Nansar laughed loudly, a hateful, fake sound.
“You have it all wrong, Sage Charick. Willa is not to be given to my father as a gift but as a champion.”
“A champion?” I blinked at him, truly dumbfounded. While Willa seemed to be taller than my Chieftain’s mate, Emmy, she was still tiny and fragile.
Nansar’s lips curved upward, a slow, bloodthirsty smile that made fury race along my bones.
“You cannot mean to put a human female in the gladiator games.” I snapped, barely controlling the urge to leap at him.
Nansar laughed and pointed to a spot high on his cheek where the remains of a bruise remained visible on his pale skin. “The human female counts herself as a warrior.”
She’d hurt him. Pride raced along my veins like lava.
My mate.
I knew it the first time I’d caught her scent in the air. Sweet, but with an underlying spiciness and heat. I knew it by the way my heart ripped in two, watching her struggle as Nansar carried her aboard his ship.
I’d long heard rumblings that the belief a Vaktaire was unable to mate with other species was untrue. Even if I hadn’t witnessed the mating of my Chieftain Khaion with the human Emmy. A true mating. I would still know.
Willa was mine and I would play any game Nansar wanted to reach her side.
“Well, the Aljani are not known for their warrior prowess,” I quipped, cocking a brow in disdain.
Nansar bristled at my comment, shifting in his seat to give himself height. I was taller than his tallest guard by more than a few inches.
“I will enjoy watching the female in the pits.” Nansar’s lips curled into a sneer. His comment meant to provoke me. The bloodthirstiness on his face made me want to kill him, but even though I could take Nansar easily, the guards surrounding me and the other dozen or so occupying the room might pose a problem. Even though I doubted none of them held the skill of a Vaktaire warrior, sometimes quantity beat quality. It was a painful effort to keep my hands clasped together when all I wanted to do was tear Nansar’s throat out.
I forced myself to relax. I couldn’t let Nansar know what Willa meant to me. No doubt it would put her in even graver danger. I was, however, a Sage and could quote Alliance regulation with the best of them. “Sanctioned murder is against alliance regulations as well.”
“Murder?” Nansar scoffed. “You know my father only permits the games for sport.”
Nansar might be hiding behind his father’s reputation, but I held no doubt the games he planned would be bloody and deadly. I would play along for now.
“If you want a good sport for your sire’s birthday, why use a fragile human?” I shrugged, although inside, the idea of Willa fighting for her life made me seethe.
“I have my reasons.” Nansar gave a flippant wave.
He spoke the truth… and that’s what worried me the most.
“May I make a suggestion?” Nansar’s eyebrows raised slightly. “For my penance in landing on Ajaxuan uninvited. I will fight in the munera in her stead.”
Nansar laughed at the suggestion, truly amused. “You? You are a man of diplomacy and peace.”
If he only knew. But now wasn’t the time to wallow in the dark, painful memories. I had a mate to find and protect, and I’d break every vow I’d ever gave the goddess to do it.
“I am a Vaktaire. Being a warrior is in my blood.” I grinned at him, enjoying the way he squirmed in his seat.
It only lasted a moment, though, before the green eyes narrowed on me.
“What is your true interest in this human?” Nansar’s lips curled, and I forced away the desire to bellow the Vaktaire war cry and attack.
I shrugged, trying to seem disinterested. “As Sage of the Bardaga, protecting abducted humans is my directive from the Alliance.”
“Hmmm,” Nansar tapped his lip with a forefinger. “I have heard rumors that some aboard your ship have found mates within the human women.”
To use an Earth word, I favored…Fuck. I schooled my features to complacency and met his gaze.
“You know the vow to serve aboard the Baraga requires the denouncement of a mate.”
