Chapter 4

Azha turned to see the Naga, Jakam, who she assumed was some kind of servant to Gravon, at attention in the doorway.

"Everyone is prepared for takeoff. The doors have been sealed, and the ship is being pressurized. Everything should be ready by the time we reach spot number one."

"No more issues with the Jorvlens?"

"No, Your Majesty. They seem to have moved on. We have not received another call on the comms from them or the control tower."

"Perfect. Anything else?"

"No, Your Majesty, unless you need a copilot."

"No, it will just be me and Azha up here. I do not want to be bothered for the entirety of the flight unless there is an emergency."

"Yes, of course."

Gravon pressed the button to close the door and turned back to her. As soon as he looked at her, she remembered the moment they had just shared. How could she have forgotten?

She felt her face heating up at the memory from only a few minutes ago. His lips on hers, his hands. Especially those hands. They had moved along her body with such surety, like they knew exactly what they were doing. Exactly what they wanted.

And she was pretty sure she wanted it, too.

Azha turned to look forward, away from him. Though she had enjoyed the moment immensely, she was unsure of what that meant. She had only just met him, and he was a king while she was a slave. Ex-slave? She wasn't sure of her status yet.

But she couldn't ignore the feeling deep inside of her, the one that told her that this was right. That somehow, this was where she was meant to be. She wanted to follow that feeling, no matter where she ended up as a result.

The fact that she wasn't scared anymore confused her. The way his presence was turning into not only a comfort but something that excited her in ways she'd never felt before.

Gravon moved around the flight deck, seemingly getting ready for takeoff. She'd never been on the flight deck of a spaceship before, and she realized exactly what was about to happen. She was about to see outer space and experience what it was like to travel through it. In all the chaos and excitement, she hadn't realized that fact until now. She had always been a Jorvlen slave on Noxxa, born and raised on the alien planet after someone in her family had been abducted from Earth years ago.

Her eyes widened, and she looked at Gravon. He noticed her gaze and met it with questioning eyes.

"Is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "No, it's just… I've never witnessed this before."

"Witnessed what?"

"This," she said, gesturing around her. "Space travel. I've never left Noxxa."

"Oh," he said, as if this hadn't occurred to him, either. "Are you scared?"

She shook her head again. It was no scarier than the things she'd seen in the past.

The control panel beeped, and they both looked toward it. The Imperial Nirum was now in spot number one, with the words "ready for takeoff" flashing next to it.

"I'm excited," she heard herself saying. And it was true. She was. She was excited to get the hell off of Noxxa. This planet that had brought her nothing but a life full of running—a life no one should have to live. She was now leaving that life behind, which was something she never thought would be possible.

Azha gave Gravon a small smile, grateful he was doing this for her, though she didn't quite understand why.

"I need to get us past the exosphere and into space. Once we're on the right path, I can trigger an autopilot until we get closer to Nirum."

"How long does it take to get there?"

"A few hours, usually."

"How long have you known how to pilot a ship?"

He glanced at her, a satisfied look on his face. "As soon as my father would let me. I've always loved piloting." He cleared his throat and looked down. "Actually, since I became king, that's one of the things I don't get to do as much anymore."

"I'm sorry," she murmured.

He shrugged as the ship began its launch. "I am getting used to it."

"I heard about your father, the former king. Even here, his death was huge. No one expected it."

"I did not, either. I have been training my entire life to take his place when the time came, but I thought it would be much later."

"Were you close with him?" She wasn't sure why she felt the sudden need to ask him so many questions. She just had this inexplicable urge to know more about him.

"Not really. Not in the typical father-son way you're probably thinking. We were close in the sense that he believed in me, and he knew when I took over as king, I would not let him down. He did his best to make sure I would not be unprepared when it was my turn. So I guess it could have been worse. For that I am grateful."

She felt sad for him, though she didn't really understand why. But she knew what it was like to not know a parent's love. She had personal experience with it.

Gravon looked back at her. "You're strapped in good still?"

She nodded.

"Good, because we're about to change speed very quickly in a moment. To get past the exosphere, we need to be at top speed. And, Azha? As it's your first time experiencing this, you're going to want to pay attention."

She trained her eyes forward and did exactly as he said, watching the world around them. He wasn't lying. As they picked up speed, everything seemed to change. It was almost like everything became blurry, and her eyes couldn't focus on any one thing at a time. A plethora of bright colors burst around them.

"Is it going to be like this the whole way there?" she asked.

"No, once we get into space, we will be slowing down. It is definitely possible to travel like this the whole way, but I prefer we did not do that for this trip. I think you will enjoy seeing the stars and all the planets we will pass on the way there."

Azha felt like she was in a dream. This entire day had taken a turn that she never could've planned for. But she was doing her best to embrace it instead of letting it completely overwhelm her.

Somehow, the ship seemed to speed up even more, and she felt like she had to grab the sides of her chair to brace herself, even though that really wasn't necessary.

"This is amazing!"

"Oh, this is nothing compared to what you are about to see."

She couldn't help but smile. But her smile turned into more of an awestruck expression as the ship slowed, and she realized they were in space. Her jaw dropped, and again she felt like this was some sort of dream.

"Are those stars?" She wondered at the multicolored objects littering the dark space around them.

"They are. In some parts, like the area we are in right now, they are much more visible. But once we get farther, you will not be able to see them very well."

She couldn't take her eyes off of them. That is, until she spotted something much, much bigger.

"Is that…"

"One of Noxxa's moons? Yes."

"Amazing."

After they'd traveled for a while, Gravon tapped a few buttons on the control panel, and the ship slowed down even more. "I've set it to autopilot."

He unstrapped himself from his seat and slithered over to her. Without warning, he began to mess with the belts keeping her in her seat, popping them off one by one.

"This was really only for safety as we traveled at such high speeds. We'll strap you back in when it's time to land on Nirum," he explained.

She nodded and stood up once he eased away, allowing herself to stretch after being crammed in that seat. She wandered up to the pilot's seat, where he now sat watching her carefully.

"You know, I've surprisingly heard very little about Nirum, other than politics. But I want to know what the planet is like."

"It's beautiful. Nirum is mostly covered in jungle forests. Some, like the ones inside the capitol, are perfectly safe. But most aren't. The Niri live in cities that are walled off from the jungles to protect them."

"From what?" she asked, wondering what kind of creature would have the Niri living in such a way.

"A lot of extremely dangerous predators fill the planet."

"Why can't you guys just get rid of them?" She hated hearing herself ask such a thing, and she was in no way suggesting it as something they should do. She was only curious why they hadn't already.

"Oh, trust me, thousands of years ago, they tried. But we've long since realized that doing so would be detrimental to our planet. We need those tribes to keep our planet the way we need it. Whether we like it or not, they belong there. Not to mention the fact that most of these creatures were there eons before the Niri. We have no business trying to vanquish them."

"Would you do it if you could? To make Nirum a freer planet for its people?"

He kept his eyes trained on hers as he answered. "No, I would not. Even if it would not completely ruin our ecosystem and in turn, our atmosphere, it would not be right. I would not feel right doing such a thing."

"But isn't it hard to live like that?"

"For some, it is harder than others. And as king, my job is to do my best to make it easier for those Niri. My father was much more focused on other things, but I plan on putting a lot of effort into helping every Niri survive."

She was beginning to realize what kind of person Gravon was. And she had just added "honorable" to the list of qualities she liked about him.

As she stared at him, she found herself imagining that kiss again. It had left her breathless and had ended way too soon. She knew she wanted more, and she felt herself heating up at the thought.

Her teeth dragged along her lower lip without her even realizing it. Gravon's expression changed, and he slowly eased upright before darting toward her.

"I cannot wait to show you Nirum." He reached out a hand, letting it caress her curly brown hair.

"I can't wait to see it," she said, though it came out more as a whisper.

"You know," he said, leaning in close. "I am not sure I will ever get used to this scent of yours."

She felt her body shiver as his lips touched the outer shell of her ear.

"And your taste," he whispered. "I need to taste you again."

She closed her eyes just before his lips touched hers. She felt a surge of something deep inside of her, and her lips began moving faster with his. Her hands eased their way around his neck, pulling him closer. She needed him, and she couldn't wait a second longer.

Thankfully, she didn't have to. Gravon backed them up until they hit a small table against the wall. He sat her upon it carefully, while his mouth trailed down her neck and his hands began swiftly removing her clothes.

Once she was naked, Gravon seemed to lose any remaining control he had left on himself. He dropped to his knees before her, propping her legs on his shoulders. She watched his face as he breathed her in, his eyes closing as a look of pleasure took over. And then he dove in, feasting on her.

His tongue caressed her gently at first before quickly picking up speed and flicking at her most sensitive spot. She could barely stay still as a pleasure she was unaccustomed to built inside of her at a rapid rate.

Her head fell back, hitting the wall rather hard, but she didn't care. All she could focus on was how good his mouth felt and how she never wanted it to leave her.

"Gravon!" she shouted as she got closer and closer to her peak.

A soft hissing sound escaped him, but he kept his mouth on her. His yellow eyes watched her writhe on the table, her hands clutching the sides and her knuckles turning white with the force of her grip.

"Please," she gasped. "Please."

He gave her exactly what she wanted, and she screamed so loudly she was sure the entire ship could hear her. But again, she didn't care. She rode out the climax, her hips rolling with his tongue.

She let herself feel every second of it, blocking out everything else, even as she came down from the high. Gravon gave her one last lick before standing up and enveloping her mouth in a passionate kiss.

She clung to him, still panting, her brain a little foggy.

She wasn't sure what was going to happen once they landed on Nirum, but at this moment, she felt safe with him.