11. Athena
Athena
The door slid behind me, clicking in place and sealing me inside the warlord’s quarters.
I whirled around, my heart pattering as I realized that the majak had left me, and I was completely alone.
I pressed my hands against the cool metal of the door, the rumbling of the ship’s engines humming through my fingertips and reminding me that I was on a vessel flying through space.
I snatched back my hands quickly. The less I thought about where I was, why, and the deal I’d made, the better.
“It’s only temporary,” I whispered to myself. “None of this is permanent.”
Turning back around to take in the dimly lit space, I dragged in a shuddering breath. The idea of this being my new reality sent a shiver down my spine.
Vallia had told me that Raas quarters were known for being opulent, with big beds, but this large room didn’t appear to have a bed at all.
Instead, there was a slightly raised platform along the far wall that was covered with a thick fur rug and piled with cushions of all sizes.
Both the shaggy, cream-colored fur and colorful cushions stood in stark contrast to the glossy, ebony floor that seemed to soak up light.
Behind the rug and cushions was a fire inset in the black wall, the flames flickering with artificial precision. Even though it was clearly fake, the flames did cast warm hues across the fur and fabrics. It would have almost seemed cozy if the rest of the place wasn’t so stark.
A wall of glass along the wall to my right overlooked space, the glittering distant stars reminding me that I was no longer on Kashara.
In front of the glass wall was low black table that was just as shiny as the floor.
Instead of chairs or stools around it, there were more cushions, although these were more like ottomans than the fluffy cushions that topped the fur rug.
Everything in the room made me wonder if the warlord had neglected to furnish it, had just moved in and hadn’t gotten around to it, or if these were deliberate choices he’d made. I tended to think that it wasn’t an accident, and I tried to recall what I knew about the Vandar.
They called themselves raiders and had a reputation for fighting the Zagrath.
Their ships were warbirds that could fly without being seen—some called them ghost ships—and they’d gone from being viewed as terrorists to being lauded as freedom fighters.
Despite being known for liberating worlds from Zagrath control, they were still feared for their ferocity and merciless attacks on their enemy.
I took a few more steps into the room, my shoes tapping the hard floor. None of that information explained why this Raas had an enormous fur in place of a bed and no proper chairs. Was there such a thing as a furniture phobia?
I stifled a slightly manic laugh. Warriors as tough as the Vandar didn’t have phobias, did they? Then I remembered what Vallia had said about the special bathrooms the Raas’s had. Different furniture was one thing, but the soaking tubs she mentioned must be standard, right?
I scanned the wide space, my gaze snagging on an arched doorway to the left. I couldn’t see anything beyond it except more reflective black floor, but as I walked closer, I could hear soft splashing. “That’s a good sign.”
The idea of soaking tubs with scented water sounded like the perfect antidote to getting coated with dust and grime running through the city to the Vandar ship. I could almost imagine the scent of perfume and the luxurious tub filled with steaming water.
My nose twitched as I drew closer to the archway, but I wasn’t breathing in a soft perfume. The aroma was sharper and distinctly masculine. I supposed that made sense. This was a guy’s bathroom, after all, and there was nothing soft about Raas Lorken.
The sound had also gotten louder. I realized it was no gentle splashing, but instead, a thunderous rush.
I walked through the arch and around a wall that blocked the view of the bathing area, as well as the sound. When I emerged into the bathroom, my jaw dropped.
This was not the relaxing sunken tub of my imagination.
There was a large tub that was more like a small pool, but it appeared to be carved into the black rock walls.
It was like I’d entered a dark cave with a natural pool of steaming water and above it, a waterfall cascaded down, pounding into the surface and sending droplets skittering into the air.
The sound of the water echoed off the rock ceiling and walls, making it impossible to hear my own gasp of surprise. Either Vallia had been told wildly incorrect information or Raas Lorken had fashioned his personal quarters to be entirely different from the rest of the warlords.
I felt like I’d stepped through a portal from the stark, modern spaceship and entered a more natural, barbaric world where you slept on the ground and bathed in a cave. Was this what the Raas liked? Was this the kind of place that felt like home to him?
I shuddered despite the heat of the steamy air. Suddenly, it struck me that I’d made a hasty deal with a warlord I knew nothing about. Lorken was a stranger to me, and if his quarters were any indication, a stranger who had particular taste in home decor.
Had I made a bargain with a warlord who was a barbarian at heart?
I’d seen for myself that his raiders wore battle kilts that were little more than strips of leather, but I’d assumed they did that to intimidate and show their bare, tattooed chests.
Had I assumed wrong? What if it wasn’t all an act to intimidate?
What if they were truly barbaric creatures used to taking what they wanted?
I’d agreed to his deal and his strange wording to escape the Zagrath and save my friends, but had I been naive? Being naive had never been an issue for me before. Surviving as an actress on an occupied planet had honed my ability to sense deception and danger. Or so I’d thought.
My pulse jangled as it hit me how trusting I’d been, how I’d gone along with the warlord’s demands because I’d had no choice. Now that we were off the planet and away from danger, my agreement to his terms seemed both foolish and out of character.
“Well, you’ve never been running for your life or been responsible for saving so many other people before,” I reminded myself.
If anyone was to blame, it was Raas Lorken for taking advantage of my fear and how much I cared for my friends. But then I shook my head. It made no sense. He didn’t know me. He’d never seen me before I held a blade to his throat in the theatre. As far as I knew, he only knew my name.
Kolt and Skye had sent him to save me because I’d saved them, and he’d done just that. I had to believe that the whole ‘war bride’ thing was a weird Vandar thing that meant nothing. It certainly didn’t make me his real bride or mean I owed him anything. He’d promised me that.
I breathed out, relieved that I’d talked myself down from a full-fledged panic. Besides, this whole arrangement was only until we reached a safe place. That couldn’t take long in a warbird known for speed. We might even reach a place by morning.
“You got, this, Athena,” I told myself. “You’ve handled obnoxious costars and handsy fans. You can handle this guy.”
Cheered by my own reassurances, I slipped off my shoes and walked to where the floor sloped gradually into the pool. There was no ledge or steps. The floor just angled down, as if this was a naturally formed body of water.
The water lapped my bare feet, and I sighed at the warmth of it. I hiked my skirt up to my knees and took a few more steps, moaning as the hot, fragrant water cocooned my calves.
“I see you found my bathing pool.”
The deep voice rasped over the crashing water, making me whirl around much too fast. As I lost my footing and stumbled backward into the water, I saw Raas Lorken standing with his hands braced on his hips and a one dark brow cocked.
Then I fell entirely into the pool and sank.