Page 114 of Akur

Easing back, Constance’s shoulders squared. “So what’s the plan?”

They spent hours arguing. Hours coming up with ways to spin their next move. Hours dissecting every possible approach, each plan bearing a devastating cost. The holographic display in the center of the table became a graveyard of failed strategies, each one marked with an angry red block.

“If we go in with a full assault,” Diana traced her finger along one trajectory, “they’ll see us coming. They have more firepower than us. We lose both our people and our element of surprise.”

“How many rebels are left?” Akur asked. “How many escaped? Regrouped?”

“Enough,” Alaina replied. “Several ships made it out. Commander Xul has a few with him. They are ready to fight. Plan is to find those brutes, take down the hostiles, then…use one of these vials.”

“You’d have to get in the base first to do that,” Constance said.

“Stealth approach.” Alaina glanced from one to the other. “Small team, under their sensors—”

“There is no going under their sensors. Not after E’lot and I got in. They’d see them coming. And if they catch them…” Akur’s face was grim. “They’ll have everything they need. They’d have a cure…and no guarantee they would end this war. They would still be a pain in our seed sacs. Only, they wouldn’t be diseased anymore. We’d be handing them the keys to your planet and so many others.”

Constance watched each plan crumble, each strategy dissolve into impossible choices. Save their people but risk Earth. Protect Earth,but kill an entire species. Strike hard and fast, but lose their only advantage. Wait too long and lose everything.

The weight of it all pressed down on her shoulders like a physical thing. Every path seemed to lead to sacrifice—the only question was what they could bear to lose.

30

Akur

He couldn’t stop watchingKon-stahns. Each time an idea fizzled into nothing, outwardly, it seemed she was still holding strong. But he could see the way her jaw tightened. The slight furrow of her worried brow. How her fingers curled into fists when another plan proved impossible. Her determination both filled him with pride and terror. She would go back there—he could see it in her eyes. She would walk right back into that hell to save the others.

His chest tightened. After everything they’d been through, after finally finding her, the thought of losing her again made his blood run cold. He’d waited so long for this moment, dreamed of bringing down the Tasqals, but not like this. Not at the cost of her.

When she squeezed his hand in response, he knew she understood his unspoken fears. That was the thing about Kon-stahns—she could read him like no one else ever could. Even now, as the others around the table debated strategies, her thumb traced soothing circles on his palm, silently reassuring him she wasn’t going anywhere.

He stood abruptly, startling the others. “No.” The word came out like agrowl. “The females stay. They are too precious to send back there.” Even as he said it, he caught Kon-stahns’ slight head shake. It was futile, but he still needed to try.

The one named Alaina looked at the one named Diana a moment before V’Alen spoke. “It is not our choice, Akur. We would have to chain them.”

“I’m not risking losing Yce,” Diana spoke up, chin lifting. “If he goes, I go, too.”

“The same with V’Alen,” Alaina said.

“And I’m with you,” Kon-stahns crossed her arms, a challenging look in her eyes.

A hot breath huffed from his nostrils. Qrakking crukks, were all human females this stubborn? Glancing at Kon-stahns, he saw the small smile twisting the corners of her lips. She knew exactly what he was thinking, and her amusement at his frustration only made him adore her more.

“They only needonehuman,” he stressed.

Diana squared her shoulders. “I guess that means we better not fail.”

Qrak.

He must have cursed under his breath because Kon-stahns huffed out a laugh beside him. Her hand found the small of his back, a gentle touch that somehow managed to both soothe and strengthen him.

“She has a point, hon.”

Hon? That was a term of endearment. See, this was why he couldn’t risk losing her. She meant too much to him. Had become essential to his very existence in a way he never thought possible.

There was only one thing to do. The plan that gave them the best odds.

“How do the vials work?” he asked, turning his attention to the dark-skinned female.

Alaina shook her head. “We can’t release it into the atmosphere, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

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