Provoked—A Sci-Fi Alien Warrior RomanceRaider Warlords of the Vandar #6
Tana Stone
Broadmoor Books
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Epilogue
Also by Tana Stone
About the Author
Chapter One
Vassim
I dragged the blade of my battle axe across my leather kilt, the slick blood darkening the garment but leaving the curved steel glinting in the light of the setting suns.
“It was a valiant battle, Raas.” My majak, Taan, strode over from where he’d dispatched an imperial soldier, his opponent’s helmeted head rolling across the dusty ground away from its uniformed body.
I surveyed the enemy bodies scattered across the ground, and beyond them, the gray silhouettes of the Zagrath ships hunched in front of the turquoise waters that the people of this planet called the shallows. The sunlight bounced off the surface of the water, sending a golden glow over everything and almost masking the horrors of the battle with its beauty.
“We honored Lokken,” I said, invoking the Vandar god of old who blessed our battles.
My second in command tipped his head up to the sky where the enemy battleship lit up the sky as it exploded in a flash of white. “And saved the planet from being taken by the empire.”
I growled, a swell of pride surging through me at the sight of the explosion, and the thought of thwarting our enemy’s efforts to exert control over yet another less powerful planet. When I’d directed my Vandar horde to respond to a distress call sent out by Kimithion III, I’d been more curious about the Vandar raider who’d sent it, but now that we’d tasted enemy blood, I almost forgot about the exiled raider who’d piqued my curiosity.
I hooked my axe on my belt. “It has been a long time since we’ve taken down a Zagrath fleet.”
“I have missed it,” Taan confessed, although his voice held no condemnation.
I flicked my gaze to him, nodding. “I, as well.”
We did not need to speak the rest, for we both knew it all too well. Our horde had been patrolling the far reaches of space and away from almost all imperial activity for so long that the Zagrath had become like a shadow enemy to us. Although we maintained a sort of loose order on the lawless hinterlands, the empire had abandoned the space long ago. Perhaps even before our horde was relegated to patrol it.
Cursed to patrol it, I thought, before forcing the traitorous words from my mind. It did not do any good to reopen old wounds, especially ones that were not old enough. I swallowed the sharp tang of bile and drew in a deep breath.
“There are no more imperial soldiers, Raas,” said Taan, interrupting my thoughts, “and the fleet appears to be in tatters.” My majak clicked his heels together. “What are your orders?”
I cut my gaze to the soldiers scattered like broken dolls across the ground. “Burn the bodies. I will speak with Corvak and the natives before we depart.”
He clicked his heels once more in salute before spinning on his heel and striding toward the carnage, calling other raiders to help him with a sharp “Vaes!”
The battle had both fired my blood and stilled my rage, dousing a long-suppressed desire to strike a blow against the empire. Seeing the faceless Zagrath soldiers being piled up, helmets gleaming, reminded me that I was a Raas of the Vandar, even if I had not laid eyes on another warlord of my people since before I’d been named Raas.
I breathed in deeply as I walked away from the battlefield and toward the village we’d been fighting to protect, the salt in the air reminding me that the natives of the planet had evolved from the seas and still resembled aquatic creatures. The humans who shared the planet with the native Kimitherians did not share the green-blue scales and webbed hands and feet, but to me they were equally foreign. Smaller in stature than Vandar, humans did not have tails or marks across their chests, and their mating was not fated like ours.
But if the rumors were true, my fellow Raas’ had claimed human females as mates, a phenomenon I found to be both startling and inexplicable. I could hardly believe that my fellow warriors had crossed paths with these creatures, much less taken them as mates. From the little I’d seen, the females were small and unskilled in battle. I failed to see the appeal.
When I reached my transport ship, I was pleased to see Corvak, the Vandar who’d sent out the initial distress call, approaching from the other direction. Dirt covered his bare chest, along with mating marks that were spreading across his shoulders and up his neck even as I watched.
“Raas Vassim.” He bowed his head and clicked his heels once he reached me.
“Battle chief,” I said, acknowledging the position he’d occupied before he’d been exiled from his horde. I knew his story, and although I understood why Raas Bron had punished him for questioning his authority, I also believed that Corvak’s desire for the truth and lust for battle made him an ideal Vandar raider.
He looked over my shoulder to the pyre of imperial bodies being stacked high. “You were victorious.”
“We showed no mercy to the imperial encroachers.” I gazed upon at the sky that was now empty of Zagrath ships. “Your bounty hunter friends were just as merciless.”
“Kimithion III owes both of you a great debt.”
I inclined my head at him. “And you.”
His cheeks colored. “I had a more personal reason to wish to save the planet.”
I glanced at his mating marks. “Will this reason keep you here?”
He gave a definitive shake of his head. “I am destined to be in the skies, not on the ground.”
I folded my arms over my chest. Even though our ancestors
