Chapter 13 Jasmine
Jasmine
The moment the door slid shut behind him, I started shaking.
My hands trembled as I lifted them to my face, touching the skin where his rough fingers had gripped my chin.
The spot felt scorched, like his touch had left a physical mark.
My cheeks burned with frustration and something darker, more complicated.
I should be planning ways to kill him. I should be thinking about weapons, vulnerabilities, and escape routes.
I should be doing anything except replaying the moment his hand had cupped my face, the way his fingers had threaded through my hair with surprising gentleness, and the heat of his gaze as it had seared into mine.
"Stop it," I scolded myself, jerking to my feet.
My attempts to negotiate had gone badly.
Had I truly believed a Vandar horde would welcome the skills of a human rebel?
Besides, what did I know aside from how to sabotage Imperial soldiers on my own planet?
I knew nothing of space battles or the type of strategy they employed.
And offering to bake in the ship’s kitchens?
I must have been delusional to think that the warlord wanted me for anything but what he’d said.
He took me as a war bride. He didn’t need me to bake or help them fight the Zagrath. He didn’t want that. No, he wanted something else, and I knew now there was no reasoning with him to release me.
I started walking the room again, this time with more purpose. Maybe there was a way out. Some weakness in the fortress of a suite that I could exploit.
I went to the door first, pressing my palm against the smooth surface the way I'd seen the Vandar do when they wanted to open a door. Nothing. I tried both hands, pressing harder. Still nothing. The door remained obstinately shut.
I dropped to my knees, wedging my fingers into the thin seam where the door met the frame, and pulled. The metal was cold and unyielding, refusing to budge even a millimeter.
Defeated, I abandoned the door and moved to the floor-to-ceiling windows.
I knew enough about physics not to be foolish enough to break the window.
Even if I could find something strong enough to shatter whatever doubtlessly impenetrable material it was made from, I’d just get sucked out into space.
Instant death wasn't on my agenda, no matter how desperate I felt.
I returned to my chair at the dining table, the fight draining from me all at once.
Was I truly fooling myself in thinking escaping his room would mean escaping him?
Even if I somehow found a way out of the room, I was still trapped on the warbird.
Not only was I trapped in a warlord's quarters on a ship flying away from everything I knew, but I hadn't been as clever as I thought.
The Empire had known. They’d identified me as the leader of the underground resistance, and they’d been planning to take me into custody.
I had no reason to doubt the Raas. How else would he know about my underground rebellion?
But that raised the bigger question. How had the Empire found out enough to target me with execution?
I ran through possibilities. My fellow resistance members would never have betrayed me.
Skye, Meg, Zara, and even my sisters would die before giving up names.
But our colony was small, and people noticed things.
Had nosy neighbors noticed the women coming and going from my bakery?
Had we not been as clever as we’d always thought?
I'd been so focused on hiding from Imperial soldiers that I'd forgotten that most betrayal came from those watching us more closely than we’d known.
Then a thought hit me so hard I gasped as if I’d been punched in the gut. If the Empire knew about me, what if they knew about the others? Were my sisters in danger? Skye? Zara? Meg?
Panic overwhelmed rational thought. I had to get out so I could warn them. Then I choked on a bitter laugh, the sound slightly hysterical.
I was on a Vandar warbird flying away from my home at speeds I couldn't even comprehend. Even if I escaped the Raas's quarters, I’d be no closer to going home, and no closer to protecting the people I loved. Not since he’d made it very clear there was no deal I could make to change my fate.
I forced myself to breathe slowly, to think through the panic instead of letting it consume me.
The colony had Vandar protection now. The Raas had left ships patrolling to keep the Empire away.
That was part of the alliance. Which meant the Imperial soldiers couldn't just waltz in and start arresting people.
I swallowed hard, tasting bile in the back of my throat. Unless the alliance fell apart, or a dozen other things went wrong. No, I had to do something. I couldn’t leave them unprotected.
But how? I closed my eyes and centered myself. I had to convince the Raas to help. I had to convince him to extend his protection not just to the colony in general, but to my sisters and my friends.
Then I dropped my face into my hands. But why would he do that? He'd already gotten what he wanted from the deal. Not to mention that I’d been nothing but a pain in his ass since I’d walked onto his ship. “Good going, Jas. Way to get him on your side.”
Then I remembered the way he'd looked at me, the way he’d touched me. My skin prickled with heat and my heartbeat skittered even as I tried to convince myself I'd imagined it. I pushed aside a wave of disgust at what I was about to consider.
Seduction had never been my strength. That was Kaya's domain. My younger sister loved to flirt and seemed to know instinctively how to smile and laugh and make men feel important. It was Kaya who wielded charm like a weapon while I wielded glares and sharp words.
But maybe I could channel her to make the Raas think I felt something other than fury and fear and the desperate need to escape.
The thought of lying about something so intimate churned my gut, but then I thought about Kaya and Brielle and all my friends.
I was a rebel, not some thaw-soft victim.
I would do anything to protect them. Even seduce a terrifying warlord.
I jerked upright, determination calming me. Then I reached for the wine.
The bottle was heavy, smoked glass that caught the light, and the wine inside was deep red, almost black. I poured myself a glass, my hands steadier now that I had a plan. I was going to need liquid courage for this. A lot of it.
The first sip burned going down, warm and rich and stronger than I'd expected. I took another sip and another.
I thought about Kaya's flirting. The way she'd tilt her head and laugh at men's stupid jokes. The way she'd touch their arms casually, making contact seem accidental. The way she'd look at them like they were the most fascinating creatures in the universe.
I could do that. Maybe. Possibly. If I was drunk enough and desperate enough and could suppress the part of me that would rather kill him than fuck him.
I poured more wine, filling the glass to the rim this time. I could make the Raas want me. I could make him think I wanted him back, even if it meant giving him something I’d sworn not to.
Raising the glass to my lips, I tossed back the wine in three long swallows, feeling the heat spread through my chest and into my limbs. I welcomed the buzzy numbness that helped me forget that seducing a Vandar warlord was dangerous in more ways than I could imagine.