Page 43 of Returned to the Vissigroth (The Vissigroths of Leander #6)

D aphne and I were the last to enter the elevator for the ride up. The others had gone ahead of us, bruised and bone-weary, but she stood beside me with a crooked grin and her pride tucked neatly behind it.

I was still too angry to meet it. Too mad at her for going down there.

For throwing herself into danger as if her life didn’t carry the weight of the gods.

As if it didn’t hold mine. And yet—despite the fury coiled low in my gut—relief pulsed through me like a second heartbeat.

She was here. Against all the odds. Against every death sentence those tunnels had whispered into the stone.

We’d found each other again.

“You’re welcome,” she said once the elevator doors sealed shut with a sigh of pressure. Her tone was casual, a mix of teasing and petulance.

I blinked down at her. “For what?”

She crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her breasts high enough to throw off my thoughts, and tipped her head with that maddening glint in her eye. “For saving your life.”

A laugh almost escaped me. It reached my chest and got stuck there, caught between amusement and disbelief.

The audacity of this seffy was eternal. I had nearly forgotten how difficult she could be, how defiant.

Especially when caught red-handed doing exactly the kind of thing she knew I wouldn’t approve of.

And gods help me, I loved her for it.

“You could’ve died down there,” I said lowly. “Again.”

“But I didn’t,” she countered, chin rising. “Again.”

I stared at her. “You always do this.”

“What?”

“Do things without thinking about the consequences, pretending you’re not the most important thing in the damn galaxy to me.”

Something flickered in her eyes. “I don’t need saving, Mallack.”

“Then why do I keep nearly losing you?”

That softened her. Just enough. We stood in the low hum of the lift, the quiet punctuated only by the thrum of gears rising through stone. I couldn’t stop looking at her. Her face was smudged, her braid half-unraveled, a shallow cut on her temple. Still the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

She stepped closer, voice softening. “Honestly, we didn't think it would be dangerous. We only wanted to see the Zuten apartment. It was filled with Dragoons.”

“That’s not what this is about.”

“Then what is it?”

I hesitated. Then leaned in, just a breath closer. “It’s about the fact that I just got you back. And I’m not ready to lose you again.”

Her hand found mine, soft fingers threading between my calloused ones like they’d never stopped doing it.

“You’re not going to lose me,” she said gently.

“But you don’t get to keep me caged either.

You fell in love with, according to you," she winked at me, " the most stubborn seffy in the universe .

I don't do sitting around idle. And neither does Thalia or Oksana. So we wanted to do something. Something that seemed perfectly safe.”

I closed my eyes and exhaled. “I know. I just…” I was going to say can’t lose you again, but I'd already done so. She knew. "I just want to spend as much time with you as possible."

Her lips brushed the inside of my wrist. “Then stop wasting it being angry.”

The elevator gave a slight jolt before it started slowing. She squeezed my hand once before letting go. “Besides… we’ve got bigger problems than your temper.”

"My temper?" I retorted. I thought I was being pretty reasonable, given the fact that she had put herself, our daughter, and our daughter-by-mating in danger.

“Super Eulachs,” I muttered instead.

The moment shifted. She straightened, and we both stepped out into the fresh air.

The sun was about to rise, which was difficult to comprehend.

We'd spent all of yesterday's afternoon and the following night down in the tunnels.

I blinked a few times against the sudden brightness, but I was thankful for the deep lungfuls of fresh air I was able to draw into my lungs.

The others, Darryck, Myccael, Thalia, and Oksana, sat by a table that some thoughtful servants had filled with wine, water, and food.

Myccael waved us over, and when we took our seats, I saw that their faces reflected the same emotions as Daphne’s and mine.

The males looked torn between wanting to reprimand their mates and hugging them, while the seffies looked just as defiant as Daphne.

Had we not just barely escaped with our lives, it would have been comical.

As if Darryck had just been waiting for us to arrive, he glared at Thalia as soon as we took our seats. “Snygging hells, were you all out of your minds?”

"Alright, we are all mad at our mates, but let's wait with their punishments—" Myccael began.

Oksana slapped his arm. “Punishment?” she repeated, eyes flashing.

“I meant consequences,” he corrected quickly. “Repercussions. Debriefing. You know, civilized post-mission reflection.”

“Uh-huh.” Oksana folded her arms. “Because that was clearly what you were about to say.”

“I was going to say something wise and rational,” he insisted, though he rubbed the spot on his arm she’d hit. “But you assaulted me first.”

“You’re lucky that’s all she did,” Thalia muttered. “We saved your asses.”

Darryck’s jaw clenched. “If you hadn’t gone in at all, maybe we’d still have some damn intel to work with instead of having to guess what’s still crawling in those tunnels.”

“We left notes,” Thalia said, deadpan.

“You left ripped pieces of clothing and your dagger!” Darryck exploded.

“It worked , didn’t it?” she shot back. “We found and saved you, didn't we?” Thalia looked at Daphne and Oksana.

“Alright, this is getting us nowhere," Myccael interjected.

“You’re lucky I don’t throw you over my shoulder and lock you in my quarters,” Darryck growled.

Thalia leaned across the table, nose nearly touching his. “You could try.”

“Can we not?” Daphne interjected, glancing between the two of them. “We’re all tired. We all nearly died. Can we just skip the part where the males threaten us with caveman-level possessiveness and get to the actual threat?”

“She’s right,” I said, my voice quieter but sharper than that of the other males. “We’ll argue later. Right now, we need to know what we’re dealing with.”

Everyone quieted, though Darryck and Thalia were still glaring daggers at each other across the table.

Myccael sat down heavily. “We found a chamber filled with pods on the other side. Whatever was inside got awakened by our drilling and got out. We believe that these super Eulachs are somehow controlling the others."

Oksana turned serious. “How many?”

Myccael ran his hand through his hair, thinking, "There were ten open pods, so if ten of them escaped…"

"Then we got them all," Darryck nodded grimly, and I let out a relieved sigh.

That was at least some good news.

"Wait, what do you mean, super Eulachs?" Oksana asked.

We quickly filled the seffies in on the details of what we had discovered and had already concluded. Namely, that the latest super Eulachs and the regular Eulachs were results of the Zuten experimenting with things they never should have.

Silence followed, and we all looked at each other. At least this threat was over, but Myccael still needed to stop the entire magtrain project. But if I knew my son, not before?—

"We still need to hunt the remaining Eulachs down and map the tunnels. We can't leave this like it never existed," Michael declared with a decisive nod.

Daphne placed her slight hand on his forearm, "Zyn, we can," she looked into his eyes.

"Grandyr doesn't want this place disturbed.

I think he made that abundantly clear. Seal off what you found and place a gag order on the dragoons and civilians.

Have this area guarded so that nobody will start digging again, and then leave it in peace. "

Myccael shook his head, "I'm not sure we can do that. The Zuten descendants will want to excavate it, like they're doing on all the other fourteen planets."

"Then stop them," Oksana beseeched him. "You're the susserayn. Forbid them to dig."

Caught between the woman who had been like a mother to him and his mate, Myccael leaned back, throwing me a pleading glance. I shrugged. They were right; he was the susserayn. "Make it punishable by death."

"By death?" Oksana shrieked. "Isn't that a bit too harsh?"

Thalia shook her head, "Ney. It needs to be a deterrent, and we cannot allow those weapons to ever see the light of day again."

Daphne nodded. "Unfortunately, I think you're right."

"We'll hunt down the remaining Eulachs and seal off what we can," Myccael agreed.

"And the Renegades," Darryck added. "They need to be eliminated, too; the gods only know what kind and how many weapons they stole."

"Agreed," Myccael nodded. "Let's get some rest, the dragoons can start with the sealing of the drilling sites and explore the mountains for secret openings. We’ll return to Bantahar in the morning, and I'll call for another Vissigroth Council where we can discuss the missions. "

"Zyn," Darryck and I agreed. I put my arm around Daphne's waist and led her to our tent. She had to be exhausted after her ordeal.