CHAPTER 1
Korban woke with a ringing in his ears. He felt like he’d been hit by a stun weapon of some sort. Pulling the front of his uniform open, he saw a concentric ring of welts marring his skin. Krylon weapons were famous for leaving such markings behind on their victims. He’d definitely been stunned. As his thoughts coalesced again, he recalled the klaxons blaring. He vaguely remembered urging his intended to wear protective armor. Her scent was gone, but something was wrapped around his hand. His heart leaped into his throat as he realized it was her long braid of hair. Who would have done something so horrific?
Staggering to his feet, he stuffed the thick loop of hair in the front of his uniform. He quickly hit the com channel but nothing happened. Since his laser pistol was missing, he grabbed another from a nearby panel and went after the traitors who’d taken his mate.
Once in the hallway, he saw the extensive damage his vessel had sustained. The lights still flashed, though the klaxons no longer sounded their warning. The walls were marked with long streaks of damage. Those laser burns were clear evidence of the good fight his men had put up. Little good it did them. The ground was littered with their bodies. He carefully dodged sparking wires stringing down from the ceiling.
Navigating through it all, he stumbled upon the barely conscious captain. Kneeling, he shook the male to get his attention. “Report, Captain Taran. Can you give report?”
“The Lady Selene has abandoned us, My Lord.”
Grabbing the front of the other male’s uniform, he hauled him to a sitting position. “She wouldn’t leave me. She vowed to fight at my side to death.”
“She sacrifices herself for us. I have a message for you…”
Releasing the captain, Korban grabbed his extra weapon and made for the landing bay as fast as his feet could carry him. The man’s words triggered another memory. Give me to them. I won’t see good men lose their lives in a no-win battle. Gods, she was so innocent to believe something like that. Worse yet, she had no idea what she was walking into. The Shardon were barely a species anymore. Generations of cloning had left them all looking so similar one could hardly tell one from the other. They’d tear into her precious body, taking all they desired before leaving her a hollowed-out husk of the female she’d once been. He couldn’t let those ghouls get their hands on her.
Breaching the doors of the loading bay, he saw them pulling her through a connection conduit that they’d attached to one of his access ports. Gods, she wasn’t even fighting them, proof that she was unaware of what was in store for her. He roared, causing her to look over her captor’s shoulder. Her brows quirked then she phased out of focus for a second. His breath caught in his throat. The minor and fleeting distortion field was evidence of the use of Krylon’s top secret holo-flage technology. She’d been betrayed by one of their own. A sickness churned in his stomach at the thought of his future queen being so callously betrayed in her time of need.
Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder just as he moved to bolt to the other side of the landing bay. He’d already calculated the distance. Even at his best speed, he’d never cover the distance in time.
“Don’t get her killed. We have a plan.”
“Betrayer. Would you stop me from even trying?” Korban jerked from the captain’s grasp.
The man stood staring at him. They both heard the severed connection between the ships with little more than a clank and a soft hiss.
“You are betrayed by your own blood, My Prince.”
“A member of the imperial family?”
“The Princess Shafra and her commander.”
“I refuse to believe that Commander Tref would betray me, much less my own sister.”
“I have the vid to prove it. They did so with good intentions but the commander should have led them in a different direction.”
She’s right, my brother, it’s the only way. His spine stiffened, as a memory whispered through his mind. The captain was right. He remembered hearing his sister speak just before someone had stunned him. Scrubbing his hands over his face, Korban responded with frustration. “I care not about the whys at the moment. Give me information on our situation. Can we pursue them?”
“Negative, My Lord. The ship is not operational, our defensive capabilities are non-existent and our weapons exhausted. The closest friendly is a good three hundred parsecs out. We’d be doing good to hold our own against simple space pirates at the moment.”
“I suppose they headed for Shardon-protected space?”
The older man’s expression hardened. “No, Your Grace. Their trajectory suggests Earth or a nearby planet.”
Turning, Korban smashed his fist into the wall. “They go straight to Earth to procure more brides. Casualties?”
“Few, if any. They used some type of wide-beam stun weapon. It was like nothing we’ve ever seen before. The pulse it emitted bounced off walls, catching us in the back as we fought.”
“Getting shot in the back? I know the feeling well, Captain Tran.” Closing his eyes, Korban stretched his neck. All the pieces fell into place. “Naturally, they would not want to actually kill us. That would start a war between our worlds, whereas we have a history of allowing them to make reparations for their infrequent bouts of raiding.”
“See to the men, repair what you can, and clean this damn ship up. I’m going to rip the ear of that damn Shardon ambassador. When I’m finished giving him a piece of my mind, his ears will bleed.”
“I have never seen that happen by holo-vid.” The captain’s wry response would have been amusing if Korban hadn’t just suffered such a devastating blow.
“I suppose I’ll even resort to groveling before the throne.”
“Any man would to protect his bride, sir. I’m certain the emperor will send military support.”
“He had better.”
“Are you going to lodge a formal complaint with the Galactic Council?”
“Possibly, I haven’t decided that part yet. We need to get up and running again. We are still on course for Earth. I should probably make arrangements for someone to meet with the mother of my beloved.”
“With all the smoke and damage, I admit to totally forgetting about her.”
“Tell everyone to keep their mouths shut about the abduction when she comes aboard. I wish to speak to her myself about the situation.”
“I cannot imagine any male wishing for that kind of awkward conversation with a female. She’s sure to become tearful. I never know what to do when females cry. It makes me very uncomfortable.”
“Me too.” Sighing, Korban clasped his longtime acquaintance on the shoulder. “We will get through this and get her back. They had better not touch a hair on her pretty little head.”
“I can well understand that urge. It seems you were cheated out this battle.”
“Once again I find myself forced to waste my time with a diplomatic parley when I’d much rather be fighting my enemies face to face.”
“We did fight, sir. To our eternal shame, we lost this time.”
“Understood.”
“Your intended gave me a message for you. It is in your data stream, awaiting your review. I assumed you would want to see what transpired after you were stunned when you were somewhere that afforded some privacy.”
“That bad?”
“Not at all. If I were going to be betrayed, it is exactly what I would have wished for from my loved ones.”
Sighing, the prince shook his head. “Contact me with regular updates, Captain Tran.”
“Certainly, sir.”
Korban sat reviewing the exchange between Captain Tran and his beloved Selene. They’d both been under the impression his men were being killed by the dozens. Fortunately, the Shardon were more prudent than to waste Krylon life that way. Still, it had been clear they were not stopping until they got what they came for.
Seeing himself stunned by his own sister was shocking. Watching Selene stoop down and tenderly stroke his face got to him in a way few things ever had. After hearing Tref say, the Imperial Princess has spoken and I obey it became perfectly clear who was running the show. It appeared to be a joint maneuver initiated by Selene and backed up by Shafra. Selene had spoken emphatically. Stow it, captain. My body, my choice. I’m not worth every life on this vessel. Foolish women, leading the charge. Tref had been in a position to do very little, besides cover their backs.
Hitting his com yet again, he discovered it was back on line. He hailed General Zan.
The man’s sleepy image came up at once. He was in his quarters with his curvaceous mate’s covered body laid out behind him. Running a hand through his shoulder-length hair, the general spoke. “Is there a problem, My Prince? This is an odd hour for a com.”
Your son and the princess have collaborated to allow Shardon raiders to steal away my future queen.”
Suddenly, the woman sat up in bed. Her tousled black hair needed taming. “My son would never betray our clan or the imperial line.”
The general sat staring at him, clearly thinking his mate had spoken true.
“I believe the princess has forsworn the imperial house and mated already with the commander. I am told she shunned the company of all males from the time she came into her hormones, in favor of pursuing you son, and intends a permanent bond.”
“Then she should break imperial ties, for they will have none of such. We would gladly accept her if what you say is true.”
“It is. I am told the females prefer adventure over our persistent protection. When the Shardon raiders attached our vessel, my intended asked that we give her up because their numbers were overwhelming.”
“My son’s one and only duty was to protect the princess. You had other males assigned to you and your intended.”
“You speak the truth. It seems that my lovely sister decided to grab some holo-flage armor and shadow my intended for protection.”
“There is no need to explain further. My son would have tried to dissuade her from poor choice. Failing that, he would have accompanied her for her own protection.”
“I need you, Zan, along with all the forces you can rally to our cause. Both our houses are at risk.”
“I will do all I can to see a swift resolution to this… disaster.”
“I am pleased to see my sister going from my imperial house straight to the arms of your clan. This is yet another tie to bind your house to mine.”
The older man quirked a smile. “If only our house were not linked to that of the emperor, I would find more joy in such a tie.”
“My brother would call your words treason. I myself call them… amusing.”
“As I knew you would, My Lord. I will make hourly reports.”
“Thank you, General. I know that come what may, I can count on your support.”
Siting back, Korban pondered his best course of action. He knew his best bet lay in getting the Galactic Council on board and pulling together a huge military presence. Those combined threats would intimidate the Shardon into returning his female.
Her face jumped into his thoughts. She smiled, inviting him to come to her. Potent images of their lovemaking the night before haunted his every thought. Shed’ been open, eager for his touch and so very soft.
Reaching into his uniform, he pulled out the soft loop of hair, caressing it against his chin. He needed her returned to him, but even more importantly, he needed her safe wherever she was in the verse.