by Emma Vance
A sleek black disc-like object took up the entire space of the arena and hovered above the ground, at eye level with the wyndlax beast.
A ship. A spaceship.
The creature stared at it, mesmerized.
Everyone did.
The wyndlax raised its claws in the air, about to strike the ship.
Without warning, a small window opened up on the front of the ship, and a smooth blue jet of light released from it.
The light struck the wyndlax, like a laser burning through its body.
The beast shrieked again, but this was not a war cry.
It was a cry of pain, of death. It lunged at the ship, but the thing flew just out of reach. It was quick for how big it was. It shot another stream of blue light at the bunny beast.
This time the creature’s cry was not ferocious, but sad. Weak. It stumbled, swiping for the ship again, but missing and falling forward, directly onto its face.
Dead.
The women around me released a collective breath at the same time we let go of each other’s hands.
We weren’t out of the woods yet. The stands were silent as the ship landed. A hatch from below opened up, and a familiar person stepped out.
“You guys have about ten seconds to get on this Dragorian ship before the Stryxx guards descend on us like a ton of bricks,” Nisha shouted.
Chapter Thirty
Mekvar
When the wyndlax started moving towards Beatrice, it felt as if my heart were going to stop. The thought that she was going to die and there was nothing I could do to prevent it, nearly destroyed me.
I had never known such fear. My fangs elongated and my claws extending to their full length. I wanted to tear the wyndlax apart. But it would have been no use. Beatrice would have been dead, and it would have been because of me.
But it never happened. She didn’t die.
Instead, my ship appeared. My entire crew was here, so who piloted it?
When it blasted the Wyndlax to death, I decided I did not care who was flying it. They were saving our lives and were clearly more friend than foe.
The hatch opened to reveal the human female, the one with sad eyes and similar skin to Beatrice. Impossible. A human couldn’t learn how to pilot a Dragorian ship.
Movement to the right of the arena caught my eye. A door was lifting. Stryxx forces had mobilized quickly. The female shouted something from the ship, but we were already racing towards her.
The Dragorians moved in a blur and Raitek and Boran joined us. I ran with all my might towards the human females. Tsanel scooped up two females in his arms and kept going. So did Mal, who grabbed Pippa, as well as another one with a thick black mane that hung to her waist. My mate turned towards me with a look of hope on her face so tentative and beautiful I nearly fell to her feet and kissed them—which would have been completely foolish given we were in a race for our lives. I reminded myself that I could do all the kissing of her body later.
Later, when she was safe. When we both had choices we didn’t have before.
Right now, I had to make sure there would be a later.
I didn’t stop or slow my gait as I raced towards Beatrice. I lifted her up over my shoulder and pounded the slippery sand beneath my feet. She made an ‘oomph’ of surprise when she landed across my shoulders and then laughed, the sound pure music to my soul.
Once we made it to the ship, my crew closed the hatch, and the other females were deposited unceremoniously on the lower deck.
I carried Beatrice to the command station, unprepared for what greeted me there.
A Stryxx guard, in full uniform, and was piloting our ship.
I stopped. Raitek and Mal halted as well. Raitek carried a spear in one hand, and he raised it, taking aim at the guard.
“Stop!” cried the dark-skinned human female who had brought the ship. She leapt in front of the Stryxx guard.
The guard growled at us as he pushed her behind him.
“He’s helping us!” the sad-eyed female cried.
“We don’t have time for this Dragorians.” The guard spat the words. “Bardoa is mobilizing every damn guard and ship he has to stop us from leaving this planet. I’ve only managed to disable the shields for a short time. We need to get out of here now.”
“He’s right,” Beatrice said, placing her hand on my arm. “We can interrogate him later, but right now, this is our only chance of escape.”
“He could be betraying us,” said Mal, clearly not convinced.
The Stryxx guard rolled his eyes. “Why wouldn’t I just let the wyndlax kill you if I wanted to do that, stupid Dragorian? Why would I go to all this trouble just to hand you back to Bardoa?”
“We can argue about this later,” I said, noting the guards advancing on the ship from the front viewing screen. “Let’s see if we can outmaneuver some Stryxx ships and get out of their damned atmosphere.”
“Sounds as easy as a space walk, Captain.” Mal grinned, and he moved towards his chair.
Hamuk and Lomke, two of my best pilots, burst through the entranceway. “We’re here, Captain.”
I nodded at them, as they took their seats and turned my attention to the Stryxx guard.
“How long did you say we had to get out of Stryxx air space?”
“It was around five minutes. It’s probably two, now.”
I nodded. “We have under two minutes to leave this damned planet, escape the Stryxx airspace and chart a court for Votarnis.”
“You got it, Captain.”
I glanced down at Beatrice. She gripped my hand fiercely. “We are getting out of here, Beatrice. I promise you.”
She smiled, her head tilting up to meet my gaze. “I’ll leave the flying part to you guys. But things are certainly looking up.”
We zoomed away, leaving the onslaught of Stryxx guards in a cloud of dust and blood. Their laser spears fired at us but bounced off our shields.
“Everything is running fine, Captain. There isn’t even a lock on our shields,” Hamuk said, manning the controls.
Lomke was operating our weapons, preparing for the assault of Stryxx ships that were no doubt heading our way.
The Stryxx guard was still standing in the command centre. His hand draped protectively over the sad-eyed female, and it was this motion alone that solidified my trust in him. If he was doing this for one of the humans, that was all the reason I needed.
“I owe you a debt of gratitude,” I said, holding my arm out to him. He hesitated, glancing down at my arm and then back up to my face. “You somehow commandeered my ship, disabled the lock on our shields, escaped the dockyard and flew to the arena all while evading the Stryxx ships. You helped my people. You saved my mate, and the other humans. This is a debt that cannot adequately be repaid. Thank you.”
The guard responded by scowling at me, the golden helmet obscuring his face so only his mouth and chin were visible.
“I didn’t do it for you,” the male growled, casting a glance towards the solemn human at his side.
“What Otun means to say,” she said sidling up to him, “is ‘you’re welcome.’”
Otun, as she called him, grunted, a small smile curving his mouth. “Speaking for me, female?”
“Only when you need help with the words.” She returned his look with a smile of her own.
Before I could ask him how he stole our ship, something crashed into us, causing us to lurch sideways. Beatrice collided with me and I wrapped my arms around her, bracing for impact against the harsh metal wall and shielding her with my body.
“We haven’t escaped yet!” called Mal, from across the bridge, his voice muffled.
He was right. I looked to the viewing screens. We were surrounded by Stryxxian ships.
“Hamuk!”
“I’m trying, Captain!” Sweat ran down his face in rivulets, and he concentrated hard on the viewing screen in front of him.
Lomke fired at the green Stryxxian ship, our laser hitting true. We cheered as the ship blasted
away. Hamuk maneuvered us around another group of Stryxx ships and I moved to closer to the viewing screen. I shouted out orders, directing our ship.
We had to get out of here. I darted glances at Beatrice. I had a second chance to rescue Beatrice, and to give my people a cure to the disease that was killing them.
I was not going to waste it.
“Lomke, to your right!” Another Stryxx ship went down, but two more replaced it.
We needed to get off Stryxx, and out of their atmosphere immediately.
Hamuk weaved in and out of the path of guard ships and out of range of the guns so fast the male deserved the Vortis Star, the highest medal known to Dragorians.
We were almost there, just a few moments more and we’d be out of their atmosphere, and far enough to warp to the next galaxy.
“Come on. Come on.”
We all watched, our eyes fixed to the viewing screen, cheering at every successful shot.
“Just a few more minutes. Just a few more,” muttered Hamuk, his fingers white as they manned the controls.
As if Bardoa heard him, a Stryxx ship popped out of nowhere and fired a blast that even the best flyer in the galaxy couldn’t escape. Right to our wing.
We careened, flipping over and spiralling in the sky.
“Get control back!” I barked, struggling to stay standing as the ship tipped back and forth. “Tsanel, check out that wing!” Tsanel left the bridge, hopefully to repair some of the damage done by the direct shot to our left wing.
By some magic, Hamuk righted the ship—only to have us nearly collide with the edge of a jagged cliff. He veered and shot straight up.
“We still aren’t in the clear.” I sat in the chair in front of the main viewing screen and glanced towards the tracking grid. “If we can get into warp and scramble our lock codes, we can lose them.”
Hamuk nodded once. “Ready to scramble as soon as we take off, Captain.”
Four more Stryxxian ships appeared in front of us.
“Bardoa really wants those human women,” commented Mal, his fists clenched at his sides.
“Well, he was about to throw them to the wyndlax a few minutes ago,” said Lomke.
“Don’t remind me.” I’d come so close to losing everything. I thought I’d lost it all before on my failed mission, when my crew had died. I looked to my mate. No, I didn’t know the meaning of loss.
“I want every weapon on this ship operational. Every blaster should be trained on those ships. Nothing is stopping us from getting out of here.” I shored up my resolve. We were escaping this damned planet even if I had to blow it apart.
All the crew mobilized. Hamuk engaged some more expert flying skills and managed to zigzag through the lines of ships. Lomke took out two Stryxxian ships with well-placed blasts. Hamuk swerved around the remaining ships and we catapulted out of Stryxx’s atmosphere. The Jewel of Votarnis sped into warp speed, leaving behind Bardoa in our wake.
And just like that, we had made it.
The Dragorian crew let loose an almighty cheer, hugging and slapping each other on the backs. Even the Stryxx guard joined in. I sat back in my chair, stunned. I looked to my mate. She met my gaze.
“I knew you’d do it,” Beatrice whispered, tears in her eyes.
I shook my head. “I didn’t save us. It was others who made it possible.”
“But they wouldn’t have been able to without you leading them. Without the sacrifices you made. You don’t have to dwell on what happened in your past anymore, Mekvar. You can let yourself celebrate.” Her lips parted to reveal smooth white teeth, and the smile made my heart sing.
Celebrate.
Something I hadn’t done in a long time. Something our people didn’t have cause to do. But now we had a possible cure to the Wolgon disease. We had proof that Dragorians could mate with humans. We had hope.
I had hope.
I suddenly wanted everyone around us to melt away, and for it to be just me and Beatrice. I had given her a choice when all this started, the choice to be my mate or not. But now, the thought of losing her when we were so close to being able to be together was difficult to bear.
I took Beatrice’s hand and pulled her from the command centre. I didn’t look back as the crew celebrated behind us.
Chapter Thirty-One
Beatrice
Mekvar navigated the twisting black corridors of the ship to some unknown destination.
I didn’t mind. Now that we’d actually escaped from Stryxx, I knew what I truly wanted.
I didn’t want to go back to Earth, even if I could.
What did I have left there? A trail of people who didn’t care about me and who likely hadn’t missed me since I’d been gone. With Mekvar, I had someone who cared for me, and who I cared about. I had a family, and it felt good.
We stopped in front of a large silver door. Mekvar muttered something guttural I couldn’t quite catch, and the door slid open.
He pulled me through and lights flickered on, illuminating a much larger room than I had expected. In the centre was a bed, covered in a satiny black cover that looked almost liquid. Beyond that was a giant window showing the galaxy beyond. I stared out at the unfamiliar stars, dotting the galaxy like diamonds.
He must have taken us to his room. Which was just fine with me. I was down for a lengthy session of him convincing me to stay with him instead of returning to Earth. Not that I needed convincing. But instead of undressing me or kissing me, he sat on the bed and put his head in his hands.
I froze. “Er, Mekvar? Are you okay?”
He looked at me, and instead of the hope I expected to see, the same hope that was blooming in my own heart, his eyes were desolate.
“Forgive me, my mate. This is very difficult for me. The thought of losing you is unbearable, especially after just having found you.”
I couldn’t speak because of the misery I heard in his voice. I knew Mekvar cared for me, he had shown me how much these past few weeks. But I didn’t know it was this much. This was love.
I knelt in front of him, about to speak, but he beat me to it.
“Going back to your home planet will be impossible, Beatrice. But I did promise that I would give you a choice about whether or not to be my mate.” He met my gaze. “I will respect your choice, no matter what it is.”
He was about to speak again, but I put my fingers to his lush lips and stopped him before he could make a sound.
“Mekvar, if you respect my choice, then you have to actually let me make one.” I smiled at him, and his eyes widened. I sat beside him on the bed, placing my hands on his thighs.
He turned to me, looking as if he might protest.
"No, listen. You’ve had your turn to speak, and now it’s mine.” I cupped his face. “I know how much it means to you to help your people, to fight this enemy that is killing you all. And you must focus on that fight.”
“Then you do not wish to be my mate,” he whispered, sounding so heartbroken I nearly cried.
“I’m not finished. I don’t want to go back to Earth, so it doesn’t matter to me if we can’t or not. There is nothing there for me anymore.” I swallowed thickly, and tried to speak past the tears threatening to spill over.
“I choose you. I’ve never had someone to call my own. I’ve never had someone that called me theirs. That is, if you still want me to be your mate.”
“Beatrice.” His voice was so filled with wonder the tears I’d been holding back spilled freely down my face. “You should not question how much I want to be with you. And not simply because you are my mate. You are strong, fierce, and brave. I would be honored if you stayed by my side. I’d never imagined I would be so lucky as to have a female like you for my mate.”
“I want to stay here with you.” I laughed, and it came out like a hiccupped, croaking sound. “Wherever here is.”
He smiled, his fangs peeking through in the flash of his white teeth. “We are in the middle of the Soldart galaxy right now, I’m afraid. Headed straig
ht for Votarnis. And if you want to stay with me, you will be welcome there, here, or anywhere I am.”
His rough fingers brushed the tears from my cheek, and I grabbed his hand and placed it on my heart. “Then I’ll be anywhere you are. And we’ll be together.”
He crushed me to him, and I still felt the urgency of the Rushing, that underlying thread of desire that almost made me crazy on Stryxx. Except now it seemed deeper, something that pulled my whole being to his.
“Mekvar,” I gasped into his mouth. “I need you.”
He lifted me bodily off the bed and deposited me at the head of it. I still wore the filmy dress from Stryxx, but it was filthy from the arena and torn in places. I think that gave him carte blanche to grab a long piece of it and tear it right down the centre. He peeled the destroyed garment off me, and my chest heaved, nipples exposed to the cool air of his room. The cover under me felt like molten silk, and I writhed above it, loving the satiny feel against my skin.
Mekvar took off his sleek trousers and black shirt to reveal the muscular, grey-gold body beneath. The body I had once found so terrifying I now wanted inside me with an intensity bordering on unbearable. Mekvar covered me with his scaled body, which rubbed against my skin in soft, tantalizing ways.
I moaned, already feeling the wetness pooling in my pussy, soaking me, getting me prepared for him. But he didn’t enter me then. Instead, he licked down my body with his forked tongue. I gasped and arched up into him. He veered towards one of my nipples, taking the swollen peak between his lips and tugging on it until I was mindless. He did the same with the other one, dragging the crest of my breast into his mouth, the rough velvet of his tongue running along it.
“Mekvar.” I gripped his head in my hands. “Please.”
“Soon, Beatrice,” he murmured. He looked up at me for a moment and our eyes met. “Or should I call you Bea?”
He didn’t wait for my answer, and dipped his head lower, his tongue tracing my belly button and drifting down towards the apex of my legs.
“Yes.” I wasn’t sure if I was answering his question or exclaiming my bliss at him finally reaching where I wanted him to go.