by Tana Stone
I balled my hands into fists and pressed them into my closed eyes. It didn’t matter now. None of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was the mission. The only thing that mattered was success. That had been drilled into me so thoroughly I was sure it was imprinted on my human DNA.
Success meant approval. Approval from the empire meant that I belonged. Even though I was not technically one of them, being their top assassin meant I was a valuable part of the empire. It meant I was important. I let the feeling of importance and belonging wash over me like a cascade of warm water, and my heart slowed to a steady beat.
“That’s right,” I told myself, snatching a hard knot of bread off the tray and biting into it. “The empire needs you. They can’t succeed without you.”
I swallowed the hard bread and sat up, squaring my shoulders and remembering every commendation I’d been given and every Zagrath leader who had looked at me with respect and a little bit of fear. To most of the empire, I was invisible, but they knew who I was. I was the key to their victories. I was the one who’d taken out chiefs and potentates and royalty, and paved the way for imperial forces to sweep in unopposed. I was the Mantis. A Vandar horde was nothing I couldn’t handle.
Standing, I crossed to the reflective surface above a utilitarian dresser. I swept my fingers through my dark hair and leaned closer to examine my face. The bruises hadn’t faded on my olive skin yet, and half of my face looked like a mottled patchwork of purple and blue. I appraised my own brown eyes, glad the imperial soldier hadn’t blackened them. I should have snapped that guy’s neck, I thought.
“As soon as I’m done here,” I promised myself.
As it was, I’d need to rethink my strategy of seducing Raas Bron. Not only did I look pretty scary, but he also hadn’t reacted to my flirtation at all. I’d been the one to practically go weak at the knees when he’d touched me, and that was not part of the plan.
If I couldn’t seduce him, I’d have to figure out another way to take out the warlord and lead the empire to the horde. Everyone had a weakness. I’d just have to figure out his. I eyed my face again. Or get my hands on a serious amount of concealer.
I walked to the door and pressed my ear to the surface. Like everything on the ship, it was thick metal, and I couldn’t hear a thing except for the muffled cacophony of raiders moving about the ship, heavy boots pounding against iron. I held my breath as I pressed my hands at the seam of the steel door and attempted to pull the two sides apart. When they didn’t budge, I slammed my hand on the wall in frustration. The door slid open silently.
Peering more closely at the wall, I noticed that it was an inset panel. Clever. I looked back at the open door. They’d left it unlocked. I grinned. Not so clever.
I peeked outside the room. No massive raider stood guarding the door. They’d left me unattended, as well. Maybe I’d overestimated the Vandars’ intelligence.
I smiled to myself, thinking that the Vandar might just be dumb brutes after all. Then I hesitated, as I remembered how shrewdly the Raas had studied me. Or perhaps he was even more clever than I’d expected. I bit the corner of my lip. Was I luring him into my web, or was he tricking me into falling into his?
Chapter Seven
Bron
Corvak entered my strategy room and opened his mouth the speak, then belatedly clicked his heels together.
“Report,” I said, standing and coming around the large ebony desk.
“It is the female.”
My pulse stirred as if I’d been stalking prey which had finally moved. “She’s left her quarters?”
Corvak tilted his head. “No. Actually, she opened the door and looked outside, then went back inside and has not left the room since.”
“That is unexpected.”
“Agreed, Raas.” My battle chief stroked a hand along the scar that ran down one cheek. “Unless she is what she said she is.”
I turned and strode to the wall of glass that looked out onto space, leaning one hand on the cool surface. “A female stranded in space in need of rescue?”
“It has happened.”
I twisted to look back at him. “Weren’t you the one who was convinced that the female Kratos took was a danger? Did you not agree that we should watch this female?”
“I was right about Kratos’ Raisa. She was the reason our ship was boarded and then attacked.”
He had a point. “That was no fault of hers.” When Corvak didn’t respond, I continued. “Do you think taking this female poses a danger to our horde?”
He shifted from one foot to the other, resting one hand on the iron hilt of his axe. “This female does not have anyone to miss her or chase after her like the female Kratos took. At least, if her story is true. I do not know how much effort the empire will put into hunting down a single escaped miner.”
“If that is what she is.”
Corvak closed the gap between us and joined me at the floor-to-ceiling window. “I am unused to this, Bron.”
I cut my eyes to him. Even though we were alone in my strategy room, it was not customary for any other raider to call me by my given name. Then again, he had addressed me as Bron for as long as we’d known each other.
“Me being Raas?” I asked.
He blinked at me, then shook his head. “That I am becoming used to. I am unaccustomed to you being the more suspicious one of us.”
I choked back a laugh. “That is unusual.”
“You did not suspect the last female we brought on board.” Corvak eyed me. “Why this one?”
I could not tell him that I needed a reason to put distance between myself and the human. I wanted to discover some treachery or deception that would make it easy to drop her on Ladvok and never look back. Otherwise, I feared the desire that gnawed at my gut would consume me.
“I have not been Raas for long,” I finally said. “I cannot afford mistakes.”
Corvak nodded. “You also cannot afford to second-guess your commands. You are Raas.”
I eyed him. I relied on my battle chief for shrewd war strategy, but had never turned to him for counsel. I was surprised by the wisdom of his words. Before I could tell him so, there was a thumping on the door.
“Vaes,” I called out.
Svar stepped inside when the doors slid open, his gaze moving from me to Corvak and back again.
“Are we still on course to Ladvok?” I asked.
“Affirmative, Raas.” He cleared his throat. “I come to convey a request.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “From?”
“The female.” He set his feet wide as he faced me, his hands clasped in front of him. “She wishes to bathe.”
It took a few moments for the issue with the request to occur to me. The only bathing chambers available to raiders were communal ones with vast showers meant to be used by many at once. Not only that, but the controls for the water were also higher than a human could reach. Clearly, this would not work for the female.
I remembered the sad state of her clothing and her person when we’d found her. It was no wonder she wished to wash all traces of her ordeal from her flesh. My thoughts wandered to her flesh unencumbered by her dirty, loose garments, and desire skimmed across my own skin followed by a tremor of unease.
“Take her to my quarters,” I spat out. “She can use the Raas bathing pools.”
Silence hung in the air, and my two advisors glanced at each other.
Finally, Corvak spoke. “You wish the female to be taken to your quarters?”
“To bathe. Nothing else.” I scowled and gave my head a hard shake. “I have told you before. I am not Kratos. I have no desire to keep this female for myself.”
“It would be your right to take any female prisoner as the spoils of war,” Svar said with a small shrug. “No one would judge you, Raas.”
I studied my battle chief’s stormy expression and doubted that was entirely true. The truth was I didn’t know what I desired. I had not been Raas as long as Kratos had been when he had claimed
his female. I could not afford such a dalliance. Still, the thought of depositing the human on an alien planet and never seeing her again made me want to hit something. “I am in no need of a mate or a Raisa, but that does not mean we cannot treat the human well while she is on our warbird. If she truly ran from the empire, then we are on the same side of justice.”
“Of course, Raas.” Svar tapped his heels. “I will have a raider escort her to your quarters. Do you wish her to be guarded?”
I gave Corvak a knowing look. “Not inside the chamber, but I would like to ensure she does not wander beyond it. In case we are not on the same side of justice after all.”
Corvak tipped his head at me. “It is done.”
“Send fresh food and wine to my quarters for her,” I said. “She may still be hungry.”
“Will you join her, Raas?” Svar asked.
I hesitated, thinking of seeing the dark-haired female across from me at the table. It would be enjoyable to share a meal with someone other than Svar and Corvak. Then I remembered the arousal that had fired my blood when I’d touched her.
No. If I had no thoughts of claiming her, I should not tempt myself with her company. I was already playing with fire by bringing her aboard and allowing her into my quarters. At least I would not be there to see her luxuriating in the bathing pools and sipping Vandar wine.
“I will not.” I took long strides to pass both warriors, pausing at the door. “If you need anything, I will be testing out our new holographic battle ring. It has been too long since I’ve battled a gorgomil, and I look forward to seeing if the artificially created tentacles are as challenging as the real ones.”
I didn’t wait for their response as I left my strategy room and walked through the command deck, raiders at their consoles clicking their heels together at the sight of me. I made my way through the ship quickly, leaping from one open walkway to another. The dark interior of the warbird echoed my pounding footfall as I descended further into the ship’s belly until I’d finally reached the newly installed holographic battle ring, a gift from Raas Toraan after the warlord brothers had reunited.
I tapped my fingers on the control panel, setting a program to battle the Jenvarian creature, and selecting the highest level of difficulty. I drew in a long breath as the door to the chamber opened, and I caught a glimpse of the enormous beast with flailing, spiked tentacles. My heart raced, but I didn’t care. If I was battling a monster, at least my mind wouldn’t be on the female I would soon be sending away. The one I secretly wanted for myself.
Chapter Eight
Alana
The raider led me into the spacious quarters and waved a hand in the direction of an arched doorway. “The bathing chamber is there.”
I bit back a sarcastic retort, since it was pretty clear where the bathing pools were. The rest of the large room was sparsely furnished, with dark chairs and a long table flanked with benches secured to the floor, and there was only a single doorway leading into another space.
You’re a scared female who escaped from the empire, I reminded myself. Not a snarky assassin.
“Thanks,” I said, attempting to make my voice sound frail. “It will be nice to bathe.”
The Vandar’s gaze did not meet mine, but he nodded. “I will remain outside if you need anything.”
“Outside the bathing chamber?” I asked, forgetting to soften the edge in my voice.
He glanced up at me, cocking one eyebrow.
Shit. That had sounded anything but unsure and fragile. I cleared my throat. “I mean, I doubt I’ll need anything.”
“And I meant that I will be outside the main door.”
I let out a breath. “It’s been a while since I had an actual bath. I might be in there a while.” And I did not want anyone walking in on me while I searched the Raas’ room.
“That is fine.” He turned and headed for the exit. “When you are done, I will be waiting to escort you back to your quarters.”
“Great.” I managed to make that sound sincere, although it took effort. I also gave him a smile, but it was wasted on his retreating back. No matter. I kept it plastered on my face until the steel door closed, and I was alone. Then I spun around and scanned the room intently. “It’s about fucking time.”
Even though I’d told the guard I’d take a while, I did not want to get caught executing my imperial orders. I needed to work fast so I could hop in the bathing pools and make myself look like a woman who’d had a luxurious soak.
A cursory sweep with my gaze told me that a search wouldn’t take long. There was barely anything in the room. No monitor or desk, or even a bedside table. To call the quarters spartan would have been an understatement, although the effect wasn’t unpleasant.
A glossy, black table ran near the far wall with two long benches tucked on either side. The wall behind it was entirely glass and overlooked space—lights streaking past it a stark reminder that we were on a massive spaceship traveling close to warp speed. The opposite wall held an inset fireplace in which blue flames gyrated like Orlenians engaged in a tribal dance. A pair of chairs were angled in front of the fire along with a low table—all the same high-polished ebony as the obsidian floors and ceiling. One of the only things not black was the enormous bed’s imposing headboard, which had been forged from many battle axes, the steel glinting in the faint light from the flames. If I didn’t already know that the Vandar were seriously violent, badass warriors, this room would have clued me in pretty quickly.
I strode to the bed, trying not to think about Raas Bron tangled up in the claret-colored sheets that were pulled tight across the surface. I reached one arm under the mattress, groping wildly. Nothing. So much for the Raas stashing something secret under there.
I stood and twisted around. I wasn’t even sure what I expected to find, but most of my powerful and important victims had kept secret ledgers or devices or even journals in their private chambers. My mission wasn’t just to take out Raas Bron. I needed to find the information that could take down the entire Vandar species.
Heading to the built-in dresser, I threw open the doors. A few leather kilts hung over a series of drawers. I quickly searched the contents of each drawer and found nothing but swaths of heavy fabric and wide belts.
“Come on, Bron,” I whispered as I slammed the last drawer shut and closed the dresser doors. “You must have something personal in here.”
Unless Vandar didn’t keep personal items. I’d already seen that their ship was utilitarian to the extreme and their clothing minimalist. The only things that appeared to be individual were the carved handles or intricate etchings on the battle axes that swung by each raider’s leg. Otherwise, their kilts and lace-up leather boots were standard issue. At least for ancient, nomadic warriors, which I knew their people had been.
Huffing out a breath, I took long steps across the room. I peered under the table and both benches then walked back across to the fireplace, daring to run my fingers along the inside rim of the hearth. It was surprisingly cool, but held no secret compartment.
“Fuckity fuck.” I put my hands on my hips and darted a glance to the door. I needed to pick up my pace before I got busted hanging out in the Raas’ quarters and not bathing. With another impatient sigh, I headed for the arched doorway leading into the adjoining chamber, pulling off my shoes as I alternated walking and hopping on one foot.
I stopped short when I entered the room. Now this was a surprise. Not that it looked dramatically different from the rest of the quarters—the black-stone decor theme was still going strong—but it held the most unusual bath I’d ever seen.
Shaped like a half-moon, the sunken tub was huge and divided into four wedges. Each of these wedges was filled with a different color of water. Steam rose from the crimson section, bubbles danced along the surface of the orange water, the green water was completely opaque, and the blue wedge of water was crystal clear.
I forgot my frustration as I peeled off the rest of my grimy clothes and left them o
n the floor. What I’d told the Vandar was true. It had been ages since I’d had a real bath, and I’d never had one in vividly hued water like this.
I padded barefoot to the edge of the pools. “Maybe Vandar aren’t brutes about everything.”
I dipped one toe in the steaming red water and almost moaned. It was hot, luxuriously and decadently hot. None of the imperial ships had water this hot, and the outposts that I’d been frequenting barely boasted tepid water—on a good day. I lowered myself into the pool, my skin stinging slightly from the heat but adapting quickly. When I’d sunk down so the water reached my chin, I closed my eyes.
It was hard to be too concerned with my mission when every muscle in my body was uncoiling. I inhaled deeply, a faint spicy aroma filling my nose and relaxing me even more. What had I been so stressed about? I’d barely arrived on the horde ship. I had plenty of time to take down the Vandar and kill Raas Bron.
I frowned as I thought about the fierce Vandar warlord. The gorgeous, fierce Raas. Why had I reacted to him the way I had? He was just a male, after all. I had plenty of experience with males of many species. Some quite enjoyable. But no male had made my pulse quiver and my mouth go dry before. Not even when they’d made me come. What kind of dark warrior was this Raas Bron to make me feel something so uncontrollable? My entire existence was about control.
I shook my head to rid myself of the conflicted feelings. The Vandar Raas was still my target, despite what he’d made me feel. And I still had to assassinate him. My stomach tightened, and I bit my lip, forcing myself to think of him dispassionately as just another mark, my mind racing with a risk assessment.
