The Raas cocked an eyebrow and remained silent, clearly waiting for me to answer the rest of his questions.
“I wasn’t alone, Raas,” I said. “Not when I escaped from the Zagrath camp.”
One of the other Vandar shifted from one foot to the other and cut his eyes to the leader.
“I was on Rularen III,” I continued. “It’s occupied by the empire.”
The Vandar in charge hooked his axe on his waist and folded his arms across his chest. “Yes, we know. It’s been converted into a mining colony.”
I’d never actually set foot on Rularen III, but I’d studied enough about it. “That’s right. We mined for rare minerals, although the mines have been running dry as of late. That meant angry imperial commanders. Some of us decided we were sick of taking Zagrath punishment, so we stole a ship and escaped.”
The Vandar with a scar slashing his cheek spun the handle of his axe in one hand. “Where are the others now?”
I heaved in a breath and blinked quickly to manufacture tears. “Dead. The empire attacked as we escaped, and our ship suffered damage. Everyone else was either killed or wounded badly enough that they didn’t survive.”
“And their bodies?” he asked.
“I couldn’t keep them in here.” I looked down, willing tears to fall. “I put them out the airlock.”
Footsteps rumbled from the corridor and more Vandar raiders entered the bridge, stopping and staring at me. Even though their arrival was unexpected, at least it took the Raas’ attention from me for a moment, which was fortunate since I could not seem to be able to force out a tear. I burrowed my fingernails into the flesh of my palm, cursing myself for failing to manufacture sorrow—again.
Raas Bron did not turn his body, but he twisted his head slightly to address his raiders. “What have you found?”
“Very little food, Raas,” one of the raiders answered after tapping his heels together. “And the ship is out of fuel.”
“Signs of battle?” the other Vandar flanking the Raas asked.
A raider from the back of the group cleared his throat. “Hull breaches that have been sealed poorly.”
“Mining supplies in the cargo bay, Raas,” said another.
Raas Bron snapped his head back to me. “Maybe you are not lying.”
I widened my eyes and pretended to be shocked. “Why would I lie?”
The scarred raider emitted a low growl.
“Raas,” I added, quickly. I didn’t know who the scarred guy was, but I was going to kill him as soon as I’d dispatched the Vandar warlord.
Both raiders flanking the Raas turned to him and began speaking Vandar in low voices. My pulse quickened. None of them sounded pleased, and I wasn’t sure if they believed me or not.
The Zagrath general had assured me that the Vandar raiders were ruthless brutes who would be easy to trick and then seduce. He’d made them sound like violent aliens who cared about little but killing and fucking. As I watched them confer, I got my first inkling that this wasn’t entirely true.
The leader turned back to me. “Consider yourself lucky, female.”
I smiled at him, although even that slight movement made my face ache. “You’re going to help me?”
“No.” He spun on his heel and the leather flaps of his kilt caught air. “We are going to let you live.” He motioned his raiders to the door. “Vaes!”
Fuck. Maybe I was wrong about them not being ruthless brutes.
“You’re going to leave me without food or fuel?” I grabbed his arm before he stepped out of my reach. “You can’t do that. You have to take me with you.”
Axes were drawn so quickly even I was startled as multiple blades pointed at me, one coming so close to my face that a wisp of my dark hair was sliced off and fluttered to the floor.
Raas Bron held up a hand before any of his raiders could touch me. He bent low so that his words buzzed my ear. “You are wrong, human. I can do that. I am a Raas of the Vandar.” He straightened and locked eyes with me, his dark and deadly. “I obey no one, especially not a female.”
Heat arrowed through me, but I brushed it off and tried to ignore the blush threatening my cheeks. My mission was going off the rails fast. I had to get myself onto his horde, along with my cargo.
“You would leave me to die?”
His hand closed over mine, surprising me with its warmth, and he uncurled my fingers from his arm. “I would leave you for someone else to find. The Vandar do not rescue.”
I rubbed the skin on my hand, my flesh hot from his touch. “Even someone who defied the Zagrath?”
The raiders shifted, and an uncomfortable murmur rippled through them. Most of the galaxy knew them as terrorists. The Zagrath had worked hard to solidify that reputation for them. But I knew they were a people pledged to fight against the empire and lend aid to planets who resisted imperial rule. I knew that because it was part of my job to ensure that their mission failed.
I tipped my head back. If playing the victim of the Zagrath wouldn’t work, I’d have to shift to Plan B. I bit my bottom lip and leaned closer to him, making my voice a purr. “Please, Raas.”
Raas Bron looked down at me. “There is no room for a female on a Vandar warbird.”
So much for my feminine charms. I really was going to kill the imperial soldier who’d knocked me around. It was hard to be seductive when you could barely smile,
