by Laurie Roma
“Of course you did,” Malik said cheerfully. “I spoke briefly to Jaden a few nights ago, and I was a little surprised to see you have arrived so soon. I was merely curious why Jaden and his men did not escort you to the surface.”
Malloy took a long drink of his ale, then muttered, “I’m sure he will be here any minute.”
“Oh, I’m sure he will. Tarin males have a very particular trait that we all share. Once we claim something as ours, we never let it go,” Malik said softly.
Aldric nodded in agreement. “It’s why we are at war here.”
“What do you mean by that?” Malloy asked.
“It’s a basic concept, really,” Malik stated. “We Tarins live by a simple motto—we keep what we claim. It’s the way it has been for centuries here on Tartarus.”
Katra eyed him. “Your females are seen simply as commodities here?”
“Unfortunately, some males see us as such,” Quilla murmured, and the pain in her voice made Katra’s heart go out to her.
“But not all of us,” Aldric argued.
Malik nodded. “This is true, but if you are to help us win this war, you need to understand the motivations behind what is causing it. Female births here on Tartarus have decreased over the years. Because of that, they have changed from the fierce warriors they once were, to the gentle creatures in need of protection they are now.”
“Because you have made them that way,” Katra said. She noticed the other Tarin warriors at the table bristled indignantly, while Quilla looked at her with admiration. “Centuries ago, Dragon Warriors avoided civilizations like Tartarus, Earth and several others who had not advanced enough for us to make contact with. Despite all our advancements, there was a time when we found ourselves in a similar situation to yours, and we faced our own wars on my planet. When females become scarce, your very existence is at risk. Because of this, I understand the gravity of your civil war.”
Malik smiled at her. “I believe you do. It does not seem to matter what race we speak of. Your world, Earth, Tartarus…pride can be the downfall of all. Over time, it has become a status marker for some to collect harems. It’s why some of the lords have started following someone called Korsek.”
The Tarins at the table muttered angrily at the mention of that name, and the fear Quilla and the other females at the tables felt was palpable.
“Who is Korsek?” Lieutenant Caporele asked.
“He’s nothing more than a thug,” one of the Tarin males at the table spat out.
“From what we can tell, Korsek plans to unite all of Tartarus under his rule, but they don’t understand that his end goal is to become some sort of overlord…an emperor of his own making. He’s promised the others slaves and power if they side with him. Sex and power can be strong motivators,” Malik explained. “Freeing those females is not something we can just ask them to do.”
“So, what you’re saying is the only way those females will ever be free is if we take out their keepers?” Matt Malloy asked.
“That is exactly what I’m saying. Only by force will we change what is considered acceptable behavior. As I said, for Tarins, we keep what we claim.” Malik shot Katra a pointed look. “And most of us males do not share what belongs to us.”
“Then how do you explain what Lord Khan was doing?” Lieutenant Caporele asked, speaking of the Tarin lord that Skylar had helped take down last time they were on Tartarus.
“Khan was a slaver. He did not care for those females under his control. When a Tarin male cares for someone under his protection, nothing will stand in his way.” Malik grinned at the sound of a commotion outside the great hall. “Ah! Speaking of, I believe Jaden has arrived.”
He noticed that Katra stiffened in her chair, and the light in her eyes was one of excitement and apprehension mixed together. Always one for entertainment in any form, Malik settled back in his chair, eagerly anticipating the show to come.
Malik didn’t have to wait long as the doors to the great hall were thrown open. Lord Jaden Tor stood in the center of the doorway, flanked by several of his own warriors. Rego’s warriors jumped up from their seats, but Malik waved them back. He did not wish to fight with his friend or his warriors, and Jaden looked like he had come prepared for war.
Katra’s heart raced as Jaden stalked into the great hall. He glanced around the room briefly, then his dark gaze locked on hers. She could see he was beyond furious, but she felt no fear. Nay, he was a warrior…her warrior, whether he liked it or not. Jaden made his way to the back table, and when two of Rego’s men got in his way, he lifted them up and tossed them aside with an impressive display of strength that was shocking to see.
“Shit,” Malloy muttered as he got up from the table with his elites.
“Damn it. I fucking told you he was going to kill us,” Lieutenant Caporele bitched.
Malloy gestured to Katra. “Maybe you should come over here. Stand behind us.”
“I wouldn’t challenge him,” Malik warned. “He might just kill you in the mood he’s in.”
“Oh, Lady Katra. He looks so angry,” Quilla whimpered. “Please, come away from here…where it’s safe.”
“Do not worry,” Katra said softly as she remained in her seat. “His quarrel is with me, but he will not harm me.”
The room had gone silent. Everyone watched as the dark warlord arrived at the dais and braced his hand on the hilt of the sword strapped to his waist in a sign of aggression. Disregarding the tension in the air, Malik smiled widely. “Jaden! How good to see you. Come, you must join us for our meal.”
“You’ve gone too far.”
Jaden had directed his words at Katra, but Malik ignored the hostility in his friend’s voice and said, “I was just about to offer the lovely Katra and the human elites a place to stay here at my palace for the duration of their stay.”
Katra looked at Malik with an incredulous expression, and Jaden’s head slowly turned until he was glaring at Malik. “Do not.”
Malik tried to look puzzled, but he figured he probably failed at it. Looking helpless and innocent just wasn’t his thing. “They’re here to help. Our beautiful guest shouldn’t stay at the human base. It will be perfect as they’ll be here to attend the festival to celebrate the New Year next week that Quilla is planning, and more of my people have the language converter implants—”
Jaden’s look of fury focused back on Katra. “Do you think you can hide from me here?”
She stood up slowly and glared back at him. “I hide from no one.”
Jaden could barely stand still he was so filled with rage. He didn’t think he’d ever been so angry, then he noticed the appraising way all the male warriors in the room were looking at Katra in her tight leather vest and pants. He wanted to kill every one of them, including his friend who was grinning at him like a simpleton.
“We’re leaving. Right now.”
“Nay.”
Gasps were heard as Jaden launched himself over the table. He grabbed hold of Katra’s arms, squeezing tight to keep her in place before she could move. Sparks seemed to emanate from where he gripped her. “You will not disappear on me again.”
“Careful, my lord. You would not want your people to see you touching someone from another species,” she hissed softly at him.
Jaden’s nostrils flared, and his hold on her tightened. “You’re coming with me. We have much to talk about.”
“I do not want—”
His voice lowered to a deadly whisper. “Come with me now, or I will carry you out of here.”
“Fine. We will speak in private.”
Katra jerked out of his grasp, and strode away from him. She headed to the staircase that Quilla had showed her earlier when she’d given Katra a brief tour of the palace. She stomped up to the raised walkway that surrounded the palace and felt the heat of Jaden following her up the stairs. She didn’t bother with feeling embarrassed by their display downstairs, but anything more she had to say to him needed privacy.
Coo
l wind swept over her as soon as she stepped outside. The sky was fading from red to black now that the sun was setting, and storm clouds gathered off in the distance. The faint sound of rolling thunder heralded the storm’s approach, even though the sky overhead remained clear, glittering with hundreds of tiny stars.
There were warriors manning the walkway that moved further away when they seemed to sense that she and Jaden wanted to be left alone. Katra turned around and met Jaden’s glare with an icy look of calm. “Say what you will, then go home.”
His eyes narrowed. “You do not seem to know just how angry I am, else you would not provoke me further.”
“Do you think I care about your anger?”
“You should,” he warned, stepping closer to her. “How dare you come here without me.”
Her chin lifted. “We gained permission from Lord Rego.”
“And you think you’ll be staying here? With him? Forget it,” he snapped. “I wanted to kill him just for sitting so close to you! What in hellfire have you done to me, female? This isn’t normal. And how did you speak to me in my mind? If you’ve used your magic on me—”
Katra felt her heart breaking, and she took a step away from him. Not in retreat. Never that. She just couldn’t bear to be around him and see him look at her with such condemnation. “Aye, I see. The only way that you could possibly want me is if I used my magic on you.”
She took another step back, struggling to control her dragon spirit from rising up to protect her. Katra needed to get away. To let her emotions out where she couldn’t hurt anyone. Thinking of that, she hurried to the side of the walkway and stepped up on to an embrasure.
“Katra! Get down from there!”
Turning, she saw fear flicker over Jaden’s face, but she didn’t let that sway her. The anguish she was feeling at being rejected was still too fresh. Anger had her flinging out bitter words. “The gods chose wrong for me. You may not want me for who I am, but you are no prize either, mate. Perhaps in a few decades you will learn to bend your iron will and embrace what we could have together. Do not worry, Tarin. I will leave you be. I will help your people fight your war, but I will not subject myself to anymore of your disdain. I shall return once you leave.”
Jaden was frozen in shock. Mate? He was her mate? Before he could react, Katra stepped off the wall. He yelled and lunged forward, trying and catch her before she fell. Instead, he was pushed back a step by the strong wind created from the powerful wings of a dragon.
The powerful beast rose up in the air before him, glowing silver eyes bright with ferocity. The dragon’s body was covered with iridescent scales that shimmered silver to a deep gray, the colors ever changing as enormous wings expanded and contracted. He could see lethal-sharp talons, and a large, spiked tail waving in the air. The creature’s massive chest billowed, and it released streams of smoke out of it’s nostrils before speeding away.
By the gods, the dragon was Katra.
Jaden tried to shake himself out of his stunned stupor. Glancing around, he could see by the looks of astonishment on the faces of the warriors guarding the wall that all the Tarins felt a similar reaction to his. But he felt more. He’d felt a strange sense of pride in seeing her become a dragon…an absolutely magnificent dragon.
And she was his mate.
Knowing that settled something inside of him. How foolish he’d been not to have known it. He’d read about Dragon Warrior mates, but it had never occurred to him that it could explain how he felt about her…not when he was a Tarin. Turning on his heels, he rushed back down the steps. He would not let her get away from him. If the gods had chosen for them to be together, then he wouldn’t fight his feelings for her any longer.
Because that meant he could keep Katra…forever.
* * *
CHAPTER SIX
Katra flew through the sky in her dragon form, embracing the freedom of soaring through the open air. She needed this time alone. Time away from everything below her, and from the Tarins she didn’t understand.
Time away from Jaden.
He confused her in a way she had never experienced before. Her feelings for him were strong, but he seemed determined to keep her at arm’s length because of who she was. Nay, because of what she was, and that was like a dagger through her heart. It hurt deeply knowing she wasn’t what he wanted, and she was tired of being rejected.
As she flew closer to the storm clouds, rain began to fall. She wanted to lose herself in the darkness, to find shelter in the shadows. The downpour that splattered her scales didn’t bother her as she raced through the night. Her tears mixed with the drops of rain that fell on her in a steady stream from the dark clouds overhead, but she pushed on.
Hearing a noise below, her large dragon head swiveled so she could glance down. She let out a frustrated snarl when she saw Jaden racing after her on a hover-cycle as he followed her flight path on the ground. He’d made it clear he still didn’t trust human technology, but the fact that he was using the vehicle made it clear he didn’t want to lose her as she flew away from Rego Palace.
“Katra! Come back! Get your ass down here, now!”
She heard him calling out to her with her enhanced hearing, but she ignored the command. Katra didn’t want him following her, and released a stream of fire into the air to show her irritation at the intrusion. Choosing to disregard his furious bellows, she raced forward, flapping her wings to gain speed. Distracted, Katra didn’t sense the bolt of lightning until it was too late. The red bolt lit up the sky as it arrowed directly toward her, striking with the force of a meteor.
It felt as if her body was on fire.
Pain consumed her as she tumbled to the ground in a freefall. She shifted back to her human form as she fell, unable to control her own body as she shuddered from the onslaught of energy pulsing through her. She heard Jaden roar out her name, but couldn’t even let out a scream as her lungs seized up.
Bracing for the inevitable, she summoned forth her magic, then panic set in when it didn’t answer her the way it should have. Terrified, she forced some of her magic to slow her descent, hoping it would be enough so she wouldn’t break anything. The fall wouldn’t kill her, but it was still going to hurt…a lot. She gave a final push to avoid hitting a rock formation, veering to the right so she would land out in the open.
The pain was immense as she hit the ground.
She’d missed landing on the rocks, but the impact of hitting the hard dirt had shockwaves of agony racing through her. Her body jerked, her system still jittery as the energy of the lightning strike bounced around inside of her.
Well, fuck.
What a perfect way to end a perfectly awful day.
Unable to open her eyes, she felt rather than saw Jaden beside her. His deep voice crooned softly to her as he carefully ran his hands over her naked body, checking for broken bones. If she wasn’t a Dragon Warrior, the fall would have killed her. Instead, she only felt like she were dying. Fighting back the pain, she opened her eyes a little and saw Jaden’s beautiful face hovering over hers. He blocked the rain from falling on her, and she wished he would kiss her.
Stupid thought, she scolded herself. She must be in shock, that was it.
“Hurts...” she whimpered.
“I know, baby. Hold on.”
Jaden’s hands shook as he gently picked up her body and carried her into the shelter of a small cavern at the base of the mountain she had barely missed in her fall. When they were out of the rain, he put her down again, careful not to move her too much. Her breath hissed out in pain, and he saw another shudder race through her body.
Watching the lightning strike Katra had almost stopped his heart. Never before had he been so frightened, felt so helpless. Too far away to do anything but watch her fall, terror had swept through him, and when she’d changed back into her human form and hit the ground, he’d thought he’d lost her.
In that one moment when he thought she was gone, he’d felt his entire world crumble.
&
nbsp; All the concerns that had held him back from claiming her had disappeared in a haze of grief. If she’d been taken from him, he’d had an overwhelming urge to follow her wherever she went. Then he’d watched her move…saw her chest rise and fall. The relief he’d felt was so great, he had wanted to shout out to the gods.
Jaden had never moved as fast as he had when he’d pushed the hover-cycle to its limits. He hadn’t even turned the machine off. Instead, he’d jumped off it, ignoring it when it slammed into the side of the mountain as he rushed to her side.
Now that she was out of the rain, he could see the trails of light racing under her skin, throughout her entire body. He knew that amount of energy would have killed anyone else, but not his Dragon Warrior. Still, he was frightened that her body couldn’t survive for long with the buildup of power surging through her system.
When his sword smacked the ground as he fell to his knees beside her, he quickly removed his belt, tossing it and his weapon aside. He tried not to focus on the perfection of her nude body laid out before him. Her full breasts were heaving as she gasped in breath, and her nipples had tightened to full peaks from the cold and rain. The dark-silver tribal tattoos that graced her arms and torso were strangely compelling, and he had to force his gaze away.
Groaning as he made the mistake of looking lower, he saw the small trail of black hair covering her mound, guarding the treasures beneath. Jaden felt like a bastard when his body hardened, his cock jerking as he thought of what it would feel like to sink into her. He couldn’t help his reaction to her, but he could ignore it for now.
Jaden knew what he had to do.
The cost would be great to him, but he didn’t care.
He’d never attempted something like this before, so he hesitated a second before placing both of his hands on her chest, holding her down as she shook and shivered under his palms. Bracing himself from the coming onslaught, Jaden called forth his abilities and began to draw the energy out of her, into his own body.
Holy gods…
Nothing could have prepared him for the massive amount of energy he felt as soon as he opened himself up to the link. After starving himself for so long, this transfusion of power was utterly euphoric and addicting. This merging with Katra was personal, far more intimate than he’d ever had with another female, and he wanted more. It was dangerous…for him and for her. She was seeping into him, inside his very soul. Being connected to her like this created an obsession, making him fear he would never be free of the dark craving he had for her.