Broken

by Presley Hall

  I sag in the guards’ grip, hopelessness washing over me. We’ve come so far, done so much, and it’s all for nothing. Brele will kill them, and then he’ll die too. Probably we both will.

  And then a voice rings out. “Stop! In the name of your king and queen, I command you to stop!”

  My head whips around at the sound of the voice—the familiar female voice.

  Pushing her way through the guards, her head held high as everyone freezes where they stand… is Emma.

  I freeze too, in complete and utter shock. I stare at her as she walks through the line of guards into the middle of the courtyard.

  My mouth hangs open as I take in her appearance. She’s dressed regally, in a long green gown that wraps around her curvy figure. Her hair is hanging loose around her shoulders, longer than I remember it, and when she turns to face the guards holding me, her mouth gapes in shock as well.

  “Jade?” she whispers.

  “Emma.” My voice is nothing but a squeak, my throat hoarse and raw from screaming.

  “Let her go,” Emma commands with a firm tone, and the guards release their hold on me like I’m on fire. I almost drop to the stones, it’s so sudden. I catch myself at the last second, pulling myself upright, and then Emma is running toward me, her arms outstretched as she envelopes me in a tight, rib-crushing hug.

  I can’t even move for a minute. I’m completely in shock, stunned into total silence. I can’t believe it—I never in a million years expected this. I thought Emma was in Orkun hands, sold into slavery or worse. I never expected to find her here in the capital city on Kalix. And from the way she’s dressed and the way the guards obeyed her, she must be someone of some importance too… somehow.

  Is she the queen? No. There’s no fucking way.

  But then I remember Brele telling me that the prince of Kalix becomes king when he finds his Irisa. And Emma shouted to the guards to obey her in the name of the king and queen. So that means Khrelan must’ve found his fated mate.

  Emma.

  It’s true. She’s the queen.

  Holy fuck.

  I hug her back, my arms wrapping tightly around her. There are so many questions I want to ask, so much I need to tell her—but at the moment, all I can do is cling to her, trying to convince my mind this is actually real.

  Over her shoulder, I see another Kalixian approaching, this one in black and gold garb like the guards. His horns are long and dark, with gold inlay that glints in the light. As he draws closer, I know without a doubt that it’s Prince—King—Khrelan. The resemblance to Brele is too strong for it to be anyone else. They’re brothers, that much is certain.

  Emma releases me, and Khrelan walks up to her, touching her arm gently as she looks up at him. The way the arrogance in his face softens when he looks at her tells me that what I suspected is true. They’re together.

  My soft, sweet, daydreaming, romantic Emma got herself kidnapped… and rescued by an alien prince. The sheer ridiculous perfection of it makes me want to collapse into overjoyed laughter.

  But I can’t. I have to make sure Brele is safe.

  “Please.” I force my addled brain to form words, turning to face them both. Without a second thought, I sink to my knees in front of Khrelan. “Please, your Majesty, I know that Brele is banished, and I know why. He’s told me everything. But please, I’m begging you, let him go. Listen to what he has to say. I swear to you, you won’t regret it. Please don’t punish him without listening to him first.”

  Khrelan frowns down at me, and Emma’s expression twists with sadness as she looks at me. “Jade…” she starts to say, but I plow ahead.

  “You don’t know what it took for him to come here. What he did to earn his forgiveness from you. He could’ve stayed out in the wilderness, and you would never have known he was alive. You need to know why he risked so much to come back here—and it’s not for me to tell you. You have to listen to him, please.”

  Tears fill my eyes, but I fight them back. Now isn’t the time to cry. Now, more than ever, I need to be strong.

  I’ve fought against things all my life. Now I have something to fight for.

  26

  Brele

  The guards are still holding me back, but they’re frozen in place, awaiting another command from their ruler—who is apparently king now.

  And his queen?

  Now that Jade has been released from the grasp of the other guards, my battle rage has receded enough for me to comprehend what’s going on, and I’m rendered nearly speechless.

  There are other Terran women here? My brother has clearly bonded with one of them, making him king… and her his Irisa.

  What in all the universe has been happening in my absence?

  Khrelan is watching Jade intently as she speaks, listening to what she’s saying. My heart pounds in my chest, because I don’t know whether he’ll do as she asks, but a sense of relief washes over me as well. I was right when I told Jade what kind of man Khrelan is, and the kind of ruler that I believed him to be. From what I can see, he’s still the fair, reasonable boy that I knew once, now grown into a man.

  His gaze flicks from Jade to me, and in that one glance I can see dozens of emotions. Hurt, anger, mistrust… but something deeper too.

  Like he missed me, despite everything.

  The Terran woman next to him leans up, murmuring something in his ear, looking anxiously from Jade to me, then back up to Khrelan.

  He listens to what she’s saying, his gaze fixed on the ground as she speaks, and when he looks at her, there’s warmth in his eyes. I recognize his expression immediately; I know I look at Jade in the same way. For the first time since we walked through the city gates, I can feel hope starting to bloom in my chest again.

  Khrelan straightens then and nods to my mate, carefully still not looking at me. “I’ll listen to what he has to say,” he says brusquely.

  We’re escorted to the palace, several guards flanking us as we make our way through the city. I walk next to Khrelan while Jade and the queen follow a few steps behind us. The guards stay close, but they don’t touch either Jade or me, allowing us to walk freely. It’s a sign of a bit of trust, however small it is, and it allows the tiny ember of hope inside me to grow just a little more. I doubt my father would’ve listened to Jade. But Khrelan was always the most level-headed one in the family.

  As we walk, Jade and the queen speak to each other in excited voices, coming to walk between Khrelan and me. We turn to look at them at the same time, and our gazes meet over their heads.

  A current of unspoken emotion passes between us, arcing through the air like lightning. Khrelan’s eyes are full of sorrow, and I’m not sure for what. Is it for the lost years between us, the knowledge of what I did, or the knowledge that he’ll have to punish me again for returning?

  I pray that my last guess is wrong, that what I have to offer will help us to make amends somehow. I can see the conflict in his eyes too, and that gives me hope that there’s a chance.

  I half expect Khrelan to lead us to the throne room, but instead, he takes a sharp left as soon as we enter the palace, heading toward one of the small council rooms.

  “You may leave us,” he tells the guards. “Queen Emma and I will speak with my brother and the Terran woman alone.”

  None of us speak a word until the last guard has filed out and the door has shut heavily behind them. Then Khrelan gestures toward me, his face suddenly very tired.

  “Go on, Brele,” he says in a quiet voice. “You may speak freely.”

  Jade shifts closer to my side, her arm brushing against mine. That small bit of contact bolsters me, reminding me that no matter what, she’s with me.

  “I have information,” I tell my brother. “Information that will help with the fight against the Orkun.”

  Khrelan’s expression turns guarded, but he glances at the queen. She smiles encouragingly at him, and he turns back to me.

  “How did you come across this information?”


  “My Irisa—Jade—was abducted by the Orkun before I met her. The ship that they had her on was in the battle over Jocia, but it split off when she fought against her captor. It crash-landed in the wilderness much farther out, where I was living. The Orkun warlord on board that ship died. I was able to hack into the systems on that vessel and upload everything there into my head.” I take a step forward without meaning to, my voice becoming more passionate as I continue. “I have so much of their information, Khrelan.”

  I know that as a disgraced, banished Kalixian, no longer a prince, I should address Khrelan formally. But I can’t. He’s my brother, and I was once closer with him than anyone else on the planet. I know if I’m going to reach him, it will be through that.

  “What kind of information?” the queen asks, reaching out to take Khrelan’s hand in hers.

  “Maps. Military strategies, numbers of warriors, numbers of ships. So much that my head feels like it’s bursting with it. It can help, I know it can. And I’ll turn it all over to you and your ministers.”

  “If?” Khrelan’s lips press tightly together. “What do you want in exchange for this information, Brele? Do you want to be reinstated here at the palace? Are you here to claim your crown again, now that our father is dead?”

  “No!” I shake my head fiercely, holding out my hands. “I have no interest in the crown, brother. You are king already, and you were always better suited to it than I was. All I want is to make things right, to protect my people… and my Irisa.”

  At those words, Khrelan’s eyes widen. His gaze darts to Jade. Curiosity burns in his eyes, but I see recognition in their depths too as he takes in the way she and I stand so close to each other. He must recognize the effects of the mate bond, having experienced it himself with Emma.

  “I understand the need to protect one’s mate. But you were banished,” he says, his gaze returning to me. “You committed the worst kind of treason.”

  “I never meant to. I swear it on my life. I couldn’t tell our father the truth after the Orkun attack.” My voice is rough and strained as I force the words out. “But I can tell you now.”

  I see a flicker of something in Khrelan’s face. He wants to believe me, I can see it. But I can see the weight of responsibility there too, the knowledge that he must be certain I’m not a threat. He loves me, I believe, as he always did. We are brothers, and that bond can’t be broken. But he loves his people too. And he has to protect them.

  I know in this instant that even if he can’t forgive me, I could never hold it against him.

  “What is the truth, then, brother?” he asks quietly when he speaks at last.

  And so I explain. I explain everything—the abduction when I snuck away from my guard to meet a girl, how foolish that was, and how they captured me. How they took over my mind, implanting a chip that made me powerless to do or say anything that they didn’t direct, and yet left me fully aware of everything that was happening. How they forced me to give them the information that would allow them to destroy Kalix. And how, after I was caught, they wouldn’t allow me to tell the truth when I was brought before my father.

  “I’ve known pain since then, and I knew pain in the hands of the Orkun,” I tell Khrelan. “Both physical and mental. But I’ve never felt any pain like standing there in front of you and our father, desperately trying to speak the words that would let you know what had really happened, feeling them form on my tongue, and yet being unable to say them. And knowing that I was in some way responsible for what happened…”

  I can’t look at him any longer. I drop my gaze down to the floor, shame washing over me again even as Jade takes my hand.

  “I tortured myself with it for fifteen years, brother,” I murmur. “The moment I was able to find a way to remove the device from my head, I did. I never wanted to be made their pawn again. I’ve risked connecting to Orkun tech only once since then, to get this information for you. And if you cannot forgive me, or you think I deserve punishment for daring to return, I will accept whatever sentence you give. I only ask that you not punish Jade. She was unconscious when I rescued her and took her home, and the bond chose her for me. She is not at fault.”

  The room is utterly silent for a long time. I keep my gaze fixed on the floor, my heart pounding hard in my chest.

  There’s nothing more I can say. I’ve laid it all out. The choice is out of my hands.

  And then, as I grit my teeth and wait for the pronouncement to fall, I feel a heavy hand on my shoulder.

  I look up and see Khrelan standing before me. His blue eyes, so similar to my own, shine with emotion. He pulls me into an embrace, his arms hard around me.

  “Brother.” His voice is deep and hoarse, a quiet murmur. “I forgive you.”

  He releases me, and I blink at him, stunned. I know I should be glad to hear him say it, but I’m too shocked to register the joy.

  “Truly?” I shake my head. “But how…? Our father…”

  As I try to form the words, I realize I didn’t think Khrelan would allow me to go unpunished. Deep down, I believed that bringing the information would be my penance, and that I would be banished again, or worse. I never really allowed myself to think that I could be forgiven… or even that I should be.

  “Our father was hotheaded. You know that.” Khrelan’s gaze is steady on mine. “Even if you had been able to speak the truth, I’m not sure he would have heard it. But I am not our father. I always doubted, even on that day, that you were capable of such a willing betrayal. But he would not listen to me, and he didn’t even consider that you might not have been yourself. In his grief…” Khrelan takes a deep breath, then shakes his head. “There was only vengeance for him, after that. For all of us, to some extent. But I, at least, am able to see past that to the truth.”

  Relief, greater than any I’ve ever known, floods me.

  “Thank you, brother,” I whisper, dropping my head in a small bow. “Thank you.”

  27

  Jade

  Emma stands by my side as we watch the two brothers make amends. My heart swells in my chest, relief and joy flooding me all at once.

  Brele has completed me, and I know I do the same for him. But I also know there was a part of him missing that I could never fill, a longing for his family that’s satisfied at last. And more than that, he’s been forgiven. Now, at last, I hope he can forgive himself too.

  As Khrelan and Brele embrace, Emma wraps an arm around my waist, laying her head briefly on my shoulder the way she used to do when we’d sit on the old couch at her apartment and watch movies.

  “I’m sorry,” she says softly.

  I look down at her, my brows shooting up. “What on earth are you sorry for?”

  “I’m sorry I got abducted.” She grimaces sheepishly, her cheeks flushing as she lifts her head. “Thank you for coming to look for me, Jade. No one else would have bothered.”

  I laugh, unable to stop myself.

  “What?” Emma asks, her brows furrowing.

  I shake my head as my chuckles fade. “It’s so weird to say that I’m grateful I was abducted by aliens, or that my friend was. But if things hadn’t happened the way they did, I would never have found Brele. And he’s… he’s something I never knew I needed. This mate bond of theirs sounds so ridiculous, but in the end, he’s everything I could ever hope for in a partner. He’s my match.”

  Emma looks across the room at Khrelan, a small, sweet smile on her face. “I know exactly what you mean.” There’s a wistful quality to her voice, and she blushes when I grin at her.

  “You really did get your fairytale after all,” I point out, unable to keep my grin from widening.

  “I certainly did.” She nudges me with her elbow. “And I always said you’d never be able to fall in love unless you found a man you couldn’t beat in a fight. You just had to go to a whole other planet to find one.”

  I can’t help but laugh at that, because she’s exactly right.

  Once Khrelan and Brele are done talk
ing, the king gives instructions for his brother and me to be shown to our quarters.

  “I’ll see you for dinner,” Emma says, giving me a quick hug before we’re guided out of the council room and down the halls to the residential part of the palace.

  “We’ll arrange for accommodations in the royal wing for you soon, as King Khrelan has requested,” the Kalixian leading us says as he opens the door and shows us in. “But for now, this room is ready, so you can clean up and get some rest.”

  He leaves a moment later, closing the door quietly behind him, and my mouth nearly drops open when I see the expansive quarters laid out in front of us.

  It’s a suite, with a bedroom, sitting room, and bathing room. The bed itself is huge, draped with a silk-like canopy and made up with rich, embroidered bedding, and the wooden floor gleams so brightly I can almost see my reflection in it. There’s a huge stone fireplace, plush seating, and when I walk into the bathing room, I almost moan with delight. The pool is huge, inlaid with black and gold tiles. A bath has already been drawn for us, the water fragrant and steaming.

  As I turn to walk back into the main room, Brele reaches for me, pulling me into his arms and kissing me deeply, his hands buried in my hair.

  “I could never have done this without you,” he whispers, his eyes full of love as he breaks the kiss and strokes the side of my face with his calloused fingertips. “The bond couldn’t have chosen anyone more perfect to be my Irisa.” He kisses me again, breathing me in as he presses his forehead to mine. “I’ll never love another woman the way I love you.”

  “I certainly hope not,” I tease him lightly, kissing him back as I wind my arms around his neck. “I love you too, Brele. I never knew I could feel this way about someone. But I was just waiting to find you, and I didn’t even know it.”

  Slowly, we undress each other, leaving the worn and dirty leather in a pile on the floor. Brele’s hands rove over my body as he kisses me again and again.