by ML Guida
Within an hour, they walked back to the hangar to board the Excalibur.
Hera gasped, clasping the spell book tight in front of her like a shield. “Great balls of fire, where are the scorch and scratch marks?”
Taog looked at the Excalibur, as if it was the first time. “Our engineers take pride in their work.”
“It would take weeks for anything that badly damaged to be repaired on Earth,” she said.
Damon frowned. “Don’t men take pride in their work?”
She scanned the Excalibur. “They do, but I reckon your technology is far superior to ours.”
“Obviously,” Taog said, as he entered the shuttle.
She glowered at his back but didn’t argue.
“Don’t let him bother you.” Damon leaned close. “He’s just a proud father when it comes to his ship.”
“He doesn’t have to be so arrogant. We’re proud of our ships, too.”
He grinned. “I’m sure you are.”
She followed Anonghos and Taog onto the ship. Damon clasped her arm and maneuvered her to sit in a chair next to him while Anonghos and Taog took the helm.
She stared straight ahead, and Damon could sense her fear. She was putting on a brave front, but she was terrified. Hell, he was no better. He was about to tangle with the king–the master of all dragons. Who knew if their snowball’s chance in space would work?
He clasped Hera’s shaking hand and squeezed it, trying to offer her reassurance. He wished he could tell her that everything would turn out fine, but the truth was none of them might come out of there alive.
Once on board, two doctors carried Cosima on a stretcher, then helped her into a chair, then quickly restrained her. Taog wasn’t taking any chances that she’d waken and try to take control of Excalibur or try and kill him.
Tryker sat next to the queen. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Captain. You’re taking a big chance on all of our lives.”
Taog pushed a button to open the Orion’s doors. “You have a better suggestion, Doctor?”
“You know I don’t,” he snapped.
“Then I suggest you tend to your patient.”
Tryker grumbled underneath his breath, but he didn’t argue with Taog. Their choices were one, and the odds were against him. He checked Cosmia’s vital signs, and judging from his crunched eyebrows, Cosima was fading. Her face was so pale and twisted that he knew the devil inside her was tormenting her mercilessly, even though she was unconscious. The damn creatures were going to kill her unless she killed Taog and took over the Orion.
She moaned and groaned.
Taog glanced over his shoulder. “Give her another sedative, Doctor.”
“Taog, it could kill her.”
“That’s an order, Doctor. We can’t have her warning Greum. If they start working together, none of us will get off Zalara alive.”
“Damn fool idea,” Tryker grumbled, but he gave Cosima another sedative.
She moaned, then slumped over her chair.
He took her pulse. “She’s alive, but barely. This plan better work, or we’re going to lose our queen.”
“Blazes,” Damon mumbled.
Hera wiggled her hand out from underneath his, then gripped the book with both her hands.
Her hair fell across her face, and he suspected she was crying. He put his hand on her arm, and she jerked away from him.
He frowned, not understanding why he was suddenly in the gur house. He kept his hands to himself and leaned closer. “Are you nervous?”
She didn’t answer right away, but whispered, “I’m more nervous than a turkey at Thanksgiving.”
“What’s Thanksgiving?”
“Never mind,” she murmured. She opened the book and flicked through the pages, ignoring him.
He sighed, trying to figure out how he’d turned on the brittle cold switch. She’d been so loving and warm in his quarters. Now she wouldn’t give him the time of day. It was another secret he needed to unravel.
He looked between Hera and Cosima. They were both beautiful, but so different. He’d been in love with Cosima as long as he could remember and had been bitter over the Fates choosing Greum for her mate instead of him. He’d taken the position as her personal royal guard so he could be next to her. It tore his heart out whenever she looked at Greum with loving eyes or kissed him.
Happiness and love were for other people. He’d always thought it wasn’t in the stars for him until Hera. She was always making him second guess, and he found he liked the pursuit. She would definitely keep him on his toes, and things would never be dull with her. He still didn’t know what he felt for her, because it wasn’t the same way he felt about Cosima. With Hera, it was more intense, more physical, more passionate.
He froze. Had he fallen in love with her? He’d never felt these same powerful life-and-death feelings about the queen. One thing for damn sure, he didn’t care if Taog promised Hera she could return to Earth. He was never going to let her go. She belonged to him.
Taog and Anonghos landed Excalibur at the docking pad again. Once more, it was eerily quiet. Greum wasn’t anywhere to be seen, but that meant nothing. He could be watching from the shadows.
The captain whirled around in his chair. “Do you have the light spell ready?”
“I do.”
“Do you need any ingredients?” Taog asked.
She nodded. “Only one.”
Damon pushed the Excalibur’s simulat. “Tell me, and I’ll program the Excalibur’s computers.”
“I need your blood,” she said. “Mixed with mine.”
“That’s dark,” Anonghos said.
“The spell requires a blood ritual. With sex, there is an exchange of body fluids that you’ve all so readily reminded me. This is no different.” She smiled mischievously. “You’re not afraid, are you, Damon?”
“No, just surprised.” He pushed the simulator’s buttons. The door opened, revealing a dagger. “Will this do?”
“Yes,” she said. “Can I see it?”
He gave it to her. His eyes widened, and he gasped when she slashed her palm. An ugly cut oozed with blood, trickling down her arm. “Now, your turn.”
He took the dagger that looked like it was magically flying around in the air, then cut his palm the same as hers.
“Take my hand,” she said.
He did as she asked. When their hands clasped, a flash of power zapped through his body, temporarily paralyzing his heart, his lungs, and shaking him violently. He bit his tongue, and blood squirted into his mouth.
“What’s happening!” Tryker cried. “Hera’s going into convulsions.”
“Don’t stop us.” she chattered through her teeth.
Then, as abruptly as it started, the streak ended. Hera was sweating as badly as he was.
“The spell’s ready. All I have to do is cast it.”
Taog looked at her suspiciously. “Are you sure this is going to work?”
“It’s the best we’ve got, Captain,” she said. “And as you’ve mentioned repeatedly, do you have any better ideas?”
“No.” He looked at each of them grimly. “Be prepared for anything. Some of us might not survive or maybe all of us will. No heroes on this. We do our job and get the hell out of here. Understood?”
They all muttered in agreement. Adrenaline pumped through Damon. Dragon adrenaline. Kilowatt adrenaline. His fierce protectiveness emerged, ready to defend what was his. He cracked his neck and stayed close to Hera. No matter what happened, he’d die protecting his mate.
Even if it meant killing his king.
15
Hera forced her trembling legs to move. She followed Taog out of the Excalibur onto a foreign planet. She inhaled, and the air was a little thinner, as if she’d just got done climbing one of Colorado’s mountain peaks. The sky was as blue as Earth’s, but instead of one sun, there were two. The sunlight was twice as hot as Earth’s, and the temperature hotter. She immediately broke out in a sweat and didn’t know i
f it was due to the heat or fear swimming through her veins.
In front of her was a three-story white building with large glass windows. It was at least the size of a football field and looked like any airport back home except instead of hangers with airplanes it had different size spaceships. God, it was as if she’d landed on one of Star Trek’s busy space ports.
But this one was different.
No one was here.
No one peered down from the windows.
No one was working on the spaceships.
They were alone.
A sharp hiss broke the silence. She jumped six inches, her heart even higher. She hurriedly looked around, but nothing moved. The back of her hair tingled, and she knew without a certainty of doubt that they weren’t alone. They were being watched, plotted against, their demise certain.
She glanced at Taog. If he had heard it, he hadn’t responded.
She wanted to hold Damon’s hand again, but if he touched her, whoever was watching them might suspect something was wrong. She had to be content with his warm breath on the back of her neck. Her knees quaked. With each step, her confidence lessened and her feet sank deeper and deeper into doubt. What if she was leading these brave men to their deaths?
Tryker and Anonghos carried out the queen, who was unconscious. Another hiss grew louder, and Taog trembled. The queen groaned as if she was trying to wake.
“I’m right here,” Damon whispered in her ear. “I swear I won’t let anything happen to you. Trust me.”
His voice gave Hera a little more courage, but she was out of her league.
Her stomach tied into a tangled mess of Christmas lights. Looking at the men around her, they seemed so composed, but these men were warriors–dragon shifters–and used to battle. She needed to follow their lead instead of cowering in their shadows.
Hera’s hand tingled where she’d clasped Damon’s earlier on the Excalibur. She chanted the words of the spell over and over in her mind, hoping it would work. Power fluttered in her chest, but it was small, shy, and scared.
She sucked in her breath, then her mind went blank. Out of the murkiness of a tall building, angry red eyes stared at them. A large black talon emerged from the darkness, followed by the largest dragon she’d ever seen. It was bigger and longer than a Mack truck.
Her heart pounded shit, shit, shit.
“Great balls of fire,” she muttered under her breath. Her chest completely closed up, refusing to let the tiniest bit of air inside. Dizziness spun around her.
Taog’s fears were a million times justified. This creature could smite them with the flick of its tail. The sound of crunching and crackling next to her meant Damon was transforming into a dragon. He was fierce and terrifying, but he was a third smaller than Greum. He was no match for this thing.
“Don’t panic,” Anonghos said as he came up next to her. “Concentrate on your spell.”
Hera sucked in a bucket of air. She braced her shoulders, trying to remain calm in spite of Godzilla threatening to rip her to pieces. She had to do this. All of their lives depended on her staying focused.
She drew on her energy, refusing to give up, saying the words louder in her head. The power grew bigger, bolder, braver.
Cosima groaned again.
Smoke puffed out of Greum’s nostrils, and he pulled back his upper lip, snarling.
Taog transformed into a dragon and growled. He was a yellow and green dragon, and slightly bigger than Damon. He moved toward a large landing pad and roared, fire spewing from his mouth. Hera hurried after him, but Anonghos snagged her arm.
“You can’t follow the captain, remember?”
Shit, he was the decoy and so was the queen.
The queen groaned, turning her head back and forth, her blond hair falling across her face like a veil.
Tryker knelt next to her. “The sedative is wearing off.”
The sound of flapping made Hera freeze. Something was fluttering behind Greum. Hera thought it was a black fog or a cloud. Crap, it was the damn gooey brown things with the extremely long stingers flying faster than witches shooting passed a full moon.
She edged backward, not wanting to feel one piercing her skin. She glanced back at the Orion and almost ran inside, but remembered what Greum had done to it earlier. She was just as safe out here as she was inside. At least here she was with the crew of the Orion.
But she wasn’t helpless, either.
Rather than the queen, Greum headed toward Taog, hissing and snarling. Taog released a blaze of fire–flames engulfing around Greum–but he stepped out of the red wall as if it were a shadow. His scales were scorched, but the blaze hadn’t failed to stop his momentum.
Hera didn’t know if the fire had hurt him because he was such a powerful dragon, or if those things were driving him mad, forcing him to move forward.
Just as he was ready to charge Taog, he screeched, turning his head and gnashing his powerful jaws. Blood ran down his blackened side magically. Damon must have attacked him.
But Greum wasn’t done yet. He swung his powerful tail, and something smashed onto the pavement, groaning. Great horny toads, he could kill Damon. She couldn’t bear to lose him or see him battered and burned again.
Greum turned toward the sound and released a ball of fire. The heat of the flame immediately drenched Hera in sweat.
“Damon!” she screamed, hating herself for allowing the terror to grip hold of her.
But then suddenly, Greum flew into the air and landed on his back, his legs flopping around.
“Do it now, Hera, while he’s down.”
Just as Damon said this, more saucer-like creatures sprang out of the darkness with their stingers pointed right at them.
Her knees knocked together, matching the terror in her beating heart. Trying to ignore her fear, she chanted the spell.
“White as snow, pure as light, red as blood, ties of mates, bring forth the burning star.”
Her voice shook uncontrollably. Nothing happened.
The creatures moved toward them. Both Tryker and Anonghos fired their eruptors. Some fell, but not enough.
“Hera, do something!” Tryker yelled. “Or we’re all dead!”
She wouldn’t let any of them die, especially Damon. He’d sacrificed so much for his people, for her–now it was her turn. This time, she stuck out her palm toward Greum and the flying saucers, and in a loud, clear, voice, she said, “White as snow, pure as light, red as blood, ties of mates, bring forth the burning star.”
Power burst through her like a brilliant, burning sun. Her sweltering body went into savage convulsions. Her teeth chattered, biting and tearing into her tongue. Blood squirted down her throat and dripped down her lips. Yellow, red, and orange rays blurred her vision. Her hand sizzled where she had touched Damon. She swore her body had ruptured into flames.
“Close your eyes!” Tryker warned.
She didn’t know if he was yelling at her or them, but she did as he said.
A loud screech hurt her ears. The flapping sound ceased.
“The creatures!” Anonghos yelled. “They’re dying or retreating.”
The power drained suddenly, and she collapsed onto her hands and knees. Wetness trickled out of her nose and ears, and she spit blood onto the ground. The world spun around her, and all she could do was breathe. Her body was spent, and she couldn’t move even if she wanted to.
Strong arms were around her, cradling her to a steely chest. Someone stroked her hair and kissed her forehead.
“Hera, Hera, blazes, are you alive?”
Damon’s concerned voice pierced her foggy brain.
“I don’t know. What…what happened?”
“You did it.”
His voice choked.
“Damon, we need to get her to sickbay–now.”
Tryker’s urgent voice sent prickles of fear running down her spine.
She opened her eyes, but all she saw was darkness. “Damon…I can’t see.”
Something wet ca
ressed her flesh.
“You’ll be okay,” Damon said. “I swear.” He lifted her into his arms and carried her.
She closed her eyes, struggling to rein in the racing agony, but her efforts died like a smashed engine slowly leaking oil. Finally the bright light burning inside her went out, and she remembered no more.
Damon walked back and forth outside of sickbay. His little witch had saved all of them, but her spell may have forfeited her life. She’d been in there for over two hours, and Tryker hadn’t come out to tell him what happened. He wanted to strangle him for keeping him in the dark.
“She’ll survive, Damon.”
Cosima sat in a wheelchair. Her faith had done nothing to elevate his fears. The creature inside her had withered and died. She was back to her beautiful and graceful self, which used to inflame him with lust. Now, when he looked at her, she was striking and his queen, but she wasn’t the object of his desire. That particular woman lay fighting for her life in sickbay.
“Come and sit with me, Damon,” she said. “Pacing back and forth is not going to make Tryker work any faster.”
“Your mate is fine, Cosima. Mine–” He couldn’t utter the words and crossed his arm over his waist while he shielded his eyes, not wanting her to see the tears scaling down his cheeks.
He should have told Hera he loved her. But he hadn’t even realized it until he saw her dying. What a fool he’d been.
Someone gripped his shoulder gently.
“Any word yet?” Anonghos asked anxiously.
Damon couldn’t answer him, and his body was tense with grief. Grief for lost words. Grief for not being a hero. His wrenching gut and breaking heart battled for which hurt the most. Every muscle twisted and turned into frayed knots. He’d never experienced anything like this.
But then he’d never experienced such an intense feeling before.
“No,” Cosima answered for him. “Tryker only came out to inform me that Greum was unconscious, but he would survive, thank the Fates! That was a couple of hours ago. We’ve heard nothing about Damon’s mate.”
Damon gritted his teeth as another wave of jealousy gripped him. He broke away from Anonghos and slumped down in a chair, away from either one of them. He rested his head in his hands, trying not to lash out.
