attitude?” Nikki asked as Jaron moved down the aisle.
He paused. “Yes to both. Did Zerna have something to do with your capture?”
Three weeks as a prisoner had made Nikki distrusting. These males had just endangered themselves to rescue her, but that didn’t keep trepidation from compressing her chest. “I don’t know for sure.” The evasion narrowed his expressive green eyes, so she added, “She was always with the Cretzian who seemed to be in charge, so it’s likely.”
“Her partner’s name is Hastos,” Jaron told her. “I can almost guarantee that’s who you saw.”
“What is a kwaris?” She wasn’t sure he’d answer but figured it didn’t hurt to ask.
“Ask Velmar,” Jaron suggested. “He knows more about them than I do, and I need to check in with Ayran.” He stepped closer to the divider and a nearly invisible door slid open. As soon as he passed through, the door slid close again.
Velmar moved to the front of the ship and leaned against the divider. So it took more than proximity to trigger the door. His sharp teal gaze locked on Nikki’s face. “Why can I hear your thoughts? And how are you hearing mine?”
“Will you explain about the kwaris first?” she shot back, refusing to be intimidated by his scowl.
“No.”
Well, they were out of danger and he was still being a jerk. It must be his personality. Just to be annoying, Nikki asked, “Why do all of you guys know English?”
“The Sarronti have been interacting with humans for several millennia.” He said it casually, almost indifferently.
“The Sarronti? Is that your nationality or species?” He just glared, which fueled her commitment to pissing him off. “There are legends on Earth that describe beings like you with supernatural abilities.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed as if he were dealing with an argumentative child. “We are the species that inspired the legends. For all intents and purposes, we are elves. Now stop avoiding the issue. The only mind-voice I can hear with this collar on is yours. Why?”
If he’d been civil to her, she would have told him what little she knew, but browbeating always made her rebellious. “I don’t know,” she said firmly. It wasn’t a lie. She didn’t know exactly what had caused her abilities. She just knew they didn’t exist before her captivity. “I’m not doing it intentionally.”
His features hardened even more, but before he could challenge her claim, Jaron activated the door in the divider. Velmar automatically stepped aside.
Jaron returned and the door slid closed behind him. “Ayran has found a relatively safe place to hide until we figure out how to get back. We both think it’s secure enough for you to—”
“What do you mean ‘figure out how to get back?’” Haley scooted to the edge of her seat, eyes wide and filled with panic. “Are we stuck here?”
“Only until we free Velmar from the suppression collar,” Jaron’s expression was calm, voice soothing.
“Why?” Haley persisted. “This is a spaceship. Can’t we just fly back to Earth?”
“We are in a different dimension from the ones containing our planets,” Velmar told her with far more patience than he’d shown Nikki. Could they sense how close Haley was to losing it? They were all emotionally exhausted, but Selina’s crisis expended what little was left of Haley’s composure. She’d been on the verge of hysterics ever since her sister was returned to their cell.
“How did you get here in the first place?” Selina wanted to know.
“My cousin Salvo is a sentinel,” Jaron said. “That means he can create portals. He has other obligations, and we needed to act fast, so we were counting on Velmar to create the portal on this end.”
Nikki’s gaze drifted back to Velmar. He had clearly been a captive for weeks, perhaps months. Why was the mission suddenly so time-sensitive?
Velmar crossed his arms over his chest and informed, “Our resident skeptic wants to know why the mission was suddenly so crucial when I’ve clearly been a captive for...way too fucking long.” He whispered the last phrase under his breath.
“We’re in the middle of a civil war,” Jaron explained, starting to sound as impatient as Velmar. “We’re part of the rebellion. Zerna is part of the ruthless upper class that has misused their power for generations. During a failed assassination attempt, we managed to capture four Cretzian mercenaries. Hastos escaped. We knew if we didn’t move quickly, they would kill Velmar before we could act on the information we received during the interrogations. Any other questions, Ms.