KINSMAN’S OATH By Susan Krinard

“I am well,” he said, his words a little slurred.

“Do you remember where you are?”

“You are Captain Cynara D’Accorso, and I am aboard the Alliance ship Pegasus.”

“You blacked out on the bridge,” Cynara said, watching his face. “Do you know what caused it?”

“No.”

“His mental faculties read in the normal range, and he is obviously lucid,” Zheng’s voice spoke from the intercom. “Do you suffer from any medical conditions, Ser VelKalevi? Allergic reactions?”

Ronan looked toward the observation window. “Does the healer fear me?” he asked Cynara. “If I did harm, I regret.”

Cynara bit back a laugh. She had never seen Zheng afraid of anyone, and her patient’s face was so earnest and sincere that he might have been a child apologizing for stealing a sweetmeat. She found it oddly endearing.

But the body that moved under her hand was no child’s. VelKalevi planted his feet firmly on the deck and stood, testing his balance. “Your scans must have confirmed my state of health, Healer Zheng,” he said. “Where is my clothing?”

Cynara indicated a standard shipsuit folded on a nearby table. “Your own is being cleaned. Don’t try to move too quickly, Ser VelKalevi.”

He frowned, a faint crease between his brows. “This ‘Ser’—it is a title of rank?”

“It’s the usual Persephonean male form of address,” she said, “common among the worlds of the Concordat.”

“But you humans do not make distinctions of Path.”

You humans. Cynara’s skin prickled. “You refer to the shaauri caste system? My knowledge of shaauri society is incomplete. How do you prefer to be addressed?”

He was silent for some time, gazing at nothing, but Cynara sensed that he was deep in thought. Far from pleasant thought, at that. She was sorely tempted to touch his mind again. She might not pick up anything but emotion or surface static, but to know what this man really was…

Command of the Pegasus accorded almost every challenge she could wish, fulfilling her ambitions and satisfying her need for adventure. There was always something to strive for, new experiences, new people. But Ronan VelKalevi presented a puzzle unlike any other, and her frankly sexual response was an added provocation she couldn’t ignore.

This was no game. The stakes were astronomically high. If she failed to unravel this mystery, she might not only lose command of the Pegasus, but put the ship’s mission at risk as well. Janek wouldn’t hesitate to hasten her downfall.

And swift currents to him. Let them carry him right onto the reef. She was anyone’s equal when it came to protecting the Pegasus and the Nine Worlds. When she was finished with him, Ronan VelKalevi would yield up his secrets and be none the wiser about his rescuers.

“I presume,” she said cautiously, “that since you were a prisoner, you received no… Path designation. Yet you use the ‘Vel’ prefix.”

He stared into her eyes. “I require no special form of address. Ronan is sufficient.”

She required no telepathy to feel the sensitivity of that topic. “Perhaps, when you are ready to begin answering questions, you can remedy my ignorance of shaauri custom.”

He tilted his head to the side. “I understand that you do not trust me, and that you must ask questions. What do you wish to know?”

“I think you’d better dress first.” She tossed him the ship-suit. “Doctor Zheng, is our guest fit to be released?”

“I see no reason to retain him, subject to review, of course.”

Cynara nodded, half an eye on Ronan as he slipped into the shipsuit without a single awkward or wasted motion. Every one of his muscles was perfectly formed, balanced for supreme efficiency and strength. Only the most rigorous training could account for that body—training and the most brutal punishment for failure.

Zheng entered the ward, her heavy tread nearly shaking the deck. “I have prescribed a moderate bland diet for Ser Ronan until his nutritional needs have been evaluated. Shall I have his meal sent up to the guest cabin?”

“Aho’Va D’Accorso, I do not wish to further disrupt the operation of your ship,” Ronan said, fastening the suit to the top of his neck. By your leave, I will take nourishment with your crew.”

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