Chapter 26

Siona

W e arrived at one of the four entrances of the Commons by the southeast junction. Energy fields erected around each access point prevented enemies from entering or leaving. Being calibrated to recognize authorized officials, personnel, and members of the Imperial Guard—using both facial recognition and the key fob embedded in our armbands—each of us were able to cross unimpeded through the field.

Total mayhem greeted us upon entering. At least a hundred rebels had invaded the vast space. Corpses littered the pale stone floors surrounding the giant tree of life which adorned the north side of the room. Behind it, through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the aerial battle continued to rage. Across from the tree, at the other end of the room, more skirmishes took place on the semi-circular staircases that framed the room. They led to the gallery which overlooked the Commons where I had taken a stroll following my assassination attempt to prove to everyone that I was well on the way to recovery.

But my father-in-law retained my attention. Gone was the sweet man I had always known him to be. The feral look on his face made him look possessed. Watching him grab an opponent by his collar and fling him a few meters away like a rag doll took my breath away. I had witnessed phenomenal strength from the Braxians, but I never expected the lithe Sarenians to achieve this level—though still lesser than what the giants of my adoptive world displayed.

His movements were like a blur so quickly he was slashing and hacking at his enemies with his sword. A Guldan rushed him, only to have his throat ripped right off by a single swipe of Nemrox's claws. He pursued the movement of his hand to grab the horn of his previous victim's acolyte and yanked him towards him. Moving at the speed of a striking snake, Nemrox bit the right cheek of his target. It lasted but a second before he tossed him away. I first assumed he'd chomped the flesh right off his face. However, understanding dawned on me when I watched the male collapse onto the floor. Writhing and screeching, he clawed at his face while foaming at the mouth.

Nemrox had injected him with a lethal dose of poison with his fangs.

I still couldn't see Eldrin anywhere, but until we pushed back the invaders, there would be no way for us to proceed further. Without hesitation we joined the fray. While dispatching the Guldans was easy enough, fighting the Sarenian rebels proved a lot trickier. Some of them were wearing uniforms disturbingly similar to those of the Imperial Guard, undoubtedly to throw us off.

I personally had no issue identifying them as the overhead display of my visor's interface clearly indicated who were friends or foes thanks to a reddish outline around their silhouette. But that same amazing Tuurean armor also instantly gave me away. Many of the rebels attempted to zero in on my position. My Queen's Guard and many of the other Imperial Guards moved closer to me. Soon, I found myself battling alongside Nemrox and Alred. Deliah remained near the entrance, shooting at our enemies with her blaster, wrecking their brains with her psychic strikes, and occasionally engaging in physical combat with the bladed staff I lent her earlier.

A particularly rabid Sarenian rebel came at Kolvar in a relentless series of savage attacks with his sword, putting the Commander on the defensive. My heart dropped when I noticed another rebel sneaking up behind him. I called out his name in warning, but he didn't hear me.

Stuck fighting off a Sarenian of my own, I couldn't make my way to him to assist. I dodged left as my opponent brought down his sword in a blow that would have done some serious damage to my right shoulder, then swiped right back at him with my own sword to force him to back up.

He leaned back, pretending that he would retreat only to yank a small knife from his weapons belt and throw it at my face. Under normal circumstances, I would have barely managed to avoid it. But with the aid of the neural link of my suit, I caught the blade mid-flight, spun around, and flung it with all my strength—enhanced by my suit—at the rebel readying to stab the Commander in the back.

The knife found its mark in my target's right eye. His screech of pain finally alerted Kolvar who spun around, noticed his would-be assassin, and fired a close range shot of his blaster at his face. It blew up in a shower of blood and gore. Before his previous attacker could seize the opportunity to finish off the Commander, Nemrox swooped in. He caught the rebel by his hair and yanked it down with all his might while kicking the small of his back with the front of his lower leg. The rebel emitted a strangled scream as his spine broke in half.

I turned back to my attacker only to see Alred slice his arm string. The Sarenian fell to one knee. He opened his mouth to shout in pain, but him swallowing my blaster shot silenced him permanently.

At that moment, a vibration from my bracer indicated that my scrambler had completed its task on a number of the implants in range. In the next five minutes or so, every implant in the room would cease to function. And then, there would be no mercy…

Not that we would truly need it after all.

The tide was quickly turning. The rebels kept falling back, with most of them now cornered in the semicircular dead end between the two staircases of the Commons. A couple of pockets of invaders were being pushed back closer to the other main floor exit on the west side of the room.

Just as we were pressing forward to exterminate them, a shrill sound above us nearly had my heart jump out of my chest. To my horror, six Guldans standing on the balcony overlooking the Commons shed their stealth cloaks. The one in front, clearly the leader of their little group, was holding Eldrin by the nape. From this angle, I couldn't be certain, but he appeared to be fisting his hair at the base of the boy's skull. In his other hand, he held a blaster pointed at Eldrin's head.

Red hot fury surged through my veins that he would dare harm any child, but even more so one who had truly become a son to me. Next to him, Shandar—his Matriarch—looked utterly terrified.

"Everyone, stand down!" he shouted. "Stand down, or I'll kill the boy!"

The battle trickled to a stop, both the Imperial Guards and the rebels maintaining a defensive stance, ready to resume battle at the first sign of foul play. In the case of the rebels, the few who still lived were badly injured. Although they stopped, the look in their eyes expressed clearly that they did not expect to make it out of here alive.

My gaze flicked to the right, searching for Killian who had been battling on the opposite side of the Emperor from me. Our eyes locked for the briefest moment that felt like an eternity. No words were needed for me to understand this was the moment he foresaw. I glanced back up at the Guldan while the Seer's words replayed in my mind.

"Let us through and out of the palace, or the boy dies. You've won the day. Let this be enough," the Guldan shouted.

In what I believed to be a reckless but instinctive gesture prompted by maternal instinct, Shandar lunged at the Guldan in a vain attempt to slap the weapon out of his hand. The poor older female obviously lacked the most basic combat skills. The Guldan effortlessly countered her attempt before backhanding her with such violence it sounded like thunderclap from where I stood. The Matriarch flew back, collapsing heavily on the floor, frighteningly close to the top of the stairs. For a brief instant, I feared she would fall down the staircase. But she simply lay there unconscious, belly down, and one arm dangling over the first couple of steps.

A collective hiss and enraged growls rose from all the Sarenians in attendance, including the rebels, at the sight of violence perpetrated against a female. But the sound of their rage didn't muffle Eldrin's voice.

"Shandar!!" Eldrin shouted.

He instinctively tried to rush to her side, only to be savagely yanked back by the hair.

His little face winced in pain, and his right hand flew to the back of his head.

"Stand still, you little vermin!" the Guldan shouted.

Instead of the tears and distress I would naturally expect from such a young child, Eldrin didn't wither. Despite the pain of how tightly his captor was fisting his hair, the boy looked up at him, his silver-blue eyes burning with hatred.

"You will die for this," Eldrin hissed.

Enraged, the son of a krillik raised his fist, clearly intending to strike the boy.

"Release my grandson!" Nemrox roared with such fury and power I could almost feel the floor vibrating beneath my feet.

It startled the Guldan, stopping him halfway through the motion. He froze, his gaze locking with the Emperor's. He swallowed hard, a deep fear settling over his features as he realized how much worse he was making his own situation. Judging by the way his other five companions were shifting uneasily behind him, they also understood he was ruining what slim chance they still had of making it out of there.

He lowered his fist and nervously licked his lips. His eyes flicked this way and that looking for the fastest route out of his current predicament. The fool was the embodiment of a trapped animal who failed to realize there would be no escape.

"Let us leave, and you can have the boy back."

"It's me you want, not him," I interjected, taking a step forward.

"Princess!" Alred whispered in a disapproving tone.

I pressed my palm to the side of his upper arm in an appeasing gesture, my eyes still locked with the man I looked forward to slaughtering.

His eyes lit up. "Siona Siddik… See all the death you caused?" he asked, waving the hand holding the blaster at the piles of bodies littering the floor.

" I caused nothing," I retorted in a defiant tone filled with contempt. " You did. You forced your way where you were not wanted to try and impose an alliance that has been rejected multiple times and that will forever continue to be. And now, you're going to die."

He paled but continued to try to put up a brave front. "In case you haven't noticed, we have the heir to the throne, and your Prince Zerien is our prisoner."

Although I suspected it might be the case, having it confirmed struck me hard. It took every ounce of my willpower to maintain a neutral expression, bordering on nonchalance.

"So what?" I asked with a shrug. "Our Seer confirmed that my mate survives this mess. The same cannot be said for you."

"But the boy—"

"In case you forgot, I'm Guldan," I said sharply, interrupting him. "Since when do Guldan females care about the offspring their mates sired on another? Do you not know how my Nana had forsaken my sire—her own son born of her body—when her first husband repudiated her? Why should I care about this boy? This would-be usurper? My offspring will sit on the throne after Zerien. Not him!" I added with a dismissive gesture towards Eldrin.

Shocked and outraged looks from the Imperial Guard and the Sarenian rebels greeted my words. I ignored them, focusing on my nemesis. I could only pray that my son would not believe the words I spoke. In that instant, I quietly thanked the Goddess that I insisted Killian reveal what he was holding back earlier. Although distressed by my words, Nemrox, Alred, and Kolvar didn't interfere as they knew I was meant to speak them.

"You're bluffing!" the Guldan shouted, fear and doubt audible in his voice.

"No, you scum. You are," I said with all the contempt I could muster. "The moment you kill him, you're dead. So go ahead, be my guest. I dare you to kill him."

"Princess!" Kolvar exclaimed, scandalized.

I raised my arm as if to tell him to be silent, then turned my wrist slightly to show him my bracer in what I hoped would come across as an inconspicuous and nonchalant gesture for the rebels. A couple of sharp breath intakes—thankfully discreet enough—marked the moment the Imperial Guard and their Commander finally got it. Any second now, the implants would be disabled.

"Guldans like to brag about their technological and intellectual superiority, and yet you and your ilk keep underestimating us. How many times must you fail against the Braxians and Sarenians to learn your place and leave us the fuck alone?" I snarled. "Nobody likes you. Nobody wants an alliance with you. Whatever technology you try to throw at us, we'll defeat it."

"Our ships outside—"

"Will be taken down, like all of you," I said, interrupting him again.

Just as I was going to needle him some more, the blessed sound of our collective beepers finally went off.

"Eldrin, you know that sound!" I shouted.

"What…?!" the Guldan said, fear nearly freezing him in place.

A savage grin settled on the boy's face so identical to his father's. Without missing a beat, he looked at his captor over his shoulder.

"Release me and shoot your right hand," Eldrin commanded before his eyes flashed.

Horrified, the Guldan had no choice but to comply with the compulsion. Then everything seemed to happen at once. The rebels launched a desperate attack only to have the Imperial Guards put them under their thrall.

Eldrin ran towards the stairs, but the five Guldans surrounding his now wounded captor tried to catch him. To my horror, the boy put one hand on the railing and effortlessly jumped over it. I shouted his name as he plummeted down the five meters to the floor. Time appeared to slow down to a trickle as I raced towards the location where he would fall. All around me, people were battling again. The Guldans on the balcony—out of spite and desperation started firing at me, one of them throwing a dagger.

I rolled out of the way, which also veered me too far from Eldrin's path. Without thinking, I whipped my head, the armored braid extending like a lasso to wrap around his waist. Seconds before I yanked him towards me—and less than a meter before he would crash on the floor—the nanites of my suit thickened around my neck and spine, strengthening their support to protect me from damage. It still hurt, but I didn't care.

Eldrin's small body all but collided with mine as I closed my arms around him. Carried by the force of the impact, I slid on the floor on my knees even as I activated my armor's protective shield. We spun around on the floor while blaster fire rained down on us. It felt like it went on for an eternity, when in truth mere seconds had lapsed since the beep went off.

The Imperial Guard formed a protective wall behind us and unleashed their wrath on the remaining rebels on the ground floor.

As soon as we stopped spinning, I released Eldrin from my embrace and, holding him by both upper arms, I examined him from head to toe.

"Are you okay, sweetie? Did he hurt you?" I exclaimed.

"I'm fine, Massi. I knew you would save me!" he said, his eyes shining with love.

My heart melted, and a powerful emotion nearly choked me. I kissed his forehead and gave him a fierce hug, which he returned.

"ELDRIN!"

I looked up to see Kaelin running towards us with two guards trying to hold her back.

"Mama!" Eldrin shouted.

I released him and watched him run towards his mother. Another wave of emotions surged through me at the sight of the moving tableau of the reunited mother and son. Pushing up to my feet, I turned around to the sound of the screaming Guldan. The Imperial Guards parted to let me through.

Killian was kneeling next to Shandar, helping the elder female, who appeared to be regaining consciousness. Around them, the five other Guldans were laying down, either dead or knocked out. But it was Alred who retained my attention. Holding him by his left horn, he was dragging the Guldan down the stairs, belly down.

Looking more feral than ever, Nemrox marched towards them with a snarl on his face and his claws extruded, ready to shred and lacerate. He was terrifyingly magnificent.

"Wait!" I exclaimed, hurrying towards him. "That one is mine! Please…" I added when Nemrox bared his fangs at me.

Like all his people, the Emperor battled with the savage nature and blood rage that Korlethean had inflicted upon their species through their experiments. Right this instant, I could see him for the first time trying to rein it in. In all the years I had known him, Nemrox had done such a wonderful job of maintaining his stoicism that I'd literally been lulled into thinking he wasn't just as vulnerable to this plague as the others.

His eyes slightly glazed over in that way I recognized from seeing it on Zerien whenever he invoked his kaa to get his fury under control. After a few more seconds, and despite his fangs still being bared, Nemrox gave me a stiff nod.

"Thank you," I said with sincere gratitude.

By rights, this kill should be his to claim as they invaded and damaged his palace, threatened the life of his grandson, and killed far too many of his Warriors. As the Emperor of Sarenia, this attack was a direct affront to him.

Alred dragged the Guldan in front of me and yanked his head up by the horn so that he would kneel before me.

"Why?" he asked while holding his bloody stump against his chest. "Why save the bastard? He's not your blood. He's an usurper to your own heir!"

"You stupid fool," I said while shaking my head with disdain at him. "My genetics may be Guldan, but my upbringing is Braxian, and my new people are Sarenians. So long as you remain trapped in your narrow-minded way of thinking, you will continue to fail. I'm not Eldrin's mother, but I'm his Massi. And no one fucks with my son! May your entire house and bloodline rot for eternity in Gharah's lair. There will be no honor and no future for you and yours."

With that, I grabbed the bladed tip of my braid and stabbed it in his right eye. The blade split in four, shredding his brains to pieces, the tips piercing through the skull. He died with a startled sound, almost like a hiccup. The blade closed back into a single one, and I yanked it back out.

Hisses of approval resonated all around me from the Sarenians. Although it sounded almost like angry cats, it felt like music to my ears. Many of the men adjusted their crotches, turned on by the violence. As much as it weirded me out the first time I witnessed this, it now felt like a badge of honor.

"My Emperor, the rebel ships are retreating. What should we do with these other traitors?" Kolvar asked, waving at the handful of subdued rebels.

"Ask your Queen," Nemrox replied as if it was self-evident before turning to me, his paternal expression returning despite the lingering feral side of him. "Are there any others you wish to claim, Daughter?"

Warmth and deep affection filled my heart for the Emperor. With the coronation imminent he had steadily been delegating to Zerien and me, establishing me as their future rightful ruler with the authority that came with it. The selflessness with which he relinquished power spoke volumes about what an honorable ruler he was for his people.

"No, Father," I said affectionately before looking at Kolvar. "You can kill all the Guldans but keep the Sarenian rebels for questioning. We must make sure to root out any other of their remaining allies. Have a few of our fleet track and shoot down the rebel vessels."

"My Queen," Kolvar replied with a deference I'd never perceived from him before.

To my shock he caressed my upper arm before turning on his heel to have the rebels taken to the dungeon. Forcing myself to focus on the task at hand, I faced Marius, the Imperial Guard who led the unit protecting the Council.

"Marius, escort the Council and the Prince to safety. Take however many men you need. Watch over them until we have confirmation that the palace is fully secure again," I said.

"With my life, my Queen," Marius said firmly before caressing my shoulder.

My throat tightened, and I blinked past the tears that threatened to well in my eyes. Now was not the time to fall apart out of joy of finally becoming accepted by my new people. I turned to my father-in-law, my wheels spinning while attempting to settle on a course of action.

"If you secure the palace and the Serail, I could go after Zerien," I said, before casting a questioning glance towards Deliah.

Her eyes glazed over as she quickly probed the future. The Oracle blinked then refocused on me.

"That is indeed one of many viable paths," she said carefully. "But another one dominates."

I frowned, unsure what to make of that response. "Are you saying that I shouldn't go?"

She hesitated. "Follow your instincts, Princess. Trust yourself," she replied in that infuriating non-committal fashion.

"Go get your mate," Nemrox said, sounding just as annoyed as I felt. "I'll take care of the palace."

I gave him a grateful nod and turned to address Alred, but Jastira's voice stopped me.

"My Queen!" she called out.

I jerk my head to the right to look at her in shock. She was standing next to Kaelin, her left hand on Eldrin's shoulder, who was sandwiched between the two women. The softness in her eyes turned me upside down. Since my arrival on Sarenia, my sister-in-law had only ever given me cold, assessing, or unimpressed looks.

"Please bring my brother back safely," Jastira said softly.

"I will," I promised, relieved the words came out despite my constricted throat.

Her grateful smile messed with my head. I returned it then glanced at the head of my Queen's Guard.

"Please round up our men, and let's head to the ship hangar," I told him.

"At once, my Queen," Alred replied, before caressing my cheek.