Veredian Chronicles Box Set

by Regine Abel

  Gruuk was all I knew. I both loved and hated him. He had warned me things wouldn’t be easy between us, that I wouldn’t be happy. And yet, there had been joy. Not a day went by that I didn’t wonder what our lives might have been like had our daughter survived. I didn’t regret my Sevina or my twins. I loved my children. But this life was destroying me.

  That day, Gruuk gave me a choice: Saren again or another Korlethean. When I asked him why he would even suggest that, he explained that Saren guaranteed I would birth another kinetic like Sevina. Such a child, he could justify not selling. I wouldn’t be able to keep her on board, but she would be raised on one of his breeding fortresses as a backup kinetic since they were rare and valuable. With Gilean, the twins’ father, I would get another Psychometric child he would be forced to sell. Any other Korlethean was a coin toss. Either we would get lucky and I would birth a child that Gruuk could use and that I could therefore keep with me on the ship, or she would have an ability he couldn’t thus forcing him to either sell my child or send her to the fortress.

  I chose Saren and cursed Gruuk to the deepest pits of Gharah’s lair, swearing he would never touch me again. Nine months later, while pregnant with my fourth child, Gruuk became involved with an alien female. Despite convincing myself that I hated him, it broke my heart and jealousy festered in my soul. I didn’t know her name or anything about her except the gossip from the crew. The way they spoke of her, the tone of their voices, and the look on their faces, conveyed a great deal of respect—at least, as much as Guldans could respect females. They described her as a wild beast, fierce warrior, seasoned hunter, and as ruthless as she was beautiful.

  That hurt even more.

  She gave Gruuk more than I ever could—a living child and a male heir to carry on his house’s name. However, that honor came with a steep price. Her son’s horns battered her insides, nearly killing her and leaving her barren. She was light years away from us when the delivery took place. By the time we reached her, a week later, my jealousy and hatred for her had reached levels that scared even me. Finding out she was already mated to another and cheating on him with my ma… with Gruuk, made me despise her even more.

  When he asked me if I could heal her, I lied.

  I could have made her whole again, but pretended that his son’s alien DNA and the hardened shell within had changed her. I could mend the internal damage and remove her scars but not return her womb to its original state.

  She would remain barren—by my will.

  Gruuk didn’t challenge my statement, but his eyes told me he knew I lied. He never brought it up afterwards. Their relationship ended shortly thereafter, but I didn’t know who walked away. To my relief, he didn’t bring his son on board. Being mated to another, the mother couldn’t raise the boy herself without confessing her indiscretion to her mate. According to gossip from the crew, Gruuk sent his son to Guldar, his homeworld, to be raised according to Guldan beliefs and values.

  As the years passed, every time I thought back on how I had handled that female, shame burned in my gut. Who was I to judge her in light of my own obsession with Gruuk? After Suriki, this was the second female I had wronged. It made me wonder at myself. Was I a spiteful, bitter female?

  Two years after those events, months before Sevina’s tenth birthday, Saren died in a failed escape attempt from one of Gruuk’s holding compounds with a group of Korletheans. I didn’t shed a tear. Unlike other Veredians, Gruuk never sent me to the breeding fortresses during my seasons. He brought the Korletheans directly to me on the Revenant. Saren could have gotten to know our daughter, Sevina, but he never showed any interest in her. According to him, she and the other Veredian offspring were the reason Gruuk enslaved him and his brothers. Had we all died as the Goddess had intended when our homeworld was destroyed, none of them would be suffering like this.

  Fuck. Him.

  As per Gruuk’s prediction, five months after her fifth birthday, my youngest, Aleina, proved to be a kinetic like her big sister. True to his word, he didn’t sell her but sent Aleina to one of his fortresses. It devastated Sevina to lose yet another sister. At sixteen, she suffered greatly from the lack of companionship with others close to her age. She and I had so little in common, I didn’t know how to compensate. Plus, the Goddess knew I couldn’t let her anywhere near the captives. The less we saw and knew of their plight, the easier it was on us.

  As the months stretched, I braced for the announcement of the impending arrival of a new Korlethean now that Saren was no more. My seasons came and went. Despite having holding compounds within range of the ship, no males were brought on board for me. When a second year rolled by with still no such sign, I finally asked Gruuk to put an end to my torment and tell me where I stood.

  He told me I was done. I had met the minimum expected quota and was too valuable to his operation to risk my mental health by putting me through this again in light of my mental breakdown the last time. There would be no more Korletheans for me. No more babies.

  I cried.

  He held me for an eternity while I soaked his shirt with every single tear in my body. When I finally regained my composure, he kissed me tenderly and told me I should return to my daughter. She would begin to wonder about my extended absence.

  I complied.

  That night, after Sevina fell asleep, I commed him requesting an audience. He released my room’s curfew lockdown and I went to him. The look on my face told him what I wanted. Although surprised, he didn’t question or challenge my wishes. Gruuk simply pulled me to him and closed the door behind us.

  This marked the beginning of our second longest relationship, though not the happiest.

  I couldn’t come to terms with loving a master who enslaved, force bred and sold other females. His disdain for Sevina also disturbed me, although I probably would have disliked having his son under my nose every day as well. Sneaking around to be with him put a strain on our relationship. We didn’t do anything romantic and merely felt like lovers—or fuck buddies like Doruk often said. Still, while Gruuk treated me with the proper level of detachment and indifference in public, in private he made me feel like a goddess.

  The biggest strain on our relationship started when Sevina turned seventeen and Gruuk began using her for his smuggling and kidnapping activities. I had always known that day would come, but it didn’t make it any easier. At first, they would bring the containers she needed to open or objects she had to reshape directly on board to her. That wasn’t so bad. But increasingly, she would get off the ship with a small crew to use her ability on non-moveable objects, to breach into ships and buildings or open alternate paths for the team. Each mission made me sick with worry. Sevina was no hero. She was a delicate, easily scared girl. The Goddess only knew what danger she faced.

  Yet, mission after mission, year after year, she always returned safely to me.

  Then she turned twenty-two. My fight with Gruuk would go down in history when I discovered he would send her planet-side rather than bring her Korlethean on board as he had done for me. Sevina’s missions only took her away for a few hours, never days. Now, he would dump my only remaining child among a swarm of strangers for the three weeks of her season. Not only did I fear never seeing her again, but what if things went wrong and she needed my support?

  I said some pretty horrible things to him. By rights, he could have had me flayed for such disrespect to my master. Amazingly, he let me get away with it. In retrospect, I realized that, despite his disdain for my daughter, he understood her better than I ever did. Gruuk recognized people’s needs, strengths and weaknesses well. His business success and ability to control a volatile crew relied heavily on that insight. He knew, long before it dawned on me, that sending her to the fortress catered to her social needs. She was suffocating on the ship.

  Now, here we were, Gruuk and I, enjoying at last our happiest years together, being able to spend quality time, both in secret and even in public. He often personally trained Amalia in developing her skill
s. It served as an excuse to spend time with her. Although he kept as neutral an expression around her as he could, Gruuk loved her like his own. Watching them interact gave me a glimpse of what kind of father he would have been to our daughter. It made my heart ache anew with longing for what might have been. Amalia worshipped him the same way I had at her age, despite Sevina’s efforts to build a wall between them.

  To my greatest shame, I helped her in this endeavor.

  We couldn’t allow Amalia to care for him. I understood too well the cost of loving him and how devastated she would be once he began using her for his missions, then breeding her. We needed to ease that transition, but more importantly, I wanted to prepare her to escape. Amalia had the strength and determination her mother lacked. Unlike Sevina, I didn’t want Amalia to hate him, but we made it very clear that he was not her father, not even a father figure. She was his slave, his property, not his daughter. Sooner or later, he would hurt her in a terrible way.

  I had no idea how prophetic that would turn out to be.

  CHAPTER 7

  Sevina

  The shuttle landed and I fought the urge to yell at Piruk to get a move on and lower the ramp. The past four months since my last visit with Eryon had been even more excruciating than usual. Obviously, I missed Eryon, but more than ever before, the Revenant felt like a prison, choking the life out of me. Despite Mama’s devotion and my beloved daughter—my most cherished treasure—I was fading away, deprived of contact with the Sisters and from any semblance of a normal life.

  The missions Master Gruuk sent me on gave me anxiety attacks. Infiltration, stealth, thefts, sabotage, and escaping pursuit by the skin of my teeth wasn’t the life for me. With each passing year, my Master gave me increasingly risky tasks to complete. Granted, the away team accompanying me put my safety first, even above the mission, but that gave me little comfort. I couldn’t breathe until we returned to the shelter of the ship.

  As much as the thought of parting with my mother pained me, I wanted to stay on one of the breeding fortresses and never return to the Revenant. However, Gruuk would never let me leave with Amalia. He loved my daughter just like he loved my mother.

  But he sure doesn’t love me.

  The familiar sense of rejection struck at my heart. It took me long enough to see that Gruuk didn’t love me because I didn’t have my mother and daughter’s strength. They were tough, daring, and bold; traits respected by the Guldans. He tolerated my presence for Mama’s sake. Under different circumstances, he would have sent me away and replaced me with another, more adventurous kinetic. His gift to my mother was my burden to bear.

  And Mama… It took me even longer to realize her romantic involvement with our Master. I felt betrayed, as a slave, as a daughter and, above all, as a Veredian. How could she lay with the monster that robbed us of our future? How could she love the male who sold her children? I often thought of confronting her about it, but that, too, made me anxious. Plus, what would it accomplish? So I pretended not to know and not to notice her sneaking into his quarters, or him into hers.

  In some ways, I pitied her. In fifty-one years of slavery, Mama only got to set foot off the Revenant a total of nine times, when the ship underwent major repairs or was replaced by a newer model. Each time, she disembarked only long enough to embark on the new vessel. Mama didn’t exactly have a long list of potential romantic interests. Gruuk was the only male she had ever known who showed her any kind of respect or genuine affection. So while my head understood how it could have happened, my heart still resented her for it.

  And yet, I crave his affection and acceptance.

  Yes, I had daddy issues. How could I not? He represented the closest thing to a father figure I’d ever known. How could he love my mother and daughter but not me? Even if only a little?

  At least Mama supported me in ensuring that, despite Gruuk’s love for Amalia, my daughter would see him for what he was; a heartless slaver and a monster. Based on the missions he had me perform, the Goddess only knew what he had in mind for my daughter.

  At long last, the shuttle ramp lowered and I almost shoved Piruk out of the way to get out. Cold dread ran down my spine as I took in my surroundings. We had landed in a different fortress than the one where I had been meeting Eryon for the past twelve years. It appeared bigger than the other one, although the same security gates greeted us.

  Gruuk knew that Eryon and I were soulmates. Surely he wouldn’t be so cruel as to separate us and give me to another?

  You haven’t conceived in almost eleven years.

  My stomach clenched. By Guldan standards, Gruuk should have already done it years ago. If a couple failed to reproduce after ten seasons—a little over three years—the pairings would be rearranged. He had granted us over three times that much. In spite of that, Eryon and I hadn’t managed to conceive another child since Amalia. Yet, the Goddess knew it wasn’t for lack of trying.

  Heart pounding, I watched Piruk leave after handing me off to the local guards and I followed one of them to the holding area.

  My jaw dropped when I saw who greeted me, a young female with eyes identical to my mother’s.

  “Hello, big sister,” Aleina said, a huge grin on her face.

  “Lee!” I whispered, all but choking on the name.

  Tears burst from my eyes as my youngest sister pulled me into her arms. Tall, strong and fit, the baby of the family embodied everything a Veredian Warrior should be. She towered over me by a full head. Her presence, confident and commanding, made me feel safe.

  Aleina held me in a bruising hug while I blubbered all over her slave dress. So pathetic. As the eldest, I should be the one comforting her. Still, I clung to her for far too long while regaining my composure. Letting go at last, I took a step back and looked up at her. The resemblance with Mama was uncanny. She boasted the same coppery skin and Warrior markings, yellow eyes speckled with green, and a beautiful heart-shaped face with plush lips. The main difference was her cheekbones, more accentuated, and her long, curly hair, a lighter shade of brown than Mama’s. She also appeared taller than our mother, with the same curvy hips and nicely rounded breasts I couldn’t help but envy. Amalia would look a lot like her in ten years.

  “It’s been so long,” I said, still reeling from shock.

  She grinned. “Sixteen years. I can’t believe we would meet again on my first time…”

  Aleina voice trailed off and her face took on a grim expression, which she quickly tried to cast away.

  Her first time?

  Oh Goddess!

  Of course, Aleina would be twenty-two years old now, at her reproductive peak. My chest ached for her. I sent a silent prayer to the Goddess.

  Please, please, bless my baby sister with a kind male she can attune with, like you’ve blessed me with my Eryon.

  My heart sank at the thought of my mate.

  Eryon. Will I see you today?

  As much as it chagrined me to admit it, I didn’t believe our meeting was a coincidence. Gruuk had sent me to this new fortress so I could be reunited with my sister, if only for a few weeks. Such unexpected kindness from a male who despised me.

  Is that kindness for me or for her, Mama’s youngest little Warrior? Or is it for Mama herself, so I can give her the news of her youngest’s well-being?

  The warmth that almost settled in my heart faded away, and I crushed any other thoughts of my Master.

  “So you’re all grown up,” I said, trying to dispel the sudden awkwardness. “You live here?”

  Aleina nodded. “Been here since that bastard took me away from you and Mother. How is she?” she asked, while leading me into the main area.

  Eerily similar to my usual compound, it bustled with the familiar activity of the Sisters teaching the young and preparing mid-day meal.

  “She’s doing well, as always, saving me from going insane from my daughter’s antics,” I said with a wistful smile.

  “You have a daughter?” Aleina exclaimed, a wide smile on her fac
e.

  “Yes. She’s almost twelve and a true Warrior. I don’t know where she finds the energy to run all over the place and still cause mischief afterwards.”

  My sister burst out laughing. “I wasn’t much different, if you recall.”

  I nodded. She had indeed been a bundle of energy as well. At the time of her birth, I had just been a ten-year-old kid. When Gruuk sent her away, shortly after my sixteenth birthday, I finally realized that sooner or later, anything and anyone I loved would be taken away from me.

  We walked through the holding area, a third bigger than that of my usual fortress. Hanging on to Aleina’s gloved hand, words tumbled out of my mouth as I spilled everything that had happened from the moment Gruuk took her away from us. My thoughts leapt from one moment to the next, retelling things out of chronology. She didn’t seem to mind. Her yellow eyes sparkled, hungry for every detail. As a proud mother, I couldn’t help but expand on Amalia’s antics. Aleina’s husky laughter resounded time and time again. She showed particular interest in Amalia’s hacking ability and relief that Gruuk had decided to keep her.

  She pulled me into what looked like the exercise room, currently empty, away from prying eyes and ears.

  “I see you’re still ungloved,” she said in a conspiratorial tone. “Is Amalia ungloved as well?”

  “Yes,” I said, a queasy feeling settling in the pit of my stomach.

  “With both your abilities, you could kill Gruuk and the crew, escape and free the other slaves.”

  My body shook with a violent shudder and I stepped back, shaking my head.

  “No… No way, Lee. I couldn’t do that. I’m a Nurturer, not a Warrior. The thought of killing someone makes me nauseous. So forget about asking it of my twelve year old child.”