Chapter 2

The sound of alarms blaring rips me from my bed in the middle of the night. My heart is racing as I look around, briefly panicking before I remember where I am. Maybe I was dreaming.

I’m in one of the guest rooms of the royal palace of Opal City. Its walls are painted a pristine white, the crown molding brushed with gold, and the elegant, lacquered wood furniture is an opulent shade of red. The bed linens are the finest I’ve ever felt, but there’s definitely an alarm sounding.

“What the hell?” I mutter as I scramble to the dresser and slip into the first clothes I can find. As soon as I step out of my room, I notice the chaos going on around me.

The alarm is so loud it drowns out the hallway speakers, making me worry as I hurry downstairs. Yossul and Fadai join me somewhere along the way, equally disheveled and concerned, as we head for the queens’ private study.

Just as we arrive, I see soldiers streaming out of the room and dispersing in every direction, their red eyes wide and glimmering with fear. Their dark gray uniforms look rumpled. My guess is they were sound asleep like the rest of us when the sirens started going off. It’s rare that something like this happens in Opal City—it’s been safe and hidden from the world for so many years, after all. But something is definitely happening tonight.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

Sarin, Neya, and Leela sit behind a massive desk, its tabletop converted into a thick glass screen on which various lights twinkle across the city’s blueprint. They look worried, their brows furrowed as they stare at a single red dot blinking as it moves toward the city.

“Marauders, most likely,” Sarin says. “They haven’t gotten this close in years.”

“The labyrinth sensors picked them up,” Neya adds, giving me a dark look. “If they get any closer, they’ll notice the traps. They might try to get in, or they might go back to Diamond City or whatever abyss they crawled out of. And they might tell others.”

“Oh no,” Fadai mutters, crossing his arms. “We can’t let that happen.”

“What do we do?” I ask although I’ve already got an idea. I just know they’re not going to like it, not after the tense conversation we had earlier on the topic of my rogue actions.

Yossul moves closer to the screen. “What orders did you give your soldiers?”

“I told them to turn off the alarms and run communications through the city, alerting the people of the current risk,” Sarin says. “Our citizens know what to do when that happens: Shelter in place and wait for the danger to pass.”

“And if the danger breaches the labyrinth defenses?” Yossul asks.

Sarin lowers her gaze for a moment. “Let the soldiers take care of it. We dispatched a battalion over to the eastern gate.”

“And if the invading force is too big for your battalion to handle?” Fadai asks.

“They will head for the tunnels. They’ve kept us safe before,” Sarin says.

“We can’t let it get to that,” I reply. “Listen, we can draw them out.”

Yossul gives me a curious look. “Draw them out?”

“We’re wearing Fire Tribe colors,” I say. “We’ll grab the buggies and exit through the southern gate, then circle around and draw the marauders away in the opposite direction before they get a chance to see what’s inside the labyrinth.”

“Jewel,” Yossul sighs.

“I know!” I exhale sharply and offer a shrug on top of it. “But what else can we do? We need to draw them away from the city. And then we can kill them. If anybody comes looking for them, they’ll find the corpses by the stream or closer to Diamond City, at least. Our key objective tonight is to keep Opal City hidden.”

And that is the hard truth. We need Opal City to stay hidden so we can use its weapons without having to focus on defending the base from invaders. I’ve come too far to leave all my eggs in one basket, dammit, and I need Yossul and Fadai to understand that.

“We’re friends and partners before anything else,” I reiterate sternly. “That means I need your support when danger rears its ugly head. Now, I’m going out there with a buggy to draw those marauders away from the city. Are you in or not?”

Fadai and Yossul exchange glances. They hesitate for a moment, but then they nod in response.

I know what needs to be done next.

Minutes later, we’re armed to the teeth and driving three buggies out through the southern gates. The queens’ soldiers have temporarily disabled that sector’s labyrinth traps solely for the purpose of letting us pass. The weapons will be reactivated as soon as we’re out. My pulse is racing as I accelerate, the buggy roaring across the battered red dirt and spurting black smoke from its short and stubby exhaust.

I’m amped up on adrenaline, ready to do whatever it takes to fulfill this mission.

“We’ll lead!” Yossul shouts from his buggy, and I wave my hand in agreement.

We circle around the labyrinth in the dark of night, with only the three moons of Sunna waxing somewhere ahead in the eastern sky. The marauders drive buggies similar to ours, the engines spurting and gurgling as they move in a straight line across the empty field. Yossul and Fadai spread out and head straight for the convoy, while I slow down and analyze the situation.

I’m counting twelve Sky Tribe fighters; their colors proudly painted on the side of each buggy. The closer I get, the better I can see them and their weapons. The intruders are big men with ragged blue uniforms that stand in strange contrast to their red skin. Their horns swirl toward the back of their heads while their crimson eyes scan the surrounding area.

Within seconds, they spot Yossul and Fadai as the two boldly approach the convoy. One of the mercenaries snarls and points a weapon at them as he sits up from the back seat of a buggy. They’re shouting, but I can’t understand what they’re saying.

Yossul and Fadai zigzag toward them, then swerve sharply to the right in an attempt to draw the convoy away from the labyrinth walls. From this distance, the walls look like Opal City’s old defense system and not the more recently reinforced system of defense. The problem is… the marauders don’t seem all that interested in chasing the Kreek brothers. Only two buggies break formation to go after them.

The others seem intent on getting closer to the city.

I curse under my breath, realizing it’ll take more than Yossul and Fadai’s efforts to pull this off. This means I’ll have to do precisely what they were hoping I wouldn’t do. Pushing the pedal to the metal, I bolt forward and head straight for the convoy, one hand on the wheel while the other points a laser gun at their vehicles.

Once I’m close enough, they hear the engine. A split-second later, a laser shot goes right through one of their hoods. The buggy in question explodes, engulfed in red and yellow flames as the fuel is ignited instantly. I hear the men screaming for only a second before they die.

“Come at me, you pigs!” I shout and laugh at them, taunting them as I drive around.

The marauders in the other buggies do their best to avoid the explosion and ensuing disaster, then steer their vehicles to chase after me. I count three more buggies on my tail while the other two are still hot on Yossul’s and Fadai’s trail. It’ll be a hard trick to pull, but I’ve put myself in a position where I don’t really have a better choice.

“What the hell?” one of them cries out when he gets close enough to realize I’m one of those precious human women they’re so desperate to impregnate. “We need her alive!”

“Hit it, boys!” another fighter shouts, a skeevy grin slitting his face.

“Let’s see how dumb you are,” I say and start swerving left and right in a bid to make it harder for them to catch up. The buggy is surprisingly stable, but it’s not going to be enough. Theirs are faster, and their motivation is just as powerful as mine.

I’m running out of clear field, too. Ahead, a ravine opens up, dark shadows stretching from below while the edges are sprinkled with solitary blackwood trees. Behind us, Opal City is getting smaller in the distance, the dark cloud looming ominously above it. Why did they even think to come this way to begin with? I’d have steered clear of the place, even if I hadn’t been aware of its terrible history.

“Halt!” I hear the marauders shouting.

Somewhere farther to my right and closer to the stream running through the ravine, I catch glimpses of buggy tail lights glimmering chaotically. Four sets. Yossul’s, Fadai’s, and their pursuers, while mine are getting dangerously close.

It’s time to kick things up a notch as I brace myself for the worst to come. I’ve got a laser pistol strapped to my waist and two knives on my back holster, and I’m still holding the second gun in my hand. If I’m to keep these bastards away from the city, I need to kill them. Right here. Right now.

“I’m too fast for your sorry asses!” I cackle loudly.

It does the trick. Their vehicles rumble furiously as they accelerate, determined to catch up and not at all aware of where I’m taking them until it’s too late. My heart is thumping out of my chest, but I can’t turn back, and I certainly can’t stop. I floor it as the buggy takes off the hard ground.

“NO!” one of the marauders shouts.

“STOP!” another panics.

Too late. I’m plunging into the ravine, and they were stupid and desperate enough to follow me into it. I cry out as the buggy manages to land on the rocky riverbank, and I do everything in my power to steer this thing along the steamy water stream, but the tank has ruptured. Sparks are flying.

Shit! This thing is going to blow.

I jump out, letting the buggy continue on its own until a final spark sets it off. I roll along the thick layer of pebbles, getting bruised and cut along the way, but I manage to pull myself up just in time to see what I’ve left behind.

Two of the buggies crashed into the riverbank. They didn’t guess my move, and now they’re in shambles, mangled and broken, the men crying out, caught between bent metal and hard rocks, their bones shattered. The other two buggies, however, have come down more cautiously, getting only a flat tire and maybe a broken suspension. Their drivers are now running toward me, laser rifles locked and loaded.

I pull mine up in return and fire at will, then bolt across the stream. There’s a cluster of black limestone boulders and purple-leaf shrubs I can use for cover. Laser shots fly past me—they’re trying to hit my legs.

“You’re not going anywhere, bitch!” one of the men says.

I fire back another round. His mate falls to the ground, a gaping, smoking hole left where his heart used to be. “We’ll see about that!”

Something crashes in the distance. A loud boom follows. My stomach churns as I briefly wonder who died. The flashing light accompanying those terrible sounds only speaks of death and pain. Someone’s buggy blew up.

“SHIT!” I scream as I feel the laser shot burn through my calf. I fall flat on my face just as I’m about to get out of the stream. The pain shoots up my leg, a fierce burning sensation eating away at the flesh. I manage to turn over and smell the burn. It’s a painful graze, but it’s enough to cost me precious seconds as the last surviving soldier rushes toward me.

The muzzle of his weapon is pointed at my head.

He’s not going to kill me, though. Judging by the hungry grin on his face, he’s going to do something much worse. The kind of deed that makes my skin crawl. Beads of sweat trickle down my temples. I dropped my gun when I fell. I still have the pistol on my waist, but he’ll shoot me before I reach it. All I can do is scramble backward to put as much distance between him and me as possible.

It’s not enough.

Within seconds, he’s straddling me, laughing and snarling as he tries to tear my clothes off. I’m cursing like a sailor, trying to punch him wherever a punch can land, but he’s bigger and faster than me; over seven feet tall and a mountain of pure muscle, a vicious creature whose only goal is to have his way with me, to dominate me and destroy my very soul.

I’m not going down without a fight, though.

“The less you resist, the easier it’ll be!” he hisses, scars covering the right side of his face.

“Get off me!” I grunt and throw a left hook.

He smacks me in the face so hard my head is practically paralyzed for a few seconds, my view gone and replaced by sudden darkness before pain engulfs my brain and ripples outward. God, I hope he didn’t break my jaw.

Just then, the familiar hissing sound of a laser gun brings everything to a sudden halt. The marauder stills, his eyes wide with the horrifying realization of what just happened. I get a whiff of burnt flesh before I notice the back of his head. It’s a gruesome sight. He falls to the side, dead and gone, while I’m still trying to catch my breath.

Instinctively, I reach for my pistol.

“It’s me, Jewel,” Yossul says.

I freeze, staring at him as he cautiously approaches me. He got himself into quite the scrape, judging by the cuts and bruises running down his bare arms and legs, but he’s alive. And he’s holding the weapon that carbonized my assailant’s head. I don’t know how he was able to make it down here so quickly. I’m just thankful he did.

“Are you okay?” I ask, my voice barely a whisper. My throat burns with terror, and I swallowed tears as I struggle to keep my composure before him.

“I should be asking you that,” he says, blinking slowly.

“I’m… Yeah, I think so. Fadai?”

“He’s fine.” Yossul frowns as he scans me from head to toe and notices the wound on my leg. “You are anything but okay, Jewel. I told you we were taking the lead.”

“Only two of them came after you. I had to deal with the others,” I reply, then take a deep breath and try to think of a better way to resolve this tense situation. We both have rivers of adrenaline currently coursing through us, and we need to be calmer before we can address the issue at hand. And frankly, I’m just thankful they’re both okay. There’s an ache in my chest when I think about losing them. “Let’s just talk about it back at the palace.”

“All right. Let me help you,” he says.

“I’m okay.”

But he doesn’t listen, nor does he care. Yossul moves like a shadow, holstering his weapon before he scoops me up in his strong arms and valiantly carries me out of the ravine. He holds me tight against his chest while I draw slow, measured breaths, having forgotten how small I am compared to him and Fadai. We’ve been so close to one another for so long, yet I’ve rarely had to rely on their physical strength and their massive size for my own support.

I feel so tiny and fragile.

So good.

So tired.

Fadai makes sure there are no survivors before we head back to the city. He sets our buggies on fire so no one can distinguish the tribal colors, then retrieves one of the still-functional Sky Tribe vehicles. We use it to drive back to the southern gate of Opal City, then launch one of our flares to signal the soldiers beyond the labyrinth walls that we made it back alive.

Before long, we’re back in the palace.

Solomon’s queens had one of the city’s medics practically dragged out of his bed to come in and take care of our injuries. My leg burn is the worst, but it will heal without any permanent damage to the muscle. I’ll have a scar to brag about later down the line. Until then, I’m to apply a special ointment on a daily basis until the skin heals and the tissue rebuilds as much as the burned area allows.

“I guess I won’t be wearing a dress and heels anytime soon,” I grumble as I sit on the edge of my bed, my cuts and bruises still stinging from the disinfectant serum.

The doctor, a man in his mid-fifties, carefully puts his first-aid kit back into a large leather bag, then gives me a sour look. “I suggest you take it easy for a couple of days, miss,” he says sternly.

I can’t take my eyes off his crooked horns, however. He’s a nimble fellow who reminds me of Kingo, truth be told. I think he is what Kingo would’ve looked like had he survived.

“That burn will give you some grief until the skin is healed. Try to keep it out of the sun, too, for as long as possible. I recommend wearing a bandage while you’re outdoors.”

“Thanks, Doc,” I reply with a soft smile. “I’ll be careful.”

“Your mates are fine, by the way. Nothing a bit of disinfectant won’t take care of,” he says.

“They’re not my mates,” I say, gritting my teeth beneath my apparent composure.

He chuckles dryly and picks his bag off the floor. “Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that one before. They said the same thing.”

He leaves, and the silence that keeps me company makes me feel rather uneasy. I’ve heard that so many times before. I’m pretty sure I said it to Alicia once. And Cynthia. Not long before they got together with their Fire Tribe warriors. “Stop lying to yourself,” I used to laugh. “It’s obvious the three of you are nuts for one another.”

Dammit. It’s my turn now.

I feel bad. In this silence, after that wretched skirmish, and with a constant burning pain engulfing my calf, I’m reminded of how vulnerable I truly was out there. For a moment, I damn near lost my freedom. My soul. That Sky Tribe asshole almost had his way with me. Had Yossul not caught up with me, I’m not sure I would’ve been able to reach for my pistol or any of my knives.

The guy was too big and strong, even for a nimble devil like me. Armed to my teeth and relentless… and I still would’ve lost the fight. I don’t like this. I don’t appreciate this vulnerability.

Worse even, it’s not like I had a better choice. I know Yossul and Fadai are mad that I went off on my own again, but it really was the only way to get those fuckers away from Opal City. Maybe they’ll understand. Maybe tomorrow, once we’re all rested, I could try talking to them again.

A knock on my door startles me. “Yes?” I call out.

“It’s me,” Fadai says.

“Come in.”

Slowly, the door opens and closes behind him. He stands there for a while, watching me with shadows dancing in the red pools of his eyes. His tribal garments are slightly tattered, parts of them revealing way more of his glorious thigh muscles than they normally would.

I lick my lower lip, then take a deep breath and somehow find the strength to look away, wondering why I’m having an increasingly harder time being around Fadai and Yossul lately. It’s the desire. Deep down, I know it. I’m drawn to them on a deeper level, and my body is merely playing the catch-up game at a time when I’d do a lot better with a clear head.

“How are you feeling?” Fadai asks.

I give him a weak smile. “I’m okay. It’s just a burn. It’ll heal.”

“We almost lost you again.”

“Don’t—”

“What? Don’t say that? I’m sorry, Jewel, but you have no right to tell me what I can and cannot say,” Fadai replies, then walks over to the foot of my bed.

The closer he gets, the faster my heart hammers in my chest. “I’m okay,” I say, my shoulders dropping slightly. “I had no choice, Fadai. I had to draw the rest of them away from the city.”

“I know,” he says, kneeling in front of me. His height puts our eyes in perfect alignment, and I almost lose myself in his burning gaze. “I’m not here to scold you, Jewel. I just need you to understand that no matter what we agreed on, we can no longer continue with this charade. We almost lost you again tonight, dammit. And it fucking hurt.”

“Fadai, I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too. I understand why you did it. I understand why you do a lot of things,” he replies, his hands slowly moving up the sides of my calves, carefully avoiding the burn, before they gently settle on my bare knees. “We’re friends and partners, yes. We’re going to honor this all the way through to the end. Get this through that thick, beautiful head of yours. I’m in love with you, and so is Yossul. You’re not indifferent to us, either.”

I try to look away, but his hand shoots up, fingers clasping my chin to keep our gazes locked on one another. “Fadai…” My protest is nimble, almost laughable.

“You can’t deny it.”

“No…”

“And we have every right to express our concern, to tell you we want you. All of you, Jewel, in one piece. I will never hold you back from the battlefield. It’s not easy for me, though. Every instinct I have keeps screaming at me whenever we go out on a mission, but I let you do your thing because you’re a fierce fighter and a brilliant pilot. Your contribution to this war has been fucking priceless. But I can’t keep quiet anymore.”

His eyes drill holes into my soul, and my body is quick to respond. His hand moves slowly to cup my cheek. I hold my breath in anticipation. I know what’s coming. I have been dreaming of this for years, something I’ve forbidden myself from wishing for, something that will forever change the way it works between us.

“I cannot lose you, Jewel,” Fadai says, a single black curl resting on his temple.

We’re so close that there’s no air left between us. The atoms of my being vibrate at a higher frequency as he obliterates the gap and captures my mouth in a kiss—the kind of kiss that sets fire to my blood and sends my heart tumbling all over the place. His lips are soft, and his musky scent fills my nostrils and turns my senses upside down. I am helpless.

It quickly devolves into something primal.

Control is lost, and we’re devouring one another as though it’s the last time we’ll ever get to do this. His tongue slips through and wrestles mine, tasting and conquering me, his mouth making love to mine as his hands begin their descent. His fingers slide down my back, digging into my hips as he deepens the kiss. I welcome him fully, arousal sparking a fiery wetness between my legs.

“You taste like a sweet summer’s day,” he whispers against my lips. “I’ve wanted to do this for so long…”

“We can’t… We promised...” I’m barely able to utter anything coherent.

“Another minute, Jewel, and then we’ll pretend this never happened,” Fadai says, and it’s enough to have me surrender altogether. It’s a lie we’re telling ourselves. We both know it. But we can’t help it anymore. It’s impossible.

He trails kisses down the side of my neck, smoothly pushing me until I lie on my back, my top is gone, and my breasts his for the taking. I was never on the busty side, but Fadai loves what he’s cupping in his hands. Fondling gently at first, his grip tightens on my flesh, making my skin tingle all over as I arch my back, gasping and wordlessly begging for more.

His tongue draws invisible lines down my stomach, his index and thumb fingers pinching my nipples until I cry out. A persistent ache gathers between my legs, tension balling into a concentrated point right where I want him the most. Inside me. Where every nerve ending has come alive, my hips swaying slightly as his mouth moves lower.

“I’m going to taste you tonight,” Fadai says.

I don’t have anything to say in response. How could I? This is one of my secret dreams transforming into a soul-changing reality. All I can do is whimper with desire as he pulls my pants off gently and spreads my legs, his fingertips registering every inch of soft skin on my inner thighs. He takes his sweet time teasing me. I catch a glimpse of him grinning delightedly before his tongue slides between my slick folds, instantly flicking my swollen clit into a frenzy.

“Oh, God,” I gasp, realizing precisely how fucking turned on I’ve been up to this point.

Years of pent-up sexual tension, desire simmering between us every damn day, every damn minute of every damn hour… it was bound to boil over. It was only a matter of time, not a matter of possibility. Fadai moans as he devours my pussy, ravaging me with his lips and tongue until I shatter.

“I… Don’t stop… Please, don’t stop…” I cry out.

“I’ll do you one better,” he says, inserting two fingers inside me.

We’re taking this to the next level, and I’m so close to the edge I can no longer control myself. He sucks my clit, harder and harder, as he presses his tongue against it, his fingers curling with every retreating motion. I’m wound up so tight, I’m going to explode… any… minute… now…

“Don’t stop…”

“How can I stop when your pussy tastes so fucking good?” Fadai replies, then goes back to licking, suckling, and finger-fucking me into the sweetest depths of madness. He adds a third finger, stretching and probing, then gently nibbles on my tender nub until I crackle and come undone.

“AH!”

Colors explode before my eyes as one of his hands kneads my left breast, and the other milks my pussy dry of every glistening drop. I’m gushing and coming hard, and Fadai is eager to drink every drop. I love the sound of his mouth consuming me, of my pussy grinding against his face, wetness aplenty as I ride this orgasm with everything I’ve got.

I’ve pleased myself so many times while thinking about Fadai and Yossul, wondering what it would be like to bond with them the way my friends did with their men, but I never imagined a single climax with just one of them would deliver this kind of decadent bliss.

I’m jelly, soft, and spineless as I delve into the afterglow.

The silence that follows has my mind racing in every which way.

It’s over.

It’s what we agreed upon.

And he knows it. Slowly, he withdraws his hand, and I watch him lick his fingers, tasting every last drop of me as our gazes lock in dark desire. We both want more. But it can’t happen—not here, not now, not when we’ve got so much work to do.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Fadai says as he gets up.

I catch a glimpse of his massive erection, a monstrous cock wrestling against the fabric of his pants. I want that thing deep inside me, ramming into me, filling me to the brim, and removing me from reality altogether. I want to disappear in his arms. Maybe then it would all be over. The war. The violence. The plague. Maybe then we’d get to breathe without having to look over our shoulders all the time.

But that’s not how this works. It’s a hard pill to swallow.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” I repeat, my voice weak and trembling as I watch him leave.

I stare at the door for a while. I can’t even move. It feels too good, the ghost of his mouth on my pussy, the taste he left on my lips, the sensation still reverberating in my breasts. I don’t want to lose any of it, so I hold on to this state for as long as I can. I hold on to this feeling until a heavy sleep creeps up and loads my eyelids with an unbearable weight.

Drifting into dreamland, I dare hope that maybe we’ll pick up where we left off. I even dare imagine Yossul joining in… I see myself submitting to the Kreek brothers and gleefully letting them share me, break me, shake me until the three of us become one. It’s a distant dream, a possible reality at best.

Yet until we win this fucking war… it’s only just that.

A feverish idea I must fight for.