CHAPTER TWENTY
VALERIAN COULDN’T believe someone had entered his private chamber without his knowledge. Even the times he’d gotten caught up in the most animalistic of his desires, his warrior instincts had remained sharp and ready.
Not so with Shaye. He’d been swept up, the rest of the world ceasing to exist.
Such a thing had never before happened to him.
At the moment he battled a fierce torrent of rage and desire. He had Shaye where he’d wanted and needed her for so long, and Broderick expected him to leave her?
But leave her he would.
Her safety would always come before her seduction.
Her safety would always come before his pleasure.
“Gather the others,” he told Broderick, the words ripped from him. “Within the next five minutes, everyone will be in full armor and waiting in the arena. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Consider it done, my king.” His second in command rushed off.
Valerian had known this day would come. The dragons wanted a reckoning.
Why could it not have come tomorrow morning?
“Broderick,” he called, and the warrior quickly backtracked. “The other females.”
“They are being hidden even now.”
“Excellent. Go, then. You have your orders.”
Broderick stalked from the room a second time, his hurried footsteps echoing off the walls.
“I’m sorry, Moon.” Valerian gazed down at the exquisite Shaye. Color flushed her cheeks; pale hair splayed over the bed like ribbons of white silk. Her breasts, covered by the pretty pink sheet, were outlined, her nipples little beads. “I must go.”
“You’re going to war?” Her voice gave no indication of her emotions.
Only two things she could be feeling: happiness that her trials with him might finally come to an end, or worry. “If war is what’s required to keep this palace, then yes, I will go to war.”
“But…you’re injured.”
Worry. She worried for him. “Yes.” He pressed a swift kiss to her lips before withdrawing from the bed.
“You shouldn’t be fighting. You’ll make your wounds worse.”
“Don’t do this again. Don’t doubt my skill. Besides, I’ll know you are waiting for me. I’ll do whatever proves necessary to survive.” He wished there was time, at least, to sate her desires, to give one of them relief.
He dressed, tugging on a pair of leather pants, and strapped his armor in place—every piece was stained with blood from today’s practice.
He wasn’t at full strength. His grip wasn’t as tight, and his limbs weren’t as steady. But he’d meant what he said. He would survive.
“I thought you fought better without your armor,” she said.
“With a single opponent, yes. But the dragons are part of a horde.” He laced up his boots, gathered his helmet and shield and slid the Skull in the center sheathe.
She pushed out a heavy breath. “Here’s a revolutionary idea. Why don’t you just give the dragons back their palace?”
“It’s my palace now, the only access we have to the portal into and out of Atlantis.”
“Oh,” she said.
Yes. Oh. Without the palace—the portal—he would never be able to surprise her with a visit topside to see her relatives.
“Our people will never be wanderers again.”
“Our?”
“Of course. What’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is all mine.”
The color in her cheeks deepened. With contentment, he hoped.
“Get dressed,” he said.
Motions stiff, she straightened her clothing, covering each of her wanton curves. A travesty.
Valerian mourned the loss of her seminakedness. He held out his free hand and motioned her to join him. Surprisingly she did so without protest, smoothing the rest of her clothing in place as she walked.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
“To the same place as the other women, where you’ll be safest.”
“And where is that?” she insisted. “The hobby room?”
“No.” Urgency battered at him. He pulled a fur coat from the closet—fur from the were-shifters—and draped it around her shoulders. “Someplace a bit…farther underground.”
He led her out of the room, through three separate hallways and down four flights of stairs. Along the way, men rushed past him, nodding in acknowledgment as they headed for the arena.
The air cooled and thickened with moisture; mist curled toward the ceiling. Finally they entered a cave; the walls were rocky and jagged, painted with sensual murals.
A tremor vibrated through Shaye when she spotted the swirling portal. He passed it, careful not to step within reaching distance of the dappled liquid that separated him and Shaye from the sea. Twigs and bones—left over from the time the dragons had owned the palace, killing every human who’d strayed into Atlantis—snapped under his boots.
More than once Valerian had wondered why Atlanteans couldn’t survive upon the surface for more than a day or so, and yet humans could come and go through Atlantis as much and as long as they pleased.
“Are those bones?” Shaye covered her mouth with a shaky hand. “Gross! How did I miss them last time?”
“I’m sure you were preoccupied by my astounding beauty,” he told her dryly.
She snorted. “Yes. That must be it.”
“Throughout the centuries, humans have tried to destroy the creatures of Atlantis in an attempt to steal our riches. The dragons did what they thought was right in order to protect the entire kingdom.”
Valerian’s father had once lamented about a human army that had passed through the portal and not only decimated the dragon army in charge of guarding it, but skulking through the Outer City and slaughtering innocents mercilessly.
Afterward, a new dragon army had taken charge of the portal, and this cavern had become a place of death and destruction. Anyone who’d stumbed through had been killed on sight.
What if Shaye had accidentally passed through when the dragons were in charge?
Easy. She would have been beheaded.
The portal was better off under Valerian’s control.
“Is this a test?” Shaye asked. “This feels like a test.”
“Will you pass or fail?”
“I guess time will tell. I mean, really. You’ve proved to be nothing but a tease.”
“Me?” he choked out. “I’m the tease?”
“Yes, you. You told me you’d make me hate staying here, hate being with you, and you have yet to follow through. I’m outraged!”
His lips twitched with much needed humor. “I’ll strive to do better.”
The sound of female voices drifted from around the corner. He descended a final flight of stairs, this one hidden in the narrow crevice between two bloodstained boulders.
“By the way,” Shaye whispered. “You never told me the most erotic place on a woman’s body.”
For a moment, he was transported back to bed, this woman splayed underneath him. His blood heated.
Concentrate. “I haven’t and I won’t.” The mystery would, hopefully, occupy her mind and keep her distracted from the war. “Not until you’re naked in our bed.”
“You are such a jerk,” she grumbled.
“You are such a delight.”
They had reached the bottom of the steps and entered a new room. He propped his shield against the wall to slip an arm around Shaye’s waist and urged her to his side—if only to prevent her from bolting when she spied the prison cell.
“Um, if I didn’t know better, I’d say this is a dungeon.”
“It is a dungeon.”
His gaze skipped over the glowing blue bars in front of cells now bursting with human females. Those bars were made to stop immortals.
“What! No way.” Shake gave a violent shake of her head. “No way you’re locking me up like a prisoner.”
“I am. For your own good. If any drag
ons make it inside the palace, through secret passages we haven’t yet found, they’ll have a difficult time absconding with you.” When she opened her mouth to rebuke him, he added, “None of the other women are complaining.”
The gaggle of voices suddenly turned into happy coos.
“Valerian, you gorgeous thing! Are you here to pass out free orgasms?”
“Oh! Me first! Me first!”
“Now I understand why royal subjects are supposed to kneel before their king. I’d love to pay homage to your…scepter.”
Shaye hurled curses before wrenching from Valerian’s clasp.
“Maybe some of the girls are soldiers in the human army,” she said. Her dark eyes flashed fire at him. “Did you ever think of that? They can help you. Maybe they are master strategists and they can plan a way out of any battle. Instead of locking them away, use them. Us. Let us help.”
“If we weren’t fighting dragons, I’d agree with you. You aren’t just a pretty face. You have a brain. But we are fighting dragons. You know nothing about the fire-breathing race.” As he spoke, he backed her into the wall.
She squared her shoulders and raised her chin, the picture of total defiance. “Try to intimidate me all you want.
“I will. Now that I have your permission,” he said, his tone dry.
Her eyes narrowed. “What if you and all your men are killed? Will we die of starvation down here?”
“We won’t be killed,” he insisted.
“Can you guarantee your survival with 100 percent certainty?”
“Yes.” Fact: Shaye’s life depended on him. He would allow nothing bad to happen to himself.
Remaining stubborn, she crossed her arms over her chest. “How can you guarantee such a thing? Are you psychic? Wait. Let me guess. Your nympho visions come only when you’re having sex, right? Courtesy of the magic vagina.”
Part of him wanted to laugh. The other part of him wanted to howl with frustration. He pointed to the group of warriors standing in front of the prison bars. “If anything happens to me and the others, these men will release you and escort you home. Are you satisfied?”
“No!”
His eyes narrowed. “I’m not surprised. You never are, are you?”
What little color she possessed drained away. “That was a low blow.”
“Why? Did I speak an untruth? Because so far, nothing I’ve done has been good enough for you. You’ve focused solely on my mistakes, never my successes.”
She flinched as if he’d struck her. “Well, you’re my captor. What more do you expect?”
Instant remorse. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for speaking what you perceive as the truth, or sorry for kidnapping me?” she asked. “Why do you even want to be with me? If I weren’t your mate, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have chosen me.”
He softened his tone. “You are a rose worth every prick of thorns. I would choose you always.”
Her shields began to drop, pure vulnerability staring up at him. She softened against him.
“Valerian,” Broderick called.
He gently tapped the bottom of her chin with his knuckles. “Try to keep the other females calm while I’m gone. Will you do this for me? Please, Moon.”
For the briefest moment, he thought he glimpsed sheer terror. For him. For his safety. A master at hiding her reactions, she rallied quickly, blanking her expression. His remorse only magnified.
The ice queen was back in place.
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll do it. But they aren’t exactly upset right now. They’re freakishly happy to see you.”
“We are, Valerian.” A brunette gripped the bars, a buttercup-yellow robe draping her lush body. “We’re very happy to see you. Want to make out?”
Shaye rubbed the back of her neck. “If you don’t come back, I swear I’ll kill you myself.”
“I’ll come back.” Valerian gave her a swift kiss before nodding to Dylan and Terran, who stood sentry at the cell.
Terran brushed his fingers against the bars, the medallion he wore acting as an on-off switch. The blue dulled until only mist remained.
But one taste of his mate hadn’t been enough. Valerian crushed his lips into Shaye’s, his tongue swooping inside for a demanding taste, bringing all of his fiercest desires to the surface. She responded violently, brutally, taking everything he had to give her.
When he lifted his head, they were both panting. Once again, she squared her shoulders. Without further prompting from him, and without ever removing her gaze from his, she stepped into the cage.
Terran removed his hand and the bars reappeared.
One heartbeat passed, two, silence sizzling between Valerian and Shaye.
He hated to leave her and wanted to kiss her again, to linger this time.
He hefted up his shield and stalked from the enclosure, heading for the dining hall. Broderick caught up with him halfway.
“The men are ready.”
“Excellent.” He pushed Shaye from his mind, determined to act as a warrior: cold, unemotional and lethal. “Where are the dragons now?”
Valerian and Darius had fought only once before, and though Valerian had injured the hulking beast, the end had been a draw, with neither man able to completely conquer the other.
“The Outer City,” Broderick replied.
“Have they any allies with them?”
“No. They’ve come alone.”
Their mistake. “I want our best men on the parapet and a group of soldiers strategically placed in the surrounding forest. I want the dragons’ every move tracked. If flyers land on the roof, cut them down without mercy.”
The two advantages dragons had: their wings and their fire.
Their forces had to be stopped quickly, before they had an opportunity to decimate everything on the ground from a perch in the air, where no one else could reach them.
At least the palace, which had been made for dragons, was fire resistant.
The one advantage the nymphs had: the power to seduce.
Males were not immune, and they, too, could be caught up in the spell of a nymph, becoming a slave to desire.
“Shall I unleash the traps we set around the palace?” Broderick asked.
He considered the idea. “No. Let the dragons reach us without incident. Perhaps we can reach a truce before a single battle must be fought.” Whatever would keep the women safest.
Broderick blinked in astonishment before rushing to convey all he’d been ordered.
In the dining hall, Valerian stopped at the wall of windows to peer out. Empty streets greeted him. The citizens who lived in the Outer City must have spied the dragons and run home, fearing for their lives.
Wise.
Valerian spun on his heel and strode to the arena. Broderick was busy instructing the men. As they received orders, they raced to obey.
“May your strength only flourish,” he told those who passed him.
“And yours, my king,” he heard numerous times.
Those without assignments formed a line and eyed him expectantly. He paced in front of them, saying, “I want you to circle around the Outer City undetected and remain behind the dragons. I want them flanked by nymphs on every side.”
They nodded in unison.
“When you receive my signal, close in on them and finally let them know you are there. Now go.”
Hurried footsteps echoed as the men rushed to obey. Valerian found himself alone. Gripping his sword hilt, he stood there for a moment, his thoughts drifting inexorably to Shaye. Had she not been here, he most likely would have led a section of his army into the outskirts of the city and attacked the dragons there. As it was, he wanted his forces surrounding the palace. Close at hand. Forming a circle of protection.
All he had to do now was await the dragons’ arrival. If a truce couldn’t be reached, blood would flood through the city, a crimson river.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
SHAYE STUDIED the other women who’d
been locked inside the cell. Of course, they were the same women who’d been trapped inside the hobby room and attended the wedding. They didn’t seem to grasp the danger of the current situation and were, in fact, chatting amicably with one another.
If she stayed in Atlantis, this would her life. She would be locked away every time war threatened.
Considering the creatures populating the underwater world, war would always threaten.
Shaye wasn’t sure why, but a new card filled her head. One that had nothing to do with her circumstances: Congrats! You started your period. May you snarl at nothing, cry about everything, eat as many pies as humanly possible and opt not to murder your loved ones.
“—reason I would kick him out of bed,” Martina was saying, pulling Shaye’s focus out of her head, “was to do him on the floor.”
Chuckles abounded.
Another girl said, “I’ve never been this happy! I mean, who cares if we are being used for sex. Sex feels good. We should only care if we’re being used for cooking and laundry.”
More chuckles.
Another comment arose from the midst. “I once had to explain to my ex that sex without foreplay was like going down a waterslide without water. I don’t have to explain anything to my nymph.”
Okay, maybe the card did apply to her circumstances. She wanted to scream: This isn’t you! You’re drugged by that stupid pheromone. You’re better than this.
What a nightmare this was. The men were in danger, and no one wanted to talk strategy.
The conversation changed, taking a new direction. Apparently there was a new nymph in residence. One more handsome than any of the others, including Valerian. He liked to ask questions, and he could bring a woman to climax with only a look.
Ugh. Was Brenna here? Shaye really needed an ally. Someone to share her worries with—someone to help her remain calm.
“Brenna,” she called.
The beauty shouldered her way through the crowd. “I’m here.”
Thank the good Lord above!
At the sound of her raspy voice, some of the women shared pitying looks. Brenna noticed, and her shoulders rolled in.
Shaye considered throwing a pimp hand around. No one hurts my friend!
She pulled Brenna into the nearest corner. First things first. “How are you? Did Shivawn punish you for trying to escape?”
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