5. Naeris #2
“We thought about your request,” Ella said carefully.
“My request for basic autonomy?”
“Yes, that one.”
I took a bite, mostly to avoid smiling. The humans were growing on me. That realization alone probably qualified as a medical emergency.
Xandros crossed his arms. “Your crew will be moved into guest quarters within the hour.”
Relief punched through me so suddenly I almost showed it. Almost.
“And the Sythari prisoners?”
“Still prisoners,” Xandros answered flatly.
Good. Very good. After they left last night, I decided to give them more information on the Sythari, regardless. If they were really who they portrayed themselves to be, they might make powerful allies. Either way, I didn't have much to lose. It was worth a try. But they didn’t need to know that.
I set the plate aside slowly, not in the mood to be the only one eating. “You should know exactly who you’re holding.”
The room quieted immediately. Ashley leaned slightly against the wall while Zapharos’ attention sharpened.
“One of them is High Priest Zevari,” I filled them in. “One of the highest-ranking religious authorities within the Luminous Order.”
“And the other?” Xandros prompted.
“Grand Magistrate Nyxara.”
Even saying his name left a bitter taste in my mouth. I watched the others carefully. None of them reacted to the titles. Of course they didn’t. They still had no real understanding of what the Sythari were. I exhaled slowly.
“Those two are the highest-ranking officiates of the breeding program.”
"Breeding program?" Ella looked sick.
Right. "Let me back up."
“The Sythari weren’t always rulers. They started as traders.
” A cold laugh slipped out. “Then slavers. Then eventually, they became an empire wealthy enough to pretend there was a difference between the two.” No one interrupted me now.
“They came to Earth hundreds of thousands of years ago. Humans were primitive compared to them. Easy to take. Easy to disappear.” Bitterness sharpened every word.
“At first, humans were sold across systems because we were rare. An undiscovered species always fetches absurd prices.”
Ashley nodded in commiseration, which made me curious about her story.
“After some time, the Sythari realized some humans carried abilities they couldn’t explain.
” My gaze drifted briefly toward Nadine and Ella; this was the part I stopped at yesterday.
“Rare ones. Some could influence weaker minds. Some saw fragments of the future in dreams or reflections. Some could touch objects and hear echoes left behind in blood or memory.”
The three Arkhevari watched me with piqued interest. Especially Thyros, whom I tried hard to ignore.
“A few,” I continued more quietly, “could survive carrying impossible amounts of knowledge without breaking.
“The Sythari called it the Gift.” My mouth twisted. “And once they realized how valuable it was, they stopped selling us.”
Understanding slowly spread across several faces.
“They started collecting bloodlines instead,” I summarized flatly. “Tracking ancestry. Pairing specific humans together. Breeding generation after generation, trying to strengthen the abilities.”
Ella looked even more sick now.
“They built the Luminous Order around it. A religion designed to make captivity feel sacred.” Anger pulsed hot beneath my skin. “Girls weren’t prisoners. We were blessed. Honored. Chosen.” I laughed softly again. “Such beautiful words for livestock.”
Thyros’ jaw tightened violently. I felt the shift in him immediately. A wave of danger emanated from him and rolled through the room. It wasn't directed at me.
It was directed at them. The Sythari.
And stars help me, some traitorous part of me liked that far too much.
“The Order became obsessed with purity,” I continued before the silence stretched too long.
“Entire human settlements were harvested from Earth over centuries. Families separated. Children taken. Bloodlines cataloged like property records.” My eyes lifted toward Xandros again.
“Zevari and Nyxara inherited that system. Expanded it.” Hatred sharpened my voice into something almost cold enough to cut. “They perfected it.”
Ashley swore softly beneath her breath.
“They’re important,” I continued. “Not politically. Symbolically.” My eyes moved toward Xandros. “If the Sythari realize you’re holding them, they will come.”
Xandros gave one decisive nod. “Let them.”
The simple confidence in his voice almost startled me. He crossed his arms over his massive chest, entirely unmoved by the threat. “I’ve already called for reinforcements,” he continued calmly. “This sector will be secured within the day.”
Ashley looked completely unsurprised by this. Of course she wasn’t. Apparently, this was simply what Pandraxians did when threatened: summon fleets.
“We’re ready,” Xandros finished.
I doubted that very much. But I kept the thought to myself. Because I understood something important: The Pandraxians were not weak. Not na?ve. Not easily frightened. And if the Sythari truly came here, the universe was about to discover exactly what happened when two such empires collided.
Thyros finally spoke. “You still think we might hand you back.”
The low rasp of his voice slid across my nerves like heat over bare skin. Gods. I really needed to stop reacting to him like this. I looked toward him despite myself. Big mistake.
The man was watching me with that same unbearable intensity from yesterday, and his eyes caught mine enough to make my pulse stumble traitorously against my ribs. Not possessive exactly. Worse… certain. Like the part of him that had already decided I belonged to him was getting stronger.
“I think,” I said carefully, “that powerful civilizations tend to protect their own interests first.”
Understanding flickered across his face, which somehow unsettled me more.
“And what do you think we are?” he asked quietly.
The room suddenly felt too warm again. Too small. I became painfully aware of the dark gold shifting faintly beneath his skin, the restrained power in the way he held himself, the fact that every instinct I possessed screamed that this man was extraordinarily dangerous.
And still, my body leaned toward him anyway. Like a fool.
“I haven’t decided yet,” I answered.
His gaze dropped briefly to my mouth. Stars above.
Heat instantly curled low through my stomach.
The bond between us tightened sharply enough that I felt the jerk.
Thyros’ jaw flexed once, like he felt it too.
Probably did. Before the tension could combust into something deeply inconvenient, Nadine abruptly stepped forward with the energy of someone physically incapable of ignoring unanswered questions.
“Okay, but scientifically speaking,” she began, “the Earth situation is still deeply concerning.”
“So are you,” Thyros muttered quietly, looking straight at me.
My pulse stumbled traitorously at the sound of his voice. Gods. I really needed to get a grip on myself.
Nadine ignored us. “We know nothing about the Sythari,” she said bluntly. "Statistically speaking, that shouldn’t happen.”
Ashley sighed softly. “Here we go again.”
Nadine ignored her completely. “As I said yesterday, the universe is too interconnected. All expansion patterns overlap eventually.” She gestured between the Arkhevari and me.
“Yet somehow, your civilization, the Pandraxians, and Earth all developed independently while still orbiting the same mythological figures.” Her expression turned deeply offended by reality itself. “That’s astrophysically absurd.”
“I understood some of those words this time,” Ashley offered.
“Thank you.”
Nadine pointed at me suddenly. “You reacted yesterday when Ella mentioned Ashera and Caelor.”
Silence settled instantly. I hated sharp people. Especially scientific ones.
“You’re chasing myths,” I replied carefully.
“And yet,” Thyros murmured, “you came to Earth.”
The low rasp of his voice slid straight across my skin again.
I looked toward him slowly. He had moved closer to the bed, as if pulled in by gravity.
His massive arms were folded across his chest, while darkness and gold shifted faintly beneath his skin like restrained power.
Everything about him felt dangerous. Not simply physically. Existentially.
“Many beings come to Earth,” I replied evenly. “Apparently, it’s a very popular planet.”
“Not like you.”
The certainty in his voice irritated me immediately.
“You know nothing about me.”
His gaze locked fully onto mine.
“Then enlighten me.”
Gods. The room suddenly felt too small. Too warm. I became painfully aware of the way his eyes tracked every tiny movement I made. And worse, how badly some reckless part of me wanted to cross the small distance between us to see what would happen if I touched him.
Absolutely not.
I straightened my shoulders. I was not going to tell him about the rebellion or Kael’Varyn. Or why I had come to Earth. Trust got people killed.
“You first,” I shot back softly.
Something almost amused flickered across his face. He looked even more devastating when he did that, and I didn't even want to consider what he would look like if he outright smiled.
Ella looked between us with growing fascination.
“Oh my God,” Ashley muttered suddenly. “You two are doing the eye thing again.”
“We are not doing a thing,” I contradicted immediately.
“At all,” Thyros agreed at the exact same moment.
Ashley pointed between us dramatically. “That. Right there.”
Nadine stared at us thoughtfully. “The physiological synchronization is actually fascinating.”
“Do not encourage them,” Zapharos warned flatly.
Too late. Ella was openly grinning now.
“You know,” she tried to sound innocent, “most people buy each other dinner before staring like they’re about to start a war or kiss.”
Heat flashed straight through me. Next to me, Thyros went unnaturally still. Which somehow felt far more dangerous than movement.