Damon followed Taog, Padean, and Anonghos to the shuttle Excalibur and climbed inside. All he could think about was the queen. The Fates never should have chosen him. His heart belonged to the queen and would always belong to her.

But then he remembered how Hera’s lower lip trembled, and an enormous pound of guilt rooted in his gut. He shouldn’t have said he hadn’t wanted to be mated to her. He’d acted shamefully, not once thinking of her feelings.

“Set a course for right outside the palace, Padean,” Taog ordered.

“Aye, Captain.”

The doors slid apart to sparkling stars and a slowly rotating Zalara. Normally, he was excited to return each time, but the hair on the back of his neck stood straight up. Uneasiness chilled his skin–a sign that was something was wrong, deadly wrong.

The engines ignited and roared, then Excalibur lifted and slightly vibrated. Padean flew it into space, then descended toward Zalara. The queen waited for him, but all he could think about was his dreaded duty to save his people. If he failed to mate with Hera, then he’d put his race in jeopardy. Whether he liked it or not, he was a creature of honor and duty and would not let his people down. But the mating would be with a heavy heart.

Excalibur steadily descended through Zalara’s atmosphere, then pierced its constant cloud cover. They had to be careful with navigation, or they’d be liable to crash into a pack of flying dragons.

“Strange,” Padean said. “I am detecting no dragons during this busy time of day.”

Taog pulled out his eruptor. “Be on guard.”

Damon’s muscles twisted into tangled kinks. He gripped his armrest so hard that a crack zigzagged down the middle. He forced himself to let go, afraid he’d break the armrest in half. Unfortunately, finger marks had already been embedded in the metal.

Anonghos shook his head, but luckily, didn’t comment. The Excalibur was Padean’s baby, and he’d be less than pleased. It was the only time that Padean’s logical exterior had ever cracked.

Damon looked out the window, hoping Padean’s instruments were wrong, but an unusual, lonely sky stretched out for miles. He swallowed back disappointment.

Taog swirled around in his chair. “Set your eruptors to stun. Be prepared for anything.”

Damon placed his eruptor back into his belt, his twitching hand resting on top. Every instinct told him there was something terribly wrong, despite Padean’s scanners. His scanners were only programmed for known creatures, but there were millions in the galaxy, and beyond that, there were species they’d never encountered. For all they knew, there could be an army of unknown aliens that had either killed their people or were preparing for an attack.

Padean set the Excalibur on the landing pad. Usually, a crew came out to refuel or clean the shuttle craft, but they were greeted by an empty port. Small spaceships were left unattended. No guards peered out the large glass building that was ordinarily packed with military staff ready to man their one-man fighter ships if the city was attacked.

Zalarians were fierce fighters, and the army would never abandon their posts. Yet, if the space station had been attacked, where were the bodies?

His heart pounded so loud he was afraid he’d disturb the eerie silence. But no one was looking at him. The shuttle door slowly opened.

Quick chirps beeped from the shadows of the space station.

Taog maneuvered closer to Padean. “What is that sound?”

Padean shook his head. “I don’t know, Captain. My transrecorder does not register anything unusual. However, Captain, I am picking up Zalarians.”

“Where are they?” the captain asked.

Padean nodded. “Hiding inside the space station.”

Anonghos frowned. “Hiding from what? Our sensors have not picked up any alien ships nearby.”

Damon sniffed, but he couldn’t detect anything strange. “That doesn’t mean anything,” he said grimly. “The last time the Kamtrinians attacked, they launched a dioxide torpedo that we didn’t detect until it was too late.”

No one answered him, but then, what was there to say? The Kamtrinians always seemed to be one step ahead of them and the Confederation.

Taog motioned with his eruptor. “Follow me, but be careful.”

Understatement of the millennium–Damon bit back a retort. He had a suspicion the Kamtrinians were involved. Adrenaline zoomed through him like a whistling meteor. He forced himself not to leave the captain’s party and fly ahead to the palace to make sure Cosima was safe.

They crept silently toward the chirps that set Damon’s nerves on edge. Whether it was machine or animal, he knew it would be deadly to Zalarians.

The four-story space station cast long shadows onto the smooth, granite walkways and runways. Even with his dragon eyes, he couldn’t detect anything usual hiding in the darkness.

“We need to split up,” Taog said. “Anonghos and I will go inside. Padean and Damon you explore outside. If you see anything, report immediately.”

Damon nodded. He and Padean slowly edged into the shadows, their backs against the wall.

Suddenly, the chirps stopped. Damon and Padean glanced at each other. This wasn’t good. Unfortunately, whatever was here knew they were coming.

“Remember,” Padean whispered. “We only shoot if they attack.”

Damon glared. He had no intention of making this a science expedition with the queen’s life in danger. He slipped in front of Padean. He wasn’t going to wait and ask questions later.

“Damon,” Padean growled.

But Damon refused to answer. Padean might be a senior officer, but he hadn’t taken an oath to defend the queen at all costs, either.

Something moved out of the corner of Damon’s eye. He took a step.

A loud squeal shot his adrenaline into overdrive. He jumped back and bumped into Padean.

On the ground was a flat, bumpy, round thing.

“What is that thing?” Damon asked.

“It doesn’t register on my transrecorder, but I assure you, it’s alive. We need to alert the captain.” Padean pulled out his teleicator. “Captain, this Padean, do you read me?”

“I read you. Did you and Damon find something?”

“Yes, Captain. It’s some kind of small creature. Damon stepped on it.”

“Did he squash it?”

“No, sir. Watch your step, Captain. There might be more of these creatures inside.”

“Are they dangerous?”

“This one hasn’t made any sudden moves.”

A dark cloud formed about twenty feet in front of them, then a shrill squeaking pierced the shadows. The cloud shot toward them.

“Padean!” Damon lifted his eruptor to fire.

“No!” Padean grabbed his arm and pushed it down. “We don’t know if they’re dangerous.”

The squeaking grew louder. The things had stingers pointed directly at them. Not caring if he was breaking orders, Damon jerked his arm free, then fired. A red beam struck the first few creatures, and they crashed to the ground, screeching. But only more replaced them. They were worse than an angry swarm of scoli.

Damon turned. “Run!”

He drew on dragon speed and literally flew out of there.

Padean was in front of him–obviously not interested in studying the creatures. He pulled out his teleicator. “Captain, we’re being attacked. Eruptors are ineffective.”

“Get out of there!” Taog yelled.

The flapping grew louder, and Damon didn’t dare turn around. He wanted to transform into a dragon, but even a few seconds would be too slow.

“Padean, transform! I’ll try and hold them off.”

“Damon, no!”

Damon didn’t listen. He whirled around and fired short bursts. The creatures fell again, but more took their place. He glanced over his shoulder. Padean had transformed into an orange and yellow dragon. He roared but failed to intimidate them.

Damon fired again. “Fly, damn it!”

Padean exhaled. A blast of fire hit them, but the creatures flew through it like it was rain.

Damon fired at the creatures that were diving toward them. Any minute, they’d be surrounded.

Eruptor beams blasted into the shadows, giving Damon a chance to transform into a dragon. Taog and Anonghos had arrived in the nick of time. The creatures fell back. Damon and Padean flew toward the captain and Anonghos.

“Damon, look out!” Anonghos fired over Damon’s head.

A tinge of heat whipped over Damon’s flesh, but then something cold stabbed his back, piercing his thick hide like it was butter. He arched his back. Agony surged through him, stunning his heart and squeezing his lungs. He spun around in the air helplessly. His wings were frozen. He hurled out of the shadows and crashed onto the ground.

“Anonghos, get that thing off him!” Taog was over him.

Anonghos grabbed something that was attached to his back and tossed it, but the pain grew wider like a pebble tossed into a pond. The minute he took it off, Damon transformed back into his humanoid form.

“Damon, look at me.”

Damon struggled to look at the captain. Waves and waves of misery pumped through him, as if a million scoli were stinging him.

Kill him. An eerie voice echoed in Damon’s mind.

“What?” he moaned.

“Damon, can you hear me?”

He went to answer, but the voice screamed louder. Kill him.

Damon covered his ears. “No!”

Taog shook him. “Damon, answer me. That’s an order.”

Dizziness swept over Damon, smashing any rational thought. The captain’s stern face went in and out of focus. He tried to open his frozen mouth to tell the captain to run, but as if by magic, his hands moved on their own. His fingers wrapped around the captain’s throat. A boost of pain surged through Damon. He arched his back, and his fingers squeezed tighter and tighter and tighter.

Taog’s face turned purple, his eyes watered. He clutched Damon’s hands and pulled. No matter how much Damon wanted to, he couldn’t release his grip. The captain punched him hard in the jaw. Damon tried to yank his hands back, but he couldn’t budge them. It was as if they were cemented to the captain’s purpling flesh.

Tears filled the captain’s eyes. “Get him off me,” he choked.

Padean and Anonghos both grabbed Damon’s arms.

“Captain,” Anonghos gritted his teeth. “We can’t. It’s as if they’re frozen.”

Padean frowned. “It’s as if he’s paralyzed. This isn’t Damon’s normal behavior.”

Taog released a strangled breath. His eyes rolled back into his head, and his hands went slack.

Hot fear shot through Damon’s heart. He drew on all his dragon strength to let go, but it was as if he’d lost all control of his hands. Each time he jerked them, another fireball of pain plunged through him.

“Padean, release him!” Anonghos yelled. He let go of Damon’s arm. “We’re losing the captain!”

Padean immediately followed his order.

Taog slumped completely over Damon. His heart and breath had completely slowed. What had he done? He pulled on his arms, but they failed to obey him. He was killing his friend and captain.

“Stand back!” Anonghos yelled.

An electric charge shot through Damon’s body. He went into uncontrollable convulsions. Spittle dribbled down the side of his mouth. His arms fell to his side, and the captain slid off him.

Then darkness overshadowed Damon, and he remembered no more.

* * *

“Damon, Damon, can you hear me?”

Through the fog clouding his brain, Damon slowly recognized the voice.

Kill him.

The ugly command returned, followed by the rapid pain. Damon’s heartbeat thwacked into ultra speed, blood surging through him. His arms jerked like they had before.

He turned his head side-to-side. “No,” he moaned. “Stay away from me.”

“You’re restrained, Damon. You’re in sickbay. You can’t hurt anyone.”

Pings and beeps echoed around him. He inhaled the odor of antiseptic. He pulled on his arms and legs but couldn’t move. He was strapped tight to a comfortable bed. Thank the Fates he couldn’t hurt anyone. He took a deep breath and exhaled. His wound-up muscles unraveled.

But not for long.

Pain mushroomed inside his arms, then pulsed down his body as if something was stinging him from the inside. He yanked as hard as he could to break free and kill, but he couldn’t move.

A strong hand patted his cheek. “Damon, look at me.”

Damon fought to breathe and open his eyes, but the pain was everywhere. He tossed his head back and forth and gritted his teeth.

Hurt. Maim. Kill. The strange voice inside him repeated again.

He resisted it, trying to call upon his own will. “No, I won’t,” he whispered.

Agony ruptured inside him, and he arched his back, screaming.

Someone gripped his shoulders. “Damon, Damon.”

“Captain, release my patient. Shaking him to death isn’t going to get you any answers sooner,” Dr. Tryker said.

If Damon wasn’t in so much pain, he would have smiled. Tryker had been the medical doctor for the last six months, replacing old Doc Hazlt. Unlike Hazlt, Tryker didn’t jump whenever Taog wanted something–not if it meant tangling with his patients.

“I need answers, doctor,” Taog snapped. “I need to know what’s happening with Damon to know what’s going down on the planet.”

“You see the sensors, Captain. He’s in more pain than a Zalarian can take. It’s probably what happened to Ualan and why he drove his ship into Blostos.”

“No, doctor. Ualan sounded sane. There was something about the sun that made Ualan say it’s gone. I want to know what it is. I can’t risk sending any more men down onto the surface until I know what happened to Damon.”

“Look at him, Captain. Does it look like he’s in any shape to answer questions?”

“Give him a sedative.”

“But, Captain, you don’t know what it will do to him.”

“That’s an order, Doctor,” Taog growled.

“I’m sorry, Damon,” Tryker muttered. “But I don’t have a choice.”

Damon braced himself. He tried to open his eyes, but they refused to obey. Something sharp pricked his skin, slowly entering his muscles. Liquid pumped through his veins, turning his flesh ice cold.

Hissing between his teeth, he bunched up the sheets tight.

“Almost there, Damon,” Tryker said calmly. “It will all be over soon.”

Damon took a deep breath, trying to relax, but pain stimulated his tired muscles constantly, refusing to give him even the tiniest relief. He moaned. Usually a sedative would ease any ailment, but this barely had any effect on him.

“Damon, I need you to open to your eyes. The queen depends on it.”

He shook violently, trying to obey the captain. Cosima was in trouble. What if those things had attacked her? God, she could be forced to do anything against her will.

Damon drew on his dragon strength, but it only made the pain stronger.

“You can’t fight this, Zalarian. You will kill your captain and take this ship.”

Damon sucked in his gut at the smug voice.

Soft footsteps entered. The smell of spice and nuts drifted into sickbay, reminding him of Padean’s strange, flowery, thorny, plant. There was no mistake-Hera was here.

“I was worried about him,” she said. “Is he going to be all right?”

“I don’t know,” Tryker said. “He seems to be in a coma.”

“Hells Bells, he looks so pale. Is he going to die?”

Hera’s concern strangely comforted him.

Someone gently squeezed Damon’s foot. It had to be Hera. Warmth spread from his big toe to his ankle to his leg then flooded through him like an energy surge. He moved his head back and forth and fluttered his eyes.

The voice hissed loudly then retreated deep into his mind.

He gritted his teeth, then opened his eyes. Sweat stung them, but through the blur, the captain leaned over him. Behind him, he could glimpse Hera.

She’d changed out of his oversized shirt, into a loose sweater and jeans. Her hair was swooped into a tail. She looked like she was dressed for a hike on one of Zalara’s peaks. She wasn’t a woman who always had to shine. Someone a dragon could be himself with. Her concerned eyes warmed his heart.

“Damon, do you know where you are?”

He winced. Black and purple finger marks covered Taog’s neck.

“Captain,” he whispered. A billion points of pain jammed into his spine, and he arched up, pulling on the restraints that cut into his flesh. “I didn’t…mean…to attack…you.”

“Padean said you were chased by those creatures. What can you tell me about them?”

Damon opened his mouth, but stupefying misery gripped him.

“No,” the unknown voice said. “You will not speak. You will only speak when I tell you.”

Ignoring the pulsing pain and commanding voice, Damon panted, “Taog…”

What felt like fiery asteroids slammed against his innards, tearing his organs, ripping his muscles. He arched his back again, shrieking. Hera yanked her hand away, then more misery unleashed inside him.

“Tryker, what’s wrong with him?” Taog demanded.

Breathing hard, Damon drew on his last remaining strength. He knew he’d be punished, but the captain had to know. “Captain…those things…are…controlling me.” Hot pain twisted his insides. He couldn’t stand it much longer “Using…pain. A voice…”

Agony silenced him. He went into convulsions and bounced up and down on the bed.

“Taog,” Dr. Tryker said. “It’s as if he’s fighting to answer a question. Any time he’s pressed, the medical sensors reveal he’s being stimulated violently.”

“Please help him.”

Hera’s sweet voice was the last thing he heard before he passed out.