46. CHAPTER 46

The palace shook violently as the ships swarmed overhead, their weapons destroying the once-magnificent structure. I pushed myself up from the debris-strewn floor, my muscles straining as I lifted the thick pieces of rubble from my back and tossed them away with a grunt. The guards, their armor covered in dust and grime, rushed to my side and helped my injured father to his feet.

"Who would dare think to attack us?!" I yelled, my voice filled with rage as I looked out the shattered window at the ships attacking our home.

"Go!" My father yelled, his voice haggard and strained. "Take your ship and bring your fleet to end this madness!"

I shook my head, my heart pounding in my chest. "I won"t lift a finger until I check on my mate!" I ran off, barely hearing the words he yelled at my retreating figure.

The nobles scattered about the palace like frightened critters, their once-pristine robes now tattered and covered in debris. As I reached the main hall leading to the parlor room, I saw the unlikely sight of Xil and Zantos scrambling out of the parlor.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked, demanding answers. "Where"s Caspian?"

Xil was the one who spoke up, "Someone attacked and took Caspian. We tried to stop them, but one of their transport ships fired on our location. When we came out of cover, he was gone."

Enraged, I rushed into the half-destroyed parlor, the acrid smell of smoke filling my lungs and stinging my eyes. The once beautiful room was now a shadow of its former self, with shattered glass and splintered wood littering the floor. I grabbed my comms device, my fingers fumbling with the buttons as I contacted Connor. "Did you see any ships take off?"

"I saw a ship fly overhead before taking off into the stratosphere," Connor replied, his voice crackling through the device.

"Track their ship and bring our ship to the entrance of the palace. We"re going to follow it," I commanded, my voice leaving no room for argument.

"Acknowledged," Connor responded, the line going dead.

I headed to the hall, my boots crunching on the debris as I stated, "I"m going to my ship to deal with the fool who took my mate."

Zantos stepped forward, "I"m sure you"ll need my help."

Cursing under my breath, I ran off, jumping over the rubble and fallen columns until I reached the outside of the palace. Most of the building was smoking, the once-pristine walls now marred with scorch marks and gaping holes. Yet, the palace was largely intact from the attack. It would take a lot more than even a bombardment to bring it down. With the way all of the ships were now retreating, I wondered if bringing the palace down was even their goal. It seemed like it was just a diversion to draw us out.

I was raging angry over losing Caspian, my blood boiling in my veins. I knew I should have just kept my lover by my side, but I didn"t. I thought Caspian would be safe on our home planet, which hadn"t been attacked in centuries. None of the aliens would dare attack us here, or so I had believed.

Zantos and I got into the ship, the sleek vessel humming to life as Connor initiated the takeoff sequence. Zantos looked around. "This is a sleek-looking ship; I wouldn"t mind owning one like it," he remarked, his fingers trailing over the smooth control panels.

I ran to the bridge where Connor was piloting the ship, the stars streaking past the viewport as we hurtled through space. "Do you have a lock on the ship that made off with Caspian?" I asked.

"I"m unsure if it"s the same ship, but I tracked it to a much larger ship that"s reminiscent of the same type of capital ship that you own," Connor replied, his fingers dancing over the controls.

Zantos laughed, the sound bitter and harsh. "No shit, so we were attacked by one of our own. Now, who would be dumb enough to do this?"

We looked at each other, realization dawning on our faces as we both said, "Regis."

"Head to the capital ship," I ordered.

Zantos looked at me like I was crazy, his eyebrows raised in disbelief. "There"s no way this ship can take on one of our capital ships."

"I don"t care. The only thing I need is an opening to get on board. Get to the guns and start firing on that capital ship once we get there. Connor, look for an opening, even if it"s one that Zantos has to blast open. I"ll use it to get inside," I commanded, leaving no room for argument.

"Acknowledged," Connor said, his fingers flying over the controls as he plotted our course.

As we reached the capital ship, the battle raged around us, with Xil"s ships engaging Regis"s fleet in a deadly dance of laser fire and explosions. Our ship weaved through the chaos, the shields absorbing the stray shots that managed to hit us. I tried to get Regis on the comms to talk to him, but he wasn"t answering. Not getting an answer from him only boiled my blood with the desire to tear him apart.

Xil"s voice crackled over the comms. "I"ll help create an opening by driving back the rest of Regis"s fleet and blowing a hole in the airlock of Regis"s capital ship. That"ll be your only chance to get on board."

I headed to my room, the metal walls cold against my skin as I suited up in my lightweight black armor. This time, I would need my helmet on, so I pushed a button at the collar, the helmet wrapping around my head with a soft hiss. I grabbed my blaster, the weapon heavy in my hand, and headed to the airlock of my ship. I got inside, the door sealing behind me with a soft click, and was ready to go once I spotted the opening in the airlock. Space gliding was always dangerous, especially during a battle, I could be hit by laser fire from the ships or by a ship or debris from any destroyed vessel. But it didn"t matter. I would do anything to save Caspian, even if it meant risking my own life. I tapped my booster at the base of my armored feet, the thrusters flaring to life.

The airlock of Regis"s ship was blasted open, the force of the explosion sending unfortunate souls hurtling out into the cold vacuum of space to meet a gruesome end. I quickly opened my own airlock door and flew out, using the boosters to guide me towards the gaping hole in Regis"s ship. I landed roughly but safely inside, the impact dislocating my shoulder with a sickening pop.

Gritting my teeth against the pain, I bore it, my focus solely on finding Caspian. I wasted no time getting up and rushing through the ship, the corridors filled with the acrid smell of smoke and the sound of alarms blaring. I noticed some guards coming my way and prepared to fight them, but to my surprise, some of them just ran past me, completely ignoring my presence. I had no idea why they were fleeing, but I wasn"t about to let them go without answers. I stopped one of them, removing his helmet to reveal a scared young face.

"Why are you running away? What"s going on?" I demanded.

The soldier stammered, his eyes wide with fear, "His Royal Highness Prince Regis has lost his mind. He killed one of our own."

"Where is he?" I asked, my grip tightening on the soldier"s armor.

"He was on the bridge the last time I saw him. Please, let us go. We"re done with whatever Regis is doing. All we want is to get away from this madman," the soldier pleaded, his voice cracking with desperation.

I let the soldier go, even though I thought he was a treasonous piece of shit. But Caspian was my number one priority, and I would do whatever it took to save him. But make no mistake, every soldier who served under Regis would be tried for this act of attacking the palace.

I headed to the bridge, my boots pounding against the metal floor. As I entered, Regis turned around, his eyes wild and his face twisted with madness. He was holding Caspian hostage, his blaster pressed against my mate"s head. "If you come any closer, I"ll kill him," Regis threatened, his voice shaking with insanity.

I laughed, the sound cold and humorless. "Caspian, are you alright?"

"I"m fine, just feeling a bit of a headache coming on, but otherwise, the babies and I are fine," Caspian replied, his voice steady despite the fear in his eyes.

"That"s good news," I said, relief washing over me.

Regis yelled, in his rage, "I will not be ignored! Call your ship here and use it to take down Xil"s forces. Once Xil is dead, we"ll retreat together, and I"ll use you for the next phase of my plan."

I called him insane, and Regis said, his voice filled with a manic edge, "I wouldn"t have gotten as far as I did if I wasn"t a little bit insane. I guess I got it from our father. Now he is the one who is truly insane, for making you an heir. It"s not much of a secret what you are - a lowborn bastard. But the fact that he favors you over me is something I won"t tolerate. It"s an insult to me and my mother!"

"I"ve turned down my right to be heir and won"t inherit anything, so using me in this plan won"t work," I said. Regis didn"t believe me at all, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. "It doesn"t matter if you believe me or not, it"s the truth," I told him, my voice filled with conviction.

Regis was fine with that, a cruel smile twisting his lips. "It doesn"t matter. Your crew will still listen to you, unlike my own crew who have abandoned me."

I pointed at the dead soldier on the floor, his blood pooling around his lifeless body. "Your crew rightfully abandoned you if this is what you do to them."

Regis said, his voice filled with a crazed intensity, "That soldier allowed a group of important human subjects to escape - the key to our prosperous future when I become king. I"ll have a harem of these disgusting human hybrids, and I"ll have hundreds of children all over the galaxy."

"You"ve lost your mind. Your jealousy has driven you over the edge, and you"ve betrayed your most powerful ally, leaving you all alone," I said, unable to hide my disgust.

Regis spat bitterly, "Erevan was never going to make me king. He"s a liar, and I saw right through him."

During our conversation, Caspian used jīva to blast Regis back, the force of the attack throwing him off guard. Caspian dove for cover, his movements graceful and quick.

I took the opportunity and flew at Regis, my fists connecting with his face in a flurry of blows. We began a lengthy, bloody fistfight, our bodies slamming against the metal walls and consoles of the bridge. Enraged, I managed to get the upper hand on him, using my jīva to push him back onto the floor, slamming him down with a sickening crunch. I got on top of him and began punching him in the face, my knuckles splitting open from the force of the blows. "No one touches my mate! No one! I"ll kill anyone who would take Caspian away from me!" I hollered.

Regis stopped fighting, his body going limp beneath me, but I was too angry to stop. It wasn"t until Caspian yelled at me to stop that I finally did, my chest heaving with exertion. When I looked up, I noticed Xil and his soldiers on the bridge, watching the scene with a mix of horror and satisfaction.

I got off of Regis, who was coughing and sputtering, his face a bloody mess. I went over to Caspian and helped him up, my touch gentle and reassuring. "You can do whatever you want with that piece of trash," I told Xil, I spat out a glob of blood. "I"m taking my mate someplace safe."

Xil nodded. I walked off with Caspian, our bodies close together as we made our way through the ship.

"I warned Regis that you would come for me," Caspian said, his voice soft.

"I"ll always come for you, one way or another," I replied with a chuckle.

Caspian knew I was being lewd and laughed, the sound like music to my ears. "Even now, you can think about that."

"Yes, I can, and now you"re safe forever. I"ve rejected the crown, so we"ll find a really nice place to settle. I"ll have plenty of time to think about nothing but sex. Eros is lovely pretty much every year, and with the leader dead, the city will need a strong hand to bring them to heel so that it remains the greatest trading post in the entire galaxy," I said, my voice filled with excitement for our future together.

Caspian smiled, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Eros is where you bought my Jilik stone, which was damaged while I was trying to save my own ass. I"ll need another one."

"I"ll get you whatever you desire," I promised.

As we walked off to the pod station, I contacted Connor to pick up our pod. Caspian sighed. "There were hybrids here just like me who escaped on a pod, along with Zai, who was taken by Regis. Their pod should be on Ashan."

I nodded, my mind already working on a plan, I had no idea why Zai was here, but I was sure Caspian would explain the finer details later on. "We should go get them and transport them to the only place I know where they"ll probably be safe - the human colony. The humans will also like to know that they can settle peacefully. And I want to check up on my fleet. I need to talk to Swarti to inform him there will be no rebellion from me."

Caspian hugged me, his arms wrapping around my waist. "I"m proud of you," he said, his voice filled with love and admiration.

"I want to be more than just a warrior. I want to be a father and a good mate, and I want to find my place in this changing galaxy that doesn"t need warriors," I said, determined to see it through.

We kissed, our lips meeting in a passionate embrace, ready to face whatever the future held, together. Our love had survived the greatest of trials, and now, we were ready to build a new life, one filled with love, family, and endless possibilities.