Page 96 of Scorching the Alien Empire
“I don’t know about you, babes, but can we fire him out the airlock?” I glance over my shoulder at thetoweringman-meat that is my Dracoth, high up on his throne.
He glances down, not speaking the words I long to hear. “Pretty please,” I add, fluttering my eyelashes. The effect wasted as he merely turns his attention to the viewport.
Ugh.I must improve my fluttering skills.
With a huff, I whirl back toward the bone-through-the-nose space-knights waiting politely in line before me. Sarkoth kneels closest, his long brown hair draping over his bowed face. Even kneeling, the brute still towers over me by half a head.
“Blessed Daughter,” he murmurs. His reverence swells my heart—the respect I deserve, finally given.
“Scourge the weak. Embrace strength. Let the vanquished be reborn in his divine image,” I intone, pressing a clump of Ignixis’s sacred ashes into his mouth.
He stiffens.
Arawnoth’s warmth blooms inside him, flickering behind his eyes like an ember catching flame. His gaze snaps to mine—an unspoken question hanging there. But there are no answers. Only Arawnoth’s love.
I smile and beckon the next space-knight forward.
One by one, I anoint them, their awe feeding my soul like a banquet. It’s like I’m in a trace, moving automatically. My back aches, my feet throb, but I cannot stop. It’srapturous—their bowed heads, their reverence, their whisperedBlessed Daughter. It’s intoxicating. More delicious than a hundred Luxury Manhattans.
The ground beneath my feet continues to rumble rhythmically in time with the shimmering blue glowing from the void outside.Distant thuds and zaps reverberate through the ship like a steady drumbeat matching my pounding heart.
And that’s when it hits me—I am asexy priestess blessing warriors before battle. The thoughtthrillsme, visions of them slaughtering our enemiesin my name, emboldenedby me—perhaps even worshipping me—filling my mind.
Ah! How wonderful!
The last guard slams his fist against his chest plate with a resoundingclink.I breathe a sigh of satisfaction, tucking the hefty pouch of Ignixis’s ashes back into the folds of my black robes, glad there’s plenty left.
Turning, I grimace noticing Dracoth is not even watching my glorious Blessed Daughterness. Of course not. Instead, the rude prick has rotated his towering throne away, focused on the viewport. Typical, turning his back on me, on this, my hour of divinity.
Fine. Whatever!
I scoot around the wide plinth, stroking Todd for much needed comfort. His chunky, sleepy rubberiness and lazy clackers clacking soothe my irritation.
Dracoth sits a titan upon the throne, burning red eyes fixated onto two shimmering blue display consoles. His massive hands fly over them, like he’s playing the universe’s most intense game of Pokémon.
I lift my arms, feeling like the biggest toddler demanding a hug, waiting for Dracoth expectantly, but of course he doesn’t even notice. He’d rather stare at the blinky bleeps glowing on his terminal.
I’m certain Divine Mother would never tolerate such nonsense.
“Ahem,” I feign a loud cough, faker than my old so-called friends.
It has the desired effect.
Dracoth glances down, my arms still raised like the cutest zombie, ravenous for some warm Mr. Frowny Face brains. Though, knowing him, I’d likely be feasting on volcanic rock and bone—much like our throne.
Without a word, he moves like red lightning, pulling me effortlessly into his lap. Despite the thick plates of his new armor, his lovely warmth radiates in waves. I nearly purr, melting into his embrace, into his looming, protective presence.
I exhale, sinking deeper—until my breath catches at the mesmerizing sight outside.
The vast machine world, once belching green fumes into the cosmos, is now a blazing inferno. Its surface writhes beneath the endless volley of our cannons, blue plasma engulfing it like divine wrath. Not justourfirepower, but the entire rag-tag space hobo fleet.
The celestial band of grey-red that once ringed the planet—a writhing mass of countless murder-bots, moving in eerie synchronicity—cannot withstand the onslaught. They ignite like fireflies caught in a flame, their metallic bodies liquefying, scattering into void. The planet itselfglows, a fractured ember, molten veins pulsing beneath its dying crust.
The sightthrillsme.
“Such a delightful view,Babes,” I breathe, stroking his jaw, my body burning hotter than the wretched planet below. “Kill them, Dracoth. Every last one of them.”
I laugh, husky and electric.
