Bought By The Zandians (Zandian Brides 2)

“You need to listen to me.” I raise my voice. “I sometimes hear things. Things I couldn’t before. I think it’s the effect of her.” I nod at my child. She gurgles as if agreeing with me.

King Zander lifts his brows. “Precognition? Like my queen?”

“No,” I snap, impatient.

“Danica.” Bayla’s voice is calm. “You’re having a hallucination. We can help.”

“It’s not a dream,” I stand. “I hear it. There’s something approaching them. You need to tell them.” I wince and squeeze my eyes shut as the sound happens again. “It’s a war ship, arming missiles.”

“How do you even know that sound?” Bayla’s voice is doubtful, but the king watches me thoughtfully.

I blink. “My old master enjoyed playing gory holos.” My voice is taut. “To terrify me. He’d tell me that if I didn’t get pregnant soon, he’d set me adrift in a dummy pod and tell the nearby ships that I was a free test target. Would play me all the fighter craft sounds and ask me which one I’d like to be the last sound I’d ever hear in this life. Make me recite them back to him by name if I wanted to avoid a beating. Trust me, I know the noise.”

“Danica…”

“It’s an S-class battler with long-range destroyX missiles,” I hurry to add. “Older, but quite effective. And cloaked. Favored by undercover Ocretion pirates.”

King Zander frowns but raises an eyebrow. “That is, indeed, their preferred craft.”

“Look, just communicate with them,” I beg. “If I’m wrong, no harm done. It will take just a second to check. But if I’m right…” I trail off. They may not be my mates anymore, but I couldn’t stand the thought of them dying. “One call. I’ll go back to the med bay and I won’t bother you again.”

He hesitates, then turns to the guard beside him. “Make the call.”

Chapter 15

Gorde

“What are you thinking about?” I turn to Benn, pretty sure I already know, from the expression on his face.

“Danica.” He sighs. We’re silent for a minute, and the only sound is the faint thrum of our engine as we speed towards Zandia on our rescue craft.

I glance over; the rescued human and her two young are fast asleep in the sleeping platform in the far alcove, a silvery flight blanket draped over them, but I lower my voice anyway. “Specifically?”

“When I was talking to her”—he gestures to the human female—“Mikala, I realized we were too harsh with Danica. At least, I was too harsh.”

I don’t reply. He continues, “I told Mikala there are all kinds of families in this galaxy.” A tendon twitches in his neck. “Maybe…we were too hasty to push Danica away. Perhaps the three of us could work, anyway.”

“You’re saying you could accept another creature’s young?” My voice rises, even though I’ve been thinking the same thing.

“Maybe.” He tilts his head.

“You didn’t even want a human, to start,” I scoff. “Now you’re willing to add an Akronian to the mix?” But I think back to the pictures on that comms unit. That small face, the green arms, the smile. Danica’s smile. Something tightens in my chest. “Although I suppose it’s not really completely Akronian at this point. Right? It has her, too.”

He nods. “It does. I mean, it didn’t look…completely unpleasant.”

“No,” I’m quick to agree. “It was actually somewhat acceptable. For being green. And scaly.”

“There was that one picture where it sort of had its mouth open, the way Danica does when she sleeps.” He laughs.

“The one where its eyes were shut. Yes. That did look like Danica.” I smile, remembering how Danica sometimes snores—very lightl

y—and gets incredibly upset when we tease her about it.

“And if anyone talked? I’d shut them up.” He raises his fists and growls.

I nod. “If we accepted her and the young, the others surely would too.”

“Why would it be a big issue?” He shrugs. “After all, it’s only one being out of many. Isn’t Zandia known for our honor, like we said? What’s more honorable than giving another little being a chance?”