Nexus

by Sasha Alsberg

  With every moment that passed, with every new soldier that set out across Mirabel to spread the Zenith virus, more minds were added to Valen’s nexus of connections. At first, he’d felt the exact moment when each silver bullet hit its target. The bullets contained a serum that Nor’s two-headed scientist, Aclisia, had perfected back on Xen Ptera. She’d somehow replicated strands of Valen’s DNA and used them to create a virus that forever linked the minds of its victims to his own, leaving them vulnerable to his compulsions.

  The noise had been too much to bear at first.

  The first few connections during Valen’s training on Xen Ptera had nearly overcome him. Nor had supplied traitors and criminals for him to practice on, and he’d often lost himself to their dark thoughts in those early days. Darai, the ancient adviser who’d served Nor all her life, had assisted with Valen’s training in the beginning, but Valen hadn’t been able to tolerate his condescending nature for long. Nor had taken over then, and eventually, Valen had learned how to control his power.

  Over time, he discovered a way to quiet the minds, to lock them away in their very own realm, so that when a new mind was added, it was simply background noise. He’d strengthened the mental boundaries around that realm, building walls around those other minds, until they were contained in an impenetrable fortress that rivaled the obsidinite prison he’d once been trapped in on Lunamere.

  And then, finally, there was silence.

  Now he need only hear the minds when he pleased. And with the help of the Zenith virus, Valen could reach them from anywhere in the galaxy. He compelled them to serve Nor, their true queen—no matter the cost.

  Hiding away again, little brother?

  His sister’s teasing voice cut through the birdsong in the garden. It entered his mind like a warm, comforting blanket, soothing Valen in a way nothing else ever had. He’d come to love their connection, his power feeding off it every time they spoke into each other’s minds.

  On Xen Ptera, they’d shared a life together—two years spent honing Valen’s powers. And all the while, his heartless father never came looking for him. Valen had once cared about pleasing the general, but now he knew that hope had been futile. Foolish, and utterly pointless. His father had never been capable of loving him, of feeling pride in his son.

  Now all he cared about was pleasing Nor, and making up for the time they’d each lost to their tainted childhoods—Valen a prisoner to his father, Nor a prisoner to her pain and grief.

  Now they could delight in their shared freedom.

  I’m not hiding, Valen thought back to Nor, a smile spreading across his face. I’m simply avoiding a certain adviser who gets on my nerves. Whenever Darai calls a meeting, you can guess what my next move will be.

  Valen could practically see his sister rolling her golden eyes on the other side of their link. She knew he felt a strong dislike for the old man. Darai reminded Valen of his father—something about his face, or perhaps the darkness in his eyes. He always felt like Darai didn’t think he was good enough, worthy enough, to be so closely linked to his precious Nor.

  Valen suspected that part of his distaste was due to the history Darai and Nor shared. The old adviser had practically raised Nor, and she saw him as an uncle, albeit one who frequently irritated her. And during all their years together since Nor’s birth, they’d never had to pretend that Mirabel was all that mattered. They’d always known the truth, while Valen was still playing catch-up.

  With a scowl, he tossed a rock into the pond across from him, startling a purple-eyed creature lazing at the water’s edge. It scampered away, fading into the overgrown foliage, and Valen followed its path until his eyes landed on the massive silver ring floating beyond the garden, just visible through the trees.

  Nexus.

  The monstrous satellite had become Nor’s new obsession in the wake of their takeover during the Ucatoria Ball. Engineers, scientists and workers had been laboring around the clock these past few weeks, perfecting every angle and plane of the device that would amplify Valen’s compulsion ability, sending his message to every corner of the galaxy.

  The True Queen of Mirabel is Nor Solis. Protect her, honor her, worship her cause.

  It was a massive undertaking, but Valen had every faith that his sister would see it done. Nor was a woman on a mission, and when she set her mind to something, she was unstoppable.

  Her voice in his mind drew Valen’s focus back to the present. Avoiding is the same thing as hiding, brother. Shouldn’t you want to be here for this? It’ll be fun!

  Define fun, Valen thought, sending the message through their mental doorway. A muscle at his temple twitched, the twinge of a headache coming on. Valen sighed and rubbed his forehead with paint-stained fingers.

  Another headache? Nor asked. Even through their mental link, he could sense her concern. For ever since Nor took control, and the galaxy was swept up in Valen’s compulsion...he’d changed in so many ways.

  He was more powerful than he’d ever been, but he was also tired. The kind of bone-weary exhaustion he couldn’t quite shake.

  It’s just stress, Valen thought back to his sister. Probably brought on by the medical droid you’ve had following me for two days now. Which, if you haven’t noticed, has mysteriously disappeared.

  Her silence told him that she knew she’d been caught. He sighed as Nor backed away from the door between their minds, sending him a final image of the scene before her. A makeup artist with deep blue eyebrows was dabbing something colorful onto her cheeks, helping her prepare for the speech she’d be making in a short while.

  You look beautiful, sister, he thought. The people will fall in love with you all over again when they see you on the feeds today.

  Valen felt Nor smile just before the link faded. He knew she was worried about him, but there were so many other things Nor needed to focus on right now.

  Like the Unaffected attacks.

  It was something Valen had feared from the beginning, after he’d learned that some wouldn’t be affected by his compulsion. Their numbers were slim, if Aclisia’s extensive testing of the Zenith virus was anything to judge by. For every hundred that fell to Valen’s compulsion, bowing to Nor despite their original feelings toward her, only one resisted. So despite his unease, he’d never truly thought they’d be able to fight back.

  But barely a week into Nor’s reign, a group of Unaffecteds had banded together and destroyed the military barracks on Tenebris that housed many of the newest recruits to the cause. Valen had felt the moment those minds beneath his compulsion had died. As if they were matches snuffed out. There one moment, gone the next.

  It happened again, mere days later, on Adhira. A small but organized group of Unaffecteds had emerged from the jungle sector of the terraformed planet and struck down the communication towers. Nor’s video feed, which was on a constant loop across the galaxy, had been cut off for half a day’s time.

  Though news of more attacks continued to trickle back to Arcardius from every corner of Mirabel, it wasn’t enough to strike terror in Valen’s heart. No, it would take a lot more than that to break him. But he saw the way Nor’s hands were often curled into fists. How her lips, normally smooth and polished, had crusted over with small scabs, from biting at them in her sleep. The last thing she needed was to spend even a single moment worrying about him.

  Valen needed to stay strong for her. The Unaffecteds would fall eventually, when they ran out of steam. When they realized that the galaxy was beyond saving. And sending Nexus into the sky was the best way to achieve that, to ensure that Valen’s compulsion would be sent out across the galaxy forevermore, even long after he was gone.

  Sometimes, Valen could scarcely believe what they had already accomplished; how quickly the galaxy had fallen beneath their joined hands. Having a scientist of Aclisia’s caliber on their side had been vital to their success in that regard. It had been her id
ea to send out the orbs full of tainted rain as soon as they’d seized control of Arcardius.

  A war does not always require soldiers, she’d said, showing Nor and Valen how the weapon would work. Thousands of silver droplets falling from the skies across the galaxy, unleashing the Zenith virus upon all nearby.

  So quickly, the Solis reign began.

  So easily, the weak-minded Mirabellians had fallen beneath Valen’s compulsion.

  Valen shivered a little as the wind blew through the treetops now, drawing the leaves down from the canopy overhead. They were a beautiful shade of purple and blue at their edges, the colors swirling together as they tumbled in the wind.

  This garden, once a place he’d used to escape the darkness of his past, had grown brighter under the light of Nexus being built nearby. Even with the chill of winter soon to come, Valen felt almost cozy, safe in his own skin as he lay down by the water’s edge, his head on a thick pillow of moss imported from one of the garden satellites outside the Prime system.

  Nor would do well with her speech today. The Unaffecteds would see her, and they would tremble in their hiding places. Nexus would be finished on schedule, and all would be resolved soon enough.

  Of that, Valen was certain.

  He yawned, his headache pulsing a little harder as he closed his eyes and let his consciousness slip deep into the confines of his mind, seeking the one place that was safe and sound and entirely his own.

  Dark clouds.

  A fortress made of night.

  Iron bars that ensured no one else could enter. Only he belonged.

  The velvety moss a cushion against his head, Valen allowed himself to relax, to remember the first time they met—a moment of hope and light after the twisted darkness of Lunamere. And as he fell deeper and deeper into his mind, losing himself in the memories, he hardly noticed the twin droplets of blood that slipped from his nostrils, a deep crimson against his pale skin.

  CHAPTER 4

  NOR

  Power. She had always had it, but now she was it.

  The Mirabel Galaxy bowed to Queen Nor Solis. Its inhabitants worshipped her, and there wasn’t anything that could disrupt what she and her brother had created.

  Or so she’d thought.

  “What do you mean the Unaffecteds are winning?” Nor hissed at Darai as he stood in front of her in his gray robes. He winced at the venom in her voice. “There’s no war for them to win. Their numbers are few and scattered. Their attacks on us have been pathetic at best.”

  Still, the mere mention of the Unaffecteds had her bristling, an unwelcome blight on her morning. No reign was meant to be perfect, if history was told true. But Nor could still imagine it: a galaxy that did not dare, not even a single person, to defy her.

  “Look left, please, Majesty,” the makeup artist whispered. Nor tilted her head slightly, and the man brushed a shimmering dust across her cheekbones. “Lovely,” he said, smiling as he dabbed his brush back into the palette. The effect, she knew, looked heavenly, but it did nothing to ease her frustrations.

  Nor tried to reach Valen again, but the doorway between their minds was empty, as if he’d backed away from it. He had likely withdrawn to his mind castle, where even she could not travel, exhausted as she was from the past several days.

  Valen’s compulsion abilities were far more powerful than Nor’s. She’d known it from the moment she met him in Lunamere. But the constant strain of compelling so many minds at once was taking its toll on him. She saw it in his thinning arms and his emaciated frame, as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks. Dark circles bruised the skin beneath his eyes, and though he smiled often in her presence, it wasn’t quite the same as it had been before.

  He’s strong, she reminded herself. He will continue to be strong, because he knows what’s at stake.

  And because Nor couldn’t do what Valen did. It was why she’d needed him for this mission of theirs. Nor’s compulsion worked in small, subtle ways. She could get someone to lend her an ear longer than they would have liked. She could ease the tension in a room. But when it came to controlling, to truly holding someone’s mind hostage...only Valen had inherited that strength from their mother’s bloodline. Somehow, Nor had been passed over in that sense.

  It had given her a reason to hate her mother for many years—until she’d discovered that Valen existed. Until that moment, in his cell in Lunamere, after so many years of anticipation and training with Darai, when Nor was able to compel Valen not to fear her. To listen to her, and eventually, to understand the truth of his lineage.

  She prodded at the mental doorway again, seeking his presence. But she knew he was likely working, as he always was, on continuing their reign. So much for listening to her speech.

  It’s worth it, Nor told herself, pushing aside the protective tendencies she felt toward her younger half brother. You must give Valen his space, so he can better serve your cause.

  “Are we nearly done?” the producer asked. He stood across the room, his four arms crossed over each other with impatience, and Nor almost commanded Darai to remove him from her presence. But he was good at what he did, having filmed her himself before they’d even left Xen Ptera. He’d created the loops that were even now broadcasting on the feeds across the galaxy, a constant reminder of her presence.

  They’d had to prepare much ahead of time, knowing how swiftly the Solis reign was to sweep across the galaxy. Valen’s compulsion did what it needed to do, ensuring that the people obeyed her. But Nor wanted them to love her. To be obsessed with her, incapable of escaping her voice, her name, her image.

  So from the moment she’d taken charge, the video loops had begun. Even now, one of them was being displayed down in Veronus, the capital city of Arcardius, far below the estate Nor now called home. The feed was in every glittering shop window, every home and every warm, packed bar where she knew the Arcardian citizens, now her loyal soldiers, proudly proclaimed their adoration for her.

  “My art takes time,” the artist said, raising a blue brow as he chose another shade. “You would be wise not to press me.”

  Nor smirked at that, and decided she’d keep the artist as her personal attendant from here on out. Not only for his skill in enhancing her beauty, but also for an attitude worthy of her court.

  Behind the artist’s intricate pile of braids, another face could be seen.

  Zahn.

  He stood in the corner of the room, conferring with several of the personal guards he commanded on her behalf. His gaze flickered in her direction for a moment, and he smiled lovingly when his warm, brown eyes met hers. They glowed against his dark skin, familiar and inviting. Nor gave him a small smile in return, her heart warming at the reminder of his presence. Zahn was always there to support her when she needed him the most.

  With a sigh, Nor turned her attention back to Darai. Her adviser and honorary uncle wore the trademark frown she’d seen so often of late, further accentuating the scars marking his wise, ancient face. Sweat beaded on his upper lip as he scanned the speech documents he’d prepared for Nor just this morning.

  “It’s unfortunate news about the Unaffecteds, Majesty,” Darai said. “But Zahn and I had a meeting with Aclisia just this morning, and she assured us that we are still on course for Phase Two. Construction of Nexus is continuing on schedule, and Aclisia is making considerable progress on her efforts to adapt the Zenith virus for use in the satellite transmission system.” He paused for a moment, then added, “And I feel inclined to remind you that we expected there to be some...” Darai waved a hand, as if searching for an explanation just out of reach. “...some flaws when we unleashed the virus on the galaxy.”

  “Yes, yes,” Nor snapped impatiently. “But we never expected these Unaffecteds to have banded together so quickly. It’s been less than a month, and they’ve already shown considerable coordination and strength.”

  “Laughable strength,
Majesty,” the producer said. When Nor turned to glare at him, he seemed to realize he’d spoken out of turn, and shrank back into the shadows of the room.

  Nor looked back to Darai. “We never anticipated that they would have such finesse in the way they’re attacking. It’s as if they’re being led.”

  Zahn interjected before Darai could respond. “By whom?” he asked. “A shivering child? Their attacks are pathetic.” He moved to stand behind Nor, resting his hands on her shoulders. “Their attempts are merely a fear tactic, and one that has already been dismissed. We’ve imprisoned all the Unaffecteds we’ve been able to find, and we’ve heightened our security measures at every military base on the capital planets. They won’t find it so easy to resist for much longer.”

  Zahn’s touch and reassuring words soothed her somewhat, but not enough to dispel the anxiety Nor found herself feeling more and more every day.

  “You look like you’re in pain,” Darai said. “Smile, Nor. This problem will be solved soon.”

  “And the problem of Valen?” Nor asked suddenly, thinking again of her brother’s health.

  Darai gave a curt nod. “The boy is pushing himself to his limits. But I have seen power like his before. He will endure.”

  Nor met her uncle’s gaze. They both knew where Darai had seen such things before. Abilities like Valen’s, like their mother’s, weren’t found among any of the many races that populated Mirabel. No—that power hailed from somewhere else, a place that was as yet out of their reach.

  But not for much longer. Not if their plans came to fruition, as Nor hoped.

  “What if he doesn’t?” she asked. “We cannot push him so far that we lose him. I won’t do that to my brother, and our mission will fail without him.”

  Darai frowned, then turned away to busy himself with something across the room.

  Nor sighed and ran her golden prosthetic hand across the dark wood of Cyprian Cortas’s old desk as the makeup artist resumed his work. The old General of Arcardius had been dead for weeks now, thanks to Valen. It was the greatest gift she could have offered her brother, allowing him the honor of murdering the man who’d caused them both so much pain.