Chapter 16: Chapter 16

MIKHLAS

Mikhlas stood outside Dakira Isabelle’s door, collecting his thoughts. He raised a hand to knock and then lowered it, feeling silly.

~What are you afraid of?~ he asked himself. ~You know she can never be yours and still you want her, but it is not meant to be. But I can tell she likes me. What will you do if she—~

He stopped that line of thinking, clenching his jaw and knocking on the door.

The door cycled open and she stood near the table. He saw that she’d changed her clothing, and the air inside her suite smelled fresh with a hint of floral undertone. He admired her choice of clothes.

A pair of dark-blue jeans tucked into heeled black boots that gave her a couple of inches of extra height, matched with a sweater the color of mountain pines that contrasted with some kind of paint on her lips.

“Good evening,” he said.

“Hey, Mikhlas, come in,” she said, gesturing to the sofa for him to sit.

“Are these quarters satisfactory to you?” he asked, looking around.

“Yeah, it’s perfect. Thank you.”

He sat on the seat as she requested, and she sat down next to him. He took a deep breath, trying to get the distraction of having her so near out of his head. He needed to focus.

“Good,” Mikhlas said, searching for something to say. “The crew are all very eager to meet you. I had to stop a few of them from coming to bother you today. There is a lot of excitement aboard the ship.”

“I would like to meet them, but not tonight. I want to know more about the Realm before I do,” Izzy said.

“That is why I am here. To answer any questions you may have.”

“Where is the Realm?” she asked.

“Prime, on screen,” he said, and the large window turned black, and a star map appeared.

“This is Earth,” he said, looking at the screen where a small blue dot pulsed. “And this is your galaxy.”

As the perspective shifted, a tiny fleck of light moved to the right, quickly passing out of her galaxy and moving toward his own, crossing the bright center of the Universe, clustered with stars and smaller galaxies.

“Our worlds are billions of light-years apart,” he said smiling. “In a galaxy on the other side of the Universe.”

“What’s it like there?”

~Wicked. Cruel. Bloody.~ Mikhlas’s smile faltered.

“It has the potential to be great. With the right leadership in place, the Realm can be great again,” he said, looking at her hazel eyes and hoping he didn’t scare her.

She leaned back into the sofa and drew one of her legs up, turning to face him with a more relaxed posture.

The problem was that he could see her shapely legs, and he placed his hands together in his lap to avoid the temptation of touching her.

“What’s going to happen when we get there?” she asked, putting her hand on his knee.

~She put her hand on my knee!~

“I will deliver you into the hands of Zaftar. He was the King’s Doge, and, for now, remains in charge…,” he said, the thought that she touched him clamoring for his attention.

“…until you are crowned. He will take you to the Palace. There you will meet with the Sentinels and the ascension process shall begin.

“In a week, you will have your coronation. Once you have chosen your own Doge, you will rule however you see fit.”

He looked at the small hand before he flicked his attention back to her face. But that didn’t help much. He wanted to touch her cheek and taste her again.

“What about this Doge?” she asked, getting the pronunciation correct. “Do I get to choose my own?”

“Yes. It will need to be someone who is Realm-born. Someone who is capable of fighting and is accepted by the Sentinels. Once chosen, the Doge will be responsible for carrying out your every command.”

“Hmm,” she said, taking her hand away from his knee and rubbing her bottom lip. “So, I can choose anyone. Like you, for example?” she asked. ~If only the Sentinels were that kind to someone like me.~

Mikhlas took his eyes away from her lips and shook his head with a smile. “No. The Sentinels would not accept me. I have…too much dark history,”

“What does that mean? Earlier you said your skills are too brutal for the Palace, and now this? What exactly do you do?” she asked, twirling a lock of hair around one finger.

~What do I tell her? That I’ve killed people from one end of the Universe to the other on the command of a madman?~

~That I captain this ship instead of a small Fleet because I had the audacity to once question the laws and now bear the consequences of doing so?~

~The only reason I was given the honor of collecting her is my reputation as the most ruthless killer in the Fleet.~

“I do as I am commanded to do. But those commands are not always as pleasant as this one,” he said.

“Tell me. I need to know what I’m getting myself into,” she pushed, softening the demand by placing a hand back on his knee.

~She’s touching you again. Is this some kind of human mating ritual, or is she just trying to be friendly?~

~It can’t mean she wants you like that, and if you were to join with her…the Fleet would hunt down the ship and kill everyone on board.~

Yet his body didn’t seem to care. He stood up and walked to the window, hoping some distance would help.

He looked out at the view for a moment to calm his rising ardor and heard her take a deep breath and straighten on the sofa before he turned to her.

“Dakira Isabelle, my story is not pleasant,” he said, “and I do not wish for you to fear me or hate me for it.”

“That bad, huh?”

~You have no idea of the things I’ve had to do. Cadman at least was a criminal and paralyzed by Iry’s toxins.~

“Sadly, yes. The current Doge has a cruel streak, and for several years, many within the Fleet have suspected that it has been the Doge rather than the King giving orders.”

“And you want to leave me and my kids alone in the Palace with this snake?” she asked.

He hastened to reassure her.

“You will not be alone. The Royal Guard will be at your side, always. They will protect you. The Royal Guard is there to serve you and only you.

“They will obey only the orders you give them and have the power to kill anyone who dares disrespect you or harm you. Zaftar has no sway over them, and as far as someone you can trust, it will be them,” he said.

“How many of these guards are there? I’m not sure how I feel about a bunch of dudes watching me bathe.”

~To bathe she would have to be—Stop thinking about it!~

Mikhlas shifted his feet, suddenly glad that the Guard held one female among its ranks.

“The Royal Guard is made up of the four best fighters in the Realm. You’re lucky. Five years ago, a woman by the name of G’ Talnac N’Doshi won at the grand tournament. She is a Gallobarean.”

“Really, you sound surprised that a woman could win.”

He shook his head in that strange human way, trying to make her more comfortable.

“Not at all. Women are not usually entered into the games. My understanding is that her parents could not look after her and abandoned her.

“She was picked up by a slaver who trained her to be a bodyguard and when he died, she entered herself into the tourney.”

“What does she look like?” Izzy asked.

“Prime, bring up an image.”

Izzy squealed as in front of the sofa, a being appeared to teleport in.

He raised his hands to comfort her and then clenched his jaw and lowered them again. She collected herself after a moment and examined the hologram.

G’Talnac was a pale-blue color, of similar height to himself, but with far longer digitigrade legs, ending in three sharp talons.

Her noseless face was concealed behind a nanite-plate helmet and stretching out behind the head fell multiple long tentacles instead of hair.

Prime rotated the image, allowing Izzy to see the long blue tail. G’Talnac’s arms stretched to mid-thigh, and the three-fingered hand also ended in deadly-looking claws.

“She looks…formidable, but I thought you were the best?” she asked.

Mikhlas dropped his head. “I’ve never entered the tourney, but many think me capable of winning. Yet I would never do so. I am far too disobedient to be that close to the queen,” he said with a smile.

“Disobedient?” she asked, giving him a questioning look.

“Yes.” ~And right now, my disobedience is urging me to do something I will regret later.~

“What about Amy?”

“It may be best if she stays on this ship with me until you are crowned. The Guard will protect you and your sons, but Zaftar may try to use her as leverage.

“I will take good care of her until you are the queen. After that, she will be a guest of the Crown, and she will be untouchable,” he said.

Izzy shook her head at this.

~She probably thinks that Amy will not be happy about that,~ he thought.

“And my boys? What will happen with them?” she asked.

“They are the Royal Princes. They will be safe with you in the Palace. Prince James will begin training to be your Lord commander and, once he comes of age, he will oversee the entire Fleet.

“Prince Lucas will be able to do whatever he likes. It’s only the first born who is expected to take command of the army.”

“This is all so strange,” she said.

“If I may ask, what is strange to you?”

“Everything,” she said, waving at the hologram of G’Talnac. “Until a few days ago, the topic of aliens was a controversial one at best. Now I know all this. It feels like my mind is going to overload sometimes, that’s all.”

“I understand. Take as long as you need to adjust. We don’t have to leave yet.

“But when we do, be sure that you are ready for the challenges that lie ahead. Freaking out, as you call it, in front of the court could have unwanted repercussions.”

“Why?” Izzy asked.

“Zaftar. He is driven by greed and cruelty. A leader lacking in confidence will be easy pickings for him. He is a cunning man who will use anything he can to make sure that you do not change the laws.

“The same laws that feed his pockets and starve millions.” He turned his eyes away from her as the deep-seated hate he felt for that man coursed through him.

“Right, and you cannot be in the Palace,” she said, turning away from the alien projection and sitting straight.

Mikhlas hesitated before returning and sitting next to her. He twisted in his seat, feeling the conflicting need to both protect her and prepare her for the challenges she would face.

“Isabelle, the world you are going to is sad, violent, scary and ugly. But it hasn’t been this way forever. It can be great. I believe you can change the lives of all the people who live there.

“You will need to be strong, not just in your resolve but in your heart and mind too. Many will feel that a queen from outside the Realm is a poor fit.

“Some, disrespecting the Sentinels’ choice, may try to destroy you.” Without even realizing he did so, Mikhlas held a hand out to her.

Her beautiful hazel eyes wide, she placed her hand in his.

He swallowed and spoke again, his deep voice catching. “I swear to you, no matter what, you have good men standing with you. Men who would give their lives for you.”

Izzy swallowed too, and he saw an edge of despair in a gaze that looked almost haunted.

“I do not wish to scare you, but you need to know the truth. The Realm is not paradise, but it can be. There are many cruel and unfair rules that make life for most people hard. It will be up to you if you want to change them.”

~And I hope you do.~

“One day at a time, right?” she said and stood, releasing his hand. She went over to the large window and looked out at the world.

“It’s not so different from my world,” she said after a moment. Mikhlas stood and went to stand next to her.

“How so?”

“A small group of people run all of it for their own selfish gains. They kill the innocent, don’t care about the poor and make a profit off the suffering,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Yes. That is what the Realm is like. Only much, much darker,” he said. They stood for a moment in silence, looking out at the blue planet.

“I’d like to go back. Just for a few hours?” she asked, gesturing to her home world.

“If it is what you wish, but we will need to leave soon. The longer we stay here, the longer the Realm is left in disarray,” he said. Izzy nodded and looked back out.