Charlene
I woke up when the light stones planted along the wall became more frequent, flashing every time we passed. We had to be close. "Miné, wake up."
"Are we there?"
"Almost. See the lights?"
She pushed her body into me. "What will make us stop?"
We laughed nervously when we saw the net. The ball was not going to slow down, and I wished those hooks would hold. It was jerky, but it all worked out. We didn't even move out of the basket that was sunk into the bottom of the ball. A slight pressure with my foot was enough to hold Miné and me back.
Imani and Yazen were waiting on the platform. Yazen took Miné from me first and handed her to his wife. He helped me out. We moved quickly out from the landing. The guards closed the doors, and we could breathe easier.
"Who are you?" Imani tapped Miné on her nose.
"I'm a princess." They both laughed. "My name is Miné."
"It is good to meet you."
"And you sure are a princess now."
They both looked at me. Neither of them had expected me to have a child. I felt guilty all over again. For the first time, I thought about my own parents. I would never see them again. I had not even said goodbye. It felt strange that they didn't even know they had a granddaughter.
Yazen gripped my upper shoulders. "Charlene…" He kissed both my cheeks. It seemed like he wanted to cry. His features were full of emotion. "You are my daughter now. And I am so happy that Romero had chosen. We had lost faith that he would ever experience love."
"You don't mind about my other branding? And…" I gestured to Imani.
"No! Just because it works one way here doesn't mean it would not be different on other planets… I hope you understand why we did not say everything we should have." I rubbed his arm.
"I'm a Werewolf," Miné said softly. Yazen's eyes went from Miné to my neck. He smiled. It seemed that I was the queen of the Werewolves now. There were still many questions Romero was going to have to answer. If Michael and I were the same species… Where did we fit into all of it?
"Seems like you will be queen one day." Imani tapped Miné on the nose again. She liked it. Imani tickled her. She squirmed in her arms but laughed. "I'm your grandmother now. Would you like that?" Miné nodded.
"How long will we wait for Romero?"
"Let us go up those stairs. He will know where to find us… You will want to get clean. He will not be too long. You would have felt the separation."
I was desperate for water. I was glad I had packed a bag. Mine had asked for something a few times while we traveled. Didn't want to give her too much. Just a sip here and there. We didn't stop once. Wondered how they managed their toiletries in those balls.
I had not had anything to eat for a few days. It was strange that I could go so long without eating at all. It did make me more irritated. "I need to eat," I said when we started climbing the stairs.
"How are your manifestations?"
"Romero and I almost died… so many times. I didn't really have a choice. My instincts kicked in. I feel like I can rule the universe with so much power."
"We will help you. Do not worry. You will settle because you can not go anywhere."
I was glad to be back in their village. The opening from the tunnels was in the building where the library was… And the source of their water. Miné and I almost ran to the fountain. Imani grabbed Miné, and Yazen held me back. One of the servants there brought us each a cup and filled it. Miné and I looked at each other and giggled while we drank. Our earth ways wouldn't work there. Romero had let a lot of my behavior slide. Imani and the servant helped us relieve ourselves. We heard the running up the stairs. The door flung open. Romero stood with his chest rising and falling. I thought he would come to me. He ran for the fountain and dunked his head in, drinking hands full. He lifted up and rubbed over his face. "One thing I hate about those tunnels is all the dust." Romero ran his hands over his hair and tied it into a wet afro bun on his head.
The five of us were staring at him. "What?" He asked.
Miné lifted the cup to him and wiggled it at him. We all laughed. Imani hit him behind the head. He smiled so broadly that I had to take a moment. The tension he had the last couple of days was gone. I still would have stayed. I didn't think anything would make me regret it.
***
We were having the time of our lives, traveling all over Mirach in those tunnels. I wished Romero could come with us into one. Sometimes we sat for hours. There were breaks every two when the journey would be a long one. I had learned how they kept time and had a timepiece with me. They were not entirely without technology. Even if it worked like our old watches with the planet's gravity.
I met so many people, and as Romero had said, I eventually ended up with too much jewelry, clothes, and trinkets that our servants carried in chests from one place to another. My clothes also represented the palace, and I didn't feel so left out anymore or out of place, wearing a crown and my hair styled to suit my new look. Juliet's black leather hunting outfit was packed away in our home back in the village. I did miss them. Wondered why she and Michael had not made it there yet. Hoped that it wouldn't take them a year to find me. "You still owe me some answers."
Romero smiled with a mouth full of food. His eyes lifted up to the roof. "I think I owe you about a thousand."
"Ha Ha. It's not happened that much."
He snorted. "You sound disappointed."
"No! The last two weeks had been the best time of my life."
"Really?"
"Yeah… I love it here, and I don't miss home."
Romero frowned and took another piece of bread from his plate. "What do you want to ask? We have to start some or other time."
"I want to know about the brandings."
"We think every galaxy has its own rules. It doesn't work the same everywhere."
"Why did Michael not end up here. In front of you."
"Michael?"
"He's the other Ittoqure."
Romero swallowed the last bite. "Well, if I am guessing… It is because you two are not connected… Or because you were second… Supernaturally your threat was here as a woman. Not his… I do not know everything."
Romero reached out and played with the stone around my neck. "My threat? You?" I laughed. "When are you going to start training me for combat."
"Yes, you will have to. As soon as we finish this tour, we will have enough time."
My gaze drifted to Miné. She was at the kid's table with all of Romero's young siblings. I had hoped that she and Sammy would be best friends like her mom and me. I was also happy that she seemed to be adjusting.
"Can I ask you a question…" My eyes came back to meet his. "Why would Juliet have stolen a Chadari child?"
"She would only have done it because someone else was in danger… The only thing I can think of is that she wanted to exchange the baby for someone's life."
"Remember those two golden dots on Palmyra… I think the ruler of the Chadari had branded his mate… Maybe that is where Michael ended up at."
"I hope he is okay… Brylee said that even if they died, he would not."
"She was not lying… The third in your galaxy has a lot of responsibility. But he's also not the same species… In a way… It's the same for me and you."
"So that's the divide. Same species?"
Romero nodded. "Michael was her third branding. They said it's for whoever would dare. Or an honor or something."
"You said she has four husbands."
"Chris is a Riphath and didn't want to do it."
"Michael… will have a lot of problems. The third spot is not easy. It is the one that keeps the four together… Over time, his power will increase. His desire to kill will increase… Because he is a different species, his need to rule those species will grow. If he had been a vampire, it would have been his responsibility to sacrifice when the other three were in danger. Fight the hardest. There would not have been that pull to dominate them but wield that strength for his mate."
"Species really don't mix… Why do we? Why do the brandings not care?"
Romero shrugged. "My kind… We can mix… Uhmm, sexually." I giggled. "Our ability to rule the mind and our shadow manifestation. And because it is for life and only one, it doesn't really matter. The two of us will never have to fight anyone… We have tried not to mix with others. It is difficult for any kingdom to be divided. Marriages for alliances never work out."
"That's why Brylee attacked you. You couldn't marry for convenience." Romero wiped his mouth and hands. "So why did you… Go against it? How come your parents didn't stop us?"
"If I'm not there anymore, my oldest brother and his kids will continue with the lineage… Does it really matter what child carries on the family line?"
"That's not how Qadir felt. About his siblings."
"No… The Vampire's greed and lust can not be counted on. It is why they are ruled so tightly. Another reason why Michael will have a difficult time with giving the power over to Juliet… She will also in two hundred years become…"
"Unmanageable." Romero frowned. "How do you know so much?"
"Brandings are a way of life. It is history and documented here… If done right. It is a system for the universe. Those who align for the right reasons will rule. It is the ultimate partnership… Ahasuerus's predecessors ended up here. They came in good faith… Gave us books, and we soon learned English and made it our language for all the royalty to know. They came regularly. It is why all the planets changed the way they spoke… Some still hold on to their foreign tongues. When they realized that the galaxies would collide eventually, they started looking for other life and making treaties…." Romero sighed. "Ahasuerus must have sent Brylee here to see if the three of them could take over our world."
I was quiet. "What is it?" He asked softly, stroking my cheek.
"Kubra led that campaign when we first met. He was gone for months."
Romero nodded. "It does not matter. Marcus and Juliet will not be like Ahasuerus or the Ahmed kings… It is always better to rule together."
"You do not know Juliet."
"Didn't you say you two are exactly alike…"
"We are… In some ways. But not in everything… And she is a Vampire. She is much more courageous than me."
"Not anymore."
I smiled. It was true. I would give her a good fight on a full moon. "So I will never end up in front of her or Ira."
He shook his head. "Not anymore. I have you all to myself."
"I'm glad about that… I never would have done it if I had known we would become enemies."
"It is better this way… We will have to find a planet for your wolves. They can start new somewhere else. Once I'm dead, of course."
"Or Miné can take them… Will my tattoo disappear when you die? Or will I die with you?"
"No, you won't die. It is not in natural death. Your tattoo will, though." I pulled a face thinking… It was going to be hard letting him go. What then? Everyone will be dead. "Won't this be breaking some supernatural boundary of the planets? There is not some secret chamber on all planets where anyone can bond with only one other person."
"No… Pain and sleep are the only way for that galaxy… I do not know once we collide… But for now, the parameters of the galaxies are the key. Only ours has love chambers."
"Have I told you that I love you?"
"Every day… Multiple times… Is it some spoken rule on Earth?"
"You can say so… What do you say here to affirm your mate that you think about them and want them to know you want them?"
He sat a bit closer. "Ina son ka," he whispered into my ear while his hand ran up and down my leg.
***
Soren
Marcus expected too much from me. I thought it would be easier as time passed that I would even maybe meet someone to get over Juliet. But on En-gannim, no one met each other, and after my outburst, I knew months away from her had meant nothing. If I really wanted a wife, I would have to get my father to negotiate with a camp. It wouldn't be love. I would end up hating my wife, wanting Juliet more than ever, longing for that closeness and connection, something it seemed that one could only get on Earth. In the back of my mind… I had thought all the women would forsake their veils and way of life and want to read, write, and work, just like on Earth. Listening to Marcus and Louis's discussions… It wasn't going to happen. They weren't planning on telling the women at all. They would manage those few who didn't make it in a camp and give them other avenues.
That office was no place for me. Hearing about their lives with Juliet. I know Marcus meant it well, and they trusted me. Isla was in the Lion's den, and he was only doing it to show me what was really going on. Rana would leave the Tower after what happened. She was too full of pride to stay. So, I traveled back to Avrio's island. After Michael's outburst, she would have a lot to say when she came home. I was sitting with Isla, waiting… I needed to talk to her, anyway. "Why are you here. I have not seen you in so long."
"Isla… The reason Louis has been here so much is because of Avrio's son. They have an army somewhere, and we can't find it… Have you heard anything? Read anything that the women would not have been able to understand?"
Isla considered this. She scanned the room around her. "I have been helping with the finances." She whispered. "But there are two sets of books. Heba told me to keep it secret. She is sending money somewhere. Let me believe that she was scared for the future and wanted it to be safe… But now that you mention it. It could be for that."
"I'm almost sure it is. That's good, thank you. We would be able to follow the trail."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Nothing you're not comfortable with. But if you can find out where it's going. It will help. Or keep your ears open."
Isla was wringer her hands in her lap. "How are you doing, Isla?"
"I have been talking to a phycologist from Earth." She laughed lightly. I didn't like her wearing her veil again. "There are a lot of humans everywhere, studying us. And I think maybe Juliet sent him to talk to me."
"Have you thought about what you want to do in the future? I can take you back home. You don't have to be here."
"What happened to Chris? He was the one that left me here. Asked me to stay and help."
I watched her for a moment. Strange that she would ask. "He is not doing so well."
"Why, what happened?" Her voice rose a little.
"It's a long story… Why all the questions?"
"I like him. He has a way about him. A gentleness. He treated me like a person. Shook my hand and even noticed me."
"Oh, Isla, no. He is the one that Juliet fought Ahasuerus for. The one she had her first child with. And her second."
"What? He is why she was so depressed back at the compound?"
I nodded. I couldn't see her reactions. "I thought he was in the army. I thought he was a Vampire. He never said who he was. Don't tell anyone."
"Of course not… I am sorry that things are so complicated for you. I think it's time both of us go home and talk to father. Didn't you want a family of your own? I know there are procedures for women that have been with someone before. But there are a lot of men that would treat you well."
"I do not know, Soren. I never wanted to be a second wife. It's awful. I think we made a mistake… In ever coming back."
I felt exactly the same. I was angry at myself. I should have made more of a fuss that day in Louis's room. To let Juliet know how unfair it all was. How much I loved her.
"Isla. They will stop the harem system. To control the population. After that. It might be even harder to get into a good home. You might have to marry a soldier."
We heard the doors slam. Rana had to be home. I would have to wait for the right time. Isla and I were sitting in the kitchen. Rana came in without even looking at us. She grabbed something to drink. She was getting used to it, not wearing her veil. I could see she liked the attention. Not used to that either. If she was on Earth when Qadir was there. Rana would have had anyone she wanted. Her eyes were red-rimmed. Not used too much, I scoffed. Already throwing tantrums when there is no man to hit you into submission. They didn't teach them that at the camps. How to handle the freedom.
Rana glanced up and noticed us. "You're both from Earth… How do the women get the man she wants. That man said Marcus chose Juliet. It is not the way of En-gannim." Isla met my eyes and rolled hers.
"I'm sorry about how you were treated. But Michael is a bit edgy."
"Edgy? I had never been treated like that, not even by my father. I always behaved and got respect for it… How did he travel to me so fast?"
It was a horrible situation. The women there would never know what the people on Earth did. For Earth, Michael was just a Riphath like Chris. They didn't understand what Juliet had done. Or that there was a way for a human to change. If they did… Maybe things would be different. A whole planet full of Michael's. Not that we knew that's what would happen if two humans branded each other. It didn't seem that even Juliet and her harem knew what was happening. Michael was just a coincidence.
My head fell forward, and my eyes closed. It would have been my spot. It would have been better for everyone. I also didn't want to tell Rana what we knew. "He is so strong because of his size and age. I have seen big Vampires before. Some were even experimented on and have enhanced abilities. They can live forever. Can not go outside at all during the day."
She regarded me. "Why are you there? Why did they send back the prisoners?"
"Marcus's secretary. I work there the same as you… We didn't come back as prisoners. It was a choice for the kids… Later, when Ahasuerus died. I guess they decided it was time."
"Don't you get sick of it? Marcus is ruining everything."
I was sick of something… I wanted sex… No, I wanted to make love to Juliet. "I am rather tired of it," I whispered, picking up my creature in front of me. Isla had gotten up, serving. She knew how to handle a situation. Isla was getting streetwise. I chuckled.
"I am a hundred and was promised a place in The Tower… I was there that night. Ahasuerus had given me to Marcus… But he followed Juliet off En-gannim to Earth."
"He did come back. What happened?"
She drew in a breath. "I was waiting in his room…." Rana quickly glanced over her shoulder at Isla. Her back was to the room. Rana took it as an invitation. "When he came in, he didn't even see me. I was against the wall, and he fell onto his bed… I was without my veil. Dressed to perfection… Marcus just stared at me."
Rana was playing with her snack. A black nail scratching at its skin.
"Marcus called me over… I was trained. Knew what he wanted, and I was ready to give him everything he desired or asked for. The camps make sure you know what you're doing."
My gaze drifted to Isla. Did they really? What did Rana mean?
"I was too slow… Marcus grabbed my wrist, pulled me down on the bed, and got on top of me… He wanted to kiss me. His lips did come close… But… he seemed in pain. As if his heart was on fire, clutching at his chest. Another man came into the room when he heard the commotion. Ahasuerus soon followed. Marcus was flailing on the floor… I was dismissed."
I didn't want to push Rana, so I waited.
"We did not hear from them again. Marcus was so close once that I thought if he just saw me, he would be reminded that he considered it once. I thought he was sick… And maybe they had cured him. I wouldn't have cared if Juliet was his second wife. Stuck on Earth…" She sat back on her chair. "I did not know Juliet was pregnant. But even if I could be a second wife… It would not have been so bad."
"Rana… I don't think you know what's going on. Or En-gannim knows what's going on. Juliet took over the planet, not Marcus. That's why your father died. Ahasuerus didn't want her to rule. He almost gave your father the keys to take over if he died. And he did try… But your father made a mistake."
Rana rested her head on her fist and watched me. "And? Where is she if that's the case? Of what I saw… Juliet is just a woman… without a veil, being led around by Marcus… She might as well be his whore… And the lot of you from the Earth is his council. Because he was born there."
I didn't like the word "whore". It was the second time that day… That Juliet was called one. How did Rana even know what it meant?
"No… Rana… They are all her husbands. Why Ahasuerus was so angry. Juliet is in charge. And if you were in that room a moment longer, you would have seen what happened."
Rana sat up and turned to me. "What!? How can that be? Women do not have more than one. It is the other way around. Why would any man, whether they are from Earth or here? Fall under a woman."
I didn't have the answer. How could I tell her it was Love. I didn't want to say too much. "It doesn't matter… Does it? Why Michael went so crazy, seeing you there. Juliet has four husbands… And Marcus is one of them… They took over together… She is just taking a break because of the baby."