Page 110 of Akur

They weren’t alone.

Her breath stilled in her throat as Akur moved in front of her, his stance protective as they emerged into the Elysium’s pristine interior.

Four figures waited for them. At the front stood a being Constance assumed must be Yce—tall, ethereally beautiful, with skin that glowed with light as if lighting threaded through his veins. His eyes shone white. The gem in his forehead shone the same. He was exactly like the male imprisoned in that Tasqal citadel, only, he looked alive. She realized now that without his inner light, that other Arois looked nothing like he should. The gravity of his imprisonment was even greater.

Beside the Arois was a tall human woman with striking ice-blue eyes and red hair. She stood with her legs apart, arms folded across her chest. The sleek black leather that she wore made her look like some kind of superhero or something. Behind them stood the cyborg. V’Alen. The one that had helped Akur that night when the gator-guards had come and taken her away. But it was the fourth figure that made Constance stop dead in her tracks.

“Alaina.” Her heart stopped. Everything stopped.

The human woman was the closest thing she’d had to a friend back on the Restitution base. And she was standing there. Alive! Just like their Tasqal ally had said.

Only, she was so different.

Constance couldn’t move. Her feet felt rooted to the pristine white floor of the Elysium’s docking bay. Her lungs seemed to have forgotten how to function. The world narrowed to just Alaina—this new, changed version of her friend.

Gone was the wild mane of dark curls that Alaina had always been so proud of. Her head was completely bare, and in the bright light of the bay, Constance could see the faintest trace of a surgical scar running from ear to ear across her crown. But it was her right arm that drew and held Constance’s attention. It was encased in what looked like metal—sleek, too.

“Alaina?” Her voice cracked as she stepped forward. For the first time, Akur stayed back. He was allowing her to find her words on her own. Allowing her some space as she came to terms with all of this.

“Constance.” Alaina moved forward and the cyborg, V’Alen, followed right behind her.

“You’re really alive.” Before she knew it, she was hugging the woman. There were so many questions, so much she wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t come. Just holding her, knowing she was truly alive, was enough for now.

“Meredith and the silent woman…I couldn’t…”

Alaina made a shushing sound. “It’s alright. Constance…it’s alright.”

When they finally pulled apart, she noticed the tears in Alaina’s eyes matched her own.

“I thought…” Alaina’s voice wavered. “When we found Yce, he told us Akur and E’lot had gone after you. We hoped for the best. But then everything went silent…I thought—”

“I’m okay,” she said, even though ‘okay’ was relative after everything that had happened. Her gaze dropped to Alaina’s transformed arm. “Are you?”

“Better than okay.” Alaina smiled. “V’Alen saved my life. He…” She glanced at the cyborg who stood at her back. “He took care of me.”

The cyborg inclined his head. “You were strong enough to save yourself,” he said, his voice carrying a gentleness she didn’t expect. “I merely provided the means.”

The red-haired woman stepped forward then, her ice-blue eyes assessing Constance with careful scrutiny. “I’m Diana,” she thrust her hand forward for a handshake.

Taking her hand, Constance nodded. She remembered her. This woman was one of the original five. The ones that weren’t in stasis pods. The females who were spoken about in whispers, revered by humans and aliens alike back on the Restitution base.

“Welcome,” Diana said. “We’re happy to have you here.”

Constance could feel Akur’s presence as he stepped up behind her. “Diana,” he said. “Still keeping Yce out of trouble?”

“Trying to,” Diana replied with a slight smile, before turning serious again. “Though trouble seems to have found us, anyway.”

The Arois captain stepped forward then, and Constance fought the urge to step back. His presence was overwhelming—not just physically, but mentally. She could feel him at the edges of her consciousness, like standing too close to a powerful electrical field.

“Forgive my earlier intrusion,” Yce said, his voice deeper than it had been in her mind, as if he’d purposely tried to speak softer so as not to scare her. “Time was of the essence, and I needed to ensure you would trust us enough to dock.” The lightning bolts beneath his skin pulsed gently as he spoke. “I am Yce, captain of the Elysium and…” he paused, his glowing white eyes meeting hers, “an ally of your mate.”

Mate.

Her cheeks grew warm.

So he knew.

“You knew where we were,” Akur said, moving closer to Constance. “How?”

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