I pushed the errant thought aside, and whispered, “I need your help. That’s why I’m here.”
Braita sat the trash bags in the waste disposal I had stolen. “What do you need?”
Quick and to the point. I liked that in her.
“A hov-craft. I saw you exit one the other night.”
Braita questioned, “Are you planning to go back to Joyal?”
I shook my head. I wouldn’t go back there when it wasn’t safe to go. My mind was set on my destination. I needed to figure out the situations between Geo and me. “I’m going to Egyac. I can’t live this way any longer. No more hiding.”
“That would be your best choice,” she agreed. But her eyes held a secret as she studied me. She lifted a finger. “You need to see something first.”
I blinked when she raced back inside her apartment. I cursed, “What the hell?”
My attention snapped left and right, keeping an eye on the hallway. I didn’t have all day.
The door finally flew open and slammed behind her. She was too quick and agile for her pet to escape. I stared when she shoved a folder into my hands. I glanced at her and back to the folder.
Carefully, I opened it and began reading. It was from Joyal, a confidential file.
As I flipped each sheet, my eyes widened as large as saucers. My name was there.
I mumbled in awe, “Mother Joyal.”
“I know.”
I shoved the folder back into her hands. “Fucking pieces of shit!”
The air around me seemed too thin. I couldn’t catch my breath.
And now it made sense. What I had read was another issue I would need to tell Geo.
“Yes, that’s accurate too.” She tossed the folder back inside her apartment and locked the door. “Let’s find you a hov-craft before the Plumas return and want to keep you for ransom or some other ridiculous idea they may have.”
My chest heaved, and my hands shook. Mother Joyal, she was going to help me.
I whispered, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
My escape was here, and my plan was a reality. But I still couldn’t move.
I mumbled, “I can do this.”
“Yes, you can.”
I need a pep talk. “They aren’t that scary. I can do this.”
Braita agreed, her words hitting where I needed them. “If I can play with the Mian, you can handle the Kireg.”
But I had lived in a box. “You have ten marks on your wrists. I don’t have that many.”
“It doesn’t matter how many marks you have to the Kireg.” She tapped my left temple. “It matters what you have up here and how well you protect it.”
That was truer than she understood.
I licked my lips...and put one foot in front of the other. “I can do this.”
“You can.” Behind me, she placed her hands on my shoulders and kept me moving forward. “And if any Kireg asks where you got the hov-craft, tell them you stole it.”
Geo would only have to read my mind to know that was a lie.
But I didn’t comment. I wasn’t about to fuck up my chance to a hov-craft.
Security patrolled the land site in Center. Braita knew her way around the layout, but she didn’t know shit about their actual security. I pulled out my tools and worked on their security box. I had tampered with it enough that it took no time at all for the back door to open. I shoved the box back into place, ready to go.
Braita’s eyes were wide with wonder. “That was slick.”
I shrugged and put my stolen tools into my pockets. I readjusted the spacesuit over my shoulder. The last issue I needed was for it catch on anything inside. “On Joyal, I was an operator-in-training. Systems like these are simple.”
Braita took the lead, and we slipped inside, keeping our backs to the wall as we moved forward.
To clarify, I whispered, “It’s the hov-craft I need help with. I’ve never dealt with them before, so I can’t access them.”
My savior peeked around a corner, her tone soft. “I’m in the system now. My handprint will work.” She pulled on my sleeve, dragging me behind her, and exited a door directly on the land site.
“I know. I saw the two Mian showing you how to do it.” I didn’t mention anything else.
Her lips twitched as we raced across the black ground. “How long have you been watching this place?”
“Too long,” I muttered, brushing my white hair back from my forehead. I told her honestly, “I was to the point of cutting off someone’s hand for access when I noticed you.” When she didn’t even bat an eyelash at my comment, I ran my gaze over her features when she stopped us behind a small hov-craft. Even I knew this one was too small for actual space travel. “How are you doing with the Mian?”
“Better than you are with the Kireg,” she answered with blunt truth. But she smiled to take the sting out of her previous statement. “It just takes time.” She winked. “And cunning.”
I snorted but kept my mouth shut. I knew all about using cunning to survive.
We ducked under the hov-craft when a security patrol flew overhead on a hov-bike, shining their red and yellow lights down on the site through the dark. I scanned the area with the added light and then pointed to another transport a hundred yards away. It would be risky running there since no cover was afforded to hide us.
“We’ll have to run,” she breathed quietly. “Do you know what to do once you’re inside?”
“I’ll figure it out.” It couldn’t be that hard. It was just another machine to puzzle through.
She frowned at my words. “I’ll try to help as much as I can.”
This woman was helping me more than I ever thought she would. It was a miracle.
I threw my arms around her neck and hugged her tight. “Thank you. For everything.”
“You’re welcome. Just stay safe.” When I released her, she tapped my temple. “And remember what I said.”
Be cunning. I could do that to survive. But all I wanted to do was to be honest with Geo.
I would figure it out soon enough. Now wasn’t the time for musings.
We watched as a different hov-bike flew by. After a fortifying breath, we pushed out from under the hov-craft and raced across the open area, the moon lighting our way. Another set of guards were on their way, their lights roving the ground. I had no doubt they would spot us soon.
We came to a screeching stop next to the hov-craft.
With her chest pumping, she shoved her hand against the access board. It lit up briefly—just another identifier for the guards, but there was nothing we could do about that. The door slid open.
Thank Mother Joyal.
But I jerked in surprise when she shoved me inside.
An alarm began to wail in the distance.
Hov-bikes whined far too close.
“Get your suit on now!” she barked, opening the control panel. “What are the coordinates?”
I rattled off the location I knew was safe. I ignored the fact my voice was shaking. Instead, I focused on changing into my spacesuit, fumbling with a few of the latches. I was going back to Geo.
I couldn’t believe my own daring.
Braita typed in the coordinates and pointed at a red button. “Hit that when you’re ready.” The hov-bikes were landing nearby, the rattle of rocks flying outside the door indicating their arrival. “I’ll be the bait. But don’t take too long.”
I nodded. I would never be able to repay her. Before I could say anything, she jumped out of the door and placed her palm on the access board, closing the door. It was time to go.
My helmet went on last, and then I strapped myself into the operator’s chair.
There was no hesitation in my actions. I slammed my hand down on the red button.
I sucked in a harsh breath as the hov-craft shot straight into the air.
I landed in the same industrial landing space. But with many more guards surrounding the hov-craft.
I pulled my hel
met off and held my hands up in the air, searching for any familiar faces.
All the Kireg wore scarves around their eyes, but that didn’t mean anything. If they were working for the rebellion, they would still try to fit in. But, alas, I saw no one who was familiar to me.
This wasn’t a safe spot after all. “Shit.”
Guns were drawn in that instant. Assholes. Thank you for reading my mind.
“On your knees, Madeline Faire,” the lead asshole stated. He walked toward me, his weapon pointed at my head. “The Dynasty has been looking for you.”
I’d rather die than be in the Imperial family’s clutches.
All heads rose to the sunlit sky when a hov-craft…just appeared above our heads.
One minute, it wasn’t there. The next, it was.
I watched in horror, my eyes flying wide when the lead guard turned the gun on himself.
He stuck it in his mouth and pulled the trigger. All while wearing a smile on his face.
I backed away as he dropped to the ground at my feet. No one followed me.
In fact, they all stood like drones, their eyes wide open and guns down at their sides.
I took a cautious step back again, closing in on the Mian hov-craft.
The door to the hov-craft above opened. White, curly hair ruffled in the wind as a man stared down.
The rebellion leader pinned me with his gaze, and he shouted, “Don’t even think about it, Madeline.” His attention stayed on me for a full minute, none of us speaking or moving, before he peered back into his hov-craft and ordered something inside.
I had found him. Or…he had found me.
When the hov-craft landed next to the Mian’s, he stalked outside of it. “I found your ass, not the other way around.” He pointed a sharp finger at my stolen transportation, pure fury exploding over his features. “Did you not think for a second? That is Mian technology. Kireg’s system picked up the hov-craft miles away. I was barely able to keep them from blowing you out of the sky in time!”
My mouth bobbed. “Appreciated?”
Geo growled and his brows furrowed low over his eyes. He grabbed my right arm and pulled me along behind him at a fast pace. “How the hell did you get that ship, anyway?”
I tried to keep up with his longer strides. “I stole it.”
With his eyes on the opening of his hov-craft, his head cocked, not caring I was tripping behind him. “How did you get it, Madeline?”
I sighed heavily, picturing Braita in my mind. “A Human on Triaz helped me.”
He stopped in his tracks and glanced back at me. “That Human belongs to the Plumas.”
“You don’t even know the half of it,” I mumbled under my breath. Then I waved my free arms at his cross expression. “I’ll explain it when we’re safe.”
“We are safe.” He turned on his heel and released my arm. His arms crossed and his eyes narrowed on mine. “I want an explanation. Do I need to worry about the Plumas taking offense?”
I crossed my arms and snorted. “I have no idea how you and Braita know one another, but the Plumas she is actually with aren’t the ones she should be with.”
His blink was slow. “She is the Soul to the Plumas of the West.”
I nodded, my eyes twinkling. I was…happy…to see him. Even if he was furious. “But she’s the mate of the Plumas of the East.”
His head cocked in question.
I explained with a casual flare, enjoying his eyes widening. “The Plumas of the East are part Kireg. They have the power to influence others. And they did so on the Plumas of the West after Braita asked them to. They have no clue she is their Soul. And Braita is living freely with the Plumas of the East in Center on Triaz.”
He didn’t comment for too long. When he finally spoke, he asked quietly, “How did you come by this information?”
I nibbled on my bottom lip. “I may have put surveillance buds in Braita’s apartment.” I shrugged a shoulder. “They have no indication it was me.”
The rebellion leader hummed, not appeased. “Is there anything else?”
My mouth open and shut. Then I mumbled in a rush, “Braita is also different. She’s part Kireg, Mian, and Human. She gave me a file to read that was from Joyal.” My brows furrowed, my ire returning in full force. “And my name was on that list too. I am half Human and half Kireg. I’m a damned hybrid.”
The man across from me didn’t even blink, his purple eyes unmoving.
“Exactly,” I sputtered. “The goddamn government on Joyal was splicing genes.”
The slowest blink ever occurred right in front of me. “That’s why you came back.”
I squinted and glanced to the side, and stared out at the other hov-crafts. “That’s not exactly right.” I fidgeted on my feet and wrung my fingers together. “I actually meant to escape to Joyal, but I landed in Triaz instead. I found out Joyal wasn’t safe to go to, so I stayed on Triaz for a while in hiding. But I became tired of that—of running for my life. I wanted to return to Egyac. To figure out what’s going on between us.”
He grunted softly and took a step forward, his height towering over mine. “What is going on between us is very simple, Madeline. We are mates. You knew that when you ran away. That is why you ran away.”
I shook my head and peered down at the ground. I stared at both of our boots. His were shiny, and mine were scuffed.
I stated in a timid tone, “I mean I want to face the fact we’re mates. I want to learn more about you.” I flicked a finger between the two of us but didn’t look up. “This didn’t happen without reason. Our genes know we are a good pair. I wish to find out if that is true or not.”
“I’m not one of your experiments, Madeline.”
“I know that.” My head snapped up. I held his gaze, even though my cheeks were burning.
His cold eyes flicked back and forth between mine. “So you came back for me.”
I nodded. “Yes.”
He ground his teeth together. “If you so much as look at another man—”
“I understand.”
He shook his head and stepped forward, aligning our bodies against each other. His tone was chilling and brutal. “No, you don’t. A mate is forever. I will kill anyone who comes between us.”
The visual of the guard killing himself looped in my mind. I shuddered.
“Now you know,” he whispered. When Corza stuck her head out of the opening of the hov-craft, he tipped his head in its direction. “We need to go. You’ll be staying at my castle with me.”
I licked my lips, and murmured, “I do want my own room.”
His nostrils flared. “I don’t think so.”
“I am scared,” I admitted on the quietest whisper. “Please, give me that much.”
He ground his molars together for a second, and then jerked his head in a nod. “Fine.”
“Appreciated.”
He grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him again. “Accepted.”
Entering the hov-craft, Xri greeted me instantly. He captured my cheeks with his palms and rubbed his thumbs across my skin softly. I stood in shock as he smiled down on me. “It’s good to have you back, Madeline. Geo’s been a real horror since you left.”
Corza snorted and winked at her mate. “He took down the last of the provinces.”
“Exactly,” Xri stated and released me. He pulled Corza into his arms and wiggled her. “He has too much pent up energy. He’s needed his mate.”
“Enough,” Geo growled and scowled. “We need to leave.”
Corza winked at her mate again, and then pulled out of his arms. “To the castle?”
The rebellion leader nodded. “To the castle.”
My attention honed on him. “You’ve won the war?”
“Almost.” His nostrils flared. “The Imperial family escaped. I still need to find them.” He pointed a finger out of the opening of the hov-craft. “And there are obviously still some factions that need to be handled.”
I blinked. “I managed to land
on a site that had remaining Dynasty members.”
The rebellion leader snorted. “The only landing site such as this.”
Xri chuckled quietly at my expression. “That’s just plain bad luck.”
I stared at my com-device and paced my room on silent feet. My movements were smooth and flawless. I used my right thumb to turn on my com-device and watched the screen come alive. I jumped in place three times before I dialed.
I listened to it ring and bit at my nails. This was embarrassing.
Me—pining for what a Kireg could give me.
He answered on the second ring. “Yes?”
The man didn’t even answer with a ‘hello.’ It didn’t surprise me.
I yanked my fingers out of my mouth and pushed away my nerves. “Geo, this is Madeline.”
There was a small beat of silence before he responded, his tone quieting. “I know. What do you need?” Straight to the point.
“Can I meet with you in private? There’s a matter I need to speak to you about.” My eyes closed, my sigh barely audible. My toes dug into the plush carpet with each passing second he took to respond. I gulped on a dry throat, and eventually, my brows pulled together when the line stayed quiet. I jerked the com-device away from my ear and checked the screen, but it was still lit. “Did I lose you?”
“No.” His tone turned even quieter, almost a growl, when I heard voices in the background. I was pretty sure he was attempting to be discreet. “The conference room, my office, or my bedroom?”
My attention caught on the wall, not seeing a damn thing. “Um…” It was his turn to wait, my mind hazing over with the implications of his question. I had blinked several times before I inhaled harshly.
I mumbled on a hasty breath, “Your bedroom.” It made sense, even though we’d had sex against a wall before. I didn’t want anyone seeing us together for this, and I was betting he didn’t either.
Another pause. “Do you know where it is?”
“Yes.” I exhaled a heavy breath. He knew what I wanted, and he wasn’t arguing.
“I’ll be there in an hour.”
My chest heaved as my anxiety lowered. “Thank you.” But my head cocked as I listened to the voices in the background. By the hostile tones, it was an argument. “Is there something going on I should worry about?”
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