The Royal Pursuit Read Online Free Page A

contact the Augurs.”
    She took a deep breath. She hadn’t had
any direct contact with them, so she wasn’t sure what to expect.
She only knew what Hathor had told her about them, that they were
honest, loyal and rigid. She didn’t know why she felt so nervous
about actually talking to them. After all, they were the ones who
wanted to meet with her, not the other way around.
    “ If you want, I can explain
it to them,” he offered.
    She smiled at him, grateful for his
willingness to help her. He had always been there to support her.
“I’d better do it. After all, I’m the queen. It’s my responsibility
to take care of this stuff.”
    “ You do an excellent job.”
He squeezed her shoulder, his very touch calming her
nerves.
    “ More often than not, you
believe in me more than I believe in myself. I don’t know what I’d
do without you.”
    “ Oh, you’d be fine. You’re
tough.”
    “ Hardly. If I seem tough,
it’s only on the outside.” She turned her attention back to the
crystal ball. “If I’m going to do this, I’d better get it over
with. Contact the Augurs,” she told the ball.
    Hathor stepped back so that he
wouldn’t interfere with their view of her. The crystal ball only
worked well as a communicator if one person was close to
it.
    “ What is the leader’s
name?” she asked Hathor.
    “ Gaius.”
    She repeated the name to herself as
she waited for the image of the Augur to show up in the crystal
ball.
    The Augur’s image shouldn’t have
shocked her but it did. After dealing with various aliens who
looked different from her, except for the Olympians and some human
Razians, she hadn’t expected the Augur to be human. He had short
black hair, gray eyes, and pale white skin.
    “ Leader Gaius?” she
asked.
    “ Yes. But you may refer to
me as Gaius. Titles don’t impress us on Aug,” he warmly
answered.
    Again, she was startled. This time, it
was his apparent easy-going manner that made her wonder what type
of aliens these Augurs were. How could they be so uncompromising
while seeming to be so flexible in their speech?
    Pushing aside her questions, she said,
“I am Queen Ann from planet Raz. You have asked to come here
tomorrow to speak with me.”
    He nodded. “Yes. That is
true.”
    She glanced at Hathor, who smiled his
encouragement. Ignoring her racing heart, she said, “I’m afraid we
are going to have to reschedule that meeting.”
    “ Why?”
    “ I have an emergency to
tend to. I just found out about it an hour ago.”
    “ I know.”
    She blinked. Did these Augurs excel in
shocking people? It was as if he was one step ahead of
her.
    “ You must go,” he
continued. “This matter with the Olympians is
important.”
    “ Oh…ah…” She struggled to
find her voice.
    How did he know about the Olympians?
She had just found out an hour ago. Surely, news didn’t travel that
fast across the galaxies. Palers didn’t have anything to do with
Augurs, so they wouldn’t have notified them.
    “ We will still be meeting
your husband, the king,” Gaius spoke. “So there is no need to
cancel.”
    “ Well…I…” She forced
herself to stop and take a deep breath. “You see, he is going with
me. He is my protector.”
    “ No. He will not
go.”
    “ But he always accompanies
me whenever I need to take care of important business. I can
arrange it so that Athen can meet with you. Athen has been trained
in these matters and is fully capable of speaking on Raz’s behalf
in my or the king’s absence.”
    “ This is an extremely
important meeting, and we must meet with the king tomorrow. No
other person will be acceptable.”
    She took a minute to absorb his words.
Her mind raced through all the arguments she could use, but one
answer kept flashing over every one of them: they do not lie. If
they didn’t lie, then they did have to meet with Hathor and it did
have to be tomorrow.
    “ Can I ask why you insist
on coming tomorrow?” she ventured, although she already knew what
he