Empress Game: The Empress Game Trilogy Book 1 by Rhonda Mason Read Free Book Online Page A

and lifted him up. Stars, but he was thin. She should have done more physical training with him. Vayne had begged her to teach him some of her hand-to-hand combat arts, and had prided himself on his limited but hard-earned physical strength. Corinth preferred to exercise his mind almost exclusively, like most male Wyrds. She should have—
    ::It’s not your fault, Kayla, stop blaming yourself for everything.::
    She set Corinth on his feet long enough to turn around and hike him onto her back.
Hang on.
    His arms closed about her neck and his legs looped over her hips like a human backpack. Thankfulness seeped into her from their mental link as he settled himself.
    Around her the team kept moving, but Malkor took one look over his shoulder and dropped back beside her. “Let me carry him.”
    “No.”
    “I understand that you’re protective, but he’s going to get heavy real quick.”
    “I’ll be fine.” Kayla continued to walk. Corinth’s added weight upset her center of balance and made her sink farther into the muck with each step.
    Malkor walked beside her in silence. She glanced at him when Corinth’s attention split and partly focused on Malkor. There was a note of concern on Malkor’s face.
    “I won’t slow you down,” she said.
    ::He doesn’t believe you.::
    Thank you, Corinth, I can see that.
    “Let me know if you need me to take him,” Malkor said. His gaze dropped from her eyes to the
ashk
that covered the rest of her face for a second.
    ::What does he mean you kissed him?!::
    Corinth Reinumon, get out of his head this instant.
    ::Kayla—::
    Now.
    Just what she needed, a thirteen-year-old boy dabbling in the mind of a man like Malkor. Corinth’s curiosity seeped into her.
    I refuse to discuss this with you.
    ::You’re no fun.::
    Kayla shifted his weight higher on her back and settled in for a long hike.
    * * *
    Corinth’s weight rivaled that of a fully loaded hoverpack on her back, and each step was a small triumph over her tired body. When they finally hit the grassy outskirts that marked the edge of the swamp, she gratefully set Corinth on his feet. She steadied him when his numbed legs didn’t want to hold his weight.
    The hike through the swamp, her second in the last eight hours, on top of a night spent in the pit, wiped her out. They walked on a few hundred yards toward two strange depressions in the landscape, and it wasn’t until they reached the flattened-out sections of grass that Kayla realized what she was looking at: the landing spots of cloaked ships. The inside of a ship revealed itself from the air when the outer hatch opened. Another of Malkor’s team jumped out.
    “’Bout time, boss. Ardin’s been comming every fifteen minutes for way too long.” His gaze shifted from Malkor to Kayla. “This our girl?”
    His too curious look had her resting a hand on one of her daggers.
    “This is not
our girl
, this is Shadow Panthe, who will be working with us for the next few weeks.” Malkor turned toward her. “Shadow, this is Gio. You have my permission to hurt him if he gives you any trouble.”
    Gio grinned.
    “Just, don’t kill him,” Malkor said. “He’s somewhat useful to me.” He called to the rest of his team. “Load up.”
    The cloaks of the hidden ships dropped, revealing two sleek interatmosphere shuttles. It had been years since she’d seen any advanced imperial space vehicles, but she was certain the empire hadn’t achieved this level of sophistication on their own. The shuttle design, though imperialized, still had a basic Wyrd feel that Kayla recognized, even if no one else did.
    No doubt this was Dolan’s influence.
    “Tell me you stole these,” she said to Malkor, as he hefted Corinth’s bag into the closest shuttle.
    From the look on his face, he’d expected some sort of question. “No.”
    “Who do you work for?” She put a hand on Corinth’s shoulder, a signal to be ready. He tensed at her motion.
    Malkor eyed her hand, not missing her intent.