Chapter 5

~ Hel ~

“You will answer my question, young queen.” Armon’s growly voice reminded Hel why she thought he was a Maruvian dog when they first met three weeks ago.

Laughing, Penny tossed Armon one of the last of her oranges. “Nope, I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do. I’m a queen and you’re a drone. You aren’t supposed to be telling me what to do.”

Making a chirping noise that sounded like frustration, the creature spoke again. “I wish to tear the male who injured you limb from limb. I cannot do that unless I know where to find him. Where is his lair, my young queen?”

“If we’re going to be friends, you can’t go around tearing people’s arms and legs off. That’s just gross. Besides, the last time I saw the Commander some other dude was beating the crap out of him.”

“It pleases me to know that bit of information.” Smiling broadly, Armon displayed a full set of dazzlingly sharp teeth. Hel thought he looked ridiculous, kind of like the grand gargoyle of oranges.

Penny must have thought the same. “You look like an ornamental fruit dispenser, Armon.”

Hel had to agree with her sister’s observation. The insectoid was hovering in midair with an orange skewered on the spikes protruding from the top of each joint around his wing span. Flipping a wing towards his mouth, he sloppily bit into one of the brightly colored globes. The ensuing slurping and munching had Hel looking anywhere but at the messy creature. Armon would definitely not be her first choice in dining partners.

The Maruvian warriors standing guard almost never moved or spoke. One in particular caught her eye as he walked back into the room and took up his former position along the wall. He was huge, muscular, and his wingspan must have been a good thirty feet. His dark eyes were always on her, and it made her feel noticed in a womanly way. Lots of men stared at her, but he stared at her with something approaching longing in his eyes. Her eyes slid down, taking in every bump and bulge rippling under the tight uniform. Her body came alive in the space of seconds and a familiar craving pulsated between her legs. Oh, how this situation would be different if she didn’t have sisters to worry over.

He wore his power and quiet dignity like a cloak of honor. The man was masculine in a way that would draw the notice of any woman who crossed his path. Something about him intrigued her and, before she could figure out what it was, she found herself walking towards him. As she drew closer, a strangely erotic scent filled the air. It was thick and musky, enveloping her and robbing her of the ability to resist.

Being face to face with the big brute was nothing short of thrilling. She took a deep breath and allowed his scent to wash over her. Her sister’s frantic voices were a distant echo, and the other drone’s screeching was regaled to mere background noise. She couldn’t have paid attention to them if her life depended upon it, for she was far too focused upon the startled man standing in front of her.

In addition to being stunned, he seemed truly exasperated. Having him helpless before her drove home the power women wielded over the drones. She wanted him in every conceivable way. She could smell his desire and found it thoroughly irresistible. Reaching out her hand, she grabbed the front of his uniform and pulled him down for a kiss. The moment their lips met, he stilled beneath her sensual assault. The scent grew stronger, blinding her to the obvious.

Rough claws jerked her away from the object of her affections. Armon had flown over, pulled her back, and flung her towards her sisters. Hel became aware that Alexis was shaking her hard. “Snap out of it, sis. What in God’s name was that all about? It’s not like you to jump a stranger in broad daylight in a room full of people.”

Looking down, Hel saw that her shirt was ripped open and she was exposing one pert breast to the eyes of everyone in the entire room. Grabbing her clothing together, her head snapped back to the gorgeous one. He was leaning against the wall with one hand over his stomach, appearing out of breath and truly mortified.

An alarm sounded and the lights went dim. Blue lights blinked around the top of the room.

“Hel, what did you do?” Alexis’ alarmed tone gave voice to her own fears.

A loud ugly, guttural roar split the air. The door snicked open and the three elders ran into the room, including Vraden, the older healer they’d spoken to before. He stated quickly, “We need to get you off this ship now. She knows.”

The males mobilized, surrounding them as they were pressed though the door and into a corridor. Moving from one area of the ship to another, they were clearly intent upon making it to an escape pod or the docking bay.

As they moved the older man complained, “Now was not the time to come into your own, my son.”

Rather than answer, the man closed his eyes for a brief second and jerked his head in frustration.

“Though I am thrilled to find that yet another of my prodigy is a queen maker, this discovery places us all in jeopardy.”

“I did not intend to make a queen this day, you must believe me.”

“You should have fled the moment your mating scent released.”

“I was too shocked to move.”

“It was sucked through the air ventilation system and now the whole ship knows that you’ve come into your own as a queen maker. Kabelda will be furious.”

“I drew her notice to the human queens, didn’t I?”

“Queen makers can only activate in the presence of a breedable female. Since you were not with her, she is now fully aware that there is at least one other female aboard her vessel.”

They were cut off from the double doors leading to the docking bay by a huge form. Hel could see the form was female. Though she didn’t have wings, she had petrifyingly scary claws, and long lashes protruding from her back. They whipped angrily around her body, looking for something to tear into. The strange lashes appeared to be a cross between a tail and a tentacle, each with a sharp claw at the end. Naturally the queen had a nasty smirk to go along with her fearsome visage.

Her furious voice rumbled down the corridor. “You dare to enter my ship and create a queen maker right under my nose? For invading my territory you will die. For touching my drone your last moments will be filled with pain.”

Refusing to cower before the impressively terrifying woman, Hel shot back, “You have a ton of drones. One more or less can’t mean that much to you.”

“You dare to address me directly?”

“Humans are strange that way. We tend to talk back to whoever strikes up a conversation with us.”

Sneering at her, the insectoid spat, “You are small and defenseless. The goddess did not even see fit to gift you with claws. I could slit your throat in the blink of an eye.”

“Really? I thought you might be planning to talk us to death.”

Rage filled the woman’s expression as she backed away from the door.

“Why is she leaving?” Penny’s anxious voice sounded off, behind Armon.

“She’s not retreating. Through that door is our only hope escape. She’s backing up to give us an opportunity to join her in battle.”

Alexis huffed out an exasperated breath. “If we walk through that door we die, if we remain here, she’ll send her drones for us. I don’t see a way out for us.”

Hel gritted out, through clinched teeth, “We don’t need a way out. We’re not fucking going anywhere.”

Stepping forward with the handsome queen maker at her back, Hel watched the Maruvian queen’s smile grow larger. Instead of walking through the door, she hit the button to seal the door. “Flush the bay. Do it now.”

The queen maker quickly danced his fingers over the control panel. Hel watched the woman on the other side carefully. She could see the exact moment the queen realized she was about to be flushed into space. Her hand came up and hit a button on her suit. Armor quickly clicked into place and a force shield covered her head. A look of absolute loathing jumped onto her face a second before she was sucked from the bay.

“Get us the hell out of here.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere that isn’t here. Someplace she’d never think to go.”

Vaguely aware that her new consort was screeching into his communications device, she saw the stars begin to move though one of the portals. The drones were good at following directions. “Isn’t she dead?”

Turning to look at Penny, Hel sighed. “We just flushed her out with a bunch of drones and all our shuttles. If what they say about her being intelligent and resourceful is true, she’ll grab a shuttle and hunt us down. We need to get as far away from here as possible.”

Alexis asked cautiously, “What’s the plan?”

A deep voice responded, “We should head to the nearest populated planet and get you safely aboard a ship bound for your home world.”

Glancing at the man at her side, she almost smiled. “We aren’t going anywhere.”

“She’ll kill you.” His protectiveness was charming, but she wasn’t interested in another round of whatever took place back in the holding area. Losing control that way threw her for a loop.

“She can try.”

“I don’t want to leave Armon.” Penny’s shaky voice spoke up.

Looking at Alexis, Hel waited for her to sound off. “I think we should head for the new Maruvian home world. The Queen Carolyn will know how to handle this situation.”

“I’m not wild about leading Kabelda to the only stable Maruvian colony in this sector of space.”

Suddenly, Penny was all kinds of invested in the conversation. “We need to set a trap for her.”

Alexis pondered out loud, “What would bait a Maruvian queen?”

Hel already knew the answer to that question. “Does she have a queen maker?”

Looking conflicted, her drone answered. “My brother, Arac.”

“Your name?”

“Raec, my queen.”

“Like I said before, your Queen is named Carolyn. Think of me as your new captain.”

“Yes, my queen.”

Sighing, she realized they were never going to think of a woman as anything but a queen. Turning to the older healer, Vraden, she lifted her chin. “Tell your men there’s a new sheriff in town and I expect their cooperation if they want to survive in this sector of space.”

“The coms and security feed have been open this whole time. They are aware of the change in leadership. I can’t imagine they would see it as anything less than the opportunity of a lifetime.”

“Gather whoever is in charge of operations in each department. I wish to meet with them.”

“Will you execute them?”

“No one dies without good cause. If anyone has complaints against another, I’ll take each case individually. After listening to their various misdemeanors and dark deeds, we’ll we decided on appropriate consequences.”

“Understood.”

“I believe your people have something called an actionator. I wish you to fill that role, Vraden.”

Not seeming very thrilled with the prospect, he bowed his head slightly. “I serve at your pleasure.”

“Yeah, we’ll need to tweak the balance of power a bit around here.”

“All will be as you say, my new queen.”

“Hey, how did she get to be queen?”

The older man shot Penny a questioning look. “You wish to be queen, little one?”

“Doesn’t every girl?”

Gesturing to the teen, he addressed Hel. “This is why we don’t have more than one queen aboard a vessel. Now you must fight to the death to establish leadership.”

Rolling her eyes, Hel shrugged. “Fine, she can be queen. It’s not like I care.”

Doing a little victory dance, Penny grabbed Armon excitedly. “Did you hear that? I’m the new queen. Isn’t that coolest thing ever?”

The confused creature just stared at her.

“Problem solved. I’m still in charge though.”

Looking from one woman to the other, the older man straightened. “We could perhaps accept you all as a queen unit, temporarily.”

“Good thinking there, Vraden. You’re clearly the brains of this operation.”

Shooting the excited teen an indulgent smile, he turned his attention to Hel. “I have summoned the drones you requested to the throne room.”

“Be sure to add two extra chairs,” Penny chimed in, clearly unaware of the seriousness of their situation.

Turning to the strange animal her little sister was so fond of, Hel stated flatly, “Armon, I have a mission for you, should you choose to accept it. I task you with keeping the giddy one safe and out of trouble on this ship. Do accept the assignment?”

Preening a bit, he jerked his head up. “I will accept the position of her protector. None will harm her under my watchful gaze.”

Penny’s outraged voice sounded off. “Hey, I’m seventeen. I don’t need a babysitter.”

Hel beat a hasty retreat after Vraden rather than get into a wrangle with Penny about that particular subject. Penny needed a protector more than any girl alive. Raec walked close enough to make her feel uncomfortably aware of his presence. He smelled fantastic. It was a distraction she did not need at the moment, but one she found herself desiring greatly.