Saving Sara: Warriors Of Kelon Book 5 (10 page)

The
wheelless
car slid silently along the streets, passing the crowd of
Kelons
protesting the peace talks.

Sara had seen the large
building several times in the past few weeks, but never had reason to go inside
until now. Guards pushed aside the crowd, allowing them access through the
gates.

Solron
helped her out of the transport when it came to a
standstill. She turned to glance at the angry
Kelons
,
some yelling threats to the guards.

“Pay them no mind, Sara. They
are simply words. Any true grievances are taken to the arena aboveground. Once
they have battled it out, most arguments are settled without fatalities.”

She shook her head at the odd
way to settle disputes, but from the way the men were built, she guessed they
had to work out their frustrations the best way they knew how without killing
each other.

She was not one to judge
other customs. She quickly followed
Solron
into the
heavily guarded building.

The building was more opulent
than most she had seen, with shiny sandstone floors and large halls.
Solron
led her up a long flight of steps, passing doors on
either side until they reached the large double doors at the end.

Two huge
Kelon
men, wearing full battle armor glared down at them both as they approached.
Sara fought not to feel frightened by their size and hard stares. Sucking in a
breath, she remained by
Sorlon’s
side and waited.

“You were called for, not
your human, Healer,” the deep voice of the first guard said.

“She is my assistant.”
Solron
stood proud, glaring back at the guard who spoke. “I
go nowhere without her and if you have a problem with it, you can take the
matter to Te-Commander Kerr.”

The two burly guards glanced
at each other before one stepped forward, then opened one of the double doors.

“Watch your human, Healer,
there are
Xersons
in the room,” the second guard
warned.

Xersons
?
A sudden sense of dread
washed over her.

“Maybe me being here isn’t such
a good idea.” She stepped closer to her husband, before gripping his arm.

“You are strong and brave;
these
Xersons
are diplomatic delegates here to
negotiate peace.”

Sara sucked in a breath; she
could do this. She smiled up at
Solron
, believing in him
and her own strength.

The guards opened the immense
doors. They walked through; separate huddles of aliens stood in different areas
of a massive room, divided by a long shiny black table with high-back seats.

The low tones of men heatedly
talking, reached her ears.

“
Solron
.”
A
Kelon
she recognized approached them, smiling down at her.
“Hello, Sara.”

Commander
Syl
Paltaic
was the husband of one of her new friends,
Rachel. The woman recently gave birth to twin girls.

“Commander
Syl
, how are Rachel and the babies?” Sara asked, eager for
news of the little ones.

“Doing very
well.
Rachel calls them her little
angels; I understand it is an Earth term for a deity.”
Syl
puffed his chest in pride. “I do not understand the endearment, but they are
indeed most beautiful.”

Sara grinned.

“How do the talks fare?”
Solron
asked.

Syl’s
face fell, his lips thinned and
a
hardness
replaced his mirth.

“Not so well, the
Methrill
only desire profit and the
Xersons
…”
He shook his head. “But you are here to tend the wounded. A fight broke out not
long ago. Some of the delegates were injured in the scuffle before the guards
could break it up.”

Sara lifted
Solron’s
bag and he took it from her. “I am sure they are
minor injuries then.”

“Come this way and you can
see for yourself.”
Syl
turned, heading back towards
the group of
Kelons
and
Solron
followed.

The small hairs on the back
of Sara’s neck stirred, the feeling of being watched making her skin prickle.
She turned her head and met a pair of large brown eyes and snarling teeth.

A sickening wave of terror
welled up from her belly. She froze, feeling her veins turn to ice, the blood
draining from her.

There he stood, the same
creature
who
tortured, tormented, and then left her to
die.

Sara’s body shook, not
knowing what to do. She wanted to run, but was held captive by his evil gaze
raking over her from head-to-toe.

* * * *

When she did not follow close
by his side,
Solron
turned back to Sara. Concern hit
him upon seeing her face drain of color. He could see her smaller frame visibly
shaking and her rigid stance as she stood staring across at a group of
Xersons
.

He immediate put his body in
front of hers, blocking her view of their once enemy. Her eyes glanced up and
he saw the utter fear in her silver depths.

“Star shine, what is the matter?
You need not be afraid of the
Xersons
; they will not
harm you.”

“It’s him…”

Even her voice
trembleb
when she talked.

“Him?
You know the
Xerson
?”
Syl
came in on her other
side,
no
doubt taking note of Sara’s distressed state.

“M-my master, he was the one
who—”

“Hurt you and left you to
die,”
Solron
finished, suddenly realizing the core of
Sara’s fear.

“Are you sure, Sara?”
Syl
asked.

A little color returned to
her face as she glanced up at Syl.

“Yes, as much as I want to,
it’s something I will never forget for the rest of my life.”

Solron
heard the anger in her voice replace her fear.

“The
Xerson
Chancellor
Rit
is clearly a war criminal and not fit
to negotiate with us,”
Syl
growled.

A red blanket of rage fell
over
Solron’s
vision. The low dangerous growl came
from him. He wanted to tear the creature apart for what he did to his
beautiful, frail human; the scars still on her back, which he saw daily, a
testament to the creature’s cruelty.

“I shall have him arrested.”
Syl
stepped away.

Solron
shot his hand out, gripping
Syl’s
arm. “Arrest him!”
Solron
snorted with disgust. His
rage, like a hissing bubbling river of fire flowed through him. “No, I want his
blood!”

Before the commander could
react,
Solron
grabbed the sword buckled to
Syl’s
belt, ripped it from its scabbard and vaulted across
the table.

He ignored
Syl
shouting his name and demanding that he stop, his focus
on one thing: tearing out the
Xerson’s
throat.

He roared at the pressure on
his arms; someone gripped him, yanking him back, before he could leap on the
Xerson
chancellor.

Kerr and
Melor
stopped him before he could attack.

“What is the meaning of this
attack?” demanded the
Xerson
, in an evidently fake
offended tone. “I come here in peace and your people attack me.”

“I shall carve you up and
watch you suffer for what you have done to my female,
Xerson
dog!”
Solron
yelled, struggling against the
Paltaic
brothers.

“He is justified.”
Syl
stepped forward. “This
Xerson
is a war criminal; Sara has identified him as the one responsible for her state
when she was found.”

“You believe the word of a
pitiful human female?” The
Xerson
glared back at the
brothers and at
Solron
.

“Yes, we do; under both
Kelon
and intergalactic law, I officially arrest you for
crimes against the human species.”

“His blood is mine; I claim
battle rights!”

All three of the brothers now
turned their attention to him.

“
Solron
,
you are not a warrior,”
Melron
pointed out
unhelpfully.

“He issued the challenge, all
have heard
,
if the—”

“I accept! I shall defeat this
weakling
Kelon
with ease,” the
Xerson
interrupted, taking a step forward.

“What does this mean?”

Sara’s small voice made
everyone turn. She stood behind them.

The fight left
Solron
when he gazed upon his mate’s pale face and her
confused expression.

“It means, female, that I
will battle your mate and take you back as mine.” The evil gleam in the
Xerson’s
eye stared back at Sara.

“You shut up. I am not
frightened of you anymore. Anyone who picks on someone weaker than them is
nothing but a coward. And you, the biggest coward of them all.”

The
Xerson
growled, taking a menacing step forward;
Syl
stepped
up, shoving the
Xerson
back.

“Guards, detain Chancellor
Rit
until the challenge date is set,” commanded Syl.

Kerr and
Melron
pulled
Solron
back as a group of soldiers marched in
and surrounded the
Xerson
delegates. They had no
choice but to go with them.

“Is this true?” Sara asked
once the
Xerons
were taken from the room.

“
Kelon
law states that if two challengers fight over a female, then the winner gets
rights to her. You have no reason to fear, Sara, we would not let him have
you,”
Syl
explained gently.

“She is mine!”
Solron
growled. “I will fight the dog!”

“
Solron
,
calm down,” Kerr commanded.

Sara moved around and touched
him on his chest. He gazed down into her worried eyes. Both Kerr and
Melron
let him go. He pulled her into his arms, soaking in
her warmth and sweet scent, helping to calm his rage.

“Do not worry,
Solron
, I will stand in your stead,” Kerr said. “I am
unmatched in the arena.”

Shock ran through
Sorlon
at Kerr’s statement. He would fight for him?

“No, brother, I will take
Solron’s
place. His
corami
needs
him. I am a proven warrior,”
Melron
boasted with a grin.

“You were almost killed the last
time you fought a challenge,”
Syl
goaded, humor
twinkling in his eyes.

“You cannot fight for me.
Sara is mine to protect, not yours.”

“I think you forget how much
you mean to all of us,
Solron
. You cared for all our
mates and continue to do so. You are there for us when we need you. Now, we are
here for you.”

Sorlon
was deeply touched that they would offer to fight for
him, but his pride would not let others fight his battles. Did they all really
think him so useless?

“You can’t fight him,” Sara
added. “He is a vicious creature without mercy.”

Solron
drew in a deep, calming breath and shook his head. “I
thank you, all of you, for your offers. But this is not your fight. I only ask
you give me time to prepare and protect Sara.”

“Of course, we shall protect
her,” growled Kerr.

“I can help train you,”
Melron
offered.

“No, it will not be
necessary.” Already, a plan was forming in
Solron’s
mind.

“This is suicide if you fight
him. You do not have his size or strength. Please reconsider and let one of us
fight for you. Think of your mate.”
Syl’s
tone held a
note of pleading.

Solron
glanced down into Sara’s eyes. She licked her lips
and drew in a breath.

“I can’t lie and say I’m not
scared out of my mind right now, scared I will lose you. I love you with all my
heart, but I also trust you, trust you to know and do what
is
right,” she said with firm assurance.