Page 5 of Blinding Light

When Cyprian gave him an incredulous look, Bekn winked and poked him in the side, making him jump. Cyprian didn’t like people, unless they were created on his canvas, and he hated being touched. It hadn’t always been like that—there had been a time he had longed for affection, had proactively searched for it. Now it just made his skin crawl and his mind stutter.

Shuttle personnel were passing by the numbered rows of seats, checking if safety rules had been applied.

Cyprian’s stomach fluttered as if he was nervous. “Is the Axe supposed to make me feel all jittery?”

Bekn shrugged. “I'm not sure. This new recipe is still in the experimental phase.”

“What?” Cyprian fisted his hands, annoyance sweeping through him. Bekn gave him a sinister smile. Cyprian wanted to say something, but when the glass doors slid open once more, revealing a new travelling party, he fell silent.

Everybody fell silent.

Three burly men in military combat uniforms swaggered inside the metallic ship, hands loosely on the rifles they kept sideways against their collarbone, a stern look on their faces.

Captain Delaine came marching towards the soldiers, his shoes clicking on the floor as he lifted his knee and put his feet together in a salute. When he bowed, Cyprian’s stomach tightened, and he tried to swallow away the rising bile. Bekn had mentioned an elite presence during this trip, which is why hehad shown him the compartments on the first floor. He just hadn’t realized it wasthatkind of elite.

The Devils…they’d found him. Cyprian felt like he was going to be sick. But then, what had he expected? That he could just turn his back to the grand opportunity he had been given through the ties of his foster parents?

No. They wouldn’t miss him.

Still, it was too soon. He wasn’t Cyprian Creighton anymore, but he wasn’t officially Xander Devers yet, either. He was in between lives and in a vulnerable situation.

The voice of the captain sliced through his thoughts. “It is an honour to have you on board, Imperial Zephyranthis.”

Imperial Zephyranthis? He was the Imperial Prince of Helion. Cyprian didn’t know whether he should be relieved or afraid that the royal entering the ship was not one of Tulniri's Essentials. Around them, people were still quiet, unlike the churning wheel in Cyprian’s mind.

When he decided to investigate his roots on Helion, he had read all about the Imperial family who ruled the smallest planet in the Crystal Sea. Famous for its forests and horticulture, both biologically and artificially planted, the place was traditional and had been led by the same family for decades.

“Helion’s Imperial Moargan Zephyranthis coming through. Step aside,” one of the soldiers boomed, breaking the tense silence.

Cyprian’s hands started to sweat as they approached, his stomach coiling, pumping nausea. The data chip sat hidden down in the quarters for employees, far away from here. But what if they somehow knew that he had obtained illegal information from their planet? What if they knew he was a refugee traveling under a false name?

In the corner of his eye, he saw passengers shifting aside, and it felt like the temperature was dropping. As if they’d already taken off.

His common sense was slipping with each approaching step the travelling party made. It must be the effect of the Axe. He wanted to ask Bekn, but his lips felt stitched.

If the Imperial decided to do an identity check on all boarding passengers, he was busted.

“Recruit…”

They would execute him. And he would never be able to find out where he was from or why he had been given up. Perhaps his biological parents hadn’t wanted a baby with yellow eyes? Cyprian wanted to brush his hand through his hair to soothe himself from his rising panic, but he didn’t want to bring attention to himself.

“Recruit!”

He flinched when a hand grabbed his shoulder and forcefully pulled him back. Stumbling on his feet, his lips parted in shock that quickly morphed into humiliation.

Everyone else was looking at him.

“Step aside for the Imperial Prince.Now.” It was Captain Delaine.

“I apologize,” Cyprian stumbled, realizing he was standing right in their path. His tongue seemed glued to the roof of his mouth, but awareness crawled through him, causing the skin on his cheeks to burn. Quickly, he took steps back so the three soldiers could make their way through, walking side by side, practically swallowing up the metallic arrival hall.

It had to be the drugs. Cyprian watched them pass, heart thrashing in his chest. He shouldn’t have trusted Bekn.

His skin warmed as if being pulled out of the shadows and into the spotlight. His stomach rolled, and if it wasn’t for Captain Delaine, who still had his fingers dug in his nape, he would have stumbled.

Cyprian righted himself. Flicking his gaze up, he found himself caught in a pair of unfamiliar, piercing, violet eyes laced with cruel intentions. They stared right back at him. Theirowner, dressed in a white cape with the hood cascading over his nape, approached.

Cyprian’s heart thundered at the realization.

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