The Queen of Ceren: The Imprint Series, #3

By April M. Reign

On the Ceren Mainship, Aric and Jade face a dire crisis: Jade's pregnancy is in grave danger. As Aric prepares to ascend as King of Ceren, his warrior skills are put to the ultimate test. Together, they must risk everything to save his planet from extinction by an ancient enemy.

 

In this explosive, epic space adventure of honor and deceit, love and loss, and high stakes battles with vicious foes, destiny knows no boundaries. Will Aric save his home planet's people, who are in peril, awaiting the return of their young king to claim the empty throne? Can Jade prove to Aric's people that she's worthy to be their queen?

 

This is a must-read journey of courage and determination that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dream Realms Press
• Release date: Jun 10, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227350800

Book preview

Books by April M. Reign

The Dhellia Series

Dhellia

Quest for the Keys

Trial by Fire

The Tri-Blood

The Rise of the Elementalist Series

The Keys of Power

An Oath to Protect

Vampire Crimes Special Unit Series

Moon Hunt

Moon Gone

Moon Crimes

Moon Castle

Moon Scroll

Moon Storm

The HASH Series

Fall of the Institute

Secrets of Startech

The Queen of Ceren

Returning to Earth

The Turning Series

Bound to Darkness

Unleashed

Vampire Vengeance

Vampire Curse

Disciples of the Damned Series

Season One

Dominic

Vypers

Slayers

Revenge

The Horsemen

Season Two

Chari

Hunter

Dead to Rights

Ransom

Quest for the Throne Series

The Enchanted Sisters

Stand Alone

Eternally Us

The Queen of Ceren

Published by April M. Reign

Copyright © 2014 by April M. Reign

All rights reserved.

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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by an electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the permission of the author, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of this author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

About the Book

Queen of Ceren

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On the Ceren Mainship, Aric and Jade face a dire crisis: Jade's pregnancy is in grave danger. As Aric prepares to ascend as King of Ceren, his warrior skills are put to the ultimate test. Together, they must risk everything to save his planet from extinction by an ancient enemy.

––––––––

In this explosive, epic space adventure of honor and deceit, love and loss, and high stakes battles with vicious foes, destiny knows no boundaries. Will Aric save his home planet's people, who are in peril, awaiting the return of their young king to claim the empty throne? Can Jade prove to Aric’s people that she’s worthy to be their queen?

––––––––

This is a must-read journey of courage and determination that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

Dedication

To my readers, thank you for taking the time to read, review and enjoy my books.

Table of Contents

Books by April M. Reign

About the Book

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter Twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-three

About the Author

Connecting with the Author

Chapter One

Jade

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Flecks of gold drifted from the glass showerhead above me, raining down on my body. The delicate glistening flakes were lighter and more refreshing than a soft morning rain.

The Ceren people had perfected the way they used a shower when they had created one that not only cleaned the body, but also worked below the surface to untangle knotted muscles.

After a long three months on the Ceren Mainship, Tiki had agreed to let me cleanse and dress alone. Having an assistant took some getting used to, but having a companion who helped me with intimate things, such as showering, only made me uncomfortable.

I scanned the hygiene controller screen and voiced the command, Computer, end wash.

When the flow of golden flecks stopped, I took a deep breath and stepped out to put on my underclothes. I held the white Cerenilian royal underpants, admiring the quality of the material from their planet.

My clothes were getting tighter around my midsection, although the fabric automatically adjusted to my stomach as it grew. Another Cerenilian invention that I wished I could share with my people on Earth.

A light tap echoed against the bathroom door. Madam, may I enter? Tiki asked.

Yes, come in.

The gray metal door disappeared into the wall with a swoosh as my assistant walked through with her hands laced in front of her and a yellow iridescent turban wrapped around her hair. The colors left her hazel eyes boldly haunting. A heap of shimmering golden material hung over her arms and cascaded to the floor.

I turned to glance at my body in the full-length mirror in front of me. A frown swept my face when I realized that my image was unfamiliar to me. The small bulge of my lower abdomen distorted my once-athletic figure. I’m getting fat.

No, madam, you’re with child. The changes you see in your body are brought about by the most wonderful event ever—the creation of life.

"Yes, and I’m fat. The people on Ceren will see nothing but an unfit queen at the ceremony today." I turned away from the mirror, deflated over my appearance.

She giggled beneath her hand covering her mouth. They do not place importance on such things, madam. She bowed her head toward me. You should be more concerned with being a human being—an alien to them.

Great. Thanks, Tiki. I can’t do anything about that. I sighed as I twisted my attention back to my changing body. Underneath the glowing light, I stood sideways and ran my hands over the protruding bulge growing in the depths of my midsection.

True. So stop worrying about things you cannot control. She moved closer to me, placing her hand on my arm, and worry about the things you can. She gave me a sincere smile. What do you think of it?

I took the material from her arms and held the dress in front of me. It’s incredible, I said, marveling at its beauty. The gold sequins and small precious gems of all colors reflected the artificial light. You sure are wise for someone so young.

Tiki rolled her eyes. Madam, we’ve gone over this once, if not a trillion times. In Earth years, I’m one hundred and four years old. I do not think that you Earthlings consider that young. She laughed. Of course, my assumption is based on your reaction from the time we calculated my age in Earth years.

I moved my eyes from hers to focus on my reflection again. The more I surveyed my body, the more alien and out of place I felt. That’s the problem, Tiki. I’ll age faster than Aric. I’ll be old when he still has a mind and physique of a young man.

She thrust her hands on her hips and tilted her head. Her hazel eyes squinted as her glare toward me caught my attention. Young Jade, have you not listened to anything that we’ve talked about over the past three months?

I have... I said, rubbing my open palm down the length and width of my pregnant stomach while I held the wedding dress over my other arm.

She threw her hands in the air and grabbed the golden material from me. Aric is a Cerenilian man. I am an alien to his planet, from four galaxies over. My world was twelve million light years from Ceren. When the Devourers attacked and decimated my planet, those of us who were lucky enough to escape found a home on Ceren. We were welcomed with open arms. That is why we are servants to them. On my planet, I was royalty. But since they saved us, I have gladly served their kind.

That’s how they will think of me, right? As their servant?

The Ceren people are generous in allowing aliens to inhabit their planet, but they do consider us second-class citizens. That’s what makes this union between you and Aric so special. You are going to change the way they view other species. It’s something all of us who are not Cerenilian look forward to.

I’d heard her, but when Tiki started talking about galaxies and universes and those things that had upset the balance of the unknown, she always lost my attention. I knew nothing about that stuff except for a few science fiction books I’d read when I’d lived in the institute.

Light years, quasars, black holes, time, age, and distance were all foreign to me in this new world. I decided to focus back on my wedding day—the ceremony I’d been helping her plan for three months.

Do you think Em will be there?

Be where, madam?

I glanced toward the floor as I felt a blush creep up into my cheeks. At my wedding, of course.

She reached out and put her gloved hand on my arm. Her tender touch comforted me. I cannot say. Have you spoken to her since you arrived on The Transporter?

I shook my head, emotion constricting my throat. She does this. She leaves for days and weeks at a time and then she’ll show up again.

Tiki smiled. Good, then you should expect this behavior of your symbiotic friend.

I frowned. She’s never been away from me this long.

She’s not away from you, madam. She’s a part of you.

Then why won’t she make an appearance when I call to her?

Tiki stepped closer and placed her hand on my upper arm. Maybe she knows that you don’t need her in that way anymore. Wasn’t she a figment of your imagination so that your human body could handle the alien metal at such a young age?

Frustrated...angry even, I pursed my lips. Em was not make-believe. To me, she was as real as any person in my life was. You can leave, Tiki. I don’t need your help getting dressed.

She bowed. Yes, madam. She handed me back my golden wedding dress. After you are dressed, I will attend to your ceremonial paint.

Ceremonial paint?

She grinned. The cosmetics we will use to get you ready for an event that will be broadcast from The Transporter to the people of Ceren. Millions of Cerenilian people will witness this historic event.

I nodded, nerves fluttering in the pit of my stomach as if it were the first day of school. A broadcast from our spaceship to Aric’s planet would introduce me, a human being, as their new queen, and I was concerned about how they’d accept me.

I hadn’t even noticed that Tiki had left the room until I heard the door slide closed with an echoing thud. Now alone and assessing my figure in front of the mirror, I realized that my tiny bulge would not be noticeable in the loose-fitting wedding gown. I was obsessing over nothing.

The palm of my hand rested on my flesh just below my breasts and slid down again to feel the baby bump. The small area below my navel felt hard and slightly extended.

I sighed and sat on the silver couch in my bathroom. Outside the window, the dark vastness of space floated past with millions of bright yellow stars in the distance.

The Ceren people kept away from vivid colors, except for royal garments such as wedding attire. At least on the Mainship, everything seemed drab, dull and efficient. My room, although functional and well-designed, was no more than twenty feet by twenty feet and was equipped with modern alien technology.

Round black sensors mounted on the ceiling monitored my vital signs and reported my health statistics back to the onboard hospital.

I stepped out of the bathroom and into my bedroom. A twin bed with white heat-emitting sheets sat under another square window. When I slept, the curved clear glass top of the bed would descend over me and control the atmospheric gasses to provide sterilized air for me to breathe.

A metallic silver three-drawer dresser held the approved clothes that were fit for a Ceren Queen. A five-foot mirror descended from the ceiling upon my verbal command. In my room, a screen filled one wall. I could read electronic books on its two-dimensional surface or it could display holographic three-dimensional media anywhere in the room. Of course, all the books were in the Ceren language and that meant I had to tap into Em in order to read them.

I hadn’t seen Em since the fight with Visan—since the moment she’d told me to connect with her when I’d had to confront and defeat that evil Ceren man. My imprint hadn’t moved since I arrived on the Mainship. All the knowledge, power, and strength that I had gained by connecting with Em had since abandoned me. I was again uneducated in the ways of Ceren and I didn’t know exactly how to tap back into my imprint.

I paced through my room, wishing I had a friend to talk to—someone other than Tiki who could talk to me about being a human female—a human pregnant female. I wished I could see my mom again, sit in her lap and hear her soft voice reassure me that everything would be okay.

I sighed.

Maybe Aric was getting ready for the ceremony, too. Maybe...

I moved back into the bathroom to take one last look at myself in the mirror. What felt like an electric jab shot through my midsection, throwing me forward. I doubled over in severe pain, closed my eyes and grabbed my stomach, trying to keep my moan within the confines of my bathroom.

The health monitors in my room started to beep and flash red lights. I fell to my knees, sucking in air against the excruciating pain in my abdomen. Against the pain, it helped to moan. I just made sure my whimper was barely audible. Then the pain decreased. As the discomfort subsided, I wiped the sweat from my forehead and grabbed the counter in front of me to help me rise to my feet.

Madam, are you okay? I heard Tiki’s voice through the door intercom.

I took a few breaths and tried to put on my normal voice. I’m fine, Tiki. I’m getting ready now and will be out in a few minutes for you to apply the paint.

When I knew she had walked away from the door, I rinsed my face in the sink of gold flecks and placed both hands on the basin while I inspected myself in the mirror.

I will need a lot of paint. My skin is so pale that Aric will surely know something is wrong...severely wrong.

Chapter Two

Aric

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In the middle of my royal quarters, I stood with my arms crossed over my chest, marveling at the luxuries afforded me. The room was ten times larger than my personal area at the institute. A private command center in the right corner contained a bank of computers and simulation projectors.

From the black silica chair, I could monitor and control every aspect of this spacecraft. With a voice command, I could summon any service I wanted. Food, drink, holographic movies, music, and any other information or luxury needed by a king. My sleeping area was just as impressive. A large king-sized bed and desk sat up against the floor-to-ceiling unbreakable glass wall, which provided a clear view out into space.

The black void and obscurity on the other side of my window glowed with patches of fiery golden stars that surrounded our ship.

The glare of a million shining beacons of light, each with their own solar systems, sprinkled the dark landscape like tiny white Christmas lights. And then, there was the sheer size of this universe. The ship’s smooth, silent movement through the darkness from one location to another—and its ability to automatically dodge or disintegrate space debris—mesmerized me.

Sitting at the large glass desk in my quarters, I gazed out the transparent wall of my room. My mind marveled at the wonders beyond and I found myself getting lost in the vast silence almost daily when I spent time in the king’s quarters on the west wing of the Ceren Mainship. So