A Royal Engagement (Enchanted Galaxy Series Book 1)

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  “I have fun.”

  “Granted, yesterday you did. But I have a feeling that on an ordinary basis, you have fun when you’re being chased by fire or dragons or other dangerous things.”

  “I wouldn’t say those things are fun, but there is a challenge to them.”

  “Well, the kind of fun I’m talking about is the ability to have a good time without risking your life.”

  They came into a clearing, and he turned to face her. “I happen to find my studies fun.”

  “What do you study?” she asked in interest.

  “When I’m not practicing combat, I look at other planets. I take note of the physiology, life forms, cultural traditions—”

  “That’s not a relaxing kind of fun. It’s work fun.”

  “I happen to enjoy my job.”

  “I know you do,” she began, “but if you had fun doing things that weren’t related to work, it’d balance you out. A person can’t go around doing nonstop work.”

  “I carve things out of wood in my spare time.”

  “Do you?” He didn’t strike her as the type who created things with his hands. “What do you make?”

  “Things to help the queen.”

  The poor man. He really needed time away from his duties to sit back and relax. “Hathor, it is admirable that you are so dedicated to your job, really it is. I just hope that you let yourself take time to enjoy other things from time to time.”

  “I did enjoy our time on Forestaria.”

  “Even the parts that didn’t involve a dragon?” she teased.

  He chuckled. “Yes. Watching the monkeys put on their performance was a lot of fun.”

  “It was.”

  “I noticed once they realized we were there, they did more sophisticated maneuvers.”

  The lion nodded his agreement, and she rubbed his back. “I guess they enjoy an audience.” She turned her gaze back to Hathor. “Yesterday was a lot of fun. Imagine if you did more of that when you’re not working. Wouldn’t that be great?”

  “I get your point,” he conceded with a smile. “But if the situation calls for me to work, I’m dropping everything to do that.”

  “I wouldn’t expect you to keeping having fun doing non-work things when work needs to be done.”

  They proceeded across the clearing until they reached the base of the mountain. An ivory staircase wound its way up until it reached the ivory palace close to the top.

  “I take it the creatures that live here are wealthy,” she commented. Even if the many steps looming before them seemed daunting, she wanted to see what such a grand palace looked like on the inside. “I have to admit, it’s a breathtaking sight.”

  From next to her, Hathor shrugged, hands on his hips. “I don’t know. Raz’s palace is better.”

  Amused, she shot him a pointed look. “You’re only saying that because Raz is your home planet.”

  “No. I’m saying it because it’s the truth.”

  She got ready to respond when a loud shriek came from behind them. Covering her ears, she turned around. A green woman with snakes for hair and red eyes flicked her forked tongue at her. Ann screamed.

  Letting out another shriek, the woman raised her spear and tried to stab Ann with it. Hathor stepped between her and the woman, and the two struggled for possession of the spear. Ann fell back, landing on the ground in yet another unladylike manner. Thankfully, Hathor had his back turned to her and couldn’t see her.

  The lion roared and pounced on the green woman, forcing her to the ground. Ann saw the spear fly from the woman’s hand but froze. She knew she should grab it. It’d give her and Hathor a huge advantage, but she couldn’t seem to make herself move.

  As if to relieve her of any action, the lion leapt forward and retrieved the spear. He ran over to Hathor who was dodging the woman’s attacks. Hathor took the spear from the lion and, in one swift motion, stabbed the green woman in the back.

  Ann blinked to make sure she saw everything right. She’d never seen anyone act with so much grace when he fought as Hathor did. It was just like watching the movies, except this was really happening in front of her.

  The green woman let out an ear-piercing shriek and made a move to strike Hathor, but he blocked the attack and stabbed her again, this time in the heart. She let out another agonizing scream before falling to the ground, blood dripping from her mouth.

  Cringing, Ann quickly turned away from her, afraid if she didn’t, she might lose the breakfast she’d enjoyed on Forestaria. Hathor hurried over to her, but she was shaking too badly to get up so he had to help her to her feet.

  “You’re safe now,” he said in a soothing tone. “She can’t hurt you anymore.”

  “Was that a Paler?” she asked, her wobbly knees insisting she lean against him.

  “No. It was a fury.”

  “A fury?” She’d heard the term before but couldn’t recall where. She shook her head. “Given her temperament, I’d say her name describes her perfectly.” When she could trust herself to stand without his help, she pulled away from him and took a deep breath. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Saving my life. Again.”

  “It’s my duty. You don’t need to thank me.”

  Maybe it wasn’t custom for the queen to thank her protector, but Ann still felt it was the right thing to do. “Well, even if I don’t have to, I want to.”

  Hathor smiled at her in a way that warmed her heart, and she knew that she’d said the right thing. The lion went over to them, and Hathor petted him. “You did great. Thank you for giving me the spear.”

  Ann shifted uncomfortably as she watched the lion purr in pleasure at Hathor’s compliment. She had a chance to grab the spear. So why didn’t she? Did fear really have that big of a hold on her?

  Hathor turned back to her. “Would you like me to get us something to eat before we head up the mountain?”

  Her stomach growled and she glanced at the stairs that spanned miles. “Yeah, I would.”

  To her surprise, he took her hand and gave it a light squeeze. “Stay close to me while we look for food, just in case something else comes along.” He led her to a group of trees nearby.

  She didn’t argue. She really hoped the rest of her life wouldn’t be like this. She hated almost getting killed everywhere they went.

  They took a few more steps before Hathor stopped.

  “What is it?” she whispered. “Is something wrong?”

  “I thought I heard something.”

  He turned around just in time to be struck with a rod. Before she had time to scream, the man struck her, knocking her out, too.

  ***

  Great Prison

  Planet: Pale

  Omin was vaguely aware of the moaning Palers and Laxes around him. He rubbed his head and tried to focus. Where was he? He brought his hands to his face and stiffened. His nose was almost gone, his eyelids didn’t open all the way anymore, and he had a small hole where his mouth had been. Seta. Seta had melted his face almost completely off.

  And that was when he remembered where he was—where she put him. The Great Prison. Lowering his hands, he looked through charred eyelids to see the Palers and Laxes wasting away in front of him. No. No! He couldn’t be here! He was the leader. He designed this place for others, not for himself. Had he not created this prison, he never would have been leader to begin with. It was supposed to secure his position on Pale for the rest of his life. But in one moment, Seta took all of that away from him. And now she had access to all of his secret files.

  He banged the steel floor with his fist, ignoring the pain that shot up his arm. Why? Why did he make her Second Commander? He should have known she was too strong to be submissive forever. Even with his careful programming, she’d been too formidable of an opponent. So much for thinking that by keeping her close, he could keep a rein on her tendency to take the lead, even if she didn’t remember she had once been the leader before he removed her from power.

&n
bsp; Something stabbed him in the arm. Too late, he realized it was a needle. The needle returned to the ceiling where it’d been hidden. He let out a wail that matched those of the others in the place. His treatment would begin in twenty-four hours.

  Chapter Nine

  Mount Olympus

  Planet: Olympia

  Hathor slowly woke to a throbbing pain in the back of his head. He sat up and opened his eyes. It wasn’t the first time he’d been struck unconscious, but it was the first time he’d been put in a golden cage that hung in midair. When he saw that Ann was asleep next to him, he breathed a sigh of relief and brought her into his arms. The poor thing was going to be terrified when she woke up. The lion, which was also in the cage, lifted his head and scanned their surroundings.

  Hathor followed his gaze, taking note of the ivory circular room. A woman he recognized as Hera was sitting on a white plush chair with gold trim. When his gaze met hers, she rose to her feet and called out, “They’re waking up.”

  From the veranda, other gods and goddesses entered the room. Zeus first, then Athena and Apollo, then Hades and Persephone, then Aphrodite and Ares, and finally Hermes and Hephaestus. They followed Hera over to the cage and stared up at Hathor, their eyes narrowed, their lips forming a thin line.

  Hathor began to introduce himself and the future queen of Raz, when Ann groaned. His responsibility was to her, first and foremost, so he turned his attention to her. “Are you okay?”

  “I feel like I was hit by a truck,” she mumbled then looked over at the gods and goddesses.

  With a gasp, she scooted closer to him, so he tightened his hold on her. “It’s okay. I won’t let them hurt you,” he whispered in her ear.

  The lion leapt in front of them and growled.

  Zeus came forward, a frown on his face. “You have upset Hades, god of the underworld. Which one of you killed one of his furies?”

  “I did,” Hathor replied. “But only in self-defense.”

  “He admits it!” Hades cried, his voice booming in the large room.

  “Calm down, beloved,” Persephone soothed as she touched his arm. “Let him explain why he did it.”

  All eyes turned to Hathor.

  “I was protecting her.” Hathor nodded toward Ann and squeezed her shoulders, hoping to assure her that everything would be alright. He’d been in tougher situations before. He had no doubt there was a way out of this one. The problem was, finding out what it was. “The fury came after her with a spear. She would have killed her if I hadn’t intervened.”

  “You lie,” Hades insisted.

  “Hades,” Zeus warned. “We should hear him out before we condemn him.”

  When Zeus turned back to him, Hathor said, “We didn’t intend to come here, but the Palers set up one of their interference spells. You see, Ann is going to be—”

  Before he could say ‘the queen of Raz’, Hera motioned for him to stop talking. “Ann? Is that her name?” She motioned to Ann.

  “Yes,” Hathor replied.

  “That sounds like an Earth name,” she commented.

  “She is from Earth,” he told her.

  Ares chuckled. “Earth. Now that brings back some memories. I recall how those naïve humans used to worship us while we were on their planet.” He turned his attention directly to Ann. “If your planet had embraced magic instead of focusing on science, then the Earthlings would have realized we weren’t so special after all. All we had was a stone of immortality that preserved our youth.”

  “A stone of immortality?” Ann asked, glancing at Hathor.

  “It’s a magic stone,” Ares explained, contempt in his voice. “And it could only be found on Atlantis. That’s where we originally came from before it sank into the ocean. After we arrived at Greece, everyone started erecting statues of us and offering sacrifices in hopes of earning our favor.” He chuckled again. “Your planet will believe anything. Thank goodness we got out of there.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Aphrodite argued as she made eye contact with Hathor. “Being worshipped by the men I made love to was great.” She winked at him and ran her tongue along her upper lip.

  Taken aback by her suggestive action, Hathor cleared his throat. While Aphrodite’s skimpy outfit intrigued him, his loyalty was to Ann. He focused on Zeus. “You said there was a stone that gives you immortality. Shouldn’t that prevent the fury from dying?”

  “The Sphinx stole the stone because she wishes to overtake us,” Hades snapped. “Since that stone isn’t in the throne room, the fury is now dead. I say we kill them!”

  “If I hadn’t acted when I did, Ann would be dead,” Hathor argued. “You have no right to kill us for protecting ourselves.”

  “But one of my furies is dead,” Hades replied, undeterred by logic.

  “Please,” Athena spoke up, “we must keep a clear mind in order to act wisely. I’m sure there’s a solution that can benefit everyone here.” The owl on her shoulder hooted its agreement.

  “Clear mind. Act wisely,” Ares mimicked. “How many will you let him kill before you come to your senses? He had no weapon and was able to defeat the fury, and we all know how skilled the fury is at fighting. This man’s a threat to Olympia. I say we take a life for a life! Kill the man who killed one of our own.”

  “Ares, stop behaving like a child,” Athena ordered.

  “Athena is right,” Zeus said. “She knows how to best handle these situations. We’ll listen to her.”

  Beaming with pride, Athena nodded at Zeus. “Thank you.” She looked at Hathor. “If you retrieve the stone and we run it across the fury’s body, she will live again.”

  “Brilliant,” Aphrodite cheered and let her hand drift to the low neckline of her dress. “Then our guests can do as they please.”

  Hathor’s face warmed. He might not be knowledgeable in the area of intimate relations, but it didn’t take much of an imagination to know what she was talking about.

  From beside him, Ann sighed in irritation and pulled away from him. “All we have to do is take a stone from a Sphinx? Why can’t you do it?”

  “The Sphinx will kill us,” Hades said. “We can’t fight her. If we even get a scratch from fighting her, we will automatically die because she has control over the magic in the stone. But you three will not perish from a single scratch.”

  “If you retrieve the stone,” Zeus began, “we promise by the River Styx that we will free you and let you go to your planet.”

  “How do we know your word is any good?” Hathor asked, not quite believing it.

  Ann lightly tapped his arm to get his attention. “When they swear by the River Styx, they’re bound to the oath regardless of what happens.”

  Surprised, Hathor studied her. How did she know that?

  As if she could read his mind, Ann added, “I studied Greek and Roman mythology in high school.”

  “She’s right,” Athena spoke up. “The River Styx oath is never taken lightly. Once we swear by it, we must perform what we promised.”

  “Okay then,” Hathor agreed. “We’ll get the stone.”

  Zeus gave a solemn nod. “Good. I will tell Poseidon to make the ocean waves favorable for your journey to the Sphinx’s island.”

  “You’d better return with the stone,” Hades mumbled.

  “We will,” Hathor promised. “Or we’ll die trying.”

  ***

  “Did you have to add the whole ‘we’ll die trying’ thing?” Ann asked once the ivory boat set sail.

  Hathor adjusted the golden sails and took note of how calm the water was. The gentle breeze was providing good speed. They’d be at the Sphinx’s island in no time, and soon after that, he figured he could talk someone into taking them to Raz. This was only a minor delay. Soon enough, Ann would be crowned queen and he’d have the high honor of marrying her.

  Ann, however, insisted on fretting over their fate. “How are we supposed to get a stone from a Sphinx?” she asked from where she sat beside the lion.

  “I’l
l figure it out when we get there,” he assured her, but if he thought that was enough, he was sorely mistaken.

  “Do you have any idea how big that creature is?”

  “Sure. She’s twenty feet tall.”

  She stared at him for a long moment then threw her hands up in the air. “How can you remain so calm? This is a crisis!”

  He went over to her and settled beside her. “Come on, Ann. There’s no need to be so dramatic. I’ve been through worse than this.”

  “Well, I haven’t.” She grunted and rubbed the back of her neck. “Do you even know how scary this thing is? She has the head of a woman, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. That’s a frightening image.” When he didn’t answer her, she added, “Did I mention she has a reputation for being mean?”

  He couldn’t help but be impressed with how much she knew about the Olympians. “You sure did study your mythology.”

  Obviously, this wasn’t the answer she was hoping for since she groaned and shook her head. “But this isn’t a class lesson. This is real.”

  “Did you ever stop to think that some of what you thought was fiction was actually real?”

  She rolled her eyes. “No, actually I didn’t. People call it ‘mythology’ because it’s fake. Or at least it’s supposed to be.”

  “It’s okay, Ann.” Smiling, he rubbed her back. He was quickly discovering that touching her was one of his favorite pastimes. And as much as he willed his mind not to think it, he couldn’t help but imagine what she’d look like if she wore the dress Aphrodite had worn.

  Ann narrowed her eyes at him. “What are you thinking?”

  “Nothing,” he quickly answered.

  “Right,” she replied in a tone that indicated she didn’t believe him.

  Taking her hand in his, he said, “You’re forgetting the main advantage we have over the Sphinx.”

  “Oh, and what would that be?”

  “Our height. The smaller you are, the harder it is for a large creature to find you.”