by Tana Stone
“Good riddance,” I muttered to myself. He might have been the most interesting thing to ever happen to Kimithion III, but he’d been nothing but a distraction for me. A distraction that had given me false hope about a life I’d never have and a reality that couldn’t exist. I might not have been happy before the Vandar had arrived, but at least I hadn’t been heartbroken. I’d take emptiness any day over the painful ache that now resided in my chest.
Corvak’s words had been shards of glass piercing my heart. Now all that was left was a damaged shell, every punishing beat making it ache even more.
I held my breath as I slipped through the door and stumbled by my sleeping father snoring on the couch, too drunk to even notice my late arrival. When I reached my bedroom, I curled up onto the bed and pulled my knees into my chest. Even though I was alone, I refused to let anymore tears fall.
I would not cry over the Vandar raider. I clenched my fists and made myself into a tighter ball. No, I would focus all my pain and hurt on hating him instead.
Chapter Twenty
Ch 20
Corvak
Tvek. The sharp pain in my neck woke me, and I bolted upright, expecting to find an attacker. But there was no one in the living area of my quarters. Early-morning light sifted through the windows and dust motes danced in the hazy beams. No unusual sounds pricked my ears, only the distant song of a bird greeting the suns.
I rubbed my neck and glanced back at the couch on which I sat. The pain had come from attempting to compress my oversized body onto a compact couch and sleeping with my neck at an unnaturally sharp angle. I grumbled as I massaged the tender spot on my neck, the pain radiating down my shoulder.
“Just what I need before a battle. The inability to turn my neck.”
I cast another dark glance at the offending couch, as if it was the fault of the worn furniture, when in fact I had no one to blame for my current mood or pain but myself. I remembered Sienna running from my quarters and touched a hand to my gut where she’d landed her last blow. I almost longed for the pain of her sharp elbow, instead of the dull ache of regret that now consumed me.
After I’d watched her rush off, I had paced in front of the couch for what felt like an eternity, debating whether or not I should go after her. Even though I desperately wanted to talk to her and make her understand, I knew it was for the best if there was a clean break. Even if she despised me for it. I’d finally flopped down onto the couch and let sleep overtake me, too weary to stagger back to the sleeping chamber.
“Which was a mistake,” I mumbled, as I tried to swivel my neck, flinching from the pain.
Standing, I walked to the galley kitchen, my gaze resting briefly on the empty windowsill. There were no fresh pastries wrapped up in rough cloth this morning. As much as I’d welcomed the crusty rolls and sugar-coated breads each morning, wolfing them down eagerly as crumbs cascaded from my lips and scattered onto the floor, it was Sienna’s gifting of them that I missed. Knowing that the female had crept to my sill and tucked the warm bread inside the sheer curtain had given me a small thrill each morning, and made the day’s tasks seem less arduous.
I shook it off, frowning at how soft I’d gotten. I’d never had breakfast delivered to me on the Vandar warbird, nor had our bread been as delicious as the creations Sienna’s sister baked. Is this what happened to warriors when they were around human females for too long? Is this what happened to Kratos and Bron? Had their minds gone soft with thoughts of the women, their bodies powerless to resist them?
I slammed a hand on the stone counter, glad for the sharp sting to snap me out of my funk. It didn’t matter. I no longer had a human female to distract me and keep me from focusing on the battle ahead. I would not go the way of my former Raas’ and let myself be ruled by my obsession with Sienna.
I chugged the last of the water from a nearby earthenware pitcher and strode from the kitchen, where I hooked my belt around my waist and shoved my feet into my boots. Once I’d snatched my battle axe and attached it to my belt, I stepped outside armed with my weapon and renewed purpose.
I’d done the right thing. As hard as it had been, cutting ties with Sienna had been the right move. She might be the best fighter I’d trained on the planet, but the fact remained that her planet’s customs wouldn’t allow it. Spending more time with her was a waste, when I should focus all my energy on preparing the villagers to defend their planet.
I stomped down the stone path, breathing in the cool morning air and grateful that the suns were still low and not yet blazing. My logical brain knew that training Sienna had been foolish, but I couldn’t make myself regret it. Fighting with her, and then sitting beside her and eating more of her sister’s baked goods while she told me tales about the villagers she’d grown up with, had been the best part of every day. Better than watching the graceless males in my official training class.
I forced myself to think about the humans and Kimitherians I was training. If a visit from the Zagrath was truly imminent, then I needed to step up my drills. They were not as awkward as they had been the first day, but few of them were competent enough to hold their own in a fight, and they had a difficult time moving as a unit.
I thought about moving in attack formations with my fellow Vandar warriors, our shields held high and our feet moving together in lockstep precision. After flying and fighting together for so long, we moved as one. The connectedness and feeling of being a part of a greater whole was something I’d never appreciated fully until I’d lost it. Now, being isolated on an alien planet and trying in vain to teach the concept to fighters who did not understand what it meant to be part of a tight-knit unit—a family—I missed my Vandar brethren so much I felt it in every fiber of my being.
And for the first time since I’d been exiled, I understood deeply how much I’d wronged my horde and my Raas. Staggering down the last few metrons of the path, I braced my hand on the rock ledge. In my determination to prove myself right and show the Raas that his female was deceiving him, I’d forgotten that I was an integral part of the whole. My independent actions had splintered that unit, weakening it with my need to be right. My exile had not only been a punishment for me, but it had also been a blow to the horde.
I glanced up at the sky, the pale blue already whitening as the suns rose. The Vandar were out there. As much as this planet might need me right now, I would have to return to the hordes. I was part of a greater whole, and I would not be complete unless I was joined with it. I sucked in a breath, my newfound determination giving me fresh energy. For now, I had fighters to train and a planet to defend. The Vandar never left anyone to the mercy of the empire, and I was still the fiercest of Vandar raiders.
“Corvak!” the sharp clicks of the Kimitherian voice drew my gaze across the village square.
Kerl ran toward me, his hood billowing off his face and his large eyes bugged out. The rest of the square was still quiet, only a few shop keepers opening doors and sweeping the dust off the brown paving stones, even though I detected a faint scent of freshly baked bread in the air.
I hurried forward to meet him at the obelisk, allowing the alien a moment to lean one webbed hand on the stone monument before urging him to speak.
“What is wrong?”
He thrust a cloaked arm behind him toward the shallows and the amphitheater. “It has begun.”
I tried not to let my impatience brim over, but I had never been known for temperance. “What has begun?”
Were my students assembled early? Was there some sort of meeting to which I was late?
Kerl clutched my arm. “The imperial scouting ship arrived at some point in the early hours before dawn. Our planetary defenses are not powerful, especially when matched with Zagrath ships, but they also did not notify us of their approach.”
I stiffened, the hairs on the back of my neck prickling. The Zagrath were here on the planet? My hand went to the hilt of my axe out of habit, and I scanned the area quickly. “How long since they landed?”
&nb
sp; “I do not know. It cannot have been long.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Since they did not request landing approval, our usual landing pad was not empty for them. They landed on the other side of the shallows, so any soldiers have a long walk to reach us.”
I allowed myself a breath. That was something. A fully equipped imperial soldier with their dark uniforms and shiny helmets would trek slowly across arid land and under the heat of two suns. I placed my hand over Kerl’s. “I need you to send word to all the males I’ve been training. I need them to assemble with me outside the village. It is time for them to put their training to use and defend their people.”
He nodded, rushing past me and up the pathway to the cave dwellings. As my gaze followed him, I noticed a flash of gold hair disappearing around a bend. Although I felt a flicker of disappointment that I hadn’t gotten a glimpse of Sienna, I was glad her sister was running far from the impending battle.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ch 21
Corvak
“Is this everyone who’s coming?” I stood in front of a motley group of humans and Kimitherians, most of whom appeared to still be in the process of waking.
Low mumbling told me that it was. Even Donal, who usually preferred standing in the front with his small posse of equally arrogant humans, lingered at the back of their group, his head low and a bandage of some kind over his nose.
Even though we’d spent one afternoon creating shields out of silvered wood lashed together with reeds from the shallows, the makeshift armor seemed almost comical as the fighters held them in front of their bodies. At least it was something, I thought. Since the planet didn’t approve of arming its citizens, a shield was preferable to meeting the Zagrath with nothing but their dicks in their hands.
I cut my eyes to one of the warped shields trembling in a Kimitherian’s grasp. Maybe not much better.
“We are not here to engage in battle with the imperial soldiers,” I told the group, striding from one end to the other as my tail snapped in time to my steps. “We are gathered to make a statement.”
From the terrified looks on the fighter’s faces, that statement was that the residents of Kimithion III were a far cry away from being able to defend themselves. I studied the rag-tag fighting unit and considered disbanding them and meeting the enemy by myself. At least the Zagrath would not see how horribly outmatched we were.
Before I could disband them and order them to return to their quarters, a rumble of surprise rippled through the males and the villagers who’d gathered at the edge of the square. Turning on my heel, I spotted the familiar glint of the shiny black helmets.
I set my legs wide, unhooking my battle axe and holding it in one hand while the other hand rested on my hip. There were only two enemy soldiers approaching. A good sign for today, but also an indication that the empire saw Kimithion III as no threat.
When the Zagrath soldiers saw me, they both stopped.
“What are you doing here, Vandar?” one of them asked, his voice muffled underneath the helmet.
I gave them my most menacing grin. “I am a resident of Kimithion III.” I tossed my axe to my other hand, catching it deftly without glancing down. “What are you doing here?”
The two helmeted heads turned to each other briefly before the second one spoke. “We are here to assess the need for imperial assistance.”
“We have no need for imperial assistance,” I said. “You may leave.”
Another glance between the soldiers. “That is not for you to determine, Vandar. It is our job to assess the planet and the proper location for a garrison.”
“A garrison?” I swung my axe close to the ground like a pendulum. “Why would you need a garrison of soldiers if this planet has no need of your presence?”
“As we said before, Vandar. This is not up to you. This is up to the empire.”
I cocked my head at them, my heart beating in time to my swinging axe, but my tail snapping at twice the speed. “Why would the empire have any dominion over the independent planet of Kimithion III? We have no precious minerals for you to strip us bare of, or any other natural resources for which the Zagrath might need to plunder and pillage the land.”
“You should not speak of the empire this way,” one of the soldiers said, taking a step forward.
“Or what?” I growled. “You’ll sneak a scouting ship onto the planet and build an illegal garrison of soldiers?”
The fighters behind me shifted nervously, and the Zagrath spoke in low tones to each other.
“We hoped this might be a peaceful occupation, but the empire can occupy your planet by force if need be.” The soldier’s voice was raised so the villagers could hear him.
I took a long stride toward them, my battle axe still swishing. “No imperial occupation is peaceful. You are leeches who suck the life from everything you touch and leave death and emptiness in your wake.” I glared at them, even though I could not see their eyes behind the glossy black of the helmets. “The people of Kimithion III reject your proposal to build a garrison, and they reject your disingenuous offer of assistance. They have ruled themselves for millennia, and they will continue to do so without your malicious and greedy interference.”
“We wish to speak to the leader of this planet,” one of the soldiers called out. “We know this Vandar thug does not speak for the good people of Kimithion III.”
My tail swept a wide path behind me as I instinctively crouched into a battle stance. “Vandar thug? I have not heard that in a very long time, you faceless automaton. But that does not bother me. What bothers me is that you were sent to spy on this planet and its inhabitants. You were tasked to gather information that will prove that there is something unique about Kimithion III, no? Information that will prove that the residents do not age or die, is that not so?”
The soldiers flinched, telling me I was correct about their mission.
“But you’re too cowardly to show your face to the people you wish to enslave, aren’t you?” I said. “It must be easy to hide behind that mask as you do the empire’s bidding like the brainless drones you are.”
“I will face you!” One of the Zagrath ripped off his helmet and threw it on the ground as the other swiveled to watch. “I’m no coward.”
I observed the imperial soldier who was no more than a boy with close-cropped pale hair. Shifting my weight from one leg to the other, I spun the handle of my axe, the bright sunlight shining off the iron of the blades. “What about your friend? He won’t remove his helmet on a mission of diplomacy?”
The other soldier followed suit, revealing the darker-haired Zagrath to be older, but not by much. “This should prove to you all that the Zagrath are not cowards.”
“That remains to be seen,” I said, grinning at them. “But now we know that you are not as clever as you should be to go up against a Vandar.”
Both clean-shaven faces registered shock before I dove forward into a roll, slashing at one of their legs as I came up. The soldier collapsed to the ground, clutching his legs which were spewing blood.
“Attack!” I bellowed to my fighters, as the other imperial soldier fumbled for his blaster, his gaze transfixed on his compatriot bleeding out beside him.
Bringing my axe up, I knocked the blaster from his hand, taking the tips of his fingers with it. He screamed in agony, grasping his amputated fingers slick with in bright, red blood.
I stole a glance at my fighting unit. Instead of surging forward, they’d fanned out and splintered. Some backed away while others walked tentatively forward with their shield over their faces, so they stumbled into each other. Even Donal, who constantly bragged about his bravery, remained at the back.
Leaping to my feet, I lopped off the head of the soldier clutching his hand—much easier now that helmets didn’t protect their heads—pivoting and burying the blade of my axe into the other man’s chest.
Turning back to my wretched fighters, I held up my arms. “It’s over.”
Shields dropped and
furtive gazes peered over the tops. When I glanced back at Donal to reprimand him for not joining the fight, his blackened eyes widened, and he backed away so quickly that he stumbled over his own feet.
That was when the blaster fire exploded across my shoulder. I whirled as I fell, heaving my axe in the direction of the attack and not knowing if my weapon had found its target before pain enveloped me and my world went black.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ch 22
Sienna
I woke to a violent shaking, blinking up at my sister as she leaned over me and jostled my arm.
“Sienna!” More rough prodding of my shoulder. “You have to wake up!”
I attempted to roll away from her. If this was another drama about our father, I didn’t want to hear about it. From the soft light sifting in through my window, I could tell it was still early morning. Time for her to be up due to her baking, but I still had plenty of time until I was due at work. If I went.
I flashed back to the scene with Corvak the night before and humiliation filled me, just as fresh and painful as when I’d been standing before him, and he’d rejected me. I groaned and squeezed my eyes together tighter, hoping to block out the memories and the light. Maybe I’d stay in bed all day. The last thing I wanted was to bump into him.
“Go away,” I mumbled, flapping a hand at her and trying to get her insistent shaking to stop. “I’m sleeping.”
She paused in her jostling. “You’re really going to sleep through the arrival of the imperial soldiers? What happened to you wanting to learn to fight to defend our planet? Or was that all a lie?”