Page 28 of Jewel of the Alien Bandit
He wasn’t a dumb man, I couldn’t come up with a valid trade agreement from a planet I didn’t know enough about to even know the jewel was a person.
I was so certain she was my mate, despite her not being shol, but there was a difference between fooling around with me during a mating ceremony, and accepting me as her mate. I was a slave, an outlaw, and soon to be the most wanted in this star system for not only kidnapping a future leader of Estreldez, but being tracked down by Krelis, and eventually on King Sylve’s shit list when I found a way to get her back to her planet and disappear from this system before my expiration date.
“Bring her to the command deck.”
I should have expected that.
“Carmen has done some damage to her since boarding, she’s in the med pod.”
I needed to end this conversation fast and make sure that her vitals were improving. Being away from her was making me anxious.
“You’ll send the data to this link immediately, and if you haven’t already, make sure Carmen is unable to damage her further. You understand?”
“Taken care of,” I replied, trying not to sound too pleased that I wouldn’t have to explain her condition to the CO of Viper Raul.
The ship jolted as their grappling hooks attached to the docking mechanism. They would board soon.
“Oh, and Vareo.” His tone was deceptively calm. “I’m aware of your record, if you show the slightest hint of insubordination you can say goodbye to your hunt status, and your new accommodations will not allow you the freedoms you’ve enjoyed so far.”
Freedoms, I’d scoff if it wouldn’t get me killed. I kept my face neutral, and nodded my agreement.
There’s no way in trill I would let him have Luan without a fight. But I had to be smart about this. I needed more information. What was King Sylve planning?
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Luan
UNFAMILIAR SOUNDS FILLEDmy ears, but for one. Vareo.
“She’s not ready to be moved,” he insisted, a stubbornness to his tone that made me smile.
“King Sylve has reviewed her chart personally, and believes your med unit is not capable of completing her recovery without the upgrades provided on the Viper Raul.”
“It’ll have to wait until she can be transferred without further damage incident,” Vareo was firm in his denial of whoever was trying to take me. Me, I repeated. They were trying to move me from a med pod?
The images of flying through the transport deck while in warp reminded me that my loh were badly injured. And with no moon around, I had no idea what the repercussions would be. The liquid gel I floated in numbed my nerves, making my skin tingly.
“We can’t stay near this station for long, and your med pod has been known to fluctuate during warp. We’ll have to risk it,” the other man argued. “Her stats are stabilized.”
I heard the beep of a mechanism turning, and I felt cool air on my forehead as the gel receded. They were releasing me from the med pod.
Wiping away the goo from my eyes I coughed up the gel as someone used a suction device down my throat to get the rest of the fluids out for me to breathe.
My hands flailed to swat at them, and as the muscles in my back stretched from the movement I screamed, the pain returned in full force.
“It’s too soon,” Vareo said as his hands grabbed me and pulled me to him. I found a small comfort in his arms and weakly whimpered.
“Then you best hurry to bring her to her new med unit.” The other man didn’t seem to care one way or the other, but it was clear he didn’t want me staying here.
“The king will replace you with another looking for a quick promotion by murdering you if she is harmed by this,” Vareo snarled at the man, who didn’t seem fazed by the threat. A growl vibrated through Vareo’s chest and I gripped his shirt to gain his attention.
His blue eyes met mine, and I smiled.
He didn’t appear harmed from the warp, and we had survived.
I’d done it.
I lasted long enough.
