Zandian Pet (Zandian Masters 7)

“The pod? It was an Ocretion death pod. Lamira’s sister, Lily, was sentenced to death on it and her mate, Rok, shot it down to rescue her. Our army in training consists of the slaves and prisoners they found on board.” He put an atmospheric helmet on her before pulling one on for himself.

“Hmm. That was handy.” Her voice echoed in her ears as it played in their joint comms. “They receive a full pardon only if they swear fealty to the purple king?”

Erick grinned, apparently not offended by her dry assessment. He somehow managed to appear handsome and debonair even with the helmet. She doubted hers had the same effect. “Exactly. The humans weren’t really Rok’s aim, but Lily insisted on saving all of them.” He opened their hatch, and they jumped down to a metal platform.

“I’m looking forward to meeting Lily,” she said. “And Cambry.”

He gestured toward the door to the pod. “Female warriors like you.” His understanding made her heart beat faster. “I’m sure you’ll find them charming. You’re not prejudiced against humans like many Zandians were to begin with.”

She raised a brow. “Were they? Why? Zandians didn’t keep slaves.”

He stopped outside the door, as if he didn’t want to talk about humans once they were inside. “No, but our only interactions with humans, if any, were with slaves, so there was a general consensus they were not worthy of respect. If Daneth hadn’t been desperate for Zander to breed before we go into war, we probably never would have introduced humans to our mix.

“Do you like them?”

“Yes. Not much difference, if you ask me. More emotional, and physically weaker, but they seem just as intelligent. They’ll contribute to our effort.” He hit the button, and the door slid open to reveal a small antechamber. They stepped inside and waited until the door closed before pulling off their helmets and hanging them on the hooks on the wall. “Come on, pet. I’ll introduce you around.” His fingers brushed her hand, but he balled them and stuck them into his pocket, as if the very presence of her fingers beside his was too tempting.

She wanted to accept his gesture, considering the tenderness he’d shown after their rabid sex, but he was right. She wasn’t allowing him to claim her as his mate, especially around her father, so she couldn’t allow any public shows of affection.

“Erick, where are my galactacarriers?” A big, burly warrior met them at the door.

She registered a slight hitch in Erick’s step right before she fell to a dead stop. Her mouth fell open, heart pounded in her chest. She recognized the male.

His gaze turned soft, almost sympathetic. He bowed. “Lady Tara, I’d heard you were found. You must recognize me. We escaped Zandia together as children. Our ship crashed on Stornig.”

“You lived!” She fell on him, tears in her eyes. She hadn’t known him before that fateful planet rotation. One of her father’s guards had brought her, Talia, and the young male through the underground tunnels to an old outpost where he bundled them into an airship and made it out of Zandian airspace. Unfortunately, they’d been chased by a Finnian ship and shot down. She hadn’t seen her sister, the guard, or the young male again until now.

He let her embrace him. “So did you.”

“I’m sorry—I never even knew your name.”

“Rok. A Stornigian smuggler wanted on three planets.” He bowed. “And now a Zandian army commander.”

She beamed. “Rok—Lily’s mate.”

He lifted startled brows. “Do you know Lily?”

“No, but I want to.” She peered around him. “Where is she?”

Rok chuckled. “Hard to say. She’s always somewhere making herself busy. Come, I’ll show you around.” To Erick, he said, “Where are my galactacarriers? We need to train the pilots to land and take off from them, not to mention pick six who will actually fly the carriers.”

“I know, I’m working on it.”

“I thought you said they’d be here last week.”

“There’s been a snag.” Erick’s voice tightened. The change was almost imperceptible, but Mina’s body had attuned to his and she recognized the same clipped way of speaking he’d used with Prium. “I’ll update you when I have more information.”

They rounded the corner and met two human females. One had coppery hair and green eyes, almost identical to Lamira’s. The other had a wild mane of wavy red hair, the front pulled back in small braids.

“Ah, here they are. Lily and Cambry, meet Tara, Master Seke’s daughter.”

Lily stuck her hand out in the human form of greeting then quickly withdrew it, probably realizing her mistake. “A pleasure to meet you,” she said.

“Tara was interested in meeting you both,” Rok prompted.

She drew herself up. “Yes, I’d like to join the army. To train with you for battle.”

Cambry nodded. Rok didn’t blink an eye, either. “Are you interested in flying one of the battleships?” he asked.