Chapter 3 #2
“The Verya threat may be worse than the Quaww,” Mwe said. “Whatever they want with your Beacon, it drove them across an entire galaxy.”
He’d suspected as much. Had feared it since Ryzen and his brother first arrived with their warnings of hunters from beyond the galaxy’s edge.
Zirene’s claws bit into his palm. “What do they want with her?”
“I don’t have complete answers yet.” Frustration flickered through Mwe’s presence—an emotion Zirene had never sensed from him before, and it made Zirene’s shadow go still.
Listening. “But Oeta and I have been sensing disturbances. They’re coming and fast. The Verya aren’t only conquerors. They’re collectors.”
The word landed like a slap.
Collectors.
Hunters who didn’t see lives—only value.
“Selena’s biology,” Mwe pathed carefully, “her ability to bond across species, to carry young from different genetic lines, to bridge gaps that should be unbridgeable… makes her exactly what they seek.”
Specimen.
Zirene tasted iron.
“I will not let them take her.”
“No. You won’t.” The certainty in Mwe’s agreement felt like prophecy. “But you’re being forced to choose. Your borders are under attack. Your commanders need you at the front. And the Verya are coming specifically for the female you love. You cannot be everywhere at once.”
Zirene closed his eyes. His shadow pulsed against the walls, dark tendrils reaching outward before he reined them back through force of will.
The familiar cold of his power pressed against his consciousness, offering its endless hunger as a solution—consume the threat, destroy anyone who challenged him, wrap his Nova in darkness so complete nothing could reach her.
But Selena had already lived in cages.
He wouldn’t become another.
Two threats. Two fronts. One of him.
He couldn’t be everywhere. Couldn’t protect everything.
“There’s something else,” Mwe warned. “The Assembly is convening. They’re summoning your Beacon to the CEG Chamber.”
Zirene’s eyes snapped open. “Absolutely not.”
“The Chamber is protected neutral ground,” Mwe countered, tone gentling without weakening.
“Surrounded by representatives from every major power. Hiding her won’t save her, Zirene.
The galaxy wants answers about the Verya threat, and Selena—as the Aldawi Beacon and living proof of cross-species unity—is the only one who can speak for your empire. ”
Zirene’s breath went shallow. “She’s pregnant. She’s being hunted. Sending her to the Chamber—”
“Right now,” Mwe continued, “the Assembly offers both protection and opportunity. If Selena can rally the CEG against this threat, unite the galaxy’s powers against a common enemy...”
He didn’t finish. He didn’t need to.
Zirene stood in silence, feeling the weight of the empire press against his shoulders.
He couldn’t go to the Chamber—his place was at the front, leading his military, showing his people that their Sovereign would fight beside them.
Selena needed to go in his place. As Beacon.
As the Aldawi representative. As the bridge between species that she’d always been meant to be.
It meant trusting her to survive without him at her side.
It meant leaving her.
Again.
“I need to speak with her,” Zirene pathed, voice rougher than he liked. “Before I decide anything.”
“Of course.” Mwe’s presence began to withdraw. “But don’t wait too long. The Quaww won’t.”
The connection faded, leaving Zirene standing in the war room’s cold light.
Royak and V’dim watched him with carefully neutral expressions. They’d sensed the shift in his mood. Of course they had—they’d served beside him long enough to read the shape of his shadow in the room.
“Continue coordinating the defense,” Zirene ordered. “I’ll return shortly.”
He didn’t wait for acknowledgment before striding toward the corridor that led to Selena’s quarters.
She was waiting.
By the time Zirene entered the royal lobby, everyone else had already retired to their cabins.
Zyxel occupied himself near the far wall, coiled loose as he scrolled a vidtablet, its pale glow sliding over crimson scales. Sitting across from him, Eshe worked a talon against a psystone in slow, exact strokes—shhhk, pause, shhhk—each sound measured, each movement controlled.
Neither of them looked at Selena for long. Neither stepped closer.
They held their posts with quiet ceremony—present, attentive, and deliberately distant—guardians who understood when protection meant giving their leaders the space to speak freely.
Selena stood by the viewport with one hand resting on the gentle swell of her belly. Transit space streaked behind her, stars smearing into lines. The light painted her silver hair in shifting bands, making her look almost unreal.
Not because she was fragile.
Because she was too bright to belong to his darkness.
“I felt you coming. Your shadows gave your presence away.” She turned, her ocean deep eyes finding his with that unerring precision that never failed to humble him. “Something’s wrong. More than the Quaww.”
Zirene crossed the space between them in three strides, his paws finding her waist with practiced familiarity.
He pressed his forehead to hers, breathing her in—that unique scent of exotic flowers and starlight and home.
The scent that had anchored him through his darkest moments. That continued to anchor him still.
Yet underneath it all, Kaede’s fragrance remained, identifying her as his. that the life growing inside her belonged to her bodyguard. It was faint but still strong enough to taint her own.
The weight of the universe stifled his growl. There were more pressing things demanding his shadow’s fury—things neither of them could change, and far more urgent than this.
“I have to leave you.”
She didn’t flinch. Didn’t pull away. Her fingers traced up his chest, settling against the pulse thundering in his throat.
“I know.”
“The front lines need me,” he forced out. “My commanders need to see me there. If I don’t go—”
“Zirene.” Her voice was soft but steady, carrying the same steel that had faced down Aldawi politics. “I know.”
He exhaled, the tension bleeding from his shoulders. Of course she understood. She’d spent enough time learning the weight of leadership, the impossible weaving of duty and love.
“There’s more.” He pulled back enough to meet her eyes. “The Assembly is convening. They want the Aldawi Beacon to address the Chamber about the Verya threat. I can’t go to stand beside you—my place is at the front.”
Understanding crossed her face. Not fear—something heavier. Like she’d already seen this path and hated that it existed.
“You want me to speak for the empire.”
“You’ve done it before.” His claws flexed against her waist. “You’re better at it than I ever was. The Assembly needs to hear from someone who can bridge species, who can make them see the Verya as a threat to everyone—not just the Aldawi. Someone who embodies everything we’re fighting to protect.”
“And you’ll be at the border,” she said quietly. “Fighting.”
“Burning everything that threatens our people.” His shadow curled around them, possessive and gentle at once. “Yes.”
Selena’s spots shifted, cycling through pale pink to something deeper, more complex. She reached up, cupping his face between her palms—so small against his Aldawi features, yet fierce enough to anchor him when his darkness threatened to swallow everything.
“Go.” Her voice carried conviction that humbled him. “Protect our people. I’ll hold Destima. I’ll address the Assembly. I’ll make them listen.”
“You shouldn’t have to do this,” he said, the words scraping. “Not like this. Not hunted. Not pregnant.”
“There’s something else you haven’t told me, isn’t there?” His Nova tilted her head. “What is it?”
“I require your princes to lead the Sol system’s defense,” he said immediately. Zirene didn’t soften it. Didn’t circle the truth. “They’ll command the Aldawi female fleet. The system is our origin—our capital. I want it held by those most loyal.”
Her expression stilled, listening.
“Kaede stays with you,” he continued. “Never far from your side. Zyxel too. And if it comes to it, Ryzen.” His gaze sharpened. “The same goes for your Royal Guard. You will not travel alone. Ever.”
Selena opened her mouth, but he cut in gently, firmly. “Don’t fight Kaede on this.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I won’t.”
Then, quieter. Personal. “And now that Zyxel is yours… I trust he won’t betray you.” A pause. A beat heavy with meaning. “Promise me this.”
“I won’t be alone.” Her gaze flickered toward Zyxel’s coiled form, toward the window in Destima’s direction.
“I have our clan. Kaede will shadow my every step. My Favored will be at my side. And”—a slight smile curved her lips, the first he’d seen since the crisis began—“and now I have a very protective serpent who seems determined to prove himself.”
Despite everything, Zirene felt his mouth twitch. “He’d better. Or I’ll have words with him when I return.”
“I’m sure he’s counting on it.”
His shadow curled around them both, possessive and gentle at once. He wanted to argue. Wanted to demand she stay on Destima, wrapped in every safeguard he could command. But Selena had never been something to lock away.
She was the Beacon.
His Nova.
The brightest light in his dark sky.
“And you contact me the moment anything feels wrong,” he added, voice turning hard with need. “Dreamscape, comms, anything. I don’t care if I’m mid-battle. You call, and I come.”
Even as he said it, the hollowness flashed—dreamscape required sleep, intention, time. Not the constant awareness a true bond would give.
If something happened to her while he was awake—
“Zirene.” Selena’s fingers pressed firmer against his jaw, forcing his focus back to her. “Stop.”
He swallowed. “Stop what?”
“Blaming yourself for a decision you’re not ready to change.
” Her eyes held his, seeing too much. Always.
“I know why you haven’t tied yourself to my web.
I understand,” she continued, voice gentle without pity, “and when you’re ready—if you’re ever ready—I’ll be waiting.
But right now, we work with what we have. ”
His throat tightened. She knew. Of course she knew. Selena had always seen past his defenses.
“I should be braver.”
“You’re the bravest male I know.” She rose on her toes, pressing a kiss to his jaw. “Being afraid doesn’t make you a coward. It makes you honest.”
“Promise me,” he said, rough. “Promise me you’ll contact me if anything goes wrong.”
Her eyes softened, those ocean depths that saw every shadow in him and loved him anyway. “I promise.”
He kissed her then—not gentle, not soft. Fierce. Desperate. A claiming that poured every ounce of his fear and love and devotion into the press of his mouth against hers. His paws tangled in her silver hair, tilting her head back, memorizing the taste of her. The feel of her pressed against him.
When he finally pulled back, they were both breathing harder. Her fingers gripped his shoulders like she might never let go. Her spots flared violet and pink beneath his touch.
“Don’t do anything reckless while I’m gone.” His voice came out rough, scraped raw by emotion he rarely showed.
Her smile was sad, knowing, achingly beautiful. “You know I can’t promise that.”
No. She couldn’t.
His Nova had never been the type to stay safe. It was one of the reasons he loved her—and one of the reasons she terrified him.
“How much time do we have?” Selena asked quietly.
The question landed heavier than any command he’d given that night.
Zirene didn’t lie. “Royak is already en route to the front lines. Once we land on Destima, I’ll leave shortly after.” His hand tightened briefly at her waist. “Your princes will have time before the Aldawi female fleet arrives alongside your Royal Guard. They’ll hold the Sol system.”
He exhaled slowly. “Then you’ll leave for the Assembly. Gather allies. Rally a united front against the Varya.”
Selena was quiet for a long moment, the weight of their dreaded future settling between them. Then she lifted her gaze to his—not panicked, not afraid. Just achingly steady.
“Then come to bed with me,” she said softly. “Let me have you while I still can. Before the clan fractures and we’re pulled in different directions.”
He leaned in, pressing a final kiss to her forehead, letting his shadow curl around her in a brief, instinctive embrace—like he could memorize the shape of her this way.
“One last command,” he murmured against her hair. “Then I’ll come to you. To the nestbed.”
He forced himself to step back. To turn. To walk toward the door—already wishing he could return and lie beside her, just Zirene and Selena, before duty tore the universe in half.
“Zirene.”
He paused without looking back. If he looked back, he might not leave.
“Promise me that you’ll come back to me once the war is over.”
His claws curled into fists at his sides. “Always.”
Then he stepped through the door, leaving his heart behind.
The war room awaited. His commanders awaited. An empire awaited.
And somewhere in the darkness between stars, enemies gathered—Quaww fleets burning through Aldawi space, Verya hunters tracking his mate’s unique signature, traitors lurking in the shadows of his own military.
Zirene would find them all.
He would burn them.
And he would come back to her.