Princess for the Alien Commander by Tammy Walsh

Ikmale

The dras sneered at me.

Blood spilled from a nasty gash on the bridge of his nose and dyed his teeth red.

The injury hadn’t been caused by my interrogation but by my soldiers.

They came across him while carrying out a routine patrol.

He dodged their questions on how he came to be there and where he was heading.

And when he made a break for it, my soldiers were quick to shut him down.

The dras hadn’t come willingly.

The dras species were a bastard offshoot of the kauah.

Their skin was charcoal black, their horns the color of newly harvested onyx, their pupils the color of deathly hell.

We’d been questioning this particular dras for hours and still, he hadn’t told us so much as a word about his people.

Even if he wasn’t an officer and high enough in the chain of command to know the intricacies of their plans, he would still have been given orders.

Knowing those alone would have informed us about what the dras’s intentions were.

Infiltration?

Spying?

Over an hour of questioning and he still hadn’t answered the most basic of questions.

“What are you planning?” I growled. “We see dras soldiers entering our lands, why?”

The dras curled his lip and spat on the floor.

Onto my favorite fobrari skin rug.

“Perhaps you prefer for me to hand you over to King Brant?” I said, gauging his reaction carefully.

The dras’s eyes flickered—blink and you would miss it—but it was there.

A spark—a single unmistakable filament of fear—but it was enough to alert me to the fact he, like my own people, was afraid of our tyrant king.

Even the dras weren’t stupid enough to cross him without thinking through their attack carefully first.

His demonic rage was known far and wide to be more vicious than a deranged dog let loose in a child’s playground.

Some men had dark tempers that blinded them to everything but the object of their attention.

Prisons were full to bursting with such men.

All it took was to lose their cool for an instant and they struck out, without thought or consideration of the repercussions of their actions.

A moment of temporary insanity that resulted in them getting locked away for the rest of their lives.

It wasn’t a good trait in a king but was a pre-requisite for a tyrant.

He could escape punishment using his power and influence.

Now that I’d planted the seed of fear and doubt in the dras soldier’s mind, I would let it sprout and take root.

“Take him away,” I said. “Give him food, water, and a guard to watch over him at all times.”

Bena saluted and left with the dras prisoner and a handful of soldiers.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

Every time I thought we made a breakthrough, we hit a dead-end.

I doubted we would ever learn what the dras’s plans were.

Not until it was too late.

I turned to the map stretched across my desk and ran a finger between two mountains.

Z’aer Pass.

The map was old and worn but it was the only one we had that contained every pass on the moon.

It was ragged along the edges and small holes dotted the fabric from where it’d been folded over the years.

A small patch of red stained one corner that might have been blood or wine.

I hissed through my teeth at the vast expanse of the mountain regions.

They’d always been our greatest form of protection and had saved us from invasion many times over the years, but now, with the sheer number of valleys and gullies the dras could use to infiltrate our towns and cities, it served as more of a hindrance.

We needed a breakthrough.

We either needed to know what the dras were up to and put a stop to it immediately or come up with a solution to the King Brant problem.

Neither was forthcoming and I doubted it ever would be.

The tent flap opened and Bena entered.

He performed a salute even though I’d told him repeatedly there was no need.

I’d known him my entire life.

He was closer to me than a brother and yet he continued to speak to me as if I were a supreme being.

“Sir?” he said. “You asked to be informed if we discovered someone lurking about the forest?”

I snapped to attention.

“You found another dras?”

“No, sir.”

My hopes shriveled.

“I don’t think we need to worry about other strangers right now,” I said. “It’s the dras with the intention of overthrowing us.”

“I understand that, sir. But I think you might want to speak with her.”

“Her?”

“She’s a female human and we found her alone.”

That was even more unlikely than finding a dras out in the forest.

“She was on our territory?”

“Yes, sir. She was riding an okmath and sailed across the river. I can only assume she intentionally snuck across the border.”

How bizarre.

If someone was going to creep into kauah territory, why would someone sail over on an okmath?

With their bright fur and cumbersome nature, no other animal stood out more.

“Is she a spy for the king?” I said.

“It’s… unlikely. Unless they intend on infiltrating us with live wires. Ever since we found her, she’s been telling us to let her go and that we’ll be sorry if we don’t. She’s clean, well-dressed, and well-spoken.”

I yawned and rubbed my eyes with the palm of my hand.

The situation was growing stranger by the moment.

“Very well,” I said. “Show her in.”

Bena moved to the tent flap and motioned to the men.

“…I said let go of me!” the female human growled as she was dragged into the tent.

A soldier stood on either side of her, one arm bracing her forearm, the other her shoulder.

Still, despite their significantly larger size, they struggled to keep her in place.

She was tall—for a human—though the top of her head barely reached my collarbone.

Her hair was a pleasing shade of blonde, so white it was almost platinum, and her eyes were bright blue and intense.

Her clothes wouldn’t have been remarkable in a city setting but out in the forest like this, they marked her as a woman of some means.

A local merchant’s wife, perhaps?

I’d never seen her before, that was for sure.

I would have remembered.

“Are you the asshole in charge?” she snapped.

The soldiers exchanged a look, more out of expectation than anger.

“I’m in charge,” I said, mildly amused. “You can decide on the asshole distinction later.”

She reminded me of an angry mouse that might try to appear scary and vicious but despite its best attempts could only have the appearance of a small and cute creature.

She might be brave, but fighting against creatures as large as the kauah was an impossible situation.

“I demand you release me!” she snapped.

“I’m not holding you.”

“Your goons, your actions!”

“If I tell them to release you, will you talk with me?”

She screwed up her lips.

“Yes.”

I nodded to the guards.

The female yanked her arms free and massaged her wrists.

“Do you need some cream for—?”

I didn’t get another word out as she bolted for the exit.

The soldiers had been standing to attention but even they hadn’t expected her to move as fast as she did.

She slipped between them, their movements too slow and clumsy to snag her.

But Bena was ready—not to grab her as he wasn’t anywhere near that stupid—but to slip out a foot, which caught the female’s shin.

She stumbled and hit the floor hard.

The soldiers were on her.

One wrapped his arms around her waist, pinning her arms to her sides, raising her bodily off the ground.

She kicked and struggled in his grip.

“Let me go!” she shrieked. “Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!”

“Why would I when you said you wouldn’t run?” I said.

“I said I would talk with you, not that I wouldn’t run!”

“And how are we supposed to talk if you’re sprinting through the forest as fast as your legs can carry you?”

She screwed up her lips.

“I’ll shout back at you.”

I smiled and shook my head.

Angry little mouse…

Her chest rose and fell with her exertions.

“Will you stay and talk?” I asked politely.

She screwed up her mouth—something she did a lot.

“Easy to ask when your goons are standing by to snatch me up if I don’t do exactly as you say!”

She was baiting me.

Her eyes were firm and on fire, lacking any of the fear she might have had if she were a true threat.

I sensed she would react well if I was polite to her.

I nodded to the soldier who held her.

He slowly and very carefully placed her feet back on the ground before backing away toward the tent flap in case she made another attempt to slip past him.

The female stood there calmly as if escape were the last thing on her mind.

“Aren’t you going to ask a lady to sit?” she said.

I blinked at her sudden reversal in roles.

“Is that what you are?” I asked. “A lady?”

She shrugged.

Was she noble-born? I wondered.

I didn’t think so.

I was pretty sure I knew all the lords and ladies in the kingdom.

Still, she could be a distant relative of a prominent family.

It was impossible for me to know every member of every family.

I motioned toward the twin sofas in the tent’s corner.

“Please sit down.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” she said, crossing over to the nearest sofa and taking a seat.

I nodded to the men, who left, though they were clearly visible on the other side in case I needed them.

“Drink?” I said.

“Water.”

I poured her a glass and handed it to her.

She downed it in one go and handed the glass back to me.

She wiped her lips with the back of her arm.

Maybe not high class…

A maid, then?

I doubted a maid would demand to be let go the way she had earlier.

She was a real conundrum.

I filled the glass again and handed it to her.

She sipped from it this time and held it between her hands—possibly to use as a cudgel, I suspected.

Her face was much prettier when it wasn’t curled up in fury, though even as an angry mouse she had her charms.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Sofia.”

“Sofia what? What’s your family name?”

She took another sip of her water and eyed my tent.

She couldn’t tell me her family name, I thought.

That would have made identifying her too easy.

As she’d refused to give me her title, I would do the same.

“I’m Ikmale,” I said. “Nice to meet you, Sofia. Now, can you please tell me what you’re doing here?”

“I wouldn’t be here if your men hadn’t jumped on me.”

“You are on kauah territory. Our land.”

“I thought it all belonged to the king.”

“All kauah land belongs to the Ellas family,” I said, deciding not to share with her that I was the head of the Ellas family. “So, let me ask again. Why are you trespassing on kauah land?”

She pursed her lips and looked me dead in the eye.

“I’m enjoying the damn view.”

This was not how a prisoner should act.

It wasn’t how a lady acted either.

Or a servant.

What is this creature?

“Where are you from?” I asked.

“Somewhere far from here.”

“Offworld?”

She looked at me flatly again.

It was then I noticed her checking me out and running an eye over me the same way I had.

When she arrived, I’d been an officer in charge of her situation, and now she looked beyond my uniform, at my bearing and the way I held myself.

She was no dimwitted fool.

“You’re sure not giving me a lot to go off,” I said.

“Why should I? It’s none of your business.”

“It is when the king is threatening all kauah and we need to be deeply suspicious of anyone who might be a danger to us.”

She seemed surprised by my revelation.

“The king is threatening you?”

“Why are you here?” I snapped. “What brought you to Fod?”

“A damn ship!” she said, clamming up again.

I ground my teeth, growing sick of her childish games.

“If you’re not going to answer my questions, I’ll have my men take you to a cell and hold you prisoner until someone comes for you. You’re here for a reason. With the current political climate, I refuse to take any unnecessary risks.”

“Fine!” Sofia snapped. “I came here to meet someone!”

“A husband?”

The word stung my mouth and I might have been chewing razor blades.

“No husband. A… relative. I’ve come to see him.”

She stared at her hands and looked lost for a moment.

It was a stark contrast to the aggression she’d displayed when she first entered the tent.

“What business is it of yours, anyway?” she growled. “Can’t someone walk through the forest anymore?”

“You used to be able to,” I said softly, lamenting how Fod had once been, the way I wished it could be again one day.

Her expression softened.

“What do you mean? And why is the king threatening you?”

I cocked my head to one side.

Surely she had to know?

The conflict between the humans and the kauah was intergalactic news.

Or maybe it only loomed so large to me because I was one of the principal players and it took up my every waking hour?

It was difficult for me to imagine not being an integral part of it.

“The humans and the kauah are on the brink of war,” I said slowly. “Already, it’s becoming dangerous for our two species to interact. It’s never been the most peaceful alliance but with the recent death of the crown prince at the kauah’s hands, we’re on a razor’s edge.”

Sofia was silent a long moment before she spoke again.

“So, it’s true? The prince really is dead? And the kauah are responsible?”

Were we responsible?

Was it right to condemn an entire race to the actions of a few of its soldiers?

And then there was the background of the situation at the bar to consider.

“The situation was always going to escalate,” I said. “The king says we intentionally murdered his heir in an attempt to undermine his power. That’s not true.”

Just saying the words brought bile bubbling at the back of my throat.

“But the kauah did kill him,” Sofia said slowly.

“Yes. But not on purpose. A fight broke out between a human and kauah gang. It happens often and usually helps deflate tensions between the two species. A kauah struck a human that laid him to rest. It wasn’t until morning when the unmoving body was taken to a church that the prince was identified. It turns out the prince liked to sneak out of the palace to drink with the commoners. He was known to never back down when a challenge was issued. This time, it cost him his life. We’ve been at each other’s throats ever since.”

“Why don’t your people apologize to the king? I’m sure if it was genuine, the king would accept it as an accident and come to peace with your people.”

I snorted.

“You clearly aren’t from around here. If you knew anything about the king, you would know he’s not a man to be trifled with, nor a man to forgive easily. Besides, he’s the one who owes us an apology.”

“What for?”

“When he learned his son was dead at the hand of a kauah, he decided to expel my people from our own planet. This is our home. It was ours before humans ever dreamed of colonizing it.”

I bit back on the argument forming like a raging river in my throat.

If I didn’t hold them back, I would lose control of myself.

Sofia looked torn.

For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why.

Maybe because of the situation she suddenly found herself in?

She was likely rethinking her decision to come to Fod and regretting it.

She didn’t seem very dangerous—nothing like the dras from earlier.

Maybe if I let her go, she might head back to wherever she came from and forget about visiting her family.

It suddenly struck me how much I wished she would not come to any harm.

Odd, considering I didn’t know her.

She was so small and needed to be protected from all the galaxy’s dangers.

I shook my head of such thoughts.

She’d managed to get herself lost in this world, and I was pretty certain she could get herself out of it too.

“If you don’t need to be here, I suggest you get off-planet as soon as possible,” I said. “It’s not only the unease between the humans and the kauah you’ll have to contend with. Others have seen our weakness and intend on taking advantage. Things could get ugly very quickly.”

“How can I when I’m being kept prisoner?” she said sadly.

“All right,” I said. “I’ll send a team to escort you to the nearest town. After that, you can—”

“I don’t need your assistance or your men’s help!” Sofia snapped. “I can take care of myself! You just let me go!”

She got to her feet and marched toward the exit.

I got to my feet and beat her to it.

“Hold up,” I said. “My soldiers aren’t going to let you pass without me issuing the command. But you’re welcome to wrestle in the mud with them if you like.”

She stopped and turned back to me.

The sunlight seeped through the tent flap and illuminated one half of her face.

It made her skin glow like she was carved from marble.

Her pursed lips were as plump and red as ripe gatt.

The scent of her, driven hard into my nostrils by a limp breeze, sent my senses haywire—just as it had when my men first carried her in here.

“Then you’d best give your orders—” she said, but before she could spit another word, I scooped her up in my arms, bent her over, and buried my lips on hers.

Her body began soft and supple beneath my arms as I leaned into her, one hand slivering up into her hair, which was as soft as feathers.

I reached my free hand around her waist and felt at the soft flesh beneath her thin dress.

And all that happened before I even truly allowed myself to feel the kiss.

I’d once spent a month deep underground in the mines of Morlak and remembered acutely the sensation of the sunlight on my face when I reemerged into the light, and the cool, crisp breeze on my cheeks.

It’d been like I was born again, grateful to be on the surface once more, alive and free.

And that didn’t even come close to the spark of fire I felt upon the press of her lips.

She responded immediately to my advances and pressed her hands to my chest to shove me away but my strength was too much for her small frame.

She beat on my chest with her small but strong fists, and still, I held on tight, riding out the storm that I somehow knew would pass.

Her blows came slower, with greater hesitancy and less power, weakening beneath her burgeoning desire.

She felt the kiss the same way I had.

She groaned under her breath, enjoying it.

Only then did I let her lips drift from mine.

She turned her face to one side so I gained access to the soft skin of her cheeks and throat.

When she turned back to me, I felt the warmth of her breath on my lips just as she must have felt mine on hers.

We looked at each other, me into those bright blue eyes of hers, like liquid ice, she into my golden irises that flashed in the sunlight.

We didn’t peer at each other superficially but on a much deeper level.

The deepest level.

Although I suspected I knew what the cause of the link between us was, how it came to be, and how it would join us forever, I didn’t let the thoughts interrupt the moment.

I simply let myself be with her.

Her expression was calm and relaxed, completely at odds with the earlier fiery antagonistic force I’d met when I first laid eyes on her.

The intensity was still there, only now it was focused entirely on my lips.

This time, she was the one with that insatiable hungry and wanton look in her eyes, she was the one who leaned forward to press her lips to mine.

Our second kiss wasn’t so hungry, so desperate.

It was warm and soft and exploratory, our tongues prying at each other’s lips to gain entry.

There was no need to fight for supremacy as we each instinctively knew there was none to be had—only to join and share in the intense exquisiteness of the moment.

She was ice.

She was fire.

She was my burning desire.

When we finally parted, our bodies separated into our physical bodies once more.

“I rarely see women out here,” I said, “and never any so gorgeous as you.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” she said with a timid smile.

It morphed into a pair of pursed lips.

“Because you’re not going to ever get another taste!” she cried.

She pulled her foot back and struck me full in the shin.

She slipped between the tent flaps and took off like a rocket.

My soldiers yelled for her to stop.

“Let her go!” I hissed through clenched teeth. “Let her go!”

I rubbed at my shin as if that would help take some of the pain away.

I hobbled over to my desk and fell into my chair, a broad grin on my face.

Sure, her kick hurt and I could already feel the bump forming, but it was still worth it.

I would have received a thousand such kicks if it meant I could feel the sensation of just one of those kisses.

I wondered for a moment if it was such a good idea to let her head into the forest alone like that.

Then I thought better of it.

God help whatever creature took it into their foolish heads to attack her!

“Sir?”

Bena stepped inside my tent.

I shook my head.

“No more visitors today.”

I was intent on fully enjoying the last experience for as long as I could before sullying it with more issues of the day.

“I understand, but it’s the Prime Minister, sir,” Bena said.

I sat up.

“What about him?”

“He’s here.”

Well, that was a turn-up for the books.

It had to be something important for him to come all this way by himself.

“All right,” I said, “show him in.”

Bena motioned for the soldiers to let the politician through.

The Prime Minister bowed low to fit his lean frame inside the tent.

Today’s suit was every bit as sharp as the one he’d worn the day of the prince’s funeral, though it was not the same one.

I didn’t think I’d ever seen him wear the same suit on two occasions before.

Bena bowed to me, then the Prime Minister, before leaving us alone.

“I come with news,” the Prime Minister said.

“I sure hope it’s good news. I’ve got nothing but bad news to share with you.”

The Prime Minister smiled.

“It might seem like bad news at first…” he said. “But trust me, if you hear me out, you’ll see it’s the best news you could hope for.”

I got up and drifted over to the drinks cabinet.

“You said that last time with your idea for me to speak with the king at the funeral. If you’ll recall, it didn’t end so well. Drink?”

The Prime Minister shook a hand to the negative.

“I may have discovered a solution to our imminent war problem.”

I eyed him hopefully but not without caution.

The Prime Minister was a clever man but he was still that—a man.

He wasn’t a kauah and I would continue to reserve my trust in him.

Still, I would hear his idea out.

After I did, I was left feeling sick to my stomach.