Page 91 of Decadence

Zharek issued a quiet order.

The faint blue lights died.

And just like that, they were engulfed in perfect darkness.

Panic rose in Sienna’s chest. “What’s going on?” she hissed.

“For this kind of difficult procedure, Zharek prefers to work in natural light,” the General rumbled. “Our kind of light.”

“Darkness,” she whispered dryly. “You can actually see in the dark?”

“Indeed.”

“You’re really being very considerate, you know, trying to reassure me and all.”

“My mate would give me what she calls an ‘earful’ if I failed to ease your fears, and I do not relish her anger. Nor do I want to face Ikriss’s wrath. I suspect he will be more than a little combative when he wakes up.”

His… mate?

Holy crap, now that’s someone I want to meet. Who the hell would be crazy enough to put up with this guy?

And Ikriss… combative?

“What are you talking abou—”

“Quiet, now. Zharek is going under.”

She didn’t know what that meant either, but the General’s stern tone brooked no argument, so she went quiet.

The only thing she could hear was the swish, swish of the fluid in the stasis tank, occasionally punctuated by Zharek’s soft muttering.

But then even he fell silent.

She didn’t know how long she stood like that for, listening, waiting, hoping… It could have been minutes or hours.

Not knowing was the worst thing of all.

Something flashed in the darkness; a sharp blue beam of light. A… laser of some sort? It flashed again and again, throwing faint blue light across the chamber, showing her glimpses of a scene straight out of a horror movie—Ikriss’s beautiful body torn apart, his chest cavity stretched open, a gruesome mass of tangled organs floating in the stasis fluid, which had become dark and cloudy.

A total fucking nightmare.

And amidst all the chaos, a pair of long, tentacle-like arms moved around in the tank, their fingerlike projections extending like webs, attaching themselves to organs and vessels, anchoring to Ikriss’s mangled body.

Alien.

Everything about this was so far removed from her once cozy and predictable life on Earth.

Nausea rose in her throat, but she ignored it.

Please survive, Ikriss.

She had to keep it together. When he woke up, confused and suffering from Mating Fever, she would be there for him.

She had to.

None of the Kordolians said a word.

She glanced at the General’s face. It was as cold as a glacier.

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