Chapter 14
Debrief
Formal greetings over, the Ohirin lizard officer stepped back.
Aelanna, Kora and Nayli and the others disappeared into an assigned transport under the care of Ohirin command.
Darren felt the tension in his spine snap taut.
He stood at the end of the ramp for several breaths, watching the female lizard officer lead the human brides, forcing his lungs to work, forcing his thoughts into order.
He had brought her here.
To Ohiri.
To them.
His vaguely uneasy feeling, which had been eating at his insides like a worm — for weeks — suddenly came into focus. It was life here on Ohiri, the macho culture, the superior attitude of males over females. As if might was right. As if females had nothing to contribute.
He had found his lifelong mate, Aelanna.
He must make plans to leave the city with her, if necessary, to leave the planet, just as soon as his military service was up.
Of course, he couldn’t abandon the humans, not, most of all his fated mate, but how could he save them from the Ohirins?
From Drypso? He'd talk it over with his brothers.
Perhaps together they could find a solution.
He scrubbed a hand over his face and set out across the concrete landing pad, turning sharply toward the military wing.
His boots echoed against the unforgiving surface, each step a reminder of the weight in his chest. The Dheltan ship had been quiet, dim, familiar.
Ohiri was none of those things. The lights were too bright. The air too sharp. The sounds too loud.
And the Ohirins themselves — scaled, taloned, predatory — had watched the females with a curiosity they didn’t bother to hide.
He hated it. All of it.
But orders were orders, like it or not, Ohiri was his home now.
He slammed the door of the military wing building open and reached the command chamber in a few brisk strides.
He keyed the door. It slid open with a hiss, revealing Commander Crukugs standing at the central console, watching the ship through a one-way window, his tail swaying lazily behind him.
His scales were a deep bronze, catching the harsh lights like polished armor.
He turned, and his slit-pupiled eyes flicked up as Darren entered.
“Dheltan,” Crukugs rasped. “Report.”
Darren stood at attention. “Mission complete, Commander. All ten females retrieved and delivered safely to Ohiri.”
Crukugs made a low, approving rumble. “Good. Very good. The empire appreciates efficiency. They will be transported to secure accommodation until their journey to Drypso. Your orders stand; you are to guard them.”
Darren said nothing. Efficiency had nothing to do with the knot in his chest.
Crukugs circled him slowly, talons clicking on the floor. “You and your brothers performed adequately.”
Adequately. Darren kept his jaw locked.
“But,” Crukugs continued, “I must remind you of your place in this experiment.”
Darren’s stomach tightened and he lifted his chin. “Sir.”
“The females are not for you,” Crukugs said bluntly. “They are intended for Ohirin warriors. Our warriors. Not Dheltan strays.”
Heat flared in Darren’s chest, sharp and dangerous, but he kept his face blank.
Crukugs leaned in, his breath hot and metallic. “Do not get too close to them, any of them. Especially the red-haired one who keeps looking at you.”
Darren’s pulse stumbled. “Ael— The females are under our protection. Nothing more.”
“See that it stays that way.” Crukug’s tail flicked, a warning. “Your kind grows attached too easily. Soft hearts. Soft instincts.”
Darren’s hands curled into fists at his sides.
Crukugs straightened. “You will continue to guard them for the remainder of the journey. They must reach Drypso intact.”
Drypso. A barren, wind-scoured outpost on the edge of the empire, a place the Ohirins had bled for. A place Darren had hoped never to set eyes on.
“Tahl,” he said.
Crukugs stiffened at the Dheltan term for understood and his eyes narrowed, but he didn’t reprimand Darren for using it. “This mission is vital. The empire depends on its success. If these females bond with our warriors, it will strengthen our bloodlines. Our future. Our dominance.”
Darren’s throat tightened. “Yes, Commander.”
“And if they do not…” Crukugs bared his teeth in something that wasn’t a smile. “Then the empire will find other ways.”
A cold chill slid down Darren’s spine.
Crukugs turned away, dismissing him with a flick of his talons. “You may go. Prepare the cargo for departure. You leave for Drypso in five days. Pilot Joel will brief you.”
“Var’kai, Commander.”
Darren saluted, turned, and walked out with controlled, measured steps, but inside, he seethed. Aelanna’s face rose in his mind, uncertain, trusting. She had looked at him as if he were safety itself.
And he had brought her into the jaws of the empire.
He reached the corridor outside the command chamber and braced a hand against the wall, breathing hard.
He had survived the death of his planet.
He had survived the Ohirin military.
But he wasn’t sure he could survive watching Aelanna handed over to warriors who saw her as a resource, not a person.
He wasn’t sure he could survive pretending he didn’t care.
And by Yithir’s rosy light—
He wasn’t sure he could obey Crukugs’ order.