“What is that?” she asked, shifting to the side.
I followed her gaze and saw what she was looking at. A small device, no larger than my fist, was connected to the main interface by a thick cable. It looked out of place and it was pulsing with the same rhythm as the error messages on the screens.
“How did I not see this before?” Zara reached for it, then stopped. “Thresk, what is this device?”
The Kythran elder moved closer, peering at it. When he spoke, his voice carried surprise mixed with something that might have been hope. He gestured worriedly and talked rapidly as Zara’s expression darkened with an understanding she was not happy about.
Zara looked up at me, brow furrowed. “He says it’s a collection module for genetic material. They thought it was just part of the maintenance systems, but they can see now that it’s more than that.”
I shook my head. “What does that mean?”
Zara winced. “Torven, the codes aren’t enough. The system needs actual material.”
Another violent shake sent one of the D’tran warriors stumbling into a console. A crack spread across the ceiling. I could hear the groan of stressed metal and stone. Never in my life had I felt so helpless.
“What kind of material?” Vikkat demanded.
Zara turned, her face pale but determined. “Thresk believes it requires a sample of the physical substance of the marks.” She looked at the D’tran warriors, then at me. “Thesystem was designed to require cooperation. Not just the codes, but physical sacrifice from each species. It needs tissue samples from the D’tran marks, and possibly the Kythran, to verify the codes and complete the input sequence.”
Vikkat shook his head. “We have given much, but we do not desecrate sacred marks.”
“You wouldn’t be desecrating them,” Zara said desperately. “We’d be using them for exactly what they were designed for. Don’t you see? The ancient engineers built this system to require trust.Realtrust. The kind that demands sacrifice.”
“Blood sacrifice?” Another D’tran warrior looked horrified. “You ask us to give our flesh to machines?”
“I’m asking you to save your world.” Zara’s voice cracked. “The marks contain the control codes, yes, but the system needs physical verification. It needs samples of the genetic material that carries those codes. Without it, the system will keep rejecting our input and the planet will die.”
The tower lurched again, and this time I heard the distinct sound of structural failure from somewhere above us. We were running out of time.
“How much?” Vikkat asked quietly. “How much of the marks must be taken?”
“Small samples. From several unique patterns.” Zara gestured at the device. “The collection module will extract just enough pigmented skin to verify the genetic codes. It won’t cause permanent damage.”
“It will deface our marks,” Dorek said. “It will mark us as those who violated the sacredness.”
My back still hurt. The blast had burned my flesh straightto the bone, but I stood up and faced the D’tran. “It will mark you as those who saved your people,” I said, and every eye in the room turned to me.
I pushed away from the console, ignoring the protest from my back, and moved to stand in the center of the room where everyone could see me. My skin was shifting through colors I couldn’t control, reflecting the fear and determination warring inside me.
“I understand what you’re feeling,” I said, looking at each D’tran warrior in turn. “These marks define who we are. They’re written in the ancient language. They carry our history, our identity. For me, they proclaims my bond to my true mate. To damage them feels like destroying a part of ourselves.” I looked at Zara. “And the symbols of those we love.”
“Then you understand why we cannot do this,” Dorek said.
“No. I understand why you don’twantto do this. But every Destran knows the highest honor comes from sacrifice, and that is something shared in our ancestry.” I touched the mating marks on my neck. “These marks appeared when I found my mate. They tell the story of my bond with Zara. They’re precious to me in ways I don’t have words for.”
Another shake, harder this time. One of the screens shattered, dissolved into tiny particles and scattered across the floor.
“But if destroying these marks would saveherlife, I wouldn’t hesitate,” I continued, louder, mostly to be heard over the increasing noise of the storm. “If scarring them would save this world, I’ll do it gladly. Because what’s thepoint of preserving something sacred if there’s no one left to remember what it meant?”
“Easy words from a Destran,” one of the warriors muttered. “Your people abandoned this world. Abandonedus.”
“You’re right,” I said, and the admission seemed to surprise them. “My ancestors left. We may never know exactly why, but the history thatispreserved tells us that there were many enemies here. My people aligned with the Solas and learned to live among the stars. Your people aligned with the Kythran.” I gestured to the slim, gray-skinned beings who stared at me. Zara spoke quietly in their language, clearly translating my words to them. “They are here, now, willing to help despite the hostility that has existed between your two people for so long.”
I moved toward the collection device, my decision made. “I’m offering my marks first. If you won’t trust the system, if you won’t trust the Kythrans, then trust that I will protect my mate to my dying breath. I trust her. If she believes this has a chance to work, then I will do it.”
“Torven,” Zara said softly. “You… Fuck, I love you.”
“I love you too.” I looked at her, letting her see everything I felt. Hoping she could see and feel beyond even what the bond was giving her of me. “If we fail here, know that there is nothing I won’t do to protect you. You flow beneath my skin and beat in my heart. The bond, the love, the future I want to have with you should not die with this world.” I jabbed a finger in her direction. “Imeanthat, Rivers.”
