Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

D rying her tears, Tiara put on her best game face for her friends. She saw the younger girls looking at her and knew she had to be brave for them. I’m all they have now. She sucked in a sob and stepped closer to Jaxxon.

His shadow magic enveloped her like a warm blanket, sending tingles that spread from her feet to over her head. She felt her hair rise in the air as the shield rose, the static like a dark electricity coursing through her veins. Whoa! It was as if she were breathing underwater. Her lungs filled with magic, and her blood sang in unity with his.

As she met his eyes, she felt a jolt. He swallowed, telling her to relax. The men echoed the command to all the women as they gathered their nerve to run in the shadows. She was confident the shadows cloaked them from the view of the demons and winged men, but her heart still raced.

Screams reverberated around them as those in the marketplace fell victim to the evil bearing down on them. The entire area was chaotic as people screamed, nearly getting run over by slaver jeeps and mining wagons that were barreling through the streets to get to safety .

Tiara couldn’t stop her teeth from chattering as her body convulsed with fear. She nearly tripped as her stomach flipped. She could hear the other girls’ ragged breathing, and some were crying. This isn’t good.

Jaxxon halted the group, yanking one of the teenage girls tight against him, covering her mouth as she nearly screamed when two demons came right at them. Their ears perked as their claws clicked the ground. They ran past on all fours, howling as they went.

“Be quiet!” Jaxxon growled. “The horde can hear through our shadows. And we have a long way to go.” His command was without emotion as his eyes met each of theirs.

“Caaaan they smeeell us?” said the youngest girl, her voice a hollow whisper.

“Yes,” said Zade. “But it’s too late to take off your sweet-smelling perfume that you all seem to enjoy.”

That got a few of the girls smiling. Zade had that way about him, but Jaxxon moved the group forward again. His pace became demanding, making it hard for them to keep up. They tried their best to stay within the men’s shadows, but as they turned down one alley after another or turned around if there were too many demons ahead, it became more challenging to stay concealed.

Trying to keep track of the winged men flying overhead, Tiara fell, landing out of the shadows. Strong arms pulled her back as her terrified eyes went skyward. Thankfully, she wasn’t seen.

Fuck the game face! She wrapped her arms around Jaxxon’s neck. “Jaxx, I’m scared!”

“I got you! I’ll always have you!” He was so close she thought he would kiss her. For a moment, it was just him and her. And then she heard the shrieks of the Vralgari and the howls of the demons among the screams of the poor people of the mining colony.

“Are all the daughters of the astronauts with us?” he suddenly asked.

Tiara frowned as Jaxxon’s eyes bored into hers. “Tiara, are they all with us? ”

“Yes,” she responded, not understanding why he asked.

He turned to Zade. “Get the men on their coms. Make sure they’re all accounted for.” Zade nodded, pushing a code into a communications device attached to his wrist.

She was happy to relax briefly as they contacted their men and told them where to rendezvous.

“Jaxx! I can’t reach the two teens on their coms,” said Zade. “They got separated from the group earlier today. They were supposed to pick up more supplies from a storekeeper who sold them grain before the fighting started.”

Jaxxon swore, rubbing his chin as he looked out into the city. Worry was inked into his pained expression.

“I saw the teens you’re talking about. I know the storekeeper who sold them grain. It’s that way.” Tiara pointed.

But once they arrived, the storekeeper was dead on the ground outside the store. His cigar was still burning. Suddenly, they heard a battle inside the store as black shadows broke through the glass. Two teens jumped through the window with four demons on their tails.

“Zade, protect the women,” Jaxxon yelled as he broke from the shadows.

He thrust his hands in the air as shadows flowed outward, forming his battle hammer. Swinging his hands, the battle hammer rippled with elemental magic as he sliced the first demon in half. Before the demon hit the ground, Jaxxon thrust his magic outward as shadows morphed into bullets, cutting down another demon.

She’d seen men fight with magic many times on the mining colony and seen people shredded apart, beaten, and worse. But she’d never seen anyone fight like Jaxxon. He didn’t fight with fear or anger. No, he fought with focus. His movements were precise, calculated, and deadly. It frightened her to see the amount of carnage falling around her. She shook, unable to pull her eyes away as blood flew until another demon came into view. A giant fucking demon.

Zade left the shadows as the fifth demon jumped over a jeep, landing behind Jaxxon, who was fighting another demon. Zade began battling the demon, the two falling against the jeep and tumbling to the other side.

Tiara screamed, instinctively thrusting her palms forward as elemental magic shot toward a demon trying to breach the gap in their shield. She took him down, but another demon ran for her. Her magic was spent, barely a ripple left as she watched in alarm as the demon’s purple eyes bore down on them. Maya pulled her out of the way as the demon crashed into their shield. Maya’s magic flared as she shot elemental light into the demon’s face, sending it howling.

She and Maya backed away, looking at each other with dread. The howling demon stayed upright, shaking off the effects of the little magic Maya could wield. They breathed a sigh of relief when the demon began running away.

But Zade, still locked in battle with another demon, yelled, “Kill it! It can’t tell the others we are here!”

One teen threw a spear made of shadows into the demon before it reached the alley’s end, going right through its heart. Tiara jumped, shocked the teen could make the throw with such accuracy. Zade severed the head of the demon he’d been fighting, running back to strengthen their shield. Damn! These shadow raiders are lethal.

Jaxxon and Zade got the group running again. Where are we going? Heading into the more industrialized business districts, she didn’t know of any safe places nearby. Jaxxon and his men were all that stood between them and the monsters hunting them. Please let us survive this! Her chest tightened at the thought of the girls not getting a chance to grow up.

As they got to the trading docks, numerous space shuttles were busy with people either working on ship repairs, getting refueled, or trading merchandise of all types. The Mineva mining colony was one of the biggest providers of ore for ships and mechanics for repairs. But it was also known for having one of the best trading posts.

Numerous steel bridges ran around the trading post where people bought and sold large quantities and put them on spaceships. The entire place was alive with a flurry of activity .

Jaxxon took the group past the busy section. Tiara frowned. Where in the hell are we going? There’s nothing down here. They were heading into sheer darkness at the far end. It was nighttime, but the flurry of activity at the trading docks was aglow. Yet, this darkness was strange.

She ran into Jaxxon’s back when he suddenly halted at the end of a long steel bridge. And before her eyes, several men with dragon scale tattoos appeared, throwing their hands back as if lifting a great curtain at a concert hall. Shadows receded, uncloaking a great spaceship.

“Wow!” Tiara’s eyes widened. The spaceship before them was magnificent. The sleek design was unlike anything she’d ever seen.

It looked like liquid silver, with violet-hued words written in a strange language she somehow knew, though she had no memory of ever learning.

“Destiny’s Hammer.” It was the most beautiful ship she’d ever seen.

Sleek and angular, it towered above her, glowing with pulsating energy illuminating its metallic surface. The ship’s angles were almost organic, like a shadow into the unknown universe. The ramp was open, inviting her to safety, freedom, and a new life.

“Everyone, listen to me,” said Zade. He had to shout several times to get the women’s attention as they were all focused on the massive ship before them or crying and looking over their shoulders at what they knew was coming.

“You have a choice. You saw what just happened to your home. It’s gone.” His voice wasn’t gentle, nor were his eyes as he looked at each of them. But he waited for them to stop crying when he knew he had all their attention.

“I can offer you a home with us on Crelentia.” Zade paused, letting his words sink in. “Or I can put you on one of the transport ships to go wherever you wish.”

Jaxxon’s men stood next to him and Zade. Their tattoos blazed fiercely against the darkness of the night, blending in perfectly like liquid metal .

“But if you leave on our ship, you can never return here. For there is no place safe from the Vralgari.”

Jaxxon stepped forward, pointing toward the screams coming from the far side of the docks. “Enough of the speech, Zade! Ladies, if you’re going with us, we must leave now.”

Tiara and her friends looked at the dozens of transport ships docked nearby that were taking people to far-off lands. It was finally their chance to travel the stars like their mothers had. But it was also their chance to do what she had always dreamed of—return to her mother’s ancestral home and make it a better place.

Tiara and her friends ran onboard Jaxxon’s ship as the howls and shrieks grew closer. The men hurried around them, showing them to their seats. Strapping them in, the thick belts dug into her skin.

She saw Jaxxon at the helm, his powerful figure commanding the ship with precision. Zade was next to him, scanning the horizon as the control console lit up in response to their touch. They moved with the ease of seasoned pilots headed into battle.

I thought this man was a ruthless brute, nothing but a raiding warlord, but he’s more dangerous. He’s a warlord with technology and magic! What have I gotten myself into? Who are these men? Tiara tried to swallow her fear but sweat rolled down her brow.

Everything was happening so fast that she could barely take it all in as her eyes swept around the ship. She listened as they called attendance from the audio system. Each man shouted they were present. There were more men in Jaxxon’s crew than she had expected.

Turning, she saw another group of men operating instrument panels that pulled up the galaxy system on radar. Their tech was far superior to anything she’d seen on Mineva. Awe and shock struck her at once.

“They’re getting close!” Zade yelled, glancing out the window with alarm. “Go!”

Suddenly, the spaceship lifted straight up. Tiara’s body was pressed hard against the seat as the belt tightened around her. Fear gripped her as the engines roared and the ship vibrated.

Realization hit her—she was leaving her home. The place where her mother had birthed her and raised her to become the woman she was. Unknown enemies ripped everything away from her for reasons she didn’t know. Tears burned her eyes, and her chest heaved uncontrollably from an overwhelming sense of loss.

Breaking her from her stupor, she felt the ship hurtle into space as they rocked through Mineva’s atmosphere. The men were shouting commands and checking the monitors. As the spaceship took sudden turns, they were thrown forward with only the straps keeping them in place. The belts cut into her delicate skin as she tried to loosen them. But it was nothing compared to the grief that was tearing her apart inside.

She felt sick as her friends screamed and cried around her. She heard one of the younger girls wail for Ms. Hazel. It was her undoing. Tiara couldn’t breathe as she choked back sobs. But they kept coming. She ripped at the belts in desperation. Unstrapping, Tiara fell to the cold, metallic floor at the next sudden movement of the ship.

She heard Jaxxon yelling to his men that the Vralgari ships had taken off the ground. “Full power to the thrusters!” he yelled.

Tiara crawled toward the window, her body shaking with deep, racking sobs, making it hard to breathe. She just needed air—something, anything, to fill her lungs. But there was no fresh air here, no sky, no wind, only the endless darkness of space. She reached the window, her fingers pressing against the cool glass.

Her lungs hurt as she screamed in anger at the loss of Ms. Hazel and those who’d cared for her. “No,” she cried. “This can’t be happening.”

“Get back in your seat!” a man yelled as she crouched on the floor near the window.

She swallowed, catching her breath and getting a handle on her emotions. She looked through the window. The black expanse of space was beautiful. Stars twinkled before becoming blazing balls of fire once they got closer.

Is this what it means to leave your home? To leave behind everything you’ve ever known? Will I lose myself out there in the stars?

And yet, even through the sorrow, there was a flicker of something else. A memory of her mother’s voice, telling stories of space, of distant worlds she’d visited as an astronaut. Tiara had always dreamed of following in her mother’s footsteps, of seeing the stars the way her mother had. Didn’t I want this? Dream of traveling in space to faraway worlds?

She remembered her mother’s words. “Sometimes, following in the footsteps of those you admire takes you far from where you started. But no matter how far you go, the stars are the same, and so are you.”

As she stared at the vast universe, Tiara’s heart twisted with the conflict inside her. She was devastated, shattered by the loss of her family and her home. But she was also excited—despite everything, part of her had always wanted this. Was this what it meant to be brave?

She turned her gaze from the stars to the interior of the ship. Jaxxon’s spaceship was a marvel of technology, unlike anything she’d imagined. The walls gleamed with a metallic sheen, embedded with glowing veins of elemental magic that pulsed rhythmically. The air she could barely breathe earlier through her sobs, she now realized, was tinged with a mild floral scent that was welcoming.

Sleek control panels filled with holographic displays flickered with symbols—symbols she somehow recognized were Crelentian. My mother drew these symbols in her murals! She’d thought it was a game, but now she realized her mother had always prepared her for this journey. All their mothers had prepared them.

Gathering her strength, she stood, her face peeled to the window. Scrunching her brow, she saw a flicker in the darkness. And then another. She glanced back toward the helm.

“Tell Kylo to get the fucking portal open!” Zade yelled. “The Vralgari are coming!”

She saw Jaxxon’s pupils contract, turning a brilliant shade of violet. He was concentrating as his lips moved silently as if talking to someone. Her gaze snapped back to the window. She gasped at the sight before her.

Two giant dragons flew past the ship. Their wingspans were enormous. Their black scales blended into the darkness as they opened their mouths, blowing a wave of flames. Suddenly, their violet flames burst ahead of the ship, creating a circle of fire. The ring of flames expanded, opening a giant portal.

The dragons flew right into the portal, and so did the ship.

Tiara felt lightheaded as her vision blurred, and everything suddenly went black.