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Page 24 of The Royal’s Bumblebee (Operation Colonise #2)

A few moments earlier

Izule

A few moments earlier.

Chaos has broken out on the royal platform.

Triggered by the fact that my sister, Princess Jajana, in her own kingdom, did not choose from the Royals who came to present herself before them.

As is her right.

It was a rouse, of course.

The Naltiks were making a play for my Father’s throne and the Eryans were in on it.

I never thought I would be relieved to have Rapalis at either side of me, but those shuckers know how to fight.

If they hadn’t crashed our Gcorket festival then we would have been facing the Naltiks and Eryans on our own.

They must really want my father’s help to get this human woman Lucy to come out of her compound for Aszu, if they are willing to join us for a fight at the drop of a leaf.

When the Death Striker Peacekeeper reared up with his human partner, armed and ready to go, I was certain we would have a swift victory. My Father, Vrujac and Broak all gave the Death Striker the order for the death bite. Victory had to be assured.

Well…it was…but we also suffered a great casualty.

I retracted my fangs from the neck of an Eryan mercenary in time to watch my father receive a death bite.

The main Naltik Prince, who appeared to be the shucking leader, tried to bite Vrujac.

He was striking from advantage, having just slammed my brother to the floor, but our father got in the way.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

I called out in horror as my father, the King of Orna, the biggest and strongest man I have ever known, slumped to his side and fell.

I saw the moment the venom coursed through him and started the short journey through his veins to his final breath.

Jajana cradled father in her arms, wailing with grief, and Vrujac rose with a vengeance to strike down our father’s killer.

A second later I hear Billie scream behind me, and I stop thinking.

I turn on my tail, over the three men I killed moments earlier, and slither as fast as I can through the remaining carnage to get to Billie.

Later I will look back on this moment and reason to myself that I knew most of our enemies were dead.

That the remaining invaders would easily be dealt with without my presence.

But right now? I just watched my father die, and a second later, I heard Billie scream.

The only driving force pushing me forward is the need to get to the woman I love, and get her away from danger. Where did the additional mercenaries come from? How did they get past the Elite guard? Someone’s head will roll for this, but right now my only concern is Billie. I am relieved to find her in the doorway so I can scoop her up in my arms and flee. “Billie. I’m here.”

She is weeping in my arms and it urges me to move faster.

“I’m getting you out of here.”

I force myself to move faster and harder, even with the burning of my chest.

One of the mercenaries in brown leather wraps got a lucky swipe on me but I took the shucker down.

Billie’s fingers sting against my chest and I realise she’s staring at my wound and her bloody fingers.

“Y…you need medical attention.”

“Not as much as I need you to be safe first.”

I insist and only pause when I come to the main exit.

I peer left and right, making sure the bridge was clear, before making a break for it.

I slither across the bridge to our front door and barely stop in time to enter the security code to the door.

I twist us inside, shut and lock the door, before hurrying up to the outer frame of her spiral staircase.

“You need medical attention.”

Her voice wobbled and she thrashed, accidentally backhanding my chest and making me wince.

She’s right, I need to treat that.

I slumped over to the hygiene level instead of our nest and twisted my tail below me into a tight coil.

I lower her into my coil and she whimpers at first.

“I need to clean my wound, Billie, that’s all.”

She relaxes and nods up at me.

I give her a brave smile and open the first aid cupboard.

“It isn’t deep.”

Billie is staring at me through her glasses, unblinking, and watching me.

A few months ago I might have found this to be strange, but I know her well enough now.

She is reassuring herself that I am getting medical attention.

She is watching me get better, which reassures her.

It’s also distracting her from her own fear at the violence we just escaped.

I am quite shaken and in need of the distraction as well.

I’m numb, and all I want to do is curl up with Billie in our nest, but I know she won’t come with me until I’m patched up.

I wet a cloth and wash the slice across my chest first.

I examine it and nod to Billie to reassure her. “It’s not deep.”

“Ucfeni are at a greater risk of infection.”

She puts her hands on either side of my coil and pushes her glasses up her nose.

She takes the cloth from me and runs it over her hands to clean them.

She hands it back to me and reaches into the first aid box with trembling hands.

“I can do that.”

I try to take the bottle of iodine and the bandages from her, but she yanks them away and glares at my wound.

“Ucfeni are at a greater risk of infection.”

Billie chides me and squirts the iodine at the cut on my chest.

I hiss at the sting, but Billie doesn’t give me any reprieve.

With the same precision she uses to give her computer maintenance when she takes it apart, she uses wound glue to seal the cut on my chest.

Tears slide down her cheeks and she’s chewing her lips together, but she doesn’t stop.

“Do you know how much blood you’ve lost? Because after a pint of blood loss, you risk becoming dizzy and suffer from low blood pressure.”

Billie looks pale and she continues to cry as she presses gauze to my chest.

“If you don’t sterilise the wound correctly you risk an infection.

Ucfeni are more at risk of infection.”

“Is that why you’ve taken over?”

I incline my head and watch as she tends to me.

I wince and lift my arms as she works the bandage around my chest and shoulders to secure the gauze in place.

“To make sure it’s done properly?”

Billie doesn’t answer me with words.

She answers me by securing the bandage with a safety pin at my right shoulder, moving the com-gem necklace to rest over the dressing, and then turns to look in the first aid kit.

“I need to take the blue ones.”

I nod to the pill jars in the kit, and she retrieves the correct jar.

Billie reads the label and I don’t need to tell her that they are antibiotics.

She nods and takes out two, as per the dose instructions, and brought her hand straight to my mouth.

I chuckle as she literally shoves her cupped hand to my mouth to force the pills past my lips.

I swallow them dry and she and I stare into each other’s eyes for a while.

“You have to take more every 4 hours.”

“Yes, I—”

“Are we safe now Izule?”

She speaks breathlessly and it clutches me deep in my chest.

I tap my com-gem and wait to be connected to the nearest security officer.

“This is Prince Izule.

Has the situation in the festival hall been…contained?”

“Yes your highness.”

The officer replied and Billie wrapped her arms around herself.

“Any casualties?”

“Some, yes.

Mostly the Naltik and Enryan forces, sire.”

“Hannah?”

Billie blurts out.

“Any humans?”

I ask to clarify.

“No your highness.”

Billie sags and moves to lean against my chest, but resists at the last moment.

She’s staring at my bandages.

“Is the King…”

I don’t know why I asked.

I saw him receive the death bite.

I know he’s dead.

“Did my father suffer?”

“…the report says he passed quickly.”

I close my eyes and brace myself.

“Vrujac is now King.”

I clear my throat and nod.

“Good.

He’ll take charge now.

Is the palace secure?”

“Yes your highness.

All of our enemies have been apprehended.

The Palace is secure.”

“Good.”

I swallow thickly and nod, though my hood is deflated on either side of my neck.

“Please inform my brother that I have received minimal wounds and they have been treated.

I have taken precautionary antibiotics.

Billie will monitor me for the next 24 hours, and I am not to be disturbed in my nest.

By anyone.”

“Yes your highness.”

I end the call by pressing my gem and look up at the ceiling.

My father is dead.

I can’t…I can’t accept this.

I saw him die, and the officer confirmed it for me, and it still doesn’t feel real.

Naltik and Erya will have hell to pay once this is over.

At least I know Vrujac will make sure of it.

Billie hugs me below my chest and doesn’t say anything.

There is nothing she can say, but her embrace means more to me than words ever could.

I gingerly lift her into my arms and she wriggles, trying to avoid my chest, as I carry her up to the top tier.

We settle down together in the bowl of cushions and Billie helps me take off everything apart from my soft green hanging skirt.

She places her headdress, ear defenders and glasses on the bedside table and shuffles back under the duvet she uses beside me.

She’s looking me in my yellow eyes.

Unwavering.

Silent.

Present.

As she waits and listens to me saying nothing, she does one thing that causes me to cry.

She takes my hand and holds it in both of hers between us.

I am a powerful hunter, and now I’m the largest and strongest male of my line, and I’m shaking with tears.

With grief.

My father is dead. Taken from me. I’m a tempest of emotions and want to lay in this bed forever, rather than face a world without him in it. Billie holds my hand and can’t look me in the eye anymore when I start sobbing, but she doesn’t let go of me.

“You are my sunshine.”

She swallows and timidly sings to me.

“My only sunshine.

You make me happy, when skies are grey.”

I am drawn to her soft voice as tries to stay in tune.

She’s no singer, but I am captivated by her.

It’s the kindness of the act that calms the storm inside me.

I flick my tongue towards her face and coil myself as close to her as I can in our nest.

“You’ll never know dear, how much I love you.”

I lean closer and press my brow to hers.

“So don’t take, my sunshine, away.”

The song is soft and sweet, just like Billie, and I hold her as close as I can without risking her pulling away.

If anything, she holds me just as tightly and sings quietly to me.