Chapter 7 DRAVOK
I had known before this meeting. Not with certainty—certainty was a luxury I distrusted—but with the kind of instinct honed by eons of hunting lies that learned to recognize the shape of danger before it spoke its name.
The night before, I had encountered Nadine by accident.
Or what mortals liked to call accidental.
She'd been pacing the observation corridors, mind clearly unable to rest, orbiting questions she did not yet know how to ask.
We had talked. Argued, really. She'd challenged me about the Abyss, about gods, about my certainty that it wanted something.
That was when I felt it. Not the Abyss itself, but its attention.
A subtle pressure, like a distant tide shifting direction.
The Dark Abyss had become aware of her proximity.
Of her mind brushing against patterns it preferred to keep buried.
Worse, it had become aware of my reaction to her.
Of the possibility I refused to name. It had noticed her as what I still refused to accept her as: Aelyth.
If she stayed here, she wasn't just in mortal danger.
The things the Abyss could do to her were beyond human imagination.
It would use her against me. And by the dark light, it might succeed.
I hated admitting it, but I would move the stars to keep her safe.
Strictly because I couldn't stand by and see an innocent—no matter how annoying—get hurt, of course.
Not because she was my Aelyth. I didn't believe in destiny.
But I believed in predators. And something ancient had begun to circle.
Willing or not, she would have to come with me for her own safety.
That was why I was here now, standing in the emperor's suite with my aura held tight and dark, shadows clinging longer than they should have, watching Nadine argue like she was still on Earth and not already standing on the edge of a cosmic fault line.
"Absolutely not." Nadine exploded after I suggested that she leave the ship and come with me.
Her voice cracked through the room like a blade finding its mark.
She looked exhausted. Dark circles beneath sharp blue eyes, posture rigid with sleepless defiance.
Cranky, then. Good. Angry minds were easier to predict than frightened ones.
"I'm not going anywhere with you," she added. "I'm here to study the black hole."
"The Dark Abyss," I corrected automatically.
She shot me a glare. "The. Black. Hole."
Daryus leaned back slightly, fingers steepled. He was serious now, not amused, not posturing. "I'm not going to force Doctor Phillips to go with you, Dravok."
I turned to him slowly, letting just a fraction of my aura bleed into the room. Not a threat. A reminder.
"No one is forced into destiny," I stated evenly. "But the Abyss is already aware of her presence," I ignored Nadine's huff, "and trust me, you don't want the Abyss to take possession of her."
Heather made a soft, thoughtful sound. "That sounds… ominous."
"The Abyss sensed her; it senses that she… matters to me. It will use her." That much was true.
I wasn't ready to accept the bond. I wasn't ready to accept her.
But if Nythor had even a shred of foresight left in his fractured mind, he would know I intended to execute him the moment I found him.
Unfortunately, in addition to the danger the Abyss posed to her, Nadine was also the only one who could translate his fractured cognition.
The only mind I had encountered capable of imposing structure where his thoughts had begun to dissolve into Abyssal noise.
Which meant her presence on my mission wasn't optional any longer.
Heather tilted her head, studying me with open curiosity. "So… is she your Soulweb bond?"
I blinked. It took me a moment to remember the Space Guardians and their visible Soulweb markings, swirling and ornamental, designed to make recognition easier in the next life.
"That's Space Guardian nonsense," I said flatly. "Arkhevari don't—"
"Oh! Of course," Heather interrupted brightly. "You'd have the mating marks."
By the Shattered Void, must we do this now?
"How come the Pandraxians don't have those?" Heather continued, genuinely interested.
"Heather," Daryus warned.
"No, really," she insisted. "They're fascinating. Those mating bonds are so neat."
"Mating bonds?" Nadine echoed, disbelief layered with fatigue.
Heather's eyes lit. "Oh yes! The Space Guardians have Soulweb bonds, visible markings that appear once the bond is complete. They're beautiful. Silla and I are deeply envious."
I glanced at Nadine. She did not look impressed.
"Marks don't just appear on bodies," she muttered. "That's not how skin works."
Heather laughed. "You should see it. It's magnificent. Like living tattoos."
Nadine's mouth tightened. Tattoos? Her thoughts radiated. Where there had been a black void before, I could suddenly easily pick up some of her thoughts. A jolt of satisfaction ran through me at the new access. Permanently altering your skin? No, thank you. Skin stretches. Sags. Ages.
Daryus cleared his throat. "As I said, I will not force her."
"Good," Nadine snapped. "Because I'm not going."
That was the moment I stopped pretending.
I hated myself for it. But Nox Eternum had already reached for her once.
I would not allow it a second opportunity.
I reached—not with force, not fully—just enough to nudge.
A suggestion. A redirection. A possibility gently emphasized while other paths were… dulled.
It was wrong. It was necessary. And to my surprise, it was difficult. Her mind resisted me like nothing I had ever encountered. Sharp. Adaptive. Actively hostile. I had to work, threading around defenses that should not have existed in any mortal consciousness. She nearly threw me out. Me!
My jaw tightened as I held the influence just long enough.
Nadine blinked. Her posture shifted. "Well…" her lips formed the words I dictated to her mind. "On second thought—"
Daryus straightened. "Yes?"
She frowned, rubbing her temple. "This could be interesting. I mean, from an academic standpoint. Maybe I could learn more about the… black hole… from Dravok." I was glad that I remembered what she called the Black Abyss.
Heather's eyes narrowed. That female wasn't stupid. She suspected something.
Daryus looked between us. "You're certain?"
Nadine nodded, a little stiffly. "Yes. I think I should go."
The echo of the words rang wrong. Forced.
I felt it immediately, the strain beneath the surface, the way her truth bucked against the shape I'd pressed it into.
Anger coiled tight and hot, a rising current she had not yet allowed herself to name.
I liked her anger. Liked the challenge she provided, even though deep down, I knew how wrong what I was doing was.
I had bent thousands of minds to my bidding, but with her…
it felt wrong on every level. In the end, I wasn't only fighting her mind, I was fighting my own morals.
Daryus studied her carefully, then looked at me. "Very well," he agreed at last. "You'll leave at first light."
Heather's gaze lingered on Nadine, sharp and searching. I inclined my head in polite acknowledgment, already nudging the next step into place. "Then I should say my farewells."
Nadine turned toward the empress and emperor, movements just a fraction too precise. I kept my hold light but constant—guiding her timing, her posture, the cadence of her voice—while beneath it, she pushed back harder with every breath.
She was strong. Stronger than she had any right to be. And the Dark Abyss kept noticing. Which made it only worse and meant I had no intention of letting her out of my sight again. Ever.
Heather stepped forward first, clasping Nadine's hands warmly. "Be careful, her eyes flicked briefly to me. "Both of you."
"I will," Nadine replied automatically.
The words scraped inside her. I felt her anger spike, sharp enough to cut. She hated this. Hated me. The pressure she brought to bear against my influence was fierce and intelligent, testing boundaries, probing for leverage. I tightened my focus. Just enough.
Daryus nodded once. "You have the Empire's trust, Dravok. Do not abuse it."
"I never do," I lied smoothly.
We turned toward the exit together. I kept my mental grip steady as the doors parted, guiding her steps, masking the internal storm long enough to clear the room.
The moment we crossed the threshold, her resistance flared.
Get out, she shoved at me, not with words, but with raw intent.
Get out of my head. I staggered half a step before catching myself; shock rippled through me.
She nearly broke free. My control wavered, and for the first time in eons, I had to reinforce a hold with conscious effort rather than instinct.
Sweat prickled along my spine beneath my armor.
Frygg. She shouldn't be able to do this.
"Easy," I murmured aloud, for anyone watching. "We'll depart shortly."
Inside, I braced against her rising fury, layering restraint over instinct, dulling the spike without extinguishing it.
Some reckless part of me did not want to crush her resistance entirely.
I allowed the edge to remain. Allowed myself to feel it.
By the time we reached the hangar, her anger burned hot and controlled, a storm compressed behind clenched teeth and rigid posture.
She walked beside me in silence, eyes fixed ahead, every step deliberate.
I released her the instant my ship sealed behind us. She staggered half a breath as my influence lifted, sucking in air like someone resurfacing from deep water. Then she spun on me, hands fisted at her sides. Her eyes blazed. "You violated my mind."
The truth of it struck deep and stayed. "Yes. And you nearly stopped me."
Her laugh was sharp. Disbelieving. "Let me go." She stepped toward me instead of back. "Right now."