Page 126 of Decadence

“H-hey,” Sienna wheezed. The girl was strong. “I’m back. Everything’s going to be fine. They’re going to get Eva right now.”

“Oh, thank the stars. I’ve been beside myself worrying about her… and you, of course.” Her eyes narrowed. “And what about your, erm, apprentice?”

“They did Kordolian stuff on him. He’s totally fine.”

“I’m glad. I take it he’s one of the good guys.”

“He is.” Sometimes. Her insides clenched. How was she supposed to explain to Cleo that Ikriss was also pure sin wrapped up in decadence?

Maybe later. When everything was calm again.

“So. Kordolians, huh?” Cleo said, her voice bone-dry.

“Kordolians,” Sienna sighed. “Don’t worry. We got the good ones.”

“If those are the good ones, then I’d hate to see what the actual baddies are capable of.”

Sienna could only nod as unease snaked through the pit of her belly.

Despite all of Ikriss’s reassurances, why did she feel a little afraid all of a sudden?

Chapter Twenty-Six

Ikriss flew alone in the Crurix, guiding his heavily cloaked craft over the densely populated metropolis the humans called Rio de Janeiro, or just Rio.

The city was a curious mixture of old and new. Tall, glistening towers adorned with bright light-signs rose alongside older dwellings made of the most basic and primitive kinds of materials—just stone, metal, and wood.

In the streets below, humans buzzed up and down in small wheeled craft called cars. Some were on foot. Others rode on strange two-wheeled electric-powered vehicles, swerving through backed-up traffic. They seemed to travel without any sense of order, merging at random, cutting each other off, almost colliding…

It was maddening to watch.

The way humans organized their civilization reminded him of a dozen other planets he’d visited during his time as a Military Intelligence Officer.

Some societies seemed very tolerant of chaos and disruption; it was almost as if they needed it to exist.

Humans were one of those societies.

He banked and eased into his descent, flanked by the medium-sized cruiser, Mhyndin, which carried ten out of twelve former Second Division warriors.

He would be number eleven.

And the twelfth, Zarken, had stayed behind to oversee the security around Sienna’s building. With both Nythian and Zarken and two full squadrons of elite-level warriors guarding the safe zone, and three small stealth cruisers carrying out cloaked aerial surveillance, he was confident that no-one—Silent One or not—was going to breach their defenses again.

If he wasn’t able to be by her side, the only ones he would trust to guard her were the First Division—or Ashrael.

Nobody else.

He knew her well enough by now too know that she would chafe at his restrictions; at being constantly guarded and watched, but this was his world now, and because of some small trick of fate, she had become one of the most sought-after targets in the Universe.

He would not let them take her from him.

Not now, not ever.

And eventually, they would find and destroy those who sought her.

He would paint the stars with their blood.

As he neared their destination, Ikriss took note of the terrain below.

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