Chapter 21 Venom
Venom
The world around me faded. I dropped inward – into the depths of thought, through the layers of consciousness and memory – until I stood once again before my mind safe.
I pressed my palm to the surface and thought the password. Once, twice, a third time for luck.
The safe opened.
Pain lanced through my skull as the dormant implant surged to life – a flare of pressure behind my eyes, my temples, the nape of my neck.
I didn’t know how much time had passed. I was vaguely aware of Clare’s presence, nestled against my side, her hand clutching mine. Without her, I would never have found the calm to enter the safe. She was my salvation. My everything. I hoped she would come to recognise that soon.
Dialling into the Vigilance’s communications network was surprisingly easy once I sent them my clearance codes.
I exhaled slowly.
“I’m in,” I murmured aloud.
Clare squeezed my hand. “Was that it? You didn’t even flinch.”
I smiled without opening my eyes. “I had help.”
A stocky male appeared in front of my mental eye, his face obscured in shadows. It was hard to guess his species. Exactly the point. Commander Lhu was so important that he did not reveal himself unless he absolutely had to. None of the IA commanders ever did.
“Agent Venom. I am pleased that you are indeed real and safely off that blasted station. What is the situation?”
“I have found sanctuary on the Bloodstar, along with several victims of the Trials’ game makers. Did you receive the data I sent before I was caught by the enemy?”
“We have and it has been most useful. We also intercepted your message from the planet’s surface, your witness statement.
As unpleasant as your entry to the Trials must have been, it has provided us with hard evidence that contestants are indeed not taking part of their own free will.
All in all, I believe we have enough data to put the game makers to trial. ”
A wave of pride washed over me. I had done it. All those rotations of isolation and deceit had been worth something.
“Commander Lhu, what are you planning to do now? Will you go for an outright attack?”
“Our strategists are still calculating the risk/benefit of various plans. We shall contact the Bloodstar if we need your assistance.”
Sensing he was about to end the communication, I quickly interjected. “Are you aware there is at least one more Peritan female on the planet’s surface? She was sent there just before Clare and me.”
“We are aware. However, according to our calculation, there are at least 521 victims on the space station. They have to be our priority, along with capturing the remaining game makers. It is a pity Jarra can no longer be put to trial.”
He vanished before I could respond. Pity my arse. I did not regret killing Jarra. He had threatened my mate. I only regretted that I had not killed him by burying my fangs deep in his throat.
I slowly opened my eyes only to look into the concerned face of my mate.
“Are you alright? You went very still and almost stopped breathing.”
“I am fine. But… I could do with another waffle.”
There was nothing to do but wait.
The others trickled back into the bridge shortly after our conversation with Commander Lhu ended.
Vruhag came first, nodding to me with a grunt of quiet respect.
Then Silus, practically vibrating with half-swallowed energy.
Pria, calm and practical. Penny and Qong entered together, hands brushing briefly.
A tight circle of experience and scars. We were all survivors now.
But no one quite knew what came next.
Fay crossed her arms and broke the silence. “So? Do we sit on our hands while the IA makes their move, or do we start doing something useful?”
“They’ll call when they need us,” I said before anyone else could. “Until then, we don’t jeopardise the mission by guessing.”
“Agreed,” Vruhag rumbled. “The last thing we want is to spook them into thinking we’re some rogue operation.”
Silus opened his mouth, likely to suggest exactly that, but Pria shot him a look. He reconsidered.
“Should we contact the chii now?” Clare asked. “I kind of miss them. And I want to make sure they’re safe. I really hope the Tyvarin didn’t attack their cave.”
Fay’s eyebrows shot up. “You met the chii?”
Clare nodded sadly. “Yes. We’re mind-linked to two of them. And we never got to say a proper goodbye.”
Fay smiled. “You don’t have to. I speak to my chii, Ali’quii, all the time. The mental bond isn’t strong enough to reach her from here while I’m awake, but as soon as I’m asleep, I can talk to her. At first, I thought it was just a dream, but then Vruhag experienced the same thing.”
The orc nodded. “I asked them once whether they wanted us to take them along with us, once we’d rescued all the Peritan females. They saved our lives. We owe them a debt. But they have decided to stay on Kalumbu. It’s their home.”
I put an arm around Clare’s shoulders. She leant into my touch as if she’d done it a thousand times before. My fangs ached with need. I wished we were alone, the two of us.
“I think it is best to wait until we go to sleep and try to contact them that way. The game makers will be on high alert just now, after our escape. If we were to send the chii a message, they might track our transmission. I don’t want to endanger them.”
Clare sighed. “That makes sense. I just hate waiting. I want to do something.”
Fay turned to Clare and me. “Alright. While the rest of us avoid pacing holes into the floor, how about a proper tour? You’ve earned at least that.”
We followed Fay through the corridors – all smooth curves and sloping tunnels. It reminded me of something organic, something grown rather than built. The Bloodstar had history in her bones.
She pointed out the canteen with its humming fabricator unit. I caught Clare’s expression as the scent of waffles still lingered in the air, and my hearts did something strange. They fluttered. Briefly. Sharply.
We passed rooms lined with stars and screens, virtual chambers and holo projections, a lounge that shimmered with rearranging furniture, even a swimming pool.
Clare took it all in with wide eyes and cautious wonder.
I had to remind myself that this was her first time on a spaceship.
At least the first time that she was conscious.
She had travelled so far to come here from her tiny planet, but she had been in cryosleep for that journey.
I made a mental note to ask her later if she needed help with any of the ship’s functions or if she had questions about how everything worked.
We stopped by the medbay for a few clicks so that Clare could get the tracker implant removed.
She was a bit apprehensive going into one of the medpod – probably remembering waking up in the cryopod – but then squared her shoulders and followed the medical AI’s instructions.
The procedure was done almost instantly and caused her no pain.
Still, it wasn’t easy watching her lie in the pod, as if she was unwell.
Both of us were glad to leave the medbay and continue our tour. We passed a cosy observation lounge with huge windows showing Kalumbu and the stars beyond. I’d love to take Clare here one cycle and enjoy the view, preferably with a drink or two.
Then Fay stopped at a curved door.
“This is your cabin,” she said with a smile. “Privacy settings are on. Use the panel if you need anything – food, light, temperature. There’s even a playlist option, though fair warning, Qong’s taste is... eclectic.”
Clare smirked. “Trying to get rid of us?”
Fay winked. “Just giving you the space I wish I’d had when I got rescued.”
She disappeared down the hall, leaving us in the sudden quiet.
The cabin lights adjusted as we entered – warm and dim, like sunset filtered through soft crystal.
It reminded me of the chii’s cave. The bed dominated the centre of the space, circular and low to the ground, its plush nest-like structure inviting.
A round window offered a peaceful view of the stars.
I was glad we couldn’t see Kalumbu from here. I wanted to forget that blasted place.
Clare slowly turned to me. Her voice was playful but shaded with something deeper. “Still nothing to do but wait.”
I let out a slow breath. This moment – unlike the chaos we’d escaped, the games we’d survived, the battles still ahead – was ours.
And I planned to savour it.
I moved forward, letting my coils unspool in a slow, smooth motion that kept me grounded while closing the distance between us.
The floor was soft under my scales – some kind of alien foam or moss-textile.
Warm. Comforting. My body welcomed it. But it wasn’t the bed, or the lighting, or the silence that made my chest tighten.
It was her.
“You are safe now,” I whispered. “We are safe now. We escaped. You could go anywhere. Explore the stars. Enjoy your freedom.”
Her brow rose. “Are you trying to convince me to leave?”
“No.” I swallowed. “Just reminding you that you have choices now.”
“Could I go home? Would you take me?”
I stilled. A cold shiver ran over me.
She didn’t know. I had to tell her. But it would ruin the moment.
Yet…it was selfish to keep the truth from her. She would find out soon. One of the other Peritans would make a comment in passing and she would discover the truth. It was better if I was the one to tell her.
“Clare…There is something you have to know.”
She stepped closer. “What is it? Why do you sound so sad all of a sudden?”
“I don’t know how to say this…Where to begin…You were abducted from your home planet a long time ago. Have you ever thought about that, space travel taking time, time passing differently, time-“
“Of course, I have,” she interrupted me gently. “It was something Sa’quii said. Lost in time. I don’t know much about space travel, but I have watched science fiction films. Unless they had a wormhole – do they exist?”
“They do.” I couldn’t help but smile.
“So, unless they had one of those, or some other means of travelling faster than light, it would take a long time to get here. I once read this article about the closest planet with possible life to Earth and that was something like four light years away. It would take a human spaceship tens of thousands of years to travel there. I doubt I was sleeping for that long, but…” She sighed deeply.
“Just tell me. I know time has passed on Earth. I know my family, my friends, they probably all think I’m dead. Or are they…?”
I wrapped her into my arms and pulled her against my chest. “If my calculations are correct, you were abducted about seventy of your Peritan years ago.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. “That is longer than I thought. But it also doesn’t shock me.
Not as much as I would have expected. I think I already said goodbye to the life I had when I lost my memories.
Retrieving them was amazing, but they still feel sort of alien.
” She laughed softly. “Not that kind of alien, of course. But sometimes I remember something and I’m not sure if it’s really me in that memory or someone else.
Like they don’t entirely match the person I am now. ”
I curled one of her midnight locks around my fingers. “You are so strong. I am so very proud of you.”
Clare snuggled against my chest. “I could go all hysteric and start to cry, but what’s the point?
I’m glad to have my memories back. I can look at them and remember my old life.
But now, I want to forge a new life.” She traced the scales on my chest with her delicate fingers.
My fangs hurt with need and my cocks were pushing against their protective sheath.
Wrong moment to get aroused. She needed me to process what she’d just been told. This was not the time to claim her as my mate, as much as I craved that.
“And what if I choose to stay?” Her voice was quiet but steady. “With you?”
I had no answer for that – not one that wouldn’t come out raw.
Instead, I reached for her hand. Gently. Slowly. As if she might still change her mind.
She didn’t pull away.
The moment her fingers curled into mine, something inside me loosened. I hadn’t realised how tightly I’d been holding myself together – how every breath since that cave had been measured, calculated, restrained. For her safety. For mine.
I pressed her hand to my chest – not just to the place where one heart beat, but the other, too. Both. Fast. Alive.
“You calm them,” I said. “Both of them. It’s never happened before.”
Her eyes softened. “I think you calm mine, too.”
A silence bloomed between us.
“I’ve never shared a space like this,” I admitted. “Never invited someone into a nest. Into a… home. At some point, we might leave the Bloodstar and go elsewhere, but I have a feeling we might stay here for a while.”
“I kind of like it here,” she said. “Our own cosy cabin just for us and then a whole big spaceship with waffle machines and swimming pools and people who are on our side.”
Her fingers squeezed mine. My hood flared slightly, the instinctive signal of openness. Trust.
I didn’t kiss her. Not yet. Instead, I ran the back of my hand along her jaw – a slow, reverent stroke that said I’m here. You’re safe. We’re real.
Her breath caught.
And then, just like before, she reached up, put a hand around my neck and pulled me down until our lips met.