Free Queen of the Savages - Complete by Lisa Lace Page A

helplessly as one explosion after another tore through the surrounding area. Screams and wails filled the air.
    A woman ran in sight of the camera, crying and screaming.
    "The emperor is dead. The emperor is dead." When she saw the father's body lying on the ground she wailed even louder.
    "Prince Sev! Prince Sev! Oh gods, oh merciful gods."
    The blood in both men's faces drained, but it was Rev that spoke. "Theris, what happened to Father?"
    The woman heard the voice, but didn't know where it was coming from. She looked around until she spied the transmitter.
    "Rev, Tev, oh gods, oh gods, they killed him too. I don't know who it was. I don't, " she wailed. "All I know is that they are dead. The whole royal family."
    A final explosion cut through the air, and this time the transmission went dark.
    Rev and Tev sat in shock.
    Tracy moved forward and put her hand on Rev's shoulder.
    "I'm sorry," she said.
    The screen lit up once again. This time, the scarred face of Zywth filled the screen.
    "I know you saw that. You're still on my ship. Don't you think I can pick up transmissions to and from it? What you saw was payback. You think you destroyed part of our operations on that desert world, but you don't know is how deep we are. Our people are on every major planet in the Aligned Worlds, and we will not stop until you and brother are dead. You will not escape us."
    The screen went blank.
    Rev shot up from the pilot's seat.
    "Fuck!"
    Rev was shaking with sorrow and rage. Tev sat in shock.
    Tracy had nothing to say, and she did not know what to do. Her heart filled with anger against these criminals who caused so much suffering. It was bad enough that they kidnapped her and her friend Carol, submitting Carol to horrible genetic modifications, but these men would stop at nothing, killing a whole family to get revenge against a man who was only doing his job.
    She wrapped her arms around Rev and held him as he shook. They both sat powerless together. In the small space, Tracy reached for Tev's shoulder and held her hand there. Finally Tev stood, and he joined Rev and Tracy, wrapping his arms around both of them. Standing there, crushed between both men, Tracy felt tears fall to her shoulders, and she wasn't sure whose they were.
    Rev lifted his head. "We must get home quickly," he said his voice hoarse.
    "Yes, yes, of course," said Tev. "They will need us."
    "Who?" asked Tracy.
    "The people of the Kerdos Empire. If the royal family in the palace are dead..."
    Rev stopped, unable to say anything else, but Tracy understood. Rev and Tev were in the line of succession. If the Emperor and his family were dead, they stood to inherit the empire.
    "Let's go then," she said gently. "It looks like there is work for you to do at home after all."
----
    There was little to say on the journey to Kerdos. The brothers made themselves busy fixing things around the ship, and generally avoided interaction. Tracy sat behind the pilot's chair and dozed off.
    Her dreams were filled with bizarre images. She found this happened when she didn't get the proper amount of sleep, and traveling with a couple of alien brothers wasn't doing any favors for her subconscious.
    She couldn't describe the images when she woke, but the memories haunted her. She had definitely been through too much in recent days. The events she survived weren't on a top ten list of things to do while on vacation.
    She was bound to be edgy and jumpy.
    In the pilot's cabin, the screen above the controls was blank. Rev piloted the craft when necessary while Tev inspected the ship, looking for anything that would allow Zywth to monitor their transmissions.
    "Where are you? Where are you?" he muttered in his frustration.
    "Why is he doing that?" said Tracy.
    "If Zywth can read our transmission he can also keep track our location," said Rev. "Tev is looking for anything unfamiliar that may be sending out information about us."
    The thought caused Tracy to shiver. She took inventory of the aliens