by Amelia Jade
“Yes, ma’am,” the younger soldier said with obvious relief.
“What is going on, Major?” Kyen asked as he fell in step beside her.
“Don’t you see?” She smiled thinly, the expression lacking all joy. “Our work here is proving to be a success, so the army is sending in someone they like to take all the credit for it. They can’t let the black sheep of the family prove them wrong once this all goes public.”
“The black sheep?”
She nodded. “Me. This was supposed to be an exile posting, where they would never have to deal with me again. But Kallore is obviously convincing them that just because we thought this to be impossible, it isn’t. So Colonel Cutprice comes here and relieves me. He will, I assume, be taking over the training. Isn’t that correct, Lieutenant?”
The soldier in front of them hesitated before responding as they neared the command center. “I believe Colonel Cutprice is here temporarily while his commanding officer is in transit, to ensure that everything is transferred smoothly.”
Elin was caught off guard by the reply, and as she tried to sort out what was going on, the doors opened and they walked inside. A tall man in uniform was standing over the few screens, his back to her. She frowned. Something about his slight stoop was familiar, tickling at the back of her memory bank.
Then he turned to face her, and suddenly she remembered where she knew him from.
“Hello, Major,” he said in a nasally voice. “So good to see you. Again.”
Chapter Eleven
Kallore
He awoke before his alarm, a sense of unease washing over him.
Rising swiftly he dressed, trying to keep the anger down at being interrupted from the pleasant dream he’d been having. In it he was back downtown with Elin. Only this time he’d done things right from the very start, and she kissed him back fully and with abandon. It had been a very happy dream, and it now clashed with the slithering darkness he now felt descending over the base.
Whatever was wrong, he needed to fix it. And soon. His first instinct was to ensure that Elin was safe. With her secure he could move against whatever it was that was causing the sensation. Emerging into the hallway, he took off at a jog for the room they conducted all of their classes in. By some feat of engineering and random luck, the cell he’d initially called home was actually closer to the room than the quarters he’d been assigned a week or so into his training.
He dodged past a man in uniform heading the same way with a quick wave of apology over his shoulder, not slowing. The door to the classroom was closed, and the lights were off. That didn’t mean Elin wasn’t in there however. She was known to do such tricks like that, just to ensure he knew she would always arrive first. But something told him that this time she wasn’t there. Just to ensure he wasn’t mistaken he stepped inside, his eyes scanning the room, not bothering to turn the light on. It wasn’t necessary for him; he could see it easily.
Elin wasn’t there.
It was still early, he told himself. She could be on her way there right then. All he would have to do was walk the shortest path between the room and her quarters, and he was bound to run into her. The sense of unease strengthened in him. Kallore spun at the same time the lights flicked on.
“Hello, Kallore.”
The tall man spoke his name like it was a label, not a part of who he was. Kallore realized with a start it was the same officer he’d passed in the hallway on his way here. How had he not noticed the man wasn’t a base regular?!
“Who are you?” Kallore knew all the personnel on the base. This wasn’t one of them.
“My name is Colonel Cutprice, not that it matters to you.”
“You’re right,” he said cheerfully. “It doesn’t matter to me. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere I need to be.”
He made to brush by the officer, the urge to find Elin rising within him. The urgency was more notable now. Whatever was going on, it had to do with her, and she needed him there, not stuck with this dickless wonder.
“Sit down.” The words cracked out like a gunshot.
Kallore spun in place, giving the man a stare, his eyes filling with ancient anger.
“Talk to me like that again,” he said softly, “and it will be the final thing you do.”
Cutprice smiled, seemingly unfazed by the threat. “You will sit down. I am in charge until the general gets here tomorrow. You and everyone else are now under my command.”
He almost crushed the man’s skull then and there, but the presence of additional armed men in the hallway outside gave him pause. Glancing at Cutprice, he leaned forward and stuck his head out the doorway. A dozen men armed with tasers and other gear were arrayed, ready to stop him.
“What is the meaning of this?” he snarled, whirling on Cutprice. “Where is Elin?”
“She is in her quarters, pending new orders.” The colonel was gloating.
In one stride Kallore closed the distance between the two of them, hoisting Cutprice up by his uniform. As tall as the officer was, his feet still dangled uselessly in the air when he was forced to look Kallore in the eye. The dragon shifter was a veritable giant, and the thin officer would do well to respect his power.
“Put the colonel down!”
He turned slowly, eyes beginning to glow as he assessed the threat. Some of the soldiers stutter-stepped as they filed into the room, but most of them kept on coming, either not seeing the flames dancing in his eyes, or not realizing they were very, very real.
“Do you really want to do this, boys?” he asked, his voice filling the hallway with its soft roar as he looked at the lead man on the left.
The leader hesitated, his throat bobbing up and down as he swallowed nervously. “No, but if you don’t put the colonel down, I will be forced to.”
“I respect that. Which is why you won’t suffer.”
Before any of the men could react, Kallore tossed Cutprice at the spokesperson. The two collided with a thud before they flew backward, taking out three more men. The dragon didn’t stay around to watch, however; he lunged to the right. His arm snapped up, a head snapped back, and another soldier was down. Fingers filled with supernatural strength snatched the limp body up even as he spun, bringing the soldier into a guard position, using his body to protect him as tasers flew.
Kallore then pushed, and more soldiers went down in a heap as the taser-filled body collided with them.
He jerked as something hit him square in the back, staggering him slightly, more from surprise than anything. A moment later there was a clatter as the mashed-up pieces of metal and plastic fell to the floor. Kallore turned to see the last remaining soldier on his feet staring at him in horror as the thick, sandy-brown-colored dragonbone armor receded into his skin.
“Your weapons cannot harm me,” he snarled, reaching down to grab the taser ends and yanking the weapon from the soldier’s hand. Then he strode forward while the man’s eyes widened in fear before rolling back into his skull as a fist knocked him blissfully unconscious.
Kallore regarded his handiwork, surveying the damage to the thirteen men. They would all live, though some would have broken limbs and bruises.
A groan sounded from the officer. Kallore quirked his eyebrows in the man’s direction. Perhaps he was stronger than he looked.
“You will leave the base,” he snarled, leaning over the officer, letting smoke filter from his nose as he summoned his flames, letting them fill his eyes completely. “Do you understand?”
Defiance reared its ugly head, but when Kallore revealed what his right hand contained, it died swiftly. “Very well. But it won’t last. The general will be here tomorrow.”
“It doesn’t matter. I will handle this general of yours as well,” he spat.
Cutprice laughed. “That won’t keep Elin from being sent away. More will come.”
The temperature in the room skyrocketed as Kallore came dangerously close to unleashing his fury upon the human. He stared him down, his flames ready if
he should need them. It would be easy, so very easy to simply lash out and reduce Cutprice to little more than cinders.
No. That won’t do a thing to help Elin. You need to go to her. Now.
“You will leave,” he said, letting his fire diminish. “Take your men, and get off the base.”
“And what about the general?”
His expression could have been molded from steel at that point. “I will handle him.” Taking one last look at the bodies, he fixed Cutprice with another look. “I trust that you can handle the cleanup?”
Anger at being so casually dismissed passed over the colonel’s face, but in the end he caved. “Yes.”
“Good. You just saved your life.”
Kallore left the room, ignoring the look of two of the regulars that had responded to the noise. “Just got a little angry over some bad news, boys. Nothing to see here. Best get back to work.”
They just nodded, peering around him trying to get a glimpse inside the room. He left them behind.
The uneasiness that had been knotting his stomach had eased, but not left entirely. Whatever it was that was going on, it had to do with Cutprice and the others. Kallore had never heard of them before, which meant he needed to find Elin. She would know what was going on.
Hopefully she would find a way to trust him again.
Chapter Twelve
Elin
It took about an hour after she was escorted back to her quarters, but eventually the tears came. They didn’t stop either.
Failure.
The single word kept repeating in her head over and over again, pounding its nails deep into her skull, embedding it there for all time, a branding that she would never be able to escape. No matter how hard she tried, despite her constant doubts, it seemed the world always came back to kick her ass one more time. For so long she’d bent, tilting over like a tree in the wind, but eventually she’d always come back, never breaking. Until now.
Now, when there wasn’t a hope left, when everything had finally been ripped from her without permission, she allowed herself to feel the despair that she’d kept at bay for so long. There was no point in continuing. She’d been so close to giving in this morning, and yet she’d rallied herself to come back stronger, only to have this dumped in her lap.
It was bad enough that they were stripping her of command after she’d done such a good job. It was bad enough that they were taking Kallore away from her just when she was starting to realize she needed him most. It was bad enough that everyone wanted her to fail. But on top of that, they’d gone and sent Colonel Cutprice to deliver the bad news. That was like ripping the scab off a wound that had never really healed.
Colonel Cutprice, once Sergeant Cutprice, had been the other aide of one Colonel Moore. It was Cutprice who had started the rumors of her having tried to blackmail Moore. And now he was back, this time to take away something she’d worked hard to build, ending her career in shambles. They couldn’t have found a worse option unless they sent Moore himself.
Flopping back onto her bed, she stared at the gray ceiling, trying to figure out what to do next. First thing she would do is submit her resignation papers. They would drum her out immediately rather than waiting, so in a few days she would be free to pursue whatever job she wished. Maybe she would take a vacation. Go to one of those all-inclusive resorts down south, get really drunk and do something stupid.
Even as the idea came to her mind she dismissed it. That wasn’t her. Besides, the only person she would be willing to do something stupid with was Kallore. And he was probably being held in his quarters too, until the general taking over for her arrived, at which point he would be sent God knows where. For all she knew they might declare him ready and send him to the mountains in case something went horribly wrong.
The point was, she was never going to see him again. The two guards outside her quarters, despite being members of the base, were loyal to the chain of command. Cutprice had perfectly legal orders superseding her as base commander. While they may not enjoy the fact that she was now under de facto house arrest, none of them were going to argue it either.
It would probably be easier that way. Elin would never be able to say goodbye without losing control of herself. Part of her feared the action Kallore might take if he felt she was hurt. His protective instincts toward her bordered on the extreme, and he had strength that none of the men could match. If he arrived at her quarters and found the men there were keeping her in, instead of keeping others out, he would probably knock them unconscious at best. She closed her eyes, picturing the sounds of it. The dull thwack of fists hitting flesh, the groan as one of them keeled over, followed by a thud as the second hit the ground like a sack of potatoes, out cold.
Her eyes flew open as something hit her door. Rolling over, she stared at it, wondering if she’d been imagining the sounds or if they’d really been—
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Something thundered against her door.
“ELIN!”
She blinked.
“Kallore?” she asked in disbelief, her voice far too low for even his hearing to pick up.
“ELIN! OPEN THE DOOR!”
“Kallore what the hell are you doing here?” This time he heard her.
“I’m here to see you.”
She shook her head, a gesture invisible to him. “No. Go away.”
“No. I’m coming in. We need to talk.”
Elin could sense the mixed emotions in his voice. There was anger, of that she was certain. Directed at various parties for sure, but likely her as well. After all, she’d just capitulated to Cutprice without attempting to protest the decision. Kallore wouldn’t know that it was pointless, that there was no use in trying. But she did. He would be mad over that, and over her refusing to open the door.
“Leave me alone. It’s easier this way.”
The wall shuddered under another thunderous blow. “I will break the door down if I must,” he said tensely, “but I would really rather do this peacefully.” Pause. “Mostly peacefully at least.”
She could just imagine him looking down around at the unconscious guards as he added that last bit. The laugh caught her off guard, a small bit of amusement working its way through the shadows that surrounded her.
“Fine.” She let him in.
“Thank you.” He walked inside, eyebrows furrowing as he took in her partially packed bags. “What are you doing?”
“Packing?”
He ignored the bags and walked through her quarters, searching her closet, washroom, and study thoroughly.
“What are you doing?”
“Ensuring that there’s nobody here. Did they hurt you?”
Elin shook her head. “What? No. Why would they hurt me?”
“I was told you were forced here,” he explained. “If they so much as touched one hair on you, I will—”
“Kallore. I’m fine. They just escorted me here. Like, walked on either side of me and one step back. Nothing crazy happened.” She sagged. “Nothing had to. They know they won. I’m beat, Kal.”
He appeared ready to fly into another rage, but she waved him down. There was no use in more anger just now. It wouldn’t get anyone anywhere. She just wanted to say her goodbye and then have him go so that she could cry. Again.
“Why are you here?”
“Because I’m not letting them reassign my mate,” he growled determinedly. “If they want me to fight for them, then you are staying.”
Elin rocked back at his words. “What did you just say?” she gasped.
He frowned. “That they will keep you as base commander if they wish my assistance against these Outsiders?”
“No, before that.”
She watched Kallore’s eyes go unfocused as he replayed his conversation in his head, trying to figure out what she was talking about. The obvious regret on his face made it clear when he figured it out.
“You called me your mate,” she said softly, staring up into his face, mesmerized as alwa
ys by the striking electric blue of his eyes.
“Uh-oh.”
“What? Was it supposed to be some kind of big, super-duper secret?”
“Sort of.”
Elin walked to the middle of the room, folding her arms across her chest defensively. “Explain.”
“I meant not to tell you until you were ready to hear it.” Kallore looked down at the space between them, and Elin caught the idea that he was thinking of crossing it.
“So like, your mate. The one you told me you would fight for?”
There was no hesitation. “Yes.”
“The only woman you would love for the rest of your life.”
“Yes.”
“And you think that’s me?” She tried not to laugh at the idea that someone so strong and good as he could love a broken, discarded toy like herself. It was insane. It was all insane! He was a dragon shifter. A beast out of myth and legend, and he was now telling her that she was his eternal soulmate?
“No.”
Okay, that caught her off guard. “But I thought you just said?”
“I did. But you’re wrong about one thing, Elin Mara.”
The way he said her name had shivers running up and down her spine. There was a…permanence to it, though how the hell he could do that with words was unexplainable.
“What’s that?”
“I don’t think, anything. I know it.”
She scoffed. “Right. So then why didn’t you respect me back in the city? You kissed me when I’d made it clear I was trying to keep a distance between us, a space.”
“I was weak.” He admitted his fault with ease. “My joy of everything overwhelmed me and I thought the moment right. I, obviously, was completely wrong. I am sorry for that. I will wait as long as it takes me until you are mine. But make no mistake Elin; you are my mate.”
“I see.” It was inadequate as far as statements went, but it was all she had.
“Like I said, I had hoped to wait until you were ready to hear it before I spoke of it. I didn’t want to complicate things even further.”
“I understand. Sort of.” She turned and paced across the room.