by Kali Argent
Xavian still had reservations about Cypher Brax, but after spending several days stuck together on a ship with the male, he had to admit the guy was nothing like his arrogant, bastard of a brother. For one, he had a sense of humor. More importantly, he actually gave a damn about someone other than himself. He’d risked a lot to accompany them, and he’d vowed to do everything he could to keep Aeryn safe, and in that, Xavian believed him.
As they walked, Xavian couldn’t help but slow to admire the art and the talent of the street performers. In a large, stone courtyard, tiny tables sat in evenly spaced increments, all draped in vibrant cloths with equally colorful people seated in chairs around them. One female wore a bright orange scarf around her head and earrings so large, they dangled down past her shoulders. He saw a human male dressed in an evening gown of deep purple, and standing near an open gate, another male had been painted entirely in metallic silver.
“Welcome to Jackson Square,” Aeryn announced with a quiet giggle. “It’s never boring here.”
“What are they doing?” he asked, pointing to the female in the headscarf.
“Fortune tellers. Gypsies. Palm readers. Whatever you want to call them.”
“Can they really see the future?”
His mate shrugged. “Some of them, I’m sure. It’s just good entertainment for the tourists.”
“I thought you said most of the city was leveled during the war.”
“It was.” She turned and pointed to the horizon just beyond the river. “Downtown is where you’ll find all the fancy tech and flashy neon. When they rebuilt the French Quarter, they decided to keep with the historic culture.” Tilting her head to the side, she indicated a squat, round droid that skittered over the sidewalks, sweeping up litter and emptying overflowing trash receptacles. “Well, with a few minor improvements.”
“It smells weird.” Lifting his head, Vane sniffed at the air and wrinkled his nose.
“You’ll get used to it.”
They wound their way through the busy crowd, dodging kids on hover boards and the parents chasing after them. It soon became apparent that masks and costumes were common place, as were something Aeryn had called “human statues.” Xavian found the metallic men and women utterly fascinating, and he couldn’t help but wonder how they remained unmoving for such long periods at a time. He couldn’t sit still for ten minutes without getting twitchy.
“I can’t believe you’ve never been to New Orleans.”
His mate seemed pleased by his reaction to her beloved city.
“I’ve been.” In fact, he’d been there not long ago, but it hadn’t exactly been a sightseeing visit. He’d followed Vane to the city to protect Charli, and most of what he’d seen had been the inside of the female’s tiny, one-bedroom apartment and the sweet shop below it. “It was colder then, and it wasn’t this…festive.”
“Well, after this is all over, I’ll take you on a tour and tell you all the old ghost stories.” Slowing, she lifted her arm and pointed to an ostentatious building that rose up across the Square, casting its shadow over the park. “St. Louis Cathedral. What do we do now?”
Leading the way to a two-person bench, he lowered himself down on one side and patted the seat beside him. “Now, we watch.”
Vane found a vantage point closer to the church and sprawled out in the grass, his legs crossed at the ankles and his back pressed against a young shade tree. To any outsider, he appeared to be the picture of ease, another visitor enjoying the afternoon before the revelry of the Celebration later that night. Only another soldier would recognize the tension in his shoulders, the tightness of his jaw, or the way his gaze lingered just a little longer on certain pedestrians.
“I don’t see any Morphs,” Aeryn commented, curling into Xavian’s side and tucking her feet under her on the bench. “Maybe they won’t be here until tomorrow.”
“They’re here.” He’d already spotted three of them. “The female beside that statue with the black hair. The male beside the gate with the green hat.” He looked over her head to the far side of the park. “That male walking in front of the cathedral.”
“How do you know?” she asked after a significant pause. “They all look human to me.”
The Morphs were masters when it came to blending in, save one significant detail. “Look at their eyes.” Morphling eyes were always a vast pool of onyx, no matter what form they took. “I can’t see the eyes of the guy in front of the church, but he’s passed by three times now, and he keeps watching the crowd.”
“Maybe he’s waiting for someone.”
“Maybe, but I doubt it.” He knew the look, the posture. He knew the subtle tricks to appear casual and blend in with his surroundings.
A fourth Morphling strolled toward Vane, a female in a bright sundress with spiky blue hair. Angling his shoulders, Xavian eased Aeryn away from him, his hand going to the dagger on his hip.
“What’s wrong?”
“The female walking toward Vane.” He relaxed a little when Vane’s hand also shifted toward his own dagger, but he didn’t fully release the breath he’d been holding until the female passed with incident.
“That’s four.” For the first time, a tremor entered Aeryn’s voice, and she tensed beside him. “How many more will be here tomorrow night?”
“Many, many more,” a deep, guttural voice answered from directly behind them.
In a single move, Xavian leapt to his feet, pulling Aeryn up with him, and spinning her so that she stood behind him, placing himself between her and the Morphling. Unlike the others, the male hadn’t tried to camouflage his appearance. His twin horns gleamed in the sunlight, and his lips parted over his white teeth in a feral, predatory grin.
“We knew you wouldn’t be able to resist coming here,” the Morph taunted before disappearing from his spot near the bench, only to reappear directly behind them. “You shouldn’t have come here, Nekros.”
Pivoting, Xavian pushed Aeryn to the ground with one hand and sliced through the air with the other. Purple flames erupted from his palm, spiraling around the hilt of his dagger and dancing along the blade. With unerring accuracy, he found his mark, scoring a thin line across the Morph’s neck. The cut was shallow, only a few inches long, and just a small line of blood trickled from the wound.
“You missed,” the Morphling jibed.
A heartbeat later, his eyes grew wide, and he clawed at his neck as he emitted a series of choking and gurgling sounds. Ghoulish purple light slithered down his throat beneath the skin, the flame searing and blistering the flesh as it pulsed and expanded, winding its way through his enemy’s body. Within seconds, all that remained of the Morph was a pile of charred ash with a lone, dancing flame.
Not a single person in the Square looked in their direction. No one screamed. No one reacted at all.
“They’re influenced,” Vane said, answering Xavian’s unspoken question as he approached. “You good?”
“I’m fine.” Sheathing his dagger, he knelt in the grass beside his mate, brushing her tousled hair back from her face. “Are you hurt, nikka?”
“The asshole stabbed me.” With a purely human growl, she held up a syringe, its contents shimmering in the sunlight, and blood dripping from the tip of the long needle. “I’m okay,” she added. “Whatever he tried to dose me with, my nanos will flush it out in a few minutes.”
Xavian’s heart pounded hard and fast as it climbed into his throat, cutting off his next breath. He’d been fast, but he hadn’t been fast enough. If Aeryn wasn’t augmented…he couldn’t even think about it. They might not be bonded yet, but it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t survive it if something happened to her.
He didn’t know how it had happened, didn’t know exactly when, but in a very short amount of time, she’d become his entire world.
With the hand that had just wrought such devastation on his foe, he produced a flickering green flame in his palm and held it gently to his mate’s neck. Her nanocytes would heal the small pinprick, but h
e needed to do something, even if it was only to take away a few moments of discomfort.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
With a sweet smile, she placed a hand on his shoulder, using his body as leverage to hoist herself up from the ground. Then, she touched his cheek, just a simple caress of her fingertips that swelled his heart.
“I’m okay. Really, I…”
The blood drained from her face, her eyes rolled back in her head, and she stumbled to the side before collapsing—ice cold and still as death—into his arms.
CHAPTER NINE
“What the hell is wrong with her? Do something!”
Aeryn groaned as Xavian’s sharp tone jerked her out of a restless sleep. “Stop yelling.”
“Aeryn?” Gentle hands cupped her face and caressed her cheeks. “Nikka, can you hear me? How are you feeling?”
Dragging her eyelids open, she stared up at Xavian, frowning when he blurred in and out of focus. With each swallow, pain lanced through her throat, and her pulse pounded in her temples. Her limbs felt heavy, her muscles sore and tired, and upon further inspection, she realized not a single part of her didn’t hurt like the ten shades of Hades.
“Like I got hit by a meteor,” she answered, alarmed by the raspy quality of her voice. “What time is it? How long have I been asleep?”
“Easy, shh, just be still.” Xavian rested his hand on her shoulder, easily keeping her in place on the bed in her quarters when she tried to move. “You’ve been out for about a day.”
“A day?” Shit! Well, that explained why her bladder felt like it was about to burst, but it also meant they only had a few hours until midnight. “Okay, I need to take a shower, and we should go over the plan one more time.”
“No.” Xavian spoke firmly, but also with an undercurrent of desperation. “You aren’t going anywhere, nikka. You need to rest.”
“I’ve been resting for twenty-four hours.” Pushing his hand away from her shoulder, she struggled to sit up. She managed to drop her legs over the side of the bed, but that was as far as she made it before she had to stop to catch her breath and wait for the dizziness to pass. “What the hell did that Morph do to me?”
Poisons, viruses, bacteria—all those things should have been neutralized by her nanocytes. That didn’t seem to be the case, and pain lanced through her weakened body with every movement. Her stomach twisted and convulsed, a high-pitched buzzing rang in her ears, and if she didn’t know better, she’d swear the skin on her hands and arms appeared much paler than usual.
“Full vitals analysis, Chase, Aeryn,” she called out, wincing at the burn in her throat.
The Nightshade’s onboard AI responded within seconds, a robotic male voice reading down a list of failing functions through the speakers in the ceiling like a morbid game of bingo. Her core temperature had dropped to ninety-two. Her blood pressure and heartrate were also falling. What concerned her most, however, was the deterioration of things she normally didn’t even think about, like her liver, kidneys, muscle tissue, and optic nerves.
“Well, that’s depressing. No one thought maybe we should visit the hospital?”
“We brought the hospital here,” Cypher answered, appearing in the doorway of her quarters with his hands resting on his hips. “Well, a doctor anyway. Xavian kind of kidnapped him.”
Arching one eyebrow, she turned just her head to look at her mate. “You kidnapped a doctor for me? That’s sweet.”
Xavian growled. “He was useless.”
“The Morph injected you with something the doctor called clonenites,” Cypher explained when Xavian refused to say anything more. “They’re self-replicating nanites, similar to, but not compatible with, your nanocytes.”
“English, Cypher.”
“It’s like a computer virus. More or less, these nanites and your own nanocytes are having a battle royal, and your body is the arena.”
“You’re going to be fine,” Xavian added, stroking her hair back from her face. “Everything is going to be okay.”
She appreciated his reassurances, but she also knew better. At her advanced age—for humans anyway—the nanocytes were the only thing keeping her alive. Her body simply couldn’t function without them, and if they’d been attacked and infected, it wouldn’t be long until they stopped functioning completely.
“How did the Morph even know? And why me?” She sounded whiny and pouting, even to her own ears, but she’d meant it as a genuine concern about the safety of the entire group. “Do you think Asa has been watching us?”
“While I wouldn’t put anything past my brother,” Cypher answered, “I don’t see how that’s possible. Not since we’ve been traveling. I think the nanites were meant for Xavian, not you.”
“Not just Xavian.” Appearing beside Cypher in the doorway, Vane gave her a slow nod. “Deuc and I have been studying the goop in that syringe. These nanites aren’t just attacking your nanocytes. They’re attacking living cells.”
Her head hurt too much for riddles, and her brain felt foggy and sluggish. “Meaning?”
“Naturally, Asa expected us to find him, and he was ready. These nanites replicate so quickly, they can kill even a Nekros.”
“But you’d just burst into flames and be…” She trailed off, trying to remember what Xavian had called it. “You’d be advancely healed.” Advancely? Was that even a word? Fuck, her head hurt. “You know what I mean.”
“I do.” Vane didn’t laugh, though. “I don’t think so. The nanites replicate too quickly, faster than we can heal. Without resistance, such as your nanocytes, they could break down and consume tissue within hours.”
“Well, that’s cheerful. Look at you, Vane, trying to keep my spirits up. That’s what I like about you.”
The males in the room looked to each other in alarm, and Cypher asked, “Is she okay?”
Clearly, her sarcasm was lost on them. “So, basically, I’m going to die, probably end up in an oozing pile of blood and bones, and we can’t stop it.” Yeah, it sucked, but it didn’t change anything. “I guess we should probably hurry up and get this ring before that happens.”
“No!” Xavian bellowed, flying up from the mattress, his chest heaving like a wounded animal. “You are not going to die. I won’t allow it.”
“Then, I guess that’s settled. You just give these nanites a firm talking to, and that’ll be that.”
Her mate glared, but she couldn’t help it. Sarcasm and glibness was the only thing preventing her from curling into a ball and crying until she had no tears left. Of course she didn’t want to die, but it was happening, no matter if Xavian “allowed” it or not.
“Stop it.” He didn’t yell, but the coldness in his voice was almost worse. “Just stop. You don’t have to always be so brave, not with me, nikka.” A low growl vibrated up from his chest. “Leave,” he commanded without looking at either of the other males. Once they’d disappeared and the door slid closed behind them, Xavian moved over to the side of the bed and knelt on the floor in front of her. “I’m not going to lose you. I can’t. We’ll find a way.”
With trembling fingers, she reached out to trace the curve of his jaw, smiling when he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. “The only way to stop this is to deactivate both the virus and my own nanocytes. Either way, I’m going to die.”
Covering her hand with his own, he pressed it firmly to his cheek and nuzzled against her palm. “There’s another way.” Opening his eyes, he stared up at her, a world of sadness and desperation shining in the dual-colored depths. “I could claim you, bond us. Your life would be tied to mine, and since I can’t die…”
She knew what he was asking, and as much as she wanted to accept, she also knew she couldn’t. “That’s not completely accurate, is it? Our lives would be tied together. If it doesn’t work, if I still die, so do you.”
“I’m willing to risk it.”
It seemed impossible that they’d met only a short while ago when it felt like she’d known and loved him f
orever. Maybe she’d fallen in love with him the moment they’d met on the tarmac in the landing fields. Maybe it had happened later. She didn’t know, and it didn’t really matter.
Outsiders might say it had happened too fast, that she couldn’t possibly feel this way so soon. She couldn’t care less what those people had to say. No one knew her heart better than she did, and to hell with what everyone else thought.
“I love you, Xavian, and if we survive this, I’d be honored to bond with you, but I can’t do it, not right now.”
“I love you, too, nikka. So, you understand why I can’t just let you die when I have the ability to do something about it.”
His unwavering devotion warmed her, chasing away the chill that swept through her body, but it wasn’t that simple, and she had to make him understand. It wasn’t just about them, maybe it never had been. Maybe fate had thrown them together now, in this place and time, for this exact purpose.
“We don’t know if it will work,” she repeated, choosing each word carefully. “It may even make it worse, and we’re running out of time. I’m the only one who can get close to Asa, but I can’t do that if I’m dead.”
“You are not going.”
“Yes, I am.” Galaxies, save her from stubborn males. “I don’t want to die, Xavian, but my one, little insignificant life is not more important than the future of an entire race. If Asa finds the Legacy, you know what he’ll do. You know what that means for the Morphlings.”
Right now, the Seal of Solomon was losing its hold over the Morphs, but having the Legacy under his control would change the tides. Not only would it mean the absolute and irrevocable enslavement of the Morphlings, but with that kind of power, the Atreans could conquer entire galaxies. No one deserved that much power.
“You’re worth it to me,” he answered with sincerity, but there was also an undertone of resignation. “If there’s a price to pay, I’ll pay it, but you shouldn’t have to.”
“No one should have to, but that’s not the reality we live in.” The sky beyond the port windows had begun to darken, casting a pale hue across her quarters. “Come on, Xee. Help me up. There isn’t much time.”
