Cordelia took a step toward him, tension rippling in her shoulders. “Who thefahkis Fendar and why is hefahkingwith my lifepods?” Venom dripped from her words.
“Yourlifepods?” Haerune asked.
She glared over her shoulder. “That not translating for you? I want to know where your men get off interfering with my passengers. Who thefahkshuts down an SOS?”
“What is ‘fahk’?” Lidan asked.
Cordelia closed her eyes and sighed, threading her fingers into her tangled hair.
Haerune interjected. “As I said, communications are not secure. Fendar must have decided the females were at greater risk transmitting their location with theGidalanin orbit than they would be waiting for us to retrieve them through baser means.”
“I want to speak to this Fendar. Now. And somebody needs to bring me a map.” She jabbed a finger at Lidan. “You’re gonna mark the exact coordinates where you found these three.”
Rentir caught her finger before it could poke Lidan in the chest. He didn’t like the appreciative glint in Lidan’s eyes. She tugged out of his grip just as quickly as he expected, but at least she wasn’t touching the other hybrid.
“Anyone ever tell you you’re damn touchy?” she asked, turning her ire on him.
“I apologize.” Rentir bowed his head deferentially.
Haerune made a strangled sound of surprise. There was only one male Rentir had bowed to—the most feared and hated of the Aurillon. The gesture wasn’t lost on Lidan, either, given how his jaw went slack.
“Fendar is not here,” Haerune said. He gestured to the window. “He is out there, part of the effort to recover your passengers before the Aurillon see fit to intervene.”
A muscle feathered in Cordelia’s jaw as she studied the horizon.
“A map,” she bit out again. “Now.”
CHAPTER 10
“I’m coming with you,”Nyx announced, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned one hip against the window.
“No shot.” Cordelia shook her head.
“Commander, I can help. If this is about my leg?—”
“It’s not. I know how capable you are.”
Some of the anger in Nyx’s face subsided.
Cordelia sighed hard, rubbing her jaw. “Look, this whole situation is a shitshow. I’ve got six people missing from my manifest right now, and these aliens don’t seem like they’re doing much better.”
All four of them darted a glance at the group of aliens waiting nearby. The men all looked away at the same time when they realized they were being perceived.
“I’m not taking anyone else out there to get shot out of the sky,” Cordelia continued in a low voice. “You’re going to stay here where I know you’re safe, and I’m going to bring the others back.”
“But I can help, sir,” Nyx implored.
“You will. You’re going to stay here and look after these two so they don’t get carried off by aliens.”
Nyx muttered something about babysitting under her breath, looking away.
“There, there,” Pandora said, patting her on the shoulder. “I’ll feel much safer having a pit bull like you at my side on this unfamiliar planet.”
Nyx’s hard eyes softened as she looked down at Pandora. They’d become fast friends during mission training; Pandora had an uncanny ability to disarm the hot-headed officer. Nyx heaved a sigh, shrugging.
“Fine, I’ll stay and pretend it means something,” Nyx grumbled.
Pandora smiled, nudging her encouragingly with an elbow. “That’s the spirit.”
