Page 11 of Captured By the Dragon Warlord (Fated Mates of the Sarkarnii Warlords #2)

I lean forward, my lips touching Dexx. What the absolute hell is happening? I started this evening with one aim in mind, to keep as far away from Dexx as I could, and now I’m bloody kissing him.

This is insane. I hate him for what he did. I hate him for being such an over-confident arsehole. But I’m still kissing him.

Dexx’s eyes widen as we touch lips, and he pulls away sharply just as a bell tolls, shattering the buzz in the hall.

“Nev,” he growls, getting to his feet and putting me on mine. “The mines.”

He motions to the warriors stood behind us. “We need to go, now.”

They form a group behind him as he strides away without a backward glance.

“Wait.” I grab the arm of the last one. He snatches it away as if my touch burns. “Where are you going?”

“There’s been a cave-in,” he says rapidly.

Then he is gone too, along with the rest of the Sarkarnii. The hall is empty, smoke hanging in the air, as if left by a ghost.

Or hundreds of ghosts.

My chest tightens as the tolling bell dies away. I don’t know what any of this means or why concern has crept into the pit of my stomach.

It’s not concern for Dexx, I insist to myself, but for all the Sarkarnii, especially if some of them are hurt in a cave-in. I don’t care what happens to Dexx and I didn’t just kiss him.

This is Stockholm syndrome, that’s all. I’ve been abducted so many times I don’t know if I’m coming or going, so nearly accidentally kissing a big bad dragon has to be just my psyche being unable to keep up.

Because it is not happening between me and Dexx.

“Scarlett?” Cestapal appears beside me, presumably having come through one of her flaps.

As I look around, I see more Paralnyi appearing out of nowhere and starting to clear the hall of Sarkarnii detritus.

“There’s been an accident, in the…mines?” I say, still stunned by everything, not the least being the potential kiss.

“There has,” Cestapal says. “Come with me and you can see what’s going on.”

I don’t ask any more questions, other than to follow her furry behind down a few passages until she leads me into a room which is occupied by a number of Sarkarnii warriors. They turn to stare at me.

“This is Lord Dexx’s mate. Show her the mines,” Cestapal says with a note of authority.

There’s a scuffle, and for a second, I think we might be ejected by these warriors, but instead images appear on the walls. They’re strangely bright like you might see on an infrared camera, and I’m guessing the mines are as dimly lit as Dexx’s ship if not completely dark.

There’s movement, a lot of movement, and what looks like a huge pile of rubble.

“Do you get cave-ins often?” I ask the nearest warrior. He gives me a terrified look.

“We used to, mistress, when we first started mining, but they are rare now.”

“This is a new area,” another warrior says, emboldened by his colleague’s reply. “It’s always risky,” he adds, before bowing his head over his console.

“Is anyone hurt?”

“We are not sure at this stage, mistress,” the first warrior says. “We will know more when Lord Dexx gets back.”

Cestapal pulls gently at my arm as I study the screens, trying to make out Dexx.

“We should go,” she says quietly. “Leave these warriors to their work.”

I nod my agreement, unable to tear my eyes away from the screens, but I let Cestapal lead me out.

“I know mining is dangerous.” I shake my head as we walk back through the passages to Dexx’s quarters. “There was an old lead mine on my family’s land. It hadn’t been worked in a century, but it was a spooky place, filled with ghosts.”

“Ghosts?” Cestapal queries.

“The spirits of the dead,” I say grimly. “Those who lost their lives in the dark.”

“You must miss your home,” Cestapal says.

I think for a minute.

“I miss the land, the sunrises and sunsets. I miss the colors and scents of the high hills.” I sigh. “And the feeling when I stood on the top of Skiddaw on midsummer, like I was on the top of the world.”

“It sounds good.” Cestapal smiles. “Maybe Lord Dexx will take you back.”

“I’m not sure if I want to go back,” I reply, surprising myself with this instinctive reply. “I’ve maybe seen too much for it to ever be the same again.”

We reach Dexx’s quarters, and the door snaps open before I realize what I’ve done. With Dexx gone, I could do anything. I could leave, given there are hardly any warriors around. I could go back to my friends.

But my heart seems strangely set on staying. I can’t get the touch of his lips out of my head, what I was going to do, which was entirely against anything I intended.

I need to see this through. I need to see Dexx again. I need to be sure he’s okay. I don’t know why, but I do.

My comm device is on the seat of the chair in the quarters, and I snatch it up before I roll into the central pit which smells strongly of smoke and Dexx.

As I expected, there’s a load of messages from my friends following my initial brief one saying I was okay and with Dexx. I stare at them for a second, exhaustion flowing over me. The images of the mess I saw on the screens fills my head.

I turn off the device and close my eyes, hoping he returns unharmed, very soon.