“Dalox.” Darax gets to his feet before I can open my mouth. “Before we continue, you must know, Dante ruts for the female.”
“He does?”
“I do?” I stare at Darax, as confused as I was without the narcotic in my system.
“Then it changes everything,” Dalox rasps. “Now I don’t have to kill you after all.”
ROSALIE
Wait. What just happened?
The moment Dante was led in, my neck began to ache again. He swaggered past the other warlords, his long, sinuous tail in iridescent blue and gold lashing. And then, once he turned to face them, instead of looking at his judge, he didn’t take his stunning holographic eyes off me. The slit pupils were hardly even visible. A wisp of smoke rose from his nostrils to dissipate in the air.
He is every inch a feral Sarkarnii, and one I should never let near my neck. Not now, not ever. His fangs appear, poking white over the dark blue of his lips, and something inside me turns to liquid. I want to look away, but I can’t. I can’t stop looking at my assailant.
The Sarkarnii who bit me.
The Sarkarnii who causes all the trouble, both on planet and off world.
The Sarkarnii all the warlords need, even if they’re not prepared to acknowledge it.
And I already know this is no kangaroo court. Dante is going to be punished for histransgression, and while I shouldn’t feel bad about it, I do.
“How do you know he ruts?” Dalox thunders.
“Same as any Sarkarnii knows.” Darax sniffs. “For a start, he stinks of venom. He can’t control his cock, and chances are, he’d kill us all if we made a move towards his female.”
“He would, would he?” Dalox queries and makes a lunge for me.
I pull back, swift enough to be out of his reach, just this one time, but instantly, Dante is in the air, fully transformed into his Sarkarnii, fire belching from him as he nearly fills the chamber, a huge clawed paw reaching for me, one I cannot escape.
“ENOUGH!” Dalox’s roar cuts through the mayhem as the claws are millimeters away.
And then there is Dante, standing in front of me with a rather surprised expression on his face. His tail lashes behind him, and his wings haven’t completely shifted back. They flex slowly as he drags his stunning eyes away from me to Dalox, and then they snap back.
“Told you,” Darax says.
“What did the little human female do to deserve Dante rutting for her?” Driok says, his voice like a thousand gravel pits being filled.
Dante growls at him, fangs lengthening and claws extending.
Dalox grabs hold of Dante by the throat and tips him backwards, peering into his face and pinching open one eye.
“Nev me sideways,” he growls. “The nevverisin rut.” He releases Dante who coughs out a sheet of flame and a perfect smoke ring. “And he does stink.”
Dalox takes a step back and looks Dante over. He taps his front left fang and growls under his breath.
“I need to think about this,” he says. “Take the nevving rutting male somewhere to cool off.”
“Female,” Dante growls.
Quicker than light, Dalox has him by his throat again and slams him into the bulkhead behind them both, causing the place to shudder with the impact.
“You don’t get a say in this, Dante,” Dalox says in a quiet, even tone which sends a chill down my spine. “You’re on trial, rut or no rut. My decision is final if you want to keep all your limbs attached.”
“The nevver will just regrow them anyway,” Driok grumbles.
“Not the way I’ll remove them,” Dalox snarls. “Take the female away, and I’ll let you know my decision by the end of the day.”
