Paladin's Pride 3: Her Forever Knight

by Angelina Evans

  “We’ll use molecular transportation.”

  Kai nodded, apparently not surprised while Genae was shocked. Kai had explained to her that the inability for anyone to molecularly transport to the surface was the backbone of Sai-sen-Sai security. Yet now, when League destroyers were entering their space, they were going to disable their greatest security measure.

  Even as she thought it, she wanted to kick herself. If the League won and the planet was destroyed, there wouldn’t be a need to keep anyone from transporting down.

  Minutes dragged by as she squeezed herself against the door to keep from getting smashed by the huge VanDai males moving around the room.

  She had no idea how much time passed when the door behind her opened and she almost fell through. Hard hands caught her and set her on her feet. She looked over her shoulder and up and her breath caught in her throat. The VanDai male standing over her was the most sensual looking being she’d ever seen. His mane was black, his eyes topaz and his skin bronze. His lips were thin with an almost cruel cast that only added to his dangerous sexual air.

  “You’re mine.” Kai spun her and wrapped his arms around her, her back to his chest.

  Genae’s lips twitched but she managed to keep from smiling. He had to know there was no reason to be jealous but his possessiveness sent warm thrills chasing through her. “Was I drooling?” she asked, her voice a whisper.

  His fingers flexed against her stomach. “Almost.”

  “You can’t blame me,” she murmured. “He’s beautiful.”

  Sharp teeth nipped her neck as his claws teased her stomach.

  “You’re sexier,” she assured him. She wanted to rub herself against him but there was no way to do it without everyone seeing.

  “If you two are finished with your foreplay, I need to speak to Paladin.”

  Genae gasped at the beautiful stranger’s cold tone and harsh words.

  “Frustrating trip?” Kai asked.

  Genae looked from Kai to the stranger and back. There was an undertone to Kai’s voice she didn’t understand but apparently the other male did. He grimaced and nodded.

  “Let me introduce you to Llaryn, the Mriln healer I brought back with me.” He stepped to one side and motioned to the woman behind him.

  “I didn’t mean to be a frustration to you, Ryvn.”

  Genae was speechless. The woman had the melodic voice of all her species. She was tall, over six feet by at least two inches, yet she was the most fragile looking woman Genae had ever seen. The most fragile and the most beautiful.

  Her eyes were huge, the pupils a darker shade of lavender than the iris, another Mriln trait. Her elaborately plaited hair fell to her waist in a flowing fall of black silk. She was pale, her features made up of gentle curves and angles that made Genae think of angels.

  Ryvn merely growled a wordless response to the Mriln healer’s words.

  “Frustrating indeed,” Kai said as Ryvn forced his way past them.

  Genae elbowed him in the side and winced. There was no give to the man. Every inch of him was solid muscle.

  “Paladin.” Ryvn’s tone sounded angry and overly loud in the confined space. “Your Mriln healer is here.”

  Paladin’s roar came from the other side of the room. “Get what you need and stand by to molecularly transport back to your ship. The destroyers are closing in.”

  Without a word, Ryvn spun and stormed from the room.

  “Kai. Be ready to transport in the next ten minutes.”

  “I’m ready now.”

  Paladin looked thunderous as he strode from the dark recesses of the room. “Get your woman and the healer to the procedure lab and get back here. I’ll have Eln meet you there.” He looked through the open door and froze.

  Genae leaned back against Kai, her startled gaze moving back and forth between Paladin and the Mriln healer.

  Paladin walked forward until he stood in front of the Mriln woman. He was well within her personal space and Genae was sure the woman could feel the heat rolling off Paladin’s huge body. He towered over her, his whole body screaming possession, his eyes devouring her.

  Llaryn’s expression was a mix of panic and fear. Her lashes lowered and her head bowed. It was like seeing a flower close in on itself and Genae couldn’t blame her. Just by his size, Paladin was overwhelming.

  “I’ll take them to the procedure suite.” Kai stepped forward, his body pressing into Genae’s and forcing her forward too.

  “I’ll go with you.” Paladin gestured to his left. When the Mriln healer turned, he moved to her side and his hand settled low on her back. “This way.” His voice was a low, rumbling caress.

  Genae shivered and Kai pinched her. She looked up and smiled at him. There really was no one else in the universe she wanted but Kai.

  It took only minutes for them to reach the room where the extraction would take place. Genae bit her lip to keep from smiling as Llaryn tried to step away from Paladin. The woman looked everywhere but at the big VanDai. She kept moving away from him and he just kept following her.

  “Would you have done that to me?” Genae asked on a whisper.

  “I did do that,” Kai reminded her, his mouth brushing her ear.

  Genae smiled and shook her head. He was right. During their time on YelAsta, onboard his ship, even since arriving on Sai-two, he was constantly touching her, close enough so she would feel his heat and be enveloped in his scent. Even now his arm was around her, his chin resting on top of her head.

  “The poor woman doesn’t stand a chance.”

  “No,” Kai agreed, “she doesn’t.”

  She wanted to hit him for his arrogance and at the same time she wanted to hug him.

  Ryvn strode into the room, a small case in one hand. “Here are your supplies,” he told Llaryn as he set the case on a tabletop. His brows rose as he saw Paladin stalking the Mriln healer but he didn’t say anything about it. “The techs say the molecular shield is ready to come down on your order, Paladin.”

  Llaryn moved away from Paladin. He visibly tensed but this time he didn’t follow her. “There will be guards posted outside the room. At any hint of trouble, let them know and they will contact me.”

  Llaryn didn’t respond and after a moment, Paladin turned and strode out of the room. Ryvn followed close behind.

  Kai, his hands gentle, turned Genae to face him. His face, as usual, gave nothing away but the look in his eyes made her throat tighten. There was love there, and fear. Not for himself, she knew, but for her. If he could take her place, she knew he would.

  His hand settled over her left breast as his gaze locked with hers.

  Tears filled Genae’s eyes and for once she didn’t care. “I love you.”

  Kai leaned down and his mouth took hers. It was slow and hot. His lips pressed to hers, his tongue entering her mouth, retreating, his teeth nipping her bottom lip before he suckled it and finally released her.

  He stepped back and pinned the Mriln healer with his burning golden gaze. “Remember, healer, it isn’t only her life and heart you hold in your hands.” Without another word or a backward glance, he strode away.

  Genae bit her lip to keep from calling him back. Her choices had been made before she ever met him. She had a promise to keep, to herself and more importantly, to a child who’d never had the chance to live.

  Chapter 8

  Fighting for Life

  With the exodus of all the VanDai, it was as if the air had been let out of the room. Genae slumped where she stood. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized how much energy Kai generated just by being in the room.

  “Are all VanDai like those three? Like the others on board the Zolsum?”

  Genae nodded as she looked at Llaryn. “All the ones I’ve met.”

  The beautiful Mriln woman seemed to think about it for a moment before shaking her head, the motion seeming somehow elegant and graceful. “It’s fortunate I’ll be leaving soon after the retrieval.” She walked forward, her gait flowin
g, more gliding than stepping. She took Genae’s hands in her long, slender ones and met her eyes directly.

  “You were told the odds of a successful retrieval?”

  “Aevyn said getting the information back had proven very successful.”

  “And your survival?”

  Genae’s eyes didn’t waver but a tremor shook her hands caught in Llaryn’s grasp. She took a deep, shuddering breath and nodded. She didn’t want to die but if that was the price to be paid, she would pay it. “He told me my chances of surviving the retrieval were less than one tenth of a percent.”

  “Yet you agreed? Does Kai know?”

  Genae jumped. She turned to glare at Eln. “Do you always listen in on conversations that are none of your business?”

  “I’m Llaryn’s second in this procedure.” He glowered down at Genae. “Now answer my question. You agreed to this?”

  She nodded.

  “You were fully aware of the consequences?”

  She nodded again.

  “Does Kai know?”

  “No. And you’re not going to tell him.”

  “Do you understand what a VanDai’s mate means to him?”

  Genae closed her eyes against the pain tearing at her. She couldn’t think about Kai and what he would feel. She would have oblivion but he… he would be the one left behind.

  She opened her eyes and faced Eln. “I know what he means to me, how I would feel if he were the one to die. I wouldn’t want to live. That’s why he can’t know.” She stepped forward and took the healer’s hands in hers. “He has to be focused on living.”

  Eln looked at Llaryn. “Did she tell you about the damage done to her heart?”

  Llaryn frowned and stepped forward. “No.”

  “A VanDai woman used a cardiac stabilizer to try and stop her heart. The only thing keeping her alive is the same instrument that almost killed her. For all I know there may be no information left for you to retrieve.”

  “When did this happen?”

  Eln explained when it happened and exactly what happened. “Her heart needs to be repaired. Whatever this information is, I’m sure it can be gotten another way.”

  Genae shook her head. “The only places this information exists are in my heart and in the president’s head.”

  “The president?”

  “Yes.” Genae turned her back on him and faced Llaryn. “Can you do it?”

  “I can retrieve and even reconstruct the viral DNA strands, yes. I don’t know if I can save you.”

  “If it comes down to a choice between my life and the information, get the information.”

  Llaryn nodded.

  Genae studied her, looking for any hint of hesitation. Once she was out, she wouldn’t know what was happening and she needed to know she could trust the Mriln healer.

  “Promise?”

  “I promise.”

  “Then tell me what to do.”

  Eln watched as the two women worked together. One small and delicate, the other tall and fragile. How the fate of so many had come to rest in their hands, he would never know. He wouldn’t disturb the precarious balance of fate. Kai would find out when he returned if the procedure had been successful or not. And if he didn’t return, it wouldn’t matter anyway. They’d all be dead.

  With those fatalistic thoughts, he stepped forward and began to help with the preparations.

  * * *

  “Ready?”

  Kai nodded to the tech manning the molecular transport controls. As the room disappeared and the Therik materialized around him, his thoughts centered solely on Genae’s safety. The League could not be allowed to make even one strike against the planet. The retrieval process could not be interrupted. He should have called a halt to it until the League vessels had been dealt with.

  His jaw tightened as he strode out of the room with a curt nod to the tech manning the controls. He and Paladin had talked strategy briefly. When Ryvn had been briefed on their plans, he had agreed; attack with the intent to kill. No engaging the enemy. No trying to outmaneuver or disable. Each one of them would go for the kill.

  He strode onto the command deck and a quick glance showed him everyone at their post. He seated himself in the command chair and swung the command arm around in front of him. His fingers moved with speed and surety over the interactive screen. Paladin’s intelligence had the three destroyers entering Sai-two space from the Roithen quadrant.

  “Set a course for Dysyn.” He named the last planet of the Roithen quadrant. They wouldn’t wait for the League ships above Sai-two. The three League vessels would never get within viewing distance of the planet.

  He settled back in his seat and watched the huge view screen that dominated the front section of the command deck. Planets, suns, moons, stars, the universe lay all around him. He’d always loved the freedom of space, yet now all he wanted was to be on Sai-two.

  He sat forward and reviewed the plan for the coming battle in his mind. He could do nothing for Genae on Sai-two but he could keep the League away from her in space.

  * * *

  “Are you ready?”

  Genae looked back at Eln and nodded when what she really wanted to do was tell him an emphatic no. Consciously she relaxed her hands and tried to take a deep breath. It felt like a huge weight was sitting on her chest and she wanted it to go away.

  “The mind is as responsible for health as the body.” Llaryn pressed something to her forehead and another to each of her temples. “These are neural stimulators. You won’t remember when you wake up but while you’re unconscious only your most joyful memories will fill your mind.”

  Genae’s lips pressed together and her brows furrowed. Joyful memories? She couldn’t think of one. She’d been happy occasionally as a child but mostly she’d been content. She’d always been alone, the daughter of the most powerful man in the universe.

  The closest she’d come to knowing joy was her time with Kai. A smile lifted her lips as the neural stimulators began to work.

  Llaryn looked at Eln, her lavender eyes solemn. “Tell me if her body starts to falter. I won’t be able to monitor anything but her heart.”

  Eln nodded, his expression grim. Llaryn checked all of her equipment -- tiny instruments that attached to her fingertips that had fibers allowing her to work on a submolecular level. Her scanning microscope goggles and the router that would keep Genae’s blood flowing as she worked on her heart.

  It took only seconds to sterilize her hands, the equipment and Genae’s bared chest. The damage to Genae’s heart hadn’t been as extensive as Eln had feared but it added another complication to an already impossible surgery.

  Llaryn gently reprimanded herself. There was no surgery that was impossible, only the ones that hadn’t been done successfully yet. She would be successful today.

  Eln kept one eye on the monitor tracking Kai’s woman’s vitals. He also kept a close watch on Llaryn. The initial part of the surgery was nothing special. She cracked the chest, set the router and readied the heart. At that point, the Mriln woman placed submolecular tips on each of her fingers and he learned why the Mriln were considered wizards of medicine.

  Llaryn’s attention was focused solely on the woman in front of her. Never once did a thought enter her mind except what she was doing. Time was meaningless. Her fingers flew, removing DNA strands, reknitting the ends together. She found the electrical pathways disrupted by the cardiac stabilizer and meticulously repaired each cell.

  Her fingers cramped and she glanced at the timer she’d set. Her heart jumped. She’d been working for two hours. That only left four hours and she’d done the barest fraction of Genae’s heart.

  “Eln?” She met the older man’s narrowed gaze.

  “She’s weakening but it’s not critical yet.”

  Llaryn nodded once and went back to work. Her fingers flew, almost faster than she could see them. She closed her mind to the time and focused on her task. Her body seemed to fall away. Energy coursed through her, leaving her
free of any limitations.

  Eln watched, stunned by what he saw. If Mriln healers were wizards, this woman was more. If Genae stood a chance, it was because Llaryn was her healer.

  * * *

  Kai watched the space close between the Therik and the League destroyers. He could see Paladin’s ship, the Kadre, and Ryvn’s ship, the Zolsum, to his right.

  Laser fire sliced through space in a brilliant flash. Paladin’s ship shuddered but held.

  “Get us within weapons’ range. Return fire at will.” Kai’s voice was harsh as he studied each move made by every ship on the command screen in front of him. His mind calculated as fast as his computer and he adjusted speed and direction even as the commands blipped onto the screen.

  The Therik shuddered as laser fire raked their shields. Kai recalculated the distance. They had to be closer. The beam had to be tight or the disruption would be too extensive and they couldn’t risk that. An ever expanding hole in space would make the problems they now faced insignificant.

  “The lead destroyer is firing up her Woyer.”

  Kai looked at his weapons specialist. The Woyer was a world destroyer. “How long before she can fire?”

  “Ten minutes. No more.”

  Grimly, Kai turned back to his screen. He needed half that time to be close enough to discharge his own weapons. Blinding streaks of power ripped through space. More shots hit than missed on both sides. The Therik’s warning system began to shriek. Their shields wouldn’t survive many more direct hits. He could read the destroyers’ signatures as well as the other two VanDai ships and knew the other VanDai were all in similar shape.

  “Faster, you bastards.” His voice was a low growl as he watched the distance between them close. He grabbed the arms of his chair as the ship bucked under the lash of laser fire. A little closer and all would be won or lost and one way or another, Sai-sen-Sai and every life on it would be safe. He, Paladin and Ryvn would see to that.

  * * *

  Llaryn blinked hard to clear her blurring eyes. The muscles of her neck and shoulders burned. Her fingers ached and threatened to spasm. She ignored every discomfort and limitation as she battled time and the too-fast deterioration of the heart she worked on.