Page 48 of Hunting the Warlord's Daughter

He frowned. “Incorrect. Repeat the procedure as I briefed.”

She sighed. “If anything happens to you or to Kaz”—she couldn’t bring herself say hurt or killed—“I’m to save myself, make my way to the sanctum using the pendant, and take shelter inside.” Save herself? Pah. No matter what he said, she wasn’t going to run away and leave them in jeopardy.

Aral lifted a brow. “Don’t think I can’t see your mind at work.”

She crossed her arms. “You don’t know what I’m thinking.”

“The hells I don’t. The defiance in your eyes, that mulish set to your chin.”

“Mulish?”

Kaz chuckled, her hands a blur of efficiency at her station.

“Aye.” Aral leaned close. His breath grazed her cheek. How could he generate tingles in her without a single touch? “You said you wanted to be treated as a full-fledged member of my crew. I expect my crew to obey orders.”

“I will. If you promise to not take unnecessary risks.”

“This is not up for negotiation, Wren.”

She hunched her shoulders. She knew him enough now to understand that he wasn’t really angry. He feared being powerless against harm to others—especially her. When it came to the treasure, its valuables were a distant second to her only two friends in the galaxy, but with Aral wound so tight now that the big day was finally here, he needed reassurance, not an argument.

Wren came to attention—as best she could while strapped to the seat—bringing the knuckles of her right hand to her forehead in a Drakken military salute. “Aye-aye, sir. Safety, sanctum, shelter in place.”

Aral shook his head. He bent close, his soft lips grazing her ear. “You’ll be rewarded handsomely for your compliance—when this is over.”

He returned to his pilot seat and took control of theResilience, guiding it toward the planet below. Fates, what a rascal. She ached to drag him back to the bunk and “ravage” him.

Arms folded, she watched him at work, in his element. He reached over his head to press something on the control panel, and his uniform stretched across the breadth of his shoulders and the cut of his torso. She knew every one of those contours after exploring them nightly in his bunk. It was said Rakkuu blood ran hot—she’d overheard her guardians discussing it once, long ago, before she’d fully understood the meaning. It was the one inheritance from the warlord that she actually didn’t mind: passion.

No wonder her sire had locked her away on a faraway, nearly all-female planet. It seemed he had good reason to worry.

A loudbangjolted her from her reverie. Vibrations rumbled through the ship. An alarm blared as a blinding orange glow filled the forward view-shield. The bridge had grown hotter—and it wasn’t due to her heated thoughts about Aral.

“We’ve got a problem with the thermal protection shields.” Kaz narrowed her eyes at the display. “Temperature is in the yellow zone—and climbing.”

“Divert coolant to the system.” Aral’s tone was crisp, his profile hard. He gripped the control stick, keeping the ship steady despite the increasing turbulence. The glow now looked like a vivid sunrise, brightening instead of fading.

Wren wrinkled her nose. Something was burning.Fates, we’re burning.The shaking increased, bouncing her in her seat.

A deafening bang hit the front of the ship. An explosion? She pulled out the pendant, gaining reassurance from holding it.Guide us. She closed her eyes.Help us.

The ship’s alarm wailed.“Thermal shield separation,”a calm, artificial voice announced.“Abort descent. Abort descent.”

Kaz yelled above the commotion. “Blast my pants—a freepin’ T-shield tore clean off. The entire forward portside plate—it’s gone!”

Gone. Well, that didn’t sound good.

“We’re too far in to abort now. Too low.” Aral fought the control stick. “Commencing manual override.”

“Hull temperature red zone. Reduce descent. Reduce descent.”The computer voice was so calm.

“Aye, well, no can do,” Aral muttered. “We’re too far in. We don’t have the altitude. We’ve got the other shield plates. We may be okay.”

He’d put a lot of emphasis on the wordmay.

Wren stared straight ahead, even as terror pounded inside her. Once, she’d been caught in the middle of the lake during a sudden electrical storm. Huge bolts of lightning had impacted the water all around her tiny boat. Energy had pulsed, seeming to set the very air on fire. The crashes of thunder had been deafening.

This was a lot like that.

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