Abalim

Chapter Twelve

Lisa’s eyes filled with tears she angrily wiped away. Look at her, feeling sorry for the creepy alien whose only agenda was to coerce the Xeltrians into conquering the galaxy with them. When Abalim put his arm around her shoulders, she leaned into his warmth.

Never be ashamed of having empathy for others,he admonished mentally. It is our greatest strength.

Yeah, but still. She pulled away and turned to face him. “Now, what?” She pointed to the emerald crystal in his hand. If she wasn’t mistaken, the darn thing pulsated in the rhythm of a heartbeat.

Abalim’s dark eyes lowered to look at the gem in his open hand. “Now we need to go back to Echovara and see if we can fix him.”

Without a glance at the silent Xeltrian, they left the room with the Krystalii green dust floating lazily to the ground and headed back to the cave holding the Lumarians.

JR15 whizzed to the right corner of the closed door and inserted a small beam of light from the middle of his forehead. The door slid silently open.

Abalim motioned for Lisa to stand behind him against the wall as he peered inside. “JR, what do you think?” he asked the small droid hovering beside him. “Can you see if there’s a place we can insert this into Echovara and save the Lumarians?”

The cute-as-a-button spybot nodded. Even in the low light, his metallic green-silver body shone with an attractive gleam. “Oh yes, Mister Abalim, sir. I most certainly can.” He pointed a spindly foreleg at himself. “I have already downloaded its schematics. It will be easy enough to pinpoint exactly where it goes.”

Lisa yanked on Abalim’s sleeve. “That may be all well and good, but how in the world can we get back there without letting that stupid fake god kill us?” The image of the psychotic hologram chasing after them and causing massive earthquakes made her heart race. Last thing she wanted was to get squished in a cave on an alien planet.

Abalim’s lips twisted in a grimace. “I doubt these suits generate the image of us being Lumarians anymore. Even if they did, the machine would probably see through it now.” He glanced at the small bot. “JR15, since you’ve already got a readout on that machine, do you think you can fly in there and shut it down? Or at least pause it to give us enough time to replace the dead Lumicor crystal with the one Aollu gave us?”

“I will do my best, Mister Abalim, sir.” With a hop and a flutter, he zoomed inside.

Lisa gave Abalim a sideways glance. “Poor thing. Always going off by himself.” The little guy was so small it’d be easy for even a hologram to swat him away.

He nodded. “We’ll keep an eye on him from this side of the doorway so Echovara won’t notice us.” He squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll teleport him away before anything bad happens to him.”

Lisa stepped around Abalim and peered into the room. “I sure hope so.” She pointed her finger at the hologram image of the elderly Lumarian stomping around, waving his arms and muttering under his breath. “That thing has totally lost his cookies.” She watched it stomp over to the stasis pod holding Maelani. “Soaring space dung! What’s he doing?”

The hologram placed both hands on the side of the clear tube and threw his head back. The dim lighting inside the case darkened.

Lisa didn’t think, just ran with her arms outstretched. “Stop it! You’re killing her!”

“Lisa, don’t!”

She ignored Abalim’s terror-filled voice.

“Come back here!”

She didn’t answer since she was allllmoooost there, close enough to push him away. Instead of shoving the jerk away from the pod, she ran right through him. Stumbling, she pinwheeled and turned around to regain her footing. “Asshole! What the hell?”

“ABOMINATION!” Echovara screamed, his voice booming throughout the chamber. “You are not allowed to defile these sacred halls.”

A bolt of lightning out of nowhere hit her square in her chest, flinging her onto her back and making her slide several feet. She blinked at the raggedy ceiling and sucked in a painful squeeze of oxygen. That freaking hurt. She rubbed the bruised area between her breasts.

“Lisa!” Abalim rushed to her side and kneeled next to her. Grabbing one of her hands, he placed it on his wide chest. With his other hand, he caressed the side of her face. “Are you all right?”

His welcome warmth calmed the nervous shivers racking her body. “What happened? Why aren’t I dead?” She glanced over his shoulder and watched the hologram of Echovara stalk toward them. Her eyes widened, and she struggled to sit up. “Oh my God, he’s coming!”

The hologram raised his arms. His screeching, booming voice caused the ground to shake, as rocks and debris crumbled and rained down.

“JR15! Pause the program now!” Abalim shouted and covered her body with his.

Abalim’s strong shoulders wrapped around her and he tugged her close, protecting her from whatever Echovara threw at them. When she peeked around his shoulder, she watched the dust and rocks tumble and slide down the protective bubble he put around them.

“Yes…”

The high-pitched voice of the bot was hard to hear at first, but his ending words came through loud and clear. Abalim must have popped the protected bubble.

“Mister Abalim, sir. I have paused the machine.” JR15’s hovering body was at the side of Abalim’s head. “I cannot confirm how long the hold will last, so you must hurry to replace the Lumicor crystal and reboot the machine.”

Abalim tensed before pulling away from her.

She took in a deep breath. While she appreciated his protection, his weight had made it hard to breathe. “Is he gone?” When she had a chance to look around, she didn’t see anything but the empty cave and the dimly lit glass pods against the craggy wall. The resounding silence was a welcome relief.

“For now.” Abalim grimly said with a hand stretched toward her. “Let’s go and see if the Krystalii’s sacrifice works or not.”

She nodded and took his hand to help her up. “Yeah, I’m with you. Let’s get this done.” She released his hand and brushed her hair out of her eyes.

“Follow me.” JR15 buzzed and led them to the huge circular machine.

When JR15 reached the massive machine, he zoomed around the front to a small part on one of its sides. “This is where you need to place the crystal. See?” He used one of his pointy front legs to indicate an area close to the ground.

Lisa dropped to her knees to inspect the small indent holding a black crystal covered in dust and grime. Around the oval shape were faded engravings barely legible. “What does that say?” she asked JR15, pointing to the indistinct writing.

“Insert crystal here.”

The damn bot snickered.

“Huh.” She smirked. “Simple instructions. Who knew?”

Abalim opened his palm where the pulsating emerald lay. Where in the hell did he keep that? Damn, later she’d ask him where he had it in his sinfully tight one-piece suit. She eyed his splendid physique lovingly displayed in the snug outfit that didn’t leave much to the imagination. She clenched her hand into a fist to avoid reaching out to explore those tempting hills and valleys of his muscular form.

Later, my inkheart. Then you can explore me to your heart’s content.

Abalim’s amused retort caressed in her mind. She smiled and shivered in response. I’ll hold you to it.

“All right, let’s do this,” Abalim stated. He held the pulsating green gem above the indent. The dimensions of the crystal and the pad weren’t aligned, and his face contorted as if he was trying to decide how to place it so it didn’t fall off.

He jerked and hissed as the crystal yanked out of his hold and floated in the air just above the indent.

“What happened?” Lisa gripped his forearm. “Did you do that?”

Abalim shook his head. “No. I think the machine grabbed it. Look.”

The emerald twirled round and round. Faster, then faster until it became a swirling rainbow of various greens before zipping over and slamming into the indent. There it stayed snugly, as if it had been created for it.

“By the God An! I’ve never seen anything like that,” Abalim whispered.

“Did it work?” Lisa asked. “What’s supposed to happen now?”

“Ah, my friends!” An unfamiliar male voice spoke behind them. “You have done it!”

Lisa turned and faced the strange speaker. She gasped and took a step back.

It was Aollu, the green crystal Krystalii standing there hale and hearty with a wide smile and his fists on his trim hips.

Abalim lowered his head and studied the Krystalii. He tried to psychically read the fellow”s intent, but all he got was a blank slate. As if he wasn’t there.

“Is he a good guy or a bad guy?” Lisa whispered through pinched lips.

“Come now, my friends!” The green crystals covering the alien reflected in the low light as he approached them. “I am utterly grateful to you for freeing me.” He gestured to the massive round machine behind them. “As we speak, I am repairing that which has been neglected and restoring life to the Lumarians on the surface.”

“But what about the Lumarians held there?” Abalim nodded to the stasis pods behind the alien. “That machine has been draining their life force and killing them.”

The Krystalii’s bark of laughter came as a surprise. Who knew the male had a such a strange sense of humor?

“That was the first thing I stopped when Echovara and I became one.” He turned and approached the pod holding Maelani. “As of now, they are all safe and sound. I’m allowing them to rest and am giving them extra nutrients to replace that which they lost.” His five-fingered crystal hand caressed the top of the glass case.

For the first time, Abalim realized the image wasn’t a hologram. Had Aollu truly been reborn? “Why is it that you’re in solid form?”

Aollu clasped his hands behind his back and turned to face them with a winsome smile. “When that machine was originally created, the representation of Echovara appeared in solid form as well.” He waved a forefinger to encompass the cave. “As a matter of fact, the neglect is so extensive it will take me decades to put it back to its former glory.”

“What do you intend to do with the Lumarians?” Lisa crossed her arms with a scowl.

Ah, trust his love to be suspicious. Not that he blamed her, given the memory of the first time they’d seen this creature when he was completely focused on destroying them.

“Honorable female, I assure you, you have no need to worry about them. They are my new purpose, and I will do everything within my power to make sure they live a happy life in a free-willed society.” Aollu stood in front of Lisa and gave her a slight, respectful bow. He straightened and turned to Abalim. “I, however, need to ask a small favor from you.”

Abalim’s eyebrows rose. He couldn’t imagine what the creature could possibly want. “You may ask.”

“I wish to have limited services from your droid. I believe you call him JR15?”

JR15 squeaked on his shoulder, and his little body trembled.

“You have to be more specific about what kind of services you’re talking about.”

“I understand your concern.” Aollu’s calm reply loosened the tight knot in Abalim’s chest. “There is a program that has to be rewritten in order for me to release these Lumarians from their stasis. It is a small code I’m not familiar with, and since he has already interfaced with the machine, I was hoping your droid might be able to put it back in working order.”

“That’s up to JR15, if he feels it’s safe to do that.” He glanced at his small green-and-silver companion on his shoulder. At least the little guy had stopped shivering. “JR15? Is this something you want to do?”

“Oh yes, Mister Abalim, sir.”

If Abalim didn’t know any better, he’d swear the bot was grinning. The little guy did love a challenge.

“I know exactly what area he is talking about. It won’t take me long.” JR15 poked Abalim’s neck with a pointy foreleg. “It will give me a chance to double-check the intention of the Krystalii as well. Don’t worry, I’ll be right back.” JR15’s iridescent wings came out, and he leaped off Abalim’s shoulder and flew back to the machine until his small body disappeared.

“Be careful!” Lisa put her hand next to her mouth and shouted after JR15. She dropped her arm and gave Abalim a sheepish sideways glance.

He placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. “Believe me, JR15 would never put himself in a situation he didn’t feel he had complete control over.”

“Excellent, excellent!” Aollu clapped. “With his assistance, we’ll have these Lumarians released hale and hearty in no time. Until then, I believe you need to connect with the Xeltrians again, don’t you?”

The mischievous smile curling his lips gave Abalim pause.

“You act like you know something we don’t.” Lisa’s scowl deepened. “And why do I get the feeling we’re not going to like it?”

The Krystalii gave a slight shrug. “I cannot say how you will react to this information, but I do know it is something you should be aware of.” He waved his hand and gestured for them to follow him. “Come with me, and I’ll show you what I can.”

He led them to the opening of the hallway they’d come through before.

When Lisa glanced at him, Abalim frowned, but gave her an encouraging nod.

Aollu stopped at the entrance. The endless corridor hadn’t changed. “Do you wonder what is behind those other doors?”

Lisa bit her bottom lip. “Not really?” Her glance at Abalim told him she was as puzzled as he was. “Why?”

“These are portals the Xeltrians created to house thousands of species in what I believe you call a zoo.” Aollu pointed to the nearest door but didn’t make any attempt to go into the hallway to show them. “I believe you would be most interested in that one.”

“Are you coming with us?” Lisa asked.

Aollu shook his head. “No, I’m afraid I have to stay here within these walls.” He twirled his forefinger to encompass the craggy cave. “I will disappear forever if I leave this sanctuary.” He chuckled. “And after regaining a new lease on life, I’m loath to give it up so soon.”

JR15 zipped back and landed on Abalim’s shoulder. “All is good, Mister Abalim, sir.” He wiggled his small body as his iridescent wings folded inside his back. “And I have verified the Lumarians in the cases here are receiving the nutrients they need to recover.”

“Will they be okay?” Lisa gripped Abalim’s upper arm.

The small bot nodded. “Yes, Ms. Lisa, ma’am. None of them have suffered any lasting complications. But they have to stay in their pods and rest for a while.” He waved a foreleg at Aollu. “The machine is now programmed to let them out at the appropriate time.”

Lisa eyed the Krystalii. “Won’t you scare the crap out of them when they wake up and see you?”

Aollu’s booming laugh made Abalim smile.

“I would never do that to them! I will look like this whenever I appear before them.” His form quivered, then morphed into an image of a young male Lumarian with his arms widespread. “My natural form holds when I’m in the cavern by myself. But when I go to the surface, I’ll appear to them as a hologram. When I do that, I’ll retrain them to take care of themselves and show them the best way to appoint someone to maintain the machine itself.” He reverted to his normal crystalline self.

“You’d better replace the two power-hungry jerks that call themselves the council as soon as you can.” Lisa nodded to the pods. “They planned on sending more people to be killed to terrify the village into obeying their every whim.”

“You don’t say.” Aollu rubbed his chin with his forefinger and thumb. “After escaping a maniacal dictator, I’ll not allow that to happen to the Lumarians.” He crossed his bulky, muscular crystal arms. “Trust me, I’m not going to let them suffer like that.”

Abalim glanced at his bot companion.

JR15 nodded in answer to his unasked question. “I am positive he will do as he says, Mister Abalim, sir. The Lumarians are in good hands. No need to worry.”

“All right.” Abalim faced the Krystalii. “It seems you have everything in order here.” He tilted his head toward the open door leading to the endless hallway. “You were about to tell us something?”

“Oh yes, that’s right.” Aollu gestured at the corridor. “See those doors? They are portals to various enclosures housing a plethora of species that were facing extinction at one time.” He nodded to the cave behind them. “This, too, is one of their compounds. You are not on a separate planet, but have remained on Qorath.”

“So that’s what you meant when you said zoo?” Lisa’s voice cracked at the last word.

“What’s a zoo?” Abalim whispered to JR15.

“It’s an establishment that maintains a collection of wild animals, typically in a park, for study, conservation, or to display them to the public.”

Abalim’s chest tightened. How could he have been so blind to where they were? And what did that mean about the Xeltrians’ purpose in all this? Had he and Lisa become pawns in a ridiculous distraction game to prevent them from coming up with a way to protect them from the Krystalii?

“What about the Xeltrians?” Abalim addressed Aollu with his arms crossed. “Are they willing to work with your people?”

The ridge above the crystal man’s eyes raised. “No.” He rubbed his chin again. “At least not as far as I know. If I understand your purpose here correctly, the Xeltrians hadn’t decided about their involvement with my people.” When he smiled, his clear blocky teeth were easy to see. “While I gave up my psychic abilities when I merged with Echovara here—” He thumbed toward the massive circular machine. “—I can tell you’ve impressed them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up working with you.”

Lisa cleared her throat. “And just how would you feel about that?”

“Ah, little female. It is my hope that when Lord Baelon finds his way here, he will encounter such as you and realize his campaign is fruitless, like I have.” He gestured to the sleeping Lumarians in their crystal coffins. “Even if my people somehow find me and insist I go back with them, I’m unable to leave here.” He waved a hand around the cave. “I’m happy and content that my life continues here, with them. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Rest assured, I shared with Rerqel various ways to defeat Lord Baelon, so my people never enter this dimension.” He crossed his arms over his chest with a slight bow. “Now, my new friends, it is time for you to discover your own purpose. And we all know it is not here.” He opened a palm to indicate the doorway to the endless corridor. “May the Sacred Spirit of all, the Omnipatron, guide and bless you on your endeavor.”

Now there was an exit line if Abalim ever heard one. He returned the formal bow with one of his own, one arm crossing over his heart. “If you have need of our services, don’t hesitate to reach out.” He had no doubt if Aollu decided he needed them, he’d find a way to do so.

“Just so,” Aollu replied. “As you humans like to say, good luck.” His smile was warm. “But I don’t think you’ll need it.”

Giving Aollu one last look after that cryptic promise, Lisa followed behind Abalim. Dang, once again, they faced the endless corridor. Well, hell. She didn’t like it any better the second time around. The place had a damp, musty odor that made her nose wrinkle. “What are we supposed to do now?”

“I guess Aollu thought we’d find a way back to the Xeltrians through here.” The sound of his fingers scratching his bristled jaw echoed in the spacious hallway. “I’m not sure how we’re going to do that.” He gestured to the never-ending row of doors. “What are we supposed to do? Open each one?”

Now that was an odd thing for him to say. “Can’t you just use your psychic mojo and see if you can feel where we should go?” She tried using her own newfound psionic abilities, but all she got was a headache for her efforts.

He gave her a sheepish smile. “I would if it was that easy. But the only thing I’m getting is blank space. I suspect the Xeltrians purposefully put a psychic blocker down this corridor so none of the species could communicate with each other if they had the ability to do so.” He glanced at the ever-present silver-and-green spider-bot on his shoulder. “What about you, JR15? Can you analyze anything…”

“Mister Abalim, sir, I do believe our new friends are headed this way.” The little droid squeaked and scurried back to his favorite hiding place underneath Abalim’s long, dark dreadlocks.

“Friends?” Lisa stood her hands on her hips and peered at the subdued light filtering down the hallway. She couldn’t see anything, but the sound of raised voices and running feet echoed toward her. She took a step back. “Whoa, sounds like somebody’s headed this way. And boy, are they in a hurry.”

Abalim’s warm palm covered her hand. “It’s going to be okay. It’s just Saphira and her crew. I recognize their mental signatures.” He grunted. “I can’t believe they’re here. The last time I saw them, they were frozen in stasis on their ship.”

Lisa eyebrows shot up as she glanced at him. “Oh really? How in the world did they get here then?”

“Good question.” He answered with the side of his mouth curled in a slight grin.

Her eyes widened as the group barreled toward them, blasters drawn. Complete with snarls and rumbling growls. What she didn’t expect was the leader skidding to a halt just before them, raising a pistol, and aiming at the middle of Abalim’s forehead.

“By Ichor’s Holdings, boy! Did you do that to us?” the female snapped, her brilliant emerald-green eyes narrowed. “Put us in stasis?”

Talk about imposing! Lisa had no idea who this…. this female person thought she was. And she definitely wasn’t human. Her skin tone was a rich coral color that looked amazing with her one-piece leather battle suit in butterscotch yellow. Talk about intimidating. Lisa’s eyes narrowed. Taking in the female’s otherworldly beauty made her mouth dry. No one should look that good, pissed off as she was.

“Now, why would I do that?”

At Abalim’s calm answer, Lisa’s hands gripped into fists. Damn man seemed awfully chummy with the pretty alien with the silky metallic-gold hair.

“You humans are known for reneging on your allies if it suits you.” The woman’s blaster hadn’t moved. The muzzle was a mere centimeter from the middle of Abalim’s forehead. “Why were we held hostage on our ship?”

“The Xeltrians did that, not me.” Abalim widened his arms. “I’d much rather you monitored the situation than be paralyzed where you couldn’t help me if I needed it.” He cocked his head. “If the Xeltrians didn’t let you go, how did you get free?”

She lowered the blaster and pursed her lips.

Her perfect, full upper and lower lips. The type of mouth that would tear Angelina Jolie’s title of the Queen of Hollywood Lips away. Lisa suspected the rich, darkened color of those stupid lips was natural.

Now the blaster pointed at her.

“Is this the human female you were looking for?”

She crossed her arms. “My name is Lisa.” She raised an eyebrow and her mouth tightened. “And you are?”

After a quick up-and-down perusal, the condescending smirk on the female”s face made the back of Lisa’s neck heat. Okay, the bitch and she were going to have words.

“I am Captain Saphira of the Galactic Serpent.” The woman’s smile widened as she put the blaster into a holster at her hip. “And this is my crew.” She nodded to the people behind her.

Lisa tore her gaze away from Saphira and checked out the others. While the small group looked a lot like Saphira with their coral-colored skin, there was one little guy who had to be a completely different species.

He was a wiry scamp of a thing that couldn’t be more than three feet tall. It was impossible to see most of his body since he was in a cape made of different colored patches, and kept a hood over his head. The only thing visible was his scaly face, mottled with shades of green-yellow. What stood out were his orange-red bulbous eyes.

For some reason, he gave her the impression that not much got by him. She attempted to open her psychic eye to check him out, just to see if he was dangerous or not. What she got back was confusing. She didn’t get the impression of menace, but what came through was a sense of subterfuge. As she studied him, his eyes widened, as if claiming his innocence. Like she was dumb enough to believe that crap.

He clicked and whistled with a smirk.

Freakin’ alien better not be laughing at her.

“Saphira, I’m glad to see you are all okay. But how did you get free?” Abalim asked in a firm tone.

“I’m not without my own resources.” With her hand on one hip, she pulled out a necklace from her cleavage.

A teardrop gem dangled at the end of the thin metal necklace. It twirled in the dim light of the hallway, and at first, it was hard to tell what it was made of. Its sheen changed from light to dark and back again in the low deceiving light. It winked with an inner silver glow and looked like the Lumicor crystal the Lumarians used to power Echovara.

Darn thing was really pretty. She wanted one.

“This is my Soile crystal.” Saphira twirled the gem, creating a swirling, soft inner light. “This is a rare jewel that circumvents any type of mental control that is put on me.” She shrugged. “Once I was freed from the mental paralysis, it was easy enough to do the same for my crew.” She narrowed her green eyes at Abalim. “I told you we came here to find our missing people.” She waved a hand to encompass the long corridor and its endless doors. “Since we’ve been on this planet, Aera has emotionally connected with her daughter Eeveas.” She pointed to the door next to Abalim. “And we believe she’s in there.”

“We’ve got to get in there now!” One of the females behind Saphira grabbed her, her pulsating orange eyes swimming with tears. “I sense she’s in pain.” She warbled a cry when she sucked in her lower lip after the last word.

“Are you sure she’s in there, Aera?” Saphira patted the older woman’s hand.

“Yes! Yes! I know she’s in there. I can feel she has begun her birth pains!” Aera’s brick-red ponytail bounced with each emphatic nod. “I have to be there with her!”

Lisa crossed her arms and studied the door. “How are we supposed to get in?” As far as she could tell, there weren’t any knobs or buttons to make it open.

“Allow me.”

Lisa jumped at the melodious male voice behind her. She turned and stepped back.

It was Rerqel. Of course it was Rerqel. Who else would it be?

The Xeltrian had to have teleported since Abalim didn’t sense him until he spoke. He frowned. Damn alien sneaking up on him was irritating as hell.

“Why were you holding Captain Saphira and her crew hostage?” Abalim asked. “As a matter of fact, why are you holding all of these species hostage?”

The gangly alien spread his arms wide. “How else are we to learn about them?” Rerqel sauntered closer to the group. “I can assure you, none of them were harmed.”

“Not harmed!” Aera stomped to the taller alien with clenched fists. “You have my daughter here, and she is pregnant with her first child!” She shook one of those fists at him. “How dare you take her away from her family when she needs us the most?” She pulled her arm back as if getting ready to slug him.

One of Saphira’s security guards, Aesel, if Abalim wasn’t mistaken, clamped a hard hold around her wrist before she let her arm fly.

When Aera looked back at him, he shook his head and gathered her into a comforting embrace.

The older Crichian stood stiffly, but kept her clenched fists over her stomach and gave the Xeltrian a hard glare.

Rerqel straightened as if insulted. His almost nonexistent mouth pursed in a frown. “I’ll have you know that most of these species would be extinct now if not for us. We have taken them from planets that were dying, either by their own hands or by natural disasters, and gave them a new home. I assure you, none are the wiser. Take the Lumarians, for example. Their planet Nexoros was in the throes of destruction due to their warlike ways. They let their technology get away from them, and if it wasn’t for us, they would’ve all died eons ago. We brought them here so they could live. Is that not a worthy cause?”

“Our species isn’t on the brink of destruction.” Saphira countered with a firm tone. “You had no right to kidnap any of our citizens.”

Rerqel’s forehead wrinkled. “Are you certain about that? The entire galaxy is on the brink of collapse with the oncoming invasion of the Krystalii. Would you not want your species to continue if we can ensure your people continue to exist?”

“What? You think sneaking around and stealing people from their families and homes is better than offering them a way to work with you?” Lisa snorted. “That doesn’t seem like a very advanced directive to me.”

Abalim took in a deep, satisfying breath. His woman had no fear of defending those she felt were wronged. A swirling, fluttery pang in his belly tightened. His woman? Did he really think of her like that? He glanced at her standing next to him.

She’d pulled her wheat-colored hair behind her ears, leaving the messy strands to fly free around her shoulders. Her fiery dark-blue eyes sparkled as she glowered at the Xeltrian. Someone looking at Lisa for the first time might not recognize what a unique beauty she was.

Here was a person who held the universe in awe at its endless possibilities for romance and connection. Her look on life, her passion for what was right and wrong, guided every move she made.

By the God An, he wanted to spend the rest of his life uncovering every facet of her personality. But what did he have to offer her? An ex-slave who was lost in this new era? Someone who still had to discover who he was. How could he weigh her down with half a man? The only thing he could offer was to protect her from others taking advantage of her. Maybe she, in turn, would show him how to live life to the fullest as a free man.

He turned to Rerqel. “Let’s focus on one thing at a time, shall we? Why don’t you let us reunite these folks with their people? We’ve sensed this female’s daughter is in pain and is desperate for her mother.” He put his arm around Lisa’s shoulders. I promise we’ll talk to them later about this. But right now, let’s focus on getting inside that room so they can calm everybody down. He spoke to her on their telepathic path and sent a tendril of calm.

Fine.She replied in like manner. But I think this ass needs to learn he can’t treat people like some kind of science experiment all the time.

Rerqel didn’t move a muscle, but the solid door dissolved away, revealing a normal-sized entryway. “Agreed. You may enter.”

When Lisa made a move to go in, he gripped her in place. Let Saphira and her crew go in first, he mentally suggested.

The two of them followed the Crichian and paused at the doorway.

His eyes widened as Saphira and her crew’s emotions exploded with fear and awe.

“Is that the city of Islezaa?” Yve cried. “How is that possible?”

“What is this horror?” Saphira spun on Rerqel. “Did you somehow rip our entire capital city from Crichi and bring it here?”

Keeping his arm around Lisa, Abalim maneuvered them to have a better view. What he saw took his breath away.

They stood on a hilltop overlooking a sprawling valley. The sky above was a kaleidoscopic tapestry of multiple moons with nearby planets visible in the skyline, even in daylight. Their surfaces were tinged in shades of teal and lavender. Cosmic dust clouds refracted the sunlight, casting otherworldly rainbows in the sky. It looked like an ever-changing abstract painting.

The ground emanated a soft, ambient glow. Vegetation in rows that would make any farmer proud gathered in clusters, with leaves a mesmerizing mix of metallic colors. Here and there were bodies of water that shimmered like gems, the rippling water reflecting the dynamic sky above.

But the city itself was the crowning glory of the scene. Islezaa glowed with an ethereal opalescence, as if lit inside by magic. Sculptural skyscrapers rose in spirals and arches adorned with patterns reminiscent of the natural flora around it that shifted in hues in a choreographed dance of light. Floating platforms hovered like dragonflies throughout the buildings, connected by shimmering energy bridges rippling as if made of liquid glass. It was a celestial ballet of technology and natural beauty.

“Holy soaring space dung!” Lisa cried, gripping his hand draped over her shoulder. “Have you seen anything so freaking gorgeous in your life?”

He couldn’t help it. “Only you, my inkheart. Only you.”