Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Emma woke to an empty bed and the distant sound of children laughing.
She stretched beneath the soft covers, wincing at the pleasant ache in muscles she’d forgotten she had. The memories of last night flooded back—Doren’s hands, his mouth, his tail—and heat rushed to her cheeks despite herself.
So that happened.
She pressed her palm to the pillow beside her, and found it still warm. He hadn’t been gone long. The thought settled something anxious in her chest that she hadn’t realized was there.
The door chimed softly, and Faith’s voice filtered through. “Emma? Are you awake?”
“Just a minute.” She scrambled out of bed, grabbing the robe that had been left draped over a chair. It was made of something impossibly soft, the color of sea foam, and she wrapped it around herself before crossing to the door. “Come in.”
Faith entered carrying a tray laden with food and a steaming pot of something that smelled like coffee but probably wasn’t. She wore the expression of someone who had been awake for hours and accomplished more than most people did in a week.
“I brought breakfast. Ari is with Taresa in the nursery. Taresa has decided she wants to be her big sister and refuses to leave her alone.” Faith set the tray on the small table by the window. “I hope that’s okay.”
“Of course, that’s fine.” She accepted the cup that Faith pressed into her hands, breathing in the rich aroma. “Thank you.”
“It’s not coffee, but it’s the closest thing I’ve found in this part of the galaxy. Takes some getting used to, but it has caffeine.” Faith settled into the chair across from her and tucked her legs beneath her. “How are you feeling?”
Like I just had the best night of my life and I’m terrified it was all a dream. “Good. Really good.”
Faith gave her a knowing smile. “I’m glad. Doren seems different, with you. Lighter, somehow.”
She didn’t know how to respond to that, so she took a long drink of the not-coffee instead and let the warmth spread through her. The flavor was darker than she expected, with undertones of something almost chocolate-like. “This is actually really good.”
“I know, right? I nearly cried the first time Athtar brought some back from a trading run.” Faith’s face softened with memory.
“The little things are harder than you’d expect.
I missed coffee. And the way autumn leaves smell when they’re wet.
” She shook her head slightly. “But I’m not here to be maudlin. I wanted to talk to you about Ari.”
She set down her cup, suddenly alert. “Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing like that. She’s perfectly healthy, as far as I can tell. But I’ve been doing some research since you arrived, and I think you need to know what I’ve found.” Faith pulled a small datapad from her pocket. “Do you know much about the Aurelians?”
“Only what Doren told me. That he thinks they are one of the Seven Key Species. And that the Grorn think they need her to open the Vault.”
“That’s the simplified version.” Faith tapped the datapad, and a holographic image sprang to life above its surface—a planet covered in vast dark green oceans, dotted with scattered island chains.
“The Aurelians were an aquatic species from a water world called Aurelius Prime. They were ancient even by galactic standards, possibly the oldest of the Seven Species. Some scholars believe they were the first to develop true sentience after the Precursors disappeared.”
She studied the rotating image. The planet was beautiful in a haunting way, all greens and silvers and the occasional flash of white where islands broke the surface.
“They were also,” Faith continued, “almost completely wiped out about several centuries ago.”
“Wiped out? How?”
“Disease, primarily. Their homeworld was quarantined after a plague swept through their population. No one knows where the disease came from—some say it was natural, others claim it was engineered.” Faith spoke with the clinical detachment of a scientist discussing data, but Emma could see the sorrow in her eyes.
“By the time the quarantine lifted, there were fewer than ten thousand survivors scattered across various colonies. And those numbers have only dwindled since.”
She thought of Ari’s silver skin, her delicate features, the slight webbing between her fingers and toes. An entire species, reduced to fragments and scattered survivors.
“That’s why you said she was rare.”
“She’s more than rare. She might be one of the last pure-blooded Aurelians in existence.
” Faith swiped the datapad, and the image changed to show complex genetic data that meant nothing to Emma.
“The refugees from Aurelius Prime intermarried with other species in order to survive. Within three generations, the distinctive Aurelian traits—the silver coloring, the aquatic adaptations, and the unique neural patterns—became increasingly diluted. Most modern Aurelian descendants have only trace amounts of the original genetic markers.”
“But Ari...”
“Ari appears to be pure-blooded. Her genetic profile matches historical records of pre-plague Aurelians almost exactly.” Faith met her eyes. “Do you understand what that means?”
Her stomach dropped. “It means she’s valuable.”
“It means she’s priceless. The Grorn aren’t the only ones who believe the legends about the Vault and the Keys.
And the fact that they have been becoming more aggressive with their search means that more people are paying attention.
” Faith’s voice was gentle but firm. “She’s not just a baby who might be able to open an ancient treasure vault.
She’s the last living heir to one of the oldest civilizations in the galaxy. ”
The weight of it pressed down on her shoulders. She thought of Ari’s dark eyes, her curious fingers, the way she’d learned to grip Emma’s braid and refuse to let go. Just a baby. Just a tiny, vulnerable life that depended on her for everything.
“I won’t let anyone hurt her.” The words came out fierce, almost savage. “I don’t care who wants her or what she’s worth. She’s just a child.”
“I know.” Faith reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “That’s why I’m telling you this. You need to understand the scope of what you’re protecting. And you need to know that you’re not alone in protecting her.”
“But she must have had a mother and a father who were also pure-blooded. Doesn’t that mean there are others?”
Faith hesitated for a moment. “What do you know about stasis?”
“It’s like suspended animation, right?”
“Exactly. And it can last for many years. Even hundreds of years.”
She stared at the other woman. “Are you trying to say that Ari may be—”
“Hundreds of years old? I’m suggesting that it’s a possibility.”
Before she could respond, the door slid open and Taresa appeared, carrying Ari carefully in her arms.
“I think she wants you,” Taresa announced.
She held out her arms, and Taresa transferred the baby with obvious reluctance. Ari snuggled immediately against her chest, her small hand finding the familiar grip on her robe.
Could her tiny baby really be that old?
Pushing the thought aside to deal with later, she smiled at Taresa.
“Thank you for watching her.”
“Can I come back later? I want to show her my shells.” Taresa’s hopeful expression was impossible to resist.
“Of course.”
Taresa beamed and darted away, her footsteps fading down the corridor. Faith watched her go with a mother’s fond exasperation.
“She’s been like this since her brother was born. Convinced she needs a little sister of her own.” Faith stood, moving to retrieve something from a bag she’d left by the door. “Which brings me to the other reason I came. I have something I would like to try.”
She returned holding another disk, similar to the one they already had, but smaller and covered in different symbols. The metal gleamed with an inner luminescence that seemed to pulse slightly, as if it were alive.
“Athtar acquired this years ago. He thought it was just a piece of Precursor technology too damaged to be valuable.” Faith held it up, letting the light catch its surface. “But I’ve been studying Precursor artifacts since I arrived here, and I don’t think it’s damaged. I think it’s dormant.”
“Dormant?”
“Waiting for the right activation sequence.” Faith’s eyes gleamed with scientific excitement. “Or possibly waiting for the right person.”
She looked down at Ari, who had noticed the disk and was reaching for it with obvious interest. Her tiny fingers stretched towards the gleaming metal, grasping at air.
“You want to see if she can activate it.”
“I know it’s a lot to ask. If you’re not comfortable—”
“No, it’s okay.” She shifted Ari in her arms, bringing her closer to the disk. “If she wants to do it and it helps us understand what she can do... we need to know.”
Faith held out the disk, and Ari’s fingers closed around its edge.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then light exploded from the artifact.
She gasped, instinctively shielding Ari with her body, but the light wasn’t painful—it was cool and blue, spreading through the room like water filling a glass. When she opened her eyes, she found herself surrounded by stars.
Not real stars but a holographic projection so detailed and vivid that it took her breath away. Galaxies spiraled around her, nebulae glowed in impossible colors, and pinpricks of light marked thousands upon thousands of star systems.
“Oh my God,” Faith breathed.
Seven points within the star map pulsed brighter than the others, each a different color—silver, gold, deep crimson, forest green, bright violet, pure white, and an inky blue-black that seemed to absorb the light around it.
Ari cooed, waving her free hand, and the map rotated, zooming in on one of the silver points. The system expanded, showing a sun orbited by seven planets, one of which glowed with a soft underwater luminescence.
“That’s Aurelius Prime,” Faith said, her voice hushed. “The silver marker—that’s where the Aurelians came from.”