Crukugs made a low, approving rumble. “Good. Very good. The empire appreciates efficiency. They will be transported to secure accommodation until their journey to Drypso. Your orders stand; you are to guard them.”
Darren said nothing. Efficiency had nothing to do with the knot in his chest.
Crukugs circled him slowly, talons clicking on the floor. “You and your brothers performed adequately.”
Adequately. Darren kept his jaw locked.
“But,” Crukugs continued, “I must remind you of your place in this experiment.”
Darren’s stomach tightened and he lifted his chin. “Sir.”
“The females are not for you,” Crukugs said bluntly. “They are intended for Ohirin warriors. Our warriors. Not Dheltan strays.”
Heat flared in Darren’s chest, sharp and dangerous, but he kept his face blank.
Crukugs leaned in, his breath hot and metallic. “Do not get too close to them, any of them. Especially the red-haired one who keeps looking at you.”
Darren’s pulse stumbled. “Ael— The females are under our protection. Nothing more.”
“See that it stays that way.” Crukug’s tail flicked, a warning. “Your kind grows attached too easily. Soft hearts. Soft instincts.”
Darren’s hands curled into fists at his sides.
Crukugs straightened. “You will continue to guard them for the remainder of the journey. They must reach Drypso intact.”
Drypso. A barren, wind-scoured outpost on the edge of the empire, a place the Ohirins had bled for. A place Darren had hoped never to set eyes on.
“Tahl,” he said.
Crukugs stiffened at the Dheltan term forunderstoodand his eyes narrowed, but he didn’t reprimand Darren for using it. “This mission is vital. The empire depends on its success. If these females bond with our warriors, it will strengthen our bloodlines. Our future. Our dominance.”
Darren’s throat tightened. “Yes, Commander.”
“And if they do not…” Crukugs bared his teeth in something that wasn’t a smile. “Then the empire will find other ways.”
A cold chill slid down Darren’s spine.
Crukugs turned away, dismissing him with a flick of his talons. “You may go. Prepare the cargo for departure. You leave for Drypso in five days. Pilot Joel will brief you.”
“Var’kai, Commander.”
Darren saluted, turned, and walked out with controlled, measured steps, but inside, he seethed. Aelanna’s face rose in his mind, uncertain, trusting. She had looked at him as if he were safety itself.
And he had brought her into the jaws of the empire.
He reached the corridor outside the command chamber and braced a hand against the wall, breathing hard.
He had survived the death of his planet.
He had survived the Ohirin military.
But he wasn’t sure he could survive watching Aelanna handed over to warriors who saw her as a resource, not a person.
He wasn’t sure he could survive pretending he didn’t care.
And by Yithir’s rosy light—
He wasn’t sure he could obey Crukugs’ order.
