“The Astra Conventum put the defense system in place. Long ago,” Drenz replies, giving me a serious look. “Your people would not have survived otherwise.”
“You’re talking like New Terra was some sort of isolated island for endangered species,” I say in disbelief.
Ex O Drenz’s lips purse thoughtfully. “Yes,” he says. “I believe that is the same concept.”
“But you live in a jungle,” I say, gesturing. “You die from venom that we have an antidote for.” What he’s saying can’t be true. I was always taught that New Terra was superior. That humanity was superior.
Don’t question why New Terra is dying from the inside. Why food is scarce. Why fertility is failing, even there.
Drenz’s face is careful again. His voice is careful again, taking on a softer tone that I haven’t heard from him until now. “You are mistaken. Xythean medicine is designed to kill upon contact with serpent-panther venom. We have no one to change this. The Concord Stone governs our medicine. It knows what is best.”
I noticed it at the crash site, how their beautiful tech is all the same, like nothing has been redesigned in centuries. They don’t invent. They maintain. And the Stone is doing more than I feared.
“That Stone does more than just play matchmaker?” I say in alarm. “That AI is running your planet?”
“The Concord Stone has kept peace on Xytheos for over a thousand years,” Drenz says stiffly.
I recognize the anger he’s keeping down. “I’m sorry if I’ve offended you,” I say quickly. “Your ways are unfamiliar to me. And I’m afraid I may be causing more trouble.”
“You have caused more trouble than I have seen in a very long time. But you are forgiven,” Drenz says.
“You say the Stone decides. And the Stone made Xythean medicine so that it can’t cure serpent-panther venom. And now I’ve cured it. I’ve gone against the Stone. What will happen to me?”
Drenz considers it seriously. “Rythar is a biome lord of Xytheos,” Drenz says. “These are questions best left for him.”
“What happens if he dies?” I ask. I can’t keep the possibility out of my mind.
Drenz is silent for a minute. “I saw you at the Claiming Ceremony. You were unhappy to be matched. To anyone.”
I nod.
“The Claiming Ceremony happens only once. After that, I am uncertain. The High Lord has kept courtwives.” Then he adds, “You cannot leave the Green Reach. If you can cure the serpent-panther venom, we must guard the knowledge. You must tell no one. Some will want the cure. Some will want to eliminate the cure.”
I hear what he doesn't say. If Rythar dies, I belong to whoever takes the Green Reach. If he lives, I'm still his. Either way, I don't leave. I nod, not trusting my voice, and turn away. I leave him standing outside the room.
I sit down on the bed, exhausted, as Rythar sleeps. His chest rises and falls steadily.
What am I doing here?Saving a warlord who wants to own me, for a future I don’t want?
I wish I’d never touched that anti-fear oil. I wish I’d been smarter, colder, more like the woman I was trained to be.
But I couldn't have known how futile escape really was. Not until I tried it. Dawn peeks through the window. I’ve been up all night synthesizing antivenom and watching Rythar’s chest as hisbreathing eases. I lie down on the bed. Exhaustion takes me, and I fall asleep.
Rythar wakes sometime in the morning. I hear my name rumble from his chest before my brain comes back online.
“Elena,” he says, voice hoarse.
I lift my head. He looks at me like I’m the only thing he’s ever seen, like he needs to memorize me before the world disappears again.
He pulls me closer, curling his arm around my back and dragging me against his chest. The warmth is overwhelming. My dress tangles around my thighs, and I feel every inch of him, the hardness of his muscle, the steel of his bones. When I look up, there’s a slow, patient hunger waking behind his eyes.
I don’t fight it. I don’t forgive it either. I rest my cheek against his shoulder, listening to the steady, freakish beat of his heart. He takes my hand and presses it over that heartbeat and holds it there. He doesn’t say thank you. He gives me the proof.
His hand slides up my spine gently. He nuzzles my hair, breath tickling my scalp. "You're safe here," he says, voice gone thick.
He passes out again, his body still battling the venom. I give him more antivenom and lie down next to him again.
Safe here.Not on this planet. Not in this jungle.Right here. With this male.
