His Captive Mate Read Online Free Page A

women, looking them over for any obvious signs of trauma. Once she was satisfied that none of them needed to be looked at by a medic immediately, she felt some relief. “I’ve a room waiting where we can talk. Follow me.”
    The room Zaer had arranged was just a few doors down from where the Tranquility ship had docked. The women seemed somewhat taken aback by the interior: couches and beds in stark whites with bright lights, an almost antiseptic smell, and baths filled with warm water. They looked at each other, obviously puzzled by what it meant. Zaer turned around to face their confusion.
    “Remove your clothes. I’d like to speak with each of you about what happened. But we must get you examined and bathed quickly. Rumors have already spread about your… incident. It’s important we control our message.”
    The women began to slowly peel away their uniforms, though the confusion remained on their faces. Zaer walked slowly toward Jasmine, who’d already taken off her entire uniform and was standing in her underwear. “I’d like to speak with you first,” Zaer said dryly and motioned for Jasmine to follow her.
    The two moved to a door off to one side of the room and it opened to allow them inside. The small room beyond was just as Spartan as the one they’d come from and contained nothing more than a table and two chairs. Zaer motioned for Jasmine to sit and took a seat herself. The door closed silently.
    “What in the name of Hadrens Gates happened out there?” Zaer spoke quickly, her usual steely calm replaced with an urgency.
    “Ma’am, I…” Jasmine began, but was interrupted.
    “Oh, stop with the ceremony, Jas. What happened to my daughter?”
    Jasmine swallowed and nodded.
    “I… I mean, we didn’t really know what was happening. The captain, the pilot, she did her best and Daz… Daz, she helped as she could. The others wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her.” Jasmine’s words began bubbling, her breathing quickened, and Zaer realized she’d probably made the girl hysterical for no reason. She took a deep breath to calm herself. Of course she would have to be strong, to make sure she got the best information possible out of each of the women. Jasmine was probably just as upset as she was about what had happened. She might even be in shock. Zaer reached a hand across the table and took one of Jasmine’s.
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.”
    “No, I mean, of course I understand. She’s your daughter.”
    “It doesn’t matter. She’s your friend. We’re both allowed to be upset,” Zaer consoled. “Now take your time and tell me what happened.”
    Jasmine looked down at the table and took a few deep breaths to control her breathing. She took a moment before going on.
    “We were on the approach. As we did in the simulators. The doors had just opened and the wind was blowing inside, just like in the simulators.”
    “You’d spotted a group already?” Zaer asked.
    “Yes,” Jasmine replied, nodding. “Yes, there were ten or twelve of them and they were in a clearing. The pilot, Ashea, she called out as soon as she spotted them and we began to get the nets ready.”
    “Yes, then what?” Zaer urged, feeling her impatience beginning to rise again.
    “Yes. Then, then I remember Ashea saying something. Something like we might have to hold because they had moved toward the forest and we couldn’t fly low over forest. Then a bang.”
    “A bang?”
    “A bang. The loudest thing I’d ever heard,” Jasmine said, looking with scared eyes at Zaer. “It sounded like… like… it sounded like two ships crashing.”
    Zaer furrowed her brow. She had no reason to distrust the girl. But she had no idea what could make such a noise.
    “Go on,” she said, trying to sound calm.
    “Then—then the engine, the one that started smoking, it started… screaming, roaring. It was so scary…”
    Zaer shook her head and squeezed the girl’s hand, trying to be empathetic. But her mind was