Page 82 of Princess

King growled and stared.Axel smiled, then walked away.

“That was it, a growl?”

“He left us some alone time.That means it worked.”

He was trying to keep my mind off Nikayla.“Let’s lay on those damned uncomfortable military cots and pretend we’re not going to be ripping out throats in a few hours.”

“I thought you enjoyed ripping out throats,” he teased.

“If I get a little more rest, I will.”It was a lie.I wanted this battle over.I wanted King and I to survive.

I opened my eyes several hours later.King lay beside me, his eyes closed.“It’s time to leave,” I whispered.My internal clock knew we needed to hurry.

King’s eyes popped open, and he sat up.I scrambled to my feet and tore off my shirt.

“What’s this?”King asked and fingered the cloth wrapped tightly around my breasts.

“It keeps them from aching as much.”I quickly removed them.“Help me with these straps.”I picked up the leather chest contraption I usually wore.

King helped put it on, then loosened the individual straps.He placed his on quickly while I shifted into my Warrior form.

“Set?”I asked after he shifted.

“Let’s do this,” he said with his elongated jaws.

I grabbed the portable radio, adjusting for my claws, and carefully slid it into one of the pouches.So far, the Federation hadn’t intercepted our communications.The radios we used had a high frequency range that allowed us to talk over long distances.The military radios the Federation used were on a lower frequency.Unless they had figured out our setup, especially if we kept communication to a minimum, we should be safe.Neither King nor I had seen a single hellhound since we landed.Chances were good the Federation had been collecting them for a while.

The strike team would head in our direction as soon as the Federation camp gained a semblance of order and went out to fight them.Eagle would run past us, and we, rested and ready for battle, would meet the enemy head on.The planes would drop their bombs over the Federation camp at the first hint of light and take out their supplies and hopefully some hellhounds.Eagle and his men would back us up if we ran into trouble.They would also transport the wounded to medical.

And all our plans could go to shit in an instant.

I focused on President Barnes.I wanted to see the instant he knew he would die.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Rodrigo

Water mines were located in the citadel’s bay.It kept the Federation ships from coming close to land.Chances were good they would send hellhounds into the water to attack as the first wave.

We could no longer count on the whistles.I wasn’t sure why, but it didn’t concern me.Keeping the people safe did.

Cabel stood at my side as I went over the tunnel charts.I glanced up at him and expected to see resentment that I was in charge.He had been second in command under King in the beginning.He married an island woman, and Beck took his place.I thought he would take it back eventually, but he didn’t.

In the beginning, the Shadow Warriors gave me pause.I wasn’t afraid because each day we’d battled hellhounds before they arrived meant someone died.I accepted my death as inevitable.My opinion of the Warriors changed when I saw them risk their lives for us and not just themselves.Humans simply stopped dying.The Shadow Warriors had the ability to change into big monsters, but more than that, they were also human with human wants and needs.There were grumbles from the island men when the Warriors began courting our women.I looked at it differently.The women had tucked away food storages and safe spaces, preparing for a major catastrophe for years.And they had done it with very few resources and no control.All they had were other women to keep their secrets and help them plan a safe haven.They saved so many of us when the hellhounds first attacked.Without them, many more men, women, and children would have died.If a woman wanted to marry a Shadow Warrior, they had the right.

The complaints stopped after the first year.Shadow Warriors became part of the island.We learned from them, and they learned from us.My hope was that when Marinah decided to leave, some Shadow Warriors would stay behind.

I realized Caleb was staring at me.I shrugged while searching for the English idiom equivalent of what just happened.“Lost in thought,” I finally said, and hoped I’d gotten it right.

Caleb laughed and nodded in understanding.

It was now or never.“Would you rather be in charge?”I asked him.

Surprise showed on his face.“Marinah left you in charge for a reason,” he said.

“What was that reason?”

I could see him searching for an answer, or maybe the right words, like me.“This island belongs to the people.The Shadow Warriors will leave and return to the U.S.after we win the war.You earned a guard position.Even my Mary thinks so.You make a good leader, and you know your people.”

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