The Golden Heart: Alliance Book One (Alliance Series 1)

by Jessamyne Hunter

  Kellan poked his fork into something that disgustingly resembled raw squid, but smelled like hazelnuts. His gut clenched when that thing started moving.

  Dropping his fork, he jumped up from his seat and grimaced. He winced and stared terrified at his food. He had been far too keen to at least try every dish before deciding whether it was edible or not. He had miscalculated the matter by far. This was plain nauseating.

  “Dear God! Kill it, kill it!“ he shouted, index finger pointed at the wobbling mass.

  “Oh, you don’t kill it. Just put some sauce on it and cut it into pieces. It tastes funny- like nutty porridge. The meat almost melts in your mouth. Don’t look at it. You’re supposed to eat it, not watch it,“ Jarvan interposed.

  It didn’t help a bit. Kellan still felt nauseous.

  Usually, he would smile and politely ask for something else or just gulp it down, but today he felt weird. This thing moving around his plate didn’t help.

  Face going green, he shoved the plate away and took hold of his cup, throwing back the contents like it wasn’t strong alcohol.

  Jarvan regarded him worried but refrained from saying anything. Instead, he handed Kellan a plate with noodles from Earth. It was a dish invented in old Asia, very spicy and hot.

  “Pad Thai! I like that,“ Kellan exclaimed and started to dig in.

  He then realized that his behavior right now was downright impolite. Blushing, he slowed down his eating and actually chewed his food before he swallowed it.

  “The cook is an Asian woman from a hybrid-human race. I know some other races than humans are living on Earth too, so… Anyway; I hired her to make food for you. We also have other cooks. Cravings during pregnancy can get quite…odd. You start eating stuff you’ve never heard about. Sartak laughed at me when I started craving prrulmra when I was pregnant with the twins- just don’t ask what that is. It is the most disgusting thing ever. I’m still ashamed of it,“ Jarvan made a miserable face, coaxing him to snort with laughter.

  Oh dear! He really loved his kmera-in-law.

  It was at an ungodly hour when the jarring sound of the alarms had started. Kellan had jumped awake at an instant, afraid they were under attack. Frantically he had run around his suite, searching for decent clothing; beginning to have a mental breakdown.

  The next moment Jarvan had strolled in, wearing a gleeful smile on his lips and confusing Kellan profoundly.

  It was no alarm. There was no attack. No danger. There was nothing to justify creating a panic. The damned, fucking alarm only notified the passengers about the soon arrival on the planet. They had broken through the orbit. That was all.

  Jarvan was, of course, happy because he would be reunited with his family, but Kellan felt uncertain again.

  He knew Jarvan, and Kellan liked the kmer. There would have been no problem for Kellan to marry him, even though there was no romantic interest.

  He should have asked Jarvan about Sartak, but it had slipped his mind, and then he was in the tank. Afterward, he had just forgotten about it.

  He was nervous and scared. He was about to freak out. It was fucking terrifying.

  He would be the only human on whole Phy’vohran. He’d be the dwarf. Everyone would be looking at him, maybe even sneering at him.

  “I have a present for you because I’m now no longer the only kmer at home. We will suffer through the fertility cycle together now. Yours has started now, and mine has also,” Jarvan held a red robe in his arms- a fiery red velvety fabric, embroidered with golden birds and vines.

  It rustled with beads and crystals.

  Kellan slipped into golden leather trousers and a creamy white silk shirt. The robe fit him tightly around the torso, but the bottom was flared, only revealing his legs when he walked.

  The thing was heavy on his shoulders. All the beads and stones made it weigh much more than his regular clothes. Its weight reminded him of his clothing for special events. It was better not to think about it or tell anyone.

  The robe he was thinking about would only get him into trouble on Phy’vohran. He needed to get rid of it if he wanted a real chance of survival.

  The Phy’vohranian kmer gave him brown knee-high boots with a bit of a heel.

  “So… Where are the Cjon’vaiian girls? Aren’t they my servants or something like that?” Kellan asked to calm his nerves.

  He couldn’t sweat right now. He’d only ruin the expensive robe because it looked really fucking expensive and custom made. Otherwise, it wouldn’t fit so well.

  Shit, it must have been a hell of expensive. Hopefully, he wouldn’t trip over his own feet or anything else. He couldn’t risk to rip the robe or make it dirty.

  Legs trembling and hands shaking, he felt like an idiot. He probably looked like a red peacock or firebird.

  Speaking about firebirds; Kellan had heard that there were dragon-like animals on Phy’vohran. Well like, cockatrices and wyverns and all. That was a little boys dream.

  Hell, even Kellan was freakishly excited about it. That alone should have been a good reason to marry a Phy’vohranian.

  He hadn’t thought about it. Now that he remembered, all fear was shoved aside. He focused on the dragon-like creatures, picturing them in his mind and smiling stupidly.

  Good thing his back was turned to Jarvan, who now answered: “I helped you because we’re friends, aren’t we? The Cjon’vaiian people take their assigned tasks too serious. They will be your servants but never become anything more. So I thought I’d be spending as much time with you as I could since we will be family.”

  A warm feeling bloomed in his chest. He looked to Jarvan and gulped. His throat felt tight and he couldn’t find the right words, so he only made a noise of acknowledgment.

  He was sad and happy at the same time. He was glad that Jarvan seemed to like him enough to bother welcoming him to the family. His own family, on the other hand, had only pushed him away. After his father had spoken a few words of discontent about their closeness to Kellan, they’d quickly started to avoid him. Though, whenever their father had been away, they’d come to his room and laugh and chat and mock each other. Lately, though, they’d been busy and Kellan had felt a little alone.

  Swallowing down his confusing feelings, he rushed to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. It was all things he should have done before he had donned the robe, but it couldn’t be helped anymore.

  Brushing his chest-long, soft, loose curls of platinum, he regarded himself in the man-high mirror. He didn’t look as sleepy as he’d expected. His pale skin seemed even whiter in contrary to the red robe.

  Pinning the strands from the sides of his face behind his head, he smiled at himself. Jarvan stepped behind him; his golden eyes met Kellan’s in the reflection.

  “You’ll drive the men crazy. Sartak should watch you closely, or someone might steal you away from him,” laughing, Jarvan patted his shoulders.

  Kellan coughed, face turning red in embarrassment. He’d better not make the prince jealous- not if he wanted to live any longer.

  That was if Sartak found him attractive enough to be possessive over him. Or maybe the fact that he was going to be his husband was enough for the Phy’vohranian prince to be possessive.

  They stood in front of the doors, waiting for them to open. They’d landed on the space docks just a few minutes ago.

  The door hissed as it opened, revealing a large area full of different gliders and spaceships. In the far distance, across the docking station, Kellan could see a massive Battle-Cruiser towering over the control tower.

  He left the Star-Cruiser at Jarvan’s side, glancing around to take in as much as he could.

  Phy’vohran was eight times the size of Earth, and its six moons were each half the size of Earth. A day had twenty-eight hours; a normal lunar cycle twenty days- while the last three months of the year had two days more; a year had fourteen lunar cycles.

  Looking up at the sky, he could see the pink and bluish clouds which still let the light
of the sun through, while keeping a Mediterranean to tropical climate on the planet and its moons.

  The swirls of nebula between the moons looked mesmerizing in a way that remembered Kellan of being drunk or drugged. It was still beautiful- a sight he wouldn’t have from Earth or the governmental ship.

  Xilitar had similar nebula around the main planet and an asteroid belt. Kellan had always liked to travel different planets, but there had been none, that were so warm. It felt like it was summer. From space, he had been able to see the big oceans and high mountains. There had been grand forests.

  Kellan heard the chirping and buzzing of animals when a giant cage on a trailer was driven to the glider to their right. Little beings fluttered around in it. They had the most unusual colors- bright pink and lavender, red, silver and many more. Their long feathery tails made them look like birds, but some of them had leathery wings or weird reptile-heads.

  Fascinated, he wanted to have a closer look, but they were approached by a large reception committee. He saw six men and women in robes of all colors, who were accompanied by twenty guards.

  Kellan switched on his ambassador’s smile and started to make his way towards them.

  Their hair and scale colors varied between all tones of beige to dark gold, to red, to brown and to black. The young ambassador assumed that those people were the Crown Council. Their expensive robes and noble appearances hinted at that. All festively dressed and broadly smiling, they wanted to greet the newcomers.

  Still, Jarvan wore a frown on his face. Not quite knowing what was wrong; Kellan slowed his pace and saw the smiles fade.

  “Where are my sons and husband?” his voice gone cold, the royal consort demanded answers.

  One of the councilors, he looked old and wrinkly, gave him a bleak smile.

  “Esteemed Prince-Consort, we humbly beg your pardon for the absence of the royal family. There had been problems with a mission near RT-5. The Reconnaissance-Cruiser is not yet back. The King and your older sons wanted to look into the matter personally. There will still be a small lunch and then the ceremony in the evening, followed by the feast,” the man seemed terribly nervous, shifting on his feet all the time and stealing glances at Jarvan to see the consort’s reaction.

  When Jarvan made a step forward, the council member winced but resisted to back away.

  Kellan kept his mouth shut and regarded the scene; taking in every reaction and movement. He knew at an instant, that the King’s consort held a lot of power, despite not being the Regent. The way the Crown Council behaved towards Jarvan made it clear that in non-private matters the gentle consort could turn into a fearsome man.

  “An attack maybe? Well, let’s get to the palace first. Lead the way, councilor,“ not mentioning the lunch, wedding or feast at all, he strode after the committee.

  Shoulders tense, their group went to three passenger gliders, which had been waiting for them. The one with the symbol of the royal house of Phy’vohran- a lizard-like creature wrapped around a scaled egg, resembling the planet and six orbs surrounding it- had it painted in gold on the wings of the glider in the middle.

  Jarvan outstretched a hand to help Kellan jump on the staircase of the glider which was slightly above the ground. They were followed by eight guards while the others joined the councilors.

  Silently, Kellan sat on a plush seat, sinking into the cushion. The atmosphere was quite tense, but the ambassador had no idea on how to lighten it. After a long time of silence, Jarvan finally sighed.

  “I hope it is just a small skirmish and not the beginning of the next war. I’d appreciate at least a few years of calm and peace,“ he muttered and gave Kellan an apologetic smile.

  The ambassador nodded, not sure of what to answer. He was more occupied with glancing around.

  The glider flew through the gate and entered lush green fields full of yellow and red flowers. Kellan held his breath when he saw a giant red tree in the middle of the field with vines hanging from its crown. Dragon-like birds flew all around it, nesting or playing with each other. The fluid movements and shining bright colors of their skin and feathers conjured a smile on Kellan’s face; arousing curiosity within him.

  The passenger glider rushed over the field, making the stalks of the tall flowers bend and dance. Only then Kellan realized that he had jumped up from his place and was now pressed against the windows. He made a joyful noise when one of the flying creatures came near the window and started to follow them. Raising smiles and good-natured teasing, he waved at the little guy who looked like the wyverns he had seen in illustrations in old books filled with fantasy stories. This small, winged lizard just had the same appearance, and it made Kellan wonder if Phy’vohranians had ever lived on Earth.

  “Has your kind ever been to my origin planet in the past?” he asked, while not letting the silver wyvern out of his sight.

  That fluttering lizard seemed determined to keep up with the glider. Now and then it looked at Kellan before it opened its mouth to let go- what Kellan assumed it was- a chirp.

  “There are indeed records about our ancestors visiting far-away planets, trying to communicate with other species. It didn’t go well as you can imagine. They’ve brought some of our animals as gifts for the new friends they wanted to make- mostly wyverns and cockatrices because they could be domesticated. Your kind didn’t take that well, though,“ Jarvan chuckled despite it being not funny at all since humanity had proven again to be idiots.

  “And dragons?” turning his head, Kellan gave the consort a thrilled glance, his face lit up with excitement.

  “What are dragons?“ Jarvan frowned, pronouncing the term for the big fire-breathers quite funny by elongating the o.

  “Err…four legs, wings, sharp teeth, scales, and claws, looking like monster lizards and breathing fire?“ he suggested, hoping Jarvan could picture the creature.

  “I’ve never encountered such a creature. Maybe it is a crossbreed between a wyvern and your earth lizards? Could that be?” the consort mused.

  Kellan thought about this theory. He was no biologist, so he didn’t know if it was possible, but it sounded- at least to him- quite like it could be just the case.

  “Could be. How big do your wyverns get?” he wanted to know.

  “Oh, that’s different for each race. There are those little guys like the one who seems to be besotted with you. Dog-sized wyverns are often held as pets, but of course- my sons needed to massively exaggerate it. We have one that is as big as a road vehicle. It eats and shits a lot, but as long as the princes feed and clean after it, I’m fine with them keeping that massive thing. That’s just not a pet anymore,” snorting, Jarvan rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat.

  Kellan heard the guards chuckle and started to giggle himself.

  He had never been allowed to keep a pet. It would be quite cool and badass to own a wyvern now.

  He moved his finger in front of the window which made the little silver guy chirp even more. It tried to nudge his finger through the glass but shook its head when it realized that it was separated from the human.

  Kellan could swear the small guy frowned at that, so he burst out into laughter. Especially, when the wyvern started to lick the glass and clutch its tiny claws against the window to find some grip.

  “Having fun?“ Jarvan asked sternly, but when Kellan turned around, he saw the playful smile on the consort’s lips.

  “He’s cute, isn’t he,” he excused himself and sat down before he could make an even bigger idiot out of himself.

  “Stop! Open the door!” was all Jarvan said and the glider instantly hovered in one spot.

  The door hissed as it slid open and a tiny chirp which sounded like a question came from outside. Jarvan grinned behind his hand, holding back a laugh. The next moment, a little silver spiked head poked through the open door. The little wyvern chirped again, tilting its head expectantly. Biting his lip, Kellan rose from his seat and walked towards the small animal.

  He wasn’t halfway thr
ough the glider when it let go a series of loud and joyous chirps while it raced in his direction. It flew directly into his arms, purred and snuggled its head against Kellan’s chest.

  The young ambassador petted its back and turned to Jarvan, giving him his best puppy-eyed look.

  “Oh, don’t give me that look! Of course, you can keep it. Just make sure it doesn’t take a dump on the dining table or in the throne room. And you better clean after the little guy. Gorsha is bad enough as it is,“ the royal consort threw his hand in the air in a gesture that emphasized his level of annoyance.

  However, he stood up to nuzzle the little wyvern’s chin which coaxed happy chirps out of it.

  “How do you want to name it? And please not Gorsha Jr. - the boys found it hilarious to name their pet-wyvern ‘grubby kid’. No more ridiculous names. I can’t stand it,” begging him with his eyes, he pointed at the pet in question.

  Kellan gave a laugh and shook his head vehemently. He wouldn’t give a companion such a stupid name- he wouldn’t admit that in front of the princes because he had no desire to die just now.

  Thinking, he started to bite his lips; the shiny silver scales distracted him the whole time.

  Shiny silver scales! That was it!

  It reminded him of molten metal- quicksilver, also known as mercury in fact.

  So Kellan asked: “What do you call mercury?”

  “Dershra,“ Jarvan replied, relieved it was a rather good name for a wyvern. “You should know, they spit acid and can breathe poisonous fog, both they can light on fire.”

  Paralyzed, Kellan stopped playing with his new pet. Eyes growing wide, he stared at the little chirping Dershra in his arms.

  “That little guy can…he does spit… No way! You’re kidding me right now, aren’t you?” he didn’t quite find the words to express his shock.

  Sitting down, Jarvan giggled and seemed to have no intentions to answer Kellan’s questions or ease his fears.

  Dershra sat on his right shoulder, burying one clawed foot into his robe while holding onto his hair with the claws on the left side. The pull was slightly uncomfortable, but Kellan wasn’t going to be fussy about it. He was happy, Dershra was happy, Jarvan seemed content, and even the royal guards were smiling.