by LC Morgans
“Your children can be used to cure mine, is that it?” Kronus asked her with a laugh, and Kyra blushed.
“If only it were that simple,” she replied, but had to admit, he was on the right track. They had no idea how the Ehrad disease might also evolve and potentially begin resisting or even counterattacking the treatment, so their approach towards battling it consistently, and over time, would surely have to include the consideration for generations to follow.
“Okay, I’m convinced, but I know my father and I know how he feels about humans. You’d need a Thrakorian overseer, Kyra. Someone who would be appointed as the respected leader of this community and who’d make all final decisions. There could be absolutely no rebellion or autonomy, otherwise there would be zero-tolerance. Any offenders would lose their freedom without warning or a trial. My father has no sympathy for any other species except our own and would never allow you to govern yourselves.”
Kyra was shocked to hear just how mercilessly the all-powerful King Thrakor reportedly treated those he’d conquered, but then again, she knew she shouldn’t really be surprised. Their nature was to prey on the weaknesses of other species’, hunt down the weak to skim the excess, and then rule them with an iron fist. It stood to reason those beliefs came from the top. King Thrakor was sure to be the epitome of all of that, and only one name came to mind of whom could be trusted to take both sides needs into proper account before making the decisions that could change all of their lives.
“Didn’t you say you were hoping to give Thrayke a new job?” she hinted with a sly smile and Kronus couldn’t seem to help but mirror it.
“Yes, I did… I figure Chief of Human Affairs sounds like a pretty good title, don’t you agree?” Kyra nodded. It was perfect, and she was determined to get Thrayke his place not only at the facility alongside her, but also as a high-standing member of the Thrakorian society again. He deserved it after everything he’d been through and the sacrifices he’d made by spending the past year trying to find her. Kyra was also being a little selfish in wanting that title for him as it meant Thrayke would live and work from the same facility that she would undoubtedly have to remain in. They could be happy there, surrounded by humans and Thrakorian’s alike, but also those who knew about or would come to understand their connection. They would be accepted and Kyra wanted that more than anything else in the world.
Chapter Twelve
Kronus asked Kyra not to tell Thrayke of their plans to get him his title of Chief until he’d had the go-ahead from his father, and she agreed. It’d be a lovely surprise for him and one she was sure Thrayke would accept after him having spent the better part of the last year refusing Kronus’s offered positions within his father’s regime. After checking the Thrakorian Prince over one more time, the doctors were satisfied with the stability of Kronus’s improved health and he then sped away on a small craft back to the capital to go and speak with his father about his plans.
Kyra watched him leave with butterflies fluttering wildly in her belly. She was nervous but trusted him to do the right thing, not only by her but also by her race, and by his friend.
She turned away and headed back into the vast facility, knowing exactly where she wanted to go. Kyra had barely seen Thrayke the past day or so and she missed him. She’d been chaperoning Kronus, watching over him to assess his renewed strength and improved health, while Thrayke had been working hard as ever with the rest of the team hypothesizing ways to combine the cure with her blood. His mind was a wondrous entity and she was genuinely excited to hear more about his research and developmental progress. Part of her couldn’t believe he’d grasped the intricacies of the science behind the disease and the potential cure so seemingly easily. She’d been there a year already and—time spent under the influence of mind-numbing-nano-bots aside—had only picked up on the basics regarding their investigations into the human chromosomal changes required for their cure. Kyra was a code-breaker, not a fixer.
When she reached the lab, she stood in the doorway and watched him debating with the other doctors and scientists over something to do with methods they might use to try and force the development of biological change within the other candidates. Kyra could tell he knew exactly what they were talking about and was holding his own in the conversation, regardless of having become an expert seemingly over night. The humans stood with Thrayke were conversing comfortably with him, no intimidation or fear on their faces like she’d seen countless times before when they would approach Greegis, and it was a sight to behold. They seemed to accept his opinions and in return, he also heard them out. Thrayke had been a soldier and a hunter before, but just like the rest of them, he’d changed. He would make an excellent leader for their new community. Kyra could already see so for herself.
Deciding to leave him to work, she went over to the sofa and tried to rest, but even with the exhaustion that crept in behind her eyes, she couldn’t switch off. Instead, Kyra opted to spend some time with Thrayke, even if he was so busy she had to sit and watch him work.
She climbed up and headed back to where he’d been chatting with the others but he was gone. Kyra wandered around for a few minutes, taking it all in, and finally found Thrayke huddled over a microscope peering into it intently while making notes on a device in his palm.
“Got time for a quick break?” she whispered, rubbing his shoulders in a bid to help relieve the tension she felt there. Thrayke groaned appreciatively at her touch and lifted his head. He mesmerized her with another one of those gorgeous grins of his and nodded.
“I’ve always got time for you,” he told her and Kyra climbed into his lap with a smile. He wrapped her in his arms and took the opportunity to kiss her. It was a longing, deeply passionate kiss that told her he’d missed their intimacy just as much as she had, and Kyra swooned. No matter the time since they were last together, or everything that’d happened in the meantime, she wanted him, and knew he wanted her too. She just wished she could show him without being too forward. After all, they were both still healing and trying to find their way back to each other both physically and emotionally. “Can I ask you something?” Thrayke said quietly. He seemed to understand her unspoken desire for more and had to force his lips away from hers before anything got too heated. He couldn’t meet her stare though, and Kyra figured she knew exactly what he was getting at.
“He never touched me, not like that,” she told him and knew she was right when Thrayke breathed a sigh of relief. He’d clearly been wondering about her time spent as Greegis’s slave and if anything untoward had happened to her during that year. “I didn’t want him to, but he saw me naked on many occasions, however he never took things further. In all honesty, he didn’t seem interested in me that way. I’m not sure if he wasn’t attracted to girls, or humans—perhaps both. Either way, he left me alone, so fending him off was one thing I didn’t have to contend with.”
“That doesn’t mean you got off lightly, given the continued experiments he did on you and the way he tried to make you forget who you really were,” he replied with pain in his voice.
“Ah, so you’ve been talking to some of the other members of Greegis’s team about me?” He nodded, stroking her cheek with his thumb. Kyra couldn’t be angry with him for having asked the others about what she’d been through. He deserved to know everything he wanted answers to, so she decided to be nothing but honest whenever he asked her. “I was more like his prized possession. He seemed to enjoy dressing me up and having me on display, hence all the dresses—yuk!” Kyra was glad when Thrayke smiled.
“What a monster,” he teased, breaking the tension, and kissed her softly again. “Seriously though?”
Kyra took a deep breath and then let it out in a sigh.
“The experiments weren’t fun, but he seemed to at least care enough to keep me generally safe. I was his creation after all and he wanted complete control over every aspect of my life, including my health and wellbeing. We ate every one of our meals together and he insisted I accomp
any him almost everywhere, but yet he never really seemed to enjoy my company or want to interact with me. It didn’t even seem to please him that he’d changed my appearance to suit his apparent tastes. I guess maybe things were just never right.”
Kyra’s brow furrowed as she remembered back to all their awkward silences and formal sit-down-dinners. Greegis had hardly smiled and had certainly never tried to have fun with her. He’d simply seemed to tolerate her company, and part of her wondered what it was he’d even been looking for in a slave. Perhaps he’d simply wanted a friend but had no clue how to cultivate friendships. “He chose what I ate and the clothes I wore each day, and he dictated where I was permitted to go in the facility or who I was allowed to talk to. I was completely at his mercy and yet he was never satisfied. I think he wanted me to willingly enjoy his company rather than have to force my compliance. Maybe he was lonely and lost in his fear of being discovered in his inability to make this cure?”
“Maybe, but that doesn’t excuse the things he’s done,” Thrayke replied, and then he dropped his eyes to her lips, as though unable to hold her gaze any longer. “And what about Rasmos? What did he do to you?” Thrayke couldn’t hide his grimace when Kyra shuddered. He had clearly been fully informed of the circumstances behind her kidnapping that day aboard their ship, but there was still her side to tell, and she figured it was better to get it over with.
“He was too busy beating the crap out of me to touch me in any other way,” she replied dryly, but then forced herself to shake off the impending dark cloud threatening to overwhelm her. Thrayke let out a deep, rumbling groan from within his chest, as though he were unable to contain it.
“Domo told me Rasmos had confessed and that what he revealed was a disgrace to both our kind and his position of trust within both Kronus and King Thrakor’s Guard. Minic has him and Greegis in his private custody now, which basically means a deep, dark hole from which no one ever returns. Lots of stories have been brought to light regarding his treatment of slave men and women, but it appears Greegis was just as bad.”
“He has his own private brothel. He showed me a few days ago when he was in a rage, threatening to send me there to pay off my debt to him. I think he and Rasmos were working together to capture and sell these women into slavery. It made me sick seeing what was happening to some of those poor women…”
“They’ve mistreated so many people over the years, but none that had friends in high places so had a way to bring them down. Not until you.” He stroked her cheek and then ran his hand through her hair thoughtfully. “We all want to see them afforded the highest of convictions for what they’ve done.”
“What’s that, death?” she had to ask.
“Worse. There are plenty of options available to those who sentence them. All who serve penalty against the pair of them could be invited to take their bloody vengeance, which would only cease once they’re within an inch of their life. After every plaintiff was satisfied, they’d be left to endure a slow and torturous death because of their injuries. There’s also the option to set them free into the harshest of wild lands on a planet called Revol.”
“Set free?” she asked, feeling disheartened, but the dark look that crept over Thrayke’s face told her that it was no treat.
“It’s a planet full of vicious, predatory creatures and that has a flesh-eating parasite purposely in the atmosphere. It’s where our kind hunt down their foes for sport, or else sit back and watch as they’re eaten alive from the inside out by the spores in the air. Kronus and I spent many an afternoon there in our youth hunting the animals as part of our training, but when a convict is exiled to its depths, the premise suddenly becomes a lot more interesting.” While she didn’t like the thought of it, nor could she understand the Thrakorian’s obsession with hunting, Kyra had to admit the idea of Thrayke peering down a scope at the back of either Rasmos or Greegis’s head, ready to pull the trigger, was a welcome one.
“Take me with you?” she asked, and Thrayke kissed her with a smile.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he promised.
***
After a surprisingly deep, peaceful sleep, Kyra stretched her body with a delighted moan. She then giggled when she uncontrollably let out a strange grunting sound. The laugh that came from the huge Thrakorian man beside her was louder, deeper, and had her cackling in an instant.
“You sound like a cross between a cat and a baby dinosaur when you have your morning stretch,” Thrayke teased, but she didn’t care. “Good thing I’ve missed that sound so much I’ve come to find it endearing.”
Kyra turned and clambered into his embrace, after she’d shrugged coolly.
“I’m adorable, who knew?” she replied and she snuggled further into Thrayke’s hold. It was wonderful being back in the arms of the man she adored and who still had her heart, and she grinned up at him as he trailed his hands over her face and neck, tracing lines across her skin. It was only when he drew a cross on her cheek and then a line from her neck to the base of her chest that she began to realize what he was doing.
Thrayke didn’t say a word as his fingertips traced over each and every one of the scars Greegis had taken from her. Kyra’s skin was now flawless, but it didn’t matter. He knew her body so well. Thrayke traced lines where the thorns had cut her as a child and even where her scuffs and scrapes from childhood had once lingered. Thrayke even knew where the scars she’d been left with from the gruesome physical training during her initiation into the army were and ran his hands over her naked body with a gentle care she cherished. It wasn’t just the obvious scars he remembered either, but the smaller ones too.
“I knew. I always knew I loved you,” he whispered against her cheek. “I know your body so well, Kyra. The way it curves against mine like we’re the ideal fit. I remember everything. Every moment, even where all of your scars used to be. Don’t think for a moment that you weren’t perfect back then. You still are, and not because of the changes Greegis made.”
He then took his time to show her all the ways he treasured her and not because he wanted anything more than to make her feel loved. Kyra felt on top of the world and didn’t shy away from Thrayke’s touch or his renewed affection. Being with him again healed her in ways she hadn’t known she still needed. Despite not having been used in such a way by her captors, she’d thought it might be tough letting Thrayke back in command of her body again, but instead she wanted more.
More time to love him back. More ways to show him how much she cared. More. Just…more.
Chapter Thirteen
When Kronus returned the following morning, the hard-set of his jaw and the furrow of his brow immediately told Kyra he wasn’t coming back with good news. When he took her to one side to talk with her alone, rather than delivering news for Thrayke to hear as well, she guessed the answer from his father had to be even worse than she’d figured.
“He wants to meet you,” Kronus told her and Kyra frowned.
“What’s wrong with that? Surely it’s a good thing?” she replied.
“Yes, for him. He’s in a bad way and he wants some of what Thrayke gave me a few days ago—your blood. He’s asked me to bring you to the city so you can give him a blood transfusion. In fact, he insists.” Kyra had never seen Kronus so uneasy before, and she stepped away from him with a frown.
“Oh, he insists does he? A man on his deathbed who needs my help will have it, but there’s no need for him to be rude!” Kronus grabbed her shoulders and peered down into her eyes, imploring her with some unsaid fear in his gaze that made Kyra tremble. There were clearly forces at play here that she had no clue about. “Tell me exactly what he said, Kronus. And why you’re so scared.”
He released his grip and stared down at her, the silence only making Kyra feel unsteadier than before.
“He’s concerned for our race and wants to make sure everyone gets better, of course. However, he cares so much for our people that I’m afraid he doesn’t care a thing about yours. My father
’s not well, but he certainly won’t back down once he’s made a decision, and right now I cannot be sure which way things are headed.”
“What do you mean, which way?” She was getting annoyed with all of his holding back and crossed her arms, fixing Kronus with a determined stare.
“If he decides against listening to our proposal, he might refuse to acknowledge your work and could even go as far as to let Greegis walk free,” Kronus replied sourly, and Kyra shuddered at the sheer thought. “Or else he might think we’re trying to manipulate him. In which case he’ll appoint his handpicked overseer for the project himself rather than go with Thrayke. He might even go as far as to imprison you so that his precious cure could be cultivated directly from the only living source…”
“Surely he wouldn’t?” she asked, staring up into Kronus’s dark eyes. He was shutting down, closing himself off to her already at just the sheer thought of her being taken into his father’s custody, and Kyra knew that if King Thrakor demanded it, Kronus wouldn’t fight his father’s ruling. He’d probably be the one to take her in.
“We’ll deal with whatever he decides when we get there, but I promise to do everything I can to help ensure we get the outcome we both want. Let’s go,” he answered, taking her hand, but Kyra pulled away, shaking her head.
“Not without speaking to Thrayke first. We’ve only just found each other again and I’m not walking out on him without at least explaining my reasons why.” She then walked away without waiting for permission or an answer; heading straight for the lab where she knew Thrayke was once again hard at work. He looked up to greet her with a smile, but it faltered when he saw the frown Kyra couldn’t seem to hide. She slid into his lap and kissed him tenderly, not forgetting their renewed closeness regardless of their audience. “I have to go and visit King Thrakor,” Kyra whispered against his lips when she finally pulled away. “He needs my blood to help heal him.”
