Page 2 of The Arabis Triad

Evelyn had to face the fact that if they weren’t fed or given water anytime soon, none of them were going to last much longer.

Excruciatingly slow, Lucie turned back. The poor girl barely had enough energy to do that. One look at her expression told Evelyn the truth and the reality of their situation.

They would all end up like Susie.

Evelyn had barely enough fluid to cry. Their situation was totally hopeless.

“We’re all going to die,” Lucie whispered.

When she breathed, Evelyn detected a slight wheeze. She had enough experience with death to know that wasn’t a good sound. She’d seen soldiers taken down next to her. Heard enough final breaths to know that if they didn’t get out of here soon, they never would.

All the other women were too quiet, caught in their own version of hell. Maybe even others had died, slipping away while she’d been sleeping.

Her blood boiled with rage. Just give her a weapon and she would show those overgrown lizards exactly what they deserved. She didn’t have much in the way of sympathy for them at all right about now.

A massive boom rattled the hold, smashing the cages into each other. Evelyn was tossed against the bars, her body erupting in a fresh round of pain. Her heart thudded like a jackhammer, pounding so hard it might crack ribs.

A red light above the closed metal doorway flashed on and off. Several more booms sounded closer. Shockwaves vibrated through the room. Banging erupted at the door, and the metal clanked open. Evelyn gripped the bars, her knuckles turning white.

Several Reptiles stood framed by the doorway. In their hands was a mean-looking weapon that resembled a semi-automatic. Some of the women cried out. Someone sobbed.

One of the Reptiles aimed the weapon at the last cage and let off a round.

There was a quiet click-click-click and Sally’s body erupted in a spray of red. She was flung to the back of the cage and fell motionless to the ground. The creature aimed the end of the weapon to the next cage.

“No! Stop! Don’t kill her!” Evelyn cried out, reaching through the cage at Dorothy.

The poor girl clutched the cage. A stream of urine ran down her thigh.

Two reptiles marched into the room. One opened Lucie’s cage, reached in, and pulled her out. Lucie was so weak all she could do was groan as their claws dug into her arm. The Reptile slung her over its shoulder and scurried back through the door.

Another Reptile opened the door on her cage. Evelyn scrambled to the back of the cage, hitting the bars with her spine, her hands and feet slipping against the metal floor. The Reptile hissed as it reached in. Evelyn barely recognized the panicked sound she made as she kicked at it. Its claws sunk into her calf, hooking into muscle.

She tried to cling to the bars, but the creature yanked her so hard her fingers slipped. She was dragged across the floor of the cage, the bars smashing into her hips and ribs.

Her world tilted as the Reptile hauled her to her feet. She kicked at the Reptile, screaming for all she was worth. Her toes struck scales and the creature hissed at her. She formed claws with her fingers and swiped at its face. One finger gouged into its eye. It sank into soft mushiness and she ripped the eye out. It dangled from the socket from a wet arterial tube.

Another boom rocked the room, followed by the screeching sound of metal against metal. Shouting sounded from outside the room. Male voices. She didn’t understand the language. It didn’t matter. All she was concerned about was getting away from the Reptile. There was no thought. Only instinct. She thrashed in a desperate attempt to get away.

She had to run. Had to save Dorothy. Had to escape. Had to—

Something hard thumped into her skull. White light exploded through her head. Her mind went numb. There was no sound. No sight. She flew through the air and slammed into the hard metal ground. Time hung suspended. Then pain exploded through her body.

She fought to scramble away, to think, to breathe, but she wasn’t sure she even twitched a finger. A roar erupted above the pandemonium. Shouting, bodies thumping against metal, a squealing hiss fought to be the loudest. The chorus of male voices grew louder. Heavy footfalls pounded and she sensed massive bodies hurtling toward her.

This was it. She couldn’t fight anymore. There wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it, but accept her fate. She just hoped her death would be quick. She tensed, ready for claws to rip through her skin.

Instead, large hands scooped her up with great care. Gentle words whispered in her ear and as her vision cleared, she looked up into three male faces looking down at her as though they’d just found the rainbow and she was the pot of gold.

Chapter Two

Paxt

Paxt couldn’t believe it. She was real, a flesh and blood female that the Fates had sent to only their Triad.Their mate. That he held her in his arms was an absolute miracle.

All around him were the sounds and fighting of battle—a mix of Ozar, Arabis, and Erion warriors fighting together, which was an event in itself—but the commotion dimmed as he took in the treasure he’d found. That was all right. His warriors would handle anything these creatures might throw out. They were battle-hardened professionals, and even though they had never come face to face with these scaled ones, they were more than equal.

Once they had left the Ozar Homeland, and Paxt had seen the Ozar Royals’ mate—theirpregnantmate—firsthand, both himself and his brothers had wasted no time making preparations to rescue the abducted human females their mate had told them about. The Ozar Triad had lent them the craft they’d taken from the scaled ones to lead the attack, and had shown how they had tracked crystals using the shard from their crystal tower—their now glowing crystal tower— which they had used to track the scaled ones transport craft in the middle of a deserted quadrant of the universe. Following them beneath invisibility shields were a fleet of ships from their Homeland, as well as from the Ozar and the Erion. For once, their planet was united.

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