Page 16

King

We left Marinah’s motorbike at the shipyard. She rode behind me, her arms loosely wrapped around my waist while I kept one arm secured around her arm to hold her steady, the other steering the motorcycle. Her skin was still pale after the strange episode on the sub, though she appeared steadier now. I couldn’t shake the worry that she might pass out again, and I’d be too slow to catch her. I should’ve called Beck to pick us up.

By the time we reached the citadel, she declared she was fine, the universal code for “leave me alone.” Ignoring my concern, she stomped toward our room. When I tried to insist she take a shower, her response was a low growl. I growled back, picked her up, and deposited her inside the tub.

“You can turn the water on, or I will,” I said, my jaw set stubbornly. “Ice-cold might improve your mood.” Shadow Warriors hated the cold.

“You wouldn’t dare,” she snapped, reaching for the nozzles. “Tell our guard we’re meeting in thirty minutes,” she added sharply.

“Your guard,” I corrected, matching her tone.

Her brown eyes darkened slightly. “You’re pushing your luck, mate, and you know it. They’re our guard,” she said, standing her ground.

“Keep dreaming,” I replied, leaving the room. I closed the door softly, fully aware that she would have slammed it if our roles were reversed. Sometimes satisfaction came from quiet victories.

Informing her guard was as easy as finding Beck and telling him to take care of it. My real target was Axel. I found him in his quarters, sitting at his desk with a book in hand. I stomped in without knocking, earning a glance from him as he leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes.

His private room was one door down from the medical bays, keeping him close to his work. Axel took his role as our doctor seriously. Over time, he had expanded his domain into a fully functional hospital, complete with a maternity ward to serve the women on this side of the island. He was setting up another near our home. Maylin, Nokita’s mate, handled much of the nurse outreach, while Garret, Axel’s significant other, assisted with everything from surgeries to baby deliveries.

Axel sighed and fixed me with a weary look. “I take it this isn’t a friendly visit.”

“Marinah called a meeting in twenty-five minutes, main conference room,” I said without pausing for breath. “She passed out, or had a seizure, a hallucination, something.”

Axel rubbed the bridge of his nose, his expression showing a glimmer of concern. “Was she attacked, injured, or maybe just hungry?”

I started pacing, the tension clawing at my insides. “No. K-5 spiked, and she slumped over. She was out for maybe a minute or two. The spike was stronger than anything my Beast has ever thrown at me. Nokita and I almost shifted.”

“Had she eaten recently? Her transition to Nova requires a lot of energy.”

“Two pounds of bacon, a dozen eggs, and half a loaf of bread,” I replied, listing off her morning meal.

Axel’s eyebrows shot up. That amount of food would have been excessive for anyone else, even a Warrior.

“Has she shifted to Nova in the last few days?” he asked.

“Yesterday. She did it without going into Beast form first. She had more control, and she spoke in full, understandable sentences.”

“Take a seat,” Axel said, pointing to a chair in the corner. His tone left no room for argument. Once I was seated, he turned to face me. “We know almost nothing about Nova Warriors. What little we do know, we’ve learned from Marinah.”

Which wasn’t much. “Our histories mention them,” I said defensively.

“They mention them,” Axel corrected, “but they don’t explain them. Why do so few Warriors ever shift to Nova? Were they meant to rule us, or were they meant to protect our rulers? What separates a Nova from a Shadow Warrior? Yes, they’re more powerful, but there were always so few. They were the monster’s monster. And we know next to nothing about them.”

“They were feared and worshipped on the home planet,” I countered.

Axel stared at the wall for a long moment before turning his attention back to me. “I’ve read the texts too. Novas were incredibly dangerous. Once a Warrior went Nova, they were never fully trusted, even when they became leaders. They had one purpose, and that was war. Marinah seems to have a handle on her Nova, but does she actually control her?”

“You think her Nova is the one in control, even in Beast form?”

“I think we don’t know enough,” Axel replied. “She needs to be watched closely.”

“She thinks her Beast is trying to tell her something,” I added.

“Interesting.” Axel rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “After we deal with the Federation, I’ll have her come in for blood tests. It wouldn’t hurt to check her chemical makeup in both Beast and Nova forms. There’s always a chance we’ll discover what separates her from the rest of us and why most Warriors can’t attain Nova status. The focus on the home planet was always war and they didn’t value science. The answers we need may be inside her.”

I left Axel’s room with more questions buzzing in my head than answers and reminded him not to be late for the meeting. When I entered our quarters, I found Marinah curled on the bed, naked, twisting one of her braids between her fingers, and staring blankly at the ceiling.

“Anything you want to share?” I asked, lying down beside her to stare up at the same unimpressive ceiling.

“The female Warriors didn’t think much of their male counterparts,” she said distractedly, gesturing toward the journal on her nightstand.

“I’m pretty sure the men figured that out when the women left them shortly after arriving on earth.”

“Hmm.” Her noncommittal response grated on my nerves.

I reached over, took hold of one of her braids, and gave it a small tug to make her look at me. “I’m worried about you.”

Her face scrunched up in mild confusion. “Me?”

“You passed out.”

“Ms. Beast and Nova were trying to tell me something,” she said, brushing off my concern. “I’ll have a long meditation session and figure it out.”

When she continued to stare at the ceiling, I tugged her braid a little harder. “Yes?” she asked, her tone laced with just a hint of irritation.

“The meeting?”

“Yes, I know,” she said, rolling her eyes in exaggerated exasperation. “I need to save the world,” she added dramatically, sliding off the bed and getting dressed with distracted movements. Without a word, she walked out the door.

Mate , my Beast whispered.

Contrary mate, I whispered back, dragging myself off the bed to follow my queen.