Bought By The Zandians (Zandian Brides 2)

He tilts his head. “Whatever they want, as long as it supports Zandia. One human is a medic. Another is a—well, she started out with agriculture experience, but now she’s one of our top chemists. She works with Dr. Daneth. Another one is a mechanic. Whatever your skills are, we can find something that works.” He blinks at me. His eyes, wide and dark, are unreadable. “It’s a good life, Danica. You’ll be mated with Zandians who match you. You’ll have choices back on the planet. And if you accept a Zandian sponsor and agree to the terms, you will live there safely and we will protect you, forever.”

“But”—I can’t get past this—“you had no right to take me. Tell me I was your slave.” My voice rises. “You prevented me from leaving when you had no right.” Of course, I wouldn’t have received better treatment from any other being in the galaxy, but it still sticks me.

Benn sits beside me, and after a few seconds, he puts his arm around me. Tentative. A light pressure. “Danica, it wasn’t entirely right, what we did. But it was only for your protection. Surely you see how dangerous it would have been for you alone on that planet? Really, there’s no way you could make it alive to Jesel, alone. You’d be killed.”

His voice is full of conviction, but I don’t care. “You don’t know that! It was my right to try it, if I wanted. You prevented me. You lied.”

“Forgive me for not wanting to watch them cut your vecking throat right there,” Gorde snaps. “Or drag you off to prison.”

I jerk my head—he’s in front of me now, eyes blazing. “We just came out of the prison that Ocretion would have used to lock you up. You wouldn’t”—he clenches a fist, turns away for a second—“you have no idea. By lying to you, forcing you to stay with us? We saved your life.”

I bite my lip. “I don’t know what to say.” My anger disappears as quickly as it came, and everything seems so clear. I know how Ocretions are. And although the slaves whisper about the passenger shuttle, the truth is that there are also rumors about how dangerous it is.

“Say you forgive us.” Benn’s voice is low. “Come to Zandia, Danica.”

I want to. Mother Earth, how I want to go there with these two males, now that I know what’s offered to human women. And since I don’t have a route to Jesel, this may be my last and only option.

I touch my abdomen once and a strange sadness twists inside my soul. If they learn about my past, the look on their faces will change from protective passion to anger and disgust. Maybe even murderous rage. But right now, it’s my only viable option.

I have to take my chances.

“Yes.” I take a deep breath and pretend that everything will be okay. “Yes, I forgive you. Please take me to Zandia.”

Benn

When Danica looks into my eyes and asks me to take her to Zandia, a wave of relief startles me. First of all, I barely know her, and unlike Gorde, I didn’t have some kind of immediate mind connection with the little human. Sure, she vecks like a dream. But I’m having a hard time giving up my fantasy of finding a Zandian female. I know I’m just feeling a temporary bond with her because of the sex. Dr. Daneth says humans have powerful hormones that can affect Zandian emotions—but I’m not going to be swayed by that. The relief is probably just because I know it’s the right thing to do.

I clear my throat. “We’ll arrive in a few hours. I’ll alert King Zander that?

?”

A frenzy of chimes from the med pod interrupts, and we all look over as the lid opens with a pneumatic hiss, all the lights flashing green.

“He’s awake.” Gorde jogs over as our fellow Zandian sits up slowly and winces. He squints as he looks around the pod, his eyes blank, uncomprehending.

“He’s still pretty banged up, but the crystal light flood has done a remarkable job healing his bruises and cuts,” I mutter. He looks almost whole again.

“Where am I?” His voice, low and resonant, carries across the room. “Who are you?” He frowns, then reaches up to touch his horns. “I was in the prison.” He looks at his arms, lifts the left one. “This was broken. I couldn’t heal. But it’s better.” He looks at the med pod. “You have crystals here?”

“Yeah. We rescued you.” Gorde nods. “This is Benn. I’m Gorde. We’re from Zandia.”

The Zandian blinks. “There is no more Zandia.” He coughs. His eyes dart around the craft, then back to the crystal, and a strange sensation churns in my gut. There’s something off about him, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.

“We took it back.” Gorde crosses his arms. “It’s a sovereign kingdom again. We came to bring you home.”

“Home?” The Zandian’s voice cracks. He gets out of the pod, one leg first, shaky. The other. He looks around him, turning his head. “This ship. Zandia never had this kind of technology.”

“We have a lot of new things.” Gorde smiles briefly. “Your name, brother?”

The Zandian blinks. “Well.” But he doesn’t answer. He looks over at Danica, and his expression twists into something odd and almost fierce.

She sucks in a breath and and steps closer to me. I put my arm on her shoulder.

“Your name.” I repeat it, louder, enunciating.

“Taxx.” He nods. “But I’ve been alone and on the run for so long that I go by a different name. And they tagged me.” He grimaces, touches his neck. “The med pod didn’t remove the laser mark?”

“That can be done on Zandia.” I step closer, leaving Danica behind me. “Why were you in that prison?”