Chapter 9
THE FIRST shockwave struck like a hammer blow, splitting the world open with light. The canopy screamed above them as plasma trails burned two red scars across the sky.
Apex threw himself over Emmy, feeling the sharp pop of the atmosphere collapsing under the descending craft. Heat licked at his skin, the scent of scorched resin and ozone flooding the air. Core’s voice cut through the static in his skull, cold and exact.
“Incoming vessels. Sovereign Council insignia confirmed. Secondary signature… Dominion registry. Aram Voss.”
The name carved through Apex like a blade. Voss. The man who’d sold her. The one who’d defied trade law, enslaved women under false marks, and still walked free because his wealth reached every tribunal. The man who believed he could reclaim what he’d lost to the Valenmark.
Apex straightened, shielding Emmy with his body as he scanned the horizon.
The forest shimmered under the light of the landing thrusters, leaves bending as if in fear.
The bloom behind them pulsed once, retreating into its roots, the petals closing like a secret withdrawn.
Even the motes dimmed, their soft luminescence receding as though they, too, were afraid.
He turned slightly, voice low. “Stay close. Do not speak unless I tell you.”
Emmy’s breath brushed his throat. “They found us. How?”
“Resonance leak. They tracked a fragment of the Valenmark’s harmonic. They must have isolated our frequency from the drones.”
Core interrupted, tone sharpened. “Advisory: two Council ships have locked coordinates. Planetary descent in process. Estimated arrival—thirty-eight seconds.”
Apex’s mind flicked through escape routes.
None were good. The valley to the west opened toward the echoing caverns, too dangerous now that the Predator had stirred.
The ridge to the east was impassable. They were boxed in.
He turned toward Emmy again and saw fear trembling in her eyes. Not panic—something deeper.
He shifted his grip on Emmy, positioning her so he could cover her without restricting her movement. “When I say run, you run. If I fall, you keep going. Lume will guide you.”
Her eyes flashed with anger. “I’m not leaving you.”
“You will if I tell you.” He didn’t soften the order. There was no time for gentleness.
The ground shook again as the sky peeled open.
Through the mist, Apex could see them—two long, silver shuttles knifing through the clouds, repulsors screaming.
They came in low, arrogant, confident. He could almost taste the ionized air, metallic and bitter.
The forest flinched, branches curling inward, the colors fading to a frightened green.
A voice amplified through the vox arrays, thunderous and cold. “By authority of the House of Sovereigns, warrior Apex Six is ordered to stand down. Surrender the unregistered consort for verification and extraction.”
A second voice followed, sharper, threaded with cruelty. “You hear that, Apex? Don’t make me tear through you to reclaim what you stole from me.”
Voss.
Emmy flinched, fingers gripping his arm. “I know that voice. That’s him, isn’t it?”
“Affirmative.” Apex kept his gaze locked on the descending craft. “He’s here to reclaim what he lost.”
“Me.”
He didn’t sugar-coat it. “You.”
The ship landed hard enough to shake the trees.
Heat blasted across the clearing, bending the luminous grass flat.
The scent of burning chlorophyll filled the air, green smoke curling upward.
Apex spoke into the comm, tone formal and cold.
“Transmission received. The consort is under planetary quarantine. I will conduct verification on site.”
Emmy looked up at him. “You’re bluffing.”
“Affirmative.” He didn’t meet her eyes. “And praying they hesitate long enough for us to move.”
Core’s voice buzzed again. “Warning. Harmonic field detected. Origin: Voss’s ship. Pattern consistent with resonance snare.”
Apex lifted his head. The air shimmered. A mist of red light drifted down from above. innocuous as falling dust. Then the sound began. A low hum that burrowed straight into his chest. Emmy gasped, pressing a hand to her wrist.
The mark was glowing.
The snare lattice took form, invisible except for the rippling distortion in the air.
It pulsed in perfect rhythm with Emmy’s heartbeat.
Apex could sense it. The cage was tuned to the Valenmark, calling to it, peeling it away from her.
Her breath broke into small, helpless sounds as she staggered against him.
“It hurts—” she gasped.
He caught her before she fell, wrapping his hand around her wrist. The pulse between them thundered like a second heartbeat. “Agree with me.”
Her eyes darted to his, dazed. “What?”
“Say it. Agree.”
Her breath came uneven. “I agree.”
Their connection slammed shut, light bursting between their bodies, while the snare screamed. Apex forced their breathing to sync, his voice low and steady. “With me. Always with me.”
The hum fractured, broke apart. The lattice flickered and died, drones falling from the air like sparks extinguished by wind.
“Containment failure,” Core reported. “Enemy sensors disoriented. Recommend relocation immediately.”
Apex pulled her against him, scanning the tree line. The forest wasn’t silent anymore. It was listening. The colors shifted, green bleeding to gold, violet rippling through the undergrowth. The sound that came next wasn’t mechanical. It was organic. Deep. Resonant.
The Echo Predator.
Lume’s small, glowing form zipped into view. “Close. Too close!” Her voice chimed in their skulls like silver bells. “It wakes.”
Voss’s laughter broke through the comm. “Still hiding behind Sovereign law? Hand her over, Apex. You think a mark can make her yours? I built that market.”
Apex’s reply was soft but lethal. “By decree, the Valenmark lies beyond purchase. You have no claim.”
Voss snarled. “Then I’ll take her corpse.”
He triggered another pulse. The harmonic spear hit them before Apex could brace. Emmy’s cry tore through the clearing. The air bent around her, light warping into violent red. Apex caught her again, forcing her trembling hand to his chest.
“Focus,” he said, voice like command steel. “Breathe with me.”
She fought for air. “It’s— burning—”
“I know.” He pressed her palm harder to his chest. “Now. Agree.”
Her head tipped back. “Always.”
Their heartbeats collided. The mark exploded in white light, not pain now, but power.
The pulse shattered the spear mid-air, scattering shards of red sound across the trees.
The force of it drove both of them to their knees.
The aftershock charged deep in his bones, as though his body itself had become an instrument.
“Multiple biosignatures approaching from all sides,” Core warned. “Twenty-five meters and closing.”
Apex pushed to his feet, hauling Emmy upright. “Move.”
Lume spun through the air, motes trailing like fireflies. “Come!”
They ran. The forest became motion and color.
Leaves brushed their faces, luminous fronds whispering as they passed.
The motes swirled ahead, guiding them through a maze of light.
Each step synced with their joined pulse, every breath a shared rhythm.
Emmy’s hair gleamed with pollen, her skin shining with a soft halo of light that clung to her like armor.
She moved with surprising strength, the mark fueling her in ways she didn’t yet understand.
Flares hissed behind them. Energy bolts cracked through the branches.
A drone raked the path with red beads, painting light toward their backs.
Apex pivoted, fired once, and knocked it spinning into fern and fire.
He didn’t look to see it die. His only focus was Emmy, her breathing, her balance, her light.
The Valenmark burned steady now, a compass pulling them forward. Each stride was a silent prayer, each heartbeat a promise. He could sense her fear and her defiance, pick up on the echo of both inside him as if her emotions had become his own.
They burst into another clearing, the wreck of his ship crouched in the shadows like a wounded beast. Panels hung loose, the hull scarred and breathing smoke.
Emmy stumbled, catching herself on the metal.
The contact left a handprint of light across the hull, motes clustering there like a living seal.
He was already at the hatch. “Inside. Now.”
She obeyed, sliding through the narrow opening as he sealed it behind them.
The smell of metal and ash filled the air.
Heat still radiated from the walls. He could hear the ship’s systems whining to life, protesting after too long asleep.
The corridor lights flickered, painting the interior in pale blue pulses.
“Core. Status.”
“Shields offline. Weapon grid nominal at twelve percent. Suggest repair of plasma coupler to restore basic defenses.”
Apex pointed. “Lower panel. Blue coupler. Swap it.”
Emmy dropped to her knees, hair falling in long, wild curls as she tore the casing free.
Sparks danced across her fingers. Apex crouched beside her, his body too close, his restraint fraying.
The scent of her skin mingled with the heat of the machinery.
She didn’t seem to notice—focused, determined, eyes shining.
For a moment he saw not fear, but resolve, something fierce and alive.
She was learning how to fight beside him.
“Done!”
Core hummed approval. “Power at twenty-one percent. Partial shields engaged. Advisory: Council channels active on open spectrum.”
Apex nodded once. “Route them.”
The comm crackled. The Head Councilor spoke in the measured cadence of a man who believed rules would always shield him. “Vessel Apex Six, you are in violation of detainment code thirty-seven. Submit for inspection.”