“It was fine.”
“Fine?” She raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you enjoy hearing their stories?”
“I grew up learning them. I never cared how close they were to what really happened on Earth. Earth was a far ways off.” He shrugged. “I didn’t see any relevance to what I needed to do as the queen’s main protector.”
Though she rolled her eyes, she chuckled. “Always so serious.”
“I happen to enjoy being the queen’s protector.” It was going to be even better when he was the queen’s husband. “I’ve trained my entire life for this.”
“Be that as it may, the stories were fascinating to listen to. Sometimes it’s nice to forget about work and just socialize for a while.”
“Contrary to what you think, my mind isn’t always on work.”
“Oh. So you did notice the way Aphrodite was flirting with you.”
He hesitated to respond, but then it occurred to him that she had noticed that Aphrodite had, indeed, been flirting with him, and better yet, it bothered her. Pleased, his smile grew wider. “And here I thought you only cared for William.”
She stared at him for a moment, as if she wasn’t sure how to respond. Then she blinked and gave a reluctant shrug. “It’s just that I couldn’t help but notice you kept blushing whenever she was around.”
Amused at her ploy at acting nonchalant, he grinned. “Don’t worry. I didn’t do anything with her.”
“How difficult it must’ve been to resist temptation.”
He reached out and took her hand. “You have nothing to worry about. She approached me about a proposition, but I told her no. I remained faithful to you.”
She removed her hand from his. “I don’t think I want to know the details.”
“Would it help if you knew that those who are of the royal lineage on Raz wait until marriage before doing anything of an intimate nature?”
“I amend what I said earlier. I enjoyed talking to everyone on Olympia except for her.”
“It really wasn’t that hard to resist her, Ann. She wasn’t you.”
He couldn’t be sure, but he thought she was happy he said that. And it was the truth. Aphrodite was manipulative and used her sexual wiles to get what she wanted. Ann was sincere and had no idea she was appealing to the opposite sex.
“We’re approaching Forestaria,” Athena told them. “Brace yourselves for the landing impact.”
Though they did, the landing was so smooth, Hathor wondered why the goddess felt the need to issue the warning.
Zeus turned from the front where he sat so he could look at Ann. “We’ll wait here to make sure you retrieve the book.”
“Thank you,” Ann replied.
Hathor and Ann left the spaceship, Leo at their heels. They searched through the forest for the book, but when he saw the mark in the dirt left by the Palers, he went over to Ann who was looking under a fallen tree.
“You can stop looking,” he told her. “The Palers have the book.”
Straightening up, she turned to him. “Does that mean you won’t get it back?”
“No, it means I have to go get it.”
“You mean we’re going to Pale?”
“The Book of Spells is the most important book we have on our world. I can’t return without it,” he explained.
“But if I become queen, can’t I just blink my eyes and make the book appear? I am supposed to have all this great magic you keep saying all the queens on your world have. Why can’t I summon a book from another planet?”
“That is possible,” he slowly replied.
“But?”
“Well, if I don’t show up with the book, it will be a sign of failure. I was trusted to take care of it.”
After a moment, she nodded. “Oh, I see. In that case, we should go to Pale and get the book.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
She returned his smile as the lion came over to them. Taking a deep breath, she ran her hand over Leo’s mane. “Well, I guess we should get going. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can have our next near-death struggle and be on our way.”
“It might not be that bad.”
She rolled her eyes. “They’re the Palers. It’ll give them nothing but fiendish delight to try to kill me. But,” she shrugged, “I see no reason to deny you another heroic exploit. What else are you going to do for fun?”
He chuckled at her joke. “And you thought you had to worry about Aphrodite,” he told her as he put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a playful squeeze. “You’re much more fun than she is.”
Though she sighed, he detected a slight smile on her lips. With a grin, he beckoned for the lion to join them and walked with her back into the spaceship.
***
Aboard the Olympian Spaceship
Galaxy: Enchanted
“We’re approaching Pale,” Hathor told Ann.
She went over to a window and peered down at the white planet. “No wonder it’s called Pale,” she commented, noting that the whole entire surface seemed to be covered in nothing but white sand.
Hathor came up to her, standing close as he pointed to the planet. “Those dots on the surface are the buildings. They’re all made of steel. As we get closer, you’ll be able to see them more clearly.”
“One thing I can honestly say, I’m glad I’m not going to be living on this planet. There’s no warmth to it.”
“Palers pride themselves on their technology. They have access to magic but don’t often use it.”
She began to nod when Athena called out, “Leader Omin’s expecting us.”
“How do you know that?” Ann asked, turning away from the window.
“Because there aren’t a fleet of Paler ships surrounding us,” she replied. “I think this is a trap.”
“Agreed,” Zeus said.
Apollo approached them and handed Ann and Hathor cups with a strange purple liquid in them. “In case we get separated, our radar will track the liquid in your bodies so we can find you,” he explained before Ann could ask about the drink.
“What about Leo?” Ann asked.
“Leave him with us,” Apollo replied.
With a nod, Ann drank the purple concoction. She purposely gulped it down, just in case it was bitter. But it was surprisingly sweet.
“Alpha Head I is in sight,” Zeus announced as she and Hathor handed their empty cups to Apollo. “We’ll try to make this fast.”
Ann blinked, and in the next moment, she and Hathor were no longer on the ship. Instead, they stood in a room, surrounded by seven-foot white humanoids. Before she had time to think, she shrieked and moved closer to Hathor who put his arm around her.
The female Paler approached her and scanned her up and down. “You’re not so pretty yourself, Earthling.”
Ann glanced at the group of five Palers who stood in the dismally gray room. From what she had learned about them, the room fit them perfectly. They were a morbid race of aliens.
“Welcome to your final destination, hopeful-queen-of-Raz,” the Paler coolly stated as she paced back and forth in front of them. “I’m Leader Seta, ruler of this world, and this is the last planet you’ll see before you die.”
“I thought Omin was the leader,” Hathor said.
“He was. But not anymore,” Seta snapped. “I am the leader now. Over there is First Commander Jaz and Second Commander Riles. And those two are your prison escorts.”
“We must get to Raz,” Hathor said, not the least bit deterred by these fiendish creatures. “Give us the Book of Spells and release us.”
Ann glanced at him. Did he honestly think they were going to do all of that just because he told them to?
Seta walked over to her desk and picked up the Book of Spells. “You mean this book?”
“Yes,” Hathor replied.
She opened it up and flipped through it. “Your planet is so backwards. You’re still relying on silly magic to do things for you. If you were smart, you’d start building spa
ceships and weapons instead of prancing across the galaxies with an antique book.” She snapped it shut and set it back on the desk. “Your request is denied. You’re not leaving here.”
Which was exactly what Ann had expected the Paler to say.
“Our survival depends on us getting to Raz,” Hathor told the Paler.
Ann wanted to elbow him in the side. Did he really think he could have an effective dialogue with creatures who wanted her dead?
“And what about our survival?” Seta asked. “We need food, too. The Laxes reproduce fast and live off air and sunshine alone. But Palers can’t do that. They need to ingest food in order to eat. And now that the Laxes are rebelling, we have no choice but to find an alternative food source.”
“Why don’t you farm?” Hathor asked. “Grow fruits and vegetables. That’s what you used to do on this world.”
“We did?” Second Commander Riles spoke up.
“No, we didn’t,” Seta replied, glaring at Hathor. “He speaks lies. Just because they do that on Raz, it doesn’t mean they do it on other planets.”
“It’s true,” Hathor insisted. “I’ve heard stories of what this world used to be.”
“Stories. As in myths, legends, fairytales.” Seta narrowed her eyes at him. “Look outside the window. It’s all sand out there. That’s all it’s ever been, and that’s all it’ll ever be. All attempts to plant in this environment have failed. Don’t you think we’ve tried everything we can think of?” She snarled at him. “I have my planet’s survival to think about and nothing will stand in my way.” She turned to the prison guards. “Take them to the Great Prison.”
A guard made a move to grab Ann, but Hathor blocked him and threw him to the ground. While Ann had to admit it was an impressive feat, she also knew that Hathor couldn’t take on four Palers. And she was right, though Hathor gave it his best shot. He’d managed to hold his own against another one. But in the end, the Palers hauled her and Hathor out of the room. Ann would have tried to resist if she could have seen a way out of this.
She took comfort in knowing Zeus, Athena and Apollo were nearby, and they would do something to save them. Thanks to that purple drink, they were probably tracking them right at that moment. She thought to remind Hathor of this, but considering the Palers carrying them down the corridor, she decided it was best to wait until they were alone.
“Jaz,” Seta ordered as she touched a metal door which opened, “make sure that Lax we talked about gets his treatment started.”
“Will do, Leader,” Jaz replied.
Ann barely had time to see what was behind the door when someone pushed her. Startled, she screamed as she slid down a metal slide. The thing seemed to go on forever, and there was nothing but darkness in front of her, which made the whole thing even creepier. But then she caught a glimmer of light up ahead. She didn’t have time to figure out where it led, though, because it seemed that as soon as she saw it, she landed—hard—on a steel floor.
This time she didn’t land flat on her behind. No, this time she landed face first on the floor with her butt sticking right up in the air. Oh yeah. She was very much the queen no matter how she fell. With a groan, she struggled to get into a sitting position.
Hathor hurried over to her and knelt beside her. “Are you okay?”
“Sure, all things considered.” She looked around and finally noticed all the gruesome creatures that shared the large room with them. She winced. She couldn’t ever recall seeing anyone in so much pain as these creatures were in. The Palers, she recognized. The blue ones, however, were new. “Who are they?”
“The white ones are Palers, and the blue ones are Laxes. Here. Let me help you up.” He gently took her by the arm and helped her to her feet. “We’ll find a way out of here.”
“I know, I know. Just another day in the life of the queen and king. I take it you’re having a lot of fun with this.”
“No, I don’t consider this fun,” he replied.
A Paler came up to them and hissed before running off into the moaning crowd that surrounded them.
She stepped closer to him. “Okay, I think it’s important we stay together so Zeus, Apollo, and Athena can find us more easily.”
“I agree.” He slipped his arm around her waist. “Let’s see if we can find a way out, just in case something delays them.”
She was ready to tell him that she didn’t mean he had to hold her, but it really wasn’t so bad to be held so she decided to keep quiet on the matter. It didn’t mean he loved her or she loved him. But since they were going to be married, she supposed it was something they would have to get used to.
As they wove their way around a group of Palers who were gnawing on Laxes, she covered her eyes and let Hathor do the seeing for both of them. Okay. She was convinced. This was not a good place to be. And if she wasn’t careful, she was going to throw up.
“Are you Hathor?” someone called out.
Ann peeked through her fingers and saw a Paler approaching them with a Lax waddling beside him. Surprised that this Paler and Lax actually seemed to be getting along, she dropped her hands and took a closer look at the odd pair.
Hathor tightened his hold on Ann, no doubt a measure to comfort her. “I am. I’m the defender of Ann who will be queen of Raz.”
The Paler turned to the Lax. “This can’t be good. Leader Omin has succeeded.”
“Omin’s no longer the leader,” Hathor commented. “Seta is.”
“Seta?” The Paler’s eyes widened then he nodded. “I suppose it’s not that surprising, all things considered.”
“Is everyone on your planet aware that Palers are trying to kill the next queen?” Hathor asked.
“No. Most aren’t aware of it,” the Paler replied. “I was sent to Red to kill you. I was the cave. The name is Paff.”
“Charmed,” Ann muttered.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Paff assured her. “I’m being punished because I gave you a fair chance, though I don’t think I could have gone through with it and killed you two.”
“Well, you sure did a great job of pretending you were going to,” she said.
The Lax came closer to them and studied them. “Yes,” he murmured as his ears twitched in excitement. “Paff, these are the ones who are with the one who will free us from this prison!”
“Are you sure, Cem?” Paff asked the Lax.
“More sure than I’ve been of anything in my life,” Cem replied. “Our salvation is near!”
Ann glanced at Hathor who didn’t seem to know any more than she did about what he was rambling on about. But she did see something coming down from the ceiling and heading straight for him. She hurried to push him out of the way, and the needle pierced her skin instead.
“Ann, are you hurt?” Hathor asked as he pulled her back to her feet.
“It was just a slight sting,” she assured him. She looked at Paff and Cem. “Should I be concerned about it?”
“No because we’re about to get out of here,” Paff said.
Cem walked over to her, his yellow eyes filled with appreciation. “That needle was meant for me, but you saved me from it. Thank you. I am in your debt.”
Something knocked into her, and she fell to the ground. She rolled over in time to see a Paler biting into Hathor’s shoulder. It took both Hathor and Paff to get the Paler off of him. Hathor clutched his shoulder, red blood seeping from his wound.
“Halima, you can’t do this,” Paff gently told her as Ann got up. “He’s with the one who will free us.”
Ann went over to Hathor and studied his wound. It didn’t look serious, but he was bleeding pretty heavily. She bent down and tore off the lower part of her skirt while Paff continued to soothe the Paler who bit Hathor. When she got enough fabric ripped off, she wrapped the cloth around Hathor’s shoulder.
“It’s not perfect, but it should be enough until we’re out of here,” Ann told him, though she wasn’t too encouraged when she saw how quickly his blood seeped into the cloth.
“It’s the least I can do. You know, for being my hero and all,” she replied, her face warm from the way he was smiling at her.
Paff came over to them. “Halima isn’t violent by nature. It’s the treatments that are doing it to her. When we’re out of here, she’ll be her normal self.”
“Do the treatments here make Palers violent?” Hathor asked.
“Yes,” Paff replied. “The Palers get violent, and the Laxes get apathetic. It’s horrible. Free will is completely erased.”
“I’ve studied this planet,” Hathor began, scanning the place, “and I’ve never heard about the treatments that go on here.”
“Omin created this place long ago. No one but him knows exactly how long the Great Prison’s been here,” Paff said. “No one even knows how this system works.”
Before Paff could say anything else, a deep rumble sounded above them, and the prison shook. Silence fell over the entire room.
“He has arrived,” Cem whispered. “We are free.”
Ann waited, sure she had heard that noise before. The question was, where?
A second rumble sounded above them. The room shook again, and this time pieces of the ceiling started crumbling down around them. In a panic, the Palers and Laxes started screaming and running for safety. Ann held onto Hathor who helped her dodge pieces of the ceiling. Another rumble—this one louder than before—made her jump.
That was when Ann realized what the sound was. Thunder!
“It’s Zeus,” Ann yelled over the commotion around them. “He’s coming to rescue us,” she told Hathor. “He has the thunderbolt!”
A bright light filled the entire room, and a large crack divided one of the walls.
“This way,” Hathor told her and the others as he helped her to the wall that was falling apart.
Despite his injury, he managed to help Ann, Paff, Halima, and Cem out of the prison, something that impressed Ann, though now wasn’t the time to tell him that.
Once they were outside, he turned to her. “Zeus is on his way over here.” She turned to look over her shoulder, but Hathor cupped her face in his hands. “I need to get the Book of Spells. Tell Zeus to meet me in the leader’s office.”
A Royal Engagement (Enchanted Galaxy Series Book 1) Page 12