Page 61 of Mated to the Alien Warlord

"What if I accompany her?" Kendryx offered, baffling me.

"And do what? Kill her after they throw you into a dungeon or take your head off?" Uthar asked scathingly.

Kendryx only responded with a sneer. I watched him fight countless times; they would have to kill him before he would enter a dungeon.

"Look," Chrissy spread her hands, trying to calm us. "Keeping me won't gain you anything. I won't talk no matter what you do to me." She pulled the neckline of her strange uniform down far enough to expose a large patch of scar tissue running down her shoulder and covering most of her shoulder blade while Alahna filled us in on what she said.

Kendryx growled lowly, and I wondered if he had recognized the human as his czira. I had never seen him react to a kallini this strongly.

"The Traitons, a race we are at war with, took me prisoner and tried to make me talk." I was so deep in thought about Kendryx that I almost missed Chrissy's admission. "At the time, I had far less at stake than I do now by telling them what they wanted to know. They peeled my skin off me for days, one patch at a time." Chrissy met our eyes in an unspoken challenge. "I will not betray the Terran Confederation, no matter what. But," she lifted a finger, "if it turns out that they have betrayed us and putmysoldiers in danger, I will hold them accountable, for which I will need your help."

As a warrior, I knew of all sorts of pain one person could inflict on another. I had lived through various injuries, but I never had my skin peeled off me, and I didn't imagine it to be a pleasant experience, so my respect for the strange human kallini grew.

"And if you can't find proof?" Gryck demanded.

"Then I will try my best to arrange peace talks, because it's obvious the humans on Thyre are under no threat," Chrissy offered.

"We will make contact with the Terran Confederation and tell them that if they don't leave, we will take your pretty head off," Uthar threatened, offering a different kind of solution.

Chrissy listened to Alahna, and, to my amusement, responded mockingly. "You think I'm pretty," she said, batting her lashes at him, with unmistakable sarcasm in her voice. "Let me ask you this, big guy, if the roles were reversed, andIheldyourson captive, would you leave Thyre?"

Uthar's face turned red, and a slew of spluttered, incomprehensible words left his mouth.

I swallowed because having been just gifted a son, the choice Chrissy offered was unthinkable.

"I take that as a no." Chrissy harrumphed triumphantly, turning her gaze from Uthar to Gryck. "And I'm nobody's daughter, at least nobody who counts. So, what will it be, great kahuna?"

"You will go with her and bring her back if she doesn't live up to her end of the bargain?" Gryck fully ignored Chrissy, giving Kendryx his full attention.

"On my life," Kendryx swore.

"I don't need a guard," Chrissy snarled after Alahna translated for her.

"Quiet. You will do as I decree," Gryck ruled, done with her attitude, and stunning me. I had never heard him talk like that to a kallini. Then again, these were more than trying times. We had just defeated one enemy and instead of being able to celebrate this victory, we were faced with an even more formidable foe.

The sudden appearance of a grover halted the discussion.

"Cisco," Alahna exclaimed.

That and a collar around his neck announced him as some kind of pet, even though I had never heard of anybody keeping a grover as one. Uthar pulled his sword, ready to spear the grover. Alahna screamed, and Brogan pulled his sword, threateningly pressing it against the king's throat. "Don't touch Cisco."

The grover, Cisco I presumed, was unimpressed and grabbed a piece of roasted meat that he began to chew on loudly.

"Put your weapons down," Gryck commanded with a deep sigh and the two males obliged, although they kept a wary eye on each other.

"I'm not even going to ask what a predator is doing inside my warlord's keep, because it's obvious his mate is attached to it, but you are not to raise blades against each other, not now. Not while we need every capable male," Gryck demanded.

"Kar, Khazar," Brogan acknowledged.

The door was flung open and Cassair, Brogan's second-in-command stormed in. "I beg your pardon, but you need to see this."

"Stay here," Brogan yelled at Alahna, but I feared those were useless words and I just made sure to give my cape to Damaris to keep her warm before we all rushed from the room, following Cassair.

I did, however, draw the line at having my son exposed to the cold winds again and handed him to a servant, whom I threatened to keep my son safe on pain of his life.

"Doesn't anybody listen to commands anymore?" Gryck demanded, exasperated as everyone followed Cassair up the stairs to the ramparts.

"I'm afraid human kallinies have a mind of their own and are far less docile than ours," Brogan said, echoing my thoughts.

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