by Lili Zander
He takes a step toward me. His hands rest on the wall on either side of my body, caging me in place. His gaze bores into me, stealing the breath from my lungs. “So brave,” he murmurs. He dips his mouth to my neck. “So defiant.” He brushes his lips against my throbbing vein. “So sexy.”
My breathing hitches. I stare back at him. He’s a predator, and I’m prey, and at this moment, I want nothing more than to be caught by him.
Zeke’s voice crackles through the speakers. “Saber, we’ve got trouble.”
Damn it. Thwarted.
We return to the cockpit. Zeke has taken a seat next to Nero and is reading a screen of instrumentation readouts. “We took some damage toward the end.” He swipes through screen after screen of data. Maybe it makes sense to Saber, but it’s all gibberish to me. “They hit our long-range communications array. We’ve lost access to the InfoNet.”
Saber groans. “That’s all we need. Dock up to the cargo ship, Zeke. Let’s see if we can figure out where Gratvar took them from.” His expression hardens. “In the meanwhile, set our shields at maximum strength. Any sign of Marya, shoot to kill. And find us a safe place to land for repairs, will you? Somewhere that won’t ask too many questions about the Valiant.”
Zeke grins. “Is that all, Colonel? Not a problem.”
Nero lifts his head up. Darkness still tints his eyes. “I’m coming with you to the cargo ship.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Nero’s gaze turns stormy. “I’m not asking for permission, Saber. You shielded me from the worst of it when we went to find my mother, and I will always be grateful. But I’m not a child. I know what evil lurks in the galaxy, and I’m not afraid to face it.”
“You are one of the bravest people I know,” Saber replies tightly. “This isn’t about courage.”
No, it isn’t. Everyone has the one thing that will wreck them. This is Nero’s. Saber opens his mouth to protest, and then catches sight of the look on Nero’s face. “Fine.”
“Can I come too?” I ask.
“No. Absolutely not.” Saber moves close to me, so close that I can feel the heat of his body. “I've been on slave ships before. This is not a place for you. Let me shield you from the ugliness that exists in the Empire.”
I inch closer to him and stare him squarely in the face. “What can you shield me from that I haven’t seen before?”
His expression turns stricken. One step forward, two steps back. Regret twists in my gut. I didn’t mean to hurt him. I want to cross the chasm that exists between us. But I’ve made things worse.
“You’re right,” Saber murmurs after a pause. The corners of his lips tilt up in a small smile. “But maybe you should put on some pants first.”
A startled laugh bursts from me. “Okay.”
I was sent to the re-education camps when I was ten. I’ve seen guards throw children into a blizzard and wager on who’s going to make it back home. I’ve seen people beaten to death for an extra ration of food. I’ve sold my body for a warm blanket.
What can you shield me from that I haven’t seen before? I asked Saber, confident that there was nothing there that could shock me.
It turns out that I’m wrong. Terribly, horribly, wrong.
Gratvar’s cargo ship is full of children. Human children. Some of them as young as three. None older than six. All of them in stasis in the cargo hold.
Saber’s face looks like it’s carved from a block of ice. Nero turns dangerously brittle, a rock that will shatter into a million pieces if hit the right way. “Where were you headed?” he asks the pilot of the cargo ship, a huge hulking giant of a vampire, easily six and a half feet tall, and three hundred pounds of solid muscle. “Where were you taking these children?”
“Banrilia.”
Saber clenches his fists so tight that his knuckles turn white. “You were taking children to Banrilia.”
“What’s Banrilia?” I whisper. Not for the first time, it strikes me how little I know about anything. Information was tightly restricted on Boarus 4. Humans weren’t allowed to study history, politics, or current events. The holos showed carefully curated content. Overlord Zimmer was many things, but he wasn’t a fool. Knowledge was power, and he took care to keep his workers ignorant.
The slaver signs his death warrant. “Let me guess,” he sneers. “You’re a do-gooder type. You think what I’m doing is wrong. I have a buyer lined up. Fix the OGS, and I’ll cut you in. Fifty percent. It’s a good offer.”
Darkness swallows Nero whole. He moves, quicker than a s’kal cat. He picks up the slaver and slams him against the wall, hard enough to bend the plasteel. “They’re children,” he grits out. Slam. The ship rattles. “You knew where you were taking them. You knew what waited for them in Banrilia.” Slam.
The slaver swings a wild punch at Nero’s face, but Nero moves out of the way and brings his knee up into the slaver’s groin. The man bends over, gasping with pain. “Get up,” Nero says coldly. “You’re a fucking coward. You prey on the weak and the defenseless. It ends here. It ends now.” He removes his weapon belt and hands it to Saber. Strips off his shirt. There’s a methodical, hypnotic, rhythm to his movements. “I am going to take you apart. I am going to break every single bone of your body. How many children are you carrying?”
The hulking vampire gets to his feet, murder in his eyes. “Two hundred,” he spits out. “You think you can beat me in hand-to-hand combat? Bring it.”
“Two hundred,” Nero repeats. “Two hundred times, you’re going to plead for mercy. You’re going to beg me for your life, over and over again. But there will be no mercy today. I’m not weak. I’m not defenseless. And today’s the day you are going to die.”
“Raven,” Saber says, not taking his eyes off Nero. “Go back to the Valiant.”
Saber was right. I don’t want to be here. As much as he deserves it, I don’t want to see Nero beat this slaver to death. I should have listened to the vampires.
Sick to my stomach, I flee to the safety of our stolen ship.
6
Zeke
Whatever they found on Gratvar’s cargo ship, it wasn’t good. Raven is pale. Her eyes are wide and staring, her shoulders are hunched, and she makes her way straight to the rec room.
I put the ship on auto-pilot and follow her. She’s making herself some tea, her movements mechanical. She doesn’t notice me, she’s so lost in her own thoughts.
Damn it. She should have never boarded the slave ship. Nero shouldn’t have either. Saber and I could have taken care of it.
“Do you want to be alone?”
She jumps, startled, and then her eyes focus on me. “What’s Banrilia?”
Fuck. I clench my eyes shut. It had to be children. Hiram Gratvar died too easily. “Some things are better left unsaid.”
“Don’t treat me like a child.” She takes a sip of her tea, her hands shaking. “Nero’s beating the pilot to death with his bare hands. I thought Saber would intervene, but he didn’t say a word. So I’ll ask again. What’s Banrilia?”
“Banrilia is a planet in the Chipwa sector. The pleasure houses there cater to vampires with very particular tastes.”
Her face goes blank. “Children.”
“Not sexually. The children are food. Some vampires believe that drinking the blood of human children prolongs life.”
She glares at me. “You know about it. Saber knows about it, as does Nero. Why is it allowed to exist? Is it because we’re a lesser species, Zeke? Is it because that’s what you really think of us? That we are food? That we live and die at the vampires’ pleasure?”
Every word slices into me, precise and cold and meant to wound, and I take it because she’s right. There’s no excuse. Banrilia should be burned to the ground. “Gerra Clay protects the planet,” I reply. “She is one of the five members of the Ruling Council. We are, none of us, powerful enough to attack her.”
Raven’s eyes flash with recognition. The humans on Boarus 4 were dangerou
sly isolated, but even on the remote colony, they know the names of the people that hold their lives in their hands. “And she’s looking for immortality?”
“Immortality, wealth, power. Two generations ago, Gerra’s grandmother Chela abdicated the throne in favor of her younger sister, Raria. Empress Astrid is Raria’s granddaughter. It’s no secret that Gerra wishes to be in her cousin’s place.”
“Ma Kaila wanted me to unleash the virus on the vampire population of Boarus 4. I refused. I told her that not all vampires were evil. Now, I’m beginning to wonder.” Her tea sloshes as she slams her cup on the counter. “The virus in my blood could destroy millions of your kind, Zeke. You should be afraid of me. You should be terrified.”
She’s angry. It’s in her stance. She’s standing with her arms crossed. Her eyes are narrowed; her nostrils are flared. But underneath the anger, I can sense her distress, her sadness, and her despair. “You are not a killer.”
Her face crumbles. Tears roll down her cheeks. “Raven,” I murmur, closing the distance between us and gathering her into my arms. In the last week, she’s been shot at. She’s been threatened by Zimmer and attacked by slavers. She’s discovered the depths of evil that people will plunge to. Marya Revit is on the hunt for her; only the Valiant’s superior shields keep her at bay. And there’s nothing I can do to shield her from any of it. “Please don’t cry, kära. Please.”
I hold her as she shudders in my arms. I’ve never felt more helpless in my life. Long moments pass, and then she takes a deep breath and pulls away from me. “When this is all over,” she says, her voice hard. “When we have a cure, and the threat from Levitan is contained, promise me we’ll kill her, Zeke.”
“You have my word.”
She wipes her face on her shirt. “They’re children,” she says bleakly. “Some as young as three. They’re not going to be able to tell us where they’re from. How do we find out who they are? How do we get them back to their families? What if the slavers have killed their parents?”
“We’ll figure it out.” An idea is taking shape in the back of my mind, but Saber’s not going to like it. “We won’t abandon them, I promise you.”
“There was a slaver on board that ship, the pilot. He was so matter-of-fact about what he was doing.” She shudders again. “He offered to give us a share of his profits if we fixed his oxygen supply.”
Fool. “Nero will take him apart. It will be cathartic. We should have let him go on a rampage after Brome.” She stiffens in my grasp. “Does that bother you?”
“That Nero’s going to kill that man? No. Some people deserve to die.”
Her voice is hard. Raven is not a stranger to death—no survivor of the re-education camps is—but until we entered her life, she’d never killed anyone. That changed on the ice deserts. She’d been forced to shoot an enforcer who was sent to kill her. She’d done what was necessary, but she’d also cried for hours after she shot the man.
She’s not a soldier, hardened by battle and death. I’ve lost track of how many lives I’ve ended. I killed Klaus Zimmer in front of her. Does the memory haunt her?
“You saw me shoot the Overlord. Does it change the way you look at me?” I hold my breath as I wait for her to reply.
“I’m glad you did it,” she says fiercely. “I wish I’d done it myself. My father taught me that all life is sacred, a gift from the Great Spirit, but I’m not sure I agree with him. Zimmer needed to die.”
She leans on my shoulder, her arms wrapping around my neck. She’d sat on Saber’s lap the first time we’d met. Not by choice, but because on Boarus 4, she was considered property. To keep her safe, I’d pulled her close and called her a tasty morsel. The end had justified the means, but that kind of rationalization is a slippery slope, and I know too well where it ends. “I should have never slept with you.”
She stiffens. “Well, that’s flattering,” she says, pulling away from me. “That’s just the kind of thing every woman dreams of hearing.” She doesn’t meet my eyes. “If you don’t want to sleep with me, why are you here, Zeke? Are you keeping an eye on me so I don’t use my blood to kill every vampire I meet?”
I tighten my grip on her before I realize what I’m doing and let her go. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“You don’t think I have the stomach for it?”
I’ve hurt her feelings. “The stomach, maybe. The heart, no. Try to understand. You were in danger on Boarus 4. You said you’d never slept with anyone for pleasure. We took advantage of you.”
“If memory serves me correctly, I came onto you. You have nothing to feel guilty about. I know my own mind. I wanted you.”
She’s so close to me. Her sapphire blue eyes are luminous. The sweet, irresistible scent of her tugs at me. I can smell her need.
My own desire flares to life, but I force myself to hold still. To resist the urge to kiss those soft, pretty lips. To slide my tongue into her mouth, to feast on her sweetness, to bask in her warmth. I shouldn’t. She’s in danger once again, and she’s entirely dependent on us. I shouldn’t muddy the waters.
A long moment passes. We both stay where we are, balanced between reason and need. Then Raven shakes her head, and the moment passes. “Tell me about Marya Revit.”
Regret stabs me. I wish I hadn’t pushed her away. “She’s an assassin. All her life, she has been trained with only one purpose. She is a weapon, the sharpest dagger in the galaxy. Harek Levitan controls her.”
She wrinkles her nose in confusion. “She could have had Saber. Why did she leave him? I’ve seen vids of Levitan. I don’t understand the attraction.”
“I don’t understand it either.” I shrug. “I’ve never seen the two of them together.”
“She was important to Saber. If it comes down to it, could he really kill her?”
I don’t want to find out. “Saber will protect you. We all will.”
“And I appreciate it.” She gives me a serious look. “But I don’t want to be a pet, Zeke. I don’t want to be a precious jewel, cosseted and cared for and pampered. You started to teach me how to defend myself on Boarus 4. Will you continue my lessons?”
The memory of her touch lingers. I resist the urge to pull her closer. I meant what I said. We rushed into things back on Boarus 4. This time, I want to take my time. “Yes.”
Merin’s not a yellow-sun world; the effects of slumber aren’t as potent as they were on Boarus 4. But slumber is still a vampire weakness, one that humans don’t share. Raven will be vulnerable during the day, and I will do anything that’ll even the odds.
I get to my feet and extend my hand to Raven. “That’s an excellent idea. Let’s start now.”
“Right this second?” She groans out loud. “What have I done?”
Footsteps clatter. Nero enters the room. He’s got blood on his knuckles and a cut on his lip. A purple bruise blooms across his abdomen, and from the way he winces as he breathes, I think he has a couple of broken ribs. Nothing serious.
Saber walks in on his heels. “I patched the OGS, but it won’t hold,” he says. “We’ll need to land soon. Did you find something?”
“Antaras Seven.”
Surprise flashes on his face. “That’s Jowth territory. They don’t like strangers.”
“I’m not a stranger,” I reply. “One of the Jowth ruling families owes me a life debt. Time to cash it in.”
7
Raven
A couple of hours later, the drugs have worn off. Every inch of my body is once again engulfed in pain. I do my best to keep it hidden from the vampires. If I scream out loud like I want to, they’re going to send me to the sickbay, and they’re going to force me to rest.
Resting would be smart, but I don’t want to be alone. My thoughts bounce from one dark place to another. The children on Gratvar’s ship. Zeke’s rejection. My tainted blood. Marya Revit, the assassin who hunts me, who Saber might still be in love with. It’s much better to be here. I snuggle deeper into the couch in the rec r
oom.
Nero glances at me. “Sleepy?”
“A little,” I confess.
He pulls a warm blanket over me, and I give him a grateful smile. Across from me, Saber and Zeke are locked in a low-voiced discussion. Even with my bite-enhanced hearing, I can’t catch what they’re saying. It’s a serious conversation; both of them look tense and frustrated. I wish I knew what they’re arguing about.
It can’t be about the wisdom of landing on Antaras Seven; we’ve already come to the conclusion that we have no other choice than to land on the Jowth planet. We’ve set our course, and we’ll reach our destination in twelve hours. So will the Ruby Rose, Gratvar’s cargo ship, which is tethered to us.
For the moment, the children remain in stasis. We’ve talked about it. We have no idea what Gratvar did to their parents. For all we know, he could have killed them all. Maybe we’re being cowards, but none of us have the heart to wake them and find out.
Nero’s not listening to the argument. He’s staring into space. “Are you okay?” I ask him.
“I put our lives in danger.” He clenches his fist. “In the middle of that fight, I froze. Had Marya Revit not interfered, Gratvar would have killed us all.”
I move closer to him, ignoring the hot wave of pain that surges through my body. Resting my head on his shoulder, I lace my fingers in his. “You don’t know that.”
He doesn’t look at me. “I was responsible for our safety. I failed.”
I know this feeling. It corrodes you from the inside out. I won’t let it take Nero. “I want to tell you a story,” I whisper. “When I was fifteen, the guards drove a group of us into the ice desert and left us there. If we wanted to live, we had to find our way back.”
Nero’s grip on my hand tightens. “Why?”