Star's Storm(55)

The color was so intense, he wanted to run his hands through the silky strands to see if it felt as soft as it looked. She turned and looked at him with eyes the lightest of blue. It reminded him of the color of the few infants still being born. An Elpidios infant was born a pale blue and slowly became darker as it matured. Ristéard tilted his head in confusion as he felt another ache deep inside that he had never experienced before, as if his body was craving something that was missing. The feeling disappeared almost as soon as it appeared. The female smiled brightly at him and waved her hand in greeting drawing a quick response from the male touching her. Her soft laughter echoed as she responded to whatever the male said. It was obvious she was not in the least intimidated by him. This confused Ristéard even more considering the female was so tiny compared to the male.

He approached the small group as the last six stepped from the platform. His small, elite guard following him at a discreet distance. He stopped in front of Ajaska, assessing him.

“Welcome to Elpidios,” Ristéard said. “I am Ristéard Roald.”

“I am Ajaska Ja Kel Coradon. This is Gril Tal Mod, Leader of the Tearnat and his mate, Madas,” Ajaska stated calmly. “The other two are members of our security team,” he continued without giving either man's name. “They will remain with the shuttle.”

Ristéard ignored the two men before bowing in respect to Gril and Madas. His eyes turned to the two females standing between the other two males. “And these are?” He asked.

“My oldest son, Torak, and his mate, River Knight,” Ajaska responded cautiously, not sure he liked the edge of curiosity in the Elpidios leader’s voice. “The other is my youngest son, Jazin, and his mate, Star Strauss.”

Ristéard took a startled step back when Star stepped forward unexpectedly and held her hand out. “Hi,” she said with a bright, infectious smile lighting up her face. “I’m Star. It's a pleasure to meet you.”

Ristéard’s lips twitched as he noticed the slightly daring look in her eyes, as if she was testing him to see if he would pass some secret test. When she raised an eyebrow in challenge, he found his own hand swallowing her smaller one. She squeezed it briefly before pulling back with a small giggle. The low growl coming from the male by her side and her rolled eyes in response drew an unexpected chuckle from him.

“Welcome, Lady Star,” Ristéard said with a deeper bow before he looked at her mate who took a step closer in warning. He paused before turning to address Ajaska with a calm he hadn’t felt in years. “Please follow me. We have much to discuss.”





Chapter 16


Ristéard escorted them to where several transports waited. He did not ride with any of them but instead sat upon was looked like a motorcycle without wheels. His elite guard rode similar types of vehicles. The transport they were escorted to was almost identical to those on Kassis.

“I want one of those,” Madas said with a mischievous grin as they slipped into the transport. “They look like fun.”

Gril snorted. “No.”

“Have you ever ridden one?” Madas asked her mate with a raised eyebrow.

Gril flushed a darker tan. “Yes,” he responded reluctantly. “But the answer is still no.”

Madas stared at Gril intently until he broke eye contact with a sigh of resignation. “You are breeding. You shouldn’t do anything dangerous,” he muttered defensively.

Star and River giggled as the huge Tearnat fought giving in to his mate. Star loved watching Madas with her mate. They reminded her so much of her own parents. Her dad was forever trying to coddle her mother and her mother was forever driving him nuts by doing the exact opposite.

“It wouldn’t be dangerous if you were on it with me,” Madas purred tenderly as she laid her head down on her larger mate’s chest.

Gril looked at the other men with a pained expression. “Do you see what she does to me? I lose all common sense when she wants something,” he growled out.

Ajaska laughed while Torak and Jazin looked at River and Star with a mutinous expression on their faces. “Well, it does look like fun. I’ve ridden motorcycles before. It can’t be that much different,” Star said with a twinkle in her eyes.

“Absolutely….,” Jazin started to say stubbornly before he noticed the teasing curve to his tiny mate’s lips. “Maybe if we ride together,” he grunted before he glared at Gril who was chuckling.

Twenty minutes later, they pulled into an underground area under the huge palace made of the same type of black stones from the fortress. Star shivered at the memory of it. Her eyes searched out Jazin. She let them roam over his smooth skin. He still bore the thin scar from where Progit cut him. Her eyes moved down to his bare arms. He was wearing the black leather vest, pants, and boots that she had come to recognize as being their military uniform. Ajaska and Torak were dressed the same. Her eyes lingered on the smooth skin of his shoulders and the small area of his chest that was visible. She remembered the torn flesh. If she looked close enough, she could still see a light spider web of scars where the skin healed together.