Pirate's Gold - S.J. Sanders Page 0,82

said with a small laugh.

Everyone fell silent and watched as she grinned smugly and began unsealing the storage pouches on her armor. Each time her fingers slipped inside a pouch, she pulled at the ornate jewelry, gold chains, pouches of round gold coins that apparently were used before the credits system, and so many gems. Azan’s gasp was the only sound that filled the room as everyone stared at the growing pile. It was a good thing that the storage pouches held a lot without it being noticeable, because even bursting full, none of the pirates had noticed any prominent bulges in her armor from her collection.

Finally, she sat the last gem on the table, a blood red stone nearly the size of her hand, and sighed happily. “I do think that this should take care of it.”

“You found all of this without going inside the treasury?” Azan asked in disbelief.

“Yes, seems like the prince enjoyed surrounding himself with wealth in a very real sense,” Terri replied.

Azan whistled between her teeth as Veral handed Terri a bag. She methodically began to swipe the treasure from the table into the sack. She would find a better place to store it once they returned to their ship. She left aside an ornate necklace set with glittering gems for Azan. It only seemed fair, though it pricked at her to part with something that would supply them for an even longer period. She shook it off and scraped the rest inside.

Turning to the pirate, she pushed the necklace toward her over the table. “It’s only fair that you take something after everything down there. You kept me safe and helped us escape the planet.”

Azan fingered it, a small smile on her lips. “I should say that I could not take this, but I have been a pirate too long and am greedy by nature. So I accept.” She swept the necklace easily over her neck, her smile widening as she sat back in her chair. “A satisfactory exchange.”

“Do I get nothing?” Kaylar asked crossly.

Terri scowled. “You got coordinates and still tried to double-cross us. I think walking out alive is reward enough.”

The male shook his head, an approving look lighting his eyes as he glanced toward Veral. “I see why you have kept her as your mate. She is stronger than she appears.”

Veral’s eyes met hers, his lips curving with affection. “She is everything.”

Epilogue

It took them little effort to capture the pirates who’d been left on their ship. Since he had taken good care of Krono despite his attempts to chew and claw his way through the door, Veral decided to be merciful, with little urging from Terri. The Blaithari, a younger male among the crew, had no problem swearing loyalty to Azan. Kaylar had long since left with both pirates, leaving Veral and Terri to make preparations to leave the planet far behind them.

She wasn’t sorry to see the planet shrinking in the distance as their ship left the stratosphere. She couldn’t help the edge of worry as they drew up parallel to the pirate ship, but as promised, the pirate ship remained inactive, Kaylar’s ship still attached to it. She wondered how much success Azan was having with the crew.

She smiled with a sudden bubble of mirth. Azan could be quite persuasive when she wanted to be.

The viewscreen flickered with the coordinates as Veral input them through his link. As soon as they locked, the ship turned away from the planet, the engines firing into primary drive.

Terri returned her attention to placing the last of the jewels in the storage case that Veral brought out for her. Krono’s heavy head rested on her feet as she worked.

She frowned as she scraped the bottom of the empty bag. Something was missing. What happened to the blood red jewel? She began to pat her storage compartments in her armor. Maybe she had placed it in there by mistake.

A chime sounded through the ship, startling her from her task.

“Incoming transmission from the pirate ship… Lady’s Glory,” he added, a quizzical note to his voice.

Terri chuckled. “See? I told you that ships have names. It sure didn’t take Azan long to place her own brand on it.”

“So it seems,” Veral replied as he put the message through.

Azan’s grinning face filled the viewscreen a moment later.

“I see that you are well on your way. You will be pleased to note that I have successfully taken captainship of Lady’s Glory and your Kaylar is disembarking. I wanted