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“It’s over, Tiir,” he said. “Your men are dead. There’s nowhere left for you to run. It’s just the two of us.”
The big pirate leader turned to face him, a smile playing across his face. “Really, now Vaarn? Did you really think I wouldn’t expect this?”
He narrowed his eyes. He and Tiir had known each other for years, but he didn’t know the male that well at all. Not really. They had a shared interest in technology, but that was it. Tiir had always been more concerned with the profit that technology would bring.
"Why?" he asked bluntly. "Why betray your own people this way?"
Tiir barked a harsh laugh. "Betray? The Empire betrayed me, betrayed all of us a long time ago. But you're all too blind to see it." Disgust twisted his features as he shook his head. "Even with the humans to breed new warriors, the Empire is dying. Its days are numbered. I'm just aligning myself with the winning side."
Vaarn’s jaw tightened, anger simmering in his gut. Tiir sounded just like the purists… or the C'Vaal. Were they behind this? Kidnapping the new mates the Lathar had found and making another bid to overthrow the Emperor?
Draanth. He needed more information.
"Who are you working with?" he demanded.
Tiir's smile turned sly. "Wouldn't you like to know? Sorry… I'm not giving up my allies that easily."
He dropped into a fighting stance, and Vaarn tensed. Tiir’s style wasn’t Imperial, not with that stance. He must have learned to fight elsewhere. No matter. Latharian warriors trained against all kinds of styles and species. He would end this quickly.
They circled each other slowly, and then Tiir lunged. He blocked the blows, then went on the offensive. They traded blows and counter-blows, neither gaining an advantage. Tiir was good, he had to admit. Better than he’d anticipated and he was tiring. The bruising along his side from the crash throbbed painfully, and he had to use all his discipline to hide it. He had to finish this soon before his injuries gave him away.
With a burst of speed, he feinted left then slammed a brutal kick into Tiir’s to sweep them out from under him. The other male crashed hard onto his back, the air driven from his lungs in a whoosh. Before he could recover himself, Vaarn had him pinned, jamming a strong forearm viciously into his windpipe.
"It's over," he growled. "You've lost."
But then Tiir laughed, a sly glint in his eyes despite the forearm crushing his throat.
"You think you've won?" the other male rasped out. "I still have one card left to play."
A small cry made him look up, just in time to see a young Latharian drag Sadie from the shadows, a vicious-looking dagger held at her throat. Her eyes were wide and terrified, her face pale.
"Let him up or she dies," the youth growled. From his coloring and facial features, he was Tiir's son. Nephew at the outside.
Vaarn froze. His mate was in danger. Relaxing his grip on Tiir’s throat, he stood. Tiir coughed as he regained his breath and stood up with a smug smile.
"Not so cocky now, are you?" the pirate taunted, then lashed out with a brutal kick, catching Vaarn in his injured side.
He grunted but stayed on his feet. He couldn’t afford to appear weak now, not with his mate’s life at stake. He watched her out of the corner of his eye. She looked terrified but she was still glaring at her captor. The ghost of a smile crossed his lips. His brave little mate.
Tiir grabbed Vaarn's arm and twisted it up behind his back.
"On your knees," he hissed.
He hesitated, but Tiir's son pressed the dagger harder against Sadie's throat, drawing a thin line of blood. Her small cry of pain was a lance to his heart. Every instinct he had focused on her, on that drop of blood welling on her tender skin. All it would take was a tiny push and his world ended.
He went cold, all emotion leaching out of him as he sank to his knees. If his beloved mate died then he would too, but not before he'd tracked down everyone in Tiir's bloodline and brought them to a brutal and bloody end. He would become vengeance itself and no one would sway him from his goal.
"Look at the big, brave warrior. So obedient," Tiir jeered and shoved him face-first into the sand, causing him to twist painfully. Shards of agony exploded through the ribs that had been damaged when the ship had exploded, sending shockwaves and debris to slam into him. But there was a new pain now, in his hand. He bit back a smile as his palm moved on something hard and jagged.
The broken pieces of Sadie’s bracelet.
"You know what?" Sadie snapped. "Screw you, asshole."
She slammed her head back into her captor's face. There was a sharp crack and he yowled in pain, releasing her to clutch at his broken nose.
Vaarn didn't hesitate. Grabbing for the largest shard of the bracelet, he whirled around and thrust upward, burying the jagged metal deep into Tiir's throat. Tiir's eyes latched into his, lips forming a wordless gasp as he tried to drag air in. He tore the makeshift weapon free, hot blood gushing over his hand to decorate the front of Tiir's tunic in a grisly waterfall. The pirate’s hands fluttered uselessly in front of his ruined throat as he dropped to his knees, then keeled over onto the sand with a bubbling gasp.
It was over in seconds. Tiir lay dead on the sand, the makeshift dagger still clutched in Vaarn’s hand. He turned to see Sadie hitting the youth who had been holding her.
