Page 8 of The Erion Triad

Juliran reared back, horror plain on his face. Kyel studied him with a stare that seemed to go right through him as he waited for them to catch up. They would do anything for Lucie, and he wouldn’t suggest they do this unless his scientific mind had run through a million outcomes and spit out the best one. Juliran’s hand hovered over the closed panel that contained their mate. Their only future.

“You know if what you’re thinking doesn’t work that Lucie will die?” Kyel said.

“If she goes into cryo, she might never wake up either and will be as good as dead. We have to fight, brothers,” Zaen said.

“Of course, I will fight until my very last breath.” Kyel levelled between the stares of Zaen and Juliran. “If we don’t succeed, then we will all die.”

“Life will not be worth living without our mate,” Juliran said.

Kira sobbed against Emex’s chest. Their mother went to Kira and Emex and wound her arms around them both. Their two other fathers huddled close, offering their support.

“What do you need, Zaen?” Nolan, their third father, asked.

Kyel slowly lifted his wrist-comm to his mouth. “Tann, have you retrieved the crystal yet?”

“We’re taking it to the lab as we speak,” Tann replied through Kyel’s wrist comm.

“Can you bring it in here instead, please,” Kyel said.

There was a moment of stunned silence, before Tann answered. “Of course.”

Shocked silence reigned over the room as everyone grappled with their horror and the implications of what Zaen suggested.

“Are you absolutely sure this is going to work?” their mother asked, looking between Zaen and his brothers

Zaen squeezed their mother’s shoulder. “It is the only thing that might. If we try nothing, then Lucie is lost.”And with her all hope for themselves and their Homeland.

Unbearable tension filled the chamber as they waited for Tann to arrive. Erix kept his full attention on Lucie’s condition and keeping the meds in the chamber balanced just right. In the next few moments, Tann strode through the doorway with the crystal contained within the jaws of golden pincers.

Zaen turned to Erix and drew a deep lungful of air that bordered on painful. “Lower the panel, Erix. Tann, place the crystal in her hands.”

Erix’s mouth dropped. “But that… that might outright kill her. She is in a very delicate state.”

Zaen ignored the tense muscles straining along his shoulders. He knew there were risks, but there were also no options. This entity was too strong, too...unknown…to fight in a normal manner. “Shehasto touch the crystal. Weallmust touch the crystal to connect with it. You know I would not suggest this if there was any other way.”

Zaen levelled a stare between his brothers, reading their stunned expressions, hating what he was going to say, but knowing there was no other way. “We need to go through the shell that is around her mind. All of us. Together. She can’t defeat it on her own. Riley and Evelyn were trapped in the clouds and they were on their own, without the help of their mates to help them fight their way free. The only thing powerful enough to break this shell and the hold it has over Lucie is our mate bond. The four of us. Together. Using the power of the crystal.”

“You’re certain, brother?” Kyel said.

Zaen placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t even suggest this if it wasn’t the last thing we could possibly try. We must defeat this thing head on and putting Lucie into cryo will be more torture for her. I... I don’t know how much more she can take.”

“I’m with you a hundred percent, brother. We will save Lucie and expel this entity from her if it’s the last thing we do,” Juliran said, forever the optimistic one.

Zaen didn’t want to voice his concerns. They were too numerous to list, and he was just going by his gut feeling. Not a good strategy, but it was their only one. He didn’t want to even think it, but it just could possibly be the last thing they would ever do. “Be prepared for anything, brothers. I don’t know what will happen once we all connect through the power of the crystal. Remember, she is trapped in her mind. Literally and figuratively. We will go wherever her mind is. Encounter her thoughts. Anything.” He took a deep breath. “We must also be prepared not to return either.”

The last statement brought a gasp to their mother’s lips. She held a trembling hand in front of her mouth. Her mates, the kings, held her tight, offering her comfort as was their right.

“Are you sure there’s no other way?” Kira spoke, her eyes gleaming with tears.

Zaen hugged their sister close. “There is a risk with anything, but we will find a way, sister. We will save Lucie and we will save our homeland. I… I don’t know how to fight this entity any other way.”

Kira’s arms tightened around his chest. He would do anything for her as well. She had yet to find her mates and form her Quad. Her future was so intricately tied to theirs.

Zaen stepped back and placed Kira into Emex’s arms. “Father…”

Emex nodded, his face grave. “You are brave warriors. Do what must be done, sons.”

Taking a deep breath, Zaen stepped next to the bed where their mate lay. His brothers joined him, taking their place over Lucie.

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