8. Nath
8
NATH
I laid on my bed staring at the tent wall that was but a few yards from Amelia. If I were to walk over to it and keep on walking, I could be at Amelia’s side within a few seconds.
But I hesitated.
Had I misread her intentions and affection for me? Had I misunderstood the glances, the smiles that appeared every time she looked at me? All the subtle shivers that traveled the length of her body every time I touched her?
I didn’t know.
All I knew was what I felt, how she made me feel every time she looked at me that way, every time she placed her hand on my arm, not flinching or shying back the way that she had at the very beginning, lacking the dislike that had marred our relationship right from the beginning.
I loved the feel of her when we were swimming. My wanting to show her how to improve her movements was matched only by my desire to reach out and touch her, to have her in my arms, feel her weight, and look into those deep, mesmerizing human eyes.
Humans .
I shook my head and chuckled to myself. Who would have thought? The new kids on the intergalactic block. And here I was, mooning over one of their billions of females!
But I felt what I felt and the rest were merely details.
It didn’t matter that she did not come from Royal stock from her own planet, that the match would have been frowned upon as it brought few benefits to the family or the empire — at least, in the eyes of the Royal family and our advisers.
None of that mattered.
I was the Crown Prince, and as the future heir, I could decide on whomever I wished to be at my side and claim as my fated mate.
No one could stop me. Even if they tried, they would find themselves pushed aside.
And so, I returned to staring at that blank canvas of tent wall fabric. The wind rippled it, making it snap and crack pleasantly, like the sails on a ship.
None of that stuff mattered. There was nothing to complicate our relationship…
Our relationship?
The only thing complicating it was each other, and my lack of certainty about her interest in me.
If I were to cross over to her tent now, what would she say? Would she toss me out on my ear? Would she perform the Death Dance and challenge me?
I threw the blankets back and threw my legs over the side. I perched my elbows on my knees and thought more deeply through the situation.
Nothing would have pleased me greater than for her to come into my tent, to confirm the way I was feeling about her.
But I could not see that happening. She had far more to lose from this situation than I, and there was no doubt in my mind that if anyone had to make a move, it had to be me.
Then that was it! I had made my decision!
She might refuse me but at least the pain would be temporary. Yes, it might mar an otherwise perfect day but it would remove the agony I would otherwise live with for weeks, months, and perhaps even years into the future, questioning every single movement she made, every look, every gesture…
It would be torture.
And worse still, if she accepted me, we would only have wasted time that we could have been together. Time that I could have touched her, kissed her, tasted her, caressed her…
Mated with her.
And that brought a shiver across my entire pale-scaled body more than anything.
I marched toward the exit with a confident stride. And the moment I reached it, I turned on my heel and immediately marched straight back inside.
I couldn’t bear to see the disapproval in her eyes, the disgust. Perhaps this was as far as our relationship would go. Perhaps all she really needed was a male parental figure for the boy — she had said as much, after all.
But that was before we had danced, before I realized just how much she meant to me.
And so, I paced back and forth once more. I might do so until the early hours, wearing a hole in the carpet by morning light.
For the past few days, I had admired her shape and form, the way her eyes crinkled when she laughed, the way she threw back her head and clutched her stomach, as if she might laugh so much her stomach would explode .
I admired the focus and concentration in her eyes, knowing that whatever she put her mind to she could overcome and dominate, and master.
But during all that time, not once had I imagined what it might be like with her being by my side on the throne.
The majority of my time could be spent in any of the family’s palaces. The Empire could be run from anywhere.
And there were only certain ceremonies, important days of the year, where we would have to present ourselves to the public.
But when she listened to my concerns about the Ordres situation, I had seen how she would operate at my side as the chief adviser.
I was shocked to see how easily she fit within that mold. She was both wise and beautiful.
Usually, I stirred on these kinds of issues and problems for days, even weeks at a time, the servants knowing full well to give me plenty of distance and steer clear as I would often snap at them. It was not a positive trait but one that none had helped me break free of.
Until today.
The antagonistic actions of the Ordres had irritated me beyond compare, but already, after Amelia’s suggestion, I was at ease.
I’d begun to doubt my decision to confront the Ordres but Amelia’s agreement with my decision reaffirmed my position.
And if I turned out to be wrong? Then I would make a different decision.
Suddenly, complex plans fell by the wayside. Plans were only outlines of the way things would not go. Nothing ever went to plan, so why make advanced plans in the first place?
It made no sense .
It was much better to make a decision, act on it, and see how things played out.
I missed a step, tripped, and almost fell face-first onto the soft fuzzy carpet.
But wasn’t that what I was doing now? Thinking through all the negative things that might happen?
What if I just marched into Amelia’s tent right now? Do the thing I was desperately longing for?
My imagination responded with pictures of everything that might go wrong, certain that at least one would come to fruition.
But my imagination knew no better than the universe about what would happen. Only doing and taking action would show me what would really happen.
And so, with a newfound confidence, I knew what I had to do.
What I wanted to do.
I would march into Amelia’s tent, present myself to her, and fall on my knees, begging if necessary, for her to let me share her bed.
Then I would watch, wait, and see.
Perhaps she would take me in and confirm my suspicions about her interest in me. Or maybe she would turn me away and we would be awkward for a few days as we suffered from the fallout.
But I would not stop in my pursuit of her.
I would continue to spend time with her, hoping that, eventually, she would give herself to me just as I was willing to give myself to her.
I had always pursued my interests and desires the same way, no matter the subject. Why should emotions be any different?
They weren’t !
The only wrinkle was that there was another person involved, that I wasn’t entirely sure how she might react to my approaches.
But I needed to try.
I left my tent and was pleased to see the miniature town the servants had erected was already quiet. Soft orbs of light illuminated little but shadows.
But, of course, a servant was on hand in case I ever needed anything, and quickly approached me. “Is there anything you require, Your Highness?”
“Nothing you can give,” I said gruffly.
The servant blinked, unsure if I was being grouchy or serious. I waved a hand for them to leave me.
I peered around at the makeshift town once more before padding over to Amelia’s tent. I batted away the last few desperate cries of my vivid imagination and entered.
I placed a hand on the fabric as I ducked low to ensure I didn’t accidentally spike the fabric.
I heard hasty shuffling sounds as Amelia rushed back on her bed, curling into a ball as she held the blanket up to her face, peering over it with those huge luscious brown eyes.
I raised my hands in surrender. It was not only my hands that surrendered but also my heart. She needed to see I was no danger to her.
When she relaxed, I approached and stood beside her bed.
This was it. I was here.
I looked down at her lying there, just watching me. I tried to gauge her expression.
I made out interest. Curiosity? Plenty of that. But I saw no fear.
Now what? What am I meant to say?
Unsure, I decided no words were best. Anything I said would have come out wrong, my forked tongue suddenly feeling like it weighed the same as a shuttle.
There would be no getting any sense out of it.
I bent down and removed my robe, letting it fall to the floor. Then I reached over, lifted the blanket, and slid inside.
I watched her expression closely, looking for any sign of disgust, fear, annoyance…
But I saw none of it.
I reached over and stroked her cheek and she, unbelievably, turned her face to one side and placed her face in the palm of my hand.
She was responding to me just the way I had hoped…
My traitorous imagination immediately shifted and leapt to other images: Amelia’s bare body, open and exposed solely to me…
The look of her with her eyes shut tight, as I pleasured her over and over again—
I shook the images free, not wanting to preempt the sensations I would very soon be experiencing.
I leaned down to kiss her again on the cheek when she turned her face towards me so our lips could press softly together.
My heart skipped a beat and I wrapped my arm around her and drew her to me.
The night had just begun.
She responded!
She responded!
She pressed her lips to mine, so soft, so gentle, that I was afraid I would crush them beneath my own efforts.
But I needn’t have worried, as Amelia gave her lips harder to mine, gently rolling me back so she was the one pressing down on me!
I laid back and enjoyed the sensation as she laid her small supple body against mine, running most of the way down my leg, her foot gently brushing against the hairs on my shin.
I braced a hand on her back and reached down to squeeze her ass.
When she pulled back and looked at me, I just shrugged and smiled. “I’ve been wanting to do that for days.” I gave it another squeeze and a firm pat.
She snorted and pressed her lips back down on mine. Her tongue slipped between my lips and traced the outer edges, before diving deep.
Not to be outdone, I wrapped my forked tongue around hers and gently massaged it, tickling the back of her throat.
She shot back, eyes wide with shock.
“You don’t like it?”
“No. I mean, yes. I mean… I’ve just never had my tonsils played with like that before.”
She pressed herself back on me. This time she did not shy back when I performed the same action again.
I slid my hands under her shirt and gently stroked her skin, causing her to groan softly.
She did the same, pressing her hands to the muscles of my hard stomach, running her fingers down them.
She leaned back and pulled her nightie off over her head and let it fall on the floor beside my robe.
I immediately sat up and took one nipple between my lips and tasted her sweet bulbs, while I reached over with my free hand and stroked her other breast, cupping it in my hand and squeezing until she rolled her head back and groaned joyfully .
She placed her hand on my cock, gently stroking it back and forth. Toying, teasing.
I sat up. As she attempted to push me back down, I overrode her wishes and lifted her up, spun her around, and placed her gently on the mattress.
She continued to fight, to get her own way, but my strength vastly outmatched hers and she relented.
She relented…
I spread her legs wide and kissed down her inner thighs.
She shivered beneath my lips’ caress and I could already smell her sex baying for attention.
Don’t worry, I’m coming…
She leaned her head back as I kissed closer toward her sex…
Closer…
Closer…
Then pulled back and began kissing from her other thigh.
She made small impatient fists with her hands…
And that’s when I dove onto her sex, licking it from top to bottom.
She gasped at the sudden shock of excitement.
Then I moved back to teasing her, licking at the soft skin of her inner thighs. But this time, she was tense, expectant, waiting for the next time I would consume her…
I knew very well what I was doing to her, and loved seeing the reaction on her face.
Her hips bucked back and forth, begging for me to play with her, but I resisted — at least for the moment.
I nipped at her skin gently with my teeth.
Then a word escaped her mouth, a word I thought I would never pass from her lips…
“Please… ”
I looked up to see her peering down at me from between her soft breast mounds. There was an insistence, a desperation in her face and her voice.
“Please…” she repeated.
She was ready, I thought.
Very well, my love. You shall have it.
Without delaying the inevitable any further, I extended my tongue to its full length and slid it into her, the forked tip first, feeling out her every curve, every soft ridge. Her juices coated my tongue within seconds.
Her eyes widened and she went up onto her elbows to watch me more closely, her mouth hanging open.
I slid my thick tongue into her deeper…
Then deeper still.
She shut her eyes and muttered something under her breath — a prayer? — as I continued to insert my tongue.
Her eyelids fluttered and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. “Oh… My… God…”
I began making figure-of-eight motions and rubbed at her clit with my thumb.
Her head flopped back and forth, left and right, looking for an escape from the full intense heat of the moment. A thin veil of sweat coated the surface of her skin.
I felt her sex squeeze my tongue. I continued to roll it up and down, back and forth.
Her hands grabbed the sheets in neat little fists. She let out a scream before catching it at the last second with the palm of her hand.
Ordinarily, I would have pushed her hand away, wanting to hear every sound I was causing her to make, but Elijax was in the next tent and there was nothing but flimsy fabric to keep him from hearing us .
I increased the pace, lashing her faster and faster, and felt her tighten a second time around me.
I should have been able to keep up the pace like that for hours but her body was just too succulent, too delicious, too… irresistible.
So I extracted my tongue from her slowly. She melted into the bed sheets as if the act was already over.
“That… was incredible,” she said between gasps.
It was merely Round One.
I rounded the bed and held my aching cock in front of her. She smiled, licking her lips and eying me as she slipped the head into her mouth.
She stroked me with her tongue. Despite the short stubbiness of it, I was shocked at just how much pleasure she could extract from me.
She licked my length and used what juice that came from me to lubricate the rest of my throbbing member.
She gripped me firmly in her hand, jerking me off with firm, competent strokes. Then she lowered her head, located my balls, and sucked on them, tickling them with her tongue, while she maintained that unbearable slow jerking motion.
I let out a breath, staggered back, and placed my hand on the dressing table.
Amelia never stopped.
She took me deeper into mouth, then her throat. She couldn’t take all of me but she didn’t need to.
It seemed I was not the only one with the tongue tricks!
She pulled back, her eyes a little watery from having choked herself on me. She sniffed, jerked me off a little more, and then said:
“Want to see if you can fit, big boy?”
Her comment stirred me, making me grow even harder. I would fit inside her, even if I had to wait until I shrunk a little first.
She laid back on the bed, her head on the pillows, her legs splayed wide, resting on her elbows so she could see everything.
Just as I could see her everything.
I crawled towards her on my knees.
She watched as the tip of my dick perched at her opening. She reached down, spread herself a little wider, and gave me the nod.
I entered her, slowly at first, inch by delicious inch.
Amelia shut her eyes, panting slightly under her breath at the pain.
I paused and pulled back a little.
“It’s been… a while,” she said.
I eased gently into her again, watching her face carefully to gauge how far I could go before having to slide back out a little.
By the time we were done, to my shock, she took my entire length!
Now that the pain had subsided, she relaxed. I began to move inside her with long, powerful strokes.
Amelia gasped between each one, and let her head loll back onto the pillows.
Not wanting her to miss a single stroke, I reached up and held her gently behind her neck so that she could see me fucking her.
I felt her twist slightly, altering the angle at which I attacked her. She was so tight and juicy.
As the first layer of sweat broke out across each of our skin, I began to grunt as I thrust harder into her.
With her breasts bouncing and her body spread out before me, her eyes rolling back into her head with pure pleasure, and the soft groans she failed to catch with her hand… it all made me want to attack her harder.
I didn’t know if she could take it but I knew what I needed.
I leaned over her, braced my weight on my curled fists on either side of her hips, and dove harder and deeper inside her.
She gripped my wrists with her hands and looked up at me. She shouldn’t have done that as it only brought the beast out further.
I hammered her hard harder, faster, deeper. Her hand leapt to her mouth as she hid what screams of pleasure she could as I tore another orgasm from her.
I did not slow, did not waver, and kept on hammering away.
The sweat ran down my body but I paid no attention to it. My entire focus was on where our bodies joined.
When I grew exhausted and began to slow down to catch my breath, Amelia came up with me. She wrapped her arms about my neck, her legs grasping my hips. She bounced, her hair waving as she worked me hard, taking not just me, but herself to the promised land.
She grunted under her breath and moved to place a hand over her mouth to block the sound. She had to slow down in her movements, so I took her hand from her mouth, wrapped it around my neck, and replaced her hand with my own over her mouth.
She screamed even harder and I felt them die on the palm of my hand. The act of me covering her mouth seemed to make her even more excited.
As she rode me, I felt my orgasm approach fast. I considered changing position, shifting to slow it down, to increase the length of our time together …
But there was the rest of the night.
And so I let her bring me to climax. I thrust into her as she bounced hard on me. I came strongly, powerfully inside her.
Doubtless, she felt my seed spill inside her.
She slowed down, her breath panting hard and exhausted.
As I removed myself from her and placed her back down on the bed, I wrapped the blanket about her, and then followed it up with a second layer: my arms.
We lay there for a moment in exquisite silence, savoring the moment. Then she said:
“I knew it would be good but that good…?”
I chuckled. I kissed her on the forehead and wrapped my arms tightly around her, her body so soft and supple that it was all I could do not to pull her into me for a second time.
There was no doubt left in my mind.
She was my fated mate.
She was my other half.
She was my one.
The previous night, I had worried that the constant pacing in my tent would have produced a hole in the carpet. My fears were not unfounded as I had produced a hole — only it happened in Amelia’s bed sheet.
We made vigorous love three times that night. When we eventually drifted to sleep and awoke after a short nap, I felt more refreshed and alive than I had in years.
In fact, I didn’t think I had ever felt that refreshed.
The moment I awoke, I had feared it had all been a dream. A delicious, exquisite dream, but nothing more than fantasy.
When I saw Amelia beside me, I clutched her even closer, accidentally causing her to awaken.
“Up for another round? Seriously?” she said in a hoarse voice and barely opened her eyes.
I kissed her on the forehead. “If we do it now, the servants will hear us for sure.”
Amelia was silent a moment before her eyes bolted open and she flew up into a sitting position. She spun around to peer at the tent entrance, but if she had intended on seeing the sunlight, she only needed to glance at any of the tent’s fabric walls as the light played on every surface.
“You can’t be here!” she said, throwing her legs over the side of the bed.
I shuffled up onto my elbows. “Why not? I don’t seem to recall you complaining about me being here last night…”
I reached over to pinch her ass but she blocked me.
“There was no chance of Elijax coming in last night! This morning, he could come in at any moment! You have to go!”
I cocked my head to one side and reached for my discarded robe. “I thought you wanted him to have a male presence in his life?”
“I do,” Amelia said, hurrying from the bed and helping me with my robe. It had few moving parts, so it took less than ten seconds. “But he can’t know about us. Not right now. I don’t know if what we did last night is serious or if it was just a one-time thing… I don’t want Elijax to be confused or upset when nothing else happens from it.”
Her face fell as she said the words.
I took her hand in mine. “Look at me.”
She did .
“Last night was the best night of my life. There is nothing temporary about it. Not for me, at least. But I understand your concern with Elijax seeing me here like this. Suddenly. With time, we can gradually show him how we feel about each other, yes?”
Amelia nodded. Tears shivered in her eyes.
“Why are you upset?” I said, raising her chin. She had a terrible habit of trying to avoid showing me how she really felt.
“It’s just… I didn’t know… I thought maybe I was just… Concubine!”
From the fragments of words, it was a surprise I could understand any of her meaning. But gradually, I pieced it together.
I placed my hands on her shoulders and gently stroked her soft skin. “You’re not temporary. And you are definitely not a concubine.”
She looked up at me through her eyelashes. “Will you make me Chief Concubine? And put me in your harem?”
“Amelia, if last night was anything to go by, I wouldn’t have the time or interest in making love to anyone else.”
Amelia frowned. “That wasn’t denying you might have some ladies dotted around…”
She pushed away from me. I grasped her in my arms and held her close. “Then how about this for a denial: So long as you exist, there will never be another female in my life. Ever.”
She peered up at me, trying to gauge if I was being serious. “Really?”
“Positive. One hundred percent.”
I kissed her on the cheek and didn’t want to let her go. Judging by my hardening cock, I wasn’t the only one …
“You’re incorrigible!” she said, pummeling me with soft punches.
“How can I not be with a beautiful woman in my room?”
“This is not your room.” She raised her chin at me. “This is my room. And you’re disturbing it. Yours is next door.”
I beamed at her and gave her a salute. “Yes, ma’am.”
She kissed me, stroked my chin, and then nodded. “You may leave. Oh, and enjoy your walk of shame. I’m just glad I changed my mind about being the one to go to your tent last night!”
The fact she had even been thinking about it shocked me. “So if I waited, you might have come?”
Amelia shrugged. “Maybe. If I knew what last night would have been like, definitely.”
“Then next time, I’ll have to be more patient.”
She looked me over. “I doubt you have that much patience.”
So did I.
Crown Prince or not, I would forever be the chaser. And I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
I approached the tent exit, shifted the flap to one side, and stepped outside. The morning sunlight was soft and did little to disrupt the coolness of the early morning air.
The servants were already busy with their chores and didn’t seem surprised to see me stepping out of Amelia’s tent. No doubt the servant from last night had flapped his lips.
Ordinarily, it might have bothered me that my staff could fail so dismally to keep secrets but my relationship with Amelia was hardly one I wanted to keep to myself.
I couldn’t help but cast knowing glances across the breakfast table at Amelia, whose cheeks shone bright red every time I arched an eyebrow at her.
Every time Elijax looked away or focused on his breakfast, I reached over and squeezed Amelia’s arm, her ass, or leg. I had a growing collection of bumps from where she kicked me under the table.
It was like being a teenage Ulsen all over again. The smallest looks, the smallest gestures and touches, all added up to so much more.
“So, what are we going to do today?” Amelia asked.
“Actually, I have no idea,” I said. “How about we go fishing?”
“Fishing?” Amelia said, curling her lips into a grimace.
I could have pulled her up on her obvious like for the uncooked meat last night but decided against it. She would come around. You didn’t overcome a decade of conditioning with a single taste.
“There are some really interesting and delicious fish species in the lake we swam in yesterday,” I said.
Amelia froze, the blood draining from her face. “Fish species? In the lake? That we swam in yesterday?”
“Nothing dangerous. I promise. In fact, they can be quite tricky to catch, which is why we have to use special fishing equipment.” My eyes slid over to Elijax. “How about you, Elijax? Would you like to give it a try?”
Elijax looked from his mother to me and back again.
“It’s up to you,” Amelia said.
The boy shrugged his tiny shoulders. “Sure. Why not?”
“Why not indeed! I’ll have the servants prepare everything we need.”
I couldn’t help but feel elated at this second chance. The last time I had tried to take charge and spend time with Elijax had ended in dismal failure.
Marching up the slopes of a mountain and then terrifying both the mother and child with the Shriim was not exactly the best way to introduce myself as a worthy father figure in the boy's life.
But fishing. What could possibly go wrong there? The fish were sedate and colorful. There was no way even I could mess this up.
Once the servants had packed up the equipment, I told the boy that he ought to get a jacket from his tent as it could get chilly out on the lake’s open expanse.
As he headed inside, I immediately grabbed Amelia’s ass and squeezed.
She slapped my hand away and peered around at the servants. “Don’t! Someone will see!”
I leaned in close and kissed her on the tip of her nose, which made her wriggle it. “You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Oh?” She arched her eyebrow. “I guess they’re used to seeing you groping your concubines.”
I laughed. “There’s nothing for them to see when it comes to concubines. But I can make an exception in your case if you want.”
She slapped me on the arm.
I leaned in close. “The real reason you don’t need to worry is because they already know everything.”
She froze. “Know everything?”
“Well, not everything. But they will know I didn’t sleep in my tent last night. At least, didn’t sleep for long. And they will also know that you didn’t sleep alone. And then there’s the tear in the bedsheets to think about…”
Amelia peered around us at the servants and suddenly seemed very self-conscious. She hugged her arms around herself.
“Don’t worry about it,” I told her. “They’re probably as excited as we are about this latest development.”
“Latest development? Is that what I am?” She just looked at me. With my nonchalant attitude, she actually allowed herself to smile. “Fine. But don’t go bragging to everyone. The last thing I need is a reputation.”
I growled under my breath. “You’ve got a reputation, all right. But only with me and only concerning—”
“Baby!” Amelia yelled, glaring at me as she bent down to wrap her arms around the boy. “Let’s put this on now.” She helped him with his jacket.
“Why are you so excited at seeing me?” the boy said.
“I just… missed you, that’s all.”
“I was only gone for a few minutes.”
He looked suspiciously between the two of us. If Amelia wanted to keep our secret from the boy, she might very well end up being the one who revealed everything to him!
“Come on,” I said before she could dig an even deeper hole. “Let’s go before the fish fully wake up.” I led him away and glanced over my shoulder at Amelia. “Or your mother, for that matter.”
She screwed up her face and stamped her foot in mock agitation, watching as we left.
This was my chance to prove myself to her, to show her I could do normal father figure activities, to show her there was nothing to fear when the boy was alone with me.
How was I to know the Shriim experience was nothing but a warm-up act…
The boy pressed the button and the explosion sent a torrent of bubbles rushing up to the water’s surface.
“Whoa!” the boy screamed with delight as the shock wave struck our small boat and made it rock gently.
I had tossed half a dozen charges into the lake and every single one of them had produced the same reaction in the boy.
For a moment, I wondered what Amelia would think, seeing us on the lake, hurling explosives into the water to catch fish…
But she didn’t know why the Inah had to be caught this way. The truth was, there was no other way to catch them. The Inah were unique among the native species. They were the most electronically charged creature in the entire solar system.
At night, their bodies glowed and shone with neon-like brightness beneath the surface, swimming in the vast shoals.
Their kinetic ability linked them together as if they were of a single mind. Every time there was danger, they sent an electronic signal that passed virtually instantaneously through the water and into the gills along their bodies.
The only way to snag them was to numb that ability with the electronic charges first. It made them dozy, scattering in an instant, forcing them from their perfectly constructed patterns.
Once they were separated and still suffering from the effects of the charge, they acted more like individuals — for a while, at least. And that was when they might take a chance on our lures.
Already, we had caught three of them — all of them by the boy. It delighted him no end that he was beating a fully grown adult .
With how happy it made him, I made sure to ‘accidentally’ release every fish I caught, letting it slip through my fingers at the last second.
His laugh was worth so much more than a fish in a bucket.
It was the kind of joy that only a child could enjoy, and reminded me of my own happy childhood.
I had not intended on fishing for long but I was having such a great time that the minutes and hours slipped by.
I looked over at the boy, who sat grinning, staring at the water’s still-bubbling surface, itching to press the button once more.
As part of the safety protocols, I had given the boy a locater wristband, in case he slipped over the edge and I had to fish him out. It wasn’t unlikely to happen, especially on this calm lake where the water was so still it cast an almost perfect mirror reflection of the sky above.
“Have you had a nice time on our trip?” I asked the boy.
He just stared over the edge at the lake’s surface. “Yes. Very nice.”
“Do you think your mother had a nice time too?”
The boy nodded, still not removing his eyes from the lake.
But there was another, more important question I wanted to ask him…
“Do you think you could be happy in the palace with us?”
It was the first time the boy broke his concentration and looked up at me. His eyes ran over my face and I wondered what he was thinking. I had no concept of the kind of thoughts a child his age entertained, but I was very interested in learning.
Trust me, it was a shocking revelation that I could be so interested in children. They tended to irritate me. The boy was different — perhaps because we shared blood — but I felt closer to him than I had with any other children I had met. There was no particular reason for that, as he was as much a stranger to me as the others.
In him, I saw the potential for something great. I wasn’t entirely sure what yet, but I thought I saw it there, just beneath the surface.
“Yes. And I think mom likes it very much too.”
I fingered another explosive charge. “Oh? What makes you think that?”
“She seems happier. She gets to dance a lot more now. And she likes having someone to talk to.”
Who he could be referring to? Perhaps the dance teacher? Or the servants?
Or someone else?
A flash of jealousy ran in a thick vein through me.
“You,” the boy said as if he could hear my thoughts. “She likes talking to you.”
He could have no idea how happy hearing that made me feel. I thought of Amelia, of her bewitching smile, her hot, tight body, and how much I wanted to—
I cleared my throat. “How about we head back to camp? Show your mom what you caught?”
The boy nodded, his shoulders deflated. “Okay.”
I set the charge and pulled my arm back to hurl it as far as I could. “But how about we do just one more charge first?”
The boy leaned forward over the edge of the boat, the button primed in his hand, ready to press at a moment’s notice.
I brought my arm forward to hurl it.
Then I noticed something…
I lost momentum and pulled the device back, almost dropping it over the edge of the boat. Doing so would have been a disaster. No doubt the boy would have pressed the button, setting off the charge, and knocked our boat over.
We might have even succumbed to the electrical explosion beneath the surface. And if it was too close…
Electrocuted ourselves.
But luckily, I altered my arm’s trajectory, kept hold of the charge, and maintained my grasp on it, holding it tightly to my chest.
I immediately rushed to switch it off. Relief flooded my system at the near miss and the cool breeze washed coolly over the film of sweat that had formed across my body.
The boy looked up at me, disappointed.
But there were bigger issues we had to face.
I peered towards the edge of the forest. The dimness made seeing anything difficult but I focused my senses and searched among the trees.
I thought I had seen one of them.
One of the Ordres.
It was just a flash, a moment when a creature had turned toward me, the sunlight catching its cold, dead dark eyes, making out the rough outer shell of its natural armor.
I scanned the forest, my senses on high alert.
The water lapped gently against the boat’s hull, calm and serene and peaceful.
But now as I looked at that area of the forest, I could only make out the rough bark of a tree. Had that been what I had seen?
“What is it?” the boy asked, peering into the forest where I concentrated my focus.
“Probably nothing,” I said, feeling cold and sick to my stomach.
With the recent issues with the Ordres, the stalled negotiations, and their continued encroachment on our colonies, was it really beyond them to launch an attack on me here and now?
Perhaps they were thinking several moves ahead, figuring their best bet was to remove the Crown Prince and ensure he would never assume his father’s throne.
It was a bold, brash decision, but with the way they had been acting recently, I didn’t think it was beyond the realm of possibility.
Suddenly, I felt vulnerable. Not so much for me, as I was well-trained, but for the boy.
If anything were to happen to him… How could I explain it to his mother?
She had given me her trust, allowed me to take him out for the day, only for something terrible to happen to him…
My imagination once again played cruel tricks on me. No, it wouldn’t happen, I thought. I couldn’t allow it to happen. I would not permit the boy to pay for the decisions I had made.
My servants and guards were several miles away, under strict orders to leave me alone and allow the boy and I to spend some quality time alone together.
The perfect time and place for an enemy to seize upon the opportunity and attack.
I felt sick to my stomach and promised myself that I would never allow a situation like this to happen ever again.
“Let’s head back,” I said.
The boy must have picked up on my concern as he offered no argument.
Splash.
Splash.
I spun around but failed to see what had clearly just entered the water’s edge. Twin ripples wound out across the water in concentric circles.
My blood ran cold, feeling more vulnerable than ever before. I quickly grabbed the oars and rowed toward the opposite shore.
It was in the opposite direction to the one we wanted to head, towards the camp, but I would not risk running headlong into the Ordres’ route.
“I saw… I saw…” the boy said, pointing his tiny finger towards the water’s edge.
“I know. I saw them too. It’s okay. We’ll get out of here.”
My military mind rattled off a list of options.
I had left my communicator behind, solely for the purpose that we would not be disturbed. My people were out of contact. I could shout but it wouldn’t be loud enough for my guards to hear me.
My only option was to get us into the forest and disappear among the foliage. From there, I could mount an effective defense.
I only hoped there weren’t too many of those disgusting creatures.
I could handle two, five, perhaps even ten in an area I knew as well as these forests, but who knew how many were in these woods?
Then I hit upon another idea.
I tilted my head up and whistled as loudly as I could before taking the tone higher and higher and higher until it reached a point where even I could not hear it.
The boy clamped his hands over his ears and whimpered. It wasn’t pleasant but it was necessary.
I maintained that high pitch for as long as I was able, between each hectic row toward the shoreline .
Few creatures could hear that frequency… but Biik was certainly one of them.
I didn’t know what help she might be, but another ally was always valuable.
The shoreline rushed toward us, but at any moment the Ordres could rise from the depths.
I knew they could swim but I was not sure just how well.
Had they already overtaken us?
Had they already prepared their ambush?
Then I hit upon another idea:
“Elijax, prepare to hit the button!” I said.
I broke from rowing, grabbed the remaining charge, switched it on, and hurled it into the lake.
Not so far this time, as I hastily grabbed the oars and continued to row.
The boy looked up at me with a questioning look on his face, his finger perched over the big red button.
I estimated how far the creatures might have swum. Execute the explosion too early and we wouldn’t see them. Too late, and they would already be on us.
It was little more than a blind guess.
“Now!” I said.
The boy slammed his tiny palm on the button.
The charge erupted, sending another rush of bubbles to the surface.
This time, the boy did not squeal with delight.
The light was bright below. The Inah scattered like confetti on a stiff wind and there, clearly visible against the bright explosion, I spotted two Ordres shadows.
Their bodies stretched as they swam in long strokes toward us.
Unfortunately, electronic explosions had no effect on the creatures .
But at least now I knew where they were and that their presence was a very real threat.
As the light died, the lake was made peaceful once again.
I rowed as hard as I could.
The water’s edge was less than a dozen yards away by now.
Just a little further…
I felt the hard shove an instant before the boat rolled over, tipping us out into the icy cold water.
It shocked my system and I hastily kicked up to the surface.
I spotted the boy less than a yard from me.
I seized him and raised him bodily out of the water.
He sputtered, performing a strange swimming style with his hands paddling in front of him.
“Get out of the water!” I yelled at him. “Get back to the camp! Hurry!”
The boy would usually have raised an argument or question, but he was so afraid that he turned and did as I asked.
If these creatures were determined to have me — to either kill me and make it look like an accidental drowning or to kidnap me — I did not want the boy to be a part of it.
I felt something wrap around my leg and tug me under the surface.
I reached down, grabbing at where I thought its head would be but I found nothing but empty water.
I scrambled around but felt nothing.
But I did know where one part of the creature was — clamped tightly around my leg.
I reached down and wrapped my hands around it.
I squeezed hard, then harder still until I heard the sharp crack as the shell broke .
The creature released me and I kicked my way up to the surface.
But I never made it.
Another appendage snapped around my ankle and held me in place.
I kicked and flailed, my oxygen levels already running low, but the creature would not release me.
I turned and noticed one of the creatures — the one I had damaged as its injured limb no longer helped propel it through the water — race towards the splashing figure of the boy, who had still not yet reached the water’s edge.
No! Leave him be!
I peered down between my legs and saw the creature’s ugly, malformed face.
It wasn’t capable of expressions I could recognize but I read cruelty in it.
I pulled my foot back and slammed my heel into it over and over again.
The creature lost its grip and I sailed once more towards the surface.
This time, with my lungs burning, I breached the surface, threw my head back, and took a deep gulp of oxygen.
It would have to be enough as I turned and swam in the boy’s direction.
The injured Ordres was much closer to the boy than I was, but once I got my hands on him, I would crush his skull as I had crushed his limb.
Wind pressed down on me from above as a ship came flying down, the anti-gravity thrusters disturbing the water’s surface.
I accidentally gulped a mouthful of water but didn’t stop swimming .
If it was one of my ships, it would rescue me and the boy, but I would be damned if I didn’t reach the boy first.
There was a loud thunk as a hatch opened and a long metal arm slammed into me, knocking me beneath the surface.
Its robotic fingers curled about me, gripping tight, and lifted me from the water.
I still had no idea if it was one of my ships or one of theirs, as either might be the case.
I fought against the metallic grip wrapped about my waist but there was no getting free of it.
Finally, I was inside the ship and instantly realized the truth.
The ship belonged to the Ordres.
They stood about me with their plasma rifles aimed at my head.
I struggled but couldn’t get free of the metal arm.
One Ordres slapped a button, causing it to release and spill me across the floor.
I coughed and sputtered, bringing up clear lake water.
I dragged myself toward the hatch door that remained open but an Ordres soldier slammed a foot in my face.
A second metal arm whirred as another figure was deposited on the floor across the room from me.
The boy.
I got up to rush over to him when our captors slammed me once more in the head and ribs with the butt of their rifles.
The boy coughed and brought up water as I had.
He instinctively rolled onto his side and gasped air.
He was still alive! Thank the Creator! He was still alive!
Now I had to figure out a way to get us out of there …
Evidently, the Ordres intended on taking me hostage rather than killing me.
“Set us free and I’ll give you whatever you ask,” I said to any of them that would listen.
The creatures might not have heard me.
One hit a button to close the hatch door that gradually slid shut.
“Anything!” I said, louder this time. “Just let us go!”
Still, no response.
“Then release the boy. Keep me but release him. He has nothing to do with this.”
Still, they did not respond.
It was no use.
By now, my guards would have picked up on this enemy ship and it was only a matter of time before they gave chase.
If I could delay these creatures somehow…
Could stop them from leaving…
The hatch was already half shut but I knew that if I was going to make my escape, it would be now.
Maybe I could slip past these creatures and move quickly enough to drop through the hatch door…
But I wouldn’t risk it if it meant leaving the boy behind.
I couldn’t escape my guards and reach him at the same time.
Then I would remain here, at his side, and protect him to the best of my ability.
There was a scream, so welcome that it could have been a lullaby.
Biik screeched as she streaked through the hatch door and swung her tail around, lashing three of the creatures to the floor.
Then she spun around and lowered her back so I could leap into the saddle .
I acted fast, purely on instinct, and twisted my knees to force her over to the boy.
I reached down to grab him when a shot from a plasma rifle slammed into Biik’s side.
“Jump!” I yelled to the boy. “Quickly! Jump!”
I reached out for him but he was still struggling to breathe.
He got his feet under him, coiled his legs, and…
His eyes drifted to Biik.
And he hesitated.
I reached toward him, my fingers mere inches from his own…
Biik screeched once more, this time in great pain, as the Ordres got to their feet and opened fire.
The creature turned and dived through the closing hatch door, knowing it was its only way to escape and survive.
Its scales shrieked like rubber at the tight fit before we fell into empty air.
I reached back for the boy’s hand but I was already slipping further and further from him.
The hatch door slammed into place, the ship entered the upper atmosphere…
And was gone.