by Tammy Walsh
Claimed by the Alien
Fated Mates of the Titan Empire | 6
Tammy Walsh
Contents
Get Your Epic Epilogue Collection!
1. Fiath
2. Hazel
3. Fiath
4. Hazel
5. Fiath
6. Hazel
7. Fiath
8. Hazel
9. Fiath
10. Hazel
11. Fiath
Want Hazel & Fiath’s Epilogue?
Leave A Review
Beast in the Cage Sneak Peek
1. Ivy
Also by Tammy Walsh
About the Author
Get Your Epic Epilogue Collection!
Join Tammy’s newsletter to get exclusive access to every epilogue she ever writes, stay updated with new releases, and more!
Join Tammy’s newsletter here.
Tap here to see all of Tammy’s books.
Join the fun in her Reader Group on Facebook.
Fiath
“Just one more, my lord,” Slak said as he placed the final document on my desk.
My eyes slid down the long-winded legal text to the line where my signature was required. I scribbled it in a half-hearted scrawl and was barely done when my chief adviser scooped it back up and added it to the bulging stack beneath his arm.
One day every week, I had to go through this process. I signed documents, not even inquiring into what they were. I did, at the very beginning. When I took over and became the emperor, I asked many questions. The advisers would go into great detail about each subject until I was satisfied.
Not that I was ever really satisfied with signing documents.
The advisers stood in an arch around my desk, waiting to be called upon if I had any questions. They represented every section of the running of the empire. Business, Economics, Education, Health… Together, they formed the Titan Council of Elders.
Not for the first time, I wondered why I was the one in charge when these Titans had all the expertise. They could make decisions better than I ever could.
But I was the emperor. I did what I was meant to do. The same way they did their jobs.
These days, it was rare for me not to sign a document immediately and without question. The advisors had proven themselves to be good at their jobs and always strived to improve the situation of every Titan across the empire.
I put the pen back in its fancy holder and leaned back in my chair.
“How are the new colonies doing?” I said.
For the past few weeks, they’d suffered from an infestation of locari. They consumed every edible food source they came to until there was nothing left. We sent shipments of food from other farming colonies to tide them over but it would take some time for them to make a full recovery.
“Thanks to Your Grace’s efforts, they are quite comfortable,” Slak said.
The Agriculture adviser stepped forward.
“We have provided them with extra seed and cattle,” he said. “They have the chemicals required to eradicate the pests. They should be up and functional again by the next harvest cycle.”
“And how are the farmers holding up?” I said.
“The farmers, sir?” the Agriculture advisor said, blinking at me as if I’d just asked if the moon were on fire.
“The farmers,” I said. “The ones that live on the planet. Are they well-fed and watered?”
Slak waved a hand dismissively and the Agriculture adviser stepped back.
“They are fine, my Lord,” he said. “Is there anything else Your Grace requires?”
Chief Advisor Slak lacked much in the way of the strength and muscle Titans were known for. His was a studious figure, tall and bent with years behind a desk, but he’d served me well. He worked ceaselessly to ensure the empire’s smooth running.
I couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be to rule without him. In my father’s time, and the emperors before him, there was no such thing as a chief adviser. It was a position of my creation. Instead of me listening to the advisers every day, they reported directly to him. He made minor decisions and left the most pressing concerns up to me.
It made my life simpler and easier, and allowed me to pursue other…. interests.
Spread along the walls at regular intervals was my honor guard, the elite fighting force of the military. Their task was to keep me safe at all times. They moved ahead and scouted any locations I might visit and ensured no harm would come to me.
I often wondered what sort of risk I might suffer at the hands of regular Titans. Were they that dangerous? Would they really wish me harm?
Slak bowed so low his head almost skimmed the marble floor.
“We will leave you in peace, Sire,” he said.
The other council members repeated the gesture, turned, and stepped backward toward the door. It was against the law to show your back to the emperor at any time.
At the door, Slak bowed again and left my chambers. As he passed through the door, the head of my honor guard, Garrick, entered the room. He bowed and approached my desk. He protected me, just as he had protected my father. He was grey at the temples, distinguished and resolute. He didn’t approve of everything I did, not that he would ever voice such an opinion.
“How do we look tonight?” I said.
“All quiet, my lord,” he said.
I got up from my desk and felt far more relaxed in his presence than with Slak.
“How is the recruit training going?” I said.
Discussing everyday activities in the palace always held interest for me. Hundreds of lives passed in and out of the palace without my knowledge, all for my benefit, and yet, I very rarely saw them.
“Very well, Your Grace,” Garrick said. “You’re more than welcome to inspect them.”
“If I inspect them, I would end up fighting,” I said.
“Not one of them would dare lay a hand on you.”
I arched an eyebrow at him.
“Then maybe I’ll go in disguise,” I said.
“Not under my watch, sir,” he said disdainfully.
“Then maybe I’ll go while you are sleeping.”
Garrick stiffened. I always enjoyed winding him up. He was so stiff and regimented I really couldn’t imagine him doing anything other than the job he did.
I placed a hand on his arm.
“Don’t worry, I won’t take any unnecessary risks,” I said.
But rather than take any comfort from my words, frown lines deepened on his already wrinkled face.
“What’s wrong?” I said.
Garrick snapped to attention. His mind was elsewhere.
“Nothing, Sire,” he said.
The chief losing his attention for any amount of time was highly unusual. His was an iron will, his focus second to none. Something must be troubling him.
“What is it?” I said.
Garrick peered at me and his shoulders relaxed.
“Really, it’s nothing, Your Grace,” he said. “Only my instincts playing games with me again.”
“What are your instincts telling you?” I said.
He eyed me, unsure if he should share it.
“It’s nothing, Your Grace,” he said. “I probably just ate something that disagreed with me.”
But his expression said otherwise. He was troubled by something.
“You think something bad is about to happen?” I said.
He nodded.
“Do you have any idea what?” I said.
&
nbsp; Garrick never worried about nothing. More than once, his instincts had picked up on something, and within a few hours, something terrible did happen. Some people were more sensitive to the galaxy’s stirrings, I guess.
“I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is,” he admitted. “Only that things… don’t quite feel right.”
I considered the empire and what was happening in it. It was so large there was always something happening somewhere that was unfair or unjust.
I placed a hand on Garrick’s shoulder.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” I said.
The chief nodded but didn’t look convinced.
“You need to relax,” I said, “sit back and enjoy life for a change. Have a drink with me. Within minutes, your instincts will calm down and you’ll realize you were worrying about nothing.”
“I can’t drink,” Garrick said. “The guard will change any minute and I need to be there to oversee it.”
They changed multiple times a day. I doubted if the guards were capable of making a mistake.
When something played on my mind, I liked to sit, think, and do nothing. Garrick’s way of overcoming problems was taking action.
“Then have at it,” I said.
Garrick clicked his heels together, saluted with a fist to his chest, and reversed out of the room.
“Atten-hut!” he barked.
The guards in the room stamped their feet. They bowed at precisely the same time and stepped sideways toward the door. They bowed once more at the door before shutting it behind themselves.
I always hated the sound of the doors slamming shut each night. The thud boomed and echoed about the sparsely furnished room.
The emperor had dozens of palaces spread throughout the empire. Every time we expanded to a new solar system, another palace was built in my honor. I would go, enjoy it for a little while to show my appreciation, and then I always returned to this, my favorite palace.
It wasn’t even the biggest one. It was one of the smallest. My father used to bring me here during our breaks and holidays. It reminded me of my childhood and simpler times.
Lately, it hadn’t offered much in the way of peace. Each day, when Slak and Garrick left me alone, a deep sinking sensation burrowed deep in the pit of my stomach. I wondered if it was very different to what Garrick felt when he complained about his instincts playing havoc with his senses. The worst part about it was not knowing what it was in reference to.
I moved to a window and peered down at the palatial grounds below. There was a swimming pool, a sauna, and other sports facilities.
Beyond it, the expansive palatial walls. I could just about make out some of the distant town’s soft yellow lights. Ordinary people living ordinary lives.
My subjects.
They kept themselves busy, doing what was necessary to get through each day. My job was to make their lives as easy and as comfortable as possible.
But I had no contact with them. I had no idea if the work I did each day had much of an effect. We’d enjoyed peace for centuries, so I suppose we must be doing something right.
I heard a commotion.
Raised voices somewhere further up the ramparts.
They spread quickly, shouts rising.
In the courtyard, the guards split in half.
Half came running into the palace, the other half remained in their positions below.
The towers unfurled, opening up like flowers in bloom, revealing huge defensive turrets that locked onto something in the night sky.
What were they targeting?
Was it a drill I hadn’t been informed about?
I saw nothing where they were aiming.
Then I saw them.
Distant points of light. A dozen of them. Maybe more.
And they were growing larger.
Shouts echoed up through the palace. Boots thudded as they rushed in my direction.
Meanwhile, those lights grew bright and more defined. They drifted apart, forming a wide arc. They streaked through the sky, heading directly for me.
The sensation in the pit of my gut drew tighter, firmer, as if working to a crescendo.
Was this what Garrick’s instincts were telling him was going to happen?
The defensive turrets opened fire, shooting powerful bolts of plasma at the open sky.
The points of white light spun end over end, turning to avoid the worst of the flak.
Half the lights blinked out of existence after the first barrage.
The other half kept screaming toward the palace.
I backed away from the window. I couldn’t just stand there, an easy target.
I was halfway across the room when the doors flew open.
Garrick turned to the open window and threw out an arm. His eyes bulged.
“No!” he bellowed.
One of the lights morphed into a shuttlecraft, war class, its undercarriage glowing bright and blinding.
The defensive turrets would swat them from the sky before they reached the outer walls.
But their goal wasn’t to take me away. They weren’t there to abduct me and take me hostage. The blinding purple haze winding up to release its dangerous payload told me that much.
It was a powerful ion cannon charging up to be released.
Not much of my quarters in the west wing of the palace would be left after the shot had been fired.
There was a pure moment of calm as I peered back at Garrick, who sprinted across the open space toward me.
I didn’t know what he thought he could do. All he could do was die with me. There was no way he was going to prevent what was going to happen next.
The high-end ion cannon released its devastating payload.
The white-hot liquid plasma was as thick as I was tall. It screamed as it tore through the air, turning it electric. It made my hair stand on end.
The bolt struck the floor of the bed chamber and hurled me off my feet.
Wind. Fire. Water.
I came into contact with all three elements within seconds of each other.
The plasma struck the floor and smashed it into huge chunks in an instant.
Garrick was hurled back toward the door. I was thrown toward the balcony on the opposite side of the room.
It was like an invisible wall had been thrust against me, shoving me back.
My body caught on the banister. My body hung there, suspended and broken. I attempted to shut myself off from the pain.
But I hadn’t endured anything yet.
I came in contact with the second element.
Fire.
The melting residue of plasma washed over me. My hair singed and caught fire, my skin bubbled and popped. My clothes instantly ignited and burned off my body.
I screamed at the pain. I was being cooked alive.
The balcony railing had been my saving grace. Now it would seal my doom if I couldn’t get free. I struggled to unhook my leg but it was no use.
I only got free after the banister snapped beneath the magma’s violent onslaught. I fell with it and descended one hundred feet into the icy waters below.
Water.
I barely managed to catch a breath before the water invaded my system.
As dangerous as it was, the icy water felt soothing to my newly-scorched skin.
But I couldn’t stay down there forever.
I kicked limply. One leg failed to respond to my command. Then I pulled through the water with both my working arms. The muscles screamed in protest but they did as I asked.
I breached the surface and threw my head back. I let out a mouthful of water. Most of it streaming through a hole in my cheek.
My body filled with air and I floated on the river’s surface. Its powerful current took me out.
I lay on my back and watched as my palace burned.
But it wasn’t going down without a fight. The defense turrets were doing their job, swatting the alien craft from the sky.
Only a handful escaped, but they had achieve
d their mission.
They had killed me.
If I didn’t get help soon, I would soon meet that fourth, final, and most terrifying element.
Earth.
My own grave.
I opened my eyes and was surprised I wasn’t already dead.
I had stopped drifting on the river’s current and found myself lodged on a bank of dirt and mud. I moved my arms and legs to crawl up it but my limbs were only capable of stuttering and sporadic movements.
I took stock of my situation.
My fingers and hands could move but they were charred black. My arms were red raw and my legs were smothered with bulging blisters. I caught the reeking scent of something rotting. It came as a shock when I realized it was coming from my own flesh.
I rolled onto my other shoulder. It sent a shudder up my back and between my shoulder blades. The pain almost knocked me unconscious. Stars danced before my eyes and I hurled what little food I had in my stomach.
I peered at my reflection in the still water’s surface, illuminated by the huge moon above. I didn’t recognize the face looking back at me.
His nose was bent and crooked. One cheek had been completely burnt off, his teeth visible through a wide gash. His forehead was dimpled with strange blisters and his hair was all but gone.
He was a monster.
I was a monster.
Who had done this to me?
Who had thought destroying me could solve their problems?
I thought back to the ships that’d attacked. I recognized them.
Who did they belong to?
Changelings. They belonged to a military class of Changeling vehicles.
Why would the Changelings attack us?
Why would they declare war on their allies, the Titans?
They were a successful race, a powerful race, but they were nothing compared to Titans. Declaring war on the Titan emperor was the same as declaring war on the empire.