by Mina Carter
“It’s okay,” he murmured. “You’re perfectly safe. Look…”
Sure enough, Fnaal didn’t manage to get a step further. The warrior he’d broken away from stepped in and wrapped a hard arm around his neck, hauling him upright. Smaller than his captor, Fnaal’s spine was forced into a hard arch, his toes all that remained on the floor.
He might have been physically restrained, but his tongue was not.
“Whore! Slut!” he hissed, malevolence in his eyes as he looked at Amanda. “The gods decreed you belonged to me, but you’ve spread your legs for a non-chosen. You will be punished. You will be barren!” he yelled. “The gods will ensure you bear the non-chosen no offspring!”
She sucked a breath in, his words playing into her fears about her relationship with Fenriis. Sure, he’d said he wasn’t bothered about kids, but his whole culture seemed to hinge on the ability to have them or not. Eventually he was going to want some of his own…
“Silence that idiot,” Fenriis ordered with a growl. “I’m done with his draanthic ravings. The worth of a female is not in the young she bears but the comfort and companionship she brings to her male. She is the light to his darkness, the wisdom to his strength. Without them we warriors are merely living a half-life.”
Sincerity rang in his words and warmth spread out through her chest. He meant what he said, she could tell. The words resonated right down to her soul as she smiled up at him, squeezing his hand. The little look he gave her brought all her memories of the night before back and she blushed, her body heating.
He leaned in, brushing a kiss over her lips. “Whatever that thought was, hold it for later?" he suggested in a deep murmur before straightening up.
When his gaze reached Fnaal, all traces of her lover had gone. Instead, a stone-cold warrior stood in his place.
“Fnaal K’Vass,” he announced, his voice holding the grave tones of judge, jury and executioner. “You stole another male’s mate and attempted to violate her. You assaulted her and brought her to harm, forcing her to defend herself. You did all this knowing that females are rare and prized—something to be revered and protected. Yet you sought to steal one for your own regardless of her decision in the matter. You ignored our most basic laws of claiming and attempted to force yourself upon her. Just one of these crimes is enough to sentence you to death.”
Fnaal snarled, his expression rigid. “The gods have spoken. I am chosen,” he shouted, still struggling against his much larger guard. “Their decision overrides any decision of a mere female!”
A mutter of shock and disgust rolled around the cavernous hall, echoed from what sounded like the lips of every warrior present.
“Those crimes put together… there is only one punishment severe enough.”
Confusion rolled through Amanda. If just one of Fnaal’s crimes warranted the death penalty… what could possibly be worse? She didn’t have to wait long for her answer.
Fenriis let go of her hand to walk forward. He stopped a few steps away from Fnaal, who had gone pale.
“No, no, no…” he moaned. “I was chosen! The gods chose me. You can’t do this.”
One by one, the warriors around her all walked forward to stop a few steps away from Fnaal, surrounding him. There wasn’t room for them all at the front, so they stood behind others… row upon row of them.
Then, as one, they all turned their backs on the man in the center of the room.
“Let it be known,” Fenriis’ voice rang out. “That Fnaal K’Vass no longer bears the name. He is no longer Lathar. He is dishonored.”
The warriors walked away from the man now moaning in a heap in the middle of the floor.
“Someone throw him in the cells until we find somewhere to put him off.” Fenriis ordered as he reached Amanda’s side and held out his arm for her.
“What happens to him now?” she asked, unable to resist a quick look at the crumpled figure of her attacker. “You’re not going to k…” she swallowed. “You’re not going to kill him, are you?”
Fenriis’ features drew tight. “No. We aren’t. That would be too kind. Instead, he’ll be put off the ship at the nearest uninhabited planet. If he manages to leave it, he will no longer be recognized among us. Any attempt to contact one of our planets or colonies will result in that death sentence being handed down on him.”
She nodded. “Like excommunication… expulsion from society.”
“Exactly. After what he did, we can no longer trust him.” He pulled her to one side as the same two guards, who had also turned their backs on him, dragged Fnaal past them. Slumped between them, he didn’t lift his head, all the fight out of him now.
11
“Commander Fenriis.”
A loud voice behind them calling Fenriis’ name made them turn around. A warrior stood behind them. Unease prickled along Amanda’s spine at the look on his face. She’d seen enough of the warriors aboard to know they usually treated their leader with respect. But there was none in the other warrior’s face as he looked at her mate.
“Tolath,” Fenriis acknowledged him. “You have something you wish to say?”
“I do,” the large warrior confirmed. Like Fenriis, he was tall and well-muscled, probably equal to his leader in size and strength. “You have failed us.”
A slight touch on Amanda’s arm made her look around to find Isan at her side. With a small jerk of his head, he pulled her back away from Fenriis a few steps. Not liking the sudden tension in the room, she didn’t complain, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
“And how do you work that out?” Fenriis replied, his voice low and dangerous.
Tolath lifted his chin in challenge. “You are our commander and as such, you should have our best interests at heart. Has it not been a standing order for years that should females be found, then raiding parties are dispatched immediately to secure enough of them for all worthy warriors?”
Fenriis nodded. “That was the way things were done, yes. However—”
Tolath cut him off with an irritated gesture. “However, nothing. This order has never been rescinded. I checked the records. So, you have failed in your duty to us. We have been in orbit of a planet with many females and indeed, you have secured one for yourself!” He pointed toward Amanda. “Yet you refuse to allow the rest of us the same courtesy.”
“That is a different situation. Lady Amanda and I have an understanding.”
“I don’t give a draanth,” Tolath snarled. “What I do care about is getting a female of my own. Tonight. Either you give us leave for a raiding party…”
“Or?” Only an idiot would take Fenriis’ question as him backing down. The word was a glove slapped across the other warrior’s face.
“Or I call challenge,” Tolath said with finality, crossing his arms over his massive chest.
A small whimper escaped Amanda’s lips. She had no idea what a challenge consisted of, but she was fairly sure it wasn’t going to be a hot chocolate and marshmallow eating contest. The Lathar were a warrior race, so any challenge was going to contain blood and violence in large quantities.
“Very well.” Fenriis started to strip off his jacket, holding it out to a warrior who moved forward.
Stripped to the waist, it was impossible to miss how heavily muscled he was. Tolath’s expression didn’t alter as he did the same, holding his own jacket out. But no one moved forward to take it. A flash of annoyance on his face, he looked over his shoulder to one of the younger warriors.
“Keri?” He jiggled his jacket on two fingers, obviously expecting the other warrior to step forward and take it.
But Keri shook his head, arms folded over his chest. “I want no part of this.”
“What?” Surprise flowed over Tolath’s features. “We spoke about this… about the raiding parties. You agreed we should be allowed to fetch females of our own!”
Keri’s expression didn’t alter. “I agreed that yes we should, but I did not agree to challenging the commander. We are warrior
s, not animals. We obey orders, whether they make sense to us or not. I will not break my oath to the commander. I want no part of this challenge,” he repeated.
“But…” Tolath seemed at a loss for words, his mouth opening and closing for a few seconds. “But we’re brothers.”
Keri nodded, but his arms remained folded over his chest and his set expression didn’t change. “We are. But that doesn’t mean I will become an oath-breaker. Fenriis has never steered us wrong. He says we will eventually have females of our own and I trust in his wisdom. I stand with my commander.”
“So be it.” Tolath’s jaw tightened and he turned toward Fenriis. “I will kill you and take your rank, your position, then we will raid!”
His last words fell into stony silence and Amanda leaned closer into Isan as he murmured.
“No doubt Tolath has support amongst the others, but none will show themselves unless he wins the challenge.”
“Oh?” she asked, her heart pounding in her throat with fear for Fenriis. They’d only just found each other and now it seemed he was in a fight to the death.
“Challenge fights are always to the death, for the challenger and his supporters,” he murmured. “Which is a total pain in the ogarth. When Fenriis wins, it means we have to work out who supported Tolath and root them out. Sometimes the challenger is not the root of the problem, merely the head of the snake. But…” he commented, looking at the stony-faced warriors around them. “This time I think it is just one warrior thinking with his dick. Keri’s no idiot and he’s totally loyal to Fenriis. He would have tipped us off about this had he known.”
“So it’s not too bad then?” she asked in hope as the two big men started to circle each other.
They moved like the predators they were, their movements sleek and lethal… like the big cats she loved to watch documentaries about on the TV. She’d never seen one in real life. They were all either extinct or in conservation zones the public weren’t allowed to access.
Isan’s expression was grim. “Oh, it’s serious. Tolath knows he has to kill Fenriis if he wants any chance of survival.”
Her breathing stopped, her heart stalling right there in her chest. “Kill him? Can he do that?”
She cast a fear-filled glance toward the combatants. They circled still, Tolath feinting toward Fenriis every so often, as though testing his reflexes, but her mate didn’t do the same. He simply deflected the other man’s strikes with easy movements, like water rolling off a duck’s back.
“Kill Fenriis?” The healer sounded surprised. “It’s always possible. No one can predict exactly how a challenge fight will go.” He reached out and wrapped his bigger hand around hers, letting his expression relax enough to offer her a small, reassuring smile. “All will be well. I promise. Fenriis is a war commander… no male reaches such heights by being a sloppy fighter. And should the… well,” he coughed to cover his lapse. “If anything happens, rest assured you will be fine. Fenriis has explained your… understanding. I will take on his oath to get you to your children should he fall here today.”
“What?” Caught by surprise, all she could do was blink. “You would do that for me?” Pausing, she looked at him directly. If she’d thought Fenriis looked young, Isan looked to be barely out of his teens. “Does that mean I would have to… with you?”
“Huh?” Isan frowned in confusion, and then his expression suddenly cleared. “No! There would be no expectation of that… well,” he offered her a small smile. “Unless you wanted to become my mate, that is. I would not expect that of you.”
She offered him a small smile, hiding her sigh of relief. As much as she could be relieved anyway, with Fenriis fighting just feet away.
The warriors had closed in tighter, their faces alight with anticipation and fascination. Several called out encouragement for Fenriis, but there were no calls for Tolath and she realized no one could, in case he fell and the same sword fell on their necks as well. All of a sudden she actually felt sorry for Tolath. He’d overstepped and now he was going to pay the price. With his own life.
“Is that all you got, old man?” Tolath sneered as Fenriis deflected yet another attack. “Are you too scared to fight me? This is your commander,” he announced to the crowd. “Now he has a female, he fears battle!”
Fenriis launched his attack without warning. One moment Tolath was posturing for the crowd. The next he was fighting for his life. The air around him was live with the glittering edges of Fenriis’ blades in a deadly dance of light. He yelped, managing to block the first couple of passes, but within seconds it was obvious he was massively outmatched.
Fenriis snarled, his lip curled back from his teeth as Tolath twisted and ducked under his arm. He spun to chase him, lashing out with the blade in his hand, and she got a glimpse of the expression on his face.
Pure. Controlled. Fury.
Amanda froze in place, her hand on her throat as she watched her mate. She’d known he was a warrior, but she’d equated that with more of a soldier. More… civilized. Ballistic or energy weaponry and space battles. Not this visceral, gladiatorial, brutal battle.
“Fenriis…Fenriis…Fenriis…Fenriis…”
The crowd started to chant, the sound starting low. A warrior near her started to stamp his foot, just one, and the rest picked up, the sound echoing around the cavernous hall like a thunderclap every few seconds.
Fenriis pushed Tolath back, his face a rictus, until there was nowhere left for the younger warrior to go. Pinned against the side of the "circle," the warriors at its edge not letting him escape, he made his last mistake.
Swinging for Fenriis, he cried out as his opponent's blade swept up and in, cutting deeply into the joint where his arm met his body. He grunted, the short cry of pain punctuated by his blade dropping to the floor. The next second Fenriis had his own blade jammed in the challenger’s throat.
“Please…” Amanda stepped forward, her hand out before she thought about it. “Please, don’t kill him. Not today…”
Silence filled the hall and she felt all eyes turn toward her. Shit. What had she done? Theirs was a warrior culture, one she didn’t really understand. But… She lifted her chin and looked directly at Fenriis.
“On Earth, we would be on our honeymoon. It’s a time of happiness and celebration. Surely stupidity can be forgiven, especially since the Lathar haven’t seen many weddings or honeymoons for a long time?”
She stepped forward, placing her hand gently on his arm. “Please? For me?”
Fenriis grunted and pulled his blade away from Tolath’s throat. “You are lucky that I wish to please the woman I love, or you would be bleeding out your last on this floor. Never challenge me again,” he reached out, hand landing on Tolath’s injured shoulder. “I expect your complete and utter loyalty. Understand?”
The other man paled and nodded, his arm held close to his chest. Blood decorated his side, flowing down his leg. “Yes, my lord. I and my blades are now, and forever, yours. My honor is your honor. This I vow.”
The men around them rumbled in approval. She looked around, getting the feeling that Tolath’s vow was a serious one. But she wasn’t interested in that. She was interested in what Fenriis had said.
The woman he loved…
“Isan, Keri… get him out of here,” Fenriis ordered, turning toward Amanda and, with a hand under her arm, led her out of the crowd.
“Did you mean that?” she asked, breathlessly, pulling him to a stop so she could check him over. She hadn’t seen Tolath land a blow but they’d been moving so quickly… she had to be sure.
“Mean what, little human?” He smiled and caught her hands. “Don’t fret. I am perfectly fine. It would take a much better warrior than Tolath to best me.”
She stopped, shivers rolling along her skin at his touch, and looked up at him. With his steady gaze on hers, she felt a little self-conscious but she had to know. “You said the woman you love… did you mean that?”
He didn’t answer for a moment and h
er heart fell through her chest. Perhaps it had just been a figure of speech and he didn’t mean it. Perhaps she was just reading too much into things.
Then he nodded. “I did. I’ve loved you from the first moment I heard your voice.”
Hope blossomed, filling her with warmth and emotion. Then his words registered and she frowned. “Shouldn’t that be the first moment you saw me? Like, love at first sight?”
He shook his head, the curve of his lips softening his harsh features and turning them devastating. “No. We don’t always work that way. I heard you first and knew you were mine. I loved you from that point.”
“Really? Like love at first… sound?” It sounded fantastical but… she was on an alien spaceship married to the hottest guy she’d ever seen. “Is that possible?”
“Oh, yes, it’s possible.” He tucked a finger under her chin and made her look up at him, leaning down until his lips almost grazed hers. “I love you, Amanda, and I always will. One day I hope you will come to love me in return.”
“Not one day,” she admitted, her voice a little breathless as she tried to smile and not cry all at the same time. “Now. I love you now, I mean. Sounds stupid. We haven’t known each other that long, but I do…”
She didn’t manage to say anything else because her sexy alien husband claimed her lips, sealing their love and marriage with a kiss of promise so sweet and sincere it would be branded on her heart forever.
* * *
Slow clapping from behind them pulled Amanda out of the magic of the moment. Fenriis lifted his head and turned in the same movement, so fast she had to gasp as she was shoved behind him.
Behind them stood a new group of warriors, the biggest man Amanda had ever seen at the front of them. The rest were nearly as big, one of them nearly identical apart from the fact he was covered in scars. A healer, she realized, recognizing the marks.
Fenriis snapped to attention, his fist clenched over his heart. “Your Imperial Highness. You honor us with your presence.”
