The door opened.
Tarsus entered first. His posture rigid. His expression dark. Behind him came two guards. Mondian. Armed. Alert.
And between them, one guard’s hand gripping her arm, walked Carys.
Her silver dress caught the office lighting. The platinum collar gleamed. Her hands were free but her face was pale, composed.
Flinx followed at her heels. His synthetic black form moved low and tense. His eyes glowed warning red. Every line of his body screamed threat assessment and rage.
Tarsus moved to the center of the room. His gaze went straight to the desk. To the empty velvet cloth where his prize had been. His expression didn’t change, but a muscle in his jaw jumped.
“He’s in here,” Tarsus said, speaking to the guards. “I know it. Search the shaft. Search behind the?—”
A loud BANG erupted from a control panel by the door. Sparks showered onto the carpet as the panel smoked, the acrid smell of ozone filling the room.
The two Mondian guards spun, weapons instantly trained on the new threat. Flinx, a blur of black, was already diving behind a different cabinet, hissing.
Tarsus didn’t flinch. He just smiled. “A distraction. How predictable.” He turned his attention back to the desk. “I knew you’d come here. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice? That I wouldn’t see through your pathetic little diversion?”
Carys didn’t speak. Didn’t react.
“The system failure,” Tarsus continued. “The ‘containment breach.’ So perfectly timed. So... specific.” He moved closer to the desk, running one finger over the velvet where the sculpture had been. “I’ve been letting you build your escape plans for months, my dear. I wanted to see how far you’d go. I’ve known since the moment that Vinduthi arrived on Valyria.”
He moved closer to the vault. Examining it. Looking for signs of tampering.
I barely breathed. The shaft’s metal walls pressed against my shoulders. My legs cramped from the angle. But I didn’t move. Didn’t shift. Any sound would give me away.
“Where is he, Carys?” Tarsus turned to face her. “Where is your Vinduthi partner hiding?”
She met his eyes. Silent. Defiant.
One of the Mondian guards unholstered his blaster and pressed it to her throat. Carys didn’t flinch.
“I could make you tell me,” Tarsus said quietly. “I have tools in the lab. Methods that leave no permanent damage but guarantee cooperation. Or...” He smiled. “I could simply kill you now. A lesson to anyone else who thinks they can steal from me.”
Flinx’s eyes burned brighter. His body coiled. Ready to attack despite the obvious futility.
“But that would be wasteful.” Tarsus circled around her. Studying her like one of his artifacts. “You’re valuable. Trained.Rare. Even if you betrayed me, you still have uses. So I’ll make you an offer.”
He gestured to the office. “Tell me where he is. Tell me everything about your plan. And I’ll consider this a failure of judgment rather than treason. Your contract remains intact. Your collar stays locked. But you live.”
Carys didn’t answer. Didn’t move.
“Or,” Tarsus continued, “you stay silent. Protect your partner. And I’ll make you watch while my guards tear him apart when we find him. Which we will. This is my villa. My security. He has nowhere to go.”
The shaft’s metal was cold against my back. The tools in my pocket pressed against my ribs. I measured distances. Angles. How fast I could move if I needed to.
Not fast enough. The guards were armed. Alert. I’d make it maybe three steps before they fired. Carys would die in the crossfire.
Unacceptable.
“Senator.” Her voice cut through the silence. Clear. Steady. “If you knew about the plan, why didn’t you stop us earlier? Why wait until now?”
Tarsus smiled. Pleased. “Because I was testing the limits of your ambition. What you were capable of. Consider this a test, my dear. One you’ve failed spectacularly.”
His gaze went back to the empty velvet cloth.
His expression went cold. Flat. The kind of emptiness that preceded extreme violence.
