by Zoey Draven
“So,” Erin started, understanding what he was saying, “we need to spread the word around the Golden City. About the vaccine. About Jaxor.”
“Jaxor’an, female,” the Prime Leader corrected. Erin looked up at him in surprise. “The people need to remember that he is my brother and the heir of Kirax’an.”
“Jaxor’an,” Erin repeated softly. “Right.”
“I can have no part in this,” Vaxa’an told her gently. “It will be up to you…and those that help you.”
Erin nodded, realization blooming.
“It was you that took the vaccine from Po’grak’s vessel and though the council would rather you remain silent about its existence…they cannot force you to.”
For the first time, Erin shot a small, conspiratorial grin up at him, her heart speeding. “Jaxor’an also killed Po’grak. I saw him.”
Vaxa’an nodded, pleased. “I am certain there are many Luxirians who will rejoice in that fact.”
Erin’s lungs swelled with breath, with hope, her mind racing. They needed a narrative. A strong one. One that would force the council to take notice that the people of the Golden City would fight for Jaxor’s—Jaxor’an’s—freedom.
Would they?
Vaxa’an seemed to believe so. And that was enough for Erin.
“I’ll rally the troops tonight,” she said, setting her sights back on the Golden City, a plan already forming in her mind.
This will work, she thought.
It had to.
Chapter Forty-Seven
It started with a whisper. Just a small, innocent comment made by Erin to a Luxirian female named Bruxilia, who oversaw the Archives in the Golden City. Kate had brought her there the very next morning after her talk with Vaxaan. The night before, Erin had burst inside the dwelling where all the women were gathered and told them of her plan.
And Kate had known the perfect female to set that plan into motion.
Kate adored Bruxilia and Bruxilia adored Kate. The older Luxirian female was grouchy but hilariously blunt. The moment Bruxilia met Erin, she’d told her she needed to eat more and sent for a huge, heaping platter of food.
It had been Erin’s first time in the Golden City, beyond the housing terrace. She tried not to be distracted by the grand Archive building, with its rows and rows of scrolls, but it was difficult. But she was there for Jaxor and Jaxor alone.
During their mealtime, Erin let it slip. They were talking about the battle that had taken place and Bruxilia was especially interested since Kate told her Erin had been there. Bruxilia had questioned her relentlessly, trying to gather every last piece of information, and it was then Erin realized why Kate had brought her to the Archives. Because Bruxilia loved gossip and would spread it far and wide.
“I wonder what the Prime Leader will decide about the Mevirax,” Bruxilia had commented, her eyes shining on Erin, leaning forward ever so slightly.
It was almost too easy.
“Yes, especially since one of their females is pregnant,” Erin said, her tone nonchalant, reaching forward to take a hunk of braised, delicious meat from the platter Bruxilia had ordered.
Bruxilia froze, her eyes widening like saucers. “Rebax?”
Erin could almost sense her racing thoughts. She was already thinking about who she would tell.
Erin frowned. “You didn’t know? But that’s why the battle took place to begin with. To get the vaccine from the Jetutians.”
Bruxilia sputtered, “The—the vaccine? What vaccine?”
Erin blinked. Kate cut in, “Erin, I don’t think Vaxa’an would—”
But Bruxilia had already latched on. “Nix, nix, nix, you tell me right now,” she said, waving a hand at Kate, shushing her as she locked her gaze on Erin. “What vaccine?”
And so, Erin had told her. Everything. While Kate bit her lip, rocking Ollie, feigning discomfort, Erin spilled all the details, making sure to emphasize that it was Jaxor’an who led the Prime Leader and the warriors to the Jetutians, that it was Jaxor’an who discovered the existence of the vaccine, that it was Jaxor’an who killed Po’grak and brought the vaccine to the Prime Leader after the battle. That it was Jaxor’an who’d very likely saved her own life.
Erin also heavily implied that Jaxor’an had been a spy for Vaxa’an—which wasn’t entirely untrue. Jaxor had been planning to steal the vaccine and bring it to his brother, after all, so it fell surprisingly easily off her lips.
Then she took a deep breath, deciding to reveal one more thing. Jaxor had warned against it, but Erin had decided that she was no coward. She wasn’t ashamed that she was Jaxor’s mate, though that was what he might believe.
“And now, I’ve been so stressed about the trial that Privanax fears for the baby’s health,” Erin said. “Jaxor’an and I never even got to perform our ravraxia.”
Their mating ceremony.
“Oh Fates,” Bruxilia said, leaning back against the fire pit cushions where they were sitting in the middle of the Archives. “Oh Fates.”
The older Luxirian female was shaking her head, her eyes wide, stunned. For a moment, she was entirely speechless.
Then she swiveled her head to Kate and asked, her voice a little weak, “This…this is all true?”
Kate pursed her lips, leveling Bruxilia a familiar look. Kate’s silence was almost as good as a ‘yes.’ Being the Prime Leader’s mate and the queen of his people put her in an awkward position, but she’d offered Erin her help regardless. She couldn’t outright confirm or deny it, but her silence was enough for Bruxilia.
“This is outrageous!” Bruxilia sputtered. “And the council is still putting Jaxor’an on trial? It is…it is unheard of!”
Relief coiled in Erin’s belly and she sank back into the cushion propped against her back. The healing wound over her right breast gave a small throb.
They left shortly after. Ollie got fussy and the guard that Vaxa’an assigned to Kate gave them a ride back to the Ambassador terrace, where the other women were waiting.
“Well?” Lainey demanded when they returned.
Erin and Kate exchanged looks. Erin gave them a small, tired smile. She’d barely slept the night before and had terrible sickness that morning.
“We’ll have to wait and see,” she said softly.
“I have never underestimated that female,” Kate said, returning from the meal hall, her gaze tired. Not one but two guards had been trailing her and they remained stationed outside the dwelling door. “For good reason.”
Erin stood immediately and approached her. “How did it go? What happened?”
The sky was dark; night had fallen. Just a half-hour ago, Kate had ventured to the meal hall to see if the news was already beginning to spread.
“Oh, it’s spreading all right,” Kate said as Erin helped her to sit. Cecelia had been rocking Ollie and handed him over to his mother. Kate looked down at her son, pride and love shining in her gaze, before looking up at Erin. “It’s spreading fast.”
“Really?” Erin said, her chest squeezing.
Kate nodded. “I didn’t even reach the food. Right when I stepped inside, everyone looked at me. Then a group approached, asking me if it was true. About the vaccine. About Jaxor’an. They were frustrated when I couldn’t say anything. Angry even. My guards had to step in to escort me out.”
“Oh my God,” Erin whispered, dropping down to the fire pit, looking around at all seven women present: Kate, Taylor, Lainey, Cecelia, Beks, Crystal, and Bianca.
“Sorry, ladies,” Kate said, “but it might be a long night for your mates. Right when I was leaving, I saw a group of hovercrafts approaching the command center and more were going on foot.”
“To get answers?” Taylor guessed, pressing her lips together.
“Undoubtedly,” Kate said.
“I’m sorry,” Erin said, looking at Kate. “I don’t want to put you in unnecessary danger. You have a son now—”
“Nonsense,” Kate said, taking her hand. “Jaxor’an is my mate’s
brother. He loves him. Dearly. I can’t just sit by and do nothing.”
“Thank you,” Erin said. She turned her gaze to the rest of the women. “To all of you too. For helping me with this plan. For supporting me though I’ve been kind of a mess lately.”
All of them had contacts in their respective outposts. Over the course of the day, they’d called in over the Coms to help share the news that was spreading within the Golden City. Although, it had probably been unnecessary. Many Luxirians had family and friends spread across the planet. News would’ve reached the outposts regardless.
Not only that, but when Erin had come back to the house after visiting Jaxor last night, she’d broken down. She’d been so ashamed by how she’d acted, so ashamed that Jaxor still didn’t know that she was pregnant, that she was staying on Luxiria. It hurt knowing that he hurt.
Lainey waved her hand. “You’re like a sister to us. No ‘thank you’ necessary.”
Erin gave her a wobbly smile.
Beks asked softly, “Now what?”
Erin said, “We wait. Again.”
The trial was scheduled to take place in four days. Would four days be enough time for Jaxor?
The story spread like wildfire, engulfing the entire city. Erin got reports from Kate, who mostly got them from Bruxilia, considering she’d barely seen Vaxa’an. All the women barely saw their mates, since the command center was apparently on lockdown, which meant that Erin couldn’t see Jaxor either, no matter how much she pleaded.
Luxirians from all over the city—and apparently even some of the outposts—were stationed outside the command center, still demanding answers. Hundreds of them. Males and females—young and old alike—wanted to know about a potential vaccine, wanted the truth about the Mevirax, about the Jetutians, about Jaxor’an. At night, Erin would go out on the terrace and hear their chants and cries echoing around the city, bouncing off the mountain, and she’d sit there for hours listening to them, wondering if it would be enough. They seemed to never stop.
One night, as she listened to the noise, she looked up at the sky and recognized constellations that she’d seen at Jaxor’s base. It made her miss him. Terribly. She pressed a hand to her stomach, knowing that it was already growing.
She would be a mother. Sometimes, she forgot that. Sometimes, she forgot that she was pregnant. Just that afternoon, she’d held Ollie in her arms while Kate ate and she’d been overwhelmed with the jolting knowledge that she’d have her own child in her arms soon. One that might have piercing blue eyes and dark horns, just like Ollie.
Jaxor took up most of her thoughts. For good reason.
And that night, as she listened to the Luxirians’ protests, as she sat out there alone on the Ambassador terrace, looking up at familiar constellations with a cool wind whipping through her hair…she found the clarity that she’d been desperately seeking.
She’d found a male who loved her, who wanted her safe and happy even if it meant giving up his own happiness, his own life. She’d found a male who had lied to her, who had made some admittedly bad decisions...but she had the choice to forgive him and move on. And isn’t that what she’d always done? Move on?
Except, she knew that she didn’t want to ‘move on’…unless Jaxor was right there beside her.
And when Erin realized that, she took in a deep breath, deciding right there and then that she forgave him. She decided right there and then that she wanted to start fresh. She wanted him. She chose him.
I’m sorry, Jaxor, she thought, biting her lip, feeling her throat begin to burn.
She was sorry that she’d been a coward, that she’d been too afraid to get hurt again. She was sorry that she’d been quick to believe everything Tavar had told her, that she hadn’t considered what Jaxor’s motivations had been. She was sorry that her mate still didn’t know that he would be a father. She was sorry that she’d kept silent when he told her he loved her.
Looking up at the night sky, she knew that if he was exiled, she would go with him. Wherever that might be. Though it was a frightening thought, to journey to a new planet when she’d just become comfortable on Luxiria, she would do anything for him…and for their family.
Because that was what they could be. That was what she wanted to be.
A family.
She just hoped it wasn’t too late for them.
The next morning, three days after Erin had spoken with Bruxilia at the Archives, two warriors from the command center appeared on their terrace.
“The Prime Leader and the elder council are requesting your presence at the command center,” one of them said, looking straight at Erin once he’d entered their dwelling.
Erin’s heart thudded in her throat. “Me?”
“Tev,” the warrior said, inclining his head. “Immediately.”
Has something happened? She wondered, rising to her feet, her breath quickening.
The other women watched her quietly. Lainey caught her hand as she passed, “Will you be all right?”
Erin squeezed her hand. “Yes. Don’t worry.”
Erin didn’t know whether she was shaking with anxiety or relief. It had been three days of endless waiting, all while counting down the minutes to Jaxor’s trial. Three days of not seeing him, not hearing his voice or feeling his touch, of not telling him all the things she wanted to. Would she be able to see him now if she was going to the command center?
She’d insist on it.
The two warriors boarded her onto a hovercraft and they flew off the terrace, heading in the direction of the command center. The pale blue dress she wore billowed with the wind. It was in the Luxirian style, light and airy and silky, flowing to her ankles.
A gasp escaped her when she saw the crowds…when she saw the sheer amount of Luxirians outside the main entrance of the command center. She’d heard the chants, had known that there was a large gathering, but nothing prepared her for the size of the protests.
It looked like over a thousand Luxirians were gathered there, spread across the black sand, billowing out from the entrance. When the hovercraft began the descend, cries went up into the air, angry words and chanting being hurled at them. There was a line of guards keeping the entrance to the command center cleared and they landed in the only open patch available, just before the doors.
Erin got the strangest sense of claustrophobia as one of the tall warrior guards helped her down. It felt like she was surrounded on all sides as the guards ushered her towards the entrance. Some Luxirians cried out her name when they saw her, though it shocked her that they knew it. A wave went through the crowd and questions were thrown at her, some in English, some in Luxirian.
With her ears ringing, she heard them. Is there a cure? Did Jaxor’an kill Po’grak? Were the Jetutians planning another attack? Was Jaxor’an a spy for the Golden City? Is a Mevirax female pregnant?
Her heartbeat was thumping so hard in her chest by the time the guards led her through the command center doors. When they slid closed behind her, she heard the voices still. They seemed to echo down the mostly empty corridors as the guards led her to another twin set of doors.
When they opened, she was guided into a bright room, so bright she had to blink back sudden tears. But she saw that the ceiling resembled a solid sheet of glass, strengthening and funneling the light of the twin suns inside. For a moment, she was confused. They had to be in the command center, but the command center was inside a mountain, wasn’t it?
As her eyes adjusted, she saw that the room was circular, metal benches lining the outer walls, though no one sat on them. The guards led her down steps as Erin took in her surroundings. There were five seated Luxirian males in a row on a raised dais in the center of the room. All older males, so she guessed they were the members of the elder council. The males that would decide the fate of Jaxor’s future and by extension, her own.
Off to the side, she caught sight of the Ambassadors—all of them—and Vaxa’an.
Then her breath hitched because she saw Jaxor.
He was standing on a slightly raised circular platform before the dais, dressed in black pants and a dark grey long-sleeved tunic. He turned when he heard her and she saw that his wrists were attached to a chain imbedded in the platform.
Erin drank in the sight of him, her heartbeat pounding wildly when their eyes locked.
Our gazes are like magnets, she remembered. She’d always be looking for him. Always.
His expression was carefully blank as he regarded her from his platform. That expression broke her a little. She’d seen it before…during their first encounter and the days afterwards when he’d admitted that he’d been trying to keep his distance.
That expression told her that he was trying to keep himself emotionally distant right then because he believed that she no longer wanted him as her mate.
When she veered towards him, needing to speak with him, the guard took her arm and halted her progress. She heard the rattling of Jaxor’s chains, no doubt in response to the fact that another male put his hands on her. His Instinct was very much still alive within him, no matter how hard he tried to dampen its power.
Erin frowned, looking up at the guard, but he said, “I apologize, female, but you cannot speak with him until after the trial concludes.”
“What?” she repeated, her eyes going to Jaxor, shaking her head. “That’s ridiculous. Let me go. I need to talk to him.”
The guard’s grip on her was steadfast. A familiar rumbling growl rose into the air and Erin froze, knowing it was coming from Jaxor and realizing that she didn’t want to cause trouble for him.
Thankfully, Vaxa’an approached and the guard immediately released her. Jaxor’s growls quieted until they ceased.
Erin licked her lips, sudden tension filling the circular, domed room. “What’s going on?” she asked the Prime Leader when he stopped in front of her.
“The council decided to expedite his trial,” Vaxa’an said, his voice low.
Erin froze, her breath hitching. Dull chants and cries reached her ears. Erin realized she could still hear the protests from outside. For the first time, she took in the room with new eyes. It looked like…a courtroom. A grand, alien courtroom, but a courtroom nonetheless. The elders were even dressed in long, white robes.
