“Your mind is even stronger now, my Willow. I slipped inside you slowly. Shared your pleasure with the other male. I knew, then, I had made a mistake with you. But you returned to me, and I had time to prepare, to ensure your previous attachments would no longer be a problem.”
A dark pit opened up in my stomach as the ship on screen grew bigger and bigger.
“I know what you desire. How you want to experience pleasure during mating. I will not fail this time. I cannot fail.”
On the hunk of rock where the Hive built their base, an explosion filled the space behind Enzo’s retreating ship. A flash of fire and light.
Before I could process what that would mean, a weapon of some kind appeared to come from behind the screen, from whatever place the camera was mounted, and enveloped Enzo’s ship in a blast of light.
Another.
The ship exploded.
“Oberon.”His name was a whisper on my lips. I’d watched him get on that ship. Enzo. Ruk. All of them. Gone. “You fucking bastard!”
I charged him. I’d claw his eyes out of his hideous skull, rip those fuckingthingsoff the back of his head and watch himbleed.
He caught me with one huge hand wrapped around my throat. He lifted, just enough to force me onto my tiptoes. I had no leverage, no way to move. Or fight.
I kicked, but he was out of reach.
Damn it! No!
“I feel your grief, female. Yes. I planned well. But that male is not the only one you cared about.”
The view on the screen changed to another ship. Black. Sleek.
“This ship brought you to me. The technology is interesting. I would not have discovered it, had you not been on board. I hate to destroy it.”
“Liar.” Now he was just toying with me.
“Indeed.”
More bursts of light. The ship fired back at something, a buoy in space? A rock? I couldn’t tell where the Hive’s shots were coming from.
I clawed at the hands around my neck, sickly satisfied when I felt his flesh gather beneath my fingernails.
“This one, Zarren? He has been a problem for us for quite some time.” Nexus 5 smiled, his pale, blue-white teeth hideous as he watched the ship catch on fire. “The others will celebrate with me, once he is gone.”
Maybe they could get away. Go. Fly. Blast off.
The ship exploded.
No. No. No. No!
“I hate you.”
Nexus 5 settled me back on my feet and released his hold on my neck. Oberon? Dead. Zarren? Dead. Chloe? Seth? Enzo? Ruk? Bastion? Dead, dead, dead. All dead.
I stumbled backward.
Nexus 5 walked to me and lifted one hand to my cheek. “You came back to me. I would not have known about the attack, would not have saved my Soldiers, if you had not been with me, part of me, in my mind.”
I was the reason. For all of it. I stole Zarren’s drawings and set Oberon free. I begged Danika for help, and Prime Nial sent an entire ReCon team. Bastion had come to us, to help look for Amalia. Who, according to Kayn and Zarren, was already fucking dead. The Atlans and Ruk? They would have attacked regardless, Oberon had told me that, but Nexus 5 wouldn’t haveknown they were coming.
I’d killed them all. By being here. By failing to notice Nexus 5 wasin my head.
The hand on my cheek barely registered. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered.
