AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"The Traitons, a race we are at war with, took me prisoner and tried to make me talk." The room turned deathly silent at the sight of her battle scar. All of us warriors knew how hard won they were and how much pain the wearer had endured.
"At the time, I had far less at stake than 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."
"And if you can't find proof?" Gryck asked.
"Then I will try my best to arrange peace talks, because it's obvious the humans on Thyre are under no threat," Chrissy concluded.
"We'll make contact with the Terran Confederation and tell them that if they don't leave, we'll take your pretty head off," Uthar threatened.
"You think I'm pretty." Chrissy batted her lashes at him, but it was clear it was meant sarcastically, not flirtatious. "Let me ask you this, big guy, if the roles were reversed, and I held your son captive, would you leave Thyre?"
Uthar's face turned red, and a slew of spluttered, incomprehensible words left his mouth.
"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 ignored Chrissy and set his gaze on Kendryx.
"On my life," Kendryx swore.
"I don't need a guard," Chrissy snarled.
"Quiet, you will do as I decree," Gryck asserted his authority as our absolute ruler.
Chrissy looked as if she was about to protest, but Cisco decided to investigate all the goodies on the table since none of us had touched them. Uthar pulled his sword, ready to spear my mate's beloved pet, who cried out in dismay.
The tip of my sword grazed Uthar's throat. "Don't touch Cisco."
Unimpressed, Cisco grabbed a piece of roasted meat and began chewing on it.
"Put your weapons down," Gryck commanded.
I waited for Uthar to do so first before I lowered mine.
"I'm not even going to ask what a predator is doing inside my warlord's keeps, 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 asserted.
"Kar, khazar." I sheathed my sword. It might not be easy, but I could take Uthar down with my bare hands if I needed to.
The door was flung open and Cassair stormed in. "I beg your pardon, but you need to see this."
"Stay here," I yelled at Alahna as I rushed out of the sitting room, followed by Gryck, Vandor, Kendryx, Uthar, and of course, the kallinies as well. All of them. Even Damaris, who handed the baby Vandor had shoved into her arms on his way out, to a servant and made her swear to watch over the infant.
"Doesn't anybody listen to commands anymore?" Gryck wanted to know as we followed Cassair up the stairs to the battlements.
"I'm afraid human kallinies have a mind of their own and are far less docile than ours," I admitted.
The cold enveloped us even before we reached the battlements. Anticipation filled me as I stared out over the Dark Sea, past the hundreds of Vandall ships anchored at my shore and up into the sky, where a loud whirring sound announced the arrival of thousands of birds the likes of which I had never seen before.
Nyck, I corrected myself,these aren't birds, as I stared at the disc shaped objects flying in formation like a flock of birds.
"Drones," Chrissy spat out.
She turned to Gryck. "You need to let me go. Those are drones. My people will use them to get a lay of the land and spy on you."
Ahlana translated, but her voice quivered.
"Fire!" I ordered the archers who already stood at the ready.
Silently, we stared at the hundreds of metal arrows let loose on the swarm of drones. Many arrows bounced off the drones without deterring them, but many drones broke formation and tumbled out of the air to the ground, where they either sunk in the Dark Sea, got buried in the sand, or broke into thousands of pieces as they crashed against the cliffs.
