“Protect her at all costs,” Modric demanded. As we entered the main room, chaos ensued. A mixture of Hallon and Athim soldiers were fighting each other and it was hard to tell who was on what side. Natira appeared at my side, disheveled and out of breath.
“Get them out of here!” Modric yelled to the soldiers who were still protecting me. They herded Natira and I and began to drag us out of the room.
“I’m not leaving you, Modric!” I yelled as the soldiers took me further away. Modric turned around, and it was then I noticed something on his face that I hadn’t seen before. While he had an inability to show some emotions, this one was very clear. He was scared.
“I will come for you,” he yelled back. I wanted to stay with Modric, but I knew that I could be killed.
“Traitor King Ryu!” An alien flew by us, entering the main room to fight. I heard more chants mixed with gun fire and swords clattering.
“Death to King Ryu!” A voice shouted in the distance. “Death to Queen Amira! Athim are enemies!”
The Hallon soldiers led us down another hallway, the noise growing quiet in the distance. We finally reached a small door at the end of a hallway, and the soldiers instructed us both to go in. It was very small. Natira went in first and I followed.
“We will guard you from out here,” said one soldier as he shut the door, leaving us in complete darkness. I started to sob.
“Don’t you dare cry, Freya,” Natira said sternly. “We’ll get out of this. We’re safe right now.”
“But Modric isn’t!” I cried.
“He’ll be fine. He has been in many battles before. Most Hallons don’t know about his ability to turn into a dragon. Since that’s pretty much a royal-only thing. This will be over before you know it.”
We sat in silence for a bit. I was too petrified to say anything, and Natira didn’t want to make the situation worse. Suddenly, we heard two thuds from outside the door. The small space between the floor and the door where light had once gotten through was now dark.
Natira covered my mouth with her hand before I had a chance to scream. We watched silently as the light slowly returned. I shivered as I realized what had happened. The two guards had been shot. Whoever shot them was moving the bodies away from the door. Natira removed her hand from my mouth.
“Don’t make a sound,” she whispered. She quietly maneuvered herself between my body and the door. With the guards dead, she would now become my human shield. I nervously held the pistol in my hand, reassured by the weight of it.
The door was thrust open. Prince Kyan appeared at the door.
“Oh, thank God,” I said. “It’s you!”
“Ha!” he spat as he talked. “Now you’re glad to see me? I’m sorry to inform you princess, but I’m orchestrating this attack.”
Before we could say anything, he took Natira by her arm and threw her out of the room. She landed on the floor with a thud, but turned, baring her teeth, her mouth starting to stretch into dragon form. Kyan yanked the pistol from my hands before I could register what was happening, and he pulled the trigger several times at Natira. She collapsed. Horror welled inside me, even though a part of my mind noted that he’d used the wrong button. Those were stunners. Not killers.
“Modric’s little fuck toy.” He reached for me. I scooted back in the room as far as I could. I hit the back wall and he still could reach me. He was more careful with me.
“You already smell like sex,” he said. “That’s OK. I’m good with Modric’s sloppy seconds. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
I felt tears begin to fall from my cheeks.
“Stop fucking crying and crawl out of the room,” he barked the order at me. I looked behind him to where Natira lay motionless on the floor. I crawled out, the lights temporarily blinding me.
The two dead guards lay on the ground near where Natira was. Prince Kyan and I were the only alert ones in the room.
“Get on your knees,” he said. More spit flew from his fat lips, landing on my cheek. I positioned myself on my knees.
“I’ve been eyeing you up all night,” he said, licking his lips. Which was obvious, given his lecherous attitude towards me. It was then I realized why he wanted me on my knees. He began to adjust his robe to reveal his penis, when something roared nearby. With a thud and scraping sound, a huge blue dragon emerged, fangs dripping blood. Modric. He looked like a monster. With one whip of his long, serpentine tail, he knocked Prince Kyan on the ground. I ran towards Natira and pulled her under the empty staircase with me.
Prince Kyan fought back, even though Modric in dragon form was much larger. Modric thrashed around, continuing to knock Prince Kyan down as he continuously tried to get back up. Any moment, I expected Modric to stop toying with him and just end it, but he seemed determined to make Kyan suffer. Red whip-slashes appeared all over Kyan’s skin. He’d long since dropped the gun, and in the fight, it’d been kicked near us. I scooped it up again and tucked it away.
“What the hell’s going on?” Natira sat up, rubbing her eyes. She gaped at her brother in dragon form.
“Oh shit,” she said. “This isn’t going to end well.”
She was right. Although the Prince Kyan had tried to fight back, he was no match against a fierce dragon. With one violent move, Modric switched from lashing with his tail with snapping at Prince Kyan with his fangs. I looked away, sickened.
Natira and I remained silent, though I flinched slightly when blood sprayed nearby.
Modric quickly transformed back into alien form, wiping his mouth when I finally faced him, trying not to pay any attention to the dead Prince. Thinking quickly, he removed the robe from the body of Prince Kyan and put it on.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” he told us in a hoarse voice. I helped Natira up, who still seemed weak from the stunner. “Lucky he didn’t know about the buttons.”
“Yes,” she said, wincing as I positioned her to drape over my shoulder. We grabbed our guns and moved down the hallway.
“The large room is cleared,” he said. “I need to find King Ryu. I fear he’s in trouble.”
We made our way through the hallways, stepping over dead Hallon bodies. I had no doubts that Modric had killed them. We finally reached the dining room where we had just been hours before. Modric opened the door to find a crouching King Ryu. Queen Amira was behind him with our four red-headed friends.
“Modric!” King Ryu stood. “This isn’t my doing. My own brother turned on me!”
“I know,” Modric said. “He almost killed Natira and Freya. He’s dead now.”
“Dead?” King Ryu asked. A mixture of sadness, confusion, and anger filled his face.
“I killed him,” Modric said. “I had to.”
King Ryu nodded as Modric spoke.
“I know it’s hard to hear, but we must leave now. Let’s all get on my ship and then we can decide what to do from there. What’s the quickest way out?”
“Follow me.” He ran out of the room. We followed him as Modric rounded out our group. We ran quickly down the hall. While it was still quiet, we feared the unknown. Soldiers could jump out of a room at any time. We reached outside and it was a similar scene. Tons of dead bodies were on the ground. I had never seen anything like it before in my life.
We ran towards the ship, now joined by more Athim fighters. We almost reached the stairs when bullets started whizzing by our heads. Queen Amira screamed and fell to the ground. She’d been hit.
A lone alien stood in the distance, holding the gun that had delivered the bullet to Queen Amira. Without thinking, I grabbed the gun from my boot. First button, short range, kill. Second button, long range, stun.
I hit the second button. My bullet quickly reached the alien and he dropped to the ground. I watched as another Athim soldier ran towards him and delivered a sword to the alien’s chest. I stood in shock.
“Keep going!” Modric commanded. Natira and the other girls ran past me.
“Is she… dead?” I asked, although I
already knew the answer.
“Get on the ship, NOW!” Modric yelled. I listened to his orders, climbing the stairs two by two. When I reached the top, an Athim soldier shut the door behind us.
Nellie began to cry.
“She’s dead! The Queen is dead!” She buried her head in her hands. The door opened again. Modric and King Ryu came in. Modric barked orders at the crew.
“We need to leave Hallon right now,” Modric said. “King Ryu and the girls are staying on the ship with us until it’s safe for them to return to Hallon.”
King Ryu began to protest.
“But my wife, I can’t leave her!” King Ryu cried. Despite the fact he had tried to kill us before, I felt terrible for him. Modric grabbed him by his shoulders.
“I’m sorry, Ryu,” he said. “She’s gone. You can’t be the next. We’ll return when this chaos has died down. I promise.”
Ryu collapsed in a chair and let out a howl unlike anything I’d ever heard before.
Chapter 17
No one spoke for hours. We were all mentally and physically exhausted. I had wanted to sleep, but every time I shut my eyes, I saw Queen Amira’s dead eyes. I didn’t even get a chance to know her, but I knew if I had, I would have liked her very much.
Natira nursed her sprained wrist as the other girls sat in silence. We had sat in the meeting room for hours, barely speaking to one another. Modric, King Ryu, and the other Athim soldiers that fled Hallon were in deep discussions in the command room.
No one was sure what to do next. There was no plan. We couldn’t return to Hallon, and the next closest planet was Arilia. We wouldn’t be returning there, either.
“This is awful,” Rachelle spoke. “I would have never imagined tonight going as it has.”
“I’m in shock, I think,” Natira said. “Between almost losing my life and see Queen Amira lose hers, I don’t know what to do next.”
“When we will be going back?” Kelly asked. No one answered her, because no one knew.
Modric appeared in the room. He looked fatigued, almost defeated. King Ryu was behind him. Needless to say, he was much worse off than Modric.
“What’s going on?” I asked. Modric and King Ryu looked at each other.
“We need to float around for a couple of days,” Modric announced. Natira jumped up.
“And then what?” Natira asked.
“Then we go back to Hallon,” King Ryu spoke. “I need to clean up the mess, but your brother wants me to wait a bit.”
“So, are you two best friends now?” Natira was clearly annoyed.
“Natira!” Modric raised his voice.
“No, Modric, I want to know. How can you two be best friends after we nearly lost our lives twice because of him? Are you forgetting that he nearly shot our ship out of space?”
Modric opened his mouth to speak, but King Ryu stopped him.
“I owe you an apology and explanation,” King Ryu sat down in a chair. “As soon as we get back to Hallon, I’ll call off the gathering invasion forces. Prince Kyan had previously told me that the Athim people couldn’t be trusted. He told me numerous times that Modric needed to die. He wanted me to have him killed so we could seize the jump point.”
Natira rolled her eyes.
“I’m so very sorry,” he said. “I had no idea that my own brother and others close to me had plans to murder me. They were my only source of information, and I trusted them with my life. I know that you’re angry, but imagine how I feel, Natira. My wife was killed by people that I trusted.”
“I know,” she said, with force in her tone. “And believe me, I’m very sympathetic, but what’s next? Where does that leave us all now?” she asked. Modric spoke.
“We will cement our alliance,” he said. “We will accompany King Ryu back to Hallon. We shall finalize the trade between the girls and the resources. Once we’re all satisfied and life has returned to normal on Hallon, we will begin our journey back to Athim.”
Natira rolled her eyes, but stopped her protest. She could have fought all night, but we all knew the plans were set in stone. There was no going against Modric. King Ryu turned to the four girls.
“We will treat you with the utmost respect,” he assured them. “Please don’t think that anything bad will happen to you. Our people will love you.”
The girls smiled graciously at King Ryu. I could tell they were a bit hesitant, but like the rest of us, they had nothing left to do but put their trust in the plan.
We all scattered after that. Modric and King Ryu returned to the command room. The four girls went to their bedroom quarters to get some sleep. I was exhausted as well, but my mind was racing a million miles a minute.
“Do you think we should trust him?” Natira asked me. We’d stayed in the study after everyone left.
“I’m not really sure, Natira,” I said, stifling a yawn. “I mean, we have to at this point, right?”
She nodded.
“Do you think he will take one of the girls as his new bride?”
“That’s an odd question,” I replied. “Why on earth are you thinking about something like that at a time like this?”
She shrugged.
“Queen Amira isn’t King Ryu’s first wife,” she explained. “He was married before her, but his first wife betrayed him, and she was executed.”
I gasped.
“As the King of a planet, he always needs to have a queen. It’s an unwritten royal law,” she explained. “After his first wife’s death, he married Queen Amira within two days.”
“Hmm,” I processed the information. “Well, if that’s the case, I suppose Nellie is the most level-headed and regal. Should we recommend her?”
Natira frowned.
“No,” she said. “Forget I ever mentioned it. I think I’m so exhausted that I’m just thinking nonsense. I’m going to head to bed.”
Following her lead, I headed to my bedroom to get some sleep as well. I passed the command room and noticed King Ryu and Modric deep in talk. I wanted Modric to come to bed, but I knew that wouldn’t be happening any time soon.
I slept for over sixteen hours. My body needed it in more ways than one. In the past few days, I had been introduced as an Athim Princess, had my virginity taken, helped to kill an alien enemy, and nearly lost my own life in the process.
I went to the dining room, in desperate need of coffee. Natira and the other girls were eating when I arrived.
“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Brenda said.
“Good morning,” I responded. “Any updates since I’ve been asleep?”
Natira shook her head.
“Nothing,” she said. “We’re still on plan to float around outer space for the next few days until everything settles down below.”
I grabbed some coffee and a bagel.
“I’m in desperate need of a hot shower,” I told the girls as I left the room.
The rest of the day was rather uneventful. I barely saw Modric or Natira, as both of them were busy with King Ryu and confirming the plans to go back to Hallon.
Floating around in space was more boring than I had imagined. I had read all the Athim books. I needed to pick up a new hobby. Natira, in response, had brought me a journal and a pen.
“Write,” she said. “It helps me to clear my mind. Maybe it will with yours.”
I decided to take her advice and was writing when Modric came in. I protectively shut the journal.
“What’s in there?” he teased. “Let me guess. You’re writing about our hopes and dreams for our future?”
“What’s going on out there?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Just typical nonsense,” he confessed. “Trying to help King Ryu from losing his mind. I feel bad for him. I couldn’t imagine having someone close to me turn against me and then lose you on top if it. I’d be completely devastated.”
I nodded sympathetically.
“I found this kind of weird, though. He may actually take one of the girls as the next Queen,”
he confessed. Natira was right. Modric noticed the concern on my face.
“He told me that he has to, Freya,” he explained. “The people need a Queen. So I suggested that he take Nellie. She’s the most mature of them all. I’m sure you feel bad about Queen Amira, but it’s strictly business at this point.”
That wasn’t what bothered me. The way they just so easily replaced one Queen with another… “So, if I died, would you find a replacement like that?” I furrowed my brow.
“No!” He leaned down to kiss me. “I would never replace you. Ever. I promise.”
His answer made me happy. We parted ways with Modric promising to come back to the room shortly. He had a few things to wrap up with King Ryu.
We would hopefully be returning to Hallon in two days. They had received words that the rogue Hallons had already fled the planet, and the remaining friendlies were working on cleaning up the awful mess that was left behind.
Chapter 18
I met Natira in the dining room for coffee the following morning. She looked exhausted but was also glowing and had a smile on her face.
“What have you been up to?” I asked, sipping my drink. She shrugged.
“Nothing much,” she replied.
“So, you were right about King Ryu taking a new Queen,” I told her. “Modric told me last night that he suggested Nellie. Isn’t that strange to think that she might be a Queen? I’m not even a Queen!”
“You will be one day, though,” she said. “And to be honest, it’s just a title. It’s no different than a princess. I don’t think he’s going to pick Nellie, though.”
“Why not?”
“I just don’t,” she said. “She doesn’t seem like his type.”
“I don’t really care who his type is,” I confessed. “I just can’t wait to drop them back off on Hallon and head to Athim.”
Natira didn’t say much after that. Modric entered the room. He looked happy and refreshed.
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