Saving Sara: Warriors Of Kelon Book 5 (11 page)

He lifted his head, meeting
Kerr’s worried gaze. “I will handle this, Commander.”

“Very well, I will call
another healer to take care of the injured. Take your mate home and do what you
must to prepare. I will arrange a morning battle, while the surface is still
cool,” said Kerr.

Solron
nodded,
his arm firmly
around his mate. They walked from the conference room, their heads held high.
His mind was on what he needed to do.

* * * *

“Please help me understand
why you must fight him.”

Sara waited to speak her mind
to
Sorlon
, until they were alone in their apartment
high above the
Kelon
city.

Holding her tightly against
him, he lifted her chin to meet his dark intense gaze.

“You are mine, Sara.
Mine to protect, mine to love.
Your pain is my own. Do you
want this vile creature to get away with what he did?”

She was sick to her stomach
of living her life in fear; what she now feared most was losing
Sorlon
.

“No, nor do I want to lose
the man I love. What do I have to live for if he succeeds in killing you in the
arena? Why not let Kerr or
Melron
take your place?”

“Do you have such little
faith in me, my love? Do you wish for a stronger, more skilled warrior?”

It was an unfair question.
She tugged from his arms.

“No, never.
I want you, always. But it’s why I’m frightened,
frightened of losing you.”

“I may not be as big or as
strong as the other warriors, but I am not without skill or mind. Trust me that
I can do this. Let me do this for you, for us.”

Sara swallowed the lump in
her throat, pushing back the helpless feeling clawing at her insides. “Is there
anything I can do to help?”

He bent and kissed her
forehead. “Would you order us a meal? I need to spend time downstairs in the
med rooms.”

A knock sounded at the door.
Solron
stalked to the door, before slapping his hand over
the panel.

It slid open to reveal
Borlon
. His expression one of concern, he looked at
Solron
.

“I came when I heard. News is
spreading quickly through the city that you will fight the
Xerson
at morning light tomorrow. We are friends and I have always been fond of Sara.”

Sara listened with surprise
at
Borlon’s
confession.

“Do not fear, never would I
challenge you for her, but I wish to be friends with you both. I offer myself
as Sara’s guard and to stand in as your second, if you fall. You know I will
take very good care of her if you should fall to the
Xerson
in the arena.”

“It is appreciated,
Borlon
, both your friendship and being Sara’s guard, but I
will not fall tomorrow.”
Solron
stood back to let
Borlon
pass into the room.

“How are you faring, Sara?”
Borlon
asked her.

“As well as can be expected,
but thank you for coming and thank you for your concern,” Sara said, moving
closer to
Solron
.

Borlon
nodded, but still she could see the doubt in the
other
Kelon’s
eyes.

“But what do you mean by standing
in as
Solron’s
second?”

“It means if your mate dies
in the arena, I will battle the
Xerson
, claim and
protect you. I hope your mate is right and it does not come to that, for I know
how much you love him.”
Borlon’s
large chest heaved as
he drew in a deep breath. “My heart is one of envy for what you both share. One
day, I pray that
Elron
will bless me
with a
corami
of my own.”

“I am sure he will.”
Sorlon
slapped
Borlon
on the
back. “Thank you, my friend, I need to go prepare. Will you make sure Sara
eats?”

Borlon
nodded and
Solron
took
Sara’s hands, drawing her into his arms.

She struggled not to let the
tear, stinging the back of her eyes, fall down her cheeks. Her breath hitched
as he lifted her and covered her mouth with his, claiming her lips in a deep,
soul-searing kiss. She was panting for breath when he pulled back.

“Worry not for me and trust
all will be well. I will not return tonight, but will see you tomorrow morning.
And after the battle, we can make those younglings we want.”

“You’re not coming home
tonight?”

“I have a plan and need to make
sure I have everything I need. Will you be alright alone?”

She glanced over to
Borlon
, before giving him a brave smile. “I’m much stronger
than I used to be. I’ll be fine. I trust you.”

“Thank you, my star shine.”

With one last woefully brief
kiss,
Solron
turned, nodding at
Borlon
,
before striding out the door. She had to believe in him, had to have faith he
could and would win.

“It will be alright, Sara. We
will not let him fall tomorrow.”

She startled at the sound of
Borlon’s
, deep voice. He now stood by her side as she
stared at the closed door her husband vanished through a moment ago.

“I hope you’re right.”

Chapter 9

Sara wrapped the sandy-colored
cloak tighter around her body, despite the heat from the suns beating down on
her. Weariness and worry ate at her, making her stomach churn. Her anxiety of
being alone no longer plagued her. But without
Solron’s
arms around her, and the pending battle, her night had been sleepless.

Long before the sun began to
rise above the domed cities of
Kelon
, Sara was
dressed and ready for
Borlon
to escort her to the
planet’s surface, where she was told the battle would take place.

Now she stood by his side,
her gaze roaming over the huge sandy arena, which was three times the size of
an Earth football field. More than half the population ventured to the surface
to witness the battle, the crowd buzzing with expectant energy. The air,
although fresh, was hot and dry as she breathed it in. Every part of her body
ached with intense anticipation of
Solron’s
plan,
wondering how he would defeat the
Xerson
. Sara knew
he was not as large, or a practiced warrior, but he was smart.

‘I will have faith in my
husband,’
she repeated over and over
in her head.

“Out of the
way, you big oafs!”
A feminine
voice sounded over the lower hum of the male crowed.

Sara turned to see Tara and
Alice pushing their way through, flanked closely by their husbands.

“Sara!” Tara rushed forward,
grabbed her hand, and pulled Sara into a tight hug.

“Oh, my dear, we are so sorry
you have to go through this,” Alice said as Tara released her. Alice took her
turn to hug Sara.

“We’ve come for moral
support; Rachel sends her support too, but someone needed to stay with our
kids. We couldn’t leave all our twins to our mother-in-law,” Tara said.

“It’ll be okay, Sara.” Alice
stepped back, looking her in the eyes. “We all love and support you and
Solron
; our guys won’t let anything happen to your man.”

Sara swallowed down the lump
in her throat, overwhelmed with the support of her new friends. These women
became closer to her in the past few weeks than her sisters ever had in her
lifetime.

“Thank you,” Sara managed to
choke out.

“I hate to bring this up, but
who stands as
Solron’s
second if he falls?” Tara
asked.

“I do,”
Borlon
answered for her.

The sisters stared up at
Borlon
.

“He was my guard while on the
ship and is a friend to both
Solron
and I,” Sara
quickly explained. “But there will be no need,” she added, with determined
force.

Her two friends nodded,
giving Sara’s hand a squeeze, but said nothing.

A booing and hissing through
the gathered
Kelons
at the edge of the arena pulled
their attention.

“The
Xerson
Chancellor has arrived,” said Kerr, his voice dripping with distaste. “I have
not sighted
Solron
yet.”

“He’ll be here,”
Melron
piped in. “Still, he should have allowed one of us
to fight for him.”

“If I remember, you ended up
in my healer’s bay the last time you fought here.”

Sara’s heart leapt in her
chest upon hearing
Solron’s
voice.
Melron
and Kerr parted to reveal
Solron
dressed in a black leathery material similar to the
Kelon
battle uniform. Despite being shorter than his warrior counterparts, his
muscles bulged from his shoulders and showed he was not without strength. The
two stiletto daggers strapped to his belt held a deadly gleam in the sunlight.

Unable to contain herself,
she ran to him, throwing herself into his arms. He gripped her tightly against
his chest.

“I missed you, too, my love.
Do not fear, this will be over shortly,” he breathed into her hair. “Then never
shall we be parted.”

“Where is your sword?” Kerr
asked.

Sorlon
set her down, but kept his arm about her waist. “I
have no need of it, Commander. I prefer to battle with the lighter blades.”

She saw Kerr’s and
Melron’s
doubtful expressions and irritation flashed
through her. “Why
are you always doubting
him? Why
bother to be here at all, if you don’t think he can win!” she snapped. “It’s
why people go to car races, not to see the race, but hoping someone will crash.
You may doubt him, but I never will.”

She glanced up at her
husband. His face was one of pure love and pride. Her heart beat faster in her
chest, as he leaned down,
then
kissed her boldly.

Tara laughed. “That’s it,
honey, put them in their place.” She nudged her husband with her elbow.

“Forgive us, Sara. We mean no
disrespect to you or
Solron
. If you have faith he
will win, so do we,” Kerr said, a smile playing on his lips.

“I love you, too, my
corami
. Now wait here, I shall return shortly.”
Solron
set her aside, striding the long walk into the arena
with his head held high.

The crowd roared their
support.

“See, all of
Kelon
supports your mate,”
Melron
said.

Tara and Alice flanked her,
while she watched the chancellor approach
Solron
.
They stood five feet apart from each other. The larger
Xerson
towered above her husband. She saw their lips move while conversing, but they were
too far away to hear what was said.

Solron
shook his head. The
Xerson
pointed his long jagged-edged sword threateningly at
Solron
.
The chancellor roared and suddenly charged at
Sorlon
like a bull to a red flag.

Sara’s breath caught in her
chest. She placed her hands over her heart, unable to look away.

Solron
ducked, rolled and struck at the lower part of the
Xerson’s
leg. The creature howled in pain, collapsing
forward. He fell so heavily into the sand he left a deep groove.
Solron
leapt to his feet and onto the back of the
Xerson
, delivering a swift blow with his dagger to the base
of the chancellor’s neck. The crowd fell in stunned silence. Every eye was on
Solron
and the now motionless
Xerson
Chancellor.

“The
Xerson
is dead. No one can survive a blow like that,”
Merlon
whispered.

He stood up straight, before taking
several steps away from the dead
Xerson
,
then
pointed the blade in his hand at the crowd as he turned
in a circle.

“Do not believe for one moment,
because some are smaller or weaker than you, that you are better than them. I
may have been merciful in delivering a swift death to this creature, but it
does not mean I will be so generous to anyone who tries to take or harm what is
mine.” His voice rang loud and clear.

Sara sobbed as relief flooded
her,
no longer able to hold back the tears flowing
down her cheeks.