Chapter Three
When Taryn was sure the last alien warrior was unconscious, she shouted, “End scene.”
The cries and moaning ceased as the women went to work vanquishing the flames with a special mixture that could extinguish the fire of a radiant bird. The children were already at the far side, where the radiant birds landed one by one on the rock perch and waited for their human trainers to retrieve them.
One of the teenagers ran off to tell the men to assist.
With everything running as it should, Taryn dusted off her dress and headed toward the group of unconscious alien males at the entrance to the secluded valley. Nova and Celestia would check out the other two groups she’d spotted during their play.
Taryn had barely had time to notice the naked chests, tight synthetic pants, and strange markings of the aliens when she’d been pretending to be helpless, but as she approached, Taryn noted that no two sets of markings were the same. Not just because their colors ran from blue to orange to green, but the shapes and placements were unique.
She’d seen something similar before, with aliens assimilated about a decade ago. That would work to her advantage since those males were married and dedicated to their wives. They would do anything, even reveal secrets of their own world, to protect their families. Taryn would interview them later.
Reaching the largest alien with golden skin and the most markings, Taryn squatted down and studied his face. Since he’d been leading the charge, she was pretty sure he was their leader. Even unconscious on the ground, he was huge. He had to be well over six feet tall and without an ounce of fat on his body.
Clean-shaven, his face was all angles, and his dark blue hair glinted in the sun. His hair was probably the only soft part of him. She itched to brush the blue strands to find out but clenched her fingers in her skirt. If the males were cooperative and wished to stay, Celestia would assign each one to their most compatible Jasvarian counterpart. Since touching skin to skin initiated some kind of bond with certain alien species, Taryn wouldn’t take the chance of the male wanting her and then making her miserable for the rest of her life if they weren’t a suitable match. While they looked like the aliens from ten years ago, she could be mistaken and couldn’t risk it.
No, she would leave her future to Celestia. If no male suited her this time around, she’d find one eventually, once they had these aliens’ ship under their control.
Nova’s voice filled Taryn’s ear. “If you don’t think you can handle him, I’ll have a go,” she purred.
Frowning, Taryn stood and looked at her friend. “Attraction doesn’t mean happiness. Let Celestia do her job and pair you with the right one.”
Nova sighed. “I hate the pairing we do. I wish we could kiss a few men and find a match on our own.”
“You can with any of the men born here,” she pointed out.
Nova scrunched her nose. “The few I’ve kissed were definitely not for me. It was like kissing a cousin.”
The corner of Taryn’s mouth ticked up. “I know for sure none of them were your cousins. But if my plan succeeds, you just might have a wider pool to ‘taste’ in the future.” The sound of carts creaking closer filled the air. “But enough about kissing. Who is watching your group?”
“Matilda. She wanted to ensure they were all unconscious and didn’t show signs of waking up.”
She nodded. “While she does that, make sure everyone has their gloves on. I don’t want any sort of unnecessary bonding.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t want a repeat of fifteen years ago, either.”
The women had helped load the males onto the carts back then. Each first touch had established a bond that had ended in suicide with a few cases and more than a handful of the alien males in jail for violence. Even so, a few pairings had worked out and resulted in children. So it hadn’t been a total loss.
The people of Jasvar truly understood the saying about beggars not being choosers. When a group of people faced extinction, they made the most of what they had.
Taryn took one last look at the leader’s face. The lack of smile lines around the corners of his mouth or near his eyes told her he was a serious fellow. From what she remembered of the aliens from a decade ago, most weren’t afraid to smile on a regular basis. Most likely, Mr. Huge Alien Warrior was going to be a tough bastard to crack.
Not that Taryn doubted her ability to do so. She just needed to clean up and don something a bit more commanding to do it.
She waved toward the leader. “Isolate and restrain him. I’ll talk with him as soon as I talk with the other similar aliens in our colony and gather information. Maybe they can confirm this group is the same species.”
“While I’ve seen the men with markings walking the corridors before, none of them were as well built as this lot.”
“The ones from ten years ago were scientists. I have a feeling these are warriors.”
Nova slapped her shoulder. “You always did enjoy a challenge.”
“Be grateful for that, or you wouldn’t have such a wonderful leader.”
Nova snorted. “Yes, oh great one.”
Taryn rolled her eyes. “Just oversee the women. I’m going to head back and take some of the youngest children with me.”
Nova nodded in acknowledgment and Taryn walked toward the group of children near the birds. Unable to resist, she glanced at the huge warrior one last time. Even unconscious, he radiated power. She only hoped he didn’t possess some kind of persuasion ability or she would have her work cut out for her, despite her training with a few of the men and women in the colony who had inherited strange abilities from their alien fathers.
Maybe she should order extra restraints just to make sure he couldn’t escape. That way, if somehow Taryn failed to resist any special powers, the extra bonds would give her people time to knock the leader out again with other medicines.
Directing three of the youngest children in front of her, Taryn walked as quickly as she could without pushing the kids too hard. She needed to find the aliens like the warriors as soon as possible and discover their weaknesses. Taryn Demara didn’t like to lose, and she had no intention of allowing the warrior alien to pull a fast one on her.
~~~
Kason’s head pounded as he slowly opened his eyes. The dim light was a relief over bright, but it still sent a sharp pain stabbing into his brain.
He carefully maintained an expression free of emotion and forced his eyes to stay open.
The women in distress had been a trap. And judging by his unconsciousness and aftereffects, someone had drugged him, and he wanted to know who.
But in order to do that, he needed information.
He moved his wrists, but Kason’s hands were restrained behind his back. Glancing down, he also saw that his legs were chained to both the chair and a bolt in the floor, which was an old method of restraint. Most species used containment cuffs or fields for their prisoners.
Moving his gaze around the room, it looked to be a cave of some sort, lit only by a handful of candles. The cut of the wall was smooth on one half and notched on the other, almost as if a laser cutter had failed and the job had been finished by hand.
The lack of lights or any computers fit with the thatched houses and simply dressed women from the valley. Whoever was on Jasvar relied on a low-tech lifestyle.
While his blast gun was missing from his side, if he could find it, he could probably overpower the criminals and rescue his men. All it would take was some improvised armor, and their drug-tipped darts wouldn’t stand a chance.
Then his eyes fell on a mirror set into the wall, and he frowned. The silver substance with etched engravings around the edge was a copy of some of the two-way mirrors inside his own shuttle.
Maybe the Kelderan scientists who disappeared ten years ago had fallen victim to the same scheming criminals as Kason and his men.
Clenching his fingers into fists, it was the only sign of emotion Kason allowed for his failure. He had a feeling the scene with the fire and screaming women had been used to lure many others in the past.
Too bad Kelderans didn’t hunt down women and kill them, or Kason might’ve invoked the right of revenge to stop the deceitful females.
The wooden door at the far side of the room swung inward, and he made out a tall figure wearing leather pants and a tight-fitting top with leather straps crisscrossed across a chest. It took him a second to realize that the chest had breasts that could only belong to a female.
What woman would wear men’s clothing? If she were married, her husband should rip off her scandalous clothes and burn them before handing her a dress or pair of flowing kalak pants.
The female stepped closer. The scent of human hit his nose at the same time the light highlighted her face. Despite her dark hair braided around her head and her lack of applied coloring to her face, the woman’s full lips and dark eyes called to him. Maybe it was the mixture of softness and strength.
Then as he tried to shake the feeling, he couldn’t help but look at her shoulders, waist, and then her thighs.
It was then he realized the danger—the only time Kason would lose focus when it came to women was because of instinct.
The human female was potentially a destined bride, which meant she was one of a handful of women who could continue the royal line. Unlike with commoners, the royal line had specific genetic complications that made bearing children difficult. Over the centuries, destined brides had been the only ones to give the kings of old children.
However, potential destined bride or not, he was going to interrogate the female, escape, and subdue the humans.
If he rid the planet of pests, then he could claim the world as his own.
The female’s voice filled the room, speaking in CEL. Thankfully, all royals were forced to learn the choppy language as children for diplomatic reasons, in case Earth ever finally agreed to an alliance.
“Should I turn around so you can stare at me some more?” she asked.
The amusement in her voice only made him narrow his eyes as he replied in the same language. “It might help me better assess how to disarm you.”
She raised her brows. “I would be able to take this dagger”—she touched one of the weapons strapped to her chest—“and fling it into your heart before you could blink.”
Intriguing. Keldera didn’t have female warriors. But he kept his surprise to himself. “If you truly want to test your skills, then untie me and let’s see how you stand up against a true warrior.”
She snorted. “I’m surprised you didn’t mention defending my honor or some such thing. That seems to be important to Kelderans.”
He wondered how she knew about his people. “Who are you?”
“Was that a hint of irritation in your voice? I thought warriors weren’t supposed to show emotion.”
Taking a deep breath through his nose, he studied the human a second before stating, “Maybe you heard irritation because you’re looking for a weakness. I assure you, human, you won’t find one. Your fate was sealed as soon as you drugged me.”
Rolling her eyes, the human took out one of her daggers. “Why did it have to be warriors this time?” she muttered.
“This time” must mean the female had tricked males before, as he had suspected. He was believing more and more this female’s people were responsible for Keldera’s missing scientists.
Although ten years ago, she couldn’t have been much more than an adolescent, if he judged the human’s age correctly.
Still, her people had stolen from his. His resolve to escape and conquer the humans grew stronger.
If he could get the human to come closer, Kason would find a way to steal her dagger.
And once he had a weapon, the slip of a want-to-be warrior wouldn’t stand a chance against him.
~~~
Taryn should stop needling Mr. Huge Alien Warrior, but his arrogance all but begged her to take him down a notch.
Thanks to the two aliens from the previous conquest she’d tracked down and confirmed as Kelderans, Taryn knew the male in front of her was more than a warrior—he was a Kelderan prince.
Prince Kason tro el Vallen to be exact, the second-in-line for the throne and a supposed general in his own right.
Provided she could keep him prisoner, he might be the leverage she needed to take over the Kelderan ship in orbit.
Not that she’d figured out how to do that just yet. All the talk of honor and how females were viewed as weaker made her job harder. But Taryn wasn’t going to step aside and let a man take her place to care for her people just because another culture demanded it. The risk and challenge were hers. If she could only get the blasted man to talk, she would be better able to formulate a plan of attack.
His once-over earlier had made her skin hot, but she was intelligent enough to admit Kason was attractive and most women would have a similar reaction. However, each time his eyes found hers, it was as if he were peering into her soul. His dark blue eyes made her want to step closer and find the secrets buried in them.
And she had no idea why. She’d never felt a pull toward any of the other alien men before or even others from the same group.
Realizing she was about to step too close to the Kelderan prince, Taryn took a step back and played with her dagger, tossing it into the air and catching it by the tip. The prince finally spoke up again. “As far as interrogation techniques go, you’re a novice.”
She caught her dagger and raised her brows. “Is that so?” She snapped her fingers, and a small section of the door opened before a radiant bird flew around the room and landed on Taryn’s protected forearm. “If I truly wanted to scare you into confessing, then I would allow my little friend here to sit in your lap. Whenever I give the command, her tail bursts into flame. I’m fairly certain that even a prince general would yelp at his balls being lit on fire.”
Kason’s brows moved a fraction into what she might even call a frown. “You must not have a husband because he would never allow you to speak so vulgarly.”
Between the perceived weakness, the outrage she’d seen in his eyes at her wearing trousers, and his criticism of her language, Taryn was starting to wonder how the women of Keldera put up with it.
Thankfully she would never have to live in such a culture. “Are there any more criticisms you’d like to get out of the way? Maybe then you’ll have something worthwhile to say.”
He grunted and opened his mouth, but promptly closed it.
It took everything she had not to laugh at his near-lapse in restraint. She had a feeling Mr. Alien Prince wasn’t used to people doing anything but fawning over him or obeying his orders.
Keeping her arm raised with the bird, she pointed her dagger at him with her free hand. “Look, I get that you’re supposed to be a powerful warrior who has probably never seen defeat. But the reality is I have you and your men in custody. I think it’s time we talked about your future.”
Kason tilted his head. “If you think my people will pay a ransom, then you haven’t done your homework.” He lowered his voice. “This is the only warning you’ll get from me—release me, and I may be able to spare your lives.”
“And if I don’t?”
He smiled. “Then you will be the one tied to a chair and at my mercy.”
She sheathed her dagger. “That’s what I expected you to say. I think it’s time I paid your second-in-command a visit.”
Taryn swore she saw something flash in Kason’s eyes, but it was gone before she could blink.
He shrugged. “Unlike human soldiers, we don’t wear identifiers for rank. Only a fool would make themselves out to be a target. My men are trained. None of them will talk.”
Taryn smiled slowly. “Care to make a wager on that?”
“I don’t wager with untrustworthy, immoral females who don’t know their place.”
It took everything she had not to draw her dagger and aim for his heart. “Suit yourself. I look forward to the day you understand your place on my planet.”
Careful to keep her bird perched on her forearm, Taryn turned and walked out of the room. As soon as the door clicked closed, Nova’s head popped out of the viewing room. “That was smooth, oh great leader.”
Taryn lightly moved her arm, and the bird flew down the hall to its trainer. “His princely arrogance is a pain in the ass, that’s for sure. But I have a few days to either break one of his men or him. If not, we’ll give him the memory potion and try the ransom method.”
Nova went to her side, and they walked down the hall together. “And if we can’t do either before too much time passes for the memory potion to work?”
“Oh, we will succeed.”
Nova raised her brows. “And how, exactly, do you expect to do that?”
Taryn smiled sweetly. “Why, with your help, of course. Didn’t you just complain about not getting to kiss enough men? Well, today is your lucky day.”
“If you expect me to kiss that asshole prince, then you’re in for a surprise.”
“Not him,” she answered without missing a beat.
Nova searched her eyes. “That came out rather quickly.”
“Look, do you want to help me or not? If not, I know other unattached women who’d love a chance to snag a warrior, alien husband.”
“Fine, I’ll drop it for now. But once I find my hot alien man and have a date lined up, I’m going to bring this up again.” Taryn said nothing, so Nova continued. “So, what’s your plan?”