Read Online The Tracker's Quest: (Forced To Serve #6) by Donna McDonald - Free Book Online

asked.
    “No. I have no birth child. Suzerain Trax used me for a female incubator, but what came from me was never mine. I saw the being only for a brief moment when she slid out of me in this same vile place.”
    Seta frowned when the female looked away to stare at a wall. “I am sorry for your suffering. The child you carried for the suzerain has suffered as well. Endara has been sold for a high union price to a wealthy mining canton on the other side of Ethos. I’m going to find her and bring her back here. To do that, I need your help.”
    “No,” Ineid said sharply. “I will not help you. The suzerain does not appreciate the value of any treasure in his possession. All he knows is how to break things, including me. Did you know my first mate traded me for another female? He told many lies about my worth, but I no longer care about the pain of his betrayal. Death is coming to free me. I wait eagerly for it.”
    Seta tightened her jaw and hardened her heart. She understood how Ineid felt, but her empathy didn’t change what she had to do. “The suzerain will never allow your death. He wants more children with you. Tolerating his possession could buy you some time while I find Endara and figure out how to help both of you.”
    “Don’t waste your energy. One fate is no worse than another here on Ethos. Perhaps the Creators will render a compassion to her they have so far failed to show me.”
    Seta breathed calmly and deeply until Ineid’s hard stare swung in her direction. “I want to show you compassion. I know this prison,” she swung her hand around, “is not what any female deserves.”
    Ineid snorted and wiped her leaking eyes with her sleeves. “How many times were you bartered for the suzerain’s profit? Did your suffering change anything? That selfish male will never change his ways. And I will never think differently about the progeny he forced on me. Leave the child where she is.”
    Seta shook her head. “No. I cannot.”
    Ineid’s laugh at her insistence was a dry bark of uncaring.
    “Then your breath is as foul as your sire’s and your words as useless to me.”
    The madness in Ineid’s gaze made Seta shiver with concern for the damaged female. She steeled herself to keep pressing for information because no amount of sympathy could undo the cruelty that had been done to her.
    “Ineid—please help me. I need to know about your species and why the suzerain of a mining canton would want to buy such a small child for a mate. The miner obviously knew something about the child the suzerain didn’t. What is special about Endara?”
    “He called her his treasure because she brought him great wealth. That’s why he wants to make more of her, but I will not let it happen. You cannot violate a dead female. If you want to show me genuine compassion, use the laser weapon strapped to your body and free me from this life.”
    Rising, Seta walked away from the bed, shaking her head while she did so. “I cannot. Does the suzerain already know what Endara is capable of? Is he not being honest with me?”
    Ineid laughed low. “I said what was needed to get him off me. After he sold the child for so much, he thought he would make another who would bring an even greater price. Since that hasn’t happened, he wants the first child back so he can ask for seven fortunes for a ransom. Can you not see he uses you to achieve his ends because none of his males can find her? He’s sent several out. None have returned. The miners kill them to protect their own.”
    Seta let out a heavy sigh. The news was not surprising, but it was depressing. No wonder Chief Arghane didn’t want to go with them. It wasn’t about her and Ji. It was about facing the miners. “Will you tell me what you told the suzerain?”
    “No. But I will tell you what I surmise from the rumors I heard about her. The child may be a ne plus ultra . On my planet, I was born with no great talent. So I pledged my life to the first male who