When he doesn’t respond, the entire crew starts running scans and tuning frequencies to pick up a sign of him.
“Jorusk, come in!”
A flare of firelight appears ahead of us like a dragon-shaped torch, pushing back the nebula and opening the stars to the fleet, exposing an icy blue-green world and a small armada of ships like DIA, waiting in low orbit.
The coms crackle. “Hello? Who am I speaking with? This is King Traosis of Drathis.
“King Traosis,” I reply. “This is Brynna of Black Sun, an agricultural vessel carrying Drathious refugees. We have 120 ships, led by Jorusk of Drathis.”
“Jorus…?” The King’s voice cuts out.
“Bad com feed,” Vryskas mutters.
“I don’t think so,” I say. “Do you know of him, King Traosis?”
“Come to the surface. We have waited many centuries to greet our lost colony. Follow us.”
I send out the signal to the others falling in line behind us in the channel Jorusk has made. I can’t say that I understand what he did, only that the nebula seems to recognize him.
“Mines.” Fieri motions through the window. “For those of us without Infernos.”
The ships ahead of us turn around and descend toward the surface. DIA follows, and I’m certain she’s heard thecommunications, even if Jorusk’s ear com has fried. Jorusk rides her hull all the way to the surface.
We set down in a lush, green field below a city made of pale stone, chrome, and glass with spires that stretch up into the sky. I lower the ramp and get up to hurry outside to my man, but Cinuska takes the lead, warily walking to the edge of the ramp. She ignites a fireball in a hand, steps into the soft grass, looks around, and snuffs out the fire.
Fieri and Osiris stay close as I descend like I suddenly need guards. Sidius, Vryskas, and Rykarn form up behind us.
Cinuska picks a handful of grass, turns it to ash, and stops me. “Wait, we must fix this mark.”
She smoothes my forehead and then, with her smallest finger, draws a symbol. “You are mated. I want all Drathious and Drathis to know not to mess with you. If they do, they will have to go through me.” She looks at Fieri. “Too.”
He cracks a smile, even if it is brief, and I think he is slowly healing inside.
“Okay.” Cinuska steps aside and lets me continue toward Jorusk’s ship. I round DIA’s wing as he jumps from the hull and glides to the ground on his wings.
“Someone healed fast,” Osiris mutters. “Unlike the big baby back there.”
“Hey. We’re out of serum, so I am milking this for all it’s worth,” Rykarn chuckles. His bandaged wing twitches. “I torched a ship and then smashed into one.”
“Three short of your twelve,” Vryskas mutters.
Jorusk walks to me. “DIA says you spoke with the king?”
“Your…”
I swat Fieri in the chest. I want Jorusk to find out however they want to tell him, just in case my theory, and apparently Fieri’s, is wrong. “Yes. They want to speak with you.”
From the landing pad just up the hill, hundreds of Drathis fly out of their lowered ramps and gather up behind a large, molten man who wears only a single black band on his head to set his armor apart from the others. A woman lands beside him, flutters her wings, then folds them up neatly against her back.
Jorusk takes my hand and hesitantly leads me toward them as his team and others stay close and vigilant. He notices the gray mark on my forehead.
“Cinuska insisted,” I tell him. “And his name is King Traosis.”
Jorusk stops before the king and queen. He glances back at the Drathious that fly in and land to get a look at the other colony.
The queen makes a noise of desperation. Beside her, the king holds her back with an arm. “Jorusk?”
My mate steps forward, but I stay behind. He looks back at me like he’s confused. I smile and nod.
