A Royal Engagement (Enchanted Galaxy Series Book 1) Read online

  Once she felt safe enough to look around, she turned her gaze back down to the abyss, sure the smell was coming from there. When she saw blue flames flickering on the platform they had been on minutes before, she tensed. She waited for a moment, not sure if she was seeing real fire or not, but as it turned out, she was and the flames were moving their way up the staircase.

  “Uh, Hathor,” she said.

  “I found a knob.” He turned it but it didn’t budge. “The door’s locked. I need to find a key.”

  “Well, hurry up,” she pressed. “There’s a fire coming at us.”

  He stiffened and looked in the direction she pointed to. Then he proceeded to trace the invisible door, his movements faster than they had been up to this point.

  She bit her lower lip to fight back the urge to scream like a hysterical child. Just what kind of creatures were these Palers to trap someone in a cave and force them up an invisible staircase that led to an invisible door only to threaten to burn them alive? Did such aliens really enjoy tormenting people? It was no better than a cat playing with a mouse before he ate it.

  Smoke ascending from the flames made her eyes water. “Did you find that key yet?” she asked then coughed.

  “Not yet,” he replied, frustration in his voice as he stood on his toes and traced the top of the door. “It’s got to be up here. There’s nowhere else it could be.”

  She shifted when she became aware of the heat touching her shoes. Though she didn’t want to look, she had to. She had to know just how close the fire was to them now. And as soon as she looked, she wished she hadn’t. The fire was moving rapidly up the staircase, and if she was right, the closer it got to them, the larger the flames got.

  She tugged on Hathor’s shirt. “Come on!”

  His fingers ran along the ledge a second time. “I’m trying!”

  “Don’t try. Just do it.”

  “I am.”

  She winced. Her feet were definitely getting hot. This wasn’t good. And if this had been a dream, this would be the point where she’d wake up, heart pounding, her breathing rapid, thankful this had all been a terrible nightmare. But this really wasn’t a dream, and if they didn’t get out of this immediately, this would be it.

  She always thought she’d die when she was an old woman. Never once did she think she’d die at twenty-one…and on another planet of all places! And worse, she had to come to grips with the fact that she hadn’t accomplished anything in her life. Except for maybe William, there was no one she had any connection to. Maybe she should have tried harder to make things work with him. She could have been married and even had a child by now if she had taken the chance and went back to Ohio right after she graduated high school. But she had let the fear of living on her own stop her from leaving the safety her parents had provided her. What would have happened if she’d just taken the risk?

  “I got it,” Hathor called out.

  He shoved the invisible key into the lock and they tumbled forward, just in time to avoid the flames flicking at their feet. Coughing, she scrambled away from the door, only to realize a second later that the flames had disappeared. In fact, everything had disappeared. Including the cave. They were back on the red sand of the planet.

  She collapsed on the ground, thankful to get a second chance. She was still alive. And that counted for something.

  Hathor knelt beside her and smiled. “That wasn’t so bad now, was it?”

  She stared at him. “You can’t be serious. That was awful.”

  His smile grew wider. “No, not really. At least the Paler gave us time to get up that staircase before he tried to set us on fire.”

  She gagged. “Yes, that Paler is ever the gentleman.”

  Chuckling, he helped her up. “The important thing is we made it and you’re safe. And,” he pulled the book out of his pocket, “we can leave this planet.”

  The book increased in size, and she shook her head. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.”

  “You will in time.”

  He held her hand, said a few magic words, and smoke swirled around them. Then they puffed away.

  ***

  Alpha Head I

  Planet: Pale

  Omin’s jaw clenched as First Commander Paff entered his office. Omin glanced at Second Commander Seta who was equally displeased by Paff’s pathetic performance. “Do you think this is a game?” Omin asked Paff, doing his best to keep his voice calm.

  Paff swallowed. “I did the best I could.”

  “Why didn’t you start the fire sooner?” Seta demanded, walking over to him, her eyes narrowed in contempt. “Hathor and the next queen were on the stairs long enough.”

  “Or you could have collapsed the cave as soon as they entered it,” Omin added. “You had plenty of opportunities to kill her.”

  “I wanted it to be a fair fight,” Paff replied.

  “Fair fight?” Omin barked. “Our planet is in chaos. Palers are starving to death. And you’re concerned about a fair fight?”

  “It didn’t seem appropriate to kill them right away. I thought they should get a chance—”

  “Enough!” Omin turned to Seta. Unbelievable. He knew Paff was weak. He thought he could use that weakness to mold Paff into his image, but apparently, that wasn’t ever going to happen. His gaze returned to Paff. “Nothing is fair, Commander. The universe is full of injustice. If we don’t eat, someone else will. Your behavior is totally unacceptable. Maybe while you’re in the Great Prison, you’ll remember whose side you’re on.”

  Gasping, Paff fell to his knees in front of Omin. “No! Kill me instead.”

  Omin’s lips curled up at the ends. “Why would I do that? You’re no use to me dead. Once you remember your loyalties, I can bring you back, and you’ll be a whole new Paler.”

  As much as he enjoyed watching someone plead to avoid the Great Prison, Omin had more important things to do. He went over to his desk and pushed the button that would summon the prison guards.

  “Leader, please don’t,” Paff pleaded as he crawled over to him and rested his forehead on Omin’s boots. “I didn’t take the next queen’s life. It’s only fair that you take my life as payment.”

  Amused, Omin clucked his tongue. “I don’t care about being fair. You do.”

  Paff grabbed the gun from his holster and put it up to his temple.

  But Omin grabbed it. “I’m afraid suicide is out of the question for you.” When two guards came into the room, Omin gestured to Paff who was actually crying. “Take him to the Great Prison. I’ll order the punishment when I’m ready.”

  Paff tried to fight them off but he was no match for them, and soon they carried him out of the room.

  Omin couldn’t help but laugh. “It humors me when they plead for death,” he told Seta. “Such weakness… But it’s that weakness that makes them so useful.”

  “Agreed, Leader,” she replied.

  With a contented sigh, he sat down and motioned for her to sit across from him. “Let’s discuss out next strategy, First Commander Seta.”

  Chapter Four

  The Great Prison

  Planet: Pale

  The guards threw Paff into the prison, which was one gigantic steel room. The dim lighting cast an eerie glow over the entire hundred fifty yards, making it hard for Paff to focus in on his surroundings. He’d only heard of this place, but from what he’d heard, death was preferable. And seeing it for himself, he saw just how accurate the warning was.

  Hundreds of Palers and Laxes stumbled around in a daze, moaning—some in pain, some as if they’d given up. Some Palers gnawed on Laxes who were too lazy to care if they were being eaten alive. Other Palers were busy attacking each other, snarling and screaming the whole time. But there were a small number of Palers who wandered around aimlessly, muttering something about a White Terror.

  White Terror? He’d never heard that expression before.

  Something jumped on his back, forcing him to the floor, face down. Its teeth plung
ed into his neck, but he rolled onto his back and elbowed it in the gut, effectively freeing himself of its rigid grip. Then he stood up and pressed his foot on its neck, ready to step down if the thing insisted on trying to eat him.

  When he saw the female Paler wince, a flicker of regret came over him. Then he reminded himself if he hadn’t stopped her, she would have eaten him and his guilt eased. This was a wild environment. It was survival of the fittest.

  But wasn’t that part of the problem? Palers had been under this type of thinking for so long, they’d long ago lost their compassion for each other and other species.

  He removed his foot from her neck and extended his hand to her. “May I help you up?”

  “Don’t hit me,” she hissed.

  “I’m not going to hit you. I just want to help you stand up.”

  This time when she hissed, she swiped at his chest, her nails digging through the fabric. Looking down, he saw blue blood seeping out of his wounds. She made a move to scratch him again, but he jumped back. She bolted to her feet and snarled at him, her fingers curled, ready to strike again as she slowly stepped around him. He turned, keeping his gaze steady on hers. A shriek came from nearby, but he didn’t pay it any mind. If nothing else, his training as Omin’s First Commander had taught him to keep his focus on the enemy at all times.

  He fully expected her to strike again. She made a move to, but at the last minute, she spun around and disappeared into the crowd.

  With a glance around him, he made sure no one else was coming up to him before he examined the cuts she’d put into his silver uniform…or what used to be his uniform. His blood was already drying up. Soon, he’d heal completely with only the stains to show he’d been hurt.

  He had bigger things to worry about, of course. Omin would never forgive him for letting the future queen of Raz escape. And Omin could think up many terrible punishments. Recalling some was enough to make him shiver. But he deserved what he was going to get. He’d gone along with Omin’s plans often enough, always too afraid to try to stop him. He was a coward. Releasing a long sigh, he wished—again—that he’d been able to shoot himself before Omin grabbed his gun.

  “Don’t think about it,” he mumbled.

  No amount of worrying would change anything. He’d be better off thinking of the female who just attacked him. Why would she single him out among all the Palers in the prison?

  “Her name is Halima,” someone said from behind him.

  Paff turned around and saw a Lax approach him. Though he was short and blue with pointed ears and yellow eyes, he seemed different from others of his kind. His posture was straighter and his chin a little higher, and he didn’t strike Paff as lazy either.

  “Halima means gentle,” the Lax explained. “She is just as her name implies, and that was her crime. That is, until she was put in this place by your leader.”

  Paff glanced at his First Commander uniform. “He’s not my leader anymore.”

  “No, I’d say not, given the fact that you’re here. It’s only a matter of time before the Main Control Chip gets you.”

  “Main Control Chip?”

  The Lax’s ears lowered as he studied him. “Don’t you know what it is?”

  “I’ve only heard of it in passing, but I don’t know what it does,” Paff replied.

  “You mean that you, a Paler only second to the leader, doesn’t know what this prison does?”

  “Why would I? My only purpose was to do his bidding. He didn’t disclose anything to anyone unless it served his purpose.” Bile rose up in Paff’s throat, but he swallowed it. When he’d gotten his first assignment, he should have killed himself. It would have been a lot less painful and he wouldn’t have blood on his hands. “I know I’m partly to blame for the way things are. I was too scared to do anything about it.”

  “I understand. And so did Leader Omin since he used it to his advantage.”

  He didn’t know whether he felt better or not for having a Lax’s sympathy. He didn’t deserve it. But there was no changing the past. With a sigh, Paff said, “I only know what others have said about it, that it’s like being in a nightmare you can’t wake up from.”

  “That’s an accurate assessment.” The Lax shifted slightly, his eyes scanning those around them. “Each Paler and Lax has a weakness. In this prison are very small but incredibly powerful computer chips. No one knows where these are at any given time, but there is one made for every prisoner. The chip is programmed to exploit your greatest weakness and turn it against you. In time, your mind will turn to mush. Those who are wandering around and uttering incomprehensible words are almost gone.”

  “Gone?” Paff asked, wondering if he meant dead.

  “Mentally. Once the individual reaches that point, he will be given a new identity. He won’t remember his former self. He will only remember what Leader Omin wants him to remember. Essentially, a new individual is born, and that individual will be programmed to serve the leader.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  “Mine is a complicated past. Maybe I’ll tell you at a later time.”

  “Wait a minute,” Paff said before the Lax could walk away. “Everyone else here seems to be wild. Why are you still sane?”

  “I haven’t received the injection. Until you get injected, you’re safe from the chip’s influence.” The Lax scanned him up and down for a moment, as if judging his worthiness. “My name is Cem.”

  “I’m Paff.”

  “As long as you don’t try to eat me, I’ll be on your good side. If you try to eat me, it’ll be the last thing you ever do.”

  Surprised the Lax should warn him since he couldn’t recall a time when a Lax ever threatened a Paler, he offered a slow nod. “You have nothing to worry about. My days of acting like a Paler are over.”

  “Glad to hear it.”

  With something of a smile, Cem headed off into the crowded room.

  ***

  Middle of the Planet

  Planet: Forestaria

  Once again, Hathor and Ann were traveling through galaxies at incredible speed when they came to an abrupt stop at another planet. Unlike the last planet, however, this one reminded Ann of a tropical rainforest, except…

  “Is that music?” she asked.

  Hathor nodded. “We’re in the Musical Galaxy. Every planet has its own music. The music helps keep nature in balance.”

  She tuned into the music, picking out flutes, pipes, and harps playing. Birds, monkeys, and lions seemed to join in with their own sounds. In front of her, a squirrel ran up a tree.

  She turned her attention from the tall trees that surrounded them and looked at Hathor. “There are animals on this planet?”

  “You don’t think your planet is the only one with animals on it, do you?”

  “I assumed since this was an alien planet, it wouldn’t seem so…so…” After struggling to find the right word, she finally said, “Normal.”

  “Some planets are similar to others and some are vastly different. You’ll get used to it.” With a yawn, he added, “It’s getting late.”

  She noted the four suns that were setting for the day. Soon, it would be night. The day had been a long and trying one, what with her starting the day in class then being whisked off to a world where she almost got burned to death and now ending up here.

  “We can sleep on the ground,” Hathor said. “The grass over here is soft, and these mushrooms will be our pillows.”

  She followed his gaze and her jaw dropped. Mushrooms the size of pillows were tucked beneath a fallen log. Okay, so this planet was different from Earth. “What is this planet called?”

  “Forestaria. Thankfully, we didn’t end up on Earthquakery.”

  “Earthquakery? Really?” She couldn’t believe how lame the names of some of the planets were, but he didn’t seem to agree. Probably because he was used to it.

  “Yep. On that planet, the music is so loud, you can’t sleep through it, though I can’t imagine anyone being able
to fall asleep on a shaking planet.”

  “Sometimes I wonder if I’m still dreaming.” Before he could reply, she said, “And I’m aware that I can believe this is a dream if I want to.”

  He smiled. “I didn’t say anything.”

  “No, but you were going to.”

  “Once you’re queen, you can travel to any planet in any galaxy. If you think the planets sound silly now, just wait until you come across ones like Foodtopia, Bubbleopolis, and Cyclmania.”

  She burst out laughing. “You’re making those up.”

  “Nope,” he replied with a chuckle. “They really do exist.”

  “Now I know I’m dreaming.”

  “If you don’t believe me, then you can find out after you become queen.”

  “Does anyone else on Raz travel?”

  “No.”

  “But you’re traveling now.”

  “Only because my mother has required me to. After we marry, I will be able to travel if you permit it.”

  Her eyebrows furrowed. “If I permit it? Are you saying the king can’t do anything without the queen’s permission?”

  He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at her. “He can kiss her.”

  “And?”

  “And that’s enough, isn’t it?”

  “It only makes sense that the king should have some say in what happens. He is one of the rulers, after all.”

  “The king used to have power before Kathz put a curse on the planet. A couple centuries ago, King Edmund married a witch named Kathz to get her Book of Spells. When she found out that was why he married her and that he was having multiple affairs, she cursed the world so the power solely belonged to the queen. And the queen must have a female heir to take over the throne when it’s time for her to step down. If there is no heir, the planet will select the next queen. You were chosen. It is a privilege and an honor to be your king. All men aspire for the coveted position. You see, even if the queens rule completely, they also rule fairly. If they don’t, the planet’s magic will consume them.”

  She waited for him to tell her he was joking, but he looked surprisingly serious. “That whole spiel is even more bizarre than all the names of the different planets.”