Norsuk

The city"s bizarre architecture set my teeth on edge, a constant low-level unease prickling at the base of my skull. Agatha seemed even more unsettled, her steps faltering as she took in the mind-bending angles and impossible geometries. But with night closing in and unknown dangers lurking, we couldn"t afford to be picky about shelter.

My brief foray into the sky had yielded more questions than answers. From above, the settlement looked less like a metropolis and more like... something else. A vast, inscrutable machine, perhaps, or a fragment of an eldritch puzzle. The purpose eluded me, but one thing was certain—this was no ordinary city.

And then there was the stunt with the fruit.

"I thought you were dying, you little mirea!" I growled, rounding on Agatha with a glare.

She just laughed, popping another of the purple globes into my open mouth. "You should have seen your face! You"re such a sap."

I chewed mechanically, the burst of tart sweetness barely registering. "We have no idea what the builders of this place were like. For all we know, they could"ve been tentacled horrors or giant insects. Eating their food is begging for a bad reaction."

"But it"s not like we have a lot of choices." Agatha cocked her head, eyes dancing. "Afraid you"ll wake up with mandibles and a craving for rotting meat?"

I snorted. "I"m serious. We can"t assume compatibility between vastly different biologies."

"Worried about me, you mean." Her smile turned sly.

I pulled her close, bending to capture her upturned lips. She tasted like forbidden fruit, the kiss quickly turning heated. "You"re the only one I"m concerned with."

"Mm." She pulled back just far enough to meet my gaze, her own heavy-lidded and dark. "Then maybe we should find someplace with an actual bed. For safety reasons."

"High priority," I agreed, feeling my blood start to heat. "But first, a room that doesn"t set off vertigo would be nice."

"Seconded. No more M.C. Escher acid trips, please."

We continued our trek through the city"s outskirts, sticking close to the cavern wall. All was preternaturally still, not even a breath of wind stirring the vines that choked every surface. The only sign of life was the occasional peep and skitter of the strange six-legged lizards that fled at our approach. At one point, one of the creatures landed on my arm and I snatched it up, examining the bulbous eyes and translucent skin. Too small to be worth the effort of skinning and cooking.

A dark shape loomed ahead and I slowed, senses on high alert. A lone tower rose like a black fang against the cavern wall, separate from the clustered high-rises at the city"s heart. Unlike the soaring edifices behind us, this one had no foundation of glowing korun—which begged the question of why it had been built so far from the center. Most of the perimeter structures had long ago crumbled to ruin.

Agatha noticed my hesitation. "There, you think? Looks less... non-Euclidean than the rest."

I couldn"t argue with that. We changed course, cutting across an expanse of spongy turf choked with luminous vines. As we drew closer, a warmer light spilled from the tower"s few low windows, quite unlike the eerie korun glow. The lizard-things seemed drawn to the illumination, crawling over the stained walls in droves.

A shadowed alcove sheltered what looked to be an intact door, the sight lifting my spirits. But a metallic glint near the threshold made me pause, a trickle of unease working down my spine. I crouched for a better look, Agatha hovering at my shoulder.

"Are those... shackles?" She reached out to touch the broken loops of rusted metal, confusion writ large on her face. "Why would..."

The pieces clicked into place, solid as a blast door slamming shut. Fury rose in a molten tide, my awareness narrowing to the innocuous bits of metal. Shackles. Chains. Dozens of them scattered just inside, glinting dully in the wan light.

"This is where the prisoners escaped to," I bit out. "The ones from the mine." I pictured it all too clearly—desperate souls clawing their way to a distant promised land, dragging their chains, ready to risk unknown horrors for a chance at freedom. How many had perished in the attempt? How many had made it this far, only to succumb to starvation or disease in this desolate place?

Agatha said nothing, but her hand found mine, slim fingers twining between my larger ones. The small gesture centered me, drawing me back from the brink of my roiling temper. I squeezed once in silent gratitude before rising and grasping the door"s makeshift handle.

The hinges shrieked in protest, the sound overly loud in the watchful hush. I tensed, half-expecting some eldritch guardian to come boiling out of the shadows, but the scene remained undisturbed. The door swung fully open to reveal a cavernous foyer, choked with debris and more of those omnipresent vines.

We entered cautiously, senses straining for any hint of danger. A hulking slab of furniture dominated the center of the room, perhaps a reception desk or security kiosk. Beyond, the tower opened up into a vast atrium, a spiral staircase twining up the walls and out of sight.

Rows of metal doors marched along the ground floor, dull and pitted with age. I approached one at random, noting the dented button set into the wall at shoulder height. Agatha made a considering noise.

"Elevators, do you think?"

I frowned, the low thrum of active machinery plucking at my awareness. If the power was still on in this place...

Agatha reached past me to jab the button before I could voice a warning. The door whisked open on a hiss of stale air, revealing a dimly-lit capsule lined with tarnished mirrors. She stepped inside, examining a panel studded with inscrutable dials.

"Definitely an elevator. But I don"t see any kind of safety?—"

"Don"t touch anything!" I barked, unease spiking into dread. But I was a split second too late. Agatha"s hand brushed one of the dials and the doors slammed shut with a pressurized whoosh, sealing her inside.

"Agatha!" I lunged for the door, scrabbling for a purchase on the smooth metal. But it wouldn"t budge, refusing to yield to even my enhanced strength. Through the thick panels, I heard the whine of turbines spooling up, the clank and rattle of neglected machinery.

Ice flooded my veins, a sickening knot of terror forming in my gut. I had to get to her. Had to... there!

I sprinted for the half-hidden doorway, taking the steps three at a time. My heart hammered painfully against my ribs, visions of all the gruesome ways this could end strobing through my mind.

After three landings, my new wings flexed instinctively, catching the updraft in the narrow stairwell. I gave myself over to the strange impulse, muscles I barely understood bunching and releasing as they bore me aloft. The strain was incredible, every sinew alight with acid burn, but I pushed through the pain, ascending in great bounding leaps.

Floors blurred past, a dizzying spiral of peeling paint and grime-smeared windows. Still no sign of Agatha. Cold sweat beaded my brow as I neared the apex, breath tearing in harsh pants from a throat gone tight with panic. If she wasn"t on the top level...

An incongruous hum of machinery caught my ear and I zeroed in on a door limned in soft amber light. There! I careened to a stop on the landing, talons gouging chips from the ancient tile. The door was stuck fast, refusing to budge—until I slammed a shoulder into it with all my strength, splintering the jamb and sending it crashing inward.

"Agatha!"

Her name burst raw from my lips, all my pent-up terror and relief distilled into those cherished syllables. And there she was, haloed in starlight and wonder, standing before a floor-to-ceiling window with her back to me.

She turned at my shout, eyes wide and gleaming in the dimness. "Norsuk? What"s wrong? Are you?—"

I closed the distance in three great strides, catching her up in a crushing embrace before she finished. She squeaked in surprise but returned the hug fiercely, slender arms coiling tight around my neck.

"You scared me half to death," I rasped, the words muffled against her hair. "Disappearing like that. I thought..."

"Shh." Her hand smoothed over my nape, fingers carding through the sweat-damp strands. "I"m fine. It was just a silly elevator."

I pulled back to arm"s length, giving her a small shake. "A silly elevator in an abandoned alien city, with no telling what safety features or fail-safes are still operational. Agatha, you can"t just go pushing buttons willy-nilly!"

"Willy-nilly?" An impish grin tugged at her kiss-swollen lips. "I"ll have you know that was a very scientific poke."

A relieved laugh punched out of me, my arms tightening reflexively around her slight frame. Hells, but she"d be the death of me. The giddy adrenaline still singing in my blood transmuted to an electric curl of heat, the air between us thickening with unspoken intent.

"I could still poke you," I mock-threatened, voice gone low and dark with promise. "In the name of science."

Agatha shuddered, a pretty flush climbing her throat. For a moment, I was sure she"d call my bluff... but then her brow arched, a challenging glint entering her eye.

"Hold that thought, hot shot. You"re gonna want to see this." She slipped from my grasp, anticipation thrumming through her as she returned to the wide expanse of window. "Come here. Look."

Curiosity piqued, I joined her at the glass—and felt my mouth fall open, awe displacing frustration in a dizzying rush. Beyond the window, the city stretched out in a glittering sprawl, korun foundations painting the cavern in impossible colors. Soaring walkways formed elegant arcs between high-rises, aqueducts and transporters snaking through the canyons of dark stone.

But the layout... I tilted my head, struggling to resolve the nagging sense of familiarity. It almost looked like...

"It"s almost like a circuit board," Agatha breathed, wonder suffusing every syllable. "Or the controls for one, at least."

I blinked, the pattern coming into sudden, sharp focus. She was right. The main avenues formed a perfect schematic, resistors and capacitors the size of city blocks. Squinting, I just made out the elegant gold threads of connective wiring, half-buried under eons of corrosion.

"What could they have been building?" I mused, unease prickling the back of my neck. "To require a computer on this scale?"

Agatha shook her head, the movement setting the korun at her throat aflame. "I don"t know. But look, the major conduits all converge here, at this tower. If it"s the control center..."

"Then there might be a way to access the system," I finished grimly. "Learn what this place really is."

"Exactly." She turned from the window, gaze sharpening. "We should search the other rooms on this level, see if we can find a terminal or interface. There"s bound to be living quarters, too."

I grimaced, aches and pains making themselves loudly known now that the adrenaline was fading. The thought of a bed, even a dusty, ancient one, was dangerously alluring.

"Let"s secure the area first. No telling what other surprises this building might be hiding." Like booby traps or malfunctioning pressure doors, I didn"t say.

Nodding her agreement, Agatha started down the curving hallway, testing each door as she went. Most were locked tight, but a few swung open on darkened rooms bristling with unidentifiable equipment. I kept a wary eye on our trail, attuned to any flicker of movement in the omnipresent shadows.

At the third door on the left, Agatha uttered a crow of success. "Jackpot! Beds, and if that"s not a bathroom, I"ll eat my boots."

I shouldered past her, doing a quick sweep of the spartan space. A broad platform dominated the room, piled with cushions and woven mats that must have served as a pasha"s bed. The only other furniture was a low table, a bureau of some dark, dense wood, and an arched doorway leading to what did indeed resemble a ‘fresher unit.

Deeming it safe, I waved Agatha through, fighting back a grin at her gleeful expression.

While she set about happily testing the room"s amenities, I did a more thorough investigation of our new accommodations. One wall was inset with a bank of dials and switches, the configuration tickling a memory. I turned one experimentally and nearly jumped out of my skin when a panel hissed open, a rack sliding out bearing various containers.

The scent of stale air and preservatives hung thick, but beneath was an unmistakable whiff of...

"Is that food?" Agatha materialized at my elbow, tired eyes alight with fresh excitement.

A thorough rummaging turned up little of note—unidentifiable foodstuffs in various states of decay, a stack of utensils made of an unnaturally light alloy, some withered root vegetables that looked like oversized parsnips. We dared a nibble of the tubers, Agatha"s fruit-related misadventures making me bold, and were pleasantly surprised to find them palatable if bland.

The rest of the room proved unenlightening, though we stayed well clear of the freestanding cabinet that seemed to click and hum ominously when we passed. With nothing else to occupy us, Agatha gravitated back toward the bed, exhaustion plain in the droop of her shoulders.

I watched her pick her way through the piled furs and cushions, the events of the day crashing down on me all at once. Gods, had it really only been a handful of hours since the mine collapsed? Since my emergence from the cocoon, the wings still twitching and flexing at my back?

"Norsuk?"

Agatha"s soft query shook me from my musings. She sat cross-legged in the center of the bed, patting the space beside her. Wordlessly, I joined her, mattress dipping beneath my weight. The urge to just fall back and let oblivion take me was suddenly overwhelming.

Before I gave in to the temptation, Agatha shifted to face me, a muscle jumping in her jaw. A cold trickle of dread worked down my spine at her closed-off expression.

"You said you were stealing me." The words fell like lead weights, shattering the fragile peace. "That there was some dark reason keeping us apart."

I froze, the breath locking in my lungs. I had hoped the traumatic events of the mine would fade those damning revelations from her mind. No such luck, apparently.

"That was..." I trailed off, mouth working soundlessly. "I was going to tell you. Eventually."

One brow arched, a silent demand.

I sighed heavily, raking a hand through my disordered hair. "The law is clear on harvesting females from uncontacted worlds, but your value was temptation enough for some to try."

Her face drained of color, knuckles going white where they fisted in the pelts. Still, she said nothing, watching me with those huge, horrified eyes.

"I don"t know exactly what happened to the slaver vessel. Some kind of skirmish with the authorities, perhaps. But when a ship goes down over an inhabited world, the wreckage and cargo become fair game." I couldn"t meet her gaze, too much of a coward to witness my own damnation. "Legally, you were... salvage."

"Salvage." The word came out strangled, knife-edged. "As in property. Chattel."

I winced. "In the eyes of the law, yes. But I swear I was never going to?—"

"You said you and your brothers were bounty hunters. Scavengers." She swallowed hard, but didn't blink. "You were going to sell me." Each word was a nail in my coffin, cold and precise. "Anonymous and unseen, just another "item" on offer to the highest bidder."

"No! I mean, technically..." I tried to gather my thoughts again. "Agatha, please, let me explain?—"

"Explain what?" She surged to her feet, eyes blazing with betrayal and fury. "How you planned to strip away my agency, my freedom, without a second thought? How you saw me as nothing more than a prize to be won, a commodity to be traded?"

I hung my head, shame rising like bile in my throat. She was right. In my greed and arrogance, I had seen only a bounty, not the priceless, irreplaceable woman.

"I wasn"t... it wasn"t meant to be like that," I tried, the words ashen on my tongue. "We've never gotten involved with the slave trade before." Self-disgust twisted my lips. "My brothers and I, we had a stupid wager going."

"A bet?" she sputtered. "You were going to sell me as a slave? Sight unseen? Just dump me off at some slave auction?"

That was the plan.

"No!" I lied. Although I had just admitted it.

"Never give me a chance to get back home?" Her white skin turned red, green eyes on fire.

This was probably not the time to tell her that she was never going home. I would never learn where her planet was. Even if we found it, I didn't have the means for a trans-galactic passage.

But I didn't want her to go. No, even before my wings appeared, I knew she was mine. My one true mate.

But maybe not anymore.