“The king was ugly,” Beatrix said, “but he did not stink. I have smelled many dead bodies. They always stink. Unless he tanned the skin, it would rot. I do not think it was a mask.”
“I’ve only been here a little while,” Reaver told her. “But I watched reruns of previous arena matches. And he’s always looked that way as far as I could tell.”
“Yes,” Beatrix agreed, “he was always that ugly.”
“What do the Xeno look like?” Beatrix asked. Reaver and I filled her in, and she went silent and thoughtful for several seconds.
“Maybe that is what has happened to the planet,” she whispered. “Legends say there was a war. We fought the Sitar for a hundred big cycles. Many died. But the ancestors did not have three Void-touched warriors, one a great leader, a dragon-tamer and… well… a sneaky, four-armed asshole. They did not have us.”
“Then, it can’t be a coincidence that the Lakunae left us here,” Reaver said.
“There’s no telling whether or not the Lakunae and the Xeno are working together,” I said. “But until we figure that out, we need to get moving.”
“Asshole?” Skrew interrupted, still behind in the conversation. “Is good, yes? Asshole?”
We all laughed. When Skrew joined us, with a confused look on his face, we laughed even harder.
“What will you do now?” Reaver asked Beatrix. “Now that you’re free.”
Beatrix turned to me. “I have a debt to pay, to you all, and if the Lakunae are to be trusted, then I must continue on the search they sent me. No matter the consequences.” She hesitated. “I would like to fight by your side, by Reaver’s side, by Yaltu’s side, and… by Skrew. Will you have me?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Yes,” Reaver agreed as she gave Beatrix a powerful hug.
I watched them and couldn’t help but grin. “There king’s fighter skiff is probably out looking for us,” I said after they’d released each other.
“No,” Beatrix said. “As soon as they learn that the king is dead, they will return to the city. They will have no need to hunt us. There will be many fights, many wars. Someone must become the new king.”
“Jacob be king?” Skrew asked.
I laughed. “No, I don’t think so. I still have a mission. There are more crew members from the Revenge out there. Maybe on this planet. Maybe on another planet. I have to find them. If the Lakunae rescued others, they might be here.”
“And we still have a mission to complete,” Reaver said. “Deliver the biggest payload the universe has ever seen to those Xeno fucks.”
“We’ll need a ship to do that,” I said. “And a payload.”
Reaver dismissed me with a wave of her hand. “Details.”
End of book 1
Want More Galactic Champion?
Thanks for reading Galactic Champion #1.
Want more Galactic Champion novels? Please leave a review here to let me know you’d like more.
Have you read my portal fantasy story, Immortal Swordslinger? Check it out on Amazon.
If you want fast notifications, then the best thing is to join my Facebook fan group and “like” my Facebook page.
If you’re not on Facebook, you can join my email newsletter list here.
Amazon is often slow to update readers on new releases, so the best way to get notified is by clicking this link and then clicking the Follow button.
Thanks again! I can’t wait to share more of my stories with you!
Do you like stories where the main character has more than one love interest? Check out the Harem Lit Facebook group.
About the Author
Dante King is an author of Men’s Adventure fiction in various flavors. His books involve strong male protagonists who know what they want and do what’s required to get it.
You can connect with him at DanteKingAuthor.com
