by Tana Stone
He tried not to flinch at her words. “She did not get away from me, as you put it. I left her on the ship.”
“You left her?” The female let out a laugh. “Why would you kidnap her and then leave her? I don’t believe you.”
A Dothvek he remembered came up silently behind her. The silver shot through his temples caught the light as he met Rukken’s eyes and gave a single nod.
“Tommel,” Rukken said, as the name surfaced in his brain. The former clan leader’s advisor, the only other Dothvek who hadn’t believed him capable of murder.
The female turned and followed Rukken’s gaze, letting out an exasperated sigh. “I thought I told you I don’t need a bodyguard.”
“Who said I was protecting you?” Tommel asked, one eyebrow quirking at her.
As the female glowered at Tommel, the pale-haired female called Danica pushed her aside and tilted her head up at Rukken. “Ship? Did you say ship? What ship?”
She thought he was lying or delusional, but she also had hope. He did not have to read her mind to know this.
“Your crew mate with the wild hair came back with a ship,” he said. “I left Caro with her on the ship.”
“Tori?” All three women said at the same time, their mouths agape.
Rukken nodded. “Yes. Tori and Vrax have a ship.”
Murmurs passed through the Dothveks at the mention of Vrax’s name. A warrior stepped forward, and Rukken’s eyes widened.
“You are the Crestek.” He appraised the warrior’s bare chest and bands around his wrists. “The one I healed.”
T’Kar gave him a half grin. “I was Crestek. I passed the tahadu and am now part of the Dothvek tribe.”
Envy stabbed at Rukken. The Crestek he’d saved from certain death on the sands was now a Dothvek, but he remained in exile.
A female with hair the color of a sunset walked up to stand next to T’Kar, slipping her hand in his. “Is this the Dothvek who saved you?”
T’Kar nodded, and his mate smiled at Rukken. “Then I owe you a big thank you.”
“Are you kidding?” one of the other females asked. “He kidnapped Caro.”
“And saved T’Kar,” the flame-haired female said. “He might not be as awful as you think he is, Bexli.”
The female she’d called Bexli mumbled something fierce under her breath. She clearly did not agree.
“Why do you think the female is in danger?” T’Kar asked, his voice even as he locked eyes on Rukken.
Rukken was relieved that one of the search party was listening to him and taking him seriously. “We were being hunted. I believed it to be a Dothvek hunting party sent to rescue Caro.”
“It was.” Bexli’s eyes flashed. “And we found you.”
Rukken jerked his head up, turning his attention back to T’Kar. “It was not you. I sensed malice and vengeance that I do not sense from this group.”
K’alvek joined T’Kar, his face solemn. “If it was not us, who could it have been?”
“Cresteks?” another Dothvek suggested.
T’Kar gave his head a brusque shake. “Not this far out on the sands.”
“Who else would be after Caro?” Danica asked, stepping closer to K’alvek. She was obviously his mate.
Rukken cleared his throat. “I did not say they were after Caro.”
K’alvek crossed his arms and studied him. “You think they are after you?”
Rukken’s gaze flitted over the Dothveks watching him. He did not know who, if any, were loyal to Zatvar. “There is a reason some might wish me dead.”
“Most thought you dead already,” K’alvek said.
“And my sudden reappearance might be a threat to some,” Rukken told him, his voice hushed.
T’Kar seemed confused, but K’alvek’s pupils flared with understanding.
Rukken jerked his head to one side. “If I may speak to you apart from the others?”
K’alvek hesitated before pulling him by the arm away from the group. “If this is an attempt to escape, it will not work.”
“It is not.” Rukken heaved in a breath. “The reason I have been living in exile is not because I am a killer. It is because Zatvar is a skilled manipulator.” K’alvek flinched, but Rukken continued. “He set me up to take the blame for his crime. Only your father did not believe him, so he had me exiled instead of executed.”
“I remember,” K’alvek said. “The punishment for murder is death.”
Rukken held his gaze. “Now your father is gone, and Zatvar is clan leader. He has a very powerful reason to wish me to stay silent.”
K’alvek shifted from one foot to the other. “He did give the order for you to be killed on sight.”
“Is there any reason he would believe you would not carry out his orders?”
K’alvek laughed, but there was no joy in it. “Many reasons.”
“So, if he wanted to ensure my death and continued silence…”
“He might send a second hunting party,” K’alvek finished the sentence for him.
“Or come himself,” Rukken added, his voice not more than a whisper.
K’alvek let out a deep growl. “If they tracked you to the ship…”
Rukken nodded, his heart racing, as K’alvek turned back to the group, pulling Rukken with him.
Even as far away from Caro as he was, he felt a flicker of her fear. He clenched his fists by his sides, knowing if he tried to run to her, he would be struck down before he could make it up one dune. “She is in danger, and Tori and Vrax may be, as well. I can sense it. Please let me go to her.”
K’alvek looked Rukken up and down.
“You can’t be seriously considering this.” Bexli’s head swung between Rukken and K’alvek. “He abducted Caro. We can’t let him go after her. What if she’s trying to get away from him?”
“I am not letting him go after her,” K’alvek said. “We are all going after her.”
Rukken let out a sigh of relief, even as worry made his hands shake. “I will show you the way to the ship.”
K’alvek grasped his arm before he could turn. “If I sense any deceit from you, I will not hesitate to strike you down.”
“I give you my word as a Dothvek.” Rukken said. “I am telling you the truth. If I am lying, I will welcome your blade.”
Bexli gave him a murderous look. “It isn’t his blade you should fear. It’s me transforming into a giant Bengali blood beetle and tearing your head off.”
Rukken was not sure what the female meant, but he sensed she was telling the truth. He also sensed that he would indeed prefer a Dothvek blade to her alternative. But he could not focus on either at the moment.
He needed to focus on Caro and the growing sense of fear that clawed at his throat. Saving her was all that mattered.
Thirty-Two
“I thought the Dothveks were the good guys,” Caro said, as she, Tori, and Vrax leaned against the ship with their arms splayed, and the small group of Dothveks stood behind them with curved blades drawn. The hull of the ship had warmed under the heat of the suns, and Caro’s fingers burned from the hot surface.
She peered across at Vrax, whose jaw was clenched as he stared straight ahead. They’d taken his blade from him, but she suspected he was angry enough to kill someone with his bare hands. Tori had been divested of her blaster, but they hadn’t thought to take her needle-sharp hair sticks out of her topknot. A mistake many enemies had made and regretted in the past.
The Zevrian shot a murderous look over her shoulder. “Explain to me again why we’re being treated like criminals.”
“Tell me where the traitor is, and you won’t be.” Zatvar’s voice was syrupy as he paced behind them.
“We’ve told you.” Caro tried to rein in her impatience. “We don’t know. He left.”
Zatvar laughed. “You expect me to believe that the criminal who abducted you from our village just walked away from you?”
His words stung. “Believe it. He’s not here.”
Zatvar stopped pacing and leaned so close to her, his hot breath tickled her ear. “I think you’re lying, female.”
Instead of sending shivers of pleasure down her spine like when Rukken whispered in her ear, Zatvar’s closeness made her stomach turn. She jerked her head away. “I thought you were empathic. Can’t you sense I’m telling the truth?”
Zatvar grunted and tossed his long hair off his shoulder. “You are not Dothvek. I do not know if your kind can hide your thoughts.”
“What about Vrax?” Tori asked. “He’s Dothvek. Why don’t you ask him?”
Another grunt of derision. “He follows K’alvek. This could all be a part of that traitor’s plan.”
“You are calling K’alvek a traitor?” Vrax started to turn, but one of the other warriors stepped closer, his blade nicking Vrax’s side.
“Watch it!” Tori cried, seeing a trickle of blood run down her mate’s skin.
Vrax froze, his eyes narrowed in barely controlled fury. Even though she couldn’t sense his thoughts, Caro could see how much he wanted to lash out at these Dothveks.
“You are the traitors,” he said in a low voice to the warriors behind him.
They flinched, and their gazes darted to Zatvar, who was back to pacing and muttering to himself. The Dothvek was tall and broad like they all were, but he was soft around the middle, and his thick neck made him look even stockier.
Caro had never seen him leave the comfort of the Dothvek village, and rarely that of his tent, so she knew he must want Rukken badly to come after him personally. It also made her even more convinced that it was him—not Rukken—who had committed murder. Why else would he be so determined to find the exiled Dothvek, if not to shut him up once and for all?
“I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with finding him,” Caro said. “I thought he was already exiled.”
Zatvar narrowed his eyes at her. “That was before he snuck into our village and took a female.”
“Who says he took me?” Caro asked.
Tori’s head snapped to her, as did all the Dothveks’.
Caro swilled her head around. “Do you have proof Rukken had anything to do with my disappearance?”
“The snake skin found in your tent,” Zatvar said.
Caro didn’t know what they were talking about, but she bobbed one shoulder up. “That’s mine. I thought it looked cool.”
“He did not take you?” one of the Dothveks asked, lowering his blade.
“Nope.” Caro grinned. “I walked off to get some fresh air and got lost. Rukken actually saved me.”
Zatvar stared at her, his bloodshot eyes hard and cold. “You are trying to protect him.”
Caro shrugged. “Believe what you want to, but I didn’t know that Dothveks declared guilt without evidence. I guess you guys aren’t as honorable as I thought.”
Murmurs passed through the warriors behind them, as Tori stifled a grin and looked away from Caro.
“None of this matters,” Zatvar said, his voice loud enough to quell the murmuring. “Rukken remains a criminal. The old clan leader exiled him, but his crime called for execution. I have decided to impose the sentence my predecessor was too weak to enforce.”
A low rumble emanated from Vrax’s throat, but Tori shot him a warning look.
Fear fluttered in Caro’s chest as her heart raced. At least Rukken was gone. For the first time since she’d realized that Rukken had left, she was grateful that the Dothvek was far away from her.
Run, Rukken. Run as far away as you can.
“We are getting nowhere,” Zatvar said. “If you will not tell me where the criminal is, I will have to find him myself.”
Caro thought that was unlikely. Rukken had been living on the sands for years. If anyone knew how to hide, it would be him.
The clan leader jabbed her in the back. “Let’s go.”
“Go where?” Caro twisted to face him.
Zatvar motioned to the open ramp of the ship. “You will use this vessel to find the traitor.”
Caro couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped her lips. “You’re kidding, right?”
Zatvar’s sticky smile slipped off his face. “No.”
Caro’s stomach sank. She hadn’t thought that the Dothvek would be clever enough to want to fly over the desert looking for Rukken. It would be nearly impossible to hide from a ship as large as the one Tori had commandeered.
Another Dothvek warrior prodded Tori forward, and the Zevrian gave her a desperate look. “We can’t go inside.”
“Why not?” Zatvar asked, at the same moment that the ship’s ramp began to rise.
He stumbled back, his mouth agape. “Who did that?”
“My crew,” Tori said.
Zatvar spun to face his fellow Dothveks. “I thought you said no one else was inside the beast.”
The warriors who had been sent inside to search for others looked as if they’d been caught in a lie.
“We saw no one,” one said.
“But there is no end to it,” another added, his gold cheeks flushing.
Caro tried not to grin, imagining Rynn easily hiding from the intimidated warriors who probably crept inside for a few meters and then returned to the familiar surroundings of the desert. If they were anything like Rukken, they weren’t fans of spaceships.
Zatvar let out a roar as the ramp continued to rise, running to it and making a weak effort to jump up and pull it down. He caught the edge, but dangled ineffectively as it rose into the air. He finally dropped back to the sand, landing squarely on his ass. One of his warriors attempted to help him up, but he pushed him away.
His face glowed red through the gold of his complexion, and his fists were tight balls. His gaze swept over her, Tori, and Vrax. “You will all pay for your treason.”
Caro would have been frightened by his temper and the fact that he and his men were the only ones armed, if she hadn’t felt a pulse of something else—something familiar.
Rukken!
A sob welled up in her throat, and she didn’t know if she was going to cry out of frustration that he’d come back and put himself in danger or out of happiness that he’d returned for her. Before the tears began to fall regardless, the sands erupted in war cries.
Thirty-Three
Rukken rushed forward, grateful K’alvek did not make them wait another moment. As they crested the sand dune, he spotted Caro. Her mouth hung open as she saw the group of Dothveks and humans racing down the hill toward her, the Dothveks letting out fearsome war cries. Sand kicked up behind them, creating a swirl of gold in the air.
She was startled, but also thrilled. He could sense her relief when she spotted her crew mates, and he could feel her happiness when she saw him. Any hesitation he’d had about seeing her vanished instantly. Any doubt he’d had that she was his evaporated just as quickly, when he sensed the hum of her desire as she watched him crossing the sands toward her.
Rukken shifted his attention from Caro to Zatvar. The clan leader’s expression had morphed from shock to rage as he narrowed his gaze on Rukken. Pushing through the warriors in his path, Rukken raced toward him. He would make the Dothvek pay for threatening his mate.
The ship’s ramp began to lower as they approached, and he wondered if Rynn was inside, controlling it. He did not see the young boy outside the ship, for which he was glad. He hoped the child would stay far away from the fighting.
Caro dodged Zatvar’s attempt to grab her, dashing up the ramp and into the ship, as Tori whipped the sharp sticks out of her hair, the metal shining as they slashed through the air toward the Dothvek leader. Within moments, Zatvar’s warriors had thrown down their blades.
Zatvar bellowed in rage, running up the ship’s ramp and shooting a venomous look behind him. Rukken’s gut clenched, knowing that Caro and Rynn were also inside, but he did not break stride, pounding up the metal ramp behind the Dothvek.
Once inside, he paused. Heavy footsteps rattled against the steel floor and echoed ahead of him. Rukken followed th
e sound, careful to walk without making noise. He peeked around every corner before proceeding, aware that the thumping had ceased.
Soon, he was entering the ship’s bridge.
“Your time on the sands has served you well,” Zatvar said from where he stood on the far side of the room. “But you were always a good tracker.”
Rukken did not answer as he kept his eyes trained on the Dothvek. Rage barreled through him, making his breath ragged and his heart hammer. This was the kinsman who had been the reason for his exile. This was the warrior who wanted him dead.
“You did not expect to see me again.” He heard the tremor of fury in his voice.
“Exile should have been as good as death. It was my bad luck that you managed to survive.” Zatvar’s top lip curled. “You will not survive this time.”
“Who will kill me?” Rukken swiveled the hilt of his blade in his hand. “Not you. You have gone soft.”
Zatvar’s face contorted with fury. “I am the clan leader. I will have you executed, as you should have been then.”
“It was your crime, Zatvar.” He edged behind a standing console. “Not mine.”
“No one believed you then, and they won’t now.” Zatvar’s hands shook as he spoke. “You were impulsive and reckless. It was easy to convince the others that you were out of control enough to kill. Just as it will be my word against that of an exiled traitor.”
Rukken saw a flicker of movement outside the door to the bridge, but he did not turn his head. “If you are so sure they won’t believe me, why don’t you tell me the truth?”
Zatvar cocked an eyebrow and looked almost amused. “And what truth is that? You already know the truth about the murder I committed.”
Rukken decided to push forward on his hunch. “The truth about K’alron and his death.”
Zatvar smiled, pride crossing his face. “That. I have to admit that it has been difficult keeping that to myself. So many times I have wanted to tell someone of my clever plan to kill K’alron and pin it on the Cresteks, but who would I tell?”