The Warrior Prince (Dragon Lords 4)

Before her were two rows of Qurilixen bachelors. They were large, fighting men. They were warriors. And, to Pia’s everlasting horror, they were all in incredible shape and exceptionally handsome. A few had battle scars on their flesh, but nothing so dramatic that it took away from their beauty. If anything, it only added to their dangerous allure.

The Qurilixen were nearly seven feet of pure bone, muscle, and sculpted flesh. She could tell, since they were practically naked. Pia was no out of shape marshmallow, but even she was dwarfed by their thick arms and chests.

Fur loincloths wrapped around their fit waists to leave bare their powerfully built legs and upper bodies. The fire glistened off their smooth, oiled skin. Jewelry clasped around sinewy biceps in golden rings of intricate design. From their solid necks hung crystals bound with leather straps.

Pia knew she looked ridiculous in the outfit the droid had given her to wear. Her shoulders were bared, as the gown only came up to cover her breasts. She could fill the gown out, thanks to the doctors. But the silk and gauze material didn’t make her feel beautiful, only self-conscious.

The silk was of the darkest of reds, crimson against her tanned skin. The surgery lasers had given her a soft, all-over bronze color that wouldn’t fade. The doctors said it would help protect her sensitive skin from ultraviolet rays--something that would be particularly useful on a planet with three suns.

Pia sighed as a wave of her long hair hit her forehead. Trying to lift her arm, she frowned when she couldn’t brush the annoying lock off her face. A belt looped across her back, tapering out to the sides, only to lock onto her wrists instead of heading around the front. The strands wound up to her elbows like chains.

The dress fitted to her waist and hips, only to flare out in strips of material when it reached her upper thighs. The wind whipped the skirt against her legs, chilling her. She might as well have been naked for all the coverage the thing afforded her. On her feet were soft, pretty slippers. She missed her combat boots.

Pia ignored the laughing men behind the bachelors, cracking good-natured jokes about the brides and the lucky grooms. The rowdier men posed, trying their best to playfully gain the brides’ attention. The bachelors, however, stayed deadly silent and still, barely smiling as they looked at the women standing on top the docking plank in a straight, orderly line.

Pia’s heart broke as she looked around the wonderful campground. It was perfect, so basic and simple in its untamed, untouched elegance. The colossal trees of the forest were thick, with large leaves that canopied overhead--the shade would be perfect for camping once she got used to the hours of light. She imagined that such a gigantic forest would be great for hunting and fishing, even hiking.

This is a place where she could have gotten lost. It was homey, earthy, and exotic in its smell of burning wood. It was rustic, yet colorful, in its sights. Music played, primal and earthy in the background, hypnotic and enticing at the same time.

In the distance there was a mountain range. Pia squinted, barely able to make it out in the darkening skies. Stars sparkled overhead. The moon was large and gave off a brilliant light. It shone over a valley of pyramid-shaped tents, whose walls were lit by torches and whose tops were decorated by waving banners.

Looking back down, Pia swallowed painfully, trying not to feel so disappointed. The bachelors still stood like bronzed Vikings. Maybe the next planet would be just as good, only the men would be ugly and attracted to ugly things.

The Qurilixen all had shoulder length hair. Black leather masks covered the groom’s faces, hiding them from forehead to upper lip. Their eyes shone bright from the eye slits, like probing liquid metal. Behind them, Pia could see the others were more fully dressed. With such a blatant difference in wardrobe for this ceremony, Pia knew that they would be a sexually charged race. Even now she could see the married couples boldly stroking and touching each other as if it were only natural they did so.

The line slowly moved, jerking her from her thoughts. She dutifully walked down an aisle made up of hot flesh on each side. Her lips curled, though not in pleasure, as she bit the corner of her mouth. She glanced to one side and then the other, knowing full and well no one would look at her for too long with so many other beauties to gaze at. One by one, she saw the men’s eyes alight with lust--lust that wasn’t for her.

Almost to the end of the line, feeling dejected and ready to go back to the ship and change her clothes, she glanced at one of the warriors toward the end. He was staring at her, his crystal shining from the leather strap on his neck. He was a handsome specimen with light brown hair a little longer than the others and matching brown eyes that seemed to shine. He was taller and had broad shoulders, which bulged with a rocky play of muscles. He didn’t smile and there was a commanding nature to his stance.

Pia expected his eyes to move on as everyone else’s had. When he continued to stare, she frowned, glancing over her shoulder.

How rude! she thought in growing ire when she turned back to see that he was indeed still watching her.

Taking his look for one of abhorrence, she shot him an angry scowl. She might not be beautiful, but she didn’t need this man pointing that fact out to her.

The man bowed his head in her direction. Pia leaned a little away from him as she passed by. Her mouth curled in disgust of his manners. He might be the most handsome of them all, but that didn’t give him the right to judge her.

Without a backwards glance, she continued on, following the throng of women to a feasting table. She took a deep breath, glad the worst was over. Now that she’d met with rejection, she could eat, get back to the ship, and prepare for the long flight home. At least the spacecraft wouldn’t be full of women for the second leg of the journey. That would be something anyway.