Kyndan’s mouth drew into a grim line. Quickly he organized the Tellarans into teams, assigning squad commanders to each.
Kinara watched silently as the Tellarans readied themselves, tears stinging her eyes. No time for goodbyes. No time to tell them how sorry she was for everything.
But she could see them to safety.
“They don’t know this ship,” she said to Aidar. “I have to take them.”
There was the slightest flicker of doubt in his dark eyes. “And then we return to Az-kye, Cy’atta.”
“Of course,” she said frowning. “Once I get them to the Sun Dragon.”
She waved the first group forward and fell in behind him as he led the way.
Aidar managed to get them mid-ship in minutes.
Kinara half-hoped to run into a group of Tellarans from the Sun Dragon. What she would say to them she didn’t know but at least they could have taken the others over to the Tellaran ship.
Miraculously, Aidar found a working schematic at one of the junctures. Kinara, looking at the display, let her breath out in relief. The atmosphere leak had been sealed off. The way was clear for them to move ahead. The Sun Dragon had established their link aft. She sent the others on, sure now they would meet up with Tellaran forces quickly.
Frowning, she backtracked, passing the Tellarans in groups of three or four.
“What do you, Cy’atta?” Aidar demanded. “We must go below and take a shuttle now.”
“I need to see that Tedah and Kyndan make it.”
“They will be fine,” he said shortly. “It is now time for us to go.”
“It will just take a moment.” She quickened her pace. The last Tellarans had passed her.
“You treat them as children,” he snapped, clasping her arm. “They will tend to themselves.”
Angry words bubbled to her lips but she spotted Tedah coming at a jog. Her frown deepened when she saw that he was alone.
“Where’s Kyndan?”
Tedah gestured at the corridor he had come through. “Back there. He found one of the Az-kye wounded.” He nodded to them to follow. “Come on.”
Kinara put out a hand to stop him. “No, Tedah. Go with the others. Aidar and I will find him.”
Tedah began to protest but Aidar spoke first. “Know you well not to argue with her, Tedah.”
“You can argue with her, Aidar. Just always be ready to duck.”
Kinara gritted her teeth. The whole ship could blow any second and they were standing around joking. “Tedah, you have to go!”
“With your permission,” he said to Aidar then to her surprise hugged her tightly.
Tears stung her eyes. “I’m sorry,” Kinara whispered. “For taking you away from Lianna.”
“I know,” he said roughly. “When you get back to Az-kye tell Lianna I love her. Tell her I’ll find a way for us to be together.” He stepped back and smirked. “And tell Baruta if she thinks a little thing like a war is going to get rid of me, she’s badly mistaken.”
“Nisara wouldn’t let me talk to her.” Kinara swallowed. “Would you tell her I’m sorry? For taking her from Dael?”
“Yes, I will.” Tedah turned to Aidar. “And you, take care of her. She’s lousy at taking care of herself.”
Aidar nodded. “When you return to Az-kye, it would please me if you were a guest in our house, my friend.”
Tedah’s grin came full force and he clapped Aidar’s shoulder. “Count on it. Now get yourselves out of here.”
She spared Aidar a glance as she ran. “Did I just see you sorry to say goodbye to a clanless Tellaran?”
He turned dark eyes on her. “Think you, Cy’atta, that I cannot feel friendship?”
“I didn’t think you’d ever feel it for Tellarans.”
She ducked under a fallen beam. The leak might have been patched but the damaged environmental controls were doing little to warm the ship. It was blasted freezing in here. Kinara pulled the hood of her cloak up.
Kyndan was kneeling beside Nyat tearing his white shirt into strips. One glance at Nyat’s thigh told her that he had already managed to slow the bleeding.
“I found him in one of the side passages,” Kyndan said shortly as he bound the wound.
“How are you, Nyat?” Kinara asked, kneeling also.
His face was pale, but he kept his expression stoic. “I am well enough, Ti’antah.”
She smiled faintly at the lie.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Kyndan said. “Aidar, find a med-kit and I’ll–”
“Kyndan,” she said quickly putting her hand on his arm. “We’ll take care of Nyat. More Az-kye ships are on their way and the battle is liable to start again any minute. You need to get to the Sun Dragon.”
“Kinna, if you think I’m gonna leave you––”
“Kyndan,” Aidar said firmly. “She is my wife. It is now for me to care for her.”
Kyndan glared at him for a moment then gave a reluctant nod. “I want your promise that you’ll take good care of her.”
“By my honor and name, I will.”
Kinara squeezed Kyndan’s hand. “I’ll be all right.”
“You’d better keep your promise, warrior,” he warned. “That’s my little sister I’m trusting you with.”
Kinara hugged him briefly. “Go on, get to the Sun Dragon.”
Aidar helped Nyat to his feet. The warrior was clearly in pain and limping but he refused to lean on Aidar for support. He barely slowed them down though and they soon reached the downward spiral that would take them to the lower decks and the shuttles there.
Damage to this part of the ship was serious. The air was pungent with smoke and there was barely enough light for her to see. The alarms had fallen silent. Kinara could only assume that the power to those systems had finally given out.
Gods, I hope there’s still a shuttle left.
The shuttles on the starboard side were their best bet. The Sun Dragon’s weapons had done most of their damage on the port side but these corridors were in bad shape. If they had to go around, it might take longer than they had. Kinara hurried ahead, trying to see if they could get through at all.
“Aidar, did the schematic say that the way was clear across the –”
A blaster bolt cut her off. She cried out as Aidar yanked her back to the relative protection of the wall. Shots ripped across the spot where she’d been standing. The ship’s lights flickered crazily but the hall was lit up with the intense blue light of blaster fire.
Aidar darted forward. Horrified, she saw that he intended to draw his sword.
“Oh gods, no!” she cried, grabbing his arm.
He looked around at her and the breath shot out of his lungs when the bolt tore through his side.
She tried to catch him as he collapsed and she went down under him. His teeth were clenched, his body curled in pain.
“Stay where you are!” shouted a voice in Tellaran.
The quick footfalls of Tellaran soldiers echoed in the hall. They had no protection now. These men could cut them down in seconds.
“Hold your fire!” she cried in Tellaran.
There was a moment of confused shuffling but they didn’t lower their weapons. A glance showed Nyat sprawled further down the corridor, unconscious but still alive.
Aidar’s labored breathing was in her ear. He struggled, trying to stand. She tightened her arms around him.
“Don’t move,” she whispered to him in Az-kye. “They’ll kill us.”
“I will fight,” he gritted out, reaching for his sword.
A bolt cut through the air barely missing his hand. He froze.
“Try that again and I’ll take your head off,” the Tellaran officer snapped. “On your feet!”
“He’s hurt,” Kinara protested.
“He’ll be a lot more than hurt if he doesn’t stand,” the Tellaran officer retorted.
Kinara swallowed. Leading the Az-kye ships made her an enemy of the Realm. She could look forward to a life in prison but as a Tellaran
she’d probably live long enough to get there.
These soldiers wouldn’t take the same chance on an Az-kye warrior. Kinara eased out from under Aidar then helped him into a sitting position.
The officer had his blaster trained on them. “I told you to stand!”
She got to her feet. “I told you, he’s hurt.”
“You found more of them, Denks?”
The Tellaran High Commander stepped around the corner.
“Yes, sir,” Denks replied, the satisfaction in his voice unmistakable. “Two warriors and a woman.”
“A woman?” the High Commander asked, surprised.
“Yeah, and she speaks Tellaran.”
“Really?” His rust-colored Admiral’s uniform was immaculate despite the ruin of his surroundings. This man would always be Fleet to his very bones.
In his craggy face were the deep shadows of bitterness, his hair pure white. “I’ve never seen one of you Az-kye bitches up close. Come here and let me look at you.”
Her heart hammering, Kinara stepped forward into the light and pulled her hood down.
“Hello, Papa.”
“Kinara?” her father whispered hoarsely.
The lines on his face had deepened. He looked to have aged ten years since she’d last seen him.
“Yes, Papa. It’s me.”
“Kinna?” He pushed his way forward and his embrace knocked the breath out of her lungs.
He drew back again to blink down at her. “What are you doing here? We found the wreckage from the Rapier. I thought –”
“I’m all right, Papa. Kyndan’s here too.”
Her father frowned. “He’s—? No, Kinna, he can’t be here. He’s . . .”
“Kyndan’s alive, Papa. He’s all right. He went aft with the others to get to the Sun Dragon.”
“Alive? He’s — But how can you be . . .?” Her father shook his head. “Herlon’s right. I have lost my mind.”
“No. I’m here and Kyndan’s here. We’re both all right but we don’t have much time.”
His blue eyes widened. “I have to get you out of here, Kinna! Gods, there are Az-kye all around us!”
His words hung in the air for a moment. His gaze went swiftly over her, taking in her clothes.
“What’s happened?” he croaked. “What’s happened to you?”
She put her hands on his shoulders. “I’m married.”
He blanched. “No.”
“It’s all right,” she said quickly.
“No! Is it one of them?” His eyes narrowed at Aidar and Nyat. “Which one?”
Kinara recoiled. This man was almost unrecognizable as the father she remembered.
“Which one?”
Kinna Maere would have answered her father meekly but the Ti’antah of the Az’anti would never be meek.
“His name is Aidar of the Az’anti,” she said, her eyes going to Aidar. He sat propped against the wall, his dark eyes hard with defiance.
“Festering Az-kye,” Ryndar snarled, raising his blaster.
Kinara’s eyes went wide. “No, Papa, don’t!”
Kinara made a grab for the blaster. The bolt went wild, cutting an ugly mark into the wall beside Aidar’s head.
Snarling, Aidar pushed himself to his feet.
“Denks!” Ryndar shouted.
Kinara twisted to stand in front of Aidar, her arms thrown wide protectively as the Tellarans leveled their blasters. “No!”
Ryndar held up his hand. Denks and the other Tellarans stopped but they didn’t lower their weapons.
She could feel the quivering tension in Aidar body but she knew he wouldn’t risk going for his sword when she was caught between them.
Her father’s voice was soft, coaxing. “I know how much you must have suffered, Kinna. Just step aside, sweetheart. Let me do this and then I’ll take you home.”
The Ty’pran shifted under her feet and the lights flickered.
Her father glanced up at the ceiling, his face grim. “Kinna, there’s no time to argue. We have to get off this ship.” Her father lifted his blaster again. “Step aside.”
“I won’t let you hurt him.”
Ryndar shook his head. “You were always a softhearted girl. Think of what he’s done to you. He doesn’t deserve mercy. None of them do.”
Her heart was hammering. There was something unbalanced in his eyes, a bloodlust for the Az-kye, for any Az-kye. This was a hatred her father had nursed too long to be able to listen to reason now.
Her gaze darted to the three soldiers behind her father. All of them had blasters in hand leveled right at Aidar; their faces were hard and set.
Aidar was an Az-kye warrior. He would never hand over his sword and let them take him prisoner. He would never let them take his mate from him while he still had breath in his body.
They were running out of time. Once those Az-kye ships came in the crippled Ty’pran would be at the center of the battle. They had to get off this ship.
But her father would never leave her with Aidar.
And Aidar would die before he let them take her from him.
She could feel Aidar warm behind her, his labored breath in her ear.
I have to get them away from him quickly, while he still has the chance to get to a shuttle.
“Promise me he won’t be hurt, Papa,” Kinara said. “And we can leave right now.”
“What is this you say?” Aidar croaked.
Her father frowned, his grip tight on his blaster.
She held her father’s gaze. “Promise me you’ll let him go.”
“Why? Do you—” Ryndar’s face revealed his disgust. “Care for him?”
The early morning light touching his scars as he’d loved her, how he taught her and laughed with her, his precious smiles, the way he touched her hair . . .
“He released my crew. Tedah and Kyndan, too,” she said roughly. “He deserves his life. Promise me, Papa. I won’t go with you until you do.”
For one panicked moment she thought he would try to shoot around her.
Then her father lowered his blaster. “All right, Kinna. You have my promise.” He offered his hand to her. “Let’s go.”
“No!” Aidar cried.
He tried to catch hold her when she stepped away and couldn’t.
Aidar’s face was tight with pain, his arm pressed against the wound at his side and his dark eyes were wild. In a heartbeat she saw he was going fight for her, even now, even injured, even faced with the absolute certainty of defeat and she had to stop him, no matter what it cost her.
She swallowed, unsure she could even do this.
There’s no other choice. And I have to make him believe it, even if it feels as if I’m ripping my own heart out.
She knew Aidar, had lived with him, held him in her arms and loved him.
And now she had to hurt him badly, so badly he would let her go without a fight.
“No, Aidar,” she said in Az-kye. “I’m Tellaran. I’m going home now.”
His stared at her as if he couldn’t even comprehend what she was saying. “You do not mean this. You cannot.”
“This is what I want,” she forced out. “You know this is what I’ve always really wanted, to go home.”
He shook his head. “No, you . . .” He wet his lips. “Please, I will – I will do — anything —”
“Damn it, I don’t want anything from you. I want to go home!” Her throat felt like it was closing. “I don’t belong with you. I never did.”
“Cy’atta, you are my bound mate.” His eyes were a wide, dark sea of hurt. “I am yours. You are mine,” he pleaded. “For always.”
I’d be yours forever even if we weren’t bound. I was from the first moment you touched me.
And I’m not going to let you die.
“Bound!” She forced a sneer. “Tellarans don’t believe in that nonsense. I don’t think it even works on us. Gods, you Az-kye really are stupid!”
He flinched.
“I’m not saying I
didn’t enjoy fracking you, Aidar. We both know I did, and we both know why I agreed to be your mate in the first place. It did the trick, didn’t it?”
He shook his head again, his face deathly pale. “You made vows to me.”
I can’t! I can’t do this anymore!
She folded her arms to keep herself from reaching for him. “I got the crew back home. I got everybody home. That’s what matters to me, not some barbaric Az-kye ritual.”
I don’t mean it! I don’t mean any of this.
He trembled. “You promised—”
“I don’t need to keep any promise I made to you,” she broke in harshly. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! “You broke every one you ever made to me! My people are safe now. My brother is safe. My father is here. Why I should stay with you if I can go home?”
His dark eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “I love you.”
Her breath was coming in short quick gasps.
Stop, oh, please stop looking at me like that . . .
The ship shuddered around them.
No more time.
She forced herself to step back. “This is pointless,” she got out. “I’m finished here and I’m finished with you. I’m leaving now.”
She couldn’t bear to look at him anymore, not if she was really going to make herself walk away from him.
“Then let them kill me,” he whispered hoarsely.
Her knees nearly gave out and her vision blurred. Quickly she blinked the tears away before he could see them. She clenched her fist, her nails biting into the palm of her hand.
Gods, give me the strength to go. He still has a chance to get away once I’m gone.
“No,” she forced out. “I’m grateful for your help. Consider this a Tellaran way of saying, ‘thank you’.”
She nodded to her father and took his arm. She was shaking so badly she needed his support to keep herself upright. She glanced back to be sure Denks followed and her father kept his word. The security officers moved past Aidar, keeping their weapons ready but they didn’t fire.
Aidar stood slumped against the wall staring blankly ahead; tear tracks showed in the grime on his face, his expression utterly shattered.
Then he shut his eyes and bent his head in defeat.
It was the last she saw of him.
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