Page 46 of Taming Chaos

No, it was the other way around. He’d found her.

“Lets go,” he said quietly, sheathing his twin swords.

Parrus’s markings were glowing vividly now. The Veronian’s tail waved from side to side, moving faster and faster.

Parrus almost seemed… excited.

What the hell were they walking into? Seph took a deep breath and prepared to meet the unknown all over again.

Remember, you’re about to meet the guy who tried to buy you.

The thought filled her with a terrible sort of indignation. Seph had taught the principles of intelligent life-form equality in her xenoethics class, using real-life examples of interspecies slavery.

Not in her wildest nightmares did she ever think she would almost suffer the same fate herself.

And now here she was, about to confront her would-be captor with the help of the newly crowned warrior-king of the Skalreg Va.

Hey, things could be worse. If not for Torin, things would be much worse indeed.

Chapter Eleven

While on Earth, Torin had come across the ancient mythtales of a human tribe called the Greeks. One of those stories had spoken of a beast called the hydra, a poisonous many-headed monster. The hydra was formidable, because for every head that was cut off, two would grow in its place.

Sometimes he wondered if the General’s brutal treatment of the Noble Houses might have turned the Kordolian nobles into hydras themselves. Those that had managed to escape before the Empire’s downfall had scattered across the Nine Galaxies like seeds blown in the wind, and now he’d found one of them right here, on an infernal Bartharran pirate ship of all places.

Perhaps Relahek Alerak had thought he would be safe here; perhaps he’d intended to live out his days in relative comfort, with all the trappings of the Old Empire and a small retinue at his beck and call. Servants, guards, a Bartharran horde… he’d even tried to procure a human female for his own personal use.

Torin growled softly under his breath. Relahek had no business even looking at Persephone Winters.

She was his.

As they neared the end of the long inner corridor—a perfect defensive funnel—he pulled Seph to one side. “Wait here with Parrus,” he whispered. “Don’t follow me until I give you the all-clear.”

Seph looked up at him, the edge of her hood falling back to reveal her clear brown eyes. “Got it.” For the first time, there was no fear there, only trust.

Ah, you’re going to ruin me, human. Her soft, expressive face was a salve for his mounting anger. He so wanted to kiss her luscious pink lips, even when they were set in a determined line.

Torin was in a bind. If it were up to him, he would remove her from this dangerous environment right away and put her in the safest, most comfortable, most secure place he could find until he figured out a way to get her back to Earth.

But he was cut off from his people, he had no backup, and there were no safe places on the Skalreg Va. Right now, the safest place on this infernal ship was by his side, but perhaps he could secure Relahek’s quarters and make them his own.

He tried to imagine what this situation must be like for her. With their vulnerable bodies and soft skin, humans weren’t well equipped to fight against the vicious aliens that inhabited the Nine Galaxies. Most humans lived in a peaceful utopia on Earth; they’d never experienced war, violence, or bloodshed.

Seph was one of those humans—vulnerable, afraid, and completely out of her depth—and yet she’d stoically handled everything the Universe had thrown at her.

She didn’t complain, didn’t falter, didn’t argue. Not here, where Torin was in charge. Not here, because this was his domain, his element, and she’d been so quick to understand that. Perhaps when they returned to Earth, he’d be the one to step back and let her be his guide, but for now, Torin had to protect her at all costs.

“This shouldn’t take long,” he reassured Seph, desperately wanting to take her in his arms. We must hurry. He had no doubt Relahek was watching them from inside and preparing his defenses. “The Kordolian in there is of the Noble Class. I know his kind. I’ve got the element of surprise on my side, but once he senses the threat to his existence, he’ll stop at nothing to eliminate me.”

“Relahek and his guards… are they dangerous to you?”

It occurred to Torin that she really had no idea about the difference in power between a First Division warrior and the rest of the cursed Universe. She’d witnessed just a little taste of what he was capable of, but he hoped she would never ever have to learn the full extent of his abilities.

“They can’t take me down.” It might sound like arrogant boasting, but Torin knew the specs of every single weapon in the Kordolian military arsenal. Relahek’s guards would probably be packing old military stock. They might possess the capacity to injure him, but they couldn’t kill him, not unless they got extremely lucky. “And just as I know Relahek’s true nature, he knows mine. I don’t think he’s that foolish, but let’s see. If anyone gets past me, shoot first. Ask questions later.”

“I wish there was something more I could do.”

“Just trust me, Seph. That will be enough.” Unable to help himself, he cupped her cheek, letting the nanites withdraw from his gloved fingers for just a heartbeat.

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