“Yes, sir.” The Caldorians who had survived the battle were filing in behind the Knights, and Dagan could hear their shock and questioning tone. Lifting Isabella in his arms, as Torrin did the same with the unconscious Falden, Dagan turned to face the Knights and warriors gathered as one unified force for the first time in Caldorian history.
“Warriors, the allies standing before you are all that remains of the Lumerian Knights. They have been working to protect their people—and their royal bloodlines—from extinction, and we welcome them with open arms.”
Gasps and shocked murmuring sounded all around them as the Caldorian warriors looked at the scattered, bloodied Knights.
Yorek, a young Caldorian who had fought like a man possessed, stepped forward. “Thank you for your assistance in this battle, Lumerians. We would have been destroyed if not for your help.”
Gareth flanked Torrin as a guard for Falden’s vulnerable form as Vander and Cassiel walked to Dagan and took Isabella from his arms with a gentleness he would not have expected in such fierce fighters.
Gareth addressed Yorek, and all the Caldorians standing, craning to get a better look at what had, until moments ago, been nothing more than myth. Legend. “We share a common enemy, and King Dagan has been a strong and trusted friend. His queen is our queen. We fight with you until the end.”
The severity of the words hung in the air as the stench of dead Darkoor, human and a few Caldorians, nearly suffocated Dagan with what lay ahead.
Long seconds passed in silence before a cheer erupted, a wild, exuberant, uncontrolled celebration by the Caldorians who had just witnessed a battle to make the most hardened warriors fear the future.
Even Dagan had never seen a Dark One fight.
Vander and Cassiel stepped away to carry Isabella to a waiting vehicle. “Make sure Sasha heals her first. She saved us all.”
“She did indeed,” Gareth agreed. “We do not possess the weapons necessary to battle the Dark Ones. If they are here, we have a problem.”
Dagan agreed. “Live to fight another day, Gareth. Live to fight another day.”
The Lumerians carried their precious cargo out of the building to return to base, and Dagan stood, hands on his hips to address the remaining Knights and warriors. “I want every DNA sample, every data trace, every piece of information, every message sent or received. I want to know what they ate, where they got their food, who they talked to and when. I want to know if there are more humans in this city helping them and where they live. Take this place apart.”
“With pleasure, Your Majesty.” Yorek whistled and the Caldorians moved into their teams, training kicking in, as Dagan had known it would now that they had a purpose. A mission. A goal.
He looked to the side, surprised to see Torrin’s mate, Juliette, leaning over one of his warriors, applying a field dressing to the wounded male’s leg.
“Juliette, you should go.”
She lifted her head and smiled at him with a look he recognized all too well, as his own human mate, Sasha, gave him the same smile when she was going to blatantly ignore whatever he was telling her to do. “I’m a nurse. I’m staying until the wounded are taken care of.”
“And then you’ll go? Won’t Torrin worry?” He would be frantic, imagining Sasha in a place like this. Helpless. Without him there to protect her.
Juliette stood and lifted her hands into the air above her head. Red-hot flames burst like a halo of power around her open palms. “With this many dead, I figure you’re going to need me to burn up some evidence before the cops get here.”
Fuck. He’d forgotten all about the human law enforcement officers. That was all he needed right now. Dark Ones. Darkoor. Aliens selling humans for their blood. For food. The political ramifications alone would take him months, if not years to smooth over with the human politicians. But only if they found out what had happened here. Better to keep the bureaucrats in the dark and deal with the military personnel. And even then, he didn’t have enough information to take to the human generals yet.
Yet. Once they’d scrubbed this place, he had a feeling that would change.
He yelled for the nearest Caldorian warrior, who happened to be Yorek. The young male was proving himself useful this day. “Stay with Juliette. She’s Torrin’s mate, and if anything happens to her, he’ll gut every one of us with that glowing sword, you first.”
“Torrin? One of the Lumerian Knights?”
Juliette smiled. “Oh yeah. He’s a prince.”
Was that supposed to be funny, Dagan wondered? “Behave, female.” She grinned but said nothing else. “And Yorek, when you are done, bring the bodies here.”
“All of them?”
Juliette smiled, lowered her hands to aim a stream of flame, and burned away the blood and gore closest to the king’s boots, missing his toes by less than the width of his wrist. “Yes, all of them, Yorek. I’ll destroy the bodies when you’re done with them.”
“Yes, Lady Knight.”
“Lady Knight?” Juliette dropped her hands to her hips, palms still burning, the flames licking up her forearms like she was a candle and her arms were twin wicks. “I kinda like the sound of that.”
Dagan shook his head. It was going to be a long, long night.
Falden woke with warm blankets covering him and a naked Isabella in his arms.
Blinking away his stupor, he was relieved to find Queen Sasha and Gareth seated in identical chairs within his quarters, the queen next to his bed and Gareth in full armor guarding the door.
“Thank you.” He spoke to both of them as logic told him exactly what they had done.
Sasha had healed him, healed Isabella with her amazing gifts, cleaned them up, and settled them in bed. And Gareth, his closest friend, closer to him than a brother, had stood guard while Falden was too weak to defend
