Destin's Hold (The Alliance #5)(18)

“That is an interesting weapon,” he remarked, trying to distract her as they entered the house and made their way to the kitchen. He noticed her bare feet and his lips quirked in amusement. ”Did you lose your shoes?”

Sula glanced at the baton in her hand before glancing down at her feet. Her cheeks darkened slightly and she wiggled her toes. Her eyes were uncertain when she glanced up at him and gave him a half smile.

“I detest wearing foot coverings,” she admitted ruefully. “I took them off while I was waiting for you. I forgot to put them back on when I heard the explosions.”

“Sir, if you could remove your jacket and shirt, I will evaluate your wound,” the medic politely interrupted.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. I don’t think it is that bad. It just stings a little,” Destin muttered, carefully peeling his jacket off and tossing it on the kitchen table. He quickly unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off. Once he saw the rip in it, he knew it was trashed. He tossed it on top of his jacket. “At least when you get hit by those lasers you don’t bleed as much.”

“It looks painful,” Sula whispered, the blush that had darkened her face moments ago faded, leaving her pale again.

Destin shook his head and sat down in the chair the medic gestured to. He pulled the one next to him out and grasped Sula’s hand, pulling her down onto it. He leaned forward, holding her hand while the medic worked on his shoulder.

“Tell me about the weapon, and why you entered the garden,” Destin murmured, stroking his thumb over the back of her hand.

“I… This is a Mylio-batoidei, Mylio baton for short. It is a weapon commonly used by royalty for centuries on my planet. We are taught from a young age how to control the energy waves inside it,” she whispered, her gaze moving to where the medic was cleaning his wound, then back to his face when he stopped stroking her hand. “There are pressure points on the weapon that allow me to create different patterns of energy.”

“How were you able to protect yourself when the intruder tossed the explosive?” Destin asked, hiding his discomfort when the medic began sealing the wound.

“I… Did you give him something for the pain?” Sula demanded, looking up at the medic with a frown.

“The sealant has an anesthetic that will numb the area,” the medic assured her.

“Sula, how did you protect yourself?” Destin asked, lifting his other hand and caressing her cheek.

“I formed an energy shield around myself. This is a smaller weapon, so it was more difficult. The larger Mylio staffs are much easier to use, but more difficult to carry around,” she answered, reluctantly pulling her gaze from his shoulder to his face.

“You said the members of royalty are trained to use such weapons. Does this mean you are royalty?” Destin asked.

“Yes…,” Sula replied with a nod. “I am Princess Jersula Ikera, only daughter of the Royal House of Usoleum, Councilor Select for the Alliance representative to Earth.”

“Councilor Select for…,” Destin started to repeat with a frown when he saw Razor and Kali enter the house.

“I’m going to go lay Ami down,” Kali murmured. She paused when she saw Destin without his shirt on and the medic standing over him. “How bad is it?”

“A minor wound, Lady Kali,” the medic assured her. “It will be healed within a few days.”

“Good,” Kali replied, giving Destin a small smile of relief. “I can’t even begin to tell you how scared I was when I saw what was happening. I swear they need to add weapons to the transports.”

“We have weapons on the transports that need them,” Razor chuckled, brushing a kiss across her lips.

“It won’t take me long to pack,” Kali murmured, pulling away and walking through the kitchen.

“Where is she going?” Destin asked suspiciously, glancing up at Razor.

“I am moving Kali and Ami to a safer location,” Razor stated. “This was a coordinated attack against our family.”

Destin murmured his thanks to the medic and stood up. He grabbed his ruined shirt off the table and pulled it on. He buttoned it up while he waited for Razor to continue. It took a moment for him to realize that Razor was hesitant to speak in front of Sula.

“What happened?” Destin asked in a grim tone.

“Hunter’s residence was attacked as well,” Razor finally said. “It was obvious the Waxians thought the women would be unprotected.”

“Why do you think that?” Destin asked with a frown.

“They didn’t have enough men with them,” Razor stated.

“There may be information on the transport left on the beach,” Sula suggested, standing up and looking at Razor.

“It is probably gone,” Razor replied.

Sula shook her head and smiled. “No, it will still be there,” she said.

“How do you know?” Razor asked with a slightly suspicious expression.

Sula lifted her chin and returned Razor’s stare with a calm one of her own. “I assumed the transport must belong to those attacking you. Once I made sure there was no one else in it, I short circuited the main circuit panel. It would take even the most skilled mechanic at least an hour to bypass it,” she stated coolly.

Destin couldn’t contain the chuckle that escaped at her rather smug statement. This was the fire he had seen on the beach. Once again, he felt his body react to it and a sense of curiosity wash through him. He wanted to know more about this royal princess from an alien world who liked to lie under the water, walk around barefoot, and could fight like a warrior. Destin reluctantly turned his attention back to Razor. He ignored the questioning look in Razor’s eyes. Destin had given up answering to anyone a long, long time ago.