Chapter One
Xian Renn wanted to commit murder.
In fact, he craved it so damn bad he could actually feel his hands ache with the need to wrap them around the throats of the idiots standing in front of him. That wasn’t an unusual feeling during a work shift, but this time he was actually close to giving in to the urge.
While Magnus, Nicolo, and Razar Artane were technically his bosses, Xian had practically helped raise them. That gave him unique status on Evo, the gaming planet they owned. Officially, he was one of the commanders on the security team, but he had far more autonomy than a lot of the other employees. Even so, he was pretty sure that strangling some of the guests would be frowned upon, no matter how fond the brothers were of him.
“Quiet,” he growled, holding up a hand to emphasize his demand for silence to the three humans who were talking over each other.
They looked offended by the order, but thankfully they shut their mouths. Once it was blissfully quiet again, he turned toward the bewildered security officer who had called him in for backup. Booker was a young Krytos who was still learning the ropes so he needed help dealing with three rich, entitled asshole elites who thought the universe revolved around them.
They were standing outside the entrance to the transport center located on Evo’s main island. The strong blue sunlight was shining down on them, making Xian glad he had worn the lightweight black security uniform instead of the regular one he put on most days. He’d been ready to transport to one of the jungle locations to do a routine check on the staff there when he had been informed there was a problem with unauthorized visitors trying to access a restricted location.
The woman and two men standing in front of him were obviously a bonded unit, and probably pretty important or well-connected if they had been invited for the beta testing phase on Evo. It was understandable that they were upset. Their son was missing, after all. But that was his own damn fault. He didn’t just wander off and get lost. He’d deliberately broken the rules and put himself and his friend in danger.
Unfortunately, that logic didn’t seem to matter to them.
Xian feared dealing with unreasonable people was going to become a regular occurrence on Evo. Honestly, he didn’t have the temperament to be dealing with these kinds of people, but it came with the job. He was wondering exactly how long it was going to take for him to snap…someone’s neck. Then again, he had more self-control than he gave himself credit for.
At least, that was what the Artanes kept telling him.
When the brothers had initially told him that they had planned on turning the planetoid they had just purchased into a live-action version of their new Evolution game, he’d thought they were fucking crazy. Granted, all visionary geniuses were a little insane, but he couldn’t argue the fact that they had pulled it off.
Evolution was an advanced multi-layered survival game that combined several different types of games into one complex universe. Once they began to play, there was no limit to what a player could do inside the game. People could live out their wildest fantasies. They could create a whole new dream life or construct an exciting new reality for themselves.
But to take that concept and make it real was true madness.
Evo was a planetoid comprised of an endless sea of vibrant blue water and multiple islands with different landscapes. Over a dozen islands had already been altered to represent various settings and stages from the Evolution game. Added to that, there were a few sites created specifically for Evo that weren’t in the virtual version of the game, but most of those new locations weren’t open to visitors yet.
Magnus, Nicolo, and Razar Artane had put their hearts and souls into the creation of Evo, and it showed in every aspect of the game world. It was a masterpiece of innovation, technology, and magic. The entire planetoid was powered by a reinforced electrical grid, the use of nanotech, and a widespread network of satellites that completely surrounded Evo. Each island had been terraformed using a combination of magic and technology, giving visitors a truly unique way to experience the interactive video game.
While Evo was essentially a giant amusement park, it was also a complex community of several hundred employees. Besides the game sites, there was also a luxury resort, medical centers, shops, and other businesses available for residents and guests to enjoy. More hotels and inns were being built on the game sites that would fit the theme of each location, and they had also started taking bids from established businesses to rent out retail space.
The only facility on the planetoid that was completely independent was the massive sanctuary called Wonderland. Located on the main island, Wonderland was owned and operated by Fenris, Raek, and Charm Barra. Besides being a safe haven for those in need, there was also an enormous bar, a club, and a huge casino located on the property.
Xian was glad the sanctuary had its own staff to run everything since the security team had their hands full dealing with so many different locations. He knew at some point they would have to assign a permanent team to each site instead of rotating everyone around, but thankfully, that wasn’t his problem to solve.
Sometimes he wished the entire planetoid was run using sanctuary rules so he could just tell annoying people to fuck off and stop bothering him. Sadly, that wasn’t the case. Instead, he had to deal with people like the three standing in front of him with at least a semblance of civility.
“Let me get this straight,” Xian said, trying to sound calmer than he actually felt. “A teenager who is here visiting Evo with his parents used a forged ID to rent a boat that he and his friend took to the restricted island that isn’t open to the public yet. And now these three are demanding access to that island to go find them. Is that correct?”
Booker nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“You have to let us go get our son—” one of the men said, but Xian cut him off.
“No, I don’t.”
“If anything happens to him—”
“It would be his own fucking fault,” Xian responded coldly. “And yours since you should have been watching them. Your son and his friend violated about a dozen different rules here on Evo, for what? So they could have bragging rights for sneaking onto an island that isn’t open for beta testing yet? It’s not open to the public for a reason. Because it’s too fucking dangerous. That is also why it is age restricted. All of you have been informed about the rules that apply to the restricted areas. I know you have because all of you had to sign waivers as soon as you arrived.”
“Sometimes boys break the rules,” one of the men snapped. “What’s the big deal? Just send someone to get them and bring them back here.”
“We have to go get Eddie ourselves,” the woman insisted.
Xian just said, “No.”
The woman stiffened with insult. “I want to speak to your commanding officer.”
Xian’s smile was as sharp as a blade. “I am the commander.”
The ironic thing was that Xian was actually covering a shift for Zenix Li, Evo’s Head of Security. Nix was busy spending time with his new mate, the famous singer Ayla D’Nye. They were setting up the new venue for her residency there on Evo, and her safety took precedence above all else for Zenix. Since Xian was the commander on duty, the elites were stuck dealing with him.
“Contact one of the Artane brothers. I want—”
“I don’t give a shit what you want. If the Artanes came here to deal with you, I guarantee they would tell you the same thing I am. You are not going to that island. I’m not having you risk anyone else’s safety just to cater to your whims. We’ll find your kid. Now, shut the fuck up and wait for me to bring your idiot son and his friend back.”
Dismissing them, Xian turned and waved over the two security officers who had just arrived. Conack was a shorter Krytos male who was almost twice as wide as Xian, while Aubri was a tough Helios female who had three claw mark scars across her face. He had worked with both of them before, so he knew they were both more experienced with handling problem situations than Booker was.
“Booker will fill you in on the situation. Escort these three visitors back to their quarters and lock it down. I don’t want them attempting to launch a rescue mission on their own.”
All three of them said, “Yes, sir.”
“You can’t just lock us in!” one of the men argued.
“Sure we can,” Conack countered cheerfully.
Just to be an asshole, Xian added, “If they don’t comply or try to leave this island, feel free to stun them.”
Conack’s dark eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he nodded. “Got it, boss.”
“See? This is why we don’t trust Krytos,” one of the men hissed. “We never should have come to this shithole planetoid.”
That stopped Xian in his tracks and he slowly turned back around to face them again. Fed the fuck up, he removed his sunglasses. As he stared them down, he thoroughly enjoyed the stark expressions of fear that crossed the trio’s faces far more than was probably appropriate considering the situation.
It was too bad for them that he didn’t care about niceties.
Xian was one of the rare Krytos-D’Aire hybrids. He had inherited his big, muscular frame from his Krytos father and his imposing height from his D’Aire mother. Together, those traits made him physically intimidating, but it wasn’t what made most people avoid him. His fierce scowl, wicked temper, and the fact that he had one iridescent blue eye and one black eye were why most people were so afraid of him.
Some people thought he wore dark glasses to hide his unusual eye colors, but the truth was he didn’t care what people thought of his appearance. Actually, he would have preferred to let people see exactly who he was since it would keep them the fuck away from him. Very few individuals could hold his gaze for more than a few seconds, and that was exactly how he liked it. Unfortunately, he couldn’t scare everyone away while he was on duty so he wore his shades most of the time.
But this particular situation definitely called for added intimidation tactics.
He knew anger had made his black eye turn bright red, making him look even more terrifying. He wanted them to see it. To actively fear him and what he would do to them if they continued to run their mouths.
There was no mistaking the menace in his voice as he spoke softly. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that,” the man sputtered out as the trio backed up a few steps.
But it was too late.
Xian was officially done with them. While he could tolerate belligerent visitors when necessary, he didn’t have the patience to deal with bigoted idiots. Turning on his heels, he put his sunglasses back on as he stalked toward the transport center. The elites might not trust Krytos, but it had been fucking foolish to insult the people going to go rescue their kid.
The teens couldn’t be blamed because their parents were horrible people, though. Despite being young and foolish, they sure as fuck should have known better than to pull a stunt like this. Both of them would be held accountable for their own reckless behavior and pay for violating the rules, but that didn’t mean they deserved to die.
That meant someone had to rescue them.
He could hand the task over to some of his officers, but he wasn’t willing to ask anyone else to risk themselves when he could do it himself. He nodded in response to calls of greeting as he entered the transport center but didn’t bother stopping to speak to anyone.
Tapping the earpiece of his sunglasses, he activated the built-in comms unit to contact Evo. Besides being the nickname for the planetoid, Evo was also the name of the artificial intelligence system that ran all of the on-site tech and in the game. Since the Artanes had programmed it with the latest nanotech and adaptive learning capabilities, Evo was now more than just a computer system.
While most of the commanders on the planetoid had opted to get the nanotech tattoos that allowed them direct access to Evo, Xian had refused. Even the thought of giving the AI system direct access to his mind was nightmare fuel. Since he had inherited his mother’s seeker abilities, having other people in his head was something he had spent his entire life avoiding.
With a simple touch, he could hear a person’s thoughts so he normally wore special gloves to protect himself and those around him. He could also pick up on lingering thoughts from objects someone just held, which was why he’d built his home on a secluded island and never allowed anyone inside his living quarters.
He didn’t like to pry into people’s heads, and he liked having their thoughts invade his mind even less. The only time he felt comfortable using his seeker ability was to help solve crimes or to aid a friend. Otherwise, he limited his contact with people as much as he could.
But that hadn’t always been easy.
As a mixed-race couple, Xian’s parents had a hard time fitting in. His D’Aire mother had been an explorer, and after she’d discovered her mate on the Krytos home world, they had spent most of their time traveling together. Even after Xian and his older brother had been born, they had continued spending most of their time living on their vessel rather than settling down somewhere.
Then, the war with the Zyphir happened.
Their family had joined the fight, but only Xian had survived. Since he’d still been in his teens back then, he’d returned to the D’Aire home world to stay with his great uncle, who had been his only remaining family. Once his great uncle passed on, he decided to travel again.
He’d moved around for a while before settling down on New Vega. The destroyer class vessel had been converted into a space station by the Adaros, a powerful Krytos clan. Since New Vega catered to all races, it was the first place he had truly felt like he didn’t stick out. Despite living in an environment where he could blend in, staying on the space station had been difficult for Xian. Not because of the people. He had formed a lot of close friendships there despite being a loner.
It was his seeker ability that had made living in such close quarters hell.
After he’d started picking up on stray thoughts without touching anyone, he’d known it was time to get the hell out of there. When Rogan and Lucian Adaro announced that they planned to move to Earth to open a sanctuary, Xian decided to go with them. They’d chosen to open their sanctuary in Zion, the only city that had survived the war virtually untouched, for the ambiance and the mix of races that lived there. It had taken a few years to get Exodus up and running, but once it was fully established, he had traveled to the other cities to help other Krytos set up more sanctuaries.
He’d met the Artane brothers while he’d been helping out at the sanctuary in Jade City. They’d still been students at the time, but they only attended the academy half the time since they had already taken over their family’s company.
He hadn’t meant to form a relationship with the young geniuses. It has just happened. After Magnus, Nico, and Razar had decided they wanted to be friends with him, he’d had a hard time getting rid of them. They were like the younger brothers he’d never wanted, but since their own family was a bunch of useless fools, he had reluctantly accepted them.
When Magnus and Nicolo told him they had wanted to go through the conversion to become Krytos in order to formally bond with their adopted brother Razar, he’d thought they were out of their minds. He suggested that they wait until they were older, but they had been dead set on their plan. Wanting to be absolutely sure about their resolve, he had broken his rule and used his seeker ability to read them.
Since he couldn’t change their minds, he had agreed to help them.
That had been one of the only times he had allowed anyone to stay in his secluded home on the outskirts of the city. The conversion was a painful process that was best done in private. To minimize the risks involved, Xian had recruited a couple of expert healers and a Krytos that had gone through the process herself.
Luckily, everything had worked out and there were no issues during their conversions, but the fallout afterward had been spectacular. The brothers’ family, the academy, and the entire Alliance had been shocked by what they had done, but they had never regretted their decision.
When the brothers had come to him with their plans for Evo, he didn’t doubt they would succeed. Whenever they put their minds to something, they always achieved their goal. Even so, he hadn’t been sold on the idea of going with them to the planetoid and signing up to work on the security team.
The fact that Zenix Li had been selected as the Head of Security had helped. Xian had worked with him in the past while Nix had been an undercover operative for the Alliance. Xian had helped him gather intel and had used his seeker abilities to assist in taking down some really bad people.
Xian already had more credits than he could use in one lifetime, so the generous salary wasn’t enough to sway him. He also didn’t play video games so that hadn’t been a determining factor either. What had tipped the scale had been the promise of a home on a secluded island and endless gourmet meals prepared by the most talented chefs available.
It was a little quirk of his, but Xian absolutely loathed cooking. That was a shame since he really did love to eat. Fortunately, all of the restaurants on Evo were excellent, and the magically enhanced food consoles ensured he could get just about anything he wanted delivered directly to his home in mere minutes.
Thinking about food, he silently lamented that he would be missing lunch while he tracked down the missing kids. He detoured to the employee canteen on the main level of the transport center to grab a couple of energy bars to shove in his pockets before he headed toward the platform where the transporters were located.
Tapping the comms unit to activate an open line, he said, “Evo, how the hell did two teenagers manage to get past all of our security protocols and your safeguards to make it onto the restricted island?”
It only took a few seconds before Evo responded, sounding as annoyed as an AI system could be without real emotions. “They had valid identification declaring them of age so they passed the scan at the boat rental. I cannot confirm how they managed to get through the protection barrier around the island. From my review of the security footage, it looked like there was a disruption in the barrier for a few seconds, which allowed them to enter. I believe they used some sort of jammer or something else I do not have programmed into my system to scan for.”
“Clever little shits,” Xian muttered as a picture of the forged ID appeared on his lens next to images of Edward Reed and Cosmo Laros’ academy IDs.
“I want them punished.”
He snorted out a laugh. “I bet. Display a map of the island and show me their current location.”
A map made of lights appeared on the lens of his sunglasses, allowing him to see exactly where the two kids were on the island. He let out a vicious curse when he realized which section of the island the boys were in. Of course, they were in the death trap obstacle course known as the Final Destination Zone, where just about anything could kill them and send them back to the beginning.
That had to be Xian’s least favorite sector of the city. He just didn’t understand the appeal, but a lot of people were excited about it. While the obstacles weren’t designed to actually kill anyone, they were quite dangerous. They had been specifically created to stop people from reaching the finish line.
There were several small groups waiting to use the transporters that would take them to the various locations around the planetoid. The transporters were an innovative mode of transportation that combined technology with magic, allowing people to travel anywhere on the planetoid in a few seconds.
Bypassing the long lines, he made his way toward where the private employee transporters were located. There were several people already waiting there, some dressed in their uniforms, while others had on clothing that clearly showed they were enjoying some free time.
Xian knew he had quite the reputation amongst the rest of the employees on Evo, so everyone quickly got out of his way the moment they saw him coming. The operators who were in charge of programming the transporters paused when he held up a hand. Giving them a curt nod, he strode right up to one of the empty circular platforms, not bothering to program it with the location first.
“Evo, transport me to the restricted island.”
“Transporting now.”
He was more than ready to get his rescue mission over and done with, but he had to find the troublemakers first.