by D T Dyllin
“Yarza doesn’t want to divide our people. He feels strongly about revenge on the Denards, but he also knows civil war could destroy everything we’ve worked so hard for on our planet.”
“How will you survive without being able to sell Gartian grade alloy? I don’t—”
“We’ll still trade with whoever has the money.”
Fear raked my gut, sending chills up my spine. “In other words, you would arm our enemies as well as us.”
Zar hung his head, refusing to meet any of our gazes. “I’m sorry. It’s not my choice. Yarza believed that those unwilling to war would simply be carried along with the current when the time came. He was wrong.”
Jane doubled over with laughter. “Well isn’t this some shit. I get dragged into this mess, against my will, convinced by Ash and Yarza no less that—that—” Her laughter died in her throat as she rasped, “We don’t stand a chance without the Gartians. We’re all going to die.”
Ash pulled her into his arms. “No. It’s not over yet. It’s not even begun. We simply have to regroup, and form a new plan.”
Kade straightened, puffing his chest out. “The Talsens will join the war effort.”
Touching his arm, I gazed up at him. “You can’t know that for sure. Talsens are nomads, they don’t even have a home planet.”
Kade flashed a feral grin. “Exactly. We have no planet that can be destroyed.”
“And no loyalties,” I added.
“Except to our king.”
I snorted. “How do you plan on getting the Talsen king to throw his support behind our cause?”
“It should be fairly simple since he’s my father.”
My mouth fell open, and I staggered back. It all made sense … Why my brother had been so willing to help Kade when he was a child …
“So you’re like a prince?” Jane mocked. “Prince Kade?”
“No, there is no royal family, only the king. And one day when my father dies I’ll take his place.” Which was why it was so important that he be a formidable Talsen.
Zar eyed Kade. “Yarza will provide the son of the Talsen king with as much alloy as he wants, along with a ship if he needs it.”
“He doesn’t need a ship,” Jane interjected. “We’re all staying here on The Pittsburgh.”
I knew Jane didn’t care about Kade, she was just worried that if he left, then I would go with him. “We’re good here,” I agreed. Jane’s shoulders sagged with relief.
“And what will Yarza provide me, brother?” Dar asked, his expression thunderous. “After everything we’ve done for him over the years, will he turn his back on me just as easily?”
Zar clasped Dar’s shoulder. “You will not be denied whatever you ask for, within reason.”
Dar broke away from him, storming from the room. Masha dashed after him, worry etched into her features.
“Yeah, well, I guess that’s as good as we’re going to get,” Jane said. “I also guess we need to find somewhere else to go?” She turned to me. “Any ideas?”
“I may have a temporary solution, but we’re going to have to come up with something better soon. Do we know if Dar and Masha extracted the data from the super computer yet?”
“Not sure,” Jane muttered.
Ash clasped Zar’s forearm, squeezing for a brief moment. “I don’t blame you. Nor do I blame Yarza. He must do what he has to for his people. We will see each other again.”
“I do hope to see all of you alive and well again.” Zar’s gaze darted around the room to touch upon all of us. “Please take care of my brother. He’s more fragile than he lets on.” With that he disappeared as if he’d never been there to begin with.
“Welp.” Jane clapped her hands together. “Where are we headed, Zula?”
“To New Earth of course.”
Jane’s expression fell. “I should have seen that coming.” She sighed, darting out of the engine room.
Kade leaned in to whisper in my ear, “Don’t worry. We’ll get through this. All of it.”
Logic and the odds said he was probably wrong, but hope still flitted through my system, lightening my mood.
“You’re right. We will. Somehow.”
My eyes alighted on a long, thin piece of scrap metal leaning against the wall, an intricate design burned into it, something Dar did in his spare time. Next to it laid a soldering iron of sorts. An idea formed. It reminded me of a tool I’d seen in a book once. One that we would find on New Earth.
“I know we’ll never have the bond your dragon half craves, but tell me, would it make you feel better if you were able to mark me in some other way? And then maybe down the line, with the proper equipment, Mikla can—”
“I won’t let him splice you. I thought, I don’t know, I thought that he could alter you without altering you. Irrational, I know. But it didn’t work. And I don’t want you to change, LaLa. I love you just the way you are.”
My insides warmed, and my hearts sped up. “So what about a brand or tattoo of some sort? You could mark me in a permanent way, and I—”
“Yes!” He wrapped his arms around me, spinning me in a circle. “Just the idea of it makes me happy … excited. Which means it’ll work. I can sense it. It’ll work!” He slanted his lips over mine, stealing my breath. “Why didn’t I think of something like that before?” he muttered into my mouth.
Pulling away from him, I smirked. “Because I’m the one with the massive brain. If anyone was going to think of a solution, it was going to be me.” I just wished I would have thought of it before he bit me about a half dozen times.
“I love you,” he growled, shoving me against the wall.
And against all reason and logic, I loved him, too.
“You sure about this?” Kade asked, the joy radiating from him dissolving all doubts instantly.
Getting into position, I stretched my neck to the side, and tucked my long, blonde hair over my shoulder. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“Ready?” the New Earth tattoo artist asked. His hand hovered over my neck, the heat from it causing sweat to dribble down my spine.
“Go for it,” I said.
It was a quick sting, over almost as soon as it started. Snatching up the mirror on the table, I studied the finished piece of work. Branded into my blue skin was a golden dragon, its body twisting and curving to form Kade’s name. The artist had done a beautiful job, sealing it into my flesh with his flame ability.
Kade touched the tattoo, tracing his fingers along it with reverence. “This means you belong to me.”
Snatching his hand away, I flicked the tattoo on his neck with my name worked into the pattern. “We belong to each other. It goes both ways.”
A flash of white teeth glinting in his dark face was my only warning before I found myself hanging over his shoulder. “I can’t wait to see what color it turns when the skin underneath it flushes.”
“We don’t have time for that now. We have to meet Jane and Ash, remember? We have a war to worry about? Remember that? The war? We have plans to make, and strategies to coordinate—”
He smacked my ass. “We’ll meet them after. Right now I’m going to see what color your tattoo turns. Time with you will always be a priority.”
My hearts sped up, the duel pulse pounding between my legs. “Okay, but we can’t take too long. We have plans to make.”
But Kade had a point. Time with loved ones always needed to be a priority, especially since war had cast its ugly shadow throughout the fabric of our Universe. There was a very real chance that none of us would live to see tomorrow, so we had to make the best out of today. Even logic couldn’t argue against that sentiment.
Sensing my mood had taken a dive into the morose, Kade swatted at my ass again. “We’ll make it through this. All of it. Trust me. If a Galvraron and a Talsen spliced with dragon DNA can find happiness together, then anything is possible.”
The odds were definitely stacked against us, and all of those who would stand against the Denards and the UGFS, bu
t again, Kade was right. Sometimes the odds were nothing more than numbers, and it was in the seemingly impossible that became possible through strength of will … and love.
Love could strengthen and motivate even the seemingly weakest. Species such as the Mazatimzs and Guavivas were prime examples. Tamzea and Eron intended to teach their people how to harness their abilities to fight for the greater good, the knowledge they gained from their time on Telvin unparalleled. And Masha, with Dar’s aid, would rally her kind behind our cause. There were most assuredly other species thought to be weak by the Denards, but we would harvest their underestimated resources to overcome. Because we have to.
And I would fight for the love of my friends and family. I would find a way to make it all work. I would fit the pieces together to get us our victory. After all, one Galvraron, such as myself, is much smarter than a legion of Denards. And now that I had Kade by my side to keep me humble …
On second thought … the odds are stacked heavily in our favor.
We will win.
Boy, my acknowledgements are super redundant. *lesigh * But just because I write practically the same thing in all of them doesn’t mean I love or appreciate anyone any less than authors with kick ass acknowledgements. It just means that by the time I finish a book my creativity is temporarily spent. Apparently that includes thinking up unique things to say here. Sooo … without further ado …
This is the part where I get to thank all the people who made this book possible. I really hope I don’t leave out someone important. I know I say something similar in all of my acknowledgements, but Holy Cow, Batman! The thought of forgetting to thank someone important is SUPER stressful. It’s like when your mind goes blank when trying to take an important test. *pulls the covers over my head* But here I go anyways … as usual … EEP!
First I’d like to thank my amazing Hubby, who is supportive and patient beyond the realm of what I imagine any normal man is … dah dah da duuuh … Super Hubby! (Copy and paste! I’m just going to put that in every book because it makes him smile.)
Next I would like to thank my parents for encouraging my love of reading and crazy imagination during my most impressionable years. Carnegie Library rocks! (Again … copy and paste! Lol)
Then of course there are my kick ass beta readers (or this time beta reader) for Flux: Shona Lawrence. Thank you so for taking the time to read another of my books so quickly! It really humbles me how awesome you are to me! Love you!
I need to thank Lindsay Tiry for her amazing cover design! She always goes above and beyond for me and puts up with all of my ‘notes’. Anyone who doesn’t know what that means … consider yourself lucky. Ha!
Let’s not forget Nadege from Inkstain Design Studio! She made all the prettiness possible that’s happening within these pages.
Of course Melissa from There for You Editing, who fixed all those things—you know, those things … Words! Yes, she fixed all the words.
And I’d like to give an extra special thanks to Ren Reidy for heading up the Tik Tok Press team. My books would probably disappear into the ether and have a ton of typos without you. And let’s not forget that your MS comments keep me entertained during one of the most boring parts of publishing.
Last but certainly not least: Thank you to all the book bloggers, readers, and fans who keep me going! I wouldn’t be anywhere if not for you guys! I love each and every one of you! Big Booky Hugs!
D.T. Dyllin is a bestselling author who writes both paranormal and contemporary romance. Anything with a love story is her kryptonite. Her obsession with affairs-of-the-heart is what first drove her to begin twisting her own tales of scorching romance.
D.T. was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Black & Gold for life, baby!) She now lives in Little Rock, Arkansas with her husband and two spoiled German Shepherds.