Chapter Eighteen
Zafir and Rel followed close behind me as we made our way through the lounge area and toward the elevators. Instead of stopping, I continued toward the wing opposite of mine. I heard bitchy arguing and a smattering of male voices, and knew at least one of them needed to be put in their place.
[Elara…] Rel warned.
I spotted Sydney giving Citomy’s husbands an earful, treating them as if they were her personal servants. It sounded as if she was demanding they escort her shopping, but I wasn’t entirely sure I heard her blubbering correctly. Behind her, several guards were gently trying to quiet her down…while the Syldrari men appeared to be struggling to maintain their neutrality.
Rel sighed behind me. […never mind. Do what you must.]
“Guards, remove her. Take her down to the isolation cells and have her rewatch the entirety of our introductory training footage,” I commanded, resulting in an angry shriek from Sydney. Ignoring her, I turned to the Syldrari and gave them a friendly smile as they hurriedly turned to show their respect to me. “I apologize for the parasite’s presence. Were you looking for something?”
“We came to express our apologies for going above your head to Imperator Julien, Thyp-cylk.” Suisuni bowed again. “Going to a man about an iri’s status…” he trailed off, his eyes fixed on mine and his lips parting in surprise. “…forgive me, your eyes—”
“—are exquisite!” One of the others exclaimed.
Suisuni shushed him then turned back to me. “…are you safe here?”
“As safe as she can be,” Rel stated tersely.
“Dov’lun Rel,” Suisuni began, his tone placating, “I am not here as your enemy. We are trying to undo the chaos your mother has inflicted on this planet and get to the bottom of why the humans had so many captive queens…” Suisani paused to give me a meaningful glance. “This is clearly more than mixed genes. Elara is not a chimeric monstrosity like that smawuckll woman who was screaming at us.”
Dov’lun, as it turned out, was something akin to ‘prince’ in the Syldrari language. ‘Smawuckll’ however… I gently cleared my throat, giving them a reprimanding glance. While I didn’t entirely disagree with the sentiment of the word, using such a derogatory term for humans while in a human installation didn’t seem advisable or appropriate.
Suisani gave me a sheepish smile and a small bow in acknowledgement. I was just relieved I didn’t have to bring it to their attention aloud.
“Your mother would like you to return, Dov’lun,” another of the husbands spoke up, narrowing his eyes at Rel.
“I am no longer a Dov’lun. I am one of the founders of Clan V’shir. My loyalty is to my clan and to Elara,” Rel stated, an eerie, looming quality to his unnaturally calm voice.
“But…you are not claimed by her…” Suisani looked between us, frowning.
“I don’t need to be ‘claimed’ and draped in slave jewelry to have loyalty to someone,” Rel spat venomously, causing me to eye him. I knew I couldn’t stop a fight if one broke out. “Elara’s behavior and stances earns far more loyalty and reverence than any queen could hope to buy. If I am to join with and pledge loyalty to someone, it will be Elara. Do I make myself clear?”
“Then it is true she isn’t safe here.” Suisani nodded sagely, unbothered by Rel’s sudden temper. “Who claims you is not my decision, but I know your mother has been pushing for you to join with Elara. She will be overjoyed to hear you agree.”
“If I may…” Zafir spoke quietly, his low tone catching Suisani’s attention. A ripple of energy emanated from Suisani before he nodded for Zafir to continue. “To answer your question, no. Elara is not safe. Your ‘concern’ could have doomed her and caused her to be reprogrammed and sent to the imperial brothels. I’ve been working tirelessly to make certain her retirement is safe—being sent to the reserves when those plans weren’t even finalized was a risk at best!”
Suisani promptly dropped to a knee before me and hung his head, his hands held in a symbol by his forehead. “Forgive me, Thyp-cylk Elara. I did not know that humans have such filthy practices. Punish me however you see fit for putting you in further danger—but please, leave the rest of my constellation be.”
“Uh…?” I stared blankly at the Lun’iri. [Rel? Help? What is he talking about?]
[He is referring to the rest of his relationship group.] Rel placed a hand on one hip, his expression stormy. [Constellation is the closest translation of our word for such groups. He’s sacrificing himself to save them.]
For the love of… I looked down at Suisuni, noting his fist was clenched tight but there was no tremble. “I’m not going to punish anyone. That’s not the type of iri I am. If you didn’t know you were putting me in danger, then you deserve another chance.”
“What…?” Suisani hesitated before glancing up at me. “Wittingly or not, I put you in danger. I must be—”
Sighing, I stepped forward and crouched in front of him, watching as he promptly turned bright blue and averted his eyes again. “I don’t like punishing anyone. People should be educated and lifted up, not beaten down and ground into the dirt.
“If you feel you must do something, then I will accept a gift from Syldra at a later date when it is reasonable to acquire something. I like what I’ve seen of Syldra’s culture, but I have few things made by Syldrari hands.”
“I thank you for your mercy, Thyp-cylk Elara,” Suisani whispered in shock, bowing so low his head touched the floor. When he stood, he hesitated and looked to Rel. “I…will do what I can, Tel Dov’lun. She has been strange since choosing to visit this system.”
I arched an eyebrow. First Prince now, is it? Even after Rel’s ‘outburst?’
“Elara remains my priority,” Rel stated. He appeared to think for a moment before adding, “Tensions are high because there are so many powers at play. I will relocate my clan if I deem it too dangerous to remain.”
My heart clenched and I turned to look up at Rel, but his intense gaze remained on Suisuni. I didn’t want Rel to go anywhere without me. My pulse raced in my throat, and I gripped him by his sleeve, but I remained quiet as Zafir began playing at being a ‘human with excellent hospitality.’
[If I leave, you are coming with me.] Rel glanced down and to the side at me, his lips pulling into a sultry smile. [I won’t let the humans keep you. On that, I give you my word. Even if you’ve yet to bind me… You are my Nys’raelyr. Understand?]
[No. But thank you?] I turned my gaze to the group of Syldrari, but quickly returned my gaze to Rel when his sleeve pulled from my hand and he entwined his fingers with mine instead. Internally, I cursed the fact I had gloves on.
“We should get your training in for the day, Elara. You seem tired,” Rel stated, pulling me in the direction of the elevators. [We shouldn’t let them see any further hints you may be a queen. They may take you to Syldra with or without your blessing.]
I let him lead me away, using the opportunity to get a good look at him. He seemed awake as could be, and his glow was bright and alert. Not entirely keen on continuing the talk of queens, I decided to try and change the subject. [You aren’t tired?]
[Creshe days are shorter than those on Syldra. We function on a Syldran schedule in our sector.] Rel leaned back in the elevator, giving me a good look at his long, well-balanced body. A smirk slowly spread across his face. [Or are you hinting that you want to continue from where we left off the other night?]
Heat rose within me and I glanced away. I wasn’t ashamed by our intimate exchange, or by the fact I desired more. However, something about his candor turned me bashful. Though, honesty was preferred by Syldrari…
After steeling my resolve, I answered, [I wasn’t hinting. However, the thought has crossed my mind…more than a few times.]
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Tendrils of glowing energy extended around Rel and slid around my body, their sensation so intense it nearly tricked me into thinking they were physical. With a gentle nudge, Rel moved me toward him.
“We will see if you can earn my attention,” Rel remarked with a confident smile, though his eyes held the gleam of a predator. “You should focus on training, first. If your team is joining us, you need to be an example.”
I frowned slightly. “Right…group training, even though I’m meant to be ‘in reserve.’”
“A ruse to temporarily placate Citomy, perhaps?” Rel suggested, gently shifting me to lean me back beside him. I eyed the display in the elevator, impatient to reach our destination—until Rel spoke again, “Should we watch something more intimate next time? Or have you not found that part of the network yet?”
“Wait, what? The what?” I blinked up at him. “I’ve just been messaging you and listening to music. What have I…?”
“I’ll send you something to watch later.” Rel shot me a mischievous smile as he pushed away from the wall and stepped toward the doors. “Come. We have training to do.”
What the hell is he talking about? Something to watch? I get the feeling he doesn’t mean training videos. The doors began their warning dings, so I hurried after Rel before they could close on me. I had no idea what he was planning, but he looked way too damn happy with himself.
Upon entering the room, I spotted a very changed Aisu. Gone were the vestiges of her human appearance, overtaken entirely by that of a Syldrari. Her true form, I had to remind myself. From head to toe, skin and hair, she was an iridescent mixture of blues and purples. Her eyes had become a piercing magenta with rings of lighter, faintly glowing blue-white.
“Hey, Elara!” Aisu called, trotting over in all her newfound glory. Grinning, she stretched her arms out. “Pretty cool, huh?” Then, she turned to look at the suspiciously unsurprised Rel. “Looks like I owe you an apology.”
Rel glanced my way. “Elara, will you give us a moment? Go do your warmups.”
“Sure?” I looked between Aisu and Rel a moment, then trotted over to join the rest of my team.
“Hmm…” Diana peered around me at Rel. “He’s still kinda scary. So much bigger than us…”
Bigger…yep. I shoved that train of thought right out of my head. Instead, I focused my attention on beginning my warmups. “Have our Syldrari visitors bothered any of you?”
“Only to ask how to contact you,” Calder offered. “They seemed real worried about being responsible for your ‘withdrawal.’”
“They should be!” Maelor grunted. “Bastards stickin’ their noses in our business. We’re already spread thin without Elara being taken off patrol!”
“Maybe that’s the idea?” Diana posited quietly. “They’re with the person who dumped a prison ship on Creshe…”
Nikolai nodded. “We should assume so. It’s safer for all of us that way.”
“Right!” Diana nodded firmly.
[Please be calm,] Zafir’s plea came through moments before I heard a different elevator arrive. With it, came Zafir…and Sydney.
The corner of my eye twitched, and my team started muttering disgusted curses. I took a moment to compose myself before speaking icily, “Didn’t I order for her to review our instructional material?”
[Careful. You are digging too deep.] Rel’s shuddering warning came as he appeared by my side. His piercing gaze settled on Sydney, utter malice radiating from him despite his glow remaining its passive cyan. [You need to remain calm and in control of your powers. All of them.]
[…I will try.] I went back to my warmups, turning away from the offensive woman. With her, came a smell not unlike decay and mold. Her mere presence made me more on edge than passing through cobwebs. She just felt so…unnatural.
A hand intertwined with my hair, and I glanced up to realize it was Rel. He kept his hand on my head, idly petting me with his thumb, his gaze rapt on Zafir and Sydney.
“I never agreed to training that one,” Rel remarked, his voice an eerie calm. “She may observe, but if she tries to get involved, I will treat her more harshly than I treated Elara our first match.”
“That will be fine. Sydney here hasn’t seen any form of real, meaningful conflict before,” Zafir stated, nervously adjusting his glasses.
[…do you trust me?] Rel asked.
[Yes. Why?] I shot back.
[May I have your permission to spar with you as roughly as I did our first time?] Rel tensed beside me as if expecting a harsh reaction.
I grimaced, recalling the sensation of my broken bones—and the arguably worse feeling of mending them. [You have my permission, I know I need to train the mending skills more. I just hope you make it worthwhile later.]
[You have my word,] Rel answered, ending with an artistic-looking mark; which I was beginning to think was a Syldrari version of an emoji.
“If real combat is what she needs to see, then that is what she will get. Leave us the floor,” Rel commanded, and my team hurriedly made room. Aisu hesitated before joining Zafir and settling in with her eyes on Sydney. “Elara, suit up.”
Rel’s tone of voice made a few delightful images cross my mind. Him bending me over the counter in his bar, or me riding him on the sofa, or…him carefully fastening me into position with rope and taking me however he pleased. That last one, I wasn’t entirely sure where it had come from. I stole a glance at Rel as I summoned my suit—he was biting his lower lip as he watched me, a tinge of pink creeping into his glow briefly before it ‘wobbled’ back to cyan.
I resigned myself to the knowledge he’d most likely ‘heard’ or ‘seen’ the naughty images going through my mind—and maybe was even responsible for one or two of them. If that was even a thing. Stretching briefly before taking up my place in the sparring ring, I decided to work off the assumption that it was indeed a thing.
“Yeah! Kill ‘er!” Sydney hollered like she was on the sidelines of a gladiatorial match.
Crimson and black consumed the glowing stripes and patches of Rel’s skin as he turned his head to glower at the woman. “Sit down, be quiet, and learn or you won’t be leaving this place alive.”
Is it wrong to think he’s sexy when he’s angry? I wondered, watching Rel turn his attention back to me.
His intense, predatory gaze remained right up until his underarmor appeared, followed closely by the kind of biological-looking armor I’d once seen Jysel sport. A helmet of the same material grew over his head, a glowing shape stretching over where his eyes were.
Finally, a wicked spear with multiple, tiered, twisted blades at the end appeared in his left hand. He shifted into an unfamiliar stance, his weapon lingering behind him.
“Try to disarm me.”
Try? I studied him as we circled each other. His stance was well-balanced, and he could easily slash or thrust with the spear depending on how I approached.
Before I could decide on a move, Rel launched forward, flames bursting into life along the blades of his weapon. He lifted the weapon and thrust it toward my midsection. I darted out of the way, palm-striking the spear’s shaft. Rel moved with the spear, spinning into a sidekick that caught me in the stomach.
The force nearly knocked the air from my lungs, but I didn’t feel anything crack. Even if I had, he was charging me again. Rel leapt into the air with his spear, aiming as if to skewer me on the spot. Scowling, I did the first thing that came to mind and channeled my lightning around both arms. Rel’s spear vibrated in his hands before ripping free and spinning into the wall to my right, nearly grazing my cheek in the process.
Rel closed the distance between us with an uppercut. I managed to avoid it, and went to retaliate, but he was faster. He grabbed my arm and pulled me in, his knee connecting with my gut. A burst of what felt like wind exploded from his knee, shooting me into the air.
Startled by that development and having no easy way to land, I tried to turn myself before I began falling. Rel appeared above me, fire roiling around his entire body like some angered creature. I shifted myself the best I could and dove back toward the floor, summoning a sphere of water as I fell. moments after I landed in it, I heard the hiss of his flames extinguishing against it.
Not one to hide, I burst out of the sphere mid-air, my arm pulled back to punch Rel in the head. A feeling of eerie calm came over me, and suddenly our immediate surroundings plunged into darkness. Shrieks of surprise from onlookers quickly became muffled and then all went silent.
Twinkling lights like stars covered every surface of the otherwise featureless darkness. Anything to define the walls, floors, or training equipment was gone.
“Stop it,” Rel whispered in awe, catching my wrist in one hand. The moment he touched me, he came into proper view, his armor and underarmor both gone. His expression, unreadable.
“I did this?” I asked quietly, watching a shiver go through him. His gaze held an intensity I couldn’t translate, his glow a marbling of many colors. Sapphire and neon pink pulsed brighter each time I spoke, before returning to vie with the others. “Rel?”
Rel released a low half-groan, half-growl before quietly pleading, “Don’t say my name like…that. You need to get us out of here.”
So, I did do this? I glanced around us again, taking in the space-like surfaces again. It was what I imagined it would be like to stand in space in a glass box, somewhere between systems.
I returned my attention to Rel when he pulled me closer, his form bending so he could bring his lips to my neck. A shiver ran through me, a twinge of desire pulsing between my legs. If we stayed there, perhaps we could continue…
No. I gripped Rel by his jaw and pushed him back. His hazy gaze met mine questioningly, his lips parted oh-so temptingly. “Get ahold of yourself. I’m going to try and get rid of…whatever this is.”
The moment I gave the order, his eyes became clear and alert. His pupils each refocused, then his expression became serious, and he took a step back. It took mere seconds for him to compose himself as if nothing odd happened.
[You’re going to require more attentive training than I realized,] Rel commented, any hint of playfulness gone. [This…is not something we can have you doing by accident. Syldran superstitions are few…but they are strong. Some clans would demand your execution if they saw this.]
With some difficulty, I managed to part ‘space’ and then disperse it, returning us to the training ring we had been in. Zafir had turned white, but the rest of my team seemed merely confused.
Sydney scoffed, “What’s the big deal? I bet I can do the same thing! It’s just making an orb of dark-whatever, right?”
Huffing, she went over to the neighboring ring and began to strain like a bodybuilder, moving her hands around like she was trying to summon something. She grunted and groaned, flailing as if that would help her do…anything. It didn’t take long before she collapsed om the ground, panting for air. I could only assume she was trying to do whatever it was I had done by accident.
“…right. Anyway, we should train,” I stated. “The team and I still have an hour left of training to do while Rel is here.”
“Right… I will…observe,” Zafir managed to croak. He sat heavily and placed his head in his hands.
Rel placed a hand on my shoulder. [Leave him. He needs time to process just how difficult it will be to keep you alive…here, or on Syldra.]
[But what did I do, exactly?] I asked, glancing down at my hands briefly, then up at Rel. [What was that?]
Rel shook his head. [I will have to discuss it with Zafir later to be certain. For now, let’s not speculate.]