Page 25 of Decadence

“Because I know Rexu’s type. You do, too. I’ve served under them and held rank over them. He would have derived pleasure from her pain.”

Jeral let out a particularly dark curse. “She’s beat up bad, but conscious… barely. I’ll get the medics to see to her immediately.” A sigh escaped him. “We’re a fucked up lot, aren’t we, Commander?”

“Only as much as we allow ourselves to be. Bring her back, Jeral, along with our enemy. Make sure she is in no pain and he is in plenty.”

“Already done. I don’t think I’d be able to make him talk without killing him, though.”

“Leave him for the boss. I will have a word with him too.” Ikriss’s pace quickened as his slow-burning anger threatened to ignite. After all, this was the bastard that had ordered Sienna to be tortured and degraded.

“Sounds like you intend to have the final word.”

“Perhaps.”

“Can’t argue with you there. Typical Imperial asshole; he’s got a mouth on him. Had to fight to keep myself from taking his head off. Better if you and the boss interrogate him. You’d be a bit more restrained.”

“Don’t be so sure about that,” Ikriss growled. “Get that human to the medical bay as soon as possible. Restrain Rexu and deliver him to us… preferably in one piece.”

A dark laugh escaped the warrior. “Our Empire-worshipping friend seems to think the good old times are just about to return. I wonder why that is. Now why do I get the feeling shit is about to blow up?” There was a certain vicious note of glee in Jeral’s voice that Ikriss recognized very well. The big warrior was spoiling for war. Of course he was. No matter how hard Tarak tried to rein in their more savage impulses, they had all—particularly the First Division—been trained as fighting machines.

Nobody did war better than them.

“If some misguided remnant of the Empire is plotting against us, they will learn a very painful lesson.”

“Can’t wait,” Jeral said dryly. “Been a while since I’ve dealt some good bloodshed. Prepare to receive your prisoner, Commander. I will see you back on Silence. Out.” The comm buzzed faintly then went quiet.

And Ikriss thought of a thousand and one ways he could make this Sagarath Rexu suffer.

They would get the answers they needed, and then they would chase their enemies to the ends of the infernal Universe. Someone from above had ordered the Kordolian to purchase the women, and someone from below—a human, presumably—had let the Ephrenians evade their surveillance and enter Earth’s orbit.

Who?

There were plenty of humans that were seething with resentment at the quiet occupation of their planet.

Plenty of humans that would fight them viciously if they had the power.

Sometimes, the best way to catch one’s prey was to hide in plain sight… and wait.

He’d done it in the frozen ocean on Earth, catching more fish than all three First Division warriors combined—including Tarak.

But all of that was secondary to his main task, which was to seek out his human; to know her, to protect her, to draw her—willingly—into his orbit, and to find a cure, once and for all, for his cursed Mating Fever.

Why did something that sounded so simple have to be so fucking complicated?

Chapter Nine

Three days later - Federated States of Earth, New York, The Lower East Side

Sienna slapped the thick, sticky ball of dough onto the work surface; a smooth stainless steel bench that was covered in a light dusting of flour. She dug her fingers into the dough and took a deep breath, savoring the smell of fresh yeast and flour.

Then she began to work, pushing her palms into the dough, kneading it into submission. Beneath her fingers, she felt the texture change, becoming smooth and elastic as the gluten strands in the bread were warmed and stretched out. The physical nature and the simplicity of the task made it immensely satisfying. In their modern world, which sometimes felt like it moved faster than the speed of light, simple, handmade things—real things—were becoming increasingly rare.

Unlike most other restaurants, where the food was prepared with the help of bots and machines, Sienna made everything by hand.

It just tasted different… better.

And it was the reason their customers kept coming back for more.

Everything that was old was new again.

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