24. Maryse

CHAPTER 24

MARYSE

T he collar burns against my throat, pulsing with dark energy. My skin tingles as Bruticus's strength floods through me. Our connection blazes like a supernova.

"What's happening to her?" Someone shouts.

Bone spikes tear through my flesh. The pain should be excruciating, but instead each new spur fills me with savage joy. My pale skin darkens to obsidian leather, matching Bruticus's ebony hide.

A laugh bubbles up from my chest, starting as a gasp of shock but transforming into something wild and feral. The restraints that held me to the chair snap like tissue paper.

My father's face drains of color. "No... impossible..."

"Stop her!" He stumbles back, pointing at me with a trembling finger. "Guards! Kill her!"

The grolgath mercenaries lumber forward, but I feel no fear. Only hunger. Only rage. Their massive forms seem slow and clumsy now through my enhanced senses. My new claws flex with deadly promise.

The collar thrums against my throat, resonating with Bruticus's power. His strength courses through my veins like liquid fire. I bare my teeth in a feral grin, feeling them sharpen to points.

"What have you done to my daughter?" My father's voice cracks.

"You did this," I snarl, my voice deeper and rougher than before. "You made me what I am."

The first grolgath swings his massive fist at my head. Time slows. His movements look like swimming through syrup. I duck under his arm and rake my claws across his belly.

Blood sprays. The scent hits my nostrils and something primal awakens. A howl tears from my throat as I leap onto the second grolgath's chest. My teeth find his throat. The taste of copper floods my mouth.

"Sweet merciful heaven," my father whispers.

The third grolgath backs away. His fear perfumes the air. My lips pull back from blood-stained teeth. The bone spurs along my arms lengthen, sharpen.

"Please... don't..." The grolgath raises his hands.

I pounce. My claws shred through armor like paper. Bone crunches beneath my grip. The grolgath's screams cut off in a wet gurgle.

"Maryse!" Vorpa calls from her restraints. "Behind you!"

The lab doors burst open. Armed guards pour in, weapons raised. Their shots ping off my hardened skin. I crouch, ready to spring.

"Take her down!" someone shouts.

More guards stream through the door. Too many. The room fills with the acrid stench of gunpowder and ozone. My newfound strength thrums through my veins, but even I can't fight them all.

A guard's laser blast catches me in the shoulder. It stings, barely, but forces me back a step. Another shot grazes my leg.

"I'm sorry," I lock eyes with Vorpa and Prova. "I'll come back for you."

Vorpa nods. "Go!"

I dive through the window in a shower of glass. The night air whips past as I fall, my new body somehow knowing exactly how to land.

Through the shattered window, I spot Bruticus in the courtyard below. A sea of guards surrounds him, their weapons trained on his position. His bone spurs glisten with blood, but there are too many enemies even for him.

My heart pounds. The collar pulses in time with it, feeding me more of his strength. I leap from my perch, sailing through the air like a dark angel of death.

I land in the middle of their ranks, my claws finding purchase in soft flesh. Blood sprays as I tear through the first wave of guards. Their screams fill the night air.

"Maryse!" Bruticus's voice carries over the chaos.

Our eyes meet across the battlefield. His red irises blaze with renewed fury. The sight of him fills me with savage joy.

"Behind you!" I call out.

Bruticus whirls, his claws decapitating two guards in a single sweep. I dance through their ranks toward him, my new reaper body moving with deadly grace. Each slash of my claws opens throats and spills entrails.

We fight back to back, our movements perfectly synchronized through our bond. His strength flows into me through the collar, making my strikes hit harder, my movements faster.

"You're magnificent," Bruticus growls between swipes.

I laugh, the sound wild and feral. "So are you."

Bodies pile around us as we tear through the guards. Their weapons prove useless against our hardened skin. Those who try to flee meet swift ends.

The last guard drops his gun and raises his hands. "Please, I have a family..."

Bruticus's claws take his head before he can finish begging. The courtyard falls silent except for our heavy breathing.

I turn to face my love, both of us covered in gore. His red eyes meet mine with fierce pride.

"We need to go back for Vorpa and Prova," I say.

Bruticus and I burst through the lobby doors, our bone spurs still dripping crimson from the guards outside. The marble floor squeaks beneath my clawed feet as we skid to a halt.

My father stands in the center of the room, his silver hair wild and his uniform splattered with blood. His arm locks around Vorpa's throat, pressing a heavy pistol against her temple.

Vorpa's eyes blaze with fury above the metal muzzle strapped to her face. The straight jacket binds her arms tight against her body, leaving her helpless. Her scales gleam dully under the fluorescent lights.

My stomach churns at the sight of my father using such a cruel device on her. The collar at my throat pulses with Bruticus's rage, matching my own.

"It's over, Maryse." My father's voice sounds hollow, nothing like the warm tones I remember from childhood. "Surrender, or I'll blow this scaly bitch's brains out."

The gun clicks as he thumbs back the hammer. Vorpa doesn't flinch, but I see the tension in her shoulders. My new reaper senses pick up the acrid scent of her fear beneath her stoic expression. If she wasn't gagged, she would probably tell us to take the shot, no matter what happens to her.

"I have the finest scientific minds in the galaxy at my disposal." My father's grip tightens on Vorpa's throat. "We can reverse this... this abomination. Fix whatever he's done to you."

A laugh bubbles up from my chest, dark and menacing. The sound echoes off the marble walls. "You still don't understand, do you?"

"What that monster did to you-"

"Bruticus didn't do anything to me. This is what happens when jalshagar find each other." The collar pulses against my throat, warm with Bruticus's love. "Our souls are bound together. No force in the universe can break that connection."

"There's no such thing as-"

"Soul mates?" My bone spurs lengthen as I take a step forward. "The Precursors knew better. They knew love transcends species, transcends your petty prejudices."

The gun wavers against Vorpa's head. "You're confused, sweetheart. Let me help you."

"The only help I need is for you to surrender." My claws flex at my sides. "Put down the gun and face justice for what you did on Rakura IV."

"Everything I did was for the greater good."

"Was torturing Prova for the greater good? Selling people into slavery?" Each word drips with venom. "The only way this ends is with you in chains."

Through our bond, I feel Bruticus's pride mixing with my own righteous anger. The transformation may be temporary, but my father doesn't need to know that. Let him think his precious daughter is gone forever, replaced by the very thing he hates most.

"Last chance, father." My lips pull back from sharpened teeth. "Surrender."

My father shoves Vorpa forward. She stumbles, falling to her knees with a grunt through her muzzle. The straight jacket keeps her from catching herself, and she hits the marble floor hard.

His gun clatters across the floor as he tosses it aside. "Fine. You win. Today. For now."

A cold smile twists his lips. My enhanced senses pick up the smugness radiating from him in waves.

"But I OWN the courts. I'm going to beat this rap and be right back in business next week." He spreads his arms wide. "You think Strongbow is the only slave I have brainwashed in the IHC power structure?"

Ice spreads through my veins despite the heat of Bruticus's power still surging through me. The bone spurs along my arms quiver as horrible understanding dawns.

He's right. The corruption runs too deep. Even with proof of his crimes, he has judges and politicians in his pocket. Bureaucrats and officers programmed to do his bidding.

Prison won't stop him. He'll run his empire from behind bars, hurting more people, destroying more lives. More families torn apart. More slaves. More torture.

My claws flex at my sides as I take a step toward him. "I can't allow this to continue," I whisper.

My hands lock around his throat before he can react. His eyes widen in shock and betrayal.

"What are you doing?" His voice comes out strangled. "Stop! I'm your father, you can't do this."

Tears blur my vision but my grip remains firm. "Yes, you're my father. Which is why I HAVE to do this. I can't let you hurt anyone else."

He claws at my hands, but my reaper strength makes his struggles futile. His face turns red, then purple. Those gray eyes that once looked at me with such pride now fill with terror.

Memories flash through my mind - teaching me to ride a bike, reading bedtime stories, proudly watching my graduation. But they're tainted now by the knowledge of his true nature. By the screams of his victims.

His struggles weaken. The light in his eyes dims, then goes out completely. His body goes limp in my grasp.

I release my hold and he crumples to the floor. A sob tears from my throat as the reaper rage drains away. The bone spurs retract into my flesh with burning pinpricks of pain. My skin lightens back to its normal tone.

The collar still pulses against my throat, but gentler now. Comforting. The raw power fades, leaving only grief in its wake.

I fall to my knees beside his body, tears streaming down my face. "I'm sorry," I whisper, though I know it had to be done.