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Zamire quickly tied my robe closed, his determined expression making uncertainty fill me. Our captor was going to get a piece of the prince’s mind. The aggression in his eyes was the first clue. If I didn’t prevent him from exerting his will, he would make things worse for us.
I got off his lap and faced the scowling woman. It was obvious that she didn’t approve of the way we passed the time. Her two friends were standing behind her, their eyes holding amusement. The woman reached out and touched my forehead, her eyes going wide with shock.
“You are still warm. I removed your Hyndroyl crystal,” she said in her native tongue. I must not have concealed the surprise that flashed across my face. “You can still understand me?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Perfect. Make the prince understand me. I hate speaking Nerth,” the woman ordered.
“I’m not sure that I can...”
“Try it, or you lose a finger,” she threatened. Okay, then. I touched Zamire’s shoulder and concentrated, willing for the robe to help him understand our abductor. After the tingling sensation stopped, I slumped against the wall, the effort stealing my energy. “Prince Zamire, I’m Princess Shala, of the Janton Empire. Do you understand my words?”
“Yes,” Zamire replied in Nerth.
“Good. Since you betrayed me by taking a lover, my people wish for me to punish you in some way. I intend on doing so, after I extract the genetic material I need,” she said. Yeah, right, like the Janton people were concerned about Zamire’s unfaithfulness to her. This princess was full of herself. I eyed Zamire, who was clearly confused.
“Why would you care if I take a lover?” Zamire asked. My stomach flipped at the thought of the prince being my lover.
Shala frowned. “Because I am your betrothed. It was a part of the treaty that your pathetic father made with us after we brought his people to their knees.” The prince appeared stunned. Apparently, the king hadn’t informed his son of the treaty. After all, he was previously betrothed to Lady Aneli.
“What treaty?” Zamire asked, his posture straightening.
“The treaty of surrender. After we wiped out most of your females, your father realized that he couldn’t defeat us. So, my brother, Emperor Tulda, came up with a list of things the king had to accomplish in seven years. Year one, stop the production of Hyndroyl crystals. According to our spies, your father has been distributing false crystals to his people. In fact, your lady friend had one,” Shala explained. My crystal was fake? I glanced down at the symbols on my wrist and scrunched up my nose. I never would have gotten this tattoo willingly. there was a circle that was drawn on one end of a sword, and a spool of yarn was on the other end of the weapon. Each image was no larger than a quarter. What did all of this mean?
“What’s next on the list?” Zamire inquired.
“Next up, you and I are to be married. He was supposed to surrender you last month. I got impatient and decided to steal you, myself,” Shala explained. Pain flared in my body as blind anger came over me. I couldn’t control what happened next. All my soul registered was that someone was trying to lay claim to what was mine. I got to my feet and let out a war cry. My body leapt forward and I went for Shala’s throat. Her guards attempted to intercept me, but a wave of light exploded from my body, slamming into them. The scent of burning flesh reached my nose, but that didn’t break through the haze of madness. Shala was going to pay for dreaming of calling Zamire her own.
“Jade, stop,” an unfamiliar voice shouted. Before I could determine where the strange male voice was coming from, vapors smacked me in the face and I collapsed to the carpet, unconsciousness claiming me again.
***
“What in the hell are we supposed to do with her?” Shala demanded.
Strong arms held me close to a muscular body. My face was pressed against a heartbeat that meant everything to me. I lifted my head and stared into Zamire’s concerned eyes.
“What happened?” I groggily asked.
“You went ballistic. You injured three guards and nearly killed Shala. Someone sprayed knock-out spray in your face and you dropped like a light. Jade, if you wanted to escape, that wasn’t a great time to attempt it,” Zamire said.
“I don’t remember doing that,” I confessed, horrified that I injured people.
“Your emotions were all over the place. The minute Shala talked about marrying me, you got so angry that something changed in you.” Part of me wanted to deny that I cared that Shala had a claim to him. But the thought of her marrying Zamire caused madness to tickle my mind again.
“It’s okay, Jade,” Zamire said, his arms tightening around me.
“I have no idea what’s going on with me.” I recalled the moment I wanted to destroy Lady Aneli and her father. It was when Lord Rema told me that Zamire and Aneli’s relationship was a love match. Footsteps reached us, and I rolled away from Zamire and got to my feet. A bruised Shala appeared with three guards at her back. She pointed a spear in my direction. The glowing tip told me that the weapon packed a terrible punch.
“So, the thought of me daring to marry your lover made you go insane? I can understand that. Our people admire strength. Had you just lain down and accepted your fate, I would have found you weak,” she said, an evil smirk on her face. I considered apologizing, but had the sense that Shala would only throw my apology back in my face. “So I figure that you can burn off some of your anger.”
“What?” I asked, fearing what was coming next.
“A draguel is terrorizing one of my villages. I’m sending you out to kill it,” she decided.
Zamire got to his feet and stepped in front of me. “She isn’t facing off with a draguel on her own,” he protested.
“I know. You’re going with her. Consider this your punishment for cheating on me. If you die, I’ll force your father to breed with me,” Shala threatened. “Serves him right for allowing you to lay with the likes of her.” Something seemed off with this situation. I couldn’t put my finger on what.
“And if we succeed?” I demanded, stepping in front of Zamire. I had no idea how I was able to wield magic without a Hyndroyl crystal, but I would use it to my advantage.
Shala laughed. “A draguel is four times your size and is carnivorous. It usually takes twenty Janton to defeat one draguel. You have no chance against that beast.”
“Was this your plan all along?” I demanded, a sinking feeling causing my heart to crack.
“It was a possibility. But after your display, I decided that the lot of you are worthless.”
“What if we survive? Will you let us go?” I persisted with my line of questioning, trying to bargain with the evil princess.
Shala smirked. “If you happen to survive, which is impossible, I won’t let you go. No, I’ll send you to kill another beast. If you manage that, I’ll continue sending you on missions, until you die. When I beam King Relex up to my ship, I’ll tell him the news that his son died, all because he couldn’t tell him the truth.” I itched to blow Shala into pieces, but I restrained myself. There had to be a way out of this mess.
“Are we on your ship?” I asked.
“No. You’re on Janton. After my men beamed you up to our ship, we kept you asleep for the two-week journey to our planet,” she callously explained. Two weeks? We’d been away from Neretha for quite a while. How in the world will we be able to return? I eyed Zamire, whose expression was blank. He obviously didn’t want to give Shala the satisfaction of seeing the hopelessness in his eyes. I had no such training, and Shala loved the emotions on my face.
“That’s right, pathetic Nerethian. You’re never going home.” Something about this situation caused warning alarms to fill my head. Until I attacked her, Shala had been hell-bent on receiving genetic material from Zamire. Now she was willing to toss Zamire to the side and capture the king? I wanted to beg her to tell the truth, but knew that the princess wasn’t going to reveal anything. I eyed Zamire, who was still blank faced, but his assessing gaze told me that he also saw that something wasn’t adding up.
“We aren’t going to get fed first?” Zamire suddenly asked.
Shala shook her head. “You can hunt for your own food, spoiled prince. I wonder if you’ll be able to skin and cook game.”
Zamire sighed. “Let us leave, then. There is no point in wasting our time speaking to you.”
“Fine. Follow me. I’d like to see your lover figure out how to keep your feet warm.” She laughed. I groaned, knowing that the powers I possessed needed some refueling.
Shala led us out of the room and into a cavernous hallway. We walked up a winding staircase that went on for twenty flights. By the time we reached the top, my sides were aching from the exertion. Two seven-and-a-half-foot-tall men dressed in clothing covered in fur were waiting for us. Neither of them spoke. The princess’s joyous demeanor didn’t match the situation. Why capture someone for their genetic material, only to send them into a dangerous battle? We were being tricked, I could feel it.
“Jade, any last words?” the princess asked. I pulled Zamire into my arms and held him close. I went up on tiptoe and kissed his soft lips. After a moment of hesitation, he held me close, his tongue entering my mouth. When we pulled apart, I made eye contact with him.
“See you soon,” I said, then everything went black.
