Her Fated King: A SciFi Alien Romance

by Roxie Ray

  “Apex and the specter Jaix are in the cell across from us,” Nion said as he fiddled with my cuffs. “They attempted an assassination on the new queen and—”

  “Yes,” I said. “I know. I was there.”

  “Of course you were.” Alyse took one pair of my cuffs from Nion as he began to work on the others. “Is Orion—”

  “He is safe. For now, at least. Brixta is throwing many who have been associated with Haelian here in the dungeons…but he is drunk most of the time now as well.”

  “So nothing has changed there,” Nion scoffed. “Perhaps he will forget that Orion is mine.”

  “If we are lucky, yes.” I bowed my head and rubbed my wrists as they were rendered free once more. “But we cannot depend on luck.”

  “You said you have something to tell us?” Bria prompted.

  “It is a long story,” I said. “Perhaps we should all sit down.”

  Over the next hour, perhaps even longer, I spun them the whole of my tale. The caves on Edon. My dreams of Alora—of being crowned king. Though it hurt at the moment, being shut down here so far away from her, I even told them about Alora’s pregnancy. It would be passed off as Brixta’s cub in her womb—for now. But months from now when Alora gave birth…there was a reality we would all have to face if our cub was born with my arms, my hair.

  My eyes, bright and purple, instead of Brixta’s beady black ones.

  “If she loves you, she will help you, then.” Bria patted my shoulder reassuringly. “Her pregnancy will give her sway over the king.”

  “You say she’s clever,” Alyse added. “If you’re right, she’ll find some way to get you out of here.”

  “I…do not know about that,” I admitted.

  Kloran laughed. “You do not know if she is clever? But you just said…”

  “We know you are under duress right now, Ronan, but you should not take it out on your mate,” Nion added, smirking.

  “I do not know that she will have sway with Brixta,” I said with a groan. “He is unstable, to say the least. As for Alora’s love…”

  “She is your mate,” Phoenix insisted. “Of course she loves you.”

  “You are young still, Phoenix.” I sighed. “Things are not always so simple as that.”

  “What happened, Ronan?” Bria asked.

  “We were in the midst of an argument when Brixta came along and learned of her pregnancy,” I explained. “She fears I do not truly love her—that I am only interested in her because fate showed her to me.”

  “Well, are you?” asked Alyse. “That’s a pretty easy thing to clear up, Ronan. Even for a Lunarian.”

  “Excuse you,” Nion grumbled. He threw his arm around Alyse and pulled her close. “We are not so bad at feelings as that.”

  “I would have, but Brixta interrupted us. I could not tell her before I was taken away.” I bowed my head and closed my eyes. “Fate showed her to me, yes—and now, it has taken her away from me as well. I fear I am cursed by it.”

  “Oh, Ronan. You big idiot.” Bria swatted at my arm. “Fate isn’t some kind of fickle ruler.”

  “Brixta is, though,” said Alyse. “He’s your problem, Ronan. Not fate.”

  “No one has control over what hardships they’re presented with because of others.” Nion placed a kiss to Alyse’s temple, even as Phoenix looked away and pretended to be sick at the sight of it. “Look at us. Were we fated to spend years down here in the dungeons of this palace? I think not.”

  “I hope not.” Phoenix crossed his arms over his chest and made a face. “I would like to be free again.”

  “And we all will be.” Kloran spoke with a confidence I wished I possessed for myself right now. “You say that Haelian’s rebellion is succeeding. All that it was missing was a king to rule over us when Brixta is overthrown. You provide us with not only that—but a queen to sustain the alliance with Earth and an heir on the way as well.”

  “If she will have me,” I muttered. “If I ever get out of this place.”

  “You will.” Bria glanced at Kloran. “We need to get word to Haelian about what Ronan has told us, though. Is that guard you’ve been in communication with still willing to send messages outside of the palace?”

  “He will be,” Kloran said. “It is not just the rebellion that wishes to see Brixta finished. The guards that do not fear him hate him enough to help us.”

  “And once you’re out, you can tell Alora how you really feel,” said Alyse. “Everything will be all right, Ronan.”

  “As long as you do not give up,” said Nion. “You have a mate to think of now. A cub as well.”

  “And a planet, apparently.” Phoenix smirked. “Long live the king, huh?”

  I snorted at Phoenix’s words. Had I been so flippant at that age? So naive?

  I must have been, once. Perhaps it was not naivety I saw in him at all—but rather, hope.

  The kind words of all my friends here in this dungeon were full of that hope. They were dirty here, cold and so much older than they had been when I left them, and yet, they still had not given up.

  Neither could I.

  My father had died for his dream of peace. It was a meaningless sacrifice. One that had been made in vain.

  As for me, I knew I could not lie down and give up. Not now. Not ever. I would have to live for this rebellion. For this planet.

  For Alora and for our unborn cub as well.

  And if I died for it, at least I knew I would die fighting. No matter what.

  17

  Alora

  Four months passed.

  Four long, awful months.

  “How are you doing today, Leonix?” I helped Kali carry over the tray of tea that had been delivered to us in the birthing suites.

  “The same as yesterday,” Leonix grumbled as I passed her a cup. “Pregnant and poorly, but thank you for asking—and for the tea.”

  “It’s the least I can do,” I told her. “Quite literally, I’m afraid.”

  The set of rooms we’d been locked in had soft beds, wading pools for swimming in, even a courtyard to take walks through in the sunshine. Servants delivered lavish meals to us three times a day with snacks and herbal teas in between.

  We had everything here but our freedom.

  It wasn’t enough.

  “And how are you feeling, Alora?” Kali sat down at the table next to us and gave me a sad smile. I felt bad that she was locked up in here with us, but I supposed if Brixta was locking away anyone who had any connection to Lord Haelian and his rebellion, she was better off here than she was in the dungeons with Ronan.

  Ronan. Just thinking about him made my heart clench up and my belly ache.

  “Pregnant and poorly.” I echoed Leonix’s words as I placed my hands over my belly. Leonix would go into labor any day now and looked ready to pop at any second, but I was only just starting to show. “Have you had any word from Orion?”

  “None, no.” Kali blew on her tea but didn’t drink it. “He took off when Brixta’s guards came to collect me. I just hope he was able to make it out of the palace before they threw him in the dungeons like they did Ro—”

  “Drink your tea, Kali,” Leonix said.

  “It’s okay.” I reached over and placed my hand on top of Kali’s. “You can say his name.”

  “The baby is his, Alora.” Kali looked around as she whispered the words, though there was no one here in these suites but the three of us right now. “Not Brixta’s.”

  “That means nothing, Kali.” Leonix smoothed her hand down her own belly and looked sad for a moment. “It happens more than you would think.”

  “It’s Ronan’s,” Kali insisted. “He’s your true mate, the father of your cub. He’s our true king, Alora! And he’s been locked away somewhere, and we’re all locked in here, and—”

  “I know,” I told her. “I know. But there’s nothing we can do about any of that right now. We have to play the hand we’re dealt.”

  “Poker. Ugh.” Kali rolled her
eyes and sipped at her tea. “I always hated it when my mom talked in poker metaphors. We don’t have that here and you know it.”

  “It’s true, though.” I’d gone over our options in my head again and again over the past four months. It wasn’t like there was anything to do here other than think. “We can’t escape, and even if we could, Leonix is…”

  “Do not remind me.” Leonix let out a small noise of discomfort as she shifted in her chair. “Even thinking about how pregnant I am is uncomfortable right now. You have much to look forward to, Alora.”

  “Are you nervous about the birth?” I asked. Apart from my worries about Ronan, I had other things to worry about as well. Not just what might happen to me and my baby if he or she was born with more arms than they were supposed to have, either.

  “For all my life, I’ve wanted a cub, you know,” Leonix said with a softness I hadn’t heard from her before. “My mother gave birth with ease. I will likely be the same.”

  “I wish I could say that.” I took a sip of my own tea to try to quiet the churning of my stomach, but it didn’t do much good. “My mother died in childbirth with her third pregnancy. I’ve always worried a little that it might happen to me too.”

  “I am sorry to hear that,” said Leonix. She was too stoic—or just too smart—to say anything more than that.

  “I’m sorry too,” said Kali. “And all this stress you’ve been under…that can’t be good for the baby either.”

  “No,” I admitted. “Probably not.”

  Ronan was locked up. So was I. There was a revolution marching on the capital here on Lunaria and another marching toward the White House back on Earth. My communicator had been taken from me when I was shut in these rooms. I hadn’t heard from my brother since my wedding night, when he’d told me to be careful not to choose sides.

  I’d failed at that. Badly.

  I was the captive of one king and pregnant with the cub of the king who hoped to replace him—assuming Ronan’s dreams had even been true.

  Ronan had certainly been right about one thing, at least.

  Fate didn’t get much crueler than this.

  “Maybe the surprise Brixta has planned for us today will brighten things up at least,” Kali said hopefully. “He’s been talking about it for weeks now. Aside from Leonix’s cub being born, it’s the only thing I’ve seen him excited about in months.”

  Leonix and I shared a tense look.

  “That’s what I’m worried about,” I said.

  Leonix placed her tea back on the table, only half finished. “Anything that Brixta is excited about does not bode well for us.”

  We were brought to the king’s balcony with an armed guard surrounding us. It was strange being out of the birthing suite. We hadn’t left it since we’d been locked in.

  As we moved through the halls, I was stunned by the changes that had occurred in the palace since I had last walked through it. There were no servants scurrying through the corridors. No harem members strolling arm and arm. No cubs running around, chasing each other, playing.

  The halls were empty and silent.

  When we reached the balcony, the silence didn’t break.

  Not except for the labored wheezing and greedy slurping of the king, at any rate.

  King Brixta reclined on a cushioned lounge. His lungs sounded like they were lined with push pins every time he drew in a breath. His lips smacked after every gulp of wine he took.

  Kali, Leonix and I stood there to his side, quietly waiting for him to acknowledge us, but for several long moments, he did not.

  It was as though we weren’t even there at all.

  The king’s skin looked worse that day than it ever had. He was speckled with age spots, with acne—something I had never seen on a Lunarian. Even the deep orange of his coloring looked somehow wrong. Unnaturally vibrant, it was almost the same as the look of a bad spray tan. But when I looked down at his hands, they were unhealthy looking. Ashen.

  The sour stink of wine hung around him, same as always.

  The very drink that I’d used to avoid sleeping with him was slowly killing him. I might have even felt bad about it—but then he spoke, and I did not feel bad at all.

  “Come,” he barked at us when he finally bothered to acknowledge our presence. “This surprise is something you simple-minded females should see up close.”

  I would have held it against him, calling us simple-minded like that…but there was no point.

  There was so much I already held against my so-called husband.

  At a certain point, adding more fuel to the fire stopped mattering so much. He could lavish us each with high praise and wonder, and still, my hatred for him would have burned.

  Brixta clapped his hands once and his servants arrived to lift his lounge up on their shoulders. There were only four now. Apart from the handful of guards who encircled us, they were the only other people I’d seen since we left the birthing suite.

  Where had everyone else gone, I wondered? Had they been imprisoned as well?

  Or had they simply fled?

  The four servants who bore Brixta’s weight on their shoulders moved slowly as we descended from the balcony to the courtyard. I wasn’t sure they had any other choice.

  It was a heavy weight they bore between them. As we set foot in the courtyard and watched figures appear from the halls opposite us, it felt like a heavy weight was being placed on my shoulders as well.

  There were bags over the heads of those figures. Six of them. Their wrists were in shackles. For each of them, there were two more guards.

  “Shit,” Leonix swore beneath her breath.

  Shit, I thought in solidarity.

  Leonix had been right. Any surprise from Brixta was sure to be nothing good.

  “Tell me, females,” Brixta said as his litter was placed in the center of the courtyard, “what do you know of sacrifice?”

  “Oh, nothing, I am certain,” Leonix said. Her voice dripped with sarcasm. “Nothing at all.”

  I was amazed by her. My mouth was so dry as I looked at those Lunarians with bags over their heads.

  Most only had two hands, but one of them had four.

  “Sacrifice,” Brixta rumbled as though he had not even heard her, “is an ancient tradition here on Lunaria. One that it has been far too long since we have practiced.”

  My heart started racing as Brixta waved the prisoners forward. They were marched over flanked by two guards each.

  I knew the four hands on the prisoner in the center. I knew how they felt on my skin as they undressed me.

  I knew their touch on my cheeks and around my hips when I came. I knew it in the pit of my belly, where our cub was growing. I knew it in my bones. In my fate. My destiny.

  In my soul.

  “We have fallen on hard times here in the palace,” Brixta continued. He gave each of the prisoners a glare that their concealed eyes could not visibly return. “We have been abandoned. We have been betrayed. But today, with the birth of your cub approaching, Leonix…” Brixta gave her a sinister grin, then turned it on me. “With the birth of my heir from you, Alora, on the horizon…” Finally, he turned to Kali. “With your entry to my harem approaching, Kaliope—”

  “Not for several years yet,” Kali mumbled, not meeting Brixta’s gaze. “I’m still far from being of age. Your Majesty.”

  “But I am the king.” Brixta’s smile didn’t waver as he reached for Kali’s hand. She flinched as his twisted claws scraped against her wrist. “And I am tired of waiting.”

  Kali’s eyes flashed yellow, a color I had come to recognize as fear. I longed to step between them, to wrench her away from him.

  But could I?

  I gritted my teeth, took Kali by the shoulders, and pulled her out of Brixta’s grasp.

  “No,” I said as I moved my body between Kali and the king. “This cannot happen. Any of this. There will be no sacrifices today, my king. No more harem, either. Your heir is in my belly and Kali is not of age. As que
en of Lunaria—”

  Brixta’s hand rose to me quicker than I had believed him possible of moving. There was an orange blur, then the back of his hand connected to my cheek so hard, the next thing I knew, I was on the ground.

  “You are queen of nothing,” Brixta sneered down at me. “Merely a womb. Nothing more.”

  And as I picked myself up off the grass, I knew that what he said was true.

  For my entire life, I’d been taught to protect myself. To do whatever it took to ensure that my position was secured.

  And now that I had finally sought to break that cycle to stand up for someone else, I knew that all of it had been for nothing.

  I had no power here.

  I never had.

  Leonix looked down at me with sympathy in her eyes. She offered me her hand as I found my feet. Given how pregnant she was, I knew she could not offer anything more.

  I squeezed Leonix’s hand, then placed my other over my belly as I looked at the prisoner I knew must be Ronan. I tried not to let myself cry.

  I knew what was about to happen here. I had a good idea of what would happen after, too.

  Nothing would change until the revolution arrived.

  I would lose Ronan today, and until Brixta was dethroned, things would only get worse.

  “Now that you are all behaving yourselves,” Brixta continued, “Let us proceed. First prisoner.”

  The guards marched the prisoner on the end of the row forward two steps. When they pulled the bag off his head, I recognized him immediately.

  Jaix. The specter who had tried to kill me. I would have recognized those black eyes and that white hair anywhere.

  Leonix let out a shuddering breath as their eyes met. She gripped my hand even tighter.

  “No,” Leonix breathed. “Please, no.”

  “For you, Leonix, your treasured friend Jaix. He tried to kill my wife on our wedding day. A betrayal to one of us is a betrayal for all.” Brixta’s smile widened. “Jaix was your personal guard when you were first brought to my harem. His life to bless your child—it seemed that it would suit well.”