Page 35 of Scars & Starlight (Of Blood and Conquest #1)

KAIREN

“ W here is my match?” I growl into Nireya’s face for the third time this mark. To her credit, she doesn’t even blink.

“Kai,” Caden murmurs. “We’re all doing the best we can.”

I slam my fist against the control console in front of me.

“How is it possible that they vanished into nothing?” Pacing the main control room, I run my fingers through my hair over and over again, just a moment away from ripping it out.

“It’s been half a rotation and we still don’t know where they went! ” I reiterate uselessly.

“They timed it perfectly,” Caden says sadly. “As soon as the opportunity presented itself, they abducted the princess, incapacitating the guards. Small transports came and went all rotation, so they didn’t stand out flying away.”

Nireya jumps in, speaking slowly and clearly: “No one knew to intercept The Pride until they were already at the QEA, my prince. And they must have disabled tracking systems somehow.”

I stop and close my eyes. “I can’t believe this. They could be in any galaxy, on one of countless planets, or hiding in the vastness of space. ”

“I’ll find them, Commander,” Orien says lowly. “I swear it.”

I look at my intelligence officer, noting the anger burning in his bright orange eyes.

“Interrogate any of Korvann’s men or associates left on Avaris,” I order. “Then follow any crumb of information they give you. Leave no stone unturned.”

“I won’t let you down,” Orien says, then turns on his heels and leaves the control room. There’s probably no reason for me to be here either, but it’s either that or flying around aimlessly in space, or perhaps stopping random passersby on the street to ask if they saw something.

“You should get some rest, Kai,” my cousin suggests naively.

“You’re jesting,” I sneer. “I won’t rest until Tara is returned unharmed.”

“Don’t make me fetch Lirael,” he threatens halfheartedly.

Sighing, I slump into a chair and rub at my chest, trying to reach the burning sensation inside.

“I haven’t been apart from her since we met, Cade. I don’t even know if she’s alive, if our unborn child is alive.” Catching his eyes, I try to convey everything I’m feeling. “I don’t want to live without her.”

He grabs my shoulder and squeezes, his gaze trapping mine. “We will find her, Kairen.”

I escape from the connection by closing my eyes. I don’t say what I’m thinking out loud. If something happens to Tara and our child, he will be one step closer to the throne of Avaris, because I’ll be living in a cave on some distant, barely habitable planet, wallowing in my eternal rage.

Another two rotations pass before Orien returns from his hunt.

Eventually, I slept. Not willingly, but because I closed my eyes for a moment when staring at the security screens.

I woke up in two kinds of pain, no longer just the mental anguish of missing my match, but a viciously stiff neck.

Not even that distracted me from my misery, though.

Mother appeared to force nutrients down my throat, all but feeding me like a stubborn child, and Lirael indeed came to check on me every few marks.

Sa’ami apologized for an unnecessarily long amount of time – she couldn’t have known my match wasn’t safe in our own palace.

I fetched Kiko and kept him by my side. A silly attempt to have a beloved piece of my princess by my side.

I’m watching the two soon-to-be-dead Avaren carry Tara into a small vessel for the hundredth time when Orien reaches out to me.

I have something. I’m on my way.

Tell me now.

I’m bringing someone who might know a location of interest. I also spoke with a female whom the General is occasionally close to. Too seldom to keep her loyalty. Apparently, his goal is to force Queen Raelith to abdicate using your match as the blade that removes the crown.

I cover my mouth with my fist, trying to hold the roar climbing up my throat.

And he thinks our people will follow him after a stunt like that? He’s now the most loathed male in our history!

“He’s delusional,” Orien agrees, walking in with an Avaren engineer I’ve seen at the military port.

“Sophan, correct?” I ask the young male whose ears turn red under my attention. “Tell me what you know of my match, please.”

“C–commander,” he stutters. “I overheard General Korvann asking one of the chiefs how to disable the tracking systems on The Pride. He said it was for a military exercise, new tactics against the Ghorvek.”

My heart sinks with disappointment. “Is that all you know?” I ask, trying to keep my voice level, but failing.

“N–no. My cousin is a scientist aboard The Pride.” The male twists the hat he’s holding in his hands. “She mentioned at the last family gathering that the general has been looking into reversing the effects of the Ghorvek genetic virus.”

I lift an eyebrow in confusion. “We’ve been looking into that for long cycles. What does he think he will achieve on his own?”

“Well, she didn’t say what exactly, said it’s confidential, but apparently there’s something on Tyren?” the engineer explains meekly.

Tyren? The last planet we attempted to liberate from the Ghorvek before we followed them to my match’s planet?

“The Pride has been spending a lot of time there,” he finishes.

“Korvann’s vanguard was tasked with creating an outpost there, eliminating any remaining Ghorvek and their creations,” Orien explains.

“My cousin said he wasn’t interested in restoring the planet as much as he was finding whatever useful thing is left,” Sophan says reluctantly.

“You should have reported that to the palace,” Caden chides from behind me, his voice rough from lack of use.

“He is a general,” Sophan defends himself, his eyes wide with fear. “Why would someone believe me over him?”

“I would have believed you,” I assure him. “Thank you, Sophan,” I dismiss him. “We will contact you if we have more questions.”

With a bow of his head, the young male leaves.

“What was that about a female?” I ask my intelligence chief.

“Someone he entertained when he was on the planet,” Orien shares. “It seems that she got upset, feeling that he only, ah, exercised his needs with her, and was more than happy to malign him to the crown.”

Kiko chirps. “Humans call such behavior a booty call. ” His enthusiasm is much dampened since Tara’s disappearance, but he still likes to help.

“Booty call?” Caden repeats. “What kind of a call does a booty make? Except a far–”

“That’s enough,” I interrupt. Orien looked ready to throw in his opinion on the matter, and I bet it would have been even more juvenile.

I return to the matter at hand. “So, if he wants Mother to abdicate, why hasn’t he opened communications with his demands yet?”

“Maybe he’s waiting for the right moment?” Caden suggests.

“I don’t know.” I rub the back of my neck. “What if…”

“Don’t think that way,” Orien says with a shake of his head. “Tara and the baby are alright, and we’ll find them soon.”

“Right,” I murmur, closing my stinging eyes briefly. After a bracing inhale, I relay my commands: “Prepare The Sovereign. We’re going to Tyren.”

“What if it’s a bad lead?” my cousin asks gently.

I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. Whether it’s a bad lead or not, we’re still mobilized and prepared to change course.”

“Permission to stay behind with Elmsleigh?” Orien asks. “I want to keep looking for information among the Avaren. And she’s surprisingly good at reading people.”

“I guess you have to be as a politician,” Caden chimes in.

I nod and get up to head to the palace and update my mother.

“Did you test her?” I ask my intelligence officer, remembering the conversation with Caden during a much happier moment.

Orien shrugs, though the somewhat frustrated look in his eyes belies the casual act.

“She doesn’t want to be tested,” he says simply.

I hum in return, then leave them to it, heading in the direction of the crown’s seat, Tara’s little mech hot on my heels.