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Kylix smirked at him before giving Ryneth his full attention. “We have. I led the Luminary operation that found you and the other prisoners.”

“I—” Ryneth licked his lips. “Does that mean you got the others out too? We were over thirty. There was Lysa, and Karo…” He clamped his lips shut, looking awfully lost for a brief second.

“They are,” Milanov’s voice cut in. “And you’ll see them as soon as they’re fit enough. But first, we focus on your recollections. Kylix needs answers.”

He crossed the room as Zimeon stepped inside, one hand already lifting in a silent signal for Vandor to close the door and take position against the wall. “And when he is done, there are things you need to hear from us as well.”

“Yesterday you were still half-drugged and barely coherent,” Milanov added, glancing back at Ryneth. “Today you’re stable enough to answer, which means we no longer have the luxury of waiting.”

Daven caught Ryneth’s cool hand and pulled him back onto the couch, pressing their thighs together until there was no space left between them. His thumb brushed once across Ryneth’s knuckles before he tightened his hold. The heat of Ryneth’s skin was his territory. So was his distress.

“While the others are recovering, you are our only witness.” Kylix dragged a chair back with his boot and straddled it, long legs planted wide. “And we are running out of time. So I need you to explain in your own words what happened when the spacecraft took off from Düren.”

“Stop looking at him like that,” Daven snapped.

Kylix turned his gaze to him, his smile turning sinister. “Or what? If you can’t take it, perhaps I need to remove you from this interrogation, Daven.”

“Fuck you. You’re scaring him. He⁠—”

“It’s okay.” Ryneth squeezed his hand, and Daven ground his jaw, nostrils flaring.

Kylix cocked his head, interest piqued as he stared back at him. But the moment Ryneth started talking, whatever he’d been thinking vanished and he shifted his focus back to Ryneth.

“We’d just left when a black spacecraft appeared out of nowhere,” Ryneth began. “At first, we thought there was an error, but then it just came straight for us, clamping onto us. The alarms…they shrieked so loudly. It was awful.” Ryneth’s voice hitched and he had a faraway look in his eyes. “There was so much… panic. Then suddenly, they were just there. On board. With us.”

“What did they look like?” Kylix asked. He was typing on his multi-slate.

“I don’t know. They wore black masks. Their faces were hidden behind those flat, dead visors. And their voices…they were distorted. Good Light, they sounded like machines screaming through a filter.”

Daven shifted, his own pulse ticking in his jaw. He saw Ryneth’s pupils swallow the silver of his eyes, fixed on a horror he hadn’t seen.

“What happened once they entered the ship?” Kylix pressed.

“They lined us all up,” Ryneth whispered, his fingers crushing Daven’s. “They tied us up. Some of us were beaten.”

“Did they mention they were Concordant?”

“I saw the mark,” Ryneth rasped. “The white spiral. I’ve seen it before, painted near the Ward. Scratched into the stone where the guards tried to scrub it off. People said it meant someone had crossed through. Or been taken.” His jaw clenched. “I should have listened to my gut. Every time I tried to check the Kassa run, the listing vanished. The recruiter never showed. But the Helion contract… it kept reappearing. Blinking like it was written just for me. I thought it was luck. Better pay. I needed the credits for Tavi and Mara, so I took the risk.”

Daven felt a sharp arc of static leap from Ryneth’s skin. It bit into his wrist, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he moved closer, pressing his shoulder against Ryneth’s to anchor him. Ryneth just stared at the floor.

“What happened next?” Kylix asked.

Ryneth’s breath hitched. He didn’t look up. “After they shackled us like cattle, they brought us to the cages. My friends... Lysa... they put her next to mine. I don’t remember parts of the trip, because they drugged us.”

“Yes, we found drugs in your system. Drugs made by a crime organization named Attica. Did you hear anyone mention that name?”

Ryneth shook his head. “I d-don’t think so. It was hard to keep my mind clear. The drugs… they fucked with my head.”

“Yeah, I know all about that. It’s Attica’s homemade brew.” Kylix’s mouth twisted. “Attica has its hands in the drugs, but Concordant is the one moving people across systems, and lately they’ve been crossing into each other’s business more often than I like. What do you know about Concordant?”

Ryneth visibly flinched at the name. “Back on Düren, they represent everything the people fear. We don’t speak their name out loud. They break through the Ward.”

The Ward. Daven felt his stomach tighten.

“What do they do? Drugs? Violence?”

Ryneth’s head snapped up. His mouth opened, and Daven found himself leaning in, wanting to understand what could scare him like that.