Kaya stumbled up the ramp, crying, terrified but moving. Brielle reached the top behind her and turned back, her hand reaching for me. "Jas?—"
That was when the blast hit her.
Time slowed as I watched my bookish, dreamy younger sister thrown backward by the force of it. I watched her spin from the impact, her body hitting the metal deck of the ship with a sickening thud.
My entire world crumbled. As much as I wanted to rush to her, I couldn't do anything but stand unmoving while my mind tried to process what I'd just witnessed, and my body refused to accept it as real.
Then I staggered into the ship, dropped to my knees, and wailed.
Chapter 40
Wrexxon
My axe sang through the air, deflecting blaster fire as I spun and slashed. I was trying to reach the commander, so I could split him from neck to groin and watch the light fade from his eyes. I wanted him to regret even thinking he could capture the Qeth’rex, but his soldiers kept getting in my way—firing, advancing, and dying as my axe found their throats and chests and any vulnerable point I could reach.
Venik fought beside me, our movements synchronized like a deadly dance. When I went high, he went low. When I pushed forward, he covered my flank. When the raiding ships finally fell through the sky like avenging demons, we bellowed our war cries in unison.
As even more Vandar war cries made the frozen air vibrate, I breathed in the cold, coppery scent of blood. Imperial soldiers fell, their bodies landing heavy on the ice. Those who could still run did, abandoning their positions and their wounded. The commander was among the cowards running toward the villagebefore I could reach him. I roared my frustration, wanting to give chase and end him for daring to threaten what was mine.
But strategy overrode bloodlust. We needed to get the humans to safety.
I was gasping for breath, my muscles burning with exertion, fury and adrenaline making my hands shake as I lowered my weapon.
"Back to the ships!” I bellowed to my contingent. "We're leaving!"
Venik appeared at my side, blood streaking his face from a cut above his eye but otherwise unharmed. "The commander escaped."
"I know." The words tasted like ash. “If the rest of our raiders don’t hunt him down, we’ll kill him later.”
Now that the extra raiding ships had arrived, the plan was that they would take care of the remaining Imperial soldiers while the humans were taken to safety. I turned and headed back to the ship, running toward the yawning ramp.
Then I saw them. Jasmine was on the ground at the top of the ramp, hunched over a body. As I drew closer, I recognized that it was one of her sisters, the one who’d wanted to bring her books.
Jasmine was crying, as her other sister shook the motionless woman with an almost violent desperation. My heart twisted so violently I nearly stumbled.
Impossible. This wasn’t part of the plan. We were supposed to lure the enemy and then escape before they had a chance to inflict any damage. No one I’d planned to save was supposed to get hurt.
Guilt twisted my gut. I’d vowed to save Jasmine’s sisters and friend. Now one of her sisters had been shot all because my plan hadn’t been perfect. All because I’d been so sure I could trap and punish the Empire. All because I’d thought I was invincible.
Pain convulsed my body, and I nearly stumbled as I reached the raiding ship. I’d failed Jasmine. I’d failed my Raisa, the one person I'd sworn to protect above all others.
I took the ramp in three long strides and dropped to my knees beside Jasmine, my hand settled on her back. She was shaking, her entire body wracked with sobs. She leaned into me immediately, seeking comfort despite everything. Not pushing me away even though this disaster was my responsibility.
Raiders were rushing onto the ship behind us, each one stopping and staring silently at the fallen woman who looked so small and fragile crumpled on the steel floor of the vessel. It was one thing to lose a warrior in battle. It was what we trained for; it was the risk we all took. But Brielle had not been a warrior. She had been an innocent. She had been one of the ones we were tasked to protect.
"I'm sorry," I started to say, the words inadequate and hollow. "I'm so?—"
Then her wounded sister sat bolt upright with a gasp that made us all rear back in shock. She was alive and breathing in great, heaving gulps like she'd been drowning and just broken the surface.
She pulled a book from under her coat. It was thick and leather-bound, and now it had a hole burned almost straight through it.
"Those frostbitten Imperial pricks ruined my book," she said, her tone outraged as she continued to rub the spot on her chestthat had absorbed the impact beneath the book. “And that hurt like all hell.”
Then Jasmine’s other sister sat back with a stunned look. “I’ve never been so happy to see one of your fucking books in my life.”
“I’ll never complain about you tucking books into your clothes again.” Jasmine laughed through her tears, as she pulled both women into a crushing hug, her face buried against their shoulders. Relief that her sister wasn’t dead flooded through me so powerfully I felt dizzy with it.
I stood slowly, my muscles protesting the movement. Jasmine looked up at me, her smile fading as her eyes traveled down my body. Her face went pale.
