Out the starboard window, I see a pale Orillium with Blaize and Fieri inside. Beyond Allele is DIA, Jorusk’s ship, carrying his Drathious brothers.
“We fight together, we die together,” Aura says, his eyes shining with determination.
“What about Jovie?” I ask.
He rests a hand on my shoulder. “She knows this is my purpose. And she has three little ones to remember me by, should anything happen. If we do not fight for each other, we will never know peace, only chaos. That is not the world I want my children to grow up in. They must learn to stand up for what they believe in, even if it’s the hardest thing they’ll ever do.
“Now let’s walk you through the commands for these.” He pats my shoulder. “Eluni, keep me posted.”
“Yes, sir.”
I follow him into a cargo bay.
He walks me through how to open the wings and fold them back into the pack with the commands on my visor. “You also have thrusters built in and a shield. But so does the Hellion suit. So if you should get your wings ripped off, you have backups.”
“Thank you.”
“Just put in a good word for me when Jorusk finds out that I let you go on this mission.”
“Why are you?” I ask.
Aura rubs a hand over the chest of his suit. “Because there is no motivator more powerful than that of a pregnant mate. He is encased in the poison ice. Jorusk is going to need to dig deep to make it out of this alive.”
The thought makes me tear up.
“Don’t.” Aura tips my chin up. “Use it. Don’t linger in the pain. Give it a purpose. Got it?”
I purse my lips and nod.
“Okay. Let’s go get your mate back.” Aura holds up an armored fist.
I tap it with my own and hope we aren’t walking into a death trap. But the thought of going back to my life without Jorusk now makes me desperate to do whatever I must to have him in my arms again.
23: Jorusk
I am so wretchedly cold. The shivers rattle deep in my bones. But I am moving. Light glazes the ice, brightening. A force I can’t see pulls on my body, and I smash against a heartless metal floor.
Ice shatters and leaves me lying limply in the middle of a cargo bay. I fold my mask back behind my ears and gasp for air. The bare feet and talons of a Talhuskin walk by me. He spits on the floor near my face. Heavy metal doors slam shut.
The poison in my body spreads through my veins, darkening my orange light to a sickening green.
“So this is the one causing so much trouble?” a nasally voice asks in Denarsoan.
Two Denarsoan males in dented armor grab me and wrap chains around my neck, arms, wings, and waist.
“Get up,” he says in English.
I try, but the sickness has zapped my strength. The guards try to get me upright, but my knees buckle. The room tips, and I fall forward. Resting my head on the floor, I orient myself to the sensation of the cold metal. It’s dirty, gritty, and reeks of the bodily fluids of many species.
“We’re running out of time to question him. General Kaslok wants this one delivered to him.” The male on the metal throne before me rests a finger to his temple in irritation.
“What are you?” he asks in English.
I wouldn’t tell him, even if I had the strength, even if I knew. I’m still not entirely sure.
He continues in Denarsoan. “Tell that Talhuskin that he over-drugged this one. He’s worthless. We’re going to have to forego interrogation. He clearly can’t tell us why they’redefending Mindor and Alpha Prime with so many forces. I’m certain they have ore, tech, or medicine the way they protect them, which proves my theory right.”
I sigh, partly from disbelief, some from exhaustion, and the rest from triumph. He is wrong.
