Page 26 of Captured By the Dragon Warlord (Fated Mates of the Sarkarnii Warlords #2)

D exx sways in front of me, his huge eyes half-lidded. I look down at the alien cylinder in my hand and see it has two lights blinking.

Whatever it is, somehow I think it’s having an effect on Dexx. After all, he insisted he could smell something where I could not.

Could it have done something to the Sarkarnii who were working down here too?

I shove the item back under the pad and do what I can to obtain any further information, specifically looking for any chemical compounds it might be exuding. The pad flashes an answer.

Paraxio.

“What is paraxio?” I ask Dexx who is drooling slightly.

I’m relatively certain drooling is not a natural state for a Sarkarnii.

“Paraxio?” he asks, a slur to his words as if his teeth are too big for his mouth.

Which is unlikely.

“This thing is emitting something called paraxio.”

Dexx growls. The sound reverberates around the passage, rolling away from us.

“No.”

“Um, yes,” I say, eyebrows raised.

“No paraxio.”

His front leg fails, and he drops onto one knee.

“Dexx? What is it? What’s wrong?”

Fear hits me, like I had when he was gone all that time during the cave-in. The thought of being stuck underground with only darkness, dust, terror…it swarms in, but also, I’m not entirely sure it all comes from me.

“Paraxio,” his huge lips murmur as he drops his great head onto the ground. “Narcotic.”

“There are actually drugs which can stop a Sarkarnii?”

“Not stop.” Dexx’s eye twinkles at me. “Merely make merry.” His forked tongue pokes out between his teeth. “I desire you, mate.”

“I’m sure you do.” I glare down at the tube in my hand. There has to be a way to stop it emitting whatever it is releasing.

I run my hand over the outer casing. It appears smooth. I squeeze it to see if there are any hidden buttons.

“I would prefer you do that with my cock, little mate.” Dexx nudges his huge head into my shoulder.

He’s absolutely out of it, the fire in his eye no longer red but instead a deep maroon. Between his legs, bobbing against his abdomen, is his unsheathed cock, ready for action.

“I bet you would,” I say, giving the tube a shake.

“Here.” A clawed hand swipes it out of mine. “You can turn it off like this.”

I recognize the Sarkarnii standing next to me as Dante, his turquoise scales almost luminous in the dim light.

He flicks at the top of the tube with his claw, and a third light appears which he covers with his thumb before inhaling deeply.

“If it’s effecting Dexx, it’ll affect you too,” I warn.

“Not quite as much.” Dante gives me an unhinged grin.

Dexx is slumped on one side, his huge flank rising and falling, his eye glassy. I reach out and run my hand over his enormous cheek and he rumbles with appreciation.

He’s certainly relaxed, all save one part of him which is very much at attention .

“How did you know how to turn it off?” I demand of Dante. “Did you put it here?”

He puts his clawed hand over his chest and looks, amazingly, hurt.

“We found one on my ship. I’ve been tracking them,” he says.

“How…” There is a great huff of breath from behind him as Dexx rises slowly to his feet. “How did you even know there was paraxio? Your crew are never sober.”

Dante laughs but doesn’t contradict Dexx.

“We knew, even if it didn’t affect us as badly.” He looks Dexx over. “A little paraxio doesn’t do any harm.”

Dexx snaps his teeth at Dante, who dodges him, and this causes Dexx to stagger to one side.

Not sober either, it would seem.

“What’s with the shift?” Dante asks Dexx, handing the tube back to me.

Dexx glares at him. “Would you want to dig in your biped form?” he growls.

“I’d just use the explosives,” Dante says, his breath coming in short waves.

“Which is why your presence in my mining operation is not welcome. Nev off, Dante, and don’t look at my mate.” Dexx sweeps his tail at the other warlord.

Dante skips it easily as he transforms himself into his Sarkarnii form, rearing up in front of Dexx.

Dexx lunges for Dante, his teeth scraping across Dante’s hide, but he’s obviously a tough one as no damage is done.

Dante roars out and goes directly for Dexx’s throat, but my big Sarkarnii thumps him away with his tail, slamming Dante into the rock wall where he lays on his back for a while before changing his form.

“You know I will always best you, Dante,” Dexx huffs. “With a lungful of paraxio or not.”

Dante gets to his feet and laughs.

“If you say so, Dexx,” he says. “But then, we are always interrupted.”

“Do you know who put this in your ship?” I ask, interrupting the Sarkarnii version of testosterone.

I can’t honestly imagine Dexx would be able to fight his way out of a paper bag right now, let alone do anything which would best Dante.

My waving of the tube garners both of their attention, and Dexx stomps over to me, shaking the ground in a way which makes me worry about another cave-in.

“You had one of these?” he growls. “Have you had any intruders recently?”

“The Veseli didn’t get into my sector, as far as I am aware,” Dante says with a shrug. “Although maybe they did.”

“We have had no incursions,” Dexx snarls.

“But what if this wasn’t put here,” I say, “what if it burrowed here like the probes you use, from outside your sector?”

Both Sarkarnii snarl at the same time, then look at each other.

“Nothing gets into my sector without my knowledge,” Dexx says.

“Something did.” I look at the tube. “Something got into both sectors, and maybe the others. We need to warn them.”

Dexx could say something, but he does not. Dante does a half-hearted growl.

“It’s not certain, but somehow this thing caused a cave-in which killed two Sarkarnii and injured others,” I say quietly. “Do you want more deaths? Because I wouldn’t.”

Dexx lowers his huge head, the fire coming back to his eye.

“What my mate says is right. We need to inform the other warlords.”

“Nev the other warlords, I want blood.” Dante growls. “As should you.”