Page 32 of Retribution
He rushed forward and took her in his arms. “The last two days have been empty and dark. I was a fool to stay away from you, human.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then swept her up in his arms.
Chapter 15
Zamek carriedLayla through the corridors of theTammusha, ignoring the stares of his warriors. She was shaking in his arms and his only care at the moment was making her feel safe. He headed for his quarters, deciding he would deal with the consequences of his actions later.
It was one thing to secretly keep Layla as his mistress within the privacy of his own home, but to bring her to his quarters aboard his warship? That would undoubtedly set tongues wagging. If the High Council received word of his actions, he very well might be demoted from the rank of general.
His spirits sank when he recalled Layla’s immense look of fright, as well as the coldness of her terror that had filled his nostrils, when he’d arrived in her cell only moments ago. She’d taken one look at his weapons’ belt and feared the worst. Hurt resonated inside his chest that she hadn’t trusted him not to hurt her. Had she really believed he’d shown up to take her life?
He hoped that by bringing her to his quarters, where they would be able to spend more time together, as well as share a bed nightly, would help alleviate her lingering fears. Ancient gods, how he longed for her to trust him.
“Everything will be all right, little human,” he murmured into her ear, speaking in the Sumlin dialect, which he doubted any passersby could understand, as most of the warriors aboard theTammushahailed from Brutt District.
“Where are we going, General?” Layla whispered in his native dialect. She peered up at him, her pretty dark eyes gleaming with concern.
He walked faster as the door to his quarters came into sight, and the door zipped open upon his approach. He carried her inside and then called out a verbal command for the door to lock. “To my quarters,” he finally replied, as he placed her on her feet in the middle of the room.
Her eyes widened as she looked around the large space, and a gasp left her when she noticed the massive viewscreen, which showed the aftermath of the battle with the Bexxanian warbird. Wreckage floated around the battered vessel, and though Layla couldn’t see it, the warbird held the bodies of over thirteen hundred dead Bexxanians, most of them killed in hand-to-hand combat after his people managed to board the ship.
Behind the wreckage field rested the five Kall warships who’d joined theTammushafor battle. Before the Kall left this location, reports would be compiled, the Verrsuan’s cargo would be retrieved, and the Bexxanian warbird would be stripped of any useful technology.
Zamek surveyed the aftermath of the battle with a sense of pride. It had been a good fight and the Kall had prevailed, slaughtering every last enemy alien and avenging the Bexxanian attack on the Verrsuans.
“Is that a Bexxanian warbird?” Layla asked, moving closer to the viewscreen.
“It is,” he replied. “How did you know? Few Kall have ever seen a Bexxanian vessel, and I would think few humans have either.”
She turned to face him. “A couple of years ago, I was visiting the tourist planet Hoonni, when a Bexxanian fleet passed through the skies of the capital city. Everyone ran for cover, believing the fearsome aliens were going to attack. But they didn’t attack, and I later learned that the Hoonni government paid them a ransom to protect the planet.”
He reached for her hands and drew her closer. “I hope the battle didn’t frighten you too much, human,” he said, keeping his voice gentle. “I-I should have warned you that we were closing in on a Bexxanian warbird and that there would likely be a battle.”
“I’m not going to lie,” she said. “It wasn’t fun being stuck in that cell with no viewscreen and no idea what was going on. But I’m glad it’s over, and based on the appearance of the Bexxanian ship, I suppose the Kall have prevailed.”
Zamek nodded. “We have, and we are also hoping to use technology from this damaged ship,” he said with a gesture at the enemy vessel, “to more easily locate other Bexxanian warbirds. Sometimes they elude our sensors.”
“Will there be a war?” Worry clouded her eyes.
“It is possible. The Bexxanians have never attacked a Kall ship or a Kall settlement, however they have recently started going after Verrsuan trading vessels. The Verrsuans are one of our closest allies and we will not stand by while our allies are suffering.”
She turned to stare at the wreckage again, though she didn’t pull her hands from his. After days of not visiting her in the brig, the skin-to-skin contact felt like a balm to his tattered soul.
She inhaled a shaky breath and turned to face him. “General Zamek, why-why have you brought me here?”
He released her hands, but only so he could grasp her upper arms and pull her closer, so near the heat of her body wafted against his. He leaned down slightly and inhaled her feminine aroma. “Because I want you to stay in my quarters.”
“Like… permanently? Or just for a few hours?” A pained look crossed her face. “Will you return me to the brig later?”
“I will not be returning you to the brig, human.”
She fell silent and appeared deep in thought. Eventually, she asked, “Am I free to leave your quarters and explore the ship? Or is this basically my new prison?”
* * *
General Zamek growled,and if he wasn’t holding Layla tight, she would have stepped away from him. “Are you trying to start another argument, human?” He grasped her chin and lifted an eyebrow at her in censure, though he kept his tone calm.
“I know I should be grateful to you, General,” she said, “and I am. I really am. You spared my life and you showed me mercy. But knowing I’ll never be free… well, it’s difficult to accept. I’d almost accepted the fact that I was going to die in that courtroom, but it never occurred to me that you might keep me. It never occurred to me that I might spend the rest of my life as a prisoner.”
He frowned at her, and she suddenly felt guilty. She understood Kall culture well enough to know General Zamek was already bending the rules for her. Why wasn’t that good enough? But try as she might to accept her new situation, she still felt trapped and restless, and she still mourned the loss of her old life, even if she hadn’t been very happy on Earth before the general took possession of her.
