Page 70 of Fire Forged

He peered through the door and repeated what she said.She frowned.Why had he done that?Did he have a private channel with Nerx?And if so… Oh, yup, that’s right.She didn’t have an O.D.I.yet.Typical.

Nerx met her gaze and nodded.With a gesture at his males, they widened their circle to encompass the new arrivals.“Oh, good, you are on time,” he said.“We officially hand over your females—”

“You want me to believe you do not recognize me?”Shioll smirked.“Have you been demoted?Or is this a rebellion in the making?”She nudged the pile of discarded braids with her boot.

Movement caught Britt’s attention.She narrowed her eyes on Haiz helping Prince Citus to his feet.Then with one swift lunge, she unsheathed Citus’s blaster and fired, hitting Shioll between the eyes.

“On behalf of our empress, you are judged.”Haiz swung the gun wide as everyone drew theirs.

Britt gasped, torn between hiding and praying a tub of popcorn would materialize.This could turn into a mess or the most epic showdown.

Citus drew a greatsword from down his back, somehow hidden behind a built-in sheath.Because,dammit, surely she would’ve felt something on Nerx during one of those many passionate embraces.Still, it was a freaking visual delight.

Gunfire followed, green and white bolts zigzagging across the clearing.For the most part, the greens bounced off the Etterian armor.The whites hit limbs or shoulders, nothing too lethal.She didn’t think the Etterians wanted to kill the Viqrians.

One glance from Nerx had him bolting toward Britt amid shots fired.Her breath hitched, and fear coiled its debilitating numbness through her body.“What the fuck?”she asked when he swept her deeper into the shuttle.

“You vowed,” he roared.“Ziot, guard her.”

“Don’t you dare yell at me, asshole.I’m in the damn shuttle, aren’t I?”She grabbed the chain and waved it at him.“With this.”

He peered through the doorway, his blaster raised.“You were on the ramp.”

I was?She must have inched out in her eagerness to see better.“Oh.”

He didn’t hear her, already sprinting into the fray.

Harumphing at her mistreatment, she hurried to scan the

If she’d had popcorn, she would’ve gotten in a few mouthfuls, that’s how quick the fight ended.Viqrians and Etterians had Shioll’s unit kneeling in the center.A glance showed some men bleeding.A man moved between the wounded, Viqrian and Etterian alike, with the med gun.

Citus took his blaster from Haiz, then tapped the red button.“You just stunned her.”He handed it back to her and stepped aside.

“No talking me out of this?”Haiz arched a brow at Citus.

“As a commander, you have procedure to follow.”He ran a finger along her jaw.“Duty is a tiresome burden but necessary.”

She stared at him, then marched across to Shioll and fired at point blank range.“Anyone else want to question our traditions?”

“The High Council refuses to listen,” a kneeling woman spat, blue blood dribbling from her temple.“We want more to this life.”

“I lost five sisters to servitude for perceived slights.”Another raised her chin in defiance, while nursing her side.

“I am surprised you did not bother to clear theyarva, Haiz,” a woman tutted, stepping down from the Viqrian shuttle.She strode past Shioll’s body without glancing at it.Confidence was in her swagger, her gaze bold, determined, and arrogant.

“Kaara, I expected better of you,” Haiz snapped, sweeping out her arm.“This is not how you instigate change.”

Kaara shrugged.“You know how I feel about the powers-that-be.”

“As you know my stance.”Haiz raised the blaster.“On behalf of our empress, you are judged.”

“I do not die so easily,” Kaara cried out, leaping forward with her dagger drawn.

Citus lunged between her and Haiz, swinging his greatsword in a wide arc.

Shit.Britt gawked at the head bouncing across the ground toward her like a scene out of a movie.How sharp is that damn thing?

Citus swiveled, sword held high.He lowered it to place his hand on the gun Haiz aimed at the women.“May I suggest a trade?”

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