Omin drew to his full height and slowly approached him. “I created you, and I can destroy you just as easily.”
It was then that the Paler’s eyes widened. “White Terror,” he croaked, stepping back, his hands shaking.
Omin would have grinned if he could have. “So, you remember.” He leapt forward and grabbed the Paler by the neck until it snapped.
Two female Palers screamed, and Omin looked up at them. They fled from him, not bothering to look back. He didn’t know if it was the murder that bothered them or his disfigured face. Not that the reason mattered. They feared him, and that was good enough. He loved their fear, craved it even. It gave him comfort. It gave him courage. It gave him power.
He would rule Pale once again. As soon as he got rid of Seta, he’d be in command. “I’m coming, Seta,” he whispered. “And when I’m through with you, you’ll regret the day you messed with me.”
Chapter Seventeen
The Great Palace
Planet: Raz
A knock at the door woke Ann from her sleep. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the morning light filtering into the room. “Who is it?” she called out.
“It’s Hathor. I came to bring you breakfast,” he replied from the other side of the door.
“Breakfast? You expect me to eat in my room?”
“Yes. I have it ready for you. Are you going to open up the door and let me in?”
“Just a moment.” She slipped her robe over her nightgown then opened the door, curious about what people on Raz ate. Her gaze went to the tray full of pancakes, French toast, eggs, ham, and milk. Her jaw dropped. There was enough on there to feed a couple people. “You expect me to eat all of that?”
“As it so happens, I have two extra plates in case you need some help,” he offered, gesturing to himself and Leo who stood beside him.
Laughing, she waved them in. “Okay. Come on.”
He carried the tray over to the small room off to the side of her bedchamber. She and Leo followed him, and she watched as he set the tray on the round table draped with a lace cloth. He went to the French doors and opened them, revealing the balcony right outside the room. In the distance was a gorgeous view of the mountains.
He turned to her. “Would you like to eat in here or on the balcony this morning?”
She stepped forward and saw that no one would see her all the way up here. “The balcony.”
“The balcony it is,” he said and picked up the tray and took it to the table outside.
She petted the lion and watched as Hathor set everything on the table. Then he set Leo’s portion on the floor. He pulled out the chair for her. “You’ll have breakfast brought to you every morning,” he explained as she sat down.
“I thought I’d be eating in a banquet hall or some other place where royal people eat,” she replied, picking up her fork.
“You can have every meal brought to you, though we do have a dining hall. Usually, the queen will eat there if she is receiving visitors. But some queens have eaten all their meals there. My mother preferred to eat here for most of her meals.” As an afterthought, he added, “Of course, you can eat anything you want, so if you ever want something else, say the word and the cook will whip it up.”
She already had a closet full of clothes and shoes that Athen had told her were made especially for her from the measurements the Great Magician found from some crystal ball he owned. And now she could eat whatever she wanted, wherever she wanted?
“The queen sure does get spoiled.”
“The queen is the most important person on Raz,” Hathor said.
“So I’ve been told.”
She glanced at the lion that seemed content to eat his food. A week ago if someone had told her she’d have a lion eating breakfast with her on a balcony overlooking the palace gardens, she wouldn’t have believed it.
They ate most of the meal in silence. Usually, silence during a meal she was sharing with someone bothered her, but in this case, it was comfortable. And she enjoyed the chance to look at her surroundings, completely in awe that she was actually going to be the ruler of the entire planet.
At the end of their meal, Hathor wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin. “I just wanted to say that it’s been my pleasure to bring you to this planet.”
“Yes, I remember how excited you were every time danger reared its ugly head,” she teased.
He smiled. “While I do like challenges, that wasn’t the only reason I had fun. I enjoyed being with you.”
Pleased, she returned his smile. “Thank you. I enjoyed being with you, too.”
For a moment, she thought he was going to say something, but then he rose to his feet. “I should let you get ready for the ceremony. Everyone on Raz is anxious for you to take the crown.” As he collected the empty plates, he paused and looked at her. “I hope you take your time choosing a king. You don’t have to have a daughter right away.”
She didn’t think the decision would be expected of her today, but the way he said it made her wonder if this was something she’d be asked to do during the ceremony. “When do queens usually pick a husband?”
“They can pick one anytime they want. It’s just that we would have married today if I hadn’t lost the honor of being king because of what happened on Pale.” He finished gathering all the dishes and picked up the tray. “I don’t know if it matters, but I’d still like to be the king, if you’ll have me.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. Did he mean he wanted to be king because he wanted the honor of being a king or because he wanted to be with her? She could have asked, she supposed, but after asking William if he wanted to be with her again and getting rejected, she wasn’t too keen on asking anything personal anymore.
Hathor cleared his throat. “I should get ready for the ceremony.” He glanced at Leo. “You should, too.”
Leo leapt up and gave a nod.
“We’ll return for you in an hour,” Hathor told her.
She nodded and rose to her feet. Well, there was no better time to be crowned than now.
Once she took a shower, she spent considerable time picking something to wear and finally decided on a purple dress since she figured purple was a royal color. Might as well start her reign off right. To her surprise, the dress magically brought out her best features while hiding those parts of her she’d never been too pleased about. Well, one thing was for sure. Getting dressed on this planet was going to be one of her favorite activities.
A knock came at her door, and she thought it was Hathor, eager to take her to the ceremony, but instead, a woman a little older than her stood on the other side of the door. As it turned out, it was her lady’s maid, and she was there to fix her hair and put on her makeup. This was something Ann hadn’t expected, but then she supposed it was another benefit of being a queen. Being a queen was a lot like being a famous actress. She was going to be pampered every day for the rest of her life. While it was thrilling, it was also scary. What if she didn’t live up to everyone’s expectations?
When it came time for the ceremony, she had to take several deep breaths to calm down. She was waiting for Hathor when he and Leo finally arrived. Hathor wore a black silk suit. She recalled how ridiculous she thought his white and black silk outfit was the first time she met him, but today she realized his clothes fit him—and this world—perfectly.
He bowed then extended his arm to her. “You look very much like a queen. I’m honored to be your escort.”
“Do I look nervous?” she asked.
“No. Are you?”
“I’m terrified. What if I say something stupid or trip on this gown? Does the magic on this planet cover up for such mishaps?”
He chuckled. “I’m afraid not, but you have nothing to worry about. We’re all happy you’re finally taking over the throne. No one’s going to care if you make a mistake.”
Maybe. Maybe not. She’d hate to start off the day so well only to mess it up. She placed her arm around his and let him walk her down the hal
lway, the lion following reverently behind them. She managed to stroll down the hallway without any embarrassing incidents. That was good. God willing, her luck would continue.
When they reached two large, closed doors, Hathor offered her a reassuring smile. “I never thought I’d be the one escorting you to the throne. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”
“There’s no one else I’d rather have as my escort,” she replied. And she meant it. For some reason, it wouldn’t have meant as much if William had done it.
Hathor pressed a button on the side of the door, and the doors slid open, giving Ann a breathtaking view of the enormous room. The entire place was filled with beings she’d only read about in fantasy novels. She tried to take them all in, but it was hard when there were so many. She’d never seen such a wide diversity anywhere.
Someone blew a horn, and her attention went to the front of the room where Queen Basilia stood between two thrones. The queen’s throne was covered with purple velvet and framed in gold, embedded with diamonds. The king’s throne was covered with red velvet and framed in silver, embedded with fewer diamonds than the queen’s. Ann knew it was just another way of enforcing the queen’s dominance over the king. Could William really be happy taking second place to her if she picked him?
The horn blew again, and Hathor urged Ann down the purple carpet that led to the thrones. She glanced at the creatures who were studying her, some smiling, some fluttering their wings in anticipation, and some nodding. She tried to smile, but the whole thing seemed like it was happening to someone else.
“You’re doing fine,” Hathor whispered in her ear as they went up the steps that led to his mother.
She wished she could reply, but her throat was too dry.
They stopped in front of Queen Basilia who offered her an understanding smile. “Just do what I say, and everything will be fine,” she whispered. Then in a louder voice, she said, “Please kneel before me.”
Ann obeyed, grateful that her wobbly knees did as she wanted.
Hathor stood behind Ann and put his hand on her right shoulder.
Queen Basilia opened her mouth to speak when someone yelled out, “Stop! I’m the real Ann!”
It took a moment for Ann to realize someone was claiming to be her. Glancing over her shoulder, she gasped. There—right in the middle of the room—was someone who looked just like her. How in the world could something like this happen? While the crowd murmured their confusion, she stood up to face the imposter.
“I can prove who the real queen is,” Hathor called out above the crowd.
Everyone grew silent and turned their attention to him, their expressions hopeful that he could deliver on his promise.
“May I?” Hathor asked, gesturing to Ann’s wrist.
Not sure what he was going to do, she nodded.
He turned over her wrist and smiled. Holding up her arm, he said, “She has the birthmark of the royal crown on her wrist. This is our queen.”
“I have the birthmark, too,” her imposter cried out, lifting her arm. She stormed over to Hathor and showed him the identical mark on her wrist. “See?”
Hathor dropped Ann’s wrist and took a step away from her.
“You brought me in here,” Ann told Hathor.
“Well, yes, that’s true,” he replied.
“Why don’t you tell everyone the truth?” her imposter asked her, a hint of challenge in her voice.
“The truth?” Ann replied. “The truth is, you’ve decided it’s not good enough to be you—whoever that is—so you decided to clone me.”
“Or is it the other way around?” Her imposter turned to the stunned crowd. “I was all alone in my bedchamber, getting ready for this ceremony, when Leader Seta showed up. There, right before my unbelieving eyes, she morphed into an exact image of me.”
“Can Palers clone people?” Ann asked Hathor.
After a moment, he said, “It’s possible. They do have the technology for it.”
“But can they clone someone as an adult?” Ann clarified. “When I was on Earth, it was possible to clone an animal, but the animal had to be born. It didn’t just appear as an adult.”
“When you were on Earth?” the imposter asked. “You were never on Earth. You’ve been on Pale this whole time.”
Hathor shook his head, his eyes wide. “You both look and sound exactly alike.”
“It was the needle in the Great Prison,” the imposter said, her eyes wide as if realizing this for the first time. “It must have collected my DNA. Hathor, remember when it stabbed me?”
“You mean, the needle that was meant for the Lax?” Hathor asked.
The imposter nodded. “Yes.”
“Oh good grief,” Ann interrupted. “The needle got me, not you.”
Hathor glanced between them then turned to his mother. His mother whispered something in his ear. He shook his head and shrugged.
Ann couldn’t believe this. She had no idea the needle in the Great Prison was so dangerous. Something licked her hand, and she lowered her gaze then smiled at Leo. At least he knew the truth. It was a mild comfort, and if Hathor hadn’t been so intent on what his mother was telling him, he might have noticed the small piece of evidence that revealed she really was Ann Kerwin.
Queen Basilia stepped forward and raised her hands. The room grew silent, and everyone’s attention went to her. “In light of this, I cannot perform the ceremony today. I’ll consult the Great Magician to figure out who the real Ann is. Once I know, we can crown her.”
Hathor put one hand on Ann’s arm and his other hand on her imposter’s arm. He led them to a room off to the side of the throne room, and she caught the triumphant grin on her imposter’s face. Ann’s eyebrows furrowed. The more she dealt with these Palers, the less she liked them.
Once they were in the queen’s den, Hathor closed the door. “My mother will consult the Great Magician and tell us what the best course of action is. In the meantime, we’ll wait here.”
With nothing else to do, Ann sat on the plush couch. When someone wasn’t trying to kill her, they were pretending to be her. She didn’t know which was worse. Her imposter sat on the other side of the couch, and Ann made the mistake of glancing her way. Her imposter smirked at her. She rolled her eyes and looked away.
Hathor went to the window and stared out of it. She wondered if this was as hard for him as the time he thought his mother was dead. Probably not. Even though Raz needed to get a queen, Ann was still alive to make this a possibility. Releasing her breath, she decided she’d just have to do whatever the Great Magician said.
After a few long and painful minutes, Queen Basilia entered the room, and Ann and her imposter rose to their feet. The queen came over to them and handed them their own map.
“Since neither one of you will admit to being Seta,” Queen Basilia began,” there is only one solution to this problem. Each map has a different route, but it will lead you both to the same place: the Dark Castle. In this castle is a diamond crown. The one who gets the crown will be the next queen.”
“But won’t Raz die if the wrong one is crowned?” Hathor asked, walking over to her.
“I’m confident that only the rightful one will get the crown.” She turned to Ann and her imposter. “You can’t continue to look alike. We need to be able to tell you apart.”
Ann saw that her imposter’s dress was changing and immediately looked down at her own dress. Ann’s clothes turned into a brown dress with a white apron tied around her waist. Then, to her surprise, her long hair shortened until it just reached past her shoulders. Her imposter got to keep her hair length, but her dress was a simple pink one.
Queen Basilia nodded in satisfaction. “Good. Now you don’t look so much alike. Each of you will be given a supply of food before you leave. After that, you must go.”
Ann almost asked the queen if Hathor would go with her but realized that was impossible since neither of them knew which one was the real Ann. No. This was something she’d hav
e to do by herself. She looked at the map in her hands and wondered if she was really up to the challenge.
Well, it didn’t matter if she was up to it or not. She was going to do it because she had no choice. The fate of the entire world rested on her shoulders. She grimaced. She’d much rather be in a boring class where her biggest fear was failing her exam. Bracing herself for what was to come, she determined to do the best she could to get the crown.
***
As Hathor watched both Anns leave with their supplies, he saw Leo starting to follow the Ann who wore the brown dress. Curious, he focused on her. Leo reached her and whimpered. She turned to him, and he rubbed his mane against her hand. She knelt in front of him then hugged him.
Hathor glanced around to see if anyone else saw it, but no one did. His mother had already gone back to the throne room to calm everyone down.
The proof was right in front of them and only he saw it. And his word wasn’t good enough for everyone to believe him. Ann would have to complete the journey.
But it was hard to stay behind. He should be going with her. It was his job. Ever since he came of age, he’d protected the queen. And he’d been through so much with Ann in the past few days that he felt as if he’d known her his entire life. If something bad happened to her and he wasn’t there to help her…
He swallowed the lump in his throat. He had hoped to talk to her after she assumed the crown and ask if she’d consider marrying him. At the very least, he wanted to ask if she’d wait for at least six months to get to know him. Maybe after doing so, she’d still want William, but he wanted a chance. But at the moment, that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
Ann stood up and said something to Leo. Leo roared his agreement and headed back to Hathor. Her gaze met his, and he caught the uncertainty in her eyes before she headed down the trail.
He looked at Seta who was disguised as Ann, and he saw that she was already further on the path his mother sent her down. He could only hope she stayed away from Ann during the whole trip. She could easily make a detour and come after her.
A Royal Engagement (Enchanted Galaxy Series Book 1) Page 15
