Page 58 of Taming the Alien Outlaw
Various exclamations of “what the fuck” ring out between the three of them, while Quinn launches into a coughing spell after presumably choking on her own spit. Finally she recovers and clears her throat.
“You’re going to need to explain.”
Which I do. I tell them everything that happened from the minute I arrived at Janik’s cell, including the fact we both recognize I’m his heart’s fire.
“I knew it,” Quinn pipes up with a little whoop of excitement.
“Yeah, yeah.” I wave her off because there’s no need for her to gloat. That’s my job.
“Let me get this straight,” Lindsey says. “Horek and you get Janik out of the pit, through the palace, only for him to hear the queen singing some children’s lullaby that he appears to recognize, and now everyone is assuming he’s this supposedly dead son?”
We all exchange glances until I shrug a shoulder. “Pretty much.”
Lindsey gapes. “Does anyone else not hear how wild that sounds?”
All of us nod, because, yes, we do. “If it’s true though, then the whole dynamic of the planet changes.”
“Wait a minute,” Quinn speaks up. “If Janik is the rightful heir, then that makes him a prince. Does that mean you’re going to be a princess and one day the queen?”
Three pairs of eyes swing my way and I scan all their grinning faces.
“Oh, hell no.”
“All hail, Princess Olivia,” Devon quips.
I toss a pillow at her. “That isn’t funny.”
They all laugh, but me.
“You better not make us curtsy,” Quinn says.
My devious side rears its head. “I wouldn’t have, but now that you’ve mentioned it…”
Devon and Lindsey groan.
“Oh, yes. I’m going to make you curtsy every time I walk into the room. Maybe even every time I leave the room as well.”
Quinn glares. She opens her mouth, no doubt to threaten some kind of punishment, but before she speaks there’s a huge crashing noise and then the whole building shakes. We stare at each other in shock.
“What the hell was that?” I’ve barely gotten the question out when a piercing alarm blares somewhere outside.
Chapter 24
Janik
My mind is so overwhelmed that I nearly get caught twice trying to navigate the city. All I do is keep replaying that voice—thequeen’svoice—singing a song that has haunted me my entire life. For as long as I can remember, I’ve heard the lilting notes of that melody whenever I close my eyes. It’s as familiar to me as Mak’s growl. I would know it anywhere.
How is it possible though, to have heard that song except from the queen? There has to be some other explanation. My mother is the only one who can provide it.
I finally make it out of the city and hurry through the rainforest, not bothering to hide my tracks. There’s no point. Ever since those ships and trade lines were destroyed, nothing is—or will be—the same.
The rebel camp comes into view, but as I walk across the border toward the center of it, all is quiet. I can’t sense the presence of a single Bohnari. The place is deserted. Or at least that’s how it appears until I catch sight of a lone figure.
I recognize her and remain where I am as my mother moves toward me until, at last, she stops a short distance away. Her lip curls into a snarl and she oozes with disgust.
“The female was actually useful for something.” She sneers.
“What did you do, Mother?”
