Chapter Nine
Olivia readied for the wedding that morning with the help of the women, as well as a few personal servants. Her hair was combed, styled, and situated, her face painted with more makeup than ever before. She easily slipped into her dress and shoes, while jewelry was draped upon her. Morgana was dressed in a similar design, although Olivia knew the woman looked as regal as a queen. The redhead carried herself with such strength and confidence that Olivia knew she could never compare. Even Lana, dressing in her elaborate lingerie to be worn beneath her wedding gown, was quietly confident, calculating yet demure. The woman’s smile was a kind warmth that calmed Olivia, and she grinned back. Regardless of the situation between her and Wes, she was going to enjoy the day to its fullest. Straightening her dress, she stood tall as the humans around her continued to fuss. For once, she felt beautiful, like she belonged here.
Lana had been spirited away into a side room to finish getting ready, and Morgana and Olivia gathered together to make sure everything was in place. The next few hours passed by in a blur, and before she knew it, they were lining up to proceed with the ceremony on the terrace of the castle. Glancing below, she saw the massive size of the crowd below that had gathered for the occasion. Cheers rang out when music began to play over the square.
Looking up expectantly, Olivia gazed out first to the crowd, and then to the groomsmen lined up beside the king. Dante stood first, then Wes, and then Kade. Wes’ eyes met hers, and she saw the look of astonishment on his face. His expression smoldered as he stared back at her, and she almost felt as though he was undressing her on the spot. Her chest heaved up and down as she felt the heat of his firm look, her insides tightening, as her body grew hotter by the second.
Reluctantly, she tore her eyes away from him, remembering how he had left her alone the night before to sleep without the safety of his embrace. Lacing her fingers together, she had to concentrate on stopping the trembling of her limbs, and was only successful when she focused on the beats of the music instead of the arresting man.
A sudden hush came over the crowd as the wedding melody continued to play, and she turned her head in the direction everyone else was looking. The bride, the future queen had entered the terrace. Olivia sighed with admiration at the sight.
Lana looked beautiful, her wedding dress stark white, yet sparkling startlingly under the light of the sun. A sweetheart neckline hugged the curve of her breasts, her tiny waist accented by the ball gown design of the lower half of the dress. A long train swept behind her that completed the look of a goddess; better yet, the queen of the kingdom. Her blue eyes looked out over the crowd; her long chocolate brown hair was softly braided and swept up in a partial up-do. Olivia gasped at the sight, her eyes glued to the regal vision before her.
She hardly noticed that Wes had moved in Lana’s direction, taking the bride’s arm and leading her up the aisle. His gait was cool and confident, and the dark-haired woman smiled up at him. He smiled back and Olivia heard him say something in the woman’s ear, just barely audible enough for her to make out the words.
“Looks like I get the honor of gifting you to the king, well… again.”
“Oh, Wes, you’re terrible!” Lana said with a giggle.
“You love it,” he teased back.
Olivia had to look down at the ground, sad that he had never been quite that comfortable with her, to tease her and smile down at her with the look he had just given the future queen. With a numb feeling, she turned her head to watch the king and queen exchange their vows, barely noticing the small smirks that edged at their lips as Lana promised to obey her husband. The two kissed with such passion that Olivia had to look away, saddened that she would never have a moment like them.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife, king and queen of the kingdom of Legeari.”
A cheer rang out over the crowd, and Olivia looked high up into the sky, trying to fend away her feelings of sorrow and emptiness. Squinting, she thought she saw something move above them, a dark spot whirring high up overhead. Blinking, she tried to focus on the object before a desperate realization came over her. A low whine met her ears, one she was very familiar with from her time in the army back on Earth. It was the sound of a locator on a missile, adjusting its path so that it could go off in a matter of seconds.
“Run! Quickly! We’re under attack!” she screamed, the terror clearly evident in her voice. It wasn’t seconds later when the first bomb crashed into the castle beside her, white rock thrown up high overhead from the impact. Screams sounded from below as the bricks crashed down onto the crowd. A second boom pounded into the solid structure, and the people yelled out in agony as the fragments rained down on them. Olivia stood still, watching the panic build before her eyes, as blood began to spill onto the white rock of the streets, and she couldn’t move. Seeing the looks of fear on the citizens of Eridell here before her as they scattered in every which way hoping to find shelter reminded her of some of the raids she took part in while flying jets for the army, and it terrified her.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath.
Boom! Another bomb fell to her left.
In and out. Calm. What needs to be done?
Crash!
Somewhere close, a wet bloody sound met her ears, and she felt the warm damp liquid splash across her chest. Her breathing calm, she once again opened her eyes, her jaw set in a firm line. No longer was she afraid. In fact, she had found the sea of tranquility within herself, the place where she could ignore the horrors happening around her, the part of herself where she could accomplish whatever she set her mind to. An oasis of calm strength, she began to move.
Across the terrace, Wes stared back at her, and she met his eyes. The shock and repulsion at the events happening around him was written on his face. He simply shook his head at her, motioning for her to not move.
“I’ll come to you! I’ll keep you safe!” he screamed out to her, slowly making his way toward her. “It’s my duty to protect you, kitten!”
“You don’t fucking owe me a damn thing,” she shouted, throwing her head aside. His leaving her alone last night was a clear indication that soon she was going to be sold to another master. He didn’t own her anymore. She didn’t want to be his if he would abandon her like that.
His eyes narrowed as she did the unthinkable. Throwing herself over the ledge, she swung down, catching herself on a narrow ledge. Swiftly, she climbed down to the ground, placing her hands and feet in crevices along the way to slow her descent.
By the time she reached the ground, she looked back up to see Wes glaring back down at her. Clenching her fists, she stood tall, unafraid.
“Don’t go anywhere, Olivia! It’s not safe! I forbid it!”
“You’re not my fucking master anymore!”
“Olivia!”
She didn’t respond. He’d lost the right to her submission when he left her alone. Turning on her heels, she ran off into the crowd, pushing people out of the way, jumping over the injured and doing her best to ignore the already dead. The scene before her was horrid as ships blazed overhead, bullets ricocheting off of white rock around her, screams echoing in the air along the streets. When she had first been brought to Eridell, before she had been captured and imprisoned as a human slave, she had monitored where the ships were kept; specifically, where the one she had flown Kade into the city was.
She raced toward the armory as fast as she could muster, her breath coming out in small pants as her muscles screamed in protest. After several minutes, her sprint brought her to the doors of a tall building made out of white rock similar to that of the castle. A massive wooden door rose high overhead and was ajar slightly. With a grin, she pushed it open a little wider and slipped inside, hearing men race about not far ahead.
With a little luck, she had broken into the city armory, the place where airships, weapons, and the city’s supply of dark matter was kept. Crouching down, she crept forward into the entryway, peeking around the corner down a dimly lit hall. No one was stationed as a guard, and she crawled further inside.
Right now, she had a mission. And that was to see Lord Nero shot out of the sky, screaming as he fell to his death. And she was going to see it happen. He’d hurt the people she used to work for, had tortured her, and had emotionally crippled the man she was reluctantly falling in love with. She’d seen the cruel evil things he did to his people, seen the way he commandeered money and power, and gave nothing to his kingdom. He deserved to die.
Slowly, she reached up and began turning the handle on a door beside her. The knob clicked, and she pushed it open a hair so that she could peek inside. The air hangar that the door led into was empty, except for a single ship. She looked around, finding the room deserted.
Quickly, she crept forward, staying low until she reached the side of the ship. To her good fortune, the ship was still wide open, and she snuck up the steps. No one was on board, so she sat down in the pilot’s seat. With a heavy sigh of relief, she began to click on the power, all while the door was shutting behind her. Sounds of powerful hydraulics beginning to move filled her ears, and she grinned at her success. Snapping her body into the seat with a variety of straps, she finally paused, reminiscing about the last time she had been a passenger on that airship.
She’d been in the ship with Lord Nero and he’d boasted about the missiles it carried within its hull, of its raw power beneath his hands. Now it was time for his arrogance, once used to torture and subdue her, be used as a way to take him down.
Glancing up, she noticed that the hangar was open to the outside air. It would be easy to fly this small airship out of here and up into the sky.
Turning on the engine, she slowly began to allow the ship to rise up, hovering only feet above the ground. Gently, she edged it forward, gradually permitting the ship to pick up speed. Within a blink of the eye, she pushed the pedal with her foot and she shot out of the armory. Breathing deep, she pulled the aircraft up higher into the sky, feeling the forces of gravity pressing her back down in her seat and she reveled in the feeling of it.
Looking out at the city below, her eyes scanned the jets flying around her, recognizing that Lord Nero was probably tucked away in one that was dropping bombs on innocent civilians. The ships around her all had a white streak painted on their wings. If she had to guess, that was the mark of the Legearian army, while the D’Lormerean legion had a black and red design on the tails of their ships. One in particular seemed to be hanging behind a few others, and she narrowed her eyes, assessing the behavior of that particular pilot more closely.
She knew flying the ship she had chosen was dangerous, as it showcased D’Lormerean colors instead of those of the king, but it also afforded her the ability to possibly get closer to the ship she thought was Lord Nero’s because of it. Maneuvering closer, she did her best to avoid any stray shots, joining the line of ships protecting his. Dropping down and backwards, she did her best to avoid suspicion as she tried to get him in the line of her fire power.
The moment his ship lined up with hers, she pushed the button that released her fiercest missiles. She heard the click of the interior hull dispensing one of the missiles hidden deep inside, and waited for Lord Nero’s doom.
Moments passed by in silence, yet nothing happened.
The click happened again and again, indicating that the hull had been emptied of its contents. She started pressing any button within reach, hoping for any warhead that was left in her stocks. She activated the ship’s main guns, and bullets shot out toward Nero’s ship, and she groaned when every one of them bounced off the protective armor sheeting that curled around his craft.
His ship swung around at the sudden onslaught, and she watched in horror as large guns lined up on her ship. Her eyes widened and looked through the thick glass protecting his flying armory, and gasped when she saw the bald head and black pupils staring back at her. Because she had failed to check the supplies in her ship, he was going to shoot her out of the sky. Her heart pounding wildly, she realized she was going to die for missing a critical step in her mission. It was almost like knowing the difference in the weight between a gun that was loaded and one that was not. She shouldn’t have missed this.
Closing her eyes, she accepted that this was the end. A strange buzzing filled her ears, and she peeked her eyes open, seeing her ship bathed in a brilliant yellow light. All the electronic panels in her airship began shutting down. She reached out and began pressing a few nearby buttons and switches, but nothing happened. She had lost all control over her ship, and she was powerless to stop it. Looking down, she saw the ground coming up beneath her, slowly yet painstakingly surely.
Her airship landed on the ground a few minutes later, and she unbuckled her seat belt, numbly moving toward the back of the flying deathtrap. The door opened, and she climbed down the steps to see Lord Nero standing there, waiting for her.
“Ahhhh, it’s you. I had forgotten about you completely, since the day I left you in that very ship! I never expected to see your face again. In fact, I’d have bet that Dante and his men had killed you. Instead, I come to find out you’re the bitch who was trying to shoot my ship down to the ground.”
His black eyes met hers, and a terrible agony began to build deep in her mind as his powers slammed into her. He bored deep into her head, and she screamed at the intensity.
Her throat raw, her shrieks continued, the pain so great that her knees gave way underneath her. Landing roughly, she pressed her fingers into her temples as she continued to cry out. Unbidden, tears streaked down her face as the hurt pressed on, never-ending. He moved closer to her, grabbing her around the throat. His hands squeezed around her neck, cutting off her air supply, and with it, the scream that threatened to break her apart. For a second, the throbbing pain in her head paused as he began to speak. Panicked, she tried to draw in a breath but found that she couldn’t.
“The next time I get my hands on you after I ship you to Drentine, I’m going to tie you up and whip you to the bone. I’m going to torture that naked body of yours before I sentence you to die. How do you like that, slave? You’re going to think your earlier imprisonment under my rule was a walk in the park after I’m through with you.” A malicious chuckle followed, haunting her with its viciousness.
“Go to hell, Nero,” she muttered, her voice so raw that it was barely audible.
“I’m going to enjoy every second of it,” he said, his grin growing to epic proportions. The wild look on his face caused her stomach to churn, but his power slammed back into her. Throwing her to the ground, Lord Nero kicked her in the stomach. As she clawed at the rock beneath her and gasped for air, a sense of hopelessness overtook her, shadowed by nothing expect the pure agony of his power ripping at her insides. It was over. She had failed…