Page 22

Chapter

Twenty-Two

Zoran

T he ship's engines murmured as we glided through Kronock space, low enough to evade detection but still provide propulsion. Volten's hands moved silently over the controls, making minute adjustments that kept us just beyond the range of enemy sensors.

"Approaching the coordinates of the distress signal," Volten announced, his voice tight.

Fiona stood behind us, her usually loose hair pulled back in a severe bun that emphasized the sharpness of her features. "Vyk is fine," she said, as much to herself as to anyone else. "He's too much of a stubborn ass to die."

"Same with Torq," Jess added, her fingers nervously tapping the top of my copilot’s seat. “Too cocky to let something like a crash-landing finish him off."

"Torq is a tough cadet and a skilled Blade," Kann said. "If anyone can survive a situation like this, it's him."

Volten's knuckles whitened as he gripped the control yoke. "And Ariana is an even better pilot than I am, but don't ever tell her I said that. She could bring that ship down safely even if it was badly damaged."

The others continued this litany of reassurance, a verbal shield against the fear we all felt. I remained silent, my thoughts centered on one person.

My adjunct. My advisor. My friend.

Few people knew the truth about Tivek. Few knew that beneath the unassuming exterior of an administrative aide lurked one of Drex's most effective intelligence operatives.

The Shadows operated so deeply in secrecy that most Drexians didn't know of their existence.

I was one of the privileged few, and even I didn't know the full extent of their operations.

What I did know was that Tivek had saved countless Drexian lives through the intelligence he'd gathered.

Missions that appeared to be lucky coincidences, enemy plans thwarted before they could be executed, and allies warned of betrayal before the knife could fall.

These all bore the invisible fingerprints of Shadow work, of Tivek's work.

And now he was stranded on an enemy planet, surrounded by Kronock, with companions who had no idea of his true capabilities.

The thought made my chest tighten. I'd sent warriors into danger before and had lost friends in battle, but this was different.

Tivek had been by my side for so long that his absence felt like missing a limb.

I remembered our conversation when he'd first learned his brother was missing, the night he'd asked to join the mission. We'd been in my private lounge, the fire casting dancing shadows on the ebony walls as we sat on dark leather sofas, glasses of Noovian whiskey in our hands.

"I need to be part of the rescue team," he'd said without preamble, his eyes reflecting the firelight.

I'd studied him over the rim of my glass. "This isn't your type of mission, Tiv."

"Deklyn is my brother." His voice had been quiet but unyielding. "I know his mind better than anyone. I'll know where he would go, what he would do."

"The mission parameters don't allow for?—"

"I'm not asking as a Shadow," he'd interrupted, something he rarely did. "I'm asking as a brother, and as your friend."

Tivek had never asked for much in all the years he'd served as my adjunct and confidant. He’d slipped off to complete his missions with barely a hiccup in his academy duties. How could I deny him this? Still, I'd felt obligated to warn him.

"It will be different," I'd said, swirling the amber liquid in my glass. "Harder. You'll have to maintain your cover while still trying to complete the mission. No one else will know your true capabilities."

"I'm aware of the constraints." His lips had quirked in a humorless smile. "I've been living under those constraints for years, Zoran."

I'd nodded, conceding the point. "Very well. But be careful. The Shadows can't afford to lose you." I'd hesitated, then added more softly, "and neither can I."

The memory faded as Volten's voice cut through my thoughts. "Slowing to stealth speed. We're approaching the planet."

Everyone leaned forward as the gray orb grew larger in the viewport. It was an inhospitable-looking world, shrouded in mist and swirling clouds that obscured most of its surface.

"That's it," I said, breaking my silence at last. "That's where the enemy is supposedly holding Sasha and Lieutenant Deklyn."

Britta frowned. “Do we even know if the intel was correct? What if they weren't there?"

"We don't even know if the first rescue crew made it to the prison," Fiona added, her voice tight with worry.

Volten suddenly groaned, pointing to a spot on the planet's surface where a column of black smoke curled upward, visible even from our position in orbit.

Fiona gasped. “Is that the crash site?”

Volten tapped his console as he shook his head. “Too much smoke. Besides, the ship went down long enough ago that any smoke would have dissipated. This is something else.”

Kann cleared his throat. “I think this is our team. I think they’ve done some damage.”

"I'm pretty sure you're right," I agreed, my lips twitching despite the gravity of the situation.

Volten’s gaze was locked on his console read-outs as he zoomed his sensors into the column of smoke. “It’s a structure. A Kronock structure.”

“The prison,” Jess whispered.

“Were they supposed to blow it up?" Fiona asked.

Kann shrugged. “Deklyn is Inferno Force.” As if that explained everything.

"So was Vyk," Fiona added with a roll of her eyes.

Jess exhaled loudly. “So that's a yes."

Volten's jaw tightened as he adjusted our course. "We're going in."

The ship banked sharply, descending toward the alien world. I braced myself against the wall, feeling the familiar surge of adrenaline that came before combat. Despite the danger ahead, I welcomed it. I welcomed the chance to help my friend, to find our people, and to bring them home.

As we pierced the planet's atmosphere, the ship shuddering around us, I found myself scouring my memory for old Drexian battle chants I’d learned in school. The only thing that came to me was a single thought.

Inferno Force never left anyone behind.