Our souls connected on a level that transcended human understanding. On Valose, where the extraordinary was commonplace, the concept of soulmates was tangible. Whatseemed impossible was real on this world. And Z was not a man. I snorted at my own folly in calling him so. He was a Valosianmale, a scholar of the civilian class.
And he was destined to be my spirit mate.
The explosions crescendoed, a merciless symphony of destruction that hummed through the very heart of the palace. Each booming echo sent ripples through the ground, reverberating up my legs and settling uneasily in the pit of my stomach. Dust danced in the air, disturbed from the relentless quaking. I tightened my grip on the rough stone beneath my fingertips, feeling the vibrations as if the planet itself were shuddering in fear.
Gia was a lifeline who I hugged tighter, grounding me amid the chaos. We stood holding each other as the symphony of destruction played on. My thoughts reached out across the city, through layers of stone and earth, to where I imagined Zikkar stood his ground. In my mind's eye, I saw him glance up, as if sensing my silent plea, his silver gaze cutting through the chaos with its steadfast glimmer.
“Stay safe, Z,” I whispered. “There’s so much I want to tell you.”
Chapter Ten
ZIKKAR
After leaving Rowan in the capable hands of Vallon and Synnox, I burst through the palace door at full speed, adrenalyne surging through my veins with fiery intensity. My scales pulsing with every shade of blue and silver known to Valose.
I glanced up as I sprinted across the narrow gap separating the palace and from the hangar. A swarm of small, spherical craft whizzed around overhead, unleashing a relentless barrage of blaster fire that pelted the dome above. The shimmering barrier flickered and trembled with each powerful impact, threatening to give way at any moment under the intense assault.
Leaving my spirit mate at the mouth of the nutrillium mine had been like tearing off a piece of my ancillary heart and leaving it behind, but seeing this, I knew it was the safest place for her.
Humans discovered beyond their own planet were deemed a threat by Universeval Rule and immediately targeted for execution. With knowledge of extraterrestrial life, there was little to no chance of returning them to Earth. Zaku had deemedthisenlightenment, a death sentence for the females we were determined to protect.
I pushed through the hangar door. Hexxus was no longer at the workbench where I last saw him. Every tech was inside the hangar, racing around as Zaku barked orders from where he manned the dome’s new power generator. The buzz of activity vibrated the very air around me, and I knew time was our enemy.
I hurried over to where our Moktian ally hunkered over the boxy machine. “What can I do?”
Bright, frantic eyes met mine. “Zikkar, good. Energy levels are draining with every blast the dome takes. We must keep the dome solid until the patrollers drain their blasters. Once their weapons are depleted, they’ll retreat. If they can’t get through the dome, they won’t risk landing in the jungle. It would be too dangerous.”
Zaku had been instrumental in designing the containment housing to hold and separate the various sources of power we had gathered from the Gretolic vessels and what little nutrone and nutrillium we could scrape together. From what I could see of our stockpile, those sources were running out fast.
“The power modules from the open-aired crafts could help,” I suggested.
“Perfect!” Zaku exclaimed, dropping a chunk of nutrone into the chamber and recalibrated the generator without looking away from his task. “Take Hexxus with you.”
I scanned the chaos inside the hangar until I spotted my hazy-eyed mentor staring off in the distance as if he were a millionth miloes away. “We won’t be long,” I said and rushed to a cabinetfilled with empty collection packs, grabbed two, and then Hexxus by the arm. “Come on, old friend, we have work to do.”
My urging jolted him back from the depths of his introspection. “Where are we going?”
“To the warrior training ground,” I said and recoiled as we exited the hangar. The number of crafts had increased. There must have been a hundredth or more Yulineon patrollers now, the sky choked with their small, silver vessels. “We need to collect all the power modules from the open-aired craft and bring them back to Zaku.”
Helios rained down on our heads, the Yulineon attack unfolding with relentless fury. My ears flattened against my head as each hit sent fluctuations through our impenetrable dome, causing it to warble and flicker like a dying star struggling to hold onto its last light. The air crackled with energy as their blaster fire struck with a destructive force, threatening to shatter the city's only defense against annihilation. Every dimming pulse of the dome echoed the impending doom that loomed over us.
Warriors fanned out around the city, armed and ready to defend Huren if the dome failed.
“May the Spirits show us favor,” Hexxus muttered, grabbing my arm, and we off sprinted across the city to the training field.
Once there, we each chose a craft, accessed the energy compartment, and pulled free the power module before stuffing the glowing cylinder into the sacks we carried, and then it was on to the next craft and the next.
Murrox and Wynnter joined us, and together, we collected modules until our packs were full, then ran back to the hangaras fast as our legs could carry us. A swarm of craft whipped past, showering the top of the dome with blaster fire.
“First the Gretolics and now this shit!” Murrox bellowed as we entered the hangar and dropped our packs at Zaku’s feet. “They know the females are here.”
“We don't know that for sure.” Zaku dropped a few modules into the generator. “We've found no proof their scanners can penetrate the dome.”
“Yet here they are!” Murrox threw his hands to the ceiling as another round of firing erupted over our heads. “I'm going in search of Willow. Ping my comm if you need more help.”
“We will help you search for her,” I volunteered, pulling Hexxus along with me in the wake of Murrox’s harsh curses as he stormed from the hangar.
Murrox’s reluctant mate hated that we had dismantled the long-range crafts capable of reaching Earth. She cursed us every chance she got, loitering on the fringes of the action as we worked to increase power to the dome. Her desire to return to her world stronger than the pull of her spirit to Murrox’s. I secretly cringed whenever I saw her glaring daggers at the surly Sia of Clan Jurigon, hoping the resentment he basked in was not to be my fate whenever Rowan set eyes on me. I was not as strong a male as Murrox, I would buckle under the weight of that much bitterness.
