Chapter 11
Armathea
Somewhere in the Galaxy
Reyne knew the instant the drug overpowered Kendra’s strong will. Her head listed forward, and her body began to fold. He adjusted his position, sweeping her limp body into his arms, her long tresses dragging the floor like a curtain as her head tilted backwards.
Still holding the syringe to her neck, he growled, “I don’t have time for this, Odin.
The antidote is in my ship. Allow me to depart without hassle and I promise I will administer it as soon I'm at a safe distance. Kendra will be fine…I swear on Reece’s grave that no further harm will come to her at my hands.
” Reyne knew the mention of Reece was his best chance—maybe his only chance, to prove his sincerity.
He stood there, mere steps from his ship’s landing plank and waited, hoping Odin would allow him to depart.
Odin glared at Reyne for a long, awkward minute.
Reyne adjusted his hold, cradling Kendra’s unconscious body more firmly against his chest, her head now resting under his chin. “My arm is getting tired.” He pointed out with a clenched jaw.
Odin and Reyne continue to eye each other.
“Let the bastard leave.” Odin relented with a sharp bark. He threw his hand in the air, gesturing that his order was not up for debate. “That. Is. An. Order.”
Reyne expelled a long sigh of relief.
“Are you out of your fucking mind…Ouch.” Odin pinched Quinn’s ear squeezing his hoop earrings in a merciless grip.
“Go,” Odin ordered Reyne and pointed to Kendra.
“But if you further harm one hair on her head, I swear on Reece’s grave that I will spend every breath until my last, hunting you down.
I will forget the reason I didn’t kill you yesterday and end your miserable life with my bare hands.
” He went to the comm. next to the door.
“Tia, allow Reyne to depart.” His palm slammed the security panel and the door slid open.
“Odin, are you sure?” Tia’s question screeched from the comm.
“Yes, I’m sure.” Odin stalked out of the cargo bay, Garrett and Quinn dogging his heels.
The moment they were in the corridor, both Garrett and Quinn exploded. “What the fuck.” “How could you?”
“Shut up. Both of you,” Odin snapped. “I sabotaged his ship. I drained most of his fuel and rigged his sensors. Reyne will be forced to land on Valeria.”
“What about Kendra?”
“She will be fine,” Odin promised without offering further explanation.
“How do you know?”
“Because,” Odin stated as he stalked down the darkened corridor. “Reyne swore on my brother’s grave.”
With Kendra cradled securely in his arms, Reyne backed into his ship and closed the landing plank. Once he reached the cockpit, he deposited her limp body on the co-pilot chair and flung the offensive syringe to the floor.
He placed his fingers on her neck, expelling a breath when he felt a steady, rhythmic pulse.
Brushing her gold-red tresses from her face, Reyne grimaced when he observed the darkening bruise on her cheek. With gentle strokes, he caressed her marred skin with his knuckles.
A soft moan escaped her parted lips.
“Forgive me, princess,” he murmured, feeling every inch the vile wretch she had called him. Even though she slapped him, kneed him in the groin, possibly rendering him unable to father children, it hadn’t been Reyne’s intention to hurt her. Far from it.
Indeed, there were many things he wanted to do to Kendra.
Pleasurable things. Sensual things. Wicked things that would cause her to scream his name as she climaxed in his arms, then beg him for more.
The leather belt that bound her reddened wrists hit the floor with a clank. He adjusted her into a more comfortable position, then chained her right wrist to the armrest with an iron shackle. Satisfied she was secure, he flipped open a rectangular box and retrieved a small glass vial.
The antidote. It wasn’t necessary despite what he had led Odin to believe.
Odin Masters. He absolutely refused to think about him, the man he had betrayed eight years ago. The shock of seeing him after all these years had been utterly devastating. But he forced those unwanted emotions aside so he could concentrate on his captive’s welfare.
Kendra was his priority.
Waking her would only complicate matters, but he didn't care. Her unconsciousness disturbed him. Where had that come from? He’d never given a prisoner a second thought once they were secured. Why now? Why her?
With hands resting on her bare shoulders, he gave her a gentle shake. “Kendra.,”
Another soft moan escaped her lips, but she didn’t stir further.
“Kendra, wake up.”
Kendra’s head listed forward, falling limply into his shoulder, red hair spilling over him in luxurious waves. Reyne closed his eyes, hating himself for what he was about to do. He stroked the back of her head, wound her silky locks around his fist, then tugged. Hard.
Emerald eyes flew open, glassy, and unfocused. “W-what…w-where…”
“Shh.” With a flick of this thumb, the stopper popped off the small bottle. “Here, drink this,” he prompted with a soothing voice, lifting the vial to her lips.
Kendra inhaled the bitter fragrance, crinkled her nose in disgust and struggled to turn away from the vial. “Ewe. Smells…gross,” she slurred, eyelids drooping.
Probably tasted disgusting too, Reyne thought in complete agreement. He attempted one more time to get her to drink on her own, but she twisted away. His grip moved to her chin. “You’ll drink it,” the demand was harsher than he intended. “Or I’ll pour it down your throat.”
Her pupils briefly focused on the vial, then her glassy emerald eyes widened in fear. She attempted to scoot further back into the chair, away from him and the foul-smelling liquid he held close to her lips. “No. I won’t let you…drug me…again.”
With a silent curse, he tilted Kendra’s head and forced her mouth open with pressure on her jaw and chin. He poured the contents of the vial down her throat.
“Stop.” She gagged and thrashed her head from side to side. “P-please stop torturing me.”
“Shh. It’s the antidote.” Reyne’s grip on her chin tightened, forcing her to swallow all the foul-tasting liquid. When she ceased struggling and her breathing returned to normal, he released her but remained crouched by her side.
“I hate you, henchman.”
His fists clenched into balls. He despised being called a henchman, but he forced himself to let it go this time. Reyne stroked her silky strands, tucking a stray reddish-gold lock behind one ear. “I know.”
Peering at him through half-closed heavy eyelids, Kendra's fingers threaded in his long thick ebony hair, her blunt nails scraping his scalp.
Her fingers found his face, tracing his rigid jaw, his cheek and his corded neck.
Reyne groaned, enjoying the feel of her innocent exploration.
Allowing this torment was wrong for so many reasons, but his palm involuntarily covered hers as he leaned into her lingering touch, wanting to lose himself to her tender drug-induced caress, knowing it wouldn't last. Hating knowing that it wouldn't last.
She would fully awaken soon–along with her justified hatred.
Kendra wrapped her free hand around his nape, her lips parted. She tugged him towards her. Soft moist lips brushed his. It was an innocent kiss, chaste in its simplicity, yet more stirring than any kiss he'd ever been given before.
Fierce desire heated his veins.
He closed his eyes and groaned, struggling not to deepen the kiss like his lust demanded.
“You have made many enemies this day.” Tia’s angry voice rattled over his comm. system.
With a mix of thankfulness and regret, Reyne stood and moved from away from temptation. “Thank you, Tia. Your warning is appreciated.”
“This is far from over.” She promised and the screen faded to black. The cargo bay door cranked open, revealing the star-speckled darkness of space.
He headed toward the rear of his ship. The engineering panel slid open, and he reattached the capacitor wire he had loosened days ago.
He still had a job to complete, even if he truly hated himself for it.
Returning to the cockpit, he slipped into the pilot’s chair, ignited the engine, and navigated his ship out of the cargo bay.
Once his vessel was a safe distance from Armathea, Reyne began to plot a course to Talear, only to be startled by his current position. The moon they were orbiting was not Elorex as expected, but rather Valeria.
Calypsta loomed large in the distance.
A fierce frown knotted his brow. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Spurned by growing suspicions, he re-opened the box that once held the antidote. His silver armband was gone. Fuck. How had he missed that? He was a complete and utter fool. He should have seen this coming, would have if he had not been so distracted by his concern for her.
Speaking of her, his tempting captive stirred beside him as the antidote began to reverse the vetravine’s effect. “Where…am…I?” she asked, caressing her bruised cheek with her fingertips. “Why does everything hurt?” She grimaced and struggled to sit upright in the passenger seat.
“Because you were warned and didn’t listen.”
Her eyes shot open, wide and fearful at first, but a beat later her eyes narrowed on him. “You. Vile. Beast. You drugged me.” She attempted to stand without success. Her eyes rolled and she stumbled back into the chair.
“You left me no choice,” he reminded her. And himself.
“No choice? Ha. You will pay for this,” she vowed and tugged on her metallic chain. She unleashed a slew of ancient Calysptian curses at him.
“I already have,” he admitted with a terse huff. The loss of his armband was going to cost him dearly once Mordrick learned of it, especially knowing the druids would have to forge him a new one.
“Instead of drugging and torturing me, why don’t you just kill me and be done. At least dead, I won’t have to suffer your repulsive company.”
Repulsive? He has been called many things over the last eight years as Ramachii. But repulsive? From a woman? Never. Reyne instantly regretted waking her. What had he been thinking? With teeth clenched, he bit out, “I already told you I wasn’t going to kill you, and I meant it.”
“Maybe not you. But surely Mordrick will. Considering he murdered my entire family. I truly doubt he will keep me alive.”
Reyne ran his fingers through his tousled hair, refusing to think about that.
He truly didn’t know Mordrick’s plan. Would he torture her?
Would he kill her? And what would Reyne do if execution was his intention?
Could he quietly sit back and watch Mordrick take the life of this beautiful, vibrant woman?
He didn't know. Actually, that wasn’t true.
He did know, but he struggled to convince his conscience he didn’t care.
This was just another bounty. One that paid handsomely.
And the people of Talear depended on the water he would be able to deliver to the well.
Collateral. Collateral. Collateral.
Reyne’s gaze slid towards the passenger chair. Despite Kendra’s facade of courage, he couldn't miss the unmistakable fear reflected in her depth of emerald eyes. He hated knowing he put it there.
“I don’t believe he will kill you,” Reyne said, hoping he sounded sincere. But who was he trying to reassure with that answer? Kendra or himself?
Without warning, the rumbling engine noises that had been humming steadily since departure began to sputter in an uneven rhythm.
“What was that?” Kendra's gaze darted around the cockpit.
“I don’t know.” Scrutinizing his instruments, Reyne noticed that the low-fuel indicator was now lit, yet the gauge read almost full. Reyne punched the control panel a couple of times, but nothing changed.
"Damn," he cursed and slammed his balled fist on the controls again. "I'll be right back." He strode from the cockpit and headed to the back of the ship.
With a sense of foreboding, Reyne opened the hatch to the lower engine compartment and checked the fuel level, muttering a string of curses when his nagging suspicions were confirmed. Someone sabotaged the ship into giving false fuel readings. Not someone—Odin.
Instead of being full, the tank was running on empty.
Whatever fumes were left wouldn't last long.
An emergency landing was inevitable.