He stalked out without attempting to have the last word, which was unprecedented.
She started to the door to bar it, but then stopped and left it ajar. The cool breeze blew in, carrying the scent of thriving trees and a hint of the salted sea.
She glanced down at the tattoo and brought it up to her lips. She kissed it. “Thank you,” she whispered.
* * *
It had taken severaldays to reach a warrior-leader from Kettura. The bronze-skinned man was attractive in his own way, if a little fierce-looking. His name was Varse, and he was certainly not part Linzen.
“Sir, I am trying to determine the location of my sister. She was in school and taken. I have reason to believe one of your warriors has kidnapped her.”
The man’s black brows rose. “Not likely.”
“He has cause to feel she owes him a debt. I would like to pay that. I want to ransom her, but I don’t know where he might be. His name is Larsinc. Has he brought her there?”
He shook his head. “Did she pledge herself to him?”
“No. The opposite. She was in hiding. But he found her.”
A beautiful brunette woman appeared on the screen carrying a lovely round-cheeked child. “What did she do to cause him to hunt for her?” The lilting voice was cultured and definitely not Ketturan by birth.
“She did make a mistake. I’ve been trying to remedy it. I’ve paid several times over and will continue to do so. I’ll make amends. I swear it.”
The woman sighed, and Zawri recognized her with a jolt. The older of the Endricane princesses, Lanamoar. It was startling to see her so informally attired with her hair loose about her shoulders.
“A younger sister is very dear,” Princess Lana said. “Nothing means more than family.” She kissed the top of her child’s head. “If you give our warrior time, I’m sure he’ll return your sister if that’s what she wishes. Our warriors live by a code. They don’t take prisoners.”
“With respect, I was taken as a prisoner because he wished it. And he’s already taken her! I need to retrieve her immediately. She’s a very sensitive girl. Fragile. She won’t be able to stand up under harsh criticism.”
Varse studied her face. “Women are not held as prisoners. If he’s holding her as one, she will be removed and returned to you. If she’s with him freely, we will tell you that.”
She exhaled. “I can pay for—”
“There’s nothing to pay. We stand accused of abduction. We’ll answer.”
The com screen switched off. She leaned back in her chair, taking a slow breath. For the first time in a long time, the tension eased from her body. Linc’s own kind would deal with the situation.
* * *
Wex leaned into theship’s gathering chamber. “You need to come to the control room. Now.”
Tok rose and followed him down the passage, his muscles tightening. If something had happened to her on Orius, he wouldn’t shoot from a distance. He would cut throats and leave his kills in full view like a fucking Horst war party. The message to keep their hands off her wouldn’t be lost on them ever again.
When he entered the control room, however, it wasn’t Zawri or the ground scouts he was paying to keep watch that were on the screen. Instead the giant com screen contained a trio of Ketturan warriors.
“Varse,” Tok said with a nod of his head.
“Is he with you?”
Tok shook his head.
“Where then?”
“I don’t know. I last saw him on Junistar.”
“That’s not a hostile planet,” Detrey said, pushing black curls back from his eyes. Detrey could almost have been Canypscan except for the bronze skin and un-sculpted nose. By contrast, his older brother Darx, a massive bronze warrior with wild snarled hair and v-shaped brows, couldn’t have been anything but Ketturan.
“What was he doing on Junistar?” Varse asked. “Not raiding for you?”
