by Jade Waltz
“Collect me?”
“Yes. He paged Auro before I came out here and asked if we knew where you were. When I told him that you’re staying with us while on the base, he got verbally upset.” She flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder and shot me a smile. “He started on some tirade about how you’re his patient and it’s unsafe for you to be so far from the infirmary. When Celyze stated he was fully capable of taking care of you and that you wanted to stay the night, he just got angrier. He didn’t stop complaining until I told him that you offered to see the commander. He said he was on his way to get you before ending the call.”
“Why is he so angry?”
“Zyxel has been temperamental as long as I’ve known him.” She shrugged and pressed a few buttons on her wristband. “I messaged Celyze to join us. He’s going to fly you down and accompany you to see Commander Ryzen, to make sure nothing drastic happens.”
“What do they think will happen?”
“No one knows. Everything concerning the commander is a secret.” She stood and dusted off her pants before offering me her hand. When I took it, she pulled me to my feet, just as Celyze fluttered out of their cabin’s entryway. Wrapping an arm around his waist, she placed a swift peck on his cheek. “Make sure nothing happens to Selena, okay?”
“I will, for you,” he swore, combing her hair back. “Don’t wait up for us. There is no way to determine how long this will take.”
It was clear the two loved each other, but I couldn’t help but feel jealousy coil at the bottom of my stomach. While I was happy for them, I missed my clan. If I hadn’t met Zirene in the dreamscape last night, I probably couldn’t have gotten any rest.
“Page me if something happens, okay?” Tori grabbed his hand. “Let me know when you want me to prepare a meal and I’ll have it set out when you return home.”
He squeezed her hand with a soft smile. “I will make sure to do so.”
Releasing his hand, Tori turned and hugged me. “Don’t let those men bully you, all right?” She pulled back, gripping my shoulders as her bright-green eyes met mine. “Feel free to return tonight. You are always welcome to stay here.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, tilting my chin up. “You don’t know how much that means to me.”
“I’ll take care of you and I hope that you can take care of my boys in the future.” She smiled, releasing me to step back and turn toward her entryway. Leaning against the wall, she typed something into her wristband once more with pursed lips. “You better get down there. Zyxel just messaged me to ask what’s taking so long.”
The Cosmic Soul opened his arms with a sheepish grin. “May I?”
“If you promise not to drop me—or attempt to scare me like Luwyn did.” I approached him and circled my hands around his neck.
“I will do no such thing.” Scooping me off the ground, he held me in both arms. Turning toward Tori, he nodded before leaping off the ledge. “See you soon.”
I didn’t hear Tori’s response.
We spiraled down in a tight corkscrew. A scream erupted from my mouth at the sudden drop as he circled Zyxel before settling on the ground.
“We are here,” Celyze announced as if jumping off cliffsides was a perfectly normal thing to do. His grin fell as he stared at me. “What’s wrong?”
“Put me down!” Releasing my grip, I wriggled in his grasp until he placed me on the floor. Growling, I shoved him back. He hovered above the ground, barely budging. “How was that any better than how Luwyn flew with me?”
“I thought the shorter the flight, the easier it would be for you,” he replied, his brow wrinkled in confusion. “I didn’t freefall because I thought you wouldn’t appreciate it, which is why we took a slower route.”
“That felt worse, to be honest,” I muttered, grabbing my head to stop the world from swimming. “I need to sit down before I get sick.”
Just as I was about to plop down on the ground, Zyxel wrapped his tail around me and picked me up. Another scream escaped me when he dropped me into his arms, studying me with concern.
“What are your symptoms? Should we go straight to your private infirmary room or to Commander Ryzen’s suite? Both have the equipment I need to do a full scan on you.”
Why did I suddenly feel comfortable around him? Perhaps the knowledge that I would be leaving this base soon was lending me confidence.
Closing my eyes, I leaned into his arm, hoping the nausea would dissipate. I had only discovered yesterday how much I hated the feeling of flying. Today had just confirmed how badly it affected me.
“The commander’s room is fine. I want to get this over with,” I muttered.
“Vowels, isn’t there something you can do about this headache slowly creeping up on me?”
“After I settle your stomach and calm your heart,” he replied gently. “I will be more proactive next time you are about to fly.”
“Sounds good to me. In fact, make sure I never get sick, and I will be happy.”
“You shouldn’t ever become sick unless you are hit with a large dose of a pathogen. Minor illnesses should be an ailment of the past.”
“That sounds amazing!”
“The wonders of working in tandem with your nanobots. I can cure almost anything rapidly.”
“Good to know.” I thought back to each time I had been drugged with a shiver. “I never want to experience that again.”
“I’ll try to make sure it doesn’t happen,” Vowels agreed. “My only caveat is that I don’t know how sleeping aids affect me. I am assuming you will be rendered unconscious while I will be left unaffected and awake to protect you.”
“Protect me how?”
“I will heal you so quickly that none will be able to harm you.”
“Why didn’t you return to your room last night?” Zyxel asked, his voice oddly strained. “I was worried about you.”
Opening my eyes, I was met with his fiery, slitted gaze, dimmed by concern. “You permitted me to walk around the base with an escort. Tori took me to the lifedome and invited me for dinner.” I shrugged. “I didn’t see any harm in staying the night when offered, especially since you never told me that I needed to return.”
His eyes hardened as he pursed his black lips. “I don’t understand why you’re avoiding me. I haven’t done anything to warrant this treatment.”
“Didn’t she wake up wrapped in your tail?” Celyze asked. From the direction of his voice, I could tell he was walking behind us. “Isn’t that something—”
“I was concerned about my patient,” Zyxel hissed. “It’s not my fault she’s never come across an Ezzaska before.”
“I had never met a Swynemi before yesterday, either. I don’t know that I trust any enough to be flown by one again.”
“Please, forgive me, Selena,” Celyze begged. “Don’t tell Tori I upset you. I will be more careful, I swear.”
“We’ll see,” I muttered. When I returned my attention to Zyxel, I found him still staring at me. “I stayed the night because Tori was more welcoming than you were, and I enjoyed hearing about her life on Earth after studying humans for so long.”
Chapter Sixteen
Selena
We traveled in silence down the rocky hallway. Now that I was paying attention to my surroundings, it was clear that the base had been carved from stone. No matter where I went, there were no windows, and the walls were made of rock adorned with a metallic casing around wires and scanners. If Tori and her clan hadn’t told me we were in an asteroid, I would’ve thought the base had been built underground, judging by the oppressive silence.
We only passed a few inhabitants in the hallway, all onyx-colored Swynemi. I wondered if the infirmary was a restricted section or if there were simply few patients.
Celyze passed us and flew to a door down the hall. A few keystrokes and a hand scan later, the entrance slid open. He stood in the doorway, watching us approach with an expression more stoic than I had seen from him before.
“We ar
e here,” Zyxel announced, gently placing me on the ground.
“He’s in there?” I asked, glancing over my shoulder. “Why is it so dark?”
“So we can keep track of how intensely his tattoos glow,” Celyze replied. “The Verya’s tattoos demonstrate their power. His tattoos are starting to lose their glow. Once they extinguish completely, he will become a dull.”
“A dull?”
“Someone whose species possesses psychic abilities but was born without or somehow lost the ability to tap into those powers.” Celyze frowned. “It would be very unfortunate if he became a dull after everything he’s done.”
“Then let me get this over with,” I said, pushing past the sapphire male.
Entering the secure room, I was surprised to find the setup similar to the room I had woken in the second time. Just like in my private infirmary, a large bed stood in one corner, though no one but a male lying on the medical bed occupied the room.
“What’s that bed for if no one else is staying here?”
“It’s for long term stays,” Zyxel replied, slithering beside me. “Mainly used by the mates and children of the guest in the infirmary.”
“Mates and children?” I asked, turning to the crimson Ezzaska in confusion. “Then why were you using the bed in my room?”
When he didn’t reply, I rolled my eyes and sighed. How ironic that he was wondering why I avoided him when he sure didn’t know how to make me feel welcome—or explain himself, for that matter.
Approaching the medical bed, I studied the male I was supposed to somehow heal. Lying beside him were nine daggers, each with an emerald embedded in the hilt. There was a faint light flickered inside each, in rhythm with the emerald tattoos on his body and even the emerald streaks in his hair.
“What are those?” I reached for one of the blades. “Why does he have weapons next to him while he sleeps?”
“Whatever you do, don’t touch these,” Celyze hissed as he grabbed my wrist, yanking me away. “They are a part of him. We don’t know what will happen if someone else touches them while he is unconscious.”
“They look like normal daggers, though,” I muttered. “I don’t understand—”
“Just trust me,” he interrupted, releasing my wrist with a stern expression. “I don’t want to deal with the aftermath.”
Eyeing him, I stepped away from Celyze and closer to the fallen commander.
He would have seemed peaceful if not for the weapons nearby, especially compared to his brother, Xenak. The streaks in his blonde hair matched the color of the tattoos marking his body in a crisscross pattern. No part of his body had been left without some sort of marking, including his face. A nine-pointed star-shaped design marked the middle of his forehead and streaks descended from the middle of his eyes to his chest’s markings like the paths of tears.
Something about him called to me.
Almost like my nestmates did.
Approaching him once again, I studied his body and wondered exactly what I was meant to do. They had kidnapped me to perform a miracle, even after I had insisted that I wasn’t capable of healing him.
Yet some instinct made me want to help him, though I didn’t know why.
“What am I supposed to do?” I asked, glancing at the two who had escorted me here, standing side by side a few steps away. “What has Xenak done?”
“He always comes in and grabs his hand, begging for forgiveness.” Celyze frowned. “But no matter what he did, he couldn’t wake him or make his tattoos brighten again.”
Closing my eyes, I released a slow breath as I tried to calm the storm within me. Nerves and the dreadful fear of failing everyone on the asteroid filled me with doubt.
What if this didn’t work?
What if it did?
I felt a calming warmth radiating from his hand when I grabbed it. Somehow, it made me crave more, like I needed to touch him. Using my free hand, I traced his emerald runes with my finger as I held his hand with the other. Little shocks erupted along my fingertip, inflaming my hand with its warmth. His tattoo glowed in the wake of my touch.
Biting my lip, I eyed the mark on the middle of his forehead. Some instinct told me that it was important, though I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with it.
The longer I watched him in silence, the harder it became to resist the pull that captured me.
“Kiss the mark on his forehead, Selena.”
“Why?”
“I believe that is the key.”
Setting aside my questions, I leaned forward and placed my lips on the emerald rune. An explosion of shocks radiated through my body as darkness engulfed me.
Chapter Seventeen
Ryzen
Bright lights speckled the abyss as he swam through the fabric of space and time.
He didn’t know how long he had been here or why—just that he was. Nothing else mattered to him.
He was finally safe.
Surrounded by the comfort of the Stars, he didn’t have to worry about surviving when he could live here.
Though he no longer knew who he was or how he had come here, one thing prevented him from letting go completely: the bright, golden star that had always followed him, no matter how far he had drifted. The gleaming sphere had refused to leave him alone, which angered him. Finally, he’d had enough and decided to confront it. If he could capture the orb, he would have a companion to go on this journey with him. Something tangible to hold in the darkness that surrounded him.
Yet, every time he had tried to reach for that golden star, it remained out of his reach. Anger and frustration coursed through him when he failed yet again to grab the teasing, glowing sphere.
Why had it followed him if it didn’t want to interact with him? Was this a Star guiding him on his path? Or a test of some sort?
Just as he was about to give up, the teasing orb seemed to move closer. He blinked, suspecting a trick of the mind. When he moved to turn his back on the golden star, it suddenly morphed into the shape of a female.
Her ethereal body sparkled like the distant stars and galaxies that surrounded them—absolutely stunning. Her long hair flowed like liquid gold and she smiled, flooring him.
It had been so long since he had needed to think or attempt to formulate a sentence that even the simplest of words seemed out of his reach.
“Who are you?” he asked, cringing at the sound of his voice. This was the first time he had spoken in this spiritual plane.
“Who I am doesn’t matter. I’m here to save you.”
“Save me?” He spun around, unable to find any danger. “What do I need to be saved from?”
“Fading.” She frowned. “Do you truly not know who you are?”
“I am one with the Stars. There is no need to think—only exist.”
“You won’t be existing any longer if you remain in this spiritual realm. Your tattoos are beginning to dim. Soon, you will dull, unable to access your abilities. If you still stay, you will cease to exist. Your emerald soul will fade until you are no more. Do you really want to give up living?”
Her words stunned him. He tried to think back to before he had arrived here. Fragments of memories flashed by as if he were witnessing his life in a vidfeed presented to him for the first time.
He was a brother and a leader who was leaving behind many who depended on him.
Why was he here instead of there? Nothing made any sense.
“I… want to live.”
The golden female’s smile seemed to light their surroundings with its brilliance. Was she an embodiment of the Fates and the Stars? Were they trying to lead him back to where he truly belonged?
“Then take my hand,” she directed, offering it to him. “You don’t have to be alone anymore.”
Without hesitation, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into his embrace, capturing his star for once and for all as a bright, golden light blinded him.
Chapter Eighteen
Selena
Opening my eyes, I w
as greeted by Zyxel’s tail wrapped tightly around my body as my head rested on Ryzen’s bed. Somehow, my hand was still entwined with the emerald tattooed male after… whatever that was.
While the healer had an odd fascination with touching me constantly, he had never done so inappropriately, only when he thought I was in trouble or need. I had passed his tendency to coil around me off as typical for his species since they lacked legs. I didn’t know much about the Ezzaska—he was the first of his kind I had met—so I didn’t know whether his behavior was normal.
I was thankful he had probably caught me when I had fallen unconscious, so I wouldn’t protest his actions. I would rather wake wrapped in his coils than with a massive headache and maybe a broken limb from falling to the floor.
Nothing I did here would matter soon, anyway. I was leaving in a few days and would never see him again. Why create a problem when there were more important things to handle—like me somehow waking up the commander.
Lifting my head, I was surprised to see Xenak holding Ryzen’s hand as he pressed his forehead to his twin brother’s rune mark—the same one I had kissed. Tears fell from his eyes, making him seem far less villainous than I had known him to be.
Somehow, I could see auras radiating from them, matching the colors of their runes. I didn’t know if I was witnessing the glow of their tattoos or their power, but the auras were like a mental shield surrounding their bodies instead of just their minds. They reminded me of an Aldawi display of dominance, but more visible and less oppressive.
“Take my energy, brother,” Xenak murmured. “You are running dangerously low and I don’t want to lose you again.”
“What happened?” Ryzen asked, his voice cracking. “How long have I been gone?”
“Months.” Xenak combed back Ryzen’s unruly hair from his face. “I thought I had lost you, brother. Why did you have to do something so foolish?”
