Chapter 4 #2
“Yes,” she said, disappointed to have to move back to the actual questioning. “Well, not exactly. We look different.”
“Do you wonder why?”
“Well, our attendants told us that some Sislus people have different appearances, depending on what planet they grew up on. We grew up on Rakol, so…” She shrugged. Wasn’t this self-explanatory? “We look different.”
“Hmm.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Have you met the warlord?”
“Yes. Three times,” Cali admitted, swallowing another bite.
The fact that she didn’t know her betrothed very well at all caused her some anxiety.
She thought about the tall alien lord with the light blue, scaled skin and long white hair.
She wanted to be comforted by thoughts of him, since she was going to wed him, but he was quicker to inspire fear than comfort.
“The warlord sends supplies to our settlement. He’s made sure our settlement has adequate defense. ”
“So generous,” Niir rumbled. “Yet those defenses fell when your group was abducted.”
Cali’s gaze dropped to her lap on a frown.
“We weren’t abducted. We were moved off Rakol because of geothermal activity beneath the surface.
They took us to that hot moon.” She squeezed her eyes shut.
“I don’t know what we did to deserve that place.
There wasn’t enough to eat. And the guards worked us until we dropped. ”
His jaw tightened. “I can say for a fact that the warlord did not send you there. You were all tricked into leaving your settlement. We were sent to rescue you.”
Relief washed through her. “Thank the stars,” she breathed, smiling. “He wouldn’t do that to us. We are great workers. We processed over three hundred rilus of flowers a cycle.”
Niir blinked, appearing surprised. “You worked terti flowers on your settlement?”
“Of course. We had to earn our keep. But our facility was much better than the hot moon.”
He paused, looking intently at her. “You do know that terti flowers are a powerful drug, correct?”
What was he talking about? She made a face as she stuck her fork in another bite of food. “If by drug, you mean medicine, then yes. It treats a multitude of emotional disorders.”
Niir sighed. He looked exhausted. Like he’d rather be anywhere but there. Like he was about to deliver bad news. “That is not what it’s used for. Terti is sold galaxy-wide but is difficult to work with because it intoxicates anyone who comes near it.”
“That can’t be true,” she said confidently. “It doesn’t intoxicate us.”
“Yes,” he murmured. “That is the interesting part.”
“Why?”
“Because it intoxicates everyone else.”
“Even you?” she asked.
He nodded. “We had to use our highest air filter setting when we came to get you, but we still felt the effects. I can show you documentation about the terti flower and what it does to most beings.”
“I…” She couldn’t argue this. Not really. And it was odd that no one came in the flower processing room without a full bodysuit on, while they worked with no protection. “Okay. I’d like to see that.”
“I’ll send it to the screens in your room.”
“In Rakolin?” she asked, hopeful. “My reading in the universal language isn’t as good.”
“Not possible, since no translators support Rakolin any longer.”
She frowned, unsure of the look on his face.
The darker skin that lined his eyes tightened.
It was subtle, but Cali saw it. She also saw the flex of a muscle in his jaw.
This male did a good job of hiding his thoughts.
He kept on a bland expression, but if one just looked a little more closely, it was plain to see there was so much going on behind those cool gray eyes.
“Why not?”
His voice was as grim as his expression. “Stars. This is not what we signed up for.”
“What is the problem?” Cali knew she sounded as impatient as she felt. “Why are you asking me all the questions? You said yourself that you were hired to rescue us from that moon and take us to Warlord Mek-la. That is what you’re doing, right?”
“Yes, Calinae.” There was a soft timbre to his tone that unsettled her. “But Warlord Mek-la failed to mention a few things that complicate this enormously.”
“Like what?”
Niir remained perfectly still and held her with those piercing eyes. “You won’t like it.”
“Tell me,” she gritted out.
His massive hand covered both of hers. It curled around her smaller hands.
“I do not know what hunk of rock you grew up on, but it wasn’t Rakol.
” He shook his head when she opened her mouth to object.
“The planet Rakol was destroyed many cycles ago. It’s well-documented.
You’re welcome to review the historical files, if you wish.
There are ample recordings, as it is common knowledge.
” He sighed as her thoughts scattered and she just stared at him. “I told you you wouldn’t like it.”
“I don’t understand why…” She trailed off, unable to make sense of anything. “Why would the warlord lie to us?”
“You mean, why would he isolate your group in a secret settlement, give you a language that rendered you unable to communicate with anyone but each other, and feed you lies about your very existence?” He arched one brow. “To keep you hidden, of course.”
She closed her eyes. “Is this a trick, Niir?”
She felt a twitch in his fingers when she spoke his name.
“Why would I trick you, Calinae?” His voice was a husky murmur. “It would be infinitely easier to hand you over to the warlord. We collect our fee and fly away. No questions asked. Instead, we are trying to understand what is going on here.”
“Why?” She turned her hands over, making her palms meet his. Warmth flowed through her like heat into her veins. She stifled a shiver at the sensation, but could not stop her pulse from speeding up when he tightened his fingers around hers.
“Because…” He grimaced and paused, as if weighing his next words carefully. “I don’t like the way this smells and I would like to know why that is before delivering fourteen innocent females to an uncertain fate.”
It took her a moment to process that. “I was betrothed to the warlord when I was a child. He has always been my fate.”
He nodded. “That much is clear. You were given a language to communicate with him.” He cocked his head. “But not Sislu, interestingly. Did he say why he chose you?”
“I was told…” She lifted a lock of her vivid blue hair and let it fall through her fingers. “It was because of this. Apparently, it’s a rare trait.”
“He chose you because of your hair color.” He shook his head in disgust.
Cali sat up straight. “It’s the way it’s done. I’m proud to be the future bride of Warlord Mek-la.”
“Not the future bride. A future bride. The warlord has many wives.” He looked at her directly. “Several dozen, I think. They’re very devoted to him.”
She felt the blood drain from her head. “What?”
“Tell me, Calinae,” he said in a low rumble that made her belly tingle. “Did you know that you would be sharing the warlord’s affections with so many?”
“No. You’re lying.” He had to be. “I wasn’t told any of this.”
“You weren’t told a lot of things.” His tone turned harsh. “I have visited the warlord’s court. At last count, he had several dozen wives. There may be more now. You may get lost in their number. But ah, your hair does stand out. As does the rest of you.”
She sucked in a breath as her belly soured. “Why are you telling me this?”
“After a lifetime of lies, you should know the truth,” he said simply. “Even if it’s ugly. Even if it hurts. You weren’t betrothed, Calinae. You were claimed. And your cousins are not likely headed to better fates. At best, they may be forced to process terti flowers for the rest of their lives.”
“I—I think I’d like to return to my room.” She closed her eyes, but her head spun.
“Of course.” He rose, releasing her hands. “I will take you back.”
She instantly missed the warm strength of his hand on hers. Without it, her fingers tangled into an anxious knot. They walked back to her room, dodging crew members and exposed beams in the ship’s narrow corridors.
He opened her door with the hand-reader plate and escorted her inside.
The door closed behind them. He made no move to leave.
She did not ask him to. There was something unfinished about this meeting.
Some bit of discussion or business that was not concluded.
It was not wise to be alone with one of these males.
They were too potent, too powerful to be underestimated.
He could do anything to her in here and no one would know.
Maybe no one would care, either. But when she looked up, she saw the face of the first person to tell her the truth.
And it was the truth, she hated to admit.
She was never destined to be a cherished partner.
Deep down, she’d always known it. The scant provisions provided to her group were evidence of that.
A part of her knew it—had known it—for a long time.
His high cheekbones held the hint of a flush. Cali was aware of him—all of him—filling up her tiny room and infusing it with a raw masculinity that was both foreign and wildly appealing.
“I’m not sorry for telling you the truth, but I am sorry for not finding a better way of sharing it with you.
” His hand came up, slowly. Long fingers trailed over her cheek, leaving a spray of heat in their wake.
“I cannot hand you over to the warlord without giving you all the facts. You will have a choice.”
Her breath caught and held. Her body swayed slightly toward him.
She wasn’t sure when or how Niir had captured all of her attention, but every nerve in her body was attuned to him.
Something charged the air between them, sending sensations over Cali’s skin that were both new and deeply primal.
Would she feel this way about the warlord, when he came to lie with her?
The fact that she knew her fate gave her an advantage over the other thirteen females from her settlement. They were her family. What horrors would they face after leaving this ship?
It was a question she couldn’t focus on with his body so close to hers and his handsome face gazing down at her with an aching hunger that made her breath quicken and her pulse race.
Those enormous hands closed around her shoulders.
His touch was gentle, but she could feel the tension vibrating through him like electricity.
His eyes no longer looked cold, but glittered like molten silver.
Lips, firm and full, parted, revealing white teeth with longer eyeteeth.
Not quite fangs, but prominent enough to be edged with danger.
If she dared to look down, she knew she’d see the telltale bulge of his desire.
The knowledge of it rattled through her like hot coals in a jar. Her own body warmed in return. An ache coiled low in her belly. Her sex went slick and wet with arousal. Her nipples stiffened beneath the poorly fitting shift.
Whatever fantasies she’d had about sex had centered around an imagined future encounter with her betrothed. Never had she imagined herself being drawn to a massive, blue-tailed Virilian male, who smelled like blaster fire and metal, and was covered in scars and inked skin markings.
Cali was half surprised that they remained standing there.
She expected him to either step away or crush her against him.
Instead, he remained still and allowed the hard tips of her nipples to skim his muscled chest. She took in his sharply drawn breath, flared nostrils, and blazing eyes. He lowered his head slowly.
Stars! He was going to kiss her. She felt his harsh breath on her temple. His thumbs slid over her collarbones. Cali closed her eyes, tipped up her face and opened her lips, waiting for his mouth to descend on hers.
His lips brushed her forehead, lingering there for a moment. He pulled in a deep breath, as if drawing in her scent. “We make choices,” he said raggedly against her temple. “Even the hard ones.”
Cali did not have time to take in his words when his mouth and hands and body were gone.
She blinked open her eyes to see him stepping away from her.
His broad chest rose and fell rapidly with uneven breaths.
Black pupils dominated those glittering gray eyes.
“I will speak with my captain,” he said, then he left. The door slid shut behind him.