by Regine Abel
“No…” Amalia wept.
She collapsed against me and broke down in tears. Beyond her, I could hear Maheva discreetly crying while Minh whispered comforting words. Ghan closed his eyes, jaw clenched. Admiral Lee placed a hand on Ghan’s shoulder and gave it a supportive squeeze.
I reached out for our bond, refusing to admit Khel could be gone, that his body was no more than an empty shell. But, consistent with the past three weeks, only silence greeted me. At last, I allowed my own sorrow to overtake me. Pulling Amalia into a tight embrace, I gave free rein to my tears. Each one felt like a piece of my soul bled out of me.
By the time they subsided, Amalia clung to me, her body trembling. I looked back at Khel who hadn’t moved, his vacant eyes still staring into the distance.
“I’m so sorry, brother,” I whispered, placing my palm on his heart.
I cried out as lightning-sharp pain coursed through my hand, up my arm, and exploded in my chest. My knees buckled. Without Amalia and Minh’s swift reaction, I would have crumpled to the floor. I tried to pull away from Khel but his hand clasped around my wrist, holding me in place with a death grip. Despite that, his gaze remained empty and his face emotionless.
“Lhor!” Amalia shouted, looking back and forth between me and Khel’s hand holding me.
I opened my mouth, not quite sure what to say, but a roar of agony surged out instead. No, not agony. Pain, excruciating pain mixed with blissful pleasure. A volcano erupted in my chest. Blistering lava flowed down my arm towards Khel. It felt like a part of me was being torn out, melted by the inferno within, and trickling down to the empty shell lying before me.
The Goddess only knew how long it lasted. It stopped as abruptly as it had begun. Drained and weak, I felt Khel’s grip loosen from around my wrist. His hand covered mine before gently pressing it against his heart. My eyes found his.
Recognition shone in them.
He smiled and a wave of love slammed into me as our bond reformed.
“My Gem,” Khel whispered. “Thank you.”
* * *
We couldn’t quite explain how it had happened. Khel had no memory of where his mind – or should we say, soul – had been since the raid. All we could speculate was that somehow, I had carried him within me until his body could hold him again. I didn’t understand nor did I care. Khel was back, we wouldn’t have to break our children’s hearts, and I was whole again.
In a few weeks, Khel would undergo a number of surgeries to repair the defects caused by the toxin. With Maheva’s ability, he would make a swift recovery from them. However, Minh wanted my Gem to regain his strength first and put on a bit of weight. With all the other soldiers also taken care of, Minh returned to his clinic and the Admiral took Korina back to their home world where they secretly provided refuge to all rescued Veredians.
Over the two weeks following Khel’s awakening, Ghan and the Tuurean female Kamala, put him through some strenuous training to get him back in shape. Amalia babied him to the point of insanity while Jhola constantly tried to stuff him full of food. I couldn’t help snickering at his dismay. Even Ghan made sure to regularly taunt Khel about how Amalia now hit harder than he did.
Despite putting up a great front and making spectacular progress, the aftermath of the toxins was visible. Although he was quickly regaining his combat ability and his strength grew daily, his lungs were indeed going to be a chronic concern. He would be fine, then all of a sudden go into bouts of asthma-like crises. On the battlefield, this would mean death. We didn’t speak of it, but we all knew his fighting days were over.
As much as we enjoyed playing nurse, Amalia and I both still had duties to fulfill. At the end of the third week following Khel’s awakening, we flew to the Council Hall to present a new motion Amalia had put together demanding a special fund and infrastructures to care for abandoned or orphaned Tainted children. Although most motions benefiting the Tainted usually met with a lot of resistance, this one received no challenge. It was far from being a done deal. What amounts, where the funds would come from, and how they would be administered were still to be debated at later dates. But this was a huge step forward.
Amalia and I were wrapping up our reports in my Council office when Fhara Zirthen came knocking.
“Hello, my darlings,” she said, walking into the room.
Tall, thin, and muscular, Fhara Zirthen wasn’t your typical Xelixian female. She thrived on adventure and adrenalin. In her mid-fifties, Fhara barely looked over forty. Short, straight, ebony hair framed a noble face, with sparkling green eyes shadowed by long, thick eyelashes.
We warmly greeted Bhek’s mate. Although we didn’t mingle with her often as she was always off on one wild escapade or another, we were all fond of the unorthodox female.
“My heartless mate has abandoned me once again, off on one of his missions to save the world,” she said, resting the back of her hand on her forehead with false despair.
We both chuckled at her theatrics. Bhek had indeed left for the Galactic Council’s headquarters to present some resolutions we hoped would help pacify our allies of their lingering anger over the females’ deaths during the raid.
Her face took on a more serious expression. “How is Khel faring?”
Amalia beamed. “He’s doing amazingly well.”
She turned to look at me with adoration. My heart melted. Even though she knew I had no idea how I had done it, Amalia worshipped me for my part in saving Khel. I shamelessly reveled in it.
“I’m glad to hear it,” Fhara said, a broad smile on her face. “Bhek is still beside himself with worry.” Her eyes roamed to our family portrait hanging on the wall. “You are such a beautiful family. What a tragedy his loss would have been.”
“Thank you,” I said, touched by her kind words.
“You can thank me better by joining me for dinner,” Fhara said. “I would love some company and would love catching up with you.”
Amalia’s face took on a sad expression. “We would have loved to, but we’re about to leave for Minh’s clinic. Our son is due for a check-up.”
Fhara’s eyes sparkled. “Little Vahleryon? I would love to see that precious boy again. Would it be okay for me to tag along?”
“Of course,” Amalia said, smiling. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you again. Yhan and Sohr are bringing him there as we speak.”
Fhara chuckled and shook her head. I couldn’t quite blame her. Having two elite soldiers playing nanny and bodyguard to an infant might seem like overkill.
Except that infant was the only living male of his race in the entire universe.
However, I wasn’t so sure Vahl would express any type of joy at seeing Fhara. Aside from his parents and Ghan, Vahl didn’t show much emotion towards anyone else. Even Jhola and Maheva stirred little reaction from him.
Using one of the reserved Council hovercars, we arrived quickly at the clinic. Sohr and Yhan were already there. As expected, our son’s reaction to Fhara could only be described as one of mild curiosity. He remained stoic while she fussed and gushed over him. We left her with the warriors while we took our son to the exam room.
Minh made swift work of performing his examination.
“Your son’s health is perfect, as always,” Minh said.
Amalia caressed Vahl’s hair, a sad smile on her lips. Technically, this was good news. However, sometimes we wished Minh actually found something wrong with him. Then, maybe, we could devise a clear action plan to help him.
“However, there is something strange with his brain scan.”
We both stiffened and exchanged a wary look.
“What do you mean ‘something strange’?” I asked.
“His cerebral activity is off the charts.” Minh displayed the graph on the vidscreen in front of the examination table. “Your son is creating new neural pathways at an exponential rate. These readings are more in line with those of a five-year-old Korlethean telepath or kinetic – not a five-month-old Veredian.”
“Are you sure?” Amalia asked, eyes glued to the charts.
“Yes. The Admiral has provided us with invaluable medical information on Veredian children. Your son’s patterns do not match at all. In truth, Zhara’s don’t match, either, but it’s even more pronounced in the boy.”
“Is that a problem?” I asked. “I mean, could that hurt him?”
“No, it shouldn’t—”
A loud commotion followed by shouts reached us through the closed door. Amalia picked up Vahl, still sitting on the examination table, and held him tightly against her chest. We all stared at the door, wide-eyed. I tried to hail our guards on the com, but no signal. The faraway look on Amalia’s face told me she was using her ability to explore our near future. As it made her blind and deaf to her surroundings, I pulled out my celesium sword and took a defensive stance near the door.
With only the examination table bolted to the floor and a couple of shelves and medical devices mounted on the wall, there was nothing in the room we could use to prop against the door to keep it closed.
“There’s no way out,” Amalia whispered behind me.
I faced her. The haunted look in her eyes terrified me.
“Leave your sword, Lhor. Hide it. They will hurt you badly if you try to fight,” Amalia said. “I’ve looked at every scenario. We’re not escaping this. Hurry!”
My stomach knotted with fear. I knew better than to argue with Amalia’s foresight. But every instinct demanded I protect my mate and my child. Minh extended a hand towards me. Without a word, I placed my sword in it. He swiftly marched to a blank section of wall near the vidscreen. I didn’t see what he did but a panel slid open, revealing a large shelf where he hid the sword.
“Don’t fight, Minh. You will be fine. But Sohr and Yhan will need your help,” Amalia said.
No sooner did she speak those words than the door burst open. Two hooded males barged in. One of them pulled back his hood enough to reveal his features.
Kuuruk Terk.
He was the Guldan assassin who’d tried to kill Amalia last year by rigging our shuttle the same way we suspected he had to kill Khel’s family.
His eyes quickly scanned the room before resting on Minh. He pulled out his blaster and shot the doctor. Minh collapsed without emitting a single sound.
“No!” I shouted.
Amalia’s hand gripped my arm.
“He’s okay,” Amalia whispered. “Don’t fight.”
Fear nearly choked me, but I needed to keep my head cool. A quick glance at Minh’s prone form on the floor confirmed that he still breathed.
Stunned.
Relief flooded through me. Minh was more than our family physician. He was family.
“You will follow without fuss. You don’t want to piss me off,” the Guldan said.
He adjusted the hood to hide his features and gestured with his head for us to exit the room. Outside, Fhara lay unconscious on the floor. She bore no visible wounds. A few feet away, by the front door, Sohr and Yhan lay in a pool of their own blood.
Shoving us forward, our kidnappers led us to the underground parking lot through the back exit. For the first time, I regretted us coming here outside normal hours to avoid having too many people present when we brought our son. The handful of lab technicians and medical personnel still present were all passed out on the ground.
The Goddess only knew where they would take us and for what purpose.
CHAPTER 21
Valena
Zhul and I watched in horror the news coverage about a violent attack on Minh Volghan’s medical clinic. Nikha reported live from the premises. On screen, a swarm of police officers and military personnel kept the oglers at bay while Detective Gravhin spoke with what looked like the medical staff.
“Why is the military getting involved in this crime?” I asked.
“Because it is even worse than it seems,” Zhul whispered, sounding ominous.
He grabbed my gloved hand and placed it on his lap, our fingers interlaced. I looked at him, but his eyes were glued to the screen. Things were better between us but nowhere near fixed. Contrary to my expectations, my miscarriage had drawn us closer rather than created a bigger rift between us. Despite knowing that Veredians frequently failed at carrying offspring to term, Zhul didn’t blame me for the loss of our child. Whether my flawed genetics caused it or the lack of fresh ryspak, my mate didn’t care. It was the Goddess’ will. Without his unconditional, tender support through these past three weeks since my miscarriage, I don’t think I would have made it through.
I loved him for it.
It also didn’t help that, as Varrek predicted, my season kicked in by the end of the first week. It made me an emotional wreck. One minute, I’d be bawling my eyes out at our loss, the next I’d be ravaging him, overwhelmed with lust. The first time my markings turned black and I assaulted him, Zhul feared the pain of our child’s death had driven me insane.
He still didn’t trust me, though. I didn’t know how we would overcome that particular issue. Touching him without gloves was out of the question. Aside from that, he acted affectionately towards me almost like he used to at his house. But it lacked his previous unreserved abandon. At least when I wasn’t blinded by my season’s heat, we made love again rather than him merely fucking me to fulfill our daily quotas.
“Gharah’s teeth!”
Zhul’s shocked outburst pulled me out of my musing. Following his disbelieving stare, I looked at the screen.
My jaw dropped.
“Sehas and Sehrs, this is most incredible!” The pitch of Nikha’s voice rose with excitement. “General Praghan is among us!”
The camera zoomed in on the General climbing the stairs to the clinic, followed by a close-up shot of his face. Something looked off with his crihnin, and he clearly had lost a lot of weight and muscle mass. Otherwise, he seemed perfectly healthy.
“That’s impossible,” I whispered to myself. “He couldn’t have recovered so well, so fast.”
“Maybe his friends have something to do with it.”
Indeed, the dark silhouette of a male and a female Tuurean flanked the General’s left side while First Officer Ghan Delphin walked to his right. My eyes locked on the female’s long armored braid, which dangled all the way down to her calves. Its razor-sharp tip gleamed in the sun. My heart fluttered, a mix of hope and dread warring within me.
Nikha droned on about how fabulous it was to finally have visual confirmation that the General was indeed making a full recovery. She then launched into her usual wild speculations as to his presence on this crime scene and particularly that of the Tuureans.
“Something really bad has happened,” Zhul muttered. “Whatever it is, I fear it involves Lhor.”
That would make sense. What else could draw Khel out in the public eye while still recovering?
The secure door’s chime went off, warning us to take out position behind the safe line. Zhul and I exchanged a surprised look but complied. The locking mechanism on my gloves activated. Sheb walked in first, his hand once again hovering near his blaster. Chem and Ghil walked in behind him carrying a large playpen, which they left in the middle of the common area.
Is this a fucking joke?
The cruelty of it made my blood boil. The two males walked out and returned moments later with a hovercart, atop which rested multiple boxes. They unloaded the boxes near the playpen, except for one, which Ghil opened. From it, he pulled out a baby walker that he laid down on the floor.
“Oh, Goddess…” Zhul whispered, his voice filled with horror.
My skin heated and my vision blurred. A growling sound resonated in my ears. It wasn’t until I felt Zhul’s soothing hand on my back that I realized the rumbling came from me. I wanted to tear into these males. What kind of fucked-up game was this? Zhul pulled me back and held me tightly against him. I had taken a couple of threatening steps towards the guards without noticing. Blinking to clear the fuzzy haze before my eyes, I finally saw Sheb’s blaster trained on
me. He gestured with his head for the other two males to get out and he walked backwards after them until he was safely behind the secured door.
“They got him,” Zhul said, breathily.
Him?
His face drained of color, and he stared at the vidscreen with a horrified look in his eyes. “They’ve got the boy. That’s why the General and the Tuureans are there.” He turned towards me. “Varrek’s got Vahleryon.”
Any anger I felt immediately melted away, replaced by pure dread.
How?
But worse, what would he do to the boy? Little Vahl was the true hope of our people. Zhul had to be wrong. Yet, the sinking feeling in my stomach told me I, too, believed it.
Two hours later, Nikha Drubhen confirmed the news was even worse than we had imagined with Amalia, Lhor, and Vahl having all been abducted. Their bodyguards were in critical condition, having apparently been shot in the back at close range. From what little the police confided to her, the attacker was likely someone they knew and therefore trusted.
Nikha showed short clips of her interviews with the personnel. Although all had been found unconscious, none suffered anything more than a few bruises from falling after getting stunned. Most only spoke of their fright and the suddenness of the attack. The last clip, though, turned my blood to ice.
“I was writing a message to my mate while waiting for Lhor and Amalia during little Valheryon’s medical check-up. Bhek is currently on a mission with the Galactic Council so I wanted to spend some time with friends who are more like family to us,” Fhara Zirthen said, a look of deep sorrow on her face. “Then I heard a blaster going off multiple times and some shouts. The two guards were lying on the ground, bleeding. I tried to run but I felt a sharp pain in my back then everything went black. I pray to the Goddess we find them safe and sound.”
I jumped to my feet, rage coursing through me at the betrayal.
“It’s her!” I shouted, my finger pointed at the screen.
Zhul rose to his feet as well, looking confused. “Her, who?”