The Princess and her Bounty Hunter: Alien Romance (Fated to the Alien: The Psychic Matchmaker Book 2) (12 page)

“I know you are a Virdian. Your height gives you away. A bounty hunter, I presume.” The king looked at Mak’s hand, and then took it, while the guards on the rover aimed their weapons at him. Smiling widely, trying to look relaxed, but knowing the lasers would not be set to stun, he tried not to squeeze the king’s hand too hard. “I’m looking for my daughter. My scouts tell me she was last seen boarding a Virdian ship on Brigal.”

“Guilty as charged,” Mak said. “They are in there.” He tilted his head towards the cabin. “But before you break up the family reunion, I think we need to talk.”

“Do we?” the king said. Mak was unsure if he was amused or annoyed at Mak’s direct talk.

“You see; I know about families. I know about duty, and most of all I know about loyalty.”

“And you think I don’t?” the king questioned, definitely verging on annoyed.

“I think you know better than most people. But that doesn’t mean you know how to deal with it. You have more people to answer to, more to keep happy, and to protect. So I’m going to give you my advice as I see it.” Mak put his very large hand on the king’s shoulder, pressing down just enough to make it uncomfortable. For a non-Virdian, the king was tall, but still a good foot smaller than Mak, both in height and width.

“My guards will shoot you,” the king said evenly.

“I know. But I think you want this resolved, otherwise you would not have come here personally. I also want to believe you want the best for your daughter. She is one fierce lady, and you don’t know what to do with her to keep her safe, and make sure she doesn’t get into any more scrapes like this.”

“You think a lot.”

“Traveling the galaxy gives you time to think.” He smiled. “OK, here goes. Whatever it is between you and Kilma, you sort it out. Tiana lost her mom, and now she feels as if she had to make a choice between her aunt and cousin, and her dad.”

“She made that choice,” the king said bitterly. “She ignored me and ran off.”

“She did. Because you have taught her about duty and loyalty. If a princess can’t express those things for her family, how can she express them for the people on your planet?” Mak nodded. Surely anyone could see the wisdom in his words.

“But sacrifice is also part of being answerable to your people.”

“Sacrifice as a rule doesn’t work for me. You do what you can. And sacrificing a child to make a point or to test loyalty, that is not a good trait in anyone.”

“Especially a king?”

“Hey, I’m not here to judge, and I certainly am not going to accuse the King of Kalisov of anything, when he has two guards pointing their weapons at me.” Mak removed his hand, and the king stepped away from him. “One thing you should know. Larka only got taken because she is related to you by marriage. Now, in my book, that puts the responsibility on you.”

The king looked at him sharply. “Are you sure?”

“Oh yeah. The Maraki were trying to lure Tiana out. It seems they knew you wouldn’t send help, but they also knew Tiana would go. They either have a mole in your court, or they know you better than you know yourself.” With that Mak strolled back to the cabin, the king having to take big strides to keep up.

“As a Virdian, I suppose you are expecting a reward for your trouble.” The king sounded breathless.

Mak shook his head. “This one is on me.” Then he changed his mind. “Actually, there is one thing. You can go in there and make it right for your daughter.”

“You like her?” the king asked.

“A lot,” Mak said, and then stepped inside the cabin, followed by the king. He wasn’t going to discuss his feelings for Tiana with her father until he had talked to Tiana first.

Inside the cabin, Tiana was helping Kilma lift her bags, hefting them onto her shoulders. “Will you speak to my father before you leave?” Tiana asked. “Please, let’s put whatever happened behind us.”

“Tiana, last time we spoke, it was ugly. I know he’s a king, but Jolina was my sister, just as much as she was his wife. I loved her.”

“I know. I also know she wouldn’t want her love, or her death, to come between us.” Tiana hugged her aunt. “Please, for my mom, make peace with my father.”

“I’ll try. But I can’t promise.”

“Thank you,” Tiana said, kissing her cheek. “I know he can be stubborn.”

“As can my daughter,” the King of Kalisov said.

“Father!” Tiana whirled around, and stood staring at Mak and her father.

“Tiana. You have led us quite a chase. I’m going to have to have talk to the star port officers about
not
giving you a ship on demand in future. Where is it, by the way?”

“In a bog somewhere.” She looked at the ground. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s done. But now we have to clear this mess up.”

“Is that what we are to you,
Your Majesty
? A mess to be cleared up. Swept under the rug,” Kilma said.

“Aunt Kilma, you promised to try.”

“To try, yes, but I don’t think there is a way forward,” Kilma said, turning her back on the king to begin packing her possessions up again. “Despite the fact we would be free to live our lives here on our home planet, if he hadn’t wed my sister…”

“I am sorry.” The king left it at that. But it was a start, and Mak hoped Kilma would allow herself to let her defenses down and allow peace in.

Kilma packed in silence, and Tiana filled the gap, speaking to her father. “The Maraki ship will be here in the next few hours, that is the only mess you have to clear up. Mak and I are going to take Kilma and Larka somewhere safe.”

“Are you?” Her father stepped forward. “I cannot have you running around the galaxy like this. You are a princess.”

“I understand. And once I’ve done this, I will come back and be a princess.” Her eyes flicked to Mak, full of longing, and he wondered if she was going to be brave enough to make a stand. To tell her father she wanted to be with him. He wouldn’t blame her if she chose not to. “But I want to choose my own husband.”

“Do you?” her father said, looking at her hard, and then flicking his gaze to Mak, who was smiling, with pride. “And what’s brought on this sudden decision? I thought you refused to marry anyone. If I didn’t know you better, I would think someone has been putting ideas in your head.”

“Well, you do know me better.”

“And is there a particular husband you have in mind?”

“There might be. But I have to get to know him a little better first.”

Mak raised his eyebrow. He liked the idea of getting to know her more than a little better. He also had to admit she was right. He didn’t believe in love at first sight. There was no need to rush into things, although a trade agreement in the near future would be good for his people. It would soften the blow of him telling them he was dating an alien princess.

“Nearly there,” Mak said, as they descended through the atmosphere towards the Trealian surface.

“I’m surprised my father let me come with you,” Tiana said. “I thought for sure he was going to get one of the guards to bundle me aboard his ship and run off back to Kalisov with me.”

“If he did that, I may have been forced to come and rescue you again,” Mak said. She couldn’t miss the undertones in his voice. He was not willing to let her go; their relationship was not yet a promise of marriage or even a life together, but it was a promise of a new start, a step down a path that disappeared into an unknown distance. Which they had chosen to walk together.

“He’s mellowed in his old age. Or his loneliness,” Kilma said.

“But things are settled between you and the king?” Larka asked hopefully.

“Yes, Larka. We spoke for some time. We have agreed that we both loved Jolina, neither more than the other. And that the responsibility of her death lay with a tumor that grew in her brain.”

“A tumor?” Tiana asked, tears springing to her eyes. “I never knew. He never said.”

“No. He didn’t. He didn’t want anyone to know he had his apothecaries slice into her to find the root of her death. He wanted you and the boys to picture her as she was the last time you saw her, beautiful, whole.” Kilma sobbed. “I wish I’d known. I could have helped her, I’m sure.”

“The past is the past, and this is your new future.” Tiana smiled through her tears at her aunt and cousin. “I’m sorry you have had to leave Rilan.”

“From what Mak says, this Misha’Ha can teach me a lot, and I want to pass my knowledge down to Larka.”

“I want to be a healer,” Larka said.

“All we have to do is persuade Misha’Ha it’s a good idea,” Mak said, for once not sounding confident.

“I’m sure you can sweet-talk her,” Tiana said. “And to think, I believed bounty hunters were all brawn, no brains.”

“Then I have done my people a good service, breaking down that image you have,” Mak answered, bowing his head slightly.

“What exactly did you say to my father?” Tiana asked.

“That is between me and him. I don’t give secrets away; they have to be bought. Or earned.”

She laughed, knowing how he would expect her to earn the information. She would not complain. The time aboard Stellia with Mak had been the happiest for years. She planned to enjoy every minute of it, especially once they were alone.

They neared the surface of Trealian, and Stellia guided them down to the star port.

“Will the Maraki be able to trace where we’ve gone?” Tiana asked. “It would be pointless to go through all of this for them to turn up on the doorstep and try to take Larka again. Even if my father did destroy the ship coming for Kilma. They are bound to keep looking.”

“Hopefully not. Your father is going to leave a trail back to Kalisov, and tell people he has ended his feud with Kilma and imply they are settled somewhere on your home planet. And if Stellia can change the credentials for her when we dock.”

Stellia, who had been on her best behavior ever since they picked up Larka, huffed. “You want me to break the law.”

“Bend. Bend, not break.”

“Is there a difference?” Stellia asked.

“What’s wrong? They can’t exactly put you in jail.”

“But they can impound me and melt me down into tin cans.”

“I will never let that happen to you, Stellia. Never,” Mak promised.

Her circuitry crackled in pleasure.

***

“This is where we are going to live?” Kilma asked, looking at the small tea shop.

“Hopefully,” Mak said, as he stepped up to the door, and looked inside.

“I hope you aren’t responsible for this,” Tiana said. It was deserted, no one drinking tea out of fine china or eating delicate melt-in-the-mouth pastries. She had been looking forward to sampling the sweet treats after Mak had described them, and her mouth watered for a sticky cake.

“Wait. There’s someone coming,” Kilma said, stepping back from the window and taking Larka’s hand.

“Is this Misha’Ha?” Tiana asked.

“No, it’s the girl who works for her.” The door opened, and Mak stepped forward. “Hello, Driole. Remember me?”

“Unfortunately.”

“We were wondering if Misha’Ha was here? We would like to talk to her.”

“Come in,” Driole said, standing to one side. Mak hesitated. “What? Are you afraid of a little girl?”

Mak ducked under the doorway, looking around, before motioning for the rest of them to follow. “Business not good?”

“We’re shut for the day.”

“Why?” Tiana asked warily.

“She knew you were coming, and she didn’t want a scene. Last time
he
came he frightened four customers away. They’ve never been back,” Driole accused.

“He has that effect on people,” Tiana said sympathetically.

“Right. Well, you can go through,” Driole looked at Tiana.

“Me? But we came to see if Kilma and Larka could come and live here.”

Driole looked at them, not unfriendly, but not exactly welcoming. “There are rooms upstairs. I’ll show you.”

“You knew?” Tiana asked.

“Didn’t
he
tell you who Misha’Ha is?” Driole asked, indicating Mak.

“Yes. He did, but…” Tiana left her words hanging.

“Go and speak to her. She doesn’t like to be kept waiting. You two come with me. And
you
stay here. If you break anything, or eat anything, she says she’ll curse you.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Mak said.

Tiana felt nerves knotting in her stomach. She wasn’t sure she wanted to come face to face with a witch, and she certainly didn’t want to hear her future. But she needed Misha’Ha to give Kilma and Larka a home.

“She won’t bite,” Driole said, when she saw her hesitating.

“Thanks,” Tiana said, going through into the back of the shop.

“Follow the smell of incense,” Mak offered loudly, earning him a scowl from Driole.

His advice was spot on. The scent grew stronger, until she stood outside a door that was slightly ajar. There she stopped, not knowing if she was supposed to knock, or simply enter.

“Come in, Princess Tiana of Kalisov,” a voice said from inside the room.

Taking a deep breath of the scented air, she pushed the door open and went inside. There, sat at a table, was a kindly old woman. Tiana immediately felt at ease. “Hello. Are you Misha’Ha?”

“I am. Come and sit down.”

Tiana took the seat across from Misha’Ha. Between them stood a small empty table, on which the old woman rested her hands. “I can’t look into my own future, but after that big Virdian came here a few days ago, I was worried I would have to move on. Then I had a sense of your aunt. Kilma, isn’t it. And the child, Larka. They will be safe here with me.”

“I’m very grateful.”

“I know. Anyway, I had a memory of your mother in my head. That is where I got the connection to Kilma and Larka.”

“My mother?” Tiana asked, her voice barely audible. “She came here?”

“Not here. No, she came to Carinia once. Before she was married to your father. She was looking for work after leaving that small place she called home.”

“And you sent her to my father?” Tiana asked, frowning.

“Just as I sent that larger-than-life lout to find you.”

“He mentioned he had been to see you.”

“He didn’t come looking for you. But I don’t give information to bounty hunters. Not the kind of information he wanted.”