“ The captain really needs to let you live.” He was pointing at her, laughter punctuating his words, but his tone seemed designed to carry to the whole camp. “I’d love to accompany you back to your island so I can tell your mom and pop that you were out here fucking Fleet Admiral Saskha Federias Starcrest, the man who personally recommended taking over your islands to the emperor.” Now it was Ottotark’s turn to be smug. Very smug. “But don’t let that stop your plans for the evening. I can see you’re enjoying yourself. Carry on.” There was far too much pleasure in the cruel sneer he launched at them before walking away.
Tikaya felt lightheaded. She had to remind herself to breathe. All she could do was stare at Rias’s shoulder.
“ I’m going to kill that man,” he said.
No denial. No explanation about how Ottotark was wrong. No claim that it was a lie.
“ You were right,” Tikaya choked. “My people have heard of you, and you’d never be welcome on my island.”
She stepped back.
Rias grasped her arm. “Tikaya, please. Let me-”
Shaking her head, she pulled her arm free. She had to get away. She had to think. She had to-she didn’t know.
“ I’m sorry,” Rias called after her.
She stumbled, not sure where to go. Not back to the fire and the marines. If she returned to her tent, Agarik would be waiting to yell at her for leaving. She definitely did not want to go anywhere she would have to look at Ottotark. But neither could she go out where yetis and wolves and grimbals waited to devour silly girls thousands of miles from their homes.
Tikaya finally sat down behind the sleeping tent. She drew up her knees and buried her face in them. She ought not be so stunned. There had been clues all along. She just hadn’t wanted to see them. Had she really thought someone who so readily took command and led the way into battles was an engineer? That love of mathematics made him the best cursed strategist of his generation. Starcrest. How often had his name come up in the documents she decrypted? The youngest fleet admiral in the history of the empire. The man who, as a captain, had been responsible for the sinking of a hundred Nurian ships. And the man who, as an admiral, had guided every battle, every skirmish that allowed the Turgonians to again and again best the preeminent mental scientists in the world, with only mundane technology on their side. It was not until after his death that the tides had turned, ending in a stalemate. Yes, his death. She vividly remembered decoding a note that said a Nurian assassin had killed the admiral. He was supposed to be dead, not exiled. That was why she had never considered her Rias might be the legendary admiral.
Still, who could she blame but herself? She should have known. She certainly should not have fallen in love with him. If he was nobody important, nobody who would matter to her, he would have told her his name. This was exactly why he had kept it from her. He had known she wouldn’t want anything to do with him. How could she? If what Ottotark said was true, and Rias had been the one to suggest taking over her homeland, then every death was indeed on his hands.
Her stomach writhed, and she choked on a sob. Every death, including Parkonis’s.
CHAPTER 15
Tikaya did not know how long she sat in the shadow of the tent, but shivers and a frozen nose finally convinced her she had to find a warmer berth. She put a hand down and started to rise. The crunch of boots stopped her. A tall figure with a rifle strode between the tents and into the darkness before her. She could not make out features but had an inkling. She remained still, cloaked by shadows.
A long moment passed with the figure scanning the dark canyon beyond the camp.
“ Tikaya?” he called.
She closed her eyes. Rias. No, Fleet Admiral Starcrest.
She did not want to- could not-talk to him. Not then.
He called twice more.
“ The bitch is gone.” Ottotark strode into view from another direction. He passed within a couple feet of her and stopped a few paces from Rias.
“ Ottotark,” Rias growled. “I ought to twist your head off your slagging neck and shove it up your ass.”
“ It’s not my fault you didn’t tell your girlfriend your name. Admiral.”
Rias had no answer for that, and even the darkness did not hide the slump to his shoulders. “Where is she?”
“ Off to the tunnels to join her friends and leave us hanged.”
Tikaya clenched her jaw. Damn these men. She did not want to deal with either one, but she could not let Rias believe she had run off. She opened her mouth to say something, but Ottotark spoke first.
“ You should thank me,” he said. “It’s pathetic the way you were hanging all over the bitch. And why? She slagged us in the war. If you want her, tie her down and screw her, but don’t-”
Rias threw down his rifle and charged. Between one eye blink and the next he covered the distance and crashed into Ottotark, taking him down so hard they flew backward.
Tikaya drew her knees in tight, too startled to speak. The attack may have surprised Ottotark, but he recovered and fought back like a cornered badger. Grunts and snarls accompanied the smack of fists striking flesh.
In the darkness, she lost track of who was who as the men thrashed and writhed on the ground. Clumps of snow flew, spattering her cheeks. Something cracked, and one of them-Rias? — yelped in pain.
Tikaya held her breath. Ottotark was younger, bigger, and without any morals as far as she could tell. She tried to tell herself that Rias-Starcrest-was no longer her concern, but her fingers clenched into a fist, and she silently rooted for him.
One man maneuvered on top and straddled the other. He punched down, and a head hammered the snow. The bottom man bucked and twisted, and a moment later the positions reversed.
“ Traitor,” Ottotark snarled.
Both men panted, breaths rasping. They switched positions again, legs tangling as each tried to pin the other.
Metal rang, a knife being pulled.
As furious as he was, Rias would not pull a blade. Tikaya knew he wouldn’t. She almost yelled a warning, but stopped herself. A distraction could prove fatal.
One man found the top again and raised an arm, the knife silhouetted against the night sky. The blade plunged down at the head of the other.
Movement halted. Ragged breaths assaulted the still air, and Tikaya could not tell whether they belonged to one man or two. The top person lurched to his feet and staggered back, a hand to his belly.
Her heart hammered in her ears, and she could not bring herself to call out. If it was Ottotark, who knew what he might do to her? If it was Rias, and he had just made good on his promise to kill the sergeant…
But, no, the supine man groaned. Weakly.
Tikaya could not identify him by the sound. She forced her limbs to unlock and she rolled to her knees. She crept to the fallen man’s side and hesitantly reached toward the face. Her glove bumped something hard.
The knife.
It wasn’t lodged in an eye after all. The attacker had sunk it to the hilt in the snow a hair from the other’s ear. That told her what the shadows did not: of the two, only Rias would have shown mercy.
She jerked her hand back as the man-Ottotark-groaned again. She lunged away from him and looked for Rias. He might be injured and need help. She spun slowly, searching the shadows, but he was gone.
Maybe he had gone to find a cot. She trotted into camp. The number of people awake had dwindled, and the fire burned low. She tore open the flap to the sleeping tent and crashed into someone coming out.
“ Tikaya,” Agarik blurted. “We’ve been looking all over for you.”
She grabbed his parka. “Is Rias with you? Have you seen him?”
“ Not since he went to check the perimeter.” He must have read her distress. “Why? What’s wrong?”