Cherished (Intergalactic Loyalties) (3 page)

“Lucie has asked that you be freed,” the Tarnan said.

“She’s all right?”

The Tarnan nodded. “She was unconscious for half a cycle. Other than a knot on her head, she’s fine.”

“I won’t leave without her. I claimed her in front of your brethren. She’s mine.”

The Tarnan frowned. “Lucie doesn’t understand. As far as she’s concerned, you merely wanted to capture her as a slave. Your claim means nothing on our world. As soon as we reach home, she’ll able to choose a protector. Several on this ship would be happy to take her as their own.”

Dryxel growled. “No one is taking my mate from me!”

“The bond isn’t complete.”

It didn’t matter to Dryxel. She was his and he would take her with him, or die trying. No way was he leaving this ship without her by his side. If he allowed the Tarnans to escape with her, he might never see her again.

“We’re approaching space station Alpha 9. You’ll be released there after we’ve gathered supplies. The cuffs are to stay in place until our vessel has lifted from the station’s docking area. Someone on Alpha 9 will release you then and return you to your people.”

“I want to see Lucie.”

The Tarnan shook his head. “That won’t be possible. She’s being detained in her room until you’ve been freed from the ship.”

Dryxel’s lips tilted at the corner. “She wants to be with me. She prefers my company to yours. Is that what you’re trying to say? You’ve had to confine my mate to keep her from my side?”

The Tarnan looked uncomfortable. “She’ll forget you soon enough. Ghel believes she was close to choosing him as her protector before you arrived.”

“Why do you want her?”

“What do you mean?” The Tarnan’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“You’ve called her ill, as if you think she’s defective. If you have such a low opinion of my mate, why do you want her? Are you so desperate for women that any female will do? Even an unwilling one you feel is less than she is?”

“Women are coveted on our planet, you know this. Any woman will be treated with the utmost respect. Whatever warrior selects her will cherish her. She will be well taken care of, that I can promise you.”

“I want to see Lucie,” he growled.

“No. We’ll be docking shortly. Be prepared to leave soon after.”

The Tarnan turned and left, the door closing behind him. Dryxel ground his teeth together, wishing he had the strength to break the cuffs and escape this prison. If they thought he was going to head home, tail tucked between his legs, and just forget about the woman he’d claimed as his own, they were sadly mistaken. Even if he wanted to, he could never forget Lucie. Her fragile beauty called to him, but her remarks showed she had some spirit. If he searched all of the galaxies for the rest of his days, he would never find her equal.

A tremor shook the floor and he knew they’d docked at Alpha 9. If he was going to come up with a plan to see Lucie again, now was the time. Unfortunately, with his hands confined the way they were, there was little he could do. He knew the Tarnans were heading home. Once one of the Tourmalane ships arrived to retrieve him, he could go after them. He knew they wouldn’t give up Lucie without a fight, but he was willing to go into battle for her. If ever there was a good reason to die, going after his mate would be it. Once his brethren discovered he’d mated, they would gladly aid him in his quest.

Time ticked by and he grew impatient. The door opened once more and he growled, wishing he could wrap his fingers around the dirty Tarnan’s neck. Except… it wasn’t a Tarnan.

“Lucie?”

“I don’t have much time,” she said. “They’ll be coming for you.”

“What are you doing here, sweet? You shouldn’t have left your quarters. I was going to come for you.”

She arched a delicate brow. “From what I hear, you’re trussed up like a turkey.”

He frowned. “I don’t understand that analogy.”

“It means you’re bound with no way to escape.”

He grunted.

She put her hands in front of her as she inched her way across the room. When she reached the bars, there was a slight clanging noise and it drew his attention to her slender fingers. There, in her grasp, was the key to his cell.

“How did you get that key?”

She shrugged. “One of the women on board doesn’t like me much. She thought if I helped you escape, you’d take me with you.”

“And she procured the key, how?”

“I didn’t ask. Didn’t care. All that mattered was freeing you. There’s just one problem. I’m not sure how to remove the cuffs.”

“There’s a sequence that must be entered on them for the catch to release. Only the Tarnan who put them on me will know how to free me. I’m assuming he plans to tell Alpha 9 how to remove the cuffs once this ship takes off again.”

“Alpha 9? Is that where we are?”

“It’s a space station not far from Keshpa. You’ve only been traveling three of your Earth days, maybe four. I sort of lost track of time down here. You still have several days before you’ll reach Tarnan.”

The key twisted in the lock and the door creaked open. He moved toward her, slowly so as not to frighten her. When he stood before her, he ached to take her in his arms. She was so brave, coming after him like this. He also knew it was only a matter of time before they were discovered. How could he get her off the ship with his hands cuffed though?

His mate wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tight. His heart softened even more toward the female. It had been a long time since he’d felt a woman embrace him. Not since his mother. Lucie was the first female he’d touched in twenty years. That wasn’t to say he was inexperienced when it came to pleasing a woman, at least he hoped he wasn’t. Whenever he’d felt the urge to fuck, he’d gone to one of the floating brothels. Even still, he’d never allowed a female to touch him, instead preferring to use the sex bots. It had seemed wrong to touch a woman who wasn’t his mate. Now that he had Lucie, he was glad he’d used the bots instead.

“Let’s get you out of here,” she said. “I’ll have to let you lead since I can’t see where I’m going.”

He bent forward and claimed her lips in a sweet kiss before sweeping past her. She opened the door and he edged into the corridor. All was clear so he moved forward, walking as softly as he could, but his boots were still noisy against the metal floor. He froze when he heard Tarnans ahead, pressing as close to the wall as he could. He felt Lucie’s small hand on his arm and looked down to see her shadowing him. That she trusted him to get them off the ship safely, even confined as he was, made his chest expand with pride. He only hoped her trust wasn’t misplaced.

He eased forward again, remembering the way to the ship’s doors. Even better, he’d seen a transport chamber on his way to the holding cells. The Tarnans hadn’t checked him thoroughly and his transport chip was still embedded in his ear, giving him access to any Tourmalane ship within reach. He only hoped his brethren were close enough for it to work. He wasn’t sure they could slide past the Tarnans and onto Alpha 9 without incident.

They approached the transport chamber, and he slipped inside. When Lucie stepped in behind him, he commanded the door to close and lock. She looked confused and he wanted to ease her uncertainty.

“This is a transport chamber. I have a device in my ear that will allow me to move us from this ship to one of my brethren’s ships. At least, in theory. They have to be close enough for it to work. I’m counting on them having followed the Tarnans in order to free me.”

“What do I need to do?” she asked.

“Wrap your arms around me, Lucie.” Really, a touch would do, but he wanted to feel her embrace again.

She did as he asked.

“Reach up and press my left ear. It will activate the chip. Then I’ll give the command. It might feel a little strange, but just hold tight to me. It will only last a short while and then we’ll be safe.”

She reached up and pressed his ear. In a clear voice, he gave the command that would transport them to safety. Their image wavered and he felt prickles rush over his skin right before the Tarnan ship blinked out of existence. When his vision cleared, he was safely on board the Syntron.

He saw two Tourmalane warriors rushing his way, skidding to a stop just outside the transport chamber. When the doors opened, they stared at him in stunned fascination and a bit of relief.

“Your Highness, we were on our way to retrieve you,” Napir said.

He felt Lucie stiffen against him. “Highness?” she asked.

Napir looked at Lucie, a question in his eyes.

“Napir. Rylo. This is Lucie. My mate.” Their eyes widened. “She rescued me from the Tarnans.”

Lucie blushed a becoming shade of pink. “I didn’t do much.”

“You unlocked my cell and set me free, sweet. Without you, I would still be on board the Lynten 12, waiting to be escorted to Alpha 9.”

“She is certainly worthy of our prince,” Rylo said, bowing low.

“Can you unlock his cuffs?” Lucie asked.

“We can cut them off,” Napir answered.

He felt Lucie’s indrawn breath. “Isn’t that dangerous? What if you cut off his hand?”

Napir chuckled. “We’re known for our precision with weapons, princess. Never fear. Prince Dryxel will be in one piece when we’re done.”

She looked at him. “Princess?”

“I claimed you in front of the Tarnans, Lucie. You’re mine.”

“Yours, yes. That I understood. But I thought you meant to keep me as a slave.”

Rylo looked more than a little shocked and a bit offended. “A Tourmalane would never keep a woman as a slave.”

“Princess?” she asked Dryxel.

“Yes, my sweet. You’re my princess.”

She seemed to mull it over for a moment. “We’ll talk about it more later.”

He smiled, knowing she was going to give him an earful for keeping his identity secret from her. Stepping out of the transport chamber, he paused to kiss the top of her head and breathe her in.

“Go with Rylo. I’m sure he’ll be happy to give you a tour and introduce you to the crew. I’ll come find you once I’m free and have bathed and changed. I stink of that Tarnan holding cell.”

She worried at her lower lip. “Are they going to come after us?”

He nodded, then realized she couldn’t see him. “Yes, I’m sure they will. It won’t take them long to figure out where we went.” He turned his attention to Rylo. “When you reach the captain, tell him to get us the hell out of here. We need to get as far from the Lynten 12 as possible, as fast as possible.”

Lucie placed her hand on his arm. “If they come for me, I don’t want you fighting over me. Send me back with them if it will save you and your crew.”

“Never. I won’t allow them to take you from me again, Lucie. This time they’ll be faced with a fair fight. I was cocky before, thinking I could take their ship with so few men. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“Are you going after them then? For the other women?” she asked softly.

“I have what I want from them. All I want to do now is get you to the safety of Tourmalane.”

Napir placed his hand on Dryxel’s arm. “Come, Your Highness. Let’s free you so you may see the rest of the men. They will be happy that you’re safe and have returned to us.”

He grinned. “Afraid of what my father would do if you should return to Tourmalane without me?”

Napir chuckled. “Something like that.”

He watched Rylo escort Lucie away from the transport chamber and toward the front of the ship. Napir was watching him, a thoughtful look on his face and Dryxel scowled.

“What?”

Napir shrugged. “You seem very taken with the princess.”

“She’s special.”

“She would have to be to garner your attention. Countless women have wanted you over the years and you never gave them a passing glance. This one you meet and mate immediately.”

“And you wonder if I’ve made a wise choice.”

Napir shook his head. “No one knows your heart better than you do, Highness. We all know the only way for us to produce children is if we’re with our true mate. You wouldn’t have bound yourself to her if she wasn’t yours.”

“I should have told Rylo… “

“What, Highness?”

“Lucie is nearly blind. I want to have our healer examine her when we return home, see if there’s something more that can be done for her. She seems sad. I want her to smile always.”

They entered the weapons hold and Napir took down a small laser knife. It was a special weapon, made only by Tourmalanes, called a glyk. The laser blade would pulse when placed on the proper setting, ideal for breaking out of cuffs. He turned his back, presenting Napir with his wrists. The heat of the laser seared him, but the discomfort was worth freedom. He felt the cuffs give and then they clanked to the floor.

Wincing, he pulled his arms around in front of him, pinpricks of pain shooting down his limbs as the blood began flowing again. He hadn’t told Lucie, hadn’t wanted her to worry, but his hands had gone numb. If he hadn’t gotten the cuffs off soon, he might have lost the use of his hands completely. If that happened, he would have had to step down as heir to the throne. The ruler had to be willing and able to fight for his people.

He made his way to his chamber, surprised when he didn’t see anyone along the way. After pulling off his clothes, he stepped into the cleansing chamber and pressed the button. Nozzles in the wall hosed him down from head to toe, then blasted him with soap before rinsing him. He stepped out onto the drying mat, the air blasting up from the floor ridding his body of moisture. Only his hair remained wet when it shut off.

He looked in the beveled glass over his sink and ran a hand over his scruffy cheeks. His bride deserved to have a clean-shaven husband, even if it did mean taking more time away from her side. Dryxel lathered his face and quickly removed the hair from his chin and cheeks. Scraping the obsidian blade along his jaw, he realized he looked like a completely different man now. He cleaned his face and left the bathing room.

Now that he wasn’t going into battle, he hoped, he didn’t have to wear his leathers. He pulled on soft black pants and a silky navy shirt. Tucking the shirt into the tight pants, he donned his belt then put on his boots. He wished Lucie could see him, and hoped that if she ever did regain her sight, she wouldn’t be disappointed. Women had told him he was handsome before, but he’d ignored them, their opinion not mattering to him. He only cared what Lucie thought.