10. Athena
Athena
“Vaes,” Lorken’s second-in-command said as he waved for us to follow him, although the word wasn’t barked with as much intensity as it had been in Kashara.
“I think that’s Vandar for ‘move it,’” Lettie said in a stage whisper, as she sashayed beside me and behind the warrior leading us from the hangar bay.
I thought she was probably right, although I doubted the translation was entirely accurate. As our group followed the majak up a spiraling staircase, Vallia joined us. She darted her gaze up and back as she nibbled on her bottom lip.
Lettie patted her arm as the metal stairs shook beneath their feet. “You’re okay, chickadee. Be grateful we’re up here and not back on the planet.”
Vallia nodded but didn’t seem convinced.
I didn’t blame her. The Vandar warlord might be safer than battle-ravaged Kashara, but it was far from my ideal destination.
Aside from the chill in the air, the place was loud and dark.
Booming voices bounced off the steel that surrounded us and rattled as bulky Vandar thundered from one place to another.
The aliens might have saved us, but this was no sanctuary.
“Do you think we’ll ever see Kashara again?” Vallia asked, her high voice swallowed almost instantly by the clangs and thumps of the ship.
“Course we will, hon.” Lettie paused at the top of the stairs to catch her breath, resting a hand on her waist. “Once the Zagrath are gone, it’ll be back to its old self again. Remember what it was like before the Empire crashed the party?”
Vallia didn’t respond, her eyes widening as we were led across a swinging bridge made from chains that swayed precariously from the weight of them. Her usual effervescence had been subdued by the day’s events, but it was nothing that wouldn’t pass.
I wasn’t sure if I believed Lettie that we’d see our old home again or that it would return to the way it had been, but I understood why she said it with such certainty. Believing the alternative was too bleak, and the day had already been an assault on our senses.
I gripped the chain railings of the bridge and tried not to look down at the drop. I shot a bright smile at the others, summoning by best acting skills. “This isn’t so bad, and it’s only temporary.”
We reached the other side of the bridge and Lettie twisted to eye me, dipping her voice as the majak continued to stride ahead. “Being a war bride doesn’t sound temporary to me.”
“It is,” I assured her. “Raas Lorken and I made a deal. As soon as he finds a safe place for us to live, our deal is over and I’ll be free to go.”
Lettie made a sound in the back of her throat that made it clear she didn’t believe that for a second. “Whatever you say, hon.”
My face heated, but before I could defend the deal I’d made, the majak stopped at a short corridor that jutted off to one side and two doors facing each other.
“Quarters for the males,” he said, tapping a panel to the side of one door and then the other.
The metal doors slid open to reveal basic rooms with bunk beds, which seemed standard for a military ship. One room had one set of the beds and the other, slightly larger room, had two sets facing each other. Hatch and Ringo quickly claimed one room while Hal tentatively entered the other.
Lettie swept her gaze around our group. “If we’re buddying up, I suppose it does make most sense for Vern to stay with Dell and Hal while Vallia shares with me.” She let her eyes rest on me for a beat. “Since Athena won’t be sharing with us.”
Hal’s mouth opened wordlessly as Lettie’s lanky brother loped into the room, grinning at the bunk beds.
“I call top bunk!”
“I’ll take the other top bunk,” Dell said, hurrying inside and clambering up the side of the bed.
The stage manager released a tortured sigh and sank onto one of the bottom ones. “They’re all yours.”
“A Vandar will bring you fresh clothes and food,” the majak said, turning on his heel and continuing down the corridor that wound around the inside of the ship.
“I hope their battle kilts fit,” I said under my breath to Vallia, and grinned when this earned me a grin.
“I hope ours do,” she quipped back with a wink, reassuring me that she would be okay.
“This isn’t forever,” I reminded the guys as I flashed them a wave and fell in step with Lettie and Vallia behind our escort.
Vallia glanced over her shoulder to where we’d left our friends. “I wish our rooms were closer to the boys.”
“Beggars can’t be choosers,” Lettie said, “although I’ll bet Athena won’t be in some tiny room with bunk beds.”
Truth be told, I wished I was being escorted to a narrow room with stacked beds. As it was, I had the sensation of being marched to an execution, and my heart pounded accordingly.
“I’m sure it won’t be fancy,” I said, trying to sound unbothered.
“The warlord’s private quarters?” Lettie gaped at me then let out a whistle. “I’ll bet it will be.”
I wrinkled my nose and took in the cold steel of the open-weave tube we were walking through, glad that at least it wasn’t swaying over the deep chasm. “Luxury doesn’t seem to be a feature on a warbird.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard,” Vallia said in a small voice.
I remembered that she’d been the only one with knowledge of the Vandar when Kolt had arrived. “What have you heard?”
The majak was several steps ahead, his strides long and his tail swinging behind him. I slowed my pace even more so our conversation wouldn’t be overheard.
Vallia stole a glance at the Vandar and looked between me and Lettie. “Just that the warlords have large private quarters with their own dining tables and really big beds.”
I gulped at this. I did not like the idea of one really big bed.
Lettie elbowed me in the side. “Told you.”
I shrugged it off. “I guess it makes sense that the boss gets the biggest room, but I still can’t imagine it being opulent.”
Vallia’s mouth quirked. “According to rumors, the quarters of a Vandar Raas also have wild bathrooms with soaking tubs and specially scented water.”
Now that didn’t sound so bad.
“I wish I’d caught the eye of the Raas,” Lettie grumbled. “I would make him glad he’d made me his war bride, that’s for sure.”
I scowled at her. “I didn’t catch his eye. I just happened to be the one who hid Kolt and Skye. That’s why he offered to save me. That’s why we made the deal.”
Lettie nodded but I knew full well she didn’t believe a word I said.
The majak stopped and pivoted to face us. “The quarters for the females.”
The door was directly on the corridor facing the center of the warbird, and the panel next to it responded instantly when he touched it.
“Not so bad,” Lettie said as she stepped inside the room for two. “Bigger than the rooms for the guys.”
The beds in this room were both low and across from each other with space between them for a low table.
Vallia followed Lettie and sank onto one of the beds, her shoulders sagging, as if the day was catching up to her. “It’s nice.”
“Food will be delivered soon,” the majak said, pausing and sliding has gaze between the women,” although I cannot say the same about new clothing. There are typically no females on a warbird, so we have no clothes ready. I am sure our tailor will be able to make something, though.”
“No kilts then,” I whispered to Vallia, and we both giggled.
“Don’t you worry, hot stuff.” Lettie fluttered her lashes at the Vandar first officer. “We’ll be fine just as we are.”
The Vandar’s cheeks darkened as he grunted and backed away, jerking his head for me to follow him. “Now, I will take you to the Raas’s quarters.”
Lettie hung her head outside the door as I hesitantly left them. “You need anything, hon, you come find me.”
Her offer made my throat squeeze unexpectedly. I was used to taking care of myself, so why did her kindness make tears sting the backs of my eyes? Maybe because I’d been taking care of myself for so long, I thought.
I blinked away tears so I could memorize the route from Lettie and Vallia’s room to where I’d be staying. We walked across another swinging bridge and up one more set of steps before turning down a short corridor with a single door at the end.
“Raas Lorken’s quarters,” his majak announced, pressing his hand to the side panel and stepping back as the door swished open. “Food will be sent to you shortly, although I do not know if the Raas himself will join you.”
I barely paid attention to his words. I was too distracted by the room. As Vallia had predicted, it was considerably larger than any other room I’d seen. But that’s where the similarities between Vallia’s descriptions of a typical Raas quarters and this one ceased.
My breath hitched in my throat as I stepped inside and wondered what in the hells I’d gotten myself into.