“Fine.”
“Here.” He handed me a belt. “Projectile incendiaries. If something is chasing us, aim behind me and shoot.”
I gave him a dirty look. “Are these even allowed on a marriage hunt?”
“Maybe. You just never asked.”
I gave him the dirtiest look I could manage.
He laughed and removed his shirt.
Oh, I shouldn’t look. I turned away.
I peeked.
And immediately regretted it.
When he was done, I couldn’t even wrap my arms around Kai’s neck, he was so big. I had to settle on placing a belt around him like a collar and clinging on to that. I lay on him, a blanket between me and his back. Kai moved as if I wasn’t even there.
I lay my head atop him. I could hear his heartbeat, feel his muscles stretch underneath me.
If I closed my eyes, I could almost pretend that the world around us wasn’t falling to pieces.
I could almost pretend that it was just him and I alone in the universe.
An explosion boomed in the distance, waking me. I blinked, unable to believe I had fallen asleep, but I guess I was more exhausted than I had thought.
Kai stopped. I slid off him and he shifted. It was so dark I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face.
“Where’s the landing pad?”
“Wait here.” Kai walked off into the jungle.
“Kai?”
His voice called back. “Just wait there for a moment.”
“Are we anywhere near this landing pad?”
Kai’s voice echoed from farther away. “Close your eyes —“
“It’s so dark I don’t need to —“
There was a flash of light. I blinked, completely blinded. I guess I should have listened to him. “Stars, could you give a girl some warning!”
Kai’s voice sounded far too amused. “I’ll just growl at you next time.”
As my vision returned, I saw that the blast of light had incinerated all the overhanging vegetation in a large rectangular area. A massive grey rectangle rose from the ground and tipped, dumping the soil and ashes to the side.
I looked upwards. Streaks of light filled the sky, blotting out the stars.
“That’s not our fleet,” said Kai, startling me.
One of the streaks of light circled and began arcing around. It seemed to teeter in the sky, as if its propulsion systems weren’t working quite well. As it got closer, I could see the holes and dents in the outer shielding along with scorch marks and a section that had been partially melted. There was a slash through the Stargazer crest on the tail’s insignia.
Kai pulled me behind him. “Stay back.”
It hovered over the landing pad, then dropped. I winced, expected a crash, but a roar of hot air cushioned the ship briefly before it landed with a thump. The side door opened and a wave of scorched metallic air hit us.
Kai’s eye’s narrowed at the scent. “Get back, Seria.”
A figure in a black visor and Smart Armor walked down the ramp.
“Lord Stargazer,” he said. “Heir,” correcting himself with Kai’s new title. “Where is your bride? There’s no time to lose.”
Kai didn’t move. “Name and rank, soldier,” he demanded.
“Heir,” tried the soldier again. “It’s me, Rish.”
Kai was unconvinced. “Take off your helmet.”
The helmet opened, and sank into the armor with a hiss.
There was a gash across his face. And a hole in his forehead where there shouldn't be.
Clearly, Rish should be dead, but he wasn’t.
Kai snarled, his teeth lengthening.
Rish smiled an eerie approximation of a smile. “Don’t be afraid, Heir. It’s a miracle.” He extended a hand. “Join us and live forever.”
“Whatever you've been promised it's unnatural.”
“Unnatural? Sir, it is not natural that we can shift from human to beast but we do and we are.”
The wind shifted, and Rish’s gaze suddenly switched to me, even though I was hidden in the trees.
Rish looked at me.
“My wife lives again.” Rish looked at Kai. “Tell me, if you had a loved one who had died, what would you give so that she could live?”
Everything. I would give everything.
And as Kai glanced back, I realized I had said it out loud.
“Exactly,” said Rish. He looked back at the trees. “You understand.”
“No,” said Kai.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Rish.
Kai and the soldier stared at each other, shifter challenge in their eyes.
“Run,” Kai said suddenly.
I grabbed the projectile incendiaries. They were meant for hunting, not battle, but they were weapons.
I could never outrun a tiger shifter.
If Kai died, so would I, but at least I would do this one thing, and he would know I was on his side.
It was suddenly, so important to me that he knew.
Smart armor clicked as it adjusted to Rish’s shifting shape.
I fumbled with the projectiles. No matter how good Kai was, fighting against a trained soldier in Smart Armor was a deadly exercise.
Tiger Kai roared.
The other tiger roared back. Though slightly smaller, it was undaunted. The two tigers circled each other, one orange, one white.
I aimed, waiting for a clear shot.
Then I heard the whine and crackle of the ship’s guns as they turned and pointed at the tigers.
Oh stars.
I fired the incendiaries. Tiny metal spheres ripped through the ship’s guns. Mini explosions followed, severing the guns from the ship.
More guns emerged, this time aiming toward me.
I reloaded the gun again. Fired. They exploded but more guns emerged.
Was the whole damn ship covered in guns?
I tried to reload, and realized I was out.
Star suck it.
I looked around for Kai. Though the tigers had vanished from the clearing, the foliage trembled and shook where they were.
I searched my pack, fumbling for anything that could be used as a weapon, even as I heard an ominous whine.
The two tigers rolled back into the clearing, grappling with each other. Rish’s Smart Armor was in pieces, trying to shift and reform around the soldier, but Kai kept attacking. Kai was covered in blood, one ear torn and dangling.
They backed away from each other all snarls.
The guns whirred, turning away from me, toward Kai.
“No!” I ran out into the clearing.
Like thunder from primitive gods, a bolt of purple light shot down, cleaving the enemy ship in half.
I looked up.
Another ship hovered above us, but I couldn’t see the markings.
There was another roar.
Something happened to Kai’s form. He stood on hind legs. Claws became taloned fingers.
He shoved his claws into the other tiger’s chest.
Ohmystars.
A tide of nausea rose in my stomach, bile in my mouth, staggering me. I had seen shifters fight before. But he shouldn’t have been able to do that.
Kai backed away, a black rotted object in his hand. It fell to the ground. He dropped to all fours, slowly returning to human form.
I clenched my fists, willing myself NOT to be nauseous. I wasn’t going to be someone he had to save.
Kai motioned for me to stay back, as he looked upward at the ship.
It landed with a clanging thump on the ground. A side slid open with an odd grinding noise, releasing a puff of stale air. A figure in Stargazer emblazoned exo-armor came out.
The figure took off the helmet, revealing Red, wonderfully alive.
“Sir, where is Seria?”
Kai ignored her question. “How is the flying, pilot?”
She saluted him, reciting a phrase. “As clear as the day is long.”
He gestured to come forward and
I came out of the woods.
Kai gave me a look, the kind of look that said that there was a conversation that was going to be had, whether I liked it or not.
I made a show of looking at the carcass on the ground. “What the goddess stars was that, Kai?”
“I killed it.”
“No. You did something. You became something.”
He looked at me, clearly trying to silence me. “I shifted.”
“No, you were in tiger form and then you became —“
“Whatever you think you saw, is not what you think you saw. The matter is closed for discussion.”
Indeed, there was much we would have to talk about.
Chapter Nine
Three Months Earlier…
House Stargazer, Alzar-4
The light in the room kept fading from dark to light, in patterns that felt like they should mean something, but in reality only made my head feel more like fried nutrit-bars.
A tall gorgeous man, stood by my bedside. I hadn’t met him yet, but I recognized him from the stellar vids I had seen Prince Ral, rebellious playboy third son of the House of Nightclaw, with a face that had been sculpted by the long-dead gods of beauty.
He leaned over, his hands clasped behind his back. “Hello, little sister.”
I struggled to sit up.
“No, don’t. You need to rest.”
I raised my hand to my head. “I feel as if I’ve been knocked over by a stray starship.”
“I’m told it’s a common feeling for those whose bodies reject the change.”
I frowned, slowly processing his words that didn’t make any sense. My mind felt as if it were struggling to get out of a warm dark cloudy heavily weeded pond, like the one I fell into and nearly drowned in when I was young.
Did someone rescue me? Or had I rescued myself? I couldn’t remember.
“You don’t remember?” he said to the look on my face. There was an odd suspicion in his eyes.
“Remember what?”
“You agreed to be turned.”
“Turned? Into what? A splitting headache?”
The look on his face became grimmer. “Father must have misunderstood.”
And then it hit me, like a heavy book falling off a shelf. “No…” My voice cracked. “I said I was going to think about it.”
My hand flew to my stomach. There was a reason the change was never attempted on pregnant women.
Ral’s gaze missed nothing. A dawning horror spread across his face.
“Did Father know?”
“No.” My voice cracked again. “Please don’t tell him. Don’t tell him. I can’t. I can’t. I won’t let this baby grow up in this den of wolves.”
Ral began pacing.
“Please, please.” Everything rested on him, this half-brother of mine. I didn’t know much about him other than his legendary conquests in the gossip columns.
If my father knew, I would never get to raise my child.
He stopped.
“Life is a circle indeed,” he said to himself. He looked up at me. “I’ll help you, little sister. I’ll help you make the same choice my mother made.”
I shook my head. I didn’t know much about his mother. “What choice did she make?”
“To run from the House of Nightclaw. But first, I’m calling for a healer, and we’ll make sure your baby is healthy.”
Chapter Ten
Sparkling pink, orange and yellow clouds washed over us. Red turned off the radiation filter and the viewscreen went black. Stars streamed around us.
Though I hadn’t the faintest idea how to fly a deep space ship, I sat in the cockpit, in the copilot’s seat next to Red to keep her company. She was worried about the kids. I didn’t blame her. Though the kids were being basically guarded by an army in a fortress that hadn’t been breached in hundreds of years of warfare between the shifters, there was always a chance.
“I’m surprised at how good it feels to be back in the pilot’s seat, again,” she said, trying to hide her distress.
“Rethinking your choices?”
“Maybe.” She rubbed her forehead, keeping one hand loose on the wheel.
An odd pang resounded in my heart. It wasn’t that I was jealous. No, I was happy for her, happy that my friend had found meaning in her life.
And still I had that clawing jealous lump in my chest.
I disgusted myself.
When we had first met the kids I had connected with them. They were terrified of Red, the first non-shifter they had ever met.
But when it came to soothing their animal rages without fear, it was clear that Red was who they ran to in their time of need. Red, and not me.
Another sign that I wasn’t fated to be anyone’s mother.
“Are you?” Red asked, eager to change the subject. Her eyes took on a mischievous glint. “How was the hunt?”
I sighed. “It’s complicated.”
Red laughed. “Welcome to life. The only time things aren’t complicated is when you’re dead.”
And the mention of the dead killed our moment of laughter.
The door slid open behind me.
I didn’t even have to turn and look, but I knew it was him.
We hadn’t talked since we had been rescued. Even though Kanona wasn’t around, her authority clearly was. She had ordered a course set, not for Stargazer sanctuary, but for the Library Main. Kanona wasn’t a seer like Kai, but she had “feelings,” whatever that meant. And her feelings led her to order Red to pilot the Ealen ship to us and take us to Library Main. Her feelings also meant that a Varanesian healer had been ordered to accompany us. I didn’t know what Kanona expected to happen on the way to the Library, but the fact that Kanona sent along one of the most formidable healers in House Stargazer didn’t seem to bode well for our journey.
“Dr. Silver wants to speak with you.”
I took a deep breath. I hadn’t been alone with Kai since we had left Altai. At first, I thought it had been a good thing, but now it felt as if I were putting off the inevitable.
I stood up, headed for the door. Kai had already gone back to the common area.
I followed him to the center of the ship.
The healer, a light-brown woman with blonde hair and blue streaks, sat at a rectangular table to the side of the room. Several screens monitoring our body functions floated.
“You’ve both been exposed to the necromantic virus that activates tissue upon death. Well, usual death.”
“Are we going to turn into zombies when we die?”
“Here’s the strange thing. He,” she said, pointing at Kai, “has the virus. If he receives a death-resulting injury I suspect Kai will become one of them.”
My heart was a lump in my stomach.
Dr. Silver turned to look at me. “But you? Your Ealen nanites are taking care of the infection. I didn’t even see the virus until I just happen to see a nano-cell chomping on the thing as if it were lunch.”
I wasn’t sure I had heard her correctly. “Ealen nanites?”
“The ones in your blood.” Dr. Silver gave me an odd look. “You didn’t know? They are quite unusual.”
“No.”
She gave me a look of disbelief. “From what I can tell, they’ve been there for a while.”
I shook my head. “There’s got to be a mistake. Where would they even come from?”
“Visiting Ealen ruins?” suggested Dr. Silver.
“Wouldn’t Kai have them too?”
Kai leaned back, his arms folded. “The Library.”
“How do you know they’re Ealen?”
“There’s a…look to them,” she said, almost a little too quickly. “Have you ever had any health issues?”
Other than starving to death when I was young? “Not since I joined the Library.”
“Colds? Respiratory illnesses.”
I thought about it and came to a strange realization. “No. Never.” Was this why the birth control failed?
But why would it
fail with Kai, when it had worked before? It all had to be a coincidence.
Kai looked at me with those seer eyes. “Interesting.”
“I can get the Library to scan me when we arrive.”
Kai’s eyebrow went up, as if to say You still trust the Library?
I met his gaze. “There’s going to be a reasonable explanation that will clear things up once we get there.”
“I hope that’s the case.”
Dr. Silver closed down her screens. “I’m exhausted. I’m going to take a nap.”
She swiped at the wall, opening an alcove with a bed. She climbed in and the wall closed in behind her.
Kai and I were now alone for the first time since we had retreated from Altai. He came across the room, sat next to me on the bench, which sank slightly at his weight. He was too gentle, too kind in the manipulative way that politicians learn to be when they want something from you.
“How are you doing, really?”
I wasn't ready to come to it, our long overdue reckoning of what had happened between us. His lies, the child I had lost. I needed to distract him. “I was going to ask the same thing of you.”
Kai was a Tigerlord with the strength to face the most difficult of tasks head on. “I thought you were safe in your father’s house,” he said, beginning that long-awaited conversation. “If I had known, nothing would have stopped me from coming for you.
Maybe because I understood some of it now, or maybe I was just tired of being angry at fate. But I realized that the fury that I had held on to for so long was more of a shield against the hurt. And it was beginning to ebb away. “You were in the middle of a civil war. Your mother had just died and you were named House Lord.”
He clenched his fists. “I would have done something.”
“I didn’t need you in the end.”
“No. You didn’t.” He was quiet for a moment. I leaned against him, still trying to find the words to tell him what he needed to know. But, he was a tiger shifter with senses more perceptive than any human. I should have known it was the stillness before the action.
The question was as sharp as his claws. “Did you have a child?”
I knew that question would come one day. I thought I had prepared myself properly, shielding myself with distance.
I just didn’t think it would be like having your chest torn open, your heart exposed once more.
Taken By The Tigerlord: a sexy tiger shifter paranormal psychic space opera action romance (Space Shifter Chronicles Book 2) Page 8
