They slammed onto the metal-plated floor just as a fountain of pressurized magma erupted from the volcanic storm below.
The molten rock almost seared the ship’s outer hull and sensor arrays, but they managed to veer away.
The Corvette roared, its engines screaming as it fought the gravity well, racing out of the atmosphere and into the cold, silent mercy of the stars.
As theirsleek shipleveled out and astral bodies elongated into the infinite white streaks of hyperspace, Mirage nursed the trio in the med bay.
Once Molan got bandaged and clean, with Idan’s hands having healed the gouges in his torso, he strode out with a curt nod to pilot the ship.
Idan sat on the edge of a hover cot.
He ignored the deep lacerations on his forearm and thighs, as the dark aureate furrows wept golden motes of Sacran blood.
‘Sheba first. I can take care of myself, my wounds will heal soon anyway,’ he growled when Mirage asked to see to his injuries.
A massive, plum-colored hematoma bloomed across his woman’s temple, victim of a basalt rock collision.
Mirage worked with clinical precision, applying a debriding solution to cleanse the microscopic volcanic grit from the wound.
She then waved a med-wand over the lesion.
The edges of the broken skin pulsed with a faint amber glow as the device began to knit the tissue back together.
More arresting, however, were Sheba’s eyes.
Idan stared at them in fascination.
The pupils appeared as a kaleidoscope of spectral diamond dust, shimmering with a crystalline light.
Mirage adjusted a sensor sweep, her brow furrowing with concern.
‘TheDraquismask’s diamond lattice has integrated with your neural architecture,’ Mirage concluded, her holographic form flickering as she analyzed the data. ‘The mask did not dissolve; it grafted itself into your frontal lobe. You’re no longer just wearing theDraquisrelic, Sheba. Your mind has melded with the artifact.’
‘Fokkme,’ Sheba breathed, her voice a fragile rasp.
She leaned back into the pillows, her breath hitching as she gripped the edges of the cot until her knuckles turned white.
‘My visual spectrum is changing. I can see hues that have no names and strange frequencies of light vibrating beyond them. I’m picking up so much noise and the friction of distant atmospheres. I hear whispers from worlds that shouldn’t exist!’
She choked, her palms flying to her ears as a wave of sensory overload crashed through her skull.
Idan moved to her, pulling her close with a protective instinct so violent it made his hands tremble.
She moaned, and a spike of raw agony surged in Idan’s chest.
Seeing his queen, his fierce, beautiful Sheba, shattered by a burden only meant for gods, was severe, intense torture.
‘It’s called theSsignakht, my love,’ he murmured, gliding his touch over her back. ‘An all-senses perception more profound and far-reaching than you can imagine. Your mind is now a lightning rod, your consciousness is a prism, overflowing with the white noise of the heavens.’
‘What if I don’t want it?’ she growled, her forehead pressing into his nape. ‘What if I just want my mind back without this freakin’ intrusion?’
‘Then we consult Zavier,’ Idan growled, his eyes dark with a protective fire.
‘Can we do it now?’ Sheba insisted, her fingers digging into his tactical vest. ‘Please. It’s too much.’
Idan glanced at the demi-urge who stood by waiting with an arched brow. ‘Mirage, please organize a secure link to Enia.’
The synth complied in seconds, and the holo-connection flashed up on the holo display she summoned.
