The Dark Prince's Prize (Curizan Warrior Book 2)

by S. E. Smith

  “Yes, I am. I have the best chance of finding them… and stopping them,” he explained.

  She looked up at him. “You didn’t say how long you’d be gone,” she pointed out.

  He shook his head with regret. “That’s because I don’t know. The longer it takes me to leave, the colder their trail will be.”

  “I can go with you. Now… now that I know what I’m up against, I’m less likely to have a meltdown,” she replied, thinking out loud.

  “No, my little warrior. This is a journey I must take alone,” he said.

  “You can’t take all of them on by yourself! Surely, you’ve got an army. I mean, you have a warship. There’s Ha’ven and Arrow and Crom and… and… Quill,” she argued.

  He cupped her face between his palms and kissed her. She parted her lips under the pressure and returned his kiss, sliding her arms around his waist and holding him tight. She wanted to protest when he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.

  Instead, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply. In the few unguarded moments before their kiss, she had seen his anguish—and his unwavering resolve—at doing what needed to be done to protect not only his people but her. As much as he tried to shield his emotions, she could sense his despair at his decision. She didn’t want to add to it.

  I’ll wait for you, she silently promised.

  “You are an incredible woman and I am one unbelievably lucky man,” he said.

  She opened her eyes and gave him a slightly crooked smile. “You bet your ass you are,” she teased before she wrapped her arms around his neck and captured his lips again.

  Three days later, Samara decided she wasn’t as brave as she thought. She had spent the last couple of days working with Arrow. From early morning until well into the evening they had worked on perfecting the new defense system in his makeshift lab. By the time they finished each day, she was in awe of Arrow’s analytical mind and trembling with fatigue from their trials.

  “Hi Samara, how are you feeling?” Arrow asked.

  She smiled and shrugged. “Like I’ve been run over by a very large semi which then backed up on me a few times,” she joked.

  He gave her a sympathetic look. “You have expended a lot of energy these last few days. That isn’t easy if you aren’t used to it,” he said.

  She chuckled and shook her head. “Until a few months ago, your definition of energy and mine would have been vastly different. I still don’t understand how all this aura-mojo-energy-transference stuff works. We would call it magic back home,” she ruefully replied as she descended the last few steps.

  He laughed. “I guess I can understand that. I really wish you were staying longer. I’d love to figure out how Adalard unlocked your abilities,” he said with an exaggerated sigh.

  She threaded her arm through his and squeezed it in sympathy. “Hopefully I won’t be gone long. Besides, you still have Emma. Maybe she will help you.”

  Arrow’s face twisted with an expression of disgust. “Are you kidding? Between Ha’ven and Crom, I’ll be lucky if I can get within shouting distance of her—especially now that she is with child. You’d think from the way they act I’m about to abscond with Emma to my evil laboratory,” he muttered.

  “Well, isn’t that exactly what you want to do?” she teased.

  He grinned. “Yes, but my lab isn’t evil, though,” he defended.

  “I think Ha’ven is more concerned with you trying to sweet-talk Emma away,” Adalard dryly commented, appearing behind them.

  “Holy crap! You scare me when you sneak up like that,” Samara grumbled.

  Arrow chuckled, wrapped his arm around her waist, and swung her around to face Adalard. “Fear not, my beautiful lady, I shall protect you,” he teased.

  “You’re about to remember why I’m the one who goes out on missions. Let her go, brother,” Adalard growled.

  “You may be the twin with the savage brawn, but never forget I’m the one with the superior brains—and the better looks. I could defeat you in a fight without even breaking a sweat,” Arrow retorted.

  “If we didn’t need your ‘superior brains’, I’d be happy to remind you of the last time we met in the training room,” Adalard dryly responded.

  “Ah, yes. If I remember correctly that was after I’d spent the night with three very beautiful— I was tired,” Arrow awkwardly finished.

  It didn’t take much of an imagination to understand why Arrow had been tired. It would appear the two brothers enjoyed many of the same adventures. Samara rolled her eyes as she pulled away from Arrow and stepped over to Adalard. They both ignored Arrow’s playful groan of disgust.

  She glanced back and forth between the two. As far as she was concerned, they were evenly matched in brawn, brains, and good looks. The only difference she could see was they were like day and night in personality traits. Where Arrow was cheerful, teasing, and brash, Adalard was reserved, quiet, and observant.

  “Have you made any headway with a device to repel the creature?” Adalard asked.

  Arrow’s playful expression changed to a serious one, and he nodded. “Yes, thanks to Samara and Salvin.”

  “We discovered that I was using a certain energy band that not only repels, but can penetrate the creature,” she said with a triumphant smile.

  Arrow nodded. “Salvin was the one who suggested it. He found information in the archives that talked about the power behind certain energy bands. Between what he found, what Samara explained happened when she faced the creature, and the information I recovered from Hamade’s lab, I managed to identify the effective energy band. It is incredible! It is actually a combination of fifty different wavelengths woven into one,” he enthusiastically shared.

  Adalard waved his hand. “Can you replicate what she does?” he growled.

  “Yes, but only by using an Energy infuser. I’ve created a prototype, but I don’t know if it works yet. It isn’t like I’ve had time to work out the issues. You only gave me a few days. I planned on testing the device this morning,” Arrow replied.

  “Let’s test it then. The longer it takes for you to finish, the farther away Hamade has a chance to hide,” Adalard said.

  Samara bowed her head and breathed. They had talked about the best possible plans, and she hated them all. With each one, he would go after some sociopath and the man’s cult followers, and she would either stay here or return to Earth. There was no timeline, no assurances, nothing but the understanding that if he didn’t stop the man, his people and the galaxy would be in grave danger.

  I am very good at what I do, he silently reminded her.

  She looked up and gave him a slight smile. “Let’s go see if Arrow’s latest invention works,” she said with a wink at Arrow.

  Adalard looked back and forth between the two of them. Samara fought to hide her grin at Arrow’s pained expression and Adalard’s suspicious one. She stepped away from Adalard, gripped his hand and pulled him behind her.

  “This isn’t the first prototype you’ve made, is it?” Adalard warily guessed.

  Arrow chuckled and slapped Adalard on the shoulder. “No,” he replied with a wry grin.

  Adalard gazed down at Samara. “What happened to the last one?” he asked.

  She pulled her hand free and lifted both of them in the air, simulating an explosion. Adalard groaned and shot a pained expression over his shoulder at Arrow.

  “Hey, don’t blame me if things don’t work perfectly! You were the one who wanted a miracle in less than a week,” Arrow defended with a shrug.

  Chapter Thirty

  Adalard eased the tension in his shoulders and nodded. He was ready. He would send his energy through the devices attached to his wrists, which would convert the energy to the precise levels he needed to protect himself against the creature. He studied the mass attacking the glass.

  “We only allow a small amount of the mass to be released in the experiments. The creature from your shuttle was created using organic material and there is som
ething in Samara’s energy composition that reverts the creature back to its natural state. I haven’t figured out what it is yet, but I will. The issue we may have is that the entities found at the lab were all replicated. Their composition is only slightly different, so the energy blast from the devices should—in theory—cause them to disintegrate as well. Without an actual lab specimen, we won’t know for sure. What we do know is that Samara’s energy worked on both of them,” Arrow explained.

  “Thanks for the warning,” he dryly replied.

  Samara stood behind the glass partition, ready to enter if the device failed. Adalard rolled his shoulders, lifted his hands, and nodded. The lights changed on the panel, turning from red to green. Arrow opened a narrow slit in the cylinder.

  The entire entity exploded outward in a long thin stream like an arrow heading for the center of a target. A vision overcame Adalard’s senses, and he shoved the distraction aside. A split second before the tip of the mass reached him, Adalard sent his energy through the device on each wrist.

  A glowing shield formed in front of him. The entity shrieked when it collided with the shield. Small explosions lit the energy field at contact and the dark mass dissolved and fell to the floor of the lab, revealing golden flakes within. The gold glimmered for a moment before dissolving too. Adalard kept the shield active until the last wisp of the mass was gone.

  “Adalard, are you alright?” Arrow asked with concern.

  He nodded as he allowed his energy to fade and lowered his arms to his side. Silence filled the enclosure. He traced the spot where the last vestige of the entity had disappeared.

  What is it? Samara asked.

  I… sensed something, he replied.

  A frown furrowed his brow as he tried to recapture the fragile connection between himself and the entity for that split second. Closing his eyes, he focused on the vision. It was an implanted idea that bloomed in his mind the longer he focused on it. It contained far more than the brief onslaught of that first impression; it was a knowledge sent in its entirety.

  Take my blood. It contains the power you need to defeat the creatures created by the others. Only when they are defeated will I be free.

  Shaken and confused, he somehow came to understand that a shadowy figure had handed a vial of golden liquid to someone. Adalard focused on the scene that was unfolding in his mind, categorizing each movement. The shadowy figure reached out with the vial—

  A hand made of gold, he noted.

  The cloaked figure reached for it. The person’s features were covered from head to toe: gloves, slender wrists, long fingers, small feet, graceful—

  A woman, he suspected.

  They were in a dark cave, someplace he had seen before. He focused on identifying the exact location, but a hand on his shoulder interrupted him.

  “Adalard, what is it?” Arrow asked.

  He stood and looked at his twin. “I need to speak to Morian Reykill,” he said.

  “Morian? Why? What happened?” Arrow demanded.

  He turned his troubled gaze to his brother before looking back at Samara. “This is larger than just Hamade Dos,” he finally replied.

  Ceran-Pax Orbit

  Ion Command Room: Curizan Scout Ship

  Adalard held Samara tightly against his body. He stared through the window down at the planet. Lights from the larger cities could be seen twinkling like scattered fires. He had moved up her departure to Earth. He wanted her far from this galaxy before he began his mission. They had attacked his family once. If they knew about Samara, he had no doubt that they would focus on her.

  Ha’ven had the same concern for Emma. They would stay at the Valdier palace, surrounded by the Dragon Lords and their human mates. At first, Adalard had considered sending Samara there, but they had both agreed that returning to Earth would be the best for her in the long run.

  Emotion threatened to overwhelm him. He’d never dreamed that saying goodbye to someone could feel as though his heart was being ripped out. He tightened his hold on her, never wanting to let her go.

  “It isn’t goodbye,” she murmured as she clung to him.

  “If there was another way,” he said.

  She kissed his neck. The briefest touch of warmth seared his flesh, and he bowed his head. Closing his eyes, he breathed deeply. She caressed his back with a loving, tender touch.

  “We talked about this. It is the only way you can focus on what you need to do without worrying about me. It will also give me time to get closure back home. I want to find Wilson… and I’d like to make sure that Brit and Gary will be alright. I—Bear also deserves to know… that I’m alright,” she added in an uneven voice.

  He straightened and cupped her cheeks between his palms. “It shouldn’t be more than a few months,” he promised.

  “I’ll wait for you, no matter how long it takes,” she vowed.

  “I love you, Samara,” he said.

  She covered his hand with hers. “I know you do,” she murmured.

  “Adalard, we are ready for departure,” Bahadur said from the doorway.

  “Please… be safe. Kick their asses, but first and foremost, come back to me,” she pleaded, clutching his hands tightly.

  “I will. I promise,” he replied.

  Their lips met in a passionate kiss filled with love and longing before he stepped back. Energy swirled around her in the beautiful, vivid colors that he remembered from the first time he saw her. Memories flooded his mind of that day. Her wary smile, the soft curve of her lips, the sound of her laughter, the first time they made love—

  “Keep her safe, Bahadur,” he ordered, turning and exiting the room before he changed his mind.

  Samara watched Adalard disappear through the doorway. She rubbed her chest, just over her heart. A sense of surrealism filled her, and she knew it was a form of shock. She looked at the man standing a few feet from her.

  “Unless you want to see what ugly-crying looks like on a woman, I think it would be best if I had a few minutes alone,” she warned in a voice thick with emotion.

  An expression that almost resembled panic flashed across the man’s face before he bowed his head. “I’ll leave you to—” He waved his hand in a circular motion. “If you need anything you can ask any of the crew members,” he said before exiting the room.

  Samara took a long, shaky breath and looked out the window. She stepped closer, watching as a shuttle returned to the planet. Beneath her feet, she could feel the powerful engines engage as the warship pulled away from Ceran-Pax.

  She gripped the windowsill and leaned forward as deep, anguished-filled sobs shook her body. Tears streamed down her face, snot dripped from her nose, and she was sobbing so hard that she could barely breathe.

  Several minutes later, she reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out the washcloth that she had taken from their living quarters on the planet. She’d suspected she would need it, and she had been right. Breathing heavily, she turned and slid down along the wall until she was sitting on the floor. She pulled her knees up and leaned her head back as she gulped in deep breaths of chilled air.

  She looked at the door when it opened again. Bahadur had returned with a tray. He glanced around the room before he narrowed in on where she was sitting. A wry, watery smile curved her lips when he raised an eyebrow. She could imagine how she must look with her hair messy, her eyes, nose, and cheeks red from crying, and sitting like a discarded sack of potatoes on the floor.

  “I thought some strong tea would be of assistance,” he said, holding up the tray.

  “Looks like you have experience with this,” she commented, waving a finger in a circle at her face.

  He gave her a mysterious smile and placed the tray on the table. “Would you like to sit in a chair or stay where you are?” he asked.

  She leaned her head back against the wall, wiped her running nose again, and looked at the tray. She lowered her hand and patted the floor. He smiled and nodded.

  “The floor it is,” he
said.

  He poured two cups of tea and brought them over. She accepted the one he held out and watched as he gracefully lowered himself to the floor beside her. She grunted her appreciation as she took a sip of the hot, soothing beverage.

  “I’m impressed. Hot tea and being able to sit down without spilling it,” she murmured.

  He chuckled. “You were right. I’ve had a little experience. I have two sisters—one older and one younger. They trained me well,” he said.

  She laughed weakly. “You had to learn in order to survive?” she countered.

  He sipped his tea. “That as well,” he replied with a slight grin. He relaxed against the wall and rested one arm on a bent knee while holding his cup. “If it is Adalard that you are concerned about, you needn’t be. There are few in the galaxy who could defeat him, and I assure you, none that can hide from him for long.”

  “What if—what if the person isn’t—isn’t like what he’s chased before?” she asked.

  “You can trust me when I say whoever is behind the entity and the attack on the Royal family will wish they had never crossed the path of Adalard Ha’darra,” he replied with a confident smile.

  She lifted her tea cup and tapped it against his. “I hope you are right,” she said before drinking the rest of her tea. She wiped a hand across her mouth and frowned at the cup when she felt a slight buzz. “What kind of tea is this?” she asked, looking at him.

  He chuckled. “The kind with a little Tiliqua liquor mixed in it,” he replied.

  Gardens of the Royal Palace:

  Valdier

  “Adalard, what a wonderful surprise. I heard that Ha’ven and Emma had come for a visit, but didn’t realize that you were joining them,” Morian greeted in a pleasant tone.

  Her golden symbiot watched Adalard intensely. The massive beast was in the form of a Werecat. A thick golden mane flowed down around the beast’s head. Rippling lines creased its prominent brow. Twin fangs, half the length of Adalard’s arm, glistened in the sunlight. Its paws were the size of a serving plate with long, sharp claws just peeking out between the golden fur coating its toes. It yawned, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.