Page 40 of Vindicated

It couldn’t be so hard to defend myself, especially since I’d been nowhere near the munitions hold. Vallia or Lettie could vouch for me right before the explosion, but I had no clue when the sabotage had been carried out.

Then I remembered what Zarn had threatened, and I sat up straighter. If Lorken’s battle chief wanted to interrogate me, let him. I had nothing to hide. Let the battle chief see for himself that I was innocent. If Zarn himself couldn’t prove that I was guilty then Lorken would have to believe me.

I pushed to my feet before I could change my mind and dried my face briskly on one of the hanging towels. With my heart hammering somewhere in my throat, I hurried from his quarters, grateful that he hadn’t locked me inside. I retraced the path we'd taken from the munitions bay, fast walking down the winding corridors, across first one and then another swinging bridge, and down a flight of steel stairs into the warbird's yawning belly. The only indication that I was getting closer was the smoke that began to sting my eyes.

I didn't make it all the way back to the wreckage before I spotted the Vandar battle chief. He strode alone across a narrower bridge that arced over the chasm, his tail lashing with restless fury as the leather strips of his kilt slapped his legs.

“Zarn!" I called, my voice was high but sure. I ran across the swinging bridge toward him, the chains creaking and swaying beneath my weight, and skidded to a stop in front of him.

His gaze was cold and assessing, but he showed no signs of being surprised by my presence.

“I didn’t sabotage your ship,” I said, tipping my head back to meet his eyes. “I promise I would never do anything to help the Empire and hurt the Vandar.”

His top lip curled in a sneer. “What are the promises of a Zagrath?”

Being called a Zagrath was a slap to the face, but I squared my shoulders against it. “Then I want to prove my innocence. I'll even do youroblekthing."

Satisfaction sparked in his dark eyes, but it was gone as fast as it appeared. Then his sneer stretched into a smile, and I had the sudden, sinking sense that I had just made a serious miscalculation.

He tilted his head and leaned closer to me. “You wish to come to myoblekwillingly?”

So, anoblekwas a place, not a thing. “What is anoblekexactly?”

"It's a Vandar battle chief's torture room."

The words sent ice sliding down my spine, and I understood, far too late, precisely what I'd volunteered to undergo in order to prove my innocence. But before I could open my mouth to take it back, Zarn had already clamped his hand around my arm.

Chapter 31

Lorken

Istomped through the warbird aimlessly as my mind insisted on badgering me with accusation after accusation. What kind of Raas brought a stranger onto his warbird and moved her into his quarters? What kind of warlord exposed his crew to danger for his own desires? What kind of warrior didn’t know he was harboring a Zagrath in his furs?

I found myself back at the munitions bay without knowing my feet were taking me there. The smoke had thinned, and the raiders who'd gathered earlier had mostly dispersed to their posts, but Dawz remained, crouched near the scorched hatch with a length of melted wiring in his hands.

He looked up when I approached. "Raas."

"Where is my brother?"

"Gone to check the secondary stores, in case there are more devices planted." He set the wiring down and rose to face me, his expression more stern than usual. “I told him that he was wrong to challenge like he did, but you know Zarn.”

I grunted. I knew him all too well. He was impulsive and reckless, but he was also shrewd and cunning. If there was one thing I’d always trusted about my younger brother, it was hisbattle instincts. That was why his accusations against Athena needled at me.

Mymajaklooked past me, as if expecting to see me with someone. “The woman?”

“I left her in my quarters.” I did not mention that I’d left her sobbing or that I’d done nothing to comfort her after revealing the identity of her father.

“Do you think she?—?”

“She did not know about her father or grandfather,” I said before he could finish his question. “She did not grow up knowing her father at all. Her Zagrath blood was as much a shock to her as it was to us.” I took a breath. “I believe her.”

I had known she was telling the truth when I’d seen her face crumple and when she’d fallen to the floor. She might be an actress, but I believed in my heart that her pain was real.

“Is there no chance she is tricking you, Raas?” Dawz asked, his voice hesitant.

I narrowed my eyes at him, preparing to remind him who was Raas. Then I remembered that he was mymajak. It was his job to ensure I was fit to lead. I trusted no one more than him.

Athena’s stricken face swam before me, and I forced it away. “I do not blame you for doubting my judgment. I risked our ship and crew by acting on instinct alone. But that same instinct tells me that she is blameless.”