Kidnapped By the Alien Prince by Tori Kellett

Chapter Eighteen

Callie was pissed. This was three times. Three times in the space of a month she’d been abducted, and it was getting really old. Even if you discounted the first one, which she had to admit had worked out quite well. She snorted to herself mentally. Quite well? The utterly gorgeous silver alien was the best thing that had ever happened to her. And she wished he’d get his huge, overbearing ass in here right now. Screw independence—she just wanted rescuing. At least she supposed if daddy dearest was going to make her his queen, he wasn’t planning on murder.

Callie frowned. She didn’t know a ton about Ishtaan law, but how could she marry dear old dad when Zak was very much alive and kicking? A sick thought slammed into her. What if that was it. Callie swallowed sickly. There was no way Zak would just let him get away with it, but if he were dead, he couldn’t object and… No. That wasn’t gonna happen. She’d kill him first. She wasn’t sure how exactly or what he was planning on doing. She knew it wasn’t as simple as walking in and taking over. Not without help. Az’kye had wanted something else apart from her. She was under no illusion that he wanted her for more than revenge. He wanted to take what Zak had. But Zak also had the loyalty of a lot more warriors than the few she had seen with the cats. Az’kye would need a hell of a lot more. He would need an army. Maybe an alien army? Had he promised something to one of the Alliance to tempt them into angering the others? But that didn’t make an awful lot of sense. The Azteen crystals were valuable but not inexhaustible.

Another hour later, she was less angry. Cold and hungry would about sum things up. She also wasn’t keen on being in the dark. She didn’t have a problem with the dark, just the faint scratching sounds from the corner. She shivered slightly and remembered her first thought about bugs the size of cats. She’d become very self-sufficient—she’d had to be—in her lousy apartment and performed her own pest extermination, but she was tired.

And cold.

And hungry.

The door to her cage suddenly opened, and Callie blinked at the bright torches. She felt a hand untie her quickly, and then she was dragged to her feet. Still blinking, she couldn’t see where she was going and tripped a few times. The Ishtaan held her tight enough to bruise, but at least he kept her upright. And she had a feeling that bruises were going to be the least of her worries.

She was propelled, dragged, into a larger chamber. She recognized Az’kye immediately, but he ignored her. One of the guards looked vaguely familiar, but there were at least ten she had never seen before, and her heart sank.

Az’kye eventually looked up from where he had been talking and eyed her up and down. “I really don’t understand what attracts him. You are merely ordinary. Maylesh was beautiful. She could also give him an heir. You cannot.”

It was like a slap in the face, but she stubbornly kept her chin up. “Well, like you said, he has an heir. Besides which, kids aren’t everything. I mean, you had four, and look where that got you.”

Her head snapped back before she registered the sharp agony to the side of her face. She lunged forward before she even thought about it, only to be held fast. Az’kye laughed. “The female has claws.” He leaned forward. “I will be happy to pull those out one by one.”

Callie bit her lip on another sarcastic comment. She had one all primed about him compensating for the size of his dick, but she needed to be smart. She had every intention of either escaping herself or being ready when Zak came, because she knew he would, and angering this guy would either get her tied up or knocked out. Neither of which was conducive to escape. So she stayed quiet while daddy dearest gloated some more, listened to his plans. He obviously didn’t consider her a threat which was something she wondered if she could take advantage of.

She knew Az’kye didn’t care about her comfort one iota, but maybe the guards did. Or did a little.

“Now, my dear Calista, I want you to look at this map. I know my so-called son shared with you the location of the second mine, so if you would be so kind as to show us.” He turned around a map, and Calli gazed at it in astonishment.

“A second mine?” she said, dumbfounded. She didn’t know what he was talking about. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Really? Or is it you need help remembering?”

The guard tightened his grip ominously.

Callie gazed at the map, then back at him. “He never mentioned anything about a second mine. I was hardly there, and then with the children.”

He scoffed. “I heard you even brought two of the vermin back with you. Xar’ta made a huge mistake with them.”

“You knew.” She didn’t bother making it a question.

“Of course I knew. Xar’ta has been following my instructions for cycles, but he is too weak to do what is needed.”

“Unlike P’anchta,” Callie said flatly.

Az’kye waved a hand as if allowing her to score a point. “P’anchta worked secretly for both sides. He simply had unfulfilled desires money could easily buy. It was so easy.”

Callie felt sick. “If P’anchta was so clever, why didn’t he tell you where the new mine was?” She saw the flash of annoyance on his face and knew she’d scored her own hit.

“This has been what it’s all about?” Callie whispered. “Greed? Don’t you have enough?”

“Enough of what?” Az’kye snapped back. My planet is failing. My only option is to offer the Azteen crystals to someone who will appreciate them and reward the planet that produces them.”

“How are you so sure?” Callie asked suddenly.

Az’kye frowned. “The Azteen crystals are—”

“No, I mean why do they need you? Why can’t they just take over and mine them themselves?”

He smiled. “Because piety loves company. They are prevented by the Alliance.” He glanced at the guards. “Take her back. Let’s see if a few hours without food or water will help her remember.” He turned around. Callie’s heart pounded. No one had ever mentioned the possibility of a second mine. She was pretty sure Zak didn’t know either, but it made perfect sense. It was doubly important to get out now, but she had no idea what to do. She stumbled a little, playing for sympathy, but then genuinely hissed when the gorilla marching her yanked her upright. So that wasn’t going to work. She was pretty sure he held her even tighter, and for the first time, she didn’t have a plan.

She got roughly shoved toward the sacking in the corner and sat down on it again. The gorilla was out again in a few seconds. After another frustrating moment where she tried and failed to come up with any scenario where she could get out, the small scraping sound started in the corner again, except this time the mouse—or whatever the hell it was—seemed to have found rhythm. A scratch, then three taps, then another scratch. It did it twice more before there was a scratch and then nothing. Knowing she was probably making a huge mistake, she got up and blindly felt her way around to the corner. If something bit her toes, everyone would hear her scream. She bent down and tapped dully with the heel of her boot. It wasn’t a very effective tap, but she didn’t have a hammer handy. Although she was pretty sure if she was stuck in here much longer, she would be banging her head on it.

The scratch came again, and obediently—or fatalistically—she tapped again three times. She heard another round of more frantic scrapes and backed away. Shit, what if she’d just disturbed a nest of some sort of giant tarantula? Az’kye wouldn’t need to kill her; her heart would give out.

Her eyes focused as a small patch of light shone through a crack that had appeared in the wall. Heart hammering, she froze.

“Callie?” Her name whispered right then, even barely audible, was the best thing she had ever heard.

“Yes,” she croaked and dropped to her knees to get near the hole.

“It’s Il’yaa, my queen. We’re going to get you out.”

Callie put a shaky hand to her mouth so she wouldn’t cry. She really wasn’t going to cry. “Is Zak there?”

“He couldn’t fit.”

Callie gaped at the second voice in astonishment. “Rachel?”

“Yes. Now listen. We’re going to go back and tell the guys where you are.”

“No.” Callie bit off the scared word. She really didn’t want them to leave her.

“Listen,” Rachel hissed again. “We’re pretty sure this used to be an entrance, but if we try and make it big enough to get you through, it could bring the wall down which really isn’t a good idea. It means at an agreed time you need to divert them to give the guys the best chance of getting up the cliff without being seen.”

“It’s pitch-black in here, and I don’t exactly have my Rolex on me,” Callie hissed back.

“Shit.” She heard Rachel mutter then. “Sing the Happy Birthday song. I mean, not out loud. But if you sing it six times, that’s one minute supposedly. You need to do that times ten.”

“It took you ten minutes to find me?” That didn’t seem much.

There was a pause. “Okay, so I’m not actually sure how long it took us, but have you got any better ideas?”

Callie shook her head, then realized they couldn’t see her. “So, ten minutes, then I create a diversion?”

“Yes.”

This was so going to go wrong.

“Yes, my queen,” Il’yaa repeated, and Callie had to blink a little at his courage.

“Go right back. I’ll see you soon. Thank you for being so brave, my warrior.”

“Shit, Callie, you’re gonna make me cry,” Rachel said. “Stop being all cute with the kids. Ten minutes.”

Callie had to put her hand over her mouth to physically stop herself from crying out to call them back, which she had no intention of doing. The second Rachel had mentioned the possibility of the wall collapsing, she had been terrified for her but nearly apoplectic something would happen to Il’yaa. She resolved to ask Zak something when she got back. She sat down, suddenly overwhelmed. She doubted very much if she could get pregnant. Uterine scarring didn’t go away, and tubes didn’t grow back. But the thing was, to her it didn’t matter. From the very first time she had met Kaleth and he had admitted brokenly he couldn’t kill her, the second Gye had launched himself into her arms, and the moment Il’yaa had bravely come to her rescue, she had become a mother. It didn’t matter that she would never give birth. She had three gorgeous children and wanted to make sure they knew that. It would be the first thing she would do when she got out.

She smirked to herself in the damp and the dark. Maybe the second depending on where her warrior was and if they had some alone time.

Starting, Callie realized she’d missed a few birthday songs, so she rushed through the first half dozen, slowed for the next thirty, and then promptly lost count. After what seemed to be very loosely the longest ten minutes of her life, she put back her head, ready to scream just as her cell door opened. Light flooded the room, and the scream died in Callie’s throat. Another second and very large, very warm, and very wonderful arms were wrapping her up and lifted her like she was made of glass.

“You can’t count,” Zak pronounced solemnly and carried her out.