AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Taking out a small leather pouch, stained in what looked to be the green of Cyran blood, Saboa cast dice from its hold. He watched me as he took the dice in his hands, discarding them gracefully to the table beside his chair. Nodding once at the dice, Saboa sat thinking for a moment longer.
Standing, Saboa moved forward to stand above me so that all I could see was his boots. His finger traced the line of my spine at my neck to the base of my skull lightly; I gasped and shivered.
Saboa dropped to one knee before me suddenly. Taking my hand with his, he urged me to stand before dropping my hand and moving back to his throne. There, he considered the die once more than turned to appraise me. "Do you think the fountains of Praldia would not run with blood if I took your head, Lady Zira? The small, simple natives love you. I would be a fool to kill their goddess. No, better I give her a pedestal they will adore me for, but from whence I can still control you. It is about time I thought about future sons to take over my rule anyway."
Confused, I glanced at the prince before catching on to my fate. My mouth fell agape, and I started shaking my head as I began to argue, to beg for death instead, but the Prince held up his hand.
"I was not giving you a choice, Lady Zira. The melding of our bloodlines will not only secure this planet, but it will give me leverage in Avalonia as well. I suggest you accept it and make the most of your new station. You have petitioned me often in the past to help the natives. You will find I will be more negotiable as a companion than a prince."
"Cyrans control their inner chaos," I argued, half-panicked. "I will have no power over you."
The prince's downward mouth formed a straight line—the Cyran version of a smile—as he sat back upon his throne. Collecting the dice from the side table, Saboa put them into the bloodstained leather pouch, tucking them away. "Commander, show my companion to her new quarters. Once she is secured, send an announcement to the broadcasters. Lady Zira and I will be joined in a private ceremony this evening."
"Yes, Prince Saboa." Stark stepped back to my side. When I didn't move, he took my arm in his and led me from the room as tears fell down my face.
ChapterTwo
"Tonight?" I breathed as Stark half-dragged me, with a gentle grip on my arm, out of the throne room. "No courtship?"
"There is no courtship necessary, Lady."
"But he doesn't know me. I don't know him." My voice hitched on my emotions. "He can't possibly love me." Looking over my shoulder to the throne, I blinked more tears. "I don't love him." Despite holding a piece of paper in his hands that his Chief Advisor, Aldous, was now referring to animatedly, Saboa's blue eyes were locked on me.
Stark came to a stop, turning me to face him, gripping both my upper arms with a little more pressure to force me to look at him. His eyes were the darkest blue I'd ever seen. There was no softness to them. I think it was impossible for a Cyran to even feign compassion.
"You are royal heir to a throne, Lady. Surely you never believed joining for love was an option?"
"I did, Commander. My parents told me after we moved here that I should only consider companionship if I truly loved someone." My tears flowed impossibly faster as I thought of everything a royal joining usually entailed. Avalonians were emotion first, but Cyrans were practicality, and I needed to control my emotions if I wanted to be heard. "Tonight is too fast. Even in Avalonia there is a courtship. Time to connect, to grow familiar, to prepare for the formal requirements. I don't even have a dress for the ceremony."
Eyebrows jumping high, Stark considered me as his mouth thinned into that flat-line smile. "Lady, in a Cyran joining, a dress is not required."
My thin brows furrowed in confusion yet again while Stark dropped his chin to stare at me intently. When his meaning hit home, I forgot myself and spoke loudly. "I have to have sex with him?"
The room went deathly quiet around us. I hadn't meant to sound so disgusted about it. I wasn't. Sex was fantastic with the right person. Not that I'd done it in some years now. Not since... My heart ached just thinking about that.
A sound of material drew all our gazes to the throne where Saboa stood, a look of pure amusement across his face as he readied to leave. The rest of the room, near-empty as it was, stood wary. "You seem surprised, Lady Zira? I didn't realize you were foreign to the concept of reproduction. For you to get with child, we need to have sex, possibly on multiple occasions."
Those in the room tried to muffle their humor. The guards did nothing more than press their lips tighter together.
"Do not worry, I am quite adept and well-practiced. I will talk you through it!" Saboa teased sarcastically.
Embarrassed beyond the possibility of my chalk-white skin displaying, I'm sure I still flushed a color that was unnatural to my species. "I'm sorry, my Prince, I didn't mean that how it sounded. I just didn't realize that merely the act of fornication with a Cyran could see you joined to him."If so, I might be coupled several times over by now already.
"I wish it was that easy," Saboa mourned. "There are contracts of companionship to be signed in front of witnesses to make it official." Saboa was nearly at our side now. The councilmen and guard continued past us when he stopped to address me further.
An idea entered my head and came out of my mouth without thinking. "And if I refuse to sign?"
Cupping my cheeks in his hands, Saboa used his thumbs to wipe away the tears that cascaded over them with a gentleness I thought the Cyrans devoid of. "It has been an emotional week for you, Zira. Go and rest, or grieve. Tonight after dinner, we will sign our contract, and tomorrow, we will make our first appearance together as companions." Bending forward, he pressed his lips to the blue star beneath my eye. There was no doubt in my mind that he understood just what an intimate gesture that was.
"Let me go home?" I murmured, my eyes pressed closed. "Let me live at my family's chateau. I will come to you whenever you require, but it's too soon for joining our lives."
The room stayed silent. Daring to open my eyes, I found Saboa looking over my head at Stark. Flicking his gaze back to meet mine, Saboa stepped away with a sigh. "I'll let you choose where you would like to make your first appearance as my princess. Let Aldous know at the signing tonight, and he will have it organized by morning." Without another word, Saboa strode out of the throne room, six of his personal elite guard waiting at the door, falling in behind him.
"Come, Lady Zira." Stark placed his hand to the center of my upper back to guide me forward. "Let me show you your rooms, so we can get you settled before dinner." Stark guided me out of the throne room and turned left into the ring corridor connecting to all the palats living areas.
The palats consisted of two concentric circles of buildings joined by a large corridor that formed a continuous ring. The buildings on the inner side were all small single-story structures. They surrounded a sizeable circular garden where the public teleportation channels were situated. Only Prince Saboa and the royal guard could freely teleport from within the castle itself. Every other occupant, staff member, councilman, or visiting diplomat was required to use the public channels. It was the only way in or out of the palats.
The outer ring of buildings was longer, more comprehensive two-story structures that looked out over either the ocean or the forest and city from atop the cliff. They were segmented from each other by large courtyards of gardens or pools. The Prince's residence was isolated from the rest of the palats, and was the only building taller than two floors. He also had his own kitchen staff and housekeeping. No one who worked within the Prince's residence worked anywhere else in the palats. It also housed fifty elite guards—the Prince's personal guard.
