“No.” Lilibet laid her head against my shoulder, her small hands clutching at me with surprising strength. “Don’t go, DeDe.”
“I have to, Princess.” I kissed her chubby cheek, tasting the salt of the lone tear that fell from her lashes. “More bad males have come, and I need to lead them away so you and MeMe can hide somewhere safe.”
“You can hide with us.” She insisted with a furious shake of her head, pink curls bouncing around her face.
“I’m sorry, qizim,” I whispered, my voice breaking as I held her tightly, feeling her small heart beating like a frightened bird’s. “I have to go. You’ll be safe with MeMe and Ceeka.”
“Don’t leave DeDe,” she whimpered, dissolving into heart-wrenching sobs that tore through me like claws.
I held her tight as the sobs wracked her tiny body, each one a dagger to my soul. Jolie cried as well, her tears fallinglike rain as I drew her into my embrace, cradling both against my chest. My females. My family. The two beings who had transformed my existence from mere survival into something worth living—and dying—for.
“Keep our daughter safe,” I whispered to Jolie, my heart breaking into a thousand jagged pieces. Her short, jerky nod cracked the organ further.
“Come back to us.” It wasn’t a question. It was a demand laced with love and hope.
The hardest thing I’d ever had to do was walk away from them, each step feeling like I was tearing away pieces of my own soul.
I plunged into the jungle, my feet crushing fallen leaves and snapping twigs with deliberate carelessness. The Kwado ship had landed like a metallic blight near the treehouse, its massive hull scarring the earth and splintering trees that had stood for centuries. Smoke curled from its landing thrusters, filling the air with the acrid stench of burned vegetation and super-heated metal. I didn’t attempt stealth—quite the opposite. An attack was not my goal. My goal was to divert their attention, to become the target they couldn’t ignore. To give the Kwado something else to chase, to give my females and the Peecha time to escape.
My scales twitched and rippled like restless serpents, my protective instincts wound so tight it was a constant battle to keep my scales from shifting. The urge to transform burned through my veins, but it was the one advantage I possessed. I couldn’t afford to let the Kwado discover my ability just yet.
It didn’t take long for a squad to pick up my obvious trail. Kwado were basically a stupid species, concerned only with pleasure, with absolutely no warrior prowess or tactical thinking. Even so, enough of them swarming together could prove deadly through sheer numbers and firepower. Thankfully,I detected no Wojonik in their midst. Qurbaga had no doubt sent those in his employ out to hunt Jolie and Lilibet like the ones that landed here.
I led them on a winding chase through the undergrowth, deliberately looping around near the waterfall—the place where Jolie and I had first made love. The memory of how she’d looked falling apart in my arms, her eyes dark with passion, made my stomach clench with both burning desire and gnawing worry.
I heard the footsteps behind me increase in number. Over twenty guards now crashing through the jungle like a herd of clumsy beasts, with a flanking group of five or more attempting to cut off my escape route. They all carried military-grade blasters, the energy cells humming, and the metallic, slightly sour smell of ozone and charged particles lay heavy in the humid air.
I let them chase me for over an hour, long enough to give my females and the Peecha a substantial head start. Now it was time to give Qurbaga something else to concentrate on.
I changed my trajectory, choosing a path that would put me directly on a collision course with the Kwado. The guards looked genuinely surprised, their bulbous eyes widening so comically that I had to bite back a laugh at their slack-jawed expressions when I burst through the undergrowth.
I fought them, of course, but purely for show. The wet smack of the broad, flabby Kwado appendages slapping against my flesh wasn’t particularly painful, more like being hit with a damp cloth than actual fists. Still, I pretended their blows had some effect. I needed to keep the confrontation physical and hand-to-hand. If they resorted to their energy blasters, that would hurt considerably—might even prove fatal in my unshifted state.
“Stop!” A searing beam of energy crackled close enough to my ear to sting the sensitive scales there.
I stilled immediately, raising my hands in mock surrender while my muscles remained coiled and ready.
The Kwado stepping through the ranks of panting guards wore the elaborate ceremonial robes of royalty, the fabric shimmering with threads of precious metals.
Qurbaga.
It was a monumental struggle to keep my scales still, the overwhelming urge to kill this bastard for what he’d done to Lilibet and Jolie burning stronger than anything I’d ever felt before. A rage so pure it threatened to consume my very soul.
“Where are the females?” Qurbaga held his ornate blaster pointed directly at my chest.
“What females?” I retorted, keeping my expression carefully blank.
“My property,” he spat, venom dripping from every syllable.
I clenched my fists at my sides, every muscle in my body itching to wrap my hand around his throat and squeeze until his eyes bulged from their sockets.
“I know they are here,” Qurbaga smirked, his lips pulling back to reveal yellowed teeth. “The Wojonik comm’d that they found the human and youngling here.”
“Oh, them,” I drawled with calculated indifference, crossing my arms over my chest in a gesture of supreme unconcern. “I sent them off-planet after I killed the Wojonik.”
Qurbaga went perfectly still, and I could practically see the gears turning in his primitive mind as he tried to discern whether I was lying. The lack of communication from the Wojonik had undoubtedly brought him here. He was intelligent enough to know I’d done something to his guards. The question burning in his beady eyes was whether he believed I’d successfully moved Jolie and Lilibet beyond his reach as well.
“Where are they?” he finally demanded, his voice rising to a near shriek.
