Page 89 of Decadence

When did he…?

“What the hell is going on?” she demanded, suddenly realizing that she was naked. She covered her breasts with her arms, but it didn’t really matter, because the Kordolian wasn’t even looking at her like that.

“We must take him now,” the General said simply as he locked eyes with her, a surprising amount of gentleness in his voice. “The strain of arousal has overwhelmed his system. Do not be alarmed; this is intentional. The Mating Fever has reached a dangerous level, and yet it will be the very thing that saves his life. Do not fear, human. Soon you will have him all to yourself, and for as long as you wish. But first, we must fix his body, because a man can’t exist without a heart for too long.”

“You…” Shocked and confused, she stared at the imposing alien. “You set this up? But Zharek said two days…”

“A cautious overestimation. My medic is always excessively cautious when it comes to this type of thing. In your current state, the worst thing we could give you is unrealistic expectations.” The General made some sort of signal with his hands—a silent order. “A fine set of organs is ready for him. Everything will be fine. You will see.”

As a team of stone-faced Kordolians swooped around Ikriss, scooping him up onto what appeared to be a floating platform-stretcher thing, the General dropped a towel and a silken robe at the edge of the pool. “Dry yourself and get dressed. One of my men will take you back to your quarters. We will inform you when the procedure is complete.”

Now you wait just a fucking minute…

Anger surged through her. She rose up out of the water, not giving two shits that she was naked. These aliens weren’t going to touch her. She was Ikriss’s now.

She stifled a cry as dozens of lines and monitors were attached to his body. His lifeless form began to float away, drifting out of her reach.

“If you’re going to manipulate us like that… even if it is for his own good, you don’t get to order me back to my room like I’m some random bystander… like I’m not totally and completely invested in him…” Her voice cracked with emotion. She was angry and scared and overwhelmed and still a little bit aroused. With Ikriss by her side, she’d been so close to reaching transcendence.

So close…

“Fucking hell,” she swore, switching to English. She reached for the towel and dried herself off, before pulling the robe over her naked body, tying the belt tightly around her waist. Adrenaline coursed through her. Ikriss invaded all her senses. She couldn’t think straight. She couldn’t even exist without knowing what was going to happen to him. “I’m going with you. You don’t get to pull me in this deep and then…”

“Fine,” the General rumbled. If anything, he seemed slightly amused, in a benevolent kind of way. How the hell could he be amused at a time like this? “But you must be certain, human. Are you prepared to see your mate torn apart and made whole again? I warn you, it will not be pleasant.”

Sienna crossed her arms and glared at the Kordolian. “I’ve been abducted by Ephrenians and beaten to within an inch of my life. I’ve seen said Ephrenian’s head explode right in front of my face. I’ve survived an attack by a weirdo masked assassin and I’ve seen Ikriss nearly bleed out to death under my own fucking hands. You think I’m going to be scared to stick by the man that saved my life?” She strode up to him, leaving wet footprints on the cold floor. “I’m not that fickle.”

The General stared into her eyes for a little longer than what was comfortable. She fought to keep from squirming. It felt like he could see right through all the layers she’d built up over the years. Now the fear came; unbidden, primal, a reflex response to some innate darkness inside these aliens that she would never understand.

“You are one of us now,” was all he said as he turned toward the dark exit. “Come.”

And that was how, barefoot and still dripping wet from her brief dip in the pool, Sienna found herself following the fearsome alien leader of a vast and dangerous mercenary organization as he led her to the place where her mate was about to be remade.

Not in a million years could she have imagined her existence would come to this.

Chapter Twenty-One

When they reached the medical bay, Ikriss was already back in the glowing blue stasis tank, once again hooked up to all those awful lines and tubes. Zharek stood before an array of complicated holos, staring intently at a datastream of indecipherable Kordolian characters.

She was barely able to keep her eyes off Ikriss in the tank—so much so that at first she failed to notice the blindingly obvious.

The General beckoned her to one side, where she could stand out of the way. His eyes flicked toward the top of the tank. For the first time, she detected a hint of tension in his expression.

She followed his gaze… and gasped.

Suspended in the blue fluid in a transparent egg-shaped, fluid-filled capsule, were a perfectly formed heart and lungs, complete with intricate branching blood vessels.

Her jaw dropped. The lungs were light grey in color, and the heart…

It was pure black.

And it was beating.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

Holy shit.

“Those are… his?” she whispered.

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