Page 20 of Returned to the Vissigroth (The Vissigroths of Leander #6)

My lips parted, unbidden, drawn open by the sound of his voice, low and reverent, like a prayer shaped from grief and longing.

It wasn’t just what he said… it was how he said it, like every word had been etched into his soul before it ever reached mine.

Something deep within me stirred in response.

Not memories exactly—not the kind I could name or see.

But my body remembered him. The ache of his absence.

The pull of his touch. The way his voice slipped under my skin and made my knees weaken, made my breath catch.

It wasn’t my mind reacting. It was me . All of me. Reaching back for something I hadn’t known I was missing—until now.

The lift creaked slightly as it continued down; the whir of cables and magnetic locks was the only sound in the silence that fell between us. That was charged with tenseness and electricity that reverberated in my blood.

He reached up, and his fingers hovered near my cheek. He wasn't quite touching me. Not yet. In anticipation, I leaned in, just enough that our breath mingled.

Inches. One heartbeat, maybe less.

A metallic grind broke the moment. Red light flickered on the panel beside us as the lift began to slow. I blinked, startled by the abrupt intrusion of reality.

The doors slid open, and neither of us moved.

Caught in the lock of our gazes, we stared like it was the first time we had seen each other.

It would have been so easy to get lost in the black abyss of his eyes.

They were so deep, so magnetic, and filled with so much sorrow, that the need to wrap my arms around him and take it away was nearly overpowering.

Voices from the other side, and the feeling of stares, broke our trance.

Mallack cleared his throat, and his hand moved gently to the small of my back to lead me out of the elevator.

Four people stood in a cavernous space. Three Leanders and one human.

All males, all staring at us with undisguised curiosity.

The male who stepped forward wore dark armor, scuffed with use, but it didn’t disguise the authority in his bearing.

He was tall, broad across the shoulders, and older, with a long braid streaked in gray trailing over one shoulder.

His pale eyes landed immediately on Mallack.

“Vissigroth Mallack,” he said, dipping his chin once in deference. “Welcome. Tovahr called ahead.”

Mallack gave a brief nod in return. “Kavryn.”

I was surprised that they knew each other. Kavryn stepped closer and gave me a curious glance—not disrespectful, just curious. His gaze lingered a second too long on the way Mallack’s arm still hovered near me, protectively.

“And this is—?” Kavryn asked.

“My mate,” Mallack said. “Vissy Daphne.”

That earned a longer look. I met it squarely, as if my body remembered how to behave as a Vissy. Surprise was evident on his face, "Forgive me, Vissigroth, I thought… " he trailed off, unsure how to politely say he thought I had died.

"It's a long story," Mallack dismissed his curiosity with a wave, "let's focus on this." His arm swiped the large, cavernous space.

It was lit up enough not to allow a single shadow into the space, even where the rock had hollowed out, leaving an opening that should have been swallowed by darkness. It almost seemed… like they were afraid of what might be hidden there.

“I see,” Kavryn said, and something unreadable passed across his face. “Come, let me show you.”

The three others moved in closer. A younger male, his skin a little deeper aqua than Mallack's, wearing an engineering harness strapped to his back, gave me a friendly nod. “I’m Jael,” he offered, glancing between me and Mallack with a smile that somehow managed to be both deferential and teasing.

“Systems analyst. I mostly keep things from catching fire.”

“Zavahr,” grunted another, arms crossed, his voice deep and dry. He was older than Jael, his clothes dusted with gravel, but his posture was crisp. “I'm an archivist for Zuten history.”

"Zuten?" Mallack's voice was sharp, and his gaze whipped to Kavryn.

"Long story," Kavryn threw Mallack's own words back at him, not without some glee, I noticed. So they didn't only know each other, but there seemed to be a story there. Not necessarily a good one. Before I had time to wonder what—or who— Zuten were, another voice cut in.

“Major Stafford,” the only human interrupted, either to not be left out, or to interrupt the brewing testosterone fight that hung in the air between Mallack and Kavryn. His voice was quiet but cut through the hum like a blade. "From Terra, here to oversee and assist with the magrail."

This was the second person from Terra. Earlier, I hadn't been awake enough to realize the magnitude of the word, but now I fully caught on.

Again, I surprised myself with the boundless knowledge when it came to history and facts that had nothing to do with me or my past. But I knew that about a hundred rotations ago, the Cosmic Coalition dropped a large number of humans—my ancestors—off on Leander as part of a deal.

Since then, there had been no further communication between Leander and Terra.

So they must have returned, while I… slept—I refused to stay while I was dead. It didn't sound right.

I would ask Mallack about this later. Right now, there were other things, more important things that needed to be discussed.

Mallack surveyed the team with a grunt of approval, then turned to Kavryn. “What are we looking at?”

Kavryn motioned to a corner of the cavernous space.

A bend made it impossible to see more from this angle, but it was as lit up as the rest of the area.

Curiously, but also wearily, I followed the males while I looked around the hollowed-out space.

It was clear to see that this cave was some kind of air pocket that must have formed hundreds of thousands of rotations ago.

It was oddly shaped, boxy in some areas, round in others.

Something about it raised the fine hairs at the back of my neck.

The walls looked sharp; things protruded from them that reminded me of pipes and cables.

And when we walked forward, I noticed something else.

The ground below my feet was surprisingly level.

There were smaller rocks and pebbles here and there, but overall, it was as level as any floor inside a building.

I recalled the ground in another cave. The one I woke up in.

It had been clean, but not level like this.