The Pirate Prince (4 page)

“Cosmetics,” Viktor corrected.

“You would know,” Lucien snorted at his brother. Both of them looked ridiculous, dressed as Líntianese women.

Instantly Viktor made a dive for his brother. Lucien crashed into the palace wall.

They’d made it past the guards easily. Both of the warrior men had ignored them as the brothers shuffled in, walking as they’d seen the women of the planet do. It was easier

than either of them had thought.

“Blessed Stars! Stop it,” Lucien growled. “Someone’s coming. Start acting all …

womanish
.”

Viktor instantly pulled back and began smoothing his robes. Lucien did the same, lowering his head and keeping an eye on the man who approached.

The man spoke, but his words were in Líntianese and neither of them had bothered to upload the language into their brain. He gestured to the side and began walking as if expecting them to follow. Viktor frowned and shrugged. The man looked back and said something again, this time louder.

Lucien glanced at his brother. “I guess we follow?” “Great,” Viktor drawled sarcastically. “But if he tries to slip a hand up my robe I’m leaving Rick to rot.”

The brothers shuffled their feet as they followed the man. He waited impatiently, arching a brow before shaking his head. His eyes trailed over their feminine attire and a small shiver worked its way over his entire length. When he turned, Viktor grimaced. Whispering, he said, “I don’t know whether to be relieved or insulted by his repulsion.”

Lucien rolled his eyes and gave his brother a shove to get going. Without saying another word, they trailed behind the man, down the ornate, golden palace hall.

* * * *

Mei followed her brother, lost in thought. The docks along the Satlyun were crowded with merchant ships. Close to the water was the space dock with small luxury crafts taking off and landing from the entrance to the long stone building. The ships could be seen drifting across the light blue skies, some of the older ones leaving cloud like trails in their wakes. It was a beautiful sight. Wide wooden ships lined the banks of the river. For her, seeing the two so close together was normal, but it was still an odd contrast of the old ways and the new. Even though the boats looked traditional, they were modern in every way with the ability to hover over the water when the waves got too rough. Mei sometimes wished they

couldn’t, so that they could ride the water and everything it gave them—rough or not. At least it would be an adventure.

“Not the true love you expected when great-grandmother told you of your future, meimei?” Haun arched a brow as he stopped close to where the Zhang royal ship was docked. “Prince Lok seemed to be strong enough of a warrior to me, but what do I know of picking men for my sister to marry? To me none of them are worthy of you.”

Mei turned her attention from the bobbing mast to study her brother. She just wanted to leave the Singhai Empire behind her. Forever. “You are not funny,gege .”

At the moment, part of her wanted to leave her home planet forever. But, looking at her brother’s dark eyes, she knew she’d miss never seeing him again. She was too close to her family.

“I feel your soul,meimei, and I know your heart.” Haun chuckled, his lip twitching up at the side as he pulled her to his chest in a brief hug. She laid her head on his comforting chest before he let go and she was compelled to step back. Haun opened his mouth to continue but a loud shout from the Song palace interrupted him.

Automatically he lifted his arm to block her from whatever the commotion was. Mei leaned over to see past him.

Two women ran from the palace with what looked like well over a dozen of the Song guards behind them. Their robes trailed behind them, disheveled and very indecent.

Mei was sure she could see flashes of their flat chests and bare legs.

“What’s happening?” Mei asked, frowning.

“I don’t know.” Haun took a step forward, his body tense for a fight.

Suddenly, five men appeared on one of the decorative platforms along the side of the stairs. The group of men joined the women in the race down the mountain. They weren’t dressed like the men of her planet and, in fact, they looked like space rogues.

She’d seen plenty of pictures of pirates and such growing up. Emperor Zhang had insisted all his children be well educated. Mei stiffened, intrigued. The most noticeable was a giant red man dressed all in black. Next to him were several humanoids. “They steal the Emperor’spu ren ,” Haun said. He lifted his hand to the boat, motioning the Zhang guard down to his side. “Get in the boat, Mei.” “No, wait,” she protested.

“Get her in the boat,” Haun ordered the guards, grabbing her by the arm and thrusting her toward them. She stumbled, taken by surprise by his grip. He was only trying to protect her, but it was still annoying to be told what to do.

“Haun!” Mei protested, screaming at him as a couple of Zhang guards caught her by the arms and pulled her toward the docking plank. “Get off me. I can protect myself.”

The guards didn’t listen. Mei knew it was pointless to struggle, but she did anyway. The tight bodice of the gown kept her body stiff and her protests ineffective. The guards kept going. They were trained to take the future Emperor’s order before hers.

Anything Haun said would supersede any protest she made.

“Haun!” Mei yelled.

Haun ignored her. He stepped forward with the Zhang guards as the thieves came down the docking plank chased by the Song men. Mei was thrust aboard the ship. She refused to go down below as she watched from the railing. A soft breeze blew around her, lifting her clothing behind her as it pressed the silk to her stomach and chest. Her guards, obviously wanting to see the capture, didn’t protest her choice of location as they stood at her side in protection.

Mei grasped the railing, itching to be part of the fight. Being a princess, it wasn’t often that she got to see any action. One of the pirate thieves grabbed onto a handrail and wrapped his legs over it, sliding past the remaining steps. A few others followed suit, including one of the women whose silk gown ripped loudly as she landed none too gracefully. Without missing a step, the big red man grabbed the woman by the arm and

hauled her to her feet as he passed by. The woman limped slightly next to him, but he thrust her forward and she kept running.

Who were these women? They didn’t move like normalpu ren . Had Emperor Song obtained them from a foreign planet? Were these their people coming to rescue them?

Mei shook her head, automatically dismissing the idea. Emperor Song was too much of a snob to take foreign women into his bed. Now she could see him kidnapping women from his own countryside…

No, Mei, don’t you dare think it. That’s not fair and you’re just being bitter about the marriage
idea.

As the thieves came closer, she got a better look at them. A dark one with long black hair caught her eye. Black markings were on his neck and she wondered briefly what they stood for. His locks were pulled neatly back into a single rope that flew behind him like a long dragon’s body. A woman by the man’s foot tripped and he grabbed her up, thrusting her toward the big red fellow. The large man caught thepu ren up easily without missing a step and followed the other thieves.

One of the Song guards leapt, flying through the air to catch up to the band of criminals. The man with the neck markings turned to face him. The other thieves kept running. The long haired man shouted an order for them to get somewhere. Mei tensed, recognizing the language. It was a star language, not of Líntian. She’d uploaded it years ago and it took her brain a moment to translate the words.

“Pirates,” Mei whispered, her heartbeat quickening in excitement as she realized they really were pirates. She glanced up, looking around the ship for something to use to escape her guards and get down to the fight. If she didn’t hurry, it would be over.

Another shout sounded. The man with long hair squared off against the Song

guard. He was tall, much taller than the warriors he faced, though not so big as the red giant. The man’s height was only all the more intimidating because of his massive girth.

The foreign clothing he wore was revealing, the shirt tight to his chest as it moved like a second skin against him. Laces crossed over his sides, revealing the flesh of his waist.

Snug breeches clung to his hips and legs. His arms were strong and muscled, like he worked out often. They joined to broad shoulders and a thick chest. His physique intrigued her and she watched eagerly to see how he would fight. Already by his stance, she could see that he wasn’t trained as her people in the ancient technique of martial arts.

There was something wild and arrogant about the way he faced the Song guard.

He was fearless, bold. His fist balled as he stalked forward, punching the guard square in the jaw. The Song warrior flew back from the sheer force of the blow. A second guard charged as he caught up to the pirate, drawing back his foot to snap out at the thief with a jumping front kick. The pirate blocked it, but was hit in the chest by another Song guard.

He stumbled back, but didn’t fall. The pirate had absorbed the blow, instantly finding his footing to knee the warrior in the stomach. The guard stumbled and the pirate took off into a sprint before any more warriors caught up to them.

Haun stood apart from the Song warriors, out of the way as he watched and waited. Until the Zhang were invited into the fight, they would not get involved. But, by standing ready, they offered their services to their Song host as duty required of them.

Mei glanced around. Something outside of herself compelled her to move when she knew she should not. It was like a whisper in her ear, carried by the breeze, telling her to confront the thief. Instinct kicked in. It was a feeling of desperation. She needed this fight, needed to feel the blood pumping in her veins. If her destiny was truly a life at Shan Gung Din, then she would face it head on with courage. Maybe this was the deed that would bind her to Prince Lok. In that moment, nothing mattered. The breeze grew

stronger, carrying the sting of the cold water with it. Her senses spun. The wind took over, urging her to act.

The two who guarded her barely gave her a second glance as she pulled back from the ship’s wooden rail. Seeing a rope, Mei grabbed a knife from beneath the folds of her skirt. She sliced through it, wrapping the thick cord around her wrist as she ran for the boat’s side. Jumping, she soared over the guard’s head with her blade gripped tightly in her free hand. The bodice of her gown made graceful movement hard and she kicked in the air trying to stop her body from spinning. The guards yelled at her, but she was too fast for them.

Mei flew over her brother’s head, swinging in an arch through the air, out of Haun’s reach. She kicked her feet, trying to control her decent. Her body veered toward her target, the pirate thief and she aimed her feet at him.

“Zhang Mei!” Haun yelled, his tone irritated with her and scared at the same time.

She couldn’t answer as she concentrated on her target.

Twisting in the air, she flung her legs around so her stomach faced the ground as she let go. She flew head first at the pirate. Time seemed to slow the instant his eyes met hers. The brown pupils were so dark his eyes could’ve been black. He looked surprised to see her and held his arms out as if he planned on catching her instead of fighting her. Mei gripped the knife, holding tight. She didn’t want to hurt him, but subdue him.

At the last second before impact, she tucked her body and slammed into the man’s chest. He grunted as they fell, rolling beneath her so he could absorb the brunt of their fall. The second they hit the ground, the pirate rolled on top of her, crushing her with his weight. His large palm shackled her wrist, holding her knife hand hard against the ground. Mei didn’t take more than a passing notice of it. Her arm was slack and she couldn’t think to fight him. Every instinct in her screamed not to hurt him. He was bigger

than she had anticipated from the distance, his body hard with muscle as it pushed into hers. Her senses took in everything—his firm lips, his dark eyes, his straight proud nose.

Mei’s eyes again met his as he tried to pin her free arm. His hot breath fanned her cheek and his lips were close. Gold flickered through his gaze as he looked at her and she felt every hot inch of him in that second as he held her down. He succeeded in trapping her wrists, only to gracefully jerk back and haul her to her feet at the same time. Her knife stayed on the ground.

At the motion, her mental functions clicked back on and the sudden cloud lifted.

Mei was pissed that her blow hadn’t leveled him more. How could this man absorb so many kicks and still remain standing? The Song Imperial guards were some of the best fighters on the planet of Líntian and yet this pirate took all they gave and kept going like he was unstoppable.

Or on drugs.

“Hey,fea , I appreciate your enthusiasm, but now isn’t the time for such things.”

The man’s tone was low and dripped with sweetness. Mei frowned at his arrogance, but he merely continued, “I promise you that later, if you still want to continue this, I’ll be happy to help you out of that very alluring gown and onto something more comfortable.”

Mei gasped in shock at what his words implied, instantly glancing down to what he wanted to ‘help’ her onto. No man had ever dared to talk to her in such a way. Her words thick with the accent of her people, she answered in the star language he used,

“Now is … the perfect time … to halt you.”

“Captain! Come on! We have to run.”

Mei looked over the arrogant pirate’s shoulder only to find the red man waiting for them. She heard footfall behind her and knew her brother ran to catch up to her. With the stunt she pulled, she’d landed far away from where he stood. Swinging her leg

around, she tried to kick the man’s legs out from under him. It would’ve worked too, but the red man appeared at her side and grabbed her easily into his beefy embrace, lifting her off the ground.