Saven Defiance (The Saven Series Book 4) (12 page)

I shake my head.
“That isn’t an option. Griselda threatened his life, Logan. The old me made a secret recording. Griselda said if I didn’t kill you that she’d kill Ax. It’s not only your life that’s at stake; his is too.”
I bite my bottom lip
. “Do you think Dante is aware of that fact?”

Logan looks reflective.
“You think that’s why he wanted both me and Ax held captive?”

“When I was on the STSS, Dante was probing me for info on Ax. I think that explains it, yes.”

“Maybe, but then that would mean—”

“That he’s in cahoots with Griselda,”
I finish for him.

“Not inconceivable,”
Logan admits with a frustrated sigh.

“I know. So, now you see why I need to keep him close.”

“I do. I don’t like it, but you have no other choice.”

“Thank you for being so understanding.”
I mean it. He has made this so much easier than I thought possible.

“Don’t thank me yet.”

I raise my eyebrows.

“
I’m trying very hard to be the good guy here. After all
”—he reels me in closer—“
I got the girl. And I feel for him, I do. I have some experience of what it’s like to lose you. And to have your own mother threaten to kill you in such a careless manner? It’s awful. But I can’t help how I feel. He’s deceived me for years, and I’m jealous of all that he’s shared with you.”

“
Don’t be. He’s my past. You’re my future.”
I rise on tiptoes and kiss him lightly on the lips.
“By the way, he doesn’t know about Griselda’s threat, and I want to keep it that way. It’d destroy him.”

Logan tucks my hair behind my ears.
“He won’t hear it from me.”

I move to kiss him again when a blatant cough demands our attention. Breaking apart, we turn to face a clearly worried Neve.

“We’ve received a message,” she confirms. “You’re gonna want to hear this.”

“I’ve been using the underground comm channel to maintain contact with my buddies in Saven,” Rylan explains, as we join him in the cockpit. “This message came through ten minutes ago. It’s from King Coryn, and he was quite explicit that you be notified immediately.”

Logan’s shoulders tighten instantly, and his eyes narrow suspiciously.

“Who’s King Coryn?” I ask.

Logan’s knee taps restlessly off the ground. “He’s the king of Narik, one of our neighboring planets.” Privately he conveys a different sentiment.
“He was my mother’s lover. The one I told you about.”

“Why would he be contacting you now?”

“I don’t know.”
Logan chews on the corner of his lip. “Play the message, please.”

Rylan obliges. A handsome older man with warm honey-brown eyes and dark hair, peppered with flecks of gray, materializes on the screen before us. I’m surprised to see another alien race in humanoid form. “
They are shapeshifters, too,”
Logan confirms, answering my unspoken question.
“They have held human form for even longer than the Saven.”

The king speaks confidently in a heavily accented tone. “Crown Prince.” He bows his head respectfully. “It has been many years since we have spoken, and I’m sure you’re curious as to why I have contacted you now. While Narik has always assumed a position of neutrality, we are aware how things are altering in the galaxy. I’ve known something like this was coming, and I want to pledge our allegiance. Narik will support Saven under
your
leadership, and I can offer you refuge.” He pauses briefly. “There are things we need to discuss. And not solely of a political nature.”

His serene composure momentarily falters, and a harrowing look crosses his face. “Your mother asked me to look out for you, and I’ve been trying to do that from the sidelines. But, I believe the time has come to update you in a more transparent manner. There are certain things you need to know.”

Logan grips the edge of his seat rigidly. Tension radiates off him in waves. Sensing him drowning under the admission, I drape my arm around his shoulder and kiss his cheek. A tiny ripple of pain darts through my skull, and I inwardly wince.

The king continues speaking. “I understand that I need to earn your trust, but, rest assured, I am genuine. You
can
trust me. I’m in your corner, and I always have been. You just didn’t know it.”

Logan pinches the bridge of his nose, his face heavy with confusion.

“I thought it might help to hear it from someone else,” the king adds. He rises, and there’s a bit of shuffling in the background.

Then, Dali’s beautiful face fills the screen. She looks healthy and well, her emerald green eyes sparkling with vitality. Tossing her flowing black locks over her shoulder, she leans into the screen. “Hey, Logan. I hope this message reaches you in time. Sorry for the loss of contact, but it wasn’t safe to continue communicating. Dante and my father have been tracking us from day one. Win and I were forced to take shelter in Narik when it became apparent that my father was hell-bent on stopping me from garnering allies. King Coryn reached out to me, and we’ve been hiding out here ever since. But more than that. We are making concrete plans, and we have a way to win this.” Her face glows with excitement and uber-confidence. “With his support, I believe we can achieve our goals. We need you here. Things are reaching critical mass, and we must take action soon. I know you have some history with him, but trust me, it’s safe here. He can offer us protection while we figure things out. While we put things in motion. Hurry. Come quickly. Love to Sadie and the others.” She blows a kiss as she rises. “See you soon.”

The message dies out and the only sound in the room is the mix of our conjoined breathing. Rylan looks to Logan for direction.

“What’s the word from Saven?” Logan asks.

Rylan grimaces. “It’s not good. The fighting is escalating, and both Dante and Advisor Mellor are in the wind. The military corps are split right down the middle. No one is in charge. It’s utter chaos.”

Logan links his hands behind his neck, strain clearly visible. He looks to me for reassurance. “What do you think we should do?”

“The king seemed sincere, and you know Dali is trustworthy. If she says we should go there, and that they have a way of ending this, then I think that’s what we should do. Let’s hear them out. Besides, we need to refuel and stock up on supplies, so it seems like the practical thing to do.” It’s difficult to push my concerns for my loved ones on Earth to one side, but right now, the tenuous situation in Saven is more pressing and more demanding of our focus.

Logan pulls me in close and kisses my forehead. “Okay. Set a course for Narik,” he tells Rylan. “Did they send you an entry code?”

“Affirmative.”

“Great.” He stands up, slapping a hand on Rylan’s shoulder. “I’ll inform the others.”

Everyone is convened in the cabin as Logan explains about King Coryn’s message. Everyone except Ax. I wander out to his room and knock tentatively on the door. “Ax, it’s me. Please open up.” I’m greeted by stony silence. I rap on the door a few more times before it becomes obvious that he’s still ignoring me. I plop down on the floor, hugging my knees to my chest.

The door from the main cabin opens, and Izzy ghosts into the corridor. She slinks down beside me. “You told him?” she inquires.

“Yeah.” I massage my sore head.

“Poor guy.”

“I know. He’s still not talking to me. Would you try? I’m worried about him.”

“Sure. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

I wince as a barb of pain arrows through my skull.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. A mild headache.” As quick as I am to dismiss it, a perturbing thought occurs to me. “Do you think this is in some way connected with that chip Griselda inserted in me?” Distracted, I rub the spot behind my ear where the hidden chip resides. Another more worrisome thought rises to the surface. If it is connected, then it could also mean that Griselda is trying to get into my head again.
But how? I blew up political HQ?

She looks pensive. “I don’t know. Maybe?”

“Or maybe it’s just a headache.” I’m probably reading far too much into it.

“When things settle down, you should get it removed,” she suggests.

“That’s an option?” My brow flicks up. I’m fairly sure Ax said it was impossible.

“Of course.” She looks at me strangely. “Griselda uses those implants on prisoners, but as soon as they are released from their sentence, the chip is removed. It’s a fairly routine procedure. I don’t see how it would be any different for you.”

My lips pucker. I file it away for discussion with Ax at a later stage. Assuming he’ll ever want to speak to me again, that is. I tip my head back, sighing.

We sit in companionable silence for a few minutes, both lost in our own thoughts. Izzy breaks it after a bit. “So, you and the hot prince, eh? Lucky girl.” She has a funny look on her face.

“What?” My face contorts in confusion.

“Nothing, don’t mind me.” She waves her hands dismissively in the air. “I’m just jealous.”

I pin her with an incredulous look. “You cannot be serious? There is little about my life to envy right now.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” She pulls at a loose thread on the end of her shirt. “I keep forgetting that you don’t remember anything. Just ignore me.” She fake-smiles.

“No. Tell me. I want to know. I didn’t want to say before, but, back on Torc, I had a vision of us in my room. You were distraught and crying your eyes out. What happened, Izzy? What don’t I know?”

Her face visibly pales, and when she speaks, it’s in choked undertones. “I can’t talk about it yet. Not if you don’t want me to fall to pieces. You both need me to be on top of my game.” A single, solitary tear slips out of her eye.

I don’t think about it—I envelop her in a giant hug. “It’s okay. While I may not recall every detail of our relationship, I’m instinctually drawn to you in the same way I’m drawn to Ax. Hidden parts of me remember how much I care about both of you. I’m here for you, whenever you want to talk.”

She hugs me tight. “I already know that, silly. You’re still you, even though you’re not.” She frowns, and then we both giggle inappropriately. “This is a crazy situation.”

“Tell me about it,” I sigh, as I ease out of our embrace.

“We’re still best buds, and that’s all that matters.”

I smile as we scramble to our feet. “Always.” I touch her arm. “Please look after him.”

“I will.” Then she opens the door and slips quietly into his room.

I walk back to the cabin feeling a teeny bit lighter.

We are hovering on the outer perimeter of Narik while Rylan inputs the entry code and waits for clearance. “Watch,” Logan says from the co-pilot seat. I’m loving being in the cockpit and having a front row seat as we journey to another new planet. Though it’s wrong to be excited, I can’t help how I feel. I inwardly caution myself to pipe down. It’s not as if we’re going on vacation or anything.

I zoom in on the large, silver domelike shell slowly opening to allow us entry.

“Narik have been able to maintain an objective position because they developed the most sophisticated security system in the galaxy. No one can impregnate Narik unless they have an entry code. Entry codes are encrypted and issued on an individual basis—via telepathic communication—and they expire automatically upon access, so no one has ever been able to infiltrate the system. It’s pretty ingenious. Coryn’s been offered vast sums of currency over the years to sell the technology, but he always refuses. I figure he knows that if he shares the secret, then they are opening themselves to possible invasion. Protecting his kingdom has always seemed more important to him than lining his pockets.” Logan speaks in a reluctant tone of admiration.

“He sounds like an intelligent man. I’m glad he’s apparently on our side.”

“Hhm,” Logan replies. “I’m going to reserve judgment until I find out what’s going on.”

Rylan and Logan start a steady descent. I inch forward in my seat, eager for a first glimpse. As we draw closer, I grow more and more intrigued. At first, there are only miles and miles of pale, flat, vacant landscape. Gradually, the scenery transforms, and the horizontal terrain gives rise to sleek dunes that ascend higher and higher the closer we get to ground level. Small pools of crystal-clear water give way to larger vistas. Pockets of housing spring up between the sand and water features, which become denser and more populated as we edge toward solid land. Tall, palm-like trees hang like protective covering over the water as we glide toward the main city. Unlike the other alien cities I’ve visited, most of the buildings here are single-story structures, with only a sparse few high-rises interspersed in between.