Chapter Two

 

Moroco stood next to Toriq and Koran as they all stared at the crashed spaceship, which had smoke rising from its front. Its nose was buried deep into the desert sand, the outer shell dented and scratched. It was a small ship and not meant for long space travel.

Armed warriors had formed a perimeter around the ship in case this was some sort of threat. Unlikely, considering the size of the ship, but it was better to be cautious.

“Be careful,” Koran warned. “This could be a trap. A diversion. Or it could be rigged to explode.”

Everyone nodded.

“You in the ship, you have come to Zerconia without permission. Come out with your hands in the air.” Koran’s voice boomed, but there was no movement.

Koran waited a minute more, then nodded to six warriors, one of whom carried a laser drill. “Go.”

Two warriors stood back, blasters raised while the others worked on forcing their way through the door. A wave of smoke assailed them and Moroco’s eyes watered.

Once the smoke dissipated, three of the warriors entered the ship.

Morocco stepped forward. Toriq reached out and grabbed his arm, shaking his head.

Irritation filled him. He might be a healer, but he was also a warrior. And he didn’t need protecting. Toriq raised one eyebrow at his obvious irritation.

“Just wait one minute while they finish checking the ship.”

“Meanwhile, they could be dying. I am in no need of your protection, Toriq. I can look after myself.”

“I have no doubt of that. You will still wait.”

He ground his teeth together. He’d never been very good at following orders. That was part of the reason he’d ended up at the Academy.

Finally, one of the warriors, it looked like that fool Argus, came out. “Two beings are in the cockpit, both are unconscious.”

“May I?” Moroco said sarcastically to Toriq.

Toriq nodded. “Yes.”

Moroco shook his head and strode into the ship. He moved cautiously into the small cockpit. Thankfully, the smoke was dissipating and visibility was increasing. He studied the being closest to him. Covered in light green fur, the creature was slightly built, with pointed ears and a flat-squashed nose.

What was a Seraquin doing here? Seraquin’s were troublesome creatures, given to mischief and mayhem. They didn’t have a home planet and tended to make their home wherever they liked. And once you had an infestation of Seraquin’s they were difficult to get rid of.

He quickly grabbed his med-wand out of the bag and ran it over the beast. No heartbeat. No sign of life. He sighed. “This one is dead. Pull him free so I can get to the other one more easily.”

Argus hastily dragged the Seraquin away, whacking Moroco in the nose with his elbow as he went past.

“Stars!” Moroco clasped hold of his nose as blood poured out of it. He closed his eyes at the intense pain.

“I am sorry…I d-didn’t mean…” Argus stammered out.

“Toriq!” Moroco roared. “Get him out of my sight.”

Someone hastily pulled Argus away while Moroco grabbed a clean cloth from his bag and held it to his nose to stop the blood flow. He didn’t have time for anything else. Not if he wanted to ensure his next patient lived.

“Want me to send for Racar?” Toriq asked.

“I’m fine.” Moroco didn’t take much notice of what his other patient looked like as he ran his med-wand over the still body. It beeped and he checked the readout. “This one is alive. But bleeding internally. Let’s get him to a regeneration chamber.”

“Uh, Moroco, I don’t think a regen will help him,” Toriq said in a strange voice.

“What do you mean?” Moroco took a good look at his patient and drew in a sharp breath. How had he missed it? This creature was nothing like the Seraquin. For a start, it was huge. Much bigger even than Toriq, who towered over most. But that wasn’t the truly alarming thing. Moroco had met plenty of creatures bigger than he was.

But none of them were as dangerous as this being.

With silver skin that glittered in the sunlight, he had similar facial features to Zerconians. Two eyes, one nose, one mouth, two ears. Two arms. Two legs. But there the similarities ended.

“It’s a Sky Warrior,” Toriq stated the obvious.

Moroco just grunted.

Two wings sprouted from the Sky Warrior’s back, covered in beautiful, black feathers. One wing looked slightly crooked and damaged. Morocco winced. He didn’t know a lot about Sky Warriors, but he did know that their wings were like another limb. A broken wing was going to be painful.

A feather drifted through the air and landed on Moroco’s nose, pulling him out of his daze.

“We’re going to need something to transport him!” he called out. “And someone call Racar and tell him to ready the medical center for a Sky Warrior.”

Around him, everyone grew quiet.

But then he heard the whisper. “A Sky Warrior. Is he serious?”

“Moroco does not joke. Ever.”

“Stars save us. A Sky Warrior. Here.”

“You know what that means,” another one whispered back. “Where there is one, more will follow.”

***

“Moroco, report.”

Moroco tried to hide his fatigue as he stared at the Emperor of Zerconia. Dexanon Xa’a was a strong warrior. As far as leaders went, Moroco guessed that he was adequate. He appeared to be fair and just, although he had made the questionable decision to allow humans access to Zerconia.

Moroco didn’t agree with letting other races come here. It brought too much risk. He thought they had learned that lesson a long time ago. Now, they had Joyadans and humans living here, and even more humans visiting. Already, there had been an attempt to harm the Empress and a human male had snuck onto the planet, killing one human female, injuring Saffron, and kidnapping Sophie.

And now a Sky Warrior had crashed on their planet. Things like this would not have happened during Dex’s father’s reign. Sure, some warriors had found a mate among the humans. But was it worth it when you took into account the trouble the human females brought with them? Not to mention how unprepared they were for life on Zerconia.

Take Saffron for example. That female had no idea that when an order was given that she should obey. It was perplexing. Frustrating. He should have refused to be her minder when she had been assigned to him.

So, why didn’t I?

He still could not believe that he had offered to show her his shaft. That had been a big mistake and one he would not repeat. He had merely wished to frighten her. Although he hadn’t gotten the response he had been prepared for. She had acted outraged, but he had seen a glimpse of arousal in her gaze.

It matched his own. He only had to be in her presence to feel aroused by her. She affected him like no other had since Fancia died. To ensure that he was not tempted by her again, he would have to avoid her completely. He would pass her care on to Racar. He was a perfectly good healer. He would ensure she was fully recovered.

His gut burned at the thought. Stars.

“Moroco? Are you well?”

He’d forgotten about the Emperor. What was wrong with him? Now that female was even interfering with his job. No, best he stay away from her entirely.

“I have stopped the internal bleeding and set the break in the wing. He is too large to fit in our regeneration chamber.”

The Emperor frowned. “Will he survive?”

Moroco resisted the urge to shrug. “I can’t tell you for certain. All I can say is that Sky Warriors are strong. His vitals are good.”

“It would be a very bad thing for him to die, Moroco.”

“I know this. I will do all that I can to keep him alive.”

“His pack will be looking for him.”

Moroco nodded. “I have briefed everyone to be on alert. He is well sedated.” The last thing they wanted was a group of angry Sky Warriors descending on them. Sky Warriors traveled in packs of six. They were known as merciless, tough, and cold. Their only loyalty was to each other.

Dex nodded. “I will be informing everyone that there is a Sky Warrior in medical and to stay away.”

 “The humans as well?” he asked, thinking of Saffron and her propensity to get into trouble.

“Yes, for the foreseeable future they have been warned to go nowhere alone and have been placed under a curfew.”

“They have not been assigned minders again?” he asked casually. It wasn’t that he wanted responsibility for Saffron. Not at all. She was trouble. Pure and simple.

“I don’t see the need for minders when there is no real threat at the moment, so you will be relieved that you have not been charged with Saffron’s safety.”

Yes, of course.

That was what he felt. Relief.