"Answers." She responded, challenging me. Daring me.
“You disappoint me, Sloane,” I said, and it came out sadder than I’d meant. She thought me untouchable. She didn’t understand that every second here with her was a second Ella remained caged, tormenting my heart.
Golden light rose under my skin as I charged the corner. By the time she followed, the Guardians were down, and the door to the lab was open. I could have ripped the building down with my bare hands if I had wanted to, and I might have, had I not been afraid to unleash the Dark Abyss inside me. Without Ella, it was getting harder to control it.
The smell hit me like a physical blow, chemical rot and old blood, the metallic hum of tanks and machines that had no business birthing life. My jaw ached with the force I clenched it. I tried to name the thing in my chest, and the only word that fit was:rage.A slow, animal rage that carried an unspeakable grief, the kind born of witnessing a species commit something so forbidden and profane. “Why the hell did I have to come? You obviously can take charge of this—” Sloane barked her protest, a useless ripple against the torrent that had become me.
I ignored her. “There,” I pointed at an Ohrur. She shothim. “Oh, and over there,” I said, pointing again. She took the shot without hesitation.
While we checked for more hostiles, I heard Ella's cry. "Zaph!"
The sound was a lance through all the static. My entire being condensed to that single syllable. I stormed toward the sound, black veins burning through my golden aura when I saw my beautiful Ella caged like an animal. She looked smaller than I remembered, so human, fragile, and utterly incandescent to me. Her eyes met mine, and everything else narrowed to the space between us.
"You came," she cried.
The world slid sideways and solid again.
"Always," I assured her, and it was the only honest thing I could give. I hit the cage with my fist so hard that it broke apart, then pulled her out. Metal screamed and bent like paper. The moment my hands touched her flesh, I felt the delicious, terrible relief like a blade pulled from a wound.
Suddenly, I was glad for Sloane's presence—she moved like a blade—and while she took care of the other Guardians and Ohrurs, I could fully focus on my precious Aelyth. The urge to tear everything in the room apart thrummed in my fingers, but I held it down, cupped it like a living thing I didn’t want to kill.
"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner," I pulled her into my arms, and she clung to me for dear life. Her weight against me steadied something that had been fraying. Holding her tightly, I thanked whatever hands of fate had returnedher to me, unharmed. That word tasted hollow and holy at the same time.
From the corner of my eyes, I watched Sloane take care of another Ohrur hiding underneath one of the tables with an unfortunate victim strapped to it. She took him out before I looked at the male on the table. His silvery skin gave him away as a Space Guardian, but his pallor indicated he was dead.
Tears cut hot tracks down Ella's face, and it took all my willpower not to smash every single item in this room to pieces. The thought of what they had done. To pervert the cycle of life. I almost couldn’t hold back my rage at how they had violated them. It made my hands itch for violence that would not end with a body.
Instead, I kissed Ella's face, her cheeks, her mouth. Each kiss was a promise—soft and fierce—that I would burn the stars down if I had to keep her safe.
"What the hell,Zaph?" Sloane yelled, turning in a slow circle, taking in a lab that looked like it came straight out of a nightmare.
Holding Ella, I did the same. Large, cylindrical containers stood against one wall. Inside floated terribly malformed bodies, all with silvery skin. The sight hit me like a new pain. Was this where the Ohrurs were breeding—bioengineering, lab-growing—Space Guardians? The thought made my stomach twist. They had taken creation and made a mockery of it.
"Let's get out of here." I picked up Ella into my arms, cradling her to me, never wanting to let her go.
"Hold on," Sloane stopped me as I was almost at the door.
I wouldn't have cared, had Ella not raised her head and looked at me, "What about the others? Zaph, you have to free them."
Her voice, small and urgent, stabbed through me. The demand in it—not only for herself—tugged at the better part of me. Only now did I notice the other cages propped against the wall where Ella had been held, filled with females of all species.
"Shit," Sloane hastened to the cages, trying to open the first door, but it wouldn't budge. "Seriously, Zapharos, get your ass over here and open them. Now!"
I let out a loud, drawn-out sigh. Was I really getting pulled into yet another mission I had not signed up for? But Ella's hand tightened on me, and the warmth of her palm cautioned me against leaving.
"Oh, Zaph," Ella almost giggled, slapping my arm, thinking I was joking, which I wasn't. I really, really didn't want to be roped into another clusterfuck. I looked from Ella to Sloane, who narrowed her eyes. I could easily change both of their minds, but I hesitated. Not Ella's. Never hers. And this seemed important to her. Besides, these human females might be my brothers' Aelyth. The notion hit me like a fist and reawakened my responsible self, which slowly steadied the savage edge inside me.
As if I needed the reminder, my aura turned bright gold, and with Ella in my arms, I touched the cage doorsto open them.
"Okay. Alright. Are you okay? Can you walk?" Sloane helped the females out one by one as they emerged, groaning, from their cramped quarters. They were fragile specters, blinking and stumbling into the light. Rage rushed through me when I noticed that at least two of them were pregnant. The sight tightened something in my chest until it hurt.
Sloane kicked one of the unconscious Ohrurs. I felt her thoughts, sharp knives of intent. She was ready to shoot the male.
"Do it," I whispered, needing to see how far she would go and how much she could control her temper. The words were soft and dangerous. I didn’t want her to cross the line, but I also needed her to be someone who could stand in the breach.
She was tougher than I thought. Venomously, she snarled, "You want to shoot him. Do it."
The urge in me answered the temptation—blood and retribution—but Ella's cry stopped it before it could shape into action.
