by Brenda Trim
The green-haired male seemed to be the leader of their group wrapped an arm around the female and held her close. The obviously stunned female ran her hand over her face, smearing the soot from the smoke across her heart-shaped face. “A bomb went off out on the beach. I have no idea who set it off, but the maahes will be here soon. We just have to wait for them,” the green-haired male told her.
“Are we safe in here?” the auburn-haired male asked at the same time the other one said, “Shouldn’t we go out there and help?”
The female was shaking her head as her eyes remained fixed on the opening above the bar. “It’s not safe for us out there. Our parents will be pissed if we go out there without more protection. For all we know there is an entire army outside waiting for us.”
“Why would they be waiting for you guys? You’re just kids.” Kids were not likely to be the focus of an attack like this. There was something Talysia was missing. These were no ordinary kids. They all had an alertness about them that she couldn’t imagine children their age possessing. And, then there was the way they crouched ready to spring into action.
“I’m Izzy, by the way. And this is Blaze, Donovan and Troy. Anyway, let’s just say that I’ve been hunted my entire life,” Izzy explained to her as she pointed to each of the males in turn.
Talysia had no words. How was a child hunted her entire life? It made no sense. And, how were these kids not freaking out? She was on the verge of tears and hysteria. This was unreal. Crap like this didn’t happen. At least not around her.
“Why would anyone want to harm you?” Talysia asked to keep from having a meltdown.
“You don’t know the explosion was meant for you,” Blaze told Izzy.
“You’re right. You might be the target. So far demons can’t access this realm, so it makes more sense that you are the one they were after,” Izzy replied to Blaze before turning to Talysia. “He’s the son of Angus. The King of the Cuelebre. And, I am the daughter of the Vampire King back in the Tehrex Realm. Being royal children isn’t all balls and ball gowns.”
“Unless it’s a Kevlar gown,” Talysia joked as she pondered what the hell was going on. At least two of the kids hiding with her were royalty. As in their freaking parents were Queens and Kings. It boggled the mind and challenged every assumption she had about what a Princess’s life was actually like.
On Calypso the royal family of the Mermaids and Sirens lived in safety and comfort. Their lives filled with fancy dresses, dinners and dancing. Sure, everywhere she lived, including her home planet, there had been fighting and wars, but it was so far removed from her daily life that she had no idea what to do next.
For the moment she decided she would focus on keeping them safe. The pain made her grunt as she crawled over and reached for the biggest knife in the small kitchen. Clutching it close, she doubted she’d ever breathe easy again. Shouting and commotion startled a yelp from Talysia. Her hands flew to cover her mouth hoping she didn’t give their hiding spot away.
“Is that the knights?” Donovan asked as they all focused on the open window.
Blaze got to his feet and was nodding as soon as his head cleared the counter. Talysia’s chest tightened and the urge to pull him back down nearly overwhelmed her. These kids were probably better able to protect her than she was them, but that didn’t mean shit to her instincts. “Lorne, Finn and Blaine are here,” Blaze informed them.
They all climbed to their feet and headed out of the door. The kids rushed up to one of the males roaming through the area assisting the injured. The male had short bnlack hair, and was tall and robust, like most of the males on the planet. The mere sight of him made her heart race for another reason. He had on leather pants along with a strap across his torso and nothing else. All those muscles made her mouth water with the desire to kiss his flesh and find out what made him moan.
Glancing away before she embarrassed herself, she felt the blood drain from her face at the sight of a severed arm in the sand not far away. All thoughts of the sexy male fled her mind as she mourned the lost lives all around her. It was nearly impossible to look away from the inert bodies. She’d never seen anything like that in her life.
The day started with such promise. The sun was shining, the weather was perfect, and laughter filled the air only minutes ago. Now the sun was blocked by smoke, and cries replaced the joy. The beach was nearly destroyed. A massive hole in the sand close to the water along with broken trees, destroyed shrubs and body parts strewn across the rest of the area. Work would never be the same after this, she thought.
Something sparkled in the late afternoon sunshine, blinding her for a moment. Lifting her hand, she squinted and saw a piece of metal sticking out of the soft sand. Her stomach was a churning mess as she walked over and picked it up from the ground. The odd metal was out of place.
It had jagged, scarred edges, telling her it was involved in a fire. If she had to guess she’d say it was close to or part of the bomb that went off. Pristine, gleaming metal was revealed as she rubbed part of the grime away.
“What did you find there?” Finn asked the curvy beauty.
The female yelped, threw her hands up in the air and the metal object she was holding fly from her hands. Finn reached up and snatched it before it fell to the ground.
The female gazed at him with wide eyes. Her pale skin and rapid breathing told him the stress of the events had affected her as much as the others at the scene. The grime on her cheek and the racing of her heart told him she was not drawn to the beach by the explosion like several others. That meant she was one of the lucky ones that survived this disaster.
For a split second he wondered if she was involved with the attack but dismissed it as he realized she was wearing a t-shirt for Medure Eats. And, she smelled like an ice-cold ocean. Looking her over he was certain she worked for the establishment and not involved.
“Gods. You scared me.” She wrapped her arms around her middle, but Finn was too busy enjoying the way her voice sang like music. Never before had a song or voice or animal that calmed yet excited him at the same time the way Talysia’s voice did. He could listen to it all day.
Finn smiled at the sexy female. “Sorry. You’re safe now. Maahes have surrounded the beach, nothing will get through that wall of dragons,” he assured her, pointing to the knights that remained in their dragon forms around the area. Her shoulders dropped and her shoulders shook slightly. He imagined she was having a pretty fucking bad day. “I’m Finn, by the way. I see that you found some evidence.”
She followed his hand as he waved the piece of shrapnel in front of his face. “I’m Talysia, and I assumed you were the good guys when Blaze and his friends rushed out to greet you. What can I do to help?” That voice again. It made him want to pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless. Or, perhaps it was her beauty that made him want to kiss her.
Finn wanted to take her away from the gruesome scene as her eyes traveled to a dismembered arm nearby. “You work at Medure, right?” He asked hoping to gain her attention.
Glancing back at him, she shook her head and swallowed visibly. “Yeah. I started a few weeks ago.”
“Did you happen to see anything, Talysia?”
Shaking her head, she hunched her shoulders. Even drawn in on herself her curves were sexy. He always liked a female with a little meat on her bones. “The last thing I saw was Izzy punching Blaze on the arm playfully. When I turned around to get a drink the beach exploded behind me.”
“Were Donovan and Troy with them?”
“I saw Donovan, but not Troy. Other than them, I didn’t really pay attention to the families behind them playing in the waves and on the sand.”
“Why don’t you go back into the shack and close it down now? Then you can go home. And,” he continued when she opened her mouth to respond “I will make sure the owner knows why the place was closed early. Don’t worry he will pay you for the full day.” Why the hell had he said that last part? He could ensure she kept her job, but h
e couldn’t force the owner to pay her wages.
“Okay. Thank you,” she mumbled and turned to go back to the small establishment.
“Wait,” he called out, making her pause and turn back to him. She had stunning turquoise eyes and full, tempting lips. “If you think of anything else please let me know.”
“Where would I find you if I do?”
Smiling wide, he fought the urge to give her his home address. Her voice was still as musical, but he was no longer fighting to hold himself back from her side. He’d bet the voice of a siren affected other beings in some way. “At Tatenen. If I am not there you can speak to any of the other maahes on duty.”
“Okay, thank you,” she replied and hurried to Medure and started closing down.
Finn turned back to the beach and continued gathering evidence for the investigation. As he reached into a bag for a bag to drop the shrapnel into, he inspected the object closely.
The technology on Khoth rivaled that of what he’d seen on Earth, but there were some things they had on Earth but not Khoth. Guns and bombs were some of those items they didn’t have in his realm.
The metal looked like what they had on Khoth and seemed just as strong. Earth metals were easy for dragons to bend, while metals from their realm had more resistance. That was odd. How would they have gotten their precious metals on Earth?
He had no knowledge of weapons from the Tehrex Realm and hoped the King would have more answers about them. In the meantime, he turned to the Prince to find out where Troy was and why he wasn’t with them.
“Hey, Blaze.” Finn called out.
“Yeah,” The Cuelebre Prince replied as he crossed the uneven sand to his side.
“Talysia told me Troy wasn’t with you when the bomb went off. Where was he?”
Blaze’s head jerked and his eyebrows furrowed. “Who is Talysia?”
“She’s the employee of Medure Eats. She said she saw Izzy hit you but Troy wasn’t with you guys.”
“Oh,” Blaze said as he looked at the food shack then back at him. “Yeah. Troy went to the bathroom. That female helped us right after the explosion. She thought Troy was an enemy and called out a warning.”
“Thanks. Now, why don’t you and the others head back to the castle? Your parents are worried sick and need to see you,” Finn informed the Prince.
“Sure thing. Do you need more maahes sent back?”
“No, but let the King know we will have a full report for him when we are done investigating,” Finn replied then got back to work trying to determine who attacked their most popular beach.
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Other Works By Trim And Julka
The Dark Warrior Alliance
Dream Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 1)
Mystik Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 2)
Pema’s Storm (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 3)
Isis’ Betrayal (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 4)
Deviant Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 5)
Suvi’s Revenge (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 6)
Mistletoe & Mayhem (Dark Warrior Alliance, Novella)
Scarred Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 7)
Heat in the Bayou (Dark Warrior Alliance, Novella, Book 7.5)
Hellbound Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 8)
Isobel (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 9)
Rogue Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 10)
Shattered Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 11)
King of Khoth (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 12)
Ice Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 13)
Fire Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 14)
Ramiel (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 15)
Rivaled Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 16)
Dragon Knight of Khoth (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 17)
Ayil (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 18)
Guild Master (Dark Alliance Book 19)
Maven Warrior (Dark Alliance Book 20)
Sentinel of Khoth (Dark Alliance Book 21) TBA
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Dark Warrior Alliance Boxsets:
Dark Warrior Alliance Boxset Books 1-4
Dark Warrior Alliance Boxset Books 5-8
Dark Warrior Alliance Boxset Books 9-12
Dark Warrior Alliance Boxset Books 13-16
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Hollow Rock Shifters:
Captivity, Hollow Rock Shifters Book 1
Safe Haven, Hollow Rock Shifters Book 2
Alpha, Hollow Rock Shifters Book 3
Ravin, Hollow Rock Shifters Book 4
Impeached, Hollow Rock Shifters Book 5
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