Alien General's Beloved (Brion Brides 6)(40)

"We do," Lana said, thinking of the empty, cold walls of the spaceships.

"It's not only that," Corden went on. "We have huge cities and small settlements like every habitable world. But Briolina has spirit."

He was quiet for a second.

"Like you," he said, smiling, and Lana didn't know what to say to that. Maybe it was all right she said nothing, merely letting Corden press another kiss on her lips.

"If you ever saw it, you'd feel what I'm talking about right away," the general continued. "The air itself is thick with it, the will to live, to fight. All Brions feel it—we grow up breathing the spirit into ourselves. Our myths say that it is our gods, and that their fire is still burning underneath our feet in Briolina's own soil, and that is what feeds our hearts with passion."

His voice dropped then, becoming dark and cold.

"Of course, the fire can burn too hot. Every purpose can be corrupted. The spirit is our blessing, and our curse. You've seen it in Worgen and his men. They have been away too long. They no longer remember. But some can be reminded."

"What do you mean?" Lana asked.

She hadn't realized how mesmerized she was before Corden stopped. The strange, alien world was so clear before her eyes. Lana had only seen images of Briolina during her studies, but now she could practically smell it.

I want to see it. I want to see the planet that lives and breathes, that burns like that.

Corden seemed to hesitate for a second.

"I will show you tomorrow," he promised. "It's one thing I don't have to keep from you."

The way he said that brought forward a question Lana had been wondering about.#p#分页标题#e#

"When this is over," she began. "If we live, I mean. Will you be honest with me?"

Corden's eyes were blazing when he looked at her.

"The only reason I would keep anything from you is to protect your life, like right now. Nothing more."

Lana smiled. She barely noticed drifting off to sleep in Corden's sure embrace, but the next time she opened her eyes, it was another day.



***



Lana followed Corden's instructions, walking through the Flora. By God, the ship was immense. Staying near the bridge to be available when Worgen or the ship needed her, Lana could almost forget the size of the carrier. She had to have walked for a good fifteen minutes now and she wasn't even out of a sector yet.

Corden was somewhere near her, she knew that. The general had explained with a smile that he was perfectly capable of keeping an eye on her without Lana ever seeing him. It was a bit unsettling, but oddly comforting. The captain walked, keeping an eye on the Flora, while someone somewhere kept an eye on her.

Back on the Raptor, she had always known the mood of her ship. But her previous vessel would have fit into one of Flora's larger hangars. This new one was impossible to judge in the same way. She knew Yarel was handling the security aboard and that he was under orders from Corden to keep peace.

A part of her was bothered that her crewmember was taking orders from Corden, but at the same time, it sort of made sense. He was a very authoritative figure, for one. And if he thought it was wise, Lana was prepared to agree with him. Yarel was a Palian after all; trusting them to do what needed to be done was simple as breathing even for Brions.

She wasn't entirely sure where she was going. Corden had given her directions and told her that it would be one secret less between them. Lana supposed that was already worth something. God, she was so tired of being out of the loop, but it was needed now more than ever. Worgen was about to send another ship of the originals after they had assured him that the first batch was doing well.

Soon he'd want to see results, Lana knew. That would be the moment when everything went south, fast. They could no longer hide Corden's plan from him then, whatever it was. And once Worgen realized that betrayal, Lana didn't doubt the mad general would destroy the fleet.

Lana didn't want to think about that. She believed in Corden's martial capabilities, but Worgen was a fearsome opponent. The first duel had shown as much. Even the general himself couldn’t be certain of his victory. She hoped her gerion and Yarel knew what they were doing.

Finally, going by the directions Corden had given her, she arrived in a hidden compartment room, bigger than her quarters. As soon as she entered, two figures emerged from the shadows. Lana backed away when she recognized Worgen's men, thinking that they had somehow found her out after all.

"Don't be afraid," Corden's voice said from her left.

Her gerion appeared out of thin air, at least that's how it looked like to Lana. One moment there was nothing but a shadow by her side and the next, Corden stepped forward with long, purposeful strides.

Both Brion warriors immediately stood on guard, their eyes determined. Lana was not sure what was going on.

"Are you still prepared to do your duty?" Corden asked the men.

To her surprise, they both nodded solemnly, addressing him as general.

"What is happening here?" Lana asked. "These are the originals. Shouldn't they be in the lab?"

Neither of the men reacted to that.

"I gave these two a choice," Corden said. "They could either die as traitors or live and make up for their mistakes. They chose to fight."

Lana was speechless. She trusted Corden, but that was asking a lot. Not the mention it raised many questions in her mind. One of them seemed more pressing than the others, though.

"How can you know they won't turn against you?" she asked quietly.

"We heard that, General," one of the warriors said immediately.

Corden grinned.

"Like that," he told Lana, and then ordered: "Back away until you no longer hear us."

When the warriors had walked sufficiently far away, he said: "Don't worry. I will test them."

"How?" Lana asked, still taken aback. "I thought you didn't like risks."

"I don't," Corden said. "That is why I will not take one with them."

"But... why?" she asked, not understanding. "I get that we don't have any fighters capable of taking on the Brions besides you, but this is not the solution."#p#分页标题#e#

"We do," Corden corrected her. "And that is not the reason. I need a way onto the Abysmal and they will give it to me."

Lana said nothing, deep in thought. Her entire being was fighting against trusting men she'd seen butcher her crew and kill innocent people. She was all for giving people second chances, sure, but there had to be a line.

Only that the Flora was in danger and so was the fleet. Allies were welcome, even if she didn't trust them completely. Was Corden's word enough?

"All right," she said after a moment. "If you trust them, I will too."

Corden nodded, his green eyes dark and dangerous. He beckoned the men to come forward.

"They will get to prove that to us right now," he told Lana before turning to the warriors.

"Cut your throats," he ordered.





CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Corden



Several things happened almost simultaneously.

Both the warriors pulled their knives from the sheaths on their hips. Corden didn't move a muscle to stop them.

“No!" Lana screamed.

No doubt they heard her, but the gazes of both men were locked on Corden. The long-neglected valor squares on their neck were quietly pulsing conflicting emotions. Unease, uncertainty, unwillingness to die. And then, determination.

"No," Lana said again, grabbing his arm, her eyes pleading. "Not like this, Corden! Stop it, stop them!"

To make himself deaf to his gesha's pleading was harder than the general had expected, but he didn't even blink an eye. He needed to see what the men before him were willing to do, how far their loyalty went. Having Lana there was a key element to that. They would either prove themselves to both him and Lana or they would die. The choice was theirs.

The valor squares of both warriors were finally, slowly coming to life. It had been a long time since they'd been used. Clearly, both had forgotten much of their controls, because Corden could practically read their minds. It all flashed before his eyes in the matter of a few heartbeats.

Confusion, doubt, survival instinct kicking in. And finally, seeing his steely gaze and the look in his eyes, the decision. Corden could practically see the memory playing before their minds. The offer of honor, of home. Having their names known. Dying a true Brion. And being a true Brion meant doing what your general told you to, even if it meant death.

With practiced ease, they drew back their hands to cut strong and fast. Corden said nothing, but Lana's terrified scream pierced the air.

The knives went on their way. Corden remained silent until the fraction of a second before it was too late to halt the strike.

"Stop," he ordered, his deep voice booming, echoing back from the walls.

It was a miracle that they did. Brion reflexes were far beyond the other species in the galaxy, but even they couldn't stop time. Corden had waited until the moment when he'd known for a fact that both of them would have done it. That the warriors wanted to regain their honor so badly that they were willing to die for it. Compared to that, killing for it was the easy way out.

He had to use his general's voice. The deep, dark sound of absolute command that the warriors had been bred to obey. It was one of the more curious parts of the Brion military culture, one that other species rarely understood.