Page 18 of Alien Prince's Fake Bride
I struggle to close my pants over my still raging erection. “Get to the point.”
“The veil stops the effects of Syntrix. Blocks it out. Well, not completely, of course. But well enough for the inhabitants of Earth to never have experienced Syntrix in their world in any meaningful way. They don’t know what it is. They never had it.”
I wince as I’m finally able to close my pants. “They never had Syntrix? How can they… how can theylive?”
“Mostly well enough, as it turns out. But I will get to the point, as you command. Umbra has never been in a place with Syntrix. And I was worried about the shock she might experience passing from inside the Syntrix-stopping veil to outside it, where Syntrix is everywhere. I had our ship hang still in space, right inside the veil. Then, to keep her safe, I needed her to be in a particular state of mind, one so strong that even the sudden appearance of Syntrix wouldn’t bring her out of it and possibly break her brain. And the only state that powerful is climax. I needed her tocome, Prince. To keep her safe, as you had commanded. So I filled this room with venecis gas.”
I freeze and stare down at the sword. “You what? Yougassedus?!”
“Yes,”the sword chirps cheerfully. “Oh, I’ve done much worse things in my day. This is nothing. I manipulated the ventilation system to synthesize the gas and pump it in, which is a quite a feat in itself. Then I got you into an amorous state to where you both lost control and then… well, you know the rest. She climaxed wonderfully, thanks to you. Just when she did, I gunned the engines and we passed through the veil while she was in the throes of ecstasy. It worked. She suffered no ill effects.”
In a flash I remember it. The strange wave of joy I felt when she went over the edge, Umbra’s shaking, her eyes rolling back in her head, the bucking that shook the whole bed… it looked too strong to just be an ordinary climax. But she is an alien, so maybe that is normal for her.
And I did suddenly feel the echo of her joy through the Syntrix.
I quickly check Umbra’s breath and heartbeat. “Her heart beats fast.”
“That’s quite a normal rate for her species. But I must say you showed remarkable restraint. I would have expected you to jump on her at the first sniff of the venetis.”
“I wanted to,” I growl. “Thank the Syntrix I was able to keepsomecontrol. She must be furious now.”
“Oh, she shouldn’t complain. She took active part in it. The venecis gas doesn’t really do much other than lower your defenses against your own desires. It can’t make you do something you really don’t want. It’s just that you were both really horny deep down. Most organics are, in my experience. You both got what you wanted.”
“But she never had a chance to decline,” I fret. I stand by the door, reluctant to leave Umbra. She looks so small and vulnerable in the big bed…
“Yes, she did. You asked for her permission. She could have withdrawn at any time. She just wanted it. For most people, the venecis gas is an escape. Finally they can do what they really want, not what they think they should. That’s my understanding, anyway.”Bellatriz sounds completely unconcerned.
On an impulse I go over, bend down, gently push a hank of exotic hair out of Umbra’s relaxed face, and look down on her. “She’s a brave little thing. And she stayed strong, even after she was taken aboard my ship and met me and Caret’ax, men who must look very strange to her. She fought the whole time, until your damned venecis gas came into the room.”
“She’s a tough cavewoman,”Bellatriz agrees. “But she’ll be fine here. Now, do you want to set the course, or shall I control the ship remotely?”
“I’ll go to the bridge,” I tell her as I leave the cabin. “Keep an eye on Umbra and let me know when she wakes up.”
I lock the door from the outside, not wanting an alien as resourceful as Umbra to run around the ship on her own.
Caret’ax is on the control bridge of the ship. He straightens when he sees me. “Everything in order, sir? How is our future empress?”
“Ambassador Umbra is sleeping soundly,” I tell him, not wanting to go into detail. “She’s been through a lot. But you told me these women can be capable.”
He gives me a searching look. “I’m happy my opinion has been confirmed, sir.”
I sit down in the prince’s seat and take the controls. “We’ll make our way back to Khav, but first I want to check on the legion at Grefve. A surprise visit may strengthen their morale. And there should be a pontifex there.”
Caret’ax raises an eyebrow. “A priest? For the wedding, sir?”
“It would be perfectly valid,” I argue as I set a course. “And a prince getting married at a remote military base carries a message, don’t you think?”
“That the Empire is breaking up?”Bellatriz quips from her scabbard. “So badly that the future emperor himself is kept so busy fighting at the border that he can’t even take the time to get married on Khav, like nearly every emperor before him? That message?”
“No,” I growl, “the message that the future emperor takes the security of the Empire so seriously that he won’t waste time on silly ceremonies and overwrought pageantry.” It annoys me that Bellatriz’s judgement is probably accurate. Thatislikely how it would be seen by the people. And it wouldn’t be completely wrong. The Empire is under great strain, thanks to the Vyrpy and the endless intrigues and backstabbing at the court.
But mostly because the Emperor is weak in the Syntrix. Once, his skills were among the greatest in the Empire, and everyone could feel his strength through the Syntrix. It made the people strong, too. Everyone could sense his determination, in the same way a lamp lights up a room. But he got weaker. Now he’s too weak to be noticeable at all. His mysterious, but persistent illness has taken its toll, and he should have left the throne a long time ago. The way things are, the Empire keeps getting weaker. The only thing that can help us now is a new, strong emperor who can sit on the Tentacle Throne and send strong threads of Syntrix out to our forces.
And I will be that emperor. I will strengthen our resolve, make us strong and fierce again.
But I will need a wife. Or, I’m thinking now, someone that everyonethinksis my wife. Because all I need is for my stepfather tothinkthat I’m married. When he passes, I will be Emperor and nobody will care whether or not I actually am married.
My stepfather is right — the greatest challenge and danger to any emperor is his own wife. History shows that with painful clarity. It’s like having a venomousslikein your home and in your bed.
