Page 33 of Vindicated

I tried to give her a quelling look, but I couldn’t help grinning. “You’re impossible.”

She flapped a hand at me. “Enough about me. I want to hear about your new digs. Are the Raas’s quarters as fancy as we’ve heard?”

I hesitated. Lorken’s quarters were definitely more spacious than the compact room they were sharing, but I wasn’t sure if fancy was the word I’d use.

“They’re big.” I chose my words tentatively. “He has a huge window that looks out into space and his own dining table.”

“Better than balancing our plates on our knees here,” Lettie said.

“The food isn’t bad, though,” Vallia offered. “There’s no simnick, but I like the bread.”

“Agreed,” I said. “The bread is decent, even if it’s not as spicy and flavorful as simnick.”

Lettie made an impatient motion with one hand. “Enough about the bread. What about the bathroom? Is there a sunken tub with different sections and different colored water in each one?”

An involuntary shiver wiggled down my spine as I thought about the waterfall that had held me under. “Not exactly. This Raas has a single pool with a waterfall.”

“A waterfall?” Vallia tapped a finger on her chin. “I’ve never heard of a Raas’s bathroom like that.”

“Lorken told me that he wanted his quarters to be different,” I said, comfortable sharing this information about the Raas since he hadn’t seemed particularly secretive about it. “His space is designed as if he was still on his home world and ruling one of the raiding hordes that roamed the planet.”

Lettie’s eyes pinched together. “What does that mean?”

“He doesn’t have a normal bed. He sleeps on a bunch of furs and cushions. His table is low and the chairs are either ottomans or big cushions. And the entire bathroom looks like it’s a cave.”

Both women were silent for a few beats, then Lettie slapped her leg. “You’ve got yourself a real-life barbarian warlord.”

“He’s not my warlord,” I said, but Lettie didn’t seem to hear me.

She twisted to face me fully. “Does that mean you slept on a pile of furs too?”

I gave a half shrug. “It wasn’t so bad. The furs are incredibly soft.”

“Unlike the mattresses here,” Lettie grumbled. “It’s like sleeping on boards.”

I changed the subject away from bed and furs in case the topic danced too close to what the Raas wore or didn’t wear to sleep. “Have you seen the guys? Do you know how they’re faring?”

“We retraced our steps to their rooms last night,” Vallia said. “They seem to be fine. Same as us.”

Lettie heaved herself to her feet. “We should go see them now that you’re here.”

I liked the idea of checking up on the rest of our friends, even if it meant I might not be where my Vandar escort left me when he came looking. “Let’s do it.”

Vallia hurried to the door and pressed a small hand to the panel to open it. “Follow me. I know the way.”

Lettie hiked a thumb toward their friend. “This one has an excellent sense of direction. It’s like she’s already memorized the ship.”

Vallia’s cheeks mottled lavender pink as she led us into the corridor and pointed to the right. “Hardly. The place is a maze.”

“You haven’t had any issues moving around the ship?” I asked, as we navigated the curving corridor and across a swinging bridge. “The Vandar are fine with you all walking about on your own?”

“Far as I know,” Vallia said, twitching one slender shoulder.

So, the Vandar didn’t have an issue with guests walking unescorted. It was only me the Raas didn’t want walking alone. I didn’t know whether I was annoyed or flattered.

We wound our way through the cavernous warbird, the faint lighting dousing the corridors in shadow. Once we’d proceeded down another steep staircase, passing plenty of curious Vandar along the way, we ducked down a short hallway.

Vallia stood between two doors facing each other. “Here they are.”