“You know I’ll do anything for you but that,” I said.
She nodded. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll finally offend Donal enough that he decides he doesn’t want you.”
“I can’t believe I haven’t already.”
“You’re not the only one,” Juliette mumbled.
I swatted at her. “Hey!”
Juliette smiled at me, then her expression became serious. “Don’t go down there, Sienna. You’re only going to be disappointed.”
I cut my eyes to the square, which was filling with people. I didn’t see the Vandar, but I suspected he was already at the amphitheater. “You don’t know that. Corvak might be different. He might not think females are only good for marrying.”
Her eyebrow quirked up. “Corvak?”
My cheeks warmed. “I heard some people talking about him. That’s his name, isn’t it?”
Juliette shrugged but appraised me with narrowed eyes. “I guess. I doubt I’ll have much reason to know it. He seems to keep to himself.”
“Well, I’ll need to know his name. He’s going to teach me how to fight like a warrior.”
My sister let out another long sigh. “Even if he wanted to, the ministers would never allow it. Females on Kimithion III don’t fight.”
The reality of her words made my shoulders sag. She was right. Even if the Vandar agreed to it, the ministers never would. And I couldn’t even count on my father to take my side. He’d agree with the other males. Then anger flared fresh inside me.
Ever since a small group of human refugees had been allowed to join the native Kimitherians and share the planet, we’d been obliged to follow the established rules and traditions, even though they were stricter than what the original settlers had been used to on Earth. Still, our ancestors had been so grateful to have a planet to share—and one that wasn’t overcrowded or stripped of resources like Earth had been—that they agreed to the morality strictures and the male-dominated social structure. It was a trade-off I cursed on a regular basis.
“They’ll have to know I’m a female to stop me,” I said, flipping my hood up and ducking my head. “This is one time when me not having curves will pay off. No one will know I’m a female in this.”
“Sienna—”
I clutched my sister’s hands before she could admonish me again. “Please, Juliette. Just don’t tell on me. I think this is something I’d do really well. You have your baking, but I don’t have anything I’m good at like that. Not yet. I need to know if this is my thing. Please don’t tell on me. Cross your heart.” I made a criss cross motion over my chest with one finger. “Hope to die.”
She shook her head. “You and your vintage Earth sayings.” She might not love old Earth slang as much as I did—or feel the need to maintain some sort of connection to our home world—but she still gave me a reluctant smile. “Fine, but only because I won’t have to. It’s not going to work.”
That was good enough for me. “I still have to try.” I released her hands and backed away.
“And if father asks where you are?” she called after me.
“You know he won’t,” I said as I turned, the truth in my words stinging even though it shouldn’t have after all this time.
“Sienna,” Juliette said, her tone urgent.
I stopped and twisted my head back to meet her gaze. “What?”
She gave me a reluctant grin. “Good luck. If anyone can pull this off, it’s you.”
I beamed at her, waving as I backed up faster. “Thanks, sis!”
I bustled down the path, bolstered by my sister’s encouragement. It wasn’t going to be easy. She’d been right about that. Not only did I have to fool the Vandar into thinking I was a male, but I also had to hide my face from all the other fighters.
But I didn’t care. My sister believed in me—well, she’d wished me good luck, which was almost the same thing. A laugh of excitement burbled up in my throat, and my heart pounded as I raced down the path getting closer and closer to the village square.
One way or another, I was going to get the Vandar raider to teach me how to fight. And I was going to be the best warrior he’d ever trained. He just didn’t know it yet.
Chapter Three
Ch 3
Corvak
I took long steps in front of the males assembled in the dusty amphitheater, my tail swishing behind me. If I hadn’t already been regretting my agreement to teach the residents of Kimithion III, I was now. The amphitheater wasn’t more than a succession of ringed rows of stone benches surrounding an open area—more of a gladiator ring than anything. But the males assembled in front of me were anything but gladiators.
What did I really expect? They were a nonviolent planet that had no standing army and no defense systems. They’d never been trained to fight or even considered it, despite their long lives.
I squinted into the suns that were above the top of the amphitheater and were now beating down on the cracked ground. I let out a hot breath, inhaling briny air in exchange. It was a hard thing for me to imagine since battle had been my life, but I tried to remind myself that not everyone was Vandar as I appraised the males who’d shown up to be trained.
“Not by a long shot,” I whispered, eyeing the shabby and scrawny males lined up in front of me.
There was a mix of humans and Kimitherians, but they all wore cloaks to protect them from the suns, so I only saw glimpses of blue scales or flashes of skin in a variety of shades from beneath drooping hoods. Even with the coverings, it was easy to tell that none of the volunteers were bulky, and I almost instantly gave up on the concept of teaching them to fight with Vandar battle axes. The poor creatures wouldn’t be able to lift the heavy iron weapons off the ground.
“Tvek.” I cursed
