I followed Kade out of the bathroom, resisting the urge to hide my reddened cheeks from the curious eyes of the warriors that lined the hallways. My heart calmed as we moved further away from the screaming prisoners. We were heading towards King Kagorth's throne room, where I was told that we would get an audience with his Royal Highness and the important advisors of the King's Guard in regards to their agreement with our government.
I wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all. Of what my life had become in just a short time. In my wildest of dreams or nightmares, I never could have predicted this.
Kade's stance was protective over me as we passed the many males on our way to the throne room. I rolled my eyes at him. "What are you so worried about?" My tone was playful but I wasn't quite sure what he was expecting to happen out in the open like this.
Although... I guess I was shot the last time I had been wandering these very corridors. The thought flittered through my mind. I was sure my facial expression must have looked pained as I recalled the memory. I shook it off the best that I could and awaited Kade's response to my question.
His eyes slid to me briefly before returning to scanning the halls, continuing to monitor for anything that may threaten my safety "I'm not taking any chances with you. We aren't fully mated yet. If someone wanted to, they could break the bond between the two of us. There were many here that wanted a chance to be with you, remember?" His tone was dry as he recalled the memories.
I pursed my lips. "What do you mean they could break the bond between us? I thought this was pretty much a done deal."
Kade's own lips tipped up in amusement. "Do you want to make it a done deal?" His eyes sparked with mischief and I had to swallow hard, focusing on walking once more instead of stumbling like an idiot at the feelings that were flowing through my mind and my body.
His dark chuckled made me side-eye him as I narrowed my eyes. "Do I even want to know what that means?"
Kade grinned down on me. "We'd be sealing the bond. With our bodies."
I clued in then, blushing even deeper than I had been before. Just in time to arrive at the grand entrance to the throne room. I breathed out a long breath of air and straightened my shoulders, not quite sure how things would go down beyond these imposing doors.
The guards opened the doors with no more than a nod of respect to the Prince standing beside me. I bit my lip nervously as we walked through and I saw just how many people were sitting at the round table behind the enormous
Kade reached out and laced his large, warm hand through my own, somehow sensing that I was dreading the meeting that was about to happen. At his touch, my fingers tingled pleasantly, and what felt like an electric current began to course through me. It felt good. I felt powerful.
Kade's eyes flicked down to me in surprise, and I wondered if he felt it too. I decided to ask him about it later. Right now, it was time to fight for the rights of the women on Earth.
Upon noticing us, King Kagorth and the members around the table stood to welcome us.
"My goodness, Emily. I am so glad to see you back on your feet after such a brutal attack." The King's voice rang through the enormous room, and if I wasn't mistaken, I was sure the room echoed slightly back. My eyes flicked to meet the King's, and to my surprise he was looking at me with genuine concern on his face.
I nodded, briefly pausing to curtsy awkwardly. Was that even a thing on Nauria?
Kade's lip twitched slightly in amusement, but to his credit stayed silent. I squeezed his hand playfully, before releasing it and stepping forwards as confidently as possible.
"Thank you, your Highness." I smiled at him. "I'm feeling much better now."
Kagorth motioned us further, gesturing for me to sit next to him at the round table. The furniture alone probably would have cost more than a month's rent at my old place. The enormous table was a single slab of white marble that was almost iridescent with the sunlight that was coming from the sky lights above. I wanted to climb on top of the table and bask in the warm sunshine.
I seriously needed to go outside, and soon. I was probably going to go insane if I didn't.
The King stared at me for a moment before giving me a wink. "We'll talk more about your mysterious healing abilities later. Now, I would like to tell you of the changes we have made to the program going forward."
I adjusted my body so that I was turned slightly towards the King, trying not to seem so obviously interested. In truth, I was nervous about what they were about to tell me.
"Well my dear, upon learning from you that Earth's government officials were not holding true to our original agreement, we told them we were no longer willing to adhere to a truce among our kinds." At his words, I nearly sprang up from the chair I was sitting in, but Kade gave my knee a reassuring squeeze.
I stayed still, staring at the King with wide, expectant eyes. He chuckled, seeing my frantic expression. "You can relax, Emily. I think you know by now that the humans aren't willing to go to war with us. You've seen some of our powers first hand. Our weapons could obliterate an entire planet if we wanted to. And even then... we're not the most dangerous beings in our solar system."
I pursed my lips, wanting so badly to interrupt and ask a million questions, but I somehow resisted, allowing the King to continue his story.
"We spoke of a plague that killed many of our women. In reality, it was the Selarians that did this to us." At my confusion, the King continued. "The Selarians hail from the planet Selara, a planet that is on the dark side of our moon. Their planet has been dying for millenia, and they thought the only way for them to survive was to declare war with us and take over Nauria. We had the upper hand in many ways, that is... until they began to fight dirty. They unleashed a parasite on our women that killed them at an alarming rate. We were eventually able to eradicate the parasite but not before the results were devastating." Kagorth's own eyes were shining with emotion now, I assumed from the memories of his mate.
"So did the Selarians take over Nauria?" My face was pale as I digested the fact that were was an evil race of aliens that we now had to worry about.
The King shook his head. "No, we have still managed to hold them off. However, where their army continues to grow, ours stays the same. The only way for us to stand a chance is if we get our population back. Not to mention... the Selarians now know about Earth. It is very likely that they will turn their attention to your planet next. It is with this information that your government officials agreed to our demands... in exchange for protection if the Selarians come to Earth."
I blew out a long breath of air as I took in everything that had just been thrown at me.
"So what were the demands that you made?" I asked the King, turning my full attention to him.
It was then that I noticed the officers around the table had lost their interest in the conversation, seeming to be talking about a completely different topic. I wrinkled my nose in distaste; the fate of the people on Earth was a very important topic to me, at least.
Following my look of dissatisfaction, Kade's eyes sliced towards the men menacingly, making a noise low in his throat that definitely wasn't human. My lips parted in shock when the men immediately stopped what they were doing, bowed their heads in apology, and refocused on the matter at hand.
I squeezed Kade's large, warm hand gratefully. I found it sweet that he was constantly in tune with how I was feeling at any given moment. We still hadn't had nearly the amount of time that I craved to get to truly get to know each other, but I was sure that we would get it soon.
The King cleared his throat. "Well, for one, the government will no longer be conducting the research. The research will now be done within the confines of our ship. We have been given the resources to scout for those in hospital with little to no chance at survival. We have also been granted the clearance to take those that are willing and bring them here for testing and trials."
There was a pause before Kagorth continued.
"We will also be expanding the trials to males in the same situation, provided they agree. We need to increase our population if we are to stand against the Selarians if they decide to attack."
I waited a moment before I launched into the questions that I had been burning to ask. "When will the testing begin in the ship? I would like to work on a protocol with you that ensures that those in life or death situations will not be taken advantage of and that they understand exactly what they are getting themselves in to by accepting your terms. I also want to confirm with you that they will be treated humanely at all times, no matter what." I could feel the passion and the need to defend my fellow humans rising in my throat.
King Kagorth looked at me thoughtfully, nodding. "Of course. That's another thing that I would like to discuss with you. I think you have an idea of what your position is within our people. As my son's Mate, the Prince of Nauria, you will be the future Queen. I'm sure Kadeon has told you how revered our females are. I would like you to be head of this program. You will lead and direct us in a way that ensures both sides benefit from our agreement. We will follow the criticism and suggestions you provide to make sure that everyone is being taken care of."
I felt honoured that they would trust me, an outsider with a job this important. I nodded enthusiastically. "I would appreciate that very much."
"Fantastic. We will go through the details at a later date. Do you have any further questions before we move on to the next topic?" Kagorth asked me, gesturing around the table.
I nodded, "I do. What will happen to Jade? She was the last surviving woman being tested on while I was down there, to my knowledge. I would like her brought here, if that is possible."
The King pursed his lips. "The human girl was already brought to us. She is not in the best condition, Emily. Our scientists are working around the clock to reverse what has been done to her. The scientists that turned you did not use the same formula on Jade, and it seems like they went further than they were supposed to. We're not sure if she is going to survive."
I closed my eyes tightly, swallowing the words that wanted to spew from my mouth. "Where is she? I'd like to see the place that this will all be happening in."
He nodded in understanding. "Of course, I was expecting no less."
I sighed, massaging my temples. There was also the problem of Connor that I needed to address.
"I have one other request, your Highness." I looked to the King to gauge his reaction. When he looked at me openly, I relaxed a little. "The man who shot me was from the institute I was held in when my genes were spliced. He warned me against what was going to happen to me if I didn't escape... he... blames you for what is happening to Jade. I believe he should be given a second chance."
At the gasps that echoed around the room, I gritted my teeth. Kade remained silent but supportive by my side, even if he was reluctant to sparing Connor's life.
The King waited for me to continue, although he didn't look very pleased at the idea. "I think he has information that may be vital to the security of your people. He was willing to exchange that information for having Jade rescued from their laboratory. I do believe he should be punished but... not with death. He was a friend to me there when I had no one else. I think I owe him that much."
King Kagorth exhaled a deep breath, closing his own eyes as he considered what I had to say.
"In Nauria, crimes against the Royal family are the most severe. The people will not accept anything less than what they believe he deserves. We must uphold the law even when it is difficult to us. If you believe the death sentence is too much for him, then we may revert to one of our own traditions in sentencing criminals. We have several Naurians capable of discovering someone's greatest fear. If Connor agrees, he must submit to his greatest fear in order to be pardoned for his crimes. It is either that or death."
I stared at him, dumbfounded. I looked to Kade, wanting him to disagree, but he shook his head slightly at me, as if to tell me not to push the King further. I narrowed my eyes at him, but decided to trust his judgement for the time being.
I nodded stiffly, still unsure about how I felt about the terms the King had decided. I supposed it was better than death. I hoped for Connor's sake he was scared of big fluffy teddy bears.
"Well, I have another meeting I need to get to so I need to move on to the next topic. We will go through your suggestions for the patients once you see the facilities we're working with. Now, Emily. I know you've experienced a sliver of your powers so far and they've surpassed what we believed possible for someone not born of our kind. We need you to become a master of those abilities in case we ever need them with our enemies." His eyes flicked to Kade, then back to me. Kade's hand tightened on my own, seeming to agree with what his father was saying.
"You need to be able to defend yourself and the ones you love as well as our people. We are asking that you train every day in the arena and begin classes with peers around your own age. I believe here you call it university. We have something similar that we believe would be beneficial for you to learn of our history and more about your powers and Naurian society as a whole. Is this suitable for you?"
My nerves shot up into my throat. "Will Kade be with me?" I asked the King nervously.
Kade smirked dangerously. "No, sweets. I won't. I need to train with the warriors. But I'll be sending a guard along with you." Seeing I was about to protest, Kade narrowed his eyes at me. "Seeing as you just got shot, there is no argument here, Emily."
I sighed dramatically before turning my attention to the King who was looking between the two of us with amusement. "Yes, that's suitable." I all but grumbled. At the mere thought of being away from Kade, my stomach might as well have been in my mouth.
"Great. Kadeon will show you where the facility is that we will be doing our testing on potential candidates. Jade is there now. As for Connor," the King said his name with distaste, "we will arrange for him to make his choice tomorrow."
I bit my lip nervously, nodding in response. King Kagorth stood swiftly, causing the rest of the table to follow suit. They all bowed besides Kade. I moved to bow my head but Kade caught my hand once more, shaking his head slightly. I looked at him in surprise but didn't bow.
When everyone had exited the room, Kade turned to me. "You don't bow to Royalty anymore. You are one of us. An equal." His tone was proud as he looked down at me.
Wow. That's something I'm going to need a hot minute to get used to. I thought to myself, taking a reassuring breath. This is all so crazy.
When I looked back at Kade, he was staring down at me with a hungry look in his eyes. I swallowed hard, suddenly wanting nothing more than having his hot, unyielding mouth on my own. I could feel my body temperature spike dramatically, and Kade himself had to close his eyes tightly to regain his composure.
"I think we're going to have to have a meeting with Dr. Ama soon," His voice came out tight, as if he was hanging on from a mere thread with devouring me.
Devour me any time you want. I wanted to run my hands along his abs more than anything in the world. Kade laughed darkly.
I knew that if I hadn't been anchored to Kade in some sort of weird, Naurian way I would have burst in to yet another fireball by now. Maybe the training wasn't such a bad idea. I could feel the ripple of flames just beneath the surface of my skin, begging to be released. Begging me to let it burn the world down.
I didn't bother to ask Kade why he had brought up the doctor, instead I allowed my hand to trace along his bicep slowly, causing his breath to stall as his eyes followed my movements closely.
He all but growled as he grasped my hand, not allowing it to move any further down his abdomen. "Right now, mate, we have some business to attend to. But tonight, tonight you are mine in all ways." His sultry, dangerous voice growled in my ear, causing shivers to run down my spine. I wanted to sag against his hard frame, but I knew he was right.
Right now, we needed to see Jade.
But after... after, he was going to be all mine.
___
Sorry it took me so long to update! I've been sick with a cold (not corona don't worry lol), and working my full time job. I hope you guys enjoyed it, please pleaseeee continue to comment and let me know if you liked it, what you think is going to happen next, etc. :)
You guys are my biggest motivators and I write for you! Love you all!!
-Kyla