Page 13 of Alien Spare (Cosmic Mates #9)

Two days later

“Pardon, Your Highness, but there’s a delivery for you.” Tontu held out a small metal cube.

Yes! Falkor broke into an unrestrained grin. “You didn’t happen to see my wife on the way, did you?” Karma had gone to visit Kismet and could return at any moment.

“No, Your Highness. Should I look for her?”

“No, I was just asking. Carry on.”

The servant left.

There wasn’t much time. Quickly, he popped open the metal cube. A silver-gold orb sealed with a tiny latch nestled in the fluffy packing material. He opened it to reveal a glowing blue Kaldorite stone set in a woven Celestium band. It’s better than I anticipated.

He’d described his idea to the jeweler who’d designed and fabricated it. His people didn’t wear wedding rings, but, according to Kismet, humans did, and an “engagement ring” was quite important to human females. Kismet helped him get the right size, lending him one of her rings to show the jeweler.

After dinner, he would ask Karma to marry him again. They’d wed under duress the first time; he wanted her to know he wished to marry her by choice. He felt certain he could get his monarch father to perform the ceremony.

He replaced the ring in the orb, slipped the sphere into his pocket, and disposed of the metal cube. I can’t wait! Why ask her after dinner? Maybe I should ask her as soon as she gets back? He sat on the sofa to wait for her then popped up to pace, too excited to sit.

A chime sounded throughout the suite. His father’s page stood in the hall. “His Majesty orders you to appear before him immediately.”

Attendance before the king was never voluntary; however, there were invitations, and there were orders.

One was invited to attend dinner with Their Majesties.

One was ordered to appear when one had displeased the king.

He couldn’t imagine what he’d done this time.

Getting chewed out by his father was the last thing he needed when he had such big plans!

“Please inform His Majesty I will be there shortly.” He slipped his hand into his pocket and fingered the orb containing the ring. I hope this doesn’t take long.

“My apologies, Your Highness, but I cannot leave without you. I must escort you.”

Falkor’s neck started to itch.

* * * *

“I will inform His Majesty you’ve arrived.” The page deposited him at the king’s library door and departed.

To his surprise, he found Karma inside.

“I’m so glad it’s not just me!” she said. “I’d left Kismet’s when the page intercepted me. What is this about?”

“No idea. Hopefully nothing.” It was never nothing with the king, but while his father often found fault with him, his wife couldn’t have done anything wrong. He gave her a hug. “Whatever it is, I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.” He’d do the worrying for both of them.

Facing an angry king was never pleasant, and he hoped the confrontation wouldn’t mar his special plans. If his father was mad at him, he couldn’t very well request a favor.

Time dragged on, which did not bode well. Unexpected urgent matters of the realm often demanded the king’s immediate attention, but his father expressed displeasure by making the target of his ire wait.

After half an hour, the double doors swung open, and his parents entered. His father’s angry visage didn’t worry him as much as his mother’s stony expression. Oh, hekkel, it’s bad. He scooted closer to Karma.

“Is there something you wish to tell us?” His father addressed him like he was six years old.

He straightened. “I don’t know what it could possibly be.”

“And you?” His mother looked at Karma. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Biting her lip, she glanced at him before replying, “I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean…Your Majesty.”

“Why is she here?” Falkor asked.

“We’ll get to her. First, you.” His father glowered. With a wave of his hand, he activated the holotheater. “ This aired yesterday evening.”

On the theater’s platform, Bynti of KCN materialized outside the exterior of the Kaldoronics headquarters.

Hekkel! “I can explain—”

“Silence!”

“Kaldor Celebrity News has learned that Prince Falkor Rullok-Myka has taken on the lifestyle duties of a commoner,” Bynti said. “The prince is the secret owner of the tech company Kaldoronics at Home. KCN reached out to Soton, who functions as the public head, but he declined to comment.”

For all his faults, Soton had stuck to the nondisclosure agreement.

“KCN was unable to reach the palace for comment.”

Bynti hadn’t even tried! Although, if she had, he would have refused to speak to her.

“However, anonymous sources close to the prince have confirmed our report.”

Like who? Soton and Karma were the only ones who knew.

The hologram shimmered into a new one—Bynti seated in a room facing a screen behind which the familiar form of a man was silhouetted.

Anonymous sources, my ass. “I’ve known the prince for years,” Soton said. “He confided that His Majesty King Rullok had threatened to cut him off financially, so he was forced to find other means to support his lavish lifestyle.”

“That’s a lie!” Falkor burst out. But the grain of truth taken out of context and magnified sounded plausible.

In adolescence, he had spent money recklessly, flashing his wealth without concern for appearances.

His father had threatened to cut him off.

But that had happened years ago, long before he considered founding a business.

“Prince Falkor got a friend to serve as the head of Kaldoronics so the king wouldn’t find out,” said Soton. “He’s been operating the business for years without His Majesty’s knowledge or consent.”

Anger burned in his gut.

That hologram disintegrated, and Bynti reappeared outside the palace.

“So, the big question arises, what else is the Prince of Scandal up to that Their Majesties King Rullok and Queen Myka are unaware of? And if the king and queen can’t keep their own house in order, how can they rule over Kaldor?

This is Bynti with Kaldor Celebrity News. Back to you in the studio.”

The hologram disappeared. He was certain he had a ring of hives around his neck. The itching was ferocious.

“I do not care if you are running a business,” his father said.

Since when? “When I approached you with an idea—”

“You were not ready for the responsibility, and you would have failed, which would have reflected on the monarchy. Clearly, you have made a success of Kaldoronics. What I cannot abide is that you went behind my back, deliberately kept the palace in the dark, and gave cause for people to question our ability to rule. Furthermore, you shared a private conversation—”

“It wasn’t like that!” he interrupted. “The so-called anonymous source? It’s my business partner. Soton took what I said out of context—and he violated our nondisclosure agreement.”

“Be that as it may—”

“It’s not his fault!” Karma burst out. “Soton said what he did because of me. It’s my fault.”

“It’s not your fault,” Falkor reassured her.

“You ought to listen to your wife,” the queen said coldly, sending a chill down his spine. “Show the other one.”

“This aired this morning.” The king activated another holovid.