Page 122 of Tribute
Just because he’d spent ten years trying to force Tributes to survive theUngrichdidn’t mean he knew jack. And Anna didn’t need him to survive. She was her own person.
The thing was—did he need her?
A knock on the door startled him from his thoughts, and he rose to answer it. It was one of the guards, who saluted when he opened the door.
“Commander Rehz Akran? We have a transport available for your return this evening.”
“Thank you, I’ll get my stuff together. Where is the transport’s destination?”
“Wherever you require, sir.”
“Can you take me to see the president?”
The guard saluted again. “I’ll find out, sir.”
When Anna heard the front door open, she called out. “I’m in here, Aled. I’ve got the last of it packed up.”
She’d spent the last two days since her return to the city packing up her stuff from the apartment she’d shared with Rehz. There was no sign of him, and that certainly made things easier. The problem was, she really didn’t know what she was going to do next. Kai had found her an apartment in the building where he lived, and she’d decided to start with that small separation. It wasn’t enough. She needed a lot more space between her and Rehz Akran before she could really move on.
A shadow fell across her, and she looked up to see Rehz, his hand braced on the doorframe. He wore his usual black garb but without the insignia of a trainer. His face was clean-shaven, the harsh planes of it exposed to the sunlight.
“Anna Lee.”
She sat back on her heels and hefted the last box onto the pile. “I’ll be out of your way soon. I thought you were Aled.” Gods, it still hurt to look at him, so she busied herself sticking the tape down on the edge of the box.
“Can we talk?”
“I’m not sure I have anything left to say to you, Rehz Akran.”
“Where are you planning on going?”
She kept her back to him. “I’m not sure.”
He sighed. “Anna, you don’t have to leave. You have an apartment downstairs. I’ll fucking leave if you like. Have you thought this through?”
“Which part? That there isn’t a single place on this planet thatissafe for me? Or that I’m a danger to everyone who comes near me?”
He sat down on one of the piles of boxes. “I talked to the president.”
“He offered you a job? Great.” She had to turn around and face him, but it goddam hurt.
“I talked to him about you.”
“That wasn’t your responsibility.”
“I wanted to do something good for you. Something that would give you more choices. You’ve had the worst fucking luck on this planet, haven’t you?” He hesitated and looked up at her. “I also wanted to show that I respect and admire you. I know you don’t need anyone to save you, and I’m pretty damn sure you’re capable of making all the right decisions for yourself.”
Anna folded her arms across her chest. “And?”
“I suggested to the president that you be given permission to go off planet.”
She blinked at him. “What?”
“Mitan citizens aren’t encouraged to leave their world, and very few outsiders come in.”
“I know that. Once I got here, I couldn’t get away. That’s why I ended up breaking all sorts of laws and was sentenced to death.”
Rehz nodded. “I suggested to the president that you would be an ideal candidate to travel the galaxy and find Mitan some allies.”
