by Rayna Tyler
I did not understand why Celeste’s friends persisted in threatening that part of the male anatomy, but in this case, it seemed to be most effective. It was the first time during the questioning that Rick cringed and his face paled.
“Burke, you need to do something.” Rick’s plea sounded more like a whine. “You can’t let her…”
Burke shrugged. “I can and I will if you continue to insult her. I can vouch for her expertise with a blade and suggest you tell her everything she wants to know.”
Zaedon tipped his head toward Jardun and murmured, “I did not know your female had such a devious nature.”
Mischief flickered in the look Laria gave Zaedon. “You have no idea.” She turned her attention back to Rick. “Why did you attack my transport?”
“We were after that little bitch Carl, I mean Cara.”
We had all been around the humans long enough to recognize the reference and knew its insulting meaning. Jardun grabbed Zaedon’s arm when he growled and pushed away from the wall to go after the male. Zaedon was an intimidating male when he was angry. Seeing Rick frantically tugging at his restraints gave me a small amount of gratification. I’d been clenching my fists and resisting the temptation to pummel the male myself for going after Celeste.
“Cara is my friend, and if you call her that again, I will turn you over to the ketaurran.” Laria’s harsh tone made more of an impression than Logan had earlier with his fist. “Now tell me why you were after her.”
“Anyone who crosses Doyle doesn’t live very long. And Cara deceived him for weeks by pretending to be a guy.” Rick’s gaze never left Laria’s blade. “She caused a lot of damage before she left, and Doyle wants her real bad. He’s willing to pay a lot of cradassons to get her back.”
“Logan, he’s all yours.” With a disgusted sigh, Laria turned and left the room, with Jardun following behind her.
No one said anything after they left, but we all knew what had to be done. Rick and the other male could not be released or allowed to return to Doyle. If the merc was determined to find Cara, then many lives were at risk, not just hers.
Chapter Eight
Celeste
How hard could it be to spend a few hours in the same room with Khyron? Yes, he’d grown more handsome over the years. Yes, my body, traitorous as it was, responded to his nearness with the same level of heat it always had. And yes, I wanted to run my fingers over his scales and feel his lips pressed against mine. But none of those things were going to happen.
I pushed the thoughts from my mind and reminded myself I was more than capable of dealing with Khyron. I’d dealt with danger before, handled deadly mercs, and fought my way out of far worse situations. Besides, it wasn’t like he and I were going to be alone together. The vryndarr, my friends, and some of Burke’s men were going to be attending. The place had ample room to move around, so keeping my distance shouldn’t be a problem.
I wasn’t happy that I’d had to fill the empty sheath on my hip with another knife. When I’d gone back later to retrieve my favorite blade from the tree, the one I’d thrown at Khyron, it was gone.
I usually wore my hair in a braid because it was easier to manage and prevented distractions when I practiced throwing or ended up in a knife fight. For the first time in a long time, after I’d taken a bath, I left my hair draped loosely over my shoulders. Not because I knew Khyron liked it that way but because I wasn’t in the mood to braid it, or so I kept telling myself.
Taking longer to get dressed and sifting through my clothes to find the perfect pair of pants and shirt that accentuated my curves had nothing to do with him either. It was about me. Or maybe it was about him just a little. Maybe I wanted to remind him what he’d given up when he hadn’t kept his promise to come back for me.
I reached for my newest pair of boots, the ones I bartered for in the city market to replace the pair I’d ruined during the trip to the wastelands. I had one boot on and was pulling on the other when my bedroom door swung open.
“Are you about ready to go?” Sloane didn’t bother knocking before strolling into my room. “Normally, you’re the first one dressed and… Whoa, one look at you and Khyron’s tail is going to end up in knots.”
I blew out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t care what he does with his tail or any other part of his body.” My statement was the opposite of the truth, but I refused to admit it to my friend.
“You keep telling yourself that.” Sloane wrapped her hand around my wrist and tugged me toward the door.
“Is she ready?” Laria was waiting for us in the gathering room, and I could tell by the way she was pacing, she was anxious to see Jardun.
She stopped moving long enough to check out my outfit, then smiled. “I guess so.”
I held up my hand. “Not another word… From either of you.” I aimed my glare at one, then the other. “I’m only going because you said I had to.”
“Uh-huh,” they both said at the same time.
“Err, let’s go.” Uninterested in getting anymore unwanted comments or advice, I didn’t bother waiting for them and headed for the door.
As soon as we’d reached Burke’s place, my friends abandoned me. Laria immediately joined Jardun and slipped into his open arms. Sloane started a conversation with Logan and Vince, which quickly led to irritating Garyck. I stayed near the door, searching the room for a certain pair of crystal-blue eyes, and was interrupted before I found them.
“Zyrdena.” I turned at the sound of Zaedon’s voice and found him standing near the wall on my right, holding a half-empty glass of Nayea’s ale.
“Zaedon,” I said, noting that his normally happy smile seemed strained. I took the empty space next to him hoping to find out what was bothering him.
He took another swallow of his drink, then tipped his head closer to mine. “I should be angry with you for not telling me you were leaving, or that you planned to take Cara with you.”
Should be. Did that mean he was or wasn’t mad at me? Regardless of what he meant, I still couldn’t get past feeling guilty. “I’m sorry for misleading you. I didn’t ask Cara to come with me. She volunteered because she didn’t want me to travel by myself.”
“I see.” He pondered my comment by scratching his chin. A few seconds passed, then he smiled. “Then I will forgive you.”
Could the real reason he’d been upset have more to do with Cara leaving than with me being untruthful? Cara was a good friend, but could the reason she wanted to leave have anything to do with Zaedon’s interest in her? Until one of them wanted to talk about it, I figured it was none of my business, and nudged his shoulder. “Thanks.”
“I am curious,” he said.
“About what?”
“Why did you not tell me about Khyron, that he and you…”
“There is no him and me. Hasn’t been for a very long time.” I glanced at his drink, wishing I had one of my own. “I didn’t find out that Khyron was the drezdarr until yesterday. And since you’re friends with both of us, I didn’t want to put you in the middle of a bad situation.”
“You consider me your friend?” Zaedon was a dangerous warrior, yet he flashed a boyish grin and swished his tail as if he were a puppy.
“Unbelievable… Of course, I consider you a friend.” I shook my head and smacked the pale blue scales on his thick-muscled arm. “I really need a drink.” Maybe two or three. I headed toward the counter containing several empty glasses and numerous pitchers of the thought numbing liquid. No sooner had I poured a drink and turned to say something to Zaedon, than I spotted Khyron. He was on the other side of the large room, speaking with Burke, but his gaze was leveled at me.
The room suddenly seemed warmer. My stomach fluttered. I wasn’t sure what to expect, how he would react after our encounter earlier today. He smiled, tipping his head to acknowledge my presence, then looked away to answer something Burke had said.
Zaedon glanced between Khyron and me, then lowered his voice. “Yes, I can see there is definitel
y nothing between you.”
“Not another word.” I pinned Zaedon with a narrow-eyed glare, downed the contents in my glass, and quickly refilled it. I realized two or three drinks wasn’t going to be enough if I planned to make it through the rest of the evening.
***
Khyron
Celeste had made it clear she wanted nothing to do with me. I was certain she would not make an appearance when I had been informed all the females would be attending the meal and the discussion I had planned afterward. When I saw her enter the room, it took every bit of my willpower not to walk away from my conversation with Burke and go to her.
It was hard not to appreciate the way her pants and shirt accentuated each of her curves perfectly. It was her dark flowing locks that drew my attention the most. Had she remembered my preference to see her hair worn loose, not bound in a braid? Was it an unconscious choice or deliberately meant to torture me, to remind me of what I’d lost? I deserved the latter and did not care if it was her motivation as long as she remained where I could see her.
Her laughter, caused by something Zaedon said, had me seething. I was certain his interests lay elsewhere, that he considered Celeste no more than a friend, but he was receiving the attention I wished she would bestow on me. The knowledge that he would never do anything to jeopardize my relationship with her, or current lack of one, did not prevent my jealous reaction or the urge to pull him away from her.
Shortly after filling a glass with ale, she glanced in my direction, noticing my presence for the first time. Her flushed cheeks and the way she held my gaze gave me hope that she was not as unaffected by me as she pretended.
My conversation with Burke about the topics we planned to discuss later shifted direction now that Sloane, Thrayn, and Garyck had joined us.
“I suppose I could give you a chance to win it back… If you’re willing to make another bet.” Sloane caressed the hilt of Thrayn’s blade, now sheathed on her hip.
The male had not taken losing the knife well, even after I assured him there was nothing I could have done differently with Celeste to change the outcome.
Thrayn smiled, ready to agree to Sloane’s new terms, until Garyck, who was standing behind her, shook his head.
Thrayn slumped his shoulders. “Female… I mean, Sloane,” he corrected when she raised a threatening brow. “I have decided it is unwise to make wagers with you.”
“Huh, can’t imagine where you got that idea.” Sloane turned her head and glared at Garyck, then strolled to the counter on the other side of the room to refill her glass with ale.
Not long after that, Vince announced the meal was ready, and our group moved into the room used for meeting and dining. There were fifteen people in attendance. All the members of my group were present. Burke had asked Vince, Logan, and Marcus, the male responsible for overseeing the teams that monitored the outlying areas surrounding the settlement, to join us.
Besides Celeste and her friends, Harper and Nayea were the only other females who had been asked to attend. They were an integral part of the community. After the human male’s attempt to abduct the young one, Harper insisted that she be included in the group. She might not have the skills of a warrior, but she was respected by the settlement’s inhabitants. To have her support would help greatly with building trust between the humans and the ketaurrans.
As much as I wanted to sit next to Celeste, even if she ignored me throughout the meal, the best I could do was a seat directly across from her at the long rectangular table. I got the impression I had unsolicited allies in Laria and Sloane when I noticed them keeping anyone from sitting in the chair and encouraged a grumbling Thrayn to sit elsewhere.
We were halfway through a meal made up of freshly hunted meats, courtesy of Garyck, and a variety of vegetables grown on the nearby farms when Burke said, “Besides wanting you all to meet our guests” —he waved his hand at my friends and me—“there’s a reason I asked you to attend this get-together.”
“Which is?” Logan’s disdain wasn’t quite as harsh as when we had arrived, but there was still a rough quality to his tone.
Burke frowned at his second-in-command. “You all know that I’ve set up teams to patrol the perimeter areas to protect our community from bandits and mercs. What you might not be aware of are the rumors and speculations we’ve been getting from the other settlements about the possibility of Sarus’s supporters regrouping.”
Burke ignored the gasps and murmurs. “I’ve spent quite a bit of time talking to Khyron and the other males in his group, and I think you should hear what he has to say.”
Before my sire died, he had told me the arrival of the humans, coupled with the war, had changed many things. In order to be a good leader, the role of drezdarr needed to change with them. The success of his ideals, which became my goals, depended on getting everyone’s support. Prior to the meeting, I had asked Burke not to use my title, but to introduce me by my name. I wanted everyone to be comfortable with my presence, to offer their support because they agreed with the objective for the future, not out of respect for or fear of my position.
I also believed it was not necessary, at least not at the moment, to reveal that Jardun, Zaedon, Garyck, and Thrayn were actually vryndarr and not just my personal bodyguards. Jardun had recently discovered, through an encounter with a group of luzardees, that bounties were being offered for the capture of any of the elite warriors. The bald males with beady black eyes and flat faces were worse than mercenaries when it came to greed and unethical dealings.
“Khyron, why don’t you start by sharing the information you gave me and explaining your proposal,” Burke said.
I remained seated and glanced at everyone around the table, noting eagerness on some faces and skepticism on others. I held Celeste’s gaze, noting a brief glint of admiration before she masked her expression and reached for her ale.
As much as I wanted to devote all my attention on her, I needed to focus on the important matters facing us all. “I would like to propose a collaboration of sorts,” I said to the group, then proceeded to outline the relevant details of what Jardun, the other vryndarr, and I had uncovered over the last few months.
During that time, I had not stayed in the city hidden within my dwelling as many believed. My friends and I had disguised ourselves as traders, traveled to various locations, gathering information. I wanted to see firsthand what life was really like for the inhabitants without them being aware of my presence or knowing they were being observed.
What saddened me most was seeing so many people struggling to survive after the damage my sire’s brother had caused, and discovering the smaller ketaurran villages still dealt with random attacks by mercenary groups.
The ploy to hide our identities also worked well in obtaining information about the covert agendas of those who participated in criminal activities, mainly the mercs. It was rare not to find at least one business the humans referred to as bars, a place that served various forms of alcoholic brews, in the places we visited. It was even easier to learn what we wanted to know from the males who enjoyed imbibing.
There was also the possibility females were being abducted and transported to other locations to be used for sexual pleasure. I was disgusted when Jardun told me about the ketaurran soldiers manning the post near the Quaddrien and how they had attempted to take Sloane and Laria. Though I did not include it in the items I mentioned to the group, it was something else I added to the list of things I planned to investigate.
I shared what little knowledge we had acquired about mercs, like Doyle and other Sarus supporters who might be banding together, then briefly mentioned my desire to disband them before they could start another war.
I omitted revealing the attempt on my life. Only those closest to me, along with those who had accompanied them to the Quaddrien, were aware of the threat and how close I had come to dying. Someone with the ability to get close to me was a traitor. Once Vurell had determined the source of my illness, Jardun, Zaedon,
Garyck, and I had many lengthy discussions on the topic. None of which provided us with an answer.
Jardun had always believed that the report of Sarus’s death had been false, possibly a way to lower our defenses. After Vurell had been abducted by Doyle, I had to consider that his theory might be correct. Without my leadership and the help of the vryndarr, there would be chaos. It would be easy for any remaining Sarus followers, or Sarus himself, if he was truly alive and in hiding, to take control and force the humans into slavery, or end their existence altogether.
“My team and I”—I acknowledged the vryndarr males with a tip of my head—“will continue the mission we started months ago. At times, what I am proposing will be dangerous, and requires commitment. I do not expect an answer tonight and will understand if you choose not to participate. All I ask is that you give it some thought before making a decision.”
“I’m not sure if this is the best time to bring this up, but what did you guys learn during your interrogation?” Cara glanced between Burke and Logan.
Apparently, Laria had not had the opportunity to share the information Rick had provided about Doyle’s plans with her friend.
“Seems Doyle isn’t happy with you for infiltrating his compound, or the destruction you caused before we left. He put a price on your head. That’s why Rick and Neil followed you from the city. They planned to take you back to Doyle.”
“Really.” Cara scoffed, seemingly unaffected by the news that the mercenary leader wished her harm.
Not unexpected after I had learned she volunteered to go to the wastelands alone and find out more about the rumors of laser blasters. From what I had heard, her fighting abilities—preferring to use her body as a weapon—rivaled those of a ketaurran male, even a vryndarr.
Zaedon was good at disguising his irritation. If he had not been seated on my left, I would not have noticed the way he tensed after hearing Cara’s words. A muscle in his jaw twitched, and I was certain he wanted to throttle the female for her indifference to the situation.