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

by Jessamyne Hunter

  King Leylos sat in judgment today and since Royal Advisor and Ambassador Lord Daron Jaxtell wasn’t present, Kellan as his understudy had the duty of stepping in for him.

  Bored, he glanced around the room, seeing numerous lords and ladies standing on the surrounding balconies. Guards lined the sides of the throne room, wearing shiny armor.

  His husband Sartak sat on one of the higher balconies, reserved only for the royal family and their special guests such as visiting dignitaries from other planets. Now it was only Sartak and Kohtah. Jarvan who had no wish to see his husband sit in judgment over others was somewhere in the palace with Aoran and the children.

  Dershra shifted uneasily on his shoulder and Kellan thought that he probably should have left the wyvern in their rooms. Still, after last night he could understand if Dershra missed him.

  The little wyvern had been sleeping alone in Kellan’s sitting room, knowing exactly that he should better not come to the bedroom. Kellan felt slightly guilty for ignoring the little guy once again since Dershra was very affectionate towards Kellan.

  Sighing, he picked the little guy off from his shoulder and put him on his lap. He petted the little, spiked head while caressing one of the leathery wings.

  Dershra of course chirped and purred with content, nuzzling his little head against Kellan’s hand.

  When the big doors to the throne room opened, he stopped playing with his pet.

  Dershra certainly knew, that something important was happening, because he again took his place on Kellan’s shoulder and opened his wings to make himself look as majestic as possible.

  Kellan repressed a laugh, pressing his lips into a thin line.

  He silently watched as the guards shoved in a disheveled person. The man was clearly Phy’vohranian but his hair was greasy and his clothes torn and dirty. He was brought before King Leylos and him; pushed on his knees. Still, he held his head up firmly and stared defiantly at his king.

  The people called him Lizard because of his green colored hair and his green scale tattoos on his whole face.

  What Kellan knew of him was very little but enough to be disgusted.

  Lizard was a slave trafficker and one of the most wanted people throughout space.

  He made his business with kidnapping poor children from other planets and selling them as house-slaves or even worse and more profitable as sex-slaves. Kellan had heard about this man and he found it rather stupid of him to return to his home planet.

  Phy’vohran had clearly stated that they had no ties with this man and didn’t care for what other planets would do to him.

  Apparently, Lizard had been banned from Phy’vohran and all Alliance planets. The Phy’vohranians hadn’t taken part in hunting him through space since they had no quarrel with him…that was at first.

  Stupid Lizard then had decided to come back to Phy’vohran to steal some children from here so he could enslave them.

  By turning against his own people, he had brought the wrath of his king upon himself.

  To Kellan, it didn’t seem like he was too worried about the king’s anger.

  The kidnapped Phy’vohranian children had been taken back to their families and luckily never been sold since Lizard had no time to deliver them to their buyers. Maybe the man was expecting a little dap on his fingers.

  A clerk sat slightly below Kellan and Leylos and was hastily searching through a pile of documents. Then he seemed to have found what he had been looking for.

  He rose from his chair and gave Lizard a stern look.

  The clerk started to list all of Lizard’s arraigns of crime from various planets and Phy’vohran. The slave trafficker didn’t seem interested, but little did he know.

  The standard procedure was that he would be sent to a space station where all prosecutors from all planets would gather to find an appropriate sentence for him. On Phy’vohran he could only be convicted for the kidnapping, so it wasn’t much to worry about for him. He probably already had a plan on how to escape during the transport. Kellan almost felt sorry for the man who thought of himself as outstandingly intelligent.

  The clerk stopped speaking and looked quizzically at his king. But Leylos only smiled at Lizard.

  “Well. Ten years behind bars for you. That is what I have to say to you. Kellan, your turn,” he said while slouching casually on his throne.

  Lizard frowned, and when Kellan stood up, he followed his every move rather warily. Kellan, on the other hand, gave him a smug grin as he pushed a button on his communicator.

  Immediately, twenty-three holograms appeared in the room along the walls. Each was a big screen showing the faces of twenty-three different species. All of them were ambassadors and some of them Kellan considered friends of some kind.

  The look on Lizard’s now pale face showed him that he knew he was fucked.

  Ignoring the man, Kellan kindly greeted every ambassador by name and in their language.

  “Mister Lizard, you know exactly why you are here. Your crimes have been read to you and it is my duty to tell you your sentence. I have corresponded with the planets accusing you of slave trafficking, kidnapping, murder, rape and every other crime you have committed down to forgetting to pay a drink at a bar. Summing up all sentences, you will be spending 16 250 cycles in prison. That is because some of the planets have no death sentences. However, I negotiated your sentence shall be carried out by a planet impartial from your crimes. This planet is called EVE-4. As sovereign of EVE-4, I sentence you to 16 250 years of imprisonment and entertaining the people,” Kellan said.

  Lizard relaxed a bit, thinking he could still run away but when he looked around and saw the satisfied faces of the other ambassadors, he paled again.

  “Since you do not live this long, you shall be given the death-injection before your transport. Your body shall be conserved and exhibited for 16 250 cycles in the police headquarters of Halor, the capital city. Ambassadors, I hope the sentence is to your satisfaction,” Kellan said and earned eager nods.

  Thanking them for their time, he bid them goodbye and turned off the holographic screens. He waved to the guards to take Lizard away.

  That was when Lizard’s face turned an ugly red from anger.

  He jumped to his feet, but the guards pointed their lasers at him. He didn’t move forward, he only gave Kellan a nasty look which Kellan returned.

  He remembered this man…only hazily but still, he remembered him. So he could perfectly guess what Lizard was about to say.

  When the man opened his mouth, he knew he was right.

  “We briefly met on Voxus, you remember? You were sitting outside in your fancy little garden when your boyfriend- I first believed he was your grandpa; all wrinkly and gray-haired- came outside and wanted to have sex with you. You talked him out of it and he went back inside. So you were sitting there all alone. I wanted to fuck that pouty mouth of yours, and I wanted to tear your little hole with my cock. I wanted to fuck you bloody and have you begging for mercy. I wanted to take you with me so I could repeat it every day. I decided to first get my business done and then come back, but that fucking asshole fellow Phy’vohranian guarded you. I should have fucked and kidnapped you while I had the chance! I should have made you my bitch the and there because you are nothing better than a little slut,” he spat.

  Kellan didn’t flinch; he just looked blankly at Lizard.

  There was no need for him to respond and he wouldn’t. It was none of his nor the other people’s business.

  “Away with him,” he said calmly, while he didn’t feel exactly calm inside.

  The mention of Sky and Verxas had been a punch in the gut, but he didn’t show it. He, at least, had anticipated it but the other people around him had no idea.

  There was a response on his tongue, but he bit it back vehemently. No way, he would show his weaknesses in front of everyone. Instead, he ignored the shocked and curious stares of the assembled people.

  He looked back to King Leylos who seemed like he wanted to
ask questions but knew better, for which Kellan was enormously glad.

  Only a few minutes later they went on with the other people to be sentenced.

  “Super old boyfriend?” Kohtah asked when Kellan finally had left the throne room.

  It seemed like he had been waiting for him outside and Kellan suspected just that.

  By now, he knew Kohtah well enough. He was nosy but in a caring way.

  Concern flickered in his eyes as he awaited Kellan’s answer. Sadly, Kellan wasn’t willing to give a truthful response. His reply, in the end, was a palliated, twisted version of what had really been.

  “Well, he was my housemate. I believe he was drunk when he asked for sex,” Kellan shrugged and hoped Kohtah would drop the matter.

  Luckily he did.

  Kellan didn’t have the head for such a discussion, anyway. There was really nothing to tell…or rather he didn’t want to be reminded.

  It was a topic that clouded his mind far too often. Kellan had banned it from his memory, but still, it kept coming back.

  He was galaxies away from Voxus, but the things that had happened there seemed to have found him, still.

  He wanted to run away from it, but all he could do was forget. And forgetting proved to be difficult since everyone tried so hard to remind him.

  Thinking about Lizard’s words, he kept on walking. It was already midday and the sun stood high in the sky.

  When he looked to the window arches, he saw the bright yellow of the huge star. The moons of Phy’vohran were half visible while the lower part was covered in nebula.

  Sunbeams fell through the high arches as he walked behind King Leylos who was heading to the royal banquet room where they usually had lunch.

  He knew from Kohtah’s stories that they normally had those lunches with other nobles- the constant visitors of the palace. There were always a few nobles present. Most of them seemed to never leave the palace or have a home.

  Everyone touted for their king’s acknowledgment, but only some of them managed to get it. These lunches and dinners were the perfect occasions to kiss their ruler’s ass and Leylos hated it.

  All the lies and fancy words, all the talking and plotting…

  Leylos was disgusted by it and Kellan knew well that the king secretly wished to end these gatherings but couldn’t.

  It was a custom, an old tradition since the very beginning of monarchy.

  If Leylos changed something about it, it would unleash hell among the noble houses.

  Kellan had tried to talk to him about it. He had tried to tell him that keeping this lot of apple-polishers close was the best way to keep an eye on them.

  Everyone knew the saying: Keep your friends close but your enemies closer. It hadn’t made a difference for Leylos, though.

  Kellan knew that he was still not satisfied with this answer, but it couldn’t be helped.

  But now, though, it was only a small lunch with the family.

  They’d claimed that Sartak still needed to recover which was partially correct. His silent husband simply had no desire to see all the nobles so soon. Usually, he tried to stay as far away from such gatherings as possible.

  Sartak was not good at doing small-talk and Kellan could perfectly understand why he disliked occasions where he had to speak a lot. He had seen first-hand how awkward Sartak could be when he had to talk in front of a group of people. Kellan also knew that Sartak would easily get angry when something didn’t go according to plan…or people didn’t understand him right away.

  In front of their little entourage, the guards pushed open the heavy wooden door to the dining room.

  Kellan had seen this room a few times now, but it impressed him still.

  The golden chandelier seemed to be made of vines and leaves. Little figurines of wyverns clung to it- some with open wings, some of them nesting. This room displayed the wealth of this family just perfectly.

  Everywhere he looked, he saw small details and small statues made of gold. The walls were carved and showed scenes of dancing and feasting. It was so joyous, Kellan wanted to sing and dance with those people who were shown in these carvings.

  Dershra leaped from his shoulder into the air to fly a looping. He spun around and sailed up to the chandelier where he chirped at his brethren made of gold.

  Kellan and the others chuckled at that. At the same time, Kellan felt sobered.

  Dershra kept calling out to the wyverns who never answered him. When he finally realized that they weren’t real, he let his head hang.

  Slowly and sad, he flew back on Kellan’s shoulder to nuzzle his head against his human’s cheek.

  “Let’s have lunch, shall we?” Kellan whispered and Dershra nodded.

  Kellan was happy to have lunch with the family. Especially, since they were all taking their meal in mutual silence.

  No one spoke further about the incident in the throne room but only after Kellan had repeated his answer he had given to Kohtah before while looking rather annoyed.

  After a while, though, Sartak cleared his voice.

  He sat next to Kellan and had been unenthusiastically shoving his food into his mouth. He hadn’t even bothered to look at what was on his plate because when he took a glance at it now, he gagged.

  Whatever it was, it looked like a chunk of fried meat-strings. Kellan had something else on his plate. He had craved for mashed peas and raisins lately, so he was quite lucky he didn’t have to eat whatever his husband was now trying to choke down again.

  “Sari! Behave!” Jarvan bellowed while the others tried not to laugh.

  Sartak, on the other hand, gave him a nasty glare before he remembered that he was dealing with his kmera who squeezed his eyes at his son’s reaction.

  Immediately, Sartak mumbled an apology and took a big gulp from his cup full of juice.

  Clearing his throat again, he addressed Kellan: “Would you like to see the city?”

  “Gladly,” he answered with a smile; his lips barely touched his own cup before he also took a swig of juice.

  “Can I come with you?” Kohtah’s voice sounded.

  Kellan glanced up at him and smiled. He had an idea.

  Later, Kohtah, Sartak and him decided to finally take a stroll through the city.

  Kellan was excited to see it at last. Since his arrival in Nuxar, he hadn’t yet been to the city. He had donned a blue robe in which he looked rather regal…and staid.

  It was closed up to his neck, the golden buttons shined and embossed with the Nexvrin’s family crest. The thick fabric felt heavy and cold at the same time which meant he could walk around in it without breaking out in a sweat. Golden vines and flowers were stitched on the bottom part of the flared robe. The belly wasn’t as visible in it as in other robes which was the reason why he had chosen this robe and not another. Even though a lot of people already knew that he was carrying a baby, he had no desire to push it in everybody’s faces.

  The bottom part of the robe moved slightly with his steps as he followed the two siblings down the hallway.

  “So, Gorsha chewed on a guard. Kmera is quite furious about it, telling us we should give Gorsha more food. But Gorsha already had a barrel full of meat!” Kohtah made a face and shrugged while Sartak sighed deeply.

  Kellan watched both of them, yet he tried to conceal a smile when the two siblings started to poke each other with their fingers.

  Kohtah laughed out loud and circled around Kellan to get him between him and his brother as some kind of shield.

  “You better not poke the pregnant one!” Kellan exclaimed while dodging the fingers.

  They didn’t stop until they reached the gate leading into the city.

  Kellan noticed the continual stream of people either visiting the palace or leaving it. Sometimes the guards nodded; sometimes they called one of the visitors to a halt. Most of the visitors that got stopped at the gates seemed on edge, demanding the guards either hasten whatever they wanted from them or leave them be. Then the guards would patiently
explain why they weren’t allowed to let people in who carried laser guns or other weapons without a special document of permission or being in service of the crown.

  A lot of people didn’t seem to understand, acting rather impudently and getting angry over the guards doing their job. It amazed Kellan how many women were the ones complaining about having to hand their weapons over to the guards who had a small booth at the wall where they stored the visitors’ belongings.

  Kellan shook his head. Now, that they were in public, Kohtah and Sartak acted all serious like royalty should behave, though, Sartak had worn a stern facial expression even while fooling around with his brother.

  The bustling activity was a shock after Kellan had only seen the private corridors and the trial.

  At the trial, there had been only nobles or wealthy citizens such as merchants or others who had somehow come to great fortune. Now, it was all kinds of people having business at the palace or with the king himself.

  Kellan slightly bowed his head when he recognized some of the other ambassadors subjected to Royal Advisor and Ambassador Lord Daron Jaxtell. The ambassadors, in return, bent low.

  Kellan felt somewhat uncomfortable with all the respect they showed him. He wasn’t used to it. His father had never treated him like he had done anything worth recognition; at least Kellan couldn’t remember such an occasion…or well…his father certainly had approved of Kellan’s coat made of Phy’vohranian scales. He had worn it to the funerals of the soldiers killed in battle. It was an extravaganza to honor the fallen soldiers and bid them farewell.

  Kellan remembered walking between the white coffins; carefully balancing a plate on one hand while holding a glass of bubbling Champaign and talking to soldiers of all military ranks and family of the deceased.

  He had never liked such events, but as the son of President Harrison, it had been his duty. Most of the people at the funerals had also appreciated Kellan’s choice of coat for the occasion; feeling better because they knew his coat was made of dead Phy’vohranians.