Chapter 49
Forty-Nine
Autumn sat in the central courtyard with former Empress Isidora. The dual suns shone high in the clear blue cloudless sky, illuminating the swirls and stars of the mosaic-tiled ground. Oversized butterflies fluttered through the air in vibrant hues of magenta, emerald, and marmalade. The scent of fresh lavender reminded her of home. Her chest swelled with warmth.
Finally, she was happy.
Kittlen ran in circles around the courtyard playing hide-and-seek with Emblem and Allegoria. He spun around on his toes, giggling as they counted to ten, pretending to search for him. He crouched behind a column, peeking around the corner. A sly smile crept across his lips.
A tall Elattion advisor came running through the door, arms flailing. The blue skin of his face grew pale. He hunched before her, palms on his knees, catching his breath.
Kittlen took one look at him, his mouth quivering, then he burst into tears. Autumn walked over, picked him up, and hugged him.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, holding Kittlen close to her, rocking him back and forth to comfort him.
The man fell into a bow. “Your Imperial Majesty, your presence is required in the conference room.”
Her brows furrowed. “Why?”
“Please just hurry.”
“I’ll come with you,” Isidora interjected, the white tulle of her gown blowing in the forever summer breeze.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” the advisor folded his arms. Isidora stared at him strangely before nodding.
Sensing the seriousness of the situation, she handed off Kittlen to the former empress. Kittlen finally stopped crying and they continued their game of hide and seek.
When she arrived, the cool darkness summoned her into the room. Her stomach twisted with anxiety. Thirty sets of vibrant inhuman eyes stared up at her from their seats. Everyone seemed frozen in time. With one hand, Dante motioned for her to join him at the front of the room. With the other, he continuously grew and retracted a sizzling flame in his palm.
She gulped, not wanting to be the center of attention but had no choice. She wondered what was going on. As she approached him her eyes drew to a frightening creature—one she’d never seen before and hoped to never see again. Uneasiness crept through her bones, but she maintained her composure so as not to appear scared.
Her eyes drew to Dante. “What’s this all about?”
“Ah, if it isn’t Empress Autumn Martyne,” the monster’s forked tongue flickered through his dry cracked lips. He stared at her through the glow of the hologram with his beady black eyes. “The rumors of your beauty haven’t been exaggerated.”
“Thanks, I think,” she crossed her arms, shifting her weight from side to side. Gross.
“You don’t know who I am do you?”
“Why? Should I?”
Gulps erupted around the room, and advisors threw hands over their mouths. Dante remained serious and still by her side.
“Perhaps you should. I’m Emperor Izzo, reigning sovereign of Universe 24. Destroyer of Worlds, Lord of the Universes, the Grand Supreme.”
“Is that something you’re proud of?” she asked. A moment of eerie silence followed.
Izzo stroked his talons against his black scaly chin. He swirled his goblet before taking a lingering sip. “Nobody has ever asked me that before, but I suppose the answer is yes .”
“Well, I think you should be ashamed of yourself,” her heart hammered in her chest. Her throat grew as dry as desert sand. “Stealing planets that aren’t yours and enlisting others to do your dirty work. You’ve ruined countless lives. It’s disgusting.”
“Well, that’s not my concern.”
She placed a hand on her hip. “It should be.”
Her mind tingled with a whisper from Dante. “ Autumn please, stop. Let me handle this. ” But she ignored his plea.
“You really have some nerve, human, speaking to me with such an insolent tone.” Izzo shot to his short stubby feet, throwing his goblet against the floor, clanging. He pointed a finger at a viridescent alien man passing by in the background. He was swept into the air, twisting and squirming in his invisible grasp. His eyes bulged before his body expanded then exploded into fine space dust.
Autumn cupped her hands against her mouth to muffle a scream.
Emperor Izzo’s mouth twisted into a grin. His yellow jagged teeth sparkled in the 3D light. “Okay, let’s get down to business, shall we? It seems you haven’t been entirely honest with me, Dante. Tsk, tsk . I know you’ve been dodging me.” He waved his taloned finger back and forth.
Dante cocked his head to the side, remaining calm and collected. “How so, sire?”
“Even still, you lie,” neon purple specks of energy swirled around his body glowing in an extraordinary light. His aura simmered against his toxic-waste complexion. “You stand here, and you look me in the eye and take me for a fool. I know about Earth and how you spared it over a girl. How you defied my orders.” His mouth twisted with strange delight. His black eyes grew vacant. “Well, you won’t be able to ignore this. I have something that belongs to you.”
Izzo motioned for someone off the projection to approach. Two hideous scaled alien creatures dragged over a man and threw him onto the floor. Autumn’s stomach churned with sickness. The bile rose in her gut. Her legs grew weak, she could barely stand up. Dante steadied her weight, resting his arm around her waist.
“Judging by your reaction, I gather you know this human?”
“No,” she lied because she didn’t want him to be hurt. “I mean, yes,” she admitted when she stared into his large brown eyes wavering beneath his silver frames. His expression lit up just like she remembered. Warm and kind.
“Autumn, it’s you,” he raised a hand through the projection, trying to touch her. She reached to embrace him, but the ghost-like glow of his fingers faded against her arm, disintegrating through the air. His cracked glasses sat askew on his face. His wild, tangled beard ran down his neck. He looked like he’d been through hell and beyond. “I’m so glad you’re alive.”
His eyes snapped to Dante. “And you, this is all your doing. You kidnapped my little girl. My only child. When I get my hands on you, I swear you’re going to regret it, murderer. I told you, Autumn, he’s no good for you. Fathers always know best.”
Dante glanced at the ground. He didn’t answer him as if he was ashamed.
Her dad’s eyes roved around the room.
“What the heck is going on here? Why is everyone dressed like it’s a Halloween party? Why am I here and not with you?”
The Grand Supreme snorted. “It sounds like you have quite a bit to unpack, former princeling. But I’m not here for your family drama. You have a debt that’s owed to me, and I intend to collect what’s mine.”
A dark latent anger inside of her swelled. Red flashed across her vision. Her body quivered with rage. “You’d better let him go, you scaly disgusting despicable creature.”
Dante held her arm. “Autumn please.” But she ripped away from his grasp.
“And what will you do if I don’t? What can you possibly do to me, human? I’m a living god. Lord of all you see—even your precious emperor.”
She gritted her teeth, slamming her fist against the table. The 3D map of the 24 Universes vibrated upon impact. Everyone flinched, watching and waiting for her answer with bated breath.
“We’re going to raise the largest fleet you’ve ever seen to take him back, and then—I’m going to kill you,” Autumn’s lips quivered.
Izzo stared at her in silence before bursting into a fit of laughter, slapping his knee. Dante stared between them, the expression on his face was solemn and worn. The energy in the conference room grew torrid and unpredictable, swirling against her body.
“You’d better get a hold of your wife,” Izzo flashed a jagged-toothed grin at Dante before turning back to her. His black, forked tongue flickered through his lips. “I shall remember your feisty words when I come to reclaim Universe 13. I hope you’re ready for me. I’ll torture you both within a thread of your worthless lives. I prefer to take my time with my prey. Dante knows that better than anyone else.”
He took his razor-sharp talon and ran it down her dad’s cheek, splitting open his skin. He let out a wide-eyed shriek that rattled her to the bone. Izzo’s tongue snapped out of his mouth as he slurped up droplets of her father’s blood. Crimson coated his lips. She threw a hand over her mouth, shaking.
“Until then, I’ll be waiting. Try not to miss me too much. Hopefully I don’t get hungry in the meantime.” Her dad’s shrieks assaulted her senses as the image faded into darkness, flickering off. A hole hollowed in her chest.
“Everyone out,” Dante addressed the advisors who rose and scurried out of the conference room like frightened mice. The steel door slid closed behind them. He held her tight as she cried in his arms. Her warm salty tears dripped down her face and onto the obsidian fabric of his uniform.
He wiped his fingers under her eyes, smearing the tears against her cheeks. “I can’t believe you did that Autumn. What in the world were you thinking? You just waged a war.”
“What do you mean, what was I thinking? This is all your fault. You told me he was safe and assured me he would be here soon enough,” she lowered her face into her palms, sobbing until it hurt to breathe.
He remained quiet and she continued. “You just stood there, and you didn’t try to stop him or negotiate. I know you don’t get along with my dad, and you’ve made some mistakes, but you could’ve at least tried?—”
“You didn’t give me a chance.”
She remained quiet.
“I’m sorry,” he squeezed her tight.
“Well sorry isn’t good enough.” She went to leave but he pulled her back into his arms.
“I’ll make everything better, you’ll see,” his black-gloved hands visibly quaked. His words said one thing, but his body language betrayed him.
She’d never seen him afraid before and didn’t know how to process his reaction. Her skin prickled with uneasiness. Clearly, he was as terrified as she was.
He smoothed his onyx-gloved hand against her cheeks and lowered his warm blue lips to hers. He pulled away, staring into her eyes. “I promise I’ll get him back no matter the cost. I’ll bring him home safely to you and make everything right.”