Warrian was furious with himself. For both telling her of the council’s desire for an heir, as well as his lack of control. He never should have bedded her, because now it was going to be even harder for him to separate his duty from his feelings.
She was going to make him use force against her, which was even more despicable to him now than it would have been before he’d felt the liquid heat of her body and heard her breathless cries of release. She should have remained a duty—a mission—but instead she was now a flesh and blood woman.
One who was fuming with rage.
“You’ll what?” she asked, her silky, quiet voice belying the anger quaking through her.
He stood, stalking across the frigid barn to put some space between them. “You heard me. I will force you to do what is right if you leave me no other choice.”
She began jerking clothes onto her body. “I’m out of here. You and your beloved council can go fuck yourselves.”
Warrian flinched at the image that shoved into his mind. “You’re not leaving without me. It’s too dangerous.”
Her breasts disappeared beneath her shirt as she yanked it on. “Maybe. But at least it’s only dangerous to me.”
He found his pants and shook the dust free. “I don’t see how that is true.”
“Me,” she said, as she tugged her tiny pink pants on over her hips. “Not pregnant me. No heir, no child—no one to suffer but me. And it’s going to stay that way.”
“What about the countless children on Loriah? They will suffer. The Raide will do to them what that one did to you. They will torture and enslave them. They will be used as leverage to ensure the cooperation of their families—families that will be torn apart. Will you truly be so callous as to allow that to happen?”
She clamped her lips shut as she finished dressing.
Her mother’s blade sat next to the keys, on top of the pile of supplies. Warrian retrieved both, holding them hostage.
Isa glared at him as she wrapped a sleeping bag around herself to stay warm. “If you think that’s going to stop me, you’re wrong. I’ll go out on foot if I have to.”
“You will freeze until you die.”
“Maybe. But at least it will be on my own terms. Not yours. Not some council’s.”
Warrian’s phone buzzed, pulling his gaze from Isa’s furious scowl. Talan’s face showed on the screen, his inked scalp drawn down in a frown.
“Yes,” Warrian answered.
“I have your warrior,” said a voice. He spoke English, but his accent was unmistakably Raide. “I want the woman.”
“You can’t have her.”
“I will kill the Imonite,” warned the Raide.
Warrian’s gut lurched with a sickening combination of fear and rage, but he let none of it infect his voice. “The woman is mine.”
Isa’s eyes went wide, and she froze where she stood. “What’s going on, Warrian?”
“I will find her,” said the Raide. “You can’t keep her from me. All you can do now is save your friend. Think carefully before you choose.”
Warrian’s soul broke as he realized what he had to do. Talan was a good man. He’d been on Earth longer than any other warrior, sacrificing so other men would not have to leave their families. He’d fought and bled for Loriah, giving more than was expected.
And now Warrian had to sentence him to death.
Something deep inside his chest went hard and cold, freezing as it died. “Kill Talan if you like. The woman is mine.”
Warrian hung up, watching as Talan’s image disappeared from the small screen.
The burden of his decision weighed on him, making his bones ache. “Get in the truck,” he ordered the empress. “We can’t stay here.”
“What the hell is going on? Who’s going to kill Talan? And why the hell aren’t we going to stop it?”
He grabbed her arm through the sleeping bag and started marching her toward the door. “There’s nothing the hell we can do. I will not trade your life for his.”
“Don’t you think I should have some say in this decision?” She dragged her feet, kicking up plumes of dust. He ignored her struggles and kept her moving.
“None. It is done. Talan is dead.”
She jerked her arm out of his grip, wincing in pain as she did. Before he could figure out her intent, she grabbed his phone from his belt and sprinted for the truck.
His second of shock was enough to allow her to slip away. By the time he caught up with her, she’d slammed the truck shut and locked the doors.
He held up the keys. “This tantrum is futile. You can’t leave without me.”
She ignored him as she operated the phone. Every time he hit the button to open the locks, she pressed the one to relock the doors.
“What are you doing?” he demanded, his breath coming out to fog the window.
She didn’t answer him. Instead, she spoke into the phone. “This is Isa. Don’t kill Talan. I’ll do it. Just tell me where to meet you.”
“No!” Warrian bellowed.
Isa nodded. “I’ll find it. I’ll be there as soon as I can, and don’t you dare hurt him. If you so much as look at Talan funny, then the deal’s off.”
Warrian had no idea what the Raide said to her, but her face suddenly went pale, and her breathing became fast and shallow, fogging against the cold glass.
He was finally fast enough to get the door open. He pulled the phone from her slack grip and disconnected the call. “What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded. “You will not trade your life for Talan’s.”
“My life. My decision,” she said, but there was no heat in her tone. It was bleak and empty of all hope.
“What did he say to you? What did the Raide tell you?”
She swallowed hard. “That he’d already started removing pieces of Talan, and if I wanted there to be anything left to save, I should hurry.”