24. Athena
Athena
“This is it!” I paused in front of the door I was sure belonged to Lettie and Vallia.
The Vandar who’d been escorting me looked just as uneasy now as he had when we’d first started trekking through the warbird.
I’d assumed he’d been nervous to be put in charge of ensuring the Raas’s personal guest didn’t hurt herself on one of the treacherous bridges and walkways that dangled high above the ship’s gaping chasm, but he looked equally unsure now that we’d reached our destination.
“I’ll be fine,” I assured him as he made no move to leave.
He shifted his weight from one exceptionally muscular leg to the other and ran a hand through his shaggy, black hair. “If I leave, you will have to return to the Raas’s quarters without an escort.”
The Vandar really didn’t want me wandering the ship on my own. I exhaled and patted his bare arm. “How about you tell the Raas to send for me if he wants me back there?”
His brows lifted, and I guessed he didn’t want to be the one to suggest this to his boss. I didn’t wait for him to challenge my suggestion, though, and I rapped my knuckles on the metal door.
It slid open almost immediately, and Vallia stood inside while Lettie lay sprawled across one of the small beds, her frilly dress taking up most of it and draping over the side.
“Thenie!” Lettie leapt up with impressive speed, pulling me into a crushing embrace before Vallia could even open her mouth. “We were just talking about you, weren’t we, Val?”
The tiny woman bobbed her head, her lavender hair swishing. “We wanted to make sure you were okay, but we didn’t know how to find you.”
Lettie pulled me inside, and the door glided shut and left my Vandar escort standing open-mouthed in the corridor.
“We did try to look for you a little while ago,” she continued, “well, Vallia wandered around looking for you while I stayed here and finished breakfast.”
“The ship isn’t so scary once you get the lay of the land,” Vallia said, winking. “And once you get used to seeing the Vandar walking around, they aren’t so intimidating either.”
I was glad to see Vallia back to her old self, and Lettie rarely seemed to be anything but her authentic, exuberant self.
Lettie sat on the bed and the mattress groaned in response, as she patted the spot next to her. “Sit, sit. We want to hear all about the warlord and his fancy quarters.”
I sat and Vallia sat on the other side of me, her enormous eyes luminous and unblinking.
“You are sure you’re okay?” The willowy woman touched my dress. “You’re a bit damp.”
I laughed at this. “My clothes being damp is a long story, but I promise I’m okay.”
“And the Raas?” Lettie leaned in close and her bouffant hair tipped forward. “What’s he like? He hasn’t tried anything funny with you, has he?”
I thought about him rescuing me from the bathing pool completely naked and then about poking him in his sleep and him flipping me onto my back. Those weren’t exactly nothing, but they were also more on me than on him.
I shook my head. “Nothing funny.”
Lettie gave me a sly wink. “Well, that’s a shame. I wouldn’t mind letting one of these hot raiders try something with me.”
I tried to give her a quelling look, but I couldn’t help grinning. “You’re impossible.”
She flapped a hand at me. “Enough about me. I want to hear about your new digs. Are the Raas’s quarters as fancy as we’ve heard?”
I hesitated. Lorken’s quarters were definitely more spacious than the compact room they were sharing, but I wasn’t sure if fancy was the word I’d use.
“They’re big.” I chose my words tentatively. “He has a huge window that looks out into space and his own dining table.”
“Better than balancing our plates on our knees here,” Lettie said.
“The food isn’t bad, though,” Vallia offered. “There’s no simnick, but I like the bread.”
“Agreed,” I said. “The bread is decent, even if it’s not as spicy and flavorful as simnick.”
Lettie made an impatient motion with one hand. “Enough about the bread. What about the bathroom? Is there a sunken tub with different sections and different colored water in each one?”
An involuntary shiver wiggled down my spine as I thought about the waterfall that had held me under. “Not exactly. This Raas has a single pool with a waterfall.”
“A waterfall?” Vallia tapped a finger on her chin. “I’ve never heard of a Raas’s bathroom like that.”
“Lorken told me that he wanted his quarters to be different,” I said, comfortable sharing this information about the Raas since he hadn’t seemed particularly secretive about it. “His space is designed as if he was still on his home world and ruling one of the raiding hordes that roamed the planet.”
Lettie’s eyes pinched together. “What does that mean?”
“He doesn’t have a normal bed. He sleeps on a bunch of furs and cushions. His table is low and the chairs are either ottomans or big cushions. And the entire bathroom looks like it’s a cave.”
Both women were silent for a few beats, then Lettie slapped her leg. “You’ve got yourself a real-life barbarian warlord.”
“He’s not my warlord,” I said, but Lettie didn’t seem to hear me.
She twisted to face me fully. “Does that mean you slept on a pile of furs too?”
I gave a half shrug. “It wasn’t so bad. The furs are incredibly soft.”
“Unlike the mattresses here,” Lettie grumbled. “It’s like sleeping on boards.”
I changed the subject away from bed and furs in case the topic danced too close to what the Raas wore or didn’t wear to sleep. “Have you seen the guys? Do you know how they’re faring?”
“We retraced our steps to their rooms last night,” Vallia said. “They seem to be fine. Same as us.”
Lettie heaved herself to her feet. “We should go see them now that you’re here.”
I liked the idea of checking up on the rest of our friends, even if it meant I might not be where my Vandar escort left me when he came looking. “Let’s do it.”
Vallia hurried to the door and pressed a small hand to the panel to open it. “Follow me. I know the way.”
Lettie hiked a thumb toward their friend. “This one has an excellent sense of direction. It’s like she’s already memorized the ship.”
Vallia’s cheeks mottled lavender pink as she led us into the corridor and pointed to the right. “Hardly. The place is a maze.”
“You haven’t had any issues moving around the ship?” I asked, as we navigated the curving corridor and across a swinging bridge. “The Vandar are fine with you all walking about on your own?”
“Far as I know,” Vallia said, twitching one slender shoulder.
So, the Vandar didn’t have an issue with guests walking unescorted. It was only me the Raas didn’t want walking alone. I didn’t know whether I was annoyed or flattered.
We wound our way through the cavernous warbird, the faint lighting dousing the corridors in shadow. Once we’d proceeded down another steep staircase, passing plenty of curious Vandar along the way, we ducked down a short hallway.
Vallia stood between two doors facing each other. “Here they are.”
I raised my hand to rap on one of the doors, when it slid open and Hal almost walked straight into me.
He stumbled back with a hand pressed to his chest. “Athena? What are you doing here?” Then he spotted Vallia and Lettie. “You’re all here. Thank the stars!”
I recognized Hal’s flushed face and sweat-beaded upper lip. “What’s wrong?”
He exhaled a heavy breath, and his body seemed to sag like a puppet on droopy strings. “It’s Vern and Dell. They went out a while ago. They should have been back already, but they’re not.”
Lettie frowned, but before she could say anything more, a siren sounded.