Chapter Thirty-Two
No Easy Way Out
Tydalos turned visibly startled, then smirked. "Ah, Zephyron. Thank you for delivering my Omega."
I can't believe I ever considered him. Just looking at his smug face made my fists clench. "I see the acting is done."
"Oh, that continues, little one." He gestured to Brody, a few steps back, arms crossed. Above him, a blocky black drone hovered with lenses bristling on every side. "I have my own scribe, and I will show the galaxy what I chose because of...? What is the phrase?"
Brody smirked. "Surgical edits."
Dad scoffed, "Yer both awfully mouthy."
Tydalos blinked, then tilted his head, confused. Brody leaned in and whispered in his ear.
"Ah," Tydalos chuckled. "Then document my words." He glanced around. "Is the drone not working? I see no Simulacrums either."
Either he or the Sandari medic must have done something.
Without making it obvious, I stared at Brody's drone.
It didn't have an octopus feel like the one back in the hospital or the armored shell associated with those on Sudo.
It was plain, black, and with exposed wires.
I wasn't an expert in alien technology, but I knew Alen's lab back on Earth.
This was older, less refined, and had the feel of something modified.
Brody adjusted his stance, rolling his shoulders as if stretching out a stiff muscle. "So, where's Parker?" His voice oozed false nonchalance. "Hey, Parky! You hiding behind a rock? Scared I'll give you another black eye?"
My blood turned to ice. "He's dead."
Brody's smirk faded instantly. "No, he's not."
"He is," Dad coughed out. "Drowned. Because of all this." He gestured at the landscape dotted with Zerlites, the aftermath of Tydalos' asteroid stunt. "Because of him."
Brody's face twitched. Just barely, but I caught it. The split second when his mask cracked. He swallowed hard, recovering quickly.
I took a slow breath, forcing my anger into words. "If Tydalos hadn't..." I motioned to the soaked ground. "If he hadn't flooded everything, Parker wouldn't have—"
Tydalos interrupted with a dramatic sigh, "Ah, but the edit will show Zephyron did it." His gaze turned sharp, predatory. "The orbital codes were his. You should be mindful of who you trust."
Zephyron didn't flinch. He simply tilted his head slightly as if considering how best to dismantle the man in front of him.
"Where's Tessith?" I asked.
Tydalos' eyes gleamed. "He is around." It sounded like bad line delivery from a film shoot.
Liar.
I turned to Brody. "What do you think he'll do with you when you're no longer useful? The same thing he did to his last tool. You know everything. Let me guess. You don't have access to the footage except what he lets you see."
Tydalos let out a lazy chuckle. "I honor those who are loyal." He glanced at Brody with mild amusement. "He was instrumental in understanding Earth's concept of... what did you call it? 'Painting the narrative?' Yes. I need someone like him."
Brody lifted his chin defiantly. "He needs me."
No, he doesn't.
Tydalos turned back to me. "Was this the plan, Thomas? To turn him against me? Were you to anger him so much he'd strike, so your temporary mate could attack?"
My permanent mate spoke, deep and unyielding. "This is between you and me. No interference."
He arched his brow. "Even from the Human Omega?"
"We will fight as warriors. Only our hands."
Tydalos chuckled. "Or... personal weapons."
Zephyron didn't blink, and he understood. "Then let us fight."
With a shimmer, a purple force field rose and sealed them in.
The Trial began.
They crashed like sea and stone. One unyielding, the other unstoppable.
Tydalos lunged first, faster than I expected, his powerful frame closing the distance in an instant. He twisted at the last second, slamming his forearm into Zephyron's ribs with a sickening crack.
Zephyron staggered. The man I knew would have easily weathered Tydalos' elbow strike, but he fought dozens of Zerlites, an alien queen, and nearly drowned. Every man had his limits, and where would he find his?
Instead of retreating, he stepped into another strike, absorbing the force before launching a brutal counterattack. His fist slammed into Tydalos' side, sending him skidding back, feet digging into the damp mud and rock.
Tydalos spat blood and rolled his neck. "Not bad, desert vermin." His smirk returned. "Shame you'll be too broken to watch me claim my Omega."
The response was so fast, I saw little more than a blur. One second, Tydalos stood there, smirking. The next, Zephyron had closed the gap, then grabbed him by the throat. He slammed him against the spire wall with enough force to make new gravel from the rock. The smirk had vanished.
Zephyron leaned in, voice deadly calm. "I will shatter your arrogance before I break your body."
Tydalos slumped down, with a streak of blood on the rock face behind him. His left arm had been broken. This was it. The fight was over, but he laughed. This wasn't a mocking tone or something for the cameras. It was real. Genuine. A rare bit of truth from him.
What am I not seeing?
Brody's old-school drone hovered, recording everything. We'd see the parts Tydalos liked. He'd present an epic fight where he won. This part wouldn't be shown. I knew it.
He's sure he's going to win.
Why?
"Oh, Zephyron," he murmured. "What happened to you? Once you were great. So honored, the Emperor himself sent you to Earth to represent the Empire. What are you now? A former Sentinel, stripped of your title, with a mate who never wanted to be with you."
Nails dug into my palms, but the pain was nothing next to the rage clawing at my chest.
He turned up Brody's camera-drone. "Why Zephyron? Why would you release the ice asteroids in anger? Why risk your own mate's life?" His eyes flickered with false sadness as he reached out. "Thomas... I will save you!"
He pushed himself up as if my man hadn't thrown him toward the rock wall with the force of a wrecking ball. Zephyron swung his thick knuckle against Tydalos' jaw, and the man's head snapped sideways.
No defense came, just a modulating whistle. A chill crept down my spine. That wasn't random, but a Volardi security code. Alen had used something similar on Earth as did Zephyron at the palace.
What did he trigger?
The fight pressed on. Tydalos absorbed every blow, unshaken. Strikes that should have smashed ribs didn't slow him down. Then he looked straight at me through the force field.
"Go ahead, Thomas. Do you think you can copy the tones?"
It was bait, but I had to know.
I matched the pitch exactly. The wounds on his body sealed themselves. His arm snapped back into place. Aside from the dirt and blood clinging to him, he looked untouched.
"Thank you, Soundmaster," he said with a wide grin. "You can trigger the nanites, but only I can stop them. So whistle again. Heal your true champion and strengthen me!"
Combat nanites, made for extinction-level threats like the Gloom. Zephyron would never use them in an honorable duel.
Tydalos didn't care and lashed out, faster now. Stronger. His punches and kicks became impossibly precise. Dodges were unnaturally fluid. Strikes from Zephyron hadn't slowed his opponent down, only recalibrated his stance.
My mate fought back, but he was losing ground.
I barely registered the way my dad stepped closer with his fists clenched. He coughed, and his voice was rough, quiet. "I'm sorry, Son. I never saw your mother go like this. She chose another path, but if I had seen someone do this to her and I couldn't do anything..."
I swallowed. My throat stayed tight as my baby cried.
We couldn't save him.
The fight was locked behind Volardi tradition, and the purple force field ensured we obeyed. No interference. No help. No breaking the rules.
Zephyron had to win alone against a superhuman opponent.
Tydalos grinned. The manic glee in his dark-purple eyes grew as the nanites coursed through his system.
He lifted his hands, manifesting two curved daggers from liquid metal.
They slithered into their razor-sharp shape, humming with energy.
Despite the rules, I repeated the tones, and it did nothing.
Zephyron stared at them for a long moment. His shoulders were tense, his breathing controlled, but I saw it—the moment he realized.
He couldn't do the same.
Because of me. Because he had given up his ability to generate his personal weapon when he'd saved my father's life.
Tydalos spun the blades with an easy, practiced confidence. "Now, let us give Earth and the Empire something magnificent to watch."
He lunged forward. Daggers flashed in sharp arcs as Zephyron struggled to counter with his bare hands. A curved silver blade cut bloody lines over tanned Sudo flesh. Another followed, slicing across his ribs.
He blocked the next volley with his forearm, and the price was another deep, red gash.
The battle could have ended. Instead, Tydalos toyed with him, turning it into torture. Across from me, Brody directed the camera, his usual smugness long gone. For the first time, he looked uncomfortable, yet he continued recording.
Zephyron exhaled sharply, staggering back. His stance faltered. He bled in a continual stream. His muscles shook from exhaustion, previous battles, and nearly drowning.
Tydalos smirked, circling him like a shark. "Look at you," his voice was pleased. "Once, you were feared. Respected for your service in the Gloom War. Now, you're just a broken warrior, fighting battles you can't win for a mate who never wanted you."
A tired, battered man lifted his head, his violet eyes meeting mine.
A silent moment passed between us.
I saw his pain. His exhaustion.
His gaze shifted, just briefly, to where I'd laid Parker's phone. His eyes narrowed. He understood. It wouldn't save him, but it might save planets.
Like my dead friend, he saw the bigger picture and a way to win, even if he lost.
Zephyron knew he couldn't win this fight, not against a man who had turned himself into a superpowered fighting machine. But he could leave behind the truth that mattered.
He just wouldn't be here to see it.
***