She pulled him close, and his arms were around her. The space between their lips closed, and electricity shot through her. The kiss was hot and fast, an ardent meeting of the mouths that made her head spin. Her mouth opened wider, seeking more of him, and he groaned and sank even closer. She brought her hands to his shoulders and froze as if remembering why she was upset in the first place.
But when she tried to pull them away, he grabbed one of them gently and brought it close. “I want to feel your hands on me.” He kissed her hand and brought it back to his shoulder.
Neither of them may be real. But they are the only two hands I have now.
But as she slid her hands over the hard muscles of his chest, her vision cleared, and she couldn’t find it in her heart to be that sorry about it. She glanced up to find him watching her fingers move over his skin.
I’m still here.
“It feels so good,” he admitted. “I never thought to have your hands on me again.”
She sighed. “I wish I could remember that. Being with you.”
He stiffened slightly. “There are good things and bad things about the past, baby.”
The sadness in his eyes was so great that she pulled him close again, cupping his face in her hands. “Whatever it was, I’m sure it didn’t make me stop loving you.”
“Maybe not.” He didn’t look reassured. “But maybe love wasn’t enough.”
“Love is always enough,” she replied with absolute certainty.
“And that’s the Aria I used to know,” he said, pulling her against his chest.
“Awake, I see,” Mordjan’s voice came from the doorway, holding a hint of dryness. He held up a piece of skin that looked like a glove. “Your skin is finished, but I want to be sure the arm and hand are working properly before we cover them, which required you to be awake.”
She flexed the fingers. “It feels perfect.”
“I have to admit that I was thinking more of function than pleasure while I was operating,” Mordjan responded, winking at her when she looked up quickly.
“It feels almost real. Did you do this with the knowledge in the files?” she asked.
“Yes, having that password is really handy.” Mordjan gave a tiny grin, the first since she’d known him. “And so is my lovely assistant, Roihan.”
“Fuck off,” Roihan groused, and Mordjan grinned again.
“All right, let’s get this skin on you. Then we can get the lab finished."
Aria sprang upright in the bed. "The lab! How could I forget? Did you get started on building the device? What happened with the synchisite? Were you able to start synthesizing the cure?"
Roihan laughed, holding up his hands. "We’ve begun building the device and have broken down all the synchisite so it can be used. So now we are just finishing the device and waiting to land on Aurora to get the sucrose and the crystal energy."
Mordjan tightened the skin on her arm and she watched it seal together until there was no seam left.
"When we get to Aurora?” She looked out the window. “Are we still on that moon? Or orbiting it?”
Mordjan laughed. "No, no. Actually, it was Simban who lifted off the ship and got us out of there while Roihan and I operated on you. He and Valdjan then set a course for Aurora. We should be arriving shortly."
“Shortly? How long was I out?” Aria motioned for Roihan to get out of the way so she could stand.
He moved but held out a hand for her in case she needed to steady herself.
"I need to see the lab for myself. Plus, we need to modify my crystal energy device so it can take the energy of the elven crystals and channel it into the compound."
"I've been working on the device myself." He pointed at the foot of the bed, and she realized the device was sitting on a bench at the end of it. "I had just taken a brief break and was thinking about what to try next when you woke."
Aria was stunned. Part of her had been devastated at the loss of her arm and by the possibility of them not being able to manufacture the cure. But she’d gotten her arm back, and the others had worked as a team, building the device. She wasn't used to having other beings she could count on, and the feeling shook her to her core in the best way possible.
"I think I'm as good as new. Thank you both." She nodded to them and strode out the door and toward the new lab, excited to see what they had done while she was asleep.
The lab was perfect, set up in exactly the manner that she would have done it. On a bench in the center sat the enormous compounding device to synthesize the cure. A tube ran the length of the table, joined by a second one in the middle, and a third almost at the end, where a large glass container that would house the output sat. Each of the minerals had its own place to be added to the mix along the three tubes, and she could see where her device would hook up to the glass chamber at the far end so they could use the crystal to amplify the frequency of the cure.
"We’re still soldering everything together and making a few more pieces by hand. But it’s mostly done. There is also a space toward the middle where we could channel energy into all three tubes earlier if we need to," Roihan explained, pointing to the empty socket.
"This is perfect!" Without thinking, she threw her arms around his waist and hugged him. A second later, his arms came around her, as well. “We can do this, I know we can,” she enthused, making the corners of Roihan’s mouth quirk upward.
She steadfastly ignored the small voice in the back of her mind that said the sucrose, and the crystal energy, might be more difficult to get than she imagined.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Roihan
Roihan couldn't have been happier to see Aurora appear in the window at the front of the ship. The planet was horrifyingly red, but it was the only planet he had ever known and he was anxious to get his feet back on the ground. Besides, their journey wasn’t over. They still had work to do to finish synthesizing the cure.
But I’m home. With Aria.
He grinned at her, and she smiled back. His heart was achingly light since she had kissed him, and he was purposely avoiding thoughts of what would happen when she got her memories back.
They flew low over the abandoned Ardak mountain, the gray stone fortress foreboding even from their great height.
“Those stones mark the entrance to the underground caves.” Valdjan pointed them out to Aria before shifting his finger to the horizon. “If you look closely, you can see Renwyn in the distance.”
The elven palace shone white in the late-day sun despite the redness in the air as Simban and Valdjan directed the ship to land just in front of the forest that guarded it. Roihan had seen something new in Simban since he had helped to fly the ship, a new sense of purpose. Aria had seen it, too, which was why she didn’t take her place in the captain’s chair, seemingly understanding it was good for Simban to have a mission of his own.
They set the ship down slowly, and Roihan watched Tordan’s heat signature leading a group of warriors toward them. They took up defensive positions behind the last section of trees before the grassy plain.
Aria opened the docking bay doors, and Roihan exited first, hands raised. “Is this any way to greet your old friends?”
"Roihan!" Tordan's voice boomed. "Thank the gods you’re all right!" Tordan ran forward to grab him in a warrior’s embrace. "Where have you been? And how did you get this ship?"
“We’ve been getting an antidote to the Red Death,” Valdjan said from behind him, coming down the ramp, stepping off the ship with Simban and Mordjan.
“The what?”
“The red poison the Ardaks released into the sky.” Aria stepped off last, leaving the bay door open.
Tordan took a step back when he saw her. “Aria . . .” He looked between Roihan and Aria, obviously at a loss for words.
“She’s the most advanced cyborg the Ardaks ever made,” Roihan announced with pride. “And because of her, we took this ship into space and came back with an antidote.”
Tordan swal
lowed, seeming to accept the strange turn of events. “Thank the gods,” he said gravely. “We’ve tried everything to heal it, but everyone keeps getting worse. Even the elves.”
“It’s not finished yet, we still need sucrose and a special type of crystal to make it work. And we’re still working on the device that will synthesize the antidote."
Tordan stepped back and looked at him. “You’re different somehow. More . . . advanced.”
Roihan paused. “I guess it’s because we downloaded a lot of technical and scientific information from the Ardaks. It’s clear that they are light-years ahead of us in terms of technology.”
“The download has changed your language. And you seem to think more clearly,” Tordan mused. “It’s amazing.”
Roihan hadn’t noticed the change until Tordan mentioned it. He shrugged. “Well, as soon as we get everything moving, I’ll take you to the lab and help you download the materials.”
“That would be . . . almost as big of a miracle as the cure for the Red Death,” Tordan replied. Then he swallowed. “Almost.”
“Can we speak to your elven princess?” Roihan asked, getting back on track. “We need to figure out how to amplify some crystal energy that will be the final step in creating the antidote.”
Aielle came forward from the trees, her golden hair shining, and Tordan turned to see what had snagged Roihan’s attention.
“I told her to wait in the castle.” Tordan gritted his teeth. “I should have known she wouldn’t listen.”
Roihan smiled. “I know what that feels like,” he replied in Tordan’s head.
Tordan eyed Aria. “I’ll bet you do.”
When Aielle reached them, he inclined his head before her. "My lady, we have found the cure, but we believe we need some magic to make it work. Aria can explain everything to you much better than I can." He motioned them up the docking bay entrance. "Come inside. Make yourself at home."
Tordan snorted as he proceeded up into the ship. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.” Aielle and a number of cyborg and elven warriors followed him. As they entered, Tordan’s expression was pinched, and Roihan knew how he felt. He’d had a very similar reaction the first time he’d boarded. "It's the smell, isn't it?"
Tordan's lips quirked upward. "That, along with everything else."
They shared a look and both were silent for a moment, an acknowledgement of everything they had gone through at the hands of the Ardaks. Some of the warriors went in different directions, following Valdjan or Simban.
But Roihan and Tordan followed Aria, who was leading Aielle past the control center, through the ship. When they reached the corridor of labs, Aria was briefly telling Aielle about her time with the Ardaks.
Aielle reached out and brushed one of the metal walls. "You can't imagine how frightened we were to see this ship descending from the sky. The last thing we need is another ship of Ardaks.”
“Well, we’d better prepare, because they definitely plan on coming back,” Aria replied matter-of-factly.
“That’s comforting,” Tordan replied.
“I don’t think it will be long, if we don’t get the cure,” Aielle stated flatly. “So many people are ill, some have already died—and we've tried everything our healers can think of."
"Yes, that's because there is only one cure for the Red Death," Aria told her. "The red poison comes from a red flower on Baihu, and the cure is a different flower, a white flower."
"Ahh, that makes perfect sense." Aielle nodded.
"It does?" Tordan didn’t look quite as convinced as his mate did.
"Yes. Red is always nature's way of warning us away, many dangerous things are red. And it makes sense that the cure would be white. It also makes sense that both flowers would appear on one world, because where nature makes a poison, she is always certain to put an antidote."
Tordan and Aielle were mostly silent as Aria explained their trip, Baihu, being taken prisoner, and getting the cure and information device from Tristin.
"So, you’re saying that if you have a certain type of crystal from Baihu, its energy will make the cure more potent?" Tordan asked, his deep voice incredulous.
"Ten times more potent," Aria amended.
Aielle said nothing as she perused the lab, obviously deep in thought. "We might be able to amplify it with our magic. The problem is that we don't know the exact frequency of the crystals on their world.”
“I have the one the Ardaks used to come here. I think it’s from their world.” Aria pulled it from her pocket.
“Great.” Aielle pocketed the crystal. “Let me take this back to the castle and see what we can do with it.”
“While you do that, I’m going to hook Tordan up to the computer over here and let him upload the files we have.”
Aielle frowned. “Is that safe? I heard what happened to Simban.”
“He’ll be fine. This is a different machine, and I’ve tested it since then.”
When she nodded, Roihan began to show Tordan how to use the computer to download files. After the Ardak language file, Tordan’s steel-gray eyes opened wide. “This is amazing. We need everyone we can get to download these files.”
“Wait until you get to the science and medical files,” Roihan said. “You won’t believe it.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Aria
Aielle turned to Aria, her blue eyes glowing. “How do you know this crystal is from Baihu?”
Aria cocked her head. “I can’t be one hundred percent positive that it is, but I’m fairly certain it is.”
Aielle held the crystal in her palm. "Its energy is very weak, almost gone. But if we can take it back to the palace, I might be able to restore it with the magic there."
The palace. "I heard that cyborgs can get their memories back there. Do you think it would work for me?"
"Probably," Aielle replied. "It has worked with everyone who has tried it so far. Although not everyone has tried yet."
"Why not? Is it that they don't want to remember?"
Aielle nodded. "Yes, for some, it is that. Some who had gone through the process wish they could take it back. They’ve lost their families, children, lovers . . .” She looked down for a moment. “But for others, there hasn't been time. It's only been a few days, and there's been a lot to do. It takes a while for each cyborg to process their memories, so we don't just let everyone flood into the throne room. We have healers on hand to help them with their grief and rage. And sometimes, their terror."
Aria felt as bad for the cyborgs who didn’t want to remember their pasts as for those who did. "Roihan told me I might not want to remember what happened, but I still want to get my memories back."
Aielle's eyes cast downward briefly. "We all have memories we'd rather forget, but our memories of our loved ones are what keeps them alive." There was a tone of deep grief in her voice.
"True.” Aielle had just voiced her deepest feelings on the matter. It was vitally important for her to remember those she had lost. “I'd like to do it as soon as possible."
But first I need to find Roihan.
For some reason, she thought he would want to be with her. And part of her felt that she might not want to do this alone.
“Well, let’s go find him.”
They made their way back to the lab, and Roihan smiled when they entered. "Did you find the crystal?”
“We did. Aielle thinks she can recreate the frequency, but first, I want to go to the throne room. I would like you to be with me when I get my memories back."
His smile faded, and her heart went out to him. “Of course.”
“Well, I can download the rest of these files later. Let’s join them.” Tordan stood.
Aria reached for his hand. “It's going to be okay. I can handle whatever it is, I promise.”
“Um-hm,” he thought back noncommittally, wrapping his fingers around hers tightly.
They proceeded through the thick grove of trees on the way to the palace. Their size w
as much taller than she’d imagined, even taller than the Ardak ship they’d flown. Most trees had leaves that were thick and green, while a few were various shades of orange and gold. It was magnificent. Once they entered the forest, the air seemed cleaner than it had been over the plain. It was still tinged with the Red Death, but there was a freshness to it, and the ground was almost black with richness.
“It’s so peaceful here,” she told Roihan.
“Yes. I was in awe the first time I saw it,” he answered.
Every flower, plant, and blade of grass was new to her. She veered from side to side of the narrow footpath, trying to take it all in. "Nature is so beautiful." She was grinning, looking toward the canopy of rich greens above them, and Roihan watched her as if her joy was his own.
"You've always loved nature," Tordan offered, and Aria looked over at him, startled that he would know such a thing.
"Did your husband not tell you that we were best friends?" Tordan jokingly chided Roihan.
To her amazement, Roihan turned red. "We had a lot on our minds with the mission."
Tordan eyed him. "I'll bet."
"He didn't tell me much about the past, even our own," Aria said, saving Roihan from further embarrassment. "There really wasn't time."
"And there isn't time now, either. We still have to get the rest of the materials for the cure and make sure the crystal works.” He looked down at her and sighed. “But we’ll have to make time for it."
Aielle, who had been smiling at her husband's joke, grew serious again. Her face lost its brief color and she nodded, falling silent as the lightness drifted away.
Aria squeezed Roihan's hand. “We should let them have a bit of fun. I'll bet that such moments have been few and far between since the Ardak invasion.”
He nodded once. “You're right, I apologize. It's been a long time since I remember laughing.”
“All the more reason for us to do it.”
When they broke free of the trees, the beauty of the palace at the side of its great hill made her gasp. “It’s like a living structure,” she whispered to Roihan reverently. Enormous trees functioned as pillars leading up to the buildings, their canopies providing shade for the courtyard and steps up to the entrance.
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