by Celia Kyle
Its first collision with the wall drew Luzan’s attention, snapping it from Delaney and Zadri and onto the source of the sound. Yet it continued to speed so quickly, it was a blur. A blur as it bounced from the wall to the hull of a shuttle. From there, it bounded back to the metallic wall and then the ceiling. It zipped through the air, dancing from one solid surface to another, and while Luzan attempted to keep up with the object’s path, Taulan and Vende stared at the male holding Delaney captive.
Zadri frowned and fought to focus on Luzan as well, to ignore the echoing sounds that now filled the air. And he was glad of that intent stare. Had he done as Luzan, he would have missed his opportunity. He would have missed the male being struck with that object and the sightless blur of what came next.
Luzan stumbling and loosening his grip on Delaney.
Taulan rushing forward and wrenching Delaney from the male’s grasp.
Vende in place immediately behind the war master, blocking Luzan’s retaliation for losing his prize with a war blade.
And now it was Zadri’s turn to claim his own prize. As if he knew Zadri’s thoughts, Vende stepped aside and out of his fight with Luzan. It gave Zadri space to step into the battle.
A battle he intended to win.
22
Luzan blocked Zadri’s first blow, but not his second. The second swing of his war blade sank into flesh, the metal hungry for a betrayer’s blood. Blood that flowed from the deep gash in Luzan’s arm.
The male acted as if he had not been injured, countering Zadri’s attack with one of his own. His opponent whipped out his remaining war blade, clutching both with white-knuckled grips. Zadri quickly did the same, clutching the aged katoth—tanned hide nearly as old as himself.
He whipped the gleaming metal in wide arches, testing their weight and balance with the whip-fast twirls.
Luzan stepped away from the small shuttle and into the wide, center aisle that separated the two columns of short flights. The male circled left and Zadri matched the move, keeping pace with his opponent. He would not allow the warrior to get the better of him—not when he posed such a dangerous threat to Delaney.
He would be victorious.
Low murmurs came from his right, his dragon’s desires amplifying the words. It allowed him to listen as Taulan demanded medical assistance for Delaney.
His mate would be cared for. Immediately. Which meant Zadri could focus on the battle at hand.
“You have no source of safety, Luzan. You have lost your prize. Your honor is no more.” Zadri rubbed small circles on the hilt of his blades, recalling the pain and dedication that had gone into becoming a warrior. Remembering the lessons he’d learned at another’s knee. “Are you prepared to lose your life?”
“You talk of honor? You? You have none,” Luzan spat. “Miserable sen Syh. You murdered your own clutchmate and now you threaten me?”
“It is not a threat, Luzan.” Zadri found his balance, centering himself as he prepared for the next few moments. “It is a promise to the skies.”
He did not hesitate to burst into action. He flexed his wings and leapt across the space that separated them. His blade came down with a wide arch, honed edge finding home in the male’s forearm until he struck bone. Luzan shoved him away, countering with a volley of his own. He met the male, strike for strike. Metal clashed and sparks flew, the air filled with glitters of yellow and red as they battled.
Blood soon joined the sparking lights, both Zadri and Luzan bleeding from their injuries. But while Luzan no longer held his blade tip quite so high, Zadri remained at the ready. He roared once more, swinging both lengths of metal so fast droplets of blood were flung from the tips.
Luzan brought his up, blocking Zadri’s attack. For the moment. Because for each that was halted, Zadri initiated another.
Kicks.
Cuts.
Knee.
Gouges.
Nothing went untouched by Zadri. He fought to injure—kill—the male in any way that he could. Luzan was another male that deserved killing. He’d nearly taken…
He’d nearly taken Zadri’s only reason to breathe, to wake, to live. He’d suffered through a lifetime of being unwanted. A lifetime of being tossed aside as if he was nothing. But he was something—someone—to Delaney. To Delaney and the dragonlet she carried both. He would not lose all he had gained because of her sire and dam. Because of their twisted manipulation of a desperate male.
A desperate male…
Luzan swung his blade at Zadri’s head and he ducked so that the male merely cut off strands of hair, not his head. Luzan’s eyes were filled with something he couldn’t recognize, emotions and feelings that were beyond his comprehension.
But the Knowing knew.
Madness. Mating Madness. Luzan’s mind sought to succumb to his body’s need for a partner. A madness that had to have been triggered by more than age—by the actions and words of Delaney’s parents.
Luzan attacked once more, sword aimed at Zadri’s gut, and he spun out of the male’s path. He whirled away and danced out of Luzan’s reach. Too much crowded his mind, thoughts suddenly overwhelming him in their rush forward.
Not mere thoughts—comparisons. His consciousness fought to compare his battle with Ballakin to the one he now endured. To determine the differences and similarities.
To show him the way Luzan’s actions could not be compared to his clutchmate’s. The differences between the two males—even if their actions seemed similar—could not be any more different.
And it was those distinctions that stayed his hand when he could have separated Luzan’s head from his body. The dragon’s heart demanded the male’s blood, but the beast wasn’t in control at the moment. He would not give it control again until Luzan was long gone—or dead.
“Luzan,” Zadri rolled out of Luzan’s path and hopped to his feet. “You must see that they lied to you.”
“No, it is you who lies. You try to take what I could have. I will have a mate and you are jealous.” The male paused and his glare shifted from Zadri to the others in the area. To the healing master and war master. To the engineering master. To the other warriors that surrounded them.
Zadri refocused on Luzan shook his head. “I have a mate already, Luzan. You attempted to steal her.”
His opponent stumbled, but quickly righted himself. Blood flowed freely from several wounds, more than one appeared to be fatal, and part of Zadri died in that moment.
“You do not have a mate… sen Syh do not have mates,” Luzan mumbled the words, swaying in place. More and more of the red liquid dripped from the tips of Luzan’s blades. The male easing closer and closer to death.
“Any can have a mate, Luzan. I found mine on Earth.”
Luzan shook himself, the dazed expression gone with the tremble. “I will have a mate. They will make me one. I must…” The male frowned, brow furrowed. “I must…” his attention scanned the room. “You took what I must have to get my mate.”
“She is mine.” Zadri could not suppress the dragon completely and a growl filled the four words.
“She belongs to others. They require her return and then I will be rewarded. You must give her back. My mate awaits.” The look in the male’s eyes proved he truly thought Zadri would hand Delaney over. And that he would get a mate if she was returned.
“No, Luzan.” He gritted his teeth and swallowed the snarl that leapt to his lips. “I will not. The longer you battle, the more honor you lose.”
“No,” Luzan denied once more. “I am performing an honorable act. The dam and sire require her and then they will give me—“
“Luzan,” a soft whisper, hardly audible above the rustling of scales and the roar in Zadri’s blood. They both turned to the source, to a pale-faced Delaney resting on the ground. “They lie, Luzan. By the skies, they lie. They lie and they take, and they will continue to take until you have nothing left to give. Then they will take your soul.”
“They…” he whispered, tips of his blad
es lowering. “They said…”
Delaney shook her head. “No. I swear on the wind, they lie.”
Luzan swayed, arms lax at his sides, fingers barely clinging to the hilt of his swords. “All I must do is give them a sample of my…” His opponent’s attention dropped to the grating. “They lied.” One blade clambered onto the ground. “They…”
The other followed, bouncing on the metal. Luzan turned his head, eyes no longer crazed but now filled with a hopelessness that tore at Zadri’s heart.
Luzan fell to his knees, head bowed. “My life is yours.”
Zadri’s two halves battled, his dragon’s heart demanding Luzan’s blood. But he would not. Not after he’d already taken another’s life so recently.
“No,” he rasped.
His opponent’s gaze rose, a pleading expression coating his features. “Please. I… I cannot live with this need. I cannot live with what I almost…” The male shuddered and closed his eyes, a single tear escaping. “I cannot live with the madness, Defense Master Zadri joi Delaney Cole.” He shuddered. “I cannot.”
Zadri survived being tossed from his aerie with barely a day beneath his wings. He’d survived warrior’s training. He’d battled his way up the ranks. He’d lived with the knowledge he was no more wanted than dirt beneath another’s claws. He’d lived with finding a mate and being told she did not belong to him. And he’d lived through nearly losing the one who held his heart.
If he could survive, so could Luzan. The male might not deserve a future at that moment, but Zadri did not—could not—believe darkness lived inside him. Desperation and hope drove the male, not evil.
Zadri sheathed his blades and went to the kneeling male. He heard Delaney’s breath catch and he knew what his mate expected of him. A male had the right to take the life of any who dared lay a hand on his mate. Luzan had done more.
But he did not wish to take a life. He wished to give it.
He gripped Luzan’s shoulder, giving it a hard squeeze. “Stand, Luzan.” The male remained in place, only lifting his attention to Zadri but not moving. “You are old but I believe you can still hear.” He shook the male. “Stand.”
“You must…”
Zadri lowered to a crouch. If Luzan would not do as ordered, he would. “There are only two on this ship who can demand anything of me and you are not one. My war master can order me into service and I will do my mate’s bidding for a smile.” He stared into the broken male’s eyes, seeing himself in Luzan’s gaze. What age and loneliness could do to a male… He thanked the skies for the gift of Delaney and he would thank them daily. “You are going to rise, Luzan, and then warriors will escort you to medical. Healing Master Whelon will treat your injuries and place you in stasis for transport to Preor.”
“It is your right to demand torture before—“
Yes, it was Zadri’s right to demand Luzan be tortured before execution, but that was not his desire. “You will go into the care of the heart masters until they deem you healed or you wish to take your final flight.”
“The madness…”
Zadri lifted his attention and scanned the shuttle bay. He skipped over the warriors that lined the space, many directing hard glares at the male before him. He sought two others and found them on the other side of the bay. He first looked to Delaney, attempting to read her expression, but he did not have to. Not when a comforting blanket of what he hoped was love, came to lay on his shoulders. She was battered and bruised but supported his choice.
The other he sought stood next to his mate, the wingless male’s foreboding stare hard enough to make many shy from him. But Zadri did not. Not when his purpose was so important.
They focused on one another, no words exchanged, and finally Taulan nodded his agreement. Luzan’s punishment was as Zadri ordered.
Luzan, the male who would have returned Delaney to the couple that intended her harm and death to their dragonlet, would be healed.
Or kill himself trying.
23
Delaney fought to contain her trembling. If Zadri noticed the way she shook, he’d order one of his warriors to take her back to their quarters—forcibly if necessary. Oh, she wouldn’t be hurt, but she would find her happy ass gently deposited in their rooms.
Which meant she battled as hard as she could to push back the shakes and shudders that had plagued her since Luzan’s attempted kidnapping. His attempted kidnapping merely because he’d realized he couldn’t murder a female.
It’d been less than a day, but the terror remained fresh in her mind. Another tremor raced through her, the shiver attacking her from inside out, and her mate gently squeezed her shoulder.
“Shaa kouva?” The endearment was soft, but beneath that tenderness was a core of steel. If he thought she was becoming too upset by what was to come, she was outta there.
But she needed to be present. It was a bone—no, soul—deep necessity that she remains.
Remain so she could confront them.
She reached up and stroked the back of Zadri’s hand, fingers lingering over the strong, scar-covered digits. Some were old, but several were new. Ones obtained during his fight with Luzan. She’d initially demanded Whelon heal her mate completely, but the Knowing had quickly silenced her protest.
The scars were honorable. Scars earned in battle even more so. Those sustained in the protection of a female—mate or not—were the most revered.
She ran the pad of her finger over each new mark, the wounds closed by a ryaapir unit at her demand, but a white ridge of scar tissue would remain forever.
A reminder of what they’d both almost lost.
Because of them.
They hadn’t appeared yet, the comm display only showing a conference room in Preor Choosing Station Tau. Well, the conference room and a few others who’d been asked to attend. Kozav as the third fleet’s primary warrior. While Taulan remained on the ship, Kozav was in place to ensure the war master’s orders were enforced. No matter the outcome or decision, Kozav would make sure Taulan’s instructions were carried out.
The other, a human woman who went by the name Liquid Knot, sat in front of a comm station that matched the one on the ship. Her fingers flew over the slick control panel while she nibbled her lower lip, gaze focused on her task and not on Delaney and Zadri.
Which was a good thing. Delaney wasn’t sure she could handle being stared at by anyone else. The room on the ship held enough Preors worried about her. Whelon standing by with Yazen, just waiting for her blood pressure to spike. Taulan with his bearing mate pressed against his side, the war master and mistress ready to issue orders to Kozav, if needed.
Rendan was present to support Zadri since the two shared a bond unlike other warriors. They were a match to each other, the defense master and offense master always working hand in hand. Rendan had his mate Carla with him. The woman who’d been kidnapped by Ballakin. The woman Zadri had killed for.
Looking at Rendan and Carla, the couple huddled close while Rendan’s pink wing curled around his mate, she understood Zadri’s actions. She understood why her mate was prepared to kill in order to protect such a close bond.
A close bond she now shared with her own mate.
A low whoosh sounded through the comm, the sound of the conference room’s doors parting to grant someone entrance. Then voices filtered through the connection as well—familiar voices, hated voices.
Delaney’s heartbeat stuttered for a moment, the device in Whelon’s hand blinking at a quicker rate that before. He’d placed a sareslia on her when he’d first entered the room—a glare on his face that told her its presence was non-negotiable.
If she was going to talk to them, she was going to have her vitals monitored.
She took a deep breath and released it slowly, fighting for a calm that hovered just out of reach.
“Do you know who I am?” The deep tenor, the inflection in the question, and the obvious pompous attitude told her exactly who he was. “I’m—“
“Winston Col
e, illegally acting President of Cole Pharma and blah, blah, blah…” Liquid Knot rolled her eyes and mumbled, her attention still on her task even while she made fun of Delaney’s father.
Delaney couldn’t suppress her grin, liking the woman more and more with each word though she did wonder about the illegally acting portion of Liquid’s statement. She opened her mouth, ready to ask, but then two others moved into view and filled the screen.
Winston and Miranda Cole—her parents. The two people who’d wanted her in their hands but preferably dead while her passing was blamed on the Preor.
Bile surged in her stomach, but she swallowed it back. Whelon would whisk her out of the room if he thought she was going to lose her dinner because of those two.
“Sire Cole,” Kozav practically snarled her father’s name. “The comm is this way.”
“I don’t like your tone, young man.” Her father acted like his opinion mattered to Kozav. Plus, young man? The warrior had more years on him than her father could ever hope for.
A low growl reached them next, Kozav’s deep rumble cut off shortly after it began. Well, at least the male hadn’t killed him. Yet, anyway.
“Winston,” her mother hissed at him. “He doesn’t matter.”
Delaney shook her head. No one mattered unless they could help the Coles in some way and once more, she was happy she’d gotten out of their household. When she tilted her head back and met Zadri’s gaze, his affection for her easy to see, she was doubly happy.
Quicker than she liked, her parents were suddenly there, filling the screen and standing just behind Liquid.
Her mother spoke first. “Oh, my sweet, sweet snookums,” she cooed. “We’re contacting the president of the United States and demanding these people return you to us. I can’t believe what’s happened to you while you’ve been with them.” A single tear escaped her mother’s eye, trailing delicately down her smooth cheek. “We’ve been so worried.” She sniffled and dabbed at her nose, but the muscles in her face didn’t move the tiniest bit.