Chapter Fourteen
Several hours later, Thorin’s command chair beeped and glowed with life.
Syzel and his team must’ve found a way to harness more power. The trusted warrior never would’ve spared power for Thorin unless there was enough to keep life support functioning properly, along with a few defensive weapons.
Still, the computer would only be on minimal processing power. Voice commands were out of the question, but Thorin typed in his request for the number of lifeforms aboard.
While the computer calculated, he hoped he was wrong about passengers or warriors being taken. Counting by hand had proven difficult. Some passengers must’ve gone into hiding because recent checks indicated over a hundred missing persons. Given the amount of power it had taken to teleport forty-odd individuals, it was impossible for that many to have been stolen, even taking into account the use of the fighter ships’ engines as additional power sources.
None of the fighters had been spotted or had attempted to contact the colony ship. Even with diminished power, the ship could receive text transmitted messages from ships nearby.
As much as he hoped the pilots of the fighter starships were safe, another person’s well-being was on his mind. Vala’s lack of communication or checking in worried him. She seemed resourceful, and if she were aboard, he had a feeling she would’ve tried to let him know she was okay. As it were, he couldn’t check her location via her necklace until power was restored to a greater degree.
He was starting to understand why generals never took brides. Yes, they may become targets, but not being able to put their safety and comfort first in any situation was almost unbearable. All he wanted to do was search every deck until he found his female.
Not that she was his forever. But she was his for the present, and he didn’t take her trust in him lightly.
On top of that, Thorin’s visions had popped up twice already in her absence. He needed Vala’s presence to soothe his being. It was selfish to want her by his side to help keep him in control, but after feeling like any other Kelderan for a brief period, he yearned for more.
His chair console beeped and Thorin glanced down. Two people were missing. He typed in a clarification, and his heart skipped a beat at the names: Vala Yarlen and Azalyn Sulani.
Vala. She had better still be alive and well or Thorin would resign his place in the army once the ship was secure and then hunt down whoever had hurt her.
Or, worse.
No. He refused to believe she was dead.
Clenching the fingers of one hand, he took a slow breath and unfurled one digit at a time. She needed him calm and collected.
He looked to the male manning the communications terminal. “Do we have enough power to send a message to headquarters?”
The warrior tapped the flat panel in front of him a few times before answering. “I can risk one typed message at this range, but whether we’ll still have enough energy to receive their reply is uncertain.”
He stood and walked to the panel. “Their reply isn’t that important.” He motioned for the male to vacate his seat and he obliged. Thorin slid into the spot. “I’ll type the message myself. In the meantime, convey to the necessary personnel that only two people are missing from the ship. Their names are still on the screen at my command chair. The second name listed has a family waiting. Inform them of the situation in person.”
“And the other name, sir?”
“I will take care of it.”
Once the officer saluted and went about his task, Thorin typed out his message to headquarters. He would give them the most pertinent data available concerning the recent episode. However, he would also include the unique locator code for Vala’s pendant. While the locators had become popular during the war with the Brevkan, they had fallen into disuse in recent years. He hoped someone in headquarters could figure out how to use the decades-old technology for a possible long-range pinpointing. The army may not go after a single Barren or even a single fertile female, but if locating Vala and Azalyn could lead to the location of the other missing warriors, the army would most likely jump at the chance.
He only hoped his faith in headquarters wasn’t misplaced.
~~~
Vala jumped as her entire prison enclosure vibrated. She’d barely blinked at the motion before energy surged through her body.
She didn’t know how long the light filled her vision, but eventually it stopped. She exchanged a glance with Azalyn before moving to the window.
The blackness of space had been replaced with a light composite material.
They must’ve been teleported again.
In the next second, a section of the wall dematerialized into the shape of a door. The silhouette of a male stood in the doorway. He spoke Kelderan, albeit with a strange accent. “Stand up.”
A split second of panic rushed through her body, but Vala quickly pushed it away. If she ever wanted to see Thorin again, let alone reach Jasvar, she needed to be stronger than she ever had been in the past. Without information, she and Azalyn would never have a chance at escaping or devising some strategy to win.
If she could win.
No. She couldn’t afford to give up now after everything she’d been through.
Before Vala could think of what to say, Azalyn stood in front of her and asked the stranger, “Who are you?”
“You are Azalyn Rippak, yes?” the male asked. “The other female is too young. Either you come without question together, or I kill the other female and take you by force.”
Vala moved to Azalyn’s side and whispered, “We need to see where we are.”
The message was vague, but Azalyn must’ve understood her meaning because she squared her shoulders and said, “My name is now Azalyn Sulani and I want to meet the person in charge.”
The male merely answered, “No. Come with me. If I turn around and don’t find you following, I kill the other one.”
He turned and strode away from the door. Vala touched Azalyn’s shoulder. “It’s your choice, but staying together is probably our best option.”
She frowned. “Of course it is. I won’t let them kill you. It seems that they want me. Let’s find out why.”
As the pair exited the doorway, Vala blinked a few times to adjust to the orange brightness.
The space was bare except for their large, gray and black former prison vessel and another one just like it sitting on the far side of the room.
The male walking with purpose glanced at them. While humanoid, his bright yellow skin and large eyes meant he wasn’t Kelderan. Her knowledge was limited concerning alien races, but Azalyn muttered, “A Tallarian.”
The male never stopped moving as he said, “Yes. I expected a merchant to know.” He picked up his pace and strode toward the largest doorway at the end of the room. “Now, no more talking. He is anxious to see you.”
Vala searched her memories for what she knew about the Tallarians, but the only thing she remembered was that there had been a brief war between Tallaria and Keldera many years ago. The Tallarians had lost, though, and had signed a peace treaty. Keldera currently traded with their planet on occasion.
But she had never seen a Tallarian outside of an image in a text. The male’s pale-yellow hair was braided into a single queue that bounced down his back. His top and trousers were made of a leather-looking material in a deep brown, with a large, metallic belt around his waist filled with devices that were probably weapons.
Seeing them reminded Vala of her own blaster gun around her leg. She wasn’t foolish enough to think she could win against an entire ship, but she could use it in a life-or-death situation, if it came to it.
They exited what Vala assumed was a shuttle bay and into a corridor made of the same smooth, light gray composite material as the previous room. With the lack of texture or decoration, the construction was less refined than inside the Keldera colony ship. She also didn’t see any computer terminals or other technology on the walls beyond a few security cameras, which suggested that the Tallarians weren’t as advanced technologically as the Kelderans.
Maybe that was something she and Azalyn could use to their advantage.
Not that either of them had skill with electronics or computers, but if any of the missing engineering staff were aboard, they could help. The trick would be in locating them.
It wasn’t long before the Tallarian male stopped next to a door. Once it opened, he pointed inside. “He waits.”
Azalyn entered the room first, her head high. Vala took strength from the female’s example and followed suit.
The second they were inside, the door behind them closed and clicked with a lock.
Vala’s attention zeroed in on the male sitting in a raised chair at the back of the room. While his skin was the same bright yellow and his clothes the same brown leather-looking material, he had several silver-colored bands around his biceps, over his clothing.
He barely glanced at Vala. All of his attention zeroed in on Azalyn. “Finally. It has taken longer than I had expected to find you.”
“And you are?” Azalyn prompted.
“That doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that I hold your fate.”
Azalyn didn’t miss a beat. “Stop being dramatic. What do you want with me?”
“You are our future. You will find out in time.”
Azalyn placed a hand on her hip. “Since we’re not negotiating a trade deal, I have no interest in following the Tallarian’s long-winded custom. What exactly do you need me for?”
The male smiled slowly. The predatory look on his face made Vala dig her nails into her palm to keep from showing any emotion.
He said, “You are wrong. This is a negotiation. Maybe you need to see what we have to trade.”
The door opened and a Tallarian guard ushered a Kelderan male into the room. The Kelderan looked to be about ten years younger than Vala, with golden skin and dark blue hair. In a way, his complexion and features reminded her of Prince Kason and Princess Kalahn.
His gaze passed over both Vala and Azalyn without recognition.
Azalyn gasped and Vala focused on her companion. Azalyn whispered, “No.”
The Tallarian’s predatory look turned smug. “So maybe now you will take this meeting seriously.”
Vala whispered, “Who is he?”
Azalyn never took her gaze from the young man. “He’s my son.”
The Kelderan frowned, but since there was a static gag in front of his mouth, he couldn’t say anything.
The Tallarian male steepled his fingers in front of him. “Yes, the son who doesn’t know the identity of his birth parents. We only found him when investigating you. Kelderans are disloyal and easily give up their own brethren.” He tilted his head. “Even though he doesn’t recognize you, your reaction tells me that you’re still willing to negotiate for his safety.”
A multitude of questions swam inside Vala’s mind, but she kept them quiet. She could find out answers later, when she was alone with Azalyn.
“What is it you want?” Azalyn asked. “And I’d prefer a straightforward answer. I don’t wish to haggle for two hours to reach an agreement.”
“The haggling is the fun part, female. And to truly see what you will deliver, you will stay with your son and your friend in a cell for a few days. The more attached you become, the more you will give me in the end.”
Azalyn raised her brows. “What makes you think that’s true?”
The Tallarian waved a hand. “I do not need to explain myself to you.” He pointed a finger at the guard holding the Kelderan male and said something in what Vala assumed was Tallarian. When he finished, the Tallarian with the silver bands on his arms looked back to Azalyn. “Enjoy the reunion. If you try to escape, I will kill your friend first and torture your son to the brink of death, bring him back and do it again.”
He pressed something and a bell chimed. Four guards came through the door. A pair each took hold of Vala and Azalyn and then guided them out of the room.
Vala chanced a glance at her sort-of ally. While Azalyn’s face remained strong, she clenched her jaw. Vala had a feeling that Azalyn had never dreamed of meeting her adult son at all, let alone under such circumstances.
But worse, none of them knew what the Tallarians wanted or needed. Not for the first time, Vala longed for Thorin at her side. No doubt he’d possess knowledge to help them or knew people who could procure it.
Once all of this was over—she refused to believe this was the end for her or Azalyn—Vala would take her self-defense and weapons training more seriously. Maybe she’d even start studying survival skills for emergencies.
However, all of that required her escaping. The hard part would be in figuring out a way to do it.
~~~
Azalyn Rippak Sulani had done everything in her power to distance herself from the decisions she’d made during her foolish teenage years, when she’d believed that love would be enough to change how the world worked.
Oh, how wrong she’d been.
To pay for her mistakes, she’d willingly joined another family and severed ties with her birth family; kept away from the Kelderan capital and Prince Keltor tro el Vallen; and even had agreed to give up the son few knew she’d had without a male lord. Joining the Jasvarian colony had been the final step. After all, nothing screamed distance more than moving to a different planet and promising never to return.
Yet as she allowed herself to be dragged down a corridor toward some unknown Tallarian cell, located who knew where in the universe, her heart thundered inside her chest as she tried to think of what to do with regard to her son. Despite her best efforts, her past had finally caught up with her.
In order to protect him from the royal family as well as her power-hungry birth family, Azalyn had quietly endured her secret pregnancy and allowed a family far away, trusted by the Sulani merchants, to raise her only child as their own. Not even they were aware that the boy’s father was the current heir to the Kelderan throne, Prince Keltor.
While her son may not recognize her, Azalyn had secretly kept track of the boy over the years. His adopted family had taken her suggested name of Kelzal, and each year he’d grown into a more handsome male than she’d could’ve ever imagined. Intelligent as well; despite being only twenty-two years old, Kelzal was a top inventor at Keldera’s preeminent technological research firm.
And after so many years of convincing herself she’d never see him and that her estrangement was necessary, she was going to be locked in a room with him for who knew how long.
Azalyn only hoped she could remain strong and keep the necessary distance from him. If Kelzal discovered who his father was, it would make him an even bigger target. She had a feeling the Tallarians didn’t know the truth, either, or they never would’ve bothered with kidnapping Azalyn. Because while she had no proof, her past ties with Keltor were the only reason someone would go to such lengths to locate and kidnap her. The Sulanis ending a few contracts with Tallarians wouldn’t merit such an elaborate scheme to kidnap both her and Kelzal.
Although the joke may end up being on the Tallarians. Azalyn doubted Keltor remembered her as more than a teenage dalliance.
The guards stopped at a door, opened it, and tossed her inside. She’d barely turned over from being facedown when Vala and Kelzal also landed on the floor not far from her.
The door clicked closed. As both Kelzal and Vala sat up, Azalyn finally stared at the child she’d wished to meet face-to-face for over twenty years.
Although, child was the wrong term. Kelzal was a young man. His close-cropped dark blue hair and golden skin tone were nearly the same as Keltor’s. Even the quiet, assessing look the male gave her reminded her of when she’d first met the prince.
But his green eyes and the shape of his nose were just like hers.
A sudden yearning to hug him close and hear his voice surged through her body.
While she wouldn’t risk hugging him, Azalyn cleared her throat of emotion and motioned toward his static gag. “I’m going to remove this. Will you allow it, Kelzal?”
The young man searched her eyes before bobbing his head. Careful to keep her fingers steady, Azalyn disengaged the gag. “Sorry I can’t take off the cuffs. They require a code.”
Kelzal remained silent. Since he probably suspected Azalyn was lying about being his birth mother, she searched her brain for a way to convince him. Then his deep voice filled the room. “How do you know my name?”
At this point, truth was her best tool. “I gave it to you and your adopted parents kept it.”
He paused, and his action reminded her of a much younger Keltor, who had always wanted to carefully think things through before making a decision.
At least, he’d been that way until Keltor had met her.
Pushing aside memories, Azalyn focused on the present. “Look, I don’t expect you to believe me about being your birth mother. And to be honest, you don’t have to. All we need to do is work together to survive. Keeping your distance from me is probably the best decision anyway.”
“So I can be more easily disposed of?” Kelzal asked.
She narrowed her eyes. “Of course not. You and Vala will live. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you both.”
He raised an eyebrow but soon looked away, focusing on Vala. “Who is the Barren?”
“Her name is Vala,” Azalyn stated firmly. “In here, we’re all equals. Call her by her name or I will put the gag back on. Remember, we’re unrestrained and have the advantage over you, even if we’re female.”
The instant the words were out of her mouth, Azalyn wondered if she’d been too harsh. No. Long-lost son or not, she wouldn’t allow him to dismiss Vala. Just because she was of a different station didn’t mean she was less of a person.
Azalyn knew that better than most.
Vala crawled over to Azalyn and whispered, “All that matters right now is being careful of what we say. They could be listening.”
Leave it to the soft-spoken female to keep her wits about her despite everything. Azalyn moved her mouth to Vala’s ear and kept her voice low. “If he agrees to work with us, he can help. Trust me on this.”
Vala pulled away and nodded.
Azalyn had had her doubts about Vala, but the more time that passed, the more she started to think she could trust the female.
She hated being skeptical of everyone, but her past had shaped her to be that way.
Not wanting to think of Keltor breaking her heart and uprooting her life, Azalyn scooted over to Kelzal. So close to her son, she wanted nothing more than to engulf him in a hug and claim twenty-two years’ worth of missed affection.
Instead, she whispered into his ear. “I have a plan, but it requires your help and your skills. If you agree, then I’ll answer any and all questions you may have after the fact. For now, escape is our key objective.”
She turned her head, putting her ear near his mouth in case he wanted to reply. His low voice finally said, “What do you have in mind?”
As Azalyn explained her plan, she started to relax. Being occupied would help her focus on saving her son’s life and getting him to freedom, along with Vala. If her life ended up being forfeited in the process, so be it. Azalyn was tired of running and hiding. It was finally time to own her past and face the consequences.