Marked Prince Read online

  Taw ended his speech, but she didn’t want to open her eyes. The visions became more substantial, and she wondered what they’d given her in the injection. She wouldn’t put it past the general to order that she be given an extra-strong dose as a punishment.

  “Yes, you, go on,” Taw said. “Ask your question.”

  A nervous giggle sounded before a hesitant voice asked, “Will I…? When will I…?”

  Fiora opened one eye to look at the woman briefly. The light stung, making the growing headache worse. Normally a crowd this size would cause her nose to start bleeding, but the doctors had found a temporary way of stopping it with medicine.

  “When will my husband and I have a baby?” she asked. The man standing next to her widened his eyes, slightly alarmed.

  Fiora closed her eyes, and she was compelled to find the answer to the question. “Fruit will not grow where there is no tree.”

  A murmur of voices came from the crowd as people commented on the answer amongst themselves.

  “I don’t understand,” the woman complained.

  Fiora could have told the woman that she needed to get married first to have a husband, and that she couldn’t have a baby with a husband until that happened, and the man she was with was not going to marry her. She could have also told the woman that she would get pregnant, but that man would be married to someone else.

  Fiora preferred being cryptic in her response.

  “What—?” the mistress tried to protest.

  “Next.” Taw cut off the woman’s second question.

  “Who will win this year’s Galactic Crown?” The words slurred together into one long, continuous sound, lacking enunciation.

  Fiora pictured a drunken man holding tight to a betting chip as he stared at a viewing screen in a seedy ship casino. “Three gray eyes and forty brown will see a victory in black.”

  “Three gray, forty brown,” the man repeated softly. “Three gray, forty brown.”

  “Where is my grandmother’s heart?” asked a Slit’therne noble.

  At the same time, another man announced, “This is a hoax. Anyone can make up riddles. I expected better of the Federation.”

  Fiora was grateful that the doubting man didn’t ask her a question about his future. He didn’t have much of one. Timelines continued to come at her, bolder than before.

  “Where is my grandmother’s heart?” the impatient Slit’therne demanded a second time. Aggression filled his words.

  Fiora felt a shiver work over her body and forced her eyes to open. The Slit’therne were a snake-like race often found building their nests in boggy locales. The upper half of the man’s body was humanoid in basic shape, green-yellow scales covered his flesh, and his hands were webbed. A thick tail replaced what would have been humanoid legs.

  “After the moon sets for the last time, you will journey to a tree, and there you will find the key to your victory,” Fiora told the Slit’therne. He wouldn’t like the answer, but that was too bad.

  When it looked like the man would protest, Taw stepped forward in warning. The Slit’therne propelled himself backward on his tail.

  Fiora wanted to scream. The harder they stared, the stronger their lives invaded her, shriveling pieces of her soul to make room. She glanced over the crowd, thinking with despair of how long it would take her to get through all of them.

  It never ended.

  “Next,” Taw said.

  There was murmuring, but no one readily spoke.

  “Next,” the guard repeated, lifting his arm toward a Lykan male to make an arbitrary choice amongst those watching.

  The Lykan’s fur had been combed flat and fixed into place so that it barely moved. His voice was gruff as he commanded, “What of my wife?”

  Fiora frowned and closed her eyes to concentrate. She opened them just as quickly. “You don’t have a wife.”

  The Lykan stiffened, and she was sure his fur would have bristled if it could have moved. A tiny growl sounded in the back of his throat.

  She held up her hands to stop his anger and closed her eyes to take a more in-depth look. The headache made it hard to think of a riddle. “I see a bride in your future. Two space years.”

  He grunted and nodded, stepping back. She knew he’d be pleased by this news.

  A new timeline surged to the forefront, bringing with it a blast of heat that prickled her nerves. Fiora inhaled sharply. She envisioned a man’s body ripping apart as a giant monster emerged from inside his flesh. The sound of screams echoed, and fires erupted all around her. The crowd did not react to the flames as the vision overlapped reality.

  A man with reddish-orange skin and tufts of white fur on his face pushed his way to the front of the crowd. The mistress wanting a baby tried to take a second turn, but the new alien stopped her by grabbing the back of her arm and tugging her aside. The fiery images seemed to be coming from him, but he looked nothing like the monster in her vision. She didn’t recognize the alien creature.

  Reaching behind him, he pulled a human woman forward as if she was the real reason that he’d put himself at the front of the gathering. Fiora didn’t recognize the woman. A tight dress hugged her generous curves, and her face looked as if it had been subjected to the inept laser of a second-tier MAPH surgeon. The Medical Alliance for Planetary Health had a monopoly on all things medical.

  The flames died down to a quiet shimmer in the background of her thoughts. Yes, she had a headache and was bombarded with futures, but when she focused on the woman, she should have picked up more than blurry facial features and the sound of a bone cracking.

  The woman reached for her with shaking hands, as if she was both afraid and eager. Fiora stiffened and concentrated harder. The woman’s timeline refused to come into focus.

  “Don’t touch,” Taw warned.

  Fiora lifted a hand to stop him from pushing the woman back. “No, it’s all right. She won’t hurt me.”

  Fiora didn’t know why she thought so, but if she said the words, then they had to be true. Maybe the boost injection was affecting her concertation. Taw hesitated before finally stepping back and motioning the stranger to approach.

  The woman took Fiora’s hand. A shiver worked up her arm, a familiar tug that went against all she was seeing before her. There were only two people in the entire universes who could send that particular awareness through her body.

  Fiora’s breath caught in her throat, and she wasn’t sure she could allow herself to think it. The woman standing before her could not be her sister. Unless…the second-tier surgeon? Had someone destroyed one of her sisters’ faces? Her body?

  Piera? Salena?

  Fiora gripped the hand tighter, not wanting to let go. She waited for the woman to speak, to end the mystery.

  “You poor thing,” the woman said in a high-pitched whine. The voice was not familiar. “I have seen fortune-tellers before. You look as if you need a break.”

  “That’s enough,” Taw interrupted. “Step back.”

  Fiora let the weakness take her, and she swayed on the seat. She needed to know more and couldn’t do it in front of the crowd. If General Sten suspected another of the triplets were here, he’d imprison them both. “I think she’s right. The images become clearer when I am rested. I need a small break. There are too many futures in this room.”

  The woman stepped back, and Fiora called out before she could become swallowed by the crowd. “Don’t you want your prediction?”

  The woman nodded.

  “You will find what you are looking for,” Fiora said, hoping to send some kind of message to her.

  The woman smiled and continued to back away. “Thank you.”

  Fiora lost sight of her. She stood and purposefully swayed on her feet. So the crowd could hear her, she said, “I must excuse myself for a moment.” Then to Taw, she added, “The shot they gave me has left me feeling strange.” She gave a meaningful glance downward.

  Taw nodded, gesturing that she should walk with him. When they l
eft the banquet room, she quickened her pace to keep them from asking her any questions. At the end of the long hall, she slipped into a comfort room and gestured for the guards to stay back. Taw ignored her, going inside to make sure the place was empty before leaving her alone.

  Fiora pressed her fist against her chest. Her heart physically ached. She tried to calm her breathing, but it was difficult.

  Why was she feeling her sister? For years she’d searched every crowd looking for faces like her own. Well, like her own minus the scar on her forehead she’d received the night they were forced from their loving home.

  “Turn around,” Taw announced from the other side of the door. “This area is closed.”

  A strange grunt followed his words. Taw moaned in pain.

  Fiora moved closer to the door to hear what was being said. She detected a series of thumps.

  “I think rendering him unconscious is actually a kindness,” a man said on the other side of the door.

  Fiora backed away from the door and watched it open. The woman in the tight dress appeared. Behind her, Taw and the other guard were unconscious on the floor. The man with the furry face stood over them.

  “Who are you?” Fiora demanded as she stared at the woman’s face.

  The woman lifted her hand and fidgeted with the ring on her finger. Her skin began to stretch and contract. Fiora gasped at the strange sight and placed her hand to her throat as if the gesture would help her breathe.

  The woman jerked the ring off her finger and slapped more than handed the jewelry to the man with her. Her body shape changed as she came for Fiora, arms widespread.

  Fiora gasped as the woman hugged her, her face morphing into one more familiar as she moved. Shaking, she whispered, “Salena? I didn’t know if I could believe it. How?”

  “There will be time for questions later,” the man stated. “We have to figure out a way to get you out of here.”

  Fiora looked at him, eyeing the strange markings on his face. They didn’t fit the visions she had when she looked into his future. Was he in disguise as well? She looked at his hands, trying to see if there was a similar ring device.

  “It’s all right.” Salena tried to reassure her. “This is—”

  “No. Don’t tell me.” Fiora shook her head.

  Panic set in as she looked at her sister. A sense of urgency filled her, ruining any happiness that should have erupted at their reunion. All of the tender sentiments she would have said in such a moment vanished. For so long, all she wanted was to be reunited with Piera and Salena. They were the missing pieces of her soul and seeing one piece brought back to her should have been a reason for joy. But not here. Not like this. The Federation base was too dangerous. As much as she hated her fate, it would be worse to see a sister going through the same nightmare as well.

  “You shouldn’t have come. I can’t leave here. If I don’t show back up soon, they will send people after me. They will find me. And, if they ask me who you are, I’ll have to tell them because I cannot lie. So don’t tell me anything more. Just put that face back on and get out of here. I’ll give them so many predictions they won’t think to ask me about you.” Fiora knew if she went back to the hall and started telling predictions, they wouldn’t sound an alarm. She tried to move past the man blocking the exit.

  Salena stopped her. “Grier, hide those men. We don’t want to draw suspicions if anyone looks this way.”

  Grier nodded and left to do as Salena bid.

  When they were alone, Salena said, “Take your clothes off. I have a plan.”

  Fiora made no move to follow the orders. This was not like when they were children, and Salena got to play the role of bossy triplet. “Salena, wh—?”

  “You can’t lie, but I can,” Salena explained. Her ability made people tell her the truth. Fiora could easily admit she’d envied it most of her life. “We’re going to change places. I’m going to tell fortunes, and you’re going to walk out of here dressed as a pleasure droid bimbo.”

  This was a bad plan.

  Fiora shook her head in denial even as Salena began stripping. “What about you? That means you’ll be stuck here. I can’t do that. I can’t leave you here. They’re going to realize eventually that you can’t do what I do. You don’t know what it’s like to be locked in a cage by the Federation.”

  She thought of all the times General Sten had come to her prison hold to listen to her torments. Then there were the shots and tests. And the horrible nutrient paste they forced her to eat.

  “I’m a toy to them,” Fiora stated.

  “I do know what it’s like. I’m here because the Federation brought me. They came for both of us. I was lucky enough to escape.” Salena finally managed to wiggle out of her tight clothes. “And that man with me is my husband. He’s a prince on this planet. If anyone can protect us, it is him and his family.”

  Salena stood before her naked. Fiora didn’t move.

  Salena attempted to hand her the dress. “I’m here to rescue you. You’re coming with us. My lies will create a distraction in there. And once started, you know they will not be able to resist telling each other the truth.”

  Fiora wondered if her sister’s ability had grown over their years apart. It would make sense. If Salena asked someone a question, they were compelled to speak truthfully. But it didn’t stop there. It sometimes spread like a virus. The arguing would build when the infected became so entrenched in their anger that they mindlessly fed off each other’s emotions. The truth-telling would become its own force, stirred by churning emotions.

  “I have a feeling that crowd has a lot of secrets they do not want to be told,” Salena continued. “I also assume they have strong opinions about some of their fellow partygoers that they will be only too willing to share. You can’t have that many alien races in one room without someone holding a grudge or feeling superior.”

  She again tried to hand over the dress.

  Fiora again refused to take it. She saw the stubbornness in her sister’s expression. “You haven’t changed.”

  “Yes, I have. I will not hesitate again.” Salena shook the dress insistently. “Now hurry.”

  Fiora knew there was no point in arguing with her. She pulled her shirt over her head and thrust it at her sister. “Is Piera with you?”

  “No. I hoped you knew something about her.” Salena took Fiora’s shirt and slipped it on.

  Fiora stepped out of the pant legs. “What do you mean, you won’t hesitate again?”

  The tight dress lacked both style and comfort. She had to jerk her body back and forth to shimmy into it.

  “That night they killed our parents. I hesitated, and we were captured.” Salena took a deep breath and finished putting on Fiora’s clothing. “I’m so sorry. I will not hesitate again.”

  Fiora frowned at the memory. Thanks to Sten, it burned brightly in her mind. She’d relived it often, every painful detail. “You can’t honestly blame yourself for that night.” She tugged the hat off her head, and then the string binding her long hair. “We were children.”

  “Not according to Noire law.” Salena’s eyes hazed over as if she too recalled that night.

  “We were children,” Fiora repeated, not leaving room for argument. There was plenty of blame to go around about that night, and none of it landed on the three sisters. “Kneel.”

  Salena obeyed. Fiora brushed her fingers through her sister’s hair to lift it away from her face. Before she finished, the door opened.

  Her sister’s husband poked his head in with his hand covering his eyes. “I heard your plan from outside. Are you dressed?”

  Fiora wondered how he could have heard. They had not been talking very loudly.

  “Yes, you can look,” Salena said. “Do you have the ring?”

  “Here.” He held up the piece of jewelry.

  “Show Fiora how to use it. You’re going to escort her back to the party. I’ll be out shortly.” Salena paused long enough to kiss him.

  Fio
ra averted her eyes at the affection, waiting until it was over. She then placed the cap on Salena’s head. Her hands shook. She didn’t like this idea. It was too big of a risk. “Don’t forget to speak in riddles. I never tell them their futures plainly.”

  “I remember,” Salena said, standing.

  Fiora grabbed her sister’s hands. There was so much she wanted to say. “I still cannot see my own destiny, so if this goes poorly, I love you, and thank you.”

  “Nothing is going to happen to you,” Salena said. “Stay by Grier. You can trust him with your life.”

  Grier took Fiora’s hand. At the contact, she felt the heat of flames erupting around them, and heard the crackling of a fire. He slid a ring onto her finger and released her. “Twist the setting when you’re ready.”

  Fiora glanced at her hand and turned the stone. Pain erupted all over her body, and she felt as if something pushed from inside her to get out. The sensation didn’t last long, and when it was over, she was staring at a body that was not her own.

  “Go,” Salena ordered.

  “I still say—” The whine of her own voice caused Fiora to flinch.

  “You’ll get used to it,” Salena told her, gently nudging her to leave.

  Grier led her in awkward silence toward the banquet. He kept glancing over his shoulder toward his wife and then down at her.

  “How long have you been married?” she asked.

  “It’s new,” he answered, distracted. “I don’t like this.”

  “Me either. Should we get Salena and switch back?” Fiora asked. He probably wanted his wife safe, more so than a sister-by-marriage stranger.

  To her surprise, he answered, “No. I trust her, and I don’t have a better plan. How else are we to get you out of here? I am of the understanding you cannot do what she does.”

  The words stung a little, though she wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was the intimidating way he said them.

  He again stared at her. His eyes shifted with an inner light, managing to be both mesmerizing and terrifying at the same time.

  “I forgot how fascinated people seemed to be by seeing the three of us together,” Fiora said.