by Lili Zander
“Go easy on it. It packs a punch.” I stare at the flames. “I’m not deliberately being cryptic. I want to tell you everything you want to know, but I’m in charge of Ashara, and we’ve already been attacked once. Trust is in short supply.”
Hurux sits up. “Attacked by who? By the Navy?”
He doesn’t know anything. One glance at his face, and it’s obvious that the attack on Ashara is a complete shock to Hurux. I’m strangely relieved by this. “We have shields that protect us, but someone inside my city dropped them at the right time. Someone’s working with the Zorahn Empire. Silu, my second-in-command is doing her best to contain the damage, but I should be there.”
“Why would the Navy attack you?” Hurux argues. “Their only interest in this planet is the missing women.”
Bryce clears her throat. “I’m still here,” she says pointedly. “Can we start the story at the beginning? As much as I love listening to hours and hours of debate about Zorahn politics, I’m much more interested in discovering why I’m being abducted and taken to the lost city.”
My lips twitch. She’s adorable when she’s pert.
“In that case, a history lesson. A brief one.”
“Another history lesson? I’m going to need more booze.” Bryce takes another drink from the flask, and pleasure fills her face. “This is so good. I’d make a fortune with this stuff back home.” Her lips twitch. “Who knows? If I have to go back to Earth, maybe I’ll steal a food-synthesizer that can make sarinth and become a millionaire peddling booze.”
I don’t want to think of her going back to Earth. The pleasure on her face… I want to be the one that causes it. Bryce is my mate. I want her to look at me the way she’s looking at the flask of sarinth liquor.
You’re a fool, Cax.
To keep from fantasizing about her fingers around my cock, I force myself to continue the story. “A thousand years ago, the Zorahn Empire was tearing itself apart inside out. Their scientists had created the Draekons to be the perfect soldiers, but they’d lost control of them. And there’s no doubt, those Draekons were dangerous. They’d been experimented on. Tortured. Their mates had been killed in front of their eyes, and their younglings…” My voice trails off. “Anyway. The Draekons were battle-mad. For almost twenty years, the universe danced on the edge of chaos and collapse.”
The fire starts to die out, and I toss another pellet into the flames. “In those troubled times, a group of people—Zorahn, Adrashian, and Makpi—came together to found the Free Cities as a bulwark against the collapse of civilization. Many cities were created. Ashara is only one of them.”
“Do you know the others?”
“A few, but not all. Nobody knows how many cities were set up. We were founded in secrecy, and we’ve remained that way. We’ve tried looking for the others but have only found a handful. Some probably died out, but others choose to remain hidden.”
Hurux looks intrigued. Bryce, fascinated. “Fast forward a few hundred years. The Zorahn Empire started exiling Draekons to our planet. Nowadays, the Empire waits until the children become boys. In the early days, they didn’t. We couldn’t stand by and watch. We rescued them and brought them to Ashara, and we all flourished.”
“Then what happened?” Bryce asks, leaning forward, her golden hair falling over her shoulder, soft and silky. “You didn’t rescue Dariux’s exile batch.”
I have to ball my hands into fists to keep from reaching out and touching those strands. To keep from running my fingers through her hair, to keep from drawing her closer. This is insane. We barely know each other. “Attitudes changed. The Senate decided that we should reserve Ashara’s resources for its citizens. They stoked the population’s fears. Painted the exiles as criminals. When Belfox and Herrix banished the Lowborns from their camps, they played into the Senate’s hands. We decided we would no longer intervene.”
“And now?” Hurux asks bluntly. “You’re here. You’re interfering with my mission. If I believe what you said, you’ve ordered my ships seized. That doesn’t sound like non-intervention to me.”
“I’m not the Senate, Commander,” I retort. “I don’t like standing by and watching people suffer.”
“Did you help Sofia?” Bryce asks, her voice soft. “And Rorix and Ferix? You said they’re fine.”
I want her to think well of me. “As much as I could, without directly going against the Senate. My second-in-command, Silu, gave Sofia access to the drugs she needed. Rorix and Ferix are cured of the fever. The three of them are in Ashara now.”
Bryce heaves a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank heavens.” She smiles at me, soft and warm, and my dragon roars in approval. “What about the other missing people? Dariux? Raiht’vi? Even Beirax. Are they safe too?”
I have to be careful here. “Beirax is in a prison cell. I don’t know where Dariux is. He’s good at staying undetected.”
Hurux chuckles unexpectedly. “That he is,” he agrees. “He used to be my boss, a long time ago. It was a little intimidating working for someone that knew everything all the time.” He stares at the fire. “I notice you were careful to avoid mentioning Raiht’vi. Where is she, Cax?”
Bryce is staring at me, her eyes wide. There’s a part of me, a desperate, honorless part, that wants to lie to her. Tell her I have no idea where the Emperor’s betrothed is. Because the moment I tell her the truth—that Raiht’vi is a prisoner in Ashara, that the Senate is very seriously considering handing her over to the Emperor in exchange for a cessation of hostilities—Bryce isn’t going to be smiling at me anymore. She’ll think of me as a monster.
And she would be right.
I should lie, but I can’t bring myself to. “She’s in Ashara,” I reply flatly, knowing that my words will seal my fate and make my mate hate me forever. “She’s a bargaining chip. If it comes down to it, and my city’s survival is at stake, I’ll hand her over to Lenox.”
Bryce looks horrified. “You would send her back, even though she doesn’t want to return. Even though she’s desperate to escape Lenox.” She turns to Hurux. “And you would aid this effort. You would take Raiht’vi back to the Empire. You would take us back to Earth.”
“Yes.”
“And what she wants doesn’t matter? What I want doesn’t matter?”
Neither Hurux nor I say anything. What is there to say?
She exhales slowly. Her expression turns bitter. “On a different day, I would try and argue with you,” she says. “But not today. Neither of you believes that I have the right to choose how I want to live my life, and I shouldn’t have to convince you of my humanity.” She gets to her feet and moves stiffly to her pack. Without another word, she pulls her bedroll out and sets it in a corner of the cave. “You can take me to Ashara. You can send me back to Earth. But don’t fool yourself. I am your prisoner. I don’t consent to any of this.”
Fuck.
8
Hurux
Well, that went well.
Cax and I sit in silence for a very long time. I can feel Bryce’s anger and frustration, I can sense her tears. Her emotions batter me, and my dragon—still getting used to the fact that I have a dragon inside me—is extremely unhappy.
After an hour, she falls asleep, and I can think again. “Why did you take our ships?”
Cax looks drained. “The soldiers you’re commanding are thieves and crooks, Hurux. They’re not here because they believe in your mission. They’re here because of only one thing. The bounty. If they capture one of the human women, I don’t want them taking off with her.”
I survey Cax silently. “You don’t want to surrender them, do you?”
“It’s not entirely within my control,” he replies. “You serve a greater power, and so do I. Are you planning to call off your search for Raiht’vi based on what Dariux told you? Based on what Bryce told you?”
That shuts me up.
“How many Adrashian stunners did you bring?” Cax asks.
I debate ignoring his question. But really, what’
s the point? If Cax is right and he has our ships, then I can’t get off this planet without his cooperation.
Even if I could, where would I go? I’m not Zorahn, as I’ve believed my entire life. I’m a Draekon. There is no place in the High Empire for someone like me. I can either confess who I am to the scientists and be exiled, or I can live my life on the run.
“A couple of missiles,” I reply. “They should be back at camp. And one gun, that I’m carrying.” I pat my hip. What with the shock of turning into a dragon and meeting my mate, and the subsequent skimmer chase, I can’t believe I still have the weapon on me. Pure Zoraken instinct, I guess.
Cax raises his eyebrow. “You could have shot me,” he points out. “Why didn’t you?”
I don’t know how to answer that. On the surface, my loyalties seem clear. But underneath the certainty, my subconscious doesn’t know what to think.
“Don’t do it.” Cax turns back to the fire. “The mating bond is still taking shape. If you do anything to damage it at this stage, there are far-reaching consequences.”
I incline my head toward Bryce’s sleeping figure. Both Cax and I are doing plenty to damage the mating bond, no gun required. Bryce MacFarland—my mate—cried herself to sleep. Because of the two of us. “In that case, we should prepare for far-reaching consequences.”
“I know.” His tone is filled with self-loathing. “Trust me, I’m well aware.”
My chest feels tight. “The shield protecting the Draekons and the humans,” I say, to get my mind off Bryce MacFarland. “That’s your doing, isn’t it?”
“Brunox wouldn’t abandon the search for his daughter. The exiles and the humans were in harm’s way. I had to put them somewhere safe. The Southern Outpost was built before I was born. It’s old tech, but it’s still better than anything the High Empire has. I arranged for them to go there.”
“Arranged?”
He shrugs. “The exiles should have figured it out. The mountaintop is unnaturally flat. But they weren’t exploring their surroundings; they had more urgent matters at hand. So, I gave them a little push.” He smiles reluctantly. “Bryce would have found it in a flash. She’s been all over this part of the planet. She knows it better than most of the exiles.” He takes a sip of sarinth, and his voice turns reflective. “She’s got the soul of an explorer. There’s a whole galaxy out there, one I’d love to show her.”
Traveling around the galaxy, with nothing holding us back. It’s a seductive, tempting image. My duty to the High Empire feels like a noose. I serve a system that demands I reunite a frightened woman with her powerful bondmate, all because he is High Emperor and I am sworn to obey. That demands I imprison my mate and return her to Earth against her will.
“You’ve been protecting them for a long time,” I say, pointing out the obvious. “No matter what your Senate orders, can you really send the humans back to Earth?”
He gives me a mocking smile. “Having a change of heart, Commander Hurux? Sending the humans back to Earth is your mission, or have you forgotten?”
The two of us lapse into silence.
In the darkness, broken only by flickering flame, my thoughts wander back to my past. To the first time my mother baked kesvet cookies for me. Then they wander even further back in time. To the dim, long-suppressed memories of my father.
He was a scientist, like my mother, that much I know. They’d been part of competing laboratories, both working to fuse tech and genetics to create something new, something that had never been done before. They’d met at a conference, and against all the odds, they’d fallen in love. Ignoring blood rules—my mother was Highborn, but my father was from a Midborn merchant family—they’d been bonded.
Then he’d been taken away. Earlier today, I’d connected the dots. My father must have been Draekon.
Hang on. I’ve been so overwhelmed by discovering that I’m a Draekon that I’ve become stupid. If my father had tested positive, he would have been exiled.
Exiled to the prison planet.
Could my father still be alive? Cax said that his city had rescued exile batches. Would my father have been one of the people Ashara saved?
Do you really want to know the truth?
If he’s still alive, he’s a Draekon. One of the hated beasts. Even Cax had admitted that the Draekons had been battle-mad. If I met my father, what could I say to him? That I loathe his species, that I loathe who I’ve become?
There are no easy answers.
The fire’s almost out. Cax gets to his feet abruptly and swings his pack on his shoulders.
“Where are you going?”
“Outside,” he says tersely. “Because I’m all kinds of a fool, I’m going hunting in the middle of the night for an orange creature with three tails and the misfortune of being named Fluffy McCutie.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It’s Bryce’s pet,” he says. “That’s why she left the others. She was looking for it.” He rubs his eyes wearily. “I can’t promise her that Raiht’vi will be safe. I can’t promise her that the humans will be fine. I can’t promise her anything worth a damn, Commander Hurux. But before we leave for Ashara in the morning, I can find her pet.”
I get up. “I’ll come with you.”
Cax looks like he’s going to argue. Before he can say no, I try again. “I don’t like the choices in front of me either, Cax.”
“Fine.” He takes a small device out of his pack. “Portable shield,” he says in explanation. “Nothing in this planet will get past it. Bryce will be safe.”
From predators, maybe. But not from us.
9
Bryce
Someone is licking my face. What the hell?
I reach out to push them away. If Cax or Hurux think they can get back in my good books by…
Hang on. That makes no sense. Also, unless I’ve missed something about the two Draekons, they don’t purr, they’re not furry, and they don’t have three tails, all of which are tickling my nose.
Fluffy McCutie.
I jolt awake and hug the Fluffster to my chest. “Hey baby,” I murmur, holding her tight and feeling her squirm against me in protest. “You got bored of the Dsar Cliffs, didn’t you? You ran away.” I trail my fingers through her fur. “Bad Fluffy. You scared me, monkey.”
Fluffy tolerates being cuddled for five seconds, and then she wriggles away. I roll to my feet. Cax is nowhere to be seen, but Hurux is standing at the entrance to the cave, staring outside at the landscape. “It’s so peaceful here,” he says. “The entire surface of the Homeworld is covered with buildings. Not a speck of green in sight.”
“That seems rather sad,” I reply cautiously. “Did you find Fluffy for me?”
“It was Cax’s idea. I just went along with him.”
“Oh.” They must have spent all night looking for Fluffy. I’d searched for eight hours yesterday and hadn’t found her. It’s a really kind thing to do. “Thank you.”
They’re still going to send you back to Earth, Bryce. Not just you. They’re going to separate babies from their mothers. They’re going to tear Kaida from Harper’s arms.
“It was nothing,” he replies, not meeting my eyes.
Cax chooses that moment to enter the cave. “Ah, you’re up.” He doesn’t look at me either. “I sent word to Arax this morning that you’re safe, so they won’t be worried.”
More unexpected kindness. “You sent word to Arax? But that would involve exposing your city’s existence.”
“It wasn’t going to remain a secret much longer anyway,” he replies. “We should head out.”
I debate protesting, and then I let it go. There’s no point anyway. Cax seems pretty determined to leave for Ashara as quickly as possible.
His city has been attacked. Can you blame him?
We get going. The skimmer moves so quickly that the landscape is a blur. I sit in the back, Fluffy sprawled next to me, her head in my lap, and stare out of the window. Liam would have loved this. He loved to travel,
loved new experiences.
We don’t slow down until early evening. We curve around a corner, and the view takes my breath away. Tall red mountains rise on both sides of a blue river. Brightly colored birds, each the size of a glider, swoop between the cliffs, skimming the surface of the water. It’s spectacular and unspoiled, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
“Is this Ashara?” It feels weird to talk. I haven’t said a word to them all day.
“No. We’re going to my home.”
“You don’t live in the city?”
“I have quarters there,” he replies. “I come here to get away.” He closes the roof of the skimmer and sets course for one of the mountains. As we approach, I realize we’re making our way toward a tall waterfall.
No, not toward. Cax is setting his course for the waterfall. If he doesn’t watch out, he’s going to crash into the mountain face.
Or not. I grip my seat as the skimmer goes straight through. For a second, water pours down onto the skimmer, and then we’re in a cave behind the falls.
“Home.”
“But not Ashara proper,” Hurux notes perceptively. “Are we a secret?”
“Yes.” Cax gets out of the skimmer and helps me out. “For the next few days, until I solve who’s behind the shield failure, I think it’s wisest to keep you two out of sight.”
“Why?” I don’t understand what the point of dragging us here is.
“A human mate… Complicates things. In times of war, I’m in charge of the city. But if I’m to argue that we shouldn’t cooperate with the High Empire, I have to be perceived as neutral. If people find out I have a human mate, they won’t take me seriously.”
If I’m to argue that we shouldn’t cooperate with the Empire…
Hope rises in me, and I push it down ruthlessly. So far, every time I start to think that they’re good guys, something happens to knock sense back into me.
