“Ally,” Lyk warned, his hand on her shoulder.
She shoved her finger into Zuch’s chest, her temper getting the best of her. “Your son went after the criminals who wanted to sell the blood out of your very bodies! He showed them that their actions had consequences. Butyou,” she accentuated the word with another poke to his chest, “you wanted to hide in fear. Instead of fighting back, you became king of a prison planet. The rest of the seven galaxies went on progressing, but you just kept everyone trapped here, too afraid to confront those who would exploit you.”
Summoning all her scorn and pouring it into her words, Ally scowled at him. “Some have called you supermen, yet for all your powers, you gave up on courage and accepted defeat.”
The oversized male in front of her let out a slow breath. Lyk gently picked Ally up and placed her behind him, putting himself between her and his father. “Father, I—”
“She’s fierce and fearless,” his father interrupted, his mouth shifting into a smile in spite of himself. “You have chosen your mate well.”
Ally’s jaw dropped, and she shook her head.
The former king swept his son up into an embrace. “She did steal my thunder, though. I was building to a big admission, one in which I admitted how wrong I was.”
Ally felt like she’d been hit with a brick. Lyk’s father strode to the table, picking up a glass of wine and draining it. “My opinion has shifted since you’ve been gone. I’ve come to the same conclusion as your female did, although it took me much longer, so she’s correct when she calls me an idiot.”
Ally watched as Lyk approached the table, his body language indicating that he still hadn’t relaxed. “You considered me a terrorist, a menace to our people and to my own family.”
“Yes. I was wrong. And I’m sorry.”
Lyk fell into a chair, all the air going out of him.
Ally approached, putting her hands on his shoulders. “Are you okay?”
“For so long, I assumed a return to Vartik would result in reopening old wounds and creating new ones.” His face was filled with confused wonder. “Now I found myself welcomed with open arms and even deserving of an apology. It’s a lot to take in.”
“Facing an apocalypse makes a man re-evaluate his life,” Zuch said with a hapless shrug, and for the first time, Ally could see the man he was under all that noble pageantry. He was mortal, after all, and no longer king. Maybe he could relax his convictions when he was no longer in charge of doing what was right for hundreds of millions lives.
Ally was relieved that the tension filling the room had resolved, but as her body relaxed, she was hit with a wave of pure exhaustion. Lyk seemed to sense the change in her because he rose quickly and took her hand.
“Mother,” he said, nodding to his mom before turning to the former king. “Father. It was nice to see you again. If you’ll please excuse us, we’ll retire to my quarters for some much-needed rest.”
The former queen smiled and waved farewell to her son, while the king nodded and turned to the plate of fruit his son had left behind. “We’ll talk later,” he called after them, “and strategize our invasion of Dazimin.”
“Invasion of Dazimin,” Ally murmured as Lyk led her out of the apartments and down yet another corridor. She’d come to Vartik hoping to hear those very words, but they now felt hollow. Her sister had been taken so many hours ago. What hope did she have of her still being alive by the time the Vartiks made it to Dazimin?
The hallway started to blur around her and she realized her eyes were full of tears.I’m just tired, she told herself, but itwasn’t very convincing. Hope was starting to fade away, and Ally didn’t know what she would do if this inaction continued much longer.
Lyk led her to a green door, and Ally searched it for a locking pad, but there was none, only an ornate brass handle of some kind. Instead, the Vartik male pulled out a simple ring he’d had clipped to his belt. He selected one of the metal shapes on the ring and placed it in the hole recessed within the door’s handle. When he turned the shape, she heard a lock click. Then Lyk turned the handle and opened the door.
“What is that?” she asked, pointing to the metal shape. “New technology?”
“Ancient technology actually. It’s called a key.”
Lyk led her into his quarters, which turned out to be a large open area, the only walls being the four exterior ones. One wall was comprised almost entirely of glass, a small wooded area visible outside it.
His room wasn’t as lush as his parents’ apartments, but they were still well appointed, much like his quarters on the cruiser. Again, a large bed dominated, but she didn’t feel like teasing him about that at the moment. It looked much too inviting to resist.
Ally started making her way toward the bed, but Lyk stopped her. “First things first,” he said, quickly unzipping her coveralls.
“Careful,” she bleated. “I’ve got fruit in those pockets!”
After she’d stepped out of it, Lyk cautiously emptied out the pockets, setting the pieces of fruit on a table and shaking his head. Then he started walking to the far wall. The wall resembled gray smoke, made as it was out of some kind of opaque glass.
“What are you doing?” she asked, yawning.
“Something that should have been done a long time ago.” He stopped at a panel built into the wall and hit a few buttons.Suddenly, a fire flashed to life in a recessed fireplace that was invisible in the wall a moment before.
Lyk pressed against a piece of the wall and the glass in front of the fireplace slid open. As Ally watched, he tossed her coveralls into the fire. “Good riddance,” he said, dusting off his hands.
