As the hovercrafts passed the shining terraces of the Golden City, cheers raised into the sky, but Vaxa’an’s face remained grim. When Jaxor looked at the place he’d once called home, he saw crowds had gathered to see them off, lining the terraces, the courtyards, the marketplaces. Many were relieved that Vaxa’an was finally taking action against theMevirax. But not many knew that the Jetutians were also involved in this plot. Only the warriors did. Only the warriors knew what was at stake if they failed.
TheMeviraxnumbers had grown considerably since their defection from the Golden City. And while a hundred of the best-trained Luxirian warriors should be enough to subdue them, Jaxor didn’t know how many Jetutians Po’grak would bring with him, an unknown variable. One of many.
He flew in one hovercraft with Vaxa’an and two warrior guards. He assumed the council had placed them there because they still didn’t trust Jaxor’s intentions, as if he was leading all of them into a trap. The guards eyed him warily whenever Vaxa’an’s back was turned, but Jaxor paid them no mind. He knew—Vaxa’an knew—that he was not lying.
He would have to come to terms with the fact that it was a possibility no one would fully trust him again. Especially Erin.
His fists clenched at his sides. They still had a long journey to the Caves of thePevrallix, but he knew that every moment brought him closer to her.
Chapter Forty
Erin had just finished vomiting into the basin Kossira had left for her when she heard familiar footsteps begin to descend the stairs. Erin shivered, feeling her nausea rise again, and she held her breath so that the stench wouldn’t make her hurl again.
Shakily, she climbed to her feet, unsteady and weaving slightly. But it wasn’t Kossira that appeared. It was Tavar and the guard.
This is it, she knew. She thought that it would make her nervous, but all she felt was numbness. Tiredness. When she’d first woken in her prison, she’d only had thoughts of leaving. When she’d learned of Jaxor’s betrayal, she’d only had thoughts of him, memories of him, ofthem, replaying everything in her mind until she passed out from exhaustion—looking for something that would give her perspective, that would make her understand why he’d done it. And now...
She remembered Kossira’s warning the night before. In her jumbled mind, still feeling the burn of stomach acid at the back of her throat, she tried to recall if Kossira had said to turn right or left after the white door on the Jetutian vessel.
Tavar opened the gate, his lip curling in distaste when he saw her. He hadn’t come since that first day. The days and nights had started to blur together.
Kossira had tried to keep her clean and fed. Most mornings, she brought a fresh basin of water and a clean cloth and wiped down her body. But she was still wearing the tunic and the pants she’d altered at Jaxor’s base. She must reek. Her hair hung in greasy tendrils. Her skin felt tight, stretched.
Tavar’s gaze was like a sharp blade. Erin suppressed the urge to shiver again when he looked at her.
“He did not come for you after all,” was all he said. Humid air whistled into her nostrils at her sharp intake, the words surprisingly cutting. Pain curled in her stomach, her heart thudded pathetically.
“No,” Erin whispered. “He didn’t.”
“It is time,” Tavar said, grabbing her by the arm, the sensation of his strength jarring.
Erin had no choice as he led her out of the dungeon and up the stairs—though she was so out of breath at the top that Tavar was forced to pause. Another dark hallway stretched in front of them. And then another.
She thought the darkness would continue endlessly, but eventually she stumbled out—into fresh air?
She almost cried with delight as a cool breeze brushed across her face, winding through her hair, caressing it like fingers. Air so crisp that it stung her lungs.
And she couldsee. Moonlight blanketed the dark forest they were in, highlighting dark, towering trees. Erin saw at least forty or fifty males grouped in a clearing.
Erin remembered what Kossira had said, that Tavar had plans to attack the Jetutians that night. Were these his warriors? Most had weapons—long, curving blades with serrated edges, though most looked dull or the metal was chipped. And they weren’t like any Luxirian warriors she’d seen. There was a wild desperation in their eyes.
Tavar didn’t say anything to them as he walked her past, but she felt the way their eyes stayed on her. She wondered if it was the first time they’d ever seen a human.
Erin didn’t know how long they walked, but eventually, the trees began to thin. And wedged beside a tall, towering boulder, a few trees toppled and flattened beneath it, was aspaceship.
She didn’t know what she’d expected, but in her mind, she’d pictured it much, much smaller. For the first time, a piercing of dread stung her belly. How would she ever try and find her way off it? It wasmassive. In some ways, it seemed larger to her than the Golden City, as big as a mountain, and she craned her neck up to try to see the very top. Standing before it, it took up the entirety of her vision.
Focus, she urged herself. Looking to the night sky, she located the brightest star Kossira had told her about. It hung low on the horizon, to the left of the spaceship.
As they drew closer, she saw that a Luxirian female—not Kossira—was waiting beside another male she didn’t recognize. Erin looked at her, but all she saw in her eyes was a cold determination. Erin wondered what she was doing there, but as she fell into step beside Tavar, it became apparent. She was the next female whose fertility would be restored. Erin wondered if this female knew Tavar’s plan, however. Erin wondered if she knew what the Jetutians did to the females in their care, which Kossira had hinted at.
At the base of the spaceship, Tavar called out suddenly, making Erin flinch. His words echoed around the clearing and Erin breathed in the sharp, cold air once again, closing her eyes.
And in her mind’s eye, she saw Jaxor. Saw those blue eyes she had memorized and felt the way his voice floated over her. How was it possible to ache for someone who had lied to her? But she did.
Longing and grief shivered down her spine, but she pushed the thought of him away, opening her eyes just as a ramp began to snake out from the metal of the ship, eerie and fluid. She’d never seen metal move that way before, as if it were liquid. When Tavar pulled her onto it, she expected her foot to slide right through, but it was solid as he dragged her up, the Luxirian female still at his side and the male guard at their backs.
The forest was quiet, the night clear, and then what few sounds there were fell away as they walked through a shimmering veil at the top of the ramp. They were in the belly of the spaceship and when Erin craned her neck behind her, she saw the air move, the darkened forest right there, but she couldn’t hear it. She swore she saw familiar blue eyes in the darkness, but she knew it was just a trick of the light, bouncing off whatever technology the Jetutians had placed there.
