I couldn't bear holding her gaze any longer and looked away. “Showing it to you… to all of you… felt like admitting I might never be free of it. That I might always be the thing that doesn’t belong in the light.”
The silence that followed was heavy. I waited for her to pull back. To see the disgust or fear I’d always expected. Instead, she shifted closer on the couch. The golden thread between us flared brighter, warmer. I could feel her heartbeat through it, steady, curious, unafraid.
Her voice was quiet when she spoke again. “And yet you still came for me yesterday. You tore through flooded tunnels and fought guardians even after I told you to stay away.”
I let out a low, bitter breath. “I couldn’tnotcome for you.”
Her gaze dropped to my mouth for a fraction of a second before returning to my eyes. The air between us crackled. I was painfully aware of how close her knee was to mine, how her damp hair smelled like something sweet and wild, how badly I wanted to reach out and pull her into me.
The bond thrummed harder, insistent and hungry.
Naeris didn’t move away. If anything, she leaned in just a fraction more.
“Thyros…” she whispered, and the way she said my name sent heat rushing straight through me.
I swallowed hard, fighting every instinct that screamed to close the distance. This was dangerous. She was dangerous. I knew I was losing the battle. I forced my hands to stay on my knees and answered every question she threw at me, even though all I wanted was to drown in her existence. Because for the first time in my life, someone wanted to know the darkness inside me… and wasn’t running from it.
We left my quarters together. Thyros’presence at my side felt different now, more normal. I was intensely aware of him: the way he walked, the faint heat that radiated from his body, the low thrum of the golden thread that refused to quiet.
I spent the last few minutes in my room trying to convince myself that the pull was just the bond, nothing more. But when we walked down the corridor, I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. I was starting to seehim. Not as the arrogant Arkhevari male who had tried to control me, not as the monster from the Abyss, but as a man. A complicated, scarred, fiercely protective man who had torn through flooded tunnels and ancient guardians just to reach me.
And the sexual pull… stars, it was stronger than ever. Every brush of his arm against mine sent heat curling low in my belly. My thighs pressed together instinctively as we walked. Iwas wet again, just from being near him. It was infuriating and exhilarating at the same time.
We didn't speak, each of us dwelling on our trains of thought while we walked to the main conference room. The moment we approached, the sliding doors opened in welcome, exposing a large holovid dominating the center of the table, projecting both Earths, the current one and the ghostly overlay of what the ancient map suggested was the original configuration. The real Earth hung in the viewport behind it, blue and white and slowly becoming familiar, yet somehow… off. The planet still resonated with me, deep in my bones, but the resonance still felt incomplete. Like a song missing its final note. I was more convinced than ever that something was wrong with this world. I just couldn’t put my finger on what.
Zapharos was speaking as we entered. “—I say we return to Nox Eternum. The Shard of Echoes is there. We need it.”
Dravok nodded immediately. “Agreed. We’ve learned what we can here to learn.”
Thyros glanced down at me, silently checking my reaction. The small gesture warmed something in my chest. He was trying—actually trying—to include me instead of deciding for me. I gave him a tiny nod of appreciation.
Ella looked torn, her eyes were still lingering on the holovid of Earth. “But… there’s still so much to discover down there. The ruins, the city…”
Zapharos' voice softened as he pulled her closer. “We’ll return, little one. I swear it.”
Xandros crossed his arms, his violet face set in determination. “I’ll take you.”
Zapharos shook his head. “Not happening. The Dark Abyss is Arkhevari business.”
“The drek it is!” Xandros thundered, stepping forward. “This is about the future and fate of the entire universe. I will not stand by and let you handle this alone.”
The two powerful men faced off, tension crackling between them.
I stood there, Thyros’ arm still loosely around my waist, and felt the weight of everything pressing down on me. I had two Sythari prisoners to deal with. A possible rendezvous with Kael’Varyn, if he was even still alive. Two surviving crew members who needed leadership. And Marek… we had talked late into the night about him. The decision had been unanimous: we would bury him on Earth, in the soil of the world his ancestors had come from.
Yet despite all of that, despite every logical reason to stay or return to my own people, I knew I needed to go with them to the Abyss. Because this was bigger than my rebellion. Bigger than my crew. Bigger than me. It had nothing to do with the man standing beside me—the one whose touch made my body ache and my heart stutter—and yet it had everything to do with him. Whether I liked it or not.
I leaned slightly into Thyros’ side. He stiffened for a fraction of a second, then his arm tightened around me, pulling me closer. The golden thread sang between us, hot and bright. Whatever came next, it looked like we were doing it together.
The tension between Xandros and Zapharos crackled like live wiring. Two massive males, facing off. Zapharos’ aura was flaring just as much as Xandros' temper, and the air was thick with the kind of male pride that could get people killed.
I stepped forward before it could escalate.
“As an officer, I can appreciate your position, Commander Xandros,” I intervened, keeping my voice calm and measured. The room quieted immediately. There was a lot I hadn’t told them yet. Not about Kael’Varyn. Not about the rebellion. Notabout the past five years of the life I'd spent building in the shadows.
I'm sure they had figured out something was off after I'd casually admitted to kidnapping a High Priest and a Grand Magistrate. Still, there was a difference between suspecting and knowing.
“I wasn't supposed to leave the Temple,” I began. “Prime Luminae don't. We spend our lives inside sacred walls, being studied, tested, paraded around, and eventually paired according to whatever breeding charts the priests decide are most useful.” The disgust in my voice was impossible to hide. “Most accept it.” I shrugged. “I was never particularly good at doing what I was told.”
