Free Alien Protector: Sci-Fi Alien Invasion Paranormal Romance by Ashley West Page A

sighed. “Draco, it’s not just that,” he said. “They’re valuable, of course, but it’s what they are when they’re together that makes them so powerful.”
    “What they are?”
    “ Think about it,” Plintos urged him. “A hilt, a sheath, a blade? They’re a weapon together, Draco. And not just an ordinary weapon either. You’ve never read the history, but I have. If they’re all used together, then the wielder would have the power to destroy hundreds. Maybe more.”
    “And that’s why you’ve been so desperate to get them all together,” Draco said, filling in the blanks finally. “If you have all of them together, then someone would be more reluctant to try and take them. But apart…”
    “Apart they’re just ordinary objects. Well,” he amended. “Not ordinary , of course, but not powerful. Not really. Draco, you have to get to the blade before they do. I don’t even know who we’re looking for here, but if they bring all three Artifacts together, there’s no telling what destruction they could wreak.”
    Draco sighed heavily and dragged a hand down his face. He desperately wished that Plintos would have told him this before it was practically an emergency, but the time for wishing was past.
    He glanced at the closed bedroom door, apprehension roiling in him. Perhaps it was time to tell the truth.
     

Chapter 6: The Truth
     
    Stephanie woke with a yawn and a long, languid stretch as the first, muted rays of light filled her room. She dragged a hand through her hair and blinked as she woke up completely, frowning at the feeling that something was missing. She was in her bed, as per usual, but she felt off balance, like there was something she was supposed to have that wasn’t there.
    It wasn’t until she had lain there for a few more seconds that it all came back to her, and she remembered that she hadn’t gone to bed alone the night before.
    Draco wasn’t in the bed anymore, but she figured he was somewhere else in the apartment, unless he’d snuck out in the middle of the night and walked home. Or called a cab.
    Stephanie chuckled at the mental image until her need to know if it was actually a joke or what had happened made her slide from under the sheets and go to fetch her robe.
    It was rare for her to be up this early, and she yawned as she wrapped thick terry cloth around her body and belted it, pulse racing as she padded to the bedroom door and stepped out into the hall.
    The lights were on in the kitchen and living room, which was a good sign, and when she walked into the latter, there was Draco, sitting on the couch with his head in his hands.
    Not the best start to a morning after, but at least he was still there.
    “Good morning,” Stephanie said softly, not wanting to startle him. “Is everything alright?”
    His head snapped up quickly and he looked at her almost nervously. “You’re up. I was trying not to wake you.”
    She shook her head. “You didn’t. I just woke up a few minutes ago. I didn’t even hear you leave the room.” Stephanie very pointedly didn’t say that she didn’t even know if he was still in the apartment.
    Standing there staring down at him felt odd and strangely invasive, so she moved away, heading for the kitchen to put coffee on. Draco continued to stare at the space she had occupied, and Stephanie wished that if this was some kind of post sex regret breakdown or whatever, he’d just tell her.
    She didn’t know him well enough to guess what was going on, and it felt rude to just ask, so she made coffee, keeping one eye on him as she let the coffee maker fill the space with the rich scent of French vanilla.
    “I think we need to talk,” Draco said after a bit, not even looking at her, and Stephanie sighed internally. Well, it was fun while it’d lasted, she supposed. He was probably either going to give her the ‘this was nice, but I don’t think it would work out’ speech, or perhaps the ‘I’m not really looking for anything