Chapter 2

The air shimmers in the cave system, the walls fluorescing shades of indigo and blue. The ground shudders, and my soldiers bark orders, swarming around the stone dais. Hoisting my spear, I jog to the iridescent disturbance glimmering in the middle of the gate. Anticipation prickles the back of my neck, all the hairs standing straight up.

Above me, stalactites drip like poisonous fangs, the steady trickle of water puddling across the floor, turning the air damp. I blink away water, as the lights cast by the gate play across the walls. My heart thuds against my chest, and I know it's only a matter of time before something foul tries to break into our world.

These caves are ancient, and my people have long used them for sanctuary and peace. My brow furrows, rage slowly building in me. Until now. Until that starsdamned parasite went on a crusade, desperate to find something he never should have lost in the first place.

I shake my head, trying to clear it, grasping for control that only is harder and harder to find. Heat blasts through the system, and I crouch, readying my spear for whatever might pull itself through the doorway. My leathers creak as I move, time slowing as bright light floods the cavern. The scent of hot sand and dirt bursts through the cave, a whiff of whatever homeland this creature belongs to. A war cry goes up from my soldiers, echoing around the cave. Water drips onto my horns, before rolling down onto my scalp.

My hand tightens on my spear, and I pull a wickedly curved knife from a sheath on my thigh. Whatever it is, we'll kill it just like we've killed all the monsters that dare emerge from the doors the parasite recklessly opened. I swallow, regret and rage boiling to the surface, a maddening mix.

It has taken a toll. If all my brothers were awake, if the Houses of the Stars were strong once more, it might be different, we might be able to seal the doors. Bitterness coats my tongue, and I huff out a breath, working to release the tension straining my bones.

My men jostle, the shouts of warning silenced as weapons bristle in its stead. The light and heat intensify, and I keep my eyes on the floor, not willing to be blinded by the sudden return to dark I know is coming.

The light recedes, a ribbon slowly pulling into itself, until there is nothing remaining but darkness— darkness and a small, pitiful moan. I cannot make out from here what the creature is, but whatever it is, it's small and delicate.

That doesn't mean anything, though. It could be a defense tactic, a cruel trick. This could be the creature that brings us to our knees.

No one moves, whispers and mutterings loud against the steady drip of water on rock.

My stomach does an odd flip, my pulse thrumming against my neck. I push through the warriors crowding the smooth rock pavilion, men and women who haven't attacked. I should give an order, should ask why they hesitate.

But I don't, despite clutching my weapons so tightly that my knuckles have gone white around them.

I pause, taking in the sight before me, the small shape shadowing the now-dark gate. Something about this is different, wrong. I inhale deeply, using my star's given senses to detect a threat. The smell of ozone hangs heavy in the air, mingled with dust and alien dirt and…

It's a woman.

My nostrils twitch, and I absently sheathe the knife as I crouch down to the small, curled up figure. She smells like?—

I shake my head. Disbelief wars with excitement. I cannot hope for this. I cannot even begin to fathom how this is possible.

Dark, tangled hair snarls around her face, and I push it from her features. It's soft against my hand, and I want to keep touching it, have the crazed urge to rub my face against it. This cannot be. Starbound women long ago fled our world, the great houses undone and crumbling in their absence.

I hold my breath, afraid. Is she hurt? She is fragile, much smaller than the Starbound warriors I am used to. Her clothing is soaked, salty smelling. Sweat.

Past that smell, of salt and dirt, is a scent I cannot deny, and my heart nearly stops beating, my mouth open in wonder. Mate. My blood calls to her, the stardust in me recognizing the stardust in her. A low growl builds in my chest, and the warriors closest to me step back.

Mine. Mate.

Her eyes blink open, dark, thick lashes fluttering against sun-kissed skin. My breath catches in my chest. She sits up, looking around, her emerald-green eyes wide as she surveys the place.

She raises a black, shiny brick to her mouth.

"Theory is confirmed, phenomena are some kind of wormhole. I've made contact with an alien humanoid species." Her eyes dart to me, running over my chest, bare save the holster for my weapons. She clears her throat, her dark pink lips parting slightly. "Alien species is, ah, combat-oriented, and, er, very good-looking."

The low, satisfied grumble of approval grows in my chest, and her throat bobs as she swallows. She thinks I am attractive. I think she is attractive. A slow smile curves my lips, disbelief giving way to anticipation. To need.

It is a good start, considering she is mine. If she found me ugly, it would only delay our inevitable mating. Because the scent that caught me off-guard, the enticing aroma that has undone me completely in front of my warriors, is hers.

Satisfaction and unease both slide through me. This little female is my mate, and everything in me screams to take her to safety, far from the cursed door, and then to take her in every way possible. Her Starbound magic curls over me, prickling my skin, calling to me. It feels quiet and sleepy… latent, like it's waiting.

It is waiting. For me.

My mate watches me with large emerald eyes. In one liquid motion, I pick up the small female and throw her over my shoulder, securing her with one arm, careful not to drag her soft skin across the low-hanging stalactites.

"The Starbound return!" I raise a fist in triumph. The cave erupts into cheers. Joy fills me, some of the tension I have carried these long and lonely years ebbing away. It's a sign. If my fated mate has arrived, surely that means others are arriving too. Our women, finally returning.

I cannot believe my good fortune; that for once, the gates have given a gift instead of a monster. The tide is turning in the war against the doors, against the parasites who opened them.

Something sharp digs into my side, and I look over in my shoulder in surprise. The beautiful woman, my mate, is biting me. Perhaps she wants to mate even sooner, perhaps this is the custom in her land. My blood rushes through me in a heated wave, and I break into a run, desirous to seal the bond between us, this raven-haired beauty and I. Mate.