"You must have been among the jettisoned pods," Runa said. She was watching me carefully now, gauging my reaction. "We've been searching for survivors since we landed, but the planet is vast, and our resources are limited. How many of you made it?"
"Ten women." The word came out rough.
Her eyebrows rose fractionally. "All female?"
"Does that matter? We survived and sought shelter in Scalvaris, it’s one of the cities here. We?—"
“You don’t have to worry about those monsters now. Tell me about this city. We can get your friends back." Not a question. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt it was possible.
I would have sagged with relief if I heard this from the Blade Council. They vacillated back and forth and barely cared. Here, she’d only just met me and already wanted to mount an assault.
“I don’t think there’s any need for that. We’ve not come to any harm among the Drakarn.” Theoppositeof harm, for many of us, though I wasn’t about to say a peep about that to Runa. Not yet.
Runa's expression hardened. "I know it’s hard to believe we can help. But we've seen what they do to humans. We can’t leave our people there. We just rescued a group without taking any casualties; we’re more than capable."
“Scalvaris is far more fortified than Ignarath; it’s underground. And, believe me, if my friends want to leave, they’ll be allowed.”
“If?” She raised an eyebrow.
I was dancing near dangerous territory. "You mentioned recovering humans from a city," I said, redirecting before I said something that would blow my cover. "How many? Who?"
"Seven." Runa stood, moved to a map pinned to the wall behind her desk. The geography was rough but recognizable. Ignarath's territory marked in red, the settlement's location in blue. "We discovered them being held in what can only be described as slave pits. It took us weeks to plan the extraction, longer to execute it."
"Is Larissa Cheng one of them?" Kira had nearly given up hope, but if she could know her sister was safe, this would almost be worth it.
Once I got Nyx back.
What the hell were they doing to him?
Runa's expression shifted. Something cold crept into her eyes. "She is. Along with six others, all in various states of trauma from their captivity."
Relief flooded through me. Larissa was alive. Kira could stop torturing herself with worst-case scenarios, could have her sister back.
"Her sister has been searching for her," I said. "Kira Cheng. She's been trying to find Larissa for months, ever since we realized there were other survivors."
"Not hard enough."
The words hit like a slap. Cold and judgmental and completely dismissive of everything Kira had been through, everything we'd all been through trying to survive in a world that wanted us dead.
Heat surged through my veins. My hands curled into fists at my sides.
"You have no idea what we've been dealing with," I said. My voice came out flat, dangerous. "We crashed in hostile territory with no supplies, no shelter, and no idea if anyone else had survived. We've been fighting to stay alive every single day."
"So now it’s fighting. I thought they welcomed you," Runa turned from the map, faced me fully. "Stockholm syndrome is common in these situations. I understand that you’ve had to perhaps do things you’d never imagined. But you’re not under their power anymore."
I wanted to laugh. Wanted to scream. Wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her until she understood that I knew exactly what I was doing, that my choices were my own, that Nyx had never once treated me like property.
But I had to make this blunder worth it.
"Where are the recovered humans now?" I asked instead. Changed the subject before I said something I'd regret. "Can I see them?"
"They're being housed in the medical facility. Such as it is." Runa moved back to her desk, shuffled through papers with the efficiency of someone who'd been doing this too long. "Most are still recovering, physically and psychologically. Larissa has been asking about her sister. I'll arrange for you to see her."
"What happened to the Drakarn they found with me?" I tried to sound neutral, but there was a hint of desperation.
If they’d hurt Nyx, I wouldn’t be responsible for what I did.
Runa's eyes sharpened. "You don't need to worry about that thing anymore. It's been secured. It won't bother you again."
