Chapter 19 Lexa
LEXA
They herded Nyx and me into Runa's office, where she and a man and a woman were waiting. The space was cramped, barely large enough for the desk and salvaged chairs. Every surface radiated heat, making the air thick and hard to breathe.
I recognized the waiting woman as the one who'd escorted me after my capture. Now she was looking at me like I'd committed some huge betrayal, her expression a mix of disappointment and disgust. Like I'd confirmed her worst suspicions about what captivity did to people.
I didn't recognize the man. He was older, with a weathered face that came from years of hard living. His eyes were cold as they tracked over Nyx like Nyx might attack at any moment.
Fuck that.
I lifted my chin and held my head high. My shoulders went back, spine straightening. I wasn't going to apologize for my feelings, or for rescuing my mate.
Beside me, Nyx growled at the guard who promptly raised his blaster. The sound rumbled through his chest, vibrating against my shoulder where we stood close together.
"He's not going to harm you." I scowled at the guard. My hand found Nyx's arm, squeezed once.
The guard just glared. His finger hovered near the trigger.
This was going great.
The guards clustered around us, forming a loose semicircle that blocked the door. Their weapons were all trained on Nyx, not me. Like I was the victim here, the one who needed protecting from the monster I'd willingly freed.
The door scraped open, and Runa entered, her movements brisk and controlled. She took in the scene with a single glance, then moved behind her desk, taking the position of authority.
"Karima, Houston, thank you for coming so quickly," she told the seated people. Her voice was level, professional. "We have an … unexpected situation."
I gritted my teeth. I wanted to say something sharp and cutting, something that would instantly make these people see the error of their ways and let Nyx and I go.
Somehow, I didn't think fuck you all, you motherfuckers would give me the results I wanted.
Nyx shifted beside me. I could feel the tension radiating off him, the barely controlled violence of a warrior forced into a corner. His tail coiled tight, the only visible sign of his agitation. He didn't understand what was being said, and that made him dangerous.
"We caught her trying to free the enemy," the guard closest to me reported.
These people needed to get a fucking clue. "He's not my enemy! Do you think I was able to cross half this damned planet on foot alone?" I said it to Runa. I could ignore the guard for now. He wasn't going to shoot without her permission.
At least, I didn't think so.
"What are they saying?" Nyx asked me. His voice was rough, still damaged from screaming himself hoarse in that cell.
With my communicator, I was the only one who could understand and speak to him. The little device behind my ear that Kira had cobbled together in those first desperate weeks. Now it was the only bridge between my mate and these people who wanted to lock him up.
Drakarn didn't sound particularly scary if you didn't understand it, but Karima flinched when Nyx spoke. Her hand went to her chest, fingers pressing against her sternum.
"They're not happy I let you out of your cell," I muttered.
"You speak its language?" Houston sneered.
It.
The word hit me like a slap. My hands curled into fists at my sides, nails biting into my palms. They were talking about Nyx like he was a thing, something less than sentient.
Like the warrior who'd flown me across hostile territory, who'd offered me everything on bended knee, who'd made me a weapon and pledged himself to me, was nothing more than a dangerous animal.
Rage surged through me, hot and violent. I wanted to grab Houston by his collar and shake him until he understood exactly how wrong he was.
But that would only confirm what they already believed. That I'd been broken by my captivity.
"I have a translator," I gestured behind my ear. At least they hadn't bound our hands; that was a relief. "Kira rigged them up after we first landed. It allows us to understand the Drakarn language."
"I'm telling them how I can understand you," I added for Nyx's benefit. His tail twitched against my leg, acknowledgment that he'd heard.
"Don't speak to it," Houston demanded.
"Don't call him it." The words came out low and dangerous. My hand moved to the knife at my hip, fingers brushing the hilt Nyx had made for me. The contact steadied me.
Houston's eyes tracked the movement. His expression hardened. He exchanged a look with Karima, something passing between them that I couldn't read.
The tension in the room ratcheted higher. The guards shifted, adjusting their grips on their weapons. Nyx's growl deepened, his wings rustling in threat.
Karima shifted in her seat, fingers twisted together in her lap. She was looking at me pityingly. Like I was something damaged that needed to be handled gently. "Lexa, I know you must have done what you needed to do to survive, but you don't owe this …" she swallowed, "ahem, man anything."
"It's not about owing him."
It's because I love him.
Oh shit. The thought hit me hard, stealing the breath from my lungs. My heart stuttered, then kicked into overdrive.
Now was not the time to think about that. Not here, not surrounded by people who would use that confession as proof I'd been compromised. Not when we were trapped in a room with weapons pointed at Nyx's chest.
But the truth of it settled into my bones anyway, undeniable and terrifying and absolutely certain. I loved him. Loved the way he moved, the controlled violence and the gentle touches. Loved his honor and his protectiveness and the way he'd looked at me when he offered me that blade.
I wasn't ready to examine that feeling. Wasn't ready to unpack what it meant or what I was willing to sacrifice for it. But I knew, with absolute certainty, that I would fight anyone who tried to take him from me.
Beside me, Nyx was brimming with barely caged frustration. His whole body vibrated with tension, muscles coiled and ready to spring.
I reached out and took his hand. His scales were warm against my palm. His claws flexed against my fingers, careful as always, and his tail brushed against my ankle in possessive reassurance.
That earned me a disgusted sound from Houston and one of the guards behind me, but I didn't give a singular fuck. Let them think what they wanted. I knew the truth. Knew what Nyx was to me, what we were to each other.
"We just want to go back to Scalvaris," I said, staring straight at Runa. She was the deciding vote; she had to be. She was the captain, and the captain ruled. "This doesn't need to be violent. Scalvaris has sheltered us, and there are humans there who may want to come back here."
"We've seen the shelter that these things offer," said Houston.
"They're not all like that!" The words exploded out of me.
Who did these people think they were, telling me who I had a right to care for?
They hadn't been there in Scalvaris, hadn't seen the way the mated pairs worked together as equals. Hadn't watched Darrokar defer to Terra's judgment or seen Vyne's gentle devotion to Selene. They only knew Ignarath, and they'd condemned an entire species based on that limited experience.
They'd already decided. We were just going through the motions.
Runa sat back in her chair, her expression frustratingly neutral.
"We need to discuss this. I'm sorry, Lexa, but I can't let you just wander around camp now that you've abused our hospitality.
" She looked beyond me to one of the guards.
"Put her in a room under guard. And, for god's sakes, give the Drakarn some food and water; he looks like he's about to keel over.
We do not need to torture them. We can be better than that. "
The guard reached for my arm. His grip was firm but not brutal.
Nyx's reaction was immediate and violent.
He moved faster than I'd ever seen, his hand shooting out to grab the guard's wrist. His claws extended, punching through the fabric to skin beneath. The guard yelped, tried to jerk back, but Nyx's grip was iron.
A growl rumbled through his chest, deep and absolutely terrifying. His wings flared, filling the small space, blocking out everything except the threat to his mate. His lips pulled back from his fangs.
"Nyx, stop!" I grabbed his arm with both hands, trying to pull him back. "Let him go."
The other guards surged forward, weapons raised. Shouts filled the room, overlapping commands and threats.
Nyx didn't release the guard. His eyes were locked on the man's face, pupils dilated to thin slits. Every line of his body screamed violence.
"Touch her again, and I'll rip your throat out," Nyx snarled.
I was the only one who knew exactly what he was saying. The humans couldn't understand, but they didn't need to. The threat was clear.
"Nyx," I moved closer, pressing against his side. "You have to let him go. They'll kill you if you don't."
For a heartbeat, I thought he wouldn't listen. Thought the protective rage had taken him too far.
Then his eyes found mine. The feral intensity softened fractionally.
His claws retracted slowly. The guard stumbled back, clutching his bleeding wrist. The other guards closed in, forming a tighter circle around us.
The reverberating echo of a gong boomed through the room, cutting through the chaos like a blade. The sound made my ears ring.
It was followed quickly by shouts of warning from outside. Voices raised in alarm, feet pounding against packed earth.
"It's those fucking birds again," Houston cursed. He was already on his feet, moving toward the door.
The room erupted into motion. The guards who'd been focused on us turned toward the door. Runa barked orders, her voice cutting through the confusion.
"All guards to defensive positions! Karima, get to the shelters and make sure everyone's inside. Houston, coordinate the response teams."
From the easy flow of their movement, this wasn't the first attack, each person knowing their role and automatically assuming it.
Runa and the other Council members rushed toward the door, their focus entirely on the crisis outside. The guards followed, leaving just one behind to keep an eye on us.
The remaining guard looked torn, his attention split between us and the sounds of chaos filtering through the walls. Screams and weapon fire and the distinctive shriek of firebirds on the hunt.
"I'm barring this," Runa told me. She paused at the door, her hand already on the frame. For a moment, something that might have been regret flickered across her face. "We'll finish this later."
The door clanged shut, and I heard the bar sliding into place.
Locking us inside while the camp was under attack. While people died outside, while the settlement fought for survival, we were trapped in this metal box with no way to help and no way to escape.
"What's happening?" he asked.
"Firebird attack. They've locked us in here while they deal with it."
His expression darkened. "Fools. They need every warrior they can get."
He was right. I'd seen what firebirds could do, had fought them myself. My ribs still ached from the attack a few days ago. The settlement's weapons might be advanced, but the birds were fast and vicious and hunted in packs.
People were going to die out there.
And we were trapped in here, unable to help, unable to fight, unable to do anything but wait.