She'd done some dangerous things in her life. Some foolish ones, too.

Never anything like that.

Trying to steal something from a Nayanor raiding ship had to be a call for help, a suicide mission to say the least. Sneaking past the bathroom, hearing running water, Ashley allowed herself the last lingering shred of doubt.

Was she ready to risk her life, health and freedom for others? It seemed Zar was fond of her. Being the mate of a harbinger meant that Ashley didn't have a bad life waiting for her on Luminos. She could use her good relationship with Zar on the planet too. Maybe she could help some women when the risk wasn't as great.

If she pushed Zar's patience too far, who knew what the warlord was capable of? He'd assured Ashley that he wouldn't hurt or force her, but those were just words and she had no reason to trust him. Back there, the harbinger had pulled back when she wasn't willing, but perhaps he, too, was trying to find a way to make the transition easier.

Imagining water running down Zar's glorious, hot body wasn't helping either. Ashley had the option of playing the submissive little mouse and slipping into the shower with him. Without a doubt that would have bought her some points with the warlord.

So was it really worth risking it all?

Of course it is. The information I have... the wormholes, the name of the planet, the way they operate. If even a single woman makes it back to the Union, we could end these raids.

Zar doesn't seem to be worst of them, which only means I got lucky. I have to do this for women who get someone worse.

The door was Ashley's biggest concern. Seeing Zar opening it with a handprint wasn't encouraging. Nothing she had could replicate that.

Sneaking past Zar's armory, Ashley glanced inside. She'd been praying for a gun or at least a small dagger, but it was hopeless. Nayanors, like most of the other warrior races, didn't favor guns as they were considered a coward's weapon. To kill an enemy from a distance showed that the warrior wasn't ready to see the whites of their eyes when they died.

The armory was full of weapons, of course. Ashley didn't think she could even lift any of them, much less take them with her in a way that wouldn't get her discovered in an instant.

She was running out of time. It had to be soon. How long could a shower take?

Ashley searched the room for the scanner, but saw only a panel on the wall. Hesitantly, hoping to the gods it wasn't some alarm, she pushed it.

The door slid open and her heart leaped to her throat.

No turning back now. Courage, courage for your friends, Ash.

She stepped into the hallway outside, her pulse thundering. Ashley knew the most important thing was that she gave the impression that she had every right to do what she was doing. Confidence was the key, as they said.

Walking away from Zar's quarters, Ashley could basically feel walking to meet her doom. No matter what, Zar was going to find out and be pissed as hell. She didn't know what that had in store for her, but Nayanor harbingers didn't take those things slightly.

Ashley hoped that it wasn't an uncommon sight to see the captured females moving around the ship. After all, they couldn't be locked up in their rooms forever, could they? Maybe it was a little unorthodox, so be it.

There were so many things that could have gone wrong. Ashley tried to be very careful, retracing her steps from the landing bay. When she saw the elevator, she nearly sighed out of relief. Every second, she expected Zar to come around the corner and catch her. Or a warrior to stop her and ask what she was doing out of her new owner's rooms.

None of that happened. She somehow got the floor number right in the elevator, despite the state of her mind when she'd taken a ride the first time. Ashley made it back to the bay in one piece.

She stopped, hidden in a shadow of a huge, empty fighter, looking around and searching for her target. Most of the bustling in the bay was over, with only a few people moving around. It seemed luck was smiling to her, because one of the ships was definitely still unloading women. Ashley could see tearful, shocked faces and knew she was doing the right thing.

I need to go. I need to go now.

She stepped out of her cover, feeling more naked than ever before in her life. Eyes turned to her at last as she made her way across the bay, trying to look like she had every right to be there.

A warrior came to meet her, a deeply suspicious look on his face.

"What are you doing here, female?" he demanded, reaching out an armored hand to grab her.

"Careful," Ashley warned him, taking a quick step back. "I don't think the harbinger would appreciate you manhandling me."

That did the trick, as she'd hoped. The eyes of the warrior went wide and his posture changed immediately to wary carefulness.

"The harbinger," he repeated. "Are you Zar Kohora's mate?"

"Yes," Ashley said, deciding it wasn't the time to play around. "Can you help me?"

The warrior looked like a deer in the headlights. Ashley could see conflicting emotions war on his rough, handsome face. All Nayanors truly were lookers, there was no doubt about that. After Zar, the warrior was nothing but a poor reflection though.

She tried to help him along, to make sure he came to the right conclusion. Out of the corner of her eye, Ashley saw Felicia in the crowd of women, looking at her like she'd seen a ghost. She couldn't believe her luck. If anyone, Felicia would quickly understand what she needed to do.

The opportunity was golden. She couldn't mess it up.

"The harbinger sent me here," Ashley said. "I need to speak to the women you have here."

"Why?" the warrior asked, his deep voice telling her that he was quickly growing suspicious of her again. "That is not your place. Go back to Zar Kohora."

"Not until I've done what I came to do," Ashley said.

"I gave you an order, female," the warrior growled. "I will not repeat it."

"You don't scare me," Ashley said with a smile, growing more confident when the warrior didn't take one step toward her. "Zar Kohora told me I could bring up a few women with me to present to his officers in the hope that maybe one of my friends would be their mate. If you want me to run all the way back to him, I will. But I bet the harbinger would want to know the name of the warrior who needs him to come and hold his hand while he follows orders."

The warrior bristled at her so angrily that Ashley started to think the man would hit her. She stood her ground, waiting while the entire bay kept their eyes on them.

She could hear seconds ticking in her head, driving her mad.

"If the harbinger had orders for us, why didn't he give the order through the comm link?" the warrior asked, not giving her a name as Ashley had predicted.

Ashley sighed dramatically.

"Because for one, the harbinger didn't know who'd still be here," she said. "And second, because the harbinger is quite satisfied at the moment and is expecting me to return to him soon, so you're keeping him waiting right now. If you want to interrupt his leisure time and ask more stupid questions, go on."

The warrior groaned in fury, making Ashley really glad she wasn't his mate. He had all the charm of a cold shower.

"What do you need?" he asked her, finally getting out of her way.

Ashley looked around, feeling like she was going to lose the control of her voice soon. She could practically hear the alarms start to ring the second Zar got out of the shower. She couldn't have more than a few minutes left.

"Felicia," she called, hating how her voice shook a little. "Take the two girls behind you and come with me."

She avoided the warrior's eyes, given that she'd claimed the women were her friends. Ashley knew both by looks alone, having seen them in the station, but no names popped into her mind. Shivering, Felicia and the other two came along and Ashley quickly led them from the bay without another word.

She wished she could have gotten more, but her plan depended on speed and stealth.

"Ashley," Felicia whispered when she pulled them into the same shadow she'd hidden in before. "What's going on? I thought you were with the harbinger –”

"I was," Ashley said, pressing a finger on Felicia's lips. "Hush, hush now. I need you three to listen to me very carefully. I don't have time to explain, none at all, so you have to believe every word out of my mouth and obey, okay?"

The three barely reacted, leaving Ashley no chance but to go on, searching the bay with her eyes.

"There has to be an escape pod somewhere around here. Every ship has them, even Nayanors aren't bulletproof. We will take it and escape – I said no questions! – and we need to do it in the next two minutes or we're in deep trouble. Listen to me. If something should happen to me, this is what you need to know and tell the Union.

"The name of their home world is Luminos. They travel through wormholes. And they have every intention of returning to Terra. Got it?"

Finally, some understanding and hope dawned on their faces. Ashley was breathing so quickly she was beginning to think she was having a heart attack.

"There," Felicia pointed, "what do you think, Ash?"

She looked. Felicia was right. Close to them, fifty feet or less, was a hatch with a red panel next to it. They had no way of knowing whether it was the thing they needed, but it was as good a bet as any.

"Okay," Ashley said, taking a deep breath. "We need to be very brave –”

The alarm went off and she felt her blood freeze.

"Run!" she yelled and they dashed from cover.

Felicia was the fastest. Ashley counted her blessings as her friend happened to be exceptionally skilled with technology. Like all technicians, Felicia had an endless appetite for knowledge. Ashley hoped that she could figure out the controls of the escape pod too.

Then Felicia slammed her hand down on the panel and it burst open. Inside, Ashley could see a cramped space, barely large enough to house the four of them but they had to try.

"Get inside!" she ordered, hearing running steps from the other end of the hall.

The warrior who'd released the women to her care was right in front of them, his dark eyes gleaming with hatred.

I'm dead, oh gods, I don't want to die like this –

Felicia and the others were inside, though, and Ashley had her foot on the door. The warrior was almost upon her, a massive sword in his hand.

Ashley screamed. She could see Felicia's hand reach out to pull her into the pod.

Something came whirring through the air and in the next second, the warrior was nailed to the wall by Zar's sword.

Looking back, Ashley saw the harbinger standing in the middle of the bay, his eyes so full of anger it made her shudder from head to toe.

"Ash!" Felicia screamed. "Come on!"

She didn't move. The look in Zar's eyes was keeping her frozen to the spot out of sheer terror.

"One more step," the harbinger said in a deep, dark voice that petrified her, "and I will behead your friends before your eyes, females or not."

She believed him. Zar had a way of speaking that made Ashley certain he meant every word.

The release of the pod was right next to her hand, glowing bright white. If she couldn't go home, she could at least give others a chance.

"Ash, no!" Felicia screamed as she slammed her hand down and the door fell shut.

The pod was gone. And Ashley was trapped without hope.