Star's Storm(51)

Star giggled. “Are you telling me you were still too young to have kids?”

Madas nodded. “I am considerably younger than Gril. He is two hundred and thirty-five years old while I am only seventy. Females do not normally reach breeding age until they are almost one hundred.”

“You are seventy?” River asked in disbelief.

“I wished I could looked that good at seventy,” Star grumbled under her breath. “So, how old were you when Gril captured you?”

“He captured her?” River asked stunned. She looked at Madas with a huge grin on her face. “You have got to tell me about it.”

Madas chuckled. “I was a mere forty-five when he captured me. That was one reason my mother and the clan was so upset about his claiming. As far as they were concerned, I was still a child. But I wasn’t,” she added. “I knew the moment I saw him that he was my mate.”

“I thought you said he was the ugliest male you had ever seen when you first saw him,” Star said confused.

“I did and he was. That does not mean that I did not realize he was my mate,” Madas said primly. “Why do you think I fought him so hard?”

All three women burst into laughter as they shared their first impressions, frustrations, and funniest times with their chosen mates. That was how the men found them later that evening. Gril was the first to snatch Madas up and whisk her away despite her weak protests. Torak was next. He pulled River into his arms ignoring her protests that she was getting too big for him to carry her around everywhere. Finally, it was just Jazin and Star. He sat down next to her for a few minutes, not saying anything but enjoying the peace and quiet as he held her closely to his heart.

“What of Tai Tek?” Star finally asked breaking the silence.

“We go after him. He escaped through a new tunnel that was not on the original map of the fortress,” Jazin said quietly.

“When?” She asked with a shiver.

“Jarmen, Dakar and Armet are running calculations on where they think he might go next. It is time we were on the offensive,” He responded carefully.

“Where do we even start?” She asked looking up into Jazin’s eyes. There was something he wasn’t telling her.

Jazin sighed heavily before he scooped Star up into his arms. “We start on Elpidios.”





Chapter 15


Elpidios: Two weeks later

Commander Mena Rue stood at attention. It was not that hard to do really. She was frozen with fear. The Grand Ruler sat in the seat on the other side of the desk from her but he could just have as easily been holding a blade to her throat. She swallowed again as bile rose threatening to choke her. She had not only returned to Elpidios with no crystals but she had returned with a tale so huge, so ludicrous she would be surprised if the officers she left outside the room were not ordered in to remove what was left of her body. The Grand Ruler was not someone you wanted angry at you. He was not only angry at Mena, he was beyond furious as he looked back down at her report.

“Do you really expect me to believe this,” he growled out in a low, dangerous tone.

Inwardly, Mena cringed. Outwardly, she remained completely at attention with a blank mask on her face. She swallowed and nodded once, unable to force the words out that would condemn her to instant death.

“Do you?” He snapped as he threw down the report and stood up to glare at her.

“Yes sir,” Mena choked out.

“Why?” He asked turning to look out over his dying world.

“My parents studied the ancient archives. They are known for their research,” Mena began.

“I am well aware of everything about you, Commander Rue. Including who your parents are and what they do,” the Grand Ruler snapped out without turning around. “I want to know why you think this female is a messenger for an ancient prophesy that was written over two thousand years ago.”

“The ancient tablets my parents found when I was younger spoke of the first sign that would tell of the coming of the great Empress. It spoke of a strange pale skinned female with eyes the color of the Elpidios oceans. The female is said to be one of three great warriors who will save the House of Kassis and bring forth the future Empress of Elpidios. Through the bond of these great females will come the lifesaving blood stones that will save Elpidios, its people and its world,” Mena said passionately as she retold the tale told to her over and over by her parents as they struggled to find a way to save their dying planet.

“We already know what we need to save our world,” the Grand Ruler stated coldly turning to look at Mena with a relentlessness that had her taking a step backwards. “Do you truly believe in this myth that was written thousands of years ago?”