Page 65 of The Edge of Dawn

Dragek resisted the urge to bask in the general’s slight praise. He didn’t possess any real loyalty toward these Kordolians. He was only doing this for the promise of freedom, after all. “I’ll give you what I can. As for them choosing sides—I would not presume to try and guess what others of my kind could be thinking.” He briefly met Ashrael’s blank gaze. The Silent One was impenetrable once more, having withdrawn his aura so he was almost undetectable. “I can give you clues as to their temperaments, nothing more.”

“That will suffice,” Tarak said. “It’s good to have some sense of one’s limitations. Now, to the real matter at hand.”

“Obviously, you didn’t summon me here just to pick my mind,” Dragek growled.

“No.” It was Ashrael who answered, a hint of amusement in his tone. “My mate could have done that if she wished.”

“She could try.” The thought of anyone being able to breach his mental shields—no matter how powerful—was abhorrent to Dragek. Except for when Jade had pulled him into her dreams.

That was different.

That was innocent.

Pure.

He’d never encountered a soul with so much absence of malice.

“A situation has arisen.” The air between them grew thick with tension. Tarak ignored their sharp exchange. “One that will put your skills to good use.”

“Oh?” The prospect of a mission made Dragek’s anticipation rise. “You want me to kill someone?”

“Not necessarily. From now on, you’re more than a simple killer. Under my orders, you will use your judgment in any given situation.”

“And what is the situation, exactly?”

“A ship full of human hostages,” Ashrael replied. “Females on a transport, their lives at stake. Not only that, there are hybrids on that ship. Human-Kordolian children. The self-styled new emperor, Amun, is trying to trade their safety in exchange for his freedom. He is not to be trusted. We need to neutralize him and safely bring them under our protection. Even a single loss of life is unacceptable.”

“Then let me go in and kill him,” Dragek said. “I can use the qim and take him out in an instant.”

“It isn’t that simple. You think I wouldn’t have already done that?” Ashrael snarled, not-so-subtly reminding Dragek of his superiority in using qim. “There’s something off about Amun. One of our own—First Division—is already onboard. According to his reports, the situation isn’t all that it appears. Amun shouldn’t be killed. He’s far too valuable. Unless our orders change, he is to be taken alive.”

“That’s… surprisingly merciful,” Dragek muttered.

Tarak gave him a cool look. “It’s strategic. The information contained in his head could be the key to bringing down our enemies. Besides, there’s an unknown variable on that ship. Before anything else, your task will be to neutralize him.”

“Him?” The feeling of anticipation rose even further, sharpening Dragek’s thirst for battle.

“A Silent One from your cluster. We haven’t been able to identify him as of yet—he’s been more elusive than expected.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Elusive was what their kind did.

“He’s very skilled at hiding his presence from detection. Noali was about to touch his mind briefly, but he quickly disappeared. We don’t know whose side he’s on, but in this case, given the stakes of the operation, you are cleared to kill him if necessary.”

“Then what of this Amun… and the human females… and the children?” Dragek thought of humans again—of how soft and helpless they were—like Jade. He couldn’t help but feel a certain way about the fact that a group of them—innocents—were being held hostage by one of his kind. Not only that, there were children. “What if there’s an imminent threat?”

“Our man onboard—Enki—will handle that. And given that Ashrael will be accompanying you, there’s no need for you to worry about such things.”

Dragek turned to the Silent One. “You’re coming?”

Ashrael bared his fangs in a faint grin—Dragek couldn’t tell whether he was being good-natured or vicious. “I’ve always wanted to carry out a mission with another of my kind. Who knows, perhaps there might come a time when there are enough of us to form our own Division.”

“Impossible,” Dragek scoffed, although he could admit that such a thought was strangely exhilarating. But who in the Nine Hells could convince a group of extremely difficult killers to work together? “In any case, why just the two of us? You have the entire First Division at your disposal.”

“I do,” Tarak agreed. “But out of all of us, only you and Ashrael have the ability to completely avoid detection from others who possess the Talent.”

“You want to take advantage of the element of surprise.”

“Indeed. After all, nobody outside Darkstar knows we have a weapon like you at our disposal.”

---