by Lili Zander
I stop in my tracks. “I’m never going to remember all these names.”
“You don’t have to.” Her expression softens. “Don’t worry, Sofia. Do your best, and remember, every trap has a way out.”
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
The six members of the Senate are already in their seats when I arrive. Silu leads me to the center of the room and then leaves.
Have I mentioned how I hate having the spotlight on me? Really, really hate it.
“Hello,” I say nervously.
The six of them stare at me in response. Just as Silu said, there are two Draekons, one male, and one female. Two Adrashians, their feathers just as brightly red as Silu’s. The Makpi are robed from head to toe in a deep, shimmering blue cloth, and their faces are hidden underneath the cowl of their hoods.
One of the Adrashians leans forward. “You are one of the humans who crashed on this planet, yes?”
“I am. My name is Sofia Menendez.”
“And you are the mate of the two Draekons who are in the grip of the fever.”
“The fever for which you possess the cure,” I reply pointedly. I’m normally not very assertive. Only when lives are on the line. “Yes, I am.”
The Draekon woman frowns. What did Silu say? She’ll vote against me. Sure enough, her next words confirm it. “I don’t understand why we need to talk to the human,” she says disdainfully, ignoring me and addressing the others. “This affair is not Ashara’s concern. It’s perfectly obvious what we need to do. These strangers don’t belong in Ashara. Send them back to their own planets.”
With effort, I push back my rising anger and focus on keeping my voice level. “With all due respect,” I say boldly. “All but one of the human women have Draekon mates. We don’t want to return to Earth. We want to stay.”
“Because of your mates?” One of the Adrashians taps her claws on the table in front of her. “What if your mates were sent back with you?”
Before I can open my mouth to point out that Earth is hardly likely to welcome dozens of scary dragon shifters, the male Draekon shakes his head. “It won’t happen,” he says. “Arax was Firstborn. Lenox can’t let him leave. If the Rebellion adopted Arax as their leader… no, Lenox won’t take the risk. He’ll destroy the planet to keep a hold on his power.”
“Send the women back without their mates,” the Draekon woman snaps. “I am not concerned about the fate of nine primitives from a neutral planet. Ashara’s kept its existence hidden for more than a thousand years. That is what’s important. Our peace. Our security. Not these humans.”
Sorry, abuela. I know you don’t like me swearing, but this woman is a fucking bitch. We’re not people to her. Just primitives.
“Harper, Dennox, and Vulrux have a child. A youngling. Kaida. Are you going to tear her from her mother’s arms?”
One of the blue-robed Makpi speaks up, its deep voice vibrating unpleasantly in my ears. “Have no fear. The youngling will be cared for by us.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “You’re joking, right?” I stare at the Senate in disbelief and horror. “Kaida has three parents who love her. What gives you the right to take her from them?”
The Draekon woman stares back at me, unmoved, but the others avert their eyes. What had Silu said? The Adrashian female and the Draekon male are persuadable. They’re the wildcards.
I take a deep, steadying breath. “Two of the human women, Viola and Felicity, are pregnant right now.”
Once again, the Draekon bitch replies. “The Zorahn scientists will handle that.”
Santa Maria, she cannot be saying what I think she is. She’s talking about terminating their pregnancies against their will.
I rarely lose my temper; I lose it now. “You are monsters,” I spit out, almost incandescent with rage. There’s a voice in the back of my mind telling me that I should stay calm, that I’m antagonizing the Senate by challenging them this way. But I can’t stay silent. “What you’re talking about doing… Have you ever stopped to consider how much heartbreak and damage you’re going to cause? Harper will mourn Kaida for the rest of her life. As will Viola and Felicity. How dare you?” I clench my hands into fists. “I might be a primitive, but I have one thing you so-called advanced civilizations are missing. I have principles. Morals. And I have a heart.”
The senators murmur among themselves. I know I’ve harmed Rorix and Ferix’s chances of getting the drug, but I’m too angry to care. It was probably a long shot anyway. I’ll figure out another way. The healers seemed to have consciences. Maybe I can convince them to act in defiance of the Senate.
“I’m a healer on my planet,” I tell them. “And the most thing we’re taught is this. First, do no harm. But this plan of action you’re contemplating? It has harm all over it. And you don’t give a shit.”
There’s a long silence, and then one of the Adrashians breaks it. “We will debate our course of action,” she says. “We will announce our decision in a few days.”
In a few days, it’ll be too late for Rorix and Ferix.
The door slides open, and Silu reenters the room. Evidently, my audience with the Senate is over.
Hopelessness fills me until I’m drowning in despair, choking in misery.
That’s when I hear a loud crash, and the bombs start to drop.
25
Sofia
Soldiers pour into the room and hustle the senators to safety. Silu grabs my elbow. “Follow me,” she hisses under her breath.
There are two Adrashian men behind her. More soldiers. “What’s going on?” I ask her as she hurries me down the same plant-lined corridor we were in earlier. “Is the city being attacked?”
“Yes,” she replies. “It appears that the Zorahn navy has found our location.”
I stop dead in my tracks. “The soldiers who have been hunting me?”
She doesn’t break her stride. “No, this attack is coming from space.”
I scramble to catch up with her. Silu’s about as tall as I am, but she’s moving at a fast pace. “That’s not good.”
She shrugs.
“You don’t appear too concerned. Why?”
“Every trap has a way out, Sofia,” she says, repeating her words from earlier. “Despite the senators’ blathering about peace and harmony, we are not defenseless. I believe deeply in peace, but I am also always prepared for war.”
The tablet on her tool belt beeps, and she takes a second to glance at the screen. “I have to go,” she says. “In a time of war, in Commander Cax’s absence, I’m in charge of Ashara.” She gestures to the two Adrashians behind her. “Korum and Babbuq will see you to the Healers Hall.” She reaches for her toolbelt and takes a battered black bracelet out of it. “Your access pass.”
I start to remind her that she gave me one earlier, and then I look at her face, and something in her expression gives me pause. Her shoulders are stiff, and her claws are elongated. Her tail swishes to and fro. She’s tense about something.
“Thank you,” I murmur, taking it from her. What’s going on? What is this bracelet going to get me access to?
“You know how to use it, don’t you, Sofia?” She gives me a sidelong look. “Commander Cax gave you instructions?”
Hang on. Is she saying what I think she is? I take a discreet look at the access bracelet she’s handed me. It’s as battered as the one Cax was wearing earlier, when he opened the cabinet that contains the medicine that will save Rorix and Ferix.
Has she actually given me Commander Cax’s own access band?
I think she has. In fact, I think the two of them planned this right from the start. That’s why Cax told me how the drug worked, that’s why he showed me exactly where it was.
“Yes,” I reply, a surge of relief flooding through me. “Commander Cax told me everything I need to know.”
A ghost of a smile flashes across Silu’s face. “Excellent.”
Raiht’vi is gone when I get back to Healers Hall. The room is em
pty except for Rorix and Ferix.
My mates.
I know I should hurry, but I can’t. I stand between the two pods and look down at their sleeping faces.
“Hey,” I say softly. “I guess this is it. I guess this is goodbye.” I blink the tears away furiously. Somehow, it feels important to say this. To express my feelings out loud. Even though they can’t hear me.
“I just want you to know…” My voice cracks, and the tears spill free. “I just want you to know how much I love you. How much I’ll always love you.” I wipe my face with the back of my hand. “I like to imagine that my grandmother would have liked the two of you. Well, she’d have been scandalized by the whole ‘two mates’ thing, and she might have run away screaming when you transformed into dragons, but once she got over that, I think she’d have seen what I see. How great you are.”
I take a deep, shuddering breath. “No one has ever treated me better than you,” I whisper. “I’ve never felt as loved and cherished as I have in the week I was your mate.” Damn it. All the advanced technology in the world, and no tissue when I need it. “If I had to go back in time, I’d do this all over again. I’d relive every minute, even though I know it’s going to end in heartbreak.”
A teardrop splashes on Ferix’s cheek, and he stirs in his sleep. I wipe it away with a thumb. He’s still too warm. The fever is raging within him, and I can’t delay.
Bending forward, I brush my lips over each of them in turn. Healers Hall is quiet, but I can hear loud crashes outside, and the sound of footsteps running. The footsteps rouse me to action. Any minute now, someone could discover what Silu did, in defiance of the Senate. Any minute now, someone could crash into the room and stop me.
Holding the access bracelet Silu gave me in my hand, I hurry in front of the wall containing the medicine cabinet and wave it in front of the console.
Santa Maria, please let this work.
The display flashes silver, and the panel slides open.
I murmur a prayer of thanks under my breath. The location of the drug that’s going to save Rorix and Ferix is seared into my mind. Without hesitation, I reach for the bottle of golden liquid and hurry over to the pods. What did Cax say? All you need to do is load it into the dispenser in the pods. The rest is automatic.
It takes me a couple of minutes of hunting, but eventually, I find the dispensers and fill them to the brim with the drug.
Then I push the same button the healers just a couple of hours ago, the button that fills the pods with light and activates the nanoparticles.
Nothing happens.
Dios mio, what am I missing? I swear this is the button the healers pushed. Why is nothing happening? What am I doing wrong?
Time slows down to a crawl. I enter a tunnel of focus. I was paying attention to the healers this morning. Why did the pods work for them, but not for me?
An image of Raiht’vi flashes in front of my eyes. She’s showing me the bracelet around her wrist. Everyone in Ashara wears them. You can’t do anything without one.
Of course.
With shaking hands, I wave Cax’s bracelet in front of Ferix’s pod. The device emits a quiet hum in response.
Hopefully, that’s a good noise. Holding my breath, I press the button once more.
This time, it does something. A golden light fills the pod.
The healing nanoparticles are at work.
I repeat the procedure on Rorix’s pod.
And then I wait.
26
Rorix
I’m floating in a sea of molten lava. Everything burns. Everything is fire and heat and anger. A relentless drumbeat pounds in my head, overwhelming me, obliterating my thoughts. I scream, but my voice is lost in the chaos around me.
I don’t know how long I thrash in agony. Minutes, hours, maybe days.
And then, just when I’m ready to give up and surrender, something happens. The lava turns golden. The temperature drops and the storm clouds disappear. The fire dies down to a glowing smolder. The drumbeat trails away to a soothing, steady beat and a welcome coolness spreads over me.
Shattered bones are reformed. Torn muscles knit together. My scales fade into skin, ready to emerge when I need them.
In that golden haze, I am reborn.
For the first time in my life, the dragon and the man are not adversaries. The man isn’t the captor; the dragon isn’t caged.
For the first time in my life, both sides of me are aligned.
At long last.
I feel powerful. Invincible. I feel like I could take on anything and emerge victorious.
Wait a minute. Something’s wrong.
A pinprick of unease pierces my haze of contentment. I can smell something burning; I can taste smoke on my tongue. I hear explosions, and I sense the nervousness of the woman holding my hand. Her grip is tight, and her pulse is racing.
Woman?
Golden strands connect her to me, connect her to Ferix, connect me to Ferix. Mate, a voice inside my soul whispers. She is our mate.
The explosions are growing louder. I hear screaming. The blaring of alarms.
The golden threads vibrate and hum, faster and faster.
Wake up, Rorix und Marox ab Kei, a voice in my mind whispers urgently. Our mate is in danger. You must act. Now.
I’m jerked out of my haze.
I’m awake.
The dragon is ready to go to war.
27
Sofia
I’ve been sitting at Ferix and Rorix’s side for more than three hours.
The explosions keep coming. The ground at my feet seems to shake. I smell burning, and people are screaming.
What the hell is going on? Silu hadn’t seemed worried about being attacked, and I would have sworn the situation was under control. But now, I’m starting to second-guess that. How are the bombs, if that’s indeed what they are, getting through?
I can only think of one way. The Zorahn Navy must have blasted a hole in the mountain range.
We’re sitting ducks here, but my concern is wholly reserved for my mates. Shouldn’t they have woken up by now? I thought I followed all of Cax’s instructions, but what if I did something wrong?
Cax didn’t tell you how long it would take them to wake, I remind myself, trying to stave off the feeling of panic that’s been steadily rising as minute after minute ticks on, and neither man opens his eyes. It could be days.
There’s a beep, and the door slides open. The same two Adrashian soldiers who escorted me to the Healers Hall stand in the doorway. I search my memory for their names, but I draw a complete blank. “Orders from the lieutenant commander,” one of them says. “Nixmi Tower is being evacuated. Follow the flashing signs.”
He doesn’t even finish his sentence before I start shaking my head. “I can’t leave them,” I reply, gesturing to Rorix and Ferix. “They’re unconscious.”
“Yes, yes,” the Adrashian says impatiently. “I know. They will be evacuated as well. A team is on its way. You must, however, go now.”
Something doesn’t feel right about this. “No,” I reply firmly. “If a team is on its way to help my Draekons, I’ll wait for them here.”
The two soldiers exchange looks. One of them says something to the other in a low voice. They’re not speaking English, so I can’t catch what they’re saying. For a couple of minutes, they argue with each other, and then, finally, they nod curtly. “Very well. We will inform the lieutenant commander.”
I’m guessing they’re talking about Silu. She’s probably going to be annoyed, but I once again, I can’t bring myself to give a damn. It’s not that I don’t trust Cax or Silu; in fact, of everyone here in Ashara, I trust them the most. That doesn’t mean I can’t recognize that they have their own agenda.
Their top priority is unlikely to be two unconscious Draekons. But it’s mine. Ferix and Rorix are my mates. Amnesia or no amnesia. There wasn’t a big ceremony with a poufy white dress, but every night we slept together, we made each other silent pro
mises.
For better or worse. In sickness and in health.
I’m sitting on the floor between the two pods, leaning against Rorix’s bed, my hand holding his. The people in charge of the tower must have ordered an official evacuation, because I can hear the steady thud-thud-thud of hundreds of marching footsteps outside. Or maybe I’m just imagining things.
There’s a loud blast, and something crashes down, taking out half the front wall with it, raising up a huge cloud of dust, setting my eyes watering. I grip Rorix’s hand hard as I blink the tears from my eyes and try to see what just hit us.
A huge, heavy metal ball, easily five feet tall, has landed just a few feet from me.
My heartbeat quickens. Dios mio, is this an unexploded bomb?
If there’s ever a perfect time for Rorix and Ferix to wake up, it would be now.
I watch with horror as the metal ball splits apart, and about a thousand fist-sized, spider-like things pour out from it, their bodies glowing an eerie pale green. Without hesitation, they branch out in different directions.
Don’t make a sound, Sofia. Don’t move. Don’t breathe. Maybe they won’t notice you here.
Of course, my wish is futile. Most of them head outward, but two of them turn toward me, and they start to approach, emitting a high shrieking noise as they move.
The first day I was on the prison planet, we’d been surrounded by three dwals. They’d hooted to each other as they approached, and I’d seen their razor-sharp claws and their long, vicious-looking teeth, and my life had flashed in front of my eyes.
I’d been frozen with fear that day. It had been Ryanna who’d aimed her gun at one of them, and calmly fired the trigger.
Not me. I’d been too afraid. In an emergency room, I know how to stay calm while everyone else is falling to pieces around me. But when I was confronted with a predator that seemed intent on killing me, I’d been paralyzed.