Scarred - Tana Stone Page 0,3

ensure her safety.

“And one more thing,” Kax said. “This cannot be a full-out, Inferno Force, assault-style mission. It won’t work. If Spartos is what we think it is you need to send in one warrior who can slip into their population without being noticed.”

Brok’s mouth went dry. A solo mission on a hedonistic planet was not what he’d been expecting, but he reminded himself that Inferno Force warriors were trained for anything from intense battle to torture. He could handle this.

“The Spartosians appear similar to Drexians, do they not?” Brok asked, thinking back to the intel he’d read before.

Kax and Dorn exchanged a glance. “Yes, although they apparently wear much less clothing than we do.”

Brok looked from brother to brother. “How much less?”

Chapter Two

“There is no way I’m walking around like this,” Madeleine said, gesturing to the backless, draped halter top that dipped low in front. At least the skirt she’d been given was long, but the gauzy, silver fabric sat low on her hips, and appeared to have so many high slits that it felt like she was wearing streamers. “I look like a belly dancer.”

“What about me?” Serge’s usually purple, spiky hair was flushed pink from the roots to the tips. He dropped his gaze to the snug, black jumpsuit.

“What about you? I’d love to wear what you’re wearing. At least you’re not in danger of falling out of it.” She paced across the stone floor, avoiding looking in the standing mirror attached to one wall. There wasn’t a ton of floorspace in the tower room she’d been assigned, so she had to turn on her heel after a few long strides.

Serge rolled his eyes. “It’s got no color, no style. It’s clear they don’t know that I’m a stylistic visionary.” He drew in a sharp breath. “You don’t think they assume I’m some sort of servant, do you, Madeleine?”

“I told you to call me Maddie. All my friends back home do, and since we’ve been prisoners together for weeks now, I’m going to say we’re friends.” She eyed Serge’s catsuit and the way it bloused around his skinny ankles. “Consider yourself lucky that you weren’t dressed up like a galactic genie-cum-cocktail waitress.”

Serge sniffed. “Then what would you call this atrocity?”

“It’s more Cat Woman-meets-auto mechanic.”

Serge slumped down in one of the two chairs across from the single bed, draping a small hand over his forehead. “I don’t even know what that means, but I’m horrified.”

Madeleine grinned. She’d gotten used to the petite alien’s dramatics, which had been significant since they’d been abducted by Ganthar pirates, and then sold off to some sort of traders, and finally delivered to another group of aliens who’d appeared normal, if a bit scantily clad. At first, she’d been grateful to be away from the rough pirates who had no problem looking her up and down like she was a meal. But after a relatively unassuming trip through space with the intermediary procurers, they’d arrived at their new home and things had gone from weird to worse.

The planet of Spartos had first struck her with its beauty. Most of what she’d seen of the planet had been covered by water, a crystal-clear water that looked impossibly blue, with cliffs and alabaster buildings jutting out from its depths. There didn’t seem to be roads, just canals for hovering gondolas to skim along, and the occasional narrow path. It was like a cross between Venice and a Greek island, with much better tech.

Even now, she could peer out of her room’s high window and see the shimmering water below, flashing aquamarine in the sunlight. The planet had one sun—but it was redder and smaller than the Earth’s sun—and four moons, which meant it never seemed to get fully dark at night if they were full.

The alien planet felt almost like being transported back in time, and seemed less alien than the Drexian space station—which had been her first encounter with alien habitats. That place had been sleek and white, and had elevators that went sideways, and holographic suites that made it seem like she was on the African savannah. Aliens with horns and tails, purple-skinned creatures, and huge Drexian warriors had been a lot to take in. But she hadn’t had too long to be freaked out by that before they were under attack, and she’d been hurried into an escape shuttle by Serge. Then they’d been intercepted and captured by the Ganthar pirates.

So, all in all, Spartos had seemed the least foreign place. At