Alien Savior: A Sci-Fi Alien Invasion Paranormal Romance (7 page)

While hovercrafts were an idea that had just caught on in most of earth’s territories, here they were rampant. Everywhere you looked there was some sort of vehicle flying through the air. Indeed, it seemed as though no machine touched the ground, as people covered it in its entirety, milling through the streets as they went about their daily lives.

Danielle was shocked to see that all Garinians were not of the same pale hue as those who had come to Earth. The people here hosted a variety of skin colors, from the palest of hues to dark reds and ruddy greens. The young woman gaped as she attempted to take in the diverse landscape, as expansive as it was beautiful.

“Welcome to Garinia.” The princess murmured beside her, before leading her carefully down the ramp and onto the surface.

They were immediately joined by an entourage of no less than ten immense guards, all dressed similarly to those who had flanked the prince during his travels on Earth. When Danielle hesitantly asked what their uniforms signified, she was surprised to find that, unlike her brother, the Princess did not make her feel guilty or ill at ease for asking questions, and so, she let them fly in their multitudes, all while they were led through the immense capital city of the planet.

The world itself, Danielle learned, was called Garinia, though the Garinian empire spread far beyond a single planet. They had actually colonized several more worlds, and each time they conquered one, they absorbed its races and their attributes into its culture. This accounted for the amazing diversity of the Garinian people. Those who hosted paler skin had, at one time had family of royal lineage, and Danielle soon discovered that an indicator of the purest royal blood was the ever changing eyes that both the princess and her brother hosted. When she had children, Kaia explained, they, too, would carry the trait.

Danielle did her best to pay attention, which was hard when everything she passed demanded her senses. There were new sights, new sounds and smells – all of which she wanted to explore. But the princess led her on, through the streets of the city, where people made a wide berth, bowing as she passed.

Danielle tried to keep up as the regal woman gave her short history of the empire. For every two human years, the Garinians passed through one cycle of the moon, and it was through moon cycles that they measured the time that passed. In this way, the empire had recorded thousands of moons of history, kept in the many citadels around the city. They, Kaia explained, were the tallest buildings – those that rose high into the skies. The Al’Hazzar family had been in power for a vast majority of the empire’s existence, and the four Al’Hazzar children, including the crown prince, were of the purest royal blood, though more than half their number had married into the nobility of worlds they’d conquered.

The young woman tried to push aside the fact that she was no one’s nobility – and instead continued to focus on the wonders around her. She was ushered through the immense courtyard of what could only be the royal palace, edged on all sides by fountains and sculptures depicting the history of their people.

The building itself could have been as big as any skyscraper on Earth – bigger even – and it was the length of at least two football fields. As Danielle hurried through its immense arches, she felt dwarfed by its size, and the values it represented.

Her steps echoing off the gleaming floors, Kaia led her down the gargantuan corridors until they found themselves on the threshold of a room that seemed utterly stark in comparison to the grandiose palace in which it was located. Surfaces made of a steel-like material gleamed as several unidentifiable machines whirred and clicked lowly. When the princess entered, everyone working immediately stopped what they were doing to bow deeply. Kaia inclined her head respectfully, before indicating that their guard should wait outside.

When the door closed behind them, Danielle felt like a trapped rat. However, Kaia remained by her side, talking to her encouragingly as she was tended to by numerous scientists. Nothing they did hurt overly much, and the Princess explained to her why their actions were necessary. Some alterations had already been made to her genetic makeup to ensure that she could endure the atmospheric differences between Earth and Garinia.

These had been the basis upon which everything else would be built. In a single hour period, things that the young woman would never have been able to imagine were implanted into her. She was given hormones to ensure that she would be fully sexually compatible with her new husband, and to provide the ideal environment for their children to develop. Her metabolism was slowed to adjust to the Garinian cycle to ensure that she would age at the same speed as everyone on the planet – something Kaia assured her was being done to every human who had arrived.

When Danielle found out the average life cycle of a Garinian was close to two hundred human years, she felt a little faint. What on Earth would she do with so much time? She’d been struggling to deal with the time she’d had on Earth, and now her allotment had been tripled. The rest of her time in the medical bay passed in a blur as she tried to contend with the changes in her body. Synapses fired that she didn’t even know she had, she was hungry, hot, cold and panicked all at once.

At one point, Kaia took her hand, patting it gently and assuring her that everything would be fine – and unlike her brother’s intimidating gaze, the princess’s eyes were oddly comforting, even in their flickering, ever-changing nature.

When they were done in the medical bay, Danielle was fitted with a simple white tunic that revealed the entirety of her spine and laced down the back, along with a flowing pair of pants in the same color. Kaia promised her that the clothing was only temporary – that she would soon be outfitted in a manner befitting a queen; but that there were certain measures they had to take first. Then, they were off again, through the huge maze of palace rooms, until they reached a wing that seemed quieter than the rest.

Their ever present guard paused expectantly outside an immense, ornate gold door, bowing deeply, and without ceremony, Princess Kaia pushed the door open to glide inside. When Danielle followed her, she was surprised when a high, childish voice shouted an unintelligible phrase.

She had no time to take in the simplistic, clean beauty of the princess’ quarters before a small, pale-skinned figure darted across the room and into her arms. It was as if all the ceremony and pomp melted away from the woman, and a wide smile spread across her face as she lifted a Garinian child into her arms.

He was her son – that much Danielle could see even before she introduced him. He had the amorphous eyes that marked him of royal heritage, with skin as pale as his mother and uncle, and the same sharp, lovely bone structure. However, there were also a handful of attributes that very clearly marked him as a mixed race. Two tiny, jet black horns protruded from the child’s head, and small claws of the same hue jutted from the tips of his fingers. As his mother smoothed back errant strands of platinum blonde hair from his forehead, a long, prehensile tail swished behind him, and Danielle tried not to stare. Kaia cooed to her son in her native tongue, even laughing when the small child took one of the combs from her hair, sending navy curls spiraling down her back – almost to her knees.

“My apologies.” She eventually turned back to Danielle, switching to English. “This is my son, Hadric. He does not yet have his onmilingual chip implanted, so he won’t understand English.” She shifted the boy to her hip before raising his hand in greeting. “But he says hello.”

Bashfully, Hadric hid his face in his mother’s shoulder, and Danielle laughed softly as Kaia lowered him to the ground once more before scooting him off in the direction of the waiting nurse in the far corner of the room. Once the child had disappeared, the princess turned her full attention to Danielle once more.

“How old is he?” The human woman inquired softly, wondering what she and Kael’s children would look like – if, indeed, she produced them as was expected of her. If they were half as adorable as Kaia’s children, she supposed there were worse things. She’d never envisioned a family for herself but that notion, obviously, had flown out the window.

“Two moons. He was born shortly after Kael left for your planet.” Christ. Now that she knew what a moon was, she realized that the prince had been away from his home world for two of them – four years.

She couldn’t imagine all that he had missed – just to reach their little corner of the universe. “You will soon have children of your own, Danielle.” Now Kaia was carefully removing the remainder of the combs from her hair, letting the rampant, glossy locks tumble down over her shoulders. Danielle couldn’t help but think she was an absolute vision –and how dowdy she must look in comparison. “You will, after all, be a queen. But you must also understand that, as queen, you will have a responsibility to the people of Garinia, and to your king. That responsibility will require knowledge…information that you must learn as quickly as you can. For this, you will be provided with a tutor who will teach you of our culture and customs – as well as our tongue. Do you understand?”

Understanding wasn’t the problem. With every duty that was heaped upon her, Danielle wondered more and more: why her? She was just some random pick of a pool of immune women from Earth, wasn’t she? “Princess…” She began, hesitantly. “I’m no one’s queen. I’m not nobility…and I’ve just come from a place where I’ve watched
my
people die ceaselessly. I’ve barely recovered from my own losses…how on earth am I supposed to be the Prince’s wife?”

“Not on Earth.” Kaia returned crisply. As she raised her arms, two servants hurried forward to help unlace the back of her ornate dress. Her eyes melted from violet, to gold, and then back again. “You are no longer on Earth, Danielle; so whatever rules that bound you there no longer apply. When you return, everything will be changed. Everyone you know will be gone and you will be heralded a hero for saving your species from extinction. Is that not a queenly accomplishment?”

The young woman’s cheeks flushed as the servants helped Kaia undress entirely. Of course, there wasn’t a single blemish on her pale, perfect form. Her breasts, Danielle noticed, had no nipples – it was a trait she had noticed in her brother as well; but aside from that, she looked no different than a long-limbed human. An exceptionally beautiful, statuesque, long-limbed human. People here, Danielle noted, seemed not to mind being naked in public.

She didn’t think she could ever get used to that; all she could do was try to emulate the Princess’ cool grace. “It is.” She finally managed, nodding once, “But I had nothing to do with it. Prince Kael…he chose me. Though I have no idea why.” She swallowed thick, remembering the touch of his fingers on her lips before she’d entered the cold sleep chamber. Of course, the man’s eyes constantly changed color, but that wasn’t enough to hide the heat she’d seen there when his eyes had perused her body.

He wanted her…and she wanted him too…even if he was, by far, the most intimidating man she’d ever met. “He scares me.” She added softly, ashamed to look at Kaia as she spoke ill of his brother.

The princess waved her attendants away before advancing on Danielle. Within moments, she had undone the laces on the human woman’s tunic to slide the garment from her shoulders before skimming her pants over her hips as well. The movement was methodical, without a hint of sexual interest – which was probably why Danielle wasn’t more alarmed. When she spoke, her tone was low and careful. “Kael is a…difficult man. He is not the first born, and yet he has taken on the immense weight that is ruling this empire. I cannot lie to you and tell you that he will be an attending husband, as there are many matters that he holds more important than the idea of wife and child…but he will protect you at all costs. No harm will ever come to you.” Kaia cupped her face warmly, turning it this way and that. “You are a pretty little thing. He finds you very attractive, you know. He will please you when the time comes to conceive.”

Danielle’s cheeks flamed. What was she supposed to say to that? When no words rose to her lips, she chose to remain silent. “We will groom you to be a queen even Kael can be proud of…but it will take time.” Twining her arm with the human woman’s, Kaia led her from the high ceilinged bed chamber into a bathroom that was at least twice the size of any apartment Danielle had ever been in.

Within was a heated pool that was obviously for bathing – and the heated water felt like heaven against her skin. The young woman had to remind herself that she hadn’t bathed in two years, and the idea set her to scrubbing with the fragrant soap provided, much to the princess’ amusement. “We will begin your tutelage tomorrow.” Kaia announced, relaxing across from her in the pool. “With any luck, you will be ready to wed Kael within seven days’ time.”

The words stopped Danielle mid-motion.

A week. She was supposed to be married in a week? But she didn’t know anything! She was still completely lost when it came to being what she was
supposed
to be. Did Kaia really think a week was long enough for her to learn enough to marry a prince? Somehow, Danielle doubted it…but as overwhelmed as she was, there was little more she could do besides trust the Princess. She was the kindest person she’d met since leaving Earth, and if Danielle had to choose between dancing on a knife’s edge with the Prince and being able to speak frankly with his sister, she’d choose Kaia every time.

But Danielle wasn’t marrying Kaia. She was marrying Kael – and eventually, she would have to deal with him.