Kingdom Come (24 page)

The woman visibly sighed. “Fine.” She let out a string of words in the musical language and the soldiers backed away from Edric. “But if he follows…”

Abby narrowed her eyes. “Don’
t threaten him.”

“An assurance, not a threat. I will not have him tracking us.”

Abby glared at her, but turned her head to look at Edric. He looked back at her, a clear plea in his eyes. She had to ignore it. She set her shoulders and raised her chin.

“He won’t follow us.”

Candace raised her eyebrows. “So be it.” She turned to face the door and motioned for Abby to proceed her. “After you, Abby.”

Abby gave her a dirty look. “It’s
Miss Ashley to you.”

“
Whatever,” Candace muttered under her breath. “Move along. We are behind schedule.”

Abby walked from the palace with her head held high. She managed to step into and out of the portal without looking at any of the people around her. It was not until Candace made a grab for her arm that she spun to face her, a dark scowl on her face.

“Don’t touch me!”

Candace frowned. “Fine. Go that way.”

Abby gave her another hateful look and stalked toward a white castle. She immediately recognized it from the picture on Candace’s mantle. Of course. The woman may have lied about a lot of things, but she seemed to have told the truth about her family. Abby simply growled at the door guards when they held open the doors for her.

“No need to be rude,” Candace muttered, clearly giving up any attempt at hiding her natural accent.

Abby sent her a short glare. “Don’t speak to me.” When she turned her head back to look ahead of her, a woman had stepped into the corridor.

The dark-haired woman turned to face her and Abby recognized the pale skin and gray eyes. It was Candace’s oldest sister. The woman froze when she met her gaze and Abby frowned at the similarities between them. Their eyes were the exactly same shade
of gray and their facial shape was similar if not identical. Abby stopped a few feet from the other woman.

“Abigail,” the woman said.

Abby deliberated for a moment, but finally nodded. “And you’re Can—” She broke off and scowled over her shoulder at the silent Candace. “You’re this person’s sister. I don’t know her actual name.”

“Ah.” Abby thought she saw a flash of humor in the woman’s eyes. It was gone almost immediately. “Caelia is my sister’s name.”

“And you? Who are you?”

“I am Queen Kaleen.”

Abby looked her over. She wore fitted pants and a dark blue tunic. It almost looked like something from Earth. “I would say it’s nice to meet you, but I’m here under duress.”

Kaleen glanced at her sister. For a moment, they seemed to co
mmunicate silently. Then, Candace shook her head and walked away. Kaleen looked back at Abby and gave her a small smile.

“Would you like a tour?”

Abby sighed. “I’d like to know what I’m doing here, so I can do it and leave.”

Kaleen frowned. “We have much to talk about, you and I.”

Abby returned her frown. “I’m all ears.”

The other woman opened her mouth as if she would retort, but gave her a humorless smile instead. “Follow me.”

Abby followed her down the hallway, ignoring the furnishings. She wanted to hear what the woman had to say and get back where she belonged. She nearly stumbled at the thought. Edric was where she belonged. She was not sure how long she had been thinking of him as home.

“This should do,” Kaleen said, interrupting her thoughts.

She followed her into the room and glanced around. A relatively plain sitting room, it held only two small cushioned benches and a table between. She slowly sank down on the one facing the door and watched the other woman sit across from her. Kaleen made a show of smoothing her tunic down over her thighs, before she met her gaze.

“What do you know of Raena?”

“Nothing.”

Kaleen peered at her. “Prince Edric did not tell you anything?”

Abby frowned. “No.”

“Queen Loreet? King Gol? Neither mentioned the Raena?”

“No,” Abby gritted out. “What is this about?”

Kaleen looked down at her lap. “I-I had thought—” she broke off and shook her head. “My people have a tradition of going to earth for two years every fifty years.”

“Okay.”

Kaleen continued speaking, as if she had not spoken. “We are to observe and learn about humanity. It has been this way for over two millennia. My first time on Earth was uneventful.”

Abby jerked her eyes up from the table between them to frown at the woman. “The first time?”

“My second time was not so uneventful. King Gol’s second, Caern, has a half-brother. Did you know?”

Abby stared at her. “No…”

Kaleen smiled fain
tly. “Half human and half Dorn. Keltrin.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

The woman did not answer.

“Your Majesty.”

Kaleen looked at her.

“Why are you telling me this? Why am I here?”

“I did not know who he was. Keltrin. I did not know until after.”

Abby frowned. The woman was rambling, making very little sense. “What—”

“I researched the Ashleys for eight months. The day I found out, I started searching for someone worthy. A couple who could nurture where I could not.”

“What are you talking about? What about the Ashleys? Did you know my parents?”

“There was nothing I could do. When the two years are up, they are up. I could not stay and Keltrin’s mission was over. I had to make a choice—”

“Kaleen!” Abby shouted.

The woman’s rambling broke off mid-sentence and she stared at her.

“What are you talking about?”

“Edric is going to be the Dorn king one day. If you bond with him, you will be the Ghadrikan queen.”

“What’s your point? I don’t see how it’s any of your business.”

“Keltrin is your father.”

Abby blinked at her. Her father was half Dorn and Caern’s brother. She started to laugh and could not stop. It was ridiculous. Of course, she was human. Completely human. Kaleen was obviously confused or crazy or both.

“Abigaia.”

Abby jerked back at the feel of a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t touch me.”

Kaleen immediately snatched her hand back, a wounded look on her face. “I apologize for telling you this way.”

“And you? Who are you?” Part of her knew, but she had to hear it.

“I’m your mother.”

Abby held her breath for a long minute, before slowly letting it out. “Was there anything else you needed?”

Kaleen shook her head mutely.

“Then, I would like to go back to Ghadrik.”

“Abigaia—”

“Stop,” Abby said sharply. “I will accept what you have told me, but I won’t have you calling me by a name that isn’t mine.” She rose to her feet and walked to the door.

“You won’t be welcome there,” Kaleen said just loud enough for her to hear.

Abby’s hand tensed on the doorknob. “What do you mean?”

“Prince Edric will know the truth, by now. He will not wish to see you.”

…

Edric slammed his fist into the ground, not even wincing at the ugly sound of cracking bone. He could sense his father hovering somewhere behind him, but he had not yet spoken. It was for the best. Edric was not sure he could maintain his usual composure around the man.

Abby was gone. Again. This time taken from his grasp. He had her in his arms less than twelve hours.

“Edric.”

He ignored him.

“Edric we must speak.”

Edric glared at the ground. “I have nothing to say to you.”

“Petulance does not become you, my son.”

Edric whirled around to face him. “Do not lecture me. I am not in the mood.”

Gol’s face softened. “It is not so bad as you fear.”

Rage swept through him. “Not so bad,” he said in a dangerous whisper. “My mate is gone. Taken from a place that should have been a haven. Taken from her mate’s presence.” He stalked toward his father. “She is gone!”

Gol narrowed his eyes at the tone. “She was taken by the Raena.”

Edric paused. “What?”

“Midnight blue is the color of the Raena’s royal family.”

Confusion slowly began to leech away at the anger. “But you have always said the Raena are pacifists. Not a threat to us.”

Gol nodded. “Circumstances change. They seem to be returning to the old ways.”

“Explain.” It said a lot for Gol’s patience, that he answered instead of lecturing him.

“The Raena have not always had a policy of nonviolence. Around Earth’s Bronze Age, the Raena nearly decimated the population of the planet. A member of the royal family was killed by the humans during a trading mission and the Raena king destroyed over five hundred square miles. They have not directly interacted with the humans since then.”

“But they have lived among them,” Edric said.

Gol nodded. “Observing. About two thousand years ago, the Raena king lifted the ban on interaction with Earth.”

“Where does the nonviolence policy enter into it?”

“The queen’s sister, mother of the man killed, was also the general of the army. After the destruction of the people who had killed her son, she went mad and later died. The queen decried that no more violence be done.”

Edric nodded. “So, why now?”

Gol looked away. “Abigail Ashley.”

“What does she have to do with this? Abby is innocent of any wrong doing.”

“The Raena do not want to harm her.”

“Then, what do they want? She has done nothing.”

“It is not what she has done, Edric. It is who she is.”

“And who is she?” Edric felt as if he were on the precipice of something. He was not sure he wanted to know the answer. His father gave him no choice.

“She is their queen’s daughter.”

Edric slowly sank to the floor. “Why did you not tell mother?” he asked quietly.

“She has already accepted your mate as the future queen of Ghadrik. I did not have the heart to tell her it was impossible.”

Edric jerked his head up to look at him. “What are you saying?”

“Ghadrik needs a queen. Abby will become queen of her own people. You cannot leave your people without a queen.”

“It sounds like you are telling me I cannot bond with her.” He met his father’s eyes and saw the answer there. “I cannot be without her, father.”

“You are a prince, Edric, and a prince always puts his kingdom first.”

“We are at our most powerful the moment we no longer need to be powerful.”

-
Eric Micha'el Leventhal

It had been weeks. Weeks of missing Earth, missing Ghadrik, but mostly missing Edric. It was only Queen Kaleen’s words that kept her on Raen. Edric would not want her when he knew the truth. As much as she wished it did not affect her, the words sent a shot of pain through her heart every time she thought of him. It had all seemed so simple when she was just a human.

Kaleen had been kind, but clingy, in the days following Abby’s decision to stay. She made a show of presenting her daughter to the high council, a group of elderly men who peered at Abby like something from the bottom of a shoe. The Raena palace was grand, the throne room full of colorful tapestries, but it felt sterile and bland. It was nothing like the sharp edges and raw beauty of Ghadrik.

In Ghadrik, walls were veined with exotic metals, allowed to run free across the expansive spaces. It was unstructured and weapons were the decorations. She could not imagine a tapestry hanging in the throne room of a Ghadrikan queen. As she stood at one of the windows, the door opened behind her.

“Your Highness?”

Abby glanced over her shoulder, mentally sighing. “Just Abby is fine.”

“Your mother requests an audience with you, Princess Abby.”

Of course she did. “Fine.”

Abby did not bother correcting the title. The same girl had been escorting her around for days and she refused to call her by her first name. Still scowling to herself, she followed the girl from the room and down a long hallway. As she glanced around, she sighed. Every hall looked the same.

The girl le
d her to the library just off the throne room. Kaleen opened the door before she could knock, a bright smile on her face. Abby smiled back weakly. The smile faded when she saw the rest of the room. The high council sat around a central table, the leader of the group staring in her direction with narrowed eyes.

Abby glanced at Kaleen. “What’s going on?”

“We are discussing something which pertains to you. I felt you should be included.” That the council did not went unsaid.

Abby nodded. “What’s the topic?”

“War,” the council leader said. He gestured for the rest of the members to stand, as Abby approached the table with Kaleen at her side.

“What about it?” She did not miss the downturn his mouth had taken, so she was unsurprised when he cleared his throat importantly.

“Raen will go to war with Dorn.”

“We have not made our final decision, yet,” Kaleen said, when Abby opened her mouth.

Abby scowled. “And why exactly are you planning to go to war with Dorn?”

“They are responsible for injuries to a member of our royal family,” the council leader said.

Abby frowned. “I’m fine. Besides, King Gol is the one who got me out of the situation.”

Kaleen shifted next to her. “Were you not of Raena and Dorn lineage, you could have died from your wounds.”

“The king’s second is responsible for all that happened. Thus, King Gol is responsible.” As the council leader spoke, the other members nodded in agreement.

Abby felt the seed of irritation blossom into full blown anger. “If you want to get technical, your queen is responsible for what happened.”

“I beg your pardon—” the council leader blustered, but she cut him off.

“Had she not left her child on an alien planet to be raised by another species none of this would have happened.” She ignored Kaleen’s quiet gasp. “So, just turn that around. Put the blame where it belongs.”

“You ungrateful—”

“Enough!” Kaleen yelled, cutting off the council leader before he could finish his admonishment.

Abby blanketed the room with a scowl. “I want no part of this.”

The council leader rose to his feet and glared at her. “I think your presence is no longer needed.”

Good. She left the room without looking back. She had only been walking for a few minutes, when she heard footsteps running toward her from behind.

“Hey!”

It was Candace. Abby glanced over her shoulder at her and kept walking. “Yes?”

“I heard what you said.”

“Okay.”

“You were out of line,” Candace said.

Abby stopped walking. “Excuse me?” She slowly turned to face the other woman.

“You had no right to talk to your mother that way. She—”

“You know what? Let me just stop you right there. That woman, Kaleen, may have given birth to me, but she is not my mother. My mother died.”

Candace scowled at her. “You are being unfair.”

Abby snorted. “Unfair? What’s unfair is your sister trying to make me fit her idea of me. What’s unfair is your sister taking me from where I was happy and about to be bonded to the man I love.” She knew her voice was rising in volume, but she did not care. “What’s unfair is your sister dumping me on Earth in the first place!”

Candace raised her chin, glaring at her through narrowed eyes. “You are an ungrateful child.”

“You can think what you want.” Abby turned and started to walk away.

“I am not finished talking to you.”

“Well, I’m finished talking to you. I want to go back to my planet.”

“You are on your planet!”

Abby paused. She looked out the window to her right at the unfamiliar landscape and shook her head. “There’s nothing here for me.”

“You are going to be queen. Perhaps, you should start acting like it.”

She knew Candace meant queen of the Raena, but her mind went to Loreet and Ghadrik. “I don’t want to be your queen.”

“You have no choice.”

Abby raised an eyebrow at the smug tone. “We’ll see.”

She turned back the way she had come, walking past Candace without a word. She felt the other woman’s eyes on her back, before she fell into step behind her. They walked in silence until the doors to the library came into view.

“What are you doing?”

Abby ignored the question, shoving open the doors without knocking. The council leader was standing at the end of the table, self-important smirk on his face. It turned to a frown upon seeing her. She did not care. She cast Kaleen a quick glance to see her looking more curious than upset.

“What is the meaning of this?” the council leader demanded.

“I’m abdicating.”

The room fell silent.

“I beg your pardon?” the man sputtered.

Abby glanced around the room at all of the shocked faces. It did not escape her that many barely hid their pleasure at her announcement.

“I’ve thought it over. I don’t think I was cut out for this. I want to go home.”

“But Abigaia—” Kaleen began.

“Don’t try to change my mind. It’s nothing against you, Your Highness. I just want to go back to Earth.”

Kaleen let out a shaky breath, but nodded. “I understand.”

“This is highly irregular,” the council leader blustered. “I will not accept it.”

Kaleen rounded on him. “You do not need to accept anything.”

Abby blinked at the vehement defense from the quiet woman. “I’d like to leave as soon as possible.”

Kaleen looked back at her and she saw the resignation. “I’ll take you.”

Abby glanced at the others who were still watching silently. “Thank you.”

Movement near the door drew her gaze and she watched Candace exchange meaningful looks with Kaleen. Candace motioned for Abby to follow her from the room and as the door shut behind them, Kaleen began speaking in the musical Raen language.

“She loves you, you know.” Candace glanced at her from the corner of her eye as they walked.

Abby nodded. “As much as she can without knowing me.”

“I hope you’ll give her a fair chance in the future.”

Abby paused, just inside the front door to the palace. “What?”

“And I want an invitation to the bonding,” Candace said.

“What makes you think he still wants to bond with me?” It was not likely, now that he knew all of the complications.

“You are no longer in line to the throne,” the other woman said simply.

“I’m still part of the royal family.” She looked away. “That makes it a political issue.”

Candace hummed thoughtfully. “I am sure that will stop him. The Ghadrikan who threatened war on Earth when you went missing. I am certain he will stop at the thought of politics.”

Said that way, her concerns sounded silly. “Really?”

“I would also like an invitation.”

Abby jumped at the sound of Kaleen’s voice. “I’m not abdicating for him,” she felt the need to clarify.

Kaleen stared at her for a moment and nodded. “I know.” She moved to stand next to her. “Shall we?”

Abby nodded. “I’m going back to Missouri.”

“I know.”

“I doubt I’ll ever see Edric again.” She saw Candace smirk from the corner of her eye.

“Of course not,” Kaleen answered. She strode away, leaving Candace and Abby to follow behind.

When they stood at the portal, Kaleen turned and handed her a small black box. It had four glowing lines, each of a different color, intersecting in the form of an ‘R’. Abby looked up at Kaleen.

“The blue line at the top is for Earth. Alfred Ashley’s garage to be specific. The green line joined to it is Ghadrik. The long, red line is Raena. Simply tap either end of the line and the center.”

Abby nodded. “What about the yellow line?”

Kaleen pursed her lips. “Dorn.”

Abby almost laughed at her pinched expression. “Alright.”

“Your things were not destroyed,” Candace said, fishing a key from a hidden pocket. She held out a plastic tag with a small key attached. “To the storage facility near Alfred Ashley’s house.”

Abby took the key with a smile. “Thank you.”

Candace waved her off. “Pleasant journey.”

Abby watched her walk away, an amused smile tugging at her lips. “She’s an interesting person.”

Kaleen nodded. “Yes.” She turned to look at her and her face became solemn. “You can come back at any time.”

“Okay.”

“I mean it.”

Abby sighed. “I appreciate the invitation.”

The other woman looked at her closely. “But you will not accept it.” At Abby’s silence, she smiled. “Then, I will have to visit you.”

Abby just barely managed to keep her eyes from widening. “I’m going to go.”

Kaleen chuckled. “I look forward to seeing you again.”

Abby started to turn away and changed her mind. She threw her arms around the other woman and squeezed her gently. After a moment, Kaleen relaxed and returned the embrace.

“Thank you,” Kaleen whispered in her ear.

Abby pulled back and smiled. “Thank you.”

She felt Kaleen’s gaze on her, as she turned and walked to the portal. She did not hesitate, stepping into the portal and the airless seconds between Raen and Earth. The portal dumped her out in the middle of a dusty yard. Most of the grass was gone and what remained was in dried clumps. It was home.

Abby regained her balance and glanced around. Not much had changed in the past couple years. The two story farm house still needed a fresh coat of white paint. Just west of the house, a ramshackle building functioned as her father’s garage. Three cars sat to the side waiting to be fixed. Even from her position, she could hear the wail of an electric guitar on the old radio.

She made her way across the field strewn with old car parts to the front of the garage. Alfred stood with his back to the door, his blue jean shirt untucked on one
side and covered in machine oil. His top half was buried under the hood of an old Chevy. She smirked.

“My carburetor’s been making this god awful sound. You think you can fix it?”

Her father’s head popped up so fast he smacked his head on the underside of the hood. Cursing fluently and clutching his head, he spun to face her. The moment he caught sight of her, he fell silent. His eyes moved over her slowly taking in her armor.

“You let your hair grow.”

Abby could not help it. She laughed. “Oh, dad. Don’t ever change.” She hurried across the space between them to hug him.

He hugged her back immediately, squeezing tightly. “Missed you, Bebe.”

Abby smiled at the familiar pet name. She pulled back to look him in the eye. “I’m sorry I was gone so long. I…”

He shook his head. “I know why you left. You were right to go. I was in a bad way after your mother…” He fell silent.

“It’s not your fault, dad.”

He smiled sadly, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners far more than they had the last time she had seen him. “It is, but that’s okay.”

She watched him walk over to the truck and grab his rag off the top of his tool box. “What’s wrong with her?”

“Just changing the spark plugs.”