by Sadie Carter
Yes, Saffron figured he’d feel the same way if he knew.
Chapter Two
Moroco stood next to Toriq and Koran as they all stared at the crashed spaceship, which had smoke rising from its front. Its nose was buried deep into the desert sand, the outer shell dented and scratched. It was a small ship and not meant for long space travel.
Armed warriors had formed a perimeter around the ship in case this was some sort of threat. Unlikely, considering the size of the ship, but it was better to be cautious.
“Be careful,” Koran warned. “This could be a trap. A diversion. Or it could be rigged to explode.”
Everyone nodded.
“You in the ship, you have come to Zerconia without permission. Come out with your hands in the air.” Koran’s voice boomed, but there was no movement.
Koran waited a minute more, then nodded to six warriors, one of whom carried a laser drill. “Go.”
Two warriors stood back, blasters raised while the others worked on forcing their way through the door. A wave of smoke assailed them and Moroco’s eyes watered.
Once the smoke dissipated, three of the warriors entered the ship.
Morocco stepped forward. Toriq reached out and grabbed his arm, shaking his head.
Irritation filled him. He might be a healer, but he was also a warrior. And he didn’t need protecting. Toriq raised one eyebrow at his obvious irritation.
“Just wait one minute while they finish checking the ship.”
“Meanwhile, they could be dying. I am in no need of your protection, Toriq. I can look after myself.”
“I have no doubt of that. You will still wait.”
He ground his teeth together. He’d never been very good at following orders. That was part of the reason he’d ended up at the Academy.
Finally, one of the warriors, it looked like that fool Argus, came out. “Two beings are in the cockpit, both are unconscious.”
“May I?” Moroco said sarcastically to Toriq.
Toriq nodded. “Yes.”
Moroco shook his head and strode into the ship. He moved cautiously into the small cockpit. Thankfully, the smoke was dissipating and visibility was increasing. He studied the being closest to him. Covered in light green fur, the creature was slightly built, with pointed ears and a flat-squashed nose.
What was a Seraquin doing here? Seraquin’s were troublesome creatures, given to mischief and mayhem. They didn’t have a home planet and tended to make their home wherever they liked. And once you had an infestation of Seraquin’s they were difficult to get rid of.
He quickly grabbed his med-wand out of the bag and ran it over the beast. No heartbeat. No sign of life. He sighed. “This one is dead. Pull him free so I can get to the other one more easily.”
Argus hastily dragged the Seraquin away, whacking Moroco in the nose with his elbow as he went past.
“Stars!” Moroco clasped hold of his nose as blood poured out of it. He closed his eyes at the intense pain.
“I am sorry…I d-didn’t mean…” Argus stammered out.
“Toriq!” Moroco roared. “Get him out of my sight.”
Someone hastily pulled Argus away while Moroco grabbed a clean cloth from his bag and held it to his nose to stop the blood flow. He didn’t have time for anything else. Not if he wanted to ensure his next patient lived.
“Want me to send for Racar?” Toriq asked.
“I’m fine.” Moroco didn’t take much notice of what his other patient looked like as he ran his med-wand over the still body. It beeped and he checked the readout. “This one is alive. But bleeding internally. Let’s get him to a regeneration chamber.”
“Uh, Moroco, I don’t think a regen will help him,” Toriq said in a strange voice.
“What do you mean?” Moroco took a good look at his patient and drew in a sharp breath. How had he missed it? This creature was nothing like the Seraquin. For a start, it was huge. Much bigger even than Toriq, who towered over most. But that wasn’t the truly alarming thing. Moroco had met plenty of creatures bigger than he was.
But none of them were as dangerous as this being.
With silver skin that glittered in the sunlight, he had similar facial features to Zerconians. Two eyes, one nose, one mouth, two ears. Two arms. Two legs. But there the similarities ended.
“It’s a Sky Warrior,” Toriq stated the obvious.
Moroco just grunted.
Two wings sprouted from the Sky Warrior’s back, covered in beautiful, black feathers. One wing looked slightly crooked and damaged. Morocco winced. He didn’t know a lot about Sky Warriors, but he did know that their wings were like another limb. A broken wing was going to be painful.
A feather drifted through the air and landed on Moroco’s nose, pulling him out of his daze.
“We’re going to need something to transport him!” he called out. “And someone call Racar and tell him to ready the medical center for a Sky Warrior.”
Around him, everyone grew quiet.
But then he heard the whisper. “A Sky Warrior. Is he serious?”
“Moroco does not joke. Ever.”
“Stars save us. A Sky Warrior. Here.”
“You know what that means,” another one whispered back. “Where there is one, more will follow.”
***
“Moroco, report.”
Moroco tried to hide his fatigue as he stared at the Emperor of Zerconia. Dexanon Xa’a was a strong warrior. As far as leaders went, Moroco guessed that he was adequate. He appeared to be fair and just, although he had made the questionable decision to allow humans access to Zerconia.
Moroco didn’t agree with letting other races come here. It brought too much risk. He thought they had learned that lesson a long time ago. Now, they had Joyadans and humans living here, and even more humans visiting. Already, there had been an attempt to harm the Empress and a human male had snuck onto the planet, killing one human female, injuring Saffron, and kidnapping Sophie.
And now a Sky Warrior had crashed on their planet. Things like this would not have happened during Dex’s father’s reign. Sure, some warriors had found a mate among the humans. But was it worth it when you took into account the trouble the human females brought with them? Not to mention how unprepared they were for life on Zerconia.
Take Saffron for example. That female had no idea that when an order was given that she should obey. It was perplexing. Frustrating. He should have refused to be her minder when she had been assigned to him.
So, why didn’t I?
He still could not believe that he had offered to show her his shaft. That had been a big mistake and one he would not repeat. He had merely wished to frighten her. Although he hadn’t gotten the response he had been prepared for. She had acted outraged, but he had seen a glimpse of arousal in her gaze.
It matched his own. He only had to be in her presence to feel aroused by her. She affected him like no other had since Fancia died. To ensure that he was not tempted by her again, he would have to avoid her completely. He would pass her care on to Racar. He was a perfectly good healer. He would ensure she was fully recovered.
His gut burned at the thought. Stars.
“Moroco? Are you well?”
He’d forgotten about the Emperor. What was wrong with him? Now that female was even interfering with his job. No, best he stay away from her entirely.
“I have stopped the internal bleeding and set the break in the wing. He is too large to fit in our regeneration chamber.”
The Emperor frowned. “Will he survive?”
Moroco resisted the urge to shrug. “I can’t tell you for certain. All I can say is that Sky Warriors are strong. His vitals are good.”
“It would be a very bad thing for him to die, Moroco.”
“I know this. I will do all that I can to keep him alive.”
“His pack will be looking for him.”
Moroco nodded. “I have briefed everyone to be on alert. He is well sedated.” The last thing they wanted was a
group of angry Sky Warriors descending on them. Sky Warriors traveled in packs of six. They were known as merciless, tough, and cold. Their only loyalty was to each other.
Dex nodded. “I will be informing everyone that there is a Sky Warrior in medical and to stay away.”
“The humans as well?” he asked, thinking of Saffron and her propensity to get into trouble.
“Yes, for the foreseeable future they have been warned to go nowhere alone and have been placed under a curfew.”
“They have not been assigned minders again?” he asked casually. It wasn’t that he wanted responsibility for Saffron. Not at all. She was trouble. Pure and simple.
“I don’t see the need for minders when there is no real threat at the moment, so you will be relieved that you have not been charged with Saffron’s safety.”
Yes, of course.
That was what he felt. Relief.
Chapter Three
This was a stupid idea.
Really stupid.
As in the stupidest idea she’d ever had. And she’d had a few over the years.
Going to meet with Ricky, the asshole who’d pushed her down a flight of stairs, alone was the biggest one that sprang to mind. This might almost rival that one.
She peered out from behind the building closest to the medical center. She felt a little silly sneaking around like some sort of super spy. But they’d all been warned to stay away from medical and the last thing that she wanted was to get caught. That would involve explanations. And she wasn’t certain that she could explain what she was doing to herself let alone anyone else.
The coast seemed to be clear.
Okay, now she sounded like some cheesy private investigator. She shook her head at herself. She should just march on into medical and demand to speak to Moroco.
Except she wasn’t certain he’d even see her. Three days had passed since he’d come to her place to check her wound and the only communication she’d had with him was a message that Racar would be taking over her care.
Screw that. If he didn’t want to see her again then he could tell her to her face instead of sending her a cowardly message.
Why do I care? He means nothing to me.
Except, she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Couldn’t stop playing their conversation over in her head.
And she was leaving.
She’d made the decision to return on the transporter that was headed to Earth in ten days. And despite the fact she was fully healed, she needed medical clearance. So here she was. She chose to ignore the fact that Racar was now her healer and she could have just commed him. For some stupid reason, she wanted to see Moroco. She didn’t really know why, but she couldn’t ignore the urge.
So here she was.
She hadn’t told Sophie she was leaving yet. She didn’t want to leave her sister, but she was beginning to feel like she was a bit of a third wheel. It was obvious that Sophie was making this her home; she didn’t need Saff anymore, so there was no reason to stay, right?
She wasn’t going to stay where she wasn’t needed.
Even though the thought of going back to Earth on her own was daunting as hell, she didn’t have much choice. She had nowhere else to go.
The two Ashleys were eager as hell to get home. If they didn’t stop chattering on about how much they were looking forward to getting their nails done and a spray tan then she was going to steal a blaster and just shoot herself in the foot.
Surely, that would get her a quiet room in medical.
Nice and close to Moroco.
Saffron. You’re an idiot.
This would be much easier if she knew where he lived. But it wasn’t as though she could just go around asking. People would start to wonder why she wanted to know. She’d worked hard to make everyone believe she hated that asshole. And it hadn’t been that hard to act that way.
Most of the time.
But then there was the rest of the time. The times he surprised her by doing something kind. Like checking up on Sophie for her the other day when communications went down. He wasn’t the complete asshole he pretended to be. She also knew he wasn’t the murderer many people thought he was. Idiots.
Her feelings towards Moroco were no longer as cut and dried as they once had been. Maybe it was true what they said. Sometimes there was a very thin line between hate and love.
And wasn’t that a disturbing thought.
Still channeling her inner spy, she crept forward and walked around the outside of the building. She’d never looked for another entrance, but surely there had to be one. Ah-ha. There. A door.
Of course, she’d probably need a code or there would be some sort of facial recognition security attached…the door slid open as she approached.
Well, that was kind of disappointing.
She snuck inside.
***
Moroco was worried.
And he hated worrying. In fact, he never worried. Worry was a stupid emotion. No, he wasn’t worried. He was concerned.
He couldn’t understand why the Sky Warrior wasn’t waking. His internal bleeding had stopped. His broken wing was healing. In fact, it was healing at a fast rate. He hadn’t realized that their species had accelerated healing but it was the only explanation he could think of for how quickly the bones were knitting together.
His vitals were good. Steady. But he wasn’t waking up. Morocco rubbed his hand over his face as he sat in the sleeping chair in his private office. He’d been here day and night, not wanting to leave while the Sky Warrior was here.
He laid his head back and closed his eyes. He just needed to catch a short nap then he’d check on his patient.
He was just drifting off when he heard his door open. He’d left instructions with his staff that he wasn’t to be disturbed unless there was an emergency or something changed with the Sky Warrior. Even then, no one would enter without announcing themselves first.
So, whoever this was, they weren’t one of his staff and they weren’t trying to be quiet. He kept up the pretense that he was asleep.
Just a little closer…just a little closer.
As he was getting ready to move a sweet, familiar scent hit him. It couldn’t be. What was she doing here? He opened his eyes just as she stuck her face mere inches from his.
“What are you doing here?” he snapped.
“Eek!” She jumped back, placing her hand over heart, her face growing pale. He should probably feel bad for scaring her. But she was the one who had been sneaking up on him. “You scared me! I thought you were asleep.”
“I was trying to sleep. Until you interrupted me.”
“Oh. Sorry. I wasn’t sure if you were sleeping or dead.”
“That’s why you were close enough to kiss me?”
“I certainly wasn’t going to do that!” There was a note to her voice that made him raise an eyebrow in interest. Hmm, did she want to kiss him? Maybe he should kiss her.
No. No, that would be a foolish idea. Right up there with pulling her into his arms, raising her skirt and slipping inside her. The last thing he needed was to join with a human female. Especially this human female.
He had already decided to stay away from her. And she wasn’t supposed to be here.
“What are you doing here, Saffron? Were you not told to stay away from medical?”
A look of guilt crossed her face and then she frowned at him. “I, well, I…um…needed to see you for a minute.”
Alarm filled him. “Is it your wound? Has it grown red? Is it painful? Why did you not call for me? I mean, for Racar. He is your healer now.” And why hadn’t Racar told him there was a problem? Stars, he shouldn’t have handed over her care to the other healer, even though his feelings towards her were becoming problematic.
He moved to his bag and grabbed his gloves, pulling them on.
“My wound is fine.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I need medical clearance to leave on the transporter headed to Earth soon.”<
br />
What?
“No.”
“Huh?” She stared at him in shock.
Why had he said no? Wasn’t this a good thing? He would no longer need to avoid her until she found a mate. She would leave, and his life would go back to normal.
Boring. Lonely.
She placed her hands on her hips, glaring up at him. “There’s no medical reason I can’t be on that transporter. So I need you to sign whatever documents you need to and get it done, buster.”
Buster?
“Why have you not spoken to Racar about this?” She looked guilty for a minute. What was going on here? “I am surprised you wish to leave. I thought you would stay with your sister. She is in a delicate condition. I hope you did not upset her with this news.”
Pregnant females were to be kept calm and unstressed. Toriq would not be happy if this news had upset his pregnant mate.
That guilty look returned.
“You have not told her?” he guessed. Interesting. “Why not? I thought she would be the first person to know.”
“Well, I can’t leave without medical clearance. So sign whatever papers you need to and I’ll get out of your hair.”
“My hair? How could you be in my hair? It is not long enough for you to step on.” His dark hair was kept short and neat.
“Look, you’ve made it more than obvious you don’t want to be around me, so I’d think you’d be eager to be rid of me.”
Yes, he had thought that as well.
“So give me medical clearance and I’ll be gone, never to be seen again.”
“No.”
An alarm buzzed on his communicator. The Sky Warrior. His vitals were increasing. He turned and rushed out of his office.
“No? What do you mean, no?”
“No, I’m not giving you clearance. Return home.”
