10. Tan

10

Tan

I wake up and stretch and feel a warm body against my back. I smile, remembering what had happened last night. It also brings to my mind the need to claim her as my mate, my bokdazi, and soon, before anyone else dares. If what Ano said is true, others are more than ready to go after her, and that will not happen.

Skylar lets out an adorable little moan and squirms against me, still asleep. I turn and wrap her in my arms, enjoying her warmth. Is she thinking of the joining we shared? Arousal pools in my belly, thickening my member as I remember the heat of her. The sounds she made. How sensitive she was to my touch. The smooth heat of her skin under my palms. The way her body sheathed mine as though one of the Five Deities formed her only for me.

I want her. I cannot imagine not wanting her. Her scent is a drug, and the taste of her is even sweeter. And now that we have joined, that we know the pleasures each of us can give, I cannot imagine waiting any longer to claim her as my bokdazi.

A chime sounds from the com. Skylar stiffens, and her eyes snap open. She's a light sleeper, and even in my arms, I sense the spike of fear at being awakened so suddenly.

"Shh…" I say, the sound more like a hiss than the susurration of my implant models. "It is just the bridge." I consider ignoring them. It is not an emergency tone, but we just witnessed the results of a Thrax Kohath attack, and if there is any evidence found from the wreckage, I should know. The responsibility is mine.

I roll over and tap the com. "Raiva."

"This is Ehan Prime Ano'Couv'ray," he says in Asheraahn, his tone too formal. "We have finished going through the ship logs of the Tch'Dara freighter. There have been some… troubling findings. It would be best for you to look over this yourself."

I dislike this. "Thank you, Ehan Prime," I respond with equal formality as my mind races. What in all the nine hells could they have found on those logs? My tail is twitching, and I realize I'm digging my claws into the furs.

Skylar, now awake, narrows her eyes and asks, "Is something wrong?"

I force a smile, which feels more like the baring of teeth than anything of humor. "Nothing you need trouble yourself with. I need to take care of some things on the bridge. You should eat breakfast. I'll com Tylan."

"They showed me how to use the dispenser," Skylar says. "It's not the Kohath, is it?"

"No attack," I reassure her, though I know whatever it is, is a problem. A serious one. "An administrative issue, most likely."

"You'd let me know if it was something worse?"

"Yes," I promise, hopeful I will not have to keep that promise in the coming hours or days. Indulging myself, I lean in and touch her lips with mine, a caress and nothing more. If I linger too long, I will not want to leave, and the urgency in Ano's tone gives me no reason to believe there is time for a leisurely morning with my nymara.

Ano and an Aegiseer specialist meet me on the bridge.

"Raiva," Ano says. "It would be best to take this in the briefing room."

The specialist, a thin male with scales the blue of twilight, nods once, his features drawn. His eyes have the silver sheen of ocular assists. When we are seated, the doors sealed and an encryption field up, the Aegiseer calls up a map of the data. "Much of it was corrupted, but we were able to pull some… troubling data." He glances at Ano.

"Tell me," I order.

"Two hourmarks after deploying the distress beacon, the Tch'Dara's sent a tightbeam."

"Was it a call for help?" The beacon should have handled that, but if they had a way to contact and warn off a closer ship, they might have tried that. "

"The Tch'Dara crew could not have sent the signal. Vid evidence shows after the Thrax Kohath gained control of the ship, they immediately executed the crew."

"So the Kohath sent it."

"Yes." My hearts pound, an uneven rhythm that sends excitement through my skin. "Where? Can we follow it?"

"They sent a signal through to Zone 4. Through the Neutral Zone."

Oh. This is bad.

Now I know why Ano was so formal, and why the high level of security.

"What does it say?"

"As I said, the data became corrupted and we have not fully decrypted the message."

It's all I can do to hold my fear in check. If the Kohath have allied with humans, what does Skylar's sudden arrival on our side of the Neutral Zone mean? I believe in my mate. But my crew does not, and the evidence suggests foul play.

"Get on it."

"Yes, sir," the Aegiseer Specialist says. "I have some ideas, and with more time…"

"Who else is aware of this development?" I ask.

"Just the three of us," Ano says.

"And some members of my team who recovered the logs," the specialist adds.

"Keep it that way. Let's keep it that way until we have definitive evidence." One way or the other.

"Sir."

My mind races as the Aegiseer Specialist and Ano both nod. Skylar is my bokdazi. I feel it with every fiber of my spirit. But that will not matter if I can't prove she was not a Kohath plant. If I can't prove that I'm not an unwitting pawn.

Or worse, a traitor.

As the specialist rises to leave, I wave to Ano. "A moment."

Once he's left, I say, "Skylar has nothing to do with this. "

"You bedded her, then?"

"She is my bokdazi. I need to claim her as such and soon." For her safety, if nothing else.

"And if the logs tell a different story?"

"She is mine," I snarl.

Ano looks at me, his golden eyes flat and his tail stiff. "I trust you, Tan. You are as a brother to me, and if you have accepted her, I will stand by you. Even if it costs me my life. But the crew may not. And it is the crew I am worried about. You cannot have forgotten that they are the ones who will pay the price if the Starshadow is raided. If we are attacked. If they cannot trust you to do the right thing and remove the possible danger you are keeping here."

"I know." I breathe a hiss out through my teeth. "I will not sacrifice her. Even if it means I must sacrifice my position as Raiva." Even if I must sacrifice my life.

And my honor? That too will fall if I am wrong.

I cannot be wrong.

Ano's tail twitches, his brow ridges flaring. "As you will it. I trust you, Tan. And whatever you decide, I will follow."

Ano leaves, and I am alone.

Skylar made me promise her to tell her if our meeting concerned something worse than an administrative issue. But how can I tell her of this evidence that she might be a spy? And if I am wrong, revealing this evidence would be disastrous. I hate myself for thinking that. For doubting her. I know she is innocent.

But I cannot, as Raiva, reveal to her about the transmission. Not yet.

And if I am fortunate, and the Five Deities smile, this will come to nothing and none need be the wiser.

Decision made, I stand, swipe my hand to end the encryption field and make my way to the mess hall for a quick breakfast before assuming my place on the bridge.