Tribute Read online

  Tribute

  Barbarians of the Sand Planet #4

  Tana Stone

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Epilogue

  Preview of TAMED—Tribute Brides of the Drexian Warriors #1

  Also by Tana Stone

  About the Author

  One

  Holly stepped into the suite and let out a sigh of relief. She’d been hurried through the Crestek city so quickly, she’d barely had time to register much, except for lots of stone buildings with the occasional awning or parapet extending over a courtyard. After rushing into a tall, cylindrical building and up a spiraling ramp, they’d finally reached a heavy door that had swung open without being pushed.

  The spacious room behind it was a far cry from a prison cell, or even one of the barbarian tents in the desert. Holly nodded appreciatively as she took in the sunken sitting area surrounding an open fire, and sheer, ivory drapes as room dividers. Unlike the earthy and vibrant colors in the Dothvek oasis village, this room was all sleek lines and neutral-colored stone. It even smelled crisp—like rain over cut grass.

  “You should be comfortable here.” The deep voice behind her made her spin around and put a hand to her heart.

  “Don’t sneak up on me like that,” she said.

  The tall Crestek studied her. “I did not sneak. I was behind you the entire time.”

  “Then you’re really quiet. That’s something you share with the Dothveks, then. Those guys can move like shadows.”

  Something flickered behind his eyes, and Holly wondered if that had been the wrong thing to say. She did know that this guy was a Crestek, and the Dothveks and Cresteks were mortal enemies, despite the fact that they looked almost identical. That was something she definitely wasn’t going to point out.

  “Can I get you anything?” he asked.

  “No, thank you.” She wracked her brain to remember his name. Something with a ’t’. T’Kar, that was it. “I’m fine for now, T’Kar.”

  He inclined his head slightly, but his eyes didn’t leave her face.

  Holly swallowed hard. So, this was the alien she’d promised to take as a mate. His black cloak hugged his huge frame more than the others of his kind, and his amber eyes flashed as he watched her. She considered herself something of an expert on men, and there was something more primal about this guy than he let on.

  She jerked her gaze away and walked across the room. She was still coming to terms with her impulsive decision and the reality of now being trapped inside the Crestek city. At the time, it had seemed like a good idea to volunteer to take Max’s place when the Cresteks demanded she return to their city, especially after she saw the way Max and Kush looked at each other. No way was she going to let them be driven apart. Not if she could help it.

  Besides, she knew her girls would break her out before anything crazy happened. If the bounty hunter babes were good at anything, it was nabbing people.

  Her mind wandered over the past few days. She’d gone from being marooned on the sand planet to being taken by the Cresteks to being rescued by the Dothveks to volunteering to marry one of the Cresteks.

  She blew out a breath. Just thinking about everything that had happened made her tired.

  A sharp knock on the door caused her to turn her head. The old man who’d brokered the deal to take her strode into the room smiling, as if he were joining a cocktail party and not checking on a new captive.

  “I hope you find your suite to your liking, my dear,” he said, then turned to his son without waiting for her answer. “I will send up some attendants to ready you both.”

  “Ready us?” T’Kar tilted his head at the elder Crestek. “What do we need to be ready for? I thought our forces were still fighting off the enemy attack.”

  “Yes, yes.” His father waved a hand to dismiss his concerns. “That’s why we need to move quickly. We need to formalize the bond before those barbarians change their mind and use the chaos to their advantage.”

  T’Kar folded his arms over his sizable chest. “I do not understand.”

  His father sighed. “The bonding ceremony between you and the offworlder. It will take place now.”

  “Now?” Holly’s voice sounded shrill, even to her own ears. She was getting married to a total stranger right now? She’d assumed she’d have time to get to know the guy first, not to mention get her ass busted out by her crew.

  The chancellor swiveled his gaze to her, his slippery smile wide. “Do you have a problem with that, my dear? I’m sure there’s still time to bring back your friend and rescind the agreement.”

  Holly bit back a smartass reply. She’d better be nice if she wasn’t getting out anytime soon. And she definitely didn’t want them dragging Max back in there.

  She gave him a smile equally bright and insincere. “No problem at all.”

  As the elder left in a flourish of swirling silver robes, she steadied her breath.

  Stay calm, she told herself. You’ll figure a way out of this. You always do. So, you have to get hitched to tall, dark, and hooded. It’s not the end of the world. You’ve dated worse. It’s not like your husband-to-be isn’t incredibly hot.

  Her internal dialogue wasn’t helping her calm down, since it just reminded her that she’d agreed to marry a total stranger. Seriously, what had she been thinking? Was she really going to go through with this? Did she have a choice?

  She glanced around the room. No exits, except the heavy door in front of which her intended stood. She gulped as she took in his impressive bulk and wondered what else was under that cloak.

  For fuck’s sake, Holly. Stop thinking about the hot alien and start thinking about how to get yourself out of this mess.

  T’Kar locked eyes on her, one slash of an eyebrow twitching up, and for a moment she wondered if she’d said that aloud. Her pulse quickened.

  Shit. Holly had known a lot of men in her day, but she’d never met one who could make her stomach do flips with a single look. Too bad she didn’t know if this was a good sign or very bad one.

  Girl, you are in so much trouble.

  Two

  T’Kar stormed down the hallway, his boots echoing off the stone walls and his long cloak snapping around his heels. He did not pause to knock when he reached the door, pushing hard on the massive, wooden door to enter the room.

  The old man at the long table glanced up at the intrusion, his lined face creasing into a flicker of a smile, before he dropped his head once more. He waved T’Kar forward, even though the motion was unnecessary. T’Kar was already barreling toward him, his face flushed.

  “I trust you have settled the female into your suite,” T’Kar’s father said, his voice flat as he scanned the papers spread out in front of him.

  T’Kar ignored the non-question. “What is this about the wedding taking place now?”<
br />
  The Crestek chancellor didn’t bother to raise his head again. “I thought it was perfectly obvious. We need to secure the arrangement before those barbarians come get her.”

  T’Kar flinched at his father’s classification of the Dothveks—the sand-dwelling warriors with whom they shared a common, if distant, ancestry. He’d heard his father’s warnings all his life about the brutal barbarians who dwelled on the sands and desired nothing but war. Recently, though, he’d come in contact with a Dothvek, and had found the warrior to be nothing like he’d been taught. It had only increased his curiosity about his distant relatives, and proven to him that his father’s fears were unfounded.

  “We have no indication they’ll come after her,” T’Kar said. “The female volunteered to come with us, and the Dothveks agreed to the agreement. They have no reason to break the truce, especially not after we fulfilled our side of the bargain and helped beat back the ship of offworlders.”

  His father shook his head and gave him a look as if he was a simpleton. “You think the barbarians need a reason to attack? They are brutes who are always looking to spill blood—Crestek blood. No, they will attack and try to claim the female for themselves.” He waved a spindly hand in the air. “Not that I blame them. They have as few females as we do.”

  T’Kar tried not to let his father’s disdainful tone affect him. “Why would they risk so much for one female? They have all the others. An entire female crew.”

  “A crew of six females.” His father frowned, clearly disapproving. “Who has ever heard of an all-female crew with a spaceship? No wonder they crashed on our planet. They are lucky they didn’t die. And did you see? Some of the females looked as wild as the Dothveks.”

  T’Kar had seen more of the female crew members than his father even knew, but he couldn’t admit that without his father discovering that he’d helped one of them escape from Crestek captivity. “The females are not like us.”

  The Crestek chancellor leaned back in his high-backed chair. “You are correct about that. They seem to be impulsive creatures who have not been properly protected or taught their place. I trust you will remedy that with your new mate.”

  T’Kar flinched at the word ‘mate.’ He hardly knew the creature with the flame-colored hair and the brightly colored clothes. He couldn’t imagine binding himself to a complete stranger, much less one who was being forced into the arrangement.

  “I need more time to help the female adjust to her situation,” he said, leveling his voice in order to placate his father. “There is much to teach her of our ways.”

  His father steepled his fingers, tapping them against each other. “You will have plenty of time for that after the bonding ceremony. And after you consummate the union.”

  T’Kar’s mouth went dry. “You cannot expect her to want to— “

  “Want?” His father pushed his chair back so abruptly it almost tipped backward. “Why do you think I care about what an offworld female wants?”

  T’Kar stepped back as his father stood, his wrinkled hands braced on the table. Even though he was considerably larger than his aging father, the Crestek still had the ability to make him feel like a small boy, cowering under his tirades of criticism.

  “You are a high-born Crestek. You are destined to serve after me. You will be even more powerful than I am.” He slammed one palm on the table. “Unless you insist on giving this offworld female power over you. Who is the male? You or her?”

  T’Kar’s face burned, and he clenched his fists. “I am.”

  His father straightened, giving him a triumphant smile. “You are. You are my son. The only son of the Crestek chancellor. The heir apparent to the ruling class of our people.”

  T’Kar swallowed, tasting bile as he listened to the words he’d heard over and over for his entire life. He might be all the things his father claimed, but he didn’t want any of them. He never had. He didn’t hunger for power, or crave domination. He didn’t want what his father did, and he knew he’d never measured up to his impossible standards. Despite knowing that he would never be his father and never wished to be, he hated himself for it. Even now, the shame of failure was bitter in his throat.

  His father tilted his head at him. “Is it a problem with the female? Do you not find her appealing?”

  T’Kar thought about the small creature he’d left in his suite, her long hair spilling over her shoulders, and her skin an impossibly pale shade. There was no denying that she looked different from Cresteks, who had gold skin, ridges sweeping out from their spines, and peaked ears. Not to mention the fact that she was significantly smaller than any Crestek female. He would be lying if he said he didn’t find her intriguing. “There is no problem. She is acceptable.”

  His father nodded, his lips a thin line. “Of course, I would never mate you to an offworlder if things were not so dire with our females. At least this way, you will have the only claim on her.” He wrinkled his nose. “Our females have gotten too powerful because of their scarcity. Each female has so many partners, we hardly know which male is fathering which child.”

  T’Kar knew his father spoke the truth. After a virus wiped out most of their females, the remaining ones had become in high demand, and monogamy had all but vanished. Couples still bonded, but it was widely known that each female could have her pick of extra partners.

  Despite being considered one of the most eligible and attractive males, T’Kar had avoided forming attachments to any females. The thought of taking another male’s mate to his bed made his stomach turn. He knew this practice would never be accepted by the Dothvek clan, another reason he was so fascinated by the sand warriors.

  Oddly, he felt more of a connection to the barbarians his father feared than to his own kind. It was why he was a part of the secret Crestek separatist movement that sought to become more like they had been before their people broke off from the Dothveks and left the sands. It was why he secretly studied the Dothveks and tried to emulate them. And he knew the sand barbarians would never force a female. Not when they worshipped goddesses and revered their priestesses.

  “I need more time to prepare her,” T’Kar said, trying another tack. “She is not presentable for a bonding ceremony, unless you wish others to see me take a dirty female as a mate?”

  This gave his father pause. “No, that would not do. Since she is an offworlder, she must appear pristine.” He pursed his lips. “We do not want my rivals to say the female is not worthy.”

  “Agreed.” T’Kar hoped this would buy him some time. He wasn’t sure what he hoped would happen. Maybe he did want the Dothveks to attack and rescue the female. Maybe he wanted to leave with them. All he knew was that he could not let his father dictate the most intimate parts of his life.

  The Crestek chancellor lifted a goblet from the table and took a long drink, setting it back down with a thunk and staring at his son. “Do not think I do not know your game.”

  “My game?” T’Kar’s pulse quickened. Had his father heard about his separatist group? Had he gotten a glimpse of the tribal markings he hid underneath his cloak?

  “Your desire to make a love match. Don’t you think I’ve noticed how you’ve turned down every mated female who’s sniffed around you?”

  T’Kar did not reply. His father was wrong. He was not waiting for a love match. He did not believe in love any more than he believed the Dothveks were violent brutes. But he also did not believe in deceiving others. The more he had developed his empathic abilities, the clearer he’d read the feelings of those around him, and the easier it had been for him to realize that no one cared for him. Not in the way he wanted them to. His father cared for him only as a means to consolidate his own power. The Crestek females only cared for how well he could pleasure them. Even the human who waited in his suite only agreed to marry him to save her friend.

  “You are incorrect, father,” T’Kar said. “I do not believe in love matches.”

  His father studied his face for a moment before slappin
g him on the shoulder. “Good. Then you will take the offworlder as a mate as soon as she is made presentable.”

  T’Kar gave his father a curt bow, swallowing his anger as he left to return to the mate who did not want him.

  Three

  Holly paced circles around the sunken fireplace. After the chancellor had left, T’Kar had made brief apologies and stormed out of the suite. He was not happy, that much was clear. Holly tried not to take it personally that the alien hottie seemed as freaked out about getting hitched as she was, but she wondered if it was her or just the concept he objected to so strongly.

  Keeping alien politics straight was not her forte, especially not when the aliens in question were mortal enemies with the sand barbarians she’d been with before now. It didn’t help that both species looked pretty similar, despite their obvious distaste for each other. It was fair to say that the Dothveks, who lived out on the open sands of the desert planet, were a lot more straightforward than these Cresteks, who’d built themselves a big stone city behind massive walls. If you asked her, living behind walls had made the Cresteks fearful and a little creepy.

  Not that T’Kar was creepy. Stealthy, yes. He’d managed to walk behind her without her even noticing, which was a little surprising. The guy was definitely different from his fellow Cresteks, although she couldn’t put her finger on exactly how, yet.