Page 34 of His Brazen Bride

His neon blue eyes soften. “Of course I did. You are my wife.”

“But…” I begin, unable to find the words.

The bars zap and fizzle, and the cell pops open.

I run out and jump into Ryz’s arms. He holds me tight against him, cradling my head.

“I’m so sorry,” I say. “For all of it. Everything.”

“No,Iam sorry,” he replies, pulling back to kiss my entire face. When our mouths meet, it’s like coming home. How can I have missed this so much already?

“Ryz,” Zadren interrupts. “We must go. The rest of the crew will be alerted at any moment.”

“Yes,” Ryz says, clearing his throat, his cheeks taking on a blue tinge. Aww, is he blushing? “We should go.”

Ryz looks down at Jekril. “Turn away. I must dispatch him,” he says to me, unsheathing the knife at his belt.

“No!” I shriek. “Don’t kill him. I gave him my word he’d be spared if he helped me. He was about to release me when you came in.”

Ryz’s brow furrows.

“I swear, Jekril is one of the good guys. He gave me some salve for my wound.”

“They hurt you?” Ryz roars, his eyes flashing.

“They wanted to disable my comm.” I can almost see the steam rising from Ryz as he examines me. “The big ugly one, Drak, tossed me around and backhanded me, too, but I wrenched his arm pretty darn good in the process.”

Ryz is still seething as he tugs me along.

Zadren opens a door and checks to make sure the coast is clear before motioning for us to follow. We hustle down a hall toward a stairwell, then descend and emerge into some type of cargo hold full of containers, machinery, and other random items. Right in the center is a spacecraft, looking like just another stowed object.

“Storage bays are the best places to infiltrate crafts,” Ryz says, as we move toward the vehicle.

“Not always,” comes a deep, gravelly voice from behind some of the taller pod-like containers. Drak and Cirn step out, their weapons trained on us. Ryz pushes me slightly behind him. Zadren points his weapon back at them.

“It’s two lasers against one, traitor. Put it down, or I shoot both the female and the Kraetian.”

Zadren glances at Ryz, who nods.

No! We were so close!

Zadren lowers his gun to the ground and slides it toward the two Ocrevv.

“We’re going to be rewarded handsomely for these three, Cirn,” Drak says, then chuckles.

Cirn grins evilly. “Indeed. The female will fetch a handful…but a Kraetian Royal Commanderandhis Head of Security…who’s also an Ocrevv traitor? We’ll get medals and riches galore.”

Ryz stands taller. “My army will be coming soon. You take me or any of my people and you’ll start an all-out war. Do you really want that?”

Cirn laughs. “It’s never worked for Ydris and its allies to go to war with us before. Those pointless attempts have only led to years of suffering and despair.”

“And now that we’re working with the Outside Forces, we’re even more powerful,” Drak adds, spitting off to the side.

Cirn smirks. “As soon as we have you locked up, Hak’en and his armies will be advancing on Ydris.”

Outside Forces? Oh god… this is bad. Really bad.

“Enough talk,” Drak says. “Get moving.” He raises his weapon and points it in the direction he wants us to go.

---