I touched my cheek and there was a slight buzzing in my hand. Man, that is just amazing! What is that…? Is that a connection between Curans and Earthlings? Or… Or is she my Destin, too?
Or, is it just something that happened because of Kajo’s magic when he healed her six months ago?
Damn. That would suck. That it would have something to do with Kajo. I sure hope it isn’t anything to do with another man, even if it is a man I sincerely respect…
I shook off the thought and skipped further down the slippery boulders, sticking to the rocks rather than the muddy path. Who knew how deeply the salty sludge would sink in this rain. I leaped like a mountain goat from ledge to ledge and found myself having a bit of fun; it had been a long time since I had had a solo mission. Being Alpha was lonely in many ways, but it meant I was rarely alone. They were always too worried about making sure I was protected, and there were so many responsibilities… so many tasks, from menial to insurmountable. If I was being truthful, that was another reason I didn't have a Queen, yet. I just didn't think it was fair to put any woman through the trials that it would entail being my match: it meant late nights and a constant pull on a schedule that was outside my control.
But, right now, fueled by the passion of Vania's kisses, I could vault from rock to rock, buoyed by telekinetic jumps, floating myself through the precipitation for longer leaps, and was bursting with the sensations I hadn't felt in years: true joy at running a scouting mission against my enemy, ready to roll with whatever came my way, my hand prepped to pull a weapon if I stumbled on a scout, and my eyes laser-sharp in the flashing lightning for any movement that seemed odd or out of shape.
It was brilliant.
Lightning flared in the valley as I was mid-bound and I saw just such a shape, dark against the white salt hills.
I ducked quickly behind a boulder as I landed, my boots squelching in the mud. Thunder echoed. Numerous other shapes rounded the pathway between craggy outcroppings along a game trail, and I pulled my dagger. I spun up six throwing knives into the air, floating just off my left shoulder, huge raindrops pinging off their gleam, my hold keeping them steady as the drops burst off in tiny sliver pinpoints. They were primed to laser through these Bordash skulls if they spied me. I counted the cloaked shadows quickly in the raging lightning shine as they crept closer to my hiding spot.
…nine… ten… eleven… twelve… thirteen… fourteen…
The nearest one was just feet from me when he reached up to adjust the hood of his cloak and a tattoo on the inside of his wrist was made visible, stark in the lightning’s bold glow.
It was an Emerona crest.
Not only that, the embellishment of waves and sunrise on those waves told me exactly who he was. He was Axis, the head of my Special Operations Seawards unit. He was originally from Emerona’s northern shores, close to Kajo’s kingdom and the Bristola Ocean. He was a knight if there ever was one. Skilled with all manner of animals of the sea and navigating the waters, he was also a brilliant strategist and compassionate leader of his Spec Ops team, dubbed the Seawards. There were few Commanders who had such heart.
I took three steps backward and floated up to the top of the boulder so that he couldn’t immediately strike me, though I knew he wouldn’t unleash any type of blow just because he was startled. He was far too well trained… But I also couldn’t resist making an impression… What Alpha wouldn’t want to remind his troops of his glory?
I waited atop the boulder, towering above my favorite Spec Ops Twelve team as they wrapped like a snake in the clearing below me, unaware of my presence, and it seemed to take forever, in the driving rain, for another brilliant lightning strike.
But when it came, there I stood.
I raised my arms and swept back my cloak, so it swam in a billowing cloud around my body, in the wind, my blonde hair whipping against my face inside the hood's cover. My knives fanned out around my head like a halo, none pointed at my soldiers, but rather, had their blades flat to them, as if they were a halo circling my entire visage.
The lightning flared long and brilliant, making the knives reflect twelve panes of my image in mirror-like magnificence. My sleeves were pushed up, my bare arms, blazoned with the mythos of our peoples, were getting drenched by the rain, but the tattoos looked radiant in the glow of the lightning. The thunder cracked down almost concurrent with the lightning spread and the geometric lines of the lightning made a fractal design like tree branches out from my body where I stood on the boulder.
My team gasped and pointed, grabbed their weapons, dropped to their knees when they realized it was me, laughed, cursed, smiled, cheered, and threw sand at the boulder at my feet.
The thunder subsided, and I jumped down, grinning.
Axis grabbed my arm and pulled me into a hug.
“Dammit, Alpha. We were worried about you.”
“I am fine, Commander Axis. Thank you for seeking me out. It has been aggravating. The radio silence has been killing me.”
“Let’s go, let’s get you to our transport and back to our camp. We need to radio the other Crews and let them know you’re safe. Then there are orders needed.”
“Wait.” I used my commanding voice. "The Earthling is with me. She is healing but was injured. We must return to the salt caves and retrieve her."
Cassala and LeiLei were suddenly beside me, touching my cloak as an admission of happiness to see me. My relief at seeing them turned
