Page 34 of Keeping Freya (Warriors of Arracate #3)

T’Rak

H idden in the bush, I watch the settlement.

Evening turns into night, and night turns into day.

I am tired, but my Calm keeps me alert, and in the depths of the night, I have figured out a plan.

The females do not appear to be hostile.

Everything Sternotheri raises my hackles; my honor is engraved in my bones, and it would not be very honorable if I were to go to battle with relatively harmless females and children.

There are other ways to find out where they keep my mate, so I will be ready to infiltrate their camp when the sun rises.

I move towards the furthest side of the fence, where fog is coming in from the cliff. The settlement is protected at the edge by a wall of stone—almost like it is man-made. This is truly the strangest village I have ever seen.

After quickly scanning my surroundings, I easily hoist myself up on the fenceposts and climb across. It may be a deterrent against predators, but it does not truly keep enemies out.

The village is still very much asleep. Closing my eyes, I focus on the bond between me and Fr’Ya and let it guide me towards her.

I end up at a small hut in the middle of the settlement, in front of some sort of communal square.

Soft murmurs and hushed words are spoken inside, making me halt before I enter.

My mate’s voice is among them, and I take a minute to listen.

What I hear has me baffled beyond words. Is this female Sternotheri caring for my mate? I hear movement, and I hide behind a little shed at the side of the building. As I watch the female walk away, I hear more talking inside. The walls are paper-thin so that I can understand every word.

A Sternotheri female tells my mate her story. It is a story of a side I have never heard, and it ends with sobbing. I can tell it is Fr’Ya who cries, and I hate that I cannot comfort her right now. I should make myself known. These females will not be any trouble to me.

A deep voice booms through the camp before I can move a muscle.

“WHERE IS THE FEMALE?” The High Commander comes rushing from a corner and halts in front of the square.

The tall female, who exited the hut where my Zarra is, steps forward.

“What do you want with the female, Jatar?”

“You will call me High Commander! Show me some respect.”

“Where is your crew?” she sighs and folds her arms in front of her body.

The High Commander walks up close to her and yells in her face. “THAT DOES NOT MATTER. I WILL MAKE A NEW ONE.”

A crowd has formed behind the female, and he pushes her aside. He grabs one of the older children and roughly pulls him with him.

“This one will do. Who else will come with me? We will make the Sternotheri great again. Those Arracate will be sorry they ever destroyed us.”

This is my moment, I realize, and I step forward.

“We are not the ones who destroyed an entire planet, or who tried to end an entire race.”

Gasp sound all around me, and I take another step.

“It is over now, you are all that is left, and that is nobody’s fault but your own. Your own daughter would rather kill her entire species than admit defeat to us. And you and you alone blew up the survivors.” I take another step and reach for my gun.

“You killed my brother…”

I take one final step, we are only feet apart, when a sound at my back steals my focus.

“T’Rak?”

For one moment, I look around at my mate’s scared face, her hands in front of her mouth as if she regrets speaking. The High Commander takes advantage of my distraction and pulls out his gun; only he pushes the barrel against the head of the boy he is still holding.

“NOOOOOOOO!” one of the females wails, and my heart stops as I look into the High Commander's menacing grin.

“You will let me go,” he says.

Grumbling, I have to admit that there is nothing I can do to stop him—not with the boy hostage. He is innocent.

“No…” My mate’s voice trembles behind me, and I hear her walk forward. I try to push her behind me when she nears, but she keeps walking.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers before she walks towards the High Commander .

“I will take his place.”

The grin he is sporting grows bigger.

“The minute you kill me, you know it’s over for you. That boy did nothing to deserve this. I will take his place, and you will let me live. T’Rak will let you walk out of this settlement.”

She looks back and nods at me. ‘I trust you,’ her eyes tell me. She knows I will not let her down. It makes the bond pulse with approval, but my heart howls. How can she willingly let him take her?

It is her honor, I know it is, but it still hurts. “When this is over, we need to have a serious conversation about putting yourself in danger.”

She smiles. “I promise, this is the last time.”

The High Commander shoves the boy aside and pulls her before him as a shield. My fingers itch, but I need to keep my Calm. He starts walking backwards and turns a corner. Thunder begins to rumble over the jungle, and nothing makes a sound, apart from the raindrops falling on the rooftops.

The Sternotheri female turns around to face me. “He is a desperate man who has lost everything. Your mate is selfless and honorable.” She bows her head. “She suits you well.”

“Thank you.” My voice is hoarse.

“Exit our home, go right. There is a tunnel that exits in a stairwell. This is the only way out. On higher ground, exit the cave but do not cross the river. There are arches above the river; he will try to get to those because there is a landing patch with a small flyer. Do not let him get away, please, Warrior. Save us from him.”

Growling, I bend my knee and bow my head. “You have my word, mistress.”

“Go,” she commands, and I start running, without looking back .

Her directions are excellent, and I get to the tunnel in no time. I hear my mate struggling in front of me, the High Commander is yelling, and I grab my gun and aim. He sees me before I can make a shot and pulls Fr’Ya in front of him and opens fire, making me duck back behind a rock formation.

I cannot get a clean shot this way, so I am forced to wait until they are out of sight. Slowly, I follow, and when I see light shining through, I sprint up the stairs, just in time to see them exiting the cave.

The cave opens into a clearing, and the weather has gotten much worse during the time we spend inside the mountain.

Thunder booms and lightning crackles above us, while the rain comes pouring down.

The High Commander pulls Fr’Ya along, but I see movement in the bushes.

Without warning, a big feline jumps from the leaves onto the High Commander’s arm.

Howling with pain, he lets go of my mate and tries to get the animal off him.

“BEGUL!” Fr’Ya screams, but the cat ignores her. Dazed, she is seated on the ground. The High Commander tries to beat the feline with his gun, but he cannot get a good hit because it is holding on to his arm.

For one moment, I catch the High Commander’s eyes. With a roar, he throws the feline off him and starts running.

I know I should follow him, but my mate comes first. Always.

Within seconds, I am crouching down by her side. The High Commander is climbing a rocky path to one of the Arches while he randomly fires at us. The second feline emerges and starts pushing at Fr’Ya to get her to safety. I lift her in my arms and rush to safety behind some rocks.

“Go get him, T’Rak, please,” she whispers.

“But… I cannot leave you! ”

She waves me off. “You can. I have Begul watching over me. You have some killing to do.”

I like this feisty side of her, and gently kiss her forehead. “I sure do.”

Freya

My heart squeezes as I watch the big guy go after his sworn nemesis.

Firing his gun as he runs, he uses his tail to jump and skip over rocks.

The way he moves is mesmerizing. It is not without danger, though, because the High Commander is also firing at will.

I lose sight of them for a moment, but then the High Commander appears on top of the Arch, walking backwards and continuously firing his gun.

They are too high up for me to see exactly what’s happening, but something happens, and the High Commander drops his gun. He starts running again, and I see T’Rak following.

Begul bumps his head against my hand, and I keep him close. “Where is your mate, buddy? Where is my lovely Trjegul?”

Cold terror grips my heart when I see T’Rak emerge high above us. The High Commander is almost at the end, until he suddenly stops and starts walking backwards.

I grin when I see where the other cat went.

Trjegul walks up to the arch, tail straight up in the air.

There is nowhere he can go. T’Rak is behind him, and a feral cat is in front of him.

I see T’Rak lunge for him and cannot hold in a yelp.

There’s a dark pit in my stomach that’s telling me something bad is gonna happen. I just know it.

The High Commander spins, and then they are fighting.

On top of a fucking arch. In the middle of a tropical thunderstorm, when rain comes pouring down.

The thunder keeps getting closer, and next thing I know, the sky darkens.

I can only see their silhouettes now when the lightning is striking.

Two figures fighting, I can barely make out who is who.

Blows are being thrown, kicks are being dealt.

Then, one strike has T’Rak stepping backwards.

Lighting hits, and all I see is T’Rak standing on the edge of the Arch.

No, no, no! This can’t be happening!

The High Commander steps closer, getting ready for the final blow, when suddenly—Trjegul. The stupid cat throws her body at the High Commander, and the last thing I see before the lightning dies down is both of them falling over.