Alien Soulmate (Paranormal Romance Aliens) Read Online Free
Author: Cristina Grenier
love of peace. He didn't want to start what he saw as pointless battles with the Des'kos, when bargaining with them worked the same way.
But it didn't. They had to give away more and more of their land and their dignity to keep the barbarians appeased. All it would take was the right amount of violence, killing their king or taking some of them hostage, and they could turn this around. Instead of capitulating to the beasts, they could be the ones making demands. Ithril had been telling his father that for years, since he was old enough to know the true nature of the struggle against the Des'kos. But Angen had been ignorant and had dismissed his words time and time again.
Well, Angen was dead now. And it pained Ithril to have to think of it like that, but he didn't have time to be sentimental.
The Council would be convening later that day, and people would start to notice that Carver was gone. He had to do something before that happened.
Ever since Angen had fallen ill, Ithril had been planning. Actually, he'd been planning since their mother had died. She hadn't gone peacefully like Angen. No, Bethali had been grievously injured in a raid by a few Des'kos rebels. Angen had been all set to retaliate, but when the king of the Des'kos had denounced the rebels and claimed he'd had nothing to do with sending them to Sitheri territory, Angen had stood down and forbidden anyone to lash out at the Des'kos.
Ithril had been furious. Those barbarians had killed his mother. They'd shot her with a poison tipped arrow, and she'd died slowly and painfully some hours later. There hadn't been anything the doctors could do to slow the poison's work, and Ithril had watched the light leave Bethali's eyes.
And Angen, the leader of the Sitheri, his father had done nothing. The king of the Des'kos had assured them that the rebels would be put to death, but there was no proof of that. No proof that it hadn't been a ploy the whole time.
From that moment, Ithril had realized that he couldn't rely on his father. The man cared more about peace than about his family and the dignity of his people. Carver had been upset, but he'd easily bowed to their father's word.
And that was why Carver had to be sent away. He showed every sign that he would follow in Angen's footsteps and continue giving away what little the Sitheri had until they had nothing. Until they were all but slaves to the Des'kos, forced to capitulate to their demands just to stay alive.
Ithril wasn't going to let it get that far. Not without a fight.
The Des'kos had conquered plenty of clans across the planet of Khaosali over the past two decades. They came from a desert land themselves and instead of working to make their home more habitable or finding an unoccupied part of the planet to live in, they had decided to seize the lands of other clans. Many of the clans had decided to fight back, but in the end, most of them had been conquered.
It didn't make sense for one race to have so much power over the others, and Ithril was determined that the Des'kos threat was going to end and end soon. He would contact the other clans, get them to stand with the Sitheri, and they would wipe the barbarians from the face of the planet.
And then, once Ithril had claimed his victory in their mother's name, he would send for Carver to come back. He didn't bear a grudge against his brother at all, really, he just knew that Carver would make things difficult for him.
Once it was all said and done, they could be a family again.
There was a knock on the door then, jarring him from his thoughts, and Ithril turned to see Cain coming in. Ithril had picked him for this specifically. Cain was one of the many Sitheri who were mixed with some other race because of how few Sitheri women there were.
He was tall with skin as brown as a nut, and the only thing (other than his unnatural height) that made him look less than human were the silver horns that started from his forehead and then curled back on
But it didn't. They had to give away more and more of their land and their dignity to keep the barbarians appeased. All it would take was the right amount of violence, killing their king or taking some of them hostage, and they could turn this around. Instead of capitulating to the beasts, they could be the ones making demands. Ithril had been telling his father that for years, since he was old enough to know the true nature of the struggle against the Des'kos. But Angen had been ignorant and had dismissed his words time and time again.
Well, Angen was dead now. And it pained Ithril to have to think of it like that, but he didn't have time to be sentimental.
The Council would be convening later that day, and people would start to notice that Carver was gone. He had to do something before that happened.
Ever since Angen had fallen ill, Ithril had been planning. Actually, he'd been planning since their mother had died. She hadn't gone peacefully like Angen. No, Bethali had been grievously injured in a raid by a few Des'kos rebels. Angen had been all set to retaliate, but when the king of the Des'kos had denounced the rebels and claimed he'd had nothing to do with sending them to Sitheri territory, Angen had stood down and forbidden anyone to lash out at the Des'kos.
Ithril had been furious. Those barbarians had killed his mother. They'd shot her with a poison tipped arrow, and she'd died slowly and painfully some hours later. There hadn't been anything the doctors could do to slow the poison's work, and Ithril had watched the light leave Bethali's eyes.
And Angen, the leader of the Sitheri, his father had done nothing. The king of the Des'kos had assured them that the rebels would be put to death, but there was no proof of that. No proof that it hadn't been a ploy the whole time.
From that moment, Ithril had realized that he couldn't rely on his father. The man cared more about peace than about his family and the dignity of his people. Carver had been upset, but he'd easily bowed to their father's word.
And that was why Carver had to be sent away. He showed every sign that he would follow in Angen's footsteps and continue giving away what little the Sitheri had until they had nothing. Until they were all but slaves to the Des'kos, forced to capitulate to their demands just to stay alive.
Ithril wasn't going to let it get that far. Not without a fight.
The Des'kos had conquered plenty of clans across the planet of Khaosali over the past two decades. They came from a desert land themselves and instead of working to make their home more habitable or finding an unoccupied part of the planet to live in, they had decided to seize the lands of other clans. Many of the clans had decided to fight back, but in the end, most of them had been conquered.
It didn't make sense for one race to have so much power over the others, and Ithril was determined that the Des'kos threat was going to end and end soon. He would contact the other clans, get them to stand with the Sitheri, and they would wipe the barbarians from the face of the planet.
And then, once Ithril had claimed his victory in their mother's name, he would send for Carver to come back. He didn't bear a grudge against his brother at all, really, he just knew that Carver would make things difficult for him.
Once it was all said and done, they could be a family again.
There was a knock on the door then, jarring him from his thoughts, and Ithril turned to see Cain coming in. Ithril had picked him for this specifically. Cain was one of the many Sitheri who were mixed with some other race because of how few Sitheri women there were.
He was tall with skin as brown as a nut, and the only thing (other than his unnatural height) that made him look less than human were the silver horns that started from his forehead and then curled back on
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