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“You should stay here and enjoy your relaxing day with my father. Remember, you could be carrying the next generation of the D’Halen Dynasty.”

A brief thought of indecision plagued her. What if he was right? Could she put herself in the line of fire?

“I will remember.” He gave her a brilliant smile. “Just don’t forget to stay in touch. If I don’t hear from you for over forty-eight hours, I’m going to start to worry.”

“Not to worry, I’ll check in. I have to give my mother frequent status reports anyway.”

“Do you think there’s a chance Earth could—win?”

“Win? Earth? Don’t even think it. I’m going to flatten them.” A spark of hatred lit his eyes. She shivered. She pitied anyone that truly crossed Aries. They wouldn’t get out alive. He was a dangerous man. Earth had their job cut out for them.

“Please. Just be careful. You forget that we rebels underestimated Earth … and it ended up in a bloodbath for our side on that final Day of Judgment.”

“I know. You don’t have to tell me about it. I’ve read all about the Battle of Uranus.”

“Have you? It was the most horrific thing, I’ve ever seen. I barely lived. I thought I was a goner for sure, except an Earth Medic ship picked me up and nursed me back to health. You have to promise me that you won’t attack the Medic Ships.”

“Of course. I’m fair when it comes to the rules of engagement.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear of it. I just wasn’t sure, and I had to make you know just how much those Medic Ships help people. They saved my life.”

“And for that, I will be forever in their debt.” They both turned their heads at the sound of a loud knock at the door. It sounded urgent.

“You should go. I have to meet your father—he’ll be thinking I’ve stood him up. I take it your mother will be staying in isolation for most of the day?”

“Yes, she will be meditating. She thinks she’ll be able to watch over us. I told her that the Gods would watch over us.”

Doorway to the Stars by Marly Mathews 65

“I’ll pray for you, and everyone else.” She moved toward him. “Just please, take care of yourself.”

“I will.” He kissed her, and then, he left. She waited long enough to know that he would be out of the hall and on his way to the scene of action. Then, she moved into the first stage of her plan.

* * * *

“I’m here.” He walked out from one of the rows of books. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I’m sure. Do you have everything ready?”

“Yes. I’ve arranged everything. You’ll be able to get past the lines of Gaian Battleships.”

“Thank you. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to do this. If I used the security clearance code that Aries gave me, people would get suspicious. He would get suspicious.”

“I don’t know why I’m helping you leave my son. He loves you.”

“I told you, if everything goes as planned, I’ll be coming back.”

“Do I have your word?”

“I already told you that I was going to remain true to my promise. Even though Aries initially took me against my will,and infected me with the fever, I’ve come to fall in love with him. He’s a good man. He never once forced me to do anything—and now, I have to make sure he lives to see another day.”

“You should stay here. I still must say I discourage this course of action. You are putting yourself into the line of fire. If you are killed, Aries will never forgive me.”

“I’ve left a note for him in case that happens. I don’t want there to be a rift between the two of you. I never wanted that. You have the sort of family I’ve always dreamt of. I would never do anything to jeopardize that.”

“Then stay.”

“No. Come on, we should go.”

They turned to walk toward the doors leading out onto the outside gardens when a shadow fell across their paths. The hairs on the nape of Freya’s neck bristled. This didn’t feel right.

She put her hand on Lysander’s arm. “Stop. There’s someone in here, and I don’t think it’s one of your staff.”

She rested her other hand on her pistol. Lysander had found it for her, along with the other belongings she’d lost when she’d been injured back on Aries’s spaceship. Aries had been right when he’d told her his men would ignore his orders to see her things destroyed. As he’d said, they had found their way back to Lysander to be stored away in his collection of Earth relics.

Sunlight trickled in through the open drapes. A human silhouette was revealed. A cold clammy feeling washed over her. “Dead man walking.” She felt sick.

“Mathias?” Lysander sounded as horrified and as confused as she felt.

“Greetings, Uncle.”

She swayed. Lysander supported her. She had to get a hold of herself. “I hate to break this to you, Mathias, but you’re supposed to be dead.”

“In theory … but it would seem that my Talia didn’t exactly kill me.” He smiled.

Doorway to the Stars by Marly Mathews 66

Cold fear rippled through her stomach. Her legs felt as if they were going to turn to jelly at any minute.

“What do you mean? Mathias, explain yourself!”

“My dear old dotty Uncle. My, my how foolish you’ve become. As we speak, Talia is on the move. She’ll have her Royal Highness assassinated before you can say one, two, and three. Then she’ll contact the Earth forces and she’ll give them the necessary information they need to obliterate the Gaian fleet.”

“No. Aries should have infected her with the tracking device when I suggested it, if only she was on an Earth ship right now … where’s the Empress?”

“She’ll be in her secure counsel chambers.” Lysander looked as worried as she felt.

“Of course she will be.” Mathias twisted his face into a smile that made her want to get sick. The man was insane.

“Soon, old man, Talia and I will be ruling Gaia. We’ll be the ones in the seat of power … Talia never betrayed me, I’ve betrayed you.” He gave a laugh that made her blood run cold.

“Call me old man one more time, and I’ll be sure to give you a long and lingering death.”

“Death? You speak of death? You are so battle shy a little girl would give me more resistance. No. You aren’t a threat to me. You’ll be dead soon. Then I’ll be given my rightful place among the D’Halen Dynasty.”

“Mathias, you’re forgetting one thing.”

“What?”

“I might be a girl, but I’m definitely not battle shy.” She pushed Lysander out of the way with enough force that he struck the bookshelf behind them. Then, before Mathias could gain his wits, she pulled out her pistol and shot him. “I always was the quickest draw in my galaxy. I guess I’m the quickest draw in your galaxy as well.” He fell to the floor like a bag of dirty laundry.
Bastard
.

“I don’t know how you pulled off your dirty rotten trick on your family, who really died? You murdered an innocent man, you almost killed me, but I’m sure as hell not going to let you kill your aunt and my husband.”

“Now he’s your husband, huh? You’ve come a long way, Freya. Talia was sure you’d end up killing Aries for us. I guess I’ll have to tell her she’s lost that bet.”

“You’re a sick son of a bitch.”

“Well, he is sick, and he’s the son of a bitch … so I guess you’re right on that count.” Lysander had recovered himself. He rubbed the back of his neck. Mathias was on the ground struggling for his next breath.

He was reaching for something, and before she could see what it was, Lysander had beaten her to the punch. A flying star went arcing through the air and landed in Mathias’s hand. Mathias let out a howl of pain, blood poured from the wound in his hand.

“Okay. So I guess you’re not as passive as I thought.”

“How do you think Aries’s mother and I first met?”

She shook her head. Pain split through her head.

“I have no idea.”

“I was part of the Royal Guard. But when I fell in love, I decided that appreciating the finer parts of life was far better than fighting.”

Doorway to the Stars by Marly Mathews 67

“Hmm ….” She chuckled. “You should have balanced the two. You’re pretty good.”

“I think we should talk later. Right now, Talia is trying to kill my wife. I can’t let that happen.” She watched him walk over to a tapestry and reach behind it. A red light started to streak through the room followed by a klaxon. “Security will move into high alert now, but if Talia is as good of an assassin as I think she is, she might have already reached Aurora.”

“Aurora?”

“My wife.”

“Oh.” She followed him closely. He’d switched like day into night. Now he looked just as threatening as Aries had looked that morning. Gaian males really went into testosterone overload when it came to protecting the women they loved.

“Wait a sec … who said Talia was an assassin?”

“I did. I’ve been looking into her background. I still have a few contacts outside of the palace that can get a job done without being noticed by Aries.”

“You’ve been doing work behind your son’s back?”

“I couldn’t very well sit on my hands. Ever since Earth made herself known as a threat to my people, I had to do something, but I wouldn’t dream of infringing upon my wife’s right to rule.”

“Right to rule?” She was getting a hell of a headache.

“You need to research Gaian History more, my dear. My family once made a power play for the Crown. We lost. But there are those that still figured I had married Aurora for who she was. I married Aurora because she owned my heart. I could care less for her throne. But I won’t let her live in the shadows anymore. I must protect her.”

“You’re even more like your son than I thought.”

“You should see my other children.”

She smiled. “Where are we going?”

She watched men storm into the library behind them. “They’re securing Mathias.

He’s an enemy of the empire now. He’s planned to kill the Empress. And we can’t let him see his plan come to fruition, can we?”

She thought fleetingly of what was happening up in Space right at this moment.

She’d wanted to be there … she’d wanted to end the war before it had started. But time had run out.

She could only try to save Aurora now.

“We’re taking a secret route to the room that Aurora will be meditating in.”

“She’ll be invisible. She’s not really in danger ….”

“She won’t be invisible. Not when she’s meditating. Her guard falls, and she’s vulnerable.”

“Oh shit.” She patted him on the back. “Well, if you can go faster, go! We’re fighting against time right now.”

He ran faster ,and she had to fight to keep up with him. If she had a kid that could run this fast, she’d never be able to keep up.

He skidded to a halt right outside of a room she’d never seen before.

“Stay here. I’ll go in on my own. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I don’t think so. I’m going with you. Did Mathias hurt me? When will you and Aries figure it out? I’m not a glass figurine just waiting to break. I’m a living-breathing Doorway to the Stars by Marly Mathews 68

woman that can handle herself when it comes to times of conflict. I can handle Tayla.

Will you be able to hurt her if it comes right down to it?”

“If it means protecting Aurora, you’ll find that I’m capable of almost anything.”

“Almost anything. Listen to that first word. Talia and I have a score to settle. She ratted me out time and time again, and now, I’m going to get my payback.”

“Aries has met his match. You will make a fine Empress one day … if my darling wife ever decides to hand over the reign of power.”

“I’m no Empress. I’m just a simple woman … with a hell of a lot sass.”

“Sass and spirit. It’s a good combination.” She put her fingers to her lips as voices carried to them from nearby.

Lysander activated a device on his wrist, and the doors slid open. “Get to Aurora, I’ll take care of Talia.”

“Aries will never forgive me if something happens to you.”

“Aries will never forgive himself if something happens to his mother. Get to Aurora, please!” She stopped at the sight of two swords hanging on the wall. She didn’t know why she did it, it was as if something invaded her body and took control of her movements. As if in a trance, she wrapped her hand around the hilt of the sword and pulled it off the wall. Talia had always carried a sword during her days in the war ….

“I’m going to be hailed as a hero of Earth. They will write songs about me and remember me well past my death. You should show yourself witch, I can see you even if you think you’re invisible. You’re darling nephew gave me a gizmo that can see right through your invisibility.”

She approached Talia quietly. She couldn’t see Aurora, but she knew Lysander could. He was inching his way around a bunch of pillows that were scattered on the floor.

“Mathias and I will have all of the power and money that we’ve ever dreamed of.”

“Oh, give me a bloody break. You did all of this for money and fame? You’re right out of your mind, Talia.” Her voice broke the silence and put Talia on guard.

It looked as if Talia had painted Aurora in a corner. She was probably going to kill her soon, if she didn’t distract her and finish her off first.

“Talia, fight me! You have the Empress at a disadvantage. She’s unarmed and ill prepared for you. I give you the chance to die in honor.”

“I’m not the one that will be dying today, Freya. You always were such a prissy and stuck up bitch. With your haughty ways and the damnable way you say ‘piffle’

whenever you’re irritated. It’s enough to drive someone right up the fucking wall, you know that?”

“I never did like you the first time we met. I guess I should have stuck to that impression of you.”

“I never liked you at all. You can kiss my ass for all I care. I’ll kill you and then I’ll finish off the Empress and her artsy fartsy husband.”

“I don’t think so. You’ve gravely underestimated these people, Talia. I’m still trying to figure out what you wanted to achieve by selling out the Gaian’s to Earth.”