Chapter 5
Rykar
Ipaced across the sitting room belonging to Ledos and his mate, Rayna.
My hands clenched and unclenched at my sides.
The space was an interesting blend of personalities—Ledos’ signature opulent touches evident in the deep purple velvet cushions and gold-threaded tapestries, while Rayna’s more refined taste showed in the clean lines of the furniture and the carefully curated collection of geological specimens displayed on floating shelves.
It was…interesting, but I could barely focus on the aesthetics when every step felt like I was walking deeper into a trap.
“It’s only been one full day, but word is already spreading through the connected Solas,” Rayna said from her position near the curved wall.
Ledos’ mate had the kind of practical beauty that contrasted with his over-the-top style.
She wore her hair pulled back in a sleek tail and her clothes were functional yet elegant.
As a geologist herself, she understood the significance of what Maya had discovered better than most. “Citizens are talking about the awakened Sola, asking questions about when they might be able to request quarters there.”
My hands broke out in a cold sweat. The idea that people—actual people with lives and families and futures—might want to live someplace that I would supposedly be responsible for, made my stomach churn. I couldn’t even wrap my head around guiding an entire community.
Maya sat on Ledos’ bright purple couch, looking tired but stable.
She had been quiet since we’d arrived, occasionally pressing her fingers to her temples when the psychic connection with the Sola became too intense.
Even exhausted, there was something about her that drew my attention.
The way the light caught in her dark hair, the determined set of her jaw despite everything she’d been through.
Every time I looked at her, she seemed to come into sharp focus while everything else in the room grew slightly duller in comparison.
“Really? How many?” Ledos asked Rayna.
“Maybe thirty families so far,” she replied. “But you know how these things spread. Once the initial excitement builds…”
“Hundreds,” Ledos finished with a knowing nod. “Possibly thousands, depending on what resources this new Sola can provide.”
The room spun slightly, and I had to stop pacing to grip the back of a chair. Thousands of people. All depending on someone who couldn’t even understand what his supposed Sola was trying to tell him.
The door dilated open with that familiar organic whisper, and Wyn strode in carrying a data pad. Her expression was professional but kind, and I didn’t like it. She wore the look of someone who was about to deliver difficult news and wanted to do it as nicely as possible.
“Hello, everyone. Maya, I have your latest results,” she announced, settling into a chair across from the couch. She folded her hands over the top of her data pad and smiled at Maya. “The good news is that your symptoms are manageable as long as you remain in close proximity to Rykar.”
Maya started. “What?”
Wyn looked down at her data pad, calling up charts that meant nothing to me but apparently told her everything she needed to know.
“The psychic connection between you and the Sola is being filtered through you, Rykar,” she said, looking at me.
“Whether you’re aware of it or not, you’re acting as a barrier, essentially shielding Maya from the most intense psychic energy bombardments. ”
“Then he stays near her,” Scaron said immediately, his tone brooking no argument. He pinned me with his red gaze. “Until this situation is resolved, you don’t leave Maya’s side.”
“Now, hold on.” Ledos, who had seen the expression on my face, held up a hand. “How close do they have to be?”
Wyn shook her head. “To be honest? As close as possible. Physical contact is ideal, but that isn’t practical, obviously.
They’re not a mated pair. But when Rykar, say, leaves Maya’s room, the levels go up.
We saw it last night when Rykar left to go to bed.
He had to sleep in the med bay to be nearby. ”
I felt like the walls were closing in. Being responsible for Maya’s wellbeing, having to stay close to her, watching her suffer because of something I couldn’t or wouldn’t accept was exactly the kind of scenario that haunted my nightmares.
My eyes found Maya’s across the room, and for a moment, everything else faded away.
Her eyes were warm brown and her face was smooth and symmetrical, except for a small mole near the corner of her mouth.
I imagined that that mole disappeared into dimples when she smiled.
She wasn’t smiling now, but staring at me with a mix of skepticism and, ugh—hope.
But it was the curiosity in her gaze that caught me off guard.
She was beautiful in a way that seemed almost unfair.
The kind of beauty that made you forget what you were about to say.
But it was more than that. When I looked at her, everything about her seemed vivid and crisp, as if she were rendered in brighter colors, at a higher resolution than the rest of the world.
The moment stretched between us until Scaron cleared his throat, and reality crashed back.
“We need to discuss the Sola bonding process,” Scaron said. “The sooner you accept—”
“No.” The word came out sharper than I’d intended. “I’ve told you all before. I’m not lord material. I couldn’t protect my family, whom I loved. How can I be responsible for an entire Sola and her people?”
Ledos leaned forward, his expression serious. “Rykar, your past doesn’t define—”
“You don’t understand,” I interrupted, running my hands through my hair.
“Something is wrong with this entire situation. If I am supposedly this Sola’s choice, why do I still remember everything about my life?
Pira’s laugh, Jorik’s questions about the stars, the moment I found their bodies.
A true lord starts fresh, unburdened by past failures.
I’m still very much aware of mine. It tells me that she chose wrong. ”
The lords exchanged glances, and I saw the conflict in their expressions. They knew as well as I did that this wasn’t how bondings typically worked.
“There’s more,” I continued, needing them to understand why this was impossible.
“She speaks, but I can’t understand her.
All of you commune with your Solas like you’re having conversations.
All I get are jumbled sounds, feelings, images that don’t make sense.
How can I lead when I can’t even understand my own Sola? ”
“This Sola is damaged herself,” Ledos said. “Her consciousness could be developing, requiring—”
He was cut off as Maya suddenly gasped, her body going rigid. Her face contorted in pain as another wave of psychic energy crashed through our connection. Without thinking, I was across the room in seconds, dropping to my knees beside the couch and pulled her hand into mine.
The relief was immediate. The tension left her body, and her breathing steadied. The moment my skin touched hers, it was like completing a circuit—the chaotic energy flowing through her suddenly had somewhere to go.
“Better?” I asked quietly.
She nodded, her eyes meeting mine with something that looked dangerously close to trust. “Thank you.”
Wyn made notes on her data pad. “This confirms what we suspected. The Sola has no choice but to attempt to bond with Maya as a substitute while you remain disconnected, Rykar. But her human physiology can’t handle it indefinitely.”
Scaron’s expression was grim. “Without a symbiont, the Sola will eventually kill Maya trying to make a connection that should be flowing through you.”
The weight of that statement settled on my shoulders like a lead blanket. Not only was I responsible for Maya’s current condition, but my refusal to accept the bond was slowly killing her.
“We should give you two some time to talk,” Wyn said diplomatically, gathering her things.
“Maya, you’ll need to stay close to Rykar for the foreseeable future.
Decide which Sola you’ll be staying in. Rykar’s home Sola is here, in Ledos’, but you were assigned to Scaron’s for your teams’ stay.
You’ll be given quarters to share in either one. I know that’s awkward, but…”
“It’s fine,” Maya said quietly. “Ledos’ Sola is fine. No need for Rykar to move.”
I nearly snorted. Move? I hadn’t been in my rooms for years. “Whatever Maya wants.”
The others filed out, leaving Maya and me alone in the suddenly too-quiet sitting room. I should have moved away from her, put some distance between us, but she hadn’t let go of my hand and I found I didn’t want her to.
“You don’t have to stay on the floor,” she said with a small smile. “This couch is big enough for both of us.”
I shifted up to the couch and settled beside her, hyperaware of every point where our bodies were close but not quite touching. The Sola’s presence whispered at the edges of my consciousness, sending fragmented images and emotions that I couldn’t decipher.
“I don’t want anyone to die because of me,” I said quietly. “Not again.”
Maya turned toward me, her expression soft with understanding. “Tell me about them. Your family.”
Words stuck in my throat for a moment. I had spent ten cycles changing the subject whenever anyone tried to bring up Pira and Jorik. But something about Maya’s presence made the words come easier.