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Chapter Twenty-Four

Cylo’s gaze lingered on the shut door. Rage gritted his teeth and shot fire along his veins. He should have anticipated not being allowed to stay with her. Malo taught them to consider all scenarios. Needles skittered over his skin, driving him to follow.

“The Ethera is such an unknown. Do you believe she is yours?”

At Xeus’s question, Cylo focused on his king. “I do. My body has been reacting as if I knelt. My eye color only needs to change.”

Xeus crowded Cylo to stare into his eyes. “Indeed. Then I will grant you the time. Every pairing is precious.”

“And she’s been through so much.” Macy offered a sweet smile. “Ava says we shouldn’t cause any more upheaval. It’s obvious Wren likes you, Cylo.”

Like? He almost scoffed at the weak word. What flowed through him—heart, body, soul—was more potent.

“I agree. You did well, Operative, collecting a Durn, rescuing the women, with two pairings happening on board the Kevol, and possibly for yourself, too… I am most pleased.”

Cylo thumped his chest. Thanking his king again lacked sincerity, for him. But a gesture of honor from one warrior to another, Xeus would appreciate.

And he did, giving Cylo a grin. “Now, Kanzo will issue you quarters close to Lady Wren. Let us hope the Ethera is merely delayed.”

Cylo bowed his head, but instead of leaving, he hesitated. “Any news about the Maloidian stealth ship?”

“Ambassador Barro was found imprisoned in a utility closet. He is well and grateful for the rescue. We have informed Alllero…” Xeus pursed his lips. “For now, we house the ambassador and his aide as guests.”

“Aide?” Cylo frowned. “I met two Serratu Kayarra on board.”

“Warning noted.” Kanzo typed on his O.D.I. “Adding security.”

Good . Cylo had one more question. “And the stealth tech—”

“Is not ours…yet.” Kanzo smiled. “Its use would be most helpful.”

“My thanks.” Cylo bowed his head and strode in the same direction Wren had gone.

As he hurried after them, hoping to catch up, his O.D.I. buzzed with the number of his quarters and that of Wren’s. He laughed, so grateful for Kanzo’s efficiency. He stopped at his quarters first, planning to disarm himself before…

Come find me , she said.

Already, he missed her. The muted pain uncoiling in his core was bearable. Yet, he wasn’t a fool. It would worsen the longer he went without seeing her.

The quarters in the barracks was easy to find, on the ground floor, and by the entrance.

He need only take the passage, exit the building, stroll along the walkway, and enter the medical building.

All medical suites and equipment were in a large common area.

Around the main room was a wide corridor with quarters leading off it.

Each floor above housed medics and lima kuu . Which meant Wren was nearby.

Ensa? He shut his eyes and waited.

Silence met his mental call.

None of the med-E.D.s were in use. No medic assisted an injured male.

He focused his hearing and picked up muffled conversation.

Searching the building would be a waste of time, but he did so, locating the door to the corridor.

Along it he ran, scanning the numbers beside the door, then halted in front of her door.

He grinned and palmed the panel. The chime announced his request to enter, but no movement or voice showed the room was occupied.

Maybe Ariez had already taken her for tests. Cylo would be at peace as long as he knew where she was.

Frustrated, he tapped his O.D.I. “Ariez, where are you?”

“In my quarters,” snapped the older male.

“And Wren?” Cylo swallowed, his voice too hoarse as panic set in.

“Secure.”

“No.” Cylo curled his fingers into a fist. “I need—”

“Time away from her. I understand.”

“Do not make me find you,” Cylo roared. “It will not go well for you.”

“Threats? And under an hour apart?” Ariez hummed. “Interesting.”

“We are not test subjects.” Cylo gritted his teeth.

“Very well,” he said to Ariez and disconnected the comm.

“ Ensa ?” He brought his wrist closer. His O.D.I.

buzzed, failing to connect. “Where is she?” he yelled at the bulkheads.

He bit his lip, on the verge of begging.

His void pulsed in warning. He was an operative; he could endure.

But he didn’t want to.

He stormed off, returning to his quarters.

There had to be a way. He had her location, but he suspected Ariez had moved her somewhere else.

The medic couldn’t keep her locked up and undergoing pointless tests, not without putting her to sleep or notifying Kanzo.

Cylo squared his shoulders. He wasn’t about to run to the adviser with complaints.

For all he knew, Ariez would only keep her hidden for a few hours, and Cylo didn’t want to look like a fool or, worse, weak.

He sank into a comfy and stared out the glass panels at the garden outside.

So picturesque but its beauty didn’t matter.

Not without Wren beside him. He raised his chin to the ceiling, his jaw clenched, his muscles tense.

His fingers toyed with the bracelet she’d made for him, the only proof he had that she existed.

He’d rest now because if he didn’t hear from Ariez or Wren by evening meal, he’d come up with a plan. Darkness suited him for what he might need to do.

Issneen, the Royal City of Etteria

Days Later

“Operations Commander Malo et Daro,” Cylo said into the display vid. It flickered, but no face appeared. Was everything going to go wrong this day? “Data officer on duty?”

“He is not taking any comms,” a male said.

Cylo grunted. “Elite Warrior Garix et Orix.” An image appeared of Garix eating what looked like a stick of meat. “Why can I not reach Malo?”

The giant of an Etterian grinned. “This mission has been incredible, Cylo. Malo found his Dar Eth . ”

Joy exploded like a supernova and twinged fresh agony in Cylo’s darkening soul. “Truth?” he managed, rubbing his chest to ease the ache.

“Why do you seek him?” Garix asked, bringing his face closer to his O.D.I.

“To inform him that I cannot yet return to the Gladio .” Cylo grimaced.

Which he should’ve done days ago since arriving in Issneen, but he’d been busy, searching for his Wren.

So far, none of the quarters in the medical building housed her.

No one had seen her either. And Ariez had stopped taking his comms. A glance at the wall of display vids showed nothing.

So many sec cams wasted. It was that or watch the entrance himself, but he’d approached this as a mission, unable to guard all the doors in and out of the building.

A sensor at her supposed room had revealed no movement or heat signatures.

He hadn’t picked up her scent on his scouting trips, best done at night when the building wasn’t so busy.

“His Dar Eth just came out in a revealing garment while he was on the comm with Prince Enyl.”

A memory of Wren in her dress bolted across Cylo’s mind. A crushing weight squeezed his chest, and he struggled to breathe. “Inform him of my status,” he said when he realized he’d yet to answer.

“Very well.” Garix’s image faded to black.

Breaking into the data analysis office hadn’t helped, other than to give Cylo full access to everything. He’d simply changed his designation to security which he’d used to enter Wren’s supposed quarters. She hadn’t been there. Nothing was out of place, and her scent hadn’t lingered.

A sweeping glance at his room reminded Cylo how near yet far from Wren he was.

He sank into the comfy and stared unseeingly at the vids.

Was this his life now? So devoid of color?

The loss of her had grown almost too heavy to bear.

He poked his void and scowled at its expanding mass, returning to its oppressiveness prior to Iphara. That wasn’t a good sign.

When he tried to sleep during the day, thoughts of her plagued him: her smile, charm, sweet scent, soft lips… Which was why he was awake at dawn after yet another futile search. He raised his wrist to eye level and stroked the bracelet she’d given him.

If he could just hear her voice one more time…

Prepared to beg Kanzo for help, he lunged for the door, desperate to hold her. His body shook with the compulsion. But where was she?

Throwing himself against the bulkhead, he slid down it until he was on his haunches. He activated his O.D.I. “Medic-on-duty, do you have time to assess me?”

If the male did, Cylo might catch a glimpse of Wren in a med-E.D. Hope blossomed like the birthing of a star when it was stupid to expect anything.

“Of course, warrior. How may I assist?”

“Review Medic Qaff’s findings for Operative Cylo et Endylo.” He deactivated the comm and scowled at his workbench where mangled strips of metal were his attempts at blade smithing—each one a failure.

What was he going to do? Dying on a battlefield on Gikaet was no longer possible, not with King Xeus forming an alliance with the Gika.

Rebels were fighting the changes to the status quo, so there was a slim chance he could find a way.

His fingers twitched with the urge to hold his greatsword.

He could traverse the underground passages to hunt down the Gika.

A dismal future awaited him, but the thought of leaving Etteria… No, never holding Wren again drove a red-hot poker through his heart. He couldn’t force himself to abandon her. One week, they’d agreed. It had been three days. Time stretched before him like a desert without a spark of life.

“Head to medical,” the medic said via the O.D.I.

Cylo sprinted but skidded to a halt when he entered. The medic waited beside a med-E.D.—the only one soon to be in use.

“Is it always this quiet?” Cylo asked, throwing himself onto the bed.

“Yes, but the proving grounds is in two days.” The medic grinned.

Cylo grunted, willing to test his mettle against many males with the anger saturating the marrow of his bones. The dome closed, and blessed sleep gripped him.