by Vi Voxley
She had been wrong not to tell them she was a journalist. When had they asked `who she was, though? When had they asked her anything about who she was outside of their relationship, or told her of themselves? Even warlords had interests and personalities other than war.
Cole watched Riley edge on slowly, asking Harbor excited questions that were far beyond "What's this?" and "How do you use that to kill people?" She was amazing, suddenly so full of life.
The light was shining in her gray eyes, the soft brown hair falling carelessly over her shoulders, the tight black uniform they'd given her hugging her body in all the right places.
That was his fated and all of a sudden Cole realized that was all that they knew about her.
We couldn't have messed this up more if we'd tried.
"What are you going to do when this is all over?" he asked.
The smile faltered and Cole immediately regretted his question. Then Riley straightened herself, checked the gun on her hip and smiled softly.
"I don't know," she admitted. "When I first came here, being on the Saber was all I dreamed of. I told Rowan that I was still going to write a war book even if I had to cover the bonds as well. I can't think of anything more fascinating than this.
“Gargons are the shield and sword of the Alliance. If I could study how you fight, see how the ships work, how warriors live and think, why you are the ones that manage to keep the League at bay... that would be a dream. The League being active again is a terrible thing but right now I could be in the center of the action."
As she spoke, her voice kept rising higher and higher, her joy over it obvious. Cole loved
looking at her in the tiny moments when she thought she wasn't being watched.
The smile and the cheer fell, becoming more of a facade than true emotion. Infinite sadness crept into her gorgeous eyes and Cole knew she was just as scared as he was.
The bond was still there but they were the ones who could make it work.
"You can do whatever you want," he said, surprised to hear his deep voice shake a bit. "All we ask is that you don't leave the villa. We couldn't bear being far from you and Mya."
There was a curious look in Riley's sharp eyes as she looked at him.
"I don't think I–"
They didn't hear the end of that sentence. In the next moment, a terrifying blast hit the flagship. It had to have been great because in the trophy room, one of the most central and safe areas of the ship, the floor rocked beneath their feet. Riley was thrown right into his arms and Cole felt his heart skip a beat when she clung to him.
With regret that nearly ripped him to pieces, the commander freed himself, helping Riley stand.
Harbor's comm link was open and the commander of the ship demanded answers.
"What happened?" Harbor roared to the bridge. "Why was there no proximity warning?"
"The Eridons, sir," the bridge replied. "They came out of the dark. They have some sort of a cloaking device."
Harbor cursed under his breath.
"All weapons live!" he barked. "Take them out! Any sign of Magorra?"
"He's here, sir. Should we set priority for his ship?"
"No," Harbor replied and Cole saw the confusion on Riley's face. "Let him board. I want to see that bastard die for what he did to my fated. I want to see him bleed out."
For once, Cole agreed wholeheartedly. Not only because they were personally tasked with retrieving his severed head.
Harbor shut off the comm link and turned to him with a grim expression on his face.
"The League has equipped them well. A cloaking device on raider ships? No wonder they were able to breach our defense lines during the festivities."
"They really are preparing for some greater conflict," Cole agreed. "We can worry about that later. Right now, Riley–"
To his surprise, there was pure excitement in Riley's eyes again.
"A cloaking device?" she asked at once. "That is incredible. I wish I could see..."
"Absolutely not," Harbor and Cole chorused together and Cole continued: "You don't want to see the Eridon ships up close, trust me, my love. Stay here."
"Don't you remember what happened last time?" Riley asked, frowning.
"You'll be the safest here," Harbor assured her.
"I think I should come with you," Riley said firmly. "He tricked us once before. I don't want to find myself trapped with him again."
They couldn't argue with that, as much as it worried him to take Riley into battle. That was what they'd signed up for, however. After what happened last time, the commander didn't have as much faith in the guards as he'd had before.
"Never leave your guards," Cole warned. "Make sure you never stay alone if we can't be by your side."
"I promise," Riley said.
"Sir," Harbor's comm link jumped to life again. "Magorra has boarded. He was sighted near the lower fighter bay. He has a hundred soldiers with him. They're throwing everything they have against us."
Riley's eyes spoke of fear and determination. Cole didn't know which was worse. Together, with Riley following them with her squad of warriors, they headed for the fighter bay.
32
Harbor
Harbor marched on, refusing to think of the fact he was taking his fated into active combat.
The commander knew every twist and turn of his ship, heading for the fighter bay, aching to put an end to Magorra's rule of terror once and for all. It had been too long and much too costly, especially for his family. The monster had taken almost taken Mya's mother and his fated.
Harbor didn't have a shred of mercy in his heart. Whenever Mya had asked about the creature that had hurt her mother, he'd had trouble answering. The rage simply surged through his veins and he wanted to tell her Magorra was one of the vilest creatures ever to be born into the galaxy.
He never did, of course. He used words that were too lenient for Magorra by any standard, reluctant to cause his daughter nightmares with the truth.
Now Harbor needed it to be over. The only concern he had, other than Riley's safety of course, was Cole. For a while, they had gotten along well by their personal measure. He trusted the other commander to hold his own in battle but therein lay the problem.
Cole was, as he'd always been, the most selfish fighter in the Gargon armadas. He didn't take into account other warriors or enemies he wasn't engaging. There was a fierce drive to him that didn't let him focus on the bigger picture, whereas that was all Harbor ever focused on. To the point where he sometimes forgot who he was fighting.
It was nothing more than a slight irritation for him on any other day. With Riley there, Harbor needed Cole's attention on her and her alone. They couldn't lose her again. The walls of the Saber seemed to remind him of the day they'd watched the dropship tumble towards Octava, praying their fated was still alive.
The explosion and Riley's accident hadn't just left a mark on her. Harbor himself found that being in the Saber was bringing back memories he rather would not have had. It was time to kill the ghosts for all of them.
"What I said earlier," he told Cole quietly, in their own language so Riley couldn't hear, "wasn't entirely true. We should kill Magorra, the first chance we get. He needs to be gone so Riley can be free. No needless testing. You know how clever he is. We can't let him slip away again."
The glare on Cole's face promised Harbor a swift duel when they were done with the real enemy. He didn't care for the threat, it didn't change the facts.
"Are you asking me if I'd endanger Riley's life for a chance to match myself against Magorra?" Cole growled at him.
"Yes," Harbor replied.
"I will have your head for that," Cole promised with a hiss. "She is my fated."
"And mine as well," Harbor answered without a pause. "Remember that. I know how you think. You've never been able to value anything in battle but experience, not even victory."
"That's rich, coming from you," Cole snapped. "Let me impart some wisdom as well then. Ke
ep in mind that our first goal is to kill Magorra, not protect Riley."
"You–"
"I'm not saying endanger her," Cole replied with a furious tone that caught their fated's attention at last. "I'm saying that if you throw yourself in the way of Magorra's poisoned blade and die, there is one less warrior here to defend her. The Eridon is a great fighter. Don't throw your life away because you need to be the hero. You're no use to her dead."
"Is everything okay?" Riley asked when Harbor was about to reply.
The two commanders stared at each other furiously. It was the worst possible time to come to that argument. The truth, it seemed, had a way of pouring into their lives, unchecked and as destructive as any weapon. The different battle creeds had always been a problem, a constant source of bickering between them.
Harbor knew they both wanted the other to relent and join their thinking, certain it was the way to protect Riley. He was just considering whether it was more perilous to be fighting at a time like that when the ship went completely dark.
"Riley!" Cole roared.
"Harbor! Cole!"
Harbor could hear screaming as he opened his comm link, not daring to pull his long sword out of fear he'd hit Riley. He could feel Cole moving by his side and grabbed a hold of him. Finding Riley wasn't so easy since she'd been walking a few steps behind them.
There were Eridon growls now too and a thunderous voice booming over the corridor.
"Find the girl!"
"Magorra, show yourself!" Harbor could hear Cole bellow at once. "You damn coward!"
"Bridge," Harbor roared, "restore lights in my position!"
"I can't, sir," the officer of the watch replied frantically. "The Eridons didn't blow the fuses, there is some device that is creating that artificial darkness! Reports are coming in all over the ship!"
Harbor was about to reply when a shrill scream split the air. It was undoubtedly Riley.
"Be quiet, silly girl," he heard Magorra snarl in the darkness.
Hearing the Eridon warlord laugh finally made Harbor lose his temper. He could sense Cole drawing his spears at the same time he unsheathed the sword on his belt. It was just about time since a blade came out of the darkness. Harbor didn't see it before it was a foot from his face, silent and deadly and poisoned like all Gargon weapons.
He gritted his teeth, roaring at the attacking Eridon soldiers.
"You think darkness will hide you forever!" Harbor bellowed at Magorra, wherever he was. "I will carve your heart out if you touch a hair on her head!"
"I'll touch a whole lot more, Gargon," Magorra replied, somewhere behind him.
Harbor could hear a muffled scream that had to be Riley. He couldn't turn and pursue because the Eridon soldiers had regained their courage now.
With a furious growl, hoping that Magorra didn't look for Riley so long just to kill her, Harbor turned to the invisible enemies.
"Cole?" he asked.
Everything they had just spoken of needed to be buried now, cast aside like the arguments were nothing. It was happening again. Their fated was in the hands of the enemy and Harbor saw red instead of the shadowy world around him.
"On your left, two feet," the other commander replied at once. "Locating the source of the darkness. Cover me."
Harbor complied without a second's hesitation. If Magorra thought he could kill them off simply by blinding them, the Eridon had a nasty surprise coming. Gargons were the most proficient fighters in the galaxy, sight was only one of their many senses and Cole's were even better than his.
The green ink running in his veins mixing with his blood had left Cole with an unnaturally keen hearing when he willed it.
Harbor focused his entire attention on him, reading the other commander's movements from the only signs that were available to him. The rough, sharp calls that told him where Cole was also left them both exposed to the enemy, who was somehow seeing in the pitch black. The scent of blood, the occasional flashes of blades through the air that Harbor blocked were the only signs of the enemy.
Now that he was almost certain that Riley and Magorra were gone, Harbor and Cole held nothing back. The poisoned blades of the enemies were a risk they needed to take. The sword in his hand morphed into a long spear-like weapon like the ones the Eridons used.
The blade twirled in Harbor's hand as Cole crouched lower to the ground, protected by Harbor's bulk and blade.
It was as brutal a fight as Harbor had ever experienced. He and Cole could barely tell where the other was, needing to work together and trust unconditionally while the Eridons banded together.
Their sharp spears came out of the darkness, swift and silent like deadly arrows. Several had nearly pierced their tough Gargon armors. Harbor could already feel the poison seeping into his skin from the trivial puncture wounds he'd received. Cole had to have some of his own.
And still they pushed on, step by step forcing the Eridons back. Harbor's blade cut through the air in wide arcs, taking off their heads and slicing their throats when they didn't get out of the way quickly enough. The harsh smell of blood filled the air and Harbor could only think of Riley.
Harbor realized in that moment, in the absolute darkness that he couldn't live without her. The female he'd seen smiling again just minutes ago was his fated, that was true. Yet, Riley had been right.
In their own way, he and Cole had also not believed in the bond. To them, it had been a simple fact that they accepted instead of trying to find out what it meant for them personally. Riley was a bright, beautiful, fierce spirit and they'd treated her like some fragile doll that they could cover in jewels and simply admire.
He no longer wanted that. He would have given the very breath from his lungs if he could hear Riley laugh one more time.
No matter what, she needed to live and be a light in the world that no one could dim.
The Eridons were in his way. With a mighty growl, Harbor charged at them, trusting his senses to take him to the soldiers. He found himself in their midst, the long spear flashing through the air furiously, rising and falling through lean, wiry bodies.
Then he heard a strange crackle and the world was bright again. For a second, Harbor couldn't see anything at all, not much of a change from the darkness. Then Cole rose from the floor, a broken device before his feet and charged into the melee with a terrible cry.
Harbor joined him and within moments, the last of the Eridons were dead, their corpses littering the floor.
Wordlessly, they turned in the direction where Magorra and Riley had gone.
That was where the fighter bay was. The gigantic, pressurized doors loomed over them, thicker than a fortress wall and tougher than any blade in the galaxy.
"Bridge," Harbor spoke into the comm link, knowing what answer he'd receive. "Open the fighter bay doors."
There was a long silence. Then,
"Unable to comply, sir. Something is jamming the reception."
That wasn't surprising in the slightest.
"She's alive," Cole said to the galaxy in general more than him.
It sounded almost like a prayer. They both needed Riley to be alive and well, or else the League would suffer the wrath the like which they had never seen before.
"Ideas?" Harbor asked darkly as they stood, covered in blood and staring at the impregnable doors.
33
Riley
The darkness was gone, replaced by searing light.
Riley stumbled into the bay, her hands covering her eyes as Magorra dragged her along, throwing her to the ground like she was nothing more than a piece of bothersome luggage.
Rubbing her eyes, Riley tried to stand. The Eridon soldiers that had managed to escape her fateds kept her down, pointing their long poisoned spears at her.
She was forced to watch as Magorra ordered his soldiers around to establish a defensive perimeter and secure the entrance. The heavy double doors fell shut and Riley's heart dropped. It looked invincible. She couldn't imagine her fateds would be able to bre
ak through that if the door refused to open.
No, she was stuck. Once again at Magorra's mercy without a proper weapon and separated from her fated.
They will find me, Riley thought to herself. This is where I need to have faith in the bond.
Surprisingly though, there was not as much fear in her heart as she'd expected, even as she came face to face with Magorra again. The memories of Magorra's vile deeds paraded before her eyes, trying to shake her spirit and Riley forced them away. Instead, she found dark glee that Magorra was so afraid of the commanders he had to hide himself under the cover of shadows – something the Eridons weren't known to do.
Magorra turned back to her finally, a ferocious grin on his wide, thin mouth. Riley felt her heart thunder in her chest, forcing herself to meet the warlord's gaze. If that was her dying day, she would no spend her last moments quivering in horror.
He was terrifying though. The dark red armor, just the same as she remembered it, covering a more powerful body than the rest of the Eridons. It was clear why Magorra lead them.
He looked stronger than the most powerful one of them, taller even than Harbor. The crisscrossing scars on his face gave the dreaded warlord a demonic image that he was known to exploit with glee.
It wasn't comforting to know how many women had ended up with that grinning face as the last thing they ever saw in the world.
"Riley," Magorra said with relish, his pronunciation perfect. "I have searched for you a long time. It's good to see you're alive. For now, at least."
"I'm touched," Riley replied, standing up, refusing to grovel on the ground before the monster.
The Eridon soldier let her stand but not move about. The sharp spears were still dangerously close to her.
"Could you tell these bastards to get away from me?" Riley asked, sounding more confident than she felt.
Magorra laughed, waving to the soldiers who took a step back, giving Riley a wider area in which to stand and try to figure out a way to draw her gun. She couldn't count on her fateds to do everything for her. If they didn't make it time, Riley was determined to go out fighting instead of screaming for help.
