Page 4 of Whispers of the Void (Voidborn Chronicles #1)

CHAPTER 4

RAIZ

* * *

“Y ou can read ancient Zeahiric, correct?” I ask as Sister Neev lifts her slight body from the chair and leans forward to get a closer look.

Her hair catches the light, and I realize within the black, there are also strands of purple, blue, and green woven through. She lets out an annoyed huff and pushes the thick mass behind her small, rounded ear. Her violet eyes turn my way.

“It’s a bit late to be asking that now, isn’t it?” Sarcasm drips from her words. “I’m fluent in over one hundred languages, and I can read twice that number.”

“How?” Vynia asks with awe in her voice. “Is it a human trait to be so good with them?”

“I wouldn’t know. I wasn’t raised with humans.” She sits back down, relaxing into the chair. “I’d say it was more like being dropped on Oculus Nine as an infant to be raised by the Order has the most to do with it. I assume the tome isn’t on board.”

“No. It can’t leave the temple it’s housed in.”

“And that’s on Zeahiri?”

“We believe so,” Altis says.

Her lips part as she looks from him to me. “Why exactly would you seek my help if you don’t even know where it is? What are you looking for?”

I look to Mydax to ensure he’s turned off any recording devices. He already told me he had, but before I go further, I need double the assurance. He gives me a subtle nod of confirmation.

“This is a covert mission. Everything we do has to be done with precision and expediency.”

“Covert from whom?” Her lips flatten into a firm line.

“The Sovereign.” I hold her eyes as the gravity of that statement settles in. “I’m leading the rebellion.”

Her face pales. “Members of the Order aren’t to be involved in political disputes. You are risking my entire existence.”

I can hear the increasing beat of her heart. The smell of her fear permeates the room, but under that sharp odor is another emotion. Anger.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch as Mydax’s body goes taut. Every predacious instinct in our blood sings at the challenge she’s unknowingly throwing out into the room. I catch Hyva’s eyes and use my gift.

“Be ready to get her out of here,” I instruct him.

“Are you all just going to sit in silence?” she asks, her voice rising.

“Lieutenant.” I imbue the word with all my authority, but I can see the darkening of his blood through his skin.

Mydax launches himself across the table, talons extending. The tang of Neev’s fear fills the air. I lunge in front of her while Hyva lifts her into his arms.

Altis reaches for Vynia, whose control is also close to snapping. I’m not worried about her; their bond is still intact. He can keep her tethered.

Mydax is still young. His talons graze the skin of my cheek, their razor-sharp tips slicing across my skin. My blood roars at the challenge. The only thing holding me back is the shocked scream from Neev as Hyva carries her into the hall. Hopefully he gets her to med bay before anyone else on the ship scents her. Cuna follows after them as backup.

As soon as the doors close behind us, I unleash myself. Mydax attempts to kick me, but I grab his foot and twist it, knocking him off balance. He swipes out his talons, the razor-sharp blades slice through my uniform pants and into my thigh.

Altis has Vynia pinned against the wall with his back to her front. She thrashes but won’t hurt him. He’s completely calm as he watches me begin to subdue Mydax.

I keep my talons sheathed even as Mydax continues to cut me. He’s lost to the primal, his desire to hunt and consume too great. I finally get him pressed onto the floor and hold him down with my knee on his chest. I can feel his life organ pounding fiercely within his body.

I stare down at him until I see the first sign of submission, his eyes slowly losing their haziness and the blood around his eyes returning to normal. I lift my knee when I see the regret and embarrassment etched onto his face. His talons and fangs retract.

“I’m sorry, Commander.” He takes my outstretched hand and allows me to help him to his feet. “I didn’t expect to be so easily triggered. The scent of her fear was so potent.”

“It was.” I pause, hating this, but it’s protocol. “You’re confined to your quarters until further notice. Go.”

He walks away without arguing. Altis steps away from Vynia, and she follows Mydax out of the room.

“Are you okay?” he approaches me.

“I’m fine. Just a few scratches.” I run my finger over my cheek, realizing that the cut might need mending. “I’m more worried about our only hope being too frightened to work with us now.”

“I’ll take the bridge.”

Instead of using the lift to get down to med bay, I take the stairs. Any physical exertion will help settle me. I need to be completely controlled when I walk into the room with Neev.

She’s sitting on one of the examination tables with her palms braced on either side of her thighs. Her head was hanging between her shoulders but jerks up as soon as I enter the room. She looks me up and down. It’s as if she’s checking me for injuries .

No.

That can’t be it.

Hyva looks up from his monitor and zeros in on my face. “Let me clean you up.”

I put my hand up, stopping him from approaching me as I cross the room to Neev. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” She looks over at Hyva. “He explained what happened. I’m sorry for triggering him.”

“Don’t.” I shake my head and lean down, so I’m eye level with her. She needs to understand she is safe with us. “He is still young, and while he’s exceptionally intelligent, his instincts are still primally driven. Regardless, he should have been able to control himself. I am sorry.”

Her eyes, while violet from afar, have beautiful silver flecks dotting them. She holds my gaze for longer than most can handle, but then her eyes fall to my check. I don’t move as she lifts her hand, her small thumb runs along the slashes still stinging there.

“You’re hurt.”

I straighten with a scoff. “Hardly. I wouldn’t even have these cleaned if not for the fact that he used his talons.”

“Talons?”

I lift my hand and unsheathe my own. Her eyes widen, but no fear scents the air.

“We all have them. Some have two, others three, very few have four.”

“Stop preening for the female and come over here so I can clean the venom from your cuts,” Hyva’s voice cuts into my mind from the channel I’ve left open.

“I wasn’t preening, I was explaining.”

“Right.” His response drips with sarcasm.

“Stay here, and I’ll escort you back to my quarters once I’m done,” I instruct.

“Your quarters?” A wrinkle forms between her brows.

“Yes.” I lean against one of the tables while Hyva begins cleaning the cut on my cheek. “We don’t have guest quarters on board, so I gave you mine.”

I obviously couldn’t put her in with anyone else. Mydax’s outburst is exactly why. Maybe it’s a good thing she hasn’t ventured out into the common areas.

“Where are you sleeping then?”

“Altis and I have separate shifts on the bridge. I’m using his quarters for now.”

She quiets and steps back, so Hyva can clean the wounds. Once he finishes on my face, I reach down and unbutton my pants so he can get to my thigh. I should tear my eyes away from her, but I can’t. Her cheeks turn pink when she notices what I’m doing and immediately turns away.

Hyva looks from me to her back to me with a short shake of his head. Zeahirians are not a modest species. Many of us spend hours swimming naked in the sea, which still welcomes us home millennia after evolving to live on land.

“What do you know about humans?” I ask Hyva as he works on my thigh.

“Only what I looked up to treat her. Our bodies have similar functions and processes. They’re not nearly as physically strong as us. No psionic abilities.” He sprinkles mending powder into the wound after cleaning it. “ Mydax got you deep here,” he says aloud. “No sparring for a few days.”

“Got it.” I stand and pull my pants back up, looking over at Neev as I do. “You can turn around now.”

She turns back toward us, and I’m disappointed to see her skin is back to its normal color. Her eyes don’t meet mine. Fine by me, it allows me to drink in the sight of her. There’s something about her, something intangible, that draws my attention to her anytime we’re in the same room.

It’s probably because she’s so small, so different. My protective instincts are triggered just by being near her.

She clears her throat, her eyes darting to me and then back away. “Should I go back to my quarters?”

“If you wish.” I fall in step beside her after she says goodbye to Hyva. “I’ll escort you.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t let fear overwhelm you. Or anger.”

She stiffens beside me but doesn’t speak.

“We are predators at heart. We may have built a society, but we still scent your emotions. Younger Zeahirians have less control.”

“How old are you?” she asks, looking up at me.

“One hundred and twenty-two universal rotations.”

Those violet eyes of hers widen. “What’s your lifespan?”

“Depends on many factors. What bloodline one is from. How powerful one is. The oldest among us live upwards of eight hundred.”

“I’m only twenty-two.”

“I know.” She stops at the entrance to my quarters. “Do you mind if I come in to grab a change of uniform?”

“Of course.” She steps inside and then makes room for me.

I expect her to stay outside of the bedroom, but she follows me in and watches as I open the closet my uniforms hang in. After pulling them off the hanger and dropping them on the bed, she’s still looking curiously at me.

“I guess that explains all the locked doors in here.”

I incline my head. “Just a closet here.” I walk over and open a cabinet built into the wall. “This is for my weapons.” Knives, a sword, and a scythe all lay together alongside my array of photon guns for space.

“Swords?” Her eyebrows scrunch together. “Are you a collector of antiquities?”

“No. It’s all we can use on Zeahiri. Our sun is a red dwarf and the radiation it throws makes using most technology finicky at best. There are very few places with even basic electricity.”

“Oh.” She blinks several times.

“Don’t worry too much about that. I think you’ll find my home comfortable regardless.”

“Your home?”

“Where you’ll be staying as my guest.”

Her heart beats quickens, the thumping in my ears mixing with the slightest tang of fear. Not enough to send one of us into a frenzy but still enough to detect. I find myself dragging the scent deep into my lungs, savoring it. It doesn’t drive me to hunt, it drives me to protect.

“I hope I don’t put you out,” she says.

My lips tilt upwards in a rare and genuine smile. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll come get you for dinner. It’ll be better for everyone if the crew becomes used to seeing you around.” I close the doors and pick up my uniform to take to Altis’s quarters.