Page 245 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

Sunder

My shoulder ached, and my arm was one throbbing mess, but I had my Aggy in my arms, and she’d just declared that she loved me—me, despite being stuck in battle-form, my least attractive appearance.

It had been so long since I’d seen my peace-form that I couldn’t be sure if it was any kind of improvement.

“I love you too, my Fire,” I said, and I tried to claim her mouth, but she pulled back, a frown on her face.

Oh, right. The kids. “I hid them in the planetary defense tower. Jett has your datapad, and last I saw them, the two were playing games. They’re safe.

” She broke out in a radiant smile, threw her arms around my neck, and finally let me kiss her until I was throbbing in entirely different places.

When we pulled back, I was panting, and she had this lovely flush over her soft, round cheeks.

“I’ve got something that should help with the pain,” she said, then ducked out of my arms and scurried back into the cell I’d broken open.

I bent down to clean my knife, located the laser pistol that the Crimelord had dropped, and tucked both into my belt.

Shit was about to get rough out there, and I needed to find a safe, warm place for my female to ride it out.

I straightened, rotating my shoulder and marveling at the fact that my battle-form had performed almost entirely as it should.

What had changed? Why had it not crumbled like sand?

From the way my body had reacted during the fight with the Jukjuk, I had been so certain of the progression.

Stars, even Or’tal had recognized the signs of the Crumbling and had used them to level a threat at me.

What a bastard, that guy, but I couldn’t deny that I was impressed.

If he was indeed a First Class Infiltrator, he had earned that rank.

Aggy returned with some kind of green sludge wiped on the edge of her skirt, a frown on her face as she instructed me to turn around so she could check my shoulder.

I wasn’t sure what she was planning with that weird goo, but I trusted her.

The moment the stuff touched my shoulder, a blessed numbness spread through the deep bruise.

I let out a sigh and stuck out my torn-up bicep for more of the same treatment—though this meant she lifted up her skirts high enough for me to get a good look at her thighs… Definitely an added bonus.

Once she was done, she pulled the short-blade holsters from the Xurtal female's back with a disgusted look on her face. She strapped them on awkwardly, so I hurried to help out. I wasn’t sure if she thought she was joining me in this battle, but I did approve of arming her.

Back on the Vagabond, I’d make sure to start a mandatory training session for all the females—except for Camila.

Thorin’s mate already trained with my brothers.

Holding her by the hand, we left the cellblock.

“I think you’ll be safest if I hide you in the armory.

” She was shaking her head, her mouth set in a grim line, and her eyes determined.

I knew that look, I was pretty sure she wasn’t going to do as I said.

Nothing seemed to go according to plan during this mission.

I should have remembered that it was always like that: there were always unpredictable elements, like another agent, a guard who wanted to reform, or a woman who thought she could rescue her friend’s son on her own.

Resigned, I urged her to stay behind me as I led us to the front of the palace.

Beyond that was a short, manicured lawn, a wall with a gate, and two defensive towers.

To the left and right of the palace were the outbuildings and barracks.

None of those mattered, as the guards who were supposed to protect this place were all gathered on the wall around the gate and on the towers.

Some were standing back on the cleared space just beyond the gate, where two defensive structures winged out around two big laser cannons.

The gate and the palace lay on a slight hill, so from the steps of the palace, Aggy and I could look down beyond it—right onto the cleared space where ships were supposed to land.

The Vagabond, in all its scruffy glory, was parked right on the edge of that field.

“That’s our ride,” I said, pointing it out to my woman.

They hadn’t disembarked yet, but their arrival had put all the guards in a tizzy.

They were doing as instructed, manning the gate and the armaments on them.

None of them knew yet that their leader was dead.

The remaining Xurtal female paced across the cleared space, shouting orders to the men on the wall. It was obvious they’d recognized that the Vagabond was not the ship it had impersonated to the landing tower. They were frantic to discover why the planetary defense system had failed.

I tucked Aggy against a pillar, hiding her behind a wing as I appraised the situation.

The cannons had to go, I hadn’t been able to disable those, as anyone coming near them was treated with suspicion on any day other than drills.

I had the codes to open the gates, but getting from here to there would take a while.

I hoped Or’tal was coming through for us; if he opened the gate from the command center, my brothers would have a straight path inside.

The rear hatch of the Vagabond opened, causing the Xurtal female to sharply whistle, urging the guards to attention.

They raised their laser rifles, propping them against their shoulders as they readied themselves to take aim.

I smirked when I saw a shimmering energy shield bubble out of the opened hatch, followed by my brothers, Da’vi in the center, with something big and silver strapped to his back.

I saw Ziame in the lead, Kitan shifted into his hybrid form, and Thorin with Camila side by side, holding laser rifles of their own.

I didn’t spot Fierce or his bonded Ferai beast, but Jakar and Eoin—the new kid—were both there.

Aggy took one look at them, her eyes wide as she took in the motley crew. “So few?” she asked, a little stunned.

Laughing, I explained, “These paltry guards are no match for a few trained gladiators, trust me.” Right on time, the gate started to lift, the thick blast doors shivering open as their engines rattled to life.

The Xurtal woman, I thought it was Iol, screamed, ordering males off the wall and into the towers.

There were sounds of blasts, and the doors ground to a halt, opened only partially.

“Stay here,” I said to Aggy, lifting her chin to press a kiss to her mouth.

“I’m going to make sure my brothers get in.

” She clutched at my shoulders for a moment, her eyes worried, but then she nodded, blunt teeth digging into her soft bottom lip.

I rubbed my thumb over it. “I will be fine. I have much to fight for.” Like a mate and a son, two sons, even.

I turned around, appraising the best landing spot, and felt her hand curl around the tip of my now-blunted tail.

“I’m holding you to that,” she said, giving a soft squeeze with her soft hand around the hard flesh.

It shot fire up my spine, ill-timed arousal slamming into me with shocking force.

I growled at her, a warning in my eyes that just made her smile that pretty, infectious smile of hers.

With thoughts of loving my woman in mind, I leaped into the air, spreading my wings wide.

*

Agatha

Watching Sunder fly was something else, it was beautiful, the way he acrobatically dove through the air.

He landed behind one of those big laser cannons in front of the gate, just as the shimmering glow of that strange shield his friends were carrying reached it.

Guards had been firing their rifles from atop the wall, but I soon realized that more than half of them were throwing away their weapons, as they didn’t seem to be working.

I winced. No—correction—he hadn’t landed behind the cannon. He’d landed on top of the male manning it, his clawed feet burying the poor guy in the dirt. His wings were as much weapons as his knife-wielding hands, and that particular cannon was out of order in seconds as he tore into it.

The gladiators had breached the gate, springing into lethal action.

Their shield—whatever it was—held firm against the laser fire of the second cannon for the first and second shots it got off.

Then it fizzled out, and the Kertinal male carrying the device shrugged it off his back, charging into the fray with a battle cry.

I was sure the third shot from that cannon would take someone out, but with a whining sound, it powered down, the barrel drooping to the ground.

I clutched the knives I’d taken from the Xurtal guard in my hands, adrenaline pumping through me just from watching this fight, my heart in my throat.

Thank you, Or’tal. I had to assume he’d done that too, somehow.

My eyes struggled to keep track of everything that was happening, there was so much going on all at once.

A male that looked like a cross between a bull and a dragon was breathing fire on some of his opponents.

While a male I hadn’t seen before was slinking through the warring group with a huge ax and a smokey, hound-cat creature that looked uncanny and dangerous.

Those two were hamstringing guards, seeming to come out of nowhere sometimes, simply materializing out of thin air.

No wonder Sunder said these guards were no match for trained gladiators, they were absolutely tearing the Crimelord's protective force apart.

Like it was a walk in the freaking park.