Page 11 of Rebels Rising (The Intergalactic Union #3)
Adara
I wasn’t sure what to make of the scene before me. Xander and I had returned to the cockpit to check on Artemis, only to discover she wasn’t there. Instead, we’d found Eloria and Julius discussing the potential advantages and limitations of the abilities Artemis and the children had. Well, any subject from The Program, really, but the focus of their attention was on Artemis and the kids in particular.
That had opened up the floodgates on Xander’s curiosity, and he’d immediately jumped in with his own opinions and theories. He may have been a whole hell of a lot of brawn, but what surprised most people was the amount of brain he had going for him, too. Quite frankly, he was a bit of a nerd. Not that I’d ever say that to his face. Or maybe I should. Toying with him was always such fun.
Their enrapt conversation was also how Julius and I had ended up sitting to the side, relegated to watching as Xander and Eloria monopolised the discussion, eventually ignoring the two of us as their interactions became even more heated. Not in a bad way, though. It was more like they were passionate about the topic and were excited to talk about it with someone who matched their level of interest.
Julius and I were more than happy to move aside and let them have at it, but I was beginning to think Xander would have a crush on the ethereal Yu’Rom pilot by the end of this interaction if the way his eyes lit up whenever she countered his theories with her own was any indication.
He was barking up the wrong tree if that were the case, though. Everyone who knew anything about Eloria Stanson knew that she was solely into women. He didn’t stand a chance, but I wasn’t about to tell him. In fact, I was going to enjoy watching all of it unfold.
Was that evil of me? Perhaps, but we all had to get our kicks somewhere.
I was hoping that he would take the rejection lightly and allow the experience to open him up to the possibility of letting someone else into our relationship. Obviously not Eloria, but I had a certain cyborg in mind.
This could be good. This could be very good.
Xander and Eloria continued their intellectual sparring with an enthusiasm that bordered on the absurd, but I watched on in amusement as Xander’s interest quickly morphed into something softer and more flirtatious. It was subtle, and I wasn’t sure anyone else in the room caught onto it, but I noticed the way he leaned forward a little more as if edging closer to her. I saw the way his eyes flashed with intrigue whenever she retorted, especially when her statements challenged his. I even noted how he shot her that little smirk that was usually only reserved for me.
Ha! Called it .
Eloria, however, remained oblivious and completely unfazed without a hint of reciprocation. While I was enjoying the back and forth between the two and the potential it could open up for him when he finally realised he could have his cake and eat it, too, it was also kind of sad. She would never see him in that light, and another part of me, separate from my mischievousness, rose up, ready to protect him from his own feelings if need be. The last thing I wanted was for him to feel any sort of pain at the inevitable rejection, but at the same time I knew it was best to just let things play out naturally. He hated meddling.
If things went too far, if his feelings for her grew too potent, then I would nip it in the bud, I vowed. For now, I would sit back and relax as he did his thing.
The door slid open then, halting the flow of the conversation as Artemis stepped through, her expression one of determination. Everyone’s backs went ramrod straight as we waited patiently for her to speak. Seeing that, however, only worked to ramp up the tension coiling her muscles, and she walked stiffly to the chair she had seemingly claimed as her own. The rest of us had given it a wide berth for her.
‘Good to see your feet back on the ground, Artemis,’ Eloria smirked, effectively ending the oppressive silence and the awkwardness that had come with it. ‘You ready to make that call now?’
‘Yes. I just want to get it out of the way,’ Arty said on a sigh. I couldn’t necessarily understand the reasons behind her reluctance from personal experience, but I at the very least understood how daunting it could be that she was meeting her lover’s parents for the first time. On top of that, I was fairly sure this would be her first time speaking with royalty. I had no clue if she even knew the proper etiquette and customs, but as Eloria brought up the hologram to connect the call I realised it was a bit too late for that now.
I caught Xander’s eye and tilted my head to indicate we should leave. He seemed reluctant to, his gaze catching first on Eloria until he acknowledged that their conversation was now over, and then on Artemis who was already in the process of connecting to the Griknot’s royal security in order to – hopefully – get transferred directly to the king and queen.
I did not want to stick around for that conversation. I was no longer welcome on Grik after my family had excommunicated me, the shame of my sexuality – or lack thereof, to be more specific – was a blight not only on them but on the Griknot race as a whole. The last thing I wanted was to have to face the damn leaders of the very people who found me lacking.
Not today, fates. Or ever, thank you very much.
Unfortunately, Artemis was patched through quicker than I thought possible. The holographic images of two green-hued Griknots in Royal Guard garb flickered into view. Their faces were stoic and severe as they inundated Artemis with questions, and I tugged on Xanders hand, desperate to leave.
He allowed me to lead him from the cockpit, keeping our fingers intertwined as we made our way through the narrow corridors and finally into the room we had claimed for ourselves. It was a closet, really, but everywhere else would have included roommates and rotations and we’d wanted our privacy. Instead of a bed, we’d piled blankets and pillows into a makeshift nest on the floor. It wasn’t the most comfortable, but both Xander and I had slept in worse places. What was important was that we were together, and that was enough. I could have slept peacefully on the cold hard floor if I had him by my side.
Plus, he made for an excellent mattress and his body was like a furnace, so I would have been comfortable and warm regardless. It was his comfort I was the most concerned about here.
Memories assaulted me from when I was strapped down to that damn metal table, and without conscious thought I began scratching at a phantom itch on my arm, directly over where a faint silver scar still remained from when the scientists had cut into me on that metal table when he turned to face me in the cramped room, a small smile tilting up the corners of his lips. It quickly fell, however, when he noticed the action and what I imagined was a suddenly sombre expression twisting my features. I felt the way my muscles pinched, pulling my lips down alongside my brows.
‘What is it?’ he demanded. ‘What’s wrong, my love?’
‘We haven’t talked about what happened to me yet,’ I blurted, almost regretting the words as they left my mouth before realising this conversation was very much needed. Both of us needed a nudge to open up about that particular topic, the gruesome details needing release even if we would rather bury our heads in the ground and pretend it never happened. It was currently an angry cloud hanging above us, dark and looming despite our efforts to ignore it. Watching Artemis push through all of the bullshit to do what needed to be done shone a light on our cowardice, and the last thing either of us were was cowardly.
It was time to put our brave faces on and stand tall against the mounting darkness.
He remained silent, patiently waiting for me to speak and tell this story however I saw fit. He didn’t reach out to me either, already knowing I wouldn’t be able to get through it if he showed me any sign of sympathy. If he touched me, we both knew I’d just break down into a trembling mess of snot and tears and intelligible mumblings. I needed to speak my truth and stand by it on my own.
I’d just let myself be a trembling mess as soon as it was done.
‘What happened to me and Reece…’ I started, my throat closing as my mouth went dry. I took a moment to wet my lips and open throat back up to let the words out. ‘The torture we went through at the hands of The Program… I’m not sure how much you want to know.’
‘Tell me whatever you’re comfortable telling me, my love,’ he assured me, and I sent him a wobbly smile.
‘They knocked us out, and when we woke up things weren’t so bad at first. All they did was send in some nurses to check our vitals and monitor us. But then the scientists would came. They went for Reece first, but they made me…’ I cleared my throat, the words stuck there and refusing to budge, but I forced them out. ‘They made me watch. We were shackled to metal tables, bound and unable to move. I couldn’t help him. I’d never felt so helpless…’
‘Addy,’ he breathed on a choked whisper, muscles bunching as he held himself back from scooping me into his arms.
I held up a hand between us to stop him, and he settled back against the shelves. He didn’t relax though, not matter how hard he tried to imitated calm.
‘They cut into him. No anaesthesia. No numbing or pain relief. They just started tearing into him right down to the bone. Then they took a syringe filled with this silver liquid and injected it straight into his marrow. He screamed. Stars, Xan, the way he screamed … And they didn’t even flinch. I begged for them to stop, but they didn’t even glance in my direction. Not until they were done with him. Then they did the same to me, forcing him to watch while he bled out on the table and I…’
I paused to breathe, my inhalations deep and grounding as I attempted to push the emotions connected to these fresh memories to the side. I just needed to tell it, and then I could get let it all back in again.
My nails scratched stinging grooves down my arms, adding red lines parallel to the silver ones as the memories assaulted me. The way the pain took a few beats to register in my brain. The sharp sting of the scalpels slicing into my flesh, splitting apart skin and muscle alike. The stabbing of the needle as it was jabbed into my bones. The burn.
Xander’s face darkened as I recounted the harrowing details, his hands balling into fists at his sides. When I got to the part where Artemis and the guys ended up trapped inside with us, his eyes blazed with fury.
‘You’re leaving something out,’ he accused, his voice quiet but slicing through the space between us like the sharpest of blades despite his gentle tone. ‘Between the time they came to rescue you and the battle outside the facility.’
‘A few things happened, Xan,’ I hedged. ‘But those aren’t my stories to tell.’
‘Bullshit,’ he spat, and I held myself still to stop from flinching. I knew his anger wasn’t directed at me. ‘You were forced to witness it. Whatever happened, you were a part of it, too. It is your story to tell, Addy.’
I sighed, the breath leaving my lips on a slow, shaky exhale. ‘It’s really not.’ He opened his mouth to protest but I raised a hand to cut him off. ‘Yes, I witnessed it. That couldn’t be avoided. But it didn’t happen to me . That’s between Artemis and Bromm.’
His brows dipped in confusion while his eyes flashed with frustration. ‘What happened to them?’
My lips pursed in frustration, both at the situation and his persistence. He always liked to have all the information, even when it came with consequences. I wasn’t about to go behind their backs and gossip about what happened, though.
‘Seriously, it’s not my place to say. You weren’t there…’
‘I know I wasn’t, my love. That’s why I’m asking. How can I help if I don’t have all the information?’ he pushed, not unkindly.
‘If you’re that determined to find out then ask Arty yourself,’ I told him.
He frowned, unhappy with that solution. ‘I can’t just go up to Artemis and ask her about it,’ he argued.
I lifted a single eyebrow in response. ‘Why not?’
‘You might be friends with her, my love, but I’m not. She doesn’t owe me that.’
I scoffed, waving his comment away. ‘Arty’s not like that. She’d tell you if you asked. I’m more concerned about your reaction to what she has to say. It wasn’t… pleasant, and I’m not sure she fully grasped the severity of what was done to her. To Bromm, too.’
He physically deflated at the wave of my hand. ‘Okay, I’ll drop it for now. If you say you’re okay… what matters to me is you , my love.’
Finally, I allowed myself to collapse into his warm embrace, using his strength since my own was so depleted. I didn’t cry, however. For some reason, the only emotion I could dredge up was numbness. It was too little too for that particular emotion, it’s cool embrace abandoning me when I had actually needed it, and I was irritated that my mind wasn’t allowing me to process the way I’d expected. Instead, I let my body fall into his as he lowered us onto the nest of blankets and pillows on the floor, the only part of my body that tensed were my hands as I fisted them in his shirt.
‘I’ve got you now, my love. I’ll never let you go again. You’re safe now,’ he whispered, his lips brushing against the top of my head as he spoke.
???
The sound of rustling roused me from my sleep, though it took me a tick to wrap my head around where it was coming from. My head was on an actual pillow and I was clutching at the blankets as if to replace the large, warm body that had recently vacated the space.
I blinked groggily up at Xander in time to catch him zipping up one of the jumpsuits that had been passed out when we’d first boarded the ship. Stretching my limps out as far as they could go, I arched my back and let out a little squeal as my muscles loosened from where they’d had a stranglehold on the blankets.
‘Hey,’ I said, my voice scratchy from sleep. ‘Where ya goin’?’
He bent down with a small smile playing on his lips to press them to my forehead in a sweet kiss. The smile didn’t reach his eyes, even if his love for me still shone through, and I was immediately on alert. I jolted upright, ready to throw on my own jumpsuit to stand with him against whatever it was that had come our way this time.
His hands came to rest on my shoulders and he gently pushed me back down into the nest, his eyes crinkling with concern. ‘Nothing’s wrong, my love. The captain called me to the cockpit for a meeting. It shouldn’t take too long,’ he told me, and I relaxed back into the pillows.
‘Oh, okay. You should really start calling her Artemis, though. I don’t think she’s that comfortable with titles,’ I lightly informed him.
‘Tough shit. She has the title and all the responsibility that comes with it. Even if she’s struggling with that, she needs to accept it sooner rather than later,’ he said firmly, but it wasn’t entirely unkind. He was right, but I wasn’t sure how Artemis would react to it. She was damn good at rolling with the punches, but we’d all witnessed what happened when she was overwhelmed, and a broken punching bag was probably the least of our worries when it came to her losing control from overwhelm. I didn’t want her to go off like a bomb again because of something as small as a moniker, so I told him as much.
‘You have a point, my love, but it doesn’t change the fact that this is the situation she’s now in. But,’ he said, shooting me a pointed look when I opened my mouth to argue, ‘I’ll do my best to assist her so she doesn’t get overloaded. Would that ease your worries?’
I grinned up at him. ‘It would.’
He straightened back up to his full height and adjusted the sleeves at his wrists so they were neatly folded rather than hanging over his hands. It was a pleasant surprise that the ship had even stocked the jumpsuits in his size, let alone ones so large that rolling was necessary at all, but no one was about to take our luck for granted.
‘I’m heading out. Will you still be here when I get back or are you going to find something else to do, my love?’ he asked, stepping towards the door but pausing before opening it.
I mulled over the question for a tick but there was really only one thing I wanted to do today. It was something I’d been feeling the urge to do ever since we’d been separated and now seemed like the perfect chance.
‘I might go see Reece for a bit. He hasn’t come out of his room yet, I don’t think. I want to check on him.’
He froze at the mention of Reece’s name, guilt twisting his features before he had the chance to contain the reaction. ‘Are you sure?’
I nodded decisively. ‘I’m sure. He shouldn’t be alone right now.’
‘Okay, then.’ He flicked off some invisible dust from his shoulder as he recomposed himself, then opened the door. ‘I’ll see you soon. Love you.’
‘Love you too.’
The door snicked shut behind him, and I was left alone to get dressed.
I wound my way through the corridors as I tried to remember where Reece had chosen to stay, and eventually found myself facing a door I was almost sure was his. I rose my fist to knock but paused before my knuckles could make contact, trepidation panging through me. The last time we’d been alone in a room together we’d been strapped naked to cold metal tables and tortured mercilessly, the very core of our bodies altered by scientists for their own personal, evil plots. But I pushed that all aside. If he needed a friend, I would be there for him. His torture had been a more personal attack and he’d endured much more and much longer than I had.
I knocked firmly.
No answer.
I waited for a few moments then knocked again, louder this time. Still nothing. My heartrate quickened as my mind immediately conjured up worst-case scenarios, but I shoved them away. Perhaps he had left the room and was exploring the ship. Maybe he’d found a job to occupy himself until we reached our destination. He could have simply decided to find the gym and get in a workout, or he’d headed to the kitchens to grab himself a bite to eat. No answer didn’t necessarily mean something was wrong.
Still, my gut twisted with intuition, my instincts screaming at me that something was wrong. I tested the handle and found it unlocked, peeking my head inside warily.
The room was dim, the only light illuminating the space coming from the open doorway as I peered inside, but I could still see enough to catch sight of Reece sitting at the edge of the bed. He was staring blankly at the wall and he looked almost… empty. I called out to him as I stepped further into the room, but he barely acknowledged my presence. The only reason I knew he wasn’t completely catatonic was the barely visible twitch in his jaw as I moved closer.
‘Reece?’ I tried again. Still no response. My chest tightened with concern as I sat next to him and placed a gentle hand on his arm. ‘Reece, are you okay?’
He remained silent, his gaze blank as if he were lost in some sort of trance. I waved my hand in front of his eyes, but he didn’t even blink.
A wave of helplessness washed over me, reminiscent of how I’d felt in that room as I was bound, his screams echoing in my ears like ghosts.
When he remained stuck in whatever memory had caught him firmly in its clutches, I whispered into the room, ‘It’s going to be all right.’ I said it for myself just as much as him, and took his hand in mine, my grip tight.
Some part of me knew I needed to get Henrik, or someone who could help, but I found myself holding vigil beside him. I couldn’t leave him like this. I just hoped my presence could somehow reach him.