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OBSIDIAN

I stare at my reflection in the mirror of the med-bay. My wolves barely made it out. I recalled them to my blood at the first light of the blast, and they are dormant now, recovering, their auras dim.

How could she love me now?

My hair is scorched. Half my face is a melted mess, and the white bone of my cheek gleams. The DNA damage was too severe for the med-bay to restore the features that my Mate knows and once loved.

My eyes were unscathed. As if they are made of something stronger than mere flesh and bone. The black orbs stare from ruined skin.

I’m disintegrating. Every other one of my soldiers in the charge was turned to ash. Only I made it out. My men think it is because I am a God, that nothing can destroy me.

I am alive only because of Fay. The Bond she blessed me with. She gave me the strength to continue. Even now, half my body seared, the agony cannot compare to the pure torture of being away from her, each beat of my heart sending waves of pain.

“How long do I have?”

“I don’t know, Obsidian. Any mere mortal would be dead.

Your DNA is going to degrade,” states my top doctor.

He eschewed the second brand on his forehead marking him as a true believer.

He followed my cause rationally, seeing the degradation of the Aurelian Empire and knowing that for our species to thrive, the only choice was war.

I sit up, grunting in pain.

“You will have a brief period of time when you recover. You will feel healthy once more. Then you will fall apart.”

“When?”

“I don’t know. Your body is stronger than any I have seen. My best guess is one week. We need to put you in the cryo-bays and freeze you until we find a solution.”

“There is only one solution. Her. I need to Mate with her once more and strengthen the Bond.”

Would she?

Could she, anymore? Or have I become such a monster that she will see me as a stranger?

I felt her in my mind, an hour ago, briefly. It filled me with rage. Queen Jasmine, forcing her to report the extent of my injuries. I tried to feel her, but my mind was so weak I could barely touch her aura, barely think.

I close my eyes, focusing inward, seeing through my fleets, through my drones which give me eyes through space. I have enough, yes, enough for one last strike before my body falls apart and I am returned to dust.

“Bring in my generals.”

“Yes, Obsidian,” says the doctor, not protesting.

I stand, naked, not hiding my raw, charred skin. My clothes were burnt, but my Orb-Blade remained eternal.

My leaders enter the med-bay, High-Priests, warlords, and captains, the dozen of my men I trust. Each has the dual brand on their chest, mirroring my birthmark which was unblemished in the explosion.

They have no pity in their eyes. They see me injured, but not one of them sees me as weak.

“We fly on Colossus. I will shift us in as close as I can. And then we fight our way through.”

“And the Planet-Killers? One blast and she could take our fleet,” says one of my captains. He says it without a hint of fear, simply stating a fact.

“The Planet-Killers are immobile and slow to aim. Useless for defense.” Each word has a cost, my mouth twisted and seared.

“The bulk of them are already on their way to our planets. This, I know. Queen Jasmine tested them and will plan to use them to wipe out any world we have conquered. She does not care for the billions of human lives on them, not when she can strike a blow against us. We act now, or we lose our chance. They are hunting my drones, trying to blind me. But I can still see.”

I ache to use short sentences, but I will not allow myself to succumb to weakness.

I stare out at their faces. None of them flinch at the grotesque monstrosity of my being.

“Our victory is fated. There is no other reality that can be.”