Leaving Sivadia (5 page)

Cy followed his father, Oz, and Lord Panzer into the
elevator. No one uttered a word on the ride back to the surface. The moment
they exited the bunker, gunfire erupted.

As the king hit the ground, Cy screamed. “Father!”

Oz shoved Cy behind him and grabbed Cieran, pulling them
both behind a large boulder.

Cy’s breath came in ragged gasps. They rolled his father
over and saw a gaping wound directly over his heart. “Hold on, Father! We’ll
get you out of here!”

Oz picked up Cieran as if he weighed no more than a
child. As he straightened to transport, a bullet seared through his side. He
crumpled to the ground with the king. Oz put his hand against his lower right
rib and hissed in pain. “Cy, do you see Vind anywhere? You both need to
transport to the ships.”

“I’m not leaving without you and Father,” Cy yelled over
the sound of gunfire.

“Yes. You. Are. Cygan.” Oz said between clenched teeth.

Miles and another guard were crouched behind a nearby
rock, returning gunfire at the enemy.

“Where are Vind and Lord Panzer?” Cy yelled.

“Vind transported at the first sight of a Haagon. Lord
Panzer is dead,” Miles said.

“Father and Oz are injured and can’t transport. We need
your help getting back to the ships.”

Miles and the guard ran toward them and dove behind
their cover. When they landed, a bullet had penetrated the guards heart. He was
dead before he hit the ground.

“We have to do this now,” Miles yelled. “There’s hardly
anyone left to keep them off us.”

Cy strained to lift his father; Miles grabbed Oz, and
they transported to the entrance of the facility. When they materialized,
guards rushed to help carry them to the infirmary.

Cy’s heart seized as they laid his father on the exam
table. Blood poured from his chest and his clothes were drenched.

As two doctors ran in and began working on saving the
king, Cy stepped back and looked at his father’s blood covering his hands and
arms. The sound of blood gurgling with each labored breath confirmed Cy’s worst
fear. His father would not live to see their new home…Earth.

Queen Ximena ran into the room. Her gaze immediately
found her husband’s pale, lifeless body lying on the table.

“No! No! No!” Her scream was filled with pain and fear.
Tears poured down her fair cheeks and she looked almost as pale as the king.

She’s going to pass out.

Her knees buckled and Cy ran toward his mother, catching
her a second before she hit the floor. He lifted her in his arms and laid her
on a cot against the wall.

Cy stepped back as a nurse worked on her. Fear gripped
his heart as he thought about all the people who had died shortly after losing
their life-mates.

Is that what’s happening to her?
He didn’t think he could bear losing one of them. There was no way
he would survive losing them both. If that happened, Vind would be more than
happy to end his existence.

His mother’s eyes fluttered open and she tried to sit
up. The nurse gently placed her hand on the queen’s shoulder to hold her in
place. “Your Majesty, if you sit up too fast, you’ll faint again. Please, lie
here a moment and then we’ll take it slow.”

Her sapphire eyes glistened with tears. “I have to check
on my husband.”

“The doctors are still working with him. I will get a
wheel chair and take you to his side the moment they’re finished.” The nurse
stepped away from the queen.

Cy took her hand in his. “Mother, are you all right?”
His voice shook with emotion.

“Yes, darling. I just fainted. Seeing your father like
that was shocking. I’ll be fine. She glanced toward her husband, but the
doctors had pulled the curtain. “Where’s that nurse? Sweetheart, will you go
find a wheelchair? I have to get over there to see about Cieran.”

“Yes, Mother. Please don’t get up and faint again. I’ll
be right back.”

She nodded. “I promise, but please hurry.”

Cy ran to a door labeled, Supply Room. He eased it open
and looked around. The walls were lined with deep shelves filled with medical
supplies. He glanced toward the back where two wheelchairs leaned against the
shelf. Cy grabbed one, rolled it out of the room and over to his mother.

The privacy curtain had been retracted around his
father. His eyes were closed and tubes of blood poured into him from numerous
bags. His mother sat on the side of her cot and two doctors talked to her as
she wept.

Cy stopped beside her and she eased over into the chair.
“May I sit beside him in case he wakes?”

The doctor nodded, and Cy rolled her over to his father.
She leaned over and placed a tender kiss on the back of his hand. It was the
most heartbreaking thing Cy had ever seen. Tears stung his eyes and he fought
the lump in his throat. “Mother, do you want me to go get Vind? I’m not sure he
knows what happened.”

She mindlessly stroked her husband’s hand. “That would
be good, darling,” she said, her tone flat. Cy wasn’t sure she knew what he had
asked.

Cy hurried through the ship to the room he shared with
his brother. He opened the door and found Vind reading a book about war. “Where
did you go when we were attacked?”

Vind glanced up from his book. “You didn’t expect me to
hang around and get eaten by those monsters, did you?”

“You’re the one who’s been complaining since the
Haagon’s landed about wanting to fight, so yes, I expected you to stick around
for more than a few seconds.”

“What do you want?” Vind snapped.

“Father was badly injured. He’s in the infirmary, and
Mother wants you to join us there.”

“There’s nothing I can do for him,” Vind said with his gaze
still on the book.

“Vind, Father might not make it. You could at least
pretend to care. If for nothing else, do it for Mother.”

Vind’s penetrating gaze landed on him, and they stared
for several intense moments. “I’ll be there in a minute,” he finally said.

Cy left and went back to the infirmary.

 Oz waited outside the door. “He’s awake. I spoke
with him for a moment, and he asked to speak to your mother alone.”

“He’s not going to make it, is he?” Cy asked Oz.

“I won’t lie to you, Cy. The doctor said there’s too
much damage for his heart to regenerate.”A muscle ticked in Oz’s jaw. “I don’t
remember a time when we weren’t friends. He’s the brother I never had.”

Cy glanced at Oz as his voice broke and tears wet his
eyes. He was the mightiest warrior their race had ever known. Those tears were
genuine…a testament to his love for his friend and king.

“How will we survive on a new planet without him?” Cy
asked.

“His purpose and hard work has always been for our race
to continue. We owe it to him to survive in spite of the odds, in spite of
everything.”

Oz glanced at his watch, and then back at Cy. “Will you
be all right? I have to make sure everyone is ready to leave. We only have
thirty minutes until take-off.”

Cy started to answer when the infirmary door opened and
his mother came through. Her eyes were red and her hands shook. A knot formed
in Cy’s throat. Something was different about her. She no longer walked with
the elegance of a queen. She walked as someone who had been deflated, as if her
joy had been sucked from every cell and replaced with misery. What if she gave
up and died too, like so many of their people did after losing their
life-mates? Fear shot through Cy at the thought of losing them both.

He stood and hugged her, wanting his comfort to be
enough to help, but knowing it was like putting a bandage on a mortal wound.

His mother returned the embrace. “Darling, he wants to
see you, but you need to hurry. He has very little time left with us.”

Cy went into the infirmary. His father lay on a bed with
his eyes closed and his breath shallow. Blood infusions were draining into both
arms at a high rate of speed. “Father?”

His eyes opened, startled at first and then softening to
a blue so light they were almost silver. He reached for Cy’s hand and grimaced
as he brought it to his lips. “My precious boy. I so wanted to have more time
with you. I wanted to watch you grow into the honorable king I know you’ll be
one day. But I’m afraid fate has other plans.”

“No, Father. As soon as you get enough blood, you will
heal. You’ll be with us to see our new planet.”

“Son, my wounds are too severe to heal. I have some
things to say, while I still can. I did not prepare you well enough to deal
with your brother, and for that I’m sorry. Vind is so much like my own brother
was, jealous, conniving and possessive. I grew up dealing with someone like
him, so I had experience with that type of personality. I shielded you from
dealing with Vind, and that was a mistake. He will fight you at every turn.
Every decision you make as king, he will challenge. Stand your ground and never
back down from him…not even once.”

His breathing was becoming labored. He coughed and blood
came from the corner of his mouth. Cy grabbed a towel and wiped it away.
“Father, please rest. You can tell me this later.”

“No, Cy. I must do it now. I’ve ask Oz to help prepare
you to begin your kingship on your eighteenth birthday. He is the most
honorable person I know, who only wants what’s best for our race. I don’t know
where I’d be without his counsel. That’s why I ask you to take his word, as you
would if it were me advising you on matters.”

“Yes, father, I will. No one will ever prey on our
people again. I will give my life to defend that promise.”

A weak smile crossed his father’s lips. He coughed, and
droplets of blood sprayed the bed from the force. His face reddened as he
gasped to get another breath.

Cy glanced toward a doctor standing a few feet away.
“Help him! He can’t breathe!”

The doctor ran over and suctioned blood from the king’s
mouth. The queen, Oz and Vind came in.

“What’s happening?” His mother asked. “We heard you
scream.” She ran to her husband’s side and held his hand.

The coughing suddenly stopped. The king’s mouth opened and
his chest muscles contracted hard as his body desperately tried to pull in air.

Tears rolled down Cy’s cheeks and he took his father’s
other hand, helplessly watching him fight to draw another breath, but none
came.

The doctor listened to his chest and felt for a pulse.
He glanced up and shook his head. “I’m sorry; his body could not overcome the
damage.”

It was as if a large hand reached inside Cy’s chest,
clamped down on his heart, and tried to rip it from his body. His father was
gone. Deep inside he knew this sorrow would remain with him for the rest of his
days.

Earth, 1725AD

Cy stood in his dressing room with a flurry of servants
around him, putting the final touches on his coronation cape. Today was his
eighteenth birthday, and the day he would become the Sivadian ruler.

It had been four years since they’d left Sivadia, four
years since his father had died. Oh how he wished he was here. Learning to
become a king his father would be proud of had been hard on him. But learning
to adjust to this planet’s environment had been hard on everyone. Earth’s sun
was much harsher than their scientists had predicted. Sivadians loved being
outdoors, but everyone had to stay inside when the sun was at its highest, and
slowly build a tolerance to its bright rays.

The other major problem was not so easily fixed. None of
the females had become pregnant since their arrival. If they didn’t figure out
why, the Sivadians who had escaped would be the only ones who ever lived on
this planet. Everything his father had done to ensure their race would continue
and prosper would be lost.

Cy looked out the castle window at the surrounding
mountains, and wondered if Vind would attend the coronation ceremony. No one had
seen him in over a week. His anger at Father not choosing him as his successor
had escalated, becoming almost intolerable over the last four years.

When Vind turned seventeen, he had assumed the position
as second-in-command of their one hundred-strong army. He was supposed to be
present today to be promoted to general. Vind’s position would only be second
to Cy’s. Then again, there lay the problem, he wasn’t number one.

The door to Cy’s room flew open, slamming against the
stone wall. The force sent shards of rock skidding across the floor. Vind stood
in the doorway dressed in full military gear. The servants scattered to the
outer edges of the room, fear etched on their faces.

“Leave us,” Vind shouted.

All eyes turned toward Cy. He nodded and they scurried
through the door as if a beast were tight on their heels.

Splatters of blood covered Vind’s face and neck. “Are we
under attack?”

“We are not,” Vind said between clenched teeth. “I’m the
one under attack. I have been since the day you were born. I’m the one who
should become king, not you!” Hatred etched every word.

 Cy shook his head. He had been expecting this
confrontation all day. “Vind, do we have to go through this again? Today we
will each assume the responsibilities for our people that Father assigned to
us. It was his dying wish that we stand together, to unite our people and
thrive on this planet. Not fight each other to the bitter end.”

“I will never accept Father’s ruling. It was all a lie!”
Vind’s voiced echoed through the room.

“Now you’re calling Father a liar?”

Vind glared at him with dark, venomous eyes. “That’s
exactly what I’m calling him. I finally have the proof I need to block you from
the throne.”

Cy had a feeling the blood splatters on Vind were a
direct result of him obtaining this so-called information. “It doesn’t matter
what kind of proof you think you have, Vind. Father’s decision is final. The
royal council has already told you that. The sooner you accept it, the better
off you’ll be. It’s almost time for the ceremony. I suggest you go wash up and
get ready.”

 Cy sat on the bed and pulled one boot on. He
glanced up at Vind and their gazes locked. His twin looked like a lunatic,
ready for a rampage. Cy shook his head, grabbed his other boot and pulled it
on, not taking his eyes off his brother. As he stood, Vind brought his hand
from behind him.

Pain erupted in Cy’s chest. He glanced down and a dagger
protruded from it, only centimeters from his heart. He looked up as Vind
reached for another dagger. Cy gasped and held his breath as he jerked the
knife from his chest. He quickly aimed and released the bloody dagger at Vind.
It penetrated his shoulder.

Blood saturated the front of Cy’s shirt, and weakness
was coming on quickly. His legs crumpled and he sank to the floor, leaning
against the bed. The sound of a sword unsheathing echoed through the room. His
vision blurred, but he made out Vind’s form approaching. He was ready to finish
what he’d started in that cave so long ago. Cy had always known he would die at
the hands of his brother.

Suddenly the blur that was Vind’s body flew backwards.
The sound of swords clanging echoed through the room. Cy shook his head and
strained to focus on who had come to his rescue. His vision cleared enough to
see Miles backing Vind against the wall. Since they had left Sivadia, Miles had
become like a brother to him. A friendship Cy had always wished he and Vind
could have, but knew they never would.

Now Miles is risking his life to keep Vind from
killing me.
Cy’s vision dimmed and darkness took
him under.