Page 36 of Claim
Her soft curves and sweet scent.The wayward strands of her hair that tickled him even though he had an orc’s hide.The glint in her eyes when she was amused or mad that was only a hint of the endless brilliance shining from within her.
But knowing how he’d left her, how he’d betrayed the i’lva, it was almost a relief to be dragged into the harsh light of an interrogation room.At least physical torture would eventually have an end.
He squinted at Szakh.“There’s nothing I can tell you.My crusher will have changed all the ship’s security measures by now, and my brother will be a more ruthless apex than I ever was.”He didn’t even have to lie about that; Sil had survived only because he was the toughest orc on theDeepWander.
But Szakh looked more annoyed than afraid.“Just shut up.”He opened a comm link.“You wanted him.He’s here.”
The holographic shape of the Ajellomenes didn’t have any of the bubbles, which made the tentacles somewhat more threatening to Mag’s way of thinking.
Illgattoa’s beaky mouth twitched a few times as if it could scrape his skin from his bones through the comm.“I wanted another ship and a crew.This was all very disappointing.”
Mag tilted his head.“I think you’re being insulted, Szakh.Apparently you just aren’t enough.”
“Did I mention shut up?”The captain faced Illgattoa.“So where can I drop him?”
The Ajellomenes waved the tip of one tentacle dismissively.“One being means nothing to me.”
Although he’d been apex, Mag found himself agreeing with his captor.It was all the orcs together that made the ship despite his insistence that he ruled alone.For all his physical size and strength, his philosophy had been small-minded, shortsighted, and petty.In short, he’d been wrong.Too late to change now, of course, but at least his mistake in this case would save his ship.
“Sell him at the Gloom,” Illgattoa said.“You can recoup some of the cost of patching the holes he put in your ship.”
Mag steeled himself.He’d heard rumors of the Gloom, the vile underbelly of the Luster.The vaguely civilizing rules imposed by the Dastard meant nothing at the Gloom, and all the worst business of the galaxies was done there.Some blamed the Dastard, saying his ruthless enforcement only exacerbated the crimes and misbehaviors of the truly desperate and dangerous.And there’d been a dismal moment when Mag himself had contemplated taking theDeepWanderthere to find something, anything that would save his ship.
How ironic that he’d end up there after all.
Chapter 11
He was gone.June knew it before she opened her eyes.But she was still in his bed…
She jackknifed upright, the blissful release of her body hardening to outrage—and fear.
Where was he?
Furiously, she yanked on her clothes, hopping awkwardly as she poked at her datpad.There were no messages from him, of course, but no alarms either.
Not caring if her friends were nut-flicking and chilling, she messaged Adeline and Kinsley, knowing that would reach their life-mates as well.“Mag is missing,” she snarled.
Two sets of images, one for each couple, flickered to life on her screen.Teq was turned half away, already working his security system.
Sil’s antennae flattened.“ThePratorim.He’s been abducted.”
“No infiltration,” Teq said.“Vug.The apex codes were activated.He’s left the ship.”He looked into the screen, his orc eyes blacker than night.“Voluntarily.”
Sil stiffened.“No.He would never leave us.He is…”
None of them said it.
Because he was gone.
The five of them met at the command dais in the gather-hall.It had always felt oversized to June, of course, but now, abandoned, it seemed as if a black hole had opened in Mag’s space, shrunken and endless.
Like her heart in grief.
“Why?”she whispered.“What about the i’lva?”
“We’ll bring him back,” Sil said.He held an arm out to her.
But she didn’t reach back.She just shouldered up next to Teq who was reviewing the ship’s scanners.“What happened?”
