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“No deal. She dies. The bastard in her womb dies with her.”

“I will kill you!” I declared.

Sanjit laughed as I came, closing up the distance between us, burying my ax in the flesh of any man who tried to stop me.

“If you kill me, Khol. You will hang. I am still a royal female of noble blood. No true hordesman would ever kill a princess for any reason.”

“No, he wouldn’t,” Visla interjected. She spun out and tripped up the princess who landed flat on her back. Visla pulled a dagger from her back and, without hesitation, plunged it straight into Sanjit’s heart. “But I will,” Visla hissed.

Sanjit couldn’t form words but she lifted her hand and wrapped them around Visla’s neck.

“You have killed me,” Sanjit cried, spitting blood.

“Yes,” Visla whispered. “The slave has killed the princess.”

Sanjit’s went limp and her hand slipped away from Visla’s neck.

Two of Sanjit’s guards that were standing behind her unsheathed their swords, but before they could even lift it, I picked up a machete from the floor and threw it. One of the swordsman was beheaded before the machete finally ended up in the collarbone of the second.

I raced for Visla and we collided together.

“Visla.”

“Khol.”

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “Yes. I think so. You?”

“Yes…the baby…”

“Is okay,” she said.

I kissed her lips, holding her close to me, and silently vowing never to let her go.

“I love you, Khol. I thought I’d never see you again.”

“And I love you, Visla.”

People started slipping into the dining hall. Some were shocked about the carnage and others looked joyful that Sanjit was gone.

Among the crowd, I noticed some foreigners that weren’t here before. Thanu was with them and one of them came forward with a familiar black velvet sack in his hand.

Visla still clung to me and I wrapped my arm possessively around her waist.

“Khol, these are traders from Zarvis. They provided Visla and her crew with passage from the gray colony when their shuttle went down,” Thanu said.

“Is this true?” I asked Sanjit.

“Yes, it’s true.”

“King Khol, Tirizar Horde King. I’ve heard stories about you,” one of the Zarvixian’s exclaimed.

“All good, I hope.”

The Zarvixian laughed. “Not at all, King Khol. Not at all. After all, you are a raider,” He laughed again.

“That is my calling. I owe you for getting my people back here safely.”