Chapter Twenty-Four

The first thing I noticed as I started to wake up was that I was vertical. My arms were encased nearly to the shoulder in some substance, and my legs were encased to mid-thigh. My head hung loose, but there was something covering my eyes, blocking all light.

“Ah, you’re waking up,” a familiar male voice purred, accompanied by fingertips trailing along my jaw. Stay still. The majority of my clan doesn’t know you are not their enemy, or that we have met before. I’m afraid I must request that you bear with me.

That voice, I knew. It belonged to the green-eyed cultist I’d spoken with on several occasions. I wasn’t sure I trusted him…but it didn’t seem like I had much of an option, either.

“Y’serdyn…” another voice called hesitantly.

“Were you looking for your comrades?” ‘Y’serdyn’ questioned playfully. He chuckled when I bristled. “Would you like to see how they’re doing?”

Fingers reached up and gently grasped the hard shell over my eyes. The cultist’s smiling face filled my vision. Behind him, intricate panels of black metal reflecting emerald green covered the walls, floor, and ceiling. Glowing instruments and dials I had no name for lined the walls. A few feet behind him, clear liquid flowed upward to create a screen.

When the feed flickered on, I was met with an…odd scene. Sydney and her team were restrained, but the former appeared to be demanding that the guards come please her.

“Uh…” I just stared for a moment. “I knew she was delusional, but really?”

Y’serdyn’s mouth quirked at that, his gaze twinkling with amusement. “Do you know why we captured them?”

“To punish that utter fucking cunt for killing a Syldrari civilian, I hope?” I asked, shifting my gaze to him.

He pressed in closer, his glow dancing a myriad of colors. “That is a way to put it, yes. Now that you’re here…I was considering getting you involved. My comrades think that’s a poor idea.”

“She’ll turn on us the first chance she gets! She’s one of them!” One of the guards in our room snapped, stepping forward with his rifle in hand.

“Is she?” Y’serdyn challenged, before shifting a frigid gaze to someone at a nearby command console. “Switch the atmospheric levels in their containment bay to Syldran levels.”

“Yes, Y’serdyn!” The woman promptly began turning dials and pressing buttons.

It wasn’t long before Sydney and her team began struggling for air and writhing like they were in pain. Before they could be finished, the cultists reverted the bay to Creshe-like settings. Pity.

“T-then how is this one fine here?” One of the guards stuttered, taking a step back from me.

The Y’serdyn smirked and took yet another step closer, his lips nearly brushing against my neck. He trailed his fingers down my arm and gripped the hem of one of my gloves, tearing it off to reveal my rich blue skin.

“Because this one is a Syldrari the Creshians dared tamper with,” Y’serdyn stated dangerously. “‘Lethe’ has no love for those roaches in our containment bay. Isn’t that right?”

“I was already planning to execute Sydney for her crime. You’re saving me the trouble.” I eyed the Y’serdyn, wondering how much if his behavior was a ‘show’ and how much was really him.

“Is that so? Then why don’t we enjoy their execution together?” He traced a finger over my lips, his expression devious. Forgive me for this, and please do not fight back. They will realize you’re a queen if you do. I can’t protect you if they suspect. The more you can act like you’re giving in…the better. Please.

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Without any further warning, Y’serdyn pressed his mouth against mine and exerted a nearly suffocating aura of some emotion or sensation I didn’t have a word for. Trying to play along, I hesitated at first until another wave of power emanated from him, and I let myself sink into the kiss. His knee pressed between my legs, his tongue slipping between my lips and, much to my surprise, partially down my throat.

“Y-Y’serdyn, please, this isn’t conducive to an execution,” someone stuttered, their yellow skin tinged green from the amount they were flushing.

Y’serdyn glanced back at them with a smirk. “Forgive me. It’s been a while since I came across such an interesting plaything. Lethe…how would you execute them?”

I considered it for a moment, not sure what was expected of me. Play along? Act like a human? Work off what my feral wanted to do to her? “For Sydney… I think she deserves a painful death for what she’s done. I can’t claim to know how to make that happen without simply tearing her apart. The others…what did they do? I’ve only heard about Sydney’s actions.”

“Oh? You haven’t been kept in the loop? Poor thing.” He smiled at me, then glanced to the screen again. “They are all murderers of civilians. Each has tried to ruin the relationships your team has built.”

I frowned, uncertain why I hadn’t heard of such details. “And the others don’t want to dole out punishment themselves?”

“They’re happy to have us do the dirty work.”

I watched the screen for a moment as a dark thought came to mind. “…are there people with abilities that function similarly to a black hole?”

“Yes, we have a few.”

“What type of wound does it leave?”

His smile became more of a smirk as he rested a hand on his hip. “It instantly cauterizes the wound, but they still feel the same amount of pain as if it didn’t.”

“Then slowly feeding them into an ability like that, bit by bit, until there’s nothing left of them should be sufficient. Right?” I met Y’serdyn’s gaze. He looked taken aback for a moment, before breaking into a grin.

“Yes…yes, that would solve both execution and disposal.” Y’serdyn turned and spoke some unfamiliar language to his companions, and the screen disappeared. He then took a few steps toward me and pulled me out of my restraints.

I looked back at the wall in surprise, finding it was some sort of…goo, for lack of a better word. It smoothed itself over as if I’d never been trapped there.

“Y’serdyn, she’s too dangerous to let out,” a guard argued.

“And how else would we return her to the surface? She isn’t who we came to deal with,” Y’serdyn stated. “Or are you suggesting I take her back to my bed chambers instead?”

“That would be preferred over letting the Creshe—”

“I’ve made my decision. We’re going to the docking bay.” Y’serdyn promptly grabbed me by the wrist and led me down a hallway. We are on one of my corvettes, a few thousand feet above Creshe’s surface. My people are blinded by their hate for the Creshe. We need to get you back down to Rel, Jysel, or even the imperials. Anywhere is better than here.

I let him hastily pull me down a labyrinth of hallways, his guards trotting close behind us. When we got to the docking bay, I discovered a massive place filled with shuttles. At one end, a liquid-like barrier separated the bay from the outside. Y’serdyn led me to a shuttle closest to the barrier, but we were stopped by a long spear swinging between us.

“What in the… Stand down!” Y’serdyn snarled, but the crazy-eyed Syldrari between us ignored him.

I backpedaled, instinctively going to summon my suit, but the guard was faster. The point of the spear pierced through my right shoulder and out my back, making my snarl in pain. My feral attempted to break free, but I was more pissed.

The attacker attempted to toss me with the spear, making me cry out in pain, but I gripped the shaft and pulled him with me. He lost his balance, and a truly wild, unhinged expression came over his face. An unseen force shoved us both out of the bay and into the open sky.

“Y’serdyn, wait—!” Unintelligible shouting echoed from above as the man in question dove out of the bay after us, his cloak gone in favor of unrecognizable, form-fitting attire.

Darkness spread out around us both, and he seemed to drift down to me, catching me around the shoulders. He glanced to the side, his murderous gaze landing on the maniacal bastard that had stabbed me. Y’serdyn made a snapping sound with his fingers, and the man was ripped into chunks by an unseen force, becoming little more than a cloud of blue and gore in the air.

Stay awake, Y’serdyn pleaded, making me open my eyes when I didn’t even realize I’d closed them. His hand pressed over my wound. I can get you down safely, but you need to contact someone—anyone—to meet us.

I tried, but nothing. Chip is bust…

Y’serdyn cursed, encasing us in a sphere of starry darkness. The whistling of the wind in my ears stopped, though I could tell we were still falling. Pain lanced through me as he concentrated, healing my wound completely.

“Elara, stay with me,” this time, he spoke aloud, his voice unnecessarily commanding. “You’ve lost a lot of blood. We need to get you— Elara? Hey, listen to—”