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For the first time since he arrived on Helion, the constant electrical pressure inside him had gone quiet.
No ache in his teeth. No static crawling under his skin. No hum begging to get out.
The relief hit so hard it made him feel sick. He hated that Daven could do that to him. Hated more that some weak, traitorous part of him wanted it again.
“This doesn’t mean anything.”
Next to him, Daven chuckled then rolled onto his back next to him, crooking his fingers. “Tell yourself if it helps. Come here, aethera.”
Ryneth stared at the ceiling, ignoring the other man until his hand got into his line of sight.
“I said, come here.”
“And I say you’re an asshole.”
“Oh, I like that.” Daven’s hand slammed down onto Ryneth’s chest and curled around his shoulder, rolling him onto his side and into the crook of his arm. “But I’m a little tired right now, darling. You and your delicious asshole wore me out. Shall we continue fighting tomorrow?”
Ryneth winced at the words but still inhaled the other man’s skin. He smelled like sandalwood and rain. He smelled good.
Ryneth’s eyes drooped. The glass had gone dark, but home flickered at the edges of his mind. The Ward. Mara’s voice. Tavi. Them sleeping on the worn down mattresses.
A countdown ticked somewhere distant.
It didn’t feel urgent anymore.
Just far away.
“Sleep now,” Daven murmured.
Ryneth must have drifted off, because he woke to Daven’s muffled swearwords. One of his muscled arms was pressed tightly against Ryneth’s side, pinning him in place against his chest, and on the other, he was reading a message from his multi-slate.
“What’s wrong?” Ryneth asked, voice thick with sleep.
“Motherfucking family’s what’s wrong,” Daven grumbled. “I just got you where I wanted you.”
“Meaning?”
Daven groaned. “Kylix tracked a Concordant shuttle. There are five confirmed captives on board. They’re not sure, but they believe these are the same five Academy disappearances they briefed us on earlier this week.”
“Can’t the Helion army stop them?” Ryneth pushed himself up slightly, taking in the view of Helion at night and the stars beyond the glass.
“If we want a war in the Velaryn Reach, sure. But first we try diplomacy. Yure contacted them through the ship’s holo channel. They answered but refused all negotiation.”
“Why?”
Daven’s jaw tightened. “Because they want to talk to you.”
Ryneth went still. Fear gripped him so fast he couldn’t breathe. This was it. Whoever had bought him that night had come to collect.
“What did you tell him?”
“That he can go and fuck himself.”
Despite it all, Ryneth smiled. “And what did he say?”
“That once the shuttle lifts, the trail scrubs permanently. Concordant runs a ghosting system that rewrites the ship’s location data the second it clears atmosphere. Once they move, they’re gone.”
Ryneth swallowed. “And the five hundred people with them.”
