Chapter 6
ELARA STIRRED , reaching out to the empty space beside her, only to find Zar’Ryn already gone. She blinked awake, the lingering warmth of their shared intimacy fading as she sat up. Her gaze fell on his discarded shirt nearby, and she pulled it on, the fabric loose but comforting around her frame.
When she finally spotted him, Zar’Ryn was standing at the edge of a pulsating energy field, his sharp eyes narrowing as he studied the swirling arcs of light. Each ripple of the field sent a faint tremor through the floor, alow vibration resonating in the air. He raised a hand, the glow from his bracelet casting a faint sheen over his bronze skin. “This is not ordinary containment,” he muttered, his tone edged with suspicion. “It is reactive… adapting.”
Elara, still catching her breath from the intimacy they’d recently shared, pushed herself upright on shaky arms. She turned her gaze to the field, her brow furrowing. There was something about the way it shimmered, the patterns in its oscillation that seemed… alive.
“Zar’Ryn,” she said softly, her voice tinged with unease. “Look there.” She pointed to a faint distortion in the energy, asubtle flicker that seemed out of place. “It’s not just adapting. It’s reacting to us. To the bracelets.”
The energy field crackled and hissed around Elara, each spark dancing too close for comfort. Her breath came in shallow gasps as the oppressive heat bore down on her, and every inch of her body ached from the strain of holding herself upright. Through the bond, she could feel his pain—sharp and unrelenting, like molten steel being poured over his skin. It made her chest tighten and her visionblur.
“We can’t stay here,” she rasped, her voice barely audible over the field’s oscillation. Panic surged through her like a rising tide, threatening to drown her. She clutched at the bracelet on her wrist, the metal burning against her skin as if alive. “We have to do something, Zar’Ryn. We have to—”
“Elara.” His voice cut through her spiral of fear, steady and commanding. He stood tall despite the field’s punishing force, though his face was taut with effort. “You need to calm yourself. Focus.”
“Focus?” she echoed, abitter laugh slipping out before she could stop it. “On what? This thing is going to kill us!”
His piercing amethyst gaze locked onto hers, intense and unwavering. “No. Not if we work together.”
Her mind reeled, the bond thrumming with his determination. She could feel it—asteady pulse beneath her panic, an anchor in the storm. But what did he mean? Work together how? She tightened her grip on the bracelet, its glow intensifying. “What do you—?”
“Take my hand,” he said, extending his arm toward her. “Trust me.”
Elara stared at him, her pulse hammering in her ears. Trust? It wasn’t a word she used lightly, and yet something in his voice, in the way he looked at her, made her hesitate. The bond pulsed between them, warm and insistent. Gritting her teeth, she reached out, her fingers trembling as they closed aroundhis.
The moment their hands touched, the bond flared to life. Asurge of energy coursed through her, sharp and electric, leaving her breathless. The bracelets began to glow brighter, their light pulsing in time with the pounding rhythm of her heart. Elara gasped as images and emotions flooded her mind—Zar’Ryn’s ironclad resolve, his pain, his protectiveness, and beneath it all, araw, unspoken need for her that stole her breath.
“Focus,” he urged, his voice a low rumble that resonated through her very being. “Push everything else aside.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, her fingers tightening around his. The bond grew stronger, their thoughts intertwining until she could no longer tell where hers ended and his began. Together, they channeled the energy, the glow of the bracelets building until it became a blinding light.
The energy field rippled, its drone rising to a deafening crescendo before it shattered outward in a burst of heat and light. Elara was thrown to the ground, the impact knocking the breath from her lungs. She lay there for a moment, dazed, as the world slowly came back into focus.
“Elara.” Zar’Ryn’s voice reached her through the haze. She blinked, her gaze finding him as he staggered toward her. His arm was burned, the bronze skin blistered and raw, but he moved with purpose, kneeling beside her. “Are you hurt?”
“I…” She struggled to sit up, her head spinning. “I think I’m okay. What about you?” Her eyes flicked to his injury, guilt twisting in her chest. “Your arm…”
“It is nothing.” He dismissed her concern with a shake of his head, though his jaw clenched against the pain. “We need to move. Now.”
Elara nodded, forcing herself to her feet. The bond still teemed between them, areminder of their shared power and the cost it exacted.
After retrieving his sword and a communication device from a nearby counter, Zar’Ryn jerked his head toward the door. “We go.”
She followed him down the corridor, her legs shaky but determined. She struggled to control the waves of pain communicated through the bracelet, aware her warrior fought to protect her fromit.
The dimly lit hallway seemed to stretch endlessly, the sound of distant alarms echoing off the metallic walls. Zar’Ryn led the way, his movements precise despite his injury. Elara tried to keep up, but her thoughts were scattered, her body still reeling from the surge of power they had unleashed. Okay, and maybe a little from the sex. That delicious, passionate, powerfulsex.
A flicker of light caught her eye, and she turned just in time to see a holoscreen flicker to life on the wall. The face of the Marauder scientist appeared, his sharp, angular features twisted into a grimace. She realized with a sense of shock that he looked somewhat like an Intergalactic Warrior, though with gray hair and yellow eyes. Were they related?
“Impressive,” the doctor drawled, his voice dripping with condescension. “I didn’t think the bracelets would respond to such primitive minds.”
Elara bristled at his tone, her hands balling into fists. “Who are you?” she demanded, stepping forward despite the warning look Zar’Ryn shother.
The doctor’s smile widened, his teeth glinting in the pale light. “Who I am is irrelevant. What matters is what you’ve done. Do you even understand the power you’re wielding? Those bracelets are not toys, girl. They were created by a civilization far beyond your comprehension.”
Elara’s heart pounded as his words sank in. “What are you talking about?”
The man’s gaze shifted to Zar’Ryn, his expression calculating. “Tell me, warrior. Do you know the history of those artifacts? Or are you just as ignorant as your little companion?”
Zar’Ryn’s voice was cold and unyielding. “We know enough.”
The scientist laughed, the sound echoing hollowly. “Oh, Idoubt that. Those bracelets were forged by a race that reshaped entire galaxies. And destroyed themselves in the process. Whatever power you think you’ve tapped into, it will consume you. It always does.”
Elara’s stomach churned. She glanced at Zar’Ryn, searching his face for reassurance, but his expression remained unreadable.
“Return to the lab,” the scientist continued, his tone turning coaxing. “I can protect you from their effects. Ican ensure they don’t destroy you.”
“No,” Zar’Ryn said, his voice like steel. “We are done here.”
Without waiting for a response, he turned and gathered Elara close, leading her down the corridor. The holoscreen fizzled out behind them, the scientist’s parting words lingering like a shadow. “You don’t understand what you’re wearing. But you will. Of course, by then it will be too late.”
They seemed to travel forever before finding a small maintenance alcove and slipping inside. Zar’Ryn leaned heavily against the wall, his breathing uneven. Elara’s gaze fell to his injured arm, the raw burns stark against his bronzeskin.
“Sit,” she said, her voice firmer than she felt. When he hesitated, she narrowed her eyes. “That wasn’t a suggestion.”
A ghost of a smile touched his lips before he sank onto a metal crate. Elara retrieved the healing disc from her shirt pocket, her hands trembling slightly as she activatedit.
“This might sting,” she warned, holding the disc over hisarm.
“I have experienced worse,” he said, his voice low. But when the pale green light swept over his burns, his jaw tightened, and a muscle in his cheek twitched.
Elara worked in silence, her focus split between the task at hand, the pain communicated through the bracelet, and the lingering tension in the air. The bond pulsated faintly, aconstant undercurrent she couldn’t ignore. When the worst of his burns had healed, she stepped back, her gaze drifting to the bracelet on her wrist.
“This symbol,” she said, gesturing to a glowing glyph that had just appeared. “It wasn’t there before. What do you think it means?”
Zar’Ryn studied the glyph, his expression grave. “It is a mark tied to an ancient civilization. One that vanished long before my kind walked the Nine Galaxies.”
Elara frowned. “Vanished? How?”
“No one knows for certain. Some say they destroyed themselves with the very technology they created.”
“That’s what the scientist guy said. The doctor.”
“Affirmative.” He met her gaze, his eyes shadowed. “What we have awakened… It is dangerous. We need to be careful.”
A chill ran down her spine, but she forced herself to nod. “Then we’ll figure it out. Together.” She glanced around the alcove. “Where now?”
“My ship.”
She brightened at that. “You know where it is?”
“I have a general idea.”
“Oh. I’d hoped for something more specific, like three corridors that way, then we turn and go four corridors, then up a level and voila! My ship.”
He nodded, his expression serious. “Three corridors, turn, six corridors, down a level. Iknow not what direction voila is. But my ship will be there.”
Unable to help herself, she threw herself into his arms. Though their lovemaking had helped calm the constant sexual urge the mad scientist had created through the bracelet settings, she could sense its steady return. If they couldn’t make love again soon, they’d lose all control and be easily recaptured.
“We must go. Before we cannot.”
So, he felt it, too. “I’m ready.” But she wasn’t. She struggled to suppress a wanton shudder and settled for a swift kiss. “Let’s go.”
THE AIR grew heavier with each step, the relentless blaring of alarms echoing off the metallic walls like a countdown to disaster. Elara’s breaths came in shallow, uneven bursts as adrenaline coursed through her veins.
The bond pulsated in the background, areminder of Zar’Ryn’s presence just ahead, his movements swift and precise despite the lingering signs of his injury.
As they rounded a corner, the corridor seemed to shrink, the shadows stretching long and deep under the flickering lights. Asudden clang from somewhere above made her flinch, her heart pounding as she pressed closer to Zar’Ryn. He didn’t falter, his blade already in hand, his sharp gaze scanning every inch of their surroundings. She envied his composure, the way he moved with a predator’s certainty, as though no one or nothing could traphim.
The sharp tang of burnt metal filled the air as they passed a cluster of broken consoles, their exposed wires sparking intermittently. Elara’s feet slipped slightly on the damp floor, the slick condensation adding an unwelcome challenge to their already perilous route. Every sound seemed amplified—their breaths, the distant clatter of boots that grew louder with every passing second.
It seemed as though the ship’s very walls were conspiring against them, groaning and creaking under the weight of their escape. The alarms had grown louder, and Elara’s nerves were stretched thin. When a squad of Marauders intercepted them, her heart leapt into her throat.
“Stay behind me,” Zar’Ryn ordered.
But before the Marauders could fire, the bracelets began to glow again. Elara felt the bond surge, arush of energy so intense it made her gasp. The light from the bracelets grew blinding, and a pulse of power rippled outward. The Marauders’ weapons sparked and fizzled, their energy packs overloaded.
Zar’Ryn moved like a shadow, dispatching the disarmed Marauders with precision. Elara tried to stay on her feet, but the power surge left her weak, her vision swimming. She stumbled, and Zar’Ryn was there, catching her before she couldfall.
“I have you, little one,” he murmured, lifting her into hisarms.
Elara’s head rested against his chest, his steady heartbeat grounding her. The last thing she saw before darkness claimed her was the faint glow of their bracelets, pulsing in unison.
When she woke, the purr of a ship’s engines filled her ears, alow and steady rhythm that wrapped around her like a cocoon. The faint vibration was punctuated by sharp bursts as Marauder fire slammed against the ship’s shields, rocking them side toside.
Zar’Ryn sat beside her, his expression unreadable, his features cast in the faint glow of the cockpit’s controls. His grip on the flight stick was tight, his knuckles pale against his bronze skin as he maneuvered them through the onslaught. The moment stretched between them, and for an instant, Elara thought she caught a flicker of relief in his eyes before it disappeared behind his stoicmask.
“We are escaping,” he said, though his tone was grim, weighted with unspoken concerns. “For now. The shields will not last forever. Hold on.”
Elara’s throat felt dry, her voice barely more than a whisper. “You carried me here?”
Zar’Ryn gave a small nod, the movement almost imperceptible. “You were drained. The surge… it took more from you than it did from me.”
Her gaze softened as she took in the tension in his posture, the way his shoulders remained rigid despite the exhaustion she could sense through the bond. “Thank you,” she murmured, the words carrying more meaning than she could express.
He didn’t respond immediately, his focus shifting to the controls as the ship lifted off. The ship bucked under another impact, and Elara clutched the edge of her seat, her heart racing as the stars outside the viewport blurred with the frantic movements of Zar’Ryn’s evasive maneuvers.
He twisted the controls, the ship dipping sharply to avoid a final barrage. Only when the bursts of fire faded did the tension in her chest ease. Elara turned her head, her gaze drifting to the viewport. The stars unfolded before them, avast sea of shimmering lights stretching into infinity. The sight should have been calming, awe-inspiring even, but instead, it only deepened the weight in her chest.
“Beautiful, are they not?” Zar’Ryn’s voice, low and rough, pulled her attention back to him. He hadn’t looked at her, his amethyst eyes fixed on the endless expanse ahead.
She nodded, though the beauty of the stars felt distant, overshadowed by the danger they had narrowly escaped. “What happens now?” she asked, her voice steady despite the questions swirling in hermind.
Zar’Ryn finally turned his gaze to her, his expression darkening. “We have escaped the cage,” he said, his tone measured but heavy with implication. “But the hunt has just begun.”
Elara shivered at his words, the weight of their situation settling over her. Yet even as uncertainty loomed, she found herself anchoring to the quiet strength in his presence. Even more intense was the constant, aching desire that filled her. She neededhim.
Again and soon.