by Anna Carven
“I take it you’ve got enemies incoming from below, too.”
He chuckled. “You’re too clever for your own good, human. Apparently, some foolish Tharians are trying to storm the tunnels. These so-called acolytes.” She swore he did a little eye-roll just then. “Did Anuk tell you anything about them?”
Still dazed, Alexis sifted through the huge amount of information Anuk had dumped in her mind. Her thoughts were scattered to the four winds, but she managed to remember something. “Uh, they’re Tharians too, but unlike most Tharians, they aren’t pacifists. They’re a violent cult. Anuk banished them to the wastelands, but after Marenja was destroyed, they returned and started terrorizing the surviving Tharians. She wants us to kill them.”
Nythian snorted, clearly unimpressed. “Sounds like your standard violent cult. Most species have them. If Anuk wants them dead, we’ll make it happen. It’s the least I can do.”
Alexis tried to slip out of Nythian’s grasp, but he held her tighter. “What are you doing?” he growled.
“Getting ready for a fight. There’s only one way out, isn’t there?” Her hand dropped to the butt of her plasma gun.
“There’s no way I’m letting you go out there with those crazy Tharians all over the place.” Nythian’s jaw tightened. “We’re going up.”
“Up?” She glanced at the ceiling’s impossibly high dome. The opening was at least four stories above their heads.
“Get on my back, mind the swords, hold on tightly, one hand around my neck, legs around my middle, your other hand on your gun. If any of these acolytes show up, you shoot first and ask questions later. I know your aim is good, my love.”
“Nythian, how the hell are we going to get all the way up—”
“Alexis, do as I say,” he snapped, suddenly sounding like a goddamn drill sergeant. “We’re about to have company very soon. Have I ever let you down?”
“No,” she said softly, shaking her head in wonder. “You haven’t.”
“Then trust me. This is what I do.”
Without another word, she obeyed, climbing onto his back as he bent down slightly. She positioned herself over the long sheaths of his swords, curling one arm around his chest. Her legs clamped around his powerful body as he straightened and activated his helm, his face disappearing beneath seamless obsidian.
The doors burst open.
Before she had time to get comfortable, Nythian started to run, his strides wide and powerful. Stars, he was fast.
With his arms raised, he made a giant leap and for a moment they were flying, and Alexis’s eyes widened in horror as the solid stone walls loomed in front of them, but then…
Thud.
He stuck onto the wall like a damn gecko, only it wasn’t sticky finger-pads that kept them suspended.
It was his claws.
Nythian quickly hauled them up the curved walls, his black claws digging into the stone as easily as a knife into butter. His feet dug into the wall too, leaving small indents as he climbed higher and higher.
Muscles bunched and flexed. His powerful arms were like pistons. Alexis’s heart was in her mouth as she looked down.
Kordolians and Tharians flooded into the chamber in a maelstrom of violence.
These Tharians… they looked strange. Their faces were painted with black pigment that was concentrated around the eyes and mouth, giving them a decidedly ghoulish appearance. Like the Kordolians, they wore sleek obsidian armor, but they kept their hands bare, presumably so they could kill with a touch. Long staffs tipped with black blades were wielded with deadly intent. Several of the Tharians held plasma guns.
These were the acolytes, and if they got their way, they would destroy what was left of Tharian civilization.
Boom! Boom!
They fired at Ektans and his men as the Kordolians advanced, returning fire with deadly accuracy. Two of the Tharians fell, but a dozen more surged in to fill the void.
Boom! A bolt of blue plasma streaked past, narrowly missing one of the Tharians. It hit the wall, destroying intricate carvings and melting pink stone, leaving a curved hollow.
“No!” she yelled before she even realized what she was doing. “You can’t destroy the portal! Don’t shoot!”
Several of the Kordolians had their guns raised, ready to fire. The acolytes laughed and advanced on them, plasma guns raised.
“Idiots have given them our weapons.” Nythian said softly as he stole a quick glance at their enemies. He wasn’t even out of breath. Alexis felt as light as a feather on his back. “If you want to get rid of them without destroying the walls, you shoot them. You’ve got a good angle from up here.”
Her heart was racing, her hands trembled, and she was breathless, but, Alexis didn’t hesitate. She’d inherited Anuk’s knowledge… her consciousness, and somehow, she just knew how critical this moment was.
A switch flicked on inside her head. That old feeling returned, the feeling she got when shit was about to hit the fan and she had to do something... anything.
Autopilot kicked in. She raised her plasma gun. Everything became crystal clear. Time seemed to slow.
The acolytes didn’t wear helms; maybe the Kordolians had short-changed them in that regard.
Boom! Boom! Boom! She squeezed off three shots in quick succession, picking off the acolytes as Nythian paused for a moment, allowing her to steady her aim.
Three headshots.
The recoil was huge, but she was ready.
They crumpled to the floor, their faces obliterated in a smoking mess of seared flesh.
Ektans and his men glanced up at her in surprise before surging back into battle, blades drawn.
They made quick work of the remaining acolytes. Blood splattered the pristine stone floor.
Nythian climbed higher, ignoring the chaos below. “Put your gun away and hold onto me with both arms now. We’re going across. Don’t look down.” They were nearly at the top of the dome, where the roof curved almost horizontal. “Don’t worry. We won’t fall.”
Alexis holstered her gun and did exactly as he said, clinging on for dear life as Nythian sank his claws into the stone. He dropped until he was hanging from the ceiling.
“Holy hell,” she muttered, her arms burning as she held onto him tightly. It was one thing to follow Nythian’s orders in the middle of a fight, but to put her complete faith in him when he did insane shit like this…
It was absolute trust.
He swung across the stone ceiling as if he were on monkey bars, making for the edge of the roof’s circular opening. Alexis didn’t know how the hell he planned on getting them up there.
“Almost there,” he grunted. It was the first time she’d heard strain in his voice. “Hold on tight now.”
With his claws impaled in the stone, he started to swing.
Back and forth, back and forth, reminding her of the way a gymnast might wind up before a dismount, gathering momentum.
The sheer force of his movement made her insides flip.
Whoosh.
Suddenly, she was flying through the air, the blinding sun hitting her face as Nythian executed a perfect somersault, somehow flipping up and over the edge of the opening.
He landed on his feet, as silently and gracefully as a big cat. Alexis clung to him for a while, struggling to regain her bearings. “That’s one hell of an acrobatic feat,” she said dryly once she’d recovered. “They teach you that in Kordolian warrior school?”
“I’ve had to make some tight escapes in the past,” he said, sounding amused. “You did well, my love.” He crouched down, allowing her to slip off his back.
Coming from him, that was big praise. He was a master fighter, and she suspected she’d seen only a fraction of what he was capable of.
Alexis couldn’t help it; she secretly basked in Nythian’s approval as she stepped onto the smooth stone roof and stared out at the landscape below.
Warm desert wind swirled around them.
They were at a nexus.
> The dome of the portal was perched on top of a rocky outcrop that gave way to steep cliffs. Beyond was the vast desert, burnished red by the blazing sun.
On the other side, the thundering waterfalls spilled into oblivion, clouds of mist giving birth to a long, glistening river.
The sun was starting to dip toward the horizon, casting long shadows across the red and grey landscape.
Was this afternoon on Tharos? It looked like it.
She peered over the lip of the opening. Below, the Kordolian warriors were executing the Tharian acolytes, their movements swift and chilling.
A slice here, a thrust there. Deadly obsidian blades moving in sync, the warriors viciously flicking them to clean off the Tharian blood before returning them to their sheaths.
She watched the true brutality of this dark alien race in detached horror.
But there was a small, secret part of her that exulted in the victory, in the complete and utter domination of their foes.
Because Anuk had taught her what the Acolytes of Malku were, and she decided there was no place for them in this new Tharian world.
Nythian stood beside her, a dark monolith encased in obsidian, his expression unreadable behind that menacing helm. He looked out of place in this sun-kissed world, where everything came in shades of red and golden and pink, where Tharians drifted from consciousness to shared consciousness, becoming greater than the sum of their parts.
She understood it now… a little. The entire species was a living record, as close to enlightenment as one would ever get.
Once, the Tharians had been powerful and ruthless, in command of the most advanced technology the Nine Galaxies had ever seen.
They’d conquered planets. Their population had numbered in the trillions.
She shuddered. They’d even set foot on Earth. Remnants of Tharian occupation could be found beneath the golden sands of…
Shit.
She didn’t know the human name for that place, only the Tharian one.
It didn’t matter anyway.
It was all gone now.
They’d destroyed each other, destroyed their home planet.
She looked up at Nythian, who hadn’t said a word.
She understood him now too… a little.
He belonged in darkness, amongst Callidum-reinforced machines and formidable Kordolian discipline and the shadows of a fallen Empire.
He was what he was, but he was also the sweetest, gentlest, sexiest creature she’d ever known.
“Big crazy-ass Kordolian,” she blurted, suddenly wanting to jump into his arms and drown in his presence. “You know I love you, right?”
He inclined his head a fraction, still not saying anything, looking perfectly cold and alien, setting her damn heart aflutter with his intimidating-ness.
Then his exo-armor started to melt, revealing his silver chin, his strong jawline, those full, sensual lips, a flicker of his sharp fangs…
“What are you doing?” she whispered in alarm, knowing full well that the harsh ultraviolet light would burn his silver skin.
His one weakness was her strength. The sunlight would never bother her; she had melanin in spades.
Still Nythian didn’t speak. He just leaned in and kissed her, his lips hot and demanding, his tongue seeking hers.
She tasted his sweetness.
She closed her eyes as he surrounded her in a powerful embrace, returning his kiss with such ferocity that she elicited a deep, primal growl.
The warm desert wind whipped around them. Below them lay death. Above was the endless blue sky.
They could have been on Earth.
He kissed her some more, his hands slipping down her body, caressing her waist, her hips, her thighs.
Then he gently broke away. His skin began to discolor as the sunlight hit it, turning deep grey.
Nythian’s smile disappeared underneath a swarm of nanites. “Couldn’t help myself,” he growled. “You’re so fucking beautiful.” He ran his fingers over her cheek, his thumb lingering over her lower lip, tugging on it slightly.
That was the second time he’d said it in that way, with a little thrum of intensity in his voice.
Why?
But she didn’t have time to think on it.
“Our ride’s here,” he announced, staring up at the sky.
“What?” She shielded her eyes, not quite sure what he was talking about until a black speck appeared in her peripheral vision, growing larger and larger until she could make out the familiar outline of a Kordolian battle cruiser.
“Lodan has arrived. We’re getting out of here.”
“Okay.” We’re leaving already? That was quick. She looked down at the portal and saw the bodies of at least a dozen Tharians strewn across the polished floor. The wall of the dome was damaged in one spot, the intricate fractal patterns literally melted off the stone, which had turned a deep smoky pink color.
But the portal would still work. Some things she just knew, thanks to Anuk.
A strange feeling came over her. Sadness. Awe. Relief. Now she had a connection to this planet. She had a duty to see that Anuk’s wishes would be carried out, but she also had unfinished business on Earth.
Mama Virginie was getting old. Alexis had to see her again, had to let her know that she would be around. That woman had done so damn much for her.
She still hadn’t found out what had happened to Tasha, but she hadn’t given up hope. Things were different now. She could tap into the formidable resources of the Kordolians.
And with Nythian by her side, she was no longer afraid of going back home. She wasn’t afraid of assassins, or bounty hunters, or vicious Kordolians.
Her mate was one of those vicious Kordolians.
“Time to go, Alexis.” He wrapped his arm around her waist as a dark line dropped from the hovering ship above—a snakelike metallic rope of some sort. He grabbed its end and wound it around his hand, pulling her close to him.
They started to ascend. She relaxed as the wind swirled around them, leaning into his hard body.
Now she had a bird’s-eye view of the landscape below. A wide river stretched lazily over the horizon, snakelike and glittering.
The endless desert was spectacular, thousands of peaked red dunes etched by sharp black curves of deepening shadow.
And now she understood that a long time ago, the whole planet had been covered in verdant forests and crystalline lakes and vast seas.
Just like Earth.
God, she missed that place.
“Don’t worry, Alexis,” Nythian whispered above the roar of the wind. “I’m going to take you home.”
Everything had come full circle.
Curlae. Anuk’s voice echoed in her mind. That is what we call the will of the Universe. The strands pull apart and come together. Everything returns to the whole. Don’t fight it, human. You’re in the slipstream now.
Nythian pulled her into darkness, into silence. He dissolved his armor and kissed her again. “You’re with us now,” he rasped.
It was true. The Kordolians had her now, and she never wanted to escape.
TWENTY-SIX
SHE WAS FROWNING AT HIM, her arms folded, her jaw set in a stubborn line. At last, they were safely onboard the Mhyndin, hanging in Tharos’s orbit as they waited for Ashrael and the others to return.
Finally, Nythian could relax a little, knowing his mate was out of the danger zone.
Their mission was nearly complete. Ashrael and his support squad would be finishing off the Kordolian invaders. Under the General’s orders, they would take the higher value targets alive for interrogation. He hadn’t heard from the Silent One yet, but then again, Ashrael wasn’t the most talkative individual, especially when he was working.
Alexis’s frown deepened. Goddess, she looked adorable.
Something about her was different now. She radiated a sense of calm. He could hear it in her steady heartbeat. He could feel it in the rhythm of her breathing, in her stillness.
&n
bsp; She’d been like this ever since she’d let go of the Tharian.
The storm in her mind was gone.
But she was still giving him that mildly disapproving look, as if he had done something terribly disreputable.
“What?” Nythian raised one eyebrow innocently as he reclined back in his chair, unable to keep his eyes off her.
“What was the point of putting me through all that training on the Fleet Station? I get the feeling you guys would have had the situation under control with or without me.”
“Ah.” He smiled, feeling an emotion he hadn’t experienced much at all in his life—happiness. “But do you remember how you were at the start, when we first met? Punching walls? Breaking bones? Our training isn’t just physical, my love.”
“What are you now, an alien head-doctor?” She leaned back in her own chair, one arm slung over the side, her legs stretched out in front of her. He indulged in the sight of her body; her toned legs, the luscious curves of her thighs, the tempting roundness of her breasts.
Nythian chuckled. He was tempted to beckon to her, make her come and stand before him so he could slowly strip away the layers of armor and clothing from her body until she was naked in his arms… but he sensed she needed her space right now.
So he simply stared, just because he could.
Even if he stared at her for a thousand revolutions, he would never get tired of looking at her.
And… just like that, he was hard again.
It didn’t take much to set him off when he was with her.
Nythian leaned forward, his senses heightened as he drank in her presence. “Maybe experience has taught me a thing or two about chaotic mind-states. We’re all a bit insane, Alexis.” Funny how it was so easy to admit these things to her. “Me, Lodan, Enki, the boss… all my First Division brothers. You know how we keep from becoming unhinged homicidal maniacs? We train. We fight. We weren’t taught how to be honorable, so make these artificial boundaries for ourselves, and over time, they become real.”
“Ah.” Her eyes narrowed as understanding dawned. “I see what you did there. You’re right. I was a total mess when I first met you. The discipline and exercise certainly helped with the chaos in my head. I’m not perfect, but I’m functional.” She snorted. “And to think I busted my ass because I actually thought I’d be useful to you guys.”