She laughs as if that’s a ridiculous question then turns back to me. “No! Heaven’s, no!”
“May I ask why?” My finger taps the rim of the glass.
Her hands run over her body. “I’m defective.”
“Defective?” I ask as I shake my head.
She nods and sits on the bed and whispers, “My genetics are not a thing they wish to continue. My growth hormones are inactive. My body doesn’t make the muscles the other Euthenian’s have, nor give me the height they all have. If a person doesn’t have proper genes, then they cannot marry.”
“But you are able to have children, right? I mean, just because you don’t have height or muscles doesn’t make you unfit to have children.” My foot taps nervously on the floor as I’m quite disturbed by this information.
Her head shakes. “When I stopped growing when I was twenty, I was sterilized so I could not bear children. If a woman can’t bear children, she will never marry. So my fate was sealed that day.”
“Who made you do that?” I ask, thinking I know the answer.
“It’s a law from a long time ago. I can see you thought it was the King, but it wasn’t him. He isn’t as bad as he seems to be.” She smiles and gets off the bed to continue unpacking the things.
“Oh yes, he is,” I say and take another micro-sip of the tasty liquid.
I can feel it working already and the sensation is delightful.
“So, if you don’t mind me asking, have you never made love?” I watch as her body stiffens as she hangs up another dress, this one deep red and looks to be form-fitting.
She turns back and her head hangs low. “I have, but I’m not supposed to tell anyone about it. He made me promise.”
“Anyone I know?” I ask, thinking it’s the King.
Her chest heaves and her eyes dart up to mine. Then a smile breaks across her face, and her eyes light up. She pounces on the bed like a young girl.
“His name’s Blarto. He’s married, though, and it has to be kept a secret. His wife is mean to him, he’s told me. He works at the palace. He’s part of the kitchen staff. And guess what?” She smiles widely at me.
“What?” I ask, thankful she didn’t tell me it was the King. I would’ve had to have told Kerr about that.
“He knows how to make the food the people from Earth like to eat. Meats and things from milk. He makes cheeses. I find them delicious. Even if they can make you fat.” She pinches a bit of fat on her waist.
I laugh. “So, I will not starve once we get there then. That is good news.” My mind wanders to if she feels bad they took away her right to have children. “Bet, do you ever feel like you should’ve been allowed to reproduce?”
A heavy sigh raises her chest. “Of course.”
Such a simple statement for what has to be deep emotions. “That should be changed, don’t you agree?”
Bet gets up and goes back to putting the things away. Another bottle of some dark purple drink is pulled out, and she places it next to the other bottle.
“What’s that one?” I ask as I get up to sample a taste.
She places her hand on her hip. “Don’t try that right now. Mixing the two will make you sick to your stomach.”
I sit back down on the soft bed. “Thank you for telling me.”
She gives me a wink. “Maybe later on when your husband comes for a visit you two can have some.” A fit of giggles erupts from her and I know I’m blushing.
“You know about that?” I ask as heat fills my cheeks.
“Who do you think he gets to run interference for him? Kerr is like my own son. I was there since the day he was born. He had his own nurse-maid, but as I was aiding his mother, I was around him a lot.” Her face pulls into a smile and I can see she truly has love in her heart for Kerr.
“I really don’t know a thing about what’s happening on Euthenia, Bet.” I lie on my stomach and drum my fingers on the bed.
“That’s what Kerr told me. I believe you, Princess. I really do. But it’s the King, and he’s the ruler.” Her eyes go to the floor and she mutters, “Not that he should be.”
I cock my head and stop drumming my fingers. “Not quite a fan of his, are you? I mean, I know you said he’s not so bad, but you didn’t really mean that, did you?”
“It’s treason to talk about the man. So watch your tongue or you may not have one.” Her pale blue eyes level on mine.
I give her a nod of understanding. I’ll keep my mouth closed where he’s concerned. “I’m glad you’re talking to me now. I have so much to ask about your planet. If I could be with my husband, he could answer my questions.”
“What would you like to know?” She sits on the edge of the bed and seems ready to tell me anything.
“First, I want to know about Kerr’s mother. Tell me what she was like.” I turn over and lie back on a mound of pillows.
“The Queen was beautiful and graceful, elegant, and wise. Extremely wise. She wanted to change the ways women had been treated the last hundred years.” Her long finger runs over her chin as her eyes glisten with her memory of the woman I think was more a friend to her than an employer.
“It hasn’t always been this way on Euthenia?” I take another sip of the yummy drink and place the glass on the little table beside the bed.
“No,” she says and looks up at me. “Once the planet was ruled by women. It was men who were overruled. They stayed home and tended the children. They did the mundane jobs which are now done by the women.”
“What happened to change it so drastically?” I sit up as my interest is piqued.
“The men revolted. They stopped working and the whole planet nearly shut down when they did. The food wasn’t manufactured. Businesses stayed closed, and it was chaos. The Queen at that time declared a new law, and all knew the King was behind it. He was a cruel man. Hence the punishments. He said we needed to be taught where our place was. For the good of all people.”
“What a shame. At that time, things could have been evened out. Instead of merely changing the hands of who held the power, things could have been shared equally. What a missed opportunity.” I shake my head at the poor judgment of one man and how it affected a whole planet.
Tears glisten in Bet’s eyes. “Kerr’s mother, the Queen, wanted to change it all. Make things fair. Turn the page on that chapter in our planet’s history. In private, the King and Queen quarreled over it. Then one day she told him she was going to change the law and he could do nothing to stop her. She was the true heir to the throne, and he was born a commoner. I had overheard the whole conversation as I was in the adjoining room when they began to talk about it.”
“Did either realize you overheard them?” I ask. “Did anyone else know of their discussions about that?”
With a shake of her head, she says, “You are the first person I’ve ever told. You see, it was two days after that the Queen went missing. She took a walk in the late night, alone. She’d started doing that when she drank too much. No one thought much of it until she went missing and parts of her body were found in the Red Forest.”
“Parts of her body?” I ask in horror. “What killed her?”
“No one knows for sure. In that forest dwell fearsome creatures. It could’ve been flesh rippers, their large and terrible beasts with long claws which can tear a person apart with ease. Then there are small things with sharp teeth and claws which attack in packs, they’re called landers. They’re distant relatives of a fierce fish that roams the oceans and kills in packs. Just to name a couple of the monsters that roam that forest.”
“That forest sounds horrible.” I shudder at the idea of the poor woman being killed by any of the horrible sounding things. “How did they identify the body?”
“Her dress was in tatters on the pieces of her body they found. Of course, no head was recovered. But her dress was proof enough she was gone from our world forever. The saddest time in history. She was mourned by all. Most of all, the King. It took much out of him. Along with her de
ath went the idea of any change. I kept silent about it since there was nothing I could do anyway. What was the use?” Her narrow shoulders shrug and her face sags under the weight of her secret knowledge.
What perfect timing for the King, though!
12
Kerr
“We may have to use some harsh tactics to get her to talk, Kerr,” my father says as we sit in the courtroom.
My heart drops to my feet and I stand up. “Father, I think we can believe her.”
His eyes go wide and he laughs. “Where she’s concerned you don’t seem to be using your head, Kerr. She has to know more than she’s saying. The use of the clamps might work to get her talking.”
My body grows hot with anger but I have to control myself. “I can’t allow that.”
“You!” my father says with a laugh. “You cannot allow? Have you forgotten who is King?”
I shake my head. “I have not. But I am your son and I am asking you to allow me to deal with my wife. I am more than capable of handling her. The lack of faith you have in my capabilities is not easy for me to take.”
The arch of his eyebrows aggravates me. “You’re proving to be soft where she’s concerned.”
Turning from him, I wring my hands as I think of what I can do to stop him from torturing my wife. I turn back. “Father, wait until you can talk to Auntie Nar. She can talk to Kataline and you trust her judgement. I know you do. So do I. So, if she thinks my wife is hiding something then I’ll go along with you without a fight.”
“We stop in twenty-three hours to recharge. I suppose I can do that. But if she thinks the girl is a part of the uprising then we will make her talk. No matter what it takes.” My father’s hand touches my shoulder and I turn back to look at him. “Don’t fall too much for this woman. If she has the slightest thing to do with this she will be beheaded.”
Heartbeats stop and so does my breathing. “Father, there are other ways to deal with this. She may well be a pawn, but it’s not her fault if she is. I will not allow her to be killed if it’s no fault of her own.”
“You will have to allow it. Or you can join her on the gallows. The Earthlings will see we mean business. Pawn or not, her death will serve as a precedent of what we will and will not put up with.” His eyes are shining with his threat.
“You do not mean that.” I set my jaw and stare back into his eyes.
My blood is noble. The other royals would never allow me to be put to death. My father’s mind is not clear. It may be time to see about stripping him of his crown.
“I do.” He turns from me. “Do not test me, Son. Others have and others met their end.”
My mind is spinning out of control. “Others?”
I have no idea what he’s talking about. There have been no others killed. Not to my knowledge anyway. And I am quite knowledgeable about such things.
My father looks away, changing the subject. “This is not a pleasant subject. Tell me what you think is happening at home. There’s been no more contact since the initial confirmation of the uprising.”
“I really have no idea what’s happening there. But I think we can easily regain control once we’re there. They have no real weapons and we do.” I pace back and forth across the large room. “Even if we have to destroy the palace to get them out, we can do that, if necessary.”
“That’s a bit much, don’t you think?” he asks as he takes his place on the large cushioned chair he was sitting in. “Our general is looking into what action can be taken.”
“When we get to Ulta Minor we should have a meeting with him and discuss all the options. Perhaps we could land somewhere else instead of the port in the capital? Then we could send in the guards, using the element of surprise.” I go and sit down in the chair across from him.
“That sounds like a good idea. We can stay in the safety of the ships while they go take care of business. Our guards outnumber the Earthlings. It should be an easy battle.” His head drops for a moment then he quickly picks it back up and looks at me.
“What happened to you?” I ask as his eyes are large and his skin has become very pale.
With a shake of his head, he says, “Nothing! It’s nothing! Do you hear me? I’ll not have you questioning my health. Your mother did that, and it was her who went before me. I’m fine!”
“Mother was killed by wild animals. She wasn’t ill. Are you feeling alright?” I stand and go to place my hand on his shoulder.
His face is hot as I run my hand by it. “Stop! Go sit! I’m fine. It’s just the time on Earth is all it is. And the stress of the woman. We Euthenian’s do not get sick.”
“No,” I say in agreement. “But, there is the little fact you have no idea if you’re one hundred percent Euthenian.”
In an instant, his face goes red. “How dare you! How fucking dare, you!” He gets up and storms out of the room.
Seems he is not ready to deal with the truth.
With him super pissed I know he’s going to take his medication and go to sleep. Or stay the hell away from me for a while anyway.
Time to make a visit to my wife.
Making my way to her room I stop just outside the door as I hear her talking to someone. Then I hear Bet’s voice and I listen in on their conversation.
“She was mourned by all. Most of all, the King. It took much out of him. And with her death went the idea of any change. I kept silent about it since there was nothing I could do anyway. What was the use?”
I open the door and Bet’s eyes get huge, and she jumps up off the bed where she’s been sitting and talking to my wife. “What does that mean, Bet? What have you kept silent about?”
Her face goes pale, and she begins to stammer, “How, oh my… How long… Oh, Kerr.”
Standing near her, I look down at her. “Tell me what you’ve been silent about.”
Kataline is at my side. “Kerr, you’re frightening her. It’s nothing really.”
Without looking at my wife I ask one more time, “What have you been keeping to yourself?”
She finally looks up at me. “I overheard your father and mother arguing a couple of days before she disappeared. She was about to change the laws about women and their place in our world. She was about to make them equals and your father was mad, then she disappeared and later was found dead.”
My legs go weak and I have to sit on the little chair next to the small table. “What if he had something to do with my mother’s death?”
Bet comes and places her hand on my shoulder. “No! I didn’t say a thing about that, Prince! I just told her about how your mother was on the edge of changing things for the better when she met her early demise. I wasn’t ever implying the King may have done something to her.”
I stay quiet as even I cannot utter such remarks about my father without it being considered treason. But it’s there now. In my head. The fact they argued over something and when Mother stood her ground, she disappeared.
“I must know every word said between them, Bet. Leave nothing out.” Kataline’s hand touches my cheek and I look at her. “I must know, Love.”
***
Hours later I am numb from all my mother’s personal maiden has told me. I’ve known Bet my entire life and I trust her implicitly. She hasn’t put two and two together in her head. But I have.
Lying on the bed in the room my wife is being held in, I hold Kataline in my arms. Bet left us alone after she told me all she knew.
“My father may have killed my mother and earlier he threatened me with the gallows if I try to stop him from executing you. He plans on killing you to show the people from Earth we mean business. I fear he’s going insane.” My arm tightens around her.
She shudders. “I have no chance, do I?”
Her face is pale as she looks at me. My fingers trace the cupid’s bow of her top lip. “I will never allow him to harm a hair on your gorgeous head, Love. You are safe with me.”
“He is the King, Kerr. And I don’t wish you dead for standing up
for me. Perhaps it is my fate.” Her blue eyes go dark like storm clouds.
“I’ll hear none of that nonsense. I will handle my father. With the help of the other royals, I can take over the rule of Euthenia before we even land back on the planet’s surface.” I take her sweet lips with mine.
Her body turns to liquid and melts into my side. Her hand on my chest begins to move over the solid muscles. My hands run over her back and I lift her to move over me.
I don’t know exactly how I came to love and need her so quickly, but I have. My heart is completely hers and I think she feels the same way about me. Her body’s response tells me so anyway.
Moving my mouth away from hers, she groans in protest, but when I move my mouth to nibble at her ear, it changes into a moan and she says, “How do you know what will turn me into a puddle, Kerr?”
“Just do,” I say as I bite her earlobe, stirring another moan from her.
The way her hands move through my hair feels better than I think such a simple act should feel. Her silky nightgown rubs against my naked chest as she lies on top me. The sensation of the soft fabric covering her ample breasts sets my body on fire and I grow with the anticipation of feeling her wet depths.
“I love you, Kerr. More than imaginable. If anything ever happened…”
“Shh. Nothing is going to happen.” Her brain needs to stop thinking about such things, so I move my mouth to hers and silence her.
She tastes like the sweet drink she was sipping on and it sends a thrill through me. Kataline pulls away from my kiss. “Kerr, I want to taste you the way you tasted me. Can I?”
My eyes go wide. All I can do is nod. That’s never happened to me before and the idea is making my heart pound.
She smiles and kisses her way down my body. The loose, dark bottoms I have on, she pushes down, releasing my erection, and she wastes no time.
Her hot mouth is on it and moving down the length, sending me into a light sweat with the magnificent sensation. “Kataline! That’s beyond anything I’ve ever felt before!”
Her moan as she moves her mouth back up my hard cock vibrates it and sends a wave of pure pleasure straight through me. My hands go to tangle in her long, dark hair.
Duke: A Paranormal Scifi Alien Romance: Albaterra Mates Book 2 Page 18
