He simultaneously wanted to kiss her, spank her and shake some sense into her. The prisoner was dangerous. Very, very dangerous. Dagan had given him the signal during their meeting with the women. The prisoner was not human. Not Caldorian. He was from Darkoor. The genetic analysis completed upon his arrival at the base shocked them all, but especially King Dagan.
The Darkoor were vile, ate every species they conquered without a moment’s hesitation and served the Dark Ones who feasted on many races, but humans in particular.
If the Darkoor had shown up to capture Isabella, then she was in more danger than he had imagined…and he could imagine a lot. Damn female didn’t listen. Didn’t obey. Had no fear. No sense of self-preservation.
And he could no longer pretend she didn’t matter to him. He’d planned to keep her close and protect her. Without maju paste. Without a Lumerian Yielding. Either one could kill a human. He would love her all his days, long after she had passed on, yet he would never have risked her life for his own selfish needs.
He swore long and loud. Humans did not have the power to control others with their voices as Isabella had done to him. He knew of only two humans with any powers at all, and they’d both been transformed by maju paste. Like Lumerian women, they’d needed an anchor for their power, a Yielding. Two must yield all that they are to become something new, to become one. If either is unwilling or unable to yield fully, the ceremony will result in the deaths of both. All or nothing. That was why some Lumerians chose not to ever attempt a Yielding.
He’d told Isabella not to use any maju paste on herself. No one dared disobey him, so he hadn’t given the matter another thought. A stupid mistake that could cost Isabella her life. He would gladly go through a Yielding, risk his own life to give her everything, but would she be willing to do the same? Would she be willing to try?
“Falden! Answer me!” King Dagan’s voice carried through the comm speaker in the wall, and Falden realized he’d been staring at nothing, lost in his fears for Isabella.
“King Dagan. My apologies. I am under some kind of hypnosis or neurological command. I can’t move.”
“What?” Dagan grumbled something unintelligible to someone; then his voice came back louder than before. “You can’t move? Is that why the crazy human you brought on base broke into the interrogation room, took my prisoner, stole a car and took two of my warriors off base without permission?”
“What?” Falden managed two steps. Three. He was reaching for his Spectral Cloaking Armor, his weapons…Furon, the Storm Caller. “Isabella spoke to the prisoner?”
“Didn’t you hear me?” Dagan was yelling now. “She took him. Gone. Him and two of my best men. The guards at the gate swear they don’t remember seeing her leave, but I have them on video talking to that woman. Every time I ask them where she was going, they swear they never saw her and start singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” which is a fucking human nursery song. So tell me, what the fuck is going on?”
Isabella had spoken to the prisoner, and Falden had not been allowed to interfere. That had been her command. He hadn’t been expecting that from her. Had let his guard down. Falden was ancient. An elder. Closing his eyes, he gave himself to the old ways, taking knowledge from the web of energy that surrounded all living things. Felt for the strings trapping him. Broke free.
Armor on, he hit a button on his arm that would alert the others to gear up. Gareth. Cassiel. Vander. Normally four Knights would be more than enough, but there was nothing normal about this situation. He needed more help, and he wasn’t above asking for it, not when the Darkoor—and their evil masters—were involved. Not when it was his female. Her scent was still wrapped around his cock, coating him in her essence. The taste of her kiss lingered on his lips. The swirls in his skin, though not as bright as they had been, still glowed with her claim on him.
She’d claimed him whether she knew it or not. And he was going to make her keep that promise, even if he had to ask the Caldorian warriors for help.
“I believe Isabella has taken the prisoner in an attempt to find Sevron. She knows Torrin was found and Sevron is missing. She was upset with me for denying her access to the prisoner. She worked for several months to establish links to him and his cohorts. She demanded to speak to the prisoner, even after we left you.”
“And you told her where he was? What possessed you to do that?”
“She asked and I could not deny her.” There. That was the truth, or as close to it as he was going to get before speaking to Isabella and finding out the extent of her powers. One command from her and he’d obeyed like a child. Such a power was not to be broadcast to the world.
“Get her back here. Alive. And bring that Darkoor back, too. I wasn’t done with him.”
“I have summoned my team. We will follow her immediately.”
“Good. I’ve got a squadron of Caldorian warriors gearing up. I have a tracking beacon on my men. Isabella has a five-minute head start. The squadron is heading out in three.”
“We’ll be ready in two.” Furon flashed and swirled with his rising power, the ancient blue runes flashing as terror washed through Falden’s veins like ice water hitting lava. Isabella was out there with a Darkoor. One wrong move and that creature’s teeth would be locked on her throat, draining her dry before devouring her flesh. And there was nothing he could do about it.
The Caldorians would be the distraction he and his team needed to get inside unseen and kill. Every. Single. One. Of. Them.
And if
