Shattered Destiny: A Galactic Adventure, Episode One by Odette C. Bell Read Free Book Online Page B

surprise. It was like I’d sprouted wings and flown around
the room.
    I fixed my attention back on the bot until I
was sure it was down and couldn’t fix itself. Throwing away a chunk
of its body, I wiped my bloody hands on my pants and stood.
    Mark followed my every move,
brows still pressed high into his hairline. “I
shot it three times with a level III blaster. It’s not coming
back.”
    “It’s better to be safe than sorry,” I
counselled as I walked past him and out into the primary
yard.
    “Where the hell did you come from?” Mark
asked.
    “You mean where did I learn to
fight?”
    He chuckled. “Yes, I mean where did you
learn to fight?”
    “Here. And in other refineries. You either
fight, or you die,” I said simply.
    He made eye contact as he nodded. “Yeah, I
understand that.”
    I doubted he did.
    He was an Arterian. The only thing he
would understand was privilege.
    I kept that particular thought to
myself.
    He suddenly clicked his head to the side,
and it was clear he was receiving a message through his implant. A
second later he sliced his hand forward. “All crew are being called
back to the primary grounds.” He shifted forward.
    I didn’t move.
    He flicked his gaze towards me. “That
means refinery crew, too.”
    Reluctantly I pushed off and followed
him.
    My boots scattered through the sand, now
torn in places from my ongoing fights with the bots.
    It didn’t take long to reach the primary
grounds.
    It seemed the Arterian ship had already been
refueled, as the majority of the security forces were pulling back
and walking up the ramp in single file.
    Suddenly my gut clenched and I jerked my
head to the side, gaze locking on a figure marching out of the
massive refinery doors.
    My gaze locked on him long before the
doors opened and the prince strode out.
    Again, I just knew where he was.
    My stomach clenched as I became terrified at
what that could mean.
    Mark cleared his throat. “It was nice
meeting you. Thank you for saving my life.” With that, he stepped
back and tapped a hand on his neck.
    His helmet shot up and covered his face.
    Almost immediately his behavior changed.
Though I could no longer see his expression, his countenance became
just as hard as his armor.
    It was easy to see why – he clearly held a
position of authority amongst the Arterian guards. He would have
only dropped it around me because I was a simple refinery worker
he’d never see again.
    Though I tried to distract myself with that
thought, it wouldn’t work.
    Every sense locked on the prince as he cut
a straight path towards us. The wind kept billowing through his
cape, blowing it over his shoulder dramatically.
    I still hadn’t seen his face, but that
didn’t matter. I felt as if I already knew exactly what he’d look
like. A strong angular, jutting jaw framed by wavy ice white hair
and offset by crystal purple eyes.
    It was such an oddly specific image that I
just couldn’t shake it from my mind.
    A second later the prince reached us,
brought a hand up, and tapped his helmet.
    It receded.
    … And I stared at the man I had
imagined. Down to every detail.
    I swore my heart chose that exact moment to
stop in my chest.
    Mark appeared surprised that the prince
had taken off his helmet. He took a strong step forward. “Prince
Xarin, we can’t be sure it’s safe yet.”
    The prince ignored him. “We have
recalibrated our scanners. We have scanned the hull. There are no
more bots. It is safe,” he said simply.
    His voice was strong, boomed out of his
throat, seemed to reverberate in his large, barrel chest. It was
more like concentrated claps of thunder and less like the tone of
an ordinary mortal.
    I knew I shouldn’t be staring at him so
openly, but there wasn’t a goddamn thing I could do to close my
eyes or turn away.
    A second later, his gaze darted to the side
and locked on mine.
    … And it felt as if I
stared through a door into a completely different realm.
    It was such an indescribable