Emerald did the same, and the three made their way across the large room and followed the guards out of it.
Emerald asked, “Can you tell us where you took the men you captured?”
“To the cells, underground. They are being treated well. The conditions there are better than any of the places you people live. The food is better, more nourishing.” The taller of the two nearly identical guards said.
The other chuckled. “Though they all complained about the mite stew they were served.”
Caleb laughed as he knew well the diet the Euthenian’s consumed. Insects were the main staple. He’d gotten used to it while living in the palace.
One of the guards pushed his earpiece as a message came over it. All could hear the other man speaking through it. “We have captured the remaining men on the third floor. The monitors show no more rebels in the palace.”
Jared mumbled, “So much for the uprising.”
One of the guards looked back as they kept walking. “You have nothing to worry about, Earthling. Like I said, your people are being well cared for. The only thing I feel bad about is it looks like you left all your women back there alone. They’ll have a rough time of it.”
Jared spoke up, “They’re a tough bunch of women. No need to worry about them.”
Both guards sighed. One spoke, “Tough. That’s what you people are all about, isn’t it?”
The other said, “You make things so hard for yourselves. When offered water, you declined. When we offered to teach you how to make your own water system, you declined. The same with the solar energy system. You want it rough for reasons we can’t comprehend. But now that we have enough of you to study, maybe we can begin to understand how to communicate with you more effectively.”
Caleb pushed his hood back and took his mask off. His expression was one of agitation. “Who did you offer those things too? I’ve never heard any talk of it.”
Emerald went to push her hood off as well, but Caleb grabbed her wrist and shook his head. She left it on and continued to follow the guards.
“Your leader, of course.” The man on the right said.
“We have no leader,” Caleb said.
The guards stopped and turned to look at them. One asked, “You don’t know your leader? You lead a revolution and do not know the leader of your people?”
Caleb shook his head. “Tell me his name.”
The taller one said, “Samuel Winters.” Both guards looked at them, their handsome faces riddled with confusion. “His wife’s name is Anna. They have two, nine-year-old twin daughters.”
Caleb looked back at Jared then at Emerald. “Have either of you ever heard of any of them?”
They both shook their heads. The guards looked even more confused.
“They live in the city closest to the settlement. That man has been in charge of it since we began it. You are asking for equal rights from the wrong people,” the shorter guard said. “It’s he who has denied you the things you seek. Your own kind did that to you. We all thought you all were in agreement. The man has petitions with all of your signatures on them, stating you did not want our assistance.”
Jared grasped his brother by the shoulder. “The man lives in the city. How is that? We aren’t allowed to them.”
The taller guard said, “Only because he said you all wanted none of our ways. You wanted the desolation, and it was best to keep you out of the cities so you wouldn’t be tempted by the easy way of life in them.”
“I need to see this man who has governed us all without us knowing.” Caleb shook his head. “We have been left in the dark for far too long.”
Emerald and Jared nodded in agreement. The guards turned around and continued on their way through the large palace.
The taller guard said, “Many thought it odd. He and his family live in a very nice place. He’s one of the King’s dearest friends. He frequents the palace and even has a set of rooms here. I suppose it’s one of the many things it seems the King has hidden from us all.”
They followed the guards in silence the rest of the long walk to where ever it was they were going. Caleb’s mind was spinning out of control as he had no idea what was going on anymore.
To think another man from earth would do the things he’d done to his fellow Earthlings seemed impossible. And how could the man be a close friend to the King?
Caleb knew the King thought Earthlings to be incapable of real intelligence. The fact was, the King didn’t care for them at all.
Caleb knew that for certain as he’d had many conversations with the man. Nothing was making sense. The whole situation seemed beyond his control any longer and that thought had him angry.
He was not a man who liked to be out of control. The truth about everything had to come out and then he could find a way to deal with it all.
His fight no longer seemed to be with the royals. It seemed it was with a man no one had ever heard of.
If the man is friends with the King, though. How easy would it be to unseat him and place another in his position as leader of the Earthlings?
Perhaps the poison which had been made for the King would best be spent on the man who was the secret leader of the Earthling settlement.
Many things needed to be done, and it seemed they had only a few to help. Caleb, Emerald, and Jared were the only ones free at that time.
And Caleb wasn’t very sure just how free they were. It seemed someone else was in charge with the royals gone.
As they made their way through the room with the many works of art, one of the guards stopped in front of the painting of Prince Kerr and Caleb. He turned to look at Caleb. “It’s you!”
The other guard nodded. “I thought I recognized you. Caleb! You grew a beard. The Prince talks about you often. Hopefully, he will take the news well.”
Caleb narrowed his eyes as he looked at the two guards. “I remember you two now. The twins, Zin and Zan. You let your hair grow out. It was buzzed against your skulls.”
“We were new when you were here. They buzz all the newbies,” the shorter guard Caleb then knew was Zan, said.
Caleb gestured to the shorter one and introduced him. “Zan, this is my wife, Emerald and my oldest brother, Jared. The tall one is Zin. Kerr and I used to give them hell when I was a guest here.”
“Nice to meet you,” Emerald said.
Jared added. “The pleasure is all mine. Now can you tell us what the hell is going on?”
Zan laughed. “Patience. We’re almost there.” They began walking again.
Caleb took Emerald’s hand as they went into another room. This one was dark, and the guards turned on small lights to make their way to a bookcase.
Pulling a red-covered book, the case moved back to the wall. The guards walked into a room filled with monitors.
Each room in the palace was on the screens. The cells where the other men were being kept were up too and they could see all the rest of the men had been captured.
All were resting on comfortable beds though and no one seemed the least bit distraught with their cells which were larger than their homes in the settlement.
The lights went up and the back of a blonde head hovered near one of the monitors. Zin said, “We’ve brought them to you as requested.”
The person rose. Long, blonde hair cascaded to a narrow waist. Long, flowing white robes were draped over the tall person.
When she turned to face them, all three gasped.
I thought she was dead!
‘The Rightful Reign’
Book 5
(The Uprising Series)
(Book 2)
CHAPTER 1
Emerald
Emerald’s heart stopped beating as she looked into the same blue eyes she’d seen in the painting of the Queen. It was her.
“Where have you been, Your Highness?” Emerald asked as she bowed before the Queen.
“In hiding. And your name is?” the Queen asked.
“I am Emerald and this is…”
>
The Queen held up her hand, stopping her. “I know who this young man is. Caleb is his name, and he is a great warrior from Earth. I’ve haunted this palace since my husband ordered an assassin to take my life because he didn’t want me to change the way things are done.”
Caleb’s jaw dropped. “The King ordered your death?”
She gave him a nod. The Queen had long blond hair and light blue eyes which housed years of disappointment and distrust in them. Her body was tall and lean and seemed to have a frailty from her time in hiding.
“He did. Lucky for me the man he sent to kill me found he couldn’t take my life and hid me away in an underground city not many know exists.” She moved to leave the dark room full of monitors. “Let us retire to the parlor and sit in a more comfortable place.”
They followed the Queen, clad in a long, flowing, white gown. Caleb took Emerald by the hand and gave her a look which let her know he was quite disturbed by what the Queen had said thus far.
In a room not far from where they’d been, were overstuffed sofas covered in purple silk. The Queen took a seat then Emerald and Caleb sat down and Jared took another seat as did Zan and Zin.
Caleb gestured to his brother. “Your Majesty, this is one of my older brothers, Jared.”
She gave him a nod and Jared took her hand and kissed the top of it. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you, Jared. It is nice to make your acquaintance as well.”
Jared took the place on the other side of Caleb who looked confused and said to the Queen, “But there was a body, Your Majesty.”
She nodded. “A woman had died of natural causes in the underground city. The assassin used her body to fool the King into thinking I was dead. It worked. Unfortunately for the man who was sent to kill me, he disappeared not long after that.”
Jared frowned. “Why do you think that happened?”
“The King most likely wanted no one who could ever tell on him. I never saw the man’s face. He wore a mask. I have no idea who he even was. But I owe my life to him and it was just another thing which devastated me at that time.” She jingled a little bell, and a man came in with a tray of drinks and some food.
He placed it on the table between the two sofas and she gestured for everyone to help themselves. Caleb poured a glass of the purple liquid and placed it in front if the Queen who gave him a nod and a smile.
Then he poured Emerald one and handed it to her. He asked, “So how have you been in the palace with no one realizing it?”
“There are secret passages to get inside the palace only Kings and Queens know about. My husband was not born royal, and I never showed them to him. There are secret passages inside the palace as well. The spaces between the walls are wide and many of the paintings I was able to see through.” The Queen sipped her drink.
“So you’ve watched and known all which has gone on while never finding it a good idea to let all know you were alive and the King was a murderer?” Emerald asked with a frown.
The Queen nodded. “My mental state has been in question since his betrayal. You see, I thought the man loved me more than life, but he did not. He loathed me. Had me killed when I told him I was the one with regal blood in my veins and I would make the decision about where women stood on our planet.”
Caleb shook his head, making his auburn curls bounce across his wide shoulders. “He always talked about his love for you. It’s insane to think he had that done and yet still spoke of you with only love on his tongue.”
“That is why I waited. I wanted the right moment to pay him back for what he tried to do to me. I bided my time, and it was I who sent a message to Earth and asked about one of their genetically modified females to be awarded to Kerr. Of course, I did so anonymously. And then I made sure that Kerr gave the girl my mother’s wedding ring.”
Emerald looked confused. “Why is that, Your Highness?”
“Because I had a simple yet very effective device placed in the metal on the underside of the ring. It works off another device I had placed in their ship. It has several messages I wanted her to hear over and over. It uses her own inner personalities to hear them and even brings out whatever powers lie within her.” The Queen stood and began to pace.
“The woman must think she’s going mad,” Emerald said as she took a drink and looked sad.
Caleb patted her hand and said, “But she’s not hurt, Emerald.”
Emerald nodded but looked at him with sorrow in her eyes. “Yes, but still.” She looked up to find the Queen frowning at her. “You have your reasons. I am not judging you.”
“As you shouldn’t. You have no idea of how it feels to think you are loved and then that person tries to have you killed. It’s a thing which takes your mind. Hers may be under duress right now, but will soon be fine. Mine will never be fine again.” The Queen sat back down and looked at her glass of purple liquor.
Caleb asked, “So, now your plan is?”
The Queen frowned and a despondent look crossed her beautiful face. “Kerr’s new bride will kill my husband and as long as Kerr doesn’t try to protect his father, he will still hold his position in the hierarchy. If not, then he is no better than the man who sired him and he can join his beloved father wherever he goes. Hell most likely.”
Caleb’s face went ashen. “Do you think his new wife would kill Kerr as well?”
The Queen gave a nod. “One of the messages is that anyone who tries to protect the King must be killed. She will kill him if he doesn’t let her do what she’s being programmed to do. I hope he has gained some love for her and doesn’t intervene.”
Caleb took Emerald’s hand and clutched it. She knew he was not happy with what the Queen was doing. At least, where Kerr was concerned, anyway.
The Queen looked at Emerald. “I can see you think of me as cruel.”
“No, Your Majesty,” Emerald said quickly.
“Do not lie, child.” The Queen pointed a long finger at her. “I now can smell a lie. It taints one’s breath with a nasty tinge of an acidic aroma. And I can smell your lie from here.”
Emerald went pale then said, “I am sorry. I know it’s none of my business. But there are other ways to handle things. Kerr is your son after all.”
“Nar is my sister, but if she defends my husband she too will die. I have nothing in my heart for people who love this man if they would put their lives at risk for him.” The Queen ran her finger along the rim of the short glass.
Jared cleared his throat. “If I may ask, what is to happen with the hierarchy?”
“I will remain head of it and if there is no one left to follow me I am preparing to hand the position over to another.” Her eyes leveled on Caleb.
He shook his head. “Not a thing I want, Your Highness.”
Emerald gave his hand a squeeze. “She’s not said a word, Husband.”
“He’s right,” the Queen said. “I have watched and listened to all the conversations you’ve had with my son and husband. You would make an excellent ruler.”
“I’m an Earthling and it wouldn’t be right,” Caleb said as he poured himself a drink, looking quite confused.
“You can no longer go back to Earth. You are as much a Euthenian as any of us are. To be born on a planet is nothing any longer. Who cares where you’re born. It’s where you live that makes you who you are. I’m so tired of the distinction between who lives where.”
Emerald smiled. “I can agree with that. It is one of the things my husband and I discussed.”
Caleb shook his head. “My plan was to rule with Kerr.”
“So you planned on ruling?” the Queen asked with one arched brow.
Caleb looked at her and smiled. “Caught that?” He gave her a sheepish look. “Well, I didn’t know you were alive back when I thought that.”
Emerald’s curiosity had her asking, “What were you going to do which had the King wanting you dead if I may ask?”
“I was going to put an end to the hook and
the strap. End the one step behind practice and end the sterilization of people with imperfect genetics. Essentially, I was going to make women equals and my husband was having none of that.” The Queen sighed heavily and looked down at the floor with eyes full of sadness.
“So you only meant to make things better, and he wanted none of it. So much so he had you killed, or so he thought anyway.” Emerald shook her head. “So sad.”
The Queen nodded. “And that is why the man must die.”
Alien Romance Box Set: The Euthenian Battle Complete Series (Books 1-4): A SciFi (Science Fiction) Alien Warrior Romance Page 22