Page 7 of Taken By the Gargoyle King

On Aderia, looking over my shoulder was the last thing I needed to worry about. The Aderians weren’t exactly pacifists; they had a military branch that was powerful enough to make them a force to be reckoned with in the quadrant. They came close though, always so polite, so well-spoken and friendly. That was the empath in them, unwilling to do any harm. This was going to be a challenge, not just when it came to solving Sera’s illness and distilling my work into a cure that worked for her, but also because of the danger I’d be in while doing so.

I only had to glance up at Kal’s rugged face to know that it was going to be worth it. He’d seemed an arrogant, ruthless royal when we’d first met. I knew better now. I was pretty sure I was head over heels for him, which was going to be bad when we had to part ways after this was all over. He was kind, loyal, and he had quickly shown me that he cared about my well-being, that he wasn’t going to use me with complete disregard for the situation he’d put me in.

But as a human, I was not going to be suited to be anything but a sexy fling. There would be no happily ever after when he had to break things off so he could marry a suitable Tarkan female to secure offspring for his royal line. That was the reality, so I’d better keep that in mind and guard my tender heart.

With all those heavy, terrifying thoughts filling my head, I needed to distract myself with something. I focused on the hint of a city in the distance. We were still flying over the jungle, but we wouldn’t for long. It was a tall city with many spires rising high into the sky, the perfect place for winged people to live in. When we got close enough to see details, I could see that many Tarkan people darted through the air, along with small vehicles. Beyond the city, big spacecraft came and went from a huge space port too; making this a hive of activity after the quietness of the jungle.

It was the palace that quickly drew my eyes; the tallest spire of them all at the center of that busy city. Ivory white, it rose like a fang into the sky; a bright jewel among all the gray or black buildings. None of the other towers could compete with the height of this one. It was breathtaking, and a little nerve wracking when we started to approach it.

People were staring and pointing as we flew past them. I could not hear what they said, but I could imagine it. Is that our king? Is he holding a human? I felt so grubby then, so unworthy of being seen with royalty in my by-now stained cocktail dress, blazer, and sans panties. Not just my clothing had seen better days; my hair was a bit of a rat’s nest.

“Who is thinking hard now?” Kal drawled against my temple, his warm breath ghosting over my chilled skin. I poked him in the chest but that just made him chuckle, at least he was in a better mood now.

“What will your people think of me? I look a mess!” I said, then felt stupid for caring over something so shallow when all that mattered was the life of his niece. There would be a change of clothes for me later, and a shower before I started in the lab. He was taking me to a palace. It would be fine.

Kalzudaud growled, the sound vibrating against my side. “My people will celebrate your arrival. It will give them hope that Sera will live. They will love you.” His words tapered off and almost I heard an echo, like he’d been about to say that he loved me. That was just wishful thinking, crazy thinking, that would get me absolutely nowhere.

The ivory spire was so big, filling up my vision. Tarkan males in their battle-form circled in the surrounding air, guards. And I spotted glinting silver orbs in a tight grid too, a force field that Kal could fly through unhindered but that would keep anyone without access out. It tingled over my skin as we passed it, but my nearness to Kal seemed to grant me passage.

“Sir?” a male said we passed him, and then the guard fell into formation at Kal’s side, and another, and another until I felt like we were leading a flock of geese to a landing on a large balcony. His feet hit the marbled pale floor without a sound, but I heard clawed feet thudding down behind us from the guards.

“Yes, I’m back,” Kal snapped at the male who’d queried him. He turned, still cradling me gently against his chest while he snapped his wings tightly behind his back. Now I had a good view of the dozen males that had landed on the balcony with us. They were dressed in leather weapon kilts, just like my king, but they did not wear a purple weapon harness over their chests. Theirs were black with a gold lining and some kind of winged insignia clung like a police shield to the belt around their hips.

“Report?” he said to the guards and the male in the lead started rattling off statistics in rapid succession. When he paused at the end and tilted his head at us, I knew the male was really dying to ask a question, but hindered by protocol to do so. They all wanted to know where Kal had been, and who the hell I was.

“Is the lab finished?” my stoic Kalzudaud said, not giving them anything. It was a little funny to see them struggle to hide their interest and simply serve his needs. This was the ruthless side of him again, the one that cared only about getting done what needed to be done. When the head guard gave him a nod, Kal turned his back on them and started striding into the palace without a backward glance.

Already, servants had gathered at the door, dipping into bows and offering refreshments and steaming towels, all of which Kal ignored. “My ship crashed in the jungle. Send officers to secure the wreck,” he called over his shoulder, and then he rattled off a string of coordinates. I got a peek at shocked, startled faces, and then they were taking off into the air. It was a beautiful sight to see twelve athletic bodies dart into the sky like it was nothing, spinning and twirling together as they found formation like a group of fighter jets and arrowed toward the jungle we’d come from.

They were headed for a wrecked ship, but I was headed straight into the storm. Gone was the quietness of just being with Kal, and a little added danger. Now I was thrown into the deep end with servants, courtiers, and all kinds of officials that wanted a piece of us.

Voices clamored, one after the other, to draw their king’s attention, and Kal just went on ignoring them until a female in white robes and gold painted wings blocked our path. “My lord Kalzudaud, you have returned! I am so relieved,” she said. A warm, motherly smile settled over her gray features as she reached out to touch Kal’s shoulder. “And you’ve found the scientist you talked about. Good. Now Sera might have a chance!”

I sincerely hoped that she did, that I could deliver.

Chapter 10

Kalzudaud

I watched with crossed arms through the glass window as my Caitlyn peered into a microscope and made notes on the tablet on the workbench next to her. Her hair was a soft, shiny wave of blonde around her slender shoulders, and pink glowed on her cheeks. She looked excited, which had to mean something good, and she was completely engrossed in what she was doing. If this was how she always looked when working, I had no doubt I’d find myself here to watch and admire her whenever I had the chance.

After our arrival, I had made sure she could bathe and put on the clean clothing that my servants had brought her. I had ordered them to complete silence around her so they could not tell her that I’d let her use the washing room in my quarters. That was such a breach in protocol that it had the entire palace in a tizzy, but she did not need to deal with that, not yet.

“Are you certain she can do it, sir?” Amaza asked from my left. As the royal advisor, Amaza had held a position of significant power for as long as I could remember. She had been my mother’s right hand long before she’d become my sister’s.

Now she fancied herself my advisor, and I let her think that even if I disregarded most of the advice she offered. She held her position because of her loyalty, because ousting her seemed like doing her disservice when she’d done so much good over the years. Her views had turned outdated these days; we did not see eye to eye on much of anything. It was something I knew grated on the woman, and now I wondered if it had grated too much.

I rolled my shoulder in a shrug, unwilling to give too strong an affirmative in case that made the target on my mate’s back bigger. All this distrust, this suspicion, was taking its toll. I wanted to put this behind me and live happily with my mate and my heart-daughter. But I had a job to do, and for that I had to draw out the traitor and deal with them once and for all.

More courtiers were gathered behind me, all my prime suspects put in one room together so I could dangle the bait that now stuck in my throat like ashes. “Yes,” I said, “Caitlyn will deliver. Sera will be saved.” I spun around to catch expressions, but I’d made sure to use a room with plenty of cameras for this part of the plan. I would watch those recordings later to make sure I had not missed anything.

I’d spoken with the head of the Intelligence Agency while Caitlyn was washing up through the secure line in my room. There would be eyes on each of the Tarkan I’d singled out, and several that the head spy had brought to my attention himself. Whoever was after the throne had to have ties to the royal bloodline to make the claim seem valid. They would have to be female or intend to put a female they could control on the throne. That would be the only kind of ruler Daudiras’ people would accept after Sera and I were killed.

The Secretary of State was a cousin, and the male had two adult daughters that he could put forward to become queen. He was a little dull and boring, usually far more interested in his budgets and his taxes. I’d never seen him step out of his lane to interfere with other politics, which had made him my least favorite suspect. The way his eyes were lingering on Sera now made me rethink that; something in his expression was making me extremely uncomfortable, but that could just as easily be the possessive mating instincts roaring through me.

Next to him stood a much younger female, and she was of the right age to be queen herself. It was my head spy who had put her on the list. Somar was so far removed from the royal family that I had not made the connection, but apparently a sixth cousin was still enough of a connection to make her dangerous.

I recalled that shortly after my sister’s death, she’d followed me around and made some flirty remarks I had not wanted to hear. Now that made me think she’d tried to see if in my moment of grief she could convince me to make her my mate, which would have also opened the path to the throne for her. Yes, she was at the top of the list now. A female that conniving could not be trusted. Her expression was cool and did not change at my words, while many others managed to look relieved at the news that Sera might live.

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