Page 31 of Fated to the Dragon Warlord

“Dante does good explosions,” the second warrior chimes in.

I release a long, smoke-filled breath. My skin is already tight with the need to shed. I am not in the best of moods for overexcited warriors. They both back off.

“Dante?”

I indicate to the guard warrior to start the opening cycle for the airlock into the sector. Gears grind as the mechanisms release.

“Dante is one of my fellow warlords. His clan have the southern sector and the star quadrant. He is a piece of work, the one who set the explosives on the Bloar ship.”

“So, I have him to thank for nearly being spat out into space?” Kerra growls.

“You do.” I attempt to hide my grin. If she hates Dante already, then I have one less warlord to worry about. “Then there’s Driok, whom you don’t want to cross if you value your wings. He has the eastern sector and the bright quadrant. Dexx who is a secretive nevver. He has the western sector and the nebular quadrant. Finally there is Dalox, our former fleet admiral.”

“Dalox?” Kerra raises her eyebrows. “What about him?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

KERRA

Darax is correct—there is plenty I do not understand about the Sarkarnii, from their anatomy to their rules, to the way they’ve carved up this planet and this galaxy.

He clearly doesn’t want me to be scared as the airlock opens with a whine. He seems bigger than ever as he strides through, looking over his shoulder at me, his tail swinging from side to side. As I step through, he holds out his hand, which I take.

Only to find a cuff wrapped around it, to which a long chain is attached.

“What the fuck, Darax?” I fire at him.

He pulls me against his hard body.

“You belong to me, little mate. No one will take you this way.”

“Yeah, I’ll just lose a limb,” I respond, but my words are drowned out by the sound of a Sarkarnii roaring overhead.

The zone is vast. It has a ceiling, or at least some sort of roof, which I can make out high above through the smoke. However, I have to look directly above me. Everywhere else is a myriad of walls, some scorched, some part melted. I cringe slightly, hating myself for it, as there is a crack and a boom of one of those explosions the Sarkarnii seem so keen on going off.

“This way,” Darax says. I note he does not hold my chain. It is simply linked around his waist.

I would have preferred we talked about this first, but Darax clearly isn’t one for talking. I am supposed to be his prisoner but even that seems to be a stretch for this chain and cuff treatment.

I know nothing about the Sarkarnii, but I willingly gave Darax my body.

Just goes to show how stupid one can be, whether it’s on Earth or in an entirely different galaxy. Although, if it’s for show, and he didn’t think to tell me, I’m already plotting my revenge. Exactly how you get revenge on a dragon warlord has yet to be determined.

Darax not only doesn’t hold the chain, but he puts an arm around me, along with a wing for good measure, as we make our way through an increasingly more chaotic space until we reach a domed structure.

“This is the clan hall,” Darax says. “The supposed neutral part of this sector.”

The way he grits his teeth suggests to me he has his doubts. Above us, more Sarkarnii dragons fly overhead, releasing fireballs. Darax’s two warriors are clearly keen to join them, tails and wings appearing in swift order.

Darax snarls at them as a massive dragon thumps down a short distance away, flaming into the air as if it has to release the fire or be damned. I do my level best not to flinch. The huge creature swirls until it resolves into a man-like shape.

“Driok.” A muscle jumps in Darax’s jaw, apparently his one tell which shows his real emotions.

“Darax.” The great dragon man nods at him, his blue scales glittering in the light.

He gives a brief glance at me, and at the two warriors, before stalking inside ahead of us. Darax growls under his breath. He doesn’t like this situation. I can feel it in my bones.

We follow Driok inside. The place is warm, hot even, and dark. Despite my annoyance at the chain, I press closer to Darax. He has removed the chain from his waist and looped it around his hand instead.

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