Page 31 of Bonded Queen: to the Alien Warlord Triad

“I didn’t ask for this.”

“But it happened.”

I reflect on that. I’ve got an immense burden on my shoulders, one I never wanted.

“Come on. Let’s go down. I want to check out the rest of the castle and see what the Royal Guard left behind. There could be ships that just need a few repairs that couldn’t get off the ground…weapons, equipment, all sorts of goodies.”

Ships—does she want to stay on this planet, under Aurelian rule, or find a way off?

And if she does want to escape…

Would she take me with her?

Kat jumps off the desk. “You coming with?”

“Sure.”

We walk down the pathway and over the bridge in silence. Kat has a lithe grace, striding towards the elevators like she didn’t just spend hours fighting for her life. The battle left no scars on her psyche, but I’m still skittish, every movement of critters in the secret forest far above the city making me jump.

It’s like I’m living in a fever dream, surrounded by serene luxury, while below the city is burning.

We take the elevator down. The mirrored inside of the transport pod is so much bigger when there aren’t three huge, sweaty alien beasts squeezed in.

There are boot prints on the polished steel floor. They left their mark, just as they left their mark on me. The doors close and reopen again, and we’ve descended the entire spire in seconds. The anti-grav tech is so advanced my stomach doesn’t even flutter.

Now we’re in the private residences of the Royal Family, where they come to play and pamper themselves. They have their own city, removed and hidden from the average people who live out their days toiling.

Birds chirp from the huge green trees that climb towards the towering ceilings. They are a smooth-barked species, with thick, twisting roots that grow exposed, naked until they descend into openings in the floor. Even the wildness is controlled here.

The two servants are standing back at attention, with harried looks on their faces, glancing towards the front doors of the entrance hall. I bet Orr barked commands at them like they were on their first day of boot camp.

I don’t like how Orr talks to them, but it’s not as betters to a lesser. He’s just used to commanding soldiers, and he can’t turn it off. The triad demands swift obedience. When Orr speaks, he knows his commands will be followed to the letter. You can hear it in the grave tones of his syllables.

Kat’s already making a beeline towards the two huge front doors, made of wood and near as tall as the walls of the estate we fled from. I’d stop and chat to the two servants, to try and find a way for them to relax, but Kat’s already at the door, rapping her knuckles against it.

They open near immediately, pulled open by Aurelians. I scurry to catch up to Kat, but when I see the alien soldiers, I stop in my tracks, about ten feet behind her.

The two that opened the doors face inwards, while the other four look out, their hands at their belts, fingers hovering above the hilts of their Orb blades. The two looking inwards have haunted eyes. One has a fresh, red scar on his neck.

“My Queen.” The one with the scar bows his head to me, knuckling the brand on his chest.

The word stuns me. It was one thing for the triad to tell me they wanted me to speak up for the planet. It’s another to have a grizzled, ancient alien warrior speaking to me as if I am royalty.

The bottom half is filled in with black ink, but the top is empty, branded white flesh forming a semi-circle above his heart. The other Aurelian bows his head in unison. He has a thick grey-black beard that goes to his chest, the hair threaded through multiple stone rings, keeping it in check. It reminds me of Orr’s jet-black beard, and I wish his was threaded through stone rings, and not the ones that look suspiciously like they could be bone.

Neither of them have the second brand on their forehead. That relaxes me, if anyone can relax in front of the alien species.

“I’m not much of a queen,” says Kat, not missing her stride, “but I do plan to explore the palace.” She steps towards the Aurelian warriors like she’s planning to walk straight through them. It reminds me of a holo-vid I once saw of an ancient game called bowling—and the two marble-skinned Aurelians are standing tall and straight as “pins.”

To my surprise, they move aside, but then knit back together in a wall of muscles and weapons when I try to follow her. The way the black robes are cut to show off the brands, I get a close up view of the broad, strong backs of the Aurelians facing outwards, just as intimidating as the two Aurelians staring me down as they form up to block my passage.

“We are here to keep you safe, my Queen.”

Safe.

So I’m a prisoner. A bird in a cage. I have more than I ever dreamt possible, but I am forbidden to leave the spire.

Kat darts to the side, so I can see her around the big bodies of the triads. “Hey! I’ll be back, okay? I’ll let you know what I see.”

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