"Has she passed out?" Dogwood asked nervously, "I never knew humans were so delicate!"
"She might be dead," Dahlia said, gripping the bars of her cage, "She's already lived longer than most humans would without water. She told me when she was first put in there, humans usually only last three days or so without water."
"The misters have been running twice a day as normal," Rose huffed, "That's good enough for everyone else."
"You need to check on her," Dahlia insisted, "I'm sure Turlabon doesn't want her dead this soon. He had all kinds of plans for her, remember?"
"It does seem quick for what he usually does." Rose considered it for a moment, and then moved closer, bending down near Lily to check her pulse.
At once Lily sprang to life, shoving Rose hard with all the strength left in her. Rose toppled backwards with the force of it, directly into Dahlia's cage.
Dahlia was waiting to catch her, her arms through the bars already. Her arm tightened under Rose's jaw to hold her in place, her other hand pressing a wickedly sharpened thorn to the other woman's throat.
"Alright," Dahlia said as Rose struggled against her choking grip, "I've had about enough of this place. I'm sure you all have too. Not just the wives. You concubines lurking in the shadows too, wasting your lives looking after them. And I know you must be tired of answering to this harpy. Well congratulations. We're all leaving."
"Stop it Dahlia!" Dogwood was in tears, "Turlabon will kill you for threatening Rose! Just let her go before this gets any worse!"
"She's right, there isn't any escape from the Garden." Aster looked bleak with hopeless misery, "We've all seen what happens when you try."
"We've never all tried together." Dahlia pointed out, "Because Rose kept you pitted against one another, scrambling for her approval. Turlabon can't stop all of us! But Lily and I are leaving with or without the rest of you."
She rummaged in Rose's dress with the hand holding the thorn until she found the keys, which she shook at Dogwood.
"Open Lily's cage, now," she demanded, "Or I'm going to cut Rose's throat. See if I don't. It's all I've wanted to do since Turlabon married her."
Dogwood, shaking, only stared at the keys without moving. Suddenly, a concubine, not a Sahrian but some mammalian species like a great cat, slunk forward out of the shadows, shoving Dogwood aside.
"I'll do it," she said, "I was conned into this place like the human. I've had enough."
"Good!" Dahlia crowed, handing over the keys, "From the moment you decided to fight, you were already free. Today we take back what always should have been ours! Our bodies, our freedom, the futures we were promised as children! We are no one's but our own, and we never were!"
As she spoke, the feline woman was unlocking Lily's cage. Lily, weak from hunger, stumbled free. Rose, who Dahlia was still choking with one arm, at last passed out.
Dahlia loosened her grip to check that the other woman wasn't faking, then dropped her, instructing the feline woman to watch her while Lily, taking the keys, unlocked Dahlia's cage next.
"Here comes the nasty bit,” Dahlia muttered, lifting the bunched petals of her skirts. Her legs were withered from a century of stasis, a thousand roots growing down from them, trying to force her into stasis.
Though Dahlia ripped them out by the handful every day, a few had still taken hold, and Lily cut at them quickly as she wrapped an arm around Dahlia and began lifting her out of the cage. This was why Dahlia had never tried to escape alone, no longer able to run on her own feet.
Lily, stumbling under her own weakness, helped Dahlia to stand anyway. Dahlia's body groaned like the limbs of a tree in a terrible wind, creaking and straining as she forced it out of the position it had held for a century. Lily could see the pain on her face as she grit her teeth and bore through it.
"Neither of us is strong enough to do this alone." Lily said, worried, as she held Dahlia up.
"Good thing we're not alone," Dahlia replied, smiling, and looked out at the other wives, and the concubines who were gathering beyond them, "How many of you are with me? We have a small army here if you fight with me. Enough to take the castle. Enough to take your lives back! Fight with me, and I will show you a wondrous thing."
The women, finding their courage, began to nod in tentative agreement. The concubines found their courage first with less to lose, moving forward with shouts and cheers.
"I'm sure you've wondered why I was caged in the days before Turlabon took his first wife," Dahlia's grip on Lily tightened, "That is because I am the daughter of the old king! The one Turlabon murdered when he took the throne! I am your princess, and your rightful queen!"
A roar of surprise and approval rang out from the crowd, most of whom were too young and carefully misinformed to know that there had ever been a king before Turlabon.
"Why did Turlabon keep you alive?" Lily asked, confused, "If you were a threat to his claim on the throne?"
"Spite and vanity mostly," Dahlia said with a bitter laugh, "But also because of a rare gift only the royal line possess. He thought if he could break me he could use it. But I would never be broken. I'll show you that power now, if you want."
Lily nodded mutely and the rest of the women watched in breathless anticipation as Dahlia plucked a single seed from within her petals and pressed it to Lily's lips. Lily swallowed it obediently, and Dahlia pulled her closer, pressing her forehead to Lily's and joining their hands.
"From this moment we are closer than sisters," she said, "From this moment, you carry a part of me within you. We will be connected by this for all our lives. My heart is your heart. My strength is your strength. So take my strength, and fight!"
A wind rose from nowhere, lifting Dahlia's skirts and tossing Lily's hair around her face as Lily felt energy rushing into her, filling her like light, rushing through her veins at incredible speed.
She gasped, clinging to Dahlia as she felt the days of hunger and thirst banished all at once. Even the lingering effects of her recent adjustment to the planet’s allergens were wiped away, rejuvenating her to the healthiest she'd ever been. As the wind died, Lily stepped away, wide eyed, and then caught Dahlia as she stumbled, weakened by the transfer.
"I've been storing up that energy for a century," Dahlia said with a tired grin, panting, "And there's more where that came from. Come on. It's time we take this fight to the pretender king!"
The women cheered and Lily, newly strengthened, supported the princess as they hurried towards the doors. Lily saw the feline concubine shut Rose into Dahlia's empty cage as the left.
"Arm yourselves!" Princess Dahlia called, "Kitchen knives and garden tools! Anything you can find! Our first stop will be the armory, but until we get there, you will fight with whatever you can hold!"
The women shouted their agreement, rushing off to collect their tools. One of them returned with a hovering cart Lily had seen being used as a kind of wheelbarrow. They offered it to the princess, who lowered herself on to it from Lily's shoulder with a sigh of relief.
"My legs may never heal," Dahlia admitted, "Stunted as they've been for so long. But I would never let that stop me from fighting beside you. On!"
They unlocked the doors with Rose's keys and rushed out into the palace proper, Princess Dahlia's cart at the forefront of her little army. Caught in the wave, Lily ran beside her, full of more energy than she'd thought she could hold. She felt like she could do anything. Leap buildings and run forever. And she was even more certain that Amranth was alive. She was going to find him!
They encountered no guards, and the normal denizens of the palace fell aside in confusion as the women charged past. They reached the armory almost without contest.
There were guards posted outside it but hesitating at the strange sight and afraid of angering Turlabon by shooting his wives, they were quickly overwhelmed, their weapons taken. The armory opened, the army of wives supplemented their kitchen knives and garden tools with laser rifles and a glorious saber for the Princess, its curve
d blade glowing like plasma.
"They'll know we're coming by now," Dahlia said, "Be prepared for the fight of your lives. Those of you with any combat experience, I don't care if it was street brawling or fencing lessons, move to the front and protect your sisters. We can take this together!"
The women cheered their agreement as Dahlia raised her saber and pointed the charge out of the armory, only to pull to an abrupt stop as they realized someone was standing in the corridor, blocking the path. The tall figure was wearing a heavy cloak, but they could see the sword on his hip, his hand poised on the handle, watching them.
Lily's eyes widened as she saw the man, her heart aching with a sudden sharp recognition.
"Join us or get out of the way, stranger!" Dahlia shouted, "Today the usurper Turlabon falls!"
The figure hesitated, but didn't move. Dahlia's eyes narrowed.
"Women! Take him!" she ordered, and the wives moved forward at once.
"Wait!" Lily shouted, shoving her way past them to stand in front of the stranger. Unable to find the words, she stared at him in silent hope. Slowly, the man lowered his hood, and Lily, with a sob of joy and relief, threw herself into Amranth's arms.
He kissed her hard, holding her tightly, until her tears forced them to stop.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, laughing through her sobs, touching his face, his hair, trying to make herself believe he was really there, "I knew you were alive! I saw them shoot you but I knew!"
"Elder Keeler found me," Amranth explained, "And got me back on my feet. He told me I should rest longer, but I couldn't allow you to remain in Turlabon's clutches a minute more. I came to help you escape, but I see you had that handled on your own."
Lily smiled, turning to Dahlia.
"Princess Dahlia," she said, "This is my husband, Amranth, once the Sword of Turlabon. Amranth, this is Dahlia, rightful queen of Sahria."
Amranth's eyes widened and he bowed stiffly. Lily could feel that his chest still hurt terribly. He was too injured to be here, but Lily knew he would be here even if he were dying. Nothing could stop them from going to each other.
"It's an honor to meet you in person," Dahlia said, "I heard much about your actions as the Sword."
"That's not who I am anymore." Amranth stood taller, holding Lily close.
"I should hope not," Dahlia agreed, and then smiled at Lily, "To have won the heart of a woman like her demands better. Go, both of you. Escape while they are preoccupied with us. This isn't your fight. And whether I fail or succeed, you two deserve happiness."
"Thank you, Dahlia." Lily felt tears in her eyes again, and left Amranth side to hug the other woman tightly, "I will see you again. I know it."
"You will," Dahlia confirmed, "I promise it. Now go."
Lily hugged Dahlia one last time, and then turned to take Amranth's hand, smiling at him in relief as they turned and hurried away, leaving the army of wives behind as they headed for Turlabon's throne room.
"The ship is waiting just outside," Amranth said, "We'll go back to Earth, and then leave this galaxy behind. We could fly out to the edge of known space; discover new things, untouched worlds where we can live totally unknown. Just you and me."
He squeezed her hand, and the love in his eyes was enough to make Lily's heart stop.
"Anywhere is fine as long as you're there with me," Lily agreed, "I never want to be apart from you that long again."
"You won't be," he promised, "Never again."
"Oh I very much doubt that."
Lily and Amranth stumbled to a stop as someone spoke. They had been nearing the edge of the palace, but as they entered a solarium that led to the outside, they realized the room was not empty.
King Turlabon himself stood in the center, flanked by two of his strongest fighters. Lily recognized them from the photo she'd been sent. One, less humanoid than most Sahrians she'd seen, looked like a cross between a praying mantis and a Venus flytrap. The other was some kind of cactus, his spines long and dangerous.
"Were you running?" Amranth asked, observing the hurried look of all three men, "You heard your wives were coming for you and you decided to flee?"
"Mock me if you like," Turlabon sneered, "You won't live long enough to share it. Men, this was once my Sword. I gave him the finest of everything, women and jewels and anything else he could ask for, and he chose to turn his back on me. But whichever of you kills him for me will be my new Sword."
The two warriors looked at each other with calculating eyes, then at Amranth.
"You can't," Lily whispered, "You're hurt!"
"I'm strong enough to handle these two," Amranth declared, stepping forward and drawing his sword, which gleamed with plasma light, "Besides, I never really would have been at peace, leaving without seeing this to the end."
Lily stepped back, heart hammering, as the three men moved slowly towards each other, each one waiting for the other to make the first move.
The fly trap had a rifle, the cactus was unarmed, but his spines looked wicked enough on their own. The fly trap made the first move, raising his rifle and firing in a single smooth motion. But not fast enough.
Amranth darted forward under the blast and his sword sent the rifle spinning away in two parts. Before his sword had even fallen from the stroke that split the rifle the cactus was darting in, his fists jagged with sharp spines that he aimed for Amranth's ribs.
Amranth moved gracefully as a dancer, sword descending in a brilliant arc that forced the cactus back just long enough for Amranth to disengage, keeping the space between them. The fly trap and the cactus charged him at once, the fly trap pulling a long, straight blade of his own, and the three exchanged a flurry of blows almost too quick for Lily to see.
Just she felt it when their strikes landed, felt the pain of every hit Amranth couldn't block, and the burning agony of the old injury to his chest screaming every time he moved. Amranth was losing, Lily could feel it.
And then, so suddenly Lily gasped, the tides turned. The fly trap darted too close, its jaws gaping, and didn't see the kick the cactus aimed at its knees, clearly planning to disable its rival so that it could take out Amranth itself.
Amranth didn't waste the opportunity, and a scent like burning sage filled the air as his sword severed the stalk connecting the fly trap's head to its body. He fell and Amranth dared to glare at Turlabon once victoriously, missing the cactus moving behind them.
Lily shouted as the echo of pain lanced through her. The cactus twisted his spike deeper into Amranth's back, waves of agony nearly blinding Lily. She knew as surely as Amranth did that it was a deadly wound. But Amranth moved, reaching back to grab his opponent, dragging him closer instead of trying to get away from the spike impaling him.
The cactus, trapped by the spine he had stabbed Amranth with, couldn't only strain to get away helplessly as Amranth lifted his sword and pushed it awkwardly over his own shoulder and into the enemy's throat.
Only when the cactus had ceased to move did Amranth let go, letting the body fall and stumbling forward, shouting with pain as the spike was ripped out of him. Dazed with pain and leaning on his sword, he looked for his last enemy. Where was Turlabon?
The king, recognizing he had lost, was running for the door in hoped of escaping. Amranth's eyes widened, knowing he would never catch the fungus in time.
But just as Turlabon's hand touched the door, Lily collided with him, driving the huge beast to the ground. She'd seen him heading for the door as soon as Amranth grabbed his enemy. There was no way she was letting this monster run away after all he'd done.
They hit the ground together, Amranth limping to catch up, leaving a trail of blood behind him. Lily rolled away from him, shouting in surprised disgust to find herself covered in a weird, fleshy slime.
Turlabon's body had deflated where she'd hit it, crumpling like something rotting. Crippled, he dragged himself away, clearly afraid. He froze as Amranth stepped between him and the door, pointing his sword at the usurper's throa
t.
"This is why you were so desperate to break Dahlia, wasn't it?" Lily guessed, wiping the slime off of her in disgust, "You're dying. Rotting from the inside!"
"Appropriate." Amranth scoffed, "Your soul was already rotten."
"I have only ever done whatever was necessary to protect this kingdom," Turlabon blustered, trying to defend himself, "To make it great again! I had to purge weakness! The ends justified-"
"No," Amranth cut him off, "They didn't. Because this is the end, Turlabon. This is what all your cruelty built up to. Your people suffering, starving, your planet dying, your empire built on lies, thievery, and intimidation. But not anymore. Today everything changes. Today you leave, and you take your cruelty with you. From now on we don't build the new world with the same hateful tools as the old one. We will be great again. But not with you."
"So what will you do?" Turlabon asked, mushroom gills heaving as he tried to breathe, "Kill me? I, who raised you like a son? Who saved you from death in the streets?"
Amranth gripped his sword tighter, his jaw tightening. He looked at Lily for guidance and she looked back at him with sympathetic eyes. Even after all Turlabon had done, Amranth was the one holding the sword.
Lily couldn't order the man she loved to kill. It had to be his decision. Slowly, as though the weight was too much for him to bear, Amranth lowered his sword.
"No," he said, "I won't kill you. I won't let the first action of this new world be the same kind of violence committed by the old one. You saved my life once. Consider that debt repaid. Leave. Get in that ship and never come back. You are no longer king. And you are no longer wanted here."
Turlabon hung his head in shame and Lily got to her feet hurrying to Amranth's side. She could feel how much he was hurting.
"Quickly," she said, "We should get you to a healer."
They turned and began to limp away, Amranth leaning heavily on her shoulder, when Lily heard a sound behind them. She looked back, only to see Turlabon on his feet again, a knife in his hand as he leapt at them. She didn't even have time to react before a saber, flaring with light, cut through the soft flesh of his torso, burying itself within him to the hilt.
The Warrior's Proposal (Celestial Mates Book 7) Page 27