The jewel, I heard both little voices saying in my head. This time it was definitely the Stars and not Sarden. I had a moment to think I might be going crazy—wasn’t hearing voices in your head a pretty definite sign? And then they called to me again. The jewel! It holds us—it holds us captive to the one who is not right!
The jewel? Frowning I looked up at Hurxx—I had a really close look since he was crushing me against him, under his rather smelly armpit. How could anyone with hair that floppy and shiny smell like they hadn’t taken a bath in a month? And what jewel were the Stars talking about?
Suddenly the egg-shaped greenish-blue jewel in the center of his necklace caught my eye again and an idea began to form in my mind.
“Oh, Lord Hurxx,” I purred, looking up at him. “Do you really claim me as your rightful tribute?”
He looked down at me in apparent surprise.
“I certainly do, little Pure One. It is my right and duty to claim what is mine as the rightful Rae of Eloim.”
“I see that now.” I fluttered my lashes at him, trying to flirt even though being so close to him and the wrongness he was putting out in waves made me sick. “You’re so powerful…so rich.”
“Well yes I am.” He wore a self-satisfied smirk on his pudgy face. “I have all the wealth of Eloim at my fingertips, after all.”
“I could tell that just by looking at you,” I said, smiling in what I hoped was a bewitching way. “By the fashionable clothing and jewelry you wear.” I let my fingers creep up his chest to the gold chain around his neck. “This especially—we have nothing so fine on my planet. Was it made just for you?”
I saw Yancy’s eyes widen as he saw where my fingers were going and he stepped forward and muttered something to Hurxx under his breath.
“Don’t be such a worrier, Yancy,” Hurxx answered, making a shooing gesture at his Councilor with his free hand, the one that wasn’t currently crushing me to him. “You know perfectly well it’s keyed only to me.”
“But, my Lord—”
“I especially like this jewel,” I said, my fingers creeping to the oval blue-green jewel. “It’s so special.”
The moment I touched the jewel, I knew it was the source of the wrongness. My fingertips stung and my eyes watered as I fought to keep from throwing up. Wrong! Wrong, wrong, WRONG! screamed the Stars’ voices inside my head. I wanted to yank my fingers away and go be sick in the corner somewhere.
Instead, I placed my palm firmly in the center of the egg-shaped stone and pushed in as hard as I could.
There was a loud crack and a flash, as though a bolt of lightening had suddenly struck down right in the middle of the throne room.
“What? How—?” Hurxx gasped and staggered back, dragging me with him. Since I was still pinned to his side, I was in just the right position to see it when the gaudy gold chain he was wearing suddenly fell off his neck and clattered to the marble floor.
And as soon as it did, both the Star of Wisdom and the Star of Compassion flew off Hurxx’s floppy-haired head and went whizzing up into the air to hover over the awe-struck crowd.
“No! No!” Hurxx finally let go of me, fumbling on his now-bare head desperately. “No, you little bitch!”
He grabbed me by the throat and squeezed. I gasped and tried to push his hands away but they were too big and he was too strong for me. I kicked instead, aiming for his balls in the ridiculously tight gold brocade trousers.
I think I might have caught him a glancing blow, because he howled and his fingers loosened just enough for me to take a small sip of air. But then he squeezed again, his eyes filled with rage.
Great—all I had done was piss him off even more.
I kicked again but missed him entirely this time. Brilliant white and red stars exploded before my eyes and I could hear myself gasping for air—air I couldn’t get because he was choking me…killing me…
“Get your hands off my mate, you fuck!”
Suddenly a big, red fist plowed into Hurxx’s nose. Blood flew and the horribly strong hands finally released me. I staggered backwards and Sellah caught me.
“Zoe? Are you all right?”
“I…I think I’m fine.” My voice came out in a thin little whisper and I coughed, trying to get my breath back. My vision was still fading in and out and I had to lean on Sellah’s arm to stay upright.
Beside the throne, Hurxx and Sarden were still fighting. Although Hurxx wasn’t really putting up much of a fight. Sarden was raining down blows on him, his face a mask of savage, possessive fury and Hurxx was cowering and trying to get away.
“Have mercy—have mercy!” he cried, trying to shield his face, which was covered in blood, from Sarden’s fists. Some of the palace guards tried to interfere but Grav held them back. He had gotten one of the axe-spears from one of them and was waving it menacingly. From the look on his face, he wanted to go after Hurxx himself but clearly he knew he had to leave him to Sarden.
“Why should anyone have mercy on you?” Tellum shouted at Hurxx, stepping forward to make himself heard over the excited babble of the crowd. “You who profaned our most sacred rites and rituals with evil and deceit? How did you do it? How did you compel the Stars to stay with you when you had such wicked intent?”
“The chain…” I coughed and pointed to the broken gold chain lying on the floor before the throne. The oval shaped stone in the center had shattered and a black, noxious smoke was rising from it. “I don’t know what it is but it was…was holding them in place.”
“How else was I to take the throne?” Hurxx whined, still trying to shield himself from Sarden’s fists. “The Star of Wisdom didn’t want me—it only wanted Sarden! I couldn’t let a half-breed rule Eloim, could I?”
“What?” Sarden stopped in mid-punch and took a step back, eyeing his cousin warily. “What did you say?”
“You heard me.” Hurxx straightened up a little, his flattened nose streaming with blood. “From the first moment I touched the Star of Wisdom, at the pre-coronation ceremony, it never wanted me. It asked for you.” He spat. “But I was damned if I’d give the throne to a filthy half-Vorn bastard.”
“The Star wanted Sarden—which was why you had to construct a device strong enough to hold it in place on your head,” Sellah said, lifting her chin. “Because you knew you weren’t the rightful Rae. I wondered why you had that ugly necklace commissioned. Now we know.”
“I only did what any true patriot of Eloim would have done.” Hurxx sounded sulky. “In order to keep a half-breed off the throne.”
“It was not for you to decide who was or was not worthy to wear the Star of Wisdom,” Tellum thundered, glaring at the deposed Rae. “Only the Star itself can make that determination.”
As if the Stars—which were still hovering high above the crowds—had heard his voice, they both came whizzing down.
The Star of Wisdom paused for a moment, then settled itself firmly on Sarden’s head.
“What?” He reached up to touch the gold circlet hesitantly…carefully as though he might be burned. I felt, rather than heard, the Star asking him questions through our link. After a moment he nodded. “Yes,” he said in a low voice. “Yes, I swear it.”
The crowd murmured in surprise but I didn’t hear or see anyone who sounded unhappy. Well, except for Yancy and a few of the other Councilors who were obviously loyal to the deposed Rae. They were starting to sneak to one side of the throne and I saw Hurxx sidling that way himself—clearly they were trying to take the back way out.
Grav saw it the same time I did and motioned to the guards.
“Keep them here,” he growled. “Nobody leaves until this is over.”
Most of the guards seemed to understand what was going on. They ran to surround the would-be escaping Councilors and the ex-Rae. A few of the crowd murmured but most were still watching Sarden to see what he would do.
“People of Eloim,” he said, stepping forward and addressing the crowd. “The Sta
r of Wisdom has come to me. Though I am a half-breed, I was raised among you and I have only Eloim’s best interests at heart. I will rule with your blessing and that of the Star’s—but only with the right female beside me as my Ria.”
A cheer went up from the crowd and some of them called, “Long live the Rae! Long live Lord Sarden!”
Sarden made a motion with his hands and they quieted down. All eyes went up to the ceiling, where the silver circlet of the Star of Compassion was hovering uncertainly.
At last it came down and positioned itself over Sellah’s head. She looked up at it and I saw the sorrow and resignation in her eyes.
“All right,” she said softly. “I’ll do it if there’s no other way. But please, Star, if you can find anyone else—anyone you think is worthy—then please choose them instead. Please.”
The slim silver crown seemed to understand. It rose again and came to settle…
Directly on my head.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Zoe
“What?” I couldn’t have been more surprised if…well, to be honest, I can’t think of a situation that would have surprised me more.
Zoe, whispered the Star’s voice in my head. Will you accept the mantle of Ria of Eloim?
“But…but I don’t know anything about your people,” I protested in a small voice.
Are you willing to learn?
“Well, sure. But I’m really not queen material—I’m just a paralegal,” I objected. “I mean, I’m not royal or fancy at all.”
It is because you do not seek power that it is bestowed upon you, the Star told me.
Sarden must have felt my uncertainty through the link we now shared because he came forward and took my hands in his.
“Zoe,” he said in a low voice. “Please say yes. Please rule by my side.”
“I…I want to be by your side,” I said, trying to pick my words carefully. “But I wasn’t sure how you felt about it. I mean, I don’t know if—”
“I love you.” He leaned down to kiss me and then looked searchingly into my eyes. “I know we started this in a bad way, with me buying you from the Commercians and abducting you away from your home world. And I know you miss it. I’ve been pretending to myself that I could let you go if you chose Earth over me but I can’t pretend anymore! Zoe, I love you so damn much.”
For some reason my eyes filled with hot tears and a sob broke from my lips.
“What? What is it?” Sarden looked distressed. He stroked my hair and looked at me anxiously. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Shouldn’t I have said that?”
“N-no. I mean, yes,” I managed to get out in a strangled voice. “Yes, you should absolutely have said it. I’m sorry I’m crying. It’s just…I love you too. I don’t know how or when it happened but I’m in love with you—not just a little either,” I admitted recklessly. “I’m…I’m crazy in love with you. Stupid in love with you.”
“Oh, is that all?” He smiled at me and hugged me to him. “That’s all right then because I feel the same way about you.”
“You do?” I asked, looking at him hopefully.
“Absolutely. I kept telling myself I couldn’t and shouldn’t feel for you that way but, well…” He shrugged, his big shoulders rolling and gave me a little grin. “I’m crazy and stupid for you too, sweetheart.”
“Oh, Sarden…” I hugged him back, the tears still running down my face.
Sellah had been standing by, watching us with wide, happy eyes as we hugged it out in public. Now she stepped forward and put a hand on my shoulder.
“The love of a Rae for his Ria is an important factor in the ruling of Eloim,” she murmured. “Will you now accept the responsibility that has been given you?”
“Yes,” I whispered, swiping at my eyes and taking a step back from Sarden. “Yes, if…if the people want me to. But I don’t want to feel like a userpent.”
“A userpent?” Sarden grinned at me. “What’s that?”
“Oh, you know what I mean!” I swatted at his arm. “A usurper. That’s what I mean.” I looked at Sellah. “I don’t want to feel like I stole the throne from you.”
“Everyone here has seen that the Star picked you when I asked it to take another candidate for Ria,” she reminded me. “The people will accept you on that basis alone. However…” She stepped forward and addressed the crowd.
“People of Eloim. For a short time I served as your Ria and though I love all of you dearly, it was sometimes, I admit, with a heavy and regretful heart that I served. I do not wish to rule and the Star of Compassion has seen into my heart and set me free of the burden. It has chosen instead, my brother’s bonded mate—Lady Zoe, the Pure One who is also a La-ti-zal.”
I heard the murmurs rising through the crowd and everyone, the common people and the nobles and couriers alike, started looking at me differently.
“A La-ti-zal! Did you hear that? She’s a La-ti-zal!”
“No wonder the Star picked her!”
“A Pure One and a La-ti-zal as our new Ria. Truly we are blessed by the Goddess of Mercy!”
“People of Eloim,” Sellah continued. “It was the Lady Zoe who saved you from the false rule of the imposter, Hurxx. Only by her pure power was his deception exposed. I promise you, she will learn our ways and be a wise and just Ria.”
A cheer went up and several of the crowd started chanting my name. I watched, hardly able to comprehend what was happening. Were they chanting for me? The girl who’d been having staplers chucked at her head less than a month before? What was happening to me? And how had my life turned so upside down in such a short time?
“My people,” roared Tellum, coming to stand beside us. “May I present to you your new Rae and Ria—the Lord Sarden and the Lady Zoe!”
“Long live the Rae! Long live the Ria! Long live Lord Sarden! Long live Lady Zoe!”
Sarden and I waved and then he pulled me to him and gave me a searing kiss.
“I love you, Zoe,” he murmured when we finally came up for air. “How about if we get out of here so I can show you how much?”
“Sounds good to me,” I whispered breathlessly.
The cheering and chanting followed us out of the throne room and I felt lighter than air as Sarden held my hand and the Star whispered in my head that I would be the queen that Eloim needed.
In the space of a few short weeks, I had found a whole new life. I had gone from a plain, overworked paralegal to a captive to a queen, and it all started because I was…
Abducted.
Maybe the Alien Mate Index wasn’t so bad after all.
The End…or is it?
Epilogue
Sarden
“I don’t like this. I don’t like it one damn bit.” I was pacing the floor of my war room—the same one my grandfather had used when I was a child. Back then I used to hide under the desk and observe affairs of state, fascinated by the way my grandfather, who was then the Rae, was running Eloim. Now the war room was my own to plot and plan in.
The first order of business had been to clean house, and get rid of all those that had been loyal to Hurxx and had known about his plot to sell Sellah into slavery. The second order had been to take care of Tazaxx and the pirates who had worked with him. The pirates were currently in a triple max lockdown for life and Tazaxx had been reduced to nothing but muddy water. How? By flooding his mansion on Giedi Prime.
The team I had sent had plugged all the windows and doors and filled the mansion to the ceiling with pale purple cleansing fluid—the same kind we used in our Cleansing Pools. The pure, antiseptic liquid acted like poison on the slimy bastard, melting him and dispersing everything that made him sentient. By the time the seals on the windows and doors were opened, nothing was left of him but a gush of dirty water that couldn’t hurt anyone.
It was most satisfying, especially since I was able to release his “treasures” to their native planets and relocate those who couldn’t go home for whatever re
ason. Tazaxxx would never collect females like playing cards again and his yearly auction was ended for good.
After all that was taken care of, I turned my attention to the third order of business, which was the derelict ship Count Doloroso had left behind. We’d been in too much of a hurry to do anything about it right after Grav had killed the evil, crazy bastard. But I didn’t like the idea of it floating around abandoned, filled with all the Assimilation equipment I’d sold him.
There was only one problem—when the salvage team I’d sent to recover the ship got to the coordinates I gave them, they found Doloroso’s ship was gone. Completely vanished.
Of course, it was possible that someone else had found the ship and taken it. But space is a big place—looking for an empty vessel without a beacon to guide you is like looking for a junter in a craggle pile. Or as Zoe would say, a needle in a haystack. So the odds of someone just stumbling upon it were slight.
So then, where did it go?
“Somebody took it,” Grav suggested. He had been hanging around, helping me set my house in order since I had taken over as Rae of Eloim, though I didn’t expect him to stay much longer. His vow as a Protector meant he’d be looking for a new client soon—a female that needed his aid. I could tell that he was getting itchy and restless without a ward to protect.
“I guess someone might have just stumbled upon it,” I said, frowning. “Still, it just doesn’t feel…right.”
“What doesn’t feel right?”
Zoe came into the war room, wearing the latest in Eloim fashion—a tight green sheath of a dress that showed off her lush curves and fur-topped, high heeled slippers.
I felt my shaft stir at the way the green dress hugged her full breasts and hips and thanked the Goddess again that Zoe had agreed to stay and rule with me. She was so beautiful I couldn’t get enough of her—even though we made love several times a night and sometimes in the middle of the day as well. I knew it was the first flush of bonding which, as Zoe pointed out, was more like a physical addiction than a regular love affair—at least on her planet. But I didn’t care about any of that—I just knew I wanted her almost all the time. And thank the Goddess, she wanted me too.