by Sadie Carter
Zoey groaned beneath her. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Nassir. But for a slight female you sure do weight a ton.”
Nassir quickly rolled off her, looking around frantically for the shooter. She swallowed heavily as she heard loud footsteps headed towards them. She glanced up, right up and into the livid face of the Emperor of Zerconia.
Uh-oh.
“You know, that voice really sounded like...” Zoey’s voice trailed off and Nassir removed her gaze from the scary Emperor’s face to look at Zoey. The other female had grown even more pale, although she forced a shaky smile onto her face.
“Oh, hello, Dex, fancy seeing you here.”
The Emperor didn’t say anything, he didn’t have to. The red glowing eyes, his firm jaw, and the tight way he held himself said it all. He was completely furious.
He leaned down without a word and picked Zoey up.
“Dex?”
Nassir turned, her eyes widening as she saw that the King of Maalika was standing behind the Emperor. Her heart raced, her stomach bubbling. She needed to get out of here. She couldn’t be seen here. Who knew where Tazan’s men were? Sure, they probably weren’t lurking around here in the Royal Guardsman building, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have spies everywhere. Maybe she was paranoid, but her paranoia had kept her safe so far.
Dex just made a low, growling noise. It was obvious he was beyond speech right now. As soon as he walked off with Zoey, she’d just slink on out of here.
Good plan, Nassir. And then what?
“Perhaps you better bring her back to the palace,” the King said as around him, Royal Guardsmen worked quietly to secure prisoners and tend their injured.
The Emperor grunted and followed the King. Giz bounced after him, chattering away. Suddenly, the Emperor stopped and turned then pointed at her.
Her breath caught in her throat as she became the focus of his angry glare.
Oh Gods. Oh Gods.
Please don’t let him order her death.
Then he crooked his fingers in a ‘come here’ gesture. Nassir swallowed, the breath she’d been holding whooshing out of her in a rush.
He wanted her to come to him?
She managed to get to her feet, and trembling, took one step forward then another. This is what she’d imagined it would feel like to walk to her execution. When she grew closer, he turned away and walked off.
Huh?
Someone suddenly appeared on her right and she started with a squeak of surprise. The Emperor turned with a glare. Stars, Nassir, don’t call his attention to you! The Emperor narrowed his gaze then nodded in satisfaction. Nassir glanced up at the person who’d scared ten years off her life.
And met a gaze so dark it seemed black, although there were glints of purple in there.
The dark one.
“Stars, you move quietly. You scared me.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, all right, I was already scared. You just added to it.”
He shook his head. She sighed. “You think I have no reason to be scared?”
He glanced around the room then back at her as if to say ‘what is there to be scared of?’
She placed her hands on her hips, not caring that her mother was turning over in her grave over the unladylike gesture. Now was not the time to worry about her manners.
“Oh, I don’t know. How about the fact that I was just arrested, then a fight broke out around us while Zoey lay unconscious on the floor? Then while we attempted to reach you, an unsavory character tried to attack us and as we were fighting him off, someone shot at Zoey!” She was aware of her voice rising with each word, but she couldn’t help it.
“Quieten yourself, you sound hysterical.”
She swirled at the arrogant voice, waving her finger in Zillion’s face as he stood on her other side. His hair had fallen from its tie and now spilled around his face. It was actually quite lovely. In fact, he would be a good-looking man, if he wasn’t so horrid.
“You! You be quiet! You have been nothing but rude and awful to Zoey. And if I sound hysterical it is because I am!”
“Enough!”
Nassir jumped, turning back to where the Emperor scowled at the three of them. Zoey was making some gesture at her, slashing her hand across her throat. What did that mean? Was she saying that unless Nassir was quiet she would get her throat slit?
She gasped and took a step back, away from Zillion and towards the dark one.
Funny how she thought of him as the safer one. The dark one was not safe. He was danger wrapped in a delicious bundle.
Delicious bundle? Oh stars, where had that come from?
Nassir, stop. You must be wary of him. Letting her guard down around him would be risky at best. Suicidal at worst.
“They will kill me unless I am quiet?” she asked.
“What? No,” Zoey said, frowning. “Oh right, I can see how that gesture could be confusing.”
“All of you will cease to talk until my fury is more under control.”
Nassir gaped at the Emperor. He was not in full control? That was bad, very bad. Everyone around them seemed to realize that as they gave him a wide berth.
“Boris, bring her with us.”
With that, he turned and strode off, leaving Boris, Zillion, and herself standing there. Zillion gave her a nasty look before following. She barely refrained from making a face back at him. Sometimes, it would be nice to forget that a princess did not pull faces.
Boris gestured with his hand. Right, she was supposed to follow.
She took a step forward and stumbled...over nothing. Boris grabbed hold of her, wrapping his large hand around her upper arm. His touch wasn’t harsh, but she could feel the heat of it searing her skin through her clothing. It went all the way down to the place between her legs. That forbidden place that her mother told her they must never speak of after she’d given her a short lesson on reproduction. After that talk, Nassir had been more confused than ever, so she had sneakily conducted some research on her own. Research that would have earned her a sound spanking had her parents found out.
What she’d discovered had both intrigued and disgusted her. Watching some of the vids she’d found had stirred her insides, had made the folds between her legs grow wet and her nipples tighten.
But that reaction was nothing like how her body stirred as Boris touched her. She gasped, staring up at him in shock. His eyes widened and he clearly looked surprised as he stared down at her. Then he snatched his hand back from her arm, giving her an irritated look and pointing imperiously at the ground. An obvious dictate to watch where she was going.
He escorted her through a passageway and out to a waiting shuttle that displayed the royal crest. She sat in the beautiful shuttle, feeling completely out of place despite who she was, despite the fact that her parents had owned a shuttle even more opulent than this one. She didn’t belong here with these people. And she definitely shouldn’t be sitting on the pale cream seats dressed in filthy rags.
She noticed the disgusted look Zillion sent her and the way he avoided sitting close to her.
Either the dark one had little sense of smell or he was not worried about her stench as he took the seat next to her. Although he was careful not to touch her again.
And wasn’t that a disappointment.
Chapter Five
Boris stood at attention next to the warrior, Zillion, as Dex paced back and forth across the richly appointed room they had been led to in the King of Maalika’s palace.
He looked around the room with a grimace, grateful that the palace on Zerconia was not decorated so elaborately. It would soon become nauseating to live in a place such as this.
While Dex tried to calm his temper, Zillion and Boris stood and waited. Zoey and Nassir had been led away by some attendants soon after they arrived, with Jaxan and Torex accompanying them.
Boris did not like being apart from the females and wished that Dex would begin with his questions so he could return to th
em. He told himself that it was purely concern for Zoey.
But it wasn’t just Zoey who was tugging at him, demanding that he ensure her health and safety. After all, Zoey’s health was mainly Dex’s domain. Much to his aggravation and confusion, he felt a tie to the other female. Nassir. Why, he did not understand. Dressed in filthy rags and obviously well overdue for a bath, she should not appear attractive to him. Her stature was small, her face sunken, her body too skinny. No, she was not his normal type, not that he had felt particularly attracted to any female in these last few years.
Perhaps that was it. She was the first female he had felt any interest in for a long time and he was reading more into it than what was really there. That jolt of sexual arousal he’d felt as he touched her arm had been like nothing he had experienced before. It had sizzled across his skin, warming his blood and hardening his cock to the point of discomfort.
Yes, obviously the problem was that he needed sexual release. As soon as he was certain of Zoey’s safety, he would find a place that catered to sexual needs and relieve himself of this problem. Then Nassir would appear as nothing more than another female.
He had known she would be a problem as soon as he had seen her back on Ulrika. Something about her screamed trouble.
So you didn’t let her go because you felt attracted to her?
No. That had nothing to do with it.
“Explain how my mate ended up in the Royal Guardsmen building, her face swollen, fighting her way through a crowd of angry, brawling males.”
Dex’s voice was low, controlled, although that was not to say that he was not seething with anger.
“She got herself and us arrested,” Zillion stated. “It is her fault we were all there in the first place. Hers and that other female’s.”
Boris turned to the traitorous male and snarled at him. Zillion paled and stepped back. Then to his credit, he pulled himself together and straightened his shoulders, stepping forward once more.
“You blame my mate and Nassir?” Dex asked in a low voice. “They are two females. Delicate, soft, and under your guard.”
He would not call Zoey delicate. Ever. Although with half her face swollen and bruised she did look infinitely fragile.
“The other female attacked a pet of some important male, a friend of the King’s. The Empress decided to get involved and the Royal Guardsmen ended up arresting all of us.”
Boris just glared at the other male. He was not lying exactly, but he was putting his own slant on things.
“Really? And you are saying that you could not prevent this from happening? That you could not diffuse the situation? Perhaps offer compensation to this male for any injury to his pet?”
Zillion shook his head, his eyes wide.
Boris made a disparaging noise in the back of his throat. Foolish male.
Dex swung to him. “You disagree with Zillion’s assessment? You are saying he is wrong?”
“I speak the truth!” Zillion protested.
“Quiet,” Dex snapped at him. “I wish to speak to Boris.”
“But he does not talk.”
Dex just gave him a look. The other male swallowed heavily and stepped back.
“Did Nassir injure this pet?”
Boris shook his head.
“Was Zoey right to interfere?”
He nodded. He would never go against Zoey. Not for anyone. At the time, he had been irritated at her for interfering in a matter that was none of their concern, but now...well, he would not like to think of Nassir being arrested and held by the Royal Guardsmen over something not of her doing.
“And how did Zoey end up with her injury? Was that from this male with the pet?”
He shook his head then glanced around the room, resting his gaze on the royal crest.
Dex raised an eyebrow. “Really? The Royal Guardsmen? I will have to speak to Rohan about this. I know he would not be pleased to hear of one of his guardsmen hitting a female. So how did the fight start? Was that Zoey’s doing as well?” He glared over at Zillion who wisely took another step back. Boris held his superior smile. Zillion should have known that Dex would not take kindly to someone speaking badly of his mate.
Boris shook his head and pointed at himself.
“You?” Dex raised both brows. “That is a surprise. You only erupt in anger when it regards Zoey...oh, she was hit and you retaliated.”
Boris nodded.
“I can guess at what happened next. The other prisoners joined in, the guards were overwhelmed and I’m guessing Zoey and Nassir were trying to make their way to you. Zoey would not leave you behind.”
Boris nodded.
Dex paced back and forth. “It is unacceptable to me that my mate was in such danger.”
“May I speak, Emperor?” Zillion asked.
“No,” Dex snapped. “I think you have said enough. I know you do not care for my mate, Zillion. That has been very clear to me. You do not have to like her. I do not demand that. But, by the stars, you will respect her. You will speak to her as though she were me. I will stand no insult against her; do you understand me?”
Finally, Dex was putting that jerk, as Zoey would say, in his place. It was unfortunate that Zoey was not here to see it. She would have cheered Dex on.
“I am not pleased with you, Zillion. I assigned you to guard Zoey, not only because I know you are an excellent warrior, but because I had hoped you would change in your opinion towards not just my mate, but all of the human females. She came to you with one simple request, to train the females with blasters. Now, while I find it hard to understand their need to learn to protect themselves, my mate has been in enough danger that I am not going to deny their requests or belittle their desire to learn as much as they can. I expect my warriors to help them in this quest, not laugh or belittle them.”
“B-but Emperor, it-it is up to their warriors to protect them!”
Dex narrowed his gaze. “Yes, it is. But what happens when we are not there? What happens if we are separated from them? What happens if they are caught in the middle of a fight like Zoey and Nassir were today? If you had a mate, would you not want her to be able to protect herself or would you wish her to be helpless?” Dex waved his hand at Zillion. “Leave. Go to our accommodations and remain there until we leave.”
After Zillion left, Dex turned to him. “I am not happy about this. She was hit! She could have been seriously hurt!” Dex started pacing. “She manages to find trouble no matter where she is or what she does.”
Boris frowned. This wasn’t Zoey’s fault. She had only been trying to defend Nassir.
“What do you think of Nassir? Do you really think it’s a coincidence that she’s turned up again?”
Boris thought that over. Could this have been setup? Could Nassir want something? It was possible. Although he would have said that she hadn’t been acting, there was something strange about meeting her again. It was a big universe, how did she come to be on the same planet at the same time as them once again?
But then, she did sneak away from them that first time, if she was a spy of some sort she would have stayed.
And she did protect Zoey.
He’d glanced back a few times to check on them while he’d been fighting and seen Nassir crouching over Zoey’s prone body, her face pale and shocked but determined as she studied those around them. And when he’d seen one male kick her, the fury that had rose in him had been nearly uncontrollable.
And he did not want to question why he felt so angry over someone a female he did not know and could not trust and should feel nothing towards but suspicion.
He had been making his way back to them, knowing he had made a mistake in getting so far from them, knowing he would never forgive himself should something happen to either of them.
He now owed Nassir a debt. That thought did not sit well with him. He did not know her. He certainly did not trust her.
And yet there was something about her that called to him.
So he shrugged at Dex
. He did not know what to think of her. He could not trust her. But he could not turn her away, either.
“Yes. I do not know what to make of her either.” Dex sighed. “Despite the fact that Maalika is not a dangerous planet, Zoey managed to place herself at risk. I shall be sending her home tomorrow.”
So he was basically punishing Zoey. Boris gave him an irritated look.
“This is for her safety,” Dex bit out. “I am not trying to hurt Zoey.”
Then he was not doing a very good job. Because Boris knew this would hurt Zoey immensely. And what of Nassir? They could not leave her here.
“My only question is what to with the female. Perhaps Rohan would take care of her.”
Instant denial flashed through him.
She was his to take care of.
No. No, she wasn’t. He could not have a female. He still had a vow to fulfil. Even though his vow had been pushed aside temporarily, did not mean he had forgotten it. A fragile female would only get in his way. A female could easily be taken from him, as his family had been.
No, the female was not for him.
That did not mean he liked the idea of that fire-haired King with his booming voice taking care of Nassir. He knew exactly how men like that took care of attractive females.
Attractive? Did he really just think that? She was not the type of female he ever went for. He liked strong females, big women who he did not have to fear breaking with a firm touch or a hard look.
Not fragile, scared females with too-big, sad eyes that made him want to...to what? Take revenge on everyone who had harmed her, to protect her from further pain and fear.
That was just stupid talk.
He rubbed his head. Now he was starting to sound like Zoey.
“Rohan has invited us all to share a late lunch with him. I need to smooth things over with him. After all, my mate did just cause a large incident that could have ended in disaster.”
Actually, if anyone caused that incident it was him.
Dex waved his hand tiredly. “I know you did your best to protect her, but this is a mess. I am here for Rohan’s help, not to make life difficult for him.”
Why was he here? What help did he need?
