Now it was the man’s turn not to respond, although I could hear him moving in the shadowy parts of the room. Okay, so he wasn’t going to reveal his name. He didn’t want to talk about himself, but he’d already talked about me.
“Why do you care so much that I not be hurt?”
A sigh. “You were not brought here to be shot at like a common criminal.”
You could have fooled me when I’d been pushed down the ship’s ramp in chains and forced into a prison cell. I guessed arguing wasn’t the way to get on this guy’s good side, though. Since I was restrained and about as vulnerable as possible, I should be smart and not antagonize him.
Stay calm, Skye. Do not piss off the guy in charge.
Keeping my cool had never been where I’d excelled. My father had said I inherited my temper from my red-headed mother, but he never said that within earshot of my mom. All I knew was that you had to stand up to bullies, and you had to defend your friends. If that was being hot-headed, then so be it.
I’d been cool-headed enough to sneak onto countless imperial ships and into more than a few Zagrath supply containers. I’d never gotten caught once, and I’d been extra careful when meeting with the other women in our rebel group.
Not careful enough, I thought. Someone had known about us. Had known Jasmine was our leader. Had put her on a hit list—and then me.
The list. Was this part of the Zagrath plan to eliminate me as a threat?
“Then why was I brought here? Why was I abducted from Lexxona?”
More silence. This was getting annoying.
Before I could think of something else to ask that the mystery man would want to answer, he stepped into the light.
Most of the Zagrath I’d encountered had been imperial guards and the kind that didn’t rank high enough to get sent anywhere important. I’d never seen anyone on Lexxona who wasn’t in uniform and wasn’t much more than an entry-level soldier. But this guy was different.
First, he wasn’t young. Despite a face that had clearly been pulled and poked and augmented, I could tell he was old. Maybe it was his tightly stretched skin that made him look perpetually surprised that betrayed his age—and perhaps his importance.
I forced myself not to have a visible reaction to his obviously fake hair and unnaturally smooth, unnaturally tan skin. Even when he smiled, and his oddly puffy lips looked like they might split, I schooled my expression.
“The episode on Lexxona was regrettable.” He steepled bony fingers in front of his blue tunic. “But it’s so hard to control the variables when the Vandar get involved.” He shuddered. “Horrible brutes.”
Bold words from someone who had me strapped down like a lab animal. But maybe this was my way in. Maybe this was the way I could get him to talk.
“I never wanted Lexxona to make a deal with the Vandar.” This much, at least, was true. “A lot of us didn’t.”
He nodded his head slowly as he eyed me. “I don’t blame you. Look at what a mess they made.”
“Everything was fine before.” Not the full truth, since it hadn’t been fine to be controlled by the Zagrath.
He leaned closer. “So, you are not working with the Vandar you came here with?”
I took a breath through my mouth since the man reeked of chemicals and something fetid. “Hardly. He was one of the pricks who kidnapped my friend.”
His impossibly high eyebrows went even higher. “Yes, yes. Your friend. The one who flies with the Vandar horde. The one who was taken by the Qeth’rex.”
“She didn’t want to go,” I said. “She was taken against her will.”
More nodding. “That seems to be their way.” His face twisted into a gruesome scowl. “Undisciplined beasts.”
It was unsettling how much he knew about Jasmine. I hadn’t even mentioned her name, but he knew who I meant. That meant he knew exactly who I was and maybe what I’d done.
He patted my arm, his fingers shockingly cool. “Don’t worry. The Qeth’rex is the reason you and that Vandar are here. Unfortunately, we needed a compelling reason to draw him to us.”
“And that’s me?”
His laugh was oddly melodic. “No, no. The Vandar in the cell is the bait. You’re just the way we’re going to keep him in line until his Raas comes for him.”
“Me?” My surprise was genuine. “Why would I keep him in line? He doesn’t know me and, just between you and me, he doesn’t like me much.”
