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  “Run, Azel!” Blood was spattering out of her mother’s mouth at each word.

  “I can fix this,” Azel managed to say. “It will all be well, mama.”

  “Just run.” Her mother was gasping as Azel tried to heal the deep cut across her stomach, tears blocking her vision.

  The man who had cut down her mother had returned to the fray, but another man had pushed his way into the room. He saw the blood an instant before he turned his attention on her and he grinned at her wolfishly before taking a step towards her. Her mother had stopped moving and Azel felt for her heart; it was lifeless. The man tried to reach for her but when she turned her stare on him he was propelled backwards by her rage and the Vandi power.

  She looked down at her mother’s lifeless stare before closing her eyes and kissing her forehead, “Sleep well.”

  Her hands were covered with blood as she stood; they shook as she stepped past her mother’s body and walked out into the battle. She was numb. Nothing around her seemed real. The indistinguishable noise of the ship and the voices of dying men around her, though loud, were drowned out by the sound in her mind. Most of the crew was dead, the last of them falling around her; they were outnumbered and overpowered.

  The ship was tilting. Likely, it was falling from the sky and Azel was vaguely aware that something was burning. She was aboard a sinking ship and the men that had attacked them were slowly retreating back to their own ship before they were too far out of range to return. She saw the man who had killed her mother; he turned back to meet her eyes and smiled a wicked grin.

  She could feel her powers humming in her chest. She closed her eyes and felt her arms open as it burst from her in a vengeful rage, sending a shockwave through the entire ship. Those still aboard stumbled, and clutched their chests; their hearts had burst. Azel fell to her knees and when the ship went into a nose dive, she fell into the opposite wall and hit her head she closed her eyes without another conscious thought.

  --

  She was a child again, and her father was telling her the story of her great-aunt who had been as beautiful as she was as a child. Azel could remember looking at the tapestry with her great aunt’s face woven in great detail. Her mother’s family, though lacking in power, had more than made up for it by their beauty. It was how her mother had been so lucky to leave the dwindling home of the Lin family and join the Kaheron family instead.

  The Undel shared an easy alliance with everyone, they were too small to be a threat but no one could penetrate their defenses. Their battlement was well set from previous wars and the Liege Leoric understood the importance of keeping them operational. Leoric Kaheron was a curious man by nature and invested heavily in the invention of faster ships. Undel’s airships and sand cycles were the fastest on the planet and they were rarely challenged.

  Azel loved her papa and all his personal inventions, which were meant only to create more innovative ways of living. The people enjoyed his extravagant inventions and his astute understanding of the planet’s politics. Undel was at the far edge of the Empire, but many came to see the art and gadgets of a well cultured city, such as the woven tapestry of her great-aunt. She had come from the house of Lin and was considered a close friend of the Liege’s wife.

  The walls seemed to be melting and they blurred as she walked down the hall. She held her father’s pocket watch in one of her hands as she came to the picture of her mother. As she gazed upon it a small pin prick of red started to run from her right eye. Azel reached out and touched it. It was warm, and as she pulled her hand back in horror the tapestry began to bleed. With a gasp she turned and ran down the blurred hallway, willing herself to wake from the nightmare.

  --

  She opened her eyes to the sound of a roaring fire. Coughing, she pushed a beam off of her leg and hastily put her hand over the gash in her leg. The ship was burning all around her; bodies of the men she had killed littered the ground like discarded trash. She stumbled to her feet, looking around for the one person she hadn’t seen during the fighting; her brother. Her leg threatened to give but she ignored it. Her one weakness was she couldn’t heal herself.

  “Titus,” she yelled. Her voice sounded almost hoarse as she tried to yell over the burning ship. “Titus!”

  She continued to yell for him until she saw the mostly untouched body of her mother. Azel fell to her knees and slowly began to dig, the fire burning well out of reach, the heat just touching her back as she dug. The moon was starting to fade and the first light of dawn was breaking. She had been unconscious for quite a while. It was clear that most of the wood had burned and only the metal remained.

  She continued to dig, but no tears fell; it was as though she had forgotten how to cry. Her hands began to hurt from the sand rubbing against her soft skin, but she didn’t halt for even an instant. She heard the hum of an airship but she didn’t stop. Her only thought was that she had to bury her mother.

  She heard the hum of several more airships circling overhead but she hardly gave them a moment’s glance. Even when her clothes were ruffled slightly and some of the sand caved back in she didn’t look to them as they landed. A door opened and she heard footsteps of several people, but her mother was counting on her to place her beneath the sand and return her to the planet’s embrace.

  “Bow before the Liege,” she heard someone say, but didn’t pause as she continued to move the sand aside.

  “I said, the Liege is in your presence, show him your loyalty and bow,” she heard again. This time she paused in what she was doing.

  She turned her face, clear of tears and nearly any emotion, to the man dressed in the royal robes and responded, “I am burying my mother, and I will bow when I am done.”

  She turned back and began to dig again. It was nearly done, and edges of the hole were threatening to cave in. She heard the gasps and annoyance of those around the Liege but she didn’t care. He could wait if he wished to speak with her; she had not the time for him.

  An attendant walked over to her and unsheathed his sword. “Your insolence towards the Liege will end with your life.”

  “Draken,” she heard a deep voice say, “Leave the girl to her task. Search for other survivors.”

  Azel paused for a moment before continuing, standing slowly to push her mother into the shallow grave. Facing her mother down she began to rebury her, aware that everyone was watching her. She stood and walked to the Liege. He held up his hand when his guards tried to stop her.

  “I wish for a sword to mark her grave because she perished in battle,” Azel said. She was void of fear. “Will Your Highness grant me a sword?”

  He was handsome, with long dark hair and gray eyes that looked almost black in the right shadow. He was well tanned, and his skin almost seemed to be imbued with the shimmer of gold. He wore a single earring in his left ear, a black tooth that hung from a chain. He was taller than her and was a striking figure with the wrap around his head.

  “Draken,” he said, turning his head slightly. “Give her your sword.”

  Grudgingly the man came forward and pulled the sword from its sheath to place it in her hands. She bowed over the sword before turning to place it at her mother’s head. She bent and prayed. Dried blood was still on her hands, but she ignored it as she prayed for the planet to take her mother back into its embrace.

  “Take her,” she heard the Liege say.

  She had finished her task and when they pulled her to her feet she didn’t struggle, but allowed herself to be taken. When she walked past the Liege he stopped her escorts and drew closer to her, holding her face up to the coming day. His eyebrows pricked up with surprise, and then his expression changed to pleasure.

  “The ash from the crash does little to hide your beauty,” he whispered. “Even if you try to run I will have you, little bird.”

  She turned her eyes to him in defiance, venom in her voice. “If you lay one hand on me, my Liege, I will not hesitate to kill you.”

  There was a moment of stunned sile
nce before the Liege tipped his head back and laughed. “Take her to my consort’s chambers and have her washed.”

  Chapter 4

  “Captive”

  The men were all watching her as the airship started up. She had gone cold inside; her mother was dead and her brother was missing. Either the pirates had taken him or he had been killed. More than that, she had killed. They may not have been innocent but she had killed them without mercy. Never would she lose control of her gift again.

  She was taken to a room where half a dozen women washed her from head to toe. They cleaned the wound on her leg, although it proved to be superficial. She was accustomed to such treatment, used to private baths filled with flower petals. The small metal tin, hardly large enough for her to sit down in, was less splendid but she still felt better when the sand and ash was cleaned from her skin and hair. She would not think on the painted circles or her mother’s blood. As they helped her dress she saw one of the serving girls begin to gather up her clothes to take them from the room.

  “Wait!” she said, pulling from the women and rushing towards the girl.

  The guard took hold of her as the girl left, and she pushed on him. “Return my clothes to me!” she cried.

  “You are not permitted to leave,” the guard said, and she stopped struggling.

  Azel took a few steps away, picked up a vase and hit him over the head. She heard the girls yell behind her. She ran out into the hall, looking both ways for the servant who had taken her mother’s earrings away. She ran down one hall but only made it to the corner when a second guard came towards her to stop her.

  “You!” Azel yelled after the girl, “Return my clothes to me.”

  The guard picked her up and she struggled against him, “You will release me and return my earrings to me.”

  A short time later she sat still, cross-armed and annoyed, as one of the women brushed her long hair. She was only obedient because her ankle had been chained to a bed that was bolted to the floor.

  Both modesty and the humility of attempting to escape in her underwear would return to her later, but like the rest of her, it was not fully functional. She was running on the last of her energy and soon she would be unable to operate any portion of herself. The events leading up to her capture had drained her.

  There came a knock on the door to warn them before a servant opened it and announced, “The Liege.”

  He entered the room in the same clothes she had seen him in earlier and she glanced up at him only a moment before looking to the floor. He instructed the servants to leave and waited patiently as they left the room and closed the door. She continued to sit without so much as a flinch as he drew closer to her.

  He took her chin between his fingers and looked at her face in the sunlight pouring through the windows, “You are a rare beauty. How is it you came to be stranded in the desert?”

  “We crashed,” she answered plainly, her eyes turned away from his.

  “An accident or an attack?” He was still holding her head in place.

  “We were attacked,” she answered honestly, still averting her gaze.

  “Do you know who attacked you?” He was clearly not amused by her pointed answers.

  “Privateers,” she answered.

  “Hmm. Look at me.” She turned her eyes up towards him, just as he asked. He released her head and she let it fall level as he continued to stand close to her. She could smell the scent of spices coming from his clothes.

  “You have a stare that is both defiant and empty,” he commented. “Tell me little bird, why did you try to escape earlier?”

  “They were trying to destroy my clothes.” She looked back up at him. “They are mine, and they have no right.”

  “I ordered it. Your clothes were ruined. You should be grateful for the new set I gave you,” he retorted, meeting her gaze. “They are flattering.”

  “I wish my things returned to me.”

  “You are my guest.” He took her hands and pulled her up to a standing position. “However, if you continue to try and run, I treat you like the captive you are.”

  “I do not belong here,” Azel said. She looked at him with a firm gaze, “Nor do I belong to you.”

  “Draken would have killed you, or the creatures of the desert would have made a meal of you,” the Liege said. The hold on her arm was tightening, “I saved your life and now I own it.”

  “My life cannot be bought if I am the one unwilling to sell,” she answered, jerking the arm he held. “Now release me.”

  He reached into his robes and pulled out one of the earrings she had been wearing. “You’ve earned this for your obedience.”

  “It is mine. You cannot trade something I own for something else I own,” she retorted, reaching up for the earring.

  He let her wrap her fingers around it but he didn’t let her go, “A kiss for keeping it safe then.”

  She glanced up at him. “Agreed.”

  The surprise on his face betrayed that he had not expected her to agree, but she leaned forward and kissed the side of his hand that held the earring before attempting to pull it from his hold. He pushed her back onto the bed and tossed the earring to her, not amused by her twisting of his request. He watched her take the earring and pull it into the safety of her clenched fist.

  “I will have my kiss,” he said, coming towards her. “A proper kiss.”

  “You asked me for a kiss and I agreed. But you failed to specify where,” Azel answered, sitting up and holding the earring to her chest.

  “Fair enough,” he answered. Though his voice suggested he did not truly think it fair in any way. “Enjoy your victory because I will return to claim you entirely.”

  “As I warned,” she said as he turned to leave, “I will kill you if you lay a single hand on me.”

  He closed the door with extra force than necessary and once he was gone she rolled back and held the earring to her lips. She closed her eyes and imagined the look of her mother’s face and happier times. It hurt her chest to do so but as she fell asleep she shed the last tear that she would shed for many months.

  Chapter 5

  “Tongue Not Held”

  The Liege had not attempted to force himself on her but he had insisted on keeping her close at hand. She was with him throughout the day, including all three meals. He even commanded her to sit in his private study and read while he worked. Now that he was doing an inspection of the ship she was forced to walk a step behind him. The Liege kept her directly to his left, making her follow him around like a little lost puppy. She held her tongue – he didn’t seem interested in touching something broken and hostile.

  She grieved the loss of her mother in silence, praying to the planet to take her soul safety back to the base of creation so that she may be reborn. She prayed for the safety of her brother and remained as silent as she could. For whatever reason the men left her well enough alone, it may have been the command of the Liege or her haunting stare that subdued any desires they may have to possess her form. Her emotions had to be contained, and for some reason that happy part of her had died with her mother. She felt emotionless, as though every inch of her humanity had been drained away and nothing remained but the shell.

  She paused on the deck and looked out over the sea of sand and plateaus that were covered with the ruins of cities killed by war or plague. Such tragedy in the world: one second all is well, and in the next your family is slaughtered, your neighbors burned and your little ones dying from a disease. The entire prospect seemed pointless to her. She put her hand to the window, wishing she could throw herself from the ship and end such thoughts.

  She closed her eyes and imagined her sisters, her nieces and nephew that would wish her to continue living. Their faces appeared happy in her mind, and their smiles and that of her father made her open her eyes. She must find a way to the City of Momby where her betrothed awaited her arrival. These were her thoughts as she felt someone come up behind her.

  She did not turn t
o look but continued to stare out into the dry landscape of the planet as he spoke. “Is there something you desire below?”

  “Will we be going close to Momby?” Azel asked, looking up to catch his reflection in the window.

  “We are traveling East. Momby is to the West,” he answered. He paused a moment before asking, “what waits for you there?”

  “My betrothed,” she answered. “He must be worrying now.”

  “I will take you close to there when it is convenient for me.” His voice was slightly annoyed. “You commoners should be thankful you can marry for love; it is not our privilege to do so.”

  “Yes,” she replied. She turned her eyes downcast. It would be unwise to reveal her true status, or the Liege may try to marry or bed her and ruin the deal her father had made. “That is true, my Liege.”

  “Have you a name?” He asked. He took a step closer to her and leaned forward. She didn’t like the intimacy.

  “Azel, my Liege,” she replied honestly. Though not common, her name was not so unique that she need lie about it.

  “Azel,” he repeated while fingering strands of her hair. “It is not pretty enough for you.”

  “Do not touch me so carelessly,” Azel said frostily. “I have someone whom waits for my return.”

  He kissed the ends of her hair. “Would not the life of a Liege’s Consort be more desirable?”

  “I will be no one’s mistress.” She turned back to the window and away from him, her stare as cold as ice, “A wife is all I will become to any man.”

  “You are no commoner.” He leaned forward, as though to kiss her. “Your will is far too strong.”

  “Commoners must endure hardships beyond your imagining.” They were not her own as she had always been cared for. “They make us strong.”

  “Perhaps.” He was impossibly close and she could feel his hot breath against her lips. “Poverty can break a man’s spirit. I believe you have never experienced this; it is a terrible thing to be without the luxuries of money.”