Maggie
The portal thing is weird. If we had time, I’d probably go back and forth a few times. One second I’m on the planetoid of dust, the next on a Sarkarnii ship.
Driok growls very, very loudly at the remaining warriors who pretend they have many, many better things to do as he takes me through to a similar setup to the one he created for me.
“If there was time, my sweet mate, I would take you to our ship, but it will take too long, and Dalox is going to need all the help he can get,” Driok growls. “And his help means if I don’t get back to it, the chances of not getting my warriors back in one piece increases exponentially.”
I grab hold of a chunk of his long, dark hair and pull him to me, slamming my lips into his in a kiss which is long overdue.
Even if I am a pregnant woman and the baby belongs to him.
The stars collide as his tongue takes possessive control of my mouth and we tangle together.
When I finally release him, I’m pleased to see a slight daze in his eyes for a few brief moments until the steely glint comes back.
“Now, go.” I give him a gentle push. “I don’t need you.”
He lifts his lips to reveal sharp fangs and his forked tongue sweeps over his lips.
“Are you sure, little mate?” Driok rasps.
“You know the answer. But I want your warriors back and this dealt with so I can finish gestating your child in peace.”
“If you’re with me, my sweet one, there will never be any peace,” he says, with a deep growl to his voice which goes straight to one particular part of me.
And we really don’t have time for this.
Driok gives me the best of his baddest grins and hands me a small black box.
“What’s this?”
“Your comm.” He pulls out another box, opens it, and takes out a thin black semi-circle about the size of my palm and places it behind his ear. “I have one too,” he adds.
I open my box. My semi-circle is smaller, and I hook my hair behind my ear as Driok applies it.
“Can you hear me?” he asks.
I stare at him. “Yes.”
“Good.” Driok nods.
All I can do is blink because I think I’m in a parallel universe.
“It’ll take around five nova-minutes for the remote and drones to reach the surface of the planetoid. I’ll guide you from there,” Driok says. “I love you, my mate.”
And he’s gone. Gone before I can say anything, gone before the glow hits me, the feeling of being loved. Of being loved by Driok.
“I love you,” I whisper to myself.
“I’m pleased to hear it, little mate,” Driok booms in my ear.
Of course. He can hear me now.
“Well, now you know, you’d better come back in one piece.”
“Have you released the remote yet?” he asks, because he is annoying.
I pull on the headset and open up the hangar, sending the remote out into space and practicing a little moving it around using the handgrip. All I need to do in order to get the remote where I want is to move it in the direction I want it to go.
Couldn’t be simpler.
Couldn’t be more difficult when the stakes are so high. I’d better not fuck this up.
“Remote is entering the atmosphere,” I report to Driok.
“I’m following the destruction left by Dalox,” Driok says in my ear. “Send the remote to my comm location, but don’t descend until I ask you to.”
“So much for stealth.” I swing the remote around and, punching in his comm coordinates, I see the dusty settlement below. “I’m above you, somewhere. What’s the plan?”
“I believe the Ulep will come to me.”
“What about Dalox?”
“He’s just the distraction. I am the main event,” Driok growls.
“You’d better not do anything stupid,” I bellow over a shatter of static.
I don’t have any other alternative. I’m going to have to go down and see what’s going on. I drop the remote down through the dust clouds until finally I’m in clear air.
But what is below me is the least thing I am expecting…and the one thing I hoped not to see.