An attempted assassination left Princess Shalira blind as a child and, now that she’s of marriageable age, her prospects are not good because of her disability. She’s resigned herself to an arranged marriage rather than face life under the thumb of her cold stepmother. But then she meets Mike Varone, a Sectors Special Forces officer sent to Mahjundar by the intergalactic government to retrieve a ship lost in her planet’s mountains. After Mike saves Shalira from another assassination attempt, she arranges for him to escort her across the planet to her future husband. She’s already falling hard for the deadly offworlder and knows she should deny herself the temptation he represents, but taking Mike along to protect her is the only way she’ll live long enough to escape her ruthless stepmother.
But what should have been an easy trek through Mahjundar’s peaceful lands swiftly turns into an ambush with danger around every turn. Shalira’s marriage begins to seem less like an arranged union and more like yet another planned assassination. The more they work together to survive, the harder it becomes to stop themselves from falling in love. Caught in a race against time, can they escape the hostile forces hunting them and make it off the planet?
The excerpt is from a scene early in the journey, when Shalira demands the caravan halt at a small shrine to her patron goddess.
Taking a swift glance at the small area of
greenery and ruins under discussion, Mike didn’t see any reason not to let the
lady have a few minutes to worship, if doing so meant that much to her. “Look,”
he said, “The horses could use a break.
If visiting this shrine is so important to Her Highness, why not take
advantage of the pond and the shade for a few minutes?” He touched her arm.
“You weren’t planning on a long stop here, were you?”
“No, I suppose not. I only want to offer a
quick prayer,” she said. “Will you escort me?”
“I’d be honored,” he said, ignoring
Johnny’s smothered curse.
A few moments later he was walking beside
her, guiding toward the tumbledown ruin set in the midst of seriously overgrown
trees, next to a small pond and a gurgling stream. The rest of the column had
remained behind, on the fringe of the oasis, per Shalira’s request.
He felt a cool breeze, the first one of
the day.
Shalira stumbled over an exposed tree root
and he cursed himself for inattention even as he kept her upright. “I’m sorry,
I’m not a very good guide. You’d probably have been better off with Saium.”
“I wanted you to see this,” she said. “No
apologies needed.”
“Why? Why did you want me to come here in
particular?”
“I think you don’t really want to be on
our planet, nor riding along with me in a slow caravan. I’ve heard you didn’t
like the crowded capital or the palace,” she said. “I was hoping this place
might give you a different idea of Mahjundar, to take with you, when you
leave.” Her lips curved in a mischievous smile. “And I liked the idea of a few
moments alone, out of the saddle. Do you object?”
“Not at all. I apologize if I’ve been
taking my impatient mood out on you. Nothing personal, Your Highness.” He
helped her climb a few crumbling stairs and they stepped into a pavilion, open
to the sky. Lush grass grew up between the cracked flagstones and flowering
vines wound around the pillars. “It’s quite beautiful. Would you like me to
step aside while you worship?”
“Very kind of you. I need to be standing
in the exact center, please.”
He led her to the round mosaic in the
middle of the platform, colors still bright. As they stepped onto the slightly
upraised pattern, there was a sudden trill of musical notes and a brightly
colored creature fluttered around his head. Automatically he recoiled, free hand
going to his gun.
No doubt feeling him tense, Shalira
crowded closer. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Are we likely to be in any danger from a
bird-butterfly kind of thing?” Focusing on the tiny, brilliantly-hued creature
as it fluttered around him, Mike felt a little silly. But there were deadly
predators on other worlds that seemed just as harmless at first glance and it
wasn’t his nature to take chances.
“I’m sorry, a what?” Her forehead wrinkled
as she puzzled over the term he’d used in Basic.
“I don’t know what to call it in your
language. They weren’t mentioned in our briefing. Some kind of flying warbler?”
The creature set down on his shoulder for an instant, fuzzy antennae vibrating,
and then launched itself into the air with another trill of bell-like notes
that seemed too loud to be coming from such a tiny being.
“A myrdima of Pavmiraia! Do you really see such a marvel?”
She turned her head left to right. “I thought I heard music.”
“It’s flown off now, to the trees. It was
pink and purple and red, with furry white antenna. About the size of your
fist.”
“We’d be blessed indeed, to be serenaded
by Pavmiraia’s songbird. None has been seen in this area of Mahjundar for
centuries. They withdraw, as the old gods withdraw, because the people’s faith
wanes.” She shook her hand free of his, not rudely. Arms outstretched, she
twirled, dancing, humming under her breath. She made graceful hand movements in
time to her tune as she swirled. Pausing for a moment, she said, “I feel so
free here, momentary though the sensation may be. I haven’t felt so
unencumbered since I was ten and my world fell apart.”
Not knowing what to say to her personal
revelation, but feeling pleased she was happy, Mike leaned on the nearest
pillar, scanning the ground for snakes or any other menace. He hoped Vreely
would let Shalira enjoy her brief excursion for a bit longer. The man had been
impatience personified since they’d left the capital city.
“Uh oh, look out, the
whatever-you-called-it is back, with a friend,” he said. “Stand still and maybe
it’ll land on your hand.”
She closed her eyes and extended one hand,
giggling a moment later as the little creature settled on her outstretched
fingertips. “That tickles.”
“They have tiny, fuzzy feet,” he told her.
“Gave me goosebumps.”
A green-and-blue companion followed suit,
touching down on her other hand. Shalira began to sing in a lovely, high
soprano and after a moment the myrdima joined in with their crystalline three
notes. Mike thought he’d never heard anything so beautiful, on any world. As
Shalira continued to sing, in a language he didn’t understand, more of the tiny
warblers arrived, in a rainbow of colors, each adding its own three notes to
the performance. They placed themselves on the princess’s hair like jeweled
ornaments, and more hovered around her in a cloud. Entranced, Mike thought
there must be several hundred in all. A few even floated over to where he
stood, although none landed on him. The colors ornamenting the wings shone in
the sunshine, particularly vibrant against the drab, dusty landscape.
If they’re waiting
for me to sing, they’ve got nothing but disappointment coming.
Copyright Veronica Scott 2014
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