Taelon nodded, his expression earnest. “I assure you their dark and violent reputation is undeserved.”
Simone glanced at Janwar.
He pursed his lips. “Well… it’s somewhat deserved.”
She fought a laugh.
Lisa looked up at her husband. “I doubt they’ll know Janwar’s reputation, honey. I don’t think they know he’s a pirate.”
“Oh.”
Lisa transferred Abby to her hip and waved a hand in dismissal as she faced the camera or whatever recorded them. “Forget he mentioned that. They’re good guys. Great guys. Janwar and Taelon go way back. He’s the one who discovered Ami was on Earth after everyone else stopped looking for her.”
Surprise darted through Simone. All of this had begun when Taelon had gone to Earth, searching for his missing sister, and found the Immortal Guardians after a perilous and torturous introduction to humanity.
“When Srok’a had a vision,” Lisa went on, “Janwar hauled ass and rescued Taelon, Abby, and me.”
Taelon whispered to Abby, “Don’t say ass.”
Abby babbled infant noises.
Simone laughed even as moisture welled in her eyes. The three of them looked good. Happy, healthy, and gloriously safe.
Lisa continued, “Ari’k and the rest of the royal guard—Sodu, Yihrus, and Kuxa—are here, too. Janwar brought all of us to Lasara. Now he’s going to turn around and rescue as many of you as he can find.”
A long, jagged breath escaped Simone as a tear spilled down one cheek.
Lisa’s expression softened. “I hope every one of you will see this because it’ll mean you’re safe.” Her brown eyes glistened with tears of her own. “I love you all like sisters and miss you so much.”
Taelon pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
Sensing her mother’s sadness, Abby glanced up and raised a tiny hand to pat Lisa’s cheek.
Lisa took her daughter’s cute little fist and pressed a kiss to it. “We’ll see you when you reach Lasara.”
“You may contact us through Janwar’s communication system en route,” Taelon said.
“Please do,” Lisa added.
The image froze.
When more tears raced down her cheeks, Simone swiped at them impatiently and glanced at Janwar.
Kindness and understanding softened his handsome features. “She and the baby are well. And they’re safe on Lasara. No one can harm them there.”
“I feared they had all perished,” she confessed.
“I know,” he said softly. “But two other Earthlings have been found since Lisa recorded this message, and we hope to find more. The entire Aldebarian Alliance is searching for you.”
“Who else was found?” Simone asked quickly.
“Eliana and Ava.”
“Are they okay?”
His features creased with a slight wince. “Well, Eliana was in rough shape when Dagon found her, but—”
“Dagon?”
“Commander Dagon of the Ranasura, a Segonian warship.”
Segonians were strong allies of the Lasarans. “You said she was in rough shape?” Eliana was a fellow Immortal Guardian. It would take a great deal of damage to put her in rough shape.
“Yes. But she’s fine.”
Krigara snorted. “She’s more than fine.”
Janwar laughed and—at Simone’s questioning look—said, “Apparently, she’s been kicking a lot of ass, as Lisa would say.”
“Gathendien ass?” Simone asked hopefully.
“Yes. She and the Segonians fought side-by-side to rescue your friend Ava and two Purveli males the Gathendiens had captured.”
Again Simone gasped. “The Gathendiens captured Ava? Is she safe? Is she okay?”
“She is now.”
Now? Fury flashed through her. “Did the Gathendiens hurt her?” If so, she would hunt them down and—
“Yyyyeah,” Janwar said, staring at her with something akin to fascination. “But she kicked quite a bit of Gathendien ass before Eliana found her.”
That threw her a bit. “Ava did?”
“Yes.”
Simone couldn’t imagine it. Sure, Ava had been sparring with Eliana since they’d embarked upon their space journey. All the Immortal Guardian women had taken it upon themselves to train the gifted ones they guarded. But Ava was so sweet and shy and had led such a sheltered life. Simone found it hard to picture her mortal friend holding her own against hulking Gathendien warriors twice or thrice her weight.
Then she frowned. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
The query didn’t lessen the intensity of Janwar’s regard. “Your eyes are glowing.”
Damn it. They’d probably been glowing this whole time and had gotten even brighter while she’d watched the video. It was an involuntary response she was helpless to control. Intense emotion and pain always made immortals’ eyes glow.
She stiffened, standing as tall as her wounds would allow, but still had to look up to meet his reddish-brown gaze. “And you look like Jack Sparrow,” she announced imperiously. “Do you see me staring?”
His lips twitched. “A little bit, yes.”
Simone couldn’t help it. She laughed.
CHAPTER THREE
Concern rose when Simone’s laughter halted abruptly, and she winced again.
A faint tap, tap, tapping noise drew Janwar’s attention to the sword she still held. Blood dripped from the sharp tip and formed a small pool on the deck.
He frowned. Was that her blood or Gathenien blood? Both Gathendiens and Earthlings bled red, so he couldn’t tell.
He forced his attention back to her face. “We need to head to the Gathendien ship and interrogate the few grunarks left alive.”
“Agreed.”
He considered it a good sign that she didn’t protest his insistence on working together this time. Lisa’s message must have convinced her she could trust them.
“Why don’t we take a quick trip to Med Bay first,” he suggested. “You’ve multiple wounds, and I can tell you’re in pain.” As soon as the words left his lips, he questioned the wisdom of them. As a skillful and daunting warrior, she might not appreciate him pointing that out.
But she didn’t scowl or otherwise indicate he had offended her. Instead, she sheathed her second sword and glanced beyond him at Elchan. “You don’t by any chance happen to have a supply of Segonian blood on hand, do you?”
“We do.” Janwar motioned for her to accompany him and began walking toward the docking bay exit. “Adaos, the chief medic aboard the Ranasura, assured us that Segonian blood is safe for transfusing Earthlings with. But I don’t know if the rest of our blood is compatible, so Elchan here has donated frequently to ensure we’d have a healthy supply on hand.”
She glanced over her shoulder at Elchan. “That was thoughtful of you. Thank you.”
Elchan nodded as he and the others fell into step behind them.
Janwar kept his pace slow, aware that his legs were longer than hers. Though she was taller than Lisa, the top of her head barely reached his shoulder. He also pretended not to notice that she limped rather heavily. The fact that she managed to keep her posture straight, her shoulders back, and her chin up despite the plethora of bloody wounds he cataloged bespoke her pride and determination to show no weakness.