"We thought?—"
"What happened?"
"Why are you dressed like that?"
I laughed through my own tears, hugging them tight and savoring the relief of them in my arms. Then I remembered that I wasn’t alone. I turned to see Wrexxon in the doorway behind me, his enormous frame filling it completely and reminding me of the first time I’d laid eyes on him.
“I’ll answer all your questions," I promised, pulling back to look at them properly. "But first we need to get Skye. Then we all need to go…”
I stopped when I clocked Kaya and Brielle exchanging a glance. "What?" I demanded. "What's wrong?"
"Skye was supposed to be here this morning," Brielle said slowly. "But she hasn't shown up. We were going to check on her after this batch of loaves went in the ovens.”
My stomach sank. I turned to Wrexxon, and his mouth was a grim line.
"They have her.”
"We don't know that—" I started, but even as I said it, I knew he was right. If Skye said she was going to be somewhere, she wouldbe without fail. If she wasn't here, it was because she couldn't be here.
A sliver of icy fear slid down my spine.
If the Empire had her, that meant we’d walked right into the trap they’d set. Judging by the way Wrexxon's grip tightened on the handle of his axe, I was about to witness how the Vandar dealt with Imperial trickery.
Chapter 38
Wrexxon
Every warrior instinct I'd honed over twenty years was on alert. As I watched Jasmine holding her sisters, I doubted my decision to keep the truth from her. I should have told her that we were the bait intended to draw out the Imperial forces.
More than that, I should have insisted she stay on the warbird where she'd be safe. I should not have let her be part of the bait, no matter how much she begged. I should have lashed her to the bed myself.
“We need to return to the raiding ship,” I said, my voice hard enough to let everyone know I was brooking no dissent. “Now.”
“Now?” One of her sisters glanced at the stairs in the back of the bakery. “But I need to get my books.”
“No time,” I barked, “unless you wish to be taken captive by the Zagrath.”
Color drained from the woman’s cheeks as she looked from me to Jasmine.
“He’s right,” Jasmine said. “There’s no time, and I don’t have time to explain. You need to trust me.” She cut her gaze to me. “You need to trust him.”
The other sister narrowed suspicious eyes at me, remembering all too well that I’d taken her sister against her will and that their attempt to save her failed. It was clear she wasn’t ready to forgive or forget.
Another Vandar stepped into the bakery, his scowl deep. “We have found evidence of Imperial soldiers, Raas. The colonial leaders are dead.”
Both sisters gasped and one slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Themajakhas gone to assist Kolt in retrieving all the female rebels,” my raider continued. “You should take your bride and her sisters back to the warbird. I will accompany you.”
“Bride?” The sister who’d looked at me with suspicion now braced her hands on her hips. “You aren’t here to take more of us to be your war brides, are you?”
Jasmine placed herself between me and her sisters in a protective gesture I both understood and found slightly insulting. "You're not being taken. But you’re both in danger. The Empire knows about the underground rebellion and about the sabotage. It’s why the Vandar took me.”
Before Jasmine could say anything more, shouts sounded from far away. Then there was blaster fire.
“Raas,” my raider’s voice was insistent.
"We need to move,” I commanded, making all the women jump. “Now."
