Page 56 of Fractured Souls

“Outside activity…” Nythian repeated, the words barely registering. He was in a trance, his senses heightened, flooded with her intoxicating scent, the addictive rhythm of her heartbeat, the memory of her taste on his lips…

Abbey hadn’t said a word, but she was watching him intensely.

Alexis gave him a sidelong glance, and she was calm.

A goddess.

Was he the only one in this fucking room who was seething?

“A ship has landed on Tharos,” Tarak said calmly, turning away from the window to face them. A dark smile threatened to curve his lips as he made eye contact with Nythian. “Do you care to hazard a guess at what kind of beings might have taken an interest in the Ghost Planet?” Now he was being a little ironic.

Nythian tried to think through the fog of his lust. Was this how it was for the others once they found their mates? Was it always like this?

Kaiin’s hells. He didn’t know how long he could last.

“If I had to wager my horns on it,” he drawled, concealing the storm inside him, “I would say it was some silver-skinned bastards with a hard-on for all things Imperial.”

“Kythia might be secure,” Tarak added for Alexis’s benefit, “but the Empire’s reach is long, even in death. There are colonies and sub-colonies and minor outposts of Kordolians scattered throughout the Nine Galaxies. Some have surrendered and accepted our terms. Some are openly hostile. Some have gone underground. We are still cleaning up the mess. With time, all those who oppose us will be subjugated, but until then, we must crush all insurrection. I do not know what these Kordolians want with the Tharians, but whatever it is, they won’t get it. We will deal with them.”

“Hold on a minute…” Alexis’s stance was loose and relaxed, but her gaze was sharp. “I appreciate you all taking me in and working literal miracles on my body, but you haven’t told me anything about who you really are, or what your purpose is. I need some context here, please.” Her eyes flicked back and forth between Tarak and Nythian. He became aware of the sheen on her face—humans sweated when they exerted themselves—the way her rich brown skin glistened, and absurdly, he wanted to lick her, to taste her salty sweetness.

A growl rose in his throat, but he choked it off. Abbey was still giving him that weird look. Alexis’s cheeks darkened, the dusky blush extending to the tips of her ears.

Goddess almighty, he wanted to devour her.

“Sorry Alexis,” Abbey said, and her interruption probably saved Nythian from doing something ridiculous just now. “You’ve been through a lot. It was hard to know how much to tell you at first. I thought it better to give you space to recover from all that first…” She made a sympathetic face. “Remember what I told you, though?”

“They’re the good guys… well, relatively.”

“Relatively, hmm?” Tarak raised an eyebrow at Abbey.

“Do you disagree with my analysis, husband?”

Tarak gave his mate an indulgent look. “Unlike our former masters, we are not planning on enslaving the human race. We have entered into a protection treaty with your Federation.”

“So you’re… not from the Empire?”

“Not anymore. The Empire is dead.”

“They’re on our side,” Abbey added, but her eyes were only for Tarak. She looked at him proudly. Kaiin’s hells, sometimes these two were impossible. “They started the rebellion that brought down the Empire.”

“You did that?” Alexis’s eyes were wide as she sought out Nythian. “You…”

Nythian shrugged. He didn’t care much for glory-seeking. Right now, he was more occupied with the very large and increasingly hard problem in his pants. “They were getting out of hand,” he rasped. “And we were getting tired of doing all their dirty work.”

“You were part of the Imperial Military? It all makes sense now.” There was relief in her voice, and a hint of awe.

“They’re a little rough around the edges, but they’re not without their charms,” Abbey said slyly, making Nythian wonder what she was really up to.

“I can see that now,” Alexis agreed, and the two women shared a silent look. He’d seen humans do that before; sometimes he swore they had secret telepathic abilities. “So you people are free from Imperial tyranny; masterless warriors who are free to cruise around the Universe with a whole bunch of military hardware that can destroy or enslave entire planets.” She sighed and muttered something in her native tongue that made Abbey smile. “That’s a potentially terrifying prospect, if you ask me.”

“We are not interested in enslaving other races,” Tarak said quietly. “Our philosophy is simple. We do not believe in wanton cruelty and destruction. We protect what is ours and destroy those who would seek to harm us. That is all.”

“So you’re saying you’re the arbiters and final executioners. Who’s going to hold you to account?”

Tarak glanced at Abbey, his hard features softening a minuscule amount.

“Don’t misunderstand,” Abbey moved to Tarak’s side and he put a possessive hand on her waist. “He’s very much his own Kordolian. He’s going to do whatever the hell he wants, but he also likes to keep me happy.”

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