She noted a broken electronic device by the fireplace, and squelched the urge to pick it up. She was keen to see some Damari technology.
“Come.” He walked her into an adjoining room.
He was clearly a man used to having his orders obeyed. She rolled her eyes at his broad back. She’d worked her way up through some male-dominated research labs in her time. She never let any man order her around.
As she watched, he pulled a giant, ornate axe off his back and set it on a table. There were more bookshelves.
“You like to read,” she said.
“Yes.”
She saw the strange, almost rune-like alien text on the covers and felt a punch of disappointment that she couldn’t read them.
A thought occurred. “Hey, why can we understand each other? You don’t speak English, right?”
“My healers implanted a translation device at the back of your neck.”
Unconsciously, she reached up and touched her skin. She didn’t feel any scars.
The library flowed into an office. There were more books, and she picked up one. Its texture was smooth, like plastic, and everything was written in that strange, alien language.
There was a huge desk—a slab of red-brown timber. A Brodin-sized desk.
“Sit.”
“Do you ever use more than one word when you issue orders?” She dropped into a chair.
He eyed her with a faint smile. “Occasionally.”
“And do you sometimes use the words ‘please’ and ‘thank you’?”
His smile deepened. “It’s been known to happen.”
“Do I amuse you?” She felt annoyed now. She’d had plenty of pompous male scientists shoot smug, superior smiles her way.
“I’m just pleased to see you flexing your claws after being unconscious for a week.”
“Oh, well.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’m a bit off my game. A starship crash and turning into an alien shapeshifter are enough to throw anyone off kilter.”
His smile dissolved. “You’ve been through a lot.”
She sighed. “Yes.” And now she was being rude. “Thank you. For looking after me.”
He leaned on the desk, his big body far too close to her. “I promised Mal and my brother Rhain.” He reached over and touched something on the desk.
A projection speared into the air, the blue light mesmerizing.
Poppy gasped and leaned forward. “Is there a projection generator built into the desk? It must be so small and streamlined.”
Brodin looked amused. “Would you like to talk to Mal? Or pick my technology apart?”
Technically, she wanted to do both, but her eyes popped wide. “You can make a planet-to-planet call from here?”
“Yes.”
“I need to see the tech. How do you increase the reach?”
“All our planets have relays in orbit.”
“All?”
“I have two brothers. Each is the ruler of a planet in the Sarkany System.”
“How many planets in the system?”
“There are five. From our sun, there’s Andret, which is nothing more than a floating rock. Zhalto is Rhain’s planet, where you crash landed.”
“Where Mal is.”
He nodded. “Then there’s my planet, Damar. Then Taln, where our other brother, Graylan, rules. The final planet is Sarkan.”
“Okay. How far is this system from Earth?”
Something flickered in his blue eyes. “Talk with Mal.”
Poppy felt a shiver down her spine. He was avoiding the question.
He reached out and swiped through the projection.
“Brodin—”
“Talk with Mal.” His tone held a ring of command.
She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not a child, and I’m not one of your subordinates, so you can stow the kingly orders.”
He growled.
She narrowed her eyes. “Is that supposed to scare me?”
“No, just intimidate you a little.” He cocked his head. “You don’t scare easily.”
Poppy shrugged. “I’m only scared of things I don’t know or understand. You appear to love your brothers, and you’ve helped me survive. I don’t think you’ll hurt me.”
He leaned closer. “There are a lot of people who tremble at the sight of me.”
That low, dangerous tone shivered through her. She lifted her chin. “I won’t be trembling.”
His lips quirked. “We’ll see.”
The projection flickered and Mallory West’s face appeared.
She had strong features, with her brown hair pulled back in a no-nonsense braid. A small scar bisected her left eyebrow, and a beauty spot marked her right cheekbone.
When the brash pilot had joined Nynatech, the technology company where Poppy worked, she’d never expected they’d become good friends. Bold Mal and boring, workaholic Poppy. They were a mismatched pair, for sure, but their friendship worked.
“Oh, God, Mal.” Poppy held out her hand, like she could reach out and touch her friend.
“Poppy!” Mal beamed, then bit her lip, her eyes full of emotion.
Mal was usually so tough.
Warmth filled Poppy’s chest. She smiled and realized there were tears on her cheeks.
“It is so good to see you up and awake, Pop,” Mal said.
“Mal, what the hell happened?”
“It’s a really long story. You sitting down?”
Poppy nodded.
“We crashed on Zhalto. I have no idea what went wrong with the test, but the ship broke up as we entered the planet’s atmosphere.”
Poppy’s stomach clenched into a tight knot. “Oh my God, it’s my fault. I must have miscalculated something with the wormhole drive.” Her brain whirled, trying to think back to the test. “If I—”
“Poppy, stop it,” Mal said. “This isn’t your fault. You’re the smartest person I know. We were testing brand-new technology. I would have been surprised if it all worked perfectly the first time.”
Swallowing, Poppy nodded. “What happened next?”
“I came to and there was no sign of you.”
That must’ve been terrifying for Mal. “I don’t remember anything.”
“The Damar infection can cause short-term memory loss,” Brodin said.
“Is that Brodin?” Mal asked.
The big man sat down beside Poppy. “Hello, Mal.”
Poppy felt the heat radiating off him. His presence was like a visceral thing. Her fingers twisted together in her lap. She remembered stroking those rough cheeks, and she suddenly had the urge to do it again.
Which was crazy. She didn’t stroke anyone. She mostly found men to be idiots, and was too busy with her work to date. When she did date, it was with other scientists, not muscular, attractive hunks who took her breath away.
“What happened next?” Poppy prompted, forcing her brain away from those thoughts.
Mal launched into her wild adventure. Meeting Rhain, fighting an evil warlord, trying to find Poppy.
“So, Brodin and Rhain’s biological father, Zavir, is attacking their planets. And this warlord Krastin took me prisoner?” Poppy hated having no memories.
“Yes. His Zhylaw scientists experiment on people and animals.” Disdain coated Mal’s voice. “He infected you with the Damari virus. When we found you, you were really sick. Rhain contacted Brodin to help you.”