by Anna Hackett
“Stay,” he ordered, his face looking scary.
She opened her mouth to blast him, but he strode out and slammed the door closed.
With a frustrated scream, she grabbed the door handle…just as she heard a loud click.
She rattled the handle. He’d locked her in.
“Kavon!”
But there was no response.
Fuming mad, Aurina spun. The damn barbarian had it in his thick skull she was some damsel in need of protection. He wasn’t half the man she thought, if he refused to see her as anything but a pretty ornament to decorate his bed.
She strode to the balcony. Maybe she could see the village from there.
But as she pushed through the gauzy curtains and stared out, all she could see was a stunning view of the Wilds and the mountains in the distance.
Dammit. She thrust her hands on her hips, then her gaze fell on a narrow ledge leading from the balcony and running across the stone wall of the house until it met a set of outside steps leading down to the ground.
Aurina smiled. She hurried back inside to the large armchair and snatched up the cushion. She grabbed the laser stunner and her star crystal, tucked them into her pocket, and moved back to the balcony. She lifted one leg over the balcony railing and looked down. They weren’t too far up, but a fall would hurt.
It would probably be wise not to fall.
Chapter Seven
Kavon ran his sword through one enemy warrior before stepping, turning, and swinging at another barreling at him.
Drog’s men were big, dogged fighters, who fought at the edge of honor. They had no compunction about using sneaky tactics. Each one of them had a black snake tattoo twining around their left arms—Drog’s symbol.
Kavon’s men were slowly working through them. Nearby, Kavon spied a few bodies of villagers on the ground—covered in blood and not moving.
Damn Drog. This was all a ploy to draw Aurina out, and find out who she was, and what she looked like. The warlord was, of course, not with his men. No, he sent them here alone, so if Kavon complained to the King, Drog would disown them and claim no knowledge of their actions.
The man was a coward in every way.
Kavon’s sword clashed against another. He pushed hard, putting all his weight behind his weapon. The other warrior staggered backward. Kavon finished him off with one clean thrust of Tanir.
He turned, just in time to see Kian battling a giant of a man. The larger warrior turned slightly and Kavon saw it was Zaltoh. By the Warrior’s fist. Zaltoh was slowly pushing the younger warrior backward…right toward one of Drog’s men, who was hidden beside some crates. Waiting with his blade drawn.
No! Kavon strode forward, but two more of Drog’s men surged into his path, swords raised. Curses. He wouldn’t make it in time to save Kian. He fought harder, calling on every ounce of strength from his nanami, his hearts beating hard.
Then he saw a flash of something bright whizzing through the air.
The man behind Kian cried out, and fell to the ground clutching his chest.
There was movement near Kian, and Kavon watched Aurina leap over a small stone wall, something small and metallic clutched in her hand and held out in front of her.
His heart stopped. Damn her. He watched her drop to one knee, swivel, and more of the orange lightning shot out at Zaltoh.
The man’s sword dropped, his stunned gaze met Kavon’s, then he fell to the dirt.
Aurina raced over to the shocked Kian, then she spun and took aim at the last few attackers.
But they were already retreating…and staring at Aurina with wide eyes. Drinking in every damn detail of her.
“Stop them escaping!” Kavon bellowed.
His men turned and gave pursuit.
Kavon strode toward Aurina, and every step fueled his growing fury. He grabbed her arms, breathing deeply to hold back words he knew he’d regret when rage was no longer riding him. He felt like a young, untried warrior again, battling his overwhelming emotions.
Aurina looked up and was smiling. But when she got a good look at him, her smile withered. “Kav—”
“Be silent.” He snatched up her strange weapon, grabbed her arm and spotted a few villagers coming out of hiding. “Kian, are you all right?”
The young warrior nodded.
“Good. See to calming the people.”
“Yes, Warlord.”
Kavon swiveled, and started dragging Aurina back to the house.
She was, thankfully, smart enough not to talk on the way back to his rooms. He unlocked the still-locked door to his rooms and dragged her inside.
He released her and slammed the door closed behind them.
Aurina spun, temper flaring in her eyes and her arms spread wide. “A thank you would be nice.”
“How did you get out?”
She lifted her chin. “I climbed off the balcony.”
“And the device?” He held the weapon out. It looked tiny in his hand, incapable of doing anything.
Her face changed and he could tell she was embarrassed. “It’s a laser stunner. It shoots directed energy that can stun, maim or kill. I didn’t tell you before because I knew you wouldn’t give it to me—”
“So you lied?”
Her chin lifted. “Kind of like you did about the e-beacon?”
Damn her. His hands clenched on her weapon.
“I did what I had to do,” she added. “I did crash-land on a strange, dangerous planet.”
Kavon closed his eyes and forced himself to take deep breaths. When he had some semblance of control—and it wasn’t much—he opened his eyes. “Do you know what you’ve done?”
She looked wary.
“Drog now knows for certain you’re here. Before, he would have just suspected, but now his men will report back to him, which was the entire purpose of his asinine attack on my people.”
Aurina swallowed. “It was a recon mission.”
“Exactly. Now he knows what you look like, and that you have technology we do not possess.” Kavon nodded toward the stunner. “And he will come after you.” Anger flared in Kavon’s veins, agitating his nanami. He thrust his hands on his hips and stared at the ceiling.
“I’m sorry—”
“More of my people will likely die, all because you did not stay where I asked you to stay.”
“You could have explained!” She touched his back. “You didn’t ask. You just tossed me in here and locked the door.”
She might have a small point, but he was too angry to concede it. “There was no time. I had to get to the fight and protect my people.”
She slid in front of him, her cheeks flushed. “There was time for a few words, Kavon. I am not some empty-headed damsel who needs you to protect me every second of the day. I can help you. You just have to talk to me…you know…like I’m a person.”
“Maybe, but this is my world, Aurina. It can be dangerous and dark and lethal. Sometimes, I need you to just do as I ask.”
“But you don’t ask, you order.”
“I am a warlord. That is what I am accustomed to. The end result is the same. Do the words I use really matter?”
She wrapped her arms around herself, her voice lowering. “Yes, they do. But if you don’t realize that, then I guess I’m arguing for no reason. I’m not weak. I don’t need your protection. I may not know your world, but I can take care of myself.”
“Really?” Kavon felt something dark and needy stir in him. Something that was hungry for this woman in ways he’d never hungered before. “You can protect yourself on my world?”
She lifted her chin. “Yes.”
“Then prove it to me.”
She stilled. “How?”
“I challenge you to a fight. Prove to me that you can best me and you don’t need my protection.”
She considered. “And if I win, I get the e-beacon?”
“No, we already have a deal for that. I will start asking and not ordering.”
Her brows rose. “
Really? Okay.”
He strode over to his locked wooden chest, and pressed the code into the metal lock. The lid popped open and he stowed the stunner inside. He slammed the chest shut again and locked it. “No weapons.”
He was gratified to see a flare of wariness in her eyes. “I need my weapon. You’re bigger and stronger than I am.”
“Which just proves my point. You won’t always have your weapon. That is one of the first lessons a warrior learns.”
“I spend time sparring with my brother, Rynan. And he’s pretty mean and lethal himself.” She cocked her head. “What do you get if you win?”
“You must kiss me.”
She set her shoulders back. “All right, Warlord Mal Dor. You’re on. I accept your challenge.”
Kavon suppressed a ruthless smile. He strode away and shoved furniture out of the way to clear a space.
“Here?” she said.
“Here.” He faced her.
She bounced on her feet and bent her neck from side to side. She held her hands up in front of her face. “Okay, bring it on, warrior.”
Kavon circled her slowly. She matched his movements, her gaze glued to him. He lunged in to grab her, but she darted away and his fingers grabbed air.
They circled again. This time he went low, ducking, aiming to grab her knees.
She was gone again in a quick leap.
His gaze narrowed as he watched her.
He already knew she was observant, that she noticed small things others missed. Somehow, he was telegraphing his moves and she was anticipating him. He frowned. He wasn’t sure anyone—at least, no warrior he’d ever trained with—had managed to do that before. She was using her strengths against him.
Well, it was time he used his.
He charged at her. Her eyes widened, and she dodged. But Kavon changed direction and kept coming. His fingers brushed leather, but again, she managed to duck under his arm and spin away from him.
He didn’t let up, switching directions to follow her.
She leaped onto the bed and ran across it, before leaping off the other side.
Kavon dodged around it. She ran across the room, and when he lunged for her, she dropped to the floor.
He stumbled past her.
He spun and she was facing him.
“You can’t run from me forever, little skyflyer. You will tire.”
She lifted her chin. “I can try. It’s worth it to have you ask me politely for things.”
“I said I would ask, I never said anything about politeness.”
She rolled her eyes. “Typical.”
While she was talking and distracted, he jumped forward. She leaped back, but he managed to get a hold of her. He wrapped an arm around her middle and lifted her, kicking and cursing, off her feet.
“Damn you, barbarian. That wasn’t fair.”
“Cunning is considered honorable. As long as you do not use false pretenses and stab someone in the back.” He twisted her until their noses brushed. “You saw me coming.”
She poked her tongue out at him.
Kavon stared, captivated by the deep grass-green of her eyes. “Something makes me think you aren’t disappointed to be caught by me.”
“Don’t be preposterous.”
He wound his arms tighter around her. Her full breasts were pressed hard against his chest, and under his hands she was all woman. “Now you will kiss me.”
She released a shaky breath. “Damn you, barbarian.”
“Kavon. Call me Kavon.”
Her hands reached up and snaked into his hair. “Kavon.” A low murmur.
Then she pressed her lips to his.
The two of them stayed there, just for a second, lips to lips, not moving.
Then she moaned and opened her mouth, and really kissed him.
By the Warrior. Kavon groaned, his mouth capturing hers. Her tongue thrust into his mouth, tangling with his. He felt the desire that had been simmering ever since he’d first seen her turn from a murmur to a roar. Every minute spent with her, every small thing he’d learned about Aurina, had only caused that need and want to grow.
She wound her legs around his waist and his rock-hard cock pressed between her thighs. They both groaned now, and he staggered a few steps backward. His knees hit the bed and he sat.
Aurina settled in his lap, her hands tangling in his hair. She kissed him with a passion and enthusiasm he’d rarely experienced. She tasted sweet and tart, of things that promised pleasure beyond reckoning. He gripped her sunset hair and tugged her head back. Her smooth, pale neck was bared to him and a primal wave of desire washed over him. He pressed his mouth over her fluttering pulse, setting his teeth to the sensitive tendon,
“Kavon.” She undulated against him, her hands pulling hard on his hair.
He had to have her. He needed to quench this thirst. He was about to spin her and lay her back on the bed, when a brisk knock at the door echoed through the room.
Aurina stiffened. Then she yanked away from him and scrambled to her feet. She stood there for a second, looking a little dazed. “Whoa, that almost got out of hand.”
Frustrated, he raked a hand through his hair. “Would that have been so bad?”
She fiddled with her hair, tucking some escaped strands behind her ears. “I told you, Kavon. I’m not staying…it’s best we don’t—”
Hearing her talk of leaving again, especially while he was so raw inside, made his jaw lock. “I decide if you stay or go.”
She bristled. “So, we’re back to square one. Orders and no thought to anyone else’s feelings.”
The knock on the door came again. Kavon pushed off the bed and strode over to it. He wrenched it open.
Chaldora stood there, and behind her were several young scholars, all holding piles of books.
“Kavon, we’ve brought the tomes you requested.” The old woman’s eyesight might not have been as good as it once had been, but she glanced at the slightly disheveled Aurina, then at Kavon—he doubted anyone could miss the hard bulge in his pants or the thick tension in the air.
“This is a bad time?” the scholar asked with a faint smile.
“No, I have to meet with my men.” Kavon waved at Aurina. “Bring the books. Aurina, I’m sure, is eager to start.”
He strode out without looking at her. He needed a little break from the woman who set his blood—and his temper—aflame.
***
Aurina sat on the low couch in Kavon’s room, books spread out across the table in front of her. She’d been at it for hours, reading account after account of the First Warriors and their exploits. Scouring the text for anything to do with Durendal.
Chaldora had been incredibly helpful. The scholar had already supplied her with a list of references and where to find them.
Aurina leaned back and rubbed her eyes. So far, she had a ton of information, but not much in the way of possible places to start searching for Durendal. Chaldora said there was a shrine to the First Warriors in the King’s palace, and a replica of Durendal sat in there. But it was well known not to be the actual weapon.
She got up and strode to the window. She let the curtain flap against her in the breeze. It was afternoon now, the sun slowly lowering in the sky.
She wondered where Kavon was.
Nope. Not going to go there. She wrinkled her nose. She’d successfully not thought of him or that kiss…
Kiss… She snorted. It was more like devouring each other. No, don’t go there. Think of the legendary sword.
Right. Well, what did she know? The First Warriors appeared and taught the primitive people, and eventually mated with them. She’d studied the images of what the native Markarians had looked like before—taller, more muscular, with almost scale-like skin, and an elongated face with sharp teeth. Today, all that was left of their previous form was the metallic-bronze coloring of their skin.
The First Warriors had clearly been humanoid. What had made them want to mate with a primitive, almost animal-like spe
cies? Curiosity? Perhaps. An interest in the science of creating a new species? If they were advanced, why not do it in a lab? The First Warriors were clearly more advanced than the primitive Markarians. No need to move in with the native species and procreate.
Maybe it was love.
She made a scoffing noise. Love was a fairytale the central systems’ companies perpetuated to help them sell jewelry, and fancy chocolates, and romantic getaways. Aurina thought of her mother. Dala Veers had believed in love when she’d been seduced into bed by a handsome, charming wanderer. She’d still believed in it long after he’d abandoned her. She’d learned the hard way that love was a mirage.
What about Justyn and Nissa? Aurina shoved the quiet whisper in her head aside. Well, the couple just proved that love wasn’t real, because there always had to be an exception to the rule.
So, what else made an advanced humanoid race stay and mate with a primitive one?
Desperation. She froze. What if the First Warriors were stuck here and had no choice?
She raced back to the table, pushing aside the books to find the notes Chaldora had left her. The First Warriors clearly spoke English. What if they weren’t from Markaria at all? What if, like her, they’d crash-landed here, with no way off?
Aurina pushed more books and papers aside. Chaldora had said the meteors were a symbol of the First Warriors, and that the first appearance of them coincided with the omens of falling stars.
She sat back. God. What if the same meteor shower had brought down the First Warriors’ ship thousands of years ago, just like it had brought down hers?
Aurina sprang up and yanked open the door. A warrior standing guard in the hall spun to face her.
“Skyflyer?”
“I need Chaldora. Can you get her for me, please?”
The warrior nodded.
Aurina paced the room, unable to sit. She was on to something, she could feel it.
Finally, Chaldora entered. “Aurina, you needed to see me?”
“Tell me again about when the First Warriors came, please. You said there were falling stars then as well.”
The scholar nodded. “They are an omen, a symbol of luck, because they are said to have appeared when the First Warriors did.”
