Page 21 of The Hive

While we worked on the nest, Grey looked for transport off the station by way of cargo ships or any other spacecraft leaving and not headed for the surface. Unfortunately, his progress stalled. We were running out of time and options. I could feel that seed of warmth that had been strangled in my belly smoldering with heat again. That’s how I ended up back in one of the medical cluster’s exam rooms.

“I haven’t found a reliable way off the Hive. I don’t know what I expected to happen, but I’ve only been able to access the staff shuttle schedule, which runs to and from the surface. Shuttles aren’t fast or built for long trips. You wouldn’t be able to put enough distance between yourselves and anyone that might try to follow.” Grey ran his fingers through his unruly brown hair. The dark crescents shadowing his beautiful gray eyes told of the stress my handsome handler was under.

He looked at me and regret fogged his features. “The nearest control panel with the mainframe access we need is the headmaster’s office. Unfortunately, it’s locked down tightly. However, because it is an office, and not a containment cell, the ventilation ports are easily removable, which means Saphyra, you should be able to get inside. If there was any other way, I would take it, but I have been looking for days. The suppressant won’t last forever, and we can’t risk another dose. I have a feeling the effect is starting to wear thin as it is.”

He wasn’t wrong. I could feel the swirl of unrelenting desire poised for release. Whatever happened had to happen soon, or I would end up in the brood chamber trapped behind the impenetrable security in place to keep the omegas safe. If that was even what it was for. The more I learned about the safety features, the more it seemed like a prison.

“I can do it.” I wasn’t sure if I could, but someone needed to do something and I was willing to try.

My decoys shared a silent look, but Ghost was the one that spoke. “I don’t like it. It’s too dangerous.”

“None of the terminals have clearance in the academy cluster. The other option would be to gain entry to the restricted military wards or the security sector without being detected and then obtain the proper access codes. The headmaster is arrogant enough that he doesn’t lock his panel most of the time. It’s the safest and fastest choice. If there was another plausible way, I would take it.” Grey made good points, but it didn’t matter to me. I wanted to help and if I could do this to save us all, I was willing, even eager, to try.

“I want to,” I said, moving toward the maintenance hatch. The decoys had scowls on their faces, but Grey let out a breath, relieved. He thought this was our only option, and that was good enough for me.

The vents were just as much fun as I remembered. There were fewer airlocks in the academy cluster, which made it easier, but it was still a long crawl on hands and knees. I should’ve asked for some of those knee pads maintenance used. The ridiculous thought had me smiling, but the view through the screen ahead wiped that smile right off my face.

Headmaster Vestris had one of the younger omega prospects bent over his desk with her skirt flipped up over her back. He was stuffing his flaccid dick into his pants as she righted her clothes, scrubbed at her tear-stained face, and ran from his office.

Rage bloomed in my chest, but before I could burst through the grille and take my vengeance on that pig, he walked out of the door, following the girl. The lock slid home with a deafening click, leaving the room empty and stinking of sex and misery.

I shoved the odd tool Grey had given me through the slats of the vent cover to release the mechanism, allowing me to push the grate out of the way. In my angered state, it was too slow in my shaking hands. Not that I knew what I would have done to a full-grown man, even if he was only a beta. Hatred burned in my chest at the audacity of the headmaster. He was in charge of the academy and was supposed to protect us. That was a colossal lie.

A few calming breaths later, I had my head back in the game. There was nothing I could do for the girl now. Vestris was the Imperatrix’s brother and untouchable. But once I was free, I could expose this place for what it was and find a way to save everyone.

Being careful and quiet, I wriggled around and dropped out of the vent onto the bureau below it. Grey had discovered that there were no cameras in this office, but I remained cautious. Vestris probably didn’t want anyone spying on his depraved behavior, but if I was too loud, someone passing by might hear and alert the headmaster.

Just as Grey had expected, that arrogant fool left his mainframe panel unlocked, and I gained access with no trouble. First things first, I looked up all the ships departing the station for ports outside of this sector. Nothing for Arden, Verden, or Faeren. That would have been too convenient since they were all close together. But there were several transports headed for the moons of Pharanax. Not ideal, but they had long range capability. I made note of any deep space capable ships leaving in the next few days, and tucked the list into my skirt.

My priority completed, I turned to something more personal. Where had Lyrah been assigned? Was she on Altaira like the academy would have the students believe, or was she somewhere else, toiling and suffering as Grey had suggested?

It was easy to navigate into not only the student records but all the records of personnel on the station. What I found made me sit down hard. The headmaster’s chair lurched in protest at my negligible weight, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. Lyrah and even the pink-haired beta I called Flora had been shipped to the mining planet Pyxis. My mouth went dry with horror. My sweet, gentle friend was extracting aurinium ore on the planet that had the smallest orbit around our system’s twin suns. How could anyone survive the heat, let alone work there? Grey had been right. They sent the betas to their deaths when they left here.

What about the omegas, though? Surely that had been an exaggeration. I couldn’t help my curiosity as I flipped through files to that section. There had been the dark-haired woman in the cell. What had her name been? Ravenya, Revayah, yes Revayah. Thankfully, the records included omega gift names and were easily searchable. Her files were clear in front of me.

Standard information like description was included but also something called bloodline origin, which was listed as unknown. It showed she had been assigned to Drone Drax, D4916. Three pregnancies, two alpha prospects, and an omega prospect, but her previous two heat cycles had not produced a pregnancy, and it looked like this one hadn’t either. They flagged her file for liquidation. Several private parties had shown interest as well as a professional flesh market. The market had the highest bid on the auction site and was pending physical inspection to close the sale. Infertile omegas were being sold as sex slaves.

It was all true.

My stomach twisted painfully as I closed out of the headmaster’s connection, leaving it unlocked just as I had found it. With a heavy heart, I crawled up the shelves and back into the vent, using the little tool to reconnect the mechanism that held it shut.

The journey through the metal tube was slow and painful. Everything I had been told was real. We were livestock. The knowledge changed nothing. It only confirmed what I had feared all along. I needed to get out of here and help these people. We were being exploited by the Imperatrix.

Someone had to do something.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Valyx

The wait was torture. Every creak of the station’s metal frame, every time the air scrubbers kicked on, it picked at my nerves. Any moment, someone could discover us alone in the exam room minus our omega prospect or some unknown alarm could trigger, announcing our trespasses.

I hadn’t taken a full breath the entire time she’d been gone. She was our only hope for salvation.

When her golden head finally popped out of the vent, it seemed as though a shadow eclipsed her. Her normal glow was diminished somehow. Haunted, empty eyes returned my glare as I studied her.

Ax and Grey rushed to help her down, oblivious to her dark mood that reflected my own, but I held back, watching. She was comfortable with them in a way she wasn’t with me, and that suited me fine. At least, that’s what I told myself. But I knew something was wrong.

Without a word, she shoved a scrap of parchment at Grey and moved to sit against the far wall. I hoped it was the list of transport ships, our ticket off this fucking heap of space junk.

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