Vor looked up, straightened, and lifted his chin. “Yes, Private?”
“Lieutenant Greis sent me with this for you, sir.” He handed Vor a Paradefense vidco. Nethren had a version of the video communicator too, but the Medean convergence had a greater range than devices that relied on stored electricity.
“Thank you.” He took the vidco and resumed his walk to the courtyard as if he hadn't just cracked a wall with his fist.
Lena haunted him throughout his trek, her face set in furious lines as she declared she belonged to no one. He wanted to tell her he agreed with her. Vor saw Lena for who she was, and he adored her. But she wasn't ready to hear that from him. She wasn't ready for much from him.
Vor entered the courtyard to find the eight prisoners waiting, standing in the center of a circle of Nethren soldiers. His soldiers greeted him as their enemies glared. Vor issued his commands, instructing soldiers to open the gates and then the guards to escort their prisoners through the gates. Only after the group had headed out did he use the vidco to instruct Lieutenant Greis to lower the ward in two minutes.
Then Vor felt a tingle on his skin—Lena. He looked up. There she was, at the window, staring straight at him. A rush of emotion suffused him, most of it unknown, but he recognized the admiration he had for her. It was transforming into something greater. Could this be the start of love? Already? Was Lena so powerful that she could summon love from his withered Nethren soul in a mere week?
Vor bowed to the woman whom he knew would soon rule him. Already, she influenced his decisions. He would have to be careful, or his soldiers would notice.
With that in mind, Vor turned on his heels and followed the group through the gates.
Beyond the gateway and just outside the ward, a group of Paradefense soldiers stood in a space between the blast barriers that formed a line between the camp and the fortress. At their head was General Caden, and behind him were Vor's captured soldiers. The Aethari bastard, Rallorival, was there as well, but he stood behind Thaxvarien, who seemed to be his commanding officer. Liria Rennux, Lena's sister, stood beside the wingless Aethari leader, glaring at Vor. Vor inclined his head to her with genuine respect.
Then the ward fell.
Everyone went tense, hands going to weapons.
“Calm yourselves!” Vor snapped at his soldiers—something he'd never had to do before. Nethren were known for being cool under pressure, but the surface was changing that. The surface and Lena. Vor nodded to the Paradefense General. “I've brought your people. I see you have mine. Shall we conduct this exchange?”
“Very well.” The general motioned at the men holding the Nethren.
Vor nodded to his soldiers.
Both sides released their prisoners. The soldiers cautiously ventured across the twenty feet that separated the two forces, stares sliding from their enemies to their comrades.Vor had the vidco in hand, ready to give the order to drop the ward, but if he dropped the ward too soon, it would show fear. They had the upper hand, and Vor needed to make that clear to Paradefense.
As his returned soldiers stepped past him, Vor nodded sharply to the Paradefense General. “Thank you for not killing my soldiers, General. As you can see, I've kept yours alive as well. The rest remain alive and unharmed. I hope you see this as the start of goodwill between our people.”
“I told you, Commander. I don't have the authority to open the barriers,” General Caden said.
Vor bit back his vicious reply and focused on the result he wanted. At least the man was listening, and knew the truth about the Nethren. So, instead, he tried diplomacy. “Then contact the people who have the authority, General Caden. We are not leaving until we can reach an agreement.”
“You will starve.”
“Have you forgotten that I have access to the underground? You will not outlast us, General. You have to deal with us.”
“I will deal with you, Vor!” Rallorival rushed forward, stopping in the open space between the groups and spreading his arms wide. “If you're man enough to accept the challenge.”
“This is war, you moron,” Vor said calmly. “And I'm the Commander of the Ranuvul Army. I don't accept duels. But I have a message for you from Lena.”
“What the fuck did you say?” Rallorival stepped closer.
“Lena told me she doesn't even like you, much less want a relationship with you. You have no claim on her.”
“I have more of a claim on her than you do. I, at least, am not her enemy!”
Vor took a step toward the Aethari, separating himself from his soldiers to show that he wasn't afraid of the brute, and grinned. “Ah, but you're mistaken. I am not her enemy, and I have something you don't, Aethari—her desire. Lena wants me. That is far more than you can say.”
Before the man could argue, Vor turned around to leave, tossing over his shoulder, “Contact your superiors, General. When you're ready to talk, wave your flag before the gates.”
Rallorival's rage-filled cry echoed, and Vor spun to find an Aethari sword slicing through the air toward him. People shouted on both sides, and several lurched for Rallorival, including Thaxvarien Rennux, but all Vor had time to do was lift his arm—his metal arm. As he braced his forearm before his face, a tingling rushed through him, and his mechanical parts hummed as if attuned to . . . Lena. It was what he felt around Lena. But Lena wasn't there. Her influence must have sunk in deep enough to stay with him.
Vor's thoughts whirred in those few seconds when the sword fell, spinning with wonder but also a need to protect himself. It was the latter that created a reaction in his metal flesh. An amazing sensation of tight muscles stretching ran through his metal flesh as his fingers extended, the metal fusing and spreading flat. His eyes widening, Vor watched his forearm become a shield that caught the sunlight and reflected it into his enemy's eyes.
Rallorival squinted and turned his head as his sword hit Vor's shield arm.
