Page 6 of The Ozar Triad

However, no new births had been welcomed into the world since the crystal theft and he didn’t know how much longer it would live without new life energy to sustain it. It had already been a decade, and lately the signal had become weaker and weaker.

It was a near miracle they’d managed to track it here. If not for the blast of recent, pure energy, Setzan would have all but given up hope.

The chip, no bigger than a sliver the size of his thumbnail, glowed like a tracking beacon whenever the crystal was near. The blush of light from the crystal lit his hand and warmed his skin, as brilliant as a ray of sun.

“I haven’t seen it so bright before,” Rujali said.

“Nor have I.” Setzan stared at the tiny piece of crystal.

“Could have something to do with our mate being so close,” Klaej said.

Rujali pursed his lips. “You could be right. Still, for it to burn so bright is nothing short of a miracle.”

“Just like finding our mate.” Klaej said.

“At least we know the crystal is still planet side,” Setzan said.

Relief flooded his system. “We’re close. At last.”

“We find our mate first,” Klaej said. Some emerald broke through the crimson on his skin.

“That goes without saying, brother,” Rujali said.

“Surely a creature so different couldn’t have gone unnoticed in this place,” Setzan said. “I’ve never seen anything like her. Not even heard of a species who looks like her.”

“I never thought to see a female so perfect.” Klaej paused, nostrils flaring, before he turned into an alley, breaking away from the main thoroughfare.

“What species do you think she is?” Setzan asked.

“I have no idea. She looks close enough to us, but she’s so small. Her skin is the color of nothing I’ve seen before. And she doesn’t have horns either,” Rujali said.

“Do you think she’s…compatible?’ Setzan asked.

“Even if she wasn’t, she is still our mate, but I don’t think the fates are so cruel. Our Homeland needs children and she has been chosen for not only us, but our Homeland.” Rujali brought his gaze to first Setzan and then Klaej.

“I’d like to know how she even came to be in a place like this.,” Setzan said.

The Helion 6 spaceport was a rough place, known for its high crime rate and equally lawless state. If there were any law enforcers here, they either made themselves scarce, or were as corrupt as the rest of the population. Honesty was not a high commodity here.

“We’ll work everything out once we’ve found her,” Rujali said, and then turned to Klaej. “What’s going on?”

Ignoring Rujali, Klaej paused and scented the air. He turned into yet another alley. Setzan had rarely seen him more focused, but if finding one’s mate wasn’t a good enough reason, he didn’t know what was.

They followed him deeper and deeper into a labyrinth of narrow walkways. There seemed to be no pattern with the twists and turns she’d taken. Worry dampened his excitement. Their mate was hurt and, judging by the haphazard twisting and turning alleyways, might also be hopelessly lost. It was not a good combination.

Klaej paused at a corner, a deep growl reverberating in his chest. Setzan stooped at his side. A smear of blood in the shape of a dainty hand stood out alarmingly on the light tan sandstone. All emerald disappeared on his skin, the crimson bleeding out the gold. He was almost the same color as that of her blood. It wasn’t a nice thought.

“She’s still bleeding.” Klaej’s claws curled into a fist.

The scaled ones had really hurt her. Badly, judging by the amount of blood she’d leaked by the time she’d come through here. The first thing he’d do after they’d found her and made sure she was safe was to seek retribution. What sort of species purposefully injured innocent females?

The females of their Homeland were fragile. Timid. Easily upset. They didn’t have the means to fight back. They simply didn’t know how. That was why it was the males’ duty to love, protect, and care for them. Without them, there would be no future. To protect a female was to protect the future.

Not only was she hurt and afraid, she was probably beside herself, if their own sister and mother were anything to go by. They would need to be gentle when they found her, no doubt. His heart was heavy. By the gods, he’d never felt this way before. He didn’t have an inkling what it might be like to find their mate. It wasn’t responsibility, as much as feeling completely undone. His life had changed so much in the space of a few moments, and instead of his mate being in his arms, sated and content after all three of them loved her, she was nowhere to be found.

What had once been a normal thing to find a mate on their Homeland was vastly different to finding a mate somewhere like here, especially finding a mate that was not of their species, but life hadn’t been normal since the day the Ozar Crystal had been stolen and Rujali had asked both Klaej and himself to find it—no matter what.

As royalty, it was up to them, but duty or not, they would have done it: for their parents, their sister who had yet to find her mates, and everyone in their Homeland. They’d travelled for so long across such great distances, and privately, Setzan had given up hope of ever finding a mate.

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