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

by Jessamyne Hunter

Since that kind of business would always run smoothly, their little brother was lucky.

  Blake and Luke had only their father’s money, their career and the money of their territories. Funny how Luke had to pay EVE-4 for his weapons, meaning some of that money would go to his little brother. He really should ask for lower prices.

  The weapons that their father had purchased were developed by a scientist from a small private company on Ci’phor.

  Blake didn’t trust those weapons since last time he had heard about them, they had still been forbidden due to many risks and errors.

  “There’s no way to find out now. We should just go and see what dad has to say and maybe there will be time to ask him about the purchase too,” Blake suggested and nodded to Pilot who understood the gesture and steered the shuttle through the gates into the docking station.

  It took the brothers less than five minutes to reach the great hall where the president was already waiting and the other generals assembled.

  The soldiers stationed on the Queen Anna- their father’s ship- were also attending; standing gathered in the hall as they up to the president on top of the stairs.

  Blake and Luke took their places next to their father and put on a stoic mask.

  The other generals took positions on either Luke’s or Blake’s side.

  Then, when everyone stood there in expectant silence, President Samuel Harrison cleared his voice.

  “Dear soldiers! We gathered our forces on the doors to Phy’vohran for no other reason than to make them pay. I have married my beloved son Kellan to one of those monsters because they had left me no other choice. I have begged them to treat my dear child well, but my child had been raped and abused for breeding. I would have never allowed this. Kellan has sent a signal of distress, and so I have formed a new alliance. It is not an alliance I would have ever considered were things different. But the lizard-men have broken their vows first. We have an alliance with the Sons of Sue’tyrn, a group of outlaws and pirates, but they are a nomadic kingdom. They have changed their leader, their king, and that king is no other than my dear brother Alastair. Some of you do already know this since I have sent you to secret missions before. I thank those who took part in retrieving my dear son from the grip of those scale-skins, most of all, the agent who was working amidst the enemies themselves. But now is our time to join the last battle. The lizard’s forces are divided; their home without defense. We must act quickly and take their main cities. No more shall these savages rule the stars! No more shall they toy with us! Let us teach them that we make those pay who break vows to us! I should have known that they weren’t serious just like last time. My poor father had died by their hands while he had sought a way to end this terrible war. Now the lizard-men will pay for their crimes against peace! The final price will be their very blood and freedom! Their lands will be ours, their wealth will be ours for this is our right!” his voice thundered over the soldiers, carrying through the hall till it reached the last of them.

  Blake, on the other hand, felt sick; his stomach turning inside out. He watched the other general’s faces and saw nothing but grim agreement.

  No, no!

  This was wrong! So terribly wrong he had no words for it.

  A week or so ago, Kellan had asked them for help, and he had seemed so happy.

  The proud smile when he had announced his pregnancy had been honest.

  No one who was forced to have their rapist’s child would be so fond of the little life growing in their belly.

  So, what the fuck was going on and what twisted game was their father playing?

  “No!” Luke shouted as cheers erupted from the soldiers; shutting them up efficiently.

  “Father, this is all wrong! You’re lying! Kellan had asked us for help with the pirates! Pirates that seemingly you have sent to do your dirty business! Does Uncle Alastair even know that you are using him for your petty scheme? We have signed a treaty not only with Phy’vohran! Each of the parties had signed that document! You have acted against our interests and against the law! You will not go on with your plans! You will cease this at once! You have plotted against the Star-Lion-Alliance; as a result of that, you are ousted as President. Leave now and I will see if I can undo your faults!” Blake growled when he finally found his voice again.

  All the while, his father had worn an overbearingly arrogant expression as if Blake was talking nonsense.

  Some of the generals looked torn, just as some of the soldiers. Other nodded enthusiastically; showing that they believed what Blake had said was true and right. But there was still a large group that looked determined and angry.

  “I have lost all my family to them! If I get the chance to make them pay, I will!” one of them shouted, causing others to speak up too.

  Soon the hall was filled with voices in heated arguments.

  Blake was still shocked, still utterly disappointed in his father.

  Shaking his head, he turned around and left.

  Luke, on the other hand, stepped forward.

  “For the Alliance! For the Great Lion! I follow President Blake Harrison! Everyone else is a traitor!” he yelled, raising his fists and striding after his brother.

  Soon he heard the sound of marching soldiers, and when he turned around, he saw about a third of the gathered group follow behind Blake and him.

  Their father was glaring silently at the brothers, but it didn’t bother Luke.

  What their father was about to do…they could never in good conscience stand by and watch it.

  The other soldiers, though…Luke knew that they had lost friends and family but the war was over. They didn’t need a new one starting right away.

  Some of them looked sad about their comrades leaving and Luke could see that they wanted to go with them. For whatever reasons, though, they stayed by the old president’s side.

  Two of the six other generals also followed them; the others were all old friends of their father’s.

  Of course, at least they would do whatever Samuel wanted and they would happily follow. But the two younger Generals, Blake and Luke had trained together and fought together with them.

  The same went for most of the soldiers who followed them now.

  At one point they had served with or under either one of them.

  Luke supposed that the others had been radicalized somehow. Otherwise, he couldn’t explain so much hatred against people who could have destroyed them but didn’t.

  “As you make your bed, so you must lie! Traitors! All of you!” their father spat, his voice echoing through the corridors as they left for the docking station.

  Getting enough ships would be a challenge but they’d manage as long as the others wouldn’t come after them.

  “Hurry up, soldiers! Take the Hunters!” Blake ordered, starting to jog.

  “Take defensive formation! Don’t let them through!” Luke bellowed into his headset.

  They had somehow managed to reach their ship, the others still waiting in space in their gliders.

  Now they were hurrying towards Phy’vohran to set up a wall between the planet and their father’s forces that still were too many gliders for them to take on.

  All the while, Blake frantically tried to reach King Leylos so he could prepare his planet for the attack.

  “We saw your ships, but something seems wrong,” King Leylos’s voice sounded through the speakers.

  Blake cleared his throat, though he looked pale and nervous.

  “The thing is…our father proved to be a traitor. He had an agent in your city, and supposedly that was the one who planned Kellan’s abduction. He’s planning an attack now and the Sons of Sue’tyrn are with him. We’re trying to build a wall now. Some help would be appreciated,” Blake gritted trough his teeth.

  “I see. The dead tower guard. That must have been where the whole mess had started. We found pictures of a young blonde female human. They seemed to have been dating. She was probably the one talking him into messing with the tower
s’ systems and then killed him. I have almost no disposable forces, but I will try my best to get my son here. He’ll aid you, but you have to hold position alone for a while,” the voice sounded far away, probably due to the Queen Anna sending transients to prevent them from warning Phy’vohran.

  Luckily, Blake and Luke had the same technology and knew how to avoid those interfering signals.

  While Blake went on with explaining their dire situation, Luke started to send out transients towards their father’s fleet.

  The nice thing about it was that their ship had some new toys. So Luke pulled up the shields that were three times more protective than the old ones. Just as he did so, the other’s followed his lead, building up their gliders’ shields.

  Those shields were set up, so they connected when they touched another shield; forming one big wall.

  Their battle-cruiser hovered in the middle of the wall, powering their defensive wall.

  The front windows of the hunter gliders flashed a bright blue while the windows of their father’s fleet shone goldenly. It was a means to show their allegiance.

  When Blake hung up, Luke patted his shoulder.

  “How did it come to this?” Blake whispered; shaking his head in disbelief.

  He gazed out of the window, sadness darkening his eyes when he saw the Queen Anna still approaching them. How their father could have done such a thing…he didn’t understand.

  And was Kellan all right? Their little brother must be scared and confused.

  Blake hoped they’d meet him soon. He wanted to make sure he was well; he wanted to see it with his own eyes.

  Since Kellan hadn’t been with their father, he still had to be on the pirates’ ship…pirates that were apparently led by their uncle Alastair of whom they had heard for the first time just today.

  It seemed like their father had kept a great many deals of secrets from them.

  Blake felt heartsick and betrayed.

  He had known that their father was not always a good man, but he would have never guessed that Samuel was dishonorable and treacherous.

  How had he even been able to keep all this from his children?

  At least Blake should have been taken into confidence, but he seemingly hadn’t trusted him. But why?

  Was it because there was even more behind all this?

  Thinking about it made his head ache, and he focused on the opposing hunter gliders. They had build groups just in front of them; lingering right at their noses but did nothing…for now.

  “Whatever they do, don’t shoot!” Luke ordered and put more power into the shield, transferring it to the wall which now flashed blue with four layers.

  “Team 8, prepare to catch anyone who tries to go around the wall,” he said next, getting an immediate response from the addressed team.

  They left their places in the wall around the fringes and patrolled behind the wall, making sure no one would try to sneak around them.

  “Now we wait and hope they’ll not go full force on us,” Blake muttered and earned a grunt of agreement from his brother.

  Something chirped right at his ear and Kellan blinked in confusion.

  His body ached and a cold chill caused goose bumps on his exposed skin. His clothes- someone had obviously rearranged them for him- felt wet and heavy.

  He turned around and swiped his hand through the air next to his face, accidentally smacking it against something and the sound of angrily fluttering wings filled the room.

  “Dershra?” Kellan slurred because his throat felt dry and sore.

  Said little beast came into view, hopping on top of Kellan’s chest to nudge his chin.

  The small wyvern made purring sounds and licked his face, forcing Kellan to back away to avoid the rough but wet tongue.

  His tiny monster didn’t seem to mind and just jumped from Kellan’s chest to his collarbone; his small spiky head resting against the human’s cheek.

  “Hey there, sweetie,” Kellan whispered fondly, trying to sit upright with a little beast clutching his neck.

  “Kellan,” a pained, cracking voice sounded from the shadows on the left side of the room.

  Both Dershra’s and Kellan’s heads snapped up and around.

  A figure stood there in a dark corner, arms folded in front of them.

  They pulled away from the wall and stepped into the dim light of the lamps. Kellan didn’t recognize the person, his gaze nervously searching for a known face.

  He found Eryon lounging in a chair beside his bed. The old Phy’vohranian was fast asleep; his face tired and wrinkles more visible than normal.

  A fond smile played on Kellan’s lips, but it vanished when he turned his attention back to the man approaching him.

  He defiantly watched this stranger as he made his way to Kellan’s bed. Close enough to see his face and all the details, Kellan frowned.

  This man reminded him a lot of his father, but Kellan didn’t know this man.

  He was a complete stranger, but his features were still so similar to Samuel’s. His blonde hair was already graying at the temples but neatly backcombed. His eyes, though, were of a pale gray infused with bright green. He was as tall as Samuel, but his figure was much leaner; not rippled with muscles. He wore an old-fashioned dove-colored frock-coat made of brocade with silver flowers and vines. His vest was a darker metallic gray just like his trousers. He wore a white shirt and shiny black boots.

  There was a kind smile that played on his lips, but his eyes were sad.

  “I’m Alastair Harrison-Solaire de Beauvalleé, the captain and the Leader of the Sons of Sue’tyrn. You are my nephew,” he said, his voice strangely calm and surprised as if he couldn’t believe what he had just stated.

  Kellan stared at him, no words coming to his mind. His only focus was on the cold emptiness he felt; emptiness he couldn’t understand.

  He just stared silently.

  Alastair stared back at him, his eyes moist, his facial expression pained.

  “Forgive me…please. He told me it was your medicine. I believed him…I did. He is my brother, how could I not believe him? I had my healers run tests. It was not…it was poison. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. He said it was medicine…that you needed it, that they refused to give it to you. They treated you poorly, lesser than a dog. He said I needed to give you the medicine immediately…he told me to do that, but…I did this. It is my fault. I shouldn’t have believed him. I should have known…but he is my brother. How could he? He let me. He made me do this. Oh, Kellan. Please forgive me. Please…I beg you. I killed your child,” his whisper was barely audible, but Kellan had heard it, nevertheless.

  Kellan blinked; his heartbeat stopped for a moment and his mouth curved into a shaky smile of shock.

  Blackness hit him, all the lights went out.

  27

  Sartak paced up and down on the navigation bridge, and Trouble sat on the floor, watching him do so, while Vex ran his fingers over the holographic screen.

  The android was searching for some files, punching in the codes to unlock the data folders. Meanwhile, Gwyndea tried her best to get an overlook of the situation.

  They were just half an hour away from home, but there were quite too many dots on the radar.

  Behind them followed unidentified ships of an unknown number.

  Gwyndea had drops of sweat on her forehead. Her eyes raced over the screen as she tried to find data that would be of use for them.

  They were being followed, but she had no idea by whom.

  Though, she would point her fingers on the pirates. It was a race she hoped they’d win. But it looked too much like they’d lose it.

  “Sartak, they’re racing past us any moment. People, hold on tight! I don’t know what engine they're using, but it’s admittedly better than ours,” Aoran shouted while he almost immediately turned the ship in a harsh curve to the right while steering it downwards.

  Sartak managed to get a grip on a seat but still got thrashed around the pass
enger seats.

  Trouble, on the other hand, had nothing to get a hold of and slid involuntarily towards the windows in the front.

  “Damnation! Next time, I’ll stay on my ship without any short visits! I’ll-“ he suddenly stopped his complaining, his mouth stood open.

  His eyes were locked on something to his left, and all the heads turned in the direction Trouble was looking and their mouths fell open too.

  A gunmetal gray ship passed them by; a golden bird diving down was sculpted around the front of the ship.

  It was a beast of a spaceship, bigger than anything they had seen before- big enough to be a small moon- but it flew with a speed that made the edges were the ship touched the vast space blurry.

  As it passed, the pressure of its mass against the surroundings caused a blast that shook the Pra’vs-kwarana.

  Wave after wave of blazing heat crushed against them.

  Blake prayed; his hands were clasped together and his lips moved as he steadily recited words from various religions. Blake and his family weren’t followers of the old Earthean religions and they didn’t need to be. Over the course of time, old religion became fiction, and new gods rose from nowhere. If there was a deity, would they really care if the humans got their story straight if they used the right language to talk to them?

  Blake had never thought it would matter. A god or a goddess would hear their pleas nevertheless. And if that deity listened, they would also choose to act or stay silent.

  Luke put his hands on his brother’s shoulders, comforting him as good as he could while he said the last words of the prayer he had been reciting just now.

  Though Blake was staring at out of the windows, he still sent out messages to King Leylos with his hand flying over the keyboard.

  He had not much hope left since he saw the red glow of the artillery getting ready. The only bright thing about this situation was that not all the soldiers had followed his father’s order.

  He could still hear his father bellow the order to shoot them down. The sound still rang in his ears.

  When the first shots hit their wall, he closed his eyes. They wouldn’t respond to the fire, they’d wait.