We arrive at the High Commission in under an hour thanks to the hyperdrive. The High Commission resides on a massive space station that orbits the galaxy, circumnavigating member planets. Neve, Alex, and Fern are all waiting in the hangar to greet us. Once we’ve docked, we file out in dribs and drabs. I try to engage Ax in conversation, but he’s having none of it, so I fall back with Izzy.
King Coryn greets us warmly when we step into the massive conference room. It appears we are the last attendees to arrive, judging by the remaining two vacant chairs. which display Logan’s and Ax’s names. Dali gives me a subtle wave from her seat.
I’m briefly introduced to Chancellor Xava, the man in charge of the High Commission. Dali and Logan had previously outlined the intergalactic political landscape, explaining how the High Commission is the peaceful form of central governance in the galaxy. Although membership is voluntary, and enemy nations only accept the governance of the Regal Commission, most of the heirs in this room are representative of both factions, and they have been attending the annual Heir’s Summit for years. Preparing for a situation like the one we now find ourselves in.
Surreptitious glances are cast my way. Thankfully, most look curious rather than hostile.
The chancellor calls the meeting to order. I claim a seat at the far wall with the other uninvited guests, while Logan takes his assigned seat around the large oval-shaped glass table. Win drops down alongside me, acknowledging me with a curt nod.
“I invite Crown Princess Dalitza of the Amaretti to address the assembly,” the chancellor says, nodding at Dali.
She rises in her seat, swirling her fingers in the air, as she summons a holoscreen. It stretches the length of the table, displaying a 360-degree image of the solar system. “My fellow heirs.” Her eyes sweep the table confidently. “The time has come for us to take action. To put into place a new system of governance in the galaxy. To herald a new era of peace and prosperity. But before we can do that, we need to unite against those outsiders who plot against us.”
She flicks her wrist, and the display changes to a color-coded map. “My father is hell-bent on destroying the Saven and occupying Earth. Dante is still in the wind, and I have it on good authority that Griselda is in the process of rebuilding the Tempo and experimenting with a new Assassins Program, one that will create a new breed of army with the full power of the incendio gift at their disposal.”
I shift uncomfortably in my seat, as hushed gasps and shocked faces are swapped around the table.
“Unfortunately, that’s not all.” She grimaces. “Six of our friends and colleagues chose not to partner with us, assuring us, at that time, of their neutral stance.” Logan’s head jerks up, his jaw rigid with concern. “Apparently, Dante has lured them to his side, and they are preparing to attack en masse.”
Hushed whispers give rise to angry outbursts and noisy discussion as many voices compete to be heard. Logan stands, motioning for Dali to sit. “Silence,” he bellows in a commanding voice. Everyone focuses on him. “Panicking will not solve anything. We need to formulate and execute a plan before my brother has a chance to rally against us. Chancellor Xava,” he asks, turning to face him. “Are you prepared to issue Renunciation and Interim Instatement Orders to the member states around this table?”
The chancellor nods slowly and solemnly. “I am, and I can ensure the paperwork is processed efficiently.”
“Thank you.” Logan switches his attention back to the group. “If your fathers are willing to support our efforts in defeating the Amaretti, my brother, and the other six nations, then confirm same and allocate military resources. A small flurry of little green lights light up over several heads. “Excellent. Thank you. Everyone else must be prepared to serve the Renunciation Order and take temporary control of your planet under the Interim Instatement Order. Your first act as temporary leader is to communicate resources and ensure they are battle-ready. Please confirm your agreement now.” One by one, lights flicker on over heads until only two heirs remain undecided.
Logan’s face is expressionless as his gaze bounces from the blond-haired boy to the dark-haired girl. After a few anxious seconds, both their lights pop up, and I release the breath I’d been holding.
“We are making the right decision.” Logan surveys each person one at a time as King Coryn rises.
“I stand here today because my son can’t. Because he is just one of the many casualties of this pointless feud that has already existed for far too long. Our enemies would rather we continue to kill each other, but they are wrong. I look around this table and I see you, each and every one of you. In you, I see the future. The road ahead will be fraught with doubts, and there will be much grief before we see hope, but I implore you to stay the course, to listen to Logan and Dali, to work together to form a unified strategy, and to deliver on your commitments. Do not allow yourself to be swayed onto a darker path.”
The king’s words reverberate around the room filling hearts and minds with courage and confidence. A shuddering breath leaves his body as he retakes his seat.
“Thank you, King Coryn,” Logan says. “Chancellor Xava will attend to the paperwork as we discuss how to proceed. We will not leave here today without an agreed plan to defend our nations and freedom. Dali?” He turns to face her. “My understanding is that you have a few ideas in mind.”
“Yes,” she says, getting up out of her chair as the screen changes yet again. “This quad—”
Her words are cut off as a colossal explosion rocks the building. The entire structure rumbles and quakes, and a large crack surfaces in the far wall ripping through the material like lightning. Overhead lights flicker on and off as a high-pitched alarm discharges warning signals. The ground vibrates underneath my feet. Win darts across the room to Dali’s side, his skin flaring orange. Logan materializes in front of me, gripping my hand.
It appears Dante has made good on his threat. Damn those six heirs who defected; they have clearly had a hand in orchestrating this attack. Otherwise, the breach of security makes no sense. “Malfunction. Secondary system failure,” an automated voice booms in the room. “Evacuate. Evacuate.”
Heirs rush from the room without hesitation. A second eruption tears into the building, and the walls audibly groan. Large chunks of the ceiling cave in as we sprint into the corridor. Instinctively, I cover my head as we run, swerving around the debris pelting the ground from above. Pounding footsteps bite at my heels as Logan steers me in the general direction of the crowd.
Rounding the bend, we nearly collide into the frantic group congregated in front of us. Logan pushes his way to the front, ignoring the myriad of panicked screams and shouts. An extensive, yawning hole in the floor blocks our advance. Spreading the width of the corridor, it is far too wide and deep to risk jumping over.
We’re trapped.
I connect silently to Rylan, tagging Logan in too. “Can you call up the building specifications and determine if there is another route out of here?” I silently ask him.
Another vulgar explosion shatters the building, knocking us all off our feet. Dense plumes of acrid smoke charge through the open hole in the floor, coating the corridor in a thick blanket of fog. A chorus of coughing is interrupted when a muffled rumbling noise starts building from somewhere underneath us. The ground vibrates and sways as people climb unsteadily to their feet.
“I have a bad feeling about this.” Crawling to the hole, I peer over the edge, and a blast of searing heat hits me in the face. “Run!” I yell, clambering to my feet. “Everyone. back this way.”
I haul Logan off the floor and start tugging on his hand. “What is it?” Ax inquires.
“Go.” I shove at him. “Fire. Get out of here. Now! Move!” Adrenaline courses through my veins, and my fingers burn with fiery tingles. My incendio gift roars like a caged animal. Our group is leading the charge, inching around the bend, when a brutal bout of scorching-hot pressure thrusts us forward, sending us sprawling in all directions.
I soar through the air, my legs and arms flailing like crazy. My face whacks off the edge of something cold and hard, and I slump to the floor, dark spots muddling my vision. Horrific screams prick my ears as I struggle to stand up. Sweat fuses with blood as it gushes down my face from a gash on my temple. My legs are weak but still functional. Coughs and splutters mix with obscenities as we scramble to an upright position. “Keep moving,” Logan pants out, grabbing my hand. “Everyone, up now.” Dali angles her body, preparing to turn around. “Don’t,” Logan says gently. “We can’t help them now.”
“I know a route to the hangar,” Rylan shouts over his head as he runs. “Follow me.” Huge chunks of debris litter our path. We jump over and around it, narrowly avoiding collision. Ceiling cavities admit rattling wind, which whips my hair all over my face, hampering my visibility. But there’s no time to stop. We are literally fleeing for our lives.
We emerge into a wider hallway thronged with people, crying, screaming, and wildly pushing toward the hangar. People pass by with various injuries. Some have only minor gashes and bruises, others are sporting injured limbs, and a few present have charred blackened scorch marks on their skin and singed hair. We have no choice but to join the melee as the crowd surges forward.
Chaos is the order of the day in the hangar when we step foot inside. Strewn bodies line the floor, staring at us out of blank, stony eyes. Rylan ducks and darts between rows of ships, dodging the crossfire overhead as shots whizz back and forth. Ravaged craft are engulfed in flames, and fireballs mushroom as they gain momentum. Hopelessness surrounds me. I hear it in the anguished cries and screams as people scramble to get to ships. I hear it with every thud as a body falls inert to the ground. I see it in the faces of the soldiers and guards who are fighting to keep the enemy forces at bay.
Creeping along the farthest edge of the hangar, we crouch down low as we blaze a path to our ship. A significant part of me wants to stand up and fight. It feels wrong to be fleeing when so many lives are at stake.
“Most of the heirs died back there, Sadie. We need to escape. To inform their families, to warn their kingdoms, to properly retaliate before my brother destroys the entire galaxy.”
“I know, Logan. I know it’s the right thing to do, but I still can’t help feeling like a coward.”
His shared empathy feeds through the line, and I know he feels it too. And that he is right. There is a bigger picture.
The belly of our craft automatically opens as we approach the last hurdle. A group of enemy soldiers swivels in our direction. Shots fly over our heads, and we all automatically drop to the floor. My hand is on my weapon before Haydn has even issued the instruction. My fingers curl around the handle as adrenaline courses through my veins. Neve, Alex, and Fern stay hidden at the side of the craft as the rest of us climb to our feet and begin retaliating. Izzy flips her hair as she confidently advances on the soldiers, firing weapons from both hands. Ax flanks her, shooting at anything that moves. Haydn urges caution with his eyes as Logan and I step into the firing line. Back to back, we turn and twist, picking off soldiers one at a time.
More keep coming at us, and our prospects of getting out of here safely are looking slimmer by the minute. Rylan ducks into the craft, nodding subtly at Logan.
“Watch out!” I shriek at Haydn. A lone soldier has snuck up on us from the rear of the craft. His weapon is raised and aimed at Haydn’s back. I aim and squeeze the trigger at the same time the soldier does. “Get down!” I roar at Haydn. He drops to his knees, but he isn’t quite quick enough. As the soldier rocks back from the impact of my shot, Haydn yells out in pain, falling face forward on the ground.
Fire whips up and down my body, and I scream in sheer frustration. Ax backs up, maintaining a steady line of firepower, until he is in front of me. “Aim for that unit over the double doors,” he directs Logan and me with a flick of his head. The unit in question is on top of a freestanding steep pillar a few meters to our right. Four thick strips connect it to the ceiling above. I’m not sure what Ax has in mind, but I shoot anyway.
Our concerted efforts pay off. The unit explodes spectacularly, sending dynamic shards of metal and steel flying in all directions. The soldiers are momentarily distracted as a blanket of dusty smoke obscures everything in sight. Seizing the opportunity, we all dart for the cover of the craft. I spot a couple of heirs from the meeting racing to join us, as well as a few strangers. “Quick as you can!” Logan yells, ushering them into the ship, before he diverts his attention to Haydn. He’s conscious but struggling to get up. Logan wraps his arm around his waist and helps him to stand. Blood spills from a nasty wound in his shoulder, and tiny dots of sweat bead his forehead. I shelter them as they step into the craft, backing up with my gun still trained in the direction of the soldiers hidden in the smoky shroud.
An abrupt keening sound pierces the air as the cords connecting the pillar to the ceiling snap. One by one. Ping, ping, ping. There’s a large whoosh of air and then a massive thud as the pillar crashes to the ground, flattening anything in its path. Mammoth clouds of dust rain down on us, giving us that extra bit of leverage. The soldiers that are left standing are staggering about as if completely blind.
Ax and Izzy lunge onto the walkway, and I punch the button to close the doors.
I take over from Logan the instant I reach the cabin. “Go. Get us out of here.” Shoving him toward the cockpit, I switch my attention to Haydn. He is painstakingly removing his shirt to examine his injury. A handful of the heirs from the meeting, clearly traumatized, huddle in the corner. Dali and Win are attempting to calm them down. They watch my every movement with morbid fascination. Raising the hem of my pants, I extract my knife and begin cutting strips in the material of Haydn’s shirt. “Turn around,” I instruct when the shirt is lying shredded on the floor.
I gasp as the gory mess is revealed. A jagged hole cuts deep into his left shoulder, exposing a mass of torn, frayed matter. Blood drips down his back like rivulets of rain. Haydn is biting his lip hard as he glances back at me. “It’s only my shoulder, right?”
“Yeah, but you’re losing a lot of blood. Do we have anything onboard to stop it?”
“The medical kit is still in the bedroom from when we treated Logan,” he grits out.
“I’m on it.” I hop up and step out into the corridor as the ship lurches unsteadily, and a loud screeching noise shatters my eardrums, as if someone is chiseling a hole through my skull. I drop to my knees on the ground, hands covering my ears.
Harried footfalls approaching from the rear of the ship almost give me a coronary. I jump to my feet and spin around. My fingers are curling around the handle to the cabin when I’m yanked back by my shirt.
“Going somewhere, cutie?” a gravelly voice rasps in my ear as I’m hauled back against a solid body mass.
Crappity crap.
I twist my head and stare up at him, batting my eyelashes. “Aw, did you miss me, Dante?”
CHAPTER 27
Dante drags me into the cabin with a gun pointed at my temple. Guards swarm the space from behind. A small red dot flashes on Dante’s forehead like a homing beacon. “Brother,” Dante snarls. “It’s nice to see you too.” Logan steps out of the cockpit with his arm outstretched, a weapon trained on Dante’s skull. “Release Sadie or I’ll shoot. I mean it.”
Dante scrunches up his face. “Nah, I don’t think you do. You’ve never been the risky type. That’s more my forte.”
“Astral possess him! Don’t stop to think. Do it now, Logan!”
He feeds his assertion through the line, and a look of fierce concentration is etched on his face. Then, Logan staggers back, clutching his head, as Dante emits a deafening roar. “How dare you try to possess your king!” Dante tsks. “Who would’ve thought my idiot brother would stoop so low. Or is that your influence, sweetheart?” He winks at me, and I give him a rude gesture with my hand.
He guffaws. “Now that’s not very ladylike, cutie.”
I flip him off again a
s I spot Logan regaining his composure. “Shoot him!”
Dante slaps me across the face. Hard. My head swings back with the impact, and my cheek stings like hell. Ax pitches to his feet with a roar, charging at Dante.
Two guards step forward, restraining Ax before he can lay a finger on the douche. He flays about like a wild animal.
“Drop it or I’ll pull the trigger.” Dante cautions Logan. “On the count of five. One, four …”
Logan’s gun clatters to the ground. His features are pinched, and his fury slams into me via our connection.
“Toss it to me,” Dante demands, and Logan kicks it away.
“Get that and line them up over there,” Dante commands one of his goons.
Dante shoves me roughly at Officer Vero. “Watch her.” A wicked glint forms in his eye. “But keep her clothes on this time.” My face flares up in anger. I recall the memory and thrust it at Logan before he reads too much into the taunt and plays into Dante’s hands. Logan seethes at Officer Vero, steam practically billowing out of his ears.
The guards manhandle everyone except Logan and me into a line on the other side of the cabin. Dante paces up and down, scrubbing a hand over his jaw as he pretends to ponder something. “So, this is how it’s going to go down,” he says as he walks back and forth in front of them. “Some of you serve a specific purpose.” His head lifts. “Like you.” He stubs his finger in Ax’s face before ramming his elbow violently into his stomach. Still restrained by the two guards, Ax doubles over in pain.
“Others could prove useful,” Dante continues, eyeing Rylan, “so I’ll spare you.”
He pushes his gun into Dali’s forehead, and I think I stop breathing. “Tempting,” he murmurs. “But I might need you and your bodyguard as leverage with your father.”
Saven Defiance (The Saven Series Book 4) Page 33
