Dex greeted the King of Maalika by placing his hand on the other man’s forearm and squeezing. King Rohan did the same with his arm. They squeezed hard and for so long that the King’s aides started shifting around uncomfortably. Finally, Rohan roared with laughter and slapped Dex on the shoulder. Dex grinned.

“Ah, I see you have not changed much, old friend,” Rohan said, waving away his aides then gesturing to the couches. Dex took a seat and Rohan poured them some Sola. “Still as stubborn as ever.”

“And you are still as loud as ever,” Dex said back.

Rohan sat on the chair across from him, which creaked.

Dex raised an eyebrow. “Have you increased your weight, old friend?”

Rohan patted his stomach. “What? I am as solid as I ever was. Muscle. Pure muscle.” He leaned forward. “I can still take you in a Maaxa match.”

Dex felt his lips twitched as he relaxed for what felt like the first time in weeks.

“No time for Maaxa games, I am afraid.” Both Rohan and Dex had been champion Maaxa fighters in their youth. Rohan’s father had been good friends with his father. They were some of the few visitors allowed to enter Zerconia and Dex and his father had sometimes visited Maalika. But he had not seen his old friend in a while. “I wish I was here purely for a social visit.”

Rohan grew more serious. “I know. I am sorry to see you again under these circumstances. You said you brought your mate with you?”

“Yes, she is shopping today. I have not told her what is going on.”

Rohan’s eyes widened. “I did not think you would. This is no business for a female. There would be no need to worry her.”

Dex smiled. “You have much to learn about being a mate.” At one time, he had thought like Rohan, that a female must be sheltered from things that might upset her. But he knew differently now. Zoey was his partner in many ways and while he would always insist she obey him when it came to safety, he had a lot of respect for her strength and loyalty. Which is what made keeping this from her so difficult. It did not sit well with him and had made it difficult for him to be around her this last week. To his shame, he had been avoiding her, using work as an excuse. And in his preoccupation, he knew he had spoken to her more harshly than he’d intended.

“Oh well, when I find a mate perhaps you will have some advice for me.”

“I am not certain my advice will help you. I have made many mistakes. Luckily, my mate is a forgiving female.”

Sort of.

“I am surprised you brought her with you.”

Dex shifted uncomfortably. “This was supposed to be a trip for the two of us, then I got your message and had to change plans. I did not tell Zoey the purpose of this trip because I did not want to disappoint her, but also because she has trouble keeping a secret. If I told her the sky was going to cave in, half of Zerconia would be at my door, demanding to know what I was going to do about it.” He smiled then grew more serious. “And as you can imagine, this must be kept very quiet.”

“Yes. If their claims are true they could be your cousins. The oldest, Rafal, could be the true Emperor of Zerconia.”

Yes, and he wasn’t certain if he was upset about that.

Or glad.

 

***

 

Zoey was starting to think she should think before she acted. But she couldn’t just stand by while Nassir was arrested.

Except I’d probably be in a better position to help Nassir if I hadn’t been arrested right alongside her.

Zillion was right. She was foolish. Stupid. And he was right to be worried about Dex’s reaction. He was going to be furious.

Oh well, at least then he’d be talking to her, right?

She tensed as the guards prodded her towards the large building ahead of them. Built from a dark gray brick, with just a few barred windows on this side, it looked like some sort of medieval fortress.

She swallowed heavily. Maybe Dex yelling at her was the least of her worries. What if no one discovered they were here? Did this planet torture its prisoners? What about Giz and Boris? She couldn’t look after them here. Oh, she knew that Boris could take care of himself but would the other prisoners think he was an easy target because of his paralyzed arm?

They were led up the stairs and into a cavernous room that seemed to be some sort of holding area. The guards attached their cuffs to a long wooden pole that ran along one wall. Ahead of her she could see another half a dozen people cuffed to the poles.

She looked around the room and saw the chubby, pompous idiot who had started all this standing of a platform at the front of the room, waving his arms around animatedly as he spoke to the guard sitting behind a desk. His pet pig-thing stood behind him. The guard, who had been looking bored and a little impatient, suddenly wiped at his face in disgust. She smiled, at least she wasn’t the only one getting spat on by that idiot.

“Busy day for you guys today, huh?” she said to the closest guard.

“Quiet, prisoner,” he snapped giving her an evil look.

Good advice. Only problem was, when she was nervous or scared she tended to talk more. Boris turned from where he stood in front of her, shaking his head frantically. Oh, he knew her so well. And he didn’t need to talk for her to understand what he was trying to say.

Shut up, Zoey.

She licked her lips, her stomach tightening into a knot. She glanced behind her to where Giz stood, his arms stretched up to reach the pole. Nassir was behind him, looking ill and exhausted. She was in an even worse state than she had been last time they’d seen her. Zoey studied her worriedly; Nassir couldn’t take much more without collapsing.

“Look, I really need to speak to whoever’s in charge. If you could go get them.”

The guard took a step towards her, his face hardening. She swallowed, her mouth going dry, her heart racing. What the hell would the old bat do in this instance?

She’d thrust her shoulders back, give him her best bitch look and tell him off. Okay, so Zoey never thought she’d be trying to be more like Liula but here went nothing. She straightened, aware of Boris’s alarmed look, but she had to do something to get them all out of this mess.

“Listen, my name is Zoelle Xa’a, my mate is the Emperor of Zerconia. Right at this moment he is in a meeting with your King. I demand that someone go and get him. Right. Now.”

Okay, she even sounded like Liula. Good one. Pleased with herself, she smiled.

She didn’t even see the fist aimed her way until the last minute. As it connected with her face, agony shot through her, making her cry out as she fell violently against the wooden pole, her head hitting with a sickening crunch.

Then nothing.

 

***

 

Nassir was in a panic.

Her breath sawed in and out of her lungs, her heart racing, her head swimming.

Don’t pass out. Don’t pass out.

She had one job to do. And she could not do if is she was unconscious. She stiffened as a pair of fighting males came close, one of them kicking out with his foot, catching her in the ribs. The air left her lungs in a pained rush and she cried out, unable to stop herself. But she didn’t move, she kept herself draped over Zoey’s unconscious body.

Protect Zoey. Protect Zoey.

If she could have dragged the other woman away, she would have. Unfortunately, Zoey outweighed her and Nassir was not in good shape. Not to mention that she couldn’t use her injured wrist. So the best she could do was cover Zoey with her body while chaos reigned around them.

“Hello, what do we have here? Two prettiessss.”

She glanced up fearfully, recognizing one of the prisoners who had been cuffed to the wooden pole ahead of them earlier. Boris had snapped the wooden pole after that guard hit Zoey, freeing all the other prisoners.

His fury had been frightening and awe-inspiring. He had attacked the guard who hit Zoey ferociously, knocking him quickly unconscious then turning to fight the next wave of guards. Giz had slipped his cuffs off the pole and she’d quickly followed, along with all the other prisoners. Then the blond warrior, Zillion, had snapped at her to protect the Empress before joining in the fight.

He might have some redeeming features after all.

Hell had erupted around them as soon as Boris morphed into a wild man. The other prisoners had all freed themselves, but instead of making a run for it as she would have, they instead joined in the fight. Royal Guardsmen had streamed into the room, but there was little they could do except try to physically restrain the prisoners. None of the guards could open fire while they could potentially hit their own people.

The chaos made guarding Zoey a difficult task. Especially, when she was close to passing out herself. Still, Nassir was determined to do what she could to keep the other woman safe. She glared up at the scary creature standing over them. Three eyes stared down at her from a round face. Green with splotches of brown and yellow marring its skin, it looked like a giant bruise.

A bright purple tongue slithered out, making its way towards Zoey skin. Nassir stared in horror. Oh, that was disgusting. Slime dripped from its tongue to land on the floor with a loud splat. Just as it was about to touch Zoey, Nassir smacked her good hand down on the tongue.

“No! Get away from her!” She forced herself to her feet, plastering a fierce look on her face, trying to ignore the weakness invading her body. She pointed away from them. “Go! Get away.”

“But ssshe tasste ssso good.”

Oh no. No way.

She took a step closer to the creature. “She does not taste good. She tastes like fresh flooga poop.” And Nassir should know how bad that tasted.

“I think I’ve just been insulted.” Nassir made the mistake of moving her gaze off the creature to Zoey as the other woman sat, holding her hand to her head with a groan. “I know you’re just trying to defend me, but really? Flooga poo? God, I have a killer headache. Hope I had an amazing good night to go with this thumping headache. Too much Sola?”

Suddenly, Nassir realized that rather than moving on, the creature had decided to try his luck and lick Zoey again while Nassir’s attention was elsewhere.

Zoey raised her head as the creature pulled his tongue back.

“Pretty, pretty femalessss.”

“Yes, we are,” Zoey snapped. “Now bugger off lizard-boy. I am not in the mood for your come-on lines. And right now, I’m seeing two of you which is not a good thing. What’s with all the yelling? Is someone fighting? Am I still in the bar? Did I pass out?”

Nassir could hardly keep up with the stream of questions, so she latched onto the final one.

“You were hit by a guard and knocked unconscious. Then the dark one grew angry, snapped the pole we were all attached to, and attacked the guard. Since then, a large fight has erupted. I am not even certain who is fighting who.”

“Pretty femalesss, let me touch you.”

“No,” Nassir snapped. “Now go away, you-you lizard!”

“Good one,” Zoey told her, leaning her head back against the wall behind her. She appeared pale, except for the large bruise on her face. Her right eye was already swelling shut. Giz chattered angrily at the lizard and he finally stomped away. Nassir breathed a sigh of relief, but not for long as two fighting males, neither of them Royal Guards, came close, one of them swinging wide with a punch. She was knocked to the ground before it hit, a furry being covering her legs.

“Thanks, Giz,” she said breathlessly. She lay there for a moment, tempted to just close her eyes and rest. Just a few minutes…that’s all she needed.

Except there was the possibility that once she lay down she might never get up again. Giz moved off her legs and back to Zoey’s side. She hugged him tight as Nassir sat up.

“We need to get out of here,” Zoey said. “Where are we again?”

Nassir felt a surge of alarm. “You do not remember?”

Zoey waved her hand around. “Just humor me and remind me.”

“All right, but I do not think it is humorous.”

“Huh?” Zoey asked. “Oh, right. No, not funny. Not at all.”

“We are at the Royal Guardsman headquarters on Maalika. We were arrested.”

“Fuck! Shit!” Zoey swore, glancing around. “We? Where’s Boris?” Alarm filled her voice.

Nassir admitted that she felt rather anxious herself. Even though she barely knew the dark one, he projected confidence, as though he was always in control of a situation even if he wasn’t. She could use some of that calm right now. She spotted him almost immediately across the room; he stood out, his black hair with those hints of purple and blue, that beautiful dark skin, his magnificent body.

Focus, Nassir.

“There.” Nassir pointed him out. “He is fighting those two guards.”

“Shoot, we have to get to him and then get out of here.” Zoey pushed herself to a standing position, swaying. Nassir reached out to steady the other woman with her good hand.

“Nope. Zoey never leaves one of Zoey’s people behind,” Zoey said confidently.

Zoey must have seen her confusion. “The saying is that a SEAL never leaves another SEAL behind. I adapted it.

“A seal? What is a seal?”

“Well, it’s a fat sea mammal. But back on earth SEALS are also an elite team of warriors.”

“And you are one of these warriors?” Nassir tried to keep the skeptism from her voice but Zoey obviously heard it as she turned to her with a grin.

“Hey, try not to sound so incredulous, huh?”

“I do apologize,” Nassir replied, horrified. Where had her manners gone?

Zoey laughed. “Nassir, I think you and I are going to be good friends. Anyone who can make me laugh while I’ve got a thumping headache, a swollen eye, and there’s a raging brawl going on around us is all right by me.”

“That is a good thing?”

“If I don’t laugh right now I might cry, so it’s a very good thing. Okay, so here’s what we’ve got to do.”

Nassir waited for Zoey’s plan. Surely, she had some idea of how they would all get out of here alive.

“First of all, we make our way over to Boris. Then we help him dispatch those two guards. Then we all sneak out of here undetected and make our way back to our accommodations.”

Right.

“Oh, that’s all?”

“Yep.”

“That is your plan?”

“Uh-huh.”

“And how do you suggest we go about getting to Boris?” Nassir asked politely.

“No fucking idea. We’ll have to improvise.”

Nassir jumped, ducking as something smashed into the wall next to them. She stood, trembling, her heart racing. She really needed to get out of here.

“Here you go!” Zoey picked up a couple of pieces of wood from what looked to have once been a chair and handed one to her. “Weapons. See, improvise. Easy.”

“Easy. Yes, right.”

Zoey grinned again. “Come on, my friend. Where is your sense of adventure?”

Nassir was pretty certain her sense of adventure disappeared the day her uncle gave her to the evil one. She shuddered.

“Wait, what about the other warrior? Zillion?”

“Oh, him.” Zoey shrugged. “I’m sure he’ll make his own way home. And if he doesn’t, well, eventually I might tell Dex where to find him. A night or two in jail might be just what the doctor ordered.”

Nassir was not sure what sort of doctor would make such an order, but she made a mental note to never get on Zoey’s bad side.

 

***

 

Someone raced through the door, interrupting Dex as he was telling Rohan an amusing story about Elodie. Possibly not something his still unattached friend wished to hear, but as Dex told the story he realized how much he missed Elodie. He had not seen her as much as he would wish to lately. It seemed his tasks that he needed to oversee as Emperor were increasing and his time with his mate and daughter was suffering.

These last few days he had been particularly preoccupied with his concerns over the disturbing news Rohan had imparted to him.

That his uncle and cousins may have survived the crash that had supposedly taken their lives. If that was true, then perhaps Dex was not the true Emperor of Zerconia.

Strangely enough, while disturbing, it did not upset him as much as he thought it should have. When his uncle died, his father had taken over as Emperor. Now he could remember how busy his father had suddenly become, how little he had seen him. It wasn’t until Dex had graduated from the academy that his father had become interested in him once more, and by that time it was almost too late to repair the strained bond.

Would that happen with his own child?

“Alix! I said I did not wish to be disturbed,” Rohan snapped, his face growing red. His friend’s temper was legendary, slow to build but when it erupted it was ferocious.

Alix skidded to a stop, falling to his knees in front of Rohan. Dex lifted his eyebrows. He knew the other male was not tolerant of fools, but he did not expect that he would command such a reaction in those that served him.

“I am sorry, Your Majesty. It is urgent.”

Rohan stood. “What is it?”

“A fight has broken out at the Royal Guardsman headquarters,” Alix spat out.

“Is that all?” Rohan sat and waved a hand. “A fight breaks out at least once a day. Why are you bothering me with this, Alix? The Royal Guards will have it under control.”

Alix raised his face, his eyes wide and imploring. Dex tensed. This was no ordinary fight.

“Your Majesty, that is why I have come for you. The Royal Guards have called for help. All of the prisoners who were in the waiting room were freed and some of them managed to get to the cells and freed several of the incarcerated prisoners. The fight is getting out of control.”

Rohan was still and quiet for a moment then he shot into action. “Call up my personal guard. Lli!” he yelled out and a tall man with bright orange hair raced inside. “There is a situation at the Royal Guardsman headquarters.”

The other man calmly nodded.

“Have your men place themselves around the building. Some need to guard the entrances. They will set their blasters to stun. On my call, they enter and they shoot anyone who disobeys me.”

“You are going inside, Your Majesty?” Lli asked, looking surprised.

“Yes,” Rogan said grimly. “I will end this.” He started to stride out of the room. Dex followed. He would not be left behind.

“Your Majesty, you will need guards.”

Rohan turned. “I don’t need guards. Besides I have back-up.” He grinned at Dex. “If you will join me?”

Adrenaline surged through his veins. He could use a good fight to rid himself of frustrations. “You did not even have to ask.”

 

***

 

Nassir felt the mood in the room change, although she did not realize the reason why until a loud roar worked its way through the room. That roar was filled with fury and command. She whirled, gaping as she saw the King of Maalika standing on the platform at one end of the room.

The King looked furious, his eyes a deep blue, his red hair resting halfway down his back. His wide shoulders were thrust back, his arms crossed over his muscular chest.

“You will all freeze. Now!”

Around her, everyone froze, no matter what they were doing. And some of them were left in poses that might be quite amusing were it not such a serious situation. Like the male in half-swing, his fist only a few inches from the face of a Royal Guardsman or the man to her right who was bent over, his ass in the air, his buttocks half on display as his pants slipped. Actually, that wasn’t so much amusing as disgusting. Yes, everyone froze as they heard the authoritative voice boom through the room.

Everyone except Zoey.

“Corpulent dickwad! Try to hit me, will you?” She drew back the piece of wood she held clasped in both hands, ready to swing. Nassir didn’t know where the instinct came from as she slammed herself against the other woman, sending them flying. A light pinged behind her. Blaster fire. Oh Gods.

“Do not fire!” a male voice roared. “Do not fire at the females!”

Zoey groaned beneath her. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Nassir. But for a slight female you sure do weight a ton.”

Nassir quickly rolled off her, looking around frantically for the shooter. She swallowed heavily as she heard loud footsteps headed towards them. She glanced up, right up and into the livid face of the Emperor of Zerconia.

Uh-oh.

“You know, that voice really sounded like…” Zoey’s voice trailed off and Nassir removed her gaze from the scary Emperor’s face to look at Zoey. The other female had grown even more pale, although she forced a shaky smile onto her face.

“Oh, hello, Dex, fancy seeing you here.”

The Emperor didn’t say anything, he didn’t have to. The red glowing eyes, his firm jaw, and the tight way he held himself said it all. He was completely furious.

He leaned down without a word and picked Zoey up.

“Dex?”

Nassir turned, her eyes widening as she saw that the King of Maalika was standing behind the Emperor. Her heart raced, her stomach bubbling. She needed to get out of here. She couldn’t be seen here. Who knew where Tazan’s men were? Sure, they probably weren’t lurking around here in the Royal Guardsman building, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have spies everywhere. Maybe she was paranoid, but her paranoia had kept her safe so far.

Dex just made a low, growling noise. It was obvious he was beyond speech right now. As soon as he walked off with Zoey, she’d just slink on out of here.

Good plan, Nassir. And then what?

“Perhaps you better bring her back to the palace,” the King said as around him, Royal Guardsmen worked quietly to secure prisoners and tend their injured.

The Emperor grunted and followed the King. Giz bounced after him, chattering away. Suddenly, the Emperor stopped and turned then pointed at her.

Her breath caught in her throat as she became the focus of his angry glare.

Oh Gods. Oh Gods.

Please don’t let him order her death.

Then he crooked his fingers in a ‘come here’ gesture. Nassir swallowed, the breath she’d been holding whooshing out of her in a rush.

He wanted her to come to him?

She managed to get to her feet, and trembling, took one step forward then another. This is what she’d imagined it would feel like to walk to her execution. When she grew closer, he turned away and walked off.

Huh?

Someone suddenly appeared on her right and she started with a squeak of surprise. The Emperor turned with a glare. Stars, Nassir, don’t call his attention to you! The Emperor narrowed his gaze then nodded in satisfaction. Nassir glanced up at the person who’d scared ten years off her life.

And met a gaze so dark it seemed black, although there were glints of purple in there.

The dark one.

“Stars, you move quietly. You scared me.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, all right, I was already scared. You just added to it.”

He shook his head. She sighed. “You think I have no reason to be scared?”

He glanced around the room then back at her as if to say ‘what is there to be scared of?’

She placed her hands on her hips, not caring that her mother was turning over in her grave over the unladylike gesture. Now was not the time to worry about her manners.

“Oh, I don’t know. How about the fact that I was just arrested, then a fight broke out around us while Zoey lay unconscious on the floor? Then while we attempted to reach you, an unsavory character tried to attack us and as we were fighting him off, someone shot at Zoey!” She was aware of her voice rising with each word, but she couldn’t help it.

“Quieten yourself, you sound hysterical.”

She swirled at the arrogant voice, waving her finger in Zillion’s face as he stood on her other side. His hair had fallen from its tie and now spilled around his face. It was actually quite lovely. In fact, he would be a good-looking man, if he wasn’t so horrid.

“You! You be quiet! You have been nothing but rude and awful to Zoey. And if I sound hysterical it is because I am!”

“Enough!”

Nassir jumped, turning back to where the Emperor scowled at the three of them. Zoey was making some gesture at her, slashing her hand across her throat. What did that mean? Was she saying that unless Nassir was quiet she would get her throat slit?

She gasped and took a step back, away from Zillion and towards the dark one.

Funny how she thought of him as the safer one.

Delicious bundle? Oh stars, where had that come from?

Nassir, stop. You must be wary of him. Letting her guard down around him would be risky at best. Suicidal at worst.

“They will kill me unless I am quiet?” she asked.

“What? No,” Zoey said, frowning. “Oh right, I can see how that gesture could be confusing.”

“All of you will cease to talk until my fury is more under control.”

Nassir gaped at the Emperor. He was not in full control? That was bad, very bad. Everyone around them seemed to realize that as they gave him a wide berth.

“Boris, bring her with us.”

With that, he turned and strode off, leaving Boris, Zillion, and herself standing there. Zillion gave her a nasty look before following. She barely refrained from making a face back at him. Sometimes, it would be nice to forget that a princess did not pull faces.

Boris gestured with his hand. Right, she was supposed to follow.

She took a step forward and stumbled…over nothing. Boris grabbed hold of her, wrapping his large hand around her upper arm. His touch wasn’t harsh, but she could feel the heat of it searing her skin through her clothing. It went all the way down to the place between her legs. That forbidden place that her mother told her they must never speak of after she’d given her a short lesson on reproduction. After that talk, Nassir had been more confused than ever, so she had sneakily conducted some research on her own. Research that would have earned her a sound spanking had her parents found out.

What she’d discovered had both intrigued and disgusted her. Watching some of the vids she’d found had stirred her insides, had made the folds between her legs grow wet and her nipples tighten.

But that reaction was nothing like how her body stirred as Boris touched her. She gasped, staring up at him in shock. His eyes widened and he clearly looked surprised as he stared down at her. Then he snatched his hand back from her arm, giving her an irritated look and pointing imperiously at the ground. An obvious dictate to watch where she was going.

He escorted her through a passageway and out to a waiting shuttle that displayed the royal crest. She sat in the beautiful shuttle, feeling completely out of place despite who she was, despite the fact that her parents had owned a shuttle even more opulent than this one. She didn’t belong here with these people. And she definitely shouldn’t be sitting on the pale cream seats dressed in filthy rags.

She noticed the disgusted look Zillion sent her and the way he avoided sitting close to her.

Either the dark one had little sense of smell or he was not worried about her stench as he took the seat next to her. Although he was careful not to touch her again.

And wasn’t that a disappointment.