Isobel gasped as she squeezed closer to him. Ved grunted.
“We must stop meeting like this,” Sevrin said.
“What’s your purpose here, Qon?” Noxol asked. “I thought the nature of our arrangement was well understood.”
Both of their aims were steady, but Ved had no plans of dying this day. It was all rather simple. “She is my starborn mate and will be coming with me.”
“And you think the Authority will allow you to take her?” Noxol asked. Ved swore he couldalmosthear exasperation in his dry voice.
Ved could feel the Blood Vultures’ focus move on to Isobel and resisted the urge to snap their necks for looking at her. “Would the Authority want to know that there’s a copy of that ship’s security footage already on its way to Runus? How do you think the galaxy will react when they find out that a creature they were told was dead is very much alive? That the Authority made a mistake?”
They remained silent.
“I have no intention of ever revealing that,” Ved said easily, “as long as we can leave without a fight and her family is left alone.”
“We could detain you,” Sevrin said.
“Or kill you,” Noxol suggested.
“Maybe. But something tells me that’s not how this ends. We had a deal originally. Let me take my mate and return to my planet. You have the information you need to continue on here and a debt owed to you by a formidable qon if you or yours should ever need it. If the Authority decides to clean up after your mission, it doesn’t need to involve anything I’ve done here.”
An unspoken threat lay in his words. He was leaving with his mate one way or another.
They considered him with slight tilts to their heads. He couldn’t see their hearts, if the bastards even had them, and they gave no indication of what they were thinking. Exxo showed him multiple scenarios but ultimately couldn’t determine their next moves,either.
Then they seemed to come to the same conclusion at the same time. They lowered their weapons and holstered them, eerily in sync.
“Did you leave any bodies in your wake?” Noxol asked. He almost sounded exhausted at the prospect. As if his biggest concern was the reports he’d have to do if Ved had killed anyone.
“No.”
“Not even that Richard human?”
Ved curled his lip beneath his mask. “Not even him.” Regrettably. Though it’d been satisfying to watch Isobel’s brother punch him, he’d have preferred more violent options with a bloodier conclusion.
The Blood Vultures heads tilted down, clearly looking at Isobel now. She pushed her shoulders back and held her head a little higher. His bold and fierce mate. “And you, human, you arewillinglyleaving your planet with this Xaal?”
“I am.” She came to stand fully beside him, her hand reaching for his.
Another long silence settled between them. Exxo played a suspenseful tune in his helmet. Calculations of how fast Ved would have to be to cut them down before they drew their pistols again flashed in his internal display.
“Let’s be done with this. What’s it going to be?” Ved asked.
Severin hissed a breath out in annoyance.
“We don’t take such debts lightly, Qon,” Noxol said at last.
The threat was clear. If ever Ved was called upon and didn’t hold up his end of the bargain, they’d make certain he suffered. “I don’t offer it lightly,” he said, pulling Isobel tighter to him. “I won’t forget.”
“Then congratulations are in order,” Sevrin said in a monotone voice.
“To the happy pair,” Noxol rasped.
Then they were gone.
Before Ved could fully seal the entry behind them, Isobel burst with questions.
“Who are they? They’re obviously not Xaal as their masks are different. Why are they here? Which planet do they come from? Do they—”
