Page 10 of Aura Awakened
“I keep telling you, I have a mission. And I’m as royal as you are,” he retorts.
I snort. “So not at all, then.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? And how exactly is rescuing a captured princess grunt work?”
I gape at him. “Dude, I’m nobody’s princess. Like I said, I’m a florist. I design wedding bouquets. I do not sit on a throne signing decrees or whatever.”
He frowns. “But the pod. It had you labeled as Earth royalty.”
I shrug. “Yeah, the Malifects called me that when I first woke up. I don’t know why. Unless…” I tap my forefinger on my lip, thinking about the moment that portal ate me like an inmate sucking down his last meal.
“Unless what?”
“Well, when I was walking home—when their portal appeared?—I did have a tiara in my hand.”
“A tiara?” he asks.
I point to my head. “Yeah, like a crown. What a princess would wear. It was a prop in my photo shoot. Maybe the kidnappers saw me holding it and assumed I was royalty? I mean, no one in their right mind would make that leap; you can get a cheap tiara on a zillion websites and Earth hasn’t had a royal family in more than a hundred years. But the Malifects don’t exactly strike me as the type to be up on Earth cultures.”
“You’re right about that. The Malifects view humans as a subspecies. Property. Easily herded up and sold off.”
“Like cattle,” I mutter, annoyed. “Moo, my ass.”
He shrugs; I assume he’s never encountered a cow. “As you say. Anyway, stay there and out of sight.” He points to a shadowed corner. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Well. No way is that happening. I still don’t really know what’s going on, but I know for a fact every other conscious creature on this ship wants to enslave me. I’ll take the devil I kinda, sorta know, thank you very much. Besides, it would take the Malifects about five seconds to find me if they searched this room.
“I told you, I’m coming with you,” I say.
“No.” He stands even straighter, puffs out his chest some. Like I’m about to be intimidated by his size. I know a power play when I see one.
“Yes.”
“We’ve been over this. You need to recover from the effects of the gas. I promise I will return quickly.”
I cock a hip and stare up at him. “This ship is swarming with ten-foot-tall spider-roach hybrids.” Just saying it makes me shudder. “I can’t think of two things that horrify me more. If you try to leave me behind, I will follow you. End of story.” He starts to protest, but I cut him off. “If those Malifect things find me ‘hiding’”—I make air quotes at his dumb suggestion—“then who knows what they’ll do to me. I can’t fight them. If I’m with you, at least there’s a chance you can protect me, right?”
I’m not above fluttering my lashes and playing the damsel in distress if it means getting my way. Right now, this guy is my only route off this spaceship of nightmares, and I’m not letting him out of my sight. No way he’s gonna change his mind and leave me here.
3
FILLIAN
She’s staring up at me, all wide-eyed innocence, and I can’t help but chuckle. I know a ploy when I see one, but her combination of desperate and determined is, well, cute. I half expected her to be quivering in fear or else completely out of it, thanks to the Somnambulis, but she’s neither.
Moreover, she has a point.
If I keep her with me, I can ensure her safety. It’ll slow me down, but it’ll be worth it.
“All right, you can come with me. But first, I need you to answer one very important question.”
A sober look crosses her face and she straightens. “Okay.”
“What’s your name?”
“Oh. I’m Aura. Aura Spindleton.” She sticks a hand out.
I tenderly cup the outstretched palm, trying not to aggravate the scratches, and draw it to my chest, as is the custom where I’m from. “It is my pleasure to know you, Aura Spindleton. As I said, I’m Prince Fillian of Acacia. But I just go by Fillian.”