Page 41 of Captured By the Dragon Warlord (Fated Mates of the Sarkarnii Warlords #2)

T he way Dexx goes quiet and sways slightly in front of me is disconcerting to say the least. I grab at his shoulders as his wings extend around us, my stomach in knots.

Is he ill? Has the rut done something permanent to him? His silence is terrifying.

“What? What about me?”

Dexx slides his hand over my stomach. “You are with young, my sweet mate. Your belly is filled.”

My head swims, my hand involuntarily closing over his.

“I’m pregnant?” The words come out in a hoarse whisper. “Really? We’re going to have a baby?”

“No,” Dexx says, and my heart goes into free fall, my knees buckling because I don’t know what he means.

He catches me. Of course he does.

“We are going to have two sarkarnlings. You are filled with two.”

“Twins?” I can barely speak for the whistling in my ears and the way my brain wants to shut down.

“Two sarkarnlings,” Dexx rasps as my mind gives up and darkness creeps in.

When I open my eyes again, I am back in Dexx’s quarters laid in the bottom of the cushioned dip, covered with a blanket.

Above me, Cestapal bustles past.

“Awake?” She stares down at me with her gimlet eyes. “Hungry?”

“Ravenous,” I respond.

“Stay there,” Cestapal says. “I’m under strict orders you are to remain in Lord Dexx’s den until he returns.”

“But the warrior…his scans…I can’t just stay here doing nothing.” I pull the blanket back and find a chain around my neck, at the end of which is a diamond the size of a hen’s egg.

“If you do nothing for half a nova-hour, how is that going to hurt anyone?” Cestapal clambers down to me with a tray neatly balanced on one hand. “And I have some of my special tea for you.”

“Special tea?”

“For expectant females.”

I hold in a groan. “Dexx told you.”

“Two sarkarnlings.” Cestapal does something which could be an eyebrow raise if her eyebrows were not so furry. “That is going to be interesting for you.”

“When you say interesting , you mean…”

“I saw the female Sarkarnii. They were much bigger than you.”

A fear runs through me. Perhaps the human body isn’t made to carry an alien baby?

“I think you are going to be big.” Cestapal smiles at me, putting down the tray. “Here.” She hands me over a steaming cup which smells nothing like tea, but it does smell pleasant and herby.

“Thanks, I think,” I say.

“Lord Dexx will look after you,” Cestapal says. “He hasn’t failed yet.”

I furrow my brow. “What do you mean?”

“The Sarkarnii were not as you see them when they arrived on Vorostor. Their females were sick, their warriors were not much better, and their ships were battered almost to the point of breach.” Cestapal places a few choice items on a plate and hands that to me too.

“Lord Dexx wasted no time in creating Vorostor Central and a haven for the remaining Sarkarnii as they lost their females and needed to grieve.”

I feel tears prick at the back of my eyes like needles.

“I didn’t know.”

“I can’t imagine he talks about that time.

None of the Sarkarnii would do so willingly.

It was a sad time.” Cestapal shakes her head from side to side as she slides another piece of meat onto my plate.

“Lord Dexx found the star fuel. He got the ships working again. He burnt the dead and prayed to his ancestors.”

“Dexx did all that?” I try to imagine my big bad Sarkarnii willingly working with the rest of the warlords where they seem so disparate, so far apart.

“I know it might seem like the warlords are here for themselves, but they are not. Their fleet was once the envy of their galaxy, and they fought side by side.” Cestapal stares at the food on my plate.

I absently put it in my mouth, enjoying the flavors bursting over my tongue.

“They are a force individually, but together they are unstoppable.”

“I’m not sure they’re ever going to work together again, not from how they’ve been managing the current situation. It all sounds like chaos.”

Cestapal chuckles to herself. “From what I understand, chaos is what drives the Sarkarnii. From chaos there will be a solution.”

“I hope so.” I place my hand over my stomach, even though there’s no sign, yet, of the lives within me. “For all our sakes.”

My comm device chimes and I see a flurry of messages.

“Shit, there’s been another attack.” I look up at the little Paralnyi. “This time in Darax’s sector.”

Kerra is reassuring everyone she’s not harmed and that no Sarkarnii have been hurt either.

“It has to be someone on the inside.” I quickly send a message confirming there haven’t been any further attacks in my sector and I’m safe. “I can’t imagine somehow some thing got in here, planted all these bombs, literally everywhere, and was never seen.”

“I would agree, Scarlett. As much as the Sarkarnii love making things explode, they are unerringly loyal to their Lords and to their kind,” Cestapal says, staring at my plate again. I take some more bites to please her. “Why would any warrior do such a thing?”

She echoes my thoughts. I can’t imagine any of the Sarkarnii I met doing something as cowardly as hiding explosives. They’re very much all about making it very clear, very quickly how they feel. I’ve seen enough fights between warriors to know this for a fact.

“I need to go see Drex, the warrior who was poisoned. He’s in the clinic.”

“Then I will accompany you. Once you have finished your tea,” Cestapal says. “You are growing two Sarkarnii, Scarlett. You are going to need all the strength you can get.”