Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
Skye
“The Vandar defeated the Zagrath?”
I opened my eyes again and looked up into Kolt’s face.
This night was not going how I’d planned, even though I had convinced him to let me rest my head on his lap while he sat back and slept with his eyes closed and arms folded.
But he hadn’t slept. Not since I’d told him that the enemy we were all fighting had been defeated by his people many years earlier.
“I don’t know all the details,” I said for what felt like the tenth time, “but there were other hordes before yours who took down the Empire.”
“But they came back?”
“Unfortunately, they are a bit like an infestation of snow beetles.” I shuddered as I thought of the disgusting insects that could withstand the frigid temperatures on Lexxona and just about anything else. “A few survive, and they come back.”
Kolt nodded without asking me to explain snow beetles. “And my horde was fighting this new infestation?”
“From what I gather, although I only know what your boss told our leaders.”
He made a noise in the back of his throat. “And my boss is…”
I fought to keep the impatience from my voice. “Raas Wrexxon, also known as The Scourge.”
He wrinkled his nose at this. “The Qeth’rex?”
I smiled at him. “You remember?”
“Not really, but that is the word that came to mind when you said Scourge.”
“It must be Vandar for scourge. Anyway, he seems to be leading the charge against the Zagrath.”
Kolt was silent for a few beats, and I closed my eyes, hoping we were done with the question-and-answer portion of the night.
“You do not approve of him.”
It wasn’t a question. I opened my eyes again to see him staring at me. “I didn’t say that.” At least I hadn’t said it since he’d lost his memory.
“But that is what your voice tells me.”
Great. Now he was good at reading voice inflections.
“I don’t know your boss,” I said. “I only know that he took my best friend against her will.”
His face twisted into a frown. “That does not sound like honorable behavior.”
“Apparently, he took her to save her from being killed by the Zagrath. She was on the same imperial hit list I was.”
Why did it feel like we’d switched sides in an old argument?
His frown morphed into an expression of concern. “You are on an imperial hit list?”
This was going to be a long night. “That’s why we’re here.”
“But they didn’t kill you.”
I breathed a sigh, thinking about my conversation with the Zagrath in charge. “I don’t know if they ever planned to kill me. I was bait to get the Vandar back to Lexxona, and now we’re bait to bring your horde looking for us.”
Kolt jerked up, and I had to catch myself before I rolled onto the floor. “We’re meant to lure my people into a trap?”
I stood and rolled my neck to one side. The muscular Vandar hadn’t made such a good pillow after all.
“If they didn’t have a use for us, they wouldn’t have bothered to take us alive or keep us captive. I don’t like it any more than you do since my best friend is now on one of your horde ships.”
He stood, raked a hand through his hair and started to pace. I guessed he didn’t need to remember his past to know he thought better when he paced. “If we escape, they can no longer use us as bait.”
“Yes,” I said as another yawn creaked my jaw. “But it won’t do any good unless we can get word to your people or mine. Not only do we have to escape, but we have to find a way to send a message to the Vandar before they come looking for us. Or we have to find a way off this planet.”
He stopped pacing and met my eyes. “That is a lot. I do not know how to do any of those things.”
I hated to say it, but I was starting to miss the cocky, overconfident version of Kolt.
“We need to take it one step at a time,” I told him. “First, we escape, and then we figure out the rest.”
He grunted, and I got the idea he wasn’t satisfied with this answer. “What if we fail?”
“We won’t.” If he didn’t remember his brash confidence, I’d have to remind him of it.
“You’re a battle chief of the Vandar. That means you’re the toughest, most strategic raider of the entire horde.
Aside from your boss, I guess. If you hadn’t forgotten this, you’d be telling me that there would be no way we could fail because you are Vandar and big, badass Vandar don’t fail. ”
He cocked a dark eyebrow. “Would I have said it like that?”
The corners of my mouth twitched. “Maybe not, but it’s what you would have been thinking.”
“How is it that you know what I would have thought, but I do not?”
There was genuine frustration in his voice, and I let go of my impatience. “I’m good at reading people. You have to be when you’re hiding the fact that you’re part of an underground rebellion.”
“And you read me?”
I bobbled my head back and forth. “A bit. I’m not going to lie and tell you I know everything you would have been thinking. We didn’t exactly get close in the brief time before we tried to escape.”
“But you are certain I would have believed we would be successful?”
Now that I was sure of. “You would have been confident even if you had doubts. I don’t think you get to be battle chief by second-guessing yourself.”
He squared his shoulders and gave a sharp nod. “If everything you say is true, then I must be a very talented warrior. I am sure we will escape.”
So much for the unsure version of Kolt. Had I unleashed a monster again?
He walked back to the bench and sat down, patting his lap. “If we are going to escape and be successful, we will both need to be rested.”
I wanted to remind him I hadn’t been the one keeping us both up with questions, but I held my tongue.
“Come,” he said with more force than I’d heard since he’d lost his memory. “Lie down.”
I thought about opting out of sleeping on his lap, but even his muscular thighs would be softer than the metal bench. I lowered myself onto my back and rested my head on his lap again, as he leaned his head against the wall.
Things have taken a very odd turn, I thought as I stole a glance at the striking Vandar with dark scruff dusting his cheeks.
I never could have imagined that I’d be sleeping with my head on the battle chief’s lap or that I’d be the one giving him the brash pep talk.
And if anyone had told me I’d have kissed him twice, and that one of those times had been my idea, I would have thought they were insane.
But here we were, with me actually thinking that the guy wasn’t so bad after all. And he definitely wasn’t a bad kisser. Quite the opposite.
My cheeks warmed, and I squeezed my eyes shut. No more thinking about the hot Vandar and how well he kissed. As soon as he got all his memories back, he would probably be horrified that he’d kissed a human.
Don’t you dare fall for a guy who isn’t even the authentic version of himself, Skye. There is zero chance he actually wants you.
Somehow this thought wasn’t as comforting as I’d thought it would be.