Nexus

by Sasha Alsberg

  “So we’re staying?” Dex asked.

  Andi closed her eyes, then nodded slowly, as if she couldn’t believe she was agreeing. “We’re staying. To rest. Recharge. Eat some decent food for once. And then we’re going back to Klaren, and we’re going to settle on a deal.” She blew out a breath of frustration. “She’s right about one thing, at least.”

  Dex had never thought he would hear those words come from her mouth. “Come again?”

  “If her story is true...and as much as I hate to admit it, Dex, I believe her.”

  He nodded. “Unfortunately, I do, too.”

  “There’s still a lot we don’t know, and I don’t trust her. But Klaren’s right—this is so much bigger than just rescuing the girls,” Andi admitted. “And if I can find a way to free their minds...then I’ll have also found a way to free the rest of Mirabel’s, too.”

  Andi’s face took on a thoughtful expression. “Lira was the next in line to be Queen of Adhira. Did you know that?”

  Dex nodded. He and Lon had spoken about Lon’s regrets, in the hours aboard the Marauder while the two of them waited for Andi to wake. Lon believed he was the reason Lira had left Adhira, and Dex had sensed that the Sentinel placed some of the blame on himself for Lira’s mind being trapped.

  The galaxy ran on power—either the desire to have it, or the drive to run from it.

  “She never wanted it. That power,” Andi said. “It’s why she ran away. But I know her heart, no matter how much her mind may have changed beneath the compulsion. And I know Lira would never turn her back on the galaxy. If she had the power, if she were in my situation...she would take up the crown, and use it to destroy her enemies, in the name of protecting the place she loves most. Breck and Gilly, too.”

  Dex laughed at that. “Gilly would likely use her power for evil.”

  “No,” Andi said with a sad smile. “She’s good. Deep down, they’re all good, Dex. They’re the best three women I’ve ever known. And if they were here, they’d have me marching right back down that tunnel and demanding Klaren send me on a mission at once.”

  “Then let’s do it,” Dex said, standing up from his ice stool. “Let’s go back down there to do exactly that.”

  But Andi didn’t move from her seat. “Not now.”

  Her eyes took on a look Dex had seen many times before. A scheming look. One he had learned to approach carefully, and with good reason.

  Andi lifted a hand. “Bartender? Another round.” She glanced over at Dex. “For now, Dex...we drink.”

  “I can’t argue with that,” he said, and swallowed his glass in one gulp.

  CHAPTER 20

  NOR

  Nor couldn’t breathe.

  She gasped for air, but nothing filled her lungs.

  Slowly, ever so slowly, the chaos around her began to fade, as her guards sought out the remaining attackers. The red-helmeted shooter was dragged away, limp in their arms.

  Nor knew she hadn’t been shot, felt the truth of it deep down. Her body was fine.

  But Zahn...

  “Nor,” he murmured.

  Her vision began to clear, and Nor realized the weight on her chest was from him, his muscular body lying facedown across her middle. But his voice sounded all wrong, full of pain and weakness, and something Nor couldn’t quite place. It was as if he were already far away.

  “Oh, Godstars,” one of the soldiers said—Nor couldn’t tell who it was. “Get the medical droids now.”

  All she could think about was Zahn—and the wet warmth slowly leaching into her gown from his body above hers. She struggled to sit up, to see what was wrong with him, but she was trapped, unable to move.

  Darai appeared above her, his face wavering as if he were behind a veil of fog. Nor realized she was crying, tears blurring her vision as the guards gently hoisted Zahn’s limp body off hers.

  “Is he alright?” Nor sobbed, reaching for Zahn as the soldiers laid him on the ground next to her. Then she saw Valen, standing just beside Darai, his face pale and his lips parted as he stared, unmoving, at Zahn. Nor felt as if the world were moving in slow motion as her gaze fell to her hands, drawn to the bright red blood upon her skin.

  Zahn’s blood.

  Nor felt numb as she drew herself up beside him on hands and knees. The city faded away, and the smoke, though heavy in her lungs, was nothing compared to the coldness she felt now as Zahn looked up at her, his eyes glazed with pain.

  His whole body was shaking.

  Nor removed her cloak, pressing it against the bullet wound in his chest with trembling hands. Blood immediately seeped through the fabric—too much blood.

  She couldn’t stop the bleeding, no matter how hard she tried.

  “Medical droids!” Darai was shouting. “Where the hell are they?”

  Hands found Nor’s shoulders then, holding her tight. “I’m sorry,” Valen said from behind her. Nor remembered seeing him, for just a moment, his face blurring in the crowd before the gunshot had gone off. “I’m so sorry, Nor. I tried to stop him. I tried...”

  His words fell away.

  Nor couldn’t pull her gaze from Zahn’s face as he lay on the ruined street beneath her, blood trailing from his body in a steady stream.

  “You’re fine,” she found herself saying through tears. She reached down and grabbed his hand, but his grip was weak in hers. “You’re going to be fine.”

  “Nhatilya,” Zahn breathed out. “I...”

  “Don’t,” she sobbed. Her tears fell upon his face, making tracks in the dirt and dust.

  A trickle of blood slipped from his lips as he coughed, a wet rasp that rattled from his throat. “I love you,” Zahn whispered. She could see him trying to reach for her, but his arms lifted only a few inches before falling back to the ground. “My queen...”

  So quiet now, his voice. His words were scarcely heard among the screaming crowd, the chaos welling up all around them.

  “And you’re going to be my king,” Nor said, swallowing back her tears. “We’re getting you out of here.”

  A soldier appeared, a black cross stitched across his chest and a med droid at his side. He looked down at Zahn, then over at Darai. He shook his head without a word.

  Not real, Nor’s subconscious whispered.

  “Hang on,” she said to Zahn. “Please, don’t leave me here without you.”

  “I...love you,” he murmured again.

  Zahn’s chest rattled as he gasped for air. Then his eyes went dim, and his hand went slack in hers. Someone screamed, a mournful wail that had all the soldiers around her pulling back. Nor realized the scream had ripped from her own throat.

  “Get her to the transport ship, now,” Darai commanded.

  She was vaguely aware of hands hauling her to her feet, pulling her away from Zahn.

  “NO!” Nor screamed, desperation coursing through her as she fought to stay with him.

  But the soldiers were already lifting his body, taking it away, a sea of darkness converging on him as someone took Nor’s cloak and drew it over his handsome face. He could have been sleeping, the way he’d looked so many times when Nor rolled over in their bed to find him beside her each morning.

  “NO!” she screamed again. “Don’t touch him! Don’t you dare touch him!”

  But the person holding her back was too strong. A distant part of her mind recognized her captor as Breck, the giantess who had been standing guard as she’d issued her demands to Androma.

  Androma, Arachnid...none of it mattered in this moment.

  “Nor,” another voice said. Valen was before her, blood on his own face, his expression full of pain.

  “Make them stop,” she begged him through sobs. “Compel them, right now. Make them bring him back.”

  Valen had tears running down his own cheeks as he took her hand. “I’m so sorry, Nor.
He’s...he’s gone.”

  Then someone was guiding her away, her gait heavy as lead as she walked, one foot in front of the other, toward the waiting transport ship. She couldn’t breathe with this emptiness in her chest, as if someone had stolen her heart right out of it.

  “Come on,” Valen said. He was limping along beside her, wheezing as he continued to hold her hand in his. Darai flanked her other side, shoving onlookers away.

  Gradually, the crowd began to part, the smoke still casting a haze across the streets. Nor was led onto the waiting ship and strapped into a seat. She stared blankly ahead as the transport rumbled beneath her and took flight.

  “She’s in shock,” Darai’s voice said, again from so far away.

  “Hurry,” Valen urged. “We have to get her away from here.” He coughed, and as Nor’s vision waned, she caught a glimpse of his face, his nostrils dripping fresh blood.

  She retreated deep into her mind as the transport soared toward Averia, the seat beside her cold and empty.

  * * *

  Nor Solis sat with her back against the cool stones of the tower, her forehead pressed against her knees. She was fifteen years old, and tomorrow, at her coronation, the people of Xen Ptera would see her not as a princess, but bow to her instead as their queen.

  She’d hoped to find silence here, instead of the howling winds. They knocked at the tower windows, beckoning her to stand and peer down at her dying world.

  “Save me,” Xen Ptera whispered with the wind.

  “I’m trying,” Nor whispered back. She knew she had to, if she wanted to move forward with her mother’s mission. But she remained in her spot on the floor, avoiding the view of her crumbling planet for just a bit longer.

  A thunk sounded out from the doorway and the spiraling steps beyond.

  Nor sighed. It was probably her uncle Darai, with yet more coronation plans for her to approve. “I said I wanted to be alone.”

  But the door creaked open, and Zahn Volknapp stepped into the circular tower. Nor blinked at him in surprise.

  “Nobody really wants to be alone,” Zahn said. “At least...I don’t think so.”

  “And that makes you right?” Nor asked. Still, she felt a smile spreading across her face.

  Zahn shrugged and settled down beside her, his shoulder warm against hers. He’d grown strong, this boy who’d pulled her from the rubble three years ago. No longer a boy, but a young man.

  And lately, when Nor looked at him...she felt things she hadn’t before.

  A flutter in her chest. Heat that spread across her cheeks.

  His arms had turned from lanky to muscular. His jaw had broadened, stubble forming along it. His hands, once soft and boyish, had become hardened with calluses. They’d grazed hers more than a few times in recent days. Small, accidental touches that didn’t seem quite so.

  “You’re going to make a great queen, you know,” Zahn told her. “But I think, if what we used to read in those insufferable fairy tales is true, you’ll need a handsome guard at your side.”

  Nor stared down at her golden prosthetic. She’d never felt the need to hide any part of herself from Zahn. He accepted her as she was, just as she accepted him.

  “My uncle would probably agree,” Nor said, rolling her eyes at the thought of Darai.

  He was a good mentor, and had trained her well in her gift. But he was always tired. He was always too...ancient. Nor couldn’t settle on any other word to describe the man. And he wasn’t her blood, not fully. Nor always felt something lacking when he was around.

  She wanted a real family to call her own.

  “Do you think I’ll ever find him?” Nor asked suddenly.

  She glanced sideways at Zahn as the wind slammed against the glass, dousing it with acid rain.

  “Who?” Zahn asked.

  His face had turned sharper, these days. Harder lines and angles, and his lips were much fuller than before. Nor found herself staring at them until Zahn met her gaze.

  She felt suddenly too warm.

  “My family,” Nor said, and that very thought stole the warmth away, turned her as cold as the world outside the tower. “My brother.”

  He was out there, alive, and he was hers.

  Nor had sworn to find him the moment her mother sent her that final message from the skies—and with it, a mental image of the young man her brother would someday be, living on a distant, glorious planet. Arcardius.

  Valen Cortas was his name.

  “What I think,” Zahn said, “is that you can do whatever you set your mind to. You’ve proved that to me a thousand times, Princess.”

  “Not a princess for much longer,” Nor reminded him.

  She wanted to be queen, so desperately. But tonight, of all nights, the very thought made Nor’s insides turn. She had to be the best Xen Ptera had ever seen. She had to make sure that in everything she did, she succeeded. Defied all the odds.

  Deep breaths, Nor told herself. In, out and back again.

  “So about that handsome guard,” Zahn said, clearing his throat. “Is there a position open?”

  Nor actually burst out laughing.

  “It’s not a joke,” he said, though he did so with a smile. He nudged her with his shoulder. “I’m serious, Nor.”

  She lifted a brow. “Do you have any handsome guards in mind? As far as I know, there aren’t many around.”

  For this entire building, for all of its attendants and workers and brilliant minds, lacked the vibrancy of youth and beauty. And even though Nor knew from the start that she was never meant to have a normal childhood, it was still nice to sit beside Zahn in this tower, hiding away from Darai’s lessons and frowns, talking about simpler things.

  Zahn’s smile widened. Nor realized he was leaning in closer, that the space between them was smaller than it had ever been before.

  “Well, I was thinking...me,” Zahn murmured.

  In that moment, Nor realized her heartbeat was too loud. That he could probably hear it slamming against her chest from the inside.

  “I guess...” Nor trailed off as she leaned in closer, too. “I guess I could find room for you as one of my guards.”

  “So you agree?” Zahn asked. She could feel his breath on her cheeks. Her lips. “You think I’m handsome?”

  A gentle laugh escaped Nor.

  Yes, she thought. Yes, she did think he was handsome. In this moment, he was the most beautiful person she’d ever seen, and he was looking back at her like his thoughts mirrored her own.

  She didn’t forget about the coronation. She didn’t forget about the screaming of the wind beyond the tower, or the desperation of her starving people, or the lifelong mission laid out before her.

  But for just a moment, as Nor leaned in and bridged the gap between her lips and Zahn’s, as she felt the warmth of him, the realness of it all as he wrapped her in his arms...

  Her worries got a little bit lighter.

  * * *

  Nor came back to herself as the transport rumbled, its landing gear lowering as they neared Averia. Out of habit, she reached for Zahn beside her, seeking the comfort of his embrace.

  But he was gone.

  Gone, lost to the eternal darkness of death.

  And he was never coming back.

  CHAPTER 21

  VALEN

  The ride to Averia was one born from the pits of hell itself.

  Nor sat across from Valen, slumped in her seat as shock overcame her. Her mind was a veritable storm—Valen could feel it, swirling with dark clouds through their mental doorway.

  He wanted to comfort her. Godstars, if only he could.

  But the guilt he felt inside...it was too much for him to bear, to dare even try.

  For he had failed. It was his fault Zahn was dead.

  “Zahn,” Nor whispered, her forehead in her hand
s.

  She kept whispering his name, over and over. As if saying it could hold him to this earth, even when his spirit was already gone. Beside her, Darai was silent for once, the old man at a loss for words.

  Compel the crowd to calm, he’d said during the attack. Compel them, boy!

  He’d tried. Valen had tried, harder than he ever had before. But his body...his mind...

  He couldn’t explain the terrible weakness that had overcome him, the exhaustion that had been slowly eating away at his body this past month, the effort of the compulsion too much for one man to handle.

  During the attack, Darai had pulled him away, shoving Valen toward the transport ship, toward safety. But above the weakness, above the pounding in Valen’s head, the pain as he’d tried to get his power to swell and control the crowd, he’d felt...fear.

  The fear of having to continue in this life without Nor.

  His mind had been a place of horror and despair, a place he couldn’t calm, no matter how badly he’d wished he could. And in those fleeting moments, with panic racing through him as shots rang out across the city, Valen had failed his sister.

  As they soared away from the chaos, the streets ran rainbow with the blood of Nor’s supporters, who hailed from all across Mirabel. Their silver veins, gone dim. Their adoration, forever lost.

  The cyborg pilot flew the ship at top speed, her voice the only sound in the transport as she spoke to the landing crew, ensuring a med team would be there upon arrival to take care of the remaining passengers.

  Nor’s body was fine. Valen was sure of it, because he’d seen the entire attack, having ripped himself away from Darai. He’d used all of his waning strength to stumble back to her. He’d seen the moment the enemy soldier slipped through the ranks of the guards and leveled a gun right at Nor.