by Anna Hackett
“Yes!” Thorin yelled from the back.
Then the Zaabha fighters started to pull back. Rillian frowned. What were they doing? They formed a loose circle around Galen, and started chanting, some pumping their fists into the air.
“Champ-ion! Champ-ion!”
The crowd parted and a woman strode out.
Rillian stilled. She wore fitted leather armor with blue accents, and leather boots that came up past her knees. Her muscular thighs were bare, except for the armored skirt that draped down to mid-thigh.
She was carrying a sword, and she swung it in a flashy vertical circle. She moved with a fluid grace and power that said she was fully at ease with her body. Had honed it to be a weapon.
The woman’s brown hair was streaked gold by the desert sun, and pulled back from her bold-featured face. Her skin was also tinted gold. Her expressionless gaze took in the ship, before moving back to zero in on Galen.
“My God.” Harper pushed forward, her voice full of shock. “The captain.”
Blaine was at her shoulder. “Samantha,” the man breathed.
The final abducted woman from Earth. Rillian stared. Samantha Santos was the Champion of Zaabha.
She came to a stop, facing Galen across the sand.
Suddenly, she raced forward with a burst of speed. Galen strode forward to meet her. Their swords clashed together, and they stood there, frozen, turning in a slow circle.
Rillian saw the woman say something. Galen inclined his head.
“Anyone read lips?” Blaine asked.
Dayna and Harper shook their heads.
“Let’s hope she didn’t say ‘Prepare to have your guts spilled everywhere.’” Harper looked worried. “Sam is a hell of a fighter.”
“So is Galen,” Blaine countered.
With a brilliant burst of speed, Sam spun away from Galen and ran. She leaped into the air, flying higher than even Harper did in battle. She sailed over the heads of several fighters, and then…attacked the robots.
A second later, Galen was with her. The pair worked together, swords slashing. They whirled and spun, blades hacking through metal. They chopped through the ankle of one robot, and it started to topple over.
Dayna gasped. “I’m guessing they made an alliance.”
Galen and Sam turned, shoulder to shoulder, swords raised.
The Zaabha fighters milled around, confused. Their champion had turned on them. Sam shouted and swung her sword, driving them away from the ship.
Suddenly, the engine flared to life and Rillian let out a breath. “Okay, we’re ready to go.”
He babied the ship, lifting it off the ground.
Raiden leaned out of the open door. “Galen!”
The imperator was heading back toward the ship and shouting at Sam to follow him. She moved in behind him, but at that moment, the wall of Thraxians broke into a run, rushing at them.
Sam’s gaze met Galen’s for a brief second, then she waved at him. She veered off and spun, facing the incoming Thraxians.
Galen cursed. His face contorted as he shouted at her.
“Now!” Rillian yelled. The longer they took, the greater the risk the ship would fail before they reached the city. Or he finally lost too much blood and passed out.
“Galen. Now!” Raiden shouted.
The imperator’s mouth moved in what looked like a string of curses and he ran for the ship. As he neared, he jumped and landed inside.
He strode into the cabin, face grimmer than usual. “Get us back to Kor Magna.”
Harper pushed forward. “Sam—”
The imperator’s icy eye flashed, his hands balling into fists. “The fool sacrificed her chance to escape so we could get out of here. Let’s honor her for that.” He dropped into a seat. “And the sooner we get home, the sooner we can come back for her.”
Chapter Seventeen
Dayna stood in the stone-lined corridor outside of Medical, in the House of Galen, waiting with the others. Neve was pacing so hard that Dayna kept waiting for a groove to appear in the stone floor.
“The healers will help her,” Regan said to Neve quietly. “And Magnus is helping to keep her alive.”
Neve turned, her lips trembling before she firmed them. “She’s pregnant. Someone hurt her!”
Dayna watched Corsair wrap his arms around his woman.
Dayna clasped her hands together. Her belly was fluttering, waiting for Rillian to be finished with the healers. She’d already had her own injuries treated, and she’d stayed with him until Galen’s Hermia healers had assured her that he was going to be okay.
Still, after everything, she wouldn’t quite believe it until she saw him herself.
Nearby, Harper and Blaine sat on low stools. The two human gladiators were tense, and she knew they were thinking of Sam.
Suddenly, the doors opened, and she caught a glimpse of Magnus standing beside Ever’s bed, before Rillian stepped out into the hall.
Relief filled Dayna and she walked straight to him. He looked his usual self, his skin bronze again, a faint smile on his lips. Except for his borrowed clothes. She hid a smile. She was certain the simple pants and shirt were not up to Rillian’s stylish standards.
She wrapped her arms around him and dropped her head against his chest. As his arms closed around her, she slid one hand under his shirt. She stroked the smooth skin beside his symbiont, and felt a pulse of warmth. Something tight inside her relaxed.
He leaned down and pressed his face to her hair. “Dayna.”
She lifted her face. “You’re okay?”
“Fully healed, and my symbiont is functioning in top form.” He lifted his hand, brushing his knuckles over her cheekbone. “You?”
“I’m fine, better now that I can see you’re okay.”
“Always thinking of others.”
The doors whispered open again and Winter stepped out.
“How is she?” Neve demanded.
“She woke up for a bit.” The doctor clutched her hands together, a pained look on her face. “The implant embedded in her temple extends deep into her brain. Right now, it’s requiring regular electrical impulses from Magnus to keep it functioning and to keep Ever alive.”
God. Dayna leaned into Rillian. Poor Ever.
Neve closed her eyes. “Can you remove it?”
“I’m not sure yet,” Winter said. “We’ll need to analyze it, and this isn’t an area of expertise for the Hermia healers.”
“But it is for my healers.”
Dayna looked up. Magnus had stepped out of the room. He looked tall and imposing, his face like granite.
“Your healers can remove it safely?” Neve asked.
A single nod. “It will take time. She’ll need to stay at the House of Rone.”
Winter was studiously avoiding looking at the cyborg. “There’s…more.”
“The baby,” Neve whispered. “Is…is it Thraxian?”
Winter cleared her throat. “No. The baby is a genetic mix of several species, including human.”
“She was experimented on?” Angry color flushed Neve’s face.
“Ah, no. But the father is a genetically-engineered mix.” Winter twisted her hands together.
“Wait.” Corsair kept a tight arm on Neve. “You know who the father is?”
Magnus shifted. “I’m the father.”
Silence reigned for the span of a few heartbeats, then chaos exploded in the narrow hallway. Voices rose in confusion and surprise. Neve slipped out of Corsair’s grasp and lunged at Magnus, slamming a punch into his gut before Corsair dragged her back.
“Oh, my God,” Dayna murmured.
Rillian’s arm flexed. “This is…an unexpected development.”
Galen stepped into the bedlam. “Enough.”
Silence.
Neve glared at the cyborg, her gaze shooting daggers.
“I don’t have answers for you, yet.” Magnus’ face was impassive. “I was imprisoned in the desert for several days a month ago. It appears I
met your sister in that time.”
“You don’t remember?” Neve’s voice rose, her eyes sparking.
“My memory was impaired during my rescue. And I have certain programming that means I cannot procreate.” A muscle ticked in the imperator’s jaw. “So, I don’t have all the answers for you yet, but—” his voice lowered “—I can vow that I will find those answers, and I will protect your sister and that child with my life, with all the resources of the House of Rone, and everything that I am.”
Neve vibrated with tension for a long moment, then she sagged weakly against Corsair and nodded.
“Everyone get some rest.” Galen stepped forward. “We’ll meet again for dinner to celebrate Ever’s rescue.” His icy gaze met Dayna and Rillian’s. “I’ve organized a room for you. Once you’ve rested, please join us for dinner. We couldn’t have found Zaabha or Ever without your help.”
As the crowd dispersed, Rillian kept his arm around Dayna, and they followed a House of Galen worker to their room. Her old room. She hadn’t stayed in it long before she’d been snatched again, but walking inside, she saw they’d kept it just as she’d left it.
The airy room was dominated by a large bed covered in fur rugs. A well-appointed bathroom contained a huge bathtub.
Rillian opened his mouth to speak, but Dayna moved to him, tearing his shirt off. She pressed her palms to his skin—over his shoulder, his stomach. Over where his wounds had been.
“Dayna—”
She shook her head, nudging him back to sit on the bed. “I need to see that you’re okay. I need to feel it.” Her voice caught. “I need to hear your heart beating.”
He went still under her touch. She stroked him all over, loving his quiet groans and the heat building in his eyes.
She stepped back, sliding out of the simple clothes she’d pulled on after she’d showered in Medical. Naked, she climbed onto his lap, pulling his face to hers. Their kiss was long and slow.
But it didn’t stay that way. Need grew and turned molten. She undulated against him, feeling his hard cock beneath her. One of his clever hands slid between her legs.
“Do you need me here, Dayna? Deep inside you?”
“Yes.”
It took him seconds to free his hard cock. Then with his help, she lifted her hips and slid down, taking that thickness inside her.
She moaned and started to ride.
“Just like that.” He gripped her hips, pushing her down to meet his thrusts. “I love you, Dayna.”
“I love you, too.” She gripped his shoulders, staring into his beautiful silver eyes.
Heat built. He surged deeper inside her, and her husky cries echoed off the walls. Pleasure slammed into her like a hard, silk-covered fist. She arched back, trusting Rillian to hold her, anchor her. Another circle of her hips, and she felt him drive deep, holding her there as he ground his cock inside her and came hard.
He pressed his head against her breasts. “Be mine. Now. Always.”
She sank her hands into his silky hair. “I feel like I’ve been waiting for you all my life, and I never knew it.”
Kissing her chest, he fell back on the bed, pulling her with him. He wrapped around her and Dayna sighed, feeling a sense of contentment she’d never experienced before.
His fingers slid up her belly, one hand cupping a breast while the other caressed her symbiont stone. “How’s your symbiont?”
“I think it’s happy. Content.”
“Good,” he said.
She stroked his back, her fingers brushing over his symbiont. “And yours?”
His eyes flashed and he pushed her onto her back. “I think it’s feeling hungry again.”
“You seem…more accepting of it.”
He paused. “It’s content too, Dayna. I unleashed it when I had to, but thinking of you, seeing you, it helped me rein it back in.”
She smiled. “See, having someone close isn’t a scary thing.”
He nipped her lips, his cock prodding between her legs. “Only if that person is you.”
Rillian sat at the large dining table in the gladiators living area, talking with Galen.
“How’s Ever?” Rillian asked.
Galen lifted his drink. “Awake and doing fine. Magnus is with her.”
Rillian’s gaze drifted to Neve…who didn’t appear to be having a very good time. “The baby was unexpected.”
Galen raised a brow. “For Magnus, most of all. She’ll move to the House of Rone tomorrow. The first priority is removing her implant.”
Across the table, the women were trying to be happy, but Rillian picked up on the somber mood in the room. Everyone was excruciatingly aware that one human was still missing.
“So, Zaabha can move wherever the Thraxians want to move it,” Rillian said.
Galen nodded. “It explains how it’s remained a secret so long. The guests—”
“The scum,” Raiden said from the other side of Galen.
The imperator nodded. “The spectators receive an invite to a location in the desert that changes every time. From the brief amount that Ever has shared, it only sets down for the fights and to take on supplies.”
“I’m assuming that it’s moved from the location where we encountered it.”
Galen stared into his glass. “Yes, Ryan and Zhim have confirmed that. But—”
“But?”
A flash of an ice-blue eye. “I don’t care. We know what it is now and I will find it again. I will not leave Samantha Santos there.” Galen’s hand tightened on his glass. “And I will destroy Zaabha and the Thraxians.”
“Whatever I can do to help, you only have to ask.”
“Thank you, Rillian.”
A burst of laughter made them both look up. Rillian watched Dayna laughing with Regan and Rory, and something settled inside him. A heat that warmed his soul washed over him. He hadn’t even realized how cold he’d been before. His controlled, empty life had been missing one very important thing.
“Something tells me the lovely Dayna won’t be returning to the House of Galen,” Galen said, his voice desert-dry.
“You can’t keep them all, Galen.”
Dayna spotted Rillian looking her way and shot him a saucy wink.
“This one is mine.” Her body, her heart, her soul.
“She looks happy,” Galen said.
“I’ll enjoy keeping her that way.”
“Oh, my God.” Rory suddenly stood, cradling her giant belly.
From beside Rillian, Kace shot to his feet, his gaze on his wife. In a swift move, he leaped over the table, setting glasses and plates rattling. He jumped down beside Rory.
“Rory?”
The redhead’s eyes were wide. “I…I think the baby’s coming.”
Rillian froze and saw the gladiators do the same. The looks ranged from happiness to terror. Nothing like a baby to panic a group of huge, muscled fighters.
Dayna rose, completely calm and collected. “Okay, Regan and Winter, let’s get Rory and Kace down to Medical.”
The women leaped into action.
“You’re going to have a baby,” Winter said.
Kace swept Rory off her feet. “Let’s move.”
Dayna smiled, ushering the group out. As she touched Rory’s shoulder, her body bent close to Rory’s, Rillian had the perfect image of Dayna’s belly, swollen with a child. His child.
He smiled, taking a sip of his drink.
One day. Rillian was a man who always got what he wanted.
Dayna leaned against Rillian, once again standing outside Medical. Waiting really sucked, and everyone was tense and tired.
Dinner had ended hours ago, and everyone had been listening to Rory’s screaming and cursing echoing through the corridors of the House of Galen. She’d called Kace some pretty colorful names, sworn off sex, and threatened to murder her husband if he came near her again.
Nero had already vowed to never impregnate Winter, and the other mated gladiators were all looking a little pale.
The last time that Kace had come out to update them, the brave, military-trained gladiator had been white-faced.
Nearby, Raiden was pacing, while Regan and Madeline were playing some sort of card game. It had been quiet for a while, and Dayna wondered what was happening behind the doors.
Rillian’s arm tightened. “Do you feel it?”
She stilled, opening her senses. There. She smiled. A bright, new burst of energy. “You have to teach me more of what my symbiont is capable of.”
“It’ll be my pleasure.”
All of a sudden, the doors opened, and Kace stepped out. He held a tiny bundle in the crook of his arm.
He was beaming. “I have a son!”
Cheers erupted, and the women surrounded him.
“How’s Rory?”
“Can we see her?”
“Let’s see the little cutie!”
Dayna watched everyone study the baby. She could hardly believe it. A half-human baby born here. After everything they’d all been through, all the terrible moments since their abduction, Dayna had never, ever imagined anything like this. That a new life would be born from the darkness.
Her eyes roamed over the women, all of them smiling and happy. Then she took in the handsome gladiators standing beside them, protectors who would give their lives for these humans.
Love and new life. Out of the ashes of their terror, something beautiful had been born.
“What’s his name?” someone asked.
Kace frowned. “Rory and I haven’t decided yet.”
“That’s code for they can’t agree on a name,” Regan said with a smile.
“Go.” Rillian nudged Dayna forward. “I know you want to see him.”
She joined the others, and saw that Regan had pried the baby off Kace. She was cooing to the little bundle, and the baby was looking up at them curiously with wide, green eyes.
The gladiators were all slapping Kace on the back and offering congratulations.
“Hello, little cousin,” Regan murmured.
“He’s gorgeous. And so alert,” Madeline said. “My Jack slept for the first two days.”
“He’s a spitting image of Kace,” Harper said.
“But he has Rory’s eyes,” Regan said with a smile