Princess for the Alien Commander by Tammy Walsh

Ikmale

Sofia hadonly slippers on her feet.

The occasional sharp rock and stabbing twig must have jabbed into her feet something awful but she didn’t mutter so much as one word of complaint.

I wrenched the bark of an old thra tree off and hastily split it into two sheets.

I dropped to my knees and took her foot in my hand.

“What are you doing?” she hissed, pulling her foot from me.

I held on tight and wrapped the sheet over her slipper and lashed it to her foot with a length of vine.

“Try walking on it,” I said.

“You don’t need to do that. It’s not going to be comfortable— Oh.”

The inner bark was softer than the best velvet, the outer bark as strong as iron ore.

Sofia extended her other slipper to me.

I couldn’t help but laugh and added the other foot.

Her bare knees showed through the slit in her robe.

I had the powerful urge to lean forward and plant a kiss there, to feel the softness of her skin against my lips…

The desire was almost unbearable.

Sofia pulled her foot from me and took toddler footsteps before finding her balance and jumped like an old mad ebril hare in spring mating season.

“They feel great!” she said, performing a little dance.

“Our ancestors used to make our shoes from this material,” I said. “They’re basic but they should last the night.”

She grinned up at me, her skin glowing silver in the little moonlight that penetrated the dense foliage overhead.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Then that overwhelming feeling came over me again, the desire to take her hand in mine…

I forced my eyes away from her and continued through the forest.

Following her through the tunnel, I had to admit I was a little hesitant in believing she could get us out of there, but she’d come through in terrific style, depositing us in the middle of Brant’s human territory.

It’d taken me twenty minutes of stumbling in the darkness before I recognized where we were.

To the southwest of Quoisa, and in order to reach my territory, we needed to head southeast.

I kept my wits about me and a sharp lookout for any of the king’s guards that might be scouting the forest.

I doubted many would be out there as most, if not all, would be tasked with keeping an eye on the palace and surrounding area.

From this distance, we would be invisible to them, though I would have preferred Sofia not to be wearing a pure white robe.

But in all likelihood, anyone seeing her would mistake her for a ghost.

She’s certainly haunting me.

We creptthrough the darkness for what felt like hours.

I was blind to just how many hours might have passed until I felt the subtle shift in the damp air that signaled the approach of the rising sun.

If we didn’t cross into my territory soon, the king would discover our bedroom empty, and they would overturn the entire palace, not to mention the city, in an attempt to locate us.

It was only a matter of time before their attention turned to the entire surrounding forest.

The king would lift his restrictions on the use of shuttlecraft and they would find us within minutes.

I lowered my head and powered through the undergrowth.

We needed to put as much distance between us and the city as possible.

Snap.

I froze and was pleased to find Sofia had too.

She was halfway through taking a step and her balance was off.

We didn’t move a muscle and listened intently as another snap issued from my left.

I crouched, not making a sound.

Sofia followed suit and rested on a single ankle.

She wobbled, losing her balance, but I snatched her foot and acted as a counterbalance, bracing her weight with my other arm.

Snap.

Snap snap.

Something was moving in the undergrowth and unless I missed my guess, I thought they were two-legged creatures.

It had to be the king’s guards.

Damn it!

Once the king captured us, there would be precisely zero chance of escaping again.

Damn it to hell!

Our best chance of evading them was to hope they passed without seeing us.

We might get lucky and they would turn out not to be guards at all but merchants passing through to reach the city before the sun rose.

But there was no road nearby and the chances of merchants traversing the open forest were remote at best.

No, they had to be guards.

I clenched my hands into fists.

Well, they wouldn’t take me without a fight this time!

Another snap, this time closer, louder.

The hedge to our left shivered as someone stepped around it.

I rose to my feet, shifted my weight, and sprung forward.

My hands acted of their own volition from countless training exercises over the years.

One hand reached underneath the creature’s chin, seizing his throat, the other wrapped about his shoulders and seized his chin.

With a single hard wrench, I could snap his neck instantly.

“Hold up!”

The voice caught me by surprise and I took a misstep, knocking my balance off.

My target shifted his weight and used my forward momentum to his advantage.

His head slipped free of my hold and he threw me over his shoulder and onto the ground.

Ordinarily, I would have rolled up onto my feet to counter my assailant but there was no need.

I first recognized his snapped horn and the dying moonlight glinting off the sharp severed edge.

“Don’t try to use my own moves on me!” Bena beamed.

My grin couldn’t have been wider if I tried.

The other members of my honor guard stepped from the foliage, revealing themselves.

We must have crossed over into kauah territory at some point during the night.

What a relief!

“We were on our way to rescue you!” Bena said.

“It makes a change from me having to rescue you!” I retorted.

Bena punched me on the arm good-naturedly as the others crowded around.

Sofia shied back from what must have been a very intimidating sight for her.

“It’s okay,” I said. “These are my honor guard.”

“Or dishonorable when the mood takes us,” Bena said.

I scowled at him.

Now wasn’t the time for jokes, not when Sofia was scared.

“They’re sworn to protect me,” I said. “Now, they’re sworn to protect you too.”

My men shared a look before accepting my order.

An honor guard must protect the lady of their lord with equal fervor to their main charge.

They bowed in the traditional kauah manner—with their heads bowed low, horns facing Sofia, their hands extended and raised palm-up.

I took Sofia’s hesitant hand and slid it over Bena’s.

So long as she accepted the most senior member of the honor guard, her acceptance of his offer would extend to all of them.

“I promised I would keep you safe,” I said. “When I’m not at your side, my honor guard will protect your life with theirs, if necessary.”

Sofia smiled and it reached right up to her cheeks.

Her eyes held mine and I couldn’t bring myself to look away from her.

She was the most gorgeous creature I had ever seen and I knew right then and there that our coming together in the forest had been part of a plan, only it wasn’t orchestrated by the king, but by divine providence.

We were always meant to meet.

We were always meant to kiss.

And we were always meant to marry.

In the rising sunlight of a new day, I saw this clearly now.

And I would never let her go.

A shrill bell rang high and clear over Quoisa.

First one bell, then two, then half a dozen.

Then, the entire city was alive with them.

“It looks like your disappearance has been noted,” Bena said. “How about we vamoose?”

My men turned to march silently through the forest but Sofia hesitated.

I turned to her and spoke in a low voice:

“Fear not, my lady. I would not allow harm to come to you any more than I would a member of my own people. You are wed to me, and until the day we decide what to do about that, you will always be safe and welcome among the kauah. You have my word.”

I extended my hand to her but this time, I didn’t lower my head.

I was making the human handshaking gesture.

At the sight of it, Sofia relaxed.

She shook it but I didn’t release her hand.

I led her through the forest toward the safety of my territory.

At least, it was safe for now.

It may not remain that way for long.

The king had thought we were safely within his power.

Now he would be at his most dangerous.

He would come at us with every weapon at his disposal, and I intended on being fully prepared when it came to pass.