Her Merciless Prince

by Daniella Wright

  I just wish this world felt right to me the way that Eron feels right to me. Even this beast. Is it actually here? Why do I feel like it’s not real, like it doesn’t belong? And not just this beast, but this entire world feels so wrong. Why am I even debating saving this beast or not when I know that nothing matters? That at the end of the day, the radiation will kill us all? That our crops will only get us far, and that we’re losing ground with each new generation? With each new season?

  The radiation storms are growing worse. Our technology isn’t growing much, although it’s already pretty powerful. And our biological knowledge is limited to what we can gather and study. We’re not space-faring. We’re not even planet-faring. We’re trapped in our small communities by radiation and lack of access.

  So, there it is.

  I can sit here and struggle all day with the thought of saving a beast when I know that it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter because in the end, we’re all going to die on this planet.

  Still. Does that mean we shouldn’t even try?

  “Eron,” I say, “I don’t know if I can kill this beast. I’m not made like that. I just want to stop it.”

  His ears drop a bit. He probably thinks I’m a nutbar. I think I’m a nutbar. We’re all dead, but it doesn’t mean that the choices that we make while marching to our irradiated deaths won’t impact the world around us. I’m a biologist. I became one because I want to save people. Because I want to save plants and animals. If I can save this beast, maybe one of a kind, then I have to try.

  I pull out my bio-kit and mix some calcium with magnesium. High concentrated doses. I brought darts with me with tranquilizers in them. I add the tranquilizers. Add the magnesium and calcium. Both are alkaline substances. I also mix in another few modified ingredients. This is a complete shot in the dark, and I know it. But if I can save this animal and save the crops - then it will have been worth it.

  I’ll just have to make sure that the animal can’t get to us too quickly. I add a tracker to the end of my bolt. Now I have a dart and a tracker. This bolt is going to need to be shot from up close. It’s so heavy, it will be hard to keep aim straight for anything further than a few feet away.

  I look at Eron. “I’m going to need to get close.” He doesn’t look happy, but we make our way towards it, crouching low. He’s on high alert, his ears perked up, his snout sniffing the air. I smell sulfur as I get closer.

  The cave wall is scorched smooth from acid damage.

  We don’t have to go far. The animal, well aware that its scent frightens all predators, is sleeping near the entrance. Its tail is curled up around its ears. It’s perfectly round in shape, short, black fur shining with what looks like acid. That’s what had burnt it. It seems to be in pain, whining slightly as it sleeps, twitching its tail at the dream that haunts it.

  I know all about haunted dreams.

  Eron sits in front of me, making clear that I’m not moving any closer to the beast. Fine with me. I’m close enough. I bring up the bolt and I shoot, hitting it in the side. The beast wakes up, shrieks, and tries to stand but my shot was true, and the tranquilizer is already traveling through its body. It wobbles on its side and collapses against the cavern wall.

  Where it hit the stone, I can see scorch marks forming. It tries to stand again, not quite knocked out, fumbling as though drunk into the next wall. This time, there are no scorch marks. Maybe the alkaline remedy that I created is working.

  I hold my breath and hope.

  It crumples and falls asleep, snoring as it does. I take a step closer. Eron growls at me.

  “It’s all right,” I say. “I think it’s asleep. Let me have a look at it. I think I can help it.”

  He comes with me, making it clear that he doesn’t intend to let me go alone. The beast is sleeping peacefully. Its fur has lost some of its acidic shine. At the root of the hairs, a white foam is forming, as though the alkaline remedy is seeping out of it. It seems in much less pain.

  Hopefully, that’s not just because of the tranquilizers.

  I’ve never seen anything quite like this beast, with razor-sharp, acid emitting fur. The acid seems to come out of its pores, like human sweat. But it scorches the skin, rendering it dark and scarred. But the fur— the fur is fine.

  The skin bubbles with new welts in several spots. That poor beast. Was it even meant to survive?

  If the alkaline remedy that I gave it helps it, maybe I could just make sure that it would continue to receive it. Without operating it, I can’t exactly figure out what causes it to secrete acid. And I’m not a vet. I’m not a doctor. But… I am a biologist. And life has a way of finding a balance. I just need to help this creature find its own balance.

  In a land of death, it would be amazing to help life succeed, despite the odds.

  The beast snores and whines, its back leg kicking. Eron growls softly.

  “I know,” I say, wiping sweat from my forehead. “I’m working as fast I can! It’s not like there’s a plan to follow here… ouch!” I slip and drip some of the acid samples on my hand. It burns. I dress it with herbs.

  Eron is near me, eyeing the wound.

  “I’m fine. My herbs work fine on me, thank you.”

  He suddenly looks pretty sheepish for a wolf.

  “Oh, stop worrying about it. At least now we know that if you get injured again, you’ll probably die from your wounds.”

  He cocks his head sideways and I give a quick laugh. “I’m messing with you. Now stop being cute and let me concentrate.”

  He snorts air out his nose and turns back toward the beast. Pretty sure that was a laugh.

  The beast grumbles. Again. It’s waking up.

  I can’t figure it out, though. I can’t quite get the acid to stop secreting. I can smell the beast’s burning flesh from here. The alkaline solution was already moving out of its system, and the acid returning with a vengeance.

  Focus.

  Two more drops of calcium... no change in the acid. Like the acid mutated and changed to adapt against being stopped.

  Like a blight upon the lands.

  Dad used to tell me stories of diseases running rampant in olden days to cull civilizations down. To reduce the number of humans to one more manageable for the resources. Stories of insects destroying civilizations, unstoppable viruses, blights unlike any other...

  I liked those stories. It placed us in the circle of life. Showed us as a cog in a greater machine, not the ones controlling the machine. That thought always comforted me, and still does.

  Our world shows that we can survive under extreme circumstances, but maybe we aren’t meant to.

  Maybe that’s why this beast is here.

  Eron growls.

  I can’t stop the acid. I can’t stop the acid, and I can’t contain a beast made of acid.

  The choice is clear: burnt crops or a dead beast.

  I stand, pick up my crossbow, take a step toward the beast. Eron doesn’t stop me, seems to understand. Of course, he does. Eron is a beast himself. He knows that nature isn’t about a perfect balance.

  Sometimes, it’s kill or be killed.

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper and let my bolt fly.

  The beast is so used to pain that it doesn’t even cry out as it receives the killing blow.

  “I have everything I need,” I tell Eron, gathering my bio-kit. I have enough samples to study the beast which mostly melted by its own acid.

  “Let’s go,” he suggests and lets me exit the cave first. It’s much cooler out here and smells much fresher.

  I already feel better being outside.

  “Thank you,” I tell him.

  “I just growled,” he shrugs. I laugh.

  “You made me feel safe. So, thank you.”

  He takes a step closer, eyeing my lips. “Sybil…” I cut him off, stand on the tips of my toes, and kiss him.

  He holds me gently, like I’m made of glass, and kisses me back. But not with wild passion and abandon. With caution, instea
d. As though I might shatter, or leave him.

  I break free, frustrated. The lightning courses through me, just from touching him. But his hands stay too polite.

  “I’m not made of glass,” I say.

  “I know,” he answers. His eyes are unwavering. “But I never want to make you feel like I do anything less than cherish you. Wholeheartedly.”

  I stare at the earnestness in his eyes, and he kisses me gently again.

  We walk in silence. I mean, what the hell could I possibly say to that?

  Chapter 15

  Eron

  By the time we reach the village again, I still feel like a spaceship has plummeted out of the sky and slammed into my ribcage. I definitely have some bruises. From fighting, from Sybil, from just life in general.

  We cross the dead field, workers hard at work turning it over. The man named Jordain is there. He squints his eyes at me, gives me a gesture that’s probably rude on his planet. Sybil doesn’t see, and I’m not asking her.

  I ignore the insignificant man. My concern lies with Sybil, who’s been quiet since killing the beast. It had been the right call; I had no doubt about that. But, for her, it had meant killing something she’d tried to save.

  But not everyone could be saved. Nor everything. My gut churns with guilt at the thought of sacrificing this version of earth to save my parents. No time vault could preserve them all.

  I ignore that, too.

  Sybil’s parents come running towards her, relief lining every feature.

  “We’ve been so worried!” her father says.

  “I’m so glad you made it back!” her mother continues, wrapping her in a tight hug.

  I stand back and wait. The three of them are tight, a unit that functions well together, as all families should be. Should be, though few are.

  I miss my parents. I miss them more now that I see Sybil with her parents and how much they love each other. My parents loved me like that too, and I loved them. The world just feels… empty.

  Starz walks up to me and I turn my attention to him.

  “Well done, Prince Eron!” he grins me.

  “I’m sorry—

  “Prince?” Sybil joins us, having freed herself from her parents’ embrace, looking slightly embarrassed at their exuberance. I shrug.

  “My parents were the king and queen.”

  “And now,” Starz continues my words, “you are king.”

  “No,” I say, cutting him off quickly, “I’m not. There’s been no ceremony. The Pack hasn’t agreed. And besides, we’re going to save them. We’re going to save my parents.”

  As I say these last words, I look out towards Sybil’s parents, who are walking away, talking about the information that Sybil had given them, and the biological samples from the beast.

  Starz puts his hand on my shoulder. It’s so large that it dwarfs my shoulders— and I’m not a small man.

  “We will do what we can, Eron. That, I promise you. I’ll continue trying to contact the ship. You continue trying to find what we came here to find.” He moves away, back towards the equipment that he’d scrounged from the shuttle and had combined with the existing technology here to form some kind of communication device that could pierce through the radiation barrier, and send out a beacon for the ship to come find us.

  Sybil stands beside me. I turn and look into her eyes. She’s tired. Dark shadows cling beneath her eyes. Still, there’s a world of possibility in them.

  “Are you okay?” I ask. “That was... hard.” I offer. I wouldn’t have tried to save the beast, but she had. It had cost her.

  She bites her lower lip, shakes her head.

  “I’m not, but I will be. I’m glad it’s over.” She looks deeply in my eyes. “I want to know more about you, Prince Eron,” she says softly. “Tell me about you, and why you’re here. Tell me about parents.”

  I will not lie to her. Though I may not be able to bring myself to tell her the entire truth.

  I can’t quite get over the lightning storms of this world. Not even the lightning storms, the eternal lightning, always jumping from cloud to cloud, in an endless dance that can’t be predicted, but can be calculated. To some degree, anyway. For the lightning to reach the earth, it needs a bridge. That bridge is radiation. With enough of that in the air, the lightning trails down all the way to the heart of the earth.

  Storms adapted to function not off water, but off radiation, instead. A more plentiful supply in this world.

  That’s what I’m missing, now. A bridge to my parents, the gulf between us too wide to even gauge its size.

  Either I’m the ground, or they are. I think, in this case, I’m the ground, and they’re trapped in the clouds, like lightning. And if I can just find their bones, that would be like the radiation in the air. It would become the bridge to bring their souls back, and then we can reset this entire world.

  “Tell me about your parents,” Sybil asks again, while we sit on the cliffs. Polished rocks are smooth and warm beneath us. We’re sitting close, looking up towards the lightning, which shines in the night sky.

  “My parents are… were good people,” I start by saying, not quite sure how to encompass an entire lifetime with them in just a few sentences, in one conversation. But she asks so earnestly, caring about my history, so I have to try.

  “When I was a kid, just a little runt myself, our planet wasn’t united under one Pack, like we are now. There were warring factions across five different Packs. Our lands were separated by random barriers that we’d created, not even the natural ones that our wolf ancestors would have followed. A war was brewing between the packs. Not the usual skirmishes between leaders, but an all out, complete war. It would have devastated millions.”

  My voice softens. Sybil’s world had lost billions.

  I take a deep breath and continue. “The reason it didn’t is because my father talked them out of it. He spoke about what we could become if we united instead of continuing to divide over and over again. He instead created a council of kings. And one by one, over time, they gave my father that power so that we were strong under one leader. My father always raised me never to take for granted the responsibilities of the throne. To always be kind, to both allies and enemies, because you never knew what the future would bring. He was a great man.”

  I look into her eyes, like endless wells. I could lose myself in them forever. I want to lose myself in them forever.

  She’s waiting for more, so I continue.

  “My mother was the strength behind that throne with my father. The nurturing kind. She wasn’t always there when I needed her, but she always made sure that somebody was. She understood that her place was to support all the Pack leaders, keep them unified. Keeping them on common purpose, just like my father. It was too big a job for one person, and she was his life-mate. Every time she was around, she took care of me, she told me stories, she never made me feel like I was a burden. And when she couldn’t be there - when their duties carried both of my parents away - then she made sure that somebody was always there that she trusted. Someone she loved too. And who loved me, as much as she loved me. They were amazing, Sybil. I wish you could meet them.”

  She places her hand on mine, squeezes it gently.

  “I might, yet. Who knows what the future will bring?”

  We sit silently and stare up at the sky and all the lightning and the thunder.

  “If we succeed in this… if I find my parents’ bones, I might find them, again. I’ll have the people I love the most back. The people who are keeping my planet united. I’m not fooling myself into thinking that I can just step into those shoes. They have trained me, they brought me up to do so, but I’m not ready. I’m not even sure I want the throne. I need them more than just emotionally, I need them practically, as well. For my planet not to fall into chaos and disarray. I need them in my life, on so many levels.”

  Sybil’s hand is still on mine, and it’s warm and comforting. And I’m already starting to feel like I need her
in my life too.

  If we reset the time rift if we undo the damage done by the time explosion, doesn’t that mean that I’ll lose her too? Or can we find each other again - another incarnation of Sybil, living on this very planet in the future that was meant to be? Can I find her again? Can we fall in love?

  I don’t know. I have to ask Starz. I don’t want to tell her and freak her out. That’s not fair.

  I stare at the lightning. The flashes of color echo the state of my soul. I’m torn, but I know where my duty lies.

  I also know where my heart lies.

  I’ll save my parents. I’ll find a way to do that. For me. For the Pack.

  But if there’s any way to save Sybil, I vow to try that as well.

  Chapter 16

  Sybil

  “It’s not just any acid,” mom says, a blur in the corner of my eye. “It’s a compound I’ve never seen! And you say it came out of the beast’s follicles?”

  “It did,” I swallow hard. “It burnt its skin.”

  Mom clucks her tongue. “Poor thing. Good, that you put it out of its misery. Now, the question is, is there only one?”

  Relief washes through me at mom’s words, like she just agreed that killing it had been the best course of action. Angst that I hadn’t even realized I was bottling up evaporates. I can breathe easier.

  “I’m not sure,” I say, “but I didn’t see signs of anything else.”

  “And it wasn’t pregnant?”

  “I’m not sure of that either,” I hadn’t even thought to check. “But, as soon as I killed it, the acid began to devour it. It’s not like I could have done an autopsy on it.”