Synnr's Saint (Zulir Warrior Mates Book 1)

by Kate Rudolph

  She smiled, and then it dropped. She must have remembered why she was in space in the first place.

  He had to tell her the truth. “Emi—”

  “Docking in two minutes,” Solan’s voice broke through. “Begin checks.”

  He might have thought the man was doing it on purpose, but there were safety procedures they needed to go through to make sure they didn’t get hurt and no damage came to their shuttle or the ship.

  He kissed his Match’s hand and then got to work, confirming with Solan that everything was prepared for docking.

  It would all turn out fine, he told himself. Cru might be upset, but he wouldn’t do anything to actually harm Emily or her fellow humans. He was a bully, cruel and petty, but he still had a line.

  Oz hoped he had a line.

  They pulled into the dock and any hope for a reprieve was dashed the moment he, Solan, and Emily stepped out of the shuttle. The ship was nothing special to him, a standard orbiter built to Apsyn specs. It was registered to a company on Kilrym that allegedly monitored communication satellites, but if anyone bothered to search through all the layers of companies and identities, it would become clear that no one actually used that communication company. But it gave them the freedom to sit in the sky without fear of an Apsyn patrol blasting at them.

  It also meant they had no exterior weapons and only a weak shield. But that was a worry for another time.

  Emily was looking all around, her eyes wide, but her gaze snapped forward when Cru cleared his throat.

  Captain Scofoyl was the prime example of the Synnr military. He stood as straight as a rod and his expression gave away nothing. Back home plenty of people wanted to be on his arm, and Oz knew that he’d been offered more than one marriage contract based on his looks alone. But Oz didn’t think anyone who spent more than five minutes with the man would want to be tied to him for life.

  Oz pitied whoever ended up Matched with him.

  “You’ve brought another human,” said Cru. He wasn’t scowling, he was too professional for that, but his face was pinched as if he smelled something unpleasant. “Jori informed me of your excursion. Would you care to tell me why you have refused my calls?” The promise of violence lay heavy in the air. As captain he could discipline them how he saw fit, and his whip lay heavy on his belt.

  Oz stayed quiet. If he spoke, a whipping would be a good outcome. Solan knew how to handle Cru. Most of the time. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his communicator. “It was damaged. Hasn’t picked up a call in two days.”

  Cru narrowed his eyes as he took the communicator from Solan. He studied it for a moment before looking away. “I’ll have our tech look at it.” That shouldn’t have been a threat. And yet his free hand rested on his whip. “Take the girl to the others. Then we meet on the bridge.” He turned away and left the three of them alone.

  Emily waited until he walked through the door and it closed behind him to speak. “So he’s your captain.”

  “I can buy you ten minutes,” Solan told them. “But don’t delay. He’s already upset and he won’t get better.” He didn’t give Oz any time to answer, instead taking off after the captain.

  “What’s going on?” Emily asked, biting her lip, her brow furrowed with worry.

  Oz wished he could hold her close and kiss her until that worry disappeared, but nothing he could say would fix things he couldn’t control. “The captain will have things to say to Solan and I. Let me take you to your friends.”

  “How do you know where they are?”

  “It’s not that big of a ship.” He led her down the hall to the sick bay and was unsurprised to find all four of Emily’s friends sitting in the hallway outside where Lena was hooked up to the machines that were keeping her alive and hopefully healing her wounds. The four humans sprang to their feet and mobbed Emily.

  Oz wanted to stay around them. It would be much preferable to what he’d have to put up with from his captain. But the minutes were ticking down and he couldn’t keep Cru waiting.

  He tried to get his Match’s attention, but she was listening intently to something Luci was saying, so he turned and left.

  She’d be okay.

  He’d sacrifice anything to make sure of it.

  OZ SEEMED TO DISAPPEAR between one breath and the next. Emily looked up when Luci took a breath while explaining the flight from Kilrym to the space ship and found that she’d been left alone. She tried not to feel hurt.

  She failed.

  But the hurt couldn’t last long, not when Zac, Joel, and Luci each had plenty to say. It was like they’d been separated for weeks rather than two days.

  “What happened with you?” Zac asked. There were bags under his eyes. None of them looked like they’d slept well. Given Lena’s condition and the turmoil of the last months, that was hardly surprising.

  Emily blushed. She couldn’t help it when her first thought went to where she’d spent the night before and what she’d been doing.

  Joel nudged her shoulder and grinned. “Sounds like you have something to share.”

  They’d all sat on the floor once they finished their hellos. There was a small bench, but it wasn’t big enough for any of them. And, apparently, they’d been given a room with four bunks to sleep in, but they wanted to be near Lena in case something happened.

  Emily looked down at her hands. She could feel the spark under her skin, could remember Oz’s touch, the taste of him. But admitting all of that felt like some kind of betrayal. She’d grown closer to Oz in two days than she had to any of the humans in six months. The feelings she had for him were growing so quickly that she was seriously considering giving up any opportunity to go home. What would her friends think of her?

  “What’s wrong?” Luci asked when Emily was quiet for a long time.

  “Nothing’s wrong.” Emily forced a smile. “Not now that we’re all together. Oz and I ran into some trouble down on the planet, but we managed to make it here in one piece, so I’ll count that as a win.”

  “I may not be the valedictorian of the class of 2013, but even I am smart enough to hear that you’re holding something back.” Luci crossed her arms and gave her a hard look.

  But that wasn’t what Emily caught onto. And neither did Zac.

  “2013?” they both sputtered.

  Luci’s face scrunched up. “My graduation year? This year?”

  “I graduated in 2013,” said Emily, and she’d since been through both undergrad and law school.

  “It’s 2007!” said Zac.

  All four of them looked at each other. “I graduated a long time ago,” said Joel. “But last time I checked it was 2016.”

  2019. 2013. 2016. 2007. What year would Lena think it was? And how was that possible?

  Emily stood up and started pacing. She needed to move. The spark in her veins flickered and she knew it would take almost no effort to set something on fire. What a difference a few hours made. Now that she knew what it felt like, it seemed she could summon her new powers at will.

  “It’s only been six months since I was abducted. I thought we were all taken six months ago.” If she knew the layout of the ship she’d storm the bridge and demand answers from Oz.

  But Oz wasn’t the one who had abducted her. He might end up being just as confused.

  “Have you all been prisoners for longer? How long have the Apsyns had you?” Had Zac really been at their mercy for more than a decade?

  But the others were shaking their heads. Emily had more questions, but movement through the window into Lena’s room caught her eye.

  She was moving on her bed.

  Zac was the first to move, and the rest of them followed close behind him, rushing for the door and into the room. There was a heavy antiseptic smell, not unlike hospitals back home. If Emily ignored the fancy screens and what looked like a robot in the corner, and if she let herself forget they were on a space ship, it was almost like a hospital back home.

  Lena’s eyes were open by the time
they circled around her, and for a moment she didn’t seem to recognize anyone. The fog cleared and she tried to sit up.

  Both Emily and Joel held her down as gently as possible.

  “You’re okay,” Emily told her. “You got hurt during our escape, but you’re fine. We’re all fine.”

  Well, some level of fine. She wasn’t forgetting the temporal conundrum they were facing, but those were questions that could be answered later. Right now they had to see how Lena was doing.

  “What year did you graduate high school?” Luci asked.

  Emily glared at the girl. “Not the time,” she hissed.

  Lena looked even more confused, and she didn’t answer. Probably a good thing.

  “The last thing I remember is getting out of the facility.” Lena’s voice was raspy, and before Emily could look around for water, Joel was handing a bottle over.

  Lena took a few grateful sips before putting it down. “Thanks.” That sounded a lot better.

  “A lot has happened,” Emily said.

  “We’re on a space ship,” Luci added.

  Lena looked even more confused. “What? How?”

  They all tried to explain at once, spitting out words like Synnr and Apsyn, Zulir, Kilrym, Osais, and Lena just looked lost. Four people could not explain this all at once, especially when they all had different parts to say.

  “Wait!” Emily put her hands up. “I’ll talk, then you all can add in whatever you want when I’m done.”

  Lena looked grateful, and the others didn’t argue.

  Emily did her best to start at the beginning, explaining the conflict between Apsyns and Synnrs as she understood it, and letting Lena know that the Synnrs were their friends. She went over Matching, and that she was actually starting to understand, and the theory that Apsyns were experimenting on humans to reap the benefits of a Match without the bond.

  By the end her own throat was sore, and she almost asked if she could have a sip of Lena’s water. But then Luci took over, talking about the ship and blushing when she mentioned a Synnr soldier named Ax.

  Interesting.

  Zac and Joel didn’t have much to add, and by the time they were done nearly half an hour had gone by.

  “Is there a doctor or something?” Emily asked. “Should we be telling someone that Lena’s awake?”

  “No doctor,” said Joel. “Jori said she’d wake up when the machines were done with her. Or...” He cleared his throat. “She’s awake, so that’s good.”

  “Sounds like you all had quite the adventure,” said Lena. “And I’m sick of laying down. I want a shower. And then I want to meet these so-called nice aliens.” She sat up, and this time no one stopped her.

  Emily looked her over. Her color was good, and she didn’t seem to be in pain. And even if that hadn’t been the case, Emily doubted anyone could stop Lena from doing what she wanted when she was conscious.

  “We’re not supposed to bother them,” Luci warned.

  That got both Lena and Emily’s attention. “Who told you that?” she asked. Oz might have left her on her own, but she didn’t think she was supposed to avoid him now.

  “I think his name was Jori?” Luci shrugged, her face scrunched up as she thought about it. “He wasn’t the captain, but he was in charge when we got here.”

  “I’ve heard things about the captain.” Oz didn’t like him, so Emily wasn’t exactly an unbiased source. “He’s not supposed to be great. So be careful if you’re talking to him.”

  “Did Oz tell you that?” Zac asked curiously.

  “Why?” Emily didn’t want to sound defensive, but it came out that way.

  “Didn’t you hate that guy?” asked Luci.

  “I don’t hate Oz,” Emily said. But how would the humans know that? They hadn’t been on the best of terms when Solan took them away, even if they had come to an understanding. “I don’t.”

  “You sigh every time you say his name,” Lena pointed out. “I don’t think you hate him at all.”

  Emily’s eyes widened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Ten bucks says he kisses you the next time you see him,” Lena bet.

  “I don’t have any cash,” Zac complained.

  “You’re all being weird.” And this conversation had gotten off the rails. “Let’s go find the aliens. I have questions.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  IT TOOK OZ NINE MINUTES to make it to the bridge, and Cru glared at him when he walked through the door. Apparently Solan hadn’t been able to buy quite enough time. “Give me a reason I shouldn’t have you thrown in a cell for disobeying a direct order,” Cru demanded.

  Everyone was there. Solan, who was favoring his left leg as if something had happened to the right, Jori and Crowze, who were standing off to the side and out of Cru’s sight, and Ax, who had his arms crossed like he was ready to hit someone, though Oz wasn’t sure who. Tension hung thick in the air. If this had been a bar, there would have been a fight. It could still end that way, but no matter who threw the most punches, Cru would win.

  Unless he was dead.

  But not even Oz would go that far.

  He scrambled to think of an excuse and swallowed hard when he noticed that Cru had his whip out and was running it through his fingers like some sort of toy. Oz didn’t want to feel the smack of leather on his skin, but he knew it was coming. And before he could get an excuse out, Cru struck, flicking the weapon at his leg until it whipped against his pants and tore a small hole.

  It hurt, and Oz was a proud man. He didn’t want to give Cru the satisfaction of seeing him ache. But he was also a smart one who’d been under Cru’s command for months. Giving into a little humiliation was the quickest way to appease the captain’s temper.

  His leg stung, but it probably wouldn’t even bruise. Cru saved his severe beatings for places far away from the bridge where there were no cameras and no witnesses.

  But Oz was already on edge from the last few days and he couldn’t stop his wings from unfurling to defend himself. He didn’t realize his mistake until gasps went up around the crew.

  “You’ve bonded.” He was pretty sure it was Crowze who said it, though he’d be a fool to take his eyes off the captain.

  Oz wasn’t ashamed of it. He wanted everyone on the planet and the moon to know that Emily was his. But he hadn’t thought through how to break the news to the captain. Bondings didn’t normally happen so quickly.

  “Who?” Cru demanded. “I didn’t realize you’d grown so chummy with your Apsyn friends.”

  “My Match is no Apsyn.” He would have spit at the thought, but that would have earned another smack of Cru’s whip.

  Cru was confused, though he tried to hide it. And after a moment he realized what Oz had to mean. “A human? One of the unauthorized humans on the ship? Which one? Give me a name.”

  Oz wanted to protect Emily. He’d tear Cru’s whip out of his hands before he let the captain harm her. But there were only five humans aboard, and it wouldn’t take much for him to figure it out. “Emily,” he admitted. “The one I arrived with today.”

  Cru coiled the whip up and placed it back in its holster. He was quiet for several moments, quiet enough that Oz was worried. He wouldn’t harm her. He couldn’t.

  Right?

  Cru turned away from Oz and looked at Jori, a calculating look on his face. “Have the humans tested for Match compatibility, Jorissan. Perhaps they can be useful after all.”

  Oz looked over at Jori, whose face had drained of color. “Sir?” he asked, voice cracking.

  “You heard me,” the captain snapped. “I want their DNA in the system before dinner. It may take days to transmit the data.” He took his seat and then called up a file on the holoplayer. “We’re retrieving the asset tonight. She sent word that she’s ready. Oz and Crowze, you’ll accompany me. Let’s see that we have no more mishaps. Yes?”

  The last thing Oz wanted was to go on a mission with his captain, but there was no getting out of it.
Once he was dismissed he followed Jori out of the bridge and ran to catch up. “Wait!”

  Jori waited. He looked pained. “Think before you tell me to ignore the captain’s order,” he said.

  Oz didn’t speak immediately. Jori was right. His first thought was to demand that the other man ignore Cru and do the right thing. But actions had consequences. “We can’t just put them in the system without their consent. Matching is a serious matter.”

  “Says the man who apparently Matched and bonded in a day?” Jori shot back.

  No one but he and Emily knew the exact timeline, and now was not the time to explain it.

  “This isn’t how we do things,” Oz insisted. “We give people a choice. If we take that away we’re no better than the Apsyns we’re fighting.” He had to cross his arms to keep from gesticulating madly. His spark was ready to shoot out, to hurt whatever threat was out there. But he couldn’t attack Cru, and Jori didn’t have a choice either.

  “Testing isn’t Matching,” said Jori. “And Matching isn’t bonding. No one is saying that choice will be taken from them.” But he didn’t sound convinced. They both knew how insistent people could become about potential Matches, and how precarious the humans’ position might be once they reached Osais. He took a deep breath and glanced back over Oz’s shoulder as if Cru would appear out of nowhere. “I’ll go as slowly as possible, but this is going to happen. Given how long it can take to get results from the lab, though, we probably won’t know about any Match potential until we’re back home.”

  It still left Oz unsatisfied, but he had no other choice, not unless he was going to physically incapacitate Jori. “Do what you must. I’m going to say goodbye to my Match before I leave.”

  “Last I heard all the humans were congregating in the medbay near their wounded friend.” He paused and then spoke deliberately. “I’m going to check their quarters first. Let them know that I’m looking for them.” He walked away while Oz was still parsing what he was saying.

  So maybe Jori was more willing to work around orders than Oz thought.