Free Abducted by the Star Prince (Lords of Astria) by Juno Wells Page B

culture, and her body wasn’t adapted to the lighter gravity or the single sun of this system. She too was from a distant land, and a culture far behind our own. After her overwhelm, she grew to love it here, and understand it better than I even could. And she was the best mate I ever had.” The old man chuckled, looking wistfully to the empty throne beside him.  

    “And don’t speak of her that way either.”

    “Son, you’re much too sensitive. Women are made to be enjoyed. And if we let them, they will make us into better rulers, better leaders. I’ve heard the Terran women are quite fertile. You need an heir. And you know it. I won’t be here for another thousand years.”

    “Good Gods, father.” Kester stood before his father, gripping the arm of his mother’s throne. At only one hundred and eighty years of age, Kester was not ready to take a mate or produce an heir. He had never expected to face such pressure. After all, he wasn’t born to be king. If his psychotic brother hadn’t left Delma to join the forces of the Dark Nebula, Kester would be free to roam the galaxy, seeking as many mates as he wished, spreading his seed far and wide. This was what Kester was meant to do. Not travel for days on a rickety ship to take some weakling Terran woman against her will. “I wasn’t meant for this.”

      “Sometimes our destinies change. And though I’m a permissive father, on this subject I will not bend. You’re to find a fertile Terran woman and take her as a mate. That is final.” The King of Delma and the Lanids closed his mouth in a steely line, taking the opportunity to send an image into Kester’s brain. Kester immediately crumpled to the floor, clutching at his temples. Images of destruction at the hands of the tribes of the Dark Nebula filled his head. Kester saw citizens of Astria, stricken down, one after the other, unable to defend themselves. Sky cattle farmers, industrious miners, peaceful tribes and young families... all at the mercy of the dark warriors. Another image filled his unwilling mind... one of families built with Terran women, an alliance formed with the largest and most powerful civilization in the Neutral Zone. Terran would be unable to fight, but they would add new blood to Astria. If the Lords of Astria could take these women as wives, there might be enough of a claim on Terra to prevent the occupation of the Neutral Zone. It was a slim hope... but it was the only hope they had. The colors and sounds filled Kester’s head, the images coming faster now.

    “Father, enough! I’ll ready the ship and leave this night if it means no more nagging from you.” The images snapped back to blankness, and Kester’s body settled. He stood again. He knew that there would be no fated mate on Terra for him, but he would bed a Terran woman and impregnate her if he must. He couldn’t promise much on the marriage front, but he could perhaps get past that part of the deal and continue traveling from world to world and sampling each one of their women. If the Terran woman could give him an heir, he could return her home and have nothing more to do with her weak, medieval race. Kester turned and stormed from the great hall, turning towards the dock where his father stored the old hyperdrive ships. He would go alone and return soon. After all, he had to get back to his damned life.  

    Nadia

    “Ready the airlock. Something’s wrong with the damn thing.” Nadia raked her fingers through her wavy blond hair and pulled it back into a ponytail. She hadn’t tended to her usual beauty routine on the space station because... well it was the space station. Her skin had been sallow since she arrived at the ISS, and her hair lacked the luster that it had back on Earth. It was worth it for the view though. She floated over to the window, looking out over the broad horizon. It was easy to feel small when you were far enough to see four continents, and the atmosphere casually swirling away,