Chapter Thirty-Four
Juliette
My pulse fluttered nervously as I followed behind Raas Kaalek and Tara. It had taken half the night to prepare the sedative darts and plot the best route to the beach, so it was hard for me to be patient and not run headlong through the woods to find Vassim. But I steadied my breath, reminding myself that our best weapon was the element of surprise and tearing through the forest would not help save the Raas.
“Are you okay?” Lebben asked, walking up beside me.
Although his father had protested loudly, he’d insisted on joining the mission, arguing that his years of pelting the side of his father’s shop with darts had made him the most skilled in the group. So he walked along with me while the other Carlogians, along with Baru and Furb, stayed behind to ensure that their village wasn’t overrun by imperial forces while we were away. At first, Raas Kaalek hadn’t wanted me to come, insisting that a rescue mission was no place for an inexperienced human, but once Tara had noticed my resolve, she’d sweet-talked him into it. Still, my stomach roiled as I thought about what we were doing, and how ill-prepared I was for it.
“I’m fine,” I said, giving the younger Carlogian a weak smile. “Nervous, but glad to be dressed sensibly for once.”
Lebben glanced at the form-fitting jumpsuit that blended in with the trees around me. I didn’t know how his father had done it, but he’d sized me up with a glance. The outfit fit me like a glove, and might have been the most comfortable thing I’d ever worn.
“That does work well for blending into the woods. I doubt anyone would see you coming.” He looked up. “Aside from your hair.”
I’d almost forgotten that my blonde curls were hanging loosely around my shoulders, and I touched a hand to them.
“I actually think my father took that into consideration,” Lebben said, reaching around and pulling the draping cowl neck up so that it transformed into a hood that covered my hair.
“Wow.” I tugged the fabric so that it brushed the top of my forehead. “You father is really good.”
Lebben beamed. “He is. He always wanted me to join him in being a tailor, but I don’t have the same passion for it, or his talent.”
My heart contracted with an ache for a father as loving as Fenrey, but I managed to smile at Lebben. “What is your passion?”
“Music.” Even through the dim moonlight filtering down through the web of leaves above, I could see the pride in the Carlogian’s face. “Mostly Carlogian lute and lyre, but I also compose.”
I’d never had a chance to try an instrument, not that music had been a central part of life on my home world. The native Kimitherians couldn’t play any instrument easily with their webbed hands, and the warbling sounds they made when they sang had been enough to turn me off music.
“What about you? What do you love to do?” Lebben asked.
Before I could tell him about my baking, Kaalek and Tara stopped short in front of us, and Tara threw back an outstretched arm.
“We’re getting close.” She hunched over and moved gingerly forward behind Raas Kaalek, who held his battle axe at the ready.
Lebben and I followed them, trying to step where they’d stepped to limit the crunch of vegetation beneath our feet. As we moved forward and the trees became sparser, Lebben shifted his leather satchel, pulling out a handful of darts.
I glanced over at him, noting the tight set of his jaw. He was just as scared as I was, and somehow, that made me feel better.
The moonlight grew brighter as the forest became less dense, and finally I saw glimpses of black sand, and beyond that, the reflective surface of the water. We paused at the edge of the woods. There was little sound, and I was unable to see around Kaalek to look for Vassim. Where would they keep a prisoner before taking him to a larger ship in orbit?
“Someone has beaten us to it,” Kaalek said, his voice a low rumble.
My stomach lurched. “What do you mean? Is Raas Vassim…?”
Kaalek stepped out onto the sand and we all followed, peering down at the imperial bodies strewn across the sand. Two lay on the edge of the sand almost as if they were sleeping, but for the awkward angle of their necks. Another two sagged on the ground, dark puddles of blood cradling their heads.
My eyes went to the strange metal apparatus to one side, which Kaalek was now circling as if he were stalking prey. He bent low and examined the base. “This is where they kept the Raas.”
I glanced back at the bodies. “Do you think he did all this?”
Kaalek tilted his head. “He is a Raas of the Vandar, but if this machine works the way I suspect it does, I doubt he could have escaped alone.”
“We arrived on the planet with other raiders,” I said. “They all ran off into the woods when we did. Maybe they came back and rescued him.”
“That is likely.” Raas Kaalek raised his head to the imperial ship farther down the beach and the soldiers lying on mats beside it. “What is unlikely is that they left imperial survivors.”
Tara put a hand on his arm as he made a move to go toward the sleeping Zagrath. “Leave them. We still need to find Raas Vassim and the rest of his raiders.”
Kaalek emitted a low growl, casting a malicious glance at the enemy. “The only good Zagrath is a dead one.”
Tara patted his arm. “I promise there will be plenty of Zagrath to kill after we’ve completed our mission, Muscles.”
He cut his eyes to her. “You are still an infuriating female.”
“Which is why you love me so much.”
He swatted her ass with another growl. “It isn’t the main reason.”
Lebben exchanged a glance with me, and I wondered if Tara and
