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I try to keep up as Eluni leads our crew through the ship. She seems to know where he’s hiding, and it’s on our way to get Aura. Still, I keep my eyes open for Aura, Blaize, and Fieri but can’t find them among the crowd of warring peoples.
Arcs lash out in wild arrays. Denarso wield weapons that spit bullets of orange fire. Eluni throws electric balls of green rage, scorching their cores on the first try. Jorusk fights with fists of lava and shields himself with his wings.
Jorusk keeps watch behind us, seeming to have taken up a protective position over me. His gaze lingers with new concern.
“Something wrong?”
“Other than this chaos?” he asks through his dark mask. “Not as long as you stay alive.”
I don’t know what he means, but he doesn’t offer additional information.
We enter a meeting hall of Elders and their delegates, and Eluni marches down the central walkway to an Amphiran in pale green robes, speaking with an Elder. They argue among themselves about the situation.
“Tal?” Eluni calls to him.
We stop in the center. Tal taps something on his wristband that makes a video project on the ceiling from RAM-11’s eyes, displaying the screens in the hangar and Ijor’s code on the access approved line.
“Trying to kill your own people,” Eluni remarks. “Shame on you, Ijor.”
The smug, pinch-faced Amphiran looks down at her. “No one leaves New Order Amphir. Not even you, my treasonous fiancé.”
“I am not yours. You are not Amphiran if you turn on your own people. Denarso do not care if we are New Order or Genesis. They care we are Amphiran. Controlling us by taking our females would be a victory to them. The lowest of space flight capable species taking the highest. They already have stolen portal tech! We look pathetic! Relations with other nations will crumble, not to mention our own people are fighting among ourselves!”
His dismissive wave of a hand proves he has no sympathy. But he’s not the only one by the way the room separates. Many Elders and other delegates stand closer to him, shouting that Eluni is lying even when the evidence is on the ceiling.
The Rogue guards by the exits move toward us. Even some Royal guards leave their posts and join our group until we are nearly evenly split.
“You have no right to tell us how to operate our ship,” a king says, pushing through the group of New Order.
Eluni snarls at him. “You have never been taken by a Denarso. You have not had your mate killed in front of you, your child ripped from your arms, and then been brought back to bond with a male you despise because he is a lying, manipulative egomaniac who cares nothing for his people! But I know. And this is how it feels.”
She thrusts a hand forward, electricity surging down her arm and punching out across the room into Ijor, the king, and the others who stand with him in a burst so bright I have to look away.
Dark, leathery wings wrap around Tal and me, guiding us away. Jorusk winces in pain but tucks us inside his protective shield.
“Jorusk, I have a shield,” I tell him.
“Yours doesn’t hide the light,” he rasps.
Eluni growls. “You betrayed me, Uncle . You let them die! You went behind my back with Ijor! Swear you will leave Genesis, and I will let you live!”
“Ooh,” Jorusk twists his neck. “The wrath of a pissed-off woman.” He looks at Tal. “Got your work cut out for you.”
Talros chuckles. “I’m so turned on right now. You have no idea.”
“Gross.” Jorusk loosens his winged shield as the light fades.
When Jorusk folds his wings back, we find Eluni steaming with arc threads still snapping off of her body. Half of New Order is dead. The other half will need medical care. Ijor has vanished, leaving only an ashen mark on the floor where he recently stood.
“Never come to a Genesis ship again, or so help me, I will not hold back,” Eluni growls at those left, crosses her left arm over her chest, resting her hand on the green stripe over her shoulder. “Honor and freedom forever!”
Royals begin portalling out of the ship in little flashes of purple and green.
Eluni turns to us. “I’m going to work on changing the programming after this so no New Order can portal through these shields.”
“What about your uncle?” A guard asks. “This is his ship.”
“ Was .” Eluni motions everyone out. “We must show the universe that any who infiltrate us will die, traitors included.”
“Ruthless,” Jorusk hisses. “I’m glad Aura found me and not you.”
Eluni gives him an apologetic glance. “You were not a threat to the well-being of our people. My uncle, Ijor, and the self-righteous Elders were. I’ll deal with the bodies later.”
We head for the main hangar but are stopped by a string of rapid Denarso gunfire that chars a wall beside us. Eluni holds us back, pushing our group around a corner.
“They’ve got Aura,” she says, peeking around the corner.
“Denarso?” I ask.
Eluni twists and steals another glance before a bullet makes her whip back behind the wall. “Not the Denarso. His father, King Azrim. And the Denarso aren’t touching them. Something isn’t right.”
“That’s for sure.” A dark voice leaves the hallway behind us. “This is for Catalina, for stealing Aura from her.”
An arc rips out of someone’s hand in the darkness before a portal opens and swallows the man.
Jorusk dives for me, opening his wings. Tal tugs on my arm, drawing me back. But even as I turn and throw my gauntlets together, I know I’m going to be too slow.
The arc slams into my shoulder, crawls over my bodyweb, and disburses into Tal’s, then Eluni’s hand, which clutches his side. I can see her scream, but I can’t hear it over the crackling pop in my ears.
I am the fastest path to ground. I take the majority of the hit. And while my harness works, my flesh burns from the heat. Electricity flows through my body. I feel it prickling my muscles like sleeping limbs.
My legs give out. The world blurs, and I fear I’ve gone blind.
“Jojo!”
I lose the world for a blink.
“Stay with us, girl.” Tal is with me, picking me up, carrying me. Running.
Somewhere nearby is a flash of green light from another portal. Eluni is gone.
“Allele!” Tal shouts at the top of his lungs.
“It’s okay,” I mumble.
I am so tired. My body is on fire.
“Let me go, Tal. I found what I wanted. I got a taste of a dream.”
“No.” Jorusk’s dark red silhouette moves closer. His red eyes find mine. “You must resist. Fight, Jovie—for both of you.”
Table of Contents
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