9. En’Zal

Iscoop the trembling human up into my arms. She cries out of surprise, but when I wrap my sharp claws around her petite frame and press her against my scaled chest, she becomes still.

Her flesh is oh so soft. It takes all of my resolve not to tear the white lingerie from her curves and ravage her right here and now, slavers be damned.

I push the air out of my nostrils and lick my fangs. Focus. You're a king, damn it. Not a rutting beast.

I race towards the docking bay as fast as my legs can carry me. Alarms blare in the distance, and I pick the sounds of scurrying lizards. We reach the bay just as a whole contingent of botu-kan round the corner.

"Stop them!" One of them shouts.

They run on all fours, their claws sinking into the walls and ceiling as they speed towards us.

The door to my royal craft is open, the engine on. I jump on-board in the nick of time. As the door closes behind us, a single lizard claw keeps the door from shutting.

I kick it as hard as I can, and with a loud curse, it's pulled back. The door slams shut, and Khi"Zal hits the throttle. The entire ship starts shaking as we burst out of the Pleasure Palace's bay. The bright, blue lights of our engines melt the docking platform as we head towards the relative safety of Erullian air-space.

"Status!" I shout toward Khi"Zal.

"Two fighters on our tail," he answers.

I lower the human female down to the ground, and take a moment to check her for injuries. She clings to me.

"You are safe," I say. "Do not worry."

Her scent surrounds me, making my heart throb. I do not wish to be away from her for even a second, and it takes Khi"Zal shouting at me to hurry up to jolt me into moving.

I head to the back of my royal vessel and man the cannons. It takes me two well-placed shots to blast the slaver-vessels out of the sky.

The slavers are completely unable to keep up with our advanced engines. With our pursuers gone I can finally take a deep breath.

"Is it safe?"

I look over my shoulder to see the human standing in the door opening, her curvy body still clad in the revealing white lingerie. I stand up and cross the distance between us in a few steps.

"Yes," I say. "You are always safe with me…"

"Stella," she says. "My name is Stella."

"Stella," I say, trying out the strange name. "Stella, you are always safe with me."

She nods, but she is still as white as a sheet. I head to my private chambers and quickly wash the blood off my claws. When that is done, I grab one of my finest cloaks, return to Stella, and wrap it around her frail shoulders.

She hugs the cloak tightly, some color returning to her cheeks. "Thank you," she whispers.

"You're more than welcome, Stella. You are safe now. I promise. I will protect you for the rest of my life."