by Kiersten Fay
“I see.” Ethan leaned back in his chair. That meant she probably wasn’t as in command of her power as she should be.
“So you’re like an oracle?” Sonya asked, a hint of enmity in her voice.
Nadua pretended not to notice. “Sort of, but I can’t choose what I see. It just kind of comes, whether it’s helpful or not.”
“We can work on it,” Anya encouraged. “I’ve been able to evolve my gift quite a bit with practice.”
Nadua smiled. “That sounds good.” Then she yawned, stating, “I suppose I should get some sleep.”
Both she and Anya called it a night, leaving Ethan and Sonya alone.
Sonya stood to clear the table. Ethan rushed to help her, and their hands brushed together as they reached for the same glass. As if he’d burned her, she snatched her hand back, averting her gaze.
For a moment, it seemed as though she might tell him to go, but she didn’t. In fact, she remained uncharacteristically quiet for the rest of the evening.
It made him uneasy.
A loud, vulgar Sonya he could deal with, but this silent version was agonizing. He glanced around the tavern and found it mostly empty. Only a few crew members scattered about.
Thinking this might be a good time to clear the air between them, he started, “Sonya, shall we discuss—”
“I think I’m all set here,” she interrupted without looking up from her task. “You can take off for the evening.”
Ethan contemplated her stiff visage. “Right. Wouldn’t want to risk any meaningful conversations or anything.”
She glared up at him for a moment before disregarding him all together.
Ethan stifled his disappointment. “Very well. Another time, perhaps.”
Sonya grabbed another dirty glass, relieved that Ethan had left without argument. During his story, she had found herself softening toward him. She thought of Anya, and how early on in her life she had been enslaved and exploited for her talent, used against her will. It was too easy to imagine Ethan in the same predicament. A naive traveler caught up in the darkest society of space.
What alarmed Sonya more was her urge to bash in the brains of a group of males who were already dead, according to Ethan.
She had grown enraged when Ethan had referred to himself as expendable. But what she couldn’t understand was why it had bothered her so much, even more than Nadua’s refusal to speak her feelings for Marik. Clearly the redheaded Faieara cared for Marik, if even just a little. How could she condemn him to a life deprived of his destined mate? Sure, their joining had been botched, but that didn’t necessarily mean it wasn’t meant to be.
Then again, maybe Sonya was only seeing what she wished to see. Hoping against hope that Marik, of all people, could find love in this unforgiving universe—every demon, whether they admitted it or not, longed to find their mate.
Well…almost every.
Sonya was starting to wonder if she’d be better off without.
The image of Ethan flashed through her mind and a dark thought tickled the back of her brain. It was a ridiculous notion, and she tried with everything she had to squash it, but before she knew it, a full-on panic set it. Denial waged a war inside her, battling for supremacy. Her heart revved out of control, causing her to gasp for air.
The sound of shattering glass snapped her to attention. She glanced down to see a few shards embedded in her palm, the rest scattered along the floor at her feet.
With shaky fingers, she plucked the tiny daggers free, taking measured breaths and trying to calm her mind.
Then she grabbed a broom to sweep up the rest. She halted as Nadua and Anya rushed past the pub whispering with their heads together.
Sonya raised an eyebrow, putting aside the broom, and followed after them. They turned the corner into the docking bay, oblivious of her.
She entered the room and stilled. The shuttle door was open, and Anya was just about to step aboard.
“What in the name of the gods do you think you’re doing?”
Anya and Nadua startled, then shared a desperate look.
Nadua cleared her throat. “I just had a terrible vision. People I love are going to die unless I get back to Undewla and warn them.” She paused. “Please, I have to go back. Ava is riding to her death as we speak.”
“I can get the ship there and back in no time,” Anya added. “You know I can.”
Sonya narrowed her gaze at the redhead. “Is this Ava someone you love more than Marik? Do you even care about him at all?”
Nadua flinched. “It’s not like that.”
“Sure it isn’t. And Anya, you know Sebastian will kill me if I let you do this.”
Anya bit her lip, looking conflicted.
“Please,” Nadua begged. “I made a promise to protect Ava. I must go back. None of them know the danger they are in.”
Anya gazed at her sister with compassion, and Sonya realized she was reading the Nadua’s emotions. Anya lifted her chin and whatever she’d been debating was apparently decided.
Sonya let out a soft curse, recognizing the stern resolution in Anya’s gaze. Then she pursed her lips and gave a tight nod. If she trusted anyone besides her brothers, it was pure-hearted Anya.
Resigned, Sonya crossed her arms and sighed. “Well, we’d better hurry then.”
They gaped in astonishment.
“You’re both going to get yourselves killed. I guess I’ll just have to tag along.” Sonya moved to gather the weapons Sebastian had confiscated earlier.
Nadua joined her in picking through the bounty. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“I’m not doing this for you.”
“Then I’m glad you’re doing it for Anya’s sake.”
Sonya didn’t reply, unsure if that was entirely the case. There was no doubt she wanted to keep Anya safe, but a more selfish part of her determined this was exactly the kind of distraction she desperately needed.
* * *
Ethan rushed into the bridge just in time to hear Marik bellow, “What in hell are they thinking?”
“I have no fucking idea,” Sebastian replied, equally enraged.
“You wanted to see me?” Ethan asked, alarmed by the commotion.
“Ethan.” Sebastian let out a weary breath. “I fear we might need your gift again. Nadua and Anya have taken a shuttle back to Undewla, and apparently Sonya went along.”
It took Ethan a moment to fully comprehend what he’d just heard. Still, his reply was weak. “What?”
“Aye.” Marik growled. “I’m going to throttle them.”
“Get in line,” Sebastian countered.
Spikes of dread threaded Ethan’s veins “What would possess them to do such a thing?”
“Something about it being important to Nadua.” Sebastian replied. “Anya wasn’t exactly forthcoming.”
Ethan placed his palms on the edge of a nearby console and leaned on it for support. A building panic was quickly eating away his reason. “Can’t this bloody ship catch a simple shuttle?”
Sebastian gave a defeated shake of his head. “If anyone but Anya was guiding that craft, then yeah. But she is feeding it power with her gift. They’re nearly twice as fast as us at the moment.”
“What about warp drive?”
“We don’t have the fuel cells for it.”
“Actually,” Aidan interjected from across the room. “It looks like we do.” He tapped a few buttons. “A third of our previously empty fuel cells appear to be refilled.”
Sebastian lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Dammit, Anya. Will you never just do as I ask?”
Ethan wondered what it had cost Anya to transfer energy into the cells. That kind of magic always took a hefty toll.
Sebastian sucked in a breath and pulled back his shoulders. “Prepare the ship for warp.”
Moments later, Marada breached Undewla’s atmosphere, careening over the icy land. They’d caught the signal of the hijacked shuttle and were heading in its direction. Thick sn
ow-covered hills, peppered by decrepit looking trees, rushed under Marada’s belly.
They came over a tall bluff, and the scenery gave way to a barrage of gore and carnage. A sea of lightly blue skinned natives appeared to be engaged in a fierce battle.
Ethan’s heart stuttered. Everyone in the bridge stared in awed silence as jagged shafts of ice sprung from the ground, seemingly from nowhere. Some pierced straight through bodies.
“Those are caused by an individual called a Kaiylemi,” Marik explained. “They control ice the way Anya controls energy.”
“How many are there?” Sebastian asked, gaping like the rest of them.
“I’m not sure. One, maybe two. They are supposed to be rare among the Cyrellian race.”
Ethan was awed by the magnitude of power…performed by a single person? Many of those ice shafts towered over the surrounding trees.
“Do you see any sign of…the shuttle?” He’d almost said Sonya.
“There it is.” Aidan pointed out the familiar craft. It had come to rest dead center in the onslaught.
“Take us down!” Ethan demanded. “I’m going out there.”
“We’re all going out there,” Marik corrected.
* * *
Sonya’s astonished gaze perused the fierce battle through the cockpit window. A legion of turquoise colored individuals brandished every manner of weaponry. She could practically taste the fierceness, the savagery laid out before her. Smell the spilled blood clashing against the once pristine snow that blanketed the ground.
It called to her.
A massive crystalline dagger shot out of the ground, interrupting a group of combatants.
What the hell?
Nadua searched the crowd and mumbled, “Where is Ava?”
Once again, Sonya surveyed the melee, wondering if it was even possible to pick out a single girl among the chaos. All these people looked close to identical, with hair as white as the snow and dressed in scraps of clothing that couldn’t possibly protect them from the cold, let alone the strike of a blade.
While Anya lowered the craft, Nadua jumped out of her chair and began arming herself with her bow and arrows, then slipped a sheathed sword around her waist. Sonya retrieved a sword of her own, and then secured her gun holster to her thigh. She noticing Nadua’s quiver only held two arrows. Recalling the accuracy with which the redhead shot, Sonya was sure those arrows would go to good use.
Anya looked drained from using her gift to rush the shuttle’s approach. Thankfully, she agreed to stay locked inside while Sonya and Nadua searched out this Ava girl.
With a weary grin, Anya informed them, “Marada will be close behind. Bastian will be pushing the engines hard now, and I’ve been secretly adding juice.”
The ferocious sounds of battle outside stroked Sonya’s bloodlust. She craved the violence she’d been deprived these last few weeks. “Who are we going after?” She asked Nadua.
“Just follow me. I need to find Ava,” Nadua replied.
When the door flipped open, Nadua didn’t wait for the stairs to fully descend before jumping out and landing on her haunches in the soft snow. Sonya followed, baring her lengthening fangs.
Nadua shot upright and fired off the last two arrows in her quiver, then discarded the weapon before the projectiles even met their marks. She scanned the field, and her lips curled in a sneer. “Lidian,” she breathed.
Sonya followed her gaze to a small girl standing on the outskirts of the field, surrounded by soldiers.
A tremor drew Sonya’s attention to another crystal dagger sprouting from the ground and rising high into the sky. Incredulous, she asked, “Does ice always sprout up like that on this planet?”
Nadua replied in an angered tone, “No.” She pointed her sword at the girl on the outskirts. “It’s her. And we need her taken out. Do you think you can—?”
No need to ask me twice.
Sprinting forward, Sonya yelled, “On it! Don’t get yourself killed, Red!” Or else it’ll be my head, she added to herself.
As she raced for her target, a small group of locals attempted to engage her in battle. However, their apparent and nearly instant fear of her caused them to hesitate, some of them backing off even, their eyes wide. She understood then that her irises had changed crimson. Clearly, to these people she appeared monstrous. She smiled at that, showing them her fangs. It was the most exploited advantage of her kind—ferocious and terrifying, nothing compared to a demon on the Edge.
As several males approached her, she snatched her pulsar gun and fired, propelling them backwards. She aimed next at the group surrounding the ice witch and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
She pulled the trigger again, and again. The gun only gave a dull click.
“A single shot? Piece of shit!” She tossed the weapon aside and gripped the hilt of her sword.
The ice witch spotted her advance, and their eyes locked; Sonya’s full of wildfire, the girl’s as cold as the ice she yielded.
At once, three of the guards surged forward, swinging their weapons. Sonya blocked the first and dodged the second, but the third blade entered her abdomen just below her ribs, ripping through the flesh of her back.
She let out a harsh roar, yet barely felt the pain. Her mind focused only on the next assault.
As the two flanking guards thrust their blades at her, she twirled her body away, the sword sheathed in her gut coming with her. Her opponents rushed her. She raised her blade to defend. Metal clashed in quick succession. It only heightened her mindless need for violence, sent her further over the Edge where instinct met animal grace.
She rammed the tip of her sword through the neck of the unarmed guard.
As he fell lifeless, she whirled around, her blade arching wide as it cleanly severed the heads off the other two.
Even before the bleeding husks hit the snow, she lurched forward to take out two more guards who had thought to come to the aid of their comrades.
They were easier to dispatch than the first set.
She stood, heaving out white puffs of air, and extracted her opponent’s sword from her torso, ignoring the trickle of blood that ran down her front.
The ice witch met her gaze, her lips curling as she raised her hand in Sonya’s direction. Sensing the danger, Sonya dove out of the way just before a shaft of ice broke through the ground where she had been standing. No sooner had she pushed to her feet than several cold daggers penetrated her torso as if they had been thrown from the witch’s direction.
Sonya lunged forward, baring her fangs. The witch looked around, a hint of panic cracking behind her frigid gaze. Her remaining guards were retreating into the rotting skeleton of a forest. She turned to make a mad dash away from Sonya.
Sonya swiped her claws out to grip the long white tendrils of the witch’s hair and yanked back. The witch managed a gurgled cry before Sonya brought her blade to the back of her neck and relieved her head from her body.
Chapter 17
As Ethan raced for Sonya, the ice ceased spiking from the round. Some of the largest shafts began to crumble. Confusion took hold over the battlefield, and he sensed many of them ready to retreat.
In the distance, Sonya stood like a fierce goddess atop an offering of bodies, her black hair whipping in the wind as she gripped the head of her latest victim.
He slowed his step and approached her as he would a wild beast. Her wounds trickled with blood, staining the white snow under her feet.
Irises filled with liquid fire settled on him. She tilted her head. He put his hands up to show he was not a threat. He had no idea how far on the Edge she lingered, or if she was beyond reason.
Tossing her prize to the side, she strode toward him with the grace of a feline, never dropping her gaze.
“Sonya, you’re bleeding. Let me heal you.”
She glanced at herself briefly before focusing back on him, continuing her advance, her gaze intense and filled with hooded desire.
Any
other time, he would have welcomed the animalistic lust she threw off, and even though a string of alarm snaked through him, he couldn’t stop himself from murmuring “Gods, you’re beautiful.”
Sonya paused at the praise. She blinked, and her irises faded back to deep pools of sunset-purple. She squinted at him. Then, as if nothing were out of the ordinary, she surveyed her surroundings as though ready for another fight. “Where are the others?”
“Sebastian is with Anya, and Marik is looking for Nadua. Are you alright?” He reached out to one of her wounds, but she slapped his hand away.
“I’m fine. We need to regroup.”
Around them, the battlefield thinned as rivers of soldiers flowed into the surrounding wilderness. Those who remained tended to the fallen.
Ethan tried one last time to heal Sonya, but she turned on him with a harsh curse. “I’ll be fine. Leave me alone!”
From a short distance away, Nadua called to him in a panicked tone.
He rushed toward her. “Are you hurt, Princess?”
“No, Ava is. Please help her.” Nadua hovered over a small white-haired female lying motionless, an arrow jutting from her chest.
He swiftly evaluated the wound. It had landed near the heart, but just off the mark. The female still breathed. “I’ll need someone to pull out the arrow.”
Sonya reached for it and barked, “Got it,” before giving the arrow a swift yank.
The female screamed, clutching the wound as blood pooled between her fingers.
From the side, a male hissed out a growl and lunged at Sonya. Nadua flung her body in his way, tackling him to the ground.
“What are you doing?” the male screamed at them.
Ignoring the commotion, Ethan placed his hands on the female’s wound, calling his magic into action.
Light sparked under his palms, growing brighter with every breath. With the surge of power, the drifting flakes of snow around them halted in midair, slowly melting and then forming into droplets of water. As if it were his own, Ethan felt the female’s skin knitting itself together.