by Meg Xuemei X
“How dare you?” Akem screamed.
“I just dared,” I said.
“We had a deal!”
“That’s exactly part of the deal.”
“You lied!”
“You shouldn’t be surprised. It was your mistake to trust me.”
“You tricked me.”
“For a good reason.”
“What about us holding hands and watching the world burn?”
“I’m sorry I had to shatter your illusion.”
“You didn’t sound sorry!”
“I’m only part human.”
“It’s so unfair.”
“That’s life. Deal with it.”
“Let me out.”
“I’m not a fool.”
“You’ll be sorry, Wickedest Witch!”
“Not so much.”
“I won’t power your ship! You’re going nowhere, bitch. You’ll rot here!”
Gabriel growled.
Well, when did Akem’s language because so colorful? He must have learned it from the criminal aliens.
The ship dimmed; the power was about to go out.
“Fia!” Kaara called in alarm.
I raised my palms, and my Time Maze with Akem imprisoned in it rose into the air. As my palms turned, the maze spun. I thrust my hands forward and tossed the lines of fire with dark mass rammed inside, straight toward the ship’s engine.
Akem screamed and cursed.
And the Red Dragon’s power lit even brighter.
“Heavens have mercy,” Marrok said in awe.
Gabriel kissed me fiercely, melting me to him.
Right, heaven had mercy.
21
The Angel
The things my mate could do amazed me. She’d created an eternal prison for Pandemonium’s temperamental elemental entity and turned him into an inexhaustible quantum battery.
She broke my kiss, face flushed, eyes bright, and arched an eyebrow.
“Captain, permission to board?”
That was cute.
I chuckled. “You’re going nowhere without me, witch.”
As if on cue, Akem’s creatures, the despicable vampires, and cannibal Kruids charged as one, trying to enter the ship.
Marrok and Kaara snarled, ready for another battle.
Fiammetta’s waves of darkness formed a defensive line.
“Get in,” she said. “We have to go. The portal will shut down soon. Gabriel and I will seal the door.”
Marrok and Kaara hurried into the Red Dragon.
My mate and I retreated to the entrance of the ship, my wings propelling forward to drive back the assault of those beasts that had broken through Fia’s defense because she’d been greatly weakened after creating a portal and binding Akem.
My sword cut down a giant.
Just then, indignant shrieks vibrated through the jungle.
The Furies dove toward Akem’s other creatures, spitting a wave of black fire, pouring out Daisy’s centuries of misery and rage.
The monsters bawled and scattered, but they didn’t flee far, as they were waiting for an opening to attack again.
The wolves howled inside the ship, and the army roared, ready to jump out and fight, but Marrok halted them.
Daisy, in her Fury form, perched atop the ship, while her two other alter egos kept the monsters at bay.
“I thought you were in a dragon dungeon,” Fiammetta said coldly.
She wasn’t at all happy with Daisy forcing her vow on me, but she didn’t attack the Furies. Though she didn’t show it, I knew she also felt sorry for the dragon shifter. Nine centuries of slavery had been more than pure hell.
“When you trapped Akem, his bind on me dissolved,” the Fury said in a husky female voice. “I can even talk in this form now.”
“Are you coming to hitch a ride?” Fiammetta said. “You know there’s no free pass. Take the band off Gabriel and let him off whatever oath you made him swear, then you can come with us.”
I squeezed her to me and grinned in approval. My mate always thought three steps ahead and had just made an excellent proposal.
“Unfortunately, I can’t leave,” the Fury said. “The curse won’t allow me. So, the Archangel can’t be off the hook yet. I’ll have to wait for someone to come to lift off my curse.”
“Who will even come?” Fiammetta asked. “Akem is gone. There’ll be no ships coming here.”
“My three true loves will find a way,” the Fury said in dismay.
Fiammetta blinked. “You realize it’s next to impossible to find even one love?” She sent me a quick glance before fixing her icy gaze on the dragon shifter.
I sighed. Daisy was doomed.
The Fury didn’t answer but swept her scaled tail and surged up to the gloomy sky with miserable shrieks, yet I heard hope in the cries. She put her faith in me to get to her true loves before Pandemonium went up in one vast flame.
It was an impossible mission that would take me away from my mate.
But I had to honor it first.
I wrapped my arm around my witch and we entered the shuttle.
22
The Witch
Gabriel took the pilot’s seat, and I sat beside him. With Akem’s energy, the ship had maximum power.
The Archangel couldn’t stop grinning.
The soldiers and the wolves had all settled down on the expanded deck.
“Red Dragon, report!” Gabriel’s voice boomed. “This is Captain Gabriel.”
The ship’s computer came alive, and a female voice responded in a flirty manner. “Captain Gabriel,” she purred. “Welcome back. We’ve been so worried.”
I frowned.
He sent a quick glance at me. “Sofia, please use your business voice only.”
“Yes, Captain,” she said in a sultry voice. “We’re completely lost. We can’t get hold of the crew. I believe the vortex sent us to a different time period.”
“I’ve learned that. More updates later,” Gabriel said, turning to me. “I’ll reprogram the voice.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Don’t do it for my sake. I don’t really care.”
“You care, baby,” he said with a smirk. “You don’t need to pretend with me anymore.”
I ignored him.
His fingers danced on the touch screen, and star charts appeared.
The ship ascended.
“Let’s go,” he said. “Wherever the other side is.”
The wolves howled, and the soldiers cheered.
Through the view screen, we watched the shuttle fly through the shimmer. It felt like we were wading through endless thick water.
All sound muted. All colors waned. And all light vanished.
It was as if we fell into a realm of stasis, and nothing existed in there.
Gabriel reached out and held my hand.
The ships started rocking violently while we travelled in the nothingness. It was Akem. He was still trying to break out from his new haunt.
Everyone in the ship held their breath.
Red Dragon pierced through to the other side. Sounds, colors, and lights returned. It felt like we’d gone through an eternity of bleakness, yet only a minute passed.
The ship trembled.
“Oh, be quiet, Akem,” I said. “When you get angrier, the ship just gets more energy from you.”
The ship returned to its quiet humming. Akem was trying to stay still now to reserve his energy. However, the ship would still draw the power from him through my Time Maze.
“Hail ThunderSong, Captain,” I said.
Gabriel blinked. “What?”
“I connected the portal to where your spaceship is. You told me the coordinates last night, remember?”
“You didn’t link the portal to your planet first?” he asked in surprise. “But you were so eager to go home.”
He thought I would always put my personal interest above all.
I probably would if it would work out. However, if I had used the coordinates of 2788h
450.7m, −88975.01°, marked by my magic on my wrist, I might drag everyone back to the timeframe when I’d first left Lithuaria Empire in the Icearth galaxy.
It would be like I’d never left but brought a variety of alien races with me and trapped them.
And I would still endanger the realm.
But by making a detour and sending Gabriel to his ship first, I’d altered the timeline.
It was a practical move that would benefit everyone.
“I am eager to return home,” I said.
“Then why?” he asked as he pulled out another star chart on the screen.
“Many reasons,” I said.
He narrowed his eyes at me. I knew how much he wanted to get into my head. Gabriel always hated that I had secrets. He preferred to lay everything in the open, but he’d gotten one of his own now.
He turned to the view window as an enormous silvery spaceship—the ThunderSong materialized ahead of us.
Gabriel rose from his seat and laughed with joy.
PART III
23
The Angel
Red Dragon streaked out of the portal and rose above the belts of asteroids.
My beloved ship, ThunderSong, loomed near. With my Archangel’s superior vision, I’d spotted Racer and the rest of the crew stood by the view window, exhilarated and nervous.
My heart rejoiced. I couldn’t wait to show my witch my magnificent ship.
“Hail, Captain.” Racer’s voice buzzed through my shuttle. “Great to have you back, sir! The High Prince has been worried. He’s about to set the course to look for you if he hasn’t heard back from us in three hours.”
“Send him the message I’ve returned,” I ordered.
“Aye, Captain,” Racer said. “But Captain, when did Red Dragon triple in size? Did I miss something?”
“Must I explain everything?” I growled.
“Yes, sir,” Racer said. “No, sir. Sorry, Captain. I’m just excited you’ve finally returned. Everyone was scared. Now everyone is overjoyed.”
“Get the welcome team ready,” I barked. “Red Dragon is about to dock.”
“Yes, Captain!” Racer and the crew snapped to attention.
They were getting sharper. My absence had done something good to them.
Then I noticed another ship popped out behind the ThunderSong.
The name Queen Faya etched on its hull. That was Fiammetta’s family name, and she was the heir to the throne and the future queen in Lithuaria Empire. It had to be her ship. How did her empire get the wind of our whereabouts so soon?
No wonder she’d opened the portal right here.
I had been giddy when she’d chosen my ship’s coordinate instead of that of her home planet. I’d thought it meant she wanted to spend more time with me. But she’d already arranged a pick up. The Wickedest Witch’s dark schemes were endless, and she didn’t let me in on any, even though we were mates.
My heart sank, and I turned to look at her.
A fleeting surprise flitted by her face before her usual icy mask took its place.
“Captain, don’t be alarmed.” Racer’s voice rang around the Red Dragon. “Queen Faya came to pick up Princess Athena Faya. According to Captain Ravenna of Queen Faya, Princess Athena Faya is inside the Red Dragon with you.”
I growled. “How can you assume everything?”
Fiammetta nodded blankly. “That is the royal ship of Lithuaria Empire.”
Queen Faya hailed the Red Dragon.
I didn’t want to answer it. I didn’t want it to take Fiammetta away, knowing I couldn’t follow her while I was bound by my vows to the Furies. But I had to respond, given that my mate had fought for three years to go home. I couldn’t rob her of that opportunity.
I accepted the hail.
On the screen, a tall woman wearing a captain’s uniform stood beside a man in his mid-thirties. He looked to be in an important position and he had the same dark violet eyes as Kaara.
“We’d like to speak with Princess Athena Faya,” the woman captain said.
“I’m she,” Fiammetta said, studying the duo.
The woman captain smiled. “I’m Captain Ravenna. You look just like her, Princess Athena.” She gestured to the man beside her. “This is Senator Eugene Wellstone.”
“Welcome home, Your Highness,” Senator Wellstone said. “The Seer of the Death Valley Galaxy informed us this would be the exact spot to meet you. We’re coming to bring you home.”
The fucking meddling Seer! I’d been trying to track her down for a long time. When I needed her, she was nowhere to be found. And when I wished she disappeared, she ran at full speed to interfere in things I didn’t want her involved in.
“Where is the Seer?” I thundered.
“Vanished without a trace,” the senator said good-naturedly.
Fiammetta stared at the senator without any recognition in her gray eyes.
“Very good,” she said flatly.
24
The Witch
The arrival of Queen Faya was unexpected.
But I didn’t let my surprise show.
“Thank you, Captain Ravenna, Senator Wellstone,” I said. “Please give me a moment.”
Gabriel immediately cut off the communication, and their images flicked out.
“I don’t recognize this Captain Ravenna, though Senator Wellstone looks somewhat familiar,” Kaara said behind me. “I’d know any captain of royal spaceships and any senator. And that ship seems to have been upgraded.”
“Then it’s not safe for you to go with them, Fia,” said Gabriel. “We need further investigation to see who they really are. If they belong to the enemy ship, we’ll shoot them down. And you do have powerful enemies in your empire.”
I understood the queen couldn’t come on a spaceship to welcome me back. But shouldn’t she at least send some familiar faces?
But I knew, the welcome party in the royal ship had come for me and meant me no harm, or my magic would have flared. Besides, after three years on Pandemonium and regaining my magic, I was more powerful. I believed that the Archangel’s flame had strengthened me when it mated with mine, and when I’d held Akem’s hand in my Time Maze, I’d also taken something from him, though I couldn’t work out exactly what it was.
Only that I felt my magic was invincible. I felt like a goddess.
No assassins could take me down.
“It’s been three years,” I said, taking a deep breath. “It’s natural my family hired a new royal captain, and the new senators replaced the old ones. When I talked to Captain Ravenna and Senator Wellstone, my magic probed their ship and sensed no threat.”
Kaara put her hand gently on my shoulder. “So, you’re going with them, Fia?”
I nodded. And I knew she wouldn’t go with me.
Marrok and Kaara had talked to Gabriel, and he’d agreed to lend them the Red Dragon. The wolves were going back to their home planet, SunDance, to take back what was theirs. Kaara had briefly told me about her mate’s exiled history. Marrok had been the rightful heir to the throne before his uncle had slaughtered his parents—the former Wolf King and Wolf Queen.
Kaara had done everything for me, and she should have her own life, though it broke my heart to see her go. My alien army would join their force. Gabriel had also offered to send some of his battle Angels to aid them.
I laid my hand on hers on my shoulder and squeezed it. “Think you can handle Akem?”
Kaara grinned. “The best he can do is to make some noises.”
I smiled. Akem had screamed a few more times and caused the ship to purr louder. I’d sensed him trying to devour Red Dragon’s energy, but he was basically biting his own tail, because the energy came from him and kept recharging the ship.
“We’ve gotten used to his complaints,” Kaara continued. “He’s harmless for the first time.”
“Talk to him sometimes when he gets lonely,” I said.
Marrok, who stood not too close to give his mate and me some space, and n
ot too far, because he would never stay far from her, stared hard at me as if I were crazy. “No,” he said. “Thank you, Lady Fiammetta. We’ll never talk to that difficult entity. In fact, I won’t allow anyone to even try. Akem might succeed in talking his way out.”
“Fine,” I said. “He’s yours. I believe he’s in good hands, and I can shed my responsibility for him.”
I hugged Kaara one last time and turned to Gabriel. Kaara and Marrok both withdrew to give us privacy.
A dark storm brewed in the Archangel’s stunning green eyes.
“I have to go,” I said softly.
He didn’t say anything.
A chime sounded in the ship. Queen Faya hailed us again.
Gabriel ignored them, his intense eyes glued to me.
He didn’t ask me to stay.
And I knew he wouldn’t go with me, either.
So, this was it.
I was going home to ease back into my old life as the realm’s princess, and Gabriel would keep chasing his ambition and tell the next person about his glorious battle history.
Our separation was inevitable, but we’d been close, before suddenly, there was this gap between us. He stood on one side, and I on the other, and neither of us seemed able to cross it or move toward each other.
Our being lovers was a temporary arrangement on Pandemonium, where we needed each other during those dire hours. Once we got out of it, and once a better future unfolded before us, we could no longer walk on the same path.
Our feelings for each other would fade, even though right now we both seemed to have a hard time coping with the sudden shift.
I swallowed.
He had to go on the Furies’ quest anyway and fulfill his vow to her. I wouldn’t make this parting hard for him.
I forced a smile, but he didn’t smile back. He just looked at me, like a dark storm hovering on the horizon. He was waiting for me to say something and to decide.
And I realized, if I kept looking at him like this, soon, I would break down in pieces. I would melt down. I would beg him to come with me and never let me go.