A Royal Engagement (Enchanted Galaxy Series Book 1) Page 9

  “She could step on us.”

  “She won’t.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just am.”

  She shot him a ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’ look. “I don’t know how you can be so optimistic at a time like this. You make me want to scream.”

  She made him want to kiss her, but he didn’t dare tell her that.

  With a huff, she put her face in her hands. “This is awful. I wish someone else had been picked to be the queen. It’s nothing but one threat after another. I feel like I’m stuck in a horrible action film.”

  Though he had no idea what a film was, he laughed. “It’s not that bad. We’ll get through this like we got through the cave and survived the dragon.”

  “It’s one deadly encounter after another.”

  He reached out to touch her shoulder, but she pushed him away.

  “No offense but I don’t want to be touched when I’m about be squashed by a huge foot,” she said as she scooted away from him, making the lion move aside to accommodate her. “I’d rather wallow in my self-pity.”

  “I keep telling you that you’ll be fine. I’m trained in this area. I know what I’m doing, and I won’t let you down.” He scooted closer to her. “You’re perfect for Raz. Raz wouldn’t have picked you otherwise.”

  “Planets can’t think,” she muttered. “It’s not logical.”

  “Logic doesn’t have to apply when it comes to magic. That’s why Raz is superior to Earth.”

  Her head snapped in his direction. “What did you just say?”

  “It’s true. Earth is notorious for its boring scientific approach to everything. It really closes off a lot of doors to things that could be. Once you get to Raz, you’ll come to understand this.”

  “I’ll have you know that I’m very happy with Earth the way it is. Granted, it’s not perfect, but it does have its good points.”

  He shrugged. “If you say so…”

  She gasped and hurried to get over the lion so she could get away from him. Hathor tried to go after her, but the wind tipped the boat forward to direct their course to the island. Too late did Hathor think to hold onto something. He fell forward and landed in the water.

  After he resurfaced, he spat the water out of his mouth and looked up at the boat where Ann’s hand was clamped over her mouth in surprise and the lion was giving out a mixture of a laugh and a roar.

  He swam over to the boat and grabbed the handle on the side then pulled himself back into it. Hearing a giggle not too far from him, he saw that Ann was struggling to hold in her laughter. “Go ahead and laugh,” he told her.

  Her hand fell away from her mouth and she laughed. “Maybe that’ll teach you to talk so unfavorably about Earth.”

  Unable to stop the quip, he snickered, “I don’t think so. Earth has nothing to commend itself. Even the creatures on this planet left Earth because it was so boring.”

  “You say that again, and I’ll shove you right back in the water.”

  “How about this instead? You give me a kiss, and I’ll admit that Earth had at least one redeeming quality to it.”

  “Oh?”

  He shot her his most charming smile. “You.”

  A pretty shade of pink darkened her cheeks, but the boat shifted along the current and Hathor’s attention went to the island that came into view. He hurried back to the sails so he could better steer them to the island. Soon, they’d dock, and then they’d get the stone. If he was lucky, they’d be on their way to Raz that night.

  ***

  A Forest

  Planet: Forestaria

  “Where are they?” Seta demanded as she threw the Book of Spells to the ground.

  “Your graph showed us this specific spot,” Second Commander Riles replied. “I don’t understand what could have gone wrong.”

  Seta gritted her teeth and grabbed him by the throat. She never should have made him a commander. Apparently, he was only intelligent at taking tests. According to the exams, he should have been well equipped when it came to performing his duties. “Obviously, the holograph didn’t do what I expected.”

  “Leader, may I speak?” Jaz asked.

  Seta nodded.

  Jaz picked up the book. “I think the graph was tracking this. The Razian named Hathor was using this to make his journey to find the future queen and bring her to Raz.”

  “That makes sense,” Seta agreed.

  “If the Book of Spells provided the transportation, I think Leader Omin—I mean ex-Leader Omin—would have been tracking this instead of Hathor.”

  Seta released Riles and turned to Jaz. “I’ll thank you to always remember that I am the leader now.”

  “Yes, Leader Seta.”

  Seta released her breath and thought over this development. “So when I sent the blast, I sent it too late. They were in the process of leaving this planet. And that means Hathor and the next queen can be anywhere.”

  “May I make a suggestion?” Jaz asked.

  “Please do.”

  “This book is important to Razians. I suggest we take it with us to Pale and wait for Hathor and the new queen to come to us.”

  “Then we’ll have her in our clutches.” A slow smile spread across her face. Kneeling, she etched the Paler symbol in the dirt. “We take the book and wait for them to come to us.”

  Things were finally going their way. Feeling triumphant, Seta picked up the book and led them back to their spaceship.

  Chapter Ten

  The Great Prison

  Planet: Pale

  “What are you thinking?” Cem asked Paff who was staring off into the distance, not really seeing anything in front of him.

  Paff reluctantly turned his attention to his new friend. “Leader Omin is bound to announce my punishment soon. I’m just waiting for the needle to inject me so it can begin.”

  “Perhaps Omin has forgotten.”

  “Impossible, though it’s a nice idea.”

  Cem sat beside him. “No use can come from dwelling on things you can’t control. Worry only increases your troubles. The best you can do is concentrate on what you can do.”

  Paff gave him a hard look. Whoever this creature was, he wasn’t a Lax. He couldn’t be. “Who are you? Really?”

  “Someone who is friends with the Lax who headed the Laxy Rebellion.”

  Paff turned toward him in interest. “What do you know of the rebellion?”

  “It all started when one Lax decided he’d had enough. He got tired of watching Palers eating his own kind or making them slaves. So when he went to his post at Beyond Star Systems IV where he built spaceships, he left Pale to search for something to help Laxes stand up and demand to be treated equally. He went to different planets in search of someone—or something—that would help him. On one of the planets, he happened to come upon a scorpion and a bull that were in the midst of a battle. The bull was ready to defeat the scorpion when the Lax interceded on his behalf. The scorpion and his family were so grateful, they promised to give him anything he wanted.

  “The Lax asked for deliverance from the Palers on behalf of his people. The scorpion brought the Lax to a large body of water and summoned a crab and two fish. The three creatures listened as he explained the situation on Pale, and they decided to help him. They gathered several ingredients in the seas and brought them back in a bottle. When the stars aligned in such a way that Scorpio connected with the Cancer and Pisces constellations, the Lax was to drink the liquid in this bottle and return to Pale.

  “Upon his return, Laxes from all over came to him, wanting to join his cause. That is how the Laxy Rebellion began,” Cem finished.

  “What happened to the Lax? Is he still leading the rebellion or did Omin capture him?” Paff asked.

  “He is still leading the rebellion.”

  Paff had no idea that was how the whole thing started, but it made sense. It would require outside help from other life forms to make it happen, given the we
ak nature of the Laxes who weren’t known for standing up for themselves. In fact, their laziness was why Omin considered them the perfect species to have on their planet. Whether food or slaves, they had proven very useful. Paff swallowed the lump in his throat. He’d been just as guilty as Omin. He hadn’t considered the needs of the Laxes important. He’d only seen them as cheap labor and food.

  Paff’s stomach growled. Palers needed to eat every three days, and it’d been a while since he had his last meal. He rubbed his stomach, feeling sick for all the times he’d eaten a Lax. They weren’t mindless animals. They were intelligent beings.

  Looking back at Cem, he said, “I understand that Laxes want to survive, but so do Palers. Palers need to eat something, and the only thing edible on this planet are the Laxes. Laxes absorb the air and suns’ rays to survive, but Palers need to ingest something.”

  “There are always alternatives,” Cem replied.

  “What alternatives? Killing the future queen of Raz so everyone on Raz becomes food for the Palers?”

  “That is one solution, but it isn’t the only one.”

  It wasn’t the only one? Paff didn’t understand what other solution there could possibly be.

  “We will get out of here,” Cem assured him. “It’s only a matter of time. Someone is coming who will free us.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “I’m intuitive.”

  “You mean to tell me that you just know?”

  “Yes.”

  Paff sighed. “I hope you’re right.”

  “You have no need to doubt me. I am.”

  Paff placed his head in his hands. He didn’t see how there could be a way out of any of this. They were stuck in the Great Prison. Omin was out hunting for the next queen. Palers were starving to death. Laxes were trying to stay alive. He hated to admit it, but the situation seemed pretty hopeless from what he could see.

  Cem stood up and blew a whistle, which seemed to have a code embedded in it since he blew one long sound, two short sounds, and a long sound again.

  Halima emerged from the crowd and came over to them.

  “What are you doing?” Paff asked. Did Cem want her to attack him again? Did he know too much?

  Before his mind could go further, Cem motioned to Halima. “It’s time you knew the truth. She’s in this prison because she joined the Laxy Rebellion.”

  Paff glanced at her. “I thought her gentleness was the reason she got put in here.”

  “Partly true. A violent Paler would never side with the Laxes.”

  “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but I see your point.”

  “She and I met while the leader of the rebellion was speaking. There are a few other Palers who joined us but not many. That’s how we know each other.” Cem turned to her. “Halima, it’s alright. I’m Cem, remember?”

  She offered a slow nod, though it became clear to Paff she was struggling to remember him.

  Cem motioned to Paff. “I wanted you to meet a fellow comrade. His name is Paff.”

  “How are you?” Paff greeted despite his hesitation.

  As Paff expected, she hissed and clawed at him, but he backed away before she could do any damage.

  “He’s a friend!” Cem yelled. “He’s on our side.”

  She was ready to strike out at him again but stopped and looked at Cem.

  “Friend,” Cem emphasized and pointed to Paff.

  “Friend?” she repeated then shook her head. “But his uniform says he’s the First Commander.”

  So that was why she constantly attacked him. Paff felt much better knowing it was his uniform—and not him personally—that made her hostile toward him.

  “He’s no longer on their side,” Cem said. She shook her head to deny it, but he added, “I speak the truth. You know I have a sense about creatures, knowing who I can trust and who I can’t.”

  She turned to Paff and for a moment, he thought she was going to smile at him. But then she turned and headed off into the crowd, screeching at the top of her lungs.

  “She fluctuates between sanity and insanity,” Cem softly commented. “She’s getting worse.”

  “If we’re freed and take her with us, will she be sane all the time?”

  “If we get out of here before her treatments are done, yes.”

  “How many treatments does she have left?”

  “Five more.”

  Paff sighed. Five treatments. “I hope we’re freed soon.”

  ***

  Sphinx’s Island

  Planet: Olympia

  Ann shivered as she followed Hathor and Leo through the dense forest where the trees blocked the sunlight. “It’s so dark in here.” She glanced around, wondering if something in the shadows was ready to attack them.

  “Are you scared?” Hathor asked, slowing his steps.

  “Of course, I am. Aren’t you?”

  He took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “No, I’m not, but then I’ve been through worse things than this.”

  “What was the worst thing you’ve been through?”

  “Well, two years ago I accompanied my mother on a mission where she had to get a special gem from another world in order to replenish the farming fields on Raz. While we were there, she disappeared, and I had to search for her. At one point, the species on the planet sent me a diversion.”

  “What was the diversion?” she asked as she stepped over a large branch that was fallen in the path.

  “Her corpse. Or what I was made to believe was her corpse. I had to go through a series of mazes and almost froze to death in one of them. But I finally found her and got her out of the prism they trapped her in.”

  “So almost being frozen to death was the worst thing that’s happened to you?”

  “No. It was thinking she was dead. It took me five minutes to figure out it was a hoax designed to get me off the planet.”

  “Five minutes doesn’t seem like a long time.”

  “It is when you think everyone on your planet just died. Without the queen, Raz’s magic ceases to exist, and it is the magic that enables life to continue.”

  She released her breath and turned her attention back to the path in front of them. “I can’t believe the fate of an entire planet is going to rest on my shoulders.”

  He smiled. “You’ll get used to it.”

  “Doubtful.”

  “You need to have more faith in yourself. Raz wouldn’t have selected you if you weren’t the right one for it. Raz doesn’t make mistakes.”

  “You speak about this planet as if it’s a living entity.”

  “It’s not living as we think of it, but the magic on it is very powerful.”

  She’d have to take his word for it since he grew up there. She wasn’t sure, but it seemed that the forest was getting darker. She shivered and stepped closer to him. “Why is everything so quiet? Shouldn’t birds be singing or something?”

  “Perhaps we’re being watched,” he whispered.

  Great. Instead of reassuring her that everything was okay, he only added to her fears. She glanced at Leo, but he didn’t seem to be concerned. From what she knew about animals on Earth, they had a way of detecting danger before humans did. She could only assume that was true with Leo.

  “We’ll get that stone,” Hathor whispered and squeezed her hand again.

  She glanced at their hands. She hadn’t realized he was still holding hers. Feeling self-conscious, she pulled her hand out of his and petted the lion. She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to be so familiar with her or not. Maybe they were supposed to get married, but she didn’t feel ready for any touching beyond a good pull out of a fire or assistance standing up.

  She kept expecting the Sphinx to show up and start trying to kill her like the dragon had, but they came into a clearing, which looked harmless. In front of them stood a majestic mountain just as impressive as the one the gods and goddesses lived on, except this one was made of stone.

  “There’s the entrance,�
� Hathor said, pointing to a large hole in the center of it.

  “This must be the Sphinx’s place,” Ann whispered. “She built a stone mountain because the gods and goddesses live on Mount Olympus. There are even steps that go up to the top to a stone palace. Maybe she took the stone of immortality because they had it. Maybe she wants to be like them.”

  “Anything is possible.”

  “So you think I’m right?”

  He shrugged. “It’s hard to know what she’s thinking unless we talk to her.”

  True. “Are you always so logical?”

  He turned to face her. “Logical?”

  “Yes. You don’t like to speculate about things. You just see what’s there and go into the situation.”

  “I don’t see what good speculating that the Sphinx is trying to imitate the gods and goddesses is going to do.”

  She sighed. “It’s just a way to pass the time. To have fun. You remember our discussion about fun? It’s so we can enjoy ourselves.”

  “I’m not without emotion. I can have fun.”

  “I know. Work-related fun. Fun to you is running up a staircase while fire’s coming after you.”

  “No. Fun is also about swinging on a vine.”

  She shot him an amused look. “You just illustrated my point. The vine was over a huge chasm. Once again, danger is fun.”

  “That just shows how much you know,” he replied with a sly grin. “My enjoyment of being on the vine had nothing to do with going across a chasm.” Before she could ask him what he meant, he gestured to the opening in the mountain. “I better go in there and get that stone. You and Leo should stay here. The Sphinx might be waiting in there.”

  She thought to argue because the real threat might be waiting outside the mountain, but he was already on his way into the opening. She shivered and knelt by the lion, taking comfort in his presence.

  “I don’t know about you, but I hate danger,” she whispered.

  He purred and rubbed his mane under her hand.

  “You probably love it,” she mused. “Even if you are on another planet, you’re still a lion. Action, adventure, the thrill of the hunt… Of course, you’re probably not one who likes to be the hunted.” She studied him. “Do you want to go in there?”