I had spent most of my life honing my skills as a warrior. Quick strikes, stealth attacks, stamina, agility, shield moves. My being named War Chief was no coincidence; I was one of the deadliest warriors on all of Albaterra. But I had never been as quick, as strong, as fast, or as lethal as I was the moment I heard her scream rip through the air.

My body sprang into the air in one great leap, flinging me over the heads of a handful of milling A’li-uud before I crashed back to the ground amongst them. They scattered as best they could, and several fell, but I refused to stop. I barreled through, throwing people to the side with such ferocity they actually knocked over the others around them. I heard banging footsteps behind me that I recognized as Silah’s, but, still, I did not stop. Celine’s head was still bobbing away from me, still struggling against her captor.

“Move!” I barked in A’li-uud. The shout was loud enough to capture the attention of the nearest groups, and they separated enough to give me a narrow pathway through which I could sprint. I was rapidly gaining on Celine and the Pentaban, but, as I caught a snippet of her, I saw he had her arm twisted so severely it was nearly broken, and I picked up speed.

“Lokos!” I heard Silah shout behind me. I was unaware if he wanted me to stop completely or to slow down so he could catch up, but I ignored him either way. I could clearly see Celine’s form now, hunched and stumbling as she was dragged. Fury coursed through me and carried me for the last stretch until I bent at the knees and leaped into the air once more.

My fist came down first, squarely in the center of the Pentaban’s skull. He released Celine immediately and fell to a crouch before rocketing upright again. Celine fell on her side from the sudden lack of support, but I was more concerned with the kidnapper at the moment. I slammed my fist into his head again, this time making contact with his nose. It cracked beneath my knuckles and rolled to the side with a nauseating squelch. He bellowed in pain, swinging at me without seeing.

I felt him hit my right side and my left shoulder simultaneously, but I was too drunk with adrenaline for it to ache. For a third time, I crashed my knuckles into his face, sending his jaw to the side and throwing him to the ground with force.

“I will kill you!” he roared, writhing to his hands and knees.

His voice was almost silent over the roaring in my ears, and I delivered a powerful kick to the space between his eyes. His head snapped back, and, for the smallest fraction of a second, our gazes met. He was dazed and uncomprehending. Then, almost gracefully, he tilted back and fell.

Everyone around us was screaming, either yelling for help or calling for loved ones. Silah had finally drawn up to me, but he was standing back with Celine, who he had helped to her feet. I walked calmly to the teal-faced man’s side, barely able to make out his features through the gush of blood covering his face, and planted the sole of my boot on his throat. He made a strangled gurgling sound.

“Do not. Touch her. Again,” I hissed. Though the crowd was deafening, my words sliced through with ease. I bent lower until our faces were only an arm’s length apart. “She. Belongs. To me.”

Then, I turned around, curled my arms around Celine’s waist, and lifted her over my shoulder. This time, she curled against my body like I was her lifeline, and I heard not a hint of complaint.

I carried her through the throng easily as bodies scattered to make room for us. Rather than taking her to the boardwalk or somewhere less crowded, I beelined for the palace. I could see a few Elders gathered at the top of the elegant staircase, Sevani and Dane amongst them. All of their faces were turned in my direction.

As I ascended the staircase, the ear-splitting buzz throughout the city square slowly dulled to a low hum. I could feel thousands of eyes on my back, but I kept my pace steady so as not to jar Celine. When I reached the top and drew level with the Elders, I swiveled my gaze to Sevani.

“You can either lock the barbarian up,” I said coldly, “or I will finish him.”

Dane was looking at me with an unreadable expression. Sevani glanced at the only unoccupied area within the mob, which was where the Pentaban’s body lay. “I will inform Khrel,” he replied.

Without another word, I swept inside the palace and disappeared into silence.

* * *

Celine flexed her arm, bending it to her chest and straightening it to the side. “I think I’m okay,” she said, studying her muscles and tendons as she moved.

“What happened?” I asked in a low voice. She looked up at me, and I stared back at her with hard eyes.

“I don’t really know why he came over to us—I guess Donna was flirting with him from a distance or something—but he was being really creepy. And then I noticed the Elders at the top of the stairs and pointed at them, and he grabbed my arm and said pointing was rude. But he wouldn’t let go. Then, the next thing I knew, he was pulling me somewhere because he was going to teach me the deep, dark details of A’li-uud life,” she explained.

Hot, boiling rage bubbled in my throat as she recounted her tale. I was so angry, I could have breathed fire. “Animal,” I spat in disgust.

She shifted on the cushion, which was part of a very long and very soft sage green couch. Her eyes kept darting between me and the floor, and she was twisting her fingers in her lap. “He, um…” She shifted again, uncomfortably. “He said my mouth should be put to use.”

If I had thought I felt rage before, it was nothing to what torpedoed through me now. Every nerve within my body was searing. My fingers felt a powerful need to curl around the sick kidnapper’s throat. I wanted to hit something, to feel pain so that it would ease the wicked emotions stabbing at my insides.

“He will die,” I growled.

Celine eyed me with trepidation, but I saw a glimmer of her feisty self beneath the surface. “I don’t want you to do that.”

“Perhaps you do not understand what he intended to do to you,” I said sharply.

“Yes, I do. But you told me murder is the worst crime an A’li-uud can commit.”

I paused. Something in the way she said it triggered a new emotion, a deeper emotion. It was stronger than flattery but more intimate than gratitude, yet I could not identify it.

“I was not certain you even paid attention to those lectures,” I murmured.

She grinned. “Only some parts.”

Her voluptuous figure pressed against the couch’s backrest, and I remembered the sight of her bare breast only inches below my mouth in her bedroom. Thick, hot desire filled my groin, and I slid nearer to her, carefully cupping the back of her head in my hand.

“Perhaps that is why you have yet to learn patience,” I hummed, bringing my lips so near to hers they brushed. “Because you listen only to some parts.”

“Maybe you’re just not a very good teacher,” she whispered back. Playfulness glinted in her eyes.

I growled and closed the gap between us. My tongue dipped between her teeth, flicking her palate teasingly, as my mouth breathed in her sweet, addictive flavor. She whimpered with want and wrapped her arms around my neck. I felt her breasts press against my chest, and the stiffness in my crotch became shatterproof.

There was a low roar from outside the palace walls. I recognized it as the mass of people shouting the A’li-uud greeting and realized the speech was beginning. Reluctantly, I pulled my lips back from hers and stood.

“I must go,” I said. “I am to be present.”

“For the speech?”

“Yes.”

She glanced at the door behind her. “Shouldn’t I be there too?”

“No. You are to rest,” I said sternly.

An adorable pout blossomed on her lips, and she asked, “Well, can you tell me what it’s about, at least?”

I hesitated. I did not want to upset her after her ordeal, but she was looking at me expectantly, and she would have found out anyway had the animal of an A’li-uud not tried to take off with her. Besides, it was likely Donna would tell her if I did not.

“Everyone is going to be locked down,” I told her. “Underground.”