The Star Princess (Beyond Fairytales)

by Jessica E. Subject

  “You, perhaps?”

  Ro’sa shook her head. “I don’t think so. Cyrus seemed angrier than the prince.”

  “Who knows, but you have to see Cyrus again.”

  “Why?” She’d already done enough harm with their first encounter.

  “Because he’s your ticket out of the marriage. Make sure someone on staff sees you two together, and one and all will know. Either the prince or your father will call the marriage off. Simple.”

  “But then I’ll look like the one at fault.” And be responsible for the end of the alliance between the two planets.

  “You leave the prince up to me.” Ka’lyn winked. “I still see some of the castle staff around town. I’ll discover what they know and have him set up. You’ll simply look like the innocent princess who tried to learn why Prince Deion didn’t want her.”

  “No, it’s okay. I’ll figure something out.” Because if she managed to get out of the marriage and the prince returned to Earth, so would Cyrus, and her father would locate another prince for her to wed. Too bad she had no choice as to whom she would marry.

  ***

  Ro’sa peeked into The King’s Pub, eyeing all the patrons. She hadn’t seen her father all day, though it wasn’t him she desired a word with. A horned Mindu manned the bar, preparing drinks for a group of the castle guards. Her betrothed sat next to the king, laughing and drinking. The same as the night before, minus the horde of women.

  Cyrus sat beside Prince Deion, arms crossed and mouth set in a scowl. He didn’t even have a beverage in front of him and didn’t seem to be enjoying himself at all. Had his argument with the prince continued into the evening? Or maybe he didn’t take pleasure in hanging out in a pub, though she doubted that. No man she’d met would turn down a drink.

  Drawing her cloak over her head, she peered in farther, hoping to catch his attention. After a quick wave, she ducked back and waited. No one came out. Another peek. All the men remained exactly where she’d last seen them.

  “Is there something I can help you with, miss?”

  Ro’sa jumped at the deep voice behind her. She turned around, careful to keep her gaze to the ground lest anyone recognize her. No matter what Ka’lyn said, she didn’t want to get caught alone with Cyrus. “No, I, um....”

  “Just wanted to catch a glimpse of the prince from Earth?” The man, clad in the shiny black boots and gray skin suit of a castle guard chuckled. She breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t seem to recognize her. He must be new.

  “You’re not the first, I’m afraid. Seems every woman around wants to catch his eye, and I’d bet some have, too. Poor Princess Ro’sa.” He leaned closer, and she cringed at the stench of alcohol on his breath. “If you ask me, his aide is the better of the two, but he’s had a rough go since he arrived, being sick and all. Perhaps you’d like to meet him? Make him feel welcome?” The guard winked.

  She didn’t know whether to agree or run. There was no way fate could have thrown this opportunity at her without a catch. And what if Cyrus did come to meet an unknown woman? Would he expect her to offer herself to him as the servers had done? That would make him just as dishonorable as her betrothed. “I... I don’t think so.”

  “Too late.” The guard squeezed her shoulder with his meaty fingers. “He’s already on his way over.”

  Cyrus stormed past them without a backward glance.

  “Hey Cyrus, wait up.” Stepping forward, the guard hauled her with him. “There’s someone you should meet.”

  “I’m not interested.” Cyrus paused, facing the other direction.

  “All right then. Just thought I’d offer her to you first.”

  Ro’sa clenched her fists and stopped breathing for a moment. She wasn’t anyone’s offering. Tossing off her hood, she stomped on the guard’s instep and spun around to face him. “How dare you think of me or any other woman in that way.” She slapped his face. “My father’s men have more honor than that.” Or so she hoped.

  The guard backed away, his mouth agape. “I’m sorry, Princess. I didn’t mean—”

  “To get caught. But you did, and my father will surely hear about this.” She stormed down the hall, disgusted by what the guard had suggested. What if she hadn’t been the princess but one of the women Ka’lyn planned to send to spy on Deion?

  Footfalls pounded behind her. Pausing, she tensed, ready to snap at the guard again. Nothing he said could erase his words from her memory.

  Instead, Cyrus dashed in front of her. Sweat glistened on his forehead, and he tugged at the collar of his skin suit. “Princess, I need to talk to you.”

  Ro’sa sidestepped him. Being near the aide, with his mesmerizing eyes, the sweet memory of the press of his lips and his finger between her legs sent an unfamiliar thrill darting through her. A feeling she should experience with her betrothed, not his aide. “I’m sorry about what happened on the beach. I should never have led you on the way I did.” She dashed into the lift, craving her bed to help put the day behind her.

  Cyrus slapped a hand on the door, holding it open. His face paled. “Can we please talk out here?”

  She examined him more closely. “Are you afraid of confined spaces?”

  “No, just this elevator.” His breathing became labored, the rise and fall of his chest increasing in pace.

  Covering her mouth, she tried to hide a smirk. It wasn’t proper to find humor in another’s fears, but she couldn’t help herself. “Then maybe we should say good night, and you can let me go to my room.” Better to leave him behind than be drawn into temptation again.

  He shook his head. “Not until I’ve said what I need to.”

  “Then, tell me already.” The sweat dripping down his temples concerned her. Was he still sick? Would she catch his illness?

  “No.” He ducked inside and pinned her to the wall. Hard muscle bore down on her at every point of contact.

  Her heart fluttered. Though she’d dreamed of being this close to him, she’d never expected it to happen again.

  His intense gaze on her, he intertwined his fingers with hers and held her hands to the wall. “I’m sorry, but I need to kiss you again.”

  As his lips touched hers, her body tingled with desire. She moaned into his gentle kiss, unable to control the sound. At the delicate ply of his tongue, she opened to him, her mind filled with a maddening wave of pleasure.

  He kissed along her jaw to her neck. Her synapses exploded, and she squeezed his fingers. A ball of desire pooled low in her belly. Her breathing turned ragged, and she yearned for more.

  Cyrus continued his torture to her sensitive skin, licking and sucking. Her moans turned to cries of pleasure. He nudged her legs apart with his knee, bringing the two of them even closer, yet not close enough.

  Drawing her hands from his, Ro’sa reached between them, grasping the zipper of his suit. She dragged it down, reaching inside to touch his bare skin. Splaying her hand across his chest, she felt the pounding of his heart. It beat in time with hers.

  She rocked her hips, grinding across his thigh. An unfamiliar motion, but she couldn’t help herself.

  “I want you,” he whispered across her skin. Grabbing her buttocks, he drew her farther up his thigh.

  She wrapped her legs around his waist. Through their clothing, his hardness pressed to her mound, giving fuel to the fire growing inside her.

  A sudden ding filled the small space, clearing away the lust in her head.

  Cyrus lowered her to the floor and backed away, staring at his feet. “I’m sorry. I only meant to forget where I was for a moment, not to get so carried away. I... I can’t help myself around you.”

  A voice inside her mind screamed for her to slam on the emergency lock and make him do it all over again. The thrill of his hands and lips on her body, of feeling so wanted, was something she longed to experience forever. Exactly what she’d expected to happen when she first met Prince Deion.

  The doors opened, and Cyrus hurried out, taking a piece of her heart with
him. She could easily love the man with radiant blue eyes and chocolate-colored skin, though he was not her betrothed and never would be. They were not meant to be together, and the sooner she stopped teasing the idea in her mind, the less it would hurt when she married someone else.

  He spun around to face her. “You coming?”

  Ignoring his anxious stare, she brushed past him and headed to her quarters.

  “Ro’sa, wait.”

  She refused to listen, to be lured into desiring him again, pretending they had a chance to be together. “No, I can’t. There’s nothing I covet more than honesty, and I’m not being honest with myself when I’m around you.”

  As she touched her thumb to the identi-scanner, a tear slipped down her cheek.

  “But I have to tell you the truth.”

  “The only truth that matters is that I have to marry Prince Deion, and that is not you.” She shoved her door open and rushed inside, closing it behind her. Leaning against the cold steel, she sobbed. Why did the truth have to hurt so much?

  “But I am Prince Deion.” He pounded on the door. “I’ve tried to tell you that all along.”

  She could only wish. If he was the prince, someone would have told her by now. False beliefs would not make the heartbreak any easier when she had to marry her true betrothed.

  Wiping her tears, she left the doorway. She peeled off her skin suit, hoping to strip away the sensation of Cyrus still lingering on her body. It didn’t work. Exposing her skin resulted in her craving him even more, tasting his sweet flavor still on her lips.

  She climbed into the shower tube and programmed a full cleansing, but the blast of water and hot air didn’t help. It couldn’t penetrate her mind or erase him from her heart. Nothing could.

  Chapter Four

  Deion paced the hallway. Why had he waited so long to tell Ro’sa the truth about his identity? He’d had opportunities. Before ravaging her in the elevator, he should have blurted the words. In the hall. At the waterfall. So many chances. Now, she didn’t believe him and expected to marry his aide, a man who didn’t deserve her even if he really had been the prince. While Deion hadn’t minded his friend’s suave way with women back on Earth, he expected Cyrus to treat each person on Minjet with more respect. He’d lied to the royal family, lost the favor of the princess, and made Earth seem undeserving of any help from the planet. But their home needed Minjet’s help more than anything, and Deion needed Princess Ro’sa.

  He had one option: seek out the queen and king to tell them the truth. For if they believed and still approved of him, he had a better chance to win back Ro’sa’s favor.

  He stalked over to the elevator, dreading another ride in the box, but he refused to let anything stop him this time. He touched his thumb to the pad. Yet, when the doors opened, he stared at the king, who looked just as befuddled as he felt.

  “Sir. I mean, Your Majesty.” Deion cleared his throat. “Can I please have a moment of your time?”

  “Sure.” The king squeezed his shoulder and guided him back into the box of torture. “Let’s go to my study.”

  Perspiration trailed down Deion’s sides and back. No matter how breathable his body suit, it didn’t stop his nervous sweating. He couldn’t exactly kiss the man in the elevator with him. That would only make matters worse. But what would the king say when he learned the truth? Would he send him back to Earth without his daughter, severing their alliance? Deion couldn’t let that happen. He had to break the news to the king without making him angry.

  Pressing a hand to the wall, he squeezed his eyes shut. Consideration of his choice of words had to wait until he was out of the moving box.

  The king chuckled. “Afraid of small spaces?”

  “Just this one.” Deion swallowed the bile burning his throat.

  “The trick is to pretend you’re somewhere else, someplace you love.”

  The elevator jolted, quickly changing direction. Deion slammed into the wall but managed to stay standing. He opened his eyes in time to see the king tumbling toward him. Catching the man under his arms, Deion brought him back to his feet. “Are you okay?”

  With a chortle, the king brushed himself off. “I am, thanks to you. Imagining sailing on open water didn’t work that time.”

  The king slammed his palm against the narrow strip of wall next to the barely visible door. With a jerk, the elevator stopped.

  “There’s something wrong with this lift.” The king pried the door open, exposing them to an empty hallway. “We’ll walk the rest of the way. It’s not far.”

  “Wait.” Deion followed the king, not wanting to get stuck inside the elevator, especially one not working correctly. “I have to tell you something now. You need to know before we go any farther.”

  The king stopped and spun around to face him. “Okay, Prince Deion, what is it you need to tell me?”

  “Prince Deion?” He rubbed his chin as his mind spun, searching for answers.

  “Yes, that’s your name, right?”

  Deion cleared his throat. “Yes, but how do you know when all the others here believe me to be the prince’s aide?”

  “There are many ways, but, mostly, it’s the color of your eyes. Blue irises do not exist on Minjet. We have much more eumelanin in our eyes than your people.” The king rolled up his sleeve. “But not as much in our skin and hair. Your parents sent me many pictures of you growing up, so I would recognize the Terran prince when he arrived.”

  “What about Princess Ro’sa? Does she know the truth?”

  The king raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know. Does she?”

  Deion tilted his head. “She’s never seen the pictures?”

  “No.” The king grimaced. “My wife and I believed it best for your appearance to be a surprise.”

  Deion pursed his lips together. “My parents have pictures of Princess Ro’sa, too...?”

  The king nodded. “They do.”

  Rubbing the back of his neck, Deion sighed. “Okay, why did you let your daughter believe I was Cyrus, when you knew the truth?”

  “Because I was betrothed once, too.” The king started off again, and Deion followed. “I figured you had your reasons for switching identities with your aide and would eventually tell my daughter.”

  Deion threw his hands up. “Yes, but she doesn’t believe me now.”

  “I’ll talk to her in the morning. She’ll come to understand why you pretended to be your aide.”

  His chest tightened. “But it wasn’t my intention to deceive you or the princess. I simply asked Cyrus to stand in for me at the introduction ceremony, not to be me.”

  A loud boom echoed down the hall. The corridor shook, dropping debris all around them. Lights flickered. Static reverberated over the com system. Then an alarm sounded, its honk overpowering all other noises.

  The king grabbed his arm. “Doesn’t matter! You need to get to your ship right now! We’re under attack!”

  “By whom?” Deion ran alongside the king, using his arm to shield his face.

  “The Mindues, I presume.” He darted into another hallway, dragging Deion with him. “They’re a big reason I want Ro’sa to live on Earth. We haven’t been at war with the Mindues for many years, but relations have been tense since their king had a stroke and his son took the throne. He rules like his great-grandfather.”

  Another boom. Chunks of the ceiling crashed to the floor in front of them. The king backtracked, yanking Deion into a tunnel he hadn’t noticed earlier. As they ran, the entryway caved in, blocking any chance of their returning in that direction.

  A stabbing pain sliced through Deion’s chest. He paused to catch his breath. The virus that had plagued him days before still slowed him down. He rested against the wall. “How do we get to the princess from here?” Damned if he’d let some illness stop him from saving her.

  “We’ll meet her at your ship. We’ve had a contingency plan in place for a while now, but I hoped it would never come to this.” The king laid a hand on his shoulder an
d peered at his face. “Are you okay?”

  “Fine.” He ignored the ringing in his ears. “Let’s go.”

  Pushing off the wall, he raced ahead. Dust and rock continued to fall with each boom. “Don’t you have an army?” With all of their technology, why didn’t they fight back?”

  “Yes and no,” the king huffed. “We have a way to disable their weapons, but everyone must be clear of the tunnels first.” He ushered Deion ahead. “And you must be on your way home with Ro’sa.”

  Farther on, light streamed into the tunnel. Deion increased his speed.

  “Wait!” the king yelled from behind. “Once you leave the tunnels, you’re exposed to attack.”

  Deion slowed, his next steps more cautious. “How are we going to get to my ship?” Never mind how he’d fit the royal family and their staff comfortably inside.

  “Reinforcements should be here anytime.”

  Their tunnel joined with another. Footfalls pounded toward them. Glancing into the other cavern, Deion spied his aide racing their direction, a man by his side.

  “Move!” The other man, the king’s aide, shoved him forward as he sped past. “You’ve got to be out of the atmosphere before we can set off the device.”

  With a renewed sense of urgency, Deion burst through the opening into the battle zone. The zing of plazer guns filled the air. Red light sped toward him, but he managed to dodge their rays, diving for cover behind a large crate. He spotted his ship about two hundred feet away, beyond the outdoor storage area and across a field. If not under fire, he could easily run there, start it up, and wait for the princess to arrive. But with the shots blasting all around him, he didn’t dare attempt the crossing.

  Peeking around the edge of the container, he searched for the rest of his company. No bodies lay on the field, so they had to have located cover somewhere. A relief, but hiding wouldn’t help them get away.

  He couldn’t spot anyone, not even their attackers. The pounding of his heart echoed in his eardrums, diluting all sound. A Mindu could advance on him, and he’d never know. He had to get to his ship and wait for Ro’sa. With no other option, he focused on his target and took a deep breath, bracing for the run of his life.