Stud by Cheryl Brooks Read Free Book Online

edge with his eyes closed, letting the waves crash over him and then recede. It was humbling in a way—reminding him that there were forces of nature far stronger than he was.
    “You haven’t drowned, have you?”
    Tarq opened his eyes to see a Terran child frowning down at him. Her concern was obvious, but her face lit up when he smiled at her. “No, I haven’t drowned.”
    “I’m glad,” she said, giggling. “You’re very pretty.”
    “So are you.”
    Laughing again, she held up a toy shovel. “I’m going to build a sand castle. Would you like to be the king?”
    Tarq grinned. He knew the old stories of castles and kings, knights and dragons, having heard them from Amelyana as a child. “I’m not cut out to be a king. I think I’d make a better knight.”
    “In shining armor?”
    “Absolutely.”
    “Good. You can be my knight and I’ll be the princess.”
    With her auburn curls and bright green eyes, she would make a beautiful princess, Tarq decided. He glanced at her mother, a lovely woman with bright red hair and a shapely body, who nodded her permission. “Climb on my back and we’ll go slay some dragons.”
    Rolling over and getting up on his hands and knees, he lowered his head while she straddled his neck. Tarq stood up effortlessly under her light weight and began running through the waves, holding tightly to her ankles while she shouted with laughter. Her delight was infectious, and Tarq felt a freedom of spirit he hadn’t felt since his days in the forests of Zetith.
    Unfortunately, this triggered another memory. This child wasn’t much older than Dax had been when Tarq found him wandering alone through the deserted streets of Waynochthia.
    Tarq had been up in a tree when the marauders came, leaving death and destruction in their wake. When all was silent at last, Tarq hadn’t needed to enter the wreck of their home to know his family was all dead. He’d turned and walked straight into the forest, always heading in the same direction as if he knew exactly where he was going.
    For days he travelled without seeing another living soul. Adept at hunting and fishing and knowing which plants were good to eat, he’d had no trouble keeping himself fed. However, upon his arrival in Waynochthia, a city that was a ghost of its former self, he’d found Dax, starving and terrified, his tears carving a path down his dirty cheeks. Taking the child by the hand, he kept on until they reached the hidden place where Amelyana’s ship was about to depart.
    The hatch had opened and he led Dax aboard without question, somehow knowing that this had been his destination from the very beginning. He hadn’t understood why the city was deserted until they reached the outer limits of the solar system and Zetith exploded. He hadn’t seen the asteroid approaching, nor had he known that it was no natural phenomenon, but an act of war.
    He knew differently now. He considered the peril that this small child might be in had she been Zetithian. The thought of his own children being murdered brought him up short. Zetith had been destroyed by Amelyana’s insanely jealous husband—a man rich enough to stage a war against an entire world and win.
    Almost. He hadn’t succeeded in killing all of them, and Tarq knew he couldn’t let those fears deter him. He had a mission to accomplish.
    But he’d forgotten about most of that when he first met Lucy and inhaled her scent. He couldn’t explain why, but his reasons for traveling deserted him, and he wanted nothing more than to stay with her and watch as their children were born and grew up—children that would have her deep brown eyes…
    The child’s mother waved and called out. “Saree! You’re going to wear that man out!”
    “Are you worn out?” Saree asked.
    “Not really. Ready to get down now?”
    Saree giggled. “I’d like to keep going, but we do need to build the castle.”
    Tarq knelt down and set her on her feet. Saree took him by the hand and led him