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  I didn’t want to be rescued. I didn’t want to go with these Zagrath soldiers. I didn’t want to go back to my sister’s ship.

  The one closest to me let his rifle hang by his side as he took me by the elbow. “Are you injured? Did these brutes hurt you?”

  I shook my head, my throat thick. Kratos had never hurt me—would never hurt me.

  Remembering what he’d told me about not telegraphing my moves, I slumped against the soldier. “I feel faint.”

  He dropped his rifle to catch me, and the other soldier loosened his grip on Krin, who wiggled out of his grasp. I scooped the weapon from the floor, coming up and hitting the soldier trying to pick me up. The rifle cracked against his skull and he flew back, landing on the floor with a hard smack. The other soldier didn’t figure out what was happening fast enough, his mouth dangling open as I rounded on him, hitting him on the side of the head with the butt of the gun. He dropped at my feet.

  I glanced back at Krin, a grin splitting his face.

  “I knew you were a fast learner,” he said. “Not even the Raas would have thought of that.”

  I suspected playing the damsel in distress wasn’t a technique Kratos had ever employed, or ever had to. I motioned down the corridor. “We’d better get out of here before these two wake up.”

  I could tell that Krin would have rather killed them, but he joined me in sprinting down the hall. When we reached another steep staircase, I paused.

  “What’s down there?”

  “Escape pods.”

  “Perfect,” I said. “No one will think to look for us in one of those.”

  When we got to the bottom of the staircase that was virtually a ladder, I surveyed the row of round, steel hatches. I peered through the clear window of one, and saw what looked like a small cockpit with room for two people. “We can fit in one of these.”

  Krin helped me open the hatch, stepping inside and taking one of the two seats facing the glass front that looked out over the pointed nose. Beyond the nose of the pod was another round door that appeared to spiral open. Beyond that, I knew, was space.

  I stepped in after him and pulled the hatch closed behind me. The pod came to life, the controls illuminating, and a humming sound filling the small interior.

  “Did you turn it on?” I asked, looking at Krin.

  He shook his head vigorously. “I didn’t touch anything. I swear.”

  “Maybe closing the hatch activated it,” I said, joining him at the front. An illuminated pod with a running engine would not be as stealthy as I’d hoped. I scanned the controls, but didn’t know the Vandar symbols. I’d never been great at anything having to do with spaceships, anyway.

  The sounds of heavy thudding footsteps echoed from behind us. Craning my neck around, I saw a pair of Zagrath soldiers looking in through the clear door.

  “I think they found us,” Krin said.

  “Well, they’re not going to get us.” I turned back around, my gaze falling on a large, blue button. “Here goes nothing.”

  I slammed my hand on it. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the door in front of the pod spiraled open, and we rocketed out of the Vandar ship and into space.

  “We did it!” I yelled, as we shot through a volley of laser fire.

  Krin grinned at me, looking back at the Vandar ship and the Zagrath soldiers floating in space behind us. Then the pod jolted, and we started moving rapidly toward one of the Zagrath battleships.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Kratos

  I swung my battle axe wide, catching a Zagrath soldier in the head, my blade embedding itself in the hard shell of his helmet. He shrieked as another axe plunged into his back, and he collapsed.

  Bron put one boot on the soldier’s back as he jerked his axe out of him, then he pulled mine out, as well.

  I slapped my majak on the shoulder. “Good work. That’s the last of them.”

  We were both heaving in breath as we stood on the wide platform outside the command deck. We’d beaten back the enemy soldiers who’d attempted to breech our controls and take the ship, and the bodies littering the steel floor at our feet were evidence of our victory. I could smell the char of burning metal and knew that our hull had taken damage, but at least our ship was still standing, and under Vandar control.

  Corvak ran up from below, taking the stairs two at a time and causing them to rattle from the impact. “We have taken out all the Zagrath from the boarding party.”

  I nodded at him, noticing the blood smeared across his chest and dripping from his curved axe blade. Despite his disagreements with me, he would not fail me or his people. “We should see how the rest of the horde has fared.”

  We all strode back onto the command deck, the room loud with the sounds of incoming transmissions and alerts from damaged systems. I peered out the front of the ship and saw that the Zagrath battleship we’d been facing had backed away, smoke pouring from one side.

  “Shields?” I barked, looking to my systems chief.

  “Holding, Raas.”

  “Damage?”

  “Nothing that cannot be repaired,” another warrior told me, pride thick in his voice. “We caused more damage than we took.”

  “Good.” I scraped a hand though my hair.

  Bron walked to his console, scanning the readouts and glowering at the screen. “We did have an escape pod deploy during the battle.”

  “An escape pod?” I joined him at the console, squinting at the blinking alert. “One of the Zagrath?”

  He shrugged. “Perhaps.” He tapped his fingers across the smooth console, then twisted his head to look at me. “The guard outside your quarters missed his last check-in.”

  Despite the fact that I was sweating, a chill went through me. “Impossible.”

  Without waiting, I spun on my heel and ran off the command deck. The journey to my quarters had never seemed so long, as I thundered down staircases and tore down corridors, yelling for warriors to move out of my way. When I reached the steel doors and the crumpled body lying in front of it, my heart plummeted.

  I opened the doors and hurried inside, calling out for Astrid as I stormed the space, my gaze raking over every corner. She was not there.

  Shaking my head in disbelief, I staggered back out, stepping over the warrior with the blaster wound in his chest and avoiding the dark puddle of blood shining on the dull, iron floor. The metallic scent was sharp in my nose, and I choked down the bile rising in my throat.

  She would not have left me.

  I continued through the ship, the smell of smoke getting stronger as I descended deeper into the shadowy belly of the vessel. My stomach was a knot of dread that hardened with each step.

  Maybe she was hiding, like she’d done before when the ship was boarded. I scanned the hallways and any places large enough to conceal a small human, but she was nowhere. I spotted a wide swath of torn fabric that looked like one of her dresses, picking it up and holding it to my nose. It held the scent of my female, but I could not imagine why it would be ripped off and discarded in a corridor.

  My throat tightened, as I imagined it being ripped forcibly off her. I held the scrap in one fist as I continued, passing the lifeless bodies of Zagrath soldiers sprawled on the floor. If the enemy had laid a hand on her, I would make them live to regret it.

  Reaching the top of the stairs leading down to the escape hatches, I paused.

  “Raas?”

  I lifted my head to see Bron approaching from the other end of the long hallway. “You came to help me in my search.”

  He gave a single nod, although I saw in his eyes that he knew my search was fruitless.

  We both descended the steep stairs, dropping down and shaking the floor. It took only a momentary glance at the row of pod hatches to see which one had been deployed. Bron strode over and tapped away at the control panel, while I peered through the clear door. Where there had been a pod, there was now nothing between the hatch and the external, circular door leading out into space.r />
  “Well?” I asked, after his finger taps had slowed.

  “The pod was deployed, but no destination was set.”

  A flicker of hope bloomed in my chest. “So, it could have been empty. Maybe the Zagrath deployed it to distract us?”

  “It could have been the Zagrath, but it was not empty.” He frowned, flicking his eyes to the hatch. “The pod was deployed from inside.”

  Whatever hope I’d had, shattered. She was gone.

  I slammed my palm on the hatch, welcoming the sting of pain. “Is there any chance the Zagrath forced her into the pod?”

  “We do not know it was her, Raas.”

  I slid my gaze to him, narrowing my eyes. “Do not humor me, majak. You have never done so before. I do not need it now.”

  He nodded, his cheeks coloring. “There is always a chance the Zagrath took her by force, Raas. We cannot be sure what happened. Only that her guard is dead, and she is missing.”

  “I lost her,” I said in a near whisper.

  Bron put a hand on my shoulder. “It is not done. Not yet.”

  I locked eyes with him, his determined expression making me straighten. The ache in my heart had already begun to morph into a blinding rage, the blood roaring in my ears. “No, it is not. If the enemy has what is mine, I will take it back. And destroy those who dared take from a Raas of the Vandar.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Astrid

  “What’s happening?” I pressed more buttons on the escape pod’s control panel as we flew toward the Zagrath ship.

  Krin’s mouth was a hard line as he stared at the gray battleship looming ahead of us. “They’re pulling us in.”

  “Like a tractor beam?” I knew some ships could use magnetic energy to hold ships in their orbit or pull them closer, but I’d never been on a ship high-tech enough to actually witness it.

  He didn’t answer, but I didn’t need him to. From the stormy look on his small face, I knew there was no way to break free from whatever was drawing us closer to the Zagrath. No way to avoid being taken by them.

  “They won’t hurt us,” I said, after a few moments of thought. “Especially if they think we fled the Vandar.”

  He swung his gaze to me. “You wish to tell the enemy that we ran from my people? That we are running to them?”

  “They’ll treat us differently if they think we escaped than if they think we never meant to leave the Vandar.”

  He folded his arms across his chest. “I would never betray my people.” His gaze held mine in unspoken rebuke. “Or my Raas.”

  I huffed out a breath. “Do you think I want this? I was happy on the ship with your Raas. Okay, not until recently, but still, I didn’t want to leave him. If I tell that to the Zagrath, though, they’ll think I’ve been brainwashed or I’m crazy. The last thing I want is to end up in a padded cell on their ship. Then I’ll never be able to get us out.”

  Krin’s expression softened slightly. “You do not want to stay with the enemy who came to rescue you?”

  I fought not to roll my eyes. “No way. I haven’t taught you to make frosting yet.”

  A smile reluctantly teased the corners of his mouth, but he attempted to make his face stern. “You’ll need my help to escape.”

  “Of course I will, so that means you’re going to need to pretend to be trying to escape from the Vandar, as well.”

  He thought about this for a moment, his brows pressing together. Finally, he let out a sigh. “Fine, but only so I can help get us both back to my ship.”

  I held out my hand. “Deal.”

  He looked at my outstretched hand, and I remembered that Vandar did not shake. I dropped it and threw my arm around his shoulders instead. “I promise you we’ll be off this Zagrath ship in no time.”

  His small body shuddered as our escape pod entered the side of the Zagrath battleship and landed with a thud on the floor of the hangar bay. I found myself humming a nameless tune, but even the usually comforting sound wasn’t helping with the butterflies in my stomach. Especially when a squad of Zagrath soldiers in black helmets surrounded us, their laser rifles drawn.

  “Ready?” I whispered to Krin, my hand hovering over the hatch release button.

  He nodded, his face set in resignation. I knew the only reason he wasn’t flying out of the pod with fists swinging was because of me.

  I opened the hatch and held my hands in the air, nudging Krin to do the same. He grunted in displeasure as he lifted his arms up and walked out of the pod. I followed him, and we stood with multiple weapons trained on us.

  Fast footsteps approached, the soldiers parting to let a Zagrath officer through. He was tall and slim, with light hair that looked like it was thinning on the top.

  He appraised me and Krin, nodding as if pleased. “I am Commander Quijon of the Zagrath Empire. You are safe.”

  I forced myself to smile at him. “Thank you. I’m Astrid—“

  “Yes, yes.” He waved a hand at me. “We know who you are. Your sister made sure of that.”

  My heart beat a little faster. “Tara? Is she here?”

  “No. She’s been busy searching the sector for you, although I don’t know how she thought she could find a Vandar horde in that ship of hers—or survive another encounter, if she did. It’s hard enough for us, and we have the might of the empire at our disposal.” His gaze went to my torn dress. “You look unharmed, if a bit disheveled. The Vandar didn’t hurt you?”

  “Not at all. I’m fine.”

  “Your sister will be glad to hear it, if we can reach her. She’s been out of communication range for nearly a full astro-day. No doubt hunting down some lead.”

  That sounded like Tara. “I’d love to talk to her when you’re able to make contact.”

  The commander nodded. “That can be arranged. First, we’ll need to debrief you both.”

  “You don’t need to worry about him.” I jerked a thumb at Krin. “He’s just a kid who helped me escape. He doesn’t know anything.”

  The commander eyed us, his gaze lingered over Krin. “He is still a Vandar. He might be able to give us valuable information about their ships, or their technology. We have never captured a Vandar before and been able to extract information from them.”

  The word ‘extract’ sent a tingle down my spine. “What do you mean? He’s only a child. You can’t interrogate a child.”

  Krin moved closer to me.

  “He’s a Vandar. It doesn’t matter how old he is. If he’s been living on their warship, he can be a valuable source of information, which could help us defeat the raiders, once and for all.” The commander’s eyes coolly shifted over Krin. “The Vandar are a scourge on the galaxy and a thorn in the empire’s side. I am certain that in this case, the ends will justify the means.”

  I grabbed Krin’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “I’m not going to let you torture him.”

  The Zagrath officer’s lip curled. “You’re defending one of them? They are a plague on the galaxy. Vermin we need to stomp out.”

  I cringed at the harshness of his words. No one deserved to be called vermin, especially not Krin. “Didn’t you hear me? He helped me escape. He’s the only reason I’m here and alive. I promise you he knows nothing about Vandar strategy.”

  “We’ll see.” The commander shrugged, flicking a hand toward us.

  A pair of soldiers stepped forward, grabbing each of us by the arm. I slapped at the Zagrath’s hand as he forced me away from Krin, his grip painfully tight on my arm. Krin saw my reaction and abandoned all promises to go calmly, kicking out at the soldier who’d grabbed him. When the Zagrath doubled over and loosened his grip, Krin spun and punched him hard in the gut.

  I was still struggling to get away from the soldier who held me, when the commander stepped forward and pressed a metallic device to Krin’s side, making the boy go rigid and then drop to the floor.

  “What did you do to him?” I stared at the small, crumpled boy at my feet.

  “Photon stunner.�
�� The commander’s voice had not changed its level tone since he’d greeted us. “He’ll be fine. I have no desire to kill him before we’ve gotten what we need from him.”

  “The Vandar are going to kill you when they find out what you’ve done to him.” My voice shook, rage at the cruel commander coursing through me. “You’d better hope you can run far.”

  “Us, run?” The commander arched an eyebrow at me. “I do not think the Vandar will be coming after us to punish us for anything.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They’re gone,” he said.

  I shook my head as the words sunk in. Gone? “Impossible. They wouldn’t have left without…” I had been about to say that Raas Kratos wouldn’t have left without me, but I stopped myself.

  The commander smiled at me, but the warmth didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m afraid they did leave. Their horde of ships activated their invisibility shielding and vanished shortly before your pod reached us.” He waved a hand toward space. “They ran like the rats they are. But don’t worry. We’ll find them and crush them, like we crush anyone who resists the empire.”

  For the first time, I really saw the Zagrath as the Raas had described them to me—cold, cruel, and interested in controlling everyone and everything. I blinked back tears, swallowing my urge to tell the Zagrath that the Vandar would never run. But I didn’t know the truth. Maybe they did decide to cut their losses. Maybe the Raas had decided that it was better this way. We could never be together as true mates. He would have had to let me go, eventually. At least this way he would save his horde, and I knew that Raas Kratos valued his horde above all else—especially a female who could never be his true mate.

  I squeezed my fists hard so that my nails bit into my flesh. I couldn’t let the Zagrath see how heartbroken I was that the Vandar warlord had abandoned me. I lifted my chin and looked straight ahead as I was prodded along by the soldiers.