Chapter 14

GUNNOX

Iwas deep in the throes of a rare, undisturbed slumber when the pounding came — a relentless barrage against the door to my room inside the palace. My eyes snapped open, silver irises catching the faintest glint of moonlight seeping through the curtains. I rolled out of bed, my muscles tensing as I marched toward the unwelcome disruption.

"Fucking Helios, this had better be good," I muttered under my breath, ready to unleash a torrent of curses upon whoever dared to?—

"Gunnox! Open up!"

Drekkor's grave tone cut through my irritation faster than Valosian steel. I disengaged the locks and swung the door wide. The sight of Drekkor's hardened visage was shadowed by urgency, twisting a knot of apprehension deep within me.

"What's happened?" I demanded, voice low, bracing for the storm his words would bring.

"A Nuttaki horde is massing at the edge of the Sein River," he growled. "Truxxet and Synnox were there setting up the wetlock sky alert for our return when they spotted the horde moving in from the west."

"They can't cross the rapids, Drekkor." I relaxed only a little curious as to why a seasoned warrior like Drekkor was alarmed over nothing on consequence.

"Sia Tikkot told me of the last skirmish that occurred during our absence. The Nuttaki had crafted makeshift bridges. If they manage to cross, the Trisess Forest will soon be overrun."

My blood ran cold. Insectoids had never been known for their crafting skills. No doubt, knowledge imparted by the Gretolics. Those little gray freaks had entrenched themselves in every clan using our animosity for each other to succeed. Even a faction within the Nuttaki horde had aided the gray aliens. My expression hardened, jaw clenching as I processed the gravity of his words.

The Nuttaki would strip the land of every resource and leave nothing in their wake. If they weren't stopped, the forest of Trisess would be laid to waste.

"When do we leave?"

"Soon. Get your spear," Drekkor ordered. "Warriors are gathering on the training field at Sia Tikkot's command. We're to fly there in every operational craft."

Without another word, I turned on my heel leaving Drekkor at the open door. Time had always been the true enemy, slipping away like sand through clenched fingers. While I was away fighting the Nuttaki, each passing hur was a treasure stolen, moments lost that could never be retrieved with my female. Her time on Valose was fleeting. Upon Ruze and Tyrk's return, she would be gone.

As I swept through my quarters, grabbing my spear and twin daggers, I felt as though I had stepped into the past. Not that Sarah was dying from an alien germ, but I was losing her all the same. I'd hoped she would change her mind and stay, to take me as her mate, but her spirit cried out for her world louder than it did for my hearts.

Adrenalyne pulsed within me, a raging torrent of strength and focus as I rejoined Drekkor. Together, we marched the length of the opulent hall, energy humming within my bones as we boarded the lift and impatiently waited for it to deliver us to the bottom floor.

"Did you ever think we would be living inside the palace at Huren?" Drekkor scanned the interior of the luxurious lift.

"Before the Gretolics, the only dream I had about the city of Huren was breaching the dome and taking over their hunting grounds," I stated wryly.

As the lift doors parted with a soft hiss, I froze. Breath caught in my chest. There, bathed in the ethereal glow of the crylite chandelier, amid the bustling commotion of the foyer, stood Sarah —the very embodiment of my deepest longings and the pounding rhythm of my ancillary heart.

"Sarah," I murmured. Her piercing blue eyes, always so full of fire, now mirrored the dread that clenched my hearts.

My lift companion forgotten pushed past me and into the foyer, but not before leaving me with a parting comment. "You don't have much time," Drekkor warned and rushed out the main entrance.

"Gunnox, what's happening?" Sarah asked, her tone laced with concern.

"The Nuttaki are attacking the Trisess Forest," I said, the words tasting like ash on my tongue. "I must leave now."

Her hand reached for mine, the warmth of her touch a stark contrast to the cold resolve settling over me. "Try not to do anything too terribly brave."

"You know me."

"I do." Tears collected in her eyes as she scanned my face, no doubt recalling the punishment I endured on her behalf. "Please be careful and come back in one piece."

"Always." It was a promise carved from the very core of my awakened spirit. I clasped her hand tighter. "As soon as I'm able, I'll return to Huren."

"I'll wait for you to return."

The weight of her words grounded me amid the chaos. I pushed down the kernel of hope threatening to take root. I couldn't pretend there was more to the meaning of her words than was there. She would wait for me to return. That was all she was promising. Not to stay on Valose, only to wait for me to return to Huren before she said her final goodbye.

With a final, lingering look, I turned on my heel and hurried after the warriors running toward the ships parked on the training field. I could only pray to the Spirits that in my absence, she would decide to stay on Valose and with me forever. The wispy tendril of her threading around my hearts were of a longing for home, not of desire to claim me as hers.

At first glance, the only spacecraft parked on the training field was the sleek black vessel Sia Sakkar had taken off-world while under the mind control of the Gretolics. If one didn't know better, it appeared as though the warriors boarding the cloaked, spherical crafts were disappearing into thin air. The multitude of open hatches gave away the number of vessels preparing to be flown into battle and it looked as though every flight-worthy spacecraft was parked on the training field and being loaded down with warriors from all three clans, armed and ready to fight for Trisess.

I spotted Drekkor waving me over to the spherical craft where he waited. I climbed aboard, my hearts torn between the female I left behind and the call of duty that surged through my veins.

The hatch closed silently behind me. My scales flashed with hot silvers and blues matching the energy of the warriors who filled the space. As we lifted off, I peered down through the transparent floor of the craft and spotted Sarah. She stood on the edge of the field near Sia Jakkar and the few warriors who stayed behind to safeguard Huren.

Her piercing blue gaze scanned the silver sky as the twin suns broke over the horizon and the roof of the dome opened. The only craft visible was the black, short-ranged craft yet that didn't stop her from searching the sky for me.

I gave my sternum a hard rub as the echo of Sarah's presence swirled with worry for my well-being. Yet, despite her concern, she had chosen to leave Valose and me behind. I wasn't enough to make her want to stay.

As the craft ascended ever higher, I kept my gaze locked on her, searing her image into memory as Valose's landscape fell away. The azure peaks of the Jurigon Mountains dwindled, and the Huren jungle blurred into silver and shadow stitched with threads of blue.

We hugged the western edge of the continent, following the gorge. The atmosphere in the craft was charged with anticipation. Each warrior poised for battle against the looming horde. Time crawled yet raced as we neared our destination. Finally, the forest appeared in the distance, the raging river of the Sein below separated Huren from Trisess territory, the boundaries which had been obliterated in the face of a common enemy.

My eyes remained fixed on the horizon where my forested home loomed. My scales, a shifting canvas of silver and blue, tightened against my flesh, primed for the battle to come.

As we soared overhead, hundreds of Nuttaki halted to observe the ominous black craft passing above them. Without hesitation, they redoubled their efforts to place a crudely crafted bridge across the gaping chasm formed by the river. As soon as the bridge connected with the opposite bank, they scurried across with urgency and disappeared into the thick of the tree line.

Thanks to Sarah, adrenalyne once again coursed through my veins. I absently wondered how long it would take for my ancillary heart to thump its last beat once she left me for home. It had taken three munthis before my spirit had withered after the death of my first spirit mate, Neylla.

"This is not how I planned to return to Trisess," Drekkor grumbled.

"Nor I." My grip tightened on my spear, eager to spill the blood of my enemies.

We descended at the southernmost edge on the shores of the Caspeen Sea. Our plan was for three spherical crafts packed with warriors to push the Nuttaki out the way they'd come.

The sleek black craft circled back around and touched down between the tree line and the Sein River. Armed with a plasma cannon, they would pick off the enemy as they were flushed out of the forest while the other four spherical crafts filled with warriors would take out the bridge and kill the ones that had crossed onto Trisess territory.

The undercarriage of our craft kissed the ground with such gentleness it belied the urgency of our mission. Battle was upon us, the electric tingle of impending combat, the primal call of a warrior to war.

We disembarked swiftly, the familiar crunch of foliage underfoot a stark contrast to the unyielding metalloid that had encased us during our journey. The Trisess Forest loomed before us, a sprawling maze of silver and shadow under Valose's twin blue suns. I inhaled deeply, my hearts pounding against my chest, not with fear but with fierce determination. The Nuttaki horde was out there, skulking in the murk, poised to ravage our lands. But they would not find us easy prey.

Tension coiled within me as we spread out and navigated through the towering trees, moving from south to north to flush the enemy out of our forest. Some armed with nutrone based blasters and others like myself, wielded a spear crafted from the hardwood of the crissus tress only found in Trisess, but all of us ready to fight for Trisess.

The air was alive with the scent of damp earth and the sharp tang of resin, a fragrance that awakened memories of a time that felt both recent and long past at once. As I ran along a familiar path, each step brought a fresh rush of adrenalyne, fueling my determination to rid my home of an unwelcome foe.

With every breath, my senses sharpened, ready to root out the treacherous Nuttaki from my beloved forest. This was more than a mere battle; it was a testament to Valosian resilience, a declaration of our unyielding resolve.

We advanced through the towering trees, my ears perked and swiveled teasing out the scurrying sounds from the sharp points of the Nuttaki's spindly legs. As the sounds grew closer, I braced for the onslaught.

The ground vibrated beneath our feet, the tell-tale tremor of approaching doom. But we were Valosians; we did not tremble. We did not falter. We surged forward like a tide of wrath, our cries shattering the calm.

Adrenalyne flooded my system, infusing me with unparalleled strength. My body moved with lethal precision as we clashed with the first wave of Nuttaki, their monstrous, insectoid forms reeling under our onslaught, I fought with a fervor that defied mortality. Each blow I delivered was a promise, each enemy I felled a step closer to riding Trisess land of the enemy.

With a primal roar, I lunged forward, my muscles coiled like springs ready to unleash their pent-up energy. As the Nuttaki slashed at me with a razor-sharp claw, I pivoted at the last sec, the point of my spear blade finding its mark and piercing the exoskeleton with a satisfying crunch.

Rearing back my spear to strike at the next Nuttaki, I felt a sudden jolt as my staff was knocked away by Nekko, the Sia of Clan Huren. "Hold, Gunnox," Nekko's voice cut through the tension, his words stopping me in my tracks. "Yi is a friend. Do you see the white band around its claw?"

I had heard tales of a small faction of Nuttaki who had allied themselves with us against the Gretolics, but I had never ventured to the south side of the dome where they had made their home in caves along the cliffs overlooking the Caspeen Sea.

Yi bobbed its triangular-shaped head at me before scurrying off to fight one of its own kind.

"I never thought to see a time where the Nuttaki would align themselves with us," I scoffed.

"Valose is their home as well," Sia Nekko stated. "If it wasn't for their heightened olfactory senses, we wouldn't have been able to sniff out all the Gretolics hiding inside the mines."

"Friendly Nuttaki," I smirked. "That will take some getting used to."

Sia Nekko and I surged back into the fray, our movements synchronized as we fought to drive the Nuttaki invaders northwards, back towards the Sein River. Every strike was precise, every step deliberate, as we cut down our foes with relentless determination. The air echoed with clashes of metal and cries of pain as we pressed forward, leaving a trail of fallen enemies in our wake.

As we neared the chasm of the river, a Huren warrior stationed at the nutrone cannon began picking off the Nuttaki one by one with deadly accuracy as the warriors flushed them out of the forest. Despite being outnumbered, the battle had always been in our favor as we rallied our forces to push back against the remaining Nuttaki forces who now found themselves outmaneuvered.

The battle reached its climax as the last remnants of the attacking horde lay defeated at our feet. The once tumultuous battleground fell silent save for heavy breaths and distant echoes of victory cries. The air was thick with the putrid stench of gelatinous blood that oozed from the fallen insectoids, a sickening aroma that lingered in my nostrils like a foul miasma. Their lifeless bodies sprawled across the once pristine landscape, their twisted forms now motionless husks under the unforgiving glare of Valose's twin suns.

Nekko's presence beside me was reassuring amid the aftermath of conflict, his unwavering resolve mirroring my own as we stood united against adversity, victorious yet ever-vigilant for what challenges Valose might still hold.