AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Nixeris’ eyes fall to Malix, who’s stayed quiet this whole time. They spark with curiosity, flashing yellow before a smile twists their lips.
“And you—are you a spy too, or has Taraven finally taken a mate?”
Malix looks horribly alarmed at the prospect of that. I sputter, choking on my own tongue, and Nixeris lets out a loud laugh.
“I’m teasing,” Nixeris says. “The Directorate informed us you would be coming, Guardsman Va’lora. I was assured that you would maintain secrecy when it came to what we discuss here today.”
“Why is this all so hushed up?” Frankie asks, crossing her arms and leaning back against the wall.
“Ansif’s presence almost gave it away, didn’t it?” Nixeris asks. “It’s because the Directorate suspects the device that destroyed Rath isn’t Skoropi, or Lyran either…it’s something else entirely.”
Zandro frowns, reaching for Bekah almost instinctively. “Something else?”
“We think that it was created by the same things that made the beacons,” Ansif explains. “The ones that put our species in contact with each other.”
Frankie bites down so hard on her lip that I fear it will bleed. Malix looks entirely unfazed; I wish I could read him.
Zandro just clutches Bekah closer.
“We encountered another device on Raza-896,” he says. “So that is now two of these devices in a matter of just a few cycles. What does it mean?”
“Don’t go panicking before we’ve gotten to the bottom of this,” Nixeris says. “Zandro—you recall the ancestral temples on each of the five House homeworlds?”
“I know them, but it’s been years since I’ve visited; I think the one on Zanpi was destroyed,” Zandro says. “What about them?”
“We found beacons like the ones on Azoth in the temple on Razakii, just before the planet was invaded,” Nixeris says. “And I believe they had even more secrets to unearth—given that the temple here on Azoth was found to host tunnels far beneath the planet’s surface.”
“That’s where I come in,” Ansif says. “I believe that these weapons come from the same source as our beacons, and I’ve been the Directorate lead on this technology for half a decade.”
“I’ve gotta be honest,” Frankie says. “I’m hearing a lot of reasons to panic, and veryfewreasons not to.”
“We haven’t gotten to that part yet,” Nixeris says. “We have a plan.”
“You could have led with that,” Frankie mutters.
Nixeris rolls their eyes toward Frankie before continuing. “The first part of this is that we need to match the strength that Dalphox has found in the ruins; we need a weapon of our own.”
“You still think Dalphox was responsible?” Zandro asks.
“I think he does not understand what he has unleashed upon us,” Nixeris says. “But yes—I think that he is responsible. Do you know anyone else who would gladly destroy a population for sheer pleasure?”
My eyes snap to Malix, a wave of emotion rolling over me. He winces at Nixeris’ words.
That was his homeworld.
Maybe his family.
By the Divine…I haven’t even asked him about his kin.
“What do you propose we do?” Zandro asks. “I presume you called us here for a reason.”
“I did,” Nixeris says. “I have a job for my favorite pirate warlord.”
Zandro huffs out a breath. “I wouldnotdescribe myself as a warlord…and certainly not as a pirate.”
“It’s kind of a cool nickname though,” Bekah says, smiling up at him.
“As I said,” Nixeris goes on, “there are two ancestral temples that I’m aware of and that haven’t been thoroughly examined in decades—one on Traika and one in Liatra. I want you to go to Traika aboard Jaya, and that a small crew should take one of the juvenilezephtanin our herd and go to Liatra.”
