Page 86 of Dark's Savior

Xilya bowed her head. "It is so. He is stronger than probably most of the nillium within Xolis. But his very own sun betrays him. And his own people hate and fear him for it."

Aly shook her head. "I...that can't be. His father didn't trust him, and his uncle hates him, but his brother is there and cares about him."

"They are afraid of him because he is not of the light but of the dark," Xilya said, ignoring her words. "He is different. When he was born, they took him for an ill omen. It is only because of his father's choice to keep him alive and raise him to become his own personal assassin that he is still breathing at all. His brother likely has his own agenda."

Out of all her words,assassindrew Aly's focus the most. Ryziel never mentioned exactly what his father made him do, but she might have guessed. Still, the sudden truth didn't immediately disturb her. If it was true, he had been forced to do it. And, she was sure, he was no longer that now nor would he ever be again. "Things will be different. His father is gone. His uncle..." Aly crossed her arms. "He will be too."

"Yes, his brother will allow him to stay within his home. That is most certainly true. But Nihl Ryziel will still be an outcast to them."

Aly looked up at Xilya, wide-eyed as she said this.

"So." Xilya twisted her body around to face Aly. "What do you think they will see when you arrive? The non-nillium mate of an outcast?"

Aly clenched her jaw. "I guess so."

"No," Xilya said, her eyes a fiery blaze. "Not even that. Because, if you had bothered to ask, then you would know."

Aly felt a sudden awful cold, like an icy stone drop in her stomach. "Know what?"

"You would know that there are no non-nillium mates. That even silions of the highest cast are not offered such privilege. You would know that, because you yourself are not nillium nor even silion, that you will have no rights within that House nor on Nihl anywhere. Not even Nihl Ryziel's own brother would allow you to be called a lady of Nihl nor a nillium's mate." The fire in Xilya's eyes dimmed, replaced with a guilt-ridden sadness. "I have heard rumors of nillium women being hidden within their own homes, unable to leave, none seen off of Nihl in many years." She placed a hand on Aly's shoulder. "You would be kept out of sight from everyone, just like them, locked away for only Ryziel to keep you company when his brother doesn't call him away, which will be often. And it would be worse for you, much worse."

Aly swallowed hard, her throat suddenly tight, her mouth dry. "How...how much worse?"

Xilya's hand slipped from her shoulder. "You would be forced to serve under them. Nihl Ryziel would have little say, and something tells me he won't move against his brother—not even for you." She bowed her head low. "You would be nothing more than a slave."

Chapter Twenty-nine

Aly sat on her bed inside her unit, her sketchbook sitting on her lap, hands clenched tightly around it. Her shift would be starting soon, but she couldn't bring herself to move. She hadn't even taken her suit off once she returned to the unit after Xilya left her. She had just gone to her bed and sat there for a long time, thinking.

She thought about what Xilya said and refused to believe it. Her denial was so strong she considered putting the idea out of her mind altogether and continuing on as if the conversation had never happened.

But the more she tried to shut out Xilya's words, the more they came whispering back to her like the twist of a knife. And she couldn't ignore it any longer.

After all, why would Xilya have cause to lie to her? Why would she have any reason to make something up to keep Aly from Ryziel? She had no reason to do that, no secret motive. Aly had seen the honesty in her eyes, the pleading expression of someone who only wanted to save her from what could only be considered a terrible fate.

And that's exactly what it was. Even with all the love and trust she felt for Ryziel, she could not deny that the idea of being shut away and forced to comply with those around her did more than just terrify her. It broke her.

And suddenly, all she could think of was home. Not of Nihl but of Earth. How she had escaped a life of control and manipulation from her parents. And now, with all the denial stripped away, leaving doubt to grow and fester inside her, she knew her future might be doomed to bring her back into that same trap.

After hours of this dreadful thinking, Aly had come to the final numbing conclusion. That she would now have to make an important and life-altering decision: go with Ryziel and risk living a life in the shadows. Or return with her team and risk never seeing him again. The latter choice made the sharp pain in her chest hurt so bad it left her gasping. But the former choice left her shaking so bad she had to keep her hands clenched on her lap to still them.

Someone might say she had a third option, but she feared to even consider it because she knew what Ryziel would say, and his answer would only break her more.

She could ask him to not return home.

But where would they go? Back to her world? A place still new to the idea of life beyond human existence, still working to understand those aliens they had come to discover? The gyda might be on some of the bases, but even after so many years, they were still separated from the human communities. And then there was the vrisha and the whispers from those who still deemed them "hostile" even though they had yet to make contact with them again, ever since the Lazris incident. She knew they were discovering more civilizations, more races, but humans were still too afraid, still too uncertain, to allow others to integrate into their cities and homes. Ryziel would be just as unwelcome as she might be on Nihl. She couldn't put him through that.

And, besides, she already knew his answer. He had been trying for so long to return home, to return to his brother. She knew even she couldn't sway him not to go back, especially not now, when he was so close.

Slowly, Aly rose from her bed and, like a sleepwalker, went over to the kitchen, thinking for the moment she should just eat something before she had to work for the few hours until Ryziel came to get her. Then she would have to talk to him. At least try to make him understand her fears. They had time still before the ship was finished, and, maybe, just maybe, she could find a way to still make it all work.

As she finished with a small meal that she could barely keep down, she had started placing her sketchbook and tools in her pack when a knock started at her door. She went over to it without a thought and opened it.

A krull male stared down at her from the doorway, and it took Aly a moment to realize it was an enforcer. Her heart skipped a beat, but she merely smiled. "Can I help you?"

"Aly Smith, we are here to escort you to level three."

Aly frowned. Her eyes shifted past the krull to where two others waited by the wall. "Why are you taking me to level three?" she asked nervously. Level three was the beginning of the warehouses, along with the security hub, if she remembered correctly.

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