As she did, she swept a glance around the room. Unlike some areas of the base, it betrayed its age. The paneling was of a type last popular in the empire over a century and a half ago and different to the style in the hallway, lending weight to her suspicion that this base had been more than a cabal secret lair in its life. Whatever else it had been, it was in a sorry state now.
The lights were not functioning correctly down one side of the room and the display screen on the wall behind the desk should have shown an image of the stars outside or maybe the command deck was blank. More than blank, the “deadness” of the panel told her it was inoperative—something that this body shouldn’t have been able to pick up with the naked eye. Which was… odd.
Before she could think on that anymore, Risyn blinked and “came back.” Opening his eyes, he smiled at her as the input cable disengaged and clattered to the floor.
“Lady Kelly, please… do come in.”
He levered himself up from the chair and rounded the desk to greet her.
He didn’t touch her, merely held his arm out to usher her further into the room. She still skittered away slightly, eyeing him warily as her heart hammered against the inside of her ribs like a bird desperate to be free. He wasn’t in his suit but that didn’t mean he was harmless. Anything but. He might not be as heavily muscled as his second in command or Jay, but he was still a Lathar male trained for combat practically from the cradle.
She’d heard rumors of how the B’Kaar trained their children and it was even more barbaric than the Izaean. At least the Berserkers had a relatively normal upbringing before the blood rage was discovered.
Added to that was the fact he was a lot larger than she was. Had she still been in her metal body, it wouldn’t have been a problem. She’d have been a match for him even if he had been in his kasivar. Now, though… she didn’t stand a chance against him.
“My apologies, Lady Kelly,” he said, catching her movement. He dropped his arm instantly and stepped back so he wasn’t crowding her anymore. “I am still working out the social mores and rituals of dealing with human females. Your group is the first I have met.”
“Apology accepted.”
She waited for him to return to his side of the desk then took the seat in front of it. She had no doubt he was analyzing everything about her: her breathing and heart rate, the set of her body, even down to the micro-expressions on her face. She wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t using the room’s internal sensors to record their conversation for playback and analysis later. It was what she would do.
“Most human females, and we prefer to be called women by the way, do not like to be touched unless by those we are close to or we have given permission.” Channeling Indra, she added a slightly imperious note to her voice, even if her heart was still hammering away with the fear he’d somehow discover what she was. Given her cover story, though, fear was to be expected. Kelly Stephens was a human woman who had been kidnapped and brutalized by Lathar… Without knowing the differences between clans, she would likely lump them into the same group—males to be afraid of.
She lifted her chin, letting her lower lip tremble again. Risyn’s gaze locked onto it and his expression softened a little, his movements nonthreatening.
“As I said before, my lady, you have nothing to fear from us. The B’Kaar revere fem…women,” he corrected with a slight smile. “We revere and cherish women. You will be safe with us.”
She gave a small nod but didn’t reply, merely watching him. Or rather, she let her gaze land on him and then skitter away, looking around the room and toward the door before she looked back. Playing a part, she told herself. She wasn’t terrified of being shut in here with a male who would happily take her apart to see how she worked... while still alive. Absolutely not.
“And I must say, you are by far the most beautiful woman I have ever seen,” he added, his smile broadening. “If you had not already been claimed, I would certainly petition you to consider my claim.”
She stared at him for a moment. The smile transformed his features from almost hawkishly cruel to devastatingly handsome, the warmth in his eyes showing her a glimpse of a different male to the hard-edged B’Kaar leader.
“T-thank you,” she murmured, feeling her skin pale a little. It was a disturbing experience as her circulatory system adjusted according to her emotions. Nausea rose and she rubbed at her stomach in discomfort. “But I’m happily married. I don’t want anyone’s petition or claim.”
“Quite right. You’re probably wondering why I called you here… yes?” Risyn asked, changing subject quickly.
Sitting up suddenly, he leaned his elbows on the desk in front of him, his long, elegant fingers steepled. The ports on the inside of his forearms pulsed with low light, activating the ke’lath under his skin nearby.
She nodded, watching him with wide eyes.
He smiled reassuringly. “We just need to get an idea of what’s been happening here and of your interactions with the S’Vaan. So that we can report back to the emperor.”
“Okay,” she replied softly, not giving an indication she knew he was talking trallshit.
Nyek had already done all that, as was his right as the first senior warrior to arrive, which meant this base was under K’Vass jurisdiction. Keris M’rln knew that, but Kelly Stephens did not. So she had to play dumb and stick to her story.
“I was on the Endeavour—”
“That’s a Terran ship, correct?” Risyn broke in to ask.
She shook her head. “Human but not Terran. Jay is Terran, I’m Dalkarian. We’re from different systems.”
He frowned. “I thought all humans were Terran.”
“Are all Lathar from the same planet?” she countered. “You told me that those S’Vaan men were different to you. Was that wrong?”
“Draanth no, we’re nothing like them!” he replied quickly, ire in his pale eyes. She hid her smile, realizing that for all his apparent invulnerability, the B’Kaar leader did have a few buttons she could push.
“Okay. Same with us. Anyway… we were attacked. They… they…” she stuttered to a stop, closing her eyes and swallowing. “They killed everyone else and took me.”
“It’s okay. You’re safe,” Risyn murmured. “They can’t hurt you anymore.”
She opened her eyes to look at him and nodded, visibly getting herself together. In reality, she was analyzing him as much as he was analyzing her.
“Then what happened?” he asked, voice low and gentle.
“They took me to their ship… They… oh god—” She dropped her gaze to her hands in her lap, fiddling with the edge of the tunic she wore.
“You don’t need to go into detail, my lady. Just… were there other fem—women there?”
She took and deep breath and shook her head. “No. Not until Indra and Gracie arrived. I was so relieved to see them,” she admitted, a catch in her voice. “And I feel bad for that because of what those men were going to do to them…”
“You are not to blame,” he said quickly, his voice hard. “Never think that. The fault lies solely with those draanthing fanatics.”