by Lisa Lace
“Neither will I. We’ll figure out a way to save all three of you. Let’s go, my family has arrived for my birthday. It’s going to be one to remember.”
Vanessa put a hand on my arm to stop me. “Avren, you’re going to have to give me to him if there’s no other way.”
“I’m not going to do that.”
“You were prepared to die as long as it would save your race.”
“Yes, but you wouldn’t let me.” I felt my jaw clench. “And I’m not going to let you sacrifice yourself to save Gwen. We’ll do whatever it takes.”
VANESSA
Two hours later, the Madellans stood in the courtyard under a darkening sky. It looked like a thunderstorm was approaching.
I glanced around at everyone, feeling a little disoriented. It wasn’t how I imagined a typical family. None of the men were wearing shirts. They had their wings out and were ready to fly. They each wore a leather belt across their chests with a sheathed short sword on their backs. I knew they also carried blasters in their pockets, although they weren’t visible at the moment.
Arnon and Jayne were hugging and whispering to each other — her light head stood out against his dark one. Ayrie and Elle sat on a bench, holding hands. He was talking to her earnestly, and she appeared to be reassuring him. Allex and Priya were kissing passionately, without regard to anyone watching. I turned my eyes away from them, feeling like I should give them privacy even if they hadn’t asked for it.
Avren and Anders were isolated from the rest, standing and talking together. Avren put his hand on Anders’ shoulder. They stepped apart a moment later, and I felt Anders’ empty eyes look at me.
He looked shattered and destroyed. He and Gwen had already saved our lives once. My heart went out to him.
When I thought about Gwen being a prisoner of that asshole, my heart ached. I was sure we could have been good friends if I had the chance to get to know her. Our potential friendship would never exist, because if the Madellan plans worked, Avren and I would finish our experiments, and I would move on to the job at Genetic Futures.
Avren wasn’t going to forgive me, and I didn’t want him to. My epiphany in the cave wouldn’t make a difference. I loved him, but I wasn’t right for him. Everything would work out for the best.
If it didn’t, the least I could do was help protect Gwen.
Arnon tossed a small package to Anders. “It’s a personal force field. It will protect you from the EMP blast and projectiles and will extend to anyone you touch. Be careful with it.”
Anders nodded at his oldest brother, stowing the device in his pocket.
Avren patted Anders on the shoulder before approaching me. His eyes locked onto mine.
I wriggled around in the tight, protective body suit I wore beneath my clothes. The Madellans borrowed it from their planet’s secret service detail. It was state of the art but uncomfortable.
Avren took one of my hands. His chest was bare, and I could hardly keep my eyes off it. The snow-white wings made him look like an angel. His gray eyes burned with an unnatural intensity.
“Are you ready to go, Madellan?” I tried to keep a light tone to the conversation.
“Not at all, but I’m going anyway. Vanessa, before we leave, I need to tell you something.” He paused.
I held my breath and could barely make my voice go above a whisper. “Tell me what?”
Emotions flashed across his face too quickly for me to read them.
Ayrie called out to Avren. “It’s time.”
Avren shook his head. Had he changed his mind? “Don’t try to be a hero, okay? No one has to sacrifice themselves. We’ll look after her. You know what you’re supposed to do, Vanessa.”
The plan was for us to make the trade. The brothers would swoop in and grab both of us, taking out Mr. Verrat’s thugs if they had to. We had security coming to back us up, but the Madellans didn’t fully trust anyone else after Mr. Verrat’s betrayal.
We also had an advantage Mr. Verrat wouldn’t know about — we were going to make the exchange in an open field. But Gwen and Anders had brought one of the new fighters to Auxem.
It had a stealth mode. When it was running, a person could stand beside it and not know anything was next to them unless they reached out and touched it. We were going to stuff it full of Auxem men. It would be a tight fit, but the Madellan brothers and security guards would be in there. If we needed help, they would open the bottom hatch, and dozens of Auxem would fly out to save everyone.
Theoretically.
I noticed Avren had a strange look in his eyes, and I didn’t like it. “Avren, is something the matter?”
“Everything’s fine. Just remember what I said.” He looked nervous. I wondered if he was keeping something from me.
“Madellan, spill it. What are you keeping from me?”
“Nothing, Vanessa. It doesn’t matter. I have a backup plan.”
“Damn it, Madellan, what are you talking about? You have to tell me.”
Avren’s face closed off immediately.
Anders called out to us. “Avren, it’s time to go. You lovebirds can finish your conversation later.”
Avren pressed a quick kiss to my lips and pulled me to our hovercraft. Everyone else would follow in the fighter.
What was he doing? If he wouldn’t tell me, it couldn’t be anything good.
AVREN
I felt around surreptitiously in my pocket, checking to make sure the dispenser was still there. My hand closed around the cylinder, and I stifled a sigh of relief.
When I placed the end of the container against my thigh and pushed a button, it would distribute a serum into my bloodstream, injecting nanobots into my body which would alter the genes in my regenerative cells. Over time, they would replace the genetic code in every part of my body.
My wings were the next target of the nanobots. Changing my cells was permanent, but slow. Modifying the wings directly would let me experience the changes almost immediately. We hoped test subjects would be able to deploy their wings without pain within three days of injection.
I had retrieved the dose while Vanessa was showering and changing.
With luck, Mr. Verrat’s attempt to destroy our research had failed. Even though he had tried to erase everything we had stored electronically, I had backups I hoped he didn’t know about. Before we began work in the laboratory, Anders had helped me set up a covert backup system.
I tried to be meticulous about everything. Mr. Verrat should have remembered that. He seemed to remember everything else I wanted him to forget. I was surprised he remembered how the relationship with Vanessa devastated me the first time around. I didn’t appreciate him bringing up my folly like it meant nothing. It was humiliating.
But I would make him pay. We were going to retrieve Gwen and bring Mr. Verrat to justice. He had abandoned my family for credits he would never be able to spend.
When we approached the landing site, we could see Mr. Verrat in a hovercraft. When we landed, he emerged with Gwen, holding a blaster to her head.
She looked like she was ready to kill someone. If she could get the drop on Mr. Verrat, he was a dead man. The only reason she hadn’t kicked his ass already was that she was pregnant and didn’t want to risk hurting the baby.
I checked my computer while we were still on the hovercraft. The cloaked fighter was above us and slightly behind our location.
Our hovercraft landed, and we exited the ship. The sky was ominously cloudy. It looked like there was a storm on the horizon. The wind was picking up, whipping Vanessa’s hair into her face.
I whispered so only she could hear me. “Remember, all you have to do is go with him.” We hoped Mr. Verrat wouldn’t try to kill her immediately, but instead take her somewhere else to do the deed.
If he showed any signs of hurting Vanessa, we were going to take him out. She wore protective clothing that should keep her from immediate danger. We walked toward Mr. Verrat and Gwen.
“Let’s not waste each
other’s time by playing games, Avren.” I couldn’t believe we had once trusted Mr. Verrat. “We’re just trading one lovely lady for another.”
“I wouldn’t do anything to harm either one of them.” I tried to keep my face expressionless. Mr. Verrat didn’t look convinced. “Give me Gwen, and I’ll hand over Vanessa.”
He laughed in my face. “You’ve got a big pair of balls, I’ll give you that. Our exchange is going to work the other way around.”
“How do I know you won’t take them both and fly out of here? No deal. Either Gwen comes over first, or we both fly away.”
His eyes looked nervous for a second, and I was surprised. I hadn’t thought he was bluffing.
“Fine. Gwen can get in your hovercraft. Make sure Vanessa is bound before she walks over to me.” Mr. Verrat tossed a pair of handcuffs in my direction, and I put them on her.
Gwen had her hands tied behind her back, and I nodded at her. Mr. Verrat released her, and she ran inside the hovercraft, closing the door behind her.
“You might be wondering why I’m trusting you, Avren. I’ve got snipers trained on all of you, and a cannon aimed at your hovercraft. If you try to trick me, you’ll seal your own fate. Come over here, Vanessa, nice and easy.”
Vanessa narrowed her eyes but followed his directions. The two of them slowly made their way to Mr. Verrat’s ship while I watched them like a hawk. When I saw him raising his blaster, I gave a signal, and all hell broke loose.
He shot Vanessa, but her suit protected her from most of the damage. She was hurt, but she could still walk. The blast had deflected off her suit and hit Mr. Verrat’s left arm, leaving it dangling loose and awkwardly at his side.
When I gave the signal, our friends appeared in the sky, dropping out of the starship and attacking Mr. Verrat’s crew. They had materialized on the field and started charging toward the fray when Mr. Verrat fired his gun.
The fighter sent out an electromagnetic pulse, disabling all electronic guns and equipment. My brothers and the security team pulled out their blades and started swinging. The fighting was as dirty as it could get. The Madellan brothers were in the center of the action, fighting back-to-back, which was a circle of death for anyone approaching us.
As princes of Auxem, we had learned diplomatic skills essential for everyday living, but our teachers also trained us in primitive weapons. My sword clashed against the weapon of one of Mr. Verrat’s men. The edge of his blade sliced across my bicep, but it was a shallow scratch. I could ignore it.
I saw Ayrie dart forward and slice open someone’s sword arm. Arnon threw a punch and nearly took off a thug’s head. The man fell crashing at his feet.
I couldn’t find any sign of Mr. Verrat. I looked for Anders. “I’m going to find Vanessa!”
“Okay, Avren. Be careful.”
Anders hadn’t looked good before we left, but after we had retrieved Gwen, I noticed an immediate change in his demeanor. I had never seen such desolation in my brother’s eyes before, and I hoped I never would again.
I made my way to the edge of the fray and spotted Mr. Verrat dragging Vanessa’s body away from the fight. I hoped she was alive and merely unconscious.
“Where do you think you’re going?” I moved toward him aggressively. Mr. Verrat pulled out his blade and pointed it at me.
“Don’t come any closer, Avren. You know you can’t overpower me. I taught you how to fight. I could easily best you.”
He was probably right, but I didn’t need to fight him to get what I wanted.
“I told you to stop moving.” Mr. Verrat held his sword over Vanessa’s heart. I was terrified. “If you actually care about her, you’ll leave now. Maybe I won’t kill her. There’s always space for a brilliant mind in my laboratory.”
I couldn’t stop myself from inching closer. I wasn’t going to let Mr. Verrat take Vanessa anywhere.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, startling me. We rarely had thunderstorms on Auxem.
My movement hadn’t gone unnoticed. “Avren, if you keep moving toward us, I will kill her.”
Chapter Fourteen
AVREN
I froze.
Mr. Verrat held his blade over Vanessa’s chest. I wouldn’t do anything to risk her life, but I wasn’t going to let him take her from me, either.
The battle was slowing down. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see our security guards handcuffing the members of Mr. Verrat’s squad who hadn’t been able to escape. He didn’t seem concerned about them.
He was going to murder both of us. It was time for Plan B.
The sky was getting darker. A thunderclap made both of us jump. I had seen thunderstorms on other planets, but never on Auxem. The phenomenon hadn’t happened for over a hundred years, and I found it unnerving.
“Do you think this is going to stop us from altering our genetic pattern? When you launch your painkiller, you’ll be the savior of the Auxem, right?”
He eyed me warily. “Of course. Everything was perfectly fine until you stepped in and ruined my plans. If I take you out of the picture, the marketing campaign will go as planned and I will live out the rest of my days as a billionaire.”
I nodded. “Right.” The wind picked up, and I had to raise my voice so he could hear me.
“What would happen to your business if we had already changed someone’s genes and announced it to the world?”
Vanessa stirred at my words. Mr. Verrat didn’t notice her movement. He was focused on me and had a worried look on his face.
I drew the cylinder out of my pocket. Vanessa immediately realized what I was doing and awkwardly tried to stand before screaming, “Don’t do it, Avren!”
Mr. Verrat whipped his head around to look at her. After seeing the expression on Vanessa’s face, he moved toward me, blade extended.
“I have to, Vanessa. It’s the only way to stop him!” Thunder rumbled again, but it didn’t shake me this time.
I jabbed the cylinder into my thigh before Mr. Verrat could reach me. A tiny needle pierced my skin, and I imagined I could feel the nanites coursing through my bloodstream. It stung.
Mr. Verrat roared. “No! What have you done?” The rain poured down in sheets.
Vanessa dropped to her knees and sobbed. I tried to look cheerful even though I was immediately afraid and didn’t know if I would even survive. I wished I hadn’t had to hurt Vanessa.
“You should be happy, Mr. Verrat. Now you’re part of history. You’ve witnessed the first Auxem to undergo our gene therapy.”
His face turned red. “You’re a mistake that should be easy to fix. I’ll just kill you.” He pulled out a projectile weapon with his good hand. Mr. Verrat’s other arm was stunned at the beginning of the fight and still dangled awkwardly at his side. “No one will ever know about your stupid experiment.”
I heard the sound of running behind me.
“I don’t think so.” Arnon and my brothers closed ranks with me. I already felt triumphant by knowing they were here. Anders grabbed my arm. Vanessa had dashed behind us while Mr. Verrat was yelling at me. We were all soaked to the bone. It was as dark as night with the storm directly overhead.
“Do you think you can stop me?” Mr. Verrat looked like he was becoming unhinged. “Family is not going to stop a bullet.”
“You might be surprised.” Ayrie was too cocky to keep his mouth shut. “A family that sticks together can do anything.”
We glanced at each other as rain poured down our faces.
“Linking arms isn’t going to protect you from a gun.” Mr. Verrat aimed at me, pulled the trigger, and fired.
When the bullet hit the force field surrounding us, it bounced off harmlessly. Mr. Verrat’s mouth dropped open, and he fired again. “You won’t win, Avren. I’ll stop you.”
I shook my head. “You’re too late. We sent a press release about the first test subject an hour ago. You can’t stop it. Everyone knows our pain is going away, and we won’t need to pay for your drug. I’ve sent a copy of our
research to every Auxem in the universe. Check your communicator.”
Mr. Verrat looked like his world was crumbling around him. From my point of view, it was a good thing. His world would only benefit one person — himself.
I felt the strength of my brothers fill me and we faced him together. We presented a united front, bare-chested, and wings out. We were warrior princes, fighting for the good of our planet.
“No.” He fell to his knees, a beaten man.
“It’s over.” At a signal from Arnon, security came and dragged him away. The five of us turned, not wanting to see our old friend humiliated.
When we removed the handcuffs from Vanessa, she was curiously silent. I pulled her to me, holding her close. Vanessa was alive, we had Gwen, and my family was safe. I would worry about everything else later.
Allex put a hand on my shoulder, a glint of amusement in his eyes. I was muddy from holding Vanessa, and some of my wounds were still bleeding. He shook his head at my dirty, bloodied body.
“Hey, Avren. I take back what I said before about you not wanting to get your hands dirty. I know you don’t have a problem with it now.”
Our laughter rang out over the battlefield.
We were back at the summer palace within a couple of hours.
After we showered, tended to our wounds, and changed into clean clothes, we had a chance to relax. My brothers and I were sitting in the living room of my suite. I wanted to be close to Vanessa in case she woke up. The rest of the women would come later, and we would eat together. For the time being, it was just us.
I looked around at my family. Arnon, the one who had kept us together when our father couldn’t. Ayrie, so easy going that it was hard to get mad at him. Anders, who made us laugh. And Allex, the baby, who was somehow taller than all of us except Arnon.
I cleared my throat. “I want to thank all of you. If it weren’t for you, I’m not sure Vanessa and I would be alive right now.”
“Speaking of Vanessa, we have some questions for you.” I wasn’t sure if Anders moved closer or everyone else moved away. It felt like they had designated him as the person who should broach the topic.