My sister squared her shoulders. “I’m the captain.”
Hearing her voice—strong and steady—made my chest swell with pride. Tara didn’t seem to be scared by the raiders at all, even though it was clear they could have killed us all within seconds.
“You?” The Vandar narrowed his glittering eyes at her, and I could not tell if he was amused or offended.
She jutted out her chin. “Yes, me.”
“You entered Vandar territory,” he said, and this time his voice was little more than a ragged growl. Though low, the sound vibrated through the bridge and made my breath catch in my throat.
Tara didn’t flinch. “A mistake we were trying to rectify when your horde chased us down.”
The Vandar who was clearly the leader scanned the bridge again, his gaze lingering on me for a moment as his tail swished quickly behind him. I was almost positive he could see that I was shaking. “You work for the Zagrath Empire.”
To be aligned with the empire was as good as a death sentence. The Vandar raiders had been fighting a guerrilla war against them for longer than any of us on the bridge had been alive.
Tara shifted from one foot to the other, but did not drop her gaze. “We’re an independent freighter. We have no loyalty to the empire.”
A muscle ticked in the leader’s jaw, and a ripple of movement passed through the other Vandar. Somehow, I knew this was not the right thing to say.
“You only supply their outposts and arm their invaders.”
Tara did not respond.
Maybe if she didn’t argue back they’d let us go, I thought.
“You think you are innocent of their crimes?” The Vandar leader pressed, his fingers drumming across the hilt of his weapon as he began to pace a tight circle in front of my sister, his head snapping with each turn.
“We aren’t Zagrath,” Tara repeated, but this time with an edge in her voice. “We made a navigational error. We didn’t mean to violate your space.”
He stopped pacing and leveled his gaze at her. “A navigational error?”
My stomach clenched. Technically, we didn’t make an error. I made the error. I sensed Mose’s gaze on me, but I didn’t look at him.
The Vandar ceased tapping his fingers, and the only thing I could hear was my own uneven breathing. “Error or not, we cannot allow you to continue on your mission to supply our enemy.”
Tara grasped her hands behind her. “You can have our cargo.”
“I intend to take your cargo. And execute you. Your penalty for working for the Zagrath. Let it be a lesson to others who dare support the empire.”
There were sharp intakes of breath among our crew. My heart pounded wildly as the reality hit me. My stupidity and lack of focus had sentenced my sister to death—the one person who’d always protected me and looked out for me. My ears started to ring, and black spots danced in front of my eyes.
No no no no no. This wasn’t happening. I couldn’t lose my sister. She couldn’t be executed because of me.
“Executed?” Tara’s voice was a low hiss. “For doing a job so we can eat? The Zagrath control everything. How else are we supposed to survive if we don’t work for them?”
The Vandar leader swept cold eyes across her. “It is done.” Then he scanned the bridge once more and turned to leave.
“You bastard,” Tara growled, as she lunged herself toward his retreating back.
I gasped as she was knocked back by one of the other Vandar warriors, who stepped forward to block her from the leader so quickly I barely registered his movement.
One of the raiders towered over my sister, raising his battle axe.
“No!” I screamed, my voice louder than the ringing in my head. “Stop! I should be the one executed.”
All eyes swiveled to me, including the leader who’d pivoted back around.
Tara closed her eyes where she lay sprawled on the floor, looking more defeated than she had before.
“It’s my fault. I’m the one who made the navigational error. You can’t kill my sis…the captain for my mistake. Please,” I said, hearing the quaver in my voice. “Kill me, instead.”
“No, Astrid,” Tara said, her words an order that would have normally made me fall in line.
Not this time.
“You wish me to execute you in her place?” His dark eyes were on me as he crossed the bridge, his long legs eating up the short distance between us so fast that I backed up a few steps, my ass bumping up against a console.
I nodded, ignoring my sister on the floor shaking her head and telling me to shut up. Even though my pulse fluttered, a calm settled over me as the Vandar held my gaze captive with his own. This was the right thing to do. I’d only survived as long as I had because of Tara. She’d been saving my ass for most of my life. It was my turn to save her for a change.
He cocked his head and eyed me up and down unabashedly, his fingers rapping on the hilt of his weapon once more. His tail had stopped swishing and curled up stiffly, the dark tip the only part twitching. He stared at me for so long that my cheeks burned from the scrutiny. I knew at any moment, he would reject my offer and round on my sister again. I met his eyes when they returned to my face, fisting my hands so tightly by my side the nails bit into my flesh. If he was going to kill me, at least I could be brave enough not to look away.
As I locked my gaze on his, my mouth went dry. Instead of being overcome with fear, my pulse fluttered. I’d expected his dark eyes to be cold, emotionless voids, but they were not. They flashed with heat and curiosity, drawing me to him, even as I fought against it.
“Raas?” One of his raiders finally spoke, and I wondered if that was his name.
He jerked his head around, tearing his gaze from mine and darting it over Tara. “Spare her.”
A wave of relief coursed through me, even as I braced myself for what would come next.
The Vandar leader turned back to me. “You would die to save your captain?”
“Yes,” I said, again holding his deadly gaze as my stomach roiled, the bitter taste of bile burning the back of my throat as fear finally overtook my curiosity. If he was going to kill me, I wished he would hurry up before I humiliated myself by puking all over my own shoes.
“Astrid, no!” my sister cried out. She’d leapt up, but two Vandar held her by the arms to keep her from lunging across the bridge.
He did not turn at my sister’s screams, but his pupils flared, making his eyes even blacker. “I have a deal for you, Astrid.”
I dropped my gaze to the hand on his weapon, confused as to why he hadn’t drawn it. “Deal?”
“Your life for hers.”
My confusion deepened. Hadn’t that been what I’d already agreed to? Why was he toying with me?
“I will let her live, and your ship can have safe passage out of our sector. But I do not wish to kill you.” He leaned so close to my face that I felt the quick inhalation as he seemed to breathe me in. His voice became a low hum that skated down my spine. “You will come with me.”
It took me a while to process his words. “Come with you? You aren’t going to kill me?”
He gave a faint shake of his head.
Even though I should have felt relief, the hairs on the back of my neck prickled. “I thought the Vandar didn’t take prisoners.”