Alien Prince: (Bride of Qetesh) An Alien SciFi Romance (47 page)

“
And I liked you,
”
Tymer said.
“
I
…
I like you. I thought I could show you the galaxy and
…
Frankly, your life wasn
’
t altogether that impressive back on Earth.
”
He puffed his chest up a little bit.
“
I thought you
’
d be grateful.
”

“
Grateful
?
”
I spat back.

“
I thought you might want to
— ”

“
What? Be your human bride so you can take over
…
whatever Big Brother organization the Echelon seems to be?
”
That
’
s when my vision went red and I felt myself pulse with anger.

“
In so many words,
”
Tymer confirmed.
“
And it isn
’
t too late. You can come back with me. That
’
s why we
’
re here. That
’
s why we answered the distress signal.
”

“
Why didn
’
t you just come get me when you first sent me here? Why did you wait?
”

“
Because,
”
Mireena answered for her son,
“
I would not permit him to expend Federation resources just to go on a rescue mission we weren
’
t sure you even wanted. We thought that you, like your fellow human women, might be happy on this planet.
”

It hit me so hard it nearly knocked the air from my lungs: I had been. At least, happier than I had been at home, toiling in a thankless job in a city full of strangers.

“
But when we got your distress signal, we were able to divert the ship
’
s trajectory to rescue you,
”
Tymer said, smiling a little.
“
So. Here we are.
”

I took in a deep breath and gave a slow nod of my head.
“
So, to recap,
”
I began, rubbing at my eyes with the heels of my hands,
“
Tymer actually really
liked
me, so he abducted me off of my home planet and brought me aboard a Federation ship
—
and, like, we will eventually need to get into what the
Federation
actually is
—
because he wanted to make me his human bride so that he could be a better politician? But then his supervisor found out what he wanted to do and sent me to this planet anyway, even though I wasn
’
t supposed to be here, even though I hadn
’
t
consented
to be here. And when I landed on this planet, a freak accident is why I ended up attached to another girl
’
s pod, and she died, and then Odrik found me.
”
I looked at Odrik then, for some modicum of support, but he was still as stone.

“
That seems to be the long and short of it,
”
Mireena confirmed.
“
Chalk it up to a bureaucratic error.
”

I couldn
’
t help but laugh, so I did.
“
Right,
”
I breathed,
“
like you lost some paperwork or something.
”

“
You can come with us now,
”
Tymer said.
“
And I can take you home if that is what you wish. But I hope you
’
ll reconsider.
”

“
So do I.
”
This, from Odrik, who finally spoke, whose eyes were two black pools, a swirling miasma of emotion.
“
I hope, now that you know you aren
’
t
stuck
here, that you
’
ll choose to stay. With me.
”

“
He should not be afforded the opportunity to speak,
”
Fegar growled.
“
He is a prisoner. And furthermore, no one has translated
anything
.
”

“
Oh, for heaven
’
s sake,
”
Mireena mumbled and made a vague gesture toward Tymer, who
—
rather begrudgingly, I thought
—
turned to Fegar and began to give him the rundown of all that had been discussed.

“
And,
”
Fegar continued, after he
’
d nodded mutely along to Tymer
’
s translation, his jaw hanging rather slack,
“
the woman cannot stay with Odrik. Odrik is to be executed. I am the Chieftain of this clan. It is well within my rights to
— ”

“
You are no Chieftain.
”
Ro Petathera had spoken, his voice gruff and low. His words silenced us all until we were even breathing as quietly as we could. All eyes were on him now.
“
You comport yourself like a child playing King of the Hill. You use your power to sate your lust and to get your grubby little paws on the finest frippery this planet, rich in gemstones, has to offer. You lead your lady about by a rope as though she were no better than a dog, and you treat your most loyal companions with contempt or, on a good day, neglect. You,
”
he repeated, pointing directly at Fegar,
“
are no Chieftain.
”

“
By rights, I am,
”
Fegar insisted, puffing himself up, making himself tall in his seat.
“
I defeated Odrik Nuh
’
ar in single combat.
”

I wasn
’
t looking at Odrik in that moment, but I could feel him bristle beside me.

“
You poisoned him,
”
Ro went on, and I sucked in a sharp breath of air.
“
He was debilitated before he came into the ring with you.
”

“
Preposterous,
”
Fegar stammered.
“
I would
—
I would never do such a thing.
”

I looked at Odrik then, whose eyes were wide, startled, as though he had been given information that suddenly put everything into stark perspective.

“
You gave him a draft that weakened him,
”
Ro insisted, leaning forward across the table,
“
and when you defeated him, you sliced off his horn with your knife and kept it for a trophy. Then, you exiled him, your people
’
s rightful leader, and when he deigned to return to the village, only to help the woman he loves, you threw him in a cell and threatened to set him afire. You, Fegar Gael, are no Chieftain. You are a coward, and a damned villain.
”

I was beginning to gather that Fegar Gael wasn
’
t exactly the brightest star in the sky. He was gaping at Ro Petathera, blinking rapidly, before he asked,
“
How
…
how could you possibly know any of this?
”

Ro smirked, and I saw a youthfulness to this old man who had otherwise seemed stern, severe, and uncompromising.
“
Do you think,
”
he replied,
“
that anyone would go through the trouble to relocate an entire species and then not keep an eye on them? How do you think we knew that you needed mateable females? We have eyes in the clouds, Fegar Gael, and we have seen all that you do.
”
Ro leaned back then, and I saw Rebecca Quimby place her hand over his and wondered if they weren
’
t, perhaps, the first Qeteshi-human pairing, if they hadn
’
t been the ones who had proved that our species were compatible. I could see that there was a great deal of affection between them, even in that one small, simple gesture.

“
So it would seem that we have two matters to settle here today,
”
Mireena said, leaning back and crossing one long, lithe leg over the other.
“
The matter of Ms. Bryce and whether or not she would like to return to Earth, and the matter of Chieftain Gael and Odrik Nuh
’
ar.
”
Mireena glanced between the lot of us, and though her expression was impassive, I could see the wheels turning in her mind.
“
It seems the only fair thing,
”
she went on at length,
“
is to allow Odrik the opportunity he was never given: a fair fight.
”

I looked at Odrik then, my hand darting out to take his before I had even registered the gesture. He smiled at me, his eyes twinkling, and sat up very straight in his chair.
“
I accept,
”
Odrik said.

“
What?
”
Fegar asked,
“
What does he accept?
”
Tymer sighed and mumbled the translation into his ear even as Mireena pressed a finger to her forehead as though he were giving her quite a headache.

“
We have
got
to get that man an in-ear device,
”
she said.
“
At any rate, to ensure that it is, in fact, a fair match, we shall have both men stay aboard the
Atria
until the match.
”

“
I shall stay with Odrik,
”
I blurted, and Mireena gave me a quizzical sort of look, but ultimately just nodded her head.

“
Very well.
”

After Tymer had finished translating for Fegar, he glared openly at Mireena.

“
I am rightful Chieftain,
”
he protested.
“
I should not have to fight this man a second time.
”

“
You are free, then, to abdicate all of your power to him now, if you prefer not to fight,
”
Tymer said in perfect Qeteshi.

If he could have blushed, I believe Fegar would have been bright pink. But he simply sat back in his chair and shook his head.

“
Then it
’
s settled,
”
Mireena said and rose to her feet.
“
If I could have you all please accompany me, we will have you strapped into a seat and ready for takeoff.
”

I stood, but Odrik didn
’
t let go of my hand. He gripped it, in fact, as we made our way toward the bridge where we would all sit down and strap in. Next stop: the
Atria
.

My journey aboard the small aircraft en route to the great
Atria
afforded me the opportunity to glean some new information about myself: I was afflicted with terrible motion sickness that left me vomiting bile into a paper bag for the duration of the trip. I did not like space travel, or even air travel, for that matter. My one consolation was that my Novalyn was by my side. And I was not standing shackled in front of a pyre.

Once aboard the grand Federation vessel, I was tempted to follow Ro Petathera, to ask him all of the questions I had kept locked inside of myself about the relocation of our species to our current planet, about what had happened to our home, about what he had seen when I had fought Fegar. But I noticed that my lady continued to limp, so I
—
much to my chagrin
—
hooked my hand around little Tymer
’
s arm until he turned around to face me.

“
She was injured,
”
I said.
“
Certainly you must have some
…
advanced technology aboard this ship to help heal her.
”

He glanced from me to Novalyn and back again and gave a sharp nod of his head.
“
Follow me,
”
he said, and so we did.