In a daze, Caeryssa took in the details of the posh, long black vehicle the prince guided her into. She'd never seen an armoured hovercraft with these kinds of security modifications. Not up close, at least. The two centre-facing bench seats were well-cushioned with a rectangular centre console between that contained glasses, alcohol, snacks, and a mini-chiller. A window behind the seats hummed with a force barrier separating them from the front and back sections. Several of his black-garbed security got in the front, with more in the back, facing outward and alert for danger. The remainder got in surrounding vehicles.

What kind of danger was there here on his home planet that he needed this level of security? Or was this normal for ruling families... or—a sinking in her gut—was this because of his mother and sister being assassinated?

Still, she wasn't a damned pawn in his power games. Tension straightened her back. When had she hunched? As the craft rose in the air, Caeryssa tugged her hand free from his clinging grip. "You did that on purpose to set a trap for my father."

A slow lazy smile broadened the arrogant manipulative bastard's lips and his golden eyes glinted. "Indeed I did, my little hellion. Whether you cooperate or not, we will capture him." He leaned forward and poured himself a glass of some light blue liquid, adding a couple of ice cubes. "Would you like a drink?"

Her stomach gurgled, nausea churning as she recalled her father's image and the long list of his kills detailed in the file she'd been unable to stop staring at. She swallowed against the taste of acid in her throat and shook her head. How could her father have done that? Killed so many? Without a thought to the lives he was shattering? Sirah had been nineteen. Her age. Could there be some mistake? Some other explanation?

Unable to face the too-insightful golden-eyed prince, she kept her gaze on the surrounding landscape and tried to ignore the feel of his eyes. Yet gooseflesh rose in the wake of his perusal, almost like she knew where he looked, even with her head turned.

Around them, the spaceport gave way to a navy-hued forest interspersed with clusters of towering white structures. Elevated footpaths filled with people linked the graceful structures at multiple levels. White sails provided shade on large elevated terraces and wider bridge-like markets between towers, with thick vines and flowers providing splashes of colour. It was surprisingly elegant, and she had to grudgingly admire the Penatesians for their protection of the natural environment and significant natural spaces. So many societies failed to integrate their cities with the local ecosystem and instead built over or destroyed their forests and grasslands.

Set off slightly apart, silver and gold twisting spires came into sight, taller and more ornate than anything she'd seen until now. Was this the palace? The hovercrafts, or perhaps shuttlecrafts, would be a better description of them—what did she know about vehicles? She was a botanist, not an engineer—flew into a silver tower, setting down in a small hangar just large enough to accommodate the five vehicles.

Whatever the blooming fuck his royal pain-in-the-ass's name was guided her out, again taking her hand and tugging her down gleaming hallways and across several walkways with enough twists and turns that she soon lost track. Roots trip his tree trunk legs, she had to take two strides for every one of his.

"Where are we going?" she asked breathlessly when they'd ridden the third gravlift. Were they walking in circles?

The prince flashed her a predatory smile. "It's time to meet the Sarru Rabu, the King of Penates, little hellion."

Almost lightheaded and with her pulse throbbing in her throat, she tried to slow him down. She didn't want to meet his father like this. Couldn't she at least clean up first? Make a good impression? He chuckled and gripped her hand harder, continuing at his breakneck pace. They passed a pair of red and gold-garbed palace guards who bowed to her kidnapper and eyed her. The next doorway opened up into a white marble room with a wall of windows, thick, rich area rugs, plush golden couches and a polished redwood bar. Bottles of all kinds of alcohol stood on the rich wood grain.

A stocky, dark-haired man sat with his feet up on a black and gold chaise. A tumbler of clear liquid sat in his hand and a golden tray of fruit, cheese, and meats waited on a low glass table between couches.

"Son! Welcome home." The man—king, presumably—stood and opened his arms wide. In black leather pants, boots, a partially unlaced red tunic, gold bracers, and a thin circlet of gold on his head, he was the epitome of relaxed royalty. Clean-shaven, he shared the same strong, square jaw as his son, although his eyes were black. Not Sigma Draconis, then.

Rain—yes, Rain, surely that was the damn prince's name—finally released her hand, and she wiggled her numb fingers. As he and his father exchanged a loud, back-slapping hug, the king's eyes travelled over her body in a way that made the fine hairs rise at the back of her neck. Her flesh crawled, and she fought to keep her distaste off her face when Rain—rhymes with pain so surely she could remember that—took her hand again and pulled her forward.

"This is Doctor Caeryssa Cadwell, my soulmate."

The lecherous king smirked. "So the rumours are true for once. And Caeryssa..." He raised a black eyebrow at his son.

"Yes, she's the daughter of Karzen Hawke. Already the word of our bonding should be spreading and he'll be making his way here." Rain glanced up at the portrait of an ebony-haired beauty residing above a fireplace on the far wall. His mother, the queen? "We'll finally have justice for Mother and Sirah."

The king's eyes flashed, a brief rage-filled glare gone so quickly that if she hadn't been looking right at him, she'd have missed it. Her heart pounded, shooting pain squeezing her chest as her sense of unease deepened. He patted his son on the shoulder. "Indeed, we will. Well done in capturing her. But son, surely you aren't just relying on him hearing about the mating to bait the trap for him?"

Rain frowned. "What do you mean?"

Caeryssa barely dared draw breath as the creepy king's eyes again swept over her body with prurient interest, a cruel twist to his lips. "Get the gossip going about how she doesn't please you, that you've had to discipline her. You could give her to the palace guard to have fun with for a few days."

Vile, filthy beast of a man. A fine sweat coated her back, and she fought not to tremble, to not reveal to this monster how much the idea scared her. The prince—and maybe her soulmate wasn't completely awful—had stiffened, his grip on her hand tightening to crushing strength, and she focused on that pain to stay in control.

"Father, she is my soulmate. Any injury done to her means she draws on my life energies."

The debauched king waved a hand and sneered, reseating himself. "Ah, right... well, it still might be worth it. Even if you have to take her to the healers afterward to limit your own risk. You could do it over and over, healing her in between."

The prominent bulge at his crotch had her biting her tongue, copper coating her mouth. Her stomach tightened. Stars, she was going to puke all over the nasty monarch's plush carpet.

"I'll keep the advice in mind."

"Do that... and let me know when you've caught that bloody assassin." The king flicked his fingers, dismissing them as he picked up his drink.

Caeryssa stumbled alongside the prince as she hid from his father's wandering eyes on their way out, using Rain's large body for cover. She wasn't safe here. Not with the king so willing to subject her to endless torment. That his solution to the soulmate issue was just to heal her in between was... sick... diabolical.

As they passed a decorative urn, Caeryssa fell to her knees, retching into the porcelain structure.

"I won't let that happen, Caeryssa. It's just his rage talking. He didn't mean it," Rain murmured, patting her back awkwardly as she heaved.

But he hadn't seen what she had. His father had meant every disgusting word. Not only that, he would enjoy inflicting the pain himself. There'd been nothing fake about his lust at the thought of raping her. Someone sadistic like that, the ultimate power in this world, it was only a matter of time before he acted on his desires.

And would the prince deny his father?

Soulmate bond or not, she had to escape. 

(1452 words)