Page 36 of Veras
I know what I have to do.
CHAPTER 16
My eyes poppedopen on a scream. Energy thrummed through me, desperate to get free. To destroy. To kill.
To cleanse.
A war brewed in my mind, my thoughts strangled by the Oro, overtaken by the fury of the Guardians. They whispered to me—and then roared. Their planet was dying, overrun by careless, abusive, and dangerous intruders—they needed to be taken care of.
They need to die.
I sat up, struggling to think, to use my brain and remind myself why I didn’t want this. Why I thought there was another way. Why the Guardians didn’t need to obliterate everyone. But the energy felt so good. I had control, and the Aavvee didn’t even know it.
Where am I?The heat of a giant blue sun baked me. I was alone, outside the arena, black sand as far as the eye could see with massive ebony mountains surrounding me.
All alone.
My body shook with power… and terror. I thought I was so smart. I didn’t know anything. Didn’t understand the power of the Oro. My small body was minuscule against this sheer size of the planet. Except, it’d granted me the ultimate gift. Power.
For a short time, I have the Aavvee’s destiny in the palm of my hand.
Inkonexo, the supreme, hundreds of guards, and, of course, the supreme’s harem, all watched from inside the U-shaped arena. Behind the force field. I was outside with no protection.They thought they were safe. But I knew, once the countdown clock came to an end, no force on this planet could stop the Guardians.
I felt a deep rumble under my feet, signaling the Guardians’ arrival. Eight beautiful golden spirals of wind and destruction barreled toward us. They’d grown in power since I’d last seen them—preparing for the destruction of the Aavvee.
I watched the group cowering in the arena.
You’re all dead.I breathed the words into their minds, perfectly translating the phrase so they heard the truth. I would watch them get obliterated by the winds.
The harem, most of the guards, and the supreme screamed and ran for their lives. They understood. They felt my power. But Inkonexo and a few other fools remained in place.
“Easy, Pet. You might want to control that temper.”
Why is that?
“Because I have something you want. Something you can’t live without. And unless you stop the Guardians, Veras will be as dead as the rest of us. I feel your power, but even you aren’t fast enough to stop me from frying him on the spot.”
Inkonexo held a staff to Veras’ neck. It could electrocute him before I took my first step. My alien had been beaten to within an inch of his life—eyes swollen shut, skin a mottled fuchsia against his golden hue.
Inkonexo doesn’t understand my strength.
I raised my hands, allowing the gale-force winds to surround me. I harnessed their power in my palms and released a massive gust, knocking Inkonexo away from Veras. I cushioned my alien’s unconscious body with a puff of wind to make sure he didn’t smash into the sand. Before Inkonexo could stand, I swept my hands around and scooped him up, the air lifting him high. He sped toward me, dangling in front of me. “Don’t threaten me. I don’t like it.”
“Let me down!” He struggled against my hold.
I finally saw Inkonexo for who he really was.How small he looked.How petty. “The Oro doesn’t love you anymore.”
“W-what?”
“That’s what this is all about.” I watched as the massive Guardians sped closer.
Inkonexo seared me with his gaze. We both knew I was right. It was the whole reason he killed his people and raped his planet. He’d been obsessed with the Oro, and it had abandoned him a long time before.
It sensed his madness.
It no longer flowed through him. That was why his marking had faded. He never appreciated what he had, the gift he’d been granted. The Oro had stripped him of any added abilities. That was why he could only read minds through touch. Why he hadn’t shifted into his natural form. He’d been trapped in his Aavvee body when the Oro discovered his betrayal.
Now he was all alone.
