by Myra Star
“Heli - just get going, she’ll calm down.”
The creature gave another snort of derision, and spread her wings in preparation for flight. Lily ceased to make another noise. Caleb could feel her trembling, but chose to ignore it and held her tighter.
Heli lifted off and soon they were soaring up and above the treetops, chasing the easterly sunset. The sky was alight with pinks, gold’s and purples; nature’s most awe-inspiring kaleidoscope of colour seemed to be put on show for their benefit alone.
“Oh,” he heard Lily exhale.
Caleb smiled to himself. He hadn’t been wrong.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Caleb murmured against her hair.
“It’s incredible.”
The palace faded into the distance. Heli flew higher still, skating the blanket of stars emerging in the darkening sky. She slowed her pace, gliding gently as she caught the waves of breeze that smelt like dying sunshine and warm earth.
“Are you warm enough?” Caleb asked.
“Yes,” she turned to him, her eyes shining brightly with excitement and unshed tears, “this is so beautiful. I don’t think I’ll have another moment like this in my life - honestly Caleb, I’ve never felt so…awake.”
“I know how you feel.”
He did. He knew exactly how she felt, because whenever he looked at Lily, he felt exactly the same way. Awake.
“I’m glad you like it,” he said, “It’s a good view.”
They both smiled at his understatement.
In the next moment, their lips had met, and Caleb was crushing Lily to his chest, half turning her toward him as she arched her back to meet him. He didn’t know who had made the first move, but Caleb was drowning in her, and like the tidal pull of the ocean, he wasn’t strong enough to resist.
Chapter Fifteen
“Caleb!”
The stocky figure of his uncle waddled toward him, arms outstretched and with a beaming smile writ large across his jowly face.
“Uncle,” Caleb rose from his chair, “it’s been too long - welcome back.”
Credor scuttled in after his uncle, overladen with a disarray of trunks and various fabrics. Clearly his uncle had been making good use of his vast wealth in the galaxy colonies.
“You look tired,” his uncle announced, “as ever.”
“Trying times, uncle,” Caleb reminded him, “the hunt for Lucifer continues. I was ambushed in Kriolin. They knew to expect me.”
“Well,” replied his uncle jovially, “how fortunate for you that I am here to solve the problem of Kriolin and their pesky guns for hire.”
Caleb held back a sigh. His uncle’s constant scheming was unalterable, and without fail tended to have unintentionally disastrous results.
“Kriolin is not the problem - Lucifer is the problem.”
His uncle chucked merrily, “take away a man’s army and he’s nothing but a man - Caleb, my dear boy, you know this!”
“Uncle, before we talk strategy, perhaps you should rest?” Caleb suggested.
“Nonsense - no time to lose, there’s introductions to be made. I have a woman, the crown jewel of the Hexon Galaxy, waiting to meet you.”
Caleb pushed his fingers to his temple. Of course. Another matchmaking exercise. He should have seen this coming.
“That’s wonderful, uncle,” Caleb smiled brightly, “perhaps she would like to meet my wife?”
The beam on his uncle’s face dimmed.
“What?”
“My wife. You haven’t met her yet. She’s wonderful - you’ll love her.” Caleb smirked.
“Good grief! Caleb, what is the meaning of this! Who is she? What family is she from?” The man spluttered with indignation, throwing his hands in the air.
“All in good time uncle,” Caleb placated him, “I think now it is better if you rested.”
It wasn’t just a ruse to be rid of him; his uncle had turned puce, and his piggy little eyes darted about around the room, as if trying to find a soul who would interject and plead reason.
“Caleb!” His voice was a faux whisper, “the woman in the next room is the highly prized daughter of Kriolin, and I have promised her your hand in marriage!”
“Well,” mused Caleb, “that is unfortunate.”
“Unfortunate?” His uncle yelped, “It will be our undoing! The marriage I have proposed will end Lucian’s mad ideas, as all of Kriolin will stay loyal to her! As will her father!”
“Uncle,” Caleb emitted a sigh, “that is just not true. Lucian’s armies come from all over; Kriolin is just the despot hole where they gather. Kriolin is a small fraction of our problem - and besides, I am married. It is done, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“By Hexon there is not!” His uncle thundered, “this will be fixed - and it shall be fixed, mark my words!”
He spun on his heel, waddling out of the conference room as fast as his stocky legs would carry him. Credor hurried after him, but not before shooting an 'I told you so' look at Caleb. He ignored them both.
He had a sense that having a woman in the palace as his promised bride was going to cause problems. Lily was thawing toward him, there was no doubt about that, but Caleb was certain that once she saw a way out of their marriage - by using this other woman as leverage, she would pounce on the opportunity to gain her freedom.
He needed to keep Lily from hearing of his uncle’s intentions. Lieutenant Varga would be best placed to reason with him, by nature he had far more patience than Caleb and a lot more time for some of his uncle’s more eccentric tendencies. Perhaps Varga could break the news to his uncle that he was married to an earthling; Caleb couldn’t face the histrionics and hysteria that would undoubtedly follow.
More problems.
Caleb turned his attention back to the reports from his emissaries and reconnaissance squads. He was starting to find that intergalactic battle strategies were proving to be a soothing distraction from the war waging within his own home.
Chapter Sixteen
“Hello, anyone there?”
An imperious voice, high pitched and with a subtle lisp, called from the bedroom doorway. Lily had just finished having her shower, and she hurried from the bathroom, wrapping her robe as she did so.
“Hi.” Lily replied, surprised to see a woman standing in the doorway. She was rake thin and incredibly tall; blood red robes dripped from her shoulders down to a svelte column.
Her face was pale, and her skin clung tightly to her bone structure giving her concave cheeks. Had her eyes not been so incredibly cold and somewhat glazed, she would have been stunningly beautiful. As it was, her general appearance unnerved Lily.
“Who are you?” The woman asked, looking Lily up and down with a skeptical gaze.
“I’m Lily. Who are you?”
The woman seemed affronted by the question. She replied tersely, “I am Octavia. The promised bride of your Lord Commander.”
The last line was delivered with a smug air and a condescending smile. Lily arched an eyebrow.
“Well, I am his actual bride,” Lilly shrugged in bafflement, “pleased to meet you.”
“What?”
Her voice was a little lower than a full-blown shriek.
“We are talking about the same man,” replied Lily, “Caleb? That Lord Commander?”
“Yes, you idiot,” she hissed back at her, “there’s only one Lord Commander.”
“In that case, I’m most certainly married to him,” Lily replied, “so perhaps you’ve got it wrong?”
It was difficult trying to maintain her cool. She wanted this woman out of her bedroom, and out of the palace. There was something about her, aside from her airs and graces that indicated she’d be an almost perfect match for the prideful Caleb, which set Lily’s teeth on edge.
“You’re human,” the woman spluttered, “you can’t possibly be married to the Lord of Epsilon!”
“I didn’t really have much choice in the matter,” Lily responded, “but I can assure you
that I am married to him.”
The woman started to laugh. It was a cold, empty mockery of laughter, and it chilled Lily to her core.
“You’re not fit enough to clean his boots, earthling - this is some hilarious mistake and I intend to rectify it as soon as possible. You’ll be out of the picture in a few days, let me assure you.”
A few days earlier, and a woman coming along to remove Lily from this marriage would have been a dream. After last night, Lily wasn’t so sure she was ready to part ways with Caleb.
He was impossible; arrogant, curt, rude and proud, but there was something growing between them, beyond the physical attraction, which Lily felt drawn to.
Additionally, without hesitation, Lily knew that this female’s methods of getting rid of her would most likely end up with Lily out, destitute on the streets, or back dancing on bar tables with a collar around her neck.
As if she could read her mind, the woman smirked.
“Ah, a daughter of Kriolin.”
Both women turned toward the hallway, to see Juliette leaning on her walking stick and peering up at Octavia.
“Well met, servant of Epsilon,” Octavia dismissed her with a wave of her hand, “I am in need of my sleeping quarters.”
“I’m no servant.” Juliette pushed passed her into the room, and beamed at Lily.
“You look well, dear. Caleb sent me to keep you company.” She announced cheerily, completely ignoring Octavia’s horrified expression.
“What monstrous place is this! Is your Lord keeping a home for waifs and strays?” Octavia shot the old woman a foul look, which managed to be at once chilling and ludicrous enough to make Lily want to laugh out loud.
“Mind your tongue, daughter of Kriolin. I know your world, and the company you keep.”
Lily was shocked to hear such distain dripping from Juliette’s voice. She wondered what the old woman knew of Octavia, and made a mental note to ask her as soon as they were alone.
“Juliette, don’t threaten our guests.”
Caleb stood in the doorway, his cool gaze appraising the three women in the room. The tension was palpable - Juliette and Lily both tense and uneasy. On seeing Caleb, Octavia had instantly switched from furious to plastering a bright smile across her face.
“My Lord Commander,” she bowed gently and gracefully, “it is a great pleasure.”
Caleb nodded stiffly, “Daughter of Kriolin.”
“I have just been admiring your home - it’s quite beautiful,” she simpered, “you have accomplished a great many things here. It’s been a while since my travels have taken me to Epsilon, I’m pleased to find that its beauty is truly beyond compare.”
Lily was gobsmacked. Everything about Octavia had changed. The dead eyes now shone brightly, and her thin frame which had looked almost sickly earlier, now only served to highlight her grace and composure.
“Very kind,” Caleb retorted, “have you met my wife, Lily?”
“I have indeed,” Octavia turned her megawatt smile toward her, “a charming earthling. How fortunate to have found such a…” she hesitated briefly, “jewel in this galaxy. So rare.”
Caleb looked puzzled by Lily’s stony silence in response to Octavia’s flattery. He looked again from one woman to the next, and rolled his eyes in exasperation.
“Octavia, I am to escort you to my uncle. He would like a word.”
He held out his arm for the woman to take. She did so, and Lily felt bile rise in her stomach in response to the sly glance Octavia shot her as they exited the room.
“Watch her,” muttered Juliette, “Kriolin is the planet you came from, dear. They are a foul species - as dark as midnight in their very souls.”
Lily didn’t need to hear anymore. Just knowing that Octavia, who was evidently of the ruling class, let abominations like that bar go unchecked on her planet, was enough to make Lily’s heart harden to hate.
“What do you know of them?” she asked, recalling her earlier question.
“Humans are not the only species that bars in Kriolin like to take. I had a daughter once, as fair as you,” she smiled sadly at Lily, “and she was taken from me. Her father and Caleb, along with Lieutenant Varga, went to retrieve her. She was already dead. Her father and the men took their revenge, of course. But not a day goes by when I don’t think of her.”
Lily didn’t know what to say. A great swell of sorrow rose up in her chest, for Juliette’s beloved daughter, and for all the other girls that would never escape that place - for all who had lived and died within those dank walls, wearing heavy chains around their necks and slowly forgetting the daylight.
Chapter Seventeen
“Can I talk to you?”
Caleb’s voice startled Lily. She had been standing out on the balcony, gazing at the vast vista that lay beyond the palace gardens, out past the winding roads of the village and its sloping rooftops and marble stone, to the horizon beyond - where it lay uninterrupted at the end of blankets of dark, lush greenery.
It was paradise in one sense, in another, what lay beyond the safety of Caleb’s palace seemed wild and desolate - a vast emptiness where only nature had the right to roam.
“Have you finished with your wife?” She replied tartly, wanting to kick herself as she heard her own tone.
She didn’t want Caleb to know that she cared; that she felt threatened by this repugnant woman - not just because she seemed to threaten her own personal safety, but because, if she was truly honest with herself, she feared that Caleb would be entranced by her graceful ways and queenly presence.
“I was with Lieutenant Varga. Not with Octavia.”
Her shoulders perceptibly released some part of their tension on hearing that he hadn’t spent all afternoon with the odious woman.
“I should have come sooner,” he continued, “but Varga believes we are close to tracking down Lucifer.”
Lily spun around to face Caleb. The name alone was enough to send ice blades skating down her back in fear.
“And?”
“We have men who believe they’ve sighted him not far from Kriolin. We’ve sent them back-up and orders to track and capture him.”
“I hope they succeed,” Lily sighed, “but I hope they don’t bring him back here.”
“You’re safe here.”
Caleb’s tone was gentle, and Lily didn’t think she’d ever heard him sound so warm and approachable before. She wondered if things had changed between them after last night’s ride on Heli. They had kissed, nothing more, but from her perspective, it had resulted in her feelings for Caleb becoming confused.
She could no longer see him as her cruel, heartless captor - yet she harbored such great resentment toward him for marrying her when she had no will of her own, that she was unable to untangle her feelings toward him.
Perhaps he was just as confused as she was. He had married a being that he had assumed would be a submissive, willing bride - only to find she was anything but. And now he did have a willing bride, one that had apparently been promised to him.
“Tell me about Octavia - what’s going on?”
Caleb raised his eyebrows at the sudden turn in the conversation, and it was a while before he replied.
“She has been brought here by my uncle. He believes that if I marry into the Kriolin dynasty, we will remain protected from the armies of Lucifer.
Most of the men he has recruited originate from there, and so my uncle believes they will turn against him when they realize their beloved ruler is aligned with Epsilon.”
“And what do you think?” Lily asked.
“I disagree. I don’t think it will make any difference.”
Lily nodded and then looked away. She wanted to ask him what he felt about Octavia’s arrival - if he was tempted to marry her anyway, gaining a more willing bride.
“Lily - ”
Caleb didn’t finish. He ran his hand through his hair, looking agitated and unsure of himself.
“Do you want to?” Lily burst out, unable to
keep her thoughts to herself.
“What?”
“Marry her.”
“Lily - I’m married to you,” Caleb sounded curt again, a frown furrowing at his brow, “That situation isn’t changing until…Well, until we have the time - without the threat of Lucian, to work out a more suitable arrangement.”
His words left Lily feeling flat. They were kind and caring, and rationally she knew he was saying all the right, measured things - and yet she wanted more.
What the hell is wrong with me?
“Are you okay, Lily?” Caleb asked. She realized she must have groaned out loud, and so smiled weakly to cover up her irrational disappointment.
“I’m fine. Octavia unnerved me - she clearly doesn’t want me around.”
“Well, I do want you around,” he smirked, “so Octavia is out of luck. Maybe you two just need to get to know one another better - it might be nice for you to have company.”
Hardly.
She didn’t want to tell Caleb the things that Octavia had said to her earlier, he might not believe her or think she was jealous. She should just avoid Octavia until she left, and hope that her grace and refinement didn’t tempt Caleb away. She may not know what she felt for him yet, but she wanted the time to figure it out.
“Would like to take a walk in the garden? I know you haven’t been out all day.” Caleb asked.
“No,” Lily replied, “I really just want to go to bed.”
Her reply was taciturn and stubborn. She couldn’t think with Caleb around; even now, with him standing at a fair distance away from her, she imagined she could catch a hint of his masculine scent, and when her gaze wandered over to his golden eyes, she longed to be wrapped up in his strong arms, feeling truly safe from Octavia, Lucifer, and whatever the future might bring.
“I understand.” He replied, tightly.
“I’m sorry,” Lily whispered, “It’s been a long day.”
He nodded and turned to go back inside. As he reached the opening to the room, he stopped.
