Pursued: A Sci-Fi Alien Warrior Romance (Raider Warlords of the Vandar Book 4) by Tana Stone (ebook reader txt) 📗

His dark pupils flared, as his tail swished methodically from side to side. “So, do it.” He took another sidestep and plucked a sparring axe off the wall. “You’ll need it if you’re going to fight me.”

My pulse quickened. “Fight you?”

“That’s what you want, isn’t it? Someone to practice with?”

I fought the urge to let out a relieved sigh. At least he didn’t suspect I was there to assassinate him. That was something. “I guess.”

He nodded his head at the axe on the floor. “Then pick it up, and let’s begin.”

I slowly bent to retrieve the weapon, keeping my eyes fixed on him the entire time. “I should tell you that I’ve never used a Vandar axe before.”

“Not many have.” He tossed the handle of his sparring weapon from one hand to the other as if it weighed nothing. “But I suspect you will be better than you think.”

As we circled each other along the rim of the ring, I eyed him. He clearly suspected me of something, but what did he know? What could he know? My name and true identity were a secret, even among all but the top leaders in the empire. To all but the very elite, I was Mantis. It would be impossible for a Vandar—even a Raas—to know anything about me.

“I am not a seasoned warrior like you, Raas.” I feigned almost dropping my axe.

He grinned, but it looked more like an animal baring its teeth. “No?” He lunged for me and swept his axe wide and low, so that I had to jump to avoid my ankles being hit. “Your reflexes are as good as any raider.”

I cursed myself for my instinctive response, but outwardly I giggled. “A holdover from childhood, I’m sure. Don’t all children jump rope?”

He made another sudden move toward me, but I forced myself not to dodge the blow. Instead, I braced myself and prepared to let out a girlish yelp. At the last moment, he changed the trajectory of his axe, twisting it so the flat metal smacked my ass.

“Ow!” My scream was genuine.

His grin widened, and his gaze lingered on my stinging ass. “Maybe you do not have the instincts I thought you did.”

I bit back the snappy response that was on the tip of my tongue and forced myself to return his smile. “I told the Raas I was not skilled in battle.”

He shrugged, changing direction and coming at me from the other side. Spinning his blade rapidly, he tossed it to his other hand and darted it at me once again. Even though I could have easily defended myself with a parry of my own axe, I pretended to be flustered by his move. The slap of the flat blade to my other ass cheek made me bite my lip so hard I tasted blood.

“Having fun?” I spat out.

He bent low and shifted his weight over one knee then back to the other. “More than I had expected, although I’m disappointed you are not fighting back. I thought you’d dropped the female-in-distress act back in my quarters.”

I clenched the handle of the axe. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s no act. I am a female, and I was in distress when you found me. I’m grateful to the Vandar for assisting me, but if you think I’m going to let you continue to strike me—“

“Then fight back,” he growled, springing at me.

I leapt out of the way, spinning and bringing my own axe down across his back. The slap of metal against flesh made my heart beat faster, as I swiveled to face him again. Before I could draw a breath, the Raas was lunging again, this time, without his axe.

I jabbed at him but missed, and he swatted the battle axe from my grip. I dove for it, but he caught me, looping a powerful arm around my waist and flipping me over his shoulder. I tried to kick out and scissor my legs around his neck, but his hold on me was too tight. My attempts to rear up and flip him over also failed. I heaved in a series of ragged breaths as I hung upside down and the blood rushed to my head.

“You win,” I said, my voice as jovial as I could make it, considering I wanted to murder him.

“I might have won the battle, human.” He did not release me, but strode out of the battle ring and down the stairs. “But I have a feeling you have brought a war with you, and I intend to discover the truth of it.”

The raider with the scar running down one cheek stepped out of the shadows.

“Bind her hands and feet,” the Raas ordered.

I struggled in vain, my protests a series of inaudible splutters. Bind me? Was he serious?

The scarred raider’s eyes were alight with an anticipation that sent ice down my spine. “Shall I hang her in my oblek, Raas?”

“Not your oblek,” Raas Bron said. “I want her in my quarters.”

“You can’t—“ I finally managed to say.

The Vandar’s grip on my legs tightened. “Oh, I think I can. As I have told you before, female, I am a Raas of the Vandar. It is my duty to protect my horde by any means.” His voice dropped to a deadly rumble. “Which means I can do anything to you that I wish to get the truth.”

If I hadn’t been hanging down his broad back, my knees might have buckled.

Chapter Fourteen

Bron

I barely noticed the startled looks as I thundered through the ship, passing gaping raiders as the female bounced on my back and pounded on my bare flesh with her small fists. I didn’t slow when I reached my quarters, storming through the door and swinging her down so quickly that she nearly fell trying to regain her balance with her hands and feet bound.

“What the klek was that about?” She blew a strand of sweaty hair out of her eyes as she glared at me.

I tilted