Free The Princess and her Alien Rogue: Alien Romance by Harmony Raines Page B

come from your planet, but I have ears all the same. I know what they say.”
    “What who says?” Tallia moved to turn around, but Rian put her hands on Tallia’s shoulders and turned her back to face the mirror.
    “Hold still or I will not be finished on time and you will look lopsided.”
    “Tell me, Rian. What do people think of me?”
    “They think you are strong, and they believe you will make a better queen than your father did king.”
    “I thought they loved my father.”
    “They did. But they saw the way the Emissars took back power. He was lost when your mother died. Too easy to sway. The Emissars brought in new laws, harsh laws in the southern villages.”
    “What kind of laws?” she asked. “And why have I never heard of them?”
    “Because you do not hear the whispers like I do.”
    “The whispers. You mean gossip?”
    “Yes. There are rumors that in the south the women are considered the property of their husbands when they are married. It is how they used to live hundreds of years ago. And now the Emissars have told the men there they may go back to the old ways.”
    “The Emissars have done this?” she asked. “Why?”
    “Because the men in the south have deep pockets.”
    “Bribery.”
    “Yes, My Princess.” She pinned the last strand to Tallia’s head. Tallia had not been taking too much notice of the face staring back at her, but suddenly she looked at herself and saw a woman she did not recognize. Rian leaned forward and whispered, “You have to act quickly. They will only grow in strength. Your father gave them rope, do not let that rope hang you.”

Chapter Fourteen – Johar
    He was about to get married.
    The temptation to run had never been so strong. Whatever madness had allowed things to get this far, he had to end it now. The right thing to do was to go straight to Tallia and tell her he had changed his mind and she would be better off without him.
    And yet his feet stayed firmly rooted to the spot. He looked down as his feet; they were encased in black boots that weren’t his, and his legs were sheathed in new black leather pants that, unlike his old pants, were not worn to feel like a second skin. The shirt on his back was silk, white, pure, and Krigan would have laughed hard to see him standing here looking at the man in the mirror.
    Krigan. If only he had boarded the cruiser with his friend and flown off into space full of bravado, looking for their next deal, or bigger trade.
    Instead, he was about to get married.
    “Shit,” he said to the empty room.
    But it wasn’t empty.
    “Shit indeed.” One of the Emissars, the one who had spoken to Tallia, he was sure, came to stand behind him.
    “Have you come to pass on your blessings for my union to your princess?” Johar asked.
    “She is not my princess; we both know that. Neither is she your princess. So why don’t we discuss terms,” the Emissar said, coming to stand next to him and look at the big Limerian in the mirror. “It would be a shame for a man as unique as you to get caught up in our messy internal squabble.”
    “A squabble. Is that what this is? Because if you ask me, I would say you and your fellow Emissars are looking to overthrow a monarchy.”
    The Emissar laughed. “And what does it matter to one such as you?” The sneer in his voice was thinly veiled, as if he could not quite quell his thoughts of how superior he was to Johar and all of those around him. This man, this Emissar, thought he was above everyone, that he was so close to taking power that he could say what he wanted, make whatever deals he wanted and everything would fall into his lap.
    “One such as me? And what exactly do you think I am?” Johar let his hands fall to his sides, resisting the temptation to flex his hands, ready to ball them into fists to punch this stuck-up Emissar across the room.
    “I think you are a trader, who likes to make his coin whenever and wherever he can. I believe that you are marrying Tallia for