Maarev turned to face them, staff in hand.
Two other soldiers—Liden and Efren—flickered into view as they abandoned their camouflage. Liden bent forward and grabbed the ribs Maarev must have struck when Eliana’s voice distracted him. Efren picked himself up off the floor with a groan.
As all three men focused on Eliana, their faces lit with surprise.
Dagon shifted to stand beside her so he could read her expression.
A wide grin flashed straight white teeth as excitement bloomed in her pretty features. “That is so cool!” She strode forward, reaching Efren first. “How did you do that? How did you just disappear and reappear like that? You never left the room, so I know you didn’t teleport.”
Efren sent Dagon a questioning look. Generally speaking, Segonians only revealed their abilities to members of the Aldebarian Alliance. Most others didn’t know how exactly the Segonians did what they could do and thought it all some sort of deeply classified technology.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “That was rude of me. Hi.” She thrust out her hand. “I’m Eliana.”
Efren clasped her arm and offered her a slight bow. “I’m Efren. It’s an honor to meet you.”
As she had with all the others, Eliana shook her head and insisted the honor was hers. She moved on to Liden. “Hi. I’m Eliana.”
He straightened with a wince and clasped her forearm. “Liden.”
With her free hand, she clapped him on the back much as a fellow soldier would. “Sorry about that. He probably wouldn’t have nailed you like that if I hadn’t interrupted.”
Maarev grunted. “I would have nailed him regardless,” he intoned, borrowing her term.
She laughed. “You do appear to have mad skills. Hi, Maarev.”
“Hello, Eliana. It’s good to see you have recovered.”
“Good to see you’ve recovered, too. Again, I apologize for making Dagon hit you.” Her smiled faltered. “Wait.” She glanced at Dagon. “Didn’t Nakhob say Maarev was the one who retrieved me and brought me on board?”
He nodded.
She swung back to Maarev. “Oh wow. Thank you so much. I would totally hug you right now, but I think I shocked some people when I hugged Dagon.”
Maarev stared. “Is my translator correct in defining a hug as an embrace?”
“Yes.”
He slid Dagon a look. “You hugged Commander Dagon?”
“Twice actually.”
Efren gaped.
Liden grinned and held out his arms. “I helped search for you. I’ll take a hug.”
Dagon scowled. “No, you won’t.”
Liden lowered his arms and sighed. “No, I won’t.”
Laughing, Eliana returned to Dagon’s side. “Can all your soldiers go invisible like that?”
“Yes.” Since she would be traveling with them for an indeterminate length of time, she would find out eventually even if he didn’t tell her. And instinct led him to trust her with the information since she had trusted him with secrets of her own.
“Will you tell me how?”
“Perhaps after we visit the armorer.”
“Okay.” She tossed his soldiers a wave. “Nice meeting you.”
Their responses followed the two of them out into the hallway.
Dagon studied her, trying to ignore the unconsciously smooth sway of her hips and focus instead on the myriad of questions that mentally bombarded him.
She glanced up and caught him staring. “What?”
“You aren’t at all intimidated by my soldiers, are you?”
“No. Should I be?”
“They are all fierce warriors.”
She grinned. “I am, too.”
Had she been another, he might have laughed. She seemed so small and delicate. But he knew what she had been through, what she had suffered and survived. He’d read the accounts of the Lasarans who credited her with saving their lives. And she had incapacitated Adaos while so weak she could barely stand.
He thought fierce an apt description for her. “They are also far taller than you and more than twice your weight,” he pointed out. “You don’t find that disconcerting?”
She snorted. “Hell no. I’m barely nipple high when I stand next to Seth. Same with David and Zach. Pretty much all my male brethren are taller than the average Earthling.” Craning her neck, she peered into another training room that hosted five soldiers engaging in battle.
Curiosity bombarded him. “How did you know he wasn’t alone?”
“Who?”
“Maarev. How did you know he wasn’t alone in the training room?”
She winked up at him. “I’ll tell you after I spar with some of your men. I love it when opponents underestimate me.”
He smiled. “I imagine many underestimate you. Despite the confidence with which you comport yourself, you appear very fragile.”
“But I kick a lot of ass,” she boasted with a grin.
He laughed. “I’m sure you do.” And he looked forward to watching her kick it.
I love his laugh, Eliana thought. More of a chuckle, it rumbled through her like thunder. And his smile…
Dagon had a great smile. It made an already handsome face even more so.
It also made her heart flutter in her chest and butterflies tickle her belly. She had already been drawn to him before they met. While she’d been out there floating in space, unable to do a damn thing but hunger and thirst and try to ignore the constant pain that battered her, Dagon’s voice was the one she had wanted to hear most. His had been the voice that had soothed and distracted her, tempering her fear.
Though she had tried to make light of it, she had been in agony the first time she’d met him face-to-face. Then she’d been anxious while explaining how she differed from ordinary humans. So she’d only absently noted that he was attractive.
Now, however, with his arm occasionally brushing her shoulder as they strode down the corridor, his enticing scent teasing her, and his hazel eyes sparkling with mirth… She found herself as besotted with him as her former hunting partner Nick had been with the single mom who lived next door.
Dagon stood roughly six feet five inches tall and had broad, muscled shoulders clearly defined by the tight black shirt he wore. It reminded her a little of a mock turtleneck T-shirt with an insignia on the neckline that she guessed indicated his rank as commander. She’d seen different insignias on a few other soldiers’ shirts, but none had been as fancy as his. Personnel not of the soldier variety instead wore uniforms of various colors that denoted their divisions with their titles embossed on their chest near the right shoulder.
She snuck another surreptitious glance at the imposing man beside her. His hair was black and cropped short. Thick, straight strands shone beneath the overhead lights, sparking fantasies of combing her fingers through his hair to see if it was as soft as it looked. His skin bore a nice tan, as if it were August and he’d spent every day of summer at the beach, but it held a bronzish hue when she looked closer that set him apart from humans. Straight dark brows hovered above greenish-brown eyes that bespoke amusement. He had a strong jaw, straight nose, and the shadow of stubble, all of which tipped him away from pretty boy and more toward ruggedly handsome.