Page 12 of Vindicated

I slowed to a halt and dragged in a breath as the rest of the group also stopped. The only thing that kept me from panicking was the lack of a burned-out hull or smoke from a blasted vessel. Our ship hadn’t been attacked, but where was it?

Then a deafening roar rent the air. My heart stuttered in my chest as I tipped my head back, expecting to see a Zagrath battleship bearing down on us. But the ship that burst through the murky cloud cover wasn’t an Imperial one. It was Vandar.

Athena sucked in a breath. “Is that your warbird?”

Before I could answer, fighter jets poured from the sides and swarmed the city, returning Imperial fire and filling the skies. Then a transport dropped down, barely hitting the dusty ground before the ramp was down.

We didn’t wait, thundering toward it as the exhaust bathed us in a dust cloud. Then we were racing up the ramp and onto the transport moments before it lifted off again. The ramp didn’t even close before the transport darted inside the belly of the warbird, fighter jets swooping back inside beside us and making combat landings as the warbird shuddered and powered through the clouds and into the planet’s atmosphere.

The raiders on the transport with me exchanged startled looks as we hurried off the ship and onto the hangar bay of the warbird where I finally put Athena down.

Mymajakran off his own transport, shaking his head. “What was that?”

“That was me saving your asses.”

I swiveled to see my battle chief rocking back on his heels and giving us a wicked grin. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hug my younger brother or challenge him to a duel.

Chapter 8

Athena

It took me a few moments to steady myself after being carried through Kashara and onto an alien spaceship. My teeth had nearly been rattled from my mouth, and every bone in my body vibrated from being jostled so violently. I wouldn’t complain, though. I was alive, which was not something everyone on my planet could now boast.

I tipped back my head to take in the vast expanse of the spaceship above me, walkways and swinging bridges crisscrossing the shadow-drenched chasm like a steel web. Even after all the whispers I’d heard about Vandar warbirds, I hadn’t expectedthis.

The ship shuddered and hummed as we accelerated through the atmosphere and burst into space, and suddenly the view from the top of the vessel was ships darting across an inky sky and red phaser fire arching behind them.

“What in thetvekwere you thinking, Zarn?” The warlord’s bellow jerked my attention back to the hangar bay and the Vandar who were stomping away from the transport.

I quickly clocked that the warlord was not pleased by the warbird’s presence nearly on top of Gollun Prime. I also notedthat the Vandar he was squaring off against looked a lot like him and seemed unbothered by the shouting.

“Welcome back, Raas Lorken.” He shot the warlord a cocky grin. “I was thinking that my big brother needed saving. Or would you rather we left your landing party on the planet while the Zagrath laid waste to the city?”

Big brother. That explained it. I slid my gaze between the two tall, brawny aliens, their tails slashing behind them through identical leather kilts. It definitely explained the hostility.

Lorken huffed out a breath, opening and closing his fists. “It was too big of a risk.”

His brother folded his arms over his bare chest. “We are Vandar. You are called The Demon Raas. There is no such thing as too big of a risk.”

Lorken grunted, but before he could answer, his brother’s gaze drifted to the non-Vandar passengers. I wasn’t the only one gawking at our surroundings, although Hatch and Ringo had their hands on their knees as they caught their breath.

“Who do we have here?” Zarn’s gaze snagged on me, and his pupils flared. “I didn’t know we’d be welcoming so many new crew members.”

Lorken’s jaw was tight, and he avoided looking at me. “These are the people who helped Kolt and his human mate escape. If you remember, I promised Wrexxon I would ensure their safety. Since Kashara is no longer safe, my only option was to bring them aboard.”

“Was it?” His brother eyed him, the challenge evident in the lilt of his voice.

I was curious that he didn’t mention our deal, but I decided not to bring it up.

The tip of Zarn’s tail quivered as he stepped toward me, but Lorken moved to block his path. “I will see to our guests while you return to the battle.”

A muscle ticked in Zarn’s jaw, and he glanced around his brother and met my gaze with a scorching one of his own. Then he shifted his attention back to Lorken and grinned. “As you command, Raas, but I look forward to encountering our new guests again soon.”

Even if I didn’t have well-honed instincts when it came to men, I would have known that comment was intended for me. It wasn’t lost on Lorken either because a deep growl simmered in his core as he watched his brother saunter off.

“So, that’s your brother?” I said, keeping my voice light.

Lorken turned and leveled his gaze at me as if not sure if I was trying to provoke him. When I didn’t flinch, he made a rough noise in the back of his throat. “It is. He is my battle chief.”