Rhone tossed the girl onto his bed, ripping her dress’s neckline from the top down to her breasts as he threw her. He stripped off his shirt, preparing to lunge at her as she hiked her skirt up over her hips.
“Rhone!”
Rhone spun around as Siteer entered the bedroom. The man’s eyes strayed to the half-naked girl on the bed, licking his lips. Then he pulled back as his boss stepped toward him, fists clenched, eyes flashing.
“What, Siteer?”
“I’m really sorry, but Galoon just arrived. He said that Kajo is bringing in military from all over Farian. He is using the Day of Joy to make alliances across the planet. We have to change our attack.”
Rhone spun around, arms in the air, cursing, yelling, windows smashing as he lanced vases from their tables and tapestries from the walls. The entire room swirled with his telekinetic power. Even the girl was caught up, torn dress floating up and revealing every curve of her body. She screamed as she was lifted in the air, swirling in a tempest of broken glass and bruised flowers. She twisted and turned in the air, fighting to get back to the bed.
Rhone yelled one more time and then flung the girl back to the bed, where she lay in a swarm of petals and glittering glass shards. He bent down and picked up his shirt, tugging it back on, nearly tearing it in his fury.
“Let’s go. Call in the Commanders right away. I want to speak with Galoon.”
“He is outside in your hovercraft.” Siteer looked at the sobbing girl as she tried to cover herself back up, then he followed his leader out the door.
Rhone smashed his way through the house, throwing every vase he saw so it shattered. When he reached the hovercraft, he glared at Galoon. The Curan spy kept eye contact, though he did slither a little to the side. Rhone climbed into the hover.
“Tell me everything.”
Eight
Daphne
The morning dawned lovely, small rays of sunlight streaking across my face through the curtains. I stretched and swung out of bed. I opened the doors to my little balcony and surveyed the dawn’s light stretching across the castle gardens.
I wondered if I would be asked to join Kajo for breakfast again this morning. The past few days, we had eaten each meal together. I still couldn’t quite discern what he wanted with me. There were times he looked at me with what couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than disgust, while at others it was admiration, or at least desire. In between meal times, I had been allowed to freely roam the castle. I had spent a lot of that time in the library, trying to learn about Farian’s history. Most of their history was available to listen to, and the little iPod shuffle translators made it easy enough for me to understand what the book was saying, no matter how ancient the text.
Today, though, felt different. I could sense a tension in Kajo that had steadily been growing. Tomorrow was their big Day of Joy to celebrate the end of the Civil War 10 years ago, the War that had set Kajo up as the Beast King.
I had found myself opening up to him. About my stepbrother, about our shitty childhood, about Vania, who I missed more than I thought I could ever miss someone. She was part of my heart. I wondered if she was still eating lunch at our little place in the business center’s courtyard garden. Most of all, I hoped she wasn’t having to deal with Rhone in anyway…That would be just terrible…What did she think had happened to me? She would go to the ends of the Earth to find me, as I would for her.
Unfortunately, I was not on Earth. She would never find me…
I was stuck here.
It had started to feel less like “stuck”, though. I was able to imagine a life here. Delicha was nice to me, but it also seemed like she was cautious and sometimes contemptuous of me. Humans were definitely a despised race in the grand universe, for our willful ignorance and wars against each other based on small religious or political differences. I was starting to see the inner peace that flowed from one Curan to another, from one Bordash to another, and then the peace that was flowing between them now, because of King Kajo.
I was changing into one of my, now many, outfits when the door swung open and Kajo walked in.
I yelped and ducked behind the changing divider wall with the remainder of the outfit.
“You can’t just barge in!” I yelled, tugging the bralette over my head and buttoning up the corset. I slammed my feet into the boots and exited the changing curtain in a huff, one hand on my hip, the other pointing a finger into his face. “King or not, you can’t just come into my room without knocking!”
His face set in a sour look, mouth scrunched, brow furrowed, bottom lip sticking out.
“I can do as I like. This is what I wanted to speak with you about this morning.” He clenched his fists and nodded to himself, encouraging himself, it seemed. “I have decided I would like to do what I want to do to you. I deserve to have what I want. It is time.”
My mouth dropped open as he stepped toward
