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The prince’s words instantly silenced it and Veri took a step closer to Asher when the Neprijat turned to stare at him – those black eyes unblinking.
“More than you think there are, princeling.” The warrior laughed and laughed. “You think you have a chance of winning? This is only the beginning. We’ve made sure to divide you from any potential allies.”
Veri knew it was true, but the Neprijat didn’t know about what had happened in Hai. And the Drakesthai weren’t just trying to conquer another system. They were defending what was theirs. It made the stakes a lot higher and the list of things they wouldn’t do a lot shorter.
“I need the coordinates for your home system,” Asher told him, stepping closer. “Or I will have to force it from you.”
Torture wasn’t something she enjoyed but Veri knew it was necessary, especially in times of war. When the Neprijat didn’t reply she tapped her gauntlet and sent a shock through him that was just shy of scrambling his brain.
The screeching made everyone wince, but Veri didn’t stop until she saw the way the prisoner’s back arched. She’d tortured enough people to know how far she could push them before they broke and became useless, or died.
The monsters on Priea…the uprising…it would all be Alock’s one day. Giving that up – it hadn’t been as hard as she’d thought it would be. Veri had lived her whole life waiting for the day she would rule Priea.
But now she had other goals in mind. If they survived the war she would help Alock get things under control and make sure he was settled. Then she would move to Draga Terra and become a royal princess – but more importantly, Asher’s wife.
Asher asked for the coordinates again and again. The questioning seemed to go on forever and the Neprijat lasted longer than anyone she’d had to do this to. Each time Veri gritted her teeth. He may be a monster and her enemy, but she hated this. Veri preferred a merciful kill.
“Come closer and I’ll tell you,” the Neprijat finally rasped. “But you have to come inside this cell.”
No one was stupid enough to do it, but Veri cocked her head and the Neprijat smiled at her. It wanted to die, but perhaps…perhaps she could get it to tell her. She deactivated the plasma shield and stepped into the cell.
“Set me free,” he instantly demanded.
The command rippled over them but there was no compulsion to obey.
Veri took another step into the cell, holding up a hand to keep Asher from following her in. As Hand of the Queen he was far too valuable to lose. “Perhaps I will if you give me the location.”
It took him a moment, but then the Neprijat threw his head back and laughed. “Clever little creatures, finding a way to block my demands.”
She smiled at him and placed her hands on her hips. “Give me the coordinates.”
He surged forward, slamming against the bonds and stopping only a few centimeters from her face. “Come to my home and you will be worshipped, Huntress.”
Veri didn’t hesitate or consider his words. She simply slipped one of her favorite blades from its sheath and held it to his neck. “The coordinates get you a clean, swift death. The longer you delay, the worse your death will be.”
The way he stared at her…Veri felt bad for him in that moment. She knew he was desperate – nothing more than a cog in the war machine. Would he give her what she asked for? Something deep in those fathomless depths flickered and she knew…this one just wanted to be rid of it all.
“Come closer.”
“Veri, don’t,” Asher warned. “Don’t listen to it.” The prince tried to step into the cell but Veri reactivated the plasma shield. She stared at the male before her, seeing the way he smiled, and the muscles that strained in his neck.
“Veri!”
She ignored Asher’s protests and despite the Neprijat’s sharp teeth Veri stepped forward.
The Neprijat whispered the coordinates into her ear. “Now your promise.” The strain in his voice…he was begging her.
Veri slit his throat so fast it took a moment for the blood to pour down his front, thick and black. But the Neprijat smiled at her just before sagging in his bonds.
Asher grabbed her, but she shrugged him off. They may be their enemy, but Veri wasn’t going to let them turn her into a monster she couldn’t live with. She rattled off the coordinates. “Send a probe, it’ll be there,” she told him.
Did she regret capturing the Neprijat? No. She didn’t. She didn’t regret getting the information the queen had asked for. But she wasn’t going to let it suffer – what would they have done with it anyway?
There was no way they could keep Neprijat as prisoners of war. They were not equipped for it. Letting it starve or be mistreated wasn’t something she would allow either. But…they couldn’t just let it go.
Veri had given him the only mercy she was capable of.
Not even Asher could make her regret that choice.
