Page 43 of Fractured Souls

“A few things to fall into place.” He didn’t want to divulge too much to her yet… not until he was confident she could handle things.

“We need to go as soon as possible,” she said, surprising him with her intensity. “I know I’m not in a position to demand anything of you, but I’m still going to ask, because you’ve got a direct line to the boss, and I’m guessing your word carries some weight. I want to go to Tharos, Nythian.”

She was earnest and brave and utterly convincing. So much so, that he almost gave in there and then. What had really happened back there in the stasis tank? What had Anuk said to her?

Her mental state was still fragile. She was traumatized. Nythian needed to be certain she was resilient enough before they set foot on the Ghost Planet. “We will not take any unnecessary risks with you,” he growled. “Zharek hasn’t even medically cleared you. We will go when we are ready. When you are ready.”

She glared back at him. Opened her mouth as if to say something, but changed her mind.

They walked in silence for a while.

Nythian silently cursed. He’d been warned that human females could be complicated like this.

“The harder you train, the sooner we will go,” he said at last, trying to offer her some sort of consolation. “We would have gone to Tharos at some point anyway. This is only speeding up the process.”

“Oh? What business would you have there, especially now?”

“Thanks to some idiots from Kythia who once thought they owned the fucking Universe, Tharos is a complete mess.” Nythian shrugged. “We try to put out the fires where we can. Things have a way of blowing up in your face if you don’t sort them out.”

She frowned and managed to look even more gorgeous in the process. “I didn’t think Kordolians had a remorseful streak.”

“Not all of us do,” he admitted, “but some of us have seen what hell looks like, and that tends to change a person… well, sometimes it does.” A familiar anger coiled around his heart as he remembered the terrible things he’d seen… the terrible things he’d been forced to do.

The terrible things he’d done willingly, because once upon a time he’d believed in the Empire.

Nythian didn’t really know if he was better or worse than what he could have been, but he was here now, and Alexis was his responsibility.

He’d heard her tortured voice as she cried out in the night, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. She’d uttered the names of dead people—human ones. She’d begged them to run away, and then she’d pleaded with her attacker.

Get off me. Stop!

The idea of her being hurt again…

Just the thought could make him go berserk.

It was probably good that they were about to have company. He slowed as he heard approaching footsteps. Moments later, a pair of Kordolians emerged from around the corner. He recognized Sanen and Ioki, both fierce warriors who had once been part of the Third Division. They were shirtless and barefoot, wearing the loose black trousers Kordolians often donned for simple hand-to-hand combat training. Both warriors had fashioned their hair in the severe style of the Northern Tribes—long on top, and shaved down to the skin on the sides.

He noticed the way Alexis’s eyes widened a fraction as she took in their bare-chested forms, and he didn’t like it.

A savage emotion rose up inside him. Suddenly, he felt like smashing in the face of any other male who might attract her attention.

Careful.

Ah, now he understood how his mated brothers could get so riled up over even the slightest thing when it came to their females.

Imagine, he used to give them shit for it.

He inhaled sharply, trying to get his bloodlust under control.

“Yo, Nythian,” Sanen said in greeting as the two warriors nodded in acknowledgement. They slowed, ignoring Alexis as they waited for Nythian to pass. It wasn’t rudeness, but more a display of respect. Curiosity burned in their eyes, but they were far too cautious around him to show it.

They would not address Alexis directly unless he gave them permission to do so.

Everyone knew the human females were to be treated with respect. They were the mates, the ones who would ensure the survival of their race. They were to be protected at all costs.

“How’s the training chamber?” he asked, carefully hiding his bloodlust as they paused in the middle of the corridor. Alexis stood beside him, almost touching but not quite. Her scent was driving him a little bit crazy. The steady rhythm of her heartbeat tempered his dark mood. She watched them with a calm, curious gaze, her eyes drifting back and forth between him and the two warriors.

Analyzing. Dissecting. Forming her own conclusions. He would give all his Callidum to see what was going on inside that pretty head of hers.

---