Chapter 42

FORTY-TWO

And just like that, Tarak was there, staring Amun down with the coldest look Dragek had ever witnessed from a single individual, and he had known some terrible people in his lifetime.

Himself included.

He kept his hand steady, even though the walls of his mind were collapsing inwards.

Where is she?

If anything's happened to her, I'll kill them all.

He wasn't rational anymore.

All he could do was focus on the tip of his blade, so close to the usurper's vital artery. He could grant death with a simple flick of his wrist. It would be so quick Amun wouldn't even know it.

"Amun Kazharan." Tarak moved until he was in front of the chair, standing beside Dragek.

It was just him.

Kail, Ashrael, and the other one, Enki, were dealing with the rest of the ship.

The air was so thick that Dragek could have sliced through it. He felt Tarak's aura, controlled as always, filled with icy menace.

Not even the slightest trace of emotion could be felt. No anger, no tension, no impatience.

He was perfectly in charge.

And his presence alone had a quelling effect on Dragek's growing madness.

"Give me one good reason why Dragek shouldn't put his blade through your neck right now."

"Well played," Amun said, his voice tinged with amused arrogance. "I was expecting a stealth attack, but nothing like this. A Silent One appears out of thin air. He's a rare one indeed. I know how easily he could do it, but you don't want to kill me. Trust me on that. Did you think I would invoke your ire without some sort of contingency plan? If I die, so do you—and everyone onboard this ship."

Still, Tarak radiated nothing. No surprise, no anger, no urgency. Had he already anticipated Amun's ploy? "What's in question right now isn't whether you live or die. It's obvious you intended to draw us here. You need something from us that your allies can't provide. There will be no opportunity for you to trigger that kill mechanism of yours, and you know it. I'll give you one opportunity, Amun Kazharan. My very presence here should be evidence enough of my seriousness. So, now that your vessel is cut off from all outside means of detection and communication, you may speak freely."

Amun stiffened. It was so very slight that an ordinary observer wouldn't have noticed, but Dragek's heightened state of awareness allowed him to notice every minute detail.

He hid it well, but he was rattled.

"How do you know I won't just flip my switch and kill you all?" He almost sounded indignant, as if he'd expected more of a reaction from Tarak.

"You?" The slight raise of Tarak's eyebrow was positively disdainful. "Who has been granted a reprieve from death by the Goddess more than once? Come off it, Amun." He waited, allowing his words to sink in. " I am here. Speak."

This was a new situation for Dragek. Standing so close to the enemy yet unable to kill him, his blade perfectly level, ready to inflict a mortal wound if Tarak so much as gave the signal.

But he wouldn't.

Tarak and Amun had both anticipated this.

They were both using one another for their own advantage.

And yet, who really had the advantage here? It was so interesting watching Tarak handle a son of the highest noble family as if he were a mere child.

His expression was as hard as stone, but Amun's aura wavered ever so slightly.

He was good at keeping up the facade, but Dragek could just about read minds, and he got the sense Amun wanted to confide in the general.

He'd better not fuck around because Dragek was running out of patience.

He had no idea what had happened to his sarien.

He couldn't feel her anymore, and the tempering effect she had on his madness was waning fast.

This state of being was almost unbearable. If he didn't connect with her soon, he would lose it.

Why the fuck had Tarak chosen him to do this?

Mating Fever be damned.

"You've logged our course," Amun replied. "You know where this ship is headed. We're close now. Close enough that you might just be able to avert a disaster of Universal proportions."

Disaster? The skin on the back of Dragek's neck prickled. What were these imperial morons playing at?

They would risk everything just for power?

Now, he didn't know who or what to be furious at.

Now, he understood the seriousness of this mission.

Tarak was right.

So much was at stake, including the life of his sarien.

He wanted to drag the secrets out of Amun. He could torture him, sever parts of his body bit by bit, and expose the nerves that were exquisitely sensitive to pain.

It would give him satisfaction. He was sick and tired of men who thought they could play games with the fate of the Universe.

But Tarak had a plan.

Of course he did.

It was the only thing keeping Dragek remotely sane right now.

"I'll tell you, but only if you agree to my conditions."

Ah. There it was. The bargain.

"No fucking games," Dragek snapped. "You will tell us exactly what we need to know about this threat." He glanced at Tarak. " He might be in control, but I'm not so restrained." He let some of his aggression seep into his voice. Then, he allowed some of his tightly restrained ka'qui to escape.

Even a normie like Amun should be able to feel how close to breaking point he was.

"He's fairly new to the team," Tarak said mildly. "Doesn't follow my orders so well."

The general actually had the temerity to wink at him.

In the midst of a life-and-death negotiation.

Wily bastard.

Tarak knew all too well that he had complete control over him on account of the kill-switch. He was just using Dragek's current state to his advantage—to add an extra layer of threat and unpredictability to the situation.

"Wait a moment." Tarak issued a summons through his comm.

Kail .

Moments later, the big warrior appeared. He shrugged and leaned against the far wall, a big, menacing figure melting into the background.

Did that mean the rest of the ship was already secured?

Had Rykal and Kalan arrived?

Dragek used his heightened ka'qui to scan the surrounding area. The passengers of the ship didn't seem panicked. They weren't fighting.

Everything was under control.

For now.

"You're just lucky that my goals don't entirely align with the ambitions of the ones that put me here." At last, Amun spoke. "Do you have any idea what exists on that desolate planet?"

"Enlighten us," Tarak growled.

"Before their downfall, the Zor used portals to move rapidly from one sector to the next. Theoretically, one could step off a planet in the Ninth Sector and end up in Kythia." Amun smiled, baring his fangs. It was a cold smile devoid of humor and laced with bitterness. "Our former masters built a network of these devices. One in each sector. If you had read carefully through the documents you stole from the hidden library, you would have known this already."

Tarak stared at Amun impassively, saying nothing.

Kail's cold, flat gaze bored into the back of Amun's head. If Amun was aware of Kail's presence, he gave no indication.

"Anyway, the planet we're going to, Duxuth , has one of these such portals. One can travel directly to Kythia from there. Not only that, it's only two of nine to contain a tesseract."

"Has it been tested?" Tarak's aura changed. Dragek couldn't quite put his finger on it, but suddenly, the air around them was brittle with tension.

"It has indeed. We think it works. We lost two. Got one back. According to the sole survivor, it definitely works. But only to a certain location on Kythia. They want to try it again. To send a team back to a certain point in time."

"They?"

"Didn't you keep a record of the nobles that escaped your bloody revolution on Kythia, general? Lord Isnarek, Lord Vuar, and Lady Asola, to name a few. And then, you have an entire retinue of advisors and strategists and would-be emperor-makers, all waiting to carve up their piece of the New Empire."

"They installed you."

Amun's expression darkened. "Yes."

"They can remove you."

"Not if I remove them first."

"They want to cut off your head before you can even think of it."

"It won't happen in this age."

"No. That's why they've searched far and wide to find the tesseract."

"What is the significance of this… this portal, this tesseract? " The implications made Dragek's mind spin. Was Amun mad, or was it actually possible to…

"The Fourth Dimension is unlike anything else. It's the most dangerous thing in the Universe. You should know that already, katach. The Zor weren't stupid. They had completely forbidden their kind from using it to move through different points in time. But that's not going to stop your enemies from using it to kill him because right now, they can't." His gaze shifted to Tarak. "They think he's the key to unraveling everything."

"To travel through time itself…" Dragek couldn't help but feel skeptical. The whole thing sounded like a madman's fantasy.

Just to kill Tarak al Akkadian.

But if it was true, then…

What if the man standing beside him had never been allowed to become the powerful monster he was now?

What of him?

What of Jade?

What was the point of it all?

If any of this bothered Tarak, he wasn't showing it. How could he be so unaffected? "We've already conducted a full-scale survey of Duxuth. There's no evidence of a structure resembling a portal."

"You think the Zor would just leave that thing out in the open for all to find? Of course, it's hidden. The High Lords have been searching for this thing for decades. At first, they wanted to use it to bring down my mother, but now, you're considered the worse of two evils."

"And you profess you will lead us to this thing. In exchange for what?"

Amun's sole eye glittered. "At last, we get to the heart of the matter. Fortunately for you, they aren't going to enact the plan until I arrive. Maybe you can kill them before they send someone through the portal. Actually, you have to; otherwise, everything that's happened up until this point will cease to exist."

"What do you want?" Dragek grated, growing impatient with Amun's know-it-all tone. The bastard was a little too smug with his schemes and his plans, although Dragek didn't sense any duplicity in his aura.

"I'll give them to you. The ones that think they can control me. You will wipe every last trace of their existence from the Universe. The humans and the children on this ship—you will ensure their safety at all costs. Bring them into your fold and treat them as your own."

Dragek's anger and suspicion turned into shock.

This male… wanted to protect the humans and their offspring?

Was this another trick, or had he been hiding his true intentions all along, even from the ones that were supposed to be his allies?

Still, Tarak didn't appear to be the least bit surprised. What did it take to actually get this man off-guard?

"And what of you?"

"I would be stupid to think you would trust me just like that. You might even decide to kill me, but at least I know you won't kill the humans or their children. Not you. Do with me as you will. But you must promise me one other thing."

"Tell me."

"There's a girl—well, almost a woman now—held onboard the Prime Ship. Unfortunately, she believes everything the noble lords tell her. She's a child of the empire, through and through. But no matter what her state of mind, I want you to take her alive and unharmed."

"She's Kordolian?"

"As ever."

This was news to Dragek. A female child? When the only offspring born in the last few decades had been male?

"Who is she to you?" Tarak asked, exchanging a meaningful look with Kail. Some silent communication passed between them, completely eluding Dragek.

Just focus on the job, he told himself, even though it felt like the Universe was falling apart around him.

"She's my sister," Amun said simply.

"Hm," was all Tarak said.

How infuriatingly reactionless.

Tarak glanced at Kail.

"He speaks the truth," Kail said with absolute certainty, and Dragek couldn't understand how the enigmatic warrior could be so sure.

But he was, and Tarak trusted him. Sometimes, one just had to accept the impossible.

And suddenly, Jade was there, surrounding him with her presence. Her warmth exploded through his fracturing mind, binding together the pieces of him that threatened to fall apart.

What happened to you? he blurted, a wave of relief swamping him. It took all his self-control to keep his blade hand steady, to keep from accidentally killing Amun and changing the fate of the Universe there and then.

I took an unexpected little journey, she replied, and her mindvoice was astoundingly clear, as if she were standing right next to him.

He didn't understand how it was possible. Panic set in. You… you didn't follow us, did you?

No. I'm safe and sound. Still on the Fleet Station. But I'm also here now, and I'm not going anywhere.

Good. Because I suspect things are about to become complicated, and I need you.

I don't know exactly what I can do right now, but I'm here.

Just stay. That's enough. Your presence is more powerful than you think.

Funny, people keep telling me that. Are you all right?

I am now. He exhaled slowly, and some of the tension drained out of his body. His arm was steadier, his grip stronger, his Second Sight clearer. Just… don't leave me again. Understand?

I don't know how long this thing will last, but I'll try my very best. As long as you know that even if you don't feel me anymore, I'm still here, and you're not allowed to die or do anything reckless like that. You have to come back to me. Understood?

In the midst of all this madness, his chaotic soul began to settle. Perfectly well, my sarien .