Punished, Tana Stone [top reads .txt] 📗

tablet for inspection. “All done. We should have more than enough until the next delivery. When will that be anyway?”

Krebli tilted his scaled head at me. “You have never cared to ask about our supply deliveries before.”

I shrugged, trying to act like I didn’t care. “No reason. Curiosity, I guess.”

“About supplies?” He swiped a webbed finger across the surface of my tablet. “That would be a first.” He nodded at the numbers I’d recorded. “Not until the moons disappear from the sky and the shallows go dark.”

The natives spoke about the natural occurrences on the planet with an almost poetic reverence. “So after the new moons?”

Krebli made a clicking sound of disapproval at my simplification of the day when the cycle of the moons made them appear to vanish and their light didn’t illuminate the shallows at night. But he nodded. “After that.”

I felt some amount of relief. The moons were still almost fully round, which meant I had time. When I thought about Corvak leaving, my stomach clenched, but then I reminded myself that there was still time, and he couldn’t go without my help.

“That is enough for today.” Krebli patted my shoulder with one blue-green, scaled hand, his fingers as slender as sea kelp waving under the surface of the water. “I will see you tomorrow, Sienna.”

I didn’t bother to walk slowly from the warehouse, eagerly stepping outside and lifting my face to feel the warmth of the sun for a moment before flipping up my hood to keep from being burned. Since the warehouse was on the outskirts of the village, I could see the fighters trudging from the amphitheater. Their shoulders were slumped and their footsteps heavy. They looked as sore as I felt.

I hung back, hoping to get a glimpse of Corvak but he didn’t emerge. Considering how quickly he moved, the Vandar was probably halfway up the mountain path to his dwelling by now. For a flicker of a moment, I considered trying to catch up with him. But then we’d be seen together, and that was the last thing either of us needed. I’d done a good job of avoiding him since we’d started meeting in secret. Even the bundles of bread I left for him were placed on his windowsill before the rest of the village was awake.

“Sienna!”

I’d been so caught up thinking about the Vandar that I hadn’t heard the fast footsteps approaching behind. I stopped but didn’t turn around as Donal rushed up and put himself in my path.

“Hi, Donal.”

His face was red from exertion and his hair damp with sweat. Many other women considered him handsome, but I’d never been able to get past his roving gaze and arrogant smirk. “You finishing work?”

Before I could respond, he nodded. “I’m glad you’ve given up your attempts to be one of the fighters. It’s good that you’ve accepted your role as a female. Not that your job is typical for a woman.”

I put my hands on my hips, trying not to snap back at him even as my ire flared. “You would prefer I bake like my sister?”

He smiled at me like I was finally catching on. “Or you could fashion garments like my sisters.” His gaze roamed down my body, only partially covered by my open cloak. “Although not like the ones you choose to wear.”

As usual, I’d donned a pair of fitted pants and a top that clung to what slight curves I had. I couldn’t move in the roomy dresses the women on my planet favored, and I certainly couldn’t fight in them.

“Thanks for the input, Donal, but I’m happy with my job.” I sidestepped him so I could keep walking.

He shot out a hand, grabbing my wrist and pulling me back to face him. “You won’t keep it once we’re married.”

“Not a problem. I’m not marrying you.” I jerked my hand from his grip. This guy just couldn’t take a hint—or an outright rejection.

This time Donal looped an arm around my waist and tugged me back against him. “I’ve indulged your little game for long enough, Sienna. You will marry me, or you’ll find your father without a job again and your sister’s flour rations cut off.”

Rage pulsed through me, and before I could think better of it, I’d brought my foot down hard on his instep and rammed my elbow into his gut. When he staggered back, I spun and flipped him by the arm so that he hit the ground on his back. As he lay gasping like a fish out of water, I couldn’t help feeling pleased by how much better my defensive tactics had gotten.

“Sienna!” Juliette ran up to me, her hands on her cheeks. “What have you done?”

Her stunned expression brought me back to reality. The reality that I’d just beaten up a minister’s son—a man who had the power to make my life miserable.

I stared at Juliette, not sure what to say. Then her face paled as her eyes shifted to something behind me.

“She was defending herself.”

The burr of Corvak’s voice almost made me sink to the ground in relief. I turned to see him striding toward us from the amphitheater, his expression fierce. When he reached us, he glanced down at me, his eyes searching. When he was satisfied I was unhurt, he spared a glance for Donal.

“You should not grab females from behind like that.” He bent over so his head was above Donal’s as the man lay flat still attempting to draw breath. “You could get hurt.”

Corvak grasped his hand and jerked him to standing so hard Donal’s feet caught air before coming down on the hardpacked earth.

Finally, Donal found his voice. “You should stay out of private matters, Vandar.”

Corvak’s eyebrows popped up, and he swiveled his gaze around us. “Private? You accosted the female out in the open. That hardly seems private.”

“This doesn’t concern you,” Donal said, his voice vibrating with rage as he glared at me with barely contained fury. “What happens between Sienna and me