Star Dust (Force Of Gravity Book 1)

by Ali Winters

  He nodded, walking over to the couch before holding out a hand. Cassia crinkled up her nose, as if he were offering her month old bread to snack on.

  “It’s okay, I’ll be up to see you in a little bit,” Oriana smiled down at her, doing her best to reassure her that she was safe.

  Reluctantly, Cassia took Dax’s hand and let him lead her out of the room as he spoke of the toys that waited for her.

  “I’m sorry to have to send her out of the room like that. I can see she’s very attached to you,” Erin sighed apologetically. “But what I’m about to tell you would only frighten her.”

  Oriana stood, almost tripping over her own feet as exhaustion set in. She was somewhere safe, or so it seemed, and the adrenaline drained from her body faster than she’d thought possible.

  “Shall we take a walk?” Erin motioned for her to follow.

  Stepping out into the hallway, they made their way silently down the corridors until they came to the foyer.

  Several pillars were smashed, and the floor broken into jagged slats of crumbled stone. Men and women worked silently, repairing the damage.

  “It has been one week since the attack,” Erin spoke as they navigated through the broken room and out onto the terrace, overlooking the downward slope of the gardens. The open area gave an unobstructed view of the once picturesque lands of Mercury.

  Fields, roads, and tall curved trees—now bent and broken—caused Oriana’s mouth to drop open.

  “You said it was safe,” she backed up a few steps.

  “It is safe—now. They got what they wanted,” Erin dropped her chin, voice wavering.

  “What did they want?”

  “The King, Queen, and Prince Cale,” the maid’s voice was thick with emotion.

  “What?”

  “They came and the King and Queen surrendered.”

  She shook her head, “That can’t be. No King or Queen would ever surrender, not just like that!”

  “You think it was ’just like that’, Princess?” She cocked her head to the side. “They fought and our Citinal was destroyed. The surrender wasn’t until the unarmed citizens were attacked. It was not a decision they made lightly—to surrender everything—but they did so to save what was left of our world.” Erin’s voice grew harsh.

  They lapsed into silence and it was several moments before Oriana spoke.

  “I was the only royal to escape from my world; everyone else is dead. From what Cassia told me, it must be the same on Pluto.” Oriana sighed as her eyes scanned the destruction of the once beautiful countryside.

  “Why would they take our royals, but kill the ones from your world?”

  “I honestly don’t know. We should all be at peace, we—” her voice broke.

  “I am sorry you lost your family, Princess.”

  “Thank you.” Her eyes stung, but tears refused to fall. Not wanting to dwell, Oriana asked, “Who did this?”

  Erin looked around nervously. “Come with me.”

  Spinning on her heel, she walked back into the castle.

  Frowning, Oriana followed, taking in the ruins as she passed them again. Still in the process of being cleaned up, the people were trying, but it would take some time to restore this stunning planet to its once beautiful and thriving state. The sight of this Kingdom being rebuilt sent a pang of jealousy through her.

  The Mercurians Royals were alive… but hers… her family, her friends… they were all dead. Murdered in cold blood, but why?

  Once back at the office suite they had started in, Oriana waited in the doorway, shifting nervously from foot to foot.

  “I found this after the King and Queen were taken. I hid it in here for safe keeping and I didn’t show anyone. If the others knew, they would have stormed their world, and right now we need everyone here.” Erin turned to Oriana; an object clasped tightly in her fist. “We can’t go to war right now, not with the world responsible for this. We need to rebuild our planet first.”

  “What is it?” Oriana felt sick.

  Erin opened her hand. A single, dark green button, rimmed with gold, gleamed in her open palm. It was identical to the one she’d found in her room. Oriana reached out to grab it but stopped herself.

  “May I?” she asked.

  “Go ahead,” Erin nodded. “You can take it if you want. It would be better if it wasn’t here.” She looked over Oriana’s shoulder. “I don’t want any of them to find it.”

  “I understand.” Oriana studied it. It was a perfect match to the one she found on Soleis. A single button. It pointed to one world—

  “What will you do, Princess?” Erin’s voice pulled her away from her thoughts.

  “I am going to Jupiter. Caelan will know what to do. He can help us.”

  “May I ask you…” Erin trailed off, taking a few deep breaths before continuing, “It is not my place to make such a request.”

  “I will do what I can.”

  “Will you find our royals? I know you have things you must do first… but if you can…”

  “I must make sure whoever did this is stopped, but I promise that I will do everything in my power to find them.” Oriana placed the button in her pocket, next to the one already there.

  “Thank you,” Erin whispered, wrapping her arms around Oriana’s neck in a quick embrace.

  Oriana smiled and returned the embrace. If the Mercury Royals were still alive, she would find them and bring them back. If not, then this girl would make a good Queen. She knew how to take care of others, even if she didn’t believe in her own abilities yet.

  She would do what she could to rescue any survivors, to get to Caelan, and bring down the Kingdom responsible for this reign of terror… but she couldn’t do it while dragging a child along.

  “Now it is my turn to ask something of you in return.” Oriana hoped she was doing the right thing.

  “Anything, Your Highness,” Erin disengaged herself.

  “I need to leave Cassia with you. I don’t know my way around the Gateway, or what lies ahead. I can’t risk her safety. I believe she will be safest with you.”

  “I understand. She is welcome here for as long as she needs. I will take care of her.”

  “Thank you. Can you take me to her? I should tell her now.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  Together, they walked up the stairs from the main hall to the guest wing. The castle’s orange, clay bricks were perfectly polished, gleaming in the deep firey light of day. Midnight blue floors marbled with silver veins brought out the warmth of Mercury’s perpetual summer. Crystal drapes imported from Soleis hung in the windows and a pang of grief shot through her at the sight of them.

  Erin stopped in front of a large wooden door and pushed it open, revealing a child’s play room. Cassia sat on the floor, playing with her doll and Dax. He sat cross-legged on the floor and wore a crown five sizes too small, a pink and green tea set laid out between them.

  Oriana let a giggle escape her. Both Cassia and the man looked up at the interruption. His mouth dropped into a frown, and Cassia’s smile grew wider.

  “Oriana!” Cassia cried, running to her.

  Oriana picked her up and hugged her. “Are you having fun?”

  “I am. Sir Dax is so much fun,” she said giggling.

  “Cassia?” Oriana walked over to a bench in the corner and sat down, placing the girl next to her. “I need to go soon, but I need you to stay here with Dax and Erin. They have promised to take very good care of you.”

  The smile dropped from her face as her arms wrapped around Oriana possessively.

  “I want to stay with you.”

  “I know, but it won’t be safe where I’m going. I’ll be back for you as soon as I can. Okay?”

  A sniffle escaped Cassia’s tiny nose as she buried her face against Oriana.

  “Please don’t cry, Cassia. I have to save a few others so we can all be happy and safe again.”

  “Okay, Oriana,” she hiccupped. “Promise you’ll come back?” He
r large pale eyes looked up expectantly, as though she were examining her soul.

  “I’ll do everything in my power.” She wrapped her arms around the girl and squeezed.

  Cassia placed the doll on her lap. A dark green pendant, with a golden bezel, hung from its neck. Oriana’s heart kicked against her chest.

  “Where did you get this?” she asked, fingering the pendant that looked exactly like the two in her pocket.

  “I found it at home. It’s pretty isn’t it?” Cassia said proudly.

  “Very pretty,” Oriana agreed.

  “Do you want to take it? It’s good luck.”

  “I would like that very much. Thank you.” She could feel her smile straining.

  Cassia took the button tied to the doll with a white ribbon, off and handed it to her.

  “Thank you, Cassia. Now, don’t keep Sir Dax waiting. I’m sure he’d like another cup of tea.” Oriana patted Cassia on the head as she ran off to play again. Dax harrumphed, crossing his arms as he looked away, the crown still sitting proudly on his head.

  Out in the hall, Oriana let out a long, slow breath. The exhaustion of everything that had happened to her was finally catching up. Either the world was swaying, or she was. She rubbed her temples.

  “Thank you, Erin. May I ask one last favor?”

  “You are welcome to anything we have, your Highness.”

  “I would love a hot bath and a room for the night.”

  Oriana leaned back, letting the hot water wrap itself around her. Essential oils infused with the water and filled the air with scents of star flowers and fire bark. It created a relaxing, warm, sweet, smell. Her eyes closed as she sunk deeper into the water, and for one brief moment, let herself pretend she was back on Soleis in her own bathing room. In the short time she’d been running, she thought this kind of comfort had been lost to her for good.

  Her hand reached up to push a strand of hair behind her ears, it tugged. Oriana grimaced. There was still a good amount of clay died in her hair. The crunchy texture of the dried mud brought her crashing back to what was real, reminding her that this was not home, nor was it permanent.

  So much had happened since leaving Pluto, she’d almost forgotten how ridiculous she must have looked. One of the good things about being a princess, if anyone ever bothered to ask her, was the ability to run around looking absurd while everyone around you continued to take you seriously.

  Plugging her nose, she dunked her head under the surface of the water. Her fingers scrubbing furiously at her hair. She had to come up for air a few times before her hair was free of the tangled mess she’d created.

  Oriana leaned over the edge of the tub panting for breath. She could wash it with the scented soaps that had been laid out for her, or she could drag herself to the comfortable bed and allow herself to finally sleep.

  Sleep sounds really good, she thought as she eyed the soaps.

  Then again… there was no way to tell when the next opportunity would come for her to bathe again. Oriana reached for a bottle, poured some of the bright orange liquid into her hand and lathered her hair.

  Finished with her bath, she wrapped herself in a towel and trudged over to the bed in the other room. Her once muddy clothes had been cleaned and folded neatly on the bench in front of the bed and a lavender night gown waited for her atop the duvet. Quickly, she changed into the soft fabric, climbed into bed, and let sleep take her.

  In seconds, darkness took over as all Oriana’s worries slid away.

  Oriana

  Alone.

  She was alone again.

  The chill of not having a hand to hold had never bothered her before, but then she’d never been in a situation like this either. She’d been with Cassia for such a short time, but having someone else to focus on kept her from dwelling on her own problems.

  Oriana wrung her fingers, retracing her steps and realizing there was no rhyme or reason to the door’s location and their final destinations. Finding Jupiter by trial and error was the only option. If only she’d been able to find a map to guide her.

  That morning, when she’d awoken to the warm, fading light filtering through the window, she debated letting herself fall back into a dreamless sleep. The crystal curtains cast prisms of color across the room and it wasn’t until she sat up that it all came rushing back to her.

  The destruction, the death, the fear—it hit her in the chest, twisting her heart in its vice-like grip and stealing her breath.

  Hazy thoughts ran through her mind as Oriana tried to shake the fog of sleep away. She’d slept through the night and most of the day. From the way the light was falling rapidly, it was getting late.

  I should have been gone by now! Oriana chided herself, hopping around and changing as fast as she could.

  If Erin hadn’t been waiting in the room to the Gateway, she wouldn’t have even seen anyone on her way out. It was bad form, but she had a job to do now and too many people were counting on her.

  Now she stood in front of yet another door. Fear tightened in her chest.

  What if it’s the wrong one? There’s no way to tell.

  The only choice was to walk through.

  Her feet didn’t move.

  She placed her hand on the door. The wood beneath her palm, rough against her skin.

  “Standing here isn’t going to get you anywhere.” She rolled her head from side-to-side. “Open the door, Oriana.”

  Nothing. Her body refused to obey.

  “This will be Jupiter. Believe it, and it will be… I think.” Her “pep talks” left a lot to be desired. She shook off the hesitation that clung to her, jamming the key in and turning the nob, she pushed the door open.

  Darkness greeted her. Her gray eyes strained, trying to find the faint outlines created by the dying embers from a fireplace inside. With this, Oriana closed the door quietly behind her and took small, careful steps forward.

  Her hip bumped against a small round table. An object atop it teetered. She reached out and missed. The back of her hand smacking it as her fingers reached desperately, catching only empty space. The sound of glass shattering was unbearably loud. The whole castle had to have heard.

  She froze, cringing as she waited. No boots stomping through the halls, no shouts, no voices. Oriana straightened up, and cocked her head to the side, straining to hear any signs of life. Still, the silence continued.

  There had to be a way out. She couldn’t just stand in the dark and wait for someone to show up.

  Taking a step back, and another until she reached the wall, she pressed her back against the solid surface, inching along, feeling for a door.

  Her hand brushed against a thick fabric and pushed it aside. Blinding light flowed through.

  Immediately, Oriana squeezed her eyes shut and dropped the curtain. She’d wanted light, but there was such a thing as too much of a good thing at once.

  Slowly, Oriana peeled open her eyes, and lifted the edge of the curtain back once more, letting the light flood the room. Brown and green everywhere.

  No, no, no! The fragile shred of hope that she’d been holding onto shattered into countless broken pieces.

  “Stars,” she bit out.

  The sound of deep laughter floated in from the hall. There was nowhere to hide here. She shoved the curtain out of her way and pushed on the window. It gave way, creaking open.

  She slid her legs through the window, reaching for the ground with her toes as her hands slipped on the window sill. Oriana landed with a thump, eyes watering as her tailbone screamed at the rough treatment. Reaching up, Oriana held in several unladylike words as she closed the window behind her, leaving it open a crack.

  The voices entered the room.

  “What’s happened?” the voice of an older man asked.

  “One of the cleaners must have set it too close to the edge,” Prince Lucian answered.

  “Good,” the first voice said. “It was a hideous lamp. My mother had it made as an engagement present.” His laughter ech
oed throughout the room.

  I don’t have time for this. Oriana gritted her teeth.

  If her suspicions were correct, remaining unseen would be the only way to ensure her safety.

  Sitting outside the room to the Gateway—and uninvited at that—would look bad if she got caught. There were no bushes or statues to hide behind. She needed to make it off this terrace, across the open field, and into the woods.

  Sure, that will be easy.

  She scanned the area and thanked the stars that no one was around.

  Standing, she sprinted across the stone terrace, vaulted over the balustrade, and landed roughly on the grass below. Her feet slipped out from under her. Water soaked through her clothes, drenching her backside. This planet was a disaster. The sky was bright, but everything was wet; and now everything included her, and her freshly washed outfit.

  Oriana rose from the sopping ground and ran for the cover of the trees. Just a few more yards and she’d be there. Running, she glanced over her shoulder—the area was still deserted but something about it struck her as odd.

  Keep moving. There would be time to figure what was so strange about this place later.

  Reaching out, she grabbed onto the first tree wide enough to offer some semblance of shelter. Her foot caught on a vine, and existing momentum threw her forward. Oriana tightened her grip on the trunk and swung herself around, crashing into the rough wood. The harsh texture scraped against her cheek. This was a dangerous place.

  She bent over, resting her hands on her knees and gasping for air.

  Now what?

  She needed to get back to that room without being detected. With her back to the tree, she peeked around the trunk.

  Prince Lucian stood on the steps leading to the terrace as a stableman led a stunning black horse over to him. Oriana’s jaw dropped. She had heard of horses and seen images of them, but they didn’t capture the beauty of the animal she saw walking toward the Prince. Long black hair flowed out as it walked—no—pranced. The grace of this animal made her feel like a lump of unpolished crystal trying to dance on three feet.