Page 72 of Guardian's Destiny

"You're welcome." I couldn't help but glare at Zapharos.

He grunted a reply, and the urge to kick him in the nuts made me lift my foot. He smirked. "I dare you."

"Fucking ass," I cussed. He laughed.

But then he lunged at me so unexpectedly that I didn't have time to respond. We landed on the ground, hard, right before several blasters fired at us. I couldn't see anything from the ground, where his heavy body nearly suffocated me.I bet he didn't see those coming. I would have smirked, but the situation was anything but smirkable. We laid there ripe for the pickings.

Or so I thought, until Zapharos was up even quicker than he had jumped on me. The two Space Guardians must have just exited a room when they saw us. Blasters went off; a gold shimmer enveloped Zapharos, making him look like a god of vengeance or an Archangel before he hit the Guardians' heads together with such brutality that I was sure their skulls cracked.

I rose to all fours, carefully taking stock of my body. Nothing seemed broken, but I was sure I had bruised a rip or two, as breathing was painful, and that just wasn't normal.

I glared at Zapharos. "You didn't have to kill them."

"They're not dead. That's what healing wands are for."

Another thought occurred to me, "You never were a prisoner, were you? You could have left anytime you felt like it."

The corner of his left lip raised in an arrogant line that reached all the way to his eyes. "This whole thing… what is this?" I demanded. Frustrated that I hadn't realized his full power sooner. I would have never fought with Vraax if I hadn't felt the urge to warn this son of a bitch and here he was smirking as if he was having the time of his life.

"I told you, I needed you. It seemed easier to intercept you here."

"How did you know I would be here?" I asked, exasperated.

"Oh, Sloane," he tsked and shook his head as if he was honestly puzzled. Oh, how I wished I could wipe that smirk off his face.

"Well?" Despite his insufferable presence, I kept my calm, and I was proud of it. It took a herculean effort, but I managed.

"Some things are already written in the stars," he declared enigmatically.

"Don't give me that BS, Zapharos. I want to know."

"Hmm, I think your species has evolved, if that isn't explanation enough for you anymore," he cocked his head at me as ifIwere a puzzleheneeded to figure out.

He walked by me without glancing back or another word of explanation. Huffing in annoyance as he stepped over the pile of unconscious Ohrurs. God, I hoped we would part ways once we were done with… whatever he needed me for.

Wait, needed.Heneededmefor something. In my mind, I rubbed my hands together because I had leverage now. Hah!

I followed him down the hall, around another split-off until we reached a third. There, he stopped by the corner.

"Take care of them," he pointed around it.

"What if I don't?" I challenged, prepared to use my leverage to finally get some answers.

My answer did seem to take him aback.Score one, Sloane, I congratulated myself, ignoring the fact that it was probably eleven or twelve to one by now.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"Answers."

His deep, unsettling amber eyes narrowed at me. No matter how unnerving his gaze was, I held my ground. God, he was beautiful. One minute, he looked like a carving of Michelangelo’s angels, the next like the most handsome demon to have ever left hell. Scary as hell too, but I had stood up against… no, probablynot. There was nobody who compared to him. I had faced some hardcore hostiles, but Zapharos took the cake. As I looked into his eyes, I swore I could see hellfire smoldering, with poor souls trapped inside.

"You're not ready yet," his voice grated on my nerves as much as his words. Did he think he was some kind of angel from medieval times?

"Well, I guess we'll have to wait then." I sent my most arrogant grin at him, which wasn't easy because the freak was over six feet tall, maybe more. He was taller than Vraax, and that was quite an accomplishment.

To reinforce my stance, I leaned against the wall. I would have crossed my arms over my chest, but I was still holding the blaster.

"You disappoint me, Sloane." He said, and it almost sounded sad. For a second, I even felt like a four-year-old being scolded by her mother. What the fuck?

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