Page 64 of Guardian's Destiny

"Okay, so do we wait until it's dark and then make our move to one of the ships?" I stopped any more arguments about the validity of Moddekdum's statement.

"Sounds like a plan," Vraax agreed.

VRAAX

I had always beenproud of the tight control I had over my emotions, yet with Sloane, any semblance of control had completely left me. Whenever I looked at her, I was torn between the urge to shake some sense into her and the urge to kiss her.

I missed the easy camaraderie we had enjoyed during the flight here. Alright, so it hadn't always been easy, but at least it hadn't been hostile like it was now. Whenever our eyes met, hers sent flames of hate at me that were hard to ignore or digest.

Who by the Black Abyss was this Daryus? She had never mentioned that name before. Was he waiting for her on Astrionis? If he was, why would we have gotten the damn mating marks? And why had she had sex with me? And not just sex. What we did had been so much more—a connection of our souls. The same questions were tormenting me over and over, churning my anger and didn't allow me to see straight.

I wanted to hit something. Anything. Just to get rid of the pent-up emotions inside me that threatened to sever what composure I might was still holding on to.

Astrionis wasn't that far from here. Maybe a two-day flight. It would be hard to make Craygh understand why we had to detour, but if that was what it took to be rid of her, then so be it.Maybe the mating marks would disappear once she was reunited with her lover. I hoped so. I dreaded it. I didn't want them to. I yearned for it. Frygg, there went my emotions again.

Truth be told, I was sure that even if the mating marks mysteriously disappeared, I would have a hard time letting go of her. She was everything I could have ever wanted in a mate and so much more. I had no idea how I would be able to go on without her. I would have to throw myself into the mission. The Ohrurs would feel my wrath. Yes, I decided, they would make a perfect outlet for my pent-up anger.

The transporter came to a stop, and we exited. Moddekdum's hands were bound behind his back just in case he would have any funny ideas about escaping, and Craygh was never more than two paces from him.

"This way," Craygh pointed through a dark, broken tunnel. It could have been an illusion by the light, but Craygh's aura appeared darker to me than it had been before when we first met. It wasn't unusual for people's auras to change, depending on their moods; I had seen it often enough. Mostly, I disregarded it, more interested in the blackness surrounding real criminals, but for some reason, Craygh's darkening aura aroused my suspicion. Before I had a chance to delve deeper into it, I caught a glimpse of Sloane watching me. Was that regret in her eyes? And if it was, what was she having regrets over? Us? The fight? Whoever that Daryus was?

The tunnel's condition explained why the transporter couldn't take us any farther. Fallen debris cluttered the ground, making it hard to walk. At several spots, we had to climb over rocks littering the ground and, in some cases, creating mounds as tall as me. The climbing was treacherous since the mounds were made of small debris that liked to roll under our feet. When we encountered those spaces, I carried Moddekdum over my shoulder. I would have much preferred it to be Sloane, but onceagain, the human female proved herself. Craygh, on the other hand, agilely made it over those hurdles without any problems; he must have been used to them.

At least our comms gave up enough light to see by and avoid any pitfalls.

It seemed like we had been walking forever when Craygh held up his comm, illuminating a familiar-looking triangular shaft. It looked just like the one Sloane and I had used when we entered this subterranean world. Craygh went first, followed by Moddekdum and Sloane, I took up the rear, very aware of Sloane's long legs and ass just a few rungs ahead of me.

Frygg, I still wanted her so much it hurt. The one time we had had sex had been merely an appetizer. Had I known it would be the one and only time I ever got to hold her like this, I would have savored the moment even more. Damn that female for getting under my skin, into my heart and brain this much. Damn her.

SLOANE

The climb had beena lot harder than our initial descent. The rungs in the wall had been in much worse shape, and at one point, I nearly fell to my death. Vraax caught me, though, saving my life. And now I felt like I owed him. Argh.

Then there was another incident where Moddekdum couldn't go on any longer. He was exhausted, at the end of his rope. I was in between the Ohrur and Vraax, so Vraax climbed over me to get to him. Good grief, that had been easily one of the most arousing moments of my life—funny how they all centered around Vraax. His hard erection had pressed into my ass and back, drenching my panties and I cursed him even more. Why would he have such power over my body? Why? Why him?

Argh, it wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

At least the rungs became sturdier again, and I didn't have to worry every time I reached for a new one that this would be the last thing I held on to before my death.

It seemed to take forever, at least an hour, if not more, before I noticed a faint light coming from above, which grew steadily brighter. We were almost there.

The next time I reached for a rung, instead of feeling the cold metal, my hand moved over a flat surface before it was grabbed, and I catapulted upwards.

Vraax. Right. Like I wouldn't have been able to climb out of the shaft by myself.

In light of the cooperation, I mumbled a barely audiblethank youbefore I curiously stared around the area we had entered. Here, too, a lot of debris was covering the ground, the ceiling had partially caved in, and in one corner, I made out a few bushes growing. It wouldn't take long until nature reclaimed this place just like it had out in the forest throughout the ruins. Or was it even nature on an alien planet? I wasn't sure, but I wasn't inclined to mull it over either.

Moddekdum sat in a corner, curled up like a petulant child, breathing hard. Vraax had helped me out of the shaft and was standing next to it now, looking at me intently. I tried to ignore it and focused on Craygh, who was peeking through an opening in the wall.

I moved next to him to get a better idea of what we were dealing with next. He moved to the side when he noticed my approach.

About a mile from us lay a large airfield. Busy with all kinds of spaceships, coming and going in a steady stream. Farther to the right and left were several shipsparkedby large hangers. Either to be loaded, unloaded, or repaired. I wasn't sure. Or maybe they were just waiting for their pilots to come back from a night out in town. It was something we needed to investigate. The last thing I wanted to do was hijack a spaceship only to find out it was broken. Crashing was not on my to-do bucket list. Actually, my bucket list had diminished to almost nothing. Funny how that worked out.

"Do you know why those ships are parked there?" I asked Craygh, pointing to the left and right.

"Most of the ones to the right are in need of repairs, while the left is for loading and unloading."

A shadow moved over me. Vraax had joined our little lookout. I moved to the side to give him a chance to assess the situation.

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