Page 51

“I placed a member of your crew in danger. You are my prisoner. You are my responsibility – and therefore, so is the life and protection of those who serve you. You have my apologies, Captain Tasha – and hopefully you will see that such behavior is not tolerated on board The Instigator.”

Tasha remains silent – awed by what she’d just witnessed.

I step forward again.

“Now, ask me for a reasonable recompense, and I shall grant it – as penance for my mistake.”

Tasha steps forward. Her eyes are challenging. “I accept your compensation – and I ask for free run of your ship – for me, and for my crew.”

All eyes are on me – those of Tasha, Sawoot, and my own crew.

I’m left juggling the responsibilities of being a leader. I must be true to my word – not too lenient, but not too harsh.

Prisoners.

I have to remember that Tasha, Sawoot, and the other humans are still my prisoners – but my grounds for holding them is growing shakier by the moment.

My crew already knows I have no plans to turn Tasha or her crew in, and during my career I’ve even taken on the same less-than-legal assignments as the one they’ve committed.

Right now, we’reallin possession of stolen property. I have no legal basis for holding Tasha and her crew aboard my ship – not while I keep those twenty-six Orbs in my hold, and have no intention to return them any time soon.

And yet, Imusthold her. I cantastehow right she feels. There’s a real chance that Tasha is my Fated Mate – and until I claim her as my own, I’ll never know for sure. I’ll be left wondering if she’s the one – the destined woman my battle-brothers and I have been seeking our entire lives.

I take a deep breath, and my mind races. Eventually, I reach a decision.

“Captain Tasha – I hear your request, and I can offer you this: Icannotallow the men who tried to kill my crew to be free, but the remaining three of you will have free rein of the ship – underclosesupervision. That’s you, your first officer, and the technician; who I’m told didnotwillingly participate in the assault on my crewman.”

Tasha listens to this raptly.

“You will have free rein – but be accompanied at all times by the triad of Garrick. They’re the warriors who saved Sawoot from those would-be rapists.”

Tasha has fire in her eyes, and for a second I think she’s going to test me. If she oversteps her boundaries one more time, I’ll have to take her down a notch; and that will not be enjoyable for her, or aid me in determining whether or not Tasha is our Fated Mate. However, this is stillmyship, and after what has just happened, it needs to be clear that everybody on The Instigator is required to followmyrules.

Perhaps understanding this, Tasha thinks better of her defiance, and nods.

“Thank you.”

My eyes narrow. I know how hard it must have been for her to give me that courtesy when she clearly resents me so much for putting her friend in danger. However, Tasha is smart enough to know the precarious situation I’m in. In fact, she might be wondering why I’m willing to give her anything, considering my crew is growing increasingly restless with my recent decisions.

Truth is?

The only reason I’m keeping this liability on my ship is because my instincts are screaming that she’s the one – and if Tasha is our Fated Mate, then nothing else matters. I’ll happily go Rogue, be placed on the top of the Kill List, and even face down the Aurelian Empire itself if I have a chance to be with my Fated Mate.

And, if that happens – at least I won’t have to worry about pesky laws anymore. I can spend my time hunting down and killing Toad criminals as I build my family around me. Fighting, fucking, and living life unbridled by all laws.

All laws – but not honor. That was the difference between my thinking and that of Kit and his triad.

Laws are rules written on a piece of paper. Honor is a code of right and wrong. Sometimes, they interject. Often times, they don’t. While abandoning the code of Aurelian law by going Rogue might mean I get to ignore the rules of engagement, or trading standards, or any other bureaucratic detail…

…it won’t make it right to commit rape, or indulge in slavery, or break any of the rules defined not by the politicians of the Empire, but by the Gods themselves.

Right and wrong. The only laws that are immutable.

I turn and study the blood-soaked floor beneath me.

“Send Kit and his triad out with full honors,” I say to the triad who’d been holding Kit and his men down.

I’ll give Kit that much. I owe him that much.