Chapter Nine
Dari had never been so shocked in her life and, given the events she’d endured thus far, ‘twas saying a lot. “Gio,” she breathed out. She instinctively shot away from the control console and darted toward the raised table where she and Kari typically took their meals. She felt much like a trapped animal and supposed it showed.
“His presence here doesn’t change our mission, Dari!” Kari’s nostrils flared. “I don’t know how you managed to teleport at the last possible second,” she fumed at the warlord, “but you need to go back from where you came!”
Gio gave her a bemused look. “High Lord Death said you would fight like hellfire.” His eyebrows shot up. “I would rather not fight you, but I will if I must.”
“Gio,” Dari pleaded, “you don’t understand. You needs must leave us… you must!”
“I needs must leave you never again,” he said with an augury calm. He began to walk closer toward her. “Never, ever again.”
Dari skittishly looked about for a place to run. She gasped when her leathers fell from her body, leaving her completely naked. “What are you about?” she shouted. “Have you lost your bedamned mind?”
“Aye, I have,” he said, strolling terrifyingly closer.
Dari made to run, but found that she could not move. Her breathing grew heavy and her eyes rounded. She wasn’t awares of every intricacy in the claiming ritual, yet she knew ‘twas common for the male to be able to telekinetically summon the female’s body to his bidding. The bridal necklace Gio was removing from his neck pulsed red—fire and passion. She wanted to scream that she was too young for this, that hermaniand sire would hate him for all times, but her vocal chords were as subdued as the rest of her.
“What are you doing?” she heard Kari gasp. “What in the fuck is happening here?”
Gio answered Kari by placing the bridal necklace around Dari’s neck—a meaningful piece of jewelry as it could never unclasp until she crossed o’er theRah. “Claiming my Sacred Mate for all time,” he further clarified afore dismissing her. He turned to his bride. “Dari Q’ana Tal, you are now and forevermore Dari Z’ana Tar…mine.”
An indescribable sleepiness stole o’er the princess. Again, she realized ‘twas common after the clasping, yet she tried to remain upright. Gio chose that moment to telekinetically release her body from his bidding. Unable to stay awake, much less say anything at all to her new Sacred Mate, she instead collapsed into his massive arms.
“She will sleep for a time,” Gio told Kari. “And then we will be joined.” He gently and reverently laid his Sacred Mate onto a nearbyvesha-benchfor a spell. “The question I have for you is this: will you slow this cruiser without a fight or will you force me to fight a woman?”
Kari’s eyes narrowed. “You think a woman cannot fight?”
“Nay, I do not doubt you. Leastways, I’ve no desire to test my beliefs.”
She stared at him curiously. “And why would I slow down the cruiser?”
“So you have a lot more bedamned aid to see your mission through.”
Her eyes rounded. Gio inclined his head.
“The warriors aboard my ship have heard the whole of Dari’s tale. We have seen you in thishyatziyou speak of, we have seen the deuce of you speak to a third woman not here.”
Kari stilled. Her already pale skin blanched. She was still a bit fuzzy as to all that had been said in the void. Worse, she feared she would never be forgiven by her sisters for this! She must have forgotten to turn off some damn thing or another.
“Let us help you,” Gio murmured. “My sire has caused all of this—beknownst to him or no—so I would that we could help set things to right.”
“I—I…”
“High Lord Death is not amongst us,” he lied, “if that is your worry.”
“He’s not?”
“Nay.”
“Because he would try to stop me, you know, and I actually do know how to fight!”
“I believe you.”
“I earn my living by capturing humanoid males for the marriage auction blocks of Galis.” She slashed a hand through the air. “I am not the bitch with which to fuck!”
Gio’s distaste momentarily distracted him. “Husbands on Galis are captured prey?”
“Yeah. So?” She shrugged. “Doesn’t look much different to me than what you just did to poor Dari.”
