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“I don’t want to leave you here, alone.”

“I can take care of myself.”

Summer looks up at me from far below, standing in the clearing, rifle in hand. “That’s true. You know, all the other servants looked at you like a stupid little girl. But I always thought there was something to you. You’re strong as hell.”

“You too, Summer. Good luck out there.”

“Good luck.”

She turns and disappears into the forest. It’s like she never came, as if she was an imagined specter in my mind.

She was the last link I had to the civilized world.

It’s when the birds start to sing again, when the insects buzz anew as she is gone from the forest that I truly realize what I’ve done.

I had a way out.

I had a way out, and I chose to be here. I said it was because of my father. That’s true…

But there’s something else.

I’ve never felt alive, not truly, potently alive, not like the moment when Bolden had his hand on my throat, when he kissed me like he owned me, when our hearts were both pounding and…

I turn, shivering in the cool cave. The warmth of the day is gone as the evening light streams through the trees.

I can’t blame my captors for my position here.

I may be trapped—but I had the cage open, and I chose to stay.

12

KRAZAK

My smartwatch vibrates as I pilot my Reaver over the mountains, searching for any sign of Scorp or rebellion. There was a resistance, planted by Queen Jasmine, who took control over the anti-air batteries and fired at the spire of the castle, nearly killing General Ra’al’s triad and his Queen.

They ended the lives of three honored Priests. The terrorists could be anywhere, deep in these mountains, and our patrols are not primarily for Scorp.

A pang of guilt fills me, a pang that I push down.

I adjusted our routes, swinging farther north, towards the mining camps. Khra and Bolden man the Orb-Beams, and we sought out and sniped a dozen Scorp hiding in the mountains who hadn’t yet burrowed. I’ve been piloting towards areas I knew Scorp would flock to, even if they were not the most likely to have human rebels.

She makes me betray my own army, my own convictions. I should be a hammer of justice, crushing those who would stand against Obsidian, who would stand against the might of our armies and the weight of our noble cause…

But each one of those Scorp could be the one that finds the mine her father could be hiding in, if he’s still alive. Each one of them could be the thing that hurts her in a way she can never recover from.

“Signal to head back to the Royal City,” states Khra, as our patrol ends. I do one last extra sweep over a high ridge, searching for Scorp, but find none, so I go full speed towards the city. We land in one of the huge hangar bays that were cleared of civilian transports and repurposed for war. This entire city will be made for war now.

I watched Ra’al’s speech to the conquered people—but he did not speak to them as underlings. He spoke of them as equals, essential to this planet, which would be a barren hunk of rock without them. He spoke of how their efforts would be rewarded, that they could build something for themselves, instead of having their wealth taken by the richest families who controlled every industry, along with the callous Royal Family who left first when their planet was under attack.

I had to cut the feed after the speech, not able to watch further to see the live-feed of the attack. After addressing the crowd, Ra’al and his triad took his Queen publicly, Bonding her to him to eternity. It’s a red-hot knife into my gut.

Why? Why does he deserve to find his Mate, when mine died on Abascus? Why does he get to start a family?

“Why does he have a future!” I roar it out, slamming my hand against the controls, then get up, snarling, as my triad stalks out of the Reaver and into the hangar bay. Aurelians knuckle their empty brands at me, young recruits who look at an honored triad like us with awe, some with the second brand on their foreheads.

This is our war. A war of babies, young men, some who never finished academy before deserting, lost in the religious awe of Obsidian, men who trust the words of the Priests and the inevitability of destiny. My triad is one of them. Was one of them. I was so certain. My life path was fixed…

Until I saw Lola and yearned.