by Tana Stone
“We have arrived, Raas,” he said, when we’d stopped moving and I’d buried my head in Toraan’s shoulder. “You asked me to alert you immediately. The horde is in orbit above Zendaren.”
Chapter 28
Toraan
“I apologize for disturbing you in your quarters, Raas, but you did insist I notify you when—"
I waved away Rolan’s words as we entered the command deck, the steel doors gliding open upon our approach. “I did want to know. You were correct to alert me.”
My skin was still damp from the bathing pools, the scent of the perfumed water lingering, even though I’d quickly toweled off. I’d brushed my hair off my shoulders, but the damp ends dripped down my bare back. At least I’d remembered my armor and battle axe in my rush to jump out of the pool and get dressed.
Rachael was probably still sitting in the water in shock that I’d run out in such a hurry, but I hoped she would soon be getting dressed. She knew we’d arrived and would be going to the surface together—even if the prospect made her nervous.
There was a different energy when I stepped onto the command deck. All my warriors were at their posts, but they stood taller and stared more intently at the view screen. My eyes were also drawn to the wide wall of glass, and the planet we hovered above.
Zendaren. One of the secret Vandar colonies.
I let out a breath when I saw it, as if releasing a lifetime of nomadic wandering in the air that left my lips. “We’re here.”
The planet was as blue as I’d remembered, deep oceans covering much of the surface, but there was a large swath of land in the center, and islands spread across the sea. The heart of the colony was on the largest parcel of land—a mix of open plains and green forests, with rivers and streams running through it. From our high orbit, I couldn’t see the details of the Vandar city or the villages that had grown up around it, but I knew it was there beneath the clouds.
It had taken our ancestors many rotations to find planets far enough away from Zagrath territory and similar enough to the Vandar home world to appeal to our people. Zendaren was the first, but there were others. Much as we had many hordes in space, we’d learned never to concentrate our resources in one place. The more we were spread out, the harder it would be for the enemy to find us and wipe out our civilization.
“Report,” I said, my voice cracking as I drank in the sight of the first home I’d known.
“Zendaren appears to be as it always is, Raas.” One of my warriors pivoted toward me. “Defense patrols are in place, and there are still no incoming ships on our long-range sensors.”
Viken joined me and Rolan overlooking the command deck and the view screen. “We were not followed.”
I gave him a sharp nod, relieved to hear his confident assessment. “I’m assuming we have given our approach codes to the security patrol?”
“Affirmative, Raas. We have been hailed.”
My heart beat a bit faster. “On screen.”
Within moments, the image of the planet flickered and disappeared, replaced by one of an elder Vandar, silver streaking his dark hair. My uncle.
I immediately clicked my heels together, as did the rest of the command deck crew. “Raas Maassen.”
The old Raas inclined his head just a touch, before a grin split his face. “You are Raas now, Toraan.”
“Old habits die hard,” I told him, returning the smile.
I was happier to see him than I’d even suspected, my heart squeezing at the sight of the Vandar who had practically raised me, and taught me how to be a warrior and a Raas. He had aged since I’d last been on Zendaren, his wrinkles deeper and his hair more silvered, but his eyes retained their intensity.
“It is a surprise to see you,” he said, “although not a bad one.”
“I felt it was time for my raiders to see their families.” I clasped my hands behind my back. “We also have several Vandar who wish to take mates and retire their battle axes.”
I did not want to tell him about the admiral or that the enemy was aware we had secret Vandar colonies. That would wait until I could talk with him in person, as would the revelation that I’d taken a human mate.
My uncle nodded, as if accepting this answer, but his eyes held mine for a moment longer. “Very well. We welcome you and your horde back to Zendaren.”
I bowed my head slightly. “Thank you. We are eager for a rest from the skies.”
“And I am hungry for tales of battle.” He leaned forward. “I hope you are not opposed to a celebration feast in your horde’s honor.”
Both my majak and battle chief shifted beside me. There were no banquets like the ones held on Zendaren, and I knew both warriors were eager to drink and eat with our kinsmen—and enjoy a meal not prepared from dry rations.
“We would be honored,” I answered for my crew.
“Good.” Raas Maassen sat back. “If you drop your invisibility shielding, our patrols will escort your horde to the surface.”
“It is done.” I tipped my head to Viken, who ordered shielding to be dropped as the transmission ended and my uncle’s face vanished from the screen and the planet reappeared.
“The Raas looks good,” Rolan said, as we watched a squadron of Vandar fighters flank our warbird. “Zendaren suits him.”
I grunted in agreement. I’d never considered leaving my post as Raas, especially because I’d never harbored the idea of taking a mate and returning to one of the colonies to either raise a family or rest. My vision for my life had always included leading my horde until I died in battle. It had been easy to choose a raider’s life—and death—when there was no one who would miss you, or no one you cared enough to miss. My thoughts drifted to Rachael. Did I still have no reason to choose a different path?
“What are your orders, Raas?”
I twisted my head to Rolan, realizing I had not heard the entirety of his question.
He must have seen my momentary confusion because he repeated his question. “Do you wish to leave a patrol on board the ship, or do all raiders get leave?”
“We do not need a security patrol while we are on Zendaren. The entire horde should partake in the celebration banquet.”
“May I notify the crew?” Viken asked.
I couldn’t help smiling at him. It had been a long time since our horde had enjoyed a true Vandar banquet. “By all means.”
As my battle chief went to his post to transmit the news throughout the ship, Rolan cleared his throat. “You did not mention the human to Raas Maassen. Do you not plan to bring her with us?”
“Of course, I do.” My pulse quickened. “But I did not feel it was something to mention in a transmission. It will be better if the Raas meets her first.”
“So her beauty can sway him?”
I wished I felt confident that Raas Maassen would be swayed by beauty, but I knew him better than that. He was a seasoned Vandar raider who lived and breathed strategy, and who never took action without assessing the long-term effects. He also knew my mind as well as anyone, and knew that he’d trained me to be several steps ahead of my enemy. He would understand that my strategy with Rachael was a clever tactical move.
I swallowed hard, my throat tight. Then why did I feel such trepidation at the thought of going to the surface and seeing my uncle and mentor? Why did the sight of Zendaren fill my heart with dread?
Chapter 29
Rachael
“Are you sure I’m okay like this?” I stood next to Toraan as we waited for the warbird to touch down on the planet. I was wearing the only outfit I had—the fabric kilt and sleeveless vest—but I wished I’d insisted they save my wedding dress. At least, that would have made more of an impression. In my rumpled, ill-fitting clothes, it was hard to feel like I was going to impress anyone.
“Of course.”
Since he hadn’t looked at me, I put one hand on my hip. “As long as all the Vandar women go topless, as well.”
That got his attention. He snapped his gaze to me—to my che
st, more specifically—then frowned when he realized I’d tricked him. He let out a sigh and turned to face me. “You do not need to concern yourself with what you wear.” He swiveled back around. “Besides, I will have the seamstresses on Zendaren make you an appropriate gown for the banquet.”
My stomach clenched. He’d mentioned the banquet when he’d come to fetch me from his quarters, and the crew appeared to be buzzing about it. I knew it was meant to be a celebration of the horde’s return to the colony, but I wasn’t sure what to expect from a Vandar party. I’d been wrong in my assumptions about the raiders so far, but it was also clear to me that they knew how to enjoy themselves.
“Maybe I shouldn’t go to the banquet. I’m not a Vandar, after all.”
He cut his eyes to me, then curled his tail around my waist as the ship touched down and shuddered. “You are my mate, and I want you to be there.”
His tone was so authoritative I didn’t dare disagree with him. He was probably right. It would be weird if I spent the entire journey in bed with the Raas and then didn’t go out in public with him. But I still wasn’t confident that him announcing a human as his mate would go over smoothly.
I glanced over my shoulder. His majak and battle chief were waiting directly behind us, along with rows of raiders. Feet shifted impatiently on the steel floor as a wide ramp descended, sunlight peeking through a slat at the top. For these warriors, this was a return to the closest thing they had to a home world. For me, this was my first visit to an alien planet.
Come on, Rachael, I told myself. You can do this. You were trained for this.
As much as I’d despised being schooled in etiquette, manners, and small talk, I was now grateful that my mother had put so much emphasis on training me to finesse any situation. She’d imagined she was doing it to prepare me for life married to a top Zagrath officer, but it would come in handy now.
The ramp touched down, and Toraan slipped his tail from around my waist. He threw back his shoulders. “Vaes,” he said to me without looking down.
I fought the instinct to take his hand. I was sure a Raas of the Vandar did not hold hands, especially not as he descended victorious from his warbird. He strode down the ramp and I rushed forward after him, trying my best to appear regal and confident, even though I felt neither of those things.
I blinked a few times, my eyes adjusting to the bright sunlight after being on the dark ship. We’d landed on a wide stretch of hard-packed, black dirt, and the other parked horde ships surrounded us as their crews descended. There were cheers from the gathered crowd, and my breath caught in my throat as I saw just how many Vandar had crowded the shipyard to greet the returning horde. There were bodies as far as I could see, with blades thrust high in the air as they chanted.
“Holy shit,” I said, before I could stop myself. Luckily, the buzz of the crowd drowned out any sound I might make. I could probably scream out a litany of curses, and no one would notice.
Raas Toraan spared me a quick glance, so maybe he heard, but he turned just as quickly back around. He stopped at the base of the ramp where a semi-circle of elaborately dressed Vandar waited.
“Raas Toraan.” An older Vandar stepped forward to greet him, clapping a hand to Toraan’s arm.
The Raas clicked his heels and put his own hand on the elder’s other arm. “Raas Maassen.”
They held each other for a moment as I held my breath, then the older alien pulled Toraan into a rough hug, thumping him hard on the back. The officers who’d been behind me moved forward, also greeting the older Vandar with clicks of their heels, then, as if a dam had been unleashed, the entire crew poured down the ramp and disappeared into the crowd.
For a moment I feared I’d be swept away with them, but Toraan’s tail snaked around my waist again, holding me steady amid the chaos and jubilation. When I looked up, the old Raas was staring at me.
His gaze drifted to Toraan’s tail then back up to my face. “You are human.”
I inclined my head to him as a show of respect. “I am.”
“This is Rachael from the planet Horl,” Toraan said. “She was a Zagrath admiral’s intended bride.”
Raas Maassen’s pupils flared as he looked at Toraan. “You took her as your hostage?”
Toraan didn’t look away, but he twitched. “Not as my hostage. As my mate.”
There was no reply as the old Vandar slid his gaze back to me and then to Toraan. “You will explain to me?”
Toraan tapped his heels again. “Of course, uncle. I had hoped we could have a private audience before the banquet. There is much I need to tell you.”
“I can see that.” He spun on his heel, waving his nephew forward. “Come with me. Some of your raiders will be busy reuniting with their families, while the others will be toasted in the drinking hall while my staff prepares for the celebration. We will have time to confer.”
The crowd flowed away from the ships and toward a sea of high-peaked tents. I followed behind Toraan, until he reached for my hand and pulled me forward to walk beside him. Even though he released my hand again, his touch sent warmth up my arm and calmed the fluttering in my stomach.
As we approached the tents, I realized they were not tents. At least, not any tent I’d ever seen. Although the roofs appeared to made of colorful fabric that rose high into the air and created a gigantic patchwork quilt of sorts, they sat atop actual buildings made of beige stone. Some of the buildings rose several stories into the air, and boasted balconies and terraces.
Toraan had told me that his people had originally been nomadic, living in tents on their home world of Vandar and roving the land in hordes. They’d taken the horde tradition to space, roving in warbirds, instead of on the backs of galloping beasts, and it seemed they echoed the nomadic tents of their ancestors in their colonies.
We walked down wide streets toward a tall building with a series of shiny spires that looked like they might be forged out of iron. Vandar peered down from balconies, their cheers morphing to curious glances when they spotted me.
Toraan seemed unconcerned by the curious attention, although he paused after we’d passed through the massive, wooden doors leading into what looked to me like a palace. “I would like Rachael to be fitted for a dress for the banquet.”
Raas Maassen paused, his gaze flitting to me. “The horde is no longer equipped for a female, I see.”
Toraan’s cheeks flushed. “No. It is not.”
The old Raas grunted, then waved a hand and another Vandar appeared by his side. “The human needs a new wardrobe fitting the mate of a Vandar. Take her and see to it.”
The attendant—who could not have been more than a teenager, but still wore a leather kilt and had a massive, bare chest—clicked his heels and jerked his head to me.
I did not want to appear fearful, but was I supposed to follow a total stranger on a completely foreign planet and leave the one person I trusted? Before I could open my mouth, Toraan rested a hand on the small of my back.
“Go with him. I will find you later.”
His uncle’s gaze was on me, and I did not want to make Toraan look bad. I nodded without speaking, moving off with the Vandar attendant as Toraan and his uncle walked up one side of a sweeping, double staircase. Instead of going up the other side, I followed the Vandar through a massive hall, with high windows streaming light from all sides. Tables lined it from one end to the other, and it was clearly being set for the festivities. Without a backward glance, the Vandar led me through the hall and then down winding corridors until we reached a room lined with bolts of fabric covering the walls. As we entered, a female Vandar stood.
“Who have you brought me?”
“The new mate of Raas Toraan.”
Her heavily-lined face registered a moment of shock before she rubbed her hands together. “Then we have our work cut out for us, don’t we, dear?”
I tried to return her smile. The last dress fitting I’d had ended up with me running out, sneaking off a ship, escaping from the e
mpire, and then getting captured by a Vandar warlord. I hoped this one would be a little less dramatic.
Chapter 30
Toraan
My uncle did not lead me to his personal chambers as I expected, but instead to a long, stone balcony on the top of the feasting hall. One side overlooking the expansive central hall, and the other overlooked the colony. Metal spires rose around us, creating a sensation of being surrounded by spikes.
He walked to the stone railing and peered out over the tented tops of the lower buildings. “I know these tents are what our forefathers would have seen as they walked among their hordes, but staying on land still feels unnatural to me.”
I smiled, understanding him completely. “You miss raiding.”
He twitched one shoulder. “I miss flying with the horde. No one tells you that you will miss the echo of steel as you walk, or the lurch as your warbird accelerates.” He gave himself a small shake. “But I know the horde is in good hands with you. I have no regrets. It was time.”
“I strive to live up to your reputation, Raas Maassen.”
He smiled at me. “You are making your own name, as you should. You have always been your own warrior. So unlike your father and brother.”
I knew this was a high compliment from my uncle, but I also knew that many considered my father and older brothers to be great Raas’. Violent and impulsive, perhaps, but no one could argue their damage to the empire. I myself heard of their victories, and sometimes doubted my more measured strategy.
“You are probably wondering why I have brought a human female with me,” I said, beating him to the punch.