She giggled. 'That's just me giving you a sample of what's in store for you, my yummy toh revol.'

He threw his head back and laughed and the enjoyable sound he made in this world of magic floated around them. The others stopped chatting and swung around.

'Hey man, what's the joke? It must be a doozy for you to laugh before a mission,' Jason said as he mounted his ride with one easy motion.

Kayden was still looking amused. 'Private, boys. Ready?'

They nodded as they too mounted their horses, still surveying their unusually happy leader.

Kayden bent down and whispered, 'Yummy hot lover, hey? With you, my love, to keep that title will be an honour.'

Introduction into the Stars.

Commanding the horses and team was not easy this trip. Cassie's nerves had accelerated her powers and she was giving off an exquisite current. Woody and Jason were way too close, chatting to Cassie. Woody said something funny to her and she giggled at him, causing Kayden's hackles to come up. Shit! One girl and four damned competing males to fight off every time a man wants attention, he thought moodily. Stuff them. They can go get their own bloody woman. This one's mine. Mine! He grumbled within and almost sent them the message through telepathy. He was feeling so protective of his woman and wrapped his arm around her possessively.

Enough chatter, guys. Settle down. We're nearly there.

At the mention that they were nearly there, Cassie stiffened and her heart pumped far too quickly. She was scared and the men could feel it and were obviously keeping her mind off it. He kicked himself for getting all bull-headed and jealous.

You okay, sweetheart? He relayed just to her.

She nodded.

Just remember, my men and I are used to handling these situations on our own. Therefore if you find a glitch with your powers, don't sweat it. It's not as if we're up against a Supernova. We have you covered, okay, honey?

'What's a Supernova?'

Novas form from the death of an extremely massive star generally many times heavier than our sun. The star core reaches a certain mass or density limit and then explodes and the outer crust breaks away and travelling thousands of kilometres a second, destroying anything in its path.

Her silence told him that she got it and it was just one more bit of information he knew she would store away in that astute mind of hers. He found her so very intriguing the way she processed data, never needing further discussions. It was as if the lessons learned unlocked another part of the universal knowledge already deep inside her. She did it often and it fascinated him.

You knew that all ready though, hey, princess?

She leaned back into him. 'Yes and much more. Yet I'm not sure how.'

Kayden squeezed his goddess, certain now that this was what she was. However, using his gift of selected telepathy that controlled who he could send his thoughts to and what he kept personal, he decided not to reveal this thought to the team or her for fear he might frighten her further. Her little heart was pumping louder and faster by the minute. 'You belong here, princess. It's the magic inside you,' he whispered in her ear.

She turned her head slightly and he saw that her eyes reflected deep into her soul, ancient knowledge flickering within them.

Kayden had no idea why she had been sent to him yet he knew instantly that he would have to show great patience for what lay ahead in their future. Yes, he thought, settling her back in front of him as they arrived at the coordinates. He would go to the ends of the universe to keep her safe and protected.

As soon as they stopped, Kayden could feel that something was wrong. Moving his men and their horses into combat positions, he viewed the intruding Comets. He was picking up a different sound behind them. Ethan had extra-sensitive hearing up here and seeing his back go rigid confirmed that there was a disturbance behind the Comets.

Ethan, what you hearing, man?

He signalled three, plus something scattered behind it. Kayden waited for him to pick up what it was before he reacted. The rumbling and the speed of the Comets were disguising a threat they both knew was coming but until it came closer they were both clueless.

Zoltan, get your stallions ready for anything. If this goes down the way I'm feeling it will the Comets are not our only threat.

Ethan picked it up first and signalled Kayden.

Okay, men, we have a problem. Ethan's just picked up that the Comets are magnetising and dragging meteors-some the size of a cricket field-with them. It looks like Aldebaran and Conom have broken the treaty with Zoren. This is not only a deliberate attack on the Three Sisters but us as well.

The team all looked surprised but not one of them showed fear, just pure and workable anger toppling into rage. Rage was not good.

Okay, I'm feeling you men, just settle. Anger is good-use it but don't lose it and rage out on me. Last time you took some good with you so chill, okay? With all the missiles he's sending our way it'll be tough but we also have an advantage. In the wizard's vision of this attack he mustn't have foreseen our secret weapon. None of us knew Cassie would be on this trip. Let's just say that tonight is as good a time as any to introduce evil himself to our demolition specialist.

The men all signalled with thumbs up that they agreed that Cassie was going to be some force to be reckoned with. Cassie didn't move a muscle but her hackles were up, prickling the hair on Kayden's arm where he held her. She had sat up straight from the minute they arrived, statue-perfect, alert as an alley cat ready to pounce. Her power was taking over her fear and replacing it with readiness for what lay ahead and he could feel her heart pacing comfortably now, her energy spiking and humming through him. Kayden analysed it and for what was coming he knew he needed much more from her.

Zoltan, reposition the squad. Give me double the parsec between the two teams. Jason and Conor, your target is the Comet on the left. Woody, you and Ethan handle the one on the right. Cassie will pick up anything floating in between. Well, we love a challenge, men and this is a doozy. Keep your wits about you; watch each others' backs. I'll be monitoring the debris. Keep yourselves tight with your ride in case I have to pull you out of the way of some rubble.

They nodded and signalled when they were ready. Kayden could feel them all link and start building their magic.

Woody, I need you to control the team's power tonight. I have to concentrate on getting Cassie ready. You've got the control.

Woody gave him the thumbs up as Zoltan moved the horses as instructed. Knowing that the men knew what to do, Kayden placed his hands on Cassie's shoulders. He hated the thought of even doing this. He knew he needed to give her a couple of sessions with Woody to teach her how to use her gift without anger but for now he had to work with what he had. He firmed his grip on Cassie's shoulders, not enough to bruise but enough to cause her an uncomfortable throbbing. Sorry, but I need more than I'm feeling from you, princess-time to get you angry, he thought, hating this part. You still dream about Alex's kisses, don't you? He must have been good to keep you away from me so long.

Cassie swung around and glared at Kayden, her blue eyes burning through him like lasers. Man, even angry she was as sexy as hell! It took everything he had to not pull her into his arms and kiss that look off her face. He had to cut her to the core or they were all going to lose their lives here tonight. He had no choice: it was either this or give a very dangerous command. Admittedly, it would save their lives but he couldn't guarantee the lives of the other good souls who might get in the way. Right now Kayden had no intention of even considering that. Yes, the situation was critical and his men knew it but if he gave the order for the guys to cut loose and kick it into overdrive, they would have to draw the power they needed from evil instead of good. He cringed at the thought, as he'd have no control on what they ended up destroying. There would be no stopping them until their power source dried up. Man, what a mess!

Kayden looked around, annoyed, wondering if Zoren was watching the balls-up this mission had become. He hoped he was giving his people a good serving for their incompetent reporting. Now good and cranky, he focused back on Cassie, his eyes glowing, face taut and temper flaring.

Don't look so damned innocent, Cassie. You called out to Alex in your sleep last night. Jeez, I could have slapped you. He was hardly the only one either. I saw you with Woody before, giggling in his arms. You were flirting and wanted him too, didn't you? Please don't give me that look of purity. It won't work on me this time, bitch! You think I'm bloody stupid enough to think you kept that hot body just for me for all those months? Please! He rolled his eyes, growling out the final words through gritted teeth.

Cassie was crimson with rage. It was a cheap shot but Goddamn it, not a total lie. He was so jealous when he thought of her with another that it did his head in. She screamed out and her hand came up to swipe his face. Kayden grabbed her wrist, going nowhere near that hand and pointed it to the Comet.

A thunderous bark roared out of him. 'Use it ... now!'

Kayden could feel Cassie's anger as she threw her hands at the fireball hurtling towards them. The bolt of light that shot out of her hands hit the invader and blew it to dust.

Goddamn it, she was everything he thought she could be and more. Kayden loved her so much right then that he could hardly breathe. He could feel her excitement buzzing through him for what she had just done but it was too soon to celebrate as it was far from over: that had been only a small part of what was coming.

'Cassie Wyatt! Pull it together and help the boys or they are going to die! Clear those damned meteors now!' Kayden barked the new order at her, pointing to what he needed cleared out the way. While she cleared a path he watched Woody and Conor who were already on the other Comet. A large piece of meteor was heading straight for them from an angle they'd missed. Shit, too late for me to pull them out. He straightened his posture with threatening intent, keeping up his grumpy facade. 'Cassie, help Woody!' he commanded in a tone that pulled her out of her rage to listen to him.

Her head swung around, she glanced in the direction he pointed and with lightening speed thrust both hands at the huge ball of dense and impenetrable rock, lifting it away from them before she blew it up far from where it could do them any harm. Kayden looked up and saw nothing left but soft flakes of blackened soot that blew over Woody and Conor in a dirty cloud, her delivery and execution faultless.

As she cleaned up other smaller meteors around them Kayden left her line of sight to check on Ethan and Jason. They were really struggling to get a grip on the Comet as they fought the meteors hurtling at them with velocity. The unstable axis had them spinning and changing direction every millisecond. Kayden knew his men were running out of time. He had to see if Cassie could stop it, except he could feel her powers draining as she began to enjoy herself. She was so immersed in what she was doing, thoughts of the nonsense he fed her were not fuelling her anger any longer.

He stretched his neck, cracking it each way and psyching himself up, seeing that he needed her one last time. Zoltan, pull Jason and Ethan out and have the horses stand by for clean up. Kayden pointed the location. Zoltan let out a sound that was almost human and thrashed his head: he was also feeling Cassie's power and it was spiking his adrenalin too. Kayden snatched Cassie's arm as it went up for another strike, careful not to go anywhere near those hands.

'You ever two-time me again, Cassie and I swear I will make you pay so badly those bruises you had when I first met you will look like bloody fingerprints. Do you understand?' he snarled and she nearly pulled out of his hands she was so livid. 'Cassie.' He controlled his voice but kept it firm and commanding. 'You can give it to me when it is over but Jason needs you so do what you came here to do and blow shit up. We need you to take out the other Comet as there is too much debris surrounding that one. It's totally out of control and getting far too close.' Kayden let her hands go, praying she threw her anger toward the whirling invaders and not him. Shit, he really felt he went too far that time. Her eyes were pits as she glared at him.

The danger was closing in. Woody and Conor just about had their Comet out and were readying their horses for clean up. Even if Kayden called them to come and help this side, they would never get here in time. He watched with bated breath as Cassie flung him one more glare that would kill. All of a sudden he felt her draw from him.

How the hell was she doing that? She had somehow linked back to Zoltan and him, snatching power from them both. Kayden slumped as he was temporarily drained and he knew it was going to be a huge hit this time. As that thought left his mind he could only watch and wait as Cassie pulled what she needed and threw both her hands up together with massive force. Silver streams of lightening shot out from her in every direction.

'Jesus Christ!' Kayden hollered in his mind to his men. 'Did you see that shit?'

The men all nodded, punching the atmosphere with their fists. The explosion was so fierce Kayden had to hold himself and Cassie with everything he had left or they would have blown off Zoltan. Even after the strike, the noise still thundered around them. The impact was so intense she not only blew the Comet out of the sky but also cleared a path of meteors with it. In one blast, she had just about cleaned the entire field.

'Superlative,' was all Kayden could think to whisper out. In all my life, I have never seen anything like it, he relayed to the others, amazed. After the intensity of the power surge, Cassie went limp in Kayden's arms. Her mind was still alert but she was drained and exhausted, needing time to recharge. Way to go, sweetheart, you did really well. Just relax now. The boys can take it from here.

Holding the biggest treasure the world would ever see, Kayden sat contentedly, knowing his team had kicked butt. It took everything he had left not to shout, punch the air, cry, laugh and take the beauty in his arms, making her feel the joy she had just given to him. There was not going to be one part of her luscious body that he would not kiss and thank as soon as he had her alone. But for now she needed some calm time to recharge. When the men were done, Kayden knew he could draw on the power of their adrenalin rush to make Cassie feel better.

Radar.

Wow, did I do that?

Cassie's mind raced as she slumped back against Kayden, her body numb and exhausted. Kayden held her and that was all she could feel. His arms had wrapped around her the minute she leaned into him and she could feel him now as he sent happy little sparks through her. Calmness flooded her mind as she watched the rest of the team complete the mission. The men and their horses were literally glowing and they started spinning like tops. The speed of their spinning formed a cyclone of colourful lights and the men inside were now a blur. The colourful cloud they projected was charged with electrical bolts that began to smash through the meteors, disintegrating anything and everything in their paths. They continued to whirl and the force of their spinning suddenly became stronger as they linked themselves together with a charge, similar to what she had seen from above when they had arrived at the Three Sisters. Whatever magic it was it was disintegrating whatever was caught in the middle, blowing it to fairy dust that sparkled all around. The colourful fragments reminded her of being inside the clouds-exquisite and so very pretty. Cassie now understood the Cloud Riders' power. Her method was quick and deadly when she was mad enough but the rest of the team were beautiful to watch; it was absolute perfection in motion. With the danger eliminated, they slowed and once the glow faded they sat on their horses and high-fived each other.

It was over and as if she had suddenly broken out of a trance Cassie's memory returned. She lurched forward and snapped her head around to face him, her angry eyes glaring at Kayden. He was grinning as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth and he held his hands up in a protective position. 'Please don't hit me! I promise I'll shut up now,' he chuckled.

'That was such a dirty trick, Kayden. Don't think you're getting off that easy. That was really, really mean and now everyone knows about Alex. Couldn't you have just spoken the words instead of relaying it by telepathy? And I did not sleep with Alex or call out his name. Damn you, Kayden. Shit, you made me so angry, I still feel like I want to slap you.'

Her body shook, she was so infuriated. In one quick movement, Kayden spun her around into his arms and was kissing her. Cassie struggled against him until the passion of his kisses calmed her and his love was all she could feel. Her mind was now torn, wanting his lips to stay on hers forever but still angry that he had said all that in front of the team. Finally he lifted his mouth from hers and she lay helpless in his arms.

'Nobody else heard what I said to you, my lovely but I needed you to think they were all listening. That was a bad attack, honey and without you here today some of us may not have made it back alive,' he said with a serious tone.

She frowned and searched for his reasoning for picking that topic to make her angry.

He seemed to read her thoughts and smiled. 'I know you love only me, princess. I watched Alex kiss you and even though it nearly broke my heart, it confirmed your feelings for me when you didn't respond to him. Will you forgive me?' he said as he laid little kisses over her face until her frown turned into a smile. 'Am I forgiven, sweetheart?' He looked at her lovingly.

Cassie touched his face; it felt like touching soft petals. He was magical up here in the sky, and spellbinding. She didn't know he could select who he could talk to and now it was just between them, she forgave him with a stunning smile.

'That's my girl,' he whispered in her ear, kissing the lobe, making her shudder and giggle. 'I promise to make up for every mean word I spoke when we get home,' he said, sitting her up as the guys approached.

Yes, my love, and man, am I going to make you keep that promise! Cassie grinned at the thought and settled back against him.

Back in formation, they headed back to Adora's star, the eldest of the Three Sisters. As soon as they stopped, Woody grabbed Cassie off the horse and swung her around. 'You go, girl.' He laughed as the others came over as well for a group hug.

Kayden moved in when they finished making a fuss and rescued her from them. 'That's enough, guys, she's only little. You're going to squash her.'

Woody slapped him on the back. 'She may be little but she sure packs a punch and knows how to make a big entrance. Zoren's going to be blown away with what just went down.'

Jason was a bit vocal and aired his concern to Kayden. 'We could've been in deep shit out there without Cassie. I know Zoren has other battles going on but he should get his facts straight before he sends us out next time. We could have left earlier and cleaned them out of the sky before they even became a problem. That was too close this time, K man.'

'I'll talk to him when he gets here. I just had a message through Zoltan that he watched it all on the satellite link and is pleased and impressed with our new addition. He wants to meet her personally. Let's just enjoy our victory and smooth out the wrinkles later.'

Ethan looked up and his blue eyes looked anxious as a shadow came over their heads. Cassie swung around to see what had struck him speechless and spotted a straggler meteor. She knew as well as Ethan did it was too late for them to get back on their rides or even to get out the way. She had to come up with something to make her mad and quick, so she thought of her dad swiping her across the cheek. Using the anger of this memory of her burning cheek, she threw her hands up and forced the meteor back. When she had moved it far enough away, she smashed it into dust.

Dropping her eyes back down, she looked straight at Ethan. She sensed he could tell if anything more was out there. He closed his eyes as if looking far out into the universe then shook his head. She watched his look of concern turn into a smile. 'I'm positive that was the last of them.'

'Good work.' Cassie grinned at him. 'None of us saw that one coming.'

He looked so much younger-even adorable-with the expression he wore after she praised him. He put his head down and a blond curl hung on his forehead; at that moment she could feel something so vulnerable about him. Maybe he felt he had let them down, not concentrating enough to pick it up sooner. That wasn't how she saw it. They were all fairly depleted of power and it would have been hard to pick up. She wanted to cheer him up so she nudged him. 'You deserve a drink for that one. Shall we radar?' she teased him, gesturing a hand and a small bow towards the castle.

Jason and Conor cracked up laughing and followed them down to the palace while Kayden and Woody put the horses away.

'That name had better not stick, girl or I won't be grateful at all that you saved us. He was a geek with glasses as I recall, bitch,' Ethan whispered to her.

'What name? I'm here only to serve the master, radar.' She giggled and moved away from him, holding on to Jason.

'Don't hide behind me, princess. Man, he is so going to get you for that.'

Ethan came towards her and she playfully squealed and held on tight to Jason, making him laugh and protect her.

Ethan leaned real close this time. 'Big bro is not always going to be around. You're going down, girl,' he said as he strode off in front of them, catching up with Conor.

'He's fun,' Cassie whispered to Jason.

Jason just laughed and let her hang off him as they followed Conor and Ethan through the grounds. They strolled past the gardens, if you could call them that. Here she took time to take in her surroundings. In place of grass there were mirrored mosaic tiles that reflected the soft pastels of the trees. In the centre of the area, large crystal sculptures of the Three Sisters stood proudly. At the statues' feet, crystal-shaped stars and moons formed their constellation as seen from above. On the other side of the path, glistening figurines of a mystical creature towered high above her, with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. Running around the entire castle was a lake or maybe an illusion of one. As they moved closer it looked as if the water was actually made up of thousands of diamonds or quartz crystals, glittering in the moonlight.

The bridge leading to the entrance of the castle, also a mixture of the glass and crystal, was held together with what looked like gold pillars and ropes. The colourful little critters running around the grounds stood out against the softness and calmness of the setting. Further into the grounds there were trees and plants, nothing like the trees on earth. The trunks were pure white and the leaves were multicoloured pastel. The shrubs that surrounded them were the colours of the critters that ran around, and brightened up the surrounds beautifully. The light from the two full moons that circled the star above suddenly hit the grounds at different angles, causing the colours to reflect against the glass and crystal and sending an array of colours shooting around them. It was a truly spectacular sight.

Finally Cassie felt as if she belonged somewhere. Amongst all the freakishness in this new magical world she was not an outsider anymore. There were plenty of weirder things going on here than she could even dream up. Cassie was sure destiny had played a big hand in getting her this far and she was thrilled that it had led her to Kayden and all of this.

Woody and Kayden caught up to them. Jason released his hold on Cassie so she could be with her man and turned to tell Woody how she had stirred up their boy Ethan.

Kayden thought it was funny. 'Little troublemaker. You know you've just made up a new game and he'll make you play it out.'

Cassie shrugged. 'I have an advantage.'

He grinned. 'Spill.'

She giggled. 'I'm sleeping with the boss.'

Woody nudged her. 'Don't think I won't kidnap your arse, young lady, if you stir up my boys too much,' he said in fun.

Laughter helped Cassie loosen up; being part of a team felt good. The men were entertaining and it was nice to have some fun for a change.

Kayden stopped walking and kissed her hands, holding them as if they might break.

'Okay, you two.' Woody broke up Kayden's efforts to woo Cassie further.

'Goddamn it, Woody, can't you give me a minute?'

'Did, and it's up,' he smirked, putting out his arm to Cassie. 'It's time to show our newest member how to party with the stars.'