Page 45 of Captured By the Dragon Warlord (Fated Mates of the Sarkarnii Warlords #2)

M y brain has barely caught up with being in zero gravity, then not, then seeing Kerra peering in at me when the wall of the ship we’re on ripples and the entire structure shakes.

“Get the crew to battle stations, Dante,” Darax growls at the chaotic warlord.

Dexx glares down at everyone, his one eye baleful.

“Why isn’t he shifting?” Kerra says in my ear.

“I don’t know,” I reply as the ship is rocked from side to side and we struggle to stand.

Darax scoops her into his arms. “We need to get back to our ship,” he says to her, his hand spanning her stomach almost subconsciously. “You have seen your friend now.”

Kerra gives me a long-suffering look. “It doesn’t quite work that way,” she says to Darax.

“Then get her to have Dexx shift, and we can deal with those who are attacking us,” Darax says.

“I’ve got this.” I put my hand on her arm. “Don’t risk anything for us.”

I leave her to walk over to Dexx. His huge flanks heave with repressed rage. He wants to fight. I’ve seen enough Sarkarnii to know what it looks like.

“Can you shift?” I ask him.

A curl of smoke escapes one huge nostril. Dexx shakes his head.

I beckon to him, getting his huge head down low, where I sweep my hand over his cheek, just under his good eye. I place my thumb at the back of his jaw.

Dexx rumbles a purr. I hold his gaze as I run my thumb down the pressure point and lean into his scales.

“Think of the time when you were most happy,” I murmur. “The time when everything was bright.”

“My time has never been brighter than when I am with you,” Dexx says. “You are the axis on which I turn, Scarlett. It is you. It will always be you.”

“I want your arms around me,” I say softly.

“I want my arms around you, heartsfire,” Dexx replies, and in a slow swirl of smoke and embers, I have him in front of me, his scaled skin glittering, his single eye not leaving my face. “I want to hold you forever.”

“You shifted.” My voice is hoarse. “I didn’t think it would work.”

“Everything I do is for you, sweet mate. I thought you’d know that by now.” Dexx buries his head in my hair, the spicy, smoky scent of his skin surrounding me.

“Promise me, you’ll never leave me,” I whisper.

“There is no such promise,” Dexx says. I lift my head in alarm. “Because you are part of me, and I cannot leave you behind, heartsfire.” He places his hand over my abdomen. “What we have created cannot be undone. I will be here for you until the stars go out.”

The ship rocks again, and Dexx releases a snarl and a cloud of smoke.

“Nev the Veseli. Will they ever accept defeat?” he grumbles.

“ Can cockroaches accept defeat?” I ask.

“They can if I burn every single one to a cinder,” Dexx rasps.

I pat his chest. “I’m with you on that point.”

Dexx swirls me around behind him and stalks after the others.

The walls of the ship creak and I cling closer to him.

All of us might have been in space as part of our abduction, but I haven’t been in a space battle.

The mere thought of what would happen if the hull was breached is stomach clenchingly terrifying.

But it’s a thought I cannot get out of my head as much as I want to.

I attempt to concentrate on staying as close to Dexx as possible as he stalks the passage until we come out on what has to be the main control center of the ship, given Dante is standing, legs apart and arms folded, glaring at a screen filled with darkness and stars.

It’s space, up close and personal. The chill I feel intensifies.

“What is attacking us?” Dexx queries.

Dante turns, looks him up and down, and an expression of disappointment crosses over his face. “You’re not bigger in your biped form.”

“Will you shut the nev up about my size, Dante?” Dexx growls. “What the nev is happening?”

“Darax’s fleet has engaged three ships, two of which are Veseli and the third isn’t,” Dante says with a yawn.

A ripple of excitement flows through the warriors in the control center as our ship is rocked once more and on the screen is a bright light of an explosion which grows brighter before winking out.

“One Veseli ship and one not Veseli.” Dante grins, his scales rippling.

“Where is the other ship?” Dexx demands. His fists are clenched as he watches the action like a hawk.

“It’s behind us, Lord Dante,” one of the warriors says.

The screen flickers. A face appears. It almost seems human.

“You will hand over Lord Dexx and his mate,” it says. “Or you will perish.”