Shattered Destiny: A Galactic Adventure, Episode One by Odette C. Bell

worker from the refinery…? Really? That
was how he referred to me?
    Barely 10 minutes ago, I had saved his
life.
    Finally my jaw hardened. I made no attempt
to control my expression.
    The prince made no attempt to control his
expression, either, as he appeared to survey me like you might a
specimen in a lab.
    Again Mark cleared his throat. “After
training, she’ll be cleared for operational missions. She’s already
been fitted for her armor.”
    The prince didn’t appear to care. He kept
looking at me, his gaze slicing over my form, as if he were taking
a mental picture so perfect he’d be able to recreate me later.
    My stomach curdled at that, though curdled
wasn’t quite the right word.
    “She will make a great asset to our
fighting force,” Mark continued.
    Xarin tipped his head back and
surveyed me from head to foot with one quick, final, dismissive look. “Once
she’s cleaned up,” he remarked as he turned from me, without ever
making actual eye contact, and nodded at Mark, “She may
suffice.”
    She may suffice, might she?
    This guy was a demeaning, arrogant,
belittling asshole.
    Maybe Mark caught sight of my expression,
because he cleared his throat, nodded at Xarin, and quickly
motioned me away.
    I turned, a sneer on my lips as I strode
towards the door.
    Mark caught up to me outside, another
clearly impressed breath pushing from his parted lips. But his
expression had a hard edge, too. “Shar, you were incredible on the
bridge. But you can’t….” He appeared to be uncomfortable. He
sniffed and took a sharp step backwards. “Look,” he tipped his head
down and looked up at me from under his brows, “You can’t look at
Prince Xarin like that.”
    I made no attempt to hide my
disgust. “Really? I can’t look at him like that? Because he was
looking at me like I’m nothing more than a goddamn scrap of
meat.”
    Mark paled, gaze flashing up and down the
corridor as if he were checking for witnesses. He pressed forward
again.
    For some reason, my heart chose that exact
moment to speed up.
    I looked at him with wide eyes.
    “Shar, I know you're unfamiliar with the Arterian Royal Family. I know
you don’t know their traditions. People will cut you some
slack. Some,” his voice reverberated on that word. “But you can’t act out
of line. Especially around Xarin. You have to be
careful.”
    I opened my mouth to demand why, but Mark
brought up a hand so quickly it was almost as if he intended to
slice it through the wall.
    “Be careful,” he said, the kindness
dropping from his tone.
    I surveyed him with a wary gaze. “Fine,” I
said through clenched teeth. “How long until we reach the civilian
transport?” I demanded, switching moods almost
instantly.
    My troubles with Xarin may be one thing –
a terrible, frustrating thing – but I had morals. Hardened, gritty
morals that had survived with me all these years.
    You didn’t put innocents at risk.
    Again Mark looked impressed. It was a
deeper, more thoughtful look this time. He began to slowly chuckle
as he tilted his head to the side and appeared to assess me from a
different angle. “We don’t come across many like you in the
Empire,” he said softly, distractedly.
    My eyebrows descended low over my eyes.
“What does that mean?”
    There was an odd touch to his tone. For some
reason it sent the smallest spark of nerves climbing my back.
    “Never mind,” he said quickly. “And the
transport, that doesn’t concern you. You’ve been injured.” His gaze
flashed down to my shoulder.
    Instinctively I brought a hand up and ran
it over my glued-on wound-mesh. “I’m fine. It’ll heal. I’m ready
for battle,” I added.
    He chucked his head back and laughed. “I’m
sure you are. That’s not the point. The prince wants this to be
done quickly, smoothly. He’s only taking his Imperial guards. It
should be enough. You, go to your quarters and rest.”
    “Quarters?” I questioned.
    He laughed again. And Mark appeared to
enjoy