Warlord's Mercy - Cynthia Sax Page 0,2

that way I’ll always have a part of Chamele 4 with me.” When she found a new home, somewhere safe, she’d utilize those memories as inspiration.

She had a vision of that fresh start, the place she hoped would be permanent.

“My next home will be situated in a settlement. I’ll find a community filled with kind, supportive beings.” Her lips curled upward as she dreamed of her future. “I’ll be surrounded by friends, by a makeshift family, and no one will try to hurt me or the beings I love again.”

She stopped for a moment to study a long-dead creature captured in the surface of a stone. A chest covering crafted in that shape would appeal to one of her war-loving customers.

“I’ll have protection and art and conversation.” She resumed her trek. “Stars. I miss talking with beings—beings who talk back, beings who are not myself.” She laughed softly.

The silence was necessary to avoid detection, but it carved into her. Too many planet rotations had been spent without one word spoken to any sentient beings.

“There’s no reason to remain here.” Flor, the only other being she cared for on Chamele 4, was dead…like everyone else Lea had cherished. “I love this planet, but I might love the next planet as much, and it won’t host Daisun and his brutes.”

The danger was too great to stay.

“Once I locate a power converter for my ship, I’ll fly away.”

Lea reached the edge of the boulder field, peered out of the natural coverage, looked straight ahead, to her right, to her left.

“It’s only a short distance.” Dips and crests of shifting sand stretched in front of her, land waves that would limit a being’s view. “Once you climb over that first dune, you’ll be safe.”

But there was always a risk of being spotted.

“You can do this.” She took a deep breath and sprinted, leaning over, staying low to the ground. Granules of sand pelted her boots and ass coverings. The sun scorched the top of her head.

No one called out an alarm. No beings ran after her.

She reached the peak of the first dune and descended. “You’re safe.” She exhaled heavily. “Keep going.” She climbed the next dune, trudged down it, giving herself verbal encouragement as she moved.

The mounds of sand gradually flattened.

“Some beings on the ship complained Chamele 4 was merely sand, sand, and more sand.” They clearly hadn’t completed any research before they’d agree to relocate. “I don’t know what they were talking about. There’s plenty of variety.”

There was the boulder field by the market, the dunes, the flat lands, and the Khatagtai Mountains where she lived.

Her gaze lifted to them. “The mountains are the prettiest.” They stood like giant sentinels, guarding her home.

The hum of a ship’s engine broke the silence.

“What is that?” Lea stopped and scanned the sky above her. “It doesn’t belong to Daisun or his brutes.”

They flew pieced-together sand skimmers. Their vessels were as ill-kempt as they were.

“This ship sounds…new. Thank the stars.” Excitement filled her. “I might be able to bargain with the pilot. I’ll offer her or him some of my best garments. She or he will agree to transport me somewhere else. I won’t need a power converter.”

The drone of the engines became a roar surprisingly quickly. Lea tilted her head back as a small vessel shot across the sky.

“Oh shit.” Dread replaced her exhilaration. “That ship is flying too fast and too low.”

The artificial wind it created whipped strands of her hair against her face.

“It won’t clear the nearest mountain.” A tremor rolled down her spine. Unless the pilot increased the ship’s elevation quickly, it would crash into the base of that unrelenting land formation.

If the crew survived that impact, they would be facing rock vultures, ukhels, and other dangerous creatures. The occupants of the vessel might be unaccustomed to the heat and the sun, could be suffering from injuries.

And they would be targets…as she, her father, Flor, and the rest of the beings on her ship had been. “Fuck. Daisun and his brutes could reach them first.”

The Palavian would order the slaughter of the males, the enslavement of the females.

“I can’t let that happen. Not again.” She sprinted, following the ship. Her boots skimmed the sand. Her arms pumped. She had to protect the beings, warn them.

Lea had been unable to save her father and her friend, but she could save the newcomers.

Spires of rock jabbed skyward. She dashed around them. The rock towers extended upward more and more, looming over her. The ship