by Lili Zander
Kali’s the woman; Elan’s the guy. The two of them exchange glances, and then the woman, Kali, fixes me with a piercing look. “Very well. You can stay.”
Damn right I can.
I watch, my heart hammering in my chest, as the healers run my mates through a battery of tests. Then the pods fill with a pinkish light that washes over them. “Healing nanoparticles,” Elan explains. “They’ll fix the internal damage.”
“Are they going to be okay?”
He looks up. “They’re Draekons,” he says reassuringly. “Not much can harm us. Even unattended, they would have healed in less than ten days.” He turns to Silu. “What caused the damage?”
“Light missiles,” she replies. “The Zoraken were trying to neutralize them to get to the human.”
I’m only half-listening to the conversation. I’m watching color slowly flow into Ferix and Rorix’s bodies. Their breathing seems to steady, and the lines of pain around their faces ease.
Oh, thank heavens.
“Hang on.” Kali’s voice sharpens, and her eyes never leave the readings. “Silu, do you know these Draekons are infected with the fever?” She scrolls her tablet, and her shoulders stiffen. “Bast,” she swears. “They’re at stage four. We only have twenty hours until they transform fully.”
I grow cold. “What’s stage four?”
Her look is compassionate. “In stage four of the fever, the Draekons will go into a coma. When they emerge from it, they won’t remember who they were. The dragons will have taken over.” She glares at Silu. “How in the name of Caeron did this happen?”
“The Senate…”
I cut in. I don’t want to talk about the Senate, or how this could have happened. I want to talk about the cure. “Can you fix it?” I demand. “Can you heal them, stop the fever before it’s too late?”
Silu puts her hand on my shoulder. “You’re tired. The Draekons are asleep for now. Why don’t I show you to your quarters, and we can discuss this after you’ve had a chance to rest?”
Show me to my quarters? If this stupid bird-alien thinks I’m leaving Ferix and Rorix, she needs to think again. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“You can’t stay here,” she replies. “Commander Cax wants to meet you.”
“Then he can come here,” I snap, folding my arms over my chest. I rarely make a fuss. Being the center of attention makes me want to curl into a ball and hide. But this is not something I’m going to bend on. “What are you going to do, drag me out of here by force? How very nixmi of you.”
For a second, I think I’ve pushed the Adrashian woman too far. Her feathers ruffle in outrage, and her claws sharpen, and then she seems to collect herself. “Very well,” she says stiffly. “I will arrange for a bed to be brought in.”
Without another word, she pivots on her heels and walks out, her tail dragging behind her.
Peace and harmony, I’m not.
23
Sofia
The healers fix me with accusing looks. “You shouldn’t antagonize Silu,” Kali says reproachfully. “She’s your ally, not your enemy.”
Is she? She’s not doing a very good job at it then, with her cryptic half-answers and her refusal to tell me anything meaningful about what’s going on.
But I don’t want to piss off the healers too, especially when they’re responsible for Ferix and Rorix’s care. I don’t reply. Instead, I move between the two pods and gaze down on the sleeping faces of my mates. “They’re not in pain?”
“They’re just asleep,” Elan reassures me.
“Will they wake up? Before…” My voice trails off. I can’t bring myself to say the words. Before they lose their memories.
He shakes his head soberly. “I’m afraid not.” He’s opening his mouth to say something else when the door slides open, and two people walk in.
One is a Draekon I’ve never seen before, tall and broad, with shoulder-length black hair.
The other person is a woman I recognize, a woman who is responsible for many of the troubles we face. The Zorahn scientist who recruited all of us in this mad adventure. The woman who’s being hunted relentlessly by the Zoraken. The intended bride of Lenox, the High Emperor of Zoraht.
Raiht’vi.
My grandmother hated when I swore. She must be turning in her grave right now, because my only reaction to seeing her is one long string of unprintable curses. Silently, of course, because although my abuela is dead, the lessons she taught me aren’t.
What the fuck is Raiht’vi doing here? How is she connected to the lost city?
Focus, Sofia. Time’s ticking. Rorix and Ferix have less than twenty hours. The only thing that matters right now is curing their fever.
The man speaks in Zor to the two healers. Thanks to the translator in my ear, I understand every word. “Could you leave us, please?” he asks politely.
“Of course, Commander,” Kali replies. “We can monitor our patients remotely.”
So this is Commander Cax. Silu’s boss, and the administrator of this city. I take a deep breath. I’m not too proud to beg him for the cure. Whatever it takes, I’m ready.
The healers leave, and the commander addresses me for the first time. “I’m Commander Cax,” he says, switching to English. “It’s good to meet you, Sofia Menendez. You’re probably wondering what Raiht’vi is doing here.”
“Among other things.”
“Of course.” The corners of his mouth turn up. “Silu’s already filed her report. You have many questions, and I’m going to do my best to provide answers.” He gestures to some low cushions in the corner of the room. “Shall we sit?”
I’ve been sitting all day, but I follow his lead and settle myself on the ground. When I’m comfortable, Cax gestures to Raiht’vi. “This is your story. You might as well tell it.”
She nods. “The short version, I ran away and hid, and then I got rescued by Cax’s people,” Raiht’vi says. “Though I’m not sure if ‘rescued’ is the right word. Taken prisoner, maybe. For the moment, I’m a pawn. The Senate is debating what to do with me. Either they’re going to allow me safe passage out of here or surrender me to Lenox.”
“What?” I lean forward in shock. “But you don’t want that to happen.”
She shrugs.
“Allow me to explain,” Cax says. “As recently as seventy years ago, Ashara was more outward looking. When we saw injustice happen, we acted. When the Draekons were exiled to the southern continent with nothing but the clothes on their backs, we intervened. We brought them to live with us. We believed it was the right thing to do.” He pauses. “Some of us still believe this.”
“Most of you are doing a very good job hiding it,” Raiht’vi says acidly. I notice she isn’t wearing the ever-present translator in her ear. Huh. Maybe she had the ‘How to speak English’ brain procedure done? I’m not a neurosurgeon, but I’m still fascinated by the idea that a language can be instantly implanted into someone. One day, when all this is over, maybe I could learn from them.
One day in the future. Right now, I’m fighting for survival.
“Fair enough,” Cax says mildly, refusing to be baited. “Then, the composition of the Senate changed, and a different faction came into power. One that valued peace and harmony for the residents of Ashara above all things.” His voice is cynical. “And so, in the name of peace and harmony, we ignore everything outside our little bubble. What does it matter that Brunox, Head of the Council of Scientists, has been torturing Draekons in secret labs spread across the galaxy? It does not affect Ashara, after all. What if Raiht’vi does not want to bond with Lenox? If she is sent back to him, then the soldiers will leave, and everything will return to normal. Who cares about everyone else? As long as we, the citizens of Ashara, are fine, that’s all that matters.”
I’m struck by the stark loathing in his voice. “What do you believe?”
“I find it difficult to be willfully blind,” he replies. “Don’t get me wrong. I am the administrator of Ashara. My first l
oyalty is to my city. But unlike some in the Senate, I believe we can do both. We can maintain peace and prosperity for our own, and we can also help the galaxy. It isn’t an either-or question.” His lips narrow into a thin, disapproving line. “Right now, the Senate is debating if we should surrender Raiht’vi to Lenox. I find their willingness to trample on individual rights for the greater good quite disturbing.”
So much is going on. My head spins with confusion, and my mind feels like it’s being pulled in a thousand different directions.
I reach for one of the strands. “Dariux’s broadcast,” I murmur. “Aren’t you concerned that the High Empire is going to investigate and find your city?”
There’s a spark of amusement in Cax’s eyes. “Ah, yes, Dariux,” he says. “He certainly painted a big target on us. A bold move. I like it.”
That’s not the reaction I was expecting. “You’re not concerned?”
Cax shrugs. “The Senate has a tendency to move slowly,” he says, his voice bland, a sharp contrast to the gleam in his eyes. He’s definitely happy about Dariux’s message, but I’m not sure why. “This will persuade them to speed things up.”
I take a deep breath and ask the question I’ve been afraid to broach. “Rorix and Ferix are sick with the fever. Silu said there was a cure. Will you help us?”
Cax fixes me with a long look. “The Senate is debating that as well.”
I sit forward in outrage. “If you have a cure, why wouldn’t you help them?”
“Remember, the Senate doesn’t like to intervene,” Cax replies. “They used the removal of the Lowborn from Dariux’s batch as an excuse to keep them outside Ashara, conveniently ignoring that Dariux was helping the Lowborns all along.”
I don’t care about politics, and even if I did, this doesn’t make any sense. What do the actions of Dariux’s exile batch have to do with saving Rorix and Ferix? They weren’t even there.
I must look completely bewildered. “The issues have got tangled up,” Raiht’vi explains. “The Senate has two options. They can send me back to the homeworld and surrender the human women to the Zoraken. If they choose that option, they recognize that the exiles will see Ashara as the enemy. Including Rorix and Ferix.”
Ah. I see. Why heal an enemy soldier when he’s just going to fight against you?
“Or we can fight the Zoraken,” Cax adds. He gets to his feet. “Come with me, Sofia Menendez.”
My mates are, like Raiht’vi, a pawn in a greater game. I’m struggling to keep from crying my eyes out. Both Raiht’vi and Cax are telling me to give up hope.
Cax leads the way to a wall and holds up his wrist over a console. “See the bracelet he’s wearing?” Raiht’vi comments from her spot on the cushions. I look and notice the battered-looking black band she’s referring to. “Everyone in Ashara wears one.” She holds up her wrist, and I see a similar thin, black band of metal on her arm. “It controls access to the city. You can’t do anything without one of these.”
“Yes,” Cax replies absently. “You’ll get an access band later today, Sofia Menendez. Silu is configuring it now.”
The display flashes silver, and then a recessed panel in the wall slides open to reveal a cupboard. Cax reaches unerringly for a large bottle of golden liquid in the bottommost shelf. “The cure,” he says. “The fever is not common in Ashara. I haven’t heard of a case in my lifetime, but we always have darniq in reserve. All you need to do is load it into the dispenser in the pods. The rest is automatic.” He gives me a sober look. “The Senate isn’t the only complication you will face,” he says. “The drug comes at a cost.”
The shocks keep coming, but I’m just numb. “What cost?”
“You’re Ferix and Rorix’s mate? You’ve been together? Consummated the relationship?”
Not sure how that’s any of his business. I nod slightly.
“Stage four of the fever…” He grimaces. “The Draekons are unconscious. They don’t have the ability to make decisions anymore. As their mate, you’ll have to accept treatment on their behalf.”
Get to the freaking point, damn it. “Why wouldn’t I choose the cure?”
“Darniq affects memory,” he replies. “In every case we’ve recorded, the fever recedes, but the Draekons no longer remember their mate. It is as if the mating bond never happened. If you accept treatment, Sofia Menendez, the Draekons will be cured. But you will lose them.”
24
Sofia
Shock blankets me.
I want to curl up in a ball and hide in a corner. This is an impossible choice. If I want Rorix and Ferix back, I’m going to have to lose them. Their touch, their warmth, their protectiveness. It’ll all be gone. I’ll have to look at them every day and remember what we had. What they’ve forgotten.
For so many years, I waited for the perfect moment, the perfect men. When I slept with someone for the first time, I wanted to be sure. To know without question that what I was doing was right. That the act of sex was just a way of deepening a connection that was already there.
In the last week, I’ve never once regretted my choice. Ferix and Rorix have never once treated me with anything other than love and respect.
And now, I’m going to have to give it all up.
To save them.
The moment my conscience whispers those words to me, what I need to do becomes clear. It’s not an impossible choice after all. Because I would do anything to save my mates. Anything at all. Including giving them up.
There’s pain, of course. Raw agony. My heart is being flayed alive. It will forever be shredded by this.
But my pain doesn’t matter. Because while I’m trying to protect my heart, Ferix and Rorix are fighting for their very selves. For their souls. For survival. They’re struggling to hold on to their sentience. And that’s the most important battle of all.
“It doesn’t matter,” I whisper. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to save them.” Don’t cry, Sofia. Hold it together just a little longer. The drug is in front of you. Do what you need to do to convince Cax to administer it to your mates.
Cax gives me a long, searching look. “The Senate will want to speak to you.”
But they only have twenty hours left.
I’m about to open my mouth to beg Cax for the drug when the door slides open once again, and Silu hurries into the room, a tablet in her hands. “Sorry to interrupt, Commander,” she says. “We have a problem.”
She hands him the display. He looks at it and visibly pales. “I’ve got to go,” he says abruptly. Before I can lurch forward, the door slides shut on the cupboard holding the life-saving drug. And then Cax and Silu hurry out of the room, leaving me alone with Raiht’vi.
We sit in silence for a while. I’m not in any mood to talk; I’m struggling not to burst into tears. I’m secretly hoping she goes away so I can be alone with Rorix and Ferix. So I can hug their bodies one more time.
For days, I’ve ignored the facts. Ignored everything everyone has told me about the fever. But the truth is worse than any of their warnings.
There’s no place to run anymore. No place to hide. No more cover for me to lie to myself.
Raiht’vi is the first one to break the quiet. “How are the others?” she asks. “Did Harper have her youngling?”
I nod. “A little girl. She named her Kaida.” I stare at the Zorahn scientist. I swear, if I live to be a thousand years old, I’ll never understand Raiht’vi. “You seem to be very calm about this situation.”
“I’ve been a pawn my entire life, Sofia. You get used to it.” A small smile curls her lips. “I take comfort where I can. They let me use the labs here. Under careful supervision, of course, but it’s better than nothing. All I ever wanted to do was be a scientist.”
“If they let you go, what will you do?”
She actually answers, which takes me by surprise. “I contacted Tarish, the leader of the rebellion. I’ll give him the location of the secret labs in exchange for protection. Maybe the rebels care ab
out science. Maybe they’ll set me up in a lab in some backwater planet somewhere.”
Her voice is flat, mechanical. This is not a woman who has a lot of hope for the future.
“What rebellion?”
“Not everyone is happy about the decision to exile anyone who tests positive,” she says. “Especially now that the mutation has spread. It’s easy to exile ten people. A lot harder if it’s two thousand. Eventually, people are going to start to speak up about the injustice of what we do to the Draekons.”
A knock on the door interrupts our conversation. Again. This so-called private healer’s room is evidently turning into a tourist attraction. It’s Silu. She hands me a black bracelet. “The healers have impressed on the Senate how little time Rorix and Ferix have,” she says, her expression unreadable. “They would like to speak to you now.”
“Why me?”
“You are their mate,” she replies, as if it were obvious. “In their present condition, they can’t advocate for themselves. You must speak for them.”
My knees quake as I get to my feet. I want to be sick. My stomach churns unpleasantly, and bile rises in my throat. I’m going to be pleading for the lives of my mates.
But my voice betrays none of my turmoil. “I’m ready.”
“There are six members in the Senate,” Silu says as we walk down a plant-lined corridor. “Two Draekons, two Adrashians, and even though it doesn’t matter, two Makpi.”
“Why doesn’t it matter?”
“The Makpi are a hive mind,” she replies. “They always vote as one. The members in the Senate are figureheads. The hive mind—the Central Intelligence—makes the decisions, and she’s probably already decided which way she’s going to vote.”
That doesn’t sound promising.
“The Draekons and the Adrashians are the variables. Ulle, the Draekon woman, will vote against you no matter what you say. Sarfax is persuadable. Gikram is a retired techmage. He’s an ally. Rozam is a wildcard.”
