by Lili Zander
Blue is unamused by my needling. “You’ve got to learn to laugh at yourself, Blue,” I tell him, making a mental note to work on his humor routines. I don’t waste my time telling the bot how urgent it is that I contact the others; he already knows. “Ping me when you reach them.”
The last time I talked to them, Kadir had already found one of his humans. The Second of the Crimson Force is formidably competent. He wouldn’t get his human stuck in the middle of a war zone, something I’m sure he’ll point out when I make contact.
Right now, I’ll take all the pointed sarcasm in the galaxy as long as they get Lani to safety.
I take a walk around the village. There’s no spaceport, but there are several skimmers, and a couple of them look both fast and comfortable.
Good. Nestri Prime—the best place to find a space-worthy ship—is almost a day’s journey away on a skimmer. A little faster if I shift and fly, but that’s the worst-case scenario. I take down the registration details of the ones that catch my eye and hack into the local system to find the owners. I’m most likely going to end up borrowing one of them, but if that’s what it comes down to, I’ll transfer credits into the owner’s account. I have no compunctions about stealing from the High Empire, but the people in Drobal are civilians, and I draw the line at that.
My next stop is a store. We escaped the Konar without spare clothing. Lani’s probably sick and tired of what she’s wearing. “I’m looking for clothes for my friend,” I tell the Okaki there.
“Zorahn, I assume?” the shopkeeper asks.
Lani’s human, but that’s not exactly a fact I’m going to broadcast. Thankfully, there are a lot of one-planet sentients, and Nestri’s become enough of a melting pot that their appearance goes unremarked. “Yes,” I lie. “But she’s small.”
I leave the shop with two bags filled with an assortment of clothing. But when I arrive at Taen’s establishment, I linger outside, strangely reluctant to go back in.
There’s only one bed.
I’ve never had a mate; I’ve never even wanted one. Attachments are not my thing. Women are nice, but not essential. I think Lani believed me. I hope she does. For reasons I don’t understand, her opinion of me matters.
My dragon rears in protest. Lani is essential.
Wonderful. I’m hearing voices in my head again. As if I don’t have enough problems.
I tell myself not to be a coward and head inside the tavern. Though it’s felt like longer, I’ve only been gone a couple of knurs. When I enter our room, Lani’s wrapped in a towel. It looks like she’s just gotten out of the shower.
“Sorry,” I say, backing out. “I should have knocked. I thought you’d be done by now.”
She waves me in. “I’m notorious for taking long showers,” she says. “Come on in. I’ll change back into my clothes in the refresher.”
I set the bags on the bed. The only bed in the room, not that I’m obsessing about it or anything. “I brought you a change of clothes.”
Pleasure fills her face. “You did?” She beams at me. “That’s really thoughtful of you. Thank you.”
Her praise makes me uncomfortable. “They might not fit,” I tell her. “The selection was not vast.”
She pulls a blue asseh from the bag and looks at the loops of fabric helplessly. An asseh isn’t a practical garment for the desert, but the blue matches the color of her eyes, and I couldn’t resist buying it for her. “How does this go on?”
Caeron help me, I want to smooth the soft fabric over her body. I want to squeeze her plump breasts and stroke her pretty, pert nipples. “The long loop goes around your waist. The two smaller loops crisscross and go over your shoulder, and the center loop covers your hair.”
Her brow furrows. She shakes out the garment and examines it. I stay where I am, pressed up against the door, almost shaking with my need to touch her, to suck her lower lip between my teeth, to trail kisses down the curve of her shoulder…
Ours, my dragon roars.
“Ruhan, those directions don’t make any sense. Help me, please.”
“You’ll have to get naked.”
She sucks in a breath. We stare at each other, lust charging the space between us. I stay where I am, though desire flares though my body like an inferno. Tell me you want me, little human.
“You said you could see in the dark,” she whispers. “Which means you’ve already seen me naked. So this doesn’t matter.”
Then she undoes the towel and drops it to the floor.
15
Lani
Am I being smart? Hell, no. Am I playing with fire? Hell, yes.
And yet, here I am. Butt naked, standing in front of Ruhan. Watching his eyes light up with desire.
His lips curl into a grin. I’ve known Ruhan for two days, and already, I know his smile. I know what he’s going to do next. He’ll say something outrageous, and I’ll roll my eyes and respond in a huff. But he makes me laugh, and when I’m with him, I forget to worry about the future.
It’s so strange how comfortable I am with him. He’s an alien. More than that, he’s an alien who can shift into a dragon and breathe fire, something I still can’t quite wrap my head around.
Despite that, I trust him enough that I’m dropping my clothes around him. Maybe I’m being really stupid, but instinctively, I know that if things start to happen between us again, and I change my mind and ask Ruhan to stop, he will.
He closes the distance between us, never taking his eyes off my face. “Lani,” he murmurs, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear.
“Ruhan,” I whisper. What exactly am I doing here? Do I want to sleep with him? Maybe. Yes. I don’t know. All I know is that there’s something between us. Call it chemistry, call it insta-lust, but I’m drawn to him, and he’s drawn to me. We’re like two magnets, tugged irresistibly toward each other. When he’s around, my self-control crumbles into dust, and I don’t even care.
He takes the dress from my nerveless fingers. “The long loop,” he says, his voice deep and gravelly, “Goes around your waist.” He kneels, holding the garment open for me, and I step into the circle of fabric. He slowly—oh so slowly—pulls it up. The stubble on his jaw grazes the front of my thigh. Goosebumps rise on my skin in response.
I want him so much.
“Just like this.” He ties the excess fabric into a knot at my side. The backs of his fingers stroke my waist, a fleeting touch that nonetheless makes me shudder with need.
“Ruhan,” I whisper again. I’m burning up. I ache for him. “Kiss me.”
His teeth flash in his familiar cocky grin. “Whatever you want, lovely Lani.”
Then he pulls me against his chest, and he bends his mouth to mine.
I love kissing. I love everything about it. The delicious heart-stopping instant when you know it’s going to happen, the initial soft contact, the slow buildup of anticipation, the shallow kisses that deepen into a passionate dance… I almost like kissing better than actual sex.
That being said, as amazing as Ruhan was yesterday, I didn’t really expect him to be a good kisser. I mean, he’s alien, and I sort of think kissing is a human thing.
But it turns out I’m wrong.
Ruhan sucks my lower lip between his teeth. A surge of intense arousal sparks through my body. The fabric loops lie forgotten as I wrap my arms around his neck, my breasts mashing against his broad, muscled chest. My nipples feel swollen and tender, and I ache for him, for more.
This is insane, I know, and I don’t care. I haven’t wanted anyone as much as I want this alien. My need scares me a little, but not enough to stop me. Right now, I couldn’t pull away from him if I tried.
His tongue slides into my mouth, slow and seductive. He nudges me backward until my back meets the wall, and there’s no place for me to run.
I’m not planning on running, Ruhan.
I tilt my chin up and kiss him harder. Our tongues tangle and duel, and it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever known. My insides twist with heated
desire. “More,” I breathe against his lips. “Please, more.”
He laughs softly, but there’s no mockery in his eyes. He looks the way I feel, dazed with lust, undone by the strength of this chemistry. “So demanding, Lani.”
“If asking for what you want is being demanding, then yes, I am.”
He flashes me an amused smile. “Valid point, my little human.” He bends his head, and he trails hot, nibbling, nipping kisses down the sides of my neck and shoulders. I throw my head back and whimper as pleasure surges through me at the feel of his teeth against my skin. Oh God. I’m so turned on. I’m burning up. Evidently, when it comes to Ruhan, I have a kinky side, because I’m suddenly very pro-biting. I want to feel his teeth everywhere. On my nipples, on my pussy…
Someone bangs on the door. “There’s food,” a voice yells out. “If you want to eat, now is the time.”
Ruhan pulls away from me. My stomach chooses that moment to rumble loudly. Ugh. Color me mortified.
“Let’s go eat,” he says. He slides the other two loops of fabric up my shoulders, covering my breasts. “The final loop is for your head,” he explains. “This close to the desert, it provides some protection against the midday sun.”
Having walked most of the day, I can appreciate the need for the hood.
“Should I cover my hair now?”
He shakes his head. “No need.” He holds out his hand to me. “Shall we?”
I could say nothing. I could pretend that our hot-and-heavy make-out session never happened. But that’s not me. “And when we’re done eating, can we pick up where we left off?”
His lips tilt up. “What an excellent idea.” His thumbs graze my hardened nipples, clearly visible under the silk-like fabric. A shudder rolls through me. “Yes, Lani. Absolutely.”
Screw the food, I want to whimper. Let’s say here and fuck.
My stomach rumbles again, this time, even louder than before. Okay, fine. Food first. Then sex. I can wait for thirty minutes. Can’t I?
Drobal, the village we’re in, isn’t large. I expected the tavern to be mostly deserted, but I’m wrong, because it’s packed with people, both Zorahn and Okaki. Everyone’s talking to each other at the top of their voices, and the Okaki singer in the corner has to struggle to make himself heard.
Ruhan takes a look around and tugs me to the only empty table in the room, one right next to the singer. Taen bustles up with two plates of food. “Sorry to bother you,” he says. “But we didn’t expect a full house tonight. The kitchen’s running out of food.”
A woman—Taen’s sister, judging by her resemblance to the tavern keeper, comes by with a pitcher and two glasses. “Lek?”
Since I have no idea what lek is, I let Ruhan answer for both of us. He nods politely, and she pours us two glasses of a whitish liquid before bustling off to top up the table next to us.
“I’m not drinking something weird, am I?” I ask him, sniffing my drink suspiciously.
Ruhan’s lips twitch. “It’s fermented gwali milk.”
I was on the verge of raising the glass to my lips. When I hear Ruhan’s description, I set it down. “Yeah, I don’t think so.”
“You don’t strike me as the type who’s afraid to try new things.” He winks at me and drains his glass. “Pity. I had so many things I was planning on showing you, but now that I know you’re fearful of the unfamiliar…”
Asshole. “I know what you’re doing,” I say, glaring at him. “You’re deliberately needling me.”
He smirks but doesn’t reply.
Argh. I don’t want Ruhan to think I’m boring. He’s an alien who appears to have traveled widely through the galaxy, and until a year ago, I had no idea that there was intelligent life outside of Earth. To Ruhan, I must seem hopelessly provincial and naïve.
He said he wanted to show me things. Like sexy things? My brain is throwing up one steamy image after another, and it’s becoming difficult to breathe.
I pick up the glass again and take an experimental sip, bracing myself as I do so. I mean, fermented gwali milk. I don’t know what that is, but I’m expecting it to taste like a cheese milkshake.
Thankfully for me, it doesn’t. It doesn’t taste like dairy at all. If anything, it tastes like a yeasty, malty beer. I could get used to this. “Okay,” I admit grudgingly. “You’re right. This is good.”
I fully expect Ruhan to smirk at me again, but before he can respond, the tavern door bursts open. Parkim, the Okaki guard who allowed us entry into the village, rushes in. “It’s underway,” he gasps. “I just got word. The Governor-General has been murdered. The battalion stationed outside Nestri Prime has been destroyed. Every single Zoraken has been killed.”
Loud voices break out. “Killed? By who?”
Two of Parkim’s tentacles grip the doorway. I think it’s the only thing that’s keeping the Okaki from collapsing. His other tentacles wave through the air in distress. “Nobody knows for sure,” he says. He looks around the room and lowers his voice. “They say that a red dragon was seen flying over the capital.”
A hushed silence falls over the room at Parkim’s words. “They say that, after a thousand years,” the Okaki guard continues, his body quivering in terror, “The Draekon Conqueror is back.”
Ruhan’s face goes deathly pale. He sets his glass of lek down on the table and pushes himself to his feet.
Then he walks out of the tavern.
16
Ruhan
I short out a section of the village wall temporarily, just long enough for me to get out. Then I walk in the desert for a very long time.
It’s night. It’s dark and cold. Blue sends me a pulse of concern, but I ignore him. The rathr bites me with its customary ferocity, and I can’t bring myself to care.
In Frez, First had discovered one of Brunox’s secret laboratories, and instead of freeing the imprisoned Draekons, he’d slaughtered them.
Now, he’s attacking again. This time, he’s killed an entire battalion of Zoraken, and my gut tells me that’s not the worst of it. Battalions of Zoraken were stationed in both Nestri Prime and in Sotuf. Then there were the four assassins of the 49th Squadron. They’re probably all dead now. A battalion of Zoraken is a formidable fighting force, but they are no match for the First of the Crimson Force. Few things are.
More blood. More death. When does it end?
Failure slaps me, its sting piercing deep into my soul. I had been fooling around with Lani while First was murdering Zoraken. It had been my responsibility to stop the rogue Draekon, and I failed. Every single one of those deaths is my fault. In the Gardens of Caeron, I will be judged for every life I should have saved but didn’t.
The instant First murdered the Draekons in Frez, we should have abandoned our mission to find the human women, and we should have, all five of us, united to find and destroy First.
But we didn’t. We made a call to save the humans first. They’d been thrown into a deeply perilous situation through no fault of their own. They were innocents.
The two battalions of Zoraken, all four hundred and eighty of them, were not. They were trained soldiers. They knew the risks of their job.
They still didn’t deserve what happened to them.
Thoughts whirl around in my head in a confused jumble. Had I not prioritized rescuing the humans, Lani would most likely be dead. Had I not shown up on the Konar when I did, she wouldn’t have survived the explosion.
Even the thought of something happening to Lani wrecks me. Brave, beautiful, clever Lani, telling her stories to the Okaki pirates, fighting night after night to stay alive.
She’s used to battle, my precious human. I’d heard the hurt in her voice last night when she talked briefly about her family. Lani has been fighting her entire life for recognition, for her parents’ love.
Caeron knows I understand flawed parental figures. The Supreme Mother, the scientist who created us, saw us as expendable tools. If we were important, it was only because it demonstrated proof of her brill
iance.
I never had any illusions about my creator. But Lani should have been loved, and she wasn’t, and the profound unfairness of it fills me with a deep, murderous rage.
It’s almost daybreak by the time I return to Drobal. Lani’s waiting for me at the village gate. She’s covered from head to toe in a long coat, but her face looks red and cold. “How long have you been here?”
“A couple of hours.” She puts her hand on my arm, and, as always, when she touches me, the agony of the rathr vanishes. Of course it does, my dragon murmurs in irritation. And you’re too stupid to realize why.
I dismiss that voice and focus my attention on the woman in front of me. She’s trembling, and I pull her into my arms. “You’re cold. Why didn’t you wait in the room?”
She rolls her eyes. “Why do you think, you idiot? I was worried about you. And I did wait in the room for a couple of hours, but you never came back…”
I’ve been the soldier. I’ve been the consummate, deadly weapon of war. I’ve never been someone that people worry about.
Lani did. She cared enough to wait up the entire night for me.
I’m so overwhelmed that forming words is difficult. So, of course, I go to humor. “And now you’re cold, lovely Lani,” I murmur. “Don’t worry. I’ll warm you right up.”
She lifts her eyebrow. “Haven’t we already established that I can see through that?” she asks pointedly. She links her arm in mine as we stroll back to Taen’s place. It’s still dark outside, and the village is quiet, most of the inhabitants asleep in their beds, clinging to the last moments of peace before war descends upon them.
“We have,” I admit. “It’s a bad habit.”
She tilts her head up at me. “I saw your face when they mentioned the Draekon Conqueror,” she says quietly. “It shook you. Then I started thinking, putting two and two together. A dragon that hasn’t been seen for a thousand years.” She squeezes my arm. “First is the Draekon Conqueror, isn’t he? That’s why you reacted the way you did?”