Karac: Kaldar Warriors #1 (23 page)

Ashley

A week after arriving on the planet, Renita finally got to hold a welcome home celebration.  I think she invited people from all seven galaxies as the palace had been filling up all week.  I’m pretty sure she even sent out invitations before we set foot on the planet.  There were so many new people from different cultures, it was really hard to wrap my head around.  Thank God that Karac finally got around to implanting the translator behind my ear a few days ago.  He was right.  The process didn’t hurt and it was amazing to understand so many different languages.  I stood on a balcony, overlooking the mayhem below me as yet another caravan of travelers and their companions arrived.  So many new people had me thinking of my family, again. 

I was able to contact them a few days ago with the com device.  How it worked across such great distances, I’ll never understand.  Karac was fine with me finally telling them that he was the heir to the seven galaxies of the Galtina Sector.  The shocked looks on their faces was worth the surprise.  They had a ton of questions afterwards, most of which I could answer, and Karac was there with me the whole time to answer those I couldn’t.  I didn’t know when I would next see them.  I almost wished they were here for the celebration.  But I knew that it was impossible.  There were too many logistics both Karac and Earth would have to figure out before that happened. 

The celebration was a double-edged sword.  The situation with the Degrens had not calmed down, not that we really expected it to, and so Junrik was calling in the leaders of all 27 planets and neighboring allies to meet during the festivities.  The celebration hid their other purpose in meeting to discuss the impending war, while also giving everyone a chance to let off some steam. 

I was nervous.  Not just to be publicly recognized as Karac’s mate and princess of the Galtina Sector…well, there was that.  But I also had a bad feeling about the celebration.  I felt like something was going to happen that would bring all of the shadows to light.  I sighed as strong arms gently surrounded me and pulled me back against a hard chest.

“You ready for tonight?”  Karac asked in my ear.

“Does it matter?”  I chuckled. 

“I will call it off if you would rather wait.”  I could hear the seriousness in his voice so I was quick to shake off my humor. 

“No,” I said, turning.  “I love you.  You are my mate.  It is time the world knows that.”

“It is time the whole universe knows that.”  He smiled before capturing my lips with his.  We were interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind us.  We both turned to find Calzen and Renita smiling at us. 

“Ashley, dear, it is time to get ready.”  She held out her hand to me.

“Oh, I thought I’d just change clothes and-“

“Oh no.  This is tradition.  A certain protocol must be followed.”  I turned to glare at Karac.

“How come this is the first I’m hearing of this?”

“Because I knew I’d get this reaction.  I was saving us all from your wrath.”  He winked at me.

“Come, dear.  We don’t have much time.”  Renita motioned for me to hurry up. 

“It doesn’t start for six hours, right?”  I asked skeptically, with a sinking feeling I wasn’t going to like the answer. 

“Exactly.  No time at all.”  Renita grabbed my hand and pulled me along as I groaned and gave one last glare at Karac.  He had the audacity to smile.

“You’ll pay for this.”

“I look forward to it.”

I rolled my eyes and followed Renita.  She chatted away as she half pulled me down the hall and into the rooms I shared with Karac.  I spent the next 6 hours being bathed, primped, cinched, and gussied up.  Renita being groomed right along beside me.  All the annoyance fled when I was finally able to look at my reflection in the mirror.  I hardly recognized myself. 

The full length gown was a silvery blue and shimmered in the light.  It looked like silk against my body and fit every curve exactly, flattering my figure.  The neckline dipped to reveal Karac’s necklace nestled near my breasts.  The gown was sleeveless, affording my arms the freedom in the humid air.  My hair was piled neatly in braids and crisscrossed that made it look elegant, showing off my mark on the side of my neck.  I caught Renita’s eyes in the mirror and could tell she was proud.

“This is too much.”  I said breathlessly. 

“Not at all dear.”  She reached behind her and pulled out two matching earrings to the necklace I wore.  “Put these on.”

“They match the necklace.”  Stating the obvious, that’s me. 

“Yes.  They are a set.  The necklace is given as a gift from the heir to his prospective mate.  The earrings are a gift from the mother once the mating is completed.”  She held them out before adding, “you will do the same in time.”

My eyes widened at that thought.  My own son would eventually find a mate.  And I would be giving these jewels to his mate.  I shook my head to clear it.  I had enough on my plate without worrying about future children and their mates. 

“Thank you,” I took the earrings and put them on. I turned back to the mirror to gaze at my reflection.  “They are beautiful.”

“Just as you are, dear.  A perfect match.”  She smiled at me.  “I am so happy Karac found you.”

“Me too.”  I admitted with a smile. 

“Come now.”  She clapped her hands and motioned to the door.  “We must hurry if we are to be on time.”

I followed Renita out the door and we picked up four guards along the path, one of which was Merrik, as we made our way down the hall to meet Karac and Junrik.  We rounded the last bend in the hallway and my breath caught.  Karac was decked out in formal wear I had never seen before.  The black, sleek pants fit well over his strong legs and he filled out his silver-blue shirt sexily.  He had a ceremonial sword strapped to his back and daggers fitted to the strap across his chest.  My warrior never looked so handsome.  As we approached, our eyes locked and I couldn’t look away.  I stepped in front of him and he pulled me in for a sweet, caressing kiss before he took in my outfit.

“You are breathtaking.” His eyes swept over me one more time before landing on my eyes.  I smiled.  

“You’re not so bad yourself.”

“I have a surprise for you.”  He smiled down at me and I looked at him questioningly.  He slowly turned me around and faced down an adjacent hallway.  I gasped in surprise.  My entire family was walking towards us.  My eyes widened, jaw dropped and shook my head. 
Was I dreaming? 
I looked again and they were all smiling at me.  I grabbed the edge of my dress, Karac’s hand, and dragged him down the hall after me to meet them halfway. 

“Oh my God!  I can’t believe you are all here!”  I squealed before landing squarely in the arms of my parents and then being passed around to everyone.  I looked to Karac who hung back with a small grin on his face.  “You arranged this?” I asked, walking back to his side and giving him a hug.

“It was the least I could do.  This way they can be here tonight.  They can start helping with the plans for the wedding too, if you’d like.” He leaned down and gave me a small kiss before we both turned back to my family.

“When did you get here?”  I asked.

“About two hours ago.”  Dad replied.

“They got us settled in and different clothing to wear for this shindig.”  Anne said motioning down to their attire.  For the first time I took in their clothes and notice they had gone native on me.  They would fit in nicely at the celebration.  Chris was standing next to Anne, holding her hand.  Kat and Mark were smiling at me as James shuffled forward. 

“Ashley,” James said to get my attention.  I looked down at him before he continued, “We got to ride in a real space ship!”

“Did you?”  I asked laughing.  “Was it fun?”

“It was the best!”  He turned to Merrik a few paces away and pointedly asked, “When can we go again?”  I looked to Merrik and could see him looking slightly embarrassed to have all of James’s and now the rest of our attention focused solely on him. 

“Sometime soon, perhaps.”  He replied, not looking at anyone but James.

“YES!”  James did a fist pump in his excitement. 

“I just can’t believe you are all here.”  I glanced around at everyone and realized that Junrik and Renita had also joined us.  “Have you all been introduced yet?”

“Not officially, no.”  Junrik replied.

“Allow me.”  Karac said, as he went around to everyone and introduced each person and their relation to me or him. 

“Well,” Dad said, looking at Karac.  “It is finally good to meet you under normal conditions, after all this time.” 

“Even if you did kidnap our daughter,” Mom chuckled.

“Mom,” I laughed.  Karac pulled me in closer and grinned over my head.

“My methods may have been a little out of the ordinary but the end result was all that mattered.”

“What’s that on your neck?”  James asked pointing at me.  “Is it a tattoo?  Does it come off?”  I looked to Karac because I wasn’t sure how much I could tell.  I was still learning how much the Kaldarhns wanted to reveal about themselves. 

“It’s fine.”  Karac assured me.  “With all the mated females we have and will have, the information will come out sometime.”  I nodded before crouching down in front of James and turning my head to the side for a better view.

“It is kind of like a tattoo.  It’s Karac’s family crest.  Sort of like a banner or coat of arms from fairytales.”

“Is he your Prince Charming?”  Laughing, I leaned in and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek before standing and looking at Karac.

“Yes, I suppose he is.”  Much to my amusement, Karac’s cheeks turned a slight shade of pink.  A guard cleared his throat behind us and that reminded us that we needed to be going. 

“Merrik,” Karac called out.  Merrik stepped forward and bowed.  “Will you escort Ashley’s family to the grand hall?”

“Yes, Karac.”  He nodded.  Karac turned back to my family.

“We have to perform a small ceremony at first, then the celebration will begin.  If you would allow Merrik to escort you, Ashley and I can meet up with you after the formalities are over.”

“Sounds good.”  Dad said nodding.  He started ushering everyone ahead of him.  James ran ahead and grabbed Merrik’s hand.  I saw the look of surprise then satisfaction on Merrik’s face and he held his hand. 
Aw…Merrik had a soft spot for kids. 

“Break a leg, Ashley,” Kat said with a wink.  I grinned in return.  Soon my family was headed off down the hallway and only Karac, I, his parents, and our guards were present.

“Break a leg?”  Karac asked with concern.

Laughing, I said, “It means good luck.  When people used to perform on stage in front of people, others would tell them to ‘break a leg’ as a form of saying good luck.”

“How would breaking a leg be good luck?”  Karac asked confused.

“Beats me.  There are tons of sayings like that at home that I haven’t a clue to their origins.  People use them anyway.”

“You’re old world is interesting.” 

“Better get used to it if you plan on bringing back more women from my planet.”

“I supposed we are all in for some change, aren’t we?”

“Most definitely.”  I smiled up at him and he leaned down to kiss me softly.  Junrik cleared his throat which had both of us turning in his direction, a little chagrined. 

“Are you ready?”  Junrik asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”  I said.  He nodded and took Renita’s arm, I followed arm in arm with Karac as we made our way to the grand hall.  This was it.  The final act.  One last show before I was officially a Princess of seven galaxies.  Oh how far I’ve come from a small town in rural Montana. 

The grand doors opened into a massive ballroom and at the very end, I could see the dais where four thrones sat.  The people gathered all turned at the sound of the doors and watched our procession as music played from somewhere.  The whole idea of this many people watching me, studying me, had me suppressing my nerves as much as I could to keep a smile on my face.  We were about halfway across when Karac covered my hand with his other one and started rubbing the back of mine.  It soothed away some of the nerves and I glanced up to see him watching me from the corner of his eye.  I gave him a genuine smile which seemed to appease him as he returned his attention to the front.  I could see my family near the dais where the thrones were and gave them a small wave.  James enthusiastically waved back. 

Finally, we made it all the way across the room and ascended the five stairs to the top.  Two of the thrones on one side were slightly more elegant than the other two.  Junrik and Renita moved toward those while Karac guided me toward the other ones.  He stopped me in front of the outer one, him beside me, then Junrik, who stood with Renita on his other side.  We all looked out at the crowd gathered and I caught my breath.

The grand hall was huge and there had to be over 500 people in the room.  I could tell the majority were male.  However, there were still a number of females from the other planets by the look of their different clothing.  The Kaldarhns seriously needed an infusion of human women to help even out the odds.  Before I could think more on that, the music faded into the background and Junrik took a slight step forward.