Pink tinged his cheeks, making me wonder what secret I’d unearthed.
“Lokken is one of our ancient gods,” he said. “The father of all other gods who forged the universe.”
I blinked at him. “So, you were basically yelling ‘oh, God?’”
“Humans do not name their gods?” His brow wrinkled in obvious confusion. “How do you keep them all straight.”
“I can’t speak for all humans, but most human religions have just a single god. Not all, but most of the big ones that we practiced after everyone left Earth.”
He shook his head. “One god to create all existence? That would be a very tired god.”
I laughed. I’d never given much thought to gods or religions. The Zagrath didn’t practice any faith, or tolerate it from any of the planets they controlled, and I didn’t know what religion was observed on Faaral, or if my family had believed. My faint memories didn’t contain much but hazy images and sounds, many from the night I was taken that I didn’t want to think about.
“What is wrong?” He asked, lowering one arm and wrapping it around me.
“What?” I shook the thoughts from my mind. “Nothing.”
“Your face suddenly looked pained.” He pulled me closer. “Are you sore?”
I laughed again. “Yes, I am sore, you huge brute.” I slapped his chest. “But I’m okay. I promise. I just thought about a bad memory.”
He nodded. “You were making noises in your sleep at one point. You sounded frightened.”
Another reason I didn’t sleep with the males I bedded. The nightmares had never stopped, and the time at the imperial academy had only added to the torturous memories that haunted my sleep.
“It’s nothing,” I told him. “I’m fine. I promise.”
He eyed me as if he didn’t believe me. “You are not thinking about the assassin?”
Actually, I hadn’t been. Rennick was not someone I’d miss, or have any regrets about killing—or helping to kill. He’d been the worst kind of imperial agent—one who had no honor. “No. His is not a death I regret.”
He slipped his hand under the sheet and settled it on my back. “I’ve dreamt about past battles before. The ones where we lost raiders are the ones I seem to relive.”
I peered up at his face, his expression fierce in the half light. “I have a hard time imagining the Vandar being defeated. Your ships are invisible.”
“Even so, we have lost raiders. Imperial blasters do not always miss, and the Zagrath seem to have an endless supply of faceless soldiers.”
I returned my gaze to the inky marks on his skin. “I’m very familiar with Zagrath soldiers.”
His hand stilled on my back. “Did you work with them?”
I made a derisive noise in the back of my throat. “Those brainless thugs? No. I always worked alone, but it would be hard to avoid the soldiers entirely.” I ran my tongue over the side of my mouth that had recently been swollen. “I’ve had encounters with them.”
As if reading my mind, Bron’s gaze went to my faded bruises. “You got those from an imperial soldier?”
I hesitated, but then sighed. I’d already confessed as much to him. “That was partially true. I did get injured by the empire. But I let the soldier rough me up, so you’d believe I was a victim.”
A dark rumble escaped from his throat. “You do not have to be their victim ever again.”
I lay my head on his chest, soothed by the steady rise and fall of his breath and reassured by his earnest words.
Lying in bed with Bron wasn’t so bad. Instead of having the urge to flee, I liked being with him. It felt right, even though in my heart of hearts, I knew it couldn’t last. As much as he pledged to protect me, there was only so much one person could do against the might and will of the empire. Or even one horde. I’d worked for the Zagrath long enough to know how long and far they could reach. I’d seen the evidence when Rennick had managed to get himself onto an invisible horde.
Even pressed up against the solidness of the Raas, I felt the pull of the empire. They owned me, and nothing would stop them from finding me and either bringing me back, or eliminating me. An involuntary shudder passed through me, and Bron pulled me closer.
“You still fear the empire?” he asked.
“I know them. They are relentless.”
“No more relentless than the Vandar.”
I smiled at that. “You are incredibly stubborn.”
The Raas turned so he was lying on his side and facing me. “Do you trust me, Alana?”
My breath caught in my throat. It had been so long since I’d trusted anyone—longer than I could remember—but as I stared into his eyes, I did trust him. As much as I’d been taught never to trust, the Vandar Raas had managed to slip past my considerable defenses and edge his way into my heart.
It didn’t make any sense. I barely knew him, and I was supposed to kill him. Instead, I found myself nodding as my throat tightened. Despite everything I’d been told about the Vandar raiders—the sworn enemy of the empire—I believed Raas Bron. He had already saved me once. He wasn’t the ruthless monster I’d been told he was, and he would not lie to me or hurt me. I believed that to my core, even though I should have believed the opposite.
I put a hand to the dark scruff of his cheek. “I trust you.”
As he shifted closer to me, there was a heavy pounding on the door, followed by a bellowing voice. “Raas, you are needed on the command deck at once.”
My stomach clenched. The Zagrath, I thought. They’d come for me. Again.
Bron rolled over, pinning my body beneath his, and kissed me hard, then he cupped my face as tightly as he held my gaze. “I have pledged myself and my horde to protect you. Never forget that.”
And
