Blue Alien Prince's Obedient Mate

by Zara Zenia

Draklan logged into the call system again. “I’m making sure the call between us and Pralmav is completely off the record of calls made.”

  He entered another code and Margot raised an eyebrow.

  “Secure line,” he said. “So that hopefully, he can’t trace anything that we’re doing.”

  “Right,” Margot replied, and then the call began to ring.

  “Hello?” Pralmav answered, clearly confused by the number in the call system.

  “It’s me,” Draklan said.

  Pralmav breathed a sigh of relief. “Are you safe?”

  “Yes, I’m safe,” he said. “No thanks to Bhatraz.”

  “Now that I’ve heard you confirm it, I’m going to have him arrested,” Pralmav said, speaking as calmly as he would speak about breakfast.

  “What?” Draklan replied. “You knew?”

  “I’ve been putting the pieces together for quite some time,” Pralmav said. “We sent a search party out for you just a few hours ago. Did they find you? I don’t recognize this channel.”

  “They didn’t,” Draklan replied. “This is the assassins’ ship.”

  He filled Pralmav in on the details, who only sighed in response.

  “I hate when I’m right about things like this,” he said.

  Margot smiled, missing her brother-in-law.

  “How’s Milinna?” she asked.

  “She’s all right,” Pralmav replied. “She’s not at work today, but both of us have, of course, been frantic to find you.”

  “Why’d he do this?” Draklan asked. “Do you know?”

  “I suspect it’s between him and Rabbina,” Pralmav said. “But Brother . . . you know his mind has not been right since Father died.”

  “It’s not an excuse,” Draklan snapped. “He would have had us dead.”

  “It’s not an excuse,” Pralmav replied. “But it does mean he can possibly be healed . . . in time.”

  “Little good that would have done if we were actually murdered.”

  “I can assure you, if his plan had actually succeeded . . . I don’t think he would have ever forgiven himself,” Pralmav said. “Although I imagine that’s a cold comfort right now.”

  “I need to talk to him,” Draklan said, “and arresting him without me there may backfire on you.”

  “Brother,” Pralmav said. “You underestimate me. When I reveal his plot to kill a fellow Prince—”

  “Wait.” There was something that tugged on Draklan’s heart strings. If there was even a chance that this could be repaired, he knew he had to try. He would never forgive himself if he didn’t at least try to get to the bottom of the situation. “Wait until we get there.”

  “He could take you down again before you get here,” Pralmav pointed out.

  “He could,” Draklan said. “But he thinks we’re dead already. I just . . . it’s something that Margot said. If there’s even a shred of a chance that this could be repaired, I would never forgive myself for ruining it forever.”

  “You are a bigger man than I, Draklan,” Pralmav said. “Get here safely.”

  “Will do,” Draklan said and signed off.

  When the call was over, he turned to Margot.

  “Are you proud of me now?” he asked.

  “I’m so proud of you,” Margot said. “So proud of you. You will make a fantastic king of the island.”

  “With you as my queen,” he said, kissing the top of her head as the ship sailed on. Whatever happened, they were together for the future, which was all that mattered.

  Chapter 19

  Margot

  Margot had never seen Draklan so angry or on such a mission. She had seen him focused on different things before, and she had seen him angry, but never like this. When he stormed in to meet his brother, it was as if the world was about to explode.

  Bhatraz was in the throne room with Queen Joronna, and it looked like everything was normal. By the look of surprise on his face, however, everything was just about to change.

  “Hello, Bhatraz,” he said. “We’re alive. Does that surprise you?”

  A pin could have dropped in the room and everyone would hear it. There was silence as they all stared at Draklan and Bhatraz. Queen Joronna raised an eyebrow.

  “What’s going on?” she asked. “Draklan, how was your trip?”

  “How was my trip?” Draklan snarled. “How was my trip? Oh, it was very pleasant. Very, very pleasant—until we crash-landed because Bhatraz tampered with the shuttle. And then we were chased by assassins for two days whom Bhatraz hired. Do I have all the details?”

  At that moment, possibly with the worst timing on Tamarax, Rabbina walked in, completely oblivious to the situation. When she saw Draklan, however, her jaw dropped.

  “Bhatraz,” she asked. “What . . . what happened?”

  “Are you an idiot?” Bhatraz spun around, and his hand flew. In front of all the courtiers, he stuck his wife across the face.

  Rabbina screamed and Margot rushed forward. She disliked her sister-in-law very much, but she didn’t believe that any woman should be hit. Joronna choked in surprise.

  “Bhatraz!” she said. “What is happening? How dare you—”

  “How dare I?” Bhatraz’s eyes were crazed. “How dare I try to fight for my own marriage and my survival? How dare I get rid of my brother who tried to ruin everything? How dare I—”

  “You lie!” Draklan screamed at him. “Your fragile ego couldn’t handle the fact that—”

  Margot could hear them screaming, but she was focusing on her sister-in-law, who was bleeding from the nose. “Sit down,” she said, her voice shaking.

  Rabbina looked at her, stunned at her kindness. “I—”

  “It’s okay,” Margot said. “Just sit down. I think that your nose is broken.”

  “I’m sorry,” Rabbina stuttered, and Margot saw tears falling down her face. “I’m sorry. It got out of hand. I’m sorry.”

  It was so uncharacteristic of her that Margot actually took a step back. “Really?” she said.

  “I didn’t know he would go that far,” Rabbina said as her nose continued to flow.

  “Tilt your head up,” Margot said at last. “Just tilt it up and breathe.”

  No one came forward to help Rabbina, which made Margot realize just how alienated from the kingdom the princess was. She didn’t realize how bad the situation had become until she saw everyone looking on and no one coming to the aid of the broken crown princess.

  Meanwhile, it the center of the room, it was clear that Draklan was past the point of pity.

  “I will make sure you suffer,” Draklan shot at his brother. “And I will make sure pain is the last thing you feel.”

  “You are a—”

  Both of them had weapons now, a fact that Margot had missed. Everyone was staring on in horror, including Joronna. Margot’s heart broke, looking at the queen. She hadn’t always gotten along with Joronna either, but in this moment, she realized the queen had just wanted the best for her children. She had just wanted peace and to continue her husband’s legacy. Instead, it was clear that her husband’s legacy might end here and now.

  Margot knew that she couldn’t stop the brothers. Rabbina had also lost her power when it came to convincing them. But Margot thought there might be hope in Joronna.

  She left her sister-in-law and moved forward to the queen, whispering frantically in her ear, “You can stop them,” she said. “You can.”

  “How?” Joronna asked. “How could I possibly stop them? They—” Her tears fell as well.

  “Please try,” Margot said. “Please try. For all our sakes. Please!”

  Both the princes had now drawn their weapons. It appeared the entire palace had entered the room and was frozen, staring at each other. No one knew what to do.

  “Please,” she begged Joronna, who took a deep breath and then stepped forward.

  Margot knew that Joronna must have put herself in so many difficult situations in the past. She must have seen wars and s
topped entire countries and planets from falling apart. However, this was probably the most difficult situation that Joronna would ever encounter, and Margot knew that it may very well kill her.

  “Boys.” She chose her words incredibly carefully. “Your father would not want this.”

  Both of the brothers stopped moving. Their muscles were tense and their faces were red.

  But slowly, as Margot prayed, she saw their faces change back to a normal color. Their eyes dropped from each other and they took a step back.

  And then, to her surprise, Bhatraz began to cry. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry. I failed him. I promised him I wouldn’t, but I failed him.”

  Draklan didn’t say anything as he took a step back.

  Margot ran into his arms, and he buried his face in her hair. She tried to calm his nerves. “You’re all right,” she said. “You're alive. You’re both alive.”

  “Guards,” Draklan said at last. “Take him away.”

  Bhatraz did not resist as the guards pulled him away.

  “Please,” Joronna said. “Take care of him. My son.”

  She was sobbing, and Margot went to her, taking her hands.

  “You did well,” she assured her mother-in-law. “You saved them.”

  “No,” Joronna said. “I failed them too. But hopefully, their father instilled enough beauty in them that they can save themselves despite my failings.”

  All of a sudden, an alarm went off throughout the palace. Margot had never heard it before, but the lights dimmed and then died again. It was a low, deep sound, the sound of some sort of horn. And then, Margot recognized what almost sounded like a trumpet. It made her sad. There was just something about the alarm that reached into her very soul and made her ache.

  “What is that?” she asked, holding Joronna’s hands. She had a sinking feeling that there was something very wrong.

  Joronna looked up at the alarm in horror. Margot followed her gaze and connected with both Rabbina and Draklan.

  “What is that?” she asked again.

  “It’s a grief announcement,” Joronna said. “A member of the royal family has passed.”

  “W-what?” Margot asked. On top of all of this, she couldn’t handle any more bad news. She felt shaky, and pins and needles ran through her hands and feet. She was cold and she was more frightened than she had been five minutes ago. “Who?”

  An announcement then came through the system, an announcement that she would never forget. It would haunt her nightmares.

  “From flowers we are made, and to flowers we become,” said an automated voice. “Rest in Peace, Princess Milinna.”

  “No,” Margot said. “No, no, no!”

  Suddenly, nothing else mattered.

  The courtiers seemed completely frozen in the moment, and the royal family took that as their moment to escape from the public eye. Joronna, Draklan, and even Rabbina scrambled to make it through the door, their hearts in their mouths.

  Just outside the palace door, the guards were still taking Bhatraz down to the prison. However, it was clear that they had heard the announcement as well, and everyone was lost.

  “Mother . . .” Bhatraz said, his voice broken.

  “Come, Son.” Joronna wrapped her hand around his wrist. “Come.”

  Draklan looked torn, but he didn’t slow his pace. For the first time since Margot had come to Tamarax, they rushed toward the lab.

  The lab was in complete chaos. There were several people, whom Margot only recognized from the medical bay, crowded in a circle around the floor. And there, to Margot’s horror, lay the lifeless body of her sister-in-law.

  Milinna looked nothing like her former self. Her eyes were soulless, her hair was limp, and she had lost even more weight.

  Her husband was standing at a nearby counter, frantically pouring and measuring some solutions.

  “You will listen to me,” he was saying as they ran in. “Continue compressions, by order of the palace.”

  “Pralmav.” Draklan rushed to him as the others stood in shock. “Pralmav, what are you doing?”

  “Tell them to continue compressions,” he said. “Don’t stop.”

  “She’s gone,” the lead doctor said, trying to speak calmly. “I’ve pronounced the time of death.”

  “Continue. Compressions!” Pralmav had never raised his voice as long as Margot had known him. She had never seen him so frantic. “Do as I say!”

  “Pralmav, she’s gone.” Draklan tried to put a hand on his brother’s shoulder, but the middle prince threw it off.

  “Do it! Don’t give up! Do it!”

  “Come and say goodbye.” Draklan tried to guide his brother, but Pralmav was not having it. Her brother-in-law’s eyes turned to Margot.

  “Margot,” he snapped. “Are you the only sensible one here? Continue compressions, now!”

  Margot felt frantic and dropped to her knees. She had taken a CPR course nearly three years ago, but she remembered how to do it. She put her hands on her sister-in-law’s tiny frame and began compressions.

  “Pralmav.” Bhatraz even tried. “She’s gone.”

  “I just need six more minutes,” Draklan snapped. “Just six more minutes. It’ll work. It’ll work.”

  No one knew what to do. Margot felt like this day was a nightmare that she needed to frantically wake up from. She felt her own chest grow tight and her vision go fuzzy. She felt like she was hurting Milinna, even though she knew that her sister-in-law couldn’t feel anything.

  “What will work?” Rabbina was sitting beside Margot, her nose still half-bleeding and her face also tear-streaked.

  “A cure,” Pralmav replied.

  No one knew what to do. Milinna had clearly passed from life and yet Pralmav was frantic.

  Margot knew that Pralmav had cured many things before. She knew that he had made a difference in so many people’s lives. She knew that he had brought others back from the brink of death, and she knew that wherever he went, people thanked him for his contributions to society. However, this seemed like it was too far. There were certain things that medicine couldn’t fix, and Margot felt like this was one of them. Her heart was breaking as she spoke her next words.

  “I can’t . . .” Margot was sobbing as she pulled her hands back after another few minutes. “I can’t keep doing this anymore. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. She’s gone . . . I’m so sorry.”

  “No!” Pralmav broke an empty test tube in his haste. Whatever he was doing seemed to be ready, and he grabbed a needle that he had beside the test tubes. He filled it with the solution he had been mixing and moved forward.

  Pralmav pushed people out of the way with a force that Margot didn’t know he had. He was shaking as he knelt beside his wife and put the needle in her thigh, pressing the syringe.

  “There,” he said, kneeling back. “There.”

  Nothing happened, but everyone fell silent, hopeful.

  Pralmav gently touched his wife’s shoulder with a tenderness that Margot had never seen before.

  She wanted to believe that it was going to work. She knew Pralmav was brilliant and she knew that he had done such good for Tamarax and had saved many lives. She knew that he had saved Milinna before. But after another minute, Margot realized that this would not be another miracle.

  “Pralmav,” she said, speaking words that no one else seemed to have the courage to say. “Pralmav . . . I’m so—”

  Just as she was about to finish the sentence, Milinna took a deep breath and her eyes fluttered open. She began to choke, and Margot instinctively pushed her onto her side in case she threw up.

  Pralmav sat back with a sigh, awkwardly patting his wife’s shoulder. “There we go,” he said. “There we go. Everything is fine.”

  The doctor looked absolutely stunned. “What . . . What . . .”

  “I’ve been close to curing her for a while,” Pralmav answered, calm again. “I told you to keep compressions going. If there is any damage to her system because you didn’t, I
will make you answer to her. After I fix it.”

  “I . . .” the doctor sputtered. “What did you cure?”

  “Death by organ failure,” he responded. “It repairs withered or diseased organs. It wouldn’t repair trauma, but weak organs can be revived.”

  “You can’t cure that!”

  “Can’t I?” Pralmav asked, looking up at the doctor and blinking. “It appears I just did.”

  The doctor crouched down, and Pralmav, in an uncharacteristic move, shoved his hand away.

  “If you touch my wife again,” he said very calmly, “I will throw you in jail.”

  “Milinna,” Margot said softly. She didn’t want to get in between the couple, but she needed to know her friend was all right. “I’m here.”

  Milinna didn’t say anything, but she met Margot’s eyes and reached to grip her hand.

  Margot squeezed back and then reached over to Rabbina, making a circle of friendship. They may not have been sisters for long, given how difficult the situation was, but Margot would always remember this moment.

  This was the moment they were family.

  Eventually, Draklan led her away. She knew they were just getting in the way, and Milinna needed these next few days to heal. Bhatraz was taken to jail and Rabbina to the medical bay. Draklan led Margot to their room, kissing her on the head and wrapping his arms around her.

  “This was such a day . . .” Margot said to him. “How are you holding up?”

  If she was at home, she would have called her mother and they would have talked for hours. Her mother was her rock and would have given her so much advice. Margot felt like she hadn’t learned to be a real adult because she always relied on her mother for advice about the big things in life.

  In this moment, however, she felt like she’d grown several years in terms of wisdom. Draklan needed her to be strong for him, and she was going to be a rock in this moment, even if she didn’t know how to do it.

  “I . . .” Draklan responded. “I think it’s going to be a few days until I can answer that.”

  “Yes,” Margot said. “I understand.”

  They lay on the bed, relaxing into each other. Margot closed her eyes, taking comfort in the rise and fall of Draklan’s chest. He played with her hair as his eyes began to close.