Page 44

Chasing Wolves In The Night

SAVVINE

T he stars blurred past her as Savvine gripped the controls of Xander’s racer.

The cockpit’s glow painted harsh blue lines across her face, shadow and light slicing down her cheekbones in equal parts like war paint.

The engine’s growl beneath her was a balm and adrenaline.

When she launched into the void, it was like tearing free of gravity itself.

She took a safe route at first, winging well within the Sombra’s secure zone.

She kept to it, recalling Xander’s warning, until the ache in her chest overwhelmed her.

Fokk , she missed her parents.

She longed for her mother’s lasagna, a glass of her best Chianti, and a touch of her sage wisdom.

Along with her father’s back rubs and reassurances that it would all be OK.

If only she had the chance to run Xander past them, it might have helped with her crowding doubts and worries.

‘I just need to get home,’ she whispered, as if her voice might carry to the Eterna , her family, and Abby.

She tried to connect to them through her neural node, but there was no signal. The link was still blocked.

Then she had a wild tear.

Perhaps she’d find a window or a gap in the patrol net around the Bianchi flotilla. Maybe then she’d sneak aboard and make contact.

In Xander’s racer, the time would be halved to the Eterna .

She decided to take the risk and apologize later, whispering a prayer to the stars and her man for his forgiveness.

She slipped past the Sombra’s furthermost perimeter and the minefield, and the security network recognized the speedster as friendly.

Stealthing the racer, she plotted a course that evaded her ark ship’s security grid, which she knew like the back of her hand.

She surged on, her hopes building.

All she needed was a glimpse, just one call, just one real connection to those she loved.

Soon, Eterna’s massive silhouette showed up on scanners.

She slowed the pinnace and skimmed by an asteroid field to reduce trace visibility.

That’s when the radar screamed.

She didn’t even have time to curse as she plummeted into the core of the rock-strewn sector seeking refuge.

It was no use. From each angle, angular black darts began phasing into view.

She counted twenty quadcopters giving chase, weapons hot. They resembled the drones that chased her and the Signet crew from the Eterna before.

‘Shit.’

She yanked the throttle, trying to break away. They tracked her, matching her every evasive move.

The comm channel burst to life with static, followed by a voice that sent a frisson of dread through her.

‘I wondered how long you’d last without a racer ride, how quickly you’d seek the adrenaline of speed and the freedom of vacuum as you often have in the past,’ came the smooth, preened tone of Eugene, the synth bot. ‘I was patient, and now here you are. All alone. How convenient.’

Before she could respond, there was a movement and a flash of light in her peripheral vision.

He appeared behind her, glimmering into the fokkin ’ craft.

Her heart drummed so hard that her ears rushed with thunder.

Eugene hovered towards the controls, his form coalescing in inhuman, silvery folds, though the face before her still resembled her kin.

His eyes glowed, dead and predatory. His mouth curled with amusement.

‘Savvine,’ he purred. ‘Always a pleasure.’

She reached for her sidearm.

Too slow.

With a flick of his fingers, he threw her back against the cockpit wall, cuffs slamming around her wrists and ankles. Pain flared bright throughout her nerves as she gasped, her spine arching.

Her breath came fast and tight, her muscles coiled to strike, but the synth was already in motion. With an elegant twist of his hand, he reached for the console.

‘Nah, ah.’

As he crooned, he tapped his long, silver digits across the nav array. ‘Let’s not make this messy, shall we?’

At once, her access to controls flickered and died.

The racer’s throttle slid to neutral.

Tendrils of shimmering mini-bots flew from his hands and over the console, and in seconds, the interface glowed with unfamiliar symbols, alien glyphs overlaid it with an override sigil.

‘What the hell are you doing?’ Savvine snapped, jerking against her restraints as the speedster veered to starboard.

Eugene didn’t answer right away.

Instead, he began to hum, a lilting, off-kilter tune, sweet and syrupy, like an old nursery rhyme dragged through broken glass.

It was the kind of sound that wormed its way into your skull and refused to leave.

He tapped to the rhythm, fingers dancing over her console. With every beat, the stars outside shifted.

The racer banked and accelerated under his command, a sleek, obedient shadow in his control.

‘Where are you taking me?’ she hissed.

‘To my home,’ he purred, gaze never leaving the astral scape. ‘Somewhere we can chat with no interruptions.’

She tried again to engage her neural override, but static feedback hit her like a slap.

He had locked her out. Eugene glanced over, amused.

‘Oh, sweetheart. You’re not the pilot anymore.’

Ahead, a vessel crept into view, dark and hulking, ringed in sickly violet pulses.

Eugene’s pleasure yacht.

The Pena aligned with its docking bay.

‘Please tell me you’re not taking me to that over-hyped, raucous, koko palace,’ she muttered.

‘Oh, but I am.’ His grin widened. ‘It’s so quiet now. You’ll be able to hear everything.’

The vessel shuddered as it berthed with the ghost ship, hull locking into place with a hiss of pressure.

Eugene turned his head toward her, humming still.

The cuffs around her wrists tightened as they pulled her to her feet with sheer, unseen force.

His voice dropped to a whisper. ‘Shall we?’

They stepped out into the darkened belly of the craft.

Only now, it was silent.

The lights were dim. The windows were dark, there was no music, no laughter. No party.

It was a ghost town.

‘Where are your little orgy guests?’ she muttered, struggling as he pulled her forward.

‘Gone,’ he stated with a titter. ‘Fun has its limits. Now the real delight begins.’

He dragged her down a freezing corridor, her boots skidding across the polished metal floors.

Goosebumps laced her arms. The air was frigid, a cold that bit her skin. Her breath fogged in a cloud before her as she exhaled. The deeper they went, the worse it got.

She caught glimpses of abandoned glasses, velvet robes left behind, holograms half-flickering on loop. The eerie echo of forgotten laughter haunted the halls.

The cuffs pinched as she twisted.

Eugene didn’t bother looking back. ‘We’re headed for the observation chamber,’ he said, as if they were going for a walk on the beach. ‘It has the most exquisite view of the Wildlight.’

‘Why me?’ she bit out.

‘Because you’re valuable to him,’ he said mildly.

She stilled. ‘Him who?’

‘Your knight in wolf armor, your lover, I believe.’

‘How did you know about him?’

‘I’ve eyes, Savvine, informants on the Sombra who whisper to me.

I also observed him rescue you valiantly after I exploded the mines in the Lombardi debris field.

I was lost for words at how he snatched you from death with his masterful prowess.

You’re a lucky woman. Pity Helena Bianchi doesn’t think that. ’

She blanched. ‘ Fokk Helena.’

‘You don’t know the half of it, let me spill the tea!’

The synth bot slowed and lounged against a bulkhead, as if this was a casual gossip hour, not a high-level betrayal reveal.

His smug, polished face flickered with static for a heartbeat, then settled into something resembling glee.

‘Oh, darling. You’re going to love this one,’ he purred.

‘Your beloved Ice Queen was the one who welcomed my builders when they first slithered into the Wildlight. They needed a human to broker the deal. Eugene, original recipe, tried. Failed spectacularly. Honestly, tragic. I wouldn’t trust that soft loaf with a toaster, let alone interstellar espionage. ’

‘So Helena stepped in,’ Savvine said flatly.

‘And stepped up. She orchestrated the whole takedown plan. Took the reins like the cold-blooded genius she is. But here’s the kicker, she’s livid you’ve tangled yourself up with Alexandr Roman, your lover.’

Savvine’s chest tightened. ‘Is that right?’ she echoed.

Eugene waggled his brows. ‘She loathes that he is a mostro . A shifter. An abomination in her eyes. You’ve sullied your precious Bianchi bloodline. It’s deliciously scandalous.’

‘What exactly are you and Helena trying to achieve?’

‘Dominance,’ Eugene said, as if it were obvious. ‘She wants control of the flotilla. I’m helping her get it. And when she takes the throne, yes, I said throne, we’re going full empress vibes, I’ll be right there, whispering in her ear.’

Savvine’s fists clenched. ‘What of Signet?’

‘Oh, they’re just a stepping stone. We’ll use their most powerful asset, a gift they received from the Sable Riders, to annihilate themselves.

Then we sweep in, clean house, and voila.

Power vacuum filled. Isn’t it poetic?’ He winked.

‘She builds her empire on the ashes of the Riders. That woman gives sovereign energy to her core.’

Savvine’s breath hitched. ‘So this was never just about destabilizing Signet. It was always about the Riders.’

‘ Naam .’ Eugene’s eyes glittered with malicious pride. ‘Who better to strike first than the ones who hold real power in Pegasi? Remove them, and you control everything before you even arrive.’

Savvine arched a brow. ‘What about me? What does Helena want done with me?’

Eugene sighed dramatically. ‘Well. She did suggest I toss you into a blackhole for fraternizing with the enemy. Said you were a disgrace. A liability. Not to worry, I told her I’d make it quick. I’m nothing if not considerate.’ He flashed a saccharine smile. ‘Sorry, not sorry.’

Savvine didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. Her heart slammed against her ribs

‘In the meantime, you ache for your warrior, and your warlord burns for you, doesn’t he? How sweet. I plan to exploit that.’

‘You won’t break him.’

‘ Nada ,’ Eugene said, pressing a panel. A door whooshed open. ‘But I can bend him.’

He shoved her inside.

The chamber was enormous and circular, wrapped in floor-to-ceiling windows that revealed the yawning black of space. The Eterna floated far in the distance, a marbled pearl in the ink.

A throne-like chair awaited her.

It pulsed with energy.

She backed away. ‘You’re insane.’

‘I’m focused,’ he said. ‘Soon, your knight will arrive. Chaos will erupt. And Alexandr-Alexandr Roman must choose between duty, loyalty, and love.’

He smiled without humor.

‘I wonder which one he’ll betray first.’

He strapped her wrists and ankles to the sleek, metallic interrogation chair with energy shackles that locked with a hiss and a pulse of cold chill, binding her to the seat.

Eugene stepped back and clapped his hands, grinning like a showman. ‘Seeing you again warms my core. What do you say, darling, another round of Russian roulette?’

Savvine met his eyes, jaw clenched, blood boiling behind her composed exterior. ‘Play all the games you want, Eugene,’ she bit out. ‘But you might regret this a lot sooner than you think.’

‘Oh, I adore your spirit,’ he said, circling her like a predator admiring its prize. ‘But don’t flatter yourself. I didn’t snatch you just for sport.’

‘Then what do you really want with me?’ she asked coldly.

He paused, tilted his head, and tapped a finger to his chin. ‘I want to exchange you for something more valuable.’

Her eyes narrowed. ‘What’s that?’

Eugene smiled slyly. ‘Can’t say. Not until I decide how to play this little symphony.’

‘How is my family, Eugene?’

His eyes glittered with cruel amusement. ‘Oh, they’re well. Quite the vibrant little colony.’

He flicked his fingers, and a holo-stream flashed before her, projected from the embedded screen on the wall behind him.

It showed the interior of the Eterna , darker than she’d ever seen it.

The grand halls, corridors, and common zones had been converted into eerie communal spaces filled with sleeping bodies.

People lay huddled under thin pallets, dim portable lights casting long shadows as they slept on floors, clustered in corners, or sat silently.

‘Why aren’t they in their homes and beds?’ she demanded.

Eugene sniffed. ‘So they can rest easy? Slip through back channels? Whisper in nooks and rally resistance? Nada . I want them where I can see them all. Or rather, where they can be observed at all times by my new toys.’

With a swipe of his hand, he shifted the holo angle, revealing hundreds of crat cyborgs in white and silver armor marching in precision formations through the ship.

They patrolled doorways, hovered in air vents, and lined walkways like sentient shadows with teeth.

Savvine leaned forward, stomach twisting. ‘How are you feeding them? Do they have clean water? What about the hospital? The NICU?’

‘I’m not all heartless,’ he replied breezily.

‘The sick remain in the medical wards. The infants are safe in their little bubble boxes, all monitored. But the rest are with me, right under my nose, where they belong. They’ve been enjoying rations once a day.

I don’t want them getting too strong to start a rebellion. ’

Her voice dropped to a knife’s edge. ‘Where’s the real Eugene?’

‘He’s on a short holiday. Think of it, his entire life’s a vacation.’

‘Helena?’

‘She, too, has taken a short ride to a pleasure ship resort.’

The faux mob boss cackled, his mouth curling into a grin as he began to hum an old Earth melody about taking a beach vacation.

The tune twisted through his synthetic throat, warped and edged with static.

It soon grated on Savvine’s nerves. ‘Please shut up.’

In an instant, he was on her, quicker than thought.

His hand cracked across her face with an unnatural speed.

The sound echoed in the glacial air. Her head whipped sideways, her lip tearing open, a splash of red splattering her chin.

She took an inhale and absorbed the wave of agony.

Rearranging her face, she turned her head back, locking eyes with him. ‘Is that all you got?’

His smile dropped. His face twitched.

The second slap landed harder, snapping her cheek the other way. Pain seared down her jawline, hot and biting.

‘I’m only just beginning,’ he whispered, his breath sharp with synthetic spice. ‘My almost wife.’

The iron tinge of blood flooded her mouth, but kept her expression steely.

She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her break. Not now. Not ever.