The Martian King: The Slave Planet II

by Seven Steps

  ~()~()~()~()~

  “Halt!” Jun-Su cried. The Mungogian she rode held Embrya high over its head with one of its arms.

  The Mungogians, Martians, and Gloriums turned to her, the battle taking an unexpected pause.

  The Glorium and Martians took in a collective breath as they watched the leader of their realm squirm within the hand of the mighty Mungogian.

  “Let me go!” Embrya cried. The monster’s grip on her grew even tighter, and she screamed in pain.

  “Jun-Su!” Heedon cried, stepped forward. “Let her go. Take me instead.”

  “Not a chance, Heedon. She is mine.” Jun-Su stood from her perch on the beast’s shoulder and walked down its arm. “When she dies, I will be the last thing she touches. I will have the power. I will be the leader of this realm. Then, and only then, will I let you die. I will-”

  The wind blew, shaking the leaves from the tree.

  The ground shook.

  “What was that?” Jun-Su whispered.

  Something flared in Embrya’s eyes. Something terrifying.

  Hope.

  “This is your last warning, Jun-Su. Release me.”

  “Never. Kill her now!”

  The Mungogian squeezed Embrya’s body. Jun-Su rushed to put her hands on her. To be the last thing the Magistrate touched before she was crushed to death. To be the ruler of their realm.

  Then, from above, thousands of branches shot downwards, curling themselves around the Mungogian and yanking it in the air.

  Another set of branches slithered around the monster’s wrist, pulling it open. Embrya crawled onto the branches and was lifted away, her crushed wings flopping behind her.

  The branches slammed the hanging Mungogian into the side of the Great Tree, wrapping around it, squeezing it into the bark.

  The sky darkened. An army of Zenithians dove from the air. The small creature’s wings sent a powerful windstorm before them. As their tiny feet touched the ground, they raised their hands, lifting the entire army of Mungogians into the air.

  The beasts twisted and turned as they went airborne. Yet, their faces remained blank. They were still controlled by Jun-Su’s third eye.

  Embrya stood on shaking legs, facing down Jun-Su. Her chest was tight, her body ached, her clothing ripped and torn.

  She raised her right hand.

  Jun-Su’s head snapped back, a choking sound escaping her mouth.

  “Learn this, Jun-Su,” Embrya growled, her red hair wild, her back bent in anger. “No one steals my realm from me.”

  She pushed her left hand forward, then pulled it back.

  Blood gushed from Jun-Su’s nose. A moment later, a small bug flew from Jun-Su’s mouth, landing in Embrya’s left palm.

  The eye in the middle of Jun-Su’s forehead began to blacken.

  Jun-Su’s screams were met with the cheers of the crowd below as the Mungogians woke from their trance.

  The war was over.

  Embrya pushed her arms to the left, slamming Jun-Su’s battered body against the tree. Branches wrapped around the Venian like snakes. Tighter, and tighter, until Jun-Su was no longer.

  She had become one with the tree.

  ~()~()~()~()~

  Boikis kept to the fringes of the battle, racing for his life up the hill. If he could only get to a ship he could escape from Embrya’s judgment. From his brother’s furious eyes.

  How had everything gone so wrong?

  He’d just reached the top of the hill, and went to flee, when a voice came from behind.

  “Where to, brother?”

  Boikis didn’t turn around. His feet rushed forward, desperate to get away from his fate.

  Suddenly, an army of black shirts and red pants surrounded him on all sides, cutting off his escape.

  He felt a presence at his back. His hands shook furiously as he wiped them over his sweaty brow.

  There stood his brother, with vengeance in his eyes.

  “What will you do with me, Prax?”

  Praxis squeezed his lips together, his mouth turned into a frown as if thinking about a great, deep truth.

  “My father would have wanted me to kill you. To strike you down like the dog you are. My mare, on the other hand, would have wanted me to show compassion. Mercy. She would have wanted your punishment to fit your crimes.”

  Praxis eyes went wide, searching his brother’s face, a small ray of hope lighting his eyes.

  “And you?” He asked, standing a little taller.

  Praxis pulled out his sword, and rammed it into his brother’s belly. He leaned down low, whispering in his dying brother’s ear.

  “I am my father’s son.”

  He snatched the Sword of Kings out of Boikis’ quivering body, and pushed it backwards.

  “Bury him,” he said to no one in particular. “It it what my mare would have wanted.”

  CHAPTER 44

  In the distance, Lex and Arees walked to the cooling battlefield.

  Praxis went to meet them.

  When they were close enough, Lex and Arees gave him a bow at the waist.

  “King Praxis,” Lex said.

  Praxis placed a hand on Lex’s arm. “You did well.”

  Lex nodded, his eyes cloudy, his mouth downturned.

  “Where is my brother?”

  Arees took in a deep breath and place her hand on Lex’s back. “Dead.”

  Praxis froze. “Dead?”

  “He drowned when he disabled the machine.”

  A tear escaped Lex’s eye, and he wiped it away, his eyes on the ground.

  Such a foreign thing, Praxis thought. Mourning.

  Still, something inside of him longed to do it. To scream and cry and shout out to the world his misery. He’d only seen his brother for a few moments, and yet the connection between them was undeniable.

  He was alone now. His father. His mare. His brother. All gone. All that was left were his men. They would be his family now.

  Praxis nodded, slowly, and turned from them, beginning the trek to the Zenithian sea. His mind raced with the sad thoughts of his loss as his feet ate up the ground. He didn’t stop moving until he was sitting next to the quiet woman who sat atop the machine.

  Her stare was far away, her lap pooled with tears. She looked lost. Confused.

  The two suns reflected in each of her tanned shoulders. Her back slumped, her hands laid still as she sat cross legged atop the hunk of metal.

  She didn't look at him when he sat next to her, but she seemed to sense he was there.

  Her voice came out dry, cracked, though her throat was surely soaked in tears. “He was all I had,” she whispered. “I loved him. He was all I had.” Her voice broke then, and she sobbed into her hands. Sobbed, cried, wept, and wailed into the sea, screaming in pain at her loss.

  Praxis could only put a hand on her shoulder, her body shivering in grief under his touch.

  A tear slipped out of his eyes. He touched it with his finger, stared at the unfamiliar thing.

  Martians did not cry.

  He wiped the odd thing away and cleared his throat.

  She cried for what seemed like an eternity. The suns had moved far across the sky when she finally quieted.

  “What will you do?” He asked.

  She shook her head, as if it were a strange thought that hadn’t occurred to her.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Come to Mars. You will be welcomed there.”

  She huffed. “To be a slave?” she asked.

  “No. You will be given a position of honor.”

  She placed a hand on the metal beneath them. “I can’t. I need to stay here. I need to be with him.” Her fingers moved across the machine, as if it were her lovers face. “I need to be with him.”

  Praxis nodded and stood.

  A strange feeling came over him. Something that made him want to stay here, to comfort the poor woman before him. But he couldn’t stay. He had to see about his men. He had duties to his planet.

  “You a
re always welcome on Mars,” he said. “As was my brother.”

  CHAPTER 45

  Later...

  The Mungogians had gone back home. With the eye of Mungogia burned deep beneath the Great Tree there was nothing more to fear from them. Amidst heavy apologies and heavy hearts, they’d boarded their giant ships and returned to rebuild their homes.

  The Martian men followed their King back to Mars. With the entire Venian army as their captures, the women’s barracks would be full and Mars would once again prosper. Embrya and Heedon reaffirmed their friendship with the planet and wished it, and its new king, well.

  Embrya sat on her throne, with Lex and Arees before her. “Your service has been invaluable,” she said. “Your sacrifices immeasurable. Glorium will be happy to have you.”

  Lex and Arees bowed before their Magistrate. Today was the day that Heedon had reclaimed Lex. He would be going home, to his awaiting family, with a Venian in tow.

  “Thank you, Embrya,” Lex said. “For everything.”

  “And don’t worry,” Embrya whispered. “I will take care of her.”

  Arees’ dropped her head at that, wiping away a tear.

  Though their new lives were just beginning, Nadira’s life seemed to come to a screeching halt.

  She’d set up camp next to the sea, sleeping in the sand and placing her fingers in the water every now and then.

  Heedon stepped forward, breaking Arees’ thoughts.

  “I will escort you home myself,” he said, placing a hand on Lex’s shoulder. “I want to be the one to tell the people that the lost son of Glorium has returned.”

  With well wishes to their ruler, Lex and Arees followed Heedon to an awaiting Glorium ship.

  A new day was dawning. A brighter day. A safe day.

  They left the planet, looking forward to a new future, and that future would be glorious.

  EPILOGUE

  One year later

  Nadira stepped off of the ship and breathed in the floral scented air.

  Her once home planet seemed strange now. Yes, the cobblestone streets, the orange tint of the air, and the beautiful homes were the same. The women who remained on Venus after Arees and Jun-Su ravaged the planet had worked hard to rebuild it. It was just like Nadira remembered, except for the burn marks on the domes. Those wouldn’t go away. They served as a constant reminder of what this planet has been through. It’s scars.

  An enforcer dressed in black escorted Nadira across the spaceport grounds, and into High Council Hall.

  She passed the seats she’d once sat in with Eva. Two new women sat there now.

  The enforcer stayed by her side as she ascended the stage, her white heels clicking on the marble floor.

  The eyes of over fifteen hundred women looked back at her. To her left, on a giant wall comm, Embrya looked back at her as well.

  “Most of you do not know me,” Nadira said to the crowd. “But I was born here. My name is Empress Nadira Marie. I am proud to be your new Head of High Council.”

  Thank you for reading The Martian King.

  Please be sure to leave a review.

  I would love to hear your thoughts!

  Also by Seven Steps

  Science Fiction Romances

  The Slave Planet

  The Martian King: The Slave Planet 2

  Night of the Broken Moon (Two Slave Planet Companion Short Stories)

  The Escape (A Slave Planet Prequel)

  Thrillers

  Before I Wake

  Awaken

  Contemporary Romance

  The Last Rock King

  Peace in the Storm

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  About the Author

  “Let me be that I am and seek not to alter me.” William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing.

  Seven Steps is a working wife and mother who has been imagining and writing stories since the first grade. She enjoys reading, writing, and travel.

  Read more at Seven Steps’s site.