kneeling warrior winced. “You lie,” Daz gritted out.
“The Uldani promised me they’d tell me where my brother was sold and give me passage off this planet. As long as I supplied them one of your mated females.”
Daz shoved Crius to the ground, and he landed with an oomph in a cloud of dirt. He managed to pull himself back up to kneeling as Daz growled at him. “You would trade a female for your brother’s life?”
Crius turned his head, eyes glowing purple as he sneered,” Not just my brother, but yours too. Rex is alive, Daz. And the Uldani know where he is.”
“You lie!” Daz roared just as the sharp pew of a laser gun cut through the night. Crius’s body jerked, and a hole opened in his chest. His eyes went wide before they dulled to black before he crumpled to the ground. Drak pushed me to the ground and covered me with his body.
Warriors immediately circled Daz, protecting their drexel. Nero raised his modified gun and fired off one round. A cry followed, and then a Kulk body fell to the ground in the distance with a crash of armor.
“Go find if more are hiding,” Daz ordered. A dozen warriors took off into the distance. Sax knelt at Crius’s side, checked for a pulse, and shook his head.
“They must have had orders to kill him if he told us the truth,” Ward said.
Drak finally stood and helped me to my feet. He fussed over me, brushing dirt from my arms as if I gave a fuck that I was dirty. I was alive, and so was he. All the warriors were alive too, even though some were injured.
When the dozen warriors returned, they reported the Kulk had been alone. “I’m impressed one of them could actually hit a target,” Nero said.
Daz hadn’t moved much. He remained tense, staring at Crius’s body. Sax stood next to him, speaking quietly, but Daz shook his head violently and turned away.
Sax didn’t let up. He grasped his brother around his neck and smash their foreheads together. Daz fought it for a moment, before letting his shoulders sag. “Rex,” he said, and the one word was laced with pain.
I’d heard of his brother, the youngest of the three Bakut brothers who died in the Uprising. Frankie said Daz had a lot of guilt for his brother’s death, so I couldn’t imagine how he was feeling. As much as I missed my siblings, I knew they were safe. They had each other, and they were loved. What kind of life had Rex had all these years?
Finally, the two brothers separated. Daz cleared his throat. “Ward take Crius’s body back to the compound. We will bury him. He’s still a Drixonian. Leave the Kulks here for the Uldani to clean up.”
Drak picked me up to carry me back to his bike. “Are you injured?” he asked.
“I can walk,” I protested.
“That wasn’t what I asked.”
“I’m okay,” I said. “Bruised, but I’ll live.”
“You will,” he said and brushed a kiss over my lips. “We go home. Rest in our furs. With our blooms.”
I didn’t miss that he’d called the Night King clavas home.
Sixteen
Drak
Miranda slept beside me so deeply I’d had to check if she was breathing. Val had given her medis for her substantial bruising she’d tried to hide from me. After we’d both taken a turn in the cleanser, she’d fallen asleep as soon as I’d tucked the furs in around her.
The sun was almost halfway across the sky, and still she slept, making small snuffling sounds. I smiled at her and ran my hand over the furs covering her bare shoulder. I wanted to tear them off and ravage her, but my mate needed her sleep.
A gentle knock rapped at the door and I smiled to myself, I was surprised they’d waited this long. Careful not to wake her, I rose from the bed, pulled on a pair of paints, and walked to the door. I swung it open to find Daz and Ward on the other side. I nodded at them.
“Morning,” Daz handed me a mug of steaming brew. It was made with an herb called pula, which the women steeped in water for a flavored drink. I took a sip and gestured for them to step back so I could walk outside.
I fell into step beside them as we walked leisurely through the camp. The morning training session was in full swing with the warriors currently sparring.
“I wanted to check how you and