I reached out across the bed, but there was nothing there. As I opened my eyes I realized that Clara must have slipped out at some point early in the morning. I couldn’t remember being so exhausted from a night of passion. She was no doubt feeling rough that morning too. For a second, I thought about calling her, but I didn’t want to disturb her at work. Instead I decided on a cold shower to clear my mind .

Just as I was toweling off, the communication pod next to my bed started to ring. I found myself diving onto the bed to answer it, the towel falling to the ground as I did. Sliding onto the bed, I caught Clara’s picture as it danced across the holograph. Quickly pressing the call button, she popped up on the screen. I could tell with one look that she wasn’t impressed by catching me still in bed .

“Must be nice to be royalty,” she said sarcastically .

“I was just getting out of the shower, I had to do a slide just to get here in time .”

“Awe,” she played. “I feel so special. I hope you don’t mind me calling. It’s been a rough morning. I felt like we had a connection last night .”

“I’m thrilled that you called. What’s going on ?”

She flopped down on a sofa, I could only assume that she was back at her apartment. “My damn first mate, Jordan. I swear he is trying to sabotage the ship. I give him more responsibility like he asked for and now nothing is getting done .”

“Sounds like a jerk. You want me to deal with him ?”

“No,” she said quickly. “I don’t need rescuing at every turn, but I do appreciate you listening to me rant. I just don’t understand how someone could get as far as he had while still being totally incompetent. I’ve had to go as far as telling my sergeant in command not to listen to his orders, instead now she has to call me for everything. This isn’t what I thought I was signing up for when I grounded the ship .”

“People have a way of disappointing you. I have an idea that might cheer you up. What if I make you dinner over here tonight? I’ve heard I’m a pretty decent cook .”

“You are?” She winked. “Or you have someone who works for you that can cook ?”

I blushed. “A little bit of both if I have to be honest .”

“Well, either way, I’m sure it will be wonderful and just the distraction I need to get me through the day. Thanks, Rizor .”

“Anytime, darling. Should I send a hovercar to pick you up in a few hours ?”

“I think I can find my own way, but thanks anyways,” she said softly .

“You are so independent,” I stammered .

“Are you complaining ?”

I shook my head and blew her a kiss before ending the video call. My day had just gone from mundane to thrilling with a single phone call. She was changing everything in my world. I needed someone to talk to and I knew just the right person. I quickly got dressed and looked at the clock. My mother would be back from checking the gardens and just settling in for some tea. A distraction like Clara and I would do her some good. It had been a rougher than normal week .

“Mother?” I called softly into her apartment .

“Rizor! I didn’t expect to see you today. I thought you were going out on another run to the wastelands .”

“I planned on it, but I changed plans. I’m going to leave in a couple days .”

“Oh?” she said as she set down her teacup. “That’s not like you to change your plans. Has something happened? Should we be packing our things ?”

“No, Mom,” I said with a soft chuckle. “We are still safe here, just like we have been for the past twenty years. There is something else I wanted to talk about .”

“Well?” she said after a brief pause, “Don’t keep me in suspense now !”

“I’ve met someone, someone that I really like .”

“Wow,” Briana whispered in shock. “I can’t say that I’m surprised if I have to be honest. You were talking about a special woman a few days ago, too. Is that the same girl? A human I believe ?”

“Yes,” I said sheepishly. “That’s the same woman. We had drinks last night .”

“I’m happy you’ve found yourself a distraction. I think that you work too much. It’s not good for you, you know. It will make you old before your time. Just look at me. All those years spent worrying and now my life is all but gone .”

“Mom, I don’t think that she is just a distraction. I am sure of it. It’s why I wanted to come and talk to you. I knew from the first time I saw her that she was different. How do you know when you love someone ?”

She smiled knowingly and I knew that she was thinking about the king, her husband that my father had murdered. I knew that it pained her to think of him and seeing me was a constant reminder that I was an imposter for the son she thought she was having. My blood had tainted the line. It pained me to know it, but her love for me was stronger than her hatred for my father. She reached across the table and touched my hand, her skin cold against my own .

“Love is a wonderful thing, if you think you have found it, then hang onto it with both hands. You won’t find another true love in your lifetime. I don’t care what others say, we only get one. Is it the same for you as the Dragselian? Can you feel a bond between you and your soulmate? That was always a beautiful sensation. I knew he loved me and he knew how I felt. There was never any question about our faith to each other .”

“How did you not know then when my father took his place ?”

She withdrew away from me. “He was a very clever man. Before I could notice a change in him, he clouded my vision with self-hate. A very clever man indeed. You are like him in that sense you know. If there is something that you want, I just know that you will get it in the end .”

“But she is a human, I can’t tell if she feels the same way .”

“Then you will just have to wait and see, but I’ve never known an Infernian or Dragselian who hasn’t been sure about who they were supposed to be with. If she loves you back, then everything will be perfect .”

“And if she doesn’t ?”

My mother shrugged her shoulders and picked up the teacup again. Taking up the same blank stare that she had most of the time, she smiled faintly. “Then you will find that one person to love forever another time .”

“Thanks, Mom,” I said to her as I turned to leave .

“Honey? Would you turn on the news before you leave ?”

I sighed. “I don’t know why you watch that garbage. Every day it does nothing but stress you out even more. The squabbles have nothing to do with us .”

“Please?” she asked with a fake pout .

“Alright,” I said. “You talked me into it .”

I picked up the computer and entered the keys to turn on the hidden holographic television. It appeared against a blank wall right away and the local report started talking. I was just about to leave my mother in peace when something in the background caught my eye. I saw a set of guards pulling a woman into the militia headquarters. She was handcuffed, but her fiery red braid and skintight black boots and pants were all the indicator that I needed. Pausing, I turned up the volume on the television .

“What’s going on?” Briana asked, her tone worried as always .

“Just a second,” I muttered as I listened to the reporter .

‘If you are just now joining us, we are going to keep you up to date on a new situation developing. Sergeant Adams, the man tasked with finding out who was leaking information to the Federation has just made an arrest. The woman charged, whose name has not been released yet, is a freighter pilot. It’s believed that she had been leaking information for months and even went so far as to sabotage her own spacecraft to try and pin it on someone else .”

I muted the television as my mother spoke. “Are you going to tell me what in the world is going on now? I don’t really see that as a threat. The Federation is nothing but babies playing with adults. Dragselian people have been around for far longer than those mongrels. I say who cares ?”

“It matters because that prick officer just arrested the woman I love,” I hissed .

“Oh,” she said before it sank in. “Oh! Well then, I guess you should be getting down there and doing something about it .”

“Don’t you think it will cause more trouble if I go down there and stir the pot ?”

“Son,” she said affectionately. “When have you even been the type of man to not start a little trouble. Go have your fun while you are young. Your cousins can bail you out if need be I’m sure .”

I kissed her forehead again. “You mean you won’t come down there and get me ?”

She laughed and shooed me away. “You’ll be lucky if I don’t change the locks .”

There was no time to second guess myself and no need really. I’d gone to my mother to give her a sense of purpose, something I knew that she was lacking. Now that she had the hope of me settling down, I couldn’t let it be ripped away from her just because Adams couldn’t take my very real threat from earlier seriously. He would be singing a different tune once I got ahold of him this time. I wouldn’t be as merciful as I had before .

I hopped onto a vintage circa 2039 motorcycle and revved the engine. A jet would have been faster, but I needed time to put together a plan. Something told me that Clara would be just fine taking care of herself for a little bit. Plus, seeing an Infernian flying around downtown wasn’t really a great way to make friends. Riding the old bike was a way for me to feel the wind in my face and the speed under my feet without getting myself and everyone else in a lot of trouble .

I knew that there would be questions. I would have to bring the cousins in if they got too bad, but for now, I could handle things on my own. It was Adams that I had seen on television. The fool had made one of many mistakes in publicly declaring war on Clara. If he thought she was just friends with a royal, he was about to be in for the shock of a lifetime. I had laid with Clara, I felt the connection between the two of us and I knew that she was my mate, my partner for life .

Adams had pissed me off, rage filled my body as I realized what a fool he must be. Arresting the mate of an Infernian half-blooded royal? I couldn’t help but chuckle as I pulled up to the police station. That moron had no idea what he was getting himself into, but I was going to be more than happy to show him. Clara was mine and he would never threaten her again, not if he wanted to stay alive .