not how I work,” I said. “They aren’t just my women, they are my friends and teammates.”

  “Not today, Tiger. Today, I will prove to you that you don’t need your women to destroy your enemies. Without your women to hold you back, you will easily feast on the souls of your enemies and enjoy their dying screams.”

  “Again,” I sighed. “This is Elaka Nota.”

  “And?” he said with a raised eyebrow. “You are the Tiger. They will fear your roar.”

  Chapter 2

  “I am willing to give your plan a chance,” I said to Kuroda after we had moved to one of his castle’s planning rooms and began a discussion with Wobbegong’s military general.

  “Which plan, Tiger?” he asked as he gestured to the three plans he offered to me. The man had an excellent mind for strategy, and the trio of different options he’d presented to me in the five minutes all seemed reasonable.

  “The one that involves your cyborgs closing off the alleyways here,” I said as I gestured to the map. “I’ll need to return to my ship for my armor and weapons first. How soon until they have been given clearance to dock? Are you sure they haven’t seen my ship?”

  “They have not seen your ship, Emperor,” the third man in the room said. Kuroda called him Bastia, and although his face looked young and wrinkle-free, his eyes seemed old. Kuroda and I had discussed most of the plan, but Bastia provided troop disbursement numbers to us. The general knew exactly how many troops served me on the station, where they were located, and how quickly I could deploy them.

  “We can give your enemies permission to dock whenever you are ready, Tiger,” Kuroda said. “However, I do not believe you should return to your ship. Your women will try to distract you.”

  “They are not a problem,” I said.

  “They will be fine with you going on a mission without them?” he asked with a smirk.

  “Well, no,” I said. “Madalena will want to come, and probably Eve, but--”

  “Leave them,” he said. “We have already sent a message indicating that you will be occupied for the next few hours. You have a full armory in this fortress. There will be equipment for you to use.”

  “They will be worried,” I said. “They don’t even know Elaka Nota is here.”

  “Let them worry,” he replied. “It is their role to tend to the hearth while their man goes out and kills. When you return with your prisoners, they will understand that they need you more than you need them.”

  “Look, I don’t need to perform any sort of psychological warfare on my friends. We support and help each other.”

  “In our souls, the animals want more,” he said. “The human part of us applies the brakes. You have eight wives now--”

  “Two,” I said. “Eve and Zea are not married to me, and I’m not counting your wives as mine.”

  “You deserve more, though,” he continued. “As the most powerful male, you should have all of the women, and impregnate all of them so that your bloodline carries. This is how the Tiger lives. Your human side and your women now prevent that from happening. They have somehow convinced you it isn’t natural to take all the women you can. Their thoughts have infected you. I will dispel those concerns so that you will unlock your true potential.”

  “Look, Kuroda--”

  “Dragon,” he corrected again. “It is all and everything I am, Tiger.”

  “Dragon,” I said, “I like my friends. They aren’t holding me back. We’ve been through some serious shit together, and I’ve trusted them with my life dozens of times. I don’t know you, other than the fact that you tried to kill me and take them from me. Your talk is misog
ynistic, and I don’t trust you.”

  “Apologies, Tiger,” he said with a practiced nod. “I do not mean for it to come across as if I do not value women. I do. They are most valuable. That is how you measure the strength and worth of a man; by how many women love him. You are powerful, but your power is being whittled down because it has been too long since you relied on yourself. It might seem as if your women respect you now, but that will eventually fade if they live with a man who cannot function without them. You need to understand you are their master, and so do they. Once that has been established, you will be free to acquire all the women you want. Then you will grow even more powerful. The harem I have gifted to you has over seven hundred beautiful women.”

  “Wait, did you say seven hundred?” I asked with awe.

  “Yes, but the women who were my wives are all powerful warriors. One of them, Rin, was an assassin sent to murder me by one of my enemies. I stopped her attempt and then tamed her. She will serve you well in your bed and when you wish to perform clandestine activities. Once you have dealt with these mercenaries and we’ve departed on your ship, I will explain the talents the other three women possess.”

  “Why should I trust you?” I asked as I pushed the thought of seven hundred women out of my mind. “You tried to kill me, now you have given me your entire life. It doesn’t make sense.”

  “I have already explained,” he said.

  “Yeah, yeah,” I sighed. “Two sides of the same coin. I don’t get it, but--”

  “Tiger, if I wanted to kill you, I could have done it when you slept or when you roamed the halls. We all serve you now. Let us destroy these Elaka Nota hunters. Then we will discuss other ways to increase your power. If you wish to fight the darkness, you will need to become stronger.”

  “You know about the Draugr.” Maybe it should have been a question, but I said it like a statement.