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

by Jessamyne Hunter

  Rest my child, lay down your head.

  The stars will guard your sleep.

  Until you wake, they’ll watch over you.

  Don’t fear the dark, dark night.

  The fire cannot harm you here.

  My dear, now close your eyes.

  Outside the fight is far away,

  But I’ll be by your side.

  Rest my child, lay down your head.

  The stars will guard your sleep.

  Until you wake, they’ll watch over you.

  Don’t fear the dark, dark night.

  The war has taken all away.

  My dear, it will be alright.

  Outside the battle still goes on,

  But I’ll be by your side.

  Rest my child, lay down your head.

  The stars will guard your sleep.

  Until you wake, they’ll watch over you.

  Don’t fear the dark, dark night,” he knew it wasn’t the happiest lullaby, but he still loved it.

  A lullaby composed in war times was never a happy one, but this was about being loved and protected.

  He had always felt loved and protected when his mother had sung it to him.

  Starchild…now he remembered the name of the song.

  Involuntarily he smiled, thinking about those long nights when his mother would sit by his side. Outside he could hear the shooting and the sounds of battle, but inside the ship his mother was with him, protecting him from harm.

  She was there, stroking his hair and calming him down whenever the shooting got louder.

  Now he stroke Cyra’s head. The girl was asleep, snoring quietly. She looked so peaceful and sweet, he couldn’t wait to have a child on his own. His heart filled with love and warmth. He was happy.

  “That was beautiful,” Sartak’s voice sounded in the room.

  Startled, Kellan glanced around the bedroom but then remembered that he had been talking with his husband before Cyra had come into the room.

  “So why did you send for me again? It looks like your mate is doing just fine,” Aoran said mockingly, but his smiling face showed Kellan how much he appreciated what Kellan had done.

  Sartak sighed, then went back to serious. Okay then…

  “You wanted to tell me something earlier?” he went right back to where they had dropped their conversation before the interruption.

  Now it was Kellan’s turn to sigh deeply. Oh well. Then Sartak was going to have it this way. He smiled sheepishly.

  “I’m pregnant,” he announced.

  Aoran was cheering and giving is congratulations while Sartak’s face lit up before it became tender and soft.

  “I love you,” he whispered and Kellan felt tears in his eyes.

  10

  “Does this fucking place not have any fucking light?” Sartak growled.

  Aoran stopped fumbling in his bag for a flashlight and folded his arms; his expression clearly annoyed.

  “No, it doesn’t. So stop your whining,” he retorted sharply.

  Sartak was all grumpy and ill-tempered right now. It was gloomy. It was cold. It was fucking raining on this fucking stupid horseshit planet!

  Quara was one screwed up forest and swamp! It smelled of sulfur and rotten flesh. The dryer places were crowded with stinkhorn and poisonous flowers. The trees looked crippled and overrun with vines and moss. Strange amphibian animals watched them from the trees; the swamp and everywhere- weird crossings between flying salamanders and oversized frog-like things. They made creepy as fuck sounds, and one of the little frog-like creatures had tried to spit blood in Sartak’s face.

  All in all, this was no fucking place for a lizard, especially not lizard-likes!

  “Got it,” Gwyndea screamed, scaring up the animals nearby.

  She waved the box in her hand and grinned.

  Then, still clutching her holo-pad, she handed out the flashlights. Harok grunted his satisfaction and switched it on, wishing he hadn’t done so. Right in front of him, hanging from a tree, was a slimy bag with countless eyes and it watched him. Gagging, he traced back a few steps and crouched down. He held his head and tried not to throw up.

  “Shit, I touched it earlier,” he murmured, still making gagging sounds.

  Yep. He hated this stupid, bullshit planet. He hated it a lot…really, seriously and honestly a lot.

  They’d found the missing Reconnaissance-Cruiser, but no recon-crew.

  The ship wasn’t able to fly while it was still mostly intact. There had been no blood or anything inside, only a big mess. Things had been lying on the floor and everything looked a bit banged up. Nevertheless, the electronics were still working.

  So the question was why hadn’t they called for help? There was only one reason, and with the foreign gliders landing and hiding on this planet, the crew must have been kidnapped. Neither he nor the others could think of something else. Now they hoped to find them still alive and be able to rescue them.

  Gwyndea had sent out some recon drones while she was viewing their location on her tab.

  The drones continually sent information about activities and creatures, but none had the body temperature or the size of a Phy’vohranian.

  This swamp was enormous and looking for the missing crew was like searching the needle in a haystack. It was nearly impossible to find them.

  They’d need more Recon-Cruisers out here to speed things up, but on their own…they’d be here for months without results.

  They couldn’t just split up because that would have been too dangerous. They knew nothing of the flora and fauna here, and alone they were easy targets for either the outlaws or some hungry creatures.

  So they went on, shining their flashlights around and only leaving the group when they were sure the others could still see or hear them.

  It was exhausting as it was exciting. At least Sartak felt the call of the hunt or whatever. It was something wild and savage in him; and it liked ranging the woods, searching for something.

  His eyesight was magnificent, but he wasn’t used to it, so he still needed the flashlight. Maybe they should send the soldier-trainees here. It would be an excellent exercise.

  Try to survive in the stinking, gloomy, slimy swamp/forest.

  Yeah, that sounded like fun…Not. A. Bit.

  Anyways, now they were sloshing through mud and other stuff; making funny squelching sounds with their boots. Sartak’s legs grew tired as he sloshed further and further, his crew following behind.

  “Oh for fuck’s sake! C’mon! That’s not happening right now!” Sartak was stressed out; running his hands through his hair several times.

  Gwyndea stood beside him and looked at the mess with remorse.

  So basically Kariary and Harok were somewhere inside this big balloon of an alien plant. They could still see them wiggling and struggling to get free. And Sartak…well, Sartak didn’t dare to hack into that thing. He could as well hit one of his crew members. They’ve also lost two of their seven drones.

  To put in a nutshell: They were fucked…seriously and thoroughly fucked!

  “I need a vacation! A Honeymoon! Right now!” he complained loudly.

  “You can have that when we’re back. Now we need to get them out of this thing before it starts to digest them. They’re still moving, though,” Aoran said while patting the bulge.

  He quickly stepped back when it moved towards him.

  “And now?” Gwyndea sat on the muddy floor, chewing her bottom lip.

  Sartak didn’t answer because he honestly had no idea. He stepped back also and looked up into the big engulfed tree’s crown. Somewhere up there he saw a gooey mass move around…and it was connected to the balloon. Maybe…

  “Ever heard of plants being creatures…like they have a brain or something,” because that thing up there looked suspiciously like a brain.

  “Yup, in fact, Xilitar has some of those living tree-things,” Aoran said from behind him, also looking up to the wobbly chunk in the tree’s crown.

&
nbsp; Oh well…what other options did they have? Yes, right. None!

  He’d try to stab that wobbly thing and see what would happen. He hoped he would achieve something because well…he had only one other idea. And that was holding some fire underneath the balloon and wait for it open. Of course, there was a high risk that they’d also hurt Harok and Kariary.

  Maybe Kariary deserved to be trapped in that thing. Yeah, perhaps. Anyways, she had been the one to start poking the balloon. When it had sucked in her arm, Harok had come to her rescue but gloriously failed.

  Walking around the massive stem of the tree, he kicked it several times in different places, trying out whether it was secure enough to climb it or not.

  Oh, hell and Mother Cosmos! How he wished Harok wouldn’t be trapped in that thing because he would know what Sartak should watch out for.

  His uncle seemed to be much more experienced in such matters. Sartak was good when it came to making plans, but for those plans, he needed all available information. Right now, he had none. All he knew was that he shouldn’t touch the balloon. Everything else about this tree was still a mystery to him.

  When he had finished his fourth round around the tree, there was only one thing to do.

  He sighed deeply.

  He had not the merest idea of what he was supposed to do, so he just did it.

  He got out two daggers and used them to get a better grip on the smooth surface of the tree.

  “I’m in for some fun it seems,” he said dryly and nobody was laughing- Good.

  When the connection was finally established, he let out a breath of relief. He had worried himself crazy because Sartak hadn’t answered his message yesterday, but he got an idea of why when his husband’s face appeared on the screen.

  Sartak looked…bashed up; exhausted. He had dark circles under his eyes, messy and sweaty hair. His face was bruised and his lip looked swollen, and a dirty cut was on his chin. He looked like blooming life itself.

  Kellan was shocked, utterly speechless. How in the name of all galaxies had that happened? Was this man even his husband?

  Kellan looked closer. Yes, it was Sartak. The hair looked still fiery red, and his eyes were still of a piercing green with golden dots.

  “Where are you?! And what happened?” wherever Sartak was, it looked like the most awful place in the whole universe.

  It was dark and muddy. Vines and trees were just behind him, and the floor didn’t look like one could walk on it at all.

  “Quaran swamps. Saved Harok’s and Kariary’s lives, then fell from a tree when it died and collapsed,” he answered prosaically.

  Whatever had happened, he didn’t seem to mind it, but Kellan somehow knew his nerves were raw and that he was on the edge of going crazy.

  He didn’t want to remind him further of the incident, so he smiled and said: “I miss you.”

  Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Whoever had said that…they had been right.

  Kellan felt his heart pound in his chest and his hands moved towards the screen as if to touch his husband’s features.

  He wanted to give him a hug and comfort him. He also wanted to lie down beside him and place his head on Sartak’s chest. The pull towards his man was almost painful, but then again, it showed him he had growing feelings for Sartak. He wanted him to be here in person; he wanted him to touch his face. He wanted Sartak to touch his belly where he was carrying their baby inside.

  “I miss you too. How was your day? Boring?” Sartak’s face softened and his shoulders seemed to relax as well.

  “Oh, it was quite exciting actually. We had the meeting with the two Ladies about that matter concerning the two-houses-one-land-strip problem. There was a lot of shouting and bitching, but we made pretty clear that they either agree with one thing or the other because otherwise, they’d face the consequences. I pointed out that both families had connections to different planets and customers and if they’d be willing to throw their stuff together, they could expand their business and open new sectors. Basically, they could make a huge amount of money. Then they told me, Phy’vohranians are people of honor and pride and blah, blah, blah. So I said they should show some of their honor and act like paragons because the greatest honor is still the title of a peacemaker and they should put down their feud. In the end, they agreed to tie their noble houses together. Both Ladies are going to marry each other and their children, cousins or whoever are going to get married, too. So there’s a big wedding in planning. Problem solved. I think they’re both more interested in the money they could make together but waited for me to give them another good reason or excuse to do so. Now they can call themselves peacemakers and their real motivation isn’t so obvious anymore,” he recounted the events of the day.

  Nothing much had happened really, but he felt like dropping on the mattress and falling asleep instantly.

  The long and heated discussion with Lady Brax and Lady Araxalis had been going on for far too long in Kellan’s opinion. King Leylos had only sighed at some point, so Kellan did all the hard work of convincing the two heads of the noble houses.

  “You did well, my love. My father owes you. He hates to meet with other noble houses. He finds it very tiring,” his husband gave him a tender look but seemed like he’d fall asleep any moment.

  My love…he had said that word again and Kellan felt terrible because he wasn’t able to say it back. His mouth would still not form the word, so he said nothing alike.

  He knew he liked his husband a lot and he could admit to falling in love with Sartak, but he wasn’t ready to say it out loud…not yet. So he only smiled and hoped he didn’t hurt Sartak’s feelings.

  “Talking is my job. That’s what an ambassador does. I need to draft the final documents. Both Ladies are accommodated in the royal guest wing so they can sign the papers tomorrow,” Kellan told him while hiding a yawn behind his hand.

  Sartak wanted to say something, his mouth was already open, but voices from behind interrupted him. Kellan saw him turn around and answer in Phy’vohranian.

  When he turned back to the camera, he had a deep frown on his forehead. His husband looked downright pissed and annoyed. But after a moment his face went back to neutral, only his lips were still pressed into a thin line, showing that something was off or something had just happened.

  Kellan was worried, but he knew that nothing he said would be helpful right now, so he only gave Sartak a sad smile.

  “Seems like you have something else to do,” Kellan guessed.

  Sartak’s glance dropped to the floor and Kellan could hear him shuffle with his feet.

  “Yeah…camp site wasn’t a good choice it seems. I don’t know when I’ll be able to call you the next time. I’ll contact you then. Sleep well and don’t overwork yourself,” he said then.

  Kellan nodded.

  He knew he shouldn’t be working in the middle of the night. But he wanted the matter with the land strip off of the table, so he and King Leylos could relax or do something else because there were tons of other things to deal with. The land strip problem had been just the most straining one, and it would have gotten out of control if they hadn’t done something to prevent this future civil war.

  “I’ll try. Be safe and come back soon. Our little boy would like to meet his father,” Kellan knew he wasn’t playing fair right now because guilt showed on Sartak’s face.

  But he missed his big Phy’vohranian man and he wanted to cuddle with him. He wanted his husband right next to him, and he wanted to wake up and be able to look into Sartak’s face. He wanted to do things he had never done or wanted before. He was craving his husband’s presence.

  “I’ll do my best. Until soon, my love,” and with that the screen went black, leaving a dull emptiness inside him.

  He felt his chest aching and his hands clutched his belly lightly. Kellan heard himself sob and threw the communication tab away from him. It landed on the edge of the bed.

  Gods, why was he so emotional right now?

/>   When he touched his face, his fingers were wet afterward. He was crying, but why? Hell, what was wrong with him?!

  Angrily he punched the pillows and flopped back onto the mattress. Hiding his face behind one arm, he growled.

  Sartak snapped his head around to face Gwyndea who look at him with her eyes wide and expression full of horror.

  “I heard buzzing,” she whispered.

  Immediately, Sartak told them to break up camp. Within minutes, their fire was extinguished and everything was packed up again. Harok was about to strap the bag to his back when Kariary and Aoran stumbled back to camp. Both of them seemed shell-shocked; their hair sticking out in each direction

  “What happened?”Sartak was with them in less than a second.

  Expectantly and worried, he stared at his friend who only shook his head.

  “Fluttering things…big, scary,” Aoran breathed and Kariary took him into a hug.

  She nodded at Sartak over Aoran’s head and motioned them to follow her.

  “Stole his bag with the tab,” she explained.

  Sartak sighed. He hadn’t thought that they were going to hunt bugs, but it seemed like they had to because they needed that tab back direly.

  Anyhow, they couldn’t stay there. Just as he turned around to look over his shoulder, he saw some more gigantic bugs coming to the clearing they had used as their campsite. One of the black bugs dumped itself into the ashes of the fire and rolled around in it as the others occupied the trees and other places.

  As they followed behind Kariary, he heard Harok’s angry shout.

  “Woah! Fuck off!” his uncle yelled and tried to punch a bug that was trying to steal his bag.

  “Let’s just…let’s hurry. Okay?” he asked, too tired to say anything else.

  Sartak wanted to take a nap, but that was denied to him because this fucking place was a fucking pain in the ass.

  Kellan looked like a walking undead, like some zombie from a really bad and cheap movie. Not even his regally blue robe could remedy the fact that he hadn’t slept at all.

  First, he had been crying, then drafting the new agreements, then crying and then restlessly rolling in his bed.