He should know, considering he was like her.
Unlike the rest of the galaxy, having abilities was common in Euphyrion. Each of the ten planets in their star system had a life-sustaining atmosphere with abundant water, vegetation, indigenous animal life, and a climate tolerable for the people to thrive—some above and below ground, others relegated to certain areas, like on Aeldor.
They were unique compared to neighboring star systems because instead of one red sun they had two, which were neither so near or too far to make the planets uninhabitable. And their worlds were close in proximity, making it easy for the people to interact and to engage in business, especially trade, which was robust. With the exception of Aeldor and Voltarre, most got on well, but they also had a grudging respect for one another due to the unique powers each species possessed.
Many believed their binary suns were the cause, whether from the uncommon zeta radiation, the dualistic gravitational pull, or double the electromagnetic energy. They didn’t know why, and unsubstantiated theories abounded, but it had been this way for many millennia. Outsiders called it a phenomenon—as well as freakish, eerie, and evil. Their scientists continued to study it, but the people accepted their abilities as part of them rather than asking unanswerable questions.
Every Euphyrion species possessed power over nature in some way. Aeldor had dominion over cold and ice, Voltarre controlled heat and fire, the Zyphs reigned over the wind, and the Kholoceans had the ability to manipulate charged ions. This meant they were capable of harnessing the awe-inspiring force of lightning as it raced across the sky. Still another species held sway over water—from raindrops to making a babbling brook babble, to releasing the destructive power of a tidal wave.
Not everyone or, for that matter, every species possessed both metaphysical powers and psychic ability; having dual traits was rare. And, of the individual abilities, the former significantly outnumbered the latter. Although she hadn’t traveled extensively, and had never experienced a heightening or loss of strength in her capabilities before, it made sense, as he suggested, that her ordeal and being subjected to stress, illness, fear—all of which she’d experienced in the last day—could affect the consistency of her gifts.
“Once you rest and heal, it should come back to you,” he assured her.
The more he spoke, the more she became convinced he was the man who’d pulled her from the cage and carried her to safety. With the urgency and peril of their situation passed, and no longer grunting or growling with impatience, his voice had taken on a measured, deeply resonant quality with the smoothness of glass.
“It was you who rescued me on the ship, wasn’t it?” When he inclined his head but didn’t comment, she offered her thanks. “I’m grateful for your timely arrival. Another few moments and I would have been burned to a crisp.”
She’d tried to make light of it, but the memory of the flames surrounding her, and the feeling of utter helplessness were still very raw. Aurelia averted her gaze, blinking back tears.
“It’s over now.”
Handing back the glass, she was careful to avoid his touch unable to imagine what roiling, fiery emotions she’d read from him.
“Do you feel up to some questions, Aurelia?”
She nodded, but the way her name rolled easily off his tongue reminded her of an earlier question of her own. “How do you know who I am?” she blurted. “We’ve never met.”
His lips twitched. “Or you could go first,” he offered drily.
She stiffened. Usually, she was polite and soft-spoken, not wishing to offend, never interrupting, and only the source of amusement when she intended it.
“Excuse my rudeness, but I’m at a disadvantage, and, as you said, a bit off. After waking in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by strangers, and in light of the ordeal I’ve been through, I hope you can see why I’d be curious—and impatient for answers.”
She peered up at him more closely. His full sensuous lips tilted up on one end in a half smile, revealing a small cleft in his chin, which made him seem less intimidating, almost endearing. She would remember this face, surely.
“We haven’t met,” she repeated, but still uncertain, framed it as a question. “Have we?”
“I think not, but your reputation precedes you. Even if I hadn’t seen your picture plastered across every news source on every world in Euphyrion, I’d know you were the High Princess. Your incomparable beauty is renowned, but I must say, the images hardly do you justice.”
She couldn’t see it, but knew color heated her cheeks.
“You also bear a strong resemblance to your father, and, your twin, the High Prince.”
“You’ve met my father and brother?”
“Several times.”
She frowned. “Now I’m really at a disadvantage.”
“I am Darios,” he answered with a slight bow.
Her eyes flew wide, and she whispered, “The Warlord,” before she could stop herself.
“Indeed,” he murmured, his smile reappearing. “It seems my reputation precedes me as well. Am I as frightening as the rumors made me out to be?”
She shook her head vehemently then winced, one hand coming up to rub her temple as the pain intensified. “Again, I must apologize. I’m not usually so ill-mannered. I should have said overlord.”
“The two are used interchangeably here. I’ve gotten used to it. But it is I who should apologize. I shouldn’t have teased you, not after what you’ve been through.”
She had assumed from the way he’d taken charge on the ship, and how the others obeyed his orders without question that he held a position of authority, but never would she have imagined he commanded the most ruthless army in the galaxy, as well as the entire planet of Voltarre.
In his world, he was an important, very powerful man, the same as the king on Aeldor. It would be devastating to Voltarre if something happened to him, yet he’d taken on the task himself, and risked his life to save her. She added strength and bravery to his growing list of attributes.
Not for the first time, she wondered what it would be like if history hadn’t torn them apart. Would Darios, rather than her father sit on the throne today?
“As to those questions. I’ll keep them brief, but I do need to ask a few.”
Aurelia nodded, having several of her own, but she’d defer to his authority, attempt to curb her impatience and rudeness, and allow him to go first. “I’m still a little foggy, but I’ll do my best to tell you what you want to know.”
“What do you remember about your abduction?”
“I was traveling north to visit a relative. We were close to our destination when the Ophigs attacked. I’m not sure how many there were; only one came for me. He dragged me out in the cold, bound me then drugged me. I don’t recall anything after that until I awoke on the ship”—she looked away before she finished in a small quivering voice— “up for auction.”
“Then you don’t know how the Ophigs took you from Aeldor, or in what?”
“Other than the short time it took for the, um...” Her voice broke, and she couldn’t continue.
“I know this is hard, but it is imperative that I know.”
She cleared her throat, and tried again, though she could only manage a whisper. “Other than during the bidding, they confined me to the room where you found me, in that cage. They fled as soon as the attack started.”
His face darkened, lips twisting in disgust. “They’re a cowardly lot, whether or not they’re abducting smaller, weaker females.”
“Have you questioned the Ophig who kidnapped me? Or did he manage to escape before you boarded?” The thought of him on the loose, somewhere, didn’t sit well with her.
It must have shown because he took a half step closer and murmured, “Be easy, Princess. We found the captain aboard the trader. His is in our custody, along with several others who survived. They were all Napsalese, however, and have no knowledge of what happened before your arrival.”
“The one w
ho took me had yellow eyes and brown teeth.” She tried to suppress a shudder but couldn’t, and it hurt.
“Would you like me to call the healer to give you something for pain?”
“No, I’m okay if I stay still and try not to picture my disgusting kidnapper.”
“Unfortunately, the Ophigs have never been fans of hygiene, and I doubt if any of them have ever become acquainted with a toothbrush. Yellow eyes, brown teeth, and bad breath could describe all of them.”
Remembering his awful breath, she wrinkled her nose in revulsion.
“My sentiment as well.” His gaze traveled over her face then down to her bandaged wrists. “He didn’t treat you well and will face the consequences for that as well as the rest of his crimes.”
“I should message my father and brother; they must be frantic.”
“Communication has been sent. You may do so as well when we arrive on Voltarre.”
“Why not take me home first?”
“We have injured females who are a priority.”
Aurelia blinked in surprise. “There were others?”
“Three were taken from us. One is expecting a child. They resisted. Being a good deal bigger than you, they did some damage, and the slavers didn’t respond well. They were abused worse than you, I’m afraid.”
Painful memories of fear, humiliation, and the horrible vulnerability she felt when she’d been restrained and gawked at made her injured wrists throb worse than they already did. She brushed her fingers lightly over the bandages, trying to ease the ache.
“I’m sorry. Of course, your women should be tended to first. If you will simply alert my father to the circumstances, he will send a ship to Voltarre to take me home. You’ve done enough already and shouldn’t be inconvenienced more.”
He stared at her briefly, his lips twitching. “I wouldn’t ever call you an inconvenience, Princess, and you misunderstood. It isn’t our women who need tending. They held their own and have recovered.”
If they had half his size and strength, Aurelia didn’t doubt it.
“Our healers are monitoring my brother’s wife, to be safe, but it’s the two dozen other females the slavers held, all smaller and frailer than Voltarrean women, who need attention.”
He considered her a moment then asked, “Has anyone ever been abducted from your home world before?”
“Uh...no,” she stammered at this abrupt twist in the conversation. “Not to my knowledge.” Thinking back through their history, she frowned. “I’m sure it has never happened.”
“Because you have defense systems and an army to defend yourselves.”
They were technically advanced at many levels—not only in defense. But their shields, detection systems, and weapons made them practically impervious to attack at home. That he knew so much about them wasn’t so much surprising as alarming.
“We have studied you, as you have done with us. My point is, we have the same types of defenses and have also never had such a breach. Don’t you find it odd for two worlds known for their impenetrable defenses to have their first occurrence at the same time?”
She hadn’t considered that, but he’d had more time. “It seems more than coincidental. How is it possible?”
“I have a few theories, none of which I like, but I intend to find out for certain. I’ll start by interrogating your abductor when he wakes. We cannot rule out that others beyond the Ophigs were involved. Until then, you aren’t safe if you go home.”
“You think this was a conspiracy rather than a kidnapping by greedy slavers?”
“As I said, I don’t like any of my theories, but it is highly likely they had an accomplice on Aeldor, and someone on Voltarre as well.”
“If this is true, wouldn’t I be in danger on your world the same as on mine?”
“No because, as my guest, you will be under my protection.”
“A guest?” she repeated skeptically. Without a choice, she felt more like a prisoner. “My father will provide for my protection when he arrives.”
He hesitated, his eyes glowing brighter, with what emotion she couldn’t say. Then he nodded and murmured, “Until you are in his care once again, you are safe with me, Princess. I hope to have more to tell the king by the time we arrive on Voltarre.”
“Thank you.”
“We are not the fearsome brutes you were led to believe.”
She flushed. “Oh, no. I never thought—”
“Don’t deny it. I’ve heard the tales. Similar stories fly rampant on our world. Like how an Aeldorian ghoul with pale cold hands will come get children while they sleep. It seems we share the common and reprehensible trait of using fear of an enemy to control our youngsters.”
“Icy ghouls and fiery brutes; both tales are disturbing. I lost sleep throughout my childhood watching for flame-eyed intruders.”
“I believe I said fearsome, not fiery. And here I told the most flattering one about you.”
When she grimaced over her little slip, he chuckled, the sound low and soothing.
She glanced up at him in surprise, noting the flash of brilliant white against his bronze complexion. “You aren’t at all what I expected.”
He leaned in. “Not as dumb as I look?”
More heat rushed to her face. Despite his teasing, she had kept her most unflattering tale to herself. On Aeldor, big and brute often bookended slow, brainless, or dimwitted—a baseless slur. Having kept pace with them in firepower and strategy for a millennium, the Voltarreans were far from stupid.
Aurelia searched for a subject other than rumors, some of which she’d believed to be true for a lifetime.
His voice lowered, which she didn’t think possible, and the amusement had fled when he commented, “The flush in your cheeks is very becoming, and you’re more beautiful than anyone foretold.” The soft brush of his hand along her jaw sent a ribbon of warmth flooding through her. She pulled away out of habit.
He dropped his hand so fast, she didn’t see it move. “I beg your pardon. I forgot your kind don’t like to be touched.”
Her fingers rose to her face, tracing the same path he had. His light caress had been unexpected and far too brief. She’d have liked more time to figure out why, instead of the usual barrage of troubling and often painful emotions, it brought her only pleasure.
“Did I hurt you?”
Quite the opposite.
Except she didn’t say so. Unable to understand what had happened, she reassured him with a cursory, “It’s fine, Overlord.”
“Darios, please. There is no sense in formality. Since you’ll be a guest in my household, I insist.”
Aurelia didn’t reply, still stunned that the first comforting touch she’d had since she was a young girl of only five winters when her mother passed, and outside of her twin brother, came from the Warlord of Voltarre.
“I’ll leave you to rest until we arrive.”
“Wait, please,” she called out, her hand extended as if to physically stop him. “Must I stay here? I’m feeling better. I don’t want to occupy a medical bed.” She gestured to the stark, quiet room around her. “One of the injured women must need it.”
“Our medical facility on the Atagan is large and well staffed. You need not worry about that. Until our healer has cleared you, I must insist you stay in bed and rest for your own welfare.”
No matter how politely put, it was an order if she’d ever heard one, and he clearly expected her to obey since he strode to the door.
As she watched him go, his large silver-clad frame like a wall of bulging muscle encased in steel, she couldn’t help noticing how fluidly he moved. He seemed to prowl, not walk. She also marveled over his attractiveness. He didn’t have the classical beauty of Aeldorian men, but an appealing rugged masculinity.
Aurelia felt an unusual tingle course through her body along with a pleasurable warmth. For a woman from a world mostly covered in ice, she found it refreshing and quite pleasurable, especially when it spread to other parts, suddenly wet pa
rts. Becoming aroused by Lord Darios was profoundly shocking, but what about today hadn’t sent her reeling?
She would have pinched herself to ensure it wasn’t all some bizarre dream, but the twinges, aches, and pains still plaguing her battered body proved she was wide awake.
WHEN HE EXITED THE medical wing, Ravern and Cogar were waiting.
“Well?” they prompted in unison.
“They drugged her; she has no recollection of how they took her from Aeldor without detection.”
“Flaming hell,” Cogar muttered, as he fell in beside him. “What do we do now? Send her back?”
“To be exposed to the same forces who sold her into slavery?” Darios challenged. “I could not be so heartless, even to our enemy.”
“The alternative is to keep her and risk Aziros suspecting the worst. It’s a gamble and could mean war,” Ravern stated.
“When does anything with Aeldor not mean war?” he asked tiredly.
“The men are curious about the allocation of the spoils.”
He stopped mid-stride and glared at Cogar. “You mean the princess.”
His friend held up his hands defensively. “I’m just the messenger. They’re impatient to know what you intend. Technically, she was captured and must be counted as part of the prize.”
“You can’t fault them for being curious,” Ravern suggested quietly from his other side.
Dating as far back as Atagan’s exile from Aeldor, any bounty recovered during a raid was divided equally among the men. A battle in space usually meant a ship, but all that remained of the Napsalese barge were minute particles of space debris. They’d rescued two dozen other females captured from across the galaxy, and a large sum of universal currency, but beyond that he hadn’t been apprised of any other items of value.
“We are not in the practice of enslaving women or keeping them as war prizes. Are they gathered?”
“At the end of the hall.”
“What’s your plan, my lord?” Cogar inquired, sounding slightly winded while trying to keep up as Darios strode down the corridor with a purpose.
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