Ash Princess

by Eve Langlais

  “At least you knew when to act. I waited too long.”

  “Or you waited just long enough,” was his reply as he dragged her close. “You’ve got me to help you now.”

  “I thought you didn’t want to help.” She tilted her head and found him eyeing her, his lips soft with a smile.

  “Maybe I’ll make an exception for you,” he said with a wink. “I think I hear them coming. Don’t say anything that will get you killed.”

  “Me? I’m more worried about you,” she muttered as he separated from her and leaned to tug the sheets over the mattress.

  She couldn’t help but notice the red splotch on the sheet. Everyone would know what had happened. Her cheeks flamed. She headed for the lavatory. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Better hurry.”

  She closed the lavatory door and leaned against the wall. She looked down to the vee of her thighs. Was there blood there, too?

  She dropped her pants. Less than expected, given what she’d seen on the bed, but more than she liked. Being a virgin was messy. It took a few minutes to wipe herself, not just between the legs. She washed her face and scrubbed her teeth, too, before she emerged to find Cam leaning on the door, a door that someone was thumping on and cursing at.

  “I think it’s stuck,” was the muffled complaint from the other side.

  She arched a brow.

  “Ready?” he mouthed.

  Not really, but she nodded.

  Cam moved away from the door so that they stood on opposite sides of the bed when the door slammed open and a soldier in red came stumbling in.

  “About time,” muttered the countess as she entered, wearing a strange bouffant pantsuit, more orange than red, belted at the waist, the puffy legs tucked into darker red leather boots. She looked ridiculous.

  Kayda’s attention strayed to Markus, who had followed the countess in, carrying a tray with food.

  He glanced around with a frown. “Where am I supposed to put it?”

  The countess pointed. “You can put it on the bed in just a moment.”

  “Why not now?”

  “Because first we need to see the proof.” The countess snapped her fingers, and one of the people not dressed as a soldier entered the room and headed for the bed.

  “What are you doing?” Cam asked.

  The female assistant flung back the top sheet, exposing the bottom one and its red splotches. Kayda’s cheeks burned.

  The countess beamed. “I am delighted to see you took the opportunity I gave you. The Lazuli were very keen on this happening. They’ll be pleased, and that means a bonus for me.”

  On a reassurance level, it actually chilled to the bone.

  “Why would the Lazuli care if she’s a virgin?” Cam asked, seemingly calm.

  The countess wasn’t fooled. She lifted her hands, and the other two soldiers from the day before entered and moved toward him.

  “They don’t care.”

  “Meaning what?” Kayda asked, especially since Cam’s expression went completely blank.

  “Ask your lover. He knows the reason why the Lazuli would be interested in his bedding of you. After all, he’s the product of similar genetic manipulation.”

  Kayda might be innocent in some things, but she understood the reference. “They want us to breed?”

  “She’s a little slow on the uptake. I’m surprised they’d care.” The countess snapped her fingers. “Strip the sheet and package it. We’ll ship it to the Lazuli on the next transport.”

  “Like fuck you will.” Cam went to step forward, but the two soldiers pulled their weapons. He didn’t look worried in the least. Not yet.

  What would it take?

  “Can I put this fucking tray down now?” Markus whined as the mattress was exposed. A thing covered in stains Kayda preferred not to contemplate.

  “Keep whining and you’ll hold it the rest of the day,” the countess snapped.

  Markus glared and then stalked to the bed and set it down with a rattle.

  “Show our guests what they have today.”

  The dented dome came off the plates, and Kayda’s stomach twisted at the sight of food the likes of which she’d not seen in a long time.

  “Are those biscuits?” she asked, her mouth watering.

  “And gravy,” said the evil countess.

  “I’m not hungry,” she lied, turning away from it. It would be wrong to partake while those in the Necropolis starved.

  “You should eat,” Cam stated. “Sit down and have a biscuit or two. Bring me a plate with one, too, along with some of that gravy.”

  Surely, he wasn’t about to eat at a time like this. Or did he have a plan?

  Just in case, she spilled half of the biscuits onto his plate then drizzled the gravy on it, practically drooling. How could she be hungry at a time like this?

  No one stopped her from handing him the plate.

  “Thanks, Kay. Have a seat and eat some.”

  Since he bit into his, she wasted no time and snagged a biscuit of her own. She almost groaned at the first bite. She ate everything on the plate, trying to ignore the fact the countess watched.

  “Good girl. Behave and maybe you’ll get even more next time. Can’t have you lacking energy. I wonder how much you’ll be worth if you get pregnant?” The woman practically cackled.

  Cam’s eyes glittered, but his face remained expressionless.

  “How do you even know the Lazuli want me? Did you know I was in the mountain?” she asked.

  “We knew, but the Lazuli didn’t until recently. Then they made their offer. We were waiting for a chance to snag you. Lucky us, you came right to our door. I must say I don’t see why they’re so interested in your genetics. You seem rather ordinary to me.” The countess sniffed.

  “Then you’re not looking close enough,” was Cam’s reply.

  “Speaking of looking, remove your shirt and let me see,” the countess ordered.

  “I’m afraid I can’t let another woman ogle me. As you already commented, I’m in a relationship with Kayda,” Cam quipped.

  They were? Her cheeks warmed. Even if he lied for the situation, the claim did please her.

  The countess didn’t care. “Take it off or I’ll have it sliced off. I don’t really care.”

  “Let’s cut it.” Markus had a blade in hand a moment later.

  Cam smirked. “Do you really want to come at me with that tiny blade?”

  “I will slice the smirk from your face,” Markus threatened.

  “Sure, you will. Bring it,” Cam beckoned.

  “You will remove that shirt,” the countess declared. “Cut the princess. Somewhere on her body that won’t be seen if she’s dressed.”

  “With pleasure.”

  Kayda gasped and moved back as Markus advanced.

  “Don’t you fucking dare.” Cam’s icy words cut through them all. “I’ll take off the damned thing, but you tell your goon to stay away from her.”

  “Heel, Markus.”

  “Fuck you,” the man muttered, but he stopped and tucked himself behind the countess, spinning the dagger between his fingers as Cam removed the shirt he’d hastily donned.

  The night before Kayda had seen the signs of healing, his injuries scabbed over. This morning his wounds appeared as nothing more than puckered red marks.

  The countess couldn’t help but stare at him. Long enough Kayda started to get annoyed. It was probably just curiosity at seeing his wounds healed, but then again, Cam had a fine body. More than fine. After last night, Kayda considered it hers.

  Wait a second. She’d just experienced jealousy. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it, but she did really want to grab the countess by the hair and slam her face off a wall.

  “Remarkable healing,” the woman noted, getting closer.

  If she reached to touch… Kayda’s nails bit into the palms of her hands. It didn’t help that Cam did nothing. He leaned against the wall with his eyes half lidded, a small smile curving his lips.<
br />
  What game was he playing? They’d not talked much, his concern someone might be listening limiting their speech. She only hoped when they made love that she wasn’t too loud. The thought of anyone hearing the noises she made…

  Heat filled her cheeks, and she dropped her gaze to the floor. Tile, the pattern on it faded, cracked, too, in a few places. This underground installation was old.

  It caused her to blurt out, “Is this base linked to the ancient tunnels running through Ozz?”

  She drew the countess’ gaze. “It is. Or was. The volcano put a stop to a good number of routes, including the passage leading to Ruby, which was inconvenient to our operations.”

  “Wait, you mean you’ve been using this place since before the volcano blew?” Cam asked, showing interest.

  “Almost thirty years we’ve been using this installation right under Diamond’s nose,” the countess said with a laugh. “Idiots never even realized we’d sealed this section off and were using it.”

  “But why?” Kayda asked. “What’s so interesting about this facility?”

  “The tri-dimensional printers. There are three of them in this base. Six actually, but we couldn’t repair the others even with the parts we stripped from our broken ones.”

  “3D printers? Here?” Cam’s brows rose, as he obviously understood what they were. “How did Diamond not know?”

  “Because they were purists, preferring to hand fabricate rather than rely on machines. Idiots. No wonder they weren’t prepared to handle any kind of crisis.”

  “And so you just moved in and started using our things?” Kayda huffed.

  “Might as well. It wasn’t as if your people were.”

  “So that’s what the transports are for. To drop off supplies and take away the items you’re creating.” Cam attempted to draw out more information.

  “We used to be able to travel via the tunnels; however, an incident led to an unfortunate blockage of our underground route. We now have to rely on air transport, which is a more tedious and expensive prospect with the dragons.”

  “How dreadful.”

  The countess didn’t seem to hear the sarcasm in Kayda’s words. “It is dreadful. And the blame is squarely on our waste management department. They should really have checked more before dumping that radioactive waste down that supposedly empty shaft. At least they saved us the bother of firing them, given they all died in the resulting volcanic explosion.”

  Kayda blinked. “Wait, are you saying Ruby is to blame for the volcano?”

  “Not entirely. It was getting ready to blow according to seismic readings. It does that every century or so. We just hastened the process.”

  The nonchalant way the countess talked about the thing that destroyed not just Kayda’s kingdom but everyone living in it roused a rage like she’d never imagined.

  Not hot. Not trembling. Icy cold.

  “Is the ventilation system malfunctioning again?” the countess complained as a draft swept through.

  The woman worried about the air when she’d willfully participated in genocide?

  Kayda’s fingers curled and dug into her palms lest she launch herself at her. “Thousands of people died because of what Ruby did.”

  “An accident.”

  “An accident that killed an entire kingdom.”

  “Not everything. You survived,” the countess stated.

  The rage crackled inside her like a thin layer of ice when stepped on. Her breath misted in front of her as the temperature in the room dropped again.

  Cam had a few questions. “Why the sudden confession? You do realize you’ve admitted to a crime. That the Ruby Enclave is in breach of the kingdom agreement.”

  “Who are you going to tell?” The countess laughed. “It’s not as if I’m going to release you. On the contrary, you are both going to make me very wealthy. Enough that I can hire someone to oversee the operations and finally spend more time in the pleasure domes.”

  “You won’t get away with this,” Kayda snapped.

  “I already have. Drone messengers were sent last night. I expect we’ll have a response within the next day or two. So enjoy the time you have left because you, princess, will likely end up with the Lazuli, who are obsessed with lineage, meaning you’ll be birthing lots of babies. While you, big man, given it appears your male parts are functioning, I’m thinking it’s time I founded a line to inherit what I’ve built.” The countess licked her lips.

  There was that jealousy again. That emotion that wanted Kayda to tear the hair from the woman. She took a step forward.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The countess lifted her hand, and Markus put a gun to Cam’s head.

  But the man still didn’t look worried. Surely a bullet to the brain would kill him.

  His gaze said everything would be all right. Everything was not all right. Nothing would ever go back to the way it was. The past was the past. And there was no future.

  Cam flicked his attention to the countess. “Since you’re being so forthcoming, let me ask you, is Ruby keeping the volcano active?”

  “With the tunnels impassable since the explosion, we needed somewhere to dump the radioactive goo. It’s been bubbling inside our borders. Some kind of underground reservoir that has decided it wants out. The sludge is ruining some of our best gardens.”

  “You’re worried about gardens?” Kayda’s incredulity inflected the words.

  “They’re quite beautiful. Hence why the waste is being siphoned away from problem areas and transported by pipeline to the volcano. A few months ago, they actually introduced a second line.”

  “You’re feeding it. Unbelievable.” He shook his head. “Because of you, the poison is spreading outside of Diamond.”

  “You don’t say.” The woman truly didn’t care.

  Kayda eyed the countess then the tray of food on the bed. No utensils. Just a metal plate and a dome. How she wished for something sharp.

  “Did it never occur to you to talk to the other kingdoms and ask for help?” he said.

  “When it comes to survival, there is no permission.” The countess justified her actions.

  “The selfish actions of the Ruby Kingdom destroyed mine,” Kayda snapped.

  “New Earth demands sacrifices from us all. If you’ll excuse me, I have matters to attend, and you two”—the countess waggled her fingers—“have only a little time to try and put a baby in her belly.”

  Kayda ran for the woman, only Markus stepped in front of her and dangled his knife.

  “Leave it alone,” Cam said.

  “But…” She whirled to see him shaking his head slightly. “Fine,” she huffed, flopping onto the bed.

  The soldiers left the room, and the door slammed shut behind them, but it was the click of the lock that had Kayda slamming her fists into it a second later. “You can’t do this.” It wasn’t fair.

  “Don’t worry, Kay.”

  “I am worried,” she exclaimed. “I don’t know how you can be so calm about this. We’re locked up and about to be sold off.”

  “Never going to happen,” Cam stated.

  She whirled. “How are you going to stop her? The countess has the upper hand, not to mention the numbers and the weapons.”

  “Which is why we need to even those odds.”

  “Even them? We’re locked in a room with nothing we can use to fight.”

  “First off, that’s not a great lock,” Cam snorted. “Watch this.” He walked over and fiddled with it, jamming a pin he pulled from his boot into the mechanism until they heard a click. But rather than open it, he stood to the side and waited.

  Sure enough, the door opened, and the female guard, wearing a scowl, looked in. “What are you—”

  Cam dragged the woman in and shut the door. There was a brief struggle that didn’t last long as his arm around her neck kept up the pressure. The soldier sagged, unconscious.

  Not dead, but even if he had killed her, Kayda could feel no sympathy. Not given w
hat these soldiers condoned.

  “Her uniform won’t fit me. Here, see if it will work for you.”

  Opening her eyes, she was in time to catch the flying garments as Cam stripped the body.

  “You have a plan?” she queried as she shimmied into a different set of clothes, finer than any she’d worn in a long time.

  “Kind of.”

  “Not reassuring,” she grumbled, tightening the belt so the pants didn’t fall off. She still looked ridiculous with the hips and thighs too loose and the hems on the legs too short. “You do realize they’ll recognize me.”

  “Up close maybe, but from the back or afar, you’ll just look like a soldier moving a prisoner.”

  “You want us to leave?”

  “Eventually. First I say we check this place out.”

  “There might be more soldiers.”

  “Yup. Which is where the whole evening-the-odds part of the plan comes in.”

  He really was serious. At least he had a plan.

  “Okay.” She let him take charge. The confidence in him was calming.

  “Stick your head out the door and see if there’s anyone around.”

  She pried open the door, and her heart raced as she peeked. “No one.”

  “Good. I’m going to lead. You follow closely behind. If anyone says anything, don’t turn to look. Just say, ‘Following orders.’”

  “This will never work,” she muttered.

  He grabbed her and dragged her close. “Never say—”

  “Never.” She sighed.

  “Now you’re getting it.” He dropped a kiss on her lips. “Come on, Kay. Let’s go find those tunnels.”

  She followed him down a hall lined with doors, most of them open. The idiot stuck his head in each one. He might be tough, but she doubted he’d survive decapitation or a bullet to the head.

  “What are you doing?” she hissed.

  “Checking shit out. Looks like this is a floor of bedrooms.”

  “Meaning people.”

  “I wish. We could have handled a few if they’d been courteous enough to be napping.”

  He headed past the last open door to a massive one at the end of the hall. Above it a faded sign said Level Two.

  They opened onto a stairwell. No elevator for them. They went down a level. He really was serious about finding those tunnels. But after what the countess said, Kayda wasn’t harboring as much hope.