I tiptoed, pulling his face down to plant a kiss on his mouth. Ohem sighed and leaned into me. God, I missed him. He was standing right in front of me and I missed him. We’d been so busy the last few days that all we’d had time for was some pre-sleep cuddling.
“I love you,” he whispered against my lips. Another knot formed in my throat and had to wait a few breaths before I could reply.
“I love you, too.” Tears burned in my eyes. I blinked several times to clear them, taking a step back from my mate. I blew out a breath and turned to find Aga and Rema watching us. Rema had a soft smile on his face, but Aga looked like he’d like to hang himself. I sneered at him and he answered me in kind. It made me feel better.
“Let’s get this shit done. I’ve got a war to plan,” Aga said.
Ohem snorted at him, but Aga had already turned on his heel and was taking the stairs down into the ruins. Rema smiled at me again before following Aga. I took Ohem’s hand when he offered and together we made our way into the echoes of my ancestor’s lives.
Chapter 24
It was a long descent down a stone staircase before we reached the bottom. A long, wide tunnel stretched out into the dark ahead of us and Aga pulled a metal globe out of his belt and twisted it. The globe floated into the air and lit up like a spotlight. I squinted my eyes against the glare. He’d just ruined my night vision. I growled at him and opened my mouth to say something when Ohem gave my hand a squeeze.
“Rema and Aga cannot see in the dark.”
Weaklings.I caught Aga’s eyes and he glared at me. I smiled at him, flashing fang. Aga snorted and turned to continue forward.
The ball drifted forward, illuminating open doors along the hall walls. We followed it slowly, looking into the room as we passed. Artifacts were still in some but most were empty. Some type of storage facility based on the way things were stacked in the rooms with crates inside. I was a little baffled at the stonework and lack of technology at all, even remnants, of what was supposed to be an advanced race. Most of the artifacts upstairs had been bowls and tools. Basic things.
We kept following the hallway that curved to the left as we walked. The stone floor and walls gave way to metal partway down the hall. The metal was still a shiny silver, with no dust covering it, like someone had polished it to a high shine. It had carving all over it. I crouched town to run my fingers over some. It was writing. Millions of carved words were all over the floors, walls, and ceilings. The longer I looked at them, the more familiar they were to me. Like a memory I couldn’t quite grasp. Ohem’s hand on my shoulder pulled me from my inspection, I glanced up at him.
“Let’s keep moving, Jack. We can come back when we know more,” he said. I nodded and stood to follow Aga and Rema. They’d stopped further up in front of a door. It was smooth, shiny metal with no carvings on it. They nearly fell over themselves when a hard voice spoke in a language that resonated so deeply within me that I was momentarily frozen in place. It hit me like a bomb going off. Like I’d been missing something my whole life and had only just found it again. I forgot what was at stake. I even forgot that Ohem was standing next to me. Goosebumps rose on my skin, euphoria flooding my veins.
Access denied. Final Protocol initiated. Disengage or die.
I was shaking as I approached the door. Someone called to me in the background, but I couldn’t stop. When I stood in front of the door, I raised my hand to it and pressed my palm against the smooth metal. It was warm, comforting. Like coming home.
DNA match. Welcome Home, Rijitera. I’ve been waiting.
The door slid apart silently. I took a shaky break and stepped inside.
Friends of the Rijitera are permitted. Take nothing and live. Disobey and die.
I frowned and looked behind me. When my gaze landed on Ohem, it snapped me out of my stupor, but didn’t take away the wonder or the feeling that I was where I belonged, at long last.
“Jack?” Ohem reached out to me and I took his hand.
The large room was all clear glass walls in a circle with an oval metal table in the center. I approached the glass, but what was beyond was dark and I could only see my reflection. I looked shell-shocked. My hair had escaped the braids I’d put in and was tangled around my head in a windblown mess. My eyes glowed with the inner fire that all Rijitera had, but mine looked more vibrant than I remembered.
Ohem stood behind next to me, his head turned downward to stare at me while I gazed at myself in the glass. His Izi were lit up in concern. I tilted my head to smile at him in reassurance. I was still me, but different. Something had clicked into place when I heard the language.
“What did the AI say?” Ohem asked me.
I frowned. “Did you not have a translation?”
Ohem stared at me for a long moment before he shook his head slowly. “No, Jack. It spoke Rijiteran. No one has heard it spoken in nearly five-thousand years.”
I turned to him slowly, my eyes wide. “You didn’t understand it?”
The AI spoke before he could answer me.
I have their languages integrated. Stand by.
Rema and Aga were staring at me. I shrugged my shoulders and waited. I counted in my head. At fifteen seconds, the AI spoke again. This time in common.
Take nothing from this room, Friends of the Rijitera. Do so and I will kill you. You may call me Anu.
The males all bristled at the same time. I was oddly protective over Anu, and a low growl escaped my mouth before I could stop it. The others blinked at me and Ohem’s hand came down on my shoulder.
