by Roxie Ray
“Are they dangerous?” I asked.
“They can be,” Comadin said.
I glanced at Quatix who turned to me with a reassuring smile. “I wouldn’t worry,” he told me gently. “They don’t usually attack, but if they do, we will destroy them easily.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Of course.”
“Then why do you look worried?”
Terrox turned to Quatix with a pointed expression. “Do you think this is related to the messages we’ve been receiving?”
There was an edge to the look in Quatix’s eyes. “It might be,” he replied at last before focusing on Terrox. “Has Brags been able to uncover the meaning of the vuter?”
“If he has, he hasn’t shared it with me,” Terrox replied.
“Those threats are nothing,” Comadin said dismissively. “No more than a ploy by some bored alien.”
Terrox growled. “We have received several,” he said. “That is not nothing. It would be foolish to dismiss those messages as meaningless. Especially now, when we have Sives on our tail.”
Comadin looked like he was about to retort, but there was an alert on the monitor that drew everyone’s attention.
“My King,” Terrox said urgently. “The Sives ship, it’s closing in.”
Quatix looked at the monitors in shock, and I could tell that he hadn’t expected the Sives to attack him.
The short Svantian, Brailin, spoke quickly in a language I didn’t understand. From his expression and his actions, however, I knew it was not good.
“Prepare the missiles,” Quatix said, and I knew he was using his translator chip for my benefit. “Get ready and prepare the —”
A massive sound blasted through the air, and a second later, something slammed into the side of the Destroyer. The scream in my throat felt trapped there as the impact threw me to the ground. Before I could get to my feet, I felt strong hands engulf me, and I realized that I was being lifted into the air and carried to a large seat set to the side of the control panel.
I looked up and saw Quatix’s strong jawline and the ice blue of his overwhelming eyes. He looked at me with concern.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” I said quickly. “What was that?”
“We were hit,” Quatix said. “The Sives just opened fire.”
Comadin rattled off a long sentence in his native language, and this time I had no clue what he was saying. That might have also been because my head was spinning, and I was preoccupied by the fact that my feet felt like jelly.
Quatix reached around me and pulled out what looked like a harness that was connected to the chair I was sitting in. He proceeded to strap me into the seat, adjusting the buckles to make sure I was secure.
“That’s not necessary,” I said, trying to stop him.
His hands were gentle but firm. “This just became a fight, Rosa,” Quatix said. “I need to make sure you’re safe.”
Before I could protest, Quatix turned back to his protectors. “Prepare our defenses,” Quatix commanded. “We need to answer back.”
I felt the Destroyer turn and realized we must have been moving very fast if I could feel the movement from inside the ship. As the Destroyer re-routed, I looked through the expansive glass of the control room and saw the Sives ship that hovered in front of us a good distance away.
Its body was shaped like a crouching animal, with an arched back and small turbo engines on either side of the vessel. Its colors were black and orange, and there was a menacing quality about the way the ship edged from side to side in a crude imitation of a dance. The ship seemed to be gaining size the more I looked at it. With a jolt, I realized that it was closing the distance between us.
I saw a spindle of light emanate from hidden cannons at the base of the ship’s body. It was heading straight for us with deadly purpose.
“Watch out,” I said unnecessarily.
Comadin had his hands on the controls, and he veered the Destroyer out of the line of fire just in time. The Sives ship had pushed Quatix and his crew into a defensive position, and now they were forced to block the attacks instead of firing back.
Quatix growled low as we narrowly avoided another hit. His eyes were fixed on the ship in front of us and his back was hunched with obvious fury. He looked like he wanted to jump right out of the Destroyer and onto the Sives ship so he could defeat them all single-handedly. A part of me actually believed he could.
I gasped as I watched two more missiles being launched in our direction. Quatix growled, and he pushed Brailin out of the way and took over the controls. His flying was much riskier and far bolder, but it was effective. The Destroyer made a spiral in the sky, a series of winding bends and swivels that left me feeling dizzy and light headed. I knew Quatix was trying to exhaust the Sives’ arsenal so that he could push them into a defensive position while he turned the Destroyer’s blasters on them.
I felt my stomach spin along with the ship. It was amazing how nothing seemed to faze the four large aliens who stood before me. Their expressions were focused and razor sharp, and I wondered how many battles like this they had seen before.
The Destroyer careened to the side as the Sives ship launched another missile in our direction. Quatix managed to steer the ship to the right just in time to avoid the hit. However, the Sives had released a second missile immediately after. They had anticipated the direction the ship would take to avoid the first missile and they had fired accordingly.
The impact of the missile sent the Destroyer streaking through space. I jerked against my chair, and Quatix’s arm flashed out towards me as though to make sure I was all right.
“I’m fine,” I said urgently. “Forget about me.”
His eyes landed on mine, and I saw fire in his ice blue eyes. When he turned back to the control panel, it was with new purpose. He started hitting the buttons that adorned the large and confusing panel before him. I could feel the ship shuddering ostensibly, and from my peripheral vision I noticed large blasters project out from the Destroyer’s sides.
With one press of a button, Quatix had launched a series of well-aimed missiles at the enemy ship. They were much smaller than the ones being hurtled at us by the Sives, but at least they could be slung in quick succession, leaving little time for the Sives to react and recover.
I saw three of Quatix’s missiles make contact with the Sives’ ship, and the last one even succeeded in taking out one of the blaster engines on the right hand side. The enemy ship tilted to the side before righting itself with the greatest difficulty.
Brailin cheered, and I even saw Terrox smile with satisfaction. They believed they had won, which was the only reason Quatix took his eyes off the Sives ship in front of us. I was the only one who saw the large, comet-like missile heading right for us.
“No!” I screamed, alerting Quatix to the incoming danger.
The smiles on their faces died as Quatix grabbed the controls again and tried to maneuver the ship out of harm’s way. But the missile was too close, and Quatix’s actions were not fast enough. We managed to avoid the brunt of the hit, but I felt the missile make contact with one corner of the Destroyer.
We spun twice, but Quatix managed to keep control of the ship. When we re-routed, his eyes traversed the expansive blackness before us, but the Sives ship had disappeared from view.
“You think they made a jump?” Brailin asked.
“We hit them pretty hard,” Quatix said, keeping his eyes fixed on the display window. “I think they just needed us to be diverted so that they could make a run for it.”
Quatix walked right over to me and bent down slightly so that he was at eye level with me. “Are you okay, Rosa?” he asked, his tone steeped with concern.
I felt warmth spread through my body like a hug. I had never been cared for the way that Quatix seemed to care for me. It made no sense to me at all — I was a complete stranger to him, and yet he was willing to make a queen out of me.
Gui
lt nipped at my heart, reminding me of all the secrets I was keeping from him. I had hoped to leave my past behind on Earth, but now it felt like my new lease on life was a betrayal, nothing more than a convenient lie.
His hands landed on my arms, his body leaning over mine in a way that was intimate and protective. I felt the hair on my arms tingle slightly, as though a force field of current was settling over my body like a second skin. The contact was unexpected, but I realized that I didn’t want him to let go.
He froze for a moment, realizing that perhaps he had overstepped by touching me this way, but I raised my eyes to his and gave him a small smile of reassurance. I saw his eyes relax and slowly, he started to run his fingers up and down my arms. His touch was so gentle that it was just a whisper against my skin.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked. “I can get you something to soothe your nerves.”
I shook my head. “I’m fine, I promise,” I said. “Thank you.”
Quatix’s fingers fell over my hands like a whisper, turning them over slowly in his large palm. I got the feeling that he was enjoying this bit of contact as much as I was. He stopped when he came to the long white scar just above my wrist, and I felt my happiness turn sour in my chest.
He frowned as he took them in. “You’ve been cut,” he observed.
I told myself to keep calm. If my body betrayed me, Quatix would know I was hiding something.
“It was a long time ago,” I replied, as I kept my expression neutral and my voice steady. “It was an accident.”
He frowned as he traced the slightly crooked line of my scar. “You’re very lucky,” he said. “A hair to the right and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
If only I’d known that at the time. “Yes,” I nodded. “I was very lucky.”
Quatix’s ice blue eyes looked into mine, and for a moment I was worried he would see through my calm façade. Then he lifted my arm, palm up, and kissed the scar gently. I felt a heady sense of joy erupt over my body, and it completely eclipsed the guilt.
“Apologies, my King,” Comadin said, interrupting our conversation. “We need to know where to set course for.”
Quatix turned back to his protectors, though his fingers still lingered on my hand. “We need to assess the extent of the damage,” he said. “And we can’t do that out here. We need to find a place to land.”
Comadin nodded. “Where to, my King?” he asked.
“Set course for Xehrul,” Quatix replied. “We can recuperate there.”
“Xehrul?” I repeated.
“The planet is only two jumps from here,” Quatix explained, even though the concept of space jumping was completely unintelligible to me. “They are allies. We can expect safe passage into their planet.”
Sudden excitement burst inside me at the thought of exploring a new planet. I hadn’t expected to see much more than Svante. I had so many questions that I barely knew where to start.
“Why would the Sives attack you?” I asked. “Did they want gold?”
I watched as Quatix’s eyes clouded over. “No, I don’t think gold was what they were after.”
“Then what is?” I pressed.
Quatix glanced back at Terrox. “That is the question.”
6
Quatix
What would have made the Sives reckless enough to attack a royal Svante ship? They were nothing more than space pirates, and while they operated with the most dangerous creatures of the space underworld, they did not take unnecessary risks.
I kept running through all the possibilities in my head as I gave my orders. Terrox and Brailin had set course for Xehrul, and I had sent Comadin, along with a few more protectors, to assess the ship’s damage. They were to seal off any sensitive spots and make sure our supplies were well protected. I would have done it myself, but my priority now was Rosa, and I wanted to make sure she was truly okay first.
“I will contact Xehrul now,” Brailin informed me. “Let them know we’ll be there shortly.”
“How long?” I asked, glancing at Rosa to make sure she was all right.
“An hour at the most,” Brailin replied.
“Good,” I said distractedly, taking in Rosa’s pale coloring. Was she regretting her decision to come with me? We hadn’t even cleared the Earth’s atmosphere and we’d already been blindsided by enemy fire. It couldn’t have put her at ease. I wanted to reach out to her, to touch and comfort her like I had just after the Sives had attacked. But without the atmosphere of a near fatality, it didn’t feel like we had achieved that level of familiarity yet.
Her eyes darted distractedly around the control center, and I could see the whirlwind of questions whizzing around inside her head. If only I could know exactly what those questions were.
“Any sign of the Sives ship?” I asked.
“None at all,” Terrox replied. His tone was dark, and his eyes were cold and full of foreboding.
Terrox hated the Sives. He hated any group or race of creatures that acted in their own self-interest. He considered them without honor. I knew he would be out for revenge. My blood had run that hot once, too, but once the crown had been placed upon my head, my perspective had changed. A fiery-tempered king was not always an effective one. I had to discipline myself, reign in my more reckless impulses in favor of wise counsel and careful decision-making. I hoped that one day, Rosa would rule by my side and tell me the hard truths that my protectors would not say to my face.
“Maybe they were hired guns?” Brailin suggested.
“It’s possible,” I nodded. “But the Sives are not willing to risk their lives for small sums of money. If they are in fact hired guns, they would have demanded a small fortune.”
My mind went back to the first time we had received the cryptic threat that Terrox had translated and brought to my attention.
“Hand over the vuter or we will reign hell down upon you.”
That was the first message we had received.
“Who sent it?” I had asked Terrox, when he’d placed the scroll down in front of me.
“We don’t know,” Terrox had replied. “The sender is anonymous. We tried tracing it, but we found nothing.”
“There are many who covet what we have,” I had reminded Terrox. “This might simply be a distraction, a way to instill paranoia. We cannot give in to their baseless threats.”
“What if it’s a real threat?” Terrox had asked.
“Do you know what a vuter is?” I’d retorted.
Terrox had hesitated. “I… no…”
“Exactly.” I’d nodded. “If you consider this to be a real threat, then do the research, find out what this… vuter… really is, and then we can decide on our plan of action. But until then, I have a kingdom to rule.”
Terrox had attempted to find out what a vuter was, but his search came up empty, and by that point, we had received a few more threats with baseless foundations. Their impact lessened until they faded into the background and became a small blip on my radar. It was only a slight irritation that nagged me from time to time but one that I managed to ignore easily enough.
My instincts stirred now, and I realized that perhaps I had been negligent on that front. We were a nation with a powerful asset; many races coveted our bounty, and I was used to dealing with power-hungry beings, all of whom had ulterior motives. I had just imagined that this was more of the same.
“Are you okay?” Rosa asked, her soft voice breaking through my thoughts.
Her eyes were wide and earnest, a soft and clear blue that made me long for skies amidst space’s endless darkness.
“Are you?” I asked.
She smiled. “I asked you first.”
I felt my muscles relax under her smile; it was as though she had the power to heal me with a glance.
“I’m concerned,” I admitted.
“About the reason for the attack?” Rosa asked, focusing in on the crux of my problem.
“Yes.”
She nodded. “I wish
I could help,” she said unexpectedly.
I smiled. “You already have helped,” I replied.
“How?” she asked, knitting her eyebrows together.
How could I explain it to her? Her very presence was a balm to me. “Come with me,” I said, deftly side-stepping her question. “I’ll walk you to the observation deck; you will be able to see Xehrul clearly from there.”
She tried to release herself from the seatbelt I had fastened to her, but she struggled with the unfamiliar mechanism. Suppressing a smile, I reached out and helped her get free of the clasps. My hand brushed against the soft, warm skin of her arm, close to her chest, and I felt my whole body sing with desire.
“Thank you,” she murmured, and I noticed that her cheeks looked a little flushed, like a suppressed blush. Was it possible she was as conscious of my proximity as I was of hers?
“Meet me on the observation deck once we land,” I informed Terrox and Brailin. “And make sure to keep the communication stations of Xehrul informed about our movements from here on out.”
“Of course, my King.” Terrox nodded formally.
We left the control center and took an elevator down to the main body of the Destroyer. A few of the Protectors were moving around, under orders from Comadin, and they bowed respectfully as Rosa and I passed by.
“Do you ever get used to that?” she asked.
“What?”
“The bowing and the curtseying?” Rosa asked.
I smiled. “It has gotten more comfortable in recent years,” I admitted. “But when I was first crowned… it felt so wrong. I felt like they had made a mistake and crowned the wrong Svantian. I felt like an imposter with a crown on his head.”
Rosa was quiet as we walked down a circular pathway that would lead us to the main foyer, which directly preceded the observation deck. Her eyes darted along the walls and ceilings, and I tried to push at the corners of her mind to find a way in.
How did she really feel about her jarring introduction to her new life? Did she regret coming with me? Was she scared of what lay before her? It was becoming more and more infuriating to be shut out of her mind.