Stolen by the Zandian (Zandian Brides 7)

“What way?” One of my tears spills, hot and hurried, down my face.

He takes my face in his hands, thumbing away the moisture. “Come with me. Please? And I’ll tell you everything.”

I nod, another tear tracking down my face. Because what other choice do I have? It’s Khrys or that horrible med bay back there. Even if I want to kick Khrys in the nuts, I’d take him over a doctor any day.

I’d take him over any being.

“What about Whimmie?” I ask, remembering the only other being who seems to care for me right now.

Khrys pauses in surprise. “We’ll get her, too. All right? I may end up in the dungeons for this but…”

“But what?” I tip my face up to his, trying to figure it all out.

“You’re what’s important to me.”

Chapter 12

Khrys

I take Kailani’s hand and lead her to my hovercraft, which I fly to the clearing above the waterfall. I appear to be in luck—there are no other crafts parked in the area. We will have the waterfall to ourselves.

She eyes me nervously. I’ve lost her trust, and it won’t be easy to recover. She still seems to think I’m trying to trick her.

“Come on. You’re going to love this,” I promise, taking her hand and jogging with her toward the falls. She runs along beside me, picking up speed when she hears the sound of the crashing water.

We circle around where twin waterfalls cascade over zandian crystals, sending rainbow prisms in all directions. Kailani stops and gasps.

“Oh! It’s beautiful.”

I squeeze her hand, grateful when she doesn’t pull out of my grasp.

“The water is warm. One waterfall is hot, one is cold, so the pool below is the perfect temperature.” I strip off my clothes.

I know we need to talk, but I’d do anything to show her something nice right now. Something beautiful.

She nibbles her cheek, then strips out of her clothes, too.

“Do you know how to swim?”

She answers me by jumping into the water ahead of me. I smile and follow her in. She’s a fantastic swimmer, and she kicks straight toward the waterfalls, diving under them and then reappearing, smiling.

I’m not as skilled. I spent half my life in space, trai

ning on King Zander’s palatial pod after we lost our planet. We had no opportunities for swimming there, but my body still remembers how to stay afloat and how to propel myself around. I follow Kailani’s sleek form under the waterfalls. She swims beneath them and discovers the secret moss-covered ledge behind them.

“So you didn’t lie about the waterfall,” she says grudgingly, pulling herself out of the water to examine the crystal wall. My horns stiffen at the sight of her fully naked and out of the water, but I shove my lust down.

“I didn’t lie about anything. Zandians don’t lie.” I climb out of the water and sit on a soft patch of moss.

She whirls, hurt and anger marring her lovely face. “What did you omit, then?”

I try to swallow against the tight band around my throat. “A Z4-A virus has affected the planet. Not the Zandians, but the weaker humans. Many of the young—the halflings we’re relying on keeping our species alive, including the king’s own daughter, Kaylar. Some have died already.”

She’s gone still and tense. “I see.”

“When I saw your dossier, I hoped your engineered resistance to illness might provide some answers. To save the children.”

“And you thought you’d be a hero and save your species by bringing me here.”