A Prince's Ransom

By Mary Newman

Prince Itu Graus thought coming out in front of the entire royal court was bad. Being exiled by his father to the frozen wastelands where he struggled just to survive was harsh.

But, running for his life is so much worse.

His planet invaded and the royal family assassinated, Itu leaves his world one step ahead of a death squad. Hiding from those who want him dead and just trying to survive are now his only goals.

Loka Chalce is known as a trader who travels the galaxy to buy and sell goods, but he has a secret life known only to a few as a licensed enforcer for the Interplanetary Council. When a contract comes across the com for a deposed prince who is running directly towards those Loka loves, he only stops long enough to be certain it is genuine before accepting the job.

But what happens when the man you have been hired to keep from ever returning to his world turns out to be someone you would much rather protect?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mary Newman
• Release date: Mar 25, 2016
• ISBN: 9781533737199

Book preview

Mary Newman

A Prince’s Ransom

Mary Newman

A Prince’s Ransom

Copyright © 2016 by Mary Newman

Cover art by Catherine Dair

www.catherinedair.com

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced without the author’s written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and names are fictitious and figments of the author’s imagination.

Other books by Mary Newman:

Love Trilogy:

Love’s Mistress

Love’s Slave

Love Awakened

The Hashani:

Love Unleashed

Following Fael

The Brethren:

His Warrior’s Heart

The Healers’ Warrior

A Warrior’s Strength

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

About the Author

Chapter One

Prince Itu! Get up! Hurry! We need to leave!

Itu sat up with a lurch, looking around wildly, the voice of his obviously panicked companion waking him from slumber.

Grekor? What’s going on? Itu attempted to make his brain function through a haze of sleep.

The shadows in his room meant it was still dark outside. His gaze automatically went to the window, where he usually left the curtains open at night in order to watch the moons cross the sky when he couldn’t sleep. Lately that was a frequent occurrence. The three moons shining through the dirty glass confirmed it was night.

Please, Prince Itu! You have to get up! Grekor pulled insistently on his arm. They’re coming for you, and we haven’t got a lot of time.

Itu focused on the man who’d been his companion since he was a toddler. His alarm at Grekor’s pale face and anxious green eyes, effectively cleared the cobwebs from his mind. He slid out of his bed, accepting the clothing Grekor forced into his arms.

Tell me what’s happening, he quickly dressed in the heavy clothing.

The Agremians have invaded Bergradi and the royal family has been executed.

Itu wasn’t sure what he felt on hearing the news. There was no love lost between his parents and him since he’d been banished from their presence three years earlier. Of course, their deaths and that of his elder brother, Tuva, was a shock. It probably shouldn’t have been. He’d heard the grumblings even here on the other side of the planet in this ragged village of exiles. News still came in from the rest of the world, albeit slowly. The people were tired of the harsh demands of his father and brother that they work harder, pay more taxes, give more of their service in his military – the list went on. Truly, it had only been a matter of time before another planet would take advantage of the monarchy’s internal turmoil and launch an invasion. Bergradi’s abundance of gem and mineral mines would have made it an irresistible target. The people putting out the call for outside help would have been the perfect excuse.

Hurry, Prince Itu! Grekor’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. We need to get you away as quickly as possible.

Surely I don’t need to run, Itu tried for a reasoning tone in spite of his apprehension. Everyone knows my father and I didn’t see eye to eye. I’m living in exile, after all!

The messenger said a death squad is on its way here, Grekor shook his head emphatically. Their orders are to find and quietly dispose of you. You are part of the royal family, even if you are banished from the palace, and it would seem the Agremians want no challenge to their authority, nor are they going to take the chance you’ll seek to avenge your father.

Itu opened his mouth to contradict Grekor, then closed it with a sad shake of his head. If they’d sent a death squad, they believed he was a threat. He wasn’t going to be given a chance to tell them he only wanted to live in peace. It pained him that he’d been painted with the same brush as his father without even being given a chance to refute the allegations.

Itu held no illusions regarding his father. Iva Graus had been a selfish, cold-hearted tyrant who cared nothing for the people of Bergradi. His entire focus had been on power and adding to the royal treasury. Damn anyone who got in his way. It hadn’t mattered who they were – friend or foe, family or not. Itu’s brother, Tuva, hadn’t been much better. Although not as ruthless as their father, he still spent his days in debauchery with whatever female currently held his attention while his pretty, but irresponsible, wife sat among her attendants and tittered over whatever expensive trinkets he gifted her with.

Itu had never been a favored son, but not even a semblance of affection existed between him and his family once he’d been banished. He remembered well the day he’d been called to the throne room to receive the news a bride had been selected for him. The intended bride could barely keep the dismay from her face and was unsuccessfully trying to staunch her tears as her beaming parents, Lord and Lady Vorce, had presented her. After all, being selected as a royal bride was the height of honor among the aristocracy of Bergradi. It seemed no one had cared that he didn’t want a wife and his intended was in love with another. Minor issues, as far as their parents had been concerned.

They’d been consigned to the gardens to get to know each other while their parents drew up the marriage contracts and planned the wedding. Itu had listened as his intended, Thia, spoke quietly of the young pilot she loved; and he’d come up with a plan to spare them both. It had taken little effort, really, since no one had expected him to defy the king. He’d never done so before. He’d nodded at the wedding preparations while working discretely with Grekor to make sure it never happened. Disguised as servants, Itu, Grekor, and Thia had snuck to the space dock the day before the wedding, where she was instead wed to her beloved Elior. The two had left Bergradi on a used spaceship acquired for them by Grekor. Itu didn’t know where his companion had gotten the funds, nor did he care; not when Grekor had assured him it had been entirely legal.

Once she’d been discovered missing, Thia’s father had tried to rescue the situation by proposing his younger daughter, Gera, take Thia’s place. Gera was not even a little in favor of the switch and had protested vigorously. Seeing Gera’s panicked face, Itu had lost his temper in a rare fit, informing the entire court he was gay and had no intentions of ever taking a wife. A livid Iva retaliated by banishing him on the spot. Sending him to the frozen province of Argil with only Grekor to accompany him until he came to his senses.

That had been three years ago. A single guard in a dilapidated solar glider had sporadically delivered enough supplies to keep them from starving or freezing to death. Barely. Grekor, a master of improvisation, made do with the little provided, supplementing it with whatever edible vegetation and animals he could find. Itu shook himself from his memories and accepted the worn cloak Grekor offered.

I hope you have a way for us to get out of here that doesn’t involve freezing to death, Grekor, Itu attempted a little humor.

His people had called for outside help, and Itu wasn’t going to issue a challenge for leadership. He’d never expected to rule, anyway. He was merely the spare, after all. Best to just slip away and let his people have the peace they desired. Maybe the Agremians would be better rulers than Iva, in spite of the fact they’d killed his family. He shook his head, squashing the familiar yearning to do something for his people to make their lives better.

Do you doubt me? Grekor said in an affronted voice, grabbing a packed duffle bag and pulling him towards the door.

I wouldn’t dream of it.

Grekor harrumphed and shoved him out the door into the waiting arms of Thia.

Hurry up, she instructed after a brief hug. Elior put the ship down in a clearing over the hill so the other villagers wouldn’t see. We can take you as far as the Obalin system, since we have a cargo going to Outpost Sema. It’s a little over a month journey with all the stops we’re making. Hopefully, you’ll be safe there until you can find work or move on to someplace further away.

I didn’t think, Itu stopped in his tracks, bringing Thia to a standstill. I have no credits and I don’t have a clue how to earn any.

Then you’ll learn, just like I did, Thia snorted, pulling him into a run. Use your head, Itu. You have an education. You thwarted our fathers when they tried to force us into marriage, and you’ve survived here in a pauper’s shack for three years.

But, I had Grekor, Itu protested, gasping for breath in the cold air as they ran up the hill.

And you’ll still have me, Grekor reassured. I have some credits left to me by my family to get us through. Worry about staying alive right now. Everything else will fall into place.

Itu sighted the bulky shape of the spaceship as they topped the rise. Under the circumstances, it was a very welcome sight. He matched the hurried strides of Thia and Grekor as they rushed forward. An opening appeared in the side of the craft with Elior’s slender shape backlit by the lights from within.

I figure we’ve got an hour before the soldiers figure out your exact location, he grabbed the duffle from Grekor once they’d hurried up the ramp. My younger brother volunteered to act as their guide and he’s doing his best to delay them.

We’re sticking you in the cargo hold until we know for sure you’re safe, Thia said. There’s still a chance they’ll get past our cloaking technology with their scans. I don’t think they’ll be able to scan through the cooler we’re putting you in, though. It’s got special shielding to protect fragile foods.

Elior sealed the hatch and ran towards the bridge while Thia led them in the opposite direction. Once in the cargo area, she guided them through a maze of tied down crates and boxes and opened the door to a refrigeration unit.

It’s cold in here, but I’ve put in some blankets and warmers, Thia said pushing them both inside among cases of produce. I’m sorry for your discomfort, but it’s the best way we have to keep you safe.

We’ve been living in a freezer for the past three years, Itu assured her. We’ll be fine.

I’ve got to seal you in so take these, Thia handed them each a small cylinder-shaped rebreather. I don’t want to chance you running out of air before I can let you out.

She turned away to leave.

Thia, Itu called out softly.

Yes?

Thank you.

I’m the reason you were exiled, Itu. Getting you to safety is the least Elior and I can do.

Itu snorted, Oh please, Thia. I was banished because I refused to marry your sister.

Yeah, I heard about that, Thia grinned before shutting the door. Gera said your dad’s head almost exploded when you told him you liked men.

Itu chuckled, listening to the whoosh of the seal activating around the door.

Best wrap up in these blankets together, Grekor held two blankets open where a bench was formed over the cooler’s mechanical parts. We should be able to stay warm enough if we share body heat.

I always knew you had designs on my body, Itu smirked.

You wish, Grekor shook his head and grinned. I prefer my men much bulkier and with a lot more body hair than your skinny butt will ever sprout.

Slender, Grekor, Itu responded, tongue in cheek. I’m slender, not skinny.

Skinny, Grekor retorted. You’ve had barely enough food to survive, Itu. I’ve been helping you dress for the past three years.

You realize it’s quite possible things will get worse? Itu snuggled against the older man as Grekor placed one of the warmers by their feet and another in his hands before securing the blankets around them.

Not only possible, but probable.

I hope you don’t regret coming with me, Grekor, Itu shivered even with the warmth of the body beside him. You could have stayed and returned to your family or served whoever the Agremians put at the head of the government.

Grekor placed an arm around his shoulders under the blankets before answering.

I have no living family, Itu, and you have been more my son than you were ever King Iva’s. I have been with you twenty two years and I’ll not abandon you now.

Still, Itu persisted. I’m a grown man.

One who has never been on his own, Grekor said. You will need life skills in order to survive. I apologize for not teaching you the skills you would need before.

You were too busy trying to keep us alive after my father sent us away, Itu sighed. I don’t fault you for what happened. I am solely to blame for being banished to the frozen wastelands. You weren’t given a choice. I, at least, could have kept my mouth shut and went along with his plans.

And allowed not only your own life to be ruined, but that of a young woman’s? Oh no, Itu. You don’t have it in you to do that to another, Grekor shook his head. You are as gay as I am. Pretending otherwise to appease King Iva would have only made you and Gera miserable.

Itu nodded and yawned, feeling incredibly tired, suddenly. He leaned his head against Grekor’s shoulder and closed his eyes. He vaguely heard Grekor whisper for him to sleep, my little prince, much as he had when Itu was still a child, and smiled to himself. He wasn’t certain how long he’d dozed when the whooshing of the seal being broken roused him.

"Damn! I’m