“The Verya—” Zyxel began.
“I know.” Zirene cut him off, and for the first time Zyxel saw it—fear behind void-black eyes. Not for Zirene. Never for Zirene.
For her.
For the pregnant mate he was being forced to leave behind.
“I know what they’re capable of.” Zirene’s shadow twitched, agitated. “I know what they want. Why do you think I’m tearingmyself apart trying to fight a war on two fronts while leaving my mate exposed?”
Pregnant.
The word hit Zyxel like a psyblade between the ribs. He’d known, of course—but hearing it spoken aloud, in the context of protection and war and impossible choices...
The urge to wrap around her, to hide her, to take her somewhere the Verya could never reach—
“She won’t run.” V’dim’s voice cut through his spiraling thoughts. The prince’s tentacles had stilled, and his gaze held Zyxel’s with something that might have been understanding. “We’ve all tried. She won’t leave her people. Won’t abandon those who need her.”
“She walks toward danger like it’s an obligation,” Z’fir added, and the pride and worry braided together in his voice told Zyxel everything. “She is the most stubborn female in the galaxy.”
Stubborn. Reckless. Impossibly brave.
His enax.
Zyxel’s jaw set. “Then we hold the line here,” he said, forcing the steadiness into his voice. “We keep her safe until you return.”
Zirene didn’t answer immediately. He looked past Zyxel, as if already measuring distances that hadn’t been crossed yet. Futures that would demand payment.
“First,” Zirene said, sighing. “She needs to face the Assembly.”
The words landed wrong. Sharp. Dangerous.
Zyxel stared at him. “You’re sending herintopolitics while two powers are at war and the Verya are moving? That’s—” His tail twitched before he could still it. “That’s insanity.”
Zirene’s gaze snapped back—hard, unimpressed. “Learn your position.”
The rebuke wasn’t cruel.
It was final.
“Everyone in this room,” Zirene continued, exhaustion roughening his tone, “everyone in this clan has a role they don’t get to refuse. Selena was summoned to the CEG Assembly.Summoned.”His mouth tightened. “Mwe warned me we couldn’t run. Not with the Quaww at war and the Verya invading. Someone has to reunite our allies. Someone has to ask for aid instead of waiting for extinction.”
Anger coiled in Zyxel’s chest—hot, protective, useless. He clamped down on it.
“She won’t be gone long,” Zirene added, voice turning colder to hide what it cost him. “In and out. Swift. Then back to Destima, where she stays until this war is finished.” He growled. “The Quaww won’t come near this Sol system—and if they do, it means things have already gone very wrong.”
Silence stretched.
Zyxel forced himself to breathe. To think as what he had become—not just a bonded male, but a guardian to the key piece in a war that didn’t care what he wanted.
“If that’s the plan, then we hold the line here,” he said again, quieter but no less firm. “We keep her safe on Destima until you return.”
Zirene studied him for a long moment and then nodded once.
“See that you do.”
The door hissed open again.
The room changed shape without anyone meaning it to.
