“Are you getting your mate to fight your battles now?” I snarl at Darax.
“I don’t need to. She will kill you without my assistance if you harm her friend,” Darax replies.“My mate can fight her own battles, should she so choose.”
“The female is unharmed,” I respond. “And she will remain so as long as you accede to my demands.”
“You are hardly in a position to demand anything,” Darax says, but I hear the female voice in the background.
“I believe I am. I want a ship, I want warriors. I have a new life waiting for those who want it.”
“You’re a nevver, Deus. We have females, we have jewels, we have shelter, food, and respect in this galaxy. My warriors are not going anywhere.”
“You have my demands.” I terminate the comm, imagining my brother seething on the other end.
Darax always thought he was above all other Sarkarnii, especially me, given he rose further and faster than I did within the fleet.
But it was never about power and glory for me. It was about exploration, obtaining anything which would help my fellow Sarkarnii. To forge a way forward.
I extend my claws on the console. The huge appendages dig into the metal, leaving gouges where there are already old gouges from a long time ago.
A time I don’t remember, or at least not so well. There was a fog which filled my head, a loss so great my brain couldn’t cope with it.
I shut down. Whatever happened in the intervening time was only half of my conscious doing. The rest was not me. The rest was some other Sarkarnii warrior.
I do not know who I am anymore.
The red light of the comm continues to blink at me. I stare at it. The on off on off is soothing somehow. It causes my mind to slow, to be in a moment which isn’t anything but a moment. On off. On off. Red not red. Red not red.
By the time I blink, the suns have set, and there is an all-encompassing darkness. I stand up with the realization I’ve left the unnamed female for too long.
She wanted to escape. She will have escaped.
The growl flows behind me as I stride out of the comm center, lifting my head to scent the air, to catch any vestige of her as she flees me.
She will not escape.
She belongs to me.
But there is nothing other than the creatures who dwell within this place and the vegetation releasing their nighttime scents.
Could she have outwitted me? Perhaps she knows this place and has lied to me about being so small and weak. Perhaps these humans are more warrior than Sarkarnii?
I reach the dwelling, scanning it for signs of an exit or escape. Around it, the lights glow, casting gentle shadows among the plants, some of which move in a non-existent breeze. Through the window, I see her, lying on the cushioning, her eyes closed again.
She didn’t escape.
She stayed.
LYDIA
I’m not entirely sure what woke me, but before I open my eyes, I’m aware of warmth and a soft whooshing sound. It’s not unpleasant (and I’ve certainly woken up in worse ways), so I take a moment before I decide to find out what actual horrors I’m about to experience.
Curled up on the floor next to my couch is Deus. His tail is wrapped around his legs and up his abdomen. His arms enclose it as if he’s giving it a hug. His matted hair has fallen back from his face, and I’m struck by just how incredibly handsome he is when he is able to relax. His forehead is smoothed of worry lines, his jaw no longer clenched. He looks younger, and he looks…happy.
Then one leg kicks out. The frown returns. He huffs a breath then some smoke, his body shifting from side to side in a silent battle within his own mind.
Finally his eyes spring open, and he glares at me. Only I’m not sure he sees me at all. I think he sees what his mind wants him to see. I try not to breathe, but obviously, I have to breathe.
Then there is the blink. The slow clearing of those burning bright eyes.
