She didn’t respond, so I continued.
“It is known as a mystical planet, inhabited by magical creatures and ruled by illusions and spells. I would not leave you there because it would be difficult for someone as unseasoned as you to resist. You would probably be forever lost in the fantastical world where nothing is what it seems.”
“Then why are we going? It doesn’t sound like the type of place that would appeal to Vandar raiders.”
“For one, it has an impressive series of pleasure houses with pleasurers who have unrivaled skills and tricks. For another, a seer lives in one of those houses. She is the one I’m taking you to see.”
“A seer? As in, someone who divines the future?”
“And can warn you of peril or predict your victories.” The alien seer, Ferria, had done both for me.
The female shook her head. “I don’t want anyone looking into my future. That’s playing God.”
I growled, recalling that humans had a sad belief in a single deity. “There are many gods, and the witch can talk to them all, if I ask her.”
“A witch?” Her voice trembled with fear. “I’m not letting you take me to a witch. How do I know you’re not selling me to her? Maybe she needs a virgin for her spells.”
As soon as the words had rushed from her mouth, she looked stricken, and her cheeks became mottled with patches of pink. I cocked my head at her. I’d been almost certain of her purity, but hearing her confirm it made my pulse quicken.
“You overestimate Ferria’s desire for human females.” I closed the distance between us and cupped her chin in my hand, tilting it up so that she was forced to meet my eyes. “Although my own seems to be growing.”
Her chin shook as she stared up at me, but her fear did nothing to douse my desire. In fact, feeling her body tremble made me want to dominate her even more. I dropped her chin and loosened my battle kilt so that it hit the floor with a thwack. Her eyes widened as she realized that I was completely naked, but she didn’t pull her gaze away from mine.
“You will go with me to visit the seer.” I returned my hand to her jaw, running my thumb across the soft skin of her cheek. “If you’re lucky, she will tell me that you’re not the female I need, and I’ll let you go.”
She drew in an uneven breath. “And if I’m not lucky?”
I dragged my thumb across her bottom lip. “Then you will remain here with me for as long as I command you to.”
Then I stepped away from her and over the pile of my discarded kilt, turning and walking toward the bathing chamber. Only when I’d plunged myself fully into the icy pool in the center did the storm of desire begin to fade.
Tvek. The last thing I needed or wanted was to fall under the spell of a human, especially if she was not the one who could cure me.
Chapter Eight
Juliette
I tugged the heavy cloak around my shoulders as the chill from the purple fog swirled around my ankles. I’d been reluctant to take the heavy, fur-lined garment when the Raas had offered it to me on the transport, but now I was grateful.
I stole a furtive glance at the warlord standing next to me on the flat-bottomed boat as we skimmed through the strange marsh. Even though the planet’s surface was cold and shrouded in damp fog, he wore only his battle kilt. His broad chest was covered by the thick strap of his leather shoulder armor and the dark swirling marks that were common on all the Vandar raiders, but that was it. Of course, that was more than he’d been wearing when he’d stomped off to his bath.
Despite the cold, my face burned as I thought back to watching the naked Raas walk away from me. I’d never seen a male undressed before, unless you counted my drunk father staggering from the bathroom in his underwear, which I didn’t. But the Vandar didn’t wear anything under their kilts, so when Raas Vassim had dropped his on the floor in front of me, he’d been completely bare-assed.
My pulse fluttered as a mental image of that ass filled my mind, and I kept my eyes locked straight ahead. What caused my heart to race even faster was the memory of what had been swinging between his legs as he’d taken long strides away from me. Even from behind, it had been hard to miss.
It made sense that the huge Vandar raiders would be huge everywhere, but I’d never been confronted with the reality of just how huge before. Although the thought of it made my mouth go dry, a faint flutter of curiosity and desire awoke inside me.
I immediately shook my head. Don’t be foolish, Juliette. The Raas of a Vandar horde doesn’t desire you. Not when he could have any female he wanted.
Raas Vassim shifted next to me, glancing down when I shook my head. “Are you unwell?”
I darted a lightning-quick glance to him and then away. “I’m fine.”
He grunted and turned his attention back to the path our boat was cutting through the fog, steered by a slender, green-skinned alien using a pair of poles he maneuvered expertly in the soupy marsh.
See? He’s not interested in you that way, no matter what he might have said. He only wants to see if you can break some crazy spell.
That thought should have been comforting, but it only made the backs of my eyes sting. I might not want to be forced to be the bed mate of a terrifying Vandar warrior, but I hated the thought that he’d probably never be attracted to someone like me. My sister might have always insisted that I was the pretty one, but that didn’t change the fact that I was curvier than all the other girls
