Charlotte Boyett-Compo- WIND VERSE- Prisoners of the Wind Read Online Free PDF Page A

had found the job nerve-racking with never a dull
moment. Taegin Drae took risks no sane man ever would, yet McGregor had been
right there beside him, leaping into the precipice of danger along with the
Tiogar.
    Because of their months of hiding,
struggling to survive, with McGregor always at his back, Taegin and Kale had
formed a fierce bond each of them treasured—though even under threat of torture
neither would ever admit such a sentimental thing.
    “Is that why you’ve been sending out subliminals to her for
the last six weeks?”
    Drae waved a dismissive hand. “I wanted to prepare her.”
    Kale leaned back in his chair. “For what were you preparing
her?”
    The Tiogar started to speak, but two crewmembers ventured
into the rec room, stopping dead-still when they saw their captain.
    “Get the hell out!” Drae shouted. “Now!”
    The crewmen hurried away. No one intruded upon Taegin Drae
when he was in one of his dark moods.
    “Can’t a man have any peace on this gods-be-damned ship?”
    Kale hid a smile behind his hand. “What exactly do you have
in mind for the lovely Miss Deringnoe, Taeg?”
    “Acet.” Drae spat out the word as though it was a bad taste.
“I believe she only used Deringnoe when she was arrested. The gods only know
who Deringnoe was.”
    “Her father, perhaps?”
    Drae snorted. “I would wager the little bitch was sired by a
slimy demon from beyond the Abyss. What other creature would mate with a hag
like Neala Acet?”
    “I hear she is quite lovely.”
    “She is,” Drae said, and his voice softened a notch. “She
has the softest hair and her lips are—” He stopped, realizing McGregor meant
the mother, not the daughter. He narrowed his eyes. “You go to hell.”
    “Been there,” McGregor chuckled. When the Tiogar ignored the
remark, he asked again for what purpose was Drae preparing the young woman.
    “They wanted to exterminate every last one of us,” Drae
said. His jaw was tight—his words falling like stones from his taut lips. “They
murdered my father then my cousins. They came after us with a single-minded
vengeance, intent on wiping us out. I am the only one left from among the
Tiogar Clan.” He momentarily closed his eyes, took a calming breath and then
released it, slowly opening his eyes as he exhaled.
    “By all accounts, Lady Marin had nothing to do with what
transpired on Riochas Prime,” Kale reminded him. “She has been in boarding
school on Laidineach for—”
    “I know all about that!” Drae snapped. “I know everything
there is to know about her.”
    “Really?” Kale watched his friend catapult himself from the
chair and begin pacing in front of the sweeping portal. It was a sure sign of
agitation in the Tiogar when he started plowing his hand through his thick hair
and tugging at it.
    “She is at the head of her class,” Drae recited. “She excels
in every subject, every class and every sport in which she is allowed to
participate. She is only three credits away from receiving a degree in
biological engineering.”
    “A worthy occupation,” Kale observed.
    “She is saving herself for a gentle man who loves animals as
she does. She wants to marry that paragon of virtue and have a brood of
children,” Drae said with a grunt. “Two boys and two girls.”
    “I don’t see how you could find fault with that,” Kale said.
    Drae spun around. “Oh, she’ll get at least one of those
boys, but she’ll get no gods-be-damned girls from me!”
    Kale blinked. “What are you saying, Taegin?”
    The Tiogar advanced on his second in command and grabbed the
arms of McGregor’s chair, leaning over him. “I am going to take her precious
little maidenhead and maybe even give her Tiogar seed in exchange,” he growled.
    “You are going to rape her?” Kale gasped. “Taegin, no! You
can’t do that. It—”
    “Who said anything about rape, McGregor? Besides, I’ve taken
her many times already, Kale,” the Tiogar asserted. “Even if it’s all in