"I hope it has been for the good. I love you, my little warrior," Mandra said tenderly brushing a kiss along her lips.

"I love you too," Ariel responded. "Even if you drive me nuts sometimes."

Mandra raised an eyebrow in question. "You usually let me know when I do something that displeases you. I have a feeling I am going to be very good at that," he muttered with a smile.

"Yes, you will be," Ariel teased as she wound her arms around his neck and pressed a hard kiss to his lips in hunger. "My dragon wants her mate."

A rumble of a purr escaped Mandra surprising both of them as his dragon responded to her softly spoken words. Both of them chuckled at it. It would appear her dragon wasn't the only one impatient to go play.

"After we meet with Adalard's man we will go flying," Mandra promised.

"Are you two love dragons ready to go or should I tell your uncle you were too busy to come after him yourself?" Adalard said leaning against the doorway leading to the front of the shuttle. "I'm sure Zebulon, Bahadur, and I can handle this."

Mandra shot a dark glare over his shoulder at the intrusion. "Remind me to kick your a.s.s when this is finished," he bit out.

Adalard laughed. "As if you could, dragon prince. The Curizans are not easily defeated as you found out during the Great War."

"You are lucky my brother thinks so highly of you, Curizan prince," Mandra retorted with a slight curve of his lips to take the bit out of his words, "I would hate to tell him I had to take a bite out of you to put you in your place."

"All right, children," Ariel said with a chuckle. "Let's play nice. I want to stretch my wings."

Adalard came up to stand next to Ariel. He took her hand in his ignoring her mate's dark growl at his touch. Lifting her hand to his lips, he turned it at the last minute and pressed a kiss to her wrist.

"Anything for you, my lady," Adalard said with a chuckle as he moved quickly out of Mandra's reach.

Zebulon came up behind them, shaking his head. "Adalard, are you irritating Mandra again? One of these days, he really is going to take a bite out of you."

"Mayhap, but not today," Adalard said as he pressed the release on the door to the shuttle. "Today, we plan our attack on his uncle."

Ariel watched as Adalard pulled a narrow board from his hip. With a flick of his wrist, the board expanded and he jumped on it with a cheeky grin. Her mouth dropped open as he leaned forward and took off across the sands at a rapid speed. It was some type of hover-board. It looked like a skateboard without the wheels.

"Curizans and their toys," Zebulon muttered before jumping out of the shuttle changing into his dragon and speeding off after Adalard.

"You guys have the coolest stuff," Ariel muttered as she moved toward the door.

"But it means nothing without you," Mandra said pressing a kiss to her forehead with a sigh of pleasure. "Shift and wait for me. I will make sure the shuttle is secure before I join you."

Ariel nodded in pleasure as she let her dragon have her freedom. She was still a little hesitant about shifting but she was gaining more confidence. She felt the tingle and the movement along her skin before the world tilted slightly and she could see everything in sharp detail. She lifted up off the hot sand enjoying the feel of stretching her wings out. The heat of the moon felt good against her scales and she flew upward twirling as the joy of being free swept through her. Her dragon coughed out as she called out her happiness to her mate. Within moments, her coughs were answered by a deeper one as her mate joined her. Precious watched from the sand before changing to form armor over both of its mates. Heavy armor coated Mandra while a lighter suit of armor formed over Ariel's more delicate dragon. Ariel shook her head at the odd feeling of having something on her head but Precious would not budge. A wave of warmth flowed through her to let her know it was for her protection.

Come, little mate. The sooner we finish with our meeting the sooner I can have you to myself for a little while, Mandra whispered in dragon-speak.

Even the dryness of the planet is beautiful in its own way, Ariel said looking down on the desolate terrain.

It was true, Ariel thought. Through her dragon's eyes she could see the glitter of the different colors in the sand. It was as if tiny sparkles of light were captured in the grains. As they flew toward the rocky terrain, she saw the same glittering in the dark stone. They skimmed along the sands. At times, Mandra would let his claws dip down and make patterns in the soft grains. Ariel giggled as she watched him play. She knew he was flying slower than he normally would so she could have a little longer in her dragon form. It was the little things that he did that made her love him so much. Yes, he could be a pain in the a.s.s sometimes but he more than made up for it with his tenderness and thoughtfulness. She let her eyes roam of the brilliant sapphire and silver body of his dragon and couldn't help but feel the shiver course through her at the thought that he belonged to her and she to him. She didn't have the same feeling of unease as she did when she had been with Eric; the feeling of never being good enough or fear of doing something wrong. If she got mad at him, he wanted to know why and worked with her.

Mate is good for you, her dragon responded. You not think of other man. He bad.

Yes, he was bad for me, Ariel agreed.

Mate kill him for hurting you, her dragon said gleefully.

No! No, my mate not kill him. Eric is far away and can never hurt me again, Ariel said firmly.

No matter. Our mates have decided, her dragon said with a sigh. I like my mate tail. It big like the rest of him.

You are a h.o.r.n.y little thing, Ariel giggled as she found herself admiring the large tail swinging back and forth in front of her. You're right, though. He does have one good looking tail.

Mandra looked over his shoulder as he heard his mate purr. His dragon uttered a loud roar in response. He slowed enough for her to catch up with him. He loved how the light reflected off her rose and gold scales. It made both him and his dragon hard at the thought of taking her from behind. He wanted to grip her tightly under him as he pushed into her as far as he could go. His dragon emitted another loud roar as Mandra fought for enough control to wait until the meeting was finished.

Want to f.u.c.k now, his dragon snarled.

I want her as well but we must stay focused for a little longer. Then, I promise, then you can f.u.c.k your mate as long as you want, Mandra vowed as he watched his mate dip up and down over some of the rocks. Perhaps we can stay on the moon for the night.

Yes, stay! His dragon panted as it watched his mate swing her tail to one side so he caught a glimpse of her narrow slit.

Mandra laughed as his dragon drooled over his scrumptious mate. He knew exactly how it felt to want his mate so much it hurt. He would need to give his dragon time with his mate or he could become very dangerous.

Up ahead there is a cave. That is where we are meeting the others, Mandra called out to his mate as he surged ahead of her to make sure it was safe. Wait until I call to you before entering. I want to make sure it is safe.

Okay, Ariel called out not minding as it gave her more time before having to shift back. She was still shaky during the transformation between her two-legged and four-legged self.

She watched as Mandra flew ahead of her and disappeared inside the narrow entrance. She was nervous about being able to fit. Shaking her head at her wayward thoughts, she chuckled. If Mandra could get his big old self through the opening she knew her smaller form would fit with no problem.

It is safe. Come to me, Mandra called out.

Ariel turned in a graceful swoop and leveled out. She pulled up at the last moment before folding her wings in and touching down on the uneven ledge of the cave. She wobbled before she found her footing and slowly moved into the cooler cavern. She lifted her head to look around her curiously as she entered. The cave was large and significantly cooler than the outside temperature. A shiver went through her delicate form as she moved toward Adalard and Zebulon who were standing further inside. The walls glimmered with the same sparkling lights that were reflected in the sands. Ariel felt a hand gently brush her side. Thinking it was Mandra, she turned her head toward it. She tilted her head in surprise when she saw it belonged to a man she had never seen before. His cool, deep violet eyes stared at her with an intensity that took her by surprise. She shifted back to her two-legged form and found herself in his strong arms.

"Let her go!" A fierce growl echoed through the cavern.

Ariel tried to straighten but found her legs were still shaky. "Not yet," came the husky response.

Her head swiveled back up to the face that was bent close to her. The man holding her leaned closer and breathed in deeply. She watched as his eyes darkened with desire.

"Beautiful," he murmured.

Ariel raised her eyebrow in amus.e.m.e.nt. "And painful if you don't let me go. If you don't believe me just ask Mandra."

Bahadur let a husky laugh escape at the spirited response. "I think I would find it worth the pain."

Mandra pulled Ariel out of Bahadur's arms and into his with a dangerous snarl. "She is mine!" He growled in a dark and deadly voice.

Bahadur let his eyes move slowly down Ariel's curvy form. He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly as if he was not in the least concerned about p.i.s.sing the huge dragon prince off. He took a reluctant step back and bowed his head to Ariel.

"My apologies, beautiful lady," Bahadur murmured before turning to Mandra who was glaring at him. "I did not want her to fall and she seemed a little shaky for a moment," Bahadur replied not sounding apologetic at all.

Mandra pulled Ariel closer. Cold rage poured through him at the challenge in the Curizan admiral's voice. He wanted Ariel and he would not hesitate to take her. Mandra stared back refusing to back down to the other warrior's insult.

"She is mine. I will kill anyone who tries to take her from me," Mandra stated in a deadly calm, cold voice.

"I am sure she is worth the risk," Bahadur replied as he ran a possessive glance over Ariel.

Ariel glanced from one man to the other. Were men the same no matter where in the friggin' universe you ended up? She wondered as she saw what was happening. She hadn't had to deal with a p.i.s.sing contest since college. They were practically in the middle of a war and these two wanted to decide who was going to get her like a couple of hound dogs fighting over a bone. Ariel didn't even think, she took a step forward and swapped the huge Curizan male upside the head before turning and doing the same to Mandra.

"Knock it off!" She growled out in irritation. "I won't be a part of any man's p.i.s.sing contest. If you can't behave yourself, go sit in the corner until you learn some self-control. I belong to no man... alien... whatever in the h.e.l.l you call yourselves, got it?"

Both men rubbed the side of their heads where she smacked them. They fought back a laugh as she looked at them with her hands on her hips and one foot tapping as if they were a couple of misbehaving younglings. Adalard and Zebulon didn't bother trying to hide their mirth as they watched the exchange between Ariel and the two men who were ready to come to blows over her.

"Is she always like this?" Bahadur asked with a startled chuckle.

Mandra looked at the fire in his mate's eyes and grimaced. "She can be much worse."

Ariel rolled her big brown eyes and shook her head. "You aren't still complaining about me knocking you out, are you?"

Bahadur cast an astonished look at Mandra who frowned at Ariel. "You hit me upside the head with a planter," he muttered.

Ariel looked at Bahadur with an amused grin. "I also kneed him in the b.a.l.l.s and broke his nose."

"Don't forget you also kicked me in the jaw," Mandra added as he grabbed her around the waist, pulled her against his chest and pressed a deep kiss against the dragon's mark on her neck. "But, I have tamed you."

Ariel elbowed him in the stomach. "In your dreams," she whispered.

Adalard called for him and Bahadur to come over to the equipment Zebulon had finished setting up. Ariel pulled away with a toss of her head and a seductive smile aimed at her mate. She decided she would explore the cave while the men talked. Mandra moved to block Bahadur's view of Ariel. He did not miss the speculative look in Bahadur's eyes as he and his mate teased each other. When the Curizan admiral looked at him in question, Mandra shook his head in warning. He meant what he said... he would kill anyone who tried to take Ariel away from him.

Chapter 21.

"Come on, Precious. You can keep me company while the guys are talking," Ariel called out as she moved to take a closer look at the walls that were glowing.

Precious formed into a large, golden creature that looked like it was part lion and part mountain goat. Ariel looked at the gold creature again. Well, maybe, she thought with a shake of her head. Sometimes she just couldn't figure out what shape the golden symbiot decided to change into. It was like Darwin's grab bag but with all the pieces of DNA mixed up into the tiniest forms before being picked out.

Ariel stretched her fingers out so they could brush along its smooth surface enjoying the warmth that spread from her touch. "I love you, too."

They moved further back into the large cavern. She didn't need to worry about not being able to see. Between the light from the tiny, glowing crystals in the rocks and Precious glowing for her, she could see just fine. The cavern narrowed toward the back and a smaller pa.s.sageway opened up. Ariel frowned as she ran her hands along the opening. It felt smooth, almost as if it had been carved out by someone.

She walked along the pa.s.sage turning periodically to make sure she knew where she was so she didn't get lost. She decided it might be smart to mark the way she was going. She kept her right hand on the wall. Every twenty feet, she used the edge of a rock to mark a number counting up so she knew how far she was from the entrance.

Ariel frowned as she came to a fork in the pa.s.sageway. She did eeny-meeny-miny-mo in her head and chose the left pa.s.sageway. She traveled several hundred feet before she came to an incline. Precious looked down at it and snorted in unease.

"What's the matter? Is there something down there?" Ariel asked suddenly feeling like maybe she had gone a little farther than she should have. "Maybe we should go back," she muttered turning around to retrace her steps.

Precious turned and moved ahead of her, eager to return to the men. Ariel took a step forward and bounced back hard enough she fell on her a.s.s. She stared at Precious who turned to look at her puzzled.

"Precious?" Ariel said with a quiver in her voice.

Ariel got to her feet. Putting her hands out in front of her, she walked forward again only to find herself stopped by an invisible wall. She moved her hands frantically over it. She couldn't feel anything but something was blocking her from following Precious back to the cavern where the men were. Ariel began breathing faster as she moved systematically from the top of the rock wall, along the sides, down to the sandy floor and back up again.

"Precious, get Mandra. Go get Mandra now!" Ariel called out over the lump in her throat. "Go, hurry!"

Precious snarled and slammed into the force field. Light shimmered where the huge golden creature hit but it quickly faded. Precious. .h.i.t the shield over and over again but could not break through.

"Precious, I need you to go get Mandra. Please... go get help!" Ariel called out desperately.

Precious snarled again and shook its ma.s.sive head in anger. Its mate was in danger. It would not leave her. Precious transformed into one beast after another and tried again and again to break through the force field. Each time it hit, the energy in the force field appeared to grow stronger as the wall began to glow.

"Stop, Precious. You are making it worse. Please, go get Mandra," Ariel sobbed out in frustration. "Go, we need him."

Precious shook with rage before turning and bolting down the narrow pa.s.sageway. Ariel sank down onto the sandy floor in front of the glowing force field trying to make herself as small as possible. She stayed that way for several minutes before a shiver raced down her spine letting her know she was no longer alone. She stood up and turned slowly toward the dark pa.s.sageway. Her heart thundered and her breathing grew into gasps as she saw the twin, red glowing eyes moving up the narrow corridor toward her. She moved into a defensive stance knowing she had nowhere to go. Solid rock walls were on either side of her and the force field prevented her from moving backwards. Her eyes widened as the shape grew nearer. She opened her mouth and screamed as she felt pain explode through her for a brief instant before everything went dark.

Mandra looked at the holovid Bahadur was showing them. His uncle was a cold-blooded b.a.s.t.a.r.d but he was a brilliant cold-blooded one. He had covered his tracks well. Raffvin's deceit against his own family tore at everything they held dear. A Valdier warrior held honor as a shield to who he was. His uncle had no honor. He killed his own brother, tried to kill his nephews, and sought a way of controlling their symbiot Queen. He would do whatever it took to gain power, even starting a war that would be devastating to his own world.

Bahadur explained Raffvin had taken over a primitive planet on the outskirts of the Curizan star system. He worked with Ben'qumain at the time to take control of the small, spa.r.s.ely populated world. Since it was so far out of the normal shipping lanes but close enough to the jump gates, he decided it would be the perfect place to plan his attacks.

The planet had a natural defense against large invasions. A small asteroid field surrounded it. Mandra cursed as he realized the difficulty of getting a full squadron of warships close. It would be almost impossible for the larger ships to make it through without either alerting Raffvin to their presence or receiving damage from the asteroids. Even with their shields, it would take a toll. It would take immense power redirected to their shields to protect the warships. This would decrease the power they would need for their weapons.

"What do you know about the weapon Raffvin has?" Mandra asked looking up at Bahadur.

"Only what I have overheard and pieced together. He does not say anything about it," Bahadur replied straightening. He looked at Adalard who nodded to him. "I believe it is his symbiot."

Both Mandra and Zebulon jerked back in surprise. "That is impossible! One symbiot would never attack one of its own much less destroy it. The pain felt by all of us when the guards' symbiots were destroyed back on Valdier resonated through us all," Zebulon said in astonishment.

Bahadur nodded his head. "I didn't believe it myself until I caught a glimpse of it. His symbiot is no longer gold such as yours. It is as black as his eyes. Somehow, his essence has contaminated it. This is all speculation but from what I have seen and learned it fits. The negative energy of his symbiot is strong enough to destroy the positive energy of the others."

Mandra was silent as his mind flashed through the possibility of what Bahadur said. Raffvin was of royal blood. His essence was incredibly powerful as was all the royal descendants. His symbiot would be just as powerful. If his symbiot could not escape back to the Queen it would be dependent on Raffvin for its continued existence. Raffvin's madness must have affected it.

"Only my brothers and I have a symbiot as powerful as his. If what you say is true, it is possible our symbiots are the only ones powerful enough to survive an encounter between us," Mandra replied thoughtfully.

Adalard shook his head. "If it has been feeding on his negative energy it is quite possible that it would take the combined forces of all of you to defeat it."

All four men were silent as they thought of the devastating effect of what could happen. It was quite possible one or more of them would be killed trying to destroy his uncle and his symbiot now. It was not death that Mandra feared but the effect it would have on their mates. Zoran, Trelon, and Kelan could not be asked to face their uncle. All three of their mates were breeding. If they were to be killed it was possible their mates and offspring would perish. That left him and Creon. Mandra thought of Ariel and her delicate beauty. The thought of her dying because of him sent such intense pain through him it felt like a physical blow. He rose and walked over to look out of the cave. He stood staring sightlessly over the barren sands trying to calm his mind enough to think rationally.

Mandra turned toward the others fighting the despair creeping into his soul. His uncle needed to be stopped even if it meant sacrificing his and his mate's life. He looked at each of the men intently before walking back toward them. He was about to explain his plan of attack when Precious burst into the cavern, wild with rage. All four men turned as one. Gold shot out of Precious to wrap around Mandra's arms and chest. Flashes of images flared through Mandra as Precious related what had happened to Ariel.

"My mate is in danger," Mandra bit out.

Ariel moaned as she woke. She blinked several times as she waited for everything to come back into focus. Her hands moved against her side. She felt a soft, moist gra.s.s-like moss under her fingers. She slowly pushed herself up surprised to find she wasn't restrained in any way. Looking around, her mouth dropped open as she stared in disbelief at the glittering world surrounding her. She looked down and noticed she was indeed on a bed of moss of some type. It was bright red and silky to the touch. Large mushroom shaped trees about the size of apple trees were scattered about the huge cavern. Ariel looked up at the ceiling and noticed it was a shimmering blaze of yellows, blues, and greens. Her eyes followed down the walls that glittered with lights like she had seen before. Cut into the walls were what appeared to be small homes with balconies lining along them. Small creatures of all different colors stood looking down at her. She pushed her hair back away from her face frowning when she noticed it was loose from her braid. The white-gold strands seemed to glow in the strange light of the cavern.

Ariel curled her long legs under her and watched as several small flying creatures approached her. They looked like a type of bat but had sharp pointed ears with long, muzzles. Each had tiny bridles and saddles with the small creatures riding on them. She remained frozen, watching them curiously as they approached her.