Chapter 46
Forty-Six
Dante stood in his bed chamber, head held high. He smoothed his black-gloved hands over his freshly pressed obsidian uniform, running his fingers over the crest. His ship had landed, causing a commotion outside. Through the windows he watched as alien inhabitants ran and screamed for their lives. Outdated military forces prepared to defend the planet with their useless rickety ships. His mouth curved as he prepared to solidify a name for himself once and for all.
Maeve walked up behind him. Bringing her soft lips to his ear, she whispered, “Dante the Great Conqueror. It has a ring to it, doesn’t it?”
Although he enjoyed when others called him this name, he didn’t like the way it sounded coming from her. The words caused his stomach to twist. She shouldn’t be here, his gut screamed.
He should’ve said no, should’ve insisted. But here they were. She always got what she wanted from him one way or another.
His proud smile faded as he turned around. She stared up at him with her large sparkling gray eyes, too innocent for a life such as this.
“I’m leaving in a few minutes to go and perform my duty as instructed by the Grand Supreme.” He smoothed the fallen strands of his hair behind his ears.
She chewed her bottom lip and twirled a dark curl around her finger. “Oh, what does he know anyway?” She rolled her eyes. “He’s just a heartless power-hungry creature in need of a good kick.”
He bit his cheeks, shaking his head, then continued. “I need you to wait here until I’m finished. Under no circumstances are you to leave this ship. Don’t come looking for me. It’s too dangerous. If you need to reach me, you can?—”
“I know,” she brought her lips to his to silence his command. Warmth flooded through his body as she ran her soft hands down his back. His tail wound around her waist. She pulled away. “You told me seven times this morning alone.”
“I need to make sure you understand, if anything were to happen to you?—”
“What could possibly go wrong?” She spun around on the ball of her toes before falling onto his bed. She grinned looking up at him through piles of curls. Her long lashes fanned her rosy cheeks. “I’ll be here waiting for you until you come back. I promise.”
Autumn had never been so happy to go home to Surge. As they landed in the destroyer on top of Sanguis on X marks the spot, excitement flooded through her body. The sky sparkled a cloudless blue and the heat from the dual suns warmed her skin through the ship’s glass windows.
She combed her fingers through Dante’s hair as he rested his head on her shoulder. Mr. Hiss hopped down from her lap and meowed, his pink and black striped tail puffed. Dante then yawned and stretched, his amber eyes blinking before meeting hers. She leaned over and kissed his hollow blue cheek. His lips flickered then curled into a grin.
“Welcome home,” Dante whispered into her ear, nipping her lobe. He rested his hand on her upper thigh. Goosebumps trailed the length of her spine.
A throat cleared distracting her from thoughts of him. Leyla stood up from the control seat with a hand on her hip. Kyo turned to face them, running his fingers through his moonglow mohawk.
A reminder they weren’t alone.
“We’re not going to stay,” Leyla crossed her arms, shifting her weight. “We need to check on Kyo’s family. They’ve been alone for all this time?—”
“Oh, there’s no need for that,” Dante came to a stand, grabbing Autumn’s hand with his. Her face warmed from his touch. “They’re here. I had them taken care of while you were away.”
Leyla scrunched her nose. “Wait, are you serious?”
Dante nodded.
“Th-thank you,” Kyo stuttered. “You didn’t have to do that.” Dante remained quiet as Leyla led Kyo out of the ship. They raced into the palace.
Autumn batted her eyes. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”
He shrugged, then flashed a lazy smile. As they made their way outside and onto the rooftop, the jewel-toned buildings of Giraldinia glittered in the sunlight. Aircraft whipped through the skyway like fireflies.
The surprises didn’t stop there. As they made their way through the door, heavy construction took place. Servants applied fresh coats of paint over black burn marks on the walls and ceilings. A thick smoky scent churned through the air. Steel furniture was melted along the crimson carpeted floors, sticking to the velvet fibers.
Her forehead pulsated. Somehow, she knew he was responsible for this mess.
“After you disappeared, I left no stone unturned while I was searching for you,” he ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll admit, I lost my temper on several occasions. I was worried I’d lost you forever, and that’s something I could never forgive myself for. This isn’t even the worst of it. I ransacked a couple of planets in the process?—”
The room stilled as she walked through the wrecked hallways, stepping over shards of metal and debris. She sighed, this had to stop.
“This can’t happen again.”
“It’s a flaw I’m actively working on. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll do my best.”
She wrapped her arm around his waist and kissed him.
When they arrived in the medical bay, Autumn found Isidora seated in a chair reading a story to Kittlen who hopped up and down on the floor. From the handheld device the words swirled through the air in a tornado of glowing hieroglyphic-like symbols. Although she was fluent in Ivarkian, she still couldn’t read the language.
Treble sat on a metal table, swinging her legs. A doctor examined her back, which was finally free of the twisted scars she’d suffered from the mistake Dante had made ordering her punishment for stealing food from one of his royal supply ships. Another medical professional wiped blue gel from her ice- blonde hair and face. Leyla and Kyo arrived out of breath, racing into the room.
She could only imagine why they were late, her eyes rolled.
Treble hopped down from the table and ran over to Kyo, Kittlen following suit. They jumped into his arms.
“Are you okay?” Treble asked.
“We missed you so much,” Kittlen buried his head against his chest.
“I’m fine,” Kyo said. “But more importantly, how are you after?—”
Treble’s eyes widened, tears welling against her lashes, but she remained quiet. She glanced at Leyla. “Iris? But I don’t understand. How did you change?—”
“My name isn’t Iris, it’s Leyla,” she said. “We have a lot to discuss.”
Isidora rose gracefully from the chair, smoothing her golden tulle floor-length gown beneath her palms. She threw her arms around Autumn, practically smothering her as she gave her a hug. “I’m so glad you got home safely.” She reached for her son, but his stance hardened. “Can I ask what happened?”
“Armienti,” Dante offered a single word.
“You didn’t hurt him, did you?” Isidora’s dark brown eyes wavered. “I pled for mercy on his behalf?—”
Dante turned on his heel mid-conversation and exited the room. Autumn pulled away from his mom, who had tears streaking her cheeks, and ran after him. A lump formed in her throat.
She caught up with Dante, catching her breath. “What are you planning to do with him when you find him?”
“If I’m honest, I’m not sure yet,” Dante crossed his arms. She stared into his brilliant amber eyes flecked with droplets of green.
“I know he made a mistake, but?—”
“There’s no buts, he endangered your life and betrayed our family. He shall pay dearly for his indiscretion. But I haven’t decided how.”
They walked side-by-side through the crimson-carpeted hallway.
“To be honest I don’t want him near you ever again. He’s always had this fascination with you, and I can’t say I don’t blame him, but I think his inclinations have the potential to be dangerous.” A long awkward pause followed. “Are you sure nothing happened while you were on planet First? He didn’t try anything, did he?”
She froze, her stomach twisting with nausea. She didn’t need to add more fuel to the fire, especially because he’d kissed her on a few different occasions against her will. Dante was under enough stress and didn’t need the gory details of their stranded stay.
“Nothing happened. We survived, that’s all,” she laced her fingers behind her back.
His midnight hair brushed against his sharp features. “Good, I just want to put this nightmare behind us. Your father is on his way, and we have enough to deal with as it is. I want to focus on rebuilding our family.”
A loud buzz came to Dante’s pocket. He slid out his communicator and swiped the ignore button. She stretched her neck trying to see who had called him, but he shoved the device back into his pocket with lightning speed, his expression hardening to stone.
“Who was that?” She finally asked.
“Nobody,” his muscles flexed beneath his obsidian uniform.
“You’re acting kind of weird for nobody,” she countered.
“I have to go.” He vanished into thin air, and Autumn stood in the hallway, forehead pulsating, wondering what kind of trouble he was in.