Alien General's Beloved (Brion Brides 6)(11)

"You think?" the general asked, his voice broken like crumbling rocks. "You think some random warrior can last in single combat with me like that? I should have known from the start. This proves it. There is something about your kind that makes men great."

General Corden, Lana thought. Looking at Worgen, she knew that her warrior had been right to want his presence to go unnoticed. And now she'd unwittingly betrayed him, trying to save her ship.#p#分页标题#e#

She might have, by lying about the Palians, but she'd accidentally exposed Corden.

Worgen was pacing like a caged animal, snarling at the outside world.

"This is great," the general murmured. "A real opponent. One of the generals in my grasp. Good, very good. A chance to test myself before Briolina."

I have to warn him, Lana thought. He needs to know.

The "how" was considerably more difficult to come up with than the realization. She had no idea how the Brion warships were built, nor what their full layout was like. And if the rumors were true, they were very dark to allow the valor squares to shine properly. So far she had been spared that because Worgen's valor squares were almost out, but deeper parts of the ship might be less guest-friendly.

There had to be another way. Lana knew she couldn't let herself be locked up. Worgen didn't strike her as the type to worry about a woman's opinions. He'd stick her in a room and come to her when he wanted to.

Lana's mind was spinning, trying to come up with a way not to be a prisoner.

Finally the solution came to her, but it wasn't a one she cherished.

I'm not the seductive type, Lana sighed in her head. I'm the captain of a spaceship, I don't flirt. How do you even flirt with a mad general? By playing the little terrified Terran girl, I guess.

"I want you to spare my ship," Lana said, making her voice timid and shy. "And my crew. Please. If you do... I'll help you."

Worgen regarded her with a long look.

"What help could you give me?" the general asked.

Charming, really.

"Information," she offered. "You've heard things, rumors and tales, but I can give you real facts. About the Galactic union  , about Briolina even. About the generals."

Most of it was a half-lie. Lana knew a lot about all of those. It was a part of her job to keep up-to-date with the events and people of the galaxy. But she had no idea if Worgen knew more, or less than her. Not to mention she had no intention of giving him information that could actually help the general attack more people.

"It will cost you nothing," she added. "The Raptor is no threat."

Worgen nodded slowly, as if it was a huge sacrifice on his part not to kill someone. "I will not harm your crew," he said. "Do not test my mercy."

"I won't," Lana said, forcing the words over her lips. "And if the Palians aren't able to help you with the—"

"Then they'll learn," Worgen said with finality. "We have time, but it's not forever. Soon one of them will have to reveal the secrets of immortality."

Lana seriously doubted any Palian knew that, but she wasn't about to stomp on his enthusiasm.

The fighter docked aboard the Abysmal with a nauseating lurch, almost sending Lana into the general's arms, but she stopped herself. Worgen made no attempt to see if she was fine.

A true gentleman.

She shook free of the horrifying idea of what would have happened if she actually was his fated instead of Corden's. That would have been absurd, almost as much as her real future. She was the fated of a Brion general, one more in the line of human girls. Three weeks ago, her biggest dating prospect had been one of the Palians leaving her a very formally phrased letter of appreciation.

She followed Worgen out, stepping once more onto the surface of the Abysmal. Every time, the ship filled her soul with a crushing weight and misery. There was something fundamentally depressing about it, like the ship had had its soul ripped out. Any breathing soul in it looked lifeless, as if breathing was truly their only function. Lana shuddered, the thought of living there coming to haunt her again.

Would Worgen care if she wasn't his fated? And if he found the right one, what would happen to her?

Bad questions for another time, she decided. Right now I need a comm link.

The Brions had cut all communications between the ships and the outside world, but the Abysmal's still worked, of course. Worgen needed his broadcasts to be heard all across the kidnapped fleet. Lana couldn't help wondering why he was keeping them. Naturally she didn't want them to be destroyed, but it was weird. Some part of Worgen's plan was not clear to her yet, but she was intent to fill in the blanks and do her part in the fight.

Worgen left her alone almost as soon as they'd landed. Lana noticed with relief that he gave no orders what to do with her. The general probably assumed there wasn't much damage a single human girl could do to his immense warship. Instead, Worgen went to instruct his men. Lana heard him say that they were to alert him immediately once they'd found the missing general. Then she slipped away.#p#分页标题#e#

Ignoring the questioning looks of the Brions around her, Lana went on the search. At least they hadn't locked her up. Now all she had to hope for was that she'd stumble on a comm console before Worgen started looking for her.

Her plan was heroic, but luck didn't seem to be on her side. Lana wandered the dark halls, trying anything that looked like it could be what she needed. Brions gave her weird looks, but at least in this Worgen's regime came to her aid. Without express orders from their general, no one bothered her.

It felt like hours had passed when Lana finally found a console that fit her needs. The controls were all off, but she thought she understood the basic principles of it. The captain double-checked to make sure she wasn't wasting her one opportunity to warn Corden. She was endangering her crew, but there was no other way.

The console was unfamiliar, so Lana could only pray she'd get the settings right. She wanted only the Raptor to hear her. If Corden was what Worgen thought he was, he could handle whoever was on board. Looking around to see whether someone was close by and finding the corridor empty, Lana opened the channel.

"This is Captain Lana Cormac," she said.

Her voice echoed back over the hallway, coming from speakers she couldn't see.

Oh well, so much for that, she thought. There was nothing to be done anymore, everyone would hear her.

"To the fleet," she went on in a hurry. "We have allies. We are not alone. There is a Brion general somewhere on the ships, but our enemies are looking for him. If there is any courage left in your bodies, you will help him! Help him, because we certainly can't help ourselves!"

The frustration she'd harbored was all pouring out at the fleet which was doing nothing but relying on Worgen's mercy. Lana had seen what that was like.

"Corden," she said then, her voice becoming tender for reasons she couldn't entirely explain. "He knows. He knows who you are—"

A strong hand closed around her arm, pulling her away from the console. She looked up into the cruel, merciless eyes of General Worgen. Lana opened her mouth to say something, anything to stop the retribution she knew was coming, but found nothing. She had nothing left to offer. Her value was at an end.

Worgen dragged her to one of the huge wall-mounted screens, showing the space around the Abysmal. Before her eyes, gun turrets rolled out of the sides of the warship and took aim at the Raptor. Lana watched in mute shock as the fleet made room for the warship, getting out of the way of the guns, so as not to get caught in the fire. So much for courage, then.

"Don't do this," she whispered, knowing it was futile. "I will—"

"That's the thing with liars," Worgen said without pity. "You only get one lie. I warned you what would happen to those who betray me."

And like in a dream, the Abysmal opened fire. Lana thought she screamed. All she knew was that her eyes watched, unblinking, as the Raptor was blown into oblivion.





CHAPTER EIGHT

Corden



He'd taken her. Worgen had taken his gesha.

Corden felt like he was watching his own experiences happen to someone else. It certainly couldn't be him, so unhinged by that seemingly simple event. Only there was nothing easy about a gerion being separated from his fated. Especially if she was in danger. He'd tear down any obstacle in his way to get her back, to get her into his arms where she belonged.

Of all the things, Corden hadn't expected that. To find his other half in a place like this, right in the middle of the most important mission of his life. Ironically, he got the result Worgen was looking for. It was the other general who had wanted to find his bride, to have the connection to her push him to greater heights.

Now it would be used against him. Corden had only one task ahead now, like before, but now Lana was at stake too and that made everything so much... better. And worse, at the same time.

Every account he'd ever read about the bindings and finding the fated started with the simple truth that the feeling was impossible to describe. Finally, Corden could assure himself that it had been correct. Merely Lana's name made his heart beat faster, clearing his mind. Even colors and shapes seemed sharper, more real to him. It felt like before her, he'd lived in a world half-hidden in shadows.

And she was gone. Taken.