Authors: Evanne Lorraine
The pair of soldiers crossed to the equalization passage and pulled their daggers.
Cami
’s anxiety rose at the unsheathing of their poisoned blades. “Wait, please. Do you have an exterior viewer?”
The well-matched disciples turned toward the captain in unison.
She nodded. “Activate the remote and transfer the imaging stream to the main cabin screen.”
A fresh spate of pounding rattled through the ship. The display showed a space suit-covered figure hitting the hatch with a length of metal.
Zeroing in on the implement, Cami recognized her mate’s long-range blaster and rose on shaky legs. “Let him in, please. He’s my mate.”
“Then who’s this on the deck?” an anonymous disciple asked.
“My other mate, Jaxon.”
Mutterings about two mates rumbled around the cabin.
“Our tri-bond was officially sanctioned.” Cami lifted her chin. The warriors hadn’t made the ceremony, but she didn’t feel compelled to mention the irrelevant detail.
A stunned silence fell over the
sisters.
Aegis
had no time to wait for these women to come to grips with warrior customs.
Cami shifted impatiently and turned to the captain. “You can punish me later if the
Goddess wills, but let him in. Now.” Cami palmed her weapon, prepared to kill to save her mates.
Captain Winifred quieted the crowd with raised hand. “Be at ease,
little breeder.”
With a bob of her gray head to the soldiers, the exterior hatch parted.
Aegis stumbled into the passage. As soon as the portal sealed, the interior door opened. He staggered into the main cabin. Wrenching off the helmet, he inhaled fresh air in mighty heaves. For a second he appeared as she had first seen him—a large, fierce warrior. Then his dark gaze locked on Jaxon, and her Tethysian mate shimmered to life.
She strained toward him, yearning for his touch but unable to leave Jaxon.
Strength surged back, fueling his powerful strides as he crossed to her and gathered her close. “I feared I would never see you again.”
A smile curved her lips and grew until her cheeks ached.
He kept his tight hold on her while nodding to Captain Winifred.
Even with Aegis’s strong arm around her shoulders, the disciples
disapproving mutters surrounded them, increasing her uneasiness.
Cami prickled and raised her chin as she introduced him loudly, “Lieutenant Aegis Trykol of the New Eden Space Corps, Captain Winifred of Earth’s Bon Sorority, commander of this ship.”
“My thanks for your timely distraction, Captain. Your use of fireworks was innovative and most effective.” He bowed correctly, never loosening his grip on her.
Winifred blinked and rubbed her eyes. Instantly Cami flashed to the first time she’d seen Aegis, remembering how she’d tried to clear her vision.
The sorority vessel held too many truth sensors. The intensity of their focus raised chill bumps on her backbone.
Aegis’s
illusion of humanity would never withstand the women’s scrutiny.
Just once Jaxon wanted to save Cami and be the hero. Instead of swooping for the rescue, he lay flat on the deck, gasping for breath like a damn beached fish. He tried to roll over, but his muscles had gone on strike.
’Kay, even weaker than I’d figured. Humiliation would have required a boost.
In spite of everything, Cami smiled at him
as if she’d won some awesome prize. Color him shallow and needy, but he soaked up all the undeserved love she shone on him and barely held off begging for more.
“Where are we?” It didn’t matter as long as she
and Aegis were safe, since the big guy hadn’t come into view, sitting up and taking an interest seemed like the right move. His body vetoed the sit action.
“
We are aboard the women’s ship,” Aegis rumbled.
Jaxon’s heart stuttered, and he blinked hard to keep from weeping at the familiar deep voice. “Hey, bud, you made it.”
“As did you, mate.” Aegis’s dark eyes softened his scowl for a moment.
Jaxon
leaked a few girly tears. He scrubbed away the evidence with his palms as if clearing specks of dust. “What’s the problem?”
“The disciples seem to have reservations about working with us.”
Aegis’s habitual understatement got him propped up on his elbows.
“Don’t worry. You’re safe.”
Cami patted his chest.
Damn, he was a sap for her. It grated his pride that he’d
passed out, but he’d never doubted the woman could handle whatever needed to be done. Well, his faith might have wavered for a couple of seconds between when he’d followed her off the edge of the station before the freaky invisible net caught him.
The
magic net made him wonder what other tricks these disciples had tucked up their sleeves. He would be a lot more comfortable if he knew they were all playing on the same team.
Too bad he hadn’t caught on to the whole invisibility thing a little sooner.
He’d peeked down at nothing except the infinite void stretching beneath his boots and figured dying was next on the to-do list. He’d taken the literal leap of faith, ’cause if Cami and Aegis were dead, he didn’t want to live.
He wobbled to his feet, pleased his legs held.
Aegis shifted, lending him support without making him feel like a wimp. Typical of the big guy, he kept his business hand free. “Give him your weapon, little one.”
“I would protect both of you,” she said fiercely
, but offered the blaster to Jaxon.
He accepted the weapon,
holstering it. “Sweetheart, you already did. Let me have a turn, ’kay?”
Funny, she seemed taller. Had she always come up to his chin? Maybe the lack of oxygen hit harder than he
realized. At the brush of their fingers, he automatically probed her thoughts.
Aegis’s impenetrable shield still covered her
or had she developed her own? Had they exchanged psy-talents? Nah, that was too crazy even for a sector H space jock.
She star
ed at the gray-haired disciple leading the pack, holding her head high. “We promised Ambassador Moria to help refuel the sisterhood’s vessel. This assistance had one condition, following Lieutenant Trykol’s orders.”
“No one mentioned the males
are your mates,” the elder disciple shifted her narrowed gaze to Aegis. “Or that one of them is not human.”
The little breeder lunged for the Captain
.
Jaxon wrapped a restraining arm around her small waist and reeled her in close to keep her from attacking their host
before turning his attention to the older woman. “Hold your tongue, sister. Aegis is a New Eden warrior of honor.”
The
disciple ignored him to continue rebuking Cami. “Involvement with men has corrupted you, breeder.”
Cami
’s chin lifted another notch. She refused to back down a millimeter. “Mating changed all three of us, making us stronger. You would do well not to force me to choose between the sisterhood and my mates. You won’t like the results.”
“Have a care
. Do not forget you need our help to escape your enemies.”
Cami stretched her spine. “The
sorority is always a welcome ally, but make no mistake. We don’t require your assistance.”
T
he woman crossed meaty arms and zipped it, plainly unconvinced.
Jaxon shot a glance at Aegis. The demon warrior could’ve passed for a stone carving.
His body language spoke for him. Next step, someone was gonna die.
Their ignorance chafed his nerves too. Scales instead of skin was no big deal. Give a Baldorean a dye job, turning his yellow hide bronze, and he’d
pass for a New Eden citizen. That didn’t make it safe to turn your back on him.
After centuries of war with Baldor, no warrior doubted they were evil. Jaxon had
plenty of experience with their lack of honor up close and way too personal.
None of
this great thinking helped with the current sitch. How did he convince these women the monsters they needed to worry about were the Baldoreans, not him, or Aegis? Anytime in the next couple of seconds worked. Preferably before the sisters decided to try to kill Aegis and torture Cami. ’Cause that was the way things seemed headed. The woman’s attitude sucked, but it wasn’t like they had a crowd of allies to pick from.
Time to s
alvage the operation. “How’s your fuel supply?”
“Low,” Gray Hair snapped.
Jaxon kept his tone casual. “Why don’t you give the station master a buzz? Ask them to fill your tank?”
The woman narrowed her eyes to slits. “We have watched them destroy ships
while displaying the blue lights of truce. I prefer not to call their attention to our position.”
“I get that.
Sooner or later, they’re gonna want to use this bay. Then you’re in a world of trouble.”
“Possibly,” she said grudgingly.
“Right, there are plenty of docking options.” He shrugged. “Maybe you can just sit tight until you’re out of air.”
She gave him nothing back, unless he count
ed the razorblades shooting from her squinty eyes.
“
You might prefer to cooperate with us, help retake the space station, and keep breathing,” he drawled before he shut up and let her decide.
Cami stretched up and whispered in his ear. “The gray-haired woman is Captain Winifred, commander of the Athena.”
“I need a moment.” The gray-haired leader marched away.
“No problem, take your time. It’s your air running low.”
The commander swiveled back to face him. “Yours too warrior, or were you to planning switch sides and join the Baldoreans?”
It was the kind of comment that would’ve earned another man a knuckle sandwich to go
, but he couldn’t hit a female first. If she started things, then the rules flew out the hatch and over to the slow sector for the rest of the trip. His hands balled into fists.
Not a second too
soon, he remembered his muscles just recently agreed to help out with the whole upright thing. Had he been silly enough to throw a punch, he’d probably have wound up on his ass. His bruised ego had already taken plenty of hits for one day, so he got smart and settled for drilling her with a hard look.
A few disciples
edged away. Others remembered they had places to be until the only sisters remaining monitored their ship’s systems. The big guy was still doing his iced droid act. The women’s reaction to Aegis must have triggered something major, ’cause he never froze under pressure. Except for now.
Jaxon rubbed
the big guy’s back, massage a whole lot of muscle. Ripped muscle was excellent, tense enough to break titanium—not quite so great.
There was no spark of awareness in Aegis’s eyes. He’d crawled deep into his own head,
from where Jaxon stood the territory looked rough.
Undeterred by Aegis’s droid imitation, Cami fisted his uniform, climbed up until she was lined up with his mug, and then kissed the seven levels of hells out of the male.
Damn, why didn’t I think of that?
Aegis’s powerful arms
wrapped around her good and tight. When she finally broke the lip-lock, he was back.
“Don’t let these women steal our happiness. They’re Earthlings. Most of them have never seen a man, let alone a male like you.” She fondled his ears, her heart in her eyes and her whole face glowing with love.
The corners of Aegis’s mouth quirked. “You honor me, little one.”
Me
too—both of them, Jaxon thought. Their woman was flat-out amazing. Her courage absolutely blew him away. Unlike the big guy, he lacked the guts to tell her how much he cared.
When Aegis
carefully lowered her to the deck, Cami rubbed her temples.
“Headache?”
“Not exactly. I had a future flash.”
“
A vision?” Aegis asked.
“
Yes, precognition—a slice of what will be or at least one possible future. I don’t understand how foretelling works.”
“Have you
experiences this before?”
“
Yes, more frequently since meeting you. The first happened in the shuttle, a second on the roof. They seem to be coming more frequently. Yesterday I saw the three of us together. Today I caught a preview of the sorority’s net.” She laughed nervously. “Though if I’d had any air left I’m not certain I would’ve trusted the precog glimpse enough to make the plunge.”
“
What did you see this time?” Jaxon crowded closer.
Her eyes changed, focusing
inward. The distant expression faded. The replacement held a tanker load of grim. “There’s no time. We need to leave.” She grabbed his hand, tugging hard.
While
Jaxon was still busy thinking things over, the big guy moved like a blur. One minute they stood around flapping their jaws. The next, Aegis had them suited up ready to do the space-walk shuffle. Helmets, gloves, the whole bit—they were fully dressed for the lack of elements.
Aegis gripped Jaxon, and Jaxon grabbed on to Cami. They had everything they needed to succeed.
Except for one tiny insignificant detail, they were still outta O2.
* * *
* *
Three seconds to the Athena’s interior portal, ten seconds for the entry to depressurize,
five seconds to the dock’s exterior hatchway, another ten seconds to pressurize the passageway, in total less than thirty seconds. Well within a human’s range for holding their breath.
Aegis dragged his mates into the first portal, a frisson of fear shivered across the back of his neck, stiffening his short tentacles. Twenty-e
ight seconds later, he yanked off his helmet and turned to assist his mates.
Jaxon dropped his gloves
, released his headpiece, and huffed out a lungful of stale air. “Where’s Cami?”
Aegis scoured the bay’s control booth. His anger surged. Then a soul-curdling yell of rage and loss filled the small room. Dimly he realized the terrible noise came from his throat. He could not stop howling.
Jaxon captured his face in both hands, holding him still and pressing nose to nose. “Listen to me. We’re gonna get her back. Do you hear me?”
The bleak
cry of loss tapered off and finally ended. “How—” Emotion strangled the rest of his words. He speared his fingers through his tentacles and cupped the back of his head, trying to stay sane.
Jaxon sounded as rough as Aegis
’s gut as he asked the question Aegis could not bear to voice. “How’d they manage to take her from us?”
Even a nod was too much effort with the loss
of his mate clawing and shrieking inside him.
“Losing her was my fault. I underestimated the women. It had to be their damned veil of illusion, or its real close cousin. I h
eld her hand the whole way. Or at least that’s what I thought.” Jaxon growled.
Aegis
’s knees turned liquid.
Jaxon stepped into him
, keeping him from falling.
Again
Aegis struggled to get his feet under him, expecting to flatten the warrior.
For a few raged seconds, Jaxon staggered under Aegis’s weight. Then he
looped one of Aegis’s limp arms over his shoulders, bracing him. “Whoa, big guy, let’s get you sitting before you do a face-plant.”
He tried to cooperate. Goddess alone knew how successful the effort was
. His legs seemed filled with water and tumbling stones.
“The women’s ship can’t leave, right?”
Jaxon huffed quietly while lowering him to the deck.
“Not unless we refuel them.”
“Why would we?”
“Their oxygen
will go critical in another ten minutes. Cami is aboard their craft.”
“Gotcha.”
Jaxon squinted into the seemingly empty bay. “How can we tell they haven’t already left?”