by Tana Stone
This is all a part of your strategy, I reminded myself. Nothing more. She is nothing more than another pawn in the game.
My stomach twisted. A beautiful, dangerous pawn who could be my undoing.
Chapter Five
Rachael
I pushed myself up in bed and swung my feet over until they hit the shiny, black floor. How long had I been sleeping? I’d lost all track of time. It even took me a moment to remember where I was, and what had happened. It had been disorienting enough to be led through the strange, dark raider ship with its seemingly endless series of staircases and bridges suspended on top of each other, but the room I’d been led to was even more unfamiliar.
At the time, I’d barely had long to take it all in before I’d collapsed on the bed in exhaustion, the stress of the escape and capture washing over me. But now I was awake, and trying to absorb how different my new surroundings were from everything I’d ever known.
My house on Horl had high ceilings, and bright windows that overlooked rolling pasture. Tall trees had stretched up in the violet sky, the enormous surface of one of our nearby moons peeking pale over the horizon, visible even when our sun shone. I’d been used to air that carried the scent of the fields and sunlight bathing everything it touched, not the dimness of the Vandar ship and the wide view onto endless black space. Even the Zagrath ship had featured sleek, white walls and bright lights.
Peering around the sleeping chamber, I was struck by how cold it felt. Despite the bed being covered in claret-colored fabrics and piles of cushions in various hues of crimson, there was a somber feeling that hung in the air. Even the thick drapery hanging from the bed’s canopy made it more claustrophobic than cozy. A fireplace inset in the obsidian wall dividing this room from the attached chamber burned, but the blue flames did not give off much heat.
Strangely, the bedroom I’d been led through on the way to this one didn’t seem as cold, even though it was decorated almost entirely in black. That enormous bed held no cushions—only silky sheets, and a throw made out of something fluffy and dark-brown across the foot—but it was more appealing than the one I sat on. The thought that it was the bed where the Raas slept made my mouth go dry.
“Snap out of it, girl.” I shook my head as I tried to push thoughts of the huge, tailed alien from my mind and stop the flush that threatened to creep up my neck again. I was being ridiculous. Raas Toraan was not the kind of alien to get distracted around. He was deadly and dangerous, and held my fate in his hands. I could not afford to let myself be drawn in by him—no matter how his touch made my body react.
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, the cool air comforting. The gentle rumbling of the massive ship’s engines vibrated my feet, and the muffled sound was the only thing that kept the silence from swallowing me whole. I blew out a long breath. I needed to stay calm if I was going to pull this off.
It was true that I had information the Vandar would want. It was also true that the admiral had spoken freely in front of me on multiple occasions. None of that had been a lie. But I might have implied that I knew more than I did.
If I was being honest with myself, I hadn’t always paid attention to what the admiral and his cronies babbled on about. At the time, I hadn’t been too interested. Even though my memory was excellent, I did need to be focusing in order to recall details. And the details of the Zagrath plan were where I was fuzzy.
I opened my eyes and stamped one foot on the floor. Why hadn’t I listened more carefully when the admiral had droned on and on about defeating the Vandar?
Because you were bored out of your mind, and you never imagined you’d ever be on an actual Vandar warbird having to barter information for sanctuary, that’s why.
At least I had retained the basic information, and the broad strokes of what the admiral was up to. That had to be worth something.
And when I’d passed on everything I knew? I nibbled my bottom lip again. I couldn’t lie. One look in the Raas’ hazel eyes had told me he would not tolerate deception.
What surprised me was that I didn’t want to lie to him. Even though my plan was to barter information, I wanted to help him.
“You’re crazy,” I muttered to myself. “They’re Vandar. He’s a Raas of the Vandar. You know what everyone says about them.”
I’d heard tales about the brutal Vandar for most of my life. The scourge of the galaxy, they were violent monsters who appeared out of thin air and killed everything in their path without mercy. But that story didn’t fit with the raiders I’d just met.
Sure, they were huge, and intimidating as hell, but Raas Toraan did not seem like a brute. Actually, he seemed much more disciplined and controlled than the Zagrath admiral who’d been prone to slamming his fist on the table and yelling so much that spittle would fly from his mouth. I cringed at the memory, then shuddered at the horrible thought of the old man’s mouth on me.
“I’d rather die,” I whispered into the quiet.
“I hope death will be unnecessary.”
The deep burr made my head snap over to where the Raas stood in the doorway. How had he approached so quietly that I hadn’t heard him? Or had he been there for a while, and I’d been so distracted by thinking about him that I hadn’t noticed?
I stood quickly, bowing my head. I still didn’t know what I was supposed to do in the presence of a Vandar warlord, and my mother’s constant instruction on protocol was hard to shake. “I didn’t see you there, Raas.”
He grunted and stepped into the room. “You do not need to bow to me.”
I looked up, but almost wished I hadn’t. Raas Toraan no longer wore his shoulder armor. His chest was completely bare of straps, which made the black marks that curled across his skin even more prominent, and his muscles seem larger. His stomach was a series of sculpted ridges that disappeared beneath the wide, leather belt that hung low on his waist, and veins threaded the hard muscles of his arms. I forced myself to look anywhere but his bare skin, which meant I once again stared at the floor.
“I’m glad you are awake, but I am also pleased you were able to rest.” The Raas crossed the room to stand in front of me, his feet set wide and his tail swishing slowly behind him. “Do you find the chamber comfortable?”
I hesitated before speaking. “Yes, Raas.”
He reached over and put a finger under my chin, lifting my head so that I had to look him in the face. “I thought we agreed that you would not lie to me.”
The deadly purr of his voice sent a shiver down my spine. “I did not mean to lie to you, Raas. The room is fine.”
“But. . .?” he prodded.
“It is cold.”
He turned to look at the fire. “I can see that the heat output is increased.” He glanced back at me and down at my dress. “We should also get you something more suitable to wear. Do all females from your planet dress like this?”
I almost grinned at that. “No, Raas. This is my wedding dress. I was being fitted for it when the attack happened. I saw that the battle was the best opportunity for escape, so I took it. There was no time to change.”
He dropped his finger from under my chin. “This is your wedding dress?”
I nodded, grabbing the layers of fabric with one hand and then letting them fall. “It’s fluffier than I would have liked, but I didn’t have much say in it.”
Stepping back, he nodded. “I will get you warmer clothes.”
I took a breath to gather my courage. “It isn’t that the temperature of the room is cold. It just feels like it holds bad energy or something.”
Now his eyebrows shot up. “Bad energy?”
“On Horl, we believe that objects can retain energy or memories. This room holds unhappiness, which makes it feel cold.”
He studied me for a moment. “Horl sounds like an interesting planet.”
My throat thickened as images of my home world rushed over me, then the realization that I would never see it again. I let my eyes drop so he wouldn’t notice the tears stinging the b
acks of my eyes and think I was weak.
“If this room does not feel right to you, I will not make you stay here.” He spun, and the leather strips that made up his short skirt slapped his thighs. He strode away from me, pausing when he’d reached the doorway. “Vaes.”
When I didn’t respond to the Vandar word, he held out a hand. “It means ‘come.’”
I hurried over to him, committing the meaning of the word to memory and taking his hand, which was surprisingly warm, considering how little clothing the guy wore. “Where will I stay?”
He pulled me into the attached bedroom and tightened his grip on my hand. “You will stay with me.”
I tried to tug my hand out of his as panic fluttered in my chest. This had not been part of the plan. “I promised to give you information. Nothing else.” I glanced at his enormous bed and heat pulsed between my legs. “I have no desire to warm your bed.”
He shook his head slowly, the black pupils of his eyes flaring as the hazel around them shifted to green. “That’s your second lie.”
Chapter Six
Toraan
“I do not understand, Raas.” Rolan stood with his hands braced on his hips as he and Viken gathered with me in my strategy room. “How can a human female know anything of Zagrath strategy?”
“She was the admiral’s bride,” I said, turning to face my star chart. “He spoke about his plans in front of her.”
“That is why we don’t have females on Vandar warbirds,” Viken muttered darkly. “They bring out weakness in warriors.”
I could not disagree, although my uncle, the Raas who had trained me, had believed otherwise. The loss of his mate had been a blow that had hastened his departure from the raiders, and I’d seen it eat away at him even before he had given up his position as Raas.
“She is mated to a Zagrath admiral?” Rolan asked. “And we are keeping her on board? Are we not worried she is a spy or a saboteur?”
I attempted to focus on the points of light illuminated on the transparent, wall-sized board, but my mind was distracted by thoughts of her. Her small hand in mine, trembling even as her chest had heaved. I spun around and shook my head, dislodging the image and my majak’s misunderstanding. “She was not mated to him. She was his intended bride, but she ran from the union. In exchange for us keeping her from him, she has offered insight into what she claims is a dedicated plan to take us down.”
Rolan’s face betrayed his shock. “A plan? I thought the empire only concerned itself with colonizing and ruling, so as to grow their own control and fortune.”
“That is true,” I said. “But Rachael claims that this admiral is not satisfied to only battle us when we thwart their overreach.”
“Rachael?”
I twitched one shoulder as if this was nothing. “That is her name. She is from a human colony on Horl.”
Viken frowned. “Human names are unusual, as are the small creatures themselves.”
Rolan moved his hands behind his back and clasped them. “And what has this human called Rachael revealed so far? What details of the plan has she told you?”
I hated to admit that so far she had told me nothing. It was not that she had withheld the information. I had been so distracted by the desire I’d read on her face that I’d backed away and come to join my officers on the command deck. Here, in my strategy room, where we planned battles and mapped out long-term campaigns, I felt calm. Nothing like the jangle of nerves I’d experienced being close to her.
The last time I’d been so affected by a female, I’d gone into a destructive spiral that had taken many bloody battles for me to pull myself out. I did not want to experience that again, no matter how beautiful and appealing I found the human.
“I am working on extracting the intelligence,” I said, pivoting back to the star chart so they would not see the conflict on my face. “It must be done delicately. This human female is not like a Garunthian, who will spill everything if you threaten to cut off their tentacles.”
“Too bad,” Viken grumbled.
“Forget the female.” I tapped a finger on the clear chart. “Before we were drawn to this sector by the other horde, we’d been observing unusual movements by imperial ships. Maybe that movement and the information the female has are related.”
Rolan joined me at the star chart, peering at the glowing lines that traced the movement of the enemy fleet. “It is possible.”
Viken growled low. “I still say we do not know for sure if this female is a spy or not. There is a chance that the enemy sent her off in a transport to draw our interest. I am not convinced she isn’t a plant who’s been given false information to feed us.”
My first instinct was to snap at my battle chief and defend Rachael. I believed her story. I’d seen the fear and disgust in her eyes when she’d talked about the imperial admiral. But I could not discount my warrior’s doubt. He was right to be wary. We knew nothing of the human, but we knew a great deal about how ruthless our enemy was. They would think nothing of sacrificing a female for their own gain. And she might be a spy without even knowing it.
“We should consider what Viken says.” My majak did not look over at me when he spoke, but his meaning was clear. I needed to be more cautious with the information I gathered.
“Agreed.” I thumped my majak on the back. “Do not worry that I have gone soft, Rolan. I am still the Raas who has out-strategized the enemy every step of the way.”
“I do not think we shouldn’t listen to the human.” Viken stepped up to the star chart, leaning one hand on the smooth surface. “But we should authenticate her story.”
I twisted my head to him. “We cannot reveal that we have her.”
He shook his head, and his hair swung around his scruffy cheeks. “No, but if she truly escaped would they not search for her, or send out messages to other imperial ships? This may not be a love match, but I suspect the admiral paid well for his bride. He will want to retake his property.”
A growl escaped my throat. “A Zagrath does not deserve her.”
“A Zagrath deserves nothing but death,” Viken added.
“A Vandar has never taken something of such value to the empire before,” Rolan said. “If she truly ran from her union to an admiral, our possession of her is already a blow to them.”
Viken let out a low chuckle. “Imagine the admiral’s humiliation at his bride running out on him.”
Rolan elbowed me. “Imagine how much worse it would be if he knew she’d taken refuge with a Vandar horde.”
“If word got out that she’d chosen a warbird filled with brutes like us instead of the civilized empire,” Rolan’s voice became a rumble. “The admiral’s humiliation would be known throughout the galaxy.”
“Which is why he must not know,” I said sharply. “I do not trust a Zagrath not to desire revenge for such a slight.”
Both warriors grumbled, the thought of humiliating the enemy hard to give up so easily.
“Raas,” my majak said. “We cannot keep her forever. Even if she is not a spy and provides us with valuable information, she cannot live on a Vandar warbird. She will have to leave us at some point.”
I knew the wisdom of his words, but I did not agree. The only way to keep her from the admiral was to keep her on board. A female as beautiful as her could not go anywhere unnoticed. There was no colony or outpost where her startling beauty would not draw attention, and there were few places untouched by the empire. If I suspected correctly, Rachael was now the most wanted female in the galaxy.
“I have a plan that could protect her from the empire permanently,” I said, even as the plan coalesced in my mind, “but I do not know if she will agree to it.”
Or if it was something that would not destroy me in the process.
“She will have no choice,” Viken said. “You are Raas, and on this ship, your word is law.”
I drew in a long breath before the words spilled from my mouth, shocking me almost as much as they did my warriors. “She must ha
ve a choice, if she is to form mating marks with me.”
Chapter Seven
Admiral Kurmog slammed his hand on the surface of his desk. “What do you mean, she’s gone?”
The officer standing in front of him flinched visibly, his shoulders shrinking back even as his feet remained rooted to the floor. “We have been unable to locate her on the ship, Admiral. She was in the middle of a session with the tailor when the battle broke out. She excused herself, and never returned.”
The admiral dragged a bony hand over the slick surface of his head. “Perhaps the noise of the attack scared her. She is a female, after all, and this is her first time off her backward planet.”
“That is what we thought, but we have searched everywhere.”
Kurmog braced his hands on the surface of his gleaming, white desk. “Are you telling me that my bride vanished into thin air?” He narrowed his eyes. “We’re on a battleship. She has to be here somewhere.”
The officer cleared his throat, hesitant to speak the next words. “Not necessarily. In the chaos of the battle, an unauthorized transport left our ship.”
The admiral let out a derisive laugh. “You think my human bride—who had never been inside a space vessel before I plucked her from Horl—managed to pilot a transport off a battleship during a battle?”
“It is the only logical explanation.”
Kurmog strode from behind his desk to the wide glass wall overlooking space. “It’s preposterous. The female is known for her great beauty, not for her intelligence. And like I said, she knows nothing of space travel. She wouldn’t have the first idea how to even engage a ship’s engines, much less pilot it.”
The officer was silent as the admiral rocked back on his heels, staring into the darkness. The admiral was in a foul mood, and this wasn’t helping. Their fleet had been beaten back by the Vandar, and they’d been forced to abandon their mines on Carlogia Prime. The battle had been arduous, and their ship had taken severe damage. They’d been forced to retreat to make repairs and that was when the admiral had noticed that his fiancé was not in her quarters. He’d called for a ship-wide search, which had turned up nothing but a missing transport ship.
