Rosalie
Iput Della into her bed. She slides out of my arms easily, having been completely tired out by the events of today and also playing with the warriors who were more than overjoyed to see the sarkarnlings were safe.
The feeling of palpable relief when I brought the group of children into the dining hall was quite the rush. And everyone got plenty of snacks, warriors and sarkarnlings alike.
But managing them, bathing them, and getting them all to bed has taken some considerable time, and whilst I’ve asked about Dante, I haven’t had much of an answer.
“Goodnight, don’t let the bed bugs bite,” I whisper in Della’s ear.
“I’ll bite them right back,” she says, her fangs poking sweetly over her bottom lip.
My heart melts. All these children, without their parents, and yet here and now they have an entirely new family who care for them more than anything.
Warriors who I know would have once embraced their own chaos (Dante included), now are entirely down for the chaos of having two dozen small versions of themselves who are mayhem by their very nature.
I think perhaps it has surprised me possibly more than it has surprised them.
Della closes her eyes, and in no time at all her breathing evens out as she falls asleep. It’s been a hard day for her, and I resolve there should be no more days like this. The sarkarnlings deserve stability.
Outside, Dart is waiting for me, which is unusual. Sensibly, most of Dante’s warriors acknowledge my presence and then pretend I don’t exist.
The huge warrior with the scar over one eye wrings his hands.
“What’s wrong, Dart?”
He looks from side to side as if something is going to come for him, even though the small atrium outside the sarkarnlings’ quarters is empty.
“It’s the boss,” he says.
“Dante? What about him?”
“He’s gone after the rest of our crew…alone.”
“What?” A chill races from the top of my scalp to the base of my feet.
“I told him you wouldn’t like it,” Dart says quietly.
“And I bet he knew it too.” I grit my teeth. “Is he still on Vorostor?”
“No, he took two scout ships and left two nova hours ago.”
So, no wonder everyone was being shady when I asked about Dante. He’d made them all swear to secrecy.
My blood rolls in my veins, part ice, part fire. I want to kill Dante and I want to kiss him.
“Do the warlords know?”
“Only Driok.” Dart’s face twists in agony. “He followed, and I don’t think he wants to help,” he adds with a growl.
I swear under my breath. “I need to get to Lord Dexx’s sector. Will you come?”
Dart nods and accompanies me through the neutral sector, winding our way through the place which is as much of a maze as the rest of the Sarkarnii ships, until we reach an airlock with two angry looking warriors stood next to it. Both snarl at our approach.
“I’m here to see Lord Dexx’s mate.” I stand my ground. I’ve already sent a comm to Scarlett telling her I’m on my way but not why.
The airlock opens, and both Dexx and Scarlett are standing behind it. Both of Dexx’s warriors give them a deep bow, and I feel Dart bristling behind me.
“You are welcome, little human. The warrior is not,” Dexx intones.
“Dart is with me,” I respond. “Dante’s orders.”
I feel Dexx’s growl in my chest rather than hear it. Scarlett glares at him.
“Does it matter, Dexx? I want to see my friend.” She beckons me inside.
Dart follows.
“I need your help,” I rush out. “Dante’s gone after his missing crew.”
“Then he does not need my help,” Dexx says. “He will be fine.”
“He won’t,” I respond. “The thing, whatever it was, which took them—it’s the professor.” I stare at Scarlett. “The one who took us.”
“I’ve heard Darax say Dante claimed it was a Gonoz,” Dexx says. “But they are a myth.”
“Bloody dragons are a myth on earth, and yet here you are,” Scarlett snaps. “What is the myth?”
“They have no form. They have to use other vessels to exist on our plane of existence,” Dexx says, leaning back against the bulkhead and folding his arms, a tiny skein of smoke emanating from his nostrils.
“Like ghosts?” Scarlett queries.
“Go-sts?” Dexx asks.
“They’re spirits of those who have died, supposedly,” Scarlett says.
“Those who die go to be with our ancestors,” Dexx responds. “The Gonoz are not dead.”
“But they’re a myth?”
“No one has ever seen a Gonoz,” Dexx huffs. “Have they?” He addresses the question to Dart.
“I have seen many things,” Dart says, earning him a puff of smoke from Dexx.
“I bet you have, given the amount of paraxio you consume.”
Scarlett slaps Dexx on his chest and glares at him. Dart doesn’t seem bothered in the least.
“I believe there are Gonoz,” Dart says. “If the boss says there are Gonoz.”
“But what are Gonoz? And why would they want Dante’s crew?”
Scarlett puts her index finger to her lips. “Kerra said the professor was interested in the fact we’d mated with the Sarkarnii.”
Dexx releases a bloodcurdling growl. “The clones.”
I feel like I’m frozen in place. Dexx and Scarlett battled clones of Sarkarnii warriors not so long ago, ones which had ill intent towards the Sarkanii.
“Could this all be linked?”
Dexx and Dart glare at each other.
“Probably,” Dexx says. “As far as I was concerned, it was the end of the matter.”
“Hardly,” Dart growls. “Why would you think your clan would scare them off?” He bares his teeth in a flash of dangerous behavior I suspect is unwise to the warlord who prides himself in beating all comers.
If Dexx is bothered by Dart, he doesn’t show it, not even moving from his position against the bulkhead.
“If it is the Gonoz, what else do the myths say about them?” I ask, attempting to deflect from any sort of Sarkarnii pissing contest.
“The myths say they are looking for their own form. And when they find it, they will take it,” Dart says.
I look at Scarlett, and she looks back at me. I know we’ve both come to the same conclusion.
“They want Sarkarnii forms for themselves,” I say, my voice a rasping whisper. “And they hope to breed their own, using Dante’s crew and humans.”
“None of us are safe,” Scarlett says.
Lead settles in my gut.
My mate has gone after these creatures.
And it is exactly what they want.