Page 6 of Pursued by the Dragon Alien (Zarux Dragon Brides #4)

SIX

Razion

Razion wasn’t easily distracted. He didn’t let emotions cloud his decisions. He’d built his reputation on staying sharp, always thinking five moves ahead, never letting anything—especially not a beautiful female—affect his judgment.

Yet here he was, watching Lilas with a little too much focus as she worked beside him in the cargo bay, muttering under her breath as she scanned another salvaged device.

It wasn’t just that she learned fast. It was the way she threw herself into understanding things, the way her fuchsia eyes narrowed in concentration, the way her fingers worked over an object with careful precision like she could dismantle and rebuild anything if she just had enough time. There was something undeniably compelling about that.

Which was a problem.

He needed to stop thinking about her like this. She was crew—temporary crew, at that. This wasn’t some star-crossed pairing, and he certainly wasn’t the kind of male to get caught up chasing things he shouldn’t have.

Still, when Lilas held up another device, a flicker of triumph in her expression, Razion found himself reacting before he could stop it.

“Encrypted datapad,” she said, tapping at the screen. “The symbol means restricted access, right?”

Razion nodded. “That’s right.”

Her lips curled faintly at the corners, and that quiet sense of satisfaction in her expression hit him harder than it should have. Fek. He needed to focus.

He turned his attention back to the work at hand, pushing aside whatever pull she had on him. He had bigger priorities than one stubborn, sharp-tongued Terian female.

Like tracking down who Gribna had been working with.

Like making sure Lilas didn’t end up being an even bigger distraction than she already was.

Because if she stayed on his ship too long, things were going to get complicated. And Razion didn’t do complicated.

Razion exhaled sharply and shook off whatever the hell that was. He stepped back from Lilas, watching as she returned her focus to the salvage, utterly unaware of the effect she had on him. “Keep at it,” he said, his voice gruffer than he intended. “Yig’s the one to ask if you hit something suspicious.”

Lilas looked up, seemingly startled by his harsh tone. “Okay.”

“I have duties to attend to,” he said, forcing a relaxed expression on his face. “Goodbye, Lilas.”

“Bye?” She sounded confused, but Razion forced himself to turn and stride out of the cargo bay before he did something idiotic—like keep talking to her. She had the gravitational force of a black hole to him.

By the time he reached the command deck, the tightness in his chest had settled enough for him to think straight. The room buzzed with quiet efficiency, the main console glowing with feeds from various system scans. Vedd sat in his usual spot, fingers flying over the controls, while Krask stood near the tactical display, arms crossed.

Razion stepped in and Vedd barely glanced up. “Still working on that Axis transmission,” he said. “The encryption’s a mess—whoever encoded it knew what they were doing. I’ve cleaned up some of the video, but the distortion on the voice is a pain in the ass.”

“You’ll crack it,” Razion said. “Tell me the second you get that transmission decrypted. I want to know who we’re dealing with.”

Vedd gave a lazy salute. “You’ll be the first to know.”

Razion nodded. There was too much riding on this—too many missing pieces. But he’d start with this one.

Krask, however, was watching Razion closely, his expression unreadable. “So,” he said. “How’s the Terian settling in?”

Razion knew that tone—Krask still didn’t like her.

“She’s learning fast,” Razion said evenly. “Already picking up salvage work.”

Krask made a low sound in the back of his throat. He didn’t argue, but the tension in his stance spoke for itself.

“You’ve got something to say, Krask?”

“I don’t trust her.”

“Fine.” Razion shrugged. “You don’t have to.”

Krask’s jaw tightened. He crossed his arms and met Razion’s gaze with a steady look. “I did some digging into the Falmic-5 flight logs and found the planet she was taken from.”

Razion leaned against the console, watching Krask carefully. “Go on.”

Krask nodded toward the holo-display and pulled up a projected map of an isolated sector in Axis-controlled space. “Settlement 112-1 is located on a small, isolated planet called Sebia-R5 in the Purrik system. It’s officially marked as an agricultural outpost, but heavily monitored, and after doing some deeper searches, I learned that it’s designated as penal colony 5-11B. Rashark raiders were given clearance to land and they took five Terian females—including Lilas.” He tapped a command, zooming in on recorded trade routes. “They were transported directly to the Falmic-5 auction and sold off.”

Razion exhaled through his nose. That tracked with what Lilas had said and with Gribna’s records. “Where did the others end up?”

“Lilas, 057-L, was won by Gribna, as we know,” he began, his brow low as he looked through the data. “591-A was purchased by a brothel called Erovik.” His brows went up. “Never heard of it.”

“Me either,” Razion said.

“I have,” Vedd said with a wide grin. “Very luxurious, with prices to match. Owned and operated by the Axis. Incredible courtias , though.”

Razion raised his brows. “You’ve been there?”

“Once,” Vedd replied with a sigh. “It was…memorable.”

Krask cleared his throat. “One of the Terians went to the Slarik Arena. One went to the Delink mines, and the last one…her winning bidder and location are undisclosed. Can’t get information on that one.”

Razion pinched the bridge of his nose. The Slarik Arena and Delink mines were death sentences for Terian females if they were anything like Lilas. He’d have to think hard on whether to share this information with her. He doubted it would put her mind at ease regarding the females she was abducted with. Then again, she hadn’t talked about them. “And?”

Krask didn’t answer right away. He studied Razion, then said, “You don’t think it’s convenient?”

Razion frowned. “Clarify.”

Krask’s jaw tightened. “Five Terians—rare enough that there’s not a trace of them in any official account—suddenly show up at the same auction, and one of them ends up here? Right after we start pressing deeper into Axis dealings?”

Razion’s irritation stirred. “You think she’s an Axis agent?”

Krask shrugged, but his gaze was sharp. “I think it’s a possibility.”

Razion let out a short, humorless laugh. “You really believe the Axis planted five undercover agents in a remote prison colony, kept them there long enough for them to forget who they were, then had them abducted just so one of them would end up on my ship?”

Krask didn’t flinch. “How do you know she’s forgotten who she was? She was eager enough to join our crew. Look, if the Axis were experimenting on those females—testing something—how better to cover their tracks than letting raiders do the dirty work?”

Razion wasn’t buying it. He’d seen undercover operatives before—trained, disciplined, subtle. That didn’t describe Lilas in any way. “She’s not an agent,” he said firmly.

Krask narrowed his eyes. “You sound sure.”

“I am.” Razion straightened. “I’ve seen how she reacts—how her mind works. She’s too quick to anger, too skeptical, too raw. She’s not following orders from anyone but herself.” He exhaled, pushing off the console. “I trust my instincts on this, Krask. You should too.”

Krask didn’t argue, but his doubt lingered in the way his arms stayed crossed, the way his jaw remained tight.

Vedd, who had been quietly monitoring the conversation, spoke up. “Look, I’m not saying Krask is right,” he said, fingers still working over his console, “but if you want to be sure, I can run a bioscan on Lilas. If the Axis did something to her—implants, genetic tampering, tracking devices—we’ll know.”

Razion didn’t answer right away. His gut told him Lilas was exactly who she claimed to be—a survivor of an Axis prison she hadn’t even known was a prison. But gut instincts weren’t enough for his closest crewmates, so he’d go where the data took him.

“Fine,” he said. “Run the scan.”

Vedd gave a lazy salute, pushing up from his seat. “I’ll let you know if she’s got any hidden surprises.”

He strolled out of the room, leaving Razion alone with Krask. The first mate didn’t say anything at first, just stood there with his arms crossed, watching Razion like he was waiting for something.

Razion sighed. “Go ahead. Get it out.”

Krask arched a brow. “You’re compromised.”

“Because I don’t think Lilas is some Axis plant?” Razion let out a sharp laugh. “Try harder.”

“We’ve been crewmates for a long time,” he said. “I know you. So it’s concerning that your first instinct was to defend her instead of to consider the risk.” He stepped forward, his gaze unwavering. “It’s not just you being too trusting. It’s you not thinking clearly when it comes to her.”

Razion’s jaw tightened. “I think just fine.”

Krask tilted his head. “You sure? Because from where I’m standing, you’re dazzled. Maybe it’s the eyes…I don’t know. But she’s only been here a cycle and she’s under your skin.”

Something cold settled in Razion’s gut.

He didn’t want to hear this. Didn’t want to acknowledge it. But Krask wasn’t wrong about one thing—Lilas had gotten under his skin faster than she should have. There was something about her, something sharp and alive, that pulled him in despite himself.

And that? That was a problem.

Razion exhaled sharply, forcing himself back into control. “I’m not compromised,” he said. “But I’ll keep my distance. Let her settle in. Put some space between us.”

Krask studied him for a long moment, then gave a slow nod. “Good.”

Razion rolled his shoulders. He would put some space between Lilas and himself. Let her find her footing with the crew, focus on her own life, and hopefully stop being such a distraction.

Because that’s what she was. A distraction.

Razion turned away from Krask and fixed his gaze on the holo-display. Too much was at stake right now to let himself get caught up in anything unnecessary. They were getting closer to the truth about the Axis’ dealings, and Lilas—whatever he might feel about her—was only a small piece of a much larger puzzle.

So he’d back off. Keep his distance.

And prove, to himself and to Krask, that he was still in control.