Page 59 of Shattered Silence

She slept soundly, her breathing slow and rhythmic, the lines of pain and fatigue melting from her face.

Pure. Innocent. Sublime. She was everything that he shouldn’t be allowed to have, but he was going to take her anyway, because he just couldn’t help himself.

At last, he understood how his mighty brothers—their formidable leader included—could have fallen so hard, so fast. This lust, this attraction, this need… it was a powerful, living, writhing thing that thrust its hooks into one’s soul and changed the very color of it.

He couldn’t explain it, but then again, not everything in this Universe had to have an explanation.

Enki reveled in the solitude, closing his eyes and floating on the divine sound of her as he slipped into the place in-between wakefulness and rest. For some reason, the Tharian didn’t bother him at all… it was almost as if it were being respectful of his bond with Layla.

Enki would always be… deficient in some areas. He was a warrior and a killer, and the violence that was written into every fiber of his being would never leave him. But when it came to Layla, there was a part of him that felt alive, and now he knew he had the capacity to be tender and gentle toward her.

But only her.

Before, he hadn’t been sure whether he possessed the same instincts as his brothers when it came to humans, but now he knew. How powerful it was to know that she was under his protection, that he alone could make her feel secure enough to sleep so soundly on a strange alien warship.

A new and unfamiliar feeling took hold, confusing him at first.

What… is this?

And then he realized.

For the first time in his entire life, he felt good.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“This is…” Layla looked around wildly, grateful for the powerful light source that Enki had procured from some mysterious place while she slept. Layla had woken to his gentle fingers on her cheek as he quietly informed her that they’d landed. The deep, dreamless sleep had done her wonders. She didn’t realize how tired she’d been until she woke up feeling refreshed for the first time in ages; a completely different person.

They’d quickly made their way out of the ship, and as Layla set foot on the boarding ramp, she found herself stepping into a world of shadows and impossible vastness. The ceiling of the cavernous docking bay stretched far up into the darkness, making her feel small and insignificant.

She was only just beginning to understand how the Kordolians had come to be so dominant in the Universe.

The scale of the place blew Layla’s mind. She thought the Kordolian warship had been huge, but this…

This was a floating city, on steroids. Layla was no expert on alien tech and scaling, but she suspected this docking bay alone could probably accommodate several warships.

“This is the Fleet Station,” Enki grunted, as if that explained everything. “The heart of our operations. You will not find a safer place in all of the Nine Sectors.” His hand rested on the small of her back as he guided her through a maze of dark, hulking spacecraft. For some reason, he seemed a little edgy. Tension sharpened his words and radiated off his powerful frame, making it seem as if he might explode into violence at any given moment.

But maybe he was always like this; a honed weapon in Kordolian form, always alert, always dangerous, even when he wore what she assumed was his off-duty garb; a deep blue robe-like garment with wide sleeves that was belted around the waist, and no shoes.

No weapons, either, although Layla suspected it didn’t make a difference one way or another.

In this unfamiliar place, Layla was grateful for his silent presence at her side. Walking next to him felt strange and thrilling and reassuring, but she wasn’t afraid at all. As they made their way across the massive floor, Layla saw dozens of Kordolians, all of them male. Some looked menacing in their full tactical gear, while others worked on spacecraft of all sizes, alongside bots and various strange machines.

Unlike the silent, dour-faced workers on the other warship, these Kordolians looked a lot more relaxed. Snatches of quiet conversation reached her ears, and although she couldn’t understand a word of what they were saying, Layla knew the sound of banter when she heard it.

These guys seemed completely at ease, and they barely paid her and Enki any attention.

Strange.

It was almost as if they were used to seeing humans around the place, and as for Enki… well, they gave him a wide berth, but that was about it.

Layla tried not to gape. “Darkstar’s really something, huh?” She didn’t know much about space-politics and aliens, but she was pretty sure regular old mercenaries wouldn’t have a massive floating fortress full of dangerous looking spacecraft. It really was like a scene out of that terrible holo-movie she’d shot when she was first starting out—Varaxian Raiders II—only without the cheap special effects.

No, this was the real fucking deal, and this place was kinda blowing her mind right now.

She glanced at Enki, who was wearing his usual inscrutable mask. Layla narrowed her eyes, trying to read him. She couldn’t, and that both infuriated and mystified her. “What did you say your job was again?”

“Mercenary.” Enki guided her between a pair of sleek obsidian ships that looked as if they’d been designed to slice through the very fabric of the Universe itself. His hand never left the small of her back as they turned, heading toward the entrance of a large corridor.

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