Trinity, Planet Alera, City of Mytikas, The Palace
A roar filled my ears the moment the freezing, twisting pain of transport left my body. I swayed, but Leo was there, his hand on my elbow—like a respectful guard and not my lover. My everything.
He was dressed in the traditional uniform worn by my mother’s royal guard. He’d copied his father’s uniform from memory, inputted the data into the S-Gen and it created it perfectly, even though the style had faded away when my mother disappeared all those years ago.
The tight-fitting black hugged every gorgeous muscle. The uniform was designed to show the guard’s fitness, his strength. Unfortunately, it also showed Leo’s bulging cock which only showed he’d been newly awakened. We’d both hoped the amount of fucking we’d done would have dimmed his need a bit, just like my Ardor had been soothed, but apparently not. With my sparkling dress and my very existence, we hoped people would ignore him. At least for now.
And that hope appeared to be coming true. I turned. Blinked. We’d transported directly into the coordinates of the palace, but we weren’t alone. Far from it. The roar grew in volume as more noticed we’d magically appeared and I stared out over a sea of people gathered in the courtyard of the Queen’s Palace.
“And we thought this would be less crowded than the citadel,” Leo whispered to me. “Princess,” he added as a reminder of our roles.
I straightened my spine and lifted my chin, looking as composed and regal as I could manage after just having had days of sex, cross-galaxy travel, a murder attempt, falling in love with a stranger and transporting through thin air.
All in a day’s work for a queen, or at least a princess. I waved and smiled. Posed as people took pictures and videos of me. Fortunately, they were all at a safe distance and Leo didn’t have to keep himself from ripping their heads from their bodies. I was real. And I was here to stay. I hadn’t gotten all dressed up for nothing.
“Trin-it-ee! Trin-it-ee!” The crowd was chanting my name, the name they’d only learned via the video pronouncement I’d recorded while on the Battleship Karter. They’d expected me, as we’d planned.
I was still waving, still smiling, as the giant double doors behind me swung open and an older couple came sweeping down the steps like they were welcoming an esteemed guest. Like the castle was theirs.
Maybe it was. But not for long.
“Cousin!” The woman stepped forward and took my hands in hers. Leo allowed it, but he held onto his weapon, watching every move the middle-aged couple made. “Welcome, Your Highness. I am your cousin, Radella, and this is my mate, Danoth.” She bowed her head slightly in deference.
I nodded at her. “Pleased to meet you. You are my mother’s second cousin by her Aunt Zetta.”
The woman looked shocked, but quickly got past it. “Yes. Of course. And you are Queen Celene’s daughter?”
“I am.” I’d told everyone as much on the recording, but it wasn’t surprising she would want confirmation. I mean, I appeared out of nowhere after twenty-seven years.
“No offense intended, Your Highness, but where is your mother?” She glanced about as if my mother were hiding behind me.
“And where are the royal gemstones? Your arrival here, alone, has caused quite a stir. No one is certain that you are who you say you are.” Danoth, my cousin’s mate, spoke. As he did so, the color around him changed. Darkened.
He was lying. I knew it as surely as I knew my heart beat in my chest. Now I knew my power, knew there was more than one color that gave people away.
“The citadel knows,” I said plainly.
Perhaps it was my tone, but definitely the look in my eye, for Leo moved slightly closer.
My glare was full of outrage. Maybe I didn’t need that stupid acting class after all. He’d only said one sentence and I didn’t like him at all. “My mother will join us in her palace soon. We must prepare for her arrival.”
“Of course. Of course.” Radella bowed and swept her hand to the side. “Please, welcome to our home. Come in. Come in. We have had chambers prepared.”
Our home? It was my mother’s as far as I knew. But I didn’t say as much.
“The queen’s chambers?” I asked. I would not be a guest here. It was my mother’s palace. Mine, with my spire lit. I wouldn’t give any leeway to my cousin’s mate after he lied to me. He knew exactly who I was.
We entered and I was led to a parlor—Leo closely following—that would rival any on Earth. The walls were lined with breathtaking works of art and gilded trim. Crystal chandeliers that glittered silver and white hung from thirty-foot ceilings. The carpeting was so think and plush, I lost two inches in height the moment I stepped onto it, sinking down. Everything in the room, from the massive sofas to the carved writing desk screamed money. Lots and lots of freaking money.
Holy shit. Just how rich was my mother? We’d never lived above our means. Our house was average. Middle-class America. My sisters and I had had chores growing up. I’d scrubbed toilets and done laundry. Oh, we’d gotten a flat screen TV when they came out and a new washer and dryer when the old one flooded the basement, but we never splurged. It just wasn’t the way we were. If I’d grown up here, my life would have been much, much different.
“Please, Your Highness, please, sit. Would you care for any refreshments?” Radella led the way to the center of a large gray sofa embroidered with silver outlines of Aleran flowers. It was so beautiful, I hesitated to sit down. But I did. The crowd outside continued to chant my name so loudly the rumble echoed through the palace.
I would endure their company for as long as I could, but I wished to be alone, to be with Leo. I sat on that couch with my back rigid and my hands in my lap. Leo stood behind the couch, close enough to touch, the strength and heat of him keeping me sane. My cousins rambled on, clearly uncomfortable.
Good, I wanted them unsettled. To them, I was a stranger. A stranger who might be taking their very livelihood away.
They first spoke of neutral things, like anyone would do on a bad blind date. Then they started probing, subtly trying to get information from me. I refused to answer any of their questions, Danoth becoming more and more agitated as minutes became an hour, then two. I’d had enough. When their assistant, or butler, or whatever the hell he was, came into the room stating that there were news groups requesting entry for interviews, I turned my head to look behind me and met Leo’s gaze—a silent get me the hell out of here all over my face.
I turned to the butler person. Stood. “Not today, thank you. I am tired and would like to be shown to my rooms. Please tell the reporters that I will send personal invitations to them for interview times very soon.”
Radella’s mouth dropped open. “You’re going to talk to all of them?”
She looked as if I offered to give them a belly dance.
“Yes. Why would I not?”
“It’s not done,” she replied. “The premiere teams are hand-selected and approved by the royal family. They always cover the royal events.”
And this was where she lost her powers. Three. Two. One. “Radella, thank you for your counsel on that. As you can see, and so has everyone in Alera, I am the heir to my mother, the princess. It is my duty to rule now until her return. I am the royal family now.”
“But—” she began, but I cut her off with the slice of my hand through the air.
“Is your spire lit?”
Her mouth fell open but no sound came out.
“Yes, I thought not.”
I lifted my gaze from her stunned, insulted face to the butler. “You will report to me now. Please tell the reporters what I said. I do not wish to repeat myself.”
He bowed so low I thought his nose was going to hit his knees. “Yes, Your Highness.”
He left with haste and my cousins scrambled to their feet.
“I would like to rest. Is there a S-Gen available in my rooms?”
“Yes, Your Highness,” my cousin’s tone had changed tremendously.
“Good. I’ll see you soon. I do not wish to be disturbed.”
Radella cleared her throat. “Your Highness, my son returns to the palace tonight for dinner. Might you be inclined to meet him?”
I paused long enough to pretend I was considering her request. In reality, I was about to collapse. Between the sex, the dress-up, transport and spending two hours with my family, I was exhausted. “Perhaps tomorrow, cousin. I really am quite tired.”
“Of course.” She bowed and waved for one of the servants to come over. “Show the princess to the queen’s suite, please.”
“But, that’s your—”
She interrupted the poor man, clearly afraid I’d scold her some more. “Is it clean? Prepared?”
“Of course.”
“Then stop arguing and show her to her rooms.”
“Thank you, cousin,” I replied. “I look forward to speaking again in the morning.”
I left them gaping at me as I walked slowly up the grand staircase behind the servant. Here I was, on another planet, and I felt like I was in a storybook castle, complete with winding staircases, wicked, pretend queens, and a huntsman after my heart. And following behind—thankfully.
The servant led me to a bedroom suite that was the size of a three-bedroom apartment. The bathing room was larger than the living room in the house I grew up in. And everywhere, gold. Silver. Handmade art. Paintings I assumed were priceless. And artifacts that were obviously alien and collected from all over the galaxy—as clearly indicated by the engraved, gold-leaf labels on the display cases.
My mother had lived in a fucking museum.
I dismissed the servant with less ice than I gave Radella and turned to find Leo standing in the doorway, staring. I stared back. There was nothing more I wanted in the world than to pull him into the room, strip naked, wrap his arms around me and go to sleep.
But we both knew that wasn’t going to happen.
I followed him as he inspected every room, every door and window, every closet and potential hiding place. While it was his role as guard, even if he were known as my mate he’d have done the same. When satisfied, he walked to the door, opened it. “I’ll be right outside your door, Your Highness,” he said.
“Sleeping on the floor?” I asked.
His grin said he’d slept in worse places. “Yes. Until I can contact my father, yes.”
I nodded. That, too, was part of the plan. Leo had shared that his father was royal guard, had served my mother. Never lost faith. Leo’s father would know who we could trust, and who we couldn’t. Which families were truly loyal, and which had fallen or had ambitions of their own. And a legion of fifty-year-old, experienced, loyal guards would be a gift I would gladly accept.
He bowed to me, both love and duty in his eyes. “My princess.”
He closed the door with a soft click.
Yes, I was his princess, but it was a lonely role.
I twisted and cursed for twenty minutes trying to get myself out of the dress. Alone. No doubt Leo would have had it off me in two seconds. And up against the wall riding his cock. In the end, and with immense frustration and pent-up sexual need, I ripped it and let it fall to the floor. The S-Gen unit would reclaim it, use the energy in the material to make me something new to wear tomorrow. Or give me back a duplicate, none the worse for my rough treatment.
I didn’t have pajamas, or a t-shirt, or anything remotely comfortable, and I didn’t feel like wrestling with the S-Gen unit to get it, so I gave up, climbed into bed naked, and tried to sleep. Without Leo, it was… lonely. While I knew it wouldn’t happen, I ached to have him decide to sneak in and sleep with me. Knowing it wasn’t going to happen, I grabbed a pillow and hugged it to me. I fell asleep pretending it was my mate.
When I woke, the room was pitch black, the full darkness of night having descended. A dip in the bed let me know that Leo was crawling in next to me. Yes! He was as eager for me as I was for him. He couldn’t hold off, his need for me so great to slip into my rooms. I loved that he was so bold and we’d have to be quiet, and quick, getting him back to his post before dawn.
“You aren’t supposed to be here, but I love that you are.” My words were husky with sleep, a smile playing about my lips, but no real reprimand. If I could steal even fifteen minutes in his arms, I’d take them.
“I saw you today, Trinity, and knew you were going to be mine.”
I froze as a naked male body pressed to my back, a hand rising to cup my breast. The body. The voice. This wasn’t Leo. This wasn’t my mate.
It was all wrong.
All. Wrong.
Ready for more? Read Ascension Saga, book 3 next!
Although Trinity grew up on Earth, she’s Aleran. She’s been chosen by the artificial intelligence that bestows special gifts upon those deemed worthy. She’s been chosen to rule. To lead the planet and avoid the rising tides of war.
Leo is hers. She feels the truth every time he touches her. But enemies hunt them, her sisters are off on dangerous missions of their own, the queen is still missing, and in the royal court, nothing is what is seems…
Click here to get Ascension Saga, book 3 now!